novelraw Chapter 13 – I'm a lord, so it's reasonable for me to shake my little brother, right?
Chapter 13 – I'm a lord, so it's reasonable for me to shake my little brother, right?
Ye Hao and the Lord of Eaglehold stood facing each other across a sword pit, surrounded by the scattered corpses of players, each in a different state of death.
To the players, this scene was like a cutscene, a fated duel between the protagonist and the Lord of Eaglehold, filled with drama and visual effects.
But the people involved didn't see it that way.
Ye Hao thought for a moment, calmly analyzing the situation, and felt he still had a good chance of winning. Not to mention that after using his breakthrough, his level would reach over forty, matching the Lord of Eaglehold. And who was he?
He was the Chosen of Destiny! A person selected by two great beings!
He possessed so many top-tier skills, the Lord of Eaglehold was nothing more than a mere clown!
Thinking this, a smile gradually appeared on Ye Hao's face, a mix of amusement, confidence, arrogance, and a hint of appreciation.
"Lord of Eaglehold, I am Ye Hao. I know you might not recognize me, but I assure you, you will remember this name in the future."
"I admit you're powerful, these heroic spirits are no match for you, but you can't imagine the kind of existence standing before you."
"I am burdened with a great mission!"
Ye Hao spoke slowly, his voice gradually growing more passionate, his eyes beginning to shine with a blinding white light.
Then, beams of light began to burst from his body, inside out.
"Unleash, my power!"
The cocoon of light around Ye Hao gradually fell away, revealing his figure bathed in divine light. His armor became increasingly magnificent, and the longsword in his hand exuded powerful battle aura, his entire being exuding an overwhelming presence.
In Sylvie's eyes, Ye Hao's information had completely changed.
[Name: Ye Hao]
[Identity: Chosen of Destiny, Commoner]
[Strength: Earth Knight Level 45 (Temporary)]
[Skills: Crosslight Cleave (Temporary), Intermediate Magic Immunity (Temporary), Sanctuary Aura (Temporary), Eternal Daylight Barrier (Temporary), Grandmaster-level Combat Mastery (Temporary)]
[?? Skill 1: ???]
[?? Skill 2: ???]
[Equipment: Armor of the Sighing One (Grandmaster) (Temporary), Longsword of the Sighing One (Grandmaster) (Temporary)]
[Reputation: Slight]
No doubt about it, he truly was the protagonist chosen by fate.
Sylvie couldn't help but exclaim, this guy's power surge even surpassed his own level by one. If it were the feeble lord from his past life, he would have already knelt.
But today, it was Sylvie standing here, and whether he could win or not would soon be revealed. At worst, wasn't Claremont still here?
The surrounding players were already flushed with excitement, having had some guesses earlier. After all, why would the game set up an unbeatable boss? It was clearly unreasonable.
Now their suspicions were confirmed, the Lord of Eaglehold was likely a plot boss, only defeatable through the storyline.
And the trigger for this plot kill was the Lord of Eaglehold killing all the players present, which would then lead to the protagonist Ye Hao's power surge.
The players boldly speculated that the next scene would be Ye Hao beating up the Lord of Eaglehold and killing him.
"Brother Hao looks pretty cool this time!"
"I, Ye 'Incandescent Light' Hao, will never be inferior to anyone in this life!"
"It's a pity, such an impressive boss like the Lord of Eaglehold is already about to be killed off."
"There's definitely going to be a big battle next, get ready to record, this is perfect material."
"Front row selling sunflower seeds, peanuts, drinks, chips... Sir, please move your corpse, thank you."
...
Feeling the surging battle aura within him, Ye Hao closed his eyes in ecstasy. His current strength far surpassed what he had in his past life on the Blue Planet. He initially thought the [Breakthrough] skill merely raised his level, but after using it, he realized it was an all-around enhancement.
When he reopened his eyes, he brandished his longsword, its blade pointing at Sylvie across from him, his eyes filled with disdain.
"Sylvie Goldlion, let me show you what true power is! You are far from it! Sanctuary Aura!"
Ye Hao shouted, his entire body shining like daylight, an arcane amplification aura forming beneath his feet. He shifted his stance, his body turning into a blur, and in an instant, he was in front of Sylvie, thrusting his sword multiple times in a split second.
Sylvie's eyes were cold and stern, not daring to be careless. He blocked with his sword, feeling a continuous force coming through, mixed with hidden power, making his arms slightly numb.
"What? Are your arms numb, your organs shaken? Hahaha, this is the Ye family's secret Eight Trigram Palm, and I've integrated its essence into my sword techniques. Only a genius like me could achieve this in such a short time."
Ye Hao wore a smug smile, his mouth running nonstop, but his hands were swift, delivering fierce slashes at Sylvie, who was blocking with his sword. The surrounding players were almost blinded by Ye Hao's dazzling sword light.
But Sylvie swore he only felt a slight numbness in his arms, as for any hidden power or organ shaking, he felt nothing at all.
It seemed that although the power surge had enhanced Ye Hao's strength, it hadn't done the same for his brain.
This was a Western Fantasy world, a world of swords and magic. Knights wielded battle aura, with every part of their body, even a single hair, protected by it. That bit of hidden power was useless.
Ye Hao, seeing Sylvie silent, thought he was enduring the pain of internal injuries, and thus used even more hidden power.
Whether slashing, chopping, thrusting, or stabbing, Ye Hao would subtly shake his longsword with his body.
And because their swordplay was so fast, to the players, Ye Hao's movements seemed increasingly bizarre.
"What kind of skill is this for the protagonist? Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
"Honestly, it looks like he's dancing, look at that little wiggle..."
"Amazing, it's even more intense than my neighbor with epilepsy."
...
Sylvie was like a turtle shell, and after hacking away for a while, Ye Hao found that Sylvie was completely unharmed, not at all like someone suffering from internal injuries. Instead, he was starting to feel a bit winded from his frenzied attacks.
He wasn't stupid, after all, he was a genius from an ancient martial arts family, with exceptional insight. He quickly realized the reason, feeling a bit embarrassed and angry.
"Damn it! You're mocking me? Crosslight Cleave!"
Ye Hao's eyes were cold, his voice deep and resonant.
He stepped back, avoiding a slash from Sylvie, then channeled a large amount of battle aura through an arcane path throughout his body. A majestic hymn echoed around him, and an angelic phantom appeared behind him.
The angelic phantom held a sword of light, mirroring Ye Hao's movements, tracing a cross in the air.
The angelic phantom then vanished, and an enormous, exaggerated cross-shaped sword qi slashed towards Sylvie.
With the Sanctuary Aura's blessing, the terrifyingly powerful cross sword qi moved with incredible speed, reaching Sylvie in the blink of an eye. Sylvie had no time to dodge, hurriedly activating the shield of his Hero's Armor and his skill, Bastion of Glory.
A golden shield floated around Sylvie, then disappeared into his body, a brass dragon's phantom appearing behind him, raising its wings to shield him.
"Boom—"
The violent shockwave shattered the surrounding buildings, turning the players' corpses on the ground to dust.
The Bastion of Glory shattered, but the Hero's Armor shield held firm. However, the energy within the Dragon Crystal was finite, and replenishing it would be troublesome.
Sylvie had roughly gauged his and Ye Hao's strength. With Ye Hao's power surge, he was slightly inferior, but he could expend some Dragon Crystal energy to kill Ye Hao.
But his task wasn't to kill Ye Hao, it was to humiliate him, so continuing to drag this out was unnecessary.
So Sylvie decided to call for backup.
"Claremont!"
The seasoned old knight heard Sylvie's call, silently drawing his sword and stepping in front of Sylvie, his eyes like a fierce beast, exuding a menacing aura filled with killing intent.
Just like in his past life, Sylvie had seen in the game, the old man standing guard before the castle.
The battlefield's dynamics shifted immediately with the old knight's involvement.
The players, who were watching from the sidelines, erupted in excitement.
"Holy crap! Health bar revealed!"
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"This is ridiculous, another one!"
"A blood-red name, a sinister skull icon, and a threat level so high it's almost black, ah, the familiar formula, the familiar taste."
"For some reason, that old man's gaze gives me chills..."
"Encountering two top-tier bosses on the first day of the game, what a thrill."
"Take my appraisal!"
Soon, a not-so-complete appraisal was screenshotted and posted on the public chat.
[Name: Claremont]
[Identity: Royal Guard of the Earl of Eaglehold]
[Strength: Earth Knight Level 49 (41-50)]
[Other: ???]
"Goodness, I mean, wow, 49th level, even stronger than the Lord of Eaglehold."
"How do we fight this? We had the advantage against one, but two means instant death."
...
⊙ω⊙
Ye Hao looked bewildered at Claremont standing in front of Sylvie, thinking, wasn't this supposed to be a duel? Where did this old man come from?
Young people these days have no sense of honor!
Ye Hao calmed himself, his eyes cold as he looked at Sylvie, sneering.
"Is this the Knight's Code you uphold? It's a disgrace."
Knight's Code? What's that? Do graduates still have to follow school rules? How foolish must one be to be so rigid?
Sylvie pursed his lips, unconcerned.
"I am first a lord, then an earl, and lastly a knight. Tell me, when have you ever seen a lord or earl who needs to personally fight one-on-one? Do you deserve it?"
Sylvie smirked, self-assured.
"Claremont, beat him!"
At Sylvie's command, Claremont moved, his figure a blur, his sword slashing towards Ye Hao with lightning speed.
As an old Earth Knight on the brink of becoming a Sky Knight, fighting a newbie like Ye Hao was almost like fighting a baby.
It's worth noting that Claremont once said during a spar with Sylvie that without using battle aura, he couldn't harm Sylvie in his Hero-grade Armor.
This statement, understood from another angle, meant that if he used battle aura, he could still easily defeat Sylvie, even with his Hero-grade Armor.
But as a family servant, the old knight naturally had to leave some face for his master.
Ye Hao, having already expended much energy in his battle with Sylvie, found himself in a tough spot as Claremont, much stronger than Sylvie, joined the fray. He quickly shifted from being on the offensive to barely holding his ground.
It wasn't long before Claremont drained Ye Hao of his battle aura, leaving him standing on the ground.
Sylvie hadn't instructed Claremont to kill Ye Hao, so Claremont wouldn't do so.
Sylvie approached Ye Hao with a smile, grabbing his hair and lifting his head, embodying the perfect image of a villain kicking someone when they're down.
Sylvie raised his hand, not using battle aura, and slapped Ye Hao across the face with all his might.
"Slap—"
"So you're called Ye Hao, right?"
"You wanted me to remember your name, right?"
"Slap—"
Another slap.
"You wanted to show me true power, right?"
"Slap—"
Ye Hao's face visibly swelled into a pig's head, his eyes filled with venom as he glared silently at the smiling Sylvie.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, patience is a virtue!"
Ye Hao kept chanting in his mind.
"If I, Ye Hao, survive today, I will make him pay back a thousandfold!"
Sylvie glanced at Ye Hao's expression, knowing what the Chosen of Destiny was thinking, but he didn't care. They were destined to be mortal enemies.
Sylvie stood up, dusting off his hands, his azure eyes looking down at Ye Hao like a dead dog.
"Today, I'm in a good mood, so I'll spare your life. You want revenge, don't you? I'll be waiting."
Sylvie gave Ye Hao a meaningful smile, then called Claremont and turned to leave.
The players who had witnessed everything were left in a daze. Today's storyline had been so full of twists and turns, leaving them unable to calm down.
"So, is our protagonist actually on a grassroots rise? I always thought it was an invincible flow."
"Is it possible that it's not the protagonist being weak, but the enemies being too strong..."
"What do we do next, is our mission complete?"
"It should be... the lord didn't take away those demi-human slaves."
...
"Whuff——"
At that moment, a strange, powerful cry and the sound of wings flapping came from the sky, drawing the players' attention upwards.
They saw the Lord of Eaglehold, Sylvie, and Claremont each riding a griffin the size of a car, leisurely flying away from Morninglight Town.
They could vaguely see a sweet, charming girl nestled in the arms of the Lord of Eaglehold, Sylvie.
The players looked back at Ye Hao, lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face, and for a moment, they couldn't tell who the real protagonist was...