novelraw Chapter 63: EMBER BORN
Chapter 63: EMBER BORN
Silas looked at his new opponent with a smile.
After he one shotted his opponent at the gold rank, he was finally at platinum rank, against a Marshal rank cultivator.
[Name: Miles]
[Current rank: Platinum (99)]
Before Silas could finish reading the status, a sharp tip was suddenly in his face, glistening under the artificial sunlight of the battle arena.
Silas moved on pure instinct, his head tilting away at the last second.
Miles did not waste time. He withdrew his rapier, piercing towards Silas’s rib in the same motion.
Silas reacted instantly, ducking beneath the attack.
The trajectory of the blade changed mid strike, piercing downwards as if it were locked onto Silas.
Silas rolled away at the last second, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The rapier pierced into the earth beneath, caving deeply into it.
Silas stood up, his katana appearing within his palm.
He took a deeper look at Miles.
Miles stood calmly, rapier still deeply pierced into the earth.
His jet black hair flowed gently behind him, and his black eyes were locked onto Silas.
Without a word, Silas darted forward, his body a streak of blue.
Miles raised his rapier vertically, blocking Silas’s slash with ease.
The shockwave from the attack rippled through the colosseum, but it was not enough to cause any destruction.
Silas, unrelenting, drove his leg forward towards Miles’s head.
Miles sidestepped, avoiding the attack with calm movements.
He lunged, his rapier cutting through the air as a thin sheen of aether pulsed along its edges.
Silas reciprocated with equal ferocity, his katana slashing towards the rapier.
A loud metallic chime rang through the arena, drawing a ripple of gasps from the crowd.
Both fighters were pushed back a step from the force of the impact.
Silas regained his footing first, driving a slash downward toward Miles’s shoulder.
Miles parried with a flick of his wrist, the rapier redirecting the katana cleanly to the side, and countered with a thrust toward Silas’s throat in the same motion.
Silas leaned back, the tip grazing the air in front of his neck.
Miles did not stop there. He flowed into a second thrust, then a third, each one faster than the last. The rapier moved in tight, precise lines that left no room to breathe.
Silas read Miles’s movements calmly, noting any change.
His body began to adapt to the strikes, blocking them.
Miles pierced forward toward Silas’s jaw, but Silas sidestepped, brushing the rapier to the side.
Before Miles could regain his balance, Silas stepped forward, driving his elbow into Miles’s head.
The strike connected, sending Miles flying a few meters away.
Before he could go far, Silas yanked the rapier from his hand.
Miles fell to the floor, his nose broken and blood gushing uncontrollably from it.
He felt no pain, but the terror was there, the fear he felt facing Silas once again.
Although it was only one successful attack, the power and precision behind it were far too high.
Silas did not waste the opportunity. He dove in for the final blow.
His katana arced downward toward Miles’s neck.
The last thing Miles saw was blood splattering.
Another victory. Silas won again, flawlessly.
The spectators witnessed the scene, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Wow, he won again," one of them said with surprise.
Although Silas had won the last two rounds easily, they did not expect him to win this one.
After all, the gap between Platinum (99) and Gold (99) was significant.
While they marvelled, the next opponent appeared.
[Name: Lain]
[Current rank: Diamond (99)]
It was a burly man, with crimson hair that cascaded down his back and crimson eyes.
Red crystalline sheens were visible beneath his skin.
Strapped to his back was a red greatsword.
Silas looked on for a while before he whistled.
"A human subspecies, the Ember Born no less," he said.
This was one of the top hundred human subspecies in terms of overall potential.
But when it came to pure strength, it often ranked in the top ten.
"Hey, enough staring, let’s fight," the guy called out, visibly irritated at Silas’s scrutiny.
Silas smiled gently as he nodded at the guy.
He got into stance, his body dipping low.
He was sure this battle was going to be far more difficult than the previous ones.
Lain looked at Silas and drew his greatsword.
His frame pulsed as aether visibly erupted from him.
His aether was unlike anything Silas had seen before. Instead of the normal blue, this was red.
And not just the color was different. He could feel it from where he stood, the searing heat emanating from the aether.
"Is this the special trait of Ember Borns?" Silas wondered aloud.
He did not get the chance to get an answer though. Lain burst forward, the earth beneath him cracking into shards that repaired themselves instantly.
Each step made the earth shake like an earthquake.
In a blink, he reached Silas, his right foot stomping forward to destabilize him.
Silas saw through the trick.
His body shot upwards, avoiding the area entirely.
He pivoted mid air, narrowly dodging Lain’s slash towards his head.
Silas landed softly, a few feet away from Lain, who just looked at him with a burning gaze.
Silas smiled.
He took the initiative this time, his body blurring towards Lain like a bullet.
His sword arced forward towards Lain’s neck, then he thrust towards the heart.
Lain’s head jerked backward, avoiding the slash with ease.
He received the thrust with the flat of his blade.
He did not so much as twitch as the katana rang against his sword.
Silas’s eyes were locked calmly onto Lain’s.
Lain’s face contorted in anger as he saw Silas’s cocky eyes.
"You," he roared.
But Silas only smiled as he put more strength into pushing his katana forward.
Then, behind him, a sword made entirely of aether began to form.
Lain looked up at the sword, but it was already too late. It shot downward towards his glabella.