Novel Lived
Chapter 505 A Bigger Threat
505 A Bigger Threat
"How is everything?"
"The groundwork has been laid out perfectly. All we need to do is wait for the finale."
"Good."
While the coliseum was roaring to the matches of the fighters, a rather suspicious conversation was being held in a private building in the Imperial Capital. In the middle of the day, there were two men in a room. One was standing and facing the window, watching the people on the streets from the second floor of the building, while the other one was leaning his back on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. "The weapons have been handed out to our men, and they have been in position, ready to execute any orders from you."
"Don't get too excited, Morris. The grand finals is tomorrow." The man by the window turned around and faced the other man named Morris. "Just make sure you will succeed in your mission. Your seat in the group would be secured by doing so. However, the boss cannot accept any failure. I am only here to supervise, so don't expect my assistance."
"I fully understand, Lord Laurus."
Morris, whose last name was Aethel, was actually the younger brother of the current head of the Aethel Archduchy, and he was in conspiracy with someone named Laurus. Morris was a man in his forties with naturally gray hair that was fixed in a slick-backed style. His sharp blue gaze was complementing his stylish and gaudy outfit, which signified his greed for wealth and power. On the other hand, Laurus had an appearance that was different from that of a human. Laurus had horns growing out of his temples, long blonde hair, and a pair of ruby eyes with slit irises. Unlike Morris, Laurus simply fashioned himself with a long-sleeved polo, black trousers, and leather shoes. He was more like the lower-ranking here from the perspective of anyone who did not know the context.
The Aethel family had been cooperating with the group Laurus belonged to for a while, as their goals were aligned to a certain extent. While Morris was tasked by his brother to handle things out, he had his own ambitions in his head and secretly started his own agenda. "Lord Laurus, you were sent here in place of Lady Melville, yes? Did something happen to her?"
"It's none of your business. In addition, I don't remember giving you permission to talk back."
"I-I very sorry, my lord..."
Intimidated by his death stare, Morris put his glass down and lowered his head to Laurus to profusely excuse his behaviors. Actually, Laurus was one of the children of the leader of their group, which meant that he was the brother of Melville that Morris was talking about. In fact, Laurus had no idea what happened to her. (Father said that Melville fought someone powerful in the Vagoth Forest. Unfortunately, he suddenly lost connection to her and did not see how the fight ended. All we could assume was that she was either captured or killed.)
His father did not say any more details about Melville's fate. Despite being siblings, Laura was not so close with Melville and so with his other siblings. But Melville's disappearance still concerned him because she had failed to fulfill her tasks, which affected their father's plans and ambitions. He was also afraid that she might have snitched them out. (Damn, you bitch. You really left your mess to me.)
Without Melville's presence, Laurus was tasked by his father to handle the things she left behind. But then, his father reminded him that he could take the matters with the Aethel Archduchy easily and abandon it when things went south. For some reason, their father suddenly changed a bit of their plans and told them to exert less effort on the Northern Continent for now. Apparently, their father sensed a bigger threat somewhere, and he wanted to focus their resources on it. (Whatever or whoever Father sensed, it was probably a lot more dangerous than someone Melville encountered and needed immediate action. For now, let's see if these fools could pull off the finale tomorrow.)
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"Rock Splitter!"
In the arena, Prince Edward raised his longsword overhead and brought down a Level 7 Sword Art technique on his opponent at an incredible speed. The sword was filled with an enormous amount of fighting spirit, which made it capable of crushing even large boulders, hence the name. However, Edward's very first opponent of the entire tournament was someone around Level 300 who was specialized in speed. However, he could barely catch the prince's movements, and he just miraculously avoided getting hit. Prince Edward's base level was around Level 200. Being only a student, Edward did not have a chance to win against his opponent, normally. However, he was equipped with armor that reportedly increased his levels by five hundred. The artifact that Francis gave him was actually a legendary-grade gear, though it was not certain if it was crafted or looted from a dungeon. Edward was still wondering how the Aethel Archduchy got its hands on this thing, but he did not mind it for now as he needed it to win the competition.
Overall, Edward was the most powerful in the tournament, statistically. But Edward only gained levels, not skills or additional battle experience. He was still moved like he always was, but faster and more powerfully. "Power Swing!"
After hitting the floor, Edward raised his sword and immediately swung it horizontally toward his opponent. His enhanced stats greatly improved his speed, so his opponent could not react to it, but he had a way to reflexively block the blade with his two daggers. "Ugh—?!"
The momentum of the blade was incredibly powerful, and the agile man was knocked back by a few meters. In addition, the power of the Level 3 Sword Art technique was enough to break the daggers into pieces. Shortly after that attack, Edward bent his knees before rushing himself toward his opponent. He thrust his blade and uttered the name of a Level 4 technique. "Impaler!"
The man's body was still recovering from using strength to block the last attack, so he could not move his body well. The prince moved so fast, and he knew he could not do anything about it. Splat. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The blade penetrated his light armor and flesh and pierced through the back. A few seconds later, Edward pulled out his blade, and then the Resurrection Bracelet triggered. After that, Edward was declared the winner.