Legacy of the Dark Sage

In last night's banquet, Kyran's interest was piqued by the Earth Dragon Tribe more than the others. One reason for this was their massive frame and solid aura. After the banquet concluded and almost all the young talents requested a spar against him, he looked forward to crossing hands with the Earth Dragon Tribe's young talent.

He did not expect his wish to be granted as soon as he appeared in the arena.

That was fine with Kyran because he wanted to fight their young talent while both were in their peak states. Otherwise, he would not be able to determine whether his attack was effective against the Higher Realm's combat mage standards.

The Earth Dragon Tribe's young talent stood before Kyran as imposingly as he had seen at last night's banquet. Actually, he looked even more imposing now that they were facing each other.

Kyran was tall, and his body grew a lot from all the battles he experienced. Moreover, when he consumed the Elixir, his body was externally and internally enhanced. However, in front of Ambros, Kyran looked small and thin— like a kid facing an adult.

Ambros's calm demeanor was a stark contrast to the tension in the arena. He stood his ground, not moving an inch, and issued a simple command to Kyran, 'Bring out your weapon. I'll wait until then.'

"..."

Kyran knew all the young talents would underestimate him, even after Aillos subtly forewarned his prowess in last night's banquet. He was prepared to be looked down on and planned to respond by showing them he was no pushover through his performance. Nevertheless, that did not mean he would not feel insulted.

In the end, he reigned in his annoyance and repeatedly recalled his grandfather's advice that if needed, he just had to lose the battle to win the war, like a sacred mantra. Doing so helped calm him down— although his annoyance was not really obvious.

"There is no need," Kyran replied calmly before assuming a hand-to-hand combat stance. "I'll fight with my fist."

Ambros's brow furrowed slightly. But he did not seem to be offended by Kyran's action.

The audience did not share his sentiment, though. They felt Kyran's choice to use his fist against Ambros was an act of looking down on them.

He was just a human from the Lower Realm, yet he dared act as if his fists were enough to fight against one of the most promising talents of the Earth Dragon Tribe. What did his action mean if not looking down on them?

"Whatever floats your boat," Ambros replied after a short pause. He then looked toward Eissen, who was waiting for them to finish their preparation.

"We're good."

"Start the first spar match."

Eissen declared without even checking if Kyran consented to Ambros's words.

As soon as Eissen started the match, Ambros turned his attention back to Kyran.

But.

Ambros's eyes widened in surprise as Kyran appeared to his side in the blink of an eye. He did not even sense the latter made any prior movement and just appeared at his side.

BAM!

Kyran's fist slammed right onto Amrbos's exposed torso.

However.

"Ngh..!" Kyran gritted his teeth as he felt the bones on his fist tremble at the aftershock of hitting Ambros's torso.

He was shocked at how solid it felt, like hitting the most sturdy metal in both realms.

"Your hand did not break. That is impressive."

Kyran did not even get the chance to look at Ambros because he sensed an incoming danger. He immediately jumped out of the way, and it was just in time before Ambros's huge fist landed on the spot where he had just been.

Boom!

The arena, which boasts of its indestructibility, was instantly reduced to rubble.

Kyran, still in midair, used his hands and feet to swat away the rubbles flying in his direction.

Amidst the smoke that came after the destruction of the arena, Ambros's massive frame appeared, and he sprang upward at a speed impossible for someone with an enormous body to possess. Explore more adventures at empire

Kyran sensed Ambros's approach and immediately grabbed a rubble of a decent size that barely flew to his side. He threw it in the direction where he expected the latter to come.

"Humph."

Ambros harumphed at Kyran's seemingly useless attempt to stop his ascent and swat the rubble thrown at him. The rubble did nothing to stop his movement, and it was crushed to dust.

He waved his hand, pushed away the dust, and continued toward Kyran.

"Hm?"

Ambros frowned as he realized the spot where Kyran had been was now empty. He was slightly surprised because he did not hear the latter changing direction or landing on the ground. Utilizing his naturally enhanced senses, he tried to locate Kyran's position. But no matter what he did, he could not find his trace.

'Hm?'

A subtle movement, too hard to detect if one did not possess a dragon's natural senses, appeared just above his head. Without looking up, he stepped on rubble still in midair and changed the center of his body's gravity.

Ambros twisted his body while sending his feet upward for a midair drop kick.

"...kh!"

Kyran barely changed his balled fist into a grabbing position to stop Ambros's incoming kick. He did not underestimate the latter's flexibility, given how he could also move at such an unbelievable speed with his massive frame. However, he was still taken aback because it all happened while they were in midair.

With Ambros's body weight, it should have been impossible for him to use the flying rubbles around them as leverage to change his motion. But he did it with such ease it felt as if he was so used to fighting using a human body.

Kyran stopped Ambros's kick by grabbing his shin. He then used that moment to raise his body and somersault backward.

Ambros frowned at Kyran's agile movement. He was pretty agile, too, but they were still different because the latter had a smaller frame. Moreover, it was not hard for Kyran to use the rubbles around them to move around.

While Ambros managed to do that, he only succeeded because the nearby rubble was big enough to support his weight. He also made use of his innate magic to ensure that he would not destroy the rubble in case it could not support him.

Kyran used the rubbles around them to gain some distance from Ambros. Frankly, he felt aggrieved that the latter destroyed the arena at the very start of the match. But now, he was relieved because the scattered rubble that had yet to drop to the ground helped him gain some distance from Ambros.

Meanwhile, Ambros was a little annoyed because he had to swat those rubbles as he followed Kyran. The most annoying part was whenever he swatted them, even if he controlled his strength, they would turn to dust and add to the cloud of dust that had yet to disappear around them.

'As much as I want to test him more, I can't allow the other tribes to think our tribe can't even detain such a small human,' he thought while keeping his eye on Kyran. He did not want to lose sight of the latter again because he realized he was skilled in hiding his presence.

Ambros's understanding of Kyran's skills was reasonable because he did not know the latter had Shaiha's concealment ability. Although Kyran was controlling it now by lowering its effect, Shaiha's concealment was still powerful. If not, The Emperor would have found her long ago.

Resolving not to drag the match, Ambros finally used his magic.

The ground beneath trembled as the earth sprang up like spikes that went after Kyran.

Kyran, seeing the earth spikes from below, carefully circulated his Draconic magic to enhance his body's defenses further. He then kicked off the spikes, destroying them like they were no threat to him at all.

However, the spikes were just Ambros's way to keep Kyran occupied. The real move he was preparing was the rubble that was around them.

Utilizing his proficiency in manipulating Earth or any element that could be considered to have Earth's composition, the rubbles fell on the ground or, still in midair, gathered toward Kyran.

Kyran realized the magic fluctuation around him and noticed the rubbles' movement. He immediately realized that Ambros was planning on crushing him by using all those rubbles.

Ambros landed on the ground with a loud thud, and without giving Kyran a chance to adjust to the situation, he manipulated all the rubble and imprisoned the latter inside.

Since they were only doing a sparring match, Ambros only planned on slightly injuring Kyran. But before that, he wanted the latter to show some of his cards. That was why he decided to use the rubble and imprison him. If Kyran had some hidden ability or move, he could easily break free from the rubbles' imprisonment, but if not, he would end up injured.

Unfortunately, there was a reason Kyran could only use his Draconic magic to enhance his body. He was still affected by Coelus's magic energy and could not fully utilize his magic. That was not the case with his Void magic, though.

Cyneah had already fixed the damage he received when True Void forcefully used the Void Core's magic by using his connection with him during the events in the Blade Dancer Plane.

However, Kyran did not want to reveal his Void magic. At least, not yet. They barely started with the spar matches. If it was revealed that he was also the Void Master, the other dragon tribes might refuse to spar with him!

Luckily, no one could read Kyran's mind and guess he had such a reason for not using Void magic. If they did, their impression of him would have a drastic change.