Rise of The Abandoned Husband

Broderick's fist crashed toward me with such force that the air itself seemed to part before it. Dark energy coiled around his arm like a venomous snake, hungry for my destruction. The raw power behind his attack sent shockwaves across Mount Qinvor, causing loose stones to tremble and spectators to gasp in collective awe.

I didn't move.

Instead, I raised my hand and caught his fist mid-strike.

The impact created a thunderous boom that echoed across the mountain, yet I remained unmoved, my feet planted firmly on the cracked stone beneath us. Broderick's dark energy crashed against my golden light, dissipating like waves against a cliff.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible..."

I held his massive fist in my hand, feeling the tremors of his failed attack ripple through his arm. "Is this truly the best the Veridia City Martial Guild has to offer?"

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Dashiell Blackthorne's shocked expression. His mouth hung open, his previous smugness replaced by undisguised fear. He had expected to witness my defeat—perhaps even my death. Instead, he was watching his world crumble as I casually negated an attack that should have obliterated me.

I released Broderick's fist and stepped back. "Try again. Put some effort into it this time."

Broderick stumbled backward, his gray skin flushing darker with rage and humiliation. "You... how did you..."

"Block your attack?" I shrugged. "It wasn't particularly difficult."

Ms. Hayward's voice cut through the stunned silence. "Broderick! Focus! Don't let him get in your head!"

Her sharp command seemed to snap Broderick back to his senses. He retreated several paces, his dark energy swirling more violently around him.

"You caught me by surprise," he growled. "It won't happen again."

Without warning, he vanished from sight—his speed so great that most spectators couldn't track his movement. But I could see him perfectly. He was circling me, preparing to strike from behind.

I didn't bother turning. When his fist came at me from behind, I simply leaned slightly to the left, letting it whistle past my ear.

"Too slow," I said.

He reappeared at my right, striking again. I sidestepped effortlessly.

"Still too slow."

What followed was a blur of motion that left the audience breathless. Broderick attacked from every angle, his fists and feet moving so rapidly they seemed to multiply. Thousands of strikes in mere seconds, each powerful enough to shatter stone, each aimed at my vital points.

I dodged them all.

Not a single blow touched me as I weaved between his attacks with minimal movement. I didn't counterattack—I simply avoided everything he threw at me, conserving my energy while he expended his.

"Stand still and fight!" Broderick roared, frustration evident in his voice.

"Why waste the effort?" I replied calmly. "Your attacks are too predictable."

His assault intensified, dark energy now forming serpentine shapes that extended his reach. Still, I avoided each strike, my movements fluid and economical.

The Man with the Mustache called out from the sidelines, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "He's making you look like an amateur, Broderick! All that special training for nothing!"

Broderick's attacks became wilder, more desperate. The precision in his movements deteriorated as rage overtook technique.

"Is this a serious fight?" I asked, genuinely disappointed. "Or are you just warming up?"

He finally halted, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down his gray skin as he glared at me with hatred. "You're just running. Afraid to face my power directly?"

I stopped moving and stood before him, arms at my sides. "If that's what you want, then strike. I won't dodge this time."

The crowd held their collective breath. Ms. Hayward's expression shifted from confidence to concern.

Broderick didn't hesitate. He channeled all his dark energy into his right fist and lunged forward with a triumphant cry. The power behind his attack was enough to split Mount Qinvor in half if it connected fully.

I stood my ground, golden light gathering in my own right fist. As his attack neared, I stepped forward and threw a single, precise punch.

Our fists collided.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then reality seemed to catch up.

Broderick's body flew backward as if shot from a cannon, his dark energy shattered by my golden light. He crashed through not one, but three small peaks on the mountain's summit before coming to rest in a crater of his own making, nearly a hundred paces away.

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the wind seemed to have stopped in shock.

"Broderick!" Ms. Hayward screamed, her composed facade cracking.

I flexed my fingers, feeling no strain whatsoever from the exchange. My golden light pulsed steadily around me, undiminished.

Clara's voice broke the silence. "Did you... kill him?"

"No," I replied, loud enough for everyone to hear. "But he'll think twice before challenging me again."

To my surprise, movement stirred in the distant crater. Broderick rose shakily to his feet, his body seemingly broken yet somehow holding together. Dark energy leaked from multiple wounds across his body, yet he still stood.

"The Body of Heaven Swallowing Python," Ms. Hayward announced proudly. "Broderick possesses the constitution that allows him to endure what would kill ordinary men."

I watched with mild interest as Broderick limped back toward the arena. His gray skin had turned almost black now, and his eyes glowed with an unnatural purple light.

"So he can take a beating," I observed. "That's not the same as being able to win."

Broderick stopped twenty paces away from me. His voice had changed, becoming deeper, more resonant. "You've forced me to reveal my true power, Knight. Few have ever witnessed this and lived."

His dark energy erupted upward in a massive column, blocking out the sun above Mount Qinvor. The ground beneath us shook violently as his power continued to grow. The very air became heavy, making it difficult for the spectators to breathe.

When the dark energy cleared, Broderick had transformed completely. His human form was gone, replaced by something monstrous. His body had elongated, his skin covered in black scales that gleamed like polished obsidian. His face retained some human features, but his jaw had extended, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

"Behold the true form of the Heaven Swallowing Python!" Ms. Hayward declared. "The apex of Military Marquis power!"

Dashiell Blackthorne had retreated further back, his face pale with terror. He had never imagined power of this magnitude existed—and he certainly never expected to see it unleashed on Mount Qinvor.

I studied Broderick's transformed state with clinical detachment. "Impressive. You've given yourself completely to the beast within you."

Broderick's laugh echoed unnaturally. "And now you die."

The air pressure around us increased tenfold as he gathered his power. Dark lightning crackled along his scaled body. His next attack would be exponentially stronger than anything he'd attempted so far.

Yet I remained unmoved, my expression calm.

"Are you not afraid?" Broderick demanded, his voice distorted by his transformation.

"Should I be?" I asked genuinely.

My lack of fear seemed to unsettle him more than any counterattack could have. He hesitated briefly before recovering his resolve.

"Your confidence will be your downfall!" he roared, the sound shaking the mountain itself.

He launched forward, his transformed body moving with impossible speed. The ground shattered beneath his feet as he accelerated toward me, his power condensed into a single devastating strike.

This was his ultimate attack—everything he had, focused into one moment.

I remained still until the last possible instant. Then, just as before, I clenched my fist and let my golden light flow through it.

As Broderick's attack met mine, I heard Clara gasp from the sidelines. The Man with the Mustache had covered his eyes, unable to watch what he thought would be my destruction.

But I knew better.

Our energies collided with catastrophic force. For a brief moment, darkness and light battled for dominance, creating a swirling vortex of power at the point of impact.

Then, just as before, Broderick's massive form went flying backward, this time with even greater force than the first blow. His dark energy scattered like ash in the wind as he disappeared beyond the horizon, his body creating a destructive path through several more peaks before vanishing from sight.

I lowered my fist slowly, golden light still dancing across my skin.

Ms. Hayward stood frozen in disbelief, her face drained of color. The guild elders behind her exchanged alarmed glances, their previous confidence evaporated.

"Impossible," she whispered. "No one could defeat the Heaven Swallowing Python form. No one."

I turned to face her directly. "You put too much faith in legends, Ms. Hayward. Legends fall every day."

The crowd remained silent, too shocked to even whisper among themselves. What they had witnessed defied everything they believed about power and hierarchy in their world.

I walked calmly toward Clara and the Man with the Mustache. "It's time to go."

Clara's eyes were wide with wonder. "You didn't even try hard."

"No," I admitted quietly. "I didn't."

The Man with the Mustache looked at me with new respect and perhaps a touch of fear. "You've been holding back all this time, haven't you? Even with me."

I didn't answer his question directly. Instead, I looked back at the stunned faces of the guild representatives. "Tell Dominic his plan failed. And tell him I'm coming for him next."

As we descended Mount Qinvor, I felt Dashiell Blackthorne's eyes on my back. His hatred had transformed into something else now—a terrible realization that he had grossly underestimated me, and that his fate was sealed the moment he chose to stand against me.

I didn't look back. There was no need. The message had been delivered with crystal clarity.

The Veridia City Martial Guild's champion had fallen. And soon, the rest would follow.