"Forget it. I was just repaying your kindness earlier. Since you don't want to, forget it." Ralph shook his head pretentiously, giving them a you'll-regret-it-one-day look. Dustin and Maximus exchanged amused glances silently. "Let's go. Since we've run into each other, I might as well escort you two up in case there's danger again," Ralph said, walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back. "You guys are lucky to be able to walk with my grandpa!" With a humph, Abby glared at them and hurried after Ralph. Dustin smiled and followed behind them without protest. After all, there was only one way up the mountain. Moving at a brisk pace, the group soon made it to the top. At the center of the hilltop was a platform, which was where Dustin and Tatum's fight was supposed to take place. Many people had already gathered around the platform, most of them martial artists, making things much livelier. "Mr. Dunn? Nice to meet you." "I've heard so much about you, Mr. Dunn. It's
Abby humphed. "Stop pretending when you don't know anything." She rolled her eyes. "We'll know who's better soon enough!" "Even if Dustin doesn't win against Tatum, he's still a rare genius, so we should still respect him," the man from earlier said. "You're right. Just getting Tatum to challenge him to a duel is a feat of its own. Otherwise, Boulderthorn wouldn't have wasted so much energy on this." "I heard that he's only around twenty. It's extremely rare to see someone that age reach divinity. He's practically a genius!" "Even if he doesn't win against Tatum, it will be an honorable defeat." Everyone began to chip in their opinions. Although they were sure Dustin would lose to Tatum, they still acknowledged the former's talents and skills. "I heard that Dustin doesn't have a guild and is self-taught. He's bound to shine if he enters Ironshade!" one said. Another chuckled. "Ironshade only has around a hundred disciples. A talent like him would be wasted there." Someo
"Brody!" The crowd jumped in shock and anger when Brody was sent flying by Maximus' punch. Never had they imagined Maximus to wield such power after his core was destroyed. "H-how dare you hit me?" Brody said spitefully, pressing against his chest, which was throbbing with excruciating pain. The audacity of someone excommunicated, a good-for-nothing to lay a finger on him! "So what? You should thank the heavens that I didn't take your life." Maximus went up and took the hand of the lady in white. He soothed her affectionately, "Caitlyn, don't you worry. I won't let anyone bully you when I'm around. I'll protect you even if I have to risk my life!" "M-Max, what are you doing?" Her expression fell as she slowly stumbled away from him. "Caitlyn, I know you've been through a lot. I'll be good to you. Let's run away, shall we? We can leave Balerno for a place where no one knows us. How does that sound?" He looked at her with anticipation. Although he was no match for Luther, he coul
The sword clanked as it moved. Right when it was about to cut Maximus' neck, a hand reached out and caught it. "Hm?" Brody lifted his gaze, and his eyes immediately shook in fear. "I-it's you!" He had been too focused on Maximus to notice the legend standing behind the man. "Is it worth grieving over a woman who doesn't deserve it?" Dustin ignored Brody and stared straight at Maximus. "If what you want is death, I can grant your wish. I shall forget ever having saved a useless thing as you. But, if you have any bit of ego left in you, as a man, you should stand up straight. You don't look a bit like a swordsman right now, even though you once said you wanted to be the best swordsman in the world! Wake up!" Then, he gave Maximus a hard slap, sending the latter trembling from the impact. He seemed to have slapped some sense into Maximus, whose eyes had a new sparkle in them. He noticed Brody's mean and murderous look, and he took in the look of disgust in Caitlyn's eyes. Finally, h
"Beat me?" Luther was first taken aback by the outrageous idea, followed by a series of explosive laughter. The other Boulderthorn disciples joined in and laughed at Dustin and Maximus as though the two were fools. Maximus might have been a formidable mentor for many of the disciples, but he was nowhere close to Luther's level. "Oh, you little jerk. Do you even know what you're talking about?" Scowling, Luther challenged them, "I was the one who taught everything to that traitor. Even at his peak, he was no match for me! Are you asking him to fight me with a destroyed core after he's lost all his prowess? And does he have the guts to do so?" "Right! A trash like him doesn't deserve the honor of fighting Dad!" Oliver, Brody, and the other disciples scorned at the same time. Unfazed, Dustin challenged back, "We'll know after the battle. The most important question is—are you brave enough to take on the challenge?" "I have nothing to be scared of." Luther sneered. "If that little
"Bear witness for me—after I kicked this traitor out, he felt vindicated and returned to challenge me. Since the official battle hasn't kicked off, I shall do some warmups to entertain you all." Luther's booming voice instantly attracted everyone's attention. He was keen to set up a precedent to deter any future traitors and rebuild his reputation! "Hey! Why is your friend up there in the ring?" Ralph, Abby, and the others came up to Dustin with curious and odd expressions. "He's getting some personal grudge out of the way," Dustin offered a curt answer. "Personal grudge?" Abby was a little doubtful. "Do you know who that other guy on the platform is? He's Mr. Williams from Boulderthorn! Well, of course, he's not as great as Tatum, but he's decent! He's at the same level as Grandpa!" "And?" Dustin was unimpressed. "How can your friend fight off Mr. Williams with his subpar skills? He'll be crushed and humiliated!" Abby shook her head. Ralph nodded. "That's right. I'd advise
"Luther Williams, you have gotten slower in sword fighting," Maximus casually commented. "No! That's impossible! How did you manage to strike me? It must have been dumb luck!" Feeling indignant, Luther turned around and launched his attacks again, even though he was injured. This time, he did not hold back and put in his 100%, evident from his frenzied and merciless attacks that were hard to dodge. During the ninth move, he switched it up and aimed his blade at Maximus' throat with the intent to kill. However, Maximus didn't shun the attack and instead slashed Luther in the abdomen with greater speed and accuracy. Luther stumbled backward, aghast. He would have been gutted had Maximus' sword slashed upward. "What's going on? Where did that punk learn the trick from?" He pressed against his bleeding abdomen in shock. He could not wrap his mind around how Maximus had recovered from the grave injury with significant improvements to his skills all within a few days. "Luther William
"Don't ever show up in front of me!" Maximus kicked Luther aside and proceeded to leave."Got it …" Luther put on a fake smile. When Maximus turned his back against Luther, the man had a gleam in his eyes as he picked up the sword on the floor and plunged it into Maximus' body. "Look out!" Dustin yelled, and Maximus jumped aside at the final moment. Although Maximus wasn't critically wounded from the stabbing, the sword left a long, gaping wound that oozed blood on his waist. Luther was taken aback when he realized that his ambush failed. Then, he threw the sword away and frantically pleaded, "Max! I'm wrong! I'm definitely in the wrong! I was blinded for a moment just now. Please don't take it to heart!" "You stubborn old donkey!" Fuming, Maximus took out his sword and attempted to slash Luther, this time showing no mercy at all. "Stop!" a thunderous roar sounded out of the blue. Next, a majestic figure descended from the air and shielded Luther. The man, in his thirties, g