Dario Bragg’s voice thundered like rolling storms, echoing across the heavens and earth.
“Lord Valerian Nox isn’t coming, is he?”
“Could be. He killed the Shadow Brothers, and Dario Bragg, in his rage, flattened a small mountain. Maybe he’s scared!”
“But he accepted the challenge, didn’t he? It’s not even noon yet. Let’s wait and see!”
The crowd buzzed with speculation, offering all kinds of theories.
Vicente Clark chuckled. “I doubt Lord Valerian Nox will show up.”
He had two guesses. The first: after killing the Shadow Brothers on Jade Dragon Mountain, Lord Valerian Nox pretended to accept the challenge to buy time and delay Dario Bragg’s arrival in Niarak.
The second: he came to Pelens but fled upon witnessing Dario Bragg’s godlike power.
“Really? That’d be so dull. And we were just praising him earlier.” Ryland Ambrose muttered, clearly disappointed.
Carter Hillridge and the others started whispering among themselves, their faces mirroring their dismay.
But Layla felt a strange surge of excitement.
Better if he didn’t come.
Running away wasn’t cowardice-it was wisdom.
Lord Valerian Nox, I believe in five years, you’ll have the strength to face Dario Bragg head-on!
Zion Watson, who was overseeing a crowd of a hundred thousand spectators, picked up his radio.
“Have you seen anyone claiming to be Lord Valerian Nox?”
“Negative!”
“No sign of him!”
“Nothing!”
“…”
“Useless! Lord Valerian Nox, you coward!” Karlis Wallace roared in frustration.
On the far side of the river, Flynn frowned as he watched the commotion caused by Dario Bragg.
Do people really need to make such a spectacle?
Climbing a mountain with such fanfare-did he think it was cool?
“Dario Bragg is calling you out. Are you going to face him, or will you be a coward?” Lilia sneered, noticing Flynn’s furrowed brow.
Even from across the river, Dario Bragg’s terrifying aura was palpable. His feet thundered against the ground, sending shockwaves skyward and reducing thirty meters of Swordgate Peak’s summit to rubble.
He was a hundred times stronger than Jack Jenkins.
Thirty times stronger than Tokugawa.
Flynn had come here because he’d doubted the exaggerated rumors about Dario Bragg.
But now? He was panicking.
Rose and Molly shared the same thought. Seeing was believing-Dario Bragg’s strength was godlike.
Flynn might’ve underestimated his opponent, which explained his earlier confidence.
“Boss, maybe we should…” Molly began, but Flynn interrupted her with a grin at Lilia.
“Remember what you said earlier?”
“What did I say?” Lilia was momentarily stunned before she scowled. “If you win, I’ll willingly be your slave.”
“Too bad that’s just a dream. I’ll be waiting to pick up your corpse!”
Flynn shook his head with a laugh and turned to Rose. “See? A little encouragement goes a long way.”
Rose and Molly rolled their eyes in unison.
This guy’s too carefree! Shouldn’t he take this seriously if he’s going to fight?
“How much for that raft?” Flynn pointed to a small bamboo raft docked at the riverbank.
Rose looked at him suspiciously. “It’s handmade with bamboo, so it’s worth maybe a thousand dollars. Why? Are you planning to use it to cross…”
“Pay for it!” Flynn stepped forward, covering twenty meters in one stride, and landed steadily on the raft.
As the raft wobbled slightly on the water, Flynn pressed one hand down against the river.
And then, something astonishing happened.
“Boom!”
The raft accelerated like it was powered by a five-hundred-horsepower engine, shooting forward like an arrow and heading straight for Swordgate Peak!
The river churned violently along both sides of the raft, creating massive waves that roared like wild beasts.
“What the-!”
The crowd on Carter Hillridge turned toward the commotion on the river.
On the previously calm surface, a lone figure stood tall on the simple raft.
He stood motionless, hands behind his back, exuding an aura of defiance as the raft sped toward the mountain.
He seemed to merge with the heavens and earth, his presence towering and unshakable.
“It’s him! It must be Lord Valerian Nox!”
“He’s here! He’s answering the challenge!”
“So he was on the opposite bank the whole time, using his internal energy to power the raft! Incredible! Absolutely incredible!”
All eyes on Carter Hillridge turned toward the river.
While Greater Sovereign-level warriors could theoretically pull off such a feat, Lord Valerian Nox’s speed was unparalleled.
It was almost teleportation.
At such a velocity, the raft should’ve been airborne, yet under Lord Valerian Nox’s control, it remained as steady as solid ground.
This required immense mastery of internal energy.
Vicente Clark couldn’t even dream of doing this.
“Where’s the telescope? Quick, get it!” Ryland Ambrose snatched the telescope from Wayne and scanned the river.
And then, something even more breathtaking happened.
The river was three kilometers wide, yet Flynn crossed the halfway point in mere seconds.
With a powerful kick, he launched himself into the air like an arrow, soaring upward.
“Boom!”
The bamboo raft shattered into splinters, and a massive water column erupted skyward, creating a majestic curtain of water.
It reached a height of over a hundred meters, surging toward both riverbanks like a tidal wave.
The crashing waves roared like a tsunami, sending violent ripples through the crowd.
“Boom!”
Flynn’s figure tore through the air, ascending against all odds. He appeared as small as a shooting star piercing the heavens, heading straight for the summit of Swordgate Peak.
“My god! Is Lord Valerian Nox defying the heavens? This is unbelievable!”
“Yeah, his speed rivals Dario Bragg’s. How is this possible?”
“Incredible! Absolutely incredible!”
As the crowd marveled, a deafening thunderclap echoed from the mountaintop.
“Boom!”
Flynn landed heavily on the summit, causing Swordgate Peak to tremble violently. A vast shockwave rippled outward.
The scene was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Lord Valerian Nox had leapt from the river and, like Dario Bragg, reached the summit in a single bound.
“Is he really just at the Greater Sovereign beginner level?”
“Lord Valerian Nox can’t be stronger than Dario Bragg. After all, Dario Bragg flattened the peak with a single step!”
“True. But even so, this is impressive. The upcoming fight will be incredible. Lord Valerian Nox should be able to last three moves!”
The spectators debated among themselves, their assessments based on the damage Flynn had caused to the summit. Most believed he was slightly weaker than Dario Bragg.
After all, challengers usually unleashed their full strength to intimidate their opponents. Holding back was unheard of.
But they had no idea what Flynn was thinking.
He was holding back on purpose, fearing he’d shatter Dario Bragg entirely.
After Lilia’s earlier taunts, he felt like toying with his opponent. Wasn’t Dario Bragg her hope?
Then Flynn would crush him bit by bit.
He had plenty of ways to torment an opponent.
On the far bank, Lilia trembled as she watched Flynn standing tall on the summit, like a god descending to earth.
Is this the same carefree, unserious man I knew?
He looked like a divine being.
Rose smiled and nodded. “As expected, a serious man is the most handsome.”
Molly murmured, “I take back what I said in Pelens. When Master gets serious, he’s not even human!”
“Regret. I regret it so much! I should’ve insisted Master wear that white robe. Harriet was right-it would’ve looked amazing…”