Chapter 328: To The Capital City!

Both choices had their pros and cons. But for Uhtred, the deciding factor really came down to which choice he would regret passing up the most. And from that angle, the answer was simple...

Losing the opportunity to plunder the resources of an entire solar system, all to himself, would gnaw at him far more than missing out on two powerful spells would.

Not to mention, Awakened Otis had referred to solar systems in the plural — which meant there could be two, three, or even more solar systems. Uhtred would only find out when he assimilated the shard.

Naturally, that also meant there were enough solar systems to split with Elion Silverwood if it came to it...

But why split at all when there’s a chance to secure everything outright? Uhtred thought. The fucker’s not even interested in the potential inheritance and treasures... I’d rather have that location known only to me than risk this guy knowing it too.

It was a significant factor to consider. Since Elion Silverwood had claimed he wasn’t interested, who knew what the elf could decide to do with his shard later down the line.

Of course, Elion would most definitely honor his promise to Awakened Otis. He would head to the location in the shard, for sure — if only to check whether Awakened Otis’ kin were still alive. But since the resources supposedly held little value to him, he could simply decide to give the plundering opportunity to someone else.

As a matter of fact, he could give it to a group of people and he wouldn’t be in the wrong. There was no rule prohibiting that — it was his shard after all...

The possibility of that... the mere fact that Elion could do whatever he wanted with their shared loot, left Uhtred unwilling to pass up this chance.

Still, though, all of this hinged on the chance that Awakened Otis’ kin were no longer alive. It was sadistic in a way — Awakened Otis hoped his kin were still alive, but Uhtred and Elion were speaking of them as if they were already dead.

If Uhtred arrived there to meet a thriving clan, then having sole ownership of the shards would be moot. That was the risk with this choice.

But even at that, there’s no way I’m passing up on this choice. These are solar systems’ worth of resources for fuck’s sake! Uhtred thought. Even owning a Zone 1 territory and controlling a mere regional dungeon back on Earth was enough to make him one of the richest people on the planet. And that was just a small section on Earth alone...

These, on the other hand, were whole solar systems!

It was a no-brainer.

"You’re clever, Elion," Uhtred chuckled, stopping suddenly. He turned and looked at the elf, who had a calm look on his face, almost like he’d been sure Uhtred would give in.

"I accept your offer," Uhtred said, stretching his hand forward to receive the shard and close the deal. Elion Silverwood smiled and brought out his shard from his spatial storage — a spatial storage that was clearly different from the regular System-given versions in how it worked.

Uhtred noticed that, realizing it was likely a gift from Elion’s Sponsor. He made a mental note to ask about it later.

"Come on, what’s the hold-up?" Uhtred raised a brow, his hand still outstretched. Elion had brought out the shard, but he withheld it, staring at Uhtred pointedly.

"If I give you this, our deal is complete and I get my duel?" he asked, his gaze narrowing.

Uhtred let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes. With this exchange, our deal is complete and you’ll get your duel."

"Hmph." Slowly, almost unwillingly, Elion gave the shard to Uhtred. For all his prideful talk, it was clear he still recognized he was giving up something of great value. But at the same time, it simply went to show how far he was willing to go to rid himself of the scar Uhtred had left in his mind from their previous fight.

With the deal complete, Uhtred secured the shard in his spatial storage and nodded before turning and walking away.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" Elion roared immediately, his aura flaring. "You dare to renege on our deal?! You damned human! I should have known better than to trust a lesser!"

He began conjuring his stellar bow, intent on striking Uhtred down where he stood.

Meanwhile, Uhtred simply turned back, confused. "What? What do you mean ’renege on our deal’? Our deal is still on!"

"Don’t take me for a fool, human! I paid a heavy price for a duel, you will not deny me of it! Ready yourself! Our duel begins now!"

"Says who?!" Uhtred roared back. "Surely not our deal! We only agreed to have a duel, but you never specified when!"

Elion’s eyes twitched violently. "You dare to play smart with me, human?! My meaning was clear! I give you the shard and you give me my duel!"

"Then you should have been clear in your meaning! How was I to know if you didn’t specify your intent?" Uhtred scoffed. "We’ve just battled against a beast wave the whole night, my body aches and I’m not in top shape, why would I expect a duel immediately?"

Elion Silverwood trembled in anger — perhaps this was just the nature of elves; despite their pride, they were very forthright.

Elion’s expression made Uhtred feel a little bit guilty, but this was something he needed to do. There was no way he was taking on Elion Silverwood in his current state. If he was going to face the elf in a duel, he would have to be in prime shape — possibly with a better understanding of his spells, too.

His previous win had been due to the element of surprise and proper timing. Elion wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. The elf wouldn’t let him get close at all. Even with Slipstream Stride as an advantage, Elion could likely just douse his immediate area with concentrated radiation as a counter — something Uhtred still couldn’t defend against.

"You mean for me to follow you around like a dog until you give me my duel, is that it?!" Elion seethed. He charged at Uhtred, swinging his bow like a weapon to smash Uhtred’s face in, but at the last moment, he stopped.

The air, shockwave, and passive radiation of his stellar bow construct stirred up a cloud of dust, whipping Uhtred’s face with a heavy gust.

Uhtred stayed still, not even moving an inch. He met Elion’s gaze head-on. "I’m a man of my word. I will give you your duel, elf. Now, whether you want to follow me around for it or not is up to you. But before we leave this Floor, I assure you we will have our duel."

Elion stared at Uhtred with a furious gaze before finally withdrawing his construct and grunting.

He said nothing more and simply began walking ahead of Uhtred.

Uhtred raised a brow, a small smile on his face. "Well, I guess following me it is."

"—For now," Elion added with a grunt from the front. "I will follow you until I meet my mate."

"The Ra’Elis girl?" Uhtred frowned.

"Watch your tongue," Elion scowled, stopping abruptly. "You do not speak Highborn Eifrith Ra’Elis’s name so cheaply."

Uhtred held up his hands in surrender. "Not a Highborn to me, but hey, if you say so..."

Elion’s eyes twitched. "Has anyone told you how insufferable you are?"

"Actually, no."

"Well, you are. That glib tongue of yours will put you in trouble if you’re ever in the presence of a Highborn less magnanimous than I am."

This proud fucker...

Uhtred rolled his eyes. By now he’d gotten used to Elion’s grand manner of speech — the mighty pride with which he spoke and carried himself — so he didn’t even get mad at all. Instead, he asked a question that’d actually bugged him for a while.

"So this Eifrith Ra’Elis, your ’mate’... Where is she now?" he asked. "And how are you so confident you’ll meet her? You speak as if she’ll be waiting for you in the next city. Do you have some communication device that works here or something?"

Uhtred was asking what he already knew — he’d seen Eifrith Ra’Elis’ class and knew it was "Fateseeker." He already had an idea how that would allow her to find Elion easily. But he wanted to hear Elion talk about Eifrith’s class himself.

Any extra knowledge against someone like that was more than welcome.

"I have no need for petty things like communication devices." Elion snorted. "If it is fated for Highborn Eifrith to meet with me soon, then we will meet. If not, then I trust her judgment to meet whenever she deems necessary."

He paused, then glanced at Uhtred meaningfully.

"But somehow, I believe we will meet her sooner rather than later."

Uhtred’s eyes narrowed, catching the double meaning behind Elion’s statement. "What do you mean by that? What do I have to do with whether we find your mate or not? In fact, why were you guys after me in the first place...? Back in the city..."

Elion said nothing, simply smiling mysteriously. He resumed walking, entering deep into the brutal wilderness with Uhtred in tow.

.

.

They journeyed for hours, with Uhtred asking questions and Elion remaining mysterious. Along the way, they fought the lingering berserk beasts still left from the beast wave of the night prior, racking up around an extra thousand Scenario points each.

By the time evening fell, they reached the outskirts of the Brutal Wilderness, coming up to a wide, bustling road filled with the powerful auras of high-level Nascent Realm local adventurers and ascenders.

There wasn’t a city in sight yet, but just from the average strength of the traveling crowd Uhtred could see, he knew the wide road led to a major city — perhaps even the capital city.

He frowned and turned to Elion, asking probingly:

"How do you know I was headed to the capital city?"

Elion snorted. "That much was obvious. You’ve still not been declared as a champion yet... Where else would you go but here?"

With that said, he pulled his hood over his head and joined the stream of powerful travelers headed to the capital city.

Uhtred narrowed his eyes, but did the same. He looked to the distant horizon, then joined the crowd of travelers. At the same time, he began preparing himself for the ordeal he would face in the capital city...

Because, as he had seen time and again, there was definitely going to be an ordeal to face there...