Chapter 652: The Arrogant Tyrant

Roderick Ashen.

Lian looked at the young man standing among the broken pillars for several seconds.

It had not been long since their last meeting, but Roderick’s appearance had changed.

Part of his armor was damaged, dried bloodstains could be seen on his right sleeve, and several deep scratches covered his forearm.

Even so, he still had the same arrogant way of standing.

His shoulders were pulled back, his chin was slightly raised, and his gaze made it seem as if he expected every creature around him to move aside before he reached them.

A few steps away from him, the body of a Withered was lying on the ground.

But contrary to what one might expect, Roderick was not even looking at the body.

His head was raised, and he was looking directly at the Hollow Sun.

Rindo stood beside him and raised his spear slightly.

"We finally found him."

"Yeah." Lian nodded.

"But something’s strange."

He looked at his friend for a moment.

Rindo pointed toward Roderick.

"Since we saw him, he’s stopped in the middle of moving several times, even when that Withered attacked him, it was like he needed a few seconds to react."

Lian had noticed this too, even so, he could not tell the reason from his current distance.

Perhaps Roderick was extremely tired, perhaps he was injured, or maybe something else had happened to him over the past few days.

I’d better talk to him first.

Lian placed his hand on Two’s neck.

The Eight-Disaster Wolf remained on the rocky platform after receiving his command, its ears were turned toward Roderick, but it still showed no signs of wanting to attack.

Then he took a few steps forward.

"Roderick."

His voice spread between the broken pillars.

The young man lowered his head, his gaze remained fixed on Lian for a moment, but contrary to expectations, he did not react immediately.

Several seconds passed.

Then the corner of his mouth rose.

"Vorhelm."

Roderick opened and closed his right hand, and dried blood fell from his fingers.

"So you finally made it here too."

Lian raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What a warm welcome, I didn’t think you’d missed me this much."

"You still have that annoying mouth." Roderick gave a short laugh.

"And you still have that same arrogant face."

There was silence for a moment.

Roderick turned his gaze away from Lian and looked at Rindo.

"The Student Council President is here too? I thought you two had separated."

Rindo did not lower his spear.

"We’ve been together since the first day, where have you been? We haven’t received any reports from you for days."

The young Ashen shrugged.

"I’ve been busy hunting, this place had more treasures than I expected."

Then he looked toward the broken plain.

"At least until that damn thing woke up."

He pointed at the sun with his chin.

"Since the exit was sealed, most of the paths have disappeared too, I’ve tried several times to return to the outer area, but every time, a new crack blocked my path."

Rindo looked at Lian for a moment.

Roderick apparently knew nothing about the situation at the central base.

Lian had not expected otherwise, he had entered the inner areas alone on the first day and had never returned to Alaric’s emergency base.

"So you still don’t know what happened outside." Lian said.

Roderick raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"An emergency base was established near the entrance, most of the Association’s forces and several of the Chosen had gathered there."

"And?"

"It doesn’t exist anymore, the entire area is covered in molten rock."

Roderick’s smile faded, and his gaze remained on Lian for several seconds.

"Did everyone die?"

"We don’t know, when I returned, I couldn’t find anyone."

Roderick only nodded, but unlike Rindo, he did not ask any more questions about the people at the base.

He did not know them, and apparently, in the current situation, the fate of the Association’s forces did not matter much to him.

Instead, his gaze fell on Lian’s level, and he paused for a moment.

"Level 31?" From the boy’s presence, he could more or less tell his level.

He stared at him for several seconds and then laughed.

"I really have to admit that your growth speed is abnormal, Vorhelm, you were only Level 23 during our last battle."

"I killed a few monsters." Lian shrugged.

"A few?"

"Enough to reach Level 31."

Roderick smiled, but something in his gaze had changed, he still remembered their last battle very clearly.

The Shattered Crown Examination.

The place where, despite having a sixteen-level advantage and using the first trait of his Class Tree, he had failed to defeat Lian.

But what remained in his mind even more than the result of the examination was the way the spectators had looked at him.

The professors, guild representatives, and students who had watched Level 39 Roderick use all his strength, only to end up with a draw against a Level 23 Awakened.

For someone who had always considered himself worthy of the title of King, that result was nothing less than humiliation.

He slowly clenched his fingers.

"Even so, you’re still behind me."

"In terms of level? Yeah." Lian looked at him.

"In every way."

Vorhelm remained silent for a moment and then gave a faint smile.

"Then apparently, you didn’t learn much from our previous fight."

Roderick’s smile disappeared.

For several seconds, only the sound of molten rock flowing through the distant cracks could be heard.

Roderick tilted his head slightly.

"You know, you’ve always had this problem since high school."

"What problem?" Lian raised an eyebrow.

"You couldn’t accept your place." His voice was calm, but the familiar contempt could be heard in it.

"Even when you’d lost everything, you still acted like you were better than everyone else."

Lian looked at him for a moment, and old memories returned to his mind.

The days when the members of the Vorhelm Family had changed the way they looked at him after his failed awakening.

The time when Elena ended their relationship, and some time later, when even the house where he had grown up no longer had a place for him.

During that same period, Roderick had obtained his Four-Star Class and joined one of the Twelve Ancient Guilds.

The difference in their positions had become so large that many people who had previously known Lian preferred to stay away from him.

Roderick had also taken advantage of that opportunity.

But now?

Lian no longer needed to prove anything to his past, he tilted his head slightly.

"Are you done?"

"What?" Roderick frowned.

"I thought you were giving a speech about the past, I just wanted to know if I had to listen until the end."

For a moment, a muscle beside Roderick’s eye moved, this lack of concern bothered him more than a direct insult.

Because Lian had not even become angry.

It was as if everything Roderick had once done to ruin his life was no longer worth discussing.

"Very well." He took a step forward. "Then we’d better test it again."

Rindo narrowed his eyes and added.

"Roderick, now isn’t the time for this, the land is falling apart and—"

"I’m not talking to you." Roderick’s tone became sharper, and then he looked directly at Lian.

"This time, there’s no crown, no clock, and no excuse to retreat, just you and me."

Lian looked at the surrounding cracks for a moment.

"You really want to fight here? Are you crazy?" He felt that something was wrong with this boy’s brain.

Of course, his instincts were actually telling him that Roderick was not in his normal state, and even his behavior showed some signs of it.

Had something happened to him?

"Are you scared?"

"No. I was just wondering what you’ll blame this time if you lose again." The young Vorhelm let out a short sigh.

Roderick no longer smiled, and mana began flowing along his arms.

"Then let’s find out."

"Move back a little." Lian looked at Rindo.

His friend hesitated for a moment.

But then he moved toward a higher rocky platform to the north.

Lian turned to face Roderick again, the distance between them was nearly twenty meters.

He did not know why this idiot wanted to fight under such circumstances, but he was not going to refuse either.

"Well, start."

Roderick did not wait any longer, and mana moved from his spine toward his legs and joints.

[Tyrant’s Advance]

He took the first step.

BOOM!

The stone beneath his foot broke.

With the second step, his body’s speed increased, and with the third step, he had almost completely closed the remaining distance.

His right fist moved toward Lian’s face, but he raised his left hand.

CRACK!

Their forearms collided, but this time, unlike their previous battle, Lian did not even move backward, and the force of the strike spread through his body.

Roderick noticed the difference, but he had no time to think, because Lian’s right fist immediately moved toward his chest.

Roderick brought his other arm forward.

[King’s Reprisal]

A short stream of golden energy moved from his forearm toward his shoulder and chest.

This skill stored part of the force from an incoming strike inside his body’s structure and allowed him to return it with his next counterattack.

But when the young Vorhelm’s fist struck, he noticed something.

BAAANG!

The pressure of the strike was much greater than he had expected, his right foot slid several centimeters backward across the stone, and the mana stored in his arm shook violently.

What?

How the hell has this bastard become so much stronger since our last meeting?

He has even gone through his Second Evolution... but why does he seem weaker in terms of raw power?

"What? Were you expecting less?" Lian gave a faint smile.