Chapter 800: The Shadow of the Silver Dragon

Chapter 800: Chapter 800: The Shadow of the Silver Dragon

Amidst the dust and crushed stones of the trench, the cloud dissipated. Ethan stood up without a scratch, brushing the dirt off his shoulder as his eyes glowed in a deep amethyst hue.

Atop the obsidian mound, the figure that had ambushed Ethan remained standing. It was the swordsman sent by the Silver Dragon Kingdom. Though he fought under the banner of swordplay, his true specialty was absolute stealth—the ability to erase one’s presence, breath, and killing intent from the physical plane.

The Chaotic Queen, furious at the interruption, swung her body and lunged at the swordsman with open jaws. Yet just before the beast’s maw snapped shut, the young man’s silhouette distorted like a mirage and vanished into thin air, leaving the queen biting empty space.

[Master, he is on the left flank!] Crul warned within Ethan’s mind.

"I don’t need you to tell me," Ethan replied mentally.

With his Amethyst Eyes fully activated, the fabric of reality unveiled itself before Ethan’s vision. The absolute concealment technique that tricked both the queen’s senses and ordinary cultivators was transparent to Ethan. Sensing the spatial distortion ten meters away, Ethan stepped forward and unleashed a shadow slash into the void. ℯℯ𝘭.

A metallic spark echoed through the air.

The swordsman’s silhouette reemerged as his double blade collided with Ethan’s attack. The sheer force of the impact sent the assassin of the Silver Dragon Kingdom skidding backward, digging his heels into the cracked soil.

The swordsman looked up, a look of shock crossing his face for the first time since entering the tournament.

The technique of the Silver Shadow Walk was the pinnacle art of his realm, an ancestral skill that only he and the King of the Silver Dragon Kingdom had mastered in a thousand years. Despite carrying no royal blood, that mastery had earned him the title of the Uncrowned Prince and the hand of the kingdom’s Second Princess in marriage.

"Impossible...", muttered the swordsman, tightening his grip on his double blade. "How could you perceive my presence?"

Ethan smirked, advancing his blade as abyssal energy coated his arm.

"Your stealth isn’t bad," said Ethan. "But before my eyes, you’re just a corpse trying to hide."

The Chaotic Queen, furious at being ignored, reared her form and unleashed a roar that shook the realm’s vault. In response, the tide of abyssal males entered a state of suicidal trance. By the hundreds, the creatures threw themselves into her open jaws, allowing themselves to be crushed and absorbed. The creature’s aura turned destructive, and her abdomen began to throb with a crimson glow.

[Master, if this continues, the new queen will be born! We must stop it!] Crul warned with urgency.

"I’m on it," replied Ethan.

He turned his head slightly toward the swordsman of the Silver Dragon Kingdom and added with indifference:

"I’ll finish you off afterward. Sit down and get to cleaning your neck."

Ethan flexed his legs and launched into the air, soaring above the mountain of corpses. Channeling energy from his spiritual sea and the Void’s authority into his blade, he gathered his technique.

"Void’s Sunset!" roared Ethan.

A ribbon of darkness expanded around him, distorting the surrounding light. Sensing danger, the queen halted her absorption and emitted an ear-splitting shriek. The remaining beasts threw themselves forward to intercept the slash’s trajectory.

Ethan initiated his descent with blade raised, ready to mow down both the beast and her swarm. However, mid-strike, a silver flash streaked across his flank. A second invisible slash struck into his abdomen, tearing skin and spilling blood.

The sudden interruption shattered Ethan’s concentration, canceling the technique in mid-air and throwing off his balance. That single second of delay was all the abyssal males needed to reach his position, burying him beneath a hail of claws and fangs.

Isabella, her eyes burning with rage as she saw Ethan fall, lunged into the attack. She unleashed a fan of jade slashes toward the exact spot where the invisible blade had originated, seeking to decapitate the aggressor. Yet her strike sliced through empty air as the swordsman’s silhouette vanished.

"You damned coward, come out!" roared Isabella upon seeing her target vanish.

The swordsman’s voice echoed from the gloom, distorted and lacking a fixed origin.

"Come now, Your Highness... Your cultivation is impressive, but it is nothing compared to my skill," mocked the swordsman.

Unbound from immediate threat, the Chaotic Queen opened her jaws in an even greater frenzy. This time, she devoured not only her own males but extended her miasma tendrils toward the vassal cultivators’ ranks, swallowing dozens of soldiers whole to nourish the gestation.

Amidst the chaos, the princess of the Frost Dragon Kingdom descended in a gust of snow, wielding her needle-thin blade. She glared toward the area where the silver swordsman’s presence was hidden and spat with disdain:

"Do you even call yourself a man? You attack the only one capable of facing this abomination. Are you simply an imbecile, or are you suicidal?"

"Every person’s life depends on themselves," the swordsman’s voice echoed from the void. "What happens to them is not my concern. Once I kill this guy, I will find a way out of here."

The princess of the Frost Dragon Kingdom narrowed her eyes and let out an icy laugh.

"What about the prince of your kingdom?" she questioned. "Do you think he will survive this beast?"

"Whether he survives or not, how is that my problem?" the swordsman’s voice stated flatly before falling completely silent.

In the stands of the imperial colosseum, the King of the Silver Dragon Kingdom watched the projection and merely shook his head. Beside him, the Second Princess—the swordsman’s fiancée—made no effort to hide her satisfaction, smiling openly and letting out soft chuckles.

The king knew this situation was inevitable. His finest warrior was superior to the crown prince in every conceivable way. A diplomatic marriage to his daughter could ensure the master swordsman remained tied to the royal house, but it would never guarantee absolute loyalty to the throne.

Watching his own people attempt to slaughter one another within the dimensional plane was a bitter sight for the monarch, yet he had no choice but to endure it. At the very least, the king mused silently, once his grandchildren were born bearing his daughter’s lineage and that monster’s stealth, the kingdom’s future would be stabilized. And should his son-in-law ever become too great a threat, he could always make him disappear later on some special mission.