Chapter 405: Knockout
(A couple days later, Fourth Elder’s POV)
The Fourth Elder anxiously waited outside the Cult’s only Transcendent Tier Breakthrough Room, pacing around nervously as he awaited the results of Veyr’s promotion exam.
On one hand, he knew it was highly unlikely for someone with Veyr’s potential to fail the Transcendent Tier breakthrough test, given that he possessed Monarch Tier potential.
But on the other hand, he couldn’t help but recall his own breakthrough test, and how brutal the process had been, as he still vividly remembered how he had been pushed to the brink of death during the promotion.
And hence, despite knowing that Veyr was far more gifted than he had ever been, a persistent nervousness refused to leave him, for he understood better than most that the breakthrough process was no joke.
"What’s the update? How far along is he?" the Fourth Elder asked his assistant, who studied the in-room footage and tried to assess which stage of the breakthrough Veyr was currently enduring.
"It appears he’s reached the threshold of mortality. He’s now at the stage where his mana circuits are fusing with his circulatory system.
This is the most crucial phase of the entire breakthrough," the assistant reported after examining the feed, prompting the Fourth Elder to shake his head with unease.
’I need Veyr to successfully break through today... If he manages to do so without complications, I’ll push for him to be named the Next Dragon at the upcoming Council Meeting,’ the Fourth Elder thought, knowing full well that he had already secured 7 out of the 12 votes required to confirm Veyr’s appointment.
At this stage, the breakthrough itself was little more than a formality. Whether Veyr succeeded or not, he would still be declared the Dragon by the end of next week.
However, him breaking through cleanly at such a young age would definitely boost his legitimacy as a Dragon and would make it easier for the Fourth Elder to push his nomination through.
"Keep a close eye on him. Instruct the medics to spare no expense if he suffers any backlash from the energy surge caused by the breakthrough potion he ingested.
The potion I procured for him is a super pure version that cost me seventy million MP to produce fresh, but I paid it in full, for the sake of the Next Dragon," the Fourth Elder said, as the assistant nodded and continued to monitor the feed, ready to send in the medics the moment it became necessary.
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(Meanwhile on Planet Vorthas, Leo’s POV)
It was a rare evening of quiet warmth in the Skyshard manor gardens, the kind Amanda liked best, as Leo walked beside her with his fingers loosely intertwined with hers, letting her talk about the rose hybrids she had recently planted here.
Amanda’s voice was soft and filled with joy as they strolled past the stone fountains and swaying lantern vines.
Leo did not interrupt her.
He liked it when she spoke like that.
Because on some level, her voice had the strange ability to remind him that there still existed things worth protecting in this universe that weren’t forged in steel or born for war.
But then... It happened.
A thin, almost invisible wisp of red danced past the edge of his perception.
Barely there.
Yet unmistakably laced with killing intent so cold and refined, that his entire body reacted before his mind could catch up.
"Move!" he barked, shoving Amanda aside with his left arm as his right hand reached for the dagger holstered at his back, his instincts taking over completely as his eyes locked onto the drifting red trail in the air, and his legs broke into a silent sprint towards the direction it led.
’Red? In my house? Could it be an Assassin? Could someone be here to end Luke’s life before he wakes up?’ Leo wondered, as he dashed at full speed, running past the flower beds, over the stone path and through the arching hedgeway until he reached the manor’s porch.
There, sitting like he owned the place, was a man draped in an old overcoat, lazily swaying on Leo’s porch swing, one hand holding a half-lit cigarette while the other rested casually on his knee.
His entire aura hummed with an unnatural calm that didn’t match the suffocating red aura that pooled thickly around him like spilled ink in water.
"You? Who are you? What do you want?" Leo demanded, narrowing his eyes as he flicked the dagger into a reverse grip and crouched slightly, his body already half-prepared to vanish and strike if necessary.
But the man didn’t answer.
He just took a long, unbothered drag of his cigarette and exhaled upward, his eyes half-lidded and devoid of any concern, like Leo’s presence or his threat to attack, didn’t even qualify as a footnote in his thoughts.
"How did you get past security? Answer me or I kill you here," Leo warned, his voice dropping into a colder octave, mana already starting to circulate around his veins as [Absolute Vision] kicked in, scouring every movement and mana fluctuation in the air.
And yet...
The man didn’t flinch.
Didn’t speak.
He simply stood, slow and effortless, letting both hands hang loose by his sides before giving a small, almost lazy jerk of his right shoulder.
That was it.
That was all.
Leo’s mind raced, [Parallel Processing] firing on all fronts as he tried to analyze what move had just been made, but before he could even blink, the entire world turned black, not because of some loud impact or searing pain or fractured consciousness, but simply because it felt like his entire being had just... shut off.
No motion.
No defense.
No pain.
Just instant nothingness.
And just like that, Leo Skyshard, Rodova’s young prodigy and Cult of Ascension’s premier Dragon candidate, was knocked out cold by a man he never even saw move.
"How the fuck did he track and follow me to the porch? I’m pretty sure it should be impossible for someone at the Grandmaster Tier to even notice my presence?" Charles wondered, as he felt pleasantly surprised by the ability Leo displayed today.
"Well I’ll find out soon enough when I talk to the kid, as to how he did it." Charles concluded, as he placed Leo’s unconscious body over his shoulder and vanished out of the house the same way he came in.
As he kidnapped Leo without his consent or warning, with the intent to carry him to Juxta as per Soron’s instructions.
However, what he didn’t expect was that an angry ancient swamp frog was red hot on his pursuit tail.
As although he had gotten past the house security undetected, he couldn’t get past Dumpy when it came to protecting his master.