Chapter 381: The Power of the Third Form

Chapter 381: The Power of the Third Form

In the imperial capital of Temrael, within the luxurious study room on the second floor of the Drakum family mansion, Duke Dram asked, "Is it today?"

The steward, Owen, bowed slightly and respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Grace. Young Master Greenwood and the others set off yesterday, so the action should take place today."

"Hmm, any news from the Black Blade Organization?" the duke inquired further.

"It has been confirmed that they dispatched a King of Assassins, who arrived in Num Province a day earlier," Owen informed him.

Duke Dram nodded slightly and asked again, "Is it 'Corpse Splitter' Greg accompanying Young Master Greenwood?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Owen confirmed.

"Hmm, then there shouldn't be any issues," Duke Dram said, nodding his head as if speaking to himself.

However, at this moment, a shadow still lingered in his heart.

Earlier that morning, when he met with Admiral Donald, a high-ranking member of the Swordmaster Headquarters, Donald had said something to him.

"'If possible, it's best to reconcile and make peace with this Rain,'" Donald had advised.

Initially, Duke Dram didn't understand Donald's intention.

But when Donald revealed that the latest top-secret intelligence from the Swordmasters indicated that Rain had directly defeated the projection of a deity with legendary power, he was stunned.

It wasn't that Donald's information was unreliable; the confidentiality level of this intelligence was so high that only a handful of people within the entire Swordmaster Headquarters could access the full details, and he wasn't one of them.

This revelation shocked Duke Dram to his core.

Even though it was a deity's projection with legendary power, in reality, very few human legendary powerhouses could rival such a force.

Because even a mere projection represented a strand of the deity's energy, and various supernal skills and magic came naturally to them, with their combinations reaching a level of perfection.

The fact that Rain could defeat a deity's projection meant that he likely possessed legendary peak-level combat power.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Rain had used a powerful witchcraft artifact or some other means to repel the deity.

Fortunately, one of the family advisors, 'Corpse Splitter' Greg, was also a Boulder Body, a being of that caliber.

Combined with the assassination of the King of Assassins, even if Rain's strength had reached the legendary peak, the chances of defeating him were still very high.

Duke Dram thought to himself.

Additionally, Greenwood was not actually his nephew but his illegitimate son, merely registered under his brother's name.

Moreover, he was the most talented among all his illegitimate children.

Even Greenwood himself was unaware of this fact.

This was why Duke Dram felt a bit of concern.

---

Meanwhile, in Num Province, the square of Mud Town was littered with bloody and mangled corpses, a scene of devastation.

"Oh? A misunderstanding? Unfortunately, I don't feel like listening to your explanation," Rain, in his Dragon Human King Form, said coldly, his vertical pupils glancing at Greenwood before a massive claw descended from above!

"No! Rain, don't you want to know why Sam Squad is so obsessed with that elf?" Greenwood, on the brink of death, suddenly realized something and screamed excitedly.

Given Rain's ruthless attack, he knew that Rain wouldn't care about his background as a duke's family member, and threatening him with it might only hasten his demise.

Only by appealing to someone Rain cared about did he have a chance to survive.

"Huff~~" A fierce gust of wind blew across Greenwood's face, and just as he was about to die from the shock, the hideous giant claw stopped.

"Why?" Rain asked.

"Because the Second Prince is obsessed with elven women," Greenwood explained. "The entire Temriel is searching for elven women for him, except for the elven ambassador, who dares not touch."

"Oh? Really?" Rain asked.

"It's true! I swear! I swear!" Greenwood shouted desperately, seeing a glimmer of hope for his survival.

"Two years ago, in the Province of Minster, Sam Squad also captured another elven woman, and we sent her to the Second Prince," Greenwood added, revealing another secret to bolster his credibility.

"Does anyone else know about this? Can anyone vouch for your words?" Rain's eyes flashed.

In an instant, he realized something.

"Yes, yes! Our family steward, Owen, knows about it," Greenwood said eagerly, his face lighting up at Rain's question.

In his mind, he had just saved his own life.

Even the others present shared this belief.

"Hmm, then goodbye," Rain said calmly.

Goodbye?

What did he mean by goodbye?

As Greenwood pondered Rain's words, he suddenly felt the sky darken.

"Boom!"

A massive crater appeared on the ground, perfectly shaped like a giant dragon claw. In an instant, Greenwood and the metal cage were crushed into a meat paste by the giant claw!

At that moment, Rain finally reverted from his Dragon Human King Form back to his human body.

"You... you actually killed him! He's the most promising direct descendant of the Drakum family!" Mia exclaimed in shock, witnessing the scene.

"Do you know that the Drakum family is a Guardian Family, and they..."

"So what?" Rain glanced at Mia and said.

Chandler, on the other hand, plopped down on the ground, terrified out of his wits.

Since Rain had dared to directly kill Greenwood, he naturally wouldn't hesitate to kill Chandler as well.

"Your Excellency Rain, don't kill me, don't kill me! I'll tell you everything."

"The Drakum family, to which Greenwood belongs, has close ties with Admiral Donald, a high-ranking Swordmaster. This assigned task of yours was their doing."

"Oh? Is there more?" Rain looked calmly at Chandler.

"Yes, yes, let me think... Let me think..."

"Never mind, I don't want to hear any more from a despicable person like you." Rain shook his head.

Raising his right hand, he pursed his lips slightly.

"Multi-Cut Net!"

Suddenly, three giant nets emitting a silver glow shot towards Chandler's location at high speed!

"No, no, ahh!"

As a piercing scream echoed, Chandler's terrified expression froze. In an instant, he and the metal cage were cut into tiny pieces, no larger than tofu cubes.

At that moment, when Claire saw Rain's glance, she couldn't help but grip Beyonce's arm tightly, her head shaking like a rattle as she stammered, "Captain, we have nothing to do with this! Really, nothing at all!"

Waaah! This new captain is too ruthless!

She wanted to quit the team!

Is it still possible to do so now?

Moreover, what had she just heard?

It was all about princes and admirals. Oh heavens! Would she be silenced?

Claire hoped she could return to her hometown in the county.

"I remember now, this aura and form... Could you be a royal heir?" At this moment, Mia seemed to have realized something, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at Rain in fear.

But how could that be possible?

In Rain's investigation report on the Drakum family, it was clearly stated that the other party was just a small-town youth, how could he suddenly become a royal heir?

It was as if he had met a straw shoe maker in his previous life, and upon asking, the person turned out to be the Han Dynasty's relative, Prince Liu.

"What? Royalty?" Claire and Beyonce also exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock.

"Oh, have you heard anything about this?" Rain's eyebrows rose slightly as he turned to Mia.

The content mentioned by Mia still piqued his interest, and it was the first time he had heard someone speak of a situation similar to his own Dragon Human transformation.

"Yes, I once had the chance to witness a competition at the Imperial Royal Academy, and one of the participants was the offspring of a certain prince of the Empire, possessing royal blood."

"However, after transforming with their bloodline, their height was around five meters, and their tail was rather small. They also didn't have wings, and the color of their dragon scales and horns were different from yours."

Hmm?

If one didn't consider details like the color of the dragon scales, wasn't this just a copy of Rain's first transformation form - the Dragon Human General Form?

Interesting.

The Imperial Academy? Claire had once studied at the Imperial Academy, and she could ask her to inquire about this matter.

Thinking of Claire, Rain suddenly remembered that she had told him she would return to the Imperial Academy to continue her studies after her father, Count Habus, recovered from his injuries.

He wasn't sure if, at this point in time, Claire had arrived in the Imperial Capital of Timorail, but after he returned to headquarters, he could ask her to look into it.

"Can... Can I live?" Mia finally couldn't bear the pressure and asked this question.

"Unfortunately, Mia, since you chose to act against me, you should have known the consequences." Rain looked calmly at her and said.

"I believe you've heard this saying, 'Live by the sword, die by the sword.'"

"But I don't want to die like this. Can you let me die in a more dignified way?" Mia forced a smile and pointed to Chandler's chopped-up body.

"Okay!"

"Captain Rain, you... you directly killed these three people, and when you return..." Beyonce started to speak but stopped.

"Logically, since these three ambushed you first, you could send them to the military court, and then..."

"And then? They'll just be released smoothly." Rain shook his head.

Beyonce instantly understood Rain's meaning and sighed, not saying anything further.

Because in her two years in the Imperial Capital, she had witnessed Rain's actions, and she knew he wasn't making empty threats.

The Dragun Empire had endured for over two thousand years, and the social hierarchy had long solidified. Many places were mired in corruption, and the connections of the top noble families in the Imperial Capital were like the roots of a thousand-year-old tree, deeply embedded in the Empire's flesh and blood.

"Additionally, if you're worried about the Drakum family's retaliation, I'll be waiting for them." Rain revealed a smile.

At this time, the three members of the Blade Squad, Langor, who had been stunned for a long time, finally snapped out of it and rushed over, saying, "Your Excellency Rain, are you alright? We were startled."

"It's fine, I'm sorry you had to witness this."

"It's alright, Captain Rain, your strength is even greater than before. By the way, what should we do with these bodies?" Langor swallowed and pointed to the corpses on the ground.

Rain looked at the ground.

The body of 'King of Assassins' Greg was still manageable, as he was only torn into two halves, making the cleanup easier.

However, the King of Assassins from the Black Blade Organization had already been cut into pieces, making it quite troublesome to bring back as evidence.

"Uh, Sir Rain, how about we get a bucket and put all these pieces back in it?" Fry suggested from the side.

"If it's inconvenient for you to bring them back to headquarters, you can also store them at the branch, and we will take good care of them."

"Good idea." Rain nodded.

While Langor and the others were cleaning up the battlefield, Rain went to the edge of the square alone, carefully savoring the feeling of transforming into the third form, the 'Dragon Human King Form.'

At this moment, he rarely felt a bit weak and sore all over.

Clearly, the third form consumed more physical strength than the second form, the 'Dragon Human General Form.'

However, the enhancement in combat power was also much higher.

When he killed Greg, he felt like he used less than half of his strength, yet he easily tore apart the so-called peak Legendary 'Corpse Splitter.'

Thinking back to the feeling of the shackles being torn off within his body, Rain was almost certain that his combat power had firmly entered the Epic level in the third form.

Additionally, the speed increase after flapping his fleshy wings far exceeded his expectations.

Unfortunately, he had never personally witnessed the battle scenes of Epic-level experts, nor had he ever faced off against an Epic-level opponent.

The only reference he had was the battle between the titled 'Red Queen' Dragon Knight Menia and the Tailless Three-Headed Sea Dragon.

But at the time, he was over a hundred miles away, and from the energy fluctuations, even in his third form, he seemed to still be somewhat inferior to the two of them.

However, the 'Red Queen' Menia was not a bottom-tier Epic-level expert.

Shaking his head slightly, Rain decided not to dwell on these thoughts for now and instead checked the battle notifications:

【Congratulations, you have defeated a strong enemy and gained 31 Golden Skill Points!】

【Congratulations, your Will (Hidden) attribute has been enhanced!】

【Congratulations, your Thousand Blade King (Epic) profession level has been upgraded!】

With the consecutive kills of the Venom Dragon, the King of Assassins, and 'Corpse Splitter' Greg, his Thousand Blade King (Epic) profession level smoothly reached level 13, granting him 1 attribute point and 1 skill point.

Currently, his total remaining attribute points were 13, and his remaining skill points were 6.

As for the Golden Skill Points, after using 8 points last time, he had 46 points left. With the addition of 31 points this time, he now had 77 points, setting a new record.

However, since Rain knew that Golden Skill Points could be used to deduce Wizardry Strikes, he didn't mind having more.

After all, it took 28 points to perfect a Second-Rank Wizardry Strike, so one could imagine how many points it would take for a Third-Rank Wizardry Strike.

Returning to Norn City that day, after having dinner and reminiscing with the Blade Squad, Rain returned to the Swordmaster Headquarters with Claire and Bianciana.

Although they had only experienced one battle, the two women were extremely impressed by Rain.

A day and a half later.

After arriving directly at the Imperial Swordmaster Headquarters via airship, Rain naturally needed to submit his mission and explain the reasons for the deaths of his two team members.

Although it was the enemy's sneak attack that caused the deaths, the procedures still needed to be followed.

Upon arriving at the mission hall, Rain went straight to Anthony's office.

Seeing someone enter without knocking, Anthony was about to scold them, but the next second, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at the visitor and said:

"Sir Rain, how did you return?"

"Hehe, Sir Anthony, shouldn't I be back?" Rain couldn't help but smile at the fat man in front of him.

"No, no, I mean, did you—did you complete your mission?"

"You mean killing the Venom Dragon? Of course, and I also killed a few who were trying to assassinate me."

"Assassinate, someone actually dared to assassinate you?" Anthony's face immediately turned pale, and he looked somewhat panicked.

"Yes, I'm also very puzzled as to why my mission location and target were so clear to the enemy. It seems someone in the Swordmaster Headquarters leaked the information."

As Rain spoke, he fixed his gaze on Anthony.

Seeing this, Anthony's face turneded pale, and he quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying, "This... should not happen, should not happen."

"By the way, I also killed two who tried to assassinate me, they were Magic Iron Rank Swordmaster Chandler and Mithril Rank Swordmaster Mia."

"What?! Sir Rain, you... you directly killed two of your own squad members?" Upon hearing this, Anthony suddenly 'thud' and slid off his chair onto the floor.

Clearly, he was extremely frightened! The way he looked at Rain had changed!

This seemingly harmless young man who smiled was actually a ruthless killer!

After all, Chandler wasn't just any ordinary person; he was the second son of a powerful marquis in the Imperial Capital.

"Yes, as the captain of the Swordmasters, I think I have the right to do so, don't you think?"

"But... even so, you shouldn't have killed them outright."

"Two people attacked you, and the headquarters will definitely investigate. Your actions were reckless, Lord Rain."

"Normally, with your strength, you could have easily captured them and left the judgment to the headquarters and the military court."

"Hehe, I'm not finished yet. There were others ambushing me, so you know, I accidentally killed them all in the heat of the moment." Rain chuckled.

"There were others?" Anthony exclaimed in shock.

"Lord Anthony, you should report this. This matter is beyond your handling." Rain waved his hand.

He realized that causing trouble for someone of Anthony's status was pointless.

"Indeed, my authority is limited. Please wait, I'll report this immediately." Anthony, with his spherical figure, hurried out of the office as if he was flying.

Rain had considered giving a more dignified explanation for Greenwood, Mia, Chandler, and the others, perhaps saying that they died during the battle with the Venom Dragon.

That way, he could at least save some face for them.

But after some thought, Rain rejected the idea.

After all, in a world with Seers and Astrologers, if he tried to cover for them with a well-intentioned lie, it might backfire on him.

So, he decided to tear away the last shred of cover.

Half an hour later, Rain was invited into a conference room.

There were many more people this time, and Anthony wasn't even qualified to attend.

Leading them was an imposing elder with a pair of golden branches and four suns on his shoulder insignia, indicating the rank of General Augustus, superior even to Marshal Alfred.

Rain recognized him as the one responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Swordmaster Headquarters and a top figure in the entire empire.

Accompanying him were two Imperial Admirals and two Brigadiers, one of whom was taking notes, seemingly relegated to the role of a clerk.

Rain's actions had clearly startled the highest echelons of the Swordmaster Headquarters.

"Lord Rain, this is General Augustus, and Admiral Donald..."

"Now, you can tell us what happened." The seated General Augustus gestured for Rain to continue.

Rain began recounting the entire incident in detail.

After a few minutes, one of the male Brigadiers interrupted Rain's narrative with a grave voice.

"Wait, Lord Rain, you mentioned that Mithril Rank Swordmaster Mia and Magic Iron Rank Swordmaster Chandler suddenly attacked you during your battle with the Venom Dragon. Can you provide any evidence to support this claim?"

"Yes, the other two members of my squad and the Blade Squad from the Num Province Swordmaster Branch can testify to this." Rain glanced at the Brigadier.

"Please continue, Lord Rain."

Ten minutes later, when Rain mentioned being ambushed by the 'King of Assassins' from the Black Blade Organization, everyone in the room was astonished, except for General Augustus, who remained composed.

"Lord Rain, you said the person who tried to assassinate you was the 'King of Assassins' from the Black Blade Organization?" The female Brigadier asked, half in disbelief.

"Yes, the body and specialized weapon of the assassin are currently stored in the Num Province Swordmaster Branch. I believe it won't be difficult for the headquarters to investigate his identity."

"It shouldn't be difficult if we have the body and the specialized weapon," the female Brigadier nodded.

When Rain described how he killed Greg, who was sent by Greenwood, the Admiral named Donald could no longer contain himself.

"You said you killed the Venom Dragon, then the 'King of Assassins,' and finally, this 'Corpse Splitter' Greg. You must know that two of them were at the Legendary Peak, and facing the King of Assassins wouldn't be much easier than fighting a Legendary Peak opponent. Defeating all three consecutively is beyond reason."

"Moreover, if you could indeed defeat these three, then Greenwood's strength would be vastly inferior to yours. There's no reason you couldn't have spared him."

"I think you need to provide a more detailed and reasonable explanation." Admiral Donald spoke sternly.

"Hehe, I have no choice. It just so happened that my first assigned task as a new Swordmaster was to kill the Venom Dragon."

"I got too excited during the fight and accidentally struck Greenwood with excessive force." Rain smiled, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Rain had no affection for Admiral Donald, who might have manipulated Rain's assignment behind the scenes.

"You..." Admiral Donald was clearly displeased with Rain's attitude, especially since Rain's words seemed to imply something, giving Donald a bad premonition.

Could it be that the audacious young man before him knew something?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end