Chapter 412: Tidal Eightfold Slash

Chapter 412: Tidal Eightfold Slash

However, Rayn recalled Kayla's previous warning as he pondered.

Prince Everton, the second prince, was not as amiable as he appeared. If one were to liken him to an animal, a venomous snake would be a more fitting comparison.

The prince was likely biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity. Rayn's eyes flashed with realization.

Just then, the next candidate stepped forward, capturing Rayn's attention once again.

The ensuing battles were spectacular, providing Rayn with further insights into the empire's elite families, various wizard schools, and the disciples and heirs of Sword Saints.

Halowen's opponent was a Hurricane Elemental.

Although he managed to defeat it, his performance was not significantly better than Luther's, hovering around the passing grade.

"Candidate number eighty-one, Lambert, take your position," the attendant shouted.

A middle-aged man with a double-handed greatsword strapped to his back stood with his arms crossed, riding a relatively rare Flying Seahorse slowly toward the front of the arena.

Indeed!

He was standing, not riding.

Earlier, when Rayn had surveyed the area, his gaze had lingered on this middle-aged man because the man had also stared at Rayn for a long time. However, Rayn hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

Candidates like this, who followed the path of the knight while carrying a double-handed greatsword, were relatively common in the preliminary trials.

Although there were some powerful ones among them, their strengths varied greatly.

Sometimes, even after four or five consecutive legendary-tier knight candidates failed to defeat their opponents within three minutes.

But upon hearing the man's name, Rayn's eyes narrowed in recognition.

He instinctively recalled the person mentioned by Karl, a disciple of the Tide Sword Saint, who also went by the name Lambert.

"I didn't expect Lambert to show up here," Luther said, his expression turning solemn.

"Oh? Do you know him, Luther?" Halowen asked curiously.

"Yes, do you remember Karl?" Luther asked in return.

"Yes, wasn't he the disciple of the Tide Sword Saint defeated by Lord Rayn?" Halowen nodded.

"Yes, this is Lambert, the senior disciple of the Tide Sword Saint."

"What? It's him!" Halowen's face changed, and he exclaimed in a low voice.

At that moment, he turned to look at Rayn, who was standing beside him.

Apparently, in Halowen's eyes, Lambert's appearance was likely targeting Rayn.

However, Rayn remained calm, nodding and saying, "It seems my guess was correct."

In the arena, Lambert drew a sign from the spinning wheel and faced the Shadow Vulture, a ferocious species with innate shadow abilities.

After the draw, Lambert maintained his crossed arms, standing upright on the Flying Seahorse, slowly heading towards the center of the arena.

"Chirp~"

At that moment, the thick metal fence on the side of the arena rose, revealing a pitch-black creature with a wingspan of over eight meters, flying at an incredible speed.

"The Shadow Vulture has a fast flight speed and strong defense and attack power. This will be a good test of Lambert's abilities."

"The last time I saw him was five years ago. Even if I were to compare my current strength to his back then, I wouldn't stand a chance," Luther said in a deep voice.

As Luther spoke, the Shadow Vulture sensed Lambert's presence in the center of the arena. It flapped its wings and charged towards the senior disciple of the Tide Sword Saint.

Lambert, however, remained uncross his arms, standing calmly on the Flying Seahorse with the greatsword strapped to his back.

"He's being a bit too cocky, isn't he?" Halowen muttered.

He felt that Lambert was putting on a bit too much.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened in the arena.

Apparently, upon receiving a command from its owner, the Flying Seahorse carrying the crossed-armed Lambert rushed towards the incoming Shadow Vulture.

Just as the two were about to collide!

Suddenly, Lambert's right hand flashed behind him, drawing out the greatsword and slashing forward. In an instant, the position where the Shadow Vulture was located erupted with seven or eight silver arcs of light.

The arcs of light flashed vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, but they all vanished in a flash! The next second, both Lambert and the Shadow Vulture passed by each other.

Lambert maintained his crossed-arm stance, and the greatsword on his back had already been returned to its sheath, as if it had never been drawn.

As for the Shadow Vulture, it seemed to have been affected by a paralysis-like spell, its body stiffened, and the next second, seven or eight blood arrows shot out from its body, disintegrating it mid-air with a 'whoosh'!

The spectators erupted in exclamations of surprise.

"Ah, the Tidal Eightfold Slash!"

"The ultimate technique created by the Tide Sword Saint in his youth?"

"Yes, this is Lambert, the senior disciple of the Tide Sword Saint."

"I heard that he had been in seclusion, but I didn't expect him to participate in this Dragon Knight Cadet selection as well."

Rayn witnessed the entire scene clearly. In that instant, Lambert unleashed eight strikes with his heavy two-handed greatsword, the fastest Rayn had ever seen.

It was impressive, especially considering the weight of the greatsword compared to lighter single-handed swords like knight swords or hand-and-a-half swords.

Within a second, Lambert had drawn his sword, unleashed eight strikes, and sheathed it again, a series of swift movements.

Moreover, Rayn keenly noticed something else.

Just before Lambert's attack burst forth, there seemed to be a tangible surge of power that affected the Shadow Vulture.

This caused the legendary Shadow Vulture to freeze momentarily, almost as if it had no resistance, and it took Lambert's eight strikes without any evasion.

Otherwise, the Shadow Vulture would have likely dodged the vital areas and avoided being instantly killed.

"It must be his mental will, a significant portion of which has been transformed into a more refined belief in the sword."

"This sudden eruption of belief power must have caused the Shadow Vulture to lose focus for a moment, resulting in losing the initiative."

"Against an opponent with such incredible speed, losing the initiative means being forced into a passive position, and as we saw, it can lead to an instant defeat!" Rayn thought to himself.

"This level of strength is beyond me," Halowen said solemnly.

"Stronger than five years ago. If I'm not mistaken, he should have reached the half-step Sword Saint level," Luther said gravely.

"Lord Rayn, you should be careful."

Rayn nodded, his gaze fixed on Lambert, who stood calmly in the center of the field.

In truth, after arriving in the Imperial City of Tamriel, Lambert had intended to challenge Rayn directly.

However, after taking the Dram Family's advice, he decided to join this Dragon Knight Cadet selection.

After all, in the current situation within the city, challenging an Imperial Sword Keeper for a life-or-death duel would be unwise.

But within the forbidden realm, things were different.

Because of the presence of others in the forbidden realm, and due to the unique nature of the Dragon Valley Sanctuary, even if something happened, the Empire wouldn't be able to send another team to investigate.

Most likely, the incident would be swept under the rug.

So, Lambert decided to wait until they entered the forbidden realm to make his move.

At this moment, the candidates' gazes collectively shifted to Rayn.

Before Lambert, many had already entered the 'Ten-Second Club' with their killing speed.

But Lambert's previous strike, even including the time it took to dismember the Shadow Vulture in mid-air, took only two seconds.

If one only counted the time it took for Lambert to deliver the fatal blow, it was a clear instant kill!

It probably took less than a second.

Naturally, everyone would compare Lambert to Rayn.

However, Lambert, standing in the center of the field, didn't seem to pay any attention to Rayn, as if he were unaware, calmly controlling the Flying Seahorse to fly back to the crowd.

But precisely because of this, Rayn was certain there was a problem.

He had learned that Lambert was close to Greenwood and had a deep personal connection with the Dram Family. In such a situation, Lambert's lack of interest in him was the real issue.

This was the biggest problem!

Additionally, the other disciple of the Tide Sword Saint, Karl, had also avoided him the other day.

Most likely, Lambert was trying to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

As for why he was avoiding such conflicts, Rayn already had his suspicions.

After Lambert's turn, two more candidates took the stage, and the preliminary round concluded.

Following the sorting, Prince Everton announced the names of the top thirty candidates.

"The following have advanced to the next round."

"Congratulations to all who passed the preliminary round! We'll see you at the Astral Mage Platform at dawn in three days!"

Unfortunately, neither Luther nor Halowen made it into the top thirty.

However, all three members of the Dragon Scale Brotherhood advanced to the next round.

After comforting Luther for his second failure, Rayn returned to the manor.

But as soon as Rayn stepped into the manor, he noticed several familiar figures inside.

The first person who caught Rayn's eye was the elegant lady Jennifer, wearing a purple silk one-shoulder long dress.

She was holding Emma's hand, chatting eagerly, while standing beside them were the tall and sturdy Vandel, leader of the Frostclaw Bear Mercenary Company, and his younger sister, the energetic Georgia.

"Jennifer? When did you arrive in the Imperial City?" Rayn asked, nodding courteously towards Vandel and Georgia.

"Lord Rayn," the tall Vandel and the youthful Georgia greeted him respectfully.

"I just arrived," Jennifer said with a smile as she stood up upon seeing Rain return.

Her words were few, but her beautiful eyes, brimming with emotion, spoke volumes as she gazed at Rain.

After all, with so many people around, certain things couldn't be said aloud.

Rain nodded and said, "You must be tired."

"Have you informed the kitchen? Let's make sure the banquet is well-prepared."

"It's all arranged," Jennifer replied, and before the servants could respond, Emma, Rain's mother, spoke up, even more delighted by Jennifer's arrival than Rain himself.

"Alright, Mother. You two chat."

After saying this, Rain smiled and gestured to Vandar and his sister, Georgia. Understanding his intention, they followed Rain to the outer courtyard.

The three of them strolled and chatted in the courtyard.

"Recently, how is the situation in Minster?" Rain asked.

Hearing Rain's question, Vandar and his sister exchanged a glance and replied, "As the provincial capital, Minster itself doesn't face significant security concerns. However, the situation in the counties under its jurisdiction has become more volatile."

"Since your departure, the cult's activities have intensified."

"Moreover, I heard from Lord Vieri that several ancient creatures have awakened, and during their containment, many Swordsmen suffered heavy casualties."

Vandar thought for a moment, but decided to speak the truth.

Originally, after leading the Frostclaw Bear Mercenary Company to Minster, he believed he could finally take a break.

After all, the security in Minster Province was far superior to that of the northern border province of Marne.

But with the re-emergence of the Tail-Tipped Tri-Headed Sea Dragon, the security situation in Minster Province had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

"Additionally, in the waters of Minster and Rosby County, the Tail-Tipped Tri-Headed Sea Dragon has reappeared, even stronger than before. It's said that the Empire dispatched more than one Guardian, yet they still couldn't defeat it."

"The Tail-Tipped Tri-Headed Sea Dragon?" Rain's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He was, of course, familiar with the Tail-Tipped Tri-Headed Sea Dragon, an epic ancient creature. The last time it appeared, Queen Menea herself had to intervene.

He never expected the creature to return, stronger than before, requiring multiple Imperial Guardians to repel it! It seemed the ancient records were right; the Tail-Tipped Tri-Headed Sea Dragon, in its heyday, possessed demi-god-like strength.

"Yes," Vandar confirmed with a nod.

As a mercenary leader, he had access to valuable information, but the deployment of Imperial Guardians was top-secret, so he wasn't aware of which Guardians had been dispatched.

After the lavish banquet...

Jennifer, the elegant lady, finally found an opportunity to spend time alone with Rain under the pretext of reporting on the guild's business operations.

She accompanied Rain to the second-floor study.

"Click."

As the study door closed, Jennifer, who had indulged in quite a few vintage drinks during the banquet, stopped in her tracks and reached back to lock the door.

Immediately after, Jennifer leaned gently against the wall.

Her beautiful face, flushed with a rosy hue, and her captivating eyes, seemed to drip with desire as she gazed at Rain with deep affection.

Rain, walking ahead of the elegant lady, paused slightly upon hearing the sound of the locking door, but quickly understood the situation. He turned around with a smile and saw Jennifer leaning against the wall.

For Jennifer, it had been two months since she last experienced the intimacy they shared, and at her age, this absence was a significant source of torment.

But now, there was no need to endure it any longer.

The elegant lady playfully flicked her hair, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, and shyly lowered her gaze as she approached Rain.

Her snow-white arms wrapped around Rain.

(Omitted content)



For the couple, reunited after two months, the intimacy in the study was inevitable. To ensure their voices didn't carry, the elegant lady bit down on a small piece of cloth, silencing any sounds.

Over an hour later, with contentment and pleasure radiating from her face, Jennifer finally began to lazily recline on the leather sofa and reported on recent developments.

"Oh, darling, I almost forgot. Take a look at this," Jennifer said, gesturing to a wooden box she had placed on the coffee table earlier.

Rain, intrigued, walked over and opened the box, revealing twelve soul energy crystals inside.

"I used the gold coins you gave me, along with the guild's and auction house's recent profits, to acquire these," Jennifer explained with a smile.

"These..." Rain trailed off, surprised.

While the effect of the soul energy crystals was significantly reduced due to his advanced level, Jennifer was unaware of this.

She had been diligently acquiring these crystals for him while in Minster.

This was the real reason Jennifer had insisted on staying in Minster.

Rain's heart warmed at this realization, and a surge of emotion filled him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end