Chapter 412: Tide Eight-Segment Strike

Chapter 412: Tide Eight-Segment Strike

However, Ren suddenly recalled Claire's previous warning.

Prince Everett was not as amicable as he seemed on the surface; if one were to compare him to an animal, a venomous snake would be more fitting.

The prince was likely waiting for an opportunity. Ren's eyes flashed as if he had an idea.

At that moment, the next candidate stepped forward, refocusing Ren's attention on the arena.

The ensuing battles were spectacular, and Ren gained further insight into the heirs and disciples of the Imperial aristocracy, various wizarding schools, and swordsaint lineages.

Hallowen's drawn opponent was a Hurricane Elemental.

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

"Candidate number eighty-one, Lambert, please step forward," the attendant shouted.

A middle-aged man with a double-handed greatsword on his back stood with his arms crossed, perched atop a relatively rare flying seahorse slowly heading towards the front of the arena.

Indeed!

He was standing, not riding.

Earlier, when Ren surveyed the surroundings, he had noticed this middle-aged man because the latter had also stared at him for a long time. However, Ren didn't pay much attention to it back then.

Candidates like this, who carried a double-handed greatsword and followed the path of knighthood, were relatively common in the preliminary rounds.

Although there were also powerful ones among them, their strengths varied. Sometimes, even legendary-tier knight candidates struggled to defeat their opponents within three minutes in four or five consecutive matches.

But upon hearing the opponent's name, Ren's eyes narrowed.

He immediately remembered the person that Karl, the disciple of the Tide Sword Saint, had mentioned earlier—Lambert.

Although there were many people with the same name in the world, Ren instinctively felt that this Lambert was the one Karl had spoken of.

"I didn't expect Lambert to be here as well," Luther said, his expression turning solemn.

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

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

"Yes, wasn't he the disciple of the Tide Sword Saint who was defeated by Lord Ren?" Hallowen nodded.

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

"What! It's him!" Hallowen's face changed, and he exclaimed softly.

He immediately looked at Ren, who was standing beside him.

Apparently, in Hallowen's eyes, Lambert's appearance likely meant he was targeting Ren.

Ren, however, remained calm and nodded, saying, "It seems my guess was correct."

In the arena, Lambert drew a Shadow Vulture as his opponent from the lottery. It was a ferocious species with innate shadow abilities.

After the lottery draw, Lambert kept his arms crossed, standing upright on the flying seahorse as it slowly headed towards the center of the arena.

"Chirp~"

At that moment, the thick metal fence on the side of the arena rose, and a colossal bird-like creature with a body shrouded in black aura burst out, screeching as it charged forward.

Its wingspan exceeded eight meters, and its flying speed was incredibly fast.

"The Shadow Vulture has a high flying speed and strong defensive and offensive capabilities. It will be a good test of Lambert's strength."

"The last time I saw him was five years ago. Even with my current strength, I wouldn't be a match for him back then," Luther said gravely.

Luther's words naturally piqued Ren's interest.

The Shadow Vulture spotted Lambert in the center of the arena and flapped its wings, charging towards the senior disciple of the Tide Sword Saint.

Lambert, however, remained unmoved, his arms crossed, standing calmly atop the flying seahorse. He hadn't even drawn his greatsword, seemingly treating the Shadow Vulture as if it were nothing.

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

He felt that Lambert was putting on a show.

Suddenly, the arena underwent a transformation.

As if receiving a command from its owner, the flying seahorse carrying Lambert, with his arms still crossed, charged towards the oncoming Shadow Vulture.

Just as the two were about to collide!

Suddenly, Lambert's right hand swiftly drew the greatsword from behind his back and slashed forward. Instantly, seven or eight silver arcs of light burst forth from the Shadow Vulture's position.

The arcs of light were vertical, horizontal, and lateral, but they all vanished in a flash! The next second, the two barely missed each other.

Lambert maintained his arms-crossed posture, and his greatsword, which had been sheathed on his back, was now nowhere to be seen, as if it had never been drawn.

As for the Shadow Vulture, it seemed to have been affected by a paralysis spell, its wings spread wide, motionless, as it slanted towards the ground.

Before it even hit the ground, a sizzling sound emanated from its body!

Seven or eight blood arrows simultaneously shot out from various parts of the Shadow Vulture's body, and in the next second, it disintegrated into pieces in mid-air!

The spectators erupted in exclamations of astonishment.

"Hiss~ This is the Tide Eight-Segment Strike!"

"The top-tier secret technique created by the Tide Sword Saint in his youth?"

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

"I heard he's been in seclusion, I didn't expect him to participate in this Dragon Rider Reserve selection."

Ren couldn't help but notice that in that instant, Lambert had unleashed eight strikes with his sword, the fastest he had ever seen among all the participants.

It was worth noting that Lambert wielded a relatively heavy two-handed greatsword, not the lighter one-handed swords like the Knight's Longsword or the Hand-and-a-Half Sword.

Within a second, he had drawn his sword, unleashed eight strikes, and completed a series of movements, an undeniably swift display!

Moreover, Ren keenly sensed something else.

Just before the opponent's attack burst forth, there seemed to be a substantial surge of momentum that affected the Shadow Vulture.

This was why the legendary Shadow Vulture momentarily froze, losing its resistance and taking Lambert's eight strikes without any struggle.

Otherwise, the Shadow Vulture should have dodged the vital strike, avoiding being one-hit killed.

"It's likely that a significant portion of his mental will has been transformed into a more refined belief in the sword."

"The sudden eruption of this belief force must have caused the Shadow Vulture to lose focus for a moment, resulting in the loss of initiative."

"Against such a swift opponent, losing the initiative means being on the back foot, or even being one-hit killed, like what just happened!" Ren thought to himself.

"I'm no match for this level of strength." Harlowen said with a serious expression.

"Stronger than five years ago, if I'm not mistaken, he should have reached the Half-Step Sword Saint level." Luther spoke in a low voice.

"Be careful, Your Highness Ren."

Ren nodded, his gaze fixed on the calm Lambert in the center of the arena.

In truth, after arriving in the imperial capital of Tamriel, Lambert had intended to challenge Ren directly.

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

After all, under the current situation in the imperial capital, challenging an Imperial Elite Swordsman to a life-or-death duel would be unwise.

But within the secret realm, it was a different story.

Due to the unique nature of the Dragon Valley Secret Realm, if Ren were to die there, the Empire would be unable to send another team to investigate the secret realm.

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

So, Lambert decided to wait until they were inside the secret realm before making his move.

At that moment, the candidates' attention shifted to Ren.

Although several participants had already entered the 'Ten-Second Club' with their killing speeds, Ren's killing speed was still the fastest, taking only three seconds.

Now, with Lambert's appearance, his last 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's lethal strike, it was undoubtedly a one-hit kill!

The duration might not have even reached a full second.

Naturally, the crowd compared Lambert's performance to Ren's.

However, Lambert, standing in the center of the arena, seemed oblivious to the attention, calmly controlling the Flying Seahorse as it slowly flew back to the crowd.

But it was precisely because of this that Ren concluded there was likely something amiss.

He had learned that Lambert was close to Greenwood and had a deep personal relationship with the Dram Family. In such a situation, Lambert showed no interest in him, which was the real issue!

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Additionally, there was the reminder from Karl, another disciple of the Tide Sword Saint, before he left.

It was highly likely that Lambert was trying to avoid any hint of favoritism.

As for the reason behind this avoidance, Ren had his suspicions.

After Lambert's turn, the last two candidates took their turns, marking the end of the preliminary round.

Following the sorting, Prince Everett 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 meet again at the Astrologist's Platform in three days!"

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

On the other hand, all three members of the Dragon Scale Brotherhood advanced to the next round.

After consoling Luther for his second failure, Ren returned to the manor.

However, as soon as Ren stepped into the manor, he noticed several familiar figures inside.

The first person who caught Ren's eye was a beautiful woman, Jennifer, wearing a purple one-shoulder silk gown.

She was holding his mother Emma's hand, chatting eagerly, while standing beside them were a man and a woman—Vandar, the leader of the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Group, and his sister, Georgia.

"Jennifer? When did you arrive in the imperial capital?" Ren exclaimed in surprise, and he nodded in greeting to Vandar and Georgia.

"Lord Ren."

"The tall and burly Vandar and the youthful and energetic Georgia immediately saluted.

'Just arrived,' Jennifer said with a smile as she saw Ren return.

Her words were few, but her beautiful eyes held a deep affection for Ren, something that needed no words to express.

Especially with people all around, it was not an appropriate time to speak freely.

Ren nodded and smiled, 'You've been working hard.'

'I've already informed the kitchen to prepare a grand banquet for tonight,' Jennifer added.

'It's all arranged,' Emma, Ren's mother, said, even before the servants could reply, her joy evident at Jennifer's arrival.

'Alright, Mother, you two have a chat then,' Ren said, gesturing to Vandar and Georgia.

The three of them strolled and chatted in the outer courtyard.

'How's the situation in Minter lately?' Ren asked.

Hearing this, Vandar and his sister Georgia exchanged a glance and replied, 'As the provincial capital, Minter itself is relatively safe, but the situation in the surrounding counties is not so good.'

'Since your departure, the activities of the heretical cult have become more rampant.'

'And I heard from Lord Vieri that there have been cases of ancient creatures awakening, resulting in heavy casualties among the Swordsmasters during the operations.'

Vandar thought for a moment before deciding to be honest.

Initially, he had believed that with the Ice Claw Bear Mercenary Corps' arrival in Minter, he could take a break.

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

However, with the re-emergence of the Tailfin Tri-Headed Sea Dragon, the security situation in Minter Province had taken a turn for the worse.

'Additionally, the Tailfin Tri-Headed Sea Dragon has appeared again in the waters of Mester and Rosby County, even stronger than before. It's said that the Empire dispatched multiple High Guardians, but they couldn't defeat it.'

'The Tailfin Tri-Headed Sea Dragon?' Ren's eyebrows furrowed.

He was well aware of the Tailfin Tri-Headed Sea Dragon, an epic-level ancient creature that had previously been dealt with by Her Highness Queen Myria.

Unbeknownst to him, the creature had returned with even greater strength, requiring multiple Imperial Guardians to hold it off! It seemed the ancient records were not exaggerating when they described the Tailfin Tri-Headed Sea Dragon in its prime as having demi-god-like power.

'Yes,' Vandar nodded in confirmation.

As a mercenary leader, Vandar was well-informed, but the movements of the Imperial Guardians were top-secret, and he had no knowledge of which Guardians had been dispatched.

After the grand banquet.

The beautiful, middle-aged Jennifer finally found an opportunity to spend time with Ren under the pretext of reporting on the guild's business.

She accompanied Ren to the study on the second floor.

'Click.'

As the study door closed, Jennifer, who had consumed quite a bit of aged wine at the banquet, stopped and locked the door behind her.

Leaning against the wall, Jennifer's beautiful face flushed, her eyes sparkling with desire as she gazed at Ren.

Hearing the locking of the door, Ren turned around with a smile, understanding her intentions.

For Jennifer, it had been two months since she last experienced the thrill of the game, and at her age, it was a significant torment.

With Ren away, she had endured, but now, there was no need to hold back.

Jennifer playfully tossed her hair and approached Ren, her eyes filled with longing.

She wrapped her arms around Ren's neck, and

(10,000 words omitted)



For the two who hadn't seen each other in two months, the game in the study couldn't be a one-off, and to prevent their voices from carrying, Jennifer bit down on the lace handkerchief.

Over an hour later, Jennifer, with a face radiant with joy and contentment, finally began to lazily report on recent developments.

'Oh, my dear, take a look at that,' Jennifer pointed to the wooden box on the tea table by the door.

Hmm? Intrigued, Ren walked over, opened the box, and was surprised to find 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 smiled.

'This...' Ren was at a loss for words.

Although he had already reached the Tier 3 Crystal Mage level, greatly reducing the effectiveness of Soul Energy Crystals, Jennifer was unaware of this.

She had been in Minter, tirelessly working to acquire Soul Energy Crystals for him.

This was the reason Jennifer had insisted on staying in Minter.

A warm feeling welled up in Ren's heart.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end