520 Lightning Dragon [2]

"Useless, useless, uselss..." 

While browsing SilverStar's belongings, I found myself saddened by the fact that I was unable to locate any of the things that I was looking for. 

I found the room to be fairly large, about as big as a tennis court, and it was quite beautifully decorated with all kinds of furniture. Plants, flowers, and other nature-related things dominated most of them. 

But this was expected given his elven nature. 

"Still nothing." 

I muttered after moving one of the sofas to the side, and still not finding anything. I was honestly starting to get quite frustrated. 

"He's a lot more cautious than I originally let him out to be." 

In all fairness, I should've expected this from the very beginning. After all, given the current environment, who wouldn't? 

"Guess I can only go for the second option." 

Sitting down on one of the couches, I stopped searching and just relaxed. There was another and simpler way to get the resources. 

...and it should present itself any minute now. 

"What are you doing here?" 

It was then that a familiar voice echoed inside the room as a silver-haired figure entered. There was a seething rage hidden within that voice as the man in the air rippled slightly. 

Glancing in the direction of the silver figure, I gave her a simple nod. 

"You're here." 

"...You're here?" 

SilverMoon's body froze for a split second as she cocked her head to the side. Clearly confused about my intentions. 

"You were waiting for me?" 

She asked.

To which I nodded. 

"Yes, I was." 

Well, sort of. 

Musing for a moment, she asked. 

"Have you reconsidered my previous offer?" 

"No." 

I shook my head.

Standing up from the sofa, I calmly walked in her direction.

"My intentions in coming here are simple." 

Stopping in front of her, I extended my hand in her direction. 

"Tell me where SilverStar's resources are." 

Immediately after those words left my mouth, SilverMoon's eyes turned bloodshot. The mana in the air rippled, and her hair fluttered widely. Seeing how the situation was getting out of hand, I immediately cut her in the middle of her words. 

"How dare y—" 

"I can help you get rid of the Overlord." 

For a moment, the mana coming from her body stopped and her eyes paused on me. Before she could do anything else, I took advantage of the moment and continued speaking. 

"You've already seen what happened when SilverStar fought against the current Overlord. A total defeat." 

SilverMoon's face twisted when I said those words. Regardless, I kept pushing. 

"You know yourself that you are weaker than SilverStar, meaning that you have no chance of ever exacting revenge against the current Overlord." 

The more I spoke, the more SilverMoon's face twisted. 

Even then, she never once interrupted me. It was clear that she couldn't dispute any of the words that I was saying. 

After glancing at her for a moment, I asked. 

"You've probably already heard about what happened between the current Overlord, haven't you?" 

"...Yes." 

She nodded her head. 

The mana that was coming out of her body had already receded back, and I was able to get a better look at her complexion.

She looked rather haggard as her hair was a mess, and her eyes had a lost look in them. 

Her current appearance was a far cry from the confident and overbearing one from the past. 

She was a shell of her former self. 

But this was understandable. With SilverStar now dead, what was the point of escaping anymore? 

Her previous goal was to regain freedom and escape with her husband, but now that he was dead, such an option was no longer feasible. 

Her mental state was anything but stable. 

Brushing her hair back, SilverMoon opened her mouth. 

"I don't know a lot, but I heard that you were kicked out by the current Overlord." 

"Indeed..." 

Gnashing my teeth, I pretended to be enraged. 

A wave of oppressive mana burst out from my body, forcing SilverMoon to take a step back in shock. 

Bringing my face closer to her, I spat through my gnashed teeth. 

"I only went to him to greet him since we were from the same race, but guess what? Not only was I kicked out of the room, but he even dared to spit on me...How fucking dare he!" 

Crack. Crack. 

I cracked my knuckles. 

"Nice acting."

I heard from the side. Trying my best to keep my composure in check, I ignored the voice. 

Taking a deep breath, the mana that was coming out of my body quickly receded. 

There were two goals in my bringing out my mana. One, to show her that I truly held a grudge against the current overlord, and two...

Directly show her my strength. 

Show her that I was worth investing in. 

"My hatred for the current Overlord runs as deeply as yours, and I want nothing more than to just kill him as you do." 

"...Is this the reason why you came to get his resources?" 

There was a look of melancholy in her eyes as she thought back at SilverStar. Even then, her hatred for the Overlord ran quite deeply as her eyes regained some clarity. 

Opening her mouth, I was able to see a trace of her former self. 

"You have seen just how strong the Overlord is. What makes you think you can beat him? Someone whom my husband couldn't even win against." 

Staring at her for a brief moment of time, I scoffed a little. 

"...You don't really have a choice, do you?" 

"What do you mean?" 

SilverMoon's eyes narrowed. 

I smirked slightly in response. 

"Since you yourself are not confident in beating him, then who else but I can?" 

SilverMoon's face changed when I said those words. After a while, she clenched her teeth and lowered her head. 

She couldn't argue back with what I said.

I kept pushing. 

"You should already know. I challenged Lightning Dragon for the next match. Whoever wins against us will become the next Emperor since you yourself don't seem to become the next Emperor." 

As I talked, I continued to gauge SilverMoon's reaction. And the more I talked, the more I could see the despair in her face. 

As I kept pushing, I couldn't help but think. 

'What a vile strategy...'

Taking advantage of someone when they were at their lowest point, and exploiting them. 

This was essentially what I was doing at the moment. 

Not only that but in reality, this whole scenario had been designed to be this way from the very beginning. 

I had created a point of connection between SilverMoon and me as a result of telling Edward about the situation regarding the rigged game. 

With him winning and killing SilverStar, and given SilverMoon's relationship with SilverStar, it was only natural for such a scenario to occur. 

A scenario where she was desperate for Edward's death. 

However, she knew her limits, and so she could only despair at the thought of never being able to exact revenge against him 

This was where I came in and used that connection to manipulate her into giving me the resources her husband had left behind. 

By giving her hope, I was essentially exploiting her weakened mind. 

It was honestly quite a vile strategy, but I didn't really care. 

I was not a saint. And neither were they as they had also done such schemes in the past. 

"....Give me the resources and I will prove to you that you've made the right choice." 

I lowered my voice to a whisper. 

"Give me the resources and I will avenge your husband." 

*** 

The loud cheers of the crowd reverberated throughout the arena grounds as I stood in the middle of the arena grounds. 

"Huuuu..." 

Taking a deep breath, I felt the mana inside of my body.

'Thank god I managed to breakthrough...'

It was a race against time, but in the end, I was able to break through thanks to the resources left behind by SilverStar. 

Some of the things he had would've actually been helpful for when I broke through to <S-> rank, but given the time constraint, I had no choice but to waste them for my breakthrough. 

Slowly, I opened my eyes. At the exact moment, I opened my eyes, I was met with a pair of yellow pupils. 

The moment I stared into those pupils I felt a cold chill run down my body. 

'He's strong.'

All it took was a glance for me to understand that I was not facing someone ordinary. 

Rather, for the first time in a long time, I finally felt a sense of dread coming out of my opponent. It felt as though I was facing my natural predator. 

Hugging onto his sword as though it was a teddy bear, Lightning Dragon spared me a single glance before quickly losing interest in me. 

My forehead creased when I saw this, but I didn't put much thought into it. 

My mind was as calm as it had ever been. 

[Are the two contestants ready?]

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed throughout the entire arena, causing the crowd to become even louder. 

Glancing at her for a brief moment of time, I gave her a simple nod. 

"Yes." 

"...Yes." 

Lightning Dragon also nodded his head. His relaxed and somewhat lazy attitude was met with even more cheers by the crowd. 

"Fuck him up Lightning Dragon." 

"Let him know why you are ranked third!" 

"The next Emperor." 

In the midst of the crowd's cheers, Lightning Dragon finally opened his mouth. 

"You shouldn't have challenged me." 

"...Hmm?" 

My brow raised. 

Touching the sheath of my sword, I asked. 

"Why's that?" 

Raising his hand, he yawned. 

"Huammm...because I'm sleepy." 

I frowned when I heard his words. 

Although they were vague, I knew what he was trying to imply. 

'Because I'm sleepy, I plan on ending this fight quickly to go back to sleep.'

"...Is that so?"

Placing my hand over the sheath of my sword, I grinned. 

"Then all I have to do is not make you sleepy, right?" 

"Hm?" 

Lowering his head, Lightning Dragons' eyes flashed. He then nodded his head. 

"Yes, you can say so." 

Squeezing the sword closer to his body, he languidly blinked his eyes. 

"...But my eyes see everything." 

"What doe—" 

Before I could say anything else, the demoness' voice cut me off. 

[...Both contestants, please get ready.] 

With her hand raised, the crowd instantly stopped talking. A sense of tension filled the arena. 

In the meantime, placing my hand on the sheath of my sword, I started to channel my mana. 

Feeling her gaze land on me as she alternated her gaze between me and Lightning Dragon, the demoness soon lowered her hand. 

[Fight!] 

As soon as her words faded, I took a step forward and channeled all my mana toward my sword.

Click—! 

The first movement of the [Keiki style] : Quick flash

A subtle clicking sound rang out, and the area around me was dyed in white. 

From the get-go, I decided to use one of my strongest moves. The first movement of the Keiki style. 

As I had not once used the Keiki style, I was planning on catching him off guard from the very start. 

But...

Clank—!

"Huh?" 

The next scene caused my blood to freeze as my heart rate spiked up. 

Ba...thump! Ba...thump!

Right as my sword left my sheat, I was left stunned by a loud metallic sound that reverberated throughout the whole arena. 

Blinking a couple of times, I slowly raised my head. Gazing at the tip of my sword, my mouth opened and closed multiple times. 

"W...what?" 

"...I told you didn't I?" 

A grim voice echoed out.

Lowering his head to glance at the tip of my sword which had been stopped by the body of his sword that was tilted toward the right side of his body, his yellow eyes shone a brilliant yellow hue. 

"I see everything."