Chapter 301: Pathetic...pathetic...pathetic....
Lucien’s smile broadened as he watched Axel lose control over his emotions. Given his pathetic state, it was only a matter of time before he died here. However, it still was quite fun to play with the Bastard’s emotions like this, though he was doing this whole thing based on his instincts; he still held a significant grudge against Axel for the fact that Sophia was giving him so much attention.
He had managed to get at least somewhat close to Sophia, at least being on neutral terms, considering how gravely she hated men in general with every fiber of her being. But when it came to this one bastard, her blatant hate for men was nowhere to be seen. It was revolting, absolutely revolting for him to see. The beautiful valkyrie was slipping away from him, and a rift was forming between them. He considered the functionalities of the summoning brand on the Valkyrie’s soul.
His mother had said that as long as he remained close with the valkyrie and could become somewhat close with her, the summoning brand on her soul would do the rest. As the most capable prince, he is the one most likely to be the king, even without considering his dragon blood. So, the valkyrie would eventually fall in love with him. She needed to be in his care for the future when he would need her.
Considering the past valkyries’ records, she would be the only one who might be able to somewhat contend with his strength. So, she was not only a chess piece but the perfect companion for him in every possible way. As such, When Sophia’s attention always remained fixed on that bastard. He didn’t like it one bit. But now, for those very reasons, it was nice to play with Axel’s emotions like this. His dragon blood unexpectedly found great joy at the misfortune of this wretch.
Axel, unable to control his rage anymore, lunged forward at the prince, using the amount of mana he could use, ignoring the tearing pain of his energy pathways, putting it into the sword. The actual forged sword converted the injected mana into its refined form without any delay. The aura generated from the sword coated its steel body entirely, though none of it covered Axel’s own body.
The aura itself took a sharp form as they descended at an extremely high speed; the sound of air being sliced through was heard crystal clear. But alas, which might have been impressive, even overwhelming against any ordinary seeker of the first phase, it was laughable in front of the individual who was the blessed one of this very world.
The very silverthorne sword that Axel had created for Lucien appeared in his hand. Just as Axel’s blade was about to touch Lucien’s throat, it was stopped. Lucien didn’t even budge; a mocking smile appeared on Lucien’s face as he deflected the sword attack with barely any effort on his part. Axel did not stop or react in any way to how Lucien had blocked his attack so easily. He was already enraged, so he attacked repeatedly. But the same event replayed with every action of his attack.
Clank....
Shriek.....
Creak....
Bang...
Lucien blocked his attack each time and continued to push him backwards, one single step at a time. A sneer remained on the prince’s face, and he felt no pressure, nothing; his face was that of someone going out for a walk, not someone who was casually defending against the endless barrage of attacks from Axel nonstop. It was truly a sight to behold, the sight of how weak Axel Nomrad was at that very moment. His desperation to save his friend, the humiliation, the trap he fell into, all the negative emotions crawled on his face like a swarm of worms.
But he remained helpless, no matter what technique he used or how he attacked, Lucien remained far superior. Axel knew that even if he was at his full strength, he might not win against the damn bastard. And now, when he didn’t even have access to one-third of his full power, the difference was laughable. Lucien stated with a disgusted sigh, "I know you’re weakened and all, but seriously? That’s it? That’s all you can offer? Why did you even come here in the first place when you can’t manage to do anything?"
"Even Heinz was at least 100 times better than you at this point. Are you really so fucking foolish, Axel Nomrad? Or do you have a hidden card? If you do, there’s no better time to use it than now. Because this is getting embarrassing at this point. Or did you come here to show how truly pathetic you are, eh??"
"If you have indeed come to show that and generate my pity, you have successfully succeeded in doing so. But this won’t save you, though. I didn’t think you would actually come to give up your life for a guy who has been your friend for barely a year or so. How heroic, or should I say pathetic? sigh...."
With each word Lucien spoke, Axel’s face turned darker and darker, but he was helpless, with nothing to do except attack mindlessly. The one-time usable rune tools he had with him were all utility-based; even the attack-based ones would be absolutely useless against someone as strong as Lucien.
The prince, tired of Axel’s continuous, useless attacks, finally took the initiative. With a powerful vertical slash, the sword from Axel’s hand flew away; his hand kept vibrating from the high force of impact. Before he could react in any way, a cut appeared on his stomach and then another and another and another. Axel brought out another forged artifact from his tool space, but this one was also flung away.
Then he threw multiple smoke bombs, but they were even more useless. At this point, he had become absolutely desperate to try to do anything to stop Lucien’s attack and probably hurt him as well, if possible.
Lucien stated while shaking his head, "Pathetic, this is beyond fucking pathetic, I almost feel pity at this point that I should have simply let you recover and then fought. That way it would have been at least more fun and interesting, sigh....what a fucking disappointment you are, Axel Nomrad."
The prince strongly kicked Axel in the stomach, which sent him flying 10 meters back into a tree trunk. Multiple trees were broken from the impact on Axel. The bastard had kicked on the very spot where the cuts were on his stomach. The place that was already bleeding badly began to bleed more, and Axel threw up a mouthful of blood. His internals were already in a bad state due to the weakened condition of his. Now it felt like they were almost on the verge of failing.
His head was spinning, it felt like his ears were ringing, he felt weak and in pain both on the inside and outside. But he did not fall despite those life-threatening conditions; his entire body was barely functioning, held together by the existence of the demon bloodline. A simple human Seeker would have died a hundred times over in such a state. Lucien punched him in the face, no mercy behind each of his attacks but only gleeful amusement, maybe disgust at Axel’s weakness. Weakness, which all Dragons instinctively hated.