Chapter 100: Facing Adrian and His Bodyguards
Adrian shifted his gaze to Angeline. "Lady Angeline, shouldn’t you end the auction?"
Angeline immediately smiled and lightly tapped the small hammer to the table. "The Titan Ring artifact was won by Mister Adrian."
David turned to Ren and gave him a thumbs up. "Noice!"
"Hehe." Virelia couldn’t help giggling when she saw Adrian’s furious expression. "Little brother, you are so bad! Look at him! His face is red from anger."
"Oh! His face is like a tomato!" Lily mocked him.
"What do you mean by that?" Ren defended himself. "I’m just helping him show everyone how rich he is."
Adrian, who heard Ren’s words, clenched his fist tightly.
’I will torture you until you beg me to kill you.’
His anger and hatred were as big as the universe, so he would not forgive Ren no matter what.
The auction continued.
Lily and David tried to make Adrian lose big money again, but their efforts were in vain.
Adrian had learned his lesson, so when they joined the bidding, he didn’t raise the price crazily like before.
Several minutes later, the auction ended.
----
Ren and the others were currently on their way to the parking lot. But before they could reach Virelia’s car, they were stopped by Adrian and his bodyguards.
"It seems like someone wants to seek revenge." David showed no signs of fear on his face.
"Hey, ugly, what do you want?" Lily asked as she insulted Adrian. "Do you want to give us the items you got from the auction?"
"We are outside of the Eclipse Auction House now. No one will protect you here." Adrian had been waiting for this moment.
"Young master, they are just a bunch of 1-star kids. Please let me handle this." Julian stepped forward.
"Don’t kill them!" Adrian agreed. "Just break their legs so that they can’t run away."
"Understood, young master." Julian shifted into his partial transformation.
His beast form was a Saola.
"Guys, I want to try my combination technique on a 2-star shifter, so can you let me face him alone?" Ren wanted to see how powerful his Lightning Claws skill was against someone above his rank.
"Sure." Lily and the others agreed right away.
But even then, they still transformed into their beast forms, in case his creation skill had no effect and he was in danger.
"You want to face me alone?" Julian found it funny.
He had never heard of any awakener beating someone above their rank in his entire life, so to him, Ren was basically digging his own grave.
"Julian, he is underestimating you." Zion also found it amusing. "Beat him up and show him his place."
Julian turned to Adrian. "Young master, he is underestimating me. Can I be a bit more ruthless?"
"Sure! As long as you don’t kill him, you can do whatever you want." Adrian gave permission right away.
Julian’s lips curled up into a grin as he returned his attention to Ren. "Kid, I will show you the consequences of your arrogance."
Ren said nothing and only focused on his opponent. The moment he activated the formation, both of his arms were covered in blue lightning.
Adrian and his bodyguards were stunned by what they were seeing.
Shifters were different from mages, so they weren’t supposed to be able to manipulate elements.
’What is it? Is it a special innate ability like an archerfish shifter? Or is it just a trick?’
Countless questions flashed through their minds.
A moment later, Maxwell remembered the information from a book he had read several years ago.
"Julian, shifters only have innate abilities. They can’t use elements." Maxwell didn’t think that Ren had awakened both paths, because he believed it was just a myth.
"That’s right, Julian." Zion added. "I’m sure it’s just a trick!"
Lily and David grinned widely.
’What a fool!’
They were even more sure that the Crimson Fangs faction was just some unknown, insignificant group.
"So what if you have a fancy trick? You are only at 1-star. It’s impossible for you to defeat me." Julian had already regarded himself as the winner.
Ren said nothing and charged at Julian.
Even though Julian was not a genius, he was a powerful shifter with a lot of fighting experience, so Ren’s strikes always failed to land on his body.
*Swoosh...
Ren’s lightning claws cut through the air.
After dodging, Julian threw a kick at Ren’s ribs.
Even though Ren managed to block it, he was still pushed back a few meters since the force of his attack was strong.
Julian glanced down at his feet after attacking Ren.
’Was that real lightning?’
He felt a sharp jolt shoot up his leg the moment his kick hit Ren’s hands.
"Nice one, Julian!" Maxwell commented. "Kick his face next!"
"Hmm? What’s wrong, Julian?" Zion asked curiously.
"Nothing." Julian shook his head.
’It must be just my feeling.’
He still believed that awakening two paths was just a fairy tale.
"Ren..." Elara looked at Ren with a worried expression.
She wanted to believe in him, but she could not shake the uneasy feeling in her heart. His opponent was a 2-star shifter, so a single mistake could be fatal for him.
Lily, who noticed it, immediately said, "Don’t worry. He will win this fight."
"That’s right." David agreed. "His creation skill is deadly. One successful hit and boom! That guy will be on the ground crying in pain."
"Just believe in him, Elara." Virelia also believed Ren would not lose.
After all, he was a special awakener.
Normal logic didn’t apply to him.
"Un." Elara nodded and chose to believe in him.
Ren dashed toward Julian again.
This time, he didn’t strike Julian immediately.
He was aware of the situation, so he only launched an attack when the timing was right.
Slowly, the flow of the battle changed.
Now, Ren could fight Julian on an equal footing.
Adrian and his other bodyguards were stunned. The gap between 1-star and 2-star was supposed to be huge.
So, why?
Why was he still standing?
How was he able to fight Julian evenly?
One thing suddenly came to their minds.
Julian was not serious.
Since Adrian wanted to torture Ren immediately, he told his bodyguard to get serious. "Julian, stop playing around."
"Understood, young master." Julian became more aggressive than before.
But this was the beginning of his downfall.
His attacks became readable, and his movements were not as smooth as before.
Ren didn’t waste the opportunity and attacked him with the Lightning Claw skill.
*Kzzzt...
The moment his claws hit Julian’s chest, the lightning slipped into his body and attacked his internal organs.
"Aagghh!" A scream of agony escaped from Julian’s mouth as he dropped to his knees.
His heartbeat became chaotic, and his body stopped functioning. Even though he was still alive, he could not fight anymore.
His vision was blurry, and blood dripped from the corner of his lips. It could be said he was dying because his organs were failing one after another.
"Impo...ssib-" Before he had finished his words, he collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious with his eyes open.
*Silent...
Adrian and his other bodyguards looked at Julian in disbelief.
Ren was only at 1-star, so it should be impossible for him to defeat Julian. Something like this had never happened before.
The one lying on the ground should have been Ren, not Julian. They rubbed their eyes, but what they saw was still the same.
Julian was dying on the ground!
At this moment, they finally realized one thing.
Ren was not an ordinary 1-star awakener.
They also began to suspect that the lightning covering his arms was real. They saw it slide into Julian’s body, so it was too real to be an illusion.
While they were still in a state of shock, David and the others wore smug grins.
They were not surprised by the result of the battle because they knew everything would be over once Ren managed to hit Julian.
"Hey, your bodyguard is so weak!" David took the chance to humiliate Adrian. "What kind of bodyguard loses in just one attack? Looks like your family got scammed by him."
"I think so, too," Lily joined the fun. "Maybe you should check your other bodyguards. From their appearance and behavior, I think they are scammers as well."
Adrian gritted his teeth in anger. "Zion, Maxwell, beat them to half-death!"
Zion and Maxwell exchanged a glance before finally stepping forward.
Actually, one of them was more than enough to handle Ren’s group because they were 3-star awakeners.
They put aside their pride as it was Adrian’s order. They also wanted to avenge Julian, so they decided to fight Ren’s group together.
Maxwell shifted into his partial transformation while Zion retrieved his staff from his space ring.
"We will teach you a lesson now!" Maxwell launched his tongue forward at high speed.
His beast form was a frog, so his tongue could extend at incredible length. After attacking David, he sent Lily.
These two were the most annoying, so he decided to beat them first.
Even though Ren’s group was filled with geniuses, they could not do anything against Maxwell and Zion.
They were only 1-star, so it was like beginners who had just joined a martial arts school going up against their seniors.
Bang!
Their bodies were slammed into the ground.
Ren rose to his feet and wiped away the blood at the corner of his lips. "Guys, help me create an opening."
"Alright." They stood up and nodded.
They charged at Zion and Maxwell once more.
However, the result was still the same.
They were sent flying into the air!
The gap between them was too big for their numbers to make up for it.
"Haha!" Adrian laughed happily.
He liked it!
He loved it!
Ren and his group had been mocking him since earlier, so the sight of them getting beaten up was incredibly satisfying.
"How does it feel to be beaten? Does it hurt that much? Haha!" Adrian took the opportunity to make fun of them.
"Hmf! Without your bodyguards, you’re nothing!" David believed he could crush Adrian if they fought one-on-one.
"That’s right!" Lily said. "You are only a weakling who relies on your bodyguards!"
"You are only making an excuse now!" Adrian knew their intention. "Wait! Didn’t you say they were scammers? So what do you think now?"
Maxwell and Zion grinned happily.
"If we were at the same rank, I would crush you in seconds!" Lily stated.
"That’s right." David commented. "You can only beat us because you have been an awakener longer than us! Otherwise, you are nothing!"
Maxwell and Zion were enraged since they still dared to humiliate them.
"Maxwell, Zion, it seems they haven’t learned their lesson," Adrian said. "Beat them until they learn to keep their mouths shut."
"Understood, young master." Maxwell and Zion were ready to beat them again.
But before they could attack Ren’s group, a voice rang out. "How dare you injure my student?"
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