The Legendary Knight: Rise of the Primordial Dragon

Chapter 112: Vlad vs Lorenzo

The entire area fell completely silent at Vlad’s words, their lips parted in shock.

Only two figures seemed completely unfazed among the gathered audience. One was Raphael himself, who had little interest in the duel between two unskilled freshers, while the other was Chloe, standing on the opposite side of the platform from Raphael, casually munching on chips.

Even Lorenzo was left with widened eyes, sweat trickling down his temple, his hands trembling slightly.

The presence Vlad was emitting should not belong to a sixteen-year-old boy. Lorenzo felt as if he were standing before a monster, every step Vlad took increasing the terror in his eyes.

His hands moved desperately, the emerald aura around him flaring as he released multiple spells.

"Two Ring Spell: Spore Burst!"

"Two Ring Spell: Bloom Mine!"

"Two Ring Spell: Vine Lash!"

Suddenly, a cloud of green smoke exploded outward, covering the entire platform. The few fumes that reached the students standing outside caused them to cough uncontrollably the moment they breathed them in.

Raphael, who was standing just outside the platform, quickly formed a series of hand signs, causing ascending walls of translucent barriers to rise along the perimeter of the platform.

"This will be troublesome for Vlad," he murmured, adjusting his monocle. "The smoke is poisonous, and I only helped Lorenzo by trapping it inside."

Following the smoke, a thick vine lashed into the direction where Vlad had been standing. The students outside could not see a thing where Vlad stood, but judging by the situation, the battle did not seem to be in Vlad’s favour.

[Alert! Poison detected in the air. Breathing it in will cause throat and lung infections. Prolonged exposure to the contaminated air will also cause skin irritation.]

’Poison again?’ Vlad sighed as unpleasant memories of his last battle surfaced in his mind. ’I need to hold my breath until I defeat him,’ he decided before ordering,

"Ren, activate the Foresight Eye."

Vlad’s eyes began glowing with a deep crimson hue, flickers of scarlet lightning appearing at irregular intervals within his irises.

[Foresight Eye activated.]

[The Host can now continuously see 0.5 seconds into the future.]

From his right side, Vlad saw a translucent vine whip hurtling toward him. He instantly ducked low, and the very next moment, a real green whip emerged, striking nothing but empty smoke.

Vlad bolted toward Lorenzo’s direction. Along the way, he saw himself stepping onto something soft, which exploded with sharp poisonous thorns that pierced into his skin. Or rather, that was what he saw 0.5 seconds into the future.

Lorenzo had scattered multiple poisonous thorn mines across the platform. Vlad instantly altered his path and continued moving forward. The thick vine whip continued attacking him at irregular intervals from unpredictable directions while he struggled not to step on any of the hidden mines. It was as if the vine had a mind of its own and could clearly see him through the smoke. One strike was all it would take for him to lose his balance and accidentally fall onto a mine. He needed to avoid that outcome while holding his breath.

The closer he drew to Lorenzo, the more mines littered the dirt ground, completely concealed beneath the dense smoke. He managed to avoid them only at the last possible moment thanks to the Foresight Eye.

His grip tightened around the hilt as he decided to change his tactics.

As soon as the vine whip came from the front again, he swung his sword downward at the incoming attack.

The vine proved far thicker than Vlad had expected. The blade only managed to cut halfway through before the impact launched him backward. He stabbed the sword into the ground, his body skidding to a halt just an inch away from a mine.

His eyes glowed with concentration, his jaw tightening as he struggled to hold his breath. He charged forward again, avoiding the mines since he had already memorized their positions.

This time, when the vine whip appeared again, the slashed section was slowly regenerating. Vlad did not give it the chance to heal completely. He struck the exact same spot again, pouring nearly all of his physical strength into the swing.

The blade managed to slice clean through it, severing the whip into two.

As one half of the vine fell onto the ground, it triggered multiple mines. A series of explosions erupted across the platform, followed by Lorenzo’s loud laughter.

"Hahaha, the battle is over! This is my complete victo—"

Before he could finish celebrating, the severed section of the thick vine came hurtling toward him through the smoke at a terrifying speed.

He instantly moved his arms, controlling the remaining portion of the vine still under his command and pulling it in front of himself as a shield.

The two sections collided with a thunderous crash, sending the smoke billowing outward from the impact. As the smoke dispersed, both the vines and Lorenzo became visible to the crowd.

At that very moment, Vlad appeared in midair, having leapt from behind the severed vine. His hands, face, and the back of his neck were riddled with sharp poisonous thorns, blood trickling from every wound. Yet not even a flicker of pain crossed his face. His expression remained cold, his glowing crimson eyes locked onto the target below.

As he descended, he thrust the blade downward with both hands, its razor-sharp tip aimed directly at Lorenzo.

The blade pierced through Lorenzo’s shoulder and emerged from the other side. Blood splattered outward as he fell backward onto the ground, the sword’s tip burying itself into the earth.

"Ahhhhh!!!" Lorenzo screamed, his limbs flailing in agony, tears streaming down his face.

Despite the excruciating pain, a trace of resistance still burned in his eyes. He was about to move a finger to cast another spell when Vlad twisted the blade, blood seeping out with a wet, nauseating sound.

"Ahhhh!!! I-I su-surrender! I surrender!" Lorenzo screamed, his entire body convulsing in agony.

The moment those words left his mouth, Raphael undid the barrier with a rapid succession of hand signs.

As soon as the translucent barrier dissolved into the air, Chloe released a powerful gust of wind across the platform, blowing all the poisonous smoke high into the sky.

Vlad pulled the sword free from Lorenzo’s shoulder, causing another gush of blood to flow from the wound and making him scream once more. The sight alone sent shivers down the spines of many noble teenagers who had never witnessed so much blood before.

Vlad finally took a breath after holding it for several minutes. Yet his breathing remained perfectly steady, his face betraying not even the slightest hint of pain.

He pointed the blade toward the gathered students and declared in a cold voice,

"I don’t care if you challenge me one at a time or come all at once. Just keep this in mind. I will not stop with just a shoulder next time."