NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102: Attack
Richard chose to sit in one of the seats, appearing silent, but he sent a Mind Attack toward a worker who happened to pass by.
"Have you ever heard about a hole beneath this colosseum?" Richard directly questioned the worker.
"A hole? What hole?" The worker looked confused, so Richard shook his head and waved his hand for him to leave before releasing the Mind Attack.
'Maybe ordinary people know nothing about that hole. It must be a royal secret,' he thought.
After that, he continued strolling around the colosseum, simply enjoying the moment, but his brows knitted when he once again saw the man in the black robe—Austin—watching him from the highest stands.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
He was with a young man, appearing less than twenty years old, with extremely dark black hair and slightly brown skin, carrying a sword on his back that radiated a sharp aura.
Austin was actually standing slightly behind the young man, indicating the latter's higher status.
'I guess I should give them a lesson,' Richard thought.
In his hand, a golden coin appeared—the Ignis Volt Core.
He gripped it as his body suddenly released a massive amount of clouds, directly enveloping the entire colosseum.
This was a weak-type ability, its natural range dozens to hundreds of times wider than ordinary attacks, especially with his affinity reaching ninety percent.
Richard only used it as a distraction, while his hand aimed the Ignis Volt Core at the black-haired young man beside Austin, channeling an immense amount of fire and lightning before firing it as a laser.
The laser produced was naturally different from the last time he had used it.
It moved as fast as the light it emitted, seeming to pierce through space and time itself. Its heat even melted the air around it.
The clouds Richard had released split apart, but it was already too late for the black-haired youth.
The laser pierced his chest, right through the heart, his eyes widening only to lose their light in the same instant.
And Austin appeared no less than shocked, panicked, and terrified.
'Did he die?' Richard was also stunned.
Of course, he knew that young man wasn't that strong—at most equal to Austin. He might have been a genius, but he was still clearly young, probably one of the tournament participants.
Yet, killed with a single strike—Richard found it hard to believe.
After all, his intention wasn't to kill, only to teach a lesson, yet the other party died just like that.
BANG!
The young man finally collapsed with no blood spilling out, but he was clearly dead.
Austin grew even more terrified.
He glared at Richard, but the clouds that had opened up due to the force of the laser began to close again.
"Mm…" Richard was startled. He suddenly lost all trace of Austin.
The man seemed to vanish.
Even when Richard used his Sixth Sense, he couldn't find him. Only the corpse of the black-haired youth remained.
"Brat, how dare you!" Suddenly, he heard Austin's furious shout.
The clouds around him tore apart as a gust of wind surged, revealing a massive shadow appearing right beneath Richard's feet.
It seemed to bind Richard's shadow, and as a result, Richard couldn't move—as if his own body had been shackled.
From that shadow, Austin emerged, a curved blade in his hand.
But Richard only smiled at him.
BANG!
A tremendous wave erupted from Richard, striking Austin directly—not only his outer body but his insides as well.
He was flung violently, crashing into the stands until they cracked.
Fortunately, they were made of extremely hard stone, but slamming into such stone clearly caused Austin's body severe damage.
He immediately appeared unable to stand any longer.
"Stop! What do you think you're doing, fighting here!"
Richard heard another shout, and this time a gust of wind strong enough to scatter all of his clouds swept across the colosseum.
He saw soldiers arriving, led by a middle-aged man with a muscular build.
When the scenery was revealed, they could only be stunned upon seeing Richard with two men already collapsed.
Recognizing the two faces, they were even more shocked.
One was clearly dead—no trace of life could be sensed.
The soldiers and the muscular middle-aged man froze in place for quite a while.
At the same time, Richard stepped toward them.
"They disturbed me, so I fought back instinctively. I didn't expect them to be so weak, and I accidentally killed one of them," Richard said, not trying to make excuses, honestly admitting what had happened since everything was already obvious.
They really had disturbed him by tailing him so openly and watching him constantly.
In his own estimation, they had been planning to capture him.
Killing was forbidden, but if there was a justifiable reason, one could be absolved.
Of course, the law usually depended on strength.
With Lilith's support, Richard wasn't sure if he had an advantage against the two backers of those men, considering they were from the Dark Star Legion.
But he would face it for now.
Hearing his words, the soldiers froze even longer.
They seemed to need time to process everything.
"B-Brat, d-don't lie. We didn't do anything—you were the one who suddenly attacked."
Austin, unable to stand, suddenly forced himself to shout.
He looked extremely furious because Richard had called them weak.
That insult hurt his pride far more than the blows he had taken.
"Why wouldn't I attack if I was attacked? Are you saying only you're allowed to strike?" Richard replied, instantly making Austin's face flush red while his hands trembled.
"You! You!" he said, but struggled to speak further.
"Take them to headquarters!" The muscular middle-aged man then ordered the soldiers.
After that, he turned to Richard.
"Sir Richard, you must also come with us," he said in a soft tone, though his naturally rough voice didn't sound soft at all.
"But I'm not guilty…" Richard pretended to be innocent, unwilling to be taken.
"Even if you are not guilty, you still must come with us for investigation," the middle-aged man replied.
"But…" Richard began showing a panicked expression.
"Sir Richard, you can be assured—if you are innocent, you will not face any problems." The middle-aged man still tried to speak gently as he reassured Richard.
This time, Richard finally nodded.
"Alright, I will go," he said with a reluctant expression.
But just as he said that, another middle-aged man appeared in the sky, flying.
He had dark black hair and brown skin as well, resembling the young man who had just died.
When his eyes fell on the young man's corpse, his expression instantly turned pale.