The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

Julia glanced at her slave as soon as she heard his confident voice. Although she trusts Van's abilities, their size was indeed too unfair, just like what Butler Judge said.

"You can trust me." Van replied calmly.

After getting the signal, he then pushed open the carriage door and stepped onto the road to face Gorran.

As for Julia and Butler Judge, they remained inside the carriage. This way, Judge could safely cast the Spell that he needed to.

Furthermore, Julia would also be well protected by staying inside.

Of course, seeing this, the Luxe noble's smirk deepened. He saw it differently.

"Brave little thing, aren't you? I guess your master has given up on you…"

Van didn't answer as he approached his opponent. There was no need for him to be afraid.

Then, Gorran cracked his neck as his muscles rippled when he stepped forward.

Thud!

Even the ground trembled under his weight.

Van wasn't sure what kind of Magic Beast he integrated into, but it was definitely a Magic Beast that boosts his defense.

Gorran's skin and muscles weren't something he could easily penetrate with his current Aura. Nonetheless, he didn't appear bothered about it.

On the other hand, inside the carriage, Julia still couldn't help but feel tense.

She just felt the Aura coming from Gorran, and it was very close to the First-Level Aura Knight. She wasn't unfamiliar with such energy, as she had seen Aura Knights before.

Julia clasped her hands and silently prayed. Then, she looked at Subject Zero.

"Hey… Do you think you can win against Gorran?" She asked suddenly.

Subject Zero then thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'm possible… Even if he can't use his Aura or maybe even Mana, I'll get squished by his hands."

Julia wryly smiled as she also had similar thoughts. Subject Zero indeed possessed incredible skills, but in the end, he didn't have any outstanding ability to kill his opponents.

He was still small and could easily be defeated by enemies relying on their physical strength.

In the end, Julia could only hope that everything would be fine.

***

"Can you beat me?" Gorran asked as he looked at Van like a pitiful prey.

"Yes…" Van answered.

The Beastblood slave chuckled as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

"You? Beat me? I'll snap you in half before you blink."

Van didn't respond.

His Ocularis Lens had spent hours analyzing Gorran's movements during the auction. Every twitch, every shift in balance that he had done… At this time, he was already itching to defeat the guy.

Furthermore, from their initial meeting, his Ocularis Lens had already found such important details about him.

[ Beastblood Slave – Gorran.

Threat Level: Unknown

Recommended Engagement: Avoid direct combat.

Secondary Note: Subject's left eye exhibits delayed tracking—exploitable weakness. ]

"I like your confidence…" The Luxe nobleman also laughed.

Then, realizing that Julia and her Butler were really not planning to go out, he finally announced the start of the battle…

"Begin!"

The rules didn't need to be discussed since this was just a battle between slaves.

Just like that, Gorran charged forward… He wasn't using a sword or any sort of blade, but he was equipped with Brass Knuckles!

It was quite an interesting choice of weapon. Nonetheless, this showed how confident he was with his physical strength…

If his punch landed, he was confident that he would be able to crush Van's skull.

However, Van wasn't playing around.

Seeing that his opponent wasn't using his sword, he decided to dodge—not backward, but forward, slipping inside Gorran's guard. His fingers, covered by his Aura, jabbed into—'Huantiao'

It was the pressure point at Gorran's hip!

At first, Van felt the powerful Aura covering Gorran's body… It was difficult to pierce through. However, it was not a problem as he could just do it twice with his current speed!

Thud! Thud!

At the second time he did it, he still failed because of Gorran's tough body…

However, with his third attempt, he was able to break Gorran's Aura Defense and hit his target!

The Beastblood Slave roared as his left leg spasmed, and his knee even buckled.

Of course, Van didn't miss this chance.

He knew that Gorran was only caught off guard this one time, and he wouldn't be able to repeat this trick again.

As soon as he kneeled, Van made his combo…

'Jianyu…'

Van made a chop to the shoulder joint, deadening Gorran's arm.

"Zhongwan…"

This was a palm strike to the solar plexus, disrupting Gorran's breathing.

With this move, Gorran's body almost became normal, it was now only a bit tougher…

"Y-you…"

Gorran stumbled, his movements became sluggish—but he was still a monster.

For some reason, Gorran's eyes turned red, and he immediately regained some of his strength.

As expected, Gorran had tricks up his sleeve. Even if he was supposedly incapacitated, his Beastblood took action for him!

With a sneer, he swung his other arm, catching Van across the ribs and sending him sliding back.

Van blocked it perfectly and he even used his Aura to weaken the strength…

Crack…

However, despite being able to block that, he was still injured.

[ Minor Fracture Detected. ]

Gorran grinned while blood dripped from his teeth. It seemed that exerting this much force when three of his Acupuncture Points were sealed caused him some injuries.

"Now... Now… Is that all you got?" Gorran chuckled as he challenged Van once again. This time, he forcefully stood up and gestured for Van to come at him.

Van took a deep breath as he looked at Gorran. "No."

Then, he charged forward again, but he feinted left.

Gorran took the bait. He tried doing the same attack, but Van dropped sweeping his leg in an arc…

'Chengshan…'

After hitting this point on his leg, his foot slammed into the back of Gorran's knee—the same leg he'd weakened earlier.

Finally, Beastblood collapsed, his massive frame hit the dirt with a loud thud…

***

The Luxe noble was shocked as soon as he saw Gorran being knocked down once again. He had never seen him like that before when he fought against First-Level Aura Knights!

It was as if Van's attacks were passing through his defense!

"Stand up!" He shouted.

Gorran's massive body trembled as he forced himself up from the dirt. His veins were already bulging across his forehead as he tried to gather his strength...

He was so angry that he decided to burn his Magic Beast Blood Essence within him!

"RRRAAAAAGH!"

The roar that came from his throat wasn't human—it was the scream of an enraged magic beast, so powerful that the very air vibrated!

Leaves shook loose from nearby trees, and Julia clapped her hands over her ears with a whimper.

Even Butler Judge frowned as he continued on his incantation.

For a moment, Van's vision blurred as the sonic assault hammered into him.

His eardrums throbbed, his balance wavered—this was the Beastblood's hidden strength…

[ Warning: Concussive Shockwave Detected.

Temporary Equilibrium Loss: 87% ]

Gorran's fist was already coming, aimed to pulp Van's skull in a single blow.

Van couldn't dodge.

So instead—he attacked where Gorran couldn't defend.

At this critical moment, he unleashed the Mind Sword—a technique that involved mental discipline.

It was an invisible blade of concentrated willpower that pierced into Gorran's consciousness.

The Beastblood's roar was cut off. Just like that, his pupils dilated and his fist froze inches from Van's face.

It was a dangerous move!

For a single, vulnerable second—Gorran's mind was blank.

Van didn't waste this opportunity.

His fingers struck the top of Gorran's skull—

'Baihui'

The effect was instantaneous.

Gorran's eyes rolled back, his massive frame collapsed face-first into the dirt.

Thud!

Van won!

Julia, who had just recovered from the beast-like roar, was shocked by what she had witnessed.

Instead of seeing Van lifeless on the ground, she saw Gorran lying on the ground instead!

Even Butler Judge was unable to speak as he couldn't help but stop his incantation… It seemed that they had really won the bet!

"Hahahaha!"

The Luxe noble's laughter shattered the tension.

Indeed, instead of being angry, he seemed really happy!

He clapped his hands slowly…

"Incredible!"

His earlier arrogant tone was replaced with amused admiration. "Now THAT was worth watching!"

He then tossed a heavy pouch at Van's feet—the clink of gold coins was unmistakable. "It is a token of appreciation. I do so love a good show."

At this time, it was Julia was confused.

"You—you're not mad?" She asked from the window of the carriage.

The noble waved a dismissive hand. "Mad? Why would I be? I got exactly what I wanted—proof that your little slave is something special." His creepy grin appeared once again as he looked at Van.

"I'll be coming for you again. But for now..." He snapped his fingers.

Soon, several movements occurred from the shadows of the forest nearby.

"Consider the road ahead... cleared. No one will be chasing you for your Subject Zero." The Luxe noble bowed mockingly before turning back to his carriage.

"Until next time, House Farrell."