The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

It wasn't only Shania who had misunderstood. Even Count Valtros thought that they were just giving up their servant's life as an apology.

Because of that, they couldn't help but feel at ease.

No weapons. No magic. Just fists and Aura.

It was certainly an easy win for their slave, Dren.

"Alright! Go ahead and fight!" Shania said as she now felt a bit disappointed that the battle would be one-sided.

She wanted to at least see their frustrated expressions, but now that they were willingly giving up, they had removed the fun out of it.

Just like that, Dren struck first. He made a couple of steps forward, and it was followed by a right hook aimed to cave in Van's skull.

However, instead of just receiving the punch, Van slipped under it, driving a palm into Dren's ribs.

Well, because of the height difference, he was limited to what he could reach.

Dren didn't enhance his defenses as he thought that Van's small figure and little amount of Aura wouldn't hurt him at all.

However, he was wrong. Though it wasn't enough to bring him down, the palm strike was stung for a bit…

He grunted at this as he used his Aura to protect his body… Nonetheless, he didn't stagger. His muscle mass was still able to absorb the blow, and it didn't cause any internal injury.

"Pathetic," Dren spat, grabbing Van's wrist and yanking him off-balance.

A knee slammed into Van's gut, knocking the wind from his lungs.

'Ahh!' Julia gasped as she didn't expect Van to be easily caught by his opponent. She remembered how Van was able to swiftly dodge Xiel's attempts to grab him during their sparring.

However, Julia didn't know that Van had let it happen. He was confident in his Aura Defense after all.

The moment Dren's knee connected with Van's stomach, a shockwave of aura rippled through the courtyard.

Dust kicked up from the impact, and for a brief second, the onlookers thought Van might crumple.

But he didn't.

Instead, Van rolled with the blow, twisting mid-air to disperse the force.

It was such a good method to disperse the impact that could've hurt his body.

His feet slid across the dirt as he landed in a low stance. He doesn't look injured as his breathing was still controlled. Perhaps, there was only some pain in his ribs but not too much…

"Whew~ You scared me…" Julia muttered as she thought that Van had truly made a mistake because of the size of his opponent.

Dren, on the other hand, wasn't too impressed. "You're slow… But since you're still standing after that blow, I guess you trained well… I was worried this'd be boring. Come…"

Van just said nothing. His Ocularis Lens already gathered a lot of data from that brief exchange.

'Alright… This won't be easy but…' Van exhaled as he felt that this was also a good challenge.

Dren definitely had a stronger Aura. His trick to disperse the force just now may no longer work.

Nonetheless, Van found this challenge exciting as he calmed his breathing…

Soon, Dren charged again, this time, he was planning to overwhelm Van with his aura.

Obviously, he also noticed that Van's aura wasn't that strong enough. Van would need to hit him several times before he'd get really injured.

As for him, he just needed one full-powered punch!

Just like that, he started with a left knockout punch, aiming to flatten Van outright.

Van dipped under the swing as he used his small physique to dodge this attack. Then, he started using his Acupuncture Skills.

Dren's Quchi pressure point. It is located at the lateral end of the elbow crease, and a strike on it should deaden the arm.

Thud.

The hit landed, but Dren's thick muscle layer and reinforced aura dulled the effect.

'Well… That's not surprising…' Van thought as he had quite a similar experience with Gorran, the Bloodbeast Slave years ago…

Although he had gotten stronger now and would probably not be bothered by Gorran's defense, his opponent was definitely several times stronger than Gorran, who could only rely on the Magic Beast Blood in his body.

"Ha!"

Instead of going numb, Dren's arm merely twitched before he countered with a crushing elbow.

'You..' The attack was so swift, and Van knew that it was a skill imbued with a strong aura…

Getting hit by that elbow would surely break his Aura Defense and destroy his bones.

However, Van barely ducked in time, and he felt the wind shear past his scalp.

'Damn. His physique resists acupressure…'

Van couldn't help but complain as he realized his strike just now on his opponent's arm didn't even hinder his movements. It was as if his attack was completely ignored.

Because of that, even if he knew about the man's weakness, he couldn't exploit it!

At this time, Dren didn't stop his momentum…

A spinning back kick followed, forcing Van to leap back.

The moment Van's feet touched ground, Dren was already charging him, unleashing a barrage of hooks and uppercuts.

His boxing skills were quite incredible! Thankfully, his Ocularis Lens was able to predict Dren's movements. His muscle tension, his eyes, and his foot technique could help his Lens predict his movements.

Just like that, Julia felt excited… She was now seeing the Van she had known!

"Go! Go! You can do it!" Julia couldn't help but cheer after seeing this.

On the other hand, Shania and the Count already realized that the servants they sent weren't there to give an easy win.

The small slave that Julia sent out was truly trying to win!

Van's head movement was also so good that he was able to dodge every attack at hair's breadth.

His Lens was operating seamlessly, predicting trajectories and possible attacks by Dren…

Nonetheless, Dren's sheer speed and power forced him into defense. At some time, even if Van could predict the movement, his body could not keep up with the high-speed movement!

'Tsk…'

Soon, Van had no choice but to block an attack… He had been trying to his Dren in various pressure points, but it wasn't effective…

Because of that, he had to do some crazy moves to get an advantage.

CRACK!

A glancing blow clipped Van's shoulder, sending him stumbling.

Julia's nails dug into her palms, seeing how Van was hurt.. "Van!"

However, at this time, Xiel's eyes narrowed—he could see what others couldn't.

'Van was letting Dren exhaust himself or…'

At this time, Xiel looked at Dren's reddened arm. Although Dren looked fine and could still move fast, Van had been hitting Dren's pressure points on his arms.

The last attack just now, Dren's arm was actually hit six times by Van's finger technique.

It was a necessary exchange to slowly break Dren's defense!

Of course, for Shania and the Count, they have already won.

Van could not break through Dren's defenses… Even if Van could probably hit Dren, there wouldn't be any damage done with the difference in their physique and quality of Aura.

"Is that all?"

Sweat dripped down Dren's brow.

"Quit dancing and fight! I know you're still full of energy…"

Van smiled at this and obliged.

Instead of retreating, he dashed forward, feinting a strike to Dren's throat.

Dren instinctively raised his guard… Although he had a strong defense, an attack on his throat would still not feel good.

It could even be lethal if he wasn't careful…

'You're still fast…' Dren thought as he realized that Van's movements didn't slow at all. It was as if Van had just started the duel.

Nonetheless, as he thought that he had blocked Van's attack, the latter simply turned and drove two fingers into Dren's Jianjing. It was a point on top of his shoulder.

It was at this time that Van's maneuver had finally worked.

"Ahh!"

Dren roared as his right arm temporarily locked up. But before Van could capitalize, Dren headbutted him square in the chest.

THUD.

Van flew back, rolling twice before springing to his feet, his ribs should still be fine since he protected his chest with his Aura at the last moment.

Dren then flexed his recovering arm. With his Aura, he was able to somehow relieve the pressure on his shoulder.

"Cute tricks. But tricks won't save you."

Van wiped blood from his lip.

'Time for the last resort.'

As Dren charged once again, Van planted his feet and raised his palm—not to strike, but to focus.

As Dren got closer, his Mind Sword was released. It was the invisible blade of concentrated willpower spearing into Dren's consciousness.

Dren's pupils dilated. This kind of attack had bypassed his Aura Defense!

For half a second, his body froze, his vision was filled with his fragmented memories—

—a whip cracking across his back—

—the Count's cold laughter—

—the first slave he'd killed at twelve years old—

It was a mess…

The mental assault lasted for a couple of heartbeats, but it was enough.

Van's real strike came in the same instant—a hammer fist to Dren's Fengchi at the base of his skull.