Viers was not the kind of villain who fought the hero party with a half-ass attitude. He didn't use just 10% strength at the start to see if they were worthy to fight him at full power. Viers didn't have foolish pride like that.
Therefore his opening salvo was the hero-slaying kind. He pointed his finger to the sky and brought it down. A thunderbolt from the heavens followed, like a bright pillar crushing down on top of the 40th Latias prince’s head.
In the midst of a blinding light and deafening noise, the Black Shield knights protected their prince. It was more like a reflex action plus a slight magical compulsion to protect their sworn liege that all knights had, otherwise, their first instinct should've been to dodge.
Like ten black ants trying to stop a carriage, their efforts were in vain. The great lightning Viers brought down was not a simple attack. Anticipating the inevitable fight, he built up power in the sky bit by bit throughout the days. The chaotic mana in the environment aided him in obscuring the deed.
The result was a strike of the same caliber as a Level 4.
Viers preferred the lightning to be kirin-shaped, resembling the jutsu he got this inspiration from but it’d take too much effort. He prioritized meeting the power threshold instead.
Solany lowered her arms that she used to shield her eyes. What she saw next made her frown. The lightning attack was so devastating that all the Level 3 knights and below lost their lives. For a single Level 3 capable of killing ten men the same Level as himself in one swift stroke was no mean feat.
She was some distance away from Marvin so she was out of range, but if that bolt had fallen on her head…
Avel… To think Prince Croix has gotten a vassal of this caliber… But what a pity.
He’ll die all the same.
The caster, Viers, didn't become mad with glee or complacent. The knights being dead was the expected result. What was on his mind was Marvin’s condition.
The golden sphere that remained at ground zero told him it wasn't over yet. The pattern on its surface resembled liquid.
“Oh wow. You’re pretty amazing.” The sphere revealed Marvin as it receded, unharmed and smiling. “But not as amazing as me.”
Viers swung his hand, releasing another lightning bolt in a straight line to Marvin to test his suspicion. Not as deadly as his first strike yet still lethal to ordinary Level 3.
“Child’s play,” Marvin effortlessly blocked this one too.
“...Oil.” Viers muttered.
“Correct. This is my affinity, oil! A rare affinity fitting for a special guy like me! Furthermore-” Marvin grinned, a globe of oil appeared above his palm and it turned into a sphere. “-you’re a bad match for me!”
Marvin threw the spear of oil. His oil was golden in color, unlike the yellow-brown color of crude oil. It was closer to cooking oil in color. Viers dodged the attack with high-speed movements.
“Hahaha!”
Marvin did the same and the two began to tussle in melee range.
Viers understood what Marvin meant. Oil was an insulator. Electricity wasn't effective. His attacks were unable to pierce the shield of oil that Marvin conjured. A few of the pinpoint light attacks that he mixed in got through the defenses but Marvin was uninjured. Either it was another of his oil Artes or his expensive magical items.
“Hwoahahaha! Come on, try harder!”
A flurry of punches at the class of boxing champions got sent at Viers. Most got dodged but a few landed. Meanwhile, Viers was unable to wound him even a little bit.
“There’s more, fatty!”
Marvin, experiencing a battle-high, sent a jumping spinning kick at Viers’ head. He was boisterous and confident. For a big attack like that Viers meant to dodge it but he was unable to. His feet were caught in an oil sludge out of nowhere. An electric shield bloomed at the side of his head.
“Useless!”
With the sound of a breaking glass, the kick sent Viers flying. He rolled over the ground a couple of times before he stopped. His mask fell off, and he was bleeding from the mouth.
“There goes the eyesore mask… Well, not what I was expecting. I figured there would be some distinct features or something. It turns out it’s just a very ordinary face… Now you see, your lightning is utterly useless against me.”
Little did Marvin know that what he was was not Viers’ true face. It was Avel’s face. He used the Impersonator Mask under the ordinary mask. With two masks, even if the enemy removed his mask from him, there would be a psychological trap. They would be satisfied knowing what was hidden underneath, not knowing it was a fake bottom.
Be that as it may, Viers’ damage was real. The attack just now, Marvin had enough output to overwhelm his Unreality Field and Horizon-boosted shield. This was inexplicable from the incompatibility of lightning-oil alone.
Viers spat the blood out as lightning surged around him. His mouth was full of the taste of iron. The raging electricity around him was like a beast about to pounce.
Calm down, Futon. Calm down…
The flare-up receded, but he could still feel Futon’s anger.
I’ve got a plan. You’ll get your time. Trust me.
The violent plasma became as docile as a puppy. He got his lightning under control again.
During the melee earlier, he was also able to go toe-to-toe with my power. That shouldn't be possible for a Level 3. Unless…
“You’re actually a Level 4, aren't you?”
“Oh? What makes you think that?”
“Trade secret,” Viers cracked his head left and right.
Normally Viers should be able to detect such a fluctuation even if the other side tried to hide their true Level but his trained senses still detected a Level 3.
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Viers suspected the prince used some manner of magic item to achieve this.
His senses were sharp, but Viers wasn't so arrogant to think there would be nothing in this world that he couldn't see through. Not when he was only a Level 3.
“Ha! Still trying to be cool? Arte - Oil Havoc!”
A deluge of golden oil was vomited from Marvin’s mouth. Viers dashed to higher ground, leaving lightning trails in his wake. However, they were in volcanic terrain. The mass of oil touched some lava and immediately became boiling hot. The golden liquid bubbled and sizzled, the lethality of the Arte went up significantly and surged at Viers.
The power behind an Arte cast by a Level 3 and a Level 4 would be very different.
“The terrain is also against you! Wahahahaha!”
Viers was like an ingredient about to be deep-fried. The resulting product could be tasty, or not, either way, it would be the end for the ingredient. He wasn't about to let that happen.
Arte - Water Is Unbreakable!
A sphere of water enveloped Viers entirely. Lightning was great in terms of speed and attack but not for defense so he used water. He gritted his teeth as he strained to defend against the tide of boiling oil that packed a Level 4’s punch.
Marvin’s Oil Havoc rivaled the strike of Viers’ first thunderbolt in power.
Viers managed to defend himself until it was over, but unlike Marvin, he didn't come out unscathed. His arms suffered massive burns.
“Righttt, you can use water too. Good, good. Not only elusive, the quarry is hardy too. Bloody good. If it’s over too fast, the hunt is boring! There’s also the saying about water and oil not mixing, fitting, wouldn't you say?”
Viers let Marvin do his har-har. He welcomed the time to get his breath back in order and the healing factor to do the work. It was much faster than before but still not at Wolverine level. Still, some regen was better than nothing at all.
“Struggle, struggle, struggle! Squeal while you’re at it!”
Marvin resumed his ‘hunt’. Now that the jig was up, Marvin no longer lowered his output. Hiding one’s true power was not Viers’ sole privilege. Marvin’s blows were clearly at Level 4 tier. Viers was at a disadvantage and pressed further back as time went by. Even with his Horizon at a 500% boost, he wasn't able to match the power a true Level 4 could bring.
Personality aside, Viers admitted Marvin was some sort of a genius. Based on the data, he knew Marvin was 17, younger than him by a year, but already a Level 4. That progress was above Viers’.
Data might be falsified but power didn't lie. He was undoubtedly trading blows with a Level 4. As a Level 3 high, still a bit more from peak, and more distance away from the gate of Level 4, confronting a Level 4 carried a great risk of death.
Marvin being a Level 4 was a miscalculation on Viers' part. He did not expect to have to fight a Level 4. In the best-case scenario, the prince was a weakling without substance, just flaunting his wealth and status. Worst-case, he was a Level 3 peak with expensive and tricky artifacts.
Turned out he was wrong, but Viers’ analysis was logical, for a human Pathseeker to reach Level 4 at the age of 17 was a feat that belonged in the legendary realm. Outlandish though it might be, the situation was beyond his expectations.
And yet, there was no sign of agitation or desperation in Viers’ eyes. His expression was cold and calculating. His fighting spirit didn't waver for one bit.
A right straight from Marvin. Viers moved back half a step and slid to the side then gave a right straight of his own. Marvin saw the hit coming, could have dodged it but he didn't. Viers hit his cheek but it was so oily the punch didn't do any damage.
So strikes were useless. Viers conjured a lightning blade while he ducked a right hook. A magnificent maneuvering using Raging River Steps then followed by a stab to the solar plexus. Normally the blade would pierce the gut but it simply collapsed.
“Be in awe of my abs! You must be envious. You won't have one like me even if you trained for a century! Ahahahaha!”
For that attack, Viers paid the price of an oil bath. Some of it got into his mouth and it was nasty. Of course, his body was hurting from the high-speed jet of liquid, even after three layers of Water Shield.
It seemed Marvin had no intention of finishing the battle early and did not invoke his Imaginary Domain. Like in the Jujutsu series, the Domain ability was powerful and could decisively decide the outcome of a battle. Level 3’s Unreality Field could not stand up to the Level 4’s Imaginary Domain. Since Viers didn't have a Domain, it would be catastrophic for him.
The prince’s willingness to prolong this battle for his enjoyment was a welcomed result. Stupid reason for sure, but it worked in Viers’ favor so he didn't complain.
His experience against the Level 5 grandmaster of the Dumuzin cult and the shade of a devil god in Farley’s skin assured him he had survived worse.
Compared to those two, Marvin might as well be a dachshund.
But the gulf of strength between Level 3 and Level 4 exist, and it is vast.
Normally Viers would run from an unwinnable fight but with Clarissa behind him he chose to stand his ground.
“Hmn, hmn, hmn. It’s clear to me you got your strength through hard work. My guess is you trained every day.”
After a while, Marvin began a conversation. Compared to the hale and clean prince, Viers looked like he was a guy after a period of extreme marathons. Exhausted, battered, and bruised.
Truly the look of a hunted animal.
His attacks were all stopped by the prince’s multiple defensive items. Viers didn't make a dent in the prince’s HP at all. A depressing thought.
“Huff… Huff… So?”
“Behold the superior specimen in front of you, fatty. We’re about the same age. I’ve done no training whatsoever and outdo you in every capacity. I easily mastered a difficult Profound Codex, had no bottleneck, and excelled in all manner of Artes. Ohhh, there’s this one time when I broke through while thumping a woman. Ain't that right, Solany?”
His face was so smug it was punchable.
“Point is, inferior species like you are destined to lose against me. No need to feel bad. You’re one among the better ones among them, about thiiis much,” Marvin illustrated using the one-centimeter gap between his forefinger and thumb.
“I walk the kingly path, for it is laid down by the gods for me.”
Marvin expanded his arms.
“I always get everything I want and never fail at anything.”
He raised his finger above him and created a golden spiked sphere of oil like a sea urchin as big as him.
“You may die knowing the fact that I’ll treat your lamia girl well. Never fucked a soul before, it should be fun. I'm tempted to let you watch… but I’ll just end you. Good nigh-”
“You lie.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“I said, you lie.” Viers raised his head to meet Marvin’s eyes. “That you never failed before.”
“Hehehe, oh yeah? Do tell, what is my failure?”
“Where’s your baby dragon, O great prince?”
Finally, there was a crack in the prince’s happy-go-lucky countenance.
As a prince of Latias, like Croix, he should possess a dragon’s egg. The egg was said to hatch the moment the bonded user became a Pathseeker and Marvin was most definitely a Pathseeker.
If he got a baby dragon, a megalomaniac like Marvin should be showing off the hatchling non-stop.
Since he didn't, that meant his dragon egg didn't hatch.
“...”
Marvin’s gaze was as cold as iron.
“So much for being the favorite of the gods,” Viers gave a mocking smile.
“Alright, I heard your death wish loud and clear. So long, fatty.”
Marvin rendered his judgment without remorse. The moment he was about to bring down his hand, something unexpected happened. His heart, his chest. It felt hot, as if his blood was on fire.
And then, a newborn cry resounded. It wasn't loud but was heard by everyone thanks to some manner of magic.
“Impossible!” Marvin cried out. “He… It’s not… How…”
The cry came from the volcano’s upper region. As if rejoicing in celebration, fire mana gushed forth from the earth. The region that was always dark thanks to the red cloud of ash and soot was now brightened from the aurora of fire that appeared above them.
Viers smiled, the ‘everything goes to plan’ smile.
“Heard that, Prince Marvin? Your brother got a dragon. Unlike a chump like you.”
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Chapter 361 - How to Train Your Prince