Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

“It looks like Cirulus was right,” Faye sneered as she looked at the army standing outside of Helmraven City. “They really did know we were coming.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lance voiced as he raised his fist to signal his fourth division to come to a halt. “The plan remains the same.”

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Faye asked as she saw Lance preparing to step into no man’s land on his own (the area between both forces). “If we fight together, we’ll still be able to suppress them with a little time – you don’t need to put yourself at risk like this.”

“You’re not wrong, but this is the best way to do it so our troops are put in the least amount of danger,” Lance said solemnly as he looked at the imposing figure on top of the city walls before turning back to Faye with a hint of a smile. “Don’t worry, I may not be a genius like the rest of you, but I haven’t been slacking with my training – I’ll be fine!”

With that said, Lance willed his cyan-coloured battle-qi to cover his body as he decisively stepped into no man’s land.

At the same time, the imposing, stocky, middle-aged figure towering over the various archers and mages around him looked down at the army ahead of him with a hint of disdain colouring his features.

‘When the delegates from the Cult of Darkness told us that there was a force from the city of Gol heading our way, I assumed it was their full force.’ Zaleck thought to himself as he silently watched the 10,000-man army settle into place just outside of their firing range. ‘But for them to send such a small force to try and conquer my Helmraven City and not even come himself, that Ace boy really is letting his fame get to his head!’

“Get ready, men,” Zaleck commanded. “When they make their move, I want you all to blow them and their showy armours to kingdo…”

“ZALECK,” Lance roared, using his battle-qi to project his voice so the whole of Helmraven City could hear. “I, LANCE, FOURTH DIVISION COMMANDER OF THE CITY OF GOL’S GOLD FORCE, CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL.

IF YOU WIN, MY CITY OF GOL WILL AGREE TO NEVER TOUCH YOUR HELMRAVEN CITY FOR AS LONG AS WE REMAIN.”

“AND IF YOU WIN?” Zaleck sneered.

“IF I WIN, YOU AGREE TO SURRENDER TO US,” Lance announced.

“IF YOUR SO-CALLED SON OF HEAVEN DARED TO COME HIMSELF, I MAY HAVE CONSIDERED IT, BUT YOU…” Zaleck snorted as he silently considered his options. ‘He probably expects me to just roll over because of their association with the yin-yang pavilion, and I probably would have, had the Cult of Darkness not agreed to support me if the pavilion goes back on their words and send any saints, but seeing how Ace didn’t even dare to show his face, it means the Cult were right in their assessment.

Ace is scared of the various powers he’s already provoked and is hoping to rely on his prestige to suppress his targets.’

Thinking to that point, Zaleck focused on the blonde-haired spearman who dared to challenge him.

Lance couldn’t hide his cultivation in front of Zaleck’s keen eyes; the ninth-rank city lord was clear, Lance was merely at the middle stages of the eighth rank.

Even if Ace and the other teens from the Pavilion were elite-level geniuses, he refused to believe that this unknown man was too.

“SINCE YOU’RE SO INTENT ON DELIVERING ME THIS GIFT, WHO AM I TO KICK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!” Zaleck sneered as he channelled his fiery earthen battle-qi into his legs and launched himself over his 100,000+ man army, creating a small man-sized crater in the ground as he landed mere meters in front of Lance, who remained composed.

Before the dust was able to clear, a large figure shot out of the crater like a cannonball speeding towards its target.

Still, Lance didn’t panic as he calmly sidestepped the large saw-tooth sabre before replying in kind with an attack of his own.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Zaleck’s eyes as he watched the azure blade of the spear surge forth like an unyielding tide.

‘I don’t care if you’ve comprehended wielding light as though it were heavy,’ the city lord snorted as his surprise quickly turned to disdain as he raised his qi-coated sabre to block the incoming blow. ‘The difference between an eighth and ninth rank warrior isn’t what you can even im…’

Before he could finish his thought, Zaleck found himself skidding back along the floor from the strength of the blow.

Zaleck hadn’t been wrong in believing that even with the added power of one state of wielding, even the average peak eighth-rank warrior would be hard-pressed to close the gap in power between them and experts of the ninth rank, but his mistake was believing Lance was the same as other warriors at his level, or rather the spear in his hands was the same as other ordinary weapons.

Lance’s ‘Azure Dragon Spear’ was a weapon forged from the corpse of an apex-level divine beast. Aside from increasing his affinity to the laws of water when holding it, it also could increase the power of the user’s water-element battle-qi.

Lance may have only been in the middle stages of the eighth rank, but when using his spear, he was more like a half-step warrior of the ninth rank.

When you add that to the fact that he had also comprehended both states of wielding, Lance’s strength rivalled that of the average ninth-rank warrior – a fact Zaleck was forced to come to terms with the hard way.

In fact, by the looks of things, Lance was slightly superior. The way he danced around his opponent whilst casually switching between both states of wielding with such fluidity that it made it look like the most natural thing in the world made it all but impossible for Zaleck to find his rhythm.

Even Faye, a genius who had not only comprehended both states of wielding but even fused them, could only sigh in amazement. Even though her comprehension was undoubtedly above his, she had to admit, his weapon handling was actually above hers.

Although she had never actively looked down on the warrior, in fact, she and the rest of her classmates all admired his work ethic; still, they all assumed that he was inferior to them in every way aside from their warrior cultivation.

“Ace was right,” Faye muttered to herself. “I had actually allowed my arrogance and laziness to get in my own way.”

“He was wrong about one thing though,” Faye muttered as she continued to watch Lance’s beautiful performance. “I don’t need to chase after him or anyone else. I just need to push myself to be the best possible version of myself.”

As she came to that realisation, she subconsciously released a deep breath, and just like that, the weight she had been carrying since the verbal beat down she had received from Ace automatically dispersed.

Lance had no idea that his performance had helped Faye rid herself of her heart demon; he was far too focused.

This was the first time in as long as he could remember that he found himself enjoying himself in combat.

Before he met Ace and Milianna, he had just been an ordinairy guard for the Baruch Clan and warrior of the third rank. Back then, he aspired to reach the fifth rank before dying; even the sixth rank would’ve been a dream come true.

The thought of becoming a high-ranking warrior of the seventh rank seemed impossible to him, and yet, here he was, holding his own against a warrior of the ninth rank. A warrior who, back then, was more like the stuff of legend to him. How could he not be thrilled?

As the fight continued, the pure-hearted smile that hung on his face widened, and without even realising, the speed and power of each of his strikes began to steadily rise.

Within seconds, Zaleck went from barely holding on to finding himself firmly suppressed, and before he knew it, fresh wounds started accumulating on his body, causing him to weaken slowly, but still, his pride wouldn’t let him give in.

In fact, the sudden burst of adrenaline-fuelled by his shame and anger, allowed him to somewhat close the gap. Unfortunately, Lance hadn’t finished improving.

“Hahaha, that’s it. It’s like that!” Lance suddenly burst out laughing as his spear suddenly came to life. “[Soaring Dragon]!”

A faint dragon’s roar could be heard as Lance’s spear broke the sound barrier, shattering Zaleck’s battle armour and piercing straight through his shoulder.

The pride of finally fusing both states of wielding threatened to overwhelm Lance. It was only when he heard the pain-filled grunts of the City Lord that he snapped back to reality just in time to catch Zaleck’s words.

“I give up,” Zaleck grunted as he looked up at the blonde spearman towering over him. “You win!”

The silence of the battlefield was deafening, but before Lance could respond, the sound of awe and respect-filled cheers erupted behind him.

Realising that the cheers were for him, Lance’s pride and joy soared through the skies.

“Nicely done, Lance,” Amira smiled proudly from her place hidden in the clouds.