In the ring. Dustin stood tall with hands behind his back, exuding an imp
osing and majestic air. He no longer hid his talents and shone from the f
ull display of his powers. No one dared to meet his eyes. The fact that h
e had defeated the King of Kicks with one move made everyone look at him
with awe.
"Surprising! The Harmons have an ace under their wings." Maximus narrowed
his eyes, putting on a serious face. Dustin had won his respect through
the display of strength. Not even Maximus
could easily beat the King of Kicks with bare hands.
"Weakling!" Dustin dusted and straightened his sleeve. Then, he coolly an
nounced, "Next?"
The Boulderthorn disciples exchanged furtive glances. They knew they were
n't Dustin's match, especially after
he had defeated the King of Kicks.
"Max, what do we do? That punk is wild!" Feeling aggrieved, Brody clenche
d his jaws.
"Looks like I'll have to go." Maximus stood up slowly, his eyes shining w
ith excitement. He had shown up to the battle as the ace and wasn't origi
nally planning to fight. In his eyes, the battle was child's play and off
ered. no challenge. However, Dustin's presence shocked him and introduced
some excitement. Maximus was not in the martial
arts practice for fame or wealth: he was in search of excellence in sword
smanship. Every time he
crossed paths with an ace, he would be combative.
"Max, he's quite strong. Are you confident in beating him?" Brody questio
ned cautiously.
"I am not his match if we fight bare–handed, but
I have full confidence if I fight him with a sword," Maximus
remarked mildly.
"Great! Max, give it your all! He's just trouble. We should get rid of hi
m as soon as possible!" Brody sniggered with malice. Maximus was one of t
he rare talents in the art of swordsmanship, ranking sixth on The Hundred
Immortals before reaching thirty years of age. He was levels above the K
ing of Kicks and especially invincible when fighting with a sword.
Once, Brody's father predicted that Maximus would achieve divinity within
three years. By that time, Maximus would already make it to The Heavenly
Immortals.
"What's up? Is there no one else from Boulderthorn?" Dustin scanned the s
pace with a sharp glare.
"I'll go!" Maximus leaped into the air, and when he was close to landing,
he tapped the tip of his feet on the shoulder of a spectator before boun
cing back up in the air with extreme nimbleness. His movements were fairy
–
like, making the group of women in the guild squeal in admiration, their
eyes sparkling in awe.
"Wow! He's so cool!"
"A young man who looks great in white–he's my type!"
Not only was Maximus blessed with good looks and gentlemanly, but he also
pulled off a spectacular
entrance, giving off the impression of a young knight.
"Who are you?" Dustin scanned him from head to toe.
"I'm Maximus Kane, one of Boulderthorn's disciples. I'm here for the expe
rience." Maximus bowed at him
1/3
Chapter 243
politely. His self–introduction caused a commotion within the guild.
"Maximus Kane? Isn't he ranked sixth on The Hundred Immortals?"
"That's right! He's the famous 'Lightning Blade' in Balerno. I had the ho
nor of witnessing him in action!"
"Oh, fuck! It's Maximus 'Lightning Blade' Kane! I heard that his sword mo
ved as fast as lightning. He's never lost a battle ever since he gained h
is fame. This is going to be fun!"
The crowd discussed Maximus with great interest, for Maximus was an ace r
anked sixth
on The Hundred Immortals, much stronger than the King of Kicks, who ranke
d ninth.
The gap in their rankings was huge, even though they were three places ap
art. It was hard to climb up in the ranking once a martial artist entered
the top ten. The top five names in the ranking barely changed–
they practically maintained the same ranking all year round.
"Ah, finally, a normal opponent." Dustin looked amused and gestured, "Ple
ase."
*Just a minute. Maximus said with seriousness. "I'm good at swordsmanship
. Shall we change the battle into an armed fight?"
"Hey! You can't change the rules as you wish! We disagree with that!" Rut
h instantly protested unhappily at the suggestion. Any sane person knew t
hat a bare–
handed fight was totally different than fighting with weapons. An average
man armed with a weapon could beat a group of opponents, not to mention
that the person in question was Maximus "Lightning Blade" Kane.
"Why? Are you afraid that he'd lose to Max?" Brody jeered at her. "If
you're scared, just admit defeat right now! Stop wasting our time!"
"We're not! You guys are the ones who break the martial arts code! Ruth a
rgued the facts.
"Nonsense! We never
banned weapons from battles. Why don't you get Rhys to use a weapon too?'
Brody laughed frostily.
"You-" Ruth choked in anger.
"Sure! Use a weapon if you'd like. It doesn't make a difference." Dustin
was unconcerned and agreed to the change without fuss. A frustrated Ruth
felt that his remarks went against all her effort to fight in his interes
t.
"Many thanks." Maximus
bowed again and drew his sword out of the sheath from the back. He even i
ntroduced it. "My sword is three feet and six inches long. It is made fro
m deep iron and has been my companion for five years. It is so solid that
it penetrates almost everything!"
"Come at me." Dustin waved.
"Where's y
your weapon?" Maximus raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"My bare hands are my weapons." Dustin answered.
"Are you
sure?" Maximus narrowed his eyes, thinking that his opponent was capable
but overconfident. Dustin would be humiliated if he wanted to block the s
word attack with bare hands.
"Of course. I'll give it to you if you manage to injure me." Dustin waved
at him once more. "Come on!"
"Okay! Be my guest!" Without further ado, Maximus propelled himself forwa
rd with the unsheathed sword in
Chapter 243
hand. When he got closer to Dustin, he plunged his sword at the opponent,
creating glimmers of metallic
reflection and stirring gusts of wind in the quild.
"Great move!"
Most of the martial artists exclaimed in astonishment, Maximus sword move
d fast and was unusually sharp. It was hard to tell the sword from its sh
adows, hence it was hard to defend oneself. Even skillful
martial artists at the same level dared not fight bare–
harded against the sword. However, Dustin stood in the same spot and appe
ared as though he hadn't noticed the attack.
"That rascal is bold! Why isn't he dodging Maximus sword attack?"
'Did he think he's invincible after beating the King of Kicks? He has no
idea how powerful Maximus is!"
"Right! There is a huge gap in capability
between each member of the top ten of The Hundred Immortals! Looking down
on Maximus is the same as digging your own grave!"
Amid the murmurs, everyone heard a soft clunking sound as Maximus' sword
came to a
halt. The sharp blade. came to a stop an inch before Dustin's throat, una
ble to move. When the crowd took a second look, their faces. turned white
because they realized that Dustin had caught the sword between his two f
ingers.