Chapter 23: Beating
Apollo didn't mean to cause a scene however seeing and hearing them made his past trauma open especially meeting his sibling's friends.
..
"Argh!"
The five-year-old Apollo rolls on the ground as Edgar kicks him.
However instead of crying he gave the one who assaulted him a glare which made the latter flinch.
"What are you looking at!" he tried to mask his fear with anger as he continued to kick Apollo.
"Just what are you!" he screamed internally, deep inside he was scared of the little boy he was kicking. His gaze would often times paralyze him while his mere aura sent chills whenever he felt it. He doesn't know why a weakling has the aura of a beast.
"Edgar enough with that we will be late if you continue to do that" Eros shouted, reluctantly Edgar finally left the boy alone.
"Seriously what a weakling" Amina said as she stepped on the coil-up body of Apollo.
She could say those words however just like Edgar she would paralyzed the moment the little boy glares at them.
....
"What!?"
Eros and the others became dumbfounded as they saw Edgar thrown in the air.
Unlike their surprised expression, the mages surrounding them just put a barrier to separate their group from the others. Whatever happens, no one will know not even the emperor. So if Apollo wants to, no one will know if he kills his siblings.
"Damn it!" Edgar finally gained his senses and landed perfectly on the ground.
"That brat!"
"Edgar!" Eros was about to stop his friend when Matilda stopped him.
"Come on you are ruining the fun" she said happily.
"You are stupid this is the Imperial Palace!"
"Chill the emperor is my cousin"
Her words made Eros speechless but his attention shifted when he saw Edgar fly in the air again and then landed perfectly on the ground.
Fist pierced through the air as Edgar began to fill the space with his fist. But Apollo's eyes are not occupied by his attacks but his stats instead.
[Name: Edgar Williams
Status: Humiliated
Position: Swordsman
Rank: Practitioner
Level: 20
Strength: 150
Agility: 145
Dexterity: 140
Endurance: 150
Stamina: 145
Intelligence: 100
Mana: 30
Ki: 150
Mana regeneration: 5 per minute
Ki regeneration: 10 per minute
Vitality: 200
Skills/Abilities:
God of destruction's iron fist (Rank A) {Passive}
Aura manipulation (Rank A) {Passive}
Weapon master (Rank B) {Passive}
[ ADVANCED STATISTICS
Prime Element:{None}
Bloodline: {None}
Blessings:{None}
Inheritance:{None}
Body Constitution: Demigod Asura's Physique
- A Constitution that allows mana to assist the growth of ki resulted in the body having higher ki than mana]
"How can you dodge this!" he shouted feeling frustrated. Every time he threw his fist his opponent would dodge beforehand, it was as if he knew what his next move was.
With his failed attempts to land a hit, Edgar became frustrated not knowing why his opponent was like this.
The answer to his question was that Apollo already calculated his next move.
Jeremiah was the result of his way of thinking being analysed, if he could do it to himself it doesn't mean he can't do it to others. With Jeremiah's help, he could analyze and calculate Edgar's next movements. Although it wasn't at the level of what he did to Jeremiah however it was enough to predict Edgar's moves. In his eyes arrows would appear indicating his opponent's attack direction and despite their difference in stats, he could effectively dodge them.
Edgar throws a straight punch but Apollo successfully dodges it.
"What the!?" After dodging a sweep was executed making his opponent lose his footing.
A thud was heard as Edgar hit the floor, swiftly Apollo added a spell and lifted his opponent into the air.
"What is he even doing!" Eros clenched his teeth as he thought of this.
Edgar threw in the air again and tried to maneuver his position but he soon felt something suddenly pull him down fast.
A loud falling sound was heard and then the sound of something hitting heavily on the ground reverberated through the sealed space.
Everyone was shocked except the mages who were watching.
"Apollo!" Eros shouted, for a moment Apollo was taken aback but immediately composed himself.
Calmly he raises his hand and with its gesture, Edgar's body is lifted from the ground.
"Let go of me!" he shouted however his voice soon muffled with the sound of himself falling and hitting the ground again.
"Enough!" Eros dash forward trying to stop Apollo however a massive bloodlust locked him in place.
"What the?!" he felt his body trembling and screaming, it kept telling him to run away.
"I'll leave now, please I suggest none of you follow us" his voice was cold and murderous making Matilda shut her mouth.
"Scary," she thought.
The group of mages soon left removing the barrier they made.
"You okay Edgar?" Amina asked worried about her friend's condition.
"Get away from me!" instead of being thankful the young man shoved the lady away before lifting himself.
"What the hell is up with your brother Eros" he said as he checked himself strangely he couldn't feel any pain.
"Wait don't tell me" he checks himself thoroughly and he can tell that they healed him before leaving.
"Even the floor is fixed" Matilda added.
"It's as if they are telling us to shut our mouths," Lina said feeling scared. From the beginning, she never liked the situation especially since she felt like something forcefully removed them from the other guests.
"Let's not talk to your brother again Eros I am afraid of him" she added.
However, Eros just clicked his tongue feeling annoyed.
"Let's go back!" he shouted leading his friends back to their table.
Other guests on the other hand took their partners on the dance floor trying to take advantage of the sweet tune of the music. But no matter how sweet the ambience Eros and Athena felt bitter seeing how Apollo was able to beat one of their friends.
"That little pest!" Athena clenched her fist as she said this. However no matter how much they whine they won't be able to forget about what happened that night.
....
The banquet ended and the guests lounged inside the palace because the hunting festival would start tomorrow. Apollo stared at the window looking at the quiet night.
"Tomorrow is the hunting festival" he mumbles then he looks at his stats quietly calculating his next move.
"Jeremiah show me my inventory"
[Affirmative Creator]
A screen appeared presenting the items he had stored. From elixirs and weapons to the spell book he finds interesting, all of it inside, accompanied by their quantity, quality and attributes. Each item is put together on a grid-based method for easy access to each item.
"Let's see"
He sat down on the bed looking at the two items he found interesting to use.
"Hmm....why not"
Morning came and everyone was transported towards a spacious field near a forest.
Every season different types of beasts would begin to increase, overpopulating the habitat they live in. To address this situation nobles from all across the empire would issue a hunting event to trim down their numbers. If by any chance they fail to decrease their numbers, a breakout will occur. Later on, this hunting event became a sport among the aristocracy and elite families.
"Well, this kind of event tends to have one or two incidents" Apollo silently thought as he walked beside Alger.
"Do you want to hunt little sun?" the old mage asked seeing the boy curiously looking around.
"Yes Grandpa I want to hunt" he smiled cheerfully as he said this.
The sound of ceremonial cannons was heard signalling the start of the hunting event and all swordsmen, mages and even fighters confidently entered the Olgami forest.
Before entering the forest hunters are given a list of specific magical beasts they need to hunt.
The said beasts are those who populate at a fast rate and their numbers could obstruct the balance of the habitat they live in.
The beasts they need to hunt are the following:
Silvanhowl
Willowlynx
Hazelgleam rabbit
Red Moonlit Vixen
Snout river hog
Five species of beasts ranging from basic to baron rank but, if you are unlucky you might meet a duke-rank beast deep within the woods.
"Eros we should hunt a snout river hog, from what I have heard the heart of that beast increases your affinity to water element" Edgar suggested as he slain a small hazelgleam rabbit.
However, as they walk deeper into the forest a horde of beast rush in.
"Axion be our Vanguard, Elena focus on assist, Athena blast a path for us while Edgar and I cover you" As soon as the threat appeared Eros immediately gave his command turning the frantic situation calm.
As they tried to create a path to retreat they didn't notice how the horde of beast began separating them.
"Edgar back me up here!" Eros shouted as he tried to slay another Silvanhowl beast.
"Ed?"
Not receiving any response, dread trails down his back as he slowly turns back.
"Damn it!"
He could only say seeing he was all alone while being surrounded by a horde of beast.