~WHOOSH!~
Like a pitch-black shadow, Legion's body became a haze as they leaped forward towards their target… Lord Mors.
The wind whistled, almost as if it was being split in two, as Legion closed the distance between them in an instant, raising their fist to render a powerful blow on the man who had now been dwarfed by his imposing height.
However—
~WHUUM!~
Just as Legion turned into a blur, their target also seemed to vanish from his position.
Such incredible speed made it seem like he had just teleported when, in fact, he simply dodged the blow and stepped right beside Legion.
Before the latter could react, a fist was sent back.
~BAM!~
As the naked fist of their Lord hit the darkened armor, a loud noise radiated the open field around them. The force behind the blow was strong—but not fatal.
It was enough to cause Legion to slide a few meters back, though.
"Guh!" They could feel the recoil on both hands, which managed to block the blow right as it neared their chest.
"As expected of Lord Mors… you really are incredible!"
Lucius heard all of this praise and shrugged, not particularly feeling as incredible as his followers seemed to consider him. All he had done thus far was move really fast and hit really strongly—both of which required very little skill or effort on his part.
He was simply that strong.
As he looked around him, noticing how his subordinates watched the match with pure interest and reverence, he forced himself to stay interested.
'I'm definitely stronger than Legion, but I'd say they have me beat when it comes to skill and technique… though none of that matters if I can just overpower them.'
He looked at his fist—the one he forcefully jammed onto Legion's scaly armor—and expected… there was no sign of damage.
No pain. No damage. No challenge.
Lucius could feel boredom creeping in on him as he watched Legion rush towards him with a powerful right thrust.
'I can see your movements… you know?' In one clean tilt of his head, he dodged the first hit, and then proceeded to rapidly avoid the volley of punches that kept charging at him from multiple directions.
It wasn't even a close match.
Legion went for his legs, since they weren't well guarded, but Lucius swiftly jumped to his fist and sent a slashing kick towards the Death Knight.
~WHAM!~
Instantly, their neck twisted and their body was practically hurled to the ground.
Dust rose from where they fell, and Lucius watched while feeling a little bad for his misuse of strength.
'I used too much…' He told himself. 'Let's keep it mellow.'
"Ohooooo!!!"
"As expected of Lord Mors!"
"He's too strong! You're going to have to try harder than that, Knight Legion!"
"I'm so jealous… I wish Lord Mors would beat me up like that too!"
"Me too!"
Lucius could heat the awe-filled, and slightly disturbing comments that were being passed around by the audience that circled the training field. Most of them were Undead anyway, so he wouldn't need to worry about damaging them too much—since they could always recover. Still, he didn't particularly think of beating up his own subordinates as something pleasant.
'The whole point of this exercise was to test my limits and combat ability. I chose Legion because they practically killed about three hundred people by themselves, so I thought they would be a match for me.'
He thought wrong… apparently.
Legion wasn't on his level, and it had now become painfully obvious.
As the Death Knight rose to their feet, adjusting their twisted neck, Lucius could see the glow of respect in their eyes. It was clear that the only one benefiting from this match was Legion, and not for the best reason, so that just killed his motivation to continue.
'I'll finish things with this…' Clenching his fist as he watched Legion charge towards him with careful movement, Lucius made sure to control his power.
Then, the attack came.
Legion slashed their fists like blades, but Lucius made sure to dodge them both. Next, they used the momentum of their last strike to propel themselves for a fast spin. They twisted their hulky body and sent a powerful kick lashing in his direction.
'Ahh… Legion mimicked my kick!' Lucius' eyes widened slightly as he watched the Death Knight's kick approach him in mid-air.
At that point, he couldn't deny how proud he felt.
'Now I know that they can learn and grow through experience… even if their natural bodies become stagnant.'
With that thought in mind, Lucius swiftly raised his elbow up, intercepting the kick right before it hit his head.
~WHAM!~
A huge wave swallowed the immediate area, causing dust to rise and swirl like a storm. Amidst this whirlwind of pressure were Lucius and Legion, the both of them locked in a perfect pose.
Legion's feet didn't make it past Lucius' defense.
"Good job." Lucius whispered underneath his breath, as he felt his body shift a little once that strike landed on his arm.
That had exceeded Lucius' expectation, and now… it was time for Legion's reward.
'Grit your teeth…' The clenched fist that he had prepared cut through the air as it made its way to Legion's exposed jaw.
The Death Knight tried to defend by raising their hands, but… they were too slow.
The fist was faster than a blur or shadowy apparition.
It was practically invisible.
~BOOOOOM!~
Impact was made, sending an explosive noise roaring through the arena. The moment his blow landed on Legion;s jaw, the latter's head burst from the power alone, sending mucky black blood all over the battlefield.
The light drizzle of slimy fluid painted the blackened ground in a darker shade of red.
But… this only lasted a few seconds.
Almost as soon as Legion's heavy body collapsed on the ground in defeat, and Lucius looked down at them from his elevated position, the blood began to evaporate into seeming nothingness.
At the same time, Legion's head began to fully regenerate.
A few seconds later, it was almost as if no blood had been spilt at all. Legion rose from their defeated position on the ground, choosing to kneel instead.
"Legion thanks you, Lord Mors, for the insightful session!"
"Mhm…" Lucius nodded slowly, offering a hand to the Death Knight so they could rise back to their feet.
The latter took the offer, and Lucius easily pulled Legion up.
"WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!" That instant, cheering noises echoed within the compound, causing the Lord of the Dead to smile at the sight.
'Looks like the fight ended up being productive, after all.'
Not only did Legion learn from their battle, but the morale of his followers ended up shooting through the roof thanks to his display of strength as well as a show of Legion's practical immortality.
'And, well… I've learned that I'm pretty strong—stronger than I was when I first arrived here.'
He had initially feared that his strength would be stagnant, but those fears quickly dissolved once he absorbed those three hundred plus souls that Lili harvested for him. After the absorption, he could see a noticeable rise in power.
'So… I become stronger the more Souls I have, huh?' A smile curled up in his face.
This was practically justification for tons of genocide. Lucius wasn't sure he would be able to resist the temptation of power, even if it meant he would get his hands dirtier than they already were.
'For now, I should only focus on eliminating my enemies…'
If his strength proved insufficient, he would have no choice but to avert his gaze on the innocents and use their Souls as a fuel for his power.
'I should feel sorry about it, but I don't.' His long black hair danced behind him as he inhaled the air and thought very deeply about his current state.
'To better improve myself and ensure my survival, I have been learning as much as I can about this world over the past few days… including the political structure and powers that exist here.'
He had learned about Blessings, Curses, and Spells.
Then, there was also the most interesting part of the powers he learned: Authority.
It was a kind of power only available to Principalities like himself—though he was yet to fully understand what that meant. Apparently, only one could possess a certain kind of Authority, making them unique in a sense.
'I have the Authority of Death, since I am Lord Mors… so no other Principality has the powers that I do.'
Of course, there was no real way to confirm this yet, since this was all information that Lili told him. Still, since no he had no contradicting information, and the Cult Leader had proven herself to be very competent with the information she provided, he had no choice but to trust her words and believe he was special.
'I can't be too complacent, though. I might be the only one with the Authority of Death, but I'm not the only Principality.'
As long as there was the possibility of another existence equal to or superior to him, Lucius couldn't allow himself to get comfortable or let his guard down.
'That is what it means to be Lord Mors.'