Chapter 148 — Battleground

Victor remained standing on the execution platform.

He hadn't moved more than a few steps from where he had originally appeared.

Lyra was still hanging over his shoulder.

And somehow, he had just defeated three of the strongest Shadow Foxes in the clan with one hand.

The entire square was stunned.

Nobody seemed to understand what they had just witnessed.

Levron was still embedded in the building. 1

Elder Sebastian had been knocked across the platform.

Even Patriarch Jackson was on the ground.

Yet Victor stood there as though nothing had happened.

Then someone in the crowd shouted.

"There's only one of him!"

Another voice answered.

"Let's attack him together!"

The hesitation disappeared.

Shadow Foxes began moving.

Roughly thirty warriors poured out from the crowd.

Swords, daggers, and short blades were drawn as they rushed toward the platform.

At the same time, the remaining members of the clan's strongest fighters stopped their battles.

All of them turned their attention toward Victor.

The situation had changed.

The Patriarch and Elder Sebastian were both down.

The strongest members of the clan had no choice but to temporarily work together.

They needed to eliminate the threat standing before them.

Slowly, Jackson pushed himself off the ground.

Sebastian did the same.

Victor glanced toward the enormous group charging toward him.

Then he looked at Lyra.

"Hang on."

Lyra blinked.

Victor smiled.

"There's probably going to be a little turbulence."

Lyra stared at him.

She looked at the dozens of Shadow Foxes rushing toward them.

Then back at Victor.

She still couldn't understand what had happened to him.

There's no way…

Even with his newfound strength, how could he possibly fight this many people?

Victor suddenly laughed.

A loud, boisterous laugh.

He didn't even realize how much of Monkasa's personality had started rubbing off on him.

"Come!"

His grin widened.

"Anyone who arrives…"

Victor lowered his stance.

"…I'll treat fairly."

The first Shadow Foxes disappeared.

Shadow Step.

Five figures appeared around Victor simultaneously.

Victor's eyes sharpened.

His fist slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

Intermediate Monkey Fist erupted outward.

The spiritual shockwave threw all five Shadow Foxes off balance.

Victor immediately rotated.

His foot whipped upward.

BAM! 1

One Shadow Fox was struck directly in the face.

Victor's fist followed with three quick jabs.

Three Shadow Foxes collapsed almost simultaneously from the sheer force of his strikes.

The remaining two recovered and swung their swords.

Victor disappeared.

Flash Step.

The blades cut through empty air.

Victor appeared behind them.

Two quick chops struck the backs of their necks.

Both collapsed.

Victor barely paused.

More Shadow Foxes rushed forward.

Then Sebastian appeared.

The elder had recovered.

His eyes were filled with determination.

Victor looked at him.

This time, he wasn't going to hold back.

Victor disappeared.

Flash Step.

He appeared behind Sebastian.

His fist was already surrounded by a spiraling tornado of Spiritual Energy.

Sebastian's eyes widened.

"Wait—"

BOOM!

Monkey Fist slammed into his back.

Sebastian's body shot forward and crashed into the execution platform.

The wooden structure shook violently.

Sebastian collapsed.

Unconscious.

Victor turned.

More were coming.

His smile widened.

Then he vanished.

Flash Step.

He reappeared several feet away.

Another Shadow Fox fell.

He vanished again.

Another collapsed.

Then another.

Victor's movements became increasingly difficult to follow.

Rapid Flash Steps carried him around the battlefield in an unpredictable blur.

Some Shadow Foxes were knocked unconscious by punches. 1

Others were sent flying by kicks.

Some were dropped by precise strikes to pressure points.

Every time Victor charged his fist, the air seemed to distort around him.

The spiritual tornado wrapped around his arm.

Then—

BOOM!

Another Shadow Fox went flying.

The battle became chaos.

For five minutes, Victor barely stopped moving.

The Shadow Foxes kept coming.

Eventually, the number of warriors still standing began to dwindle.

Bodies littered the square.

Some were unconscious.

Others groaned in pain.

A few struggled to breathe.

Victor stood in the center of it all.

Still carrying Lyra. 1

The Shadow Foxes stared at him.

Nobody wanted to be the next one to approach.

Victor looked around.

"Is that all?"

Silence.

Then Victor noticed someone still standing.

Jackson.

The Patriarch slowly looked around the square.

His expression had completely changed.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His clan had been overwhelmed.

By one human.

Jackson's hand slowly moved toward his neck.

Something resembling a small shell hung from it.

He grabbed it.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?"

Jackson didn't answer.

He raised the object to his mouth.

Then blew.

Fweeeee!

The strange whistle echoed throughout the entire village.

Victor's eyebrows furrowed.

Jackson looked at him.

And smiled.

"I hope you don't expect to get away now, boy."

Victor stared at him.

Then shrugged.

"Guess I'll just have to—"

He dashed forward.

His fist was already charging.

Monkey Fist.

He intended to end the fight immediately.

But just before his fist reached Jackson—

Victor stopped.

His entire body froze.

Even his breathing seemed to stop.

Victor's eyes widened.

What…?

A tremendous pressure descended upon the entire area.

Something that seemed to press directly against his soul.

Victor couldn't move a single muscle.

Even Lyra was frozen.

Her eyes widened as she looked around.

"What…"

She couldn't understand it.

This wasn't Jackson's power.

There was no way.

Jackson didn't possess this kind of strength.

Victor struggled.

The pressure only increased.

Then a voice echoed across the square.

Old.

Deep.

And filled with authority.

"A human…"

The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"…coming into my Shadow Fox Clan and running amok."

The pressure intensified.

Victor's teeth clenched.

The voice continued.

"Jackson."

A pause.

"When did you become so useless that you allowed one of their kind to make a mockery of my clan?"

Jackson immediately dropped to one knee.

His head lowered.

His body trembled slightly beneath the overwhelming presence.

"I'm sorry, Ancestor."

A cold snort echoed through the square.

"Hmph."

Victor's eyes widened.

An ancestor?

Someone capable of completely immobilizing him without even appearing?

Someone who could make the entire Shadow Fox Clan freeze with nothing more than their presence?

Victor remained frozen.

Lyra couldn't move.

Jackson remained kneeling.

And somewhere beyond the crowd…

Something ancient had awakened.