Chapter 122: Fighting the Syndicate Leader, The Raid
Chapter 122: Fighting the Syndicate Leader, The Raid
Vargas slammed his fists onto the wooden railing of the viewing balcony. The syndicate boss clamped his jaw shut, refusing to hand over a single silver coin to an academy student.
Drustan vaulted over the edge of the booth and plummeted into the dirt pit. Landing in a crouch, the scarred fighter pulled a pair of chained sickles from his waist.
"I will carve that name into your skull," Drustan sneered, spinning the chains.
The sickles blurred through the underground arena. The local blacksmiths had forged those specific weapons to ensnare broader blades. Drustan lashed the chains forward, aiming to wrap the iron links directly around Eden’s Penance.
Solomon tightened his grip on the sword. He completely restricted his newly awakened internal energy, refusing to utilize his aura for this clash. It was simply too powerful to use in an underground facility, where it could come crashing down.
He stepped forward and executed the third form of the Eden Imperial Sword Arts. Transferring the momentum from his rear heel across his torso, he unleashed a flurry of diagonal slashes.
The sheer velocity of the strikes deflected the incoming sickles. The iron chains sparked and bounced off Eden’s Penance.
Drustan widened his eyes and yanked his weapons back. Solomon seamlessly transitioned into the second form. Anchoring his boots into the dirt, he rotated his core and unleashed a horizontal sweep.
The flat of Eden’s Penance slammed into Drustan’s chest. The strike shattered the fighter’s ribs and launched him across the pit. Drustan crashed into the foundation of the viewing balcony and slumped into the dirt.
The crowd lost their minds. Spectators stomped their boots and threw their hands up, chanting the stolen identity at the top of their lungs.
"Marco Alfoy! Marco Alfoy! Marco Alfoy!"
Vargas stumbled backward inside the booth. His face drained of color as he frantically grabbed a bulging sack of silver coins from his table. The syndicate boss prepared to toss the money down to appease the underground king.
Suddenly, the iron doors at the entrance of the subterranean cavern exploded inward. Splinters of metal and rock showered the betting booths. Elder Liang marched into the arena alongside a squad of blue-robed instructors from the Azure Dragon Sect.
"Lock down the facility and arrest everyone!" Liang ordered, raising his wooden staff.
The instructors surged into the cavern. The illegal gambling den instantly devolved into chaos. Merchants screamed and scrambled toward the hidden emergency exits, while thugs drew their weapons to fight the cultivators.
Elder Liang scanned the riot and peered into the fighting pit. He listened to the spectators cheering a familiar name. The elder spotted the silver-haired first-year student holding Eden’s Penance over the syndicate’s unconscious champion.
"Solomon?" Liang shouted over the noise. "What are you doing down here?"
Solomon spotted the angry instructors rushing toward the pit.
"My name is Marco Alfoy!"
"No, you are not!" the instructor snapped.
"Wait till my mother hears about this!" Solomon was spouting everything he recalled Marco saying.
"What are you doing here?!"
"Your curiosity will get you killed!"
Solomon lunged toward the broken viewing balcony, snatching the bulging sack of silver coins Vargas had dropped during the initial explosion.
[LazyCat: THE TEACHERS ARE HERE!]
[GamerGuy: BUSTED! LMAO!]
[BloodKnight: A tactical retreat is highly advised right now.]
[GoonLord: RUN MARCO RUN!]
[User12: I bet 1000 points he gets expelled before sunrise.]
[NewbHunter: I will take that bet.]
Solomon shoved the coin pouch into his trousers and bolted. Utilizing Basic Stealth, he blended into the panicked crowd fleeing the grandstands. Chaining his movements with Basic Parkour, he vaulted over a shattered betting table and sprinted down an unlit corridor.
Three blue-robed instructors spotted his escape route and gave chase. The cultivators projected their internal energy to enhance their speed, rapidly closing the distance through the winding stone tunnels.
Solomon pumped his arms and navigated the sharp turns. He heard the pursuers yelling commands right behind his back.
Solomon had unintentionally destroyed the arena on the very day he came to this city.
Up in the viewing balcony, Vargas watched his illegal empire crumble.
’What is going on here?! The empire I built with my hard work is crumbling! I lost my men, including Drustan! I lost my money too! It’s all because of that academy student! Who called him here?! He even brought the instructors with him, and now they will get this place locked, and I will have to pay a fine! Was this all part of this plan?’
He noticed the silver-haired boy running over a specific section of the subterranean floor. The syndicate boss grabbed a hidden mechanical lever beneath his desk and yanked it downward.
The stone floorboards beneath Solomon’s boots gave way.
Solomon plummeted into the darkness. He tucked his chin and executed a perfect roll upon hitting the ground, minimizing the impact of the long fall. Standing back up, he dusted off his spider-silk shirt.
He found himself locked inside a deep, circular fighting cage constructed from reinforced steel bars.
A guttural growl echoed from the shadows of the enclosure.
A starved demonic beast crawled into the dim light. The creature resembled a mutated reptile covered in thick, overlapping armored scales. Acidic saliva dripped from its sharp jaws, sizzling against the stone floor.
The syndicate kept the monster locked down here for special executions.
Solomon grinned and adjusted Eden’s Penance on his back. The instructors pacing near the open trapdoor above lost their visual on him in the dark pit. He finally possessed a secluded space away from the prying eyes of the Azure Dragon Sect.
"I was looking for a decent workout," Solomon told the hovering drone, cracking his knuckles. "Those armored scales look durable. This presents the perfect opportunity to practice fusing my aura with my basic combat foundations. I won’t be using the sword."
The demonic beast roared and charged forward.
[User12: the syndicate really tried to execute him with a pet lizard.]
[LazyCat: Vargas just gave Solo Man a private training gym.]
[GamerGuy: they locked the monster in with HIM.]
[Skeptic: testing basic skills on an armored beast? This should be interesting.]
[GoonLord: SHOW THEM WHY YOU ARE THE STRONGEST LOSER!]
Solomon sidestepped the snapping jaws and delivered a punishing hook to the creature’s scaly flank, eager to spend the rest of the night upgrading his physical arsenal.