Legacy of a Benevolent Lord
Chapter 42: Great Lake Purge - Part 2.

Chapter 42: Great Lake Purge - Part 2.

The pirates aboard all ten ships howled and cackled, striking the deck with their sabers, stomping in unison.

The surface of the lake shivered.

A dozen flaming firecracker arrows were shot into the air, spiraling, signaling readiness to strike at command.

A maddening sight.

Yet, Riven’s eyes rippled with no emotion.

His words, too, carried with energy, spread across the surrounding waters clearly.

"Seriously?" he muttered, letting the word float out. "You clowns circled me just to sound like rejected circus acts?"

He tilted his head slightly, eyes scanning the ships with the vague interest of someone inspecting a trash fire.

The General of the Skies slammed his fist on the rail. "YOU—"

Pirates are pirates.

Quick to anger.

Yet, Riven’s words cut him off.

"Ya fucking insects... You think numbers make you frightening? Did the numbers buy you courage?"

"Loud. Annoying. Arrogant dust."

The lake went still.

Riven’s voice dropped just a little, laced with disdain.

"You picked a great morning ya fucks." A pause.

Then a smirk.

"Go ahead. Tighten your little circle. I’ve been meaning to test something."

His tone of voice with dropped disdain, spread outward in ripples of energy, thundering in the ears of pirates

The General of the Skies went red. He slammed the hilt of his saber against the deck.

"TIGHTEN THE KNOT! RAM THE HULL AND BOARD!"

Riven looked at Selene.

"You ready?"

"Mhm."

He stared at the girl’s eyes.

How she has changed.

For him, she had let go of her immaturity.

Now.she stood beside him, like his Empress.

Riven: "You might die."

Selene: "I know. But... will we lose?"

"Heh.... Our fusion technique is ready. We have already comprehended Yin and Yang intent. Even a Self-Image Insight expert wouldn’t block us clean."

A brilliant smile lit up Selene’s already unearthly face.

Her gaze swept across the ring of warships closing in like vultures.

"Which side are you picking?" she asked, voice casual, like choosing between tea or wine.

"I’ll take the Thunder guy, of the west flank. He’s the quiet one. He seems composed."

Riven cracked his knuckles. "Might give me a proper fight."

Selene chuckled.

She was not a battle junkie. She didn’t crave violence.

She simply wished to be strong, not to hold Riven back when he pursues his ambitions.

Ambitions that very well would lead to the death of many.

She was ready, even if the path he walked was one that would leave entire bloodlines in ruin.

Selene: "Alright then."

The moment her words fell, a chill far, far deeper than the bleak midwinter spread from her.

Glacial blue colored aura – like Blue Ghost mist - spread with her as the center, the aura appeared as a heavy mist.

Spreading over the deck, the mist seeped through the railing and slowly fell onto the water.

Where it touched, water crystallized instantly!

Like liquid nitrogen had been poured across the surface.

Selene simply activated her Divine bones, and the celestial resonance did the rest.

Within seconds, a hundred square meters of open lake froze solid, ships locked in place like insects in amber.

Their ships and boats froze and couldn’t even move an inch forward.

"What the hell?!"

The General of the Sky gaped at the water.

Frozen?

Frozen solid?

What about tightening the knot then?

Then he looked up at the bright sun in the sky as if to ask, ’Are you kidding me, brother?’.

The more composed Thunder hand-squinted his eyes. He was about to order his men when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

The danger of death was so much that his chrysanthemum clenched, and his balls shrank back inside.

His body locked. Every alarm in his soul exploded at once.

DODGE!!!!!

FUCKING DODGE NOW!!!!!!

Years of life-or-death combat kicked in.

He had already connected his Heaven and Earth foundation and had advanced to the Spirit Harmonizing and Energy Channeling realm.

[A/N: The two major realms after Innate ascendance.

1. Heaven and Earth Foundation

The connector of sorts to the nature around you.

2. Spirit Harmonizing and Energy Channeling

Maturing the soul and expanding one’s energy core.]

Channeling his energy, he willed his body to hop to the right side.

All this happened within 2 seconds.

The moment he skipped to the right, something passed by him.

Something invisible.

Yet that ’something’ carried the might of an unimaginable attack.

BOOOOOMM!!!

The sound was deafening.

CRUNCH!!

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw all the men who stood behind him being blasted into blood, flesh, and bones.

Acquired training Sixth, Seventh, or even Fetal breathing realm warriors?

Gone.

Not wounded. Just erased.

Nothing remained.

In a straight line, something invisible passed by and blasted his men into unidentifiable remains.

Thunder Hand rolled on the deck, eyes wide, face twisted in horror.

His gauntlets lit up in blue lightning, his energy circulated at full speed, increasing his instincts manyfold.

He looked towards the man on the small luxurious boat - who still stood in a forward punching position. Arm still outstretched.

There, he saw Riveron Ashvale, clad in very sleek Golden armor, stand back up and straighten his back.

He looked right into Thunder Hand’s eyes. The young man’s mouth split into a toothy grin.

His eyes.... iris, sclera, all golden, gleaming, and utterly inhuman.

His long hair floated as if it defied gravity.

Gone were the scholarly white robes, and there he stood like something non-human.

Rage and humiliation bubbled inside Thunder Hand.

A newly minted Innate!

A rookie!!

And he had to dodge so pathetically, and his elite unit was slaughtered like livestock?

He turned back to his men, who stood in aghast. Still clutching their weapons but trembling like sieves.

Pure fucking terror gripped their nerves.

Their minds might be active, but clearly the shock to the nervous system was too much.

They were in shock.

Thunder Hand snarled. His voice cracked as he bellowed:

"GET THE FUCK DOWN!!"

He couldn’t order anymore when he heard the ice cracking in a loud BOOM.

-----------

After letting out a successful punch that touched the Ancient Surpassing realm of Martial understanding, infused with his Fist and Yang intent, the young man let out a satisfying sigh.

A whole year.

That’s how much it took for him to touch this understanding again while still being below Innate.

The last time was right before he met Murong Fu.

Riven restrained all the aura inside, and he did not let the slightest heat spread.

He jumped and landed on the frozen lake.

No lightness skill. No fancy steps.

Bending his knees, he sank and then shot up like a missile.

CRACK

BOOOOM

A circular shockwave cracked the ice beneath him and exploded from the sheer force.

Debris flying everywhere.

Fear Induction – Achieved.

Momentary distraction – Achieved.

Next...

Target: Thunder Hand’s warship - Crackling Fang.

Coming in hot!