Legacy of a Benevolent Lord
Chapter 51: Morning Ambush

Chapter 51: Morning Ambush

Two days later.

Morning. Around 10 am.

On the top floor of the inn, Riven was playing a game of chess with Selene.

Azira- this little treacherous girl- had sided with Selene. And now both were trying to defeat him.

Riven had to admit. He was struggling.

His girl’s IQ was far too high for him. Selene plans four steps ahead.

Riven looked at the board with a scowl; his absent-minded mood had melted, and now all that was left was frustrated calculation.

Five moves earlier, if he had not moved the Queen, he might not be in this position, but reality kept teaching him lessons.

Twitch

Suddenly, his ears twitched and his hands froze.

Selene, too, felt his thoughts, so she stopped her train of calculation.

Azira didn’t know what was wrong, so the girl was still looking at the board with an interested face.

They didn’t do anything.

Still looking at the board.

One minute.

More sounds.

Two minutes.

Three.

Four.

Sounds started to soften.

Five minutes.

Bolt locking sounds.

Azira realized now that something was up as her master hadn’t made his move.

"You high-"

"Shh... Azira. We are thinking."

"Oh!... Mm okay." She nodded obediently.

They must be thinking! Of course.

That’s what she thought.

Riven: "Azira"

Azira: "Yes, your highness?"

Riven: "You trust us, right?"

Azira: Tilts head in confusion. Blinks. Nods innocently. "Azira trust your highness and Sister Selene."

Riven smiled gently at the sweet girl. "Good".

Trigger fingers firing were heard, and suddenly.

Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!

The hiss of arrows sliced through the air. They were close range, precision shots.

They came from everywhere: trees, windows, rooftops, shadows.

Dozens.

No! Hundreds!

An ambush!

Who was the target?

Riven Ashvale.

Casualties in mission execution?

It doesn’t matter to them; they were necessary sacrifices.

The trap had snapped shut. And the assassins didn’t care.

Better to kill the wrong person than let the right one escape.

The arrows whistled toward them like a swarm of metal serpents.

Azira looked up to see a canopy of black dots.

Just as she was about to drown in fear, a gentle warmth spread from Riven, calming the little girl’s nerves.

Selene watched the canopy without a change in her expression.

Riven lifted his hand. A flicker of gold flashed, and all the arrows coming towards them halted.

<Flawless Star Shift>

His mind was then infused with a string of data, with twenty or so assassin archers’ locations.

Clearly, while he was stopping the arrows, Selene’s supercomputer brain had calculated the trajectories.

The arrows turned around and shot even faster than they came.

For some time, there was a strange silence, just for a moment.

Then, the thuds were heard.

Flesh being pierced. Necks pierced, skulls broken through. Bodies collapsing.

Groans. Choked cries. Moans of agony.

The ambushers were falling, dying before they could evade or block.

Clearly, none of the assassins were ready for their own crossbow bolts to return to them.

Before despair settled in, they had died.

A second or so later, an irritating and mocking voice drifted from the rooftops.

"A fine use of fire against fire..."

The voice belonged to no one they could see. Or so ’he’ thought.

"That technique, the one the Murong Clan couldn’t master... and you’ve perfected it.

That counter was flawless. Seems the rumors are true, eh? Duke’s heir"

The voice echoed in the air.

Riven became increasingly frustrated as he listened to his tone, but he didn’t make any impulsive moves.

Instead, he waited.

It only took a few moments for Selene to track the location of the newcomer. The instant Riven received the info, he acted.

On the balcony, the wind howled suddenly, almost flipping the table over.

Azira had to close her eyes in order to bear with it. When she opened her eyes a second later-

Azira saw Riven disappear.

And the chair he was sitting on burst into splinters of wood from the sudden shockwave.

"Sister Azira... don’t be scared. Watch them fight. If you want to serve my lord, you will have to get used to this. Just like when we were in the Great Lake."

Selene’s soft voice slid into her being, and the next moment, a loud ’clasp’ was heard.

It was the sound of a fist hitting a palm in mid-air.

The shockwave of air boomed past the building to the street beneath them.

Blasting off food craters and stalls of food mongers below.

With loud surprised sounds, they immediately dropped everything they were doing and ran as fast as they could and as far as they could.

Previously, when arrows were being exchanged, they cleared the area as fast as they could, but still lingered around to watch the fun.

They thought the battle wouldn’t reach them, but guess they were wrong ...

Even the hunched-back grandmothers lifted their skirts, shouldered their canes, and sped away at ungodly speeds.

On one side of the street was the inn, and on the other side was another building the same size.

Windows rattled as black palms and golden fists clashed with each other. Neither was gaining an advantage.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom

Every direction, above, below, back of the street, ahead of the street, was filled with strikes.

Only flashes of gold and black remained as both fighters moved at speeds unseen to the naked mortal eye.

Two. Three. Four rounds.

At one point, the golden fist suddenly lit up in bright brilliance.

Although it was morning, the surrounding area lit up like the midday summer sun.

As if that was a catalyst, the black palm light too lit up to match the golden brilliance.

However, after every clash, it flickered out much faster.

Black palm shadows collided with the single golden fist in bursts of thunder.

The fist never lost ground.

Riven’s plan was not to outlast him.

He simply burned and purged through everything in its path.

Two cultivators.

One is an accomplished Innate ascendant.

The other is an out-of-the-ordinary martial horror with a Pure Yang Divine Skeleton.

The entire street trembled under their battle. The paved stone tiles came loose.

Shockwaves collided like typhoons. Dust lifted in cyclones. Windows shattered.

"Earth-tier martial art General’s Command Palm?" someone shouted amidst the chaos.

It was one of the guards from the governor’s manor who had jumped onto a rooftop in vigilance.

"In all the Ashenvale martial world, only one man has mastered that move to such a degree: General Ravur Dreadmark of Gravehold."

The moment the assailant heard his own name, he realized his cover was blown.

There was hesitation. A slight hesitation. A very, very minute one.

And in that heartbeat of recognition, the palm froze for a split second.

That was all the Golden Fist needed.

Instantly, the golden energy was infused with a horrifying amount of fist intent.

It gleamed four times brighter.

Four times potent.

And even more concentrated.

Even faster.

KACHAK!!!!