Chapter 76 - It Wasn’t Me
With Lord Weld at the center all the rain in the surrounding 100-meter radius gathered towards him. Marquis Gregory had a change of expression when Amelia locked her eyes on him, but he was a safe distance away and wasn't in immediate danger.
Water was the source of their power. Water-users could rely solely on their water seed to conjure water for their own usage, but it could never be as fast as manipulating the readily available water from the surrounding.
Lord Weld was more powerful and commanded greater control over the rain. Marquis Gregory was unable to summon any rain for himself as his father did not even leave a drop for him. He felt a lot of pressure under the Duchess's gaze as he broke out into sweat. The sweat trickled down his cheeks before they too joined the rest of the rain and gathered towards Lord Weld. His father was too overbearing. Not even his sweat was spared.
"Retreat!" Lord Weld issued to his son. There was no way Marquis Gregory was an opponent for the Duke's wife. The difference between a 7th step and 9th step awakener was like a chasm. It wasn't something any ordinary 7th step awakeners can overcome, especially not after his father had stripped off all his advantages.
All the rain gathered into a single body of water, before Lord Weld swiped his hand in the direction of Duke Ignis. The body of water rushed at him like a dam opening its floodgates. The attack was simple and direct with no tricks, but it was powered with Lord Weld's full strength.
Of the 5 elements, water had the least offensive properties. Unless the water-user's control has reached the zenith and able to condense sharp water blades that could cut through steel, they could only rely on overpowering their opponents through brute force.
Lord Weld was someone who had heavily relied on pills to achieve his present strength and had a very shaky foundation as a 9th step water-user. The price for having a shaky foundation is a lack of control over his water manipulation ability. As such, it was impossible for Lord Weld to cut steel with water. He would not have tried to pierce the Duke through the roof with his sword if he was able to execute such a strong skill.
"Do you think you can overpower me!?" Duke Ignis roared as he quickly drew power from his fire seed and fired off a powerfully large flame at the incoming tide. Facing such a simple and direct attack from Lord Weld, Duke Ignis took it as provocation to a contest of strength and chose to take the attack head on. He was never one to back down from a challenge.
The 2 opposing forces clashed like mortal enemies that would not stop until the other side was vanquished. The two forces disappeared and was replaced by a mad explosion of water vapors that spread swiftly. The entire area was soon engulfed in a foggy atmosphere.
Duke Ignis was hit by the force of the explosion and his body was shot flying back like a cannonball and landed on the windscreen of his luxury car.
"Kekeke… Did you think your abilities could suppress me like your swordsmanship?" Lord Weld laughed coldly, but there was a hint of tiredness in his eyes. The only reason he willingly engaged in a sword fight was to gauge the Duke's strength and measure his own. Ever since he reached the 9th step, he had not fought with any opponents of the same level.
"Ugh." The Duke groaned.
"How are you?" Amelia asked with concern.
"I'm okay, but I expended a portion of my strength. We are at a serious disadvantaged." Ignis replied. The weather was not on their side.
The Duke had sent out his attack later, causing the explosion point to be closer to him. This didn't mean his attack was weaker as the two forces perfectly negated each other.
However, it was clear who had the upper hand in this battle. Duke Ignis had expended a portion of the fire elements that fuels his flame, while Lord Weld did not expend any. He had an unlimited supply of water as it continues to rain. The only thing he was draining was his mental strength.
Like any other awakeners, Duke Ignis cannot create fire out of nothing. When there are no fire sources to manipulate, he must expend the energy in his fire seed to conjure his flames. Furthermore, the more powerful his flames are, the more fire energy he must expend to conjure it.
Although Lord Weld must be expending a lot of mental strength to control such a large body of water, it was negligible compared to the Duke's expended energy. The Duke would not be able to win a battle of attrition against Lord Weld under these conditions.
"Let's attack him together. We can't stay for long." Amelia suggested. The Welds obviously wants their life and are blocking their path for a reason. Their situation could turn dangerous if Weld's reinforcements arrive.
...
"Stay in the car? What does he mean stay in the car? Does he think we are too useless to be of help?" Robert said with some discontent. His skills might have dulled, but he was still a hot-blooded warrior at heart. How can he sit back, and watch others fight?
"If you really think that way, why didn't you say something earlier, father?" Lina rolled her eyes at her father.
"Yeah Robert, you haven't recovered to your peak strength and you haven't fought in a very long time. You wouldn't be able to help. Our abilities are more useful for healing anyway." Aisha added.
Cough* "You both… sigh… You're right, Aisha." Robert felt embarrassed after being called out. His ego deflated. He was only putting up a pretense. He wasn't going to go out and fight. He understood that he might not even be a match for the servants at his current level of strength.
"This is strange. These people are not the Grey family. Why are they also after our son?" Brian questioned. Leon's parents were common folks that recently awakened. They didn't have a clear understanding of the situation and thought the Welds were also targeting their son.
"They are not after Leon. They are after Ignis and Amelia." Robert stated. He could understand the other party's motive. The Duke and his wife had never been so far from their Lancaster Empire Estate building, which was even taller than the palace.
The Lancaster Empire Estate was where they do all the manufacturing and research for weapons, cars, airships and other projects with metal as the main component. The workforce was comprised of loyal subordinates and possess the strength of small army.
The Lancaster Empire Estate and the Royal Palace was the only two places the 4 great families did not want the Duke and his wife near. These were the only two places that could threaten their existence and impede their plans from progressing forward.
Inside of the luxury car, Leon had watched the exchange between the Duke and the enemy unfold and sighed. It's good to have powerful people on his side, but ultimately their strength is not his own.
Leon hated the feeling of having his fate decided by others. The Duke and his wife were his father-in-law and mother-in-law. They can trusted, but what if it was someone else? He still remembered the powerlessness he felt before the moment of his death back in the Divine Realm. When him and his father were killed by their own trusted subordinates and subjects.
His life was his own. Why should he let others dictate his life and death? Only he can be the master of his own life and death. He would not get far in life if he had to depend on the grace of others every time, he needs to solve a problem. He had to rely on himself.
He would not be a filial son if he did not even try to avenge his father with his own hands. He had never lost sight of his goal and vengeance for his father. He had to first understand the world he lived in and find the general direction back to the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm was not a separate world that existed on a higher plane. The Divine Realm refers to the central region of an astronomically large celestial body known as a galaxy. The energy of the galaxy congregates towards the Divine Realm, making it energy-rich compared to any other places in the galaxy.
If one could look at a star map of the Divine Realm, it would look like a large body of light within the cluster. There are countless other smaller and fainter bodies of light spread throughout the cluster. Those smaller bodies of light are star realms and starfields, but only the ones that are inside the large body of light are considered part of the Divine Realm.
It would take a long time before Leon possess the level of strength required to find out where planet Gaia was located among the stars. It would also be a problem if it wasn't even located within the same galaxy.
This is because every denizen of the Divine Realm knew that while other celestial bodies rivaling their own galaxy exist out there in the vast universe, none have ever been successful in traversing between them.
"What are you doing, Leon? It's dangerous out there."
His parents grabbed onto his sleeves as Leon tried to leave the car to help with the battle outside.
"You both shouldn't have to worry. Your son isn't weak. He was able to decimate the Grey family's entire group of servants." Robert assured them. He was eager to see what methods Leon would use to deal with the servants.
"Don't worry, I know my limits." Leon flashed them a confident smile. He was only going to deal with the servants. The Marquis and Lord Weld was beyond him.
The moment he stepped out; he directed his killing intent at the servants. Those who felt his killing intent, were startled by it. Numerous pair of eyes trained on him.
They wondered what a brat like him was going to do. Logically, someone young like him shouldn't be a threat to them, but the dangerous vibe he gave off told them otherwise.
"Go back inside, it's too dangerous." Amelia also warned him.
"Don't worry, I can help." Leon stated as several needles appeared in his hands.
Just as he was about to make his move, several servants from the Weld Family suddenly dropped dead from the walls, alarming everyone. Both sides stopped their own battles as they reassess his strength. No one was able to see how he killed the servants.
"How did you do it? How did you kill them?" Amelia was astonished. She didn't see him move at all.
Leon was stunned. How did he do what? The needles were still in his hands!
"It wasn't me!"