Chapter 144: Never Be Forgotten
Priam was on top of a hill a few dozen meters high. Just ahead of him, he saw two people.
One of them was a tall and thin woman, unknown to him, who was lying on the ground, apparently unconscious, with a large cut around her abdomen. The other... was precisely Baels.
He was still a bit crooked and with his clothes covered in his own blood, while checking and searching through some things on the woman.
’This bastard is harassing and robbing people...’
Baels had lost his best things in the event with Dandara and, after that, had been beaten and brutally wounded. Now, he was taking advantage of this test to rob people and recover.
Certainly, he no longer had pills or Red Prisms. So, stealing those from others was essential for his survival and advancement in the test.
’I gave you a chance to live like a person before. Now, you don’t deserve even the air you breathe.’
Priam snorted, then his feet moved.
...
At that moment, in a hall of the elders, a dozen of them were gathered. Each one was holding an emblem and paying close attention to it.
The emblems had countless points of light. These were the disciples in the testing phase, and these Elders were responsible for taking care of them.
It would be an immense waste to let these youths die. So, if they could save them, they would. Like that, the youths who failed could still become workers of the sect.
"They’re fighting again!" said an elder.
"Numbers?" asked another, older one.
"7088 and 55269."
"It’s the former standout among the youths, Baels, against the anomaly Priam!" Uswyn answered. She was also there, watching everything.
"Ah, then we should pay close attention. Let’s switch the camera to their fight," said an Elder, excited.
A screen appeared, revealing two figures facing each other.
Baels’s expression twisted as he cursed Priam.
At that moment, Priam had a black branch in his hands.
As for Baels’s face... it already had a second beautiful black mark, perfectly tattooed and harmonized on the other side of his face.
Seeing that, the elders shook their heads negatively.
One of them sighed. "This Priam has an impatient temper and lacks self-control."
"They moved!" someone shouted.
But in mere seconds, the expressions of the people soon became strange.
An Elder cursed. "This Baels is truly useless. After taking so many blows to the face, he still doesn’t know how to strike back?"
Seeing him being beaten like a child by Priam, the elders were speechless.
Until...
"FUCK! THAT WEAPON OF YOURS IS CHEATING!"
Suddenly, Baels, with his face now completely swollen to the point of looking like a pig, began roaring indignantly.
"Yes, it can only be that! This branch must have the sealed power of a Sage! Aren’t you ashamed to use something external like that!?"
Priam snorted with a mocking expression.
"Seriously? Then... feel free to use this cheat." He spoke calmly, then made a casual movement with his hand, and that black branch flew through the air.
Baels’s eyes shone and, with a jump, he grabbed the branch.
"Hahaha! I have to admit, you have guts!" He laughed in ecstasy, then immediately clenched his fist and moved all the Ether in his body toward the branch.
"?"
It didn’t even take a second.
Before his Ether could even flow from his meridians into the branch, Baels’s entire body froze.
Suddenly, black lines began spreading through his body, flowing from his hand.
"AH!"
He screamed in despair, letting go of the branch.
*POW*
The second he let go, Priam appeared like a ghost in front of him, delivering a heavy punch to his abdomen.
Baels flew several meters while vomiting blood.
All the Elders watched everything with confused eyes. What the hell was that branch?
Priam picked up the branch with a dignified expression.
"You are not worthy of the branch’s wisdom!"
Priam spoke with a booming voice, raising that piece of wood upward as if it were a divine blade.
"Tsk... the glorious Heaven-Wrecker, World-Ender Branch doesn’t like bastards!"
Priam’s hand holding the branch began to tremble in an exaggerated way. His face twisted theatrically.
"The branch desires vengeance for being touched! Experience the heaven-destroying fury!"
After this... somewhat ridiculous declaration, a one-sided beating began... again. This time, several times more intense.
Priam didn’t intend to kill anyone there, because he knew he was being watched by the Elders, and possibly, they wanted to save as many people as possible. The sect lacked everything, and people with a minimum of talent were still useful.
It lasted several seconds until Baels became unrecognizable.
His clothes were almost all torn apart, and he was covered in frightening black marks all over his body.
The Elders watched everything in silence. But soon they grew confused, because Priam stopped attacking out of nowhere.
He raised his gaze, as if searching for something.
Then, he extended his hand, grabbed Baels by the hair, and dragged him in one direction.
As Priam advanced, he spotted a Beast drinking water from a stream.
Priam smiled, and his figure became a blur.
He appeared behind the Beast and knocked it unconscious with a single blow.
A few seconds later...
"!"
All the Elders watching were shocked.
Priam stripped Baels of everything he had and used his hair to tie him to the tail of that Beast, which had a physical form similar to a horse. Then, he tied his hands and legs.
Soon after, he took out some peculiar pills that he still kept in his ring.
Just like before, in the clan’s coming-of-age test, Priam still had several pills with strange effects, which his mother had taught him to always keep nearby. You never knew what opportunity he might find to use those things.
One of those pills... was literally like fireworks from Earth.
It served no purpose besides shining, making noise, and drawing a lot of attention.
After wrapping the firework pills around Baels’s waist and legs, there were still some left.
"Brother, wake up. Let’s play an exciting game."
*Slap!*
Priam gave Baels a thunderous slap across the face. The weight and pain of the blow woke him up.
"You! I swear I’ll kill your whole family!" Baels roared as soon as he realized what state he was in.
"You really forgot to take your medicine today. But don’t worry! I have some here with me!"
Baels struggled with all his strength, uselessly.
Priam shoved several different pills into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.
After the pills, Priam shoved in some stones that were around them, filling all the "empty space."
After the dirty work, Priam looked at Baels, who was beyond furious. The veins on his forehead were bulging, but now he was unable to threaten or curse. He was complete in body and soul.
"Now, you’ll finally be able to shine for eternity in everyone’s minds, becoming as incredible and unforgettable as you think you are. No need to thank me!"
Having said that, Priam kicked the Beast, waking it from its sleep.
Before it could understand what was happening, explosive sounds began echoing behind its rear, deeply frightening it.
Immediately, the Beast bolted away, ignoring the fact that it was dragging someone behind it.
The previously silent place immediately became chaotic with the bursting of fireworks.
"What is that?"
"Heaven’s, am I blind, or is that the genius Baels?!"
"He’s not wearing any clothes!"
The sequence of fireworks was very long. It continued exploding for several minutes.
During that time, the frightened Beast fled far away, allowing countless people to see him. Those people didn’t dare believe what they were seeing.
The young women didn’t dare look, feeling disgusted, because that person was naked and swollen, making the scene completely grotesque.
One of the greatest geniuses among all the youths of the generation who weren’t born inside the sect...
...had been stripped and tied to a Beast’s tail, while his body pulsed with colorful fireworks, and he vomited rainbows mixed with blood.
Priam watched everything from the top of a hill, his hands crossed behind his back.
He nodded with a dignified and satisfied expression.
"Excellent, now you’ll never be forgotten in these people’s hearts! I guarantee it!"