I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Rodrick wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, from the coldness in his eyes alone, it was clear that the battle was not going the way he wanted.

"What? You didn’t expect to get beaten like this, Rodrick? Did you think you could suppress me with one hit and end the battle?" Lian noticed it too and mocked him.

"I admit that I underestimated you, but that is not going to change anything, I will be the final winner and ....you still misunderstood one thing about me."

The young Vorhelm raised an eyebrow.

And in response, he gave a short laugh.

"You think all the people I gathered around me are only here so I can have power in the Academy ...you know, all of this is because of my Talent."

Lian’s face became serious, Awakened often hid their Talents, it was not a rule and it was an optional decision, just like him, who had hidden his Talent.

And Rodrick’s Talent was the same, he had never made the information about his Talent public... but it seemed that he had changed his mind.

"My Talent is Sovereign’s Banner... it’s not like it can force someone to become my subordinate. It can’t."

His eyes moved down for a moment, toward the bottom of the mountain, where his people were still fighting.

"Everyone has to choose for themselves to stand under my banner, when they make that choice, they become a part of my territory; they can sense my commands better, the coordination between my people becomes better, and I can also understand the condition of my main forces."

The young Vorhelm said nothing, now some of Rodrick’s behavior had a different meaning.

His obsession with building a faction, gathering powerful students, rewarding loyalty, and indirectly putting pressure on those who stayed outside.

This was not just politics, it was a part of his path to power.

Rodrick fixed his eyes on Lian again.

"You think I am playing for the position of Headmaster." His voice was calm, but there was cold confidence in every word.

"This Academy is only the first place where I build my own territory."

"So I finally understand why you need so many people, you’re not as great alone as you show yourself to be." Lian looked at him for a few seconds and then slowly nodded.

Silence.

"Try it." This time, something flashed in Rodrick’s eyes...killing intent?

"That’s what I’m doing, but I’m curious, why did you tell me about your Talent? And besides, your Talent being S-Rank doesn’t seem that special."

Although no answer came and ...

BOOOOM!

They reached each other again, Rodrick’s fist came from the right and Lian lowered his head.

Suddenly, an elbow came down from above and his armored forearm went up to block it.

Clang!

The attack was pushed aside and the young Vorhelm attacked his stomach with his knee.

Rodrick lowered his palm and caught it.

[ King’s Reprisal. ]

A stream of mana ran through his body and Lian immediately pulled back, he was not going to give Rodrick his own heavy attack for free anymore.

True Sequence activated.

His eyes followed the path of the mana, Crushing Decree was gathering in his fist again but this time he found what he was looking for.

The first impact, then a very short delay, and then the explosion happened, all of this was made possible by the skill in less than one second.

Rodrick moved forward and his fist moved toward Lian’s chest, he raised his left hand and his palm touched the other’s wrist and changed the path of the fist by only a few centimeters.

Clang!

The fist passed beside his body, mana entered the assumed point of impact but the young Vorhelm was no longer there.

[ Ash Step. ]

Fsh!

His body turned into ash right before the explosion.

BOOOOM!

[ Crushing Decree ] exploded behind him and the ash gathered on the other side of Rodrick but this time Lian did not attack directly.

[ Frost Dominion. ]

Crack!

A thick ice wall rose from the ground right behind his enemy, his path of retreat was blocked and Rodrick’s eyes changed.

He appeared in front of him and his palm rose.

Cataclysm Pulse.

"I got you."

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosion hit Rodrick’s chest from a close distance and the ice wall behind him did not let the force of the attack fully escape by moving backward.

His body was trapped between two forces.

Crack!

The entire ice wall behind him broke and he was thrown away together with thousands of pieces of ice, landing nearly twenty meters away.

He had completely fallen to the ground.

The young Vorhelm let out a short breath, his mana was not infinite.

Two Royal Seal Guardians, the battles from the previous stages, and now this bastard, if this continued, it would not take long for his mana to be completely drained.

But fortunately, he still had more than he needed.

[Time Remaining: 05:28.]

Rodrick moved, slowly sitting on one knee and blood had run from the corner of his mouth down to his chin.

For a few seconds, he only looked at him, there was no smile left on either of their faces.

[Elena’s Protective Seal activated.]

[Participant eliminated.]

Rodrick’s eyes moved down for a fraction of a second, Lian also gave a quick look and in the distance, particles of light were rising toward the sky from one of the lower platforms.

Seraphina was still standing, their duel was over and Elena had lost, this result seemed shocking.

But it really was not, Seraphina had a four-star Dual Class along with a Legacy from an ancient civilization that was still helping her improve.

While Elena had a three-star Class and her Talent Rank was B.

The basic difference between them was not something that Level alone could make up for.

Rodrick turned his eyes back to the young Vorhelm.

"Looks like your friends aren’t bad either."

"Why do you think I’m friends with them? Unlike you, I make better choices."

"Choice? All of my subordinates are smart and loyal, and these same subordinates helped me become King, unlike you, who still couldn’t even get your position back in the Vorhelm family."

"Really? All of them? Are you sure about Darren?" Lian laughed.

A muscle beside Rodrick’s eye moved for a moment.

"His barking wasn’t bad." And he made his smile a little deeper.

"You really don’t know when to shut your mouth, Vorhelm."

"I usually know, I just don’t see a reason to." And the young Vorhelm shrugged.

Rodrick stood up from the ground, he looked calm and controlled, but something in his eyes had changed.

He now understood that if the fight continued like this, there was a real chance of losing, he did not like to accept it.

But he was not stupid enough to close his eyes to the truth.

His eyes moved to the timer for a moment.

[04:39.]

Then to his forces below the mountain.

"You know what the biggest difference between you and me is? The number of people standing behind me." And then he asked.

This made Lian raise an eyebrow, he did not understand where this idiot wanted to go by saying these things.

Rodrick held the Crown in front of his chest for a moment and closed his eyes, the mana inside his body changed.

It was not like activating a normal skill but something deeper.

Thin golden lines started from his chest and spread across his neck and arms.

At the same time, several members of Rodrick’s faction below the mountain suddenly trembled.

One of them fell to one knee and another was forced to put his hand on the ground, the speed of a third person clearly decreased.

The young Vorhelm narrowed his eyes.

Rodrick opened his eyes, the pressure of his presence had suddenly changed.

Stronger.

Faster.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Heavier.

"You asked me why I told you about my Talent, right? Because I wanted you to understand the difference between me and yourself ... I am a King! And you are just a lone rebellious peasant."

"A lone peasant can never surpass the glory of a true King." It was clear that he believed every word he said.

He really thought he was a King ...no, he thought he was destined to become a King

"And this is where you can understand the difference between a King and a subject like yourself ....the first innate trait of the tree, Tyrant’s Tribute." Rodrick closed his right fist and a wave of pressure spread around him.

"You took their power?" Lian examined him for a few moments, one look was enough for him to understand what was happening.

This bastard had just taken the power of his subordinates.

"I borrowed it."

"That doesn’t make much difference."

"For someone who has no one behind them, maybe, but I am a King, it is the duty of my soldiers to lend their power to me." Rodrick rolled his shoulders.

Lian stayed silent for a moment ...then he laughed....he really laughed.

"No one is behind me?" He slightly lowered his head.

Kain.

Rindo.

Seraphina.

Liana.

Selina.

Marcus.

Ethan.

Cassian.

They were all still there.

"I just don’t need to take their power from them to prove it...besides, can you shut up and stop saying King, King all the time?"

Rodrick’s smile completely disappeared and a moment later, Hunter’s Instincts screamed.

Lian did not even have time to think and the enemy arrived.

BOOOOM!

His fist hit the young Vorhelm’s forearm, the force was much greater than before.

His body left the ground and before he could land, the King was in front of him again, his speed had also increased.

A knee came up.

Lian could not activate Mountain Anchor while in the air.

So....

[ Ash Step. ]

Fsh!

His body turned into ash.

Rodrick was not surprised this time and immediately turned to the right, his fist went straight toward the place where the young Vorhelm had appeared the last time.

But there was nothing there and his eyes changed.

"I thought you said it only takes one time to learn." Lian’s voice came from above.

He raised his head and a few meters above him, a thin platform of ice had formed in the air, the ash gathered on it and it was clear that he had appeared there.

The young Vorhelm fell from above at that exact moment towards him...