Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon didn't close his eyes as he entered the vortex with nothing but confidence. It was only a difference of one single step before he was in a different world. He could see a huge mountain towering up high and pierced the clouds in a faraway front of him.

"Now then, where should I go."

Lyon raised his eyebrows before he turned around. Sure enough, the vortex where he came from was not there.

"Hm!"

Lyon jumped without opening his crossed arms and he managed to float a little bit with his hair fluttering against the wind before it descended down. He smiled after his feet touched the ground though he couldn't directly fly he could at least glide.

"Battle royal huh..."

Lyon shrugged his shoulder before he yawned and support the back of his head with his hands as he walked toward the path that was presented for him between the vast green of plateau. Though he only closed his eyelids half each, he was spreading his sense to detect his empty surroundings. Yet the result came with nothing which made him yawned even further.

"OI!"

Lyon suddenly shouted but not even a demonic beast responded to his call. He kept on walking forward with his footsteps slower. Since there was not one single living thing that he could interact with was present, he might as well enjoy the calm atmosphere while he could.

He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in. He couldn't even remember the last time when he spent a week without being unconscious or destroying an empire.

"Damn... now that I think about it, I'm still nineteen years old! I'm barely a young adult!"

"But, if I'm adding it to my past life, wouldn't I be an old ancient devil or something?"

He suddenly chuckled by himself.

BANG!

Lyon furrowed his eyebrows as the land beneath his feet tremored for a while. However, it didn't take long before the nearby trees stopped shaking their branches.

"Hmm... what was that just now."

BANG!

The land shook once more before Lyon slightly spread his footings to gain balance for his entire body.

"Tch!"

He finally moved toward the source of the trembling like the wind but not as rude as a gale. His steps were the utmost efficiency and silence as if he was the shadow himself. The closer he got to the scene the more his presence was concealed. However, he didn't do it on purpose. It was an instinctive act that was molded inside his soul from a long time ago. The body was just obeying what it should be done.

BANG!

The land trembled once more before Lyon noticed a spark between a sword and a huge mallet made of steel.

Lyon furrowed his eyebrows as he leaned behind a tree and watched the two of them facing each other on the meadow. The man with the huge mallet had a body that looked like a bear as it lifted the huge mallet with only one arm. He was panting as he was sweating profusely. All of his muscles were tensed, especially the one that he used to swing the huge mallet.

Facing the huge bear-like physique was a rather thin man with his long curved sword pointed at the former. Though the sword was quite lighter than the huge mallet his opponent had, he was also panting his breath away.

"Hehehe, you are quite good, Whisper of Leaf, Lun!"

The rough voice came from the one with the huge mallet as a weapon. (Tch! only half a step forward more and he will be in my range).

"You too, Falcon of Mount Her, Jinu!"

Lyon's eyebrows immediately furrowed as he pulled his nose upward to its maximum. His eyes opened wide till the edges almost ripped. He held his chest with his right hand as he tried to control his breathing and let it out slowly with his mouth pointed upwards. His teeth were grinning as he held the laugh that came out of nowhere.

(Falcon?! That guy is a fucking Falcon?! HAHAHAHA!) Lyon screamed inside his mind as tears couldn't help but escaped from his eyes.

Lun darted his glance to his blade. The sword was not made to clash against such blunt things, especially a huge mallet like the one Jinu had. A couple more clashes and he will without a doubt lose the battle.

Meanwhile, Lyon was crouching while putting both of his hands to cover his mouth. (Goddamnit! Hahaha! Who gave them these nicknames!) thought Lyon as he was kneeling before he glanced over to look at the fight.

"Lun! Both of us were not in the top boards, but it has been a good fight!"

Lun furrowed his eyebrows. From the words that come out of his mouth, the fight would end in the next move. (This is quite dangerous! If I cannot dodge his exerted strength I would lose! If I blocked it with my sword, then winning is impossible since it would shatter it into pieces. Jinu, despite your body stature, your reflexes are not to be underestimated!).

(I might not be as fast as you, Lun. However, I'm fast within my own range!) thought Jinu before he suddenly took one step forward with a boom.

"It's over!'

Jinu shouted before he swung the giant mallet downward like a hammer.

"It's now or never!"

He took one step forward before launching himself forward and dodge the huge mallet.

"Win! This is my win!"

Lun drew his sword and quickly aimed them toward Jinu's neck.

"Ngh!"

Lun opened his eyes wide as he saw Jinu grinned.

"The win is mine!"

Jinu suddenly pulled his mallet at incredible speed before blocking the blade and it immediately shattered it upon contact. Lun's hope was already lost at the moment before a vortex immediately opened behind him and sucked his body whole.

-----------

"Ah!"

Lun's body was flung out of the vortex in North City before the onlookers gathered around him. His breath was panting and his sword was no more. He didn't care about the onlooker's gaze as he looked at the vortex in front with bleaks in his eyes. He had lost the ability to win the Throne.

He stood up with his head hung down. (Jinu! I will win the next time!).

"I should buy a sturdier sword next time," he let out a sigh before dismissing the onlookers.

"Uwaah!"

"Hm?!"

Lun couldn't react properly before a huge figure was spat out of the vortex and hit him before they both rolled until they hit a wall.

"Owh! What the hell? Huh? Falcon of Mount Her, Jinu?"

He was surprised that the one who beat him was expelled from the vortex not long after he was. Though he was sure that Jinu could perform well since he could beat him, he never thought that he would be the next one being puked out by the vortex.

"Ha.. ha... ha....."

The huge man was on all four as he tried to catch his breath which was fleeting away. His sweat was dropping on the floor from his face as his eyes opened wide in disbelief against the floor.

"Wh-what happened Jinu?"

He gulped, "I met someone..."

Lun furrowed his eyebrows, "Someone? Who?"

"He was there watching us fight like fishes!" His eyes turned into a glare as he faced Lun.

"Impossible! How come none of us detect him?"

Jinu darted his glance from Lun slowly against the ground before he started to mutter.

"That's the least of it, that kid he..."

----------------------------------------------

"Yo! You ready for the next fight, Falcon, heh! Haha! Sorry! Damn it! My humor level is pretty low I do apologize."

"Huh?" The panting Jinu was still out of breath but he perked up a smug as he looked at the young man's cultivation level.

"Kid, how did you end up here?"

"Eh... from the same vortex that 'other' guy was from I guess."

(Wait a minute! 'Next fight', 'the other guy', he was watching us fight? This kid, he got some skills despite his low cultivation level) thought Jinu before he smiled.

"I might look tired, but it will be wise for you to pass on the fight kid. You have some skills to hide from our senses during the fight, it means that you are capable. However, this stage is too soon for you."

"Too soon?"

Lyon smirked before he crossed his arms and approached him. The aura he exuded was far from what Jinu could have expected as the latter's pupils shrunken in disbelief. He repeatedly checked Lyon's cultivation level to determine that he was not suppressing it, yet it came out the same.

(This kid! What the hell is he??!) he gulped before he saw Lyon's step was within his range.

"You are too inexperienced kid! This is where age plays a part!"

Jinu swung his huge mallet downward before Lyon's eyes suddenly glowed in golden color. One leap was all it took for him before he was under Jinu's eyes. The latter smirked as he experienced Deja Vu.

"Heh, told you! Don't blame me for breaking your bones!"

Jinu pulled the huge mallet to block Lyon's fist however the former took a breath to smirk with his arms crossed before he rains down his tiny knuckles against the huge mallet along with his four black tails. The sound of his fist hitting the metal was like a bullet coming out of an auto rifle. One's naked eyes couldn't see how much did he lash out those fists along with the four tails.

BOOM!

The huge mallet was turned into scrap before it jumped out of Jinu's grip and fell to rest on top of the grass.

Lyon didn't stop before he immediately tried to hit his surprised face before the vortex sucked the latter out. In the end, he hit the air, but the force traveled and imprinted Lyon's tiny knuckled to the tree Jinu was standing parallel to.