Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Lan spotted Hal's prepared blow and while there was no way he could change direction and avoid making contact with the blow, he moved his shield and made sure it was in a position to accept the blow instead of his face.

*Bang!*

There was a loud Bang sound as Hal's fist connected with the shield and the sound was followed by a strange reverberation that started at the point where Hal made contact with the shield and spread all about to the edges of the shield.

"Ack" Lan groaned as the force of Hal's blow forced his shield to smack against the very head he had been trying to protect.

*Bang!*

But it was when Lan had cracked the wall of a building that he noticed that the Shield had helped him even more than he thought.

"Motherfucker dented it!" Lan said in a carrying voice that many heard and it caused them to look over at the two if they were not already looking.

Indeed, Hal's blow had dented the shield.

While that wasn't surprising to Hal who knew that following his use of the energy from his tribulation to temper his body, he was now comparable to Pagoda grade Artifacts, it was more than surprising for all those watching.

It was Shocking!

That was a Pagoda grade Artifact that Hal had just dented with his fist!

And he looked as though there had been no impact on him!

There had indeed been no impact on him.

The shield was Mid-grade Pagoda grade and it would take much more than that to cause Hal to feel pain upon contact.

One thing that was worrying for Lan and the watching Officials to think about though was the fact that Hal's target had been Lan's head and not the shield!

What would have happened had that blow connected?

What would have been the fate of Lan Akuile?

The Officials prepared to step in as they expected Lan to surrender or at least retreat from this cripple-threatening battle but Lan returned to his feet.

He retrieved multiple mending pills from his spatial ring and swallowed them so that he could return to tip-top shape and be ready to once again contend with Hal.

Then he had a focused look in his eyes as he hefted his dented shield and grabbed his spear even more tightly.

When he dashed toward Hal who prepared to meet him, it was as though he was saying; Time to get serious!... And that only served to make Hal chuckle and prepare to deliver a beatdown.

Meanwhile,

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

Rowan Floone was showing off his prowess that was in no way on the same level as the 'weakling' Gilbert Doe that Melinda had defeated the day before.

Melinda had no problem with his focus and quite admired the manner in which he used his scythe as though it were an extension of his body.

She even tried to outmaneuver him by moving to his back faster than he could possibly react and striking him where his guard was low but Rowan always caught her sword strike and pushed her back whenever tried.

While his weapon was heavy, the reduction in speed that it caused him was nowhere near detrimental to his speed as a Mid-Stage Cosmic Aurora realm expert.

Rowan had the larger and longer weapon and he was fully aware and used it to its full potential by keeping Melinda, who was using the shorter weapon, away from him while he could weigh her down with the weight of his heavy weapon.

As he did, he charged a Cosmic Aurora he prepared to use to strike her from distance.

Of course, while Rowan was confident in his victory, he did wonder why Melinda had so far not made an attempt to strike him from a distance or get closer and seemed perfectly content battling him from feet away.

"Is she baiting me?" he asked in a low voice and Melinda who heard him smiled sweetly but only continues to fend off his strikes.

And then, the Aurora was ready and Rowan shot it at Melinda who let it get close enough before her golden eyes flashed, and a mixture of white and good flames appeared around her and she used them to boost herself out of this way of the Aurora hit.

Rowan frowned and his eyes widened before he revealed that the Aurora that Melinda had evaded was mostly a decoy and another one was still in his hand ready to be released.

Melinda simply sneered,

"Idiot," she said.

Decoy or not, after shooting the first cosmic Aurora, Rowan had put his weapon down and created an opening for the golden eyes beauty who had every intention of taking full advantage.

Before Rowan's released Aurora could actually touch Melinda, she was already punching him in the stomach while putting her sword Cosmic Armament which she had coated with the white flame of her Ordinance, against the Aurora like a shield.

*Bam!*

*Boomm!*

Her blow sent Rowan feet away from her and his cosmic Aurora exploded against Melinda's flames as the flames provided good enough protection that with the coating of her entire body with Cosmic energy, she suffered no injuries.

Only her hair was a bit blown to the side and not as perfect as it should have been.

The timing of this occurrence between her and Rowan was coincidentally perfectly in time with Hal denting Lan's shield.

Many did not look over at her as their attention was on Lan who had just said Hal dented his shield but Melinda had no problem with that.

With the Officials' focus on Hal, she might just be able to inflict lasting injuries that the Officials would otherwise stop just as they did in the instance of her fight with Gilbert.

As she walked towards Gilbert with her sword in hand and a smile on her face, she was glad the Guild leader was not yelling to surrender or even yelling at all as that would call the attention of the Officials.

She needed a scapegoat.

Since the creation of the Sapphirine Guild, while her Guild had survived others targeting them and had also established themselves as a force to reckon with, Melinda herself had not worked on her reputation.

Rather, she prepared for the Guild war.

News of her prowess had mostly been a rumor and had not been based on any evidence once she had crippled a couple of Guild leaders, especially the so-called Strongest, she would have an indisputable reputation.

As for what reputation she wanted to have; she wished to be known as the kind to go all out with the punishment and not stop because her opponent was a fellow student of the Academy.

Anyway, Rowan swung his scythe that was still in his hand at Melinda who met it with her sword which was backed with her dominant Ordinance and smacked Rowan's weapon aside.

*Bam!*

Melinda followed up with a kick that fractured the Guild leader's ribs and then followed up with a blow to his chest.

"Arrg- Nghhh" Rowan began to yell but Melinda would not allow it as she punched him in the face...

*Crack!*

... And broke his nose.

"Ahh-" Rowan began to yell but Melinda grinned wickedly and she stuck her sword into the ground and grabbed his jaw and locked his mouth shut before then sinking her fist into his abdomen multiple times.

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

All the while she held Rowan's jaw and made him incapable of making more sounds than some muffled groans of pain.

Every one of Melinda's hits was backed with her dominance and not only to make Rowan incapable of retaliating but also to affect him mentally and drive the message home that she was nowhere near the level of the so-called strong Guild Leaders.

And it was working!

Rowan's eyes were not widened because of the pain (Although that was definitely a factor), his eyes were widened because of the fear he had for Melinda at that moment.

This beautiful lady with golden eyes was not in his cultivation realm at all and he was two significant cultivation stages above her but she had dealt with him so harshly that he was not able to come up with a counterattack.

'What is this feeling? WHY THE HELL DO I FEEL SO POWERLESS?!' Rowan yelled in his mind while still incapable of speaking as Melinda was still holding his jaw.

And then his entire body went into overdrive...

He piled up every reserve power he had and struggled against the powerlessness that Melinda's dominance made him feel and then he shot it all at her in point-blank range while yelling as her hold on his mouth slackened,

"Get The Hell Off Me!"

*BOOOOMMM!!!*

The yell, as well as the explosion, called the attention of the foolish officials off Hal so that they could witness a spectacular blast.

Feeling enormous pain and incapable of running, Rowan tried to drag himself away from Melinda who he believed his blast had sent away from him but not far enough away.

And then he heard her say right behind him,

"Where do you think you are going?" Melinda asked and grinned as Rowan shivered in fear and she stomped his head into the ground.

*Bam!*

Then she stretched her hand towards her sword that was still stuck in the ground.

When the Golden veins glowed and the sword wrenched itself out of the ground and into her hand, Melinda subsequently stabbed it into Rowan's right leg so that it not only pierced the flesh but also pierced Rowan's Tibia (bigger lower leg bone) and cut it into two.

That was when an Official finally yelled at her,

"OY! That's enough!"