Just as Dandelion was about to continue his story, a series of shouts resounded from a few steps away. The clear metallic sharpness of two metal swords clashing and the sickly sound of flesh being torn apart.

The group of soldiers following Jule had finally managed to shake off their surprise at the sudden takedown of their leader and began to fight back against the soldiers that encircled them. Even though they were overwhelmingly outnumbered, they were the best of the best, they had survived both the fight against the monsters and the march back.

Their personalities were a bit reckless, that all fueled their determination and grit. They were some of the most elite soldiers in the Redshield Dukedom, their strength should not be looked down upon.

Dandelion, who was frowning over being interrupted, lost interest in Jule and turned towards the soldiers, aiming to finish them off.

Jule could barely muster up his concentration - his tiredness, the coldness on both his back and front, the stinging pain from his nose, and his mental wounds eroding every bit of strength.

Yet…

He could hear those swords clashing and the desperate shouts of his soldiers, trying to free him from the situation he was found in.

While those soldiers were fighting to the bitter end, he was on the border of a deep sleep…

While those soldiers never gave up, he was about to stop struggling…

While those soldiers risked their life for their duty, he just wanted the pain and tiredness to fade…

Those people he had looked down upon, those people he had insulted, those people he had tagged as worthless…

They were now his only hope…

...

How shameful, how disgraceful, how deplorable.. how despicable.

He was a noble, he was the Heir to the Redshield Dukedom, he was the strongest fighter among them all. How could some commoners one-up him, how could a single person mess up so many things in such a short time?

A fire began to flare up in his depths, staining the ma cursing his body with crimson flames, fueling his fight against his own body. The coldness seeping into his back being pushed back.

The person who was holding Jule down was pressing his knee against Jule’s back, holding both of his hands tightly, to prevent him from moving an inch.

Jule separated a tiny shard of this flame and sent it flowing through the flux of ma coursing in his body, stopping it when it reached his hand.

The person holding Jule down seemed to notice something wrong and tightened the grip on Jule’s limbs, preventing his ma from flowing freely. The damage was already done though.

Jue forced the flicker of flame to expand and then explode. While not enough to cause him significant damage, it was nonetheless strong enough to break a few bones in his hand.

Jule clenched his jaw until it bled, even though the pain was astronomical, he didn’t have a moment to spare on these thoughts. He would show those soldiers what a true member of the Redshield family is like.

Jule moved his now broken hand to slip through the grip of the person holding him down, using the momentum to shift his body and send whoever was behind him tumbling to the ground.

He quickly gathered his wits about him and stood up, whatever remained of his lethargy and drowsiness fading away, being replaced by the raging ma that carried the flame in his core to every fiber of his being.

Jule felt as if he was being reborn. Nothing changed about his body, but his senses and his control over himself and his innate energy became much higher, he knew this feeling very well…

He had broken into a rank 2 mind refiner.

Jule’s body was releasing steam, the veins all over his body became even more pronounced, and his breathing was ragged, like a feral beast.

The soldiers from Redshield noticed that Jule had broken free and cheered, adding even more momentum to their charge.

Dandelion turned around after this commotion and his eyes turned wide when he witnessed Jule’s form.

“Ice Blade?” He muttered a simple question.

The person named Ice Blade was actually a woman, with pale skin and white cropped hair, aspects common in anyone from the snowy lands of the Bentis Empire. Her pure blue eyes stared at Jule, trying to drag out anything she could.

“Emotions…” She finally muttered after a second.

Dandelion’s eyes sharpened up and he shook his head.

“So your opposite huh?...” Dandelion said and sighed, he couldn’t help but lament over the fact that even the son was troublesome.

Most families kept their personal cultivation techniques close to their chests. While knowing about it could reveal one’s weakness, it was also a form to keep their strength in their family and prevent others from taking their place.

The Redshield Cultivation Technique was one of these secrets, one which very few people knew. From Jule’s state and Ice Blade’s words, Dandelion could make an informed guess though.

While Ice Blade’s cultivation was based around coldness and logic, the Redshield’s was based around emotion and force of will. This explained why his mentor was such a deeply emotional man behind his tough exterior, and this also answered why he rose in strength so dramatically once he met his wife.

What he couldn’t understand was how a refiner managed to express their characteristic, normally only enhancers could display this.

Either Jule was burning his life out, or the boy was a prodigy among cultivators.

…

Once Jule managed to stabilize the rampant energy flowing throughout his body, he glared at Ice Blade and Dandelion, his teeth nearly crunching from the sheer pressure he was exerting on his jaw.

He clenched his fists and bit his lip, he wanted to fight them both, he wanted to take them down and make them suffer for what they had done…

But, he knew that he stood no chance, even with his stronger cultivation, they were far too strong for the current him.

“Fuck…” Jule shouted and rushed towards the fight being held between the soldiers, leaving behind a stupefied Ice Blade and Dandelion.

Jule had been forced his pride down his throat once again, he had already been taught far too many lessons, what they needed now was to escape and regroup with the rest of the coming reinforcement.

Ice Blade rushed behind Jule after a second had passed, she had underestimated the boy for the last time.

Dandelion simply grinned.

As Jule neared the battle, he grabbed a sword from the ground in mid run, using the momentum to impale a man and send him flying. He knew that Ice Blade was not far off, so he didn’t stop running towards the town, where they could hopefully lose their enemies in between the rubble.

The rest of the soldiers knew the plan and covered Jule’s retreat, while heading back themselves.

Once Ice Blade arrived, she split a Redshield soldier from top to bottom, her sword freezing both halves in place, like a gruesome statue.

Even if she was a body enhancer, she too had a limit, while she couldn’t kill fast enough to prevent Jule’s escape, she certainly could cause a carnage. Her trail leaving behind a ground frozen solid and many statues of cut up people.

Jule was just a few feet away from the first building that denoted the limit into the city, even if they had experienced heavy losses, if he could get away, they would still have hope…

They were so close, just a few more steps, just a second more…

…

A golden flash robbed them all of their senses, and hundreds of shivers crawled throughout Jule’s body.

Something stabbed into his body and prevented him from moving, the sheer speed of his run digging the object even deeper.

Jule opened his eyes and witnessed a golden speartip stuck deeply into his abdomen, slight currents of lightning flowing from it, making his muscles convulse and writhe. The man who was holding the golden spear was extremely unremarkable, if you looked for him in a crowd, odds are you wouldn’t distinguish him. Only his gaudy clothes and golden accessories made him stand out.

Jule felt blood building up in his throat, and coughed a considerable amount of it.

“Tch..” The man clicked his tongue and pulled the spear out of Jule’s body, forcing him onto his knees.

“Stop faffing about and take care of them, you goddamn ice bitch” The man growled and turned around, standing guard against anyone who may dare to escape.

Ice Blade didn’t pay much heed to the spearman’s provocation, continuing her slaughter with a blank look on her face, as if nothing that was happening meant much to her.

The remaining soldiers surrounded Jule, their path of escape having been cut off, they could only truly fight to the bitter end now.

They were still proud soldiers of the Redshield Dukedom though, they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

They used their bodies to prevent Ice Blade from reaching Jule, even though they were just halting the inevitable, they still continued to do it, keeping their oath to protect the Redshields until the very end.

Jule gathered all the strength he had left, preventing it from dissipating due to the hole in his body. He knew that it was the end, but he too was a part of the Redshield Dukedom, he wouldn’t go down without at least hurting the woman who was killing them all.

The woman slashed down at a soldier, but Jule swung his blade upwards and deflected the strike, small lumps of ice forming on his blade.

The strength of the strike made Jule’s shoulders numb, their difference in strength was far too big, Jule could not let a single sword strike hit his body, or else he would fall.

He grasped the last white scroll he had from his satchel and used it. His dominant hand wriggled and returned to its normal shape, but the hole on his chest refused to close up, small flashes of lightning counteracting the light element that tried to heal him.

He would have to deal with the wound for now.

Ice Blade swung her blade and the accumulated shards of ice on its surface were sent flying, piercing the last remaining soldier who was already grievously injured and being barely deflected by Jule’s sword.

It was now a one on one battle.

Jule used the momentary break to close the distance between himself and Ice Blade, which she answered by stomping her foot on the ground, breaking apart the frozen ground and turning the battlefield uneven.

Jule was forced to slow down, no longer having stable footholds.

Once Jule finally reached her, her blade had regained its icy coating, and even more shards were accumulating on the tip.

Jule reached towards his pocket and grabbed some of the ice shards he had gathered earlier, throwing them forwards, towards his enemy’s face. Ice Blade reacted by covering her face with her forearm, keeping her sword at the ready for any surprise attacks.

But what she didn’t expect was that Jule had crouched and swung his leg in an arc, pushing her legs from the ground and making her fall. Jule swung his blade ,while lowered, in an upwards arc, hoping to slice her apart, but Ice Blade managed to force her feet back onto the ground and froze her body from below her waist.

While this prevented her from falling, it forced her into a weird position, which Jule took advantage of by gripping a tiny scroll from a pouch in his belt and tearing it apart. A tiny dagger of earth forming on his palm, soon after, he swung it towards Ice Blade’s defenseless legs.

Ice Blade answered by unfreezing herself and using the ma accumulated on her legs to jump, doing a small twist in mid air, following which she used the hilt of her sword to hit Jule, who was below her, in his back.

Jule exhaled all the air he had, and felt his ribs being broken, the damage from the hole further worsening his situation.Yet he grit his teeth and used his wrist to fling his earthen blade, causing a small wound to appear on Ice Blade’s cheek.

With all the aces under his sleeve used up, Jule let his body be carried by the strike, creating a small hole on the ground, with himself right at the center.

He forced even more of the fire in his core towards all the parts of his body, compelling his wounded body to move at all costs. Yet all he mustered was enough strength to stand on his knees.

He had truly reached his limit now.

Ice Blade pointed her cold blade towards him, and he glared at her in defiance.

…

…

...

A lull happened between both fighters as they stared at each other.

Ice Blade released a sigh, water vapour coming out of her mouth.

“You fought well...now rest…” Once she said these words, Jule’s mind blanked out and he saw the small puddle of blood below him, the hole in his body still not healed.

A growth of ice crept up his figure and froze the wound shut, but it also sapped him of all his energy.

As his vision turned dark, the last thing he saw was the conflicted expression of Dandelion, who had stood in the back, watching the entire fight.