This ruthless slap across Niall's face left everyone present stunned and speechless. At first, they'd expected Darian to fight a bit and then be disastrously defeated...

...none of them imagined that, in the very first round of exchanges, Darian would land such a merciless blow to the pride and morale of all of Runedell. It was an attack, both mental and physical — and the sound of the slap couldn't have been louder!

The princes and princesses of Runedell froze for a few seconds. Only after they realized and confirmed it really happened did they all widen their eyes.

As for the princes and princesses of Vadise, after suffering a crushing defeat and enduring endless taunts and mockery, they felt inferior and deeply humiliated, sure they'd never recover their lost dignity.

Now, after that relentless slap, everyone's aura and minds calmed. Darian was a foreigner, but he'd soon marry the princess and join the royal family — the joy that swept through them was indescribable; if not for the banquet's decorum, they would've shouted in celebration.

"Wait, was that... a movement technique magic? Elder Konil, did you see his moves clearly?" a Runedell prince asked quietly.

"That brat got an immortal magic technique at the Young Human Sage tournament ten years ago," the elf Elder Konil replied dryly, not admitting that even he hadn't seen the move clearly.

Everything happened too fast; then Niall stood up.

The whole right side of his face was swollen and bright red in an exaggerated way. A moment ago, he'd been shouting — and in the blink of an eye, he'd been slapped hard. He'd never been humiliated like this in his life.

He glared at Darian with utterly hateful eyes, forcing a smile: "Fine, very fine! I deliberately left an opening for you at the start so you could at least exchange a few moves and not lose all face. Now get ready to pay for pissing me off!!"

Darian clenched his right hand, looked at him with apathy and disdain, "Idiot."

Niall went completely berserk; with a low roar, he drew his sword again and activated his blessing to the max.

A purple light wrapped his body and sword. His blessing was a Fighter type called Sky-Piercing Thunder — it twisted reality, granting explosive attack power and speed beyond comprehension.

But it could only be used once and required several seconds to recharge; during that time, the user was prevented even from using ring power.

That's why Niall specialized in weapon and artifact combat — to survive and stay in the fight even without his full power.

*Wooooosh!*

A huge force exploded like lightning toward Darian.

At the same time, everyone from Vadise held their breath... Earlier, Niall had indeed seemed to look down on Darian, not even drawing his sword. Now he was coming all out.

"Die!" Niall's eyes gleamed with malice.

Darian... had no defensive stance and no weapon in his hands. Everyone watched, riveted.

The sword appeared, piercing his chest almost instantly and then... passed through his body!

"What!?"

Niall's eyes widened as his body lunged forward from the momentum. At that instant, a sharp sound of wind cut the air from his left side...

**SLAP!!**

Another deafening slap echoed through the palace.

Niall's body was launched again; after four spins in the air, he smashed into the runes and fell face-first to the ground.

Silence.

He staggered to his feet — and everyone now saw the left side of his face was also ridiculously swollen and red as if bleeding.

"I'm getting bored... are you taking this fight seriously?" Darian said calmly, softly blowing the back of his left hand.

If the first slap could be blamed on carelessness, luck, or coincidence, the second allowed no such excuse. The princes and princesses of Vadise widened their eyes, and two words echoed in their hearts: 'Fuck me!'

Their faces lit up with excitement. Tetoya couldn't contain herself and shouted, "That hit was fucking refreshing!!"

"Exactly! These trash act all high and mighty now?"

Several voices from Vadise's princes and princesses mocked loudly, answering the earlier humiliation without any regard for decorum.

Niall heard everything and stumbled back, swallowing three teeth with blood. He fixed his bulging eyes on Darian, wishing he could rip him apart with just a look.

At the same time, Niall was stunned too... How did he appear on his left? Twice, he clearly hit the target, but it was like Darian teleported with no warning!

Elder elf Konill was as shocked as Niall. This time, he focused entirely on Darian and still didn't feel or see anything before the attack hit. This went beyond a magic technique — it looked like something an Immortal would do.

"What do your teeth taste like?" Darian mocked him mercilessly.

"Hehe..." Niall wiped the corner of his mouth and laughed, cutting. "To force me into such an embarrassing state, you might be the first. And so, you will die miserably, very miserably..."

At that moment, Niall's eyes flashed. A circular mark appeared on his chest — half black, half violet.

"Karmic Curse!"

People from Vadise widened their eyes, sweating cold.

That was the feared Immortal-level spiritual technique of the Wube family. The power was terrifying: if even a bit of the curse hit someone, death would be inevitable. (Chapter 242/243)

Everyone's hearts tightened and they stared at Darian, terrified... but...

The moment Niall activated the technique, Darian's silhouette wavered and disappeared.

Niall's face tightened as the curse began to manifest; this time, he'd learned and cast it to cover all four directions: front, left, right, and above.

No matter where Darian popped up — if he touched the Karmic Curse, it was over. Niall was confident: one hit and Darian would fall, unable to get up.

A black energy with violet streaks twisted around Niall. Everyone from Runedell smiled, barely containing their anticipation to see Darian writhe. However...

**Bang!!**

"WHAT?!"

Everyone saw it clearly, almost in slow motion: Darian appeared like a ghost in the air above Niall. Then he brutally kicked Niall's right eye; Niall's body spun backward again, landing chin-first on the ground — a bloody tooth flew out instantly.

When Darian landed, everyone's eyes were wide. He'd simply ignored the terrible curse! There was no trace of infection in his aura!

Painita covered her mouth, fighting not to laugh and to keep her imposing composure. She and several Elders remembered Darian's battle on Earth ten years ago. Didn't these idiots research it?

Back then, Darian had faced the Wube heir on Niara's side. It was identical — he completely ignored the curse and then beat him like there was no tomorrow.

"That's enough! This is getting ridiculous!" Darian sneered, sounding mildly annoyed, "You don't want to fight, you just dance around and do pointless visual effects. Now that I've slapped you into looking like a pig, my patience is gone."

Everyone heard and sighed. It took only three of his moves to destroy any logic and sense of power they had. How was this possible?

"You bastard... AHH!!" Niall sprang up and roared, spitting blood like he'd gone insane.

*Bang!!*

Like a ghost, Darian reappeared in front of him and kicked his left eye. Niall, half up, flew extravagantly backward and smashed face-first into the defensive inscription.

"!"

Everyone saw his twisted face between the barrier runes... then him falling slowly, pathetically.

But... Darian didn't move again.

People now realized he hadn't attacked for real nor caused serious injuries. They swallowed hard, noticing he deliberately humiliated Niall without letting him pass out.

"UWAAA... I'LL KILL YOU!!"

Niall's face was completely red and swollen. Both eye sockets were purple and black. The handsome elf face that used to look heroic now resembled a demon — utterly miserable.

As he stood, his already frightening features became even more sinister. All his energy gushed out crazily, like his whole body was on the verge of madness.

*CRACK!!*

Darian kicked his jaw violently. Niall flew through the air like a dry leaf and crashed to the ground like a sack of sand; his whole body convulsed twice, and he couldn't get up.

"You just talk, and my time is valuable. Consider yourself lucky — killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant."

Niall tried to rise, trembling, but his eyes rolled back until only whites showed; his head slumped, and he fainted instantly.

Silence fell. He definitely wasn't physically so injured that he should pass out — but he was mentally crushed; his soul had been shocked by rage.

"Prince!"

When the inscription opened, two princesses ran to help him and gave him three pills in sequence.

One of them looked up, glared at Darian with fury, and shouted: "That was a fair fight — you really acted that cruelly! Did you need to humiliate him so much, you bastard?!"

"Ah, I don't understand what you're saying," Darian replied with an ironic smile.

"Swords don't have eyes, and fists are hard to control. In a fight, even friendly ones, lives can be lost because people can't control themselves — small injuries happen. How could I know your prince was so fragile? Bones breaking and coughing blood in just a few moves? Why don't you blame your useless pupil instead of trying to criticize me?"

The same arrogant lines as before were now thrown back at them, word for word... and it hit the faces of everyone on that planet like another resounding slap.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.