Chapter 262
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Ear-splitting explosions rang out in succession.
Banatel drew forth even more aura, relentlessly pressing Gerard. The size of the blade aura infused into his slashes grew larger and larger until, in the end, it was as massive as a bridge spanning a river. The world was drenched in a crimson glow, filling Gerard’s entire vision.
Gerard stood his ground, increasing the rotation of Spiral Guard.
Astonishingly, Banatel’s aura, despite being the epitome of inefficiency, outlasted Gerard’s Spiral Guard. As the guard slowly dispersed, the crimson aura dug into the space around Gerard, flicking its red tongues menacingly.
Gerard’s massive frame was gradually pushed back. Scowling, he lifted his foot high and swung it down with a powerful kick.
"Typhoon Kick!"
Golden aura surged like a whirlwind along the trajectory of his kick, sweeping away the remnants of Banatel’s Blade Aura. Gerard clicked his tongue.
"Your aura output increased even more? You monster."
Retracting his aura and shifting to a defensive stance, Banatel smirked mockingly.
"You, on the other hand, haven’t improved much."
"Aura doesn’t just increase over time like it’s some overflowing well, you freak of nature!"
Roaring, Gerard propelled his body forward. Despite his towering 2.5-meter height and nearly 200-kilogram frame, he soared through the air as lightly as a feather. Midair, Gerard extended his leg for a powerful side kick.
"Hah!"
His extended kick carried the force of a battering ram, targeting Banatel’s side. Though technically aimed at his side, considering Gerard’s foot size, the actual strike zone covered nearly half of Banatel’s upper body. Banatel thrust out his open palm and let out a sharp cry.
"Hoo-up!"
A tremendous shockwave erupted, clashing against Gerard’s side kick. A thunderous boom resonated, making the air tremble. Landing back on the ground, Gerard stepped in and launched his right fist forward. His straight punch shot toward Banatel’s torso like a cannonball.
Boom!
The sheer force of his punch generated a backlash, sending a shockwave nearly ten meters behind him. His rock-solid fist blazed like a flash of light, surging toward Banatel.
In that instant, Banatel’s eyes gleamed.
"Not a chance!"
With a brief shout, nine overlapping layers of crimson Aura Shields manifested before him. Gerard’s fist shone brightly as it shattered through the stacked shields, relentlessly pushing forward.
The shattered Aura Shields burst in all directions, scattering across the area. Russ, Tassid, and the other Aura Users, along with the forests and hills near White King's Castle, were all caught in the fallout.
"Uwaaaagh!"
"Oh, Sword Star, have mercy!"
Thirty attendants, who had been waiting on the hillside, turned pale and scrambled in all directions through the woods. To Gerard and Banatel, it was merely the fragments of a broken Aura Shield scattering, but to the attendants, it might as well have been a meteor shower.
Watching the terrified men flee, Sir Walgran, an Aura User of Vasily, sprang into action.
"Tch. Annoying imperial bastards, but they’re not guilty of anything."
Raising his hand, Sir Walgran conjured a massive Aura Disc over the attendants' heads. Relieved, they hurriedly took shelter beneath it.
The Free Swordsman, Marrad, clicked his tongue and jumped in.
"Tsk! Can’t you two fight with a little more awareness of your surroundings?!"
Marrad extended his favored falchion, its curved blade gleaming. A dazzling orange Blade Aura coiled around it, spiraling into the sky. The radiant arcs of sword light raged through the air, slicing apart the falling fragments of aura before they could reach the attendants.
"Save me!"
"Run for your lives!"
The moment they regained their senses, the attendants bolted, fleeing in terror. Staying here meant certain death.
Even as the other Aura Users ran around trying to save innocent bystanders, Gerard and Banatel remained wholly consumed by their duel.
"Tch! Can’t break through."
Clicking his tongue, Gerard withdrew his fist. He had managed to break through eight of Banatel’s nine Aura Shields, but the final one held firm, halting his advance.
"It’s thicker than before."
"You think I’ve been slacking off?"
Grinning triumphantly, Banatel drew his sword back and lunged. From his entire body, a crimson glow surged forth, forming the shape of a gigantic drill, its tip rocketing toward Gerard’s heart.
"I’ll pierce you through!"
It was the legendary Piercing Strike of Sword Star Banatel.
There was even a ridiculous story that once, out of sheer curiosity, Banatel had tested this technique on the ground, only for the strike to dig so deep that a hot spring erupted from the hole.
Its power was nothing short of extraordinary!
‘As expected, he’s incredible.’
Gerard found himself unintentionally admiring his opponent. A rival was a complicated thing, one he longed to beat to a pulp, yet battling him like this was undeniably exhilarating.
"Fine! I’ll take it head-on! Hahahaha!"
A hearty, triumphant laugh burst out. Gerard shook out both arms and spread his chest wide.
“Double Spiral Guard!”
In an instant, Banatel's eyes widened in shock.
“What the hell is that?”
A golden whirlwind of aura coiled around Gerard’s entire body, spinning counterclockwise, when suddenly, another vortex formed on its surface. Unlike the inner Spiral Guard, this new one spun clockwise, radiating an intense force in all directions!
“That bastard, he didn’t have a technique like that before!”
“It’s proof I haven’t been slacking off either!”
As Gerard responded confidently, Banatel’s thrust collided with the two-layered Spiral Guard. A grating metallic screech rang out as the Double Spiral Guard rapidly ate away at Banatel’s Blade Aura from its very tip.
In the end, Gerard effortlessly blocked Banatel’s thrust. Just as Banatel scowled and prepared for his next attack.
This time, Gerard stepped forward. His right fist, infused with radiant golden aura, struck the ground as he launched into a charge.
“Hmph!”
Scoffing, Banatel stretched out his hand. In an instant, nine layers of Aura Shields stacked tightly in front of Gerard, blocking his path.
At that moment, Gerard pressed his right forearm against his torso. Then, with a short rotation of his entire body, he positioned his fist before the Aura Guard.
“Zero Impact!”
A devastating shockwave erupted from the tip of his fist.
But this wasn’t the so-called "ordinary" Zero Impact, which pierced through human bodies like Repenhardt’s did. No, this was the same Zero Impact Gerard had once used out of boredom to shatter only the inner walls of a fortress, leaving the outer walls completely intact. In terms of bizarre legends, Gerard was no less infamous than Banatel.
The impact penetrated all nine Aura Shields without losing a fraction of its force, slamming directly into Banatel!
“Guh!”
In that instant, Banatel spread out another Aura Guard, completely neutralizing the force of Zero Impact. Even after deploying nine Aura Shields, he still had aura to spare.
Gerard clicked his tongue.
“Tch, you’re as tough as ever. Looks like we won’t settle things this time either.”
Banatel’s face darkened in frustration. This time, he had wanted to settle their long-standing grudge, but once again, it wouldn’t be easy.
“As expected, you’re the only real rival I have, Gerard.”
Suddenly, Gerard furrowed his brow. Deep wrinkles formed as he pointed a finger at Banatel.
“Hey, don’t try to act like we’re equals. You lost to me once, remember?”
Banatel’s face turned red, then blue. Outraged, he snapped back.
“Hey! That one doesn’t count in the record!”
* * *
The strongest martial artist of his era, Fist Emperor Gerard.
No one could have guessed from his outward appearance, but in truth, Gerard came from a fairly prestigious noble family in the Vasily Kingdom. His full name was Gerard Chrome Proteis, with a middle name that unmistakably signified his noble lineage.
The Proteis family was not among the central nobility, but they held a vast territory in the eastern region of Vasily. Born as the third son of such a household, Gerard enjoyed a rather affluent childhood.
His fate, however, took a drastic turn when he was eleven years old.
It was all because of a towering old man who appeared before him, the Fist King of that time, and the martial artist of Gym Unbreakable, Lastal.
Lastal, already renowned across the continent as the greatest martial artist, knelt before young Gerard the moment he saw him and burst into tears of joy.
“I’ve found you! Master! At last, I’ve found you!”
A monstrous old man, standing 2.4 meters tall, kneeling and sobbing, it was a truly terrifying sight. Even as a child, Gerard vividly remembered thinking, ‘I’m going to die here, aren’t I?’
But from Lastal’s perspective, it was a moment worthy of tears.
Forty years had passed since he first stepped into the world in his twenties, accumulating every possible form of fame. And yet, he was beginning to feel the effects of aging. Of course, anyone who saw his body would never believe that, but the truth remained, he was at the age where finding a successor became a real concern.
He had already abandoned his life as a warrior, dedicating himself entirely to searching for a disciple across the continent. Ten years had passed in this quest, but no one had proven capable of enduring the training methods of Gym Unbreakable. The thought of failing to repay his master’s grace and allowing the lineage of this great teaching to end filled him with anxiety.
But now, he had finally found one!
A beast of a man, one whose bones and muscles had already surpassed human limits!
Wiping away his tears, Lastal asked,
“What is your name?”
At the time, Gerard was a well-mannered child, as befitting a noble heir. He was also quick-witted enough to realize that the old man before him was no ordinary figure. (Then again, even the densest child would hardly mistake a 2.4-meter-tall old man for someone normal.)
“I am Gerard of the Proteis family.”
The polite child's response made Lastal burst into hearty laughter. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed young Gerard’s waist with one hand, not his forearm. His waist. His sheer size was so immense that a whole child fit neatly into his grasp, lifted him up, and immediately went in search of his father.
“Hand over your son! I shall raise him as the Fist King!”
True to his Gym Unbreakable warrior nature, Lastal made his declaration without hesitation.
The Proteis family was thrown into an uproar.
The Proteis family was originally an old warrior household in the western Vasily Kingdom. If the strongest warrior of the time acknowledged their son’s talent and wished to take him as a disciple, it would normally be considered an honor.
The problem was the Fist King’s reputation. Gym Unbreakable was known across the continent not only for its overwhelming strength but also for its brutally insane training methods. Hadn’t the first Fist King taken on dozens of disciples, only to return them all as corpses?
Of course, Lastal claimed that those were things of the past and that he had since honed his judgment through experience, allowing him to select only the most worthy candidates. But that was hardly a reassuring argument.
Gerard’s father, Baron Proteis, hesitated.
His heart told him to refuse. As a father, no matter how strong his son could become, he did not want to send him into such a ruthless martial sect.
But rejecting the offer was not so simple.
At the time, Lastal was already the strongest warrior on the continent, possessing a level of fame and influence far beyond that of any noble house. In fact, even without considering his influence, Fist King Lastal alone was a being who, if he so wished, could easily destroy a noble family or two with sheer power. He was not someone whose offer could be refused lightly.
Gerard was not his only heir, Baron Proteis already had two other sons. With three sons in total, offering one to form a connection with the strongest Aura User of the time was not necessarily a bad decision for the family.
As he wavered between morality and pragmatism, Lastal decided he needed to be more persuasive.
He was the Fist King, a man who spoke with his fists.
So, true to the ways of Gym Unbreakable, he decided to "persuade" them.
“Your son will gain this kind of power!”
As he bellowed, he casually placed his fist against the wall, and at that moment, a massive explosion erupted, wiping out half the mansion.
Did Lastal’s persuasion(?) work? The Proteis family immediately backed down and obediently handed over young Gerard. At least Lastal had some conscience, he properly compensated them for the repair costs before leaving.
And so, at the age of eleven, young Gerard became Lastal’s disciple.
The first year, he cried endlessly. He believed his parents had sold him to his master because they couldn’t withstand the threats. Honestly, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
By the second year, he no longer shed tears. He was too busy trying to survive.
By the third year, he could barely remember his parents’ faces. Instead, all he could think about was escaping, no matter what.
By the fifth year, he no longer thought of running away. He had slowly grown fond of his master.
Did sincerity truly reach the heart? No matter how harsh the training was, there was always a rational reason behind it. And his master, despite everything, deeply loved Gerard. Well, he had some complaints about his master’s way of showing love, but the sincerity of that affection was something he could never deny.
By the eighth year, he had gained the power of Aura. He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward his master. He wanted to quickly reach the level his master desired and make him proud.
At the age of twenty-two, Gerard finally mastered the Quadruple-layered Calamity Horn and earned the right to descend from the mountain with pride. The now-aged Lastal was overjoyed and declared his retirement.
“At last, I am free of my burdens! Now, I have no more regrets!”