Chapter 466: Demonstration of Strength

Elder Kanen POV

He observed as he watched Elder Delton’s “plan” unfold before them. Kanen didn’t agree with the situation at all. House Violet had already warned them not to interfere or mess with Julius Snow. Yet, Elder Delton’s ego couldn’t let things stand.

Kanen still didn’t know how Delton managed to arrange this entire thing. He suspected that the Conclave or House Greyson had done something to help. It was such a stupid plan, he wondered what Delton had to promise or pay in order to achieve this.

Being able to convince or bribe a dozen of the Empire’s top talents was no small feat. There had to be a cost; nothing in this world was free, especially if it came from the Conclave or House Greyson.

Kanen had personally seen Julius walk away completely unharmed when Colten, a talented Tier 4 in his own right, attacked him on Delton’s orders. He didn’t know how the young boy did it, but he did know that he arrived to see Julius dragging the aforementioned Tier 4 by the hair across the sandy beach.

It was hard to judge how strong Julius was just from that one meeting, but being able to survive an encounter with one of Clan Genshen’s assassins was an accomplishment no matter what method he might have used to achieve it.

“Father, isn’t that…” His son, Brandon, whispered quietly.

“Yeah, that’s him,” he confirmed with a stiff nod.

Kanen was in the capital because his son would also be participating. He had won his own school’s tournament, and Kanen had high hopes for his success. Brandon had only gotten stronger in these past few months, and there was a good chance that Brandon could make it to the final stage.

“Is he really that strong?” Brandon asked, looking a little skeptical as they stared at where Julius was standing.

Kanen admitted that Julius didn’t look all that impressive at first glance. He wasn’t moving, and he was simply chucking hard mana constructs at the foxes. While these constructs were clearly well created, there was a lack of power behind them.

Still, it was evident to anyone experienced enough to know that Julius was holding back. Brandon would likely see for himself in a few moments. Kanen didn’t believe the boy would be allowed to keep holding back if he wanted to advance.

Kanen noticed that around a dozen people were working together to undermine Julius’s points. They were all quite skilled, and with the rule about attacking other participants, it was hard for Julius to find a way to address this issue.

If he was being honest, he was very curious to see what the young boy under the protection of House Violet could do. What had allowed him to beat a Tier 4 like Colten?

Was it luck, an item, or was it skill? Those were all questions he wished he had answers to.

As fate would have it, some of those questions were answered immediately. The boy must have realized that it was useless to keep holding back so much and had finally decided to make a move.

In a display of absolutely breathtaking mana and aura control, Julius tore through their interference without issue. The other mages and fighters had no chance; they were unable to prevent Julius from killing the foxes.

Small but extremely savage spikes of blue fire mana blew through everything in their path. The boy’s aura ripped through the other competitors’ mana like it was nothing, tearing through any skill or spell they tried to use.

“Damn,” his son muttered quietly as he stared at Julius with wide eyes. “Those are some powerful constructs,” he added with a subdued tone.

Kanen nodded softly; his son was right. Those weren’t the constructs of a Tier 3. Those were the constructs he would likely see from a Tier 4. He was able to sense several interesting aspects within these missiles of concentrated mana, but it was hard to get a good read off them.

The barrier surrounding the field impeded his senses, but the spikes were constructed so well that they barely gave off any residual mana. Furthermore, Kanen wasn’t merely impressed by the physical constructs; he was more fascinated by the control and speed of them. That said more about his skills than anything else.

Powerful skills weren’t out of the norm in a place like the Empire’s Tier 3 Tournament, but seeing this level of finesse was much more rare. These children were still young; they didn’t have the time that Kanen or other older fighters had to hone their skills.

Kanen watched as the spikes continued to increase in speed, leaving flashes of blue light as they disappeared from sight, tearing through the foxes and all the attempts to stop them. Even to his Tier 5 senses, they were fast.

Kanen looked over at the other side of the room, where Elder Delton was standing up on his feet and pacing angrily. Kanen hid the grin that attempted to crawl to his lips. As much as he disliked the man’s recent behavior, they were still a part of the same clan and couldn’t outwardly show it.

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On another note, Kanen had also found out why Delton was so eager to either kill or harass Julius. Apparently, his niece Lyn had been missing ever since her mission out in the eastern regions of the Empire, and Delton believed that Julius had something to do with it or, at the very least, was involved in some manner.

Kanen didn’t even understand Delton’s reasoning for this. From what he understood, the girl hadn’t even liked her family, and the feeling was mutual. She hadn’t inherited her family’s shadow affinity and instead had been given a talent for water magic. Since then, they have been growing increasingly distant over the years.

Kanen wouldn’t even be surprised to learn that Lyn had taken this chance to run away and escape her family. He wouldn’t blame her either; they weren’t exactly the nicest of people.