Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 389 Cohen: Pretty impressive, huh? I taught you!

No words are needed, no evidence is needed.

Faced with this extraordinary power from ancient gods and demons, the answer is almost self-evident.

This ancient divine and demonic secret technique, which exists only in legends and forbidden books, could absolutely not be found and mastered by the last surviving member of a fallen sorcerer family whose lineage had been destroyed for hundreds of years.

The only possible source is this mysterious figure, a fragment of myth walking among the earth, the prophesied son personally chosen by the god of prophecy, King Cohen Corleone.

Prince Quentin gripped the armrests tightly, his eyes filled with an extremely solemn expression as he stared at Cohen as if scrutinizing an abyss.

The pressure of the Empire's honor and disgrace, including Thorin's defeat and the fact that no contestant made it to the finals, was temporarily suppressed by the enormous impact of this ancient secret and mysterious power.

Not everyone in the audience realized the terrifying origins of the magic Nephthys used.

But there are always ways to contact the VIP seats.

Soon, the truth about Nephthys's use of magic spread rapidly.
A storm of gazes, as tangible as a physical force, converged upon Cohen.

The murmurs spread like a plague, and the oppressive silence was replaced by an emotion mixed with fervor, curiosity, shock, and fear.

Thorin's defeat seemed to have become secondary for the time being, as a grander discussion about mysterious prophecies and ancient powers emerged in the Imperial Arena.

The power of gods and demons!
Even though the war between gods and demons ended tens of thousands of years ago, the forbidden power from ancient times still inspires a fervent fascination and adoration.

Meanwhile, people all over the mainland who were following this martial arts festival also witnessed this duel.

This news spread rapidly and gained traction across mainland China through a network of influential figures, scholars, and information brokers.

"Have you heard? The power of gods and demons..."

"Void Banishment... a forbidden technique!"

"The magic of the ancient gods and demons, the power of that era has reappeared..."

"The Child of Prophecy, only him..."

"A spokesperson for God, or..."

The noise converged, transforming into a storm of emotions.

Empress Shanes, seated high on her throne, cast a faint glance at Cohen. Cohen seemed to sense this and responded with an undisguised smile, a smile that seemed to say, "Impressive, isn't it? I taught you!"

Shanis's lips twitched slightly as she looked away.

The expressions on the faces of the empire's key figures varied.

However, most people were still excited and delighted by the scene before them.

After all, this mysterious prophetic son is now the Empress's consort and a member of the Central Empire.

They shared in the honor.

Of course, this majority of people certainly does not include the House of Lords, especially Heisenberg Wertheimer, the Chief of the House of Lords, who has a blood feud with Her Majesty the Empress and is guilty of regicide.

The power of gods and demons.

These five words, like an invisible curse, rolled over the mind of this seasoned ruler who knew countless secrets of the empire.

Heisenberg's mind raced through fragments of words sealed within the secret texts passed down through generations of the House of Nobles.

Those forbidden fragments written in blood, depicting the tearing of space, the annihilation of stars, and the manipulation of souls and rules in the war between gods and demons, those echoes of the indescribable divine and demonic power that should only belong to ancient eras.

The one who wields this power will become Her Majesty the Empress's consort and stand beside her.

There is no doubt that the Klein dynasty's centralized power will be further strengthened.

Most importantly, there was his own plot to assassinate the king back then...

Heisenberg felt a chill run down his spine; he had never imagined that he would be forced to this extent by a mere King Effie.

Five years ago, for me, killing an Effie was not much harder than killing an ant.

In just five short years, the other party has grown to this point and even has an identity that I cannot openly challenge.

A barely perceptible muscle spasm swept across his left cheek, as if he had been whipped by an invisible whip.

Heisenberg's eyes were fixed on the direction of Effie's private room.

He was already an invisible blade of judgment hanging over Heisenberg and even the entire House of Lords.

Chief Heisenberg uttered a barely perceptible whisper:

"Perhaps it's time to talk to the people of the Black Tomb..."

……

The audience's fervent discussions did not last long; their fear and fervor over the power of gods and demons were quickly disrupted by the new competition.

The massive array of lighting runes in the arena adjusted its angle once more, projecting the blindingly focused beams of light back onto the central arena that had just displayed its ancient mysteries.

buzzing...

The audience surged once again like a tidal wave.

The first semi-final match was so exciting.

The second match, featuring a stronger opponent and a higher number of fans, has attracted immense attention.

The undisputed strongest contender for the "Bronze" rank is Wolf Smith, the "Light and Shadow Walker" carefully cultivated by the Southern Empire.

Freya, a "mechanical sorceress" from the "Lost Land," the ruins of the Arcane Empire, is a princess who has restored her kingdom and a lonely queen.

It's destined to be another fierce battle.

"The second semi-final match: Woolf Smith of the Southern Empire versus Freya of the Kingdom of Ceylon!"

As the referee rose into the air, his authoritative voice drowned out the clamor of the crowd.

Two slender, tall figures slowly emerged from the underground passages on either side of the arena.

Freya wore a specially made dark ink-colored body armor that outlined her slender and supple lines with exceptional fluidity.

The soft nails were exquisitely cut, fitting snugly against the shoulders, waist, and hips.

Yet, it leaves just the right gaps at key joints, making every subtle movement appear natural and fluid, creating a dance-like rhythm.

Her exquisitely beautiful face makes one wonder if this is the birth of a second "Adel Angeline".

Both were aristocratic martial arts festivals, both were underestimated yet overcame all obstacles, and both were stunningly beautiful.

In the previous competition, Yadel became the number one beauty on the continent by virtue of her title as the "strongest silver".

Will Freya replicate Adele's legend?

Freya walked very steadily, each step almost perfectly precise.

His face was expressionless as he focused intently on the opponent who had come into view.

Compared to Freya, Woolf's looks are somewhat less striking, but she is still considered a stunning beauty above average.

Woolf wore a silver-gray bodysuit that blended in with the environment.

Standing quietly in the dappled light, her figure was slightly blurred, as if she might dissolve into the gap between light and darkness at any moment.

Without the slightest unnecessary movement, his arms hung naturally at his sides, his fingers long and steady, his fingertips slightly curled inward, exuding the quiet elegance of a hunter.

The bells rang sharply, signaling the start of the battle.

Freya was the first to take action. Facing an assassin with "light and shadow leap" who could attack from behind at any time, she had to restrict the opponent's movements from the very beginning.

Freya chanted a spell, and a delicate little rune burned intensely at her fingertips before dissipating.

A fist-sized, intricately structured illusory disc appeared in his hand.

Freya used muscle memory to fling herself towards Woolf.

The disc emitted a piercing shriek the moment it left her hand, spinning rapidly while spraying out a dense rain of cold iron needles.

"Light and shadow leap!"

Just before the needles struck her, Woolf's body suddenly faded and melted away, like an afterimage scorched by intense light.

Instead of retreating, she advanced, "flowing" along the path of a powerful beam of light projected down from outside the area covered by the flying needles.

For a moment, the light and shadow around Freya distorted in a way that defied common sense.

Immediately afterwards, Woolf's figure appeared eerily in the shadows behind Freya.

A black "shadow blade," solidified and with incredibly sharp edges, silently sliced ​​towards Freya's nape.

It was incredibly fast, the angle was extremely tricky, and it carried a deadly, decisive edge.

Every move is a killing blow.

Freya could even feel the icy, needle-like killing intent emanating from the pure, condensed darkness on the back of her neck.

Freya's expression remained calm, her face as still as a frozen lake, without the slightest ripple.

She didn't turn around, didn't block, and didn't even make any big movements.

There was only a seemingly random small slip under my feet, followed by a faint sound of gears meshing.

Buzz—Buzz!

As Freya glided past her retreating heel, a crack suddenly and silently appeared in the previously empty space.

A dark red disc mechanism, only the size of an adult's palm and about half a finger thick, shot up instantly, like the tongue of a monstrous beast lurking in the abyss.

The disc did not spring out from a stationary position, but rather entered a high-speed spinning state the instant it was launched.

The disc is made of refined alloy, with its edges polished to an extremely thin thickness, producing a very faint air-cutting sound as it spins at high speed.

The surface of the disc was covered with countless extremely fine, honeycomb-like, interwoven miniature energy rune circuits.

These circuits are now fully lit, and extremely unstable, raging fire elemental power, as intense as lava, flows within them.

The entire disk transformed into a crimson vortex that was violently shaking during high-speed spinning.

Om-! ! !
A scorching, violent, high-frequency energy hum instantly drowned out everything.

That wasn't the light of an explosion, but rather a harbinger of energy being forcibly restrained and compressed, about to erupt out of control. The disk itself resembled the core of a miniature sun that had been ignited, radiating suffocating heat and chaotic energy turbulence.

The silent, sharp shadow blade struck the very center of the wildly spinning, extremely unstable crimson vortex of fire energy.

Instantly, an extremely piercing shriek erupted.

Two completely opposite energies are in violent conflict.

The Shadow Blade was forcibly caught and torn apart by the wildly spinning vortex carrying raging fire elements.

It was eventually completely swallowed up, and at the same time, the enormous recoil energy allowed the crimson disc to complete its mission in an extreme explosion.

The disc gradually stopped rotating, and the rune circuits on its surface completely dimmed and collapsed.

The entire disc was torn, melted, and deformed by the out-of-control elemental forces, like a red-hot and twisted iron disc. With a "clang," it fell to the ground emitting blue smoke, turning into a pool of charred and twisted scrap iron.

Tier 3 Top-Tier Attack Mechanism, Crimson Wheel!

The fastest activation time for the device is ten seconds.

However, Freya took less than three seconds to fully activate the mechanism after opening it!
A look of seriousness appeared in Woolf's eyes. This opponent was definitely the most troublesome one he had encountered since stepping onto the arena of the Noble Martial Arts Festival!

A gasp of surprise erupted from the audience.

Woolf's first attack was like a phantom, while Freya's defense was exquisite and flawless.

Such extreme speed and countermeasures far exceed the level of the Bronze tier.

The battle just now seemed long, but it actually only lasted a moment.

From the moment Woolf ambushed Freya from behind to Freya's counterattack with "Crimson Wheel," the two passed each other in just ten seconds.

Without even giving the audience time to see clearly, after a brief pause, the two quickly entered a high-speed grappling phase.

Freya's hands moved rapidly through the various runes as if playing a piano; with each rune that burned, a mechanism was launched.

Incendiary bombs, sticky traps, and disruptive sonic boomers—these low-level contraptions with their various functions were unleashed on Woolf as if they were free.

The goal is simple: to disrupt the opponent's light and shadow transition, forcing her to emerge from the gap in the light and shadow and confront him head-on.

No matter how powerful a Bronze-level transcendent being is, they cannot stay in the light and shadow forever.

Woolf also brought her talent as a master of light and shadow to a dazzling degree.

She was like the most agile dancer in the center of the stage, flashing and leaping between every spot of light and shadow on the stage.

Freya's every trap she set and every barrage of firepower seemed to strike an invisible phantom.

Woolf was not always in a passive defensive position.

Her counterattack was equally fierce, like a venomous snake lurking in the light and shadow.

They shoot condensed beams of arrows from all sorts of tricky and bizarre angles, create dazzling flashes, or suddenly unleash deadly shadow spikes from the shadows beneath Freya's feet.

The pace of the battle quickened, and the two sides reached a stalemate, waiting to see who would run out of magic power first and lose their ability to fight.

However, it is clear that Woolf, who relies on light and shadow to evade attacks, will expend far more magic power and physical strength than Freya, who only needs to release and activate mechanisms.

If the battle continues to stalemate, Woolf will be the first to give out.

Woolf was clearly aware of this problem as well.

After a successful leap, dodging Freya's metal net, she quickly changed her hand gestures, making an ancient and mysterious combination of fingers.

Her amethyst-like pupils suddenly burst forth with dazzling light.
Buzz buzz buzz—!
Woolf's hands flew, and all the light and shadow projected onto the entire arena seemed to come alive, twisting and contorting in a bizarre and frenzied manner.

In an instant, the light on the arena was forcibly cut off by an invisible force.

Dozens or even hundreds of incredibly sharp, illusory swords of light and shadow simultaneously materialized from all directions around Freya.

The light and shadow spun and churned wildly, forming a terrifying strangulation cage composed of pure dark blades.

A chilling killing intent instantly locked onto Freya in the center of the arena.

This is a deadly cage woven purely from the laws of light and shadow, and it is also Woolf's trump card - "Light Prison Thousand Shadow Killing Array"!
This killing formation is enough to trap a Silver-rank transcendent.

This all-encompassing, no-dead-angle strangulation attack is precisely the nemesis of sorcerers like Freya who rely on positions and mechanisms.

The moment Woolf's "Light Prison - Thousand Shadow Killing Array" erupted, time seemed to freeze for a moment, and the Imperial Arena spectator area felt as if an invisible giant hand had choked it.

The referee, suspended in mid-air, had a solemn expression as if covered with a layer of frost.

This level of attack far exceeded his estimated limit for the Bronze rank.

Even a Silver-rank transcendent might not be able to withstand it.

The referee instinctively gripped his scepter, ready to intervene at any moment to end the impending one-sided massacre.

At this moment, the entire continent truly realized the terrifying power carried by the secret profession of "Light and Shadow Walker".

It is no longer just about agility and assassination, but a destructive force that wields light and shadow itself and weaves the rules of death.

Many people even thought of King Efein, whose position was an ancient secret profession that was even more powerful and mysterious than ordinary secret professions!
As a result, everyone's anticipation for the Silver Group matches grew even stronger.

The gazes of the crowd, filled with their own indescribable complex emotions—fear, shock, greed, schadenfreude, and deep-seated apprehension—were all fixed on the tiny figure in the center of the arena.

Those from the Kingdom of Ceylon, especially those in Quesaon who were closely watching the match, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; they had finally managed to stop it.

Nephthys has already made it to the finals, what if Freya also makes it to the finals?

Nephthys is highly unlikely to compete with Freya for the championship; if the fake princess were to represent the country and win the "strongest bronze" title...

The neutral forces that were still wavering will instantly side with Guimian City!
However, just as King Gaius had not yet fully breathed a sigh of relief, the situation on the field changed again!
At this critical moment, a glint flashed in Freya's eyes, and she spread her hands, drawing strange runes in the air.

He spoke in a low, continuous, and rhythmic ancient voice.

A sickening buzzing sound filled the air, and then the runic liquid flowed onto Freya's palm.

Freya's fingertips rapidly unleashed a dazzling array of elements, including flames, frost, and water.

It then solidified into a blue, red, and cyan metallic cube covered with complex geometric patterns.

Freya slammed the cube onto the ground, and the moment it hit the ground, the intricate runes on its surface came to life.

Aquamarine light patterns, crimson fire lines, and bluish-gray wind streaks suddenly lit up, intertwining and merging together, bursting forth with a dazzling halo.

Centered on the cube, a massive three-dimensional circular rune array covering an area of ​​approximately five meters around Freya suddenly opened up.

Fire, water, and wind.

The power of the three elements no longer explodes violently, but resonates, clashes, and annihilates wildly under the guidance of precise runes.

puff!
Chi Chi Chi -!
An invisible energy annihilation field, as powerful as a whale sucking in water, was formed instantly.

The countless blades of light and shadow that Woolf unleashed, upon piercing the edge of this five-meter-wide circular force field, began to disintegrate and collapse at a visible speed, just like oil thrown into a hot pan.

They vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

"A fifth-tier mechanism—the Elemental Annihilation Array?"

In the VIP section, Winston, the chief of the Southern Empire, who had been watching his granddaughter's battle intently, suddenly sat up straight, his eyes filled with deep shock.

Freya had already demonstrated her ability to master high-level mechanisms and traps in previous matches, but those were only fourth-level mechanisms and traps.

She displayed an even more powerful fifth-tier mechanism as soon as she entered the arena today, making people wonder what other trump cards she might be hiding.
Freya's performance was just beginning and she did not disappoint.

Without hesitation, Freya, who was temporarily protected by the Annihilation Array, activated another completely different mechanism even faster.

A more complex prism that constantly refracts light.

Woolf's expression on the ring became extremely serious.

The fact that her prized trump card failed to deliver a decisive blow put immense psychological pressure on her.

Her figure re-emerged from the shadows of a bright corner, ready to find a new leap point.

Freya's eyes narrowed, and she threw the prism in her hand hard towards Woolf.

Woolf was no stranger to this mechanism; it was a fourth-order mechanism, a mirror maze.

The host, Lucien, the "Northern Warrior" of the Central Empire, fell victim to this very mechanism in the quarterfinals.

The prism tumbled in the air and suddenly burst into a blinding white light.

Countless tiny, invisible fragments of the mirror surface poured out like mercury, instantly covering a large fan-shaped area in front of Freya.

Light is distorted and refracted to an extreme degree.

In the blink of an eye, a corridor of light and shadow, composed of countless rotating, misaligned, and constantly changing elements, appeared.

The light reflected and refracted in the corridor, creating layers upon layers of Freya's afterimages and Woolf's own afterimages.

The previously clear spatial perception was instantly disrupted.

Just as Woolf's figure emerged from a point of light transition and attempted to blend into another shadow, the surrounding mirrored light corridor suddenly distorted.

She could see, reflected in the mirrored corridor, the scene of her impending landing point appeared simultaneously in three directions.

Woolf abruptly stopped the impending light and shadow transition and landed on the ground.

For the first time, the mobility of the Light and Shadow Walker was genuinely interfered with and restricted.

This fourth-order mirrored maze had a greater impact on Woolf than on Lucien; the mirrored corridors that reflected light and shadow were a complete counter to her ability to leap through light and shadow.

A suppressed gasp rippled through the audience once more; this was the first time "Light and Shadow Walker" Woolf had been unable to use her movement techniques.

In the VIP section, Prince Quentin said softly:

"Complete restraint, this mechanical sorcerer...such deep scheming."

A shadow also fell over the faces of the people from the Southern Empire. They knew what it would mean for Woolf if the light and shadow leap was disrupted.

Only her grandfather, Prime Minister Winston of the Southern Empire, remained calm and composed, showing no sign of anything amiss.

On the ring, Woolf seemed trapped in the corridor, bumping around like a headless fly.

No one could see the faint smile that appeared at the corner of her mouth the instant she was forced to land!

(End of this chapter)