"Good!! At least no one died," the black lord called out, a smile visible on his face. The rise of the blackberry family was still a thing of the future, but with it ca the rise of this young man here.
It was good to have balance.
"As a gift, you automatically pass," the black lord smiled; he wanted to recruit Guilliman, but first he had to make so low-key arrangents so the nobles won't get their panties in a twist.
'There's also him.'
Turning to the silver-haired man, he calmly observed, then turned back.
"Let the competition go on!!" The Blacksteel lord said, a smile appearing on his face. This was only natural; the battles hadn't ended, just been stalled by the blackberry's antics.
And so the battle raged on, even Barthold and Jemie fought in quick succession, each winning with little to no obstacles.
Of course, Barthold's family seed a bit surprised by his newfound strength, but in the end that was about all they felt—lackluster surprise.
And soon Guilliman understood why…
"Gunta Ironback versus Viper Blacksteel."
From the beginning of the battle till that point, no one had agreed to fight against anyone from the Blacksteel family for obvious reasons.
It wasn't respect, though; rather, it was fear. The Blacksteel family never once produced a weak child—it was as if their genes were just superior to all others in the shelter.
This was naturally just rumor; the truth was that the Blacksteel lord was not lenient when it ca to training, no matter which child, no matter who the child was born to. He would train them unfailingly day and night.
However, in the fight with Barthold's elder brother, Viper had lost seriously to the point that it was actually embarrassing.
The Blacksteel lord frowned, but accepted it without contest; the Ironback family head was a very close friend after all.
He still wanted his revenge, though, so with a nudge to his attendant a much more terrifying match was set up between a mber of the Blacksteel family and the Ironback family.
"Thane Blacksteel versus Wilder Ironback."
The previous loss didn't an anything in the grand sche of things; two lessers fighting was not even sothing to feel.
But Wilder versus Thane? It was overkill—these were two extrely prominent characters in the younger generation. Their fight nearly caved in the grand hall and everyone had to be evacuated except the elders.
It was a complete ss.
At the end, of course, Thane won, making the Blacksteel lord very happy.
"Whoever has treasures to exchange may co to the grand hall whenever, et with Amir, he will give you a good deal, all who qualified will set off to the gate in two weeks," the Blacksteel lord later announced, and with that the competition ca to an abrupt end.
….
"Your brothers are monstrous," back in the carriage heading back to the Silverstein household, Guilliman comnted, his eyes beaming with surprise.
He previously thought that the Ironback family was sothing like the blackberry family; however, he was mistaken by a large margin.
Just a few bashes from that hulking bastard could surely kill him. These were the people Barthold was related to? Crazy!!
"Haha, you seem exceptionally lively today," Barthold laughed. Guilliman was not without humor—in fact, he had a pretty nice sense of it. However, he was more often than not gloomy.
"Haa yes, I guess you can say that," looking out the window he felt relief. He didn't need to fear retaliation from the blackberry family at this point. Their issues were officially solved for now…..
He could finally relax.
"Anyway, I barely know those guys, but I have fought Wilder before," Barthold said, feeling pride in his head.
Granted, that was when they were children, but the thought that he had fought soone who went on to beco so powerful was thrilling to hear.
"Really? That has to be a joke, right?" Guilliman asked, turning to Thane, who was seated at the side. He was nobility too, maybe he knew so of the gist:
"I'm not sure if they fought, but it's highly likely; these kinds of duels are fairly common in the Slayer communities," Thane nodded.
He had fought against several of his brothers before too; it made sense that Barthold would have gone toe-to-toe with them as well.
"Ahhh, so how co he was able to leave you so far in the dust?" Guilliman asked, a confused expression on his face.
Barthold was talented, that was a fact—probably more so than his elder brothers. If there was a ti when they would genuinely go toe-to-toe, then the gap shouldn't be that big.
"Hehe, it's complicated… let's just say I strayed from the right path," Barthold smirked, trying to avoid further questioning.
However, in the next mont a voice resounded in the opposite carriage door compartnt. There, the silver-haired man with broad shoulders and a silver robe looked calmly at Barthold.
"There is no such thing as the wrong path; in fact, this defined path thing is a load of crap, to each their own. Is what I always say," the silver-haired man Bartholow said to Barthold, an irritated expression on his face.
"Take a look at the blackberry boy, for instance. His phantom Aspect is overpowering, yes? But its weakness is terrible. He can be intangible, yes, but only when he's not attacking, and even when he is attacking, it takes a lot of energy to do so."
"Don't get
started with how he needs to quietly move around so he won't be noticed—frustrating. But tell , kid, do you think the blackberry family won't throw all their resources at him?"
The man asked with a knowing smile,
"No," Barthold shook his head. The way the blackberry old man looked when he saw his son beating Guilliman up denoted pride and hope—hope in the future of the family.
He would spend a fortune on Vincent.
"And you know why that is? Power!! The only real reason is power. The boy used his otherwise discouraging class Aspect to dog-walk out, friend, here because he practiced and found a way to attain power. The mont you're able to do that and maybe plant that big, good-for-nothing brother in the ground is the day they'll respect your path."
The only thing separating them from what they wanted to do or how they wanted to live was power; they had to attain it.
Silence soon filled the carriage…until
"Hey, I won that fight, you know?" Guilliman spoke, feeling wronged; he had beaten Vincent, yet they kept saying it as if he were the one that had been beaten.
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