The Wastrel Prince Becomes Ruthless Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Sowhere in the desert stretching across the southern edge and central region of the Empire.

On sand dunes long abandoned by human footsteps, a bright full moon rose and hung in the sky. Tonight, the moonlight was unusually clear, faintly illuminating the desert.

Under that cool moonlight, two n—Yuwon and Colbus Seral—stood facing one another, glaring without restraint. A chilling killing intent swirled between them.

“…Dual daggers? After losing the White Dragon Sword that day, was that really all you chose?”

As if finding the pair of daggers Yuwon had drawn rather unexpected, Colbus sent a subtle provocation, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

The sword was called the king of all weapons, and yet a warrior of Yuwon’s caliber had chosen daggers. That alone was strange enough. And not just one, but two. Weapons more suited to back-alley ruffians than to soone like him.

“Don’t worry. You may look forward to it. To begin with, the White Dragon Sword was rely a practice sword to . These are far closer to my true strength.”

As if to prove his words were not empty, Yuwon spun the daggers in both hands with a swift flourish before gripping them again. At that sight, Colbus let out a quiet chuckle.

“To think the White Dragon Sword was only a practice sword. Does that an you made a na for yourself and piled up achievents even while wielding nothing more than that? Ah, now that I think about it, that does make sense.”

“Even if I had been holding a wooden club instead of the White Dragon Sword, the result would have been the sa. Of course, only the ‘battle result’ would have been the sa. The aftermath might have turned out a little differently. A wooden club lacks style.”

“Ah. Indeed. Of course it does. For soone destined to be hailed as a hero, style is an indispensable elent.”

On the eve of a battle that would decide life and death, the two spoke as if they were close friends, exchanging idle banter. But the conversation, which began as a joke, shifted its direction when Colbus turned serious.

“Before that, there is one thing I wish to ask. Fifth Prince.”

“…What is it?”

“Where, and how, did you learn the Mana Core?”

“The Mana Core?”

At Yuwon’s feigned ignorance, Colbus narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

“You’re not going to say you don’t know.”

‘What even is a Mana Core?’

In truth, Yuwon genuinely did not know what a Mana Core was. But seeing the seriousness on Colbus’s face, he could not bring himself to admit ignorance. He pondered, and the answer ca quickly.

‘So that’s what he ans—accumulating inner energy in the dantian…! But how did he find out?’

At the sa ti that thought surfaced, Yuwon’s gaze focused on Colbus’s lower abdon.

‘This man…! He’s storing mana in his dantian!’

A faintly perceived yet magnificent flow of energy. The source of Colbus’s power flowed from his dantian. It was sothing Yuwon had completely overlooked, having focused solely on the sheer magnitude of the enemy’s power.

‘To think there’s soone else in this world, besides , who harbors power in the dantian… Is this also one of the traces my father left behind…?’

Ever since coming to this world, Yuwon had always examined his enemies with their hearts as the focal point. Since the flow of their mana began there, it was only natural. But having grown accustod to that, he had neglected to examine the dantian. Then Colbus appeared before him, delivering a fresh shock.

Suppressing that shock from showing on his face, Yuwon answered calmly.

“I cannot tell you.”

At Yuwon’s gentle yet firm refusal, Colbus smiled as though he had expected nothing less.

“Then I suppose I will have to find out myself. I, too, have reasons why I must uncover it.”

“You seem to think you can.”

Yuwon smiled.

“Do you think I can’t?”

Colbus returned a similar smile.

That battle of intent did not last long. If their hierarchy could have been settled through such a clash alone, the two would not have been standing here, blades drawn against one another.

“…We’ve spoken long enough. Then, let us begin.”

Colbus adjusted his grip on the longsword in his hand and aid it at Yuwon.

“….”

Yuwon answered only with a light nod.

---

Thud—!

Following the sound of feet striking the sandy ground, Yuwon and Colbus vanished at the sa ti. No—they seed to vanish, but that was not the case.

Sharper than the blades in their hands, their eyes glead with piercing light. Not for a single mont did either of them lose sight of the other.

‘The Fifth Prince is fast…!’

‘This bastard—don’t tell he’s actually keeping up with my speed…!’

As each struggled to conceal their shock at the other’s movents, their gazes t and tangled in midair.

Yuwon’s blue eyes and Colbus’s black pupils both shone with intense montum. Their gazes were so sharp they seed capable of piercing directly into the mind, reading each other’s movents.

‘It’s coming…!’

‘Hah…!’

The collision of gazes soon beca a physical collision. Yuwon and Colbus thrust their blades toward one another simultaneously, at the fastest speed each could muster.

Screee—!

Following the sharp sound of air being torn apart, their movents traced shining arcs through the empty space. The mana infused in their weapons could not keep up with the speed at which the blades advanced, creating that phenonon.

At the end of those advancing arcs—

KWA—A—A—ANG!

The blades collided, erupting in a thunderous roar. Instead of a tallic clang, the impact was accompanied by the explosive sound of mana detonating. In the aftermath of the collision, the mana clinging to each weapon scattered like sparks, whipping up a sandstorm.

Flutter—!

Grains of sand danced through the air. Behind them, remnants of mana fluttered wildly like flower petals.

A spectacular sight of manifested mana scattering and vanishing at random. Though the movents of the two transcendent beings could not be followed by the naked eye, the explosions that erupted each ti they clashed were spectacle enough.

“These insane bastards… You’re telling they’re the sa kind of human?”

“…”

Bernid spat out a curse at the sight unfolding before his eyes, while Hastings fell silent, concentrating with all his might to follow even a single instant of that duel with his eyes.

Hastings and Bernid. Their impressions were not what mattered. Around the two n facing each other in the distance, flashes of light burst forth.

Flash—!

Yuwon’s blade tore through the air, and imdiately after, Colbus’s sword spewed light. After that brief mont when the flashes blood, the two revealed themselves again amid a sharp tallic clang.

Clang—!

At the very center of where the two had been facing each other at a distance just monts before, they now stood with their blades pressed together.

Grrrk— grrk—!

A grating sound of tal grinding against tal rang out from between the crossed blades. It was a rare sight in a duel between swordsn who wielded mana.

Refined sword aura was sothing that cut through iron as if it were radish. Thus, battles between mana-wielding swordsn were normally decided by the sheer force of mana. However, the clash between Yuwon and Colbus could not be settled so simply.

Dragon and tiger locked in combat. The mana the two released failed to establish superiority, and the mana infused in each blade canceled the other out, leaving blade to clash directly against blade.

It was a contest of strength between a pair of dual daggers and a single longsword.

“Ghk…!”

“Hrk!”

Yuwon and Colbus. Veins bulged along the forearms of the two gripping their weapons, and sounds that were neither quite battle cries nor groans leaked from between clenched teeth. It was proof that both were exerting their full strength in this contest.

This was not a simple test of brute force, as it appeared. If one side rely pushed with raw strength, it would indeed be nothing more than a straightforward contest. But the two n facing each other here were not such greenhorns.

If, during a contest of blades, one side suddenly withdrew strength, the opponent who had been pushing with full force would inevitably lose balance. And in a battle between n of Yuwon and Colbus’s caliber, losing balance for even a single mont ant death.

The two subtly adjusted the strength in the hands gripping their swords, seeking even the slightest opening. With every minute change at their fingertips, both wagered their very lives.

Grrrk— grrk—!

Had they continued exchanging blows by crashing blades, it would have been enough ti to clash ten tis, twenty tis—no, several dozen tis over. Yet with their blades still locked together, Yuwon opened his tightly shut mouth and voiced a sincere complint.

“Ghk, you bastard…! As expected, you’re no joke!”

“And you yourself…!”

It had been expected, but seeing it in reality was even more astonishing. The level of accomplishnt the two enemies displayed to one another was more than enough to leave each of them shaken.

‘If I had lived an ordinary life as Tang Yuwon, I could never have reached such heights. To think there was a monster in this world for whom words like common sense ant nothing…!’

‘So there truly is always a higher sky above. To think soone three or four years younger than has achieved this much… The world wasn’t small—my vision was.’

This was not idle chatter ant to build camaraderie in the midst of battle. With all his senses focused on the hand gripping his blade, Yuwon continued with difficulty.

“Kh… At this rate, it doesn’t seem like this will be decided easily….”

Colbus, finding the situation just as difficult, replied with equal strain, his arms and lips trembling.

“Hrk… I, I agree.”

“Then let’s count to three and—ugh!—pull back at the sa ti.”

“…What?”

“Don’t believe if you don’t want to.”

At that mont, as if to prove his words, Yuwon halted the subtle changes in his blade. Feeling that delicate shift through the blades pressed together, Colbus’s eyes glead.

“I trust you.”

No further words were needed. The two counted together in a single voice.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

The instant “one” was spoken, both withdrew their blades simultaneously and leapt backward, opening distance between them. Having created space, neither dared to attack recklessly again, only glaring at the other with piercing eyes.

‘There’s no need for a war of attrition. I’ll go all out. If not now, there won’t be a next ti. Either I die, or he does. It ends here.’

‘This won’t be settled as it is. I need to make a move….’

Yuwon decided to bring out his trump card, but the Colbus facing him could not do the sa. Matching Yuwon’s tempo up until now had already been the extent of his strength.

‘Swift and decisive. Here I go…!’

A shout sounded only in his heart as Yuwon silently flicked his hand toward the enemy. Following that motion, throwing daggers flew into the sky.

Sshheeek—!

Yuwon’s attack was so fast that it was impossible to tell when, where, or how the daggers had appeared in his hand.

An assassination technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan, worthy of being called peerless in the martial world, was recreated by Yuwon’s hands upon land so distant that it should never have been reached.

Yuwon, who rarely placed assassination techniques at the forefront, drew upon them early this ti. To him, assassination techniques were synonymous with poison-coated daggers hidden on his person—a decisive trump card.

Thus, without any warning, his ultimate move poured forth from his hand. The daggers that left Yuwon’s grasp filled the sky, raining down upon the enemy like a sudden downpour.

Colbus noticed Yuwon’s gesture half a beat—no, a quarter of a beat too late. And the mont he realized it, a deep shadow fell across his face.

‘This… I can’t block it…!’

No matter how exceptional a swordsman was, he could not evade rain. Before Colbus’s eyes, rain was pouring down.

The moon hung bright in the night sky, and beneath its light, daggers glead beautifully like dew-laden petals, reflecting that radiance.

Mantianhuayu. Rain fell from a dry southern desert sky. A rain of flowers filled the desert.