Chapter 323 A look into the past

Miles away from the town of Korua, a man covered in bright red flames hovered in mid-air. "That was so cute, little Eric. Now can you be more serious?" He looked on, finding a large mound of sand emerging from the earth gradually, following the sultry voice. 

Large swaths of sand fizzled to both sides, giving way to a neatly dressed woman. From her face, she didn't seem any different than a regular house matron. Yet, there can be an intimidating presence around her. 

She wore tight clothes that covered all her body and still the figure revealed by her was tantalizing. A pair of neither big nor small breasts, combined with a shapely ass can raise the heartbeats of any man. 

"Aren't you done playing around? I know you can do better than this. Are you saving your mana for some last resort attack?" The sand under the lady's feet bubbled to raise her off the ground, bringing her to the same height as the fire mage. 

Her red lips under a thin sheen of lipstick looked rather appetizing. There was a light blush applied to her face. All in all, the lady knew how to maintain herself with minimal effort. "Or are you worried for me?" She added and then broke out into a peal of laughter.

"Hmph.." The seductive actions of his senior had little to no effect on Eric. He remained cold-faced from the very beginning. "Go on, mock me, senior sister. But remember this.. I shall grow out of your shadow one day. I will defeat you with my own hands." 

Eric balled his fist. Mana in the surrounding churned as his body soaked in it. *Blazzze* The fire surrounding him burned with even more gusto as if fuel was added to it. Temperature in the area soared as Eric prepared to put an end to this play. 

"My.. my.. you might or you might not one day. But.. today is not that day, brat.. hahahahah..." Paula laughed uproariously, not waiting for the man to take the initiative. 

Her body levitated in the air and right when she dashed towards Eric, the pillars of sand followed her, cracking open the earth below at an alarming rate. 

Eric knew she was not bluffing. Massive coagulation of dense mana ruptured the fabric of space around him. *Tch* Gritting his teeth, he floated backward, making some space between himself and his opponent.

Flames emerged from his eyes. "Gargantuan Lotus Blaze!!" A pillar of flame surrounded his body, reaching the skies. It was a maelstrom of fire that slowly congealed into a giant flower bud. 

Like petals blooming outward from a flower, large flaming foliage broke away from Eric's position and struck the ground. *BOOOM* Every strike created a blast of hot air that can easily burn through the skin of even a strong cultivator like Paula.

It was foolish to take this attack head-on. The fire was going to melt through her sand armor like a hot knife through butter. She immediately changed her path, shooting to the other side to get a glimpse of the man under the layer of fire.

*Boom* But that was easier said than done. Every time Paula will change her location, she will find herself face to face with the foliage of fire coming for her. "How much mana is he going to waste like this?" 

Not giving it a second thought, Paula knew the man can not sustain this for long. She just had to find a chink in this flaming lotus and then it shall be game over. 

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* Stike after the strike the two opponents kept trying to outpace each other. Explosions occurred all around him, transforming the very landscape under them. 

Paula was a veteran of war. But even with all her experience and learning, she failed to recognize Eric's plan until it was too late. "Hmm?" 

The lady dressed in bright pink clothes found herself losing control over the sand around her. It didn't take her long to figure things out. "What a cunning jerk.. haha..!!" 

The continuous explosions had heated the terrain to an unbelievable level. Fire mana infused in the ground was interfering with senses, leading the sand pillars to start collapsing like a house of cards. 

Paula was laughing, but that didn't slow her down in any way. Springing into action, her first call was to save as much of her sand as she could from heating up. 

"Too late, senior sister. It's time.." *Bang* A figure shot from inside the beautiful firey lotus, charging towards Paula like a shooting star. Covered in dizzying flames, his punch crashed right in the center of the sand shield and threw Paula off her track. 

"Dammit.." Eric had hoped to end this battle right here. But unfortunately, Paula seemed to have survived the blow. "You snot-faced brat..!!" The face was the most important thing a senior possessed. No one can compromise on that. 

"You think you are so smart.. smart my ass..!!" This was the most annoyed Eric had seen Paula ever be in their training sessions. Even her aggravation was a win for the fire mage. With a burst of demeaning laughter, he charged the woman once again, intent on using his last bit of energy to bring a conclusion to this duel.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* For the next few minutes, Eric was in complete control of the fight. With the burning Lotus still actively spewing flames all across the scape, Paula's best bet was to repel herself away from it. 

The longer she remained in the proximity of the flames, the lower her chance of staging a comeback. "You are going nowhere..!!" *BAM* *BAM* How can Eric not see through that?

The flaming man was not going to give her any chance to slip away. The barrage of punches will always propel her in the direction of the flaming lotus. Every throw will pack enough momentum to force Paula a step back. 

With the amount of sand at her disposal continuously diminishing under the relentless barrage of punishment from the man, Paula was truly staring at the possibility of an actual loss against Eric. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself kid.. you are still a hundred years too young to defeat me." She announced even when Eric's punches slowly chipped away at her sand shield. 

"Void Vortex!!" Surprisingly, Eric noticed the sand Paula had been holding so dearly all this while, slipping away from her. Being a seasoned warrior himself, he can tell the woman was planning something big.

"Give up.. senior sister.. you can't win." *Bang* *Bang* A volley of burning fists finally ruptured through Paula's self-weakening defenses. "Ahahaha.. you wish..!!" 

Much to the shock of Eric, this ruthless woman threw a punch to meet his flames midway. *Thud* No one he knew, other them Paula was brave enough to meet his fists without any protection at all.

Even though her hands were layered under mana, without her sand to shield her from his flames, she ran the risk of second-degree burns. *Boom* The training match was being taken too seriously by both parties involved. 

No one wanted to lose and thus the sound of fists and mana crashing into each other rumbled through the skies. While this clash happened close to the ground, over their heads the sand Paula had let go off had coalesced into a spinning vortex.

*Whistle* A sharp sound reverberated in the air, bringing a smile to Paula's face. "It's time kiddo.." Punched back, Eric raised his head to witness a giant sand tornado forming right on top of his flaming lotus. 

"Aahhhh!!" Pushing his aching body to the limit, Eric thrusted himself back into the action. Nevertheless, since the spell had taken roots, he was now fighting a losing battle. 

*Wushh* *Wushh* The storm only grew bigger and bigger with every passing second, sucking the air out of its surroundings. But for the giant flaming lotus, it was sucking its very life out. 

The lotus was like a struggling prey that had found its neck already between the jaws of a predator. It struggled violently but the void vortex was certainly one of the signature spells under Paula's command. 

With the fight on the ground coming to a conclusion, at the same time Eric watched his precious fire spell die a slow and merciless death at the hands of the sandstorm. 

*Bang* "I was so close!!" Only Eric knew the pain of this loss. This was the closest he had ever been to defeating Paula in almost the past decade. To lose after coming so close to defeating her.. it was a heartbreak, to say the least. 

Paula landed on her feet, proudly watching her vortex rip through Eric's flame lotus. With her hands on her waist, she turned to face the defeated man punching the ground in frustration.

"Hehe.. that was a wonderful spell. I didn't see it coming. However, your spell casting was lackluster. Had you been more efficient with it, you would have saved enough mana to put up a good fight." Like a good mentor, she patiently explained the flaws in Eric's technique before walking over to him and offering her hand.

Eric took it and let himself be tugged over as Paula put his arm over her shoulder. "You think I don't know that? I just need a little more practice." The disgruntled man barked, only making her giggle at his scowling face. 

"You do. But what makes you think I will not be ready to deal with this spell early on from next time? You should have kept it under wraps until you were good enough haha.." She stepped on his tail with those words. This was the most problematic thing to happen to him. 

"Can you walk? Or should I carry you?" Eric's pale face revealed a vibrant glow of embarrassment. "No. I am going to walk." Paula chuckled and could not stop herself from poking his face with her finger. "Haha.. You are one fussy man." 

"Anyhow, since you lost so badly, let me treat you tonight with my body." Paula nodded to herself. "Yes, that's the only way to cheer you back." She added.

"Why don't you keep your suggestions to yourself? Who wants to spend the night with an old hag.. ahhhhhhh!!" Eric felt like someone had dropped an anchor on his toes, leaving him to wince in pain. 

"My.. my.. did I step on your foot? Haha.. silly me!" Paula watched in glee as the disabled man was thoroughly put out of commission now. "With no other option, I think I can only carry you back now." 

Not even waiting for Eric's reply, she yanked the grown man up in her arms much to his resentment. "Bad men need to be given a princess carry every now and then. This shall help you keep that stupid attitude in check." 

Eric was too ashamed to even talk. With his foot still hurting like crazy, he can only grit his teeth, vowing to get back at Paula for this insult. Then again, the number of such vows was now running in hundreds if not in thousands.

"Before you married that Miller's spawn, we used to have a such good time together. Tell me, is she filling your mind against me?" Paula questioned the man in her arms as she levitated in the direction of Korua.

"You don't need to bring Nana into this." Eric defended his wife. "Also, why in the world she would say anything about you? You two rarely even meet." He added to make his case.

"Hmph.. who knows? She might be jealous that her husband spends more time in my arms than hers?" Paula snuggled the blushing guy closer to her bulging chest. "You know.. young brides are always insecure. Not to mention your wife doesn't have the most considerate disposition out there."

Eric knew Paula was right in that regard. He loved Nana more than anything, but even he would be annoyed at her snobbish personality. "I am working on it." 

<<If you like the story then consider being a patron to support the author as well as read upto 30 chapters ahead. https://www.patre*on.com/slayer104 (remove '*')

Kudos!!>>