Chapter 176 Aatrox vs. Vidal (I)

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Kieran’s menacing threat terrified the remaining Desertborn Leaders. Despite their overwhelming advantage of numbers, Kieran’s fearsome attacks rapidly reduced their numbers to the point they felt he was inhuman!

How could someone who didn’t radiate any Advanced Pressure be so strong? Advanced Pressure was a type of presence Tier 2 Existences imposed upon weaker individuals.

The brigands understood that their opponent had yet to advance because of this fact, which frightened them further. This man before them was abnormally strong!

Kieran’s cold eyes scanned the Desertborn Leaders that retreated earlier and watched as they merged with a few walls.

A faint smile appeared across Kieran’s lips as he nodded.

Judging by his reaction, Kieran evidently let those brigand members retreat. If he wanted to kill them all, he would have activated Sanguinem Tempests in the beginning and shredded them all to death instantly.

But, that wasn’t Kieran’s intention.

His priority was creating a massive disturbance and drawing attention to himself. To maximize the effects of his distraction, there needed to be survivors who alerted the other higher-ups.

After all, from what Kieran saw, Desertborn Leaders weren’t the next strongest power under the leader. There were also the Sand Controllers that weren’t much weaker than Deserea.

In some cases, enemies in this hideout may be more powerful than her.

Kieran clenched his free hand, and the blood chains binding the Desertborn Leaders constricted, causing howls of pain to echo throughout the sand corridor.

Despite the blood-curdling screams, Kieran continued to close his hand.

Blood Bind wasn’t just a crowd-controlling skill; it could also deal substantial damage if Kieran could manipulate it properly, which is why the system graded it so highly.

While the Desertborn Leaders howled in pain, they lost approximately 1% of their Health every second from the acquired Bleed stacks.

After savoring the state of his enemies, Kieran glanced around after noticing signs of large movements.

‘They’re coming,’ Kieran thought.

Whoosh!

Kieran dashed through the gory scene and came to a sliding halt as he placed his hand on the ground with Crimson Ashrune slicing through the wall. Kieran employed his heightened Perception to sense the location of several opponents.

All the while, he continued absorbing the bleeding vitality from the Desertborn Leaders to supply his next attack.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Tens of Desertborne Captain and Henchmens ran toward Kieran from the way he came, but he smiled.

“Wrath Eruption!”

BOOM!

A dreadful explosion occurred as the heavily overcharged Wrath Eruption blew a hole through the corridors’ ceiling. Sand poured in quickly, burying the tattered body of those unfortunate enough to suffer a direct hit from this strengthened Wrath Eruption.

Due to the number of enemies killed in a short amount of time, Kieran forgot to pay attention to his Experience Bar.

〈System: You have leveled up. [Lv.38→Lv.39]〉

〈System: You have received 12 Unassigned Attribute Points and 8 Skill Points.〉

In less than ten minutes, Kieran killed enough brigands to level up!

That was over 1.1 million Experience Points in less than 10 minutes. But, considering that he now required 1.2 million Experience Points to reach Lv.40, Kieran knew there would be several more situations like this.

Nevertheless, Kieran was astonished by the effects of his actions. ‘Is this the true way to wield the True Berserker Class? Using an opponent’s vitality to unleash untold destruction?’

The more Kieran learned about the class, the more he adored its power and practicality. Who could go against him if he mastered this power?

Kieran felt on top of the world.

But, just as his excitement peaked, his eyes narrowed. He noticed an unusual presence not too far away.

“You have to gall to infiltrate our home and wreak havoc like this?”

A large hard passed through the pouring sand and parted it with ease. But, that wasn’t all. The sand gradually stopped pouring in, and the flow reversed, soon patching the damage done to the ceiling.

Once the sand cleared, a young man with dark blue hair that ended just past their forehead but was slightly longer in the back appeared before Kieran. This young man’s Aegean blue eyes blazed with outrage as he gazed at Kieran.

Kieran remembered this individual from the Deep Sands Chamber. It was the young man to speak after the Desertborn Brigand’s Head, Dusvim’s son Vidal.

However, what made Kieran cautious was both Vidal’s level and rank.

「 Lv.43 Vidal, The Quelling Sand (Titled Rare NPC)

Class: Sand Controller

Health: 3,100,000/3,100,000 (100%)

Affiliations: Desertborn Brigands 」

‘He’s not normal… He’s a Titled NPC,’ Kieran thought. Titles were a symbol of strength amongst the NPCs. Any NPC that held a title commanded respect because an NPC with a title outclassed regular NPCs of the same ranking.

Furthermore, their titles gave insight into why the NPC received such a title. In Vidal’s case, the title ‘Quelling Sand’ referred to his exquisite control over sand. Kieran wasn’t sure to what extent it applied, but he knew it was already far superior to Deserea.

‘His Sand Mana’s casting speed, affinity, and other aspects must be alarmingly high,’ Kieran thought to himself. His grasp around Crimson Ashrune subconsciously tightened as he gazed upon Vidal.

However, Kieran suddenly trembled when he raised Crimson Ashrune to defend.

Bang!

It was like a sledgehammer had landed upon his weapon. The incredible force from a tiny sphere sent Kieran flying backward.

Vidal stood in the same position while silently wiggling his fingers. Sand spheres, similar to bullets in size, danced between his fingers as Vidal continued to observe the carnage around him.

Only after he watched Kieran recover did Vidal speak again. “You have killed countless of my subordinates.”

“And they’ll continue to die.” Kieran stood up and answered back while cracking his neck. The power in the sand sphere caught him off guard because Vidal fired it faster than a bullet.

Furthermore, there was no sound and little indication of when it moved. Titled NPCs were in a completely different league regarding control, combat standards, and attributes.

The fact that Vidal possessed more than 3 million Health clearly indicated he’d be a difficult opponent.

After all, he didn’t seem like a class focused on Defense. Most manipulation classes stemmed from a Mage background since they relied upon a deep connection with a distinct type of Mana.

Whoosh!

Kieran responded by suddenly launching a Blood Wave.

But, Vidal snickered while tilting his head. “What an amusing counterattack.”

He flicked his hand in the next moment, making three sand spheres levitate before him. They rotated quickly and absorbed the surrounding sand until the three spinning balls neutralized Kieran’s Blood Wave.

Kieran’s jaw flexed as he gnashed his teeth. ‘Even though it was only a probing attack, I was correct. His Sand Manipulation outclasses anything I’ve seen thus far. It’s as if the sand is completely subservient to him.’

After revolving for a while longer, the three spheres sped toward Kieran as Vidal snapped his fingers.

Kieran didn’t move. Instead, he analyzed the incoming projectiles.

Bang!

A deep indent formed in the ground as Kieran shifted across the same point and compounded this action with Burst Step. Kieran’s sudden boost in movement speed slipped through the small gap in the three sphere’s rotation.

Vidal’s brow arched in surprise, but the sudden approach didn’t spook him. Tiny wisps of sand surrounded his hands seconds before clapping them together.

Eight gigantic palm impressions formed on the adjacent walls as Kieran dashed toward Vidal. These palms solidified in a second and aimed to come together in the corridor’s center.

Bang!

The first sand clap missed, but they occurred faster than Kieran expected.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before Kieran could reach Vidal, he was forced to abandon his approach. ‘This guy.… Long-range attacks aren’t very effective. And his lightning-quick Sand Manipulation is too quick to close the distance from this far.’

“I am unlike these other members you have faced. I don’t know how you arrived here, but you won’t be leaving,” Vidal said confidently.

Kieran clicked his tongue repeatedly. “That’s funny. I was going to say the same thing to you, but that wasn’t quite right. I suppose I should tweak my words. It’s not that you won’t be leaving this place. Rather, you’ll meet your beloved Deserea soon enough.”

Vidal froze after hearing Deserea’s name. His confident countenance darkened as a cold fury surfaced in his gaze. “Watch the nonsense you spew. Certain claims will hasten your demise.”

“Ah, you ignorant boy,” Kieran sighed exaggeratedly. “It’s not a claim. It’s a fact. You know what, I’ll even sweeten the deal for you….” Kieran’s gaze grew emotionless. “I’ll kill you the same way I did Deserea, cleaved in half without a soul to watch her depart this world.”

BOOM!

A sandstorm occurred indoors as Vidal’s fury erupted to a frightening extent. “It was you? You’re the wastrel responsible for Deserea’s death?!”

A type of beige gauntlet gradually appeared around Vidal’s hands as the intense squall surrounding his body ripped apart the hideout’s walls. The gauntlet possessed metallic traits, but it was so slender and malleable one could mistake it for leather.

Kieran’s curiosity piqued while watching Vidal’s gauntlets release familiar Mana undulations. ‘An augmentation-type weapon?’

Augmentation-type weapons are weapons NPCs wielded with the sole purpose of increasing one aspect of combat. It was like Kieran’s Crimson Ashrune Blade, which only increased his True Berserker capabilities.