Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 16 (Patreon)

The king moved. It was so fast that he was practically just a blur of dark-green. Noah barely got his arms raised in time for the attack. A large-two handed sword materialised in his hands. It smashed against Noah’s lance.

The impact tore through his weapon and into his arms. The muscles within strained beyond what they were capable of. He felt something tear. He lost control of his body as the strike careened him through the air. He smashed into the floor, rolled a few times, before leaping to his feet, sliding back a few more metres.

Noah quickly drank a health potion, restoring his damaged arms in a second. The king moved again. Straight for Noah. He was so fast that the others weren’t able to react in time. Whatever level the king had reached, was beyond what they could hope to battle against.

Krall!

Noah didn’t know how he did it. He felt his mana surge within himself. It coiled around his centre, and in a blink, Krall teleported in front of him. Shadows billowed around him like blackened smoke.

Then the air turned blazing hot. Krall roared so loud that it rumbled against the walls. His claws, like blazing tools of destruction, raked through the air – right for the king.

Noah activated [Kill Command]. Strengthened beyond regular means, Krall’s paw moved so fast that Noah had trouble keeping eyes on it. It looked just like a red afterimage. Krall’s claws slammed against the king's sword, sending sparks and flames spitting in the surroundings. The king slid back.

Holy shit. Krall can use [Shadow Blink] without me? The revelation was a surprising one. One that would prove invaluable to his arsenal.

However, despite the powerful attack that had landed, the king didn’t seem to be injured in the slightest. The king got into a readied stance, then blasted off once more.

Thraz arrived. Growling, he swiped the air with his own massive sword. It cleaved through the air where the king was meant to be. But he wasn’t there. Dark-green mist exploded into the surroundings like a powerful smoke grenade. He appeared in the air. He was descending straight for Noah.

He’s only after me! Noah frowned.

Without the need for a command, Gluttony sent a powerful air blade for the king who was suspended in mid-air. However, just as it was about to strike him, a harrowing image of a green hound spawned from within the hallowed cloud. The hound snarled and bit into the blade, erasing it from existing.

Somersaulting in the air, the king swung his blade at Noah. He blinked away. The blade was so fast, that if he was even a millisecond too late in his reactions, it would behead him in the blink of an eye.

The king may only be testing him, but it was clear that if he didn’t pass, he would die.

Anger bubbled forth from within Noah. If there was one thing he despised, it was being tested. The pretentiousness of it. One being thinking they are supreme over the other. He hated it.

Fueled with wrath, Noah didn’t care about wasting his mana. He blinked in every direction, throwing phantom lances at the king wherever he could. He also used [Shadow Blink] on Krall repeatedly, without care that his mana was dwindling by the second.

In a crazed shadowy assault, Noah on the back of Gluttony, and Krall, turned on the offensive. Noah managed to get in a few hits, one lance even landing directly against the king's naked chest. It thudded against flesh, the tip of his weapon disappearing within. But from the feedback of his weapon, could feel the king's mighty defence. Even naked, his Constitution was on an entirely different level to anything he had faced before.

Noah blinked away once more. He intentionally lured the king into a spot of attack. Krall was waiting. He roared fire, spitting it out like an enraged dragon. It blanketed the king, covering him from head-to-toe in wrathful hell-fire.

The fine hairs on Noah's nape rose. Goosebumps emerged atop his flesh. The king emerged. He had slashed the fire in half. The green fog thrust him forwards. His sword cleaved into Krall’s face. Blood spilled. Krall stumbled to the floor. The king was about to attack him once more.

“Krall!” Noah screamed.

Blinking forward, he didn’t care for any wounds that he would receive. He put every fibre of his being into his lance. From the depths of his soul, through his arms, into the tip of his weapon. His muscles tore from over utilising his skills, but he didn’t care. He had to save Krall. The king was going to kill him.

Noah moved faster than he had ever moved before. Gluttony, feeling the intensity of his emotions, cried out in desperation. It took on a different timber than all the other times before. It was booming, enchanted, grand. His lustrous bloodline screeched to the entire world.

Noah’s lance struck the king directly in the chest once more. Upon impact, the shadows in the room trembled under its might. They danced a waltz of death, as if screaming out for Noah to reap the king's life. He felt the rumbling of his two tamed monsters within his mind. They were connected through heart and soul. Noah could feel it all.

Along with the cry of Gluttony, Noah’s own Bloodline – the Father of Monsters, made itself known. From around Noah, a terrifying, monstrous groan trembled the air. Noah, and his monsters, had become one.

[Beastly Pike] underwent a strange mutation. Noah’s spear vanished from sight. Into another world. A world of shadows. When it reappeared, it no longer had the spectral image of Krall's maw, or the sharpened fangs of Gluttony. No, the shadows birthed around his arm and spear, welcoming him as their own. A twin headed, shadowed monstrosity that left a trail in its wake, that looked like a hound from the underworld, snapped at the king.

Noah, unwittingly, had gained true trust.

Beastly Pike has evolved–

Go away! Noah grit his teeth. The twin-headed shadow consumed the king. From the blackened shadows that engulfed him, the king shot backwards as if he had been fired from a cannon.

Noah’s arm lay limp. Blood seeped from his flesh. He leapt off Gluttony's back and crouched by Krall’s side, his chest violently rising up and down from the intensity of his last attack. He placed his hand on his chest. His breath was weak.

Noah took out a Rare health potion and emptied it over Krall’s face. Krall whimpered.

“I’m here, Krall.”

Krall sniffed his hand. Noah’s eyes snapped to the king. He walked forwards. Bloodied wounds had marred his entire body.

“You have passed–”

“Fuck you,” Noah spat. “Fuck you and your powers. I want your life.”

The king turned silent. He gazed at Krall, and said, “Some things aren’t in your capabilities. I should know.” he looked back at his wife. He turned his attention back to Noah.

“Whether you want it, or not. You will receive it. I can’t give her peace otherwise.”

“So you’ll just force it onto me, huh?” Noah scoffed.

“The weak have little options,” He said, his words dripping with arrogance. Perhaps he had the right to say them. “That is the way the world works. If you don’t like it, then become stronger. Use my powers. Protect those you care about. With that… Bloodline, you will not stop in this world.”