With a whoosh, Dustin’s sword immediately emitted blinding rays. Swift as the wind and with such immense strength, he drove his sword toward Nestor’s chest.
Out of nowhere, an enormous and translucent golden bell came down out of the sky and landed around Nestor with a dull thud, shielding him from Dustin’s attack. As the tip of Dustin’s sword made contact with the golden bell, rings of ripples spread out from the point of contact as they would on the surface of the water.
There weren’t any sounds produced, no explosion, and not even so much as a tiny clang from the impact. The true energy that Dustin channeled was completely absorbed by the bell and did not harm Nestor at all.
“What are you doing, Your Grace?” Nestor’s expression remained unchanged.
“I’m doing away with you!” Dustin kicked himself off the ground and propelled himself forward, stabbing the golden bell forcefully. Strong ripples spread out across the bell once again, but still, it remained intact and did not even budge an inch from its position.
“Your Grace, I came bearing orders from the master. Do you think this is a good idea?” Nestor asked calmly.
Dustin did not say a word and merely drove his sword against the bell continuously. With his ceaseless effort, the bell gradually started to vibrate, and the ripples on it grew more violent.
After another ten stabs or so, Dustin’s sword suddenly snapped with a clang and fell to the ground noisily. It was just an ordinary sword that could not withstand the constant surges of true energy channeled from Dustin.
“That’s enough!” Rufus stopped Dustin when he saw that Dustin was still intent on attacking Nestor.
“You’re no match for him. There’s no point carrying on.”
“Who’s to say I’m no match for him? We’ll never know until we end this!” Dustin retorted defiantly. “He came under orders, and he has someone behind him. If anything were to happen to him here, you wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences!” Rufus warned him.
“So? Are you telling me that I should stand idly by and watch as my mother’s murderer walks away without doing anything?” Dustin’s eyes were bloodshot, and he looked much like a bloodthirsty beast.
“Hear me out, Logan. Now’s not the time yet.” Rufus shook his head. Nestor was the King’s most trusted guard. If, for any reason, he happened to die in their hands, it would have many repercussions.
He did not wish for his son to be entangled in the mess that took place all those years ago. At least, not yet; it was still not the time yet.
“Rufus Rhys, if you do not wish to be implicated, then just back off! I will take full responsibility and bear all the consequences of my actions today. This has nothing to do with the Rhys family!” Dustin roared menacingly before once again charging toward Nestor with his broken sword.
This time, Nestor no longer played the part of the defensive party. He removed the golden bell that shielded him from Dustin’s attacks and let Dustin do as he wished.
Just as Dustin was about to make contact with his target, a dragon cane parried his sword, blocking his advances.
“Mr. Logan! Please calm down! Many will die if you harm him!” Albert warned gravely.
“How dare you block me!” Dustin’s expression darkened even more. He looked feral and seemed intent on murdering anyone who dared stop him from achieving his goal of killing Nestor.
“Quit messing around, lad!” Gregory, who stood a little way to the back, called out to him.
“All this fighting is meaningless. If you really have a mind to get revenge, you might as well just march right up to Stonia and launch an attack on Aylka!”
Dustin clenched his jaws and took a deep breath when he heard that. Finally, he suppressed his urge to kill and backed off. Of course, he knew that Nestor was nothing more than a puppet and that there was someone else behind the scenes.
Gregory was right. If he really wanted revenge, he would have to go up to them with his head held high and kill openly without any restraints. He would make those who were in power in Aylka tremble with fear!
“What are you still standing around here for, scum? Get the hell out of here now!” Rufus struck Nestor harshly with his foot.
“I shall take my leave now,” Nestor said humbly before he nodded at them and turned to leave. But before he left, he deliberately turned back and shot Dustin a challenging glance.
“Listen up, Wilkins! I will personally go to Aylka for you in a year! I will fight you to the death at the highest fort in Aylka!” Dustin’s fury was overwhelming and unbridled.
“I await for your presence, Your Grace.” Nestor smiled curtly before quickly disappearing into the darkness.
“You acted too rashly, young man! Even though he’s just an attendant, he’s an unrivaled master in Aylka! The Sword Whisperer is the only person in the whole of West Lucozia who can put up a fight against him! Did you really think that it would be so easy to kill him?” Gregory asked huffily.
His words seemed to have more effect on Dustin than Rufus‘.
“Of course, I know that it wouldn’t be easy to kill him off. I was just putting on a show.” The resentful and feral expression on his face had completely dissolved away and was instead replaced by his usual calmness and nonchalance.
“Putting on a show?” Gregory did not understand what he meant.
“A decade ago, he designed such an intricate scheme just to do away with me. I do not believe that his desire to get rid of me will change after a decade. If I did not make a move earlier on, he’d still find a means of assessing me. If that were the case, I’d much rather make the first move and show him what a vengeful and aggressive young rascal I am,” Dustin said aloofly.
“Have you been acting the whole time, lad?” Gregory quickly caught on to what he meant.
“Not exactly acting. I was dead serious about wanting to do him in. I simply made myself seem
more impulsive and quick–tempered, and I also showed him how little progress I’ve made over the years so that they would not be too wary and guarded against me.” Dustin looked up calmly into the sky with bright eyes. He had ten years of practice that allowed him to mask his emotions and not let anyone see past his true feelings.
“The strong show weakness to their enemies, whereas the weak show strength. Well done, young man! You truly have some tricks up your sleeves!” Gregory laughed heartily.
“Hah! He takes after his father!” Rufus lifted his chin proudly.
Dustin paid him no heed and raised his sword. With a quick swish, he brought his sword down in an arc, and Clement, who had been secretly attempting to escape, was sliced in half.
“Pl–please don’t kill me… I’m begging you, please don’t-” Luther and his two sons were begging on their knees as tears ran down their faces. But before they could even finish their words, Dustin brought his sword down on them, and all three of them were beheaded.
“I gave you lots of chances, but you never treasured them.” And then, he turned around and walked into the center as though nothing had ever happened.
“Albert, spare no one,” Rufus ordered impassively.
“Yes, Sir.” Albert nodded. Then, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he turned to face the members of Royal Valor. He looked like a ravenous beast who had spotted a flock of lambs. They were going to pay with their lives for angering Rufus!
