Chapter 16: Ring of the Twin Flame Serpents
The black ripples dissipated, and with a thunderous boom, Brandon was sent flying backward like a cannonball. Joshua stood in place, his hand pressed against two massive wounds on his waist, blood gushing out like a spring.
Because both parties had suffered severe injuries, the battlefield instantly fell into silence.
"Cough."
Letting out a cough and spitting out a mouthful of blood, Brandon slowly tried to stand up from the ground. He was now lying in muddy, icy water, his golden hair covered in dirt and blood, looking utterly disheveled.
But even so, he propped himself up with one hand, struggled to his feet, and then shouted toward Joshua with a puzzled expression: "Hey, what just happened? How did the cracks on your body suddenly disappear?!"
Not long ago, when Brandon used the secret technique of the Nine Swords Steel Soul Style—Instant Divine Speed—and struck at Joshua's body with his twin blades, the opening he had aimed for, the gap at Joshua's waist, suddenly vanished. As a result, while those two strikes had indeed dealt significant damage to the warrior, they hadn't caused a fatal injury. Joshua had taken the opportunity to land a Diamond Nation Splitting Strike on the swordsman's chest.
"I used a certain stance to temporarily make all my openings disappear... And besides, if you had landed that hit, wouldn't I have died on the spot? You really went all out."
Joshua replied in a deep voice, contracting his muscles. The steel-like muscle fibers immediately stopped the bleeding: "If you had aimed that move a bit higher, you probably would have cut off two or three of my ribs. But since you trusted your magic eye too much, I only ended up with two broken intestines."
"It's really strange. Sometimes you're terrifyingly ignorant, and other times you seem to know everything—like how you knew the effect of my magic eye and the true names of the Order Twin Blades, but you didn't know anything about your own family's role as Chaos Wardens..."
Sighing, Brandon touched his chest, where there was a shallow indentation. He frowned, feeling that at least five of his ribs were broken: "Anyway, thank you for holding back. Otherwise, there would be a big hole here..."
"I was outmatched, so I admit defeat. This time, I lost."
"Haha, regardless, I really enjoyed this fight."
The two, after their intense battle, chatted casually as if nothing had happened. Even Brandon, who had lost, didn't seem unhappy. After all, he had fought with all his might, and losing to Joshua was only natural. In the end, this wasn't a life-or-death struggle; reaching this point was enough.
Joshua, on the other hand, was very pleased. Not because he had defeated Brandon, who was still an incomplete Sword Saint—honestly, given the golden-haired swordsman's current level, expecting him to win was too much to ask. The experience and skill reserves Joshua had accumulated over the years couldn't be matched by mere talent or effort. The fact that Brandon could bring him enough enjoyment and excitement in this spar was already a pleasant surprise.
The real reason the warrior was so happy was that he had leveled up again.
[You have defeated Brandon Kaos, the second-ranked swordsman of the Imperial Royal Association, in a one-on-one duel.]
[Opponent level: Lv47, Hero Template.]
[You have successfully challenged a higher level!]
Following that was a long string of notifications about achievements and experience points, all of which Joshua skipped. Even the attribute boosts didn't interest him.
What he cared about was only the fact that his level had increased.
Ever since he destroyed the space-time gate, the warrior's experience had been stuck at Lv44, just shy of leveling up. Because of the beast tide, the high-level Gold-rank magical beasts had all disappeared, and killing low-level ones wasn't worth much due to experience penalties—this had been confirmed during the ice dragon hunt.
Brandon's voluntary challenge this time was an unexpected blessing. With this experience, he could now level up to Lv45.
This level was completely different from before. At this stage, Joshua had officially entered the realm of Gold High-rank!
"At Gold High-rank, many new skills will unlock within my Ultimate Essence, giving me more options in various battles."
Thanks to the self-healing ability of a Gold-rank warrior, the two massive wounds on Joshua's waist, inflicted by the Order Twin Blades, had almost stopped bleeding. The broken intestines had also been reconnected under his control. The warrior nodded to himself: "My self-healing ability has also improved."
Of course, advancing to Gold High-rank wasn't just about these minor benefits. Although the warrior didn't care much about such things, there was a significant difference between Gold High-rank and Mid or Low ranks in the eyes of the Imperial Council.
Before the Great Magic Tide raised the average level of the entire Continent of Strife, Gold Low-rank was already a respected position, but it was merely that of a battlefield commander. Gold Mid-rank could be considered a regional commander, while Gold High-rank—like Odo, the commander of the Black Vanguard Army whom Joshua had encountered at the beginning of his transmigration—was qualified to lead an entire army. As for the Soul's Ultimate Essence, that was the level of the five legion commanders directly under the Emperor, figures who ruled over entire domains.
Previously, no matter how strong Joshua was, others saw him as merely Gold Mid-rank. While that was enough to support his title as Count, the great nobles of the Imperial Capital would still mutter about his lack of foundation. Even after destroying the space-time gate, some would question his strength and potential. But now, no matter who it was—even the five legion commanders—they would have to take every word the warrior said seriously.
One level might mean nothing to Joshua, who had the system, but to these people, the gap was enormous—a difference between heaven and earth.
Brandon, who was barely able to breathe properly, stared at Joshua's healing speed in utter disbelief.
What kind of Origin Glory or Will Glory had this guy awakened?! Was this physique even human? Was he really not a descendant of a dragon bloodline or a true dragon incarnation?!
He looked down at the indentation on his chest. The warrior's heavy punch, driven by killing intent, had been mostly restrained upon impact, but the residual energy still disrupted his self-healing, making every breath painful for the swordsman.
"Joshua, what's your resonance rate with Order Force?"
After a moment of thought, Brandon asked cautiously.
"Resonance rate with Order Force? What's that?"
Joshua frowned. He had never heard of this term, either in his past life or after transmigrating: "And speaking of which, what's the essential difference between Order Force and the Purification Force you used earlier? They both feel sacred, but there's a subtle difference."
"The resonance rate is the degree of synchronization between you and Order Force. Generally speaking, how much of the inherited power you receive when becoming a Chaos Warden depends on this. The higher the resonance rate, the more you inherit, and the better the effect. Most people max out at around thirty to forty; anything above fifty is considered excellent talent."
Brandon explained patiently: "As for the difference between the two, it's roughly like the difference between the Heavenly Blazing Holy Light of the Punishment Priests and the Judgment Holy Light of the Gray Knights. Both deal massive damage to Chaos, but my Purification Force is also quite effective against other enemies, while Order Force only targets Chaos and is mediocre against anything else."
"I see. That makes sense."
Joshua nodded thoughtfully, looking at the countless small wounds on his body. The pale cyan Purification Force still lingered on them, as well as on the massive wounds on his waist. Although he had tightened his muscles to temporarily stop the bleeding and promote healing, the wounds still couldn't close quickly.
This Purification Force also had the ability to erode wounds and hinder healing. It seemed quite powerful. In terms of pure lethality, it wasn't much weaker than his own Killing Intent Wave.
"Oh, Joshua, this is a gift for you."
Without pressing further about Joshua's resonance rate with Order Force, Brandon knew that even if the warrior didn't say it, it must be a terrifying number—definitely above ninety. Otherwise, there was no way to explain his incredible physique.
He wasn't far off. Joshua casually pulled up his class list from the system and found his resonance rate with Order Force in the Chaos Warden branch.
[Resonance Rate: 72 + 20 (Azure Orb Bonus)]
"As expected of an Origin Artifact. So that's what it does."
Coughing a few more times, Brandon reached into his waist and pulled out a silver box from a small pouch. This pouch was clearly a storage bag. The swordsman handed the box to Joshua: "This is a gift picked out by Verdani and me, as thanks for your help with Moldova... I hope you like it."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Joshua took the box and, at Brandon's prompting, opened it. He raised an eyebrow: "A ring?"
"Yes, a magic ring."
Joshua looked closely. The ring was shaped like two entwined serpents coiling around each other, their mouths holding a fiery red twenty-four-sided gem that shimmered with a mesmerizing light. It was quite beautiful.
But the warrior frowned slightly: "I'm sure this is a powerful magic ring, but don't you think its design doesn't quite match my style? Hmph, it's a bit too pretty..."
And the design seemed feminine, my friend. Next time, please pay attention to the gender when choosing a gift.
Joshua wasn't wrong. This twin serpent ring was indeed overly exquisite. Even without any magical effects, it could fetch a high price as a nearly artistic gemstone ring. And since Verdani was a Gold-rank mage, her gift would certainly include very practical permanent enchantments. But precisely because of that, the tall, burly warrior looked utterly mismatched with it. If he forced it on, the dissonance would be severe.
A nearly two-meter-tall warrior with an innate aura of fear wearing a lady's ring... Ha, what a beautiful sight.
"Its effects are very strong. As for the design, who cares about that..."
Brandon was also a bit helpless. He felt annoyed that he had forgotten this detail. The twin serpent ring wasn't the only powerful magical item in Moldova's collection. If he had known, he would have asked Verdani to give a talisman instead.
Thinking of this, Brandon recalled something: "Oh, by the way, the materials from the Gold-rank magical beasts you killed are all in the merchant caravan behind me. Remember to pick them up later."
"Alright."
Joshua replied casually, holding the twin serpent ring in his hand and using the system to identify its attributes.
[Ring of the Twin Flame Serpents: Gold-rank Transcendent Magical Item]
(To be continued.)