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The coin was flicked hard and almost hit the ceiling. It gave Lyle enough time to retrieve both of his swords while locking his gaze on the drake in front of him.

Oli simply stood there, remaining as calm as he could be. From instincts alone, Oli could tell that despite being only an elder, Lyle had killed dozens of people in his life. And considering all the stories Oli had heard from Pauller in the past regarding his glorious but bedridden father, Oli prepared prepared to get pushed to his limits.

… Clink, clink.

Chting, chting!

Lyle rushed Oli without hesitation. And Oli did the same, closing the gap between them as quickly as possible in order to grab Lyle’s swords with his claws.

With his gaze unperturbed, Lyle commented, “You’re calm under pressure. That’s good to know.”

Suddenly, one of the swords coated itself in ice, activating the Revolving Frost art. This forced Oli to let go of the blade, giving Lyle a chance to retract and swing his second sword in response.

But Oli wasn’t just going to stand there like a free target.

.....

As the sword clad in earth essence narrowly streaked past the backstepping Oli, dark tendrils rushed of Lyle’s shadow to slow him down.

At the same time, Oli flapped his wings and rushed to flank Lyle in one fell swoop.

However, Lyle’s icy, chainsaw of a blade carved through Oli’s Shadow Puppet art with ease. He doubled back and hacked at the flanking drake with impunity.

Before Lyle’s attack could reach Oli, a burst of dark mist was sprayed at Lyle. There was no physical damage or harm to Lyle, or even anything tangible within the mist for Lyle to attack or defend himself from. When his blade reached where Oli should’ve been, he found nothing.

“Hmm… Able to hide in plain sight? That’s somewhat rare…” Lyle complimented Oli while getting a true feel for the drake’s abilities.

A few more seconds passed before Oli whispered from inside the surrounding mist, “I’d be quick if I were you. Idly standing inside of a mist of death essence isn’t something most people are willing to risk.”

Lyle’s battle-hardened expression didn’t waver, but his eyes squinted upon realizing his mistake.

Inhaling sharply and exhaling steadily, Lyle began to emit frost all around him. That frost quickly thinned out the dark-death essence directly surrounding and touching Lyle. “I’ve fought death essence before. I didn’t think you had it. But… I can feel it now that I’m paying more attention. You’re death essence is fairly weak though. Why is that?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s weak. I would say it’s incomplete,” corrected Oli.

Noticing that Oli was close, Lyle lunged to the side to strike while he had the chance.

Just then, over a dozen shadow tendrils lashed out and wrapped around the swordsman. His arms were the number one target and his legs were the second priority. Also, the tendrils reached out from all directions this time. The dark mist seemed to work as a shadow itself, extending the range and possibilities of the Shadow Puppet art.

Oli rushed Lyle at his top speed again but only after he sent another six tendrils toward Lyle’s left side. With Lyle needing to focus there, it gave Oli an opening to attack from the rear.

With his claws dripping with dark-death essence, Oli appeared behind Lyle like a bloodthirsty demon.

CLAP! “That’s the end!” Herman called out.

The dark mist started to disperse immediately, allowing everyone to clearly see how the combatants ended up.

Oli’s claw had reached Lyle’s back, ready to run through his heart and lung. And one of Lyle’s swords was thrust backward, threatening the drake’s abdomen.

“I think Vero here has proven to be qualified. What do the rest of you think?” Herman asked, turning to the other perennials in the room.

Jonon kept quiet. As the weakest perennial present, he didn’t want to push anyone’s buttons. But he did nod in agreement with his father.

“Despite being an elder, Vero’s abilities would be useful under certain circumstances,” Mertin stated.

Lambier stared curiously at Oli. “I think he’s more than strong enough to join us for the siege. But is there more to your decision of putting him on the special task force?”

“If there’s something else you know, Herman, just spit it out already,” Marsel commented with a sly chuckle.

In response to Marsel’s suggestion, Herman looked back at Lyle. “Did you figure anything else out during your clash?”

“His dark essence is somewhat like death essence, which makes facing him in a stalled battle terrifying. So long as he can get enough of his partial-death essence inside an enemy, he could stall or inevitably win while they face the consequences of having death essence in their system,” Lyle explained.

In the meantime, Oli smiled and put a hand on Lyle’s shoulder. He immediately began to extract the dark-death essence still lingering in his system.

Lyle continued, “Vero also employs a unique combination of battle arts that I’ve never seen paired together. There are moments when it feels like I’m fighting an assassin and moments when he’s just a gladiator with some death essence. It’s a peculiar way to fight.”

“Is there anything else you noticed?” asked Herman.

“Anything else? Was there more to it?” Lyle questioned, looking to the drake for a reply.

Chuckling lightly, Oli said, “There’s not much else. I would’ve preferred to strike an unknowing and unsuspecting target. But that’s not always an option. If I was able to attack someone without then knowing better, then I’m confident I could eliminate them in a single swipe without them uttering so much as a gasp.”

“... Then why didn’t you do the same against me?” Lyle asked.

“First off, you knew I was attacking. And second, I’m not trying to kill you, so I didn’t even attempt it. Playing around with that strike could’ve left you unable to join the raid if you weren’t prepared for that strike in particular,” Oli jested.

Stepping forward, Mertin asked, “In that case, use that attack against me. I’m a low-perennial so I should be able to take your blow.”

“No,” Herman cut in, surprising everyone. “It would have to be me. Sadly, none of you would be able to keep standing after tanking the attack Vero is talking about.”

Lambier, Marsel, and their wives were shocked to hear Herman say that. They had never seen Herman lack any confidence in his sons’ abilities. So seeing Herman speak so bluntly was both jarring and amusing.

Mertin was confused. He blinked but said nothing. Since his father had said it so clearly, then Mertin wouldn’t doubt the fact. However, that wouldn’t lessen Mertin’s confusion or the aching of not being good enough.

“Don’t take it personally, Mertin. I’m not saying Vero could kill you with ease. I’m just acknowledging that Vero has a particular skill set that makes him a terrifying assassin in his own right.”

Hearing Herman’s claim to Vero officially being an assassin shook their hearts. Despite knowing Vloz and Netra, everyone’s perspective of assassins was that of cultivators who never fought in straightforward fights and wouldn’t be able to stand their own in a one-on-one duel. Yet they had just seen Oli fight Lyle to a draw while being only a mid-elder.

Taken aback, Lyle asked, “You’re an assassin?”

“When I want to be,” Oli answered.

“Vero, give me your greatest attack. You don’t have to hold back,” Herman ordered, garnering everyone’s attention yet again.

However, Herman put up no essence defenses or armors. Instead, ethereal, barely visible white energy covered Herman’s body.

Recognizing what that was, Oli nodded. “Alright, here I come!”

Thwack!

A single flap of Oli’s wings brought him directly in front of Herman. One claw was doused in spirit energy as he raked it across Herman’s chest.

Herman slid back slightly from the weight of the attack, mostly because Oli put more force into pushing Herman than cutting him. After all, that attack didn’t need to cause any bleeding or external damage. It was all about destroying someone’s soul.

Cough, cough!

“Father!” all three of the Practor sons shouted together.

Wiping the trickle of blood from his mouth, Herman raised his other hand to stop them. “... See? None of you three would’ve been able to stay on your feet from his strongest attack. That’s because Vero is a soul assassin, one of the most terrifying and least-known assassins that exist. If he had wanted, Vero could’ve killed Lyle many times in exchange for a glancing blow. And Lyle wouldn’t have realized that until it was too late to save himself.

“That being said, I approve of Vero joining the task force. With his help, you’ll be able to infiltrate any location, gather intel, and silence enemies in ways that none of them would ever be able to see coming. And should a perennial dare to underestimate Vero, unless they specialize in speed and can outrun a Shadow Drake, they might be the ones that end up dead from the clash, or at least downed and easy to finish off.”