108 The youngest Powerhouse (1/2)

Amidst the rubble of what was formerly a majestic stone castle, two people stood eight meters apart as the remaining half of the structure slowly crumbled around them.

”Who are you?” after the dust settled the red hair man couldn't help but to ask this question with wide eyes. The kid across from him didn't look more than 20 years old. All the powerhouses he knew had long since grown a full head of white hair, this was simply unbelievable and went against all logic he had come to understand.

”I'm just a average citizen of Aidonia,” Hartley answered as he flicked a few pieces of pebbles off of his black dusty robe.

”Not bad, not bad, to think a genius like you have surfaced from Aidonia, it's the closest thing to a miracle I have seen on the Aldora continent in my lifetime. It's a pity this is where your journey shall end.”

The red hair man also casually stroked a few pieces of rock from his white robe, before continuing with a smile.

”The world is a harsh place where even agenius can fall, the best anyone can do is to achieve their own potential but not many are destined to achieve even that.”

”Isn't it a bit early to be speaking about endings? Haven't I got my whole life ahead of me?” Hartley replied while returning the man's smile.

”And that's exactly why you are going to die at my hands today, if you are given time you might surpass everyone who has ever lived on this continent and be a constant threat.” The man returned Hartley's smile as if he wasn't talking about cold blooded murder and just having a friendly conversation.

From their first exchange Hartley was pushed backed five steps and the red hair man three. Even though the red hair man had an advantage in pure brute strength Hartley was feeling very optimistic about his chances in this fight, he thought he might even be able to win without his time domain.

A very exotic sheathed sword suddenly appeared in the man's hand and with a click and a shing the blade slid free from its scabbard. The black scabbard adorned with a plethora of gemstones fell to the ground and imprinted itself in the soft mud. A one-handed silver sword about one and a half meter long appeared and glinted brightly even in the absence of sunlight.....

Commander Genk groaned as he rolled his massive frame in the mud trying to get back to his feet, his soaked robe saturated with mud stuck to his skin as he watched Hartley and the red hair man square off in the ruined castle. The two seem to be having a conversation which he couldn't hear but what he could hear clearly was the ambient sounds of the rain pattering against the earth, he could also hear panicked voices all around as the army surrounding the castle cameto the aid of the screaming injured elites strewn in the mud around the castle grounds.

As the grogginess cleared from his head, his gruff voice barked orders at the men running around frantically. ”Get the injured and fall back and prepare to retreat from the area as quick as possible...”

That first first exchange between Hartley and the red hair man had told him all that he needed to know about the situation his men were in. As an experienced soldier he had seen top-notch experts do battle and the destructive forces emitted from their battles was deadly to the common soldiers, with a serious face he glanced at Hartley and the red hair knowing that If those two started a fully blown battle it was going to be life threatening for all the soldiers below the 8th layer in the xiantian realm.

A thickening crowd of Aidonia's soldiers gathered and streamed towards and beyond the walls as Anguo Chen composed himself and went to help Commander Genk escort the last of the retreating soldiers to safety.

Suddenly there was a humongous bang which flattened the standing half of the stone castle and threw the men off their feet as the earth rattled underneath them. Even the hardiest of the soldiers were scared witless as they staggered back to their feet drenched in mud and made a beeline for the main gate with shouts of panic echoing out among the ranks leaving a chaotic pattern of muddy footprints on the ground behind them as they scrambled forward.

The silver sword in the hand of the red hair man glowed red, etched lines on the blade formed circular patterns that ran all the way along the blade, the red hair man then dashed at Hartley leaving stable life-like after images behind him as he made a quick horizontal slash in a berserk fashion.

Hartley's pair of blue elemental swords appeared and stretched out in his hands like a star wars saber, with his jaw clenched and a determined look on his face, he took a single step forward and met the red hair man with a inverted upward slash of his own.

The long sword in Hartley's right hand met the glowing red sword and an almighty explosion was created, sparks sprang out and up into the rainy skies as the unstable structure was flattened around them in a millisecond. A visible wave rippled in the air between the two men as both men were pushed back four or five steps and a chaotic spectrum of black energy erupted out of the ripples shaking the earth violently before disappearing again into nothingness.

A genuine look of surprise was etched across the red hair man's face this time, in their first exchange he hadn't used his full strength but this time he did and he was even assisted by his rank 6 spirit weapon and still the youth wasn't vanquished.

Hartley felt a pang of numbness run his arm but it was nothing he couldn't deal with, he was inwardly impressed with himself, the last time he faced off with someone of this power he was smacked down in the street after one exchange.