Chapter 123: Cirque du Soleil

The colossal dragon let out a sharp, amused hiss. “In my long life, I’ve traversed many different planes. The profession of mimicry, you say...”

“I’m a bit different from them, I suppose you’ve noticed,” Vinigo quickly explained. “More troublesome, but far more versatile.”

The humanoid dragon nodded. “You’ve shown me something interesting. I won’t pursue your breaking the game’s rules.”

“Speaking of which, sir, I don’t think what I’m doing counts as cheating, right?” Vinigo murmured in protest. “You didn’t say everyone can only participate once.”

“I don’t allow anyone to break their own record three times in a row,” the dragon said with a wink.

“Alright, you’re the rule maker, after all, and hold the final say,” Vinigo shrugged.

“The final say?” The dragon laughed heartily. “I like that phrase. Yes, as the master of rules and power, I hold the ultimate authority.”

It tilted its head, eyes scanning Vinigo’s party.

“Nothing here piques my interest,” the dragon mused, tilting its head thoughtfully before continuing, “But I’ll give you a chance. Find something that captivates me within one day, and I will reward you with a fine treasure.”

Vinigo opened his mouth, stunned into silence for a long moment. Then a sudden idea sparked within him, and he nodded.

A fine treasure? Given the dragon’s dominance across the three realms—yes, the three distinct planes—it must have seen very little worthy of its attention.

So, what about finding something it’s never encountered before?

That wouldn’t be easy. The dragon had mentioned wandering through countless planes; surely, what it had seen far exceeded Vinigo’s imagination.

This was a tough challenge, but Vinigo was determined to try.

He moved his thoughts and drew a sword from the Trade Hollow.

A chainsaw sword...

The dragon stared curiously at the weapon, its design utterly lacking beauty—the jagged, beast-like teeth, the typical crude, bulky Soviet-style construction, and the unusually rugged handle.

“This thing…” the dragon began, but before it could finish, Vinigo calmly poured a cup of high-energy fuel mixture into the handle, sealed the cap, and yanked the rear pull cord sharply.

Instantly, the chainsaw sword roared loudly, the jagged teeth spinning rapidly, creating a blurred afterimage.

With a casual swing, Vinigo easily carved a glaringly massive gash into the ground.

“An interesting design, though useless to me,” the dragon said with interest as it took the chainsaw sword, even lightly slicing its own foot with the blade. Instantly, the sharp teeth, powered by great force, tore through its scales, as tough as mythril armor, scattering several flakes of shattered scales.

Vinigo quietly collected the fallen scales.

The dragon was pleased. It promptly put away the dangerous weapon and tossed Vinigo a treasure.

“Um... Your Excellency, could you at least tell me what it is first?” Vinigo asked timidly, raising a hand.

“It was an amulet left behind by a foolish dragon slayer in my days as Elarasia’s infamous demon lord, Crimson Pain,” the dragon recalled for a moment before adding, “Ah, yes, it’s called the Pool of Gems.”

Without another word, the dragon turned and walked away.

“An endless resource producing one gem per day?” Vinigo’s eyes gleamed. “I’m rich.”

Alas, he would have been even happier with an endless mercury vial.

“All right, now we can really retreat.” Vinigo said, picking up Suna and dragging Akana as they briskly left the circus grounds.

== The Young Men’s Retreat ==

Five hours had passed. Vinigo and his companions were now quite some distance from the Ghost Swamp. The mercenaries had relaxed, but Vinigo still didn’t feel safe.

His opponent was no longer the original Sheep’s Cry Cult but a far more dangerous behemoth.

Suna toyed with the two daggers Vinigo had given her.

Suna’s daggers were crafted by Vinigo himself as a smith. He had violently dismantled the short knives stolen from the Blades of No Light to understand their structure and materials. Then, using his unique smithing abilities, he broke down the knives into “materials,” infused them with magical substances, and forged a pair tailored to Suna’s style.

Suna’s style was pure assassin. Once she mastered the art of vaporization, combined with floating movement and her inherent agility and speed, she could strike fatal blows from angles her enemies could never imagine. So Vinigo prepared daggers that were sharp, light, and imbued with “armor-piercing” and “deadly poison” properties.

In short, Suna’s task was to pierce the enemy’s defenses with her daggers and inject magical poison into their bodies. The daggers from the Blades of No Light already possessed sharpness and armor-piercing qualities, and Vinigo’s magical enhancements added potent venom. As a smith, crafting weapons was far easier for him than most blacksmiths in this world.

Night had deepened. Vinigo yawned and gazed toward the Ghost Swamp.

His eyes seemed to pierce through the endless black mist, glimpsing the Black Moor Castle hidden within the swamp. There resided the kingdom’s most dangerous foe.

Suddenly, Vinigo’s blood surged. The Rune of Crisis reacted at that very moment.

Without hesitation, Vinigo stood, grabbed the martial arts robe from the chair, donned it, and pushed open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a gleaming blade slashed toward him!

“Hah!” Vinigo hissed, pushing out his hand.

A blast of air shot from his left palm, barreling toward the attacker like a cannonball. At the same time, Hilda appeared behind Vinigo with a laugh, her small hands raised, gathering wild flames compressed into a terrifying fireball.

“Wave Fist!” Vinigo whispered.

Hilda immediately unleashed the fireball in the direction of Vinigo’s palm. The attacker, wielding a long blade and pressed back by Vinigo’s air blast, slowed his advance, eyes fixed on the incoming fireball.

But the attacker showed no fear. Instead, he swiftly sheathed his blade.

The moment the blade slid home, he drew it again, and the furious blade light instantly shredded Hilda’s fireball. That foe... he clearly wielded no ordinary power.

“Who are you?” Vinigo demanded as he launched a relentless counterattack. Using the airflow beneath his feet, he slid several meters aside to a safer distance, eyeing the figure clad entirely in black.

“I am the Razor Ghost Samurai, Naka,” the attacker answered honestly.

Vinigo responded with an “Oh,” snapping his fingers.

Character build! Analysis complete... reconstruction commencing. Ken. Reconstruction complete!

The attacker crouched low and charged at Vinigo with a fierce thrust. His body leaned forward, right hand gripping the long blade’s hilt, left hand supporting the sheath—ready to deliver a deadly strike at any moment.

Draw-and-cut technique... such a technique existed in this world too? Fascinating.

Vinigo laughed aloud as intense flames surged around him, rising to form a brilliant, towering glow.

Draw-and-cut technique? Impressive? Vinigo laughed wildly, unrestrained in his pride. This was Ken Masters, the Red Lotus Fighter—his pride.

No matter the weapon, it would be crushed by these iron fists! Victory grasped firmly with both hands, fueled by passion, igniting the fiercest deathmatch!

Boom!

Flames soared skyward as the fiery elemental sprite faithfully fulfilled her role as familiar. She condensed crimson flames, which, under Vinigo’s control and the force of his punch, surged upward in a dazzling direction.

Flaming Rising Dragon Fist!

Naka howled and slammed the sheathed blade onto the ground, using the sheath’s tip to brace and halt his momentum—otherwise, he’d be swept into the sky by Vinigo’s fiery Rising Dragon Fist. He lifted his head, locking eyes with Vinigo.

Vinigo lowered his head, meeting Naka’s gaze. Their eyes met in a moment of eerie solitude, stirring unease.

Vinigo’s Eye of Perception pierced Naka’s eyes, inflicting pain and provoking intense hostility. Yet Vinigo didn’t care. Anyone bold enough to try to kill him deserved to be met with sincere lethal force—unless the opponent was overwhelmingly powerful enough to crush all resistance.

Clearly, this black-clad Blade Ghost Samurai wasn’t such a foe.

Vinigo descended as Naka launched his attack. The instant Vinigo landed was the exact moment Naka drew his blade.

Ghost Draw Slash: Swift Moon!

Vinigo seemed to have anticipated Naka’s move, extending his hand just before the blade left its sheath.

A mysterious current of air threw Vinigo backward, evading Naka’s arcing blade.

Vinigo’s counterattack was just as swift. The Flaming Wave Fist shot toward Naka’s chest.

Naka sneered and lightly sidestepped. Yet, in that moment, Vinigo’s left hand burst forth with another jet of air, accelerating the flaming wave fist. It grazed Naka’s left shoulder, setting his sleeve ablaze.

“Not bad, you dodged fast,” Vinigo muttered.

Vinigo was cautious. He could see that Naka’s Ghost Draw Slash gave him astonishing strike speed, and his 1.2-meter curved blade covered a wide area the instant it left the sheath, posing a great threat.

But Vinigo also noted Naka’s weakness: his movement speed wasn’t fast enough!

Compared to his dazzling strike speed, Naka’s running speed was merely average, and his footwork lacked agility and swift directional changes.

This was Vinigo’s opening.

He surged forward, appearing to abandon defense, adopting a headlong charging posture, ready to settle the fight with a single decisive clash.

Who feared a frontal assault? Naka sneered and accelerated toward Vinigo, tightening his grip on the sword’s hilt.

The moment was fleeting—only a split second!