Chapter 65
The woman with the blue hair and pale green eyes did not wait for Elijah to make the first move.
She crossed the distance between them in a blur of violet aura, her fist aimed at his face, and Elijah's Ki sense screamed at him to move.
He stepped to the side, the Flash Step technique carrying him out of the path of her strike, and drove his elbow toward her ribs.
She twisted, her body bending in a way that should not have been possible, and his elbow grazed her side instead of landing clean.
She was fast. Faster than the man with the white hair. Faster than anyone Elijah had fought tonight. Her movements were fluid, almost dance-like, each strike flowing into the next without pause or hesitation.
Beginner Knight Stage Peak. Two stages above him. But Zenith pushed his stats higher, and the gap was not as wide as it should have been.
They circled each other, trading strikes, testing each other's defenses. Her violet aura pulsed against his red aura, and the chain-link fence rattled every time one of them stumbled against it.
The crowd was screaming, money changing hands, bets being placed, but Elijah did not hear any of it.
He was winning.
She was skilled, experienced, her technique cleaner than his. But his Strength was higher, his Agility higher, his Defense higher.
The numbers did not lie. Every exchange left her a little more off balance, a little more desperate, a little closer to defeat.
She threw a kick at his injured side. Elijah's Ki sense read it, and he caught her ankle, twisting, forcing her to spin.
She turned with the motion, using her momentum to throw a punch at his face, and Elijah leaned back, the fist passing close enough to stir his hair.
He released her ankle and stepped back. She stumbled, caught herself, and looked at him with those pale green eyes.
"You're stronger than me," she said. Her voice was calm, almost conversational.
Elijah did not answer. His side was bleeding again, the Control breathing faltering as his focus wavered. He needed to end this.
She reached into her jacket.
Elijah's Ki sense screamed.
The gun came out fast, a small pistol, black, compact, easy to hide. She raised it and fired before Elijah could move.
His body reacted on instinct, the black blade coming up, and the bullet deflected off the flat of the blade with a sharp crack that echoed through the cage.
She fired again. Elijah dodged, the Flash Step technique carrying him to the side, the bullet passing through the space where his chest had been. She fired again, and again, and again, each shot aimed at his head, his heart, his throat.
Elijah moved like water, his Ki sense showing him the path of each bullet before her finger finished pulling the trigger.
He deflected what he could, dodged what he couldn't, and crossed the distance between them in a blur of red aura.
Her pale green eyes went wide.
The black blade came up.
She tried to bring the pistol around for one more shot, but Elijah was already inside her guard, too close for the gun to be useful. He drove his shoulder into her chest, and she stumbled back, her balance breaking, her violet aura flickering.
She fired again. The bullet passed through his sleeve, tearing fabric but not skin.
Elijah swung the blade.
It cut through her wrist first, severing the hand that held the gun. The pistol clattered to the concrete, and blood sprayed from the stump, dark and hot.
She did not scream. Her pale green eyes went wide, and her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Elijah swung again.
The blade cut through her neck, and her head separated from her shoulders. Her body stood for a moment, swaying, blood pouring from the severed arteries, and then it fell.
The head hit the concrete a second later, rolling once, coming to rest against the chain-link fence.
Elijah stood over her, his chest heaving, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The black blade dripped blood onto the concrete, mixing with the blood already there, dark and wet under the blinding lights.
The crowd was silent.
Men came in to remove the body. They moved quickly, efficiently, dragging the corpse away without looking at Elijah. The head went first, carried by its blue hair. The body followed, leaving a trail of blood across the concrete.
Eight down, Two to go.
Elijah leaned against the chain-link fence, his hand pressed against his side, the blood still seeping between his fingers. The Control breathing was holding, but barely.
He could feel the bullet still inside him, lodged somewhere beneath his ribs, and every movement pushed it deeper.
The cage door opened again.
A man stepped through. He was young, maybe twenty, with dark skin and short brown hair.
His mask was red, covering the lower half of his face, and his eyes were yellow, almost golden. He looked at Elijah, at the blood covering his body, at the black blade still dripping in his hand.
He looked at the headless body of the blue-haired woman being dragged away.
He looked at the trail of blood leading from the cage door to where Elijah stood.
Then he stepped back through the door.
"I yield," he said. "I am not fighting that."
The crowd booed. The man did not care. He walked away, disappearing into the shadows beyond the cage.
Nine down, One to go.
The cage door opened one last time.
The woman who stepped through was not wearing a mask. Her face was bare, her features sharp and clear under the lights.
Her hair was long and black, falling past her shoulders in waves that caught the light and threw it back in shades of dark blue.
Her eyes were gray, the color of storm clouds, and they looked at Elijah with something that was not aggression or fear.
She walked to the center of the cage and stopped. She did not raise her fists. She did not take a stance. She just stood there, looking at him.
"I am not going to fight you," she said.
Elijah stared at her. "Then yield."
"I will. But first, I want to ask you something."
"There is nothing to ask."
She tilted her head, studying him. Her gray eyes moved over his face, his blood-soaked body, the black blade still dripping in his hand.
"I have been watching you all night," she said. "The way you fight. The way you move. The way you killed those people without hesitation when you needed to, and the way you let the white-haired man live when you did not."
Elijah said nothing.
"There is something in you that I have only seen a few times before."
She smiled. It was a small smile, almost shy.
"I knew I would lose if I fought you. I could feel it the moment I walked through the door. So I am not going to fight. I am going to ask you for something instead."
Elijah's jaw tightened. "What?"
"Let me follow you."
The words hung in the air.
"You don't know me," Elijah said.
"I know enough."
"You don't know what I am doing. Where I am going."
She shook her head. "I don't care about that. I care about you,"
Elijah stared at her. His side was burning, his vision was swimming, and he did not have the energy for this.
"I don't have time for this."
"Then give me your number. Or point me to someone who can connect us. I am not asking for much. Just a chance to prove myself."
Elijah looked at her for a long moment. Her gray eyes did not look away.
He pointed at Tristan.
Tristan was standing near the entrance of the cage, his purple eyes watching, his arms crossed over his chest. He raised an eyebrow when Elijah pointed at him, but he did not say anything.
The woman followed Elijah's gaze, looked at Tristan, then looked back at Elijah.
"Thank you," she said.
She turned and walked toward the cage door.
"I yield," she said as she stepped through. "The fight is his."
The announcer's voice cut through the silence. "Winner Red Eye. Ten matches and Ten victories."
The crowd erupted. Elijah did not hear them.
The screens flashed in front of his eyes.
[Quest Complete: The Path of Ten - Final Five]
You have shown them the might of the King. The remaining fighters are finished.
Reward: 2,000 System Points | 2,000 EXP
[System Points: 70 → 2,070]
[Experience: Level 4 (68%) → Level 5 (4%)]
[Level Up! Level 4 → Level 5]
[All stats increased by +5. Accept?]
Elijah accepted.
The warmth spread through him. The wound in his side did not heal, but his body felt lighter, his mind clearer, his Ki denser.
[Status Updated]
Name: Elijah Ashford
Cultivation: Beginner Knight Stage (Initial Stage)
Level: 5 (4% EXP)
Base Stats
Strength: 25 → 30
Agility: 25 → 30
Endurance: 27 → 32
Defense: 28 → 33
Intelligence: 32 → 37
Charm: 24 → 29
Willpower: 20 → 25
Free Stat Points: 5
System Points: 2,070
Elijah closed the screens. He pushed himself off the fence and walked toward the cage door. His legs were shaking, his side was bleeding, and his body was screaming for rest.
He stepped through the door, and Tristan was there, waiting for him.
"Ten fights," Tristan said. "You actually did it."
Elijah did not answer. He walked past Tristan, toward the back room where the medical supplies were kept. The bullet was still inside him, and he needed to get it out.
_____________________________
A True King's Path Chapters 66, 67 and 68 is now available on Patreon.
Read ahead of the daily releases and continue the journey before it reaches here. This chapter is already unlocked for readers who want to stay ahead in the story.
Read here:
Patreon – KingAlex738