Chapter 201: Price Of Blasphemy: Tud'or's Legacy

Charles stared at the kneeling kobold for a few seconds before his lips slowly curled into a grin. Then he threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahahahahaha! I knew it! I knew you were full of bullshit! There is no way someone as useless as you can defeat an entire village alone. Either that, or the Ashmork Clan was just more pathetic than I thought. Regardless, you are trash, just like everyone in your uncivilized village! You should be licking our boots instead of trying to become our disciples. We are not equal!" Charles laughed like a madman, his voice carrying across the battlefield as several Halflings joined in with amused chuckles.

Ka'z remained silent. He did not bother answering the insults, nor did he immediately react to Charles's arrogance. Instead, he simply studied his opponent from beneath lowered brows. Only now did he fully understand what Pumba had meant when he said Charles was strong.

The Halfling was not simply a talented swordsman. He possessed a Silver Core, meaning his foundation was already considerably more advanced than Ka'z's, and, he was clearly well versed in conventional magic.

Yet, he had mastered the Mana Body.

That alone told Ka'z how much effort Charles had invested into strengthening himself. Even Loki, one of the strongest warriors Ka'z had ever fought, had struggled to reach the point where his body could withstand and properly utilize his own immense physical power.

Charles had achieved something similar while also possessing a developed magical core.

"Hahahahaha! If you are the strongest of your clan, then I can understand why the former strongest was defeated by a dirty goblin. You stinking kobolds are just too weak!" Charles laughed again, deliberately twisting the wound in Ka'z's heart.

Huff!

Crimson steam poured from Ka'z's nose as he slowly rose to his feet. The battlefield immediately fell silent. The laughter from the Halflings faded as they watched him stand, and even Charles's grin slowly disappeared when he noticed the expression on Ka'z's face.

The blood around the wound on Ka'z's chest had already hardened. It clung to the injured area for a few seconds before cracking apart and peeling away from his body, falling harmlessly to the ground and revealing freshly regenerated skin beneath it. There was no trace of the wound remaining.

Ka'z ignored Charles completely. Instead, he quietly turned toward the main table where Pumba sat with Bao and Wolvrac. He wiped the remaining blood from his palm against his side before giving Pumba a slight bow.

The gesture was so respectful and unexpected that several people exchanged confused glances.

"Teacher, I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of the combat, but I wish to make a request," Ka'z said calmly.

The words stunned everyone, including Charles. Pumba's eyebrows rose as he stared at the kobold. Initially, he had been disappointed when Ka'z was taken down so easily.

After hearing all the stories about the Child of Prophecy and watching the kobold confidently challenge his son, Pumba had expected something more impressive.

Yet the expression now covering Ka'z's face was not the expression of a warrior who had accepted defeat. There was no fear in his eyes, no desperation, and certainly no uncertainty.

There was only murderous intent.

Pumba could feel it even from where he stood. It was cold, concentrated, and disturbingly calm. The kind of killing intent that came from someone who had already decided what he intended to do and was merely waiting for permission to begin.

"What is it?" Pumba asked cautiously.

"I am about to go all out, and I humbly request that you remain on high alert and step in when necessary, or I might actually kill your son," Ka'z said. His voice was cold and completely devoid of warmth.

Buzz!

Gasps escaped from every side of the highlands. Several Gnolls instinctively took a step backward, their ears flattening as their instincts reacted to the sheer hostility radiating from Ka'z. Even the Halflings who had been laughing moments ago stared at him in disbelief. Charles's face twisted into an ugly frown as his grip tightened around his sword.

Pumba's expression darkened slightly. He stared directly into Ka'z's crimson eyes for several seconds, weighing the seriousness behind those words. The kobold was not boasting.

Pumba had fought countless warriors throughout his long career, and he knew the difference between an empty threat and a genuine warning. Ka'z had just given him the latter.

"Go ahead," Pumba finally said with a small nod. "I'll be sure to step in if anything gets out of hand."

Bang!

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT!!!" Charles roared.

He exploded forward before anyone could say another word, his body becoming a blur as lightning erupted from his limbs. His sword thrust forward with terrifying speed, the blade aimed directly at Ka'z's chest.

Bam!

Charles's eyes widened.

Pumba and everyone seated at the main table immediately rose to their feet. Across the surrounding highlands, spectators rushed toward the edges to get a better view of the battlefield, only for their expressions to freeze in complete disbelief.

Their jaws hung open.

Nobody could immediately comprehend what they were seeing.

The slender kobold who had been kneeling moments earlier was gone. In his place stood something far larger.

Elemental Body: Blood Tyrant!

Ka'z's body had expanded violently, his frame stretching upward until he stood nearly six feet tall. His neck had lengthened, his face had become longer and more angular, and the shape of his head made him resemble a massive salamander more than the kobold they had known.

His scales thickened rapidly across his body before turning a deep black, while the skin between them became a dark crimson that seemed almost wet beneath the light. His arms had grown considerably larger, muscles bulging beneath the black scales as red fumes continuously poured from his body.

His nails elongated into thick black claws, each one sharp enough to tear through flesh and bone. Behind him, his tail had grown nearly twice its original length, and rows of jagged bone spikes now ran along it from the base all the way toward the tip.

Every breath he released sent another wave of crimson fumes into the air, surrounding his enormous body like a living mist.

Charles's sword was still pressed against Ka'z. Yet Ka'z had not moved.

The lightning surging along the blade crawled over his black scales, crackling violently against his body, but Ka'z simply stood there. His muscles remained completely still. He did not flinch or stagger.

He did not even bother looking at the weapon.

"Little Halfling..." Ka'z snarled as his crimson eyes slowly shifted toward Charles. "Let me show you the power that made Tud'or the greatest warrior in Vaal'kor's history!"

His voice carried a deep, distorted quality that made several spectators instinctively shudder. Crimson fumes poured endlessly from his body as his hand closed around Charles's lightning covered sword.

Crack.

The metal beneath Ka'z's fingers began to deform.

Charles's eyes widened as he desperately tried to pull his weapon free. Lightning exploded across Ka'z's arm, but the kobold did not loosen his grip. Instead, the cracks spreading across the sword became wider and deeper as the pressure from Ka'z's hand continued increasing.

"Impossible!" Charles gasped.

He stared at his weapon in disbelief. Even with the lightning coursing through it, Ka'z was holding the blade firmly enough to prevent it from moving. The electricity that should have forced him to release his grip seemed almost irrelevant against that monstrous body.

Krash!

The sword shattered in Ka'z's hand.

Charles's expression became one of pure disbelief as fragments of the weapon flew in every direction. Before he could react, Ka'z drew his other arm backward and swung his fist forward with terrifying speed.

Charles immediately abandoned the idea of counterattacking. He hopped backward, desperately trying to increase the distance between them.

Swoosh!

Ka'z disappeared from where he stood and crossed the space between them almost instantly. His massive body moved with a speed that seemed completely incompatible with its size, and his crimson eyes burned with murderous intent as his fist closed the remaining distance.

"Don't run..." Ka'z growled viciously. "Just take this fist!"

Charles crossed both arms in front of his face, bracing himself as every instinct screamed at him to defend.

BANG!

Ka'z's fist slammed into his guard.

Charles's face twisted violently with pain as the force of the impact traveled through his arms and into his entire body. He felt his bones quake beneath the punch, and for an instant, his mind went completely blank.

Then his feet left the ground.

Swoosh!

Charles's body shot backward like a rocket. He flew across the battlefield before crashing into the earth with enough force to create another violent impact. His body bounced once, rolled several times across the dirt, then continued skidding for several more meters before finally coming to a stop.

Silence swallowed the battlefield. Nobody spoke or even seemed to breathe.

Every gaze remained fixed on the six foot tall creature standing in the center of the battlefield, crimson fumes pouring endlessly from his black scales as his tail slowly shifted behind him. Even the Gnolls, whose instincts had warned them from the moment Ka'z arrived that something deeply dangerous existed within him, were visibly shaken by what they had just witnessed.

Pumba stared at Ka'z in disbelief. His eyes moved across the transformed body, taking in the thick scales, elongated limbs, monstrous claws, and overwhelming physical power. He had seen countless forms of magic throughout his life, but this was something entirely unfamiliar to him.

The transformation was not merely an enhancement. Ka'z had changed his entire body into something built for destruction.

"This... What kind of power is this?" Pumba muttered, his voice filled with genuine disbelief.

Bao's expression remained frozen as he stared at the battlefield.

"The Elemental Body..." he murmured. "So his words about Tud'or, the warrior who died fighting Grash, were not false. Such a violent form truly exists."

Ka'z slowly raised his head toward Charles's battered body. The crimson fumes surrounding him thickened as his claws tightened into fists.

"Stand up," Ka'z hissed viciously. "Show me the strength of the Mana Body you are so proud of. I will beat humility into your soul in the name of Tud'or."