NOVPUB
Chapter 314: The Sudden Battle in the Brothel
He was fairly certain that no one besides his father and his informant knew of his presence here in disguise. No one would suspect the prince of the empire to be undercover in an observation mission. For her to know his identity, there must have been a leak somewhere—either a traitor or an unintentional slip of information.
Whatever the case, this was a serious problem. This woman, who seemed close to the young master of the Larson family, could inform them of his presence. However, based on her words, it appeared she had been waiting for him. He decided to set aside his thoughts for now and focus on finding a way out of this situation.
"What are you talking about? Do you mean me? As Prince Claude?" he asked, his expression a mix of confusion and surprise. His reaction was convincing enough to sway most onlookers, but Elis continued to smile at him.
"Well, whether you are or not will be decided soon," she said. Then, suddenly, she clapped her hands. Prince Claude felt his ears ringing, and his energy circulation was thrown into disarray.
"She used sound to disrupt my senses and energy circulation." However, he calmly dispersed the effects of the sound technique with his aura. The aura of a middle king stage cultivator radiated from his body, instantly nullifying the technique’s effects—and more than that.
He unleashed his aura across the entire room, sending the members of the Duclan family hurtling to the walls. Their bodies slammed against the surfaces, but they were finally able to move again.
They gasped as they finally regained the ability to move and breathe more freely. Feeling utterly powerless before Elis’s strength, Carol realized that pursuing Clark any further would be nothing short of suicide. Reluctantly, she decided to retreat for now. Their presence had already been exposed after tonight, and they would need a new plan moving forward.
Carol stood up and began helping her family to their feet. One by one, they prepared to leave the scene as quickly as possible.
Elis and Prince Claude did not attempt to stop them, as their focus was solely on each other. Both knew they couldn’t afford to underestimate their opponent.
For the prince, he was unsure of Elis’s true strength. As for Elis, she was well aware of Prince Claude’s reputation. Although her cultivation was higher than his, she understood that he was still a formidable cultivator with cards up his sleeve.
Elis decided to strike first, throwing small needles attached to thin strings. She hurled them toward Claude, but he dodged them with ease and quickly countered with his own technique. A blue flame appeared in his hand, shaping into a dragon of fire that slithered toward Elis.
Elis remained calm. She straightened the strings connected to the needles and, with a deft pluck of her hand, produced a ringing sound that resonated through the air.
The needles embedded themselves into the walls after Claude dodged them, allowing Elis to straighten the strings and use them like the strings of a guqin. As the sound resonated through the air, the blue flames trembled before extinguishing entirely, while Claude felt a shudder deep within his heart and soul.
"A direct attack on my soul!" he thought, quickly preparing another technique.
Blue flames, similar to those of Princess Loraine but more intense and searing, erupted from his body and surged outward, spreading rapidly through the surrounding area.
Elis immediately sensed the increased intensity of the flames and swiftly swept her fingers across all the strings. The resulting sound clashed with the flames, but it wasn’t enough to stop their advance entirely. The residual flames tore through the room, creating a massive hole that exposed the interior to the outside.
The people on the street where the brothel was located were stunned by the sudden rumbling sound and turned their gaze upward, their eyes widening at the sight of the brothel’s destroyed side.
Elis glanced at the destroyed wall, then shifted her gaze to the prince, who now resembled a man of flame. With blue flames forming an armor-like shell around his body, he appeared like a flame knight radiating immense strength.
Despite the overwhelming sight, Elis smiled as she looked at the prince.
"You are truly strong, Your Highness," she said. "But this isn’t a suitable place for our battle. The young master could be caught up in the chaos. You wouldn’t want that, would you?"
Claude glanced at the still unconscious Clark, parts of his body buried under the rubble. He needed this man alive—if he died, there would be many implications. The Larson family would launch an investigation, and the problem would only grow. Not to mention, there was the mystery of Elis: her true purpose and her real identity remained unclear.
Elis then tugged the string, causing the needles to fly back into her grasp. Without hesitation, she flew toward the flat rooftop of the brothel. Claude followed, floating just behind her. He didn’t hesitate for a moment. As soon as they reached the rooftop, he struck, his hands wreathed in blue flames.
Elis finally brought out her artifact—a black guqin—from her storage ring. With a sweep of her hand, the sound of the guqin shot toward Claude. Unlike before, this sound instantly dispersed the blue flames and struck at the prince’s soul. The force was much stronger, causing Claude to feel as though his head might explode. He hadn’t anticipated that this attack, combined with the guqin, would be so much more powerful.
His eyes changed, as if the blue flames themselves were emanating from them. With a swift of his will, he created a domain that enveloped both himself and Elis. As soon as the domain was formed, the effects of the guqin’s sound disappeared.
Claude frowned as he looked at Elis, finally realizing her true cultivation—she was at the high King stage! No wonder her attack was so powerful, capable of overwhelming him. However, he didn’t panic. There was something else that caught his attention besides her true cultivation. He could sense a distinct aura from Elis when she fully tapped into her energy to play the guqin.
"You’re a devil!" he exclaimed, his expression cold. "To think a devil of your caliber would infiltrate so boldly. I assume the rumors about the Larson family being in cahoots with the devils are true."
"It seems we have much to discuss tonight," he continued. "You can tell me about your operations in this city and your cooperation with the Larson family, and in return, I’ll grant you a painless death!"
Elis looked at Claude still with her smile, answered him.
"Is that so? Well, that’s only if you can defeat me. I’m afraid tonight may be the end for you, Your Highness." She then closed her eyes.
Seven notes of the devils.
She plucked the strings, creating a beautiful sound. But beneath its beauty, the sound was a deadly attack aimed at Claude. He could already sense the power of her sound technique, so without hesitation, he used one of his techniques in response.
Suddenly, a giant half figure appeared above Claude. It resembled a knight wreathed in blue flame, carrying a fiery blade. This was Prince Claude’s avatar technique, capable of unleashing the power of a peak King stage cultivator.
With a wave of the avatar, the fire surged toward Elis. The heat of the flames seemed to disrupt the sound from the guqin, threatening to overpower it.
The flame was so intense that it even burned the space around them, preventing the sound—which used space as a medium—from exerting its full strength. The sound tried to affect Claude but failed.
With her eyes still closed, Elis knew that the defense and offense of the avatar were formidable, so she decided to try another trick.
She channeled even more devil energy while continuing to play the guqin. The sound grew clearer, now unaffected by the heat of the flames. Claude noticed this shift and realized that Elis was now using her own energy as a medium to direct the sound toward him.
He then released even more flames from his body, and his avatar moved in sync with him, executing a powerful chopping motion toward Elis. He decided to counterattack instead of defending. It was better to disrupt Elis than continue defending against her troublesome sound attacks.
Elis stopped her attack and switched to defense. The sound of the guqin suddenly changed, and the flame blade stopped just before it reached her. She then swept the strings, causing the avatar to stumble backward. Claude felt as though the blade had struck a solid barrier. He looked at Elis solemnly while she kept her eyes closed, still playing her guqin. This was going to be a tricky fight for him!
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The people could now see that a battle was happening on top of the brothel, with part of the building destroyed. Sensing the powerful aura of king-stage cultivators, many of them quickly fled in the opposite direction. The battle between king-stage cultivators was not something that low-level cultivators or mortals could meddle with. If they were caught in the crossfire, they would be killed without even knowing how.
Panic and chaos began to spread throughout the surrounding brothel. People ran blindly, not caring what was in front of them. Many slipped and fell, and some children became separated from their parents. They cried out in fear, and a few were almost trampled by the panicking crowd. However, the children suddenly disappeared and reappeared in a safe place, far from the danger of being crushed.
In this safe area stood a mysterious couple that Claude had seen earlier. The woman tried to comfort the children while the man observed the battle above.
"Truly unexpected," the man thought.
"But I think I can take advantage of this."
