Chapter 128: Just Be Strong Enough
Tang!
The dull sound of the gold coin hitting the ground echoed in everyone’s ears.
All of them did not dare to blink, not wanting to miss the epic battle that was about to commence between two strong and high-ranking summoners.
Alderic’s furious shout rang in everyone’s ears as soon as the gold coin landed.
His eyes stared at Journey with great ferocity as he waved his hands forward, ordering his three summons to attack the arrogant Journey and Edith at the same time.
The three beasts let out their own battle scream that shook the surroundings.
Keeeeh!
Tsssss!
Grrroaa!
Their ferocity and furiosity were just as high as those of their master, City Lord Alderic.
However, at the next moment, a heavy pressure suddenly descended upon everyone else.
Boom!
A heaven-defying sound echoed and blared in their ears as all of them paused in shock and fright, including the onlookers.
The three contracted beasts who were letting out ferocious screams earlier stood on the same spot.
Fear and trepidation were apparent in each of their eyes as the heavenly pressure continued to press them down.
"G-Gold King’s Aura!"Alderic stuttered and said with great difficulty as his knee dropped to the ground like jelly.
A terrified expression was on his face as he felt the pressure emanating from Edith at this given moment.
Not only him, but even the others, including his summoned beast, have the same expression on their faces as they look at the masked Edith.
A Gold King Beast, was a Golden King Beast for a reason.
Most Golden King Beasts emit the Gold King Aura to intimidate and announce to others that they were on a different league and were basically royalty. Most Gold Grade Beast could not control their own aura as well, making it seem as though they were always releasing it purposefully.
However, Alderic knew for himself that those who were able to hide their Gold King Aura meant that they had already surpassed the beginner stage of being a Gold Grade Beast.
They could activate and retract their Gold King Aura anytime they wanted. Some even utilize it mid-battle to confuse their opponent.
The heavy pressure continued as Alderic’s expression sank to the bottom. He knew that there was no chance of winning at all.
All his beasts were only at Silver Grade, and the one with the highest level was just at Level 7.
At this level of strength, he could actually hold his ground against a Gold Grade Beast. However, the premise was that the Gold Grade Beast they were facing had not matured yet, with levels ranging from Level 1 to Level 3.
However, finding such a Gold Grade Beast was very hard, as the higher the grade, the easier it would be for a beast to level up.
From his estimate and the way Edith was able to utilize her Gold King Aura efficiently, he guessed that she must be at least at Level 4 Gold Grade.
The hope was dim and dark.
Alderic was not a hardheaded and dumb person to continue fighting and let his contracted beast suffer for no apparent reason.
"I- I surrender!" He shouted with great difficulty under the heavenly pressure emitted by Edith.
The epic battle that everyone wanted to witness was nowhere near being found.
The battle ended one-sidedly as soon as it began.
As his surrender resonated everywhere, Miguel and Edith did not press too much either, as Edith retracted her Gold King Aura skillfully before retreating right beside Miguel.
Immediately after, the pressure disappeared, as though it did not exist in the first place.
However, the evidence left behind by the event was apparent.
Alderic stood up from his kneeling position as he wiped the cold sweat that rolled down his neck.
At this point, even though the other party made a City Lord like himself kneel, he was actually not furious.
No matter where you go, the strong always prey on the weak.
At this moment, he has already verified that Journey was indeed as strong as what the others say. Heck, he even thought that the others had underestimated his strength at all, as none of them mentioned that Edith was actually a Gold Grade Beast.
Not wanting to embarrass himself any longer, Alderic immediately canceled his summoning and let the three beasts, who were now still frozen in fear, return inside his Silver Grade grimoire.
"I have underestimated you greatly, Mr. Journey. I apologize for my preposterousness earlier." City Lord Alderic bowed slightly to Journey and Edith.
The guards wanted to stop him from his actions; however, their legs were still weak from the Gold King Aura earlier, so none of them were able to move in time.
Hearing Alderic words, Miguel chuckled loudly and said, "It doesn’t matter. We made a bet, so it’s all fair and square."
Alderic nodded his head softly. He was still not over the fact that he lost just like that. However, he knew that it was no longer something he could control, and if the battle happened in real time, he would surely be defeated without a doubt.
"As promised, I will allow you to enter my personal library anytime you want. And as thanks for going easy on me, I would also like to offer you one of my prized collections. Regarding what it is, you can choose whatever you want after you see them," Alderic said solemnly.
Now that he had verified Journey’s strength, there was no need to go into his bad shoes anymore. What he must do instead was to curry favor with him and befriend him.
"I’ll take that offer then. Also, I’ll go to the library tomorrow after choosing one item from your collection," Miguel said.
He gladly accepted Alderic’s offer, even after knowing that he was trying to suck up to him.
The more intelligent a being was, the more important connections were for them. As a City Lord, it was only normal for Alderic to act this way.
"Right, since you’re even willing to give me one of your prized collections, I’ll also tell you the method that you want."
Hearing that, Alderic immediately perked his ears up. In fact, not only him, but the others, especially the summoners, also raised their ears in anticipation.
Seeing their actions, Miguel just chuckled once more as he turned around to leave. "The method is... just be strong enough!"
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A/N: Extra Chapter as compensation for missing updates while filling privilege tiers.