The bck dragon g Ace before looking back at Wukong. "Is this some kind of joke? You want to send a kid to battle? Are you uimating us?"

  Hearing the dragon's words, a fiendish grin suffused his lips as he fearlessly looked up at the god-like beast that hovered above them. "You said magical beasts are superior to humans? I just want to see if that's really true.

  Surely you're not scared of a little child, are you?"

  As the dragon snorted, a strong gust of wind shot out its nostrils, pushing several foot soldiers off their feet. "If you're really willing to send a child to his death, then who am I to deny one of my subordinates a free meal?

  Zarul, you go. Tear that arrogant boy limb from limb!"

  As he said that, a 6-foot brontosaurus with purple scales hopped off the dragon's back.

  Venerin's eyes bulged when he saw that. "It's a Thunder Lizard. They actually sent a magical beast of the dragon race up. Kong, you know all beasts with dragon blood are superior to ordinairy magical beasts anyway. Are you-"

  "Don't worry; he won't lose!" Wukong said fidently, interrupting the city lord midsentence.

  He would be lying if he had said he had beeirely fident the whole time. He khat the Ace was strong enough to beat almost any third-ra, but at the beginning, he was worried that the pressure of having so many lives at stake would be too much for him to bear. But looking at Ace's back, he could tell, he was just as calm as ever. He didn't know how a-year-old could show suposure in circumstances such as these, but he already knew Ace was no ordinairy eight-year-old.

  'Peak of the 3rd rank?' Aoted as he calmly watched the creature crash nd on the ground in front of him, creating a small crater and cloud of smoke cealing its body from sight.

  As the dust cleared, all the soldiers of Silverlight waited with bated breaths; many couldn't even bring themselves to watch. Those that did felt their hearts stop as a purple bolt of lightning tore through the smoke aiming straight for Ace.

  As the bolt pierced through Ace's head unimpeded, crashing into the floor in front of them, the onlookers could only ch their fists and look away in frustration at their weakness and inability to do anything to ge the fate of a small child.

  Without fail, every single one of them believed Ace was dead. Evey lord, who had faith in Wukong's vision, watched with reddened eyes as the bolt of lightning perforated the young child.

  Even though he only met Ace that day, the thought of a child who didn't even live in Silverlight losing his life trying to protect his city put an unimagirain on his heart. His head so his right as he gred at the ape-like man who caused this. "KONG, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

  But even as Venerin grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, Wukong merely smiled calmly as he said. "I already told you he wouldn't lose."

  "What are you talking about? That poor boy ju-"

  "RRAAAHHHHH!"

  Hearing the pain-filled roar of what sounded like the brontosaurus Venerin turned his attention back to the battlefield, where he saw a sight he would never fet.

  A young boy with long curly bck hair casually stood holding a give over his shoulder, looking down at the decapitated body of an adult-sized magical beast.

  "Well, that was easier than I expected!"

  Though the cloud of dust had covered the body of the Thunder Lizard, how could Ace, who had his [observation] active from the moment he jumped off the wall, be caught off guard by an attack like that?

  As soon as he noticed the lightning essence being summoned, his smile widened as he thought back to the higher-ranking members of the wover he fought against in his previous life. They were all able to use a movement teique that allows the user to move at rapid speeds.

  At the time, he found the users of this particur teique more of a nuisahan anything else. Fortunately, with the help of his fire elemental devil fruit, Ace had ruggled too much against them.

  But when speaking to Wukong the other day about speed being his weakness, it was that very teique that came to mind.

  As soon as the lightning bolt was fired, Ace kicked off against the grouimes in an instant, allowing him to not only dodge the ining attack but also appear behind his oppo before it realised anything was wrong.

  By the time it realised someone was behind it, the bde of Ace's give was already mere timeters away from its neck. All it could do was roar unwillingly as it was ly decapitated.

  'Who thought I'd ever feel thankful to the Wover for anything? But I have to admit, [Soru] is definitely a useful teique.' Ace thought to himself as he gnced up at Wukong, who was looking down at him from the top of the city's outer walls.

  "That brat," Wukong said as he looked at A surprise. "When did he learn a movement teique?"

  "Movement teique?" Venerin asked in shock. "You mean…"

  "That lightning bolt only hit Ace's afterimage," Wukong said with a slowly widening grin as he looked back at the udent he had recruited not long ago. "Yahaha, I guess humans aren't that weak after all."

  Though Wukong hadn't spoken loudly, as a saint-level magical beast, how could the dragon not have heard him? Several of the weaker members colpsed uhe might of his rising aura.

  "Don't tell me you're already pnning on going ba reement. What happeo your dragon's pride?" Wukong asked, trying to force the colossal dragon to keep his word.

  Though the smile on his face was light as ever, his staff was firmly grasped in his hand, ready to react to whatever happened .

  The bck-scaled behemoth in the sky g the boy standing over the corpse of one of its fellons. He wasn't stupid; he uood what it meant for a boy so young to be able to defeat a magical beast of a higher level.

  That give-wielding child was undoubtedly a prodigy.

  It was on knowledge that although beasts teo be strohan humans at the same level, there was a small number of humans who were able to defeat beasts at the same rank and an even smaller number of humans who were able to jump ranks to defeat magical beasts, but for there to be one who was not only exceedingly young but also able to defeat a magical beast of a higher level with such ease…

  He had half a mind to kill him right there, and now before he could grow and turn into a gehreat. But when he heard the human-ape mog his dragon pride, he couldn't bring himself to gh with it. It wasn't just his face he'd be besmirg; it was dragons everywhere.

  "That was just the first match," The dragon snorted disdainfully. "It's far from over!"

  .

  .

  .

  As Ace made his way back, he noticed the expression on the faces of everyone he passed had done a plete 180. Gone was the pity and sile; repg it was resped awe. He could also feel the morale rising slightly.

  Though everyone khey were far from being out of the woods, Ace's wi they only had to win one more fight to escape this tribution unscathed. Even in the face of a saint-rank bck dragon – a creature that would otherwise meaaih – Ace had given them hope. Hope that they'd get the ce to go home aheir families again.

  As he climbed ba top of the wall, Ace was immediately approached by Venerin. Before he could say anything, Venerin took a deep bow, and using his battle-qi, he was able to project his voito the ears of every person otlefield. "Ace, on behalf of Silverlight city – Thank you! Your tribution won't be fotten, aher will it be wasted."

  Fag the city lord's show of gratitude, Ace was rendered speechless. He wasn't actually here to help them. Ace was no hero. If it weren't for Wukong telling him it'd be a good opportunity to train, even if he had known they were about to face a beast tide, Aever would've go of his way to help them. But, in the face of Venerin's siy, he would be lying if he said he wasn't affected.

  "It was my pleasure," Ace replied as he put his hands uhe man's shoulder. "There's no need for sualities."

  "Of course there is. Thanks to you, we're oep closer to avoiding a camity. Now you sit bad leave the rest to us!" Venerin excimed before turning back to face his six loyal generals. "Hysode, I'll leave the fight in your capable hands."

  Ace watched with a hint of surprise as the you of the six generals calmly stepped forward.

  It was a beautiful woman with long silky brown hair who looked to only be in her 20s. She was dressed in tight-fitting light silver armour that atuated her alluring curves, a bck leather skirt with a tear running up her thigh that allowed for ease of movement, and a liuyedao sword simir to Venerin's.

  "Yes, master. I won't let you down." Hysode softly voiced as she elegantly jumped off the wall.

  As beautiful as she was, Hysode still exuded a sharp and valiant air that prevehers from uimating her. But a slight froeared on Ace's face as he watched her head to battle.

  Of the six generals, only two were at the seventh rank. The other four were all at the sixth rank. From their respective auras, Ace could tell that one of them was only half a step from breaking through to the seventh rank.

  Oher hand, Hysode was only at the early stages of the sixth rank, and judging by the stability of her aura, she appeared to have only broken through retly.

  Of all the options avaible, though she wasn't the st, she definitely wouldn't have been Ace's first pick.

  "Don't worry about Hysode," Venerin said slowly, as if he could read what was going through Ace's mind. "My disciple may be the you of my generals, but she's also the stro of all the intermediate warriors and, without a doubt, the most talented warrior iy.

  As it stands, she's the ohat stands the best ce of all of us at being a saint iure."

  P.S. Support me oreon listed below to read ahead - I've just been given some great news in my personal life, and to celebrate, I've decided to increase the release rate to one chapter per day on here and oreon until book 2 is finished oreon. I hope you enjoy! XD

  Patreon./ACoilingDragon: Book 2 - Chapter 18