Chương 110: Revenge on the Bridge Defender

I rose into the wide air that had always been unreachable to me alone, while others had the skill to enjoy being one with it and quickly traverse the world. Finally, I could do the very same myself. I was air-walking for the first time. The sensation was exhilarating, bringing a rush of pure ecstasy. The wind rushed past me as I ascended the ravine, and the world below began to look smaller.

The trees appeared like green spears pointing toward the sky, and the swollen river looked like a silver ribbon cutting violently through the land. My body felt lighter and immensely stronger. The doubled Animo hummed in my veins like a second heartbeat, a newly gained power I had never known before. My mind was sharp with the thought of revenge, entirely focused. The pain of those five days in that dark cellar had forged something far harder inside me, and this new transformation pushed me forward.

"I will not be the weak boy anymore. With this state of my being, right now I can topple those standing in my path," I muttered recklessly to the wind, my heart filled with an inflated ego.

"I will get my revenge, starting with you." I looked straight ahead, focusing my eyes on the path toward the bridge. Looking ahead on the path. As I air-walked up the ravine, I fell for a second. The control was still entirely new to me and my body, and my foot slipped on an invisible current from a single misstep. I tumbled down, rolling across sharp rocks and wet moss as pain flared freshly in my side. I barely managed to catch myself in the end.

I decided to follow the path on foot for a while, thinking to myself, Erumes, you fool. You should slow down and learn it first. Just because I am filled with newly gained power does not mean I have automatically mastered something I have never used before. I slapped myself hard across the cheek while filled with these thoughts, forcing my mind back to reality. Switching my attention to the trail, the damage that the severe weather had left behind was devastating as I looked around.

Massive trees lay fallen to the ground, completely unrooted. Ancient trunks had snapped like mere twigs, their roots torn violently from the earth like broken fingers reaching for the sky. Parts of the road had fallen down the cliffside or broken into jagged pieces, creating deep craters that were now filled with muddy rainwater. Landslides of rock and heavy soil blocked entire sections of the path, a stark reminder of the monsoon's true fury.

The once-familiar path now looked like a battlefield of nature itself, with leaves and branches scattered everywhere. The green that had once been so vibrant was now torn and muddy, leaving the brown earth exposed like open wounds. I stopped for a moment, staring at a massive tree that had been uprooted, its crown completely crushed against the ground. Its leaves were still green but visibly dying. The devastation hit me hard because I saw myself as that very tree not so long ago. I clenched my right fist tightly.

This was the first time I had ever witnessed such massive effects on nature. The monsoon had not just brought rain; it had actively reshaped the land, tearing it apart and leaving deep scars that would take years to heal. My chest tightened.

"Even the world itself pays a price," I whispered. The raw emotion fueled me. I rose into the sky once again, air-walking with much more focus this time. The wind felt completely different now, behaving like an ally instead of an enemy. One full hour of my air-walking passed. It was now late afternoon, and the sun hung lower in the sky, casting long, sweeping shadows across the ruined land. I landed right where the bridge stood, the wooden structure still completely intact, weathered but strong.

I had gotten my ass beat by that man last time, and the memory burned deep. But today I was entirely different, stronger in both mind and body, and completely ready to smash my first target's face in. I could not contain my ego anymore; my hubris was well beyond peak. The amber-hued man stood there on the other side of the bridge, casually eating from a large evergreen tree. The tree reached high into the sky, its branches heavy with clusters of lychee.

The fruit was yellow with a slight reddish blush, sweet and juicy when bitten. He picked another one, bit into it, and watched as the juice ran down his chin. Then, he noticed me. He stopped eating and ran toward the middle of the bridge. I laughed with a loud boom, incredibly excited to clash and get my sweet revenge on that man.

"Finally!" I shouted, my voice booming all the way across the ravine.

"Time to settle this!" I walked forward a few steps with a slow, measured, but powerful feeling. Each step was entirely deliberate, causing the bridge to creak slightly under my weight. The man was completely bewildered, his mind racing as his eyes narrowed to inspect me. Until I took another step onto the bridge, and the realization finally hit him.

"HOW? You should be far from here, young Suren! How are you back so quickly, and how are you so much different? Your Animo is still weak compared to mine, but it is vastly more than last time!" His weapon straightened in an instant, the Hex-Block Carnage Spear pointing directly at my head as the massive, heavy block head gleamed ominously in the fading afternoon light. I answered back, my voice dripping with arrogance.

"I have you to thank for it. What's your name, by the way? I want to know exactly what to call the man I am about to completely destroy." My short fuse was on full display. The pain of the past weeks, the devastating losses of my comrades, and the five grueling days of torment inside that cellar all fueled a blistering, cold anger. He tightened his grip on the shaft and spat out his response.

"My name? The name is Defender Reshou. I hail from the village of Chiansoue. My goal is to prove my worth to them and to myself. When I was left behind by those I trusted, it happened simply because I was weak back then. But no more. For many years now, I have stood right here blocking this road, entirely undefeated, continuously proving myself. I am a completely changed man, not the fatty who lost his future because his stamina was too miserable. No, not anymore!

Now let's see if your puny upgrade of Animo actually makes a damn bit of difference."

"Yes. Let's find out, my fresh target dummy, and let me relieve all my pent-up stress," I replied with an eager tone.

"Yes. Let's find out." We both clashed our weapons instantly. He was still physically stronger than me; I felt it right away through the impact. His spear moved with a crushing weight directly onto my position, the block head slamming violently against my guard since dodging in such a tight space was incredibly hard. The heavy impact jarred my arms, and blinding sparks flew as steel met steel.

I dodged his rapid follow-up thrust with a quick roll across the wooden planks, watching as the massive central spike missed my side by mere millimeters.

"You're faster than last time," the man grunted, his eyes narrowing to track my movements.

"But speed alone won't save you, Suren." I pushed off the wood and swung my sword-axe in a wide, powerful arc, the heavy blade whistling sharply through the air. He blocked the strike cleanly with the durable shaft of his spear, but the sheer force of the collision pushed me back a step.

"I don't need saving," I shot back, tightening my grip on my weapon.

"I need payback." I pressed forward with that intent in mind, delivering slash after slash, each one landing faster than the last. The man parried every single strike, his movements incredibly economical and deeply experienced.

"Payback for what? I only did my duty on this bridge. You were weak. You fell. That is the way of the weak to cower before the strong." The fight intensified fiercely. I attacked with absolutely everything I had in my base form, my sword-axe cuts aiming viciously at his shoulders, his legs, and his head. He countered each attempt with powerful thrusts, the massive block head of his spear constantly threatening to crush my guard entirely. We traded heavy blows for several minutes.

The wooden bridge creaked loudly under our combined weight, the planks splintering slightly beneath our boots. Sweat poured down my face, and my breathing grew much heavier. The man was clearly still ahead of me, and his legendary stamina seemed completely endless.

"You talk big for someone who got thrown into the river last time," he taunted, a small smirk forming on his face.

"Show me something new, or this ends the exact same way." On his provocation I activated my Vestuto. My Animo exploded upward, skyrocketing from 14, 258 all the way to 56, 900. Flames roared around me, my Cor Flamma burning incredibly bright. The fire looked much more dark red now, deeper and hotter, as I had my crimson Ignis Ardente aura running actively at the exact same time. It looked like the core of a volcano instead of simple surface flames.

I charged forward again, my sword-axe now trailing thick, dark red fire through the air. The strikes came much faster and infinitely hotter than before. The man's eyes widened slightly to observe the change.

"Better. Much better." Then, he activated his Vestuto as well. His armor received an instant, massive upgrade, shifting into an enlarged Vestuto state. His weapon became heavily imbued with pure light energy, and his entire body grew physically larger as he enlarged his own bone marrow using that light-attributed energy. His spine shined so brightly it looked as if a brilliant sun had come down to greet the morning.

The effortless way he wielded that massive power proved to me that even with my new status as a Betrunkener, I was still fundamentally behind him in overall combat capability. The man's power reduced incoming damage with a cushion of clouds, per se. His forceful swings powered a lot of pressure, and the man was clearly still ahead of me in the exchange. The next ten minutes were a grueling, exhausting fight.

I pressed forward with my improved Elsa di Fuoco, the blade filled with an aura shot cutting through the air with dark red flames trailing heavily behind it. Each strike landed hotter than the last. The man blocked with his light-infused spear, the cushion of clouds around his armor absorbing the blistering heat as bright sparks flew into the air. The bridge shook violently with every single clash.

"Your fire is stronger," he admitted through gritted teeth.

"But not enough!" He countered instantly with a powerful overhead swing, the massive block head coming down like a heavy hammer. I barely managed to dodge the blow, and the wooden bridge planks cracked deeply right where it landed. I followed up his miss with a rapid thrust. The tip of my sword-axe burned bright, reaching a blistering temperature of 7, 800 degrees. It successfully grazed his shoulder, and the dark red flames bit much deeper into his defense this time. He grunted in sharp pain.

"Not bad, Suren. Not bad at all." I kept the intense pressure on him. My improved Ignis Ardente now covered my full body, and the fire aura gave me an even greater understanding of what I wanted to do with this technique in the future as it boosted me in Animo. Because of my current low mastery, it did not suffice to achieve anything major yet, but it clearly showed me what I could eventually do with it.

I used the energy to close the distance between us faster, to burn away his protective light cushion, and to force him to keep moving across the bridge. The man was clearly still countering my offensive attacks, thanks to his light energy which allowed him to reduce incoming damage no matter what I threw at him. His forceful swings powered a lot of pressure, but I was learning. I was adapting. Every exchange taught me more about my own power. And then, to finalize my win, I jumped backward to taunt my opponent.

"This time you will see my full power!" I went toward my Soul Vestuto, fully overloading my brain. Now I finally felt the ultimate power inside me. Even the instinct showing me where to hit was better. It was now ingrained in my brain exactly where the good spots to hit were, mapped out via my own eyes. The shadowy grey armor formed across my body, charcoal-grey plates filled with glowing silver veins. Hot smoke vented furiously from the pipes on my back, accompanied by unstable, flickering black-red flames.

My yellow-orange eyes glowed at my opponent with a strong, triumphant glee. The power surged. My Animo was now a whopping 99, 400 while his sat at 89, 300. And it absolutely obliterated his defense with my attacks. I moved like a shadow wreathed in fire. My sword-axe cut cleanly through his light cushion, and the dark red flames burned hotter and deeper into his physical form. The giant man staggered backward. His enlarged light armor cracked with each passing arc of my blade.

"What… is this?!" he roared with question. I pressed the advantage, delivering strike after strike. Each one was precise, and each one was burning. The bridge shook violently under the immense pressure, the wood splintering beneath our feet. The man finally fell unconscious to the ground. I felt it, the sweet victory over the latest man who had kicked my ass when I was already at my lowest point. In conjunction with my triumph, I waited for the man to wake up, which took about two minutes.

Once he stirred, I threw him right under the bridge and told him to enjoy the river's cold water and have a good bath. He swore to find me and take revenge upon me as he teared up, completely devastated. He had lost for the very first time since taking on the bridge defender role. With his distant screams still echoing through the ravine, I took my sweet time walking across the bridge. I reached out, took a lychee from the evergreen tree, and took a bite. It was delicious in taste, so mouth-watering and filling.

I continued on the path. I had no idea what might happen next, but I did not care. My mind was set on my next target in Zhenhai, and I couldn't wait to beat that man to the bloody ground.