Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 267: Stupidity

Atrox smiled. "The goal is to kill each other, right?"

Thrain growled. He raised his hand and then crouched fast, his palm striking the ground like a drum. The earth shuddered, rippling like the surface of a lake.

Atrox was thrown forward as the ground moved like the face of a wave. He tried to balance himself, but it was like trying to walk on the surface of a stormy sea.

But Thrain had no such problem. He walked as if it were normal ground. He even leaped and jumped forward, his sword swinging with an easy arc.

Atrox was doing his best not to fall. He did not have the time to deal with Thrain. He ignited the space around him with raging fire to keep his brother away.

But Thrain did not have to come close to attack. He condensed wind to extend around and in front of his sword. It was long enough to reach Atrox.

The sword smashed into his side, the strength behind it powerful enough to make his body bend sideways. He slammed into the unstable ground, his eyes spun, and combined with the effect of the spinning wave, it was as if everything had turned on its head.

He tried to stand up, but the ground seemed to turn more turbulent, throwing him around like a helpless boat. His head slammed into the ground like a drunkard, and he gritted his teeth.

Thrain had the advantage, and he was going to use it. He ran to Atrox and jumped at him, weaving his sword toward his head. The sword carried frosted air that chilled the surroundings so that even when Atrox ignited the space around him again, it did not immediately affect Thrain.

Wham!

The sword came down but was met with a cloak of fire that Atrox threw in front of him. The two clashed with a clanging sound, but since Thrain was not affected by the moving ground, his hand was firmer than Atrox’s, whose cloak was shifting.

The cloak was pushed back into Atrox, and he stumbled into the ground again, struggling onto his hands and feet. "Dominion!"

The attack spread from him, scorching the ground and sending Thrain back. Atrox did not bother with the twisting ground. Instead, he tensed and then jumped with all his strength.

He shot into the air like a fired arrow, across the forest clearing to a new area still filled with trees, untouched by their fighting. He made a sword and then swung it, putting enough essence into it.

The sword blazed, creating a giant arc that cut down the trees around him, burning the area around himself. He scowled as Thrain came close again, his hand raised, palm facing the ground to slap it in the technique of the twisting, moving ground again.

He found it very effective against Atrox. Why would he not use it again?

But Atrox was not about to let him. To him, their fight had almost been like a play, as if they were not giving it their all, testing each other instead of fighting it out. "You really think I am going to let you toss me around again? Infernal Prison!"

It was the formation he had been preparing all the while. Red energy started to bloom around him, spreading rapidly to create bars and walls of a prison that locked the two of them in.

Thrain understood what was happening too late. He flung himself at the wall of red energy that had overlapped with reality. His sword struck it, but apart from making the wall shudder, nothing happened. "What did you do?"

Atrox shrugged his shoulders. "What does it look like? Now we can fight to our heart’s content with no one to stop and hold us back. No way to run or hide."

Thrain paused, his helmet sliding back to reveal his face. "Just how powerful are you? I have never seen a Fire Knight that can create something like this. What are you?"

Atrox shrugged. He smiled. "A Forbidden Knight."

’...With the heritage of an Arcane Wizard...’

Thrain growled, and his helmet slid back. He raised his sword to make condensed air around it, but he found that there was not much air there. The prison was scorching hot, burning almost all the air in the space.

With a huff, he released the wind, and instead, his body was coated with thin stripes of lightning. The sword he was holding changed as well into a much slimmer one with actual sharp edges.

He took a step forward, and he disappeared. It was as if his body blinked, turning into a thunderclap, and he was in front of Atrox. His sword struck forward, and the space in front of him exploded with lightning force. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Atrox was not expecting that. The force slammed into him, ramming his body into the walls of the prison. His chest felt as if it was set on fire, and Atrox groaned. ’...Shit... Painful... When was the last time I felt something like this...’

He did not stand immediately. Instead, he released his cupped hand, scattering small fireballs that looked like fireflies into the room.

Thrain had reached him again, the lightning around him increasing his speed tenfold. He stared down at Atrox before he thrust downward.

Atrox’s body disappeared, and a firefly blinked into the space where he had been.

Thrain turned to face Atrox, and suddenly, he took a step back. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Atrox was smiling at him, but on his face was endless anger.

"What?" Thrain asked.

Atrox kept smiling as if he would split his face with just his smile. "Thrain. Do you honestly think I would eat with you and drink with you, smile with you, without my blood boiling?"

Atrox’s voice had changed. It was warped and twisted, mixed with something dark. His green eyes that had seemed dull before were now shining with a harsh light. "I have been pretending. I had to pretend to know what level of power you really are.

"Do you know how hard it is to be beside the one you want to rip apart with your bare hands? I thought you might have reached the Master Knight rank since you were stupid enough to come after me like this! And to set up a duel."