NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 120: The Guardians' Gauntlet
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"Time for the SP farming to stop," Kent muttered as he surveyed the vine-choked gateway of the ancient Azure Forest Ruin. The lingering thrill of his recent covert pranks had faded before the urgency of his new mission. Almost immediately, his internal system buzzed with a crisp briefing:
[Ding! System notifications- Mission: Defeat the Four Guardians of the Azure Forest.
Objective: Tame all guardian cubs and place them in your void domain.
Reward: Unknown.]
Kent's eyes narrowed with a mix of excitement and wry humor. "At last, some real action," he thought. No more secret pranks or inconsequential SP accumulation; now, he faced enemies as legendary as they were real.
As the system's enigmatic message pulsed in his mind, he couldn't help but laugh. "Beat four guardians? And snatch their cubs like I'm running an animal shelter? Why do I feel like I am playing the role of a kidnapper!"
After a few seconds of thinking—Saying nothing to his friends, Kent departed from the group. "I'll see you in a bit," he said casually, nodding genially before he disappeared into the twisty corridors of the ruin. The others, involved in their own disputes and strained expectation of the ruins' secrets, and treasures barely noticed him.
Kent's heart pounding, he set out on his one mission. The blue-gray rock corridors, lit with a sharp blue glow, were silent witnesses to centuries of hidden power. He moved stealthily through the labyrinth, every step echoing on the cold, crumbling floor. In his mind, he rehearsed the mission parameters: kill the four guardians and acquire the guardian cubs by capturing it and—quietly—rescuing it away. The possibility of encountering an actual guardian awakened both his competitive nature and his off-color sense of humor.
With the system's help navigating a series of cramped, vine-choked corridors, Kent came into a vast, vaulted room. There, the ruins stood in all their glory. Marble columns reared like statues on the stone pavers, each one etched with cryptic symbols that softly radiated old magic. The air vibrated with anticipation and the scent of dirt and decay—a fitting battleground for an elemental trial.
"Bring on the next guardian," he breathed into the quiet stones. "I'm ready for you—and I vow to leave no cub uncollected." And with that, Kent plunged into the unknown with unblemished determination and his heart afire with dreams of victories to come. The guardians' gauntlet waited, and Kent was ready to face it—alone, unburdened by the past, and always ready to add a splash of irreverent humor to the annals of ancient power.
Before long, a low tremor ran through the hall. Kent's eyes grew tight as he sensed the coming of a mighty foe. Gradually pushing out from the shelter of a toppled pillar, the guardian emerged: the Earthbound Sentinel, a living stone giant whose every movement rocked the ground. Amber eyes glowed with primal, earthy power, and heavy footsteps thudded like far-off thunder.
[Ding! System notifications Earth type guardian
Name: Earthbound Sentinel
Cultivation: Level-C (The guardian cultivation dropped by many levels) very weakened because of the spiritual energy disappearance.
Age: unknown]
"Alright, big guy," Kent said with a confident smile, "let's see if we can keep pace with modern chaos." He curled himself into a combat stance, his muscles tensed in anticipation of the test.
The guardian's huge, booming voice echoed through the hall. "Who dares to interrupt the holiness of the forest?" it boomed, each syllable heavy with ancient power.
"I'm Kent," he replied coolly, "and I'm here to test your might. Prepare to be beaten, old-timer." His tone was light, laced with humor even as adrenaline surged through him.
The battle began in earnest. The Earthbound Sentinel slammed down a massive, boulder-sized fist that sent shockwaves rippling through the hall. Kent dodged with lithe precision, his evasions smooth and almost balletic. With each swift dodge and counter, he unleashed bursts of frostfire intermixed with volleys of spiritual energy at his massive opponent.
"Hey, you know," Kent joked while dodging, "if you moved any slower, you'd make a sloth look like a speed demon."
"You… you dare to mock me." The guardian's bellow of indignation was nearly hysterical against the backdrop of its titanic form.
For several frenzied moments, the trading of elemental energies dominated the air. Kent's swift attacks and acrobatic maneuvers were a far cry from the guardian's powerful, earthquake-causing punches. The earth giant retaliated with shutters that caused loose dust to be blown off the vaulted ceiling, while Kent's precise blasts of fire and spiritual energy left wispy trails of glinting frost hanging in the air.
In a momentary lull in the fight—when both fighters danced around each other cautiously. Kent couldn't help but throw another jab. "Why are you so slow? I think a snail can beat you at a garden race. C'mon, give it your best shot!" he taunted, sidestepping a slow, crushing blow that grazed his shoulder.
+999 SP copied from Earthbound Sentinel (angry). And many more notifications followed.
The guardian narrowed its eyes and, with a guttural bellow, struck again. Kent's heart pounded faster as he dodged and circled, each dodge secured by the faintly audible vibration of his hidden system counting off every spike of emotion. Every burst of shock, anger, and even a trace of frustration on the guardian's flailing blows sounded up his personal tally—but all of that was known only to him.
Finally, Kent observed his window of opportunity. With a deliberate gesture, he poured a concentrated shot of flame energy into his fist and hurled it straight into the guardian's midsection, where inscribed runes of unused power burned. The collision caused a shockwave that resonated through the hall, and for a moment, the Earthbound Sentinel stumbled.
Not bad for an old fossil," Kent complained, making the most of the opportunity. He burst forward, unleashing a flurry of swift, accurate strikes. Each hit was carefully measured to test the guardian's defenses without causing lasting harm—a dance of spiritual energy, power and clever technique.
The battle raged to its climax. The giant guardian swung its arm in a final, desperate attempt to annihilate Kent, and in the course of a split second of astounding movement, Kent threw the attack back with a whirling storm of frostfire. The collision of energies that ensued flashed out in a burst of radiating energy and light crackle. There was dust and shattered pieces of stone held poised in the air, and the scene was one of surreal, nearly-humorous devastation.
Finally, with a final decisive move, Kent released a flawlessly timed punch that forced the guardian to lower its gigantic head in defeat. "You have defeated me, mortal," the Earthbound Sentinel snarled, its voice now tempered by age and a touch of remorse. "I yield, and with me, my little one."
From the giant, weary hand of the guardian, a small baby Earthbound Sentinel came out. Dressed in a thin layer of moss with smoldering small burning coal-like eyes, it cried as it dropped through the air. For a moment, Kent's expression softened upon seeing it. The tiny one was a symbol of the guardian's bloodline, weak but filled with raw earth elemental might.
"Alright, little one," Kent said, with serious amusement in his voice as he extended a hand. "Time to come with me. You're going to be my prize—well, not a prize, really, but a key to something greater. I will treat you well."
Soft as a cloud, Kent picked up the cub and, with a gentle spell, tucked it away safely in his hidden void domain. To the unwary eye, he simply tucked it away where it would be safe; actually, it was a silent, personal acquisition which was meant to release potential concealed deep within his being.
The guardian, itself defeated and made humble, also nodded solemnly. "Let your way be noble, mortal," it voiced in tones charged with ancient heartache and begrudging respect.
"Thanks, big guy," Kent replied with a light chuckle. "I promise I'll take good care of the little one. And hey, maybe you'll get a visit from your offspring sometime." The absurdity of it all made even the stern guardian seem to relax, if only for a fleeting moment.
As the echoes of the battle faded, Kent stood alone in the vast, silent hall. He had fought one of the four guardians, and now the path was open: he must defeat the remaining three.
Alone, Kent summons back the little one and reflects on the battle. "Not bad at all," he mused, cradling the tiny cub carefully. "This is just the beginning of a real challenge. Time to find the other three prices."
A few seconds later Kent was walking out of the stone and moss covered corridors one after another. He thinks, "I divide my void domain land into four parts. So I will put this little one in one the land. But it feels weird to call him little one or Earthbound Sentinel. I need to give him a name."