Rivers of the Night
Chapter 370: Unfathomable Chasm

Chapter 370: Unfathomable Chasm

Kieran didn’t move. He didn’t really have any interest in beating up someone so weak, and it wasn’t as though their little uncle had actually ended up injured.

As for Theron, he had already turned to leave, having long said his piece. There wasn’t much of a reason to stay here any longer, so he didn’t feel much pressure at all. From his back view, it even seemed as though he was slinking away in defeat.

He had some thoughts about what Ott was trying to do. But Theron was here for information, not training. Honestly speaking, he didn’t know if he could even gain much from an Empire of Light Mana to start.

Whatever he could gain almost certainly wouldn’t come from fighting—at least that was his assessment. These children were pitifully weak, and their combat experience might as well have been nothing at all.

He had expected more from a Clan that was on par with the Blacks, but he guessed that not every member of their Clan had to necessarily be some great genius.

He just so happened to run into the bunch doing the bidding of a five-year-old, so how great could they be in the first place?

…

Ott and Grenwin watched the scene from above, and the latter’s stupefied expression was still there. Even now, he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

To Ott, though, this was yet another flag of Theron’s interest to him. To be able to fool a layman’s eyes—that was one thing. But Grenwin was no layman, and more importantly than that, Ott hadn’t found an issue in Theron’s acting either.

In fact, if Ott didn’t know better, he would think that this was the true limit of Theron’s strength as well. There was simply no fault to pick out, and there was no easy way of exposing him either.

Ott sighed. “He really does like to mess around. I guess it can’t be helped.”

Grenwin frowned, his head turning to Ott. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you suggesting he lost on purpose?”

Ott blinked innocently. “I did no such thing. I was referring to how he never puts enough effort into his training. How could it end any way but this when he’s so careless? This would be a good lesson for him.”

“Are you saying that Kieran only won because your boy never takes his training seriously?”

Ott raised his brows. “Grenwin, why must you take everything in the worst way possible? I’m not—”

“A Tyre finishes his battles!”

“Grenwin, is this necessary? The boy has already given up,” Ott said with a frown.

“Consider this helping you out. I’ve learned over my years that the only way for a boy to start taking the world seriously is by suffering hardship. Otherwise, how would he know?”

Ott’s frown only deepened, but inside he was shaking his head. The irony of Grenwin’s words wasn’t lost on him. His children and descendants were among the most coddled in the whole Clan. There was a reason he never had a chance at the throne, and why none of his children were in line either.

Even the best of his descendants, Monet, was a hothead more interested in maintaining appearances than actually training. It was a miracle she reached Gold Mancy at such a young age at all. But the truth was, the fact she had was more a product of her chasing validation than actually having a sturdy foundation.

She could have been so much better, but she wanted the shiny title of young Gold Mancer without actually working for it, so now they were here.

Given the head of their branch’s personality and how easily he was manipulated, it was no wonder his descendants were just another reflection of him.

Him having children at his old age was just another form of a lack of discipline too.

Theron might be playing games, but unfortunately for him, he couldn’t even see the entire chessboard. There were all too many ways Ott could use to manipulate the situation.

…

Kieran had been planning to ignore his little uncle, but when he heard the sudden booming voice, his expression changed, and then became fierce.

Clenching his jaw, he crossed the distance to Theron’s back and threw out a punch, not bothering to unsheathe his rapier again. He didn’t believe that Theron was worthy of it.

Theron saw the fist coming from a mile away and shook his head inwardly. It seemed that today would be more annoying than he thought.

He actually had to put in quite some effort so that Kieran didn’t shatter his fist into countless pieces punching at his back like that. With the silver-blue inner armor on his person, there weren’t very many Silver Mancers who could punch him with full force and keep their fists intact.

But at the same time, Theron couldn’t manipulate the inner armor into a softer form, because if that Seijin young master was watching, then all the effort Theron put into carrying around this hulking weight all the time would be for naught.

So, Theron could only manipulate his body itself to ease the blow, which meant he had to tilt forward at just the right time to weaken the punch enough that Kieran didn’t shatter his arm, but also not late enough that it would become obvious he was throwing the fight.

Obviously, this could only be done if there was a huge gap between you and your opponent.

But the gap between Theron and Kieran couldn’t even be described as a huge gap. It was more like an unfathomable chasm, a burial site so deep Kieran didn’t even notice he was stepping over his own grave.

PUCHI!

Theron spit up a mouthful of blood as he was sent tumbling forward, his body rolling as a long trench was left in grassy blades.

Kieran swiftly followed up, his eyes flashing with menace as his little uncle cheered.

“Yeah! Yeah!” the childish voice carried a not-too-subtle hint of cold undertones.