Rivers of the Night
Chapter 371: Chess Move

Chapter 371: Chess Move

“I think that’s about enough.” Scholar McIntyre’s voice echoed with a solemness that hardly hid his disappointment.

Kieran paused for a moment in his follow-up attack when he heard this. But then there was a flash in his eye.

None of them liked this grand uncle of theirs. He was a stain on the family in ways that left them broken.

Of course, this was a complete exaggeration. But to a child—a real child—this sort of existential dread was already enough to be the end of the world to them.

If before Kieran was attacking to follow Grenwin’s orders, now he was attacking purely to piss his grand uncle off.

There was a flash in Theron’s eyes as he rolled along the ground and back to his feet. The speed of Light Mancers was quite good, so even under normal circumstances, it would take a little bit of effort for Theron to keep up with Kieran.

But right now, that speed made things even more annoying.

Theron thought for a moment, wondering what the point of all of this was.

He had heard Ott’s words just now. On the surface, they seemed to be trying to help him, but that voice came from the same direction Grenwin’s had come from. So…

They’re together.

Thinking about his first experience with Grenwin, Theron’s eyes narrowed. The world slowed around him, and his thinking speed seemed to accelerate well beyond the realms Kieran was capable of matching.

Instantly, Theron understood what had happened. Ott must have goaded Grenwin. A man with the latter’s disposition was too easily manipulated.

Then Theron thought of the disdain and hatred Monet had for her grand uncle. What were the odds that these twins felt differently? In fact, just by Kieran’s slight hesitation, and then the eruption of an even fiercer attack, the answer couldn’t have been more obvious.

In an instant, Ott’s plan was revealed to Theron. There was only one thing Theron felt that he was missing.

What does Scholar McIntyre think that I can gain from this place? He wants me to display my real power, and for what? Is the point to enrage more of these descendants? Toward what end? It couldn’t just be that he wants to force me into one challenge after another, right? There are countless other ways to do that.

Kieran’s fist was only getting closer, his body wrapped in layers of gold.

Theron didn’t seem to notice, having only just gotten to his feet while his momentum tilted forward just the smallest bit. It looked as though he was about to stumble forward another step, but only he knew that he was still in position to make any move that he wanted.

There isn’t enough information to decide that.

It was a disappointing conclusion to come to. But sometimes, no amount of intelligence was enough if there weren’t enough cards on the table.

But that didn’t mean that Theron was out of moves to play. What game ended with a single chess move?

If Ott wanted to use his Clan in this way, that meant that as powerful as he was, he wasn’t in a position to act unilaterally or without consequence. That meant that he, too, had things to lose.

In that case, in order to force him to reveal his cards and stop himself from wasting too much time here, Theron would just have to press a few buttons.

His first counter move?

End this in a way that would cause Ott the most strife while giving him a path to survival.

Easy.

Theron’s swaying body suddenly shifted to the side. A fist whizzed by his side, and he reached out, catching its wrist as the body it was connected to slammed into his back.

Kieran was stunned, his body practically shutting down as all the air was ripped out of him. His ribs shattered, but his forward momentum didn’t come to a complete stop. Or rather, it did for a moment, transferring to upward momentum instead.

“Even when your grand uncle called out to you to stop, you still don’t listen. It seems it’s up to me to teach you a lesson, then,” Theron said calmly.

BANG!

Kieran flipped over Theron’s head, his punch somehow becoming a shoulder throw under Theron’s control.

His body had no air left to give up after the first impact, but now it felt like he was pushing out nothing more than blood from the depths of his heart.

However, Theron was hardly finished. This wasn’t the move he wanted to play at all.

His foot raised up, his heel stomping down.

Right over Kieran’s dantian.

Ott’s eyes widened from a distance, but he could have never guessed that there would be such an outcome. Grenwin was dead set on Theron being a weakling as well. He simply didn’t see such a reversal and was even slower than his brother in realizing that Theron was actually about to do something horrid.

Monet, who was far closer than any one of them, lacked the reflexes to cause it to make much of a difference.

Chi.

A crack seemed to resonate through the world, an enormous leaking of Mana whistling out in all directions as Kieran’s lower belly erupted with blood and contusions.

Theron’s body flickered and seemed to vanish as a spear of light drilled right through where his body had just been.

He appeared in a tree, balancing on a branch with a calm expected, vines of water extending from him to stop it from shattering under his shocking weight.

Grenwin appeared by his grandson’s side in a flash, picking him up with a look of horror on his face.

Kieran’s dantian—his Core—it was… it was…

As expected, Ott appeared an instant later, blocking the path toward Theron. He gave the boy a glance, but Theron just continued to stand there, his hands clasped behind his back.

His former gentle expression was gone, the streak of blood flowing down his lip seeming all the more fake at the moment beneath the beaming golden lights.

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