What did he mean by pressure awakening his potential?
That was an excuse.
In the Aurelian Dominion, Rank Five warriors were known as Grandmasters.
They had reached the level where they could establish their own schools and pass down their teachings.
The path of martial cultivation only grew harder the farther one advanced.
Rank Three to Rank Four was already a major hurdle.
Rank Four to Rank Five was a chasm.
Countless brilliant Awakened Warriors spent decades trapped at peak Rank Four. Some remained there until their Vital Force declined and death took them, never managing to cross that final step.
It was not merely a matter of accumulating energy.
Rank Five required a transformation in the level of life itself, as well as the formation of Battle Presence.
"So this is what they call a long buildup followed by a sudden breakthrough?"
Kyo suddenly remembered House Hurst.
Back then, Joren had only been Rank Three, yet the blade he unleashed had already carried a terrifying Battle Presence.
That was something only Rank Five experts were supposed to command.
This brat had touched the threshold of Rank Five while he was still Rank Three.
His bottleneck had been broken through long ago.
For Joren, there was no final mental barrier to overcome. Once enough energy accumulated, advancement followed naturally.
Put that way, it almost sounded reasonable.
Almost.
Even if his understanding had reached the required level, did energy not still take time to accumulate?
Kyo retraced Joren’s growth in his mind.
How long had it been?
The kid was advancing as though someone had pressed fast forward at a hundred times normal speed.
He never slowed.
Never encountered a bottleneck.
Never suffered a period of weakness.
He had not even shown the unstable foundation commonly seen in geniuses who advanced too quickly.
Quite the opposite.
Joren’s aura had settled the moment his breakthrough ended. It stood as firmly as a mountain.
After being refined by [Myriad Manifestations Art], the purity of his protective force already surpassed that of some veteran Rank Five experts who had spent years in the realm.
"At this rate, you are going to leave for one trip and come back strong enough to beat Manester senseless."
Kyo left the rest unsaid.
At this pace, Joren might soon be able to beat him too.
A long sigh escaped him.
He finally stopped resisting.
The way he looked at Joren had changed. The appreciation one reserved for a promising junior was gone, replaced by recognition between equals, along with the faint wariness one gave to something impossible to measure.
He had refused to leave because Joren was too young.
Too bold.
Too willing to charge ahead without understanding the height of the sky or the depth of the earth.
A Rank Four warrior defeating Rank Five sounded glorious.
In a true battle to the death, however, there was almost no room for error.
One mistake meant annihilation.
Kyo would soon be transferred to Highcrest City. He could not stop worrying about Norcrest, and he worried even more about Joren, the city’s greatest hope before that hope had fully matured.
Before leaving, he had wanted to shelter the kid one last time.
Now, standing beside him felt almost unnecessary.
At Joren’s current level, even against three peak Rank Five beast kings, retreat would not be a problem.
He might not win.
But no one would be able to keep him there.
As long as Joren survived, given his rate of growth, those three beast kings probably had one or two days left at most.
"I suppose I really can leave now."
A strange trace of pity entered Kyo’s eyes.
It was meant for the three beast kings.
Those old monsters had opposed him for years.
Their time was probably about to end.
They were not ready to face something like Joren.
Inwardly, Kyo lit a candle for them.
"All right."
He rose from the roof of the armored vehicle and brushed the dust from his clothes.
"Since you are Rank Five now, there is no reason for me to remain here as an unnecessary third wheel."
The weight that had been hanging over him disappeared.
"You are leaving now?"
Joren lifted an eyebrow, offering the question out of courtesy.
"What else should I do? Stay here and let you keep making me question my life?"
Kyo shot him an irritated look.
"Highcrest City has been pressing me to report. I should return, pack my things, and prepare to leave."
Once the decision was made, he wasted no time.
Boom!
Blood colored protective force surged into the sky.
Kyo became a crimson streak and shot through the darkness.
Only his laughter remained, rolling across the empty ruins.
"Do whatever you want!"
"Punch a hole straight through the sky!"
"Norcrest... no, the entire Aurelian Dominion will belong to your generation soon enough!"
His voice faded into the distance.
Joren watched until the crimson streak disappeared beyond the horizon, then slowly lowered his gaze.
He stood there and closed one hand into a fist.
"Lord Kyo... left?"
Alar looked from the empty sky to Joren.
"He left."
Joren sat back down on the hood of the armored vehicle. Nothing in his face revealed what he was thinking.
"Then... should we withdraw too?"
Alar asked carefully.
All around them, the soldiers quietly listened.
"Withdraw?"
Joren tilted his head as though Alar had just told a joke.
"We came all this way. Why would we leave now?"
Alar remembered the violent surge in Joren’s aura moments earlier.
Had the Frontier Marshal broken through again?
Was he really prepared to face the three beast kings alone?
At this point, it hardly mattered.
Alar and the rest of Antares Command had already placed unconditional trust in the Frontier Marshal who had only recently taken command.
Since Joren had chosen this path, there had to be a reason.
Joren stretched, shifted into a more comfortable position, and leaned lazily against the windshield.
Then he pointed toward the cluster of buildings ahead, black as ink beneath the dying night.
"Turn on every searchlight."
"The brightest ones we have."