Rico let the shaft of the spear that was still sticking out of his stomach hit the ground in front of him, the grin on his face never fading.
He watched Richard's feet, stagger backwards, and was disappointed when his foot didn't land where he wanted it to.
"It seems even inertia can't be expected to do it job right."
He thought as he slowly began to turn the rings in his soul. If that was all he was doing, it wouldn't have been that uncommon, but instead of turning them in the way, wheels were turned, he was turning the rings as if they were revolving doors, each ring going in The opposite direction of the one beside it.
Slowly they began to gather speed, meanwhile, Richard regained his footing, instead of grabbing for his spear he just launched a fist in Rico's face.
"I won't bother wasting any ether killing you, after all you will die in a few seconds anyway."
On the surface, his words sound calm, unbothered, but Rico could since the anger underlying every word he spoke.
"I just need to push him a little more and he'll come a little closer. Come on Ironblood, aren't you known for embarrassing your enemies?"
Rico thought, trying to keep the deranged smile on his face and look like he was just insane instead of forcing the Ironblood patriarch to play into his hands.
He made sure his voice was quivering and kept changing in octave to make sure he sounded supremely insane before he spoke.
"H how do you think the rumors will spread, Richard The strongest Ironblood, the patriarch of the Ironblood clan nearly fell on his ass after being hit by a man with a foot already in the grave."
On the surface, the words didn't seem to do their job, Richard shrugging in indifference. "Who cares what others think, I know the truth of the matter. Besides, it isn't like their opinions will make me any weaker."
His voice was casual, unbothered by the suggestion of others learning about what Rico had said.
If Rico didn't know Richard, as well, as he did, he might have even believed it, but it showed, the mini glances he took to see just who was watching their fight, the way his focus wasn't entirely centered on Rico anymore, but was also focused on what the warriors around them were saying, the way he subtly straighten his shoulders and raise his chin, a tad bit higher, as if to make sure he looked presentable if someone decided to paint a portrait on The spot.
Realizing Richard wasn't gonna come any closer, Rico began to spin the rings in his soul, faster, and faster, ether pouring out of all four of them as it slowly converged into a ball inside of what what had been his first ring.
As said ball grew bigger, something strange began to happen to his rings. They began to slowly dull, starting with the ring that had brought him to the fourth ring in the first place.
It turned from the Sapphire, blue of the sea, two what looked more like a transparent shell of what it used to be.
As soon as it was fully drained, the ring shattered, as if it couldn't survive under its own weight. meanwhile out in the physical world, Rico spat out blood.
Richard's eyes narrowed, even though he had stabbed Rico, it shouldn't have caused him to spit up that much blood, and even if it did, it shouldn't have happened so late.
Seeing that Richard was growing suspicious, Rico began to talk.
" You got me good, but do you think my family will just rest after this grievance, soon my brother's son will reach the fourth ring, and when he does, he will destroy you."
"How, intimidating."
Richard's voice was so dry but it could have turned a river into a canyon.
Yet Rico wasn't listening at the moment, his focus was entirely on the third ring in his soul, it was Woven in with the second and first ring he had made in his youth, the requirement to move on to the fourth ring, and somehow draining it without causing the rest of them to collapse early as well was proving more difficult than he thought.
"Whoever said dying would be easier than just cultivating, was a fucking liar. This feels like creating my fourth ring all over again, just with less benefits."
Seeing how Rico's eyes had gone blank, Richard realize something was wrong, his eyes narrowed as he thought.
" He isn't dead, I can still feel him breathing, and he isn't passed out either, so what is."
His eyes flashed with alarm as he realized something.
When you were in the first second, and even third rings of cultivation, entering your soul needed you to close your eyes, something that told whoever you were fighting that you were no longer focused, which would normally be right before you were killed.
Yet, when you rose to the fourth ring you gained more than just, power, you begin to be able to access the rings of power within your soul, without having to enter your soul completely, this was due to the fourth ring manifesting some of the power into the body, yet it was still possible to recognize when someone was entering their soul space, or at least when they were entering it completely, even without them, closing their eyes.
The signs of that were the blank eyes, the sign of someone focusing more inward then outward, and that's what Richard was currently seeing.
It was only possible to both fight and manipulate one soul when they had reached the sixth ring, or the second we've.
A/N if you didn't read the auxiliary chapter, both of those are the same thing, the sixth ring and the second weave, I mean.
That same feeling that had forced him to relieve Rico of his left hand, or at least try to came back again, and he knew if he didn't stop whatever Rico was trying to do soon, he would be the one on death doorstep.
without hesitation, Richard forced all of his ether, which was at the moment, not very much, into the air around him, forcing it to push him forward faster than even a Fourth ring speed could compete with.
Since the Spear was still in Rico's stomach, it stabbed all the way through, before cluttering to the ground behind him.
Yet Rico barely reacted, barely shaking before no further reaction was seen for him, even as blood poured from the wound in his stomach.
Yeah, that wasn't what Richard was aiming for, as soon as he was close enough to Rico, he drew back a hand.
Spreading all five of his fingers out, he quickly converged all the wind that had just been pushing his body forward onto his fingers, as they slowly became revolving edges of wind around each digit.
With no hesitation, he slammed his wind, covered hand in Puerto Rico side, or at least he tried to. Rico quickly shifted his bicep in the way of the blow, causing the makeshift clause on Richard's hand to pierce his left arm instead of going through his heart.
When Richard focused back on Rico's eyes, they were now focused, and unnervingly happy.
"I don't know if this is a good thing for me, or a bad thing for you. You enjoy beating your enemies a little too much."
Richard looked at Rico with confusion.
Yet throughout it all he never stopped the movement of his right hand, even as he spoke, he slid the fingers he had lodged in Rico's right arm downwards, shredding more muscle in the process.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
Yeah, even with the pain, Rico seem to be more happy than he had been the entire fight.
Going back into his soul space, Rico had to suppress a smile.
A smile that most people wouldn't have when seeing that all four rings of their cultivation were now shattered.
"Goodbye Richard."
Instead of asking what the hell Rico was talking about for a second time, Richard decided he would be better off, running away, that feeling of a pending danger had only grown when Rico had opened his eyes and now the feeling was almost tangible.
Canceling the wind swelling around his fingers, he quickly pulled his hand back before jumping 10 feet backwards, with the stats of a for free, that should have been possible.
But the keyword here is should have, because as soon as he tried to jump backwards, a strange suction force looking to come from Rico.
For just a split seconds, Richard was confused before his eyes flashed with horror.
"You fucking monster."
His voice is nothing like the calm indifference had been speaking before, it is full of fear that no one had heard from him in decades.
"How could you do that to your own cultivation."
If those words, the smile on Nico's face became peaceful as he responded with a single word. "Family"
Putting on a hand, he prepared to catch Richard as he food towards him.
But Richard hadn't given up fighting yet, quickly taking the spear that will lie on the ground. He caught it in one of his hands, then come without any hesitation he lashed down at where Rico's arm met the elbow.
Rico didn't even try to dodge as his line was cut off.
His smile just became more gentle.
" You can fight all you want, but if I'm dying today, then I'm making sure I'm taking you with me."
With that is the only warning he took a single step, this shouldn't have been caused for a lot. That was if that single step didn't bring him nearly knows to nose with Richard.
Then, holding back nothing he swung out with his only remaining arm.
Which just happened to be his left, when the punch landed broken wasn't the right word for what happened to Richard's jaw, it was more like an undulated before Richard was sent coon backwards. Never mind he flew almost 30 feet for landing back on the ground.
A/NI just had this other Chapter sitting here so I thought I would just post it, and also I'm starting a new book soon. It is called A dragons, internal hunger.