Chapter 440: You have it in you

Valdel couldn't believe just how weak his descendants were. He looked at each one of them and found they had nothing to them. They had no honor, no pride, not even the willpower.

"This has been nothing more than a disappointment. How pathetic, just announce that I have already won." Valdel looked at the Chief and waited. The Chief who was still looking at the ten didn't respond. He and all the other beastkin didn't expect such an outcome.

No one in this place had underestimated Valdel, they understood all too well that this person was some kind of monster in human form. Still, they thought that once his mana was taken out of the equation, he would simply be a slightly stronger human.

Some of the elders wanted to see Valdel embarrass himself, especially when he arrogantly challenged all of their warriors. They thought that this trial would finally put him in his place, but it turned out to have a completely different ending from what they imagined.

In their view, Valdel was stronger than them in every possible way. Strength, speed, technique, will, he had everything a warrior needs, and it would seem he had the experience to use his advantages correctly.

Even the head warrior who believed that his older brother was the strongest warrior around was shaken by the scene in front of him. Every move Valdel did was precise and done without any hesitation. He even moved ahead of the others anticipating their every move, if he made one mistake during those times he would have gotten hit. Still, not once did he hesitate in each move he made, it was like he didn't care if he made a mistake, or was he so sure that he couldn't make a mistake? Either way, the head warrior knew that Valdel's level was greater than what he initially thought.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Just tell them that the trial is over, or do you want me to kill them?"

The Chief was jolted awake by what Valdel said. The moment he heard that he wanted to quickly respond, but then one of the warriors stood up and roared. For the first time since this whole thing started Valdel's expression changed. It changed from one of contempt into one of surprise.

The warrior that stood up looked at the surprised Valdel and once again roared. The anger and embarrassment he felt pushed him forward. He hated it, that no matter what he did he couldn't even touch Valdel. He hated it even more that he couldn't deny any insult Valdel made of them. More than that he felt like if he continued to kneel on the ground like this, he would forever regret it.

Still, he was feeling scared by the overwhelming difference in ability between him and Valdel. So to scare away the fear he was feeling, he roared. To remove away the shame he felt he roared. To motivate himself he roared.

At this moment the warrior felt empowered and he could feel his blood boiling, it felt as if something wanted to burst out of him. The warrior charged at Valdel.

When Valdel's saw the charging warrior, he sighed. He was surprised by that roar and thought that something different might happen, but when he saw the warrior simply charging at him Valdel felt disappointed again.

'These pups seem to know nothing but to blindly charge.' Valdel as everyone expected was able to easily dodge the attack with a sidestep. Yet the moment he did so he felt something heavy hitting him at his abdomen. The warrior was actually able to kick Valdel.

The beastkin watching, Valdel, and even the warrior himself were surprised by what happened. Valdel was able to block the attack and was simply pushed back by a bit, but that was still the first time one of these warriors were able to touch him.

'Was that a fluke or was that something else?' This time it was Valdel who attacked. The warrior no longer hesitated and felt his instincts kicking in, telling him what to do. The warrior stopped thinking and followed his instincts, and quickly ducked his head. Valdel's attack missed its target and he was now about to receive a counter, Valdel quickly used both his arms to block the attack.

The warrior then continued to press on, he couldn't fully understand what was happening, but he just followed his instincts and no longer thought about anything else but to attack. Valdel was finally forced to take this seriously as he evaded and blocked the incoming attacks.

The other warriors who were on their knees looked at the sudden change of that one warrior and were surprised. Their level of skill were all at the same level, yet at this moment this one warrior was able to burst out in an incredible show of power and skill.

The elders who were watching were also happily surprised, they started to think that maybe this warrior could actually do something about Valdel. Yet in the next moment as if to mock them, Valdel was able to push down the warrior.

...

Even with this, he wasn't able to win, the warrior bit gnashed his teeth in frustration. He looked up expecting to see the look of contempt on Valdel's face, yet what he saw was something entirely different. Valdel was actually smiling at him.

"So you guys do have it in you! You guys aren't such a waste after all. So how about you guys, are you going to do something too?" Valdel looked at the other nine warriors and asked. Yet unlike this one warrior who faced him with full determination and ferocity, none of the others seem to be displaying a similar spark. Still, now that Valdel saw that they might actually have the potential, he started to think differently.

"Hey, I won this trial, right?

"... Yes."

"That means no matter your opinions, you can only believe me to be your ancestor correct?"

"Yes, but it actually means, you are now our king."

"I don't really want to be something like a king again. So you guys don't need to treat me as such. All I want from you guys is to follow me to war. Once that's done, then you can assign another person to be a king."