Nobilis of War novel Chapter 138

Diana's reaction surprised both Colin and Lino. Only a few things could stir up a Holy Lord's emotions—the Omnipotent Talent Skill that Darren mentioned couldn't have been a simple thing.

"Darren, have you truly grasped the inheritance skill of the Dragon?" When Diana stood up, her cyan-colored dress danced in the wind—she looked beautiful.

"Distinguished Holy Lord, I've inherited the skill of the dragon blood through an adventure. I spoke the truth." Unsurprisingly, Darren didn't reveal how he got the skill through assimilation. It was a secret that not even Elsa knew about him.

"That's excellent!"

The smile on Diana's face was bright and rare. Then, she continued, "Darren, as far as I know, the inheritance skill of the Dragon can divide people into hundreds of different avatars, all at the peak of power. How many avatars can you create now?"

Although Diana knew many things, she was wrong about one thing.

From what Darren knew, when a cultivator's true inheritance skill of the Dragon reached a high level, he could create millions or even more avatars. When the skill was at its highest level, those avatars could become one. "At the moment, I'm still a bit of a beginner," Darren answered with candor. "I can only create one avatar with my best combat power."

The bronze mask that Colin gave Darren could improve his strength, but could only increase his combat power. For instance, by wearing the mask, a cultivator at the first stage of the Mysterious Realm could increase his combat power by thirty percent.

The difference was that Darren's Avatar Skill could create one avatar with his best combat power in an instant, equivalent to doubling Darren's peak combat power. The two skills weren't the same thing.

"To create an avatar with your best combat power? Darren, if you really own that skill… That would be amazing!" Colin cried heartily.

"Darren, could you show us that skill? Give us a taste of what you're capable of." Lino couldn't wait to see it for himself.

But Darren shook his head in embarrassment and then turned to Diana. "Holy Lord, you should know that my skill requires the burning of blood essence to create the avatar…it's very self-damaging. If I perform this power now, my strength will probably wane when I take part in the competition."

Indeed, Darren's Blood Dragon Phantom couldn't be launched so casually. Its biggest disadvantage was the need to be mobilized by blood essence.

"Yes, that's right when it comes to the inheritance skill of the Dragon," Diana said, realizing that she should have known better. "I would say Darren's chances of winning would be over fifty percent against the talent of the Ji family."

Previously, Diana estimated a less-than-twenty percent chance of Darren defeating the talent of the Ji family, but now he had the means to win. It was clear that when two of Darren with his best combat power worked together, it would result in something greater than the sum of two Darren working alone.

However, Darren was going to have to overcome not just one, but three talents who owned the bloodline inheritance. In spite of everything, his chances of winning were still slim.

It was only Diana's estimate, after all. In a real battle, so many unforeseeable factors could come into play—no one could be certain of the outcome.

"Even so, it would be too risky to gamble on our inheritable item. Distinguished Holy Lord, please think twice. If anything goes wrong, we'll be sinners forever," Lino advised worriedly, fearing that Diana would agree to the bet without hesitation.

With everything laid out, Diana was torn. The three great families wanted their lotus and Diana, of course, wanted the magic spring.

Considering everything at stake, it was a difficult choice to make.

Scanning the atmosphere, Darren could tell the three were all uncomfortably silent. "Holy Lord, the greatest part of my Omnipotent Talent Skill is the fusion of my avatar with myself. The combined power is at least four times greater than it is at its peak and that's a conservative estimate," Darren explained.

"What?" Colin exclaimed. "Four times greater than it is at its peak?"

Considering that, Darren's odds of winning would be at least ninety percent.

"Darren… you can't exaggerate here." Even Lino was taken aback by Darren's words—if he was telling the truth, Lino, having a steady personality, wanted to persuade Diana to agree to the bet.

"I promise, it's been battle-tested and not exaggerated one bit."

His sincerity and confidence were evident in his expression.

"I believe what he said was no exaggeration…"

With her sharp eyes and knowledge of the inheritance skill of the Dragon, Diana firmly decided to trust Darren.

"Colin, Lino… What do you think about the stakes?" she inquired, glancing at the two.

"It's…" Their hearts were pounding because of the crucial decision—if they won, they would acquire the Ancient Families' magic spring, a rare treasure. It was terribly tempting, but they had to consider the risks of making a choice.

Seeing Colin and Lino's indecision, Diana waved her sleeves and took a seat on the throne before announcing, "Grant their request. I will speak to Holy Lord Landon personally and ask him to do justice. You can go now."

With that, the decision was made.

"Yes, Holy Lord!" The two were so excited that their hands were shaking. Now that their Holy Lord had given the order, it was a done deal!

Immediately, Colin and Lino turned around and flew off with Darren toward the square.

"Whew…"

With a loud exhale, Diana looked more excited than ever. "The stakes are so high this time…I'm a little scared," she muttered.

"It's showtime, Darren. I hope you won't let me down."

In the blink of an eye, Darren, Colin, and Lino arrived at their destination.

"Well, just tell us. What will your Holy Land's bet be exchanged for?" asked one of the chiefs of the Ancient Families, looking sardonic. "We don't necessarily accept that," he added.

"If you bet less than ten million ink stones, please don't bother. Do you understand?"

"Hmph… ten million ink stones? We're not beggars! Twenty million at the very least," sneered the Wei family chief.

In the eyes of the three Ancient Family chiefs, the Lotus Holy Land's bet was like a present for free—the higher the stakes of the bet, the better it would be for them.

"Ink stones? Isn't your appetite…"

After a pause, Colin snapped, "Too small!"

With a wave of his sleeve, he walked to Landon, bowing slightly to him.

"Please bear witness to us, Holy Lord Landon," he respectfully asked. "Our Lotus Holy Land agrees to their bet. We bet our lotus on their magic spring."

His words got the square buzzing.

Betting with the magic spring and the lotus? It was probably the biggest bet ever heard of. And to have bet on the competition of a younger generation?

Such a thing made everyone feel a little nervous as if the atmosphere had suddenly gotten too stuffy.

The whole Ancient Families were astoundingly silent.

'The Lotus Holy Land agreed to our request?' 'What a surprise!'

'What do they have to rely on?' 'Is that the teenager?'

With these questions, the three chiefs of the Ancient Families became hesitant in their response.

"Colin… you're not faking the message, are you?"

After a long moment, one of the chiefs finally had to ask the question.

"Ha!

Wasn't it you who proposed this bet? What, are you backing out of the gamble now?" Colin sneered.

"I came all the way here with Colin to deliver the message. How could it be a lie?" Lino snapped. "If you don't have the confidence to bet, then just admit it!"

Although he spoke the words clearly and articulately, his palms were beginning to sweat—there was no denying that the stakes were too high.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think our Ancient Family disciples would be afraid of a little boy from your Lotus Holy Land? We're afraid you'll go back on your word when you lose the game," snarled the chief of the Wei family stiffly.

"Well… You need not worry about that," Colin uttered curtly in response.

"They're not lying. Holy Lord Diana just sent me a message, asking me to bear witness. Have you reached a mutual agreement?" With lightning flashing all over him, Landon walked to the middle of the crowd and continued, "I just want to get one thing straight here. Since you have invited me to bear witness, once you both agree to the bet, you must abide by the rules. Otherwise, I will break the very rules of the Holy Land and join forces with the victorious side!"

A rule in the Holy Land prevented forces from joining together and going against each other.

But regardless of that, Holy Lord Landon was considered the strongest in the Holy Land.

Once they made the bet, they would be left with no choice but to follow the rules if they wanted to survive. If they failed to do so, the losing party would be suppressed by two extremely powerful forces simultaneously—it would be completely obliterated.

After heeding the warning, the three chiefs broke out in a cold sweat, unable to make up their minds.

"Chief, there's nothing to worry about. It's a great opportunity!"

"Take on the bet, Chief. We can easily win this time."

While the chiefs hesitated, the younger generation of the Ancient Families couldn't be more excited—they didn't understand why their chiefs were hesitant at all when the competition already had a practically decided result. To these younger ones, their chiefs were too timid.

After pondering for a long moment, in the end, the chiefs couldn't resist the chance of getting the lotus. Giving in to the temptation, they made a statement in succession.

"Our Yu family accepts this bet!"

"Our Wei family agrees!"

"Our Ji family will go through with this!"

Having accepted the bet, they all felt relieved. It was a three-on-one contest and their contestants were the strongest talents under the age of twenty. With that in mind, the chiefs realized that they had no reason to hesitate.

"Okay!" Landon shouted. "I will be your witness!"

It would seem that the bet excited even Landon. With that, he released his momentum and rays of purple lightning fell from the sky, flying between heaven and earth—its boundless pressure made people tremble.

Having seen Holy Lord Landon's strength, who would dare break the rules of the game?