Chapter 65: Challage the shadow victim.

“Allow me to shoulder that responsibility. I will challenge you to the duel in their place.” the Serpent King uttered, standing to his feet with a calm demeanor.

He didn’t look shaken or bothered, despite the fact that the other dungeon bosses were looking at him in a strange, shocked manner.

Kai, however, remained calm as he stared at the Serpent King, watching as he moved forward slowly.

’So he is the one that came out. Red aura, huh. I understand that means bad, but in what way? He wants to harm me; it seems like the logical way to look at it, but there is also a chance it’s just telling me not to trust this person.’

Kai stylishly glanced toward the Eye King, a floor boss that had no humanoid body, but was rather just a fleshy, round shape with long arms dancing around its body and multiple eyes blinking constantly on each limb.

’The Eye King, I think. He’s level 150, with 180 HP—the strongest one here, so beating him would be the most effective. Is it logical to oppose those I deem stronger than me, or should I reserve my strength for those who wish me harm?’

He sighed internally; however, his thoughts were cut off when the Goblin King suddenly spoke.

“Have you gone mad, Serpent King? You would go up against him, knowing his servants are only mere feet away from you?”

That question did make the Serpent King freeze for a second before he turned his gaze to look at the pillars still standing next to the throne.

They didn’t seem bothered in the least, but that didn’t stop the rest of the bosses from feeling intimidated. After all, the weakest monster among the pillars was level 400.

“You need not fret,” Kai suddenly spoke, turning his gaze toward the pillars. “You are not to interfere with this battle, regardless of the outcome. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, my lord,” Lyra answered for them all.

Then Kai looked back at his opponent. “That should ease your worries a bit, correct?”

“Yes, it does,” the Serpent King replied, staring even longer at Kai, but this time with a somewhat nervous look on his face.

Even before he had stepped foot into the dungeon, he had already planned to fight a duel and kill Kai the moment he got the chance.

If he were able to do that, then he could potentially take the dungeon and all the monsters that were inhabiting it as well.

It was a good plan.

And yet, he wondered in that moment, why did he feel quite uneasy about the whole thing?

At first, he thought it was because of the servants in the room. There was a chance that if he killed Kai, he would be dead immediately since the servants would attack.

But since the order had already been given not to interfere, there was a slight chance it wouldn’t happen.

And yet, that only made him more nervous.

Why would a level 10 boss be this confident?

“I would like to ask a question, if you don’t mind,” the Serpent King voiced, his hand still holding the hilt of the two axes behind his back.

“Ask,” Kai replied.

“Do you truly believe you can beat me?”

“Why don’t we find out?”

“Very well then. All the better for me.”

Boom!

Not even a second after he uttered those words, the Serpent King charged forward as fast as he could, arriving right behind Kai with both his axes raised and ready to strike.

Or so he thought.

Before the blades of the axes could hope to connect, Kai turned around, grabbed the monster by the throat, and slammed him back-first to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Then—

[The ability Elemental Manipulation has been activated.]

With a single finger pointed at the monster’s chest, Kai began firing different types of elemental magic at him.

From fireballs to water arrows and so on. Every single one of the bosses watching was so shocked they could barely say a thing even if they wanted to.

Each attack Kai unleashed removed about 30 HP from the Serpent King, and when only a fragment of health remained, the Serpent King suddenly yelled.

“W-ait! Wait! Don’t kill me, please! I yield!”

Kai stared at the Serpent King for a while.

It hadn’t even been a minute.

“You yield? Was this all it took to completely diminish your morale? A basic elemental spell? You disappoint me. With all your animosity, this is the best you could do?”

Kai’s words truly stung the Serpent King, as he himself could not grasp what had just happened, other than the fact that if Kai had kept going, he would have been dead for sure.

The moment Kai grabbed him by the neck, 19 HP had immediately vanished from his bar. When he was smacked to the ground, even though barely any HP was gone from the impact, it made the Serpent King freeze up, as if he had been paralyzed from the chest down.

If that wasn’t enough, the fact that Kai spoke about “hostility” must also mean he knew the hidden plans of the Serpent King.

’He is no ordinary man.’ That much became clear.

With his eyes closed, the Serpent King spoke again.

“Yes. I have no reason to ask for your mercy when I wanted to kill you to begin with. I apologize. Please do as you see fit.”

Kai was silent.

“Good. You might be a snake, but you are no less of a man. You are forgiven.”

Kai walked toward his throne and sat back down, folding his legs once more.

“You may return to your seat. I believe that demonstration has clarified my capabilities. Does anyone still harbor doubts?”

As the Serpent King returned to his position, the rest of the bosses all slightly bowed their heads, showing they were willing to submit and meant no harm.

Seeing this, Kai was satisfied.

’Ah shit, thank goodness he pleaded for his life or else he would have been dead already. I didn’t think his HP would have reduced that much. I mean, I used basic magic, and he barely had any injury on his chest as well.’

He sighed a bit.

’Well, at least that display of power worked. Now the real meeting can begin. Since I don’t know much, I should let my subordinates handle the rest.’

He looked toward Lyra and Sanovere. “I need both of you to handle the rest of the discussion in my stead. I would like to observe.”

“As you wish.” Lyra didn’t hesitate and immediately took small steps forward until she was standing right between the throne and the dungeon bosses.

As for Sanovere, though he kept his cool, it was clear he was rather nervous as he never planned to actually speak to any of the boss lords in front of Kai.

His main priority was to always be in top form when in front of the Shadow of Victim; mistakes were not permitted.

Which was why he would always rehearse his speeches or reports before ever saying them to Kai. In this case, he had none of those.

After hesitating for a while, he finally stepped forward, finding his place right beside Lyra.

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