From Ruin to Reign Leander's Unbreakable Will novel Chapter 454

Two titans hung in the sky, tension stretched tight as a wire.

Khaedor loomed above the valley like an ancient god, power rolling off him in waves that made the air tremble.

Leander floated opposite him, light and ungraspable—as if reality barely held him.

A shriek tore across the sky.

Before either could strike, a dark shape came plummeting from above. It hit the valley floor like a warhammer. Dirt blasted outward, and the mountain base quaked violently.

As the dust settled, a massive figure emerged within a new crater. His shoulders were as wide as a fortress wall, and a fierce killing intent radiated from his eyes.

He fell several hundred feet without a bruise. He hovered above the crater as if he had no weight.

"That's Nicholas Adkins... the Bloodthorn Mercenary commander."

Recognition rippled across the watchers.

Bloodthorn Mercenaries ranked second among the four great mercenary corps, and Nicholas stood at their helm. Hundreds served under him, many of them seasoned martial arts masters.

Nicholas himself was their strongest weapon—a Transcendent body-forger with strength so deep no list could measure him. The International Combat Units list ignored mercenaries, although rumors claimed he once traded blows with Torrez, the Raging Bull, head-on.

No one ever spoke of who won, yet one fact spoke louder than any rumor. After that fight, Torrez the Raging Bull never set foot in Bloodthorn Mercenaries' territory again. That alone made it clear he had been the one defeated.

Bloodthorn Mercenaries' base was in the Sahar Wastes, so his arrival here stunned everyone.

Nicholas swept one cold look at Leander before bowing to Khaedor. "Mr. Khaedor."

Shock flickered across the crowd. Rumors returned instantly—Nicholas descended from a steward of a Blood Clan count. Khaedor's bloodline came from that very house.

The whispers were true.

Khaedor's voice lowered. "Nicholas, why appear now?"

"I came to support you, Mr. Khaedor," Nicholas replied. "The master feared trouble over the relic, so he ordered me to trail you."

He lifted his arm toward Leander. "Jeff, if you want to face Mr. Khaedor, you have to get past me. Fail here, and you're not qualified to stand before him."

Khaedor stood with a monarch's bearing, pride sharp enough to cut.

"Mr. Khaedor?" Leander released a short laugh, head shaking. "Some mutt thinks it can raise its voice at me?"

His gaze sharpened, and his voice iced over. "Fine. I'll even be generous. Both of you can come at me together."

Nicholas' expression hardened. "Jeff, your arrogance disgusts me. If you crave death so badly, I'll break your undefeated legend myself."

He roared and shot forward. His fist smashed downward with the force of a falling boulder.

Wind pressure alone carved a chunk of cliff away.

Leander didn't dodge. He lifted his fist and struck.

Boom.

The valley trembled as a shockwave radiated outward, causing the ground beneath Nicholas to collapse several yards away from the impact.

Leander barely shifted, hovered in the air, and absorbed Nicholas' punch without budging.

Nicholas flipped back, boots skidding across the earth. "You're a body-forger?"

Crack. He punched.

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