Out of nowhere, he felt a sudden sense of danger and twisted in the air, changing his direction abruptly.
A palm strike of compressed air shot through the space where he had been running seconds before, destroying everything in its path and shattering the base of a tree into splinters.
Uhtred’s eyes widened. The attack had been aimed at his legs, not to kill him, but to completely sever his feet from the knees down, disabling him entirely.
"Hmph! You actually dodged it," an old, haughty voice spoke.
Uhtred glanced back briefly, but he didn’t slow down. Floating above the trees behind him was an old man in pure white silk robes. His white beard fluttered in the wind, and his long hair was pulled back into a regal ponytail.
He hovered in the air without any obvious support. There were no air platforms, no wings, and no visible spell displacements holding him up. He simply floated as if it were second nature.
Fuck! This guy is on another level!
"Tch! Running like a rat! You still refuse to stop?"
The old man moved, zooming toward Uhtred and sending another palm strike of compressed air tearing through the forest. This one carried far more destruction, sending shockwaves rippling through the air that shattered branches and crushed the surrounding ground.
Uhtred reacted instantly, releasing a precise spell to disrupt the incoming force before it reached him.
He manifested a geodesic dome constructed entirely of compressed air. Rather than a smooth barrier, the angular, multi-faceted geometry of the shape allowed it to disperse the impact of the shockwaves with far greater efficiency.
It was one of the specialized defensive spells he had developed over the past year back on Earth. However, given the split second he had to construct it, he was only able to form a small, partial arc.
The barrier shattered on impact, the residual kinetic force knocking him sideways into a rough tumble. But despite the crash, the damage was minor. He scrambled back to his feet instantly and resumed his sprint.
The Ancestor stared in shock at the strange spell Uhtred had conjured.
"So Nayu was right," the Ancestor muttered, his expression darkening into pure malice. "There really is something wrong with you. You are no longer that boy, so who the hell are you?!"
He dove again, fueled by the fury of a man whose prized granddaughter had just been forced into a precarious, dangerous situation, bound to someone whose identity was entirely unknown and mysterious.
Before he could reach him, however, Uhtred slipped behind a massive tree trunk and vanished from sight. The ancestor frowned slightly, his eyes darting around the surroundings. He took off into the air again to gain an aerial perspective.
Seconds later, he spotted Uhtred.
The young man was standing in a small clearing just ahead, waiting quietly. Instead of running, he just stood there, his cold eyes locked on the Ancestor in an open challenge.
For a brief moment, that cold, unnerving gaze sent an instinctive chill through the Ancestor, but he suppressed the feeling immediately.
"Did I just feel threatened by a mere child?" he muttered under his breath then floated down into the clearing, landing on the opposite side to face Uhtred directly.
"So you finally decided to stop." The Ancestor surveyed the area, then suddenly, his lips curved into an amused, dangerous smile. "Ah... so this is where you want to make your stand. Everything you did was calculated to separate me from the rest of the search party. It will take them at least ten minutes to reach here... and that is even if they pick up on your trail perfectly."
"You must have quite the trump card if you think you can kill me in ten minutes." The ancestor paused, then suddenly the amused smile on his face morphed into something wicked. "Unfortunately for you, you have severely underestimated me."
The weight of his presence flared, his aura expanding until it became almost tangible. It crashed down on the clearing like a mountain, attempting to crush Uhtred’s spirit and force his body to collapse under the sheer gap in their power.
Uhtred’s knees buckled. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as he fought to keep himself upright. The Ancestor pressed down harder with his dense essence, intent on driving the young man to his knees.
Yet, despite the crushing pressure and the terrifying display of power, instead of fear or despair, a grin broke across Uhtred’s face.
He forced his head up millimeter by millimeter, meeting the Ancestor’s shocked gaze with a cold, mocking stare.
"So you’re still in the Nascent Realm...?" Uhtred spat through gritted teeth. "And here I thought I was dealing with someone from a higher realm..."
Suddenly, a prompt appeared in his vision:
[Mandatory Interaction Choices]
1. Fight: Fight the An clan Ancestor. You have set up a fight with a series of good planning and quick thinking. It’s time to show your viewers what you have up your sleeves... (90% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)
2. Run: Escape from the An clan Ancestor. The power difference between you two is vast. Cherish your life and try to escape even though it may seem impossible. (8% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)
3. Come To A Peaceful Resolution: Try to talk with the An clan Ancestor and come to a peaceful resolution. Not all matters must be settled in violence. The An clan Ancestor may not want you dead. You still have the chance to be with Nayu An. (2% of your audience have voted to see this outcome)
[You must select one of these three choices, or else you will suffer a terrible penalty]
[00 : 00 : 10]
[00 : 00 : 09]
"No need for a countdown..."
There was only one option here. The other two were useless.
A whopping ninety-percent of his viewers wanted to see him fight. He himself wanted to fight, not just because it was the only realistic choice, but also because he wanted to fight the Ancestor.
For all his scheming and quick thinking, a primal part of Uhtred was excited at the pressure roiling off the An clan Ancestor. He wanted to test himself.
He selected his choice immediately, allowing the world to resume back to normal.
"...I’m fighting this guy."
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