Chapter 43: It Was Not Spring

Chapter 43: It Was Not Spring

Zoya saw Bran’s face gradually darken, just like his brother’s. She could not imagine how a clean, pale face could be covered with a layer of blue. Yet right before her eyes, a layer of ashen gray quickly, suddenly appeared on Bran’s face. A sharp, stinging feeling came, triggered by some aura emanating from Bran. So, she took several steps back and hid behind her brother.

Eileen looked at Bran in surprise, inconspicuously taking small steps to increase the distance between them. Although she wanted to warn her brother, her brother at this moment was gazing fervently and foolishly at Bran’s sister, which made her resent her brother somewhat. She also silently cursed her father. Bran had more than just two short blades on him, and she also somewhat understood where the danger in her intuition came from. It was like facing a porcupine. It might not be particularly power ful or deadly, but when actually confronted with it, it’s hard to know where to bite.

Bran regretted it. He shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have called his sister to step forward. So, he wanted to make up for his mistake. He would use any means necessary to drive away this detestable Little Dragon Boy.

From the very first day Bran arrived in this world, he had no sense of security. The first thing he did was arm himself. After awakening as a wizard, the convenience brought by his abilities allowed this arming to become even more thorough, though he did it very discreetly and carefully. Past life movies and novels gave him too many ideas. So, on his belt, in his wrist guards, under his clothes, and in many places people wouldn’t notice, he hid many small but lethal weapons. And as Bran’s abilities and resources improved, these weapons kept updating and evolving.

Now these weapons began responding to him. They had been concealed on Bran for too long, day and night mingling with the mana he emitted. Now this mingling finally reached a critical point. Stimulated by a certain emotion, they were endowed with a trace of spirituality. Like newborns needing to cry out to announce their arrival, they began to vibrate and hum.

The black cat Huahua also seemed to sense this spirituality. She began circling her master, sniffing here, touching there, pressing slightly. The sharp, piercing intent that occasionally burst from Bran had no effect on Huahua. Her mana and Bran’s had long since merged and become inseparable. Quite enjoying it, she would rub her body against him whenever the sharp intent erupted. Gradually, this sharp intent also spread from Huahua, covering her black fur.

How many times was this? Bran looked on angrily as Aiman, like an unkillable pest, fell down and got back up again and again…

No matter how angry Bran was, as a Northlander, he would not interrupt someone else’s duel. So, he could only wait, anxious and resentful. The humming from his body grew louder and more piercing. Under his clothes, it was as if countless lives were about to break out of their cocoons, rippling and moving. Finally, his gaze turned to Eileen, who was now far away from him. So, he walked towards her, accompanied by countless harsh, shrill sounds.

“Let’s begin too. I’ll show you the flash of blades, I promise.” Bran said through slightly gritted teeth.

“No, I’ve changed my mind.” Eileen pretended to look indifferent. At the same time, she thought to herself, no one would be foolish enough to face an angry porcupine. They would wait for its anger to subside first.

Furious and flustered, Bran shouted to his sister, “Knock him down!” All the weapons hidden on his body finally synchronized their vibrations at this moment. All the sharp, piercing sounds merged into one howl: “Knock him down!”

Mixed within this howl was also the yowl of a cat, “Owwwooo…”

Everyone paused their actions and looked at Bran, that furious and flustered child, as if looking at a monster.

Lily looked at her brother and smiled. “Okay.”

Aiman met a truly impactful blow. This strike did not send him flying or knock him down. He could even be said to remain unmoved. It was just that a force wreaked havoc inside his body. He felt like a tuning fork that had been struck, with every joint, every tooth, every hair vibrating.

…

Seeing his son carried back still full of fighting spirit, Dragon Rider Father felt secretly pleased. This is how a warrior should be. Failure is not scary; the key is to have an indomitable will. Good son, just like me!

He called his daughter over and began asking about today’s events. “Put other things aside for now. Tell me clearly and in detail about your brother’s performance today. Look at your brother’s spirit today. Learn more from him. What’s needed is this kind of tenacious, unyielding character. This personality comes from me!”

Who would have thought that before his words even faded, his daughter became agitated. “Whoever wants to learn, can learn. I can’t be like you either!”

“What kind of talk is that?”

“What kind of talk! Having one is embarrassing enough, and you want me to learn from him?”

Then the matter of his son fancying the Northlander girl was brutally revealed. Dragon Rider Father felt like his breath was cut off, his vision going dark…

Too lazy to talk about his disappointing son anymore, he began asking about other things. His daughter started complaining again. “With your eyesight, Father, that guy is just a porcupine…”

Dragon Rider Father looked carefully at his daughter and prompted, “Think about it, what does this kind of reaction resemble?”

Eileen lowered her head and carefully recalled every detail, suddenly exclaiming, “Ability Awakening. He’s a wizard! He’s a wizard!”

Dragon Rider Father also laughed heartily. “That’s right! And he’s a wizard with not-weak abilities. That’s why the Northlanders’ reaction is so strange. I wanted to sell a foolish son, but in the end…”

Dragon Rider Father clapped his hands, laughing uncontrollably. “I was wondering how the Northlanders grew a brain. They were forced to!”

However, soon his beloved daughter gave him a heavy blow. “Don’t celebrate too early. Think about your infatuated son who takes after you in everything.”

“Urk…”

…

Lily complained to Bran with some dissatisfaction. “I’m the one fighting, why are you so worked up?”

“Is this just about fighting?”

“What do you think it is!?”

“I was worried a good cabbage was being trampled by a pig! This is my fault. From now on, I’ll handle the fights myself. I’ll crush him!”

“Hah! Forget about you. Ambush, hit from behind with a club, and in the end, the other guy figures you out, directly draws his blade on you, and you’re dumbfounded, right? Then you know to call your sister.”

“I can’t explain this to you clearly. Let’s talk about serious business.” Bran took out an oval-shaped stone and handed it to his sister.

Lily looked at her brother, mystified, tossing the stone in her hand.

“Listen to me. Hold it tight. Focus your attention. Feel that heat within your body. Concentrate it in your hand. Imagine this heat filling every part of your hand, the bones, muscles, skin, hair. Then exert force and squeeze.”

Watching the stone crack in her sister’s hand, Bran grinned. “I guessed it would be like this.”

Looking at Bran’s wide grin, Lily was confused. What did this mean? What prank was her brother planning now?

“Don’t look at me like that. This has nothing to do with me.” Bran spread his hands. It was all you. “I’m a wizard. Actually, you are too. You can move away from me and try it on other random things. Actually, your strength has always been the greatest among us brothers and sisters. Your strength has also been increasing a bit too quickly. Haven’t you ever found it strange?

It’s just that before, it was all unconscious training. Now with conscious control, the effect will be more obvious.”

Watching his sister run off to experiment, Bran began his habitual spacing out. But soon he sensed a killing intent aimed at him. Looking at his sister’s angry face before him, Bran cautiously asked, “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“When did you find out?”

“Not long after I first awakened. I felt the mana repulsion near you was more obvious than with others. Also, I noticed you didn’t react much yourself, so I thought your ability might be the kind that directly acts on yourself, combined with yourself so tightly that it’s hard for you to notice.”

“Meaning, you realized a long time ago but never told anyone!?”

“Uh…”

Bran sprang up and turned to run, shouting, “It’s not too late now!”

But it was too late. He was slapped to the ground by his sister, who then started pounding him. “I’ll show you ‘not too late’! I’ll show you ‘not too late’!”