Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Sensing the rising tension in the air, Felicia, the most powerful of the experts present from the side of the Yulan Empire, turned her tranquil gaze to the brown-haired youth standing indifferently beside Linley.

"Olivier Akerlund, the prodigy swordsman," Felicia said softly. "Your reputation precedes you."

Olivier's ever-indifferent eyes fell on the enchanting woman hovering in the skies before them but didn't respond. He merely stared at her, calmly waiting for her to continue, not seeming to mind the awkward silence.

"My Yulan Empire doesn't have a problem with you; as such, we would appreciate it if you would refrain from getting involved in what happens next," Felicia smiled, not seeming to mind his lack of response. "In fact, as a citizen of the former O'Brien Empire, you could be considered a member of my Yulan Empire. As such, if you wish, we would welcome you to join us in our exploration of the ru…"

"Not interested," Olivier replied apathetically.

Seeing his indifference, one of the other disciples of the High Priest opened his mouth to angrily interject when Felicia raised her hand to stop them.

"As expected from the perpetual lone wolf," Felicia replied, her tone as gentle as ever. "How about this then, even if you don't join our team permanently, what about a temporary alliance? If you help us get rid of Linley, we'll split the treasures in the cottage 80% to us and 20% to you. What do you say?"

"Boss," Bebe mentally transmitted to Linley. "This is bad! Even without Olivier's help, our chances of fighting our way out are slim, but if he joins their side…"

"I know Bebe," Linley sent back helplessly. "But what can we do?"

"60-40," Olivier replied.

"You want 40%?" Felicia's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's not imp…"

"I want 60%," Olivier stated directly. "Linley already agreed to split it 50/50. If you want me to jump ships, you need to at least best his offer."

"My senior sister offering you 20% is already giving you more than you deserve," the High Priest's 18th disciple snorted. "Do you really think we fear you?"

"Don't waste your breath, Jelnim," Felicia said, staring deeply at the brown-haired youth. "Olivier never had any intention of joining us. It appears his relationship with the Baruch Clan is deeper than we knew."

Olivier's decision had little to do with Linley, but he was never one to explain himself. As such, he simply tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

During his last fight with Ace, his former longsword and family heirloom, "Icedream", had shattered into thousands of pieces. Since then, he had been forced to wield swords of inferior quality, at least when compared to his previous one, but after making it up here to the fifth floor, he was lucky enough to find himself a Demi-God-level Divine Sword that seemed to suit him near perfectly.

The hilt of the sword was wrapped in white leather, offering a comfortable and secure grip, and at the pommel, a sapphire gemstone was embedded, gleaming with a soft, ethereal light.

It had a slender and elegantly tapered blade, approximately three feet in length, which appeared to be forged from an otherworldly material that shimmered with an iridescent silver hue, resembling that of a flawless moonlit surface.

But what made Olivier fall in love with this sword almost immediately was that it seemed to resonate with both the Laws of Light and Darkness, making his attacks when utilising either Law several times stronger. A sword like that ending up in his hands was no different than giving wings to a tiger.

"Haha, Boss, this Olivier isn't too bad after all," Bebe sent mentally as he looked at Olivier with appreciation. "Maybe after all this is done, you should let him join our Baruch Territory."

"Let him?" Linley asked back, stupefied by Bebe's words. "Do you really think a pride-filled genius like him would even want to join?"

Linley could only shake his head helplessly at his partner's brazenness. Still, he couldn't help but turn to the brown-haired young man with gratitude. "Olivier, thank you."

"I didn't do it for you," Olivier said, glancing lightly at the Azure Dragonblood Warrior beside him before turning back to those from the New Yulan Empire, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm doing this for me."

Olivier's words led those listening to believe he was merely doing it for a bigger share, but only he knew that only constituted the smallest part of the reason.

The truth was, ever since his loss to Ace and Wukong, Olivier couldn't help but compare himself to them, and not just as far as talent and backing were concerned. Olivier knew that whether it was talent or backing, Olivier was lacking in comparison compared to both Ace and Wukong, but he also knew that wasn't the only difference between them.

After a lot of contemplation, Olivier finally came to a realisation after watching the battle between Wukong's group and the other saints led by the Yulan Empire.

Whilst talent and good teachers definitely played a very large part in their growth, the thing that really forced them to improve so quickly was the constant pressure they faced from seemingly all directions.

For most, that sort of pressure would cause you to crumble and collapse, but for those select few who were able to come out on top, it would cause them to grow at an extremely accelerated pace. Forget about Ace and Wukong; even the other geniuses around them – most of whom were no more talented than him – were no exception.

It was for that very reason that Olivier decided to unnecessarily provoke the Yulan Empire. As far as he was concerned, if others could do so and survive, then so too could he – The Prodigy Sword Saint, Oliver Akerlund.

Understanding that there was no way to convince Olivier to take a step back, a helpless sigh escaped Felicia's lips before she gave a gentle command. "Kill Linley and Olivier, but make sure not to kill Bebe,"

"Boss, these bastards are too scared of angering Grandpa Beirut to attack me," Bebe sent mentally as his eyes lit up with excitement at Felicia's words. "We can use that to our advantage,"

Nothing else needed to be said; Linley instantly understood that Bebe wanted to go on what would normally be described as a frenzied advance, attacking their group seemingly recklessly. But what made Linley agree wasn't just the fact that the experts from the Yulan Empire wouldn't dare to go too far when attacking Bebe, but also because even if they did, they would be hard-pressed to even break the fur on Bebe's back.

After reaching the peak of the ninth rank, Bebe's defence – which was his best feature – was hard to penetrate, even for peak saints.

"Mmh, let's try it your way," Linley nodded as he watched his opponents hurrying towards them. "But be careful."

Getting Linley's okay, Bebe's already excited eyes turned faintly bloodthirsty as he turned into a black blur, hurrying to meet the group head-on with Linley and Olivier following right behind him.

Felicia, who didn't appear to be in a hurry to enter the fray, frowned slightly. Despite having a numerical advantage, Linley's trio were able to fight them to a standstill, with Bebe's reckless onslaught needing half of their force to simply keep him at bay, with the rest having to be split into two groups to face Linley and Olivier.

Compared to when he fought Ace, Olivier's power had gone through earthshaking changes. Not only had the might of his dual-layered battle-qi increased drastically after breaking through to the middle stages of the saint realm, but he had also gained insight into three separate Profound Mysteries and seamlessly infused all of them into his [Lightshadow Sword Art].

Between that and the effects of his newly acquired Divine Artifact – The Luminous Shadow Blade – he was able to fight a peak saint like Leahman, who was only one step from becoming a prime saint to a standstill, despite only being a mid-staged saint himself. In fact, if it weren't for the constant interference of the other saints, Olivier would likely be the one suppressing the Commander of the Radiant Churches Zealots.

On the other side, Linley was fairing no worse than Olivier. After breaking through to the ninth rank in his human form, Linley would become a Peak Saint-level warrior after transforming. Because of that, when using the [Rippling Tide Stance] of his [Serenity Sword Art], he was seemingly invincible in close quarters.

Despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, Linley's masterful swordsmanship gave him a definitive upper hand. His foes, though skilled in their own right, were no match for the precision and fluidity of his strikes. His blade danced through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages that confounded his opponents.

Standing on the outskirts of the battle, Heidens hovered, attacking relentlessly from a safe range. In his hands, Heidens held a Demi-God level Divine Mage's Staff, a rare and potent artifact that amplified the potency of his light-based spells.

From a distance, Heidens unleashed a barrage of light elemental spells, each with the potential to obliterate his foes. Beams of pure light sliced through the air, their intensity rivalling the scorching sun.

However, Heidens dared not venture too close to Linley. The young warrior's prowess was simply frightening, and getting within striking distance of his sword was a gamble Heidens wasn't willing to take. Instead, he relied on his formidable range and the destructive power of his spells to try and kill this Dragonscaled threat to his organisation.

Unfortunately for him, Linley, ever agile and alert, deftly evaded the onslaught, his movements a testament to his exceptional combat skills.

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