Yu of Basilisk

A white long-haired man in a faceless black mask walked towards the foot of a large mountain. He wore a blue jacket over a black turtleneck shirt with black trousers and sneakers. As he approached, a man with a sword on his waist stood up to meet him. "You must be the newbie. For a moment, I thought you would turn out to be the guy with a bounty on his head, but that doesn't seem like it", Yu said and stood twenty meters away from Lin.

Lin stopped too, and said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry to disappoint you".

Yu gritted his teeth angrily, almost cracking it. "No, I am sorry", he said. "I will say this just once. If you have any shame left, then turn your back and leave."

"I do not want to join your party anyway, but I haven't a choice. Besides, the captain invited me herself. I don't see why I should turn down a lady as beautiful as her."

Yu was angered by what he said and slashed towards Lin instantly. Lin avoided the attack as it split the leaves in his previous position down the middle.

"Don't talk about the captain with that foul mouth of yours. That was just a warning. Turn back now. If you take a step closer, it will be your last."

Lin was not offended at all. He found the man's behaviour absurd. "What is wrong with this guy? Is he high or something?"

Lin looked at him as he would a madman. "If you have an issue with me joining your party, go talk it over with your boss. It has nothing to do with me", Lin said and took another step forward. He quickly retreated as a sword slashed the ground where he stepped, "What the hell? Are you n***?" Lin snapped.

Yu pointed the blade at him, "Don't test my patience", he snarled. Lin's eyes twitched as he peered at Yu, though Yu couldn't see his face because of the mask. "So, you are one of those guys", Lin remarked. Yu was a bit confused and tilted his head to one side. "One of who?" he asked.

"Them. Nutjobs, I mean". Yu's power exploded as he growled, "Courting Death!". His aura became tangible instantly as green flames covered his blade. He slashed fiercely towards Lin, who withdrew to avoid the attack.

The blade struck the ground, cleanly cutting a three-meter-deep trench into it. Yu attacked Lin fiercely without so much as a pause. He was like a barrel dropped down a steep slope. There was no stopping him.

Using the footwork of Ghost, Lin focused on evading Yu's attack. Everywhere they passed, a cleave remained in the ground. "He is tough, but I can take him. If he was in his right state of mind, he might have been difficult to deal with, but now that he is rampaging like an idiot, it would be easier to deal with him."

Lin summoned his spear and blocked Yu's next strike. He got thrown back a few hundred feet. He dug into the ground with his feet to stop himself from going further back. "So, you wield flames too, huh? Let's see whose flame is stronger. After all, your green flames can hold no candle against my black flame." Lin baited. After having exchanges for only a few minutes, Lin could already tell Yu's real intention. He figured the guy wouldn't turn down such a challenge.

Hearing Lin, Yu gritted his teeth. "You are already dead, you mutt. Stop throwing around vain challenges." Green flame wrapped around Yu as his eyes turned green. He didn't look like he was human anymore but like fire itself. That was Yu's skill <Flame Transformation: Hell Bane>

Seeing the rampaging Yu, Lin cackled loudly, "That's it, man, this is the kind of battle I have been looking forward to. You gotta show me how to do that later. Hahahahahahahaaaa" Lin's power exploded like an erupting volcano. Black fire burned wildly around his entire being.

"That's it, man, draw out more power and become a discharged battery." Lin thought with a smirk. The black flame ran wildly around him and his spear. He held the middle of the spear as Yu's blade descended towards him at blinding speed.

He pushed the spear forward and allowed the tip of the spear to hit the tip of the sword. A shockwave resonated within a fifty-meter radius, obliterating everything within. The once grassy land became barren, and a deep gouge remained where the two weapons collided. Both Lin and Yu got blown back about two thousand feet.

Lin coughed up blood and clutched his chest. He dug into the ground with his spear. "Haa, haa, haa, haa", he panted as he tried to catch his breath. "So strong. A rank 14 is no joke. I better finish this before he regains his composure."

Yu had already gotten up and headed for Lin. Blood leaked from the side of his lips as he ran along. "That brat. Isn't he supposed to be of a lower rank or something? Last I heard, he was a rank 10. If he had gone up in rank, at most, it can only be two ranks in a week. But since he came, I couldn't tell what level he was. I should quickly kill him before the captain gets back."

The two met and exchanged blows once more. Spear and sword collided as the air got laced with black and green flames. There was more destruction as the two fought on. Yu got hit by a flame orb which caused him to stagger back. Lin laced his hands in flames and punched Yu in the face using the chance he created. Yu's sun hat got sent flying as he struggled to remain on his feet. Two more flame orbs hit him and finally threw him onto the ground.

Lin appeared by his side immediately and pointed the spear at his neck. "Yield", Lin demanded and looked at him with an ice-cold glare. "You little brat!" Yu yelled and was about to attack again. Black flame suddenly latched onto Yu and burned him. "It's strange you don't realise you are at a disadvantage here."

"That's enough Yu", Amina stopped him. Yu gritted his teeth and remained on the ground. Lin withdrew his spear and ceased the flames. He asked her, "Did I pass?" Amina shook her head and said, "I apologize, but I had no intention of testing you. That was something he decided to do on his own."

"Isn't she the captain? Why does it look like everyone is doing as they please?" Lin wondered. Lin looked at her quizzically. "Are you sure it's okay to bring me along? Because I don't want to deal with any more of this. I might not be able to hold myself back should anything like this happen again", he said, turning Yu's way.

"I assure you, but you must bear with us a bit longer. After all, we have visitors", she said and looked ahead.

"You've got to be kidding me." Lin turned and saw lots of figures appearing in front of them. "Strange, I couldn't detect their presence at all. If I hadn't seen them, I wouldn't have known they were there", Lin thought. Yu jumped up and stood near Dzifa while Lin moved next to Amina.

A man appeared some fifty meters away from the group. He wore a long-sleeved shirt with blue trousers and shoes. The rest that appeared wore long overcoats of varied designs and colours. They numbered about twenty. "So, it's you, Amina." He said with a smirk.

Amina frowned deeply. Her face became ashen upon seeing their visitors. "The Nobles", She whispered.