Chapter 169: The Unfilial Punch!
After all…
The communication between Natsuba Rinrei and Natsuba Genryū, even though Natsuba Rinrei was a woman in the Natsuba conglomerate, a piece of goods…
She was still a direct descendant of the Natsuba family.
And Natsuba Naoto?
Even though he had been given the Natsuba name by Natsuba Genryū, it was like a master giving a dog a name.
What was an outsider? How dare he interrupt and criticize her? It was simply ridiculous.
Now, she couldn’t beat up Natsuba Genryū, so she would beat up his dog first.
Natsuba Rinrei acted decisively. A surging flame, like a red dragon’s breath, suddenly erupted towards Natsuba Naoto!
Its speed was incredible.
Natsuba Naoto couldn’t react in time. The flame had already reached him, and the scorching heat washed over him. He felt as if he were about to be melted.
Dodging was impossible.
And possessing the bloodlines of both the Mizuō and Kyōjū branches, Natsuba Naoto’s ability had inherited the common traits of both.
His ability was called “Armored Crocodile.”
But unfortunately…
The two who had fallen in love in the Mizuō and Kyōjū branches back then, their abilities were not strong.
So the rank of the “Armored Crocodile” ability was between mid-risk and high-risk.
It was worth noting that the defense and attack power of the “Armored Crocodile” undoubtedly reached high-risk, but its speed, on land, was like a tortoise. Only in water was it as fast as a swimming fish.
It was precisely because of this great lack of speed that the “Armored Crocodile” was a mid-risk ability.
And now, this flaw had put him in danger.
Grayish-white scales began to frantically appear and cover his skin, and a protective shield of azure water formed on his skin.
Natsuba Naoto only had time to do this much, but his greatest hope was not himself, but Natsuba Genryū!
As Natsuba Rinrei had said, even if he was a dog, you had to see the master before you hit the dog. In this moment of crisis, Natsuba Naoto looked at Natsuba Genryū with a hopeful gaze.
And Natsuba Genryū, seeing this surging flame, his squinted eyes opened a slit, and a faint killing intent enveloped this area.
His right hand began to transform into a blade, preparing to cut through this breath with his sword qi.
However, just as he was about to take a step…
His foot suddenly froze, and a wave of cold air came. Unconsciously, not only his killing intent had enveloped the room, but also a crystalline frost of ice.
It surged towards him, and although the time was extremely short, it did restrict his movement.
And in just this instant…
The flame had already reached Natsuba Naoto, at a very close distance!
“Zzzzzzzzzz——————!”
A soft, rustling sound was heard.
The flame and the water barrier collided. In an instant, the water boiled, and steam rose, spreading.
And the red dragon’s flame’s momentum did not decrease.
Facing the water barrier, the expanding, hard red dragon’s head, as if breaking through a thin film, was as easy as a breeze.
Then, it fiercely slammed into Natsuba Naoto’s skin.
The extreme high temperature was transmitted. The grayish-white scales were instantly burned and melted, reaching his body.
And because of the inertia, Natsuba Naoto was sent flying!
“Boom————!!”
He was embedded in the wall, but the flame showed no signs of disappearing, and the fire spread.
The freezing effect of the frost only lasted for a moment on Natsuba Genryū’s body. When he recovered, a sword qi filled with killing intent slashed at Natsuba Naoto.
In an instant, the flame and Natsuba Naoto were separated.
This was a superb sword technique.
It perfectly cut through the flame, but did not harm Natsuba Naoto in the slightest.
After all, Natsuba Genryū’s earliest title was “Human Sword Saint.” Whether it was a weapon or the blade transformed from his hands, it was always in the shape of a sword.
The title of “Human Butcher” was only given to him on that day, after he had killed who knew how many powerhouses of the same level.
Gradually, others only knew that Natsuba Genryū was a butcher among A-ranks, who killed like flies, but they forgot his exquisite swordsmanship.
However, even though Natsuba Genryū had cut through the flame at the fastest speed…
But when he cut through the flame and Natsuba Naoto’s form was revealed, his white eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow.
That was not a person, but a lump of charcoal.
However, that lump of charcoal barely retained a human shape, and the smell of roasted meat began to spread in the air.
Natsuba Naoto still retained a part of his mouth’s features. His mouth was wide open, and he was roaring with all his might, wanting to let out a scream of pain.
But even his vocal cords had been completely burned.
What came out was a sound like a leaking balloon, a bit ridiculous, a bit laughable.
However, among all present, no one dared to laugh. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly heavy.
At this point, many of the stewards in the main residence also sensed that something was wrong and began to gather not far from Natsuba Rinrei’s room.
And Natsuba Genryū looked at these stewards and said softly,
“The steward of the Mizuō branch, cool down Natsuba Naoto. Sorcerers and healing supernatural users, treat him.”
Natsuba Naoto was Natsuba Genryū’s direct subordinate.
Even if he didn’t care much for him, to make his other subordinates loyal to him, these face-saving projects were necessary to win people’s hearts.
Soon, the people of the Mizuō branch used their abilities on Natsuba Naoto, and like rain, it continuously dripped on his body.
However, even so…
Natsuba Naoto’s temperature was still very high. Every drop of rain that fell was instantly evaporated into steam and rose.
And the sorcerer’s talismans were melted before they could even be applied to his body.
Only the healing-type supernatural users were a little useful.
However, this healing was just to keep Natsuba Naoto alive, and to make him feel his own pain even more.
And seeing Natsuba Naoto’s condition…
A look of contemplation appeared in Natsuba Genryū’s expression.
As far as he knew, a few days ago, Natsuba Naoto, by a twist of fate, had just been promoted to B-rank, becoming a pillar of the Natsuba main residence.
And now…
He had been burned half to death by a single flame from Natsuba Rinrei, even though he had been a step late, but still in time to stop it.
If Natsuba Naoto wasn’t a B-rank, if he didn’t possess the exceptionally strong life force of the Mizuō and Kyōjū branches’ bloodlines…
If it had been an ordinary B-rank…
He would have died directly, not still barely clinging to life.
And when that flame had passed by him just now, even with his peak A-rank strength, he could feel a hint of apprehension.
Undoubtedly, if he were to take on this flame with his bare body, he would be injured!
Was this the power of the “Red Dragon” ability?
Even in the hands of a woman, it could still cause such terrifying power.
However, this kind of power, Natsuba Genryū slowly guessed…
Natsuba Rinrei’s strength had increased again. Perhaps from early peak B-rank, she had completely stabilized, and was probably close to the B-rank critical point.
Although it was just a crippled subordinate, for Natsuba Genryū, it was nothing.
But the meaning of it was different.
This was a resistance from Natsuba Rinrei.
In the past, no matter how much Natsuba Rinrei resisted, all she did was talk tough and run away.
But this time, she had actually attacked the dog he had raised, right in front of him. This was a provocation of the family head’s authority, a plucking of his tiger’s whiskers.
Natsuba Genryū was imposing without being angry. Although his expression was as usual, the killing intent emanating from his body was almost tangible, and it pressed down on Natsuba Rinrei.
“Natsuba Rinrei, what you’ve done has gone too far.”
“As the head of the family, I need to give you some punishment.”
Whether it was calling Natsuba Rinrei by her full name, or not as a father, but as the head of the family, it all represented that Natsuba Genryū was indeed a little angry.
And Chikari Makoto, who was not far away, seeing this, pursed her lips slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
“Oh, First Miss has messed up.”
“I told you, in the Natsuba main residence, for her to do this is too arrogant. She didn’t consider the consequences at all.”
“What should we do, Mo— Second Miss?”
“I’ll go and mediate. As long as I make up a reason, I can divert Natsuba Genryū’s attention.”
Chikari Makoto felt a little schadenfreude.
It had to be said that Natsuba Rinrei’s sudden attack on Natsuba Naoto was completely beyond her expectations. She hadn’t expected her to be so bold.
But they were “sisters.”
The members of Summer Harvest Mountain were a community of destiny.
And making up a reason was even simpler. The news of Natsuba Taiga would surely make Natsuba Genryū no longer care about a crippled subordinate.
She could just say that the Chikari branch had a new discovery.
And Natsuba Hanae, hearing this, shook her head.
She looked at Natsuba Naoto’s charred body not far away, her brow slightly furrowed. A wisp of almost invisible Sanctuary Flame wrapped around her fingertip, and she flicked it.
And it fell into Natsuba Naoto’s body.
And ignited the residual crimson flame, and was evolved by the Sanctuary Flame.
In an instant, an even more explosive flame rose. Before the other stewards could react, it had completely burned Natsuba Naoto to ashes, dyeing Natsuba Hanae’s exquisite face a rosy red.
Among them, just now…
When Natsuba Naoto had said that, it wasn’t just Natsuba Rinrei who had frowned, but also her.
So, to add fuel to Natsuba Genryū’s anger, and to punish Natsuba Naoto’s disrespect, she would let him repent in hell.
Having done an insignificant thing, Natsuba Hanae crossed her arms and continued to watch the show with a serene gaze.
A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
“Makoto, I can’t agree with you.”
“I think that this was a choice Rinrei made after a lot of thought.”
“You must always remember, this is the Natsuba main residence, but under the protection of a god’s divinity.”
“This is not Natsuba Genryū’s Natsuba main residence, but the Natsuba main residence of a direct descendant of the Natsuba family.”
Natsuba Genryū was not the sky of the Natsuba main residence. Susanoo was.
This was the disadvantage of a god.
Not only did it block the path of an ordinary direct descendant to become a god, but even in slumber, it also restricted the actions of a direct descendant.
Of course, in the eyes of the public, Natsuba Genryū was still the undisputed head of the Natsuba conglomerate.
If not for the appearance of a unique existence like Natsuba Hanae and Natsuba Rinrei…
And Natsuba Rinrei’s purpose, Natsuba Hanae also had a guess.
Since she had this guarantee, and she was clearly a battle maniac, eager to constantly get stronger, she wanted to use this opportunity to feel her own strength.
And the gap between her and Natsuba Genryū.
And Natsuba Genryū naturally didn’t know that the current Natsuba Rinrei knew about the secrets of the gods.
After all, this was a secret that was strictly guarded by all the major senior organizations.
He didn’t think that the new organization, Summer Harvest Mountain, and the Hero Association could find out about this, so he didn’t even think about it.
With the lack of information…
What Natsuba Genryū wanted to do was nothing more than to beat Natsuba Rinrei into submission. If necessary, he could also let her suffer some injuries.
That kind of backlash was within his tolerance.
Compared to Natsuba Genryū’s many scruples, Natsuba Rinrei was now at full throttle.
She of course couldn’t beat Natsuba Genryū, and even less could she injure him. But if she did, even if she suffered a backlash herself, but for what it represented for Natsuba Genryū…
It would be a terrifying outcome like the end of the world.
The surrounding stewards, seeing this, countless sorcerers’ stewards quickly began to support all kinds of barriers, reinforcing everything in the main residence.
This way, even a clash between A-ranks would not cause too serious damage.
And at this moment, the flames in Natsuba Rinrei’s body were already surging like a torrent, recklessly.
Her ruby-like beautiful eyes transformed into dazzling dragon pupils.
An extreme high temperature rose, as if this area were in a sea of lava.
On her right arm, a powerful, vast, crimson flame burned fiercely.
She stomped her foot on the ground.
In the next moment, crimson dragon scales were fully armed and densely covered.
She came before Natsuba Genryū and fiercely swung her crimson flame-wrapped right fist.
“Father.”
“This is my heavy love for you!”
The extreme high temperature condensed here and completely boiled. The control of the flame had already reached its peak, and its power was terrifying.
This made Natsuba Genryū’s heart rise with a hint of a threat.
His eyes finally opened halfway, and within them was a look of unbelievable surprise.
“A-rank?!!”
