SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God novel Chapter 367

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Chapter 367: The duel begins

"Run away? Again?" one of them jeered, shoving him hard toward the floor. "You worthless piece of shit, you don’t get to crawl back to your hole so fast."

Leonel struggled weakly, his protests drowned out by their mocking laughter. His eyes brimmed with desperation.

The so-called master smith stepped forward then, his voice dripping with scorn. "Pathetic. Still the same coward who fled the moment his talent was tested. Do you think I’ll allow a dropout to tarnish the sanctity of my forge? No... I will grind you down once more, so every apprentice here remembers what failure looks like."

His gaze turned cold and cruel. "Stand, worm. Face the hammer before you crawl back to the mines where you belong."

Leonel shook his head frantically, his lips trembling, "P-please... I-I don’t want this. I can’t—"

But before the intimidation could continue, a figure moved between them. Damon.

His cloak shifted as he stepped forward, placing himself squarely in front of Leonel. "That’s enough." The laughter stopped instantly.

The master smith bristled. "Stay out of this, intruder. This boy is mine to discipline."

"No," Damon said. "For now, he is not. Maybe after the duel. But not right now."

The guy grimaced and then turned around without saying anything. It was as if it were beneath him to dignify all of this. Soon, preparations for the duel began. Apprentices scurried to ready the forges, fetching ingots. The challenge was quickly set. A head-to-head forge duel, the master smith against the boy he had crushed years ago, under Damon’s banner.

Damon leaned down toward Leonel. "You’re not running. Not this time. I don’t care how broken you think you are. Stand, strike, and I’ll handle the rest. Forget about everything else and forge a weapon to your heart’s content. Today isn’t about whether you win or lose. Forget about that idiot. Forget about me. This contest. Forget about everything. Just pick your best weapon and forge it to your heart’s content."

Leonel’s hands trembled, his throat dry, but something in Damon’s words rooted him to the spot. For the first time in years, the boy didn’t turn away. Damon took out a top-tier healing potion and handed it to him.

Leonel trembled as he slowly accepted it. Before long, the stage was set, and it was time to start forging. The great bell was struck, its heavy chime echoing like a death knell across the hall. Apprentices whispered among themselves, eyes flicking nervously between the hulking figure of the master smith and the trembling, soot-stained Leonel.

Leonel stood before the anvil, his knees threatening to buckle. The healing potion Damon had given him had dulled the ache in his arms and steadied his breathing, but it could not heal the scars in his spirit. He glanced sideways at Damon.

With a trembling breath, Leonel picked up the hammer. It felt impossibly heavy at first, the iron shaft digging into his palm. The master smith smirked at his struggle, already mocking him without a word.

Yet, when Leonel raised the hammer overhead and brought it down, the sound that rang out was clean and sharp, metal singing instead of cracking. Gasps ran through the apprentices, for they had expected him to falter instantly. The master smith’s smirk stiffened. Damon’s smile, however, only grew wider.

The duel began with the roar of the forge.

The master smith moved with the confidence of a predator in his own den, his every gesture smooth, commanding, sure. Sparks danced as he struck ingot after ingot, hammer blows so precise they seemed to split the very air. His every movement was a display of dominance, a reminder of why no one had dared to challenge him in years.