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nSaber Monarch and Kiran both looked at each other as they took out their blades. The whole atmosphere turned sharp around them as their auras raged.

nThey channeled their energy into their blades and they glowed brightly.

nKiran was the first one to make a move and he swung his sword directly aiming at Saber Monarch's neck.

nBut the Saber Monarch didn't even dodge, he swung his saber, standing in the same position, and cut the incoming attack in half blocking Kiran's advance prematurely.

nHe didn't follow up with a counterattack and just stayed on the spot letting Kiran take the offensive.

nThe audience looked at the battle with excitement. Sam and his team are also observing the whole scenario carefully.

nOut of the whole team, Saber Monarch is currently powerful as he stayed in the peak stage for a long time and should be on verge of a breakthrough to the Transcendence stage of Astral Plane.

nAnd Five elemental King would only come second to him. Then comes Jwala and the twins and finally Agar.

nAgar who knew that she is completely weaker than the rest didn't feel any pressure as she already accepted that fact even before the journey started. But the same couldn't be said to the rest and even the Five elemental kings who is the epitome of patience felt a little pressure from Saber Monarch.

nSo, the whole team is currently interested in knowing what this new addition ranks at and how strong he would be.

nIt could be said that he would rank above the twins as his cultivation stage is higher and since he is also a one in a thousand talent just like twins, it would be hard for them to kill him. But between Jwala, Five elemental King, and Saber Monarch, where would Kiran rank? This question is on everyone's mind.

nBut from the looks of it, it would be hard to find out as Saber Monarch who is the strongest of them all is not giving much to measure.

nHe is completely on the defensive and it is apparent that it is by choice.

nHe is fending off every attack that came at him and he made all of Kiran's efforts useless.

nKiran is also getting frustrated as he attacked more and more and he learned that it would be difficult to penetrate that defense at this rate.

nHe became even more aggressive and directly let his guard down. He kept on slashing down without caring for his defense and even used his legs to kick and force Saber Monarch into action.

nSaber Monarch clearly noticed the change and it became a bit difficult to keep the same stance anymore and he had to finally move and as soon as he moved, the audience felt like they saw a completely different battle.

nKiran is still aggressive, but this time it didn't look like Saber Monarch had the upper hand, rather it felt like he is struggling to block and defend the attacks.

nThis is all because of the unique technique Kiran uses. His swordsmanship is different than normal and it focuses more on the moving objects. When the opponent is moving, h would have more advantage. And if the opponent is not moving and rather stayed stable with a proper defense, they would have a better chance at fighting him.

nSaber Monarch observed this from the previous fights and noticed that defending is easier when he stayed still. But he couldn't get the grip of the whole technique to completely be invulnerable. That is why he lost his footing and moved.

nBut still, Saber Monarch is very skilled in battle and his instincts are top-notch, He was in too many life and death situations for him to fall just because of a technique.

nAfter a few more exchanges, Saber Monarch was still on the defensive and all of a sudden, he took a step back after defending the strike and sighed.

nKiran felt the change in Saber Monarch's disposition and made his move, but this time he couldn't reach Saber Monarch and before he knew it, he felt a sharp sensation on his gut.

nBefore he knew it, Saber Monarch is standing behind him with the saber which has a faint trace of blood on its blade.

nThe wound is not too deep, but it is not too light either.

nSaber Monarch smiled and raised a hand before saying.

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"I forfeit.

"

nWith those words, he left the stage.

nKiran looked at him in shock.

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"Wait. WAIT. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING? THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER YET.

"

nHe yelled at the top of his lungs and ran after him. But the referee stopped him in the middle and announced him as a winner while Saber Monarch left the arena.

nSam and his team also left the arena.

nAfter meeting back at the inn, all of them immediately left the city and sneaked into the forest, and stayed in a pre-arranged hideout.

nSam took the blood off of the Saber Monarch's blade and activated his vampire bloodline to take a deep sniff and a light lick.

nVampires have a unique ability to remember the scent of the blood of a person and they can spot that person whenever they are within the sensory range of their smell.

nThis scent is unique and could only be sensed by Vampires and other undead creatures as it is the scent of the life force.

nKiran can mask his energy, face, and even his demeanor but it is nigh impossible to mask the scent of life from him.

nIf he can even do that then he would really be the greatest at the technique of disguise, but for one to try and change that assuming that it is possible, one must know that it even existed.

nAnd even Sam only learned that because he is a part vampire.

nIt is not some theoretical study or a result based on experiments, it is something the undead creatures inherently knew for themselves.

nAfter taking the scent in, Sam once again appeared in the city and went to the inn.

nIt would be hard to catch the scent of Kiran if he only relied on the Vampire bloodline, but things would be different if he used the Raiju bloodline along with the Vampire bloodline.

nWith Raiju's bloodline, he could pick any scent within a few meter range of the inn and his vampire bloodline would help him identify the scent.

nAfter a few hours of waiting, he finally managed to catch the scent and immediately left the room as he followed the scent.

nKiran is actually pretty swift. He came here after trying hard to find out where Saber Monarch lives without revealing his own identity. Because everyone is sensitive about Saber Monarch and everyone who asks about his whereabouts would be taken for Kiran as he is the one who wanted to meet him more than anyone.

nSo, it took some time and once he learned that Saber Monarch is not in the inn, he decisively left without thinking too much and wasting his time.

nBut Sam managed to catch his scent and after a few minutes of chasing, he finally managed to identify the person. Then he observed that Kiran also seemed to have noticed him so, after he marked that person, he left a shadow mouse near his shadow while walking past that person and entering a bar.

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"Finally, it is hard to find where this bar is,

" Sam muttered and entered the bar.

nKiran who heard the mutter heaved a sigh and left.

nHe walked through the streets for another half-an-hour and changed a few disguises before finally arriving at his hideout.

nIt is actually a normal residence and he entered it like an ordinary man.

nShadow mouse stayed with him throughout the night. The next day, Kiran left to the forest first and came back into the city with a different disguise and walked through the streets as he searched for Saber Monarch.

nShadow mouse stayed on trial and made sure that he wouldn't be lost.

nAnd after a day of futile search, the frustrated Kiran once again reached the same house at the end of the day, to take a rest.

nThe next day it is the finals of the tournament and he went to the finals and finished his opponent off before roaming around the city once again in search of saber monarch and went back to the residence.

nThe shadow mouse immediately went to the inn where Sam arrived that morning and informed him of the location.

nSam neared the house and took a deep sniff and only after confirming the scent, did he go to the nearest which is completely within the range of his shadow necromancy, and sent a small shadow towards him.

nThis is a new shadow he created just for this moment and it is also made of a mouse just not a shadow mouse.

nThe mouse shadow arrived in the residence and Sam used a shadow possession.

nKiran immediately got alerted and took his sword out.

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"Woah, don't be in a hurry to attack me, buddy. It would be hard to keep your cover if you react like that. I am just here to talk.

"

nHe got stunned when he heard the voice coming from a small voice.

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"So, how is your search for Saber monarch going?

" Sam asked in a cheeky tone.

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