Chapter 663


    Hi, please check out this patreon link /al_squad to support the trantion, ad-free chapters, up to 21 chapters per week of BL novels and up to 516 additional chapters of BL novels!!


    Chapter 663


    The woman''s body shook violently.


    “H-how…”


    As if responding to her shock, the faint mist wrapping around her body suddenly burst explosively.


    "Ugh...!"


    A groan of unfiltered pain escaped her lips. Once more, dark red blood trickled down from her already scabbed and bruised lips.


    ''She''s weak. The slightest bacsh from her surprised reaction to us could overwhelm her... But if this continues, she''ll lose control.''


    Yuder quickly assessed her condition and ced his hand on her abdomen. He whispered rapidly to her, whose eyes were wide with rm."Focus on the flow of your power. I''ll help you control it. Try to calm your mind, imagine a state of peace. That will help."


    As Yuder drew upon his own strength, the woman''s power, sprawling throughout the space to suppress the Awakener''s abilities, immediately reacted, trying to snuff out the foreign force. However, the power Yuder invoked wasn''t his inherent ability, but a pure, formless essence unique to Awakeners.


    This was the same power absorbed from the Red Stone, refined and stored in a medium, and recently used to awaken Emperor Keilusa. Astonishingly, as this power surged within him, the strong suppressive force weakened and dissipated.


    ''Just as I thought. The essence absorbed from the Red Stone can assimte with any Awakener''s power. And I can exploit this opening, however brief.''


    Yuder''s understanding of manipting the Red Stone''s power had significantly increased after his experiences with Kishiar and Hosanna, and through the awakening of Emperor Keilusa. With an instinctual sense beyond exnation, he intensely focused on calming the woman''s power.


    The effort was effective, but not without its issues.


    "I... I don''t know what to imagine to calm down," the woman muttered, her face marred by pain.


    "What am I supposed to do...?"


    Yuder wanted to respond, but concentrating on the power made it difficult to speak. Fortunately, someone far more adept at this was by his side.


    "Think back to the time before you came here. Remember how warm the sunlight felt outside, the sensation of walking along the water''s edge, the feelings of running freely across the vastnds. The taste of meals shared with others after a day''s work. What foods did you enjoy?"


    "..."


    "What and whom did you love?"


    Despite the urgency, the woman, hearing this gentle voice, slowly closed her eyes. Shortly after, the dangerously escting power within her subsided.


    The weight of the power suppressing her abilities lifted from their shoulders, and a thin breath escaped the lips of the three.


    "Phew."


    When the woman reopened her eyes, tears silently streamed down her cheeks.


    Despite her unsteady body, previously sprawled across the table, she righted herself. Her gaze, clearer than before, fixed on Yuder and Kishiar.


    "You said you came to destroy this ce. Tell me. What is this ''Cavalry'', and how did you know I was here? Tell me everything."


    "Of course, we''ll exin," Yuder replied. He and Kishiar then spoke about the Cavalry and the purpose of this fighting arena. After hearing their story, the woman cautiously revealed who she was and how she came to be here.


    "My name is Reneve. I am not from the Empire... but from Durban in the west."


    Reneve lived on the border of Durban, a ce that, for several years, had been a frequent site of armed shes with the adjacent Nrn. It was less a vige and more a reluctant home for refugees who had barely survived and could not find death.


    Unlike many who lived there, tormented daily by the fear of being struck by an errant arrow, she sought a path of survival. She chose to flee to the Orr Empire, crossing the Great Sarain Forest instead of sumbing to the dread of blind arrows.


    However, the broker who promised to take her safely to the Empire and find her a job, taking her meager savings, turned out to be a human trafficker. Reneve, along with others deceived, were transported helplessly like mere cargo to the south. There, they were selected as sacrificialmbs to enter the randombats of the ''ck Orca'' fighting arena.


    Those who ascended the stage before her initially wanted to escape, but their demeanor changed when promised a hefty sum for victory, no matter the means.


    Their opponent, however, was an ''Awakener.'' A man, infamous even before his awakening for his thuggery, now wielded fists hardened like ck stone, easily knocking down the trembling sacrificialmbs.


    Late pleas for mercy and desperate escape attempts were met with merciless blows. The audience pushed the fleeing participants back, screaming for them to win and not waste the money they had wagered.


    The battle ended only when the defeatedy indistinguishable, their bodies beaten into bloody, unrecognizable corpses. Most of those dragged with Reneve died within mere hours.


    But as the triumphant thug boasted about the prize money for the final victor, a new, more fearsome Awakener appeared. In a swift move, he split open the thug''s back and belly, killing him instantly.


    The shocking scene sent the crowd into a frenzied ecstasy.


    Countless new stakes were thrown onto the shoulders of the neer.


    And so Reneve ascended the stage to face him.


    On her way up, forced to pick from the armory, she trembled, barely able to lift the heavy sword that did not suit her. The Awakener she faced up close was terrifying. Seeing Reneve, he chuckled dismissively, ready to use his power as if she were mere prey.


    In extreme fear, Reneve closed her eyes.


    "And then... suddenly, this power came to me."


    Reneve did not die. When she opened her eyes, the Awakener, overwhelmed by the sudden loss of his abilities, had crashed into the railing and copsed. Other Awakeners nearby, whether in other fighting stages or waiting areas, were equally confounded and screamed in dismay.


    Thus, Reneve became the winner, albeit inadvertently.


    She was immediately taken by the subordinates of Nukijo and imprisoned here.


    "At first, I tried to escape. But... they threatened to kill Cyril if I didn''t obey."


    "Who is that?"


    "The only friend I''ve had since I became an orphan. As good as family. I don''t know if it was good or bad luck, but we were brought here together. But since the day we were imprisoned, I''ve never seen that friend of mine again."


    A dryugh escaped from her strangely twisted lips.


    The day Reneve won the fight, Cyril had not yet appeared in the arena. Nukijo''s gang used Cyril''s life as leverage to detain Reneve, then created a third underground level to confine her there,manding her to exert her power over the entire space as long as she could.


    The captors, it seemed, were not entirely devoid of cunning. In their own way, they had attempted to coax Reneve into willingly joining their ranks. They had bought her expensive clothes and fed her reasonably well, evidently trying to make her lifefortable enough to sway her decision.


    But Reneve did not yield to them.


    "They never showed me Cyril''s face, not even once," she said. "I told them I would stay quietly here if they just let me see Cyril once... but they didn''t."


    Within her, a torturous cycle of thoughts churned endlessly — the fear that Cyril might already be dead and she was foolishly trapped for nothing, against a slender thread of hope that persisted. The luxury of expensive clothes and meals, once unimaginable, brought her no joy in her current plight.


    Trapped in her small room, Reneve withered away endlessly. As each day passed, it became increasingly difficult to exert her abilities. Yet, whenever there was even a slightpse, the Nukijo gang, like phantoms sensing weakness, would appear to beat her.


    "Actually, recently, I''ve been feeling extremely exhausted... reaching my limit, really. I kept thinking that I wanted to die. That was, until you all came here."


    Silence followed.


    Reneve burst into nervousughter, which soon abruptly ceased. Her alternating between crying andughing was unsettling.


    Read up to chapter 742 (93 additional chapters) for just 5$ or up to chapter 1054 (405 additional chapters) for just 10$ on /al_squad


    [Select the $10/month n or the Foundation Establishment tier to ess the chapters]


    Hi, if you like the story, please rate and review this novel on novelupdates. Thanks!


    Check out thetest chapter 1084 in /al_squad [Patreon members can ess ad-free chapters, up to 21 chapters of BL novels per week and <strong>up to 436 chapters of Turning for a total of 516 chapters of BL novels</strong><strong>!!]</strong>Support us on Patreon to enjoy ad-free content, with more than 21 chapters of BL novels released weekly and ess to an additional 40 chapters per novel (up to 436 chapters of Turning for a total of 516 chapters of BL novels!!)!


    For those who find it difficult to subscribe via Patreon, PayPal is also an avable option.


    <b>Please ensure you have read the tier information on Patreon before proceeding with a subscription through PayPal.</b>


    Once you have subscribed, please send your Gmail address and PayPal ID to . I will then verify your ount on PayPal and share with you the Google Doc containing the chapters that correspond to your subscription tier.


    Please use the Patreon subscription first. Only if that route is hard then use the PayPal subscription.  Select your tier Qi Cultivating Stage $5.00 USD - month(s) Foundation Establishment $10.00 USD - month(s) Xudan $20.00 USD - month(s) Jindan $50.00 USD - month(s) Yuanying $100.00 USD - month(s)


    Check out the new project 1:


    <strong>[BL] Bermuda</strong>


    Leonardo ine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and themander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.


    Three yearster, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, themander of the Council''s army, decides to personally apprehend him.


    "Since when have you been watching me?"


    Leonardo was calctive and astute, so it wouldn''t be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo''s answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.


    "From the very beginning."


    Check out the new project 2:


    [BL] Cloudless Sky


    Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea''s Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else andzier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a nket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes idents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.


    "Do you know how it feels to y a game that''s already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round wille, so this time, I''m just going to y it recklessly."


    In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn''t sleep peacefully even for a day, he becamepletely exhausted before this life even began.


    "I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."


    And then there''s Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, hees to Soram''s side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It''s impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won''t let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.


    "For now, until then, let''s sleep..."


    As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change urs in his heart.


    ''I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.''