An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori (official version)

Three Frost Needles streaked through the night sky, each carrying a biting cold as they targeted Dustin's upper,

middle, and lower vital pressure points.

"Hmm?" Dustin frowned and immediately raised his sword to block.

The three needles struck the sword and instantly exploded into clouds of frost. Upon contact with the frost, the

sword was immediately encased in ice.

Simultaneously, a biting cold followed the frozen blade, spreading rapidly along his arm. In the blink of an eye,

his hand holding the sword was frozen solid.

"Frost Needle?" Dustin's face darkened as his mystical pure energy surged within him.

The icy mist around him quickly dissipated, and cracks formed on his frozen arm. With a shiver, the ice on his

arm swiftly broke apart, reverting it to its normal state.

Fortunately, he managed to avoid a direct hit from the Frost Needle. If it had struck him, it would have

significantly damaged his body's functions.

Despite his considerable strength, such an injury would have been severe. For someone less resilient, it could

have been fatal or turned them into an ice sculpture.

It was evident that the assailant had intended to kill him.

Dustin shifted his focus away from the beastly Predator toward the direction of the voice.

On a nearby rooftop, a figure was sprinting toward Dustin. As the figure drew closer, he paused and leaped into

the air gracefully, gliding like a bird before lightly landing 30 feet away from Dustin.

Dustin looked closely and saw an elderly man with white hair. The elderly man was slender and dressed in

elegant attire. His eyes were sharp as a hawk and exuded an intimidating presence.

"Who are you?" Dustin asked coldly.

"I'm Acheron Wood, an elder of the Celestial Alliance," the elderly man with white hair replied. He stood proudly

with his hands behind his back.

"Acheron Wood?" Dustin's eyes narrowed slightly.

He was familiar with the name. After all, Acheron was one of the top elders of the Celestial Alliance, ranking just

below the guildmaster, Alloy.

Acheron was known for his arrogance and quick temper. Despite his strength and influential background, few

dared to provoke him in the martial world.

"Elder Wood of the Celestial Alliance? | didn't expect him to show up."

"This is great! With Elder Wood on our side, those assassins are as good as dead!"

"There's something strange about Elder Wood's actions. It doesn't seem like he's here to help.

Acheron's appearance sparked a flurry of discussions among those present.

After Vincent's murder, it would be expected for the Celestial Alliance to seek vengeance and hunt down the

murderers.

However, instead of pursuing revenge, Acheron's decision to intervene and prevent Dustin from killing Predator

showed that he may not be aligned with their goals.

"Kid, this ends here. Hand over this beast to me, and you can walk away," Acheron said in a commanding tone,

his expression serious.

"Hand him over? Why should I?" Dustin's face remained stoic.

"Huh?" Acheron frowned. "What? You dare refuse me?"

As a veteran of the martial world and an elder of the Celestial Alliance, few dared to defy him.

"Givea reason," Dustin said flatly.

"A reason?" Acheron snorted. "Well, because I'm an elder of the Celestial Alliance, I've got spower and

influence. Let's face it, I'm stronger than you. Is that reason enough?"

"It sounds like you're just trying to assert yourself," Dustin said with a faint smile, but his gaze remained cold.

"What if | am? If you're smart, you'll hand over that beast to me. Otherwise, don't blme for not being nice!"

Acheron's patience was running thin.

As they said, the night was young and full of surprises. If they continued to delay, things would likely take a turn

for the worse. And by that point, capturing the beast wouldn't be so easy.

Dustin replied firmly, "I really don't appreciate being threatened. If you had approacheddifferently, | might

have been open to discussing handing over the beast.

"But instead, you caggressively at me, using sneak attacks with those Frost Needles. No matter what you

say now, I'm not giving the beast to you!"

"Hey, punk! Looks like you won't learn until you're staring death in the face!" Acheron said. His expression

hardened as he prepared to take action.

Without saying anything else, he quickly moved his sleeve. Then, three Frost Needles shoot out, aiming at

Dustin's vital points.

"Hmph!" Dustin stood his ground. He raised his sword and swung it fiercely.

A crescent-shaped white sword aura shot forth from his blade and collided with the three Frost Needles.

The impact caused three explosions as it shattered the Frost Needles into a flurry of icy mist, which slowly drifted

down.

As the mist cleared, the ground beneath was left covered in a thick layer of ice.

"Hmm?" Acheron couldn't help but frown as Dustin blocked his attack again. "I didn't expect you to be so strong.

No wonder you're being so cocky."

"The Celestial Alliance sure knows how to waste their resources. Those precious Frost Needles are gone in an

instant," Dustin taunted.

"You dare to mock me, punk? I'll send you to your grave!"

The proud Acheron's anger surged in an instant. He clenched his fists and unleashed a strike into the air.

Suddenly, a mighty roar resounded.

A giant golden tiger burst forth from Acheron's body and bared its teeth as it lunged toward Dustin.

The golden tiger stood around 23 to 26 feet tall and radiated a dazzling golden light with an intimidating

presence. It seemed capable of devouring Dustin in one gulp.

"That's Acheron's signature move, the Behemoth Punch!" Crystal's expression shifted as she observed.

"Uh-oh, Dustin is in serious trouble against Acheron, that Old Beast!" Miles exclaimed, his agitation evident.

"What a disgraceful display from a Celestial Alliance elder, resorting to bullying and intimidation!" Ruby fumed

with anger.

None of them had anticipated facing another formidable opponent so soon after dealing with a beast, especially

not Acheron, an elder of the Celestial Alliance.

And to make matters worse, this old geezer was utterly unreasonable. He resorted to violence at the slightest

provocation. In his arrogance, he showed a blatant disregard for boundaries.