The crowd got heated, and more people came to check on the commotion. Skirmishes between the young warriors happened regularly in the village, and every time it happened, people would gather around and cheer.
Some people even took the opportunity and started to set up betting stalls, attracting other bystanders to bet on the result of the fight.
The betting odds were naturally shifting towards Ed, Edd and Eddy. The three young warriors were well-known troublemakers of the streets after all.
But Brand was also famous, for different reasons, though.
"The missing one had returned."
"The one that they couldn't find his corpse?"
"Was it really him?"
"The last remaining of the Essen clan…"
They were busy discussing among themselves, without care if Brand could hear them or not.
Brand welcomed the discussion, as he could get to know Essen's identity better through the conversations of the crowds. Though there was something bothering him.
'The last remaining of Essen?'
Let's think about it later. He shook his head and focused on what was ahead of him.
Brand checked the three young warriors' levels.
[Ed - Lv 7]
[Edd - Lv 7]
[Eddy - Lv 8]
The three guys have an average level of 7. Although they were considerably higher than Brand's level, he was not worried. Not even if there were three of them.
After the various life and death situations, he had developed a weird obsession with thril. The escape from the sand dragon, bombardment of the scarab swarm, and one-sided attack from Lena.
So far, he was always he receiving end. But now he could be on the attacking side. He felt an odd sense of excitement!
"I'm starting to feel worried for you…" Seraphine placed her head on Brand's head.
"You don't understand, I have been bullied since the Ancient Ruin." Brand whispered in a low voice.
He finally found a way to release his pent-up stress!
Ed charged toward him while flinging his messy hair.
'How could he see straight with them covering his eyes?'
His eyes shine with crimson light. "Come!" Brand declared.
While Ed was charging, he felt a sudden chill crawling in his skin. The weakling in front of him seemed to be provoking him, and his eyes were glowing. No, he must be mistaken.
He scoffed, thinking it was ridiculous to feel intimidated by the guy who abandoned his crew. In his eyes, Brand was a weakling and a coward. This was what circulated among the tribe.
He continued his charge and coated his body with a colorless aura. This was the trademark skill of his clan.
"Bull Charge!" Ed roared.
Although Ed held no weapon in his hand, this didn't make him any less threatening. His aura made him look bigger, as if a beast charged ahead.
Brand looked at Ed, who was charging at him. How could he deal with a strong force charging at him?
He wanted to establish his standing in the tribe, and to do that. He needed to win remarkably. Not only against Ed, but also against the others.
'Let's try redirecting the force.'
He could utilise the experience of the beetle's bombardment in dodging Sarah's Phantom Thrust. In addition, he would use the martial art he practised back on Earth, Aikido.
Just before Ed reached him, he side-stepped to the right side of Ed and kicked him in the shoulder. His foot was covered with Scarab Shell to defend against Ed's aura.
This happened right after Ed moved past him, to give an additional lateral push to throw Ed off balance.
Ed was unable to stop his own momentum and crashed onto the ground.
Edd and Eddy witnessed their friend being embarrassed, and went forward to help. Their camaraderie was praiseworthy.
"Brand!" Eddy—the level 8 warrior, shouted.
He rushed forward to Brand, executing his combat arts, Consecutive Punch.
Eddy looked a bit scary, as his physique was bigger than Edd's. He was probably the strongest one out of the three, considering he had a higher level than they did.
Unfortunate for Eddy, Brand had enhanced eyesight and his experience of dodging Lena's spear thrusts.
Brand looked at him calmly and lowered his center of gravity, shifting into the crouching stance, the one he had learnt from Lena.
He stood firmly on the ground, prepared to intercept Eddy's punches while crouching. Eddy's punches were slow in his eyes. They couldn't even compare to Lena's thrusts.
He deliberately avoided the barrage of punches, then stepped forward to grab Eddy's cloth and threw him in the same direction as Ed.
He could hear the moaning of pain from the side, but he focused on the last man standing—Edd.
Edd went rogue and unseathed his sword. He charged up energy and was preparing for his skill. Things would be dangerous if he accidentally crashed into the crowd instead.
Some of the adults went forward to attempt to de-escalate the fight. Weapons were permitted in duels, but Edd seemed not to be in his right mind.
But before they managed to, Brand rushed ahead of them. He needed Edd to unleash the skill, for him to mimic the tribe's art.
'For the muscle memory.' He grinned.
"He really has a habit of grinning out of nowhere…" Lena muttered from the sideline.
Brand wanted to retort to her, but was unable to. Edd had reached in front of him.
"Power slash," Edd yelled while unleashing the slash.
Unlike Ed's aura, which covered him like a flickering flame, Edd's energy was applied only to the sword's edge, and they were coiling around it.
But the energy seemed lackluster.
"Well, this could be because Edd is weak, but not the skill itself." Seraphine was doing commentary herself as always.
Brand removed his clothes and struck out like a whip. He tried to combine the Phantom Thrust's movement into it. He attempted to wrap the sword with his clothes, but they were cut effortlessly.
However, they already served their purpose.
Brand used the moment of opening to strike Edd's stomach. At that moment, Edd found it difficult to breathe, but Brand did not stop there. He grabbed Edd's cloth and flung him in the direction of his friends, knocking both of them.
At this point, the three young warriors had fainted and lay on the floor unconscious.
The crowds were stunned, even the adults. This was an outcome no one expected, except Lena. She was leaping in the air with joy.