Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 759: Brute Force Is Wonderful… If You Control It

‘….I still have much to learn.’

Nikolai slowly raised his glass and took another sip.

The blood whiskey burned pleasantly down his throat, but the warmth did little to settle the unease forming inside his chest.

It wasn’t like he enjoyed drinking at first, but the more he tried the bloodwine and the various ways that supernatural beings tried to change the taste of blood. The more he found himself hooked on the taste and aroma.

There was something strange about the atmosphere.

His father stopped pretending to read and focused on whatever Viktor said, while Viktor stopped his rambling and just watched Nikolai. Even the way they occasionally glanced towards each other felt deliberate.

‘What’s going on?

Why are they acting so strangely?’

Nikolai placed the empty glass down, his half-melted ice clanging against the glass.

“Alright, speak up.”

Ivan raised his eyes, while Viktor’s shoulders shook before he regained his normal expression, as if trying to hide it.

“Alright, what?”

“Stop fucking around.”

The moment Nikolai cursed, both of the men glanced at each other.

Then a shit-eating grin grew on their lips as both of them looked at Nikolai with a completely different expression. It resembled hungry wolves… ready to finally go on the hunt.

“I see, so you’re not just a fool like your dad, huh?”

“…Father, do I need to remind you just who is the strongest between us?” Ivan responded to Viktor’s indirect insult with a harsh growl. Half standing from his chair, he gripped the arms, revealing his rippling, packed muscles.

“Tsk, shut up, you old coward!”

The way his father and grandfather spoke did make Nikolai a little jealous; he wanted to be part of their circle too.

‘But to see them like this is kind of fun too…’

“Well, let’s hurry on down to the training chamber if you’re so easy to eat your words, old bastard!” Ivan, of course, wouldn’t take his father’s insults sitting down and jumped from his chair, stepped towards the bookshelf, and pressed the secret switch.

Hisss!

A few seconds later, a stairwell was revealed.

‘What the hell!?’

Nikolai couldn’t help but freeze.

The dirty and old stairwell had completely transformed into an elegant and modern staircase with high-tech gadgets affixed to the wall to keep the light just enough for werewolves and dark enough so normal humans wouldn’t see anything.

Nikolai glanced between the staircase and his father.

“…When did this happen?”

Ivan stopped halfway down before shrugging back.

“How the hell would I know?

Your mother said it was too dangerous and outdated, so she borrowed my card…”

“Eh…?”

Nikolai shook his head before Viktor patted his shoulder.

“Ignore that fool. It was me. The last time I came down here, it looked like something you’d find beneath an abandoned church.”

Viktor snorted as he passed him.

“That was because you refused to spend money, FATHER!”

“It was perfectly fine back then; I didn’t have such a lovely daughter-in-law to worry about my health, you miserable dog!”

“Tsk… old man… just wait till I unleash these fists of steel….”

Nikolai couldn’t stop the laugh escaping his lips as he followed them underground.

‘So they renovated it…’

The deeper they descended, the more obvious the changes became.

Soft reinforced black panels covered the old stone walls, while thin strips of dim silver lighting followed the staircase downwards. Nikolai spotted several cameras, motion sensors and even small vents built between sections of the wall.

Yet beneath all of that technology remained the familiar smell.

His instincts immediately awakened.

The exhaustion from Amphitrite gradually disappeared as a strange excitement began crawling beneath his skin.

‘It’s been a while.’

They finally reached the bottom.

Hisss!

Another reinforced door stood before them.

Nikolai’s eyes widened.

The old underground chamber was almost unrecognisable.

What once resembled a primitive fighting pit had become an enormous circular training arena surrounded by reinforced walls. Weapon racks filled one side, while several observation rooms had been built above them.

The floor alone looked thick enough to withstand several bombs.

Ivan and Viktor stepped towards the elevated fighting arena, both of them taking a single weapon from the stand and shooting their insults at the other.

‘This is kinda cool…’

The hum of air conditioning and the cooling breeze made the massive underground training area feel like a paradise where you could escape a heat wave. Nikolai’s lips curled into a smirk as he watched the two old men continue to bicker.

Ivan stepped into the arena without waiting. The moment his shoes touched the black surface, his atmosphere changed.

Nikolai felt it immediately; the jovial atmosphere vanished.

His father’s broad shoulders relaxed while his breathing became slower, deeper, almost like an animal entering familiar territory.

Viktor followed him with the same kind of movements.

Although older, his grandfather carried the exact same feeling.

‘So that’s what the two of them look like when….’

“Son, shouldn’t you take it easy with a new child on the way? Maybe it would be best if you run back to your little wife and kiss her ass so she protects you.”

Ivan’s lips twitched. “If you’re worried about hurting me, then you’ve already lost.”

“…Cocky child!” Viktor raised his wooden sword. “Come at me!”

Ivan didn’t hesitate.

Bang!

The reinforced floor shook beneath his foot as he exploded forward, his massive body appearing in front of Viktor almost instantly.

Nikolai’s eyes widened.

‘Dad’s fast!’

Ivan swung the wooden sword horizontally.

Whoosh!

Viktor leaned backwards.

The blade passed less than an inch from his nose before the old Patriarch twisted his wrist and stabbed towards Ivan’s ribs.

“Too slow.”

Clack!

Ivan blocked.

Both wooden weapons collided with a sharp crack that echoed through the underground chamber.

Neither man used their supernatural transformations.

Instead, they just used their base strength, the muscles in their bodies, the tendons, their eyes anything that they could use in succession. It was as if they wanted to show something to their youngest and most precious member.

With each clash, their strikes and blows grew faster and heavier.

The ground sagged and almost cracked from the pressure of their collision.

Nikolai thought this kind of fight might be boring, without the flashy techniques or transformations he’d seen recently. But the moment the two started fighting, it was like two masters facing off.

His heart pounded faster as his father’s cheeks began to soak with sweat.

Even the old Patriarch was panting heavily after a short exchange of five minutes.

Ivan suddenly launched a rapid series of blows to Viktor’s neck and ribs.

Viktor blocked the first, avoided the second and allowed the third to graze his shirt while his wooden sword suddenly disappeared beneath Ivan’s arm.

Thud!

The blunt point struck Ivan directly against the sternum.

“Ugh!”

Ivan stumbled backwards, his face a mess as his wet hair bounced with each step.

Meanwhile, Viktor eased up and just laughed at his son.

“Hah! Steel fists, was it?”

Ivan rubbed his chest.

“You hit an injured man.”

“I hit a stupid man.”

“Tsk! Don’t blame me for not valuing our bond, old man!”

Ivan rushed forward again.

This time Viktor didn’t retreat.

The two wooden swords smashed together rapidly.

Clack!

Clack!

Clack!

Nikolai’s pupils followed every movement.

‘Father is stronger.’

Physically, it wasn’t even close.

Ivan’s strikes possessed enough force that Viktor’s arms visibly shook whenever he blocked them.

Yet somehow…

‘Grandfather is controlling the fight.’

Viktor kept changing the distance.

Whenever Ivan could fully use his strength, Viktor stepped outside the attack.

Whenever Ivan tried slowing down and forcing a mistake, Viktor suddenly entered his range.

It looked irritating.

Nikolai could almost feel his father’s anger increasing with every exchange.

“Stop running!”

“Why?”

Viktor slipped beneath another swing.

“Do you think I am the type of man to do so just because you ask nicely, my boy? Have you forgotten what I taught you all those years ago? Brute force is wonderful…

As long as you control it!”

‘Ah, that’s it!’

Nikolai suddenly realised why he felt something strange about his father’s movements and attacks.

It was like he wasn’t used to his own strength.

‘Because he broke through?

It seems Father hasn’t been able to adapt to his strength yet.’

Thud!

His sword struck Ivan’s thigh.

“Fuck!”

Ivan attacked again.

This time, Viktor didn’t move until the last possible second.

His body twisted aside, barely avoiding the descending wooden sword before stepping directly inside Ivan’s reach.

Nikolai’s eyes widened.

‘Too close!’

Ivan tried correcting his stance, but Viktor was already there.

The old Patriarch’s shoulder slammed into his chest.

Thud!

Ivan staggered.

Viktor’s sword struck the back of his wrist.

Clack!

The weapon flew from Ivan’s hand.

Before it even touched the ground, Viktor swept his leg behind Ivan’s ankle and drove one palm against his shoulder.

Bang!

Ivan crashed onto his back.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Viktor planted one foot against his son’s chest and rested the wooden sword beneath Ivan’s chin.

“Hah!”

His chest rose heavily as sweat rolled down his face, but the smug grin made him look twenty years younger.

“Still think your fists of steel are enough?”

Ivan stared up at him.

“…Get your fucking foot off me.”

Nikolai burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

Ivan’s glare immediately shifted towards him.

“You think this is funny?”

“A little.”

Viktor suddenly turned.

His sword moved with him.

The wooden point settled directly towards Nikolai’s chest.

The old man’s smile widened.

Nikolai’s laughter slowly disappeared.

‘Oh…’

Viktor stepped away from Ivan and raised the weapon.

“Come on then, little pup!”

His presence sharpened again.

“It’s your turn now.”