The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power Chapter 373: A Challenge from a Brother

Prince Adam's POV:

Father looked at Noah and didn't speak right away.

A flicker of something strange passed through Uncle Niall's eyes, but he quickly covered it with a smile. "That's not a bad idea. But Prince Adam now holds a very important position. If anything were to happen to him..."

"Oh?" Noah turned to look at him, his smile turning colder. "Didn't you just say you wanted to see my brother's abilities?"

With that single sentence, he shut him down completely.

The firelight flickered across the square. I could clearly feel everyone unconsciously holding their breath.

Beside me, Cindy's fingers tightened slightly. She had also seen how dangerous this situation had become.

At last, Father spoke calmly. "Stop before it goes too far."

It was just one sentence, but he was giving permission.

Father was also waiting, waiting for us brothers to give a final answer between ourselves.

Only then did I slowly stand.

I first glanced at Father, then turned to Noah.

There was no anger in my expression, no mockery either. I simply looked at him with a cold, steady gaze, reassessing the younger brother standing in front of me, the one determined to gamble away his future.

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly, giving him one last chance to back out.

Noah grinned, showing a hint of sharp canine teeth. "What's the matter, Adam? Afraid you might hurt me?"

I didn't answer. I simply removed my cloak and handed it to the attendant behind me.

The center of the square was quickly cleared.

The music stopped. The laughter faded. Even the young nobles who had been dancing around the bonfires fell silent, holding their breath.

The open moonlight fell directly onto the field, stretching our shadows long across the ground.

We started in human form.

At first, many people still believed this was just entertainment.

I deliberately held back, my movements steady and controlled. Noah, on the other hand, was fast and aggressive. Each clash of fists and kicks landed with dull, heavy impacts that echoed through the night.

But after a few exchanges, the atmosphere shifted.

Noah's attacks became sharper, more ruthless. Nearly every move aimed for a vital point. This was no longer holding back.

He was pushing me. Forcing me not to hold back. Forcing me to defeat him openly, with everything I had.

My eyes darkened. I stopped suppressing my instincts and struck back with a heavy elbow, knocking him several steps back.

A wave of hushed gasps rippled through the crowd.

In the next moment, Noah wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and let out a low laugh.

That laugh carried a wild, almost feral resolve under the moonlight.

He bent forward, his bones cracking audibly. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a massive golden wolf, its eyes glowing faintly in the firelight.

At that moment, even Peter shot to his feet. "Noah!"

Shifting into wolf form during a royal banquet was no longer entertainment.

My expression turned completely cold.

Noah didn't give anyone a chance to stop him. He pushed off with his hind legs, his claws tearing through the air as he lunged straight for my throat.

Cries of alarm broke out.

Instead of retreating, I stepped forward. The moment he closed in, the wolf blood in my body surged. I shifted instantly. A larger golden wolf crashed into him head-on. Fangs and claws collided under the moonlight, unleashing pure, violent instinct.

At that point, no one could mistake this for a performance anymore.

The two of us tore into each other in the center of the square, rolling and clashing. Fur, droplets of blood, and fragments of broken stone scattered in every direction. Noah fought like he didn't care about his life, clamping down hard on my foreleg. I endured the pain and bit down on the back of his neck, overpowering him with sheer strength and slamming him to the ground.

The heavy impact echoed, and even the ground seemed to tremble.

The nobles' section fell into chaos.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Uncle Niall gripping his goblet so tightly his knuckles turned white. The calm expression on his face finally began to crack.

Father remained seated at the highest position, his expression unreadable. He didn't call it off.

Under the moonlight, the outcome gradually became clear.

Noah had been fighting with everything from the very beginning. But the harder he pushed, the more I had to respond with overwhelming force. After another direct clash, I bit into the side of his throat and slammed him hard into the ground.

He was struggling to get up when I pinned his chest and abdomen down with one paw. My fangs pressed firmly against his vital point, leaving him completely unable to move.

The entire place fell silent.

The outcome had been decided.