Ch. 481..490

Chapter 481

Karronteel, despite his enthusiasm, was unable to win so easily against his opponent. The six level difference didn’t help.

The two dragons exchanged breath attacks constantly as they were at a draw each time. Speed was Karronteel’s greatest advantage, letting him land a few attacks with his sharp claws. But he had also felt the force of one of the Flood Dragon’s steam explosions to even the score. Both of them were panting and waiting to see what came next in their fight.

While that was taking place, Karronteel couldn’t help but notice the other battle ending and Hadurt taking on four more opponents at once. Also, he spotted the rest of the party staying the army before they were about to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming soldiers, as the Reinolt army was still moments away as well.

Everything was playing out as if Karronteel was needed for more than just to fight the dragon in front of him. He, along with the rest of the party, understood that their hope of victory was through quality of combatants and not quantity. That meant that the longer Karronteel took to face the Flood Dragon, the more likely they were to lose.

Keeping that in mind, Karronteel continued to assault the slower dragon. But he decided to try fighting smarter and not harder, unlike most dragons.

As Karronteel charged the Flood Dragon it prepared another steam explosion. The attacks were about to collide when a spatial rift opened up between them. It consumed the steam explosion entirely, leaving Karronteel untouched while the Flood Dragon cried in pain. The other end of the spatial rift opened beneath the Flood Dragon’s belly, unleashing it’s own attack on the beast’s underside.

With the Flood Dragon getting blown into the air briefly, Karronteel wasted no time and struck while he could. His claws tore in the Flood Dragon’s throat, pooling blood on the ground below.

In rage, the Flood Dragon spewed its regular breath attack, something that would do little to no damage against itself without the forceful explosion.

Karronteel opened a rift again, but the other end was nowhere to be found in the battle. Instead of retargeting the Flood Dragon, the vaproized breath attack was redirected into the Zuran army to ease the burden on Maynard and Trax for another moment.

While the Flood Dragon was bleeding out, Karronteel then used his own breath attack to counter but it was also consumed by yet another rift. The other end opened over head of the Flood Dragon to target the weakened neck.

More and more blood cascaded from the Flood Dragon’s neck. There was no stopping the red fluid and no way to shake off the injury.

The Flood Dragon attempted to flee but it was impossible to escape a Spectral Dragon. They were once the apex predators for a reason. No matter where their prey attempted to escape or hide, the Spectral Dragon could find them and be there in a flash of purple light. This was also true for fleeing enemies.

By the time the Flood Dragon had flown away, Karronteel was prepared to end it. And with the Flood Dragon’s focus on fleeing and defending, Karronteel found it much easier to go for a critical strike.

Karronteel opened one last rift, one just large enough for his claws. He slashed into it and gripped what was on the other side.

Stopping midair, the Flood Dragon cried in agony as sharp claws tore its throat apart. Blood spilled into the beast’s lungs while it plummeted back to the earth below. It gasped for breath and tried to cling to its life, but in vain. The great dragon drowned in its own blood and suffocated after losing the ability to breath through it’s mangled and shredded neck.

Though Karroneel had used a lot of mana, he had plenty leftover to fight lower-leveled soldiers.

The magnificent Spectral Dragon roared and dove into the incoming forces to keep the others from getting overrun.

Maynard and Trax focused on quick and clean killing blows, along with Raiton. That was their only hope against the massive army. They were forced to treat each fight as an individual battle and end each foe as quickly as possible. But Karronteel’s arrival lightened that load quite a lot as the strongest Zuran soldiers were forced to target the dragon.

Now, with Karronteel joining the fray and with the Reinolt army having finally met the Zuran forces, the battle was nearly at a draw. They had to wait for a tipping point. The battle could go either way with the next big move.

Still overhead, Tyres and Jin were facing off with Kylon and Eedaj spectating.

Tyres was feeling the pressure as his incredible speeds were getting matched by Jin’s abundance of limbs. The samurai was perfectly blocking and countering the overwhelmingly fast attacks. At the same time, Tyres would occasionally be pushed back.

One of Jin’s new techniques was a combination of two strikes in one. Two of his ethereal limbs would overlap to the point where the arms were aligned while only the extra hand and sword would emerge parallel to the other. It created a heavy blow that would often force Tyres to back off momentarily and allow Jin a few more swings at the Sword God.

Soon, Tyres found himself getting forced downward. Both swordsman then decided on a change of scenery as Tyres dove toward an unoccupied field with Jin close behind.

"What happened to your technique? Have you learned anything new?" spat Jin, unsatisfied with the current pace of the fight.

"Then come and try my new attack. I’ll counter your joint strikes," Tyres proudly stated, taking a defensive stance.

A bit happier, Jin readied himself and prepared six joint attacks with the combination of his twelve arms. The God of Discipline charged ahead unafraid and undeterred. He was determined to make Tyres eat his own words.

As Jin closed the gap, Tyres gathered a ridiculous amount of lightning and wind energy around him but left nothing on his swords. It was strange. Such a stance was against Jin’s expectations as he suspected that something strange was about to take place.

Jin’s sword attacks arched toward Tyres one-by-one yet the Sword God did nothing to defend them. Instead, Tyres retreated a few meters.

The earth below Jin’s feet rumbled suddenly. Out of no where, Jin felt the ground collapse under his footing. At the same time, Jin saw long teeth burst from the ground in an attempt to catch the God of Discipline in a single bite.

That giant mandible managed to clamp down on Jin. However, Jin phased through the rugged maw that tried to swallow him whole.

"Grixor... Why are you interrupting us?!" Jin shouted, annoyed.

 

Chapter 482

"Grixor... Why are you interrupting us?!"

The Quake Dragon grunted as the rest of his body burst from the ground. He said nothing as his wingless, hard-plated draconic body barreled at Jin. While standing on four legs, Grixor was sixty meters long and twenty meters tall. As Jin backed away, Grixor groaned and stood on his hind legs.

But Jin wasn’t able to relax. Both of his feet were suddenly grabbed by two hands rushing out of the ground. At the same time, Tyres charged forward with killing intent.

Just as Tyres was about to reach the samurai, a barrier of holy energy blocked his assault

While Jin attacked the hands holding him down and broke free of their grip, Guuro descended by his side. They stood together as the holy gods formed a perimeter around them.

"Tyres, you coward!" Jin berated, cheated out of his duel yet again.

"What’s it matter? So long as I win, then it’s my victory all the same," retorted Tyres.

While the battle on the ground heated up with the reveal of three more gods, Eedaj dove down to join them. Only he was stopped by Kylon the moment he moved.

"Eedaj, so I have to do this?" Kylon asked.

"I guess so..." Eedaj sighed, gathering fire and darkness around him. "Forgive me. Whatever the outcome is, know that I respect you, Kylon."

"The feeling is mutual."

Entering her hybrid form, Kylon immediately launched her steamy breath attack against Eedaj’s fire. At the same time, electrical energy danced around her body. She, like Eedaj, was lucky enough to wield three elements and not two.

Darkness expanded around them as they began their battle, catching the eyes of the gods below.

Guuro examined the three gods around them before asking, "So the chaotic gods are no more? Your will’s that weak, Alcahain?"

Scoffing, the former chaotic god smiled coldly. "I’m free to act as I wish with Skaryn absent, so I’ll do what I must. Unlike you, though, I’m still very much alive and will remain alive for quite some time."

"Are you sure about that?" Jin taunted, readying his katanas.

Grixor laughed, "What can you do about it? Alone, Alcahain will lose. But with me, there’s no chance for you two."

Refuting that statement wouldn’t be possible with words. Words wouldn’t make sense as the lv. 91 samurai and lv. 92 cleric would take on a lv. 92 swordsman, a lv. 90 brawler, and a lv. 95 Quake Dragon. Only their fate-defying survival would counter such a statement.

’Hadurt, are you busy?’

The former chaotic champion evaded an intersecting barrage of attacks while replying, ’Only at the moment. What’s wrong?’

’Can you face Alcahain and live?’

’HUUUUUUH?!?! What are you talking about?!’ Hadurt shouted as he rerouted the party chasing after him.

’Alcahain and Grixor teamed up with Tyres against Jin. I’m busy with Kylon and Guuro won’t be enough to help Jin,’ reasoned Eedaj. ’If you do that, won’t you be able to at least hold out against him?’

’But... Really, right now?!’ Hadurt complained as he focused on evasion from his pursuers.

’Yes! Immediately! If you don’t go now, then you won’t be able to call their battle a fight!’

’Fine! I’ll do it now!’

’Thank you, Hadurt...’

Ending their conversation, Hadurt backed away and retrieved a small glass vial while he redirected himself for the battlefield of the gods. Those chasing him were unsure of what was going on or what red liquid was inside the vial, but they couldn’t do anything as Hadurt gulped down the liquid without a second thought.

As the liquid passed his throat, Hadurt then spun the halberd until he pierced his forearm with it, going clean through to the other side.

That party of association higher-ups was dumbstruck as they witnessed Hadurt convulsing and crying in pain. They saw the demonic energy pour into Hadurt’s body. A coughing spasm broke out of Hadurt’s lips as well, but the berserker didn’t stop running or slow down in the slightest. He paid no attention to the spectating pursuers.

Only seconds later, that party noticed Hadurt’s body begin to visibly change.

His body structure started to become more lupine and taller. Hadurt’s limbs were growing longer and his muscles expanded as well. Forced to store his armor away, Hadurt shouted in agony as his bones and body were forcibly changing and growing to reach three meters in height. Claws formed where his fingernails and toenails once were. Flaming-red fur sprouted along Hadurt’s shoulders, forearms, and calves. The berserker’s face thinned out to a point as his mouth, nose, and ears all mimicked a fox. His pained cries turned to howls as his shaking started to lessen.

Those from the association were baffled and utterly clueless as to what just happened. All they knew was that Hadurt had likely just become far stronger than previously.

While they were caught up in the moment, Hadurt covered himself in demonic, lightning, and wind energy. His new form mixed with his already incredible speed became the nightmare of those association members.

The leader was the first to die. As the demonic halberd was thrust through the duelist’s throat, Handurt’s second hand tore into the man’s chest. With two fatal wounds, Hadurt eliminated the party’s key to keeping him at bay.

Mercilessly, Hadurt slaughtered the remaining three and dashed toward the nearby field. His howls filled the battlefield with eeriness and shock.

"ALCAHAIN!!" Hadurt roared.

Before the three holy gods made a move, they spotted the incoming combatant. However, they were floored to see what Hadurt had become and how fast he was moving.

Continuing, Hadurt cried with a hellish smile of his new fangs, "It’s my turn to teach you what fear is!"

"Go, just hurry up and kill him," Grixor stated.

"But--"

"Do you doubt me?!" Grixor questioned.

"N-no..." Alcahain didn’t dare look Grixor in the eye as the Quake Dragon took his hybrid form. Like his relationship with Moranti before, Alcahain knew when he was outclassed.

Rather than reject Grixor’s proposal, Alcahain left Grixor and Tyres to handle Jin while he darted toward the incoming enemy.

 

Chapter 483

The weaker of the three Magma Dragons was being overrun by nearly a dozen Glacier Wyrms. Such an overwhelming attack was too much for the great beast. However, it still took fatally wounded four Glacier Wyrms before it was frozen over and killed.

Not wasting time, the seven remaining wyrms hurried to aid their leader.

"This one is our prey!" Dradich shouted. "Aid the army, now!"

Hurriedly changing targets, the wyrms bore through the cold sand toward the colliding armies. Thanks to the sand, their speed was incredible and allowed them to hurry into the Maldor forces. But the hidden high-level experts of the army targeted the wyrms and kept them at bay in order to keep the wyrms from tipping the scale of battle.

Dradich and Argyle had split up to tag-team the forty-five-meter tall Magma Dragon. While Dradich drew the dragon’s attention, Argyle was rushing to the flank or coming from the side.

The Magma Dragon clawed into Dradich’s frost body, getting the wyrm shout in pain. But at the same time, the mighty dragon roared.

Argyle was cutting into the underbelly of the dragon’s tail. And though the beast swung its tail in defense against the swordsman, preventing Argyle from severing the tail, Argyle did manage to leave a sizable wound open for later attacks.

Yet, as Argyle readied his next barrage of sword attacks, lava fell over the wound and hardened in order to leave no weak point exposed.

’How annoying... Got any ideas?’ Argyle asked telepathically.

Replying, Dradich eyed the Magma Dragon as it backed away from the duo, ’It seems we need to overwhelm it before it can cover its wounds. We need to break its defenses and deliver the killing blow simultaneously.’

’Easier said than done,’ added Argyle, ’but you’re not wrong. This could take some time...’

The swordsman looked toward the army. As the wyrms were held back from scattering the Maldor soldiers anymore, Argyle sighed in worry for his daughter and his yet to be born grandchild.

’They’ll be fine. We’ll join them after removing this threat. Or would you rather them face the dragon?’

’Let’s do this!’

Argyle rushed the Magma Dragon, switching roles with Dradich. The wyrm took the opportunity to burrow into the ground while the dragon was dealing with Argyle’s icy charge and his chilling sword attacks.

At the same time, there was an epic duel taking place not too far from there. A lv. 81 Hell-flame Fox and a lv. 87 Magma Dragon were staring each other down. So far, they had only exchanged a few attacks. They kept a close eye on each other, not underestimating the other.

Bowzer was underleveled and sure to be careful. The Magma Dragon had something else playing through his mind.

Clear as day, that Magma Dragon remembered seeing a similar fox ravage his home town centuries ago and face the greatest of the Magma Dragons to a draw. And it was done while the fox’s level was lower than Naparn’s. That memory and tale wouldn’t allow the Magma Dragon to make a false move or to grow cocky. It understood that underestimating such a fox could mean its life.

Both armies were far from the two towering beasts, leaving them with room to fight freely. In other words, there was no one present to hold them back or assist them. It was a duel of the two strongest fire bloodlines of Kartonia.

The Magma Dragon let loose a guttural roar. Sand shook under its cry, trembling and shifting under Bowzer’s feet. Then, pillars of hardened sand shot up at the fox without mercy.

However, the residual heat around Bowzer was beyond comparison. All sand around Bowzer was melting and entering the refining process, which included the pillars.

Finding no advantage with his second magic type, the Magma Dragon roared again. This time, a geyser of bubbling magma rocketed out of its mouth. Determination filled the dragon’s eyes as it committed to slaughtering the dreaded fox of his people’s nightmares.

In response, Bowzer coughed up a ball of black and white flames. It was much smaller than the plume of lava, yet the heat it gave off was even hotter.

When both attacks collided, a heatwave exploded out toward the neighboring battles. Argyle, Dradich, and the other Magma Dragon felt the residual heat stronger than the army, causing even the Magma Dragon to hesitate. But their fight quickly resumed, just as Bowzer and his opponent repeated their attacks.

Again, a heatwave filled the surrounding battles. But they didn’t stop their attacks this time. Lava spewed ceaselessly from the Magma Dragon’s throat while Bowzer coughed up a dozen of those expansive fireballs.

The landscape was changing from their attacks, becoming red hot sand while other parts were cooling down from the nearby cold sand to form ponds of glass.

Both beasts were now stepping forward. They got closer and closer as the collision of their attacks grew more aggressive by the second.

Those from both armies were rattled by the sight.

The Aazoon soldiers weren’t terrified but they were startled beyond belief. They had gone from losing all hope against dragons of legend to finding a new seed of hope in reinforcements. And now, that small seed was growing proudly with each explosion of Bowzer’s fireballs, proving that they too had the aid of a legendary beast.

King Wilheim held strong to the reigns of his soldiers’ hearts. Even under those circumstances, he was the first to continue his assault and tune out the spectacular clash of fiery titans in the distance.

Jack’s wives and Lina were also among the first as they expected nothing less from Bowzer. Together with their beast companions, they held the front line. To their sides were the Aazoon captains and soldiers, helping them to face the invaders without any disadvantage. And any high-level expert who dared to attack the wives was met by Mooldrat, who was guarding them instead of pushing the line.

Though the battle on the cold sand was getting more and more heated, it couldn’t compare to the battle taking place overhead.

 

Chapter 484

"Is that the best you’ve got?!" Naparn shouted with a domineering smile. Not holding back against his former comrade, the Molten God hurled bubbling magma at Lunara.

Saying nothing, Lunara doused the lava in her glacial breath, hardening it instantly and letting her swat it away. Dragas wasn’t too far from here and gave Lunara the confidence to stand before the lv. 97 Molten God.

Naparn continued to shout, "If Sterfen is too much of a coward to show himself, then I’ll just have to kill you!"

Charging at full speed, Naparn prepared his blade. It was red-hot and ready to cleave the icy goddess in two. Defending such an attack would come at a cost.

However, Dragas was also a part of this fight. And her abilities combined with Lunara’s weren’t simply additive, they were multiplied.

As the Molten God rushed Lunara, he felt himself grow heavier and more sluggish as a faint black aura gathered around him. At the same time, both holy and nature energy surrounded Lunara’s body, filling her with more strength than ever.

A frosted spear appeared in Lunara’s hands. It was glistening white like freshly fallen snow.

With her weapon at the ready, Lunara took Naparn head-on!

Just before their collision, Naparn had to force his way past a barrier of holy light, lessening his attack’s strength. This evened the score as the debuffed Molten God exchanged blows with the buffed Water Goddess.

The colliding attacks caused the air to tremble. Opposing energies warred as Naparn’s Molten Blade met Lunara’s Glacier Spear. Neither side budged, standing their ground and sending shockwaves through the air. Even at their great height, the residual shockwaves were felt by those battling below, albeit too weak to cause them any harm.

Naparn was incredibly displeased. Though he wasn’t at a disadvantage after counting the debuffs and buffs, his pride was already wounded greatly.

He proudly stood as the second strongest holy god. Yet he was incomparable to the second strongest chaotic god and always had been. Knowing full well that three gods were dispatched to keep Moranti at bay, how could Naparn not feel insulted in his current situation? While Moranti was facing two lv. 96’s and a lv. 95, Naparn was being rivaled by a two lv. 93’s. There was no comparison to be made.

Fueled by his raging pride, the heat around Moranti grew and grew.

Lunara acted similarly as she covered herself in more cold energy. But Naparn’s soaring temperature was starting to overtake her subzero defenses. It would mean a prolonged battle was the worst strategy.

"Now, you’ll face my wrath!"

As Naparn shouted and pushed Lunara back, something strange occurred. Two figures suddenly rushed up out of the Zuran army. Those two took to the sky with vicious speed and were aimed for the battle in the sky. Each gathered a different energy into their hands.

When Dragas and Lunara spotted the new challengers, both of the incoming figures threw their own attacks.

A bolt of blue lightning rushed from one figure’s hand while a flaming vortex burst out from the second. The lightning targeted Lunara, the Water Goddess, and the fire targeted Dragas in her dryad hybrid form. Clearly, those attacks would be critical to the battle and planned out in advance.

Dragas managed to find a moment to evade, narrowly avoiding the encirclement of flames. But the same couldn’t be said about Lunara.

While being pressured by Naparn, there was no chance that Lunara could avoid the speed of that jarring attack.

As the lightning fell upon her, Naparn grinned from ear-to-ear. That was until he noticed something.

Standing in front of Lunara, Sterfen had appeared. With his knives in hand, the Assassin God deflected the lightning while receiving some small residual damage.

"No one touches my wife..." Sterfen stated, snatching everyone’s attention. But he wasn’t done. Soaring downward, Sterfen countered the charge of the two incoming figures. "Sillo... Sybin... You’ve chosen death!"

Laughing to themselves, the Twin Mage Gods glanced at each other. Sillo mocked, "What are you going to do about it?

"Does the stealthy god have anything he can do now that you’re found out?" Sybin added.

Yet as they giggled to themselves, Sterfen continued his rush.

"Fools!" Naparn shouted at the ignorant twins. "Don’t lose sight of him!"

"Funny you should say that..."

Hearing that whisper at his side, Naparn lifted his arm to defend his throat. In the knick of time, Naparn felt a scratch against the scales of his forearm. The Molten God used the same motion to extend that arm and swipe his sword through the air, making contact with an invisible figure.

A second image of Sterfen appeared with blood dripping from a slash across his chest. "Not bad..."

That second image faded, proving that it was merely a weak body double. That was also proven as the scratch on Naparn’s arm was barely noticeable, much in part to the natural defense of his scales.

While Naparn felt a sense of relief, the Twin Gods were startled by Sterfen’s frontal assault, the exact opposite sort of attack that Sterfen was known for.

Sterfen reached the Twin Mage Gods with two knives in had, one aimed for each god.

Both Sillo and Sybin grew more serious after Naparn’s warning. Sillo gathered an armor of earthen energy. It was so compacted that it nearly resembled thick, crudely formed metal. Sybin, on the other hand, increased the amount of wind energy around her while weaving past the incoming attack.

Each twin was ready for a battle. But they felt no resistance as the knives reached them.

"What the--"

"AAAAHH..."

Sillo shared his thoughts aloud but was interrupted by his sister’s cries. He turned to see a dagger shoved through her throat. But something was off. That dagger came from the side, the same side that Sybin had traveled past in order to evade Sterfen’s attack without colliding against Sillo.

The image of Sterfen that had just falsely attacked the twins then faded and the true figure of Sterfen appeared, holding the other end of that killing dagger.

"As I said, you’ve chosen death..."

 

Chapter 485

"As I said, you’ve chosen death..."

Cold eyes met Sillo’s shocked gaze. Never had Sillo felt smaller and more vulnerable, even while standing before an angered Moranti.

Above, Naparn was at a loss for words. He was glad to know that he had survived Sterfen’s surprise attack, however, Naparn didn’t know how to process Sterfen’s immediate execution of a well-respected god. Sure, Sybin was only lv. 93, but she wielded five magic types while Sterfen wielded one. Yet she was assassinated in broad daylight directly in front of them. While part of Naparn was more hesitant than ever against Sterfen, a small part of him felt glad that he had never underestimated Sterfen through his actions of the past.

Dragas was blown away by Sterfen’s performance. Though they had never been lovers in the past, she had always had a biased opinion of Sterfen’s strength either way. And now Dragas finally felt satisfied to know that she had never been wrong, even though she failed to win Sterfen’s heart in the end.

Everyone was in shock, but Lunara was filled with appreciation and love. Unlike the others, Lunara’s confidence in Sterfen was absolutely unshakable. For her, Sterfen’s word was irrefutable. Even an empty promise that most would make out of emotion in the moment was carefully executed to perfection. Her own release from the holy gods was a prime example, or how Sterfen had arrived and brought her back from death’s door during the Godly War of the past. Not even for a moment did she doubt her own protection. Lunara didn’t know her husband’s level but she was sure of his strength.

While everyone was in shock or awe of Sterfen’s unbelievable display, Sterfen removed the blade from Sybin’s lifeless corpse. He let her body fall to the ground. It fell ungracefully as it flopped around in the wind.

Sillo wanted so badly to hurry to his sister’s side and attempt to cast resurrection magic but he couldn’t. After seeing Sterfen’s abilities first hand, Sillo could only let the water fall from his eyes as he stared furiously back into the sub-zero gaze of the Assassin God.

Sterfen then added, "Oosam, I’d come out now before I hunt you down next..."

Both Lunara and Dragas were completely startled to know that Oosam was hiding nearby. Naparn and Sillo felt chills as Sterfen called out their ace in the hole, and to do so after one-shotting one of their own.

"I see..." A sigh sounded out from in between the two godly fights. The Illusion God appeared and turned to face Sterfen. "In that case, I’ll join Sillo as he exacts revenge for his fallen sister."

"Don’t worry, he’ll be joining her soon," Steren instantly refuted with only confidence in his voice. "All who dare to touch my wife will die."

"Then I’m glad I haven’t threatened her," Oosam joked as he lowered himself to join Sillo on their battlefield.

’Don’t worry about me. Just handle your own fight. But if you need help or want to switch, then say so immediately,’ Sterfen telepathically stated, no longer putting on false airs or attempting to hide his confidence from Dragas.

Lunara was the first to continue attacking. She jabbed her spear toward Naparn without hesitation or fear.

The Molten God defended and parried the attack with his sword.

Dragas followed as she increased the strength of the aura shield around Lunara while pushing the debuff on Naparn to the limit.

Working together, Sillo and Oosam waited as Sterfen was distracted by Naparn’s and Lunara’s exchange. When Sterfen nodded and approved of the outcome, he finally looked back to his two opponents. "Oosam, will you surrender his life to me or do I need to add you to my list of foes?"

"Sterfen, things don’t work they did in the past," Oosam replied. "Now that you and the neutral gods are acting against the other gods, I can’t show you any preference."

"It’s not that we’re just now acting out, it’s that you and the others have all been doing whatever you’re told by Halmut and Skaryn. With them doing as they wish, they almost ended the world. And your ignorance was a part of that, which led to us needing to step up in order to avoid the planet’s extinction," stated Sterfen. "Now, I’ll ask once more. Will you surrender this fight and flee while I deal with him for the crime of targeting my wife?"

"No!" Sillo shouted. But he turned to see Oosam’s uneasy expression, feeling even lower than before.

Finally, Oosam replied, "I can’t..."

"Then so be it... Don’t blame me if your life gets caught up in this," Sterfen added with a sigh.

Lightning sparked around both Oosam’s and Sillo’s bodies as they readied themselves. After witnessing the immediate fall of Sybin, they left no stone unturned or preparation unmade while facing Sterfen.

Sterfen casually popped his neck, followed by his fingers. A dagger danced through his fingers more nimbly than ever as Sterfen took in a deep breath.

Just as Sterfen relaxed his body and began acting casually, his silhouette disappeared before their eyes.

The Illusion God was on full alert as he did his best to see through Sterfen’s disappearance. At the same time, he created multiple forms of himself to create more insurance for his own survival.

Sillo shouted in anger, "You dare kill my sister?! And now you think I’m so easy a target?! I’ll show you!"

With himself at the center, a dancing web of lightning formed around them. It had no effect on Oosam, who had his own lightning protecting himself and his copies, but it was a great deterrent to slow Sterfen.

"You and your single magic affinity, how dare you mock my sister and I! With five magic types alone and eight magic types together, you dare tarnish our legacy?!" continued Sillo. "Then try this!"

While maintaining the lightning web, a veil of holy energy erupted from Sillo. It passed over Oosam and his copies, then surpassing the lightning web. And after a few seconds, another figure became visible as it traversed the lightning web with care.

Sillo beamed, "Found you!"

 

Chapter 486

Torian and Moranti clashed!

Loose bolts of electricity unleashed themselves during their collision. Spare spatial energy leaked out, contending with the electricity and cutting through some of the bolts.

"You’ll have to try harder, Torian," Moranti teased, preparing his next attack.

But before Moranti could attack again, Tralbok was on the move. His great speed with wind energy kept him from getting left aside by the two fastest dragons. Add that to his time magic and he was right on top of Moranti without hindering Torian.

A fierce blade of wind magic hurled toward Moranti. It was countered but kept Moranti from immediately overwhelming Torian.

Given an opening, Torian charged yet again. An electrifying scimitar appeared in his hands as Torian slashed toward the God of Space.

Moranti easily dodged the attack, however, teleporting to the side and showing them a smile. "At least you came at me with confidence to harm me. That’s more than most can grasp, albeit futile."

Torian said nothing as he charged again, now with a second scimitar. Also, his long, thin tail was used as a bladed whipped with a serrated spike at the tip. Together, all three blades stormed toward Moranti without mercy or hesitation.

Tralbok acted again also. A cyclone gathered around him as he controlled the winds to twist toward Moranti. He was corralling Moranti as Torian pushed to deliver a grave blow.

But Moranti teleported again.

This time, Moranti reappeared by Lyrun, the god who was left alone. Moranti sighed and threw a spatial slash toward his old friend. "Why... Lyrun?"

"I’m just following orders," Lyrun answered. With staff in hand, Lyrun created a green barrier around himself that easily withstood the spatial slash. At the same time, wind gathered around him as Lyrun sped backward to allow the other two to take Moranti head-on. "It’s nothing personal, Moranti."

"I’ll remember that," chuckled Moranti. He received the two charging gods with more attacks and spatial slashes.

As that spatial energy reached them, though, more green barriers appeared around them to protect them from Moranti’s offense.

"Come on, Lyrun. Isn’t two against one bad enough? Why do you have to get involved?" Moranti joked while teleporting away again.

"Enough!" Torian shouted. "As a noble Spectral Dragon, I have respect for you, Moranti. But your cowardly tactics are anything but noble. Face us head-on or I’ll know with certainty that you’re not truly the man everyone fears you to be."

Dropping his casual tone, Moranti raised one eyebrow. He gave Torian a once-over, followed by Tralbok. After inspecting Lyrun as well, Moranti understood that all three were fully-geared up and ready for a life-threatening fight. They weren’t underestimating him at all. In fact, they were overestimating him at the chance that they would get caught off guard. It filled Moranti with pride as he took such preparations as a compliment.

"Very well... But before you pay the price, remember, you asked for this..."

A playful smile painted itself across Moranti’s face. Moranti’s dazzling, purple scythe appeared in his hand. A sheet of spatial energy fell over the surrounding area as Moranti’s form became more ethereal and unreal.

*****

The military battle on the Zuran-Reinolt border was nearing its climax. All that was left was for one side to tip the scales.

Maynard and Trax were now focused on killing enemies while using the least mana possible. They refused to cause trouble later on by mana-mismanagement. And with the battle about equal, all they had to do was wait.

Karronteel was also fighting to a draw, occasionally taking damage at the cost of a foe’s life. He was the largest focus of the Zuran army. If he could get loose than the Zuran army was done for.

"HO!!"

From behind the Zuran army came a resounding battle cry. No one knew what was happening until they spotted the armor those soldiers were wearing.

The Zuran army cheered as their morale soared to new heights. With reinforcements, they had the opportunity to make a push for victory. All the while the Reinolt soldiers readied themselves for the increased burden that was about to fall upon them.

After a few minutes of deadlock, the reinforcements reached the battlefield.

"Aaahh..."

Cries rang out from the back of the Zuran army, causing everyone unease. They soon realized something. Those reinforcements had begun to attack the Zuran army. They wore the same armor but something was interesting about their helmets. Each helm was painted either red or yellow. There were only a few hundred men and they weren’t the strongest army but they stuck out like a sore thumb as they attacked their supposed allies.

Suddenly, the caws of birds rang out through the air. The depressed Zuran soldiers felt a ray of hope shine down on them as the familiar sight of the sky navy appeared on the horizon.

Yet, two more birds came into view, coming from the direction of the false reinforcements. One was a Thunderbird while one was Wind Roc that seemed eerily familiar to those fighting below. Also, a hulking Two-headed Wolf raced out of the nearby woods and into the Zuran army with fangs bared.

Maynard and Trax smiled, knowing that they managed to do their job.

Flying overhead, Rydel petted Ayden and smiled at the man riding the Thunderbird.

That young man was full of enthusiasm and shouted, "Thank you for your offer!"

"Don’t mention it, just help me take care of the sky navy," replied Rydel.

More eager than ever to prove himself, Tarnel readied his lightning spells and petted his Thunderbird, the same that he had purchased during the annual auction.

On the ground, Flint was leading the charge of the soldiers with red-painted helmets, his fellow members of the Maronn Family, alongside his Two-headed Wolf. He and his father were all smiles. Given the opportunity to migrate and join Trodar as a noble family was an opportunity that they couldn’t pass up.

With the Maronn Family and the Lyre Family rebelling at such a crucial time, the balance of the battle was finally tipped.

 

Chapter 487

The Zuran army was in the worst position yet but the same couldn’t be said for the gods siding with them.

In that open field, three holy gods faced off against two neutral gods and a former champion. Including Kylon above, there were now four holy gods present to give them a clear advantage, especially after considering their levels.

Secluded from the other deities was Alcahain. He rushed to face the former champion that he had helped train.

Hadurt focused on his drive for battle and not the overwhelming odds that made his interference completely illogical. Rather, Hadurt gritted himself to face off against the only chaotic god that could be counted as a true teacher of his.

While Pestro was the one who had blessed Hadurt, the late Demon God took little to no time to teach Hadurt anything. The only lengthy interactions they had were the times when Pestro would bully and beat on Hadurt. Though Alcahain wasn’t a father figure for Hadurt, he at least answered Hadurts questions on occasion or allowed Hadurt to test a skill every so often. Alcahain was the god that Hadurt disliked the least. But that was nowhere near enough emotion to stop Hadurt from trying to shred the Brawler God to pieces.

Pausing his charge, Alcahain sighed, "You know, we could--"

The Brawler God was interrupted by the swing of Hadurt’s halberd. It crashed down where Alcahain once stood. When Alcahain sidestepped the attack, Hadurt added, "Why stop fighting? Let’s talk with our mouths and our fists!"

"Fine..."

Acquiescing, Alacahain covered his gauntlets in earth energy, thrusting his fist forward. The demonic halberd rushed to parry the attack, forcing Hadurt back a couple of meters.

"There’s only a one-level difference, yet the gap is so wide..." Hadurt complained.

Alcahain chuckled. "For a mortal, you’re the strongest I’ve ever faced. But that’s to be expected after your permanent demonization. Let me guess, you used Kori’s blood, didn’t you?"

"Isn’t that obvious?" Hadurt smiled, readying himself for charge again.

"Well, it’s better than Pestro’s choice. I’ll give you that. But that doesn’t mean you’re ready for me, kid."

"Only one way to find out!" Hadurt shouted as he bolted toward Alcahain.

"Good... At least put up a fight!"

Letting go, Alcahain showed an excited grin. One fist was now coated in earth energy while the other was coated in lightning, allowing him to change his fighting style with each punch thrown. He could land a heavy blow that could tear through defenses or an instantaneous body blow to create an opening.

Hadurt understood Alcahain’s fighting style well. The berserker chose an interesting tactic to counter the Brawler God.

When Alcahain led with a lightning-quick punch, Hadurt ducked. Hadurt used his new body’s flexibility and strength to the max to evade the opening punch while swinging his own attack toward Alcahain’s body.

Spotting the attack, Alcahain was cautious. Though Hadurt was still a mortal, he didn’t dare underestimate the berserker. After seeing Hadurt time and time again supersede the expectations of the gods, Alcahain wouldn’t take the chance against Hadurt’s newly upgraded strength. Instead, he used his weighted punch to deflect the attack head-on.

The halberd was swatted aside and Hadurt felt his hand tingling from the impact.

Alcahain didn’t let up. More electrifying punches hurled toward the former champion. And even with Hadurt’s new flexibility and speed, he couldn’t avoid all of the blows. One knocked the wind out of Hadurt after drilling him in the side. But rather than fight the fist, Hadurt used the punch’s momentum and jumped back to avoid the follow-up swing of the heavy punch.

"Good, good... You still remember my fighting style," Alcahain commented.

Panting, Hadurt smiled. "Sure do... I liked it so much that I would’ve copied you had I chosen to be a brawler. Instead, I had to adapt it to my style..."

"Oh? Then go ahead and show me before I finish you off."

Lightning and darkness formed a thick layer around the halberd. Hadurt calmed his breathing and refocused his gaze. "Then let me show you... the perfection of your technique!"

Taking off, Hadurt charged the Brawler God. Hadurt threw his entire body into this swing of the halberd, not letting a single ounce of his strength go by unused.

Still smiling, Alcahain readied his heavy attack to counter yet again.

Both attacks were thrown. The halberd arched with fury toward Alcahain while the gauntlet roared upward with potent strength. Yet they didn’t collide. A sudden gust of wind fell upon the halberd, allowing it to slightly change its course at the last second and breeze past the defending fist.

In the end, the heavy fist fell upon Hadurt’s chest while the halberd coated in lightning, wind, and dark energy bore into Alcahain’s chest.

Hadurt was thrown far back. The berserker tumbled as he ate dirt tore apart the ground with his various impacts.

Alcahain remained standing. He didn’t move whatsoever. However, blood dripped from his torso.

"You liar!" Alcahain shouted, unsure of whether he should get mad or laugh.

Coughing and forcing his aching body back to its feet, Hadurt laughed, "So? I landed a blow and that’s what matters."

"You... You just had to turn traitor on us..." sighed Alcahain. "You would’ve made the perfect sparring partner with some more practice."

"Why not test that theory now? I’m down to spar if you are?"

"I don’t have time for that now, otherwise, Grixor might beat me from frustration."

"Too bad... Then I’ll have to keep trying to kill you." Hadurt shrugged, wiping the blood from his mouth and ignoring his broken ribs.

Alcahain took the lead again, dashing ahead with his fists. Now they were both covered in earth and lightning energy.

Taking the defensive, Hadurt covered himself in lightning and wind while he used his speed to narrowly avoid the blows and wait for a proper opening. He would bide his time. Hadurt didn’t mind fighting quickly but he understood that the current moment needed a delayed battle. Besides, Hadurt’s confidence wasn’t really in winning, it was in surviving.

Chapter 488

Not too far away from the battle of a mortal and an immortal, Eedaj was up against a powerful foe, Kylon. Eedaj had the greatest respect for her.

"Kylon, I’d rather not face you!" Eedaj shouted.

"Then cease your defenses and die!" replied the Storm Goddess.

"But aren’t we too similar? Given our pasts, you share more experiences with me than you do any holy god."

"So? How could that change my allegiances?" Kylon questioned.

Eedaj sighed, pausing the fireball he was about to throw. "Kylon... Do you not blame Halmut?"

"Halmut is not to blame, but Skaryn is!"

"Why? Apparently, I know your thoughts better than you do," Eedaj stated. "I know what you’re bottling up. I understand the anger and rage you’ve sealed away."

"Eedaj... I don’t mind talking about this, but I must fulfill my duty," Kylon replied calmly.

"Very well. Then we’ll chat while trading blows..."

Eedaj let multiple copies of himself surround the Storm Goddess, each wielding a fireball. They all launched their attacks and spoke one after another, each saying a different sentence in order to conceal the true body of the Mind God, "Why hide your anger from Halmut? It’s right to be furious. After losing your home and most of your people, you should be angry."

"True..." Kylon admitted, actively throwing small bolts of static electricity to disperse the false enemies.

"Then why hide it? Why are you still loyal to him?" Eedaj asked, casting darkness around their midair battlefield.

Kylon created mist to spread and counter the darkness, answering, "Because I have no choice. I’ve already committed and it’s too late to change that."

"It’s never too late for change. Isn’t that what Daruun told you long ago?"

At a loss for words, Kylon created her own flames and launched a pulse of fire across the air.

Forced to defend, Eedaj’s true form was revealed after parting the flames with his magic. His eyes wandered over to Hadurt’s battle. Seeing the former champion holding off the Brawler God was admirable, to say the least, and a great burden off of Eedaj’s mind. But he was still worried about the other two, looking in their direction to reassess the situation if necessary.

The 2-v-2 battle of the gods was interesting as both sides used similar tactics. The frontrunner of each side was a swordsman while the second would defend, either with magic or their body.

But Grixor grew tired of the slow-paced match up. Turning to Tyres, Grixor shouted, "You take tubby. I’ll take Jin..."

"Hey!" Jin shouted in defiance. "Wait your turn, Grixor! I’ll face you after killing that leech."

"Too bad!"

Not giving the samurai a choice, Grixor charged him. His natural armor in hybrid form was beyond a doubt the strongest among the gods and he looked down on Jin with his four-meter frame. Without wings, Grixor was the slowest of the dragons but his natural defense and strength kept him from being at a disadvantage with the others.

And now that Grixor, a lv. 95 Quake Dragon, faced Jin, a magicless lv. 91 samurai, he had no shortage of confidence.

Guuro defended the charge initially but was pushed back as Tyres graciously accepted Grixor’s change of tactics. So long as the plan was executed, Tyres didn’t care what needed to be done.

The cleric defended and was forced away from the samurai. Tyres kept Guuro from returning to Jin’s side while Grixor punched Jin in the opposite direction.

Jin managed to defend the strike and took little damage, but he couldn’t fully negate the momentum and was thrown backward nearly a dozen meters. Landing on his feet, Jin squinted and groaned, "Whyyyy?! Why do you holy gods never honor our duels?!"

"I don’t care about them, but I respect your determination," Grixor replied, walking casually toward the lonely samurai. "If you want to prove you’re better than Tyres, then just defeat me. That’s something that Tyres has never done and will never happen."

"Hmmm... Not a bad proposition, I suppose..." Jin pondered the thought while readying all twelve of his katanas.

"Like Kylon, us dragons respect you for your tenacity. But that doesn’t mean we’ll sit back and let you do whatever you want. If you’re determined to prove Tyres’s weakness, then prove your strength first!"

Grixor darted toward Jin with his plated, natural armor. His claws clenched into a fist as he tested the samurai’s strength.

Jin responded similarly, using a joint attack of four arms to counter the dragon’s punch.

Both strikes met and surprisingly canceled each other out. A look of surprise and excitement came over Grixor. "I’ll tell you what... I acknowledge you as superior! I don’t care about your level, not when you’ve got so much strength to back up your words. It’s been a while since someone’s gotten my blood pumping..."

Receiving the compliment Jin grinned. "Thank you. It’s about time... Then I guess I’ll need to get through that thief’s bodyguard before taking his head."

They traded blows again, resulting in the same way. Both of them were grinning like madmen. With an eagerness to let loose, Jin and Grixor held nothing back.

Earth energy erupted from Grixor’s body, enveloping his natural armor in even more protection.

Jin had only a thin layer of faint, white aura around him. He kept his twelve arms and changed hardly anything about his presence. But the sharpness of his eyes was enough to cut to any man’s heart. But against the confident dragon, Jin’s gaze was only fitting of an opponent strong enough to pique Grixor’s interest.

"Let’s see how long you can hold on, human!"

With that shout, Grixor barreled into Jin. Both of his front claws streaked toward the samurai, only milliseconds behind each other.

The God of Discipline never took any battle lightly. He used two more joint attacks to counter, wielding five swords for each strike.

Colliding yet again, the katanas and the claws held each other off. But Jin was pushed back a few steps while Grixor gained a few steps. However, the grin on Grixor’s face disappeared.

Chapter 489

"What did you do?"

Annoyed that he was pushed back, Jin sighed, "What do you think? Isn’t it obvious?"

"You broke through my defenses... No..." Grixor examined his claws but failed to find a single scratch. "You phased through my defenses..."

"I’ve never faced a more sturdy physique," Jin commented. "Even your bones are so hard. Have you ever been injured before?"

"Never, at least, never anything worth noting. But you may change that... Now I’m riled up! You can make me feel alive!"

Wasting no time, Grixor charged again. Even more energy coated his claws as Grixor wanted to know how much it would take to defend against Jin’s unique abilities.

In their next clash, Jin used six arms for each counterstrike. He followed the same tactic as before though, using one of the six katanas to attack and not defend. Jin was successful in attacking but only enough to break through the abundance of earth energy and cut the plate armor of Grixor’s scales.

As the clash ended, Grixor chuckled, "Again! Make me feel again!"

Grixor pummeled into Jin, still forcing the samurai back a few steps with each exchange while he only took cuts on his knuckles and the backs of his hands. But that was more than anything that Grixor had felt in a long time, more than enough to reawaken his passion for battle.

"Come on! Show me more!" insisted Grixor.

"Very well..." Understanding how badly he was outmatched, Jin inhaled to calm his mind. He didn’t allow his thoughts to grow negative and weaken his resolve. "Then allow me!"

Jin took the initiative and lunged toward Grixor. Not using a single joint attack, Jin timed his strikes to overlap while attacking from different angles. Twelve separate strikes rained down on the Earthen God, all of which aimed for a different part of the body.

"Wonderful!"

Forced to spread his energy, Grixor stopped focusing on his claws and allowed his entire body to become better guarded. His forearms kept the thickest coating as they covered Grixor’s face, but that wasn’t enough to stop Jin.

Each of the twelve strikes carved into Grixor’s energy and natural plated armor. Cuts and scratches appeared all over the Earthen God’s body. Some blood was drawn by half of the attacks, leaving Grixor with a satisfied grin on his face.

He inhaled deeply and sighed, "Ah... It feels good to be alive! Never have I bled so much from a single fight! Truly, you’re a warrior deserving to rank above mere humans!"

Examining the damage he caused, Jin shook his head. "That got you excited? I barely gave you some papercuts and you’re pumped up? I admire your excitement for battle but don’t compliment me for doing so little."

"You deserve the praise! If it makes you feel better, know that even after leveling up Tyres was unable to leave a scratch on me while you’ve left half a dozen! You’re far beyond Tyres!" stated Grixor.

"Hey! I heard that!" Tyres shouted.

"Then prove me wrong and kill the fat one!" Grixor exclaimed, refusing to retract his words.

"Fine! Then allow me!" Shifting his focus, Tyres altered his strikes. Rather than delay or keep Guuro back, the Sword God added killing intent to each strike.

"Hey! There’s no need to prove anything!" Guuro whined. "You’re better than Jin, so why--"

"If you finish that sentence then I’ll kill you myself!"

Shutting up after remembering that Jin could hear them as well, Guuro hardened his defenses to the fullest extent. One arm with staff in hand focused on his barriers while the other was preparing a new spell.

"Holy Flame!"

Guuro’s shout alarmed Tyres, who slashed the attack in half. "If you want to surprise me, then don’t shout your attacks!"

Just then, a sharp, dark spike drove itself into Tyres.

Backing up, Tyres managed to avoid aunty critical damage and was only grazed. He nodded and sighed, "Right... You’ve got dark magic too..."

"Took you long enough," Guuro scoffed. His shadow retracted and returned to its usual, harmless form.

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Grixor was roaring with laughter. Seeing the Sword God get cut by a cleric before dealing any damage himself... It was comical to the powerful Quake Dragon.

"No, now I’m certain he’s stronger than you, Tyres," added Grixor. "Who knows? Maybe he’s right about you stealing his--"

"Shut up!"

Tyres unleashed more energy than ever as he sped up to a frightening degree.

Guuro returned his full focus to defense as that was the only way to stay the speeding swordsman. Otherwise, the God of Greed was certain to take more damage than he could comfortably deal with.

"Where were we?" Grixor scratched the side of his face, looking back to a chuckling Jin. "Right... You were giving my life purpose!"

Again, the Quake Dragon charged at Jin full-force. He held nothing back this time, knocking Jin back a few meters with each strike. Grixor received more and more scratches with each encounter but he was having too much fun to care. All he wanted was to enjoy the little pain he could after going millennia without it.

"Grixor, don’t forget the plan."

A single sentence rang out in Grixor’s head, reminding the Earthen God about the purpose of his appearance.

Sighing, Grixor took a moment to shake his head and drop his smile. "I’m sorry, Jin... I got carried away and nearly forgot my goal here."

"Oh? And what goal would that be?" questioned the samurai.

"You’ll soon see..."

Jumping back into action, Grixor didn’t let up. His attacks were just as strong as before, chipping away at Jin little-by-little. Then, Grixor’s tail lashed out as well, using the ball of spikes at the end as a mace.

Jin quickly separated and coordinated his strikes. They went from six joint arms in two pairs to four joint arms in three pairs. This allowed him to defend himself, but Jin was thrown back a dozen meters with each trading blow. Also, Jin was no longer able to add any offense to his strikes. He was mercilessly getting pushed back further and further from the other gods with no ability to stop Grixor.

Chapter 490

Overwhelmed, Jin struggled to figure out a solution. He attempted to rush to the side but Grixor’s tail didn’t allow Jin enough time to readjust himself before taking another attack.

"You’ve done well, Jin... But it’s time."

Grixor’s tone wasn’t cold nor warm. With an emotionless face, Grixor roared and unleashed even more energy around his tail, throwing into the samurai with all the strength Grixor’s massive frame provided.

Jin did all he could to defend. All twelve of his katanas were driven into the flailing tail, yet Jin still felt his footing giving way. But Grixor’s claws followed the tail in milliseconds. One was deflected while the other managed to force its way past Jin’s defenses, snatching Jin’s true right arm.

The samurai groaned but swallowed his yell.

"Wow... You deserve praise. To be a weak human yet you’re able to swallow such pain." Grixor smiled again, praising Jin as Grixor twisted his claw and yanked Jin closer to him. The crunch of the samurai’s bones was louder than Jin’s pained groans.

Jin never stopped attacking Grixor but his attacks weren’t very effective as Grixor pulled the Samurai into his chest, not giving Jin the space to swing his katanas or enough leverage to pierce his earth energy armor. That was only made worse as Jin’s second arm was also gripped and broken by Grixor’s other claw. This happened with each of Jin’s physical limbs, yet Jin continued to grit his teeth and use his illusory limbs to break free.

Still admiring Jin, Grixor retrieved an amulet radiating holy energy. Its appearance had Jin immediately struggle to free himself. But the Earthen God was too strong.

"You’re coming with me..." Grixor stated, activating the amulet.

A column of light suddenly fell from the dark sky. It enveloped Grixor and Jin, who was held tightly against Grixor’s chest. Both were lifted off the ground as they were carried away into the heavens.

As the column faded, Eedaj’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "Kylon! What does Halmut want with Jin?!"

"Tyres, Alcahain, it’s time to retreat!" The Storm Goddess turned away from Eedaj, not bothering to answer him.

Either way, Eedaj read her mind to learn the truth. Then, Eedaj’s heart skipped a beat.

"I’m coming, I’m coming!" Tyres shouted as he sliced Guuro’s barrier one last time.

Alcahain didn’t reply. He was still trying to kill Hadurt! After his permanent demonification, Hadurt had grown all the more difficult to kill since he focused on survival and not victory.

"Alcahain! Now!" Kylon rushed to the recently inducted holy god, taking out her amulet to travel via light column to their destination.

Tyres did the same, vanishing from the battlefield and leaving the Zuran army in shambles as they retreated.

The mortal battle was a victory for Rydel’s party and Reinolt, but the battle of the immortals ended in their side’s defeat.

While Hadurt was finally able to relax and breathe, taking some potions to recover from his injuries, Eedaj rushed to Guuro. At the same time, Eedaj mentally shouted to both Sterfen and Moranti, ’They’ve taken Jin! We need to get him back, now!’

*****

"Found you!"

Sillo’s lust to kill was higher than ever before as he spotted the no-longer-hidden assassin. Lightning gathered to form lances. Earthen spikes were ripped from the ground below. Ice was formed to create tridents. Holy light emerged in the shape of swords. Darkness appeared to make sabers. All five of those elemental attacks took shape around Sillo’s body, just waiting to be hurled into Sterfen.

Once he became visible, Sterfen didn’t waste any movement. He charged through the lightning and bolted for Sillo with incredible speed.

"Die!"

All five of the incredible attacks darted through the air to engulf Sterfen in a frenzied whirlwind of projectile attacks.

Sterfen did his best to avoid any major blows or to get caught completely. Tanking or deflecting some attacks, Sterfen broke free from the whirlwind but the attacks followed him.

Strangely enough, Sterfen’s focus was on the other fight above his own.

Lunara was shoeing promise with all the support from Dragas, but it wasn’t going to be enough in the long run. That was clear to everyone.

While running from the slew of attacks, which Sillo kept adding to, Sterfen held his hand toward the heavens. Something small appeared in his palm. It was white and pillowy, something that was familiar to Sillo and Oosam yet something completely unexpected.

That small cloud-like substance suddenly grew darker and rushed higher into the sky. In moments, that small cloud smaller than Sterfen’s palm billowed and roared with thunder and lightning. A raging storm was formed and sheet after sheet of rain fell heavily onto the many battlefields.

"Water magic?! How can you use water magic?!" Sillo shouted in anger, utterly perplexed and confused. Not only had Steren suddenly used a second magic type, but Sterfen had also cast such a useless spell to change the weather.

Oosam, on the other hand, at least understood the intentions of the spell. He looked up to Lunara, who was smiling from ear-to-ear on all three of her heads. In such weather and with that abundance of rain, she would get faster!

The Illusion God was taken aback. Never would he have believed that Sterfen was so capable as he did now. Not only had Sterfen one-shotted a lv. 93 god, while fighting another lv. 93 god and a lv. 95 in tandem Sterfen was more worried about his wife’s fight than his own. And how was it that Sterfen managed to cast water magic, exactly? All these thoughts flooded Oosam’s mind.

"What’s the point of such a useless spell?!" Sillo yelled, still focused on chasing Sterfen with his plethora of varied attacks.

Many copies of Oosam surrounded Sterfen as well, making the situation all the harder.

But Sterfen didn’t mind. With his wife receiving another boost and the weather putting a damper on some of Naparn’s strength, Sterfen was gladly keeping these two from targeting the busy duo above him.

Then, Sterfen asked telepathically, ’Rikko, are you ready?’