Ch. 591..600

Chapter 591

"Don’t look at me like that! The food’s on the table!" shouted Jack.

"Sorry, it’s not like that Jack... How could we not get excited about having extra mana?" reasoned Moranti, blinking and chuckling.

"But the only way we could make that happen would be to have you all lose your godly status and ascend again," replied Jack. "We can’t do that with so many things going on right now."

"What about afterward?" asked Lunara. "I don’t see why we can’t go through that process after this is all over."

"But would you--"

"Yes!" Eedaj shouted, "We would all be willing to go through that if our mana supply can become multiple times greater. Compared to your proposal of traveling beyond Kartonia, ascending a second time is nothing."

"Well... you’re not wrong about that I guess," sighed Jack.

"It’s a good idea," added Duorda. "I’d take them up on the offer, Jack. It will take some more time to get everyone ready for departure from Kartonia, but it’s worth it."

"Then... I’ll talk with Daruun about it later. I’m sure he’ll have a way to remove their status as gods, given that he did it to you."

"He sure will."

"For now," Jack continued, looking back to the line. "All those that stop looking at me like I’m a fine delicacy will get their pacts redone."

"Then I refuse," stated Eliza, getting most everyone to break out in laughter. Dragas was especially giddy and winked at her daughter.

"That... Alright."

Letting that slide, Jack went through the line and altered everyone’s pacts. Now, they could all level up without having their EXP sapped by Jack for no reason. Having finished that, Jack reminded Dragas of the bathes and left to visit his two remaining best companions.

They didn’t waste time, letting Jack bless them and make them demigods. However, both of them, being beasts, were extremely sensitive to their physical abilities and prowess. The moment Jack finished their blessings, each of them was overwhelmed with excitement. Phoro’s ungodly speed had grown beyond ludicrous as he darted around the giant, underground courtyard, which he now shared with the centipede. Dragov could feel his already monstrous body grow more agile and powerful. Both of them were astounded by the amount of mana they could now use as they never had Jack’s pact as his companions. But now, they would never forget how much Jack had given them in terms of level, care, and now additional strength.

Finished with them, Jack went home to find two wives sleeping and Eliza waiting to join Jack for the medicinal bath.

Together, Jack and Eliza casually walked toward Dragas’s courtyard. The door was unlocked yet they failed to find her anywhere. After a quick call, Dragas appeared with Moranti in tow, teleporting into the courtyard.

As Jack expected, his bath was made stronger than ever and he was forced to endure more internal boiling pain. Now, his bath lasted the full twenty minutes like Moranti’s.

When both were exiting the bath, however, Jack dried off and approached Dragas.

"What is it? You’ve already lost your chance, Jack, so don’t even--"

"What do you know about poisons?" Jack asked, catching Dragas and the other listening ears off guard.

"Poison?" Dragas hesitated to answer, dropping her usual confidence for a moment. "What has you interested in poison?"

"Well, I was the hero that created the walking death toxin, so..."

"That was you?!" Fuming, Dragas turned and slapped Jack across the face. "Do you realize what you caused?!"

"It was... I know now. At the time, things were very different. I didn’t exactly see the world the same, like all ancient heroes," answered Jack, not avoiding blame. "But I’m also the one who created the antidote, so that has to count for something, right?"

"I guess... But why are you interested in poisons now?"

Jack then took a knee as he laid a few items across the ground. "Since I’ve already got these, why shouldn’t I be interested in poisons?"

Eliza watched in curiosity and Moranti was startled to see such things gathered by Jack. Dragas was speechless for a moment as she took in what her eyes depicted. "Death Rattler blood and poison... Skulker Tarantula venom... and even Living Nightshade... Where did you--"

"The Death Rattlers were from Daliea long ago. I was going to use them to cure someone of walking death toxin but I had the association do that instead," stated Jack. "And since I was going through Earthen Keep, I made sure to collect some samples while I was down there. The Skulker Tarantula lords over the twentieth floor and the Living Nightshade lives on the sixtieth floor. What do you think?"

"This..." Dragas placed one hand over her mouth, struggling to put her thoughts together properly.

"My goal is to make a poison that works on gods and cosmicians. Daruun said you would be able to make that happen much sooner."

"Why me... and not him..." Dragas mumbled, leaving Jack puzzled. "I... can help you. Since Daruun asked for it, then I’ll help. But I hate poisons! I’ll only help because I want some Living Nightshade petals to grow one here and alter them to become harmless!"

"Okay, okay," replied Jack, putting his hands up and stepping back. "Then can we start tomorrow morning after the next bath?"

"... Fine... Hurry up and leave so I can prepare a few things..."

"Okay... We’ll see you tomorrow, Mother," added Eliza, dragging Jack out of the courtyard. She didn’t know what was going on but she knew that Dragas was hurt by the very thought of making poison. Taking Jack away sooner would give Dragas some time to breathe and vent a little.

When the couple left the courtyard, Moranti calmly walked to Dragas and threw his arms over her. "What’s wrong? I thought you were great at making poison? Your pheromones are a testament to that."

"I know..."

"Is it because of him?"

"... Yeah..."

Moranti asked, "Do you really hate poisons? Wouldn’t that mean you learned to make poison to impress him?"

"..."

"I get that that it brings back bad memories, but couldn’t fulfilling his dream help you get over the past?" questioned Moranti.

"... Maybe... It might help..."

"Then count me in too," Moranti added with a smile and a kiss on the cheek from behind. "I don’t know much but I can travel anywhere to gather ingredients you’re missing. I think he’d be happy to know you made his dream come true."

"Yeah... he’d like that..." sighing, Dragas blinked and let a few tears streak down her face. She turned her head to kiss Moranti’s lips. "Thank you..."

 

Chapter 592

"Impossible! It’s simply impossible!"

Roars and shouts echoed through the gargantuan chamber riddled with gold. The room was larger than Jack’s personal courtyard and adorned with items far more luxurious than anything Lyrun would use.

"How could he be so powerful so soon?!" Halmut roared, shouting to himself.

The dragon was currently in his human form. He was stomping around the room and screaming at the top of his lungs. Being in a soundproof chamber allowed him to vent all frustration without the worry of being found out. Halmut’s eyes were red and strained, as if he was constantly stewing in turbulent thoughts. No matter what he imagined and what he wanted to believe, Halmut couldn’t accept Jack’s new strength.

"IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!!"

The Sun Dragon roared, accidentally reducing another futon to cinders and slamming his fist into a splintered table.

"If he’s able to do this much, then what will he do in the future? Will Jack learn the truth? Does Jack already know the truth?! Aaaahhh!"

Knock! Knock!

Someone was at the door trying to get Halmut’s attention but the infuriated dragon was too caught up in his own raging mind to hear the knocks at his door.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The knocking grew louder but it wasn’t enough, not until a voice shouted from the other side of the door.

"HALMUT! WE LOST KORTEN!"

"WHAAAAAAT?!?!" Unleashing an even larger fireball, Halmut left a third of his room doused in flames. He let it burn wildly as he stormed to the door and threw it wide open. "What do you mean we lost Korten?!"

Bowing immediately and averting his eyes, Tralbok replied, "Your excellency, excuse me for calling you--"

"Forget that! Explain your statement!"

"Of course!" Tralbok hurried into the chamber as Halmut slammed the door shut, shaking the room for a moment. "Your excellency, we watched as Jack visited Korten to directly discuss their assimilation into Trodar. Lyrun then broke protocol and rushed to--"

"So he did rush to protect it. Good!" bellowed Halmut. "What happened next?"

"They allowed Korten to decide for itself but the elves decided to turn on their gods and sided with Trodar."

"WHAAAT?!"

"Then, Lyrun and Jack faced each other briefly. Lyrun kept Jack at a distance, not giving Jack a chance to cheat as Jack did against you," explained Tralbok. "They then decided to test each other. Lyrun gave Jack his best attack but Jack managed to defend himself. With Jack proving capable to defend himself, Lyrun retreated and didn’t push any further. It’s a disgrace that--"

"Lyrun did well..." Halmut stated, calming himself and acting as he usually would in front of an audience. "It was wise to back out before Jack reverted to his tricks. Being Eedaj’s brother, Lyrun is the most experienced facing mind magic, which kept him from succumbing to it in the beginning. But Jack’s abilities in stealth would inevitably catch Lyrun unguarded. It was a good move to back away, not a disgrace."

"Right, your excellency..." Tralbok sighed, swallowing his words and thinking up something else. "But to allow Korten to secede was disastrous... Without the elves, what force can we muster that will keep the rest of Kartonia in check?"

"Hmmm... It is a problem, despite Lyrun’s attempts to sway his people... Perhaps Eedaj and his mind games may be playing a hand in this..." deduced Halmut. "It’s hard to say but we’ll have to face the elves either way now. Just as I don’t hold Lyrun responsible for losing the support of the elves, Lyrun won’t hold me responsible for the elves’ extinction should they be dumb enough to face us.

"As for military might, we do have a force much more powerful and fearful than the elves... have Lyrun mobilize the dragons. As punishment for losing control of his people, Lyrun will lead the dragons against Korten early tomorrow morning. Leave the Flood Dragons excluded though, as their efforts are needed by Kylon."

Surprised, Tralbok replied with a bow, "Of course, your excellence. But what about the gods of Trodar? Surely they won’t sit around and let us demolish their newest ally."

"Have Grixor and Torian join Lyrun in leading all other gods, including those newly ascended. It’s time we make our move and prove to Kartonia how powerful we truly are," stated Halmut.

"Will they be enough? Will you be joining us, your excellency?" asked Tralbok.

Halmut squinted and reinspected his destroyed room, something that Tralbok hadn’t commented on but had surely noticed. "I won’t be joining you. However, you’ll take this."

As Tralbok receive the intricately designed amulet, his eyes widened. "Your excellency, is this--"

"Should Sterfen make a move, crush it. If he doesn’t appear, then don’t touch it," Halmut ordered, turning his back to Tralbok. "Torian and Grixor should be able to face Moranti now that they out level him. If there’s nothing else, leave me to attend to my personal business."

"Your excellency, we’ve been worried about you ever since--"

"I’m fine!" roared Halmut. "As you can see, I’m perfectly fine despite Jack’s best efforts. Now leave, before I reduce you to ash like the futons."

"Yes, your excellency!"

After one last bow, Tralbok hurried away and shut the door behind him. The God of Time was terribly startled by the state of the destroyed room but Tralbok would never dare to offend Halmut while Tralbok was unable to guarantee his life.

"JAAAAACK!!!" Alone again, Halmut roared and scorched the ceiling with his flames. Luckily, the walls and ceiling wouldn’t catch fire, but they would be burned and eventually damaged should Halmut keep up his tantrum.

"But how could he do this?! What tricks can he use?! His strength shouldn’t be possible!"

Roars echoed through the great chamber and flames spread everywhere, even burning Halmut’s bed. The Sun Dragon was livid and had no means to unleash his full, unadulterated rage. But Halmut was also truly puzzled. He continued to argue with himself, failing to grasp the source of Jack’s strength and how Halmut could effectively guarantee his own success.

"But he can do that... And if we tried to stop him, then we’ll only give him more opportunities to grow and show off for the world! How can he do this?! What can we do?! I..."

Suddenly, Halmut’s rage and fury paused. The flames spewing from his gullet stopped abruptly and Halmut finally let loose a dragged-out sigh of relief.

"If you say so... Then I just need to keep using stimulants... That will calm me down..."

The Sun Dragon kept control of his breathing to calm down. A few small, multicolored crystals appeared in Halmut’s hand as the dragon clenched them tightly. With each deep breath, a portion of multicolored energy seeped into his arm, allowing Halmut to relax more and more with each breath.

Chapter 593

The moon was already high in the sky, nearing the start of its descent. Most of Trodar was sleeping peacefully. Korten was confused but the crowds were gradually being swayed by their chief and their elders to believe in Trodar. Churstin was in a similar predicament, but there were far fewer who denied Trodar’s ability to protect them after witnessing Halmut’s retreat.

News was spreading faster than wildfire about Trodar, filling in the rest of the world about Korten’s sudden shift to abandon Halmut and the legendary gods. All intel informants were raking in as much cash as possible while the many nation leaders were baffled to hear such news.

Of course, Gilga was the most peaceful. They were happy to hear the spreading rumors and awaited the official announcement. It would give them another reason to celebrate and to add to their sense of security, something that people could never get enough of.

"Jack! Jack!"

Startled awake, Jack opened his sleepy eyes. The hero blinked as he retrieved his contact crystal. "Lyrun? Is it already happening?"

"Yes!" replied the Elf God. "Tomorrow, all gods minus Halmut will march on Korten with an army of dragons. That includes more than a dozen new dragon gods. Please, help--"

"I’ll get everyone ready... And I’ll make sure our response doesn’t rick your discovery."

"Thank you, Jack."

"Why not Halmut?" asked Jack, yawning afterward.

Lyrun quickly stated, "He’ll show up if Sterfen makes a move, so--"

"Then don’t worry about Halmut. I doubt he’ll try something right now without Halmut appearing."

"Okay... Then I must go. Again, thank you, Jack."

With the conversation over, Jack stretched and found his way out of bed. He tried not to wake his wives but it was too late. The moment Daliea woke up and heard Jack’s half of the conversation, she woke up the others.

Jack quickly mentioned Lyrun’s message, shocking the women briefly. But Jack reassured them not to worry and that he would coordinate a fitting response.

Having said that, Jack departed and mentally contacted all gods and all higher-ups within the guild for an emergency meeting. Jack gave them no choice but to go, stating that the meeting will begin in 30 minutes. Most didn’t question Jack but his mention of the gods and dragon army was enough to get everyone up and out of bed.

The moment the final person stepped into the conference room, Jack had already begun the discussion. Jack was intent on creating a plan that would buy them time, allow them to kill at least a god or two for the sake of the demigods, and keep Korten safe as a testament to Trodar’s abilities. Eliminating the dragon army was also something they were after, but Jack would also accept crippling and diminishing the army.

Once everyone was involved, they were astounded with the scheme they had created within the following few hours.

*****

Within the Korten wilderness, the greenery and wildlife were lively and vibrant, tenderly awoken by the warmth of the morning sun. The same went for the elves across the country. However, the elves in Estonya were awoken by their own wake-up call.

"People of Estonya, thank you!"

The shout of a familiar voice caught the attention of the city. Merchants and bakers that were awake and setting up shop were the first to spot Jack in the central market, along with two unfamiliar faces. One man was chubby and was afraid to show it while the other had grey skin and was smiling brightly as he examined the city.

"It’s Jack!"

"Is that Eedaj?!"

"Who’s the other one?"

"That’s no god."

"Yeah, gods aren’t fat."

As the city woke up to welcome their surprise visitors, their rumors and whisperings shifted as all gossip does.

"I am a god!"

"Calm down, Guuro. As the only god in your condition, how could they imagine a god to look like you?" chuckled Eedaj.

"Shut up! Oosam’s not like that either!"

Jack butted in, "Oosam isn’t muscular but he’s not fat."

"Well..." Guuro scoffed and clicked his tongue. He refused to speak more about this, not wanting to drag out the topic anymore.

While Guuro hid his sentiments, a welcoming party quickly arrived with a bow. Grangor arrived with Gwendon and the oldest elder as Gwendon formally bowed and announced their arrival, "Jack, Eedaj, welcome to Estonya. And who might this esteemed guest be?"

"That’s--"

"I’m Guuro, the God of Commerce!" Guuro introduced himself loudly. "I’m excited to work with you all and see the elves prosper like never before."

"As the God of Greed, you can trust Guuro to maximize the profits of Estonya," added Jack, getting Guuro to slap Jack across the back.

Gwendon smiled and nodded. "We’re grateful to have you here, Guuro. Follow me. We’ll meet within the Life Tree."

"Yes... I’d like that," stated Eedaj, following closely.

The elven chief and the party of gods sauntered through the town, leaving the citizens speechless. To them, gods were deities rarely seen, if that. Yet the moment they agreed to join Trodar, three gods showed up to casually visit the nation’s capital, walking through the streets like they were common folk.

Along the way, elven elders joined the welcoming party and followed them to the Life Tree. Once there, they passed Gwendon’s home and climbed the hand-carved stairs to reach a vast conference room in the base of the behemoth tree.

"It’s been so long, yet everything is intact..."

"I made sure to keep this space clean and orderly at all times," stated Gwendon, receiving a smile of approval from Eedaj. "Each room has been attended to for years, so you can be sure that every room is usable."

Eedaj put his hands on a seat and sighed, "I’m glad to hear that... Then, shall we get started?"

"Yes, let’s," reaffirmed Jack, sitting in the chair beside Eedaj.

As everyone took a seat at the long conference table that was carved from the Life Tree and still attached at the table’s base, Gwendon admitted, "I had assumed that Grangor would handle the integration along with the incoming greis elves. Jack, is there a reason that you’ve returned and brought these esteemed gods with you?"

Chapter 594

"Jack, is there a reason that you’ve returned and brought these esteemed gods with you?"

"Well, Eedaj hasn’t visited Estonya in thousands of years, so I thought I’d bring him along. And Guuro specializes in both holy and dark magic, which makes him a perfect candidate to receive a shrine here," answered Jack. "Dragas and Lorwynn will be coming next time, allowing Estonya more pledge options than ever."

"We appreciate the thought, but isn’t it too early to be building temples and shrines?" asked the oldest elder.

Jack nodded. "Right, it shouldn’t be our priority. But Guuro will also be able to aid your economy and teach businesses how to maximize profits while providing the best service to their clients. It’s something that has greatly helped Gilga. Also, Guuro was the secret founder of Federal City, where he owned at least a portion of nearly every business within the city. He was the key to making Federal City the greatest trade city in Kartonia."

While Guuro smiled proudly and arrogantly stuck out his chest and gut, the old elf found it hard to refute receiving such aid.

"Our goal is not to take over Korten. Trodar is merely a banner of protection and influence," continued Jack. "If we wanted to build temples, then Dragas and Lorwynn would be here with us. Instead, we came to discuss a few key details our Korten’s allegiance with Trodar and to show Eedaj and Guuro the city that they’ll be spending so much time in."

"Thank you, Jack," added Gwendon. "The people aren’t against joining Trodar but they’re hesitant to accept you so hastily. Luckily, I learned a lot about the current happenings of the world thanks to Grangor. I quickly shared the story of your fight with Halmut, which left the crowds speechless. They also had no way to deny it after I reminded them of your victory over Lyrun.

"When the people learned of Trodar’s recent achievements, they were more open-minded but I believe they want more proof that they’ll be protected. I also find that reasonable since we’ve effectively rejected the strongest god there--"

"That’s incorrect."

Confused by the interruption, Gwendon asked, "What was incorrect?"

"Halmut is not the strongest god," Jack stated. "There are a few gods that can face Halmut, so I don’t understand why he’s still regarded as the strongest. Halmut only knows how to flee when he’s in danger and to fight when he’s guaranteed victory. Sure, he’d strong but that’s all. There’s a reason that Trodar’s war against Halmut has gone much better than the chaotic gods’ effort of the past. We’re not afraid to risk our lives to earn what we’re after and we’ve far more tactful than anyone could believe."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Gwendon asked, "So, should a divine threat arise, would you--"

"It’s time..." Eedaj suddenly stood up, showing a film of white, illusory energy over one of his eyes. "Jack, we’ve got company incoming."

"Oh? Then I guess it’s time to prove our capabilities," chuckled Jack, standing up as well.

Guuro stood up and sighed, eager to get this over with and finish the job.

"What’s going on? What’s approaching?" asked Gwendon.

Walking toward the door, Jack responded, "I think we should all step outside. That way you’ll see what we’re capable of."

"But what--"

Abruptly, bells started to ring throughout the megacity. One by one, bells across Estonya rang loudly and continuously, putting the recently-awoken city on edge.

The three gods stepped into the air as Eedaj mentioned aloud, "We’ll handle this but keep all elves calmly waiting within the city walls. Any that step out may lose their lives."

"That..." Gwendon swallowed his next question, guessing what was about to happen.

"So they won’t let us off easy... We should’ve known," sighed the oldest elder, pulling his son along. "We need to hurry! If we don’t warn the people now, who will?"

While the father and son rushed off to address the public, Guuro cast his first spell of the day. A thick barrier with intermingling white and black energies came into existence around all of Estonya, using the city walls as a guideline. It startled the people but they discovered that it wasn’t a physical barrier when early morning hunters ran into the city in shock. Also, though it was white and black, the elves inside could still see out of the barrier, albeit blurry.

Far beyond the barrier dozens of dragons were rocketing through the sky. They had come from all corners of Kartonia to reach Korten. As they crossed the border, elf scouts had begun to alert the towns and cities immediately. This was the cause of the emergency bells but no scouts dared to make themselves known to the invading beasts.

Just as Estonya was supposed to come into sight, the dragons were baffled by their findings. Instead of a city, all they saw was a strange black and white barrier. The dragons halted in the air a few hundred kilometers from the barrier, curious to learn what it was. At the same time, the ground began to shake, startling the entire city all the more. Quake Dragon after Quake Dragon began to emerge from the ground, having traveled below the surface where they were fastest. Like the dragons overhead, the Quake Dragons eyed the barrier with caution.

"It’s nothing!" a voice shouted down from the heavens. "Why fear it without trying to pierce it? Attack!"

The Storm Dragons were the first to respond to the order. They sprayed the barrier with dozens of lightning bolts, however, they were startled to see no damage upon the barrier. Magma Dragons followed next, belching plumes of magma from their gullets, but their attacks failed as well. Quake Dragons hurled boulders and jagged rocks, which were easily deflected from the barrier. The Quake Dragons were going to attempt a frontal assault with their powerful tails, but they were beaten to the punch.

Thunder echoed as three gargantuan Storm Dragons dropped out of the clouds in a nosedive. Lighting fell from their bodies, causing the barrier to tremble but nothing more. But the Storm Dragons roared and were determined to breach the barrier. They covered themselves in lighting and wind energy, daring to charge straight through the barrier.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

 

Chapter 595

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

A voice echoed out of the barrier but none saw where it originated specifically. That was until one of the raging Storm Dragons roared and was suddenly frozen in place. Despite their incredible, divine speed, the dragon taking the lead stopped moving entirely, as well as breathing.

Both of the other Storm Dragons roared and backed off in worry. They threw more lightning at the breathless dragon. When the silent dragon showed no reaction at all, the Storm Dragons were put further on edge.

"None shall pass!" the voice repeated itself, letting the Storm Dragons better determine where the voice was coming from.

A quick glimmer of light appeared around the silent dragon’s neck, revealing a man standing in the air. It was startling enough to find a man hiding right in front of their eyes but the Storm Dragons were more frightened by the purple scales covering the man’s arm and the scythe-like claw that was run through the neck of the breathless Storm Dragon.

"JACK!"

A shout of anger filled the air as more figures descended from the clouds above, leaving the elves speechless. It immediately became clear to all Esonya that gods had come, leading an army of dragons to wipe out the seceding nation.

Twenty-one figures in total descended from the clouds. Many were in human form but there were ten in their full dragon forms. Leading them from the center were four men. Torian and Grixor stood as the clear generals of the march with Lyrun standing by. Tralbok was the fourth, trying his best to claim some credit and reputation for the event.

"What’s wrong, Torian?" Jack replied with a laugh. "This is your fault for letting the young-bloods get antsy. If you hadn’t let your new gods attack blindly, then maybe this one wouldn’t be dead. He could’ve had another few minutes to live."

Torian shouted back in disgust, "Jack! Back off or die now! We’ve come to deal with the traitorous nation, not to fight the war-ending battle."

"Oh? Then I guess I’m misinformed. Last time I checked, it wouldn’t take more than twenty gods to flatten Korten. Or did Lyrun have a hidden army that needs to be subdued?"

"Back off or die! You dare challenge all of us?!"

"And you dare use so many against me?" refuted Jack. "The more people you use to face me, the more credit I’ll gain in the end. Play your cards wrong and I may become more famous than Halmut in a single battle... Actually, I like the sound of that!"

Jack casually swung his other arm, decapitating the lv. 90 Storm Dragon and allowing the corpse to fall through the barrier. However, the moment the corpse began its fall, Jack took on his final form. With all four bloodlines raging, Jack bolted through the air toward the two fleeing Storm Dragons.

"Try me!"

That joyful shout rushed downward as Grixor charged for Jack. Thanks to the Storm Dragons being closer, Grixor managed to squeeze past them and run into Jack just in time to save their lives.

The powerful club-like tail hammered into the tip of Jack’s thinner-than-hair claws. A resulting shockwave spread wide as earth energy and space energy collided with reckless abandon. Grixor laughed loudly, "Not bad! But nothing like Moranti’s!"

"Really? Then let’s try this!" Jack chuckled, dousing his arms in spectral flame and reappearing at Grixor’s side mid-swing of his claws.

Grixor continued to laugh as his agile tail, sprung back and slammed into Jacks’ chest. Blood sprayed out as Jack was knocked backward.

"See! Nothing like Moranti! Nothing like--"

"GRIXOR!"

While the Earthen God laughed at Jack, he was unaware of the second figure of Jack appearing behind him. Both spectral scythes arched downward with more energy than ever, intent on decapitating the Earthen God in a single blow.

But Torian’s speed was far too much to allow that to happen. The Storm God immediately shouted to his companion and jumped into action.

As Grixor turned around, he felt drops of warm liquid dripping onto his scales. Grixor blinked and noticed just how close Jack’s attack was, not even a hand’s length away from Grixor’s neck. A drop of blood onto Grixor’s face, trickling off of Torian’s sword-like tail that was run through Jack’s torso.

"You chose death, Jack," stated Torian, remaining firm and unwavering.

But the hero broke out in laughter as blood sprayed from his mouth. "You think it’s that easy?"

Both figures of Jack began to fade and blow away in the light breeze, as did the illusory blood on Torian’s tail and Grixor’s face. At the same time, two roars sound out simultaneously, but only for a moment. When Grixor and Torian turned around, their faces immediately tensed up and twitched.

Both of the Storm Dragons that had failed to enter Estonya moments ago were now falling to the barrier below, with their severed heads leading the way.

"I clearly said, ’You shall not pass,’ and they tried to pass. They had it coming," Jack shrugged as the blood of the Storm Dragons burned off of his claws.

"You..."

"Torian! Grixor!" Lyrun shouted, gathering everyone’s attention. "Why are you focusing on him? Either of you can break that barrier, so hurry up and get this over with!"

"Not so fast..." A new voice filled the air as two figures rose up from the barrier. Eedaj continued, "If you’ve come for Korten, then leave now. If you’ve come to fight, then just say so."

A sudden flash of purple light appeared beside the two gods, leaving Moranti behind as the light faded. Getting a good look at the gods above, Moranti whistled loudly, "Wow... If you’re all so eager to die, then why not just admit it? For you all to come at once, you’ll save us a lot of time."

"Yeah, we can just do a mass burial," Jack added with a laugh.

"Enough!" Torian shouted, rethinking and adjusting to the situation. "You know why we’ve come. If you decide to defend Korten, then you’ll be facing us all."

"Are you sure about that?"

Chapter 596

"Are you sure about that?" Jack asked. "The more people you send our way, the more credit you’ll give me. Then what will halmut do, huh? How hurt would he feel to know that he lost his followers without even losing himself?"

"Shut up!" Torian stated loudly, hurling a lightning bolt at Jack. As Jack vanished and reappeared alongside Moranti, Tornian continued, "If you don’t want us to slaughter and overwhelm you, then what would you prefer? I’ll allow you to choose your means of death."

"How about a challenge? I’m lv. 91 and I’ll take on anyone of you head to head, including you Torian. Do you have the courage to step up or did Halmut already castrate you? How about you, Grixor? Want to pick up where we left off or will you always need a ball-less companion to back you up?"

Both Torian and Grixor let their inner rage fume and begin to heat their blood, in part to their disbelief of Jack only being lv. 91. But Lyrun was the one who responded, "There’s no reason to accept that, not when we have the advantage!"

"But I can change that," added Moranti. "All I need is a second to open a rift and bring the gods of Trodar over. Would you prefer I do so now or in a few moments?"

"If you won’t challenge me, then why don’t we test our strongest mortals," stated Jack, stunning the gods above. The boisterous hero continued, "We place your five strongest mortals against our five strongest. The winner will claim Korten for themselves."

"We refuse!" shouted Lyrun, not hesitating.

Not only was Lyrun playing the part but he was genuinely against such a plight deep down. With Jack becoming a god, Lyrun deeply doubted that Trodar could face the mighty dragons present with mortals alone.

"Really? Then why should the world fear dragons? What’s the point of being so huge and monstrous if they can’t even win a one on one fight?" Jack ridiculed.

"How do we decide the victor?" asked Torian, ignoring Lyrun’s previous statement.

Jack smiled and shrugged. "Death. How else?"

"And you won’t interfere when your people lose their lives?"

"Shouldn’t I be asking you the same question?"

"Torian, there’s no point to this," Lyrun stated, trying to counter Jack’s prodding words. "We should--"

"We accept the challenge. But the moment you break the deal or argue the end result, then you’ll be overrun by us all," declared Torian. "We’ll allow you to bring any mortals you have through a rift but no other gods are allowed to step through. If another god appears, then we’ll immediately swarm you and the city."

"Very well. Then you won’t complain when you lose the lives of five dragons?" questioned Jack.

"Such a thing won’t happen," Torian firmly stated. "But should a dragon’s life be lost, then we’ll take it as a grudge that we’ll seek revenge for in the future."

"Alright, then we have an agreement." Jack turned to Moranti, whose face was clearly puzzled. "Moranti, go and gather the best five. Be back in five minutes, got it?"

"You got it..." Moranti sighed, trusting Jack’s judgment. Though he wondered why Jack agreed to have no other gods join them in Korten, Moranti did as Jack said and teleported away.

Looking up to the invading gods, Jack asked, "Where do you want to do this?"

Torian glanced around, finally pointing to the largest clearing he could find. "There."

Resituating themselves, the many gods gathered around the clearing, letting Jack, Eedaj, and Guuro claim a corner for their viewing pleasure. The dozens of dragons then landed and surrounded all edges of the clearing. There was no retreat or way out now, so each of the battles would only end in bloodshed.

After communicating with Moranti about the battlefield, a giant spatial rift appeared on one side of the clearing. It was dozens of meters wide and even went through the ground.

Four figures followed Moranti through the rift, causing Torian and the legendary gods to shift in place. Part of them immediately regretted accepting the challenge with so few questions answered prior.

All eyes focus on two figures, Jin and Hadurt. As a former god, Jin was the most experienced combatant and would easily be a threat to a lv. 89 dragon. The odds of such a match would at best be fifty-fifty, if not leaning in Jin’s favor. And Hadurt was the former chaotic champion with training from numerous chaotic gods. Now that Hadurt had become a demon with Hell-flame Fox blood, it was also impossible to guarantee a victory against him.

The remaining two figures didn’t get as much attention at first, but they were credible enough to merit a glance.

Phoro was quickly recognized, though no one was able to see his level. But the Minokawa was now five meters tall and looked more like a dragon with feathers than he did a bird.

The last figure was a complete mystery. It looked like a man but he wore a legendary roxite helmet, something that even the gods rarely knew existed. No one was able to see through the helmet, sense the man’s level, or peak at his face. He also wore light, flexible armor and showed no skin whatsoever.

But there was something wrong.

"Where’s your fifth challenger?" questioned Torian. "Don’t tell me that--"

"He’s already here. Just ask Grixor."

Startled by Jack’s statement, the Storm Dragon glanced at the god beside him. "Really?"

Nodding, Grixor replied, "This will be interesting..."

"Very well..." Troian sighed, taking half a moment to think. "Let’s have all five matches take place at the same time. Any victor of a match will then be allowed to aid their party after killing their opponent. Do you object to that?"

"So you want to make individual fights grow into a party battle? I’m not against it, but remember that you asked for it," replied Jack, shaking his head.

Torian took a look around the clearly, sizing up the dragons in search of the best matchups.

"Don’t forget him," added Grixor, pointing to a Quake Dragon. "He’ll face the fifth opponent."

"Then we’ll have it like this!"

Once Torian chose the five dragons, including Grixor’s suggestion, they entered the clearing. All combatants spread out as the dragons approached their predetermined prey according to Torian’s orders without any objection from Jack.

 

 

Chapter 597

Each match was placed on a different part of the giant clearing, covering each corner and leaving one match in the center.

The Quake Dragon assigned to the unseen fifth combatant waited in the center, already taking the battle seriously as the dragon glared at the ground beneath him. His battlefield was the largest and he was ready to use it fully.

Jin was followed by another Quake Dragon, only Jin’s opponent was even larger. Based on the Quake Dragon’s rugged appearance, it was safe to assume that he was the strongest mortal Quake Dragon.

Hadurt was followed by the only Magma Dragon in the clearing but the dragon’s confidence wasn’t any less than the Quake Dragon before Jin.

Phoro would be facing a Storm Dragon. Even if their fight wasn’t the most interesting at face value, Torian and the other gods were curious to see a matchup of the fasted bird and the fastest dragon. It was a match that was never given much validity in the past with dragons keeping Minokawas at lower levels. But now that Jack had brought one to the pinnacle of mortality, the world would finally get the fairest match possible between the aerial speedsters of the world.

The final match was the strange, unknown man against the largest mortal Storm Dragon present. It was a bit surprising to see the more powerful storm against the human and not the Minokawa, but it was strategic all the same. Proving the intention of Torian to end that fight the fastest and have that Storm Dragon rush to the other battlefields.

"Give us a moment!" Jack shouted as Guuro and Eedaj both descended to the battlefield.

The legendary gods watched closely as both Eedaj and Guuro landed and retrieved something from their storages. Torian, among the majority of the legendary gods, were shocked by what was taking place.

"What’s the meaning of this?!"

"Calm down, Torian. This doesn’t change anything about the fight," stated Jack. "All they’re doing is using your fallen gods as a catalyst to momentarily revive their lack of divine energy. Now, after they slaughter your men, then they’ll be able to gain EXP and eventually ascend given some time. I thought you understood that?"

Torian shut up, as it was already too late to stop it. Guuro and Eedaj had stored the fallen god’s body parts and were already on their way back to Jack, so Torian’s complaints would be null and void anyway.

Riled up, Torian roared, "Let the battle begin!"

Suddenly, the ground shook as a behemoth beast tore its way out of the ground. The long body of the beast attempted to wrap around the Quake Dragon at the center of the field but narrowly missed. Everyone quickly recognized the Draconic Centipede and Grixor sighed with a frown, disappointed that one of his own quests of old managed to give Jack such a crucial pawn now of all times.

Both earth-focused beasts billowed in each other’s faces. As Dragov tried to bind the dragon and tear it apart with his many claws, the Quake Dragon created earthen spikes to increase its defenses while throwing countless spikes into the centipede’s natural armor.

It was yet another spectacle of a dominant dragon race facing a rival, non-draconic race for supremacy. And due to the appearance of Jin and Hadurt, neither the strongest mortal Storm Dragon nor the strongest Quake Dragon could defend their bloodline’s pride. They had to choose opponents tactfully, not in accordance with their arrogance.

Phoro and his opponent also took off without hesitation. Both streaked to the sky as they raced and chased each other with killing intent. They were waiting for the opportunity to destroy their opponent’s wings, as the first to lose their speed would immediately lose.

The fight between Hadurt and the Magma Dragon heated up as well, catching the eyes of many. While lava oozed down the scales of the Magma Dragon, the black flame body around Hadurt was just as terrifying. Though the flame body couldn’t grow like Bowzer’s, Kori’s, or Jack’s, Hadurt’s flames were still more than hot enough to rival the lava.

Streams of magma clashed with hellish explosions of black flame. When the Magma Dragon attempted to use earth attacks to trap Hadurt or weaken the demon’s stance, Hadurt’s use of wind and lightning magic kept him untouchable.

Hadurt charged ahead, shouting, "I’m going to win!"

"No, I’ll win!"

Startling many, it was Jin that replied from the other corner of the field. The former God of Discipline showed great anticipation as he faced the Quake Dragon head-on.

As the matches began, Grixor’s eyes were first on Jin and his Quake Dragon opponent. Witnessing such a match was intriguing for the Earthen God considering his match with Grixor in the recent past. Seeing Jin face a Quake Dragon without a level disadvantage was a dight Grixor was eager to see, and he didn’t feel disappointed.

Grixor wanted to applaud both his subordinate dragon and Jin as the dragon instantly took the defensive and Jin wielded twelve katanas, just as Jin had done against Grixor before. The illusory arms seemed just real as the last time the Earthen god witnessed them attributing it to Jin’s training, which should’ve allowed Jin to maintain such a technique despite his massive loss of mana capacity after becoming mortal.

The pummeling blows of Jin’s swords scared the earthen shields that the Quake Dragon created time and time again. But despite that, the Quake Dragon didn’t show a single cut on his body. With a focus on defense, the Quake Dragon wanted to drag out his fight for as long as possible.

Keeping that same strategy in mind, Grixor finally looked to their ace-in-the-hole. The Earthen God glanced at the powerful Storm Dragon on the other side of the field. He was curious about how many injuries the mysterious human had taken so far. But...

"How..."

"Who is that?" Torian mumbled between himself and Grixor. "This person has never shown themselves before now... So who is he?"

Torian turned his head slightly, barely getting a glimpse of the calm smile on Jack’s face.

 

Chapter 598

"Who is that?"

"Huh?" Jack chuckled and looked back at Torian.

The Thundering God repeated himself, "Who is that, the man under the roxite helm?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"If not, then how can we guarantee that he--"

"Do you sense divine energy from him? No. So why would you dare accuse him of being a god?" replied Jack. "I’ll tell you this much. We’ve recently begun experimenting with summoning ancient heroes. He’s the first lv. 85 hero that we’ve successfully summoned. As for his identity, I hope you’re memory is good or you’ll never be able to figure it out."

Torian stopped asking questions as he and Grixor paid close attention to the man in the black helmet.

As the mightiest mortal Storm Dragon, the beast boasted unrivaled speed among mortals of the world. The only ones worthy of mention were the two currently interlocked in the aerial combat. That was until now.

The Storm Dragon chased and lunged for his opponent with precision and pin-point timing, utilizing his agile tail to the fullest. But the mysterious man would faint and evade each strike. The man didn’t seem to be overwhelmingly fast but he seemed to know where each strike was heading each and every time, casually stepping aside to avoid the blows.

As the Storm Dragon roared in fury and sped up, the man remained silent. Many of the spectators shifted their attention to that battle as the dragon’s cries grew louder. Yet the man continued to evade and had yet to retrieve his weapon.

Finally, after sidestepping a few blows and getting in close to the Storm Dragon, the mysterious man made his move.

The Storm Dragon realized that the man was too close and strived to back away but the man kept closing the distance. When the dragon lunged its tail into the man, the man retrieved a rapier and doused it in lightning, wind, and space energies, leaving all watching eyes stunned.

A single thrust, that’s all the man made. However, the cries of the Storm Dragon instantly ceased after receiving a hole through the dragon’s throat and spine.

"IMPOSSIBLE?!"

"Calm down, Torian!" shouted Jack with a laugh. "Remember, you accepted and chose this!"

The mysterious man stepped onto the Strom Dragon carcass, claiming it as his own before storing it away in front of the crowd of furious dragons.

"There’s no way he’s lv. 85!" Torian argued.

"Well, he was when we summoned him. So long as he’s not a god, does his level matter right now?" questioned Jack, leaving the Thundering Dragon without an argument.

As the man flicked his rapier around, which had never received a drop of blood due to the speed of his strike, wind energy gathered around him to carry him through the air. The rapier led the man’s charge for the Storm Dragon in a gridlock with the Minokawa.

"Watch out!" roared Torian, alerting all dragons on the battlefield of the sudden shift in momentum.

Not only were the dragons startled but so were combatants from Trodar.

They were introduced to the man early in the morning and he was already wearing his mysterious getup. All they understood about the man was his supposed status as an ancient hero. Jack had explained the man as an ancient hero which Jack had summoned upon Daruun’s demand and, in Jack’s own words, was a "PVP Champion". No one understood what that meant exactly but now they wouldn’t be able to question the man’s skills in any way.

That man quickly arrived to tag-team the final Storm Dragon, not allowing the rivalry of the races to continue.

This added to the Storm Dragon’s anger, especially when his Minokawa opponent gladly welcomed the aid. The Storm Dragon was baffled at how shameless the Minokawa acted during such a fateful duel of their species.

Phoro, despite his growth in level and maturity in battle, would never turn away help that made his job easier. This led to Phoro not only allowing the man to join the fight but to Phoro coordinating attacks with the mystery man. The brash and lazy Minokawa was glad to get the match over with as soon as possible.

The match was already dead even between Phoro and the Storm Dragon, so the additional aid of the man who killed the stronger Storm Dragon led to an obvious outcome. While Phoro kept the dragon on the run, the man eventually delivered a single blow to end the Storm Dragon’s life.

Phoro then rushed to aid Dragov while the man charged toward the Magma Dragon.

"This one’s mine!" Hadurt howled as he picked up the tempo.

But that didn’t stop the mystery man’s rushing attacks. Now, the Magma Dragon was counting the seconds remaining of his life.

"NOW!"

Torian and Grixor shouted together, refusing to see any more of this. Their cry sent the surrounding dragons into a frenzy as they collapsed onto the battlefield.

The two gods leading the invasion turned to Jack and were about to roar again but they were interrupted by three sudden cries behind them. All gods glanced to find three copies of Jack holding the recently ascended Magma Dragons by their heads. Jack’s fingers clamped tightly onto each dragon’s skull as their cries died down and their limbs drooped toward the earth like a ragdoll.

"You chose this, so don’t blame me!" Jack shouted, letting his copies vanish as the Magma Dragon gods began their fall to the battle below.

"THEN DIE!" Torian shouted as he darted into action.

Each legendary god had readied themself the moment the first Storm Dragon was slain. Now, they acted without hesitation.

Tralbok rushed toward the falling Magma Gods. Seeing such valuable pawns be removed so easily was a blow to their reputation as legendary gods and they could use them now. But a flash of purple light appeared before him, stopping Tralbok in his tracks.

Space energy danced around Moranti’s hands, creating a spatial rift behind the cluster of legendary gods. And the moment it opened up, the remaining gods of Trodar rushed out with the intent to kill.

Chapter 599

Almost simultaneously, another rift opened outside of the dragon’s encirclement, only it was the biggest that they had ever seen. This was created by the young-looking god with pale-purple hair as soon as he crossed Moranti’s rift.

A massive flood of beasts emerged from the new spatial rift. A swarm of high-level Minokawas was the first to exit the rift, instantly targeting the Storm Dragons above the battlefield. They were followed by Flying Serpents, Golden Condors, and other aviary beasts of the Sky Floor. A horde of fiends from the rocketed out of the rift as well, together with many fiery beasts and roaring Molten Salamanders that immediately charged their natural rivals, the Magma Dragons. A group of Glacier Wyrms also tunneled through the rift, leading packs of Frost Leopard and Sub-zero Bears as they attacked any dragon in sight. And a band of living plants burrowed into the soil as Giant Centipedes, Wind Mantises, and other predators of the Valley Floor lashed out against the many dragons present.

Apart from a few leading beasts, the majority of the beasts wouldn’t be able to keep up with the dragons on their own. But with the Flood Dragons not present on the battlefield, the sheer quantity of high-level beasts was enough to threaten the dragons on the battlefield.

The gods were shocked and forced to be on guard as the leisure gods were immediately on the attack.

As Tralbok retreated, Grixor hurried to defend the God of Time. Lyrun also arrived to boost Grixor’s defenses and allow him to stand up to Moranti all the better.

Moranti was unfazed, expecting such a thing to happen. But a sudden rush of energy poured over him as well. Recognizing the energy, Moranti quickly spotted Dragas, who was rushing to join her lover, forming a 2-v-3 situation.

Two legendary gods surprisingly darted into the confused battlefield below. They pinpointed their targets and dove into them without mercy. Tyres lunged toward Jin as the samurai decapitated his original opponent with ease and Alcahain threw his fist toward the demon munching of Magma Dragon flesh.

Perchet remained still in the air, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. He then sighed, shaking his head. "Must we do this?"

Three men were surrounding the God of Sound, not backing up at all. Choron had his katana at the ready with a handful of ninja stars. Guuro held tightly to his staff, acting more focused than usual. Eedaj wielded his staff with a wary gaze.

The Mind God replied, "I’m sorry, Perchet. We don’t want you getting interfering with the others. Would you mind joining us higher in the sky? Or must we force you?"

The lv. 95 God of Sound nodded to those surrounding him. "I don’t mind..."

Those four started to rise higher and higher until they took to their battlefield above the clouds.

Oosam laughed, smiling at those targeting him. "Lunara, Rikko, and Lorwynn? What an interesting group..."

"We don’t want any funny business from you, so we’re giving you special treatment," stated Lorwynn, preparing himself for his first true battle as a god.

"Then follow me. I don’t want anyone else trying to tag along..." Oosam sighed as he soared away, barely staying within sight of the original battlefield. His pursuers continued to chase, eventually surrounding the lv. 95 Illusion God to keep him from interfering with other battles.

When Sillo and Sybin moved to follow Oosam and quickly end his opponents, they were both stopped by an unfamiliar skeleton. But when they tried to part ways and avoid the skeleton, the strange undead seemingly split in two and stopped each of them in their tracks.

"I’m Duorda, the former personal assistant to Daruun and current personal assistant to Jack. If you can best me, then I’ll be excited to reward you," introduced the skeleton.

"Only lv. 90? Please!" Sillo laughed.

Sybin, on the other hand, was extremely cautious. After losing her life once, Sybin wouldn’t take anyone easy, especially not someone as peculiar as Duorda. Seeing a lv. 90 skeleton was one thing but seeing it turn into two separate skeletons that were both lv. 90 verified how strange and unusual Duorda was.

This left Kori and Bowzer to face the three newly ascended Quake Dragons. They kept the new gods from attacking Karronteel and closing the giant rift, letting Kori face a tag-team while Bowzer fought a single opponent.

Torian had taken off the moment the first rift appeared. The Thundering God wasted no time as he rocketed toward the barrier protecting the nearby city. He hurled his own javelin of electricity, sure he could demolish such a thing.

However, Just when the powerful bolt of lightning neared the barrier, it was suddenly dispersed and torn apart. As it vanished from sight, Torian snarled and caught a glimpse of Jack in his most powerful form active, supplied by four bloodlines.

Jack wore a proud smile. He was very appreciative of the lv. 10 companion bloodline skill. It allowed Jack to hold his transformations without wasting mana. The initial transformation process still cost some mana but only maintaining the flame body would actively cost Jack mana now. He could wield the bloodlines as if they were his own, letting Jack save his mana for spells, skills, and more.

"None shall pass..."

"The elves must perish!" Torian roared, launching more and more javelins of condensed lightning as he reverted to his hybrid form.

Jack roared also, unleashing a couple of Spectral Flares to diminish the lightning to nothing. "I move for no man!"

"Don’t think so little of me! I’m the Thundering God, not a weak human!" Torian charged without hesitation, barreling toward Jack with cyclonic winds and lightning bolts dancing around him.

"All the same to me!" Jack laughed, throwing Spectral Flares ahead as he darted forward to meet Torian without fear.

An explosion of incredible proportions sounded off as the attacks collided. Everyone, including each elf inside of Estonya, clearly heard the collision of attacks that could rival Halmut’s and Moranti’s duel not long ago.

Chapter 600

"STERFEN!"

Roars echoed throughout Olympic Chateau. Halmut’s fury and rage filled the conference room with flames. The Sun God nearly smashed the viewing table in anger.

"Where are you?! Sterfen?!" Halmut shouted at the table. He had carefully watched as the challenge took place and an all-out fight between the gods broke out.

When Perchet and Oosam backed away, Halmut was furious. Acting in such a way wasn’t against their contracts nor was it even bad per se, but it left a bad taste in Halmut’s mouth until he realized that those two were now stalling six gods. That thought made Halmut feel better about their decision and let him focus on other matchups.

Seeing Moranti against Grixor, Lyrun, and Tralbok, Moranti was confident they would hold out against Moranti, if not claim victory. The same went for Sillo and Sybin, though Halmut was curious to see how Duorda would face the Twin Gods three levels higher than him.

Halmut was elated to see Alcahain and Tyres rush to finish off the strongest mortals below, forcing Jin and Hadurt to die before ascension. He also wanted to see them crush that mystery man in the roxite helmet, but that mystery man had made himself scarce the moment more monsters flooded the battlefield.

Watching Kori and Bowzer fight the three new Quake Dragon gods was what Halmut liked least. His confidence in Kori’s strength hadn’t vanished, now becoming woe as Kori was Halmut’s full-fledged opponent and had once again ascended to lv. 91. Though Karronteel was busy with the massive spatial rift at the moment, soon he would be free to join the fight and would leave Kori to overwhelm a lone Quake Dragon with ease. And there was also no telling how strong Karronteel would be after having evolved for his fourth and final time. If he was anything like Moranti, then Karronteel along would be able to deal with those three Quake Dragons.

Only one fight seemed like it could go either way. Halmut would pay close attention to Jack in his fight with Torian. Torian was the fastest of all gods, even arguably faster than Halmut now that he was lv. 98. His reflexes and agile body would make it incredibly difficult for Jack to properly execute Cerebral Collapse, taking away Jack’s cheat.

But one thought made itself glaringly obvious. Where was Sterfen?

After realizing that the Leisure Gods were effectively holding their own without Sterfen’s appearance wasn’t a good sign. And that could mean two things. Either Sterfen was waiting for the right moment to strike and assassinate one of the gods or he was busy with something else.

Being busy didn’t seem probable with such an impactful event taking place. But that logic felt weaker with each passing second.

In the past, Sterfen had proven his abilities to fight on the battlefield. His addition to any of these fights could end them immediately. Yet why wasn’t he there fighting? Shouldn’t he have attacked by now? Wouldn’t Sterfen target Tralbok or Grixor to free Moranti and overwhelm the other legendary gods?

The more Halmut thought about it, the worse he felt. This resulted in Halmut’s explosive anger torching the entire conference room.

"STERFEN!" Halmut roared again, covering every inch of the conference room in his multicolored flames. The Sun God even took out items to burn throughout the room, making sure that entering and doing anything in that conference room would be impossible for Sterfen without making himself known.

"Right... I need to calm down..." Abruptly, Halmut stopped breathing fire and took out another handful of mutlicolored crystals. He began absorbing their energies gradually, letting the rushing feeling calm him down and bring him ever closer to ascension. "Almost... I’m almost there... You’re right..."

The golden dragon slowed his breathing and focused on the many fights at hand. He liked to zoom out across the giant table and watch as many fights as would fit on the screen.

*****

Fighting his first real dragon, Bowzer was as emotional as ever. His rage fueled his black flames to the utmost. The towering flame body outgrew the Quake Dragon and bit into the dragon’s hide.

Roaring in pain and fury, the Quake Dragon bit back and tore into Bowzer’s weakened defenses.

"Bowzer!"

Suddenly, the Quake Dragon was kicked and forced aside, freeing it from Bowzer’s jaws and free Bowzer from the Quake Dragon’s attacks. Kori, in his hybrid form, resoundingly slapped Bowzer across the face. "Wake up! Victory means nothing if you’re destroyed in the process! Do you want to lose an arm like me?!"

"No!" shouted Bowzer, shrinking to his hybrid form.

"Then think! Use your rage and anger properly!" Kori reprimanded his son, leaping back into his fight against the other two Quake Dragons. Rather than seek an immediate end, the father proudly watched his son and hope for Bowzer to claim his first victory as a god, ready to protect him should things get worse.

Bowzer blinked and focused briefly on the pain he felt in his cheek, then on the bleeding bit wound on his shoulder. Taking his father’s words to heart, Bowzer charged into his opponent again. This time he kept his hybrid form and tried to mimic his father’s fighting style, being flexible and agile to evade while punishing his opponent with every open opportunity.

The Quake Dragon snarled as it reinforced its hide with more earth energy to create armor. Spikes emerged as it tackled toward Bowzer mercilessly, eager to exchange blows with its more powerful defenses.

Keeping the bitemark in mind, Bowzer sidestepped the charge and clawed into the Quake Dragon’s side. It wasn’t as powerful as the bite attack from earlier but Bowzer couldn’t deny it being more efficient. The same exchange happened one more time as the Quake Dragon tested Bowzer’s temperament.

Noting that Bowzer was fighting calmer than ever, the Quake Dragon took a deep breath and reverted to his own hybrid form. Though its defenses weren’t as perfect as his full dragon form, now the Quake Dragon’s balance of attack, defense, and speed was to be more feared, forcing the battle to change completely.