Ch. 601..610

Chapter 601

On the ground, there was one battlefield that even the dragons didn’t want to be a part of. They simply ignored Tyres’s charge on the multi-armed samurai, giving them space and not wanting to get caught up in their attacks.

"What’s wrong, Jin?" taunted the Sword God. "Aren’t you glad that I’m fighting your fair and square?"

Jin was laser-focused, not giving up a single moment of opportunity and keeping his defenses tight. He was focused on evasion due to the level gap with occasional parries.

"Is this all you’ve got? By the look of your arms, they seem more solid yet they’re weaker? How pitiful..."

The taunts came one after another but Jin didn’t sway from his thoughts. Once Tyres showed his first moment of overconfidence, Jin lashed out with everything he had. Twin strikes with six arms each arched toward the Sword God as Jin showed no hesitation in his match with a god three levels higher than himself.

But Tyres’s swords rushed back in defense. His speed was incredible, making use of his superior level to the maximum.

"Not bad... You’re stronger than I would’ve expected as a mortal..." Tyres stated, genuinely startled to see Jin so powerful. "How are you growing stronger as your level worsens?"

"Time, effort, and loyalty," replied Jin, stepping back and readying himself for the next round. "Things you’ve always failed to understand..."

"Don’t question my effort!" Tyres threw two thundering slashes at the samurai, which Jin effectively evaded.

"After stealing my techniques you’ve only grown more impatient. First, you ignore your teachings and master and then you perverted them..." Jin sighed, disgust riddling his face. "You’re the worst pupil anyone could ask for..."

"Then beat me already!" Tyres shouted with a smile.

The Sword God lunged forward, wielding both long swords with precision to knock back the former God of Discipline. Both attacked again but Jin pulled back to defend instead.

"With long swords, I have more reach, more power, and more versatility. What I’ve created is the epitome of sword styles!"

"Then why am I still alive? How have you failed to kill me time and time again? Answer me that?"

"I’m also alive, so don’t--"

"Only due to your allies!" Jin shouted, lunging forward with a loaded, eight-armed strike.

Both swordsmen carved through the earth they stood on and the air around them. Anything within reach was eventually slashed as they clashed over and over again. But Jin kept his defensive mindset, proving that he couldn’t currently overcome his former pupil.

"Then let me kill you here! If you let me, then maybe I’ll call you master one more time!"

The heavy longswords clashed onto Jin’s katanas, defending with six-arms for each strike. Sadly, Jin felt the ground beneath his feet giving way. He was pushed back, receiving some electrical damage as he regained his footing a few meters back.

"So long, Sensei!"

Tyres bolted forward with relentless speed and determination. Just as Jin was regaining his footing, Tyres was already in the middle of his next attack. The speed of the Sword God was stupendous and undeniable. He instantly threatened to steal Jin’s life and end their long time feud.

Yet just before Tyres landed his attack, he changed course and stepped to the side. Jin was baffled for a moment until he too spotted the cause.

A rapier coated in lightning, wind, and space energies was thrust forward. Had Tyres not evaded the surprise attack, the rapier was on target to cleanly stab through the Sword God’s heart. He may be a god but Tyres wasn’t unkillable.

"You... Who are you? You must be a follower of mine, with such swordsmanship," stated Tyres, backing off slightly. When the mysterious man in the helmet kept quiet, Tyres added, "Why not pledge to me? I’ll teach you the ultimate techniques and will give you--"

Before Tyres could finish his sentence, he backed up again. The rapier’s lunge grew even closer that time. It was evidence of the swordsman’s temperament and his strength of character.

"This is my fight!" shouted Jin, unhappy with the unexpected interference. "I’ll defeat him on my--"

As if responding to Jin with his actions, the mystery man darted forward and continued his attacks against the Sword God. He completely ignored Jin’s statements and showed no interest in the samurai. All the man wanted was to attack Tyres with everything he had.

"Then die with him!" argued Tyres, not liking the idea of two world-class swordsmen against him like this. Though they were mortals, Tyres still never liked facing more than one person at a time.

For a moment, Jin quieted down and watched the man’s sword strikes. They seemed predictable yet they were nearly too quick to evade. It was eye-opening for jin to witness such swordsmanship keeping Tyres on his toes.

While Jin internally praised the new combatant, Tyres despised the man to the same extent. For thousands of years, Tyres had claimed to be the Sword God as the fastest sword across Kartonia. Though Jin had his moments, Tryes’s affinity for lightning and wind allowed him to argue that over Jin. Yet here was an unknown ancient hero wielding space magic along with lightning and wind energies. He was no god but his speed was already nearing Tyres and forcing the Sword God to take this seriously.

Just as Tyres was about to counter the rapier’s thrust, the sword suddenly vanished, leaving Tyres and Jin in a daze. Tyres managed to back up and avoid taking a critical blow but he failed to keep the mystery swordsman from drawing blood.

A shallow wound was created just over Tyres’s heart. It was startling but it was proof that the swordsman was to be feared, even as a mortal.

"Too slow..."

A distorted voice calmly mumbled as the mystery man spoke his first words. Both Jin and Tyres were speechless for a moment as the man’s style was completely different from theirs. Rather than focus on combos and forcefully creating openings, this man would dash and evade all incoming attacks like child’s play until he got close enough to go for killing blows. The man’s fighting style was elegant yet cruel, seeking to claim the lives of opponents with merciless, one-hit-kill strikes.

Chapter 602

While Tyres stepped aside from his usual cockiness and began to take his fights more seriously, there was one other fight that the beasts on the battlefield avoided.

The clash of Alcahain against his former pupil, Hadurt, had already begun scarring the battlefield itself. Charred earth... Craters of rubble... Whether it was Hadurt or Alcahain, each of them wielded devastating power with each rampaging strike.

"You’re doing better than last time," laughed Alcahain.

Hadurt shouted with a chuckle, "Thanks! Maybe I’ll manage to beat you yet."

"In your dreams!"

As earth energy condensed around Alcahain’s gauntlets, static electricity filled the air. The Brawler God picked up the pace and hurled another barrage of punches toward Hadurt.

In defense, Hadurt wielded his demonic halberd. As each punch neared him, Hadurt maintained an aura of fire, lightning, and wind all around him. Using wind to increase the ferocity of his flames and lightning to increase his evasiveness, Hadurt was daring Alcahain to fully commit to a knock-out punch.

At one end of the clearing, the rush of beasts from the spatial rift slowed. However, people were now charging out in place of the many beasts. Karronteel was relieved to see this, knowing that he’d be able to close the rift in a few moments.

Humans made up a majority of the last-arriving combatants but greis elves were also intermingled in the chaos. The Beholders charged alongside the greis elves, their newest friends and caretakers. Together, this calvary of sorts charged in without fear.

While the Minokawas and the many beasts of the Sky Floor rushed to aid Phoro with the Storm Dragons, Argyle and Dradich led many familiar faces to aid Dragov. Almost the entire battlefield was a chaotic mess of blood, but it was easy to find the behemoth Draconic Centipede and the speeding Minokawa.

With help arriving, Dragov prepared for the next part of the plan.

’Hadurt, Jin, can you cover for us?’

’What are you talking about Dragov?!’ Hadurt shouted telepathically. ’I’ve got my hands full.’

’So will we but we’ll need you two to keep Alcahain and Tyres from getting to us,’ replied Dragov.

Phoro added, ’We’ll be quick, so thanks!’

Jin spoke up next, startled, ’You’ve already gathered enough...’

The Samurai glanced to the side and gave up his thought. He sighed and laughingly cursed Jack for letting the two beasts ascend first.

Phoro was zooming through the air with Strom Dragons on his tail. But now that his fellow Minokawas were there with help of dozens of other beasts, Phoro rushed toward Dragov with reckless abandon. Startling many, Phoro crashed into Dragov’s neck without mercy, landing a powerful Wind Blade attack.

CRACK!

The sound of glass shattering caught those nearby off guard. There were some fragments of glass and metal falling from where Phoro had collided with Dragov.

"RRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAARRR!!!"

Dragov’s sudden cry billowed and alarmed all people within a few kilometers. Earth energy began to seep out of Dragov faster than blood from a lethal wound. The abundance of earth energy being emitted by the centipede was unfathomable to any mortal on the battlefield. But the nearby gods instantly recognized what was happening.

"Impossible!" Grixor roared, glaring at the massive centipede. "He can’t--"

Moranti’s scythe cut-in, nearly taking off Grixor’s arm for a second time as the Earthen God was shielded by Lyrun’s spell.

Moranti smiled wide, proving how devilish he could become. "You’re busy with me. I wouldn’t recommend losing focus!"

Unable to step away, Grixor roared, "Tralbok, find someone to get that centipede!"

"And the Minokawa."

"What?!" Grixor glanced back to Lyrun and then to the battlefield below. He gritted his teeth as the Minokawa began to release a vast amount of wind energy and entered Dragov’s giant maw for protection.

Due to Dragov’s size, he was impossible to guard completely. But Argyle and Dradich worked with Jack’s party, guild leaders, and Jack’s wives to keep the stronger opponents at bay. The leftover earth mana then worked as a natural shield against weaker attacks, letting Dragov begin his ascension in peace while Phoro did the same inside the centipede’s mouth.

"EXP braces..." Lyrun stated, glancing at Jack. "I didn’t expect to see such items come in handy after all this time..."

"So that’s their plan," Tralbok sighed. He took out a contact crystal while becoming Grixor’s second support. "Tyres, hurry up and kill that thing!"

"I’m busy..."

"What did you--"

"I’m busy down here. Jin and that swordsman have me occupied and this swordsman is fast enough to catch me," admitted Tyres. "Now, I must fight."

As Tyres ended the connection, Tralbok shouted, "Alcahain, you’d better--"

"I can try but no promises! He’s faster, so that won’t work well..."

The Brawler God gave Tralbok even less time, ending the conversation quickly and returning his focus to Hadurt.

"Sillo, Sybin! Take out that centipede!" ordered Tralbok.

Sybin was the first to respond, "We can’t..."

"We..."

"What is it, Sillo?!"

"Hello? Sorry, but I’ve got your Twin Mage Gods occupied. You should search for another volunteer," stated an unfamiliar voice, leaving Tralbok speechless and frustrated as the connection was lost.

Tralbok glared at the Twin Gods and shouted, "Hurry up already!" The God of Time quickly reverted to offense and charged Moranti, gaining a slight advantage together with Grixor.

Not far from that 2-v-3 of the strongest gods was the 2-v-1 of the Twin Gods and their two-faced opponent. Sillo was furious as Duorda crushed and destroyed his contact crystal

"Don’t look at me like that! You left yourself open and I showed why you should never get distracted against an unknown opponent," Duorda stated loudly. "If you want it back, come gather the rubble. Prove to me that you deserve acknowledgment!’

Shouting in anger, Sillo created a slew of magical weapons in the air around him. Icy tridents, lightning lances, earthen spikes, holy swords, and dark sabers took form and launched themselves at the black, energy-draining skeleton.

Sybin wasn’t too far away, standing in front of Duorda’s white half brimming with vitality. She was hesitant to make her next move as the white skeleton asked, "Are you okay?"

 

Chapter 603

"Are you okay?"

"What right do you have to ask me that?" questioned Sybin. She had holy, dark, and nature energies shielding her, as well as wind and fire energies forming fireballs.

"You’re energy is too erratic and unusual... Were you the one that Halmut revived using faux-ore?" asked Duorda, sensing the woman’s hesitation. When she flinched, he instantly understood the situation. "If you use too much energy, you’re going to die."

"Why should I--"

"I’m just being honest with you. Unlike your brother, you’re more calm and calculating. That might be due to your new understanding of death but it shows character. We’re only enemies by circumstance. If you were on our side, then I’d be able to fix your irregular energy flow."

Sybin opened her mouth but she failed to reply. A moment passed as Duorda casually and slowly stepped toward Sybin.

"Don’t listen to him! Just kill him!" shouted Sillo.

Brought back to the moment, Sybin created a flaming cyclone filled to the brim with fire and wind energy.

"I wouldn’t mind helping you out. I think Daruun would greatly appreciate having someone so skilled working with us."

"Daruun? What’s so great about him?" asked Sybin.

"So you don’t know?" Daruun sighed. "Daruun is far more powerful and important than you realize. I suppose Halmut and Skaryn never explained that, did they?"

"If you won’t tell me why I should listen to you, then we’re wasting time!"

Sybin threw the cyclone at the white skeleton, fully encompassing it in flames. She watched as the walking skeleton caught fire and began to burn away. But then the bones began to grow back.

"This is a great attack, but not enough to reduce me to ash. If you were a Hell-flame Fox, then you’d have a chance with enough practice. A Magma Dragon might get close, but they wouldn’t be able to stop my regeneration," admitted Duorda, still casually walking through the flames.

"I’m willing to help you. Would you want help or would you prefer death? That’s what will happen if you use up all that false energy you’ve been given. Doesn’t it feel foreign to you? Doesn’t it sting to wield?"

"Shut up!"

Increase the size of the flames and the force of the winds, Sybin hurled holy swords and dark sabers into the cyclone as well. All the attacks clashed against Duorda’s body, chipping away at it bit by bit. But the skeleton kept walking closer and closer, focusing his energy on self-healing in place of attacks.

"I’m willing to give your brother a chance as well," added Duorda, now only a few meters away. "You two will be better cherished by Daruun than by Halmut. He’s merely using you till you break, and your half-revival is proof of that."

"Half-revival..." Sybin mentioned, unable to get Duorda’s words out of her mind.

Just as the skeleton had guessed, Sybin would now feel pain whenever she wielded magic. It was very faint and easily ignored, at least until she wielded massive amounts of energy or went through a dragged out fight. The more energy she used without rest, the more painful it was. It felt like needles were constantly coming in and out of her pores with every spell, like the energy contained inside her wasn’t recognized as her own.

"You can whisper it..."

Sybin blinked. Swallowing some saliva, Sybin created a hurricane of flames around them both.

"Sybin!" Sillo screamed, terrified of losing his only family yet again.

But whenever he attempted to near Sybin, Sillo was held back by Duorda’s deathly half. No matter what Sillo tried Duorda would simply tank the blow and then steal some life from Sillo to heal himself. It was unlike any other opponent that Sillo had ever faced. And with the other half being trapped inside a flaming hurricane with Sybin, Sillo feared the worst yet again.

"Sorry, but I’m busy..."

"I’ve got my hands full."

Both Oosam and Perchet gave one-line replies to Tralbok, infuriating the God of Time.

"Just go yourself!" shouted Lyrun. "Let Grixor and I take things here. Now go!"

Agreeing with Lyrun and being inwardly happy to leave the fight with Moranti, Tralbok stormed off. He made sure to keep the amulet Halmut had gifted him tightly in his hands. Tralbok was waiting for Sterfen to make his move.

"Not so fast!"

"You’re my opponent!"

Moranti tried to square off with Tralbok but Grixor charged toward Dragas while Lyrun covered Tralbok in a green barrier. Their plan worked without a hitch as Moranti teleported back in defense of Dragas.

Free and clear, Tralbok zipped through the air without fear of his next opponents. Wind brushed against his body as preemptive wind blades were made with each hand.

Out of nowhere, Tralbok halted and rushed backward a few meters. A sudden explosion of black flame almost engulfed Tralbok entirely but the god evaded it with the help of time magic.

"Kori... This time, you’re not strong enough--"

"Defend yourself and die!" howled the Fox God, charging Tralbok with a swarm of black fireballs.

"I thought you were protecting your boy? He’s not strong enough to--"

"Karronteel and he make a devastating team, so I’ll let them have the small fry," stated Kori with black fire escaping the corners of his eyes. "I want you for myself... I still owe you for attempting to kill my son..."

"Can’t we just forget such accidents? I’m busy right now--"

"Then die! No need to defend yourself if you want to make this fast!"

"Then I’ll kill you first, you under-leveled mutt!"

Tralbok turned around to face Kori head-on. Though the fox’s flames were formidable, having a six-level advantage was enough to give Tralbok confidence.

A wind blade and a black fireball collided to create a turbulent explosion, proving that Tralbok could overcome the flames with caution. With proof to back up his confidence, Tralbok kept his eyes on the Hell-flame Fox and shrouded them in their own personal tornado.

Both the Fox God and the God of Time were out for blood.

 

Chapter 604

More explosions of lightning and fire rang out above Estonya. Jack and Torian chased each other around the outside of the barrier as Jack wouldn’t allow a single bolt of lightning to get past him.

Torian was fuming mad. Accepting and losing such a challenge as earlier was disgrace enough and now he couldn’t even get past a god that had ascended days ago.

"What’s on your mind?" asked Jack, teasing the Thundering God. "I’m really lv. 91, I promise."

"Liar!"

Torian threw another round of lightning bolts, scattering them across half the city. Yet multiple Jack’s appeared everywhere, throwing spectral flares in defense.

"The best defense is a great offense, at least that’s what I’ve heard," Jack laughed. "For that reason, It’s my turn!"

Jack suddenly appeared before Torian, fearlessly swinging his scythe-like claws toward the Storm Dragon’s neck. But Torian roared and swatted at Jack’s claws with his tail. At the same time, however, Torian felt a few fingers touch the top of his head. The Thundering God immediately retreated at his greatest speed and climbed higher into the sky.

"Coward!" Jack shouted, pursuing Torian.

But the moment Torian disappeared through the clouds, lightning bolts showered down upon the barrier. This forced Jack back onto defense as more and more lightning bolts fell from the sky without end.

This took place for a few seconds until Torian rushed back down in retreat from another copy of Jack.

Again, fingers touched the Storm Dragon’s head but he refused to offer Jack a clean opportunity to perform cerebral collapse. The constant shift from offense to defense was unusual but necessary in their situation.

"Want to settle this like men?" questioned Jack.

"And how would that be?"

"Ha! You are a man, therefore, you’re not allowed to pass!"

Six copies of Jack appeared and surround Torian from all sides. The Thundering God emitted a powerful pulse of electricity to eliminate the fakes but was stunned to find them all as fake. Jack was nowhere to be found.

"You’re the coward!" slandered Torian, covering all surroundings in a vast net of electricity.

Torian then felt another touch on his head but didn’t flee this time. His flexible tail whipped around at full speed to dismember the arm that dared attempt such a trick. Blood spilled as an image of Jack appeared and started to fade out after losing an arm.

"Hey!"

Torian looked back to his front, finding an image of Jack ready to unleash a spectral flare in Torian’s face. The Storm Dragon roared and readied lightning to counter-attack but was suddenly overcome with a familiar feeling.

The true Jack, which was hiding behind the fake that lost an arm, plunged his claws into the base of Torian’s tail. Before blood could spill out, Jack teleported them both away from the city and its protective barrier. They reappeared in the sky high above the Prehistoric Forest of Korten.

"You!"

Jack instantly retracted his claws in the most painful way possible. His thinner-than-razor claws cut themselves out of the tail as Jack backed away with a snicker. "Now, we can fight!"

"I’ll disembowel you and cause your wives eternal suffering!" Torian roared, retrieving a potion vial and chomping down on it as if the glass was nothing to his digestive system.

As the wound on his tail healed, Torian rocketed into Jack as he trapped them both inside a twister filled with lightning javelins. In response, Jack flooded the entire space with dense purple energy. While Jack was evading the countless bolts of lightning, Torian felt as if he was swimming through the thick energy and was greatly slowed.

For Jack, there was only one thought on his mind.

The moment Phoro and Dragov finished their ascension, Jack was then become a lv. 93 and could more confidently overwhelm Torian. The hero could keep up and force Torian to struggle but the disparity in level wasn’t so easily conquered. By leveling up, Jack would best guarantee his success. All he had to do was stall and drag everything out until then, believing in his fellow leisure gods and that they would ask for help if needed.

"I’m tired of your games!" roared Torian. "This is why we never bothered making Eedaj one of us, or Rikko. All you cowards can do is drag out fights and helplessly struggle against your opponents. If you want to kill me, then prove my disbelief wrong!"

Thunder clapped as obscenely large bolts of lightning fell from the sky and covered the entire twister, hitting Torian as well.

Jack unleashed a plume of spectral flares all around him, letting the attacks clash and forcibly cancel each other out. He also made sure to spit a few toward Torian. The Storm Dragon was going to get away with harming Jack for free.

Both of them finally took substantial damage but there was a clear difference between their levels of endurance. While Torian shrugged and shook the pain of the explosive flames, Jack hid his deep breaths in mad laughter. Jack smiled wide and allowed Torian to understand the seriousness in Jack’s eyes. The hero then faded as if it were never the true Jack after all.

"I’m out here if you’re curious!"

Torian snarled and dispersed the twister to spot Jack standing in the air just outside of the cyclone’s limits.

What Torian didn’t know was that Jack was putting on a front. Jack was still more than able to fight but he had indeed taken damage from that barrage of lightning. By pretending to have evaded the attack, though, Jack would be able to keep Torian from possibly trying that again or from attacking recklessly. The last thing that Jack wanted was for Torian to get reckless and abandon defense. It would give Jack a chance to fatally injure the Strom Dragon but it would lead to himself also getting fatally injured. And all Jack wanted was time.

"Want to make things interesting?" Jack asked, laughing with a raised eyebrow.

 

Chapter 605

Sillo gritted his teeth. He continued to hammer his skeletal opponent with spell after spell.

"You’re too hot-headed. If you were more cautious like your sister, then you’d be more forbiddable," stated Duorda, carving through holy swords and dark sabers with his long, sickly bone sickle.

"Shut up!"

"If I do that, you’ll never learn. You don’t want your sister outgrowing you, right? You don’t want her surpassing you and never needing your help?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Listen! I’m trying to help you."

A web of lightning materialized around them, keeping Sillo at the center and offering Duorda no chance to escape.

"This again?" Duorda sighed.

"You can’t--"

"I told you, this is useless! Your mana control is too sloppy to contain me..."

Shaking his head, Duorda began to emit specs of white light, fading in and out of existence. Those tinges of white energy weren’t bright but they were easy to spot amidst the black energy forever shrouding the black skeleton.

Whenever the lightning moved to entangle and paralyze the skeleton, it seemingly parted and coursed around Duorda like it momentarily phased out of reality. The electricity was broken down into specs to match the white energy until it passed over Duorda and reconnected on the other side of the skeleton.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" shouted Sillo, refusing to believe his eyes yet again.

"Like I said, you’re sloppy..." Duorda sighed, stepping toward Sillo with haste. "Your potential is more than decent yet your trivial perspective of power limits you. How sad..."

Pouring more energy into the web of lightning, Sillo tensed up and shouted at the top of his lungs. His battle cry filled the area as darkness surrounded the entire web of lightning and left the compatants unable to see the other matches. Sillo took one last glance at the flaming cyclone encircling his sister and let himself fade into the shadowy world he created.

Duorda clicked his tongue. "That’s all you’ve got? Your control is getting worse by the second... A poor habit for any cosmician..."

"Shut-"

Effortlessly, Duorda swung his sickle and hurled a wave of energy so black that it stood out within the darkness. It found it’s target without trouble, keeping Sillo from finishing his yell and forcibly ending the Mage God’s focus.

As blood trickled from Sillo’s chest, the shadows began to die down and fade as quickly as they had taken shape.

"Was that all you’ve got?" questioned Duorda.

"You’ve no right to defeat me!" Sillo’s eyes were bloodshot, refusing to accept the reality of the fight. "You’re lv. 90! Even if you could fight me, there’s no way you’re more powerful than me!"

"Our mana supplies are nearly identical, can’t you see that?" Duorda tilted his head to the side in disbelief and disappointment. "Can’t you at least do that much?"

"You couldn’t--"

"I’ve been telling you this whole time why this is too easy. Your energy control is atrocious and too wild for practical use. Apart from facing a savage, ignorant beast, I see no other applications for your attacks and style of fighting," explained Duorda. "I told you, allow me to teach you true control. Pull that off, and one day you may beat me yet."

"Enough! I refuse to believe this!"

All five of Sillo’s energy types gathered around him in the blink of an eye. Sillo’s body was almost contorting out of frustration as his body tensed up over and over. Dark, holy, fire, water, and lightning energy swarmed around him and fought to get closer and closer to their controller’s skin. As the energies condensed, energies would occasionally blend together through sheer force.

"That’s better, but now you’re fully committed to a savage style of control," Duorda admitted with the shake of his skull. "You’ll only make this easier..."

"Just die already! DIE!"

Both of Sillo’s arms extended forward. One arm contained two swirling energies, dark and holy, spewing the raw energy in a streamlined attack of condensed energy. The other twirled fire, water, and lightning as all three were forced into spheres and littered the area around Duorda before exploding.

The steam explosions were filled with electricity and left little to the imagination as to how much damage they caused. The speedy stream of holy and dark energy carved through the explosions without rest, expending more energy than Sillo bothered to realize while absorbed in rage.

"Really? That’s all?"

The smug face of Sillo’s face finally quivered, but not even for a second. He saw the vapor disperse and reveal a completely untouched skeleton, unmoved by any of the attacks or explosions.

"The concept of your attack is quite good, but your execution is utter garbage," Duorda lectured. "Throw another explosion and I’ll show you properly how to defuse them. Oh, they’re done!"

Finally, Duorda showed some excitement, turning to the flaming cyclone not far away.

Sillo glanced as well, understanding what Duorda meant. And the excitement in Duorda’s voice caused Sillo’s heart to sink.

The flames began to dwindle. They stopped hiding the combatants within, which nearly sent Sillo into a heart attack. Seeing his sister run through by the long white sickle was startling for him. As the white skeleton carefully removed the sword from Sybin’s chest, the bone shield vanished and Duorda’s white half caught Sybin tenderly. Without a word, the white death knight stored the fresh corpse in his storage and turned to Sillo.

"You want to always be with your sister, right?"

Sillo didn’t answer. His jaw was clenched too tightly for Sillo to respond or consider speaking up.

"I can make that happen now. You have my promise," stated the white skeleton. "Now, will consider listening for once? I’d hate to see your potential wasted under Halmut’s terrible care and training. He’s taught you nothing about the basics..."

"... You..." Sillo managed to barely open his jaw. "You... killed her... You killed... MY LITTLE SISTER!"

"Prove to me that you’re worth teaching," the black skeleton added, holding his sickle forward with the large shield in his other hand. Duorda’s white half began circling to the other side of Sillo. But he didn’t prepare for battle. "One of me is enough for you. Prove to be as capable as your sister and you won’t regret it."

 

Chapter 606

"Don’t get distracted, Grixor!"

The mighty Earthen God turned his glance back to the fight at hand, unable to stop frowning after seeing Sybin killed and Sillo in a futile fight. His aura of earth energy continued to condense and Grixor showed his fangs in a frightening roar.

"Shut up, Grixor. If you can beat me, then hurry up and make it happen!" laughed Moranti, constantly throwing attack after attack into the defensive god.

Though Moranti was unable to pierce Grixor’s defenses, cracks were made with each swing of Moranti’s scythe. With one god focused purely on DPS and the other specializing in defense, it was a rare sight to see.

Suddenly, Moranti frowned and teleported away. "I’ll warn you again, don’t touch her!"

A twenty-meter wide slash of spatial energy arched toward Lyrun without mercy. The Elf God was forced back as Moranti reappeared at his side and swatted away Lyrun while he sheltered himself in a ball of green energy.

"I’m just trying to end this sooner," argued Lyrun, shaking his head. "Don’t blame me for using viable tactics."

"The next time you try, you die. You can forget all past friendship if that happens," Moranti stated, leaving nothing to his opponents’ imagination.

Grixor roared, "Not a bad idea! Let me try!"

Moranti divided his attention, constantly vanishing and reappearing to face both the lv. 98 Earthen God and the lv. 97 Elf God. Dragas’s many buffs greatly boosted his abilities, but that was partially countered by Lyrun who had removed most of the debuffs that Dragas had created for Grixor and Lyrun. Their grudge match was picking up steam and beginning to get more emotional than anticipated.

Another match taking place over the battlefield of mortals was between the Fox God and the God of Time. The lv. 97 mage with mastery over time and wind magics sought the life of the lv. 91 beast of hell-fire, who also wished to claim the life of his opponent. Both were tricky opponents in their own right.

However, one combatant began to stick out quite quickly.

"Try harder, Kori!" Tralbok chuckled.

The Fox God snarled and rushed after the mage. Kori spat out a dozen hell flares, cutting off Tralbok routes of evasion and trying to force a head-on collision.

But Tralbok’s wind blades would preemptively destroy the hell flares and redirect the explosions. His use of time magic allowed Tralbok to make the tiniest moment of an opening into the perfect window of opportunity. All Tralbok need to escape the path of the fireballs was a fraction of a second, something he could make for himself now that Kori’s level had diminished and his own level had increased.

"Coward!" howled Kori.

Smiling to himself, Tralbok suddenly flipped around and charged toward the fox. Tralbok’s speed sharply increased and his staff was pointed forward as wind energy gathered to a point around it. Effectively, Tralbok had turned himself into a speeding projectile. But adding time magic to the attack made it nigh unguardable.

To Kori, the sight was as if Tralbok was was in a movie scene moving frame by frame but had removed half of the frames. Before Kori could properly react, Tralbok flew past him with hearty laughter.

"Try harder, Kori! I wonder how many more seconds you can squeeze out of your life!"

The Fox God bared his teeth but said nothing. Kori increased the temperature of his flames to the absolute maximum. He didn’t care about energy expenditure or the blood falling from his severed tail in Tralbok’s hand. All Kori wanted was to stop Tralbok from ruining the plan. That’s all that mattered.

*****

"Want to make things interesting?" Jack laughed but no response came. "Why are we holding back? We should just get this over with, right?"

Not giving Torian any time to think, a figure of Jack appeared with his hands in range of threatening Torian’s skull. When the Storm Dragon lashed out in retaliation, the image became ethereal and wasn’t affected by Torian’s lightning covered claws.

A second image appeared as well. Then a third. Before Torian could blink, there were three copies of Jack rushing to put a hand on him.

"Enough!" Torain roared, covering himself in shocking amounts of electricity and electrocuting anything that dared get too close. All three images of Jack were vaporized, leaving the distant smiling image of Jack alone.

CHOMP!

Just as Torian was about to counterattack, he felt the painful crunch of his scales and hot breath invading into his shoulder and neck. The Thundering God increased the outage he emitted and lashed out with his tail. Though Torian managed to run through the chest of that Jack, he was unable to stun the transformed hero and failed to stop Jack’s immediate attack.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Torian cried and shouted in agony as purple and black flames entered his body and exploded from within.

After unleashing a single spectral flare, Jack backed off with heavy breathing. The distant image of Jack smiling faded away as blood spilled from Jack’s open gut. "Ow..." The hero grunted and groaned, not hiding the pain he felt. "How about... we call it a draw?"

"INFIDEL!"

Torian chomped down on another three potions and rushed toward the retreating Jack with unbridled fury.

Glancing toward Estonya, Jack groaned as he flew off into the sky and headed further north toward the Polt Federation. But that didn’t’ stop Torian, who was hot on Jack’s trail and gradually overtaking him.

"COWARD! FACE REALITY AND DIE PEACEFULLY!" the roars of the raging Storm Dragon spread for kilometers as Torian refused to hide his anger from the world.

As the two figures darted northbound and vanished from sight. The true Jack sighed. With great effort, Jack finally got Torian away from the others. Jack then shotgunned two health potions to speed up the healing process, resealing his open gut at a pace that would be visible to the human eye if Jack weren’t invisible.

Once the bottles were emptied, Jack blinked away in a small flash of purple light.

 

Chapter 607

A flash of purple light suddenly appeared beside Karronteel. The Spectral Dragon in hybrid form noticed the strange energy but felt no presence appear with the anomaly.

’It’s me. Forget I’m here.’

Jack’s telepathic message calmed Karronteel as he looked back to the tag-team of Quake Dragons before him.

After using Karronteel’s abundant spatial energy use as a cover for his teleportation, Jack backed away and let Karronteel continue his match up. The hero quickly examined everything taking place, searching for where his efforts would make the greatest difference. It was likely that Torian would discover the truth and return to the battlefield in a few moments, so Jack had to make the most of the little time he had bought himself.

Jack speedily evaluated Karronteel and Bowzer’s battles first, finding that they didn’t need Jack’s help. Bowzer was already overwhelming the other inexperienced Quake Dragon god and fighting with a level head while Karronteel kept the other two from interfering. Soon, Bowzer would claim his first victory as a god and then tag-team the remaining two Quake Dragons gods with Karronteel.

Next, Jack scanned over the battlefield on the ground. His glances gave Jack hope as Dragov was nearly finished with his ascent to godhood. Those defending Dragov weren’t exactly winning, but their focus was delaying as the moment Dragov and Phoro ascended would be the moment they claimed victory. It was also a good thing to see his party and wives working closely with the leaders of the Leisure Guild. It kept them constantly busy but they were able to heal when necessary and keep up a constant defense, in large part due to their powerful beast companions, like Dradich and Mooldrat.

While glancing at the battlefield, Jack smiled when looking over the two gods being held back by the three strongest mortals of the Leisure Guild.

Tyres was relentlessly frowning as he pushed the two mortal swordsmen to their limits. His faster-than-lightning strikes were the most difficult thing to contain. Jin’s new mana supply helped keep Tyres at bay but his lack of level wouldn’t allow him to keep up with Tyres in a sprint. But the addition of the mysterious, helmed swordsman changed that. The helmed swordsman would utilize his three speed-focused magic types to keep Tyres from breaking free and Jin would attack at each opening that the mystery man created. Despite Jin’s unwillingness to fight as a team, his impromptu teamwork with the mysterious swordsman was impeccable.

Alcahain, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying his match with Hadurt. At lv. 90, Alcahain proved himself to be stronger than the lv. 89 Hadurt, but Hadurt’s use of wind and lightning kept him with the edge in terms of speed. That meant that Alcahain wouldn’t be able to outrun the berserker and reach the ascending beasts. But the genuine smile on the Brawler God’s face showed that he was enjoying himself and his circumstances. He chased after Hadurt as Hadurt danced around the Browler God and wielded his halberd with deadly accuracy.

But Jack couldn’t avoid seeing Kori’s and Tralbok’s fight anymore. Sure, Jack noticed the 2-v-2 of Dragas and Moranti against Grixor and Lyrun. However, they were long-time gods and Moranti’s skills and battle experience were more reliable than anyone else across the battlefield. With that confidence in Moranti, Jack’s gaze honed in on Kori with a grim stare.

Kori was no longer standing in the air. Instead, Kori was being held by the neck. The Fox God made no cries of pain or weakness. Not only was his tail missing, but so was Kori’s one good arm. Yet Kori confidently glared back at Tralbok and spat in Tralbok’s face, not even caring to attempt a final hell flare attack or share any final words.

"JUST DIE, THEN!"

Tralbok’s burst of laughter filled the area, startling many and alerting the surrounding battles of the hasty finish to their duel.

"DAD!"

Bowzer howled and unleashed his unbridled rage yet again. The younger Hell-flame Fox charged his opponent, tearing through the Quake Dragon’s defenses at the cost of receiving a powerful blow himself.

As that Quake Dragon was torn apart and burned to cinders, the blood from Bowzer’s wounds was evaporating and filling the air with a sour scent. This added to the scent of Kori’s wounds and made sure that all nearby gods could sense that pungent aroma.

But Bowzer couldn’t stop Tralbok.

A wind blade sliced through Kori’s neck, decapitating the Fox God and allowing his body to begin the long fall to the ground.

Moranti watched it with a shaky gaze. For a moment, he pondered the risk of saving Kori. That moment created an opportunity for Lyrun. The Elf God summoned all his strength to launched his greatest attack of magnified light filled with static electricity. But Moranti wasn’t the target. Lyrun was locked onto Dragas, showing no intention of backing down from his original plan.

Sadly for Lyrun, Moranti only pondered saving Kori for a moment and instantly turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

Swinging his scythe with his greatest speed and strength, Moranti threw a hundred-meter arc of spatial energy. Grixor was forced back by the swinging scythe and the slash of energy crashed into Lyrun’s powerful stream of light, forcibly destroying the attack. But that wasn’t the end of Moranti’s attack.

Moranti was still spinning around when he suddenly vanished from before Grixor.

Coughs sounded out from behind the Earthen God, shocking Grixor and forcing his attention elsewhere.

"Thank... you..."

Lyrun stammered his final words, smiling wide as he looked at the scythe jutting out of his chest.

With the slightest of nods, Moranti finished the job. Rather than pull out the scythe, Moranti ripped the blade through the rest of Lyrun’s torso. One of the Elf God’s shoulders was cleanly cut through along with his heart and many internal organs. Moranti made the death quick and painless for his old friend.

In just a couple of seconds, two well-respected and feared gods were killed in dramatic fashion for all to see. Though Sybin had been killed, witnessing Kori’s and Lyrun’s deaths with their own eyes was far more impactful on the many divine combatants.

 

Chapter 608

"Torian!" An anger-filled shout rang within Torian’s mind. "Hurry back, NOW!"

"But I must--"

"Lyrun was slain! KILL MORANTI NOW!"

As Halmut ended the connection, Torian immediately turned around and rushed back to the other battlefields. Halmut’s roar was enough to bring him back to his senses, let alone the mention of Lyrun’s death. Such a thing could cause their entire side to lose in a matter of minutes. Without Lyrun’s support and with Moranti feeling less pressured, there was no telling what would happen.

The Thundering God then realized what Jack’s plan was. To stall and separate Torian from the others.

*****

There was no time for anyone to think carefully.

The legendary gods able to see Lyrun’s demise were in shock. Seeing their ally with the strongest magical defenses die so brutally... They felt like a timer began to tick, counting down their demise at Moranti’s hands. Grixor remained hopeful but only in preserving his life. With Moranti gaining boosts from Dragas, he knew that defeating Moranti alone was an impossibility.

At the same time, the legendary gods were glad to see Kori killed and witness Tralbok’s killing descent toward the Draconic Centipede below.

The leisure gods were also shaken. They didn’t expect to see Lyrun die like that, which gave them hope of victory, but they also didn’t expect to see Kori silently undergo an even more brutal death.

While Moranti stored the corpse of his now fallen friend, Tralbok allowed the body of his dead foe to plummet to the ground. The God of Time quickly passed the corpse and gathered wind energy en route to kill Dragov.

But a sudden flash of purple light caused Tralbok to hesitate. As the purple light appeared, the God of Time immediately put up a defense and retrieved an amulet in his free hand. Tralbok clutched the item tightly, ready to activate it at any moment.

Yet Tralbok’s eyes seemed to deceive him, as did everyone else’s eyes.

From that flash of purple energy, Jack appeared and spat a spectral flare directly into Tralbok’s face. A mental order was shouted into the minds of all the leisure gods. ’Tralbok is mine! Bowzer, Kori will be fine!’

The Hell-flame Fox howled and snarled, struggling to keep himself from charging against Tralbok or rushing after his father’s corpse. Hearing the roar of another Quake Dragon, Bowzer turned to notice that Karronteel strategically let one slip past him, forcing Bowzer to fight as planned.

Tralbok instantly used time magic to evade the attack. Sidestepping Jack, Tralbok chuckled and threw his prepared wind blade without mercy.

But Jack suddenly appeared in front of Tralbok again, surprising the God of Time. "Too easy..." Jack snarled and used a spectral flare to consume the wind blade and for Tralbok back.

"You... have time magic also... I forgot that..." Tralbok glared back at Jack, recognizing Jack’s strength and acknowledging his unorthodox strength. "Too bad you couldn’t save him..."

"Who says I still can’t!"

Jack was the one who clearly shouted but the Jack standing before Tralbok wasn’t the one to respond. A second image of Jack appeared below, along with a third image of the hero. The third was coming from the battlefield on the ground and holding a severed tail and arm. The second carefully held Kori’s head and the rest of the Fox God’s body.

"NO!"

Torian’s sudden roar alarmed every from the Leisure Guild and brought relief to the legendary gods, showing everyone that Torian was back and preparing an attack. But the moment Torian came into view, the Thundering God was caught off guard by the abrupt sensation of a cold blade stabbing into his scales.

Looking back, Torian spotted a copy of Jack, the one which he had been chasing. After noticing that Jack had duped him, the Thundering God gave up all attention on the Jack that was following him as it was obviously a weak fake. But that weak fake managed to stab some sort of ornate, black dagger into Torian before he was rendered nonexistent.

That lapse of focus gave Jack the time he needed. Once the second and third copies of him met halfway in the air, bringing together each of Kori’s limbs and severed body parts, a subtle and warm light enveloped the dead body.

Before everyone’s eyes, Jack cast Revivification for the first time and Kori’s next breath entered his lungs. Those two copies of Jack forced the fox to guzzle one of Jack’s personal health potions the moment his body was reconnected and breathing. The ancient potion was more potent than anything that Modern Kartonia could produce, potent enough to fully heal a lv. 85 in one go. Or enough to heal a revived lv. 89 fox to nearly full health.

"You can revive as well?!" Tralbok shouted, furious to see his efforts instantly wasted.

"Revivification, a spell commonly used by any ancient hero that’s undergone at least one class change," Jack stated in a matter of fact way. "From a guy that experienced all the classes, what else can you expect?"

Before Tralbok had a chance to reply, more images of Jack appeared and surrounded the God of Time. "I can make body doubles, ninja clones, mirrored illusions, and more! Guess what these are!"

Tralbok emitted a small cyclone, shredding the false Jack’s to pieces.

"You can’t tell the difference, right?" Jack laughed. "You may have been a god for thousands of years, but my experience surpasses even yours, maybe Halmut’s!"

"You--"

The moment Tralbok felt something touch his head, he used time magic to remove himself and reappear a couple of meters away.

"What? Speak up, I can’t hear you!"

"Why you--"

Again, something touched Tralbok’s head, as well as his torso. The God of Time wanted to give nothing though and used time magic to avoid the possible spells or attacks incoming.

"If you’re gonna stay quiet, then maybe I’ll teach you a lesson!" Jack laughed but his focus was sharper than ever. The hero easily recognized the item in Tralbok’s hand, which kept Jack focused but also hyped him up for what may come. "After I’m done learning you, then I’ll make sure and teach that runt Halmut a few things!"

 

Chapter 609

"After I’m done learning you, then I’ll make sure and teach that runt Halmut a few things!"

"THAT BRAT!!!"

Halmut roared and smashed one of the chairs around the viewing table, one of the chairs that Halmut hadn’t already smashed.

"He’s lucky to be alive!" shouted Halmut, breathing more fire around the room. "When I get my chance, you’ll be left drawn and quartered! Your skull will rest at my desk and your hide will adorn my floor so that you’ll forever be trampled under my feet!"

As Halmut tried to calm his breathing, flames trickled out of his throat. Only the soothing sensation of absorbing stimulants could calm Halmut’s wild flames.

But the more Halmut watched, the fierier his temper became.

*****

"After I’m done learning you, then I’ll make sure and teach that runt Halmut a few things!"

That statement rocked the legendary gods to their core. Most didn’t know the truth about Halmut’s stature but every god understood exactly how the arrogant Sun God would take such disrespect. At the same time, the Leisure Gods smiled and laughed at such a statement. It would be unfitting for Jack to not say such things, and Duorda was chuckled the hardest of all.

Torian grimaced at hearing such a comment but his mind was elsewhere. He was focused on the dagger that was left in his back.

The Thundering God pulled out the blade and took a sniff. Immediately, Torian’s eyes widened. "Poison..."

Having a divine constitution made nearly poison useless against him. However, Torian wasn’t one to underestimate his opponents. Torian wouldn’t give Jack so little credit after managing to string Torian along some elaborate plan without the dragon knowing any better. That’s why Torian was sure that such a poison may actually have some effect, and having Dragas on Jack’s side only added to that possibility. It was slight and nearly unnoticeable, but Torian felt that part of his back already starting to grow numb. Torian chomped down on another potion but it had no effect.

However, Torian had no time to spare. He rushed to the aid of Grixor, leveling the playing field and forcing Moranti to focus more on defense against the fastest god. One moment was all it would take for Dragas to get targeted, but the same could be said for anyone.

"I’m... alive? Already?" Kori asked with a sigh.

One of Jack’s copies vanished, leaving one holding the Fox in the air. "Can you help Jin? That other swordsman has something else to do?"

"Right... I’m on it!"

Getting his focus back to the moment at hand, Kori leaped to the battlefield below and that image of Jack faded away. Once Kori hit the ground, he entered his full fox form and dashed into action. The fox slaughtered anything he could while maintaining his top speed.

Tyres, keeping a close eye on the surroundings, noticed Kori’s fall and mad dash. It was easy to deduce what was about to happen.

Suddenly, Tyres forced his body to fight at its absolute peak strength, expending a tremendous amount of energy in a single moment. He had no time left with a third combatant arriving to tip the scale of battle. Since Tyres still had a slight edge now, he intended on keeping it.

Lightning wrapped around Tyres’s body and wind kept Tyres nimble and light-footed. The Sword God rocketed forward, aiming to cleave through Jin’s neck and torso.

Such speed was too much for the under-leveled Jin to keep up with. The samurai managed to block one sword but failed to defend the second strike. However, something strange happened the moment Tyres made contact.

CLANG!

Tyres connected with a shockingly strong shield, held up by the mystery swordsman. Though the swordsman was thrown back by the blow, the shield remained intact with only a few scratches. Jin was also pushed back, nearly tumbling after colliding with the mystery man.

"A shield?! Where’s your courage?!" Jin shouted, belittling the helmed swordsman. "True swordsmen have no need for such things!"

The man remained silent and dashed forward with his thick and heavy roxite shield at the forefront. With the heavy shield in one arm and the flexible rapier in the other, the man charged at Tyres from various angles, changing his fighting style in response to Torian’s sudden urge to end it all.

"Just die! You’re wasting my time!" Tyres shouted, infuriated to learn that the swordsman had actually been holding back the whole time.

Now, when Tyres tried to rush past, the helmed swordsman man would simply halt each charge or protect Jin when the samurai couldn’t keep up. Against the swordsman with a defensive mindset, Tyres’s efforts and surplus mana turned futile.

Tyres focused on the shield now, creating a deeper cut in the roxite with each attack. It was still a mortal item, after all, proving unable to fully keep up with divine combat. But just as Tyres cracked the shield and left them defenseless, Kori had arrived.

"No more help!" Jin shouted, rushing Tyres and not wanting Kori to steal his kill.

Yet, to Jin’s and Tyres’s surprise, the mystery swordsman teleported away without reappearing with another strike against the Sword God.

"He’s busy, so now it’s just you and me, Jin!" Kori howled, entering his hybrid form and surrounding their vicinity with roaring black flames. "I’ll support, so go for the kill."

"Fine!" Jin agreed as he clashed his katanas against Tyres’s long swords. He was glad that at least another swordsman wouldn’t kill his prey or outshine him.

On the other side of the battlefield, Dragov neared ascension. But more and more dragons were ignoring the other beasts and rushing toward the centipede. This led to those protecting Dragov feeling undeniably overwhelmed.

Jack’s wives and party were seen as some of the weaker defenders, now standing in the high sixties while others like Argyle or Kaldor were entering their eighties. Their teamwork was the reason for their success thus far, and the lack of teamwork between the various species of arrogant dragons. However, being overwhelmed was still a viable strategy for the dragons.

 

Chapter 610

While Mooldrat was already occupied, a lv. 81 Storm Dragon rushed toward Daliea without fear. She noticed it and tried to put up a defense but failed to respond in time. The dragon’s sharp tail shot out while covered in lightning, attempting an insta-kill.

But the tail was suddenly parried and Dailea was left speechless, as were the others around her.

The unknown swordsman casually swatted the tail aside and ran his rapier through the unsuspecting Storm Dragon’s skull. It all happened in an instant, leaving the others startled to know that the swordsman was free enough to come and help them.

As the Storm Dragon corpse fell to the ground, a voice played in the minds of Daliea, Maura, and Eliza, ’Sorry I took so long. I’ll take it from here.’

’Save some EXP for us too,’ teased Maura, smiling as the helmed swordsman dashed into a nearby Magma Dragon.

Eliza giggled and doubled down on the buffs she had placed on Maura, Daliea, and the other party members.

Daliea was silent but she showed a small grin. Not wanting to be outdone, she sought another opponent while staying close to the party.

The other party members were relieved to have the swordsman appear to take the brunt of the dragon horde, leaving some high-level dragons for Argyle, Kaldor, Hurmot, Dradich, and the others, also letting the weaker party members not get swarmed.

Rydel played his part well, sniping anything that dared rush them with pinpoint accuracy. The hunter would target the eyes and wings, either hindering their speed and ability to fly or creating blindspots for his companions to attack the beasts. This allowed Trax and Maynard to quickly find targets and race to see who could gather more kills.

To an extent, it somewhat felt like Jack’s wives were up against the men in a game to kill the most dragons.

Lina stayed close to the party but she proved just as deadly as the dragons. Her naturally mana supply was arguably the largest of all mortals, competing with Jack’s second body. Having Daruun’s bloodline mixed with that of a Nine-headed Glacial Hydra on top of having Jack’s pact made her a terrifyingly powerful being in her own right.

All of their beast companions were out in their full glory, proving capable and enjoying the bloodbath alongside their human companions.

The only person legitimately soloing the dragons was the mysterious swordsman. His rapier claimed life after life, claiming each victim’s final breath with a single strike. He ravaged his prey like he was on a mission, not caring about the corpses at all and only searching out stronger and stronger prey.

*****

"Give us the corpse!" roared Torian. "Then I’ll kill you painlessly!"

"Can you kill me at all? I doubt that!" Moranti mocked.

The Thundering God was the one controlling the fight’s tempo now, leaving Grixor to charge heavy blows and attacks against the God of Space.

"Come on, Grixor! Give me more! I need more batting practice!"

As Grixor hurled hundreds of earthen spikes and rocks condensed from massive boulders, Moranti would send out large slashes of spatial energy. A few would squeak past the God of Space each time, but the number of misses went down each time.

But despite Moranti’s confident banter, he understood that he was at a disadvantage. With his speed and control over space, Moratni could protect Dragas and deal some damage but Torian was more slippery than ever after gaining two levels. And if Moranti paid Torian too much attention, then Grixor would overwhelm him or attack Dragas.

At the current pace, both sides were taking damage but Moranti’s would ultimately lose.

A beacon of hope then appeared on the horizon. Three figures came into view, lifting Moranti’s and Dragas’s spirits while forcing Torian and Grixor to frown deeply.

"Hurry! We need to..."

Moranti called for Lunara, Lorwynn, and Rikko but suddenly stopped talking. Two more figures had come into view, causing the gods to have opposite reactions.

Guuro had fallen from the clouds, bleeding from his nose, eyes, and ears. Choron fell seconds later, showing those same signs of death.

"Help Eedaj!" Dragas shouted. "He needs your help with Perchet!"

The three returning gods nodded and rushed into the clouds, leaving the 2-v-2 to continue without change.

"Dragas, go get them."

"But--"

"They won’t touch you, right?" Moranti backed off and held his scythe at the side, eyeing his two opponents carefully. "Nows your chance to fight me 2-v-1. If you dare to chase her, I’ll slaughter you, your descendants, and even your ancestors."

Torian blinked and smiled. Grixor nodded and chuckled. For the two lv. 98 gods to have a shot at Moranti while he was alone, it was all they could wish for now that they out-leveled him.

’Go!’

Telepathically, Moranti shouted and rushed Grixor first, bringing Torian further from Dragas.

’But--"

’If I die, just bring me back. You’re good at that, right?’ Moranti chuckled.

Dragas shook her head as she bolted toward the falling corpses of her fellow leisure gods. She was determined to get them back on their feet and return as quickly as possible.

"Is that all you can do?"

Jack’s laughter mocked the God of Time as the hero chased after Tralbok, "If all you can do is run, why not use your amulet and flee? It’ll keep you alive and save me some time."

Tralbok was red-eyed and glaring angrily at Jack. It was the first time that someone could keep up with him using his own specialty, time magic. Whenever Tralbok would alter time in his favor, Jack did the same and left the God of Time without an advantage. Adding Jack’s other powerful skills, Tralbok hastily gauged Jack as a threat he couldn’t handle. It now made sense to him how Jack repelled Halmut and duped Torian.

The God of Time took a deep breath and focused on the ridges and etchings of the amulet in his hands.

Suddenly, the clouds overhead parted immediately. Everyone gained a view of Perchet, who had Eedaj on the ropes as help arrived. But that was only the beginning as the clouds continued to part, spanning dozens of kilometers. The sunlight became overwhelming, leaving all beneath the sky blind for a moment.