《Legendary Guardian》 1 Chapter 1:Shattered Dreams Derik screamed in fear as he ran through the forest in his red knight''s armor, tied to his back was a quiver of arrows and on his right hand was a bow. He maneuvered through the thick forest skilfully and soon saw the light piercing into the forest "An exit!!!!" he muttered Whoosh!!! Derik finally made it through the forest and ran for about 15 minutes before stopping. His hands shivered as he looked down the cliff. "No¡­" he gasped. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! "Three¡­ why three" Derik''s heart sank when he heard this, his body shivered. He pulled out three arrows from the quiver hung on his back and waited patiently. His gaze was fixed on the dark forest he just exited "Well Come on!!!!!" Derik growled BAM!!! Four robust green humanoid figures emerged from the forest. Their eyes were blood red with protruding fang-like teeth in their mouth and their body was decorated with red patterns, these beasts were at least 6ft tall and their armor were made of animal skin. They roared and dashed towards the Derik with Great War axes in their hands and their long flowing black hair fluttered in the wind as they moved. Each step these beasts took shook the earth ¡­ Derik was terrified. "Damn Orcs!!!" Derik growled as he aimed Scattering shots!!! Whoosh! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!! The three arrows flew towards three orcs immediately they were only a hundred meters away from him. Two out of three orcs were able to block the arrow using their great axes but the third wasn''t so lucky. The arrow pierced into its shoulder and it was forced to retreat by a few steps. Roar!!! The other two at this time had covered over 50 meters and were just a few steps away from Derik. "Shit! Shit!!" Derik panicked. He dropped his bow and unsheathed the dagger which hung on his waist. His body shivered as he watched the two approach. Knowing their prey had nowhere to run; the orcs stopped running and approached slowly. "They are toying with me¡­ if I must die here. I will take one of you with me!!!" Derik growled as he dashed forward. He jumped towards the orcs while holding on to his dagger tightly with both hands, jumping as high as 20 meters. The orcs only chuckled in response as one of them swung his great axe, spliting Derik in two from the waist down. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "AAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Derik screamed and pushed away the blanket. His clothes were soaked in sweat and his body shivered. "What''s your problem¡­ the first thing you do in the morning of your 14th birthday is scream¡­ you''re so lame¡­" a big-eyed girl with short brown hair who stood next to a wooden wardrobe said. Linda looked at her brother with a disgusted expression. She reached for a white shirt and tossed it to Derik. "Get up¡­ Father sent for you" the little girl said indifferently. She walked towards the door and opened it¡­ "Also Dad said you should clean your room before you leave...Pig!!!" she cursed before she left the room. Derik ignored his little sister as he was already use to such treatment. He eyes quickly swept through the room and he nodded in confirmation. "This place is a mess" he muttered Derik''s bed was located was just about 5 steps directly opposite from the door. Beside the door was the wooden wardrobe and there was a reading table and wooden chair which was located right in front of the only window in the room. One after another he picked all the clothes and books littered on the ground. He put the clothes in the wardrobe and then placed the books on the wooden reading table beside the lantern. ¡­. ¡­. After washing himself, he put the white shirt given to him by Linda earlier, brown trousers and brown boots. In less than an hour, he joined his father who patiently waited for him outside, he joined his father and they then hired a carriage for a copper coin. "Are we really going to the adventurers association?" Derik eye lit up as he spoke, the excitement in his eyes couldn''t be hidden. "Of course¡­ you asked for this... didn''t you? Happy birthday, Derik" John tapped Derik''s forehead with his index finger as he spoke. "When I become a battle mage¡­ I will go outside the wall and make lots of money" Derik giggled as he spoke. Derik Angus is just a 14year old boy living in the resident''s area of Briton town, a small town under the Gyro Kingdom. This town was located at the edge of the southern part of the giant wall built by the humans to protect themselves from the supernatural beasts outside. At this age, there are multiple occupations available however three stood atop the others. The military, The Holy church, and The Adventurers Association. The adventurers association naturally became the most famous above the other three just four years after it was created. The need for rear herbs, special resources and even body parts of supernatural monsters outside the walls kept rising. Considering this becoming an adventurer is the fastest way of making money. Just three years after its creation, the association created branches in all towns and cities in the kingdom. The carriage stopped at the outskirts of the commercial district where the nobles live. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. BAM! The carriage door swung open and Derik jumped out. With excitement in his eyes, he gazed at the castle used as the branch office of the adventurers association. The castle looked more like a fortress. Even John was startled when he saw this [If this is just a branch office, how big is the one at the capital?] He thought He held on to Derik''s little hand, together they walked towards the castle silently. Derik''s attention soon shifted to the two guards positioned at the entrance who blocked their path "State your business" one of them stared at john coldly "I''m here to register my son into the adventures association¡­ you see¡­ he just turned fourteen today" John quickly replied with traces of fear all over his face. The guards stared coldly at Derik for a while and then nodded "Go in¡­ but don''t cause any trouble" The second guard said. John slightly bowed and lead Derik in. Upon entering the castle, the ground floor of the room was filled with children the same age as Derik and some of them were even older. At the other end of the room beside the staircase that led to the other floors of the castle were two women who attended to families that came to register. Behind them were about eight guards. On rare occasions where some families were not satisfied with the class given to their kids and try to cause trouble, these guards always stepped in, gave them a sound beating and then tossed them out. After waiting for over an hour it was Derik''s turn. The lady glanced at Derik briefly and then shifted her gaze to john. "You know the rules of the association, your child must be at least 14 years of age to register¡­ the registration fee is ones silver coin... which cannot be refunded after the examination. Can I have his birth record?" she asked politely. John nodded in agreement and pulled out a folded parchment from his pocket. He placed it on the table and reluctantly placed a silver coin on it. As a commercial farmer, one silver coin was equivalent to a month''s income. Even though he had been preparing for this, he was still reluctant to part with the money. The young lady smiled and pulled them over to her side. After a short inspection, she nodded and handed the parchment back to john. "Now let me explain how this works, your son has to place his palm on the transparent glass orb at the center of the table¡­ if it glows, it means he qualifies to become a magical class¡­ if it doesn''t¡­ well, you know what that means" the woman said. All families hope their child becomes a magical class adventurer for so many reasons. The first is the assurance, magical class is naturally more powerful than normal adventures, with access to multiple spells and powerful magic, and they can easily annihilate multiple enemies. The second was due to the prestige, magical classes even amongst the army are treated like expensive gems. The treatment and privileges given to them is no way inferior to that of nobles. Even nobles treat them with respect. That is why the holy Church receives way more respect than even the king, because of the presence of multiple high-level magical classes. And finally there is security; a Family that has a magical class adventurer is seen as a fortress. It''s very rare to hear stories of them been robbed or a member of the family been attacked. John bit his lips as Derik placed his hand on the orb, he silently prayed as he watched. A tiny white light appeared on the orb the moment Derik placed his hand on it, so tiny that one had to focus to notice it. The lady shook her head severally with a disappointed expression on her face. For a moment she thought this kid would pass. Even though the tiny light meant that Derik had a little affinity to magic but it is still negligible and not enough to pass the magical class examination. Derik stared at the orb with a shocked expression; he refused to believe that he failed. Throughout his life, he waited for this day, even when his friends ridiculed him, he still didn''t give in. he spent most of his savings purchasing some magic-related books in preparation of this day. "No..." he muttered as he pulled out his hand and placed it again. He did this repeatedly but no matter how much he tried but he wasn''t planning on stopping until he gets the desired result, the result still remained the same. A guard standing behind the lady took a step forward, seeing this john quickly restrained Derik and apologized for the boy''s behavior. "All that''s left for him is the physical classes." She looked at Derik indifferently and asked: "Which physical class do you want."Derik at this point was already lost in his thoughts, he remembered the dream he had this morning and couldn''t help to wonder [How is it connected? is it the reason why I failed the magical class assessment? What was I back then? that''s right I remember] he thought "An Archer," he said absent-minded. Thinking that this was his reply, the woman nodded and started registering. "Name?" She asked "Derik Angus" John responded "Age?" She asked "Fourteen" he replied Even though he was disappointed, it still wasn''t entirely bad. An average adventurer still earned enough to live a comfortable life and with the adventurer title came some respect and protection even for non-magical class adventurers, even the guards here earn more than average citizens. He was planning to stop Derik from joining if the boy picked a melee class job. "Come back in 5 days to collect your trainee badge. After which you will partake in a three years training program. During those three years, you will be living in this castle and will only be allowed to write home once a year¡­ thank you for your cooperation" the lady said indifferently. "Even as a physical class, I believe you can still make a lot of money¡­ even though archers are regarded as support types, they play very important roles and cannot be neglected¡­ I believe my son will become the greatest archer in the kingdom" John said trying to cheer Derik on. The boy had been silent ever since they left the association and had a dejected expression on his face. Even after hearing his father''s words, he only glanced at the man and looked away. Not uttering a single word all through the short journey. 2 Chapter 2:Joining the association "Let me guess¡­ he failed the magical class test" Linda said indifferently when John and Derik walked in. she could tell from the gloomy expression on his face. Her eyes were cold as she stared at Derik walk up the stairs to his room. With a disappointed expression on her face, she turned her gaze to her father who was taking off his jacket. The entrance of the house, it was easy to locate the stairs which lead to the first floor. Beside the stairs by the right was the dining table and by the left is just a chair made of animal skin meant for John and a study desk right in front of it. Beside the desk was a door which led to another room which served as the kitchen and storeroom. The first floor had three rooms which served as the bedrooms for John and his two kids. "I told you not to waste so many resources on him¡­ I told you he would fail... but no one listens to Linda!!!" Linda who was seated on the chair made of animal skin said. John''s sorrow quickly turned to anger; his cold gaze fell on Linda and without even speaking the 12-year-old girl was already terrified. She quickly closed the book she was reading and ran up the stairs. John sighed and walked into his room. "Archery¡­ what a joke" Derik said when he entered his room. He shut the door and tossed a shirt on the ground. He moved to his reading table and picked up the books on the table one after another and glanced at the titles "Magic Mastery in One Month" "Life as a Sorcerer" "Fire magic" He slowly tossed them into the waste bin beside the table "Crap¡­ reality is cruel" he muttered. He threw himself on the bed and slept off a few minutes later. Within those five days, Derik focused on running little errands for his neighbors to earn money, even though the reality was cruel and unfair to him he wasn''t going to give up easily. "Just like Dad said¡­ I will become the greatest archer in the kingdom" he always told himself whenever he felt sad. John noticed the boy''s enthusiasm and smiled. ¡­ ¡­ After 5 days, Derik returned to the association branch with his father. Thanks to his hard work, he was able to earn 34copper coins. "Derik¡­ I''m sorry you couldn''t become a mage¡­ but I believe you can also excel in archery class¡­ just give it your all" John said "Don''t worry Dad¡­ I will become the greatest archer!!!" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. John smiled back and brought out three silver coins from his pockets, he gave it to Derik and the left on the hired carriage. Derik stared at the silver coins in his palms for a while and smiled. Even though he knew he would receive some coins from his dad as a farewell gift, he didn''t expect this much. He walked into the castle only to see a crowd there as well, but this time there were no parents or guardians only kids his age and many others older. He spotted the line meant for the identification of ranged fighters and joined the line. After thirty minutes, he identified with the lady in charge of the process, received his badge and was led to a different castle with other members of his class. Upon arrival, they were escorted to their various rooms by the servants in the castle which was located on the second floor of the castle. Derik and a boy his age who had golden hair and yellow eyes were led to their room. The room was very spacious and two beds were placed at both sides of the room, with two windows directly above the beds and two wardrobes beside each bed. By the left at the entrance was a door which led to the bathroom. He dashed into the room and dropped his bag next to the bed on the right and sat on it. He slowly began to unpack, hanging his clothes in the wardrobe beside his bed. He noticed that the golden-haired boy still stood at the entrance refusing to enter, from the color of his hair and his high-quality attire, Derik knew this kid belonged to a noble family "Hi¡­" He said "I''m Derik Angus¡­ what''s your name?" The golden hair boy was initially inspecting the room and was disgusted by what he saw and now a commoner had the guts to speak to him. He had been watching Derik unpack and saw all the cheap clothes he put in his wardrobe and thought [Not only am I forced to live in a filthy place but I also have to share a room with a commoner¡­ what nonsense] "How dare you speak to me without permission? ... Do you know what family I belong to? ¡­ I''m Mason Martinus ¡­ Bow and plead for my forgiveness you peasant!!!" The boy sneered. Derik shook his head repeatedly and was confused for a moment, the Martinus family was one of the top noble families in the town of Briton let their child join the archery class. In most cases, nobles pay heavily just to get their children into the Magical class in hopes that their child''s magic powers will manifest and reveal themselves. Some nobles even go as far as spending thousands of gold coins just to acquire potions that help enhance magic powers in hopes that their kid''s magic powers will manifest. For a top noble family to let their child join the physical class there are only two possible reasons. The first is their child already specializes in that class and they wish to develop his talent but this is very unlikely because most nobles prefer the fame and honor gotten from the magical classes especially nobles residing in little towns such as Briton, this will greatly enhance their status in other parts of the kingdom. And the second reason is this; the child is a black sheep in the family. This is usually accurate most of the time when the children of noble families fail to meet up to their parent''s expectation, most of them are forced to join groups like the adventurers association and the military in hopes that they either succeed and make a name for themselves or lose their life in a dangerous mission. Derik knew the boy was from a noble family because of his hair color but he didn''t think it was one of the top noble families. A sinister smile appeared on his face "Peasant?!!! Does a black sheep like yourself qualify to call me a peasant?" Derik snapped, his words were vicious and he didn''t hold back at all. Masons expression darkened and he bit his lips in anger, he wanted to reply but he knew he couldn''t beat this boy in a war of words. He threw his leather bag on his bed and left the room in anger. After two hours all the students were called to the canteen for dinner after which they returned to their rooms. Throughout the night Derik and Mason refused to talk to each other. The only glanced at each other occasionally and cursed silently. ¡­ ¡­ ... BAM! BAM!! BAM!!! Mason screamed and jumped off his bed when he heard the bell ring. His eyes were bloodshot and he silently swore to hang the man ringing the bell. At this time, Derik was already done preparing. He wore his normal white shirt made of textile, his usual brown trousers, and brown boots. He was putting on the brown gloves he bought for 12 copper coins when he heard the bell and watched Mason''s hilarious response. "Lame," he said staring at Mason who sat on the floor. He picked up the small leather pouch where he keeps his money and left the room. After having breakfast at the cafeteria, he went to the armory and bought a pair of brown leather vambrace, brown leather breastplate, a quiver and then a bow. He silently cursed as he handed over 1sliver and 12 coppers. By the time he got to the training field located behind the castle, it was already 9 am Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I made it," Derik said. Fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged man equipped inexpensive black leather armor. He had a bow in his hand a lady who followed carried a quiver filled with arrows. "You will call me Master Stevens, your instructor¡­" he glanced at the faces of all 24 recruits who stood in a straight line. "Do not forget¡­ if you fail to meet up to my expectations¡­ you will be expelled from the association!!!" the man said indifferently. His short black hair and his handsome face made people around him feel relaxed but no one doubted his words. The man pulled out an arrow from the quiver the lady was carrying.He then aimed at one of the 24 practice targets which were just a hundred meters away. Swooosh !!! His arrow flew straight to the target and hit the little ''x'' located at the center. Gasps¡­ "Constant practice increases proficiency¡­ 300 shots¡­ that is your daily goal¡­ no lunch or dinner until this goal is achieved¡­ Those who can complete this task will be moved to another training ground for advance archery skill training" The black-haired man said before leaving the training ground. Each recruit had a servant who carried a quiver filled with arrows, these servants were also tasked with collecting the arrows already shot. Derik was done around 5 pm, his thumbs were sore and his elbow hurt. Throughout the day he was able to make 300 shots, only 5 hit the ''x'' target, 100 hit random places on the practice dummy and 195 missed entirely. This could be considered as one of the worst results. What shocked him the most was Mason''s performance if someone had told him that this golden-haired kid had some skills a day ago he would have cursed the person to the grave but it was expected, nobles tend to hire skilled knights and archers who train their kids. 30 shots hit the ''x'' target, 250 shots hit random parts of the training dummy and only 20 missed entirely. This was one of the best results, he is a genius. But unfortunately, this test was not all about skill endurance is also needed. On the second day, the process was repeated and the result was even worse. Due to the injuries sustained on the first day, their performance greatly reduced. Derik had 0 shots on target and less than 50 hit the dummy, the rest missed. Even mason was having a hard time coping with this. On the fifth day, no one hit the target and only a few could hit random places on the dummy!!!. 3 Chapter 3: More Training In the blink of an eye, a week was already gone. The last two days of the week were given to these recruits as holidays. Within these two days, they visited the castle doctor who took care of their injuries. That night at the cafeteria everyone had bandages wrapped around their fingers, most of them found this funny while some silently cursed the instructors. After resting for two days, these recruits were ready to return to the normal daily task but to their surprise, they were given a new task. "100 Laps around the castle, a thousand push-ups, and a thousand sit-ups¡­ that is your daily task for the week" Master Stevens barked. "NO!!! I won''t do this anymore!!!" a yellow-haired boy screamed. It was obvious he was from a noble. He stood right in front of Stevens and barked "If word about this gets to my father do you think you will be able to bear the consequences!!!" some other nobles who stood behind nodded in approval PAAAH!! PAAAH!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The yellow-haired boy staggered and almost fell. He spat out blood and placed his hands on his reddened cheeks. There were traces of anger and fear in his eyes as he stared at Master Stevens in complete disbelief, no one expected that this instructor would be bold enough to hit a noble. Master Stevens raised his hand once again and the noble instinctively retreated, returning to his original position. The other noble kids who initially supported were all shocked, they instinctively avoided Master Steven''s eyes when he looked at them. "Who else has a problem with my methods?" Master Steven''s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. Seeing that no one spoke, Master Stevens nodded. Derik and other commoners fared better than the nobles in this training. They already experienced hardship, even though this could be regarded as a higher level of hardship but they still had an advantage. The nobles were better at archery training because of the basic training which they got when they were younger, but none of them were used to hard labor. The commoners were able to complete the daily task before 3 pm, but it took the nobles till 8 pm to finish. Derik sat on his bed, reading a book when Mason walked in. He was exhausted and his well-combed golden hair was scattered. He stared at Derik who had a sinister smile on his face and cursed silently before walking into the bathroom to take his bath. After seven days, the recruits were given two days to recover. The new week came with a new task, Stevens and a few other helpers practiced basic martial arts with the recruits and gave them a few close combat fighting tips. Most of their teachings were based on Defence and counter-attacks. Archers were prohibited from engaging a foe at close quarters unless when forced to, so naturally defensive and counter-attack lessons were best suited for them. With the close-combat lesson came the introduction of crossbows and daggers, these two tools were regarded as the guardian angels of archers when forced to defend against a melee combatant. The week was gone as quick as it came. The next week they resumed their normal archery training but luckily their injured fingers were already healed. The daily task was enhanced by 100 shots and a mandatory 20 shot target hit followed by an expulsion penalty if failed. At first, they cursed Stevens silently saying that the target was too high but to their surprise, every one of them could meet the set goal. Even the worst amongst them got at least 22 shots on the target. Derik made 55 shots on target and Mason and other nobles made over 70 successful shots. In the end, 16 out of 24 recruits were moved to the advanced training room. There they learned special archery skills like consecutive shot, scattering shot, and fast arrow. These 16 recruits were selected as the archery class representatives for Inter-class competition which was meant to take place in the sixth month of the year. ¡­ ¡­ In the blink of an eye, it was already three months since they joined the adventurers association. Even though three months seemed like a short time, the recruit''s physique had completely changed. Even they were not as muscular and robust as recruits of the guardian knight class but they were still fit and could contest against them in strength-based activities. Even the nobles amongst them looked more matured and were no way inferior to the commoners in the class. Anyone could tell that these people are not the same kids who got admitted a few months ago. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­Area 10, outside the giant wall¡­ About three small green monsters ran through the forest with wooden clubs in their hands. They occasionally made sharp turns to avoid the arrows that flew at them. Wooosh!! Another arrow flew towards one of the goblins but before it hit the goblin suddenly changed direction evading it "Damn it, these beasts are fast and cunning" a golden-haired youth cursed. It was the same noble who tried to stand up to Stevens. Just months ago, he had pale skin and was lanky but now this kid was well built but his skin color still remained the same. "Brian of the Ryan family cannot kill a little goblin¡­ let me show you how it''s done" Mason sneered. He was amongst the team of 16 archers sent outside the wall to practice. Area 10 was one of the three areas owned by the Archery class. It was relatively peaceful and had only a few caves that harbored a handful of goblins. This place was set as the training ground for advanced archers who needed to practice on moving targets. That''s what made these goblins the perfect targets, the small size and movement speed made them extremely difficult to hit. Mason and the rest of the team encountered a team of six goblins hunting for food. These goblins tried to fight at first but quickly retreated as soon as they lost 3 of their comrades. Mason jumped to the side, stepping on a nearby tree and using it as leverage he jumped a second time and attained even greater height. He quickly pulled out an arrow from the quiver tied to his back and aimed "Fast Arrow" he screamed Swooooosh!!! The targeted goblin''s big ears twitched when the arrow was released. It slightly turned its head to check the distance between it and the arrow Puff!!! The arrow pierced through its skull and dug deep into its brain. The goblin died with traces of disbelief in its eyes, how can an arrow move so fast. Mason laughed and pulled out another arrow and was about to repeat the same action but then he heard a shout from behind. "Step aside Blondy!!!... Scattering shots ¡­ Consecutive shots!!!" Derik growled. Six arrows were shot at the same time covering a wide area, the expressions of the remaining two goblins crumbled when they saw this "#*&#$%#" one of them growled,both of them stopped running and welcomed the arrows with their wooden clubs in their hands. Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! They blocked the incoming arrows with their clubs successfully. They were about to celebrate but they noticed something at the last moment. The consecutive shot could be regarded as a basic archery skill but it was very effective. It simply involves masking the presence of an arrow with another, hiding the second shot in the shadow of the first. Both goblins were struck by the arrows which sent them flying, pinning them to a nearby tree. They struggled viciously for a short while and then died. "My third kill today" Derik laughed while he used his dagger to cut off some body parts of these goblins which can be sold at a high price. Mason hissed at him and looked away "I guess we should call it a day," one of the recruits said indifferently. He glared at the sack containing the goblin''s body parts tied around Derik''s waist in envy. But then he realized that Derik and the rest of the team were focused on something else. He looked forward and noticed the cave well concealed by vegetation around it. If Derik didn''t kill the other two goblins at the spot, they would''ve run past it without even noticing. This was probably the reason the two goblins stopped running. They were already at the entrance of their home, all sixteen of them stared at each other silently, they knew they were all thinking about the same thing. A goblin cave contained at least 20 goblins and at the end of the cave was a goblin chieftain. These chieftains were just bigger and stronger than normal goblins, there were cases where teams encountered goblin warlords or goblin shamans but the probability of meeting such is really low. Normally adventure parties consisted of four members and some six. Currently, their team was made up of sixteen archers, four times the normal team number. If they could successfully raid this goblin stronghold and win, with the body parts they would acquire, they could easily make a small fortune. "Do we go in?" Brian finally broke the silence. The others were silent for a while and thought about it. If they succeeded, they could easily become famous. Known as the only trainees capable of raiding a goblin stronghold and they will also earn a few silver coins which they could use to improve their equipment. The inter-class competition was just around the corner, they need this. But if they should fail not only will they lose a few members, they will be penalized for acting without orders. If care is not taken, the surviving members may be expelled from the association. After considering all this, they decided to vote!!! 16 out of 16 agreed to raid the stronghold "No guts no glory" Mason said with a smile on his face "F##k consequences," A black-haired member of the team said 4 Chapter 4: Goblins everywhere "Derik, Mason, Gorge, Mary and I will lead, the others follow behind and watch our backs¡­ according to the book I''ve read, goblins are very cunning ¡­ if we meet anything beyond our current abilities¡­ we retreat.. we don''t need hero''s!!!" Brian said. The others nodded from time to time and when they were done planning, they moved around and picked up arrows fired previously. The arrows were returned to their respective quivers. "The cave is like a double-edged sword. It has its perks but it also has its own disadvantages¡­" Derik said "It reduces mobility, making it harder for these goblins to escape our attacks. But it also affects us as well, our retreat will be slow so there is a high possibility that we will be forced to engage these monsters in close combat¡­ load your crossbows and keep your daggers close.." Derik said "Don''t forget this is their stronghold, there are bound to be traps... keep your eyes open¡­ watch your step¡­James and Dean will hold the torches and light the way for us¡­ we are responsible for their safety¡­ No one is allowed to screw up" Mason added. ¡­ ¡­ With Dean leading the way the team entered the cave, their speed was very slow but steady. Occasionally they came across different paths in the cave and carefully checked every single one of them to avoid ambushes. Puff!!! The arrow dug deep into the skull of the last goblin and blood splattered everywhere, its body twitched repeatedly for a few seconds before it finally died. This was the third detour they inspected, in just one hour they have killed over thirty goblins. The harvest was the best so far. They had acquired over sixty goblin ears, over sixty goblin eyeballs and more than two hundred goblin teeth. Even though goblin body parts were the least valuable thing an adventurer can acquire, selling these parts in bulk could fetch a lot of money. While the rest were rejoicing, Derik, Mason, and Brian were worried. In the adventurers association, most recruits spent all their type training only their bodies while a few train both their bodies and minds, they say knowledge is power but a few people fail to understand the meaning of this statement. Goblin chieftains control about twenty to forty goblins, but in cases when an adventurer encounters more than fifty goblins in a cave the chances of encountering a goblin shaman or a goblin warlord becomes dangerously high. They have only traveled about fifty meters into the cave and yet they have encountered more than thirty goblins. The three looked at each other and could see tell that the other was thinking the same thing "Let''s just hope we are wrong¡­ even if there is a goblin warlord¡­ I still believe we can kill it¡­" Brian said "And what if we encounter a goblin shaman?" Mason asked, there were traces of fear in his eyes that could not be hidden. Brian''s expression crumbled and he bit his lips, he didn''t have an answer for this. If something like that should happen, they may lose a few members. "Goblin shamans are too rare and it''s difficult to encounter one¡­ I doubt a goblin shaman can reside in small caves such as this one¡­ let''s just check it out¡­ if we do encounter one.. we retreat !!!" Derik said. Brian and Mason nodded in support and led the team out of the path and followed the main route once again. On the way, they entered four more paths and killed more than fifty goblins. After an hour, they were sure they were close to the main goblin stronghold. Occasionally they came across paintings done with blood on the walls of the caves and rusted metal armors. "Dean!!!"Mason was the first to notice the presence of a goblin not far away. He pulled out two arrows from his quiver and shot the first, and the second immediately, this action happened in less than a second. Peng!!! The first arrow collided a hand axe, deflecting it and the second flew towards the source. Not long after, screams of a goblin was heard far ahead in the darkness. "Throw the torch ahead quickly and get behind us... everyone get ready!!!" Derik whispered as he pulled out three arrows from the quiver tied on his back. The torch flew forward and landed about ten meter ahead. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw about a hundred armed goblins patiently waiting for them to get closer. "This shit is a f##king colony!!!" Derik screamed as he shot his arrows at the goblins "Everyone shoot!!!¡­ those at the rear¡­ help us!!!" Mason screamed as he shot his arrows. Swoooosh!!! Swooosh!!! Swooosh!!! The goblins realized they were no longer hidden and dashed forward, unfortunately for them, they couldn''t all rush in at once because of the little space in the cave. Under the constant assault of these sixteen skilled archers who retreated slowly as they fired these goblins could not get close. These archers were like messengers of death. Each time they let go of the bow string one or two goblins and sometimes even three goblins died. In less than twenty minutes the battle was already over, the corpse of more than a hundred goblins littered the floors of the cave, small pools made of goblin blood could be seen everywhere. "We can come back for the body parts later¡­ let''s take care of these monster ahead first" Brian said. The team wandered deeper into the cave after pulling out their arrows and returning them to their quivers. They glanced at the corpses littered everywhere and smiled. Even a qualified adventurer team will find it difficult to kill over a hundred goblins in twenty minutes, even though they had more than three times the average adventurers team member count, it still didn''t matter. They swore in their hearts to brag about this day for the rest of their lives. After traveling for another hundred meters they knew they were close to the end of the cave, they could literally hear a monster''s breathing. This definitely didn''t belong to a goblin chieftain, only a goblin warlord was capable of doing such. If they didn''t encounter goblins on the way into the cave, they would have assumed that a high level was resting at the other side of the cave. "We''re close¡­ it should be a goblin warlord¡­ get ready" Derik whispered¡­all fifteen members frowned when he spoke. Even though they knew it was a goblin warlord, they still refused to accept this in their minds. [Maybe we are wrong] they thought But when Derik confirmed the identity of the beast, they just had to accept it. In the one books which recorded the levels and strengths of monsters outside the wall found at the library in the castle, the goblins were divided into 4 levels, the first level was occupied by goblin infantries and archers. These little beasts are naturally weaker in nature so they rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm their foes. Then at the second level was the goblin chieftain, these beasts are usually the size of teenagers around the age of 16-18 years. Their primary weapons are stone clubs, these beasts are strong enough to engage a bronze level guardian knight in combat and overwhelm him. At the third level, you see the Goblin warlord, capable of taking on a complete team of four bronze level adventurers and overwhelming all four. Even though bronze level adventurers were the least in the adventurer''s ranking, they are still people who were able to complete the adventurers association training and graduate. Such people should not be looked down upon!!. Finally, at the top is the level 4 goblin shaman, capable of conjuring fire, creating smoke screens, releasing poison gas and creating zombies out of goblin corpses. Their affinity to almost all elements is what makes them the most deadly goblin one can encounter. Goblin shamans are responsible for several party wipes, that''s why a lot of adventurer teams try to avoid them when possible. At this moment they were like three hundred meters away from the goblin, this part of the cave was wet. Its red eyes glowed in the dark and its breathing shook the cave. Its cold stare was fixed on Derik who stood in front, this made Derik shiver involuntarily. He was scared but refused to show it, his hand slowly reached for an arrow in his quiver. "I will get its attention, you guys need to find its vital points kill it immediately," Derik said "Derik... don''t¡­" Mason said but made no attempt to stop him "You want to take on that thing on at close quarters?... have you lost your senses?..." George whispered. Even though this plan was insane, it was the only way they could beat this beast. If the warlord decided to charge at them, more than half of the team will be wiped out even if they succeed to bring down this monster. They all knew that Derik''s plan was the only way "Maybe" Derik replied with a smile on his face and took a few steps forward. "Rapid Fire!!!" Derik growled as he shot his arrows at amazing speed. In just a second he had fired over 5 arrows. The goblin screamed in response and dashed towards them Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! Derik''s expression crumbled as he saw his arrows shatter on the goblin''s armor. [Why is a goblin equipped with a guardian knights armor?] Derik pushed all the questions in his mind, he let go of his bow and dashed forward. Seeing the human run towards it the goblin roared, its bloodshot eyes were fixed on Derik as it swung the giant stone club horizontally. Derik had gathered enough speed, when the stone club was close enough Derik slid on his knees, tilting his upper body backward evading the attack. The goblin roared and turned around, swinging its stone club again. Derik bent once again to evade the attack again. He quickly turned around and pulled out his crossbow Bang!!! The bolt from the crossbow shattered the goblins left knee cap, Derik quickly retreated as he reloaded. "Cover me!!!" he screamed. The other fifteen were mesmerized by Derik''s performance, they refused to believe that this is the same kid that practiced with them every day. Derik''s words snapped them out of it and pulled out the arrows. Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! The goblin roared as it swung its stone club horizontally, shattering most of the arrows heading towards it while the remnants shattered on its armor. Luckily two arrows found their way to its already injured knee and dug deep into it. The goblin roared in pain and fell on its knees, it struggled to get on its feet but its left leg was almost useless at this point. "We can do this!!!... keep shooting¡­" mason screamed when he saw the beast struggle. Arrows rained on the goblin warlord who had already lost its mobility, it swung its stone club repeatedly in an attempt to block the incoming arrows. Soon most of its joints were pierced and blood flowed down its wounds. It struggled to defend against the arrow barrage. By this time Derik was done reloading, he had been hiding behind the goblin the whole time while he reloaded. Luckily for him, it was distracted by the team''s constant barrage.. he carefully aimed at the goblins exposed head and¡­ "vanish" he muttered Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Bang!!! The goblin didn''t move anymore welcoming all the arrows hauled at it. Its face was filled with shock and denial. The rest of the team stopped shooting when they noticed that the beast was not moving anymore, they quietly watched praying that the battle was over. When the body of the goblin hit the ground, loud cheers echoed in the cave 5 Chapter 5: Full Moon With the goblin warlord and its minions gone, Derik and the rest of the team decided to remain there for the night. Initially, they planned to return to the wall but after spending extra hours acquire all the expensive body parts of hundreds of goblins. By the time they were done it was already late, considering the dangers of wandering through the forest at night and their tired bodies and minds, they decided to stay in the cave for the night. "You guys stay here¡­ don''t let down your guard, some predators may be attracted to the blood of these goblins¡­ Mason and Brian will gather wood for a fire while Mary and I will go hunting¡­ if we''re lucky, we will get something edible" Derik said. He believed that twelve archers should be enough to protect the cave ¡­ ¡­ He used his dagger to carve marks on trees as they moved, this way it will be easier to find their way back. The moonlight descended on the forest acting as a source of light, making it easier for Derik and Mary to move around. Along the way, they picked up berries and wild fruits. Due to Mary''s shy nature, they barely spoke throughout the journey. "Take this back to the cave¡­I will look around a little¡­" he said. Mary stared into his eyes with a worried expression, she still remembered how Derik dashed towards the 6.5ft tall goblin warlord. Her heart skipped a beat when he did that and now he wants to wander the forest alone at night. He is either brave or just dumb. Derik smiled, he knew this big-eyed red-haired girl was worried about him. "Don''t worry about me¡­ I will be careful," he said before dashing into the forest. Mary refused to move. She stood there and kept watching until Derik vanished from her view. ¡­ ¡­ Derik had been tracking an antelope for over 5 minutes now through its footsteps. "I was been hunted by someone else¡­ how is that possible? ... this area belongs to the archery class and we''re the only one authorized to be here" he muttered. His grip on his bow tightened as he the trail. After walking for about ten minutes, he saw trails of blood "The animal go injured, the hunter probably dragged it deeper into the forest but why?... does he have some sort of base here"¡­ he knew that moving even deeper could be dangerous but he had this urge to find out who was responsible for all of this. He took three steps forward and stopped, for some reason he felt like the angel of death stood closely behind him trying to embrace him with its cold black wings. Derik reacted quickly and made a 180 degrees turn, he let go of his bow and grabbed the crossbow that hung on his waist. BAM!!! The bolt hit a man dressed in expensive noble attire, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the man pinned to a nearby tree and blood flowed down his stomach. Derik panicked when he saw the man was not moving [why is a noble here?] [How did he sneak up on me?] [Fuck... I killed a noble what am I going to do] He let go of the crossbow and sat beside a tree opposite to the one where the noble was. He covered his face with both hands contemplating what next to do, if anyone found out about this he won''t be able to escape death. "Bury the body!!!... I have to hide the body!!!" he whispered "Bury an old man like myself alive¡­ you''re cruel" Derik instinctively jumped on his feet and pulled out his dagger, his eyes were focused on the man who was meant to be dead minutes ago. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "How?... I thought I killed you" Derik said with traces of disbelief and suspicion as he stared at the noble. The noble had light skin, his well-arranged pitch-black hair glittered under the moonlight, he must have applied way too much hair ointment for it to sparkle. The only thing wrong about this young handsome noble was his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot and his fangs were revealed when he spoke. "Beast!!!Demon!!!" Derik cursed out loud. He was currently confused if he killed this man now and it was somehow traced back to him his life will be taken as compensation. But if he let this man live, there is at least about 70 percent possibility that this man will kill him in order to hide his secret. He has to die, Derik finally decided. His grip on his dagger slightly tightened and he patiently waited for the man to make a move. "Your skills are quite commendable¡­ your reaction speed is extraordinary¡­if you didn''t move when you did¡­ well, let''s just say you won''t be standing here right now" the young man said. His hands slowly moved to his stomach and he gently pulled out the bolt from his belly. His wild eyes that never left Derik betrayed his calm nature. He slowly walked towards Derik and with each step he took, his red eyes glowed brighter. "Even at the face of death, you remain calm¡­" The middle-aged man was shocked by the fact that Derik refused to flee. "I''m Scott Lockwood, the current head of the Lockwood family¡­ second son of the deceased Terry Lockwood¡­ I want to offer you the position of Knight in the Lockwood family¡­ the chance to stand by my side and serve me" "Not interested," Derik said indifferently "I wasn''t asking¡­" Scott said with a smile on his face. Wooosh!!! Scott dashed towards Derik and just in a second, he covered the 30 meters space between the both of them. Derik was shocked but was able to suppress his fear, with the dagger in his right hand he struck at the man aiming for his face. Scott smiled and simply tilted his head to the left evading the attack, even though he evaded this attack easily any other person in his position will find it hard to do so, the attack may look simple but the speed behind it was terrifying. "I definitely didn''t make the wrong choice," Scott said as he quickly grabbed Derik''s right hand which wielded the dagger and sank his fangs into his flesh. [Crap] Derik thought. He tried to break free but it felt like he was playing tug of war with an elephant. No matter how much he struggled Scott didn''t move. He bit his lips and tried as hard as possible to endure the pain, he let go of the dagger in his right hand caught it with his left hand Stab!!! The dagger pierced Scott''s gut and the man silently shivered in pain "Die!!!" Derik roared as he mustered all his strength and pulled the dagger up, cutting from his stomach up to his chest. BAM!!! Derik''s body hit the ground and his vision blurred. It felt like a horse stomped on his head, he wanted to move but his body refused to respond "Hahahaha¡­ now we''re the same¡­ congratulations you''re are now a member of the pack" he heard Scott''s voice and was slightly confused [how is this guy still alive?] [What those he mean by we''re the same] [Will I become a demon?] ¡­ ¡­ His eyelids opened slowly and he caressed his forehead with his palm, he only saw uneven stony structures and could hear voices. "Was it just a bad dream" Derik muttered as he sat up. He leaned on the walls of the cave and inspected his body. To his greatest surprise, he had no injuries on him, even his bruised knees were healed. He stared at his knees suspiciously and tried to recall everything that happened the night before, he could still remember the short battle between himself and the handsome man who claimed to be a member of the Lockwood family, the ruling noble family in Briton town. He gazed at his right hand and remembered the pain he felt when the man bit him, he shivered as he recalled everything that happened "Are you cold?" he heard a ladies voice come from the entrance of the cave. Mary stood at the entrance of the cave with a worried expression on her face. When Derik didn''t return by midnight, Mason, Brian, and George left the cave in search of him. according to them, they found Derik unconscious,at first they thought Derik was attacked by something but they couldn''t find any injuries on him. After listening to Mary''s explanation Derik frowned if he told this girl that he was attacked by a demon and was bitten by it, would she believe?. He heard footsteps and stared at the cave entrance he couldn''t tell how far they were but he knew they were heading towards the cave. He could also smell the day-old corpses of goblins deep in the cave "I''m ok¡­ we need to return now¡­ Master Stevens should be worried about us" he said to the girl as he got on his feet. They didn''t come with much so packing didn''t take much time, by the time they were done the rest of the team arrived. They occasionally asked Derik about what happened but he kept saying he couldn''t remember, he just felt dizzy and blacked out. Seeing that Derik was not willing to say more they stopped asking. Right now they were excited, not only will the adventurers association will be shocked by their accomplishments but they will also make a lot of money. With the goblin warlord included, they may even make up to a gold coin!. 6 Chapter 6: Fame! and Fortune? "So¡­ you''re trying to tell me you all killed a hundred and ninety-five goblins and a goblin warlord in just a day?"a grey-haired man seated on a stone chair in a huge room asked with signs of disbelief and excitement in his eyes. Even a bronze rank adventurer team will need at least two days or so to achieve this. He stared at Stevens who was also shocked by this report and sighed, when these kids failed to return yesterday they were already preparing a rescue team. "Yea¡­ the cave should be around here" Derik pointed placed his index finger on a particular part of a map placed on the huge stone table. This room was like three bedrooms put together. Behind the stone chair where the man was seated was a huge banner with a bow and arrow symbol hanging on the wall. To Derik, this was a waste of space, how can you have only a desk and a chair in a room over 50 meters wide and 30 meters long "Send some a team to check it out," He said to Stevens and then returned his gaze to Derik and the team, he smiled clapped. "The archery class is highly impressed with your performance, take the week off and recover your strengths¡­ with this current team, I''m sure our class will do extremely well in the inter-class competitions¡­ what the heck¡­ we may even win" The inter-class competition is an event hosted by the adventurers association, this competition is used as a means of advertising recruits to other adventurer teams, nobles, and wealthy businessmen. Most times adventurer teams are hired by nobles, businessmen and even the military for different purposes. This is because even the weakest bronze rank adventurer is not inferior in any way when compared to regular soldiers in the military. This way it''s easier for recruits to find a path to follow after three years of training. Over the years, the Mage classes have dominated the competitions, only on a few occasions will a hand full of physical classes members excel. In fact, those few physical classes recruits who manage to excel in the competitions are regarded as rare seeds. If these recruits standing in front of him are been honest with him, he is a hundred percent sure that a few members of this team will make it to the top 20 on the ranking list after the competition. This will greatly boost the archery class in the association and more funds from the association will naturally follow. "By the way¡­ the ''resources'' we got from the cave¡­ how much do we earn from it" George asked excitedly. The expressions of the other fifteen recruits instantly brightened. The money may not be anything for the recruits from noble families but this is the first money they have earned as adventurers, why won''t they be excited. The gray-haired man stared at them with a cunning smile on his face "You''re not official adventurers yet so you earn nothing¡­ but for your hard work¡­ I as the Lord of the archery class will reward you all with one silver coin each" he said smiling¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "One measly silver coin!!!... we risked our lives!!!... what the f##k!!!" Mason screamed from the bathroom while washing himself. "Greedy Pigs" Derik cursed. He sat on his bed and pulled out a large book from his sack bag which he borrowed from the castle library. "Supernatural Beasts Living In The Shadows¡­ nice title..." Derik said. This book is the only book that speaks on the supernatural. His eyes scanned through the pages of the book, in just an hour of study he had come across so many unbelievable beasts even blood-sucking monsters. If not for his encounter with the noble who possessed red eyes and fangs, he would have tossed this book out through the window. After another hour, he came across a page with the title ''Demon wolves'' "Or popularly known as werewolves¡­ these creatures are rated Level 9¡­" Derik read. According to the book, werewolves are divided into three levels¡­ the lowest level belongs to the Omegas, considered the weakest in the pack, omega possess blue eyes and are rated level 9 in terms of strength. And then there is the Beta''s, these betas are the next in line to the top should the alpha die. Only a beta can challenge an alpha for its title, they possess yellow eyes and are regarded as level 12 in terms of strength. Finally, there is the alpha, leader of the pack. These beasts possess blood-red eyes and are rated as Level 15. "The information on the alpha is too little¡­ apart from enhanced perception, enhance speed and strength and high-speed regeneration¡­ there are little or no details about their capabilities¡­" Derik muttered. The enhanced perception is something he had confirmed back in the cave, the healing aspect also explains why his injuries healed so quick but the strength and speed, this is something he is yet to confirm. "What''s color are my eyes?" Derik asked Mason who just stepped out of the bathroom.Mason thought about the request for a while and found it strange "Dumb as ever," he said ignoring the question "Says the person who spends 2 hours in the bathroom¡­ I''m really curious to know how the others will respond if this information gets out" Derik threatened. ''You!!! ..... It''s brown ... Happy now?" Mason replied [So my eye color didn''t change¡­ that''s good¡­ maybe it''s like a disease and is still progressing ¡­ I need to learn more about this¡­ maybe there is a cure] he thought¡­] ¡­ ¡­ In just a day, the names of all sixteen archers were on the lips of everyone in the town, even though they were four times the size of a normal adventurer team, beating a goblin warlord was no trivial matter. Moreover, archers are regarded as support type and these kids were recruits "Derik my son is one of those recruits that led the raid¡­ he is considered as one of the best recruits of the year!!!" John Angus said to anyone who cared to listen. After hearing of the event, many nobles and businessmen were eager to see the performance of these teenagers in the inter-class competition. "Killed more than a hundred goblins and a goblin warlord in just a day¡­ these guys are good" Karl said, his spiky blood red hair made him stand out wherever he went. According to the association, his hair turned blood red due to his strong affinity to Fire magic. According to them, the crystal ball was shrouded in flames the moment Karl placed his hand on it during the magic class test. He dropped the paper on the enormous stone round and glanced at the faces of the people seated in the room. His index finger tapped the stone table as he fell deep into thought. His blood-red eyes returned to the paper on the table in front of him "How can an archer recruit engage a goblin warlord at close quarters and return with no injury¡­ even a bronze level guardian knight will find it difficult to achieve this¡­ I believe the information is rigged¡­" Karl said Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I sincerely doubt that¡­ Bolts were found deep in the knee cap and skull of the goblin warlord¡­ a recruits crossbow has a range of40 meters¡­ also considering the depth of the injuries caused by the bolt is too deep, he must have been close to deal that much damage" a snow white-haired boy said. Hi, eyes never left the report in front of him. The others nodded in agreement "Either way we need to take these guys seriously. Ever since the creation of the adventurers association, the battlemages have always occupied the number one spot in the competition ranking list for three years now¡­ we can''t let these guys break that record ¡­ especially this Derik Angus guy!!!" Karl said with a serious expression "Don''t you think you''re taking these guys too seriously?...I bet we can wipe out that many goblins in minutes¡­" another person in the room said "Yea¡­ His right¡­ I think you''re giving these guys too much credit" another person said. Karl frowned and decided to let these guys gloat. 7 Chapter 7: First transformation Swoosh! Swoosh!! Swoosh!!! Three arrows hit three ''x'' marks on three practice dummies over 200 meters away. Derik grinned, pleased with this result, ever he was ''infected'' his physical capabilities were greatly increased. Just a few weeks ago he found it hard to hit the ''x'' targets on dummies 200 meters away but now hitting dummies 200 meters away was child''s play to him. The others thought his max range was 200 meters what they didn''t know was that his limit was close to 300 meters. How can something so amazing be a curse at the same time, he started doubting things written in the book. He turned around and saw fifteen teenagers and one middle-aged man staring at him in disbelief, Mason and the others refused to believe that this is the same Derik that raided the goblin cave with them. "How did he get so good?" George asked "What happened to him when he was deep in the forest alone?" Dean asked Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Master Stevens remained silent for a while, this kid is as good as bonze level adventures if not better. During combat practice, he exhibited more strength than most bronze level guardian knight adventurers. [Could it be that he has been hiding his true capabilities all along just to fit in?] He thought If Derik entered the inter-class competition, he could easily rank amongst the top 20, even though the boy exhibited extraordinary strength, speed and top tier archery skills he still didn''t believe he would be able to stand against the Battlemages. The mage class is divided into four sub-classes; Battlemages. This class specializes in elemental combat-related spells, most times a battle mage possess an affinity to only one element only on few occasions does one meet a battlemage with dual-element affinities. The second sub-class is the Oracle, this class has no affinity to any elements in particular. They focus on healing spells and defensive spells, even though they possess zero combat capabilities no one looks down on them. They are the backbone of any adventurer team and highly sort after. The third spot belongs to the Enchanters, members of this class are highly sort for in every city. Even a bronze level enchanter is treated like a noble, this is due to their abilities. Blacksmiths can only forge steel weapons but enchanters are responsible for the enchanting of these weapons making them magic tools. Bronze level magic weapons and pieces of equipment can easily sell for up to a hundred gold coins, even a middle-class civilian may not be able to make this amount of money throughout his/her lifetime. And then the final class belongs to the Sorcerers, people from this class are considered as the most dangerous people in a kingdom. Even though they lack access to elemental spells, they have access to nature''s power. This sub-class has other sub-categories under it, mages that study dark magic, ritual magic or even blood magic fall into this class. Stevens believed that it would be a miracle if Derik makes it into the top ten [In the end, physical classes can never compare to magical classes] he thought. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Later on that day Derik requested to be allowed access to area 10, at first the gray-haired man wanted to deny this request but after going through Derik''s report he was stunned. If the boy could improve that much after just one day outside the walls, what will happen if he got more time to practice in area 10. They had less than three months to prepare so why hold restrict this boy''s movement? If he could improve even more there is a chance he could enter the top 10, if this happens no one will look down on the archery class anymore. "What are you guys waiting for?...prepare a carriage for him¡­ no one should interfere with his training¡­ Do you understand!!!" he barked ¡­ Outside the wall, Area 10¡­ 4 pm¡­ "Tonight is a full moon," Derik said, seating at the entrance of the cave that once served as a goblin stronghold. His eyes never left the medium size book in his hand and he occasionally nodded his head as he read, his eyes were heavy and he had a dejected expression on his face. So far everything written in the book has been correct, be it the strength, speed, perception, all of it. "A werewolf will be forced to transform during the night of the full moon¡­ it''s at this time that the werewolves are at their peak¡­ but in exchange, they lose their sanity and become wild animals" Derik read. He thought about his encounter with the Lockwood family head, his eyes were red so it meant the man was an alpha and he also regained his sanity that night "Does that mean that alphas are not affected by the full moon?... No¡­ his eyes were wild but he still remained calm... also he was still human¡­ Could it be that he found a way to restrain himself ?... can this be controlled?" Derik muttered "Yes, it can¡­ but you will need a mentor"a man said as he emerged from the forest. His eyes were bloodshot and his nails looked more like claws, his short black hair on his head stood up. His voice was deep and his white fangs were revealed every time he spoke. This was the same man Derik met a few nights ago, even though his appearance had slightly changed making it a little difficult to recognize him but the mocking smile on his face betrayed him. Derik instinctively retreated a few steps and equipped himself with a crossbow. "Is this what the transformation looks like?" he asked. Scott laughed a little and returned to his normal form, his spiky black hair fell and his fangs and claws retracted, only his red eyes remained the same. "For you¡­ yes... Omegas like you can only gain access to this form during full moons¡­ Betas and alphas can use this any time they wish to¡­ but an alphas true form is much scarier, you won''t find it in books" Scott said indifferently "Another form even worse than that?" Derik said with signs of disbelief in his eyes, what could be worse than what he just saw? "Why can''t I find them in books?" he finally decided to ask "They all die¡­ none has managed to escape" Scott replied with a smile on his face. Derik was stunned, he thought about it for a little while and asked "Is there a cure?" "Do you really want a cure?... Be honest¡­ no one can experience this and want to be normal" Scott said. Derik nodded his head in agreement, to be honest even if a cure was placed right in front of him now, he probably wouldn''t take it. "Not really¡­" Derik replied. Scott laughed out loud, he really appreciated the boy''s honesty and straightforward nature. "I guess I didn''t make a mistake¡­ Become a member of my pack, you will gain the support of the Lockwood family and most importantly.. you will learn control" Scott said. Derik pondered on this for a while, he knew the benefits for accepting Scott''s offer was huge but nothing in this is free right?. He was already aware of the curse that comes with the gift the bite of a werewolf provides. Scott once mentioned that Derik is now a member of ''his'' pack, didn''t that mean there are other wolf packs within the wall?. [There is a possibility that there are other noble families who possess such abilities] he thought According to the book, werewolves hunt as a pack, the more members a pack possesses the stronger it becomes. If he decides to join the Lockwood family not only will he become an enemy to another noble family with this same supernatural ability but he will also be forced to partake in a war he knows nothing of. But in the end, it''s better than living in the shadows and running for the rest of his life from the holy church, military, and the adventurers association. if someone should find out about his supernatural abilities the consequences is something he cannot bear, to be able to live he needs to learn control. Right now Scott is the only one he can rely on. "You say it like I actually have a choice" Derik smiled bitterly as he spoke "You''re smart¡­ All we have to do now is sit and wait for the full moon" Scott said as he sat beside the campfire near the entrance of the cave, he looked at Derik who wore a confused expression and chuckled "What?... how doyou expect to control the beast without becoming the beast?" Derik pondered on what Scott said and found it reasonable, he sat beside the fire and conversed with Scott while he waited. To his greatest surprise, Scott didn''t try to hide any information from him, he admitted that the main reason for turning Derik was to strengthen the Lockwood family. After the death of terry Lockwood his father, the power of the alpha was passed down to him but as the second son in the family, his position as alpha has been questioned and opposed by other members of the family especially the first son. "Soooo¡­ you want me to protect you against the betas of your pack¡­ as an omega?" Derik frowned as he spoke. There is about three-level difference between a beta and an omega, also these betas were pros, they have been in the game for years now, compared to these big bad wolves, he''s only a puppy. "Are you scared?... you don''t have to be¡­you have the backing of an alpha" Scott tried to encourage him "Yea¡­ right" Derik replied with traces of doubt in his eyes "By the way¡­ if you listen to me and follow my teachings¡­ you will become a beta in no time!!!" Scott said with a mischevious smile on his face. He didn''t give Derik a chance to reply, he got on his feet and walked out of the cave. He looked at the full moon and his crimson red eyes burned brighter. He turned his attention at Derik who was silent and smiles "Blue eyes look good on you¡­"Scott said with a crazed expression on his face 8 Chapter 8: Alpha Verses Omega Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! Scott dashed through the forest alone relying on the moonlight as a source of light. His eyes scanned through the area searching for any clue which he could lead him to Derik. His perfect black hair was scattered and his fangs became visible, his crimson red eyes burned bright glowing in the darkness and his clothes were ripped at various points, soaked in his own blood but there were no visible injuries on his body. "Damn it¡­ He looked like he was in control just a moment ago and the next moment he snapped and caught me off guard" Scott frowned as he spoke. His nose twitched from time to time as he tried to pick up Derik''s scent. At this point he was pushing his enhanced abilities to its limits, refusing to transform. The full moon enhances the user''s ability even further but in exchange, they lose their sanity and become wild. At the current situation, Scott knew that he could easily track Derik if he relied on the first level transformation but it is too risking. Should a werewolf transform during the full moon, tendencies of him or her losing control is extremely high even for an alpha. If he decides to transform there is a possibility that he may kill Derik by mistake, this is a risk he is not willing to take. He can only rely on the little enhancements his human form gets as a werewolf "He''s really fast¡­ very skilled¡­ this may be because of the training he receives at the association¡­ his strength as a human before he received the bite was quite high and extraordinary so it''s only natural that he is stronger than the average omega" Scott chuckled as he spoke. Scott arrived at an open area surrounded by trees, the land which was once filled with green grass was now dyed red with the blood of animals and goblins. His nose twitched a little and he smiled, the wet dog odor he perceived definitely belonged to Derik. Even though there were corpses everywhere and the different smell could easily confuse a predator, his own case is slightly different. Werewolves are supernatural beings and can easily detect other werewolves, they had this wet dog odor that was hard to miss. Wooosh!!! Like an arrow released from a bow, Scott dashed at Derik''s location at an insane speed. His eyes darted around as he moved "There you''re!!!" Scott screamed when he spotted Derik staring at his reflection at a nearby stream. Derik''s expression darkened when he saw an intruder appear, he growled at the intruder and his bright blue eyes glowed. Wooosh!!! Before Derik could move, Scott had already appeared right in front of him. Such terrifying speed!!! BAM!!! Derik expression crumbled and he placed both hands on his guts, the aching pain he felt at his midsection made his vision blur for a second. Scott already took the initiative to attack and was not willing to give this young wolf a chance to retaliate. He clenched his fists and delivered a second blow but this one went straight to the face BAM!!! Derik was forced to retreat by a few steps and placed his left hand on his head; right now, he was feeling dizzy and could barely stand. He quickly struck forward instinctively, catching Scott who dashed forward by surprise "Shit!!!" Scott muttered when he realized his mistake. He didn''t expect Derik to react so quickly. "F##k it!!!" Scott growled not slowing down at all. His body collided with Derik''s claw and he gritted his teeth as Scott''s claws dug into his chest. His eyes twitched in pain and his fists slightly shivered BAM!!! The third blow was still aimed at Derik''s face, Scott quickly held on to Derik''s hand to prevent him from escaping, he quickly threw another punch at Derik aiming for his face. In response, Derik tilted his head to the left to evade the attack and broke free from Scott''s grip. Contrary to Scott''s expectation, Derik did not retreat instead he took a step forward and brandished his claws at Scott. In an instant, both sides were locked in a bitter battle BAM!!! Derik was forced to retreat from time to time as his body was riddled with punches. He growled in response and attacked more fiercely. In just seconds since the battle began, Scott''s body was filled with claw marks, it was clear that his regenerative abilities in this human form could not keep up with the injuries he sustained in this battle [If this continues¡­ I will be the first to fall] he thought. He breathed heavily as he stared at Derik who was in a much better condition. If this was any other Omega, this battle would have been over already "This kid¡­" he muttered. Derik retreated and shook his head repeatedly, his bright blue eyes were fixed on Scott. "Let''s go again kid!!!" he screamed as his black hair stood up, claws sprouted out of his fingers and his muscles started bulging. Even though he refused to make use of the first transformation due to fear of taking Derik''s life, he wasn''t willing to lose his own in the process. His red eyes burned bright and he growled at the boy revealing his fangs. Wooosh!!! Covering over ten meters almost in an instant, he brandished his claws at Derik. Scott''s calm nature vanished, instead he looked like a ferocious beast who had been awakened from its slumber. The tide of battle instantly tilted in Scott''s favor as Derik had no chance to retaliate. In terms of speed and strength, the alpha right in front of him was superior. The initial wild nature was replaced with fear and despair as he struggled to stay alive. "Sco... Scott.. stop!!!" Derik said in fear, he could feel the killing intent radiating from Scott, every attack from the man was aimed at vital points especially his throat. Scott bloodshot eyes were fixed on Derik''s throat, he struck forward and growled. Derik immediately thrust his hands forward catching Scott''s hand but to his greatest surprise, he couldn''t stop it [Such a difference in strength?... Is this the strength of an alpha?] Derik thought. The hand reached for his neck and grabbed on to it. Derik tried to resist but soon realized that his body was airborne. BAM! He wanted to speak after his body hit the ground but his body immediately left the ground once more, again and again, his body was pulled off the ground and then smashed on the ground. After the fifth time, Derik felt dizzy, he found it hard to breathe and it felt like his throat was crushed. He stared at the vicious expression on Scott''s face with mixed emotions. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Derik and Scott were seated at the entrance of the cave silently, they both looked miserable and Scott''s clothes were shredded. "Sorry I had to beat you to submission¡­ I held back as much as I could¡­ you were just too weak" Scott sneered "Says the man who is only putting on pieces of his clothes¡­ I obviously dealt a lot of damage ¡­ here take this¡­ you need it more than I do" Derik snapped as he gave Scott his cloak. After a few minutes later, they retraced their steps and gathered all the corpses along the way to a spot, burning it "If someone should see this many corpses¡­ they will suspect something¡­" Scott explained as he set the corpses on fire. ¡­ ¡­ The small passage door made of iron slowly opened, at the other side multiple guards stood by. Previously, only four guards were sent to guard this passage thinking only low-level goblins resided in this area but after the incident where the recruits killed over a hundred goblins and a goblin warlord, the military in this town didn''t dare ignore this area anymore. Right now over fifteen guards stood by and watched two other guards open the iron passage door, traces of fear and anxiety could be seen in their eyes. The new head of the Lockwood family usually asked for access to this area, previously because of the presence of low-level creatures, his noble status, and the young man''s skills and extraordinary strength they always let him through. Just last night Scott asked for access, even though they wanted to reject, but it''s very difficult to refuse the request of a noble. They offered to follow him but the man refused, last night growls and howls belonging to wolves were heard they were scared that Scott would be injured or even killed. After the door opened, two figures emerged "Young master!!!" a guard cried out in elation and ran to meet him. Scott naturally knew this would happen so he already prepared a story. He claimed that he was attacked by a pack of wolves while he enjoyed the moonlight, he fled but these beasts were faster and caught up with him easily. At the last moment when he thought it was over Derik appeared and battled the wolves, successfully driving them away. Right there he declared his intentions to recruit Derik as the Lockwood family knight. "Thank you¡­ thank you soo much master Derik¡­ if something bad happened to Master Scott¡­ I don''t think any of us would have been able to bear the consequences!!!" the leader of the guards said as he bowed repeatedly. "Master Scott is too modest¡­ I wouldn''t have been able to drive those beasts away without his help" Derik replied The news spread at an amazing speed and in less than ten hours, the whole town heard of Derik''s heroic deeds. During this time john walked around with pride and everyone who recognized him took the initiative to greet him. Everyone attempted to befriend the old man, knowing that only through him could they get to Derik. If they could befriend the Lockwood family which was the number one family, their kid''s futures would be set for life. According to the rumors, the relationship between Scott lockwood and Derik angus was close. They didn''t know how Derik was able to befriend such a powerful figure "Well what are you waiting for ?... Send a carriage to bring back our recruit¡­" The gray-haired man screamed after reading the report. His eyes glowed with admiration and respect for the recruits achievement "I guess letting him go outside the wall was not a mistake" he muttered. Even though Lockwood''s support was for Derik alone but the kid was still a member of the archery class. The higher he soared, the more popular the archery class would get. "That kid will lead this class to greater heights!!!" the gray-haired man said ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ¡­ ¡­ In a medium-sized room, ten well-built teenagers sat on stone chairs with a stone round table at the center. A teenager of about sixteen years glanced at the report on the table and sighed. "He only drove away a wolf pack yet these people make it seem like he defeated a dragon barehanded," he said indifferently. "Humph¡­ this guy is nowhere near your level Master Donald¡­ You shouldn''t worry about these flies¡­ None of them are yet to grasp the power of any combat technique¡­ you will easily take the spot of number one during the inter-class competition. Even normal bronze level adventurers cannot compare to you" a black-haired teenager said. It was obvious he was flattering Donald shook his head repeatedly, his eyes fell on the report on the table once again "First this recruit was able to take on a goblin warlord at close quarters¡­ even though it doesn''t seem like much to us guardian knights, but let''s consider his class¡­ this guy is meant to be an archer. The shocking aspect about this is¡­ after the battle with the warlord, he didn''t even have a scratch on him¡­ not many of us are capable of this¡­ this tells you that his physical capabilities are on par with top recruits of this class¡­ Moreover, he can hit targets over two hundred meters effortlessly¡­ only this shows that his archery skills are superb¡­ and finally, the archery class grants him access to area 10¡­ he''s allowed to practice there alone¡­ why would a class invest so much attention and resources into one archer¡­ I fear that this boy may have access to some combat techniques¡­ that''s the only explanation¡­ I don''t think the Lockwood family would pick someone weak as their family knight¡­ The archery class must be hiding his skills from the rest of the world!!!" Donald said while playing with his green hair with his hand The others were astonished by Donald''s thoughts, but this was expected of the guardian knights number one recruit. His strength and intellect were not lacking at all. The others stared who once stared at the report with arrogance and disdain now had traces of fear in their eyes. If Donald''s speculations were true and they class have an encounter with this kid in the competition, they may lose. 9 Chapter 9: Combat techniques His eyes stared at the parchment Stevens gave to him, the things he saw at that moment was extremely shocking and breathtaking. "Combat techniques¡­ this explains why humans can stand against mythical beasts" Realization dawned on Derik. Over the years he has heard of humans battling magical beasts like griffons, gargoyles and even dragons. Each time he heard these stories, he kept asking himself "How is this possible¡­ can a man take on such beasts with just class skills alone?" But after reading everything recorded on the parchment, he finally realized how possible it is Combat Techniques!!! Combat techniques are advance skills that can easily turn the tide of battle and can be seen as a warrior''s secret trump card. Since these techniques are created by the users, it''s extremely difficult to meet two people utilizing the same combat techniques. "The association is willing to teach recruits combat techniques?... if you had this all along, why not teach everyone. That way our performance in the competition will be superb" Derik said. If the archery class has access to a few combat techniques then why not let everyone learn it?. Steven smiled wryly, he didn''t expect this, normally recruits would hide this from the others in hopes of becoming the best and completely overshadowing the others. "Not everyone can master this¡­ Utilization of combat techniques not only tasking but dangerous¡­ performing a technique you''re not ready for is similar to suicide¡­ cases of implosion, crippling after effects and many more are very common¡­ that is why low-level bronze combat techniques are presented to talented recruits during their second year of study" Stevens explained. Derik finally understood why these combat techniques were hidden from the others, he thought about it and stared at the parchment in his hand for a while and decided to ask "This is a low-level bronze archery based combat technique¡­ this also means that other classes possess their class-based combat techniques¡­ so it''s safe to assume that there is someone capable of utilizing it¡­ Right?" Derik asked. Stevens slightly nodded, he could easily understand Derik''s chain of thought. [That means there are other recruits out there with an amazing constitution like mine¡­ if I didn''t get this bite¡­ I probably won''t be able to compare] Derik smiled bitterly when he thought about this. He always felt like the werewolf abilities were a cheat which helped him surpass the other recruits but realizing that they were people at his level without the aid of a ''cheat'' made him feel inferior. His gaze returned to the parchment in his hands and read out loud "Low-level Bronze combat technique; Shot series" ¡­ ¡­ ... Area 15¡­ He slowly opened his eyes and saw a huge stone club descending from above. He bit and forced his aching body to roll to the right. His dark red robe was smeared with mud and his blood-red spiky hair was also covered in mud. He cursed the rain as he struggled to get on his feet and he stared at the five other battle mage recruits taking on two ogres and four others lying on the ground injured.He felt a sharp pain in his right hand and knew it was probably broken "Damn it¡­ ogres are meant to be level five creatures.. why are they so strong?" Karl said as he stared at the huge sandy brown-skinned humanoid figure which walked towards him, dragging a gigantic stone club as it moved. There were numerous wounds on its body but it didn''t show any sign of fatigue, that''s what made these beasts terrifying!!!. "Karl!!!" a white-haired teenager in black and blue robe screamed "Gray¡­ Focus on taking down the last one with the rest of the team¡­ I will handle this one" Karl quickly replied. Gray bit his lips in anger, even though he was an ice mage and was meant to be an advantage under the current weather conditions, he still couldn''t bring down this beast easily. The water mage in the team was quickly knocked out when these ogres ambushed them. Karl is a fire mage and can''t exert up to seventy percent of his capabilities in such a condition. "Why did we wander so deep into this area?"He muttered in regret. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Mother Earth, goddess of fertility and famine¡­ Shackle thy foes and devour them whole¡­ eternal torment shall be thy punishment¡­ Splitting Earth!!! " A battle mage recruit in a green robe screamed, almost in an instant, the ground beneath and around the ogre over 10 meters wide slightly trembled, vines erupted from beneath and lashed on to the ogre while the ground beneath slowly opened. The ogre screamed and struggled slowly breaking free from the vines, its bloodshot eyes were fixed on the caster and it slowly approached. The teenager slammed her hands on the ground and screamed, her eyes were bloodshot and blood rolled down her nostrils, her body shivered and her voice was weak. It was obvious that the battle mage had already reached her limit. More vines with thorns flew out of the hole, lashing at the ogre. The ogre screamed in pain and fell on its knee, for a moment it looked miserable¡­ "Arrrgh!!!" the ogre roared and swung its giant club at the green-robed battle mage. The girl could only stare at the incoming club with a dejected expression on her face, if she wasn''t out of mana, she would have been able to survive this. "Help him¡­. Ice wall" Gray screamed "Earth wall¡­" "Wind barrier..." The other four desperately tried to save their comrade BOOOM!!! All the walls shattered under the immense physical power of the ogre and the green-robed battle mage was sent flying by the attack. The moment her body hit the ground, the angel of death took her away. ¡­ ¡­ A series of fist-sized fireballs flew out of Karl''s left palm and aimed at the incoming ogre. Ignoring the little balls of fire, the ogre rushed forward and swung its club at Karl. His eyes widened in shock, he never expected the monster to be so decisive in its actions. He bit his lips and threw his left hand at the incoming stone club "Don''t you dare look down on me!!! Flame orb!!!!" he screamed¡­ instantly a huge ball of fire emerged on his palm, blood slid down his nostrils as he poured in more mana into the ball of fire and its size doubled in an instant. BOOM!!! When both attacks collided, both sides were forced to retreat, the ogre had a shocked expression on its face at it stared at the boy in disbelief. "God of destruction¡­ lord of fire¡­ drown thy enemies in your anger and consume thy foes with thy flames¡­ it''s over!!!¡­ Flamethrower!!!" Karl screamed. He tried to move his left hand but it refused to respond, it still shivered from the previous attack. "F##k it¡­" Karl screamed, from his lips torrents of fire emerged completely consuming the ogre. The three remaining mages battling the other ogre were shocked by the amount of power Karl was able to muster even though he was not in his element. Well this was expected from the number one recruit of the battlemages Karl frowned, even though the ogre was in pains it still approached Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [what kind of durability does this beast possess] he thought A burning palm emerged from the flames and grabbed Karl by the face, covering his lips with its enormous arms trying to crush the boys head "Karl!!!!" Gray screamed [How dare you¡­ know your place¡­. BEAST!!!] Karl thought. Even though he felt like his head was going to implode and a little bit drowsy, he still refused to let his life be taken away by a low-level monster. Blood flowed through his ears and eyes, he slightly shivered due to lack of air. He knew the ogre couldn''t exert its true strength due to the numerous injuries His forced his injured left hand forward and placed it on the ogre''s chest [Incenarate!!!] The ogre suddenly burst into flames and let go of the boy, it screamed in pain and let go of its giant club. "Bronze combat technique: Double Cast!!!" Karl muttered as two medium-size orange magic arrays formed on both hands. "Yee who dares go against the lord of fire, the god of destruction¡­ only death and great torment await thee¡­ With the authority of my lord, I sentence thee to death!!!... Fire Shackles!!!¡­ Judgment Axe!!!" he screamed. In an instant red chain made of fire appeared around the ogre, robbing it of its freedom, following which an invisible force pushed it to its knees and then a ten-meter long fire axe appeared behind it. The axe shivered and from it, screams of agony emanated, it gave off this chilling energy that made even the ogre shiver in fear. "Begone" Karl muttered as he staggered¡­ Woosh!!! The head of the ogre landed at Karl''s feet. He stared at it silently before staggering a little and then hit the ground. He watched the other three battle mages battle the second ogre for a while before losing consciousness. ¡­ ¡­ Karl felt cold and shivered slightly, he wanted to move but felt two solid walls at both sides restrict his movements. He yanked his eyelids open and saw about a young light-skinned lady with an angelic smile on her face, his body was surrounded by a golden barrier that contained some golden runes on it. The lady was dressed in a simple yet expensive white gown, her hair was covered with a white scarf and around her neck was a chaplet. He could easily tell that this lady was a member of the holy church "M¡­ My friends?" Karl asked. The lady saw the worry in his eyes and smiled "Three escaped with minor injuries¡­ six including yourself sustained heavy injuries and the last was already dead¡­ I''m sorry¡­ we couldn''t save her" the lady said. "It''s my fault¡­" he muttered¡­ 10 Chapter 10: Lockwood Family Derik alighted from the carriage and stared at the castle gate from the outside, he turned back and stared at the coachman who rode the carriage and frowned. [This coachman is human¡­ a human working for wolves¡­ he is either ignorant or really brave¡­] he thought. The butler soon appeared and made his way to the fifteen-meter tall gate, he wore a smile and slightly bowed before opening the gate. Wooosh!!! Like a tidal wave, the odor of wet dogs floored the area all at once, Derik retreated by a few steps instinctively. He could tell that the locked gate also served as a barrier to hide the unique auras of these wolves. Ever since the gate was opened he could pinpoint multiple aura''s at different points in the castle staring at him "Do they have a sorcerer working for them?" Derik asked. He glanced at the figures once more before walking past the gate. Ever since he was made the knight of the Lockwood family, he had never gotten the chance to meet the other members of the family until today. ¡­ ¡­ Derik walked through the hall of the Lockwood castle, his nose occasionally twitched as he moved [They are all gathering at a place¡­] he thought. He quietly followed the butler to the third floor of the mansion. "They are waiting¡­Master Derik" the gray-haired butler said, slightly bowing while pointing at the huge door with the Lockwood banner on it. Derik nodded in response and walked to the door, his hands trembled as he placed his hands on the door, taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and walked in. The room was probably as large as that of the gray-haired man in charge of the archery class, he glanced at the faces of all five people in the room. He felt tense for a moment but when his eyes came in contact with that of Scott, he relaxed a bit. Without uttering a single word, he walked towards Scott and stood behind the animal skin chair Scott was seated on which was located at the other end of the room. "What nonsense is this?... this child lacks respect," a middle-aged man said, his eyes turned yellow as he spoke. "My allegiance belongs to Master Scott¡­ no one else matters" Derik replied indifferently, he stared at the man in the eyes. Everyone in the room was stunned by this, they were sure this boy was aware of the difference in strength between a Beta and Omega yet he still acted this way. A young lady with flowing black hair seated beside the middle-aged man smiled, even though she was wearing an expensive silk baggy gown, her alluring body shape could not be hidden. "At least, he has guts," she said. "Alright¡­Alright¡­ can we get started?" Scott asked, he pulled out papers wrapped in animal skin cloth and stared at the first one. A smile appeared on his face and he turned around to meet Derik''s gaze. "The flame demon of the battle class, Karl got injured in area 15¡­ Utilizing a combat technique on a weakened body¡­ he will need about two months to recover¡­By the time he returns¡­ you should have surpassed him¡­ you have a shot at winning this year''s competition¡­ don''t you think?"Scott smiled as he spoke. Derik was stunned by the news and thought of it for a while, his eyes met that of the other members of the family and sighed "How did he take so much damage¡­ whats responsible for his injuries" Derik asked.Scott frowned slightly, he expected Derik to show some excitement. "His team was ambushed by two ogres¡­" Scott answered honestly as he handed the paper over to Derik "Ten battle mages¡­ fought against two levels five creatures¡­ Amazing" Derik muttered as he read the report. He thought that their goblin warlord feat was amazing but compared to this, its child''s play. "Normally¡­ this is the chance for the class to showcase the strength of its recruits but since they lost a recruit in the battle, they decided to keep the news to themselves to avoid criticism" Scott explained. He then turned his gaze to his siblings and smiled "There are four major reasons why we''re having this family meeting¡­ firs¡­" "Yet you invited a disrespectful outsider¡­ ever since you became the alpha you have refused to give me the respect I deserve!!!... I''m still the eldest son of Terry Lockwood¡­ don''t you dare forget that" the middle-aged man interrupted. His eyes were filled with murderous intent as he stared at Derik and Scott who stared at him indifferently, apparently, they weren''t taking him seriously. "And yet¡­ I''m the alpha and you''re just a beta" Scott said calmly "if you have a problem with that, you have the right to challenge me for the title¡­ but if you resort to dirty tricks¡­ I will see you as an enemy¡­ What do we do to our foes Derik?" "We remove them... completely" Derik answered indifferently, his cold gaze never left the middle-aged man. "You little¡­!!!" the middle-aged man cursed. Ever since terry Lockwood passed away and Scott became the alpha, he knew he couldn''t beat his little brother if they should clash head-on, even before Scott became the alpha he was not a match for him. To cover up for his lack of strength, he planned to use the other members of the family by instigating them against Scott, always pointing out Scott''s flaws and using his status as the first son of terry Lockwood. He never expected Scott to be so daring and bold as to threaten him in front of their siblings. "You dare threaten me!!!" He growled "Master Scott does not threaten people¡­ That''s what kids do" Derik shook his head in disapproval as he replied "Derik''s right¡­ this isn''t a threat¡­ it''s a promise" Scott said in a stern voice. The middle-aged man went pale when he heard their reply. He almost spat out blood in anger. The other members of the family were stunned, just a few weeks ago, Scott had avoided conflict with their eldest brother but now he dished out threats. Their gazes landed on Derik who remained motionless, wasn''t this kid meant to be an omega? Why did Scott have so much confidence in this young family knight? Barry Lockwood gritted his teeth in anger and the yellow flames in his eyes burned fiercely, claws sprouted on his fingers and his hair slowly stood up. His murderous gaze fell on Derik who remained motionless and he grinned revealing his fangs. Even though they were not allowed to attack family members, this young knight was an exception. Wooosh!!!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Barry threw himself at Derik, covering the ten meters gap between them almost in an instant. BANG!!! Barry was felt an intense pain in his guts as he spat out blood and his body was pushed back by an incredible force. His body hit the ground and he screamed in pain, with an expression of shock and disbelief on his face. Scott stared at Barry silently, he was pleased with the outcome today, even though he was aware of Deriks unique reaction speed, he didn''t expect him to suppress the man effortlessly. His gaze fell on the crossbow in Derik''s hand and he felt a chill in his spine when he remembered the pain he felt when he fell victim to Deriks crossbow attack. At this point, he felt sympathy for Barry "I know how you feel brother," Scott said, he turned his gaze to other members of the family and could easily tell that these people bore ill intentions for Derik. "My knight is off-limits from now on¡­ no one shall lay a finger on him¡­ this is not an order as the head of the Lockwood family but as the alpha of this pack" Scott''s red eyes burned bright as he spoke, there was an unseen power that could be felt from him as he spoke which made others shudder in fear. "I guess two out of the four topics have been settled¡­" Scott said as he watched Barry struggle to get on his feet. "The third is related to the Salvor Family¡­ the ancient and noble family moved into Briton town two years ago¡­ in less than a year they rose in status. Everyone sent to gather information on them vanishes¡­ Stalking them is nearly impossible¡­ they barely appear in public and constantly receive ''visitors'' and ''well-wishers''¡­ I believe members of this family are filthy bloodsuckers" Scott said indifferently as he glanced at the report in his hands, he then tossed the reports at barry who just pulled out the bolt from his guts. "Briton Town has been the territory of the Lockwood''s for many decades now¡­ but for some reason best known to Father, he refused to let us vanquish these monsters¡­ now he''s gone, I believe its time for us to make our move¡­ this is the main reason we werewolves were created¡­what do you think brother?" Scott asked. Barry held on to the reports with his bloodied hands and frowned slightly. "Exterminate," he said "But father must have avoided conflict with these people for a reason¡­ we must know their age, strength, and backing¡­ I don''t like fighting blind" Barry added. Derik was stunned by what he heard, all these while he thought that the giant wall was built to prevent monsters outside from getting in, but all these while they were been ruled by beasts, how many noble families are human? "This¡­" he whispered. Naturally, everyone in the room heard him but chose to ignore it. It was natural for the boy to act this way, by the way, he just joined the world of the supernatural. 11 Chapter 11: Resolve Derik reached for a bow in the quiver hung on his back and aimed for the target dummy that was about two hundred meters away, his body shook and he felt sharp pains on his joints. The bronze level combat technique; shot-series allowed the user to overwhelm his or her foe with barrages of arrow shots. Greatly increasing the attack speed of the user but at a price, the body is naturally not meant to move at such speed so using such techniques injures the upper half of the body greatly and also consumes a lot of concentration and stamina. Even with his high-speed regeneration ability, he could barely practice for four hours a day. But after meeting the Lockwood family, the way he viewed the world had changed. He could recall several events that had taken place in the past, were civilians were publicly executed by noble families. Back then, he felt that it was just humans been cruel to other humans, but after the meeting with the Lockwood family a day ago, the perspective in which he viewed things changed. "Monsters killing humans¡­ monsters ruling over humans" he bit his lips in anger as he shot the arrow. The shoulder section of his white textile cloth was already stained red with his blood. Even the servant who was in charge of picking up the shot arrows trembled in fear and instinctively kept her distance. "I need to get stronger¡­ Someone has to protect humans from these creatures" He muttered. Even though he wasn''t human anymore, he still had people he cared for. ¡­ ¡­ In a blink of an eye, three months had already gone by, within those three months, Derik dedicated his time to mastering the bronze combat technique; shot series. Even after dedicating over a month to the training he couldn''t master it completely. Due to the backlash of the combat technique, Derik sustained a deep injury on his shoulders, greatly limiting his abilities to make use of his hands properly, even with the healing factor provided by his werewolf ability, the injury still needed time to heal. Fearing that Derik may not be able to compete at the inter-class competition, Derik was banned from training for a month and was asked to use the time to recover, even the scroll containing the instructions needed to learn the bronze level combat technique was taken away from him. During this time, Derik occasionally visited the Lockwood family, taking advantage of his position as the Lockwood family knight, he gained access to the Lockwood family library, located on the fourth floor of the castle, where he researched on supernatural and the, he occasionally practiced with Scott from time to time, especially on full moons to help improve his control ¡­ ¡­ Area zero is the largest and most dangerous area owned by the kingdom. The area itself is surrounded by over three hundred meters tall walls to prevent the beasts from escaping.There are rumors that there are even level ten beasts residing in that area. Derik put on his black leather gloves silently, his quiver was already strapped to his back. He glanced at the other members of his class who stared at him with worried expressions on their faces and smiled, he slightly bowed and grabbed his bow before entering the carriage with the archery class banner. He stared at the streets silently as the carriage moved and tried to recall all he learned within the three months. According to the information provided to him by the archery class concerning the inter-class competition, the competition could last as long as a month if needed, the rules were quite simple, each class representative has a medal with the class symbol branded on it. The goal of the competition is to acquire the medal from other representatives of each class, the representative that returns to the wall with the most number of medals takes the first position, while the others without medals are judged purely based on performance. The carriage stopped at the residential district, in front of Derik''s family house. There John Angus and little Linda stood, waiting for Derik, the worried expression on john''s face made him look older, in fact, it looked like the man had aged by a decade even though only six months had gone by since Derik left. He always felt proud whenever he heard Derik''s accomplishments but he never expected it to end this way. John was no stranger to the inter-class competition, there are always casualties, most times the physical classes are the unlucky ones. If Derik was a recruit in the magical class, he may not need to worry much. Derik alighted from the carriage and walked towards john with mixed emotions on his face. Compared to what the Lockwood planned to do with him, this inter-class competition is a child''s play. When he met the Lockwood family for the first time, they had four major reasons for having a family meeting that day. The first reason was to introduce Derik to the rest of the family as the newest member of the pack, the second reason was to put an end to Barry Lockwood''s schemes, the third was to expose the salvor family secret hidden from them by their father and the fourth topic discussed that day contained the plans to exterminate the family. Unfortunately, Derik is to play a huge role in that plan, so even if he survives the inter-class competitions, there is a high chance that he will die just a few months after. Based on the supernatural books he had read over the last few months, vampires are formidable opponents who possess great speed, strength, and perception. The most annoying part about taking on a vampire is the fact that they can only be killed through specific means, these supernatural beings are rated level 10-15 in terms of strength and age, the older a vampire is the stronger it becomes and in some cases, vampires as strong as level 20 monsters have been spotted. If he had his way he would reject this plan upfront but he lacked the strength to go against the Lockwood family. Originally he thought of seeking refuge in the holy church but he was not even human, right now the only person he can rely on is himself. "You don''t have to worry about me¡­ I''m really strong now¡­ I may even win" Derik tried to console his dad he wore a dejected expression on his face. John only nodded in response but couldn''t hide the traces of worry and doubt in his eyes. Derik hugged his father and stared at Linda who remained silent throughout the conversation and the left. He entered the carriage once again which took him to the giant wall gate. Derik alighted from the carriage and was received by a few knights of light from the holy church and a sorcerer, these knights led him to the fifth passage to the area zero. At the passage, the sorcerer chanted a few incarnations and a swarm of insects formed, these insects had colorful bodies and glowing eyes. These insects were used to monitor activities in the forest. Derik''s nose twitched slightly due to the odor that emanated from the bodies of these insects, at a point he felt nauseated. The sorcerer noticed this and felt confused, he stared at Derik suspiciously for a while but chose to ignore. Sorcerers adorned in purple hooded robes were stationed at strategic points in the town and above them were gigantic balls of water levitating in mid-air. They began chanting their incantations and beneath their feet, three-fold purple colored magic arrays around the floating water orbs. At first, blurred images appeared on the orbs of water but after a few seconds, the images became clear. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Welcome to the Fourth annual inter-class competitions main event¡­" A mysterious figure levitating in mid-air spoke, his voice was like thunder which instantly struck fear in the hearts of everyone who heard it. His face was covered with a robe and a talisman was wrapped around his right hand. This was sorcerer was regarded as Briton''s most powerful mage, a high-level silver-rated sorcerer. His mastery of the power of nature is unmatched in Briton and every other sorcerer who based on the study of nature''s power sort him out for tutorship. "For the first time, all classes in the adventurers association have produced a representative to take part in inter-class competition''s main event¡­ even the oracle and enhancer classes, the non-combat classes have produced representatives¡­ I don''t know about you¡­ but I''m eager to see what these kids are capable of ¡­" the mysterious man said. His image on the giant orb of water soon faded and the orb split into seven orbs, on each orb a representative was shown standing at his or her respective passageway waiting for the iron door to be opened. The people cheered as they saw this, in just a few minutes betting polls were created and people bet on contestants who they felt would win the competition. In just a few minutes the streets of Briton was crowded with citizens who stared at the floating water orbs "From the Battle-mage class, the flame beast Karl and from the Oracle class, the battle demon Cyrus." "From the Enchantment class, god''s touch Gin and from the Sorcerer class, the blood mage Kira." "From the Archery class, the son of the wind Derik and the guardian knights class, the number one rookie Donald" "And finally from the Assassin class, the death god Daemon" the mysterious sorcerer took his time to introduce each representative of the various classes. After the announcements, the knights of lights opened the iron doors and each participant walked into through it. Derik watched a knight of light push the iron door open and was inwardly shocked, it usually took three to four normal guards to push the gate open but a single knight of light was able to accomplish this easily. "Proceed," the knight said indifferently. Derik nodded and dashed forward¡­ [This is just the first step forward!!!!] 12 Chapter 12: Inter-class Competition Derik dashed through the forests of area zero with traces of fear in his eyes, he heard the rumbling sound get closer from behind and knew the monster was getting closer; he tried to control his breathing as he ran and cursed silently [Why am I so unlucky?] BAM!!! A huge stone club about 3 meters long hit Derik''s previous position but he was already gone. Hanging on to a tree branch, Derik''s eyes were fixed on the level 5 ogre which screamed and recklessly dashed towards him. He sneered and let go of the branch, using his feet to push himself even higher BAM!!! The stone club landed on the tree, knocking more than half of the tree away. Derik gasped when he saw this, this monster is only a level 5 monster, and so why is it this strong? Does that mean higher level monsters are way more terrifying? Initially tried to hide his physical capabilities not to arouse suspicion but when faced with death, why should he hide it? The moment his feet made contact with the ground he launched himself at the ogre covering over five meters in an instant. Gasps¡­ A series of gasps were heard all over the streets of Briton, at first they felt pity for the young archer for encountering a high-level monster at the beginning of the competition and praised him for his mobility and flexibility. Now they finally realized why he was nicknamed ''son of wind''. But seeing someone who desperately tried to escape a few moments ago suddenly charge at the monster is shocking, not only is the monster a level 5 being, generally known for its enormous strength but Derik is also an archer who specializes at ranged combat, but seeing the boy cover so much distance in just a few seconds, the viewers were completely shocked. They heard stories of the ''son of wind'' taking on a goblin warlord at close quarters and thought it was just mere luck but after witnessing this, they finally realized that the boy had been holding back all this while. His physical capabilities are on par with most melee classes if not greater!!! Even John and Linda were left speechless when they saw this, everyone finally realized why Scott Lockwood chose this kid as the Lockwood family knight ¡­ ¡­ The ogre was taken by surprise by the sudden increase in the speed of the human; it took a step back and swung its stone club at Derik. Derik was caught off guard by this, he never expected the ogre to possess such superb reaction speed, and he was already too close to escape this attack. He gritted his teeth as he welcomed the enormous stone club with both hands BOOOM!!! He gritted his teeth in pain and his hands felt numb, there were traces of shock on his face as he was forced to retreat by a few steps, omegas are rated level 9, yet a level 5 could surpass him in strength, at the moment he felt like the ratings were not accurate but after thinking about it for a while, he realized that the omegas possessed high-speed regenerative abilities and enhanced perception which the ogre lacked, also the true strength of a werewolf only comes during the full moon. At this moment, without the aid of the full moon or the access to the first transformation, he is below the level 9 rating. The ogre was also shocked by the outcome of the clash, how can such weak and feeble creatures humans be on par with it in terms of strength. The ogre roared and swung its stone club horizontally at Derik again. Derik eyes slightly glowed blue and he roared in response Wooosh!!! Derik had already left his previous position before the stone club could reach him. The ogre and the viewers were stupefied by the scene, Derik jumped as high as ten meters to evade the attack. "Don''t you dare look down on me!!!" Derik screamed as descended with a clenched fist! BAM!!! Crack!!! When Derik''s punch hit, a loud bone-shattering sound was heard but no one could locate the source because both Derik and the ogre screamed in pain. The ogre retreated by a few steps and let go of its stone club, using its enormous hand to caress its head as it shook it repeatedly. Derik seeing this dashed forward ignoring his aching right hand, equipping himself with his crossbow with his left hand. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "It''s over!!!" He screamed as he dashed forward. Traces of fear could be seen on the ogre''s face when it saw the human approach, at this point if felt like prey instead of a predator, the ogre roared and punched forward with its right hand but Derik was already prepared for this. He slightly moved to the left to evade the attack and then leaped forward. The ogre roared in response and swung its massive fist at the airborne foe with its left hand. BANG!!! Derik''s body was sent flying like a rocket, crashing into a tree after flying for over five meters. He screamed in pain as his body hit the tree, and vision blurred for a second, his thoughts were scrambled, it felt like a thick fog filled his head, he was utterly confused. The ogre screamed as well and fell on its butt as it tried to pull out the little bolt that penetrated its left eye with its enormous hands, but due to the size of its hands, each time it tries to pull out the bolt, it pushed it deeper unknowingly. The viewers gasped and cursed the ogre; they felt pity for the young archer who struggled to get on his feet. Even if the archer managed to defeat this beast, he wouldn''t be able to go against other participants or monsters later on, due to the injuries he has sustained. In their opinion, Derik was just unlucky. Derik staggered as he sluggishly approached the ogre; he unsheathed his dagger and carefully advanced. His body hurt badly and he couldn''t afford to take another direct hit. "Damn it¡­" he muttered when the ogre spotted him and slowly got on its feet, he silently cursed this beast for possessing insane durability. He finally realized what the battle mage classes had to go through just to take down two of these things. Traces of fear and anger could be seen on the face of the ogre as it remained rooted on the spot, not retreating or advancing. Its eyes spotted it''s stone club lying on the floor and its gaze quickly shifted to Derik, it could tell that Derik was aware of its intentions. Wooosh!!! Derik and ogre quickly dashed towards the stone club but unfortunately for the ogre, it was greatly lacking in speed when compared to Derik. Reaching the stone club, Derik turned his back on the approaching ogre grabbed the handle and screamed, his muscles began bulging and his eyes turned blue. The ogre kept approaching; refusing to believe that this human would be able to lift the stone club Wooosh!!! Derik blue eyes burned brighter as he made a 180 degrees turn with the stone club in his hands when the ogre got close enough. BOOOM!!! The stone club hit the ogre''s waist and sent it flying a few meters away, sounds of shattering bones could be heard. The ogre screamed in agony and struggled desperately to get on its feet but its legs refused to respond. It quickly turned its attention to Derik who slowly approached dragging the three-meter long stone club with him. The fear in its eyes was visible and the viewers screamed in elation as they watched Too Strong!!! So Domineering!!! This boy''s physique surpassed that of average bronze-level melee adventurers. Even the mysterious mage who had a talisman tied to his right hand was stupefied by this How is this boy an archer? He has seen young people blessed with incredible strength but all of them belonged to guardian knight class. "So this is the archery class''s ace?" the mysterious sorcerer muttered. Scott and the rest of the Lockwood family all had smiles on their faces, not only did Derik prove his worth and capabilities to the Lockwood family but he also announced himself to the town!!!.John Angus finally understood what Derik meant when he claimed he had become strong, even Linda refused to believe that the brown-haired recruit shown on the orb of water was his brother. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Worthless beast" Derik muttered as he smashed the ogres head with the stone club. He then picked up his dagger and sat on the belly of the dead ogre. His eyes were fixed on a particular location in the forest "Don''t you think it''s time for you to make a move¡­ if I''m given time to recover, you will never be able to defeat me" Derik said, the murderous intent in his tone could not be hidden. At first, everyone thought the archer had gone crazy but just a few seconds later a figure emerged from the shadow of a tree about 7 meters away from Derik. "I didn''t expect a recruit would be able to see through my stealth technique" a feminine voice could be heard Her pitch-black long flowing hair fluttered in the wind as she emerged from the shadow, her slender body was completely covered with black bandages including her nose and mouth, only her eyes visible. Derik was slightly startled, he had heard of the death god of the assassin class, Daemon. He expected this person to be a guy, but this¡­ he stared at the girl utterly confused, not only did the gender disappoint him but her choice of clothing was also poor "What are you wearing" Derik mustered the courage to ask. He couldn''t understand why this girl would dress like this. Daemon frowned in response and placed her hands on the bare ground, suddenly her shadow expanded forming a circle around her. From the shadow, two strange-looking daggers emerged. Seeing this Derik frowned slightly but refused to move, currently, he could feel his injuries heal. Yes, she can pull out her tools from her shadow¡­ so what?He can grow claws and fangs. He stared at the girl indifferently and slowly pulled out his class medal which he hung around his neck and placed it on the ground right in front of him "You want this? Am I correct¡­ even in my current condition, I doubt you will be able to take this medal away from me" he said "Such confidence¡­ Because you''re able to take down a level 5 monster alone does not mean you''re invincible to are to recruits¡­ there others in this forest capable of this¡­ you are not immortal, you can still be killed" She replied "Invincible? Immortal? ... Don''t be a stupid girl¡­ no one is truly immortal... I''m just confident in my abilities¡­" Derik replied indifferently "So am I¡­ let''s see who walks out of here with two medals!!!" Daemon screamed and dashed towards Derik. 13 Chapter 13: Magic Weapons Derik got on his feet and waited for Daemon to arrive, his body slightly shivered and even now, he still felt a little dizzy. Daemon smiled as she approached, as an assassin, she was trained to always take her foes unawares and avoid confrontation as much as possible but in situations where confrontation becomes unavoidable, assassins could still bring down melee foes with their superior agility and speed. Initially, when she spotted Derik wandering around alone, she planned to ambush him, fortunately for her, the ogre appeared. After watching Derik and the ogre battle, she realized that if she had attacked Derik at that time, there is a very high chance that she would have lost her medal and sustained numerous injuries. But now, the archer in front of her was seriously injured. Even if his physique is better than her, he is nowhere near his peak condition. "Die" she screamed as she struck forward. Derik who was already prepared for this was completely shocked, initially, he thought that Daemons daggers only looked strange but now he was a hundred percent sure that this weapon was not normal in any way. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Magic weapons!!! Magic weapons in Briton are extremely rare, even low-level bronze magic weapons can easily sell for over a hundred gold coins. This is probably because of the lack of capable enchanters and the low success rate during weapon enchantments. In most cases, only silver class enchanters are capable of creating bronze level magic weapons. For a recruit in the assassin class to possess a magic weapon was inconceivable. Magic weapons can easily make an average villager a formidable foe for the military. "Crap" he screamed as he sidestepped to the right, not daring to take the attack head-on. His eyes remained fixed on the pair of pitch-black daggers which had some strange gray runes on it. The daggers shook violently and grey mist-like energy emitted from it, completely shrouding the weapon in grey energy. Derik immediately retreated, distancing himself from the assassin and the magic weapons in her hands. Scott''s expression instantly crumbled when he saw this, he stared at the sorcerer that maintained the water orb in the Lockwood family castle and felt like the man was playing dirty tricks on him. even the Lockwood family, the ruling noble family in Briton town had only a few pieces of bronze level magic weapons and this was regarded as a family treasure which was kept secret from the rest of the world, even if another noble family had access to such tools, it will be dumb to expose such priceless tools to the world. "Find out that recruits identity¡­ I need to know which family she hails from¡­ quickly" he said to his butler. His gaze returned to the orb of water, traces of concern could be seen on his face as he stared at Derik "You can do this kid¡­ I know you can" Scott muttered. The other members of the family only frowned slightly, they were also aware of the dangers and risked involved in taking on someone who wields a magic weapon. Derik''s expression darkened as he helplessly watched daemon pick up his the archery medal he placed on the ground a few seconds ago, if he knew the assassin possessed a bronze level magic weapon he wouldn''t have done that, he probably wouldn''t have agreed to fight her in the first place. He would have sworn that the girl wore a sinister smile on his face as she picked up his medal. He cursed the girl silently and bit his lips in anger, his eyes remained fixed on daemon who was slowly retreating. If he let this girl go with his medal, his chances of coming out of this competition with a reasonable position on the ranking list will greatly decrease. "F##k it!!!" he growled and dashed forward. Daemon was inwardly shocked by this, she never expected Derik to make such a decisive move. His previous reaction to her attack and reluctance to attack while she picked the medal showed that he was aware of the dangers of battling someone who wields a magic weapon. Yet, he just decides to pounce at her when she was about to leave peacefully? Any other class representative would take the opportunity to severely injure him in a bid to avoid unforeseen future problems in the competition. [is he tired of living?] she thought. "You''re courting death!!!" Daemon growled. Her grip on the twin daggers tightened and the blades trembled greatly as it was shrouded by grey aura. Woooosh!!!! An arc of grey energy escaped the blades of the dagger as she swung the blade horizontally, this grey energy effortlessly knocked down trees as it moved. Derik sneered the as he dashed forward not slowing down in the slightest, he quickly jumped, easily escaping the range of the attack while crossing the remaining distance which separated him and daemon. His hands coiled up to a fist as he descended, with a vicious expression on his face. "How?" Daemon muttered, utterly confused by what happened. During Derik''s fight with the ogre a few minutes ago, he was able to leap up to ten meters high, back then she felt like her eyes were playing tricks on her but now she was sure that she wasn''t seeing things. This archer possessed superhuman strength which is rarely found even amongst guardian knights. She quickly retreated to evade Derik''s attack, her hands shivered and she struggled to hold on to the magic weapons in her hands. Magic weapons may be powerful but also had a drawback, not only does it drain the user''s mana but also weakens the wielder. To be able to draw out the full capabilities of a magic weapon, one requires a superb constitution and an enormous mana pool. Currently, daemon lacked both and could barely perform more than three large scale attacks with her magic weapons. "Damn it!!!" she muttered as she mentally prepared herself for Derik''s next attack, knowing fully-well that trying to escape someone who possessed greater speed and strength is useless. At this point she regretted using the magic weapons, if she fought against the injured archer relying purely on her skills, she may have won. Derik''s fist smashed into the ground, he quickly pulled it out and prepared to attack once again but was shocked by what he saw. Daemon who looked domineering and aggressive just a few moments ago now looked fragile and pale. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and the black bandages tied all over her body was already soaked with her sweat. He was so scared of the magic weapons in her hands that he forgot the drawbacks of all magic weapons. Her eyes looked heavy and her occasional staggering was enough to tell him that this assassin was near her limit. Derik gazed at her with a sinister smile on his face, not daring to let this golden opportunity slip by he brandished his daggers at the assassin, hovering aroundDaemon, Derik danced around the assassin like the cold wind in a cold night as he attacked, not giving her a chance to recover. His watchful eyes never left her magic weapons as he continuously assaulted her, waiting for the moment she would perform her final magic attack. [Isnt he meant to be severely injured? How can he move so fast? Is he even human?] Daemon silently asked herself as she struggled to defend against Derik''s assault. If she didn''t witness Derik''s battle with the ogre, she won''t believe he was injured by the beast considering the way he moved. It seemed as if he never fought in the first place. Derik saw traces of disbelief on the face of the assassin and grinned, he could easily understand her chain of thoughts. The viewers and even the mysterious sorcerer were stunned by Derik''s performance, normally archers only engaged their foes in close combat only as a last resort, and even when this happened, their melee combat standards are usually inferior to that of pure melee classes like guardian knights and assassins. But Derik''s performance completely shattered those beliefs and left the viewers speechless, even master steven''s refused to believe that Derik learned all these from the archery class daily training routines. To get this good, one needed a great mentor and the only person he could think of was Scott Lockwood! In less than ten seconds since both sides were locked in one-sided close combat, daemon had sustained numerous shallow cut wounds. She knew that if this continued, she would lose even before getting the chance to counter-attack. "Don''t you dare expect me to go down so easily!!!" she roared as she struck forward ignoring Derik''s attack. Derik dagger dug deep into her shoulder, her eyelids twitched due to pain and she screamed as poured in even the last drop of her manner into her final attack. "Wh¡­ wha¡­ what!!!" Derik stammered as when he realized what the assassin was trying to do, she sacrificed her body just to get a clear shot. This was not something he expected, he never thought that this recruit would be bold enough to use such a suicidal tactic. Traces of fear and respect could be seen in his eyes as he helplessly watched the assassin counter-attack. Boooooom!!!! Grey energy suddenly flashed and Derik''s body flew like a comet, smashing through everything in his path. ¡­ ¡­ Area zero trembled violently due to Daemons final attack, Karl stood firm and stared at the area from which the grey light emanated, no one had to tell him that the disturbance was due to the use of a magic weapon, his harbored several emotions in his heart as he pondered on what to do next. His gaze slowly shifted to the guardian knight''s number one rookie, Donald whose eyes never left Karl for a moment. The expression on his face showed that he too was worried about the source of the explosion, but he decided to focus on the foe right in front of him first. Karl simply sighed and took a few steps back, is it possible that one of the recruits taking part in the competition wields a magic weapon, he tried to dispel these thoughts but it remained stuck to the back of his mind. He stared at the source of the explosion once again and frowned, if his suspicions are proven correct it simply means that the person taking on the magic weapon user probably lost. He smiled bitterly as he stared at Donald. Even if he beat the ace of the guardian knight class, will he still possess enough strength to beat someone wielding a magic weapon? ¡­ ¡­ Daemon stared at the boy buried under numerous trees, she wore a triumphant but exhausted expression on her face "And he said I won''t be able to take the medal away" she muttered as she struggled to stay on her feet "¡­Yes¡­ I did say that and I will repeat those words once again¡­ girl... you cannot defeat me" A voice could be heard from beneath the rubble. The trees were slowly pushed away and Derik''s figure gradually became visible. His cold gaze fell on the girl after he pushed away from the last tree branch and he casually stretched his body. "The difference between you and I is like that of heaven and earth¡­ This outcome shouldn''t surprise you" he said to daemon as he slowly approached. His eyes fell on the magic weapons in her hands and traces of greed and fear could be seen in his eyes. "If it were someone else capable of drawing out at least fifty percent of the weapons that launched such an attack, I probably wouldn''t have survived that attack, fortunately¡­ you lack the constitution and mana needed to draw out this weapon''s true power¡­ as such¡­ you''re not worthy to wield such godly weapons" he said casually Daemon stared at Derik with a dejected expression on her face. Even if she lacked the constitution and mana needed to draw out up to fifty percent of the power of the weapon, such an attack should be enough to kill any normal person, even a bronze class adventurer would be severely injured if struck by an attack not to talk of a recruit from the archery class. a minute ago Derik laid under the rubble and the next minute he''s walking towards her as if nothing happened. What kind of godly constitution does he have? "Mo..mon¡­monster¡­" she stammered as she fell on her knees and stared at Derik, who represented the grim reaper, who has come for her soul. 14 Chapter 14: Number One Rookie!!! Speechless!!! Shocking!!! Those are the only words capable of explaining what everyone felt at this moment, even Scott Lockwood found it difficult to process everything he just saw. Even though he cheered Derik on and silently prayed for the lad, he never expected the boy to win. Indeed, the assassin class recruit could not exert the full powers of the magic weapons in her hands still, her final attack was too terrifying. Even as an alpha he knew that he would sustain some level of damage if he got hit by the same attack. "Either way¡­ he''s done for" Scott smiled bitterly as he watched Derik with traces of pity in his eyes. On Derik''s chest was a deep wound, blood slowly but steadily sipped out the wound, showing no signs of healing. This was due to remnants of the grey energy left in the wound, this is what made magic weapons so terrifying. Capable of nullifying a werewolves healing factor, only vampires who possess instant healing capabilities could handle such after effect. Even though Derik''s performance so far has been superb, but when faced with such a deep injury, he definitely won''t last long. His only option currently is to take the assassin medal and return to the wall while he can still move. On the bright side, this will help show remove all suspicion on the boy, Derik probably got carried way in his battles and revealed too much strength. An archer possessing enough strength to stop an attack that would most likely send bronze level adventurers to the grave with his bare hands! People will surely ask questions. But now he has sustained an injury that his wolf abilities won''t be able to heal, the world will see get to see the boy struggle even if it''s for a short while. This will clear their doubts and with the help of the Lockwood family, they can easily clear all suspicion. ¡­. Meanwhile ¡­ Donald fearlessly dashed towards the incoming fist size balls of fire, on his hands was a two-handed greatsword which was over 3 meters long. "Bronze Combat technique: Haste!!!" Donald screamed. Instantly, a thin layer of white energy coated his body. Woooosh!!! Donald side stepped occasionally evading most of the balls of fire, blocking the rest with his greatsword. His charge kept reducing the distance between himself and Karl who constantly retreated as he launched his fire spells. In just a matter of seconds, he had already covered the distance between them, with a gentle smile on his face, his greatsword was shrouded in white energy "Bronze Combat technique: Slash!!!" he growled as he swung the blade. Karl was already sweating profusely, ever since the battle started he has been on the defensive all through, how can a physical class recruit put so much pressure on the number one battle mage?. "Stay away!!! Fire Burst !!!" He screamed¡­ Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! Donald''s greatsword trembled greatly as it slowly pierced through the barrier of fire that surrounded Karl''s body. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "You cannot win" Donald muttered Puff!!! Karl screamed in pain as Donald''s blade pierced into his shoulder. He used both hands to hold on to Donald''s greatsword to prevent it from going any deeper. "Bastard!!" He cursed¡­ "God of destruction¡­ lord of fire¡­ drown thy enemies in your anger and consume thy foes with thy flames¡­ Burn in hell!!!¡­ Flamethrower!!!" Karl screamed. His wild gaze remained on Donald''s fleeing figure, from his mouth, torrents of flames poured out, completely engulfing the everything over 5 meters in front of him. His eyes twitched slightly when it spotted a figure emerge from the sea of flames. He growled and thrust his left hand forward at the figure, almost instantly, an orb of fire escaped from his left hand and flew towards Donald. "Pitiful" Donald scuffed as he grabbed the approaching orb of fire and shattered it with pure physical strength. His gaze as fixed on the greatsword on Karl''s shoulder. If mages didn''t require incantations to perform high-level spells, they would have been a lot more dangerous. If Karl didn''t start with the incantation of the spell he probably would have been caught in the sea of flames. "Imperfection¡­ Faulty!!!" he screamed as he dashed forward, even now he could feel the effects of the various bronze level combat technique fade, this is because all passive combat techniques have a duration after which the effects fade, even though there are no cool down time, they still possess a weakening state after effect almost similar to magic weapons. With the speed boost gotten from the combat technique: Haste, Donald arrived and quickly reached out for the hilt of the greatsword embedded deep into Karl''s body. "Hell no¡­ Fire Magic: Fire spear!!!!" Karl screamed as he jumped away and over ten spear-shaped appeared by his sides. Physical classes were considered inferior for so many reasons, the first is the types of equipment they use. It''s like fighting a level 20 rock golem with mere swords and arrows, therefore they mostly rely on magic weapons to make up for such a weakness, those unable to get their hands on magic weapons will forever remain weak. The second reason is the main reason why lots of physical classes lose their lives in battle. When a physical class is disarmed in battle, their combat strength falls to a level close to zero. Even the few physical classes that possess the superhuman capabilities find it difficult to cope with such a situation. Taking away Donald''s sword is like stealing the ability of a dragon to breath fire, even though the dragon still possessed tremendous physical strength, it still lifts a reasonable portion of the burden. "Stay away!!!" Karl screamed and waved his hand Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! One after the other the spears flew at Donald, who wore a grim expression on his face. He instantly retreated using nearby trees as cover but to his greatest surprise, these spears changed direction. His expression darkened as he stared at Karl who constantly waved his hands controlling the fire spears. Donald cursed silently as he ran the opposite direction, even if the boy could control the fire spears, he''s vision is limited. Given enough distance, the fire spears will lose it''s master''s guidance. As for Karl getting away, he could always track the battlemage. Magical classes lack survival skills which physical classes possess, also Karl sustained a deep cut on the shoulder, the longer Karl wandered around with that injury, the weaker he becomes. ......... .........¡­... In the blink of an eye, two days had gone by, within these two days every representative in area zero had set up a camp at various spots. Surprisingly, everyone apart from the assassin class representative has somehow managed to hold on to their medals even after numerous encounters and battles. Derik silently laid on the ground, beside the fire, his eyes were shot and he kept sweating profusely. His hands occasionally reached out for the wound on his chest and his body shivered every time he touched it. He yanked his eyelids opened and shifted his gaze to the unconscious assassin who has been unconscious for two days now. He felt both hatred and pity for the girl, this girl is the reason he has been in a very bad state for a while now, unable to hunt down other players, but then again not only did she lose her magic weapons to him, even if she wakes up now she will most likely be in a weakened state for a while. It''s safe to say she may rank at the bottom of the list after the competition. "There must be a way of expelling the residual energy from the magic weapons attack in my body" he muttered. Even though he could see the grey energy which sipped out of his wounds, considering the speed at which this happened, he could estimate that it would take more than seven days for the energy to completely leave his body. "I don''t have that much time" he muttered as he struggled to get on his feet. One way or another, he must obtain a good position in the competition ranking list. He picked up a well-folded robe which had the archery class logo on it, slowly unfolding the clothe, he then equipped himself with the twin daggers which daemon used to battle him. "If I can''t recover from this injury quickly¡­I have no other choice but to rely on the strength of this magic weapon" he smiled bitterly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his grip on the hilt of the twin daggers tightened. Tink! Tink!! Tink!!! The daggers were suddenly shrouded in grey energy and the blades trembled greatly. It felt like the blade would break at any moment, the grey energy that gathered around the blades was more than twofold than that which gathered when Daemon used it. He swung the blades and two grey arcs of energy escaped the blade. BOOOOOOOM!!! Derik stared at the level of destruction caused by the magic weapon in shock. If he could reproduce such power when going up against the other participants, who can stand against him? 15 Chapter 15: Temporary alliance Her eyelids yanked open and she quickly jumped on her feet, she felt a bit dizzy and her body ached seriously. Daemon rubbed her aching head with her palms gently, to help alleviate the pain she felt. She then thought of something and then placed her hands on her neck "It''s gone" she muttered. Images of her battle with Derik flooded into her mind, she grabbed her head with both hands and bit her lips in anger. "I lost a magic weapon!!!... what am I going to now" she screamed. "You didn''t exactly lose it¡­ I just borrowed it" Derik said indifferently as he tossed pebbles into a nearby stream about a hundred meters away. He didn''t even bother to look at Daemon as he spoke, his free hand instinctively reached for his aching chest. Daemon''s eyes twitched when she saw the grey energy leaking out of the wound on Derik''s chest, this explained why the archer was not putting on a shirt. Most importantly, the grey energy reminded her of the most important thing in the forest at the moment¡­ Her magic weapon!!!... Her murderous gaze drifted to Derik''s waist, the twin daggers were sheathed like any normal dagger. Her eyes were bloodshot and she sluggishly approached Derik, the killing intent in her eyes could not be concealed completely. It would be better if she died here than let a commoner steal her family''s sacred tool, not only will such an act humiliate her family but she will also lose the trust and confidence her family had in her. This is something daemon refused to experience, even if it means dying at the hands of this archer. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Relax¡­ you will get it back as soon as the competition is over" Derik said indifferently without even sparing the assassin a glance. He naturally understood why the girl was pissed off, even losing to an archer who didn''t have his major pieces of equipment like a crossbow, a bow, and arrows, only relying on a dagger was already too shameful. "We''re both in really bad conditions¡­ our combat capabilities for the meantime has been halved¡­ We can''t go against other competitors like this" Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. Even though he was already aware of their condition, he still felt annoyed and embarrassed when he spoke about it. "What do you propose then?" Daemon said with a frustrated expression on her face, she knew that Derik had her medal on him, so he could easily turn it in any time he wanted but didn''t do so for reasons only known to him. currently, she lacked the strength to retrieve all that she has lost and even if she can succeed, will she be able to fend off against monsters and players on her way back to the wall? She had no choice but to listen to the archer''s proposal, if it is reasonable, then she''s willing to work with him for a while. "A temporary alliance¡­" Derik said smiling, the girl''s response showed that she was already aware of her current predicament, it should be easy for him to negotiate with her. "I aim to rank at least amongst the top three recruits after the inter-class competition¡­ that''s the sole reason why I didn''t leave here with your medal¡­ To do this, your magic weapon is needed¡­ I wish to ''borrow'' it for a while until the competition ends" Derik explained. "All this while you have been talking about your needs and wants¡­ what do I gain from this alliance" Daemon asked indifferently¡­ "Don''t rush me¡­ sheesh!!!..." Derik muttered in anger¡­ "There is a lot you can gain from this alliance¡­ the first is protection... I''m aware of your current weakened state¡­ Even if I hand over the magic weapon to you and let you leave this place, you probably won''t make it to the wall" Derik explained. "Cut the crap¡­ we all know you''re not in a better condition¡­ How can you protect me when you can''t protect yourself" Daemon sneered as she stared at the wound on Derik''s chest and shuddered involuntarily. Even her still found it hard to believe one can act so casually after sustaining such an injury, right now she greatly respected Derik for his skills and ''special traits''. Anyone who did not possess the superhuman physical capabilities that Derik possessed probably would have died. [Only the number one rookie, Donald can do the same¡­ the physical classes this year has been blessed with Unique recruits¡­ they are so skilled that I tend to feel inferior whenever I try to compare myself to them] Daemon smiled bitterly as she thought about these things. Derik silently unsheathed the magic weapons and poured in his mana into it. Tink! Tink!! Tink!!! The dagger trembled greatly as it was enveloped by grey energy, soon the grey energy spread around Derik''s body, his brown pupils turned grey. Daemon was dumbfounded, even when she poured in all her mana into the magic weapons, she could barely completely shroud the dagger with grey energy, she refused to believe that a recruit from the archery class is capable of doing this, only mage classes with large mana reserves can achieve such a feat. Unknown to her, Derik''s high-speed regeneration was not limited to his health alone but also extended to his mana as well but that doesn''t mean he won''t lack mana, just like the healing factor, when a werewolf received injuries faster than it can heal, Death is inevitable. this same is applicable for mana refill, should he expend more mana than his abilities could refill, he is bound to suffer the same fate as Daemon. If Derik could draw out this much power from the magic weapons then the possibility of ranking at the top of the list is feasible. "Finally¡­ I will give you a portion of the medals we can get..." Derik said "And if we can get three medals? How many do I get?" Daemon asked "One of course¡­ all this only possible because of me¡­ Never forget that" Derik said indifferently¡­ Even though Derik felt tempted to claim the magic weapon, especially since there are no rules which were against forcefully claiming another opponent''s weapon, but after thinking about it for a while he realized it would be detrimental to his growth. For Daemon to possess a magic weapon showed that she has a strong foundation and an outstanding background, even though Derik had the backing of the Lockwood family, his own family didn''t and he is not ready to place the life of his family in the hands of some ancient supernatural family. He also lacked the strength to protect his family, so all he can do at the moment is to borrow the weapon for the meantime and use its power to rise to reach his goal. Daemon smiled bitterly¡­ "Beggars can''t be choosers" she muttered. Even though the terms of the alliance slightly tilted in Derik''s favor, she lacked reasonable leverage to bargain. Derik could easily injure her fatally and leave her here to die at the hands of monsters, he could easily refuse to return the magic weapon and simply rely on the Lockwood family to shield him from the wrath of her own family. "Very well then¡­" She finally agreed. At least Derik promised to return the magic weapon after the competition, also she could still get a decent position later on. "Let''s Do it" Derik smiled¡­ he pointed a finger towards the west and grinned. It has been a week since they entered the forest, within that time he has been able to pinpoint the locations of a few representatives thanks to his enhanced perception and senses. Right now he knew where two participants were located. Even though their scents were unfamiliar, they still reeked of blood which proved that both of them were injured. "That''s where our first targets are¡­ let''s move" Derik said 16 Chapter 16: Battle Royal Karl slightly staggered as he dashed through the forest, his face was pale and he gritted his teeth in pain. His left shoulder had a piece of black cloth wrapped around it to help and his black and red colored robes were dyed thick red with his blood. It was clear he had lost a lot of blood, the viewers even started wondering how the sixteen-year-old battle mage recruit has been able to survive this long with such an injury.Karl bit his lips in anguish, refusing to believe that a mighty battle mage will be put in such a shameful situation by a guardian knight, even if the guardian knight is blessed with superhuman speed and strength it still doesn''t mean much. He sluggishly leaned on a tree, deciding to catch his breath for a while. His bloodshot eyes landed a figure not too far away breezing through obstacles skillfully as it approached! "What kind of human stamina does this guy have!!!... my god it has been days now¡­ how can he still move so quickly" Karl was shocked. Even after destroying Donald''s greatsword with his fire magic, he still couldn''t get the upper hand in his fight with the guardian knight, the last time they clashed, he almost lost his medal. [Back then I was lacking mana¡­ Now I''m almost refilled¡­ Donald, on the other hand, has lost his weapon¡­ his combat abilities should be reduced if not halved already] Karl thought, he refused to believe that he still couldn''t defeat a guardian knight who has lost his weapon. "Bronze -level Combat technique: Dual cast!!" "Bronze ¨Clevel Combat technique: Enhance Magic!!!" Karl was surrounded by a two-fold magic array, his body glittered and orange energy slowly leaked out. His cold gaze fell on Donald who was less than 200 meters away, his lips moved but no words came out. He clapped his hands together as he chanted "Yee who dares go against the lord of fire, the god of destruction¡­ only death and great torment await thee¡­ With the authority of my lord, I sentence thee to death!!!... Fire Shackles!!!¡­ Judgment Ax!!!" He screamed. Immediately red chains made of fire appeared around Donald, embracing the guardian knight who struggled fiercely, his expression darkened as he saw a mighty battle ax of fire take form above him. His eye turned bloodshot as he stared at the Karl "I never expected the flame beast of the battlemage class to possess such powerful magic in his arsenal¡­ But in the end, you cannot kill me... it''s against the rules" Donald said with a casual smile on his face "But I can cripple you and let the monsters here feed on what''s left of you¡­ Silence!!!" Karl said as he waved his hand. Suddenly Donald felt like someone dropped a hundred people on his back, it was as if some invisible force was trying to push him into the ground. His legs shivered as he briefly struggled against this force before he finally surrendered to the invisible force. His body shivered and he bit his lips trying to endure the pain he was currently feeling at this moment. His steel armor could barely withstand the heat, right now he felt like his body was on fire "Kill me?... A mere battle mage dares utter such nonsense ¡­ I will teach you the true meaning of despair" Donald screamed "Mid-level Bronze combat technique: Bulk up!!!"He roared. His body size instantly increased twofold and his muscles began bulging, blood slid down his nostrils and his eyes as his body undertook such transformation, pieces of his armor fell off one after the other as his body size almost doubled. "His body is not ready for a mid-level Bronze combat technique¡­ If he keeps this up.., He will probably die" Karl smiled bitterly as he spoke. His complexion was pale and beads of sweat rolled down his face. For days now he has been running just to gather enough mana for this technique. The last time he used this technique area fifteen against an ogre, he was hospitalized for over a month due to insufficient mana. The oracle in charge of the team from the holy church advised not to pull such a dangerous stunt again, according to her, his mana was not sufficient to perform the technique so he unconsciously drew energy from his life force thereby shortening his life by a few days in the process. Should he repeat such a reckless action over and over again, he may die at a very tender age. That is why he chose to swallow his pride and flee from a melee class recruit for days, just to gather enough mana. CRACK!!! The fire chains trembled greatly and visible cracks could be seen, Karls expression crumbled instantly when he saw this. It won''t be wrong if Karl claimed that he put his all into his fire shackles and judgment ax spells, how can he power through such a technique? This combo could be regarded as his most powerful spells capable of completely suppressing a level 5 ogre, used only when he has run out of options. Yet someone could break out o it with measly mid-level bronze combat technique, that is to show how powerful combat techniques are. That didn''t matter at the moment, the real question was; "How does he know a mid-level bronze combat technique?" Karl muttered. Normally a class only offers a few low-level combat techniques to recruits capable of learning. He had never seen or heard of a situation where a recruit gains access to a mid-level combat technique until today. [Does that mean he created a combat technique of his own? No way!!! How can his body reject a combat technique created by him? Either way, he can''t create something his body is not capable of handling? That is just impossible. The only way someone like him can acquire such a combat technique is probably through a tutorship or a scroll] His vision blurred for a second as he watched Donald struggle and prayed that Donald''s body will shut down before he shatters the chain of fire. The fire ax which levitated above Donald trembled greatly as if to say it was begging its master to let it behead the man beneath it. Karl saw this and shook his head repeatedly in disapproval, he silently prayed as he observed Booom!!!! When the chains shattered it sounded like an explosion, Karl instinctively retreated by a few steps. His stretched out his hands and the fire battle ax flew into his hands. "Is¡­. Is that all?..." Donald struggled to speak. Even though his body size has almost increased twofold, getting to almost 7ft tall, blood sipped out of his joints, his nostrils, mouth, ears, and even his eyes. Karl failed to understand why someone would go as far as throwing away his life just for one crappy medal. [Does he want to prove something by defeating a magical class representative?] Karl thought. Even though Donald still reaped the benefits of the mid-level bronze combat technique, he was no different from a walking corpse, unable to showcase the true power of the technique due to numerous injuries. Donald wore a weak smile as he walked towards Karl slowly, after covering about ten meters he stopped moving and turned his attention to the cluster of trees by the right. He peered into the area patiently and silently as if he could see something "What are you staring at?" Karl who was confused by Donald''s actions decided to ask Wooosh!! Suddenly grey energy danced in the forest and dashed towards Donald. His eyes twitched and he pushed himself forward and screamed as he welcomed the grey energy with open arms Boom!!!! Donald gritted his teeth as he struggled with the grey energy, his eyes turned bloodshot as he glanced at the figures emerging from the forest probably responsible for the attacks. "Aaaaaahhh!!!!" he screamed as he was forced to retreat constantly as he struggled with the grey energy and¡­ Booom!!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. With his bare hands, he shattered the energy creating a shockwave which forced Karl to retreat by a few steps while using the fire battle-ax to shield himself. With mixed expressions on their faces, Derik and Daemon stared at the Donald who was covered in his blood "So this is the strength of the number one rookie" Derik gasped in astonishment. He never expected Donald to be able to withstand such an attack with his bare hands, even he a level 9 supernatural creature would be fatally injured if hit by such an attack. He knew that Donald''s new muscular form was probably due to the effect of combat technique and knew the possible dangers of engaging such a character, that is why he chose to get rid of the guardian knight first "Bastards¡­" Donald cursed as he breathed heavily. He fell on one knee and stared at his bloodied palm. His gaze returned to Derik and Daemon who were yet to retreat or attack, traces of fear could be seen in his eyes as he spotted the strange looking daggers in Derik''s hands. "This won''t end well" he muttered 17 Chapter 17: True enemy "An alliance?" Karl''s eyebrows wrinkled as he spoke, he wore an ugly expression on his pale sweaty face as he gazed at Derik and Daemon who stood side by side. His eyes drifted to the daggers in Derik''s hands "That''s the magic weapon? What level is it? Bronze¡­ Silver¡­ Gold, or Legendary?" He asked himself. After thinking about it for a while, he concluded that the magic weapon should be at the bronze level. "Bronze level magic weapons are limited to energy attacks and possess no special abilities or affinities to particular elements¡­ It just absorbs the magic energy in the air and fires it out¡­ Very simple but still effective¡­ even though the archer can barely utilize fifty percent of the magic weapon''s true potential¡­ he was still able to hurt Donald who still reaps the benefits of a mid-level bronze combat technique¡­ These two needs to be removed first" Karl said. "Go¡­ Judgment Axe!!!" he screamed as he tossed the fire ax at Derik. Woooosh!!! Like a bullet fired from a gun, the ax flew at a shocking speed which gave Derik and Daemon only a second to react "Don''t mess with me" Derik screamed as he swung the magic weapon at the incoming fire ax, a grey arc of energy instantly emerged from the blade, intercepting the Battleaxe Boooom!!!! The fire ax was sent flying but finally halted its movements after covering about ten meters. Complicated emotions were on Karl''s face after witnessing all that happened, but after thinking about it, he found it reasonable. If Donald was able to shatter his fire shackles and an attack from the magic weapon was able to force Donald to retreat repeatedly, shouldn''t it be able to overwhelm his judgment ax as well. A few months ago when he was able to master the fire shackles and judgment ax, he felt invincible and proud. Learning a family secret technique was almost as good as been gifted with a magic weapon by a family. It simply shows how much trust and confidence they have in you. To this day, he always believed that those two techniques were absolute. "Crap¡­ I can''t hold back" Karl muttered when he saw cracks on the battle-ax made of fire. He poured in more mana and almost instantly, the cracks vanished, the fire battle ax burned even brighter and instantly doubled in size. Blood slid down Karl''s nostrils and his body shivered. Daemon shifted her gaze at Derik with a worried expression on her face, just moments ago Derik was unable to destroy the fire ax with a single attack, now that its stronger than before how could he contend with it? At this point, she realized that even if she met these representatives first she probably would have lost. She quickly glanced at Donald who was already on his feet and approaching, with a worried expression on her face she shifted her gaze to Derik who also wore a grim expression. [weren''t these people supposed to be weakened?] Initially, he planned to just knock out Donald and Karl with the power of the magic weapon immediately he arrived but it seems he miscalculated. Even if his stamina and mana refilled at a faster rate than usual, that doesn''t mean he could continuously launch compressed energy attacks at these guys, in other words, he would soon run out of energy and the magic weapon didn''t complement his fighting style. "Use it to defend yourself should the need arise," Derik said indifferently as he tossed the daggers at her and equipped himself with his bow and an arrow. He felt a familiar sensation when he held on to his bow, it felt like a missing part of him had returned. "Retreat a little bit¡­" Derik said to daemon as he slowly retreated "Do you think I will let you get away?" Karl sneered and waved his hand. Instantly the fire ax shot into the sky like an arrow and soon began descending like a comet. Derik only glanced at the incoming ax for a second and shifted his gaze to Karl who has long lost his only tool of defense "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Shot series," He said indifferently. His body was soon covered by a thin layer of green energy Woooosh!!! At mind-blowing speed, he shot arrows one after the other, in just a second twenty arrows was fired. Seeing the wave of arrows, Karl''s expression crumbled, he hurriedly waved his hand and shot his eyes instinctively "Are you insane?... is he trying to kill me!!!" He growled at Derik Peng! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Peng!! Peng!!! The ax''s movement speed made Derik hope his arrows were faster, in the blink of an eye, the ax had already arrived and parried most of the arrow attacks. Karl bit his lips in agony when he felt a sharp pain on his right shoulder, he felt a warm liquid sip out of the spot he was hit and then felt the liquid roll down his hand "Crap" he muttered as he watched his ax deflect the arrows that just kept coming, not giving him a chance to retaliate. Derik and Daemon slowly retreated as he continued bombarding Karl, in his opinion, mages may be powerful but also have weaknesses like everyone else. A mage may possess powerful spells but lack infinite mana, eventually, they will run dry and secondly, should a mage die, their spells vanish as well. That''s the main weakness of pure attack based battle mages like Karl. Bam!!!! Daemon screamed in pain as her body was sent flying by Donald''s fist, traces of disbelief and shock could be seen in her face as her body hit a tree and slid down to the ground, trails of blood were left behind. "When?" Derik muttered. Just a moment ago Donald approached them sluggishly and the next moment he had already arrived behind them, was it all an act from the beginning? Derik found it hard to believe that someone in such a miserable condition would be able to move so fast. He pulled out an arrow from the quiver and ducked evading Donald''s hand which reached for his head. Even if he was not at his peak, his strength and speed were still comparable to that of a level five monster at least, following Donald''s movements shouldn''t be much of a problem. Puff!!! Donald gritted his teeth in pain as the arrow struck deep into his abdomen, he endured the pain he felt and swung his right fist at Derik Wooosh!!! Letting go of his bow, Derik rolled to the left evading Donald''s attack. His hands quick reached for his crossbow which hung on his waist Bang!!!! Puff!!! The bolt dug deep into Donald''s thigh, sweeping him off his feet instantly. Derik wore a mocking smile on his face as he watched Donald struggle to get on his feet. He loaded the crossbow with another bolt Bang!!! "AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGH"Derik screamed. His hands held on to the flaming battle-ax which struck his chest. He spat out blood as he struggled with the weapon. At this point he felt his blood boiling and the smell of burning flesh filled the air, his eyes fell on Karl who looked very pale and could barely stand "Bastard" he growled as he fell on his knees and held on to the hilt of the battle-ax desperately trying to pull it out. The rays of the sun were soon blocked by a humanoid figure which was over 6ft tall Bam!!!! Derik felt like his head was rammed into an iron wall, he collapsed instantly without making a sound. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as the battle-ax forcefully pulled out of his chest. He spat out blood as he struggled to stand on his feet but felt a sharp pain in his abdomen when Donald''s leg hit. His body rolled about three times on the ground. "We will be taking your medals now," Donald said indifferently as he walked towards Derik, he pointed at Daemon with his index finger "Take hers," He said. Instantly, two transparent walls appeared blocking Karls and Donald''s path preventing them from advancing. From a nearby cluster of trees, a teenager with snow-white eyes appeared. His golden hair and white hooded robe fluttered in the wind as he approached, this teenager gave off a peaceful feeling shattering Donald''s resolve. "Cyrus¡­" Karl said indifferently. His eyes instinctively moved to the red spots and little cuts on his white robe indicating signs of battle. Karl was inwardly shocked, even though Cyrus was from the oracle class, Karl was no stranger to the teenager''s strength. Even he doubted he would be able to defeat this oracle class recruit if they clashed. "Who could have done this much damage to the battle demon of the oracle class," Karl asked with a mocking smile on his face. Cyrus only sighed in response and simply glanced at Derik. "Oooo merciful lord¡­ grant thy children sound health, take away thy afflictions and heal thy injuries¡­ Cure!!!!" He muttered. Instantly, all four members were soon covered by a thin layer of golden energy. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ At night, four guys and a girl sat around a campfire, silently staring at each other "You prevented me from taking away their medals¡­ Explain yourself" Donald said, he looked pale and slightly thinner than usual. This was due to the side effects of mid-level Bronze combat technique; bulk up. "When was the last time you were attacked by a monster since the competition started" Cyrus asked "Just the first day of the competition," Donald said "Same here" Derik, Karl, and Daemon replied as well "For the past few days, I''ve been wandering around the forest searching for an opponent¡­ unfortunately, I met Kira¡­" Cyrus shuddered as he spoke "What you guys have been doing here for the past few days is a complete joke compared to the few minutes I spent with Kira¡­" he continued "The blood mage right?... what''s so special about that guy?" Daemon asked indifferently "Yea¡­ He was just above the basic sorcerer standards¡­ according to the information I got" Karl added "I wish that was true¡­ but more than half of the monsters in this area are under his control¡­ somehow he can revive dead beings¡­ though they are considerably weaker than they were when they were alive, a small army of ogres, goblins, kobolds¡­ name it.. he has it¡­ the only reason he has bothered crashing your little party is probably that he is still trying to increase the size of his army¡­" Cyrus said while smiling bitterly The other four remained silent, all wore ugly expressions on their faces as they stared at Cyrus, hoping that he would laugh and tell them it was all a joke. "How can a recruit be so strong?" Derik muttered "Damn sorcerer¡­ F##ked up mages!!!" Donald cursed "Kira¡­ Blood mage¡­ Damn" Karl muttered "¡­.." Daemon silently stared at them with a dejected expression on her face "Kira is the true enemy," Cyrus said with a bitter smile on his face 18 Chapter 18: Kira His skin was pale and he looked thin, his long flowing hair and iris were pitch-black in color. He wore a plain white textile cloth under a thick black long-sleeved leather jacket, black trousers, and black boots. "Kira Ryan," he said to a green-skinned goblin whose bloodshot eyes never left Kira, its mouth remained open and saliva slowly flowed down the open mouth "Repeat it" Kira ordered but the goblin only growled in response. He shook his head and shifted his gaze to the four-level five ogres who fought fiercely against his zombie army, but it didn''t matter how many times the knocked down his zombie army, as long as its brain is still intact, it will still rise. "Go¡­ End this battle quickly" Kira said indifferently. Instantly, all six ogres who surrounded him roared and dashed forward, his eyes fell on the goblin which approached him with four apples in its hands. He collected the apples from the goblin and wiped it clean with his jacket before eating it. Kira was seated on a huge rock and around him were over two hundred goblins, five goblin chieftains, and three goblin warlords. On the battlefield, he had about six wolf packs consisting of five wolves per pack, six ogres and three-level nine trolls. These trolls were the ones responsible for the death of more than half of his goblin army. "Blood magic: Zombie¡­ allows me to revive dead creatures up to level ten with just a drop of my blood¡­ in return, my zombie''s strength reduces by a level¡­ even though this is a basic blood magic spell, it''s quite effective when it''s used this way"he said as he stared at his bandaged right hand. "Mana is needed to sustain the life of these beasts¡­ thankfully I have a few minor mana potions¡­ After these ogres fall and join my army¡­ we will hunt down the other representatives and end this¡­ I''m running out of time and blood" He muttered. The agonizing wail of the ogres echoed as their body reluctantly fell to the ground, Kira sighed and walked over to the ogres. He unsheathed a dagger and pierced the tip of the middle finger on his left hand and poured a drop of his blood into their mouths and began chanting ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Cyrus stared at the injury on Derik''s chest and frowned slightly, he kept wondering how Derik fought against Donald and Karl with such an injury. "How is he still alive?... Enduring such pain for days now¡­ this¡­" Karl said shocked by what he saw "We recruits of physical classes are stronger than you think¡­ Damned battle mage¡­ Don''t bring us down to your level" Donald snapped. He glanced at Derik and smiled, they were traces of respect and admiration in his eyes. To think Derik was able to last a few minutes against him and Karl, even if they were not at their peak, Derik was also in a weakened state as well "Amazing¡­" he muttered "I can''t completely heal this injury¡­ I focused mainly on defensive and a few offensive oracle techniques¡­ I''m not good when it comes to healing but I can reduce the pain¡­ you may not be able to return to your peak but you should be able to exhibit more than seventy percent of your original strength" Cyrus spoke as he stared at the injury Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Bam!!! Donald punched a tree in anger "How are we supposed to take on this Kira guy when everyone from the physical class is in weakened states" he growled "You don''t have to worry¡­ Gin will join us shortly..." Cyrus said indifferently as he poured in his golden energy into the wound on Derik''s chest "And when did non-combat classes become so strong that we combatants have to rely on them," Daemon said with a stern look on her face "God''s Touch, Gin is not inferior when compared to you physical class recruits in any way¡­" Karl said if only Donald and Daemon could push aside their hatred for magical classes they would be able to progress at an amazing speed. "That''s okay Karl¡­ We members of the magical classes are also at fault here¡­ we''re the reason why the physical class is hostile towards us" Cyrus said "We need to leave now¡­ At the peak of that hill¡­ that''s where we''re going¡­ Gin should be heading there already" he added pointing at a hill that was over seven hundred meters away ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ By the time they arrived at the foot of the hill, it was already late, Due to their current weakened states, they agreed to rest and continue the journey the next morning. Cough! Cough!! Derik spat out blood, he sat next to a tree and leaned on it. His eyes looked up into the sky and he gazed upon the stars above "Tonight''s a full moon," He said to Donald and Daemon who sat beside him. For just a second, his iris turned blue and returned to its normal color. "I know that¡­ what''s so special about it" Daemon asked confused. Donald stared at Derik for a few seconds and looked away. "Nothing¡­ I need to rest tonight, I''m sure I will heal faster if I''m given enough time¡­ I don''t want to be disturbed¡­ I can''t trust the magical class recruits with this request¡­ so I''m asking as a member of the physical class¡­ Help me keep everyone away" Derik slightly bowed his head as he spoke. Understanding Donald''s personality, he knew his chances of getting what he wants would increase if he brought in class-related issues. "I can''t turn down a request from a talented member of the physical class¡­ Don''t worry¡­ no one will lay a finger on you while you''re asleep" Donald patted his chest repeatedly as he spoke. Daemon nodded in response and remained quiet. That night, Karl and Cyrus who was in better conditions sat by the fire and kept watch, while Derik laid down beside a tree a few meters away from them, using his cloak to cover himself. Even his head was completely covered. Within the cloak, his eyes glowed and claws sprouted in his hands. He took a deep breath closing his eyes trying to control his breathing, at this point, his body reeked of murderous intent so much that Donald and Daemon who were about ten meters away could sense the strange aura surrounding Derik but chose to ignore. "Hmmm?" Cyrus muttered and got on his feet. He slowly walked towards Derik, when only ten meters was separating them, his path was blocked by Donald "He''s resting¡­ back off" Donald said indifferently "Don''t tell me you can''t feel it¡­ the strange aura surrounding him¡­" "I said back off!!!... I won''t repeat myself a third time" Donald said coldly. Cyrus was not ready to back down, he took a step forward but then stopped when he heard Karl''s voice "Guys?!" Karl muttered as he retreated. From a cluster of trees about thirty meters away wolves with bloodshot eyes emerged, some parts of their fur were dyed blood red with the blood of their foes. "Aim for the head, destroy the brain and it dies" Cyrus "Zombie wolves¡­ really? Is this the ultimate evil you spoke of¡­ wolves are mere level one creatures and can only move up to level three when they fight as a pack¡­ even in a weakened state, I can solo these guys" Donald said with a mocking expression on his face. He gazed at all thirty wolves and sneered "Silence¡­ now is not the time" Karl said as he retreated to Cyrus side "Don''t let your guard down¡­These are just scouts¡­ this simply means Kira is close¡­ we need to get rid of them before the main army arrives" Cyrus said "Damn" Daemon muttered as she tossed the dagger strapped to Derik''s waist to Donald. She stood beside Derik and unsheathed her magic weapon, her eyes fell on Derik who has not moved a muscle [Is he sleeping at a moment like this?] she thought. She took a few steps towards him but her path was blocked by Donald. "They are just wolves we can handle it¡­ should something too much for us appear, then we will wake him" he said Daemon originally planned to argue but saw the stern look on his face and gave up easily. With the twin daggers in both hands, she whispered a few words as she retreated into the shadows Vanish¡­ 19 Chapter 19: Terrifying Blood mage Bam! Donald''s dagger pierced the forehead of a wolf which possessed grey fur, it struggled viciously for a few seconds before falling to the ground. "The Fifth!" He said¡­ "Fire burst!!!" Karl screamed. Instantly his body glowed yellow and almost at the same time, he was surrounded by a barrier of fire which expanded rapidly, blowing away all five wolves within ten meters of Karl. His eyes spotted another wolf which approached from the left side attempting to pounce on him. He gritted his teeth as a spear of fire over five meters long appeared in his right hand "Eat this!!!... Fire spear!!!" he screamed as he tossed the spear of fire at the wolf. Puff! The spear flew towards the wolf, like a bolt shot from a crossbow, it pierced into the skull of the wolf, forcibly dragging its body back, pinning it to a tree. Karl quickly turned his attention to the five wolves which he blew away with his flame burst a few minutes ago. His lips curled up forming a smile as he threw his hands wide open as if he was welcoming them "Fire Magic: Fire Spear!!!" He screamed. Almost instantly, ten fire spears appeared behind him, his gaze turned cold as he stared at the wolves. "Know your place¡­ Beasts" he muttered Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ¡­ ¡­ "Holy bolt" Cyrus screamed as yellow energy shot out from his right hand and completely consumed a wolf that pounced at him, at the same time, he performed some strange seals with his left hand. His gaze fell on the wolf that quickly approached from the left side, he thrust his left hand forward and caught the wolf by the head "Smite!!!!" He screamed. Instantly, a yellow beam of energy fell from the sky and completely consumed the wolf, by the time the energy beam faded, not even the bones of the wolf could be seen. His eyes twitched and he clapped his hands together, he then raised his right hand with his index finger pointing towards the sky and the bright full moon, a two-fold golden magic array appeared beneath his feet and above his index finger "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Holy flare!!!!" He screamed with a confident smile on his face. His body was completely shrouded in thick golden energy which shot into the sky. "Vanish¡­ Unclean beasts" He muttered. Almost at the same time, a massive magic array covering over 300 meters appeared in the sky and bolts of holy energy rained down upon all zombie wolves. These wolves involuntarily shuddered in fear and retreated, attempting to leave the range of the attack but unfortunately for them, the holy bolts were almost double their speed, consuming every one of them. "Damn!¡­" Donald muttered as he stared at Cyrus with traces of fear in his eyes, he could have sworn that he too may sustain serious injuries when faced with such an assault. His eyes shifted to Derik who was yet to move and he sighed if these wolves failed to show up when they did and he was forced to take on Cyrus¡­ "I would have lost" He muttered ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A youth who possessed short light blue hair and sky blue iris frowned slightly when he saw the golden magic array in the sky. He got up from the boulder he sat on and jumped down "I guess they couldn''t make it¡­ let''s hope I can get there soon" He muttered. He wore a smile on his handsome face as he stared at the magic array which lost its glow and slowly faded, his light blue armor reflected the moonlight and his hair fluttered in the wind as he moved. Gin leisurely walked down the hill carrying his charming smile with him as he moved "If they can''t last an hour or two¡­ then they are not worth working with" He said as he caressed the hilt of the sword hanging on his waist. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A figure emerged from Derik''s shadow, Daemon wore a grim expression as she stared into Cyrus''s snow-white eyes. Her voice couldn''t hide the fear she felt as she spoke "Th¡­ The¡­ They a¡­ are¡­ coming¡­ HUNDREDS OF THEM!!!"She said with a bitter smile on her face. Even though she was an assassin, she was barely fifteen years old, also this was the first time she has seen what she referred to as a horde. Even though her technique allowed her to blend well with the shadow, immediately she was about three hundred meters away, Kira who was in the midst of his monster army stopped moving and stared the exact point where she hid, at that point, all the hairs on her body stood up and she almost peed herself. The aura which emitted from Kira was too sinister and dark, her legs trembled and she struggled to stand. No one needed to tell her to run "He''s out of our league¡­ we can''t beat him" even though she muttered those words, everyone still heard it. Karl wore a gloomy expression as he stared at Daemon who still shivered, even Donald remained silent "Hundreds¡­ This¡­" Karl muttered "How much time do we have" Cyrus finally spoke, he had an indifferent look in his face as he approached Daemon. It was as if he already expected this "Twenty minutes at most" Daemon quickly responded "No¡­we have less than fifteen" A voice echoed from behind, everyone looked pass Daemon and saw Derik approach. His short brown hair all stood up but his eyes remained the same, his stature seemed slightly different, it looked as if he got taller. His calm temperament was betrayed by the wild aura which danced around him, even his voice had slightly deepened. It looked like he had aged a few years. "Kira probably doubled their speed because of you¡­" He said looking a Daemon "He must have spotted you¡­" He added "And how do you know this much¡­ You seem to have changed¡­ your chest¡­ how do you feel" Cyrus took a step forward and asked with a suspicious expression on his face. Surprisingly, Derik remained calm and placed his hand on his aching chest, he then pulled up his chest revealing the wound and slowly watchedgrey energy sip out of it "It''s still there¡­ I''ve just gotten used to the pain¡­ slightly¡­" He said. His glanced at everyone and sighed "We have wasted too much time," He said. He pulled down his rolled-up shirt and grabbed his bow with his right hand while pulling out an arrow from the quiver with his left. "Kira is probably going to try to surround us to cover our escape routes and flank us from all sides¡­" He said with a calm expression on his face. He stared in the distant forest for a while and smiled. He suddenly shot an arrow into the dark forest and grinned. This slightly startled everyone but they quickly recovered ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Woooosh!!! The arrow flew at a shocking speed One hundred meters¡­ Two hundred meters... Three hundred meters?!... Kira wore a grim expression on his face but he still didn''t move a muscle, he never expected this archer to possess such keen senses and shocking strength Tink! The arrow was blocked with a huge stone club in which a zombie ogre wielded, all ten ogres surrounding Kira roared in anger but didn''t leave his side. Kira remained silent for a minute, pondering on what next to do. Initially, he planned to send in his army in batches to wear out the representatives of the other classes, but considering what happened a few seconds ago, he knew that such a tactic may not work out "Attack¡­" He finally spoke, waving his hand. Roars, Howls, and Growls could be heard all over area zero as the zombie army charged forward. All ten ogres charged forward, leaving behind the level nine trolls to watch over Kira "Do not kill¡­ Subdue¡­ Cripple¡­ The method doesn''t matter much¡­ just get their medals" Kira calmly spoke. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Low-level Bronze technique: Shot series" Derik roared as he shot at the goblins that attacked from in behind and the sides "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Holy flare!!!!" Cyrus screamed "Fire magic: Fire spears" Karl screamed. Donald roared as his body glowed, his movement speed increased by a huge margin as he dashed towards the swarm with Daemon by his side "Let''s show them what the physical class is capable of!!!" He roared 20 Chapter 20: First Wave Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! The arrows pierced into the skulls of three goblins that dashed towards Derik. He remained calm even when he could see over fifty goblins heading his way. From time to time his iris turned blue but quickly reverted to normal, he slightly frowned. Even after spending all full moons that occurred in three months with the Lockwood family in a bid to learn control, he still wasn''t anywhere near Scotts level "Still not good enough" He muttered "I can still improve¡­ all I need is time¡­ But now¡­ I need to focus¡­" he muttered Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Donald''s fist smashed a goblins head into the ground repeatedly. After landing the third hit, the goblin skull shattered and its brain was crushed. His cold gaze left the corpse of the goblin and shifted to the swarm of goblins heading his way, with a mocking smile on his face he spun to the left and almost at that same moment an arc of grey energy flew pass his previous location and flew towards the goblins. Boooom!!! With a single attack daemon ripped the lives of over a dozen goblins, she quickly scanned the battlefield and frowned. So far they have only been able to keep Kira''s goblins about twenty meters away thanks to Derik, Cyrus, and Karl who were ranged fighters. The battle has only lasted for a few minutes and she was already close to her limit, she gazed at Donald who breathed heavily and was covered in his sweat. His eyes clashed with Daemon''s eyes and he smiled bitterly. "If only I had proper equipment to work with" he frowned as he spoke. He looked at the dagger in his hand and sighed. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Derik felt a sharp pain on his shoulder as he shot his thirtieth arrow, he gritted his teeth as he reached for another arrow in his quiver only to find out it was empty. "This¡­." He muttered. Seeing this the goblins growled and dashed forward, now that the archer who took the lives of over thirty of their comrades has run out of arrows, why wouldn''t they attack? Derik''s expression stiffened when he saw them approach "Why am I always unlucky?!" he said with a bitter smile on his face. He quickly unsheathed his Dagger and slightly crouched waiting for the goblins to arrive "I won''t let you! Fire arrow!" "Get back! Holy bolts!" Numerous orange and yellow flew past Derik and rained on the goblins. Derik quickly turned around and saw Cyrus and Karl standing not too far away from him, he thanked them silently with a nod and dashed towards the what was left of the goblin army that charged at him ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "As expected of the top recruits of the year," Kira said with his eyes closed. With his eyes closed all he could see was red dots in the darkness, each dot representing a zombie controlled by him now less than seventy of those dots remained. The rate at which these red dots vanished far exceeded his expectations. His lips curled up forming a smile as he saw ten red dots approaching getting to the nearing the location where the other red dots were clustered, these ten red dots represented the 10 level five ogres under his command. He gently opened his eyes and stared at the golden magic array which covered over three hundred meters slowly fade. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "The low-level goblins were never meant to defeat you guys¡­ get ready for round two" he said with a sinister smile on his face "Attack!!!" he said casually. Three goblin warlords and five goblin chieftains were almost 200 meters away from the battlefield waiting for their master orders. Their bloodshot eyes widened when they received the order they have been waiting for over 20 minutes. They roared and dashed towards the battlefield ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The mysterious sorcerer wore a wry smile of his face as he watched all that happened through the water orbs which was all over the streets Briton. Because humans could be ranked as one of the smallest in terms of population all over the world, ''abominations'' like Kira wouldn''t be allowed to roam free. Just as a recruit this young sorcerer possessed the power to turn more than half of the monsters in area zero into zombies, even though such power will help humanity subdue all other races, there is still a small possibility that such a sorcerer with such ungodly power will turn against humanity in the long run. "Power corrupts¡­" He muttered, "Only oracles who specialize in light offensive magic or high-level members of the holy church can take down such a monster¡­" His gaze shifted to the snow-white eyed recruits whose perfect golden hair was scattered and his white robe has been stained with the blood of so many monsters. "Only light can suppress darkness" the mysterious mage muttered " I will have to speak with the association concerning these recruits," he said to himself. His eyes shifted to Derik who bravely fought against numerous goblins. Unlike other archers he has seen so far, this recruit was superb when it comes to melee combat and ranged attacks. "Interesting kid" he muttered. he shifted his gaze to the civilians who watched, at the initial phase of the competition, they cheered and cursed loudly but now no one dared utter a word. FEAR!!! They all shuddered involuntarily as they watched the other representatives desperately battle against numerous zombie monsters. This reaction was expected since this was the first time a sorcerer who focused on dark arts appeared in Briton, they were even scared of cursing the blood mage out loud because they believed he may hear them. They all bit their lips and silently prayed that these young representatives will win against this great evil. John stared at Derik who battled against numerous zombie goblins with mixed emotions, even though he felt proud, he still feared that Derik will sustain serious injuries from this battle ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Puff!!! Daemons twin daggers dug deep into the skulls of two goblins, pinning them to the ground. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! The ground trembled as more reinforcements arrived, this reinforcement consisted of ten level 5 ogres, five level 2 goblin chieftains and three level 3 goblin warlords. "Okay¡­ now the real battle begins" Cyrus said smiling, he glanced at the other members of the team and smiled "Let''s show these monsters that we humans cannot be defeated easily" Donald screamed as he cleaned the bloodied dagger on his shirt and used his left hand to push his green hair back. He looked at Derik who stretched while waiting for the new wave of monsters to arrive. "They are not at full strength¡­ we can take them¡­" Karl growled "Of course!!!... we can do this!!!" Daemon respond quickly 21 Chapter 21: Absolute defea Dierks''s face paled the moment he saw over ten levels, 5 ogres, dashing towards them, he shifted his gaze to the other members and only to find them with grim expressions on their faces. "Just a moment ago you all spoke with so much confidence and conviction¡­ where is your confidence now?!!" Kira''s voice could be heard from within the forest. Derik gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, at this point the team''s morale is close to zero especially for Cyrus and Karl who must have expended a lot of mana in the previous battle. [Someone has to rekindle that Fire] he thought "Just Ogres¡­ pitiful¡­" Derik spoke as he walked towards the monster reinforcements. "If this is the best you can do¡­ then you''re not worth my time¡­ why don''t you come over here and face me" He tossed his dagger into the air and caught it repeatedly as he spoke? His cold gaze pierced into the forest to the extent Kira felt like a pair of wild blue eyes were staring at him. He could feel the murderous aura that surrounded Derik, it felt like a predator was staring its prey. ¡­Smiles¡­ "What an interesting character¡­ Cripple him" Kira said with a charming smile on his face. The ogres and goblins roared and dashed forward at top speed, their bright red eyes glowed fiercely in the darkness, to the viewers these beasts reminded them of demons they have heard of in stories. "Come!!!" Derik growled as he dashed towards the small group of monsters "Derik!!!" "Fool!!! You''re courting Death!!!" "Stop Derik!!!" "Get away from them¡­ Derik!!!" The others screamed, they failed to understand why a sane person would run towards such high-level monsters on his own. Even if he possesses superhuman strength and speed, it''s still not enough to solo multiple levels five monsters. In a few seconds, only twenty meters separated Derik and the monsters, Derik grinned revealing his fangs Woooosh!!!! Bam!!!! His speed instantly doubled and his body flew towards the ogres and goblins like an arrow, his iris occasionally turned blue in an instant and glowed brightly leaving behind blue streaks of light where ever he went. To others, these zombies counted as formidable opponents but to a level nine werewolf, these zombies were nothing. When Derik blitz past two goblin chieftains who were at the forefront of the charging army forcibly dragging them along as he moved. His gaze remained fixed on a light brown-skinned ogre as he maneuvered through the small zombie monster group with ease while dragging the two goblin chieftains along. The ogre bared its fangs and swung its large stone club at Derik, "Silence!!!!" Derik growled as he struck forward with both level 2 goblin chieftains in his hands Booom!!!! When both attacks collided, the skulls of the goblin chieftains were crushed and the ogre was forced to retreat by three steps. Its red eyes glowed even brighter as it roared once again, swinging its stone club for a second time. "You don''t know when to quit" Derik screamed. He swung his left fist at the stone club fearlessly with a sinister smile on his face Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! The ogre continuously retreated each time its attacks collided with Deriks fists. Seeing this, the other monsters stopped charging forward and dashed towards Derik. Thud!!! The light brown-skinned ogre fell to the ground on its butt with a visible fist mark on its chest, its gaze fell on the Derik who stood on its chest with a clenched fist, the smile on his face was visible as he punched forward, instantly crushing the head of the ogre with a single blow. "Whose next" Derik said as he dropped from the body of the ogre. His leisurely strolled towards the zombies with the same sinister smile on his face. "He has been holding back all this while?" Daemon gasped "How?" Cyrus found it hard to understand how an archer possessed such strength. "This¡­" Kira muttered ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The viewers screamed in elation as they watched Derik''s outstanding performance. At this moment everyone practically worshipped him, to them this was no longer the normal inter-class competition. This was a battle between the human race and evil! ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ In the end, even a level 9 monster has its limit and can be outnumbered. Even though Derik surpassed the ogres, goblin chieftains and goblin warlords in terms of strength and speed he still lacked the power to take on numerous high-level monsters. Crack! "Arrrghhh!!!" Derik screamed in pain when the huge stone club hit him from the side, he could have sworn that he heard his bone break when the attack connected. His body was forced back by over four meters "Don''t mess with me!!!" He roared at punched out Bam!!! This time both he and the ogre were forced to retreat by a few steps, it was clear that his power and speed had gone down tremendously due to the numerous injuries he sustained.He quickly glanced at the rest of the team who were currently locked in a bitter battle with five ogres, three goblin chieftains and three goblin warlords and smiled bitterly. Just a few minutes ago he was dominating but now he could barely retaliate, even though the team tried to intervene but they were immediately intercepted by a portion of the monster reinforcement. At his peak, he is capable of taking on three ogres but four¡­ "Too much" he muttered as he jumped back escaping the range of an ogres attack. His nose slightly twitched and he made a hundred and eighty degrees turn and struck forward. Bam!!! He was once again forced to retreat by a few steps, his hands went numb and he bit his lips in pain Wooooosh!!! Quickly turning to the right he saw a stone club heading his way "Damn!!! Block it!" he growled as he struck forward with both fists. "Derik!!!" Daemon screamed when she saw Derik''s body flying. Derik hit the ground and opened his mouth but couldn''t make a sound. He tried to move but his body refused to respond, he could only watch the fourth ogre''s club descend on him. Bam!!! The ogre forcibly pulled out two medals that hung on unconscious Derik''s neck. "Bastard!!!" Daemon screamed as she swung the magic weapon and an arc of grey energy escaped the encirclement, dancing towards the ogre which collected the medals but before it could reach another ogre intercepted, swinging its massive stone club at it. The two attacks collided and the ogre was forced to retreat by a few steps, the ogre with the medals quickly dashed into the forest, heading towards Kira''s location while the other three dashed towards Cyrus group. "I won''t let you¡­ Light sphere!!!" Cyrus stretched his left hand towards the three ogres and screamed. Almost instantly, a transculent golden dome surrounded the approaching the ogres preventing them from advancing. He wore a grim expression on his face when he heard a roar by his side, not daring to waste time, he quickly moved his right hand to his side and a transculent golden wall appeared by his side "Protect!!!" He screamed Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Cyrus spat out blood and quickly glanced at the golden dome and Golden barrier, he watched the ogres brandish their stone clubs at the barriers with a bitter smile on his face. Even in such a situation, he fared better than the others. Karl looked pale and was covered in sweat, his legs shivered and his breathing was heavy. Beside him as a four-meter long flaming battle-ax which had numerous web-like cracks on it. He slowly retreated while two ogres approached "Damned beasts¡­" He cursed. Daemon sat on the floor breathing heavily as she watched Donald battle, three ogres. Donald was about 7ft tall and looked ridiculously muscular, his body was covered in blood and his eyes were bloodshot. He was under the influence of the mid-level bronze technique; bulk up. Even with the enormous boosts this ability provided, he could barely handle three ogres. Bam! Bam! Bam! One after the other, the ogres brandished the stone clubs at Donald, the later could only endure, using his hands to shield his head as he slowly retreated. "Crap¡­." He muttered, spitting out blood. He quickly glanced at daemon and smiled bitterly. [if someone told me that a mage will put me in such a f##ked up situation a month ago ¡­ I probably would have cursed that person to the grave¡­ Damn¡­why did a blood mage have to appear this year] he thought. He felt something strong sweep him off his feet and a second stone club descended on him, the third one robbed him of his consciousness. "Damn it¡­ Donald" Karl muttered as he watched an ogre forcibly pull out the medal that hung on his neck. He quickly turned his attention to the two ogres dashing towards him "Don''t underestimate me¡­" he screamed, waving his hand. The flaming battle ax trembled violently and they flew forward. One of the ogres roared and swung its stone club at the battle-ax. Booom!! The ogre was forced to retreat continuously while protecting itself from the flaming battle-ax with its stone club. "That''s one" Karl muttered as he turned his attention to the second ogre who less than twenty meters away "I won''t let you!" He growled "Fire shackles!!!" Instantly, chains of fire materialized around the ogre, restricting its movements. The ogre was forced to its knees by an invisible force. It helplessly watched Karl with his bloodshot eyes and roared "God of destruction¡­ lord of fire¡­ drown thy enemies in your anger and consume thy foes with thy flames¡­ it''s over!!!¡­ Flamethrower!!!"Karl screamed as he took a deep breath and spat out hot torrents of flame which completely consumed the ogre. "Fire magic: Fire spears" he screamed with a bitter smile on his face. He waved his hands and five fire spears appeared "Vanish!!!!" he screamed as he stared at the ogre which was struggling with the flaming battle-ax. The spears shot forward impaling the ogre''s head from all sides. The moment the ogre fell the flaming battle ax vanished, Karl fell on his knees breathing heavily, he wiped off the blood which flowed out through his nostrils with the back of his hand Thud! Thud! Thud! Karl quickly searches for the source of the sound and saw three ogres approaching, these were the ogre that defeated Donald. With a bitter smile on his face, he pulled out the medal that hung around his neck and dropped it on this ground Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "This¡­ is hell" he muttered 22 Chapter 22: God’s Touch, Gin The Oracle class medal was forcibly pulled out of Cyrus'' neck by Kira who wore a sinister smile on his face. He shoved all five medals into his pockets and turned to leave "My power is absolute¡­ its not something mere archers, guardian knights, assassins, battlemages, or even the oracle class can compete with¡­ You all exceeded my expectations¡­ Holding out for over an hour¡­ you have earned my praise¡­" Kira said indifferently as he walked away with three level 9 trolls and six level 5 ogres¡­ "Don''t bullshit me¡­ Nothing in this world is absolute¡­ no one is truly invincible" a voice could be heard a few meters away for Cyrus'' and the rest of the team''s location.With a surprised expression on his face, Kira looked over his shoulders, just a few meters away was Derik who could barely stand on his feet, even though he possessed high-speed regeneration, that does not necessarily mean the pain would go away so easily. Also, he was yet to fully recover from his numerous injuries, right now he was at his limit. "You surprised me the most¡­ son of wind¡­ am I correct?... your strength and speed far surpass that of mere level five monsters. For a moment I mistook you for a monster¡­ but in the end¡­ you''re still human¡­ even someone like you blessed with so much power has a limit" Kira said indifferently. The ogres growled at Derik but didn''t leave his side. "A human hiding amid monsters¡­ you disgust me¡­ no pride¡­ why don''t you fight me¡­ just the both of us!" Derik snapped. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Such provocations will not work on me¡­ I simply made use of my abilities¡­ this is why you all will always be inferior¡­ I''m the one with all six medals because of it¡­the method does not matter¡­ only the result does" Kira calmly responded Wooooosh!!! Like an arrow a figure shot out of the forest, covering over twenty meters in mere seconds. The mysterious teen quickly unsheathed his sword and swung it vertically instantly splitting an ogre in two before it could even react. "The first" He muttered He quickly spun to the left and swung his sword vertically splitting another ogre in two "The second¡­" He muttered with a charming smile on his face, his blue hair fluttered in the wind as he moved around gracefully. His sky blue eyes landed on the black-haired individual amid three level nine trolls. "There you are" he chuckled as he swung the sword vertically, releasing an arc of blue energy which gracefully danced towards Kira Boom! The blue arc of energy was instantly slapped away by a troll before it could reach Kira, but there was a deep bloody wound in its palm after the blue energy faded. The blue-haired teen quickly jumped back and laughed "I guess that won''t work¡­ this won''t be as easy as I thought" he laughed. "God''s touch, Gin¡­ you were the next on my list¡­ how convenient it is that you came looking for me¡­" Kira said indifferently as he stared at the youth in a light blue armor which was adorned with multiple light blue runes. The enchantment class specialized in the enchantment of pieces of equipment, they are the sole reasons why divine tools like magic weapons exist. Even though it was extremely difficult to enchant a weapon or piece of armor, the success rate is usually below thirty percent even for intermediate silver class enchanters and such a task requires a lot of materials which could easily cost up to fifty gold coins and that is just for bronze level magic weapons. There are cases where an intermediate sliver class enchanter failed ten out of ten trials to create a bronze level magic weapon, losing over five hundred gold coins. If a commoner had access to such an astronomic amount of gold coins, he or she would never have to work again throughout his or her life. Even Derik who served as the Knight of the Lockwood family, the ruling noble family in Briton only earned a gold coin annually yet it is enough to live a carefree life at the outer parts of the gyro kingdom. For a recruit to have a complete set of magic armor and magic weapon simply showed that the boy possessed a solid foundation and noble backing. "Troublesome¡­" Kira slightly frowned as he stared at Gin. "But in the end... you''re still human and still possess the same limitations as the rest of them¡­ you will run out of mana soon..." he added "Run out of mana? Almost impossible" Gin simply said as he held on to the hilt of his sword with both hands "Let me show you why" he added Suddenly it felt like the air froze, the blue runes on the gauntlets glowed and trembled greatly "Absorbing mana in the air? Impossible" Kira wore an ugly expression on his face as he spoke. He could feel the mana in the air flowing towards Gin. "Nothing is impossible...." Gin replied with a satisfied smile on his face. "Rest for a while¡­ I will handle this" he said to Derik. His image suddenly blurred reappearing right in front of an ogre, with a charming smile on his face as he swung the blade. A sky blue energy escaped the tip of the blade and danced towards the ogre who roared and punched out with its left hand in response. Puff!!! The ogre screamed in pain as he swung the stone club in its right hand at Gin, its left hand dangled freely and there was a deep wound in its left shoulder with white bone covered in blood sticking out. Peng!!! "Why struggle?" Gin laughed as he stopped the stone club with his sword which was shrouded in blue energy. His sky blue eyes glowed at that moment and his body burst forward, wielding the magic weapon with both hands, he swung the blade horizontally, instantly beheading the beast. "The third¡­" He muttered with a smile on his face. The smile soon faded when three huge figures blocked the moonlight, his expression turned ugly as he saw three stone clubs coming from above and both sides. His eyes lit up as he jumped backward in an attempt to leave the attack range. Booom!!! The blue runes on Gin''s breastplate glowed and trembled violently, the enchanter was covered in a transculent blue barrier which had visible web-like cracks on it, at the same moment, the gauntlets glowed and began absorbing mana once again. Soon enough the cracks on the barrier were instantly repaired and the sword in his hands shone brightly "Close" he laughed as he pushed swung his blade horizontally and a huge arc of blue energy escaped the tip of his blade and instantly blew away all three ogres. ¡­ "Amazing¡­" Derik muttered. Almost every piece of equipment worn by Gin was a magic tool and served different purposes. Only after a brief exchange did he understand the role each of them played. The breastplate was embedded with defensive magic, automatically drawing mana from Gin creating a transculent barrier around him when in danger. The gauntlets draw mana around replenishing Gin''s mana pool when needed. His magic sword possessed the same ability as Daemon''s magic weapons as well, meaning it should also be a bronze level combat weapon, and finally the sabaton which improved his movement speed. "Amazing attack¡­ superb defense¡­ almost unlimited mana" Derik said "But there is a flaw¡­ You may possess a steady source of mana but you will run out of stamina" Kira said with a sinister smile on his face as he stared at Gin who was breathing heavily."Magic weapons and magic equipments take a toll on the user''s stamina¡­ that''s why only mages with a huge mana pool and superb constitution and physique can draw out a hundred percent of a magic weapon''s true power¡­ I sincerely doubt you possess such a physique¡­ In the end¡­ even with all these magic equipments¡­ you cannot win" he screamed with a crazed expression on his face "Don''t talk as if you don''t possess limitations as well¡­ you''re still a recruit and is nowhere as close the level of actual pros¡­ You failed to take control of all the monsters in this area because of the upkeep¡­ Every mage knows of this, the requirement to maintain such magic is not small in any way¡­ even now¡­ even if you refuse to show it¡­ you''re running low on mana¡­ I only need to last a little longer¡­ this is not a battle of strength but a battle of endurance!" Gin said with his usual charming smile on his face "A weakling like yourself who depends on multiple pieces of magic equipment dare talk back at me? You''re courting death enchanter " Kira screamed. "Says the mage hiding amid monsters¡­" Gin spat on the ground as he spoke "Why you?! Kill him!" Kira growled Instantly the three level 9 trolls roared and dashed forward 23 Chapter 23: Level 9 Beasts His eyes widened and his muscles bulged as he tightened his grip on the magic sword in his hands and swung it horizontally, releasing a huge arc of blue energy. The trolls roared and jumped to evade the blue arc of energy which danced towards them, their bloodshot eyes glowed in the darkness "Got you!!!" Gin screamed with a mischevious grin of his face. The blue runes on the gauntlets glowed and trembled violently, at this point it felt like Gin was a black hole, sucking in all mana in the surrounding. His blue eyes glowed fiercely and his magic weapon was shrouded in thick blue energy, his eyes were locked on the airborne level 9 trolls and with a sinister smile on his face he spoke Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I will end it with this final attack¡­" He thrust the sword upwards at the direction of the airborne trolls and on the tip of the blade, a beam of blue energy poured out. But before it could reach the trolls, the troll at the center pushed the other two by the sides away, its lips curled up and it wore a sinister smile on its face before it was completely consumed by the blue beam of energy. "What?" Gin muttered while stabbing his sword into the ground to support himself. He initially planned to end the fight with that attack, defeating the blood mage after that won''t be much of a problem. He followed the remnants of the trolls body which fell from the sky and with a bitter smile on his face, he gazed at the other trolls which approached dashed towards him. "Damn" He muttered as he tried to follow the movements of these beasts with his eyes. What made these level nine beasts terrifying was simply because of their physique. The trolls were not as big as the ogres, yet they possess comparable strength and greater agility comparable to that of an omega under the effects of a full moon. Rather than letting these monsters attack him from two sides, Gin dashed towards one of them and brandished his sword at it. The troll roared and attacked as well "How?" Gin muttered in shock. Even though they have only exchanged a few moves, he could tell that this beast was on a level of its own. Not only did it skillfully parry his attacks with its Bare hands! But it also found space to counter-attack occasionally landing a few hits. Unfortunately for it, its attacks were not capable of shattering the transculent barrier that surrounded Gin''s body "Not yet!!!" Gin growled. He gritted his teeth as he poured his mana into the magic weapon and released a blue arc of energy which instantly forced the troll to retreat by a few steps. Not letting the opportunity to pass him by, he took a step forward raised his sword, the blade trembled and was instantly shrouded in blue energy. He was about to land the finishing blow but then¡­ Bam!!! Gin''s body was sent crashing into a tree, visible web-like cracks could be spotted on the transculent blue barrier around his body. The second troll never intended to give Gin enough time to recover, appearing in front of the enchanter in mere seconds. The beast roared and punched out repeatedly, widening the cracks on the barrier while it chased after Gin who constantly retreated trying to create some space between himself and the beast. Even if Gin didn''t feel the impact of a punch, every punch still possessed enough power to move him and the continuous assault gave him little to no time to stabilize himself. "Just a few seconds¡­ I need a little time" Gin muttered Crack! Crack! Shatter! Gin spat out blood as his body was sent flying into the air, his eyelids yanked open and he saw a troll airborne with a clenched fist. He was able to survive the previous attack because the barrier was able to absorb more than fifty percent of the impact. Now his barrier was gone and the beast intended to attack there is no way he could survive this next attack. He closed his eyes and waited for death to reap his soul Bam!!! Like a bullet, the body of the troll fell to the ground, creating web-like cracks on the floor, Derik grabbed on to Gin''s body as the descended to the ground Thud! "I made it," Derik said with a weak smile on his face. He stared at Gin who wore a bitter smile on his face "You had to wait for the last moment huh?... superhero entrance¡­ nice" Gin laughed. Derik smiled slightly and they returned his cold gaze to the level 9 trolls less than thirty meters away, he tried to move and felt sharp pains at his joints. "Damn" he muttered. By then a blue transculent barrier appeared around Gin and vanished. "I need an opening¡­ I intend to pour in everything in my next attack so let''s make it count" Gin whispered to Derik who nodded in response. On the other side of the battlefield was Kira who wore an ugly expression on his face, he failed to understand how someone who was pummeled into the ground multiple times by level 5 ogres could stand and fight suddenly "Inconceivable!!!" he muttered, even still he was slightly happy. Thanks to Derik''s appearance, gin was not killed by the troll. Initially he ordered the trolls to kill him out of anger, but finally, when the troll was about to land the finishing blow his heart skipped a bit due to fear when he remembered the rules of inter-class competition. If he had successfully murdered Gin, the adventurers association would not show mercy even if he was from a noble family. At one moment he silently thanked Derik and the next moment his gaze became could and his murderous intentions could not be hidden. "Cripple them!!!" he ushered a new order ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Bam! Bam! Bam! Both sides quickly retreated after the third blow as they stared at their shivering hands, Derik quickly turned his attention on the troll in front of him with a shocked expression on his face "So this is the strength a level 9 beast, comparable to the strength of an omega under the effects of the full moon," he said with a grim expression on his face.Naturally monsters were classified into three categories; Normal Monsters such as ogres, goblins, trolls and so on, these beasts rely purely on overwhelming strength, speed and numbers, these monsters could be seen in forests and caves and are usually levels 1-9, only on very few occasions are do you see normal monsters over level 10. Then there are magical beasts like griffins, dragons, fairies and so on, these beasts possess magic abilities. These monsters are usually found in Dungeons, forbidden lands, ancient lands. And finally there are Supernatural monsters, these beasts leave within societies and kingdoms without people noticing, these supernatural beings rarely pop up, and those who encounter these beasts are termed unlucky and unfortunate. Take the Lockwood family, which lived among the people of Briton for centuries now, yet they are still able to keep their secret hidden. Derik Immediately ducked evading the trolls punch and he immediately swept the troll of its feet with a slide tackle and climbed atop the troll, placing his knees on its hands preventing it from moving them. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! After delivering the fourth blow, Derik heard sounds coming from the sides and frowned, he immediately jumped off the body of the troll, whose face was covered with its blood. With a vicious expression on his face, he waited for the other troll to arrive Bam!! Derik felt a sharp pain in his back staggering forward before he could recover he felt a sharp pain in his gut and he spat out blood as his body retreated backward. Not letting Derik recover the troll whose face was covered in blood attacked once again, the cycle continued over and over again. "Thank you¡­ Derik!!!" Gin said with a weak smile on his face. His body shuddered involuntarily and his complexion was dangerously pale, on his hand was his magic sword which trembled greatly and was shrouded in sky blue energy, from afar it felt like the blade was crying out. "I will end it with this attack" he screamed as he swung his blade releasing an enormous arc of energy. This instantly caught the attention of the two trolls, the trolls screamed and traces of fear could be seen in their voices, they tried to escape but was before they could leave the range of the attack the energy wave had caught to them. As for Derik who was expecting this, he took advantage of the time a few seconds in which the trolls were distracted to escape. Gin stared at the trolls who were consumed by the energy wave with a mocking smile on his face "Derik¡­" He called out as he searched for Derik in the field only to see Derik lying on the ground with a red spear made of blood dug deep into his chest, he quickly turned his attention to Kira but it was already too late. After using such a large scale attack, he was yet to replenish his mana with his gauntlet. Gin felt a sharp pain in his chest and instantly blacked out 24 Chapter 24: Inter-class competition ends His eyelids yanked open and he found himself in an extravagantly large room, this room was over thirty meters wide yet only a bed which was located at the center and a stone chair which was also located next to the window at the left. His eyelids felt heavy and his body felt stiff. His nose twitched slightly when it perceived the usual wet dog odor not too far from the room, his eyes quickly drifted to the right side of the room where a giant banner with the image of a black hound was drawn "Lockwood banner¡­ this must be the Lockwood family castle" he sighed in relief. Initially, he thought he would be admitted by the holy church due to his injuries in the exam if this happened the consequences will surely be severe. He placed his hand on his chest and noticed the pain was gone "Sure enough they did a number on me" he wore a bitter smile on his face. If he knew the competition was going to end the way it did, he probably would have returned to the wall with Daemons medal. Not only did he fail to return with any medal, but he and five other recruits were also soloed by a single blood mage "What the F**k!!!" he screamed in frustration. His hands instinctively drifted to his neck area where he hung the medals during the competition, the last thing he could remember was escaping the range of Gins energy attack, while attempting to stabilize himself, a blood spear shot towards him like a bolt fired from a crossbow. He attempted to dodge but his body was already at its limit, the last thing he saw was Kira who had a bloodied dagger on his left hand and a cut wound on his right wrist. "To think he had more spells in his arsenal¡­ Sorcerers are amazing even battle mages are inferior¡­ I doubt we would have won if gin and myself got the chance to fight him after taking out the trolls" He said with a bitter smile on his face. This competition helped him assess the strength of each class and from what he saw, the sorcerers stood at the very top, with the oracles chasing closely behind. Some may argue that the enchanters deserved the number two spot but the truth remains that gin was able to showcase such level of power because of the pieces of magic equipment on him which he was able to acquire probably due to his family background, the enchanter class will always remain a non-combat class, should Gin continue walking this path, he may never make it to silver class enchanter. On the other hand, the oracle class members have the option to focus on light-based offensive spells, mages who walk this part are usually referred to as knights of light, members of the holy church which even the emperor of the Gyro kingdom shows respect to. Knock! Knock! Knock! After the knocking for the third time, the door yanked open and a middle-aged man with perfect short black hair walked in. He wore a simple white textile cloth, brown leather trousers with brown boots, even though this was the normal dressing of the commoners who lived at the residential district, the quality of the cloth greatly varied. Even from a distance Derik could that every piece of cloth on this man cost more than a silver coin, this was more than an average citizen''s monthly income. Scott wore a charming smile on his face as he approached Derik, but hidden within the charming smile were traces of worry in his eyes. Even if Derik is not a legitimate member of the Lockwood family, he''s still a member of the Lockwood pack. "You did well¡­ Don''t be too hard on yourself" Scott said "My position on the ranking list?" Derik simply asked "Blood mage Kira, first¡­ God''s touch Gin, second¡­ Battle Demon Cyrus, third and Son of wind Derik, fourth" Scott said with a bitter smile on his face, his eyes remained fixed on Derik''s face hoping to see his reaction but to his greatest surprise, the young archer remained indifferent about it. It seemed as if he was expecting it "How long was I unconscious?" Derik asked after remaining silent for a while "Weeks" Scott laughed. "Week''s?!!" Derik screamed in shock and roll of the bed, he stared at Scott suspiciously, hoping he has misheard him "I''m not joking" Scott nodded as he spoke "Even if your injuries can heal at a very fast pace, it still doesn''t mean you can''t be psychologically worn out" Scott explained slowly "You pushed yourself to your limit¡­ and the people of Briton adore you for that" Scott added "I see... What about the others?" Derik asked "You mean Donald and the others?... their injuries were not as ''fatal'' as your own¡­" Scott said. He didn''t expect Derik to genuinely care for a group of people he only spent a few days with. He glanced at Derik for the last time before leaving the room. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ... Residential area¡­ Derik gazed at the medium-sized building entirely made out of stone, in the residential area, his family has could be considered as one of the best. Only a few families can afford to send their kids to join the adventurers association due to the one silver coin fee which was considered extravagant by most families. Within the residential area, his family was considered as one of the best. He shifted his gaze to the coachman who stood beside the carriage with the Lockwood banner and slightly smiled, Thud! Thud! Thud! Derik quickly returned to his attention when he heard footsteps, the wooden door yanked open and a man who looked like he was in his late fifties ran towards Derik with tears rolling down his cheeks. Upon arrival, John Angus took his time to check almost every part of Derik''s body "The injuries, the scar on your chest¡­ the red spear struck your chest and you¡­" He slowly spoke. John shifted his gaze and stared into Derik''s eyes who was smiling "Don''t worry¡­ the Lockwood family has a powerful oracle working for them¡­ she completely healed my injuries¡­" Derik lied. He pushed out his chest and patted it with his hand twice, with a proud expression on his face he asked "I was amazing right?" ¡­ John was taken aback by the question; he didn''t expect Derik to abruptly change the topic. He smiled and patted Derik''s head and grinned Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "You were amazing¡­ Your old man has become a celebrity because of you¡­" John said. Derik smiled in response, a small figure emerging from the stone house. He stared at Linda who stood beside the wooden door and wore a worried expression on her face for a while "She will get over it¡­ you don''t have to worry about her" John quickly said when he noticed the slight change in his mood. "It''s ok¡­ Mom is gone because of me¡­ Even if she decides to hate me all her life, I don''t mind¡­ I will live with it" Derik quickly replied. He turned his attention who stood at the side of the door, refusing to come closer and smiled "Don''t worry¡­ the next time I get to take on that blood mage¡­ I will definitely crush him and become the strongest recruit¡­ I will definitely make that noble family responsible for mom''s death pay!" Derik said with a determined expression on his face. He hugged his dad once more and returned to the carriage which took him to the archery class castle which was located at the commercial district. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­Archery Class Castle¡­ He stepped out of the carriage only to meet everyone waiting for him outside the castle, they all cheered and dashed towards him pouncing on him all out once. Derik shuddered involuntarily and quickly retreated, but his path of retreat was blocked off by the carriage behind him. "Damn" he muttered with a bitter smile on his face ¡­ ¡­ The recruits clustered around Derik as they walked down the halls of the castle¡­ "Man¡­ you were amazing¡­ soloing multiple level five ogres¡­ You looked like a god of war when you charged at those beasts alone" Dean laughed "Domineering!!!¡­ You''re just too amazing¡­ Everyone in Briton knows your name" George added "I''m sorry my twin caused you so much trouble" Brian took the initiative to apologize "Kira Ryan? ¡­ so he is related to you¡­ I was planning to ask because I found it hard to believe¡­ he''s just so different ¡­ You don''t have to apologize anyway¡­" Derik quickly responded, unlike Kira who had a pair of cold eyes, Brian was different. That''s why he found it hard to believe they were related "That Kira dude was amazing though¡­ Capable of soloing all six representatives¡­ soooo scary" James shuddered involuntarily as he spoke "He used monsters, that''s practically a cheat¡­ he''s a cheat!!" Mason said indifferently. Derik felt a warm palm touch his left hand and quickly shifted his gaze towards Mary who remained silent while staring at him "Don''t worry¡­ I''m ok" he said "The second stage of the competition¡­ how did it go?" He quickly asked while avoiding Mary''s unconvinced pair of eyes. "Well¡­ only Mason and Brian made it to the top twenty on the ranking list¡­ it''s not fair¡­ you can''t expect a support class to compete with combat classes like battle mages, sorcerers and guardian knights" George said The others nodded in agreement and talked about other matters concerning their battles for a while. After walking for close to three minutes, they finally arrived at the castle''s fifth floor. Beside a wooden door was Master Stevens who wore a warm smile on his face when Derik and the rest arrived "The archery class lord is waiting for you¡­ You better don''t keep him waiting" he said with a warm smile on his face. "I have never seen Master Stevens smile..." George said "Crap¡­ my mind is playing games with me¡­ this can''t be real" Dean said "It''s probably because Derik made it to the top four¡­ it''s quite reasonable" Mason quickly responded "I guess so¡­" Brian nodded in agreement "You shouldn''t keep them waiting¡­ You should get going" Mary said to Derik with a gentle smile on her face. 25 Chapter 25: Team Formation Derik stepped into the spacious room wearing a confused expression, his eyes remained fixed on the archery class banner which hanged on the wall directly opposite the entrance which was over thirty meters away. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I can never get used to this" he muttered as he scanned the spacious room. A room which was over thirty meters in length and over fifty meters in width had only a stone chair and a stone desk, such a waste! Yet they say the magical classes are given more privileges when compared to the physical classes "Let''s not think about it" Derik muttered¡­ he shifted his gaze to the grey-haired man who patiently waited for Derik to speak first "I heard you sent for me a few days ago¡­ I''m sorry I couldn''t respond on time" Derik said, slightly bowing. The grey-haired man laughed out loud and quickly got on his feet, this young lad has no reason to apologize. Not only did he secure the fourth position in the inter-class exams that is two positions ahead of the battlemage Karl instantly boosting the reputation of the archery class, but he was also unconscious according to the information given to him by the Lockwood family. When he heard that Derik had regained consciousness, he initially planned to give the young archer a week or two to rest but before he could send someone, Derik had already arrived "You don''t have to apologize¡­ I''m truly sorry we were unable to provide you with proper equipment before the inter-class competitions... if we did you probably wouldn''t have been damaged to this extent¡­" The grey-haired man said "You should get more rest¡­ allow your body to heal" He added "You don''t have to apologize... my lord¡­ the archery class provided me with a combat technique¡­ that is enough¡­ Also, you don''t have to worry¡­ the Lockwood Family has a really powerful oracle working for them¡­. My injuries are gone" He lied. The grey-haired man could only smile if Derik knew the significance of his achievement, he probably wouldn''t be so meek. Due to Derik''s courage even when the oracle Cyrus and the others had lost hope, taking on a small army of goblin chieftains, goblin warlords and ogres head-on, he instantly became the peoples favorite, more than half of them has expressed their interest in joining the archery class, hoping to be like their hero Derik. Even now the budget allocated to the archery class has increased tremendously due to Derik''s performance in the competition, if someone should be thanking the other, it should be him "Even if your injuries are gone, you should still feel a little fatigued so I won''t spend much of your time" the grey-haired man spoke first, he grabbed a scroll tied with a red ribbon bearing the adventurers association insignia on it and tossed it over to Derik "The association has already assigned you to a team," He said with a sad expression on his face "So fast?" Derik gasped in response. Naturally, the inter-class competition aimed at showcasing the skills of the top recruits in each town in the Gyro kingdom to the world, this will not only advertise their skills and attract investors/sponsors but this will also enable them to separate strong from the weak. Normally it is expected that the weak are grouped with the strong in order to stabilize a team''s overall strength that way no team can be branded ''useless'' but the case is different when it comes to the adventurers association, currently humans waged war against magical monsters, supernatural monsters and foreign races which possess high intelligence and military capabilities comparable to that of humans if not greater, to defeat such beings, the world is in need of legendary weapons, magical tomes, ancient relics and any other alternate source of power which may allow them to stand at equal footing against these races. To protect the human race was is a duty left for the military alone, this is something everyone must partake in, the adventurers association and the Holy church included, to do this powerful adventurers team capable of successfully raiding dungeons and returning with valuable resources capable of boosting the overall strength of the human race. Even though this was a good thing for Derik, this also meant that the archery class has lost all control over the archer. Normally three years of intense training is carried out, recruits who perform excellently well in the inter-class competitions are instantly grouped into teams. These recruits are then engaged in special training for a year where after which they are taking a final exam. "The only recruits who qualified to take part in the teaming process are the seven recruits who took part in the inter-class competitions¡­ even the assassin¡­ Daemon barely made the cut¡­ we have you to blame for that¡­ you didn''t give her a chance to shine" the grey-haired man laughed. "She is quite skilled¡­ but she relies on those magic weapons too much¡­" Derik said wearing a bitter smile on his face. What the grey-haired man said was quite true, on the first day of the competition, he forced Daemon to push herself to her limit, thereby putting her in a weakened state which prevented her from showcasing her true capabilities, that''s probably why she ranked the seventh amongst all sevens contestants. Her dependency on the magic weapons truly prevented her from showcasing her true potentials. "You''re right¡­ magic weapons may come as a gift and a great companion when in the hands of someone capable of drawing out its full capabilities but in the hands of someone like Daemon¡­ it''s only a curse" the grey-haired man spoke nodding his head in agreement with Derik''s initial statement "Well, I guess this is goodbye then¡­" Derik muttered. Even though this was what he wanted he still felt sad, by the way, he has been here for over six months and has made a lot of friends leaving them behind is something he wasn''t psychologically prepared for. "Don''t talk like that¡­ The archery class will always be open to you¡­ if you ever need our help in future just visit" the grey-haired man said while searching for something. When he finally found it, he picked up a little leather pouch and handed it over to Derik "Consider that as a parting gift from the archery class¡­" The grey-haired man said "This¡­" Derik gasped when he opened the leather pouch ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A carriage carrying the Lockwood banner sped through the streets of the commercial district, heading towards the outskirt of the commercial district where the Adventurers association branch in Briton is located. Throughout the journey, Derik remained silent as he stared at the little glass tube in his hand which was filled with light blue liquid "Magic enhancement potion" He muttered In this world, potions are considered a godly item capable of saving one''s life or improving one''s strength, yet only a few potion masters capable of brewing high-quality potions exist in Gyro so naturally, potions in this part of the world are ''expensive''. This is the major reason why adventurers always bring back important body parts of monsters defeated and collecting herbs when in the field because these things are necessary ingredients of different potions with different effects. Even basic minor healing potions sell for a considerable amount of silver coins and this potion is only capable of healing minor wounds, naturally, these products are expensive due to the scarcity of items/ingredients. This was especially true for magic enhancement potions which could permanently increase the magic power of its user, these potions could easily sell for over a hundred gold coins, that''s if one can find a seller. These potions were not in any way inferior to bronze level magic weapons in terms of price and some cases, it ends up being more expensive. Not only is the potion capable of permanently enhancing one''s magic power but it can also help hasten the development of magic in one''s body. During the Magical class test during the Adventurers associationrecruiting exercise, there were people who placed their hands on the crystal orb and it remained the same, these people possess zero affinity to magic, in other words, they can never gain magic powers meanwhile there are also people like Derik who was able to produce a faint glow when he placed his hand on the crystal orb, such people possess magic affinity although its still not properly developed. To rectify such an issue, these set of people can only rely on magic enhancement potions or any other magic enhancement item to help develop their magic. But this is usually not feasible because of the rarity of the potion and the market price. To think the archery class was informed of his magical test results, he didn''t even want to think of how much difficulty the class went through just to proclaim such a godly item. "Thank you" he muttered to himself as he quickly removed the lid and emptied the contents of the glass tube in his mouth. His body felt warm and light, at this point almost all the veins in his body were visible and he struggled to remain calm, his body suddenly felt stiff and his vision began to blur, he tried to speak but the words refused to come out. He could only wait patiently for his consciousness to completely fade away. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ "Sir¡­ Sir¡­" a voice echoed in Derik''s ears, he slowly opened his eyelid and saw the coachman at the entrance of the carriage with a worried expression on his face, he smiled slightly and did a quick body check just to see if his body was still the same. Naturally, mages possess unique traits depending on their magic powers, just like Karl who possessed blood-red hair and blood-red iris because of his strong affinity to Fire magic and also Cyrus who possessed golden hair and snow-white eyes due to his strong affinity to light magic. If the potion worked, there has to be a visible change "I wish had had a mirror with me" He muttered Not planning to waste more time, he jumped off the carriage and walked towards the castle which looked more like a fortress belonging to the adventurer''s association 26 Chapter 26: Retaking the Magic class tes The guards stationed at the entrance of the adventurer association castle entrance instinctively stepped aside as Derik approached and even took the initiative to greet him. Just a few months ago these same people treated him and John Angus with contempt when they came here for the recruitment program but after witnessing Derik''s performance in the inter-class competition, they dare not provoke the young lad. At this point, they were lacking both in strength and influence, even though these guards were more powerful than recruits they only possessed as much strength as normal foot soldiers in the military and cannot solo a level five ogre. Even in terms of influence, they were mere guards working for the adventurer association, while Derik was amongst the top ten in the inter-class competitions and also served as the Knight of the Lockwood family thereby earning their support. According to the various pieces of information they received, Derik has a strong relationship with the Lockwood family head; Scott Lockwood.Derik at this point is an existence they dare not provoke, even the adventurers association would penalize them if they caused trouble for the young archer. Noticing the change in the attitude of these guards Derik could only smile, the last time he visited the adventurers association, these guards treated him and his father with contempt, now they dare not look him in the eyes. [Maybe later I will have dad tag along and make these guys apologize] he thought as he made his way into the adventurers association castle. It was still the same as he remembered only that the ground floor was empty, he quickly scanned the room with his eyes briefly before approaching the woman seated on a wooden chair with a wooden desk in front of her and a crystal orb on the desk. Upon arrival, pulled out the scroll given to him by the grey-haired man and handed it over to the woman "According to this, you served as the representative of the archery class during the inter-class competitions yet I don''t recognize you" The woman said with a suspicious look on her face, she knew Derik Angus very well, Short brown hair and brown eyes yet this young lad claiming to be Derik possessed pitch-black iris and all the pitch-black hair on his head stood upon giving it a spiky kind of look. Even though deep down she knew the teenager right in front of her looked like Derik but the change in hair and eye color greatly confused her, even now the boy looked slightly taller and more manly in various ways. "What do you mean by that¡­ I''m Derik Angus¡­ See" Derik was shocked by the woman''s statement and hurriedly pulled out his recruit medal where his name was boldly written. The lady quickly inspected the medal and returned her gaze to the black-haired teen in front of her with traces of shock and suspicion in her eyes "How did you change so much¡­" she asked "Change¡­ I changed?"Derik muttered, at this point, he finally understood where the problem originated from "But it took effect fast" he muttered. The magic enhancement potion simply speeds up the magic development in one''s body and when such a person''s energy pathways have been blocked crippling his chances of developing a magic affinity, the magic enhancement potions simply shatters the blockades enabling the users magic to develop even further, but naturally this required some time to take effect. The changes need sometime before they become visible it should take about a month or two before the process completes, yet this was completed in less than a day in his case only requiring just a few hours. [Could this be because of my werewolf side] he thought, this was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with, maybe its healing factor was not limited to external wounds alone. "I was able to procure a magic enhancement potion and consumed it¡­ that is the reason for my change in appearance¡­ I would like to take the magical class test once again¡­" he said as he pulled out a small leather pouch from his back pocket retrieving a silver coin form it and placing it on the table. "I see¡­" the lady nodded her head in agreement after listening to Derik''s short explanation. She was no stranger to the effects of the magic enhancement potion and was aware of the physical changes that occurred once a person unlocked his magic affinity. Only that she never expected Derik to have such influence and connections capable of proclaiming a magic enhancement potion, that was why she gazed at him suspiciously earlier. "I guess I underestimated you, Derik Angus¡­ We have already spent too much time here¡­ let us begin the test" she said as she carefully moved the Cyrstal orb closer to Derik after picking up the silver coin.With a nervous look on his face, Derik slowly placed his palm on the orb and almost instantly the semi-transculent crystal orb turned pitch black, a dark purple mist completely shrouded the orb and gloomy energy filled the room. even the guards stationed at the entrance of the castle rushed into the castle with their weapons unsheathed "Such evil energy¡­ Dark magic¡­ no, this can''t be right¡­ I have never felt such evil energy before¡­" she gasped in shock as she stared at the pitch-black orb in Derik''s hands and shuddered involuntarily. Her eyes shifted to Derik who remained calm all through the process, steadily gazing at the pitch-black orb as if he was searching for something inside the orb. "Enough!!!..." the lady as she quickly pulled away from the orb, she stared at Derik who has been silent ever since he placed his hand on the crystal orb with a terrified expression. For over two years since she began serving the adventurers association, she has come across people with blood magic, dark magic and so on and still didn''t feel terrified. Yet the energy which emitted from the orb when Derik placed his hand on it was beyond anything she has ever felt "I hope you can stay with us for a while¡­ the result of this test is quite unclear ¡­ I can''t place your class a the moment¡­ I will need a professional to look into it" she spoke not daring to look Derik in the eye as she spoke "How long will that take¡­ I''m meant to be with the rest of my team now¡­ I can''t afford to waste much time here" Derik quickly responded, he sees the lady shudder in fear and all the guards on the first floor had their weapons unsheathed. They were all afraid and fear makes people do stupid things if he hung around a little longer something unfortunate may happen. "Just a few hours¡­ please" The lady added as she stared at Derik nervously. Derik could only smile bitterly in response, escaping the guards here was childs play to him, the real problem was the adventurer teams on the second floor. The second floor in the adventurers association branch office served as a meeting center where adventurer teams meet up and a pick quests and requests. The third floor is where the requests are turned in and rewards are given out. Even though at his current level he was on par with the average low ranking bronze level adventurers in terms of strength and speed thanks to his wolf side, he still lacked experience and exposure which these people possessed. There is a high chance that these people may high ranking bronze level adventure teams present or if he was unlucky there maybe even silver level adventurer teams present. "Very well then¡­ Does the association have a vacant room for guests?... You must have heard I just regained consciousness today¡­I''m a bit tired" Derik laughed as he spoke. His cheerful expression calmed everyone down and they slowly sheathed their weapons, returning to their various positions but their eyes remained fixed on Derik "Ahh yes thank you for understanding" the lady quickly responded and led Derik to one of the rooms in the castle ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ He gazed at the mirror and marveled at the changes that have taken place, with such a villainous face coupled with the possession of such evil aura why wouldn''t they act the way they did. He even considered himself lucky that the guards on the ground floor were not to rash in their response, even he was taken aback when he felt the evil aura that emitted from his body. During that moment he heard a sinister laugh and a cold voice reciting some words "Death¡­" he muttered Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "So this is how I''m meant to look if my magic developed properly¡­I look amazing" He laughed. He laid on the bed and closed his eyes hoping to rest for a little while even now he felt a little bit dizzy ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Derik opened his eyes and found himself in the same room, he liked out the window only to realize everywhere had gone dark "Didn''t they say it will take only a few hours¡­ yet they kept me here the whole day" he said. He quickly walked towards the door attempting to open it but the door refused to open "They locked me in?" He frowned slightly. His expression changed and his eyes glowed blue, his began bulging as he punched at the door Bam!!! He retreated by a step yet the door remained steadfast, out of frustration he growled and punched out repeatedly Bam! Bam! Bam! After throwing the about fifty punches at the door he felt exhausted "What kind of sorcerer is this¡­ a magic barrier capable of withstanding the strength of a level 9 supernatural beast easily¡­ I doubt even Scott Lockwood can shatter it" He said with a bitter smile. With a confused expression on his face, he returned to the mirror and decided to check himself out a bit to know whether any new changes have occurred. Upon arriving, he stared at the mirror for a while and everything seemed to be normal "No new changes huh?"He said. Instantly his nose twitched instinctively, the odor of a rotten corpse and for a time he felt nauseated by the dour. Returning his gaze to the mirror he saw a figure whose face is covered with a hood, the figures purple eyes glowed as it stretched out its hands and reached for Derik''sshoulde 27 Chapter 27: Peak three star Death magic Derik quickly spun to the left escaping the bone fingers of the cloaked man "What the F##k!!" he screamed "What are you!!!" he asked The mysterious hooded being with purple eyes remained silent, staring at its body hands, it then shifted its gaze to Derik but still refused to utter speak. "Come on man! Help! Someone help!!" Derik screamed with a terrified expression on his face, he quickly ran to the door and kept assaulting with barrages of punches, yet the door remained locked. "Frightened by your own power¡­ pitiful" a voice echoed in Derik''s ears. "What?" Derik asked as he turned to face the mysterious being only to realize it was standing right behind him. "Humans¡­ unnecessary emotions stagnate your growth¡­ that''s why humans will never rise above their enemies¡­ that''s why you all hide behind a wall¡­ pathetic" the mysterious cloaked figure growled at Derik''s face. Derik shuddered involuntarily as the cloaked figure spoke, he felt like screaming but he couldn''t find his voice "I''m sorry" he quickly responded. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke, at this point he was utterly confused, he couldn''t explain why he was apologizing or why he was crying [Am I apologizing for being scared?] He thought. "Hahahahahahahahahahahah! Hahahahahahhahahaha!!" the mysterious cloaked figure laughed. "You''re more pathetic than my previous host but I sense something different about you¡­ You surpass my previous host in all ramifications¡­ courage exempted¡­ You have potential¡­I will work with you¡­ human" the mysterious cloaked figure spoke Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Derik wanted to speak but he couldn''t, he could only watch the mysterious figure slowly get consumed by purple flames before vanishing ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Derik! Derik!! Derik!!! "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Derik screamed as he sat up, his body was covered in sweat and his eyes scanned the room, only stopping when it spotted a white-haired man with green iris, adorned with a red robe. On his right hand was a talisman wrapped around it and right behind him was the lady who handled Derik''s magical test on her hands was the crystal orb wrapped. "Calm down recruit" the man spoke with a gentle voice "It was just a dream¡­ a dream" Derik spoke as he wiped away the sweat on his face "A dream?" the white-haired man muttered "Can you tell me what you saw," the man asked with keen interest. He sat beside Derik and waited patiently for the boy to calm down. After a few minutes of silence, Derik took in a deep breath and finally spoke "It all happened in this room¡­ it was dark outside so I assumed the day time had passed already¡­ I decided to leave the room but the door wouldn''t budge¡­ I tried to break the door but it felt like I was punching against a solid wall¡­ I .. I ¡­ I saw a cloaked figure with glowing purple eyes, I couldn''t get a good look at his face, within the hood over his head was total darkness¡­ on its yellow eyes were visible" Derik said with a terrified expression on his face. "I see" the white-haired sorcerer spoke "What did it say," he asked curiously. Derik instantly turned to the mysterious mage and stared at him suspiciously for a while "It claimed to be my power," Derik said staring at his palms with a confused expression. The white-haired sorcerer nodded silently and waved at the lady who carried the crystal orb "I wish to run the magical class test again¡­ please cooperate" the white-haired sorcerer said. Derik quickly nodded in approval and placed his hand on the crystal orb. Suddenly the temperature in the room dropped and it felt like time itself froze, the crystal orb turned purple and a darkish purple mist gathered around the orb. Almost immediately immense evil energy emitted from Derik''s body, the whole room was filled by this evil energy "I can never get used to this¡­" the white-haired sorcerer said. His eyes remained fix on Derik''s face which had an emotionless and indifferent expression on it. [Just a moment he was terrified and confused¡­ there is no mistake here¡­ This is Death magic!!!...] The white-haired sorcerer thought¡­ He gently removed Derik''s hand from the orb and passed it on to the lady who was already on her knees, covered in sweat and terrified. Even though she has felt this same energy just a few hours ago she still can''t muster the courage to fight it, let alone look Derik in the eyes. The lady quickly grabbed the crystal orb and dashed out of the room, not daring to look back "Well¡­ well¡­ I didn''t think I will be opportune to meet a second person inherit such magic" the white-haired man said laughing¡­ "I''m Francis¡­ the nature magic sorcerer of Briton¡­ Nice to meet you¡­ Derik, I''m correct right?" he said with a charming smile on his face. When Derik heard the man introduce himself he was flabbergasted. Francis a sorcerer who specialized in nature magic, this man is practically a god to the people of Briton and a role model for all aspiring mages. The only adventurer from Briton by birth to become a high ranking Silver level adventurer! Ever since the three years since when adventurer association was formed, Briton has only been able to produce a single silver level adventurer, the rest were stuck at the bronze level, why won''t they be proud of this young man. Even Derik aspired to be like him when he was yet to join the association that is before reality shattered his dreams of making it into the magical class. Now, this legendary man was sitting right next to him, on the same bed? Why won''t he be excited! "Yes sir" He quickly answered with a joyous smile, at that moment he thought of something¡­ "You said I''m the second person to inherit this magic¡­ what does that mean? ¡­ there was someone who possessed this magic before me?... what happened to him? what kind of power is this?" Derik asked curiously. Francis could only laugh at the boy''s questions "Slow down¡­ I will explain¡­" Francis assured Derik " Even within mages there are ranks¡­ these ranks are solely decided by the type of magic a mage inherits¡­ these magic''s are rated in stars. Like the battle mages now¡­Most of these elemental based magic is rated One star.. those outside the magic class may see these battle mages as legends and monsters but in reality¡­ they are at the bottom¡­ then there are the supplementary classes like the enchanters and oracles whose enchantment spells are rated two stars¡­ not to waste much of your time, your magic is what we call Death magic.. it is a peak three-star magic¡­ very rare..." Francis explained. "Amazing¡­ Peak three-star¡­ that must be the highest ratings any magic can get, Am I correct?" Derik asked with a proud smile on his face. "Not really¡­ the most powerful spells are rated five stars" Francis laughed "I see¡­" Derik muttered a little embarrassed "Your magic¡­ what''s its rating?" he asked "ooooh¡­ mine... it''s only intermediate three-star magic¡­ just like blood magic¡­ light magic and even darkness magic" Francis said, feeling a little embarrassed, he could tell what Derik was thinking "Peak¡­ intermediate¡­ that means my magic is stronger¡­ that''s a good thing right?" Derik asked "Yes and no" Francis quickly answered "Yes because your growth speed will be outstanding and no because you may not live long enough to enjoy it" he added "You see every magic has a ¡­ spirit¡­ that comes with it¡­ these spirits are regarded as a mages guardian and partner¡­ that''s how we mages learn and create our original spells¡­ then if we are feeling generous¡­ we write to sell or gift information based on these spells in forms of grimoires to people who possess the same magic affinity¡­ but it is important for a mage to possess a few spells to themselves which serve as their trump cards" Francis explained " These spirits usually possess different personalities¡­ most times their personality corresponds to their element¡­ in your case¡­ that thing you saw could be called your magic spirit¡­ it is one of the most dangerous magic spirits¡­ the last wielder of this magic was consumed by this power and lost her sanity¡­ I had to put her down" Francis said with a bitter smile on his face. Derik frowned slightly, finally understanding what Francis meant by ''you may not live long enough to enjoy it''. "I''m sorry¡­ She must have been really important to you" Derik said "So what can I do about this¡­ curse" he asked "Curse?... no magic is a curse... I watched you take on numerous monsters in area zero during the exam ¡­ you''re stronger than my sister was¡­ I believe you will surpass her and suppress this magic" Francis said with a serious expression "Your sister?... she was the one¡­" Derik muttered¡­ completely shocked by this. Francis ignored him and pulled out a talisman and a grimoire "I wasn''t strong enough to protect her back then¡­ but now I''m different!... Derik Angus¡­ you will not lose yourself to this power!!!... have this¡­ this talisman will suppress your powers and your magic spirit''s power as well¡­ and this grimoire was created by my sister¡­ I think this should help you get on your feet as a mage¡­ I strongly advise you to only make use of this power only when necessary until I can find a way to completely suppress your magic spirit" Francis said with a determined look on his face as he handed the talisman and grimoire over to Derik. "Thank you" Derik muttered as he hung the talisman on his neck and then looked at the grimoire in his hand. After chatting for a while with Francis, he left the adventurers association with a charming smile on his face, even though he possessed very dangerous magic. It is still magic! Today is the day he became a sorcerer. "One day I will make this magic my own!!!" he muttered while looking out the window of the carriage which had the adventurer association banner on it. "Let''s meet up with the others," he said 28 Chapter 28: Castle Black After traveling for over thirty minutes the carriage finally came to a halt "We are already there?" Derik muttered. He stuck his head out the little carriage window only to see a hundred-meter tall wall just about four hundred meters away. His curious eyes were instinctively drawn to the mighty iron gate which was over a hundred meters tall as well "Amazing!" he exclaimed "this is the first time I have seen the southern¡­ it''s more amazing than I thought" Derik screamed in shock "But wait¡­ why am I here?" don''t tell me the training site is actually outside the giant wall!!!... this ... thisis suicide!!" Derik screamed in fear. His gaze shifted to men in silver knights armor who blocked the gate with their weapons unsheathed, taking the lead was a yellow-haired lady in golden armor who beckoned the carriage to come closer with a simple hand gesture. "The military?" Derik muttered "In the carriage is Derik Angus, representative of the archery class during the inter-class competition... I''m to take him to ''Castle Black'' where the other members of the newly formed adventurer team are waiting" The coachman said while handing over the parchment with the adventurer team insignia on it. After staring at the parchment for a while she then waved at those at the gate. In less than ten minutes, the massive gates were opened and the carriage moved through. Even though outside the wandering outside the wall was extremely dangerous, there were routes created which linked the Gyro kingdom to other kingdoms as well, these routes are protected day and night by the military. Thanks to this, the journey was smooth and peaceful but slow, in just a few hours they had traveled over a thousand meters. This was because of the numerous checkpoints they had to stop. After a few more hours the carriage finally stopped. The carriage door yanked open and Derik jumped out with an excited expression on his face, his eyes shifted from the fifty-meter wall that surrounded the castle which had a mighty iron gate to the main castle itself. Looking back now he realized that the castle was atop a hill. "Amazing¡­" he said "Now the last member of the team has arrived¡­ Your team will receive its first task in three days" The coachman spoke and bowed slightly before leaving on the carriage without bothering to explain. Derik just stood there with a confused expression and watched the carriage vanish from his sight slowly "How long do you intend to stand there" A familiar voice echoed in Derik''s ear. He quickly turned around "Donald!!!" he gasped in shock. His gaze shifted to the black-haired girl who wore a casual black leather shirt and black trousers, her clothes desperately hugged against her body revealing the young assassin''s attractive body shape. Even now Donald tied his flowing green hair back and wore a casual white shirt and black trousers, this was the first time he has seen this side of these people. Donald and Daemon stared at Derik completely shocked, if not for the fact they spent so much time with Derik, they would have sworn this young archer was not the same archer who fought against a zombie monster horde. "Are you really Derik" Daemon asked wearing a suspicious look on her face "Of course¡­ who else would I be?" Derik responded. He picked up his backpack and walked past Donald and Daemon. Even though he wanted to explain, Francis asked him to keep his new power a secret and that''s what he intends to do. Even now he couldn''t practice his spells openly, he can only continue to live as an archer until Francis finds a way to deal with this evil magic spirit that resides in his mind. ¡­ ¡­ Arriving at the castles manor, Derik was welcomed by three more familiar faces who also wore confused expressions on their faces when they saw the ''New Derik. At first Cyrus, Gin and Karl suspected he may have awakened his magic yet they couldn''t feel any substantial magic power from him so they went for the second option. There were multiple methods through which one can change their hair color, as for the black iris that took the place of the brown iris, they just assumed it may be the effect of a potion brewed by the mysterious sorcerer who worked for the Lockwood family. After over twenty minutes of chatting with the rest of the team, Derik left for them, heading straight to his room. According to Cyrus and Karl, the room reserved for him was located on the second floor of the castle, the third floor was used as a library with so many books on magic which could make even the bronze level mages envious and then the fourth floor served as a storage room. Arriving at the door which had the archer class symbol on it, Derik was about to push the wooden door open but then he felt an ominous and dreadful aura which he remembered felt at the inter-class competition. He quickly made a 180 degrees turn, his hands instinctively reached out for his crossbow which always hung around his waist but it was not there "Damn¡­" Derik said with a bitter smile on his face "What is the prince of darkness doing here" he sneered "What do you mean? I''m a part of this shitty team¡­" Kira said indifferently. The next moment his eyes narrowed and his gaze became cold, at this point, Derik felt like the blood mage was staring at his soul. "That aura within you¡­ so powerful¡­ such evil¡­ there is no way you''re suppressing it with your strength, you must be relying on an item to suppress such power¡­ to think this young archer possesses such aura¡­ why didn''t I feel it during the inter-class competition¡­ unless¡­" Kira spoke, in his pitch-black iris were traces of shock. When Derik arrived he was at castle black''s library studying, even though Derik was still outside castle black''s gates which was over six hundred meters away he could still feel this dreadful aura. Initially he felt it was an extremely high leveled supernatural beast and when he felt it approach he thought it planned to attack and decided to wait and see how his ''new team'' would fare against it, yet this beast entered the castle unhindered and made its way to the second floor, why won''t he confront it? His cold gaze remained fixed on Derik who instinctively avoided eye contact. "So that''s what it is¡­ you just attained this power recently¡­ am I correct?" Kira asked. His eyes glowed in excitement and a grin appeared on his face when he saw Derik nod, not wasting any time he grabbed Derik by the wrist and led him to the room with the sorcerer class insignia on it. [How is he so strong?] Derik thought...Completely shocked when he was been dragged by Kira, considering his physical capabilities, even when he is not resisting a feeble and lanky sorcerer like him shouldn''t be able to move him. [Also why did he suddenly become cheerful¡­ isn''t this guy meant to be a devil incarnate who only smiles when he brings suffering and pain to his enemies] Derik thought and slightly shuddered in fear ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Kira''s room was over thirty meters in length and width, with the bed at the center of the room and a stone table and stone chair directly below a small window, on the desk was a blood-red colored book which was gently wrapped with a red ribbon, Derik didn''t need anyone to tell him that that was Kira''s grimoire and about five meters away is a door which led to the bathroom and finally directly opposite the Stone desk and stone chair at the other side of the room was a wardrobe. Closing the door behind Derik and locking it, Kira stared at Derik for a few seconds with a grin on his face. "Take the talisman suppressing your power off¡­ Cast a spell" Kira said "For you to put on a talisman that suppresses your power means you''re trying to hide this ability from the others¡­ its quite understandable, You don''t have to bother about them finding out when practicing here with me around¡­ I too possess a vicious aura as well¡­ they will simply assume I''m the one responsible" Kira explained. Derik understood what Kira was trying to say and also found it reasonable, even though he currently wasn''t allowed to practice magic an keep his new powers a secret, he still felt the urge to try. Since Kira already knew there is no point in hiding it from him, it is safe to use such power in this room, but the part about taking off the talisman and risk been dragged into a dream where he has to face such a terrifying magic spirit again? ''Hell No'' "I agree¡­ I can practice here but I refuse to take off the talisman" Derik finally said "Why?" Kira was astonished by Derik''d decision "That talisman does not only suppress your aura but also your power¡­ every spell you cast with that thing on will lose more than seventy percent of its original strength¡­ So why won''t you take it off" He asked? In his opinion, Derik should possess affinity of Darkness magic which was also an intermediate three star magic on par with his Blood magic "Because I can''t control it¡­ the magic spirit forcibly drags me into a state of sleep and tortures me¡­ you may get hurt¡­ everyone else too" Derik explained honestly "Get hurt?... A magic spirit that has a will of its own and goes as far as to torment its host¡­ that simply means that its chances of completely consuming you and taking over your body are quite high¡­ What''s your magic and what''s its rating" Kira asked "Death magic¡­ peak three-star magic" Derik quickly responded with traces of excitement and pride in his voice. "Peak three-star magic?... now it makes sense¡­ If that''s the case you don''t have to take off the talisman anymore¡­ I doubt I will be able to suppress you if you end up losing control¡­" Kira replied honestly. Even though only the word ''Intermediate'' and ''Peak'' separated their magic class, it still meant a lot, those whose magic was rated ''peak'' of a class always stood at the very top of that class¡­ to surpass such people requires extraordinary determination, hard work, and luck. If what Derik said was true then there was no way a recruit like him would be able to suppress someone with a peak rated magic should he go on a rampage? "Then let''s try out a few spells¡­ I''m guessing you haven''t done this before" Kira finally spoke "Not really¡­ I haven''t" Derik answered honestly feeling a little embarrassed. Kira understood what Derik was thinking and laughed "Alright¡­you should have a grimoire right¡­ just recite the incarnation there slowly¡­ speak each word it means something and the magic will happen" Kira slowly explained. With an excited expression on his face, Derik pulled out the pitch-black grimoire from his bag and gently flipped it open. His flipped through pages until he found a spell called ''Bone Spear'' " Ok¡­ let me try this" he said. Taking a few steps back, Derik took a deep breath and the exhaled "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" At this point, pitch-black aura gradually escaped Derik''s body and the temperature in the room instantly dropped, even Kira slightly shuddered in fear involuntarily. [To think he can draw out this much power even when it been suppressed by that talisman¡­ Terrifying]He thought. Everyone in this castle felt the evil aura coming from the second floor and their expression darkened instantly "He''s at it again¡­ who knows what kind of diabolical spell he is trying to perform this time" Karl said with a bitter smile on his face "I know right?" Gin replied "What about Derik?" Daemon asked "Don''t worry¡­ Derik is strong¡­ he will have to get used to this" Cyrus sighed after speaking "Bastard mages" Donald cursed silently ¡­ ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ¡­ At this point, Dierk''s eyes were pitch black and his spiky black hair fluttered in the wind as he chanted, his face was void of emotions, any person who saw him at this point will mistake him for a demon. At the end of the incarnation, a five-meter long spear purely made of bones appeared in mid-air, the aura this weapon radiated was truly terrifying, even Kira had to retreat by a few steps instinctively. Derik then raised his hand and reached for the spear and with a sinister smile on his face he gazed at the bone spear in his hand "Excellent" he muttered¡­ 29 Chapter 29: New Friends "How does it feel?'' Karl asked with a sinister smile on his face as he stared at Derik who kept staring at the bone spear in his hand without uttering a word for over a minute "Its¡­ it feels great" Derik responded. His eyes remained fixed on the white bone spear which emitted a faint black aura [So this is how it feels to be a mage¡­ that feeling¡­ the rush¡­ it felt like I''m the grim reaper¡­ amazing] Derik muttered. He then let go of the bone spear which was consumed by black flames and when the flames dispersed it vanished. "Unfortunately I have to stick to my archer identity until I can find a way to suppress that magic spirit," Derik said wearing a bitter smile on his face. Kira only sighed in response and unlocked the door and opened it "Fear is unnecessary in this situation¡­ Even with the talisman you still feel fear when using this power of yours¡­ Let the power flow through you¡­ become one with the power and then attaining control becomes easier¡­ that''s how I do it" Kira said as he watched Derik leave the room ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ He finally stepped into the room dedicated to the archery class, his eyes swept across the room shortly after and with a warm smile on his face he closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed. The room was the same as that of Kira both in size and setting, not daring to waste time he dashed towards the wardrobe and yanked the doors open. "Amazing¡­ they actually brought my stuff¡­ and here I thought they haven''t delivered it yet" Derik screamed in elation. Before he left the association branch office he was informed that his properties in the archery class castle will be moved to the ''new training site'', right now he was expecting it to arrive after a day or two "So effective¡­ they got here before me¡­" he muttered. His eyes shifted to stone desk where the five black battle armor sets neatly placed at a corner and then three high-quality bows and over thirty quivers which carried over a hundred arrows, on the desk was three black colored crossbows and a small quiver which carried over fifty bolts and finally there were seven neatly placed sheathed daggers. "They prepared everything¡­that''s the association for you" Derik laughed. After unpacking Derik washed himself and then remained in the room, making sure his door was locked first before pulling out the grimoire which he hid under the bed, he took his time to go through a lot of spells, it took him two hours to go through all twenty-four spells recorded in the grimoire. After which he hid the grimoire under the bed and then slept off¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Knock! Knock! Knock! Derik''s eyes yanked open and he rolled to the right falling off the bed in the process, the wolf part of him put him at a disadvantage at situations like this. Before he received the bite waking Derik whenever he''s asleep is hell for John Angus and Linda Angus. Even knocking on his door for over an hour and screaming his name, he still won''t budge but now thanks to his overhyped senses even mere footsteps are enough to wake him. With bloodshot eyes, he stared at the door and silently swore to end the life of the person who had the guts to disturb his sleep. With claws taking the place of the nails on his right hand, he approached the door, the hand was placed at his back as he swung the door open with his left hand. In an instant, all murderous intentions that flowed through his mind vanished the moment his eyes spotted Daemon "Why does it have to be you?" he sighed "Huh? What is that supposed to mean" Daemon replied wearing a confused expression on her face "It''s nothing" simply responded not bothering to explain his previous statement. "What''s up?" he asked¡­ the young assassin recruit stared at daemon suspiciously for a while before speaking "It''s night already¡­ join us for dinner" she said. Her gaze shifted to Derik''s hand which was placed at his back and frowned slightly, her gaze returned to Derik''s face and she silently stared at him with a suspicious expression. Derik could only avoid her eyes in response and patiently wait for her to leave. "Thank goodness, she left¡­ that was scary¡­" Derik finally breathed out and fell on his butt¡­ "To think a werewolf who possesses a peak three-star magic would crumble under the gaze of a lady¡­ Derik... you''re so pathetic" he said to himself. After washing his mouth and body, Derik changed into his nightwear which he only used at home and walked down the stairs with a cheerful smile on his face. This smile soon crumbled when he saw the other five members of the team giggle while pointing at him. "Yo!!! Derik¡­ that looks like your sisters¡­ when do you plan on returning it¡­" Donald laughed and the others laughed with him. "To think the mighty archer who fought bravely against two level nine trolls would put on a garment¡­ this moment is priceless" Gin almost choked while laughing "You guys shouldn''t act this way," Daemon said with a serious look on her face "You''re too harsh on the lady!!!" she laughed and the others laughed with her. At this point Derik wished he could just bury himself, he bowed his head in shame and received the non-stop bombardment of insults silently until¡­ Thud! Thud! Thud! As the footsteps got closer and louder the room suddenly became as quiet as a graveyard and their gaze shifted the source of the sound, the staircase! The young lad with black flowing hair, pale skin, and pitch-black iris walked down the stairs in his black garment with an indifferent look on his face. His eyes scanned the room almost instantly, in just a second he understood what was going on and shook his head in disappointment "Why worry yourself with the insults of lesser beings," Kira said, his cold gaze swept across the room. At this point, even Cyrus felt cold beads of sweat roll down back "They''re not lesser beings¡­ Don''t look down on others¡­ it''s rude!" Derik said to Kira with a serious and determined expression on his face "Huh?... they''re all weaker¡­ the weak can never be compared to the strong¡­ why should I be bothered about their feelings¡­ except for Cyrus¡­ the rest are below standard¡­ you¡­ you have the potential that''s why I haven''t looked down on you yet" Kira said indifferently. Derik, on the other hand, was already lost, with no proper counter he just remained mute and bowed his head "Wha¡­ what are you doing here anyway" Daemon mustered enough courage and finally spoke¡­ "I''m a part of this team until we graduate¡­ the team is having its dinner¡­ why should I be exempted?" Kira also threw a question at her. Daemon could only lower her head in response, everything Kira said was true, he is a member of the team and has all rights to join them but why now. They have been here for more than a week now, since then Kira has never joined them for breakfast, lunch or dinner so why join now? Also, he acknowledged Derik, this was something that shocked everyone. Just a few days after they arrived, Donald confronted the blood mage and publicly rebuked the method Kira used to win the competition calling him a coward, the argument grew more fierce and a fight broke out. Naturally, everyone except for Cyrus bore a grudge for the blood mage and saw this as a golden opportunity to repay Kira ten-fold now his zombie pets were nowhere to be found. But to their greatest surprise, in less than two minutes, they were manhandled by Kira and even when Cyrus interfered he still claimed his portion of the beating. There is no doubt about it, ever since that day they have lived in fear because of the strength Kira showcased, until now¡­ Derik has returned. This young lad who possessed insane speed, strength, mana, and even stamina, I mean even Donald paled in comparison. During the inter-class competition Derik always received deadly injuries but the next moment he gets on his feet as nothing happened, if someone can defeat this Kira, it has to be another monster¡­ Derik!!!. Daemon and the rest stared at Derik and Kira who stood face to face, silently praying that Kira will make a mistake which will result in a fight between the both of them "Nice nightwear¡­ but why does it have to be black¡­ you''ve got the color all wrong!" Derik exclaimed "And white is better? Humph!" Kira snapped as he stared at Derik''s white garment "No no...no¡­ don''t get me wrong¡­ understand me first ok?... Black should be my thing¡­ you know what I mean¡­then yours should be¡­ Red!... since you''re a blood mage¡­ that''s the perfect color!" Derik hurriedly explained. Kira could only smile in response and carefully consider Derik''s proposal, it made sense in a way when considering the kind of magic they both possessed "I see," he said with a serious expression "Alright! I agree to change this if you also agree to change yours as well" Kira finally decided. "Deal" Derik hurriedly agreed and both teens shook on it, after which they walked towards the dining table. The rest of the team were completely speechless and shocked by what they all saw, even Gin had to wash his face with the cup of water on the table over and over again while he watched Derik and Kira chat while they approached the table. Daemon almost spat out blood in shock when she witnessed this "He''s Friends with the enemy?... why did they reconcile¡­ shouldn''t they be tearing each other apart? It felt like her eyes were playing tricks on her. "But when?" Daemon turned to Donald who also wore a confused expression on his face "Not when¡­. How?" Donald responded with a question of his own. Even the shared the same thoughts with Daemon and prayed that Derik and Kira will get into a fight, after witnessing Derik''s strength first hand, he had some confidence in the boy''s abilities, but now¡­ Throughout Dinner, Derik and Kira chatted while they ate, the mood around them was lively while the rest remained silent and simply listened to their conversations. To their greatest surprise, Derik somehow knew about Kira''s twin who he claimed to be a member of the archery class, and soon even Cyrus joined the discussion "How can Light and Darkness mix" Daemon almost screamed as she pulled her hair violently when she saw Derik and Cyrus laugh at Kira''s ''horrible'' jokes, she silently cursed and hissed at them. Derik is already a monster in her opinion so its understandable for two monsters to get along but Cyrus is another person altogether. As an oracle who practices light magic, it is only natural for you to stand or despise those who possess evil powers but the opposite was happening right here "Traitors" Donald hissed at them, while Gin and Karl just observed silently. After dinner, Derik and Kira agreed to do the dishes which once again shocked everyone, the almighty blood mage and the Superpowered archer who dominated the inter-class competitions with their strengths are going to do the dishes. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Crap" Gin muttered "I know right?" Karl replied If anyone had told them that something like this happened, they probably would have drowned the person in a pool of his blood and continuously throw curses at him as they watch him die. But now they are witnessing it¡­ "This" Daemon''s expression darkened¡­ "What are you guys talking about? They may be powerful but they are still kids¡­ fourteen-year-olds if I''m correct¡­ why won''t they get along?" Cyrus asked "Traitor!!!!" Donald quickly responded "I knew mages couldn''t be trusted!" he growled "And Derik?" Cyrus laughed "He has been bewitched¡­ I''m sure of it!" Donald hurriedly tried to defend his claim. The others laughed in response¡­ 30 Chapter 30: First task On the second day while they had breakfast a carriage bearing the adventurer association banner arrived,a sorcerer in a purple robe and his face covered with a hood. Without uttering a single word the sorcerer placed a scroll tied with a black ribbon and the insignia of the adventurers association boldly imprinted on it on the table and left. After breakfast, everyone turned their attention to Cyrus who wore an ugly expression on his face as he silently read everything written on the parchment. "Are you kidding me¡­ seriously?" Cyrus gasped in shock. His eyes left the paper and briefly glanced at every face seated in the dining hall. "Come on¡­ spit it out already" Kira said indifferently. Cyrus opened his mouth but no words came out, he simply passed the parchment on to Kira, who frowned just a few seconds after he received it. "A small clan of stone trolls¡­ are they insane?... I had to sacrifice a lot of goblin warlords, chieftains and level five ogres just to defeat three ogres¡­" Kira said wearing a grim expression "But it''s not entirely impossible¡­." Kira added. He passed it on to Derik who sat beside him. "A clan of stone trolls has been found in a little rock shelter about one-kilometer northeast of castle black¡­ these beasts magic trolls are rated level 12 and should be about three stone trolls present¡­. The team has one week to complete this task¡­" Derik readout with a bitter smile on his face. "Didn''t they say the task will arrive in three days? This is just the second day" Derik complained "The association sure is ruthless" Karl laughed. The others remained silent, the cheerful expressions on their faces just a few minutes ago had completely vanished. They all stared at the parchment in silence for over a minute "Like I said earlier¡­ it''s not entirely impossible¡­"Kira finally spoke "What are you saying¡­ normal level nine trolls alone possess frightening strength and speed¡­ on the other hand, stone trolls are just as fast as a normal level nine trolls and yet they also possess insane strength and their skin is harder than metal.. it will be difficult if we take on just one but three? That''s suicide!" Daemon argued. "Don''t forget, these trolls possess insane defense is only restricted to physical attacks. That''s why we have sorcerers around¡­ even if we are recruits with the strength we were able to showcase during the inter-class competition we are not inferior when compared to low ranking bronze class adventurers in anyway¡­ We are elites¡­ think as one" Kira retorted. He briefly glanced at the faces of everyone present and then continued "Power is important but intelligence Is also relevant, should we attack these monsters head-on we are only asking for a beating¡­ I suggest we lure a member of the pack¡­ strike them down one by one¡­." Kira suggested "Ya¡­ with each you strike down we can create a zombie version of the beast and use it to take down the others," Derik said with a smile on his face "We don''t only need to take down one¡­ we can do this" He added "Yea¡­ this task shouldn''t be that difficult¡­ we just have to put our mind and heart into it" Donald said with a bright smile on his face "We can do this" Daemon said "Don''t get too excited.."Kira quickly responded "Blood zombie is a low-level blood magic technique... as such it has limitations as well¡­ I can only control monsters up to level 10 with that spell¡­ it won''t work" Kira explained. Instantly the smiles on everyone''s face crumbled, at this moment they had two reasons to be frustrated the first is due to the fact that the blood zombie spell cannot be used to aid them in this task and the second is due to the fact that they were defeated by one of the low-level blood magic spells in Kira''s arsenal¡­ How Frustrating? "Bastard! " Donald cursed silently. Derik smiled bitterly and briefly glanced at everyone present before leaving Why would the adventurers association try to kill its top recruits? Even if the association isn''t trying to get them killed, it simply means the association has so much confidence in them. If the adventures association judged based on their performance in the inter-class competitions then it''s sorely mistaking. Not only did they rely on external sources to boost their power but they also incurred fatal injuries which took weeks to heal even under the care of skilled oracles from the holy church. In this world the full moon only appears three times at most in a month, there is no specific time or date, even if the full moon appeared, under the influence of the full moon and with the full strength of a level 9 supernatural beast, Derik couldn''t even handle two level 9 trolls at once. Weighing their options and considering all possible outcomes he could think of, Derik concluded the task can be accomplished but at the cost of the life of a few members, even with the high-speed regeneration factor, he still doubted he would survive an encounter with level twelve trolls. These beasts are on par with beta''s and he is just an omega, even if he survived this he still has to help the Lockwood family take down the ancient vampire family, the salvor family! "What the F##k!!! I''m just fourteen!!! How did I get myself into this?" Derik lamented. He fell on his bed and covered his face with his pillow and screamed over and over again. Before he could scream for the third time he felt a sinister aura from behind and shuddered involuntarily, it felt like the angel of death laid its frozen bone hands on his back. Panicking, Derik rolled to the opposite direction and fell off the bed in the process Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "What''s your problem man?... who said you can come in" Derik screamed and tossed the pillow at Kira who simply caught it effortlessly "You left the door open¡­ so I let myself in¡­ also, you scream like a girl" Kira said indifferently. He sat on the stone desk and looked out through the window "We can win," Kira said "I know we can" He added. His eyes fell on Derik who failed to respond even after thirty or more seconds "You don''t believe me?" Kira asked "That''s not it¡­. I know we can win¡­ I believe it¡­ but at what price?" Derik asked wearing a bitter smile on his face. "No one has to die¡­ we can save them all¡­ you can save them all¡­" Kira said with a determined look on his face "You''re not suggesting I use¡­ hell no¡­I''m not supposed to do so" Derik blatantly rejected Kira''s idea. His Death magic is secret which he shouldn''t tell anyone. "I have no issues with that¡­really! ...The real question is this¡­ will you be able to bear the pain knowing that these people you smiled with and ate with all died because of one dumb secret¡­ knowing this is something you could avoid¡­ Even though they are aware of the risks involved they still chose to partake in this task¡­ we can prevent their death" His eyes were fixed on Derik''s eye as he waited for him to reply. Derik, on the other hand, pondered on Kira''s words for a while and found it reasonable, should these people die he probably will never be able to forgive himself for being selfish. "Tonight¡­ Everyone has to attend¡­ tell them its important" Derik said to Kira. He climbed his bed and closed his eyes not uttering a single word after.Kira stared at the boy for a while and smiled slightly nodding in approval. He left the room and went straight for the oracle class room. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ If not for the torches placed outside, on the walls of the castle and on the walls of the giant wall which surrounded the castle, he probably wouldn''t be able to see a thing. Derik closed his eyes and pushed his abilities to its limits, to the point where he could hear footsteps on the ground floor "One¡­ two¡­ four¡­ five?... no six¡­ that''s everyone" He said. His gaze fell on the grimoire wrapped neatly with a clean purple piece of cloth and he smiled. He grabbed it and walked out, not looking back even once. At the ground floor of the castle, at the living room to be precise, there all six members were seated on the wolf skinned sofa waiting patiently for Derik to join them. The sofas formed were U shaped with the fireplace in front Thud! Thud! Thud! All six instinctively turned their attention to the Derik who casually walked down the stairs and he wore a serious and determined expression on his face and didn''t even bother sparing any of them a glance, this is the first time they have seen this side Derik. Standing in front of the fireplace Derik took a deep breath and glanced at Kira who nodded in support "We can win¡­ we can complete this task without any complications or casualties" Derik said with a determined look on his face "Is this a joke?" Donald quickly responded¡­ Don''t tell me you actually believe these mages can defeat level 12 magical beasts? They cannot compare to these beasts¡­ even Kira cannot handle them" he added "But I can¡­" Derik spoke, instantly his eyes turned black and his body was shrouded in a pillar of black energy. The temperature in the room fell and everyone felt an invisible force weighing them down. The grimoire in his hand suddenly flipped open on its own and Derik wore a sinister grin on his face. "Before this power¡­ even level twelve beasts are useless" he said 31 Chapter 31: Light and Darkness collides "W¡­h¡­at? Wha¡­t''s this power" Donald stuttered and instinctively retreated. His mind drifted back to the day Derik arrived, that day they felt this same aura but it was embedded with some of Kira''s power so they assumed Kira was responsible. Booom!!!! Cyrus snow-white eyes widened in shock and almost instantly a thick aura escaped his body. Initially, when he felt this similar aura, its glaring faults were closely hidden by Kira''s aura so he assumed the blood mage was just conjuring some sinister beast from the pit of hell, but now Kira was not interfering he could tell the difference. Yes, indeed, light mages or mages who specialize in light/holy magic are usually hostile when they meet sorcerers wielding dark powers but Kira''s case was different. When he first met Kira at the inter-class competition, even though the blood mage was surrounded by hundreds of blood zombie creatures who radiated strong dark aura there was still a strong trace of control, the cool and calm demeanor made it almost impossible for any holy mage to tag Kira as a heretic based on his temperament. This was the most shocking aspect of the whole issue, even if the others failed to realize it, as a fellow wielder of an intermediate three-star rated magic, Cyrus knew how hard it is to go against the will of the magic spirit yet Kira was able to gain perfect control. This is why Cyrus strongly believesin Kira''s strength and is not envious of the number one recruit title which the blood mage attained after the inter-class competition, in his view the blood mage is a prodigy amongst his peers capable of breaking through the adventurers associations Bronze level title, making it into the silver level threshold. But Derik''s case is completely different, not only does the boy lack the same temperament as Kira but he also lacks control. Ever since Derik released this sinister aura, all Cyrus could hear were screams and cries, even now Derik''s eyes were completely black with no pupils or iris. The sinister smile on his face and gaze combined made it look like a predator was staring at its dinner, at this point Cyrus heard voices in his head screaming "Kill¡­ Kill¡­ Kill!!" This is the first time he has come across such a situation, even his instincts supported the voice. Even Derik still possessed his senses, it was obvious his personality changed the moment he used this magic "That¡­ that was you¡­ such evil¡­ unrestricted evil¡­ it must be purged" He screamed throwing his hands forward and a medium-size magic array appeared on his palm Holy bolt!!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Almost instantly two bright golden beams of light shout out of his palms and dashed towards Derik. "Pitiful" Derik said with a mocking grin on his face, he stretched his right hand forward and a black magic array the size of an adult appeared in front blocking the attack effortlessly "Taste my power¡­ Death beam" He casually said. Instantly a black beam escaped the black magic array and danced towards the Light mage at a shocking speed. Not daring to hold back and with no time to cast a spell, the golden aura around Cyrus burned fiercely and he braced for impact Boom!!! Unable to withstand the force, Cyrus was thrown back by over thirty meters only stopping when his body hit the stone walls of the castle, his body slid down the wall leaving a trail of blood behind. The golden aura around the oracle recruit instantly vanished and his snow-white eyes were fixed on the ground, blood rolled down his head and he remained still for over a minute not even moving a muscle "Over already? ... weak" Derik said wearing a sinister smile on his face, his pitch-black eyes shifted to Daemon and the rest who wore shocked expressions on their faces. Considering the powerful aura that emitted from Derik''s body it wasn''t surprising he could beat Cyrus but for the fact he was able to one-shot the oracle class number one recruit, this is inconceivable. This was both good and bad, they will be able to use Derik''s new strength to beat those Level 12 beasts but the problem is this, there is a possibility he will lose control. One thing for sure is that Derik is still in control but his personality has completely changed this is because even at this moment he didn''t attempt to attack Cyrus any further showing he does not harbor evil intentions for the oracle class top recruit, but it was as if he was void of emotions. "Magnificent" Kira exclaimed with a sincerer smile on his face, Holy magic or light magic was effective over dark magic, its just like water magic against fire magic, the advantage belongs to the water mage and to overcome this power the fire mage would actually need to expend more mana, Derik''s magic falls under that category yet Cyrus still couldn''t match Derik''s power even though he had the magic advantage. "So this is the power of a peak three-star magic¡­ the difference is just too much" Kira said "Peak three-star?" Karl and Gin asked at the same time after they heard what Kira said, they refused to believe this rating was correct. If they didn''t witness the short exchange that took place a few minutes ago they probably wouldn''t have believed it. A mage who is blessed with a low-class three-star rated magic is over ninety percent sure of making it to the silver level, yet this archer possessed a peak three-star, this simply meant that this archer has the chance of reaching the gold level threshold which only a handful of adventurers can reach. "I believe no one here has any reason left to doubt my power¡­ am I correct?" Derik asked with a straight face. The others only stared in response not daring to speak up, the oppressive aura around Derik started to fade slowly but then something unexpected happened "You won''t have your way¡­ Light sphere!!" a weak but angry voice echoed in their ears, instantly a transculent golden sphere formed around Derik restricting his movement. "He just doesn''t know when to quit" Derik sighed. Immediately his eyes widened and the black energy that emitted from his body instantly increased, soon Derik couldn''t even be seen in the barrier since his body was shrouded in the black energy. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" the voiced echoed from within the dark energy resonating in the room. Soon all the dark energy gathered at one place and Derik''s hidden figure was finally revealed, all the dark energy vanished and a bone spear appeared above. "What insolence¡­" Derik said as he reached for the bone spear, he grabbed on to the bone spear and brandished the spear at the transculent barrier. Bam! Bam! Bam! After the third hit, visible web-like cracks appeared on the transculent golden barrier and after the fourth hit, the barrier shattered. "Is that a¡­" Derik was cut short by Cyrus'' figure which had was crossed over thirty meters which separated them while Derik focused on destroying the barrier, therefore this unusual development took Derik by surprise because it was unheard of where a mage abandons range battle for close combat, this is because of mages usually lack close combat fighting techniques, so this was something Derik didn''t predict. Using his right hand to perform strange seals Cyrus wore a sinister smile on his face as he struck forward. Grabbing on to Derik''s face, the smile on his face widened "Cyrus stop!!" Kira screamed "Cyrus Don''t!!" Donald, Karl, and Daemon screamed these people have witnessed the power of this move. It can be referred to as the strongest technique in Cyrus'' arsenal but it can only be used on ''impure'' beings. The last time this ability was used in the inter-class competition, not even the bones of the wolf remained when it was struck by this move. The only drawback of the spell is the part you have to make physical contact with the target. "Such evil can never exist¡­ Smite!!!" Cyrus screamed with a crazed expression on his face. Instantly two medium-sized magic arrays formed beneath and above Derik and a pillar of golden energy completely consumed him. From afar it looked like a gigantic ball of golden flames consuming the darkness of this world. Cyrus after waiting for a few seconds wore a satisfied smile on his face, but the smile soon vanished when a white chilly bone hand emerged from the golden flame, getting hold of his neck and lifting him off the ground, "How?" Cyrus struggled with the bone hands while he spoke and suddenly a peal of laughter resonated all over the room "Can light purge darkness? Impossible¡­ where ever there is light, there must be darkness no matter how small it is¡­ Your little power cannot harm me" The voice spoke and almost instantly black flames could be seen within the golden flames, the black flames spread quickly, completely consuming Cyrus'' golden flames and when it cleared, Derik was seen standing at the center. He wore a complete set of bone armor which had black runes all over it, in his right hand was the bone spear and his cold gaze remained fixed on Cyrus. It seemed as if he was contemplating on how to kill the oracle class recruit. "Should this light mage attack me again for no good reason¡­ I will kill him" Derik said to everyone present after which he let go of the Cyrus and left the room¡­ the others remained silent all through not daring to speak, who would believe that the number two recruit of the year has lost to Derik, barely lasting up to a minute 32 Chapter 32: Falling apar The plan turned out to be successful but at the cost of their friendship and trust, now everyone felt positive about completing the mission but they still couldn''t bring themselves to speak on the matter after the very short battle between Derik and Cyrus in fact, that short exchange shouldn''t be called a battle, it was just a one-sided beating. Even while holding back Cyrus couldn''t deal any damage on Derik, this is inconceivable. Till now, Cyrus remained silent and with just seven days to work with, this problem has to be solved. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­. DAY 1¡­ CASTLE BLACK DINING HALL¡­. They quietly ate breakfast with dull expressions on their faces, even Derik expression was filled with regret and despair, at this point, he regretted showing them his sorcerer ability. When he decides to use that power, the darkness does not only invade his body but also invades his mind. Things become clearer to him and all forms of emotions disappear, this helps decision making thousand times easier. He now understood what the mysterious hooded figure in his dream said about emotions stagnating his growth. "Emotions truly are irrelevant¡­" Derik unconsciously muttered while he reached for the cup of water beside his plate. His eyes remained fixed on his food and even when he felt the gaze of the others he just chose to ignore. "You all are pathetic," Karl said while cutting out a small piece of steak and tossed it into his mouth. His menacing gaze fell on everyone in the room and he sighed "If this is Briton''s strongest recruits of the year then this year''s harvest is extremely poor¡­ first, the pretty light magic sorcerer let his magic spirit push him around, and after been destroyed, he decides to keep b#t#hing about it and act like the f##king victim here¡­ You threw the first punch and got roasted¡­ so what? ¡­ grow up, man!" Kira said staring into Cyrus'' snow-white eyes which were void of pupils and iris, Cyrus'' eyes slightly twitched as he quietly listened to Kira speak. even though the blood mage hauled insults at him, all the blood mage said was quite true. He let his holy magic spirit fill his mind with violent thoughts against Derik, he also attacked first and after losing in a free and fair fight, he wore a sober expression on his face throughout the night till this morning acting like the victim. At his current level, he should be above such petty behaviors. "And you all are crazy and dumb¡­ we finally find the answer to our problems and you guys treat him like a monster, would a monster spare the life of someone who attacks it with murderous intentions?... yet he was still didn''t bear any hostile intentions for any of you... I won''t say I''m disappointed because¡­ to be honest¡­ I didn''t expect much from you guys¡­You''re all sloppy¡­ slopping¡­this is why I don''t make friends¡­ most of them are fake" Kira said with a disgusted expression as he briefly glanced at everyone in the room. The disgusted expression on his face instantly vanished the moment his cold gaze fell on Derik and a smile appeared on his face. "You shouldn''t beat yourself up because of these guys¡­ they are not worth it¡­ When you''re done let''s pack up and head north-east we don''t have time to waste on these guys¡­ I hope you know how to make use of a compass¡­" Kira said not sparing the others even a glance. He got up and walked out of the room only stopping when he got to the door "Bring your grimoire¡­ bow and arrows with you¡­ we are going in alone¡­ we have to be prepared¡­" Kira said [I guess only Kira can understand the way things are] Derik thought He sighed and left the without uttering a word or sparing them a glance. Even a few minutes after Derik and Kira left the Dining hall, the others remained silent and rooted to their seats, every one of them had personal reasons why they refused to speak on this matter. Donald who initially saw Derik as the hope of the physical classes, the one capable of standing atop all classes, magical classes included. Now the so-called ''chosen one'' has been corrupted by magic, the young archery class recruit will indeed stand atop all classes but not as a physical class member but as a sorcerer. Meanwhile Cyrus pondered on all that took place that night, for the first time in his life he felt like he made the wrong choice, not only did he fail to kill the archer he branded as an evil being that must be purged but he also sowed the seed of discord and enmity in the team, this was against his beliefs but no matter how much he tried to speak up and apologize, that calm voice in his head always rebukes him. "Are we going to let them go?" Gin asked with a serious expression on his face. Not directing his question to anyone in particular, after waiting for over a minute without any response the young enchanter sighed and left the room. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Derik stuffed his grimoire into the bag and hung the filled with arrows on his right shoulder. The small-sized quiver which was filled with bolts and the black crossbow which bore the adventurers association insignia hung on his waist. His gaze shifted to the black bow on the bed and the leather armor beside it. "I guess I won''t be needing the armor anymore" Derik muttered, thinking back to the fight between him and Cyrus. The bone armor came with a barrier of its own which protected him from all attacks sent at him, capable of taking a direct hit from smite. He sighed and picked up the black bow and walked out of the room. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Outside the walls of Castle Black ¡­ Its been an hour since he left the dining hall and packed his stuff which consumed about a few minutes after which he left the castle and patiently stood at the castle gate waiting for Derik, While he waited, he thought of a few things which he naturally didn''t pay attention to [Castle Black is located outside the giant walls of the Gyro kingdom¡­so why isn''t it been attacked by monsters?] [There are magical monsters blessed with the ability of flight¡­ why haven''t they attacked the towns located at the edges of the wall?] [Why haven''t these monsters attacked the wall in the first place?] [How can humans create safe routes which connect them to other kingdoms?] [Is there some kind of spell or item that stops monsters from getting close to the wall?] [Is castle black also protected by such spell or item?] "And finally¡­ how long is it going to take this archer to get his stuff ready? ¡­ like seriously?" Kira said "Ooooh sorry!!!... I spent too much¡­ indecision issues¡­" Derik bowed slightly as he apologized. Kira simply sighed in response and turned around, facing the huge iron gate, his gaze was fixed on Derik who ran towards him "Okay¡­ you don''t have to apologize¡­ let''s get going¡­ where is the compass?" Kira asked indifferently. Derik''s face instantly turned red and he took a step back instinctively. He immediately bowed slightly and whispered "Sorry¡­ I forgot...I was so focused on what to wear so I didn''t remember¡­" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Kira dropped his bag on the ground and sat beside it, his eyes were filled with doubt as he stared at Derik. [Is it ok to take on these beasts with this guy?] He thought. He felt like going at it alone but he couldn''t do so for three reasons, the first was the main reason, he can''t beat these monsters alone. Even if he decides to make use of the Blood zombies ability, how sure is he that he will not encounter high leveled beasts on the way? Even if he can create an army of blood zombies as he did during the inter-class competitions, he still won''t be able to maintain it for more than a day. To be honest he won''t be able to create an army as large as the one he created during the inter-class competitions. To create and sustain such an army, he had to use all the low mana rejuvenation potions his family was able to acquire for him and in this world, potions are not as common as you think. There are cases were adventurer teams accept jobs which offered just an intermediate healing potion, this is why not everyone carries potions around. His family has to expend a lot of resources just to acquire five of those potions he used in the inter-class competition and they were willing to do so only because he promised to utterly crush the other representatives and win the competition. At this moment he doesn''t have these potions, the second reason are because he doesn''t know how to use a compass. This is why it''s important to have a team consisting of all classes, magical class recruits, and members are usually too focused on creating new powerful spells and other magic related stuff and usually end up neglecting the important things which the physical classes practice. And the final reason is quite simple, after watching Derik fight even before he was blessed with the peak three stars rated Death magic, it''s quite accurate to say that this kid was unique, possessing enough strength and speed to suppress level five ogres and even take on level nine trolls. This is not a feat just anyone can boast of, even if the boy acts clumsy right now, he is probably the most reliable person to tag along with at the moment. "Alright¡­ alright¡­ Let''s go get it" Kira finally spoke. he got on his feet and walked towards Derik but suddenly stopped, his gaze shifted to the blue-haired teenager incomplete blue armor walking out of the giant black iron gate. In his right hand was a compass which he flaunted and on his back was a black leather backpack. "I guess you guys forgot the compass and some snacks for the road¡­ I checked the store and felt you guys forgot about it so brought snacks for three¡­" Gin laughed. Derik and Kira slightly bowed their heads in shame "Well¡­ I guess we are good to go" Gin said wearing a charming smile on his face 33 Chapter 33: Level twelve Stone Trolls Derik and Kira could only sigh in response, to think someone they planned to leave behind would show up with important items which they left behind. "The rock shelter is only a kilometer away¡­ it''s not that far¡­ food is not necessary¡­ as for the compass¡­ you should talk to Derik¡­ not me" Kira quickly responded in defense, it was clear wasn''t planning to thank Gin. His eyes remained cold and his gaze was steady. Gin could only frown in response, it was clear the blood mage was not planning to back down "Are you so sure and confident in your plan that you predict the outcome of the battle even before it starts?... Should your plan fail¡­ if Derik is unable to beat those beasts¡­ what then? Do you intend to lead them back to castle black¡­ You may not wish to accept the food I brought¡­ should the worst happen we can just retreat to a safe location and regain our strength before trying again" Gin responded with a sly smile on his charming face, his sky blue eyes looked innocent but his sinister facial expression betrayed him. "Wrong" Kira said while shaking his head in disagreement repeatedly "Haven''t you noticed it? Even though we''re outside the wall there has never been a single monster attack¡­ why is that?" Kira said indifferently. After hearing Kira''s words, Derik and Gin''s expressions suddenly turned serious, in a way the blood mage was correct. Castle black is over a hundred kilometers away from Gyro kingdoms Hundred-meter long wall and yet they haven''t been attacked even once. "There must be a method¡­ could it be a spell maybe an invisible barrier?" Gin asked "Or an item in the castle that we haven''t taken notice of which drives these beasts away," Derik said as well. Kira smiled bitterly in response, he sincerely wished he had an answer for his comrades. "With that said¡­ we can easily return to castle black if we fail and rest if we fail" Kira added. "No!..." Gin responded quickly "This invisible barrier you speak of is only a hypothesis we are not hundred percent sure of it¡­ we can''t take such chances" Gin said wearing a grim expression on his face. Kira''s point sounds valid and true but it may not be entirely true, considering a situation where they are forced to retreat to the castle and somehow, these level twelve trolls follow tightly behind, castle black may not be strong enough to withstand the combined of three or more level twelve earth trolls for too long. I mean, these beasts have evolved from the realm of normal monsters to that of bonafide magic beasts. It may not sound special but the difference between both realms is like heaven and earth. While normal monsters such as level five ogres and level nine trolls rely on just its brute strength and instincts to surpass and subdue a foe, magic beasts like the name indicates are magical, each monster possessing a special trait and their very own magic skill set. Even the weakest magical beast possesses at least two magic based skills which are capable of causing team wipes and also they possess higher intelligence when compared to other normal monsters capable of anticipating foes next move, this is what made these beasts truly dangerous. "Gin has a point¡­" Derik said, "Should things get messed up we must not lead these beasts to castle black¡­" Derik added. He wore the rare serious expression which has only been seen in times of battle. Kira was helpless at this point and could only submit to Derik and Gin''s decision, he sluggishly walked towards Gin and snatched the compass out of his hand and tossed it to Derik. "Well¡­ we don''t have time to waste¡­ let''s get going" Kira said "But we are yet to come up with a plan" Derik complained "You guys are yet to come up with a plan¡­ you were about to leave with no food supply and compass¡­ Don''t tell me you''re planning to dive in headfirst when we get there" Gin said with a confused expression on his face. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "We have the food supply and compass now¡­ we have only read of this monster on books and we are yet to witness its true power¡­ it''s more advisable to test the depth of the water before you dive in¡­ see this as a mock battle, the main aim of this first battle is to observe and look for loop holes and weaknesses" Kira explained. The other two finally understood what Kira was trying to do and smiled bitterly "A mock battle against level twelve monsters¡­ this won''t be easy" Derik laughed and followed Kira. Gin remained rooted at a spot for a few seconds after which he ran after them. Since castle black was built atop a hill, the estimated distance and concluded that the stone shelter must be at the foot of the hill. For Derik whose, physique and constitution are already on par with level nine supernatural beasts the journey felt like nothing but for Kira and Gin who lacked good physiques and constitution climbing down the hill was termed the hardest part of the mission, for every two hundred meters covered they requested for thirty minutes break. At first Derik was annoyed but after thinking about it he laughed, these guys are recruits of magical classes so they are deprived of the normal fitness training which the archery class, assassin and guardian knight class provides to its members, most importantly these kids belong to noble families so it is only natural for themto be weaker than normal kids their age and finally they were still very young, Derik and Kira are probablythe youngest in the team while Gin and Cyrus are the oldest. "I''m just sixteen¡­ which normal sixteen-year-old kid can do something like this" Gin growled at Derik who laughed at them, even Kira frowned at Derik. After an hour they finally got to the foot of the hill, to avoid encountering the stone trolls while they climbed down the hill, they took another path and after reaching the foot of the hill, they had to walk around the hill in search of the stone shelter. With the aid of the compass, this only took a few minutes ¡­. ¡­ ¡­ Standing about four hundred meters away the team observed for a few minutes, occasionally these stone trolls left the stone shelter but never went far, it looked like they were patrolling. Their fur was brown and their body size was massive, these beasts were almost double the size of a full-grown man, compared to them these three kids were dwarfs "Are we really going to fight that thing?" Derik asked wearing a grim expression on his face "Like I said this is only a mock battle¡­ we are just here to find understand their strength¡­ should an oppourtunity of victory present itself, don''t hold back¡­ if we can take down even one of those monsters¡­ that will reduce the difficulty of this raid by at least twenty percent" Kira said "ok" Gin and Derik responded "Alright¡­ I''ll start the raid" Kira smiled After speaking the blood mage took off his cloak, dropping his backpack at the spot and he walked towards these monsters while muttering something, when he was just two hundred meters away, all three level twelve trolls turned their attention to the human and roared. Thud! Thud! Thud! All three trolls dashed towards the blood mage with bloodshot eyes not bothering to hide their murderous intentions "It''s done¡­" Kira said with a smile on his face. A two-fold blood red magic array formed beneath Kira"Dual casting: Blood magic: Blood empowerment¡­ Blood magic: Blood armor!!!" Kira growled. instantly his body size doubled and his muscles started bulging, his eyes were bloodshot and blood rolled down his eyes, nostrils, and ears. The blood down his eyes, nostrils, and ears soon took the form of a red cloth which wrapped around kira''s body leaving only his face open, the aura that leaked through the blood mage''s body was so intense and sinister even the trolls who ran towards Kira like madmen suddenly stopped and carefully observed the human "I''m going to use that power¡­" Derik wore a serious expression while he spoke to Gin. Even though the aura around Kira was intense, it was still inferior to that of those three beasts "No problem¡­ let''s hope we can end it on our first trial" Gin said with a smile "I''ll be leaving first" Gin said. He dropped his backpack as well, he unsheathed his sword and dashed forward, arriving at Kira''s location in just a few seconds. Even now his movement speed still amazed them. "Let''s show these beasts that team¡­ wait¡­ our team does not have a name yet" Gin said "There is no our in this team and there will be no us if we don''t take these monsters seriously¡­ no jokes ok?" Kira said wearing a serious expression. "Ok... ok¡­ calm down" Gin said as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword BOOOM!!!! The ground trembled slightly and a black mist filled Derik''s location, suddenly a black ball of darkness shot into the air and like a comet it descended from the sky, crashing into an unoccupied space in front of Kira and Gin. "Death magic: Bone armor," Derik said, his murderous gaze were fixed on the three level twelve trolls who retreated instinctively "This is the team" Kira grinned as he spoke. "This¡­" Gin could not help but shudder when he looked at Derik "Let''s begin¡­ Come at me¡­ all of you" Derik said indifferently 34 Chapter 34: One sided beat down This emotionless side of Derik looked domineering ad invincible in the eyes of his teammates, Kira included. Not only did he join the battle epically but he also challenged all three trolls openly, at this point both Kira and Gin felt safe and secure, they wanted to sit back and just watch Derik tear these beasts apart but something about these beasts just made them feel uneasy. Yes, Derik possesses a peak three-star rated magic but that can only take him so far, to become strong a mage has to work for it. In this case, Derik is just like a normal villager equipped with bronze level combat weapons, he may be strong but he still lacks the skills and other requirements to bring out the full power of the magic weapon. Derik may possess a peak three-star rated magic but he still has a long way to go, at this point, he won''t be able to take on these monsters alone. [If only the other¡­. No, I should even think about it¡­ we will find a way] Kira thought "You refuse my generous offer? Very well then¡­ I''ll strike first" Derik said indifferently"Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik muttered, almost in an instant, a white bone spear shrouded in black mist. "Prepare yourselves," Derik said as he reached out for the spear and grabbed it Bam! Derik figure instantly blurred, reappearing right in front of the level twelve troll who stood at the center of the other two level twelve trolls covering over fifty meters in just a second, the bone spear in his hand trembled violently and black energy surrounded it as he struck forward Booom!!! "What''s this¡­" Derik gasped Even though the bone spear was not his strongest technique, it still possessed terrifying power, even he the user of the technique doubted if he will be able to walk away in one piece if he is struck by such an attack yet the bone spear couldn''t even penetrate deep into the stone troll''s skin, it only left shallow cuts on its chest. When Derik''s cold gaze met that of the troll, he could tell the magical beast was mocking him "Impossible" Derik muttered. His eyes widened and he raised the hand wielding the bone spear up, in an instant, the temperature in the battlefield dropped greatly and two black magic arrays appeared at the tips of the bone spear. From those magic arrays, dark energy poured out.At this point, it felt like the air itself trembled, even Kira shuddered involuntarily and took a step backward [Has he been holding back all this time] Kira thought. Even now he too felt a little fear "Stop this!!!" Derik growled. With all his might he struck forward for a second time. At this point even the Troll could feel the power the spear contained has increased twofold, wearing a grim expression on its twisted face the troll punched out as well Bam! Bam!! Like a cannonball Derik''s body was sent flying, covering over fifty meters in just a second. "This¡­" Kira slightly smiles, satisfied with the outcome of the short exchange between Derik and the troll. His gaze shifted to Derik who struggled to get on his feet and he nodded. Derik''s bone armor only sustained minor damages meanwhile, Derik''s bone spear struck deep into the trolls chest and hot red liquid poured out of the injury on its chest. The troll growled in pain and struggled to pull it out but it didn''t bugle instead the dark aura surrounding it increased. "Now!!!... Let''s move out" Kira screamed at Gin who remained silent probably due to the shock. "Don''t let the other two interfere¡­ Give Derik the chance to finish off that troll!!!" Kira growled as he dashed forward, his eyes were fixed on one of the stone trolls which walked towards the injured one, trying to help it pull out the bone spear. His eyes turned bloodshot when he realized these trolls were making progress "Don''t mess with me!!!" Kira growled when he reached. His hand curled up to a fist and he struck forward with all his might Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Even after delivering three blows he still couldn''t get those beasts to move, blood empowerment increases his physical capabilities by leaps and bounds but at a price, after the duration of the skill ends, he is placed in a weakened state and then the blood armor increases his defense using his blood, meaning you can only hurt him when he runs out of blood or if you can dish out attacks faster than the blood armor can regenerate which is very unlikely. These two spells are ranked amongst the most powerful spells in his arsenal yet he couldn''t even harm these beasts. Yes, he knew that these beasts had superior defense and could not be easily be defeated with brute strength but he didn''t expect his attacks to be so useless. Even now the stone troll didn''t even spare him a glance, it focused on pulling out the bone spear from the chest of the injured troll Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Don''t you dare look down on me" Kira growled. Suddenly a deep cut wound appeared on his cheek and from there blood poured out, the blood quickly took the shape of a spear and flew into Kira''s hand "Take this¡­ Blood spear" Kira growled and struck forward. The formation of a new spear-like weapon stole the attention of the stone troll, considering what happened to its peer and not daring to be careless, the troll activated on of its signature skills. Its brown fur suddenly thickened, looking like layers of bricks were attached to its body Peng! Kira was forced to retreat by one step and his hands felt numb after his attack collided with the stone skin of the stone troll before he could attack once again, he felt like his body got hit by a boulder Bam! Kira''s body was sent flying and visible cracks could be seen on his blood armor. Meanwhile, the third stone troll was forced to retreat by a few steps, blue energy sipped out of the shallow cuts on its body. Gin at this point was covered in sweat, his grip on his sword was not as tight and firm as it use to be before. He gazed at the ogre which looked down on him and smiled weakly, it felt like a god was looking down on an ant "You must be tired of living" Gin growled, his sky blue eyes glowed and his body was shrouded a semi-transculent pillar of blue energy, each piece of armor on him trembled greatly and blood slid down Gin''s nostrils and eyes. It was quite clear that he was pouring everything into this final attack "A mere monster dare looks down on me? Unforgiveable" Gin screamed. At this point he forgot about anything that concerned retreating, his pride as a child from a noble family was on the line. Even if he can''t win against this monster, he can still give it a scar. All the energy around him suddenly surged towards his bade "Eat this!!!" He growled and swung his blade at the beast releasing a powerful compressed arc of blue energy which danced towards the troll. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile¡­ Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Derik constantly retreated as he blocked the assault of two trolls with the bone spear in his hands. The spear already had tiny holes and crack on it, it will be a miracle if it can survive another assault. His pitch-black eyes widened when he saw an opportunity, he quickly spun to the left evading the attack of the second stone troll and almost at the same time a magic array appeared at the tip of the bone spear and black beam of energy shot out, knocking the injured stone troll a few meters away "Death magic: Death beam" He muttered. He quickly glance and Kira who struggled to get on his feet and Gin who could barely stand. Woooosh!!! Reacting a second too late the clenched fist of the stone troll bypassed Derik''s defense and struck his bone armor, his body was forced to retreat by a few steps. Before Derik could stabilize himself the stone troll opened its hand and swung its paw forward. Instantly the ground trembled and the earth shattered, gathering and taking the form of the trolls palm only larger this time, this stone palm was more than half of Derik''s body size. Seeing this Derik''s expression darkened and he quickly struck at the incoming stone hand with the bone spear in his hand BOOOOM!!! Derik was sent fly again and this time visible cracks could be seen on his bone armor, in fact, sizable chunks of the bone armor fell off while he struggled to get on his feet. "I guess winning this battle is only a dream¡­ Everyone retreat¡­ let''s get out of here" Kira screamed¡­"Buy us some time to pick up our stuff¡­ Derik!" He screamed at Derik who nodded in agreement. Using his hand to clean the blood flowing down his nostrils, Derik stretched his hands forward "God of Death¡­ lord of the underworld¡­ Protect thy loyal servants from these devout¡­ Death magic: Bone wall!!!" Derik screamed. Suddenly the ground trembled violently Bam!!!!!! A fifty-meter tall bone wall emerged from the ground separating Derik and the others from the stone trolls, this wall was over fifty meters tall and over two hundred meters long. Even Kira and Gin were shocked by this, a spells power can be increased by pouring in more mana into the spell, the more mana poured into the spell, the stronger it becomes. "How much mana did he pour into this spell to make something this majestic" Kira inwardly shocked and confused, how can a recruit from the archery class possess so much mana? its has never been heard of before. He ordered them to retreat mostly because he felt that Derik would soon run out of mana, yet this¡­ [is he a monster?] Gin thought, how can one person possess incredible physique, constitution, mana, and even a peak three-star rated magic. He concluded that Derik must either be a monster or someone highly favored by the gods. 35 Chapter 35: Seriously?! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! The sound of attacks colliding with the bone wall could be heard even from over five hundred meters away. Even though their travel speed was slow, the wall which Derik summoned kept the trolls busy. To be honest, these recruits didn''t expect the trolls to completely focus on the bone wall, but after thinking about it they could understand why the trolls acted that way. The wall radiated evil aura which was located at the territory of these beasts, it''s only natural for these monsters to prioritize destroying the structure to chasing after wounded invaders. "I''m sorry¡­ I really messed up" Gin muttered, his skin was pale and his body occasionally shuddered, the enchantment class recruit was already at his limit and could only move due to the support of Derik and Kira. If they decided to leave him behind, they probably would have gone farther by now. "Your pride was on the line¡­ you have no reason to apologize" Derik said indifferently. Kira nodded in agreement as well, if the situation was reversed he probably would have done the same thing. A monster looking down on a human, what insult "The bone wall has reached its limit¡­ they will breakthrough soon" Derik said while he looked at the direction where they came from. His pitch-black eyes remained fixed on that path for a while before he looked away. At this point, his eyes returned to normal and the dreadful aura which has been suffocating Gin and Kira vanished instantly. "How can you remove all traces of your power in an instant? You must be relying on an item¡­ am I correct?" Gin asked. He hasn''t thought about this fact up until now. "Yea¡­ a talisman I put on¡­ it blocks out my power and the magic spirit¡­ it''s like placing a wall in between the magic spirit and myself" Derik explained how he felt honestly. "I can understand why you make use of that talisman, your magic is inhumane¡­ it''s only natural for your magic spirit to be a problem but from what you said earlier it seems the talisman only suppresses the power¡­ I''m sure the sorcerer warned you against using the power till when necessary¡­ Am I correct?" Gin asked "well¡­ yeah¡­ he did warn me¡­ he asked me to use it absolutely when I have no choice but he never told me why¡­" Derik answered "Why are you suddenly asking too many questions," He asked "How do I explain this¡­ okay¡­ Just the same way clothes get worn out after excess use, that same way the talisman will slowly lose its power the more you use that power of yours¡­just like you said, it feels like a wall is used to separate you and your magic spirit. But when you draw power from the very being the talisman is meant to suppress what do you think happens, it''s just like creating a small hole on the wall¡­ if you continue to use this power, the hole on the wall will only widen further¡­ sooner or later that wall will crumble" Gin explained. As a member of the enchantment class, he was very familiar with the way talisman''s work. "What?!..." Derik screamed in shock. He felt like the mysterious hooded man in his vision was standing behind him a sinister smile on his face. All this time he has been destroying the only thing that kept him safe from the mysterious hooded man in his vision "This¡­"Derik muttered "There should be a way to counter this right? We can prevent this apocalypse from taking place¡­ am I correct?"Kira asked. After listening to Gin''s explanation Kira understood one thing, Derik hasn''t been holding back, the increase in power which he displayed with his bone spear attack was because the talisman which hung on his neck was losing its power, so its only natural he can pull more power "Seriously¡­ I''m only sixteen so my knowledge on this is quite limited¡­ well you can simply reinforce the magic that sealed Derik''s power or hope that Derik finds a way to control it" Gin responded "Reinforce the magic?... you''re from the enchantment class¡­ you can do that right?" Derik anxiously asked. Gin revealed a weak yet charming smile on his face when he heard Derik''s question "Yes and no¡­ yes, I am a member of the enchantment class and no, I cannot reinforce another mage''s magic¡­ I don''t even know the spell he used¡­" Gin said ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The team chatted amongst themselves while they moved, they quickly pushed away from the disturbing topic and spoke on their performances during the battle. After the very long review, they realized that Kira''s performance was the poorest, his troll was the only one left unscathed in the battle and he was the first to fall as well, shifting his on part of the work to Derik. Just maybe, if he held on a little longer, Derik would have killed the injured stone troll. After walking for more than an hour they a suitable campsite within the forest, they gathered wood for the fire since it was already getting late. "So we ran west of the stone shelter¡­ meaning castle black is just south-east of here and the stone shelter is just east¡­" Derik said staring at the compass in his hand. His gaze shifted to Gin he brought out three packs of cookies and three bottles of water since normal food can easily get spoilt during a journey, especially during quests that last weeks or months, so it''s more advisable to take these snacks along. "Okay¡­ lets review¡­Derik''s troll has a deep wound on its chest¡­ My troll is probably screaming in pain due to the after-effects of my magic weapons attack, even though the wound is not as deep as that of Derik¡­ the residual energy in its body should weaken it considerably" Gin said as he threw a cookie into his mouth "And then there is the big boss of the pack¡­ capable of tossing the great death mage over twenty meters high in the air with a single punch" Kira laughed "How ironic¡­ the person speaking got knocked out by a single punch¡­" Gin retorted "Hey!... Come on man, this is between Derik and me stay out of it" Kira screamed. While they argued Derik wore a grim expression as he stared into the woods, his pitch-black Iris turned blue as he stared into the forest, his blue iris burned fiercely and he bit his lips in anger "Seriously?!" Derik muttered. His eyes reverted to its normal black color and he shifted his gaze to the blood mage and enchanter who has been staring at his for a while "What''s wrong?" Gin asked "Its coming" Derik responded indifferently Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "How many?" Kira asked "Just one¡­ my guess is the other two are too injured to join the hunt." Derik said. The other two nodded I agreement, they didn''t doubt Derik in any way after considering his previous records and achievements, they won''t be surprised now if someone told them that Derik''s perception skills were also superb. "His perception is that good?... Damn¡­ life is so unfair" Gin said "Says the kid who was gifted with a complete set of magic weapons and armors" Derik retorted "If I had these abilities you possess¡­ I probably won''t need these pieces of equipment" Gin quickly responded Bam! Gin grabbed the back of his head in pain and shifted his gaze Kira "AAAhhh!!!... what was that for?" Gin asked "Focus" Kira simply responded. He then shifted his gaze to Derik "How many meters away" He asked "I can''t tell" Derik responded "How long before it arrives¡­." Kira asked again "Not too long¡­" Derik responded "I suggest you leave this place with Gin¡­ since it''s just one I may be able to kill it¡­ you guys will only get in my way" Derik said "No¡­" Kira shook his head repeatedly "You were only able to deal that much damage because these beasts were not expecting you to wield that kind of power¡­ this time you may not get so lucky" Kira said "Just leave!!!" Derik growled. In an instant, his eyes turned black and the aura around him suddenly changed, his cold gaze fell on Kira who frowned slightly in response. "I''m inferior to no one¡­ a mere beast definitely cannot compare" Derik said "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik said, almost in an instant, a white bone spear shrouded in black mist. "Return to castle black¡­ I will join you guys later" Derik said as he reached out for the spear and grabbed it. With his left hand, he took out the compass and threw it at Gin "You know how to use it right?" Derik asked "Yea" Gin responded "Good¡­ Now go¡­" Derik said, he glanced at his teammates for a brief moment and sighed. Seeing it''s useless to try and convince Derik, Kira grabbed Gin "let''s go¡­" Kira said "We will leave Gin''s backpack with you¡­ you will need to regain your strength after this battle you can have all the cookies in it" Kira said "Heeey!!!... beat the crap out of that beast for me," Gin said "If its something you cant handle¡­ return to castle black¡­. We will fight it there with the others" Kira added. They occasionally gazed at Derik''s back while running into the forest, they could only curse their weakness and pray for his safe return. "It''s okay guys¡­ Leave it to me" Derik said with a sincere smile on his face. Ever since he used this power in front of the others, the way they looked at him made him feel like an outsider. But now¡­ knowing that two people out of a team of seven care is more than enough to put a smile on his face "It won''t take long" Derik muttered as he tightened his grip on the bone spear and waited for the enemy to appea 36 Chapter 36: A real monster The roars of the stone troll resonated in the forest, from where Derik stood he could see the bloodshot eyes of the stone troll which was less than five hundred meters away. His pitch-black eyes twitched as he watched the monster approach and his grip on the bone spear tightened when the troll was less than two hundred meters away it swung its palm at Derik. Instantly the ground trembled and the earth shattered, gathering and taking the form of the trolls palm only larger this time, this stone palm was more than half of Derik''s size. "Not this time" Derik growled as he jumped back. Instantly a black magic array appeared at the tip of his spear and a black beam shot at stone fist BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! Not daring to waste precious time, an enormous amount of energy flowed out of the bone spear in Derik''s hand, his pitch-black eyes were fixed on the stone troll who swung its palm once again, sending another stone fist at Derik "Break!!!" Derik growled as he threw the stone spear Woooosh!!!!! The bone spear which was completely shrouded in black energy looked like a beam of darkness as it flew towards its target. BAM!!! The spear completely shattered the stone fist and kept flying towards the stone troll which wore a grim expression on its face¡­ BOOOOOOM!!!! ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Kira and Gin felt like two terrifying monsters were locked in a bitter battle, even though they were close to a six hundred meters away, they could feel the energy of both combatants rising, this made Kira and Gin feel worried, they question their earlier decision and regretted leaving the young archers side, but whenever they remembered the confidence and determined look Derik wore when he sent them away they felt powerless. They gazed at castle black and saw several figures fully equipped dashing out of the castle gates. "isn''t that Kira and Gin?... where is Derik?" Daemon asked "They must have left him behind¡­ Did he lose control?" Donald responded. In just a few minutes both parties met, Cyrus, Karl, daemon, and Donald were completely shocked, the condition Kira and Gin were in was far worse than what they expected. Gin could only move because Kira supported him, even now he was pale and he was covered in sweat. Even though there were no visible wounds on him, everyone could tell this enchanter pushed himself to the limit. The most shocking was the injuries on Kira, the lower part of his lips was dyed red with blood and some spots dyed red with blood could be seen all over his body, his breathing was heavy and he too was covered in sweat, his eyes looked heavy, it was obvious these two warriors were exhausted and these guys were the first and second on the rookie ranking list "Where is Derik" Daemon spoke first "Don''t tell me you left him behind?" She asked with a worried expression on her face "Don''t give me that crap¡­ You should have thought of this before you let him enter the battle alone" Gin snapped "We don''t have time for this¡­ What happened" Cyrus asked "With Derik''s, we were able to hurt two out of three stone trolls but they overwhelmed us¡­ so we had to retreat¡­ I don''t know how it found us but the only healthy stone troll chased after us¡­ and Derik decided to fight it alone¡­ we will only be a burden to Derik if we interfere¡­ Your actions now are irrelevant¡­ you should have come with us at the very beginning, we would have won¡­ Now we can only pray that Derk finds a way to win and return safely¡­ Don''t get in his way" Kira said. His eyes were cold and the murderous intentions were made clear to Cyrus'' group, all this while Kira has always been indifferent towards them but today they could feel the hostility. Not bothering to spare these guys a glance, Gin and Kira returned to Castle black to treat their wounds. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile ¡­ In the forest just south-west of castle black, sounds of metal clashing resonated. Using the bone spear in his hand Derik desperately defended against the troll''s metal claws. With every hit, Derik was forced to retreat by a step, at this point his hands felt a little numb [The metal claw ability of these beasts simply makes their hands as hard as metal but they never mentioned anything about improved strength¡­ this¡­ this is too much] Derik lamented in his thoughts. He desperately tried to make some space between him and the monster but it always chased after him, not giving him a chance to recover or retaliate. His pitch-black eyes twitched due to pain when he felt the metal claws of the stone troll dig deep into his body "Shit!!!..." He screamed in pain. "But then¡­ I can''t let this opportunity pass me by" Derik growled. He held on to the trolls brown fur tightly and a weak but sinister smile appeared on his face. Instantly dark energy poured out of the bone spear in his hand "Vanish!!!" Derik growled as he struck forward. The stone troll growled and punched out as well BAM!!! Derik''s body flew about a few meters away, only stopping when it hit a tree "Ouch!¡­ ouch!!¡­ ouch!!!" Derik muttered as he struggled to get on his feet, with a sadistic smile on his face he watched the stone troll struggle with the bone spear which dug deep into its shoulder "it''s over!!!" Derik growled "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" Derik screamed. Fist size purple magic arrays appeared on both hands and from those magic arrays, torrents of dark purple flames poured out completely consuming the stone troll, with a sinister smile on his face he slowly but steadily approached the stone troll which roared and retreated while dark purple flames poured out of his hands. Woooooosh!!! The smile on Derik''s face crumbled the moment he heard the sound coming from the sides, his eyes quickly roamed the battlefield in search of the source of the sound only to find a stone fist flying at him. Not daring to waste more time, he turned his attention to the stone fist and directed the dark purple flames at the stone fist. Thanks to the overwhelming power of the dark purple flames the stone fist was easily destroyed before the young death mage could celebrate he felt a sharp pain on his waist. like a cannonball, Derik''s body flew over ten meters deeper into the woods before it hit the ground, rolling several times before stopping. He spat out blood and with his blurred vision, he looked up and saw three stone approaching, the one at the center was as black as coal, this was the stone troll which fell victim to Derik''s terrifying hell flame. "How?¡­ How did it survive?" "Why are there three of them?" "An ambush? Don''t tell me these beasts are smart enough to plan something like this?" "Why couldn''t I sense their presence¡­Why didn''t I hear them approach?" "Damn it" Derik muttered as he struggled to get on his feet. His vision got clearer and something caught his attention. On the floor just a few meters away was the talisman which he was meant to be on his neck. His hands quickly moved to his chest region in search of the talisman. But he "No¡­" He muttered [Yes¡­] a voice echoed in his mind as if it was responding to his previous statement. Instantly his vision blurred and his body fell like a log of wood. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. When Derik regained consciousness he found himself in the same forest, at the same spot where he passed out. He quickly spotted the three stone trolls but for some reason, it seemed as time had come to a halt. He quickly got on his feet but his greatest surprise his body remained motionless, laying on the ground peacefully "Why?... am I dead?" Derik muttered "No this can''t be¡­ that voice¡­ I recognize it!¡­. Show yourself!!¡­ Show yourself!!!" Derik growled but no one responded. Suddenly the forest got darker and the temperature suddenly dropped, and from a nearby tree a figure emerged, its face was covered with a hood and with the darkness was a pair of purple flames which burnt fiercely. Apart from its purple eyes, no other part of its body was revealed, all covered by the pitch-black robe which was adorned with purple ancient writings. Looking down at its feet Derik realized something shocking, the shadow of this being had a pair of bone wings and a scythe which levitated beside it but these things were not present on the main body "It''s been a while Derik Angus" The mysterious hooded man spoke first "To think my partner will try to suppress me with nature magic just a few minutes after our first encounter¡­ I''m hurt" It laughed as it spoke. "What do you want¡­ get me out of here" Derik responded indifferently, his pitch-black eyes remained fixed on the purple flaming eyes "Hmmmm?... Your fear¡­ it''s still there but it''s negligible¡­ The side effects of using my powers are working faster than I expected?" The mysterious hooded man was shocked by Derik''s courage, the last time they spoke Derik could barely talk back at it. But now¡­ "You mean my power¡­ You exist because of me¡­ you''re mine and mine alone¡­ I will not let a measly magic spirit toil with me¡­" Derik growled, suddenly a blue light burned in his eyes and fangs and claws appeared. His short black hair instantly stood up, looking spiky and his voiced deepened "If you wish to keep your life¡­ you will let me out¡­ mind you, I will not repeat myself¡­ this is what a real monster looks like!!!"Derik growled as he ran towards the mysterious hooded man. 37 Chapter 37: sThis is what a real monster looks like†"Interesting," the mysterious hooded man said casually as he watched patiently waited for Derik to arrive. His raging purple fire like eyes shifted to Derik''s claws which were shrouded in dark-purple flames, in fact at this moment, most of Derik''s body was shrouded in dark-purple flames leaving a trail of purple flames wherever he went, his bright blue eyes burned bright in the midst of the dark purple flames, at this point the boy actually looked like a demon comparable to the mysterious hooded man. If this mysterious hooded man could understand human feelings he probably would have been afraid. [Is he really human?] [He''s forcibly using my powers in my dimension¡­ against my own will¡­ amazing!] [So this is the power I sensed in this kid the first time I pulled him over to this world¡­ I''ve struck gold this time!!! This host is perfect] The mysterious hooded man thought. "Very well¡­ I shall grant you your request" the mysterious hooded figure said and waved its hand. "Die!!!!!" Derik growled and leaped towards the mysterious hooded man and struck forward. Just before his claws could reach the man everything shattered like a broken mirror. "What''s this?" Derik screamed in anger and his blue glowed even brighter. Soon everything faded and only darkness remained.No matter how much he tried he still couldn''t see a thing "With the little display of strength and courage you displayed today, I have no reason to suppress you anymore¡­ I will contact you only when necessary and you can use ''our'' power without limit¡­ Just remember the anger and hate you felt today¡­ it will keep you safe¡­ I will be watching, human" The voice of the mysterious hooded man echoed in Derik''s ears ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The half roasted stone troll walked towards Derik''s unconscious body and picked him up by the head while the other two stood by the sides and watched. The stone troll growled at the unconscious human and was about to apply force to its grip in hopes of crushing the human''s skull but before it could act a sudden outburst of energy poured out from Derik''s body, tossing the troll over twenty meters back. The two remaining stone trolls growled in response and sent two stone fists at Derik "Pitiful¡­ Death magic: Death Beam" Derik said indifferently. Suddenly two huge black magic arrays appeared by Derik''s sides and black beams poured out of both magic arrays, destroying the stone fists, blowing away the stone trolls as well. "You think you''re scary? Do you think you''re a monster? Let me show you all, what a real monster looks like" Derik said as he walked towards all three stone trolls. Suddenly a bright blue light burned in his eyes and fangs and claws appeared. His short black hair instantly stood up looking spiky and his voiced deepened, his shoulders broadened and it looked like he had aged by a bit. His frosty gaze was fixed on these stone trolls and his murderous intentions were vividly made known to them, these stone trolls could only shudder in fear as "Pitiful¡­ Death magic: Death Beam" Derik said indifferently. Suddenly two huge black magic arrays appeared by Derik''s sides and black beams poured out of both magic arrays, destroying the stone fists, blowing away the stone trolls as well. "You think you''re scary? Do you think you''re a monster? Let me show you all, what a real monster looks like" Derik said as he walked towards all three stone trolls. Suddenly a bright blue light burned in his eyes and fangs and claws appeared. His short black hair instantly stood up looking spiky and his voiced deepened, his shoulders broadened and it looked like he had aged by a bit. His frosty gaze was fixed on these stone trolls and his murderous intentions were vividly they watched the blue-eyed monster shrouded in diabolic black aura approach. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The sudden burst of death energy spread so far that even the other members of the team in castle black which was over a thousand meters away felt it and involuntarily shuddered in fear "D¡­De¡­Derik!" Daemon stuttered as she spoke "Monster!¡­ something so evil shouldn''t exist¡­" Cyrus'' statement was cut short by the murderous glares from Kira and Gin. If only Kira can solo the whole team, having Gin and Kira attack him is simply suicide, even though they are not at their peak currently, he doubted he would be able to handle these two mages. Donald and Karl could only shudder in silence not daring to voice their thoughts ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Tink! Tink! Tink! All three stone trolls desperately struggled with the three claw-shaped arc of pitch-black energy. Even with their stone skin and metal claw skills, they felt excruciating pain as they were been pushed back by Derik''s casual claw attack "If this is all level twelve beasts famed for their outstanding defense and superb durability are capable of, then I''m truly disappointed," Derik said indifferently. Booooom!!! After the first attack, the stone trolls were in miserable conditions, especially their hands which were completely stained with death energy to the extent that residual death energy sipped out of their injuries. "Playtime is over¡­ Lets end this" Derik muttered. His image blurred in the next second and like the wind, a black ball of energy blitz past one of the stone trolls, leaving only a headless body behind. The headless body of the stone troll fell to the ground like a log of wood, not offering any resistance what so ever. "Next" Derik muttered and in the next moment, the remaining stone trolls swung into action. They punch out repeatedly at Derik and numerous stone fists flew at the blue-eyed archer who laughed at their efforts. With a crazed expression on his face Derik dashed forward, the instant the stone fists got in range, the young archer brandished his claws at the stone fists. Boooooom!!! "Die!!!" Derik growled as he appeared right in front of the next and swung his claw horizontally at the beast instantly splitting it in two. The troll only stared at Derik in disbelief before the upper half of its body separated from the lower half, it refused to believe that this ''thing'' that killed it was a human "One more" Derik laughed and casually walked towards the monster¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Castle Black¡­ Every member of the recruit team was gathered at the giant iron gate of castle black waiting patiently for Gin and Kira to appear, after a few minutes the two finally showed up dressed in casual clothes but they had a few pieces of equipment on them. Gin held on to his magic weapon tightly as he approached the other members of the team, both he and Kira gazed at the other members of the team coldly not trying to hide their hostile intentions "Where we parted ways with Derik is just north-west of this place¡­ its been over an hour since the sounds of battle subsided and by now the victor should have left the place.. if Derik actually won, then he''s probably not here because he sustained too much injury so his travel speed is greatly reduced.. if that''s the case we will meet him on our way there¡­" Gin said "If Derik is hurt bad¡­ You will do your job as an oracle and heal his injuries¡­ Do you hear me, Cyrus?!.... And if he''s dead¡­ we will finish what he started¡­ we will end the lives of trolls and recover his body¡­ these trolls are already injured and are not at peak fighting condition¡­ hit them with everything you''ve got¡­ that''s all" Kira said. The others had no choice but to nod showing their approval, even Cyrus was helpless in this situation.And when they were about to leave they saw a figure approach, his eyes were normal and his clothes were practically shredded, there were no traces of injuries on his body and his face was void of any form of emotion "Derik¡­" Daemon gasped "Derik!!" Kira muttered "Yo! Derik!!" Gin said Upon arrival, Derik glanced at the faces present and simply dropped the bag on his hand "When the association comes¡­give them that¡­ Mission accomplished¡­ I need to get some rest¡­ I don''t want to be disturbed" Derik said indifferently. He was about to walk past the but his path was quickly blocked by Gin and Kira who wore worried expressions on their faces. The eyes searched for the talisman which was meant to be on Derik''s neck "Where? Where is it?" Gin asked "Where is what?" Derik responded, pretending to be clueless about the matter "The talisman¡­" Kira quickly spoke up "Oooo¡­ you mean this?" Derik said as he pulled out the talisman from his back pocket and tossed it to Kira "I won''t be needing that anymore¡­ goodnight" Derik said after which he walked away. The others remained quiet not daring to meet his gaze, even Cyrus. Their eyes were fixed on the bag which was stained red probably with the blood of the monster. Kira quickly picked up the bag and was shocked by how heavy it was, he then noticed blood dripping out from the bottom. His expression turned grim and he quickly opened the bag "What tha...!!!" Donald screamed and retreated. In fact everyone present took at least a step back as the stared at the head of the level twelve troll lying on the floor. They could guess that even the troll was shocked by its death, it probably wasn''t expecting it because its eyes were wide open even after its death "Damn!!!" Karl muttered and looked back at the castle which Derik just walked into, he doubted if the fourteen-year-old kid who just walked past them was human. "Monster" Cyrus muttered¡­ 38 Chapter 38: Change The door yanked open and two figures dashed in, like an arrow the dashed straight at Derik who was seated on the stone chair, arriving at his location in just a second "This is the third time this morning¡­ guys¡­ seriously?" Derik said indifferently while he focused on the grimoire right in front of him, he completely ignored Kira and Gin who were both armed with wooden spoons. "Come on man! Let''s go eat, the others waiting" Gin said, seating on the stone desk, right beside the grimoire. Kira only sighed and sat on the bed behind Derik, his cold gaze was fixed on Derik''s back for a while after which he simply laughed and dropped the wooden spoon in his hand on the bed and lay down on his back. "Damn¡­ It feels like our roles have been switched¡­ I use to be the cold one but today, I''m the one trying to persuade you to come downstairs for breakfast¡­ " Kira laughed "What happened to you when we left¡­ why do you refuse to put on the talisman¡­ Are you really Derik?" Kira asked with a straight face. Bam! Gin fell off the desk in shock and he quickly turned around and stared at Derik who suddenly closed the grimoire in his hands. As usual, Derik''s eyes were cold and was void of emotions "Kira¡­ Gin¡­" Derik called out to them. He dropped the grimoire on the stone desk and got on his feet "It''s still me¡­ it''s just that I barely feel anything now¡­ anger¡­ joy¡­ pain¡­ sorrow¡­ its as if these emotions never existed. I can see things clearly now, its easier to make decisions¡­ But that doesn''t make me a monster, right?" Derik asked smiling "Barely? That means you are still capable of feeling something right? We just have to put in more effort, right?" Gin asked the curiosity on his face could not be hidden easily "I guess so" Derik nodded in agreement Bang! The wooden spoon struck Derik''s face even before he could react and fell to the ground, this was something he did not expect. His indifferent gaze fell on Gin who stuck out his tongue and dashed out of the room with a sinister smile on his face and soon Derik and Kira could hear Gin laugh "Well then¡­" Kira laughed and tossed his spoon at Derik, dashing out of the room immediately, he didn''t even bother to check if the spoon hit or not. Derik simply smiled and chased after them "You''re not getting away from me," Derik said as he chased after them. ¡­ ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ¡­ ¡­ Castle Black Dining Hall¡­ The others wore somber expressions on their faces as they ate, the way they acted when Derik revealed his powers split the team in two, now the most powerful members of the group treated them like strangers, not even bothering to say a word to them whenever they cross path. Even Derik who fought alongside them in the inter-class exams does not even look at them, everything was perfect just a few days ago, even Kira who they called ''the Prince of Darkness'' loosened up a bit. But now they don''t even eat together Bang! Bang! Bang! It felt like the castle shook, even the ten-meter long dining table shook as well. Suddenly they saw a blue-haired kid covered in a blue barrier sphere fell down the stairs and hit the ground like a comet. He wore a blue garment similar to Derik and Kira''s nightwear, he wore a blue chest plate and his blue gauntlets. He looked ridiculous "Damn!!!" Gin screamed as he hurriedly reached for his magic sword which fell off his hand when he fell to the ground. Tink! Using the sword, Gin stopped the bone spear from burrowing a hole in his chest "Ok! Is that all you got? Messenger of Death" Gin laughed "Well then¡­ let me show you!" Derik said with a smile. Immediately it felt like time froze and all the mana in the room gathered around Derik and Gin. Instantly they weapons were shrouded in black and blue energy respectively, they both gazed at each other with crazed expressions on their faces.Before both combatants could strike forward a blood-red spear swept Derik off his feet from the side which knocked him off balance and he fell on the ground. Kira was dressed in a red garment and only held a red blood spear in his hand, he looked dumb in his attire, everyone in the room was speechless. "Let''s get out of here, Gin!" Kira said to Gin and dashed out of the room "Ok! Bro!" Gin responded Not daring to let this opportunity pass him by, Gin quickly stood up and dashed out of the room, chasing after Kira "Cowards!" Derik laughed as slowly got on his feet. What kind of enemy will attack and run, as a warrior using hit and run tactics is very shameful. He waved his hand and dark energy poured out of every opening in his body and soon consumed him completely. The dark energy was soon replaced by white bone armor "How far do you think you can run" Derik laughed as he dashed out of the room. The others simply exchanged a glance and looked at the door which was one of the few doors that led outside the castle. Three people, fighting in their night wears, if this news got out they are likely going to become laughing stocks amongst their peers but when they remembered the pressure they felt when Derik and Gin were about to attack each other seriously, no recruit will dare laugh at these three recruits who were at the top of the inter-class ranking list "Seriously¡­ what''s up with Derik¡­ It''s like there are two people in one body¡­ One minute he''s normal, the next he''s a monster" Donald said "Don''t be fooled, he may have a smile on his face but his eyes are empty¡­ Derik is still in there but he''s no longer human¡­ it''s just a matter of time before the beast inside him takes over" Cyrus said indifferently. Even when Derik laughed his eyes were still empty, how can someone like that be human "Maybe you didn''t see it but his smile was genuine¡­ it''s still Derik¡­ why will he risk his life just to save Gin and Kira" Daemon said "All this happened because of your stupid beliefs... why can''t light and darkness co-exist? He hasn''t killed anyone yet¡­ he hasn''t committed any crime¡­ stop hating¡­the team is in shambles because of you!" Daemon screamed angrily at Cyrus and walked away. "She''s kind of right you know¡­ for this team to move forward¡­ you have to grow up" Karl said and left the room as well. Donald sighed and left the room as well ¡­Meanwhile¡­ Bam! Bam! Bam! Using his bone spear Derik struggled with numerous mini-arcs of blue energy "Shit!!!" Derik muttered. He clearly understood what Gin was trying to do, by minimizing the amount of energy he expends, he can prolong this fight and wear out Derik, he was probably waiting for Derik to run out of mana. "He doesn''t know?" Derik grinned and a faint blue light shone in his eyes and vanished almost instantly. These people are only aware of his death magic ability but are unaware of his werewolf side. if they knew that this death mage they decided to annoy this morning had close to infinite mana they will probably regret their actions. "I will wipe that smile off your face!!" Kira screamed. "From the pit of the abyss, I call upon thee, fight my battles and smite thy enemies¡­ Become my shield and become my sword¡­ let my foes shriek at the mention of thy name¡­ Blood summon; Hellspawn!!!" Kira screamed. He immediately struck his left palm with the blood spear in his hands and blood poured out. Suddenly, the blood gathered at one point and formed a ten-meter wide pool beside Kira. From this pool shrieks and cries emanated, a bloodied hand that possessed pointy claws emerged and grabbed the ground and slowly pulled itself out. Derik frowned slightly and stared at Kira in disbelief "Is it possible to specialize in both battle magic and summoning magic?" Derik muttered. In this world, even amongst battle mages, there are two groups or factions, that''s the summoning class and the battle class. Like the word implies, the summoning class specializes in summoning abilities, bringing in magical and even supernatural beasts from other dimensions to fight for them while the battle mages simply specialize in attack and defensive spells. The class one falls in is solely dependent on the nature of your magic spirit, Derik has never heard of a mage possessing both classes in one body. If he could actually feel something, he was sure he would envy Kira at this moment, this kid is the true genius, the number one recruit and not a cheat like him who depends on his cheat werewolf side to get stronger, without which he probably would have remained in the archery class castle, becoming slightly above average at best. At this point, he felt slightly inferior to this blood mage 39 Chapter 39: Ending the battle in just three moves The hellspawn was just about 5ft tall and it stood on all four, its body looked like chunks of expired meat put together. It had the shape of a hound and several holes through which blood flowed out of those holes. Its blood-red eyes glowed as its murderous gaze fell on Derik who frowned at what he saw "Crap¡­ I didn''t see this coming" Derik muttered Even Gin was slightly shocked by this, he didn''t expect Kira to have such a creepy and shocking beast as a blood summon, what the heck! He didn''t expect the blood mage to be able to summon monsters in the first place [Isnt he meant to specialize in Battle spells only? When did he learn how to summon? How is this possible?] Gin thought. Even the carefree, easy-going number two recruit of Briton was aware of the various laws which guided every mage in the world, this is the first time he has seen someone possess both variants of magic. To Gin, this is even more shocking than when they found out that Derik had magic powers "Hahahaha!!!" Kira laughed, his normal cool and cold demeanor was nowhere to be found. It was quite obvious that the blood mage was enjoying himself, if not he wouldn''t have revealed such a trump card he had hidden even when going up against level 12 stone trolls. But it''s understandable since these guys are still kids, even the oldest amongst them is just sixteen. Wielding such power at such a tender age is like giving a kid a toy¡­ a very costly toy, why won''t they be happy when they are finally allowed to play with it without any restrictions placed on them. Even if Kira always acted cold and tough, it still didn''t change the fact that he''s only fourteen, its only natural for him to enjoy some of the things people his age enjoy "Give up now and join us at the dining hall... only then will I spare you" Kira laughed as he spoke, in reality, he was hoping Derik will reject his offer. He didn''t reveal his trump card just for his foe to back down halfway into the battle. Now he''s finally pumped why would he want all that excitement to go to waste? He silently prayed that Derik would reject his offer. "Humph! Don''t think you have won because you were able to summon a dog by your side¡­ People may fear your magic but when compared to mine its just childs play¡­ I will show you what true despair tastes like" Derik said "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik screamed. Instantly over ten black balls of energy escaped his body and soon these balls of energy took the forms of bone spears, each radiating as much aura as the one Derik currently wielded, his eyes pitch black eyes twitched and he waved his hand and in an instant overall ten bone spears flew towards the targets like arrows released from a bow. Kira and Gin''s expression darkened, just a few minutes ago they struggled with Derik who wielded on one bone spear but now another ten has been added to the fray. These Bone spears can easily tank their attacks and power through their spells yet he can actually control these spears with just his mind "Leave this to me, focus on Derik, if we beat this messenger of death, his spells will vanish as well" Gin growled as he tightened his grip on the magic sword and dashed forward. With the blade of the sword shrouded in blue energy, the young blue-haired enchanter displayed his sword mastery, soloing all then bone spears alone. Relying on his defensive magic barrier for protection and his magic weapon to repel the bone spears, the young enchanter was able to pin down all ten spears. This made Derik chuckle, in reality, he''s consciously suppressing the power of these bone spears, should he decide to take these guys seriously, Gin may not even last more than a second. "Alright!..." Kira grinned " Hellspawn¡­ go!!" Kira barked at the blood summon beside him. The hell spawns eyes glowed the moment it got its orders and it roared, its enormous body started moving and dashed towards Derik. Seeing this Derik frowned a little, he wasn''t sure of the special traits this monster possesses so he simply doesn''t know if normal attacks will be able to take this beast down especially since it looked weird. "Let''s try something new" Derik muttered. Soon dark energy escaped his body and a small black cloud hovered above them Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Ooo condemned sole of the underworld, the one which led was led astray by the lord of light and the devout, where art thy gods? As the messenger of death who comes from the deepest parts of the underworld, I sentence thee to eternal damnation and rob thee of thy Freedom¡­ Death magic: Death Bind!!!" Derik muttered. Instantly dark energy poured out of his body flew into the dark clouds. Seeing this everyone including the hellspawn looked at the dark clouds in anticipation but nothing for a while, then suddenly Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! The ground shook violently and a huge skeletal hand the size of a full-grown man emerged from beneath the ground and grabbed on to the hellspawn, its grip was so tight that the bone fingers bore deep into the beasts strange-looking flesh. Seeing this Kira instantly went pale, he gazed at the bone hands in disbelief, even from the distance he could tell how much power those bone hands possessed, a recruit like himself can never dream to break free from it.Derik laughed out loud while he approached the hellspawn, his lips parted and he started chanting "it''s over!!!" Derik growled "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" Derik screamed. Instantly a black magic array appeared at the tip of the bone spear in his hand which he pointed at the hellspawn and torrents of black flame poured out, completely consuming the blood summon and after burning for almost a minute, the fire dispersed and only ashes remained. The air was filled with the smell of roasted flesh and the cries of the blood summon which resonated everywhere for over a minute finally died down. "You''ve lost," Derik said. At that moment Kira noticed the five bone spears which surrounded him, with a shocked expression on his face he turned over and looked at Gin who was currently lying on the floor with his hands at the back of his head and five bone spears surrounding him "So this is the power of a peak three-star rated spell¡­ Its really something" Kira laughed "No! it''s a cheat!" Gin screamed Suddenly all the bone spears vanished and all three combatants laughed to their heart''s content, they returned to the castle hauling blames and insults at each other probably concerning the recent battle "Yo! Kira you gave up too easily! I was about to reveal my secret technique¡­ atrump card which will completely crush Derik''s power!!!" Gin said "Really?!... Tell me more about this secret technique of yours" Kira said in a mocking tone as he glared at Gin with contempt "You just don''t know when to give up¡­ do you?" Derik said indifferently ¡­Meanwhile¡­ The other recruits remained rooted at the windows of their rooms completely shocked, the strength and skills those three displayed in just a mock battle is not something to joke with, moreover, the control Derik displayed was shocking as well, everyone who watched from afar could tell how much Derik tried to hold back. To be honest they expected the young archer to lose control and maybe hurt one of them but that didn''t happen. How can they possibly be afraid of someone like this? Even Cyrus who watched began doubting his magic spirit which constantly warned him against Derik. Because of this boy''s power, they were able to complete their first task just on the first day, now they have six free days. Instead of viewing this archer as a foe he should be seen as an asset and a trump card which can easily smite all their enemies. With such power, they may not need to bother themselves too much concerning the Gyro kingdom, adventurer license exams! "Then why am I always on guard when I see him¡­ it should be because of our magic are natural enemies" Cyrus concluded¡­ 40 Chapter 40: Salvor Family For the next five days, the team trained in groups while they waited for the association to check on them, during that period Kira and Gin urged Derik to forgo his magic power for now and focus on his archery and melee fighting skills. The reason for this they kept to themselves. Meanwhile, Daemon and Donald trained together, while Donald worked on his speed, Daemon worked on her strength each supporting themselves. This continued for days until several carriages bearing the adventurers association banner appeared on the seventh day. These people came along with oracles from the association, sorcerers and guardian knights but to their greatest surprise, these kids were unscathed. "Did they really complete the mission?" The guardian knight in charge of the team asked with signs of disbelief written all over her face. He briefly glanced at every face in the room and gasped in shock. The first mission the adventurer team gives out to recruit teams is usually one that they are unable to complete, after assessing their strength through the data gotten from the inter-class competition, they can determine the perfect task which they will not be able to complete but they will at least be able to escape. The aim of the first task was just to help these recruits understand that not all battles can be won, when faced with a far stronger enemy one is meant to retreat, regroup and wait for more capable adventurers to arrive and aid them. Its sole aim was to bring these kids at the doorstep of death and give them a choice, life or death. The greedy and dumb recruits will choose death and try to complete the mission at all costs while the smart ones will acknowledge their weakness and give up. For six days now, they have been waiting for Kira''s team to contact them through the use of messenger doves but for to their greatest surprise nothing happened, it got to the point where they feared that all seven recruits were killed in battle that''s why they mobilized such a large team to investigate but when they arrived at the gates of castle black, they saw all seven recruits in perfects conditions training. This is close to impossible, it would have been more reasonable if they completed the mission but incurred fatal injuries in the process but that was not the case. "It seems so¡­ according to the oracles, the bodies of those level twelve stones trolls were already in the process of decaying when they found it¡­ all three were decapitated about a kilometer northwest of here" An assassin class adventurer replied honestly, even he was also shocked by the report he received. The next moment his eyes narrowed and his cold gaze fell on Derik "According to the oracles¡­ very power traces of evil magic were found all over the corpses of these beasts¡­ even the vegetation around the battlefield slowly withers as we speak¡­ at the moment they are trying their best to purge the affected areas of this sinister energy" The assassin said. Finally, realization dawned on the guardian knight, her eyes narrowed and fell on Derik. Amongst all the physical class recruits present the only one who had undergone earth-shattering change was Derik, the fourteen-year-old archery class recruit during the inter-class competition had short brown hair and brown iris. Even now the boy''s hair was greasy black and his iris was black as well. The boy who always wore a determined expression throughout the inter-class competition was now indifferent, his facial expression and eyes were void of emotions, it almost felt like he felt nothing. If not for the human skin the archer wore the guardian knight probably would have mistaken this young man for a monster. "It''s possible he awakened his magic and kept it a secret, it''s possible a high ranking member of the association is aware of this and decided to keep it a secret, we are not sure yet¡­" The guardian knight smiled bitterly as she spoke. Even if she wants to apprehend Derik it won''t be so easy, right now this branch was stationed at Briton town. This archer is the family knight of the number one noble family in the town. Also, for this archer to procure magic enhancement potion shows that his background is not as simple as they thought, its worth over a hundred gold coins!! Such an amount is enough to sustain a man and his family for the rest of their lives without the worry of working. And finally, If she guesses correctly concerning a high ranking member of the association keeping Derik''s magical class test a secret, then it will be unwise for her to annoy such a member by harassing this archer. Suddenly Derik shifted his attention from Kira and Gin to the guardian knight and assassin who stood about thirty meters away. His cold and hostile gaze pierced so deep into their souls that they shuddered involuntarily, even now they wondered if the boy heard their conversation. They moved around the room in hopes of shaking off Derik''s gaze but it remained fixed on them, this made them feel like there were in the room all alone with Derik. Suddenly the temperature of the room dropped and faint black aura escaped Derik''s body, he got on his feet and casually walked towards the guardian knight and assassin who in turn instinctively took a few steps back. This is the first time they have ever felt such evil aura, at this point they refused to believe that this young archer was a recruit, his aura is no way inferior that of high ranking bronze level adventurers. "What is this kid?" The assassin famed for being logical and fearless shuddered in fear and quickly unsheathed his weapons, with his hands all sweaty, he couldn''t get a firm grip on his weapon and the dagger in his hands fell off, drawing the attention of the others in the room. The guardian knight remained firm and reduced to back off, her pride was on the line here. Even though she looked calm, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead were visible and her right hand rested on the hilt of her sheathed blade "Is there a problem?" Derik spoke first when he arrived. His gaze was cold and it felt as if he was begging the guardian knight to make a mistake. "Well¡­ traces of dark magic energy were found on the corpses of stone trolls¡­ we were just¡­" "Yes¡­ I''m responsible¡­ now I ask again¡­ is there a problem?" Derik interrupted the guardian knight. His tone was stern, this time it sounded like a warning "No¡­ there is none for now¡­" The guardian knight quickly answered "Ok..." Derik muttered and thought for a while "After each mission we''re entitled to two weeks vacation¡­ am I correct?" Derik asked "Yes¡­" The guardian knight answered "Then when can I leave?" He asked, "Can I return with you guys?" "Is it that urgent?" she asked "Yes¡­ it has to do with the Lockwood family¡­ I won''t ask if it wasn''t that urgent" Derik said with a serious look on his face. The guardian knight sighed and nodded in agreement after thinking about it for a while "we leave in an hour¡­ be ready" She said ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Archery Class room¡­ Packing didn''t take much time, the only things he needed were a few clothes and his grimoire. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the talisman and looked at it for a second and then shoved it back into his pocket. Thud! Thud! Thud! His gaze shifted to the only door in the room the moment he heard footsteps and he waited for them to arrive. Just a few seconds later Kira and Gin appeared, they both wore confused expression on their faces. "Derik¡­ what are you doing?" Kira asked Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Nothing much¡­ I just have some important business to take care of with the Lockwood family" Derik responded "I hope its nothing illegal" Gin joked. Derik smiled in response and chatted for a while with both of them. After which he left the room and joined the team from the adventurers association ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Lockwood Castle ¡­ The carriage bearing the adventurers association banner finally stopped in front of the gate. He quickly alighted from the carriage and walked towards to castle. The main reason Derik left so early was solely due to the salvor issue, in the past, he has been afraid to help the Lockwood family with their vampire issues but now everything is different. With this new power of his, taking down a few bloodsuckers shouldn''t be a problem¡­ At least that''s what he thinks¡­. 41 Chapter 41: A Plan! The door to the enormous room which served as the Lockwood family meeting room suddenly yanked open catching the attention of everyone in the room. all five pair of eyes were filled with shock when they saw the black-haired teenage kid walk through those doors, if not for the wet dog odor which they perceived from him they probably would have treated his as an invader. Even Scott frowned slightly, he was informed of Derik''s recent changes by his spies in the association but he did imagine the boy would change this much. When he was informed that the kid awakened his magic and had an affinity for evil magic he wasn''t bothered, he felt it would be dark magic at most but what he could feel right now was quite different, even his wet dog odor was mixed with some sinister energy which made Scott feel restless. His eyes were fixed on Derik who walked towards a vacant stone chair and sat down, this stunned all five members of the Lockwood family but none dared to speak up, the aura they sensed from Derik made them feel like the angel of death hovered above the young archer waiting for someone to speak up against its companion. This young lad has completely changed, the previous Derik was bold but loyal but this new Derik looks dangerous "I didn''t think you will show¡­ For a moment there I suspected you were avoiding this task¡­ The last time we spoke you left the castle you were meant to visit the archery class, later on I heard you returned to the association branch office and was moved to castle black, even though you were granted a week break" Scott said with a smile on his face, his eyes were fixed on Deriks face hoping to get a reaction but to his greatest surprise the young archer didn''t even blink "Naturally I have no reason to fight these beasts but things are different now¡­Vampires reside in this little town¡­ my family resides here as well... Only one gets to stay" Derik said indifferently, ignoring Scott "Vampires are one of the few supernatural beasts which do not possess a definite ranking, in some cases vampires that are as strong as level 30 monsters¡­ these are not foes you can beat alone even if you possess magic powers now¡­ Don''t underestimate them" The only lady in the room said to Derik¡­ "Don''t you think I''m aware of that?" Derik sighed " A vampire''s strength increases with their age¡­ the older they are, the stronger they become.." He added. He then shifted his gaze to Scott who wore a gentle smile on his face and asked " How old are these vampires?..." "These vampires are aware of our presence and somehow have been able to block most of our sources of information¡­ but from the little, we got they should have lived for more than a century" Scott said casually, he was curious to know how Derik would react to this news. A Vampire which has lived for over a century can seriously threaten the life of an alpha such as himself, not to talk of a family of seven vampires who have lived for over a hundred years. Currently, they were at a disadvantage "This¡­" Derik said frowning "I''m guessing you guys didn''t come here to lament¡­ So¡­what''s the plan?" Derik said casually. At the moment all he possessed was terrifying aura but his strength is yet to get to that level, defeating three injured magical beasts is something to be proud of as a recruit but the facts remained that those magical beats were unable to display hundred percent of their fighting capabilities because of their injuries, if he fought them at their peak, he probably wouldn''t have stolen the win so easily. But the vampires was something else, a vampire over a hundred years can only be defeated with the combined effort of a wolf pack, the alpha of the pack included, yet there is still a high chance that there will be casualties but now a family of over a century old vampires. Taking in a supernatural beast that is above level 15 is currently beyond his capabilities, with his current strength, he can probably last only a few moves if he''s lucky. "Well then¡­" Scott said with a satisfied smile. He had been observing Derik hoping to see his response, even though he wished that Derik would just ask for directions to the salvor mansion and just end everything, he also hoped that the boy wouldn''t do such because that will mean that the fourteen-year-old is currently stronger. For any other noble family which its family knight suddenly grows stronger, they will most likely celebrate the knight but in the Lockwood family the case in reverse. This family is different from all other noble families, to be honest, they don''t consider themselves a noble family, they are a wolf pack. Now in a situation where the family knight challenges the alpha and wins taking the position as family head, these are the reasons most noble families with the werewolf curse in gyro kingdom tend to keep their wolf side a secret or just keep their knights as humans. Some simply refuse to have a family knight at all. Now Derik has awakened such terrifying magic his strength has skyrocketed, there is a high possibility that he may be able to defeat an average beta, should his power increase once again and he is strong enough to take on an alpha, why won''t Scott feel threatened? Especially since the personality of this kid has slightly changed as well [I guess I''ll have to be more careful when dealing with this kid from now on] Scott thought Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He quickly shifted his gaze from Derik to the other members of the family and smiled "So¡­ asking for help from other packs in neighboring towns is not an option¡­ our family just lost its alpha¡­ At this point other packs are watching, the moment they find any sign of weakness, they will try to exploit it" Scott said with a bitter smile on his face. The other members of the family nodded in agreement "We don''t necessarily need to kill them¡­ it''s suicidal to engage these bloodsuckers in a head-on battle so! I suggest we expose them to the public and let the association, military and holy church deal with them" Derik said "I wish it''s that simple" Barry Lockwood smiled bitterly "How? What does that mean?" Derik asked "It means we have to deal with these supernatural beasts in secret¡­ should a supernatural beast appear in this town, it will lead to further investigations¡­" Barry explained "Exactly, the only reason the Lockwood has lived here peacefully is solely because of its ties with some influential figures in the holy church and military, which cover up minor events, but when a major event like a family of vampires showing up takes place, this will draw the attention of other branches of the military and the holy church to this town, which will lead to more investigations which will lead to!... you should know what happens next" Scott laughed while he spoke. "After your flashy battle during the inter-class competition where you pushed yourself to your limit and beyond¡­ did you think no one would suspect something, covering up the matter cost us a lot¡­ Derik nodded his head and frowned slightly, he wondered why Scott would laugh when the family is placed in such a bad situation, at this point a head-on low-key confrontation should be the only option, unless¡­ "You seem amused by something¡­ I hope it''s a plan that can help us deal with this issue¡­ and why do you keep staring at me that way?" Derik asked with a smile on his face "Of course¡­ I have a plan but you may not like it¡­ so I''m trying to predict your reaction, it''s really fun! You should try it" Scott laughed Instantly the smile on Derik''s face crumbled and he glanced at all the faces in the room before returning his gaze to Scott "Tell me," Derik said frowning¡­ The other members of the Lockwood family smiled when they heard his response 42 Chapter 42: Encounter After that night, Derik spent the next five days working on the plan already set, before that; he made a quick trip to his family house to check on them. His agreement with the Lockwood was quite simple, in exchange for him going along with their crazy plan where he had multiple parts to play and one for them included being the bait. In return they are to divert a certain amount of resources into the safety of his family, this request shocked the other members of the Lockwood family, the boy who sat with them up till now barely showed emotions and they all agreed it was due to the nature of his magic spirit, yet he requested that they protect his family until all this is over, this proved to them that this kid still had a little humanity left in him. At first Scott proposed moving his family to the Lockwood castle where they will be safe but Derik completely refused, the final stage of the plan, the final showdown will take place in the Lockwood castle, even though the family had a reasonable amount of military forces under their command it still didn''t mean shit to him, even if they have the number advantage sometimes numbers do not matter, its like tossing several recruits at a gold level adventurer. Even though their chances of winning are high, the possibility that there will be casualties is quite high also, considering a situation where is family members are counted amongst the casualties terrified him "we''re here" The coachman said, opening the carriage door. Derik''s gaze shifted from Lisa Lockwood, sister to Scott Lockwood and moved to the familiar building just a few meters away "Well? Go on" Lisa said with a casual smile on her face attracting Derik''s cold gaze which made her flinch "I will aid your family in this fight¡­ You will protect mine... Am I correct?" Derik asked with is chilly gaze fixated on the lady in front of him "Yes?"Lisa barely replied. The sudden change in Derik was truly terrifying, at this point dark energy slowly sipped out of the windows and door of the carriage, even the coachman retreated in fear "Then you must protect them at all costs¡­ I don''t care about reasons and I won''t listen to stories, should anything happen to these people, I will take your life as well" Derik said, at this point, his iris turned blues and his fangs were made visible whenever he talked. Seeing this Lisa didn''t doubt his words, a person capable of combining his magic and werewolf side, even though tales of people capable of doing such exists, they are as rare as phoenix feather and are usually regarded as the secret weapon of their respective packs. At this point an omega like herself with knowledge of only a few family werewolf combat techniques can only last a few exchanges against this kid, she even doubted the various beta''s in the pack can beat this kid effortlessly¡­ "You don''t have to worry about it¡­ should something beyond my strength appear, I''ll run" Lisa responded quickly. Only after Derik was done considering her response, finding it satisfactory did he leave the carriage and walked towards the stone house. He glanced at all ten warriors and mages on horses waiting behind the carriage and sighed. These guys should at least be able to put up a good fight should something happen. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Angus Family house living room¡­ John Angus wore a grim expression as he stared at Derik and Lisa who were seated just opposite him, he shifted his gaze to Linda who held on to his hands while she stared at Derik whose eyes were void of emotions. She normally bore a grudge against her brother because of her mother''s death and always threw insults at him whenever she got the chance, still, Derik always smiled at her and showered her with love whenever he got the chance, but now¡­ "Are you really Derik?" Linda asked timidly. Her voice quickly attracted Derik''s cold gaze which made her shudder in fear. Not bothering to respond, Derik returned his gaze to John "My time here is limited¡­ I''m aware of the fact you were informed of the change after my magic power was awakened so there is no reason for me to dive into that topic, For now, something serious and dangerous will happen in this town, this danger I cannot disclose as well¡­ all I can say is this¡­ Lisa Lockwood and a few guards will be stationed here for your protection¡­ I hope you will listen to her should some misfortune come your way¡­ as long as you listen to her, I can assure you no harm will befall you all¡­ so she and the other guards will be saying here till it''s all over" Derik finally spoke. His gaze then shifted to Linda "Lisa¡­ my sister is quite stubborn, should she resist or disobey your orders¡­don''t hesitate to use force¡­ even if it means breaking all the bones in her little body" Derik said indifferently as he got on his feet and walked towards the door. Everyone including Lisa was shocked by Derik''s final words but none was willing to speak up [That''s your sister!] Lisa screamed in her mind ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Getting on to the carriage he left the Angus family house and rode towards the commercial district. After a thirty minutes journey, the carriage finally stopped, looking out the window, Derik''s gaze fell on the mansion located at the outskirts of the commercial district which was similar to other noble houses and only inferior to the Lockwood family castle. His eyes narrowed and saw several bloodshot eyes staring at him from the various windows in the building "This!..." Derik muttered as he alighted from the carriage and walked towards the mansion which practically looked abandoned. Pushing the gates open he made his way into the compound stopping only when he got to the door, his nose twitched slightly because the place wreaked of decaying corpses. Just like werewolves have a special scent which they give out, vampires have theirs as well. he raised his hand to knock but the door suddenly yanked open. "Seriously?" Derik said indifferently. He looked up into the sky and concluded its almost noon, he specifically decided this during the day time because of a vampire''s weakness to sunlight. With little time left, he walked into the mansion Bang! The door behind him suddenly closed, the house was dark and only a few rays of light penetrated the pieces of cloth used to cover the windows, right now Derik felt multiple eyes staring at him and with an indifferent expression on his face he decided to deal with the one behind him, the one responsible for opening and closing the door Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "If this is how you treat a visitor then this family is rotten to the core!" Derik said as he turned around to meet the gaze of a girl just about his age. She had long flowing black hair and her skin was slightly pale, she had a gorgeous face that could easily draw the attention so many men without effort. If not for the side effect of using his magic and the smell of decaying corpse oozing out of her body, he probably wouldn''t be able to resist this young gorgeous lady "I guess the books are quite right¡­ Vampires are the epitome of beauty, after seeing this, I understand why humans fall victim to vile creatures such as yourselves" Derik sneered. "Enough of this nonsense¡­ state your business and leave Dog!!!" A deep voice came from the other floors above in the building and murmurs could be heard around him "Silence!!! Know your place you filthy beings" Derik growled and released all the evil energy stored within him. Instantly all the voices vanished and the girl in front of him quickly retreated and hid behind a couch, His bright blue eyes burned bright and his fangs were made visible when he grinned at the terrified girl, with most of his body shrouded in dark energy, he looked like a demon sent from the depths of hell. "Hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha!!!!" The same deep voice laughed so loud that his voices resonated all over the building "The Lockwood family actually procured such an asset, I''m envious¡­ For the last time, speak your mind and leave, I will not be kind enough to ask a third time" The voice growled and soon faded. For the first time since Derik acquired his death magic, he felt like the tip of the chilly blade which belonged to the angel of death pierce his throat slightly. His confidence and he quickly turned around and struck forward with his claws BAM!!! A white-bearded old man with white hair, wearing an expensive blood red attire caught his hand. The man''s pupil was completely black and his iris was blood red, even though the man looked like someone in his late 60''s or early 70''s, he still looked charming. His fiery gaze remained fixed on Derik who struggled desperately to break free from his grip and a sinister smile appeared on his face "Speak!" The man commanded and sounds of bones breaking could be heard by all in the mansion, Derik screamed in pain and fell on his knees [The information is wrong¡­ this vampire has lived for more than a century¡­ two centuries at least] He thought. Knowing how much strength he possessed, he knew that he could last a few moves when faced with Scott who is fighting seriously, but against this man, he was completely useless "The Lockwood family is hosting a party to celebrate my success in the inter-class competition and official¡­ lly¡­ I was sent here to invite your family" Derik couldn''t bear the pain anymore so he went straight to the point. The elderly man stared at Derik for a while and sighed "When is it¡­" He asked "Three days from today" Derik quickly responded "Time!" The elderly man asked "8 pm!!" Derik cried out The man''s eyes narrowed as he stared at Derik suspiciously, why would the Lockwood family invite them? At night at that? Chances of this meeting turning into an all-out brawl were quite high, they have higher chances during the day time, so why did they choose to host the party at night? Where are they getting their confidence from? "How fascinating," The elderly man said with a broad smile on his face "Tell the Lockwood family that we accept their invitation! Now vanish!!!" The elderly man growled and flung Derik towards the wooden door. BAM!!! Derik''s body completely shattered the door and still flew over twenty meters further before it finally hit the ground. The coachman who saw this was dumbfounded, he still remembered the Derik''s terrifying aura and called him a monster, yet this monster is just been literarily kicked out of a mansion! "Monster" Derik muttered as he shivered in pain, his eyes shifted to the doorless mansion, and even now he could see a pair of red eyes staring at him. Not daring to waste more time here, Derik picked himself up and sluggishly ran towards the carriage. His body ached and only when he was inside the carriage did he start pulling out the little pieces of wood which pierced his body, his body shivered and his right hand was covered in blood. "Lockwood castle¡­ now!!!" Derik spoke. from his tone the coachman could tell that this young man has been through a lot and is exhausted, so he chose not to speak on the matter any and just rode towards the Lockwood castle 43 Chapter 43: Secret Weapon The Lockwood''s wore ugly expressions on their faces when they watched Derik walk in, they were curious to know what happened but couldn''t ask considering the look on Derik''s face, it was clear that the young man was psychologically exhausted. Upon arriving Derik quickly sat on the nearest sofa nearby and sighed, Barry''s eyes twitched and he almost spat out blood due to anger when he saw Derik sit on the sofa witch his body which was coated with a mixture of sweat and blood. He simply cursed the kid silently and waited patiently "About their age¡­ where did you get that information?" Derik asked calmly "From one of my spies¡­ why do you ask?" Scott replied quickly "Then that spy should be hanged and tortured at the same time¡­" Derik said with a serious expression on his face. His eyes were cold and the murderous intentions which flowed out through him were just insane. "Why do you say so?" Barry asked " The salvors have an ancient beast on their side, that thing should be over two hundred years old¡­ it crushed my hand like it was a little stick and tossed me out of the room easily¡­ that thing is beyond us!!!" Derik explained Scott and Barry frowned slightly when they heard what said, their gaze shifted to Lucas and Rolan the two other members of the family and sighed¡­ "This may affect our plans¡­" Barry said "Francis?" Scott called out Almost instantly a figure suddenly emerged from thin air, rather it looked like he tore the surrounding like it was a sheet of paper and passed through it. His green eyes were fixed on Derik while his white hair fluttered in the wind. This stunned Derik, he felt like his eyes were playing dirty tricks on him Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "It''s been barely two weeks¡­ yet you broke the seal meant to subdue this evil" Francis said "Which evil do you speak of?" Derik played dumb. The initial shock and worry he felt when Francis appeared immediately faded, only at moments like this do he truly appreciate the side effect of his magic. "Hmmm¡­ Based on your temperament I can tell that you''re still in control somehow" Francis said quite interested¡­ "Can you tell me how you managed to bargain with your magic spirit?" "I didn''t bargain with anything¡­ it just stopped bothering me" Derik answered indifferently. He finally realized how the Lockwood''s managed to find out about his breakthrough,Francis was their informant. But how did the Lockwood family manage to drag this man over to their side? how much does he know? Is he aware of supernatural beasts as well? Derik had many questions he wanted to ask but he decided now wasn''t the time. "The presence of a vampire over two hundred years will definitely affect the plan¡­" Francis answered honestly. His eyes drifted to Derik who remained silent and he frowned slightly "Utilizing nature''s power, I can only reduce their strength and occasionally assist in the fight¡­ Do not expect too much from me¡­" Francis said "As expected of a sliver level adventurer¡­ you''re truly this family''s secret weapon!" Barry exclaimed. Scott only wore a satisfied smile on his face as he nodded, in truth reducing the combat power of supernatural beings is not an easy task, but sorcerers blessed with natures power are one of the few capable of accomplishing such a task, this is because of the nature of their magic which gives them access to herbs and leaves which these supernatural beings are usually weak against, such as wolves bane for werewolves and vervain for vampires. Francis gaze remained fixed on Derik "How long have you known about the supernatural" Derik asked "Very long" Francis answered indifferently "Since when did you find out about me?" Derik asked again "Since the inter-class competition¡­" Francis answered truthfully after which he waved his hand and ripples of mana escaped his fingertips, in an instant his body started fading, blending with the environment and soon he was gone. Seeing the man leave Derik frowned slightly, so this is why the Lockwoods have always been relaxed when they spoke of the vampire issue plaguing their territory, it was because of the man Barry called ''the Lockwood families secret weapon''. With a bitter smile on his face, he gazed at Scott who wore a charming smile on his face while speaking to Barry [This explains a lot] Derik thought ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ With only three days left before the big event, Derik remained with the Lockwood''s practicing magic under the guidance of Francis. According to Francis, the constant use of magic brings about familiarity and an increase in proficiency. Even magic spells are divided in grades, while some are high level, there are also mid-level spells and others are low-level spells. High-Level spells are naturally more powerful than low-level spells, a novice mage using a high-level spell can stand his ground for a while against an expert mage, that''s if the novice mage does not run out of mana because of the high cost of mana each high-level spell demands. But the difference between novice mages and expert mages is just proficiency, an expert mage is one who has mastered his or her magic affinity, increasing his proficiency in all his spells to mid-level or high-level spell standard. Increasing one''s proficiency is very important because it practically improves the overall combat power of the mage. In a situation where two fire mages cast the fireball spell, the mage with the greater proficiency will win the battle effortlessly. Derik has only been able to overwhelm his enemies so far due to the fact that all the spells in his grimoire are only mid-level spells and above, both his technique and application skills are quite poor, should he go against someone with slightly inferior magic power but greater skill and proficiency, there is a zero chance this young death mage will survive such an encounter. This revelation came as a shock to Derik who has always been confident in his strength, with less than six months of proper training, this young lad has always relied on brute force, thanks to his werewolf side and then his Death magic appeared, since then he has been consumed by his power, unable to acquire the basic skills and technique which the adventurers association''s numerous tasks and exams are supposed to teach. "Crap¡­ I have wasted almost a year of my life" Derik muttered when he suddenly realized how messed up his situation is. He may be the trump card of his recruit team but in truth, the team will eventually grow to match him in power and soon surpass him if care is not taken, all they need is time. "That''s one of the reasons why I asked you not to flaunt this magic of yours¡­ you lack the knowledge required to be a mage, it''s just like giving a child a magic weapon¡­ eventually, this power will consume you!" Francis warned Derik with a stern look on his face. Derik only nodded in agreement and shifted his gaze to the book in his hands 44 Chapter 44: Weakest Link As the last and only member who remained in castle black while the others returned to their various families for the two weeks break, Daemon ate alone in the castles dining hall. Her eyes roamed around the room aimlessly as she ate and signs of loneliness and depression can be seen in the eyes of this young assassin. Even if everyone refused to say it straight to her face it was just too visible, the difference between her and the other members of the team is just like that of the heavens and the earth. At this point, she even doubted she will be able to beat any member of the team even when they are in weakened states and unable to use their trump cards. It all started from the inter-class competitions where she shamefully lost to Derik on the first day of the competition even though she had a magic weapon! Some may argue that its only a bronze-level magic weapon but the truth remains that this weapon is as rear as phoenix feathers in this part of the kingdom, after which this tool was taken from her by an archer and she was forced to work with him and follow his commands. Even in the short battle royal against the fire mage Karl and the formal number one rookie Donald, she barely lasted a minute, leaving Derik who held his own against the guardian knight and fire mage for a while before Cyrus interfered. Then they met the blood mage and his army of zombie monsters, even though she joined the battle, later on, she was still the first to fall, depending on Donald to protect her "All this while I have been staring at the back of people who I''m meant to fight alongside with¡­ all this while I have been eating with them and training with them as their equal when in reality I''m nowhere near their level¡­ I''m the weakest member of the team, a burden to the whole group" Daemon cried out as tears rolled down her cheek. With no one else in the castle, she was at least allowed to pour out the emotions she has been hiding inside her for so long. Her gaze shifted to the twin daggers on the dining table and she frowned, ever since she acquired this magic weapon she has forsaken strategy and techniques, taking on foes head-on. Instantly a broad smile appeared on her face and she quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks, if she realized this mistake any time later, she probably would have drowned herself in tears but this time things were different. She was currently residing at one of the association''s castles! Where a library containing books which stored valuable information on each class were kept. Right now, all she needs to do is restart! "All I have to do now is work harder than others¡­ soon I will be able to stand by their side as a comrade and not a burden" Daemon muttered. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ After breakfast, Daemon when straight to the training ground within castle black compound, over the months she spent in the assassin class castle as a recruit she was able to understand learn a few combat techniques which made her stand atop the other recruits and rank number one in the assassin class ranking list. All of the techniques are bronze-level combat techniques but they served various purposes, probably more useful than every other class related bronze level combat technique. Although some of the techniques which gave her an edge over the other members of her class was acquired by her family thanks to their noble status, her ability to master so many bronze level combat techniques at a young age proved to everyone in the town that she was a genius, what her family did was just to hasten her development, eventually she would have reached that level but at a later time, but all this backfired when they spent hundreds of golds to acquire a magic weapon her. "Let''s get rid of this first" Daemon muttered as she starred at the twin daggers in her hands which was decorated with several magic runes. "Bronze-level combat technique: Shadow store!" Daemon said and her shadow expanded forming a circle around her covering almost 10 meters. This combat technique was one of the few techniques which her family acquired after spending over fifty gold coins just to purchase it from the capital, this technique allows the user to store items in their shadow which can be retrieved later on when needed. This technique is perfect for concealing stolen items or just storing valuable items or weapons, the sole reason her family spent that much gold coins just to purchase this bronze combat technique is just to ensure that the magic weapons in her hands will not be stolen so easily. Even though this technique has no notable limit to what it can store, the only downside of this technique is that the items forcibly emerge from the user''s shadow upon death. With traces of regret and reluctance in her eyes, she dropped the magic weapon into the shadow Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Come Forth," She said and two plain-looking daggers emerged. To grow as an assassin she needs to let go of the magic weapon for a while and train with the initial weapons she uses to train with. Wooosh! Wooosh! Instantly Daemon lunged forward and struck at the practice dummy which was over 20 meters away, covering that much distance in just a few seconds. Pulling out the blade she was stared at it with disbelief staring at daggers in her hands. Ever since she let go of the twin daggers she felt like a huge burden has been lifted, it felt like she dropped a heavy load was taken off her improving he speed and stability "Let''s keep going!" Daemon muttered leaping back "Bronze-level combat technique: Stealth!" She muttered. If Derik was her to see this, he would be dumbstruck to see this assassin utilizing the same technique as the nature mage, Francis! Mana slowly escaped from the body of this young assassin and just a few seconds later, her body became transparent blending in with the environment, vanishing completely. "Bronze-level combat technique: Jab!" A voice echoed from behind the practice dummy. Instantly, Daemon appeared behind the dummy with both daggers in her hand glowing, not wasting even a second, the assassin struck forward, driving her daggers into the dummies back. With a satisfied smile on her face, Daemon sheathed both daggers and wiped off the sweat on her face with her palm. Its been long she has experienced this feeling, this emotion she felt a few months ago when she practiced her assassination techniques alone in the training ground of the assassin class castle. Right now she felt like the grim reaper capable of stealing the life of any man or monster in this world! 45 Chapter 45: Hard work The first day was dedicated to increasing her proficiency in casting her combat techniques, this is a strenuous and time-consuming process that drained Daemon of most of her mana and concentration. Even after spending close to twenty hours alone practicing, the results she acquired were quite poor but even this couldn''t stop the 15-year-old assassin from feeling excited. Initially, her stealth technique could only be maintained for just 10 seconds after which, the technique is deactivated and Daemon is forced to reactivate it again if she wishes to use it but now she can maintain this ability for over 12 seconds! The next is the bronze level combat technique, Stab, when she used this ability on the dummy she felt some sort of resistance, having to put in more force just to attain the desired result but now there is no feeling of any form of resistance at all. Why won''t she feel excited?! That night Daemon slept well, hoping to continue her training the next day! ¡­ Meanwhile ¡­ Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Sounds of the bowstring been drawn and released repeatedly echoed throughout the training ground in the Lockwood castle, Derik''s pitch-black eyes remained fixed on the white haired-man who dashed towards his left side evading the arrows. He bit his lips in anger and silently cursed this man who refused to stand still and take a shot for the team "Stand still!!!" Derik growled as he entered a familiar stance which he used during the exam, Seeing this the white-haired man stopped moving and watched Derik with interest "Bronze-level combat technique; Shot series!!!" Derik growled. His body suddenly released a faint orange light and the movement of his right arm seemed to be accelerated leaving behind after-images as it moved. Before it could reach the quiver which hung on his firm shoulders a vertical slash appeared on his right shoulder, ripping his shirt apart and blood gushed out of the wound. "Aaaaaaagggghhhhhh!!!!" Derik muttered as he took a step back before falling on both knees, watching his blood pour out. Francis only sighed and shook his head repeatedly wearing a disappointed expression on his face. His eyes remained fixed on Derik who shivered due to the backlash of the combat technique he tried to use "You''ve really forgotten how to use the only combat technique you were able to master back when you were still in the archery class? Disappointing" Francis exclaimed. "As I said, your movements have become too rigid and monotonous¡­ You''re currently unable to accomplish feats you could accomplish back then¡­ you don''t plan in a battle and only rely on brute force¡­ This is because you''re been influenced by the magic spirit in you¡­ You may have control now but its changing you slowly" Francis explained with a stern look on his face "At your current level¡­ You may die in the battle against those bloodsuckers¡­ Your magic is like a beacon that steals everyone''s attention¡­ your brute strength will only allow you to survive a few exchanges but after that, it''s over for you¡­ so I recommend you don''t use it in the battle that will take place tomorrow" Francis said Derik could only silently stare at this white-haired nature mage talk, refusing to say a word to this man. He returned his gaze to his wound on his right shoulder watching it close up slowly. A broad smile appeared on his face revealing his fangs, instantly his iris turned blue and claws sprouted on his fingers. The hair on his head stood up and his breathing became heavier, the sudden change took Francis off guard who frowned slightly in return and took a step forward "Since my archery skills will need so much time to polish¡­ let me focus on mastering this power which will enable me to blend in with the Lockwood''s¡­ am I correct?" Derik asked "It''s the best thing you can do at the moment¡­" Francis answered truthfully "Then FIGHT ME!!!!" Derik growled and lunged forward at the nature mage ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Castle Black Third Floor¡­ Castle Library¡­.. Going through the different sections on the third floor of castle black, Daemon stopped at the one bearing the assassin class banner. The initial smile which was quite vivid on her face vanished in an instant "So unfair!!!" She muttered. This was practically her first time coming up here since she arrived at castle black, and what she saw was not funny at all. She made up her mind to complain to the association the next time she returns to the city. Each section of the library dedicated to a class had at least 2 to 3 shelves filled with books related to that class, even the archery class had two shelves filled with books¡­ the archery class! What is so special about shooting an arrow? With each shelf holding up to 125 books, the archery class has over 250 books yet the ''legendary'' assassin class has only one shelf in its section and even then the shelf is barely half full. Even without counting, she can swear there are barely up to 50 books. "Bastards!!!! What the fuck is this?" Daemon screamed. Deciding to focus on her goal, Daemon decided to forgo this matter till later. Spending about 5 minutes to gather all the books on the shelf to desks at the center of the room, she frowned at the number of books "Just 67¡­" Daemon muttered. "Well¡­ let''s get started" she said with a smile on her face 46 Chapter 46: Meeting the enemy His bright blue iris slowly reverted to its original pitch-black color, the claws and fangs which was stained red with blood slowly retracted "Damn it¡­." Derik muttered as he spat out blood. At this very moment, Derik was kneeling on a small pool of his blood, looking around the training yard, there were several pools of blood all over the place. Even the guards and servants present who watched the fight shuddered in fear, at a point they began to wonder if this was a spar or an actual fight, where both individuals put their life on the line. "Even though your wolf power grants you high-speed regeneration, it still doesn''t mean you can''t run out of blood¡­" Francis said with a smile on his face. His beautiful green iris was fixed on Derik who was still trying to catch his breath, it was obvious this young lad was enduring so much pain right now "Good job though¡­ I didn''t think you will be able to go through with the agreement¡­ I saw how much you tried to restrain yourself from using your magic spells¡­ You''ve got control¡­ I''ll give you that" Francis laughed. He wasn''t trying to make Derik feel better, at this point this nature mage was truly impressed by the control this kid has been able to showcase throughout the one-hour long battle. One hour!!!! Though the battle only lasted this long because Francis didn''t use any lethal or one-hit kill technique, he initially planned to slowly wear Derik down yet, inflicting minor wounds, but still! Been able to hold out that long is something to be proud of when the battle started Derik just growled and swung his claws at Francis at random, with no control but soon after his attacks became more controlled and the stamina he wasted greatly reduce. His attacks became more accurate and precise, that''s why Francis has a few shallow claw wounds on him. "Even though you will be on the defensive throughout the battle because of your lack of fight skills but still¡­ with your current strength, you should be able to stand against those bloodsuckers for a while¡­ maybe with my help, you may be able to kill one" Francis said Derik only nodded in response as he struggled to get on his feet, even though his wounds were completely healed, he still felt a bit dizzy to due to the fact he lost so much blood. His face was pale and has almost lost all color, his eyes lazily roamed around the training ground, seeing his blood everywhere Derik could only smile bitterly, he still failed to understand what kind of power nature magic is and only got the chance to see what a few magic techniques used by Francis looked like, after this experience, he could only describe all he saw with one word STRANGE! He smiled bitterly and remembered the moment when the elder vampire in the salvor attacked him TERRIFYING!!! Even after witnessing a small fraction of Francis'' strength who obviously did not take the fight seriously, he concluded that if these two legends collide, the vampire may end up winning the battle. He still wondered why the Lockwood family had so much faith in this man, he only hoped that this man will prove him right when the time comes. "Tomorrow night¡­" Derik muttered "Don''t worry¡­ everything will end well" Francis responded ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ A day later¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Just outside the gate of the Lockwood castle were carriages bearing various banners that belong to the various noble families in this little town. About seven carriages were belonging to the various noble families and then over eight carriages belonging to other wealthy families which resided in this little town, amongst these carriages was one which belonged to the salvor family. "Then dare approach this place with such confidence¡­" Barry said frowning as he and four other figures which stood by his side, staring out the window. His eyes twitched as he watched all seven members of the Salvor family walk through the gates with an elderly man who was supported by a little pale girl about the same age as Derik. This is the same girl Derik met in the Salvor mansion a few days ago "I must confess¡­ their acting skills are quite impressive" Lucas laughed. Even though he wore a vivid smile on his face, the disgust and hatred for this bloodsuckers could not be hidden in his eyes "Seven¡­ Even with the aid of our soldiers and Francis¡­ this will be a tough battle" Rolan said with a serious look on his face as he stared at the Salvors. His gaze shifted to Derik who was standing right beside him and he asked "Do you think we can win?" "No¡­ Even if we do there will be a lot of casualties¡­" Derik answered honestly "A man who just received the power of a vampire at this very moment has the power and speed comparable to level 15 monsters¡­ this is the level of alpha''s level¡­ This team is made up of one level 15 alpha, three-level 12 Beta''s and a level 9 omega¡­ we are outclassed and outnumbered¡­ Unless Francis is way beyond the level I estimate him to be¡­ then we are in for a bitter deathmatch" Derik explained further with a casual look on his face. His wild eyes remained fixed on the Salvors "You seem to lack faith in ancient werewolf families¡­ You will get to see the true power of the werewolves tonight¡­ after which you will understand why vampires fear us" Scott said, patting his chest with his fist 47 Chapter 47: Meeting the enemy 1 Derik frowned slightly when he heard what Scott said, he failed to understand where this guy was getting this much courage from [Could it be Francis?... No! that''s not it¡­ there has to be something else] Derik thought¡­ Taking a few steps back, he glanced at the faces of every member of the Lockwood family over and over again for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed as he pondered on the possibilities "Bastards!!!!" Derik growled His bright blue eyes widened in shock as realization dawned on him! How could have been so na?ve and dumb! How did he forget such an important and indispensable factor which all warriors depended on? Combat Techniques!!! If those level 12 stone trolls could perform a few combat techniques, what stops these werewolves from having one, or two or even dozens! If his suspicion is correct, depending on the level of these techniques, their strength can grow by leaps and bounds "If we all mastered these techniques¡­ wouldn''t that increase our chances of victory?" Derik asked. His body shivered due to anger and claws slowly began sprouting on his fingers. The members of the Lockwood family only stared at him calmly, while Rolan and Lucas wore mocking smiles, Barry was slightly worried that this kid will lose control and use magic, blowing the plan which took days to implement! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Calm down kiddo¡­" Scott laughed "These techniques are unique to the Lockwood family¡­ you may be the only staff in this castle who bares the gift but that doesn''t make you a Lockwood¡­ as far as I can remember your name is Derik Angus¡­ Family tradition must be respected" Scott explained with a casual smile on his face. This smile irritated Derik the most, he was about to approach this man with hostile intentions but then he felt someone''s palm on his shoulder. Quickly turning to find out who it was, he saw Francis staring at him. The white-haired nature magician shook his head, silently telling Derik not to make this mistake. He could understand the reason for the boy''s anger, combat techniques are very important in such a situation, these techniques could save this kids life, yet this family chose to keep it to themselves. Even if it''s a family tradition that only members of the family are allowed to learn these techniques, why throw this fact at the boys face this way? Clearly, this is a ploy to shatter the boy''s pride and make him feel irrelevant "They aren''t worth it," Francis said with a gentle smile. He then pulled out a talisman from his pocket and handed it over to Derik "Even though you''re suppressing your aura right now, I can still feel it and I''m sure those bloodsuckers will be able to¡­ this will completely hide it and suppress that power, this way you can fully focus on surviving tonight¡­ Go get ready¡­ the shows about to get started" He said Derik only nodded and took the talisman, he shifted his gaze to the Lockwood''s once again, instantly his eyes turned black and his blue iris burned bright. From these demonic eyes, murderous intentions poured out only for a second! "Aaaaah!!!" Lucas and Rolan screamed in fear and shuddered involuntarily. Even then Scott and Barry stood almost unfazed by this display of power by Derik but a little shaken. Francis simply smiled, impressed by the boy''s control and tactful combination of the werewolf power and his forbidden magic. This is actually the first time anyone in this room has witnessed this form of Derik''s power "Impressive¡­ nice one kid!... now go" Francis laughed. Derik only smiled at him in response and walked out of the room. Instantly the smile on Francis'' face turned to disgust and anger as he turned his attention to the Lockwood''s in the room "Is this necessary¡­ making an enemy out of someone you proclaimed to be your family knight? Considering his magic rating and the little display of power we''ve seen tonight, I believe you have made a grave mistake tonight¡­ which your family will surely regret in future" Francis said. Scott laughed and replied "That power is the exact reason why this is necessary¡­ We need to remind him who''s in charge¡­ He needs to know I''m the alpha of this pack and he''s just an Omega¡­ the title of alpha of this pack must remain with me or my siblings¡­ members of this great family" Francis laughed and took a few steps forward "Self-preservation! This feeling has led great men to the grave¡­ Fear of the unknown¡­ you''re yet to know if this kid is a threat yet you''re already trying to subdue him¡­ Hahahahaha!!! Scott Lockwood¡­ you''re courting death!!!" Francis said. At this point the usual smile on Scott''s face vanished, his eyes narrowed and remained focused on Francis "Are you threatening me? Nature mage, where is your loyalty?.... Don''t forget who you serve!!!!" Scott growled "Humph! I serve the human race¡­ Don''t be fooled young wolf! The only reason I work with the Lockwood family is because of the fact it has managed to keep the peace in this little town and has driven away so many supernatural forces during the time of your father, Terry Lockwood! But should you all stop to follow this path your father has set before you¡­ I will remove you all¡­ permanently!!" Francis said. Even though these were just words, the other members of the Lockwood family were shaken by this man''s proclamation. His black hair stood up and his eyes turned blood red, burning bright in the dark room. Taking a few steps towards Francis, Scott smiled revealing his fangs and he repeated the question he asked initially "Are you threatening me?" This time he said those words slowly, smiling in response, Francis green iris glowed as he took a few steps forward as well "It''s not a threat¡­ This is a promise" Francis replied with a calm smile on his face. Turning his attention to the others in the room he spoke again "Get ready¡­ this is going to be a long night¡­ make sure everything is in place¡­ no mistakes¡­ no errors" after saying these words the nature mage vanished "That man¡­" Scott said with a smile on his face. He returned to Barry''s side only to see the elder of the salvor family staring at their direction with a spooky and sinister smile on his face. It was already clear this man could see them, this terrified all the members of the Lockwood family except for Scott. [Don''t tell me his vision is this good] they thought "This old man will be hard to deal with¡­" Scott said with a bitter smile on his face. The others simply nodded in agreement 48 Chapter 48: Meeting the enemy 2 Later that night the grand hall was filled with nobles standing in groups, chatting with glasses of wine in their hands, this went on for minutes until the hosts on the party arrived, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. All four members of the Lockwood family walked down the stairs gracefully and Derik quietly followed behind, his eyes roamed around the room but whenever the salvors were in sight it quickly diverted. His eyes widened in shock when he saw a few familiar faces in the crowd but he quickly regained his composure [Kira, Mason, Gin¡­ Donald¡­ Cyrus!!!... what are they doing here?] He thought He pondered for a while and an ugly expression appeared on his face when he finally realized what went wrong, these people belong to noble families! Its only natural for them to attend alongside their families. His eyes narrowed as it scanned the room again, ignoring Gin and the rest who smiled at him. After a while, he breathed out and smiled [She''s not here¡­ thank goodness] Derik thought. He was pulled back by Scott''s voice "I''m truly honored to have all the prestigious nobles of Briton here with me tonight, to celebrate the success and outstanding performance of this great family''s Knight¡­ who showed us all his worth and abilities in the inter-class competition that took place a month ago¡­" Scott said "Unfortunately¡­ he couldn''t make it to the first place due to the terrifying power which the Ryan family has hidden from us all these years¡­ Gosh! I envy them" Scott laughed and everyone laughed along with him, staring at Kira who simply ignored them. "Let me not waste any more of your time¡­ I present to you, the man of the hour¡­ Derik Angus!!!" Scott said. Everyone clapped as they watched Derik walk down the stairs and past the other members of the Lockwood family, the indifferent look on his face and composure shocked everyone in the crowd, except for a few who were already use to this. He grabbed a glass of wine which was offered to him by Scott and then turned his attention to the crowd "Once again I thank you all for attending¡­ I must say, I''m truly honored¡­ please¡­ enjoy yourselves" Derik said before walking into the crowd to meet his friends. With the ''what the F**k are you doing here!'' expression on his face, he walked towards Donald, Cyrus, Kira, and Gin who had smiles on their faces. Mason and the other kids wore shocked expressions on their faces when Derik walked past them, not believing their eyes. The last time they saw this kid he had brown hair and always wore a cheerful smile on his face, it has only been a month or two, how can someone change this much? "Seriously!... what are you doing here!!!" Derik said with a casual smile on his face. His eyes drifted to the Salvors not standing too far from here before returning to meet the excited smile on Gin''s face "Come on man! Don''t tell me you thought we would miss something like this¡­ By the way, when you left the castle in a haste we suspected something like this may be going down and we swore to attend it" Gin laughed "You swore? How the f**k does that even happen?" Derik asked with a confused expression on his face "He swore¡­ we didn''t¡­ don''t drag us into this" Kira said "Come on now¡­ we are a team¡­ I swore for everyone on the team¡­ I can do that right?" Gin laughed "No! You can''t!!!" Kira, Derik, Cyrus, and Donald answered at the same time. Realizing what just happened, all five of them laughed out loud which drew the attention of everyone in the room "What luck!!! This night is truly a night to remember!!!" Scott said, "Everyone, meet the members of the newest upcoming adventurer team¡­" Scott laughed. Everyone clapped as they stared at all five teenagers, wondering how they didn''t notice these kids earlier! "Well¡­ we are missing a member¡­ so not everyone is here" Donald said. "Considering the show these guys put up during the inter-class competitions¡­ I''m pretty sure that this team has the potential to become a silver class adventurer team¡­ don''t you all agree with me?" Scott said. While he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the Salvors in the room, making his way through the crowd he approached this ancient family which tried to blend in the crowd but still caught the attention of many noble men and women. Endowed with extraordinary beauty, it was hard to blend in. Even the elder in this family caught the attention of many married noble women and even young ladies. "Welcome!" Scott wore a mocking smile on his face as he approached. He stretched out his hand to shake the middle-aged looking man who stood in front but was soon intercepted by the elderly man, who quickly stretched out his hand, taking his hand Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Its an honor to be invited to a party, hosted by the ancient Lockwood family¡­ it''s truly an honor" The elderly man spoke. Frowning slightly, knowing that he just encountered the wrong target, Scott tried to withdraw his hand but the elderly man grip was just firm. It felt like he was pushing against a solid wall "The pleasure is mine," Scott said. At this point bids of sweat rolled down his forehead as he heard bone-breaking sounds. Not willing to lose this fight of will and power, he tightened his grip on the elderly man''s hand as well and his muscles underneath his cloth began bulging. After both sides continued this struggle for a few seconds, it was clear who the victor was going to be. Scott''s face was red due to pain and some veins could be seen popping out on his forehead, his eyes occasionally turned red and reverted to its normal color. It looked like he was going to scream in pain any moment from now but then something shocking happened next. Some sort of liquid sprinkled on these two men''s hands from nowhere and the elderly man of the salvor family instantly withdrew his hand with a pained expression on his face "Vervain¡­" He muttered and turned his attention to the white-haired gentleman who suddenly appeared beside them with a gentle smile on his face "Hello¡­ I''m Francis¡­ You must have heard of me... Nice to meet you ..." This white-haired man laughed stretching out his hand which seemed to be wet. With the arrival of Francis, Derik and the other members of the Lockwood family who has been observing what was happening and was about to interfere calmed down a bit 49 Chapter 49: Meeting the enemy 3 The elderly man''s eye twitched in pain while he retreated by a step, his eyes drifted from the hand which was obviously soaked in vervain and then shifted to the charming green-eyed young man whose white hair fluttered in the wind. The only two natural tools which could harm or potentially kill a vampire are wooden stakes and vervain. This vervain is a rare plant that can only be found on mountain tops, but after the appearance of vampires, the holy church found a way to bring back this plant and cultivate it in this kingdom. In fact, rumor has it that all branches of the holy church in every town in the Gyro kingdom have a garden where rare herbs like vervain and wolves bane which are used to fight supernatural beasts are been cultivated. The only reason the salvor family moved to this part of the Kingdom was that vervain has never been sighted in this little town and there is no way his informant can be wrong. Even if the informant is wrong, the knowledge of the special plant is only known by a few individuals especially since the church prefers to hoard important information, how did this man get his hands on such a rare plant? [wait¡­ Did he just say¡­ Francis!!! The intermediate silver level nature mage!!!] The elderly man gasped in fear when the remembered the name. Even before his family moved into this town, he had heard of the name Francis over and over again. Especially since its an incredible feat for someone to make it to Silver level adventurer, that just tells how strong such a man is. Even now, the Kingdom of Gyro had less than a thousand silver mage and this is a country that had millions of citizens. The only thing is that the elderly man has never seen the face of this sorcerer, barely twenty people can boast of been lucky enough to see the face of such a talented individual. "Im-po-ss-ib-le!!!¡­" The elderly man stuttered in fear as he spoke. As a vampire who has lived for over two centuries, he was confident of crushing the Lockwood''s, should they decide to attack them tonight. This old man was hoping these wolves would attack him but now this nature mage is in the picture, even if they win this battle, there will be a lot of casualties on their side. "I''m truly grateful for your invitation, master Lockwood but my family has some important business to attend to¡­ we will be leaving first" The middle-aged man from the Lockwood family stepped forward and spoke Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Aiding the elderly man of the salvor family, all seven of them hastily walked towards the exit which caught the attention of almost everyone at the party. Some brave and courageous noble men and women approached them since this may be the only opportunity they may have, they tried to pour out their feelings but they were quickly turned down and shoved aside, this is the first time their life has actually been threatened every since they arrived in this little town "An unknown enemy is the most dangerous of them all¡­ we need to retreat, who knew the Lockwood''s had a silver level solo adventurer working for them?... curse those dogs!!!" The elder muttered when they exited the castle. Not choosing to run in order not to arouse suspicion, these vampires walked towards the gate which was about 50 meters away from the castle only to meet the white-haired man who wore a casual smile on his face. Turning around, they saw all four members of the Lockwood family casually walking towards them with triumphant smiles on their faces. Seeing three pairs of yellow eyes, one pair of blue eyes and one pair of crimson red eyes which burned the brightest in the darkness, the calm expression on the faces of these vampires vanished. Slowly, one after the other well-armed men and women bearing the Lockwood family logo approached from all sides, this team of guards was over fifty comprising of a few battle mages, oracles, and normal fighters comprising of guardian knights, archers and a hand full of assassins. Soon all seven members of the salvor family comprising of an elder who looked like he was in his late 70''s, a middle-aged man and woman in their late 40''s and four teenagers comprising of three boys and a girl were surrounded and all escape routes had been blocked "Are you all truly planning to attack with this many people around?... you will expose your family secret to the nobles of this town Lockwoods!!!!" The middle-aged man growled "Do you think my family is that reckless?" Rolan laughed "Take a look yourselves if you don''t believe him, I believe you have good eyes" Lucas chuckled as he spoke to the elderly man. The elderly man frowned slightly and turned his attention to the castle which was over 50 meters away and what his saw made him frown slightly. He could see vines and a strange pink flower everywhere in the grand hall, from it some sort of pink gas emitted which explained why everyone laid on the ground unconscious. "It''s one of the basic spells which we nature mages learn¡­ although it''s usually used on a small scale¡­" Francis laughed The elderly man laughed as well, his eyes turned blood red as he walked towards Francis casually with a confident smile "Excellent¡­ I must confess I didn''t expect this little wolf pack to be so resourceful and cunning¡­ I will give you that¡­ but if this is the best your family can do then I''m disappointed, Scott Lockwood¡­ relying on bronze level soldiers to fight your battles for you! You are just sending these soldiers to their graves!" The elderly man laughed "Humph! Don''t get too cocky old man¡­" Scott said indifferently with a smile on his face which revealed his fangs "Why do you think I chose to fight your family today! At night? Don''t tell me you actually think you bloodsuckers are the only ones who enjoy operating at night" He said Instantly the smile on the face of this elderly man crumbled, everything finally started making sense [why did this wolf pack wish to battle them at night? Wouldn''t it have been easier if they fought during the day time?] This was the question this elderly man kept asking themselves and now it has been answered. Looking up into the sky what this man saw was a full moon, his gaze quickly drifted back to the Lockwood''s and Derik who now emitted an aura more savage and dangerous than what they have been emitting just a while ago which even made all 50 guards take a few steps back. "Old man! Allow me to show you the true power of an alpha!" Scott said as he walked towards the Lockwood family. His body size instantly doubles, ripping his shit apart and his skin turned black. Twisting and turning in pain, bone breakings sounds could be heard but the young alpha still wore a charming smile on his face, which soon faded when he finally stood on all fours. Thick black fur covered this man''s skin and his blood-red eyes glowed, the expression on the face of the members of this ancient vampire family soon turned ugly, as this is the first time they have encountered an alpha in his true form 50 Chapter 50: Fight! All members of the salvor family wore grim expressions as they slowly formed a circle to cover their blind spots, apparently, these vampires were quite skilled. The elder of the salvor family who was just a few steps away from Francis frowned slightly. Originally felt that they could win this fight with a few casualties, even though these people are family, killing off the only family which could harm them in this little town, this old man was willing to trade one or two family members after which the survivors will enjoy a peaceful life where they have to fear nothing, but now things have changed. Even though he is a vampire who has lived for over two centuries and is currently the strongest being present, numbers still count. What scared him now was not the presence of these wolves as he could easily estimate and predict their power level, what truly terrified this man was the young white-haired man who until now remains a mystery to him, even now he could barely see this man who is shrouded in some kind of brown mist¡­ WAIT!!! BROWN MIST!!!! WHY DIDN''T I NOTICE UNTIL NOW The bloodshot eyes of this elder vampire narrowed and he screamed "Sawdust!!!" Like an arrow this elderly man shot forward towards the nature mage not daring to waste any more he struck forward BAM! Forced to retreat by a few steps this elderly man frowned greatly, at this moment visible gray veins could be seen all over his body and blood rolled down his nostrils, the other members were suffering the same way as this man right now, only worse. Just as the man was about to exploit the weakness of every mage which was a weak body, a huge black figure which was almost double the size of this man appeared from nowhere and attack. Thanks to his years of combat experience he was able to parry on time, receiving minor injuries. "Damn it!" The elderly man muttered while he watched blood flow down his wrist to his fingers. If this was an injury inflicted by any normal being it would have healed so fast that he won''t even notice it but now¡­ "This¡­" The elderly man muttered. As one of nature''s defenders, injuries sustained in a battle between a vampire and a werewolf does not easily heal. He shifted his gaze to the other members of the family who wore horrified expressions on their faces and roared "What the F**k are you doing? Don''t just stand there! Attack! Fight for your own survival!" As if a spell was just broken, these vampires lunged forward at the Lockwood''s with pure and unadulterated killing intents radiating off them. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Her eyes were bloodshot as she sluggishly knocked over the pile of books, neatly stacked in anger silently cursing the authors and the adventurer''s association. Two days of almost non stop study and up till this moment, finding only five bronze level combat techniques! JUST FIVE!!! Most of the books contained tales of some famous assassins, while the others only gave tips on how to be a better assassin. Only on very rare occasions, Daemon found tattered parchments in the books containing combat techniques. At a point, she stopped reading and just started flipping pages hoping to see more combat techniques. "Bastards¡­ wait till I get home¡­ the association will certainly hear from my father!!!" She screamed in anger "home¡­ that''s right¡­ The party the Lockwood''s are hosting¡­ I''m sure they are having fun¡­" She muttered. Ignorant of the dire situation Derik was in right now. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Woosh! Wooosh!! Woooosh!!! Retreating constantly Derik''s bright blue eyes remained fixed on this girl that kept attacking, the reluctance to strike down this foe was quite visible. Even now he could tell that the other members of the Lockwood family had noticed this, biting his lips in anger, he sidestepped to evade the girl''s attack and then brandished his claws at this young vampire. But the later skillfully dodged his attack while retreating to increase the space between her and the young omega. Seeing the girl''s face twist in pain, Derik frowned and hesitated for a brief moment before attacking. After staying for weeks under the side effects of his magic which prevented him from feeling any form of emotions except anger, hate and probably pride. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be ''human''. Ever since he put on that talisman which Francis gave him, all these emotions started flooding in. Right now it was consuming this archer who couldn''t bring himself to kill this girl that looked like someone his age even though he knew she has lived for over 100 years. When she attacked at first, he intended to put his all into this fight but when he realized how much pain she was going through due to inhaling some sawdust particles, he just lost all his will to fight back ''Damn it!!" he growled as he struck forward Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Bam! Crack! "AAAAaaaaarrrghhhh!!!" Derik screamed in pain when the girl easily crushed the bones in his hand which she caught. Clearly, the difference between a level 9 supernatural being and a level 15 supernatural being was much. The triumphant smile on the girls face soon vanished and was replaced with that of pain "Now!!!" Derik growled and his blue eyes burned bright the moment he felt the girl''s grip loosen. Instantly striking at her with his free hand, his claws dug deep into the delicate but surprisingly hard flesh of this teen vampire. Bam!!! Rolling on the ground repeatedly before slowing down after rolling for the seventh time, Derik spat out a mouth full of blood while he struggled to get on his feet. The guards around planned to step up and distract the vampire while he recovered by he waved his hand at them, telling them to stop. Even with the full moon advantage and the pain she was going through now, this girl still had enough power to toss him around like a toy. If that''s the case these guards will definitely be killed if they rushed in. Seeing the tide of battle slowly turning in favor of the vampires, Francis frowned slightly. Even with the old sawdust trick he used it still wasn''t enough. He took pity on Derik, Lucas, and Rolan who have been on the receiving end for a while "I guess I have to get serious¡­" He muttered with a sinister smile on his face 51 Chapter 51: Flashback Stella ran through the streets of the commercial her elder brother Fred under the moonlight which seemed as if it were exposing their location. Her once ''perfect'' body was now riddled with claw marks and stab wounds, even still she fared better than her brother Fred. "They are catching up¡­ You need to run faster¡­ Forget the rest¡­ Just keep running!!!!" Fred screamed at his little pale-skinned sister who seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Even he failed to understand how everything fell apart, just a while ago they had the advantage but then something happened¡­ ¡­Flash back¡­ While graciously rising into the air like a god, Francis muttered a few words which every supernatural being could hear but couldn''t make sense out of it. But of course, these vampires chose to ignore the man and focus on the battle which will decide their future. At the moment, the werewolves were almost suppressed and they could literally perceive the fear oozing out of all 50 guards which surrounded them, considering all this why should they stop midway? [What''s the worst this nature mage can do anyway? Probably more sawdust!!!] They chuckled in their minds. All they needed to do right now is kill these werewolves and then work together to take down this silver level adventurer Scott''s humongous body slammed into the ground violently and he spat out a mouth full of blood, if it weren''t for his hard skin and fur which the complete transformation gifted him with, his injuries would have been fatal. Right now the initial red flaming eyes which burned bright in the darkness that came with the night dimmed "Damn you!!!" Barry growled and his yellow eyes glowed fiercely. His body shot forward instantly covering over ten meters in mere seconds and with pure killing intent he struck at the elder of the salvor family Bam! His body flew backward at great speed crashing into the barricade created by all 50 guards to prevent these beasts from escaping. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Hahahahhaha!" The elderly man laughed as he approached Scott and gazed upon him like a king looking on a mere servant. "I guess you must be regretting it now¡­ Right? Making an enemy out of my family¡­ But its too late to regret it¡­ Tonight! This little family of yours will be wiped out of existence!!!" The elderly man growled at Scott. He was about to attack once again but then he felt something wrong, turning his attention to the only one capable of causing some trouble, he stared at Francis who wore a calm smile on his face which made the elderly man''s eyes turn bloodshot in anger. He was about to speak but then¡­ Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! The ground shook violently and soon large vines began unearthing itself. Soon these vines entwined with each other, slowly encircling everyone while it rose. The first victim of this strange technique was Stella''s oldest brother, Charles¡­ "This must be some sort of technique meant to end us¡­ I don''t know why but I feel so much danger from each of these vines¡­ we need to get out of here¡­ Dad¡­ great grandpa!!!" The immortal youth screamed, obviously terrified. Not planning to spend another second within the dome which was slowly forming, Charles crouched and with all his strength and might, he roared as leaped up in the air. "No Boy!!!" The elder screamed but it was too late. As if this was what those vines have been waiting for, it quickly separated from each other and bombarded the flying target. Unable to fly, Charles was unable to maneuver through these vines "Aaaahhhh! No!!" Charles panicked at the last moment and screamed BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! Seeing her eldest brother suspended in mid-air with four huge vines which pierced through his body. Charles screamed in pain as he tried to pull out the vines out, bit whenever he touched the vines, he felt like his palms were on fire. "Vervain.." The elderly man said while shaking his head. Kids these days were too impulsive, even with a near-immortal body this young man who was meant to set an example for his younger siblings tried to flee when he should have stood firm and analyzed the situation first. And now he has paid the price. The elderly man was pulled back to reality by a Scott''s voice, someone who should be wailing in pain. Seeing that the boy was immobilized by the vines, Scott''s crimson red eyes which had dimmed initially roared back to life and glowed fiercer than before. This is an opportunity these werewolves intended to make full use of, Scott''s eyes roamed the battlefield briefly until it met Barry''s eyes. Without saying a word these two already understood what the other was thinking "Now!!!!" Scott growled. Instantly only after-images were left at his previous location as he ran up the vines at insane speed on all fours beside his elder brother. Seeing what was going on, the elder and the middle-aged man attempted to chase after Scott and Barry respectively but it was already too late to catch up. Attaining the required height, Barry and Scott leaped towards the immobilized vampire, with a crazed expression on their faces. "Silver-level Combat technique: Brilliant Claw" Both men screamed "Wait! No!!! save me!!!!" Charles screamed in fear Soon yellow and red energy escaped the claws of both men as they struck forward Puff!!!! Brilliant yellow mixed with red light filled the sky when the attacks hit, making it difficult to see what was happening, this was until something hit the ground. The head of Charles, the first son of Chris Salvor rolled to the elderly man''s feet who were a grim expression on his face when he saw the terrified expression on the face of Charles. 52 Chapter 52: Flashback 2 Derik''s eyes widened in shock as he witnessed what he called ''The most brilliant combat technique'' he has seen so far. Severing the head of a supernatural beast rated level 15 if not higher so easily. At this point, he even doubted his favorite spell ''Bone spear'' could replicate the same results. The smile on his face soon vanished the moment he felt the killing intent oozing off the vampires present, his sky blue eyes glowed fiercely as he quickly retreated by a few steps. But to his greatest surprise, this killing intent was only directed to three people in the battlefield, Scott and Barry who just casually strolled towards the vampires fearlessly with mocking smiles on their faces, then there is Francis, the one responsible for all this. If this nature mage was not present the Salvors probably won''t be in a sticky situation right now. Finally what stole Derik''s attention was still the smile on the face of a werewolf which was almost 7ft tall, yet this ''useless'' alpha just destroyed the terrifying image of this beast which was initially meant to strike fear in the hearts of other supernatural beasts. [Like seriously! He''s capable of destroying this beast''s terrifying image in just a night¡­ Useless alpha!] Derik cursed in his mind. He frowned slightly when he noticed that no other member of the salvor family tried to escape or attack those responsible for the death of one of their own. His gaze quickly moved to the massive dome of vines which had an opening at the roof of the dome from which Francis monitored everything happening. Now purple leaves suddenly sprouted from all parts of the dome. From the top, these flowers opened up and transparent liquid began raining down upon everyone. Seeing this the elderly man''s complexion darkened. In fact, every member of the salvor family wore dejected expressions, knowing the full implications of what is about to happen if their suspicion is proved right Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Splash! Splash!! Splash!!! Soon screams resonated from within the dome of vines, been the youngest vampire in the family who just became 100 years old a year ago, Stella was yet to adapt to this kind of pain, this could even be recorded as the worst pain she has endured throughout her life as a vampire. Her vision soon faded and her body dropped on the wet ground like a log of wood. The only thing she remembered before she passed out was brilliant and dazzling lights emanating from the claws of each member of the Lockwood family. it was clear who the victor already was until¡­ Her eyes yanked open and she looked upon the face of one of her brothers, the third who happens to be her favorite. He could tell how much pain Fred has endured considering the claw marks and deep wounds all over his body, even now she could sense some sort of energy leaking out of his injuries [How is he still moving] She asked herself "Come on Stella¡­ wake up!! You have to run!!! Please!" Fred''s voice knocked back some sense into Stella who was slowly drifting away in her thoughts. She shivered involuntarily and fell off her brother''s hand, she was about to ask Fred about the others and why they were running but then she heard a sound behind, galloping¡­ no, it''s different, the breathing of the thing coming behind was uneven. Before she could speak a cold breeze blew past her and the odor of a wet dog filled the air. "The kid in the Lockwood family¡­ the one with the terrifying aura that great grandpa took care of the day he came with the invitation¡­ he''s still chasing after us¡­ only Dad and great grandpa are still fighting¡­ they were able to create an opportunity to escape with you¡­ there is no time we have to keep running.. we need to leave this town before sunrise" Fred quickly explained as he dragged his confused little sister along "What about Don¡­ our brother? And mom?" Stella quickly asked as she ran. Hearing Stella''s question, Fred bit his lips in anger and refused to speak "Come on¡­ I''m asking you a question!" Stella said "They are both Dead¡­ They Died shortly after the alpha and his brother decapitated Charles¡­ apparently, the vervain which kept raining down was too much for us¡­ we couldn''t focus on the battle because of the pain¡­ Even then we still had the advantage thanks to our greater strength and speed¡­ But then.." Fred stopped speaking the worried expression on his face turned to a frown... Anger! "What happened? Talk to me" Stella screamed at him "They all started using the same combat technique the alpha used, who knew every member of the Lockwood family had access to such a technique¡­ The combat technique is rated silver level so it was easy for them to overwhelm us since we don''t possess any technique like that¡­. Don died shortly after and mom lost her head as well" Fred explained ¡­ Present Time¡­. "They are catching up¡­ You need to run faster¡­ Forget the rest¡­ Just keep running!!!!" Fred screamed at his little pale-skinned sister. Right now they just exited the commercial District, at the exit they saw a few guards in place but thanks to great speed they were able to blitz past them. Yet no matter how far they ran they could still hear the sound of something or someone chasing after them. Woooosh! Woooosh!! Not daring to take the chance of exiting the town through the normal route which is normally well guarded. Leaping over a stream, the salvor''s landed on the other side and dashed into the forest without looking back. So far they have been running blindly not having an actual plan but what else can they do at this time. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ His sky blue eyes burned bright under the influence of the full moon as he chased after both vampires on all four, anyone who sees him from a distance at this point will probably assume he is a wild animal. At this point, his mind went blank and his instincts kicked in completely ignoring everything around him, the only thing he could see is the faint green trail which reeked of death belonging to this ancient family. A sinister smile appeared on his face when he saw the vampires leap past the stream, running into the forest How dumb could these people be, the forest is the domain of the wolves, not only will their movement speed reduce greatly because of the cluster of trees, an environment which vampires are not used to but his chances of killing the both of them just increased due to terrain advantage. But what else could they do, its either him or the guards at the town border. [They chose wrong] He thought. Standing on his feet he leaped into the air and ripped off the talisman which hung on his neck. Instantly his subdued aura suddenly skyrocketed and his blue eyes glowed brighter than ever while his pupil turned pitch-black. All the complex emotions which he has been harboring throughout the battle instantly vanished and the indifferent expression appeared on his face [Welcome back¡­.] A Sinister voice resonated in his head. Knowing it was his Magic spirit, he simply chose to ignore "Death Magic: Death Meteor!!" he said. Before his feet struck the ground, he turned into a ball of darkness and quickly dashed into the sky. Flying for nearly 20 seconds he finally spotted the salvor''s, a sadistic smile appeared on his face and like an actual comet, Derik began to descend at terrifying speed. The smile on his face widened the closer he got and the size of the dark energy around him multiplied over twofold as well. When the Salvor''s noticed something was amiss but it was already too late BOOOOOOOOOOOM! The shockwave which threw away everything that was 50 meters around Derik could barely move the two vampires which were rated level 15. Seeing this Derik raised an eyebrow but the smile remained on his face. Ever since he got this magic, he has always wished he could take part in a battle where his life would be at stake. Where his opponent will be strong enough to force him to push himself to his limit and probably beyond. Finally, the young death mage got his wish. Hopefully, these vampires will live up to his expectations "Don''t disappoint¡­" He said, smiling 53 Chapter 53: Greater Evil Fred and Stella gazed upon the blue-eyed bog shrouded in darkness who descended from the sky with traces of fear in their eyes. Evil though vampires are referred to as evil itself, the aura emitted from the Derik''s body made them feel inferior. "Don''t be scared, Stella¡­ I''m here" Fred whispered into Stella''s ear. His gaze remained fixed on Derik who wore a sinister grin on his face while waiting for the Salvors to make the first move. "I''ll create an opening. Escape the moment you get the chance" Fred said to little sister, with a determined expression on his face. With clenched fists, the young vampire took measured strides towards Derik whose smile suddenly turned into a frown. "This is not part of the agreement¡­" He spoke up "the both of you. I wish to challenge both of you" Derik said Ignoring his words, Fred growled at he lunged at Derik, covering the 20 meters gap between them in mere seconds. His eyes turned bloodshot and he struck forward will all his might, at this point, Derik could tell that this vampire was putting in a lot of effort into the battle. Not daring to be reckless he raised his hand and a bone spear materialized into his hand after which he struck forward Bam! Bam!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Bam!!! After just a few exchanges, visible cracks could be seen on the bone spear. Initially, during the process of creating the spear, he wasn''t able to chant his incantation which will reinforce the spell and boost the spell''s overall power. The glaring weakness of mages became visible to him [Mages are truly useless when fighting enemies with monster level physical capabilities] Derik thought "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik muttered as he desperately fought against the vampire. Unlike normal mages, Derik didn''t possess the same weakness which other mages did. His werewolf powerful physique coupled with his six-month training in the archery class, this young death mage was probably one of the strongest fighter/physical types only a few steps behind the formal number one rookie, Donald. Holding out against the ancient vampire for a few seconds while chanting to reinforce his spells was not that difficult. Boooom!!! The moment, Derik finished chanting, the dark aura around him skyrocketed instantly, forcing Fred to instinctively retreat. Gazing at the damaged bone spear in his hands which repaired itself, a satisfied smile appeared on Derik''s face. "Catch!!" He said. Swoosh!!!! Considering the enormous power which was packed in that bone spear, Fred never for once considered taking this attack head-on. Ducking to the right, he easily evaded the attack but then something happened. The moment the bone flew past him, Fred saw a sinister smile appear on Derik''s face if this vampire had a heart it probably would have skipped a beat! From the corner of his eyes, he saw something that made him lose his cool. The spear was never meant for him "DEMON!" He growled at Derik as he chased after the bone spear¡­" Don''t be a fool Stella! MOVE!!!" Fred screamed at his little sister who seemed to be lost in her thoughts. His dad always said this habit of hers will be the cause of her death one day, was that day today? "Hell no" Fred screamed. But then... "Its over" A voice resonated from behind which made this vampires blood boil. He could feel the cold blades of the reapers scythe on his throat. "WAIT!!!!... NO!!!" Before Fred could act, he felt Derik''s claws, force its way through his back. He tried to struggle but he could feel the evil energy which oozed out of the boy''s claws infiltrate his body, spreading at an alarming rate. His vision suddenly blurred and a hooded figure with purple burning eyes appeared before him. It was obvious he had lost, the only consolation was that his little sister managed to escape the bone spear attack "Demon¡­," Fred muttered again before he completely lost consciousness. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile ¡­ No matter how many vines which flew towards this man, none could hit. Leaving only after images as he moved, the elderly man of the salvor family slowly reduced the distance between him and the bloodied nature mage. "Don''t you dare look down on us" Rolan and Lucas screamed in unison. Soon yellow energy escaped their claws as they brandished their claws at this elder, halting his advance "Bronze level secret combat technique: Paw barrage!!!" they both screamed as they attacked fearlessly. The elderly man didn''t retreat this time, his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the nature mage who is responsible for all his misfortune as he met his opponent''s attacks with his own Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! "This¡­" Rolan muttered. Whenever his hands collided with that of the elder, it felt like he just hit a solid wall. Soon vines appeared from the sides and assaulted the elder as well who still refused to bulge, countering all attacks from three enemies with just two hands [Truly this old man of the salvors is a beast] Scott who has reverted to his human form thought before signaling Barry who responded with a nod. Since the elder was focused on the three enemies in front he failed to notice when Barry and Scott arrived from behind. Both men clapped their hands together Soon red and yellow energy escaped their body, combining and rose into the air taking the form of a werewolf in its true form. Its roar deafened everyone close by, this made the elderly man lose focus for a second but his enemies were already expecting this wasn''t moved. Taking advantage of the opening, all three struck at the man fiercely, landing multiple hits. The vines soon impaled the elders waist, restricting his movements "Now!!!... End it!!!" Francis growled "We know¡­" Barry and Scott replied with satisfied smiles on their faces. After which both men thrust their palms forward at the elder who couldn''t move and screamed "Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves Roar!!!!" "Its over!!! Silver-level Combat technique: Brilliant Claw" Lucas and Rolan screamed as well From Scott and Barry''s side, the werewolf created from their aura roared at the elder and dashed towards him and from Rolan and Lucas''s side, multiple claw-like energy attacks assaulted this man Booooooooooooooommmmmmmm!!!! 54 Chapter 54: Greater evil 2 Stella watched her brother drop to the ground like a log of wood, as a vampire she really couldn''t tell if he was dead or alive because his heart doesn''t beat. But having a clear understanding of the vitality which vampires possess, she doubted this would be enough to kill a vampire. [At worst, he should be unconscious for a few hours] she thought She silently cursed herself, blaming herself for everything that has happened so far. If only she was braver and tougher than this, they probably would have won this fight if she worked together with her brother. Her eyes turned bloodshot as she noticed the teenager responsible for all their sorrows walk towards her with an indifferent expression on his face. [If only he did invite us to the party mom, Charles and Don would still be alive¡­ if only he did chase after us, Fred wouldn''t be suffering right now] She thought. She took a step and bit her lips in anger, even with her nearly indestructible body she still doesn''t have the guts to take on a fourteen-year-old. Isn''t her 100 years of life a waste if that''s the case? "Never again!" She growled, taking a step forward. Her eyes lit up and she felt her blood boiling, the fear in her eyes vanished, replaced with determination and rage. "Huh?" Derik muttered the moment he noticed something about the female vampire change. "Those eyes¡­" He muttered. This reminded him of himself during the inter-class competition, when he dashed towards the hordes of monsters controlled by the blood mage, Kira. At that time, he didn''t care about anything. He probably stopped thinking and focused on defeating his foe. If that''s the case doesn''t it mean that?.... [MOVE! HUMAN OR YOU WILL DEFINITELY DIE TONIGHT!!!!] A voice resonated in his head, it was the voice of his magic spirit. Derik''s head ached and he felt his body go cold, it was as if time slowed down and he could see the girl getting ready to pounce on him [What''s this? Why is everything moving so slowly?] he thought He was quite sure that this is not a new ability, but to clarify his doubts, he sidestepped in an attempt to move out of the way. [Just as I suspected¡­ my body is responding slowly as well¡­ this cannot be an ability] he thought The next thing that happened took him by surprise, memories of when he was little, back then when his mother was still alive raced through his mind. Even memories which he had forgotten long ago abruptly started pouring in [Didn''t they say at the brink of death, one''s life flashes before their eyes? Don''t tell me¡­. Crap!] realization finally dawned on Derik. At this point, he noticed the bone spear which he initially threw at Stella flying at him. He did remember calling out to it, this means that the spear was acting on its own which is close to impossible, or someone with similar magic was manipulating the spear but cases of such a thing happening are rare. HIS MAGIC SPIRIT!!!! That was the only option left, it was practically the source of his power and it only natural for it to be able to manipulate the spear, but why would it attack him? If he died, the spirit will most likely die with him. Has it finally lost its patience, no that''s not it¡­ BAM!!! Derik felt like a cannon hit him from behind and his vision blurred for a moment, he looks down to his chest area and saw a fist protruding out of his chest, his eyes widened in shock as he twisted his head slightly to gaze at the one responsible for this, only to see Fred. This was someone whom he assumed he had defeated a few seconds ago. His eyes widened when he realized the mistake he has made, clearly he underestimated the vitality of these vampires. In front was Stella who was already airborne, covering the distance between her and Derik quickly and from behind was Fred who raised his free hand, it seemed as if he was about to severe Derik''s head with his hands. Normally this is something that should be impossible but in this case, Derik didn''t doubt this vampire one bit. Someone possessing the strength to drive his hand into a human''s chest in such a weakened state should be able to do this. BAM!!! Before Fred''s hand could reach Derik''s head, the bone spear tore through his skin and forcibly dragged the vampire away, pinning him on to a tree. Falling on his knees, Derik struggled to control his breathing while thrusting his hands forward, at Stella''s direction Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" Derik screamed. Instantly a black magic array appeared on his palms and torrents of Darkish purple flames poured out, completely consuming the girl who was just a few meters away. Putting all his strength into one last moved, Derik rolled out of the way, letting the female vampire shrouded in darkish purple flames fly past his previous location without any obstruction. "I really messed up this time¡­" Derik said as he struggled to get on his feet while spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body crashed on the ground once again but this time he didn''t move, he couldn''t. His skin lost all its color and his body stiffened. At this point, he felt peace as the darkness soon surrounded him thoroughly blocking his sight. And when it cleared, he was standing at that same spot, his injuries were already gone and the burning pain on his chest had vanished. Beside him was a lifeless body that looked like¡­ wait!... what?... his eyes widened in shock as he realized he was staring at his body from the outside. "Am I dead?" he muttered¡­ 55 Chapter 55: Broken Bonds The smiles on the faces of the Lockwood''s soon vanished after the small cloud of dust dispersed. At the center of a crater which the suspected was close to 20 to 30 meters deep stood Cornelius, the elder of the Salvor family. He gently wiped the dust off his body as he walked out of the crater, not bothering to say a single word to his enemies. His gaze shifted to the disfigured body of his grand-son, Stella''s father who was killed shortly after creating a path for Fred and Stella to escape through "No one is truly immortal" Cornelius muttered. The sad expression on his face soon vanished, replaced with anger and hate. Surprisingly, these emotions were not directed to any of the Lockwood''s. It was directed towards the man whose ego and pride made him accept an invitation from their enemies, hoping to showcase his strength and subdue the wolves of Briton. But now, everything has backfired. Not only did he lose almost every member of his small family, but the ones who managed to escape are also currently been chased down by the knight of the Lockwood family. Although he attempted to chase after them, these wolves and the nature mage deprived him of all the opportunities of which he would have used to escape this encirclement. His lips parted but no words came out, this was because of the sudden change in the facial expressions of the Lockwood family members. Seeing them wear a confused and sad expression like that while glancing at each other made him wonder what had happened "What''s the problem?" Francis asked. He too noticed the sudden change in the temperament of the members of this family and it was definitely not because of the sudden appearance of this ancient vampire who is supposed to be dead "Derik¡­ the special bond which ties all members of a wolf pack together is broken¡­ I can feel it" Barry responded "How is that possible?" Francis''s eyes widened in disbelief. There are only three ways in which something like this can happen. The first is breaking the bond and severing all ties which the members of your pack. This rarely happens and when it actually happens, it takes time. It is a gradual process and not something that can just take place in an instant. Even the members of the pack most times notice this before it happens and either lets the faulty member go or kill him The second is joining another wolf pack, but this option is not something to consider since the Lockwoods are the current overlord of this town and there is no other wolf pack present in this town. And Finally, the most reasonable option here is Death. Only death can severe such a powerful supernatural bond easily "Yes¡­ I believe Derik is dead" Scott confirmed Francis suspicion Hearing this, Francis''s eyes widened due to shock, his gaze shifted to Cornelius who was equally shocked as well. He didn''t expect Stella and Fred would be able to bring down that kid who possessed such powerful aura. All he could see now was HOPE!! His muscles began bulging and his slightly hunched back, straightened after a few cracking sounds which drew the attention of everyone was heard. Here he was a few minutes ago, wallowing in pain and despair, thinking his whole lineage has been wiped out. Now there is hope that he could reunite with two of his great-grandkids, why won''t he fight with all his might? The fire of youth lit up in his heart as he prepared to do battle with this accursed wolf family. "We will have time to mourn later, but right now, you have to focus on this fight¡­ if you don''t¡­ there will be no one left to mourn Derik!" Scott desperately explained to Francis in a bid to make this man focus again. Francis only nodded and directed his anger to the elder who now wore a smile on his face "This is the final battle everyone! With your support and skills, I believe we can bring down this abomination of nature¡­ Tonight we end their story!!!" Scott growled and dashed towards the elder. Jumping over five meters high, red energy flowed out of scotts claws Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Silver-level Combat technique: Brilliant Claw" He screamed as he brandished his claws at Cornelius, releasing numerous red claw energies that danced towards the intended target. Ignoring this, Cornelius'' eyes darted around the battlefield looking an escape route, but what he saw made his expression turn grim. From all sides were all sorts of spells and yellow claw energy attacks from the other members of the Lockwood family "Fire magic: Fire ball" "Fire magic: Fire spear" "Ice magic: Ice shards" "Earth magic: Boulder Barrage" "Martial art: Slash!" "Martial art: Threefold python slash!!" "Consecutive shots!!!" "Scattering shots!!" "Backstab!!" "Jab!!" This time, the fifty mages and melee fighters of the Lockwood family refused to stay out of this. Everyone hurled attacks at this ancient beast, hoping to steal its life at one go. Looking up, Cornelius inwardly cursed the nature mage on the side of the Lockwood family when he saw multiple vines, descending from the skies. The vibrations he felt below was enough to tell him that more of those cursed vervain vines was making its way to him from below, the fact that this man could analyze all this in just a second is truly terrifying. Taking a deep breath, the frown on the mans face vanished and was replaced with determination "SCRAM!!!" Cornelius screamed as he jumped towards the area with the least number of attacks. Powering through multiple balls of fire, ice shards, rocks, and even arrows! Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! With just sheer speed and power, Cornelius sent over 10n guardian knights and mages flying. Wooosh! An assassin suddenly became visible behind the elder, wielding his dagger in a reverse grip form, he struck at the vampire, aiming from the spine "Bronze Combat technique: Fatal strike!!" He roared at the last moment but then¡­ Cornelius'' figure vanished, reappearing behind him. Grabbing the assassin by the head, the elder vampire proceeded to break the man''s neck before sinking his fangs into the assassin''s neck, feeding on the man''s blood "Healing Feed" Cornelius muttered with a mouthful of blood before tossing assassins corpse to the side. All the injuries on his body slowly started healing, even those inflicted by the Lockwood''s which couldn''t be healed by the normal vampire super-fast healing means. Cornelius red eyes glowed even brighter as he gulped down the blood "Well then¡­ its time I show you all why you shouldn''t be rude to your elders¡­" He said with a sinister grin on his face. 56 Chapter 56: Revelation 1 Derik closed his eyes once again, hoping this was a dream. "Stop that¡­ you look stupid when you do things like that" A voice resonated from behind. His eyes popped wide open the instant he heard the voice, he quickly spun to the left and instinctively reached for his crossbow, but was nothing there [Damn it¡­ Why can''t you at least carry your weapons along when you die] He thought "Because that doesn''t make sense," A man who was over 6ft tall said while staring at the kid with a gentle smile on his face. His purple iris and his cold gaze made Derik instinctively retreat by one step. "Yes, I know but¡­ I''m still putting on the same clothes¡­ so I thought¡­" Derik spoke in a low and subdued tone which made the man laugh. He was shocked that this man could hear his thoughts "Even if this logic of yours should be accepted, you weren''t even carrying your crossbow before you died, so why should you have it now?" The man asked while leaning forward towards Derik "I.. I g-guess yo-u are ri-ght!" Derik stuttered. Hearing this a charming smile appeared on the man''s face and he took a few steps back. "This brings back memories¡­ don''t you think so?... this reminds me of the first time we met¡­ you showcased similar moves back then¡­ back then I was impressed, even now, I''m still impressed by those moves¡­ your reaction speed is really something to be proud of" The man laughed. Hearing this Derik''s eyes widened due to shock, his eyes which has been fixed on the face and eyes of this handsome man ever since the man appeared now darted around the area searching for clues. [We have met before? Don''t tell me¡­] His eyes stopped when it finally returned to the man, noticing the familiar black robes the man wore, Derik frowned slightly and silently prayed that his suspicions are wrong. His gaze slowly shifted from the man''s attire, back to the charming face and the shocking purple iris¡­ "I''m screwed," Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. Seeing the boy has finally realized who he has been talking to for a while, the man laughed "You finally realized¡­ Your reaction speed may be amazing but your head processes information way slower" The man joked "What do you want¡­ magic spirit¡­ Have you come to gloat?" Derik sneered. "Magic spirit? Well, that''s what the world calls us all¡­ But I''ll prefer it if you address me with the proper title¡­ Guardian spirit or Angel of Death¡­ Anyone will do just fine" the man spoke in a serious tone. Hearing this, Derik''s jaw dropped, leaving his mouth wide open. To think his magic¡­ no¡­ guardian spirit was the angel of death all this while, the grim reaper. "So Cool¡­" He whispered. This made the man''s smile return once again "Soooo¡­ Guardian spirit¡­. Are you hear to reap my soul? Since I''m dead¡­" Derik asked "Your death is quite unfortunate¡­ I blame myself for your demise¡­ if I didn''t interfere¡­ you probably wouldn''t have met this end¡­ it''s not yet your time¡­ that I''m sure of" The man sighed as he spoke. "Interfere?... How?" Derik asked. Apparently, he was looking for someone to blame for his death, since this man was willing to take the blame why shouldn''t he let out his anger. By the way, if he succeeds in making the angel of death feel guilty, this man may just revive him¡­ that''s if he possesses such powers "This world will soon be destroyed, according to the rules¡­ we guardian spirits are not allowed to interfere directly¡­" The man said while sitting on the grass. " We fail to understand why¡­ IT refuses to stop this calamity, who are we to question the almighty?" Hearing this a wide smile appeared on Derik''s face, could this man be talking about ''God''? well, it does make sense. If the angel of death exists, its only natural the creator exists as well. He could still remember those days when he was little, he and his friends argued about the existence of the creator. His friends always refused to believe in this being''s existence and called the holy church a fraud. Of course, they dared not do this in public, to avoid a public execution which even the military won''t be able to prevent. "Yes¡­ IT exists" The man said with a gentle smile on his face. Probably amused by the thoughts that raced through Derik''s mind. Hearing this, Derik only nodded with a satisfied smile on his face before asking another question "So¡­ what are guardian spirits? What makes you guys different from other magic spirits?" Derik asked Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The angel only laughed before speaking, "We guardian spirits are very different from those second class beings, humans call magic spirits¡­" He said "How?!" Derik screamed. If any other mage was present to hear what this angel of death actually said right now, they may even overlook its title and accuse it of blasphemy. Even though he just acquired his magic a month ago, he was quite knowledgeable about a few things. To mages, magic spirits could be considered as their gods, following every instruction these reverenced beings gives in hopes of getting stronger "Don''t get impatient young man¡­ give me a chance to explain" The man laughed, tapping Derik''s forehead with his index finger¡­ "We guardian spirits are the first beings created by the creator, to assist IT in the creation of this little world you live in. The magic spirits, you all services are more like minions to us¡­ Poor imitations of us, spread across the world to guide young, gullible mages such as yourself" The man laughed as he stared at Derik whose mouth was wide open due to shock 57 Chapter 57: Revelation 2 Hearing the angel of Death use the words ''poor imitations'' when addressing the ''almighty'' magic spirits, he couldn''t stop his jaws from dropping, leaving his mouth wide open "How many guardian spirits are there?" Derik asked, while unconsciously moving closer to this man. "Eight¡­ The four major elements which the world is comprised of¡­ The favorite element of the creator, lightening¡­ and then there is nature, Life, and Death¡­ Unlike magic spirits which can only guide their hosts, We guardian spirits can influence the thoughts and behaviors of our hosts¡­ Have ever thought of why your friend, Cyrus¡­" "Cyrus! Yea, but what does this have to do with him, he''s only a light mage¡­" Derik quickly interrupted the man when he heard the man call out Cyrus name "Light mage? I guess Michael has hidden the boy''s power too well¡­ he was never the type who sort attention anyway¡­" The man spoke out his thoughts "Anyway¡­ that kid Cyrus possesses what we call Life magic¡­ not Light magic¡­ That''s why he desperately tried to kill you the day you revealed your power to him¡­ Apparently, both of us ain''t friends¡­ so his actions didn''t come as a shock to me" The man laughed as he spoke. Derik''s eye widened for a brief moment when he realized that Cyrus possessed a guardian spirit as well. This explained why he has always been hostile towards him ever since he revealed his powers to the team. Wait, doesn''t that mean that guy should be as strong as him? "And my friend¡­ Kira? He''s really strong¡­ so I have been wondering if he possesses a guardian spirit as well?" Derik asked "That kid? Nope¡­ it''s all talent¡­ that kid is the dream host of all guardian spirits¡­ someone with such raw talent and skill is only born once every hundred years" the man exclaimed with dreamy eyes which gazed into the stars. Seeing this Derik frowned slightly and turned away, even if Kira was his friend, he couldn''t help it, he just felt jealous "Now I''m dead, you might as well possess him¡­" Derik grumbled Hearing this the man laughed and placed his hand on Derik''s shoulder "You''re unique in your own way kid¡­ Your reaction speed isn''t something your wolf powers can give, it''s all you¡­. As for taking that kid as my new host, even if I could, I''ll still pick you over him. He has glaring flaws that all mages possess¡­ You, on the other hand, this weakness is completely covered by your wolf side and months of training as an archer¡­ You''re the perfect host and that''s why I won''t let you go that easily¡­" The man said with a serious look on his face. Hearing this, Derik''s face turned red and he blushed uncontrollably. If the others found out that he blushed because of a compliment from Death, they will probably stone him to death! Seeing Derik''s reddened face, the man laughed out loud for a while and then his smile on his face vanished, replaced with a dead-serious expression which made Derik shudder involuntarily. "If you stay in this plane of existence for too long¡­ The creator will notice and you will have to face judgment from the creator¡­ For now, all I can say to you is this¡­ Something capable of wiping away everything that breathes on this planet¡­" He said "What is this danger you speak of?" Derik asked "I can''t say¡­" The man shook his head in refusal " Even Death is bound by some laws¡­ All I can say is this¡­ Righteousness¡­ Holiness¡­ All those things are illusions¡­ Good does not conquer all¡­ To stop the calamity that is to come, you need to get stronger by all means¡­ even if it means sacrificing an entire family... or a town¡­ You must do it¡­ Going about it the right way is nice but time-consuming¡­ we don''t have that time¡­ Don''t be fooled by the belief that the righteous will always prevail¡­ This is reality¡­ things don''t work that way¡­ History favors those who strike first!" The man said while staring deep into Derik''s eyes "I made a mistake, the same mistake I made with my previous hosts¡­ I beat them into submission using fear¡­ This I also tried to do with you but somehow, you overcame it¡­ so I decided to do the next best thing¡­ Make others fear you¡­ To do that I stripped you of your conscience and emotions¡­ Never again¡­ You''ve what it takes to become to acquire the power needed to protect this world¡­ Do not hesitate, do not waver¡­ The power of death is in your hands¡­ use it as you wish¡­ From here on¡­ I will take a supportive role and only step in when absolutely necessary¡­ Also¡­ the life of a mage doesn''t suit you¡­ I kinda preferred the old you¡­" The man said with a smile on his face. While this man spoke, Derik noticed the ray of light which emerged from the clouds in the distance and slowly made its way towards them. Something inside him instinctively told this young man to flee as far as he could but seeing the calm expression on the face of his guardian spirit he decided to stay. Seeing the ray of light slowly approaching, the man in black robes chuckled and turned his attention to the kid "It''s the creator¡­ you have to leave now¡­ I''ll see you later¡­ and Finally¡­ Don''t trust the other guardian spirits¡­ they are against my methods but this is the only way¡­ especially that nature guardian spirit who gave you that talisman¡­" The man said, laughing. He placed his right hand on Deriks forehead and the left on the hole on Derik''s chest and started chanting something in a foreign language which Derik could not understand "Francis?" Derik muttered. At that point, he remembered something which he should have asked ''Wait¡­ how long do I have?... why do I have to be the one to save everyone?" he asked as he was soon shrouded in a dark mist which seemed to be pulling him away "Who said it has to be you?... You''re no chosen one boy¡­ I just decided to pick you since you''re my host¡­ as for how much time you have left¡­ Let''s say, less than a decade¡­ also¡­ the Lockwoods will be meeting the creator soon if you don''t give them a hand and I''m pretty sure the creator won''t be thrilled to see them¡­ Don''t die again ok? I don''t think I can hide you from the creator again" The man''s voice was fading but thanks to Derik''s enhanced physique, he could still hear him. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ His eyes yanked open and he quickly jumped off the floor, getting back on his feet, his bright purple eyes darted around the forest in search of the vampires who put him in this condition. "They''re gone" He muttered. A few minutes later, Derik reached the stream which he jumped across while chasing after those vampires and he sighed. He was going to wash his face when he noticed the purple glowing eyes which startled him, but after thinking about it for a while he found it reasonable. Cyrus'' golden eyes were probably bonded with his guardian spirit, also Francis possessed green eyes which probably represented the nature guardian spirit. Its only natural for his iris to turn purple after the little bonding time he had with the angel of death YES! His guardian spirit is the angel of Death, Death itself! The one in charge of the underwor¡­ WAIT! Doesn''t that mean that his guardian spirit is the Devil? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. F**k!!!! All this while he has been so excited that he failed to notice that his guardian spirit is the devil¡­ Resolving to think about this later, he jumped past the small stream and dashed towards the Lockwood castle 58 Chapter 58: Super hero Entrance "Arrrrrggggghhhh!" "Uffff!!!!" "Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" Screams of the unfortunate guards which fell to Cornelius attacks resonated so high in the air. The green grasses had already been dyed red and multiple corpses laid bare on the ground, gazing up into the heavens. At this point, the Lockwoods began to think that Derik''s information was wrong. How can a 200-year-old vampire be this strong, this was beyond everything written in the records concerning two-century-old vampires. Little did they know that it was just less than five years to cross the three hundred years threshold. If they had such information, they probably would have swallowed their pride and ask for help from other wolf packs in neighboring towns "We''ve almost got him¡­ Flank him¡­ We can finish him with this final attack!!!" Scott roared at the guards. Showcasing pure discipline and loyalty, these mage soldiers slowly surrounded the ancient vampire while bombarding him with numerous spells in an attempt to support the melee guards who were currently locked in a bitter one-sided battle with old man Cornelius This lasted for a few minutes¡­ "You''ve all done well¡­ we will end this now¡­" A voice could be heard from behind. Before the guards could turn around to greet the source, Four colorful figures blitz past them, reappearing right in front of them, just a few meters away from Old man Cornelius who frowned slightly at what he saw. Scott, Barry, Lucas, and Rolan were surrounded by colorful warrior energy bit their lips in anger when they saw the bodies of their loyal guards littered all over the place. Seeing this, they decided not to give this man even an extra second of life "Francis!!!" Scott roared Hearing this the nature mage nodded and screamed, his green iris glowed greatly and blood slid down his nostrils and ears. It was clear that this man had run out of mana a long time ago, they could barely explain how he has been maintaining the sleeping spell in the castle while still aiding them in battle. Slamming both palms on the ground, multiple vines erupted just beneath the man and quickly restrained him. Seeing this all the members of the Lockwood family gathered together and roared "Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves Roar!!!!" they screamed. Instantly, the warrior energies around them danced into the sky and a majestic being was created. This werewolf made out of energy looked so realistic, if not for the odd colors of the individual aura of the members of the Lockwood family, they probably would have believed this beast was real The gaze of this beast darted around madly until it met the eyes of the ancient vampire not shaken like the rest by its existence. Seeing this as an act of defiance, this beast quickly descended on the ''unbeliever'', determined to set an example to others through this man. But to its greatest surprise, Cornelius suddenly ripped the vines binding him apart at the last moment and welcomed the majestic beast with open arms¡­ BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! The shockwave created as the two forces of nature collided was enough to sweep those 10 to 20 meters away off there feet. Soon only the Lockwoods and Old man Cornelius stood at the center. Holding tight onto the wolves wide open mouth while trying to push back, Cornelius was pushed very close to his limit. This greatly surprised him, knowing fully well that if any other two-century-old vampire was put in his place, they probably would have been killed by this magnificent technique. His muscles began bulging and his clothes slowly ripped apart as the elder vampire began pushing the wolf back, one step after another. Seeing this, the hopeful expressions of the guards who believed in the Lockwood family were dashed and replaced with fear. How does such an abomination even exist? They kept asking themselves but none chose to speak out. But the next thing that happened came as a shock to everyone, Cornelius included! Instantly the size of the wolf suddenly doubled and the warrior energy which burned bright around the Lockwoods doubled as well. With one voice, the Lockwood family screamed "ROAR!!!!!" Instantly, a roar escaped the wide-open mouth of the majestic wolf, which startled the elder but just for a second. But in a battle between top tier masters such as themselves, a second can change the expected outcome of a battle. Cornelius'' grip loosened for a mere second, allowing the wolf to advance, sinking its fangs into the shoulders of this old man, dragging him all the way up into the air, before pummeling him into the ground. Booooom!!! Everyone froze for a minute as the stared at the crater created by that marvelous technique utilized by the Lockwood''s but then all four members of the Lockwood family and Francis collapsed to the ground. Rallying around them, the guards realized that their complexion was deadly pale, it was clear these men have exhausted everything in them. "Quickly¡­Get them inside¡­ The rest clean up the mess¡­" A battlemage, captain of the Lockwood Family guards barked at his men who were still shaken by the great power the Lockwoods displayed tonight. "Get them inside? But the battle is far from over" A voice could be heard from the 30-meter deep crater and a figure sluggishly climbed out it. Seeing this the expressions on the guards turned grim, even the Lockwoods and Francis silently cursed this man. But then¡­ ......¡­. "Fast Arrow!!!" A voice resonated from afar. Almost in an instant a bone-shaped arrow completely shrouded in purple aura came into view. Seeing this Cornelius'' eye widened in shock and he quickly threw his hand forward in response BAM!!!! The elder''s body saw sent flying for over 10 meters, rolling on the ground several times, the man finally regained his balance and quickly got on his feet. He staggered slightly while he tried to pull out the bone arrow which stuck deep into his shoulder. Right now, he could feel the death energy invading his body¡­ and then another voice was heard again Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Low-level Bronze Combat technique: Shot series!!!!" Soon a barrage of arrows rained down on this man, no matter how much he tried to escape, these arrows always found their way to him. Soon the man was riddled with bone arrows. Barely standing on his feet, he shifted his gaze to the source of these attack hoping to see the beast responsible. Thud! Thud! Thud! An invisible force blew the gates of the Lockwood castle open and darkness invaded the battlefield. Within the darkness was a pair of purple glowing eyes that darted around the battlefield as if it was searching for something, but after a while, it settled on the elderly man of the Salvor. Soon the darkness faded and a fourteen-year-old boy with raging purple eyes stood at the center of the arena with a bone-like bow and a bone arrow in his hand. On his back was a quiver made of skulls and bone arrows resided in it. "Get the Lockwood''s and the nature mage inside¡­" Derik said to the guards¡­ turning his attention the injured ancient vampire his eyes narrowed, and a disgusted expression appeared on his face "Leave this ancient beast to me¡­" He said "But!..." The captain of the guards was about to speak but he was interrupted by Derik "Don''t worry¡­ this will be over in seconds¡­" he said 59 Chapter 59: Son of wind, Derik Cornelius stared at this kid who was supposed to be dead in disbelief if this kid is here, doesn''t that men his great-grandkids are, DEAD? His eyes narrowed and he bit his lips in anger trying to control the rage that threatened to erupt. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. ¡­Meanwhile¡­ The Lockwood''s weakly stared at this kid in disbelief¡­ [Wasn''t this kid meant to be dead?] They thought For a reason this boy''s eyes were different, it contained more power now and more importantly, the bond that was broken simply means this kid is officially a lone wolf unless he decides to rejoin the Lockwood family on his own terms this time. While the others were shocked, Francis wore a grim expression on his face, the change in eye color, the sudden almost perfect control of his power only meant one thing. This kid actually died and made contact with Death, apparently, he found a way to form a bond with his guardian spirit. This also meant that the kid has acquired the knowledge which he desperately sorts to keep him away from. Oblivious of the numerous eyes on him, Derik drifted into his own thoughts as he stared at the bow in his hand. Truly his guardian spirit was right, all this while he has been using magic and living the life of a mage, he felt like something was a mission but now this bow was in his hands, the skull quiver on his back and the bone crossbow on his waist, he felt alive once again. On his way here, he asked the guardian spirit a few questions concerning magic creation and to his greatest surprise, he found out that the previous host, Francis'' sister was a guardian knight whose favorite weapon was the spear, so upon receiving this power she created the bone spear spell. Deciding not to waste any more time he created a couple of spells which for some reason amused his guardian spirit, but he chose to leave the questions for later. The part of him being the devil is something they seriously have to speak on. For some reason, Derik suspects his soul is damned to spend eternity in the underworld, like his guardian spirit¡­ Shrugging it off, Derik regained his focused and returned his gaze to Cornelius who seemed to have pulled out all the arrows, but residual death energy slowly escaped his wounds which refused to heal. Cornelius silently cursed this little boy as he realized the kind of situation he was in right now, possessing the wolf blood and power in him, injuries this kid will deliver is something he cant heal from easily, unlike the nature mage, meanwhile the kid seemed to possess such a terrifying magic, even now his body ached badly due to the numerous injuries he has sustained so far. Deciding not to linger around any longer, Cornelius made a decision. This battle has gone on for hours and its almost midnight, all he has to do now is kill this kid and escaped since the remaining ''potential'' foes are incapacitated, staying here any longer is not advisable "Stella and Fred¡­ You killed them I presume?" He asked as he took a few steps forward trying to shorten the distance between him and Derik, knowing the weakness of all archers. Hearing the old man''s question, Derik shook his head in disapproval and spoke "I wish I did¡­ They managed to escape but I doubt they will be able to recover from the injuries they sustained¡­ I reckon it will take months or even a year before they can return to their peak forms¡­" Derik said casually, not minding the fact that the old man was getting closer. "Thank goodness¡­" The old man said as he breathed out. "Well then¡­ I''ll be killing you first before I chase after them" He announced. BAM!!!! The moment the man said this, his red eyes glowed even brighter and he flew towards Derik like an arrow. Upon arrival, his palm was already own and the muscles in that hand began bulging, with veins popping out everywhere. Woooooooooosh!!!!! With one swing, this old man attempted to take off Deriks head with a single slap but to his greatest surprise, his target was already airborne by the time he arrived "Consecutive Shots!!!" Derik roared as he fired two shots almost at the aim time, which dug deep into the old man''s shoulders, this made the man fall on one knee. Before the man could even scream in pain, Derik was already on his shoulders, standing on the bone arrow which sank even deeper. Using this as leverage, Derik jumped even higher this time and multiple bone arrows appeared around him. "Low-Level Bronze combat technique: Shot series!!!" He roared and unleashed numerous bone arrows on this old man. As the arrows hit their mark, one after the other, the man was forced to retreat continuously. After less than 20 seconds of assault, the man could barely stand or even see. Two bone arrows dug deep into his eyes and even after pulling them out, his wounds refused to heal. What shocked him the most was the power each and every arrow contained. To be defeated by a fourteen-year-old demonic archer. He who has lived for close to three hundred years "What insolence!!!... I refuse!!!" Cornelius growled in anger. Relying on his prior knowledge of Derik''s position, He prepared for one final attack and threw himself at the boy with all his strength. Seeing this Derik remained calm and pulled the string of his bone bow but there was no arrow in his hand¡­. "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik said with confidence At that moment a purple magic array appeared in front of the bow and before Cornelius could strike, a torrent of purple flames poured out, completely consuming the old man. Getting knocked back the torrent of purple flames, this man roared in pain and still dashed towards Derik, determined to take the life of this kid Seeing this, Derik let go of the bone bow, which turned into darkish purple flames and vanished. Quickly, he pulled out the crossbow which hung on his waist and then pointed it at the incoming foe "Death Beam!" He said And a magic array formed at the tip of this crossbow. Instantly a black beam of energy shot out, blowing the elder vampire away. Everyone watched as the elder vampire rolled on the ground and struggled for a while after which he stopped moving. The darkish purple flames which engulfed him kept burning until only ashes were left "Death says hi¡­" Derik said with a satisfied smile on his face as he stared at the ashes of this man which was later blown away by a gust of wind¡­ 60 Chapter 60: Death and Nature collides Everyone, including the Lockwood''s, was dumbstruck by the level of strength, Derik just portrayed a few seconds ago as to defeating a foe which all of them had ganged upon. Yes! It''s true that the final combination attacks from the Lockwood''s and the nature mage had deeply injured the ancient vampire, preventing it from portraying a hundred percent of his combat capabilities. They even doubted the ancient vampire was half as strong as he used to be after taking a direct hit from the majestic multi-colored wolf, but that still didn''t stop them from acknowledging the strength that this fourteen-year-old kid just showcased. Unknown to these people, even Derik was surprised by his performance. Feeling ecstatic while trying hard to control his facial expression, Derik once again closed his eyes while trying to contact the guardian spirit residing in his head. "Will all my new spells be this powerful?" He asked "Yes they can all be this powerful but I suggest you don''t utilize this power again you''re truly in need of it¡­ I don''t speak of this earlier because you actually needed the power to defeat the ancient beast" a voice responded a second after Derik asked the question "Why?" Derik asked with a puzzled expression on his face. If he had such power, why shouldn''t he use it? "You''re na?ve boy¡­ All this while when you''ve been using my power, did you think it just happened because you could use it?... there are other guardian spirits residing in different kid¡­ why haven''t they conquered the world with their power? Why do you think the nature mage is in such a bad condition even after having a guardian spirit in him?... The answer is simple your body can''t handle it!" The voice echoed in his head ''Right now, I wish to advise you to pick up your bow and arrows and start acting like a member of the archery class¡­ This form you''re in¡­ this power you used to defeat this man is beyond the current you¡­ your enhanced physique and constitution granted to you by your werewolf side is the only reason why you can maintain this form for only a short period of time... Considering your current strength, you can only maintain this form for merely five minutes until you are forced to enter a weakened state¡­ Considering this, don''t you think that this power should serve as a trump card? Something that will catch your foe off guard and can be used to end the battle quickly" The voice said Hearing this, the smile on Derik''s face vanished instantly. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Why can''t you support me as always¡­" Derik asked eagerly. After a few seconds of silence, his guardian replied "Side effects of me stepping in is something you have experienced first hand, so there is no reason for me to speak on this¡­ either way, you won''t grow if I keep stepping in. You have to find your own way" The guardian spirit said Frowning hard, Derik silently cursed this ancient spirit of death in his head, only to realize that it could still read his thoughts. After taking in a few deep breaths, Derik strode forward towards the Lockwood and Francis with a confident look on his face. On his way back here, he had enough time to think of his feature. The life which he planned to live, only to realize that sticking with this family which was based in this little town will only prevent him from growing and reaching his peak. With the impending danger which he was warned of by his guardian spirit, he realized he didn''t have any time to waste anymore. "With this single act, my debts to this family have been repaid in full and I will be leaving¡­ permanently¡­ I can''t waste any more time with you all" Derik spoke with confidence as he glared at the Lockwood''s, ignoring the guards and Francis. Ever since Derik appeared, Scott had expected something like this. Especially since the invisible bond which tied them together had been broken in some way. Remembering the power this kid displayed, the man sighed. If he could manipulate time, he would have stopped himself and his siblings from acting the way they did earlier this night. "How did it happen?¡­ I thought you were dead?¡­ Whose wolf pack did you join?!" Scott screamed, unable to restrain himself anymore "I did die, but I returned¡­ Now I intend to fix my mistakes¡­ This is one of them¡­" Derik said Bam! Slamming his fist on the ground, Scott struggled to get on his feet and his red eyes glowed even brighter "I made you who you are¡­ you got to where you are because of the gift I gave you¡­ You dare turn your back on my Family now it needs you the most?" Hearing this Derik laughed gently and his purple eyes suddenly roared into life, glowing brightly in the dark. Darkish purple aura escaped his body as he took a few steps towards Scott who in response staggered as he tried to retreat "Like I said earlier¡­ my debt has been paid¡­ As for your family needing me¡­ I believe your family techniques should be more than enough to deter your enemies" Derik chuckled as spoke. He shifted his gaze to the nature mage who has been observing him for a while now and he decided to speak first "Your suspicions are correct¡­ I made contact with it¡­ I understand the situation¡­ and I intend to work with it¡­. They are distractions" Wooosh!!! Dashing forward to evade the vine that attacked from the side, Derik quickly pulled out the skull crossbow and screamed Death magic: Death beam!!! Instantly a magic array appeared in front of the crossbow and a beam of dark energy shot forward, completely obliterating the vine Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Not daring to wait and see what happens next, Derik crouched and with a single leap, he flew up to 3 meters high. With his crossbow in his hands, he gazed at the vines which now filled the spot which he left just a second ago. "Death magic: Death beam" he roared as he released another beam of Death energy from the crossbow. But unfortunately, a few vines were able to maneuver through the attack, making their way to the airborne archer who had no means no moving in mid-air "Crap!!! Death magic: Bone armor!" Derik screamed a moment before vines struck. Instantly black energy poured out of his body, completely hiding the archer. Unable to see his target, Francis frowned as he waited patiently "Death magic: Death Meteor!!!" A voice resonated from within the dark energy Boooom!!!!! Immediately a fiery ball of darkish purple fire escaped from the cluster of dark energy flying straight to the nature mage who in return roared and waved his hands and numerous vines were sent flying at the mini meteor. "I won''t let you" a voice roared from within the fiery darkish ball of fire Low-Level Bronze combat technique: Shot series!!! Flowing which, multiple bone arrows shrouded in dark energy shot out of the ball of black fire, obliterating everything in its path. While the few vines which escaped this fate we''re crushed by the meteor as it descended on the nature mage Booooooom!!!!! As the dust cleared, everyone saw the nature mage lying helplessly on the ground while the Archer Stood atop with the crossbow placed on his forehead¡­. "You lost¡­" Derik muttered... 61 Chapter 61: Truth Before Derik could gloat on his amazing victory against the mid-level silver class adventurer, the voice in his head deemed it the best time to reveal the sad truth to him and spoil the show "Before you start getting wild ideas just know this¡­ Even though this man is a silver class adventurer according to the way you humans say it, he still wields nature magic which has never been known for offensive capabilities¡­ it came as a shock to me when I saw this man utilizing this magic in a way that has never been done before¡­ And finally, he was already drained of his mana in the previous battle¡­ still able to hold out that long against you is something¡­ incredible!!!" the voice said Hearing this, Derik frowned as he pondered on how to respond to this ancient spirit properly. Not only did it shatter the mood in one sentence, but it also managed to praise the enemy¡­ nice! After a while thinking about what the spirit said made Derik frown slightly, Truly this man must be incredible if the voice in his head wasn''t exaggerating this. Someone capable of reshaping magic which was clearly known as a supportive type to an offensive type! Also, about the part where the man was practically out of mana is something else, it showed the zeal in his actions, the zeal to kill him after he confirmed that he has officially made contact with his guardian spirit! But why is that? His mind drifted back to the first time he met this man who approached as a friend and someone who understood what he was going through. Even though he still made use of the magic that same day after the man asked him not to, he still valued the man''s thoughts and opinions to an extent even though it was neglected. "Humph! I must say this¡­ You''re not very bright, are you?" The voice once again appeared, disrupting and shattering Derik''s chain of thoughts. This irritated Derik to an extent as he struggled to control his emotions and asked "What''s the problem?" Hearing the boys reply, the voice sighed and waited for a few seconds before speaking up "The first day you met this man¡­. Didn''t he tell you that he had to kill his sister because she was consumed by my power and I took control of her body?" Hearing this Deriks eyes widened due to shock and his expression completely changed. With a disgusted look in his face, he stared at this man wondering whether he should actually kill this white-haired bastard who killed his sister because he just didn''t approve of the guardian spirit in her. The disgusted expression was soon replaced by anger as he really felt like killing this man now "Why?.... You ended up killing your own sister for something so trivial!" Derik roared Hearing him the man laughed out loud first before speaking "Trivial?... Following this path set by the angel of death will only lead to bloodshed¡­ gaining power no matter the cost? Don''t be na?ve boy! A situation will arise where you will have to kill innocent people just to acquire power! I couldn''t let my sister go down that path!" Francis replied Contrary to Francis'' expectations, his explanation didn''t soothe Derik''s anger "what are a few lives when compared to the human race its self¡­. You need to see the bigger picture here¡­ This path set for us may not be the best but it''s the only path which guarantees victory in the end" Derik said Francis closed his eyes for a while and sighed, after a while, his eyes abruptly yanked open. Filled with resolve and anger he spoke "I made a mistake¡­ I should have killed you the first day we met!" Hearing this Derik frowned slightly and replied "You''re beyond Redemption" He sneered The crossbow soon vanished and he began chanting "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to Vanquish all those who stand against thy power and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang at the tip of thy spear... Death magic: Bone spear!!!" He roared. Instantly a spear manifested itself above, it was clear that it didn''t contain as much power as it uses to when his actions were still being influenced by his guardian spirit but then, been able to think clearly and feel once again... The exchange was worth it Grabbing on to the spear, his eyes widened and he struck down at the defenseless nature mage, hoping to put an end to his life in one blow. Puff! Before the sharp tip of the bone spear could make contact with Francis'' skull, the spear and all the bone gears on him turned into a cloud of black smoke and vanished. His complexion turned pale and his glowing purple eyes dimmed. This was the time limit the guardian spirit warner him of Francis''s eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face as a female voice in his head roared "Now boy!!!! You may never get this opportunity again!" Nodding, Francis mustered the last strength in him to push Derik off his body. Quickly getting on his feet, the nature mage flicked his fingers and 4 vines slowly emerged from the ground slowly intertwining themselves to form a first sized vine. From the body of this vine, blue flowers began sprouting and some sort of liquid oozed out of it "Wolves bane" Scott muttered. Right now he felt the urge to interfere but decided not to, since the boy was no longer a member of the Lockwood pack why put his family in danger trying to save an outsider? Realizing how critical the situation was, Derik wore a grim expression on his face as he struggled to increase the distance between himself and the nature mage by crawling away. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Looking at the boy who struggled to escape, Francis laughed and waved his hand. Immediately the wolves bane laced vine shot at Derik Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! After the vine failed to break through the semi-transculent golden sphere which surrounded Derik, a frown appeared on Francis'' face as he turned around to see who''s responsible "light magic: Light sphere" Cyrus muttered. Beside him, Kira remained quiet as he focused on conjuring a blood spear with a frown on his face. His hands were still shaky due to the aftermath of sleeping gas. Even his head was throbbing making it extremely difficult for him to focus. Meanwhile, Donald and Gin had successfully found swords which once belonged to dead fighter guards returned to Cyrus and Kira''s side. Their cold gaze softened when it met Derik but hardened once again when it returned to Francis "We will be leaving with our friend now¡­" Kira finally spoke after the blood spear manifested. Seeing this Francis frowned, in his current condition there Is no way he would be able to take on these kids and win. He could only silently watch the light sphere lift Derik off the ground, taking him to Cyrus'' side. These kids were yet to understand what happened here but they decided to ask later and save their friend now. The team walked out of the Lockwood castle with Derik under numerous gazes which failed to faze them! 62 Chapter 62: The team 1 His eyes yanked open and all he could see was the ceiling of his room in castle black. "Damn!... My head hurts" Derik muttered as he placed both palms on his head while caressing it gently. He silently cursed the guardian spirit in his head for not been very elucidative when he spoke about the backlash of his powers. {So conjuring a bow and an arrow is now regarded as a special power that needs high upkeep¡­ so lame} He hissed in his mind only to remember that this thing in his head could read his thoughts. Remembering this, a cold bead of sweat ran down his back and he instantly regretted his actions. He waited for the guardian spirit to scold him but for some reason, it didn''t reply which made him wonder if the almighty angel of death was asleep¡­ He was about to call out to this guardian spirit but then he realized that there were numerous eyes on him. Realizing that the team was present while he was ''misbehaving'', Derik flushed Seeing the face of the great Derik who us normally void of emotions turn red, Gin laughed hysterically. Derik''s face reddened even more as he silently cursed this bastard and wished he could attack him this instant, but noticing Cyrus'' hostile gaze, he decided to endure the shame a little bit longer. After a while, the room was silent once again but no one left their seats "We''re a team, am I correct?" Kira finally spoke up¡­ Hearing this everyone nodded. At this point, Derik felt like something was off, for some reason he felt like if he fails to leave this ''meeting'' right now, he may be forced to speak on things he shouldn''t [Guardian? Come on man I need you!] Derik cried out in his mind but it failed to respond. Wasn''t magic spirits bound to their targets, not to ever leave their side until death? Yes, his guardian spirit was the angel of death but shouldn''t that rule also apply to it? [Damn it!] Derek cursed his bad luck again. He knew where this team discussion was heading to, he had a lot of explaining to do about what happened that night. It''s true that the Lockwoods could cook up a few stories to cover it up but that doesn''t necessarily mean that everyone would believe It. Come on! You attend a party and the next second you''re knocked out. What bothered him the most is that he didn''t know the excuse the Lockwood''s came up with, so if the story doesn''t tally, it will only arouse more suspicion. "Don''t bother trying to contact your guardian spirit¡­ mine is gone as well¡­ this happens occasionally so I decided this is the best time to speak to you¡­ when you''re not under the influence of that thing" Cyrus sneered at Derik, not bothering to hide his disdain Hearing this, Derik laughed out loud and simply got off his bed. He looked out the window to confirm first and discerning it should be close to midnight his fearful heart finally eased up a bit. His trump cards cool downtime was up! His purple iris which was originally dim, suddenly roared back to life, glowing brighter than ever. Darkish purple aura slowly escaped his body forming a dark cloud on the ceiling of the room. He still didn''t know why this prince of light has an issue with him, his initial comment made it clear that this guy believes he lost to him because of the presence of his guardian spirit¡­ why not prove him wrong? Seeing this Cyrus was startled at first, he has always thought that Derik has always been under the influence of that demonic spirit inside him and that''s why he could summon that much power. He suggested the meeting should take place at this time because his guardian spirit suggested it was at this time Derik would be at his weakest and alone. Should he try to shy away from this important gathering, Cyrus should be able to easily put him down without the help of the others. Apparently, his guardian spirit was wrong, opting to confront this kid who gave him a sound beating the last time they fought, Cyrus decided to prove to Derik and the rest that he''s no pushover! "I refuse to believe that your darkness can swallow my light!!!!" Cyrus growled and his golden eyes shone even greater than before "Keep telling yourself that" Derik scoffed at the life mage''s words with a mocking smile on his face BOOM! The life and death energy which forcefully burst right through the bodies of Cyrus and Derik created a shockwave which made everyone retreat by few steps, even the poor wooden bed beside Derik was not sparred as it was sent flying to the other side of the room. The amazing view of one side of the room covered in golden energy and the other side shrouded in dark, cold aura was something everyone was mesmerized with but for only a brief moment. The could see each side trying to devour the other and at this point it seemed as if Deriks aura had the advantage, slowly but steadily consuming all the golden energy at the other half of the room. Seeing this made Cyrus break a sweat as he inwardly blamed his guardian spirit for the situation he was in at the moment. Not daring to let Derik strike first, the life mage was about to cast a spell but then he felt a strong firm hand definitely belonging to a fighter slam against his skull which made him lose concentration for a moment BAM! BAM!! Holding his head with both hands and wincing in pain, Cyrus looked up to see Derik in the same condition as Donald beside him. [If Donald was the one who hit Derik¡­ then who was the one that hit him?] He thought for a moment and quickly looked you only to see Daemon staring at him with a disappointed expression on her face. [When did she get so strong?] Cyrus asked himself Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Derik frowned and shot a glare at Donald who only clenched his fist once again in response, making Derik retreat with both hands on the spot where he was hit "No more magic¡­ No more stupid grudges¡­ No one is leaving this room until we settle our Differences now sit!!!!" Kira growled! 63 Chapter 63: The Team 2 With eyes filled with anxiety, Derik sat down silently and wallowed in despair. It''s not as if he didn''t want to be honest with these guys whom he regarded as his teammates and friends, the thing is there are a few things even he can''t reveal. Because doing such will only spell doom for them, making them a target of the number one noble family in the town. He could feel the gazes of everyone in the room on him and deliberated on what to say, after all, it wouldn''t be fair to lie to them after they saved his life. Seeing that Derik was lost in his thoughts, the others sighed and pitied him a little at this point, for someone to be hell-bent on keeping something a secret simply meant that there were a few more things which they are not aware of that is attached to the information. Like hell, they would have called off the meeting if they could but the team needed this to move forward, in just a year the nationwide adventurer''s graduation exam will begin and they are yet to work as a team. What the heck, even now it felt like there were two factions in the group, Derik''s and Cyrus'' which shouldn''t be so. This is a necessary action which will help them move forward as a team, it is absolutely necessary. "Everyone Back in the oracle class says I''m lucky to possess a mid-level 3 star rated magic, Light magic¡­ But they don''t know it''s a peak 3-star magic called the life magic¡­. You already have a rough understanding of what guardian spirits are, so I don''t deem it necessary for me to speak on that further. The only thing I can say on it is, these guardian spirits are capable of influencing the actions of their hosts¡­ I had a fair share of the experience when I awakened my magic a few years ago¡­ And that''s the reason I have always been against Derik since the day he exposed this power to us¡­ I planned on subduing him and the spirit in so as to make sure his free will is not stolen from him just like mine was for a time¡­ and I failed, but after what happened today with him utilizing the power to that extent without the presence of his guardian spirit¡­ I guess he''s not been controlled anymore, but then¡­ how did you attain control so quickly? Mine took months and even close to a year!" Cyrus finally spoke up Hearing his words, Derik was snapped out of his chain of thoughts and stared at Cyrus for a while as he pondered on the appropriate response to give which seems reasonable. After a while, he finally shrugged off the wave of thoughts that passed through his mind and spoke "I died¡­" He said Those words were simple and straightforward, yet it took Kira and the rest of the team over a minute to process the meaning behind those words, even Karl was dazed for a while, asking if he heard wrong. Only accepting after Derik repeated those words a second time "I died¡­ on the night of the party hosted by the Lockwood family" Derik explained Unable to control himself again, Gin was the first to cry out "Wait! What the F##k are you saying?... We saved you from that spooky white-haired guy¡­ what do you mean by you died¡­ was it after we saved you or before" Gin asked. Hearing this the others nodded in agreement, after saving Derik and leaving the Lockwood family castle, they quickly returned to Kira''s family mansion, where they spent the night. After which the visited Derik''s family on their way back to castle black the next morning, yes it did cost them a few silver coins but they were able to find out where Derik lived. As kids from noble families, they were shocked to see the extremely worried expression on the faces of John Angus and Linda. This was something they were not really used to since their parents never show such emotions in a bid to keep up appearances. This made them envy Derik slightly more than usual. "It''s a really, really long story¡­ All I can say is this¡­ I chased after two fleeing members of the Salvor family all the way to the town borders¡­ At the forest surrounding the borders¡­. That''s where I was killed¡­ Was caught off guard¡­ it was a simple mistake" Derik explained nonchalantly hoping they won''t ask for details but what happened made him curse Gin silently "HA HA HA!!! You chased after them and ended up getting killed by them¡­ HA HA HA!!!... Come on man what the fuck! Were you high or something when you decided to chase them all the way to the borders just to get your ass whooped? What the F##k man!!!" Gin laughed hysterically Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Hearing his words the others couldn''t help but laugh as well, they tried to imagine what was going through Derik''s mind when he chased after them. According to the report the Lockwood provided to the nobles, they branded the Salvors as vampires and blamed them for all that happened that night. From their prior knowledge of vampires, these beasts were known to be supernatural beasts and one of the strongest as well, with almost infinite time to live its terrifying to find out how powerful a century-old vampire is. Capable of putting the famous nature mage of Briton town in such a condition. Now, why would a recruit from the archery class chase after two vampires which were over a hundred years? Wasn''t that been stupid? Even if he possessed a peak three-star rated magic, it''s still suicidal! The only moment is that he was caught up in the moment and probably couldn''t hold back his excitement so he decided to chase after them¡­ Watching all of them laugh, Derik simply remained silent with a reddened face swearing not to continue this discussion again in his heart [Fuck the team!] he thought 64 Chapter 64:The Team 3 Everyone present in the room wore apologetic expressions on their faces while starting at Derik who refused to return their gazes. "Come on man! I was only joking" Gin fought hard to withhold the laughter which threatened to bust out at any moment Seeing this Derik only got more annoyed and just remained silent while cursing this guy in his mind. He occasionally glanced at the apologetic and expectant faces in the room and knew these people were waiting for him to continue his explanation. With a sigh, Derik decided to continue "Before I continue, you all have to swear to me that you will keep this matter a secret¡­ You will not speak of it to anyone and you will take this matter to your graves¡­. Come on now, swear it¡­ all of you" Derik said This statement came as a shock to everyone in the room, yes they suspected that Derik may have something he needed to hide that''s why he was reluctant to speak earlier, but they didn''t expect it to he something this serious. With wrinkled eyebrows, Cyrus asked "Is it really that serious?... How important is this secret of yours" He asked Hearing this, others shifted their attention from Cyrus to Derik, who in turn pondered on the life mages words for a while, looking for the ''perfect response'' to give "Let us just say it has to do with the number one noble family in Briton¡­ Should this get out, not only will I and my family be put in danger but you all may be eliminated as well just to conceal this secret¡­ The only reason I decided to bring this up is simply because of this meeting¡­ since the team wants to get together and create greater bonds¡­ secrets such as this will definitely get in the way¡­ I believe it''s important for everyone''s full capabilities to be known by every member of the team¡­ this will definitely aid us in any path we choose to work and also improve our teamwork" Derik took his time to explain this. Truly, if they are willing to move this team forward they must swear to keep this matter a secret. He remained silent and watched the others ponder on his words. After a brief moment of silence, the worried expressions on their faces soon vanished replaced with determination. The determination to move forward at costs even if it meant swearing an oath to Derik. Seeing this, Derik smiled, happy with their personal decisions. In a bid to make sure that there are no defaulters, Kira revealed a ''unique'' spell which is meant to seal oaths with blood, whereby a defaulter cannot unintentionally break the oath and if by chance the defaulter forcefully attempts to break the oath, only death will welcome them. Hearing this, everyone was once again bewildered by this Kids magic which seemed to be the most diabolical in the group. Yes! Derik''s death magic is frightening and all that but there is something about Kira''s blood magic which made people feel insecure. Since no one actually had the intention to break the oath, it didn''t take long for them to decide on what to do. The oath was quite simple, As long as they remained a team no member will hide any information which may directly or indirectly affect the team in any way and the second was to keep anything and everything to themselves even in death. The process by which this blood magic spell: oath binder is implemented was something everyone including Kira agreed was kinda creepy. To begin the ritual, everyone slit their wrist and watched their blood slowly pour into a wooden bowel while reciting the oath. After which Kira chanted something in a mysterious language and then, the blood of everyone in the team was mixed together properly, after which it is not applied on wrist cut wounds which miraculously healed. Of course, Derik was the last to get cut and the first to have the blood applied to the wrist cut injury which was almost completely healed. This stunned everyone but the chose not to speak and interrupt the process since he was eventually going to explain how it works to them later on. "Now then¡­." Derik said with a relieved expression on his face, he briefly glanced at everyone in the room only to see bewildered expressions. With a chuckle, he decided to continue Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Since you all know of vampires, You should know of werewolves as well then¡­ am I correct?" Derik asked. In response, the others just nodded "The Lockwood family is an ancient family of wolves¡­ and just like all werewolves or at least most, they protect the inhabitants of their territory from other supernatural entities¡­ The party at the Lockwood family castle was only a means to lure the Salvors out of the shadows and kill them¡­" Derik shrugged off the thoughts that flooded his little head while he spoke. After hearing this, everyone in the room began thinking about what they just heard. To think the number one noble family of Briton possessed supernatural powers, this explains a lot. "How did you get involved with them? A human working with werewolves¡­ isn''t that a bit risky?" Karl asked In response, Derik laughed and did something which scared everyone in the room to the core. His dimmed purple eyes roared back to life and his fingernails were replaced with claws, all the hair on his head stood up and he let out a deafening roar which made everyone stand up in shock and retreat by a few steps. "I was gifted with this ability by the Lockwoods¡­ how do you think an archer is able to reveal so much strength, speed, and durability¡­ Come on when was the last time you saw an archer as strong as myself¡­ and yes, I chased after the vampires because I possess this power as well" Derik laughed as he spoke with a deep voice. Realization finally dawned on these guys, an archer taking down a level five ogre by pummeling it into the ground with its own stone club which no normal person can carry. Getting up just a few minutes after he is knocked down during the interclass competition. Surviving a point-blank attack from a magic weapon, standing up the next moment and shrugging it off. They finally came to a conclusion "You''ve had an unfair advantage all along" Seeing the frustration on their faces, Derik concluded it was his turn to laugh at them. Laughing out loud for over ten seconds before calming down. The team took turns at revealing their strengths and weaknesses, spending the whole night chatting on matters which may affect the team. Not only did this clear out the misunderstanding, the hostility which the harbored for each other soon vanished as well 65 Chapter 65: Time skip ¡­. A Year Later¡­. ¡­.. Gyro Kingdom Capital ¡­.. Tink! Tink!! Tink!!! With each strike, only sparks escaped the body of the level 12 stone troll. Seeing this a young lad who wore a simple black slim fit shirt which showcased his biceps and abs. Even though his hair was cut low, the little green hair visible still caught the attention of everyone. Jumping away, he stared at the stone troll with a frown not bothering to hide his frustration. Donald sighed and spoke out "Aren''t you guys done?... It''s getting really annoying over here!" He said Right after he spoke a loud scream echoed in the arena which was as big as a football pitch. After a few seconds, the screams of the last stone troll which was set ablaze finally died down "It''s your fault though, you wasted so much time and let it use its stone skin skill" A teenager with spiky red hair and crimson red iris spoke out. Unlike other mages, this kid wore a similar black slim fit shirt and black trousers and finally a crimson red sleeveless coat on it with ridiculously long-standing collars which made him look like one of those ancient grandmasters. A teenager adorned with a white robe which had golden cross symbol designs all over it simply laughed. Even though his face was hidden by the hood, his blazing golden eyes still shone brightly within the dark space. "It''s okay now¡­ all 7 stone trolls are dead¡­ if we can coordinate well, we should be able to take this one down in a few seconds" Cyrus spoke After the Life mage spoke, a figure slowly but stealthy emerged from thin air. Her body was completely covered with thick black bandages which obviously had some magical properties. It made some of the spectators wonder how long it took this babe to wrap her body. "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Swift hands" She whispered. Now standing behind the stone troll which was oblivious of her existence, the female assassin struck forward with her daggers and multiple after images were left behind, striking over 20 times in less than five seconds. Noticing that her attacks are futile, the girl quick vanished into thin air once again, reappearing beside a teenager with black flowing hair and stunning purple iris. He wore a tight sleeveless black shirt and a light brown leather armor bearing the archer class logo on it. Derik giggled when he saw the frown on Daemon''s face, he could tell that she was annoyed because her attack didn''t even leave a scratch on the body of this beast known for its powerful defensive skills. "To think this is the test before we can partake in the adventurer association graduation exams and get our license! Did they really think mere level 12 monsters will pose a threat to us?" Derek asked the blue-haired teenager in his regular sky blue knights armor. "I agree with you Derik¡­ alright guys, Let''s put an end to this while not revealing too much!!" Gin screamed. Hearing him, everyone nodded and Burst into action¡­. "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Haste!" ...... With a war cry, Donald lunged forward at an incredible speed, which made the stone troll flinch slightly. While holding on to his greatsword with both hands, his muscles began bulging "Low-Level Bronze combat technique: Slash!" He roared and brandished his Greatsword shrouded in white energy. Slash!!!! Puff!!! With just one slash, a shallow cut could be seen on the body of the level twelve stone troll which also wore a puzzled expression on its face. Bam! Not daring to look down on these humans anymore, the stone troll punched out. A single punch from it forced Donald who parried with his greatsword to take a step back. At that moment a figure appeared right in front of the beast, wearing a mischievous smile on his face while staring at the shallow blood-stained injury on the chest of this beast. "Low-level Bronze combat technique: Swift hands" She whispered and struck forward. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Roar!!!!! The stone troll screamed in pain after the 40th strike from the assassin on the wound on its chest which deepened already with blood gushing out of it. Its reaction speed has always been its weakness but these beasts never really bothered about this because of its crazy defensive capabilities which are very difficult to breach. Before the beast could even retaliate against the girl who was now attempting to retreat, a semi-transculent barrier appeared all over her, shielding her from his punch. With a frustrated expression on its face, the eyes of the stone troll darted around the arena searching for the source of its problems. The oracle who stood at the rear of the team flinched slightly the moment he realized that he was the target. But the puzzled expression on its face soon vanished and was replaced with a mocking smile. Slash!!!! Attacking from behind, Donald left another shallow sword mark on the back of the stone troll which staggered forward slightly before turning its attention to him. Enraged, the beast roared and punched out, sending a boulder size, earth fist at the guardian knight who had already increased the distance between them while retreating. "Low-Level Bronze combat technique: Wind Shot!" "Blood Magic: Blood Spear!" An arrow, shrouded in a gust of wind soon flew at the stone fist alongside the blood spear from Kira who was dressed in the same manner as Karl but his sleeveless coat was blood red in color. His short pale skin and diabolical aura made even the audience shudder in fear every time he casts a spell. Boooom!!! Seeing it''s stone first intercepted before it could reach the target, the stone troll wore a grim expression on its face. It was about to attack the blood mage and the archer, but then the temperature in the arena suddenly rose drastically "God of destruction¡­ lord of fire¡­ drown thy enemies in your anger and consume thy foes with thy flames¡­ Burn in hell!!!¡­ Flamethrower!!!" Karl screamed. His wild gaze remained on the stone trolls fleeing figure, from his mouth, torrents of flames poured out, completely engulfing the everything over 10 meters in front of him. "End It!" he said to the blue-haired enchanter behind him. With a nod, a blue pillar of energy erupted around Gin. His eyes remained fixed on the mini sea of flames, waiting for the beast in emerged and yes, it did. The fleeing stone stroll was greeted by a blue arc of pure energy¡­.. "It''s over" Gin muttered with a charming smile on his face¡­ 66 Chapter 66: Guardians "Team Guardians¡­ Win!!!!!!" A voice in which the origin remained unknown even after the tournament echoed throughout the arena. Even after the announcement, all the spectators remained silent as they gazed at the water globe levitating above the arena and other parts of the kingdom in silence. "How is it possible?... A team from one of the smallest towns in the kingdom actually won, easily at that!" "Hey! Hey!! This must be a prank, right? that''s seven-level twelve stone trolls we''re talking about here, not some low leveled beasts" "Isn''t this team a little bit overpowered? Like¡­ their oracle and Enchanter are super strong¡­ and these people belong to non-combat classes!" "Cheat! They are cheats!!!!!... That enchanter is equipped with a complete set of magic equipment¡­ Even if they are only Bronze level magic equipment, not every noble family In the capital can afford this!!!" "Who and what are these guys!!" "How are these guys soo strong¡­ they are only inferior to teams from the capital!!" The spectators in the arena still refused to accept what they just witnessed. When the battle began, all seven members of the team picked a stone troll each which they battled and won. An archer single-handedly defeating a level twelve magical beast? And that class was termed as a support class! The only reason the guardian knight amongst them failed to kill off his own opponent quickly was simply because he refused to draw his sword and battled with the beast for minutes with just his bare fists! Battling a level twelve magical monster known for its defense with just his bare fists, well this is a story which their peers will surely refuse to believe. Yes, there were other teams that performed better, especially those from the capital but none was as domineering as this one. While the others tried to portray their strength through complex combination attacks and quickly off their foes, this team simply took its time and toyed with the beasts. Mumbles echoed all over the arena from all sides making it almost impossible for the team to understand what they were saying. At a point, Kira and the others frowned, clearly annoyed with the fact that they were unable to understand what these people were saying. Seeing Derik giggle, the anger rose to the peak and they quickly formed a circle to make it look like they were having a team meeting¡­ "Come on man¡­ Don''t keep us in the dark! Speak up" Gin said "Yea¡­ what are they saying?" Daemon asked as she slowly undid the black bandage wraps which were tied all around her face, hiding her nose and lips. Seeing the expectant faces on each and every member of the team, Derik giggled again for a while before speaking up¡­ "Mission accomplished¡­ They were wowed by the little power display we put on¡­ Some claim we are cheats¡­ others think we are overpowered¡­ and you know, I can''t blame them for thinking that way... We are pretty dope!" Derik laughed while he spoke. Hearing this a warm smile appeared on the faces of the other members of the team. On their way here, they had two goals¡­ 1) Win the battle in a very domineering manner 2) Attract as much attention as possible without revealing their true strength The first goal was the most important since they needed the win to qualify for the adventurer''s license exam, well¡­ that''s the reason they came here in the first place. The second was aimed at the other teams and the very¡­ very ''important people''. They were practically telling the world "We Are Here!!!" in their own way. Cases, where teams from small towns in the kingdom were maltreated, were not unusual during the adventurer license exam. A few years back, a team was ambushed by other teams from the capital simply because they refused to ''show respect''. This lead to a team of seven recruits been killed. When the various teams from the capital who took part in this hideous act were apprehended, they simply claimed it was a mistake. The funny thing about the whole thing was that even though the affected families were compensated, those responsible were pardoned and allowed to roam around freely. Like what the f##k? There are people who have been apprehended and jailed for petty theft, yet these murderers were not even scolded. This was one of the main reasons, Derik and his team decided to showcase their power in a domineering manner. They were simply telling these teams from the capital not to f##k with them or else the outcome won''t be pretty. This act was also aimed at drawing the attention of everyone, showing them what they are capable of and hopefully gaining their favor, just in case things get rough and messy. Even though they weren''t completely successful because some people still felt that they are inferior to the various teams from the capital, it should be enough to make anyone think twice before acting recklessly in their presence. With a satisfied smile on his face, Derik was about to speak with the team on the second phase of the plan but then three sonic booms erupted in the sky directly above them and three figures appeared, standing in midair. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. One was adorned with golden robes, with long and ancient look with beards and long flowing white hair. This old man''s body looked frail but his eyes were pitch black and if one looked closely, it looked like there were a cluster of stars in his eyes¡­ a small solar system His crimson red and yellow flowing hair, fluttered in the wind and the indifferent expression on his face made others shudder involuntarily. His crimson red knight armor with the painting or a dragon glittered under the sun. Even from a distance, everyone could feel the mysterious majestic aura that radiated from this made everyone present want to kneel. [Casting a Peak silver level spell on all recruits present¡­ How shameful] The guardian spirit in Derik''s head suddenly spoke, instantly snapping Derik out of the spell Derik who had already gone down on one knee regain control of his body and quickly stood up. His eyes briefly darted around the arena and to his greatest surprise, everyone was on their knees. Turning his attention to the side, he saw Cyrus who was also shocked by what was happening. Realizing they were the ones who didn''t kneel, probably because of the guardian spirits in their heads, they looked up and Derik asked "Who the f##k is he?" 67 Chapter 67: Kneel! Bow! "How unexpected and interesting" The white-haired elder spoke while stroking his tick long white beards as he gazed upon Derik and Cyrus with a fascinated expression on his face. Yes, The spell the King used was a peak Silver level wide-ranged mind control spell which makes its targets feel inferior when compared to the caster, creating a master-slave relationship almost in an instant. Like all Mind control spells, breaking out of it is quite simple, yet difficult! It is close to impossible for someone to break out of this spell unless they are aware that their mind is been tampered with! The question now is this¡­ How did these kids break the spell? At their current level, this should be impossible without external interference "Looks like this year has some promising recruits!" a youth in his early 20''s, with bright red iris laughed. His red short hair swayed to the side according to the direction of the wind and his red, mage robes fluttered in the wind as well. His calm red eyes were fixed Derik and Cyrus as he laughed. This youth radiated of majestic yet a friendly aura which made everyone present feel intimate towards this man. This is the man Derik and Cyrus recognized "It''s Gerald Gyro¡­ Founder of the Adventurers Association¡­ and the Eldest son of the king!" A voice cried out from the crowd "I heard he''s already at the peak of the Intermediate silver ranked mage level and his fighter skills have also entered the silver rank level at such a young age!!! He''s a prodigy! A man worthy to be called ''King!''" another voice cried out from the crowd Gerald chuckled as he heard these people speak, clearly amused by their reaction but his eyes never left Derik and Cyrus, even for a second! "SILENCE!!!!!" the mighty voice of the middle-aged, red-haired man at the center shook the arena. His crimson red eyes filled with anger and rage fell on Derik and Cyrus. "KNEEL!" The man''s mighty voice echoed once again and this time, a mysterious power flowed within this man''s words! Bam! Bam!! Instantly, Derik and Cyrus''s complexion turned pale as they felt an invisible force befall them from above. At this point, it felt like a mountain was placed on their backs threatening to crush them. Both recruits instantly fell on their knees. Yet this red-haired man was not satisfied, with a disgusted expression on his face, the middle-aged man''s lips parted and he spoke again "BOW!" Bam! Bam! This time the invisible force fell on their heads and almost instantly, both their heads slammed on the ground such a force that they started bleeding. Initially, they hoped that this man will let them go after making them knee and now but the opposite happened. Stealing a glance, they could see that the arrogant red-haired man was still not satisfied and suddenly the force which pushed them down increased. Their bodies shivered as blood slid down their head, all the way to the ground, creating a small puddle of blood. [You will seriously get hurt at this rate Derik! Fight it!] The voice roared in his head "Cyrus!!!" Derek roared "I agree!" Cyrus replied quickly. Hearing the short conversation between this two, all three men standing in mid-air raised an eyebrow, shocked that these kids can still be defiant at a time like this BOOM! BOOM! Cyrus and Derik suddenly roared at the top of their voices and golden and darkish purple energy respectively exploded from their bodies, creating a shockwave that knocked away their teammates who were kneeling close by. Bam! Bam! With veins popping out of their bodies and their golden and purple eyes roaring back to life, the both cast away the invisible force on their body and got back on their feet, staring at the red-haired, middle-aged man who wore a shocked expression on his face. In fact, it wasn''t just him, the other two were astonished as well. "Splendid! Absolutely Splendid!!!" Gerald laughed and clapped Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "They are truly interesting individuals¡­ but the archer¡­ an archer with such an aura¡­ this means he has an affinity to magic¡­ considering the way, he pushed out the power at his time of need that means he is also in perfect control of it¡­. If he follows the same path as his majesty, he will definitely make it to the silver level¡­ I, the Kingdoms Guardian is willing to take this child under my care if he proves himself to me" The old, white-haired man laughed "Even though Father greatly reduced the power of his ''word'' to the minimum, they still forced their way out¡­. This should be enough¡­ don''t you think? Master Kalos" Gerald said Kalos shook his head repeatedly in disapproval while stroking his beards¡­ "It''s not¡­" He declared ...... Meanwhile, the shock wave which knocked over the other members of the team broke the spell binding them as well, seeing Derik and Cyrus covered in a mixture of sweat and blood, they gasped and dashed forward. Supporting their friends who seemed as if they were going to collapse at any moment, they turned their cold gaze to the men standing above and silently cursed them. They already knew the famous red-haired youth who is the creator of the adventurers association and only found out the identity of the white-bearded elder as the Kingdom guardian after he spoke, calling himself that. But the man at the center who wore a disgusted, yet annoyed expression on his face was someone they didn''t know. For a few seconds, they pondered on this, trying to figure out the identity of this bastard who dared to act arrogantly in public. Making them kneel to him, this was something only a king should do¡­ wait¡­ King! They looked up and realization finally dawned on them. The middle-aged man in the center was a bit identical to the eldest prince who stood beside him. They both possessed the same hair color and facial features, the only difference was that the other looked older. "He''s.... king¡­" Kira muttered to his shocked teammates. Instantly all seven recruits fell on their knees and bowed, not daring to look this majestic figure in the eyes 68 Chapter 68: Three days later ¡­.Three days later¡­. In a mansion located west of the adventurers association head quarters which was located at the outskirts of the capital, several figures remained seated for an hour without uttering a single word. Amongst all seven youths that where seated, two of them were amused but tried really hard to hide it from the rest of the team. "Alright, don''t you guys think you''re taking this too far? It''s been three days since it happened and no one has left this mansion¡­ if you ask me, this is taking paranoid to the next level" Derik said with a concerned expression on his face as he stared at Kira and the rest. Cyrus simply chuckled after Derik spoke. Clearly irritated now Donald couldn''t hold it in anymore "What the f##k is your problem? How are you guys still smiling after crossing the king of this kingdom?... It''s like annoying the most important and powerful man in Gyro!!!"Donald roared like a mad man. Which in turn, only made Derik and Cyrus laugh ............. Three days ago after they broke free from the Kings ''voice'' ability, even after the team knelt after realizing the man''s identity, he was still going to voice once again. If the Kingdom guardian and the adventurers association founder, Gerald Gyro didn''t step in and persuade the ruthless king, the man probably would have attacked them again with his voice. This made them despise the man who is meant to rule and protect his subjects. It was quite clear that they weren''t to be blamed! The king and the Kingdom guardian barely appeared in public and even when he does, only the high tier nobles of the Kingdom know of his presence. The noble tiers are rated 1-5, most small towns and villages in the kingdom are only tier 1 nobles. In Briton, the Lockwoods are the only tier 3 nobles in the little town and that is why they have been the undisputed overlord of Briton. The higher the tier of a noble the fewer restrictions are placed on them. That simply means most laws and rules that affect every citizen of the Gyro kingdom won''t apply to them, making it easier for them to exploit and steal from the weak. The system has never been fair, but no one dared to speak up all these years. Slowly, the gap between the rich and the poor widened to an extent that it cannot be crossed in one lifetime. With the people already used to this kind of treatment, no one really paid attention to the injustice that has been going on all these while. Offsprings born into this world see it as "the way life is" so none dare to speak against it. Cyrus'' eyes twitched small in anger as he considered the possible outcomes of the event that happened three days ago. His parents were only tier one noble, so even if he was murdered by the king, no one will dare speak of it. If this happened a year ago he probably would have been terrified but now, things are different. For the past one year, while others trained their skills and magic Derik and Cyrus spent time for the first time conversing with their guardian spirits in search of means of quick growth. This is not a world where someone can sit down all day and gather energy to get stronger, here they actually need to pour their sweat and blood into various techniques to improve. Familiar with the stories regarding the ruthless behaviors of teams from the capital to other teams, they feared that their team may fall victim. "Even if we train the normal way and get stronger the normal way, chances we will die is still ridiculously high¡­ these guys at the capital have access to more resources than we can ever think of¡­ to stay safe we need a power boost... A secret technique that will rapidly raise our level¡­" Derik suggested. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Finding his words reasonable, Cyrus contacted his guardian spirit. The technique they both used is quite simple, sealing of one''s ability for a while, conserving all that power and then releasing it at once. In this form, Derik and Cyrus''s strength could soar to silver level for a few minutes. It''s with this same power they managed to break the voice spell used by the king! Although the rest of the team were against this method since it means they won''t have access to the perks of their guardian spirits until they enter that mode, Derik and Cyrus simply ignored them. The gap between a bronze level and silver level fighter or mage is not something someone can cross easily. Since their guardian spirits could make it possible, why won''t they take the chance? Seeing the king''s expression turn ugly for a while after they broke through his voice technique, they were satisfied "Are you guys serious?" Karl asked when he realized why these people have been so cheerful for a while now. "Well, we have wasted enough time here¡­ There is no reason crying over something that has been done already¡­ whatever comes our way, we will deal with it" Kira said "We can''t progress if we all remain this way¡­ why don''t we take a walk outside, I heard the capital is filled with wonders" He added The others sighed and nodded in agreement. "Well... we have completed the first phase of our plan... that is to gain everyone''s attention.... now let''s work towards the second!" Cyrus said. A broad smile appeared on the faces of everyone in the room after Cyrus spoke. The second part of this plan is something they have been looking forward to! 69 Chapter 69: Phase two 1 The second phase of the plan was quite simple, now they have gathered the attention of everyone in the capital, they also need to showcase their strength in a more violent manner.Yes! The small event with the king at the arena indirectly helped them and also brought a few challenges as well. The short display of power between Derik, Cyrus and the king made the team quite popular, on the streets of the kingdom capital, the name "Team guardian" was on the lips of everyone. Some spoke of them excitedly, shocked by the team''s strength while the others spoke of them with hints of disdain in their tone. "A team from a little town like Briton dares to make trouble here in the capital? They must be tired of living""Those Bastards¡­. They dare act recklessly in the presence of our king?.... Someone has to teach them a lesson!" Curses coupled with hostile stares fell on Derik and the team as they walked through the streets of the capital. Even though these people were annoyed, no one dared to make a move. Their anger had hints of fear any time their eyes falls on Derik and Cyrus. Even Bronze ranked adventurers all bend a knee in the presence of the king, for them to be able to stand simply means they are in a higher realm. It''s a simple but accurate assessment. In this world power is everything, even if they refuse to respect Derik and Cyrus, they must at least fear them for their power. With gleaming broad smiles on their faces, the team walked through the busy streets of the capital not minding the curses and hostile stares thrown at them ............. The adventurers association License exam is a simple yet exercise that takes place every two years, in this case, only recruits who are selected by the association after the Inter class competitions can participate. The main aim of the event is quite similar to what all the recruit teams have been going through for over a year now, teamwork! During this year-long event, each team will be bombarded with various tasks quite similar to the tasks licensed adventurers take on. Risky and difficult are the only two words that can explain what these talented recruits have to go through but in the end, should they survive, these recruits will be awarded with something actually worth all the trouble they have gone through. This is where the actual training begins. In essence, no one can fail the adventurers association license exam. They can only die or survive. In the end, this exercise is to increase their experience and teamwork. Within that one year period when the exam is still on, these recruits are given special badges that provide a certain amount of protection and freedom from some laws. This also grants them special privileges in the kingdom so as to help facilitate their growth. Yes, cases, where recruits are found guilty of misusing these special privileges, are countless but then again, there are so many forces in the kingdom under the control of the Gyro family which are put in place to prevent unnecessary accidents. .....................¡­. Finally arriving at a bar located near the northeastern wall of the capital, Daemon finally let out a sigh of relief and glared at Derik and Cyrus seriously. From the expression on his face, the duo could tell that this young lady was blaming them for all the curses they had to endure on their way here. Shrugging off the thoughts that raced through their heads they shifted their gazes to the four-story building which had a bold sign "KINGDOM PUB". The four-story stone building looks so plain that Derik and the rest wondered if they were at the right place. The glass windows were tinted preventing those outside from seeing what was going on inside and for some unknown reason, the place seemed to be awfully quiet "Are you sure we are in the right place?" Derik asked Karl who has been silently staring at the map in his hands for over a minute now with a confused expression on his face. "I''m pretty sure this is the place¡­ The sign also proves that but I really find it hard to believe that this place is ranked number two amongst all bars in the kingdom... Like¡­ It''s seriously empty!!!" Karl exclaimed with an annoyed expression on his face. Cyrus and Kira remained silent while observing this building thoroughly. The pub was not like any other building which was built next to the streets of the capital. No! This building was not inferior in any way when compared to the homes of the nobles in Briton. Even the compound where the building was larger than that of the nobles back in their home town. There were numerous gardens that surrounded various stone sculptures which looked strange. Even though these sculptures have irregular shapes, town is something about it that caught the attention of everyone passing by. The pub was located at the extreme of the compound which was surrounded by 20 meter tall stone walls. On these walls were strange symbols that gave out faint calm energy. The remaining unoccupied pieces of land in the compound were covered with lush green grass which further helped to beautify the place and a stone water fountain was located at the center of everything. Even the Lockwood family compound can not compare to this! Before they could gain access to this wonderful place they had present their special badges to the mid-level bronze ranked guards at the gate since they are underage. Not planning on wasting any time further, Cyrus and Kira stepped forward and pushed the massive wooden doors open. The team was soon greeted by sounds of over a hundred people chatting, mixed with sounds of booming music. For over a minute, the team was rooted to that spot, dazed for a while. How is this possible? Wasn''t the place silent just a while ago? How did these people manage to achieve something so amazing, blocking out all forms of sound in a room by just shutting the door? Magic! That is the only answer!... "Are you kids planning to stand there all day long?... If you don''t plan on entering I might as well throw you all out" A deep voice brought them back to life. They looked up and saw 2 hefty and macho men staring at them. These men were topless showcasing their bulging muscles and their cold gazes were more menacing than they insanely muscular bodies. While the mages in the team were petrified with fear by what they saw, Donald calmly took a few steps forward and smiled. "This is our first time here¡­ I hope you can forgive our reckless actions" Donald apologized. This stunned the other members of the team even further. Donald actually apologized to someone. Donald can be regarded as the most arrogant and member of the team who looked down on everyone, his teammates included! Seeing him apologize, these recruits were dazed for a while as they stared at their friend. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 70 Chapter 70: Phase Two 2 Seated on a couch the shape of an arc, decorated with leopard skin and a wooden desk placed at the center of the arc, the team watched Donald converse with the bouncers stationed at the entrance of the ''KINGDOM PUB'' high spirited. "Is he gay?" Derik whispered to the rest of the team while glaring at Donald from afar suspiciously. His eyes narrowed and he silently swore to beat the truth out of him the moment he returns "I hope not¡­. He can''t be¡­. Can he? Gin was terrified as he occasionally glanced at Donald. Come on, they have been with this guy for over a year now. If he was gay they should have known this by now. Cyrus and Kira wiped the sweat off their foreheads with their clothes and focused their attention on Derik and the rest. They didn''t have the guts to look at this mysterious person they use to call their friend. "If our suspicion is correct then our lives are at stake" Karl finally spoke after meditating silently for a while. He looked worn out and wore a bitter smile on his face whenever he looked at Donald who was happily chatting with two muscular men they met just a few minutes ago. Donald suddenly seemed to notice their gazes and quickly waved at them with a broad smile on his face. "He smiled and waved? Like¡­ what the f##k" Derik cried in despair, he could see the other guys sweating profusely already. Their complexions turned pale as they tried to decipher the meaning behind the wave and smile, pondering on this seriously. Daemon who has been silently observing everyone for a while now decided to speak "Don''t you guys think you''re reading too much meaning into this?... He''s just happy to see these well-endowed guys¡­." Daemons'' voice trailed off as she spoke. She shrugged repeatedly in a bid to push away the nasty thoughts popping up in her head and after a while, she spoke again "Well¡­ you guys are screwed" she laughed out loud Derik covered his face with his palms and lamented while Daemon who was sitting beside him tried to console him. The others wore a sorrowful expression on their faces as they called over a waiter to serve them wine. "What are you guys doing?... That''s too much¡­ you shouldn''t let Daemon drink too much" Donald''s voice echoed from behind. His glanced at everyone seated around the wooden round table for a while before taking a seat BANG! Suddenly, everyone recklessly rushed to the other side of the arc-shaped couch with weird expressions on their faces, knocking over a few items wooden cups filled with red wine on the way. Their bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Donald, while Derik and Gin looked at him suspiciously, the others simple shook their head repeatedly with a disappointed expression on their faces. "I once thought highly of you man¡­ how could you betray the team this way!" Gin cried out "Yeah man¡­ I''m really disappointed in you" Derik consoled Gin as he spokeHearing these guys statements Donald was sure of one thing, Derik and the others are drunk. But this didn''t stop him from feeling puzzled by their statements. So he decided to ask "What are guys talking about? And seriously.. You guys drank too much!"Bam! Slamming his fist on the wooden round table, Karl stood up and growled at Donald with his swollen reddish face which looked like it would burst at any moment "Don''t you dare change the topic! You betrayed the family man¡­ You¡­." Karl was stopped by Kira and Cyrus who silently consoled him while furiously gazing at Donald. Donald was shocked by these people''s attitude towards him and started wondering how many jars of wine they have downed before he arrived. He started regretting his decision to chat with those guards, letting his careless kids do as they please. He was about to act but what he heard next caught him off guard "You don''t have to worry too much, it''s not your fault you find macho men attractive¡­. Everyone has his or her own taste¡­ it will only take some time for these guys to accept you for who you are¡­ You don''t have to think too much about it" Daemon said while wearing a seductive smile her face. Hearing her words, Donald picked an empty wooden cup and filled it with red wine from one of the wooden jars. After downing the first cup in one go, he sighed as he refilled the cup once again and was about to drink but then he was interrupted by a voice¡­"Hey, I know you guys¡­ this¡­ this is team guardian!!!" a brown-haired kid roared. Judging based on the quality of the teenager''s dress he could tell that this guy is a commoner from a small town just like Briton. Upon hearing the word ''team guardian'', everyone''s attention on the first floor was fixed on Donald and the rest of the team. Not even bothering to check them out, Donald kept drinking, not sparing them a glance. BAM!! The brown-haired teenager slammed his fist on the round wooden table, glaring at Donald with bloodshot eyes and a mischievous smile "If we rough you guys up here a little in the name of the king, we will end up in the good books of the king when he hears of our deeds¡­ this is nothing personal ¡­ Ooh and thank you, if these two weren''t drunk, I wouldn''t have dared to act¡­ I''m truly lucky today" the kid whispered to Donald while pointing at Derik and Cyrus "Hmph!... You don''t have the ability¡­ If you go against me now¡­ don''t blame me for being merciless" Donald said indifferently "Hahahaha!!! Just you¡­ against us!" the teen said, pointing at the rest of his team standing behind him¡­"Don''t you think you''re being too cocky?" He laughed Shaking his head repeatedly, Donald looked at the boy who was less than two meters away from him and said"Well then¡­ let''s find out" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 71 Chapter 71: Let me show you why! Donald''s eyebrows knitted as he considered all the possible outcomes of the possible actions he may take now. Causing trouble in this bar will only increase the hate people hate towards them. Also, taking action without the consent of other members of the team even though they will be affected by this action indirectly is incredibly selfish. His eyes remained fixed on this brown haired kid who stood right was obviously waiting for him to make the first move. From the boy''s fist which was planted on the table, cold chilly aura followed out, confirming his suspicion. If he doesn''t act, Team guardians will be branded cowards and weaklings and the reputation they have struggled so hard to gather will instantly pummel to the ground. If he does take action, the remaining members of the opposing team will have the right to attack and they will also be branded as savages¡­ But at least they will be feared. Wasn''t that the reason why they are here? That''s the main aim of the second phase of their plan, to prove that every member of the team is quite capable. Derik and Cyrus have proved their strength in the event with the king. If the whole team attacked these guys and they win, people will just assume that their team was just slightly stronger than their opponent''s team. But if he is able to defeat a team, all alone. That should be enough to showcase his power to these people. Either way, he''s helping the team complete the second phase of the plan, showing the world that everyone in the team is as capable and badass as Derik and Cyrus. "Well then¡­. Daemon¡­ can you lend me a weapon from your shadow storage?" Donald leaned forward towards the red faced Daemon. "You Dare atta¡­." BAM! Before the brown haired kid could finish speaking, Donald''s strong first struck his chest. This time, Donald''s incredible strength was showcased to the maximum as the boy was sent flying with just a single punch. Daemon who seemed to be oblivious of what was going on kept smiling at Donald and said "Don''t be too naughty" Instantly her shadow expanded and a plain looking dagger flew out of the shadow into Donald''s hand. Seeing this Donald frowned slightly but shrugged off the thought. It was a gamble, the assassin is drunk, in fact, he was even surprised that the girl even responded to his request. Even if this dagger isn''t the kind of weapon he makes use of, it should be enough to take down these amateurs. Wielding a dagger with his right hand, Donald stood up and walked towards the other members of the opposing team with a broad smile on his face. "Let me show you all why I was called the number one rookie of Briton!!!" He roared and lunged forward Taking a step forward, a youth with short purple hair chanted something inaudibly. His purple robes fluttered as the wind as he spoke and a thin translucent purple barrier appeared between his team and Donald. The barrier was in the form of a wall spamming from the entrance of the pub to the stairs leading to the high levels of the building, slicing all the tables in its way in two. "Haaaaa!!!" Donald roared not having any intentions of backing away. Gripping the hilt of the dagger with both hands, his muscles began bulging and the blade of the dagger trembled as it released faint white energy. *Low level Bronze combat technique: Slash!* "Break!!!!" Donald''s eyes turned bloodshot as he roared and struck forward! Tink!Tink!! Tink!!! Booom!At first, it seemed as if the purple barrier would hold but after the third strike, a visible web like crack suddenly appeared on the body of the purple transculent wall. Before the purple haired sorcerer could react to it, the fourth attack hit the barrier. The shockwave blew everyone anywhere 10 meters of Donald away. While the other members of the opposing team tried to recover from the shockwave, Donalds figure suddenly blurred and vanished *Low level Bronze level combat technique: Haste* Reappearing above on the fallen body of the sorcerer, Donald wore a sinister smile on his face as he shoved his hand into the purple haired youths'' mouth and then drove the dagger deep into the shoulder of the youth. Knowing that weapons are not allowed in the PUB, he didn''t have to worry about the physical class members of the team too much. Leaving the sorcerer to scream and shudder in pain and fear, he dashed towards two members of the opposing team, the lady was putting on a white gown while the was a black haired guy with dimples all over his face. He wore a simple white shirt and brown trousers. If Donald didn''t pay enough attention to this guy he would have mistaken him as a normal civilian but the little streaks of magic aura that escaped his body exposed him. It was obvious this guy has been trying to suppress and hid his magic aura but he wasn''t really good at it. "The Oracle and Enchanter will go down next!!!" Donald roared and laughed hysterically. Covering over 10 meters in an instant, he was just a second away from his target when two figures appeared in front of his targets. Considering they above average physiques, Donald could tell these guys were from the archery class and assassin class. Not daring to hold back, his hands trembled and gave out a faint white glow. *Low level Bronze combat technique: Slash!!* "You''re in my way¡­. Move!!!" Donald roared as he struck at the archer and assassin immediately. "Impossible!" the archer cried "He''s using such a dangerous technique on his own body¡­ monster!" The assassin cried Booom! Booom! Crack!! Sounds of breaking bones echoed in the room as the two bodies were sent flying by just a single punch from Donald. Their eyes turned white and blood flowed out from their nostrils and mouth the moment they hit the ground. Donald''s eyes twitched in pain as he deactivated the technique and looked as his bloodied fists. [Truly, these techniques are not meant to be used on the human body] he thought. He glanced at the oracle and encounter who had managed to increase the distance between them thanks to the little space their teammates created for them. They had already begun chanting but before Donald could continue his assault he heard heavy footsteps approaching from the side Thud!Thud! Thud! Shifting his attention to the humongous, muscular figure which was over 6ft tall dashing towards him, Donald gritted his teeth and his eyebrows knitted due to pain as he reactivated the combat technique again *Low level Bronze combat technique: Slash* With a roar, he dashed forward again and struck forward with both hands which were shrouded in white aura¡­ BOOOM!!!! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 72 Chapter 72: Mid Level Bronze Combat technique Donald''s body moved so fast that it left after images behind as he moved, arriving in front of his target in just a second. "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!" He roared and the white energy in his fist glowed violently, as he struck forward with both hands. Booooom!!!! "W¡­ what!" Donald gasped. Even after striking out with his full strength he still couldn''t make this man retreat even by an inch. Bam! Bam! Retreating by a few steps while wincing in pain, Donald clutched his chest where he had just been hit by the man and took a few steps back. With only one eye open as he struggled to deal with the pain, Donald gazed upon this mountain of a man who seemed to be in his mid twenties. The guy had perfect light brown skin and well defined and bulging abdominal muscles and muscular features. He was bald and had bushy eyebrows. Donaldpracticallyy had to look up to see the face of this god sent guardian knight recruit. He wondered how this man had remained hidden from the very beginning, blending in perfectly with everyone in the pub. If he saw this man from the very start, he probably wouldn''t have attacked this group."Under the protection of my Skin of Iron combat technique¡­ your attacks are useless¡­ what is your name child? defeating the other members of this team swiftly is no small feat... You''re truly talented¡­ but unfortunately, you met me!" The deep voice of this man echoed in the room after which a deadly silence followed. Everyone''s eyes were on Donald to see the way he would react to this. Glancing around the room carefully, Donald wished these bouncers at the entrance of the pub would just interfere and stop the fight now, but seeing the neutral expressions on their faces, he knew that wasn''t going to happen. He also noticed that a huge space has been made around him and the combatants and everyone was gazing at them with eyes full of expectations. From this, he instantly understood that fights were allowed in this pub, unlike those in Briton. With a sigh, his eyes quickly shifted to Derik and the rest of the team who should be drunk. Even though their faces were still red, their eyes were vigilant and with a slight, almost unnoticeable nod from Kira, he heaved a sigh of release knowing that the team had his back. His charming, yet arrogant smile returned to his face and he took a few steps forward. Remembering his objective, he decided to use this golden opportunity to further boost the reputation of their team which they named ''Guardians'' "You dare challenge a member of team guardian? You must be tired of living¡­. Since you arrogant fools are still oblivious If the power gap between us, I''ll be glad to show you¡­" Donald''s voiced mysteriously deepened as he spoke. His footsteps became heavy and his body size slowly but steadily increased¡­ His eyes turned bloodshot and his muscles and bright green veins began bulging under the strenuous transformation. The ground beneath his feet trembled greatly and visible web like cracks slowly took shape and yet, during the transformation, his slim fit black shirt and trousers didn''t rip. Instead, they steadily expanded with him and this shocked everyone present. For someone to acquire such high quality magical clothes shows that their backgrounds are not normal. *Mid level Bronze combat technique: Bulk up* "Now then¡­ I will make you understand that each and every member of team Guardian are top tier recruits and a single member of this great team is worth more than a complete team of seven recruits!!!" Donald roared. Now that the transformation is complete, his body size increased two fold and he was at a level where he could look down on the 6ft tall guardian knight in front of him. His hands coiled up to a first and he quickly struck at the brown skinned guardian knight who was still dazed by what he saw. But no one could blame him, even the bouncers at the entrance of the pub were slightly shocked by Donald''s sudden transformation. Everyone present was shocked by this sudden transformation, in the opinion, it is nearly impossible for a recruit to possess a mid level bronze combat technique that can instantly boost the overall physical capability without any adverse effects. Like what the hell? His body shouldn''t be able to contain such power at this stage! After the adventurer''s license exam, those that are lucky enough to survive are then subjected to 3 years of intense training where they are though both the basic and advanced knowledge a warrior should possess. It is during this time that refinement techniques are presented to guardian knights to enable them to withstand the power of high level physique improvement combat techniques. Right now, no recruit should be able to withstand the side effects of mid level bronze physical capabilities boosting combat techniques. Especially not a recruit from a little town like Briton!Donald could understand their chain of thoughts and only sneered in response as he watched the supposedly solid wall, mountain of a man who was stood before him fall to the ground, spitting out a mouth full of blood Bam! Crack! Donald gazed at Cyrus briefly with traces or respect and gratitude in his eyes before he returned his attention to the members of this team who dared to oppose him with a satisfied smile on his face. The first time he tried to make use of this combat technique was during the inter class competition when he fought against the flame beast of the battlemage class, Karl. Back then, this combat technique had devastated his body leaving him with stretch marks and numerous scars on his body, this even led to him being in a weakened state for a while. After the exam, after the team was formed and after the Salvor family incident. For one year straight, apart from his normal rigorous body training, he kept using this combat technique even though he knew the consequences of doing so and with every time he did so, he was left in a seriously bloodied state and completely weakened. And with Cyrus''s help, his injuries were completely head. This painful process continued for over a year and now he has the chance to show off the benefits of his hard work why stop? The human body can adapt to anything and thanks to his determination and hard work, his body was able to completely adapt to the power of the combat technique in just a year. Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! With his chest puffed up with pride and an arrogant smile on his face, Donald took heavy steps the injured bald guardian knight whose injured chest seemed to be healing. Wait! What?! "Low level Bronze technique: Fast Heal!" The girl in a white gown muttered "Low level Bronze reinforcement technique: Reinforce!!" The enchanter of the team screamed and a faint glow of red transculent light appeared around the bald guardian knight "Barrier magic: Body enforcer* The sorcerer who still had a dagger stuck in his shoulder weakly spoke up"Frost magic: Frost Aura!!" The brown haired kid who Donald knocked away from the beginning spat out blood as he spokeThe bald man slowly got on his feet with a confident look on his face, all over his body were numerous mysterious and colorful powers that swirled around him. The temperature around him dropped drastically and with each step, he took the ground beneath his feet seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice"I''m must confess you are more powerful than any of us predicted but that doesn''t mean you can take us all out¡­ You may possess a mid level bronze combat technique and I don''t know how you''re able to use it at this level but I must tell you this¡­ When our powers are combined even you can not defeat us¡­" After saying this, the bald man took a fighting style and roared "Low level Bronze combat technique: Skin of Iron!""Low Level Bronze combat technique: Increase!" After saying those words, his complexion got darker and it seemed as if his body was made of steel. His body size soon increased and his muscles began bulging as well! Under the effect of the numerous bronze combat techniques poured on him, he gave off an aura almost as terrifying as that of Donald. At this point, those watching wondered if this was a fight between recruits or bronze level adventurers! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 73 Chapter 73: Little Gyro Donald seemed confused as he stared at the bald guardian knight recruit prepare for a long and bitter battle. He gazed at this man for a few seconds and then rolled his eyes. Shifting his attention to Derik and the other members of the team, he saw that they too were confused by these man''s weird words and actions. What did he mean by that? Does he really believe that a poor combination of multiple low leveled Bronze combat techniques can compare with Donald''s mid level Bronze combat technique? Like hell, even Kira and Karl would put in their all if they wish to match Donald in his current form, yet this bald bastard dares to mock him with such a statement? "Cripple him!" Cyrus was the one who spoke out first and was also the one annoyed the most. He spent a great portion of his power and time in the past year trying to help save Donald who was always in a critical condition for a full year, yet this person dared to talk down at him in this manner. It''s like saying an unsheathed sword is as sharp as a sheathed sword. Why would someone make sure a hasty decision when he is yet to see the blade of the sheathed sword before comparing. The same can be related to this situation now, ever since Donald entered this form, he was yet to reveal a fraction of the power that this form grants yet these people dare compare him to the bald guardian knight recruit who was obviously pumping out all the power in him. This false speculation vexed Cyrus to the core. It was like saying he wasted a year, helping his team cultivate a power that can be easily toppled by a few low leveled bronze combat techniques. SUCH INSOLENCE! With a nod, Donald walked towards the bald haired man. His eyes were cold as he approached and it seemed like he was the only one in the room "If you can stand take my next attack standing¡­ I''ll admit defeat" Donald said indifferently. Hearing his words, the bald guardian knight nodded and roared, instantly his strength skyrocketed and his aura doubled. His companions roared as well, pouring more mana into their spells, increasing his power even further. The man''s figure was soon shrouded in multiple colored energies and his voice echoed across the room "Come!!!!" Everyone watching was shaken by the sudden development and soon stood up with their drinks in their hands while they moved farther from the combatants. Seeing this sudden outburst of power from this strange team, Donald only raised an eyebrow but his expression remained stiff. He kept walking towards the bald guardian knight steadily and when he was just a few meters away from him his right hand began trembling as powerful faint light energy escaped from it and soon shrouded his fist completely. "Wai¡­." As the target of the attack, the bald guardian knight suddenly felt the cruel blade of the grim reapers scythe on his throat and he quickly cried out but before he could finish his words, Donald''s figure had already vanished, reappearing right in front of him "Shatter!!" Donald roared and punched out Crack! Crack!! Crack!!! BOOOOM!!!!! Numerous glass shattering sounds occurred first as all the forms of defensive measures placed around his body quickly shattered as soon as Donalds first came in contact with them. The bald guardian knight soon spat out a mouthful of blood as soon as the punch broke through his skin of iron defense and struck is abdomen.It happened so fast yet it seemed so slow to everyone. The skin around the guardian knights abdomen soon caved in and Donald''s enormous fist left its shape on his belly. Next, his body shot back like an arrow, knocking over the oracle and enchanter who were standing not too far behind. His body then crashed into the stairs leading to the higher levels of the pub, creating a shallow crater, the shape of the bald guardian knights body. The room fell silent after this and everyone present stared at Donald like as if he was a monster "Monster!... All members of team guardians are monsters!" The first person to speak was the brown haired kid who roared and an icy blue ice lance appeared next to him. *Ice magic: Ice Lance!!!* Swoooosh! Grabbing on to the spear, the brown haired ice mage roared and lunged towards Donald with vicious and malicious intentions "Scram!!!" Donald roared and simply flung his hand carelessly into the air in the kid''s direction, creating a shockwave that shattered ice lance and also blew the boy away. Being a mage with little physical capabilities and poor physique, he instantly passed out! Seeing this, the purple haired sorcerer''s eyes turned bloodshot and blood rolled down his nostrils as he flung his hands forward and roared "Barrier magic: Crystal Cube!!!" Immediately after a purple cube shaped barrier erected around Donald "Crush!!!" The purple haired youth screamed with a crazed expression on his face. Unexpectedly, the cube shaped barrier started shrinking. A cold smile appeared on Donald''s face when he realized the intentions of this kid. "ENOUGH!!!" Donald roared with a clenched fist and he punched up! Bam! Crack!! Boooom!!!The barrier instantly shattered and the purple haired mage''s eyes suddenly turned white and he promptly passed out. A satisfied smile appeared on the faces of Derik and the other members of the team. Placing a silver coin on the wooden round table, Karl stood up and spoke "I guess it''s time to go" Nodding in approval, the others promptly stood up and walked up to Derik who had returned to his normal form but looked a little pale and sweaty. Seeing his clothes also adjusted to when he shrank back to his normal form, Derik was stunned. A cloth that could adjust to someone''s body size, Magic! "How much did you say you had to pay to get these?" Derik asked The others simply laughed and glanced around briefly and smiled, everyone seemed to tongue tied by Donald''s performance. "I''m a little drained now¡­ I need to recover my strength¡­ let''s leave here" Donald said with a serious expression on his face The others nodded and quickly started heading to the door but then light footsteps were heard from behind. Coming from the stairs which led to the higher levels of the building. "Don''t tell me you''re planning to leave without giving me a chance to vent out my frustration, team Guardian" a voice could be heard from that direction Hearing his words, Derik and the rest of the team stopped and looked towards the direction of the stairs with expectant eyes. As soon as the figure appeared a cry was heard from someone in the room "Crap!! It''s Lil Gyro!!!" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 74 Chapter 74: Peak Five star rated magic! BAM! The body of the man who screamed ''Lil Gyro'' instantly smashed into the table next to him, turning into meat paste. Seeing this, the weakened Donald took a step back and the rest of the team took a few steps forward, hiding their weakened comrade behind them with their bodies. "You are?" Cyrus said nonchalantly as his eyes drifted from the meat paste of a man to the teenager responsible.This teenager had crimson red hair and iris with fairly light skin. Over 5ft tall and looked like someone in his early 10''s, probably 15. He wore a normal red shirt and red trousers with a blood red long sleeved jacket which had a golden ''G'' crest which represented the name Gyro, used to identify the members of the royal family. All over his palms were strange symbols made with darkish purple paint and some sort of foreign and unnatural energy leaked from these symbols. "Are you dumb? Doesn''t this crest mean something to you?" The Red haired boy spoke. At this time, six more figured appeared behind him but remained quiet. Turning to the rest of the team, Cyrus looked at them for a while with a confused expression on his face "Do you know this guy?" Cyrus askedDerik sighed and looked at him once again before answering "Nope never heard of him¡­" BOOOM!!!! Along with the two muscular guards, seven other figures were suddenly pulled out of the room by some mysterious force. Suddenly a pink hair brown skinned lady adorned with a pink mage robe dashed out of the kingdom pub to meet Derik and the other members of the team who were still recovering from the surprise attack. Her eyes were bloodshot and her murderous intentions were not hidden as she stared at Derik and the others "You dare speak to young master Kuen in such a manner? You must be tired of living" She roared. Thrusting her hand towards the sky, an unknown force suddenly pulled them up into the sky, leaving them suspended in mid air. "Grovel and ask for the young lord''s forgiveness and maybe I''ll let you leave this place with only a few broken limbs" The pink haired lady sneered Surprisingly, Derik and the rest remained calm and contemplated on what to do, this new team possesses mysterious powers which allows them to manipulate gravity. At least the pink haired girl and the red haired guy possess such abilities, the other five remained unknown. Derik pondered on what to do for just a second while considering Donald''s condition. "Karl!" He said with a casual smile on his face Wooooosh! With a nod, a fire spear suddenly materialized beside him and then dashed towards the girl. Shocked and afraid the girl rolled to the side to evade the spear. Seeing this a sinister smile appeared on the face of Karl and he spoke "Don''t you dare think of getting away!... Fire magic: Homing fire spear!!!" As soon as he said this, the spear did a complete U turn and struck the girl from behind and her screams alerted those inside the pub who were expecting her to return with good news With the girl badly injured, her spell was broken and Derik, with the rest of the team and the two muscular men, fell to the ground. Grabbing on to Donald, Daemons figure completely vanished and only her words could be heard as she left"We can''t expose Donald to any more danger¡­ I''ll be sure to take him somewhere safe¡­ Give these guys a sound beating for me!" She voiced trailed off as her body vanished into thin air. But before that, her shadow expanded and two weapons shot out of it. Gin grabbed on to his blue magic sword while Derik quickly grabbed on to his bow and arrow. They had to admit this shadow storage ability of Daemon was like a God like cheat for them. No matter where they are, as long as this girl was by their side they have nothing to fear. Sounds of roars and footsteps drew the attention of Derik and the rest of the team. While they waited for their foes to approach, the two muscular bouncers slipped away, not daring to enrage these important figures that have chosen to attack Deriks little recruit team. In their eyes, Derik and the rest of the team are done for. Even if they won this fight, they will be forever targeted by the King. The pink haired lady looked pale and sweaty as she struggled to get her feet. "Hahahahaha! You are done for¡­ You dare attack a faithful servant of this young master? Hahaha! Even the gods can not save you now!" she sneered at them.Pissed by this girl''s crappy attitude, Gin''s light blue eyes suddenly lit up and his body was suddenly covered in a light blue aura. "Silence!!!" He roared and swung his sword releasing a light blue arc of energy. "A magic weapon! No! Please! Aaaaahhhhhh!!!" The pink haired girl was suddenly terrified of this attack and desperately tried to escape from it. Suddenly a figure flew out of the Kingdom pub dashing towards the great blue arc of energy fearlessly"Mid Level Bronze combat technique: Rhinos charge!!!" He roaredInstantly a faint blue aura appeared around him and took the shape of a rhino BOOOM! The teenagers body was sent flying after he collided with the blue arc of energy. Before his body hit the ground it suddenly suspended in mid air and 5 people walked out of the Kingdom pub with solemn expressions on their face. The one with red hair seemed to be enraged and he suddenly started approaching Deriks team "You all are as arrogant as my father claimed¡­ You dare harm two members of my team¡­ only through death can you atone for your sins!!!"Kuen roared as he approached Derik and the rest suddenly felt a powerful force pulling them to the ground, with each step the red haired mage took, the greater the force became. Soon only Derik was standing while the others were already on their knees. Yes! Derik had to admit that this power is really something but the enhanced strength his wolf side grants him could withstand this level of force. His eyes caught the slight change in Kira''s expression, so he decided to take the initiative and ask "What are we dealing with here?""This!..." Kira gritted his teeth in anger as he kept staring at Kuen with an astonished expression on his face "This is a peak 5 star magic¡­ Gravity magic!!!" He exclaimed! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 75 Chapter 75: Guardians verses Gyro Derik''s expression bore complicated expressions as he stared at Kuen''s figure in disbelief for a while before speaking. "How is that possible?... I never heard anything concerning gravity amongst the guardian spirits¡­ How can this guy have magic that goes beyond the natural powers that created this world?... If the all mighty guardian spirits are stuck at the peak of 3 star magic, how did this nobody jump to five star?" He muttered He took a deep breath and started walking towards Kuen with a casual smile on his face. With both sides approaching the other steadily, even Kuen was shocked by the stunning strength Derik was displaying. [When did archers get this strong? With such monstrous strength this guy can easily rank amongst the top tier guardian knight recruits in the kingdom¡­] he thought Derik saw the puzzled look on Kuen''s face and chose to reply "The bow feels more intimate than the sword¡­ it''s just that simple" He laughed Hearing this Kuen frowned slightly and sneered "So much potential, it''s a shame you will die today!" "Hahahaha! Die? Who''s gonna kill me? You? I''m very sorry to say this but you''re not qualified to utter such nonsense to me" Derik said coldly.He crouched slightly and was preparing to pounce on Kuen but a human size ball of golden energy blew past him, heading straight to kuen "Life magic: Holy bolt!" Cyrus'' cold voice could be heard. Seeing the size of the attack, Kuen and the other members of his team soon fell into despair! They wondered how a recruit could possibly produce such a destructive force, a non combatant class at that."Light magic: Light barrier!" A girl adorned in white robes which also bore the Gyro family crest hurriedly cast her spell. Immediately a translucent white wall of energy appeared in front of the team BOOOM! CRACK!! CRACK!!! "Aaaah!! Light magic: Light sphere!" She cried out, clearly frightened by the power the ball of holy light which Cyrus threw at them possessed. BOOOM! CRACK!!CRACK!!! The expressions of everyone on Gyro''s team darkened when numerous web like cracks appeared on the dome of light. It was obvious that this barrier could fall at any moment and they will have to taste the full power of the ball of light. Even though Kuen possessed a peak five star magic, at his current level he can only save himself and let his team suffer or he can pour in all his mana into one technique that will definitely save them but leave them vulnerable and he was a hundred percent sure that Deriks team will definitely not be kind enough to let them go without a thorough beating.As he contemplated on this will secretly cursing Gin for taking out their guardian knight with the magic weapon a voice was heard from behind "Don''t bother yourself too much young master¡­ Let me handle this" The guardian knight who was blown away a few seconds ago suddenly spoke with a weak tone. His face was pale and covered in sweat, it was obvious he was pushing himself this far because of his respect for his young master. Kuen was reluctant as well but when he heard another cracking sound from the light barrier he hastily agreed. "Hanzo¡­ support Heikei with the best fortification spells in your arsenal¡­ Rue, once the ball of light is destroyed prioritize on healing Heikei and Sindy with the best healing spells you have¡­ while that happens, Juzo, Kaien and I will keep these bastards distracted¡­ Do you all understand?" Kuen quickly said out the plan for his team with a confident look on his face. Both hands were shoved into his pocket as he spoke while his backing the huge ball of life energy which threatened to destroy the light barrier. This cool and confident attitude of Kuen Gyro was one of the main reasons his subordinates admired him greatly. His high intellect and wisdom in battle always allowed him to come up with solutions to sticky situations and his nonchalant and confident attitude towards danger made always raised the morale of everyone present. "We understand¡­ young master" All the members of the Gyro team fell on one knee and answered as one. Seeing this, a smile appeared on Kuen''s face and he turned his attention to the ball of life energy with a confident smile on his face¡­"Heikei¡­ Hanzo¡­ get ready¡­ Rue¡­ when their preparations are done... Quickly down the barrier and start the healing process" Kuen said. Immediately, Heike appeared in front of the team and took a deep breath before screaming "Mid level Bronze Secret technique: Gorrila''s strength!!" He roared and faint streaks of blue energy escaped his body quickly taking the shape of a gorilla! Instantly Heikei''s slightly above average physique suddenly changed. His muscles began bulging and his body mass slightly increased while his skin colour darkened. With bloodshot eyes, he gazed at Hanzo and nodded, giving him the go ahead sign. "Mid level Bronze Enhancement technique: Steel!" Hanzo roared and a streak of yellow energy escaped his body and slowly covered Heikei. The yellow aura soon solidified and formed a thin yet durable layer of armor around Heikei''s body and at that very moment the light barrier shattered BOOOOM!!! The shockwave from the collision forced everyone to retreat, leaving Heikei who desperately struggled with the ball of light energy. His bloodshot eyes glowed brighter and his muscles kept expanding, eventually ripping his shirt to shreds. And with an ear piercing cry, he tore the ball of life energy in twoBOOOOM!! "Team Gyro!... Move out!!" Kuren roared Instantly, Juzo and kaien, the archer and assassin of the team dashed towards Derik and the rest with murderous intentions. "Let us show you¡­ the power of team Gyro!!!!!" Kuen who was literally flying towards them with his hands in his pockets roared. The gravity suppression on them had already been released the moment Cyrus attacked Kuen, with ferocious expressions on their faces, Derik and the others charged at Kuen''s team with ill intentions with Cyrus leading the charge! ........The two teams battled viciously below, oblivious of the two figures which blended with the clouds very well. "This¡­." An elderly man spoke "Don''t worry... We can always interfere¡­ let us just observe for a little while longer¡­ I have this feeling that Team Guardian has a lot of secrets¡­ we may get to see something today'' He said Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com www.webnovel.com for visiting. 76 Chapter 76: Guardians versus Gyro 2 Wooosh! Wooosh!! Woooosh!!! Wearing a dejected expression on his face, Gin watched Kaien evade the two arcs of blue energy. His face had almost gone pale and his face was covered in sweat. His hazy vision soon fell on Hanzo with pure hostile intentions and he silently cursed who used a mid level bronze enchantment technique boost the mobility of these guys. He had already poured in a huge chunk of mana and Constitution into the numerous blue arc energy attacks if this continues this way, the possibility of him lasting for over a minute is slim. At this moment he regretted not focusing on the role which all enchanters are meant to play! At this point, he realized the weakness of this team which they gloated amongst themselves is and will become the greatest of all time. Not everyone was playing his role perfectly! Yes, it is an added advantage when the supposedly non combatant class members of a team are capable of defending themselves or even lending a hand in the battle if needed but theirs was completely different from others. He and Cyrus are meant to be the enchanter and healer/support type of the team! As an enchanter, his weapon is not only to increase the overall strength of their team by enchanting their tools, thereby giving them some added effects. Also, Enchanters specialize in enhancement spells which boost both the physical and magical capabilities of a team which drastically increases the overall strength of a team in a battle. This is something Gin completely lacks knowledge of!As for Oracles, they are meant to serve alongside the enchanter, tending to the injured while casting protective barrier spells which will help reduce the burden on the other members of the team in a battle. These two classes are regarded as the backbone of any team Yet, it seemed as if their team has thrown away caution and made everyone a fighter. A normal enchanter and oracle will instinctively attempt to support their teammates when a fight breaks out but this is quite different for Cyrus and Gin. Once a fight breaks out, they would instinctively pick up their weapons and dashing into the frontlines. This is a fault Gin noticed in this battle and was quite thankful to Kuen for revealing such a big fault in their team, promising himself to speak on this matter with the other members of the team when this is all over A cold glint flashed in his eyes as a nasty thought strode across his mind, a cold and sinister smile appeared on his face but only for a second, vanishing before anyone could notice "Haaaaaahhhhh!!!!!" Gin suddenly roared and his body was promptly shredded in dense blue aura making it impossible for Kaien to actually know who he was aiming at. Seeing that Gin was preparing what seemed to be a final attack, Kaien silently sneered while preparing to evade this attack, toll oblivious of Gin''s true intentions. Initially, he planned to tire Gin out slowly, only attacking when he was sure the side effects of using a magic weapon kicks in. But things have changed at this moment, if Gin plans to use a large scale energy attack, it may be extremely difficult to evade for any recruit if not impossible but as a member of the assassin class he had confidence in his powerful feet. If there is a recruit that can evade such a powerful large scale attack, it''s him!"Mid Level bronze Combat technique: Swift!""Low level bronze combat technique: Light feet" Kaien roared and the size of his legs suddenly increased, muscles bulging and green veins popping out. Soon his body looked out of proportion with his lower half being significantly bigger than his upper half. "Bring it" Kaien roared Booooooooooooooooom! An explosion occurred the moment all the energy gathered towards the blade of the magic sword Tink! Tink!! Tink!!! Screech!!!! The blade of the magic weapon released an ear piercing cry as the blade twisted and turned uncontrollably. Seeing this, Kaien''s expression darkened and he unconsciously took a step back. He refused to believe that a recruit without the backing of a powerful force such as the royal family can attain this much control over a magic weapon, even if it''s bronze level. Unknown to him, Gin''s family spent a fortune to acquire a complete knight magic armor set which he has been practicing with for years. Right now, Gin was the one with the largest mana reserves and the strongest constitution! "Vanish!!" Gin roared with bloodshot eyes. This time he didn''t wave the sword. No! He believed that will be too wasteful, immediately shifting the tip of the blade towards Hanzo, sindy and the two other none combatants, the enormous amount of energy stored in the blade was released in the form of a human size beam of dense blue energy which looked like it could effortlessly vanquish the heavens itself if given a chance. Seeing this Kaien''s confident smile quickly faded, replaced with a grim expression. He panicked! ...¡­ Derik looked frustrated as his attacks kept missing, he cursed the enchanter class member of this team who was able to cast a speed amplifying spell on Kuen, Kaien, and Juzo. If this wasn''t the case, this battle would have ended a long time ago. It became obvious that these guys were only planned on buying time for the other two combatants in their team to be healed while slowly wearing out Derik and the rest. Even Cyrus, Karl and Kira were not having much luck against Kuen. His skillful manipulation of the gravity made him a very difficult target to hit even though the there top tier magical class recruits ganged up against him. While the gravity around Cyrus and the others increased, the laws of gravity seemed to possess no power over Kuen who effortlessly flew like it was nothing. Coupled with the speed boost provides by the enchanter, his movements were swift, God like and refined. Even Karl was mesmerized by this young man''s performance and inwardly complimented him. The battle raged on for a while until the sudden spike in Gin''s power caught their attention. They quickly stopped fighting and turned to Gin who had just released a massive beam of blue energy towards Hanzo, Sindy and the other non combatants. "Are you insane!!!" Kuen panicked and instantly dashed towards the beam of light but it was already too late. Hanzo was already on his feet, with a troubled look as he waited the beam of blue energy to come. Judging from the expression on his face, anyone could tell that he wasn''t confident of stopping this attack. CRACK! At the last moment, a visible web like crack appeared in the space between Hanzo and the beam of blue light. Crack! Crack!! The torn space soon expanded, revealing a dark space with countless twinkling stars filled this void. Instantly the blue beam poured into this strange space and a domineering voice was heard from above "ENOUGH!!!" 77 Chapter 77: Kingdom Guardian, Kalos Two figures slowly emerged from the clouds and descended from the skies. One of them was a red haired youth adorned with a scarlet red robe with a golden G crest on it. He had a gentle smile on his face as his eyes swept across the once breathtaking compound of the kingdom pub which has been turned into a battlefield by two recruit teams "I''m not saying that what you all did is right, but this¡­ this is just breathtaking¡­ it is obvious if this Kalos didn''t interfere, this battle would have been over in a minute! The Guardians would have won! Magnificent, just amazing¡­ This team really has a lot of capable members" Gerald laughed and clapped his hands The white haired elderly man who should probably be in his late 70''s if not early 80''s nodded in agreement. If he didn''t stop the beam of blue light, Hanzo and the rest at the back would have been obliterated and after the support members of the team are defeated, the front liners will definitely follow shortly after. His pitch black eyes were fixed on Cyrus whose power level was at a stage that no recruit can reach. His eyes narrowed and it seemed as if he was searching for something. And after a while, he now spoke to Gerald "He found a way to pull out this much power but at a price¡­ he will soon fall into a weakened state, probably for a day. During this time he will be vulnerable and even a child armed with a knife can take his life" Kalos said Raising an eyebrow, Gerald pointed at Derik and asked "Three days ago this little guy released a terrifying dark aura but now I can''t even feel the slightest magical aura which all mages should possess from him¡­ it feels like he''s an actual archer¡­""I''m guessing he unlocked his magic powers later in life and his body is yet to get accustomed to his magic powers. His guardian spirit must have completely sealed his power, only releasing it when he actually needs it. Giving him a terrifying boost in power similar to that of the oracle in his team and just like the Oracle, he too will fall into a weakened state after utilizing this power for a while" Kalos explained "Huh? Guardian spirits!... That explains it all¡­ the sudden boost in power¡­ the amazing strength¡­ all this is possible because of the guardian spirits! Two guardian spirits in one team¡­. Amazing¡­ this explains why they are so strong" Gerald exclaimed. "Mmmhm! Being able to suppress one''s power and then release all of it at once to attain greater strength is a high level combat technique¡­ the only explanation why these recruits are able to use it is simply because of their guard in spirits which has lived since the beginning of time¡­But don''t you dare underestimate the other members of the team¡­ they seem unique and powerful as well¡­ The guardian knight recruit in them was able to utilize a mid level bronze combat technique without undergoing refinement. Young master Kuen''s team won''t even be considered as their equals in normal circumstances. They are only able to fight as equals with these people because of the benefits they have accumulated over the years from the royal family¡­ Hahahaha! Your adventures association " Kalos laughed as he spoke. "It''s a pity they annoyed my father, the king¡­ and today they attacked Lil Gyro, the youngest member of the great Gyro family¡­ My sister definitely won''t let this slide even if I ask her¡­ they are done for" Gerald wore a bitter smile on his face as he spoke. Under the watchful eyes of these two great figures in the Gyro kingdom, no one dared make a move, they could only wait patiently for any punishment these people may choose to administer.The silence stretched on for over a minute, this became unbearable for Kuen who grunted and was about to approach Gabriel "We have been patiently waiting for you to show yourself but it seems you are hell bent on killing my little brother" His expression turned cold as he spoke. Everyone was startled when Daemon suddenly appeared from thin air. On her hand was a dagger that was placed quite close to Kuen''s throat. Seeing the sudden appearance of this girl, Kuen shuddered involuntarily as he tried to think of the possible outcomes if this was an actual deathmatch, this assassin would have snatched his life easily. Sheathing her dagger, Daemon stared at Gerald coldly. Kira''s eyebrows were knitted together as he stared at the gray haired elderly man with traces of shock in his eyes. The others may not have noticed but he knew the magic this man possessed after he stopped Gin''s energy attack PEAK FIVE STAR RATED MAGIC, SPATIAL MAGIC!!! If someone told him he would meet two people with a peak five star rated magic in the space of an hour, he probably wouldn''t have taken that person seriously. Not only did he study on five star rated magic''s, at a point he even fantasized about owning such magic.Amongst all Peak five star rated magic, spatial magic could be considered as the most useful magic of all time. Just a few seconds ago, this white haired elder was able to easily counter an attack which would have easily obliterated team Gyro, even if they tried to counter it as a team. The ability to create a rift that can directly link one to the void! This ability serves so many purposes which makes the user seem invincible! Just like what happened earlier, this old man created a rift which supposedly absorbed all the energy attack, sending it into the void. Noticing, Kira''s stare, Kalos laughed and clapped his hands together, suddenly a galaxy of stars exploded from his body, creating a ring of stars above everyone"You all know brawling in public is prohibited... You all will be coming with me for a while... Do not resist" Kalos laughed 78 Chapter 78: Evil intentions 1 The news of team gyro''s defeat at the hands of team guardian spread like wide fire, starting from the kingdom pub to the other parts of the capital and then to the other parts of the kingdom. Even the thought of a recruit team from a small town, being able to fight on equal footing with teams from the capital is considered foolish, not to talk of the royal families'' adventurer team being defeated. At first, people rejected this news and branded it as an attempt by Derik''s group to make a name for themselves by spreading rumors around. Also, since the news came from the lips of all those irresponsible people who spend most of their time and money at the kingdom pub, drinking and hooking up with hoes, they decided not to take these people seriously. But then something miraculous happened, all over the capital were orbs of water similar to that used during the inter class competition but this one was reasonably smaller, the size of a human fist. On these sky blue orbs of water were images of member team guardian battling the members of the famous gyro team. The appearance of the adventurers association creator, Gerald gyro and the kingdom guardian, Kalos startled everyone who watched this. After they heard the elder prince and kingdom guardian claim that the members of the team guardian would have won if they didn''t step in, these people were stunned. As normal civilians, these two important figures were regarded as gods and they dare not doubt the words of these two legendary men. Soon, the discontent which they initially felt for Derik''s team changed to admiration, by the way, it''s not easy to earn the recognition of two top tier masters is not something anyone can do. Those team''s which initially bore evil intentions completely changed their mind. While the kingdom was still in the process of digesting this news, a new batch of water orbs appeared and floated around. New images appeared on the crystal clear orbs, showing Donald''s fight with a recruit adventurer team. Surprisingly, this pulled as much weight as the previous video. A single recruit, soloing a whole team? This is unheard of! For a complete week, the name "Team guardian" was on the lips of every man, woman, and child in the kingdom. The water orbs soon spread across the kingdom, getting to even the smallest towns! These people now felt empathy for the team whenever they remembered the words of the kingdom guardian. Considering all that has happened so far, the team has always been on the bad side of the royal family. All the royal family needed is a reason to act against them. Even though this is not enough to take their life, it should enough reason for them to torture this little team from a little town ...Meanwhile...One week Later¡­ In a spacious hall filled with portraits of various red haired men and women which once ruled this great kingdom. Standing at the center of the royal courtroom, surrounded by various nobles of various status in the kingdom, Derik and the rest of the team wore solemn expressions on their faces as they stared at the golden throne adorned with various rare ornaments which were placed on a higher platform in the room. For the last seven days, Derik and the rest of the team have been kept in the palace where they have endured all kinds of harsh treatments and tortures! The punishment which was meant to last for only seven days has suddenly taken an unexpected turn. The team had initially agreed to silently endure this treatment, and for the past five days, they were visited by members of team gyro who was meant to be receiving the same treatment but was able to escape this because of their family background. In the eyes of the royal family, Kira and the others who were all from tier one noble households were almost as filthy as Derik who was just a comment. But in the end, they were still members of a noble of the kingdom so their treatments were not as cruel as that of Derik. He was placed in a different cell, isolated from the rest of the team. The walls of the cell seemed to be enchanted by the same magic as that of the kingdom pub with prevented those outside from knowing what was happening inside. Things were going smoothly until the sixth day when the jailer stumbled into their cell at night, he wasn''t putting his guard''s attire and his eyes were bloodshot. A strong stench hovered around him, where ever he went and the instant he walked into the cell, Kira and the rest knew that he was drunk and this made them nervous Not only was this man a low grade bronze rated warrior but they were also bound by magical chains that even this low grade bronze rated warrior won''t be able to break. As for the mages of the team, their magic has been suppressed by their own chains making them unable to concentrate and a certain level of concentration is needed for a mage to cast spells. This made them anxious! The jailer soon started uttering nonsense, speaking on his personal issues and things that didn''t even concern them. They even became more anxious when the mood swings began kicking in In their presence, this man cried while laughing so hard his face reddened and it seemed as if it was going to pop any moment but everyone remained calm and didn''t utter a single word not to attract his attention. After the man finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the exit but stopped and turned his attention to Daemon whose clothes were partly shredded, revealing her mesmerizing figure which instantly stole the man''s attention. With lustful eyes, this man ran towards Daemon with a crazed expression and began ripping her clothes. Even under the pleas of Kira and the others he kept ripping her clothes and ignored their words It''s was then that a brilliant golden light shone within the room and the shackles which bounded Cyrus were soon blown into oblivion! Even though his eyes were snow white, the anger in his eyes was still visible. Depending on the power which he attended from taking off his limiters, Cyrus battled the jailer for over five minutes and when other guards arrived, it was already too late. Cyrus struck down the jailer, taking the man''s life. ¡­.¡­.¡­. Bam!!! The large golden doors suddenly burst open and members of the royal family walked in under the protection of the royal guards. Feeling powerless under the shackles which bound their hands and legs, Donald and the others instinctively moved to the side creating a path for these people to pass. But to their greatest surprise, Derik stayed with an ugly expression on his face and signs of disgust on his face as he ferociously glared at the royal family. "Step aside boy!!!" One of the guards roared and quickly unsheathed his weapon "Derik, come on man¡­ move!" Gin cried out As this was regarded as a murder case, it was broadcasted throughout the kingdom and now everyone got to see the defiant face of the archer in the Guardian team! 79 Chapter 79: Evil intentions 2 The room fell silent as the commander of the royal guards approached Derik with his hands placed on the hilt of the sheathed saber firmly. This man was about 5.9ft tall and had a scar with ran across the left side of his face, stretching down to his thick black mustache. It was obvious that this man had received a fatal blow in a battle which rendered his left eye useless. This man just like every other royal guard member wore a blood red knights armor which had the royal family crest boldly imprinted on it. Even though this man was from the guardian knight class, there was this aura that oozed out of his body which made everyone take a step back. He was a peak grade of the bronze rated fighter and was only a step away from entering the sliver level realm. "I''ll only ask once¡­ boy!... Step aside and let his highness pass" The man roared "Hahahahahaha!" Contrary to everyone''s expectation, Derik burst out resounding rounds of laughter which left everyone dazed. Gerald who stood behind the king initially planned to step forward and resolve this issue in a peaceful manner but seeing the way Derik reacted, he raised an eyebrow and waited to see what the kid had in mind [Should the worst happen¡­ Take control of my body and escape] Derik spoke to the spirit in his mind [Is this truly necessary?] The voice of the guardian spirit quickly replied. [The outcome of this gathering has already been decided¡­ These people are shameless¡­... It is necessary we show them what we are capable of, that will definitely make them hesitate when taking their decision] Derik screamed out in his mind [Very well¡­ but you remember what happens when we guardian spirits try to manipulate the host''s actions, we indirectly harm their bodies and souls¡­ that''s why most people who acquire guardian spirits tend to die you¡­ you have so much potential¡­ that is why I decided not to follow that path anymore¡­ I''m sure if given enough time, you will definitely get to that level¡­ I will only carry out your request if there is no other way!]Hearing the voice of this ancient spirit in his head, the crazed expression on Derik''s face vanished and was replaced with that of confidence. He closed his eyes and memories of everything be had gone through at the hands of these people simply due to a battle that Kuen''s team had actually started. He didn''t know how much Kira and the others suffered but it was clear it wasn''t as severe as him, with the exception of Cyrus who was In a very miserable condition. BOOM! It first came as a shockwave which destroyed his shredded shirt, revealing his upper half. Everyone''s eye in the room suddenly turned gloomy as they based upon all sorts of wounds on Derik''s body inflicted through the use of a magic weapon. "Bastards! How could you do this to a kid!""Animals!!!""Why didn''t the royal team receive such a treatment as well? Injustice!!!" Various voices echoed around the capital as they cursed the royal family for been so ruthless. Seeing the wounds on Derik''s body, Gin and the expression of the other turned grim and their gaze turned murderous when their questioning gaze fell on the Royal family. Even Gerald frowned as he slowly separated himself from his family and looked at his father and sister with a disgusted look on his face, knowing they were responsible for this Boom! Boom! Two more rounds of shockwave instantly caught the attention of everyone in the royal courtroom. Suddenly sinister dark energy exploded out of Derik''s body which even made members of the royal guards retreat instinctively. Visible cracks then appeared on the chains on his body. "Aren''t those chains supposed to suppress one''s magic and strength? Even I will need to put in some effort to shatter it, how is this kid doing it¡­. Where is he getting this energy from" The commander of the royal guards thought for a while "Kill him¡­ Kill him now before he shatters his shackles! Ben, go!" The man roared "Understood!" A man who stood behind him roared and shot forward with his saber unsheathed. Each and every member of the Royal guards are considered elites who are at least in the mid grade of the Bronze realm.At this point, Derik''s eyes abruptly yanked open and with a roar, the final burst of death aura exploded from his body violently. While moving slightly side stepping to the left to evade the sword attack, his hands were then covered with darkish purple energy and his body shivered violently as he clenched his fist and struck at the man from the side Crack! Crack!! Boom!!! An armor shattering sound coupled with an ear piercing scream dominated the room for a while as the royal guard''s body was sent flying into the area where the nobles were seated. Knocking over a few seats, the man''s body shuddered violently as he spat out a mouthful of black blood. Seeing this everyone in the room was terrified. Their eyes were glued on the royal family, everyone was curious to see how they would react. Since these nobles were not warriors, they could only stare in silence while holding their breath. "My friend here was violated by your guard! And you dare set up a trial against us when those bastards who put my friend in a miserable state should be killed¡­ you all are really shameless!" Derik roared as he stared at the guards who stood were brought here by the royal family to testify against them. "Boy!!!" The scar face commander roared while unsheathing his saber "Silence!!!" Derik''s roared and he was soon consumed by a darkish purple aura "Death magic: Death Armour" As soon as the death energy exploded, everyone took a step back. Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! Casually working out of the cloud of dark aura with an indifferent look on his face Derik began chanting "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to Vanquish all those who stand against thy power and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang at the tip of thy spear... Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Almost immediately, a shiny white spear made of bones appeared by Derik''s side. The aura which this bone spear poured out was so terrifying that even the commander of the royal guards wore a grim expression on his face while some nobles just passed out instantly. Even Derik was shocked by the sudden increase in his power, even though he knew the limit imposition path which he and Cyrus had chosen to walk would be amazing but this was way above his expectations. A satisfied smile bloomed across his face as he walked towards the commander and the white spear followed him patiently by the side, ready to strike down all who goes against its master. A bow made of bone and a bone arrow appeared in his other hand. A bone quiver soon appeared, filled with bone arrows "All I ask of is justice for my team¡­ Do not force my hand!... Even if I lose my life here¡­ I''m sure you all will not walk out of here unscathed" He sneered as shifted his attention to the weakest member of the gyro family, Kuen and a sinister smile appeared on his face 80 Chapter 80: Evil intentions 3 Hearing Derik''s words, Kuren''s complexion turned deadly pale and he took a step back. Right now, even though his aura was not as powerful as that of silver realm warriors, it gave out this chilly feeling with made its people see vulgar visions of their death. Of course, this only works on those reasonably weaker "You dare!" the scar faced commander roared and was about to act but was stopped by the king. To everyone''s surprise, this man remained calm even after his son was threatened by a commoner. His indifferent gaze first shifted to the injured Royal guard, looking at the man, he could tell that this man had sustained severe injuries and his body has been infested with Derik''s death energy. If not for the fact that this man was a mid grade bronze realm warrior, his organs would have corroded by now. Puff!The royal guard spat out a mouthful of black blood as he struggled with the evil power within him. The black liquid slowly poured out of his eyes and rolled down his cheek. All over his neck, we''re black veins popping out. Seeing this even Derik was astonished, there were situations where his death energy corroded the environment, destroying all forms of life like his battle with those stone trolls not too far from castle black but this case was different, never in his wildest dreams did he believe his ability will be capable of this. "Retrieve all your energy in him first¡­" The king spoke with the same indifferent face. He then walked past Derik with other members of the royal family. He sat on the throne and stared at Derik waiting for him to obey his order. [Many situations like this have taken place in the past¡­ Murder cases have always been tried in public and this can always influence the way the public views the royal family¡­ If you remained silent, they most likely would have pinned all the blame on your friend, Cyrus and he would have been executed at the spot¡­ but showing your strength and also depending on the reputation your team has built days ago, the general public will probably be devastated should something happen to your team¡­ This is not in the best interest of the royal family¡­ so they have no reason to hurt you¡­ I''ll be withdrawing my energy in that man''s body now] The guardian spirit took its time to explain its thoughts to Derik But even then, Derik had his doubts a remained silent as the death energy in the man''s body slowly flowed out of the man and into Derik. [This has happened on so many occasions in the past¡­ you don''t have to worry, I can tell you still don''t trust them¡­ Just believe my words, these people will never directly try to harm you] The guardian spirit assured Derik Thinking about its words for a while, Derik finally understood what the guardian spirit was trying to say. By the way, it has been in existence since the beginning of time. [Why didn''t you tell me earlier?]Derik decided to ask [¡­ Most times, such a method does not work... It was a gamble, and I didn''t want you to blame me if it failed] The guardian spirit answered honestly.Nodding, Derik absorbed the remnants of the death energy in the royal guard, after which the guard was moved to another part of the palace where his injuries will be healed by the numerous members of the oracle class. "It''s done¡­" Derik said while bowing slightly. Since the king or the royal family could not attack him directly, he was determined not to give them the opportunity or reason to do so. Noticing the change in Derik''s behavior towards him, the king raised an eye to in shock. For someone who was infuriated a moment ago to calm down and change his behavior instantly, it was truly shocking. He knew Derik was aware of his evil intentions and knew it could only manifest if he makes a mistake. If this was part of the boys'' plans to keep himself out of reach then it is pretty damn impressive. Such control over one''s emotions and thought is truly commendable Sighs... But it''s unfortunate the one he has to deal with is the king, if it were anyone else, his chances of survival are high. "Good¡­" The king said to him and forced a smile on his face. He quickly turned his gaze to the various sorcerers positioned at the four corners of the royal courtroom who are responsible for the broadcasting of today''s event and said "As you all know, team guardian engaged in an all out brawl between two different teams on the same day¡­ which is prohibited by the law¡­ later on, a team was dispatched to conduct further investigations, through which we realized that the two teams they battled against were the ones who provoked them¡­ so I only placed them under house arrest for a week As I and other members of the family were in secluded cultivation, we failed to realize that these recruits were been maltreated by the guards and for this, I, the king of Gyro¡­ Robert Gyro¡­ apologize" saying this, Robert only nodded and waited for everyone to digest all he had said. While everyone was dazed by what they heard so far, Derik and the others only cursed these people silently for being cunning. Placing all the blame on those poor guards who were only following orders, this was a perfect move. This proved that the royal family only saw those who serve under them as mere pawns. They could only bite their lips in anger as while bowing their heads and saying "You''re so kind¡­" Seeing them so helpless, a satisfied smile flashed on Robert''s supposed neutral expression and soon vanished before anyone could notice. "And here is my judgment¡­ These guards who participated in such hideous and inhuman acts are hereby sentenced to 10 years in jail¡­" When he was done speaking, those guards were soon surrounded by royal guards and made to kneel. Soon noises of chains and shackles clapping against each other resonated from the hallway which led to the royal courtroom. In the blink of an eye, these guards where bounded like dogs by these shackles which had blue magical runes all over them and dragged out of the courtroom. It was clear that these shackles were way more powerful than what was used on Derik and the rest. Derik who had been feeling proud of himself for breaking those shackles, but now he realized that these people were just toying with him by binding him with the weakest shackles and chains available. He silently cursed the royal family for this insult and swore to return it tenfold!"All families of the victims are hereby promoted to tier two nobles¡­ and a hundred gold coins will also be delivered to these families¡­ As for you, Derik Angus, am I correct?" Robert asked "Just a few moments ago, I witnessed the gruesome acts of these guards, imprinted on your body¡­ I believe you have suffered the most and I hope you will accept my gift to you¡­ Your family will be promoted to a tier one noble family and a hundred gold coins will be sent to them¡­ As for you, A bronze level magic weapon will be gifted to you alongside twenty gold coins¡­ I hope you can forgive my family for our negligence¡­ a recruit like you with so much potential should not be maltreated in such away¡­ instead, you should be celebrated!" Robert said Hearing this man''s words, Derik and the other six didn''t celebrate, they only trembled and fear overtook them. To them, this predator had locked in on them and there is no way of shaking him off. "And finally¡­ Your team has shown its strength to the kingdom and potential by defeating team gyro, lead by my son Kuen, even though these kids have been leeching off the resources of the royal family for a while now¡­ As a reward and to show my support to this team, You all will accompany my daughter, Jewell Gyro and a team of top tier adventurers on a special task¡­ I believe this experience will prove invaluable to you all¡­ You have only thirty days to prepare¡­ This session is over¡­ you are all dismissed!!" Robert quick spoke not giving Derik and the others to refuse. Derik and the others silently drowned in despair as they watched King Robert majestically leave the courtroom. If the man''s plan is to end their lives in that task, then he has already succeeded! 81 Chapter 81: Expedition 1 Bang! A stone table decorated with numerous rubies crumbled instantly under the assault of the enrage king. This was the king''s chambers and only members of the royal family and the kingdom guardian were allowed, only Kuen was absent. At this point, where the king was enraged, they could only remain silent and watch "That boy dares to create a scene in front of everyone!... If this kid were not liked by the general population, I would have wiped him out with just a single attack!!!" Robert roared The others only nodded their heads in agreement "I must confess father, coming up with an expedition to get rid of these people so quickly after the original plan failed¡­ That quick thinking is the reason you stand at the very top of the kingdom now, even though you had brothers who were more eligible for the throne" Gerald laughed as he praised his father. Hearing Geralds words, a broad smile appeared on Robert''s face and he slowly returned to his seat "The expedition is not a ruse¡­ a sky rift appeared at the center of the world once again and just like the others the previous ones, it leads to a mysterious dungeon which guarantees great rewards should it be conquered. Such occurrences are quite rare, I have only witnessed 3 of these throughout my life" Robert said with an excited expression on his face. The Gyro kingdom was positioned at the southern region Aldemar continent which was the biggest continent in this world. In the northern region was the Alda a kingdom filled with lush vegetation and powerful nature forces. In the western region is Baldmar, the home of the most legendary Lizardmen race which were rumored to have the ability to kill a man with just a glance. And then there is Cato, the kingdom with human inhabitants of the same race, unlike Gyro which accepted all races, be it light skinned or Dark skinned people. As long as they are human, the Gyro kingdom would always accept them, this made this kingdom quite popular on the continent. Contrary to this, Cato was quite different. They are all light skinned and have frail bodies, yet no one dared to underestimate their talent in alchemy and forging. While items like magic weapons and Magic enhancing potions are rare, these things were common in that part of the continent. Rumor has it that kids of nobles start training with magic weapons at the tender age of five, and even commoners can afford bronze level magic weapons. This kingdom contained one of the most terrifying forces in the continent! Even the Gyro kingdom couldn''t compare. It is also known that Kuen''s Mother is from that kingdom The center of the world is a name given to the center of the Continent. It is said that this place is the most dangerous part of the continent, filled with high level beasts. It is not uncommon to hear news like an adventurer team or a military battalion, encountering level 30-40 beasts here. Even Silver realm adventurers or military officials will be killed instantly if they are not careful. A sky rift appearing at the center of the continent is something that rarely happens and has no specific day of the year it happens. Sometimes it appears only once in fifty years, sometimes it takes centuries for it to occur, the time frame usually varies but the rewards for those who conquer it is actually worth the risk. The great kingdom of Bladmar was initially a humble gathering, not different from the gatherings of goblins in caves even though they were more organized. Just barely two centuries ago, a sky rift appeared and a team of powerful lizard men went in. At that time, no kingdom had ever conquered the dungeon, only losing talented warriors there so these kingdoms branded it a plague and avoided it. Two months after the team of lizard men entered, they returned and somehow managed to clear the dungeon. With the power and precious equipment they acquired, these lizardmen returned to the western region of the continent and slaughtered everyone who stood it against them. It was said that Baldmar, the leader of the lizard expedition team and first king of the Bladmar kingdom, got possession of a gold level magic weapon with which he used to massacre the combined army of Alda, Cato, and Gyro who sort to steal the rewards they earned in the dungeon. ...... The eyes of everyone in the room lit up when they heard king Robert''s words and even the kingdom mage smiled, knowing how important the expedition is. If their kingdom could best the other kingdoms and acquire the treasures of the dungeon, with the help of the treasures they have acquired, they should have enough power to subdue the other three kingdoms and monopolize the resources of the continent. "It''s a pity those young lads, got on your bad side¡­ considering their powers and potential, they definitely would have made it to the silver realm and would have been of great use to the continent" Kalos sighed Roberts expression turned ugly and he considered Kalos words, having numerous silver class would also boost the strength of the kingdom, the gain seemed to be much and very enticing but then again, these people went against the king. After pondering on this issue for a while, diabolical thoughts crawled up his mind and a sinister smile appeared on his face. Seeing this, the others in the room shuddered involuntarily and took a step back instinctively, waiting for the King to speak. Robert, from the very beginning from when has been known for his craftiness and cunning nature. Even as a mid grade bronze level warrior and mage, he was able to plot against his two elder brothers who were all in the silver realm and successfully got them killed, taking the throne for himself. It was quite accurate to say that whenever this man plotted against someone, the person days are already numbered and the only person that can save him is Robert himself.Even after becoming king, this disgusting nature of his did not change, and it even got to points where he plots against mere citizens who speak out against his rule. "Secretly contact the family of the members of team guardians¡­ I''ll love to speak to them" Robert grinned as he spoke "Also¡­ concerning the unknown mage, supporting these teams in the shadows and also broadcasting their glorious moments to help them win the heart of the people¡­ Pour more resources into the investigation¡­ Just find that person" he said "What do you plan to do my king?'' Kalos asked "Only one person has to die¡­ I would have let them walk away with a few scars but after the scene, that commoner pulled today, I can''t forgive him¡­. I will pardon the rest but Derik Angus must die...!!!" 82 Chapter 82: Expedition 2 After the trial, Derik and the rest returned to the mansion dedicated to their team by the adventurers association. On their way back, they were observant enough to notice the change in the attitude of the people towards them. Hints of admiration and respect could be seen in the eyes of anyone who gazed upon them, although there are a few who still wore hostile expressions whenever they saw Derik and the team, they were in the minority. Apparently, the second phase of their plan worked out well but at what cost? Daemon looked empty and Cyrus looked miserable. Being tortured and beaten while he was in a weakened state had truly damaged him and no one knew when he is going to recover from this. Even though the team felt sorry for Derik, they didn''t worry much about him, knowing about his healing capabilities. They entered the mansion without uttering a word, going straight to their rooms. At this junction, these kids had learned a valuable lesson. ''They are weak! With their powers and abilities, they thought they could establish themselves in the capital by acting rashly and being arrogant but now they have been exposed to reality. To think it would take just a few days of rough handling to break them and that was not the bad news. They were almost a hundred percent sure that the king was planning to get rid of them in the incoming expedition. If they knew their actions will lead them to this position, they probably wouldn''t have acted the way they did. By the time Derik returned to his room, he saw the magic weapon laying on his bed lime another tool. It was a metal bow with numerous runes and magical letters engraved on it. Derik quickly locked the door behind him and stared at the item for a while and frowned slightly. He has been thinking of something for a while and the magic weapon reminded him of it. "Hey¡­ We haven''t had a proper conversation after the vampire incident with the Lockwood family¡­ I know you are the Angel of death but I don''t know what to call you" Derik spoke after arranging his words skillfully [Humph! Now you are in danger, you wish to have a normal conversation? Hahaha! How old do you think I''m a kid? Spit it out, what do you want?] The voice resonated in his head. Hearing the guardian spirits words, Derik smiled bitterly knowing his plan won''t work out today, but he wasn''t ready to give up the act so be continued "what do I want? Let''s start with your name¡­'' Derik said after thinking about it for a while [Hahaaha! You still chose to play this silly game with me?... It''s alright, I''ll play along for a while] the voice echoed in his head [I guess you can call me death¡­ ] it said Hearing this, Derik grunted and scratched his head "That won''t work out¡­ I can''t call you death, it doesn''t make any sense¡­ I''m sure the creator must have given you an actual name, by the way, that night when u died, you called Cyrus'' guardian spirit by its name" Derik said[Since you insist, I''m called Demos] The voice said "Demos? Isn''t that a little disturbing¡­ like Demon?" Derik said while shaking his head"Nope, I''ll call you Lucy" Derik said with a smile on his face [Wait! What?... KID, DO YOU WANNA DIE!!!] A roar echoed in his head Derik only laughed hard for a while and then wiped off the beads of tears on his face "It''s a joke man¡­ chill a little¡­ Don''t tell me you still haven''t developed a sense of humor after living for eons" Derik said [¡­.] Seeing Demos was not willing to reply, he decided to the straight to the point. After thinking for a while, he spoke "Demos¡­ what is your duty to me as my guardian spirit?" Derik asked with a stern look on his face [To guide you and help you reach your peak¡­ To protect your life with the best of abilities¡­ See its been eons when we swore the oath but none of us really took it seriously, can''t remember most of it¡­ The summary of the whole stuff is quite simple, I am obliged to help you in any way I can and in any way I think is best] Demos said after thinking for a while Derik was stunned by what he heard, he didn''t think there was an actual oath which bound these ancient spirits to their hosts. If his speculations are correct, an oath which binds these beings to their hosts is there to make sure these supernatural beings do not take advantage of their hosts. But from what he has seen so far, the guardian spirits already found a way to bypass some of these oaths. And now, the real questions rushed into his mind, it doesn''t make sense that a guardian spirit won''t be able to remember an oath, come on that''s just ridiculous. The fact remains that Demos was trying to conceal something from him, something that may actually affect it in some way. Maybe put it under his control? Derik laughed out loud and shrugged the thoughts off. He already knew that Demos could read his mind so it was not advisable to plot against it. Also, he truly believed such a relationship won''t be healthy where both sides will always remain wary of the other, this will definitely create a wall between them and slow down his progress "You don''t have to worry much about it, I won''t ask about it" Derik laughed [Good¡­] Demos replied. Even though his voice was calm as he tried to mask his anxiety, hints of relief could be heard in them. With a satisfied smile on his face, Derik ran to the bed and picked up the Bronze level magic bow. The moment he held on to it, the magic runes lit up and the mana in the air around him froze. He took a deep breath and controlled the flow of his mana, pouring it into the magic weapon and soon the atmosphere became chaotic.The purple magic runes on the glowed even more fiercely and a purple thin arrow made of pure energy appeared in Derik''s free hand, even though the energy arrow was thin he didn''t underestimate the power it carried at all. His expression turned gloomy as a few thoughts crossed his mind. If the king was willing to hand over something this precious, knowing fully well that this will boost Derik''s strength to the point where he can stand against even mid grade bronze level warriors and mages without taking off his limiters. Doesn''t that mean that the people the king will send would definitely be able to handle these added advantages he has? Fear gripped him and his heart sunk [You still have 30 days to prepare¡­ Since these things are about to get messy, I''ll help you in the most effective ways possible ] Demos finally spoke a while later Hearing Demo''s words Derik''s eyes lit up and a broad smile appeared on his face as he asked "You''re gonna make me strong enough to fight those peak grade bronze realm adventurers and even silver realm warriors?! Hahahahaha!!!! This us just took good" Derik laughed hysterically [Don''t be stupid boy, I ain''t a magician and I don''t perform miracles either¡­ it is literarily impossible to make you strong enough to stand against people of such a realm without external power ups like magical equipment''s and weapons] Demos said [Anyway¡­ The best I can do is help make sure you can escape but the presence of Cyrus'' guardian spirit, Michael will make it way more difficult] It continued Hearing this, Derik''s facial expression darkened and he instantly got on his feet, wearing a gloomy expression on his face while asking "How is Cyrus a problem?" Derik asked [I should have told you this before but I decide to let you enjoy your time with your friends for a while I''m just thankful it''s not too late yet... Do not trust anyone, your parents included. Be on guard against everyone and you will survive¡­ Should the unexpected happened, you will not be caught off guard¡­ The word relationship is stupid¡­ It''s like giving someone a bow and an arrow aimed to your heart and hoping they won''t shoot] Demos said Derik shuddered as he listened to Demos words "Don''t do that" He screamed, you''re not human so it''s only natural you won''t understand. "Bonds and ties is an important aspect of life" [I''m not human I agree to that and my vision is not clouded by silly emotions, that''s why I can see clearer. Many great men have been killed in a similar situation which you are about to enter. Seventy-six percent died because they hoped their friends will aid them when the time comes only to be stabbed at the back by the people they call friends and families, the remaining twenty-four percent lost their lives simply because they weren''t strong enough to protect themselves. I''m not telling you to cut off your relationship with them forever, all I ask is you see them as potential foes until the expedition is over¡­ if you can''t handle the pain, I will aid you by taking away your emotions just like I did before] Demos took his time to explain everything. After considering his words for a while, Derik decided to ask "What makes you think they will turn against you" [These people are from noble while you''re still a commoner, yes your family may have been awarded the position of a noble family but that doesn''t mean the others will actually recognize them. But these people are different if all the members of team guardian should perish, won''t it be suspicious? To satiate his anger, the king will most likely try to woo the other members of the team to strike at the one who annoyed him the most¡­ And guess who that is?] "Me¡­" [Exactly, chances of this happening are quite high and your chances of escaping death are slim, that''s why this .method is very effective¡­ Should the rest of the team leave this place and return home to meet their family then the chances of this happening are dangerously close to a hundred percent¡­ That is why I ask you to be wary of them, they may not choose to betray you at first but they can be placed in a situation where they will realize you don''t matter as much as they thought¡­ Until this expedition is over, you will practice in isolation. Everything I teach you shall not be shared with the others, Cyrus especially¡­ Do you understand?] Demos spoke "Yea¡­ I guess it won''t hurt to be careful¡­ I will be wary of them till the expedition is over" Derik sighed [Good¡­] Demos replied... 83 Chapter 83: Expedition 3 Throughout the first week of the month, Derik spent most of his time indoor, meditating. During that time, he received valuable knowledge about the world itself and how things work. According to Demos, the human body is like a container that is capable of absorbing a certain amount of energy which in turn can be used in various ways. While some are born with lesser storage space, a few are born with frightening large energy reserves which can rival those at the bronze realm. According to Demos, the only difference between those at realms and those at the recruit level is just refinement. Refinement is more like purifying the container, allowing it to absorb and withstand the pure and more chaotic form of mana It simply upgrades the container, allowing it to absorb a much more pure and powerful form of mana which in turn, completely increases a person''s capabilities by leaps and bounds. Of course, they can still be overwhelmed by someone yet to purify his container who is born with monstrous potential. Of course, to refine one''s self, a lot of precious materials are needed. These are things no normal person can acquire, even nobles will spend a huge fortune if they decide to gather these materials. This is why only kingdoms perform this ancient ritual and even then kingdoms are still very picky of those they refine, making sure that only those with a certain level of potential are allowed to undergo this process. After that, Derik was further enlightened on the limiter path which he has chosen to follow. According to Demo''s, the way the path worked is quite straightforward. The more restrictions placed on one''s self, the stronger they became when the limiter is taken off. This truth is that paths can only be chosen and followed by those at the silver class realm and this path which he has chosen is quite infamous amongst the hundreds and thousands of paths that exist. A path is just a certain path of power that one can decide to focus on later on. Each path is unique and grants the users unique skill sets that can be used to gain an advantage over their enemies in battle. Just like Robert Gyro who possessed some sort of voice power. It was even shocking that even warriors and physical class members have paths designed for them as well. According to Demos, after one chose a path it is not advisable for him or her to change and some situations where people try to master two or more paths are quite rare but should someone manage this, such a person is considered invincible amongst their piers. But that wasn''t what caught him off guard. He also got to learn about cosmic spirits, these beings are said to be in existence even before the creator appeared and the guardian spirits were created. People like the Kingdom guardian of Gyro and the youngest son of the king, Kuen possess cosmic spirits which are rated the only peak 5 star. These people possess uneven advantage against their piers are guaranteed to get to the golden realm and there is even a high chance that they will break past the realm of mortals to become demi gods if given proper guardiance and training. The fact remains that the only reason they could fight on equal terms with kuen back then was strictly due to the limiter paths Derik and Cyrus has chosen, which is something people of their level shouldn''t possess and Derik''s werewolf side....¡­A week later just like Demos predicted, all the members of the team were called home by their families and this brought great fear and grief to Derik, as he could already predict the outcome of their next meeting. His eyes turned cold and his emotions were frozen by Demos in an attempt to help him focus on his training. To begin with, Demos loosened the limitations placed on Derik which initially completely prevented him from utilizing magic. With the limitation loosened, even though Derik had become considerably weaker, whenever he took off the limiter, he still didn''t regret it. Right now, without taking off the limiters, he had access to his magic but on a small fraction, making him considerably weaker than normal mages of his level. But that didn''t bother him one bit. By the way, he never had plans of returning to his ''mage'' ways, the whole point of taking off his limiters is to take off help him enhance his archery skills with a little touch of magic. The moment the limiter placed on him was loosened, his purple eyes which were dim at first, instantly lit up and he felt the diabolic and sinister energy of the death aura, flow through his body, renewing his strength and putting him at a realm higher than what he was in the past. After this the real training began, the first batch of spells he was tasked with mastering by Demos with not offensive or defensive spells, but spells which would help make his life easier should he encounter a situation where he was all alone. Since amazing tools like storage rings, which could be used to store food items, equipments, and even weapons were only made available to high level military officials, High level adventurers and people of a certain level noble status, Derik had to create a spell similar. Standing at the center of the spacy room all alone, Derik began chanting some ancient words which even if people were present, they definitely won''t understand unless they have guardian spirits or cosmic spirits in them.He made strange movements as he spoke and his eyes turned pitch black while he performed this ritual. His hands suddenly stopped moving abruptly as if it hit something and with his eyebrows knitted together, Derik began to pull. Space itself tore open and the temperature of the room instantly spiked. His body shivered in ecstasy as a gloomy and diabolical aura escaped the empty space and spread across the room. This for some unknown reason, excited him in ways he couldn''t understand. "Death Magic: Accursed gate of the Underworld!!" he muttered coldly and kept trying to tear the space even more. The wider the hole became the more gloomy gray energy that poured out. He continued this process for over five minutes and the hole was the size of a ball. At this point, cries and screams of pain and misery escaped the little space and the aura which kept escaping from just terrifying and soon, the room was filled with gray clouds. This spell was presented by Demos to serve the same purpose as Daemon''s shadow storage skill. This was aimed at reducing his dependency on others! 84 Chapter 84: Expedition 4 After a month of secluded cultivation and training, Derik''s appearance had changed considerably. His eyes had turned pitch black with the purple iris at the center. His once reach milk colored skin had gone pale and streams of purple color could be seen all over his pitch black flowing hair. His expression had turned stiff and he always looked indifferent about everything. Donald, Daemon and the rest returned to the mansion at the capital a month later with the most powerful adventurer team in Briton, a small squad of highly talented mages and warriors from the military and two members of the royal family. Gerald Gyro and his younger sister, Anna Gyro. Derik silently watched from the comfort of his room as the expedition team arrived with the people he once called teammates, and this convinced him of Demo''s suspicions. His cold eyes darted around the expedition team calmly and a slight curve appeared at the edge of his lips as he realized how powerful they forces they came with were. All seven members of the adventurer team were at the mid grade of the silver realm with strength almost comparable to the leader of the adventurers association, Gerald Gyro. He had heard of this adventurer team which was branded the most powerful adventurer team in Briton even when he was little. They called themselves ''The Miracle'' and as the name implied, this team has mysteriously performed miraculous deeds and accomplished tasks way above their realm. Rumors of their battle against the number one adventurer team in Cato spread far and wide simply because it was difficult to believe it. At that point, these people were only at the low grade of the silver realm when they stumbled across a treasure. Unfortunately, the most powerful adventurer team of the Cato kingdom had also found the treasure and it was clear that both sides were not willing to share. A long battle ensured and the miracle team members still sent them running even though they are weaker in terms of realms and equipment. "Eleven silver realm warriors and Mages and the rest are at the peak of the bronze realm¡­ They sure are taking this seriously" Demos mused "Yep... Since this may be my life''s final act¡­. I might as well put up a show which will be engraved in their hearts even after I die... And should I survive this... They will be forced to live in fear for the rest of their lives" Derik responded indifferently Sheeeeeeeessssssh!!! ..... While Gerald and the others waited outside the gates of the mansion, their expressions turned ugly as some sort of dark energy seeped out of the windows of the room. Soon the room was shrouded in darkness and a burning purple pair of eyes lit like a candle in the darkness. Even though the adventurers and military officials at the silver class realm were not terrified by this, it still made them grimace. It was a different case for those at the bronze class realm, their bodies shivered involuntarily and they all wore ugly expressions. The dark aura soon dispersed and a few minutes later, the mansion gates yanked open and Derik walked out. He wore a sleeveless slim fit plain black shirt, black trousers and a pair of black boots. All the hair on his head stood up and his burning purple eyes glowed fiercely. On his back hung a quiver filled with arrows and a normal bow on his right hand. He walked towards a horse presented to him by one of the military officials while dragging a big bag filled with food and other unknown items easily as if it was weightless. Climbing on the horse without sparing Donald and the rest a glance, he shifted his attention to Gerald and spoke with a confident smile on his face "I apologize for wasting so much of your precious time¡­ I''m ready now¡­ let''s leave" He said Hearing this everyone was startled including Gerald and Anna. Even a fool cod tell the intentions of the king, yet he dared to come out here with only a regular bow and arrows. He didn''t even put on the archery class leather armor! "I believe my father gifted you with a bronze level magic bow¡­. Why don''t you bring it along?" Gerald asked suspiciously Derik shook his head casually in refusal and the confident smile appeared on his face again "With so many competent silver class realm adventurers and military officials around why bother? I don''t expect we recruits to join the fray, we are only here to observe" Derik laughed Gerald only smiled in return "And if something should go wrong?" he asked with knitted eyebrows Hearing his words, Derik laughed hysterically and his body shivered. His gaze soon turned murderous and cold as he glanced at everyone present and said "I''m more capable than you think¡­ Master Gerald¡­. Should something or someone come at me, I''ll definitely show no mercy¡­ Don''t worry¡­ I''m pretty confident in my abilities" He said "¡­. Hahahahahahaha!!!!! I like this kid! He''s got guts!" A bald man wearing a golden armor laughed. He has light brown skin and a circular face covered with beards and mustache which made him look dangerous.This man is the guardian Knight of the miracle adventurer team, his eyes looked wild and when he stared at Derik, it looked like a predator looking down on its prey which would make even the most powerful man break "Low level silver combat technique: Penance stare¡­ The technique is quite impressive¡­ but in the end¡­ I do not feel fear" Derik said with the confident smile on his face. The miracle adventurer team''s guardian knights eyebrows slammed together and an ugly expression appeared on his face but only for a split second after which the smile returned even before anyone could see notice the change. "Hahahahaha! Impressive¡­ truly impressive... Good kid¡­ You really are something¡­ You don''t have to bother yourself with this little guy, Gerald¡­ He can take care of himself¡­ I''m sure of it" The bald guardian Knight of the miracle guild laughed. With this small show of power between Derik and the guardian knight, everyone reevaluated Derik and secretly guarded against him. They felt that Derik simply powered through the technique which should be impossible for a recruit but they couldn''t come up with a better reason. Unknown to them, Demos had frozen his emotions preventing the technique from taking effect on him. Also, his werewolf side made him a natural predator, intimidating someone like that will be more difficult. "Very well then... Let''s proceed¡­ time Is not on our side" Gerald smiled softly After he spoke, the journey began. Under the earth quaking cheers of everyone present, the expedition team rode gallantly through the cities, towns, and villages of Gyro until they got to the gates of the northern part of the kingdom after a five day journey! Knowing that this journey was no easy one, these people prepared themselves for the next most difficult three months of their lives 85 Chapter 85: The Journey 1 It has been a month since they left the Gyro kingdom, spending a complete month just this get through the thick forest that surrounded the kingdom. While some curse the topography of the land which surrounded the kingdom. Even though safe routes have already been established, if the expedition team decided to follow this route, they will probably need another month or two to cross this dense forest. With no choice left, the expedition team plunged into the forest. Even though they sent scouts ahead and tried as much as possible to avoid confrontations with high level beasts, unfortunately, they occasionally ended up confronting some high level magic beasts. Luckily, none of these beasts exceeded level 30 so it wasn''t too difficult for the expedition team to handle them. Throughout the month, Derik and the other members of team guardian were not given a chance to battle, in this case, could only watch and marvel at the awesome abilities of the bronze and sliver realm warriors and mages on their side. After observing for a while, Derik''s opinion about physical class members changed completely. Seeing the miracle team battle against multiple level 30 earth salamanders, he realized the role of guardian knights, assassins and archers play in a team. While the guardian knight serves as a wall between the team and the enemy, the archer assists by distracting the foe, giving the guardian Knight the advantage. Meanwhile, the assassin simply waits in the shadow looking for the best opportunity to strike down the foe in one hit. To be honest, in most battles, members of the magical class stay behind, supporting the physical class members with spells. Unless the mages are extremely powerful, they can never replicate this level of power which the physical classes can do when they work together. As they traveled everyone''s mood brightened. It even got to a point where Derik began questioning himself, finding it hard to believe that these people were planning to kill him. On several occasions, attacks directed to him by numerous magic beasts have been neutralized by Gerald, members of the miracle team and even the members of the military. In his opinion, it would be easier for these people to let these beasts attack him and possibly kill him. For the first time since he joined the expedition team, he felt worried and a bit restless. "Don''t let your guard down¡­ Don''t show any signs of weakness¡­ stay calm" Demos urged In the day, Derik observed everything while also conversing with the other members of the expedition troops and at night, he secluded himself from the rest of the team and practiced. Even though separating from the team is not really advisable, Derik didn''t have to bother much. The sinister death aura which escaped his body while he practiced was enough to scare the monsters away. Even though most of these monsters were stronger they were naturally terrified by the negative aura that escaped his body. Each time Derik wandered into the thick forest alone, the other members of the expedition troops silently watched him disappear into the dense forest, wondering what kind of technique he was working on which could produce such gloomy and terrible aura but no one bothered to check on him, by the way, his aura may be unbelievable sinister but in the end, he''s still a recruit and yet to go through refinement, there is a limit to how much power he can pull out of that guardian spirit of his. In their opinion, he only managed to harm and almost kill that mid grade bronze level royal guard simply because he had the element of surprise. No one understood how he was able to possess such terrifying physical strength but now they knew, it won''t be difficult to deal with him. Unless Derik had some new tricks up his sleeves, killing him won''t be an issue, even a mid grade bronze level mage or warrior can do this, so why bother? "It''s a pity he crossed the royal family¡­ that kid Is something" The bald guardian knight of the miracle adventurer team said wearing a bitter smile on his face. The others shook their heads and sighed "It''s not just that¡­ The problem is this¡­. This kid possesses Death magic¡­ a peak 3 star magic¡­ even though it is 3 star, it is extremely dangerous... Should he be given enough time to master this magic¡­ He will be able to draw power from death itself¡­ And I must tell you¡­ death is not uncommon¡­ Reaching the peak of the silver realm won''t be a problem for him then... It will be difficult to deal with someone like that" Gerald said with a bitter smile on his face. Hints of fear could even be seen in his eyes. Hearing this, Cyrus and others finally understood why these people were hell bent on killing Derik. Guardian spirits and their hosts are stronger when they are in their element. It''s like placing Francis in a lush forest filled with different plants and trees. In such a situation, it is almost impossible for someone at his level to take defend against him even though he is not really a fighter type, chances are, he may even be able to take on people a grade higher than him and still emerge victorious. But Derik''s case is different, the proper environment can be created at any time and his true capabilities can then be showcased. Just like his battle with Francis, when he returned to the Lockwood family castle, the place was already littered with bodies of dead warriors and mages and when he arrived, he was suddenly strong enough to outrightly defeat a two hundred years old vampire and a nature mage at the mid grade of the silver realm just in one knight. Some may say that his opponents were not at their peak but the truth remains that, even a silver realm warrior or mage will find it difficult to achieve something like that. This is something no recruit should be able to do, even Kuen who possesses a cosmic spirit, rated peak of 5 star can not replicate such an achievement. Derik may not have been aware of it at that time, but now things are different. What terrified Gerald the most was his growth speed. It is said that the stronger a host of a guardian spirit becomes in his element, the more his appearance changes to fit the element he controls. Cyrus'', golden hair and snow white glowing eyes strongly supported this belief and such changes could be seen Derik. Ever since he focused on cultivating death magic, numerous visible changes have taken place on his body. Right now, just like Cyrus whose eyes are snow white, Derik possesses pitch black eyes and a fiery purple light at the center. His complexion turned pale and streaks of purple color could be seen on his pitch black hair which used to be brown! Even Cyrus and Francis hasn''t changed this much, showing their understanding of their elements has become inferior to that of Derik. ¡­.¡­.¡­. Donald and the rest were aware of Derik''s thoughts the moment he met them with the expedition troops outside the mansion. They knew he was already suspicious of them and was always on guard whenever they were close by during the journey. Even on occasions when they spoke with him on their progress and increase in strength, Derik always spoke little on the topic and refused to reveal anything important to them. Looking into Derik''s eyes, they could see the Derik they knew when he had awakened his power recently. Sitting around a small campfire set up not too far from the main group Kira and the others wore gloomy expressions on their faces. Even though they were annoyed by the proposal given to them by the royal family, there was nothing they could do about it. The survival of their families was literarily in their hands, and the offer wasn''t too difficult, all they had to do is not interfere when the expedition team decides to act. Friend or Family¡­ The answer was obvious. They were even promised more after the expedition ends. They could only blame Derik for being unlucky! "I know it hurts you all to do this but the truth remains that, Derik probably would have done the same if the situation was reversed¡­ Picking a friend which you just met a year ago over your own blood is simply not feasible... You all don''t have to beat yourselves too much" Kira said with a calm face. The others nodded in agreement. In their opinion, the royal family was kind enough to allow them not partake in the killing. "Since he already knows, the best we can do is to come out clean and explain to him¡­ He should be able to understand the reason things turned out this way¡­ I hope he forgives us and bares no ill intentions against us even in death" Cyrus said "No¡­ we can''t do that¡­. Didn''t you see the way he looked at us the last time we tried to start up a conversation¡­ That thing has robbed him of his emotions again¡­ I don''t think to talk to him at this point will change a thing" Gin sighed "Noooo!..." Daemon screamed. Clutching her plumpy chest, she shook her head repeatedly and spoke "Derik has known us for a while¡­ he has to understand¡­ Even if he doesn''t, we owe him this¡­ that way we can live the rest of our lives with clear consciences " After speaking on the issue for a while and every other person agreed, they left the campfire and walked into the woods, towards the place which the gloomy and diabolical aura was concentrated the most. ¡­. "They are going to speak to him on this matter¡­ probably to clear their conscience¡­" The bald guardian Knight of the miracle adventurer team laughed out loud and looked away "It won''t change the outcome¡­. I for one is okay with their decision¡­ kids like this shouldn''t carry such burdens in their hearts alone, it will definitely slow down their progress in the future¡­ let them have their chat¡­ it won''t hurt anyone" Gerald said with a concerned look on his face. ¡­.¡­.¡­. Derik''s body trembled greatly as he pushed forth all his strength while tearing the space around him. His eyes seemed to be blank and black veins popped out on numerous places all over his body. The first stage of this technique he has been practicing for some time now was to create a pathway to the underworld, where he could store his equipment and summon them should he need them at any point in time. After that, apart from the other techniques he practiced on, he also sort to perfect the spell which will definitely prove useful when the time comes. Death magic: Accursed gate of the underworld! This technique simply creates a path for the living to transverse between the realm of the living and the dead. Since this technique can be used to move into the underworld, it should be able to send someone out of the underworld as well. In Derik''s opinion, he should be able to create two portals. While one led to the underworld, the other will lead to somewhere else. It will serve the same purpose as spatial magic but the problem now is this. In order to successfully perform this spell, he has to create two portals! One which could fit him was already too hard for him to create, a second will really take a toll on him. And even if he could create a second, he needs to visualize the place he wishes to go to in his mind. And the only places he knows of are Castle Black, Briton, and the capital! These are places he shouldn''t even think of going to. Yes! The death aura could chase off monsters and terrify beasts which is a good thing, but this is also a problem. It makes him stand out! Derik knew that the moment he steps foot into the Gyro kingdom or appears anywhere close to Briton, they will know. The only option left is to depend on his luck, which so far has been very bad. According to Demos, if he attempts to open another portal leading out of the underworld without any particular place in mind, he will most likely be sent to any part of the continent or even outside the continent. It all depends on his luck. He knitted his eyebrows together as he stepped into the first portal and started ripping the space apart again in an attempt to create a second leading to another place. Since he had no specific place in mind, he could pray that his luck is good But then Demo''s voice echoed in his head and he quickly leaped out of the first portal he made "Stop! Quickly, some people are coming your way!!" Demo''s said. Under the moonlight, Derik''s purple eyes glowed fiercely as he stared at the direction which the intruders were coming from. 86 Chapter 86: The Journey 2 After waiting for a while, Donald, Daemon, Kira, Karl, Gin, and Cyrus appeared from the dense forest. Under Derik''s malicious gaze their body stiffened and they didn''t approach any further. They stood there for over a minute and no side spoke to the other "Don''t tell me you came here to stare at me¡­ Speak quickly, my time is limited" Derik snorted as he spokeHearing his words, their expressions darkened and they suddenly realized that the chances of their goal been fulfilled are quite low. They were hoping that Derik will understand their reasons and at least not hate them but considering the way he spoke and looked at them it became obvious that he wasn''t really planning to believe anything they were planning to say Karl and the others pondered for a while in silence on how to tackle this situation. "We are really sorry" Daemon spoke afterward while approaching Derik. Her huge eyes were watery and her face had reddened. Even seeing this wasn''t enough to move Derik. His gaze was still cold and he simply glanced at everyone present and sighed. The frown on his face loosened and his anger changed to indifference "Your reasons for plotting against me with my enemies were not unexpected¡­ You don''t have to bother much¡­ I don''t blame any of you for the side you chose to stand with, if the situation was reversed I may have done the same" Derik said indifferently. "I apologize in advance though" A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he spokeSeeing this, Daemon''s expression turned ugly as she understood the meaning behind Derik''s words, turning her attention to Cyrus and the rest behind her, she realized they also wore the same ugly expressions but their hostility towards Derik was more profound than hers. "My final advice to you Daemon¡­ An assassin shouldn''t be too emotional¡­ Your emotions are the reason you are the weakest in the team¡­ Deal with it" Derik snorted with his hands wrapped around his chest Hearing this, Daemon cursed him silently and tried to control her anger. Like, come on? they came here to apologize, the least he can do is accept and send them off"That''s enough Derik¡­ We only came here to apologize and inform you that we won''t be taking part in the ambush¡­ when it happens we are not allowed to interfere¡­ you don''t have to be on guard against us" Kira said with knitted eyebrows Hearing this, Derik suddenly laughed out hysterically for a while and then stopped abruptly which startled everyone "That''s good¡­ It just reduces the number of people I need to deal with when the time comes¡­ as for letting my guard down¡­ I don''t think so" Derik sneered Karl and the others were startled by his words and pondered for a while, what sort of confidence those this guy have that makes the guy act so recklessly. First, he didn''t bring the only tool which would have let him survive a while longer if besieged by the military, Miracle adventurer team, and the members of the royal family. Even with the bronze level magic bow, the chances of him surviving such an assault was below zero percent. The team still failed to understand why Derik still carried himself so confidently. Knowing their friend, they could tell he had something up his sleeves which no one could understand no matter how hard they tried. The real question was this, what gives him so much confidence? Was it his guardian spirit? What kind of spell did it reveal to Derik? Is there a spell capable of making a recruit defat multiple Silver realm and Bronze realm warriors? Seeing the puzzled look on their faces, Derik chuckled and sneered at them"Don''t bother yourself with issues like this¡­ when this is all over, I''ll definitely slaughter everyone who has a hand in this¡­ not a single soul will be left alive!" Derik claimed Bam! Bam! Bam! Golden aura, orange aura, and blood red aura quickly surrounded Cyrus, Karl, and Kira''s body respectively. Their gazes were cold and there hostile intentions were no longer hidden"You dare threaten our families?" Cyrus roared "If you wish to destroy those who we seek to protect Derik, then I''m sorry, we are not friends!!" Karl roared "If I let you act that simply means the purpose of me doing this has been wasted¡­. I chose this part just to protect my family¡­ but if you choose to kill the people we on to protect, then don''t blame me for being ruthless. I will not show you mercy!" Kira roared! "Blood magic: Blood spear!" Kira muttered and a deep cut instantly appeared on his palm, from it a small torrent of blood poured out, twisting and turning this blood took the form of a spear and graciously descended into Kira''s hands "From the pit of the abyss, I call upon thee, fight my battles and smite thy enemies¡­ Become my shield and become my sword¡­ let my foes shriek at the mention of thy name¡­ Blood summon; Hellspawn!!!" With bloodshot eyes, Kira roared and struck his left palm with the blood spear in his hands and blood poured out. Suddenly, the blood gathered at one point and formed a ten-meter wide pool beside Kira. From this pool shrieks and cries emanated, a bloodied hand that possessed pointy claws emerged and grabbed the ground and slowly pulled itself out. The hellspawn was just about 5ft tall and it stood on all four, its body looked like chunks of expired meat put together. It had the shape of a hound and several holes through which blood flowed out of those holes. Even though Derik has seen this beast before, he still felt couldn''t help complementing Kira, a mage without the support of a guardian spirit being able to follow the path of a summoner and a fighter is no small thing. Unfortunately, he wasn''t planning to be polite with these people he once called friends "Ooo condemned soul of the underworld, the one which led was led astray by the lord of light and the devout, where art thy gods? As the messenger of death who comes from the deepest parts of the underworld, I sentence thee to eternal damnation and rob thee of thy Freedom¡­ Death magic: Death Bind!!!" Derik muttered casually with an indifferent look on his face. Dark clouds gathered and thunderstorms ensured for a while. Seeing this, Kira''s face discolored. He could remember his little rumble with Derik, alongside Gin over a year ago. It was as if he was reliving the same traumatic experience, his eyebrows slammed against each other and he was about to scream out an order to the hellspawn but before he could speak the two large skeletal hands burst out of the ground and locked the hellspawn in a bear hug, robbing it of its mobility. Watching the hellspawn struggle desperately Derik chuckled and a sinister smile appeared on his face. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he casually walked towards the bound hellspawn as he spoke "The difference between bad and evil is quite much¡­ Your puny magic is nothing compared to mine..." Derik laughed He stretch forth his hand towards the direction of the hellspawn, pointing a finger at it he began chanting "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" Derik said calmly. Instantly a darkish purple magic array appeared at the tip of his finger and a torrent of darkish purple flames poured out, threatening to consume everything on its path But before the fiery darkish purple flame could reach the hellspawn, a blue streak of light appeared in front of the beast and danced forward towards Derik. It cut through the darkish purple flamelike butter, reaching Derik with ease. Seeing the blue arc of energy, Derik''s heart trembled greatly but his face was still stiff and calm. The fiery purple light in his eyes burned brighter than ever and claws instantly spawned in his hands "Scram!!!" Derik roared as he brandished his class at the blue arc of energy, sending darkish purple energy of his own. Boom! The shockwave instantly threw Derik off balance and he rolled on the ground a few times before getting on his feet. "Never again will I let this¡­ you win¡­ this won''t end like last time" Gin spoke while striding forward with a confident look on his face. His left hand trembled greatly and a cold glint of light flashed in his eyes when be saw Derik and the others standing with their weapons and equipment all unsheathed. "Isn''t this cute¡­ Fighting as a team against a common enemy¡­ You all seem to forget why I use to call the shots¡­ why you all felt safe and confident whenever I was around¡­" Derik laughed as he slowly wiped off the dust all over his body. "I am the backbone of this team¡­ without me, it will crumble¡­ there is no team guardian without me!" Derik roared and the death energy stored within burst out. "You sort to destroy everything we seek to protect¡­ I don''t know what gives you so much confidence to make you act recklessly in front of death but then again since this affects us¡­ we can''t trust the royal family to kill you for us¡­ we will have to do it ourselves" Cyrus roared "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik screamed. Instantly over six darkish purple balls of energy escaped his body and soon these balls of energy took the forms of bone spears. With a single flick of his finger, the bone spears shrieked loudly as if there was life in them and dashed towards Cyrus and the other five "Don''t you dare think only you have grown stronger in the past few months!!!" Cyrus roared and punched out into the empty air six times, leaving six golden magic arrays behind"Life magic: Holy bolts!!!" He roared and six balls of golden energy the size of a human head flew out of the magic arrays and successfully deflected the bone spears their way. Bam! Like an arrow, Donald shot forward with his body leaning toward while gripping the greatsword with both hands. A white faint light shrouded the great sword and with a roar, Donald slashed out horizontally revealing a faint arc shaped white light "Low level bronze combat technique: slash!!!" he roared With the enhanced physique and physical capabilities, escaping such an attack was nothing for Derik. His body shot back, escaping the range of the attack. A cold glint flashed in his eyes and his body instantly shot up over five meters into the air. At that point, Daemons figure wielding a dagger appeared from thin air with a puzzled look on her face. "Nothing gets past this nose" Derik snickered Stretching his hand forth while still in mid air a bone bow appeared in his hand and bone quiver filled with arrows appeared beside him. "Scattering Shots!!!" Derik roared, releasing 5 bone arrows at the same time, aimed at Daemon and Donald who were standing below. Seeing this, their face discolored and they quickly retreated in terror. Over the year while they trained for the adventurer''slicense exams, they trained alongside Derik and understood how terrifying Derik could be when he fought with a bow and arrows. Bam!Bam!Bam! If he was a beast when using just magic then it can be said he is a demon when combining magic and his archery skills. Landing smoothly, a confident smile appeared on Derik''s face as a bone arrow levitated out of his bone quiver and flew into his hands and a slight chuckle escaped his lips "I will show you all the difference between us" He said 87 Chapter 87: sI am the team!†The temperature suddenly rose dangerously and malicious orange aura flickered everywhere, igniting flammable substance it came in contact with. With murderous lights shining in Karl s eyes, he gazed upon Derik who still had a confident smile on his face and his body trembled violently "I will definitely make you eat those words¡­. You dare look down on us!" Karl roared Fire Magic: Fire spears!!! Instantly 6 fiery flaming orange spears appeared behind the battlemage, his bloodshot eyes were fixated on Derik and with a hand gesture, he sent all six spears flying at Derik. Seeing the incoming fire spears, the confident look on Derik''s face still remained. His eyes looked cold and with a single breath he sort to end the battle mage in one move "Low level bronze combat technique: Wind Arrow!" Derik roared. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind appeared around the arrow in his hand and completely enveloped his hand and the arrow, at this point a crooked smile appeared on his face and immediately, death aura mixed with the wind aura "This is something original¡­ Death magic: gusty death arrow!" He roared and shot the arrow. The six bone spears which were knocked away by Cyrus some time ago suddenly shrieked back to life and dashed towards the fire spears colliding with them, canceling each other out in the process. The arrow Derik shot looked slow but it released some sort of energy that made Karl stiff and unable to evade. He simply watched in horror as the arrow approached. "I won''t let you!!!" Cyrus roared as golden energy flashed all over his body. He waved his hand and a series of transculent golden walls appeared, waiting for the arrow to approach. "Light magic: Light walls!!" he screamed Bam! Bam! Bam! Crack! Under the overwhelming power of the bone arrow which was already equivalent to low level bronze combat techniques in terms of power, combined with the peak low level bronze combat technique, wind arrow. This powerful attack instantly reached new heights, only a step away from reaching the power level of mid level bronze combat techniques. One by one, the transculent golden walls slowly but steadily crumbled. "Go get him, everyone¡­ Cyrus and I will handle this" Karl roared and his aura skyrocketed "No more holding back!" He sneered "God of destruction¡­ lord of fire¡­ drown thy enemies in your anger and consume thy foes with thy flames¡­ it''s over!!!¡­ Flamethrower!!!" Karl screamed as he took a deep breath and spat out hot torrents of flame which completely consumed the bone spear shrouded in a strong gust of wind and death aura the moment it broke through the last transculent golden wall. ¡­.. Meanwhile ... Derik''s confident smile had vanished after Karl spoke. The moment their auras skyrocketed suddenly, Demos voice rang in his head like an alarm "Refinement! These guys have undergone refinement and are currently at the low grade of the bronze realm! This explains why their aura''s at first was unusually low and their attacks were weak¡­ it turns out that they have been hiding their true strength all along! You were toiled with all this while¡­. They were also multiple benefits tagged on the offer from the royal family!" Demos said Hearing this, Derik''s expression turned cold and he decided to stop holding back. Initially, he simply planned to subdue these people to prove to Gerald and the others that he will be useful until even in the moonlight forest, which surrounded the center of the world. That way his chances or surviving till they got to the moonlight forest will increase, back then, everything he said didn''t come from his heart. This was a plan presented by Demos the moment these people arrived. But now things are different, initially, he thought that the only thing the royal family offered to Kira and the others was just the safety of their family and maybe a few minor things. Never in his wildest dreams did he think they would be granted refinement and knowing the way kingdoms work, they will most probably be given positions of authority when this is over. Just to kill him the royal family gave out this much? Is this how deep their hatred for him is? What annoyed him the most is that these six people he once called friends couldn''t wait and instantly underwent refinement! They didn''t even bother been honest enough to come clean when they approached him. The anger and rage in his heart erupted like a volcano but his facial expression remained indifferent and his thoughts were still crystal clear, not clouded anyway by his anger. At this point, he understood that Demos didn''t completely take away his emotions, the guardian spirit wanted him to experience this, probably to make him understand how unfair life is and he was deeply thankful to him for this. Now truly understood the relevance of having a clear mind and keeping one''s emotions in check. To him this was perfect, he could feel but he could not show it immediately and his mind will always remain clear. Knowing fully well the advantages of having a clear mind at all times as a warrior, Derik was overjoyed by the discovery. His closed eyes yanked open abruptly and the first thing he saw was Donald, Gin, and Daemon dashing towards him. The confident smile appeared on his face once again and five bone arrows levitated out of his bone quiver and moved to his side. With vengeful eyes and a cold smile on his lips, Derik chuckled and the five arrows soon multiplied. *Mid level bronze combat technique: meteor shower!" Derik roared and in less than a second 300 bone arrows shot into the air. These arrows were mixed with green and darkish purple aura., shooting into the clouds like a meteor. "Wait what!!!" Donald screamed in fear "When did he learn a mid level bronze combat technique?" Daemon shuddered in fear They all gasped and frantically tried to retreat but unfortunately, it was already too late. A huge magic array which covered over 400 meters appeared above them and beams of darkish purple and green energy shot down like comets "I''ll end it all¡­ tonight!" Derik roared and his body was soon covered in a glittering white exoskeletal armor. Cold glints flashed in his eyes as his body shot forward "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik roared and a glittering white spear appeared in his right hand ....Meanwhile.... Gerald and the others who mused at the fight between Derik and the others. They all saw this as the perfect opportunity to observe Derik and see how capable the archer was. The only reason they haven''t killed him since the beginning was simply because of the way he approached them when they met him at the mansion. The moonlight forest which surrounded the center of the world was filled with top tier beasts which could even deal with peak silver grade realm warriors and mages. That''s the problem that most expedition troops from each kingdom faced when trying to get to the center of the world. If it weren''t for the tempting rewards which the dungeons possessed, no one would dare enter the moonlight Forest. Right now, even if it means getting one more competent warrior on his side, Gerald and Anna were willing to let Derik live until they got to the sky rift at the center of the world. Also, after observing Derik for a while they realized that the kid''s aura could drive away even high leveling beasts and this brought them great joy and security. While watching Derik and the other six fight, they really didn''t believe that Derik could handle all six of them and silently planned to interfere if the situation became too dangerous for Derik but now, it seemed that their expectations have been surpassed! Right now as they watched Derik put six members of team guardian in a disadvantaged position, Their eyes were filled with mixed emotions as they watched Derik butcher each and every one of them with a cold smile on his face. They began to wonder if this kid ever regarded these people like colleagues or friends! How can someone so young be so ruthless? They thoughtNow they began to question their decision of killing the kid in the first place! With this level of potential as a recruit, he will definitely reach the peak of the silver class later on in life and if he''s lucky, he may even make it to the golden class realm, the peak of which all mortals strive to reach. .... While Donald and the rest struggled with the comet like arrows that rained down on them. A range of 400 meters is no small thing, if not that those spying on them had a couple of silver class mages with them who could easily protect them, Gerald and the others would have been caught in the attack. "Aaaargh!" Derik roared and he struck forward at Daemon from the side who just escaped a comet that shot down from the sky. Her eyes widened in shock as she didn''t expect Derik to dash into this danger zone "No!... Wait!... Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!" Daemon screamed as the bone spear punctured her belly from the sided and death energy surged into her body. Her face turned pale and her body shivered repeatedly. Her body turned pale and thick black veins popped out all over her body. Black blood slid down her eyes and nostrils, she coughed out a mouthful of black blood and black blood oozed out of her wound. "Damn you!" Donald roared as he struggled with the comets that came his way. His eyes were bloodshot and his muscles were bulging. Under the influence of the mid level bronze combat technique, bulk up. He could barely defend against Derik''s arrow shower! Weren''t their techniques both rated mid level of the bronze rank?How can the fusion between his spells and his death aura strengthen his spells this much? He is yet to attain refinement, his spells are supposed to be weaker than theirs but that was not the case here. How is this possible? Even now he couldn''t still help Daemon if he wanted since he was too occupied. His enraged eyes shifted from Derik to Cyrus, from what just happened right now, It was clear that Derik planned to kill them all after he struck down Daemon without wavering His heart trembled in silence as he saw Derik approach stealthily, maneuvering through his own arrows like a shadow with the bloodied bone spear in his hand. A sinister smile crept on his face as he moved. It has only been two seconds since he cast the spell, but to Cyrus and the rest, this is the longest two seconds of their lives! "Today all of you will understand the difference between us!!!... This team is nothing without me¡­ I AM THE TEAM!" Derik sneered "You dare strike down your friend? Derik! I will kill you¡­ this I assure you!" Donald roared with bloodshot eyes "Hahahahahahahahaha!!! You are not qualified to threaten me!!" Derik laughed. His figure appeared in front of Donald and the bone spear in his hands trembled greatly and he struck forward"Vanish!!" Derik roared. Seeing this, Donald''s face discolored and his eyes trembled. "Fuck it!" Donald roared and hacked down at Derik mercilessly. Tink! Tink!!Boom!Both sides retreated by a few steps before stabilizing themselves. From Derik''s left shoulder down to his chest was a deep cut. While Donald only had a shallow wound on his shoulder. With a proud and triumphant smile on his face, Donald was already aware of Derik''s healing capabilities so he knew to give him enough time simply meant he could recover from the damage he has sustained. In his opinion, Derik may possess the enhanced physique and physical capabilities of a werewolf but he was still inferior when compared to Donald under the effect of the mid level bronze combat technique! If anyone could get rid of this death mage, it was him! 88 Chapter 88: Life and Death collides 1 Wicked light shone brightly in Donald''s eyes as he raised his greatsword high with killing intent. His crazed eyes were fixed on Derik who hasn''t moved an inch after the collision, at this point Donald didn''t even consider Derik as a part of the team anymore. All he could see now was a for who has to be put down. "You dare hurt Daemon!!!!... Hahaha! Not even the gods can save yo¡­." His words were soon cut short by something unexpected. His skin color had turned pale and his body stiff. He could feel a chilly cold liquid flow down his eyes and roll down his cheeks. "Ho¡­ ho¡­.w" He struggles desperately to speak as he stared at Derik who wore a confident smile on his face. Hints of fear and rage could be seen in his eyes as he struggles desperately but couldn''t move. His eyes widened in shock as a series of memories flashed through his mind almost in an instant and he recalled a few things he has been ignoring now. The first instance when such a thing happened was when Derik struck the royal guard, his energy infested the man''s body and then Daemon fell victim to the same technique! He has been so angry that he didn''t think of these things earlier "Crap!" He screamed in his heart "You talk too much" Derik snickered. The bone spear in his hands suddenly shrieked loudly and trembled violently in Derik''s hand. It was obvious he wasn''t planning to go easy Donald either, knowing the level of physical endowment his mid level bronze combat technique gives him. Derik seriously doubted that his normal strike would even be able to penetrate Donald''s skin so he put in a little more effort "Break!!!" He struck the bone spear deep into Donald''s right chest and darkish purple aura invaded his body and in just a few seconds Donald turned pale and spat out a mouthful of black blood. The light in his eyes dimmed and his body fell to the ground like a log of wood. Seeing this Derik smiled for a while and then realized something. His expression turned ugly and his face became gloomy [Why did his arrows stop raining?] [When did it stop raining?] [I was too focused on Donald to notice this!] Derik quickly looked up and his eyes widened in shock! Above was a massive gate that made Derik''s meteor shower look like a child''s play. The golden gate looked divine and multiple ancient ruins appeared on it. The gate radiated divine energy which made all the darkness aura in Derik''s body scream out in fear! "How did I miss this?" Derik was awed by the scene and was lost in it for a while. He simply stood in silence and watched his meteor like arrows pour down relentlessly on the divine golden gate but it still stood firm and didn''t even shake. A cold glint flashed in Derik''s eyes as he turned his attention to the only one capable of this. Cyrus! His body radiated pure divine energy, so bright that it lit up the dark forest. Under this shining golden light, nothing could is hidden and the darkness simply ran from it. Some golden ancient texts were engraved on his skin and his former snow white eyes turned golden. Plants beneath his feet bloomed and prospered and the vegetation''s around grew at a visible rate. "Unlike you who is yet to undergo refinement, this kid has broken into the bronze realm and has a better of the element his commands and the natural laws that follow! He is at a level now!" Demos explained Derik frowned upon hearing this and chose to confirm something first"He has taken off his limiters, am I correct?" Derik asked Demos with a stern look on his face "Yes¡­ and I must inform you¡­ now he is at a higher realm, the duration in which his limiters can stay off has also increased¡­" Demos chuckledNodding at his words, the frown on Derik''s face relaxed a bit. His eyes glittered under the golden dazzling light which radiated brightly from Cyrus and a confident smile appeared on his face as he strode forward boldly. "Apart from the limiters staying off a little longer than usual, are there any other notable changes I should know about?" Derik inquired "Coughs¡­ coughs¡­. I didn''t want to say everything in a bid to keep your hopes high but since you asked I''ll speak on it. The power level he attains with his limiters taken off is also higher than yours, the duration also lengthens but the consequences still remain the same " Demos said "You''re aware of the presence of Gerald Gyro and the rest¡­ I recommend you do not take off your own limiters and avoid entering a weakened state after¡­ even if you have proven your usefulness, the temptation to end you will arise again should you be found in a vulnerable state " Demos advised "Yea¡­ I know you don''t have to remind me " Derik said. His eyes shifted to Donald and Daemon''s bodies which were now surrounded in golden light and suspended in mid air. Loud shrieks and Cry''s echoed around the forest that night as the golden divine light invaded their bodies and slowly burnt away all traces of death energy slowly while healing them as well. This was the only reason why Cyrus was yet to attack Derik, he first prioritized the life of his team first and during the process of cleansing and healing, he was vulnerable. Kira, Karl, and Gin stood between him and Derik in hopes of preventing Derik from interfering. It was already an established fact that they were not his match, so no one took the initiative to attack. "You purposefully missed vital organs when you attacked them and the death energy in their bodies stop spreading after it got to a certain point¡­ You weren''t really planning to kill them in the first place¡­ it seems like you still have a heart after all" Cyrus said with narrowed eyes Hearing this Kira and the others were shocked as they stared at Derik utterly confused. This guy has been rampaging for so long that they actually thought he has lost it only to realize he has been careful all this while not to kill anyone. "Oooo¡­ Did I miss? Dang it" Derik laughed Hearing this Cyrus'' face loosened greatly and he breathed out a sigh of relief before speaking "I truly do not wish to harm you¡­ but you hurt them¡­ I have no choice but to fight back" Cyrus said with a bitter smile on his face Derik shook his head repeatedly and laughed "When you all sold me out for a few benefits¡­ I''m pretty sure you guys didn''t even break a sweat when making the decision whether to sell me off or not¡­ by the way, I''m just a commoner¡­ You all should be thankful that I spared their lives" Derik sneered. His cold gaze made everyone in his view tremble. At this point, the anger in the hearts of Karl, Kira, and Gin has subsided, replaced with guilt. They turned their attention to Cyrus. Their eyes showed their unwillingness to continue. They slowly backed away picking up Donald and Daemon who were still unconscious Seeing this a satisfied smile appeared on Derik''s face, the bone spear vanished and was replaced with a bone bow and a bone quiver filled with bone arrows. Cyrus could understand Derik''s intentions, the others may not be aware of the presence of Gerald and a few other powerful experts but Derik and Cyrus could feel it. Both controlled the power of life and death so they could always feel the presence of anything living or dead. It is practically impossible to sneak up on these two unless you control forces that are not natural. He and Derik had spent so much time together practicing before the adventurer''s license exams, so well that he could tell what Derik was thinking to an extent. He knew everything Derik has been doing is aimed at improving his image and worth in the eyes of these people. If he could prove his worth to these people, they may let him enter the moonlight forest with them! Cyrus really couldn''t tell why Derik thought the best place to escape is the moonlight forest but he wasn''t planning on asking. His former stiff face brightened and a broad smile appeared on his face. He nodded in agreement to Derik and spoke "I hope you remember this favor when you return¡­ and don''t expect me to hold back either¡­ I don''t want to lose face in front of these people" Cyrus said Derik nodded his head and all the dark energy running through his veins burst out, forming a cloud of darkness over his head. The fiery purple fire burning at the center of his pitch black eyes lit up and his body trembled greatly as he started chanting "Oooo lord of the underworld, keeper of the souls of the condemned and bringer of darkness, grant thy servant the swift movement of wind and the stealthiness of the shadow¡­ Allow me to roam free in the ghastly form that I may become one with the darkness¡­ Dark magic: Dark empowerment!" he roared as his body was instantly shrouded in a thick mist of death aura. Within the cloud of thick black clouds, a pair of purple fiery eyes lit up and its scorching gaze fell on Cyrus who remained unmoved. Gerald and the rest all wore interesting expressions on their faces as they stared at Derik and Cyrus with hints of respect and envy. Truly, the benefits of having a guardian spirit can never be overemphasized. Even the Royal family of Gyro only a one star rated fire magic which was later upgraded and passed down after multiple generations sat down and worked on the magic, searching for the perfect path which could boost the overall power and ratings of their magic. Three generations ago, they finally had a breakthrough and found a way to evolve their magic, changing the one star rated fire magic to a low level four star rated magic, dragon flames. Now everyone child born into the Royal family possesses the same magic with Kuen as the only exception who is Gerald''s step brother. Kuen''s mother was from a respectable family in Cato who was sold to the King of Gyro, Robert in exchange for a deeper relationship with the family and resources. This went well until Kuen''s mother died on the day Kuen was born. After which Robert cut off all ties with the family when he realized that Kuen was in possession of a peak five star rated magic, Gravity magic! He knew the family would demand for the child if they found out about his special cosmic spirit and the kingdom of Cato may even get involved in the tussle if they heard of this so all connection they had with the family was cut off. All attempts to reach the royal family of the Gyro kingdom failed and all these people knew was that their daughter died during child birth and the child didn''t survive as well. Knowing the potential this kid possesses, Robert spared no resources in training him, letting the boy undergo refinement immediately his body met the requirements. Unfortunately, cosmic spirits are quite different from guardian spirits and normal magic spirits. These are forces that possess powers not too inferior to the creator! These beings have been in existence from the beginning of time and are known for their prideful nature. They never make contact with their hosts unless these hosts reach a certain realm. All the previous champions who broke past the realm of humans and became demi gods. A demi god son, who won''t be excited? The only reason Derik and the other could put Kuen in a difficult position the last time they fought is simply because the guy is yet to get in contact with his cosmic spirit and couldn''t compare! Given enough time, the kid will definitely reach a realm where Derik and Cyrus combined won''t even be able to put a scratch on his body! 89 Chapter 89: Life and Death Collides 2 Wooosh! Wooosh!! Woooosh!!! Arrows shrouded in darkish purple aura shot out of the ghastly being shrouded in dark clouds. Its movements were swift and not even a single footstep could be heard. Dang! Dang!! Dang!!! The arrows struck a transculent golden barrier and quickly fell to the floor before fading away. Cyrus frowned as he stared into the darkness in the distance, trying to find out where Derik was. Although he could easily detect death even from a mile away, he was put into a tricky situation this night. As Derik was aware of his sensory perks, he also knew that hiding in the darkness would not help so he chose to do something different. As he moved in circles while attacking Cyrus with his bone arrows, He left behind thick trails of his death aura to confuse the life mage. In such a situation where his opponent utilized the hit and run tactics so perfectly, the only thing Cyrus could do was defend and curse Derik under his breath. He knew Derik was only stalling and time wasn''t on his side. His time duration in this form may have increased but should this continue the chances of him winning this battle will decrease greatly. His eyes narrowed and his golden hair on his air soon stood up and fluttered in the wind. The ancient texts written all over his body soon lit up and the range which his divine light covered increased slightly "Lord of light, the giver of life¡­ Smite this heretic with thy divine power and destroy thy powers with your consuming light! Spread forth thy hands and show these unbelievers that salvation can only be obtained in your gracious light!... Life magic: Divine light!" Cyrus roared Instantly all the divine light that radiated around his body vanished and his body stopped glowing. This startled Derik who was about to fire another round of arrows but stopped. He instantly felt something was wrong and tried to retreat but it was already too late. A small magic array suddenly formed beneath Cyrus'' feet and the glow in his body gradually returned. It was like an outburst of light, which instantly consumed everything! Even Gerald and the other views were not spared as the blinding light instantly consumed them and they felt like someone placed a heated iron on their plain skin, burning it in the process. But this time, it was everywhere. The first few seconds were a mixture of pain and shock, after which the mages cast a large scale protective barrier which prevented the light from penetrating. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect a new kid who just entered the low grade of the bronze realm to possess such an ability. When Cyrus was a recruit he killed a drunk guard who was at the low grade of the bronze realm but now he too has entered that realm he has become even more frightening! From the power this kid has displayed so far, it became obvious that he is capable of killing off anyone at the mid grade of the bronze realm easily and even if he is assaulted by a master at the peak grade of the bronze realm he should still be able to deal some damage before going down. While a lot of people were impressed by Cyrus'' limiter path which he shouldn''t even be able to use until he enters the silver realm, the others stared at the brightest light at the center of the forest in envy and silently cursed their bad luck. If they had such an opportunity done much better with this power. At least, that''s what most of them thought They quickly shifted their attention to Derik who the attack was directed to. Having knowledge of the balance in elements and effects, they knew that Cyrus''s life element was super effective against Death magic and was its natural weakness. The only reason Derik has been able to suppress Cyrus every single time whenever they got into a quarrel was simply that Derik''s magic at that time had more volume. The difference between a peak three star magic and magic at mid three star level is no small thing! But now Cyrus''s power level is above his probably by leaps and bounds, it won''t be an easy fight even if Derik takes off his limiters as well. ... Derik''s eyes squinted due to pain as he struggled desperately not to scream. The fiery burning purple light in his eyes slowly but steadily dimmed, threatening to extinguish permanently. At this very moment, he felt like his body was on fire! It felt like he was thrown into a pool filled with lava. Who would have thought this how it feels when someone is been assaulted by his or her opposing element? Visible burns kept appearing all over his body at first but it was been healed at a visible rate but after enduring this for a few seconds, his regenerative abilities could not keep up with it anymore. His body trembled greatly within the bright light that threatened to blow away all the clouds of death energy that surrounded him, leaving only tiny threads of darkness that latched on to his body bravely. "This spell seems to lack any form of physical force¡­ therefore it can be blocked by a physical¡­ as long as the divine light doesn''t get you¡­ you have no reason to suffer" Demos speculated calmly in Derik''s mind "Yea... I know!" Derik replied "Then why are you letting yourself suffer this much?" Demos inquired At this point, a smile appeared on Derik''s face "Because I wish to train my body and my resilience" Derik gritted his teeth as he spoke out this time, not able to withstand the pain anymore "Very well then¡­ carry on¡­ but don''t forget the goal is to win and gain their approval¡­ don''t push yourself too much" Demos said nonchalantly. Soon later howls and screams could be heard from within the light where Derik was standing, Gerald and the others at this point planned to interfere. Even Cyrus was a little worried and considered stopping but then something shocking happenedA roared could be heard from within the golden light and Derik''s figure became a bit clearer. His body was scorching red and black veins could be seen all over his body. He took a step forward and then another, and then another "Crap¡­ what is this kid made of?" a red haired girl exclaimed with both hands on her cheeks. The red haired lady is the archer of the miracle team, it is said that her archery skills are on par with that of elves! The others were dazed for a while as they watched Derik walk towards a nearby tree, taking cover. Right before their eyes, the scorching red injuries all over his body which looked like injuries caused by lava burns began healing itself at a visible rate. His heavy breathing soon subsided and all the death aura soon returned to him, making him take that ghastly form once again. The fiery purple light in his eyes which was almost quenched just a few seconds ago lit up and burnt even brighter. Seeing this, everyone present was astonished. Gerald and Anna were the most shocked here, and they silently questioned the kings to have Derik killed. They were aware of the existence of supernatural beings and they knew their worth to a kingdom. The general public may reject these people and brand them ungodly and even try to murder these people but the fact remains that these special individuals are the core strength of a kingdom, what the heck? Even the Gyro kingdom military has a special squad made up of only special individuals.In places where normal mages and warriors fail, these people have never failed. The royal family was aware of the Salvor incident and quickly moved to recruit the remnants of the Salvor family. They already knew that the Lockwood''s were ''Special'' and also suspected Derik but after doing a background check they shifted the thought away. According to their informants, Derik left the noble family after the night of the event and has never spoken on the matter till now so they simply assumed that he was just terrified like any other fourteen year old kid who coincidentally witnessed something they shouldn''t have seen. So they just pushed away from the thoughts and gave up on contacting him. Everything which seemed like a puzzle in Gerald and Anna''s mind began falling into place. The overwhelming strength he has been showcasing even at the entrance exam of the adventurer''s license exam, and against Kuen and his team! Not to talk of the mid grade bronze realm warrior whom he knocked over easily during the trial at the royal courtroom. Even here, a few minutes ago he clashed with Donald who was under the influence of a mid level Bronze combat technique which boosts one''s physical capabilities and physique and still stood on both feet''s, only retreating by a few steps! A recruit who is yet to undergo refinement! Were they so blind that they couldn''t notice these glaring signs? They silently praised Derik for keeping this secret to himself for so long without attracting the attention of the holy church. This is a group that resides in all parts of the continent and no single kingdom can handle them. Even the royal families of every kingdom, including that of the lizardmen who are in possession of a gold level magic weapon, have to talk to the church with respect. Yes, Aldemar is the biggest continent but that doesn''t make it the best. In fact, those who find themselves in this continent curse their rotten luck. The reason is simple, even though the other six continents in this world are not as Aldemar, they are only inhabited by only a single force each. In a place where there are no oppositions and plenty of resources, the clan''s growth will not be restricted by any force and it will easily reach its peak faster than normal! The wing race is one of such races that are blessed with such good fortune and have nothing to worry about. Members of this race claim to be direct descendants of the creator sent to the word to purge all forms of evil!. After amassing great power and breeding numerous top tier masters at the peak of the human realm, they easily infiltrated Aldemar with the guise of religion, pulling a lot of Indigenes to their side and creating a small paradise they can call their own in the continent where they gradually leech off the resources of the continent. It didn''t take time for them to spread to every kingdom in the continent and obtain solid footholds in each empire the occupied. The royal family of these kingdoms has always been aware of the true aim of these people but they have always kept their opinions to themselves. In the past, the Queen of the elven kingdom which is known as a very proud race strongly spoke against the Holy church because it drew away the attention of the people from the goddess of nature and she even went as far as to order them to leave the kingdom. Two days later a squad of peak grade silver realm wingmen appeared from the skies and descended on the capital of the elven kingdom and instantly wiped out the royal family of the elves present. Ever since that day, no one dares to speak against this race of fanatical looters. Even in the present time, to gain their favor, most kingdoms offer resources in the form of kids who are talented in light magic or holy magic. The only notable disadvantage which the wing race possesses is simply lack of diversity. Each and every member, both the warriors and the mages master only holy magic and their paths are always related to holiness. Gerald and Anna quickly came to the conclusion that Derik only been able to hide his werewolf side well simply because of his death magic. It was purely due to intoxicating bone chilling aura, diabolical aura which it had that made people not notice anything. This magic made Derik so intimidating that even people at the peak of the bronze realm will take a step back first and consider the situation before attacking him, even though they can defeat him easily. At this point, they realized that Derik''s magic has always been looking after him in strange ways and now they began to reevaluate the usefulness of a peak three star magic with a guardian spirit! 90 Chapter 90: Moonlight Forest 1 A fiery bright light suddenly lit up the dark sky and let out a bone chilling roar! Looking up into the sky, Derik and Cyrus were shocked by what they just saw. The scorching red flames twisted and turned in mid air and soon to the form of an ancient dragon. "Wait... What?" Derik cried out and started retreating. In his ghastly form, his movements were swift and unrestricted but he could not hide from the bright rays of light which escaped the body of this ancient beast! Within the one month, Cyrus has spent with the royal family before the expedition with the rest of the team, Cyrus got to know a few things about the royal family and their legendary Dragon flame magic which they possessed. It turns out that the royal family members were blessed with a four star rated magic from birth, which is extremely terrifying. Even though guardian spirits can have their magics upgraded with time but the chances of one''s magic breaking into a whole new level are quite slim and most get stuck at the peak of their original realm. No matter how hard he searched, he still couldn''t find out what means this ancient family succeeded in turning a one star rated fire magic to a four star rated Dragon flame magic. He still failed to understand how this family was able to make their magic skip two levels above them! Unfortunately, the more he pursued the truth, the more confused he became. It felt like running into clouds of smoke, the deeper one got the thicker the smoke becomes.This is actually the first time Cyrus has witnessed a technique used by a silver realm elite and he could see the difference each realm provides. While higher grades in a realm increase the quantity of the attack, a higher realm simply increases the quality. The fire dragon conjured by Gerald possessed so many details that for a moment Cyrus also believed it was real. His eyes quivered as he saw the beast strike down like a bolt of lightning and his heart trembled. Even though he wanted to move closer, the ancient aura this beast radiated was enough to suppress him greatly, even though he was still reaping the benefits of his limit breaker path! His expression turned gloomy as he tried to visualize what Derik who was the target must be going through.Derik crossed over a hundred meters in just a few seconds thanks to the enhanced mobility which his Death magic: Dark empowerment provided. But after the first few seconds, everything got tricky. No matter how far and fast he ran in his ghastly form, even blending with the shadow, the light which radiated off the ancient dragon always cast away the shadow, revealing his location. This ancient beast was in no way inferior to him in terms of speed and was constantly reducing the distance between them.Within the clouds of darkness that hid his body quite well, Derik turned pale and his face discolored. With a gloomy expression he constantly turned back to check how much progress he was making and when he realized he would soon be caught, he screamed in his heart but his face was still stiff. His eyes quivered and the sight of the ancient dragon reminded him of the silver level secret combat technique which the Lockwood''s utilized during their battle with the Salvors, against Cornelius the two hundred plus year old vampire. His eyes lit up and crazy ideas rushed through his mind. Ever since he created a lesser version of the Accursed gate of the underworld which is originally a silver level technique, Derik''s enthusiasm when it comes to replicating magic heightened greatly. He already knew running will get him nowhere and it was practically impossible to escape Gerald Gyro at this stage. He could tell them the man was not planning to kill him either, that part was from Demos who was familiar with the strength of silver realm elites. According to him, Gerald was only joking around and probably trying to see the way Derik would react. This, coupled with the fact that the aura from the ancient dragon made him feel like he was trying to run while trapped in quicksand. His body was getting stiffer, his movement more rigid and his speed reduced drastically due to this. In such a crappy situation what was the use of running?"Yo! Demos... That technique the Lockwood''s used... The wolf avatar one... Can you explain the technique to me and how it works?" Derik asked Demos"Humph!... You truly plan to act recklessly in such a situation... One slip and you''re dead... Even if this man bears no ill intentions for you now but there are multiple cases in the past where elites kill their juniors unintentionally... The technique you are trying to replicate is a low level silver realm secret technique... Should you try to perform the techniques, you will definitely release an aura at that realm or at least similar to it. When that happens I believe Gerald''s interest will be aroused and he will strike out... At this point, if you fail to successfully release the technique in one go... You will be left open and feel the undiluted power of a silver realm attack!" Demos responded immediatelyDerik kept running and shook his head repeatedly"As you can see... I am almost out of time so there is no time to argue...Concerning this issue... I work better under pressure... Come on man!" Derik pleaded in his mind"Very well then..." Demos replied a second laterWith this settled a sinister smile appeared on Derik''s face and his death aura suddenly burst out and every vegetation and tree around quickly withered. "Flow!!" He roared and his aura spiked again increasing twofold. It became clear he was planning to pour in all his mana into this next attack.Seeing Derik stop running, Gerald was startled and planned to stop but then he saw a smile on Derik''s face. This aroused his interest and his curiosity got the best of him, he kept charging forward within the body of the ancient flame dragon. Even Cyrus and the others who came with Gerald were startled by what they saw. They chased after Derik and Gerald in hopes of seeing if Derik would be able to escape, never in their wildest imaginations did they think that Derik would choose to direct confrontationWhat gave him this much confidence?Isn''t this kid just too arrogant?Some felt that Derik was like a bag filled to the brim with surprises. Throughout tonight, he has kept them entertained and has also gotten surpassed their expectations on multiple occasions. These people believed that if Derik could stand in the face danger like that with that same confident smile on his face, it simply means that he actually has some tricks up his sleeves.While some thought that way, the rest were not really happy with what they were witnessing. In their eyes, Derik was just too arrogant! Yes, they have to admit he has done so well tonight that elites like themselves were on their toes while watching him fight but this situation was entirely different. Gerald Gyro is the first Prince of the Gyro kingdom, a prodigy and a genius who appears only once in a generation.It is extremely difficult for someone to practice in two paths but this man has achieved it at such a young age and that is not even worth mentioning when speaking on the main achievement that made him the most famous person in the southern region of the continent!In his early twenties, this man was not only able to master two paths but he also achieved them realm of perfection or hybrid realm. The realm of perfection or hybrid realm is simply a special situation where a person is able to achieve a state where the major weaknesses warriors and mages face does not have much effect on him anymore. This is being capable of advancing both as a warrior and a mage!The southern region of the continent only Gerald has been able to achieve this, and also make it to the silver class realm in both classes in less than twenty five years!. After considering this, these people believed that in terms of raw talent, Derik may be amazing but he is inferior to Gerald.Derik paid no attention to those in the distance and focused on Demos''s words. According to the guardian spirit, replicating the technique in such a short time is practically impossible and the best they can do at this time is to create a variant of their own. Demos explained that to replicate a technique such as this, one has to enter a state of meditation, where he molds the for of the creature which he wishes to summon in his spirit. This at the moment is obviously impossible for Bronze grade realm warriors and mages not to talk of recruits yet to undergo refinement. Of course, he could not perform this at his stage so he simply had depended on Demos for this!The process took the form of creation like in the scriptures brought by the wingmen, it is written that man was molded and then the breath of life was breathed on him, giving him life. While Demos replicated this godly act in Derik''s soul he watched in excitement. The process took hours in his mind but only a second in reality.At this point, Gerald was less than three hundred meters away. Suddenly, Derik''s power spiked for a second to reach a level that made everyone''s face discolor! His darkish purple aura escaped his body and ran into the empty air above and began twisting and turning, just like Gerald''s fire before it took the form of the dragon. Numerous shrieks and cries kept resonating from the clouds of death aura above Derik.By the time Gerald was about two hindered meters away, the darkish purple aura took the form of a regular skeleton, from the waist up with fiery purple eyes just like Derik''s. Its head twisted and turned as it gazed upon the environment before screaming and releasing a wave of death aura which made everything in its path wither."Silver level secret combat technique: Shriek the Dead!!!!" Derik who was bubbling with excitement couldn''t wait and decided to give the technique a name.Since the skeletal being possessed a small portion of his soul, he could feel its emotions and this was beyond Derik''s imaginations. Without uttering a word, Derik pointed at the incoming Fire ancient dragon and skeleton turn its attention it and cried outWoooosh!!!!The skeleton flew towards the fire dragon at once, seeing this Gerald was stunned.Shouldn''t this be something only Silver class realm warriors can do?How did this kid manage to replicate his magic?So many thoughts filled his mind and he was slightly distracted."Screeeeeech!!!!"Derik roared! Instantly the skeleton cried out, letting out a high pitched cry which made people bleed from their ears!Boom!The two forces collided and created a massive shockwave that covered over four hundred meters! As Derik had already utilized all his mana to create this technique his body was weak and his vision was already fading before the shockwave hit, knocking him out on the spot.The debris cleared and Gerald walked out of a 20 meter deep crater majestically with an astonished expression on his face as stared at the unconscious Derik in shock and wondered why he hadn''t noticed this kid for a while now. If he quickly took Derik under his wings as a direct disciple back then after the incident at the exam arena with his father, Robert wouldn''t dare to plot against this kid but it was too late now. To think the Gyro kingdom will lose a talented individual just because of a little grudge! Shouldn''t a king be mature enough to see through these crappy schemes in his head and look at the bigger picture?Well, it doesn''t matter anymore. The order has been given! The only thing he can do right now is to borrow Derik''s shocking strength in the moonlight forest before sending him to the after lifeHe picked Derik up easily with the strength of a silver class realm guardian Knight and walked towards the camp" We have already lost soon much time... Let''s start moving! " he saidWith that single order, the team set out for the moonlight forest! 91 Chapter 91: Moonlight Forest 2 ...The next morning...His head felt like it was been used as a drum, the beating sound echoed repeatedly and he quickly reached for head to hold on to it. His closed eyelids trembled greatly for a while before yanking open. He turned to the side only to realize that he was sitting in the same roofless horse carriage with Gerald who was staring at him with interest. His heart skipped a bit at this sight and his body trembled greatly but his face was still indifferent.He turned his attention to his body which was bound with shackles that had silver ancient runes on them. His mind raced back to the event at the royal courtyard and he sneered at the Prince before summoning all the strength in his body to shatter the shackles. His muscles puffed out and began bulging as he desperately struggled with the shackles but then the silver runes on them lit up and instead of loosening, it only got tighter. Realizing what was going on, Derik''s face turned pale and his eyes became gloomy, he called out to his guardian spirit in his mind but there was no reply and that''s when he fell into despair.Guardian spirits are occasionally called by the creator and during such occasions, their hosts are left vulnerable and can only rely on their own strength. Fortunately, only those that possess guardian spirits are aware of this incident, so unless a wielder of that guardian spirits decide to rat out the other, the outside world will never be able to take advantage of this loophole.He turned his attention to Cyrus who was not too far away, with gloomy eyes. In response Cyrus discreetly nodded, confirming his suspicion. At this point, he was already drowning in despair and cursing his bad luck in his heart. His gloomy eyes returned to Gerald who was sitting beside him with the same charming, confident smile on his face."Come on now... I know you can break these bonds which are meant for mid grade bronze realm warriors and mages... If you utilize that technique you used against me last night or just take off your limiters... You should be able to break this shackles" Gerald laughed.Sealing shackles are divided into two, the ones meant for warriors and mages. Each possessing various power levels meant to restrain people at those levels, starting from recruits to peak grade silver realm warriors... But they all possess a similar flaw if one is capable of revealing power above the level of the shackles placed on them. It should be easy for them to break it. Some may ask, why not use shackles meant for silver realm warriors and mages to bind even recruits to be sure situations where prisoners don''t break out. But the truth is that creating these shackles requires a lot of rare materials and resources. A kingdom that is in possession of about 10 silver realm shackles of any grade is considered wealthy!Gerald knew that the technique utilized by Derik last night was above his level and probably ended up incurring some internal damages which will forever affect his growth but with the werewolf ability, this shouldn''t be the case. The fact that Derik woke up, completely fine and wasn''t in pain of any sort showed that the internal injuries he sustained are already healed. Such a regenerative speed is really terrifying and he was a bit envious of this kid. He too would have loved to possess this gift but he was an important figure in the Gyro kingdom and the eyes of the Holy church were on him. Should he attain this supernatural ability, the possibility of them finding out is quite high and they will obviously take advantage of the situation and start a crusade against the royal family of the Gyro kingdom. Wiping out every one of them and taking over the kingdom. No matter how neutral or holy the holy church has been trying to look, they could not hide their ambitious nature perfectly. "And fall into a weakened state and leave myself vulnerable?... I sincerely refuse" Derik laughed and tried to look confident"Hahahaha!" Gerald laughed"If I wanted you dead I would have killed you off the moment we left Gyro kingdom or a few hours ago while you were still unconscious," Gerald saidDerik shook his head for a while and considered the man''s words"I know and I''m grateful for that but let''s not act like we don''t know the king''s intentions for me... Whether you plan to kill me or not... It won''t change a thing... The fact remains that I will be killed before we return to the kingdom... If not at your hands, someone from this expedition party will definitely do it... So do not blame me for being on guard at all time" Derik saidGerald nodded in agreement with Derik''s words. He knew Derik was right, even if he doesn''t initiate the attack, someone will. The only reason these people are still calm up till now is simply because of Derik''s ability to scare monsters! On normal circumstances, even galloping of the horses were enough to attract monsters but after a very long and loud battle not even a single monster appeared. No! This was only possible because they scared of Derik''s death aura. Until they pass through the moonlight forest no one in the group will lay a finger on him or even let a monster harm him"Your aura is special... It scares the beasts of the forest, that''s why they are still keeping you alive... Until you have served your purpose no one in the expedition troop will dare to lay a finger on you... Chances are, they may even risk their lives to protect you" Gerald decided to be honest with Derik.He really liked this kid and saw no reason for him to die but he couldn''t do anything to stop it. He knew his father''s personality and knew this single act of defiance will turn the Gyro kingdom into hell for him. In his opinion, Derik''s life wasn''t really worth going through all that trouble but his life is still valuable for him to help him discreetly. He knew Derik had a plan to escape, the only thing he could do is find a way to make sure he gets the chance to escape. All that''s left now is for Derik to open up to him and trust him.Derik frowned slightly upon hearing Gerald''s words, His eyes narrowed as he kept staring at Gerald trying to find out if the man was been truthful and why he was being truthfulIs it possible that this man bears no ill intentions for him? The thought crossed his mind but was quickly pushed away. Seeing Derik still wasn''t convinced, Gerald frowned! He tried to put himself in Derik''s situation and found it reasonable that the kid was careful enough not to trust anyone. His admiration for Derik increased tenfold as realized that if he were in the same crappy situation as Derik, he may not be as calm and calculative as this kid. Even though he couldn''t say that Derik was actually smart or on par with the geniuses in the Gyro kingdom, he knew Derik was still special in his own special way. The urge to help this kid survive rekindled and instantly began thinking of a more effective way to work.His eyes brightened as a thought popped up in his mind, so he took the initiative to speak first"Its only natural you don''t trust me... But how about this, I''ll reveal something pertaining your families welfare to you and swear to aid you in any way possible without directly implicating myself and in return, you will trust me and aid me with one thing" Gerald chuckledHearing this Derik''s eyes lit up and his body trembled greatly. For the first time in a while, he showed his feelings outside the battlefield, seeing Derik tremble people began to wonder what Gerald said to Derik to make him tremble especially since this kid didn''t even blink when joining the expedition crew when he was aware of their evil intentions towards him. They all tried to get closer to Gerald''s Carriage but his expression instantly turned hostile and everyone quickly retreated.Gerald returned his attention to Derik and the usual charming and confident smile appeared on his face. He knew that this was one of the only ways he could reason with Derik since the kid has been away from his family for a while. Even the devil will shower his parents with love and care if he had one, so why should this kid be different? Even if he acted badass and truly didn''t care about a lot of things that doesn''t mean that extends to his family. Even though this was just a hunch, Gerald decided to play on it and judging based on Derik''s expression it seems as if he won the bet.Derik trembled greatly inside as he considered Gerald''s words. It is true that he has not been in contact with his family for a whileThe last time he met them was when he dropped off Lisa Lockwood before the salvor vampire incident, even then he was still under the influence of Demo''s death powers and treated them with contempt. Luckily he was freed from the grip of the Angel of Death and they began cooperating very well to date. Since then he has been feeling guilty and has never been able to summon enough courage to return home. It''s safe to say he hasn''t been with his family for over close to two years now and he had to admit the welfare of his family after he''s gone has always been on his mind. Derik had to confess that this prince really knew how to bargain, he tried to be rational at this moment and considered his current predicament. Acting out of emotions has never ended well for him. If he didn''t let his anger get the best of him when he heard the news about Daemon being violated and didn''t defile king Robert in public, he probably wouldn''t have been in this situation right now. Yes, they would have to endure harsher punishments but it wouldn''t be as bad as this. He considered everything and realized that he really didn''t have anything to lose. If Gerald was willing to help why turn him down? Of course, he couldn''t completely trust this man still, but if Gerald''s demand isn''t too demanding there is no reason for him to refuse. "First tell me the favor... I hope you don''t mind allowing me to decline if it''s too demanding" Derik saidClap!Clap!!Clap!!!"Well done... You have once again proven to me that I am making the right choice" Gerald laughed.In his opinion, a person capable of keeping his emotions in check and thinking things through even when put in a dire condition is worthy of his praise and attention. To him, there is no better ally to have than Derik!Derik has potential, he''s smart and he has terrifying magic. Given enough time and the right condition, this kid will definitely become a powerhouse! And Gerald was willing to bet everything on him."I overheard your conversation with your old friends... In fact, we all did but everyone is not taking it seriously because they feel you won''t make it... But I don''t believe that... So here my demand... I wish to collaborate with you whenever you return and overthrow my father, taking his place as the king..." Gerald chuckled and stopped speaking. He knew this request was weird and sudden so he didn''t rush itJust as Gerald thought, Derik was dazed by the request, who would have thought Gerald would hit him with something this big? He was expecting something small or just answers to some questions concerning his wolf side."Wait! Hold up... What?... Kill the king?... Why are we even talking about something so sensitive in such an open space, aren''t you afraid of someone hearing this?" Derik whispered Gerald laughed out loud holding his belly and his face reddened."Hahahaha!... Seriously? You worry too much. In case you haven''t noticed, my carriage is always surrounded by the members of the miracle adventurer team and a few more teams from the adventurers association. In the Gyro kingdom, there are three major forces, the military, the holy church, and the adventurers association... The military is loyal to my father, the association answers to me alone and then the church answers to those wingmen and wing women... At this moment we are surrounded by the people I trust the most... Anything we say won''t leave this place... Fear not!" Gerald laughed heartily 92 Chapter 92: Moonlight forest 3 It took Derik minutes to digest everything he heard, and even after all that, he still had his It"How sure are you that I will return? How sure are you that I won''t die in some unknown place?How sure are you that I will be powerful enough to challenge the king when I return?" Derik asked with a confused expression on his faceHe still couldn''t understand what Gerald saw in him that made him place so much trust in him. Yes! He knew he has done things, people, his age shouldn''t have been able to do, he knows that with the presence of the guardian spirit also means his future is quite bright if he plays his cards well but this isn''t enough for someone to bet his all on him! Even now, the chances of him surviving outside the kingdom were slim and without undergoing the refining process, there is no way he could progress to other realms. At this point, he realizes how f##ked up his situation is and lamented in his heart."I have a hunch that you will return stronger than ever... My Dad is a tyrant in his own silly way and its beginning to piss me off... So many talented individuals have fallen prey to his crappy schemes... Right now, my father favors her more because she''s just like him... Cooking up schemes at the slightest provocation... You definitely don''t want Gyro to be ruled by that bitch" Gerald snickeredHearing this, Derik ran his hands across his forehead and thought hard for a while..."Gyro can be ruled by a lady?" Derik askedGerald nodded with a bitter smile on his face"A few years ago I was the one who pushed for this, equality amongst both sexes... Because of me, women in Gyro can take important positions in Gyro... Because of me, the first female general was appointed... And because of me, my sister may rule the Gyro kingdom... Isn''t it ironic? " Gerald laughed bitterly"Very!"Derik laughed"Anyway, should you return to Gyro, you won''t able to subdue the forces of the kingdom yourself... Even if you reach the silver realm there are so many others in that realm that can put you down if they band together... You need another force by your side if you wish to succeed... That''s where I and the association come in... As long as we work together we can bring down the military... All you need to do is agree to my request" Gerald laughed..."Maybe you haven''t noticed, I am yet to undergo refinement... I can''t cultivate properly until I do that... I have no future without that" Derik let out a long sigh"You don''t have to worry, that has already been taken care of... There is a high quality storage ring in your back pocket... In there are supplies that will last you at least a year, a communication stone and a high grade refinement shard..." Gerald said casuallyTo undergo refinement one needs to completely absorb the energy of a refinement shard which is created from multiple rare materials. Even the lowest grade refinement shard costs at least 200 gold coins and a high grade refinement shard costs about 500 gold coins. The difference between the grade of the shards is just the boost cultivation speed. A low grade refinement shard just pushes a normal person to the low grade of the bronze realm with no added effects, but a mid grade or top grade refinement shard does not only push people straight to the low level of the bronze realm it also increases the capabilities of the energy pathways in a persons body which makes it easier for them to train. To think that his luck would change so suddenly, it took Derik a few seconds to digest the information"Hahahaha! Don''t worry I snuck it in while you were unconscious... I just couldn''t let you die... You don''t have to worry, you can keep it even if you refuse to work with me... And don''t worry, teams from the adventurers association will not act against you when you try to escape... Now you only have to worry about my sister and the military" Gerald laughedDerik was stunned by this, even if he refused this man was still willing to help him this much. Were there people this good in this world?"It''s alright... I accept your offer" Derik saidA broad smile appeared on Gerald''s face "Great!... In that case, we have ten years tops to act... That''s when my father will pick his successor... I need you to return by then or before..." Gerald explained with a serious face"Ten years... I believe that''s more than enough" Derik said confidently.Seeing the kid was confident, Gerald''s serious look loosened slightly."The communication stone should be used once, only upon your return... That will give me enough time to prepare... As for the high grade refinement shard, all you have to do is pour in your mana into it and shatter the shard, then absorb the energy stored within... Do make sure that you''re not interrupted during this process or there will be a backlash" Gerald explained. Derik paid attention and nodded as the man spoke "Cyrus and the rest... What type of refinement shard was given to them?" He asked"Mid grade refinement shard" Gerald answered"Okay... So tell me... What information do you have on my family?" Derik asked.Hearing this, Gerald''s face turned gloomy, he thought for a while and considered something''s for a while before speaking"This may not be what you were expecting but its the truth... The Royal family only assumed that you had the supernatural power of a wolf and never got any evidence... To help justify your death, they have been going around, searching for people to testify against you... Literally calling you a demon beast... You show of inhuman strength and speed, even though you are from the archery class has been put into account... The Lockwood''s testified against you to save themselves... Your team testified against you and...Your family testified against you... As for their welfare, you don''t have to worry... As a reward, they have been promoted to tier two nobles... With the backing of the Royal family, your family will never lack" Gerald hurriedly included in hopes that Derik won''t lose his cool and cause a scene.Derik felt like he has been struck by lightning when he heard Gerald speak. He could understand it if the Lockwood''s testified against him, He could understand it if his team testified against him, but his family? This is something else entirely, Something he didn''t see coming. The fiery purple flames at the center of his eyes lit up and burned fiercely, his body trembled as black veins pop up all over his body. His eyes narrowed and the temperature around them dropped. Every member of the expedition troops are top tier elites in the Gyro kingdom, so they noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere and quickly pinpointed the source... Derik!Apart from Derik''s team which were all at the low grade of the bronze realm, the weakest warriors and mages in this group were the peak grade of the bronze realm. So none of them were flustered by what was happening. Even if Derik could replicate a silver realm technique, he was still at a recruit and its power is nothing compared to the original. Also, they had silver realm warriors and mages present as well, so Derik''s chances of escaping are zero.Darkish purple aura burst out of Derik''s body and dashed towards the clouds like a bolt of light. The moment the darkish purple streak of energy entered the white fluffy clouds, it turned black and purple lightning rumbled and occasionally struck occupied spaces. The clouds soon gathered taking the form of the same skeleton similar to the one he used a night ago, soon shrieks and loud outcries resonated from the sky. Derik''s firey purple eyes burned fiercely and he abruptly stood up, his fiery gaze fell upon Kira and the others and his muderorus intentions poured out without restrain"Derik..." Gerald remained calm and spoke"I''m alright..." Derik finally spoke after glaring at his formal teammates for sometime.A purple bolt of lightning suddenly shot down from the mouth of the skeleton, shattering his shackles and this made everyone''s heart quiver. When Derik used the ''Silver level secret technique: Shriek of the dead'' on Gerald, it was crushed so easily and they just assumed it was only comparable to mid level bronze combat techniques at most. But now, they witnessed the technique shatter shackles meant to restrain mages and warriors at the mid grade of the bronze realm! Doesn''t that mean the technique was close to the level of peak level bronze combat techniques or at the same level as peak level bronze combat techniques?Initially, they didn''t see Derik as a threat, they simply thought he was someone they can easily subdue or kill at any point but now, knowing the kid possessed a technique that can actually harm them or even kill them made them feel very uncomfortable, some even started imagining situations and possible outcomes if they battled Derik. Imagine a situation where Derik activates his limiter path and his power sky rockets even further... Combining that power boost to the silver level secret technique... Nasty! They probably won''t be able to defend against itEven though Derik could use this technique only once, he is sure to kill one peak bronze level warrior or mage before he dies and no one is really willing to be the scapegoat in this situation. They cautiously watch Derik get rid of what remained of the shackles before taking a seat. His anger has subsided and his indifferent expression had returned. He gave Donald and the others one more menacing glance before shifting his attention to Gerald. "You have got yourself an ally... I''ll make sure to find my way back to Gyro kingdom as soon as I''m ready, then I can dish out untainted justice " He sneered"Good... No rush... You have ten years, so take it slow... Improve your comprehension of the forces of death and no one will be able to stand in your way" Gerald laughedDerik only nodded in response and kept mute throughout the journey, meditating. His body ached badly after he utilized that insane technique and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His breathing became uneven and his body trembled greatly, turning dangerously pale. He was obviously suffering from the side effects of using a technique that his body was clearly not prepared for in silence. The next day, Demos returned and it laid out the plan through which they will escape in the moonlight forest....FIVE DAYS LATER...MOONLIGHT FOREST...Derik''s eyes widened in shock as the carriages and horses stopped over a kilometer away from what he could call the largest trees he has ever seen in his life. These trees were thick and over twenty meters long with an umbrella like branches and leaves that prevented the sun rays from penetrating. The expedition troops of a one thousand five hundred elites, left a team of fifty peak grade bronze level mages and warriors behind to protect the carriages and horses while the others pushed forward.With the two members of the royal family in front and Derik by their side. The rest of the expedition troops fell into a defensive formation where the guardian knights and other members of the physical class took the lead while the magical classes stayed at the rear to provide support. The team matched forward gallantly until the walked past the five hundred meter threshold and this happenedROAR!!!!!!!!!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!Accompanying the terrifying roar and occasional was a wave of red murderous aura which made the expressions of even the silver realm warriors and mages of the team frown greatly. It was like a warning, telling them to turn around and run. At this point, the peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages were already covered in their own sweat and all looked at Derik waiting for the kid to actSeeing this, Derik sneered at them and walked forward boldly with both hands shoved into his pockets. His fiery purple eyes lit up and most of the death in his body burst out confronting the red murderous aura directly!Rumble!Rumble!!Rumble!!!As soon as Derik''s darkish purple aura crept into the forest, rumbling sounds pervaded and slight tremors followed. Sounds of beasts running resonated from the forest and a triumphant smile appeared on Derik''s face. But then...ROAR!!!!!!!!!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!The red aura rushed out again but this time it was more powerful than before! The force swiftly knocked Derik over as he was in front."What the fuck is that!.... What level is that beast at!!!" Derik cried out in fear for the first time 93 Chapter 93: Danger Lurking in the shadow Derik quickly got on his feet and turned to Gerald and Anna who both wore gloomy expressions on their faces. They knew that Derik''s attempt to scare the monsters was about sixty percent complete. At least with Derik around, they won''t get attacked by random high level magic beasts, this way the can conserve their strength for whatever abomination it is that could withstand Derik''s power."Nothing can be done?" Anna asked, clearly disappointed.Her eyes narrowed and she placed her hand on the saber strapped to her waist. In her opinion, Derik''s sole purpose is to drive away the beasts in the moonlight forest and keep them safe. If this kid can''t do just that, then what''s the use of having him around?Her gaze turned frosty and her hand delicate fair skinned hand fell on the hilt of the huge blade strapped across her back."Are you sure you can''t solve this problem?" Anna asked and her grip tightened on her sword hilt.Seeing this, Derik''s temperament turned murderous. The fiery purple light at the center of his eyes vanished and his eyes were black and empty like the void."Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik roared.Instantly, Death aura escaped his body and clustered together before taking the form of a spear. A lot of aurae escaped his body and dashed into the bone spear in his hand. "Try me" Derik walked towards Anna with so much confidence which even made Anna quiver slightly and every other person drop their jaw in shock.Where the fuck is this kid getting his confidence from?Gerald only smiled and moved forward. Standing in between them."Even if Derik can''t stop that beast, His ability will still play a significant role here... we can simply use it to chase away the hordes of monsters here... that way we only need to be focused on high level beasts... we can conserve stamina and mana that way!" Gerald explained.Unlike him, who trained day and night, backing up his power with skill, Anna has only cultivated to this level through the means of artificial aid. As the princess of the Gyro kingdom, she rarely gets involved in messy businesses, so her actual skills are poor... if a fight between them should breakout now, she will only win due to overwhelming power and the power difference between her and Derik. But in the end, since Derik possesses an ability that can kill peak grade bronze level warriors and mages, he will definitely land a devastating blow that may shatter her cultivation for life since it has no solid foundation. Gerald planned to say more but thenROAR!!!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!RUMBLE!Another roar echoed in the forest accompanied by red waves of aurae and occasional fissures!This time Derik was in a foul mood and his countenance had changed. His eyes lit up and the grip on his bone spear tightened. Death energy poured into the spear until it was shrouded in darkish purple aura and numerous shrieks and cries resonated from the bone spear.He turned his back on Gerald and Anna, focusing on the direction where the roar resonated from! His muscles began bulging and the full prowess of a level 9 supernatural beast was showcased"Silence!!" He roared and tossed the bone spear in that direction. Wooooosh!!!Booom!!!The bone spear turned into a beam of light and flew into the forest. An explosion ensured and then there was total silence. "Its been taken care of" Derik said to Gerald and walked away, moving towards the moonlight forest. The expedition team soon snapped out of their shock and hurriedly followed behind, knowing that Derik would ensure their safety in the forest... Two Hours Later...With Derik taking the lead, the expedition team advanced smoothly without any high-level beast encounter. At this point, everyone felt grateful to Derik and no one dared to speak against him or act recklessly in front of him...After advancing for two hours, the expedition team stopped at a clearing which had a shallow stream at the center and at the other end were trees resembling the ones in the moonlight forest. Even though they took turns to stand guard, they depended on Derik''s death aura which surrounded the team like a dome. While the rest freshened up and ate, Derik pondered on all he could understand from what he has seen so far and the plan they have made. He wondered how much longer he would have to wait before ''ride'' shows up. At this point, he became a bit anxious and considered possible situations where his plans fail.Then what next?RUSTLE!RUSTLE!!RUSTLE!!!Sounds of people pushing against leaves and branches resonated from the other side of the forest and multiple footsteps could be heard. Initially, they felt it was a monster horde and silently questioned Derik''s competence but later on they realized it wasn''t. While a few tightened their grip on the hilt of their weapons, the rest began chanting. To Derik''s greatest surprise the expedition troops formed a circle around him! Even Anna and Gerald stood in front as if they were planning to protect him from what is to come.Unfortunately, he wasn''t touched by this act, knowing fully well that they only did this because of his ability. Once he''s of no use to them, these same people will put an end to his life without blinking."You said my aura will bring the beast to me... Why isn''t it here yet?" Derik screamed out in his mind."I know what I said... exercise some patience... It won''t be too long" Demos chuckled in his mind.Bam!Bam!!Two fully armored guardian knights flew out of the forestall and visible claw marks were imprinted in their disfigured chest plates. On their shiny silver armor was a Mighty ''C'' on their armors."Guardian knights from Cato... The expedition troops of Cato are nearby, get ready men!" Gerald roared and scorching crimson red aura escaped his body.Even though the military forces of Gyro were under Anna, they still paid heed to Gerald''s words and prepared themselves.The two guardian knights from Cato were aware of the fact that the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom were behind them but they didn''t pay these people any attention. instead, they stripped themselves of their damaged armors and gripped onto their spears which had numerous magic runes all over it and their aura spiked. Magic Weapons!!!!Their eyes were fixed on the thick dark forest waiting for the beast which tossed them out to show itself.ROAR!RUMBLE!!RUMBLE!!!A red wave of murderous aura poured out first and then the beast emerged, slithering towards the two guardian knights at a terrifying speed.Its eyes were crimson red and it has a pair of pointy horns on its head. It''s upper half looked macho and well built and its hands were blessed with enchanting glowing dark claws.It''s lower half took the shape of that of a serpent with which it slithered at terrifying speed. This beast has a darkish brown skin covered with some sort of slimy substance which corroded everything it made contact with. Its body was over 10 meters long and it easily towered over everyone present."A shadow Lurker!!!" Gerald gasped in fear"Aaaaaaaah!!!" Anna screamed in fear and retreated immediately, hiding behind a bunch of peak grade bronze warriors and mages"Isn''t that a level 60 magical beast?" The bald guardian Knight of the miracle team asked, wearing a gloomy expression.The others nodded in agreement. While the others were terrified, a broad smile appeared on Derik''s face. He was very much aware of the kind of beast that appeared. A level 60 shadow lurker!According to Demos, this beast is one of the few monsters of the night which possess a certain level of intelligence and can be bargained with. According to Demos, one of his previous hosts was able to strike a deal with the shadow beast and made it his loyal subordinate. If he could do the same, it won''t be difficult for him to escape this place.He knew by releasing his Death aura, the beast will be enticed by it and lured to him, all he needed to do now is convince the beast to work for him.BOOOM!!!!Web like cracks appeared on the strong stony soil beneath Derik''s feet as his Death aura burst out violently."Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggh!!!!" Derik roared and his body trembled greatly before it was completely shrouded in terrifying darkish purple flames and shot into the air, flying towards the beast and the guardian knights of the Cato Kingdom"Death Magic: Death meteor!" a deep voice resonated from the big ball of fiery darkish purple flames, catching the attention of everyone present.While everyone was stunned by Derik''s bold move, thinking he dashed forward to engage the shadow lurker, Gerald and the teams from the association wore apprehensive looks on their faces.A few peak grade bronze level warriors and mages from the military felt like this was an attempt by Derik to escape, so they too decided to act. Soon colorful lights radiated off the bodies of over 20 brave soldiers of the Gyro kingdom and they all dashed forward, chasing after Derik.ROAR!!!The crimson red eyes of the shadow lurker glowed even brighter when Derik released his energy and the beast suddenly lunged forward.The expressions of two guardian knights of the Cato kingdom instantly disfigured and they dared not hold back. This beast in front of them is capable of taking on sliver realm warriors, as they are only at the peak grade of the bronze realm they could only depend on their magic weapons.Their eyes narrowed and the bronze level magic spears in their hands trembled greatly and they quickly struck forward with all their mightBam!Bam!!Bone shattering sounds resonated from the bodies of the two guardian knights of Cato were easily sent flying and their thrust attacks with their magic spears were easily blown away....Meanwhile...Boooom!!!With the aid his death meteor spear, Derik was able to fly out of the encirclement formed by the Gyro kingdom expedition troops.His body struck the ground, creating a Crater over 3 meters deep and around to face the incoming troops of Gyro with a sneer..."Hahahahaha!!! You dare chase after me? You must be tired of living!!" Derik laughed and threw his hand into the empty air.His palm looked like it was holding on to something and when he pulled, he tore the space and right in front of their eyes a bow made of steel which had magical runes all over its steel like body."Death magic: Accursed gate of the Underworld!" Derik growled while grabbing onto the magic bow without hesitating.Derik''s aura suddenly spiked and thick purple energy poured out of the magic bow"Low Level bronze combat technique: Shot series!!! "Instantly, numerous purple energy arrows formed all around Derik.Bam!Bam!Bam!Bam!In less than five seconds Derik had already fired over a hundred energy arrows easily suppressing all twenty peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages.Even though these people should normally be able to handle attacks from low level magic weapons, the sheer volume of Derik''s attacks was just something they could not cope with easily."You want to die? kid!!""Very well... I''ll grant your wish!!!" Two peak grade bronze realm warriors roared and dashed forward with their swords in their hands... They quickly tried to circle Derik, ambushing him from the sides but then"No... wait!!!""No! Don''t!"The two warriors screamed before their bodies were pierced by two beams of red aura which was shoot from the glowing crimson red eyes of the shadow lurker which now stood gallantly behind Derik while glaring at all those who bore bad intentions for him 94 Chapter 94: Undergoing refinemen With the level 60 shadow lurker gallantly standing behind Derik, no one dared to approachThe shadow lurker roared, releasing a powerful wave of red murderous aura, combined with Derik''s sinister death aura, the twenty peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages who were defending against Derik''s arrow barrage were distracted by the combined aura for a few seconds and instantly their bodies were riddled with holes created by the purple energy arrows. Twenty two peak grade bronze realm soldiers, dead in just a few seconds. No one saw this coming and no one dared to move forward. They could only watch and see what ill fate will befall Derik who was less than 3 meters away from the shadow lurker. Seeing no one dared to approach, Derik relaxed a little and turned around to meet the bright crimson red eyes of the shadow lurker. He had to look up while taking a few steps back just to be able to see the face of this magnificent beast he is to strike a deal with." You are the wielder of the element of Death I presume" The shadow lurker finally spoke after everything has calmed down." What if I am?" Derik tried to hide his excitement and play hard to get at first. Hearing this, the shadow Lurker nodded for a while and a bright smile appeared on his face " Your cultivation level is quite low... yet you were able to perform a miniature version of the accursed gate of the underworld spell... I''m impressed by your talent and potential... Given enough time you will definitely surpass my master!" The shadow stalker spoke. Suddenly a frown appeared on its face... This startled Derik" Unfortunately... You are not able to perform the actual Accursed gate of the underworld... therefore I cannot serve you... When you are able to use that technique... Call upon me... only then will I see you as my master" The shadow lurker said before turning around and slithering away casually. Seeing this, Derik''s face paled and his expression turned gloomy. He quickly turned his attention to the numerous sinister smiles and sneers on the faces of the soldiers of the expedition troops standing behind him. He knew they were only waiting for the shadow stalker to leave before they act. Now he felt desperate." Wait!" He screamed" Of what use is the passage to the underworld to you?" Derik asked...The shadow lurker suddenly stopped and turned its attention to Derik, before it spoke" The dense evil aura in the underworld is suitable for cultivation... When I first met my master, I was only a level 24 shadow lurker... after serving him for 40 years I was able to reach this level where I can contend with silver realm human warriors... I will only serve those capable of utilizing the Accursed gate of the underworld spell" The shadow lurker said. Derik gritted his teeth and screamed" I can open the passage of the underworld!" " What?! You can?" The shadow Lurker and the Soldiers of the expedition team screamed. They didn''t really understand how a recruit was planning to perform a technique reserved for silver realm warriors only. Yes, he was able to replicate the Lockwood family silver level secret combat technique: Wolves roar! But this was something else entirely. Secret combat techniques are different from normal combat techniques! The thing is this, to use a silver level combat techniques, one must be at that''s level or close to that level, that''s just the way normal combat techniques work but secret combat techniques are quite different. They can be used by anyone in any realm. What makes it special is that it grows stronger with the user. Unlike other normal combat techniques which loses its value once the realm is crossed, this one remains useful to the very end. Now, in a situation where Derik claims he can perform the silver level Accursed gate of the underworld technique, it''s only natural that everyone becomes inquisitive on how he intends to do it. The shadow lurker slithered back to him and stooped down to his level, looking straight into his fiery purple eyes before asking" Can you really do this?... If yes, How?" It inquired." I can break into the bronze realm in an hour or two... I also possess the limiter path, with it I can raise my power level further... I believe I can do this" Derik whispered. The shadow lurker shook its head and said" Even if your mana is strong enough and you succeed, you will only end up damaging yourself... Harming your own cultivation and destroying your future as a warrior or mage... this I cannot accept" The shadow lurker shook its head as spoke in a low tone just like Derik" You don''t have to worry about it. I possess the supernatural abilities of a werewolf... I have used abilities beyond my level twice now... I always heal... it should be okay" Derik laughed. The shadow lurker then went mute and slithered around him in silence for a while, considering his words..." Very well then..." The shadow lurker said "I sense the ill intentions these people bear to towards you... Shall I kill them off, Little master " The shadow lurker asked while slowly slithering towards the expedition troops. Its bright crimson red eyes glowed like a torch and its lower half curled like a spring, ready to lunge at the expedition troops at any time. Its massive claws trembled greatly as it was soon shrouded in the red murderous aura, just waiting for Derik to give the word. Seeing this everyone on the side of the expedition troops paled and their expressions turned gloomy. They turned their attention to Derik and pleaded silently with just their eyes. They have heard of the exploits of the great shadow lurker capable of hiding in dark corners and even the shadow of a person regardless of how small the shadow is. Its great assassination skills coupled with its ruthless and aggressive fighting techniques are the key factors that made this magical beast so popular. These people were a hundred and ten percent sure that if a battle should breakout now, not only will they be slaughtered but fighting in a well forested area with shadows and dark corners present at every side will make it even more difficult for the silver realm elites in the team to deal with it. It may not be strong enough to handle this many silver realm warriors and mages but the environmental advantage will definitely make the silver realm experts despair!Seeing this Derik laughed hysterically and swaggered towards the expedition troops with the shadow lurker following closely behind. "You all wanted to kill me... What are you afraid of now?... Come on! Carry out tour king''s order" Derik sneered "Don''t you dare act too recklessly in my presence!" A deep yet majestic voice echoed from within the military formation. Gerald made his way through hundreds of peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages boldly, showing no fear. After making his way to the front line, he proceeded to approach Derik fearlessly"Do you really think we can''t beat a mere level 60 magical beast if we band together? Don''t be too arrogant kid!" He roared while winking at Derik. Derik laughed out loud and peeked at Donald and the others and sneered"Even if you all can defeat this, my friend, here... Do you really think that you will be able to leave unscathed? More than half of everyone present especially the weakest members of the group... With your numbers reduces to mere hundreds do you truly believe you can compete with the other expedition troops of the other kingdoms? Are you willing to give up the bountiful harvests of the dungeon just to deal with me? A mere commoner? I think not!... Leave this place at once... You''re not allowed to take a thing from the deceased here..." Derik laughed. Hearing his words, Gerald took a step back and acted as if he was pondering on Derik''s words but in truth, he was trying really hard not to laugh. Of course, the expedition troops could not see this because he was backing them. In their mind, Gerald just did the bravest thing a warrior can do, at the face of death he stood upright and walked forward for the sake of the team. Gerald winked and smiled at Derik one last time before ordering the team to proceed without touching a thing on the bodies of the dead soldiers present. In less than five minutes, the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom had vanished into the dense dark forest, leaving Derik alone with twenty four corpses and two bronze level magic spears. Now it was all over, Derik took out the storage ring in his back pocket and heaved a sigh of relief. He knew from here on, he didn''t have the backing of any kingdom and had to rely on his own strength. He poured his mana into the storage ring and his consciousness was instantly assaulted by a powerful suction force. Dragging it into the space in the storage ring. Inside the storage ring was endless darkness with twinkling star like lights which caught held Derik''s attention for a while. After snapping out of it, he turned his attention to the numerous items neatly separated and stacked inside the strange space. At this point, he realized why this Godly tool was highly sorted and so rare that even nobles find it hard to acquire. He began to wonder powerful the mage responsible for the creation of this godly tool is. His eyes narrowed as a chain of thoughts crept into his mind and a name popped out of his mouth"Kalos!" The only man who has great control over space through the mastery of his spatial magic! An established mage at equal footing with the king if not higher! If the spell used to create these tools were general, every other force in the Aldemar should have something like this, but this tool could only be found in the Gyro kingdom. It simply meant that the spell used to create such a space was only restricted to Kalos who had the peak five star rated magic. He pushed away from the thoughts and summoned the high grade refinement shard with his mind. On his way out, he spotted neat rolls of gold coins and just by gazing at it once Derik could count over a hundred gold coins! He really didn''t think that Gerald would think of his well-being and place enough gold coins which would help him live a comfortable life where ever he finds himself. He felt grateful to Gerald and vowed to help the thoughtful man sit on the throne of Gyro. Without wasting much time, his consciousness returned to his body and the high grade refinement shard appeared in his hands. Hr quickly reached for the two bronze level magic spears and stored them in his storage ring. Sitting in a cross-legged position he asked the shadow lurker to guard him while he undergoes refinement. With this, he poured his darkish purple energy into the crystal shard in his palms and quickly shattered it. A streak of multicolored energy escaped from the shattered crystal shard and dove deep into his body. At this point, Derik felt a burning sensation and he began sweating! His eyes remained shot and his body trembled greatly as he tried to direct the flow of this energy through all the parts of his body. His eyebrows knitted as the pain intensified and he felt like his body was set on fire. He struggled greatly to suppress the urge to roar out in pain and silently prayed that the pain would subside soon. But the heavens chose to deny him a miracle at this point and he could only bear the pain for two very long hours.By the time it was over, he opened his eyes and realized magnificent changes that have taken place in his body. His vision had become clearer and his muscles more studier. From here he could hear the flapping wings of birds high up in the sky and his senses became even sharper." Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik muttered and he watched attentively to watch what will happen next. Darkish purple aura poured out of his body in an unusually large quantity and clustered around an empty space in the air. As the bone spear took form, Derik could hear various cries and pleas roaring out of the magnificent, shiny, white bone spear. He was taken aback by this and quickly asked Demos what was going on"What you just witnessed is the connection between you and death strengthening... The higher your realm, the stronger your connection and the stronger your connection becomes the more power you can draw from the underworld!" Demos explained. Hearing that, Derik was confused. He didn''t know whether he should be happy or sad that he has formed a relationship with death itself! 95 Chapter 95: Master slave pac He was still flexing his new found capabilities until the deep, menacing voice of the shadow lurker brought him back to reality. "Little master... As per our agreement, it is time for you to open the passageway to the underworld... " The shadow lurker said. Hearing this, Derik dared not keep the magnificent level 60 magic beast waiting. Taking off his limiters, a shockwave ensured around him and a pillar of darkish purple aura engulfed him. All the hair on his hair also took the color of his aura and multiple ancient darkish purple texts appeared all over his body. His eyebrows were replaced with darkish purple flames and his purple fiery eyes burned so fiercely, it looked like it would consume anyone in his sight. He took a few steps forward and threw his hands up into the empty air and shut his eyes. For a minute there was silence and the next shrieks and cries emanating from the corpses of all twenty four peak grade bronze level warriors and mages laying around. Barely visible gray white mists escaped the bodies of these corpses, gathering around Derik and forming a mini cloud at first before entering his body through all the openings in his body. While this happened Derik trembled greatly and the darkish purple aura around him intensified and the purple flames burning in his eyes intensified. "Good... Good!... Very good kid!" Demos exclaimed in Derik''s mind as it watched Derik draw power from the presence of all twenty four corpses on the field. Derik''s body began to tremble and he suddenly clenched his fists in pain, black veins kept popping out all over his body and his skin turned pale. It looked like his body could not contain the amount of power it had at this moment. "Death magic: Accursed gates of the underworld!!! " Derik roared and slammed his hands on the ground aggressively The ground in front of Derik split in two and darkish purple flames poured out from the hole, a massive 30 meter long gate slowly started emerging and during this process, Derik''s body trembled. It has only been thirty seconds since he cast the spell yet only a quarter of it had emerged. At this point, Derik''s body was covered in sweat as he battled the unknown force of nature trying to pull back the gate into the abyss. It was obvious that the power behind the suction force that seems to pull the gate of the underworld back into the ground didn''t want it to enter here. "Is that it?" Derik laughed with his hands clasped together! His eyes quivered and his body trembled as he roared! A stream of blood trickled down his nostrils and eyes as the gate was forcefully pulled out of the ground. The continued for over a minute and this time only half of the gate has been pulled out. At this point, he realized that the difference between realms is much greater than the difference between grades in realms which could easily be crossed by some external factors. He could tell that if this should continue, he won''t be able to pull out the gate before he runs out of juice and he dared not think of disappointing the level 60 shadow lurker. "Silver level secret combat technique: Shriek of the dead!" Instantly a darkish purple torrent of death energy poured out of Derik''s body and shot straight into the sky. The darkish purple aura clustered together and took the form of a skeleton only from waist up. This time Derik noticed his avatar created with his aura now possessed more details. Unlike before when it was just a cluster of darkish purple aura which took the form, this one looked like a separate entity on its own. It looked more realistic and with each movement, it made loud shrieks and cries resonated from its boney joints. At the center of the two dark openings at the eye sockets of the skull were two fiery purple flames which served as its eyes. The aura of this being which Derik had called upon was now different, it felt like this being possessed its own domain in which everything caught within the domain is suddenly assualted by endless cries and shrieks of the inhabitants of the underworld, disrupting their focus and potentially driving them insane. For Derik and the shadow lurker, as both were linked to the power of death, this domain surprisingly had a soothing effect on them. It made their minds clearer and allowed them to analyze the situation at a much faster rate. Now that Derik had taken the step forward and has broken into the low level grade of the bronze realm, his abilities have gone through earth shaking changes that even exceeded his expectations! "Go!" Derik roared and his avatar let out an ear piercing cry before turning into a purple beam of light, shooting towards the accursed gate of the underworld. Upon arrival, the avatar returned to its initial form and grabbed the massive gate with its boney hands. The ground trembled greatly as Derik and his avatar combined their strength and began pulling out the massive gate. This process took another minute but it was finally done. The 30 meter tall gate stood gallantly surrounded by darkish purple flames. The gloomy aura the gate radiated withered away all living things about a thousand meters around it. "I must say, little master... I''m impressed " The shadow lurker''s voice resonated from behind as it slowly slithered towards the gate with a cheerful expression on its hideous face. It turned its attention to Derik for a while and spoke again. "As per our agreement, I will serve you if only you are able to grant me access to the underworld... Now, Your part of the bargain has been met... Its time I fulfill mine" The shadow said. With its massive claws, it carved a circle on its chest and drew two triangles facing two opposing directions inside the circle. Black blood trickled down the wound and the symbol drawn on its chest suddenly lit up. A transculent darkish purple chain shot out of the symbol and penetrated Derik''s chest. He felt like his mind was been linked to that of the beast and he could effortlessly communicate without uttering a word. He could sense the shadow lurker''s emotions and could understand its hidden desires."Congratulations on acquiring your first master-slave pact... Young Derik" Demos laughed in his mind. "You did real good kid" He saidDerik was pale and his body seemed emaciated. Truly, using a silver level spell with the cultivation base of a bronze realm mage is not something advisable. He could have sworn that he would have died if not for his werewolf sides healing factor and the pleasant gloomy energy that sipped out of the gate which was replenishing his lost strength. He could only smile weakly and contact the shadow lurker with its mind, asking it to help him enter the gate.The shadow lurker nodded and slithered back and carried Derik and returned to the gate. They watched the gate slowly open and when it was done, a devastating wave of death aura poured out. This time, everyone in the moonlight forest felt it! Multiple roars and howls echoed all over the forests as all the monsters in the forest were corroded by the death aura and all went berserk! In just mere seconds all the lush vegetations of the moonlight forest were corroded by this undiluted power of death and the once mesmerizing moonlight forest turned into an arid wasteland. Derik who was closest to the towering gates of hell regained about twenty percent of his power in just mere seconds. His body returned to normal and his complexion brightened a bit. Not needing the support of the shadow lurker again, he stood on his own feet and walked into the gates of hell with the shadow lurker following closely behind oblivious of the calamity he had brought upon the land by summoning the accursed gate of the underworld in the land of the living! All expedition troops from the four kingdoms in the continent struggled desperately to defend against the death aura that threatened to corrode their minds, while they did this, they could spot numerous high level beasts approaching. As these beasts have lost their sanity and are no different from undead monsters, they could spot living beings miles away! On this very day, the expedition troops of all four kingdoms put aside their thoughts of conquering the dungeon and put all their strength in battling the crazed beasts of the moonlight forest! There was no way they were going to let these abominations leave the moonlight forest alive! Meanwhile, only the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom had an idea of who is responsible for the change. The mission was only meant to get difficult when they enter the dungeon but now, even Cyrus and other members of Derik''s formal team were forced to fight for their own survival as well! "The kid actually managed to open the gate... Damn!" Gerald said with a bitter smile on his face as he watched the chaos around him.... The doors of the massive gate closed tightly behind them before vanishing! The sky was dark and dark clouds prevented any form of light to penetrate this dark land, but strangely Derik could see just fine. From where he stood, he could see mountains made of piles of bones of the deceased. The gate simply dropped them off on an arid and desolate land without any form of civilization in view. Behind them was an endless green colored sea which reeked of death. Surprisingly none of these things actually bothered Derik, in fact, he felt comfortable here. The aura here was intoxicating and it felt conducive for cultivation! He was pretty sure if he focused his training here, he would reach the silver realm in less than a year. He started considering the thought but then purple thunder struck from the dark clouds hovering above them and a figure appeared. His black and purple slick hair looked so amazing that Derik felt envious of this man. He wore a black and purple garment with ancient runes on them. Beside him was a mighty scythe which looked so dope and powerful that he wouldn''t last a second against this weapon that seems to have a mind of its own. Looking at the shadow of this man standing in mid air, Derik could see the shadow of a majestic pair of wings but this was not visible on the body of this being. Demos! A smile appeared on Derik''s head as he walked forward lazily considering what to say to this angel of death who has been residing in his mind. "Yooo! Demos, Why don''t I spend some time here and train... I''m sure my cultivation speed in this land will be outstanding! I''m pretty sure I''ll make it to the silver realm in less than a year" Derik laughed. Demos smiled and majestically descended to the ground first before speaking. "Even I wish that is possible but things do not always go the way we want... You may possess a link to the element of Death but in the end... You are still human... If you spend too much time here... Your body and mind will corrode and you will lose your sanity... The only reason you are even able to stand in this realm in that mortal body of yours is simply because of your control over the element of death... Your time here is limited so I suggest you reclaim your lost strength now" Demos said. Hearing this Derik felt disappointed "Isn''t there a way I can fix this and prolong my time in this realm?" Derik asked. "Get stronger... The higher your realm the stronger your connection with the forces of death becomes... By that time, the time you can spend in this realm will also increase... There are other ways but I''m not allowed to disclose such information... You will have to find out yourself " Demos laughed. "I see..." Derik said and sat down with his legs crossed. He noticed that the shadow lurker had already curled itself up into a ball meditating so he decided not to bother it. He then shut his eyes and began absorbing the infinite death aura around."Get yourself ready... You will be returning to the moonlight forest... We will be claiming whatever is in that dungeon for ourselves" Demos said with a flash of greed in his eyes and a crooked smile appeared on his face as he watched Derik meditate 96 Chapter 96: Ambition With his eyes closed, Derik nodded casually at the words of his guardian spirit Demos while considering the possible outcomes a confrontation. In his opinion, even his new and improved silver level secret combat technique: the shriek of the dead still can''t compare to actual silver realm attacks, even peak grade bronze realm experts can defend against it. He ransacked his mind in search of a possible reason why Demos will ask him to return to the moonlight forest and compete with the four kingdoms, as an individual... With no backing! He slowly opened his eyes and gave Demos a questioning look. "It''s safe to assume you have a way to make me strong enough to compete with numerous silver realm mages and warriors?" Derik asked casually with a small smile on his face while partially focusing on replenishing his strength. Demos laughed out loud and shook his head in disagreement. He moved his hand in a circular motion and a mirror appeared. The mirror was soon divided into four parts and each part showed intense battles raging on in different parts of the moonlight forest which now looks like a corroded arid wasteland. The trees had turned grey and all the leaves withered away. The sunlight penetrated this wasteland but still couldn''t change the color of the soil which still had slight traces of death aura radiating of it. Expedition troops fought fiercely against undead monsters which charged on fearlessly. On one part of the mirror was Cyrus who had taken of his limiters, battling with numerous level 30 corroded beasts with the other members of the team acting as support. The fact that these monsters were corroded by the death energy did not make them any stronger, it actually weakened them and made them quite thoughtless. The only positive side to this enhancement was that they all had one goal now and finding living beings would not be difficult, they could practically sniff them out. So to cover up their reduced strength, they used sheer volume. If not, the various expedition troops would have wiped out all the beasts in the moonlight forest. Derik''s expression turned frosty as he tried to put the pieces together, it did not take long for him to realize that the calamity that has befallen the expedition troops of the various kingdoms were all because of him! How stupid could he have been to think that summoning a passageway to the underworld in the realm of the living will not have any negative effects! This explained why the forces of nature tried as much as possible to prevent him from doing this! His eyebrows knitted together as his frosty gaze fell on the Angel of death. He could tell that Demos was aware of this side effect but decided to remain silent about it all through the time he guided him through the learning stage. He remained still and continued absorbing the death aura in the air while waiting for Demos to explain himself "It was necessary... You wanted power? That''s what I plan to give you... Inborn power is excellent but external sources of strength are also very necessary for you to protect yourself until you reach a realm in which no man can harm you again!" Demos snickered evilly. A sinister smile appeared on his charming face as he slowly approached Derik. "Don''t be fooled, kid... There is no such thing as evil... There is only good and a lesser good... You have been good all your life, given your heart out to a bunch of people who definitely did not appreciate it and look at where it''s got you...Betrayed... Rejected and Dejected... If it weren''t for my intervention you would have been dead... The least you can do as a sign of appreciation is to hear me out and understand how my mind works... If you find it reasonable then I suggest you adopt it for yourself" Demos said with a confident smile on his face. Seeing this Derik frowned for a while and ended up agreeing after thinking about it, by the way, he owed this guardian spirit his life, it definitely wouldn''t kill him to listen to what Demos has to say. "Very well then" Derik answered indifferently. Hearing this, Demos'' purple eyes lit up but only for a second. As guardian spirits, they are allowed to manipulate their hosts if their understanding of their guardian spirits has not reached a certain level. After Derik was killed in the battle between him and the two fleeing members of the Salvor family, Demos was left with only two choices. Risk everything including his strong grip over Derik''s actions or let him die and hope that the next host will possess as many special qualities which Derik possessed. And as someone who wasn''t too keen on gambling, Demos chose the first and preserved Derik''s soul, losing his grip over the kid''s actions in the process. Although this is a move he still regrets up till now, its the best he could do at the moment, how sure is he that his next host will possess the werewolf ability along with side magic capabilities and in-depth melee combat training? He just couldn''t risk it. The best he can do now is guide Derik using logic and words, hoping that this kid will listen to his advice and reach his peak before the danger arises. Demos waved his hand, conjuring a throne made of bones and sat down. Seeing this, an excited smile appeared on Derik''s face and he spoke first "You definitely have to teach me that!" Derik snickered.In response, Demos only laughed and rolled his eyes. "Derik, there is no such thing as good and evil... One can only pick the lesser good for noble reasons and still be tagged evil. These people you pity, the expedition troops of the various kingdoms are elites of their various kingdoms who have all had their fair shares of murder and bloodshed... To protect this world from what is to come... This world needs someone who can protect it... We angels and guardian spirits are only creations of the creator which are meant to serve a certain purpose so our potential of growth is quite close to zero... We were born powerful, we can never grow beyond the power given to us... There is a limit to what we can do... But you all... Humans... Even though you all are creations of the creator such rule does not apply to you, because there are other forces in this world which do not answer to the creator but still influence you all in a positive way" Demos explained carefully and slowly. Hearing this, Derik shook his head repeatedly while trying to process everything he has heard so far... "You are trying to say that we humans can rise to the level of guardian spirits and stand as your equals?" Derik asked excitedly. "Yes!... You can rise even higher and if possible... You may reach the level of the creator... He did create you all in his image... Your potentials are limitless like his as well...." Demos said while nodding to Derik''s question. "That is the ultimate goal of we guardian spirits, to assist his host and nurture his strength until he reaches a level where the only being he or she will ever be worried about is the creator and whatever it is that is coming..." Demos laughed Hearing about the foreign evaders made Derik''s blood boil and he could not help but worry about beings which even made guardian spirits worry... How can the inhabitants of earth possibly fight against them? "Are there top tier masters at realms higher than the gold realm still alive?" Derik asked after pondering on the issue for a while... Rumors of legends who broke past the realm of mere mortals such as himself and made it into the realms of demi gods were not rare but the funny things about these tales are the fact that these top tier masters always vanish after the get to this godly realm. If these rumors are true, then the earth has a chance against these foreign invaders. "Yes... Legends who have made it to the Demi god realm all exist..." Demos nodded in agreement. "I assume you wish to know where they have only be heard of in stories and have never been seen in person... The answer is simple... Once a mortal breaks into the demi god realm, the secrets of the world are revealed to them, yes! that includes the impending danger... Knowing something like this will soon befall their homes, these people go into secluded cultivation in a bid to increase their strength as fast as possible... Yes, they do not bother themselves with the little struggles going on in the world right now"Demos explained. He decided not to rush and let Derik digest the information before continuing "My point is this... In all those stories concerning these demi gods... Which has been truthful, honest and upright at all times?... None I presume... So here''s what I''m trying to say... You are naive, Derik... Slaughtering the thousands to save the millions those not make you evil... In reality, these are sacrifices necessary for one to move forward... More times will approach where you will have to kill the weak and innocent so as to increase your own power... Ans I hope on that day, you will look back on my words and do what has to be done... Its simple logic... Should a powerful warrior die simply because he chose to sacrifice himself to protect the weak... After his death... Who will defeat the powerful foe responsible for his death... The weak people he died protecting? Definitely not! Wouldn''t it be more profitable if a portion of those weak people is slaughtered in a bid to grant their champion enough power to defeat their foe and protect the survivors?" Demos explained while staring at Derik, hoping to get a reaction. Meanwhile, Derik frowned greatly while considering Demo''s words. He knew this guardian spirit was making sense and can be considered very effective but he didn''t know how someone will utilize such a cruel method to attain power. At this point he even began considering this method, what else does he have to lose? He has already lost his family and the people he called friends. He needs to get to the silver realm as soon as possible and aid Gerald in taking the throne! Jumping from the bronze realm to the silver realm in just ten years without any external factors is the definition of impossible. He bit his lips in anger and tried really hard to come up with a reason to reject Demos''s views while watching the kingdom expedition troops battle. Purpose! That''s right! The main reason people attain power is to protect the weak not slaughter them for their own selfish gains! "Yet, these selfish gains are what makes you strong and what will give you the strength to keep these people safe!... You are running out of time here, Derik... Consider my words and make the right choice..." Demos said He got on his feet and tore a hole in it, just the right size for Derik. "Sacrifices... Are meant to be made in order to achieve greater results... As for the dungeon... You have a head start... Dive into the sky rifts and clear that dungeon... I''ll guide you to the best of my abilities and keep you safe... And finally... When in need of assistance, you do not need to summon the gate of the underworld... Create a small opening through which the shadow lurker can help you from this side. It saves energy... The same goes for your avatar... Summoning the full thing is beyond your current power now... Start small..." Demos said with a charming smile on his face... Hearing his words Derik nodded and got on his feet. He placed his palm on the coiled up body of the shadow lurker, informing it that he was leaving telepathically but it still didn''t respond. "I''ll consider your methods for now... Only because time is not on my side... Goodbye Demos... It was nice seeing the real you again" Derik laughed before walking into the tear in the space confidently with a single goal on his mind... Clear the dungeon! 97 Chapter 97: The center of the world! A tear in the space revealed a revitalized Derik who walked out boldly not giving hell about the current situation in the moonlight forest. Even this was not the actual gate of hell, it was still a space that led to the underworld, therefore death aura poured out as well, agitating the already crazed beasts even further. To his greatest surprise, he expected a little resistance from the horde of crazed beasts but to his greatest surprise that didn''t happen. The beasts ignored him completely as if he was one of their own. Derik failed to understand how it happened but he chose not to ponder on the matter much and dashed forward towards the center of the world. With his increased speed, agility, and stamina granted to him by his werewolf side, Derik was able to pass through the moonlight forest which was over a hundred kilometers in less than 6 hours. By the time be arrived, his body tight black sleeveless shirt was already drenched in sweat, since he was the only one present, he took the time to recover and examine the location thoroughly. Past the moonlight forest is the center of the world which surprisingly is adorned with multiple stone sculptures. These sculpture portrayed eight mighty figures, bowing to a giant of a man shoes facial features were not portrayed in the sculpture. His eyes narrowed as he focused his gaze on the sculpture of a familiar man who held a scythe in his hands while bowing. A broad smile appeared on his face as everything began to make sense to him. "Demos... That''s you... Right? Who are the others and the man at the center?" Derik asked. "Yes... You are correct... The others are my colleagues... My fellow guardian spirits and I''m pretty sure you also had your suspicions and the man at the center is the creator " Demos responded immediately. Getting the reply he sort, Derik decided not to waste much time on the sculptures anymore and quickly shifted his attention to the massive darkish blue spatial rift on a high stone platform which gave out some sort of foreign aura. Not bothering to think this through, Derik shot forward like an arrow, throwing himself into the spatial rift without a second thought. The crazed high level beasts of the moonlight forest were greatly troubling the expedition troops of the four kingdoms in Aldemar... The least he can do now is take advantage of this head start and explore the dungeon before the various forces of the four kingdoms arrive... Inside the spatial rift, Derik felt like he was been pulled by an unknown force to the other end of the dark tunnel. During this trip that barely lasted a second, Derik felt nauseated. This reminded him of the same way he felt when the kingdom guardian, Kalos transported them to the palace where the team was punished and imprisoned after their short battle with team Gyro, led by Kuen Gyro. His vision blurred for over five seconds, even after he had exited the portal and when he regained his vision, he was stunned by what he saw. It was more of a maze, with so many structures and different points to follow, having over ten starting points. He knew this was probably meant to separate all the forces from different kingdoms to avoid unnecessary conflict. His eyes narrowed and the though of destroying the walls as he moved came across his mind but then Demos''s voice echoed in his head"Do not release your power! Don''t let them feel your aura... You may have the advantage of starting first but the fact remains that if the beasts here get as much as a hint you are here... You will be attacked and soon swarmed by all the beasts present in the first level of the dungeon!" Demos warned with a serious tone. Derik nodded instantly, pushing away the thoughts of breaking through the walls. He ransacked his brain, thinking of an easier way to do this. "This... Do you have a better idea?" Derik asked with a bitter smile on his face when he realized he had nothing in mind. "Derik... There is no short cut to power... Well, there are but in this case, there isn''t!... Most people spend months here, running in circles but you have me here with you... With my help, you won''t have to run in circles... You will definitely get there before the other expedition troops of the various kingdoms..." Demos tried to cheer Derik up. "Doesn''t that mean the Gyro kingdom expedition troops will definitely catch up to me as well since they have a guardian spirit on their side as well... With Cyrus'' help... They won''t meet much trouble then" Derik sighed. "Then we both know you don''t have time to fool around... Get going already!" Demos roared in his head.Not wasting any more time, Derik dashed forward to the path right in front of him. The maze was just made old brown walls filled with moss, even though only darkness could be seen above, the maze was lit up by an unknown source of light. Along the way, Derik relied on his keen sense of smell granted to him by his wolf side, to avoid most enemies. The few he couldn''t avoid, he simply chose to outrun them. He initially planned to leave claw marks on places so as not to move in circles, but this plan was thrown aside by Demos who reminded him that other teams that may end up following the same path, may also make use of this method to quickly catch up to him. With no other choice, he kept moving only depending on Demos for guidance. Even though there is no such thing as day and night, Derik still rested occasionally and fed on the food resource stored in his storage ring. Whenever he slept, Demos took the initiative to alert him whenever danger was lurking nearby. According to Demos, it has been a week since he entered the spatial rift and the expedition troops of the various kingdoms had already cleared out the beasts in the moonlight forest. Each side suffering great losses! Demos warned him of the impending danger if he doesn''t increase his travel speed. With that said, Derik worked more and rested less. With the presence of multiple expedition troops of the various kingdoms, sounds of battles and clashes echoed all over the maze, so Derik didn''t have to bother much about revealing his magic power. Whenever he wasn''t traveling, he spent the time understanding the new changes on his spells brought by his breakthrough into the bronze realm. With this, his proficiency in his spells rose and his overall strength increased as well. As per Demos'' instructions, he stopped avoiding all monsters and practiced through battles with monsters which posed no threat to him. With this done, his aura was made known to everyone stuck in this maze and they instantly knew the person responsible for their misfortune was in the moonlight forest was there with them. They were all eagerly waiting for the day they will meet face to face with the man responsible for the death of their comrades and vowed to take their revenge on him. Unknown to them, the person they assumed was a top tier master was only a fifteen year old kid with the cultivation level of low grade bronze realm hybrid. Yes! Just like Gerald, Derik chose to base his strength on the combined might of his archery skills and magic power to create a magic Archer. In fact, at a point he began training on his werewolf side, trying to create his own techniques and combining this supernatural ability with his death magic. The truth remains that those who choose to follow the hybrid cultivation path end up advancing in realms at a slower pace but they are considered almost invincible to people in the same realm with them, defeating foes a grade above them effortlessly. In the blink of an eye, a month has passed, During the month, Derik had finally made it through the mazes and now found himself in a narrow passageway. Due to the fact that some unknown force was preventing Demos from watching the opposing teams for him, he could barely tell how much progress they have made. He could only hope that he wouldn''t encounter any so early on the second floor of the dungeon. His body shot forward and with sheer speed, Derik was nearing the other end of the narrow corridor but his advance was stopped when he met something he only read about in books of folktales. Standing over two meters tall with the head of a bull and a massive golden ring stuck in its nose, this beast had in its hands a massive war ax which Derik was pretty sure would shred him into pieces if he collided with it. A bull with the stature of a man and massive war ax in its hands, just great. They didn''t even bother giving him enough room to battle the Minotaur, how could things possibly get worse? He considered luring the beast outside this narrow corridor but then the entrance was shut by a massive wall that had so many magic runes on it and then the wall started moving forward slowly. At this point, Derik simply drowned in despair! Not only did the entrance get shut but it began moving closer slowly, limiting the fighting space even further. He considered trying to blow the way away but his attention was stolen by the deep, creepy voice of the Minotaur behind him. "Puny human... Hmph! This will be over in seconds!" The minotaur roared and dashed forward. Its massive body left to room for escape and there was no path of retreat from behind! Not to mention the beast was getting faster by the second! It seemed as if it was gathering momentum as it moved, getting faster with time. While hurling curses at his bad luck Derik threw his hand into the empty air and began chanting, "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" Derik roared and dashed forward. A cloud of death energy gathered on his right hand and took the form of a bone spear, His purple fiery eyes burned brighter than ever as he arrived and struck at the massive war ax which was sent swinging at him with his bone spear. Boooom!!! Like a cannon, his body was sent flying back for over 10 meters before rolling on the ground a few times. He spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at the minotaur in disbelief wondering how he was going to beat a beast that possessed such godly physical endowment!. His right hand trembled greatly as sounds of broken bones mending themselves could be heard quite loudly in this confined space. The Minotaur on its own part was only forced to move back by one step, it stared at Derik in disbelief and a glint of respect shone in its eyes. "A little human like yourself was able to stop my advance... I''m impressed... It''s unfortunate you will die today!" It sneered and dashed forward again. This time Derik was desperate, the stone door that covered his only path of retreat was only 5 meters away limiting his fighting space even further. With no space to maneuver, he could only depend on his strength to beat this monster. "At times like this, logic won''t help... You were blessed with powers of a werewolf, for once just let loose and enjoy the thrill of battle like all predators do..." Demos finally spoke after analyzing the situation for a while. Hearing this, Derik nodded in agreement called forth all the strength and speed of a werewolf. At this point he had no space and time to strategize, he could only rely on his animal instincts for once. Seeing the change in Derik''s appearance, the Minotaur was shocked but didn''t stop charging forward, but what happened next completely terrified it making it stop charging forward. "Death magic: Death empowerment!!!" Derik roared and his body was soon shrouded in a thick mist of Death aura. His fiery purple flamy eyes lit up in the darkness and a menacing smile could be seen even in the mist.Roar!!!!!Derik''s roar shook the narrow corridor and his death aura speed forth. Those who bore evil intentions of vengeance began to rethink their plans and even silver realm warriors and mages frowned at this. 98 Chapter 98: The grim reaper Within the clouds of death aura the Minotaur failed to realize the strange movements Derik made with his claws, all he knew was thatched the death aura around the kid who was supposed to be human suddenly doubled. The Minotaur was terrified! Its eyes narrowed and its bushy eyebrows knitted together. "Silver level Secret combat technique: Brilliant claw!" Derik roared, brandishing his claws at the Minotaur! Two brilliant darkish purple flames the shape of claws burst out of the clouds of death aura and dashed towards the Minotaur. The beast roared and took a step forward before swinging it''s war ax to meet the brilliant flashy claws of doom! Dang! Dang!!This time the Minotaur retreated by two steps this time, its body quivered violently and its grip on the war ax loosened slightly. Its eyes only left Derik for only a few seconds and when it returned Derik was gone. Shrill laughter''s and numerous trails of claw shaped residual death auras filled the place. It was confused for only a second and when it finally located Derik, it was already too late... PUFF!!!... An unhealthy amount of blood gushed out of them from the place which its kneecaps are supposed to be found! The Minotaur let out a cry of pain as it fell on its left knee and before it could even prepare itself, two more claw marks rich with death aura penetrated its chest and the death aura infested its body and quickly spread! Knowing the implications of what just happened, the Minotaur was aware of the fact that its life will definitely come to an end soon and since that was the case, it vowed to take the human responsible for its demise along with it. Suddenly its eyes turned bloodshot and its already enormous muscles began bulging. Its grip on its war ax tightened as it set its eyes on the cluster of death aura with a pair of purple burning fiery eyes. In its berserk state, the beast could ignore the pain and its physical capabilities doubled. It made a very quick movement with the war ax in its hands, so fast that even Derik could not see it coming... Swooosh! A massive amount of blood splashed out of the cluster of darkish purple aura and the being within staggered back. A broad grin appeared on the face of the Minotaur as it expected its prey to panic and probably try to escape but to its greatest surprise what followed was something he never thought a human would do! Another shrill laughter resonated from the cluster of death aura and Derik lunged forward like a prehistoric beast, driving his claws deep into the Minotaurs abdominal muscles. The Minotaur quickly spat out a mouth full of blood, quickly raising its war ax and chopped down on Derik! Splash! Puff! Over and over again lots of blood splattered on the ground of the narrow corridor and soon even the Minotaur began laughing hysterically. This beast was used to hunting its prey, watching them run and cower in fear but this human in front of it is the first to ever stand his ground and fight like a man. This bloody battle brought about unexplainable joy in its tiny heart and it just mimicked Derik, laughing out loud both when it took damage and dished out damage. The crazed laughter of these two echoed around the first level of the dungeon that everyone who heard it felt terrified slightly in their hearts, even silver realm warriors and mages were not exempted from this. The combination of Derik''s sinister and diabolic death aura coupled with the complete chaotic aura which escaped the body of the Minotaur in its berserk state was so unpleasant that everyone decided to wait from a safe zone until the battle ends. Surprisingly, this continued for over ten minutes and the laughter''s finally died down, the aura''s were withdrawn and deadly silence presided for over a minute. "Who do you think won? And when did that Derik kid get this strong... He must have been hiding a lot of strength... That kid is not simple!" Anna said with a terrified expression on her face as waited for the final results to be announced. Gerald in response only nodded but remained silent, he too was worried about Derik, for Derik to fight a mythical creature with such chaotic aura, chances are he''s either dead or close to death. At most the beast and Derik should be dead, in no scenario did he see Derik coming out on top of this, but then... Booooom!!!!!.... "Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"... Along with the sudden outburst of terrifying death aura was a peal of hysterical laughter that echoed all over the dungeon. Anna screamed in fear and retreated while a smile bloomed on Gerald''s face while he silently cursed Derik for making him worry. He was no stranger to the animosity all expedition troops present in the dungeon bore for Derik but with this performance, if they should realize that the person capable of causing this much chaos and destruction was a kid, wouldn''t they go crazy and try to recruit him? Who would let someone with so much talent waste away, especially when he has no ties to any kingdom? Donald and the rest with the exception of Cyrus wore ugly expressions on their faces, to be honest, they secretly prayed that Derik would not survive that battle but now their hopes have been dashed. These people did not necessarily hate Derik, the only thing that bothered them was the promise Derik made to them about his return. As far as they are concerned it spells doom for their family and knowing the way Derik is, he will most probably carry it out. At this point, they realized that for some unknown magical reason, Derik has always surpassed their expectations, climbing to greater heights at the shortest amount of time and pulling out amazing strength which always made him seem invincible. They were almost a hundred percent sure that if Derik leaves this dungeon alive, no one will be able to kill him again. At this point, they were all drowning in despair! Meanwhile, dragging his bloodied body across the wall was Derik who seemed to be excited for some reason only known to him. His left hand had almost been severed completely and numerous deep gashes caused by the war ax could be seen all over his body. His body was dangerously pale and covered in sweat yet the smile on his face didn''t fade. His excitement was simply due to the new ability which he had acquired from Demos. Even though it was morally wrong, it didn''t really matter to him much. According to Demos, this can be regarded as the basic ability of all Death mages but he chose to keep this away from Derik because of his background and high moral standard, waiting for the day Derik will fall from grace and realize how the world truly works. The concept of this ability of the spell is based on the primary duty of the angel of death which is to reap the soul of mortals whose mortal body finally dies, but in this case, what he does is different. As every being on the planet is a part of the creator which possess a certain level of energy which is inherited from their master, Derik''s spell allows him to steal the soul of these people, unlike the actual angel of death which presents the soul to the creator for judgment, Derik absorbs the soul into his own host soul, permanently increasing his own power permanently. According to Demos, when he reaches the silver realm where his understanding of the element of death and his bond with it has increased to a certain level, he should be able to call upon the souls of the damned in him to fight alongside him for a while.While absorbing the soul of the Minotaur, he felt his power rise by a certain level. His was more of a cheat code to him when compared to the wolf side which has aided him all this while! Even though he knew he probably wouldn''t have agreed to this earlier if Demos brought it up he still cursed him in his mind for not doing so. At the arrival to the other end of the corridor, Derik sat down and rested for a while, a week headstart was not something that could be covered easily. Even though he was aware of the fact that he spent most of the previous weeks training and not traveling, he still knew they could not catch up easily. While his injuries healed he still needed to rest his mind which has gone through the most amount of stress, even if his body was at peak condition he sincerely doubted he could resume his journey at his current mental condition. After checking relying both on his enhanced senses and Demos, he passed out in the corridor with a satisfied smile on his face. Four hours later his eyelids slowly opened his right hand was used to caress his left hand which was almost severed initially. His eyes ran through his body and he realizes that his black sleeveless shirt had been shredded completely so he simply used what was left of it to wipe away the excesses blood off his body before summoning a new black short sleeve shirt, some biscuits and a small bottle of water. Within thirty minutes, Derik was done and he stepped out of the corridor brimming with confidence as he approached what seemed like a massive alter with a mesmerizing crystal orb on the altar in a massive room. It glowed brighter as Derik approached confidently and when Derik was only fifteen meters away a beam of purple energy shot forth and smashed into Derik''s belly like a hammer, making him fall over and roll about five times before stabilizing himself. He spat out a mouth full of blood while clutching his belly tightly, trying to endure the pain. "Welcome brave warriors and mages... This is the final test of the first floor... Getting past the maze was based on a group''s strength to cooperate properly... But to advance to the next level, only individual strength can grant you a good fortune... Your goal is simple... Make physical contact with the alter and you will be transported to the second floor" A mechanical voiced resonated from the purple orb. Hearing this, Derik sneered and wondered why this thing did not mention this first before blasting him away. While the thing spoke, he took the time to understand the environment before making a move. Behind him were multiple narrow paths similar to the one he just emerged from, numbered around ten. He easily guessed that these were paths from which other groups in the dungeon will emerge and face the same issue with him before proceeding. He knew he had a head start so he was probably the first to get here. The room had this golden glow everywhere, so bright that it made it difficult for someone to see his or her legs. The only thing that didn''t blend in completely was the purple orb and the not so glowy alter. If not for his enhanced perception, he probably wouldn''t have seen the mirrors placed all over the walls, floors, and even ceilings, he didn''t know what purpose these mirrors serve and he really wasn''t eager to find out. His muscles began bulging and all the hair on his body stood up! He decided it was best to rely on all the power he can muster for this task, knowing fully well he could easily he killed should a mistake take place. "Death magic: Death armor!" "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" He screamed as a with exoskeleton bone like structure appeared on his body and a bone spear appeared by his side, levitating! His fiery purple eyes lit up and with a roar, he dashed forward to meet the challenge head on! 99 Chapter 99: Going all out! Derik''s body shot forward like a bolt of lightning towards the golden altar, not caring for what would happen next. The moment he moved a beam of purple energy shot towards him, threatening to consume him. With a sneer, he twisted his body in ways a normal person wouldn''t be able, spinning to the left in the process, evading the purple beam attack easily. In an instant, he crossed the 30 meters mark and was still moving at tremendous speed. This time the purple orb glowed again but this time it shot the beam of purple energy towards the wall at the right. Seeing this Derik was startled and quickly stopped his advance after his instincts warned him. The moment he stopped the purple beam bounced off the wall and shot at the empty space in front of him. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and he swallowed hard, he knew that if he took one step forward. He quickly retreated but it was already late, the purple orb glowed and this time, fifteen beams of purple energy were shot at random targets all over the room. The beams of purple energy bounced off mirrors continuously and so quickly that it formed an energy net around him, trapping him in the process. His expression turned gloomy, at this point he was at a very difficult position, he wasn''t planning on destroying the mirrors hidden in the glowing golden light simply because this will increase the completion rate of those who will come after him. He knew these people bore evil intentions and had plans of reducing their numbers in any way possible as to make things easier for himself when they finally clash. "Go!" Derik roared, sending the levitating bone spear to intercept one of the purple beams, in a bid to create an opening in the energy net which was now shrinking, limiting Derik''s movement space. With a roar, he moved his claws releasing waves of claw-shaped darkish purple energy burst out and quickly flew towards the net of purple energy! BOOM!! Derik didn''t hesitate this time and shot forward once again. He decided to try another approach, retracting his claws and fangs in the process. A bone bow and bone quiver filled with bone arrows! He knew that if he tried to deal with the beams of energy when they are directed towards him, he probably wouldn''t be able to move an inch. So why not change his method to something he felt more familiar with since the orb focused on reflecting its beams thereby confusing its foes. If he could prevent this wouldn''t it be easier for him to reach the altar? If he could intercept the energy beams he definitely won''t be in need to constantly retreat. With that resolved, Derik decided to pour in his one year plus archery skill training into this challenge. His free palm opened and bone arrows flew into his hand when he saw the orb glow, obviously preparing for another attack. Low level bronze combat technique: Eagles eye! Low level Bronze combat technique: Shot series!! Derik''s fiery purple eyes suddenly glowed for a moment and a thin layer of transculent orange energy surrounded his body. His eyes narrowed as the orb fired fifteen beams of purple energy to random targets in the room, in response Derik fired 15 arrows barely at the same time intercepting the fifteen beams of purple energy before it could reach the mirrors. A savage grin appeared on his face as he instantly crossed the fifteen meters mark and it didn''t look like he was planning to slow down. This time the orb glowed and fired 30 beams of energy all at the same time and to its greatest surprise, Derik was able to match up to it, thanks to his enhanced physical capabilities and the bonus speed boost gotten from his low bronze combat technique, shot series. This combat technique focused on improving the firing speed of the user to a level where the user actually hurts himself in the process! It''s up to the user to adjust his or herself to this improved speed and make proper use of it. Meanwhile, the low-level bronze combat technique: Eagles eye simply improves Derik''s perception, ultimately increasing his accuracy. With that combination, Derik could easily keep up. Bang! Bang! Bang! About thirty bone arrows shot out almost at the same time but only twenty-seven met their intended targets while the other three missed. "Shit!" Derik roared and waved his hand. Instantly three balls of death energy flew out and took the shape of a bone spear, flying towards the incoming three beams of purple light. The three bone spears collided with the beams and Derik abruptly blew pass without having to retreat! A wide grin appeared on his face when he realized he was only 10 meters away, his fiery purple flame eyes blazed on as multiple bone arrows manifested beside him, levitating. The orb glowed once again but this time it released sixty beams, seeing this Derik''s expression crumbled and his face went blank for a second. Knowing it was pointless to use his arrows this time he let go of the bone bow in his hand which vanished afterward and roared! Clasping his hands together, his expression turned rigid and his death energy burst out. "Silver level secret technique: Shrieks of the dead!" He roared. His death aura soon took the form of a massive 5 meters tall skeleton, wrapping its massive body around Derik as he moved. The beams of purple energy bombarded the darkish purple skeleton but it couldn''t even leave a scratch on it. With this Derik entered the five meters threshold and a glint of excitement appeared on his face, under the protection of the energy skeleton Derik fearlessly stormed forward. With only five meters left, whatever mechanism which controlled the purple orb on the golden altar decided to go all out. The purple orb trembled dangerously and shot out over a hundred beams of purple energy at the mirrors in the room. This time, the size of the beams of energy had doubled and the aura which these beams exuded greatly terrified Derik, he could tell that these beams of energy were only slightly inferior to his energy skeleton. If it were only one beam he probably wouldn''t be disturbed but he could count more than a hundred beams of energy. His smile faded and he dared not hold back, knowing this attack could easily kill a peak grade bronze realm warrior or mage and even injure a sliver realm warrior or mage. His energy instantly spiked the moment he removed his limiters and he quickly poured in all that power into the skeleton protecting him. The skeleton screeched and its body trembled! The energy skeleton suddenly looked more lifelike and it gave out a sinister aura more diabolic than Derik''s! Initially, the skeleton was comparable to the attack of a peak bronze realm warrior or mage but after this upgrade, its power broke past the bronze realm, entering the silver realm straight up! Even then, Derik''s heart was not at ease, even if his attack at this point was a bonafide silver level secret combat technique, the rain of those beams of purple energy still left visible damages and at a point, visible web-shaped cracks appeared on it. Shriek!!! The bone skeleton let out an ear-piercing cry before it was completely destroyed. At this point, Derik''s body was covered in his blood and just above him, were over sixty beams of energy, falling towards him at a terrifying speed. Tap! Instantly Derik''s body was shrouded in a golden aura and he instantly vanished before the beams of energy rained down on him. Derik''s unconscious body reappeared in a densely forested area, his body looked shriveled and emaciated. His eyes were lifeless and his aura had completely vanished. Derik stayed in this disturbing state for days with only slight improvements, his pitch-black hair had turned white, swaying helplessly under the mercy of the wind. On the seventh day, a team of people whose faces were covered with the hoods of their green cloaks appeared, their leaf green eyes were fixed on Derik''s body and complex emotions filled their faces! 100 Chapter 100: Breakthrough! Everywhere was filled with darkness and not even a ray of light could penetrate through it. His body trembled greatly and his eyes were tired, Derik looked exhausted and be could slightly feel his soul fading away. At this point, he realized the consequences of using two techniques his realm was not something he could take likely. He had the same filling as he did when he was killed by the Salvors, empty!. At this point he began to wonder if he had died again, he remembered Demo''s words and shrouded involuntarily in fear! If Demos couldn''t return him back to life then he will most definitely fade away. Thoughts of the promises he made to Gerald flashed through his mind and he felt bitter. Not being able to repay Gerald''s kindness hurt him more than the fact that he was dead. He slowly drowned in Despair, slowly falling dropped into the darkness in silence until he saw something. A reddened two pairs of eyes glowing within the darkness, he quickly returned to his senses and prepared himself mentally to do battle until the very end but he felt a familiar aura bursting out of the body of the beast. Its figure slowly appeared and Derik could not help but scream in joy! "Shadow lurker... What are you doing here?" Derik asked "After the slave-master pact has been formed, a piece of my consciousness now resides in you, that''s how I can sense your thoughts and you can sense mine... My consciousness is linked with yours... Its only natural for us to meet here" The shadow lurker said indifferently... Derik nodded and quickly stared at another pair of bloodshot eyes which were fixated on him, but unlike the shadow lurker, it looked lifeless, more like a puppet! He moved closer to the being and almost screamed in shock due to what he saw! This is the Minotaur which he fought not too long ago, his eyes turned gloomy and he slightly felt guilty for robbing this poor beast of its soul, not giving it a chance to find peace even in the afterlife. Suddenly all the hair in his body stood up and he quickly turned around and struck forward with his clenched fist. Bam! His clenched fist shivered under the powerful grip of the angel of Death. A charming smile lingered on Demo''s face as he stared at Derik for a while before speaking "I see you love toying with your life... You''re lucky those people found you... If not you definitely would have died!" Demos said "Died?... I have the supernatural abilities of a werewolf... My healing capabilities are not low... I never expected combining the power of two silver realm techniques will harm me this much... Even then... It was necessary... I wouldn''t have made it through the first level of the dungeon if I didn''t use the technique" Derik explained. His face was ugly, never in his wildest dreams did he think that combining the powers of two silver realm abilities will harm him this much, he thought he would just leave him in a weakened state. "It is one thing to perform combat techniques higher by a realm, that will simply drain you and harm you and possibly cause internal damages which you can ignore due to your werewolf regenerative abilities... It is also different when you perform multiple combat techniques above your realm simultaneously... Opening the gates of the underworld, taking off your limiters and utilizing the powers of your avatar... That seriously drained you... You were like a husk and even with your wolf side, it will most likely take months for you to return to peak condition... And this time you decided to combine two silver realm combat techniques... If I didn''t know better, I would have thought you''re trying to get yourself killed! You''re courting death and I must say... I''m tempted!" Demos said with a serious face. Derik may not be aware of the level of damage he has done to his soul, but Demos was aware of this! Pushing one''s self to his or her limit and beyond are the only words that can be used to describe what Derik did. The limiter path simply brings forth all the power in the user, which in turn greatly weakens the user after use but it doesn''t push the body beyond its limit which can lead to death. In this case, Derik used all the power in his body and since it was insufficient he unconsciously drew more power from his life force. Apparently, combining two techniques to create a more powerful variant isn''t something anyone can just do. Demos had no idea Derik was capable of this if not he would have warned Derik of this outcome! This kid is more capable than he expected, at this point, he decided not to hold back necessary information''s from this kid anymore. With hints of admiration in his eyes, Demos waved his hand in the darkness and Derik''s feeble body was shown suspended in mid-air, inside a human-size water glob. "You''re lucky the elves of Alda were the first to make it through the first level of the dungeon... If it were any other team of the expedition troops... You probably wouldn''t be able to survive this time" Demos chuckled. "Elves? Ain''t they worshippers of nature? I''m practically destroyed the moonlight forest when I opened the gateway to the underworld... Shouldn''t they have a grudge against me?" Derik scratched his head while he talked. He failed to understand why the elven race, protectors of the environment and servants of nature would try to save the life of a person he brings forth only chaos and destruction. "Well they did intend to kill you at first before they realized you have the werewolf ability, unlike humans, Elves don''t discriminate against supernatural beings since they are part of nature... I can''t say much about it but it seems quite interesting... The bottom line is... You won''t at their hands but there is a possibility that they will try to break your link to the death element... That is what you should be worried about" Demos laughed. He knew if Derik by chance didn''t possess the supernatural abilities of a werewolf, these people would have killed him a long time ago. Even though they will try to shatter Derik''s link to the death element, Demos wasn''t planning to let them succeed so easily. " "Okay... Since you''re calm about this, it means they can''t do it easily... So I won''t stress myself so much on that matter... When I regain consciousness what do I do?" Derik asked "When you wake? Let''s focus on the benefits you can obtain now you''re in this state... As the master of the death element, situations, where you''re close to death, are like god sent opportunities... It helps strengthen the link between you and the element... Previous hosts prayed daily for this amazing opportunity... It''s even better than practicing in the underworld" Demos said. Derik simply nodded in approval, he was no stranger to the benefits of entering a death-like state with this magic. The last time this happened, not only did his eyes turn purple which is really really cool, but he also gained enough power to defeat a weakened two century year old vampire. Remembering this, his body trembled with joy and he began considering entering this kind of situation again but how? Bam! Clutching his head in pain Derik looked at Demos with watery eyes, he was so excited that he forgot this his partner could read his mind. "You really wanna die right?!" Demos asked with narrowed eyes and knitted eyebrows. Derik shook his head in disapproval immediately and did dare to utter a word. Seeing this, Demos sighed and calmed down slightly, "Anyway, this darkness is a domain in your own soul, a temporary place for your forces to reside until you possess the power to create your own realm" "Forces? You mean those I form a Master-slave pact with and the souls I steal right?" "Of course... As of now... All you have to do is simple... Keep calm and absorb the power of death... Since you''re in a state where you''re closer to death, it shouldn''t be much of a problem... I''m pretty sure that when you wake... Even you will be shocked by the results!" "Alright... I''ll do just that" Not wasting any more time on pointless conversations, Derik ignored the shadow lurker and Minotaur, sitting on thin air with both legs crossed he began drawing the power of Death from all sides. His body quivered the abundant powers of the underworld rushed into his body and mind. In the blink of an eye, a week passed by and Derik''s body had changed in so many ways. His milk-colored skin turned pale and more streaks of purple color could be seen on his pitch-black hair. His fingernails turned black and even his eyebrows were darkish purple in color. Throughout this time, Demos just stood there and observed Derik with a satisfied smile on his face. Suddenly a ray of light penetrated the darkness and raced towards Derik! His eyes yanked open and he simply swung his right hand at the ray of bright divine light. Instantly a streak of darkish purple energy shot out and raced towards the incoming beam of light "Scram!!!" Derik roared as the two opposing forces collided and a large explosion occurred which shook his domain! His darkish purple eyebrows slammed together as the light overpowered his darkness and shot towards him like an arrow. His face remained calm and cold, with both hands stretched forth he urged all his death power to consume the beam of light. "Demos!" Derik cried out when he realized that his power won''t be able to stop this. "Don''t worry... It''s your time to go back... Go on... Shock the world" Demos laughed 101 Chapter 101: Mid-grade of the bronze realm! The elven expedition troops of Alda proceeded cautiously through the dense forest at the second level of the dungeon. Over the weeks they have spent here, they have been forced to defend against numerous high-level beast attacks! Elves possess this innate natural ability which allows them to befriend beasts of nature, Supernatural and magical monsters included! On their way here, they didn''t have to raise a finger against the monsters of the moonlight forest. At least, that was until the minds of the monsters of the moonlight forest were corroded by Derik''s death aura. But now the situation has changed, the beasts of this forest were all high level, with the least at level 50 which is enough to give a silver realm warrior or mage a heartache. To make matters worse, more than 70% of the team failed to make it through the first floor of the dungeon, leaving them with less than 200 soldiers! Unlike the beasts, these people had encountered in the past, these possessed great intelligence and could not be easily manipulated by nature''s powers, that is why this team struggled greatly in this forest. "Shsssssh! Something is heading this way¡­ Keep it down and stand ready" A yellow-skinned, blade-like eared elf said. She had yellow flowing long hair and her iris were green. She spoke and waved her hand at the rest of the team as she gazed upon a pack of blood wolves, with a level 60 alpha, three level 55 beta''s and six level 50 omega''s! Seeing such a terrifying force, the elves immediately halted their advances and hid in a nearby bush! Their leaf green cloaks made them blend well but the blue ball of water gave them away. ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! These beasts roared and dashed towards the ball of water. At that same time, energy ripples escaped the ball of water and the peak grade bronze realm elf maintaining the water dome, turned pale. She poured in more mana to maintain the glob of water but that seemed like an impossible task. Seeing this, everyone in the team frowned and their complexions turned pale. They were aware of Derik''s identity, this was the presumed powerful dark mage who used his powers to destroy the moonlight forest and corrode the minds of the high-leveled beasts there. This is the powerful ferocious dark mage who fought toe-to-toe with a minotaur in a heated bitter battle and won! This is the man who crossed the first level of this dungeon first! When they saw Derik''s emaciated body these people were astonished. In their minds they have painted the image of a powerful man who was one with the darkness, possessing tremendous physical and magical capabilities. They expected that this devilish creature would be at the peak-grade of the bronze realm and even the silver realm warriors and mages of the various expedition troops were scared of this man! They never expected that a kid of 15 years was capable of all that and at a point, they began to doubt it. They initially planned to take the life of this kid and move on but when they realized that this kid possessed the supernatural abilities of a werewolf they hesitated. Such amazing talent and accomplishments at such a young age, accompanied with the fact that this kid was alone, meaning he was not a member of any of the four big forces of the continent, coupled with the fact that he crossed the first level of the dungeon with a cultivation base of the low-grade of the bronze realm which a lot of peak-grade bronze realm warriors and mages on their team could not accomplish, they were overjoyed! If they could recruit this kid who was sure to make it to the silver realm, the power of the kingdom of Alda would increase even further! All they had to do is severe his link to the death element and have him train only on his werewolf side. Even though his strength will diminish at first, they were sure his strength will rise later on. Severing someone''s link to his or her element was no small task and it definitely wasn''t something that can be accomplished in this forest, they needed to return Derik to the Alda kingdom but first, they decided to save his life. Utilizing a healing spell, they only healed him enough to keep him alive but unconscious. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the power of the regenerative abilities of his wolf side, coupled with the streams of death power that dashed into Derik''s body every time they killed a monster. Boooooooom!!!! The water glob shattered and a sea of death aura bust forth from Derik''s body. Elsa was the oracle in charge of healing Derik, therefore she was the closest to him. She urged all her holy and nature energy forward to resist the evil aura that exploded from Derik''s body for a short time before been blown away. Her hands turned gray and looked like something that would rot any time soon. Meanwhile, the incoming blood wolves halted their advance and observed the situation carefully. Everything ten meters around Derik had withered away and the aura around him didn''t seem to be subsiding, instead, they grew stronger! Derik''s eyebrows slammed together as he gazed at those sly wolves and could easily tell they were waiting for the right time to strike. His eyes narrowed and he swung his hands at those beasts, sending forth a torrent of death aura! "Scram!!" He roared and his death aura poured towards blood wolves, rising high in the air like a tsunami and crashing down on them! Bam! The wolves reacted quickly and moved out of the way right on time, Seeing this Derik grimaced. He knew these beasts were above his level, capable of threatening even silver realm warriors and mages and at this point, he was quite sure that these elves were still stunned by his sudden recovery. He could easily chase these beasts away with his aura but things were different now. As he broke into the mid-grade of the bronze realm, he became more familiar with the power of death which was a good thing and a bad thing. Yes! He got stronger and can most likely defend against people at the peak grade of the bronze realm even without taking off his limiters but then again, his aura has become more powerful and has gained the traits of that which can be found only in the underworld. The corrosive power of his aura has increased to the point that he had to be careful when releasing it around friends, just like what happened a few minutes ago with the elf called Elsa. He threw Elsa and the other elves a glance before returning his attention towards the wolves. With a simple hand gesture, 20 balls of death energy flew above his head and quickly took the form of bone spears. His eyes were cold and sharp as he gazed at the wolves that have refused to retreat. "I said get away!" Derik roared and threw his hands forward. Ten bone spears shot forward, all shrouded in death aura! With simple hand gestures, Derik guided the bone spears and they continually assaulted the wolves which kept retreating, trying to avoid physical contact with the bone spears. These wolves seemed to be aware of the corrosive powers of the death aura and they weren''t willing to risk it. Unfortunately, they could only wait until Derik let his guard down before they could attack him. Under Derik''s constant assault the wolves disappeared into the forest but everyone knew they still lingered around, waiting for the right time to strike. The intelligence of the high-level monsters could not be underestimated All this while the extra ten bone spears hovered around Derik vigilantly, it was obvious that he was secretly guarding against the elves behind him. With the blood wolf pack temporarily driven away, Derik turned his attention to the elves and slightly bowed "Thank you for your care¡­ I would have been dead for sure if you all didn''t heal me" Derik said with sincere gratitude in his heart. The elves only nodded silently and turned their attention to Elsa whose body was now still suffering from the effects of Derik''s death aura. Derik nodded and strode forward confidently. Seeing this, some peak grade bronze realm elves tried to block his path but they were stopped by the female elf who seemed to be the leader of this elf expedition troop. Appearing right in front of Elsa, Derik fell on one knee and took her hand. He began pulling out all the death aura in her body. Kneeling so close to her, Derik was shocked, he had heard of the beauty of the elves in general but this was the first time he had actually seen one. Else had a sparkling smooth milky colored skin and her curves could not be hidden properly by her green cloak. Her green iris sparkled and her bosom stood firm! This was the first time Derik has felt such a spark for a female even though he knew this elf female who looked like an eighteen-year-old was about fifty years at least. He knew of the long life these elves possessed and he had to confess that nature truly favors this race. He suddenly snapped out of it and his pale face reddened a bit. "I''m sorry I hurt you even though you healed me¡­ Forgive me" Derik muttered " Hahahaha! It''s okay¡­ you were breaking through to another grade in your realm¡­ it wasn''t your fault, outbursts of power tend to happen¡­ I should have been more careful" Elsa laughed. It seemed as if she didn''t notice the change in Derik''s expression. When Derik was done with her, he got on his feet and the 20 bone spears still hovered above his head, threatening all those that bore evil intentions for him with their terrifying aura. His eyes shifted to the lady in charge and his face stiffened¡­ "Your team seemed to have been blocking all possible exits¡­ You''re trying to stop me from leaving¡­ Ask your comrades to step aside or I will be forced to bulldoze my way through!" Derik sneered. At this point, his body was covered by some sort of purple halo and the temperature suddenly dropped. Only the ground beneath his feet rotted away, it was obvious that he didn''t want to hurt Elsa again so he was trying to control his aura. His purple fiery eyes lit up and his murderous intentions poured out on all everyone around. Even though he was grateful to these people, he wasn''t planning to let them push him around. With the presence of the shadow lurker in his domain, he didn''t really fear any of these people, he was sure that he could escape this encirclement when the time comes. 102 Chapter 102: Moving on! In the dense forest on the second floor of the dungeon, Isabel kept glaring at Derik for a minute without uttering a word or reacting to his words. Apparently, she was the leader of this expedition troops of Alfa at the mid-grade of the silver realm. All through her life which consisted of over a hundred years, she has never come across a situation where a mode grade bronze realm warrior or mage confidently claims he can escape when surrounded by over a hundred peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages and over a dozen low-grade silver realm elves! As much as she would have loved to call Derik''s bluff but the confidence in those fiery darkish purple eyes of his discouraged her, keeping in mind that if they lost someone as talented as Derik, it will be considered a major loss on their side. Her eyes narrowed as she reluctantly asked everyone to back off with a simple hand gesture. Only then did the darkish purple halo covering Derik''s body vanish. "You... Tell me something... Do you wish to get the benefits of this dungeon all alone?" Isabel sneered. She refused to believe that a mid-level bronze realm mage would even consider doing something a kingdom finds difficult alone. "Yes..." Derik uttered casually and confidently, waving his hands which made all the bone spears vanish. Even if he lacked the brute power to handle this, he could depend on external sources like the Shadow lurker. Also the more people he kills, the more powerful he gets. Given enough time in this dungeon, he was quite positive he would at least leave here with many benefits even if he can''t get the main prize. "Even then you will fail... No one man can achieve these things you are saying unless they are at the peak grade of the silver realm or they are golden realm warriors or mages... And even when you manage to accomplish this... As you''re alone... The various kingdoms will not hesitate to join hands and deal with you since you have no backing. Do you have a plan for that?" Isabel laughed. Her emerald colored eyes remained fixed on Derik and a confident smile crept all over her face. Hearing this Derik frowned, he had never really thought of this. After he gains the secrets of the dungeon what next? How sure was he that he would gain a gold level magic weapon like the lizardmen of Baldmar which instantly allowed them to suppress all foes who tried to ambush them at the center of the world. Even if he was lucky enough to get a gold level magic weapon, what assurance is there that he could use it? Even the first king of the lizardmen tribe suffered serious backlashes after using the magic weapon! His cultivation was broken, leaving him at the peak of the silver realm all his life, unable to ascend further. If a peak grade Silver realm warrior could suffer this much, what can a bronze realm mage like him do? Derik''s eyebrows slammed together as he sort for a solution in his mind. He noticed that Isabel wasn''t in a hurry so he took his time to think deeply on this matter. His fiery darkish purple flame eyes dimmed as realization dawned on him that he couldn''t escape. Even if he created a miniature gate to the underworld he still wouldn''t escape. These people will probably wait for him and he still won''t be able to stay long if not, his body and mind would be corroded as well. He would eventually pop out and they will not hesitate to eliminate him. Finally, even if he manages to escape, wouldn''t that mean he''s making all the forces of this large continent his enemy? What the heck, even the holy church, and their famous wingmen would definitely search for him, where will he run to?... Isabel seemed to be enjoying the twisted expressions which kept appearing on Derik''s face, she finally relaxed and leaned on a tree, patiently waiting for Derik to respond to her question. "Fine... What do you propose?" Derik sighed with a bitter smile on his face. Hearing this, Isabel clapped her hands and an excited smile blossomed on her face. "Join Alda... The elven kingdom... Although we elves do not get along well with members of other species, we do appreciate supernatural beings more than any other race in the kingdom... If you return with us you will be treated like a treasure!" Isabel said" Fine... I will accept your offer only on two conditions... Your people will stop thinking of severing my link to my death element and finally I get to pick two items from whatever we find after we conquer this dungeon... If you guys are feeling too generous, you can offer more... I won''t refuse your kindness" Derik laughed but his eyes were cold. "No, and no!" Isabel shook her head with a frown on her face "If you haven''t noticed, apart from our minor knowledge in the powers of the various elements... We elves focus on the powers of the nature element and cherish the beautiful nature blessed environment we live in... Should we let you keep this diabolic magic of yours, I''m afraid our homeland will not be safe" "Then why don''t you suppress it... My magic... I''m quite sure the kingdom of Alda possesses numerous magical items that can be used to seal the magic of a foe... It shouldn''t be hard for you all to suppress mine... Don''t worry, I won''t struggle or try to break it" "Hmph! Even if you try to struggle you still won''t be able to break the seal our people will place on you" Isabel snorted, clearly she wasn''t happy with Derik''s cocky words concerning struggling ancient sealing techniques, in fact, she wasn''t the only one who felt insulted by Derik''s words, every other person present felt annoyed by this too. "Are we placing the seal or not?..." Derik asked nonchalantly, he clearly wasn''t moved by the change in these people''s countenance. "Fine... As for the loot... You know how important and precious these items are... They are capable of making any kingdom the sole overlord of this continent! That''s why every kingdom sent out its elite forces! Now you ask I should hand over just a portion of the mind blowing treasure to you?" Isabel asked "Of course!" Derik said indifferently with a slight nod. This enraged everyone present, for someone to sort something capable to improve the overall strength of a kingdom all to himself. Derik''s could be considered as the most selfish person in her mind, if he didn''t possess the werewolf bloodline, she probably would have killed him now.All the elven warriors and mages here are putting their life at risk so as to acquire these precious tools for their kingdom, yet they don''t expect a dime yet this kid had the guts to ask for two pieces, what if they only found 3 to 4 pieces of equipment. "It seems we have reached an impasse" She sneered with bloodshot eyes. Her milk-colored delicate hands slowly moved the daggers which hung around her waist " I can see that... It is a same I really liked you all for a moment there... Oooh well... Moving on!" Derik sneered. A broad, confident smile appeared on his face and he strode towards Isabel confidently. "A mid-grade silver realm assassin... Isn''t that cute" Derik laughed out loud while waving his hands in the empty air strangely "I''ll be leaving now... I hope you won''t get in my way" The smile on Derik''s face vanished and his fiery darkish purple eyes lit up strangely and dark, corrosive death aura burst out of his body. Isabel''s eyebrows slammed together as she pondered on what to do next. She knew the benefits Derik would bring to the team he joined them and his importance to the kingdom. Is it really wise to let someone this young and talented go? A thought popped up in her head and her eyes brightened instantly. Letting go of her daggers, a smile appeared on her face once again. Derik''s aura could drive monsters in this forest away, monsters that don''t even blink when attacking mid-grade silver realm warriors and mages like herself. Also, the fact he is so confident shows that he knows something they don''t... Something that may help him clear the dungeon? It is possible. Just a while ago, this kid got through the first floor of the dungeon with the low-grade bronze realm cultivation base, that alone is really incredible. She began believing that Derik may actually be able to clear this dungeon. Why not try harder to pull him over to their side? Even if he took a very powerful item or tool in the loot and he serves the elven Kingdom of Alda, it still benefits the kingdom, right? "Fine... I''ll let you keep a piece of equipment or item of your choice if we clear the dungeon before everyone else and in exchange, you have to swear your undying loyalty to Alda when we return... Becoming a full-fledged member of the kingdom" Isabel said "Trying to bring me over to your side, that way whatever item I take still remains in the kingdom of Alda... Smart but I must refuse your offer... I have goals... I have debts I still need to replay... I can''t stay bound to you guys... Now I even feel stupid for asking you guys to seal my magic... I''ll be leaving now... Once again I thank you for your kindness and I will definitely repay this favor later on... Should I find myself in a position to lend you all a hand later on... I definitely will not hesitate..." Derik bowed slightly as he spoke, after which he walked away disappearing in the cluster of trees. The elves could only stare with their jaws dropped due to shock! 103 Chapter 103: I will become a god! .... Second Floor... Derik sat down in the dense forest with both legs crossed. While he meditated, his aura flowed out covering over a hundred meters, forcibly snatching away the life of all living organisms around while preventing other beasts from approaching. His eyebrows were knitted together while he meditated, assessing his new grade in the Bronze realm. "Demos" Derik spoke out after three hours of mediation. It seemed like his raging aura had calmed down and his control over his corrosive power has increased as well. His eyes yanked open abruptly and he threw his right hand into the air. At that point, his aura resided and calmed. It still struck fear into the hearts of all those who could sense it, but it wasn''t as chaotic as before. Tiny balls of yellow light escaped his body and shot straight into the withered plants and environment! Right before his very eyes, life returned to plants and trees all around him. "What?" Demos asked indifferently "This power... Of death is something else... As I''m able to steal the life force of all living things... I just realized I can also give it back... Doesn''t that make me a god?" Derik asked Demos was startled by this question. Ever since Derik broke into the mid-grade of the bronze realm, he changed in so many ways, both physically and spiritually. His pure white soul had become evil, turning purple in the process. His blood turned black and even his appearance had changed tremendously. Derik probably thought that Demos was still restraining his emotions to a certain level but the truth was that Demos wasn''t interfering with his emotions in any way. This is who this kid has become now... Over Millon''s of years, Demos has come across so many hosts wielding the death magic but Derik''s case was special. While most of them were killed young because of people feared them, others grew and reached higher realms through the normal cultivation process like any other mage or warrior but in the end, they lacked the experiences which Derik had now and could only draw out the power of death but never understood it. Only a few had surpassed Derik''s level by a large margin but those people were much stronger and way older than he is. Watching Derik get to this level at such a tender age, Demo''s eyes sparkled! No guardian spirit up to this day could confidently boast of a follower who reached the demi-god realm. The reason is, the moment they reach the silver realm or the gold realm, their potentials, and terrifying abilities begin to manifest. At that time they become the most feared individuals and become targets of every force on the planet including the ones they belong to. Even those who wield the cosmic spirits share the same fate and are not spared. That''s why they keep reincarnating all the time. Deriks'' supernatural side let him perform the unthinkable at his realm. Drifting between life and death easily for a short while in very serious occasions simply thanks to his regenerative capabilities. Truly if any other person were to be in the same position they would have died off immediately. Derik only lived long enough for the elves to find him because of his regenerative ability and dancing in between life and death is regarded as a treasure to all death mages. If the previous death mages knew that Derik was opportune to profit from near death situations, twice! They will probably die of envy. At this point, Demos swore to groom this kid properly, making sure he reached the top in the shortest time possible! Only when Derik breaks through the realms of mortals and reaches the demi-god realm will he relax a little bit. "A god? Most likely... Amongst all the guardian spirits created by the creator, Death and life will always remain the most powerful simply because of the god-like abilities it grants... So yes... You and Cyrus are probably the only beings who can take up the title... God!" Demos said "Wait... Cyrus?" Derik frowned slightly when he heard the name." Of course... Your death element allows you to steal the life force of living organisms... You can also give back what you have taken but then again... Cyrus can also do something similar... The only difference is that he can actually create life force from nothing..." Demos explained "Create a life force? Doesn''t that mean he can raise the dead?... Isn''t that too overpowered?..." Derik was astonished by his recent discovery. Even though he had a good of Cyrus, he still couldn''t shake the feeling that one day he and Cyrus may be forced to battle each other to the death. It was definitely impossible for life and death to mix, his method of doing things now is something he was pretty sure that Cyrus would not be happy with. Even if the situation was critical, he knew Cyrus would not be willing to sacrifice a lot of innocent lives in order to succeed. His fiery darkish purple eyes dimmed for a moment as he contemplated on what to future may look like when he finally returns to the Gyro kingdom and attacks, will his formal teammates stand against him? Even if they do, will he have the guts to strike them down permanently? What about his parents who testified against him, what''s up with them... When he returns, how will he confront them? Should he kill them as well? His fiery eyes flickered a bit and he quickly brushed those thoughts aside, deciding to deal with it when the time comes. His thoughts drifted to Elsa and the elf group which he parted ways with two weeks ago. He knew that those high-level blood wolves most likely attacked them after he left. He felt guilty but the feeling was not that strong so he could easily shove it aside. The elven troop consisted of a lot of silver realm experts, even if they were at the low grade of the silver realm, they still have the numbers advantage, they should be alright. "I know what you''re thinking... Cyrus may be a threat... Am I correct?" Demos finally spoke "Yes... What do you think about this?" Derik responded indifferently "Well, the thing is this... Over the centuries, Michael and I have interfered with the lives of our hosts and pushed them into believing that the wielders of the opposite elements are their sworn enemies who must be vanquished at all costs... And on numerous occasions, we have watched them fight to the bitter end and even then, the victor is left in such a horrible condition that death is considered better... Five centuries ago... The most promising set of hosts appeared in this continent with heaven defying potentials... Eventually, these people reached the peak of the silver realm, only a step away from reaching the peak of the mortal realms. At that time they were besieged by numerous experts of all the various kingdoms in this massive continent and during that time we were pretty sure they would have survived if they stood as one but the funniest thing happened... While defending against the brutal assaults of their foes, my host and that of Michael battled each other with malicious intentions!" Demos explained Hearing this Derik shuddered in silence. He knew what it meant to defend against multiple enemies while battling someone else. He began to wonder what the guardian spirits told these guys which made them resent themselves so much that they risked their lives just to hurt each other. "Their enmity really ran that deep? What the hell did you guys tell them? Who won?" Derik poured out all the questions in his mind at one go "Hehehehe... Do not underestimate the influence of we guardian spirits... Anyways... In the end... My host was distracted long enough for the life mage to land a fatal attack which literally broke him... Seeing he wouldn''t be able to survive, my host urged all his death power remaining and launched a final attack at the life mage, injuring him as well... In the end, the two were too weak to survive the numerous assault of their foes and lost their lives shortly after" Demos said. Derik frowned for a while and remained silent while digesting all that he has heard... "That''s why we both agreed to interfere with your relationship with Cyrus... We have both suffered great losses..." Demos added "You don''t have to worry... Should a situation where I will have to battle Cyrus arise... I definitely will not lose... I will become a God in this little world! This I know!" Derik said, filled with determination! He knew how hard it has been for Demos to watch his hosts die off and why he saved him the first time he died at the hands of the Salvors. He knew quite well that Demos paid a heavy price for restoring his life even though he never spoke of it. The fact remained that Demo''s power had reduced permanently after he returned Derik to the land of the living, he could tell it. That''s why Demo''s strong grip over him weakened as well. If this being is willing to pay such a price to save his life, why wouldn''t he work hard enough to protect it from the invaders? His fiery darkish purple eyes lit up and burnt fiercely this time. His zeal to conquer the dungeon was rekindled and his body shot forward into the forest like an arrow. "Definitely!!!!!" Derik roared 104 Chapter 104: Encountering an archenemy Another week passed quickly and Derik was yet to reach the other end of this well-forested area. At a point he began to doubt himself, thinking he has been going the wrong way all this while but under the guardiance of the guardian spirit Demos, he could only move forward and not complain. At this point, he realized the way the forest works and the major task at hand. The more he advanced, the denser the forest became! After traveling for another week, the journey became even more dangerous and tiresome! Derik''s body flew forward like an arrow and with just a single push he easily covered a lot of ground. His fiery eyes flickered as he discreetly gathered his energy in an attempt to guard against the mysterious powers of this strange forest. His knowledge of his current situation broadened and he could easily tell what was required of him to get through this dangerous forest. With Demo''s aid, he could travel through the strange forest which seemed to move, confusing people in the process. That way, the other teams kept moving in circles for weeks now!. His death aura terrified all the beasts in this forest, preventing them from acting against him. In summary, his journey has been smooth until this very moment! The massive trees around suddenly tilted and moved, blocking Derik''s path. It was clear that he was not far from the edge of the mysterious forest for it to make such a move. In truth, Derik felt like the forest itself has become reckless and has decided to prevent Derik from proceeding at any cost. "You dare!" Derik roared and thrust both hands forward. "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" Derik screamed and scorching darkish purple flames poured out of his hands completely consuming the trees that blocked his path. A sinister smile bloomed on his face for a while but soon disappeared when the burning trees were replaced by new healthy trees at a speed which even he could not react to! His darkish purple fiery eyebrows knitted together and his expression became cold when he witnessed numerous thorny vines erupt from the earth, lashing at him. "Hahahahaha! Does nature dare to stand at the face of Death? Arrogant!" Derik roared and clasped his hands together! A tremendous amount of darkish purple aura stormed out of his body like an ocean, covering over a hundred meters around Derik! No matter what kind of attack the forest threw at him the all withered away before they could get to him and the life force of every organism within his range in this mysterious forest was slowly drained.A cold and sinister smile appeared on Derik''s face and he shot forward once again, advancing at a rapid speed but this time there was no hindrance. A triumphant smile bloomed on his face as he moved then tragedy struck a few hours later. A beam of golden divine light suddenly flew towards Derik at a terrifying speed which made Derik panic! He was pretty sure that this energy could penetrate his difference and most likely kill him at a go if he is struck by this attack. Since it was already too late to evade this attack so Derik decided to face it head-on! Death magic: Bone armor Death magic: Death beam Hiding within his exoskeletal bone armor, Derik screamed and urged his death powers. A darkish purple magic array appeared and a powerful beam of death energy shot out to met the incoming golden beam! Boom!!! Derik''s body violently slammed into a massive tree before hitting the ground. He spat out a mouth full of black blood while silently watching his bone armor shatter right before his eyes. His soul shivered in fear after he experienced this. At first, he thought Cyrus was the one responsible for the attack since he''s the only one who possessed the ability to manipulate divine power! But after he took a hit, he began to doubt his suspicion. Cyrus may possess the life guardian spirit and control the divine power but Cyrus has never been this powerful! He was not given enough time to ponder as another beam of golden divine energy shot out from the distant forest and sped towards him like a cannon. All the hair on his head stood up and he let out a terrifying roar before dashing towards the beam of divine energy. His claws and fangs instantly sprouted. His fiery darkish purple eyes burned even brighter as he brandished his claws at the golden divine energy "Silver level secret technique: Brilliant claw" he roared and a condensed streak of death aura escaped his claws and lunged towards the beam of golden divine power. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Derik''s body was thrown back by over 50 meters. His body trembled violently and his claws were broken, leaving behind a bloodied hand. His eyes were gloomy and a hint a fear could be found in them. When going against a foe who is most likely at a higher realm and also wields the only element that could counter his death element, he couldn''t help it! He got flustered. "You Dare!!!" Derik roared after spitting out a mouth full of black blood, gazing at the direction in which the two powerful attacks came from. He flicked his hands and a bone bow and a quiver filled with bone arrows quickly appeared as he silently waited for the assailant to reveal himself. As his foe slowly emerged, dangerous life energy poured out and filled the area. The withered plants were soon rejuvenated and the corroded environment was then returned to normal. "Quickly Derik! Run!!!!! You absolutely can''t fight this being... Leave here now!!!" Demos suddenly roared in Derik''s head. Soon a blinding light slowly emerged from the direction where the attacks came from and at that moment Derik realized he fucked up! He thought he could battle against this mysterious being now he finally got to meet it head-on he realized it was not something that he could handle. His eyes quivered and he didn''t dare to stay and see the true form of this man!He turned in the opposite direction, not caring if it was the right way to go. "Death magic: Death meteor!"He roared and darkish purple flames consumed him in an instant. His body the shot forward, and instantly vanished! A second later an extremely tall and handsome figure emerged from the light. He looked emaciated and lanky, his eyes sparkled like the stars in the night and a gigantic orange sword was strapped to his back. All four wings flapped lazily "All evil must be purged!" He muttered lazily before turning into a beam of golden light, chasing after Derik! 105 Chapter 105: Fallen arch angel, Samael! Shrouded in a globe of darkish purple flames, Derik shot through the forest as fast as he could. His body suddenly shuddered involuntarily in fear and his gaze quickly shifted to the golden light that chased after him. His lips trembled and his fiery darkish purple eyes quivered fiercely. "Demos! What the hell is that? It is not human!" Derik cried out loud as he desperately tried to escape "That is the infamous formal guardian spirit of the life, Samael!" Demos replied with "Formal?... Infamous?... You have to explain better" Derik screamed "Samael is the formal arch Angel of life... Master of the element of life before his greed made him stage a coup d''¨¦tat against the creator... In the end... He lost and his cohorts were defeated... Samael and his colleagues were cast down... It''s been hundreds of thousands of years now since Samael was cast down, without the grace of the creator he body has shriveled and his power has been weakened greatly but you are not his opponent! You have to flee!" Demos screamed "What is an ancient being doing in a place like this? No... This is not something that can be overlooked by the creator! You should be able to help me right?" "I wish I could but this space you''re in is not somewhere I can reach... This special space was created by the creator, we guardian spirits can not intrude... I don''t know what Samael''s intentions are but I know he will definitely try to kill you with the best of his abilities!" Demos sounded scared when he spoke. Derik knew that Demos was actually worried about his life, he also knew that this fallen angel was in a terribly weakened state. The fact that it wandered into this sky rift proves that something amazing should be at the other end of the dungeon, only that can explain why an arch Angel, the majestic being only second to the creator would get into this place. Finally, even if he should escape this time, what then? Will he keep running from this being for the rest of his life? Hell no! Yes! He may have gotten hurt after the few exchanges with the arch Angels attacks but the truth remains he is not entirely useless... He could resist and that''s why he''s still alive now. "Whatever you are thinking kid, its wrong! Even peak grade silver realm experts can not win against this weakened Samael, let alone you!" Demos roared when he realized that Derik has slowed down significantly. Even if he couldn''t read Derik''s thoughts anymore, no one needed to tell him that the kid is cooking up crazy ideas! Unfortunately, Derik discarded his words so quickly and made his move! "Charge!" He roared and the globe of darkish purple flames surrounding him brightened up, instantly shooting him up into the air! Seeing the sudden change Samael was confused, he quickly stopped moving and looked into the sky with knitted eyebrows, waiting for Derik! Why would the kid suddenly stop fleeing? Does he actually feel that he can win this battle? What insolence! At this point, even Demos shared the same thoughts as Samael. Derik may have lost a reasonable chunk of his emotions but that doesn''t mean he can make the right decisions! He suddenly realized that Derik was only 15 years old, clearly lacking inexperience. He finally declared in his mind that if Derik survives this deadly encounter by any chance, his competency will definitely rise by leaps and bounds! "Crash!!!" Derik''s voice echoed in the clouds and his fiery body shot down at Samael at a terrifying speed. Unlike normal flame, the darkish purple flame around Derik was not only hot but it also gave out some sort of unnatural aura which could directly attack the mind of a foe. Ever since he broke into the mid-grade of the bronze realm, his abilities have been undergoing earth-shattering changes which even shocked him. At this point, Derik realized the massive difference between a recruit and a bronze realm warrior! With the special effects of his abilities, he was pretty sure he could stand his own against a warrior or mage at the peak grade bronze realm. And with his limiters path removed, he can fight against low-grade silver class realm warriors! Fighting people grades ahead of him, isn''t that magical? Samael stared at the darkish purple fiery meteor with mixed expressions on his face, if he was still at his peak or still had at least 50 percent of his power, he wouldn''t hesitate to catch Derik''s flaming meteor with his bare hands but now things are different. Samael wasn''t really sure if his fragile body could withstand the corrosive powers of Derik''s death magic. His eyes narrowed and with his hands, he drew symbols in the void. His dull eyes suddenly brightened up and his body got even paler. "Life Magic: Heavens Gate!" He muttered weakly. Instantly a massive golden gate of pure divine energy appeared above Samael. The gate was massive, over 100 meters long and wide! Compared to Derik''s meteor, it looked like tossing a pebble at a mighty steel gate. Boom! The very moment Deriks comet slammed into the heavens gate, the darkish purple flame glob around him crumbled instantly and his body was revealed! His body soon slammed into the glowing divine gate and his body was set on fire, completely consumed by divine flames. "No evil can stand against my light!" Samael laughed lightly as he watched Derik scream in pain. Derik''s clothes were reduced to ashes and the smell of burning flesh filled the air! He could feel his body trying to repair itself but the raging divine flames dealt even more damage. At this point, he realized that the variant of this technique which Cyrus used to block his mid-level bronze combat technique, meteor shower was like a child''s play when compared to this one. Urging all his power, he created a thin layer of death energy around himself, pushing away the golden flames for a short while! His naked body soon shot into the sky as he tried to escape raging divine flames "Where do you think you''re going?" Samael''s cold voice pierced into Deriks ears. Bam! Bam! Bam! Multiple golden chains shot out of the gates and pursued Derik. In less than two seconds, the chains overtook him, binding him in the process while pulling him towards the massive gate! This was the first time that Derik actually felt despair! His body wriggled and jiggled fiercely as he desperately struggled to break free from its grasps. His cold gaze fell on Samael, regret filled his heart knowing that he probably won''t be suffering this much if only he listened to Demos. The chains pulled him back to the gate and this time, he sank into the gate leaving behind only screams of pain and agony! 106 Chapter 106: If this is the best you can do, then Im disappointed! Samael was the being who once stood above all guardian spirits, wielder of the life element and one of the most charismatic beings in the world. As the only one who could fight against Demos, the archangel of death head-on and not fall into a disadvantaged situation, rumor has it that he even surpassed Demos reaching the peak grade of the Demi-God realm, only a step away from becoming a true God like the creator. At that time, he utilized gained more power forcibly snatching the life force of a lot of living beings and powerful warriors, thereby increasing his strength endlessly. When he broke into the peak grade of the Demi-God Realm, he successfully created his own domain, Just like the creator he too became the god of his domain, capable of controlling all the forces in his domain. As a rising star and with the help of the intimidating power he portrayed, Samael felt he was ready to take the place of the creator and create a better world. The creator had always been nonchalant about the affairs of the world and has never appeared for millions on years. Judging from its presence which filled the heavens, everyone felt it was only at the true God realm just a grade ahead of Samael! Using his absence and nonchalant attitude towards its creations as a reason, Samael sowed seeds of discontent in the hearts of up to 70 percent of the angels in the heavens and lead the revolution! The battle lasted for over hundreds of years, millions of angels battled against each other in the heavens with Demos and the other guardian spirits leading the resistance. With more guardian spirits on his side, Demos was able to resist the horde of angels and Samael for over 500 years before they were defeated and the revolutionary army gained access to the chamber of creation, the resting place of the creator. Rumor has it that the battle only lasted a minute, more than 50% of the angels that chose to stand with Samael were murdered while the rest were brutally injured, barely escaping with their lives. Samael was no exception. To escape from the all-seeing eyes of the creator, Samael and his cohorts escaped into his domain, a space that belongs to Samael alone and even the creator cannot find it. Rumor has it that the wingmen tribe are descendants of Samael and his fellow fallen angels! Being the direct descendants of these amazing beings, the members of the wing clan possess extraordinary power which allowed them to create the powerful force they named the holy church! To think that such a legendary character would appear in this special place meant for mortals. It actually means that there is something worth the risk of leaving his safe zone here .... Samael''s eyes narrowed and a charming smile bloomed on his emaciated pale face. His star-like eyes glittered and his golden hair fluttered in the wind, it was quite obvious that this archangel use to be extremely handsome when he was still at his peak, the only person that can compare is Demos! "This is a gift from me to you Demos.... Watch as your precious host dies at my hand... And when this is all over, I will regain the power I lost and even more!... The master of the life element will return!" Samael laughed hysterically while gazing upon the massive golden gate levitating in midair. "If this is the best you can do, then I''m disappointed!" A hoarse voice echoed from the massive golden gate! ... Within the gate was Derik whose skin has been burned away leaving only his muscles and tendons visible. His eyes were as calm as the ocean, his body trembled and darkish purple murderous aura burst out of his body!Within the golden gate was deadly black energy spreading like a plague, threatening to desecrate the ancient heavenly gate! With his limiters removed Derik was capable of shielding his body from the divine golden flames. Instantly, his werewolf regenerative abilities kicked in and his skin began to appear at an astonishing speed which the human eyes can behold! With just a little effort, Derik shattered the golden chains that bound him and he hand reached out to the void, tearing it easily. The space tore open revealing the underworld! Terrifying gray aura burst out of the void and poured into the heavens gate! In just a few seconds visible cracks appeared on various parts of the massive gate before shattering .... Samael could only watch this with knitted eyebrows and a frown on his face. He gazed at Derik who stood gallantly in midair beside the miniature passageway to the underworld! "Remember you can leave this place but you cannot return here using this same method... The mysterious power of the creator prevents us from appearing here through this same route that''s why I cannot help you!" Demos reminded him. "Kill!" Derik roared ignoring Demo''s words. Suddenly the massive bloodshot eyes of the Shadow Lurker appeared and red beams shot of the miniature passageway, dashing towards Samael! Simultaneously, Derik punched out into the empty air and a massive skeletal bone hand appeared beside Samael and struck forward! Considering the kind of power this being possessed in his weakened state, Derik dared not to imagine what kind of power Samael possessed when he was at his peak. He came to the conclusion that if he couldn''t kill this fallen angel now, the path in which he will work in the future will be filled with thorns. For that reason alone, he vowed to end everything here and now. Even if he is left in a weakened state for a while after this, he is ready to risk it! ..... The darkish purple skeletal fist smashed into Samael from the side, pushing him over 5 meters to the left. The attack from the side was something he was unprepared for and now it connected, he didn''t have enough time to react to the red beams of the shadow Lurker! Boom! His body shivered as he was forced to retreat by a few steps, he spat out a mouth full of golden blood from his mouth as he gazed at Derik with murderous intentions visible in his eyes. "Hahahaha!!!!" Derik laughed hysterically and punched out continuously with both hands. Once again the boney hands of his skeletal avatar manifested and rained down on Samael. The scorching red eyes of the Shadow lurker remained fixed on Samael, waiting for an opportunity. Even though it can not cross over, it could stand their and aid him from the other side using ranged attacks. Seeing this, Samael grimaced and roared. His hand reached for the orange flame sword on his back and with a casual swing, a sea of scorching divine flames poured and consumed all the attacks aimed at him, dashing towards Derik. "I will risk my life against you!!!! " Derik roared and his avatars ribcages appeared around him. "Death magic: Bone wall!!!" He roared and a massive bone wall erupted from beneath and stood gallantly in front of him. Booooom!!!! The sea of flames crashed into Derik''s defenses and they all crumbled one after the other! He received second-degree burns from the attack alone but his fighting will did not quiver one bit! Clap! Clasping both hands together, Derik roared and his darkish purple eyes burned even brighter. Instantly two bone darkish bone hands appeared by Samael''s sides and clasped together, attempting to crush the arch Angel with this attack. "One of us has to die today!!!!" Derik roared and the crimson red eyes of the shadow lurker lit up and a massive beam of red energy shot out, this completely consumed the bone hands that grabbed on to the archangel. Puff! Derik spat out a mouth full of blood and fell on his knees. His body turned pale and his fiery darkish purple eyes dimmed. Boom! Boom! Boom! Golden light erupted from within the two skeletal hands and then exploded! The shockwave knocked Derik off balance and a figure shot into the sky, Standing majestically with a blazing sword in his right hand, covered in golden blood. "You''re truly worthy of being Demos'' new master! I must confess you exceeded my expectations... But in the end, you''re Still human!" Samael''s voice sounded like lightning and thunder! 107 Chapter 107: Tag team Samael''s incredibly handsome face twisted in ways it shouldn''t and he stared at the empty space south of their current location with knitted eyebrows. "Dragon flame magic: Ancient Dragons Roar!" a majestic voice thundered from afar. Roar! A massive fire dragon head appeared from the distance, shooting towards the archangel of life, Samael! At the center of the flaming dragon head was a youth in his early twenties whoms blood-red air fluttered in the wind as he flew towards Samael with malicious intentions. His gaze suddenly shifted to Derik but only for a second and a hint of surprise could be seen in his eyes the moment he noticed Derik''s magical increase in his realm. He failed to understand how Derik was able to move from the low grade of the bronze realm to the mid-grade of the bronze realm just in a few months. Even he who is considered a peak genius in the continent cannot boast of such an amazing achievement. Fear and joy filled his eyes as he considered what Derik would to his enemies and the benefits he would rip from him as an ally. "Gerald¡­" Derik muttered weakly. He had endured so many injuries in the short exchange between Samael and himself. His vision slightly blurred and his weak, pale body kept trembling violently. Seeing Gerald, a sinister grin bloomed on his face and death aura diffused from his body. "Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" Derik roared. His body quivered violently as death aura busted out of his body, taking the form of a massive darkish purple skeleton. Its bony body had ancient runes on them and diabolical energy diffused from its body. In its two hollow eye sockets were two tiny sparkling lights that served as the pupils of this creature. Initially, he only summoned parts of his skeleton avatar when the battle began but now an opportunity presented itself, why hold back? His skeletal avatar shrieked and flew forward like lightning. From two sides were two silver realm level attacks flying towards the fallen archangel Samael!. "More Insects!" Samael hissed with an ugly expression on his face. His glittering star-like eyes fell on Derik who looked pale and wore a sinister smile on his face. He silently cursed the kid and reluctantly tightened his grip on his massive flaming orange greatsword. The majestic weapon had numerous ancient magic runes carved on its blade. They suddenly lit up and terrifying divine flames burst out of it. Samael gasped and looked even paler, golden blood trickled down his nostrils and lips. With a monstrous roar, he slashed out and a sea of scorching red flames poured out, threatening to consume everything in its path. "A Semi-God tier weapon!" Gerald screamed in fear. Hearing this Derik discolored! Soon Derik''s skeleton avatar was consumed by the divine flames and even Gerald failed to escape it. Derik instinctively retreated even farther and watched waiting for Gerald to escape his confinement. Resounding screams of pain and agony resonated from the sea of divine flames for a while. Puff! A figure suddenly broke out of the sea of divine flames, surrounded by a fire halo. His eyes looked tired and hints of fear could be seen whenever he looked at the massive greatsword in Samaels hands. Gerald''s body suffered greatly and he quickly retreated to Derik''s side. At this point, Derik was thankful for the lucky stars that he didn''t storm forward with his skeletal avatar, if not he would have paid a bloody price worse than that of Gerald! "W-what the hell is that!" Gerald slightly stuttered when he spoke to Derik. His eyes were gloomy as he stared at Samael with a dejected expression on his face. "All I can say for now is this, that thing is a fallen archangel in search of treasures of this dungeon. I''ve been battling it for a while now and I''ve never gained the upper hand¡­ I came to the conclusion that this being is the most powerful fighter in this dungeon¡­ We need to kill it here, if not none of us will leave here easy!" Derik hissed with a malicious face. "I see¡­ hahahaha! I can see you got even stronger, you are the mid-grade of the bronze realm now! At this rate, you will most likely make it to the silver realm in ten years!... Hahahahaha! I didn''t bet wrong!" Gerald laughed "If what you said just now is true then my suspicion is not wrong. That thing in its hands is a Semi-God tier weapon which only archangels wield¡­ Even a gold level magic weapon cannot be compared to this¡­ This fallen angel will not be easy to beat!" Gerald said with a bitter smile on his face. Hearing this Derik''s eyes widened in shock as he remembered the deadly scythe which Demos carries around and cursed himself for not noticing this earlier. "If it''s that valuable¡­ it can be stolen right? If you help me defeat this thing¡­ you can have it!" Derik said. He knew he is the primary target of the fallen angel, defeating this being here and now is more important than the semi-god tier weapon. If he fails, he probably won''t be able to live easy in the future. Also, since it''s a divine tool, he probably won''t be able to make use of it. Ever! "It''s not that easy¡­ just like gold level magic weapons, semi-god tier weapons have a mind of their own and will not be stolen easily¡­ it can only work for someone else only when its current master is dead!" Gerald said "But since we are here and you have made the offer, I have no more doubts in my heart and mind¡­ let''s kill it" Gerald said with a charming smile on his face. Vicious lights flashed in his bloodshot eyes as he stared at the semi-god tier weapon in Samael''s hands. "Alright then¡­ let''s give it a try!" Derik bellowed and shot into the air, not waiting for Gerald. He was still under the influence of the limiter path and he was running out of time. If there is a chance of defeating Samael, it has to be now he''s at his peak. He grabbed the void and tore it open! Instantly, red beams of the energy of the Shadow Lurker shot out of the space, towards Samael. His fiery darkish purple eyes lit up and a massive magic array appeared in front of him "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" He roared and darkish purple flames poured out threatening to consume Samael. At this point, Geralds''s figure flashed and appeared next to him. His body was surrounded by deadly red flames and his aura was no weaker than Samael''s. On his right hand was a flaming sword, a silver level magic weapon that suited his magic perfectly. At this point, Derik remembered the rumors that Gerald''s physical capabilities were on par with a low-level silver realm warrior, one of the only members of the Gyro kingdom who sort the hybrid path. Perfectly combining the magical powers with physical capabilities! His full power can only be seen when he combines the two. "I''ll take him head-on¡­ You provide support and stop him from using that weapon of his¡­ if we can tie him down here with our combined efforts, we can wear him out and eventually kill him" Gerald said with a stern voice. This time he wasn''t as carefree and jovial as before, his character completely changed now he intended to fight with his all. Death magic: Bone armor! Derik''s body was soon covered by a shiny bone armor, a bone bow and a bone quiver filled with bone arrows appeared by his side. "This is the first time I''m taking off my limiters in my new realm¡­ I don''t know how long I can stay in this form¡­ we have to end this as soon as possible¡­" Derik said with knitted eyebrows as he watched Samael block the red beams of energy with amazing greatsword and power through his hell flames with his divine light. Hearing this Gerald nodded with a smile and turned his attention Samael. This is the first battle he will fight alongside Derik, he was really eager to find out how things will turn out! 108 Chapter 108: Archer of death and blazing swordsman! Geralds figure flashed and disappeared in a second, reappearing right beside the fallen arc angel. His silver level blazing magic weapon trembled in his hands and scorching red flames poured out from it as he struck at Samael. "Die!" he roared! Seeing this Samael snorted and didn''t even bother wasting any energy in his counter. He simply parried this attack with a casual sword swing! Tink! The magic weapon in Gerald''s hands trembled greatly and he screamed in fear! Just a collision between the two weapons made him feel like his famous blazing sword would crumble the next moment. He was forced to retreat by a few meters and he finally realized the difference between a mere silver level magic weapon and a semi-god tier weapon. Even though Samael didn''t put much effort into his counter yet Gerald felt this way. Gerald suddenly realized that Samael can break his silver level magic weapon with a single attack. "Vanish!" Samael said casually and the semi-god tier weapon in his hands glowed and began to glow and vibrate, it felt like space around will crumble at any moment. His eyes were as bright as the stars and divine power diffused from his body. The energy flew into the divine weapon in his hands and soon released a terrifying amount of scorching divine flames. Samael was about to release his attack but then he was assaulted from the sides by a barrage of bone arrows. He winced in pain as he felt a bone arrow pierce his abdomen and his body trembled greatly as the death energy spread. "Die!" He roared and swung his divine weapon at the other bone arrows releasing a wave of scorching divine flames which consumed the bone arrows and quickly urged the divine power in his body to combat the death aura, preventing it from spreading. While Samael tried to combat the death energy in his body Gerald vanished and reappeared beside him with his magic weapon held high above his head "Dragon flame magic: Dragon claw slash!!!!" He roared and chopped down at the fallen archangel! The space around them suddenly heated up and all the flame which initially danced around his silver level magic sword retreated into the sword making it red hot. As the blade descended it looked simple but the terrifying power which the simple sword attack carried could not be underestimated. Seeing this Samael frowned slightly turned his focus to Gerald. He grabbed his greatsword with both hands and swung it at Gerald''s attack, taking it head-on. Boooom!!! Gerald was sent flying back meters away and crimson red blood gushed out of all the holes in his body! A visible crack could be seen on his silver level magic sword and it looked like it would definitely break at any moment. Unfortunately, the situation wasn''t favorable for Samael either! He had three more arrows stuck in his abdomen and his body shivered violently. Due to the fact that he left his body unprotected to face Gerald''s attack, he gave the death aura enough time to spread, leaving a reasonable portion of his abdomen black all the way to his chest. Samael''s body shook and it looked like he would fall off the sky at any moment. He spat out a mouthful of golden blood mixed with black blood as well and the combined blood colors flowed out of every opening in his body, including his eyes! He silently urged his divine power once again to combat the evil energy which threatened to destroy him from within but then this happened¡­ Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! Numerous bone arrows turned into a purple beam and shot towards Samael who was currently struggling against the death aura in his body. His grip tightened on his blazing divine greatsword but before he could act against Derik, numerous arcs of fire energy attacks danced towards him. Seeing this he dared not pour in more energy into the semi-god tier weapon and simply covered himself with his massive wings. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Samael shot down from the sky like a meteor and crashed into a tree below him. His enormous body trembled and his eyes turned gloomy when he saw Gerald approaching at top speed and Deriks arrows following closely behind. He silently regretted wasting so much time with Derik and silently cursed Gerald for interfering with his business. If he were at his peak condition right now, he was quite sure that he would be able to strike down these two with a simple finger flick. But now things were different, two mortals with the silver realm level capabilities were actually suppressing him! "What insolence!" He roared in rage. He knew that with time, his body will succumb to the dark energy which is in his body if he doesn''t get enough time to deal with it. Also, he clearly couldn''t continue using his semi-god tier weapon simply because of its effects on him. This tool requires a large amount of energy to sustain and this is something he doesn''t have at the moment. He quickly came to the conclusion that he has to end the battle as soon as possible! With his burning rage quite visible in his eyes, Samael shot forward like an arrow towards Gerald and the barrage bone arrows which followed tightly behind. His body radiated divine light and all that energy soon poured into the semi-god tier divine tool in his hands. His skin shriveled and he got even paler, it looked like he could die at any second. But when he swung the divine weapon in his hands, a tsunami of scorching divine flames poured out! The sheer quantity of the attack made it look like it could consume the whole forest and this terrified Derik and Gerald. "How does he still have this much power?" Gerald screamed in panic and retreated towards Derik''s direction. He was pretty sure that if this attack should hit he would die instantly, at the spot! Derik also understood that even he would not be able to escape from this attack so he also took the initiative to fly towards Gerald! "Everything!" Gerald roared as he flew towards Derik in fear "Everything! Pour in all your power into the defense! Together!" Gerald screamed in panic "Dragon flame magic: Ancient Dragons roar!!!!" Crimson red energy poured out of his body and took the shape of a dragon but this time it wasn''t just a dragon''s head, it was the full body. Gerald quickly pulled the void and an invisible force pulled Derik towards the head of the ancient Dragon where Gerald stood. Without saying a word, Derik understood Geralds intentions and acted quickly "Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" he roared and his skeletal avatar appeared! "Combine!" Derik roared, combining the power from his limiter path to the bone avatar of his boosting the power even more. Both of them could only watch the sea of divine flames block the sun and slowly descend on them! 109 Chapter 109: I will return for your heads! Derik and Gerald frowned and they gazed at the massive sea of divine flames which was about to descend upon them with fearful eyes. They urged their powers and poured in all their mana into their avatars in hopes that it can keep them safe from this attack. At this point, Derik''s skin looked dry and shriveled after he tried to combine the power of his limiter path with his silver level shriek of the dead technique which almost killed him the last time. "Here it comes!" Gerald roared! Booooom!!! Booom!! Booom! The sea of flames crashed upon them like a tidal wave, literarily burning down hundreds of trees all around them in just a second. Under the intense heat, Derik and Gerald gritted their teeth in pain as they watched their constructs slowly burn away. Even before the divine flames reached them, they could feel their blood boiling and their flesh been roasted. Samael stood above the sea of flames like a wounded god. His body trembled greatly and he struggled greatly to keep himself afloat while staring down on the location where Derik and Gerald once stood. His eyes bore strange emotions as he stared at the sea of flames, it seemed as if he was well aware of the consequences of failing to kill off Gerald and Derik with this last blow. At his current state, he was quite sure he would never be able to withstand their combined power and will ultimately be forced to retreat. ............¡­.. Miles away was a team of members of the adventurers association, coupled with the military force of the Gyro kingdom waiting for their elder prince to return They remember feeling the intense energy fluctuations, north of their position. They were quite sure that the death aura belonged to Derik and the other carried divine power, more divine than that of Cyrus which startled them at first. Who could have more understanding of the life element than the host of the current guardian spirit of life? Many questions flooded into their minds and they were terrified of the power of such an existence. When Samael used his semi-god tier weapon on Derik, the fiery aura it released got the attention of Gerald and Cyrus, causing Gerald to leave them behind, asking them to wait for him here. And now the worst has happened. They could feel the aura''s of Derik and Gerald unite against the being which controlled the life aura. This made them wonder why Gerald would team up with the enemy of the kingdom to fight an enemy. But when they saw the sea of divine flames in the distance, they finally understood why Gerald chose to side with Derik against such a monster. At this moment, the remaining members of the gyro expedition team which made it through the first floor dashed towards the area when the battle took place at their greatest speed. They feared that Gerald may not have survived the attack and they were hell-bent on getting their revenge on the thing responsible for the death of their prince. ...............¡­ Meanwhile... Their bodies swayed lazily in the wind and it looked like they would fall at any moment. The sky walking ability is something that can be attained by anyone who has attained the power level of a silver realm warrior. During the battle, Derik, Samael, and Gerald battled all through while standing on the air itself. This proved that Derik''s power when his limiters are taken off has entered the silver realm, allowing him to stand on the air with the others. At that moment Anna along with the other troops of the expedition party appeared and soon after the other members of the adventurers association, Derik''s formal teammates included appeared. They were shocked when they saw three figures suspended in mid-air. Two stood together, supporting each other with the weight of the other. They looked hurt and tired while viciously staring at the majestic figure who looked like it was in a worse condition than the other two.\ Kira, Cyrus, and the others were shocked by what they saw, they knew the implications of what it meant for someone to stand in mid-air! It simply means that his power has reached the silver realm level. Even Cyrus could barely stand against warriors and mages at the peak grade of the bronze realm even after taking off his limiters. "Mid-grade of the bronze realm! So fast¡­ this kid is a monster¡­ he needs to die here and now!" Anna screamed in fear. Even after the use of many precious cultivation materials it still took her more than a decade to reach the silver realm. She knew cultivation speed was nowhere as fast as that of Derik! If this kid is given enough chance to grow, that will definitely spell doom for the Gyro kingdom royal family! Her body shook and crimson red aura shot out of her body! She grabbed onto the broadsword on her back and dashed into the air, heading straight for Derik. "Get back!!!" Gerald screamed at her but that didn''t stop Anna from approaching. Deriks weak body swayed lazily but his eyes were cold and vicious as he stared at Anna. After he broke into the mid-grade of the bronze realm, the backlash he received from combining two abilities above his realm was not as severe as before. He may have sustained so much damage but that didn''t make his useless. His limiters were still off so he wasn''t necessarily afraid of Anna. "I will kill her¡­ here and now!" Derik muttered weakly into Gerald''s ears before descending towards Anna, not waiting for Gerald''s reply. "You dare!!!!!" Numerous military officials at the peak grade of the bronze realm roared and dashed into the air. Derik''s darkish purple fiery eyes light up and his right hand was thrown into the air. Getting a good grip of the void he quickly tore the space open and diabolic aura poured out of the miniature gate to the underworld "KILL!!!" He roared and crimson red beams shot out of the space, dashing towards Anna! "Aaaaaah!!!! I-it''s the shadow lurker!" She screamed in fear and poured in all her energy into the broadsword in her hands, setting it ablaze in the process. With the blazing broadsword in her hands, she struggled against the beam of crimson red energy and was ultimately sent crashing into the ground after a few seconds of resistance. Her body shivered greatly and she spat out a mouthful of blood while staring at Derik who battled the other peak-grade bronze realm soldiers with fearful eyes. How can someone who looks so fragile and weak summon this much power? Meanwhile¡­ The moment Anna was shot down by the shadow lurker''s attack, all those who jumped up to meet Derik held their breaths. Since they were only at the bronze realm they really couldn''t maneuver in mid-air, so all they can do is pray that Derik would no throw something so powerful against them. "You sort death!" Derik''s voice echoed and his frosty gaze remained fixed on all eleven peak bronze realm soldiers who flying towards him. "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!" He roared and a massive magic array appeared in front of him and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out, completely consuming all those that dashed towards him. Amongst the eleven soldiers were two females and one male whom seemed to be members of the physical class. Unlike the other eight mages whom used barrier spells to protect themselves, all three of them were consumed by the raging hellish flames dying at the spot. "You''re mine!!!" Derik hissed and three white beams of light escaped from the sea of darkish purples flames, dashing into Derik''s body. As they entered series of cries and screams could be heard and it seemed as if they were trying to resist but they could not break free from the powerful and mysterious suction force that pulled them to Derik. The moment all three souls entered, Derik''s power spiked and his shriveled skin began to recover. His sea of darkish purple flames got stronger as well and cracking sounds could be heard from the barriers of the mages still trapped within the flame. "You are not going anywhere" Derik grinned fiendishly and waved his hand. Instantly, eight purple magic arrays appeared and he began chanting "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" he roared and eight bone spears appeared and Directly shot into the sea of darkish purple flames. Puff! Puff!! Puff!!! Series of cries and screams emanated from the sea of hellish flames, after which eight beams of light shot out and entered Derik''s body. He looked revitalized and his power was even greater than what it was a few hours ago. His cold gaze fell on Anna who was completely terrified by what she had just witnessed. Eleven peak grade bronzer realm warriors and mages died in a matter of seconds at the hands of a mid-level bronze realm mage! "How can you let someone so timid and spoilt lead you all!" Derik''s voice echoed like thunder and lightning as he stared down at everyone on the ground. Silence! Complete Silence!!! No one dared to speak back at him at this moment, they all understood what happened to their brethren. They knew the white beams of light were the souls of the fallen soldiers which were forcefully dragged into Derik''s body, thereby increasing his power permanently. This explained how he reached the mid-grade of the bronze realm so fast and how terrifying death mages are. They won''t even be allowed to rest in death! Gerald and Samael who have been silently restoring their powers were stunned by this as well and were quite scared of this ability. Samael mostly knew the implications of this and how fast Derik would grow in a chaotic environment. His eyes twitched and he gave up the plans of ending Derik''s life today, especially since the kid has recovered his strength. His gaze shifted to Cyrus for a while and complicated emotions appeared on his face. "I''ll be leaving first then" He said and divine life aura burst out of his body, blinding everyone before they could react to his words and when the light was gone, Samael had vanished. " Damn it!" Gerald roared and turned his attention to Derik. Derik shook his head with a bitter expression on his face as well, silently cursing Anna and the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom for distracting him. His gaze moved to Cyrus and the other five, before returning to Anna. "Gerald saved my life today, so I will give him face and spare you¡­ but do keep it in mind that this is not over¡­ I will return for your heads!" Derik said indifferently. Instantly his body was shrouded by darkish purple mist and he flew away at terrifying speed. Vanishing in just a few seconds! " Don''t go after him¡­ none of you can beat him" Gerald reminded his men with a frown on his face. He has made a major loss today! Not only did he lose so much mana, but he also received a lot of damage and injuries. As he didn''t have the werewolf blood in his veins, it will take some time for these injuries to heal. Suddenly a smile appeared on his face and he looked excited while staring at the direction Derik escaped to. He knew what it means to him that Derik has grown so strong! Initially, he only expected Derik to reach the low grade of the silver realm in ten years but realizing the magical ability Derik possesses, he has a feeling that Derik will be much stronger the next time they meet. "You definitely didn''t disappoint me, kid¡­" Gerald muttered with a charming smile on his face. Even though he lost the semi-god tier divine weapon in Samael''s hands, he still gained a new understanding of Derik''s power. It made him really excited, looking forward to the day Derik will return and help him take the throne! 110 Chapter 110: Greater understanding Derik''s body shot through the forest like a meteor following his instincts. His eyes were heavy and his body trembled occasionally as he felt the power of his limiters leave him. All eight souls he absorbed earlier were used to save his life from the backlash of the ungodly combination he used earlier in a bid to defend against Samael''s final attack. Thoughts flowed into his mind and he considered the possible consequences of letting Samael escape. He knew that if given enough time to recover, he wouldn''t be Samael''s opponent the next time they meet in this forest. He considered this as the worst mistake he has made all through his short life! Even if he didn''t encounter Samael in this dungeon again, the fallen angel will definitely come after him after it recovers its powers and having a peak grade demi-god realm archangel as an enemy is not something to be happy about. Considering the aid of Demos in this matter, he sincerely doubted that Demos was in any way comparable to Samael. In the past, Demos and the other guardian spirits lost to Samael. Now that Demos has lost a certain portion of his power just to bring Derik back to life in the Salvor encounter, will he be able to hold on against Samael? "NO!" Derik muttered. There are only two steps that he needs to take to ensure his safety in the future against the fallen archangel of life. The first is to make sure he acquires whatever it is that is at the other end of that dungeon. Derik knew that Samael came here because he knew that there is something here that can help him recover his lost power and most likely help him break into the true god realm! If he can stop this fallen archangel from getting its hands on this item, he will most likely be safe for a couple of years, having enough time to grow and defend himself, he wouldn''t need to worry later on. The second step is to find a powerful force in case the first step should fail. If he is able to hide behind a powerful force, he most likely wouldn''t have to worry about Samael for a while and with the cultivation resources he could receive from them, his growth speed will drastically increase by leaps and bounds. ...............¡­.. Derik shot out of the thick forest and landed on a cleared field surrounded by lush vegetations. His eyes were fixed on a thick forest ahead of him and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "You guys knew I would come¡­ Is it still necessary for you to hide?" Derik said. "Well, we have to be careful at all times¡­ You are able to master a path at the bronze realm¡­ this is inconceivable¡­ What you used to battle that monster was the limiter path right? How can someone with your cultivation base reach that power level?" Isabel walked out of the thick forest with the rest of the elven expedition party following tightly behind. Derik''s eyes scanned through the group of elves and realized something. When he first met them, their numbers were close to two hundred but now, they were barely more than a hundred of them left. This proved that their journey was a lot rougher than his since they didn''t have the aid of a guardian spirit. But this didn''t make him feel guilty at all, it was this forest that toys with the minds of people in it that should be held responsible. "Elsa¡­" he muttered and his eyes suddenly showed some strange emotions which terrified Isabel. Derik''s darkish purple eyes lit up and scanned through all the elves present. At the back, was a yellow-haired timid elf lady who saw his fiery eyes and avoided eye contact, her body shivered and she took a step back. Instantly, Derik''s body flashed and he vanished, reappearing right in front of her. The speed at which he used to move past every single one of them before they could react terrified everyone, Isabel included. His eyes raked through Elsa''s fragile-looking body and his nose twitched as the thick smell of blood flowed in. Just around her abdomen were white pieces of cloth stained red with her blood, he instantly noticed that her complexion was a bit pale and she struggled to stand at a place. She was hurt! "Yes¡­ I have mastered the limiter path even before I underwent refinement and you are well aware of the consequences of using this power¡­ I could sense the presence of your team when I battled that monster so I decided to show up here in hopes that you all can shelter me when I''m at my weakest¡­ In return, I will guide your team out of this forest safely and you won''t have to endure more losses" Derik said while still gazing into Elsa''s eyes. He felt this warm feeling in his heart as he kept looking at her. In reality, the only reason he chose to guide them out of this forest with Demos'' help is simply that he didn''t want to see her get hurt. "You can get us out of here safely? You mastered the limiter path even before you underwent refinement? What nonsense!" Isabel snorted. She refused to believe that someone who lacked is yet to undergo refinement is actually able to learn and utilize the power of paths which is exclusive to silver realm warriors only! This is unheard of, unless¡­ " Guardian spirit¡­ I possess the angel of death as my guardian spirit¡­ that''s why I possess such evil power, that is why I can challenge those in higher realms¡­ that is why I traveled through this forest for weeks without encountering a problem until today¡­ Do you still doubt my words?" Derik sneered at her. Puti! He suddenly spat out a mouth full of blood and fell on one knee. His body complexion got paler than usual and his eyes looked weak. Blood trickled down his nostrils and his ears and he was even barely able to stand of his feet "Do you still doubt me¡­" He hissed with vicious eyes. Hearing this Isabel shook her head and took a step back, ordering the elves to surround him and look over him while he recovers! If what Derik said is true, then he is a valuable asset to the team, one they dare not provoke! 111 Chapter 111: Greater understanding 1 Elves are considered the weakest race in terms of potential yet the most favored race on this planet. As elves had low magic potential and weak bodies, they start at very low realms and find it extremely difficult to progress but as nature is on their side, they are blessed with an insane long life which practically covers their weakness perfectly. The elven race expedition team is made up of people like Isabel who is over a hundred years old just a few years away from reaching the two hundred years threshold! Yet she looks like a lady in her early 20''s or 30''s.Amongst the elven race expedition team, Elsa is considered a prodigy, reaching the peak grade of the bronze realm in just 50 years! Compared to other elves, her growth speed is really amazing. That is why Isabel brought her along in a bid to help improve her experience and understanding of her power ...... Derik sat neatly on the bare floor with both legs crossed. After his limiter removal timed out, he realized he wasn''t as weak as he usually felt and wondered if the 8 souls belonging to the peak grade bronze realm warriors are the reason why he is able to escape this harsh fate. Yes! He knew he wasn''t at his peak but he wasn''t entirely useless right now. Derik''s pale body remained still like a mountain as he dove deep inside his thought, pulling himself into his little temporary domain where all his consumed souls are kept. His consciousness swayed in the darkness and quietly observed all that resided in it. "This....." Derik muttered lazily as he didn''t really find anything strange. He knew that in order to progress in the realm, although absorbing enough energy is quite important, it is also necessary for someone to deepen their understanding of their power. To be honest, if given a chance he would choose to understand the secrets of the death element over accumulating energy. As so many people thought he rose quickly in the realm due to his ability to steal the souls and energy of his victims but this assumption is quite wrong. The truth remains that Derik could only grow so fast because his understanding of his element grew by leaps and bounds because of his near-death experiences. This is a cheat only available to people who practice the element of death. "Having troubles understanding the element of death?" A soothing voice echoed from behind. Startled by what the voice, Derik quickly turned to meet Demos'' charming smile. The Angel of death''s pitch black hair with purple streaks fluttered in the wind and his darkish purple fiery eyes which looked identical to that of Derik burned fiercely. A wild grin appeared on his face as he stared at Derik with hints of respect in fiery eyes. "Why do you still fear... Even in your own domain?... It doesn''t look good on you kid" Demos laughed. His black robes with purple designs swayed in the wind and the bone-chilling black scythe silently followed behind, matching Demos'' movement speed. "Will it kill you to appear right in front of me? Why do you always have to make such an entrance" Derik furrowed his eyebrows. Demos laughed and flew past Derik and plunged further into the darkness in this domain, leaving Derik behind. Derik hesitated a bit and chased after Demos "Yea... I can''t seem to progress in this area... I feel like there is nothing more to know about death!" Derik sighed "Nothing more? Then let me ask you this... In the face of death, how do most people react? " Demos'' voice echoed from within the darkness. "Eeeeeehhhhm... They get scared and flustered... Most of them become desperate and sloppy..." Derik thought for a while before answering the question. His body flashed and he quickly appeared next to Demos with complicated emotions on his face as he stared down on all nine souls in wandering around aimlessly in his domain. "Can you still feel those negative emotions on them?" Demos asked while stealing a glance at Derik with hopeful eyes. Hearing this Derik frowned and his eyes narrowed. He dove deeper into the darkness and stood within all 9 condemned souls. He quickly sat down cross-legged and dove into deep meditation, trying to grasp every single emotion these souls felt. Initially when he arrived, he could only sense the sinister and diabolic death aura from then but now things changed. He broke through the stench of death aura around them and dove even deeper. Fear, pain, anguish, disappointment, regret, grief and all sorts of negative emotions flooded out of their bodies and broke into Derik''s mind making it chaotic. His body trembled greatly and the light in his fiery eyes dimmed considerably. "Crap!" He hissed, gasping for air. The negative emotions threatened to break his mind and will from within and he didn''t know how to deal with it! "When I asked you to flee from Samael... What did you feel when you decided to battle him even when there was a very high chance of you perishing?" Demos'' voice echoed in his chaotic mind. "W-wh-at?" Derik stuttered as he continued to battle the negative emotions in his mind. "Answer me!" Demos roared "Nothing! I felt nothing!... I only thought of the possible futures with Samael in it and considered it necessary to kill at that point in time" Derik cried out. "Excellent! A calm mind and heart in the presence of adversity is the mark of a great warrior! Steady your heart and mind... Taking in all that negative emotion around you... Channel it into a singular goal and you will be shocked by how much power you can summon!" Hearing this, Derik stopped struggling and let the negative emotions flow into his mind unrestricted. The darkish purple flames in his eyes lit up and burnt fiercely. His body quivered as black ancient runes were slowly embedded on his body. "Amazing..." Derik said with an indifferent look on his face. He quickly got on his feet and looked at Demos with uncertain eyes. "I deemed you ready when you subdued your fear and fought fiercely against Samael... A person who fears death can never overcome it. I''m truly glad you have come this far... I don''t regret sacrificing a portion of my power to return your life that year!" Demos laughed. Hearing this Derik was touched, he smiled and bowed slightly "I''ll be leaving first then" He muttered ......... While Derik meditated in silence, ancient purple markings appeared on his body and his body trembled greatly. Violent and bloodthirsty aura burst out of his body all of a sudden. "Get back... All of you!!!!" Isabel screamed in fright, grabbing on to Elsa as she retreated. The others reacted quickly also, dashing away while staring at Derik with frightened looks on their faces. "What kind of evil power does he cultivate?... How can someone master an element so sinister and diabolic!" Elsa screamed in fear! The aura spread forth like a plague for a while forcing Isabel and the other elves to retreat even further into the forest, after a while its advance stopped abruptly and all the violent aura retreated into Derik''s body. His eyes yanked open and his fiery purple eyes burned brighter than ever. He remained seated in the cross-legged position until the elves. Seeing the fearful looks on their faces, Derik frowned slightly and sighed. He knew that something may have been triggered while he cultivated under Demos'' guidance. He didn''t really care either, all he knew was that his harvest this time was bountiful. But what trouble him the most are the drawbacks of using such a marvelous ability. He was getting used to this give and take conditions which are attached to most of his abilities, considering it as a law that should guide the living. He pushed away those thoughts right there and got on his feet, staring at Isabel indifferently. "Let''s move... With the help of my friend, Cyrus... The expedition team of the Gyro kingdom shouldn''t be far behind" Derik said. Just like Demos, Michael was also a guardian spirit. So it was only natural for him to be able to guide the Gyro expedition team through the forest safely just like Demos has been doing for him. 112 Chapter 112: This won’t be easy! With Derik taking the lead, the elven expedition troop travelled through the mysterious forest without much issues. Although the Gyro kingdom expedition troops had Cyrus to lead them it only increased their travelling speed a bit, making it easier for them to navigate through the forest but they still had to deal with the numerous monsters in the forest. Unknown to them, contrary to Derik''s death power, Cyrus'' life magic didn''t scare the beasts of the forest away. on the contrary, it drew their attention to the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom! On multiple occasions, they were forced to fight against hordes of monsters but to their greatest surprise, Cyrus never got hurt even once. In fact, the beasts of the forest never tried to attack him, they could only remain passive under his attacks, but the others were not as fortunate as him. With the injuries he sustained during his battle with the fallen archangel Samael, Gerald was unable to burst out a hundred percent of his original capabilities and in the end, he could not assist them much and could only watch his men drop one after the other. The situation had become so bad and unbearable that even Derik''s formal teammates were forced to join the battle in order to ensure their safety. .................... Meanwhile, Derik and the elven expedition troops of Alda faced less problems on the way. With the guidance of the guardian spirit of death, Demos they were able to easily solve the riddles of the mysterious, advancing easily. As for meeting the high level beasts of the forest as an opposition force, Derik''s diabolic and sinister aura scared them off easily. His assistance greatly lifted the burden the elves had to face and their fear for Derik''s ability subsided greatly, replaced with respect and gratitude. They now considered themselves lucky that they were able to meet someone like this in their time of need. They didn''t dare consider the consequences if Derik was not present, they would have been forced to suffer irrecoverable losses just to make it through the forest. Chances are, they may not even make it through. They finally realized why their ancestors failed to conquer the dungeon numerous times in the past. .................. "Are we almost there?" An innocent and soft voice reached Derik''s ears from behind. His body shivered as he didn''t expect this to happen. Elsa has always stayed away from him throughout the journey, so he guessed she was scared of him. He really didn''t expect he would get the chance to speak to this young elf anytime soon. So he was caught off guard by this moment. His eyes twitched and he felt flustered for the first time in a long time. His heart was beating rapidly and his face reddened. He took a deep breath and a chilling aura flowed through his body. Just like that he regained his composure and the excess emotions were washed away. In a blink of an eye, all those emotions vanished even before Elsa could notice. "We are close¡­ Is there a problem?" Derik asked with a slight smile on his face. "N-no¡­ its nothing¡­ I-I just wanted to thank you for everything¡­ we probably wouldn''t have made this much progress if it wasn''t for you¡­" Elsa stuttered as she spoke. Her face reddened as spoke and she desperately tried to avoid eye contact by a means. She was shy¡­ Derik found this cute and laughed, an elf who was close to if not above fifty years felt shy when speaking to him. If someone told him that a day like this would come, he probably wouldn''t have believed it. He began to wonder what kind of upbringing these elves receive which allows them to remain pure at such an age. "You can thank me this is all over" Derik smiled softly as he responded. "Will you return with us to Alda? It''s really a nice place¡­ Since you have the werewolf bloodline in your veins, it won''t be difficult for the queen to accept you¡­ In fact, I''m sure the queen will be happy to have you over!" Elsa said with a hopeful expression on her face. Her huge circular eyes glittered and she looked as cute as a little puppy. Derik was shaken by this at first but the chilling aura acted again and his excess emotions vanished a soon as it appeared. "Will they accept everything?" Derik asked casually. Elsa quickly nodded with an excited smile on her face. "Even my magic?" Derik''s visage suddenly changed. Hearing this, Elsa frowned slightly. She hesitated for a while and looked at Derik''s face without answering. Her silence was enough for Derik. "That is while I cannot return with you¡­" Derik sighed and walked faster, walking ahead of her. "Let them remove your magic¡­ for me¡­ please¡­" Elsa''s voice stung like a thousand needles on Derik''s black heart. He stopped move and turned to look at her face. His eyes bore complicated emotions which the chilly aura could not wash away quick enough for Elsa and the other elves not to notice. They were terrified by Elsa''s request but they were even more shocked by Derik''s hesitance. They never thought that Derik would hesitate to give an answer . On the numerous occasions when they met Derik, he has always been cold to everyone else except Elsa. Even after he battled the fallen archangel Samael, he proactively searched for her and took the initiative to approach her and check out her injuries. At first they thought he only felt gratitude to her for healing him during the time they found he close to death in the forest but now they understood their thoughts were wrong! This was beyond gratitude. Derik''s lips parted as if he wanted to speak but then he shut his mouth and his visage changed instantly. His gaze turned frosty and it startled Elsa and the other elves, at a point they really thought he was planning to attack them. "You dare!!!" Derik roared like a beast, clearly enraged by something! He waved his hand and his death aura burst out and surrounded himself and the other elves , taking the shape of a dome around them. He made fluid and gentle movement with his hands as he controlled his death energy, covering all the holes in the newly formed dome of raw death energy. Woooosh! Woooosh!! Woooosh!!! Multiple vines appeared from all sides and stormed forward but unfortunately, anything that passed through Derik''s corrosive death aura withered in an instant. Seeing this, the elves who had already prepared themselves to counter against Derik''s supposed attack felt ashamed, to think that they didn''t trust the man who has got them this far, it was something they were not proud of. "What''s going on?" Isabel was the first to snap out of it and move forward. "I have gotten to this point before¡­ this means that were are not too far from the edge of this mysterious forest¡­ it wants to keep us in, so since it can''t fool us with its illusions, it has decided to take a more direct approach!" Derik snorted. "How did you get past this?" Isabel asked "I didn''t¡­ I was ambushed by the fallen archangel at that time and was forced to retreat into the forest" Derik spoke with an indifferently "You- you can get us past this right? I mean you cultivate the death element¡­ it shouldn''t be a problem for you right?" Elsa asked, looking anxious. "If I were alone... this wouldn''t have been a problem¡­ but protecting more than a hundred people... at my current realm it won''t be easy¡­ I''m not willing to take off my limiters here since I don''t know what is outside this mysterious forest¡­ I can''t risk that much since I too have my goals¡­ Once we leave this forest¡­ our temporary alliance will be over¡­ I hope you all will understand and protect yourselves as much as you can¡­ I will only support" Derik explained calmly but his eyes were cold and vicious. Crack! Crack!! Crack!!! The ground beneath them suddenly cracked and whips of vines burst and quickly wrapped around them like a serpent, totally robbing them of their mobility. The vine that quickly reached for Derik withered away and the others which attempted failed as well. "Let her go!" Derik''s fiery eyes burnt brighter than ever when he saw Elsa fall victim to the surprise attack. He didn''t dare use his aura directly on the entangled Elsa so as not to hurt her mistakenly. His body shot forward like an arrow and in just a second he was already in front of her. Roar! Grabbing on to the vines, he skilfully pumped his aura into it and watched it wither in less than a second. His eyes scanned the whole area and he spotted Isabel moving like a ghost, cutting through all the vines that held down the other elves. She moved like the wind, maneuvering through hundreds of vines skilfully. Derik quickly focused on the lady beside him, blocking out the rest. He grabbed Elsa by the waist and dashed away! "Please don''t¡­. help big sis Isabel save the others¡­ please!" Elsa cried the moment she realized Derik was planning to escape with her. Hearing her request Derik bit his lower lips and began to wonder why he was even considering the request. Why did this girl''s words matter this much to him. He suddenly realized that Demos has been awfully quiet ever since he joined the elves to explore the forest. Something told him that the angel of death was not really thrilled with his relationship with the young elf but he refused to interfere with his personal life. His respect for this guardian spirit increased once again and he swore in silence that he would not disappoint this ancient guardian spirit. He stopped abruptly and turned towards the elves, taking a deep breath he let go of Elsa and took a few steps forward. "This won''t be easy!¡­" Derik laughed with a bitter smile on his face. 113 Chapter 113: Costly mistake Derik''s eyes squinted as he pondered on what to do next and how to save these elves without hurting them as well. His corrosive death aura could not differentiate between friend and foe and his control was really lacking. He wasn''t really willing to leave behind in order to rescue the others, he knew that the young lady has zero fighting capabilities and will most likely get captured the moment he takes his eyes off her. "Take a step back!" Derik''s fiery eyes lit up as an idea crossed his mind. Hearing this, Elsa who had her hands wrapped around her bosom nodded and took two steps back while watching Derik with hopeful eyes. Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Bang! Crack! Derik leaped high into the air and descended with a clenched fist. His body was protected by a thin darkish purple halo of death aura and he called forth all the werewolf strength he could muster. His fist smashed into the ground and broke in, going even deeper until it couldn''t proceed anymore. "Rot!" Derik roared and his darkish purple death aura powered out and the full extent of its corrosive power was revealed. The once hard and mighty earth which he had to put in a lot of energy to break into it suddenly became as soft as jelly and turned greyish in color. "Spread!"Derik roared and his death aura spread forth like a plague, covering over 400 meters in a few seconds. His aura dissolved all the vines which restricted everyone withered away gradually. As the death spread underground, it attacks vines beneath the earth ruthlessly. Puff! Derik spat out a mouth full of black blood and his body trembled greatly. He has eyes narrowed and he screamed out in fear! The forest could only manifest its powers in the form of nature itself which made it easier to deal with. But deep within was an immeasurable amount of pure nature energy which completely overwhelmed Derik''s corrosive death aura, thereby dealing a massive amount of damage to him. Derik quickly retracted his energy from the earth and quickly urged his death energy to combat the streams of nature energy that invaded his body. His body looked paler than ever and black blood occasionally gushed out of his nostrils and lips. He wrapped his hand around his tummy and shivered greatly before dropping to the ground like a log of wood. "Aaaaaaaaah!!!!" Elsa screamed in fear. Thanks to Derik taking action when he did, majority of the elves that were captured by the malicious vines were set free and the others soon regained their freedom but then he was attacked by a surging wave of nature energy which even terrified the elves who are rumored to be natures, favorite creatures. Elsa and the other elves knew that the wave of nature energy quickly overpowered Derik''s death energy and some of it slipped into his body trying to destroy him from within. Who knew that the forest was a living being which had its own aura and life force?No one really expected this, no one really thought about this! At this moment, they knew they have made a costly mistake. Splash! A small stream of water rolled out of Elsa''s lips and completely consumed Derik. It lifted him off the ground and soon took the shape of an orb. This was the same technique she used to heal Derik during that period when he was suffering from the backlash of combining two techniques that were above his realm! This happened so fast even before the others could warn her, the nature energy in Derik''s body reacted. Puti! Elsa''s water orb exploded and she was sent flying a few meters back. Thick red blood trickled down her lips and her nostrils as she rolled on the ground a couple of times before stopping. Her eyes were filled with fear and sorrow as she stared at Derik''s body. "Vanish!" Derik''s voice rumbled like lightning and all his death aura burst out. Initially, Derik was put in a disadvantaged situation because the nature energy had already spread wide, making it more difficult for him to combat. But when Elsa interfered with her healing spell, the nature energy was distracted for a second when it tried to counter the power, giving Derik the chance to counterattack. The nature energy was caught off guard by Derik''s counter-attack and could not resist for too long. It quickly attempted to retreat and return to the soil but Derik wasn''t planning to let it off easy. His death aura entangled it like a serpent, preventing it from escaping and then consuming it entirely. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Crack!!!! The earth quaked fiercely and visible cracks began to appear. It felt like the world was going to collapse soon and after a few minutes, calmness returned to every part of the mysterious forest. "He damaged its soul... The nature energy which invaded his body carried a wisp of the soul of this mysterious forest... As he completely consumed it... He damaged its soul directly!" Isabel cried out in fear! The others instinctively took a step back as they watched Derik get on his feet with a sinister smile on his face. This was simply because his harvest this time was massive! He absorbed a portion of the soul of this mysterious forest and the pure energy he received from it was quite abundant. He knew it won''t be too long before he breaks into the peak grade of the bronze realm if he continues this way. His thoughts dwelled on the harvest he had gained and then a thought flickered through his mind. "Elsa!" He muttered and vanished, reappearing right in front of her. She looked slightly pale and her body still shivered, it was clear she''s yet to recover from the mysterious forest''s attack! Her body and soul were shaken and she needed more time to recover. Seeing that the ladies'' life was not in danger, Derik heaved a sigh of relief and his mind could finally rest easy. He stroked her hair with his palm for a while and stared at her with strange emotions boiling up in his heart. "Thank you" He muttered "No... Thank you... If you didn''t take action when you did, I don''t know how many members of my race would have survived this... You got really hurt because of my request... For that reason, I must apologize" Elsa grabbed on to Derik''s head and whispered into his ear. Her intoxicating nature like scent left Derik craving for more. He trembled as her firm bosom slammed onto his rigid chest and his eyes widened in shock. He enjoyed all this for a short while and was a bit reluctant when Elsa withdrew herself from him. Her emerald green eyes sparkled brightly under the sun and she looked like a goddess. "You didn''t answer my question... The forest prevented you from speaking your mind back then" Elsa said with hopeful eyes. Hearing this Derik''s visage changed and his face turned indifferent again. His gaze becomes so cold and chilly, even Elsa didn''t feel comfortable under his gaze and could only look away. "No... My answer is no... I''m not willing to give up my magic for you... I have my goals and for that reason, I cannot rest easy until they are fulfilled... I''m sorry but I must disappoint you this time...I cannot agree to your request" Derik said and left not giving her a chance to respond. The mysterious forest has suffered a heavy loss under Derik''s assault so it restrained itself from bothering the elven expedition troops as Derik was still with them. Unless Derik made the same mistake once again and poured his energy into the earth, the mysterious forest knew it won''t be able to harm him so it didn''t try to attack them anymore. During that period, Derik and the elven expedition troops rested for a few days in a bid to regain their lost strength. Within that time, Deriks internal injuries which he received from the mysterious forest''s attack healed and his lost energy was recovered. "It has been five days now... We have to move or we will fall behind" Derik who had remained seated in a cross leg position suddenly yanked his eyes open and spoke. His gaze drifted like the wind and stopped at the west of their current location. "Can you feel it?" Derik looked perplexed for some reason. "Yea" Isabel muttered. Beside her were the other 4 low-grade silver realm mages, they all wore stern expressions and a few of them actually looked frightened for some unknown reason. They muttered amongst themselves for a while before approaching Derik with gloomy expressions. "After we leave this forest, our temporary alliance will be broken and you will most likely lose our support... Those people, at the western part of this forest, are the lizardmen from the kingdom of Baldmar! We definitely cannot afford to offend them! Should you come in contact with them after we leave the forest and insist to compete against them for the treasures of this dungeon, I''m sorry but the elves of Alda will not aid you!" Isabel said with fearful eyes. No one knew what she was scared of. Was it the lizardmen of Baldmar or Derik''s death magic which has proven to be more lethal than her assassination skills, they all believed that they will soon find out who she feared the most! 115 Chapter 115: You talk too much! "The lizardmen race is considered as one of the most powerful races in the continent of Aldemar simply due to the fact that they are the only kingdom in the continent in possession of a gold level magic weapon, which they used to suppress the other three kingdoms in the past" Isabel said "If they have such a powerful magic weapon in their possession, why don''t they just conquer the other kingdoms and become the sole overlord of the Aldemar continent?" Derik asked. He found it quite inconvincible that a kingdom with enough power to suppress the three kingdoms alone in the past would prefer to live in harmony with the others and share the resources of the continent. "Well¡­ the first emperor of the kingdom of Aldemar was at the low grade of the gold realm when they battled the united allied forces if the three kingdoms. His realm was the highest at the time and his force was quite intimidating¡­ after the battle, the emperor was left in a vegetated state after this battle and died half a century after¡­ To date there has been no member of the lizard man race who has succeeded in reaching such a profound realm and the last ruler of the kingdom of Bladmar who used the gold level magic weapon in a battle with my kingdom died on the spot after releasing a single attack¡­ he was at the peak grade of the silver realm¡­" Isabel explained "I see...'' Derik muttered. " Yea, that''s why they haven''t really attempted to conquer the continent but that doesn''t mean they have lost face¡­ In a battle where they are forced to risk their lives, they will not hesitate to use the mighty weapon to deal a devastating blow on their foes¡­ that''s why every nation present in this continent fears them. Even the damned holy church, created by the self-righteous wing race are terrified of the magic weapon. That''s why the Kingdom of Baldmar is the only kingdom free of the holy church''s influence! They dare not provoke this race!... We elves tried to resist at first but that cost us great sorrow, if only we can attain such level of power, we won''t have to tolerate the wingmen race and the holy church anymore!" Isabel said with a bitter smile on her face. Derik ignored her feelings and pondered on her words. To think that a gold level magic weapon was that fierce, this confirmed his hypothesis that Samael did not even showcase up to ten percent of his semi-god tier divine sword simply because of his weakened condition. Derik believed if this man could show ten percent of the power of the majestic weapon, He and Gerald would not be able to survive this and will only end up dead very quickly. Realizing how powerful Samael is at his peak, Derik''s desire to kill this fallen archangel grew by leaps and bounds. Even Derik was surprised by how much he hates this fallen archangel and found it strange, maybe its because it possesses the opposing element. Drifting away from that he also put the wingmen race into consideration, the damned descendants of the former archangel of life, Samael and his cohorts. When he finally leaves this sky rift and makes a name for himself, he was a hundred percent sure that these people will stand in his way in future. The holy church is a problem which the whole continent has been enduring for over a century now, out of the four kingdoms present in the continent, only one can resist them for now. He was very much aware of the ambitious nature of this organization and he planned not to let them grow in this continent. His darkness and their light will never be able to coexist in this continent, only one will survive! "And the clans of the lizardmen race? There is a member of their team who possess a guardian spirit just like me¡­ he controls the element of fire, how is that possible? I thought their specialty was the water element since they are reptiles?" Derik asked. "Water? Do you really not know anything about the lizardmen race?" Isabel asked with a strange face. "Answer!" Derik hissed. "Very well... The lizardmen race is not only made up of experts who control the water element¡­ There are 3 major clans in the lizardmen race, Sea lizard clan, rock lizard clan, and the blazing lizard clan... The one you speak of must be a member of the blazing lizard clan for it to possess such immense fire abilities¡­" Isabel explained with a strange face. "I see¡­ I appreciate the information I have received from you¡­ when the battle starts, please step aside, guide the other elves and lead them away from the battle arena¡­" Derik said with a straight face. Isabel stared at his face strangely for a while and then nodded, she slowed down a bit and let Derik get ahead of them. "We are almost there! Prepare!" Derik roared as he saw the other end of the forest in the distance. A crooked smile appeared on his face and his movement speed suddenly doubled! .......... Ahika stood at the edge of a cliff with the other members of the Bladmar expedition troops with a strange expression on his face. Right now, they only had about 30 members out of 100 on their team. Unlike the other races, Lizardmen and elves always face reproduction problems, so their population is not really encouraging. Unfortunately for them, they lack the extremely long life span which the elves possess, in fact, they don''t even live as long as normal humans and barely make it up to 60 years. The only way out is the warrior path, the higher the realm the longer they get to live. It is said that a human at the gold realm can live for centuries and those who are lucky enough to break into the demi-god realm will never have to fear time and age! As they could not live as long as the other races, lizardmen train their warriors as early as 3 years after birth. Across the continent, the lizardmen race possesses the least number of warriors but the warriors with the most profound realm. Ahika possessed bright red scales and crimson red eyes, this young lizardman was over 5ft tall, it is almost impossible to believe that this youth was only eleven years old. Out of the 30 warriors, 5 belonged to his blazing lizard clan, 10 belong to the sea lizard clan and the remaining 15 belong to the rock lizard clan. He wore a frown on his face when he realized that his clansmen has been murdered and rage was boiling in his heart. Even though this youth has the cultivation base of peak grade of the bronze realm, every other lizardman present was nervous and kept trying to calm him down. Even the few at the silver realm were terrified by this and also tried to find a way out of this place. Behind them was the forest and right in front of them was nothing but darkness. When they escaped the evil mysterious forest, they reached this cliff and found themselves in a frustrating situation. All they could see in the distance is darkness and they weren''t sure of what lies ahead of them. "Bubli has been gone for close to an hour now! And you dare ask me to remain calm? Arrrrrrrgggggh!" Ahika roared in anger and his crimson red scales glowed dangerously. He looked like a volcano about to erupt and this terrified everyone around. His fiery gaze flickered and his eyes twitched. He roared and spat out a mouth full of scorching red flame towards the mysterious forest. "You want to die?" Ahika roared. Sizzzzle! Sizzzle!! Sizzzle!!! Boooooom!!!! Everyone gawked as they saw the human youth would emerge from the forest lazily stretch his hand towards the ball of fire. His fiery darkish purple eyes and eyebrows lit up and a terrifying death aura burst out of his body as he caught the ball of crimson red flames with his hands and burst it with only brute strength. The elves hidden in the mysterious forest took a deep breath as they watched Derik act out against the lizardmen. They obviously didn''t want to get involved. "Please¡­ Derik¡­" Elsa whispered while clutching her chest with her hands. Derik''s ears twitched and he looked in the direction of the forest for a while before turning his attention to the lizardmen in front of him. it seemed as if he heard what Elsa said. Striding towards the Ahika calmly, his face looked indifferent and his gaze was frosty. "You talk too much!" Derik said and his death aura burst out and spread forth like a plague, his corrosive death aura raced towards the lizardmen like a tidal wave, threatening to consume them. "A guardian spirit host!" numerous lizardmen screamed in fear. "Such diabolic and evil aura¡­ it''s the death aura there is no doubt about it!" another lizardman screamed in fear. "Death magic! The angel of death has a new host!" they screamed. "Humph!" Ahika snorted and his raging fiery aura burst out like an explosion that couldn''t differentiate between friend and foe. 116 Chapter 116: A fierce battle 1 Bang! The raging flames crashed into the wave of death aura, a thunderclap sound followed after and both sides were forced to retreat by a step. It was a tie. Derik eyebrows were knitted and his hands reached from the void, instantly a bone bow appeared in his hands and a bone quiver filled with bone arrows appeared by his side. Derik''s eyes narrowed and he silently waited for Ahika and the other lizardmen to act first. "We are members of the lizardman race, do you dare stand against us!" A lizardman from the rock lizard clan stepped forward and hissed. His scales were dirt brown and he was over 6ft tall and had a cultivation base of the low grade of the silver realm. His eyes were emerald green and his shoulders and knees had strange earth spikes protruding from it. He was practically looking down on Derik! "Step aside¡­ give up this treasure hunt and I will spare your lives" Derik said indifferently as he kept walking towards the group of lizardmen calmly. "Hahahahaha! Spare our lives? Where do you gain your confidence from? Do you really think you''re my equal? Even if your guardian spirit can grant you the ability to fight foes above your level... Do you think you can handle all thirty of us? Those who came with you are scared silly and refuse to leave the forest¡­ they are the smart ones, I think you should join them!" The lizardman from the rock lizard clan sneered at Derik. Apparently, he wasn''t afraid of Derik because of the others behind him. He refused to believe that Derik can defeat all thirty of them, especially when they have a guardian spirit host on their side as well. "Yes¡­ I can kill you if I choose to¡­ you''re not my opponent¡­ as for taking down all thirty of you¡­ Do you think I would be standing here if I doubted my abilities? Concerning those who came here with me¡­ they will only get in my way don''t pay too much attention to them" Derik let out a sinister grin as he spoke. "You bastard! What force do you belong to?" The rock clan lizardman roared and the earth beneath his feet trembled. "I belong to no one! Since you''re the first to approach me¡­ I will send the others a warning through your demise!" Derik sneered and used his free hand to grab the void. "Death magic: Miniature accursed gate of the underworld!" He roared and pulled! Right before everyone''s eyes the empty air was torn apart revealing a human-sized portal leading to another dark dimension. Death aura poured out from the whole and spread forth like a plague, polluting the whole environment! Within the darkness was a pair of crimson red eyes which stared on the lizardmen like preys and with a howl, two beams of red energy shot out of its eyes, dashing towards the rock clan lizardman in front. "Killlllll!" Derik roared and grabbed an arrow from the bone quiver and began firing into the air "Mid-level Bronze combat technique: Meteor shower!!!!'' He roared Over three hundred bone arrows flew into the sky and the clouds turned darkish purple. ...¡­ Meanwhile.... The rock clan lizardman was terrified by what he saw and quickly retreated. He knew that the power of those red beams of energy was comparable to an attack from an expert at the peak grade of the silver realm so he didn''t dare underestimate its power. He finally understood why Derik was so confident and cursed himself for being too blind. Someone who has a cultivation base of the mid-grade of the bronze realm boldly approached them, a team with more than fifteen low-grade silver realm warriors and mages and over 12 peak grade bronze realm warriors and mages. He should have been terrified, cautious and anxious not bold and reckless. He looked back on how he acted and felt dumb, he shouldn''t have acted so haughtily. Low-level silver realm combat technique: Triple casting! Earth magic: Rock armor!! Earth magic: Rock dome!!! Earth magic: Earth wall!!!! The lizardman from the rock lizard clan roared and a threefold brown magic array formed around him. the earth beneath his feet instantly shattered and the debris gathered around his body, forming a thick, fitting armor made of rocks and stones. Instantly, the earth moved and took the form a dome around the rock clan lizard man and a wall of earth erupted from the ground and stood like a thousand-year-old mountain in front of the rock dome. He didn''t hold anything back! Boooooooooom! Boooooooooom!! Boooooooooom!!! The lizardman''s body was seen flying meters back and a bloody hole could be seen at the center of his chest. His brown scales seemed to have peeled off and his body was covered in blood. "Damn you!!!'' A lizardman from the sea lizard clan roared but they all noticed the impending danger too late. While they were all focused on the miniature passageway to the underworld which Derik created and the Shadow Lurker hiding and attacking from the other side, they failed to notice Derik activate his mid-level bronze realm archery combat technique: Meteor shower. Before the sea clan lizard man who was at the peak of the bronze realm could reach the airborne the rock clan lizardman, he and the rock clan lizard man were struck down by over five bone arrows that rained down from above, and they died at the spot! "Come here!" Derik roared and two souls shot into his body like a meteor and his power rose once again. "Shit!" "Crap this kid is a monster! A demon!" While this happened and lizardmen of different races tried to gather themselves and counter the fierce attack, the Shadow Lurker took the chance to attack them with his bloodthirsty red beams. As no one in the team has reached the peak grade of the silver realm, they all struggled to counter and a lot of people died, feeding Derik with more souls and energy. "Oooo lord of the underworld, keeper of the souls of the condemned and bringer of darkness, grant thy servant the swift movement of wind and the stealthiness of the shadow¡­ Allow me to roam free in the ghastly form that I may become one with the darkness¡­ Dark magic: Dark empowerment!" he roared as his body was instantly shrouded in a thick mist of death aura. Within the cloud of thick black clouds, a pair of purple fiery eyes lit up and its chilling gaze fell on Ahika who remained unmoved from the very beginning. His scorching gaze seemed to be fixed on Derik and a scorching halo covered him, seemingly protecting him from the raining bone arrows. "As expected, this lizard man has mastered the rage path! The anger gets the more powerful he becomes. As the battle prolongs so does his power increase. The only drawback is the user ends up falling into a bedevilment state where he or she will not be able to differentiate between friend and foe! He will end up destroying everything! This is the most suitable path for a man hosting the guardian spirit of the fire element¡­ this host did not disappoint me one bit!" Demos laughed. "So his path is similar to my negative emotions technique where I draw power from the negative emotions of all those around and if I consume too much, I will also fall into a bedevilment state and slaughter everything around?" Derik asked while hiding with the cloud of death aura. "Yes!... but the only that the both of you draw power from two different sources¡­ it''s alright though¡­ amongst all the elements, death and life have triumphed over the rest, this lizardman cannot win you unless something unexpected happens¡­ do not let your guard down though¡­ his source of power comes from his emotions while yours relies on the emotions of others which can be inconsistent¡­ hopefully, you won''t have to take off your limiters here!" Demos said casually. "Yea ¡­ I know!" Derik said and his body with the mist trembled. Tiny dark balls of energy that are invisible to the naked eyes escaped from the body of all the lizardmen who were running within the range of the meteor show technique and flew into Derik''s body. The mist made of death aura which hovered around Derik''s body suddenly thickened and his powers skyrocketed. Strange and ancient letters appeared on his body and his expression turned sinister. Rooooooooooaaaaaarrrrrr! With a roar he burst out and dashed into the meteor shower zone not minding that he may be struck down by his own attacks, letting his instincts to completely take over! "You dare!!!!'' Ahika roared and grabbed the void and pulled it down. The sky turned scorching red and the temperature rose at a rapid speed. "Blazing fire magic: Rage of the god of destruction!" he roared and scorching red rocks poured down from the sky, falling upon both friends and foes. His fiery red eyes flickered and the scorching red aura around him thickened. "Only one of us will survive this encounter!" He roared and shot forward like a cannon. "I agree!'' Derik laughed hysterically! 117 Chapter 117: A fierce battle 2 Woooosh! Woooosh!! Woooosh!!! Derik hovered around Ahika like his shadow, bombarding him with numerous bone arrows why avoiding the scorching stones and bone arrows that rained down from above. Since Ahika did not possess his elements natural weakness which is life, he could only try to overpower Derik but that was close to impossible especially since Derik''s movement speed was not only enhanced by his werewolf powers but also the dark empowerment spell played a major role in boosting this kid''s already insane speed. This gave Ahika a headache! "Get back!!!!" Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Ahika roared like a wounded dragon and punched out continuously, releasing multiple balls of flames from his fists which directly attacked Derik''s bone arrows, preventing it from reaching him. ......¡­. Hidden in the mysterious forests, the elves watched the battle with terrified expressions on their faces. Elves are peaceful races that coexist with nature''s creatures and cherish peaceful environments. They only engage in quarrels and battles when they feel like their peaceful lives are been threatened by an internal or external force, just like when they teamed up with the other kingdoms to attack Baldmar after the lizardmen race conquered the dungeon. They knew the implications of what it meant for one force to possess such a powerful weapon of mass destruction like the gold level blazing sword, so they decided to act before it''s too late. They also fought against the holy church and the wingmen race when their natural environment was been desecrated and destroyed leading to the demise of thousands of wildlife, just to erect a base in the kingdom of Alda without seeking permission first. On those two occasions, they only fought to protect what they believe in and all this while, elf offsprings are still trained in that manner. They pick conflict as the last option and try to create good relationships with everyone around them. They barely discriminate against other races and always welcome outsiders with noble intentions. On this very day, the elven expedition troops of the Alda kingdom witnessed what they termed ''the true nature of man!'' Chaotic! Savage!! They watched as the combined attack of bone arrows and scorching rocks rain down on the lizardmen of different clans while the Shadow Lurker waited for the opportunity to steal their lives! In less than five minutes, more than half of the lizardmen were killed while Derik and Ahika still battled fiercely at the peak of the cliff. Isabel''s eyes narrowed as she kept looking at them for a while, her body shuddered and she felt extremely terrified for the first time. "They are getting stronger! Their power level keeps rising in this chaotic environment!" Isabel screamed. She has heard of Ahika, the eldest son of the chief of the blazing lizard clan. It is said that all lizardmen and lizard women born from the blazing clan are born with a bad temper and most often have a lot of anger issues, but Ahika was different. Most people claimed that this is simply because of their inborn affinity to the fire element His rage was at a level that made even his fellow lizardmen from the blazing lizard clan fear him. His ruthlessness reached its peak when he murdered his own mother and crippled his younger brother who tried to stop him. Ahika was scorned and despised in the village, that was until they realized that he possessed the guardian spirit of the scorching fire element. Ahika was then adopted by the royal family of the kingdom of Bladmar and trained with all sorts of cultivation materials and resources. When he broke into the peak grade of the bronze realm at the age of eleven, the royal family was excited and predicted that Ahika will make it to the gold realm if given enough time to grow. With that, the lizardmen tribe will rise to the top once again and become the sole superpower of this continent! Ahika respects only the royal family for giving him a chance when every other lizardman looked down on him and treated him like an outcast. To him every other person is trash, that''s why he didn''t even blink twice when he utilized his rage of the god of destruction technique on Derik and the other lizardmen present. He only cared about Bubli who impulsively flew into the darkness the moment they reached the cliff. "How¡­. How can they get more powerful while battling? How is that possible?" Elsa looked worried and confused as she watched Derik battle Ahika. "I know this path¡­ it''s the rage path, the user gains more power the angrier he or she gets¡­! That explains everything¡­" Isabel responded. "And Derik too right? I can feel his power rising¡­ we all know he cultivates the limiter path, but he''s yet to take off his limiters" Elsa looked scared and confused. "I don''t really know¡­ I don''t know much about death magic so I can''t really say much on this matter... All I know is he''s using the same technique he practiced the day he fought the fallen angel, his aura increased greatly¡­ I strongly believe he is using the same technique" Isabel looked terrified. And she was right, the more lizardmen who died on in the battlefield, the more annoyed Ahika got and the more terrified the living one became, improving the powers of both guardian spirits hosts. Even though when they started, Derik was at the mid-grade of the bronze realm. But at this moment, he drew power from the dead and forgotten souls inside his domain, the lizardmen still leaving and the elves not too far, who were terrified by the battle they were watching. His body was also brimming with pure energy which he absorbed from the dead bodies around, above the normal limit his body set for him, threatening to overflow. The energy he consumed in this battle was way beyond his expectations, so great that he knew that if he didn''t spend more energy than he''s gaining, he will definitely get hurt by the excess energy his body has consumed. He let go of his bone bow and arrows, his body levitated into the air and he punched out. Instantly a massive skeleton fist appeared in front of Ahika! Boooom! Ahika roared like a mad man and caught the massive skeletal fists with his hands, only forced to retreat by a few steps back. Both men were protected by their elemental energies which allowed them to battle without worrying about their large scale magic attacks from harming them. Ahika quickly shot into the air like Derik, signifying that their power levels have broken into the silver realm, granting them flight. He waved his hands and numerous symbols appeared right in front of him. There were over 60 of them. "Burn to ashes!" Ahika roared like a crazy person and clasped his hands together. Blazing fire magic: letter bombs!" he roared and punched out. Instantly all sixty symbols flew towards Derik and quickly surrounded him. "Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!" Derik laughed like a mad man and clasped his hands together and began chanting. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" he roared and waved his hands in the air. Instantly,60 bone spears appeared and surrendered Derik in an instant, ready to face Ahika''s attack head-on. "You cannot defeat me!" Derik laughed like a mad man. 118 Chapter 118: Defea "Break!" Derik roared as he thrust his hands forward and all 60 bone spears shot forward and faced the letter bombs head-on. The explosions echoed in the skies and it looked like the clouds would fall at any moment. Even though these two had reached the power level of silver realm warriors, they exhibited powers above the low-grade of the silver realm. Bam! Derik and Ahika dashed forward and their strong bodies collided for the first time since the battle began. They both looked frenzied at this moment, assaulting each other physically. The shockwaves sounded like roaring thunder and the gust of winds that were created from the shockwave of the attacks were enough to make everyone watching feel afraid. Boom! Boom!! Derik and Ahika retreated by a few steps retreated from each other, both sides breathing heavily. Their eyes looked wild and it looked like they couldn''t feel pain, their auras kept rising as seconds ticked by and it soon settled at the mid-grade of the silver realm. A realm on par with all the leaders of the expedition troops in this dungeon. Unlike Ahika who had thick, metal-like scales which protected his skin, Derik was all skin and looked extremely miserable, there were numerous claw wounds from which he bled from but surprisingly that didn''t reduce his fighting spirit even once, instead he looked more excited and wilder than ever. His wounds were closing at a visible rate and his fiery darkish purple eyes burnt so bright that it looked like it was glowing. "Bastard!...'' Derik caused with a smile on his face¡­"This is it¡­ this is why I fight! You dare not hold back on me!" He roared and a magic array appeared above his head "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" He roared, pouring a lot of mana into the magic array. A glittering bone spear soon appeared and the evil aura which it diffused from it was truly terrifying. grabbing on to the weapon, Derik felt like he could split the world with one attack if he decided to. "Hahahahaha!... Mediocre! I will teach you respect!" Ahika roared and clasped his hands together. "From the pits of the underworld and the armory of the heavens, be my partner and my guide¡­ burn down everyone who stands in my way and reduce them to ashes¡­ Blazing fire magic: Flaming sword of the heavens and the underworld!" Ahika roared and pulled out a blazing broadsword from the void. The scorching aura which diffused from this blade was not in any way inferior to Derik''s bone spear, in fact it was even better but this didn''t bother Derik at all. Both parties seemed to be about to fall into bedevilment so they disregarded their safety and simply want to battle till one side is dead. Derik had to confess, this lizardman is one of the toughest foes he has ever faced. He finally recognized the strength of other guardian spirit hosts, daring not to look down on them ever again. "Don''t disappoint!" he screamed and dashed forward with the bone spear in his hand striking forward the moment he was in range. Seeing Derik move, Ahika roared like a savage beast and struck forward as well. Boooom! Both sides retreated by a few meters and dashed at each other again but this time things changed. Ahika struck forward once again expecting Derik to strike back but to his greatest surprise, Derik drifted to the left, evading the flaming broadsword. His body felt like it was consumed in raging flames as he was close to the flaming broadsword, he began to wonder how bad it will be if he eventually gets hit by this hit by this weapon. His throat felt dry and his body looked emaciated, it looked like all the liquid in his body had dried up and he felt extremely thirsty. Derik looked up and saw the sun, rolling down towards the earth, about to collapse upon him. Derik was terrified and really didn''t understand what was going on, this is the first time he has found himself in such a situation. His tried to understand what was going on but all he could think of was the sun about to crash into the earth and he was forced to think of a way to stop it! Puti! Sizzle! Sizzle!! Sizzle!!! Derik''s body trembled and swayed helplessly in the air, it looked like he would fall any moment. All he could remember was that he planned to counter-attack and soon found himself in a strange world. The strange conditions of that world prevented him from thinking straight and he could only surrender to it. Then he felt a scorching blade pierce through his body, sticking out of his back, it felt like a blazing sun was placed inside his stomach, roasting all the organs inside his body while causing his black blood to evaporate as well. "Blazing fire magic: Scorching false world" Ahika looked surprisingly calm as he whispered those words proudly into Derik''s ears. "A-an ill-us-ion" Derik struggled to speak as he stared at Ahika with a weak smile on his face. He was careless, his opponent pulled out a cunning technique which he did not expect and to advantage of his state of mind to deal a fatal blow. He spat out a mouth full of black blood and laughed weakly. He was too confident in his powers and he made a costly mistake. He really didn''t expect to lose this way, he didn''t even have the chance to take off his limiters and fight this lizardman of the blazing lizard clan with the best of his abilities. He still had a lot to show off! "Derik!" "Derik!" "Derik!" Elsa, Gerald and Cyrus'' voice echoed all around him, they were frightened. He turned his head lazily to seen the expedition troops of the Gyro kingdom and the expedition troops of the Alda kingdom staring at him strangely. He saw grief in some of their faces, while the others smiled. Cyrus, Gerald, and his former teammates screamed his name and said something he couldn''t hear. His vision became blurred and he could only give them a weak smile and wait for death to come. "You disappoint me¡­" Ahika''s voice rung in his ear like a bell. He suddenly felt a strong and firm hand push him off the flaming broadsword and into the darkness below the cliff at the edge of the mysterious forest. "I failed¡­ Demos..." Derik muttered¡­ 119 Chapter 119: Battle of the hosts! Cyrus'' snow-white eyes sparkled as he watched Derik''s body fall into the darkness and grief overtook him. This was the person who has always found a way out of every tough situation. He found a way to defeat the level twelve stone trolls, he found a way to subdue team gyro lead by the son of the king, Kuen Gyro. He found a way to escape the grasp of the king and his soldiers at the moonlight forest! He battled side by side with the eldest prince Gerald against a fallen archangel and made him flee! To think that such a young yet powerful character would fall in a place like this, at this hour pained his soul. They were only a second late, a second away from assisting him in his battle against that monster of the lizardman race. His visage turned cold and he turned his attention to the elven expedition troops of Alda not too far from the Gyro kingdom expedition troops. He knew Derik had left with them and he strongly believed that the least they could do after he helped them was assist him in this battle. Just like Derik, Cyrus can sense the life force of beings even miles away from his current position, this is one of the perks of the life magic which he makes use of. At that point, he could tell those Derik left with because of the strong nature aura surrounding them, he still failed to understand why they refused to aid him in this battle. "I''ll kill you!" Cyrus roared at Ahika and the life aura in him erupted as a volcano and strange golden markings appeared all over his body. His golden hair glowed bright and his clothes fluttered in the wind. His snow-white eyes revealed his malicious intentions for Ahika and he turned into a beam of light and shot towards Ahika. "Life magic: Guardian spirit divine sword, heaven shattering sword!" Cyrus roared like a beast and reached for the void and pulled down. The clear blue sky turned golden and a gigantic divine sword appeared! The sword was over a 300 hundred meters tall and over 200 meters wide! Hovering over Cyrus'' head like a guardian angel. "The guardian path and the limiter path!... mastering two paths at the bronze realm, this kid as terrifying as Derik! He seems to have some connection to him, are all his friend''s monsters?" Isabel looked terrified as she stared at Cyrus standing gallantly in mid-air like an immoveable ancient wall that can withstand even the word falling on him. At the low-grade of the silver realm, a warrior or mage focuses on mastering their desired paths after which they breakthrough to the mid-grade of the silver realm if they are successful. To think a low-level bronze realm warrior will possess two paths which are extremely rare even amongst peak grade silver realm warriors and mages, Isabel was shocked and terrified. "You wish to fight me¡­ a mere human child? Was that your friend? This is the first time I have seen two people possessing opposing magic have such a close relationship..." Ahika roared like an ancient beast and shot towards Cyrus with malicious intentions. He swung his massive blazing broadsword at Derik, releasing a sea of scorching flames. "Don''t worry, I will send you where I sent him soon¡­ Yes! Soon both of you will be reunited!" Ahika screamed like a mad man. "Humph!" Cyrus snorted and waved his had vertically. "You lack the ability to beat me or Derik¡­ you only won because you used dirty trick... I won''t fall prey to it as you did!" Cyrus snorted. The massive divine sword which stood gallantly above his head suddenly let out an ear-piercing cry after receiving its orders and hacked down on Ahika! The massive golden body split the sea of flame in two easily and quickly proceeded to attack Ahika, attempting to split him in two as well. "When you meet Derik in the underworld¡­ tell him I did this to you!" Cyrus said with a cold gaze. "Don''t you dare look down on me!" Ahika roared and the red flames hovering over him turned blue, his fiery red eyes soon turned blue as well and the red scales on his body turned blue as well. Blazing flame magic: Blue flame of the creator! The heat eventually skyrocketed to terrifying heights. He threw both hands at the massive divine sword descending on him like a mountain. He bit his lips so hard until it started bleeding and his blue eyes glowed even more! "Burst!" Ahika roared and a terrifying amount of blue flames poured out of his hands completely consuming the massive sword. Numerous metal shattering sounds could be heard and the speed of the descending sword slowed down greatly. Puti! Cyrus clutched his chest and spat out a mouth full of blood, his body quivered and it looked like he would fall off the sky. The guardian sword allows the user to create a divine weapon that possesses great and terrifying power. Users of this path invest a lot of power in their divine weapons which can be used to battle beings in higher realms but at the cost of a massive amount of mana. If Cyrus didn''t use the limiter path to support himself, he never would have been able to summon the divine sword. The major drawback of this technique is that the user bears any amount of damage that the divine weapon sustains in battle. The user''s life is tied to the massive divine weapon and when the divine weapon is destroyed, the user dies as well. ............ Gerald stared at Cyrus with a gloomy expression on his face as he considered what to do next, he was truly shocked by the fact that Derik actually lost to the lizardman and found it hard to understand why the elves didn''t aid him. He knew that he couldn''t aid Cyrus in this battle to avenge Derik so as not to blow his cover, he could only watch and pray that Cyrus can avenge Derik''s demise for the both of them!. ............. Ahika gritted his teeth as he retreated while pouring out a massive torrent of blue flames on the divine sword pressing down on him. At this point, his savage eyes showed signs of fear mixed with his rage. Cyrus'' talent and power truly terrified him. "SLASH!" Cyrus screamed while clutching his chest with his hands. Slash! Puff! Ahika roared like a wounded dog as the massive divine blade tore through his scales and penetrated his chest, giving him a deep cut wound on his chest. "Damn you!" He roared and threw his hands at Cyrus. Instantly, another wave of terrifying and scorching blue flames poured out and flew towards Cyrus! "Stop struggling and just die!" Cyrus roared and threw his hands forward. Instantly the ear-piercing cries emanated from the massive divine sword once again and it shot towards Ahika. "Burn to ashes!'' Ahika suddenly screamed and the volume and power of his blue flames skyrocketed in an instant. "Split the heavens!" Cyrus was not willing to back down either! Divine runes appeared on his massive divine sword and glowed brightly. A golden halo surrounded the massive divine sword and its size suddenly doubled. The divine sword looked like an ancient mountain pressing down on an ocean of flames that could roast the world! The level of these attacks was on par with the attacks of peak grade silver realm warriors and mages. To create such devastating attacks, the two combatants poured in every bit of their power to destroy each other with this final strike, thereby hurting themselves. ... Suddenly¡­.. "Lightning magic: wave of despair!" a seductive voice echoed from the eastern path of the forest and a sea of lightning stormed out of the mysterious forest and rolled towards Cyrus and Ahika! "Scram!'' "You have chosen death!" Ahika and Cyrus roared and turned their attacks towards the sea of flashy blue lighting completely obliterating it. They both looked exhausted and they silently waited for the assailant to show herself As expected she didn''t disappoint. Dark clouds gathered around the peak of the cliff and lightning struck down and a beautiful figure appeared. She wore a tight-fitting white gown that revealed her enticing thighs and her massive breasts. Her sky blue hair fluttered in the wind and her sky blue eyes released sparks of lightning. "The lightning goddess of the clouds, Zaylee!" Ahika roared "You dare get involved in the business of the Kingdom of Baldmar? Do you think the kingdom of Cato can withstand my king''s wrath?" Ahika screamed like a mad man Cyrus simply remained silent and observed the lady, his massive divine sword stood gallantly above his head and waited for his orders. "You''re the host of the guardian spirit of lightning¡­" Cyrus cried out in fear. "You just noticed? Good for you¡­ Life, fire, and death? I sensed his aura a moment ago¡­ don''t tell me¡­" Zaylee said "Dead¡­ I killed him" Ahika said proudly Cyrus'' eyebrows knitted together and his expression turned ugly. "If you all wish to do battle, let''s not dabble on pointless discussions¡­ let us end this here and now!" Cyrus roared like a beast for the first time. He was clearly angry! 121 Chapter 121: Breakthrough! The three hosts fell into the darkness and soon appeared on the other side. The land was barren and thick evil energy filled the air. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Like three flaming comets, all three crashed into the ground, leaving behind craters over 5 meters deep created from the impact of the fall. "Crap¡­'' Cyrus muttered as he struggled to get on his feet, his eyes showed he was worn out and he quickly retrieved his divine weapon. The crack on the divine weapon truly hurt badly and he was pretty sure he will suffer the backlash after his limiter path times out. He knew he would recover if given enough time to rest but his only worry was those people who fell into this place with him, in his weakened state he definitely won''t be able to defend himself against this people talk more of defeating them. He looked up to the thick darkness which gathered above his head and wondered if he could get out of this place. Woooosh! Zaylee''s figure flashed as she flew towards the darkness in the sky at terrifying speed. Her eyes released sparks of electricity and lightning energy surged around her body. it seemed as if she was preparing for an attack. "Lightning magic: wave of despair!" She roared and poured out her lightning power and it danced towards the infinite darkness. Bam! Bam!! The darkness seemed to solidify, preventing Zaylee and her lightning attack from passing through. Her lightning struck the darkness and it couldn''t even penetrate! Her body soon proceeded to collide with it and she was shot back into the crater from which she emerged from. "Its no use¡­ we can''t return¡­ we need to leave this place before the fallen archangel appears¡­ I don''t think we can fight against it" Ahika said in a calm tone. He seemed to have calmed down and his body looked like something that has suffered from second-degree burns. He looked tired and almost drained of mana. At this point, Cyrus realized he is not the only one who was in a terrible state. Their battle was fierce and all sides got hurt, now that the fallen archangel of life wanted them dead, all they can do is run until they recover their lost strength before facing off against him again. "We would have been able to defeat the fallen archangel if he was here¡­" Cyrus sighed as she looked at the barren land, void of life. "He? Do you mean the host of the death guardian spirit? The last I checked light is effective against death¡­ he is the worse person to have around at the moment" Zaylee snorted. "What do you know? I have battled him twice and every single time we fought, I lost¡­ He was the one who battled the fallen archangel earlier, I''m pretty sure everyone felt the intensity of the battle¡­ He made the fallen archangel flee with his tail between his legs¡­ do you think this lizardman can win against him? Derik has a bad habit of testing out new things in the heat of battle¡­ if he fought against this lizardman with his true competence he would have won easily!'' Cyrus sneered. Ahika and Zaylee were shaken and slightly annoyed by his words. They knew the meaning behind Cyrus'' words and they weren''t pleased with it. he was simply trying to tell that they cannot defeat a fifteen-year-old kid. "Crap!" Ahika got annoyed and stood on his feet. "If you want to have a shot at it¡­ sure! come on, I''ll serve you well!" Cyrus got on his feet and sneered. Both sides approached each other but then the felt something. It was like an evil black trying to pull their souls and vitality out of their bodies. "What is this?!'' Zaylee screamed in fear and quickly retreated "Such evil! This¡­" Ahika was shaken by this as well¡­ Unlike the other two, Cyrus was not scared, instead, his face brightened and his charming smile returned to his face! "I knew he couldn''t be killed so easily!" Cyrus laughed, turning into a beam of light before shooting towards the direction of the suction force excitedly. The other two were shocked by his sudden mood change and decided to follow him closely. ............ Cyrus arrived at the entrance of a cave and thick death aura filled the place, he was overjoyed by this. Not minding those behind him, he ran into the cave with a ball of glowing light floating beside him as he proceeded. After walking for over ten minutes he reached to the edge of the cave and right there was Derik who sat in a cross-legged position while meditating. His death aura was steadily increasing and becoming more, real. Cyrus instantly understood what was going on and he turned his attention towards Ahika and Zaylee. "This is where the tour ends¡­ turn back and leave¡­ he will not be disturbed" Cyrus said with knitted eyebrows. He knew these people were not friendly and will most likely try to harm Derik when he is at his weakest and this could be considered as the perfect time, especially since he is breaking through into a higher grade in his realm. "He''s breaking through¡­"Ahika said with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Isn''t that cute and he left himself open to external attacks¡­ you want to protect him¡­ that''s really touching" Zaylee laughed. "What is your relationship with the death mage" Ahika suddenly asked with a stern look on his face and his red scales turned blue instantly. Zaylee''s eyes sparkled due to excitement and her body was soon shrouded by lightning aura. They both knew that Cyrus could not risk summoning his massive divine weapon here since it''s an enclosed location. Doing that will only put Derik as well and even if he could, the divine weapon was damaged by Samael''s attacks. He was nowhere next to his weak character. Even Cyrus had a headache when he pondered on how to deal with this issue "He is my friend and he asked both of you to leave!" Derik''s voice roared like thunder. Instantly a massive wave of corrosive death aura poured out of where Derik sat and completely consumed everyone! 122 Chapter 122: Next level! Corrosive death aura poured out of the cave and two figures emerged, both looked tired and worn out while they gazed at the entrance of the cave with fearful expressions on their faces. Derik and Cyrus soon emerged, walking out of the cave with neutral expressions on their faces. "With the appearance of Samael, I think it will be foolish to kill both of you now¡­ if what Cyrus said is true then he will come after us and I doubt we will be able to resist if we are separated" Derik snorted and retrieved his aura. He sneered and walked back into the cave without uttering another word to them. Cyrus simply chuckled and watched him walk into the cave. "I suggest you all rest and recover your lost energy¡­ we will move in groups now, to make it harder for the fallen archangel to operate around us when he eventually gets here" Cyrus said before walking into the cave. Ahika and Zaylee were terrified and confused. Even though Derik and Cyrus spoke on recovering and recovering energy for their inevitable clash with the fallen angel Samael, they couldn''t help but feel insecure. Their guardian spirits have continually spoken on the life and death elements been able to suppress the rest because of their unique features but they refused to believe, thinking it was all a hype. But on this very day, Cyrus had a cultivation base of low-grade of the bronze realm and was still able to suppress Ahika and Zaylee. Looking back on his battle with Derik, Ahika realized that Derik had slaughtered more than half of his clansmen and battled him as equals for long without falling into a disadvantaged position, and this is when Derik refused to use his limiter path. "We can only work with them for now¡­ I''m afraid that we are not his opponents and when the fallen archangel appears if what the life mage kid said is true¡­ then we will have to depend on Derik to defeat him" Zaylee let out a sigh as she spoke to Ahika and then walked into the cave. Ahika only hesitated for a while and walked into the cave. ....................... At the deepest part of the cave, Derik sat down cross-legged with Cyrus by his side who was currently suffering from the backlash of the limiter path. His visage was cold and his eyes were vicious as he stared at the direction where Ahika and Zaylee came in through. Truth be told, Derik despised these two people, if not for the Samael threat he would have killed these two and swallowed their souls. "Death magic: Miniature accursed gate of the underworld!" Derik finally spoke after pondering for a while. His hand grabbed the void and he easily tore it open right. "Shadow lurker¡­ protect us while we rest" Derik said indifferently while looking at the pair of blood-red eyes in the darkness of the small passageway. The shadow lurker only nodded to his words and stayed silent. Just a few seconds ago, Derik broke through the mid-grade of the bronze realm and officially entered the peak grade of the bronze realm. His was pretty sure that his aura has changed slightly, becoming more corrosive and dangerous, while the others meditated Derik found it as the right time to speak to Demos .....................¡­ Derik''s lanky figure appeared in dark world and a weak smile appeared on his face. The negative feelings he can draw from this place had increased tremendously after the battle with Ahika, it is safe to say that he has a small army of lizardmen in his latest soul army. "You seem to be excited by the souls you have acquired¡­ you don''t have to worry, when you break through into the silver realm, I will teach you how to use them in battle" Demos voice resonated from behind. Derik gritted his teeth and clenched his feet, he felt defeated¡­ "Do you really have to appear behind me at all times?" Derik asked as he turned to face Demos. "The day you prove to be my equal I will stop doing this if it still annoys you then" Demos raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Is this about my battle with the guardian spirit of fire''s host? I know I messed up, I got distracted by the feeling of controlling the negative feelings¡­ I let my guard down, I was careless" Derik said lowering his head. He felt like he has failed his master and didn''t dare look him in the eye. "You''re the first death mage to lose to a blazing flame mage, do you know that?" Demos knitted his eyebrows. He patiently waited for Derik''s response but it didn''t come, Derik just stood there and stared at his feet, clearly embarrassed by his actions. He suddenly a strong hand gently stroke his hair and he quickly looked up to see Demo''s face. "But you''re the first to reach the peak grade of the bronze realm at such a young age¡­ You''re the only death mage to enter a sky rift alone and make it this far and you will be the first death mage to conquer the dungeon alone! I have faith in your strength" Demos laughed. Derik was touched, he smiled warmly and nodded repeatedly "I won''t fail you¡­ I''ll rather die trying than leave empty-handed¡­ I swear it!" Derik patted his chest with his fist as he spoke. Demos smiled and said nothing, diving deeper into the darkness slowly. Derik smiled and followed tightly behind, waiting for Demos to speak. "Have you ever considered what you wish to have as your second path?" Demos asked. " Your friend Cyrus has mastered another path and he used it to suppress the lizardman from the blazing lizard clan and the lightning girl from Cato" Demos added Derik was astonished by this, he didn''t know what happened up there and he didn''t really ask. "If I and Cyrus should battle each other to the death right now¡­ who do you think will win" Derik suddenly asked. "With no external factors, just abilities¡­ right?" Demos asked "Yes¡­ just our abilities¡­" Derik answered Demos frowned and rubbed his chin as he pondered on this topic for a while, he looked at Derik and sighed "At this point, You will win but will be crippled and unable to cultivate afterward¡­ I doubt the injuries you will receive from that battle is something your werewolf regenerative powers can handle" Demos finally said with a strange look on his face. Derik was taken off guard by this, he never expected such a reply from Demos. Cyrus was still at the low-grade of bronze realm and he was at the peak of the bronze realm. Yes they both had the limiter path which boosted their overall competence, he had the negative emotions which he could draw from his realm to strengthen himself even further. And then there is his avatar and the brilliant claw, bother are silver level techniques which he can use to topple his enemies and overwhelm his foes. "He mastered the guardian path¡­ this is one of the most powerful paths known to man¡­ I seriously don''t know what method Michael used to impact such a powerful path into him but I do know one thing¡­ Michael must have paid a bitter price to achieve his goal¡­ he must really have faith in that kid Cyrus" Demos laughed "Guardian path? How can a single path make up for all the differences between us? How powerful is that path?'' Derik asked "Powerful enough to make the user capable of fighting people a whole realm and defeating them, a realm not grade. Meaning at the low-grade of the bronze realm he can win against warriors at the low-grade of the bronze realm¡­ since he has the limiter path he can boost his competence all the way to the peak grade of the bronze realm¡­ and with his Favored child of life ability which no one seemed to notice in his battle against Ahika and Zaylee, he was able to boost his power all the way to the low grade of the silver realm by drawing power from the life force of all living things around¡­ his power can rival that of a low-grade gold realm mage at that time, that''s why he could suppress Ahika and Zaylee!" Demos explained everything slowly Derik was shocked to the core, a low-grade bronze realm mage is capable of producing attacks at the low-grade of the gold realm. Its only natural for him to be terrified of Cyrus at this point. That''s two realms ahead! Two f##king realms! His thoughts suddenly drifted to a different direction as he thought of something, what if Demos impacted the same path on him, wouldn''t that make him even more dangerous? A smile appeared on his face and his fiery darkish purple eyebrows and eyes lit up and burned fiercely. "I can''t help you with that" Demos smiled bitterly as he could already tell what Derik was thinking. "Why? How? " Derik asked disappointed. "All guardian spirits are at the mid-grade of the demi-god realm¡­ Only Samael tried to grow in power and gather more strength by stealing the life force of other living beings created by the creator¡­ When I brought you back to life, my permanently power reduced at the low-grade of the demi-god realm and it cannot go below that¡­ we guardian spirits must remain at that realm or else we will be replaced and we will most likely fade away" Demos explained while looking at Derik with strange emotions in his eyes. It was as if he was scared of Derik''s possible response. "I see¡­ if that''s the case then we will skip that part¡­ what other paths do you think will be more suitable for me?" Derik said casually. Demos let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Derik warmly. He thought that Derik will remain adamant on wanting the guardian path and not care about his existence, that''s why he felt so tense at first. He really didn''t know that Derik would just brush it off like its nothing and change the subject easily. Demos felt grateful¡­ "Gaining another path at your current realm is beyond my current abilities but I have something that will help take your fighting competence to the next level!" Demos said with a smile. Hearing this, Derik''s eyes lit up and he felt extremely excited by this. "Since you''ve made it to the peak of the bronze realm, you should be able to utilize your avatar at will without having to take off your limiters¡­" Demos explained "Unlike Gerald whose avatar is only as strong as he is, we can make your avatar more lifelike and supernatural being¡­ make it a separate entity of its own¡­ it will increase its efficiency in battle" Demos laughed. Derik''s eyes sparkled like that of a child when he heard this and a wild smile appeared on his face. "Let''s do it!" Derik laughed. "Hahahahahahaha!!!! Let''s take you to the next level!" Demos laughed 123 Chapter 123: Giving life! Derik''s eyes lit up as he urged his death power and it burst out like a volcano, the death aura soon gathered in one place, taking the form of a skeleton the size of a small mountain. "Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" Derik laughed out loud like a mad man. "Good¡­ Interesting¡­" Demos laughed, he was obviously pleased with what he saw¡­ "Before we give this being life, we need to be sure this is the desired form you want it to be in¡­ we won''t be able to undo this later on!" Demos warned. Hearing this, Derik''s eyebrows were knitted together as he pondered on what Demos just said. He has always been okay with the form of his avatar and he really didn''t see any reason to change it. He didn''t want anything too flashy but he also wanted something that can strike fear in the heart of his opponents. This is the best form he could ever wish for! "There is nothing for you to fix, my avatar is perfect the way it is" Derik smiled as he spoke. Demos nodded and quickly flew towards the head of the skeleton, signaling Derik to follow along. "I was going to ask you to give it the form of a true reaper¡­ a mere naked skeleton can only scare average warriors¡­ only death can scare peak warriors!" Demos offered his advice and waited for Derik''s reply. Derik thought about this for a while and nodded "Go ahead, give it the form you desire let''s see¡­" Derik smiled. He was curious to see what the angel of death had in mind for this man. "Alright then¡­" Demos laughed and waved his hand. Instantly a dark mist poured out of his sleeves and it quickly consumed the mountain-sized skeleton, reducing it to nothing. "Let us begin!" Demos laughed and waved his hands again and something magical began to happen. The creation of a new life started taking place and it was not some sort of being created with just darkish purple energy. No, this being looked lifelike and its clothes looked like actual clothes. It was as tall as Demos, Samael, and other archangels. He was adorned with a dark and purple hooded robe and had a pair of mighty black wings attached to its back. Beside it was a massive scythe the size of a full-grown man which stood gallantly by its side and within the dark hood was bright fiery purple eyes that looked like balls of fire. Outside its insanely look robe sleeves were bone fingers that made bone-breaking sounds each time it moved. This was the same being that approached the Derik the first day he awakened his death magic, this is the angel of death, Demos! "This¡­ is you¡­ right?" Derik stuttered as he spoke "Of course¡­ what can be more terrifying than death itself? Do you like it?" Demos laughed while gazing at the newly created avatar with a satisfied expression on his face. "Do I like it?¡­ I love it! I never would have thought of this¡­ but the size though¡­" Derik said with a strange look on his face. "The size adjusts according to the situation¡­ we guardian spirits can adjust our body size¡­ it''s not a strange thing that my creation can do the same" Demos laughed "Does that mean it possesses your abilities?" Derik''s eyes sparkled as he considered the possibility of this being true. "Well not really, it''s only a lesser version of myself and cannot achieve the same things I can achieve¡­ it''s like the creator creating another creator¡­ that''s close to impossible¡­ The first trial to replicate itself is we the guardian spirits and the second is you all who live on this planet right now¡­ since it can''t a being as powerful and itself, it created a being capable of reaching its level later on in the future" Demos explained "And that''s the same thing you did here?..." Derik asked "Yes¡­ The stronger this avatar grows, the more abilities it will unlock and in the end¡­ if given enough time to grow¡­ it will reach my level or even surpass me" Demos smiled. "I see¡­ So what''s next?" Derik asked "Now we have created the body¡­ let''s give it the souls it requires¡­ summon all the souls you have consumed till today¡­ We need this avatar to be at a level where it can fight against powerful foes for you¡­" Demos said. Hearing this, Derik nodded and waved his hand. Instantly the souls of all those he has consumed appeared right in front of him. One after the other Derik fused the souls with the avatar. For each soul Derik fused, the brighter the avatars fiery purple eyes glowed and purple ancient writing also appeared on its body. This process took a lot of time and concentration and since there is no day and night in this domain, Derik did not know how much time has passed. All he knew was that he and the avatar have benefited from this greatly, his understanding of the death element had increased greatly as he gave life to the avatar. He realized that the death element was not all about taking away the life of his targets, it also revolves around a new beginning. Giving the damned souls a new purpose and a new life. By the time he was done with the twenty-two souls of the members of the lizardmen of various lizard tribes who died in the battle between Derik and Ahika. He also gave up the minotaur''s soul and the souls of the eight warriors and mages of Gyro who tried to battle him alongside Anna after his little dance with Samael. All that was left now was a portion of the soul of the mysterious forest which he got while he was in the mysterious forest. He really didn''t feel like giving up this soul, it was the most important soul he has collected to date. "Will the avatar possess the abilities of the souls I give to it?" Derik asked after pondering on the issue for a while. "Of course it will¡­ your avatar has consumed the souls of over 10 peak grade bronze warriors and mages¡­ 20 low-grade silver realm warriors and mages¡­ And the soul of the minotaur which is at the level of the low grade of the silver realm¡­. Yet the avatar is still at the mid-grade of the silver realm¡­ I advise you give it this final soul to give it the push it needs" Demos advised. After hearing what Demos said the doubt in Derik''s mind was cleared instantly and he quickly fused the final soul with the avatar. Boooooooooooom!!!!!!! Derik''s domain shook as death aura burst forth from the body of the avatar. It was so thick that Derik had to retreat, he was finding it hard to breathe. "Perfect¡­ Congrats on creating an avatar at the peak grade of the silver realm, on par with the shadow lurker!... give it a name¡­." Demos laughed "Since it looks like you, let''s call it death¡­ what do you think?" Derik laughed. "It''s your avatar¡­ whatever you wish to call it does not matter" Demos said with a charming smile on his face. .............. Derik''s fiery darkish purple eyes yanked open and his gaze quickly fell on Ahika and Zaylee who seemed to stand as far as possible. He could tell that these people dared not approach because of the watchful eyes of the shadow Lurker. He turned his attention to Cyrus and was shocked to see that he had completely recovered from the backlash of the limiter path. How long has he been away? "How long has passed since I started cultivating?" Derik asked with a confused expression on his face. "Five days¡­" Cyrus said with a bitter smile. "I felt you must have been working on something important, so I made sure no one disturbed you¡­ of course, your pet here did most of the work" Cyrus said. Derik laughed and nodded his head. He turned his attention to Ahika and Zaylee and his face turned rigid and cold. "We have to move now¡­ I believe this is the third floor of this dungeon¡­ until the fallen archangel is dealt with, we cannot separate" Derik said. He got on his feet and the miniature passageway leading to the underworld vanished. He was about to leave but then his indifferent facial expression turned ugly. Zaylee and Ahika did not possess the life or death power so their sensory skills were way below that of Derik and Cyrus. When they noticed that Derik had stopped moving and he wore a vexed expression on his face, they felt disturbed. They turned their attention only to notice what that he too wore an ugly expression on his face so they couldn''t help but ask "What''s wrong?" Ahika asked "Did something happen?" Zaylee asked Derik and Cyrus turned their attention to them and sinister smiles appeared on their faces. "The fallen archangel knows we are here!" Derik said "He is coming!" Cyrus added. "I guess we won''t have to travel together after all¡­. Let''s kill this fallen archangel once and for all and be done with it!" Derik roared and dashed out of the cave. The rest nodded and followed him closely behind. 124 Chapter 124: Guardian spirit versus hosts of Aldemar Derik stood at the entrance of the cave-like a thousand-year-old wall which could withstand the whole world crumbling down on it. He waved his hand and he started pulling power from the negative emotions of the other hosts around. Cyrus and Ahika were enraged, itching for revenge and Zaylee was terrified, by taking in their negative emotions he knew exactly the way they felt. "Fear is an unnecessary emotion which only prevents you from growing further¡­ you are too careful and you fear death, that''s why you are the weakest of the four of us even though you have the highest cultivation base¡­ If you dare turn your back on us midway into the battle I will not hesitate to pursue you to the ends of the earth, don''t think that little kingdom of yours will be able to shelter you from my wrath, you will die a gruesome death by my hands¡­ you have been warned" Derik turned Zaylee and said this straight to her face with an indifferent expression. His cold darkish purple fiery eyes seemed to pierce through her body and look deep inside her soul for him to know her through emotions covered with a seductive smile. Zaylee and the other two were startled by this, they failed to understand how Derik was able to tell her true emotions with just a glance and the fact that she didn''t refute this made them believe every single word he said about her even more. All three, Cyrus included were terrified by this fueling Derik''s already rising power. Soon his power broke through the peak-grade of the bronze realm and proceeded to enter the low-grade of the silver realm! His body rose and stood firmly in the sky and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. This was what he wanted. When he found out that Zaylee wasn''t the brave type, he quickly decided to deepen her fear for him in a bid to increase his own power. He never expected his actions to affect Cyrus and Ahika but since it did he felt even better. He watched ancient darkish purple letters appear all over his body and a vicious light glowed in his eyes as he looked at the direction from which Samael was approaching. He could no longer draw the power of negative emotions from the souls which use to live in his body, so this time he could only rely on those around him. "His¡­ his power level! It''s rising! it''s actually rising¡­ he keeps getting stronger by the second¡­ he is not using his path then how is he actually doing this?" Ahika was terrified for the first time. when he fought Derik in the past, he was consumed by his rage path so he didn''t really bother to check how Derik''s power suddenly matched his. He quickly assumed he was using a path similar to his rage path. But after he spoke to Cyrus and realized what Derik used was not the power of his path, he was terrified. Even now his fear for Derik reached new heights, he finally understood why the other guardian spirits could not compare to the guardian spirits of life and death. "He''s drawing power from negative emotions! That''s the only explanation I can come up with¡­ This kid is a monster¡­ he''s even worse than the life mage!" Zaylee screamed in fear. Meanwhile, Cyrus stood still while gazing at Derik''s back with a strange expression on his face. Even though he sees Derik as his best friend, he still sees him as a possible opponent as well¡­ that''s why he has always been trying to compete against Derik. Seeing that his rival has reached the peak of the bronze realm in half a year and he possessed such amazing powers, Cyrus felt strange. His competitive spirit rose greatly and he swore to reach this height and catch up to Derik soon. His life aura exploded and golden ancient writings appeared all over his body similar to the ones on Derik''s body "Favored child of life¡­" Derik whispered to himself. Cyrus removed his limiters and his aura skyrocketed once again, crossing the bronze realm and entering the silver realm threshold. His body levitated and he stood by Derik''s side the next moment looking at the direction from where Samael will appear!. "We have to ensure that we kill this fallen archangel here and now¡­ Should this being leave this place alive we will never be able to live easy although our lives¡­ we must kill him now he is at his weakest or at least deal a devastating blow from which he will never recover!" Cyrus said to Ahika and Zaylee who were still standing on the ground. Roar!!!! Ahika roared in anger and his power rose in an instant breaking into the silver realm. He flew up and stood by Derik''s side in mid-air with a savage expression on his face. "No one tells me what to do!" He roared at Cyrus before turning his attention to the darkness above. Zaylee shook her head repeatedly wishing she can walk away from this. Shre reluctantly flew up to the sky and stood by Cyrus'' side "Let''s get this over with!" She said as urged her lightning power and her body was soon covered by over a thousand bolts of lightning. ............¡­. "HA! THE HOSTS OF THIS DAMNED CONTINENT DARES GATHERS TO FACE ME! HAVE YOU LOST THIS MUCH FACE SAMAEL THE GREAT? I MAKE SURE THE FOUR OF YOOU PAY FOR THIS DISRESPECT WITH YOUR LIVES!" A voice roared like thunder. Instantly a sea of golden divine flames poured down from the sky like a tidal wave threatening to crush all those beneath it "Hahahahahahaaha! we will show you the true power of the hosts of Aldemar! Your semi-god tier divine sword will not save you today!" Derik laughed like a mad man while taking off his limiters. He threw both hands towards the incoming sea of golden divine flames and he began chanting! "Ooo God of Death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain¡­ Death magic: Hell flame!!!!"Derik roared and a massive magic array appeared in front of his hands and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out. His power level at this point was at the peak grade of the silver realm so his spells became more powerful and lethal. "Don''t waste your words on him Derik¡­ let''s join hands and be done with this!" Cyrus said with a stern look on his face "Life magic: Guardian spirit divine sword, heaven shattering sword!" Cyrus roared like a beast and reached for the void and pulled down. The mountain-sized divine sword appeared above Cyrus'' head "Split the heavens!" Cyrus was not willing to hold back either! Divine runes appeared on his massive divine sword and glowed brightly. A golden halo surrounded the massive divine sword and its size suddenly doubled. The divine sword looked like an ancient mountain that could not be destroyed. It let out an ear-piercing screech and shot forward like an arrow towards the sea of golden divine flames. "I swear today''s encounter will not end like the last time!" Ahika roared and attacked Blazing flame magic: Blue flame of the creator! A massive amount of blue flames burst out of his body and the red scales on his body turned blue. "Burst!" He roared like a beast and the size of the sea of blue flames increased greatly and the power doubled as well. Seeing the others give it their all Zaylee made up her mind. She knew that even if she took the chance to escape, Samael will still hunt her down and in a situation where Samael fails to kill them all, these people will join hands to hunt her down. The only thing she can do now is put away her fear and join hands with the other hosts and bring down this fallen archangel of the life element. "Don''t forget me!" She roared and waved her hands "Lightning magic: Typhoon!!!'' she roared and spat out a sea of lightly from her mouth. The sea of lightning intertwined and twisted repeatedly until it took the form of a massive hurricane and flew towards the sea of golden divine flames. "Swallow!"She roared and the size of the lightning hurricane doubled. Booom! Booom!! Booooom!!! The earth and sky shook fiercely as if it couldn''t hold anymore as the combined attacks of the hosts of Aldemar smashed into the massive sea of divine flames which Samael released. The sea of golden divine flames shook and trembled and it looked like it could not stop the combined assault. Even Samael was surprised by what he saw, he didn''t expect these people to cooperate this well or even be at a level where their combined power can threaten his existence. He inwardly cursed the injuries he sustained from his battle with the creator for putting him in such a condition. His eyes widened in shock as he waited for the worse to happen! Booooom!!! The sea of flames golden divine flames shattered and the combined power of the four hosts lashed at him. "MERE MORTALS DARE CHALLENGE A GOD? YOU ALL MUST BE TIRED OF LIVING!" He roared and thrust his hands forward "Life magic: Heaven''s gate!" he roared and a majestic mountain-sized gate emerged and took in what was left of attacks! The gate trembled and visible cracks appeared on it, his star-like eyes darkened and he spat out a mouthful of blood, retreating by a few meters. "Now!'' Derik roared and turned into a beam of light and shot towards the heavens gate like a prehistoric beast before anyone else could follow. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" He roared, pouring a lot of mana into the magic array. A glittering bone spear soon appeared and the evil aura which it diffused from it was truly terrifying. He grabbed onto the bones spear and flew towards the massive heavenly gate fearlessly. "You damned archangel¡­ not even the creator can save you today!" Ahika roared and chased after Derik "From the pits of the underworld and the armory of the heavens, be my partner and my guide¡­ burn down everyone who stands in my way and reduce them to ashes¡­ Blazing fire magic: Flaming sword of the heavens and the underworld!" Ahika roared and pulled out a blazing broadsword from the void. He raised the flaming blue broad sword and poured in more mana into it and the size of the blazing sword kept increasing until Ahika could no longer carry it, controlling it with his mind. "Break!!!" Derik and Ahika screamed as the struck forward! BOOOOOOOOOOM!!! PUTI! The massive gate shattered and Samael spat out a mouthful of golden blood. He was yet to recover from this and his vision was still blurred when he saw the massive divine sword Cyrus controlled shooting towards him like a spear. "One final push¡­ everyone!!!" Derik roared as he clasps his hands together "Ooo condemned sole of the underworld, the one which led was led astray by the lord of light and the devout, where art thy gods? As the messenger of death who comes from the deepest parts of the underworld, I sentence thee to eternal damnation and rob thee of thy Freedom¡­ Death magic: Death Bind!!!" Derik roared and a massive amount of death aura poured out of Derik''s body and blocked Samael''s escape path. The death aura soon took the shape of a massive bone hand, grabbing on to Samael thereby preventing him from escaping Cyrus'' attack! "Everyone¡­ through all, you''ve got at him¡­ now!" Derik roared like an enraged dragon about to devour his greatest foe! 125 Chapter 125: Death appears! With Samael pinned down, Ahika and Zaylee made their moves! "Burst!" Ahika roared once again, spitting out a sea of fierce and intense flames which raced towards the former guardian spirit of life. Lightning magic: Typhoon! "Swallow!" Zaylee spat out two hurricane terrifying hurricanes of lightning, flying towards Samael."It''s over!" Cyrus roared and pulled down the void down and the massive divine sword hacked down on Derik. "ENOUGH!" Samael suddenly screamed and his twinkling star-like eyes glowed fiercely "Life magic; Starburst!" He roared like a wounded beast. His body was soon shrouded with a golden divine aura and it exploded. Sending out a shockwave that blew away all the various attacks launched at him. Puti! Derik''s body shivered and he spat out a mouth full of black blood while retreating by a few meters. He wore an astonished expression as he looked at the direction where Samael was pinned down initially. Puti! Cyrus'' soul shivered as his massive divine blade was shot back by the sudden outburst of power from Samael. This was not something he expected, he wasn''t paying attention so he let his guard down. When his weapon was hit by the explosive energy, his soul was shaken and he needed time to recover from it. Ahika and Zaylee were not doing any better. In a short time, in just a few exchanges they have already expended more than seventy percent of their mana. They weren''t like Cyrus who had the limiter path which breaks his limiters, giving him close to infinite mana or Derik who had the limiter path as well and also the werewolves side which helped him regain lost mana at a terrifying speed. In the end, they were all hurt and they have lost the momentum they started with. They all looked at Derik who seemed to be in the best condition so far hoping he would come up with a plan. "We need some time to recover our mana before we can continue" Ahika said and Zaylee nodded "I need time to stabilize my condition¡­ you have to buy us some time" Cyrus said with hopeful eyes. Derik frowned slightly and contemplated on this issue for a while. He didn''t want to reveal his trump card yet but it seemed as if the situation was forcing his hands "20 minutes¡­ that''s all I can promise you guys" Derik suddenly said "That should be enough¡­" Zaylee said with a slight nod. "What do you plan to do?" Cyrus suddenly asked. Derik laughed and turned his back on them flying towards where Samael should be without answering. "Twenty minutes is all I can give¡­ after that pour in all your strength and mana in that attack¡­ that will be our final attack.. " Ahika said with a stern look on his face while he watched Derik fly away. "EVEN GOD CANNOT SAVE ME? A MERE HOST DARES TO UTTER SUCH BLASPHEMY YET THE CREATOR DOES NOTHING, THIS IS WHY I REVOLTED AGAINST HIM, HE CARES ABOUT NOTHING AND ALLOWS SINNERS LIKE YOU TO ROAM THE SURFACE OF THIS WORLD FREE AND SAFE!" Samael''s voice shooked the world like lightning. "HAHAHAHAHA! You are not qualified to take the place of the creator¡­ you''re just another broken creation who is lost in despair" Derik hissed. Hearing this Samael''s golden eyebrows knitted together and he looked at Derik with a confused expression on his face. "Silence¡­ mortal!" He roared and grabbed the void. Instantly a massive spear appeared above his head and he held on to it with both hands "Life magic: Judgement spear!" He roared and threw the spear at Derik "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and lend thee thy strength... Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thy power of death and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear¡­ Death magic: Bone spear!!!" He roared, pouring a lot of mana into the magic array. A glittering bone spear soon appeared and the evil aura which it diffused from it was truly terrifying. He grabbed onto the bones spear and flew towards the golden spear and struck forward Booooom! Derik roared as he felt the bones in his right-hand shatter and he spat out a mouth full of black blood. His body shot down to the ground like a meteor and as soon as he hit the flaw he shot back into the air. "An archangel unable to beat a common host with a single attack¡­ pitiful!" Derik laughed and urged his werewolf powers to manifest. He knew that Samael was running out of energy as well that is why he is yet to act against him with his semi-god tier magic weapon. He knew that unlike human''s Samael could gather mana at a faster rate even if he kept fighting so the situation of his friends was not favorable as well. Derik planned to tire out the fallen archangel and make him expend as much mana as possible until he is unable to defend himself properly when they gather to deal the final blow. "Silver level secret technique: Brilliant claw" Derik roared and a massive amount of corrosive death aura burst out of his claws and slashed at Samael. "Protect!" Samael said indifferently and a semi-transculent dome of pure divine aura surrounded him like a dome. "So you have chosen death little host? ¡­ give me a few minutes and I will grant your wish!" Samael''s cold gaze pierced through his golden barrier and fell on Derik. He considered Derik''s previous comment about him not being worthy to take the creator''s place an insult especially when it''s coming from a mortal. He hated the fact that he could not obliterate Derik at this moment. "Derik¡­ before he recovers his powers, I recommend you take his life!" Demos voice suddenly echoed in his head. Hearing this Derik nodded and clasp his hands together. "Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" Screeeeech!!!!! Black mist escaped Derik''s body and shot towards Samael who was hidden within the protection of his light dome with a loud screech that shocked everyone, Samael included. The black mist soon took the shape of a hooded angel with a pair of massive black wings, adorned with a black and purple robe and a fiery purple blazing eyes. Its bony hands reached for the void and pulled. Instantly a massive black scythe was pulled out of the void and with it, the avatar of death slashed at the golden divine barrier that protected Samael! Puff! "Demos! How is this possible?" Samael screamed in fear and pain as the sharp black blades of the scythe pierced through the golden divine barrier like butter and left a deep slash wound on Samael who was fast enough to get out of the way, if not he would have been split into by that single attack. Zaylee, Cyrus and Ahika were stunned by what they saw and they were even more stunned by the name Samael called. Demos is most likely the most famous guardian spirit of all after the fall of Samael mostly because of his contribution during the rebellion led by Samael, his position as the Angel of death and his unusual strength amongst other guardian spirits, capable of battling Samael who was at the peak grade of the demi-god realm with a cultivation base of mid-grade of the demi-god realm. They all knew who Demos was so when Samael screamed his name, they couldn''t help but look at the hooded figure with enormous black wings and a black scythe. For a moment there they believed this was the actual angel of death until they noticed his cultivation base is something they can sense and he was only at the peak grade of the silver realm. Roar!!!! Derik roared like a best and shot forward towards the fallen archangel with malicious intentions. His hands vibrated and metal clapping sounds could be heard as thick darkish purple aura burst out of his claws, this time more intense than the previous. "Kill!!!!" He roared at his avatar and it only nodded and flew towards Samael and brandished its scythe at him! "You! You are not Demos... You''re just an avatar... This mortals puppet!..." Samael roared like an injured beast... "You dare play with my intelligence... I will definitely obliterate you... Here and now!" Samael roared and grabbed the hilt of his semi-god tier weapon. His quickly parried the avatars scythe attack, pushing it away in the process and shot towards Derik with malicious intentions. It was quite simple, kill the summoner and the avatar vanishes, so why bother himself with the poor imitation of the guardian spirit, Demos? Death magic: Black lash! Suddenly the death avatar stretched its hands forth and five black beams of dark energy shot out of the fingernails of the avatar, racing towards Samael at a terrifying speed. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Samael''s massive body suddenly halted in midair as the numerous black lashes grabbed onto his hands, legs, and waist preventing from moving any further. The strength of this avatar far surpassed what he expected and at the point, he realized he had made a mistake. "How? How does it possess Demos'' abilities... This no normal puppet!" he said with a panicked expression on his face. At this time, Derik who was already on his way arrived and the dark energy in his claws burst out dangerously. "Silver level secret technique: Brilliant claw!" He roared and struck forward. Seeing this Samael paled, he knew that if he gets struck and the death aura invades his body, he will surely die at the hands of these kids. This death aura is the major reason he was forced to retreat during his battle with Derik and Gerald. His face changed and his eyes showed hints of fear for the first time, with the presence of this puppet which possessed Demos'' abilities, even if it is just at the peak grade of the silver realm it is still powerful enough to hurt him. There are many techniques in Demos'' arsenal that terrify Samael and he wasn''t willing to find out if this puppet can use it. " Life magic: Starburst!" Samael screamed and a second explosion occurred. Derik''s body was shot back meters away and he struggled to regain control over his body. He was covered in black blood and looked more miserable than the others. Samael wasn''t doing any better, his body trembled greatly and he looked paler than ever. He has lost all his strength and all he could think of now is how to escape these hosts! 126 Chapter 126: Fatal blow! Samael looked extremely miserable as he staggered in the dark sky and occasionally swayed to sides as the wind blew. There was no light in his eyes and he looked emaciated and shriveled. The cost of utilizing a high level was way beyond his expectations and at this point, he knew his body would not endure much damages. Thick drops of golden divine blood rolled down Samael''s body and fell to the ground. Instantly the dead and dried up vegetations around began rejuvenating and growing at a very fast pace. In less than three seconds, the barren and desolate land was filled with lush green plants and trees of various kinds began sprouting out of the ground at a shocking speed. Derik''s darkish purple eyes shook as he was shocked by the effect of just a few drops of golden blood on barren land. He finally understood that if Samael wasn''t weakened at all, his corrosive death aura, at this level will never be able to threaten him. Derik soon forgot the plan where he buys the rest of the team 20 minutes and his eyes narrowed, filled with malicious intentions. He knew if he falls to kill or cripple this monster of an angel at this moment, he will never be allowed to live easy again and the threat of a mighty peak grade demi-god archangel will always remain in his mind. "He has to die here¡­ everyone!" Derik roared while wiping away the black blood on his face and with a roar, he turned into a beam of light and dashed forward! "Death¡­ Killlllll!" Derik roared like a beast, ignoring his injuries and grabbing on to the empty void. Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw! Derik descended on the injured fallen archangel and brandished his claws at Samael! Screeeech!!!! The avatar named death let out a loud shriek and shot forward like a spear, its hands suddenly quivered greatly and the massive pitch-black scythe in its hands released terrifying death aura. In an instant, he suddenly appeared above Samael. With Derik by its side, Death quickly brandished its scythe at Samael ruthlessly! Death magic: Purgatory Slash! Bam!!! Bam!!! Bam!!! Bam!!! Numerous darkish purple claw attacks and slash attacks filled the void around Samael blocking all escape routes. "Split the sky!!!" Cyrus was the first to snap out of the daze and attack his enemy ruthlessly, he roared like an ancient beast and swung his hands forward! Instantly the massive divine sword floating behind him trembled greatly after which it turned into a beam of light and shot forward, crossing hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. "Shatter!" Cyrus screamed and the massive sword hacked down at Samael. Samael''s eyes turned cold and his weak body trembled greatly as he urged the little energy in his body to take action. His hands drew numerous strange golden symbols in the void around him at a shocking rate and before the numerous attacks could reach him, he clasped his hands together and roared! "Life magic: Heavens embrace!" Samael roared and a massive pair of golden wings appeared instantly. It wrapped around him like a cocoon, shielding him from the tragedy that was about to befall him! Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Derik, the death avatar and Cyrus backed away after the barrage of attacks and slowly encircled the injured fallen angel. At this point, Samael looked like a walking corpse and his handsome face seemed distorted! His eyes were empty and the bright stars which could be seen within vanished mysteriously. He looked like he wanted to speak but he lacked the strength and he looked more desperate than ever. As he saw that there was no way he could escape Derik and the rest in his current condition he plunged deeper into despair and wished all this was a dream. To be defeated by mortals in such a place and at such a time, he sincerely doubted he would be able to withstand the shame! With deep pain and resentment for the four hosts assaulting him, Samael clasped his hands together and the space around him distorted instantly. He quickly grabbed the void and tore it open, revealing a golden perfect world where everything is holy. "Get back boy!!!! He''s trying to open a passageway to his domain! In there he''s the sole god, even the creature cannot find him there¡­ just let him escape¡­ don''t pursue!" Demos roared in Derik''s head. A terrifying wave of life aura burst out like a tidal wave from the passageway and the ancient passageway expanded at a terrifying speed. Cyrus, Ahika, and Zaylee were terrified by the amount of energy that was released and they quickly retreated. "If he escapes I will never be able to live well¡­ I must kill him here or at least deal a fatal blow!" Derik roared like a savage beast and shot forward like a spear. While Samael is focused on opening the passageway to his domain, he''s vulnerable and since he wasn''t at his peak condition, it took even more time for him to build the gateway. "Kill!!!!" Derik roared and a massive magic array appeared in front of him "Ooo condemned soul of the underworld, the one led astray by the lord of light. Where art thy gods? As the messenger of death who comes from the deepest parts of the underworld, I sentence thee to eternal damnation and rob thee of thy freedom¡­ Death magic: Death bind!!!" Derik roared. Instantly dark clouds gathered above Samael and his passageway and two darkish purple magic arrays appeared by his side. Bam! Bam!! Puti! Two massive bone hands appeared from the magic arrays and quickly proceeded to bind Samael without any prior warning. The hands soon tighten their grip, deepening the injuries Samael has already sustained earlier. Forcing him to spurt out a mouth full of golden divine blood. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and thee thy strength¡­ give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thee and by the end of this day, may thy heads hang on the tip of thy spear! Death magic: Bone spear!" Derik roared, throwing his hands above his head. Boooom! An explosion occurred as all the death aura Derik could muster gathered above his head, taking the shape of a sparkling white bone spear. On the body of the bone spear were ancient demonic symbols that released a terrible amount of death aura. Puti! Derik spurts out a mouth full of corrosive black blood and his body trembled greatly. His fiery purple eyes had dimmed and his complexion turned terribly pale. A weak smile appeared on his face as he swung his hand and the bone spear let out an ear-piercing shriek before turning into a beam of light and shooting forward! Death magic: Touch of death! The death avatar stood gallantly in mid-air like an ancient mountain and with a single finger gesture, a dark halo surrounded Samael''s figure and his concentration was broken. Samael was initially gathering energy from his domain to counter this attack but then, when the dark halo appeared, his chain of thought was disrupted and his mind was flooded with negative emotions. His star-like eyes turned crimson red and his countenance turned savage. Boom! Puti! Before Samael could fight the evil magic of the death avatar, the bone spear rammed into his chest and a terrifying amount of death aura poured in. His savage eyes turned desperate and his majestic temperament vanished entirely. "Only death can solve the grudge between us! Only death!!!" Samael roared like a wounded dragon. Darkish purple aura suddenly burst out of the bone spear and it quickly surged into his majestic body like a tidal wave. Samael''s face turned ugly as he urged the last of his power to draw the natural forces in his domain to bombard the bone hands binding him while he struggled to pull the bone spear out of his body. His cold, malicious gaze remained on Derik as he struggled and he cursed this host to his tenth generation. He was planning to escape into his domain and give up the hunt for the treasures in this dungeon but now that he has taken such a fatal blow undefended, it will take a century or more for him to recover! He blamed his miserable luck on Derik and the other hosts present and swore to come for their heads the very moment he recovers a bit of his power. Puti! Samael spat out a mouth full of black blood mixed with golden blood as he pulled out the bone spear after great effort, tossing it away. He saw the flame of anger in Derik''s eyes and dared not linger in this world anymore so he quickly turned into a beam of light and shot into his domain''s passageway! "Good kid¡­ You won''t have to worry about Samael for a few centuries¡­ I''m sure you will be able to stand against him by the time he recovers!" Demos laughed in his head. "You are the one who asked me to run¡­ now you are talking like this? Damn you, man!" Derik muttered with a weak smile on his face. "Well¡­ don''t blame me for being a caring young man¡­ I can''t take chances with your life¡­ you have to listen to me more!" Demos snorted. ...................................... At that moment, various forces of the four kingdoms in the Aldemar continent appeared from the dark clouds above, dashing towards Derik and the other host''s direction. Leading the charge were the silver realm leaders of each group and they all wore frustrated expressions on their faces. "Where is he!" Gerald roared at first but when he saw the condition of the environment and the four hosts present he quickly stopped and backed off. On their way here they heard loud noises, explosions, and thunderclaps and they feared that Samael would have killed the four hosts before they arrived. Breaking through the barrier which Samael used to bind them with five drops of his golden divine blood was what kept them away for a while. "Samael won''t be a problem for a while¡­ he received a fatal injury this time and ran into his domain¡­ he won''t recover for at least a hundred years!" Derik said, giving Gerald a weak smile. Everyone who heard this was flabbergasted and they instinctively took another step back. How could four teenagers do something which the entire allied forces of the four kingdoms present struggled to achieve? They finally remembered the stories of the incredible intimidation of the guardian spirit hosts, capable of battling the whole forces of the continent and not falling into a disadvantaged position for a long time! They became warier of the guardian spirit hosts and instinctively put up their guard against them. Anna Gyro was scared by Derik''s words and quickly retreated, hiding behind the Gyro kingdom expedition troops. She was trying to escape Derik''s line of sight! "Derik¡­" Elsa''s voice reached his ears and he turned his attention to the blonde-haired girl at the center Elven expedition troops, with her hands clutching her chest. His visage remained indifferent as he scanned through the numerous elves present and didn''t bother to speak to any of them, only giving Elsa a slight nod. "I''ll be leaving first then!" Derik said to Gerald. He nodded at Cyrus before turning into a beam of purple light and shooting into the darkness above with his death avatar following tightly behind. This time no one dared to stop him, from the fearful looks on the faces of Cyrus, Ahika, and Zaylee, they knew that Derik had showcased a power capable of scaring them and they weren''t even sure they can beat this three in a fair fight. So why stand against the man they are scared of? They could only stare at the place where Derik flew towards and pray they will not encounter this monster when he''s in a foul mood. "Peak grade of the bronze realm¡­ this kid is a monster¡­ he''s truly a beast¡­ I fear that only Kalos, Kuen, Francis, and Cyrus can stand against him in the nearest future¡­ every other person will not be worth his attention¡­ including myself" Gerald muttered with a complicated look on his face. 127 Chapter 127: Treasure! 1 His darkish purple fiery eyes dimmed as his body shook and black blood burst out of almost all the openings in his body. Derik has been traveling for over two hours and still hasn''t found the right path! Naturally, he would rely on Demos but for some strange reason, the angel of death couldn''t locate the right path to follow unlike before. According to it, this is a special space where he and other guardian spirits cannot intrude, he can only depend on what Derik sees and hears. "Damn it!" Derik muttered as he laid comfortably in the hands of his death avatar, instructing it to take him to any secluded location, where he can rest and meditate. He silently praised Demos in his heart for bringing up such a brilliant idea concerning the avatar issue. Even though he could summon the souls of the dead warriors which rested in his domain and was reluctant to sacrifice them for the creation of just one avatar, he is actually happy he did it. Owning an avatar that has a high cultivation base and a mind of its own is something he was quite happy with. He finally understands the usefulness of having a comrade one can trust with his/her life. He shut his eyelids with confidence, knowing fully well that no single person in this desolate land can defeat his death avatar which had a cultivation base of peak grade of the silver realm! Even if the leaders of all the four kingdoms present should join hands, the won''t find it easy to deal with his puppet and may even end up suffering grave losses!.... "Why can''t you show me the right path to follow?... Could this be a domain of another being at your level and even greater?" Derik asked while diving deeper into the eternal darkness that is his domain. "Take a step back and stay calm¡­ throwing all these questions at me, all at once won''t really help you much " Demos laughed out loud as he suddenly appeared in front of Derik."Kid¡­ you really did good today¡­ the fallen archangel won''t be a problem for at least a hundred years¡­ you don''t seem to understand how important this is¡­" Demos laughed. Derik simply snorted and looked away, he could clearly remember Demos screaming at him to escape and now the guardian spirit seems to be enjoying his victory more than him. "We don''t have much time here¡­ let''s focus okay?" Derik reminded himSwooooosh!Demos'' figure flashed, vanished. and reappeared beside Derik with a sinister smile on his face which could make anyone turn stiff but Derik is not an ordinary person. "If I can''t find the way forward and guide you effectively, that simply means the other guardian spirits can''t do the same¡­ everyone is moving blindly so you have nothing to worry about" Demos snickered. Hearing this, Derik finally realized why Demos was calm unless a group possessed heaven-defying luck they can never get to the treasures hidden in this place."The creator¡­ This sky rift is it''s domain right?... Just like Samael¡­ the creator should have a domain as well!" Derik asked suddenly. "Partially¡­. The sky rift only led you all to other parts of this planet you live in, that''s why I could aid you at that time¡­ As we too possess a certain level of omini presence, I could easily watch over you back then¡­ but the moment you fell into that cluster of dark clouds beneath the cliff, I lost all forms of connection and can only see through your eyes and that of the death avatar!... The first two floors were just hidden places in this little world of yours¡­ but this place is definitely a domain most likely created by the creator to serve this very purpose¡­ that explains why I can''t intrude¡­ the other guardian spirits should be feeling a bit frustrated as well" Demos slowly spat out everything he knew concerning their current predicament, not daring to hold back anything "Wow¡­ this domain possesses Mountains, vegetations and others¡­ while mine is just darkness, why is that?" Derik asked after pondering on the issue for a while. "Your realm is too low¡­ what the heck, you shouldn''t even have a domain in the first place until you break into the demi-god realm¡­ you should be happy I helped you create something like this" Demos answered. The two wandered in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, after which Derik''s consciousness returned to his body. His eyelids yanked open and he bit down hard on his lower lips due to frustration. At this very moment he didn''t know what to do or where to go, he could only sit hopelessly and think. Since there is no such thing as night and day in this little world, Derik couldn''t tell how much time has passed while he was still meditating. He got on his feet and stared at his death avatar for a while before departing once again. According to Demos, there is no reason for him to hasten things unnecessarily "Clear your mind and work diligently¡­. Clear your mind and work diligently¡­. Clear your mind and work diligently¡­" Derik kept repeating those words for a while as he dashed out of the cave and continued his journey. With his advanced sensing abilities, he searched for other forms of life in this desolate land while he moved. He wandered most of the time and when tired, Derik would rest and meditate, summoning his death avatar to guard him while he''s vulnerable. With so much time on his hands, Derik stabilized his realm, he could finally tell how much each and every ability of his improved and how well they improved. He also realized that his black blood seemed to possess the same corrosive ability of his death aura but it was nowhere as strong as that of Samael which could create abundant life with just a few drops of his golden blood. These sudden changes thrilled Derik, knowing that it won''t be long before he becomes more like Demos, a demi-god level being. He also believed that sudden changes also made him more intimidating and mysterious. At this point, he began to wonder what the previous hosts of the angel of death who achieved higher realms looked like. 128 Chapter 128: Treasure! 2 Since this domain did not possess any means to differentiate between day and night, Derik really didn''t know how long he has spent in this domain. "How long has it been?" Derik asked "A month plus¡­" Demos was reluctant to answer at first but he cooperated later on. Hearing this Derik only shook his head and fell flat on his belly, it has been a month in which he has been walking and now he has realized how much time has gone by, he felt tired for the first time. "A full month¡­. How is that possible?... How can I spend so much time in this domain and not achieve anything¡­ how sure am I that the others haven''t found the treasure?" Derik spat out everything in his mind, not minding what Demos felt. It became clear to Demos that Derik is frustrated and not tired. He has lost faith in this goal and truly if it were any other person they probably would have given up a long time ago. Traveling alone and traveling with a party are two completely different things. In this situation, the company is necessary and he lacks the power to aid Derik in that aspect. "If someone else has laid hands on the treasure, every other person will be ejected from this domain, this I am certain of!" Demos said resolutely. "...." Derik only sighed and pulled himself up, not bothering to say another world to Demos. Clap! His leg struck the supposedly solid floor and strangely sank in. Instantly energy was forcefully drawn out of Derik''s body and no matter how he battled against this strange force he couldn''t gain the upper hand, instead, he was falling into a disadvantaged situation. "Crap!" Derik''s eyebrows knitted together as he felt his aura draining fast! Boom! Booom!! Boooooom!!! The ground beneath him trembled and sky blue energy poured out, surprisingly the energy circulated at a slow pace and after 3 long minutes, an ancient symbol formed around Derik and a trail of blue energy drifted off even further into the distance. "Damn it!" Derik gritted his teeth in pain as he stared at the trail of blue energy ahead. He felt empty and exhausted, this ancient formation had drained more than ninety percent of his power. If he were still at the mid-grade of the bronze realm, he probably wouldn''t have survived this. "Hahahahahahaha! Your luck is too good kid! Luckily you are the only one who has stumbled upon on this hidden formation, our ultimate goal is not too far from us now¡­ quickly, follow the path, it will definitely lead us to our destination, the treasures of this sky rift will be ours!" Demos'' laughter echoed in Derik''s head. "Alright! Alright!! Don''t scream!!!" Derik roared and used the little amount of energy left in him to dash forward. His eyes narrowed slightly and his eyebrows were knitted together as he kept pushing toward when he noticed the trail of light was slowly dimming. "What are you waiting for! Don''t hold back, we must get to the destination before it fades!" Demos roared in Derik''s head. "Fuck it!" Derik roared in response and his energy suddenly spiked, violently bursting out of his body! Booooom!!! Instantly Derik turned into a beam of purple light and shot into the air like an arrow, flowing the trail of light at his max speed. ...... After close to five minutes of travel, Derik finally stopped. His eyes wore complicated emotions as the darkish purple aura around him slowly faded. He kept staring at the strange formation beneath him. Beneath him were four massive boulders that all possessed strange ancient runes on them. At the center was a small circular stone platform which possessed the same strange and ancient writings "Is this it?" Derik tried to confirm with Demos first before making a move "Yes¡­ this is a teleportation formation¡­ you did it, kid¡­ hahaha! Your luck is just too good!" Demos laughed "Teleportation formation? During my time at the adventurers association, even though I dedicated most of my time to training, I still made time for my studies¡­. This does not look like any teleportation formation I have seen" Derik argued. "Don''t argue with me kid, just get down there¡­. This is an ancient teleportation formation and that''s all you need to know!" Demos quickly snapped back With a sigh and a nod, Derik shot down like a comet and in just a second he was at the stone platform. The moment his feet touched the platform, the whole world shook and it suddenly looked like the world was going to crumble at any moment. Fissures tore the earth apart and balls of scorching flames rained down from the cluster of darkness above. Seeing this, everyone panicked for the first time, with only a few realizing the implications of the sudden change .......... "Someone found it¡­ someone has found the treasure!" Isabel Screamed "What now?" A silver realm elf asked "We will soon be teleported out of this world¡­ we will wait for the team that has found it at the moonlight forest¡­ I am pretty sure the other parties will do the same" Isabel replied after pondering on the matter for a while before speaking "Do you think Derik is the one who found it?" Elsa suddenly asked " I hope not¡­ for his own good" Isabel quickly replied, violent light flashed in her eyes as she stared into the distance ........... "Crap¡­ someone found this before us!" Anna frowned as she spoke "Hahahahaha! I''m pretty sure its that kid¡­ his luck is just too good!" Gerald laughed " And if it''s him¡­ I hope you will put aside your gratitude towards him and help me put him down!" Anna frowned at Gerald while speaking "Come on Lil sis, my gratitude towards that kid won''t overshadow my duty towards the Kingdom itself¡­ we will wait at the moonlight forest and when he shows up¡­ we will strike!... You will be helping us with this Cyrus¡­ now you''re at the mid-grade of the bronze realm¡­ if you go all out, I don''t think you will fall into a disadvantaged situation!" Gerald said with a sweet smile on his face. Hearing his words, Anna and Cyrus nodded in agreement. ......¡­ Meanwhile¡­ Derik was suddenly shrouded in blue light and his body was quickly pulled into another dimension. In here there is no cloud, stars, earth, water, only light! Divine Light! The light pierced into Derik''s body, threatening to destroy the darkness in his soul. Even now, he can''t contact Demos¡­. "What is this place?" Derik muttered 129 Chapter 129: Legacy! 1 "Demos¡­ Demos!" Derik cried out over and over again but no one responded. In this domain of divine light, he could feel his death magic been greatly suppressed and his dark and tainted soul slowly perishing. He knew that if he is unable to escape this place any time soon, he will perish. He twirled around frantically and scanned the surrounding with his darkish purple fiery eyes, but he still failed to see through the dazzling light, therefore he couldn''t make out a thing. "Aaaaah¡­ the one who cleared the dungeon is the death mage of this era¡­ Interesting... Demos has trained you well¡­ You will most likely become the strongest wielder of the death magic¡­ that is if you manage to leave the moonlight forest alive" A majestic voice which sounded like roaring thunder and lightning shook the entire domain. Instantly, the dazzling light of the domain reduced and Derik could finally breathe easily. The voice of the unknown being who controls this space scared the crap out of him and he couldn''t bear it. Black blood rolled down his ears and it seemed as if he would go deaf at any moment. "Who¡­ who¡­ who are you?" Derik stuttered as he spoke. He didn''t dare to show his face, instead, he hid it with his hands. "I am the one who created this dungeon, the one who created this world¡­ the one who holds the life of all man, animal or beast¡­" The voice roared "The creator!'' Derik hissed in astonishment and quickly retreated. Derik has heard of the creator on numerous occasions and in all accounts, he has been portrayed as the lord of light which vanquishes all evil in the world. Why won''t he be scared of this being? At this point, Derik was drowning in despair and fear, waiting for this absolute being who easily defeated the fallen archangel of the life element when he was at the peak grade of the demi-god realm, only a step away from the god realm! How can a mere peak grade bronze realm warrior such as himself stand against this being? He finally realized why the dazzling light of this domain can easily subdue Demos and cleanse his tainted soul "Fear not¡­ the holy church, the winged men, they are all descendants of the fallen angel Samael¡­ the being they claim to be the creator and make people worship is not myself, it is Samael¡­" The creator spoke in a soothing low tone which made Derik feel relaxed. "I created all the guardian spirits and elements that this world possesses, why destroy my own creation. Be it death or life element, I do not discriminate, they are all my power, so there is no reason for me to destroy you¡­ there is no reason to fear¡­ Little death mage" the creator added. Hearing this Derik finally calmed down, but that still didn''t stop him from hiding his face. The divine power that was attacking his soul slowly faded and he quickly regained his strength, but he still couldn''t contact Demos. "So¡­ what is this place?... what is the sky rift?... what is the purpose of this dungeon?... and if you are the creator, why didn''t you take the chance to defeat Samael while we fought against him¡­ I know he rebelled against you and to escape your wrath he ran into his domain where you can''t reach him" Derik spat out all the questions in his mind immediately. "Hahahahaha! So many questions from a child¡­ interesting¡­ What is this place? this is one of my numerous domains¡­ the sky rift is just a passageway leading to other, unexplored parts of this planet¡­ the main purpose is to equip the inhabitants of this world with proper equipment for what is to come¡­ and why would I interfere with the business of mortals? Samael''s quarrel with you all is not my concern¡­ even if he should break into the god realm, I will still defeat him¡­ Originally, I planned to kill him off if he defeats you all and made his way through the ancient teleportation formation¡­ but you and the other hosts prevented such an event, so no worries" The creator took his time to reply each and every question thrown at him. "If you want to equip your creations for what is to come¡­ why make us fight each other to reach here¡­ why the conflict?" Derik asked "It is simple¡­ entertainment..." The Creator answered honestly "What?" Derik was startled by the answer he got "Isn''t it obvious? I have been alive from the beginning of time¡­ I too get bored¡­ why did you think I created you all? To serve me? Hahahaha! Not really¡­ it''s all for the entertainment! This is necessary, lest I get bored¡­ and trust me, no one wants to see me get bored" The creator said nonchalantly. Hearing this Derik was shocked, all this while and even now, the world holds the creator in high esteem. If they found out they are all created with the sole purpose of entertaining this godly being, how will they feel? Derik gritted his teeth in anger but dared not utter a word against the creator, he finally understood one of the reasons why Samael tried to rebel against the creator and partially cursed Demos for getting in his way. "I can read your mind¡­ I know you are discontented with my actions but it doesn''t really matter to me¡­ Do you think that Samael would have survived the encounter with me if I wished him dead? Impossible¡­ he would have been obliterated if I wanted him dead¡­ but I let him live¡­ I know he gains more power as long as his worshippers and dedicated apostles of the holy church keep praying to him¡­ yet I let them live because they are not considered a threat to me¡­ Samael is not a threat¡­ even if all the guardian spirits band together, they cannot stand my power¡­ I AM ABSOLUTE! PERFECTION!!!" The creator''s voice roared like thunder once again. But this time, Derik was not scared, he pulled away his hands from his face and stared into the blinding light at the distance with a frown on his face. How can the world serve a being like this? A tyrant! "Nothing is absolute¡­ no one is truly immortal¡­ claiming to be perfection simply means there is no room for growth¡­" Derik sneered "Hahahahaha! This one has a backbone¡­ brave kid¡­ really brave¡­ the others who have succeeded in clearing the dungeon in the past bowed before me and showered me with kind words, hiding their anger¡­ cowards! But you¡­ you are different¡­ Do you dare stand and speak your mind right to my face? Excellent! I will give you something special as a reward for your courage¡­ if this world had more people like you, then things won''t be so boring¡­ I like you, kid and I am watching closely!'' The creator''s laughter echoed for minutes even after his presence faded. This time, three items shrouded in balls of light fell from the above and quickly dashed into Derik''s storage ring even before he could react. "The expedition troops of the four kingdoms are waiting for you at the moonlight forest with malicious intentions¡­ let''s not keep them waiting¡­ I like you kid¡­ hopefully, you won''t die here¡­ off you go!" the creator''s words echoed in Derik''s head and he was soon shrouded by a ball of dazzling light. Woooooosh! Derik reappeared on the massive boulder where the sky rift appeared and all around him and even in the forest were the remnants of the various expedition troops of all four kingdoms. They all wore malicious faces as their murderous gaze remained fixed on Derik. "And this is the hard part¡­" Demos'' voice echoed in his head 130 Chapter 130: Legacy! 2 "I just had a chat with the creator and I must say it wasn''t pleasant¡­" Derik simply ignored all the members of the expedition troops of the four kingdoms, speaking to Demos calmly. "I see¡­ I am quite sure you question my allegiance now and wonder why I didn''t aid Samael in his attempt to overthrow the creator with millions of angels on his side¡­ am I right?" Demos spoke in a low tone this time as if he was trying to prevent someone from eavesdropping on their conversation. "Yes, you are correct and mind you that your next words will determine our relationship as partners in the future" Derik knitted his eyebrows as he spoke these words. ..................¡­.. Seeing the death mage suddenly frown, the heart of all the warriors below the silver realm present skipped a beat and they all took a step back. They have already seen how powerful Derik is in his fights against the formal archangel Samael and even the host of the fire guardian spirit Ahika. They all knew that at this moment, even the any of the various leaders of the expedition troops of all four kingdoms should battle any host of a guardian spirit right here and now they were not sure they will gain the upper hand easily and these leaders are at the mid-grade of the silver realm. At this point, they were aware of the terrifying and intimidating power each host possesses even at the bronze realm and they dare not look at them. Now they are faced with a kid whose ability terrified the other hosts, what can they do? They can only watch and wait for their leaders to make a move first before they follow. ....................... "He''s the one that got it¡­ I believe we made a terrible mistake not aiding him in his battle against the lizardmen. The elven kingdom of Alda has lost a powerful ally!" Isabel said with a bitter smile on her face as she stared at Derik''s figure, standing on the massive stone platform "Then we should join hands with the other kingdoms and put him down for good¡­ if we are lucky we can get a good share of the loot" a male elf at the low grade of the silver realm said with murderous intentions flashing in his eyes. "No!..." Elsa suddenly screamed, "He will still give us face if we help him¡­ we can''t afford to deepen his hatred towards us because of our greed" Elsa said. "Elsa is right¡­ the fact that he stands their nonchalantly, not minding the fact that he''s surrounded by nearly three thousand warriors shows that he is not afraid¡­ I''m sure he''s speaking to his guardian spirit, once he''s done¡­ he will let loose hell on earth! Have our troops retreat further into the moonlight forest or else, we too may suffer casualties¡­ for now, we will just observe, what will happen next depends on his performance in the upcoming battle!" Isabel said calmly after pondering on the issue for a while. .......................... "He''s the one that got it¡­ this kid needs to die here and now!" Anna hissed while staring at Gerald with cold eyes. "Didn''t I assure you of my help in this issue?... you don''t need to worry about my allegiance" Gerald said casually and nodded at the members of the miracle squad and Cyrus. Signaling them to get ready. Seeing this Anna calmed down a bit and sank her white teeth into her red lips as she waited for Derik to act. ............................. Meanwhile, "I had to defend the creator, amongst all the guardian spirits at that time, only I had witnessed the glory of the creator and instantly knew that this is not a battle Samael could win. Even if a hundred Samael''s battled the creator they still would have suffered terrible defeat¡­ I know the creator is not the person you envisioned but there is nothing you can do about it for now¡­ we archangels have so many seals placed on us which makes it difficult for us to advance without the creator''s approval, that''s why Samael never made it to the god realm¡­ the same goes for all the humans that break into the Demi-god realm. Why do you think they all mysteriously vanish? Once any of his creations reach the demi-god realm, the creator quickly takes the person away and seals his growth making him or her a loyal dog for his purpose¡­ this is why no demi-god realm human or beast has ever been seen¡­" Demos explained. "So what now¡­ after all of this and I reach the Demi-god realm, then what will happen to me?" Derik asked "Your case will be different, that''s why I invested so much on you¡­ I can''t give you many details now, all I ask you to do is to trust me" Demos said resolutely. "What about the threat you spoke of back then¡­ is it the creator?" Derik asked after pondering for a while. "No¡­ but it is something at the creator''s level¡­ to defeat that you have to be at the creator''s level¡­ Just trust me Demos¡­ there are eyes and ears everywhere even in your own mind¡­ that''s why I dare not speak the details of my plan to you¡­" Demos said Hearing this, a sinister smile appeared on Derik''s face and he turned his attention to the remnants of the expedition troops of all the kingdoms and a glint of pride flashed in his eyes as he looked down on them from the massive stone platform. "Death¡­ come out!" Derik roared and his shadow expanded. Gradually a hooded being in a black and purple cloak, wielding a massive black scythe emerged. Its fiery darkish purple eyes burned fiercely and its massive pair of black wings stood gallantly on its back. It floated above Derik''s head and didn''t even bother to look at Derik''s enemies, patiently waiting for its orders. "Now I think about it¡­ after I left the strange domain with the treasures¡­ I felt refreshed, my limiter was placed back on and there was no backlash, the energy drained from the teleportation formation also returned to me¡­" Derik said to Demos "Aaaah! The creator must have you in his eyes to return you here at your peak condition¡­ now we won''t have to worry much¡­ you will reap a huge harvest from this battle so I advise you put in your best" Demos laughed. Derik suddenly laughed out loud, which stunned everyone. Ancient, black markings appeared on his body as he feeds off the negative emotions of the hundreds and thousands of people present who bore evil intentions for him. His leg left the ground and he quickly levitated into the air, standing by the side of his death avatar gallantly while looking down on the people below. "So you have chosen death" Derik laughed! 131 Chapter 131: An epic end 1 "Mere mortals dare to stand in my way, hahaha! hahaha! You all must be tired of living!" Derik laughed with a crazed expression on his face and his hands throw above his head. "Ha! This kid is arrogant!" "Does he dare face us all alone?" "He can brag in such a situation? This kid doesn''t value his life!" "It seems he has forgotten we have three hosts of guardian spirits on our side, does he think he can win?" "Ha! Don''t forget he lost against the host of the fire guardian spirit, Ahika! Where is he getting all this confidence from?" Numerous silver realm warriors of the expedition troops belonging to the four kingdoms were displeased with Derik''s actions and did not hold back, lashing out at him viciously with all the foul words they could think of at that moment. "Hmph! Kids¡­ Kill them all" Derik didn''t even spare these people a glance and quickly instructed his death avatar to make a move. Death magic: Shriek of the dead! Screeeeeeeeeech! The death avatar instantly let out an ear-piercing cry before casting its spell. Suddenly multiple massive darkish purple magic arrays appeared below the clouds and terrifying death aura floated around, tainting even the white clouds, turning them purple. Death magic: Death shower! Instantly, multiple massive flaming skulls which were the size of two to three full-grown men put together fell from the sky, raining down on everyone in the moonlight forest. This was a large scale spell which could affect a very large area easily! This can only be done by warriors or mages at the peak grade of the silver realm, just a step away from the legendary gold realm! "Ooo god¡­ how does this kid have a peak grade silver realm monster serving him, Is this one of the treasures of the dungeon?" "Ooo crap¡­ he''s not even planning to spare us! That damn kid!" An elf screamed as he ran for his life. Meanwhile, Derik paid no attention to these people and simply focused on his incantations with his eyes closed. He drew ancient symbols in the void with his hands. "Death magic: Accursed gate of the underworld!" Derik''s eyes suddenly yanked open and he roared. His hands were clasped together as death aura poured out of his body and flowed into the void, instantly a massive ancient gate began taking shape and the symbols drawn earlier flew towards the gate that was still taking shape. "Rise!" Derik roared Bam! After the massive gate took shape, it yanked open and released a terrifying amount of pure death aura which instantly stole the life force of the first set of warriors who were closest to it. "Shadow Lurker, its time to serve your master¡­ Go! Kill them all!!!" Derik roared as he drew in the souls of all the dead warriors and mages. "Yes, master!" A deep voice echoed from within the gates and a pair of crimson red eyes appeared from nowhere. Instantly the shadow lurker shot out of the gate, straight into the nearest crowd of warriors present "Monster! This kid is a monster! He has to die now!!!!!" Anna screamed as she quickly readied her two-handed massive magic broadsword. "Great warriors and mages of the Gyro kingdom¡­ Charge!" She roared and turned into a beam of light, shooting towards Derik like a beam of light. Her massive sword was soon shrouded in terrifying red flames as she skillfully maneuvered through the flaming skulls and those she couldn''t escape, the soldiers of the expedition troops below would join hands to attack it, in a bid to destroy it, creating a path for her. Seeing Anna approaching, Derik''s expression turned ugly and anger began boiling in his heart. "This is the day you die at my hands, Kill her!" He roared Screeeeeeeeech! The death avatar let out a cry before shooting forward. In just a second, it appeared right in front of Anna with the massive black scythe in its hands. Purgatory Slash! Terrifying death energy poured into the scythe and it trembled greatly as it hacked down on her. Boom! Puff! Seeing the incoming scythe, Anna didn''t dare to waste any time, she instantly raised her flaming broadsword over her head in a bid to block the incoming attack but to her greatest surprise, the unexpected happened. The scythe cleaved through the silver level magic weapon, completely severing her left hand from her body in one go. "Princess!" "Princess!!" The soldiers screamed in panic as they watched the hand of the mighty princess of Gyro free fall to the ground and droplets of her hot blood sprinkle on them from above. "Aaaaaaaaah!" Anna screamed in pain as she desperately tried to retreat, but the powerful hands of the death avatar lunged for her throat, getting hold of it while attempting to choke the life out of her. Dragon flame magic: Dragons breath! Yanking her lips open, a massive torrent of crimson red flames rolled out and completely consumed the death avatar. With this opportunity, Anna was able to free herself from the firm grip of the death avatar and widen the distance between them. She looked up to the sky and saw Derik''s eyes fixed on her, with a scornful smile on his face "If this is the best the princess of the Gyro kingdom can do¡­ them I am highly disappointed" Derik laughed. His fiery darkish purple eyes burned so brightly that it even glowed fiercely during the day time, his death aura thickened greatly as he battle continued and Anna instantly knew this happened because of the numerous souls he has consumed so far. At this point, these people already understood the way Derik''s abilities work and why he has refused to leave. The appearance of the two peak grade silver level monsters on his side took everyone by surprise but the fact remains that if the battle continues, his death is imminent yet he chose to stay back. The only answer to this is power, it became clear to everyone that he wishes to use the death of the thousands of soldiers here to gather enough power to break into the silver realm. If not, why would he take such risk? Why stay back? Even Gerald felt a massive headache when he understood Derik''s intentions, he is yet to command his forces to make a move against the death mage, simply because of his relationship with this kids family but now Derik has succeeded in taking the lives of so many members of the four kingdoms expedition troops, there is no going back. Even if the Gyro kingdom won''t penalize him for not making a move, the other kingdoms will not let him live easy. "Go¡­" Gerald muttered to Cyrus who also wore a frown on his face. He turned to the other members of the adventurers association present and frowned. "Block all escape routes¡­ make sure he''s unable to escape through that gate! Miracle adventurer team, help me suppress the beasts he summoned while the other hosts deal with him¡­ move out, everyone!" He ordered. ............. Seeing Cyrus make a move, the various expedition troops of the other kingdoms started making their moves as well, they all sent the guardian spirit hosts on their team while the rest will focus on blocking all escape routes and suppressing Derik''s death avatar and the shadow lurker. Soon, three figures with terrifying energy comparable to Derik''s rose into the air with strange expressions on their faces. At this point, Derik knew the real battle was about to start and the smile on his face vanished as he prepared himself for the most difficult battle of his life so far! 132 Chapter 132: An epic end 2 "Do you think you can win?" Derik''s expression turned ugly as he saw Ahika, Cyrus, and Zaylee approach. Cyrus simply smiled bitterly and looked at Derik with a complicated expression on his face for a while before responding. "Of course¡­ when have I ever lost to you?" Cyrus laughed. Hearing this a warm smile appeared on Derik''s rigid face "If I can remember clearly¡­ you lost twice in a row¡­ or was that three times?" Derik laughed. "I truly don''t know what you are talking about¡­" Cyrus said "Don''t worry¡­ I won''t lose this time¡­ I will make you admit defeat!" Derik laughed and dashed forward He threw his hands forward and a massive magic array appeared right in front of him and death aura burst out of his body. "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out of his mouth and dashed towards the three hosts like a tidal wave. "Life magic: Guardian spirit divine sword; Heaven shattering sword!" Cyrus roared and a massive sword the size of a small mountain appeared above his head. His snow-white eyes released a golden glow and the sword instantly flew towards the sea of darkish purple flames. With a single slash, it split the sea of flames in two and went further to assault Derik with its deadly might! "Shit!" Derik roared as he quickly retreated. His hands trembled as more darkish purple flames poured out of them, trying to stop the massive divine sword from splitting him in two. At this point, he realized how powerful the guardian path is. For a while now he had only watched Cyrus fight Samael with this ability of his, he knew it was actually powerful but he never really expected it to be this amazing. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of blood as the pointy tip of the massive sword slashed at him, leaving a deep cut on his chest. "Hahahahaha! As expected of my rival¡­ its really unfortunate that we always end up in opposing sides" Derik laughed hysterically, revealing his white teeth which were stained with his black blood. "It''s a pity we always have to go against each other¡­ the few years we spent together was my favorite, To this day I still wish it didn''t come to an end" Cyrus said with a sad look on his face. "Don''t let your resolve quiver at this moment when it matters most¡­give it your all and enjoy the moment¡­ You have a bright future with the kingdom, don''t leave because of me¡­ It doesn''t matter who wins this battle, we will always be friends" Derik said with a charming smile on his bloodied face. Hearing these words, a warm smile bloomed on Cyrus'' face and all his doubt vanished, replaced with sheer determination to win the battle. "Well¡­what are you waiting for? Let''s join hands and bring him down!" Cyrus urged the other two before waving his hands forward, sending his massive divine sword flying at Derik for a second attack. "I will give you a quick and painless death my Friend¡­ Guardian spirit Divine sword, Split the heaven!" Cyrus roared and the size of the sword increased reasonably, so did the power. "I''m sorry Death mage¡­ But it ends here¡­ Blazing flame magic: Blue flames of the Creator! " Ahika roared and blue flames burst out of his body. He roared and a sea of blue scorching flames rolled forward, threatening to completely consume Derik! "Lightning magic: Typhoon!" Zaylee screamed, spitting out a see of lightning. All bolts of lightning intertwined in mere seconds taking the form of a hurricane. In just a few seconds all three hosts released terrifying attacks, obviously attempting to one-shot Derik. "That''s the spirit!" Derik laughed like a mad man as he drew more power from their negative emotions towards him and the negative emotions of those keeping his shadow lurker and death avatar from aiding him. As a result of his ability to draw power from the negative emotions of everyone present, Derik''s power level quickly rose to the mid-grade of the silver realm only a step away from the peak grade of the silver realm! Rising as the fight escalates. Unfortunately, the backlash of such an amazing came fast and swift, robbing him of his senses and forcefully make him fall into a state of bedevilment. ROAR!!!! Derik''s darkish purple fiery eyes turned blood red and numerous black ancient symbols filled his body. His animal instincts were awakened forcing him to sprout fangs and claws! "Secret silver realm combat technique: Werewolves Roar!" Derik screamed and his death aura burst out! His death aura quickly rose into the air, taking the form of a majestic werewolf with darkish purple fiery eyes and flaming purple fur. On its body were ancient symbols and this beast released an ancient aura, more terrifying than ever! "Roar!" Derik screamed ROAR!!! The werewolf roared and brandished both its claws at the numerous attacks flying towards Derik before diving in head first. Boooom! Boooom!! Boooom!!! Puti! Derik''s body shot back several meters back with multiple streaks of lightning twirling around his burnt body. By the time Derik regained control of himself, he was already kilometers away from them. A huge part of his flesh has been burnt off and streaks of lightning dashed through his body, restricting his mobility to a certain level. His eyes were bloodshot and he kept mumbling inaudible words to himself repeatedly. Cyrus who had the intention to give Derik a quick death to save him from all the pain was discontented by Derik''s current condition and was hesitant to launch a final attack. He cursed Derik silently, asking why he tried to counter even when he knew their combined strength surpasses his. "Why¡­" He muttered. Meanwhile¡­.. Everyone else who saw Derik''s current condition jubilated in their mind and their fighting spirit rose greatly and they increased the pressure placed on the death avatar and Shadow lurker. "FINISH HIM!" Anna who was pale due to loss of blood screamed in ecstasy. 133 Chapter 133: An epic end 3 "Is that it?" Derik laughed hysterically with a crazed expression on his face. His crimson red eyes remained fixed on an empty space in front of him and it seemed as if he was talking to someone else. Half of his face and hair scorched by fire and lightning so bad that not even a piece of flesh could be seen on that part of his body. His body trembled and swayed weakly under the force of the wind and it looked like he would fall at any moment, but the crazed smile on his face never faded. "How can he still stand after that hit?" Cyrus muttered, his eyes portrayed a mixture of fear and sorrow which he felt at this moment. "No more holding back, everyone¡­ Let''s end it with the next strike!" Cyrus roared and threw his hand forward. "Guardian spirit divine sword¡­ split the heavens!" The massive divine sword floating behind him let out a loud cry before dashing into the clouds. In mere seconds, the divine sword was already above Derik pressing down on him like a mountain. Meanwhile, Zaylee roared and all her lightning energy was released in an instant! "Lightning magic: Typhoon!" She roared, spitting out a sea of black lighting which soon intertwined, taking the form of a hurricane. "Not yet!" She roared. "Swallow!" Instantly the size of the hurricane doubled and the aura which it released was only inferior to that of the massive divine sword which Cyrus summoned. "Blazing fire magic: Blue flames of the creator!" Ahika roared and a sea of blue flames poured out of his hands, rolling towards Derik. "Burst!" Ahika roared and the sea of fire enlarged even further and quickly attempted to swallow Derik, whole! ........ "It''s over for that kid" Isabel muttered with a bitter smile on her face. "No¡­ Lady Isabel we have to help him" Elsa cried out as he stared at Derik who was about to be entirely consumed by the joint power of the three hosts. "Even if we did, do you think our team can stand against the three hosts? We will be wiped out shortly" Isabel said with a bitter smile on her face. ......¡­ "What the hell are you doing¡­ Come on kid run¡­ The gate is right behind you, just flee" Gerald muttered, unable to hide the anxiety in his heart. He failed to understand why Derik refused to flee in the beginning even when he knew the attack was way beyond his capabilities. He suddenly had this feeling that Derik was actually trying to get himself killed. Why hasn''t he even taking off his limiters? Gerald knew that if Derik decides to escape at this very moment, no one will be able to stop him especially since no one can actually go anywhere close to the accursed gate of the underworld due to the terrible aura which surrounds it. .........¡­ ¡­In a very dark world, void of any form of light¡­. "Derik¡­ don''t you think its time we act?" Demos said looking at Derik with a charming smile on his face. "Yea, yea¡­ the next attack will actually kill me if it hits" Derik laughed. The Derik in this dimension also had the same injuries which the one out in the real word had. His face was covered in black blood and his skin was slowly regenerating at a visible rate. "Its been so long that I have forgotten what it feels like to possess werewolf perks¡­ the healing ability sure comes in handy" Derik laughed weakly. "Why let yourself suffer this much?" Demos asked "Well¡­ I want to leave behind a legacy¡­ I want people to be scared of my name when they are told the tale of what happened today¡­" Derik responded "In ten years max, you plan to return to the Gyro kingdom¡­ Of what use is this?" Demos asked "I don''t just plan to return, wipe out the royal family and some nobles and then rest¡­ I have plans and I need a powerful reputation in this journey¡­ a mind-blowing exit is necessary and a dramatic return is also crucial¡­ it will make people reluctant to chase after me when this is over, that way I can cultivate earnestly¡­ You should understand what I mean" Derik laughed "I see¡­ well then¡­ let''s give them something to remember!" Demos laughed. ............¡­ Derik''s wild crimson red eyes suddenly turned calm and the darkish purple flame returned. "Cute" He muttered and a terrifying amount of death aura burst out of his body spreading like a plague. Boom! Taking off his limiters, Derik''s power rose rapidly, quickly entering the peak grade of the silver realm, only a step away from the gold realm but for some unknown reason, he couldn''t make that step. This showed the difference between the two realms is not something that can be crossed so easily. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant power and lend thee thy strength¡­ Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thee and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear! Death magic: Bone spear" Boom!!! Derik quickly grabbed on the spear and struck at the massive divine sword! The shockwave from the two attacks created a shockwave that sent everyone retreating by a few steps. To their greatest surprise, Derik used the tip of his glittering bone spear to stop the massive divine sword. His eyes still remained indifferent as he waved his left hand and darkish purple aura burst out of them. Each wave of darkish purple aura emitting from each claw let out many screams and cries which made it look like they all had life in them. "Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw" Derik muttered. Instantly the wave of claw-like attacks bombarded both the sea of blue flames and the black lightning hurricane. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! .............. "Impossible, he stopped all of them¡­ all alone" Anna muttered with a blank expression on her face. She failed to understand how Derik was able to withstand the combined attacks of Cyrus, Ahika, and Zaylee. The eldest princess of the gyro kingdom was pretty sure that if she was the one in that position, she definitely won''t be able to stop even a single attack not to talk of three. "Amazing¡­" Gerald muttered with a complicated emotion in his eyes. He could remember clearly the day he met Derik and the other members of the team guardian. Even though they were all exceptional back then, they were not this amazing. No one would have predicted that Derik and Cyrus would become this powerful in less than a year. He could only rejoice silently that he didn''t make an enemy out of any of them! 134 Chapter 134: An epic end 4 The massive gate of the underworld stood gallantly in mid-air, right behind Derik, letting out insane death aura, which flowed directly into Derik''s body strengthening his realm even further. His eyes were like two balls of darkish purple fire which could burn anything it touches to ashes. At this point, everyone understood why Derik could stop Cyrus''s divine sword so easily. Just like when they fought Samael, the fallen archangel of life forcefully drew power from his realm to counter the attacks directed at him. But why then did he run? Why didn''t he continue this way or even start with that? He probably would have been able to kill the four hosts of Aldemar if he did that. "He couldn''t do this because of the drawing power from your domain is as good as destroying it¡­ if it''s used recklessly the domain will crumble and seize to exist" Micheal''s voice rang like a bell in Cyrus'' head. "So Derik is practically ruining the underworld as we speak?" Cyrus asked "Normally, yes¡­ but this domain belongs to the creator itself, not Demos so does the heavens which I watch over¡­ little beings such as yourselves can not easily damage the domains of the creator¡­ it is filled with immense energy which is almost infinite¡­ But the case is different for Samael, he can recover a good portion of his power if he decides to take away all the energy in his domain and let it crumble but after he does that, he will never be able to hide from the creator¡­ that is a death sentence" Michael laughed as if he derived joy from Samael''s misfortune. "I see¡­" Cyrus said with a calm face as he turned his attention to Derik who was looking down at everyone like a god who is looking down at his subjects. "Return" Cyrus muttered and the massive sword immediately separated itself from Derik and quickly returned to Cyrus side. "Why can''t I draw power from the heavens¡­ Derik can draw power from the underworld, yet you won''t teach me how to unlock the gates of heaven!" Cyrus complained "Hahaha¡­ who do you think you are kid? The heavens are literally the only domain of the creator which he holds sacred and you think I am going to let you defile it? You should be grateful I thought you how to summon the sealed gate but teaching you how to unseal it is beyond me¡­ that''s as good as giving you access to the most important place to mortals¡­ you might as well lead your family into paradise while I am away!" Micheal used his sharp words to tackle Cyrus instantly. "And this is why I will always be numerous steps behind him¡­" Cyrus snorted before blocking off the voice in his head. With a casual smile on his glittering face, Cyrus rose to Derik''s level, staring at the massive gate behind the death mage as if he was searching for the mysteries behind it. "You were holding back all this while¡­ I actually planned to give you a quick and painless death but you struggled hard, at least that''s what you made me believe¡­ to think you were hiding your true strength from me, I feel hurt and betrayed" Cyrus said with a charming smile on his face. "Hahahaha! Don''t play games with me¡­ I know of the favored child of life technique where you draw power from all living beings present¡­ with thousands of people present here, you can reach my level and even go beyond and battle me as an equal!" Derik laughed While his ability draws power from the negative emotions of those present such as hate, anger, fear, envy and so on, it purely relies on the presence of people with such feelings but that of Cyrus is quite different. The favored child of life technique allows him to draw power from the life force of everyone present, thereby reducing their life span by a very negligible portion and in exchange grants the user more power. In this case, the light mage literarily has nothing to lose, unlike Derik who has his soul tainted and will most likely fall into a state of bedevilment if he lets his guard down for only a second. "You looked fired up¡­ unfortunately, I do not intend to fight you with my all¡­ stories of the battles between the life and death mages of the past still haunt me to this very day¡­ mercy killing is allowed but putting my heart and soul into a death match between us is something I''m not yet prepared for¡­ the gate to the underworld is open, why don''t you leave?" Cyrus said with a frown on his face. "I see¡­ unfortunately, it seems as if luck is not on our side¡­ we always find ourselves in difficult positions from the very beginning¡­ I can only make a simple request and I wish you will grant this wish before I leave" Derik said "What is it?" Cyrus said with a frown on his face. it was as if he had already predicted what request Derik will make and he wasn''t particularly happy about it. ''Fight me with everything you have¡­ I need to make a name for myself before I leave. This will certainly discourage people from chasing after me¡­ that''s why I need to go all out¡­ I need this world to know my true strength¡­ Please¡­ do this for me¡­ you are the only one here capable of making me push myself that hard" Derik said Hearing this Cyrus sighed as if he was already expecting this. He already thought of reasons why Derik refused to escape from the very beginning and this was one of the options. "Come on¡­ let''s go wild for once and enjoy this battle¡­ who knows when we will get the chance to battle each other so freely again?" Derik laughed "Very well¡­ but if we must do this, it will just be the both of us¡­ no outside help¡­" Cyrus said with a smile on his face. "Agreed!" Derik nodded with a bright smile on his face. His attention shifted to Ahika and Zaylee, who has been observing for a while, waiting for Cyrus to act first and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Your services will not be needed any further¡­ Vanish!" Derik laughed and his bone spear trembled, releasing a terrifying amount of aura after which he threw it at Ahika! "You should go too¡­ Guardian divine sword split the heavens!" Cyrus roared Instantly his massive divine sword appeared above Zaylee''s head and hacked down on her. Blazing flame magic: Blue flame of the creator! "Burst!" Lightning magic: Typhoon! "Swallow!" Under the assault of the life and death mages, Ahika and Zaylee could only last a few seconds before succumbing to the greater power. "They dare to resist the power of life and death¡­ these people don''t value their lives!" Derik''s visage turned cold and the power of his spear instantly doubled as the aura from the gate of the underworld flew into the bone spear. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Ahika screamed as the bone spear drilled through the sea of blue flames and struck his chest. Simultaneously, the massive divine sword slashed through the black lightning hurricane and knocked Zaylee to the ground with a terrifying force. Knocking her out in an instant! With the fire and lighting magic guardian spirits hosts dealt with, Derik turned his attention to Cyrus and a smile bloomed on his face. "It''s our turn" He laughed! 136 Chapter 136: Five Years Later ¡­Five years later¡­ The kingdom of Cato has ruled over the eastern region of Aldemar for centuries now, with time all the smaller settlements and tribes which resided in the eastern region of Aldemar were swallowed up by Cato. As this kingdom had the best alchemists and blacksmiths in the continent, bronze level magic weapon sets were common here and even silver magic equipment sets were not too difficult to find. Numerous potions with different effects were cheap here, even the all mighty magic enhancement potion was not too rare here and can be bought at a cheap price. The kingdom was positioned at the top of a hill, surrounded by mighty walls which has numerous defensive magic runes carved into them as reinforcement. All around the city were thick dense forests filled with rare herbs and rare resources that cannot be found in any other kingdom in this continent. The only major problem the kingdom had to face was constant attacks from hordes of magical beasts which resides in the forest as well. The truth is that the forest which surrounds the kingdom which produces the rare herbs these people need also harbors numerous magic beasts and nurtures them to a profound level where they can even threaten silver realm elites. Unless the kingdom decides to destroy the forest entirely, they can never rest easy without the fear of being raided at any moment. ............. In a small house in the residential area of Cato, in a small town closest to the kingdom walls, a horse carriage stopped at the entrance and a man who had the shape of a ball walked in with a swordsman following tightly behind. Behind them were three men from the elven race bound by chains who carried two boxes each, walking into the small house. "And here are the last batch of magic enhancing potion we have in stock young sir¡­ just as I promised" The fat man laughed On the ground floor of this small house were nothing but a single small round table and a wooden chair which was extremely strange even amongst the poorest of the kingdom. When they first got the order for numerous vials of magic enhancing potions, these people thought it was a joke since the order came from the residential area of a small town in the kingdom and when they got here for the first time, they wanted to curse the man who placed the order, thinking he was playing a prank on them. Then again, money speaks louder than words. Seeing the man hand over hundreds of gold coins like it was nothing, these people were terrified and dared not speak ill against this man or look down on him. For the subsequent orders, they treated the man as a special customer and even threw in a few more vials of the magic enhancing potion to gain his favor but surprisingly the strange lad has always been indifferent about everything. At a point, they began wondering why a person would need this enormous number of magic enhancement potion but they didn''t dare question this man, thinking that he has a powerful noble family in the kingdom backing him up, that was the only explanation they could come up with. "Drop it at the corner over there¡­ here''s your pay" A youth in his early twenties said. His face was covered by his long black hair which had purple streaks all over it and his finger and foot nails were black. He wore a regular white shirt with brown shorts, his voice was cold and no aura could be felt from him. Derik dropped a small brown pouch filled with gold on the table and slowly waited for the man to finish counting and leave. "A hundred and fifty pieces of gold¡­ it''s complete¡­" The fat man laughed before throwing the pouch, filled with gold coins and left. .........¡­ Left alone in the small house, Derik sighed and pushed his hair back, revealing his pitch-black eyes and purple lips. It looked like he applied purple paint on his lips and his expression showed he was in pain. His body trembled slightly and his breathing was heavy. Occasionally, a faint golden light will appear all over his body and then vanish before anyone can actually notice. For five years now, Derik has been suffering from the effect of Cyrus'' divine light spell, which seemed to have intruded his body and completely destroyed his cultivation, constantly trying to snuff out the little life left in him. "This suffering and pain will soon be over, you don''t have to worry¡­ I''m sure when this ends, you will be able to cultivate peacefully and focus on the treasures you acquired from the dungeon from the creator" Demos voice echoed in his head with gave him a painful headache but he didn''t complain. "Death" Derik muttered and from a shadow in one of the corners of the house, the death avatar emerged. It drifted to the side like a shadow, picking up the crates and appearing beside Derik almost in an instant. The death avatar dropped the crates on the wooden table and soon vanished again, blending in with the shadow once again. Derik''s plan was quite simple but a costly one. To increase the overall power of his death magic in a bid to completely vanquish the residual life energy in him which has been torturing him for five solid years, he was forced to purchase numerous magic enhancement potions worth thousands of gold coins. If not for his werewolf side which constantly healed all the internal injuries that he has been accumulating for years now, Derik probably wouldn''t have been able to survive this long. Any other person in his situation would have died a long time ago. In just a few seconds, Derik was able to consume all the potions he has bought. He dropped from the wooden chair to the ground, sitting in a cross-legged he began meditating. He remained still like a mountain as he guided his death aura which was slowly expanding, attacking the residual life energy in him. This process continued for over an hour and then Derik''s eyes suddenly yanked open. His eyebrows were suddenly knitted together as he hissed with his gaze fixed at the only entrance and exit of this small apartment. "Do you think I will be easily bullied because of my current condition¡­ YOU COURT DEATH!" Derik roared 137 Chapter 137: Pries Even in his weakened state, Derik could still feel the life energy of people around coupled with his ability to sense the negative emotions of those around. At this point, he could easily sense the negative thoughts of hundreds of people with a strong life signature towards him. He could tell that this his small apartment was already surrounded and he could also tell the power level of those approaching. A sly smile appeared on his rigid face as he stared at the shadow close by and his death avatar quickly emerged. "Do they think they can kill me? If it were six years ago I would have been terrified but now a few hundred warriors and mages are nothing to me" Derik laughed. His pitch-black eyes looked hungry for more battle, as this was one of the ways his power progressed. "Don''t act recklessly¡­ This is a Kingdom you wish to fight against¡­ don''t forget they possess magic weapons which can easily increase their overall competence by leaps and bounds¡­ even then, I recommend you leave the kingdom now, do not forget the presence of the holy church here as well¡­ it will be difficult for you to escape if you remain here" Demos warned Derik in a serious tone. It is not that the angel of death didn''t have confidence in Derik''s ability, it''s just that no one knew how capable the branch of the holy church in this kingdom is. In his current weakened state chances are he will be killed off eventually if the battle should last longer than expected. Especially since he was at a critical stage in the recovery process now. With knitted eyebrows, Derik thought of the numerous possibilities on how the Kingdom of Cato realized he was hiding out here. His pitch-black eyes reflected his killing intent as he swore to take the life of those who ratted him out. "Kill them all¡­ I don''t want to be disturbed while I''m recovering" Derik said to the death avatar indifferently. "You dare ask me to flee? Hahahaha! What will that make me¡­ a coward of course¡­ the image I built over five years ago will be rendered useless if I should do that... Just wait till I''m done removing Cyrus'' residual life energy, then I will definitely teach these people what true power looks like" Derik snorted as he spoke to Demos. He quickly shut his eyes as he continued meditating, battling the life energy in his body even more seriously now. ............ A few kilometers away from the little building where they were directed to raid, a middle-aged man with blond hair and mustache spoke to his fellows with a communication stone in his hands "Everything is in place¡­ Do make sure that all the possible escape routes are blocked off¡­ we can''t have this dangerous man fleeing" the blonde man said "You don''t worry commander¡­ should he come this way, he will not find it so easy to leave!" A voice echoed from the communication stone. The blonde man nodded and turned his attention to his fellows who are all dressed in civilian clothing to prevent anyone from knowing their intentions. He gave them a brief nod and then turned his attention to a giant man who stood right beside him. The man was well built and had numerous strange black tattoo''s drawn all over his body. He wore a cloak that had a hood, barely revealing a small portion of his face and a pair of glowing golden eyes. Staring at this massive man who should be up to 7ft tall, the blonde commander didn''t dare act recklessly in front of him. "I thank the Holy church for assisting the kingdom of Cato in this matter¡­ with a priest of the holy church here, I and my men feel more confident of our chances of success," The blonde man said "If what the kingdom says is true, then there is no reason for you to thank us¡­ instead, the holy church thanks this kingdom for revealing the presence of such a demonic being hiding out in our presence! We are only doing our duty as servants of the creator¡­ once again here is no reason to thank me¡­" The massive man from the holy church said. While he spoke, his glowing golden eyes remained fixed on the apartment and a glint of murderous intentions flashed in his eyes. But then a shadow escaped through the window of the house and from it emerged a hooded being with a pair of black angel wings and fiery darkish purple eyes. Behind it was a massive scythe which was the size of an adult and the death aura which escaped the body of Derik''s death avatar terrified the soldiers dressed in civilian clothing. "P¡­ peak of the silver realm! My God! How did such a beast reside in this kingdom and we didn''t notice" The blonde commander was instantly terrified by the cultivation base of the monster right in front of him. He heard the story of Derik''s achievement in the sky rift and how he bested every kingdom in this continent to seize hold of treasures of the kingdom. He knew that Derik was able to raise his power level by leaps and bounds with strange techniques, reaching the peak grade of the silver realm with just the peak of the bronze realm cultivation base, this is an increase by one entire realm! Now that he saw the being that appeared had a cultivation base of the peak grade of the silver realm, doesn''t that mean that he can raise his power level all the way up to the peak grade of the golden realm? A realm in which everyone has dreamed of stepping into, yet only a few have reached the threshold. Since he has never laid his eyes on Derik, he assumed the death avatar was the death mage they were searching for. "Fear not¡­ that thin is not the death mage we seek¡­ it''s just his death avatar¡­ from the information given to me, the death mage was injured in a battle with the host of the life guardian spirit, forcing him to retreat¡­ he shouldn''t be at peak condition right now, if not he would have been the one to come and face us, yet he sent this thing¡­ as long as we can subdue this thing¡­ Killing him shouldn''t be much of a problem" The priest said indifferently. Hearing this, the man released a sigh and relaxed his nerves a bit. Even though he was sure that this thing right in front of them was not the real death mage, the commander was shocked to know that the death mage had a guardian with such a terrifying cultivation base. He knew that the battle between Derik and the expedition troops of the various kingdoms led to the death of close to a thousand soldiers if not more! Not even the passive elves were spared and this death avatar was responsible for more than half that number. Standing face to face with such a monster terrified him to a certain level and he could only hope that this priest of the holy church is as powerful as he looks. "I will have to trouble you this time¡­" The blonde commander said looking at the priest with expectant eyes. "Very well then¡­." The cloaked priest nodded and took a step forward, prepared to battle it out with the death avatar! 138 Chapter 138: Not good enough! Seeing the man with the holy element surrounding him, the death avatar quickly tagged this man as its target. Its darkish purple fiery eyes burned brighter than ever and then a sea of darkish purple flame poured out of its hooded face, swarming towards the holy man and the military officials behind him. Death magic: Hell flames Seeing the wave of darkish purple flames approaching, the blonde-haired commander frowned slightly. He was slightly relieved that they took the initiative to evacuate every resident here before acting. He was about to step up and protect him men but to his greatest surprise, the priest acted first. "Light magic: Protect!" The priest said dully and a transculent golden wall which was hundreds of meters long, appeared right in front of everyone, protecting them from the hellish flames. His massive cloak parted and the priest''s right hand was exposed. A bright light shone on all five fingers and golden chains soon appeared around the death avatar, binding it. "Under the divine light of the creator, no evil shall exist, as a sworn servant of the holy being above I rob this demonic creature of its freedom and to the underworld shall it return¡­ Light magic: Capture" the priest said in a dull voice. Instantly the power of the golden chains suddenly doubled and its size increased as well. As the death avatar struggled, the golden chain got tighter. With that done, the priest took off his cloak and unfolded his massive feather white angel wings. His macho physique terrified everyone there and his previously hidden aura suddenly exploded, shocking everyone present. "Peak grade of the silver realm!..." "No! that can''t be right, he is just a priest?" "How can a mere priest be this powerful?" "That means the pope should at least have a gold realm cultivation base¡­ Damn, who knew the officials of the holy church were this powerful?" "So this is what members of the wingmen race look like¡­ they are really scary" Members of the Cato kingdom military force discussed amongst themselves. It was obvious that the white cloak which this man had on was not as normal as they thought it was. It was able to completely hide the aura of the priest to an extent that they questioned if the man was actually a mage! If not for the intimidating tattoo''s and the glowing golden eyes, they probably would have concluded that the priest was no different from any normal man. The priest possessed flowing white hair and a pair of glowing golden eyes. On his back was a pair of massive angel wings and a flaming magic weapon hanging on his back. It was obvious this weapon was a silver level magic weapon. Around his neck and wrists were protective talisman bangles and necklaces The wingman strode towards the death avatar with a certain arrogance and contempt in his eyes, it seemed as if he assumed the battle was already over "The representative of the death element dares to send a mere avatar to battle me, a priest of the holy church¡­ no respect" The wingman cursed as he approached at his own pace. "Not good enough!" Derik''s voice suddenly emanated from the house behind the death avatar! Boom! Death energy suddenly burst out of the body of the death avatar and the golden chains around them began to tremble violently. By the time this started, the wingman was already close and he quickly placed his palm on the head of the death avatar. Not daring to waste more time, he immediately cast his spell "Light magic: Smite!" He said with a serious expression. Instantly, a bright light emanated from the hand of the wingman, completely engulfing the death avatar, soon enough shrieks of pain and anguish resonated everywhere. This made the soldiers of Cato cheer in their hearts. Before they came here, they were aware of the beast they were going to face so most of them were prepared to die in this battle. The main goal of this team was to confirm the presence of the death mage in Cato and then hold Derik off until the main forces of the kingdom arrive. Apparently, they didn''t bring many people because they didn''t want to draw too much attention. So seeing the strength of the light mage these people were overjoyed by the recent development. Didn''t this mean they won''t have to sacrifice their life unnecessarily for their kingdom? Why won''t they feel excited knowing that they will survive this encounter with the death mage and still be rewarded for doing close to nothing? A satisfied smile appeared on the face of the wingman and he was about to speak but then Derik''s voice interrupted him once again. "Are you retarded or just plain stupid? Didn''t I tell you¡­ this is not good enough to beat my death avatar!" Derik''s voice echoed once again. Instantly the bright light was consumed by an enormous amount of death aura and the death scythe flew into the hands of the death avatar, which let out an ear-piercing screech, stopping the wingman who was about to retreat Death magic: Shriek of the dead! With the priest frozen for just only a short while, the death avatar did not dare waste this opportunity and it instantly brandished its scythe against the priest Death magic: Purgatory slash! This time the attack was aimed at the head of the priest but unfortunately, the protective talisman bangles and necklaces on him took effect, covering the priest with a golden halo which prevented the priest blade from digging any deeper than it should. The ground beneath the death avatar and the wingman soon shattered as both sides struggled. Booom! Puti! The priest was forced to retreat as he covered his bleeding throat with his hands which was covered with a golden aura. Yellow blood oozed down his partially severed throat and blood flowed down his lips. The priest knew that if it wasn''t for the defensive measure he took beforehand, he probably would have lost his head there. The arrogance in his eyes was quickly replaced with anger and his hatred for the death mage hidden inside the house skyrocketed. While he slowly gasped for air, he used his light magic to heal the damaged throat. ¡­Suddenly¡­. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Derik''s cold laughter sent chills into the body of all who heard it and his death aura which suddenly burst out began rotting the house from the inside. His aura and power kept rising at a rate that terrified and confused everyone up to a point where they began staring at each other with blank expressions on their faces. "Isn''t he supposed to be injured?" "How did he just suddenly recover?" "Damn it, we are doomed!" "Even when he was still injured, the kingdom warned us of his strength¡­ now he has recovered¡­ what can we do?" While the soldiers poured out their pain and sorrow to one another, the priest and the blonde-haired commander remained quiet as the observed the situation with a concerned expression on their faces They knew what the sudden outburst of energy signified and the implications. A breakthrough! If Derik could reach the power level of the peak grade of the silver realm with a cultivation base of the peak grade of the bronze realm, doesn''t it mean that now he is making his way into the silver realm, with all his boosts, he can showcase power at the level of gold realm experts? The confidence and anger boiling up in them initially soon vanished and was replaced with fear. The only peak grade silver realm elite on their side was the priest of the holy church! The commander was at the mid-grade of the silver realm and his men were a mixture of low-grade silver realm warriors and mages and peak grade bronze level warriors and mages. Should they find themselves battling a low-grade silver realm mage who can utilize attacks of a low-grade gold realm master and a peak grade silver realm avatar, their chances of survive was close to zero, not to talk of victory and according to the reports, he still had a peak grade silver realm level monster which can be summoned at any time. Weighing their options, they realized that if they fail to put an end to Derik''s life before he breaks through, none of them will be able to escape the calamity that will soon befall them "Destroy that house!" The priest screamed "Blow him and that building to hell!" The commander roared! 140 Chapter 140: Return of the death god At the center of the hundred meter deep crater was a shirtless man in his earlier twenties. His brown trousers were shredded and he wore nothing on his feet but that didn''t seem to bother the young man, instead, he was thrilled by something he refused to share with the others. His pitch-black hair had streaks of purple color on them and it was so long it easily touched his waist. On his body were strange symbols and black painting and his fiery darkish purple eyes and eyebrows terrified everyone who saw him. This kid is no longer human! Purple lips, black fingernails, and toenails and strange black tattoos all over his body. How could they accept this weird looking person as a human? Wait? Why didn''t the combined attack of the commander and the priest hurt him? Didn''t he just break into the low grade of the silver realm, how can he survive an attack from a peak-grade silver realm priest and a mid-grade silver realm battle mage! "Aaaah¡­ you can talk¡­ Interesting" Derik muttered when his death avatar spoke for the first time. He felt like he has been exposed to a brand new world and his power has crossed a major threshold. His eyes were much clearer now and his understanding of the elements of this world was more profound. Derik shot into the air like an arrow, appearing right in front of the priest and the commander almost in an instant. He gazed at them with a blank expression on his face for a while before turning his attention to the death avatar. "Kill the little ones¡­ I''ll handle these two¡­" Derik said casually "Yes, Young Master¡­" the death avatar responded before storming towards the hundreds of soldiers on the ground. Soon screams and cries of pain and anguish filled the entire residential district of the Cato kingdom and all those who heard it were terrified instantly. ¡­Meanwhile¡­ "You are quite arrogant¡­ You dare to show your face in a kingdom where the holy church resides¡­ great death mage, you must have lost your mind!" The priest sneered. The commander could only watch helplessly as his men were been slaughtered on after the other by the death avatar. While this happened, Derik''s power rose steadily and a satisfied smile bloomed on his face when he heard the priest speak. "The holy church? What is there to be afraid of? The wingman race members are direct descendants of the fallen archangel of the life element, Samael¡­ I sent him running with his tails between his legs a few years ago¡­ why should I be scared of his descendants?" Derik laughed. Hearing this, the wingman''s face turned red due to anger and his golden eyes erupted like a volcano. "You dare speak ill against the lord of light? The holy one which we serve! Only through death can you atone for your sins! Guardian spirt Crucifix: Ray of light!" The priest roared like a beast. Instantly the massive crucifix roared to life and trembled greatly. A massive magic array appeared in front of it and from there a beam of light shot forward. "Disappointing" Derik muttered as he shot towards the massive beam of golden light fearlessly. Without any form of protection, he pushed through the beam of golden light and his hand was placed on the body of the massive crucifix "As expected¡­ life magic and light magic are too different¡­ your magic is nothing compared to that of the life mage¡­ you cannot harm me with your lesser version of the life magic¡­" Derik laughed casually. His skin looked burnt due to the fact he pushed through the beam of light forcefully but in the end, his healing factor was at work, healing his roasted flesh at an alarming speed. "Rot¡­" This was all Derik muttered and a terrifying amount of death magic poured out of his hand which was placed on the giant crucifix and its dazzling divine light started to dim as the death aura spread forth, completely covering it in its darkness. Puti! The priest instantly turned pale the moment this happened and spat out a mouth full of yellow blood. His glowing golden eyes dimmed as he watched the darkness consume his guardian spirit divine weapon and since his soul is linked to it, he was terribly hurt. "Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh!" the wingman roared like a beast as he charged towards the darkness that engulfed his guardian weapon, crucifix "Who said you can move now?" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. His hand touched the void and he grabbed onto the empty space beside him, with a single pull the split the void apart opening a miniature accursed gate of the underworld. "Get back" Derik''s smile froze and then a red beam shot out of the passageway that was just created. The wingman was focused on his guardian weapon which was about to be destroyed so he wasn''t prepared for the shadow lurkers attack. The red beam tore through his chest and even penetrated his wing, leaving a bloodied hole on the body of the priest. Crack! Instantly a hole appeared on a part of the crucifix and multiple web-like cracks began appearing. Just as the creator takes damage when the weapon is damaged, the weapon will also take damage once the creator is damaged. "Shatter!" Derik muttered with a smile and his death aura forcefully broke the already damaged crucifix. At that moment, the golden glow in the wingman''s eyes vanished and his life force was shattered as well. The soul of the priest shot out of the corpse like a spear and shot into Derik''s body. "The power the soul of a peak grade silver realm warrior or mage possesses is far too abundant than I expected¡­ marvelous!... I am pretty sure the soul of a mid-grade silver realm battle mage won''t be far behind" Derik said with a crooked smile. His figure flashed and he appeared right in front of the blonde commander who was still stunned by the death of a peak grade silver realm priest, who didn''t even have a chance to fight back. How can a low-grade silver realm warrior bully those at a higher level like its nothing? Seeing Derik''s sudden appearance, the man was startled but his reaction speed was quite quick, his body shot back and soon turned transparent taking the form of a hurricane. Death magic: Hell flames "The one path? Humph! Child''s play!" Derik said and a darkish purple magic array appeared on his palm and darkish purple flame poured out, completely consuming the hurricane. The hurricane twirled and twisted frantically as it struggled with the flames, screams, and cries filled resonated from the hurricane. "Not enough?" Derik muttered with a displeased expression on his face "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik began chanting. As he spoke those words, the power of the darkish purple flames increased and when he was done, the hurricane could barely struggle and the darkish purple flames completely subdued it. A charming smile appeared on Derik''s face once again as he strode forward confidently. He reached out into the darkish purple flames and the blonde commander appeared with his throat in Derik''s grasp. His body was badly burnt and it looked like a corpse that was still in the decomposition stage, his eyes were bloodshot as he struggled desperately to break free from Derik''s grasp. "I am an important figure in this great kingdom, this place has already been surrounded by the main forces of the Cato kingdom! If you kill me don''t you dare think of leaving this place alive! Do you hear me?!" The blonde commander roared Hearing this, Derik laughed out loud and a sinister grin appeared on his face "Why will they send someone so important to die here first? Even if you are as important as you say¡­ Do you think I fear this little kingdom of yours? I will have them pay dearly for almost ruining my business at the moonlight forest¡­ all the four kingdoms will know that death god whom they thought has been vanquished years ago has returned" Derik said before snapping the neck of the commander with his bare hands and absorbing his soul. With a smile on his face, he turned to the death avatar who has returned to his side and he laughed "The branch of the holy church in Cato and the main force of this kingdom are making their way here¡­ isn''t that cute?" Derik laughed "I recommend we leave through the gate to the underworld¡­" The death avatar said "Of course¡­ we will leave but first¡­ there is one last thing I will love to do here before I go" Derik laughed After his breakthrough, not only did his appearance change even further, so did his behavior as well. In just a few minutes hundreds of people were slaughtered by Derik and his death avatar and that didn''t seem to satisfy him. The urge to utterly destroy his enemies was strong in his head and he wasn''t planning to resist it either! 141 Chapter 141: Cato replies Derik and his death avatar turned into beams of darkish purple light as they flew towards the southern gate of the kingdom of Cato with malicious intentions quite visible in their fiery eyes. As this happened, thanks to the little time the deceased blonde commander and the wingman priest of the holy church bought, the kingdom of Cato was able to rally its forces and the powerful figures of this ancient kingdom have begun to make their moves this ensure that Derik does not escape this time! ...............¡­. At the center of Cato, Kingdom palace "According to the information received from half a decade ago, he can easily open the gate of the underworld and flee¡­ I fail to understand why he is yet to do that" A burly old man said with squinted eyes. This man was seated on the massive glittering thrown made of numerous rare stones which made it look like it can withstand attacks from even silver realm elites. In the same room were five figures dressed in expensive clothes, staring at a map which was placed on a round table in the center of the room. These are the important officials of the kingdom! "My king... What if he lacks the power to open the gate to the underworld? That should be the reason he is trying to flee through the gates!" A vibrant youth with fiery orange hair and glittering orange pupils said with a charming smile on his face "Don''t speak nonsense boy! Don''t you dare forget that the death mage you are talking about just murdered commander Stenroff and the priest from the holy church! For him to swagger around, not trying to conceal his movement only shows that he''s not afraid of us¡­ How could he possibly not have enough power to summon the accursed gate of the underworld? I believe he has more sinister plans for us!" A lanky old man, hidden in an expensive black cloak and a black hood said with a stern voice. According to him, anyone in Derik''s situation will lay low and ultimately look for a way to flee from the kingdom but instead, Derik has decided to boldly fly over the skies of the Cato kingdom. This is enough proof that the death mage is not scared of the powers that have sustained this kingdom to date or he is just plain ignorant, but the old man was not willing to gamble. "Don''t tell me you are scared of that man because you cultivate dark magic? Hahahaha! I don''t blame you, its only natural that you are scared, especially since your magic is only a lesser version of his own. Its only natural you feel inferior to him! I totally understand!" The orange-haired youth laughed. "You!" the lanky old man was enraged by this and planned to retort but then¡­ Bam! The burly old man seated on the throne suddenly slammed his hand on the armchair. "Enough of that!..." He roared "Kaido¡­ do you think you can handle this?" the burly old man asked. "Of course! Sternroff and the priest from the holy church were relatively weak if you ask me¡­ Don''t worry my king, I will definitely get this done" Kaido laughed while playing with his spikey yellow hair with his hands. "Good¡­ The host Zaylee and her team have been sent to delay him for a while¡­ even though Zaylee has reached the mid-grade of the silver realm, I fear she still cannot be compared to this death mage. At most she can only delay him for a while¡­ Go and end this farce as quickly as possible¡­ The actions of the death mage will make Cato a laughing stock to the other kingdoms if the death mage is not killed¡­ Don''t fail me and remember¡­ I am watching!" The burly old man said with a stern voice. Instead of fear or rage, a smile bloomed on Kaido''s face as he bowed slightly before walking out of the room. "With Kaido taking action I don''t think the death mage will find it easy to swagger around this kingdom as he pleases!" The burly old man said. The remaining four people in the room remained silent and focused their attention on the massive water globe in the room from which they observed all that was going on. ...............¡­ Derik and his death avatar stopped moving as they stared at the soldiers of Cato that blocked their path. Ignoring the others around, Derik''s gaze was focused on the young lady with sky blue hair and sky blue eyes. He watched the lightning energy dance around her and a charming smile appeared on his face. "Zaylee.. It''s been a while" Derik said "Yea¡­ the last time we met, you and Cyrus joined hands to blow me away¡­ all you had to do is ask me to leave, I wouldn''t have interfered with your battle " Zaylee said with a childish frown on her face, it was clear that she wasn''t pleased with what happened five years ago. "Ah! You still remember what happened on that day¡­ I apologize¡­ now step aside" Derik''s smile vanished so fast that everyone was stunned. "I apologize but I can''t do that¡­. You should have left this place while you had the chance, yet you chose to swagger around¡­. Do you really think that no one here can put an end to your reign of terror?" Zaylee roared. It was clear that the lightning mage was enraged "Hahaha! You finally have some backbone, this should be interesting!" Derik laughed hysterically as he waved his hand and the death avatar flew forward towards the soldiers that came with Zaylee. "Kill them all¡­ Leave this little girl to me!" Derik licked his lips as he spoke. ...............¡­ "I won''t let you! " Zaylee roared as she shot towards the Derik like a bolt of lightning, without fear. Her body was clearly hidden in a massive wave surge of blue lighting as she made her way towards Derik. Lightning magic: Wave of Despair!" Her voice resonated from the cluster of lightning and two magic arrays appeared on her palms. Lightning aura surged around her and from her palms, a massive wave of blue lightning shot forward, creeping towards Derik at a terrifying speed. "You dare to attack me? It seems you don''t value your life!" Derik laughed as he shot forward fearlessly into the wave of blue lightning. His body trembled as he dove into the save of lightning, bulldozing his way through with sheer strength and determination why laughing hysterically, which sent a chill in the hearts of all his enemies who heard him. Fighting magic of this level with just his body? This guy is not human! Monster!! There is no way we can beat this man! This explains while commander Stenroff lost! Bursting out of the other side of the lightning attack, Derik had shallow bloody holes all over his body coupled with numerous burns injuries yet the crazed smile on his face never faded, instead, his darkish purple fiery eyes glowed even brighter and his smile widened even more. Derik''s hand instantly lashed towards the lightning mage with malicious intentions as soon as he was in range. But to his greatest surprise, the lightning mage turned into a cluster of lightning and retreated to a safe distance. Seeing this Derik''s eyebrows were knitted together and the smile on his face vanished. He pondered on his first encounter with Zaylee and his battle with the blonde commander for a while before understanding what went wrong and why Zaylee was willing to fight him, even though she had no chance of winning. Surprisingly, Zaylee cultivated the one path which allowed the user to become the element he or she possesses. He also realized that Zaylee''s abilities were strange from the very beginning. A hurricane made of lightning? Why didn''t he notice the strange nature of her abilities until now? The answer became clear to Derik and he realized why this girl was willing to battle him even though she knew she couldn''t win. There must have been some sort of connection between her and the blonde commander who controlled the wind element. Mastering the one path and possessing the lightning which takes the form of wind abilities. "Aaah! The one path¡­ I just killed a man who possessed similar abilities a while ago... Was he your lover?" Derik sneered. He was ruthless with his words and planned to fill Zaylee with negative emotions. "Bastard!" Zaylee roared and dark clouds gathered above their heads. Lightning magic: Typhoon! "Swallow!" Zaylee roared as she spat out a sea of lightning which soon took the form of a hurricane! The injuries all over Derik''s body were almost gone and his facial expression showed his excitement. Derik''s aura spiked and rose as he drew power from the negative emotions of everyone around. Derik''s darkish purple eyes glowed fiercely as he roared and stormed forward. The storage ring in his hands glowed and a magic tool flew out and fell into Derik''s hands. "Come to me¡­ Death scythe!" Derik laughed fiendishly 143 Chapter 143: Gold realm master appears! "Who are you?" Derik asked with an indifferent look on his face He gently flew towards Kaido with an indifferent look on his face, probably trying to show the world that he is not afraid of the youth in front of him. His gaze was cold and a smile appeared on his face as he got really close to Kaido. The two-handed broadsword which levitated by Kaido''s side twirled for a while before shooting forward towards Derik at an astonishing speed. The broadsword had a golden hilt that had the image of the sun on it. Its blade radiated undiluted scorching hit as it approached, making Derik feel uncomfortable. At this point, Derik could tell that this man was not as simple as every other person and whenever he looked at the man, it seemed as if the man was shrouded in mystery. This is a person he couldn''t see through! "Don''t get too cocky!" Derik sneered and his death scythe trembled! It quivered greatly and death aura diffused from it as it shot forward to meet the golden broadsword! Boooom!!! The shockwave which exploded from the attack was enough to make Derik''s soul tremble and his hair flutter. He felt a sharp pain and black blood slid down his lips as his death scythe return to his side. As his death scythe was a blessed weapon which he can control with his mind alone, his soul was linked to the weapon thereby making him suffer a great deal whenever his blade is significantly damaged. "That''s an interesting weapon you got there¡­ what level is it at?" Derik asked. "Yours is quite interesting as well¡­ mine is a gold level growth type magic weapon, and yours?" Kaido asked with a friendly smile on his face. "Its obviously at the silver level¡­ My realm is too low to use a gold level weapon¡­ It''s also a growth type magic weapon" Derik said casually "I see¡­ I am guessing this is one of the treasures of the sky rift?" Kaido asked. "Of course¡­" Derik laughed "So¡­ it''s safe to assume that all the items you acquired are solely meant for someone who cultivates the death magic?" Kaido asked with a raised eyebrow. "I guess you can say that" Derik said with closed eyes and a wide smile "Can I see them?" Kaido laughed "Nope!" Derik replied Boom! Derik''s body shot back like a comet, crashing into a building below. The charming smile never left his face as he pushed off the derbies on him while staring at Kaido who was approaching like a spear. Whooosh! Bam!! Derik was prepared for his arrival for some time now, coupled with his enhanced physical abilities which allowed him to skillfully duck to the side in a bid to evade Kaido''s punch while retaliating with a punch of his own, all at the same time. By the time Kaido could react, Derik''s fist smashed into his golden armor forcing him to take a few steps back. A massive smile bloomed on his face as he dashed forward once again to meet Derik with his fists. Bam! Bam!! Boooom!!! Derik''s body burst out of the previous building and smashed into a new one. Black blood rolled down his forehead and he kept on spitting out a mouth full of black blood and struggled to get on his feet. But then¡­ Boooom!!! Kaido''s body shot towards him like a meteor and before he could regain his balance and prepare for the attack, Kaido''s fist smashed into his face, sending him flying out of the building and crashing into the ground. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood once again while trying to get on his feet. His darkish purple fiery eyes had dimmed considerably and his body was covered in black blood. Be could barely stand on his feet! Though out this battle, he has only been able to throw three punches and to his greatest surprise, the orange-haired guy''s armor felt softer than his face. When he hit Kaido''s face, he felt like he punched an ancient wall that has not been moved for over a century. "Hahaha! You are indeed interesting¡­ You are a mage yet you know how to throw a punch¡­ you truly are something!" Kaido laughed. "Hahaha! I haven''t met someone capable of overpowering me physically¡­ yet you were able to beat the crap out of me¡­ You must be a silver realm guardian knight" Derik said with a weak smile on his face "Well¡­ to think you are so dumb as not to check your foes cultivation realm¡­ well, I''ll introduce myself. I''m Kaido, one of the three heroes of legend¡­. A gold realm master!" Kaido said with a hint of pride on his face. "Gold level¡­" Derik stuttered for a while. He thought that level has always been a dream for everyone. Even now he believed that the person with the highest cultivation base in this continent is at the peak grade of the silver realm. His eyes were heavy and he was dazed for a while by the revelation he just received. Derik swaggered around the Cato kingdom because he knew even without taking off his limiters or relying on any external source of power, he can deeply trouble even the strongest warriors and mages at the peak grade of the silver realm. Taking off his limiters will only allow him to toy with them. Derik was only able to beat the priest of the holy church easily because he could tell that the wingman priest just broke into the peak grade of the silver realm. His mastery over his guardian spirit path is was not yet profound, that explains why his divine weapon was nowhere as strong as that of Cyrus! "What are the three heroes of legend stuff you speak of?" Derik asked with a frown on his face "You haven''t heard of us? Have you been living under a rock for the past five years?" Kaido seemed to be stunned by Derik''s question. He failed to understand how the famous death mage didn''t know about the three heroes of legend! 144 Chapter 144: Power of the sun "You have to be kidding me right? There is no way you can''t know about the three hero''s of legend!" Kaido said with a frown on his face. "Well, I shut myself from the outside world for five years¡­ I really didn''t bother myself with anything during that time¡­ I just focused on my cultivation and injuries" Derik answered honestly while wiping off the blood on his face with his palm. "I see¡­" Kaido said. For some reason he sounded disappointed, they are the most powerful people in the world currently, they should also be the most popular. Today he wanted to boost his fame by beating the infamous death mage who murdered over a thousand warriors and mages in one day! That way, he will definitely be more famous than his peers! The other two heroes of legend. "Where are the other two hero''s of legend?" Derik asked, "Shouldn''t you guys be together?" Derik added. "Naaa¡­ I can''t stay with an arrogant elf and the hot chick with the angel wings chose to stay with the wingmen¡­ she feels more at home there, according to her though¡­ I''m the only human amongst the hosts¡­ I love this human kingdom the most so I chose to stay here" Kaido said casually. "I see¡­" Derik said. His body rose from the ground and a frown appeared on his face. This is a foe who he may not be able to defeat easily. He didn''t know what the three hero''s of legend really stood for, he wasn''t sure where they came from, he didn''t really know what their main purpose is and he didn''t really care. All he knew could think of now is his life and reputation, to thrive he really needed a powerful reputation which will make his life journey easier. For that reason alone, he was not willing to run without a fight! "I apologize but I can''t lose either, my reputation is on the line¡­ I know you understand" Derik''s said coldly. "Well, yea¡­ I do" Kaido still had the same smile on his face as he stared at Derik who was drifting away. He could tell that the death mage was simply trying to increase the distance between them and he wasn''t realm going to try and stop him. By the way, he''s only at the silver realm¡­ right? "Burst!" Derik roared instantly taking off his limiters. His power rose at an alarming speed and death aura burst out of his body, completely hiding him within the pillar of death aura. "Not yet!" Derik''s voice resonated from the pillar of death aura and his already enormous aura spike once more! By the time the aura cleared, Derik''s eyes were pitch black and strange letter and ancient symbols moved around his body while letting out shrieks and mourns. While utilizing his ability to draw power from the negatives emotions of all those around, Derik chose to draw power from thousands of souls in his incomplete domain, increasing his strength to a whole new level. "Alright" Derik said with a devilish grin. Even though his power-ups could not help him break into the gold realm, he was confident he would not be toyed with so easily this time. "Just peak grade of the silver realm, after all that flashy stuff? Disappointing" Kaido said with a smile on his face. He grabbed on to the broadsword which was levitating behind him and shot forward towards Derik. "Don''t worry I won''t disappoint!" Derik sneered while grabbing on to the death scythe before storming forward. Boom! Boooom!! Boooom!!! With each strike was a shockwave that shook the earth and destroyed the building around. As the civilians in this area have been evacuated some time ago. "Let''s go!" Kaido screamed Silver level combat technique: Twofold slash! Kaido roared and brandished his broadsword at Derik. Instantly, two arcs of transparent energy shot out of his sword, dancing towards Derik while splitting everything in its way as it moved. "Not enough!" Derik roared Death magic: Purgatory slash! Boooom!!! Derik was forced to retreat by close to a hundred meters before he could regain his balance. His eyes shone dangerous lights as his aura began building. "Death magic: Black lash!" Derik roared as dead black strings of energy flew out of his fingers, dancing towards Kaido. Seeing this, Kaido didn''t withdraw, instead, he laughed out loud and shot forward with his broadsword raised high. The smile on his face suddenly faded, replaced by a murderous gaze and scorching aura. Sun magic: Blazing slash! Kaido hacked down and from his massive broadsword was a beam of scorching orange aura which split the black strings in two as it made its way to Derik at a terrifying speed. Seeing this Derik''s expression crumbled and he quickly withdrew his power and quickly spun to the left to evade the slash! Even though this was carried out smoothly and he was able to escape the slash, the right side of his body had numerous burns injuries and he could feel his blood literarily boiling. "So hot! Even Ahika''s blazing fire magic cannot be compared to this man''s firepower¡­ could it be a cosmic spirit?" Derik stuttered "I advise you to flee from here as soon as possible¡­ This man''s sun magic is not something you can defeat at your current level!" Demos advised in a rather calm manner. "Sun magic? What the heck¡­. Why didn''t you tell me about the three heroes of legend stuff¡­ why have you been keeping me in the dark?" Derik said with a frown on his face. "Don''t linger on that for too long¡­ we will deal with this issue later on¡­ for now, focus on the battle¡­ try to escape this man, he is not t your opponent" Derik said "Very well then" Derik pushed the matter aside and shot into the air like a spear. He reached for out to the sky and his darkish purple aura burst out of his body and shot into the sky "Death magic: Death meteor!" Derik roared. Dark clouds slowly gathered and a massive magic array that was over cour hundred meters long and wide slowly formed in the sky. "I won''t let you! Sun magic: blazing slash!" Kaido laughed and swung his sword at the massive magic array in the skies, releasing blazing orange energy that shot into the sky, splitting the magic array in two before it was completely formed! Boom! The explosion that took place above, forced Derik to retreat. He finally understood why he felt like death was lingering around him the first time this man appeared. He realized that this person is not as simple as he thought and if he should let this battle continue, there is a hundred percent chance that he will not be the one to come out on top. Chances are he will die a terrible death. A grim expression appeared on his face as he kept staring at Kaido who wore a casual smile on his face. Derik had to confess, this magic guardian knight right in front of him, looked pretty cool! 145 Chapter 145: Defensive formation Derik''s body shot past buildings, heading towards the massive wall not too far from him. His eyes displayed a small hint of frustration and anger as he desperately tried to escape the legendary hero who controls the power of the sun. Behind the small beam of darkish purple light was a massive scorching sun with an oranges hair youth at the center. It became clear to him that this battle was one-sided and it seemed as if only Kaido was enjoying it. ......¡­. Atop the massive wall were peak experts of the Cato kingdom, over a hundred plus warriors and mages with profound cultivation realms. At this point, the weakest member of this group was at the low grade of the silver realm! If any other kingdom were to witness all five hundred plus silver realm warriors and mages atop the wall, they most likely would have been terrified. Even Gyro did not have half this number of silver realm experts on their side. For a while now, all four great kingdoms of Aldemar have coexisted peacefully because all the sides assumed the others possessed equal strength, an all-out war will simply lead to mutual destruction. While Gyro possessed the least number of experts at the silver realm, they possess a host of the legendary cosmic spirit, Kalos the spatial magician. His ability to control space itself is enough to terrify other kingdoms. It is said that Kalos once battled over 20 peak expert warriors and mages of the elven clan alone, and the battle didn''t even last a minute, funny enough he was at the bronze realm at that time. With a profound realm coupled with the title kingdom guardian, no one can estimate Kalos'' true competence and no one is willing to be the scapegoat as well. Chances are, the spatial mage may even wipe the floor with the so called three hero''s of legend if a fight should break out, that is to show how powerful a cosmic spirit is. And then there is the Elven Kingdom, Alda. This kingdom has been know to possess the largest number of experts and silver realm elite. They may lack powerful physical class members but their mages are archers with profound realms that are always superb. With long life comes experience! When it comes to warfare, the kingdom of Alda has always excelled with the help of their ancient knowledge on warfare, sorcery and magic formations to help turn the tide of battle. These people are the keepers of ancient spells created by the ancestors which shook the world and they also have nature by their side. Making them the least people whom any reasonable force will want to attack! Cato kingdom, on the other hand, has never really produced outstanding warriors or mages but that does not make them inferior to the other kingdoms. Their forging and alchemy skills have proven extremely important over the centuries! Being able to arm a force of tens of thousands of warriors and mages with magic weapons according to their classes and realm is no small thing. Such a team is capable of handling an identical force, three times their number! And finally, there is Baldmar, the lizard man race. The lizardmen are known to train their offsprings from a very tender age allowing them to have a good understanding of their powers and realms a lot more than others! The presence of a gold level magic weapon is not something that can be easily ignored! This tool has been used to decimate the allied forces of the three kingdoms of Aldemar, forcing them to retreat and let the lizardmen tribe grow and become a kingdom comparable to the other three. For a while now, Derik thought that the various kingdoms in the continent were matched in terms of overall strength but now he realized how wrong he was. Right in front of his eyes were over five hundred warriors and mages at the silver realm, it was obvious these people did not want him to leave the kingdom alive. At this point, Derik realized that the balance has been broken and war may soon break out, if the kingdom of Cato sent just five hundred or three hundred silver realm elites to the sky rift, the could have retrieved the treasures there and easily subdued the expedition troops of the other kingdoms. It was obvious that these people wished to keep this special team secret unless necessary. For them to use such a force on Derik simply means that they don''t only want his life, but the treasures he acquired from the dungeon! Unfortunately, Derik''s case was quite unique and the three items he received were all related to his death magic. So they still won''t profit much even if they killed him, but they don''t know that! Currently, Cato has a member of the three hero''s of legend, a gold realm master on their side coupled with the shocking five hundred plus silver realm elite which can make any kingdom break a sweat! Even the holy church will be more obedient if they knew of this force. With all that said, it became clear to Derik that things may not remain as peaceful as it uses to be. The Gyro kingdom only had Kalos and Cyrus which is not enough, Derik knew that the Gyro kingdom will not be able to deal with Cato if they decide to invade now. Even though Gyro betrayed him, he only held the royal family and some nobles responsible, he still planned to return and set things right. For that reason, he couldn''t let these five hundred plus silver realm experts rest easy! He was determined to reduce their numbers as much as he can before he leaves "Wish to take me down? You are not qualified!" Derik sneered as he shot forward with all his might, to meet the five hundred plus silver realm experts. ............¡­.. Atop the wall was a middle-aged man in silver knight armor who seemed to be the leader of this group. He stared at the darkish purple beam of light shooting towards the wall and a sinister smile crept on his face. He could tell what Derik was thinking and he was eager to prove that kid wrong. "He wishes to have our heads, I wish I could give him a chance but we already got our orders! Ready the defensive formation, no one gets in or out!" the man said while stroking his beards! Immediately the magic writings on the walls suddenly lit up, releasing a bright light. Instantly a transculent barrier appeared above the kingdom, slowly taking the form of a dome around the kingdom. Soon the whole kingdom was surrounded by a massive semi-translucent barrier that was almost invisible to the naked eyes. Seeing this, the confident smirk on Derik''s face vanished, replaced with a frown. With the defensive mechanism of the wall activated, his plans of destroying the walls and letting the demon beasts in the forest do the rest of the job was no longer feasible and this vexed him a lot. "Bastards!" Derik roared like a wounded beast as he shot forward towards the men and women standing on the wall. His darkish purple fiery eyes burned fiercely and claws sprouted on his fingers. "Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw!" Derik roared and death aura burst out of his claws. Each claw-shaped darkish purple energy that appeared had numerous skull-shaped little white light in them which let out shrieks and screams. "Burn in hell¡­ I''m sure my guardian spirit will be eager to meet you all!" Derik roared and brandished his claws at them, releasing ten claw-shaped darkish purple energy attacks. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Bam!!!! The claw-shaped attacks mercilessly flew towards the mages and warriors standing on the southern walls of Cato but to his greatest surprise, his attacks hit a transculent barrier that flashed upon contact. At that moment Derik realized that the barrier formation they set up was not as simple as he thought, this was a two-way barrier that emanated from the magic marking on both sides of the wall, leaving a space in between the wall. This explains why these men and women were confidently gazing at him with mocking smiles from the very beginning! He, the death god who stole the lives of thousands of promising warriors and mages at the age of fifteen! For the first time in half a decade, Derik felt vexed by the situation. He let out a roar and stormed forward with malicious intentions "You dare to ridicule the master of the death element? Hahahaha! You must be tired of living! Let us see if this barrier can keep you away from death itself!" Derik roared like a savage beast and let loose on the barrier Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves roar!" His death aura burst out violently and took the form of a majestic werewolf! This was the first time Derik was going all out for half a decade. The massive werewolf stood on its hind legs and its eyes were like scorching flames that could easily reduce its targets with its mere gaze! On its body were furs so thick that it looked like scales and its claws were like darkish purple flaming spears that could tear the void apart easily. This majestic beast was over a hundred meters tall, making it taller than the walls of Cato "Go! Get me their heads!" Derik roared Awwwwooooooooooooo!!!!! The werewolf roared and stormed forward, brandishing its flaming skulls on the transparent barrier. Numerous lights flashed and each strike shook the earth. For the first time traces of fear appeared on the expressions of the silver realm experts on the wall and Derik was enjoying the sight. He realized he was the one to be feared and not the other way around. How dare mere silver realm experts look down on him? How dare they make fun of him? On through death can they pay for their crimes! No one looks down on the bringer of death! As the fear in the hearts of those men grew so did Derik''s power and that of the massive werewolf! Derik was extremely thrilled by what was going on until he felt a scorching feeling on his bareback. It was like his blood was boiling and the pieces of clothing left on him was going to go ablaze at any moment from now Nothing good lasts long¡­ From the feeling, Derik could tell that it was Kaido who he ditched behind for a while. [This time things will be different] Derik thought. The short encounter with these arrogant silver realm experts here made him understand his role in this life. He finally understood what went wrong and why he couldn''t challenge this youth with the power of the sun. If the kid possessed the power of the sun, then so what? And if he''s at the low grade of the gold realm, then so what? Death is the only thing that can be called absolute in this life! No one is truly invincible! No one is truly Immortal! "I will let you know what it means when they say hell on earth!" Derik sneered as he waited for Kaido to arrive with a sinister smile on his face. 146 Chapter 146: Derik is inferior to no one Derik laughed hysterically as he shot forward like a comet, dashing into the scorching yellow sun that was descending on him fearlessly. At this point, his body was scorching red and the smell of burning flesh filled the air but it didn''t stop the chilling laughter of the death mage. "Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha!" Derik laughed as stormed forward, bulldozing through the blazing aura that surrounded Kaido, ultimately reaching him in just a few seconds. Boooom!!! The scorching aura instantly vanished as Derik''s fist smashed into Kaido''s face sending him flying a few meters back. Hot red blood slid down his nostrils and before he could recover, Derik''s figure flashed and appeared right in front of him Boooom!!! Another punch smashed into the already bloodied face, sending the guardian knight with the sun power crashing into a nearby building. All the silver realm warriors and mages on the gate watched with their jaws dropped and their minds blank. How could this happen? How can a mage be able to beat the crap out of a guardian Knight, who is a whole realm above him? Impossible! "Monster! Monster!!!" A woman in a mage''s robe fell on her knees, screaming. Their fear for Derik rose to a whole new level, thereby rising Derik''s power to a whole new level. Feeding off the despair from the thousands of souls in his domain and the fear of more than five hundred silver realm warriors and mages standing atop the massive wall coupled with his broken limiters, Derik''s power instantly reached the upper limit of the silver realm, threatening to break into the low grade of the gold realm. With this, Derik could tell that he needed a slight boost so as to push himself into the gold realm and become a true master comparable to Kaido. He clapped his hands together and his death aura made thunderclap sounds as it spread like a plague towards the clouds. A devilish grin appeared on Derik''s face as the darkish purple aura began taking the form of a massive gate. "Death magic: Accursed gate of the underworld" Derik hissed. His hands were spread forth as if he was waiting for someone to run into his embrace and his devilish grin widened even further! "A hero of legend dares to go up against death itself! You must be tired of living! Today, I will prove to the world Derik Angus is inferior to no one! The bringer of death has returned and this world will bow!" Derik''s voice was enhanced by his power, making it sound like roaring thunder. Sounds of his bones cracking could be heard soon after indicating that Derik''s fists were been healed! He broke his fist bones just to deal reasonable damage to Kaido and that is after he fearlessly dived into the blazing yellow sun created by Kaido just to land a few hits. This is how a mad man acts! This man has lost his senses! ............ Kaido was caught off guard by Derik''s daring act when he flew directly into his scorching yellow sun aura, this left him dazed for a while thereby giving Derik enough chance to land two blows. "You crazy f**k!" Kaido laughed as he wiped off the blood on his face with his palm. He pushed off the debris on his body only to see the massive gate above Derik taking form but yet to be completed. He was already aware of Derik''s abilities and why such a gate should be never be allowed to open. Not only will this boost Derik''s power by letting him draw strength from the underworld directly, but it also allows him to leave at any point in time, as no one dares to trespass into the territory of the actual angel of death, they can only watch Derik leave helplessly. "Trying to flee after a destroying my perfect face with that bony fist of yours? I think not!" Kaido adjusted his broken nose with his hands before turning into a yellow beam of light, shooting towards Derik. Gripping his two-handed broadsword with both hands, Kaido let out a roar and a scorching beam of sun energy shot down from the sides, setting his blade ablaze. "Sun magic: Scorching draught blade!" Kaido roared as he pushed forward, his intentions were not hidden and this did not bother Derik one bit. "Run? You are living a fantasy! I will kill you here and take my leave" Derik laughed as he waved his hands. "Awwwoooo!" the massive werewolf roared upon receiving its command, completely ignoring the barrier it was attacking just a second ago. It''s scorching eyes glowed and the darkish purple fiery energy that made up its claws burst out violently. With a single swoop, it hacked down at Kaido who was to reach the gate, forcing him to retreat to the side. Tink! Kaido was stunned by the raw power the werewolf avatar possesses and how dangerous it can be. He had to confess that Derik''s spell arsenal was rather interesting and not as boring as before. He quickly decided to put in more effort before going at it again. This time his eyes portrayed his resolution and his scorching blade showcased his rage. His eyebrows were knitted together as he struck at the ten massive darkish purple fiery claws descending on him like a mountain. "Aaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!" Kaido roared as he swung his blade releasing a massive amount of explosive flames which pushed the werewolf avatar back a bit, giving him the chance to fly through. By this time, the gate was almost done, making him more desperate than ever. His vision of the massive gate was soon blocked by Derik who wore a confident smile on his face. "Not today" Derik muttered "You clearly want to die! Have at it!" Kaido roared and brandished his sword at Derik, releasing another wave of scorching flames. Seeing the sea of flames encroaching towards him, the smile on Derik''s didn''t fade. He stretched his hands forth and a massive magic array appeared in front of him. "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a massive wave of darkish purple flames rolled out of the magic array, ultimately colliding with Kaido''s orange flames. "Not yet!" Kaido roared as he burst out even more strength and shot towards the massive gate like a meteor. His hands trembled as fire aura gathered around his golden weapon, it burst out instantly and lashed out on anything close by. As he was too distracted by his quest to destroy the building, Kaido didn''t notice the massive flaming darkish purple class which penetrated his armor, rupturing his bones. "Sun magic: Blazing slash" Kaido roared and swung his blade vertically releasing an orange arc of energy attack which flew towards the massive gate which was now slowly opening after a long while. Seeing this, a massive smile bloomed on Derik''s face as the small amount of death energy which slipped out of the massive gate, drifted to his side and dove straight into his body. He felt more refreshed and didn''t try to hold back here at all. Numerous darkish purple claw-like energy burst out of his claws and with a savage grin, Derik shot down like an arrow towards the scorching orange energy arc attack. "Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw!" Derik roared and brandished his claws at the arc of orange energy. Booooom!!! An explosion occurred and Derik was forced to back off by a few meters. He quickly spat out a mouthful of black blood while his eyes showcased his excitement. The massive doors of the underworld gate yanked open and a terrifying amount of death aura burst out. He watched the death aura gather, instead of spreading like a plague and diving deep into Derik''s body! He felt like the upper limit which has withheld him from showcasing his true strength was slowly shattering and he could reach the gold realm at any moment. "If this is the best a hero of legend can do, then they should just quit and let we host deal with our problems" Derik snorted as he stared at the injured Kaido who slowly got on his feet. Seeing this Derik was slightly terrified since he knew how much damage Kaido took, so seeing him stand and move as nothing happened showed how tough this guardian knight is. He could only watch in peace, not daring to make the first move this time. Hearing Derik''s words Kaido was enraged for the first time, the shame he felt was almost unbearable! Something that can only be washed with the blood of an enemy. As a member of the heroes of legend, the three of them are meant to be the strongest in the continent at the moment, yet he is being toyed with by a twenty-year-old death mage who just broke into the silver realm close to an hour ago. Kiado raised his hand into the air and the sun suddenly became brighter and hotter than ever. The excessive heat and light energy dove right into Kaido''s body which trembled as he forcefully absorbed the power from the sun "Sun Magic: Sun god supreme deity!" Kaido roared and his body turned golden. His eyes were light a pair of bright stars and hid golden reinforced skin looked like something that can withstand even the earth collapsing on it. Seeing this, Derik realized that this man he has been battling for a while now has been holding back from the very beginning. His body shook as he dared not linger here any longer! Derik quickly turned into a beam of darkish purple light and escaped through the accursed gate of the underworld where no one can follow! 149 Chapter 149: Sin of wrath 1 Derik sat down in a cross-legged position while he meditated alone in the underworld for days. Normally his mind and body would be corroded easily but since he possesses the death magic, his body was no longer pure and even mimicked that of the angel of death thereby reducing the effects of the underworld on his body and soul. His eyebrows knitted together as he focused on pouring his intent into the black container in front of him. Immediately his consciousness made contact with the container, he was drawn in by a powerful force that emerged from the container. Derik was shocked by the sudden change and struggled against the force fiercely but unfortunately, he could not stop it and was forcefully dragged into the container. Derik found himself in an empty and endless space similar to the one which can only be found in storage rings but the only difference was that the air was filled with negative energy which made it hard to focus. He tried to pull himself together and he abandoned all the crazy thoughts in his heart and focused his gaze on the seven different words written in a strange language. At this point, Derik realized that he was surrounded by these words and couldn''t really tell what they meant but he wasn''t really willing to waste much time here so he moved towards a random floating word in the endless space and placed his hand on it. The moment Derik''s hand was placed on the word, he felt great anger and rage towards everything, so great that he actually felt like he was been choked up by the anger burning in his heart. "No¡­" Derik gasped for air as he tried to retract his hand but another suction force emerged and he was suddenly pulled into the floating word before he even got the chance to resist! ......¡­. Derik yanked his eyes open and found himself in a large room with a might iron door in front and a small window, protected with iron bars. Strange voices kept echoing in his head, preventing him from thinking straight. He tried to move and suddenly felt like he was bound by massive chains which prevented him from moving. Clank! Clank!! Clank!!! He tried to force his death aura out to consume the mighty iron chains that bound him tightly to the wall but each time he tried, grey ancient writings appeared on the shackles and his body was struck by a powerful jolt of electricity that left him shivering after each strike. "Damn it¡­ what is this" Derik muttered as tried to gather his thoughts but then a powerful headache always ensured forcing him to relax his thoughts and focus on the situation at hand "They dare to hold me down? They court death!" Derik roared like a beast and a blue light shone brightly in his pitch-black eyes. Fangs appeared on his teeth and claw sprouted on his fingernails. His blazing blue eyes burnt more fiercely than ever as he utilized his brute strength to challenge the mighty shackles that bound him. Bam! Bam!! Bam!! With each attempt to break free from the shackles that bound him to the cold walls of this cell, a mighty jolt of electricity struck him but that didn''t stop him from struggling even harder. Blood rolled down his eyes and nostrils and his body looked paler than ever. He bit his lower lips and blood burst out as he let out a resounding roar when he attempted to break free a final time. Boooom!!! The shackles shattered under Derik''s superior strength and a portion of the wall was broken as well. Derik wiped the red blood off his lips and when he was about to proceed he felt dizzy and his vision blurred, before falling on one knee. At this point, he realized that the chains did not only stop him from utilizing his magic but it also drained him of every single drop magic power in him. That explains why his blood became red again and his flaming eyebrows were just normal. Derik began wondering what type of equipment was used to create such powerful binding shackles and why such a deadly tool will be wasted on him. Murderous intentions flashed in his eyes as his enhanced senses picked up multiple footsteps of men in steel armor heading towards his location. Since his mind still felt like it was covered by a thick mist he didn''t want to dwell on thoughts of how he got here and quickly dashed forward. Boom! With a single punch, Derik burst the door open and leaped to the wall by the side running on with all fours for a while before jumping on the first soldier that appeared. Luckily for him, these men were just at the low grade of the bronze realm so he found it easy to deal with them. His werewolf strength was way more effective than enough to deal with guardian knights in the bronze realm. Immediately he pounced on the man, he used his claw to rip the iron armor open and ultimately ripped his throat out. "There he is¡­ Stop him¡­ we have to buy some time for the royal guards of the Gyro family to appear, only then will we be able to subdue him" A man with a spear roared. Hearing the word ''Gyro'' spiked a renewed hatred and rage in Derik''s heart, once so powerful that he forgot his primary goal and decided to kill off these bastards first Roar! Derik shot forward like an arrow, appearing right in front of a swordsman with his fists clenched. Boom! Before anyone could react he slammed his fists into the man''s chest, crushing the steel armor and punching the life out of the man in an instant. Wooosh! The man who had a spear early did not delay, they were only ten of them here and two of them have already been killed, he dared not waste any time and acted swiftly. He thrust his spear forward just at the right time, while Derik was still recovering from his attack. And the spear tore through Deriks skin, penetrating deep into his shoulder!. Roar! Derik who was already consumed by his rage did not cry in pain or retreat. Instead, he let out a roar and used his claws to break the wooden body of the spear, pulling it out of his shoulders and driving it into the guard''s skull. He let out a roar and shot forward towards the soldiers still dazed by his initial action. Seeing the incoming death mage, they gathered themselves and thrust their weapons forward in hopes of stopping the death mage from proceeding with his attack. Puti! Puff!! To their greatest surprise, Derik drove his body right into their readied weapons just to get to them. He used his fist to shatter the skull of the man closest to him while simultaneously grabbing the woman who was planning to flee by the hand. Crack! Bone shattering sounds coupled with metal bending sounds echoed in the lonely hallway before, Derik forcefully pulled away her helmet and sank his fangs into her throat, ripping it out with his teeth. Puti! Puti!! The guards who were still around pulled out their weapons from Derik''s body and struck once again but to their greatest surprise Derik didn''t even flinch, instead, he let out another roar, grabbling another unfortunate female guard by the skull, crushing her head along with her helmet. "Re¡­retreat!" A man screamed in fear and dashed towards the exit of the other hallway. Seeing the man run, the others ran as well, leaving their weapons stuck deep into Derik''s body. "Where do you think you are going" Derik roared. A sinister grin appeared on his face revealing his bloodied red teeth. His body shot forward as he chased after the other members of the group fleeing for their lives. .........¡­ The sound of screams and cries of people finally subsided in the hallway and Derik stepped out. His body was covered in red blood but all the injuries on his body had already been healed. His burning blue eyes flickered as he scanned the room and realized that the hallway led directly to the royal palace courtyard. His eyes showed hints of anger and malicious intentions as he considered the next action to take. Standing here and waiting for the royal guards to arrive was probably the most stupid action to take since the members of the royal family should be with them too and if someone like Kalos should arrive, he may not be able to escape here with his life. Or he could find a way to hide, rest, and leave the city as soon as his power completely recovers. He knew that fighting the royal family here would not make any sense and will probably lead to his death so Derik was urged to pick the second option but then something happened. Images of the event of the past flashed across his eyes and he remembered every single betrayal that took place during his short stay here. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows were knitted together when he saw the images of his father and sister testifying against him. At this point, all forms of reasoning to Derik became useless and he was quickly consumed by his rage. He sat on the throne and gathered his power, trying to recover his lost power while he patiently waited for the royal guards to appear. [F**k it all] he screamed in his heart. On this very day, he swore to make them feel his pain. Even if it costs him his life and he makes them feel just a fraction of the pain he was currently going through right now, he definitely won''t regret a thing! 150 Chapter 150: Sin of wrath 2 The massive golden doors of the royal courtyard yanked open and Cyrus with the former members of the adventurer association recruit team guardians appeared. Their eyes were filled with shock and astonishment when they saw Derik seated on the throne. His eyebrows were burning bright again and his death aura filled the room, it was obvious that he has recovered a reasonable amount of power thanks to his werewolf side which allows him to regenerate mana very quickly "He has recovered¡­ quickly everyone¡­ battle formations" Cyrus roared and the mages moved back while the melee types moved forward. It was at this point in time that Derik''s eyes yanked open and his cold gaze swept across all those in the room. He heard that the previous royal guards were replaced by the members of the team guardian with Cyrus as the head, seeing the way they responded he knew that they also had a hand in his captivity and that explains why they reacted the way they did when the saw. These people were meant to be his friends, his family, instead they sold him off just for a few benefits just like his actual family and even now they already replaced him with a new archer. Mason! This was the kid he shared a room with when he first joined the archery class, to think that these people will also drag him into this matter, it''s a pity Derik did not have much mercy to spare. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant power and lend thee thy strength¡­ Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thee and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear! Death magic: Bone spear" Derik roared and grabbed the bone spear as he flew towards them at incredible speed, destroying the throne in the process. He raised his armed bone spear up high and hacked down of Donald without mercy. "Monster!" Donald roared as he desperately fought back against Derik with his broadsword. His sword suddenly began to tremble and a hazy white aura gathered around it and he quickly slashed at Derik with malicious intentions "You dare face me with a mere bronze level magic weapon¡­ such insolence!" Derik roared and a massive amount of death aura burst out of his bone spear as he struck at Donald. Crack! Bang!! Puti!!! Derik''s bone spear collided with Donald''s bronze level combat technique, and before Donald could react his magic weapon shattered and Derik''s spear struck his chest and his death aura invaded the bloody hole in an instant. "Don''t you dare!" Derik roared and struck the empty space behind him and a figure appeared. Daemon struggled with the bone spear in her belly and before she could react, Derik''s left hand reached for her throat, leaving a deep wound on her throat with his sharp claws, killing her instantly. Whoosh! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!! An arrow struck Derik''s right shoulder but it still wasn''t strong enough to penetrate even deeper. His figure flashed as he maneuvered through the rest of the attack and reached mason within a second, driving his hand into the archer''s chest and pulling out his heart. Before Derik could even crush the heart in his hands, he was hit by a massive ball of fire which forced him to retreat by a few steps and a blood spear flew through the flames and forcefully rammed its way into his chest. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood but he wasn''t planning on giving them the chance to counter-attack. He already knew that Cyrus was stuck with healing Donald and that''s why he has not yet made a move. Thrusting his hands forward a darkish purple magic array appeared right in front of Derik and a malicious smile appeared on his face "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out of his mouth and dashed towards everyone in front of him, every small space in the room making escape nearly impossible. Booooom!!! At the capital of the Gyro kingdom, a massive explosion occurred that forced the royal palace to crumble, while that happened two people shot out of the Debris, one a dazzling light and the other was the darkness itself. "Life magic: Guardian spirit divine sword" Cyrus roared and the massive divine sword appeared in front of him and shot towards Derik. "Don''t you dare look down on me!" Derik roared and two darkish purple magic arrays appeared on his palms. "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out of his palms completely engulfing the magic sword flying towards him, reducing his speed. Puti! Cyrus spat out a mouthful of golden blood and his body trembled violently. He reached for the void, grabbing with both hands and screamed "Spilt the sky!" Cyrus roared and his massive divine sword which was already covered by darkish purple flames let out a faint glow before increasing in size rapidly once again. Its speed increased and the sword forcefully tore through the sea of flames which poured out of Derik''s hands and hacked down at him the moment it was close enough! Slash! Puff!! Puti!!! Derik tried to get out of the way but evading a weapon the size of a small mountain is no easy thing. In the end, his right hand was severed from his body and a lot of blood poured out of the wound. "I won''t forgive you for this!" Derik roared while waving his left hand as if he was making hand seals and his death aura burst out. Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves roar!" His death aura burst out violently and took the form of a majestic werewolf! The massive werewolf stood on its hind legs and its eyes were like scorching flames that could easily reduce its targets with its mere gaze! On its body were furs so thick that it looked like scales and its claws were like darkish purple flaming spears that could tear the void apart easily. "Awwwwwooooooooooooo!" The massive werewolf roared and brandished it darkish purple fiery claws on the mighty divine sword. Each attack created a shockwave that shook the earth and equally harmed Cyrus'' soul. With his hands clutching his chest tightly, Cyrus watched the majestic werewolf battle his guardian divine sword fiercely and his divine weapon was not gaining the upper hand. This scared him a lot. "Ooo condemned soul of the underworld, the one led astray by the lord of light. Where art thy gods? As the messenger of death who comes from the deepest parts of the underworld, I sentence thee to eternal damnation and rob thee of thy freedom¡­ Death magic: Death bind!!!" Derik roared. Not willing to let the opportunity slide, Derik acted first and cast his binding spell which prevented Cyrus from moving. Instantly dark clouds gathered above Cyrus and two darkish purple magic arrays appeared by his side. Bam! Bam!! Puti! Two massive bone hands appeared from the magic arrays and quickly proceeded to bind Cyrus without any prior warning. The hands soon tighten their grip, deepening the injuries Cyrus has already sustained earlier from the prior explosion. Forcing him to spurt out a mouth full of golden divine blood. "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant thy power and thee thy strength¡­ give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thee and by the end of this day, may thy heads hang on the tip of thy spear! Death magic: Bone spear!" Derik roared, throwing his hands above his head. Boom! A sudden explosion occurred as all the death aura Derik could muster gathered above his head, taking the shape of a sparkling white bone spear. On the body of the bone spear were ancient demonic symbols that released a terrible amount of death aura. Puti! Derik spurt out a mouth full of corrosive black blood and his body trembled greatly. His fiery purple eyes had dimmed and his complexion turned terribly pale. A weak smile appeared on his face as he swung his hand and the bone spear let out an ear-piercing shriek before turning into a beam of light and shooting forward! Cyrus roared and gathered his energy to counter but then Derik already had everything planned out and acted before Cyrus. Death magic: Touch of death! Derik stood gallantly in mid-air like an ancient mountain and with a single finger gesture, a dark halo surrounded Cyrus'' figure and his concentration was broken. Cyrus was initially gathering energy to counter this attack but then, when the dark halo appeared, his chain of thought was disrupted and his mind was flooded with negative emotions. His snow-white eyes turned crimson red and his countenance turned savage. Boom! Puff!!!!! The bone spear collided into Cyrus'' skull which exploded, creating a blood rainfall on the people of Gyro for the first time. The massive divine weapon crumbled and Derik watched Cyrus'' headless body fall to the ground like a massive lump of meat. A wicked smile appeared on his face and a satisfying feeling surged through his body. His fiery darkish purple eyes scanned around and to his greatest surprise, he found his father and sister stepping out of an expensive carriage surrounded by guards. The rage in his heart lit up once again and Derik shot towards the ground like a meteor! 152 Chapter 152: The loop Derik returned to his parents with pure malicious intentions and numerous bone spears surrounded them "Please¡­ please we are sorry" John cried out loud. "It''s too late to apologize¡­" Derik muttered to himself He wasn''t kind enough to listen to their pleas so he bombarded them with all he had until nothing but a puddle of blood, flesh, and bones remained. He was about to move forward but then he fell unconscious again. ......¡­. Derik yanked his eyes open and found himself in a large room with a might iron door in front and a small window, protected with iron bars. Strange voices kept echoing in his head, preventing him from thinking straight. He tried to move and suddenly felt like he was bound by massive chains which prevented him from moving. Clank! Clank!! Clank!!! He tried to force his death aura out to consume the mighty iron chains that bound him tightly to the wall but each time he tried, grey ancient writings appeared on the shackles and his body was struck by a powerful jolt of electricity that left him shivering after each strike. "Damn it¡­ why do I feel like I have been here before" Derik muttered as tried to gather his thoughts but then a powerful headache always ensured forcing him to relax his thoughts and focus on the situation at hand "They dare to hold me down? They court death!" Derik roared like a beast and a blue light shone brightly in his pitch-black eyes. Fangs appeared on his teeth and claw sprouted on his fingernails. His blazing blue eyes burnt more fiercely than ever as he utilized his brute strength to challenge the mighty shackles that bound him. Bam! Bam!! Bam!! With each attempt to break free from the shackles that bound him to the cold walls of this cell, a mighty jolt of electricity struck him but that didn''t stop him from struggling even harder. Blood rolled down his eyes and nostrils and his body looked paler than ever. He bit his lower lips and blood burst out as he let out a resounding roar when he attempted to break free a final time. Boooom!!! The shackles shattered under Derik''s superior strength and a portion of the wall was broken as well. Derik wiped the red blood off his lips and when he was about to proceed he felt dizzy and his vision blurred, before falling on one knee. At this point, he realized that the chains did not only stop him from utilizing his magic but it also drained him of every single drop magic power in him. That explains why his blood became red again and his flaming eyebrows were just normal. Derik began wondering what type of equipment was used to create such powerful binding shackles and why such a deadly tool will be wasted on him. Murderous intentions flashed in his eyes as his enhanced senses picked up multiple footsteps of men in steel armor heading towards his location. Since his mind still felt like it was covered by a thick mist he didn''t want to dwell on thoughts of how he got here and quickly dashed forward. Boom! With a single punch, Derik burst the door open and leaped to the wall by the side running on with all fours for a while before jumping on the first soldier that appeared. Luckily for him, these men were just at the low grade of the bronze realm so he found it easy to deal with them. His werewolf strength was way more effective than enough to deal with guardian knights in the bronze realm. Immediately he pounced on the man, he used his claw to rip the iron armor open and ultimately ripped his throat out. "There he is¡­ Stop him¡­ we have to buy some time for the royal guards of the Gyro family to appear, only then will we be able to subdue him" A man with a spear roared. Hearing the word ''Gyro'' spiked a renewed hatred and rage in Derik''s heart, once so powerful that he forgot his primary goal and decided to kill off these bastards first Roar! Derik shot forward like an arrow, appearing right in front of a swordsman with his fists clenched. Boom! Before anyone could react he slammed his fists into the man''s chest, crushing the steel armor and punching the life out of the man in an instant. Wooosh! The man who had a spear early did not delay, they were only ten of them here and two of them have already been killed, he dared not waste any time and acted swiftly. He thrust his spear forward just at the right time, while Derik was still recovering from his attack. And the spear tore through Deriks skin, penetrating deep into his shoulder!. Roar! Derik who was already consumed by his rage did not cry in pain or retreat. Instead, he let out a roar and used his claws to break the wooden body of the spear, pulling it out of his shoulders and driving it into the guard''s skull. He let out a roar and shot forward towards the soldiers still dazed by his initial action. Seeing the incoming death mage, they gathered themselves and thrust their weapons forward in hopes of stopping the death mage from proceeding with his attack. Puti! Puff!! To their greatest surprise, Derik drove his body right into their readied weapons just to get to them. He used his fist to shatter the skull of the man closest to him while simultaneously grabbing the woman who was planning to flee by the hand. Crack! Bone shattering sounds coupled with metal bending sounds echoed in the lonely hallway before, Derik forcefully pulled away from her helmet and sank his fangs into her throat, ripping it out with his teeth. Puti! Puti!! The guards who were still around pulled out their weapons from Derik''s body and struck once again but to their greatest surprise Derik didn''t even flinch, instead, he let out another roar, grabbling another unfortunate female guard by the skull, crushing her head along with her helmet. "Re¡­retreat!" A man screamed in fear and dashed towards the exit of the other hallway. Seeing the man run, the others ran as well, leaving their weapons stuck deep into Derik''s body. "Where do you think you are going" Derik roared. A sinister grin appeared on his face revealing his bloodied red teeth. His body shot forward as he chased after the other members of the group fleeing for their lives. .........¡­ The sound of screams and cries of people finally subsided in the hallway and Derik stepped out. His body was covered in red blood but all the injuries on his body had already been healed. His burning blue eyes flickered as he scanned the room and realized that the hallway led directly to the royal palace courtyard. His eyes showed hints of anger and malicious intentions as he considered the next action to take. Standing here and waiting for the royal guards to arrive was probably the most stupid action to take since the members of the royal family should be with them too and if someone like Kalos should arrive, he may not be able to escape here with his life. Or he could find a way to hide, rest, and leave the city as soon as his power completely recovers. He knew that fighting the royal family here would not make any sense and will probably lead to his death so Derik was urged to pick the second option but then something happened. Images of the events of the past flashed across his eyes and he remembered every single betrayal that took place during his short stay here. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows were knitted together when he saw the images of his father and sister testifying against him. At this point, all forms of reasoning to Derik became useless and he was quickly consumed by his rage. He sat on the throne and gathered his power, trying to recover his lost power while he patiently waited for the royal guards to appear. .........¡­.. He stopped in his tracks once again and pondered on this every moment and this very moment felt too familiar to him. Derik felt nauseated and considered his next course of action well. ............ [F**k it all] he screamed in his heart. On this very day, he swore to make them feel his pain. Even if it costs him his life and he makes them feel just a fraction of the pain he was currently going through right now, he definitely won''t regret a thing. Derik climbed up the throne and sat on it, closing his eyes while meditating¡­. After an unknown amount of time¡­ The massive golden doors of the royal courtyard yanked open and Cyrus with the former members of the adventurer association recruit team guardians appeared. Their eyes were filled with shock and astonishment when they saw Derik seated on the throne. His eyebrows were burning bright again and his death aura filled the room, it was obvious that he has recovered a reasonable amount of power thanks to his werewolf side which allows him to regenerate mana very quickly "He has recovered¡­ quickly everyone¡­ battle formations" Cyrus roared and the mages moved back while the melee types moved forward. It was at this point in time that Derik''s eyes yanked open and his cold gaze swept across all those in the room. He heard that the previous royal guards were replaced by the members of the team guardian with Cyrus as the head, seeing the way they responded he knew that they also had a hand in his captivity and that explains why they reacted the way they did when the saw. These people were meant to be his friends, his family, instead they sold him off just for a few benefits just like his actual family and even now they already replaced him with a new archer. Mason! This was the kid he shared a room with when he first joined the archery class, to think that these people will also drag him into this matter, it''s a pity Derik did not have much mercy to spare .........¡­.. Derik remained stationary for a while as he watched Derik act but then again he felt something was definitely wrong. He gazed at his past teammates for a while with heavy eyes and considered dialogue for the first time. ........... "Ooo power of death, grant thy servant power and lend thee thy strength¡­ Give me the power to vanquish all those who stand against thee and by the end of this day, thy heads shall hang on the tip of thy spear! Death magic: Bone spear" Derik roared and grabbed the bone spear as he flew towards them at incredible speed, destroying the throne in the process. He raised his armed bone spear up high and hacked down of Donald without mercy. "Monster!" Donald roared as he desperately fought back against Derik with his broadsword. His sword suddenly began to tremble and a hazy white aura gathered around it and he quickly slashed at Derik with malicious intentions "You dare face me with a mere bronze level magic weapon¡­ such insolence!" Derik roared and a massive amount of death aura burst out of his bone spear as he struck at Donald. Crack! Bang!! Puti!!! Derik''s bone spear collided with Donald''s bronze level combat technique, and before Donald could react his magic weapon shattered and Derik''s spear struck his chest and his death aura invaded the bloody hole in an instant. "Don''t you dare!" Derik roared and struck the empty space behind him and a figure appeared. Daemon struggled with the bone spear in her belly and before she could react, Derik''s left hand reached for her throat, leaving a deep wound on her throat with his sharp claws, killing her instantly. Whoosh! Whoosh!! Whoosh!!! An arrow struck Derik''s right shoulder but it still wasn''t strong enough to penetrate even deeper. His figure flashed as he maneuvered through the rest of the attack and reached mason within a second, driving his hand into the archer''s chest and pulling out his heart. Before Derik could even crush the heart in his hands, he was hit by a massive ball of fire which forced him to retreat by a few steps and a blood spear flew through the flames and forcefully rammed its way into his chest. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood but he wasn''t planning on giving them the chance to counter-attack. He already knew that Cyrus was stuck with healing Donald and that''s why he has not yet made a move. Thrusting his hands forward a darkish purple magic array appeared right in front of Derik and a malicious smile appeared on his face "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out of his mouth and dashed towards everyone in front of him, every small space in the room making escape nearly impossible. Booooom!!! At the capital of the Gyro kingdom, a massive explosion occurred that forced the royal palace to crumble, while that happened two people shot out of the Debris, one a dazzling light and the other was the darkness itself. "Life magic: Guardian spirit divine sword" Cyrus roared and the massive divine sword appeared in front of him and shot towards Derik. "Don''t you dare look down on me!" Derik roared and two darkish purple magic arrays appeared on his palms. "Ooo god of death, lord of the underworld and ruler of all damned souls in it, hear the plea of thy faithful servant and burn thy foe with the unquenchable flames of hell, even thy ashes will not remain! Death magic: Hell flame!" Derik roared and a sea of darkish purple flames poured out of his palms completely engulfing the magic sword flying towards him, reducing his speed. Puti! Cyrus spat out a mouthful of golden blood and his body trembled violently. He reached for the void, grabbing with both hands and screamed "Spilt the sky!" Cyrus roared and his massive divine sword which was already covered by darkish purple flames let out a faint glow before increasing in size rapidly once again. Its speed increased and the sword forcefully tore through the sea of flames which poured out of Derik''s hands and hacked down at him the moment it was close enough! Slash! Puff!! Puti!!! Derik tried to get out of the way but evading a weapon the size of a small mountain is no easy thing. In the end, his right hand was severed from his body and a lot of blood poured out of the wound. "I won''t forgive you for this!" Derik roared while waving his left hand as if he was making hand seals and his death aura burst out. Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves roar!" His death aura burst out violently and took the form of a majestic werewolf! The massive werewolf stood on its hind legs and its eyes were like scorching flames that could easily reduce its targets with its mere gaze! On its body were furs so thick that it looked like scales and its claws were like darkish purple flaming spears that could tear the void apart easily. "Awwwwwooooooooooooo!" The massive werewolf roared and brandished it darkish purple fiery claws on the mighty divine sword. Each attack created a shockwave that shook the earth and equally harmed Cyrus'' soul. With his hands clutching his chest tightly, Cyrus watched the majestic werewolf battle his guardian divine sword fiercely and his divine weapon was not gaining the upper hand. This scared him a lot. Derik who was initially planning to act while Cyrus was distracted suddenly stopped. He felt like he has seen this scene before where he destroys Cyrus'' head with his bone spear after a chain of attacks. His eyes felt heavy as he gazed at the person who let him escape for the first time and began questioning the way he acted. Lashing out if everyone because of his own failure. "I won''t do this¡­" Derik muttered¡­ "This battle cannot continue this way..." He said to himself 153 Chapter 153: True wrath Derik stood there motionless as he watched his werewolf battle Cyrus'' majestic divine sword. A hint of sadness and confusion flashed in his eyes for a while, before he stopped himself "That''s enough" Derik muttered and his werewolf avatar returned to his side. He had this feeling that if he attacked at that moment when Cyrus was distracted by the battle him of their summoned avatars, there is a very high chance that he would have successfully murdered the life mage. He had this feeling in his soul that this had happened before and in that version, a lot of innocent people were murdered alongside Cyrus. He gazed at what''s left of the royal palace and a frown appeared on his face. He concentrated and felt the life force of multiple targets underneath the rubble. "Help me get them out¡­ Karl, Gin and Kira are still alive.." Derik called out to Cyrus who stood at the distance, waiting for Derik to act first. Hearing this Cyrus frowned as he considered what suddenly changed Derik. Why did he calm down abruptly? "If you won''t help me, then I''ll do it alone" Derik muttered and instructed his werewolf avatar to dig them out. He stood in mid-air patiently as he watched the werewolf avatar remove the rubbles on after the other. This process consumed close to four hours, during that time Cyrus stood at a safe distance and wondered what went wrong with Derik. He watched Derik and his werewolf avatar, rescue all those who were buried beneath the rubble and stopped the others who arrived later from interfering. "All I want is the royal family" Derik finally said when he was done. His darkish purple eyes lit up and shone so bright that Cyrus retreated by one step, looking at Derik cautiously while waiting for him to make a move. At this point, Derik understood the rules of this world, as long as he does not throw the first blow, they will not attack. He convinced himself that this world was not the real thing and realized he may have been here a while ago. At this point, an expensive carriage appeared and two figures appeared! It was John holding on to Linda''s hand while walking towards the collapsed royal palace. The rage which was quenched a long time ago began building up. Images of these two testifying against him flashed repeatedly and he felt like his heart would explode at any minute. "No¡­" Derik held on to his chest while spitting out a mouthful of black blood. His body was covered with darkish purple aura as he launched himself towards the direction where his dad and sister stood. "Don''t let him get to us¡­ Kill him!" John Angus screamed to the royal guards, who nodded and unsheathed their weapons, forming a small wall in front of the Angus family. Death magic: Black lash! "Move!" Derik roared and ten black whips shot out of his fingers and instantly bound all six guards before they could even react. Whoosh! Derik flew past them and arrived right in front of John and Linda. Black blood rolled down his cheeks and he forcefully bit his lower lips "Why?" this was all Derik could say "We had to¡­ they promised us a lot of things¡­ they were going to kill you off anyway, I had to do it¡­ I did it for the family!" John said with fearful eyes. "I see" Derik nodded. He reached out and placed his hand on Linda''s head and a warm smile appeared on his face before turning his attention to John once again. "I''m happy you guys are doing well," Derik said with a genuine smile. "Yo¡­ You won''t kill us?" John stuttered as he spoke. "Not really¡­ My problem is with the royal family, I''m done lashing out on everyone¡­" Derik muttered to himself. Boom! Right before Derik''s eye, the false world began to rumble, one by one everyone on the street vanished. "Thank you," John said with a sincere smile before he vanished as well. ....................... Derik yanked his eyes open only to realize that Demos was staring at his with an excited expression on his face. His spirit felt weak and his body felt heavy. "How long have I been in that thing?" Derik muttered while pointing at the pitch-black container surrounded by a terrifying evil aura. "A year and a few months," Demos said casually. Wait, what? Derik''s jaw dropped when he heard what Demos said. He quickly got on his feet and looked around as if he was trying to find something, unfortunately, the underworld had no day or night. "A year plus, all for a single sin? How long will it take me to acquire the other six?" Derik asked. "A decade at most¡­ Either way, you should be able to tell the difference between now and then, you can directly break into the mid-grade of the silver realm, your body has absorbed so much death energy here" Demos answered "I see¡­" Derik muttered to himself "The sin of wrath, rage is only powerful when directed on a person or a group of people, anything outside that is simply madness¡­ how many times did it take you to realize this? How many times did you redo" Demos laughed "Aaaah! You knew¡­ why didn''t you give me some tips before I started?" Derik asked with a frown "Well, you would have forgotten. You can only remember what the sin wants you to remember during the test¡­ Do you think it will let you remember something that will help you finish the task so easily? The answer has to come from you" Demos answered with a casual smile "I see¡­ well, I killed everyone on my first trial¡­ killed half of them on the second trial, luckily I was able to control my rage at that time" Derik said "Two trials¡­ Impressive¡­ The shadow lurker and I were pretty sure it will take you at least five trials for you to realize what you are doing wrong¡­ seems like we underestimated you" Demos laughed "Bastards¡­" Derik cursed with a smile on his face 154 Chapter 154: Retribution 1 After another week or so of mediation in the underworld, Derik finally broke into the mid-grade of the silver realm. Since he already had a path it was much easier to make this breakthrough, thereby raising his strength to a new level altogether. "My time here is definitely dealing a serious blow on my appearance," Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. After spending over a year in the underworld, Derik''s appearance drastically changed. His eyes were pitch-black like the darkness itself, it looked like a place where light could not penetrate. Derik''s body at this point was shrouded in black aura which escaped from his body and on his skin were black marks which looked like his skin had cracks similar to that of an eggshell and within those cracks was darkness. "I guess you will never be considered a ladies man" Demos teased him with a mischievous smile on his face. Hearing this Derik only let out a light chuckle and got on his feet. He really didn''t care about his appearance anymore, he didn''t really care if he was shrouded in a black mist making it hard for people to see what he actually looked like, the only pain and regret he felt at this moment came only when he thinks of Elsa. "I need to master a second path and strengthen myself further," Derik said nonchalantly as he walked towards the shadow lurker who was coiled like a spring. He placed his hand on its thick scales and smiled casually. He could tell that this majestic beast was slowly evolving and this was not the best time to break its focus and have it fight for him. At this point, he could only depend on his own power coupled with that of the death avatar if he wishes to make his final move. "I strongly advise you to inherit the seven sins before you return to Gyro, if not it will be really difficult for you to deal with the cosmic spirit host, Kalos" Demos said with a stern voice. The angel of death was aware of Derik''s intentions and he could almost feel the rage burning in Derik''s heart. After Derik acquired the sin of wrath, his rage was perfectly directed on the royal family of the Gyro kingdom and the noble families there. This was clearly the effects of the sin of wrath which Derik has inherited and Demos wasn''t really happy with this. If he was going to let Derik return to Gyro, he would most likely prefer it if the kid was at a level where even Kalos won''t pose much of a threat "It took me more than a year to acquire the sin of wrath, I don''t really know how long it will take me to inherit the rest¡­ I don''t have that much time to waste" Derik snorted. "Then I ask for a year! two more years here, that way I can teach you many things¡­ You promised to Demos that you will return in ten years¡­ it has only been six years¡­ two more years won''t hurt" Demos said with a stern look on his face. "Demos¡­" Derik shook his head, obviously planning to deny this request. "Don''t refuse¡­ I''m just trying to make sure you don''t die off at the hands of a life mage or a spatial mage" Demos said After hearing this, Derik frowned at first. He knew that Demos was wrong and he didn''t really have any reason to refuse. "Very well then¡­" Derik answered a bit annoyed. ........................................ Two years later¡­ In the streets of the residential area of Briton, it was crowded and filled with kids playing. They cheered and screamed at the top of their voices as they chased after each other and laughed. At this time, the parents of these kids sat together and spoke on the crowning ceremony of the elder princess, Anna Gyro. Gerald has already stolen the hearts and minds of more than eighty percent of Gyro''s population and they strongly opposed the enthroning of a one-armed woman who could not even stand face to face with the leader of the family royal guards! Why would they want someone so weak to lead them? As the time for the crowning ceremony drew closer, so did the violence. Clashes between citizens and the kingdom guards and increased and it seemed like a civil war was inevitable. They realized that the only reason why Gerald has not made a move is because of the presence of the kingdom guardian, Kalos whom he could bring him down at any time, forcing him to remain passive in this matter. On this day, Gerald was locked up in his chambers and covered his face with his palms, muttering something inaudible but then a communication stone placed under his bed glowed and let out beeping sounds. At first, Gerald thought it might be someone else so he ignored it but then he remembered something and his eyes lit up. Rolling off the bed he dived for the communication stone, grabbing on to it and screaming¡­ "Its Gerald Gyro¡­ Tell me its time!" "Prepare your men and wait for me at the capital¡­ its time we rid this kingdom of those vipers¡­ TELL THE GYRO KINGDOM THAT DERIK ANGUS HAS RETURNED!" Derik''s enraged voice echoed in Gerald''s ears. No matter how much he tried to fight it, he couldn''t stop the smile from appearing on his face. Five years ago, Derik fought against a member of the heroes of legend, a gold realm master and still survived the encounter, delivering a reasonable amount of damage on his foe. Now, three years have gone by, Gerald was curious to see how powerful Derik has become! .......................................... Above the mighty walls surrounding the small town of Briton, very high up in the sky, a mighty hellish gate appeared and its mighty bone doors swung open. Two figures casually walked out of the gate which quickly closed and vanished behind them. One was very tall being whose face was covered with a hood from its black mage robe and its mighty black wings created gusts of wind each time it flapped together. Beside it was a youth in his early twenties shrouded in a black haze and fiery darkish purple eyes glowing brightly in the darkness. He swung his hand towards the skies and dark clouds began to gather above the little town in the Gyro kingdom. "People of Briton, Your new master has returned, bend a knee and proclaim your undying loyalty to me or die!" Derik''s voice was like a roaring thunder which could be heard even in the kingdom capitals. 155 Chapter 155: Retribution 2 "Don''t retreat, its just one man¡­ come on, flank him!" A female commander in golden armor roared as she struggled with Derik''s death aura which was like a tidal wave. This was the same woman Derik saw through the carriage window on his way to castle black for the very first time. He had a good impression of this person and wasn''t willing to kill her. At this point, the streets of Briton were filled with soldiers who desperately attempted to block Derik''s way but none could even make him break a sweat. The power gap was just too much. "Mere bronze realm warriors and mages dare stand in my way? Humph! When I was at your level I killed hundreds of people at the silver realm¡­ you will never be able to put a scratch on me" Derik said with a casual smile. Derik''s long pitch-black hair was cut short before he came here. He wore a sleeveless tight-fitting black shirt and black trousers. Around his neck was a strange skull pendant that looked like it was bound to his body. "Take the out, but don''t kill them¡­ I don''t want to be disturbed" Derik said to the death avatar standing behind him like a guardian angel. "As you wish, young master¡­." The death avatar bowed slightly before turning into a beam of light, shooting towards the soldiers. Derik only let out a sigh and made his way towards his place of residence while he was still here on foot. His eyes portrayed mixed feelings as he compared his life of then to now. He realized ever since he left the Gyro kingdom, he has never had a moment of peace, just conflict and battles. Using his aura like a weapon, he easily swept away everyone that came anywhere four hundred meters close to him. Unknown to these people, they only survived this long because Derik subdued the corrosive effects of his aura. Even ranged attacks could not invade his space and breakthrough his aura which acted as a barrier. Derik''s short journey stopped right in front of the little place he once called home. His eyes narrowed slightly as he could feel a few life energy signatures within the building. Whoosh! Derik''s body flashed, the doors in his way burst open violently and he appeared in a room where a family of five were living. Three kids were trembling in their mother''s hands while the man standing right in front with a kitchen knife in his trembling hands. Even though the man''s body shook, Derik could still see the determination in his eyes. It was obvious this man was willing to die here, protecting his family. "Impressive¡­ even at the face of death itself you still stand against me¡­ very bold, excellent" Derik said with a wide grin on his face as he walked towards the man. "Get back¡­ get back¡­ I am warning you!" The man roared and took a step forward. While gritting his teeth, the man closed his fearful eyes just for a second and when they opened once again, the fear was gone and was replaced with sheer fighting spirit and determination. He let out a roar and dashed forward with the knife in his hands, striking forward. "I am truly impressed" Derik said with a smile. As the man lacked proper training, his movements were rigid and easy to read. Derik simply grabbed the man by the hand before the blade could reach his body. As he possessed monstrous strength, the man could only watch him helplessly with fearful eyes. "What''s your name" the black mist that hovered around Derik suddenly vanished, revealing his charming smile. This startled the man greatly. From the reports and description he has been given over the years, the death mage of Aldemar was practically a monster, a beast! If he were to believe all the stories he has been fed with up till now, he would have assumed that Derik is not human. But today, he finally came face to face with a charming man who seemed to be compassionate. He refused to believe that this man is the one responsible for hundreds of deaths in the kingdom of Cato and thousands of death at the moonlight forest. "Wilfred¡­ sir" The man mustered the courage to speak after a while. "I See" Derik said, letting go of the man''s hand. He walked past the man, towards the kids and the woman there. Upon arrival, Derik crouched and smile at the kids warmly. "Hello¡­" Derik muttered and stretched out his hand, offering it to the children there. Seeing they were too scared, he smiled softly and turned his attention to Wilfred and spoke. "This use to be my home a few years ago¡­ I apologize for barging in abruptly, I was hoping I would see someone else¡­ I''ll be leaving now" Derik said while smiling at the kids. His storage ring glowed and three gold coins emerged from it. Derik quickly handed over the three gold coins to the three kids with a casual smile. "Use this to get yourselves some sweets after all of this is over" Derik muttered sweetly. He simply nodded at the man before walking away, this left everyone confused. Wasn''t the death mage supposed to be a monster and a killing machine? Wasn''t he supposed to be the enemy of all living things? Was the royal family wrong? Wilfred was just happy he and his family members were safe. He considered himself extremely lucky and this event completely changed his opinion of the legendary death mage. ........................................ The streets of Briton were lonely and quiet and Derik walked through it without any restriction. He didn''t care at all what might pop up at the next moment as he believed no one in this kingdom can face him. The extra two years he spent in secluded cultivation was not for show. This time he was able to use the final treasure of the dungeon and master his second path. With this, his power has risen to an amazing height. Even though Demos still insisted that Kalos is still a problem, Derik was not really bothered. He could feel the fearful gazes of families, hiding out in their various houses, staring at him from their windows. A playful smile appeared on his face as he kept moving forward without bothering. Surprisingly, no one stopped him this time, it was obvious that the death avatar has gone ahead to clear the path for him. All these bronze realm guards that fill the small town of Briton can never pose a threat to him. The only people worthy to stand face to face with him, are the ones he''s planning to subdue now. In less than two hours Derik arrived at a certain part of the commercial district, standing right in front of a massive gate, leading to a massive castle. If he is planning to make these people pay for everything that has happened to him, he has to start from the very start. He pushed the gates open and the usual dog smell washed through his face, making Derik crack a smile. He had to confess, he missed this feeling, this brought back old memories. Derik had a confident smile as he walked in, making his way towards the Lockwood castle. "I had a feeling you would come¡­" a voice echoed in Derik''s head and numerous vines appeared from beneath, proceeding to bind Derik. Instantly, two blurry figures appeared from the sides, with their claws raised high and their yellow eyes burning bright. Their claws and fangs were heading towards his throat and their killing intentions could not be hidden either. This was an ambush! And they were planning to one-shot Derik. Derik could feel his skin burning and he realized that the vines were dripping wet with what seemed to smell like wolves bane. "So violent¡­" Derik chuckled and his fiery darkish purple eyes lit up. His death aura burst out of his body, completely shattering the veins while blowing Lucas and Rolan away. "To think you sent these kids against me¡­ I feel hurt¡­" the friendly smile on Derik''s face vanished as he kept moving forward, not minding Rolan and Lucas who were blown away a few seconds ago. His cold gaze was fixed on Scott and Brian who stood beside the nature guardian spirit element host, Francis. "Its been too long!" Derik revealed a vicious smile this time. Revealing his fangs and claws in the process 156 Chapter 156: Death meets nature 1 "I agree¡­ it''s been too long Derik... How have you been?" Scott walked towards Derik with a casual smile on his face. It looked as if he was having a reunion with an old friend. "I didn''t think you will survive the royal family''s cruel attack¡­ you have also made a name for yourself and somehow retained your senses¡­ if my little sis did not fall into bedevilment I probably wouldn''t have hurt her" Francis said with a casual smile on his face. While these people spoke, Derik simply ignored them and focused his attention on the surrounding. From the power he could feel from Francis'' body, he could tell that the nature mage was at the peak grade of the silver realm and he was no ordinary mage. Just like Derik, other guardian spirit hosts have the ability to battle foes at a higher realm, meaning that Derik''s usual advantage over other foes will not aid him this time. He also realized that Francis held back that night when he died for the first time. He thought he somehow overpowered the silver realm nature mage but now his understanding of the true power guardian spirit hosts possess, he realized he was only daydreaming. How can recruit who has not undergone refinement defeat a silver realm nature mage, a host of the nature guardian spirit! Impossible! Pushing that thought aside, he turned his attention to Scott, Brian, Lucas, and Rolan. A decade ago, he was too weak to sense their power level but now he finally realized how strong they were. Scott and Brian were at the low grade of the silver realm in terms of strength back then, while Lucas and Rolan should be at the bronze realm at that time. But now, he could tell that Lucas and Rolan had power comparable to silver realm experts, meaning that Scott and Brian should only be slightly inferior to Francis if not on par with him. Clank! Clank!! Clank!!! Sounds of metal armors, metal weapons and numerous footsteps resonated from everywhere. The small troops under the control of the Lockwood family decided to join the battle! The massive gate yanked open and the troop''s station in this small town also rushed in. Just by looking at the crowd he could tell they were at least over five hundred people present. Mostly bronze realm warriors and mages, while the silver realm experts and elites amongst them were not even up to five. How dare these people to challenge him with such a pitiful force? They must be tired of living! Even though the general strength of Briton''s military force was weak to Derik, it still didn''t stop him from commending this town. He didn''t think the overall military force of this little town was up to three hundred soldiers. Fortunately for them, Derik didn''t come here to slaughter people. After attaining the power of the sin of wrath, Derik''s rage was focused now, all he wanted was the head of the members of the royal family and the noble families at the capital, there is no reason for him to wipe out the whole kingdom for this. By the way, these people will soon become his subordinates after this is over, so why kill them off? "Francis¡­ I''m here to take the king and wipe out a reasonable portion of the royal family and the nobles of this kingdom¡­ care to join me?" Derik laughed as he spoke. "Why should I help you¡­ do you think a death mage like you is worthy to lead this kingdom?" Francis sneered. He obviously did not buy Derik''s idea. Why should he help the bringer of death wipe out the royal family and take control of the kingdom? Does he think he has what it takes to be king? Francis'' figure left the ground and slowly levitated into the air. His body was covered in a green halo and his aura kept rising. "The last time we fought I was unwilling to take your life because I didn''t want you to suffer the same fate as my sister¡­ that''s why I always tried to suppress your abilities¡­ but now things have changed Derik. You are a grown man and can take responsibility for your actions¡­ Don''t blame me for been ruthless kid¡­ I won''t hold back this time" Francis said casually. "Everyone keep your distance, I will battle the death mage now and put an end to this farce¡­ If you wish to aid me, don''t rush in carelessly¡­ Search for openings before you strike¡­ remember, every shot counts" Francis said. Hearing his words, Derik just laughed casually and threw his hands open as if he was asking them to take the first shot. He was actually taunting them! Yet they were not enraged, these people were quite sure that Derik has the strength to back up his arrogant character, they saw no reason to scold him. "We will leave it to you then¡­" Scott said with a casual smile. He dared not utilize his werewolf abilities in front of the military. He also knew that the small branch of the holy church in Briton will arrive soon, should they realize what he is, the Lockwood family will be wiped out alongside the death mage. He waved his hand, signally the other members of the family to retreat into the castle. "You still hide in the shadows¡­ You still refuse to let the world know what you are¡­ how sad¡­ Don''t worry, I will tear down this government with my hands and let special beings like you live freely amongst humans" Derik said indifferently as he watched the members of the Lockwood family retreat. He knew the Gyro kingdom has a special force under its command which is made up of only supernatural beings but even then, this force is hidden and not allowed to mingle with others. They are been isolated from the outside world and Derik was not happy about this. Who says there is no such thing as a perfect world? Derik at this point was determined to build a perfect world with his strength, which he will watch over as its guardian. All he needs is power, enough power to show the creator his middle finger and ask it to piss off. Enough power to crush the looming threat with his bare hands and scare all his foes away, forcing them into submission. But first, he is going to start with Gyro, then the kingdom and then this world. Many will probably call his goal a fantasy but then he is more than willing to prove them wrong. Derik ascended into the air with his arms wrapped around his chest and a prideful smile on his face. "I will make you submit, even if I have to beat the crap out of you," Derik said casually "Death¡­" Derik muttered and his death avatar appeared right beside him in an instant. It looked like a guardian angel, as its massive pair of black wings folded above Derik''s head, shielding him from the rays of the sun Screech!. It released an ear-piercing screech that made the souls of everyone who heard it tremble. This served as a warning to all those who bare ill intentions for its master, warning them to back off or face its wrath! "Well then¡­ Lets begin" A smile blossomed on Derik''s face when he saw Francis'' expression turn sour! 157 Chapter 157: Death meets nature 2 Numerous green vines with strange purple flowers on them shot out from the ground and quickly surrounded Derik and his death avatar who remained calm with a mocking smile on his face. It felt as if he was daring Francis to make the first move, he wants to totally crush this nature mage at his best, that''s why he''s letting him make the first move! "Why Do you hesitate? Didn''t you say you won''t hold back this time?" Derik sneered Hearing these words Francis frowned slightly and decided to make the first move. "Nature magic: A thousand vines of death!" Francis roared and the green light flashed in his eyes. Over a thousand vines were suddenly covered by a green halo and shot towards Derik and his death avatar. Seeing the attacks were from all sides, Derik and his death avatar still remained calm and released their terrifying death aura. The death aura possessed the most corrosive qualities and also have the ability to steal life energy from any living thing it makes contact with, making it the most unique aura a person can possess. This is practically the combination of so many diabolic elements/magic ever known to the inhabitants of this planet. Boom! Derik and his death avatar''s aura burst out and instantly shook the surrounding. The bronze realm warriors and mages present suddenly felt like their bodies weighed as much as a massive boulder and they also found it hard to breathe. It felt like the oxygen and the life force in them was been forcefully dragged out of their body, and they soon fell on their knees. The sight of hundreds of bronze realm warriors and mages kneeling and gasping for air, just because the death mage released his concealed aura completely terrified all the silver realm experts present. Wasn''t the death mage supposed to be at the mid-grade of the silver realm? How Does he possess such a powerful aura? It just doesn''t make any sense! Derik and his death avatar joined hands to create a massive pillar of death aura around themselves over three hundred meters wide. Within that space, anything that tried to penetrate the pillar of death aura was quickly forced to rot away and instantly turned to dust. Even the thousand vines which Francis created was not able to penetrate this dangerous barrier, they all turned to dust the moment they made contact with the death mage''s barrier. This terrified everyone present as they shifted their gaze to the nature mage, hoping he has something else to show which can hurt Derik. "Amongst all the hosts of the guardian spirits, I and the blazing flame host are the worst people you can ever encounter¡­ Its such a pity you didn''t act against me when you still had the chance years ago" Derik said with a calm smile. He waved his hand and his death aura poured out from his palms, taking the form of a death scythe. With this done the smile on Derik''s face widened even more! He made strange hand gestures and the death scythe trembled before turning into a beam of light and shooting forward! Death magic: Purgatory slash! The death scythe soon appeared right in front of Francis in less than a second and swung ferociously at him, attempting to severe his upper half from the lower half of his boy in an instant. Seeing this, a bead of cold sweat appeared on Francis''s forehead. He waved his hands and more vines burst out wrapping him like a cocoon but to his greatest surprise, even a thousand earth vines could not save him from Derik''s ferocious attack! The cocoon was cut open easily and a large gash appeared on Francis'' waist and he was forced to retreat even further while spitting out a mouthful of blood. The light in his green eyes dimmed slightly and his former intimidating aura reduced. "Nature magic: Natures healing" Francis muttered and he was covered by a green halo. His injuries began close at a visible rate and this came as a shock to Derik. He could easily tell the healing capabilities were beyond that which his werewolf side provides him. Derik''s charming smile never faded for a single moment. The truth was that he never planned to be here in the first place, he never planned to battle this nature mage in the first place. All those he held a grudge against were most likely hiding out in the capital, which one would dare to stay in a small unguarded town like Briton? His original intentions were to open the accursed gate of the underworld right inside the palace and just depended on the corrosive aura of the underworld to wipeout everyone in the palace. Who can stand the power of death? But to his greatest surprise, he couldn''t open a gate anywhere in the capital. It was like some sort of supernatural force was preventing the massive gates of the underworld from opening. Such a formation requires in-depth knowledge of the space element which is only accessible to the cosmic spirit host, Kalos! The kingdom guardian of Gyro. He had to admit, the cosmic spirits are beings even he will have problems dealing with. It is quite safe to say that they were not inferior to guardian spirit hosts in any way. In fact, they are superior in so many ways, and even now Derik does not dare to look down on them. At this very moment, at this very place, all Derik was doing now is to establish dominance over these people, while he waits for the elder prince and his team to find a way to destroy the spatial formation preventing him from getting inside. On a second thought he could easily fly towards the capital but in the end, he will be forced to fend off a lot of opposition along the way and when he eventually gets to the wall, he will also need to expend a reasonable amount of energy just to destroy the magic walls surrounding the capital. This is definitely not how he pictured the whole invasion to be. He expected intense battles from the very beginning up to the end with only one side standing tall. But now he is forced to toy with the host of the nature guardian spirit! How annoying and disappointing can that be? The problem wasn''t necessarily that Francis is not strong. The thing is, the guy is a support type and his abilities only excel in that aspect. Although the man can be considered a monster when going up against normal mages and warriors at his level or even lower just like any other host, he was still weak in the presence of other offensive type hosts. "This is embarrassing¡­" Derik yawned while rubbing his forehead with his palms. If Francis hard someone who could act as his sword while he supports from behind, the person will most likely be invincible but in this situation, there was no one here capable of withstanding a single attack from Derik. So it''s very unlikely that they can perform their role before meeting an untimely death. At this point, Francis was aware of the situation and clearly understood he was temporarily blinded by his anger when he proposed to battle Derik alone. He nearly forgot his roles and his cultivation path and attempted to fight an offensive beast like Derik with his current abilities. Impossible! He hated the fact that he could not storm over right now and knock the mocking smile off Derik''s face. He hated the fact that no one present can lay a finger on the death mage without having an encounter with death itself! He began to worry that Derik may lose his temper and let Briton fill his rage. "Yea¡­ what took you so long¡­ I might as well beat some sense into you the moment I am done with the kingdom guardian and the royal family¡­ I''ll be there in a second¡­ we finally get to start" Derik suddenly pulled out a communication stone and spoke. As soon as he was done, he clasped his hands together and a massive gate appeared after which he quickly walked in with the death avatar following him closely. "We have enough time to settle our issues later, not today¡­ I have important business to attend to" Derik laughed as he massive bone gate closed before it vanished in purple flames. 158 Chapter 158: Shocking Gyro The streets of the capital were empty, for some reason all citizens have been ordered to stay indoors. Sounds of businesses closed down in a haste, cries of kids forgotten on the lonely streets and sounds of windows and doors been shut forcibly filled the lonely air. Soon all this was replaced by the sounds of the war drums and armored soldiers marching forward. The military forces of Gyro soon filled the streets, easily reach tens of thousands of men and women, at a point Derik could swear they were more than twenty thousand of them, if not more. This makes one wonder, where all the other parts of the kingdom forced to submit their soldiers meant to defend them to the capital, just so that they can protect the royal family? What if the other parts of the kingdom were invaded at this very moment, doesn''t that mean, the little towns surrounding the capital will be left defenseless? A massive bone gate appeared above the capital, just outside the walls of the city and a thick mist of death energy burst out as two figures emerged. The smile on Derik''s face vanished the moment he stepped into the kingdom capital, knowing fully well it is time to get serious. His fiery darkish purple eyes lit up and burnt fiercely and dark clouds soon gathered above the city with purple bolts of lightning circling him. His power over the death energy was fully displayed as he roared and struck out towards the royal palace in the distance which stood out amongst all buildings in the capital. The bolts of purple lighting moved nimbly towards the royal palace, consciously evading everyone in its way as it flew forward. BOOM! BOOOM!! BOOOOM!!! Before the purple lightning could reach the royal palace, it met a massive transparent barrier surrounding the building. This made Derik go crazy. His short stay in the outside world helped him understand how messed up the Gyro kingdom is. Every other kingdom, just like Gyro possesses massive walls that serve as a barrier between the kingdom and the magic beasts outside. To Derik''s greatest surprise, only Gyro has walls not reinforced by any form of magic. Briton was located at the very edge of the kingdom, yet the walls that surround it does not in any way possess strong magic capabilities that can withstand any magical attacks. In Gyro''s case, the magic formations barriers are focused on the walls surrounding the capital and the walls surrounding the royal palace, providing only those at the capital with the maximum level of protection, that''s the reason why the capital is most times regarded to as the Paradise of Gyro. What the heck, even the walls which separate the capital from the other towns surrounding the kingdom cannot be seen in other kingdoms in the continent. To Derik, this is simply a way of differentiating the various status of people in the kingdom. This left Derik enraged! His eyes scanned through the overall forces of the kingdom and he was quite impressed by their sheer numbers, this could be considered a massive force in any part of the continent. These forces were divided into teams of seven, with each team consisting of all the magical and physical classes available. To Derik''s greatest surprise these people were well organized unlike those he fought at the moonlight forest! He was sure that if these people should join hands against him, he may not even last a minute against such an overwhelming number. At this moment, he could only rely on the portion of Gyro''s forces which was made up of the member''s adventurers association, under Gerald to aid him in this battle. His eyes flickered and purple light burst out of his eyes at a terrifying speed, flying towards the barrier at immense speed, yet it could not leave a crack on the barrier. Seeing this Derik''s expression crumbled, he could tell that the barrier surrounding the palace was way more powerful than the one used on the walls protecting the capital. It felt like he was tossing pebbles at a turtle hiding in its shell. He couldn''t even deal any damage to it. "He dares ignore us and attack the royal palace directly? This death mage is ignorant¡­ Captain give the word I sincerely want to be the crap out of this man" a man in a leather armor spoke out first, he held his bow tightly and was already reaching for an arrow in his quiver. His main purpose of saying this was probably to impress the young lady from the military right beside him. but to his greatest surprise, the death mage he was speaking of reacted to his words and quickly shifted his cold chilly gaze to the man. "T¡­ there is no way he could have heard me right?" The man stammered in fear while taking a step back and gulping down a mouthful of saliva. He felt like death itself was looking down on him, telling him that his time to die has come. How could this death mage pick him out even when they were surrounded by tens of thousands of people? Even gold level masters may not be able to do this! The man was already on his knees, convulsing while staring at the death mage with terrified eyes. His body was drenched in sweat and he even wet himself due to fear. At this point, all he could see were multiple ways of which his life may end in this battle. "Death magic: Death stare¡­ a rather useful ability" Derik said calmly before ignoring the man. He shifted his gaze to the massive flames the shape of a dragon flying towards him and smirk appeared on his face. At this point, the only flames that can make him feel a bit uncomfortable were the ones belonging to Kaido and Ahika, the sun cosmic spirit host and the blazing fire guardian spirit host. Anything below that was nonsense to him. The army cheered as they watched the elder prince, Gerald make the first move. After he reached the peak of the silver realm as a fire mage, his living flames path allowed him to actually give life to his fire attacks. He stood gallantly inside the flaming dragon the size of the massive royal palace itself and ordered the dragon to charge forward the ancient and terrifying aura which escaped from his fire dragons body was enough to make people at the bronze realm think he''s a fire god but to Derik, this was nonsense. "Vanish" Derik casually waved his hand and a terrifying wave of death aura burst out. Seeing this, Gerald''s complexion changed even his fire dragon howled in fear and quickly stopped its advance, retreating continuously. How can someone''s aura alone be this terrifying? "Where do you think you are going" Derik sneered and raised his hand. Instantly the death scythe appeared in his hands and his already terrifying aura increased twofold! Boom! Derik''s body shot forward like a missile towards the fire dragon, covering hundreds of meters in just an instant! ROAR! The fire dragon panicked and quickly retreated even further, the fear in the eye of the beast was glaring and everyone was dumbfounded by this, especially Gerald! This is the first time he has lost complete control of his magic. Unfortunately, the fire dragons huge body was not as fast as the little Derik, so it couldn''t shake off the death mage in its retreat The death scythe in his hands trembled and a massive amount of death aura burst out as Derik slashed out! Death magic: Purgatory slash! It was a clean-cut, an extremely clean-cut as Derik managed to severe one of the flaming wings from the rest of the body. The beast roared in pain while retreating even further, trying to increase the distance between it and the death mage, unfortunately, Derik was not going to let it go that easily. With each strike, a part of the fire dragons'' body was severed and soon it has almost lost all of its limbs. If this was actually a leaving creature it would have been dead before now! "Enough of these games, my patience runs short! Are you satisfied? Can we begin?" The death scythe in Derik''s hands vanished in purple flames as he roared at Gerald. Gerald was already covered in sweat and a bitter smile on his face. This death mage is completely acting like nothing happen after chasing his fire dragon around like it was a little frightened puppy. He has never been humiliated this bad before, but this necessarily wasn''t a bad thing. To him, it meant that he just found himself an invincible partner "Yea¡­ I was just checking your strength¡­ Now lets blast that barrier open and kill my father" Gerald flew to Derik''s side and spoke with a warm smile as he just met an old friend. At this very moment, there was silence¡­ only silence! No one knew what to say or do, some felt like crying while some felt like laughing. They didn''t know what was more shocking, that the death mage chased around a peak silver realm level attack like its nothing or that the elder prince just betrayed the kingdom casually, colluding with the death mage who is meant to bring destruction to the kingdom. But they were all sure of one thing. They could tell that King Robert was most likely pulling out all the hair on his head at this moment and chewing them in a crazed manner after witnessing all that has happened. 159 Chapter 159: First move The forces of Gyro kingdom remained quiet for close to a minute as they looked up to the death mage and the elder prince, hoping all they have heard is a joke. The streets of the capital were nearly filled to the brim but this did not stop the citizens from peeping out the window and staring at the two figures standing in the air with confused yet excited expressions. Not too long ago, the elder princess was proclaimed the crowned princess to the throne. While some feminists supported this wholeheartedly, those who really sat down and thought this through were against the move. The elder princess was the closest thing to an imbecile they have seen from the royal family. Her combat knowledge and capabilities are close to, if not equal to zero, her courage is equal to zero, her wisdom and fairness is equal to zero but her scheming capabilities is over a hundred percent just like king Robert that may be the reason why the king actually prefers her to the upright and talented elder prince since she reminds him of the days of his youth, that must be the reason why the resources needed for at least a hundred people were invested in her to help raise her to the silver realm! This is even more than what the gravity cosmic spirit host Kuen receives. After the elder princess was crowned, the Gyro kingdom as a whole has been waiting for the elder prince to react but surprisingly he has always been quite and his charming smile never faded even once. At a point, king Robert and the people actually thought he has accepted Anna as the possible new ruler of the Gyro kingdom. To think that this was what he was waiting for all this while. "Bastard!" Robert roared and gritted his teeth as he watched what was happening from the throne room. He turned his attention to every other person hiding out in the palace and frowned. He knew the implications of Gerald''s move! It simply meant that the adventurers from the adventurer association who make up a portion of the military force that was meant to stand against Derik will instantly join his side, further improving his chances of winning. He glanced at John Angus and Linda Angus with murderous eyes for a while before pushing away the thought. He quickly shifted his gaze to Cyrus and the other members of the royal guard and frowned. "Don''t worry¡­ Our families are involved in this mess, and we know how vengeful the death mage can be, I definitely won''t let him reach the palace! I defeated him before, I will do it again!" Cyrus'' snow-white eyes released a sharp golden glow as he spoke calmly. He quickly turned around and left the room with the other members of the royal guards before the king could respond. Anna, Derik''s family and the family members of all the other nobles watched Derik and Gerald exchange pleasantries as if they were old friends and their complexions turned pale. The strength of the death mage was already terrifying, now he has close to half of the forces in Gyro by his side, it was only a matter of time before they wipe them all out. ........................¡­.. Meanwhile, Derik and Gerald were done exchanging pleasantries, quickly turning their attention to the army below them. Gerald immediately tried to speak but was stopped by Derik who waved his hand and slowly descended. His blazing darkish purple eyes burnt ridiculously bright as he scanned through all twenty thousand men and women prepared to fight to the death and a warm smile appeared on his face. "I will make Gerald Gyro, King!" Derik''s voice sounded like thunderclaps and the air suddenly turned chilly. The smell of death spread across the capital and darkish purple aura burst out of his body. Roar!!!!!!! Derik let out an ear-piercing roar revealing his fangs and claws. His cold gaze was fixed on the royal palace and he instantly turned into a flaming comet as he shot towards the royal palace with murderous intentions! "DO YOU THINK THIS LITTLE BARRIER FORMATION WILL SAVE YOU ROBERT? NO ONE CAN ESCAPE DEATH!" Derik''s words shook the capital. During this time everyone was dazed by Derik''s words and failed to react on time, letting Derik cross close to five hundred meters in just a few seconds. "What are you waiting for? Stop him!" A captain was the first to recover from the shock and quickly gave orders. While those in the military reacted accordingly and bombarded the darkish purple flaming comet with spells and attacks, those from the association were reluctant to make a move against Derik. In fact, most of them had the urge to turn around and face the military forces head-on. "What are you waiting for¡­ The death mage works for me¡­ He will make me king¡­ kill everyone that dares to stand in his way" Gerald''s calm voice was like a reminder to all those from the adventurers association and a fight broke out within the forces of Gyro. "For Gerald! For the death mage!" A guardian knight from the adventurers association roared as he dashed towards a team of military officials with his mighty spear raised high. His body released a mist of gray energy which instantly took the form of a rhino with the guardian knight within and he quickly shot forward like a projectile. After hearing Gerald''s words, the members of the military were already prepared for this and the guardian knight in that team roared and struck forward with his broadsword at the incoming foe! Boooom!!! Explosions and destruction soon filled the air in just a few seconds. Gerald''s eyes let out an orange light as he pinpointed the position of the important and high ranking military officials and a savage smile bloomed on his face. "Dragon flame magic: ROAR OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Gerald roared and his fiery aura poured out, taking the form of a fiery flame dragon with two mighty wings. The fire dragon roared before shooting down towards the direction of the officials and its already blazing fire eyes let out a blood-red glow "Dragon flame magic: Fire Dragons breath!" Gerald roared. The fire dragon let out an ear-piercing roar and hellish orange flames rolled out of its mouth and flew towards the high ranking military officials. "Don''t you dare feel cocky!" "You dare betray the Gyro kingdom? Your head will be hung on the walls of the capital!" "You may be a young genius but that doesn''t mean you can take us on all alone! You are courting death!" The high ranking military officials instantly cursed Gerald down to the tenth generation as they roared and pushed the all dashed towards the sea of orange flames. Since they were all at the silver realm, why would they fear a youth who just entered the peak grade of the silver realm? They have been involved in numerous conflicts and battles, they refused to believe their experience will fail them at a moment like this! 160 Chapter 160: Necromancer path Numerous attacks of different colors rained on the darkish purple flaming meteor, blocking its path. At a point, Derik could barely see those attacking him or even the royal palace! This was something he was desperately trying to avoid! His fiery eyes burnt even brighter and his energy levels rose even further, yet he still knew there is no way he could fight through these attacks and come out unscathed. "Go¡­ help Gerald! I''ll deal with this" Derik said to the death avatar who has been standing at a spot from the very beginning waiting for Derik''s order. Its eyes glowed the moment Derik spoke and with a slight nod, the death avatar turned into a beam of light and shot towards the high ranking military officials battling it out with Gerald. With that out of the way, a sinister smile appeared on Derik''s face and he let out a roar before pushing forward while releasing a terrifying amount of death aura, creating a death energy sphere around himself to help tank the attacks. The darkish purple sphere continued advancing towards the direction of the royal palace even under the assault of numerous foes. At a point, some silver realm officials dashed into the air in a bid to stop the death mage from advancing, only for them to be blown away by the terrifying power of Derik''s aura, not before the landed solid hits on the barrier! Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Puti! The barrier shattered and Derik was struck by a lightning arrow on the chest, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of black blood but his face remained stiff, not showing any signs of pain or fear. "Interesting!" Derik muttered as he reached for the arrow in an attempt to pull it out but then another wave of attacks quickly bombarded him, forcing him to retreat meters away, also leaving him with terrible wounds. At this point, Derik realized why Demos emphasized on the importance of his second path. When facing a powerful opponent there are only two options available. One must possess equal or greater strength or one must possess a greater number which can match the strength of the foe. No matter how powerful a foe is, given that the opposing side has a reasonable cultivation base and an overwhelming number, the foe will eventually be killed even though many lives will be lost. Derik believed that in the presence of absolute power, all forms of tricks are useless but Demos has always been against this chain of thought and has always tried to warn Derik against this, that''s why the angel of death chose the necromancer path as his second path. The necromancer path is a death mage exclusive path that involves summoning the souls of the dead to fight for the user. In most cases, this is considered one of the most powerful paths as it gives the user the ability to steal the souls of very powerful warriors and mages, bringing them back to life as almost invincible soldiers. One of the most terrifying abilities of the necromancer path is the fact that the undead forces summoned can never be killed as long as the user still has enough mana left. Injuries and damages sustained are instantly healed and these restless souls can never feel fatigued! A necromancer can also utilize the souls of other beings to further reinforce and strengthen other souls under their command. This was Derik''s first choice, he sincerely wished to use the thousands of souls in his incomplete domain which he has gathered over the years to strengthen the death avatar and three other powerful souls but Demos strongly advised against it, claiming that there is strength in numbers and he may need it for the upcoming battle. "I refuse" Derik muttered with a smile on his face. The waves of attacks coming his way have decreased significantly after the adventurers association forces and Gerald joined the battle but the fact remained that they were still outnumbered by the military force and could barely stand their ground. The truth remains that the adventurers association has been in place only a decade plus now, it was already shocking that they could gather this amount of forces but they could never meet up to the military which has been in place for centuries. As the members of the adventurers association have always been active, going outside the wall on numerous occasions to battle the magical beasts of the wild, complete quests and bounties and also take up protection missions alongside the military. They were not lacking in experience and skill, in fact, they were slightly superior in terms of strength but the overwhelming numbers weren''t something they could make up for easily. Derik understood it was only a matter of time before they are forced to retreat and then he will be the focal point of all the attacks, so he gritted his teeth and gave up on, killing the king first since it could not be completed in a short time. "THE MILITARY DARES TO STAND IN MY WAY? I WILL SHOW YOU ALL WHAT TRUE FEAR LOOKS LIKE!" Derik roared and he turned into a darkish purple flaming comet, descending upon a complete military team below him. Booooooom!!! The team reacted fairly well and was able to dive out of the way before the darkish purple fiery comet crashed into the ground, creating a twenty-meter deep crater. Before all seven of them could recover from the shockwave a figure with fiery darkish purple eyes and strange flames escaping his claws jumped out of the crater and instantly dashed forward. "Don''t give him a chance to strike, focus your spells on him at all times while we handle him at close range!" The guardian knight of the military team roared and dashed forward. A gray glow surrounded his body and he instantly shot forward like a spear and slashed down on Derik with his massive, five-meter long broad sword. Woooosh! Booom!! Crack!!! Derik let out a chuckle and his claws trembled as he shot forward like and rammed his claws into the chest of the guardian knight even before the man could bring down his raised broadsword. Bone shattering sounds can be head and the guardian knights steel chest plate was totally deformed after the impact. Wasn''t this guy supposed to be a mage? How can he possess such terrifying physical strength? "Bastard! Take this, Bronze level combat technique: wind shot!" the archer of the team roared as he pulled the string and a strong gust of wind surrounded the arrow before firing it at the death mage. At this point, the guardian knight was knocked back by over a hundred meters. Derik''s blazing eyes shifted towards the incoming mini hurricane and sighed. He threw his hand into the hurricane and easily caught the arrow as if it was nothing. "Cute¡­" Derik muttered. Suddenly a figure appeared behind Derik with a pair of daggers, but before they could reach Derik, his death aura burst out violently and she was blown away. The assassin''s body soon began to age as she kept struggling, gasping for air but the death aura around her never left. Instead, it forced its way into her body through all the openings available slowly corroding her from the inside as well. In just a few seconds the assassin turned to dust and was blown away by the calm breeze. Not even her clothing was left, striking fear deep into the hearts of everyone present who saw this. There was silence for just a minute and then the resounding cheer of the members of the adventurer association followed shortly. When their ally is capable of turning his foe to dust almost in an instant why won''t they be excited? Roooooooooooaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!! Derik let out a roar as his body trembled and his shadow suddenly expanded. His shadow kept expanding, forming a thick shadow until it was over four hundred meters wide. "Come out!" Derik barked with a sinister grin and strange beings began to emerge from his shadow. The forces of both the military and the adventurers association temporarily stopped their battle and everyone retreated in haste. No one wanted to be caught within any ability used by this death mage. In just a few seconds, Derik was surrounded by hundreds of strange beings who looked like mindless zombies. By Derik''s left was a pale-skinned woman who possessed sky blue hair and lightning energy danced around her and by his right was a blond-haired man who figure was shrouded by the gust of wind that surrounded him. Each and every soul summoned by the Derik wore a thick black armor that possessed spiky edges at the knee caps and shoulders. "Zaylee¡­ it''s very unfortunate you had to go so soon¡­ Don''t worry, even though you''re dead I won''t let your power go to waste¡­ MY SOLDIERS OF DARKNESS KILL THEM ALL!" Derik said with a sinister smile. He quickly dashed forward before turning into a darkish purple beam of light, flying towards the royal palace once again. With his invincible army of the dead fighting alongside the adventurers association, it''s only a matter of time before the military force of the kingdom is completely subdued. Also with, Zaylee the former host of the lightning guardian spirit, Sternroff, the former commander in the kingdom of Cato''s armed forces and the wingman priest serving as his personal bodyguards, he should be able to arrive at the royal palace safely! 161 Chapter 161: Old friends "Necromancer! He can control the army of the dead!" A woman from the adventurers association covered her mouth with her hands as she spoke. Even though she was a member of the adventurers association which fought alongside the death mage, she still felt terrified by what she saw and even began considering if joining hands was the right thing to do. It is very hard to believe that something so evil can be trustworthy, unfortunately, she wasn''t the only one thinking that way, everyone present here shared the same thoughts. What if the death mage stabs them at the back at a crucial moment and murders the elder prince in cold blood? What if his ultimate goal is to take the throne for himself and this is just him using the elder prince to reach his goal? "Do you think your prince is dumb enough to join hands with someone he doesn''t trust? I don''t think Gerald Gyro is dumb¡­ Now if you''re done doubting me, the death mage has just given us a chance of victory¡­ Done waste it!" Gerald''s voice sounded as a reminder in their head, clearing their doubts. He knew how frightening this death mage could be and it was hard to believe someone with such diabolic powers still possesses a good heart and a pure soul. To be honest, he was very sure that this Derik present is a different person when compared to the previous him and this bothered him slightly. In the deepest parts of his heart, he too was doubting Derik''s loyalty as well while considering the possible outcomes if Derik should turn his back on him. In this case, Gerald refused to completely give up on Derik! He believed that the evil magic which he possessed my corrupt his mind but it can never change his principles as a man. The fact that since the battle began, he is yet to wreak chaos and havoc, always struggling to reach the capital with the least number of casualties also proves that Derik wants to end this battle as soon as possible. This is enough reason for Gerald to place his trust in him. The army of the dead under Derik''s commands let out soul-shaking cries of pain and despair as they stormed forward towards the opposing side, each and every one of them wielding the same level of power they once had in their past life! During this time when these people were still confused about what next to do and who to trust in, Derik had already traveled really far. He could clearly see the royal palace no and a vicious grin appeared on his face. "All of you help me break the barrier!" Derik said as he urged the death energy in him, preparing for an attack. "Lightning magic: Typhoon!" The pale blue-haired lady under Derik''s command roared and spat out a sea of purple lightning which intertwined and soon took the form of a massive hurricane. "Wind magic: Hurricane!" The blonde-haired man roared as well as releasing a hurricane at the same time as the lady. "Guardian spirit path: Divine crucifix!" The winged man priest roared and a massive cross the size of a small mountain appeared above his head and let out a dazzling glow. "Divine light!" The winged man priest screamed and a beam of light energy shot out of the crucifix, towards the royal palace! Soon a lightning twister and a terrible wind hurricane flew towards the royal palace, alongside a ray of dazzling golden light, all that was left now was the attack from the main boss. "AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHH!" Derik roared as dark clouds loomed over his head and purple lightning descended into his palms. If it were years ago before Derik entered the silver realm, he would have been chanting some incantations now in preparation for the next spell but now things are different. The greater the understanding of one''s element, the easier it is for the person to manipulate it to their will. "Break!" Derik roared and released streaks of terrifying purple lighting which dance towards the royal palace. A vicious smile appeared on Derik''s face as he watched the combined attack fly towards the barrier protecting the royal palace. Even if the attack was not enough to completely bring down the barrier in one go, they could continue attacking, wearing it down bit by bit. ...... "Its good to see you again Derik, it been a while" A majestic voice was calm and had a soothing effect and yet everyone in the capital could hear it. Guardian spirit path: Ancient Divine sword! A massive sword materialized in front of the barrier and with an ear-piercing screech, the divine blade shot forward towards the attacks "Blood magic: Red sea!" Another familiar voice resonated from the royal palace and a sea of blood suddenly appeared, crashing down on the attacks aimed at the royal palace like a tidal wave Boom! Boooom!! Booooom!!! The shockwave from the attacks shook the skies and dark clouds above Derik and his army of the dead was forcefully cleared. Swoooooosh! Before anyone could recover from the previous collusion, a figure shot out of the royal palace like a meteor, shooting towards Derik and his undead slaves. His green hair was cut short and his golden warrior armor bearing the Gyro family emblem glittered under the sun. The broadsword in his hands which was placed in front released a powerful silver glow that made the air itself tremble In just a second, the youth had crossed the three hundred meter gap separating Derik and his undead slaves from the royal palace. He let out a roar and the broadsword in his hands trembled, releasing sounds that made people feel like the blade could break at any moment due to the pressure been put on it. The three undead slaves reacted quite well and they all launched their attacks viciously at the youth who dares to attack their master directly "Lightning magic: Typhoon!" "Wind magic: Hurricane" "Guardian crucifix: Diving light!" Two twisters, one made of lightning and the other made of wind coupled with a thick ray of golden light shot towards green-haired guardian knight, blocking his path of advance. To their greatest surprise, the guardian knight didn''t look like he was planning to slow down even a bit. Instead, the silver aura around him intensified and his speed skyrocketed even more. This made Derik wonder if Donald was trying to commit suicide or he was just to blind to see the high-level attacks sent towards him. Before Derik could act, a youth dressed in shiny blue armor, with long flowing blue hair appeared. His appearance stunned Derik the most and he unconsciously compared his looks to that of Gin. Even though the death magic has always altered his appearance over the years, Derik never hated it, instead, he was proud of his looks because it made him stand out even though it didn''t make him more handsome, it still made him look¡­ Unique, making it almost impossible for anyone not to stare at him for a while. But now things were different! Gin always had this extraordinary charm which made him stand out and even Derik could not deny the fact that he was a member of the team with the best looks at that time. Back then he felt he had a chance against the youth and when his appearance began to change because of his magic, he felt he would soon catch up to the enchanter but now, after seeing Gin after such a long time, Derik lost the little strands of hope he has been holding on to. If felt like the creator spent years just to make a charming youth like Gin, if there were female angels Derik was pretty sure they are willing to lose their status in the heavens just to spend a night with this youth. "Enchantment magic: Unbreakable!" Gin''s voice was calm and majestic, a voice worthy of such a handsome man. Blue light suddenly surrounded Donald and his body seemed to change, as if it had gotten thicker and firmer all of a sudden. Boooooooom! Donald roared as he plunged into the attack of all three undead slaves with fierce determination in his eyes. A slivery figure burst out the end of the attack and with a single sword swipe accompanied with an intimidating battle cry, Donald cut the three undead slaves in two as he blew past them! His body was covered in serious wounds, yet his eyes were still filled with determination! With no one left to he let out a small smile as he struck forward with all his might! "Old friend we meet again¡­" Silver level combat technique: Meteorite thrust! At this point, Derik finally realized what was going on. The protection enchantment spell cast on Donald was only meant to prevent him from sustaining life-threatening injuries from the combined attacks of the three undead slaves. The main goal was to let him get to Derik and him with a single strike! [Bastard Gin! When did you learn how to cast enchantment spells? You were always the close combat type] Derik cursed in his heart. "Old friend? We are not friends" Derik said to Donald with a savage grin on his face. His fiery eyes burnt even brighter and thick darkish purple aura burst out of his claws. It was clear Derik had no intention of shying away from a head-on confrontation with this guardian knight. He raised his hand and the death scythe which was the size of a full-grown man appeared in his hands, followed by a vicious grin! "Death magic: Purgatory Slash!" Derik roared as he shot forward and a large portion of his death aura burst out of the death scythe before he slashed forward as well. Boooom!!! Immediately after the collision, Derik was forced to retreat by a few hundred meters, he spat out black blood and it seemed as if he had sustained internal injuries. Meanwhile, Donald shot back like a meteor, flying towards the royal palace! The barrier surrounding the royal palace was quite special. It allowed people to leave but it stopped people from entering. Once a person leaves he can never enter again unless the barrier is brought down. Knowing this, everyone present knew that if Donald slams into the barrier at this moment, with the momentum he has gathered when he was blown away by Derik''s counter, chances are he will be turned into a bloody paste and this is not what anyone wanted to see. Everyone who remained within the protection of the barrier soon dashed out. While Cyrus cast protection and healing spell on Donald, the others attempted to stop him or at least slow him down by using their bodies to block him. The vicious smile on Derik''s face widened as he watched them struggle as he knew this will by him enough time to recover from the internal injuries which he has sustained but then he felt something was wrong. He could see Gin, Cyrus, Kira, Karl, Donald and his replacement and old friend Mason but one more person was missing. Before Derik could curse, he felt the sharp edges of a cold blade around his throat! He reacted quickly as he subconsciously released his death aura in a bid to scare the assassin away but to his greatest surprise, the assassin was protected by a thick layer of golden light. His expression instantly turned grim as he saw the cunning yet apologetic smile on Cyrus'' face. "Damn you!" Derik panicked for the first time in a while and the death scythe reacted to his masters fear and quickly escaped his grip and swiftly slashed at the assassin behind its master. "We will always be friends¡­ even in death" A sweet, alluring voice entered Derik''s ears. It seemed as if she was not scared by the death scythe. Puff! Before the death scythe reached the assassin she had already moved two hundred meters away. A deep gash was soon on Derik''s throat and he instinctively covered it with his hands while gasping for air. His eyes were filled with rage and hatred as he stared at the lady responsible for this fatal injury has sustained. "Daemon!" Derik struggled to speak! 162 Chapter 162: Come at me Even though Derik had his throat cut open, his eyes were still calm and he didn''t look desperate or terrified. His hands were covered in his black blood and his undead slaves quickly returned to his side, surrounding him like bodyguards. "You should have taken out the head entirely" Donald said with a frown on his face. Most of his injuries had already been healed, all thanks to Cyrus'' life magic. "I wish I could but that black scythe of his has a mind of its own¡­ if I reacted a second later I probably would have lost my life" Daemon stuck out her tongue as she spoke. "It''s alright, we will surely get another chance" Cyrus said with a calm smile on his face The fury in Derik''s expression could not be hidden at all, not only did they try to deal a death blow on him, but they laughed about it and claimed they will get another chance. His visage turned cold and his murderous aura poured out like a raging tidal wave, forcing Daemon to retreat a bit further. "I can assure you, there won''t be a next time¡­" Derik hissed. He waved his hand and the death scythe flew into his hand. Wielding his divine weapon, his already terrifying aura rose even more. The smile on Cyrus'' face darkened as he noticed tiny black spheres emerging from the thousands of people below and flying towards Derik''s body. This was Derik''s ability to draw power from negative emotion! To think he would try to use it at a time like this! Who would have thought their little joke would enrage the prince of darkness? Even though Cyrus possessed the ''Child of life'' ability which lets him draw life energy from people''s life force, there is a limited amount he can take, or else his target will die off. But Derik''s case was different, he could draw power from the negative emotions of all those present with no limit, at a time like this where tens of thousands of warriors and mages battled each other to the death filled with malicious intentions, at a time where chaos prevailed and even those hiding in their homes, who were not involved in the conflict felt great fear and pain in their hearts, Derik''s power was terrifying! This is the best condition for Derik to fight and the worst condition to battle Derik! Gyro was a relatively small kingdom that lacked quality and quantity! The only reason it has been able to stand for centuries is simply due to the presence of the spatial magician, Kalos! Who has been the most powerful figure in Gyro for over more than a century. As the news of the battle at the capital spread to the other parts of the kingdom, fear gripped the heart of everyone in the kingdom and because of this their negative emotions flowed like a cluster of dark clouds towards the man battling the royal guards of the kingdom at the capital. He is drawing power from all the negative emotions in the heart of the citizens of Gyro! Under the effects of his ability, Derik''s power level rose and soon reached the low grade of the gold realm. His body was filled with so many dark symbols, which kept moving around his body restlessly. When his lips yanked open a cluster of dark clouds flew out of it and instantly blocked the sun. " You will never get that chance again, you are still as sloppy as always¡­" Derik said with his hands folded around his chest as he slowly and casually approached the barrier with a vicious smile on his face. "Come at me!" Derik threw his hands open as if he was running into the embrace of a very close friend! Roar! Donald roared like a terrifying beast and dashed forward, turning into a dazzling beam of silver light! His broadsword trembled greatly as he quickly covered the small gap between them in just a second. "Silver level combat technique: Lightning strike!" Donald roared and his eyes turned blue! His body released terrifying streaks of blue lightning, which surrounded the silver blade, making it release terrifying aura that made people feel like this attack could split the heavens. Even though Donald was at the low grade of the silver realm, his attack had enough power to severely damage mid-grade silver realm warriors and mages if they are caught off guard! This is an outstanding achievement for people who do not possess guardian spirits, this showed how talented the guardian knight is! Bam! A massive shockwave occurred which caused everyone''s jaws to drop. They were not shocked by the massive shock wave caused by the attack, instead, they were shocked by the fact that Derik used his hands to catch the blade. His hands were pitch black, surrounded by a cloud of darkish purple aura. His blazing fiery eyes flashed and a sinister smile appeared on his face. His death aura spread forth from his hands and before Donald could react, Derik crushed his silver level magic sword with just brute strength. "Too late!" Derik said indifferently when he saw Donald trying to retreat. With a single swing of the death scythe, a massive gash appeared across Donald''s chest and he spat out a mouthful of blood before falling off the sky like a log of wood. "Too Fast!" everyone gasped All this happened in just three seconds at most. So fast that Cyrus and Gin were not able to cast their defensive spells to help lessen the damage Donald sustained. "Donald!" Daemon screamed in fright, dashing down like a comet in a bid to catch up to her boyfriend. Seeing the fright in the girl''s eyes, Derik could tell that these two were in a relationship and his vicious smile widened even more. "Where do you think you''re going? Snatch!" Derik laughed and a streak of dark energy flew out of his hands and took the shape of a dark claw, grabbing on to Daemon before she could react. "Such control!" Cyrus gasped. As one rises to a higher realm, their control over their element and abilities rises as well. While they were still recruits, yet to undergo refinement, mages always needed to use incantations and scream the name of the spell as well just to activate it. At the bronze realm, mages could ignore the incantations of most spells but as a result, the spell''s overall destructive capabilities are greatly reduced. At the silver realm, as long as the user''s proficiency in casting a particular spell is high enough, they can totally ignore the incantations without fear of any adverse effects. This is the first time Cyrus viewing an enemy who possessed the power level of the low level of the gold realm act. To his greatest surprise, Derik did not cast a spell, instead, he just released his energy and controlled it skilfully, making him capable of acting against his opponents with just a thought! "Light protection!" Cyrus roared and a streak of golden energy left his body and surrounded Daemon and Donald thereby making it difficult for Derik''s devilish aura to harm Daemon while the golden energy around the free-falling Donald just reduced the damage he will sustain from the fall. "Cute¡­" Derik muttered and he punched out. Another streak of death aura shot out and took the form of a fist, shattering the golden barrier while sending her flying hundreds of meters away while leaving behind trails of red blood which she spat out as she flew away uncontrollably. ''Hahahahahahaahahaha!" Derik laughed out loud as he ascended further into the sky, looking down on the other members of team guardians. His cold gaze was fixed on the only person who can challenge him directly here and a soft chuckle escaped his lips. "I will say it again¡­ come at me with all you''ve got!" Derik declared! 163 Chapter 163: Stunning team attack Cyrus remained unfazed by Derik''s words as he looked at the direction where Daemon flew to and he let out a long sigh "Don''t bother, my barrier reduced the damage she received significantly¡­ she can handle herself" He said to Karl, Mason, and Kira who seemed to be worried when Daemon fell into the center of the chaotic battlefield. "Child of life¡­" Cyrus muttered as he slowly levitated even higher until he rose to Derik''s level and a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Our relationship is quite weird when you think of it¡­ we always try to kill each other, yet here we are¡­ still friends¡­" Cyrus laughed casually. A smile appeared on sincere Derik''s face and his terrifying aura toned down a bit. "That''s because we are forced to fight each other and we always find ourselves in difficult positions¡­ it''s not something that can be helped" Derik answered sincerely. He pushed his hair back with his left hand and focused his cold gaze on the barrier surrounding the royal palace. "Can you step aside and call off the others¡­ I wish to kill the king and the others and get this over with" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. Hearing Derik talk about killing the king so calmly as if it was as simple as taking a lollipop from a child, everyone present almost spat out blood in anger. Even though the king was a schemer and a scam, the man still had enough strength to back up his position. Even though the king and Robert were at the peak grade of the silver realm, everyone knew that Gerald cannot defeat the man in a one on one battle due to his special path. "Sorry, I can''t do that¡­ apart from the king the others you wish to kill comprise of the family members of everyone in the royal guard, yours and mine included¡­ why do you think everyone is risking their lives against you? Just agree to let this go and I will help you beat the crap out of the little king and make him and the other nobles involved confess and apologize in public¡­ the Gyro kingdom will be more than happy to receive someone as powerful as you into their ranks¡­" Cyrus white eyes let out a faint glow as he spoke with a charming smile on his face. Hearing this the charming smile on Derik''s face vanished and his visage turned cold. His death aura burst out of his body and increased immensely and his fangs were made visible. "Tell me¡­ will these people who stand behind you pay for their crimes? They joined hands to speak against me just for some benefits¡­ if you were in my position will you make such a request¡­" Derik roared while tightening his grip on his death scythe. Seeing this Cyrus'' snow-white eyes narrowed and his massive divine sword levitated and appeared above his head. His divine aura began rising until his figure was completely shrouded in golden light. At one side was a bright dazzling golden light and on the other side was pitch black darkness spreading like a plague. "I''m making this offer for your own good¡­ Even if you defeat me and the other members of the team do you really believe you can defeat Kalos? I''m just looking out for you¡­ I don''t want to see you dead, that''s all¡­ Don''t misunderstand my intentions!" Cyrus said calmly within the dazzling golden light. "I see¡­ I''m sorry but it seems we must cross blades a second time!" Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. At this point, Cyrus'' power level was not inferior to that of Derik in any way. He too performed a similar technique just like Derik, drawing life force from all the members of the Gyro kingdom just to increase his own strength! ........ "Low grade of the silver realm! How do they do it¡­ it''s like some sort of cheat" Anna who was standing beside King Robert blurted out with a frown on her face. When Derik was at the bronze realm, he was able to raise his power level by a whole realm! Enabling him to fight foes at the silver realm with ease. These kids easily surpassed masters and elite who have been training for years, she found this unfair! Even though she gained her current cultivation base through the use of numerous precious materials, it still took her close to fifteen years but these kids with no resources reached and surpassed her in less than a decade! She finally understood why the continent has joined hands repeatedly over the years to wipe out the guardian spirit hosts! If these kids keep showcasing terrifying talents, history might repeat itself. John and Linda watched Derik''s performance with clutched fists and mixed emotions visible in their eyes. At this point, they began regretting their decision and could only submit to Derik without any form of resistance. The youth out there right now, fighting fiercely just to break into the royal palace just to kill them all can not be the same Derik they have known since he was little! The vicious smiles and sinister laughter sent chills to the deepest parts of their soul. In their eyes, this was the grim reaper, a being they can never escape! ......... Boooom! Derik shot towards Cyrus with endless murderous intentions and his death scythe raised high in the air. If he could take out this man from the picture, the only one he needs to worry about now is Kalos, the kingdom guardian. "Not even close!" Cyrus said with a casual smile and simply waved his hands. Instantly, the massive divine sword which was the size of a small mountain instantly twirled in mid-air and hacked down at Derik, threatening to split him in two. "You should know by now that you cannot kill me!" Derik laughed Death magic: purgatory slash! Derik''s hands trembled as death aura violently busted out of his death scythe and he struck up! Booom! Even though the death mage was known for his outstanding physical capabilities as well as destructive power, he was sent flying by Cyrus'' attack. His hand wielding the death scythe was twisted with numerous torn flesh with black blood leaking out of each hole in his hand. Before he could recover a blue blur appeared above him with a magic sword that released terrifying blue energy. "Hey¡­ its been too long since we last spoke" Gin muttered with a friendly smile. The terrifying blue aura soon spiked and rose to a level where Gin was shrouded in it! He brandished HSS weapon at Derik, releasing a terrifying wave of energy attack at the death mage! This was a strike with the intention to kill! Even Derik could sense the murderous intentions behind Gin''s attack and a frown appeared on his face. His right hand wielding the death scythe was still suffered from severe injuries so he couldn''t use it! Having no other way to counter this attack, Derik threw his death aura encased left hand at the blue beam. Crack! "Aaaaaaaaaagggggghhhhh!" Derik roared out in pain as he felt the bones in his left-hand shatter. He was blasted into the ground by the enormous beam of blue energy and his vision blurred for a moment. This was something he wasn''t expecting, who would have thought that these guys who only have a power level of low grade of the silver realm will be bold enough to interfere with a battle between two gold realm opponents. Because of this, he let his guard down and he''s paying for it now! Wooosh! A man with fluttering golden hair appeared in Derik''s line of sight! On his hand was a magic bow with three golden arrows that radiated of holy energy! Bam! Bam! "Bastard!" Derik blurted out as he tried to move but it was too late. Two holy arrows pierced into his arms, thereby pinning him to the ground. Luckily, his death scythe reacted on time, deflecting that last arrow that aimed at his temple. "Crap! Don''t you dare get involved in this Mason!" Derik roared like an injured beast "I''m sorry¡­" Mason muttered and he vanished from Derik''s of sight. "Blood magic: Blood sea" Karl''s stern voice echoed in Derik''s and a raging tidal sea came into view. Derik''s visage instantly turned ugly as he struggled to break free from holy arrows but the dazzling golden light around it brightened even more and Derik felt like his hands were burning. Booom! Booom!! The raging blood sea crashed down on Derik in an instant! At this point, Derik felt like his bones were crushed and he could feel and hear the sound of cracking bones. The raging blood sea swept across a portion of the capital, forcibly dragging Derik along while consuming other members of the military and adventurers association caught on the way. No matter how much Derik attempted to swim against the current he still couldn''t escape the blood sea. "It''s over! Blood and Fire magic: Scorching sea of blood!" Karl and Kira''s voice echoed and the sea of blood was set ablaze. In an instant, a sea of blood became a sea of scorching flames with Derik at the center! 164 Chapter 164: Only death is absolute! "Don''t you dare underestimate the power of the royal guards!" Karl roared with fists clenched and his eyes fixated on the raging sea of blood flames. His voice echoed all over the capital and everyone''s attention was focused on the terrifying scorching sea of blood which was skillfully manipulated to evade the military and adventure association members in a bit to reduce casualties. At this point, battles stopped abruptly and everyone waited with their fists clenched together, hoping that the death mage will either survive or die from this attack. .........¡­.. "Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha!" King Robert laughed while clapping his hands together. "I knew they could do it¡­ that son of yours got too cocky!" King Roberts laughter echoed and those on the battlefield could even hear it. Linda and John Angus watched with mixed emotions on their faces. They didn''t know whether they should feel happy about this or feel sad because they just lost a member of their family. ............ "A pig like you should keep his mouth shut!" A cold voice resonated from the sea of scorching blood flames. Instantly a massive wave of death aura busted out, creating a safe zone within the sea of blood flames with just pure power! Standing at the center of the scorching flames Derik truly looked like a messenger of death, sent to reap the lives of those who dare to go against him. "Hahahaha! I knew this kid cannot be dealt with easily! Now my brothers, let''s end this for the death mage!" Gerald laughed as flaming dragon wings appeared on his back and he shot towards the commanders of the military. The other members of the adventurers association roared with their morale reaching the peak as they dashed towards their enemies with numerous army of the dead fearlessly! "Fire will always quench! It cannot burn forever! Blood will always dry up! And life will always come to an end¡­ only death is absolute, it is inevitable! I am inevitable!" Derik laughed as he launched himself into the air like a missile. "Kill!!!" He roared and the three undead slaves under his command stormed forward, engaging Mason, Kira, and Karl in a heated battle! "Rise up!" Derik laughed and his death aura shot out, turning into countless black rain and descended on the capital. Soon everyone who had lost their lives in this battle got on their feet''s and picked up their weapons, joining the battle once more! At this point, the number advantage which the military had was greatly reduced and their overall strength fell as well. "Death magic: Hell flames!" Derik quickly took a deep breath after which he spat out a terrifying amount of darkish purple flames of the underworld poured out of his mouth and crashed down of Gin like a tidal wave. "I am not as simple as you think Derik!" Gin roared, refusing to flee. His sky blue armor let out a blue flashed and he was soon encased in a blue energy sphere. His grip on the hilt of his magic sword tightened and he let out a roar as he poured in all his energy into it and struck at the sea of darkish purple flames. Boooooooooom! A surge of terrifying blue energy poured out of the magic weapon and clashed with the sea of flames. At first, it seemed like both sides were equally matched but later on, the sea of darkish purple flames slowly consumed the blue energy and slowly surrounded Gin. At this point, Gin was pale and he could barely remain afloat in mid-air. The only reason he was still alive was simply because of the blue energy sphere around him which protected him from the flames but it seemed as if the blue sphere would crash any time soon. "Split the heavens!" a cold voice echoed from afar and a massive divine sword appeared above the sea of darkish purple flames and instantly slashed down on it, splitting the flames in two. Before Derik or anyone could react, Cyrus was already at the center of the flames, grabbing on to Gin and escaping. During this time Derik didn''t bother trying to stop them. In truth, he never really had plans of killing these people. Every member of the team guardian at that time was the best of their various classes or at least one of the best of their various classes, killing them off here will be a waste. When the real enemy arrives, who will stop them? Puff! Puti!! Aaaahhhh!!! Three screams could be heard not too far from Derik and Cyrus. It was Kira, Karl, and Mason. Even though these people broke through into the low grade of the silver realm, they were no match for a three-man team of undead who are at the peak grade of the silver realm. These undead slaves could not be killed or subdued by any of them, so it was just a matter of time before they are defeated, no matter how fiercely they fought. Three figures, bloodied and battered fell from the skies like logs of wood, not having the strength to remain airborne! This was a complete loss for the Gyro kingdom! Watching the three undead slaves return to Derik''s side, Cyrus visage turned cold and murderous. He flicked his hand and a golden sphere surrounded Gin, Kira, Karl, and Mason before letting them fall to the ground, knowing they won''t sustain major injuries from the fall. "And its back to us again" Cyrus snorted as he secretly urged his life energy, preparing to go all out. "Mmmmhm! You shouldn''t let these kids interfere with our battles, they are no match for us¡­ They will only end up getting hurt" Derik sneered. "Do you think you can win against me Derik? I beat you last time, I can do it again¡­ my offer still stands! This is your last chance" Cyrus said with knitted eyebrows "Ha! I admit you were stronger back then but now, you''re no longer my opponent! Step aside and I will only cripple you for wasting so much of my time¡­ This is mercy¡­ you should be grateful I am kind enough to make such an offer!" Derik sneered "Cripple me? You wish! You don''t have the ability!" Cyrus mockingly laughed¡­ "Well then, let''s find out!" Derik sneered! 165 Chapter 165: Fall of the royal guards With Donald, Daemon, Karl, Kira, Gin, and Mason defeated, Cyrus was the only member of the Royal guard left. This is a major loss to the Gyro kingdom. But then again, Cyrus couldn''t complain since his opponent was just one man, in fact be felt quite ashamed fighting Derik with the other members of team guardian. It made him feel like he alone cannot take down this death mage and that is the worst insult a life mage can be given since their life element is the natural weakness to death element. They are instances where a weaker life mage defeated the death mage, even though their power levels differ greatly. At this point, Cyrus still believed he could wipe the floor with Derik. As long as the power gap between them is not a complete realm, he was confident he would win the battle. The confident smile never left Cyrus'' face but his eyes remained cold, it showed that this youth was preparing to battle the death mage to the bitter end. ............¡­.. Bam! King Robert slammed his fist on the throne as he stared at the water orb with a twisted expression on his face. He failed to understand how the death mage kept coming back stronger every time it looked like he was going to lose. John and Linda let out a sigh of relief but they still felt terrified by Derik''s ruthlessness. They were happy that Derik survived but they didn''t know how to face him, they were not sure he would even give them a chance to explain. ............¡­. "Guardian weapon: Divine spirit sword! Split the heavens!!!" Cyrus roared while throwing his hands forward. The massive divine sword flew forward like a divine spear towards Derik. "Silver level combat technique: werewolves roar!" Derik laughed and a massive werewolf avatar came into existence. Roar!!! It let out a loud roar as it quickly threw itself at the massive divine sword, brandishing its fiery claws the divine weapon. "Now is the time! Bring him down now!" Derik roared, turning into a beam of light as he shot towards Cyrus with his three undead slaves following closely behind. The guardian weapon path may grant the user extraordinary offensive ability which can help him or subdue practically any foe of this same level but its weakness was quite glaring. Focusing so much power into a single weapon leaves the user defenseless. If one could get past the guardian weapon or find a way to keep it occupied for a while, it won''t be difficult to kill off the user since it doesn''t grant the user any bonus attributes that may enhance his or her personal strength. Seeing Derik and the three others coming, Cyrus'' expression turned grim and he seriously didn''t expect things to turn out this way. He didn''t expect Derik to use his undead slaves in this battle but then again, it isn''t unfair since it''s his second path. Cyrus could not complain about this, all he could do at this moment is to fight and win. He let out a roar and released his limiters immediately not daring to hold back. He secretly gathered his energy as he prepared to combat all four foes at once. The only hope he held on to was the fact that these undead slaves just like Derik are products of dark energy, therefore his life spells will be equally super effective against them. "Bring him down!" Derik roared as fiery darkish purple aura surrounded his claws. Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw! Brandishing his claws at the enemy, Derik released numerous claw-shaped darkish purple energy attacks. After his previous battle with Cyrus, Derik was not so eager to take on this life mage at close quarters after he was injured by the divine light spell which left him with internal injuries that caused him a fortune to recover from. This time he planned to keep his distance and overwhelm his foe. "Lightning magic: Wave of despair!" Zaylee screamed and numerous streaks of lightning shot out of her fingertips. "Wind magic: Wind blade dance!" Sternroff roared as multiple blades made of wind surrounded him and shot towards Cyrus. Seeing the attacks, Cyrus roared and his life aura poured out of his body, taking the form of a massive golden gate bound with sacred golden chains! "Life magic: Heaven''s gate!" he screamed as the gate endured all the attacks thrown at him. A confident smile appeared on his face and he moved his fingers, controlling the chains with his thoughts. Cyrus was planning to counter-attacks but then the smile on his face froze. It was an aura similar to his but a bit diluted, a lesser version of his own power! "Light magic!" Cyrus gasped as he looked up and saw a massive divine crucifix bearing down on him like a small mountain! His size compared to the massive divine crucifix was like a man being compared to a hill. "Guardian weapon path!" Cyrus gasped as he released his life aura, trying to combat the divine crucifix threatening to crush him. Even though he knew this ability was inferior to his own divine sword it still didn''t mean it was weak! The power it displayed is enough to make peak silver realm masters sweat profusely, luckily with the Child of life and limiter path, Cyrus power level had stabilized at the low level of the gold realm, it wasn''t too difficult for him to handle an attack at this level. What left him speechless was the fact that an undead could still utilize light magic! How is that even possible? Cyrus failed to understand how this happened or how Derik was able to pull this off, be only realized that Derik''s death magic was not as simple as he thought earlier. He was aware of similar cases where people who possess the undead magic don''t even bother turning foes with light magic into their puppets since they are completely useless¡­ The two power conflicts, so this shouldn''t be possible! As he managed to force the massive divine crucifix, he saw a tsunami of darkish purple flames threatening to consume him. This startled him! "Life magic: Light protection!" Cyrus was barely able to react on time. He quickly cast a light sphere around himself which endured the sea of hellish flames trying to roast him alive. His eyes narrowed as he attempted to call his divine weapon over but unfortunately, the demonic werewolf avatar on Derik''s side had received its orders, so it continuously bombarded the divine sword with attacks, not giving it the chance to retreat to its master. The sea of hellish flames had just passed and Cyrus was already covered in sweat. His barrier barely held up against Derik''s cruel attack. Before he could react a cold voice echoed from above. "Lightning magic: Lightning strike!" Zaylee roared and pulled the void down. Instantly a powerful blue bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, blasting Cyrus and his barrier into oblivion! Boooom!!! Puti! Cyrus wore a dejected expression on his face as he struggled to get on his feet. A shocking deep scorched wound could be seen on his chest as he spat out a mouthful of golden blood. It''s already terrifying that he could still move after taking such a hit head-on! Any other silver realm warrior or mage in his position would have died off a long time ago! This was only possible because of the changes his body has undergone as he grew stronger. This is a natural phenomenon for all guardian spirit hosts! Cyrus struggled to look up but he felt his body leave the ground as a gust of wind surrounded him, pulling him up. He could not see anything around him, all he could hear were sorrowful cries of the military forces, asking him to fight back! They were asking him to fight back in such a situation Do they really think he enjoyed taking a beating like this? Are they really that dumb? With Cyrus injured, the power of his massive divine sword dropped as well giving the demonic werewolf a slight advantage in the battle. Meanwhile, in the throne room of the Royal Palace, King Robert was literarily chewing down on his clothes as he watched the life magic guardian spirit host been lifted off the ground while Derik and the undead Zaylee gathered white and black clouds, gathering blue and darkish purple lightning as they prepared for the final strike. "Sleep tight old friend¡­ by the time you wake, Gyro will have a new leader!" Derik roared Terrifying darkish purple lightning and blue lightning struck down from above and forcibly struck down Cyrus who was over twenty meters high in the air already! Slamming him into the ground, creating a crater over ten meters deep. The life mage was knocked out cold and golden blood flowed out of his injuries! His massive divine weapon suddenly vanishes and his glorious aura vanished entirely! The royal guards of the Gyro kingdom royal family had lost this battle! 166 Chapter 166: Kalos appears! Derik stood in mid-air gallantly as he looked down on the defeated guardian knights with a hint of pride on his face and a vicious smile slowly blooming. Beside him were his three undead slaves and his ten-meter tall demonic werewolf avatar! "Just one more for left!" Derik muttered as he towards the direction of the massive mountain located directly behind the royal palace. The peak of the mountain was surrounded by clusters of white clouds, making it impossible to see the person standing atop it. This is the kingdom guardian mountain! Home to the kingdom guardian, Kalos! This person has been given the title ''Gyros Strongest'' for centuries now and this was once a figure Derik looked up to but now¡­. "Don''t let down your guard¡­ for the fact this man has lived more than a century only shows he has reached the gold realm, most likely hiding his true strength from the world! Even those three hero''s of legend will find it difficult to deal with this elder, that''s why most kingdoms here in Aldemar are reluctant to attack this kingdom¡­ no one knows how powerful Kalos is!" Demos spoke for the very first time since he got to Gyro. "Gold realm? This will be difficult¡­ how sure are you that this man has taken a step into such a high realm? Last time I saw this man, I could tell his cultivation base was at the silver realm!" Derik refused to believe Demos'' words. Not only does this man possess a cosmic spirit, but he also has a ridiculous cultivation base. If it were any other person with normal magic boosting to be at the gold realm, Derik would just laugh and storm into battle fearlessly. But this¡­ this was beyond his expectations and maybe his current abilities! "Why did you think I forced you to stay back for another two years? Do you think I was scared of King Robert harming you? Kalos has always been a problem! Humans in this world have the third-longest life span, behind the wingman race and the immortal elves¡­ A human at the peak silver realm cultivation base can only live for a hundred and twenty years¡­ but Kalos is closing in on his second century of life¡­. Once a cosmic being host becomes worthy of his or her cosmic being''s attention, do you think the cosmic being will just let him or her die off so easily? Impossible! Kalos must have broken into the gold realm at the final days of his life for him to have lived this long!" Demos explained with a calm voice. Hearing this Derik''s face darkened and his fists were clutched. He wasn''t really in a great position at the moment! Even though his wolf side grants him mana regeneration comparable to his high-speed injury regeneration, it still didn''t mean he can''t be killed or he can''t run out of mana. To be honest, at this point in the battle, Derik was already running short of mana, as the consumption rate far exceeded the regeneration rate. This was simply because of the army of the dead under his control! The army of the dead! Summoning over a thousand warriors and mages to fight for him has been draining his mana way faster than it refueled. His battle with Cyrus and the other members of the Royal lasted close to thirty minutes, leaving his mana pool only half full! "This will be a bit difficult!" Derik muttered while looking at the direction of the kingdom guardian mountain. His eyes showed mixed emotions as he contemplated the next set of actions to take. "You can always use that method I thought two years ago¡­. This is the best condition for the death mage to battle¡­ you will never run out of mana!" Demos exclaimed "Crushing the souls of the dead and using the soul power to replenish my mana pool? That will entirely destroy the person''s soul, destroying it means he or she will never be able to cross over¡­. This is as good as tampering with the balance between life and death! This is similar to what the fallen archangel did¡­ I will not reduce myself to such a level!" Derik said with knitted eyebrows and a stern voice. Destroying the soul of a person is no small matter, not only will the person fail to cross over to the afterlife, but they will also lose their only chance at reincarnation! Derik may be the bringer of death and chaos but he is no tyrant! No matter how evil he becomes due to his magic nature, there are some despicable deeds he will never indulge in! "And here I thought I found the perfect host, ready to go any length just to achieve his goals¡­ good luck fighting Kalos at your current condition¡­ Hopefully, my next host will be a member of the lizardmen race¡­ they have more backbone than humans" Demos snorted. "Hahaha! I still have three hidden cards I''m yet to reveal! It doesn''t matter who battles me, death is inevitable¡­ death is absolute!" Derik laughed in a domineering manner as he spoke. "I agree¡­" Demos seemed to be delighted by Derik''s words "What about the life magic guardian spirit host¡­ to avoid any future possibility of him being an obstacle¡­ this is the best time to kill him¡­ end his life!" Demos sneered Hearing this, Derik couldn''t help but look down on the ten-meter deep crater where Cyrus laid. As much as he valued his friendship with this life mage, he knew the risks that follow closely behind by letting him live¡­ At this moment, the deep bloodied hole on Cyrus'' chest caused by the lightning strike attacks from Derik and the undead Zaylee was healing at a visible rate because of his golden blood which possessed amazing rejuvenating qualities, just like how Derik''s black blood possess strong corrosive and death power! "No¡­ we need as many powerful warriors as we can get¡­ just like you said, I can''t handle everything alone¡­ Cyrus has talent and power, given enough time he will grow and become someone people will think twice before offending¡­ this world needs someone like him" Derik said¡­. "I see you are not too far gone!" An ancient voice resonated from behind! Hearing this a frown appeared on Derik''s face. With his death magic and Cyrus'' life magic, it is practically impossible to sneak up on him or Cyrus. Yet it just happened now! Someone managed to sneak up on him without him knowing! "In this little world of ours, only one person is capable of sneaking up on me¡­ Kalos, you still have what it takes even after living for over a century¡­ I''m impressed!" Derik laughed as slowly turned around to look into the eyes of the man who has claimed the title, Gyro''s strongest for close to two centuries! 167 Chapter 167: Kalos appears! 2 Derik''s eyes narrowed as he saw a familiar face, one which didn''t leave a good impression on him the first time they met. To think two cosmic spirit hosts will appear at the same time just to deal with him, the situation had turned worse than Derik ever imagined! He completely forgot about Kuen''s existence! Kalos had extremely long gray hair which fluttered in the wind as he stood in mid-air, gallantly staring down at Cyrus'' unconscious body. His silver long sleeve mage robe covered all parts of his body, only his wrinkled old palms were revealed. Kuen had his blazing red hair pushed back and tied, into a ponytail. He wore a tight black shirt and black trousers, covering it up with a massive sleeveless red coat which reached the ankles of his feet. Just like Kalos, his eyes were void of any color and only darkness could be seen. It was as vast as space and for some reason, Derik felt like the being residing inside this kid can wipe the floor with Demos any day anywhere! Even though the kid''s power level is at the mid-grade of the silver realm and Derik''s is at the low grade of the gold realm, Derik still felt threatened by his presence and at a point, he began doubting his own abilities. He wondered if he could beat this kid alone, not to speak of taking him on and the spatial mage as well. "You see, I wasn''t sure I could beat you alone, considering my age and rusty bones¡­ so I brought along my student and his peers to give me a hand in this battle¡­ It''s really sad for me to see a genius like yourself fall into the wrong path and derail from justice" Kalos said calmly. "Humph! I didn''t expect Kuen to be amongst the people who would stand against me today¡­ To be honest I completely forgot about his existence and that of his little group¡­ It doesn''t matter, increasing the number of people meant to die today by seven won''t hurt this kingdom much" Derik sneered Hearing this, Kuen and his arrogant teammates laughed mockingly and prepared to speak but they were stopped by Kalos. "Don''t bother young master Kuen, he is not your opponent¡­ the power of death and life does not follow the laws of nature¡­ if you and your team battle him alone¡­ you will fall faster than the royal guards below us" Kalos said Hearing this, Kuen and the other six members of his team were shocked. They were so focused on Derik when they arrived that they forgot that the royal guards went ahead of them to battle this beast! They quickly looked down and saw the unconscious and brutally battered bodies of the royal guards on the ground and this left them speechless. A bead of cold sweat rolled down their faces when the spotted the ten-meter deep crater where the legendary mage of the life element laid, unconscious. Even if they remained arrogant and claimed to be stronger than the royal guards, none of them could deny the strength of this life mage who single-handedly beat the crap out of kuen and the members of his team without using his path just a few years ago! To think an elite team would be defeated by a single man, this death mage must truly be the messenger of the underworld, bringer of death! They revaluated their view of the death mage and quickly put themselves on guard. The fear and anxiety they felt flowed like an invisible wave and flew straight into Derik''s body, gradually increasing his power even more. "Isn''t there a way we can resolve this and move forward? Do we really need to shed more blood here?" Kalos frowned as he spoke, showing elderly concern for the dead. "Of course!" Derik laughed "Let me walk in there, kill the King and the princess Anna, and I will be on my way" Derik said with a broad smile. Hearing this, Kalos frowned slightly and let out a dry laugh. This is not a condition he can easily agree to. As the kingdom guardian, his duty is to protect the king and the kingdom. Even though the king was wrong, he couldn''t go against him at this time! Even if he could abandon the kid, the youth that calls him master and bears a cosmic spirit in him is the last son of the King, he owed it to this kid to at least try and save his old man. "I''m sorry, I must refuse such a generous offer¡­ it''s my duty to safeguard the king and in this hour of need I will try my best to fulfill that duty!" Kalos said in a serious tone and countless stars began appearing in his eyes. He opened his palm and a galaxy of dazzling white stars appeared. Clasping his hands together, the stars flew out, attempting to surround Derik and his demonic minions but a powerful surge of death aura burst out and quickly shattered one of the stars, thereby breaking the formation. Rendering the spell useless! Seeing this, Kalos'' eyes narrowed and old fists clutched. Truly the death element is quite terrifying, using sheer power to destroy his teleportation formation which was meant to move himself and his team coupled with Derik and some members of his team to a remote and deserted place where they can fight to their heart''s content without worrying about those been harmed by the residual energy of their attacks. "I guess this battle will be a lot more difficult than I expected¡­ to think you can easily power through my technqiues¡­ I may need your help Kuen!" Kalos said with his usual thoughtful yet friendly expression. "Cut the crap, I know your true power! Why do you still hide, stop holding back and fight me all you''ve got!" Derik roared and his terrifying death aura poured out which scared Kuen''s teammates "Go¡­ kill all those standing behind them and then destroy the barrier surrounding the palace!" Derik sneered! 170 Chapter 170: Death of a cosmic spirit host! Hearing Derik''s words, a sincere smile appeared on Kalos'' face which was full of wrinkles and his body straightened a bit. He flicked his index finger and with a simple hand gesture, he tore the void and created a small passageway to another dimension! [Didn''t this old man say that the spatial cosmic spirit rejected him? How can he tear a hole in the void so easily? How can he create godly tools like the storage ring with just limited knowledge of the spatial element? How can he create amazing barriers and formations with just the basic knowledge of the spatial element? Doesn''t that mean if he received the blessing and approval of the cosmic spirit, he would have become a terrifying beast?] Derik thought as he watched Kalos work. He couldn''t help to remember his encounter with sun cosmic spirit host, a member of the three heroes of legend Kaido, who possesses the sun element. His abilities were so intimidating that Derik had to flee! All these while Derik has thought back on the battle, he realized that the young man utilized only one combat technique throughout the battle. The others were skillful manipulation of his sun aura! People may claim that the sun guardian knight was hurt bad in the battle between him and the death mage in Cato and it was not necessarily false but Derik knew the only reason he was able to deal that much damage to the sun guardian knight was simply because of his jovial and carefree attitude. If the orange-haired youth fought him with the intention to kill, Derik knew he probably wouldn''t have been able to escape the man''s scorching wrath! By the way, his scorching sun abilities put Ahika''s blazing fire abilities to shame. In summary, Derik finally understood why cosmic spirits were more powerful than guardian spirits. Guardian spirits were restricted to the abilities of the creator and simply specialized in raising the power level of its hosts by leaps and bounds, thereby allowing them to face stronger opponents. But cosmic spirits are quite different! Their abilities are strange and unique, always something out of this world and completely unpredictable! Not everyone can easily understand the true power behind these spells and the sheer power of those spells are simply overwhelming. It''s not something people can contend with! Their power level may not rise but they can always defeat people above their levels quite easily. "Damn!" Derik muttered as he watched Kalos pull a small dagger out of the void. The dagger had a silver hilt and a silver blade with glowing dragon carving on it. It released an aura resembling that of weapons at the top grade of the silver level. This could be considered a top tier silver level magic weapon! At this moment, Kalo''s aura which was calm and peaceful suddenly changed and became vicious and terrifying! Even Derik was slightly startled by the sudden change! "Because I want you to take my life does not mean I''ll let you have it so easily, young death mage¡­ I only hope you won''t die easily at my hand''s little death mage!" Kalos laughed as multiple dazzling silver stars formed over a hundred portals, a thousand meters around the death mage, making it hard for him to see anything else! "Spatial magic: Infinite space realm!" Kalos muttered as he dived into a portal and vanished. After that, only silence followed. The numerous portals and sudden change in aura caught the attention of everyone in the capital and they quickly left the barrier and focused their attention on the battle between the death mage who has showcased his terrifying prowess since day one and has also dominated so many powerful foes, even defeating his own rival! A man meant to possess his natural weakness and the spatial mage who has held the title Kingdom guardian for more than a century! A man so powerful that no other kingdom dared to threaten Gyro and even the holy church had to treat this man with respect! This is a battle between the old generation and the new generation! A battle between a cosmic spirit and a guardian spirit! This is the kind of battle that only happens in a century! Everyone present was nervous and the held their breath, they all knew the implications, if the death mage lost this battle. Since they all publicly showed their discontent against the royal family and the king, should Kalos win, they will share the same gruesome fate as the death mage. Who would have thought a day will come when the Gyro kingdom would look up to the same death mage they condemned and pray he survives this once in a lifetime encounter! ...............¡­ A devilish grin appeared on King Roberts face the moment he saw Kalos use the infinite space realm, it simply indicated that the spatial mage was taking this fight seriously and it is safe to say that no one has ever survived this technique. With this, it''s only a matter of time before the death mage dies off at the hands of superior magic! "I must confess, you truly surpassed my expectations young death mage but do you really think you can battle the spatial mage Kalos, who has held the title of Kingdom guardian for over a century? Hahahahaha! You will know why no kingdom dared to mess with him! (cough!) (cough!) get me wine!" Robert spoke as he has already won the battle! Hearing this the other nobles present heaved out a sigh of relief, while the faces of John and Linda turned pale. They could tell that the king was not bluffing when he spoke! If he was that confident in this particular technique, Kalos was planning to use, then it must be something dangerous! They could only pray that Derik will find a way to overcome this threat. ...............¡­ "Derik¡­ I advise you to rely on your werewolf ability this time¡­ remember what is told you about this technique¡­ you must protect your head and heart at all times!" Demos'' voice rang in Derik''s head like a bell and he could only shake his head in approval. His fiery darkish purple eyes lit up and his fangs and claws appeared. Instantly Derik''s body was engulfed in a thick layer of darkish purple flames and he was planning to release his death aura but from the corner of his eyes, he saw a silver light glow from one of the portals and before he could react completely he felt a sharp pain around his left arm! Puff! Derik''s left arm swung helplessly as it has been severed by Kalos with a single attack. If not for the fact his werewolf side grants him higher perception and reaction speed, it would have been his head! "PROTECT ME!" Derik roared in pain! Instantly undead Zaylee and Sternroff swung into action by releasing their magic aura, creating a chaotic barrier around the space not occupied by Kalos infinite space realm. Derik fell into the body chest area of his ten-meter tall demonic wolf, using its body as a shield while using his death magic to manifest a shadow hand that grabbed onto his severed hand and pulled it back to the injured Derik! "He''s fast!" Derik muttered as he placed his hand back to its normal position and held on to it there, waiting for the healing effect of his werewolf ability to take place. Derik quickly began urging his death aura again and before he could get a release his death aura again, he caught a glimpse of a silver light emitting from another portal. Derik quickly ducked to the side within the body of his demonic wolf! Puff! The demonic wolf''s chest was torn in two and a gash was visible on Derik''s chest, from it black blood rolled out. His eyes were showed how frustrated he had become and a hint of excitement as well. These were two conflicting emotions and Derik wasn''t really sure how he could feel both at the same time but then again, it was already happening so he didn''t bother thinking about it. His death aura is capable of rotting anything! If he''s to set up a domain with his death aura, he would be able to easily defeat Kalos and steal the man''s soul. At least that was his plan until he realized how skilled the man is. Each time he tried to release the aura, Kalos always jumped out of the portal at a crucial moment, when he is not completely focused on his body and attempt to deal a killing blow with his silver level magic weapon! But due to Derik''s incredible werewolf perception and reaction speed, he has always been able to escape life-threating blows from Kalos twice! Derik felt excited because he finally understood how the man''s ability works but he also felt frustrated because he didn''t know how to handle it. He always felt it was stupid for Kalos to dive out of the portal and attack with his magic dagger, but seeing the insane speed of which he moves, Derik had to confess that this man had little reason to fear for his life, it will be difficult to find anyone capable of keeping up with this mans movement speed. Unfortunately for him, Derik was not a normal mage! A vicious grin soon appeared on Derik''s face and his aura turned wild instantly. His darkish purple eyes suddenly turned blue and the hair on his head stood up! His voice deepened and his shoulders broadened! His demonic avatar and undead slaves suddenly vanished, completely withdrawn! This completely startled everyone, including Kalos! Why did the man just withdraw his only form of defense? Was he tired of living? What is he thinking? That was the problem! Derik was not thinking at this moment, he simply chose to follow his instincts! Woooosh! Derik shot down suddenly like a spear, heading towards the portals below him, with a vicious grin on his face and readied claws! What did he have to fear? He already knew that these portals were linked to each other and if he could enter this space, he will most likely encounter Kalos hiding in there and watching like a predator. Right there the speed boost he gets when been shot out of the portal won''t count and Derik can easily overwhelm him with his own strength! Kalos gritted his teeth as he clearly understood what Derik was planning to do. This was a gamble that can be made by someone who was only relying on his instincts! That explained why Derik switched off his other abilities and simply relied on his werewolf abilities alone. His eyes narrowed as he was forced to act in ways he never expected. The portals below Derik began to close one after the other as soon as he got close to them. It became obvious that the spatial mage did not want him to intrude on his special space¡­ This made Derik even more confident in his plan as he dove down at a quicker speed. He had nothing to lose, even if he could not enter the portals he would be able to escape the encirclement and freely attack the portals from outside. But things never turn out the way we expect it¡­. When only a final portal remained, a silver light shot out and Kalos appeared with his glowing dagger, flying towards Derik fearlessly! A vicious grin appeared on Derik''s face as he revealed his claws, showing he was not planning to back off either! Boooom! Both figures blew past each other leaving behind a small shockwave that stunned the viewers! Fearless! Reckless!! Wild!!! These are the words that best described the death mage and the spatial mage in this situation! Kalos had a deep set of claw marks on his shoulder while Derik''s waist was almost severed completely! Luckily he was wise enough not to completely focus on the offensive, if not he would have been split in two. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!'' Derik''s laughter shook the world and people began wondering how this kid could laugh in such a condition, does it really mean he doesn''t feel pain? Even though Derik suffered greatly from the clash, he was still able to break free from the confinement meaning he was free to act as he wished! His terrifying blazing darkish purple eyes returned and his aura skyrocketed. He gathered his energy and spat out a massive cloud of death aura towards the numerous portals that filled the sky. "Move for me!" Derik hissed as he watched Kalos closely while holding onto his waist with his hands while free falling. It was obvious he was in pain. Just like as he expected, Kalos figure vanished in one of the portals and a bright smile appeared on Derik''s face. Since all the portals in the sky were been attacked by the cloud of death magic, Derik knew Kalos will not appear above. In fact, now that Derik has been extremely weakened, it is only rational for the spatial mage to attempt to finish him off, meaning he should be appearing¡­. Behind! Just as Derik expected a massive portal appeared behind him and Kalos appeared, with his magic dagger equipped and determination in his eyes. He struck forward, this time he was aiming for Derik''s head but to his greatest surprise his final blow struck the black robes of the death avatar and its fiery darkish purple eyes glowed even brighter. "Death magic: Touch of death!" The death avatars'' voice sounded mechanical as usual. Instantly Kalos felt a force attack his mental fortitude and he quickly tried to repel it but it was already too late. A second was all Derik needed! "Silver level secret technique: Brilliant claw!" Derik almost spat fire as he roared. Terrifying death aura burst out of his claws and he skillfully moved past the death avatar in mid-air and quickly severed Kalos'' head from his body with a single strike! The spatial mage who was has remained undefeated for more than a century died at the hands of the death mage all because he neglected the existence of the death mages companion who hid, waiting for the perfect moment to strike! 171 Chapter 171: Struggle between two forces Bang! Derik''s body slammed onto the strong, cold ground and his vision instantly blurred. He used the last bit of his power and will to execute the final strike on Kalos, leaving him drained both mentally and spiritually. At this point, his lower half has almost been severed and his body kept twitching due to pain. "Damn it!" Derik hissed as he lazily crawled towards Kalos severed head with a gloomy expression on his face! .........¡­.... Silence! Respect! Even though the death mage was currently in a weakened state. In fact, he''s condition was than that of anyone present here, no one had the thought to take advantage of him. Instead, they all stepped aside and made way for him, not daring to block his path! Their eyes were watery, brimming with respect and pride as they watched the victor of the fight move to claim his prize! At this point, they all felt a strong urge to clap in respect of these man''s deeds but that didn''t mean they weren''t afraid of him. While the members of the adventurers association popped out their chests in pride, the members of the military force backed away with awkward expressions on their faces, only hoping the death mage will consider their change of heart and spare their lives. Even though the death mage was currently a mess, no one here was confident of taking him on. ................... "How¡­ How am I still alive? How am I able to move? And how the hell am I healing from this? I can see my organs and it doesn''t look pretty!" Derik muttered. He was very much aware that the physical capabilities of a werewolf. He was pretty sure that an alpha will most likely die from lesser wounds and injuries. The fact that he is still able to move in this condition came as a shock to him, and what even shocked him more was his regeneration speed. He realized his healing capabilities far surpasses that of a werewolf as well. "It because you are no longer human! Just like Cyrus and other guardian spirit hosts, your body physique changed and the more powerful you become, the stronger you become¡­ I hate to say this but if you should engage in sexual intercourse with a female of your species, chances are your offsprings will be similar to the wingmen race, just with black wings and dark magic" Demos laughed. It seemed as if the angel of death was totally pleased with the outcome of the battle. Derik rolled his eyes and struggled to get on his feet. At that moment the smile on his face froze and it was soon replaced by rage! This startled everyone around him! What could anger the death mage so quickly? "YOU DARE!!!" Derik roared as he threw his hands into the air and it looked like he was holding on to something. At this moment everyone noticed the faint white ball of powerful light which looked like it was been dragged away by an unknown force! Even Derik''s intervention could not stop it! He could only slow down the process a bit! "YOU ARE COURTING DEATH! BASTARD! SHOW YOURSELF!!!" Derik roared! A foreign being was struggling with the death mage over the ownership of Kalo''s soul! The power tussle was fierce and the death mage seemed to be on the losing side! Puti! Derik''s face lost all its color as he spat out a mouthful of black blood. His body trembled but his gaze remained cold as he kept staring at the empty space above, clearly not willing to let go of his prize! "Bastard! Show yourself!" Derik roared like a ferocious beast as he kept spitting out black blood. More blood rolled down from every opening on his body and in less than a minute Derik was standing in a small pool of his black blood! This was a terrifying scene to behold! Everyone present was shocked as they failed to understand how the almighty death mage was reduced to a bloody waste in just a minute! Who possessed enough power to struggle with the disciple of the Angel of death! Swooooosh! The space behind Derik tore open and a young man in his early thirties stepped out of it. His eyes were the same as Derik''s and his massive black wings stole everyone''s attention, leaving them in a daze! "You cosmic spirits seem to be full of yourselves! You dare harm my disciple? You must be tired of living!" Demos roar literarily shook the space and skies! He threw his hand towards the clouds and pulled the void! Instantly, Kalos'' soul which was now close to the clouds began descending slowly. Seeing this Derik turned around to see Demos before letting out a weak laugh¡­ "Demos! Does a mere guardian spirit dare challenge me? The lord of space itself!" A hoarse voice resonated from the skies which made the souls of all those who heard it tremble in fear! "Hahahahaha! Dumb shit¡­ Death fears no one¡­ now let go!" Demos laughed and two darkish purple fiery beams shot out of his eyes, heading straight to the skies! After the beam of light entered the clouds, the force grabbing onto Kalos'' soul loosened its grip and the soul eagerly flew into Derik''s body. "The guardian spirit of the death element has stolen from me today! I will not forget this!" The hoarse voice appeared again, but this time it sounded like it was in pains. "You imprinted your power into a soul already bearing the soul imprint of the creator¡­ I didn''t steal from you¡­ I only took what belongs to my master!" Demos hissed, revealing his perfect set of teeth He quickly ignored the voice from thereon and turned his attention to the weakened Derik. A streak of condensed darkish purple cloud escaped his palm and quickly flew into Derik''s body. "I thought guardian spirits are not supposed to interfere with the activities of mortals?" Derik smiled weakly as he slowly digested the death energy which Demos sent into his body. Gradually regaining his strength! "The spatial cosmic spirit went out of line by trying to steal your loot¡­ it is obviously aware of your necromancer path and doesn''t want to see an undead Kalos, utilizing its abilities¡­ Since it''s the matter has gone beyond that of these mortals, I decided to step in" Demos said with a natural smile on his face. Derik simply nodded. He wished the angel of death would be kind enough to just fire a death ray at the holy church branch in the capital but just like he predicted, Demos instantly vanished without saying another word¡­ "Useless prick¡­" Derik cursed under his breath "I can hear you¡­" Demos voice rang in his head instantly, giving him a slight headache "I know!" Derik quickly retorted! While this happened, every other person stood there silently, filled with fear and admiration. The guardian spirit of the death element, went out of his way just to aid its disciple! This showed that the relationship between Derik and his guardian spirit was not as simple as they thought! Even Cyrus was stunned by this. He was opportune to witness the battle between Derik and Kalos and the power tussle between Derik and the spatial cosmic spirit! Never in his wildest dreams did he think that Demos would step out and reveal himself to the people of Gyro, just to aid Derik! He wasn''t really sure his guardian spirit Michael will do the same thing for him! At this point, he became a bit envious about Derik''s relationship with his guardian spirit and silently cursed Michael. "Was that the guardian spirit of the death element?" "I heard guardian spirits are incredibly strong, why couldn''t I feel its aura or check its cultivation base?" "Ha! Do you dare try to investigate the angel of death? You must be tired of living! Its cultivation base must be way above yours, that''s why you couldn''t see it¡­ the difference between you guys is like heaven and earth, don''t bother!" "How did the death mage, befriend death?" "Can you listen to yourself? You sound incredibly stupid!" "But isn''t that guy a bit too handsome to be called death, I was expecting a really scary person" "Yea¡­ to think such a handsome person is managing the underworld¡­ sighs" A lot of people were still stunned by what they just witnessed and they began talking nonsense! During this time, Derik sat down in a cross-legged position as he slowly digested the energy he gained from Demos while creating a new body for the soul he recently acquired. ............¡­ Within his incomplete domain, Derik frowned while he stared at the little soul the size of a fist, flying around him. Derik found it really sad that a gold realm master who was probably the most powerful man of his time is reduced to that form after death. He waved his hands like a master craftsman and with his will, he created a new body for this soul. This is similar to what he did for his death avatar! Unlike other undead slaves whom their souls manifest in their previous forms before they die when a necromancer creates a new body for a soul, its as good as creating a new life. Almost¡­ This grants them a high level of freedom and a level of control over the other undead. This does not necessarily mean that these fortunate ones are completely free. Instead, they just gain almost unrestricted freedom but their lives can easily be terminated by their master and just like every other undead, they cannot bear any ill will against their master. The body of a silver-haired youth in his early twenties appeared. His silver hair was so long, that it actually reached his waist and his silver mage robes lacked sleeves. His eyes were silver in color and his fingernails had the same color as well. "Perfect!" Derik said when he was done. He began chanting an incantation as he grabbed the soul and slowly pushed it into its new body! Soon a darkish purple magic array appeared below Derik and death aura began gathering towards the new body. The other souls present could only stare at the new body which was given to the newest member with hints of jealousy and greed but none dared to speak against their master''s decision! ................ Derik''s eyes yanked open and his newest companion appeared by his side. His injuries had already recovered and his strength was close to its peak once again. "Thank you¡­" Kalos said with a charming smile that could make a ladies'' heart skip a beat. "You are welcome¡­ now lets deal with the man that put us through all of this!" Derik said with knitted eyebrows as he spotted Robert and the other nobles leaving the palace. Robert held on to John by the neck, while Anna held on to Linda. All equipped with magic weapons! It was obvious these two shameless members of the royal family were planning to negotiate their safety with the death mages family as a hostage! 173 Chapter 173: True face of the Church! Derik and every other person stared at the corpses of the former king, Robert and his daughter, the elder princess Anna with mixed expressions in their eyes. While the majority were pleased with the final outcome, a small group of people were not entirely happy, surprisingly Derik found himself amongst this group. Amongst this group was the two remaining blood of the royal family, Kuen, and Gerald. Although they knew the terrible atrocities their Father and sister committed, these people are still family and for that reason alone they were almost overwhelmed with grief when they passed away after suffering greatly. All they know is that this is necessary, Robert had to die for the kingdom to move forward! Meanwhile, Derik''s own problem was a bit, complicated. It was not that he was not happy after the king and his demonic daughter died, it''s just that he didn''t feel satisfied. That fire which has been burning fiercely now for quite a while, demanding justice still raged on in his heart even after their death. "Humans die too quickly¡­" Derik muttered. He sincerely wished that these people suffered even longer! Derik swore at this very moment if someone walked up to him to preach about revenge not being the way, he was going to execute them at the spot! He could only rely on Demos to give these two scumbags special treatments in the underworld. All hail king Gerald! All hail king Gerald!! All hail king Gerald!!! The people from the adventurers association, military, and even citizens chanted, extremely pleased with the new change that is to come. They all jubilated and danced around the royal palace but they were also careful not to bump into the death mage who remained rooted at a spot, staring at the corpses. "What now¡­" Cyrus walked up to Derik and spoke first. His injuries had recovered but he still felt tired and weak mentally. "Nothing for now¡­ I''m just waiting for them to act first" Derik said casually, not sparing Cyrus a glance. Soon the other members of the formal team guardian with Mason, Kuen and Gerald included, all staring at Derik, obviously waiting for him to speak. "Why do you guys keep staring me that way¡­ the battle is not yet over, it''s not yet time for me to give a touching speech to justify our actions today" Derik said with a mocking smile "The fact that the holy church is yet to make its move makes me feel a bit restless¡­" Kalos said, looking towards the direction of the cathedral which towered over other buildings in the capital! Only slightly inferior to the royal palace. "Why don''t we just attack first?" Donald was hot-headed as always and proposed to strike first before the enemy strikes. "I agree¡­ I don''t like been forced into a passive situation" Karl agreed. "Yea, it''s better we strike first now the morale of the soldiers are still high and their injuries are yet to take a toll on them" Daemon added "So what do you think?" Gin laughed "The old team back together again¡­" Gin added with a charming smile which made the others giggle. "Humph!" Derik snorted and slowly levitated off the ground. "The same set of people who battled me fiercely a few minutes ago are trying to make it look like nothing happened¡­ The same set of people that broke the blood oath we swore and divulged my secrets just for some messily benefits wants to play friends! The same people who have been standing against me ever since the dead king placed a target on my back want to warm their way in again?" Derik roared in anger letting out all the emotions he kept bottled in for a while now, this caught everyone''s attention and they distanced themselves and kept quiet. "I''m sorry to disappoint you but I cut all ties with you guys a long time ago, and I don''t want to have anything to do with you all¡­ I have been alone now for close to a decade, my realm and strength has improved at a remarkable speed¡­ I''ll love to leave it that way¡­. I will deal with the holy church and the gold-digging kingdoms myself, none of you should get in my way or I''ll bring you down myself¡­" Derik spoke with a stern look on his face and cold eyes. He quickly turned into a beam of light and flew towards the direction of the holy church. Kalos only sighed before turning into a beam of silver light alongside the death avatar and chasing after their master! "Cyrus, Kuen, Mason, Gerald¡­. Join us¡­ we may need you" Kalos voice resonated from afar. Cyrus and the others stole a final glance and proceeded to chase after Derik and his undead slaves. The others could only stand there, wearing grim expressions and feeling ashamed! They thought this matter would pass and just like Cyrus they can throw a few jokes, using the current situation as a way to warm their way into Derik''s circle. ..................¡­. Derik flew towards the holy church cathedral which was over at the other end of the capital! He felt multiple energy signatures following him from behind and his eyes narrowed! [I''ll definitely kill these guys!] Derik roared in his mind He turned around, preparing to brutally murder these people he once called friends but then he saw Cyrus, Kuen, Mason, and Gerald. "I asked them to join us¡­ we may need them in the upcoming battle¡­ The holy church is more resourceful than you think¡­ As they are the sole rulers of a smaller continent, they are in possession of several sacred tools and weapons which far surpasses your power" Kalos explained with a stern look on his face. Since Derik already had a good impression of this old monster when he was alive, he didn''t mind listening to him even now he is dead. He waved his hands at Gerald and the rest, signaling them to come over quickly. Soon, everyone gathered and formed a circle. "According to Kalos, the holy church is more resourceful than we know¡­. I intend to obliterate them here and now. As long as they remain in this kingdom I cannot rest easy, but I can''t be too careless when going up against foes like them" Derik said with a serious look on his face "Just like I said earlier the holy church has a lot of sacred tools in their hands, I would have dealt with them a long time ago if I could¡­ it won''t be easy to deal with them even if we all storm over there¡­ there will be casualties, we must tread carefully" Kalos said As Derik and the others tried to think of a plan with which they can deal with holy church. Suddenly a frown appeared on Cyrus'' delicate face and his eyebrows were knitted instantly. He left the group, ignoring their calls as he flew towards the direction of the holy church with a confused expression on his face. The holy church cathedral was like any other massive catholic church building in this present time, the only difference is that the Crucifix which is normally meant to be a cross looked a bit more strange. It looked like a normal cross but at the center was a hole that had something that looks like an eye. At this moment the eye glowed fiercely at this particular moment, gathering light energy pointing towards Derik''s group direction but none of them could feel it. Only Cyrus who possessed the life element could slightly feel the impending danger! The holy church was planning to make a move and they already had a way to hide the presence of such a terrifying attack! "Bastards!.." Cyrus roared and dashed back to the rest of the team. Seeing Cyrus returning with a grim look on his face, the rest were startled. They didn''t seem to understand why the life mage was in such a hurry to get to them but soon their questions were answered. The crucifix at the top of the cathedral let out an ear-piercing screech and released a golden light after this a massive beam of golden light shot towards their direction "Holy crap!" Gerald exclaimed in fear when he saw the beam heading their way! Even Derik knew he would be killed instantly the moment this beam of golden divine light makes contact with him, he instinctively retreated for the very first time in a long while with a fearful expression on his face. "Behind me!" Kalos roared and appeared right in front of everyone. He clasped his hands together first before throwing them forward and a galaxy of stars shot out of his hands taking the shape of a massive circle. The space in between tore open, forcefully drawing the whole beam of golden light into it. "Back to you!" Kalos roared Simultaneously, the sky above the cathedral twisted violently for a while before tearing open. The massive golden beam of light fell from the heavens like a divine punishment and struck the cathedral! An attack capable of obliterating a peak grade gold realm warrior was easily redirected by the spatial mage Kalos! After the attack hit, a large cloud of dust rose, completely shrouding the cathedral completely. This made it impossible for anyone to see the church, but they all assumed it was completely destroyed by Kalos counter-attack. ...............¡­ "Bastards, how did they get their hand on such a powerful weapon, even if ten of me went against it¡­. I''ll still lose miserably" Derik cursed. "The holy church is not as simple as we thought" Gerald muttered "Serves them right¡­ I hope they all died from that attack!" Mason said with a frown on his face. "It''s not yet over!" Kalos'' voice acted as a reminder in everyone''s head and they quickly turned their attention to the cathedral. A strong wind blew and carried away the dust along with it. To everyone''s greatest surprise, the cathedral was stood there spotless. Around it was a massive golden barrier that had a few web-like cracks on it, but these cracks were slowly mending itself! "A barrier that can block an attack capable of killing a peak grade gold realm warrior or mage and a defensive barrier that can block such a terrifying attack and has self-recovery qualities? How wealthy is the holy church? I must say their background is not as simple as we think!" Cyrus said with a gloomy expression on his face "There foundation is too solid," Kuen said with a slight frown¡­ "Yo, Kalos can you get us in there?" Derik asked. He was hoping that Kalos could help them get into that space without them expending so much energy just to take down a barrier that troublesome. "The space around the church is sealed off by some sort of force I am not familiar with¡­ I can''t help with that" Kalos said with a bitter smile on his face. Hearing this Derik nodded and began gathering his energy "Then we will have to destroy this barrier with our own power!" Derik said. He wasn''t pleased with the current situation. 174 Chapter 174: Shattering the barrier Roar! With a roar, Derik turned into a mass of darkish purple aura as he stormed forward viciously with his death avatar by his side. His eyes revealed his pure, untainted disdain as he raised his hand and black clouds began gathering above the church! "Death magic: Darkness lightning descent" Derik roared and a deadly darkish purple light flashed in his eyes. He and his death avatar swiftly reached for the void and instantly pulled down! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Numerous bolts of purple lightning rained down on the golden barrier but it seemed as if no damage was been dealt. Instead, the web-like cracks on the barriers kept regeneration at a slow but steady pace¡­ This annoyed Derik! He always knew his offensive capabilities were not the best but it doesn''t really make him weak. Feeling the combined assault on the barrier was not working, he let out a roar and shot forward with malicious intentions visible in his cold eyes "You can stand my lightning? Let''s see how you handle this!" Derik at this moment was like a monster who is hellbent on eliminating his enemy. He muttered some strange words under his breath and the death scythe appeared in his hands. "Fill!" Derik screamed as a large portion of death aura surrounding him slowly converged and began entering the death scythe in his hands. In response, the death scythe let out a soul-chilling screech and began vibrating intensely In just a few seconds, Derik had crossed over a thousand meters, reaching the barrier surrounding the cathedral at a stunning speed. At this point, his hand trembled greatly but his grip remained firm as the death scythe shook violently after receiving a large portion of Derik''s power. Everyone present could tell how much effort Derik put in this attack and could only pray it deals some damage! "HAHAHAHAHAHA! THE HOLY CHURCH IS MEANT TO VANQUISH ALL FORM OF EVIL IN THIS WORLD, YET IT HIDES BEHIND A CRAPPY BARRIER WHEN CONFRONTED BY DEATH! WHAT A FARCE!" Derik was ruthless with his words and didn''t spare any efforts in cursing the holy church viciously! The death scythe in his hands suddenly let out another ear-piercing screech as the massive amount of death aura stored in it poured out and quickly formed a thin but thick layer of death energy around the magic weapon. Meanwhile, the death avatar remained behind and maintained the darkness lightning descent magic. Even though the power of the lightning had greatly reduced after Derik left, all the descending bolts of lightning were focused on a particular spot on the barrier, the spot where the web-like crack appeared! Even though this move did not deal any visible damage, it did reduce the speed at which the barrier regenerated, giving Derik enough time to act before it has fully recovered. "Death magic: Consecutive purgatory slash assault¡­ALPHA!" Derik roared like a beast and quickly appeared around the spot with the visible crack, instantly brandishing his death scythe on it, thereby releasing shocking waves of death aura and shockwaves after each hit lands. Crack! Crack!! At this time, the damaged part of the barrier stopped regenerating and a few more cracks appeared after Derik had delivered close to another thirty hits. He bit his lips in frustration and he quickly continued to attack the barrier while staying a safe distance from the darkish purple lightning. Swooooooooshhhhh! A beam of golden divine light, resembling a spear shot through the skies, heading towards the massive golden barrier. Cyrus snow-white eyes instantly turned golden and his body radiated divine light as he crossed hundreds of meters in just a blink of an eye. "Guardian weapon path: Divine broadsword!" Cyrus roared as the void above him forcibly tore open and a massive divine broadsword appeared. This sword was over ten meters long and five meters wide, on its body were different ancient golden symbols while a dazzling green spiritual orb could be seen on the hilt of the broadsword! "SHATTER THE SKIES!! SPLIT THE HEAVENS!!!" Cyrus no longer intended to allow Derik to act alone and instantly gathered his energy while he roared. The already massive divine broadsword above his head released a faint golden glow and instantly doubled in size and power. It trembled greatly for a while after which it vanished, appearing above the dark clouds created by Derik''s death avatar''s darkness lightning descent, it dropped like a massive boulder pushed into an ocean. Its movement while it dropped was neither fast or slow but the pressure coming from the massive divine weapon kept growing and when it hit the already damaged spot of the golden barrier protecting the cathedral, the skies shook and trembled due to the shockwave caused by the impact thereby leaving everyone stunned. [These two are too strong for their age!] everyone exclaimed in their mind. They all witnessed the battle between Derik and Cyrus, back then they thought that both sides fought each other fiercely with killing intentions but now they have witnessed they fighting against a common enemy, these people realized that both sides hid a lot of power in that battle, in hopes of not delivering a fatal injury to the other. Knowing there were people this young capable of wielding this much power, everyone was naturally stunned "What are we waiting for? Let''s give them a hand¡­ that''s why we are here!" Gerald was the first to snap out his daze and stormed forward! The temperature suddenly rose drastically and his eyes released a yellow flash while steam escaped his nostrils and mouth as he moved. Roar!!!! "Dragon flame magic: Ancient flame dragon!" Gerald roared and a massive amount of orange aura burst out of his body. Slowly taking the form of an ancient winged dragon which has only been heard of in myths and legends The others didn''t stay idle for long either as the quickly chased after Gerlad while gathering their power, waiting to release their full strength! .................... Every other person remained clustered at the royal palace as they feared they would be killed easily if they move an inch from their current position. They saw the massive beam of divine golden light and they were startled by the power of the attack. To be honest, even though they were hundreds of kilometers away from the cathedral, they felt like a mountain was dropped on them and this made them wonder what Derik and the others at the frontline felt when attacked by something so lethal and powerful! Even now they could feel the shockwaves of each attack coming from the direction of the cathedral and they instantly knew the real battle has begun! "We can''t let them go at this alone¡­ if the elder prince Gerald and the death mage feel that the holy church should be uprooted from the Gyro kingdom, then we must support this decision¡­. Let''s head out and provide them with as much support as we can!" The commander of the military forces of Gyro, Creed roared and shot towards the direction of the cathedral! Hearing his words, the top tier experts like the miracle team of the adventurers association also voiced out their agreement with creeds words, chasing after the commander. Soon the combined forces of the Gyro kingdom military force and the adventurers association stormed towards the cathedral, leaving behind some trustworthy men to watch over the nobles of the kingdom whom Derik and Gerald found guilty of numerous crimes. The members of the royal guard only watched things unfold with dark expressions. They knew they had fallen out with Derik who is soon to become an important figure in the Gyro kingdom and they completely regretted their decision. If only they stood by Derik''s side, they may have to face more hardship with him for a few years before triumphantly returning, may be stronger than they are now. But that didn''t happen! Using their families as an excuse to conceal their desires for the numerous precious cultivation materials former King Robert provided them with, they publicly exposed his secret and even went as far as to join hands with the people sent to murder him. This is not a mistake that can be fixed! This is not something Derik can overlook and they understood the way he felt! Even his family was not spared this fate, he was even willing to kill them off just to murder the former king and his daughter! If the reincarnated Kalos did not step in, four dead bodies would have been pilled at the entrance Royal palace. "Damn it¡­ I don''t care what he thinks about us¡­ we are citizens of Gyro as well¡­ we will do what''s best for the kingdom!" Donald roared and instantly turned into a beam of light, flying towards the cathedral. The others simply nodded in approval and chased after Donald as well, leaving John and Linda Angus who both wore sad expressions on their faces as they stared at the direction Derik has gone off to. They knew if the undead spatial mage did not act right on time, Derik would have killed them, along with the former king and his daughter. Even after the death of the former king and his daughter, Derik did not even spare them a glance and quickly headed off to his next target. No one needed to tell them that Derik has not forgiven them for the mistake they committed in the past. They could only sit there quietly with the other nobles and wait for the situation to be resolved first. .............. "Dragon flame: Ancient fire dragon claw!" "Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw" "Silver level combat technique: Meteorite shot!" "Lightning magic: Typhoon!" "Wind magic: Hurricane!" "Divine crucifix: Divine ray!" Mason roared as he fired a normal-looking arrow at the barrier but in just a few seconds the arrow was shrouded in a massive green aura and it quickly rose to a level where it actually looked like a comet descending upon the barrier. The space around them shook violently but this didn''t make Derik, Cyrus, and the others retreat. Instead, they attacked even more ferociously and the cracks had slowly spread to twenty percent of the whole barrier. This may look like they were making progress but the truth remains that they have utilized so much energy just to cost this little damage. It''s not something they found exciting, it was clear that they may run out of energy even before the successfully destroy this barrier, and even if they manage to destroy the barrier they will most likely be too exhausted to resist the strength of the holy church experts! This continued for another five minutes and it became obvious that Derik and the crew were running out of energy. At this point, even Derik had the urge to turn around and leave due to frustration! They all started with powerful attacks, coupled with the damage the barrier had already sustained at the hands of Kalos reducing the power of the barrier by twenty percent. During this five long minutes, the power of their attacks reduced greatly as well as their attack rate, with that they could only deal another ten percent damage to the barrier, making it thirty percent in total, but their mana pool had already gone below half and their faces were turning pale by the second! "We can''t continue like this¡­." Kuen said to Kalos while biting his lower lips in anger. Even though he and Kalos possessed the power of the cosmic spirits of gravity and space, they lacked pure offensive spells that could help them in a situation like this. Using their magic weapons, on the other hand, was not really advisable as it consumed mana at a faster rate when compared to normal spells. Kuen felt useless and didn''t bother interfering with Derik''s work, only observing with a bitter expression on his face. "Patience is a virtue¡­ These people have done enough¡­ its time for Gyro to lend us a hand" Kalos said casually with an expression that made it look as if he was peeping into the future. Before Kuen could enquire about the meaning of his words he heard a roar. No! not one¡­ a lot A mob? A crowd? Not really, it was Gyro With over fifty silver realm elites flying in mid-air while tens of thousands of bronze realm warriors and mages storming forward viciously on foot. Not too far behind was an angry mob carrying all sorts of weapons they could find marching towards the cathedral as well. "This is Gyro taking its first step forward" Kalos said with a joyful expression on his face. He didn''t wait for Kuen to speak and he quickly waved his hands and roared as numerous silver stars shot out of his nobody, taking a rectangular form right in front of him and Kuen. The space between the rectangle forcibly tore apart, show an unknown dimension that only Kalos and the cosmic spirit of space is familiar with. The massive gate was over ten meters tall and ten meters wide, forcibly shattering buildings while it formed just to make way for it to form! With this done, Kalos felt a bit light-headed, knowing how a spatial technique of this level is not something he could use when he was alive. He had to admit that becoming an undead definitely has its perks, not only did he draw power directly from the underworld thereby granting him infinite manner, he also possessed an undying body. Now he could fearlessly cast large scale spatial spells he normally feared to use back then when he was still alive. "GREAT PEOPLE OF GYRO, THE MOMENT THAT BARRIER FALLS, THE HOLY CHURCH WILL EQUALLY FALL¡­ HURL YOUR MOST POWERFUL ATTACKS INTO MY DIMENSION¡­. AID THE DEATH MAGE AND YOUR NEW KING IN DEFEATING THIS GREAT THREAT! GYRO WILL NOT FALL TODAY!" Kalos'' voice was like thunderclaps and had a special effect that made the blood of everyone who heard him boil. "FOR GYRO!" "FOR KING GERALD!" "FOR DERIK ANGUS!" Everyone roared as the urged their powers and quick launched their attacks at the massive rectangular portal. Soon an ocean of different colours of attack crashed into the massive portal violently! ........................ Within the cathedral, the priest heading this branch of the holy church in the continent was sipping red wine from a transparent glass cup, in his usual black and red priest garment. Behind him were two massive white angel wings and his long golden hair fluttered. His snow-white eyes narrowed slightly and a mocking smile filled his face when he watched Derik and the others attack the barrier ferociously yet he didn''t seem bothered. By the way, the [Godly domain Protection] was no simply barrier, resources worth millions of gold in coins are need to forge one of this. This is an amount only the holy church can afford! But when he saw the might of Gyro combining their powers to attack the barrier, the wingman priest turned pale and almost choked on the wine. He quickly got on his feet and kicked away the servant carry the jar of wine for no reason and roared to the other servants "Find Bishop Aldora! Quickly or the cathedral in Gyro will fall today!" He roared in a fearful tone! 176 Chapter 176: War! Derik felt greatly threatened by the man hiding within the cathedral. From the power of the attack, he knew this man has already entered the gold realm and what Derik just struggled to defend against just now is a casual attack. At this moment, the only person who could match this strange master in the gold realm or even surpass him is Kalos but unfortunately, this spatial mage is only a support type. So he cannot really take on this man head on. "Damn it¡­ what kind of monster is hiding in there?" Kuen said with a gloomy expression on his face. He too has felt the power of this man when his gravitation barrier was crushed in an instant. He knew this man was way above their level and seeing Derik struggle against the casual attack confirmed his suspicion. A gold realm expert is hiding in the cathedral! He was about to speak but then he felt something wrong. Kuen swiftly turned his attention towards the cathedral and noticed numerous cannon like objects sticking out the windows, with just a glance he counted about two hundred of them! "Crap!!!" Booooom! Booooom!! Booooom!!! No one knew who shouted but numerous golden cannons shot out and swiftly bombarded the golden wings guarding the ranged fighters of the allied forces trembled greatly and numerous cracks appeared on divine wings Puti! Cyrus trembled greatly as he spat out a mouthful of golden blood. His glowing snow-white eyes dimmed greatly and the radiating light radiating from his body dimmed as well. "BASTARD!!!" Derik roared, planning to dash forward but he was quickly stopped by Kalos. "We must let the Gyro kingdom''s forces fight this battle alone¡­ save your strength and regain your energy¡­ we will battle this high ranking officer of the holy church and the other experts hiding there as well¡­" Kalos said. The others nodded leaving Derik with no choice but to stand back and observe the battle with a heavy heart. ..................¡­. ROAR!!!! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The silver knights of the holy church finally crossed the gap between them and the allied forces. Like a drill the silver knights of the holy church roared and a massive golden aura surrounded them, taking the form of a bull. The knights of the holy church smashed into the guardian knights, sending hundreds of them flying back! With a single charge, they successfully broke through ten rows of the guardian knight out of fifteen rows. The power of the silver knights could easily rival that of mid-grade silver realm elites and this is something these guardian knights of the allied forces could deal with "Break!" "Shatter!" "Scram!!" "Out of my way!!!" Numerous multicolored energy attacks swarmed out of the magic weapons and tore through the defenses of the allied forces, closing in on the ranged fighters of the allied force malicious intentions. At this point, everyone knew things are going to get a lot messy. Even though Derik knew there would be lots of casualties on his side and he really didn''t want to see this people die, his hands were tied. The thought of summoning his army of the dead but he swiftly brushed it off his mind knowing the consequences of his actions won''t be light! The strength of a necromancer lies in his army of the dead. The more powerful an undead is, the stronger he becomes. As much as he would love to lend these people a hand, he realized he couldn''t. His foes are devotes and members of the holy church, they are practically bathed in holiness. His undead may be invincible when battling other but against people with light or life magic, they will all fall. Even now he is worried about Kalos and his death avatar but their presence is very much important. Soon the silver knights of the holy church successfully broke through the allied force rangers in just a few seconds, suffering only five losses. With the powerful spells and magic cannons aiding the, they swiftly tore through the defense line and charged forward. Fortunately, the archers were placed behind the guardian knights, their combat capabilities are not poor either and it looked like the knights were getting exhausted bring both sides to a standstill, none progressing. At this point, Derik continued taking in the souls of those who lost their lives, using it to stabilize his realm. Since he broke into the peak grade of the silver realm, he still hasn''t familiarised himself with his newfound powers, jumping from battle to battle. Even though this made him more powerful it left him with a shaky foundation. As he kept on mediating and getting more familiar with his new strength, his death aura condensed even more thereby becoming more oppressive. Those standing close to him instinctively took a step back while those below looked up. More ancient black patterns appeared on his body like a tattoo and he could vaguely feel the emotions and thoughts of his undead minions. Before now, apart from the death avatar and Kalos, the others were like mindless puppets, moving only when he gave them the order to but now he didn''t feel the same way. His eyes yanked open and two beans of darkish purple flames poured out and swarmed towards the cathedral. The death mage was tired of waiting! Without uttering a word, his lips parted slightly and beams of darkish purple energy shot out, accurately heading towards the magic cannons on the side of the holy church. "YOU DARE MOVE AGAINST THE CATHEDRAL? YOU MUST BE TIRED OF LIVING!" the voice of the mysterious master on the side of the holy church echoed in the skies and a wave of golden power shot out, successfully blocking all the attacks. "HAHAHA! HAHAHA!!... DON''T YOU DARE DISAPPOINT ME MYSTERIOUS MASTER!" Derik laughed hysterically as he reached for the void "Death magic: Darkness lightning descent!" he raised his hand towards the sky and roared Soon a massive cluster of black clouds gathered, instantly covering the cathedral and the battlefield, bringing darkness with it! At this point it looked like it was night time already! "Descend!" Derik threw his raised hand down and instantly, more than a hundred bolts od darkish purple lightning rained down on the battlefield and the cathedral, murdering hundreds of silver knight and mages and destroying hundreds of cannons in the blink of an eye. Seeing this the mysterious master bled in his heart and almost spat out blood due to anger. He knew the true worth of those cannons, it''s not something kingdoms could afford easily and now over a hundred has been destroyed in an instant, he could not contain his rage "YOU SEEK DEATH! MARK MY WORDS YOU WILL NOT GET TO SEE THE DAYLIGHT OF TOMORROW!!" he roared and a massive golden shield which was practically double the size of the cluster of black clouds appeared directly underneath the clouds. Thunderclap sounds echoed and strong winds blew but it still couldn''t penetrate through the golden shield. Seeing this a vicious smile appeared on Derik''s face as his death aura erupted violently! "IS THAT ALL?" He screamed Death magic: Demonic werewolf roar! Instantly, his death aura condensed, taking the shape of a five meter tall werewolf. It let out an ear-piercing roar and shot towards the mages of the holy church like a missile, with its fiery claws held high! Derik''s resounding laughter echoed and this seemed to annoy the mysterious master even more! "YOU! DIE!" the hoarse voice echoed and a massive golden beam of light shot out through the walls of the cathedral, heading towards Derik. It was already surprising that he choose to ignore his soldiers and attack Derik, this showed the resentment he had for the death mage. "Cute¡­." Derik stood their fearlessly with a triumphant smile. Suddenly a galaxy of silver stars appeared right in front of the death mage and a portal soon appeared after that. The golden beam of light shot into the portal and another portal appeared directly above the remaining 295 silver knights of the holy church whom still held on to their triangular formation resisting the attacks of allied forces of Gyro. When the portal appeared above them, they all used their defensive skills and summoned their lifesaving equipments but the gap between a gold realm expert and a bronze realm warrior is not something that can be easily breached! Boooooooooom! Two hundred and ninety-five souls rushed into Derik''s body and he felt revitalized, laughing hysterically while standing gallantly in mid-air with a triumphant smile on his face. "KALOS!!!!!" The mysterious voice roared and the whole cathedral shook! "COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU COWARD! YOU WILL MEET A SWIFT DEATH AT MY HANDS, THAT I PROMISE!" Derik laughed hysterically and quickly shot towards the cathedral fearlessly. "Death magic: Blazing death meteor!" Derik roared and his soon surrounded by a massive globe of darkish purple flames. As he moved the darkish purple flames increased as well thereby strengthening the spell even further, this continued until the blazing death meteor became big enough to crush buildings easily! "HAHAHAHAHA! YOU HAVE CHOSEN DEATH CHILD! LIGHT MAGIC: DIVINE JUDGEMENT SPEAR!" The hoarse voice resonated from the cathedral. Almost instantly a massive golden divine spear over five meters long forcibly burst out of the cathedral flying towards the death meteor, further destroying the cathedral in the process. At this point, the cathedral was at the verge of collapse and the top tier masters of the holy church had no other reason to hold back since the great bishop has made his move. Instantly over forty figures dressed in different attires dressed in a similar cloaked white and red robe appeared with murderous eyes and powerful auras. With just a glance, one could tell that these people were mostly at the low grade of the silver realm while a few were at the mid-grade of the silver realm, making the gold haired wingman the only peak grade silver realm expert present. Yet the aura that diffused from them was more terrifying than that of the silver realm warriors and mages of Gyro, this was only possible because of the numerous magic equipment and weapons on them, increasing their powers by leaps and bounds. The real battle which would decide the fate of the Gyro was about to begin and both sides gave enough space for the clash between Derik and the bishop to happen first. Within the massive ball of darkish purple flames, Derik could see the round figure residing within the divine golden spear and his eyes narrowed, letting out his murderous intentions. It became visible that none of them was planning to withdraw. Booooooooom!!! The shockwave from the collision of the attacks, forced even the silver realm elites of both sides to retreat. Derik''s figure was forced to retreat hundreds of meters before he could finally stabilize himself, while the bishop stood at a spot gallantly, unscathed! Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood and his body was filled with numerous shallow bloody holes. Seeing this, the hearts of the silver realm experts on the side of Gyro sank while the experts of the holy church jubilated, singing the praises of the bishop. To everyone here, the death mage Derik signified the strongest power in Gyro, the new kingdom guardian and the most powerful figure of his generation. They all believed that the moment falls, this war between Gyro and the holy church will end. This is why the forces of Gyro felt anxious when they saw Derik in that condition. "Hahahahahahaha! If this is all the bishop of the holy church is capable of then I am disappointed! The only light mage who can take my life is standing right behind me, you cannot kill me old man! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!!" Derik roared with a vicious smile on his face as he glared at the bishop before dashing forward. Aldora was a short man who was barely about 5ft tall, his bishops garment could not hide his football figure and his protruding belly. His face had lots of wrinkles, exposing his age and he was bald and his wings were so tiny people wondered how this man could fly with those wings. Amongst all the wingmen race members Derik has met, this man was so far the ugliest. How did the wingmen race produce such an ugly offspring? "I will turn you to meat paste you little midget!" Derik laughed as he looked at the dangling little legs of the bishop. His struggled hard to restrained the great urge to laugh while he dashed towards this man. Like what the f##k? Who would have thought it was this little midget that had that domineering voice all along? If he, Derik had such a disgusting figure, he was pretty sure he would have taken his life by now or lived in seclusion! Either way, he was planning to crush this man now and he was not planning to be merciful because of his size. He activated his negative emotions power and swiftly drew strength from the negative emotions of the tens of thousands of warriors and mages all around him, both from the holy church and the allied forces of the Gyro kingdom! Boooooom! ROAR!!! Derik''s power suddenly spiked and quickly climbed up to the low grade of the gold realm! Terrifying darkish purple flames covered his body as his claws and fangs appeared. With quick hand gestures, the death scythe appeared in his hands and his figure flashed! Swooooooosh!!! "Death magic: Purgatory slash¡­. ALPHA!!!!" Derik appeared right in front of the midget bishop with the death scythe raised above his head. With a roar, the death scythe exploded and a sea of death aura poured out of it all at once as it descended upon the bishop like an ancient mountain, pressing down on the man. The sudden power boost stunned Aldora and his soul was shaken by the attack. He quickly instinctively his hands over his heads to block the attack and a massive pair of divine golden wings appeared from thin air, wrapping around the bishop, protecting him from the strike! Boooooom!!!! Aldora shot down like a rocket, smashing into the ground almost in an instant, creating a ten-meter deep crater. Shocking! Domineering!! Too powerful!!! Everyone was stunned by Derik''s sudden display of power, even the silver realm elites of the church were shocked by this and their confidence in Aldora quivered a little. A gold realm master was struck down with one move by the death mage. Too terrifying! "INVINCIBLE!!!!" Creed was the first to snap out of his daze and stormed towards the silver realm experts of the holy church with a roar! "INVINCIBLE!!!" "INVINCIBLE!!!" "THE DEATH MAGE IS INVINCIBLE¡­ THE KINGDOM GUARDIAN OF GYRO IS INVINCIBLE¡­ GYRO IS INVINCIBLE!!!" The silver realm elites of Gyro roared like ferocious beasts and shot forward towards the silver realm elites of the holy church. Now that Derik has shown his overwhelming power, their moral rose to the peak and their bloods began boiling! Everyone quickly found their opponents and quickly engaged them in a bitter grudge match to the death. "You are my opponent! Guardian weapon magic: Divine ancient broadsword!" Cyrus roared and charged towards the wingman priest at the peak of the silver realm. His snow-white eyes let out a golden flash and without uttering a word, his divine broadsword let out an ear-piercing cry and shot forward. Charging towards the priest with murderous intentions. He too was affected by Derik''s words and actions, and his urge to battle rose to a whole new level! "The host of the life guardian spirit dares to join hands with the death mage, the definition of evil in this world! His holiness bishop Aldora will rid this world of that death mage and I will rid this world of you!" the priest sneered with disdain written all over his expression. He waved his hands in the air and numerous golden symbols appeared in an instant as he spoke some ancient words with his golden eyes shut tightly! It looked like he was not afraid of the incoming divine golden broadsword! "Divine guardian path: Battle angel Kastiel!" His golden eyes yanked open abruptly, releasing a dazzling golden glow which completely shrouded his figure. Bang! Boooom! The massive divine broadsword shot into the dazzling golden light but it was soon stopped in its tracks by an unknown force. "Divine guardian path¡­." Cyrus'' voice trailed off in shock as he watched what was going on. He knew of the divine guardian path and he had to confess, this is a path which could easily rival the guardian weapon path Michael impacted on him while he was still at the bronze realm. This path is limited to only light and life mages, it enables the user to breach the gap between humans and angels, allowing them to sign a contract with them. He didn''t fully understand the details of the contract and what the angel has to gain from the partnership but what he knew was that these angels were extremely powerful and the weakest amongst them are at the low level of the gold realm. With such a powerful companion, no normal person in this continent can rival such a mage. Seeing a mere priest of the holy church successfully mastering this path and successfully attaining a companion is not something he expected. It could be considered an amazing achievement on the priests path and his future in the holy church should be quite bright. The dazzling golden light soon faded and a figure over 7ft tall and a pair of angelic golden wings stood firm like an unshakeable mountain. Kastiel had a pair of dazzling golden eyes and his body was filled with ancient golden writings which let out a dazzling golden light. He wore a perfect white robe and in his hands were a blazing orange broadsword which terrifying scorch divine flame aura diffused from. With its weapon, it was capable of blocking an attack from Cyrus'' guardian weapon and it still didn''t seem like it was shaken at all. Instead he had a proud smirk on his face as he gazed at Cyrus with sharp eyes as if it was sizing him up. "So this is the new host of that scumbag Michael¡­ Mid-grade of the silver realm, quite impressive for someone at your age¡­ but then again, it''s still not enough¡­. Disappointing¡­" Kastiel said with a disdainful smile on his face as he stared at Cyrus. With a slight push, he made the massive guardian broadsword retreat by a hundred meters, even Cyrus felt a sting in his soul and he winced in pain. "Mid-grade of the gold realm¡­ I''m not impressed at all¡­ this explains why Michael was chosen to be the guardian spirit of the life element instead of you¡­ On behalf of my master, I beat you and your little priest down till you both lick my shoes and beg for mercy!" Cyrus was vicious with his words and didn''t look afraid at all. The weakest angel in the heavens was at the low grade of the gold realm, making Kastiel who was at the mid-grade of the gold realm only average in his eyes. From Kastiel''s words, he could tell the angel was not really happy with Michael''s position as the guardian spirit of the life element and was planning to vent his anger on his little host, Cyrus. Any other normal person would be scared of an angel who has a high life rating than humans and a higher cultivation base like Kastiel, but Cyrus was no normal person so he had no reason to fear. He has already engaged in life and death battles with more powerful foes so many times that whenever he fights a foe weaker than himself or at the same level, he feels like something is wrong. Fighting stronger foes feel like a normal daily routine to him! "CHILD OF LIFE!" He dared not take his foe lightly and quickly used his award winning technique which always allowed him to take on greater foes. His body trembled as the life force of tens of thousands of people flowed right into Cyrus and his power level spiked. His snow-white eyes turned golden and numerous golden runes appeared on his body, releasing a golden light! His golden hair fluttered majestically in the air and his power level finally settled down and stopped rising. "L¡­. Low grade of the gold realm¡­ when did the hosts of guardian spirits become so powerful?" The wingman priest of the holy church was shocked by Cyrus new power level and he couldn''t help but feel less secure. Who knew that the various hosts of the various guardian spirits were this strong? He initially thought that Derik was the most powerful man in Gyro at the moment but after seeing Cyrus act, he had this feeling that if the death mage and life mage should risk their lives in a battle against each other at this very moment, Cyrus is most likely going to be the victor here or both will end up killing each other. He couldn''t see a scenario where Derik comes out on top. Though the second option where they both end up dead is the most likely outcome for him. "I FOUGHT THE FALLEN ANGEL OF LIFE SAMAEL WHEN I WAS STILL STUCK AT THE LOW GRADE OF THE BRONZE REALM, AND HERE I AM STILL STANDING¡­ A MERE ANGEL LIKE YOURSELF DARES TO STAND AGAINST ME? HAHAHAHAHAHA! VERY WELL THEN, YOU CHOSE YOUR PATH! I WILL ERASE YOU FROM THIS WORLD!!!" Cyrus'' angelic temperament quickly vanished and he began roaring and gloating like a ferocious beast. For some reason he acted just like Derik, the similarities made Kalos chuckle. It seemed to two friends always end up influencing the other character in so many ways "SPLIT THE SKIES¡­ SHATTER THE HEAVENS!" Cyrus roared and the size and power of his golden divine broadsword doubled instantly! The reason why Michael chose the guardian weapon part for him instead of the divine guardian path was simply that the first was a bit more reliable. The power of the divine guardian path is fixed and based on luck, if your angel is strong you are lucky but then again it purely relied on the power of the angel entirely. Meanwhile, the guardian weapon path is quite unique, the guardian weapon has always been one grade above the strength of the user and as the power of the user rises, so does the power of the divine weapon. Even though the divine guardian path ensures safety for a while but when the user meets foes in the same realm with the angel what happens then? What happens when the user eventually surpasses the angel? What use is the contract at a time like that? Now that Cyrus had a cultivation base of the low-grade gold realm, his guardian weapon was naturally at the mid-grade of the gold realm. By activating the ability of his guardian weapon which increased its power and size twofold, Cyrus divine weapon had enough power to rival low-level peak gold realm attacks! 177 Chapter 177: You are not qualified! Wooooosh!!!! The massive divine broadsword let out an ear-piercing cry as it split the clouds while hacking down at the angel, Kastiel and the white-robed priest of the holy church. The massive divine broadsword released a magnificent golden light that turned even the white clouds golden and made all those who sensed the unusual power feel inferior. It looked like the supreme judgement of the gods, descending on the sinful duo from the sacred chambers of the heavens. In fact, the raw power of this attack took Kastiel and the white-robed priest by surprise and the later stood there, gazing at the divine guardian weapon with fearful eyes and a trembling body. He felt a massive pressure on his shoulders which prevented him from taking a step back. His golden eyes were fixed on the divine guardian weapon that could take his life the next second, yet he was too fearful to even make a sound. \"Don''t you dare look down on the Angels of the heavens!\" Kastiel completely lost his majestic demeanor and roared like a savage. He had to confess that he too was stunned by Cyrus sudden leap in power and he definitely felt threatened by the massive divine guardian weapon but then again, he is an angel who survived Samael''s rebellion, fighting alongside Demos and other guardian spirits. He has witnessed things much more terrifying than this and for that reason alone, he was able to snap out of the daze and react quickly in a bid to safeguard his life and that of his summoner. \"Flaming sword art: Divine devouring flames\" Kastiel roared and his blazing orange divine weapon instantly lit up and powerful flames poured out. Gripping the broadsword with both hands, Kastiel let out a deafening roar as brandished his divine weapon at the massive divine guardian weapon. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Kastiel was forced to retreat continuously as he desperately defended against the continuous assault. His hands trembled and it fell like someone was stepping on his wrist, making him feel a sharp pain. \"A mere mortal dares challenge a higher life form like me? Such insolence!\" Kastiel roared and an angelic light shot out of his body, flying above the clouds. \"Break! Fal!! Divine judgment!\" Kastiel roared as he grabbed the void and pulled down. Wham! The clouds cleared and massive golden executioners ax appeared above Cyrus and instantly hacked down at him. \"What? So fast!\" Cyrus was stunned by this technique which took shape in less than a second and attacked almost instantly. As much as he hated to admit it, the angel was quite powerful and more adept in casting spells than all the humans he has seen so far. He instinctively raised his hands to block this attack, using his aura to form a protective layer of defense around his body, since he was not prepared for this and his guardian weapon was too far away from his position. Booooom! The executioner ax was forced to retreat as it slammed into a massive death scythe which appeared above the life mage. The death aura which escaped from the black scythe swiftly lunged forward, tangling itself around the gold ax preventing it from moving. \"Derik?\" Cyrus was stunned, only to look down and see Derik wink at him with a warm smile. Even though Derik did not say a word, he could tell the death mage was laughing at him and was trying to tell him he owed him one. \"You¡­.\" Cyrus had a defeated smile on his face but didn''t dally around any longer as he gathered his power and urged the guardian weapon to continue assaulting the angel, putting more pressure on it while he battles the priest alone. .....................¡­. \"Don''t you dare take your eyes off me!\" Aldora roared like a ferocious animal as glorious golden spears appeared around him and shot towards Derik who was winking at Cyrus at the time. \"Humph! You actually wish to make me take you seriously? You are not qualified!\" Derik said with an indifferent look as he waved his hands and numerous bone spears appeared behind and shot towards the golden spears! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! The battle raged on for over a minute but none of them seemed to have gained the advantage. Even though the bishop was at a low level of the gold realm and his foundations were more solid than that of Derik since he was only using external sources to temporarily raise his power level, the bishop only possessed light magic. This is normally effective against all forms of dark magic but when meets death magic, the light magic is only as good as any other normal magic. \"Light can never overcome darkness¡­ only Life can stand death¡­ Unfortunately for you, the life mage is on my side¡­\" Derik said these words as he calmly flew towards the bishop with his hands wrapped together above his chest. \"SILENCE!\" Bishop Aldora was already pissed by the humiliation he received a few moments ago at the hands of the death mage. He just wished he could strike down this death mage at this very moment. \"Divine judgment spear!\" Aldora roared as he urged his life energy, creating a five-meter long spear which shot towards Derik. \"Didn''t I tell you¡­ I am Invincible\" Derik said casually and he received the attack with his bare hands¡­ BOOOOOOOOOOM! The spear smashed into Derik''s palms and quickly dragged him above the clouds, yet Derik still had a calm look on his face as he struggled against the golden divine spear, he didn''t looked fazed one bit. \"THIS ENDS NOW!\" Aldora roared like an ancient beast, turning into a beam of light while chasing after the death mage. Soon they flew so high in the air that the other silver realm elites fighting in midair looked tiny. \"HA!\" Derik roared as he finally gathered enough power, quickly crushing the divine spear with his hands. His fiery darkish purple eyes light up as he waved his struck forward and a human-size darkish purple flaming skull shot out, lunging towards bishop Aldora. \"Death magic: Exploding blazing skull!\" Derik growled and he twisted his hands in a strange way. Instantly the hollow eyes of the darkish purple flaming skull lit up and it let out a soul-chilling cry, increasing its speed in an instant. Seeing this, a frown appeared on Aldora''s face as he quickly changed his route in a bid to escape the blazing skull but to his greatest surprise the skull chased after him. \"Want to escape my blazing skull? You won''t find it that easy!\" Derik sneered. He proceeded to spit out another four flaming skulls. With another four added to the chase, Aldora''s face turned pale. He flew at his greatest speed, taking the form of a golden spear but he still couldn''t escape Derik and his exploding skulls, who brought the darkness with him as he moved. \"Crap!\" The bishop cursed as he was soon surrounded the flaming skulls, with no viable escape route. \"Light magic: Divine embrace!\" He roared, quickly setting up a defensive wing barrier around himself. \"Humph! Explode!\" Derik snorted disdainfully and with a wave of his hand, the flaming skulls dived in for the kill Boom! Booom!! Boooom!!! Booooom!!!! ............................ Tink! Tink!! Boooom!!! Kastiel spat out a mouthful of golden blood while he retreated with the defeated wingman priest in his hands. He couldn''t react on time since his focus was on his summoner who had lost one of his wings and a limb. If this man died, he will be forced to return to the heavens and this was not something he wanted. The light sword in Cyrus hands meant for the priest, pierced the sturdy chest of the angel and his body shivered as golden blood jetted out of the injury. He bit his lower lips as he took the opportunity to strike at Cyrus who close by now. \"Devouring divine flames!\" Kastiel roared, disregarding the injury on his chest, he swung his blazing orange divine sword at Cyrus and a wave of golden flames poured out. Seeing this Cyrus was not bothered. Instead he gripped the void tightly and pulled down, ordering his massive guardian weapon to strike down the angel for good. Although this could be considered a risky move, he completely placed his trust on the two cosmic spirit hosts, overseeing the whole battle and aiding those who needed help! The silver realm elites of the holy church possess a crazy amount of magic equipment which in turn boosted their overall power, up to a level where the silver realm experts of the Gyro kingdom could not compare. If everything was equal, the Gyro kingdom silver realm elites should have been destroyed by now but due to the presence of Kalos and Kuen, the tide of battle changed and the Gyro kingdom regained the advantage. The true strength of these two was displayed as they played the support role in the battle. Wooooosh! The wave of golden flames appeared above Cyrus a second away from it crashing down on him, yet he totally ignored it, controlling his guardian weapon which appeared above Kastiel and the defeated priest, hacking down at them. \"Open!\" a calm voice resonated from afar and a massive portal appeared above Cyrus'' head, with its powerful suction force, it pulled in all the divine golden flames. This stunned Kastiel, as he didn''t expect anyone to join hands with the life mage at this crucial hour. The portal reopened below him and the golden flames appeared from below, shooting towards him and from above was the massive guardian weapon, threatening to tear him apart with a single blow. Kastiel panicked at this moment. He quickly tried to move back but he suddenly felt a force around him preventing him from escaping that space. His eyes turned bloodshot as he instantly pinpointed the source the spatial magic and gravity magic! \"I''ll kill you!\" Kastiel roared while steering at Kuen and Kalos who wore calm smiles on their faces. \"Light magic: Divine deity!\" Kastiel hurriedly activated his greatest defensive spell, turning himself golden, like a statue in the process. Booooooom!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! The attacks bombarded the angel and the priest from two sides and numerous screams could be heard. Quickly a figure shot out of the golden flames, retreating even further. His body was covered in divine golden blood and his right hand was dangling weakly, making him unable to maintain his grip over his divine blazing sword and it fell off. In his left hand was a lifeless black figure which most likely died due to severe burns. The wingman priest was dead and the angel Kastiel would soon vanish¡­ But Cyrus was not satisfied! \"To me!\" Cyrus roared as he released a wave of golden aura, which quickly caught Kastiel''s divine blazing weapon which was free falling. \"Die!\" He roared as he gripped the void and pulled, instantly the massive guardian weapon shrieked and shot towards Kastiel \"You will pay for this, host! I swear it!\" Kastiel roared like a madman after his divine weapon was stolen and since the priest was dead, he could feel an unknown force pulling him out of this plane of existence. His eyes were bloodshot as he watched the guardian weapon approach and before it could reach, he vanished¡­ \"I will make you pay¡­.\" His voice resonated from the void. \"You are just an angel¡­ a lesser being in my presence¡­You are not qualified to stand in the same battleground with me¡­ vanish and never show yourself to again!\" Cyrus retorted with a vicious smile on his face, while grabbing on to the divine blazing sword. With the angel gone and his divine weapon in Cyrus'' hands, crazy thoughts flowed into his head. All this while he has been submissive to the former king, Robert, and the Gyro family. In the eyes of the people of Gyro, he''s just like any other member who possesses enough power to stand at the top but outside he is nothing, no reputation, no name¡­ nothing¡­ Unlike Derik, the messenger of death, whose name seemed to be getting more popular by the second. Such a person has gained the recognition of people all over the continent! [This has to end¡­ I must forge a new path for myself and now is the perfect chance¡­ I will become someone people can look up to!] Cyrus swore in his mind while biting on to his lower lips tightly. \"HAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!\" Cyrus'' eyes let out a golden glow and numerous dazzling golden beams shot out of his body, dashing towards the numerous silver realm elites of the holy church! \"Aaaahhh! Wait!\" \"No¡­ no, don''t!\" \"damn you!!!\" Numerous screams of pain and anguish resonated from the sky as multiple silver realm elites of the holy church burst, turning into blood mists. In just a single move, Cyrus had killed over half of the elite forces of the holy church! Numerous beams of light shot out of the blood mist, flying towards the clouds above but they were soon stooped by an invisible force, which greedily held on to them. These are the souls of those who were killed by his attack, they were drawn towards Derik who was battling the bishop above the clouds. \"Ooo No you don''t!\" Cyrus roared as he took hold of the void and pulled down. Instantly the souls, dashed towards him, entering his body, instantly raising his power as well. Just like Derik who could still a person''s soul and use the power of his life force to strengthen himself, Cyrus could do the same, just like the fallen archangels, Samael who used this method to raise his power and reach the peak grade of the demigod level before he waged war against the creator and the other guardian spirits of the various elements. With his power level constantly on the rise as he absorbed the life force of those been murdered in the chaos all around him, Cyrus golden glow was magnified greatly and he looked like a divine deity looking down on mortals. He raised his hand and a divine spear appeared in his hands and with a roar he shot towards the mages of the holy church who were harassing the allied forces of gyro together with the silver knights of the holy church. His resounding laughter introduced fear to the hearts of his enemy while his allies cheered on and fought fearlessly and with more vigor! \"The death mage is certainly a bad influence on this child¡­ their relationship is quite toxic\" Kalos commented with a bitter smile on his face. He could tell what was going through Cyrus'' head with a single glance and he was also shocked that Cyrus used the same method which the former king Robert offered him back then to use and raise his power in preparation for Derik but the life mage refused. He knew this case was quite different, as Cyrus only stole the life force of his enemies but he was pretty sure the life mage did not do it because he just felt like it. It was simply because he wants to catch up with the death mage, his best friend. \"Ahhh forget it¡­. This is the beauty of having a rival\" Kalos said and looked away. He had no reason to bother. This rivalry will only lead to the rapid increment of the strength of both sides and judging from the hardship both of them have suffered together, he really couldn''t see a situation where Derik and Cyrus would turn against each other. He simply ignored Cyrus'' existence and focused on providing more support to those who needed it on the battleground! 178 Chapter 178: Strength of a Bishop! Aldora was covered with injuries that seemed to be infused with death aura, preventing it from healing. He had tried to use numerous light-based techniques to extract the death aura but they all shattered upon contact with the diabolic and malicious aura that Derik possessed. \"You think you can break my curses? Humph! You think too highly of yourself!\" Derik snorted disdainfully. \"You¡­\" Aldora was about to retort but then he felt the life aura of the wingman priest vanish and his facial expression crumbled immediately. Derik also was stunned by the recent development. He could sense the life force of so many top tier warriors and mages at the silver realm been drawn away from him but another force, a holy one. \"Cyrus¡­ damn you! Who said you could join the dark side¡­\" Derik muttered with a weak smile on his face. He understood Cyrus'' intentions by diverting the souls of the dead which was meant to fuel his power into himself. Even though this reduced his current increase in power, he didn''t bother struggling with Cyrus over the souls. \"It would be nice if Gyro had two powerful guardians¡­ Life and death¡­. Haha! That would be really cool\" Derik muttered softly with a smile on his face. He quickly shifted his gaze back to Aldora who wore a complicated expression on his face. With a glance, he could tell the man''s thoughts. Now that the second most powerful member of the holy church is dead, it won''t be long before the others join hands and wipe out the remaining elites of the church, after which they can aid the death mage in this battle. Even if he manages to defeat the death mage before the others can meet up, he still won''t be able to handle the life mage easily. \"I guess you realized how bad your situation is\" Derik laughed while glaring at the midget coldly. \"Bad? You seem to underestimate me¡­ let me show you, the true strength of a bishop!\" Aldora laughed hysterically as he spoke. His aura instantly skyrocketed, pouring out from his body like a vast sea, creeping towards Derik. Seeing this, even Derik felt threatened by the man''s sudden burst of power! He was forced to release his death aura around him, preventing the golden aura from getting closer. \"Damn it, aren''t the hosts of guardian spirits the only ones capable of raising their power levels abruptly?\" Derik said with knitted eyebrows as he stared at the blinding light at the center of the golden aura. \"Deity path: Two-faced divine Buddha!\" A majestic voice resonated from the blinding light and the golden energy around retreated instantly. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Derik''s confident smile vanished and his face turned pale as he watched the golden aura take the form of a seven-meter tall being with two faces and close to a hundred hands. He literarily kept looking up to the Buddha in awe, feeling some sort of urge to bow and worship this powerful being¡­ \"Snap out of it kid¡­\" Demos'' voice broke his chain of thoughts, making him regain his cool once again. \"W¡­ what was that¡­\" Derik asked with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead \"It''s just an illusion to keep you distracted while he deals a fatal blow¡­ so many people have fallen prey to this tactic and they have all lost their lives¡­ Unfortunately for the bishop¡­ you have me, it won''t be easy for him to play such tricks on you now\" Demos replied indifferently. \"The Buddha¡­ it looked so real¡­ it felt so real\" Derik muttered in thought. \"Snap out of it and focus om the man¡­. This technique would have been way more powerful if he possessed the life guardian spirit¡­ Unfortunately, he has only the light magic... take a step forward¡­ put an end to this nonsense as soon as possible¡­ the forces of the other kingdoms are station outside the walls of Gyro¡­ you can''t delay any further!\" Demos scolded Derik. \"Alright, alright!\" Derik said and his fiery darkish purple eyes lit up and the death aura around him gathered, forming a black storm around him as he dived towards Bishop Aldora with murderous intentions. \"Death magic: Exploding flaming skulls\" Derik roared as he spat out numerous darkish purple blazing skulls that flew towards the bishop, with great speed and accuracy. \"Humph¡­ witness the true strength of the bishop of the holy church!\" Aldora roared arrogantly, not even bothering to look at the exploding fiery skulls heading his way. Wooosh! Immediately after the bishop Aldora was done speaking, a massive palm of the giant Buddha swung towards the exploding darkish purple skulls, pulling the clouds along as it moved with terrifying force. \"It''s not going to be that simple, little man!\" Derik laughed as he retreated hastily while controlling the blazing skulls with his mind. The exploding skulls suddenly changed directions abruptly, escaping the massive Buddha hands while reducing the distance between them and the bishop. \"Not good enough! Deity path: Buddha''s embrace\" Aldora sneered as the Buddha quickly wrapped its massive hands around the bishop. Preventing the exploding skulls from reaching him. Meanwhile, the smile on Derik''s face seized when he saw his exploding skulls had failed to harm the bishop. His heart sank as he saw Aldora who was within the protection of the Buddha wave his palm in the air as if he was trying to slap someone. At first, Derik was confused but on second thought, he felt great danger approaching. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! From the side, a massive golden palm appeared from the void. The dazzling light instantly pierced through the darkness surrounding Derik, blinding him in an instant and this left him stunned for a second. Bam! Derik''s body shot through the sky like a rocket and bone-cracking sounds resonated from his body. His hands which he tried to block with looked disfigured and black blood flowed out from numerous holes which just appeared on his body. [A path that can actually boost one''s capabilities by a whole grade! Here I thought such abilities are restricted to we hosts of guardian spirits but It seems I was wrong! I shouldn''t have looked down on this priest from the holy church!] Derik thought as he struggled to stabilize himself. Wooooosh! He finally stopped and stared at the face of the Buddha which had changed from indifference to rage and anger. Its aura which was calm as the great sea had changed as well and murderous intentions diffused from its huge body! With just one attack from that Buddha, he was sent flying, covering close to five hundred meters from his original position \"Sure enough, this path is truly power but flawed as well\" Derik said as he bones twisted violently, returning to its right positions, beginning the healing process. \"I guess you have seen it¡­ the first face you saw was pacifism¡­it only defends and retaliates when its caster is harmed or threatened by any force¡­ If you thought the first attack was strong then wait till you see the destructive power from the rage face¡­ its destructive capabilities increase twofold and it will also take the initiative to attack the target but this time its caster will lose its protection and be let vulnerable¡­ the question is this¡­ will you be able to force your way through the hundred fists?\" Demos spoke casually. Hearing this Derik only shook his head casually while considering the odds. He could tell that the forces of Gyro have the advantage against the holy church with just his supernatural senses and it won''t take long before the church''s forces are wiped out and reinforcement appears. The question is not if he can defeat Aldora in this mode¡­ Instead, the real question is if he can hold out until help arrives¡­ He already realized that this man was more powerful than any foe he has fought before! The sun cosmic spirit guardian knight, Kaido included. There is no way he can defeat this man, the only option now is to hold out until the others arrive. With narrowed eyes, he watched Aldora approaching with his rage Buddha. After sending a message to Kalos and his death avatar telepathically, Derik''s eyes turned snow white and an icy death aura diffused from his body. \"I didn''t think I''ll be forced to use this ability so early¡­ the kingdom couldn''t make me use it but the holy church succeeded in doing this¡­. It''s nice to know there are people capable out there¡­ even if it is the holy church!\" Derik sneered and a dark portal appeared above his head and numerous souls appeared from it, rushing into his body. The portal was the pathway to his incomplete domain and the souls are from all those he has oppressed and murdered all those years, including Zaylee of the lightning element and Sternroff of the wind. \"Don''t think that the necromancer path is as simple as you thought¡­Necromancer path: Legion!\" Derik roared with a hoarse voice as the souls invaded his body directly. As he spoke, it sounded as if hundreds and thousands of different voices said the same words at the same time, stacked atop his own voice. Numerous symbols appeared from his body and a black fog hid his body from sight. His snow-white eyes turned crimson red and his aura changed entirely! With just one move, Derik had changed completely, rising his power level even further. \"This kid¡­\" Aldora was stunned by the sudden change and boost in power. Even he was forced to halt his attack and a strange feeling of insecurity clouded his mind. He finally started understanding why the various guardian spirit hosts were murdered countless times by the allied forces of the kingdoms in the continent! 179 Chapter 179: Necromancer path; Legion! In the process of utilizing his necromancer path ability, legion. Derik''s looks had changed entirely and his aura had vanished completely, replaced with shrill screams and cries of the dead. The black hairs on his head turned white almost in an instant, standing up all at once, thereby giving him a special spiky shape, coupled with his blood-red eyes which gave him a vicious look. His skin color turned pale and numerous strange green symbols could be seen all over his body, from it tiny green flames the which took the form of skulls escaped from the gaps, dancing around his body while letting out a cold ear-piercing cry. Further away from the main body was a green mist that surrounded Derik, making it difficult for them to see his main body. This green mist released numerous skull-like creatures that let out various cries and pleas while circling around Derik''s body. \"This¡­ This is really something¡­\" Aldora seemed reluctant to make the first move as he felt insecure due to Derik''s new appearance. At this point, he could not even sense Derik''s aura to tell what power level he is at and this greatly troubled him. With the wealth of knowledge Aldora has gathered over the years, he knew there are only two possibilities if a situation where a person cannot feel the aura of a foe in battle. The first is the possibility is that his foe is using some sort of special technique to completely erase his aura, making it close to impossible for his target to pinpoint his aura or guess his power level by analyzing his aura. While the second simply means that his aura is so large and vast, that the target in question is too weak to sense the upper limit of his power, making it impossible to accurately tell his power level. As a bishop of the holy church Aldora has met numerous talented masters at the mid-grade of the gold realm and even the peak grade of the gold realm in the holy continent! If such monsters were present, the can easily wipe out Gyro with the flick of a finger and Aldora was very sure that Derik is yet to reach such a level. He just failed to understand why he couldn''t feel Derik''s aura, yet his sense keeps screaming of impending danger if he decides to approach. A cold air diffused from Derik''s body and the sounds of the battles taking place below them have mysteriously vanished. Everywhere was as cold and silent as a graveyard and this terrified Aldora. The only person that has made him feel so insecure and terrified before now is the pope of the holy church. A man whose aura is vast and enormous like an ocean, forcibly subduing the powers of everyone in the holy church with ease. As Aldora has already seen a peak gold realm master in the holy church, he could easily deduce that the pope is at a realm higher than this, a realm which no mere mortal has ever stepped foot in. With such power, the pope can easily subdue everyone in this continent with just a single thought. Yet he failed to understand why this man has refused to lift a finger, insisting on remaining idle but no one dares to question him. To think that a small character like this death mage is able to make him feel fear once again, Aldora was completely enraged and instantly burst out his golden aura, shooting towards the death mage with the rage Buddha following closely behind. \"You will fall death mage!\" Aldora roared alongside the rage Buddha and numerous crimson red fists rained down on the death mage, each fist possessing Aldora''s murderous intentions. \"Hahahahahhaha! Who will make me fall, you? I am sorry to say this but you don''t have the ability! You are not my opponent!\" Derik laughed hysterically with his demonic voice as he spoke. His red eyes glowed fiercely and the clouds beneath him instantly flew towards him. A massive hurricane soon formed about him and a divine aura shone greatly from his body. In an instant, over a hundred aura''s, belonging to different people emanated from Derik''s body. \"Lightning and wind combo: Lightning Hurricane!\" Derik roared and a massive hurricane that had numerous blue bolts of lightning circling it appeared right in front of him. \"Light magic: Divine protection; light walls\" Derik screamed while he retreated, creating numerous light was to take his place as he moves away hurriedly. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Boooooooom!!! The space around them twisted and turned violently as both crimson red fists of the rage Buddha collided with the lightning hurricane Derik called out. Both attacks struggled with each other and it seemed as if the lightning hurricane had successfully sealed off the Buddha''s fists but two crimson red managed to breakthrough, dashing towards the retreating Derik at its top speed. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Numerous light walls quickly shattered upon contact and for a second right there, it looked like the crimson red fists will definitely reach Derik but it finally stopped when it reached the twenty-second golden wall. \"Twenty-one layers of defense could barely stop this magnificent technique¡­ I must confess, if I got struck by your attack, not even my bones will remain\" Derik commented with a stern look on his face. \"But then again, I have a thousand warriors and mages by my side! I cannot lose! What the heck? I may even end up winning!\" Derik roared, releasing blazing orange auras of different kinds. Successfully fusing them into one in just a second! His eyes glowed even brighter as blazing flames burned around his right hand and on his left hand were numerous dazzling lightning bolts! \"Fire on my right, Lightning on my left¡­ I summon thee, sea of despair!\" Derik roared while combining both elements with great control! Roar!!!! Derik roared like a sea of flames fused with lightning dashed towards Aldora like a tidal wave, threatening to swallow him whole! \"How?!\" Aldora was shocked and terrified at the same time as he hastily retreated while changing his rage Buddha to pacifism. Instantly, numerous golden Buddha hands wrapped around Aldora while the others took the initiative to directly assault the sea of lightning flames which threatened its master''s existence. Boom Boom!! Booom!!! The space around them vibrated greatly and it seemed as if it would collapse at any moment! The struggle lasted for a few seconds before both sides were forced to retreat and reevaluate their opponents. Aldora was shocked by the sudden change in Derik''s aura at first and how he is able to utilize abilities that are not his element, this is why he was caught off guard! Forcing him to struggle against Derik''s strange attacks. But now things were different! Aldora has lived for more than a century and within that long time, he was able to acquire great knowledge and experience, making it easy for him to understand how Derik''s new power works with just a single glance. Derik''s necromancer path: Legion allows him to share his host body with the numerous souls which he has acquired over the years, thereby granting him access to each soul''s ability. This is probably the most terrifying ability Aldora has come across over his years as a powerful mage, even more, terrifying than those at the gold realm level which he has seen so far! An ability that allows one to utilize the powers of numerous souls which he has consumed as if it''s his own, why won''t he be terrified by such an ability? Aldora has served the holy church all his life. During that time he has come across numerous mages and warriors of different races and clans utilizing evil powers, including necromancers but none of them has never been able to achieve such a feat. The most powerful necromancer he fought back then could only let a soul take control of her body, allowing her to utilize the abilities of that soul. Even then she was considered powerful, but now he is forced to battle a man who possessed the power of over a thousand warriors and mages! Terrifying! That is the only word Aldora could use to describe the person he is fighting. His eyes narrowed as he considered a lot of things and a vicious smile soon bloomed on his face. Just like the necromancer mage he fought back then, she had the advantage throughout the battle but before she could deal the final blow she ran out of mana and stamina, the soul departed, leaving her vulnerable. Even if the other forms of evil magic are considered fake when compared to death magic, it still doesn''t change the rules of nature surrounding them. It''s a give and take world, where one gives up a certain amount of mana and stamina to utilize spells and combat techniques. In his opinion, Derik''s mana expenditure should be several times larger than that of the female necromancer he fought in the past. That explains why Derik has refused to continue his assault, leaving both of them idle. It was obvious he is trying to conserve his mana and stamina. All he needed to do at this moment is to increase the pressure on the death mage while keeping a good distance until he runs out of power. Even if his werewolf side grants him unique fast mana and stamina regeneration, it doesn''t mean he''s invincible. All Aldora has to do is make expend mana faster than he recovers it. \"HHHHHAAAAAAAA!\" Aldora roared as he stormed forward with malicious intentions. Seeing this, Derik''s expression crumbled. All of Aldora''s speculations are true and the rules binding this spell he''s utilizing are more complex than Aldora thinks. The necromancer ability allows one to gain access to all the souls which share the user''s host body. But to use these abilities perfectly, one needs to have a reasonable understanding of the soul''s abilities in his or her possession. That is the basic requirement, but since Derik started out with hundreds and thousands of souls, so he has never really had the chance to go through their powers one after the other. He can only use those he has seen his army of the dead use. Also, since the user shares his host body with the souls, he or she has to find a way to shut out the thoughts of these foes and focus on the fight ahead. According to Demos, this ability is considered dangerous even amongst necromancers! Cases, where necromancers have lost their sanity due to this spell, are not rare, but this was not really a problem for Derik. As a man who has housed the guardian spirit of the death element in his mind for years, the presence of all these other spirits is nothing when compared to the guardian spirit, so it wasn''t really difficult of Derik to forcibly shut them off Seeing Aldora approach, he pushed all those thoughts aside and summoned bolts of lightning from the clouds that gathered around him to bombard the incoming Buddha and the bishop. While this happened, his eyes released a golden glow and a divine ray of light shot out of his body, into the air. \"Guardian weapon path: Divine crucifix!\" Derik roared and a massive golden divine cross appeared above his head. \"Guardian weapon path: Divine ray!\" 180 Chapter 180: Reinforcement arrives! Numerous beams of dazzling golden light, coupled with a large number of lightning bolts shot through the skies, flying towards the massive golden Buddha which stood like an ancient immovable wall. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! The combined attacks of lightning and light still failed to move the massive Buddha, but it was able to temporarily halt its advance. Its hands which were wrapped around the bishop Aldora, slowly opened, preparing to launch an attack at Derik. \"It''s not over yet!\" Derik growled as he stormed towards the Buddha fearlessly. Woooosh! In an instant, the gigantic divine crucifix appeared above Aldora, bearing down on him like a mountain. While the massive divine crucifix distracted Aldora, Derik arrived with lightning storms, hurricanes and blazing orange flames following tightly behind. \"Break!\" Derik roared and pushed forward, sending all the elemental attacks at Aldora! Torrents of flame, gusts of wind and bolts of lightning intertwined as they all slammed into the Buddha. Since a reasonable portion of the Buddha''s strength was focused on keeping the divine weapon at bay, the defensive capabilities of the deity reduced drastically, leaving Aldora vulnerable! Boom! Booom!! Boooom!!! Aldora was blasted out of the Buddha forcefully, leaving him numerous cuts, scorch wounds and burns of various degrees. This was completely out of Aldora''s speculations! He expected Derik to play defensive because of the massive amount of mana and stamina the technique consumes. Never did it occur to him that Derik will take the initiative to attack, recklessly pouring out so much mana on numerous elemental attacks. And who would have thought the death mage could control the light element with death magic. It just didn''t seem right! Even if light magic is nothing compared to the original, life magic and is considered as a cheap knock off, it doesn''t change the laws of nature! Light should always reject darkness no matter how small it is. It was more reasonable if Derik erased light than when he manipulates it, it just didn''t feel right! But this is not the time to think of this! \"Don''t you dare think I am so weak¡­ that I will drop dead after a single attack!\" Aldora roared! Disregarding his severe injuries, he pushed his hands forward and a great suction force began pulling the massive Buddha towards him, his face had been entirely destroyed by Derik''s attacks but his rage was still visible on his distorted face \"Deity path: One true god! Divine deity!\" He roared as the Buddha slammed into him and a bright golden light flashed, preventing Derik from storming in for just a second. \"Behold the power of god¡­\" Aldora''s hoarse voice resonated from the golden light which was slowly dimming at the moment. From it a ten-meter tall golden man like statue appeared with six hands, his eyes were filled with darkness, with numerous stars twinkling in it. His body seemed stiff and strong as if it was made of gold, the former short, round and ugly wingman had turned into a divine being whose body was crafted by the greatest sculptures of all time. Around his slender neck were strange, golden beads and similar beads could be found in his other hands. His facial expression was neutral, there was no rage, anger, hate, love, joy, pain or sorrow. Just indifference, like a just god who was called to proclaim judgment upon all its creatures. On its right was an hourglass with golden sand and on the left was a divine golden scythe, used to reap the souls of the unjust. And upon the head of this deity was a halo representing the just and holy nature of this man who has just ascended to the ranks of gods! \"Derik Angus¡­ Messanger of death and the wielder of the death element¡­ Its time for you to receive divine punishment! Your soul shall be purged of its sins, I can assure you of that!\" Aldora''s voice was like thunder and lightning, shaking the space around them as he spoke. Aldora swiftly reached for the sacred golden scythe levitating by his left, hacking down at Derik mercilessly without any prior warning. Even though his gigantic movements looked incredibly slow and simple, his terrifying aura greatly suppressed Derik! Preventing him from moving an inch away from his position. \"Damn you! A god with the power level of a mid-grade of gold realm mage? Hahaha! A fake just like the others! I refuse to be defeated by a lesser being like you!\" Derik laughed as numerous aura''s of various elements burst out of his body at once, successfully breaking free from Aldora''s hold. But even then, it was already too late for Derik to escape completely, so he decided to face this beast head-on! His eyes turned bloodshot as he ferociously threw his fist towards the incoming death scythe and an enormous gust of wind surrounded by lightning shot towards the golden scythe, slamming into it mercilessly Boom! Woooosh!!! Derik''s eyes widened as he realized that his attempt failed. his attacks failed to even slow down the golden scythe, the destructive power of Alodra''s new form exceeded his expectations. \"Crap!\" Derik was terrified by the outcome and hastily retreated as he summoned a torrent of scorching red flames from his mouth and from his palms were terrifying black bolts of lightning. All in a bid to stop the incoming scythe while he retreated even further Slash! Puff!!! Although Derik was barely able to escape the attack, a deep gash appeared on his chest with his palms severed from his body. His crimson red eyes dimmed and souls escaped from the opening on his chest, letting out angry howls at the golden deity which dared to deal fatal damage on their master. His legion form was forcibly deactivated and he returned to his normal form, falling through the skies without any restriction. His breathing was heavy and his organs threatened to fall off the bloody gash on his chest! Even his ribs were visible. \"Damn it¡­\" Derik''s vision blurred as he fell¡­. Who would have thought that the new ability this man used could grant him the power to rival normal peak grade gold realm experts? To rival such power, he needs to release his limiters and this is the trump card he decided to save for the forces of the various kingdoms waiting outside Gyro at this very moment. He was careless and cocky, and now he has paid the price! Woooooooosssssshhhhhh!! \"Shatter the skies! Split the heavens!\" A roar resonated in the skies and the clouds lit up. A massive gust of wind blew Derik''s weakened body and he fell into the hands of a youth with blazing golden eyes. From the little Derik could see, a massive divine broadsword slammed into the chest of the new deity, forcing it to retreat while using its scythe to protect itself. \"I guess I have repaid my debt¡­ You did well lasting this long against that monster¡­ Leave the rest to Kalos, Kuen and I. Cyrus said to the weakened Derik, laying in his hands with a charming, charismatic smile on his face. 181 Chapter 181: Death of a bishop In just a few seconds after Cryus'' heroic entrance, Aldora was surrounded by numerous silver realm elites. The cries of joy and triumph of the bronze level warriors and mages who couldn''t join the battle taking place above the clouds echoed all through Gyro, indicating the defeat of an enemy. With this alone, Aldora could tell he was the sole surviving member of the holy church branch in Gyro. How did this happen? How did they fall so far? It all happened too quickly and he could tell he had lost his advantage, his death at the hands of these heretics was only a matter of time. His only option at this point is to escape with what''s left of his strength. \"To think I will live to see the day where a youth possessing the life element will join hands with death to purge good¡­ Our ancestors must be disappointed child!\" Aldora in his deity state remained neutral as if he was not scared of the current situation as he spoke. He decided to go after Cyrus first maybe if he could get this kid to join him, their chances of victory would rise by a reasonable margin. \"Our ancestors? Last I remember I sent one of them running with his tail, shamelessly dangling between his legs¡­ My guardian spirit called him Samael the fallen if I''m not mistaking, he is the infamous ancestor of the holy church right? Pfft! So weak!\" Cyrus spoke with a disgusted expression, not daring to hold back in this matter. But even after that, the expression on the face of the massive Aldora deity remained the same, neutral as always. He let out a sigh before gripping onto the hilt of the golden scythe tightly before speaking. \"I guess I will have to purge this world of you then¡­ The next Life magic guardian spirit host will receive proper orientation, he or she will not follow this same part. This I promise you\" Aldora said with a soothing, calm voice which could make normal people think that this was a god who truly felt bad when condemning one of his creations. \"You can try to purge me, I don''t mind killing another high ranking member of the holy church in one day, False god¡­\" Cyrus delivered Derik to one of silver realm elite, before taking a few steps forward towards Aldora fearlessly. Every other person present moved back by at least fifty meters, leaving enough space for both of them to battle. It was pretty reasonable for them to be wary of the man capable of putting the death mage in such a terrible condition, though they assumed that this was only possible because the death mage was worn out mentally from the numerous battles he has gone through. \"You chose death my boy¡­\" A sinister grin appeared on Aldora''s initial perfect face when he realized that everyone was giving him enough room to battle Cyrus alone. His initial intentions were to recruit the life mage in order to reduce the overall strength of the allied Gyro forces and add to his own. If this plan is not feasible, the next best thing is to eliminate the Life mage and these people have created a perfect condition for him to achieve this goal. Roar! Cyrus was the first to make his move, quickly gripping onto the void tightly and pulling down. Instantly golden light flashed above Aldora and the divine massive broadsword appeared, hacking down at him mercilessly. \"Hahahahaha! The death mage possessed more powerful techniques, yet he couldn''t survive a single blow from me¡­ Who are you to challenge me!\" Aldora''s golden face twisted even further as his sinister grin widened. Pow! With one of his hands, he punched out, towards the divine guardian weapon and a golden energy fist appeared above his head, slamming into the guardian weapon. While this took place, he took the opportunity to brandish the golden scythe at Cyrus. \"Tch!...\" Cyrus remained calm in this situation, clasping his hands together while revealing the massive divine aura hidden within his body \"Life magic: Heaven''s gate!\" Cyrus cried and a massive gate almost ten meters tall and seven meters wide appeared behind Aldora. The divine gate was sealed with numerous ancient seals of all manner showing even the life mage has been denied access to the resting place of the just by his very own guardian spirit, completely different from the accursed gate of the underworld which was open to the death mage at all time. With this simple gesture, everyone could tell the relationship between the life mage and his guardian spirit was nowhere as good as that of the death mage and his guardian spirit. \"Capture!\" Cyrus was totally focused on the battle at hand, quickly summoning thousands of divine chains from the heavenly gate, binding all the limbs of the deity, Aldora. Even though this could not completely stop Aldora''s movements, it effectively reduced his attack speed by a huge chunk, allowing the divine massive broadsword to make it in time to parry the scythe aimed to take Cyrus'' life. \"Ha! If this is the power you claim you used to defeat Derik with just a single blow, then I''m disappointed in both you and Derik!\" Cyrus laughed as he ordered his sword telepathically to continue its assault on the bound deity, Aldora. Hearing this, Derik and Aldora almost spat out blood due to anger. In fact, Derik had the urge to fly up there and beat the crap out of Cyrus and the deity, Aldora but his injuries prevented him from moving. At this point, he wasn''t only physically damaged but the was also mentally exhausted. It felt like his mind was filled with mists, making it hard for him to think properly. At this point, he could only wait and watch the wound on his chest recover at a fast pace while purging all the life aura in his injuries, preventing it from healing even faster. Aldora at this point was placed in a very tough position. The difference was quite visible from the few exchanges between him and Cyrus. Even though his light magic attacks possessed higher power, it could not completely obliterate Cyrus'' life magic attacks even though it was obviously at a weaker level. INJUSTICE! The resentment he had in his heart for the creator even grew wider after this experience. Even though he could shatter the chains binding him with some effort, Cyrus'' guardian weapon kept assaulting him, giving him little or no time to free himself. Also, since his movements were restricted to a certain level, he could barely defend properly against Cyrus'' attacks leaving him with numerous deep wounds, each time the divine massive broadsword successfully struck him. In just a few seconds the tide of battle had changed and Cyrus seemed to have the advantage in this battle even without the removal of his limiters. The stunning power Cyrus was showcasing won the hearts of all those who saw this and they even began to doubt that Derik could actually match Cyrus in combat, they assumed Cyrus was always going easy on Derik because of their relationship in the past. Even Derik was momentarily shocked by the sudden outburst of power Cyrus was displaying but it soon became clear to him what Cyrus was actually doing. Since the life mage forcibly collected the souls of those who perished in this battle and he lacked the necromancer path through which he can utilize them in battle, Cyrus chose to burn the life force of these souls as a power source to temporarily boost his overall power, ultimately destroying the soul, erasing it out of existence! Even though these are the souls of the members of the holy church, Derik was not fully in support of this method but chose to shove it at the back of his mind and focus on purging the light aura remnants in his body. \"Arrrrrrrrrgggggggh! You will pay for this with your life!\" Aldora roared with an intense hatred for Cyrus glowing in his ferocious eyes. He ignored the divine massive broadsword hacking down at him, instantly reaching for the hourglass floating at his right side, pulling the chains along the way! Swoosh! Bang! Golden blood poured out of what remained of one of Aldora''s six golden hands which were completely severed by the golden divine broadsword. Aldora completely ignored this, focusing all his attention on the hourglass in his hands! Wicked lights shone in his eyes as he applied more pressure and visible web-like cracks began appearing on the strange golden hourglass. Swoosh! Bang! While this happened, Cyrus was not idle. He skillfully controlled his guardian weapon, successfully chopping off two other hands successfully. Murderous intentions diffused from his body as he aimed to decapitate Aldora with his next strike but the bishop was not willing to go down easily, sacrificing another hand just to prevent the guardian weapon from reaching his head. Crack! Bang!! \"Hahahahahaha! It''s all over boy!\" Aldora laughed hysterically as he finally shattered the hourglass. The golden sand in it escaped and soon grew, multiplying at a terrifying rate until it could create golden sandstorms. \"Kill!!!!\" Aldora barked with reddened eyes as he ordered the golden sand to act on his behalf. Soon a tsunami of golden sand swept towards Cyrus, forcing him to retreat continually. All those who stood behind him quickly disregarded their honor as silver realm elites and fled for their lives. The silver realm youth who was holding on to Derik, dragged him along while he tried to flee but surprisingly he was pushed away by the death mage. \"This¡­.!\" Cyrus spat out another mouthful of golden blood, staining his royal guard attire while he struggled against the golden sand with his divine guardian weapon. For some reason, the sand was heavier than it looked! It felt like a hundred mountains were placed on his back and he felt like he would break at any moment. \"Hell no! Silver level secret combat technique: Werewolves roar!\" Derik roared creating a five-meter tall darkish purple wolf avatar with fiery claws. Its eyes were filled with darkness with tiny darkish purple flames burnt weakly within the dark eye sockets. \"GO! Shriek of the dead!\" Derik panted weakly as he spoke and the werewolf avatar let out a ferocious roar as it stormed towards the golden sand tsunami, slamming into it. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Derik and Cyrus combined strength was enough to slow down the golden sand advance, giving them enough time to face Aldora with mocking smiles. \"If this is the so called trump card you have¡­ then I''m quite disappointed¡­\" The former majestic Cyrus who looked rough now due to the encounter with the golden sand spoke in a mocking tone. \"And we are yet to release our limiters¡­ Truly if we wish to take this old man seriously, any one of us can defeat him single-handedly¡­\" Derik yawned as he spoke. The act from these two penetrated the inner depth of Aldora''s heart and he finally lost himself to his rage. \"None of you will leave here alive!\" He roared and poured in a huge chunk of whatever was left in his mana reserves into the golden sand and its size increased drastically! \"Dummy¡­\" Derik and Cyrus chuckled wickedly as he retreated while pulling away from their wolf avatar and divine guardian weapon which was keeping the golden sand at bay, letting the golden sand tsunami surge towards them like a tidal wave. \"Back to you!\" A gentle voice echoed in everyone''s ears just before the golden sand could completely devour Derik and Cyrus. A massive silver portal opened just inches away from them, utilizing its powerful suction force to drag in the gold sand mercilessly. At this point, Aldora could feel the end is near but it was already too late to run. Six portals suddenly appeared around him, one above and the other below. One at the left and the other at the right with the last two right in front of him and the last at his back. Bam!!! Golden sand poured out of these portals constantly crushing Aldora who was at the center. This move came instantly and its power was terrifying enough to quickly bind the bishop, preventing him from busting out even with the power of his deity state. Even though he could control this golden sand with his mind, his was caught off guard by this surprise attack and when the sands hit him, he lost all his power to reason under the intense pain, the only option was to scream and howl in pain, hoping that it would reduce the pain he felt This continued for seconds and soon the screams and cries of the bishop could barely be heard. With that done, Kuen stepped forward releasing an almost transparent aura from his body. The gravitational aura was directed towards the golden sand as he skillfully guided the sand, forcing it to take the shape of a massive ball with Aldora still trapped within. No one knew if he was still alive or dead but in reality, they didn''t really care. ''It''s over!\" Kuen''s expression turned cold as he urged his gravity powers and the giant golden sand ball began compressing. This continued until Kuen was unable to continue. \"That''s okay¡­ he''s dead\" Cyrus said indifferently and Derik nodded casually to support his claim. As both of them were really sensitive to people''s life signatures, they could easily tell that Kuen''s final actions snuff the life out of the bishop. An invisible white light slowly escaped the giant floating sand ball, flying higher into the sky. Cyrus and Derik were delighted to see this¡­ ALDORA''S SOUL! \"I don''t think so¡­\" Derik mumbled as he grabbed the void viciously and pulled, forcibly dragging to soul towards himself. He was expecting Cyrus to join the struggle for the gold realm mages soul but to his greatest surprise, Cyrus didn''t make a move. \"You contributed the most¡­ it only natural you get that one\" Cyrus could easily tell what was running through Derik''s mind so he chose to explain. Derik only nodded in response while absorbing the soul. His eyes revealed a darkish purple glow as if he was revitalized but his complexion remained dangerously pale. He may have received some energy but that didn''t mean his condition has gotten any better. \"Don''t rejoice yet¡­we still have trouble waiting outside the gate¡­ To tackle this issue a show of strength is extremely necessary!\" Kalos suddenly reminded them of the enemies waiting outside the Kingdom''s walls. 182 Chapter 182: Gyro’s new guardians About a thousand meters away from the massive walls of Gyro were troops bearing different flags, separated neatly from each other. Amongst the groups present were the pointy-eared elves standing alongside several silver realm experts and the moon cosmic spirit host Diana. Her silver braided hair fluttered in the wind and her alluring white skin attracted the attention of almost everyone present. Even large navy blue mage robes could barely hide her hourglass figure and her sky blue eyes were her most prominent feature. This was a woman that everyone present bore dirty intentions for but none had the courage to walk up to her. This was simply because her aura was practically the same as the sun guardian knight, Kaido! A fellow gold realm master capable of decimating armies single-handedly. One of the three heroes of legend! \"Ahhh! Diana, its been too long\" A youth with spikey orange hair, dressed in a golden knights armor with the symbol of the sun embedded at the center of his chest plate waved as he approached the lady as if she was a long lost friend. Seeing Kaido approach, the normal cold expression on Diana''s face lightened slightly and a small smile bloomed on her face, she took the initiative to approach the Kaido who gave her a pat on the head when he got close to her with a mischievous smile \"Have you heard from Crystal? Its been close to a while since we all gathered\" Diana said, disregarding Kaido''s actions as if it was normal. This drew the envious gazes of everyone present, even from the troops of the holy church, present to welcome Aldora and the remaining members of the holy church in Gyro. These people seemed to be confident in Aldora''s strength. \"After she left for the holy mountain, I lost all contact with her¡­ I haven''t heard from her since then¡­\" Kaido said while scratching his head. Ignoring the envious gazes fixed on him. \"I heard you had a little showdown with the death mage¡­ How strong is he? There are rumors going about that he did a number on you\" Diana''s eyes narrowed as she covered her red lips with her palm. It was obvious she was trying hard to stop herself from laughing. A gold realm master of the cosmic spirits defeated by a low-grade silver realm mage¡­ no matter how she thought of it, it was an embarrassing event that will hunt Kaido for the rest of his life. \"I made a few mistakes, I didn''t take him seriously¡­ if not for that, there is no way that kid would have left a scratch on me\" Kaido defended himself with an embarrassed smile. \"Okay! okay¡­ Do you think he can win?\" Diana saw how embarrassed Kaido was so she quickly changed the topic. \"Yes!\" Kaido replied immediately. \"Even though he had a low cultivation base at that time, he had a special method which he used to increase his power at a very fast pace. Even then with a cultivation base of low-grade sliver realm mage, he could raise his power all the way to the peak grade of the silver realm, or even further¡­ when I fought him, he was just a step away from entering the gold realm power level¡­ guardian spirit hosts are quite powerful¡­ you shouldn''t look down on them\" Kaido added \"Are they really that good? Shouldn''t cosmic spirits be stronger than guardian spirits? How can their hosts possess such insane abilities?\" Diana asked with a skeptical look on her beautiful little face. It was obvious she wasn''t completely convinced by Kaido''s words. \"What about the Life mage and the Kingdom guardian of Gyro, Kalos¡­ Surely these people matter¡­ the life mage is his natural weakness¡­ he can''t possibly win so easily\" Diana said with a stern look on her face. \"This¡­ That''s a bit tricky¡­\" Kaido said with a slight frown. He was about to say something else but then numerous thunderclaps echoed in the sky. \"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Come to reap the fruits of my labor? YOU COURT DEATH!\" Derik''s voice shook the sky and pure death aura washed through the military forces of the various kingdoms. This alone made the members of these forces below the silver realm lose their will to fight! Booooom! Something shot through the sky, heading straight towards the Holy church''s force. A red-robed bishop standing in front snorted while waving his hand, creating a semi transculent golden barrier to surround the members of the holy church. Bam! A corpse slammed into the golden barrier and fell to the group. Seeing this, the eyes of everyone present widened in shock as they saw Aldora''s'' battered corpse, laying on the floor like any other normal man. They instinctively looked towards the sky with renewed fear in their eyes. \"He tried¡­ He failed¡­ the same fate awaits you all\" Derik''s voice echoed and dark clouds gathered in the sky. A massive bolt of purple lightning struck right in front of the Gyro kingdom walls and Derik appeared in mid hair with his hands wrapped around his bare chest and the arrogance in his eyes was quite visible. He waved his hand and a massive circle shadow appeared below him and the army of the dead began to rise. Soon thousands of dead people appeared with various power levels appeared, fearlessly growling and shrieking at the forces close to a thousand meters away from them. \"Ha¡­ do you wish to scare us with this little undead force of yours? We the wingmen of the holy church eat this for breakfast¡­ I don''t know how you were able to seize the advantage against Aldora but I can assure you this, you will fall here and now for provoking the holy church!\" The red-robed bishop roared in anger and two beams of dazzling golden light shot out of his eyes, speeding towards Derik. The other forces chose to wait and observe the exchange between Derik and the church, that way they can decide whether to get involved or just turn back. \"Aldora¡­ Death¡­ Come out\" Derik did not panic or lift finger, instead, he spoke calmly while glaring at the bishop with disdainful eyes. Bang! Bang!! Two figures suddenly appeared right in front of Derik, one holding a death scythe and the other was a short round man with black wings, holding a scythe. Both of them quickly used their weapons to shatter the two beams of golden energy. Seeing the undead Aldora still capable of using light magic even as an undead, the red-robed bishop panicked. Even though both of them possessed the same cultivation base of the low grade of the gold realm, the undead always possessed an advantage over the living in battles plus he was also aware of Aldora''s true strength, he was slightly weaker than the man when he was alive, now that he is dead the gap between them increased even further. \"My turn!\" Derik said while flicking his hand and the death scythe appeared in his hand. His blazing darkish purple eyes flared up violently as the death scythe drew power from him, trembling greatly. \"Death magic: Purgatory slash¡­. ALPHA!!!\" Derik roared releasing a single but enormous arc of death aura towards the red-robed bishop. \"Aaaaahhhh¡­ Gold realm! Gold realm power level!\" The bishop finally sensed Derik''s power level from the attack he released, leaving him stunned and terrified. Wasn''t this kid just at the low grade of the silver realm just two to three years ago? The red-robed bishop retreated franticly as he summoned numerous golden barriers only to be blasted a few meters away by Derik''s attack. He sent a gold realm master flying with a single attack! How terrifying! Diana was stunned by Derik''s strength and she finally understood why Kaido was hurt. She shifted her gaze towards Kaido only to find out that the sun guardian knight was stunned as well. It was obvious Derik was not this strong when they fought. Kaido quickly arranged his thoughts and quickly left the ground, slowly approaching Derik with a stern look on his face. \"You have truly gotten stronger¡­ but then again, even if you possess the gold realm power level, it''s just you and that your priest undead¡­ On our side are three gold realm masters, with tens of thousands of skilled warriors and mages of different realms¡­. Do you think you can win?\" Kaido said coldly \"The so called heroes of legend ended up getting entangled in the shameful activities of these greedy kingdoms¡­ You are spending too much time with the wrong crowd¡­ How are you going to save the world like this?\" Derik sneered \"You!\" Kaido roared and swiftly proceeded to unsheathe his sword. Even Diana seemed enraged and she swiftly appeared at Kaido''s side, staring at Derik who was far away with cold eyes. \"Huh? This must be another member of the heroes of legends, guessing from her reaction to my previous comment¡­ it seems the third is not present¡­ a pity\" Derik said fearlessly while flying towards both of them with a vicious smile. As their anger and hatred for him rose, so did his power! \"You see¡­ The three of you were born with silver spoons in your mouth¡­ starting out with the gold realm cultivation¡­ I would have said I envy you all but in reality, I don''t¡­ I am aware of my power¡­ and I''m pretty sure that I alone can wipe the floor with both of you¡­ But then again who said I am alone?\" Derik laughed coldly as he spoke. Boooooom! Life aura suddenly burst out from within, followed by an ear-piercing screech. Two beams of golden light shot out of Gyro, and Cyrus appeared beside Derik in just a few seconds. Above them was the massive guardian weapon which was the size of a small mountain, hovering above them like an executioner waiting for orders. \"Get back!\" Cyrus'' eyes let out a golden flash and his aura fiercely attacked the two heroes relentlessly, forcing them to retreat by a few steps¡­ \"Thank you¡­\" Cyrus said with a satisfied smile \"Gold realm! The life mage has a gold realm power level and he stands with the death mage¡­ how is this possible!\" someone in the Elven army shouted in fear. \"Ahhhhhhh! We have unwanted guests¡­.\" A calm voice resonated from Gyro. A massive silver gate appeared beside Derik and Cyrus from which Kalos and Kuen stepped out. All of a sudden Kaido and Diana felt their body weight triple, making it difficult for them to stay afloat. They could easily break out but under the bombardment of the combined aura attacks from Derik, Cyrus, and Kalos, they were forced to return to the ground with miserable expressions on their faces. They could only retreat to their various forces looking anxious. \"Four people with gold realm power levels¡­ Gyro has become a force no one can touch¡­\" Ahika who stood with the forces of the lizardmen spoke calmly. \"I might as well step in since Gyro is involved here\" A calm voice echoed from Gyro The field where they stood suddenly began to bloom and plants of different varieties began sprouting out. A man with white hair and emerald green eyes appeared right beside Derik with a neutral expression on his face. His eyes swept through the forces gathered outside Gyro in the distance and he snorted disdainfully. \"If we all cooperate, along with the forces of Gyro, we should be able to sweep these guys away in two to three minutes¡­ Five minutes at most¡­\" Francis said calmly. Hearing this, all the members of the various forces almost spat out blood in anger but none chose to speak their mind out in the presence of these powerful figures guarding Gyro 183 Chapter 183: Driving away Gyro’s enemies The forces of the various kingdoms gritted their teeth in rage when they heard Francis'' comment but none dared to make a move against these masters of Gyro. Chances are if they all joined hands to clash with the masters of Gyro, they will be obliterated in a matter of minutes and even if by chance a miracle occurs and they win, they will pay a bloody price in exchange for victory. This is an outcome they are not mentally prepared for! They could only curse these people in silence while they waited for the order of their superiors. While this happened, Kaido and Diana stood together, contemplating their next move. In their own personal opinion, as hosts of the three most powerful cosmic spirits, no one at the same grade and realm with them could defeat them, not even the hosts of the guardian spirits. But the presence of two gold realm undead, one even possessing the power of a cosmic spirit is something they cannot overlook. Ultimately, if this battle should take place, they will most likely end up losing their lives in a pitiful way. For now, they can only retreat in silence and wait for a perfect moment to strike later. \"If only Crystal was here¡­ we would have been able to skin that death mage alive without much worry\" Diana said coldly while gazing at Derik. She obviously did not have a good impression of him. ............¡­.. Meanwhile, Derik and the others remained there, standing in midair while they patiently waited for the troops of the various kingdoms to retreat but to their greatest surprise, these people were not convinced enough¡­ Yet! \"I guess our presence is not enough to move them¡­ we should show them our power\" Cyrus said with a calm expression as if he could tell the outcome of this event today. \"I agree¡­ since I have more terrifying techniques, I''ll go first\" Derik smiled back and flew forward towards the various forces fearlessly. Seeing this, the hearts of many skipped a bit and they had a sudden urge to retreat but they couldn''t move an inch without the orders from high ranked officers. The so-called higher ranked officers were mere silver realm experts, under the influence of Derik''s murderous intentions they could not move a muscle. \"Didn''t I ask you all to leave?\" Derik roared, bringing the darkness with him as he approached. \"Reckless!\" Diana was enraged by Derik''s act and instantly dashed towards him with murderous intentions. She waved her hands and deadly silver aura burst out of her body, racing towards Derik. \"Moon magic: Moonlight!\" Diana''s eyes let out a silver glow and a massive beam of silver light parted the clouds, descending on Derik. \"Ha! Mediocre! Death magic: Deathray!!\" Derik laughed out loud as his death aura burst out violently. From his mouth which was left wide open came a beam of death aura which collided with the silver beam. \"Hahahaha! If this is the best the moon cosmic spirit host can do, then I believe she should quit!\" Derik laughed hysterically while approaching Diana with wicked eyes. \"You!\" Diana bit her succulent pink lips in anger after she heard Derik''s comment, gathering her silver aura. \"You forced my hands! Moon magic: Three worlds collide!\" She roared and three silver rings appeared around her, surrounding Derik a mere instant! \"Form¡­ shatter!\" She roared and Derik was dragged higher into the sky by an unknown force. The three rings soon expanded before taking the shape of three massive moons. The size of these moon''s put Cyrus guardian weapon to shame, only the deity, Aldora was slightly inferior to the size of these three moons. Brrrrrrrrr!!!! The three moons soon began moving. They were attracted to Derik who was at the center, ignoring everything else. Derik frantically tried to escape the encirclement by an invisible for prevented him from leaving. \"Hahahahahahahaha! Nothing can hold me¡­ Necromancer path: Legion!\" Derik roared and the thousands of souls under the army of the dead shot into the air, slamming into Derik''s body. The black hairs on his head turned white almost in an instant, standing up all at once, thereby giving him a special spiky shape, coupled with his blood-red eyes which gave him a vicious look. His skin color turned pale and numerous strange green symbols could be seen all over his body, from it tiny green flames the which took the form of skulls escaped from the gaps, dancing around his body while letting out a cold ear-piercing cry. Further away from the main body was a green mist that surrounded Derik, making it difficult for them to see his main body. This green mist released numerous skull-like creatures that let out numerous cries and pleas while circling around Derik''s body. \"Kill me? With this? I think not!\" Derik laughed hysterically as hurricanes, lightning typhoons and fire tornados surrounded him in an instant, assaulting the three moons heading towards him. Soon Derik was completely blocked off from everyone''s vision, all that could be seen were gusts of winds, lightning, and flames, flickering everywhere, coupled with his domineering laughter which echoed everywhere. Derik''s sudden transformation stunned everyone and the power he showcased soon after left everyone dazed for a while. To think that the death mage possesses such an ability! Those who initially doubted his abilities began to reconsider. They finally accepted the possibility that Aldora may have fallen at his hands. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Visible cracks began appearing on the three moons and more lightning, wind, and flames escaped the gaps between the moons, lashing out fiercely at anything close by. \"How?\" Diana''s face was paler than usual and she slowly retreated, increasing the distance between herself and Derik. \"Want to flee? I think not! Since you are here, there is no reason for you to leave so quickly!\" Derik''s voice resonated from the location of the three moons and his already enormous power spiked even further. \"Break!\" Derik roared and streaks of purple lightning diffused from his body, piercing the three moons fiercely! Wooooosh! Derik''s body escaped the shattered moons, shooting towards Diana like a spear with murderous intentions. \"Haaaaaa!\" Derik''s body was already surrounded by numerous streaks of lighting and wind combined as he moved, arriving in front of the moon''s cosmic spirit host in mere seconds with a vicious smile lingering on his face. \"Die!\" Derik muttered, tightening his grip on the death scythe as he hacked down at Diana. Peng! Bam!! A massive shockwave occurred which sent Diana flying back by a few meters, leaving Derik and an enrage Kaido in her place. On his hands were his growth type magic weapon which he used to defend against Derik''s death scythe. Beads of sweat rolled down his head as he could feel the auras of thousands of people diffusing from Derik''s body. At this point he could even hear the cries and pleas of every one of these people in his head, it felt like a foreign force was trying to invade his mind and break his consciousness. \"Didn''t they tell you it''s a death sentence when you fight against the death mage in close quarters? Hahaha, shatter apart! Death magic: Shriek of the dead!\" Derik laughed as he spoke and the vicious smile on his bloomed even more. Screeeeeeeech!!! The cries and screams resonating from Derik''s body got louder and louder, put to a point where Kaido could not bear it anymore. Under the assault of over a thousand undead, even the great guardian knight of the sun could only resist for just a few seconds. Puff! His grip on his broadsword loosened as he spat out a massive amount of blood with a trembling body. Blood rolled down his eyes, nose, and ears and it looked like he would fall to the ground at any moment. \"Get out of my sight!\" Derik snorted disdainfully with his right fist clenched. His muscles began bulging and veins kept popping out as he summoned all the physical strength of the guardian knights amongst his army of the dead, coupled with his already enhanced strength. Bam! Crack!! Bone shattering sounds could be heard as Derik''s fist slammed into the golden knight''s armor of Kaido, ultimately sending him flying towards the Cato forces uncontrollably. \"No¡­\" Diana screamed as she hastily rushed to help Kaido break his fall. Just in a few exchanges, two out of the three heroes of legends were defeated by the death mage in a domineering fashion. Even those on Derik''s side did not think it would go so smoothly! They were overjoyed and impressed by this outcome. \"The heroes of legend are meant to be the protectors of this world when the threat appears¡­ You two have enough time to participate in crappy activities like this, yet you cannot make enough time to improve your strength¡­ You are still the same as you were the last time we fought Kaido¡­ I must be honest here, I am disappointed¡­\" Derik gazed at the two defeated cosmic spirit hosts disdainfully as he spoke. \"At a time like this, this world requires capable fighters¡­ talented mages! I killed the Lightning guardian spirit host because she failed to properly utilize the gifts of the guardian spirits¡­ improving at a very slow pace. Hopefully, the next host of the lightning guardian spirit will be more capable or else he or she will face the same fate. As for the two of you¡­ I won''t mind ending the lives of two incompetent heroes if you fail to meet up to my expectations¡­ The next time we clash, I will be fighting to kill¡­ hopefully, you won''t make the same mistake Zaylee made¡­\" Derik said with a firm look. He shifted his gaze towards the Lizardmen forces and his eyes scanned through them as if he was looking for someone. His eyes suddenly let out a purple flashed and he nodded with a satisfied smile on his face. \"Not bad¡­\" Derik said while he gazed at Ahika Ahika frowned slightly, he felt uncomfortable under Derik''s gaze. \"Begone¡­ all of you¡­ Gyro has new and capable protectors¡­ even an allied force will not be able to make it past us¡­ so don''t bother trying¡­\" Derik snorted disdainfully. He turned his back on the various forces of the kingdoms and vanished. Cyrus and the rest had vicious smiles on their faces as well become very visible. They nodded in agreement with Derik''s words and vanished as well. 184 Chapter 184: A new family 1 In the darkness of the night, under the watchful eyes of the ever bright moon, a figure appeared above what was left of the Cathedral of the holy church. His face looked pale and his body weak, it was obvious he had sustained injuries that would take time to him. But for now, he could only put up a domineering appearance in a bid to hide his weakness. Derik could feel a sharp pain piercing into his tainted soul, his eyes were a bit sunken and his body fat seemed to have reduced drastically. His condition was worse than anyone could expect, perhaps even a year of rest will not allow him to return to his peak condition again, take less of advancing in the realm. "Damn it¡­ Things turned out to be harder than I thought..." Derik muttered with a bitter smile on his face. "You''re the one who rushed in headfirst¡­ If you waited a few more years and cultivated diligently before you made a move against Gyro, You may have gained the strength to even annihilate the forces of the various kingdoms that planned to steal the loot¡­" Demos replied. "Haha¡­ that would have been fun¡­ but you know I was running out of time, I had to act fast" Derik quickly defended himself. "And now you will spend that same amount of time you would have used to push yourself into the gold realm to recover¡­ mortals¡­ You all lack patience" Demos retorted "That''s right! We lack patience because we cannot escape time. Our time is limited¡­" Derik sighed. "Yea¡­ yea¡­ Anyway, why did you come back here¡­" Demos asked "When we attacked the cathedral, I could sense some sort of familiar aura, identical to mine but a bit weaker" Derik''s voice lowered as he spoke. "What do you think is down there?" Demos asked casually. It was obvious he was not interested in what Derik felt, since the presence is weaker than Derik''s, then there is no reason for a higher being like himself to bother about it. "Every kingdom has dark mages of various kinds¡­ even if they are rare, it''s not difficult to spot at least five, even in Cato, where I spent half a decade¡­ I only left the crib only a few times yet I spotted over three of them¡­ But in Gyro, Kira is the only one in possession of a variant of dark magic, something feels off about it" Derik said. "¡­." Demos suddenly got quiet. This aroused Derik''s suspicion even more. "Demos¡­ what are you not telling me" Derik was already used to Demos'' unique character, so it was quite easy for him to realize that Demos was hiding something. "Well, you know I''m not allowed to disclose somethings, even to you, my host¡­ If these laws did not exist, all guardian spirit hosts will be aware of the situation across the world without lifting a finger¡­" Demos reluctantly explained why he''s yet to speak on the issue. "I''m about to find out¡­ Can''t I get some hints?" Derik said with a weird smile on his face. Demos only grunted in response. For a reason, Derik felt like the death guardian spirit could see his facial expression so he stopped making faces. Demos intended to play deaf on this issue but under Derik''s constant nagging, his strong will broke down, leaving the angel of death with no choice but to speak. "Alright! Alright!! I wish Gyro can see it''s so called guardian behaving like a twelve-year-old!" Demos snorted disdainfully. "Unfortunately for you, that will never happen¡­ Now tell me what I want to know" Derik grinned childishly as he spoke. "Get moving¡­ I will explain on the way" Demos responded after a few seconds of silence. ...........................¡­.. Derik''s body flashed and in just a second he was standing on a broken pillar of the cathedral. His eyes narrowed as he considered a few things which made him feel quite restless. At this very moment, he was assaulted by a familiar feeling from all over the cathedral, no definite place or source, in particular, this made it difficult for him to pinpoint the source. His eyes narrowed and his hands coiled up into a fist and he bit his lower lip in anger! The smile on his face has already faded and his eyes revealed his murderous intentions! Derik was already familiar with this feeling. This is the way he felt when someone who possessed any sort of magic related to ''evil'', it showed the relation between his death magic and other forms of these evil magic. The fact he could sense this here and now simply meant that people with his form of magic were brought here, to the cathedral! And this happened recently if not the aura wouldn''t be so strong. His dark heart felt heavy as he considered the possibility that these people could have been crushed under the cathedral when it fell. He instantly regretted not forgoing everything and rushing to their aid the moment they broke the barrier of the cathedral. If he did these people may still be alive. "Don''t despair child¡­ they are not yet dead¡­ and they weren''t brought here recently, they have always been here¡­ In exchange for some amount of resources from the church, the former king Robert agreed to provide them with children possessing an affinity to evil magic¡­ taking them away even before they are able to learn the basics¡­" Demos explained calmly. "What do you mean? Why wasn''t I taken? Why wasn''t Kira taken?" Derik refused to believe that someone could commit such a crime against the people by stealing away young innocent kids from their families and giving them over to the holy church just because they possessed an affinity to dark magic "It''s your choice to believe my words or not¡­ You were spared this fate due to sheer luck¡­ By the time the death magic awakened in you, you have already made a name for yourself throughout Gyro, especially in Briton¡­ The archer who killed a level five ogre, with his bare hands, even I was fascinated by your story¡­ with such popularity coupled with the protection of the Lockwood family from the background¡­ The church couldn''t make a move against you without a legit reason¡­ As for Kira, he was born into a noble family, a level two noble family at that. Naturally, they had powerful friends so they could easily bargain with the holy church and keep their child¡­ at a heavy price for sure" Demos explained. "I¡­ I see¡­" Derik was lost in thoughts so he replied absentmindedly. With clutched fists and gritting teeth, Derik began to think that he let the former king, Robert die too easily. Now he finally realized how the former king managed to gather enough resources to push someone with zero talent like Anna Gyro to the silver realm. Derik''s heart ached badly as he thought about it! If these resources were used to properly equip the military force of Gyro, he probably would have been killed as soon as he returned to Gyro. How can a mere adventurers association in a kingdom face the Kingdoms military force for hours and not fall into a disadvantaged position! This only proved that the adventurers association managed by Gerald Gyro had members more properly equipped than the military itself. The thought of it alone made Derik feel disgusted. He wished he could kill these people over and over again! Derik took a deep breath and relaxed a bit, cooling his nerves, his claws dug deep into his palm and it was already covered in black blood. "Are these people, kids still alive¡­" Derik composed himself before he spoke. "This I''m not allowed to say like I said we guardian spirits are not allowed to speak about somethings to our hosts¡­ All I can say is this¡­ The holy church always sent them to a place where all sinners belonged when they are done with their¡­ tests¡­" Demos said with hints of mischief in his voice. Derik was stunned by his words at first but then he quickly understood Demos'' intentions. Even if he couldn''t give him the information the normal way, he could always give him hints. "Thanks!" Derik muttered and he quickly jumped down the pillar and quickly released his abundant death aura which spread like a plague, slowly corroding all the debris around. Under the effect of Derik''s death aura which was like a raging sea, the debris was slowly turned to dust, leaving nothing remaining, including the bodies of the members of the church that died in here. "The church sent them to a place where all sinners belong¡­ the only place I know is the underworld¡­ In this case, it should be under the church!" Derik said with a vicious grin and with a slight wave of his hand, a massive gust of wind exploded, pushing away all the dust. His eyes were like daggers, able to pierce through the ground itself as he scanned the surroundings carefully while walking around. Soon a bone-chilling smile appeared on his face when he saw something like a pit, the door might have been corroded by his death aura as well. "An underground Chamber? The holy church is really something" Derik couldn''t help but comment. He hastily flew into the hole at a terrifying speed, caring little of what could be hiding within. While he dived deeper into the whole, he noticed a strange formation along the walls of the tunnel, as he lacked profound knowledge in a lot of things, especially since he left Gyro early, he couldn''t tell what the formation was made to do but he could slightly guess that it was most likely the reason why he couldn''t feel the aura of these people normally. Even though he and Cyrus had great life force sensory abilities that could cover the Gyro kingdom as a whole, they still weren''t able to notice these people. He suspected the cathedral also possessed a similar formation but it was damaged during the battle, allowing Derik to notice something was wrong here. "Sure enough, the background of the holy church is something kingdoms of this continent can never match up to" Derik said bitterly 185 Chapter 185: A new family 2 The pure power the holy church displayed in the previous battle was enough to conquer any kingdom before the coming of the three heroes of legend. As the most powerful figures were only at the peak grade of the silver realm, with Kalos as the only exception, who can stand against the Bishops of the holy church which are naturally stationed at the capital of every Kingdom with Baldmar as the only exceptions. Derik always wondered how the lizardmen managed to drive away the holy church from their lands, with a gold realm master on the side of the holy church, it is close to impossible for anyone below the gold realm to battle them head-on. The only explanation is the mighty gold level magic weapon they obtained in the mysterious dungeon, even a peak grade gold realm master will feel wary of such equipment. Derik also suspected that the golden beam which almost sent them to the grave was a pure example of a gold level weapon. The power is just too terrifying! If it weren''t for someone like Kalos who could easily redirect almost any attack, they would have been dead even before the battle started. "Damn it¡­ Let''s break this formation now¡­ I don''t like flying blind" Derik said with a stern look on his face. Terrifying death aura burst out of his body, filling the narrow tunnel in just an instant. Numerous bangs were heard as the strange formation attempted to resist Derik''s aura. This situation stunned Derik slightly, his eyebrows furrowed and a vicious grin appeared on his face. "Break!" He roared and poured in more power into his attack but to his greatest surprise the formation fought back once again, sending bolts of golden lightning at him Sizzle! Sizzle!! Bang!!! Derik''s complexion turned pale and he spat out a mouthful of black blood. As soon as he stopped attacking the formation stopped it''s attacks on him. From what he could tell, this formation can easily be broken from outside but from within, it will be a bit difficult. "Damn it¡­ I really need to study more" Derik said with a slight frown on his face. His eyes released murderous light flashed in his eyes and he slammed his fist violently on the concrete floor and roared! "Shatter!" Derik''s death aura shot out like terrifying sabers, piercing into the formation mercilessly. Numerous arcs of golden lightning shot out of the formation, attacking Derik fiercely. "Nice one¡­ Shatter apart!" black blood flowed down Derik''s lips while he laughed hysterically, continuing his assault on the formation with a crazed expression on his face. Bang! This continued for over five minutes before a loud bang was heard and the formation on the walls of the tunnel finally crumbled. By this time, Derik''s body was covered in wounds and his breathing seemed to be heavy. "You always act like a crazy person in front of danger¡­ that''s probably why you are still alive¡­" Demos mocked in a joking tone. "Yea, yea¡­ I wouldn''t have been like this if my master was sane" Derik laughed. "Wait, what?" Demos asked but Derik simply chose to ignore him and focus on the work at hand. The tunnel was pretty simple, there were no traps or offensive formations to stop intruders. It was obvious these people from the church were so confident in their ability that they never expected they would be wiped out someday and a person will gain access to this cave. "Overconfident pricks" Derik snorted disdainfully as he walked through the deadly cold tunnel. After covering close to five hundred meters, he saw a door leading to a room by the right. The aura he could feel from that room was definitely evil but not as familiar as what he sensed back there outside the tunnel. He could still feel the familiar aura, it was deeper in the tunnel, and a frown appeared on his face. "I might as well check it out first¡­." Derik sighed weakly and pushed the firm metal door open. The room was quite spacy, with a toilet at the far end of the room and nothing else. It was cold. Very cold. Four youths around the age of 13 to 16 sat there, curled up like a ball, shivering intensely. When the door yanked open, they quickly jumped on their feet with terrified expressions on their faces as they looked to see who was coming at this time. They all wore a plain black garment and they had bruises and numerous scars all over their bodies. It was obvious these people were used as test subjects for the holy church''s experiment! But what was the church experimenting on? Derik walked into the room with knitted eyebrows and clutched fists, he began to wonder how long these kids have been here. He really didn''t like the fact that he couldn''t save these kids earlier and he felt really guilty. "What''s your name?" Derik crouched while he spoke softly with a calm smile on his face. He carefully released an undead bronze realm battle mage from his shadow who possessed the fire element, using his flames to heat up the room. "Necromancer¡­ You are a necromancer too?" a kid with gray hair walked over cautiously. He had a weak body, very pale in complexion and lanky. At a point, Derik wondered how his kid could even stand on his feet. It was obvious he was in pain he was suffering from some strange internal injuries. "Yes¡­ I can do even more" Derik replied softly Derik''s eyes narrowed as waved his hand and an invisible force pulled the boy towards him. The boy panicked at first, and when Derik placed his hand on his chest the kid was terrified but then he felt a warm, familiar aura flowing into his body. The pain which he has been enduring for a while now as a result of the remnants of light energy in his body. This is something the priests left behind unknowingly after they were done conducting their work. His body regained its health color and surprisingly his bruises and injuries began to vanish. Even Derik was stunned by this! He never thought that his death aura would have such healing effects on those with similar magic. This practically made him the god of all those possessing evil magic. "Hey, can you see them? My friends¡­ they were killed by the bad men in white" the kid said while tapping Derik''s palm repeated. Friends? Killed by the bad men in white? Derik understood that these kids could see the souls of people unable to pass on. His eyes let out a gray light and about fifteen other people appeared into his view. They were all dressed in similar black attire and Derik could actually see through them. At this moment, he realized what was happening. This kid must have arrived here earlier than the others. During that time, he must have come across numerous kids their age, unfortunately, they all failed to meet up to the church''s expectations and lost their lives. They should have passed on a long time ago but the gray-haired kid must have unconsciously used his necromancer magic to keep them here! "What''s your name¡­" Derik asked again "Dimitris sir" the kid responded quickly with a smile. It seemed as if he was no longer scared Derik. "Dimitris¡­ Your friends are in pain if you keep them here¡­ why don''t you let them go and pass on to the afterlife and be reborn?" Derik asked sweetly. "But Sir, they are my family¡­ I won''t have anyone else if they go" Dimitris shook his head repeatedly as he spoke. "I''ll be your family¡­ I''ll take good care of you¡­ Of all of you¡­ Call me Derik" Derik caressed the kid''s soft cheeks as he spoke softly. The body was reluctant at first but Derik''s death aura gave the kid an intimate feeling whenever he looked at Derik. To be honest this kid felt like Derik was related to him in some way and he had this strong urge to please Derik at all times. "Alright¡­ Can I say goodbye to them first?" The kid said with watery eyes. Derik nodded with a smile and moved over to the other three. His eyes narrowed as he perceived a familiar yet irritating odor. His eyes shifted to the only female in the room. Even though she was slightly above sixteen years, she already had an alluring hourglass figure and her black garment could barely hide it. It seemed as if she was eighteen or twenty, coupled with her mysterious charm that attracted the attention of others. Unlike the others, the girl was bound by numerous chains of high quality! From the looks of it, these chains can hold down a silver realm elite! Without much thought, Derik guessed this girl''s identity with just a single glance. She was the natural enemy of all werewolves! "Vampire¡­" Derik said with a cold smile on his face. "Werewolf¡­ right?" the girl responded weakly. Derik shook his head and walked towards the girl. Seeing Derik approach she was terrified! She was informed about the conflicts between vampires and werewolves by the members of the holy church who turned her into this monster. She felt like Derik was following his instincts and coming to eradicate her. "You must have been blood starved for a while by these people¡­" Derik said softly as he presented his wrist to her with a soft smile on his face. He could tell that the girl was just turned recently and she too possessed evil magic, he was curious to know which kind, it was quite unique, something he hasn''t felt before. Crunch! The girl disregarded her image and gave in to the hunger, she quickly grabbed on to Derik''s firm hand and sank her fangs into his wrist, drawing his black blood at an alarming rate. He could tell she had been blood starved for a long time for her to drink a werewolf''s blood. While the girl fed on his blood Derik turned his attention to the two guys left. One had black aura lingering around him while the other had a terrifying aura which even startled Derik slightly. "What are your names¡­ what magic do you guys possess?" Derik spoke casually to them. "Andrew¡­ Darkness magic¡­" A black-haired kid responded quickly. From his body physique, Derik could guess he was over thirteen years old. "Philips¡­ Demon magic" A brown-haired kid responded after Andrew. He looked normal but his aura was quite terrifying. Even Derik felt disturbed by his power. "Jean¡­ Curse magic and a vampire¡­" The girl flushed as she spoke. She was embarrassed by her previous actions and was to shy to look Derik in the face. "Dimitris¡­ Necromancer magic!" Dimitris walked over with a childish smile on his face. He was the youngest in the group and Derik was quite fond of him. "Well then¡­" Derik stood on his feet and dusted his trousers. "Let''s go meet the last member of our family" Derik said 186 Chapter 186: False death mage! "So where are we going now, Sir Derik?" Dimitris asked while holding on to Derik''s index finger and followed Derik closely. For some unknown reason the 13-year-old felt warm and safe around Derik, he tightened grip Oon Derik''s finger with the same innocent smile on his face. The others too felt the same way as Dimitris. They too had this strange feeling towards Derik, it felt like they were looking up to a greater being, meant to shield them forms of evil. These people have been tortured and experimented on for so long, now someone with a strangely superior aura that could shield them from all forms of danger, they couldn''t help but feel relieved. Unknown to them and even Derik, the death aura flowing out of Derik was having some sort of strange superiority effect of the lesser forms, unconsciously making them dependent on him. "There is someone else in here¡­ It won''t take long¡­ It''s just a bit further and we will be done with this¡­ Then we can go home" Derik replied softly while looking into the big eyes of the gray-haired kid. Dimitris nodded in response and walked silently. At this moment they had nothing to fear! Right in front of them was a bronze realm undead fire mage leading the way through the dark tunnels and behind them were about ten silver realm warriors and mages. Even though these people were already aware of the demise of their oppressors, the holy church. Derik still decided to put in an extra effort just to make them feel safe. The journey continued for a few minutes and they finally arrived at a steel door with so many locks and a powerful defense formation. The nature of this defense formation was to destroy anything evil that approaches it, that way only those with life energy can this formation and walk past the door with no issues. The moment the undead bronze realm fire mage was just fifty meters away from the iron door, numerous bolts of divine energy lashed out at it like serpents, dealing numerous deadly damages. If it were an undead summoned by a mere necromancer it would have been obliterated permanently by now but this was Derik''s undead summons. A being draw power from the purest form of evil power! How can a few bolts of light element destroy it? "Get back!" Derik decisively shoved Dimitris back and undid his summoning spell on the undead fire mage. His eyes let out a darkish purple glow and his aura erupted like an overflowing fountain, washing through everyone in the narrow tunnel while crashing on to the defensive formation like a massive tidal wave. The four kids stared at Derik''s back with shocked expressions on their faces. They had suffered so much at the hands of numerous light mages of the holy church and most times they were intimidated into submission with sheer power but none of them could compare to Derik who was standing in front of them like an ancient immovable wall. Not only was this man the only person that could understand them but he also had the strength to protect them, why won''t they feel elated? Even though they could not tell Derik''s power level because of their extremely low cultivation base but at this very moment, they felt like even if the whole world should join hands to hunt them down, they will never be able to lay a finger on them as long as Derik stood with them. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! A wave of golden light aura flowed out of the formation and crashed into Derik''s death aura, clashing with it ruthlessly. At this point, the tunnel trembled greatly and looked like it would cave in at any moment but the kids weren''t worried, as long as Derik is right in front of them, no harm can come to them. "Hahahaha¡­. A mere priest of the holy must have set this seal¡­ that''s why it''s so weak!" Derik laughed as he felt the overall power of the seal and knew that Aldora had nothing to do with it. With his current condition, coupled with his fast depleting energy, he knew that he could only retreat shamefully if he came across a seal set by a gold realm master like Aldora, but luckily for him, that wasn''t the case today. "Shatter!" Derik grabbed the void fiercely and clenched his fist forcefully. In response, the iron door was suddenly pulled out of the doorpost forcefully and was crushed into a small iron ball with rough edges. At this time, the whole tunnel has been badly affected by Derik''s corrosive death aura and it seemed like it would crumble at any time. Without thinking, Derik''s body flashed and he vanished into the darkroom, reappearing beside the four kids the next second with another child their age in his hands. Even though the whole place shook violently and it seemed like it would crumble at any moment, Derik wasn''t in a hurry. He calmly looked down at the little cute gray-haired Dimitris and smiled. "Are you ready to go?" He asked softly. "Hm!" Dimitris nodded in response. "Big bro is really cool¡­ Blow this place up!" Philips said with a wide grin. "Yea¡­ Big bro is really strong¡­ Destroy everything!" Andrew laughed. Derik was startled at first by these kids'' requests, confused for a slight second. He decided not to think about it and a vicious smile bloomed on his face. "Get ready kids¡­ You will only get to see this once!" Derik laughed and his death aura poured out violently like an ocean, slamming into everything in its path while corroding it at a very terrifying speed. In just a second after he released his death aura, the tunnel began to cave in but these kids remained unharmed. Under the protection of ten silver realm undead mages and warriors, this was a minor issue. "So cool¡­" These kids said with excited looks and admiration in their eyes as they saw a massive darkish purple magic array form at the tip of Derik''s finger which was pointed towards the ceiling of the tunnel. "Don''t worry¡­ Once you spend some time with me¡­ You will be able to do things this cool" Derik said with a warm smile. Death magic: Death beam!!! ...........................¡­.. Cyrus, Gerald, and the other important officials returned to the capital after they watched the forces of the various kingdoms of the continent and the holy church retreat. Under Cyrus lead, the returned to the land where the cathedral once stood as they were searching for the death mage who just vanished after his short, yet domineering speech to their enemies. "Quick back off!" Cyrus'' eye narrowed and he quickly screamed. The others hastily retreated under Cyrus command and just a second later a massive beam of death aura shot through the ground leaving behind a hole over four hundred meters wide! From the whole, Derik appeared with a kid who has strange darkish purple-colored hair appeared and four kids behind which were been carried by some silver realm undead soldiers. Their eyes widened and they seemed terrified when they sensed Cyrus life aura, for some reason they assumed he was one of the holy church members. "Bad man!" Dimitris cried out in fear and quickly hid his face in the body of the silver realm undead mage. The others were terrified too and they all looked at Derik with expectant eyes. Even the darkish purple-haired kid in his hands was scared of Cyrus'' life aura it seemed like it brought back bad memories. He simply clutched his head with both hands while showing a pained expression on his face. "Head back, all of you¡­ I''ll explain later¡­ You can go on with whatever ceremony you all wish to have, I''ll return as soon as I''m done with this" Derik waved them off, not waiting for them to speak. The others were about to demand an explanation but they were stopped by Cyrus who lead them off without a word. He could sense the different forms of evil aura that diffused from the bodies of these kids who Derik found under the cathedral. Without an explanation from Derik he already had a rough idea of what was going on. He could easily tell these kids were abducted by the holy church because of their evil power, this wasn''t really interesting to him. The only person that caught his attention was the sixteen-year-old darkish purple-haired kid in Derik''s arms. For some reason, he felt like the boys'' aura was conflicted in a way, mixed up and messed up at the same time, so unnatural! He knew Derik could feel this so he didn''t bother with it either and just shot a meaningful glance at the kid one last time before he turned into a beam of light and vanished. "Thank you¡­" Derik whispered and heaved out a sigh of relief. He appreciated the fact that Cyrus could understand his thoughts and not question him at very important moments like this. Honestly, he felt irritated when the silver realm experts of Gyro were about to question him. Was it because he was on Gerald''s side or what? At that moment he decided to ruthlessly execute anyone that questioned him just to build his ruthless and vicious image in the minds of these people once again, luckily for them Cyrus stepped in on time and save their lives. ...........................¡­. Derik quickly dropped off these kids at the streets leading to the cathedral which was littered with the decomposing bodies of the elite units of the holy church which fought against the allied force of the Gyro kingdom. From the looks of things, he could tell that these bodies were stripped of the magic weapons and equipment on them with just a glance but he wasn''t bothered. "Hello there¡­ What''s your name?" Derik asked with a soft smile as he looked at the boy who the familiar aura emanated from. The kid had darkish purple hair and eyebrows! This iris was darkish purple and even his fingernails were pitch black in color. His lips were black as well and his body complexion seemed a bit pale just like Derik''s but a bit different. "Since you have found him I can now speak on this issue¡­ This is one of the numerous test subjects under the holy church¡­ Apparently they are trying to recreate a being with powers equal to that of the host of the death guardian spirit using only scientific means! This kid right here possesses the same abilities as the other kids you rescued¡­ Including the vampire aspect!... If you were to fight against this kid when you unlocked the death magic, just the same age as he is¡­ You would have been killed in less than five moves¡­" Demos explained calmly! 187 Chapter 187: Blake "In five moves? I sincerely doubt that" Derik asked with a hint of disbelief in his facial expression. Back then when he was still a recruit residing at castle black he was capable of defeating three level twelve stone trolls all alone. He once fought against a two-century-year-old vampire Cornelius and won! Even though the vampire was already weakened by the Lockwoods, this could still be considered an amazing feat! Now, after achieving all those great things, for him to be told that he could be killed in less than five moves against this kid back then, Derik refused to believe Demos'' words naturally. His pride was on the line here and he wasn''t ready to back down easily. "Alright! Alright!! I exaggerated a bit¡­ He won''t be able to defeat you in Five moves¡­" Demos repented of his previous words immediately. "Good" Derik nodded his head in approval. "Yea¡­ he won''t be able to take you down in five moves¡­ It will take six¡­ seven at most! I''m sure of it" Demos laughed. Hearing this Derik''s face turned red. He was about to engage Demos in a heated argument but then he stopped when he noticed the meaningful gaze of these kids on him. "Are you talking to someone?" Dimitris ran to Derik with an innocent smile on his face. Derik nodded slightly and turned his attention to the darkish purple-haired kid who remained silent while staring at him. He seemed to be subduing his aura on purpose, and he was putting in a lot of effort at that. Derik was a bit confused by this, but a few thoughts came to his mind and he decided to clarify some issues with Demos first. "Did you just say this kid possesses the abilities of all four people here?" Derik asked as he grabbed onto Dimitris'' tiny hands and played with the kid. "Yes¡­ Why do you ask?" Demos asked "Well, since he has the combined abilities of numerous evil magic in his body, doesn''t that mean he will also inherit the magic spirits that follow them as well? Or does this make him qualified to have a guardian spirit like yourself tutor him?" Derik asked calmly. At this time, Dimitris was running round him with his hands raised high while he laughed continually. Derik in response kept turning around while Dimitris ran harder and laughed even harder. If anyone were to see Derik act this way in public, his executioner image would be seriously damaged. "Firstly, that kid does not possess all forms of evil magic so he''s not qualified to house me in his mind¡­ even If he did, he''s just a cheap imitation of you, I for one will not let myself be involved in such an unnatural abomination! As for the first question, the answer is yes¡­ He inherits the magic spirits of all the forms of evil magic that have been implanted in him. This is the reason why he''s intentionally trying to suppress his power¡­ with so many voices in his mind coupled with the normal troublesome nature of the magic spirits of the various forms of evil magic, I can say confidently that this kid is been tormented in his mind and that''s why he''s suppressing his power forcibly¡­" Demos explained patiently. "I see¡­ That explains a lot¡­ is there a way to deal with this?" Derik asked. "I can easily step in but my pride as a guardian spirit is on the line so I won''t do that¡­ I feel insulted by the very fact that these people are trying to imitate me and I strongly advise you end this kid''s life¡­" "Hell no!" Derik''s visage turned cold and a murderous aura diffused from his body. "BUT! Knowing you, I''m pretty sure you will disagree with me so there is another way to deal with this¡­ Become his guardian spirit¡­" Demos said impatiently¡­ it seemed pissed off after Derik interrupted it. "Become his guardian spirit? How do I do that?" Derik asked. Completely ignoring Demos'' attitude due to his initial interruption. Andrew and Philips had already joined Dimitris and soon, they ended up playing together, yet his gazed was fixed on the darkish purpled hair kid who seemed to be in pain, totally ignoring jean who was standing beside him. "It''s quite simple¡­ As guardian spirit or even normal magic spirits, we have the ability to split ourselves into numerous copies¡­ this way we can easily communicate with different people at different places, all at the same time¡­ This is what we call omnipresence¡­ In your case, its very pitiful that you are still a mortal¡­" Demos said¡­ ''Yea! Yea!! You don''t have to rub it on my face all the time" Derik replied coldly. "To make this work, you can only send your will¡­ Someone who can keep these rogue spirits at check¡­ something which possesses your power and will, just like a copy of yourself" Demos said. "The death avatar! Why can''t I send any other undead under my control?" Derik''s eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Only the death magic can subdue other forms of evil magic! It has to be the death avatar since it''s the only being connected to you that has your power as well¡­ it also has to be at the gold realm to be able to assume control¡­ Do you still want to do this?" Demos sneered. Derik''s eyebrows were knitted together when he heard this so he chose to approach the kid first. Upon arrival, he crouched, reducing himself to the kid''s level, and he spoke. "I can help you deal with the voices in your head¡­ Can you trust me to do this?" Derik asked casually. "Well¡­ You were talking to your guardian spirit just now right? The voices in my head said you will only try to harm me since I''m an imitation of you and I have the potential to surpass you¡­ They want me to flee" The kid replied with a pained expression on his face but he didn''t seem scared, even though there was a chance Derik would kill him. "You''ve got good eyes and a powerful willpower! You will make a magnificent student¡­" Derik laughed not caring to hide his evil nature in front of this kid. In his eyes, someone who isn''t scared of death was not simple¡­. With the right master, that person can strive forward and reach a profound realm through numerous dangerous encounters, just like himself. "Yes, I was asked to end your life by my guardian spirit but I refused¡­ They may see you as a monster but I see you as someone with so much potential¡­ About you surpassing me, I don''t see that happening any time soon but if it does, I''ll be happy since I have a powerful student who can protect me against monstrous foes¡­ I''ll feel more secured¡­. By the way, its the dream of all masters that their disciples surpass them and achieve greater things" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. For just a moment, the darkish purple-haired kid forgot about the voices in his head and stared at Derik with watery eyes. Even though he was prepared to die at the hands of Derik, now there was a chance of life, his strong will crumbled. He felt fortunate he was found by someone as powerful as Derik and from the way the people who came earlier, he could tell that Derik''s position here was not simple as well. "Yes, master! Please end this torment and I Blake Lombert swears to follow you to the very end!" Blake said with so much passion that the other kids were confused. They wondered why Blake was acting so formal around someone as nice as Derik. With that done, Derik only nodded in approval and quickly summoned his death avatar. Through telepathy, he instructed the death avatar on what is meant to happen, after which he started feeding the death avatar with the thousands of souls trapped in his incomplete domain. The death avatar was stuck at the peak grade of the silver realm and Derik really didn''t know how many souls would be required to upgrade this monster. All he knew was that the gap between the silver realm and the gold realm is larger than the gap between the bronze realm and the silver realm. If he wished to actually do this, he will most likely sacrifice a lot of souls and this will greatly reduce the overall power of his necromancer path ability, legion! With his mind made up, he placed his hand on the forehead of the death avatar and the transfer began. He decided to start with the low-level ones first¡­ Hopefully, the bronze level souls will be enough to satiate the death avatars hunger but somewhere in his heart, he knew this may not be enough 50 bronze realm souls 100 bronze realm souls 300 bronze realm souls 500 bronze realm souls 1000 bronze realm souls 1500 bronze realm souls 1754 bronze realm souls At this point, Derik''s heart was bleeding greatly but he was yet to achieve the desired results. His eyes narrowed when he realized his bronze realm souls were finished, leaving him with only his silver realm souls which were a little over a thousand! 100 silver realm souls 200 silver realm souls 350 silver realm souls. At this point the death avatar let out a terrifying roar and his aura washed through Gyro like a raging sea. Derik in response used his aura to protect the kids while he used his own aura to set up a barrier around them. If the death avatars aura is allowed to run wild it will most likely end up corroding everything in Gyro, killing almost anyone below the gold realm level! At this very moment, Demos enchanting figure appeared beside Derik and he quickly began mumbling some incantations while he drew some magic circles with his mind. Instantly a magic array appeared under the death avatar and Blake and soon a powerful suction force appeared and the death avatar shrunk till it could no more be seen. Blake''s original darkish purple pupils instantly caught fire and burnt bright like Derik''s. A roar emanated from him and the numerous voices in his head vanished. "You owe me one¡­" Demos said with a slight frown before he vanished. Leaving Derik and the other kids astonished by all that happened. 188 Chapter 188: Rebuilding Gyro A few weeks after the war was dedicated to the rebuilding of the capital which was used as the battleground of the three forces. During this time Derik left those kids in Cyrus care, after explaining the role Cyrus played in bringing down the holy church, they weren''t as terrified as they were before. Derik used this time to roam around the Gyro kingdom, uprooting the remaining footholds of the holy church in the kingdom while executing the fanatic believers amongst civilians. His method was ruthless, yet effective! In just a few weeks, the unrest created by the fanatic believers of the holy church was resolved, over a thousand civilians died at the hands of the death god and the rest fled from the kingdom, of course, none of them made it far, no one could escape the death god that watches over Gyro. Take no prisoners was his motto! After three weeks, the kingdom was completely rebuilt but Gyro. The resources hoarded by the previous king was released to the kingdom. A sizable portion was used to construct magic formations on the walls of the kingdom, with the undead spatial mages help, while a lesser portion was used to compensate the family of those who lost their lives in the war and the rest were given to the adventurers association. The loot recovered from the cathedral which included thousands of magic weapons of various levels, high-level offensive and defensive battle formations were handed over to the military force of the kingdom to help bluster its strength. The full might military force which was once kept in the capital to protect the royal family was sent out. The outer towns and villages in the kingdom received a sizeable portion of the military force since it was considered the first line of defense of the kingdom, while the inner towns and the capital received less. Cyrus proposed that they demolish the mighty walls that separate the capital from the other parts of the kingdom but Derik objected to this. He knew the last king, Robert had nasty intentions when these walls were built but it didn''t mean it needed to be removed. If it weren''t for these walls, fueled with a spatial formation which prevents people from teleporting directly into the kingdom, Derik would have invaded the kingdom sooner than they expected. If it weren''t for the elder prince, Gerlad, who betrayed the royal family at a crucial time and found a way to pull down this barrier from within, Derik would have found it extremely difficult to enter the capital. In his opinion, they shouldn''t let anyone get access to the heart of the kingdom so easily. With this, they proceeded to share the power of the kingdom to the important parties present. The former king controlled all the forces in Gyro and that''s why no one dared to stand in his way. If it weren''t for Gerald who created his own force after so many years, they would have never succeeded in taking the tyrant down, along with his useless daughter. If the military forces of Gyro are shared amongst various important people, it should be easier for them to prevent one from going astray. With this Derik took charge of the special supernatural unit of the Gyro kingdom which was hidden from the world. It consisted of about three hundred supernatural beings of various kinds and for some unknown reasons, they were sealed away in an underground chamber before he invaded Gyro. To his greatest Derik quickly brought them out to the outside world and revealed their existence to the Gyro kingdom. He also offered a spot in his new force to any other supernatural being in the kingdom, hiding away in the shadows and to everyone''s greatest surprise, supernatural beings began heading to the capital. In just a week this special unit which had only three hundred people rose to one thousand five hundred. With an important person in the kingdom like Derik, revealing his identity as a werewolf, these people needed to hide no more. They all revealed themselves and pledged their allegiance to him hastily. Each and every one of these people in his special unit could rival a silver realm expert and with a stunning number of about 1500, Derik was satisfied with his new force. A week later, after so much consideration, he offered a spot in his new army to all those possessing any form of evil magic. For this, his old friend Kira applied in hopes of returning to Derik''s side. At first, Derik was eager to reject but at this point, he decided to push aside the matters of the past and just increase his own strength. He accepted Kira into his group and made him the commander of the special unit. With someone taking over this responsibility, he would have enough time to recover from his injuries while training these kids whom he found at the underground base of the cathedral. Behind the capital were various mountains and hills. Derik took over the mountain which used to belong to Kalos after he was declared one-half of the Twin Kingdom guardians of Gyro. The mountain was revamped and was completely dyed black with Derik''s death aura. Dark clouds loomed over the mountain and numerous purple bolts of thunder descended on it occasionally. It was renamed the Palace of the dead, with Derik as the palace master. This was where all the members of his forces resided and his all-seeing eyes would always watch over the Gyro kingdom! Since Kalos insisted, Kuen and his team were also brought into the palace of the dead and they served under Derik while training under Kalos, their master. Derik didn''t seem bothered by the arrangement since the addition of a cosmic spirit host will only increase his overall power. By the way, he had no ill intentions for Kuen so he really didn''t need to bother himself. The second half of the twin kingdom guardians was Cyrus, the life mage. He took charge of another mountain behind the kingdom capital and called it the palace of Life. There he summoned all the mages possessing any form of life magic and created his own force. These people were not as rare as the evil mages so it wasn''t hard for him to acquire over three thousand capable mages and holy knights in a short while. Unlike Derik''s forces which focus on destruction and annihilation, Cyrus'' force was filled with mostly defense and support type characters with little fighters. But he wasn''t bothered by this. Soon the territory behind the was owned by two terrifying forces, with the life and death aura from both guardians constantly clashing against each other but none gained the upper hand. This brilliant life and death aura was so huge that it was visible to all within and hundreds of kilometers outside the kingdom. To the outsiders, the pressure they felt whenever they looked towards the direction of the two new forces owned by the twin kingdom guardians of Gyro was just too terrifying and they had the urge to flee for their lives. But to the people of Gyro, they felt safer than ever, knowing that two powerful existences are watching over them. The military forces remained under the gallant general Creed and he took full control of it, while the adventurers association answered only to King Gerald and what remained of the former team guardian took the position of the royal guards, sent to safeguard the new king. The nobles who sided with the former king and aided him in most of his evil deeds, including the death sentencing of the death mage, Derik were punished. They were stripped of their titles and their properties all over the kingdom were seized. They were chased out of the capital and moved to other towns and villages in the kingdom to start a new life. This punishment was considered merciful. The original intentions were to execute them all but due to the involvement of Derik''s father and sister, things got complicated. They weren''t sure how Derik would feel about this since those two were the only form of family he has so they chose to let them go with a minor punishment. They became commoners once again and lost all the benefits they gained from the old king. Derik on his own side remained silent about the matter and pretended as if he was not aware of what was happening. He never tried to meet his family even once but that didn''t mean a part of him didn''t care. He was grateful to Gerald for considering his feelings and swore in his heart to keep the new king safe. With this, half a year had passed by and Gyro was set to move forward. Its mighty gates were opened to outsiders who wished to congratulate the new king on his ascension to the throne! 189 Chapter 189: Time skip 2 It was terribly cold and dark that night with the moonlight as the only source of light these kids could rely on. Sounds of rustling leaves and numerous footsteps echoed all through the forests of Gyro, located at the borders of the kingdom. Soon five figures appeared from the dense forest, their breathing was heavy and they were covered in numerous wounds but the fighting spirit blazing in their eyes could not be quenched. "This small clearing is a perfect place to take these monsters on¡­ if we face them in the woods we will only be forced into a passive situation again¡­" Andrew said with a slight frown. His eyes were pitch black and black aura diffused from his body constantly hiding his figure. "Yo¡­ Dimitris can you still go on?" Philips asked. He was currently topless and wore black trousers with black boots. Black clothes were wrapped around his fists and brown hair was neatly combed back. Dimitris only nodded in response, the little boy which Derik saved back then had grown a bit and his face looked a bit more mature. He was dressed in a small-sized grey mage robe and he seemed to be the only one who didn''t sustain any form of injury, but guessing from the way he was breathing and the pale complexion, it was obvious he was running out of mana. "Philips, I and Jean will handle attack¡­ Dimitris and Andrew¡­ you two will support us from behind¡­ Palace master Derik gave us a task¡­ we will accomplish it!" Blake took a few steps forward and declared while revealing his fangs and claws. He and jean have only lived for a few years with their vampire powers so they weren''t necessarily outstanding in terms of strength and speed. They too had to rely on their spells to complement their superhuman strength and speed. "Who would have thought the spirit wolves could be so troublesome¡­ they are just level 3 magic beasts but their abilities make then hard to deal with " Jean stuck out her tongue as she complained. "Big bro Derik gave us this mission¡­ it shows he believes we can handle it¡­ we will not let him down!" Dimitris snapped. The others only smiled warmly when they heard the youngest in the group speak. These kids'' love for Derik grew more and more as time passed by, up till the point he may even be willing to die for him. The others felt the same way too so they didn''t rebuke him, instead they focused their cold gazes at the dark forest right in front of them and awaited the arrival of the spirit wolves. They didn''t have to wait long as fiery white wolves with blazing blue eyes stepped out of the shadows. Their body looked intangible, as if it were made out of just flames but judging from the claw injuries these kids had sustained, one could tell these beasts were as solid as any other magic beast out there. These wolves were not necessarily strong and usually live in solitude. Unlike other forms of wolf magic beast variants that stay in groups and form packs, these ones live in isolation, relying on their personal strength for survival. Their strength could be compared to weak level three monsters but their ability to create fiery clones similar to themselves is what makes them very terrifying and difficult to deal with. A single spirit wolf can create up to 40 to 50 clones. With this stunning number, even a level 10 or 15 magic beasts will find it hard to deal with it. In a short while, this team from the palace of the dead has killed over 20 clones leaving more than 25. Fighting in the woods has proved very disadvantageous for them so they chose to shift the battle to a plain field where neither side held the environmental advantage. Watching these beasts approach, Philip sneered and stormed fearlessly. His eyes turned bloodshot and a pair of mighty bat wings appeared on his back. His nails turned to claws and he developed claws. His demon magic allowed him to take the form of the beasts of the underworld, the stronger his realm is, the more forms he can morph to. He glided above the ground with a vicious grin on his face as he slammed into a spirit wolf clone. "Don''t let them surround us!" Blake roared as he waved his hands and mighty claws appeared. A two-pronged horn appeared on his forehead and brown bony spikes appeared on his shoulders. He had the powers of the four combined, at a higher level at that, so he naturally took the role of the group leader. Blake immediately stormed towards the wolves trying to flank them from the right side while Jean took the left. At the center of the chaos, Dimitris remained calm as he muttered his incantations under his breath and waved his little hands, release a gray mist. From the mist, four level 5 ogres appeared with their stone club, hanging freely on their shoulders¡­ "Go!" Dimitris'' eyes let out a silver glow and three out of the four ogres rushed forward to aid his friends while the remaining ogre remained by his side as a bodyguard. "Darkness magic: Dark canopy!" the figure within the black mist roared and darkness spread across the battlefield, blocking out the moonlight! Everywhere was pitch black, robbing the spirit wolves of their vision, yet his teammates could still see perfectly. With this, they held the advantage and attacked the blind spirit wolves ruthlessly and viciously. ..................¡­ Three hours later, a black carriage could be seen moving into the capital. From it, red blood dripped out, leaving a stinky trail as it sped towards the direction of the royal palace. In less than a minute, they arrived and these kids rushed into the palace with the corpse of the original spirit wolf been dragged along. They all looked tattered and battered yet no one dared to stand in their way! The status of these five after the death mage publicly claimed they were his personal disciples. In just two years, these four reached the low grade of the bronze realm, yet their strength could rival those at the mid-grade of the bronze realm. Their great deeds put to shame other bronze level adventure teams of the adventurers association. No matter the person''s status or realm, they all treated these five with great respect as they didn''t want to face the demonic rage of the death mage! 190 Chapter 190: Revolt of the magic beasts Already waiting at the royal courtyard were Gerald, the undead spatial mage, Kalos, Agus the paladin, and the members of the royal guards. They waited patiently for hours for these kids to complete this quest and return. It has been two years after Gerald took the crown and Derik became half of the kingdom guardian. During this time, Derik and Cyrus have remained indoors, recovering from their hidden injuries while trying to push forward to the next realm. Even though they have been secluded from the rest of the world for a while and no one knew their current condition, no one dared to cause trouble for Gyro. At this point, Gyro has become the number one kingdom on the continent. With the presence of so many experts on their side, even the three heroes of Legends do no dare cause any trouble. Six months ago, news of Cyrus and Derik taking a half step into the Gold realm, shook everyone and in response, Kaido of the sun cosmic spirit and Diana of the moon cosmic spirit also secluded themselves from the rest of the world, cultivating frantically. No one knew where or the condition of the third hero of legend, all they knew was that this hero was not on the continent. Within these two years, the peace has been destroyed and the magic beasts that roamed the continent were restless. In less than a month all the small villages and communities outside the influence the four great kingdoms were quickly consumed and tens of thousands of human lives were lost. Amongst them were guardian knights, oracles, and other mages and physical class members. Soon the four kingdoms were been attacked continuously, wave by wave. Soon all the kingdoms were forced to defend their territories, movements beyond the kingdom walls were prohibited and all kingdoms were locked down. The reason for this sudden change in the behavior of these docile creatures was still unknown and everyone''s guards were up. This war has raged on for more than a year now and things were getting more serious. The normal method used to create a safe zone for kingdoms was breached and even the famous castle black was overrun. The recruits sent there were killed. .........¡­.. "Just like you said, they are getting more aggressive towards humans and other races¡­ A spirit wolf normally abandons a hunt when it''s outside its territory but this one¡­. This one chased after us, even at the kingdom gates¡­" Blake tossed the corpse of the spirit wolf forward and leaned on a pillar next to him with his hands wrapped around his chest. "You have done well once again¡­ Did you notice anything strange at the place you were sent?" Gerald nodded his head in satisfaction as he asked. "Of course¡­ we couldn''t see it for sure but it was more like a meeting point for these monsters of various levels¡­. It was as if they were guarding something or someone¡­ it''s similar to the reports from the other kingdoms¡­ something has definitely gone wrong¡­ something is making these beasts more aggressive than usual!" Blake said "This won''t be the first or last time something strange like this will happen¡­. A few days ago, I detected an intrusion in this planet''s space, I can''t tell for sure but I believe something is trying to invade¡­ its agitating these magic beasts!" Kalos spoke after giving the matter some thought. "Has the host confirmed your speculations? They are the only ones capable of interacting with the guardian spirits¡­ If something this big is happening they should be aware of it¡­ The guardian spirits must have warned them" Gin said with a stern look on his face. "I can''t verify my speculations now¡­ Those two are at a critical stage in their cultivation¡­ We cannot interrupt them or they will need another half a decade if they want to break through to the gold realm!" Kalos shook his head repeatedly as he spoke. As an undead general amongst Derik''s army of the dead, who was granted a body, Kalos could exist outside Derik''s power. He had almost no limitations or restrictions placed on him, unlike the other undead warriors and mages Derik controls. Another character in his army with similar status was the sun class bishop, Aldora. "And the nature guardian spirit host? Haven''t you found him yet?" Donald asked with a slight frown on his face. "I have¡­ He didn''t escape from the kingdom as we thought¡­ He''s currently in an underground cellar of the Lockwood family, cultivating¡­ He too has half a step into the gold realm" Kalos responded with a joyful smile on his face. Apart from the Kingdom of Baldmar whose fire guardian spirit host was about to break into the gold realm, Gyro already had three potential gold realm experts! With this force, they can even unite the continent under one rule if they wish to! Kalos never thought he would live to see a day where he could see capable experts from the younger generation, taking over Gyro. In a decade at most, he was sure Kuen will also break into the gold realm, giving Gyro another Gold realm expert, coupled with the two gold realm experts under Derik''s control, making it six gold realm experts in total. What was he thinking when he thought of forcing the other kingdoms into submission? With this kind of force, they will most likely come willingly! If he could shed tears in this his undead body, he would have been doing that by now. He could only let out a soft chuckle as he waited for Gerald to make his decision. "All we can do now is keep the kingdom alive and running as we wait for these three to breakthrough¡­ The last time we dispatched a team of silver realm warriors to eradicate these monsters constantly attacking the kingdom walls, high leveled beasts with even greater power sprang up from nowhere and forced them to retreat¡­ This world is about to fall into chaos and we can''t have these magic beasts troubling us when the real foe appears¡­ Even if we need to wipe out all the monsters in Gyro soils then we will do that¡­ I''m afraid we will need your support in this war!" Gerald said to Kalos, bowing respectfully. "You don''t have to worry¡­ I and Aldora were instructed to look after this kingdom while he cultivates. Its only natural we lend a hand in these troubling times! Its time for we humans to stop hiding behind the walls and drive these beasts away! We will become the dominant race in this world!" Kalos roared passionately. 191 Chapter 191: Chaotic era With the recent vicious activities of the magic beasts in the continent, conflict broke out between the magic beasts and the four kingdoms. The pioneers of this conflict were the people of Gyro. Since the magic beasts occupied all the safe routes connecting the kingdom to other kingdoms, it was impossible to trade, putting all four kingdoms in a precarious situation. In just a day a small team of peak bronze realm warriors and mages were dispatched and they laid an ambush for magic beasts. At first, they used guerrilla tactics to cut down the numbers of these beats but to their greatest surprise, these beasts adapted pretty quick and soon began moving in larger groups while setting up ambush points at sensitive locations around Gyro borders. In just a week the magic beasts lost over five thousand magic beasts around levels 1-15, while the gyro kingdom lost close to five hundred bronze realm warriors and mages. In the eyes of normal people, they had the advantage but in reality, they were in a very bad situation. Considering the numbers of these magic beats, killing just five thousand of them was as good as taking a handful of sand from a desert! Their numbers were just too terrifying, while the death of the bronze realm warriors and mages was considered a major blow to the forces of Gyro, and Gerald was forced to withdraw all his forces and hide behind the walls once again. As time passed by, small skirmishes between the forces of Gyro and the magic beasts residing at its borders raged on. At this point, they realized that the intelligence of these beasts has risen by a level or at least, someone or something really smart was controlling them. A month later, the palaces of life and death dispatched their forces to eradicate all the monsters within 10 kilometers of the borders. Soon two groups arrived atop the mighty walls of Gyro, looking down on the multitude of creatures ramming into the barrier ruthlessly. This was Kira''s first time at the walls after the war broke out, he was dressed in a sleeveless red and black robe and his eyes were completely bloodshot, glowing within the red hood placed over his head. He and the one thousand, five hundred special units of the palace of the dead, looked utterly terrifying and their collective aura was diabolic. There were traces of Derik''s death magic lingering over them, who would have thought the death magic had the ability to strengthen evil beings of the same origin, didn''t that make Derik the leader of all things evil? If such a secret is let out, numerous mages and warriors wielding some sort of evil magic or power will pledge allegiance to him without thinking twice. The divine court knights of the palace of Life standing a few hundred meters away from Kira and his group were not inferior to Kira''s forces in any way. Agus the paladin of life palace was dressed in a stunning golden armor with a mighty golden broadsword hanging on his back while his face was covered with a white hood. His eyes revealed a golden glow as he stared at the monsters below with an indifferent look on his face. This person is the most talented disciple under Cyrus and is rumored to be his right-hand man, with the cultivation base of the mid-grade of the silver realm, he could rival Kira in power, some even assumed he would win if both sides clashed. Behind him were forces of the life palace who possessed intense divine aura which rivaled the aura of Kira''s forces. It was obvious to Cyrus life aura had a similar effect on these people just like Derik''s death aura. "We will be going first then¡­" Kira said after staring at the other team with a neutral expression. He lifted his hands and pointed towards the clouds and a red whirlpool formed above his head, the blood-red liquid kept gathering and gathering until it completely covered the clouds above, becoming a sea of blood. The monsters attacking the barrier lifted their heads and quickly spotted the sea of blood. Their senses towards danger have always been more accurate when compared to humans, so they quickly fled the scene. Thousands of monsters, lingering around the bothers of Gyro fled hastily, unfortunately for them Kira''s orders were to kill not scare. The sea of blood descended on them, crushing the weak amongst them while the stronger ones were left with serious injuries. With this, the special unit of the palace of the dead, filled with supernatural monsters of various let out roars that shook the clouds ad they jumped of the walls to meet their foes head-on. While this happened, the forces of the life palace were done with their preparations, and all their combat units were gifted with golden angelic wings. They soared into the sky under Agus'' lead and stormed towards the sea of magic beasts fearlessly. With this, a battle broke out at the borders of the kingdom and the screams of pain and agony filled the kingdom! ............¡­. Kira stood fearlessly at the center of the chaos and performed a strange dance, controlling the sea of blood swirling around him skillfully, consuming all magic beasts that dared to get closer. His blood-red eyes let out a terrifying glow and he quickly shifted his gaze to a group of level thirty blazing lions. Their crimson red eyes let out a glow and they soon surrounded Kira, keeping a safe distance away from the blood sea. Roar! Earth shaking roars shook the forest as torrents of flames shot towards Kira''s unshakable defense. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! The red sea shook and red vapors rose from it continually. Level 35 magic beasts should only be as strong as peak bronze level warriors and mages, how come they were close to dealing such heavy damage on his defense? "Interesting!" Kira roared as he stopped dancing and struck the earth with a clenched fist and over thirty blood whirlpools formed beneath the feet of those magic beasts striking against his defenses. "Rise up! Shatter apart!" Kira roared as he watched these people get launched into the air. Using mere hand gestured, he skillfully controlled the sea of blood around him, to bombard the airborne foes and crush them till they become blood paste. "Blood magic: Blood moon!" Kira roared as the sea of blood hovering over his head gathered and took the shape of a moon with all the creatures trapped within. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!! Suddenly a terrifying energy surge appeared from nowhere and danced towards Kira at mind-blowing speed. Since Kira was focused on perfecting his blood moon, he barely reacted on time. Only catching a glimpse of the terrifying blew lightning claw before it struck his chest! His body was shot over 400 meters away by the sheer power of the attack and his complexion was terribly pale. On his chest was a scorched hole and his eyes twitched slightly as his life began to fade away slowly! With the defeat of the blood mage who single-handedly soloed over a hundred magic beasts of various levels, the forces of the two palaces fell into a disadvantaged position. No one could tell exactly where the sneak attack came from and they could not pinpoint the location of the beast responsible, so they could only fight with their guards held up. As such their attentions were divided and a good number of them paid the price for their carelessness with their lives. At this point, both forces which stormed forward confidently just a few minutes ago were forced to retreat shamefully. These people were well trained in combat, so they didn''t run helther-skelter as normal warriors and mages would. They kept aside their differences in elements and cooperated to minimize the casualties on their sides as they retreated towards the walls. "This¡­" Agus stood gallantly in mid-air as he watched their forces retreat with a complex emotion in his glowing golden eyes, totally ignoring the airborne swarm of magic beasts heading towards him He could tell that a high-level magic beast was hiding within the swarms of magic beasts. He couldn''t explain how these beasts began thinking and planning ahead. He had heard of this, but this was the first time he''s seeing this happen. "At this rate, their escape routes will be cut off before they reach the gates¡­. I''ll create a path!"Agus roared as he swung his broadsword at the airborne creatures heading his way and a beam of golden light completely devoured them! Agus didn''t waste any more time on this and he quickly dived down like a spear and crashed into the swam of magic beasts, creating a golden shockwave that blew away all the magic beasts five hundred meters around them. "Silver level combat technique: Paladin''s prayer: Thrust!" Agus roared as he pushed his blade forward and shot towards the horde of monsters like a missile, decimating them and shattering their formations. With a single move, Agus had murdered over a hundred monsters. His eyes scanned the battlefield, waiting for the high-level magic beast to make its move. Just like he expected, it didn''t make its move but he wasn''t bothered, he had already drawn away the attention of these beasts from the retreating forces, all he had to do now is escape the encirclement while killing as many monsters as he could. "You won''t show yourself? I''ll be taking my leave then¡­ I''ll be killing a few hundred beasts along the way" Agus said with a devious grin on his face. Four pairs of angelic golden wings appeared on his back as golden energy gathered around his magic broadsword which was raised above his head. "Paladin path: Purging strike!" Agus roared with glowing golden eyes. His sword was raised high into the air and his body began ascending into the air slowly. The golden light surrounding his blade kept increasing and when it had reached its peak, Agus let out a terrifying roar and was about to strike down on the cluster of monsters. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! The same sound appeared again but this time Agus was vigilant. He quickly turned towards the direction where the buzzing sound was resonating from and right in front of his eyes a lightening claw the size of a full-grown man was surging forward. The aura of this attack was beyond what he had expected, now he understood why Kira was defeated by this move! "This¡­ this is beyond the silver realm!" Agus screamed with an ugly expression on his face but that didn''t stop him from striking forward with his enchanted blade. Booooom! Agus'' body was sent flying like a cannonball, crossing over four hundred meters before it hit the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his body was too numb to move due to the lightning effect. A terrifying hole was seen on his golden armor and a bloody wound appeared on his chest. Some of the retreating troops rushed over and pulled him over to their side. With this, the two peerless experts of the individual palaces were defeated and the goal to wipe out the monsters around the kingdom borders failed, over a thousand people in total ended up dead in this operation and the rest wounded. This was a total loss. They finally realized why the various races of the continent have been hiding behind walls since the beginning! It was literarily impossible for people at the silver level to defeat these monsters alone, especially since the ancient beasts have joined the struggle. "L¡­ lightning tyrant¡­" Agus muttered weakly with a pale face. The glow in his eyes had already vanished revealing his golden pupils. He looked like he was on his last breath and just any normal attack can end his life now. 192 Chapter 192: Level 80 lightening Tyran When the retreating army heard the word ''lightening tyrant'' from Agus, they were left stunned by this and for the first time, they experienced fear in battle. Even though the lightening tyrant has only been seen during the old times and rarely shows themselves these days, everyone knows about the existence of these monsters. They possessed shocking intelligence and amazing stealth abilities. This magic was rated level 80, as it has broken past the level of silver realm masters and pushed into the gold realm. Mere Silver realm elites that that are capable of fighting those even a grade above them, like Kira and Agus cannot compare. Even though it''s overall strength should be somewhere around the low grade of the gold realm, it''s still enough to wipe out this little gathering of theirs! With the two peak elites from the different palaces which could trouble it defeated, a surge of lightning appeared in the midst of the horde of magic beasts and a lightning bolt shot into the air. A werewolf, standing on its hind legs, with blue lightning claws, fur and blazing blue eyes appeared. With each howl, lightening struck at random positions and its vicious gaze was fixed on the defeated commanders of the twin palaces. Agus has always been a powerful figure in the eyes of the people from the life palace. At such a young age, he managed to catch up to the former team members of their palace master and he shows signs of moving further. Without a doubt, Agus will eventually surpass Kira at this rate and will most likely enter the gold realm if he is given a few more decades. Entering the gold realm without the assistance of some sort of special spirit or external force. His innate talent is just too frightening and even the palace master, Cyrus commended him on this issue. To see someone like this fall in battle from just one attack, the courage of the members of the life palace shattered and their formation was destroyed due to this. The lightening tyrant sneered while revealing it''s razor-sharp fangs. Blue lightning surged fiercely around its blue claws and the beasts aura began to rise and gather, suppressing those trying to escape with the defeated Kira and Agus. Its eyes released a blue flash as it was about to recreate its lightening claw attack but then an arc of terrifying blue aura sprang forth from thing air and assaulted the beast from the side! "You dare!!!!" Gin''s voice shook the skies as he gathered more aura into his magic weapon, preparing for another strike¡­ Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Explosions could be heard as a mighty green shaped aura spear soared through the skies and struck the distracted lightening tyrants back! The beast let out a howl as it shifted its murderous gaze towards the well built green-haired man in green knights armor and a green spear in his hands. Donald wore a mocking grin as he looked down on the monster from above and flaunted his green spear as if the magic beast wasn''t his equal! The beast let out a howl and ignored all the attacks, leaping towards Donald with malicious intentions. These Royal guards were only mid-grade silver realm experts who could manifest the strength of low tier peak grade silver realm experts. Their attacks only left shallow wounds on its body. Woooosh! In just a second the beast appeared right in front of Donald and brandished its claws at him. Donald in response roared, shrouding his magic spear with his green aura as he retreated continuously. "Ignoring me? Hahaha! You court death!" Gin laughed and shot towards the magic beast. He appeared behind it in an instant and slammed his sword into it, shoving it to sides. "So thick!" He gasped as his sword attack which was meant to slice this beast in two only left a white mark on its body. His eyes narrowed and he held his sword with both hands preparing for the monsters attack. "So hot-blooded¡­ the both of you!" A voice echoed from above the clouds. Wam!! The clouds parted and a flaming comet descended from above and slammed into the lightening tyrant. Roar! Booom!! The lightening tyrant roared in response and struck at the flaming meteor with its lightning claw. The sky shook violently and the flaming meteor collapsed. Karl let out a loud cry and fell off the sky like a bird whose wings have been damaged. Roar! Buzzzzzzzzzzzz! At this time, Gin and Donald proceeded to attack the lightening tyrant at close quarters. With a roar, the lightening tyrant released its lightning domain. The clouds all around gathered and a wave of lightning aura spread forth like an ocean, consuming all those planning to take it on t close quarters. Even the invisible Daemon who was trying to perform a perfect assassination was caught by this and like the rest, she was blown out of the sky. The lightening tyrant let out a war cry and was about to dive down and end its enemies but then a wind arrow pierced it''s chest from nowhere and forced it to retreat temporarily. It bleed from its arrow wound as it stared at the man responsible for its injury with cold eyes. A 6ft tall man stood with flowing golden hair. His pupils were golden and he had a green scarf wrapped around it''s his neck. He wore black leather armor, bearing the Royal family badge on the left side of his chest. Mason stared at the beast with a soft and fearless look on his face and he nodded. He had a strange green bow in his hands but no quiver bearing any arrow. His eyes let out a green flash as he turned his attention to the white-robed lady who stood behind him and spoke "Selena¡­ Do take care of the rest with your healing magic¡­ I''ll handle this little beast¡­" Mason said softly. "Can you win?" the red-haired lady was stunned and looked at Mason in disbelief. Mason only smiled and nodded in response. He ignored the woman and slowly approached the monster fearlessly. "You are only a silver realm archer at the mid-grade!" Selena didn''t seem to believe Mason''s words and screamed out. "I know¡­ it''s enough" Mason said with a confident smile on his face. "This is what you would have become¡­ if only you kept walking this path!" Mason muttered as he glanced at the mountain shrouded in darkness with narrowed eyes. ............ Within his underground cultivation chamber, Derik''s eyes slowly opened and he looked towards the general direction of the kingdom''s borders. It felt as if he and Mason had looked eyes even though they were hundreds of kilometers away from each other. "Show me¡­" Derik said weakly. 193 Chapter 193: True son wind, Mason! The forces of both palaces, coupled with the forces of the adventures association which arrived with Mason and Selena joined hands to drive away the monsters encircling them. Since they possessed numerous silver realm experts on their sides, it wasn''t difficult for them to keep the horde of low-level magic beasts at bay, they all looked up to the sky and watched the two newest members of the Royal guards speak. If the old monsters like Kira and the rest who once fought alongside Derik couldn''t do it, how was this guy planning to succeed alone? They were unsure of this man''s capabilities but seeing that he could deeply injure this beast with a single attack, while the other guardians joined hands but could only leave behind shallow wounds and red marks on its body, no one dared to speak against him. ...................... "Just go¡­ heal everyone quickly and have them join me if you are not satisfied with my plan" Mason waved away Selena nonchalantly. He may look calm on the surface but in reality, he was excited yet nervous. He just awakened this path a few months ago, he has been training in it for almost half a year now but he has never had the chance to use it in actual combat. To think he will be forced to put his life on the line, on the first day he decides to use his path abilities. "Since you won''t make the first move¡­ I attack then" Mason said softly. It was obvious the lightening tyrant was cautious of his wind arrows and it didn''t want to act recklessly without accessing its enemies'' strength first. In normal sense, this would be considered smart but in a situation like this, this could be seen as the dumbest move the beast has made in this battle. Masons wind rider path could be considered a top tier path amongst all paths recorded to date. Its ability to grant the user immense movement speed and attack speed are truly terrifying, not to talk of the control over the wind element it grants was not something one could easily overlook. With such an ability, Mason had no need for a quiver filled with arrows, all he did was acquire a wind-based magic bow to enhance his already hyped wind element attacks. That''s why he could easily pierce the lightening tyrant with on shot. A whirlwind began staring up as Mason grabbed the string of his magic bow and pulled. Pa!!! The wind gathered in his palm and formed a wind arrow. Immediately it was fired it looked like a hurricane was sent flying towards the Lightening tyrant, the more it moved the more wind it gathered. In less than a second, it has already arrived at the magic beasts location but a beast with the lightening element could not be caught easily. Buzzzzzzzzzzzz!!! A bolt of lightning escaped the wind hurricane and danced towards Mason with murderous intentions, but before it could reach Mason''s location, he turned into a gust of wind and increased the distance between it and the lightening tyrant by over two hundred meters in just a second. Pa! Pa!! Pa!!! While he moved he released three massive hurricane arrows but they quickly met three lightning claws. Soon bolts of lightning and gusts of winds filled the skies and crashed into each other, and their power output was terrifying. Masons shots were so powerful that no one at his level or a grade above him could not block the attack, but the lightning attacks from the lightning tyrant were equivalent to attacks from low-level gold realm masters, just strong enough to prevent the wind arrows from drilling through them. In just a few minutes these two peerless masters have exchanged over a hundred shots, retreating about three hundred meters away from each other and they were breathing heavily. "This is good¡­ Very good¡­ even better than I expected" Mason laughed hysterically while he breathed heavily. His eyes were pure white and his body was surrounded by a gust of wind and his hands were twitching. He gazed at the lightening tyrant which wore a strange unsure emotion on its face, this was the first time Mason has seen a magic beast that could show human emotions. From its facial expression of this magic beast, he could tell that beast was looking for a chance to escape. If both sides should risk their lives against each other, they may both end up dead. But it was obvious that this magic beast was not willing to risk its life in a fight against mason. With such an advantage, Why would Mason let it flee so easily? "Trying to run? Since you are already here don''t think of leaving this place so easily, you won''t leave this place alive!!!" Mason roared and shot towards the lightning tyrant, turning into a devastating hurricane! Roar! The lightning tyrant panicked as it realized the human understood its intentions and it hastily retreated. The lightning tyrant possessed overwhelming power but its nature was sly and it hated head-on confrontations. Even though it was could easily defeat Kira and Agus from the very beginning it still relied on sneak attacks to gravely harm them, it only appeared when it thought that it could easily kill the paladin and blood mage without much effort. It never expected more human experts to appear, if it knew these people will pop up, it wouldn''t have joined this operation in the first place let alone show itself! "Come on now, Let''s have a decisive battle!!!" Mason roared and utilized a strange dance. Wind domain! In a moment, the two combatants were surrounded by numerous wind hurricanes preventing any of them from escaping. The lightning tyrant realized it had no chance of escaping so it decided to fight this human to death. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Numerous arcs of lightning exploded out of its body and surged towards Mason, striking at its wind barriers fiercely but it couldn''t penetrate! Its lightning domain was inferior to Mason''s wind domain and it soon started its balance, threatened to be pulled into the hurricane! "IN THIS DOMAIN, I AM THE SOLE GOD!" Mason laughed hysterically and the wind domain began closing in with both of them at the center, increasing its overall power. Soon both Mason and the lightening tyrant were trapped in a terrifying massive hurricane which was over five hundred meters tall! The horde of magic beasts below them was pulled into the hurricane, leaving only the forces of the various palaces and the adventurers association aside. This showed the terrifying control Mason had over this element! He became a wind arrow god in their eyes, the true son of the wind! 194 Chapter 194: Level 120 Flame dragon! Soon screams and cries of the magic beasts resonated from the godly hurricane that tore through the thick forests and the borders of Gyro! At the center of it all was the gold haired mason with glowing green eyes, sitting in a cross legged position as he manipulated the wind hurricane to decimate enemies of Gyro!Unknown to him, his actions today was registered in the hearts of all those present and he was considered a being only a level below the palace masters of the various palaces in the kingdom. He appeared just when these people needed a savior and he achieved a feat which the combined strengths of the royal knights could not accomplish, all alone at that! At this very moment, Mason held a very high place in their hearts, a place even Agus and Kira could not reach.Even Derik was stunned by this display of strength, who would have thought an archer would ever get this strong?He always saw them as support times and not people meant for duels. He couldn''t be blamed entirely since in through out the history of Gyro, there has never been any archer capable of reaching this level. All through there were numerous archers at the silver realm, this was the first time they have seen an Archer who successfully developed a path."Impressive¡­. Very impressive but I have no regrets regarding the path I chose to walk" Derik muttered quietly as he shot his eyes again.Right from the beginning Mason has always been the better archer, what he could accomplish easily Derik needed to put in a lot of effort to accomplish. If it weren''t for his new found werewolf abilities, Mason would have been the one representing the archery class. Becoming an archer was never his first choice, it was only natural he slowly abandoned it when he found the power he sort............"Lets put an end to this!" Mason roared as he clapped his hands together, clearly about to make a finisher move but then something unexpected happened.Woooooooooosh!!!!!!!Out of nowhere a massive beam of scorching red flames pierced through the forest and danced towards Mason. He was startled by this attack and skillfully evaded by controlling his wind tornado.Booom!The Barrier surrounding Gyro was struck and it shook and trembled greatly. If not for the fact it was a spatial barrier powered by Kalos, it would have crumbled by now!Mason was stunned by this but quickly recovered from the attack and gathered his strength! If a beast like that could harm this barrier so easily with just a single attack, he had a feeling the barrier would not be able to withstand consecutive attacks like that.Roar!"Wind God: Typhoon arrow!!!" Mason roared and the massive hurricane around them dispersed and gathered into his hands in the shape of a wind arrows.Pa!!"Vanish from this planet foul beast!" Mason cried out loud as he released the wind arrow.The arrow was like a massive wind spear that dragged everything along as it moved. Trees monsters, rocks and the lightening tyrant, with thousands of other magic beasts. It soon gathered more wind turning into a full blown typhoon as it sped towards the point where the red flames erupted from.Roar!!!!!Another ear piecing roar resonated from that area and a second beam of red flames tore out from the woods and struck the powerful typhoon arrow.Bang!Bang!!Bang!!!"Impossible! What kind of beast is that!" Mason muttered in shock and freightAfter numerous explosions, the typhoon arrow crumbled under the powerful red beam. Mason was caught off guard by this and nearly didn''t evade it! He escaped the red beam but the force the attack carried with it slammed into him like a truck and she was sent crashing into the ground, creating a ten meter deep crater.Boooooooooom!!!"Mason!!!!" Selena screamed and rushed over to his side.The beam struck the barrier surrounding the Gyro kingdom once again and it shook terribly, threatening to break apart.Wooosh!Flap!!Flap!!!A massive red dragon covered in red scales soon emerged a hundred kilometers away from the Gyro kingdom, it was as big as three massive mountains and its tiny hands alone could easily crush the walls of Gyro. It''s eyes were fixed on the silver barriers which surrounded the Gyro kingdom and it let out a terrifying red glow. Its massive wings flapped repeatedly as it struggled to keep afloat while it gathered it''s power. Considering the sluggish movements of this beast, everyone could tell that it just awakened from its slumber due to the chatoic battle between Mason and the lightening tyrant.Who would have thought that a massive dragon like this was buried underground just a hundred kilometers away from the Gyro kingdom?How did they fail to notice its existence?"Hahahahaha! You finally showed yourself!!" Derik''s voice shook the Gyro kingdom!"Calm down now Derik¡­ Let''s join hands and put an end to this beasts life!" Cyrus voice resonated from the mountain shrouded in golden light."Palace masters!!!" The forces of both palaces at the frontlines screamed in joy!Roar!!!!!!The red dragon let out a threatening roar and it began gathering its power in its mouth, quickly sending a beam of red energy towards the forces of the twin palaces and the defeated royal guards."YOU DARE!!!!" Derik''s furious voice shook the walls of Gyro violently and a beam of darkish purple energy exploded from the mountain and shot towards the red beam!Booooooom!!!"You dare act arrogantly in our presence? You must be tired of living!" Cyrus sounded furious as well but his anger was been controlled.From the mountain which the palace of life was located a bright line shone and shot towards the dragon. The bright golden light soon took the shape of a massive broadsword with golden runes and a green power orb at its hilt. It flew past the black and red beam struggling against each other and flew towards the red flame dragon.Stab!The massive guardian weapon may be massive but compared to the dragon it was only as big as one of his dragons hands but its power was strong enough to make the dragon wary of it. It swiped its claws at the guardian weapon but Cyrus controlled his guardian weapon skillfully, evading the claw swipe while reaching for its heart.Seeing this the dragon cried out and hurriedly dashed back. It massive wings flapped repeatedly causing shockwaves and wind storms that easily uprooted all types of vegetation on the ground around. The ground split and earth quakes occurred each time the dragons feet struck the ground and it tried to lift itself off the ground and escape."No you don''t!" A figure shrouded in darkness appeared above its head with a death scythe in its hands. With a single swing a massive black arc of energy shot out and completely suppressed the dragon, preventing it from escaping."Vanish!" Cyrus appeared above its and roared viciously.Puff!!!!The massive guardian sword shot forward like a spear and struck its heart. The beast roared in pain and shivered as it fell into the massive pit which it emerged from."That won''t be enough" the figure shrouded in darkness said."Yes¡­ I guess so¡­ we will have to battle it in its own domain" Cyrus who was as bright as the sun replied casually."It won''t be easy¡­ but it''s necessary if we wish to solve this magic beast revolt issue in Gyro¡­" Derik replied with knitted eyebrows as he stared at the pit sternlyWith this both figures shot a final glance at the Gyro kingdom before diving into the pit filled with lava and magma!The whole kingdom was stunned by this short exchange between the twin guardians of the kingdom and the Level 120 fire dragon. They held their breaths as they watched their champions dive into the pit fearlessly and a mixture of golden and death aura shot out, trying to resist the lava which was planning to swallow them whole! 195 Chapter 195: Four elemental ancient dragon lords 1 Walking through the extremely long corridors of the royal palace hastily, the five disciples of the death mage pushed the massive golden doors of the royal courtyard and stormed in with furious emotions on their faces. "Where¡­ Where is Big bro? What''s going on?" Andrew was the first to speak. The shadow clustered around him made it difficult for people to see his figure, not even his footsteps could be heard. "Big bro Kira!" Philips ran over to Kira''s side and held on to his shaky pale hands. Kira and Agus, together with the other royal guards with Selena being the only exception were injured and the locations of their injuries were bandaged all round while numerous oracle mages focused on healing them. Kira''s normal smooth black hair was scattered and his usual crimson red eyes had lost its glow, he could only smile weakly at Philips and fondle his brown hair. "Don''t worry¡­ Palace master Derik is very powerful, even a level 120 flame dragon will have to flee when fighting him¡­ By the way, he has the palace of life''s master with him¡­ With Cyrus and Derik joining hands¡­ no one can stop them¡­" Kira tried to calm these kids down. But in his heart, he was truly worried about the two. The Lightning tyrant possessed a domain that was only available to people or magic beast at the mid-grade of the gold realm at the very least! If Mason''s strange top tier path didn''t grant him a domain as well, he wouldn''t have been able to battle the lightning tyrant as equals. The flame dragon also possessed a domain of its own and its power level should rival that of peak grade gold realm masters. If not for the fact that it had just awoken after an unknown number of centuries coupled with the fact that Derik and Cyrus did not give it the chance to activate its domain, they wouldn''t have been able to hurt it. The situation this time was different and Kira was the one who understood how dangerous the situation is for Cyrus and Derik. Now they chased after the beast into its underground lair where its lava and flame element can be found easily, he knew Derik and Cyrus will be in trouble. The flame dragon will definitely not look down on those two again and it will most likely utilize its domain in this battle. With a single glance, he could tell Cyrus and Derik were yet to break into the gold realm, they didn''t come out just because they wanted to. They came out because it was necessary! Since they were the ones closest to the guardian spirits, only they fully understood the situation and how serious it is. All Kira knew was that there is a certain possibility that both of them will lose their lives in this battle. Their ability to raise their power instantly purely depended on the people around them. While Derik fed on the negative emotions of people present, Cyrus fed on the life force of living beings. They won''t be able to use these abilities in this battle, they can only rely on their true strength to overcome this situation. "I thought they were trying to breakthrough¡­ Why did they get involved in this mess when your defensive barrier could clearly handle it! They gave away a chance to enter the gold realm a bit earlier just to fight this beast! And what the hell is that thing?" Gerald was lost and confused as he spurted out all the thoughts in his mind at once. "From the looks of it, they weren''t planning to drive away this beast, if not they would have sent me and Aldora. I believe they are trying to kill this beast¡­ I don''t know why since I can''t predict impending danger like them¡­ I don''t have any connections with the cosmic spirits anymore¡­ All I know is this¡­ The fact that they left their cultivation behind to battle this beast to the death in its own terrain where it has the advantage tells how serious the issue is¡­ we can only wait for them to return and explain what they know to us" Kalos said. After Kalos spoke there was complete silence. No one knew the reason for this but all they knew was that the situation was more severe than they thought. If Derik and Cyrus fail to survive this battle doesn''t it mean that the Gyro kingdom will be wiped out? "Hahaha¡­ I didn''t know you were this strong Mason¡­ I really need to train harder and find my own path!" Gin laughed loudly. Trying to ease the heavy and tense mood in the room. Mason in return felt proud but a bit embarrassed when everyone began commending him on his breakthrough. The Gyro kingdom finally got its first master-level archer, why won''t they be excited by this! ..................... Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! On very few occasions, red hot lava would shoot out of the ground, so high into the air that those in Gyro could see them even though they were about a hundred kilometers away from the target. At such times and occasions, black and golden aura would rise up and struggle with the lava before suppressing it. At this point, fissures began to occur and the earthquakes rocked the Gyro kingdom more frequently. The ground beneath their feet began to split but thanks to the capable mages in Gyro who possess a strong affinity to the earth element, the damages were completely minimized to the barest minimum. Some parts of the forest around the area of the battle began to wither under the effects of Derik''s death aura, another side bloomed beautifully under Cyrus'' life aura and another part was completely scorched. The shockwaves from the battle were so severe that everyone in the kingdom could feel it, but then they wondered how bad it was for Derik and Cyrus who were the ones actually fighting. A week passed by and the intense battle continued, by this time, every other kingdom in the continent were already aware of the situation in Gyro and they watched from the sidelines to see the outcome of this clash. Derik and Cyrus represented the greatest power in the continent, so everyone was eager to gauge the power of these legendary beasts with this battle. In the blink of an eye, another week passed and the battle was still ongoing. Aldora who was sent to scout the area of the battle returned and reported seeing black blood, golden blood, and a pool of lava blood scattered everywhere. All three combatants were gravely injured but they still fought against each other fiercely. At this point, they left the underground lair and rose up into the skies and continued their battle there! A massive ball of rolling lava surrounded the fire dragon while Derik was covered in a circular death aura domain and Cyrus was covered in his life aura domain as they clashed against each other fiercely. With the battle happening in the open, these people could tell how frightening these dragons are and began to understand how dire the situation was. On the fourth day of the fourth week of the intense battle, Derik let out a loud painful cry and fell off the skies. Cyrus quickly reacted to save him and the flame dragon took advantage of the opportunity and fled the scene. With this the battle ended in a draw, there was no victor or loser. Both sides suffered great injuries and they will definitely need some time to recover! 196 Chapter 196: Four elemental ancient dragon lords 2 With the Derik gravely injured in the battle Cyrus could not prevent the flame dragon from fleeing. Even if he tried, he clearly could not handle the dragon alone, Derik''s defeat meant that their strength was reduced by half."This¡­" Cyrus stared at the location where the flame dragon fled to with mixed feelings visible in his golden glowing eyes. He pushed the thought away and grabbed on to Derik, helping him get on his feet. After which both of them turned into two beams of black and golden light and returned to Gyro.....................................In the royal courtroom of Cato¡­"A draw? The flame dragon may have fled but the death mage also took a heavy blow right there¡­ If we are faced with this kind of threat, will we be able to handle it?" The king of Cato tapped the chair arm of his throne as he spoke."This¡­ I don''t know¡­" The man dressed in a black mage robe stammered as he watched the images on the massive water glob at the center of the room with complicated feelings in his eyes. He knew if they were in a similar position, they would have been obliterated in mere days! Yet these two guardian spirit hosts fought these monsters bitterly for three weeks and one day! That''s twenty two solid days!Instinctively they all turned their attention to their only hope in the room. Kaido was dressed in a normal noble attire with his hair tied back into a ponytail. His pupils were like two scorching yellow suns and his firm gaze was fixed on the water glob in the center of the room. His eyes showed no emotions and his temperament had completely changed."If I fought that beast alone¡­ If I risked my life against it¡­ I will be able to replicate the same results¡­ But I cant beat that thing¡­ Those two are truly amazing to be able to hold out for three weeks¡­ They are really something" The normal cheerful Kaido was now cold and indifferent about everything.He sprang to his feet at lightning fast speed and quickly left the room without uttering a single word. .......................................¡­Within an active volcano a figure could be seen seated in a cross-legged position. His eyes were shut tightly and his aura kept growing steadily. For some reason it seemed as if the figure was absorbing the volcano''s heat, using it to fuel his own power."Its over¡­ They didn''t win¡­ But they didn''t lose either¡­ If that kind of foe should come my way, I will most likely end up dead¡­ I must hurry and breakthrough! Only then will I be able to fight against such monsters" Ahika said indifferently while he kept draining the energy of the volcano...............................At the Elven kingdom, in the legendary floating sky palace, numerous figures were seated in a massive courtroom. The largest in the continent, even Gyro''s massive royal courtroom could not compare.The Sky palace itself was surrounded by numerous green vines which crawled around, freely and those residing here didn''t seem to be bothered by this. Even the courtroom had vines wrapping round each and every pillar in the room but these people ignored it, placing their undivided attention on the massive water glob above them."Derik¡­ Will he be okay?" Elsa who was dressed in a white and green gown stared at the image of a black figure hidden within his black aura falling to the ground. Even if his body was hidden within the cluster of black aura, Elsa knew he was in pain. For someone as vicious and reckless as Derik to cry out, it meant that the injury he sustained wasn''t normal."I have to admit¡­ These two hosts of the Life and Death guardian spirits are really amazing¡­ Three weeks of intense combat¡­ They are just a step away from the gold realm and they were able to hold out this long¡­ once they recover from their injuries, they will reap many benefits, they may even have a breakthrough! Just like my mother always said, true experience and strength comes from frightening battles" Elena, the elven queen said with a joyful expression."If I may enquire¡­ why is the queen so eager to see our enemies get even stronger?" Diana who has been quiet for a while now asked with cold eyes."Enemies? This is a crucial time and all the races in this continent are meant to join hands and defeat this magic beast strength¡­ According to legends, there are three other dragons with different elements just like this fire dragon and when they awaken, even this great kingdom with fall¡­Miss Diana, I wish to ask you this¡­ if you were faced with a similar situation as those two hosts¡­ will you be able to replicate the same result? Will you be able to fight the dragon for three straight weeks and even have it flee?" Elena ignored Diana''s cold gaze as she spoke softly."¡­." Diana hid her face as she couldn''t reply. She wasn''t even sure she would be able to hold out for a week not to talk of two. The queen was right, no matter how you look at it, what these two did was amazing."As expected¡­ you can''t¡­ this world is at the brink of destruction¡­ At this time we should join hands and eliminate this threat¡­ This is no time for petty feuds" Elena said indifferently.Elsa remained rooted to her spot as she stared at Derik''s shadowy figure. Her heart felt warm as she wondered how life would have been if the death mage followed her back and left the Gyro kingdom¡­ Maybe the kingdom would have been in ruins by now."He carries so much weight on his shoulders¡­ That''s why we can''t be together¡­" She muttered...............................¡­Golden and darkish purple beams of light entered the kingdom capital at terrifying speed and headed straight to the royal palace¡­Bang!Bang!!Upon landing, numerous web like cracks appeared beneath their feet and two figures appeared. Both were deadly pale and their breathing was heavy! 197 Chapter 197: Four elemental ancient dragon lords 3 Cyrus'' right hand was broken and his face was filled with glittering golden blood. His glowing golden eyes had dimmed greatly and his palace master golden robe was torn at so many points. He looked slightly thinner and his body was as white as a sheet of paper, lacking any sign of blood or redness. Derik''s condition was even worse. Since he has been defeated this badly, the dark cluster of death aura around him, revealing his real figure. His skin color was as pale as that of Cyrus as well, is fiery darkish purple eyes had lost its light and his death mage robe was torn beyond recognition. On his stomach was a massive hole, reaching up to his chest revealing his damaged internal organs, and his body was covered in his corrosive black blood. It became clear how he lost the battle, one on the massive claws of the dragon must have found its way into his belly. It''s even a miracle that he could stand at this moment. With their current condition, no one needed any explanation to know that these two were utilizing their aura''s to suppress their injuries, especially Derik. They were in need of medical attention and that was why they returned to the royal palace directly. "Palace master!" "Palace master!!" "Big bro!!" "Guardians!!!" Numerous voices resonated from the courtroom and the massive golden doors were yanked open and numerous people dashed out and quickly swarmed around these two people. They looked relieved at first but when they inspected the condition of these two people, their expression turned sour and gloomy. They felt stupid for thinking that these two masters close to the low grade of the gold realm could battle a monster like that flame dragon that can take on masters at the peak grade of the gold realm! The fact that they survived this encounter and were able to drive the beast away showed how amazing they are. No one in this continent can replicate such feats, they felt proud. "What are you waiting for, pretty please?" Derik sneered as he spat out another mouthful of black blood. Only then did these people stop daydreaming and help them in. They were placed in a special underground chamber directly under the royal palace for treatment. There over twenty of the kingdom finest healers were invited to work on them. Cyrus'' case was more straightforward and easier to handle. He only suffered numerous burns and minor slash injuries but Derik on his own part was a bit more, tricky. His organs were messed up and the massive hole in his chest was not something that could be healed in a short while. It was very shocking that the death mage was able to live till this moment. That was when a shocking truth was revealed to them all! The gold realm represented the peak form of a being before transitioning into the position of gods and demigods. At this level, one''s understanding and mastery over their element have become so deep, that they tend to retrain some unique traits their elements represent. In Cyrus'' case, as he was only a step away from the Gold realm, his overall life force began to expand and his life force has become so abundant that it was getting to a stage where he could share his life force with a dead person. In simpler terms, his abilities have reached a stage where he can pull someone out of the brink of death by sharing his own life force with that person. The spell of resurrection! As for Derik, whose element represented death. At this point, they realized most of his body organs have stopped functioning and he was more like a walking corpse, if not from the fact that he is yet to break into the gold realm, his pain receptors would have been nullified completely as well. His breath was like death and if his power was not controlled, he could easily snuff the life out of a weaker foe. Should Derik break into the gold realm, he may become similar to the undead that he controls. The changes on these two truly terrified those around them, this led them to question the changes that may be taking place in the life of the other guardian spirit hosts who may be trying to break through into the gold realm as well. The new changes took them all by surprise since this was the first time the guardian spirits in the continent have lived past the silver realm, making their way into the gold realm. With this, they realized that the difference between them and other mages was truly vast. ....................................¡­. A month later, the completely recovered Kingdom guardians appeared in the royal courtroom with the major stakeholders of the kingdom to discuss the recent issues facing the continent. Just as the elven queen Elena predicated, after their recovery they were both at the doorstep of the gold realm, only requiring a single push to enter the next realm. Their aura was as vast as the ocean yet it was very unstable. "You all may be curious why Cyrus and I risked our lives against these flame dragon¡­ They are called the four elemental dragon kings, whose control over their elements are just too profound¡­ These beasts will awaken during the chaotic era and mark the beginning of the end¡­" Derik said. At this point, the dark aura around Derik was gone. Derik had long flowing black hair which reached his waist, his ears were long and point like that of the wolves and each time he spoke his fangs were revealed. His eyes were like the bottomless pit which only darkness resides and his claws were always visible. His transition into a profound realm with his werewolf abilities seemed to have a strong change in his physique, making him look a bit more wolf-like. This made others feel really concerned but Derik didn''t seem to be bothered by this at all. The sudden change had increased his overall strength by a large portion. His strength and speed had already reached a high level, why would he be bothered about his appearance? "According to our guardian spirits¡­ The fire dragon will be the one to awaken the other three elemental dragons¡­ The four of them will bring about the destruction of all life on this continent and the rise of the magic beasts will begin¡­" Cyrus said. He seemed unconcerned by this. "If that''s the case, then¡­ the situation is quite¡­. Bad¡­" Gerald''s voice trailed off as he spoke. Just like him, the others in the room seemed a bit shaken by Derik and Cyrus'' words. They wore gloomy expressions and even the five kids under Derik''s care were scared by this. "Is it really over?... Is everyone going to die?" Dimitris held on to Derik''s index finger and asked. Everyone turned their attention to Derik, hoping to know what sort of answer Derik would give the child. "Hahaha¡­ Of course not¡­ Since the magic beasts will be a problem for my little Dimitri, I''ll just kill every single one of them¡­" Derik answered softly. He gently rubbed the kid''s chin and turned his attention to the others in the room. "Give us a few months to breakthrough¡­ Buy us some time and end this matter¡­" Derik said with a vicious smile. "Do you really intend to wipe out all the magic beasts in this world?" Agus blinked twice as he asked the question with a fearful look on his face. "Of course¡­ I''ll have my gold realm undead assist in the protection of this kingdom while we are gone¡­ Have a nice day¡­" Derik said with a wild smile, revealing his fangs, after which he vanished with Cyrus. "The next few years will be very interesting, don''t you think so Derik?" Cyrus'' fading voice echoed from afar. "Hahahaha! Definitely!" Derik responded. Those in the room were left stunned by this, they began wondering how the Gyro kingdom produced two monsters in the same era. 198 Chapter 198: Whirlwind silver dragon The kingdom of Cato was positioned at the very peak of a hill, surrounded by lush green forests that was inhabited by numerous magic beasts of various levels and species. Even before the magic beast revolt started, this kingdom has always battled against the hordes of numerous types of magic beasts, so they were able to manage the situation better than any other kingdom when the magic beasts began to revolt. Even though the numbers of the magic beasts attacking increased rapidly and even doubled, they still found a way to deal with it. Depending on their defensive magic formations and their stunning five hundred peak grade silver realm warriors and mages equipped with complete sets of top tier silver level equipment, they could easily withstand the hordes of magic beast that kept attacking repeatedly. With their high cultivation level experts and their terrifying magic tools, they swept through the forests around the kingdom like wildfire and murdered hundreds of thousands of magic beasts, ruthlessly forcing them to retreat. Whenever a high leveled magic beasts appeared, the sun guardian knight master, Kaido would always make an appearance and battle the magic beast, ultimately defeating them. Relying on this method, the kingdom has managed to wipe out all the magic beasts over a hundred kilometers around the kingdom, forcing the magic beasts to retreat to the foot of the hill. Millions of corpses belonging to both the magic beasts and casualties from their side were littered around the kingdom of Cato, serving as nutrition to the vegetation surrounding the kingdom. ............................. "I heard the twin kingdom guardian of Gyro suddenly disappeared after the epic twenty-one day''s battle with the flame dragon¡­ It was just too cool¡­ I''m pretty sure they got hurt pretty bad and are recovering in seclusion now¡­ I wish I can get the chance to meet them someday¡­ Maybe one of them will like me" a young lady with long flowing brown hair which was tied back into a ponytail said with dreamy eyes. It was obvious that the battle between Derik and Cyrus, against the flame dragon has left a deep impression on her. "Yea¡­ Yea¡­ I bet our cosmic hero Kaido can do the same!" A male youth about the same age, equipped with a complete set of silver knights magic armor spoke up. Even though he had a good impression of Derik and Cyrus, he could help but get annoyed at the lady who daydreaming about two godly existences who will never pay attention to someone as small as her. Since he couldn''t compare himself to them, he could only use the sun cosmic spirit guardian knight as a cover. "Ha! I bet he won''t last three moves against the death mage, Just like last time!" The brown-haired lady snapped. The two were amongst the hundred peak grade silver realm elites posted at this southern walls of Cato. The other sides of the massive walls had a hundred peak grade silver realm elites position at the other sides of the walls, while the remaining hundred is kept as reserves. ......................... Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! The earth shook violently and it looked like the walls of Cato would collapse at any time. The defensive magic formations were quickly activated but it couldn''t stop something as natural as an earthquake and soon multiple fine web-like cracks began appearing on the walls of Cato Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The soil hundreds of kilometers away exploded creating a crater thousands of meters deep. ROAR! With a resounding roar, the strange massive white dragon shrouded in a domain of air appeared above the skies. Its silver-white eyes let out a wild glow and with a single flap of its wing, two massive wind blades flew towards the kingdom of Cato, and with a loud bang the barrier surrounding it shattered! Luckily, the barrier was strong enough to stop that attack, so no one died! The silver dragon let out a roar and hordes of magic beasts appeared into sight and swarmed towards the defenseless Cato with malicious intentions. The peak grade silver realm elites stared at the scene with pale faces as they grabbed their equipment, preparing to have a decisive battle with these magic beasts. "YOU KEPT ME WAITING!" Kaido''s infuriated voice shook Cato and an orange beam of light shot into the skies and Kaido''s domineering figure appeared above the southern walls of Cato. "Who said you can act recklessly in my presence?" Kaido sneered and he quickly unsheathed his broadsword. With a single swing, a sea of orange light shot forward and consumed the magic beasts rushing towards Cato. With a single move, thousands of magic beasts were obliterated! Roar! The silver dragon was infuriated by the human''s insolence. How dare he attack its subjects in his presence? From its mouth, a massive hurricane shot forward which threatened to swallow Kaido and the entire Cato! "Hahahaha! If that''s all you are capable of, then I''m truly disappointed!!" Kaido laughed like a crazy person as he dived towards hurricane with broadsword raised high. His eyes released a terrifying orange glow as he swung his blade and completely split the hurricane. Woooooosh!! Not daring to waste more time, Kaido proceeded to attack the silver dragon. With a single step forward, he covered hundreds of kilometers, appearing above silver dragon as he hacked down at it with his massive blade. Dang! Kaido was forced to retreat as his sword bounced off the wind barrier surrounding the dragon. He could see the gloating look on the face of the dragon and just at that moment, numerous hurricanes and typhoons appeared around both of them. It was using its wind domain to trap him and prevent him from escaping. "Hahahaha! Trapping me in here with you? You have chosen death!?? Kaido sneered. "Sun guardian knight: Supreme deity" Kaido roared and his body turned golden. At this point he looked like a golden statue, coupled with his golden armor, he looked like a sun god. His body released an intensive yellow flame domain with him at the center of it all. "Let''s have a decisive battle!" Kaido said with a vicious grin! 199 Chapter 199: Kaido’s true strength Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Each time both combatants clashed the forest below them shook violently and the ground split. Soon visible web-like cracks appeared on the massive walls of Cato. The side effects of the battle between the two main forces in the sky led to the death of numerous magic beasts and peak grade silver realm experts on the side of Cato. It even got to a stage where both sides retreated to a safe distance, giving enough space for Kaido and the sliver dragon to battle each to the death. Roar!!! The silver dragon''s eyes let out a silver glow as massive air bullets the size of small mountains shot out of its mouth, flying straight at Kaido. Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! Kaido was like a beam of orange light, traveling at a terrifying speed as he evaded to wind bullets. He twisted and turned abruptly as the numbers of wind bullets heading his way increased twofold. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Puti!!!! Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood as three wind bullets smashed into his body repeatedly. Visible cracks could be seen on his body and from those cracks were blinding orange light pouring out. It seemed as if a power core was residing in his body. "Not enough!" Kaido''s lips and jaw were stained with his blood as he roared. "Sun God path: Imperious Burst!!!" His body let out a massive wave of scorching heat that swirled around him, taking the shape of a fiery orange domain! Bang!!! With a bang, his body shot forward like a mighty spear, and in just a second, he covered the distance between himself and the silver dragon. Boooooooooom!!! The air dome around the dragon began to tremble as Kaido continuously slammed against it. His eyes were like two scorching suns as and each time his lips parted, orange flames would steal the opportunity and escape from his lips. .........................¡­ At this time, the forces of Cato have been completely mobilized. Their joint forces were about thirty thousand bronze realm warriors and mages, one thousand five hundred mid and low-grade silver realm elites and five hundred and seven peak grade silver realm elite, with Kaido as the only gold realm master amongst them. Unlike forces of the Gyro kingdom whose forces were underdeveloped in terms of war tools and war equipment under the leadership of the former King Robert, Cato was well equipped to the tooth and they were always prepared for any situation but when they saw Kaido fighting fiercely against the silver dragon, they realized how small they are compared to these two. This was the first time, they have seen the sun guardian knight fight seriously with his life on the line. The four elemental dragons were the rulers of this continent during the ancient times, even before the creation of the other races by the creator. They were the absolute forces at that time and only through the joint efforts of the angels of the heavens were they able to defeat these magic beasts and seal them off. Now that these beasts have awakened and are eager to take back what belongs to them, its only natural that the inhabitants of this continent are scared. Everyone present knew how dangerous the situation has become. Should these magic beasts ever join hands in battle, no one in this continent will be able to stand against them! All life on the continent will be destroyed as well. .....................¡­. "Imperious Burst!!!! Break!!" Kaido roared as a terrifying amount of orange light diffused from his magic broadsword! His aura began rising and when the light was at it brightest, he roared and struck at the air dome surrounding the silver dragon! Booooooooooom!!! The strike shook the earth and shockwave uprooted massive trees over two hundred meters around them and tossed them away as if they were pebbles. The Kingdom of Cato was hit by the shockwave too and the barrier surrounding shook violently. Howl! The silver dragon let out a painful how as silver blood gushed out of a small portion of its neck uncontrollably. Its cold gaze was fixed on Kaido who was not planning to give it a chance to set up another air dome. Roar! With a roar, millions of human-sized air blades appeared all around the silver dragon and shot at all directions while the dragon retreated. Kaido who was already storming forward was taken by surprise by this but he didn''t dare retreat and give the beast enough time to catch its breath. His magic armor let out a faint orange light and a thick orange barrier formed around him as he charged forward fearlessly. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Soon he was surrounded by the storm of wind blades and even his body could not be seen as the bombarded him. All they could hear was Kaidos'' painful cries. ROAR!!! The silver dragon let out a triumphant cry as it slowly approached the area where its wind blades converged. Its facial expression showcased its joy but its eyes showed it was still cautious of this powerful human. ...............¡­ Those on the wall stood there with their fists clutched as stared at the scene and listened to Kaido''s cries. Their hearts tightened some of them had the urge to charge into battle regardless of whether they die or not but they knew they will only end up slowing down the sun guardian knight! "Where is the holy church!" The yellow bearded man with a golden crown on his head and a silver knights armor asked with a murderous look on his face. "We don''t know yet¡­ There are movements at the cathedral, so we suspect that they are mobilizing their forces to aid us in this battle¡­" The dark mage councilman responded respectfully. "Hmmm¡­ That''s alright¡­ I just hope the Bishop can hasten his preparation and lend Kaido a hand!" The king said with a stern look on his face. .................. "Ha! You wish to devour me? Don''t you dare write me off so easily!" Kaido''s voice emanated from the cluster of numerous wind blades. "Sun magic: Solar flare!" He roared as a massive amount of his sun aura was transferred to the tip of his blade. From it a massive beam of yellow flames shot out, blowing away a portion of the wind blades while slamming into the skull of the silver dragon, forcing it to cry out terribly while it fell off the skies. Boooooom!!! With a bang the silver dragon fell on its back, creating a hundred-meter deep crater. A portion of its faced looked scorched and one of its eyes was roasted beyond recognition, up to the point it was rendered blind. The silver dragon groaned in pain as it looked up, towards Kaido and growled at him. "I''ve had enough of this farce!" Kaido stood hundreds of meters above the dragon while pointing the tip of his blade at the dragon. "Sun magic: Rising sun!" Kaido roared and a miniature version of the sun appeared at the tip of his blade. It was only the size of a fist but then it started to expand, more and more until it became as big as a hill! "Get crushed!" Kaido sneered as he let go of the technique and watched the miniature sun descend on the dragon, like an overbearing mountain, planning to crush its foe. The heat that radiated from this technique instantly set all the trees, hundreds of kilometers away on fire, while standing on the wall of Cato felt thirsty and they were covered in sweat, even though they were hundreds of kilometers away from location of the battle. Roar!!! The silver dragon continuously let out painful cries as it struggled with the blazing sun on its body. Kaido''s technique was slowly burning a hole into its massive body and the beast knew that, once this miniature sun finds its way into its body, it was game over! "Roar!!!!!!!" With a roar, dark clouds appeared above them, and hurricanes appeared out of nothing. It was obvious the silver dragon was considering him as a major threat now and was not planning to hold back anymore. Just like the flame dragon had control over fire and lava, the silver dragon had control of wind and lighting! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Bolts of lightning abruptly struck down from the sky, one knocked Kaido away while the others relentlessly assaulted the miniature sun, until visible web-like cracks appeared on it and it finally shattered under the constant assault! By then, a bloody hole was visible on the chest of the silver dragon and it was covered in its white blood, it eyes looked with and it was breathing heavily. Kaido on his own side did not look good at all! A scorched injury could be seen on his chest and blood poured out of the wound profusely. His blazing eyes dimmed considerably and his hands, holding onto to the massive broadsword trembled continuously. The chest plate of his golden armor had shattered due to the lightning strike. Things weren''t looking good for both combatants! 200 Chapter 200: Cato Falls Roar! The silver dragon roared as it flipped itself over and ascended into the skies once again. Its eyes let out a blue glow and from its mouth, a terrifying amount of lightning storm poured out, flying towards Kaido. "Hahahahaha!" Despite his injuries, Kaido laughed hysterically and shot towards the silver dragon with his blade raised high. "Sun magic: Solar flare!" Kaido pointed his blade forward and a massive beam of orange aura shot out of it, clearing a path for him within the lightning storm as he closed in on the silver dragon. Lightning domain! Wind domain!! The silver dragon quickly retreated with just two flaps of its massive wings and a lightning storm erupted around them, coupled with a wind storm as well. Numerous wind hurricanes mixed with raging thunder filled the battlefield and the suction force from these forces was so much that Kaido could barely stabilize himself in midair. If he let down his guard at any moment, he could be drawn into this storm and that will be the end of him. Compared to Mason''s wind domain, Mason''s control over the wind element looked like a child''s play. "Hahahahahahahahaha!!!" Kaido''s resounding laughter filled the skies and shook the hearts of all those that heard it. His patted his lips and orange flames poured out, spreading like wildfire. "Imperious burst" Kaido muttered softly, creating a domain of orange flames around himself, reducing the effects of the silver dragon''s domain. At this point, both sides knew their short battle has reached a critical point. The side which makes a mistake this time will definitely lose its life, yet none of them were willing to back off. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Both sides roared as they rammed into each other, and in just a minute over a hundred blows have been exchanged. Unlike and Cyrus and other mages who could not withstand the monstrous strength of these elemental dragons, Kaido has always been a guardian knight, his physical strength was considered monstrous as well. Even though it couldn''t compare to that of the dragon, he could still trade blows with it. Wooosh!! Bam!!! The silver dragon swiped its massive claws at Kaido, who laughed hysterically in response as he stopped its massive paw with his right hand and struck at its massive face with a clenched fist. Pow!!! The silver dragon''s face twisted, showing hints of pain but it still endured at took advantage of the opening and struck forward with its monstrous claws. Puff!! Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood while he withdrew his hands and grabbed on to the massive claw which pierced his chest, preventing it from going any deeper. If the claw moved any deeper, it would tear his body apart. "Arrrghhhh!!" Kaido cried out in pain while he struggled to pull out the claw. The orange glow around him slowly dimmed as time went on and it was obvious his power was dropping at an alarming rate. Bam! The dragon took the chance to attack again as it used its massive paw to smack Kaido from the side, sending him crashing into the ground like a bullet. Booooom!!! "This¡­." Kaido spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to get on his feet. He weakly glanced around searching for his magic broadsword, but since it was nowhere to be found he pushed the thought aside and focused on the silver dragon above him. "This battle has dragged on for too long¡­ Let''s end this!" Kaido hissed at the dragon. The sliver dragon in response roared and dove towards Kaido. Kaido roared like an injured beast and shot forward, turning into a beam of scorching orange light as he moved forward. As he moved, the orange light got brighter and brighter, up to the point where his figure could not be seen anymore. It was just like a real sun was flying towards the dragon. Upon arrival, the sliver dragon roared as it brandished its claws at the orange light, but to its surprise, the bright orange light skillfully evaded its attacks and when straight for the bloodied hole on its chest! Seeing this, the silver dragon panicked and it quickly retreated. Its eyes were on the orange light that just kept getting brighter and brighter and for the first time, a hint of fear flashed across its facial expression. The dragon flew higher and higher while been chased by the orange light until both of them could no longer be seen by those who were observing from the walls of Cato. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! After about a minute of silence, an explosion which shook the entire eastern region occurred, which was followed by a terrifying heatwave which washed through the magic beast army, killing hundreds of thousands of magic beasts, while shattering the barrier that surrounded Cato as well and destroying the kingdoms mighty walls as well. ........................¡­.. Two figures descended from the clouds in a massive ball of black smoke. One was free-falling while the other struggled to regain its balance. Boom! Boom!! Both balls of black smoke crashed into the ground a second later and when the smoke cleared, Everyone saw the silver dragon, which was covered in injuries caused by the explosion, while Kaido seemed to be in a better condition, only that his mana was drained completely. Considering the nature of the final attack, everyone could tell that it came from Kaido, it was more like an explosion. "Don''t¡­ Don''t you dare think of escaping¡­" Kaido struggled to get on his feet, falling over countless times but he kept falling over. His armor was completely destroyed, leaving the sun guardian knight completely naked and exposed, but he didn''t seem to bother. His cold gaze was fixed on the severely injured silver dragon. The silver dragon cried out in response as it weakly retreated and slowly flew into the air. It wore a terrified expression each time it stared at Kaido and it quickly flew away, vanishing in an instant. Kaido was about to use the last energy left in him to deal a finishing blow on the beast but he was soon swarmed by a sea of magic beasts of various levels, trying to protect their master. In just a moment, Kaido was surrounded and he struggled to keep these magic beasts away from him while he fought. He was as pale as a sheet of paper and could barely stand, it was even a miracle he could continue fighting! With the walls of Cato destroyed, the magic beasts swarmed the kingdom like a plague and began to destroy everything they could. Even though the kingdom possessed numerous defensive formations, it was meant for combat, for this reason, hundreds of thousands of humans residing in Cato were slaughtered. It didn''t take long before they surrounded the forces of Cato which were desperately protecting the civilians left alive which was less than fifty thousand. In such a situation, numerous experts and warriors of Cato at various levels were killed. A major portion of the royal family was slaughtered as well and most of the councilmen sacrificed themselves by detonating their souls, just to give the others some breathing space. The holy church branch in Cato vanished during the chaos and no one knew where they went to and how they escaped. It was obvious they had planned this earlier for them to be able to execute it so perfectly. At the darkest moment, hope appeared. The undead spatial mage, Kalos appeared with his companion, Aldora! Joining hands with the forces of Cato, they were able to save Kaido who was at the brink of death and send every surviving member of the Cato kingdom, to Gyro through the use of a spatial portal from Kalos! With that, Cato was the first kingdom to fall, according to the prophecy of the guardian spirits! 201 Chapter 201: Intentions Gerald alongside numerous officials of the Gyro kingdom after a long journey arrived at the foot of the mountain where the palace of the dead was built. As some were only nobles and had no cultivation, they could not fly like Gerald and Creed, so they could only stare at the mountain shrouded in darkish purple deadly aura from a distance, while they wait for the King of Gyro, his royal guards and the military force head, Creed to return with good news. Gerald and his group flew towards the peak of the mountain for the very first time and they felt extremely nervous. Even though they could tell that Derik''s aura surrounding the building was not meant to harm them and the corrosive qualities of his aura have been withdrawn, they still could not help but feel restless in the presence of this death aura. .............................. "My king¡­ Lord Creed" Numerous experts of palace greeted Gerald and the others respectfully when they arrived. From that point, they were lead towards the main building where the palace master resides, located at the heart of the mountain. It was this spot that was shrouded in darkness the most. So dark that Gerald and the others that came with him could not see but the members of the palace didn''t seem to be disturbed by this. In fact, they could even see clearer than usual in this condition. The top of the mountain had turned grey since no form of vegetation here could survive due to Derik''s aura, the bodies of every member of the palace also exuded a similar dark aura like that of Derik and their body seemed to be undergoing some mysterious changes. As for those who possess dark type of magic, their overall power rose but their complexion was mysteriously pale. Most of them had completely black eyes and their fingernails coupled with their lips were strangely black as well. As for those possessing supernatural powers, their monstrous form was somehow enhanced, they looked like monsters that have undergone mutation. Werewolves amongst the group were as big as full-grown bears and their claws exuded dark aura. Their eyes were blood red and their furs were quite spiky, meanwhile, the vampires in the group which were known for their extraordinary beauty had lost their graceful appearances and were more like ghastly creatures with protruding claws and terrifying fangs which seemed so sharp that these people believed it may be able to tear through steel. The most confusing thing about the issue was that this was that they were not bothered about the alterations in their looks, instead, they were joyous and most people fought against another just to get a chance to cultivate right in front of Derik''s mansion, where the aura was thicker. Along the way, Gerald spotted the usually black-robed councilman of the Cato kingdom who moved in a year ago. The old man was already at the end of his life but when he heard the magical effects of Derik''s death aura on all those possessing a form of evil magic, he left everything behind and joined the famous palace. Seeing him now, the wrinkles on the man''s skin vanished miraculously and he looked a lot younger than before. He sat in a cross-legged position, right beside Derik''s mansion, and cultivated in silence. The stunning change shocked these people. "The palace master is ready to see you, King Gerald and Lord Creed¡­ the rest shall remain here." Kira finally appeared from the building after some time and spoke up to them. He looked paler than usual and his black shoulder-length hair now had streaks of red dye on it. His glowing red eyes within the cloak was like a surging sea of blood and the aura which diffused from his body showed he has reached a realm beyond something mere peak silver realm elites were at but he was still far from the gold realm. The stunning speed of his growth terrified everyone, including Creed. If the palace of the dead should choose to revolt, the only ones that can match their strength are members of the palace of life. But this did not bother Gerald since he already trusted Derik. They were soon led into the mansion under numerous envious gazes and they were taken into an empty room on the first floor, there they gained access to the underground tunnel, leading to Derik''s underground training chamber. If it weren''t for the fact they were following Derik''s voice, they wouldn''t have been able to make it this far since Derik''s aura was preventing them from seeing where they were going. At last, they arrived in front of a mighty black iron door, with just their senses, they could feel the monstrous aura sealed within the other side of the iron door. If they were not familiar with Derik, they would have mistaken the person at the other side of the room as the angel of death. "Speak¡­" Derik spoke softly from the other side of the room. "I demand to know master Derik''s intentions¡­ You were quite capable of saving all of Cato if you sent your undead generals on time a year ago¡­ yet you waited till the last moment, which leads to the death of hundreds of thousands of humans! Our kind!!" Creed spoke passionately with rage burning in his eyes and his aura rising. Bang!! The military general felt like a mountain was dropped on his back and he instantly fell on both knees. A bone-cracking sound was heard from the man''s knees and he spat out a mouthful of fresh red blood. "Silence¡­ You will keep your emotions and lower your voice when you speak to me¡­ Do you understand?" Derik''s voice was icy cold. "Yes¡­ I understand¡­" Creed responded quickly as he had this illusion of a pair of fiery darkish purple eyes peeping into his soul! "Gold realm!" He screamed silently and his body was already covered in sweat. "I did not come here to save all of mankind¡­ No, that''s what a hero does and I''m not a hero¡­ I''m only doing this to eradicate the being that dares to threaten my existence¡­ and to do this I require capable fighters¡­ The remaining ten thousand civilians I saved is just to make sure Cato does not fade¡­ This is mercy¡­ My mercy¡­ Be grateful" Derik answered indifferently. His answer made these people shudder in fear! Who would have thought this death mage was so ruthless. "What about Alda and Baldmar? We can step in and pull them out now¡­ we can prevent the same calamity that befell Cato from happening to them¡­" Gerald spoke after some time. "Why would I want to save them? I can simply use the same method I used for Cato on them¡­ This will go smoother that way" Derik responded almost instantly. "What about Elsa¡­" Gerald said those words with a sly smile on his face. He was obviously trying to blackmail Derik''s feelings for the elf "What about her?" Derik responded after a short pause. "Will you let her die? She may be amongst the casualties if you let the same bloody situation that occurred in Cato repeat itself" Gerald was stunned by Derik''s answer. "She won''t¡­ I am watching over her¡­ even now¡­ She is safe¡­ The rest does not really matter to me¡­" Derik answered coldly. "How? You!!" Gerald''s eyebrows were knitted after Derik responded. "Hahaha! Look at it from this perspective Gerald, my friend¡­ I am weakening them before bringing them over¡­ Gyro lacks the resources to feed these extras for a long time, neither do we have the space to accommodate them¡­ We cannot expand as long as the threat of those dragons remains and I''m not planning to let them go even after this crisis¡­ More than ever, the world needs a united force¡­ I''ll forcefully bring them under our rule¡­ There are no negotiations here¡­ Even Cyrus agrees with my method¡­" Derik''s voice faded slowly as he spoke and when he was done, his presence had completely vanished. Gerald and Creed were stunned when they heard Derik''s intentions. They never thought this kid would think this far! Renewed fear for the death mage appeared in their hearts and they dared not linger here any longer. They could only leave the place and relay Derik''s words to everyone. 202 Chapter 202: Rock dragon appears! Its been a year since Kaido''s defeat and the destruction of Cato. During this time, the land which was once occupied by the great kingdom was overrun by magic beasts, and not even a single human was spared. The survivors of Cato were invited into Gyro under Derik''s orders with an agreement that they will forsake all former titles they may have held on to in the past and become normal citizens of Gyro. Since these people had nowhere else to go, they could only swallow their pride and agree to this condition. With this settled, the main natives of the Gyro kingdom were all moved to the capital, leaving the smaller towns and villages which was close to the main walls of Gyro to the refugees. At first, Derik''s plan seemed unrealistic but when the citizens of Gyro were been moved, the forces of the palace of the dead acted under Derik''s commands and led these people to the hills and mountains behind the capital which was at the edge of the kingdom. Together with the financial support and labor support of the royal family, these people were able to erect new settlements there and numerous trade routes were created. These lands which have remained unused for quite a while in Gyro was finally put to use. During this one year time period, the sun guardian knight was admitted into the palace of life he has been receiving treatments form high ranking oracles in the palace. His injuries were severe and some of his limbs were torn off. Even though it was possible to use magic and have them regrow, it would take a certain amount of time. Since then, no one has heard any news concerning the sun cosmic spirit host, Kaido. After Creed, Gerald and the others left the palace of the dead, rumors of the death mage and the life mage breaking into the gold realm spread like wildfire. They suddenly became the most important people in the continent and Gyro was officially considered as the safest kingdom in the continent. The reputation of the holy church fell as well, after the disappearing act they pulled off in Cato. These people who claimed to be the preachers of life, peace, and prosperity, vanished the moment the kingdom that has housed them for over a century needed them the most. With this, the holy church branch in the elf kingdom of Alda was attacked by angry mobs and discontented warriors and mages of various levels. If it were in the past, the church would have quickly retaliated and subdued these people but since the appearance of the moon cosmic spirit host, the could only escape the kingdom through an unknown method. No one knew whether they vanished or found a safe route through which they escaped the continent, especially since just disappeared mysteriously. At this time, both Alda and Baldmar reached out to Gyro in hopes that the kingdom will deploy some of its gold realm masters to help defend their kingdoms. Strictly following Derik and Cyrus'' orders, their requests were denied, using the flame and silver dragons disappearance as an excuse. According to them, the location of the flame dragon and the silver wind dragon remained unknown and no one could tell where or when they would appear next. The security of Gyro was their top priority, so they were not willing to risk the safety of their kingdom for others. Both parties quickly withdrew their offer and cut off all connections with Gyro as they waited for the two dragons left to awaken. No one knew when they would awaken but guessing from where the other two dragons appeared they were sure these dragons will appear right in front of their kingdoms. Unfortunately, they didn''t have to wait too long, six months later¡­ Two dragons awakened at the same time¡­ .....................¡­ Alda was the homeland of the elves which was considered as a dreamland for anyone who loves nature. They lived in places filled with lush green vegetation and amazing ancient trees, their countries defenses were closely related to their nature magic and natural environment. Due to their strong connection with nature, they were not harassed viciously by magic beasts like other kingdoms even when the beasts began revolting, leaving only stubborn high-level magic beasts to deal with. As such, they weren''t too affected by the magic beast revolt until recently. As awakening of one of the four legendary elemental dragons drew near, the magic beasts grew more aggressive, and soon large scale battles between the elves and the magic beasts broke out. Roar!!!!! A roar that caused earthquakes shook the kingdom of Alda and the civilians were terrified. A massive green dragon with rock-like scales forcefully dragged its body out of the earth! Its eyes were emerald green and poisonous greenish liquid appeared dripped down its massive fangs which were as large as normal-sized buildings. Just like its fangs, its claws were also green with poisonous liquid substances dripping off its claws. Its body was surrounded by green vines which looked like it was holding on to its brown rocky scales together. Each time it exhaled through its mouth, it released of green poisonous mist. This beast wasn''t like any other dragon since it lacked wings. Its hands were larger than that of other dragons and its legs were firmly embedded into the ground. Roar!!! With a resounding roar, the earth dragon stomped the ground with its feet and the earth from its location which was over a hundred meters away from Alda began to spit continuously while traveling towards the kingdom! To deal with this, numerous mages of the sliver realm with an affinity to the earth element, Elsa included gathered and poured out their joint powers to stop the fissure. "Ahhhhh!" With over three thousand silver realm elites of various grades joining hands, they were able to stop the splitting the earth. They screamed and retreated, with their faces as pale as a sheet of paper. They managed to stop the fissure but they were drained to the last drop. "This¡­ This is too much!" Elsa blurted out while staring at Isabel with fearful eyes. 203 Chapter 203: Young Lords 1 "Its time¡­." A pair of fiery red eyes yanked open withing the cluster of dark aura and quickly lit up the darkroom. The flaming skulls could be seen dancing wildly in his eyes and skin color was as white as a sheet of paper, there was no sign of blood or redness in it. He looked like a walking corpse. This man sat in a crossed-legged position with only his black pants on. His hair at this time was shoulder length and it twirled from side to side as if it had a mind of his own. Derik''s shoulder was broad and he had a muscular figure. After he broke into the low grade of the gold realm, his body had completely merged with his werewolf side and his aura was more vicious than ever. He was taller now and for a strange reason, he couldn''t grow a mustache or beards like others in their mid-twenties. He thought about it for a while and realized that Cyrus and the other guardian spirit hosts much older than him lacked mustaches, just like Francis. "It must be a side effect of our special magic types¡­" Derik muttered to himself. He flexed his muscles and each time he moved too quickly, the explosive power his body released stunned him as well. Even though did not train in his wolf abilities for long, it seemed as its overall power rose with his realm. At this level, he was comparable to a gold realm guardian knight in terms of strength. Woooosh! Suddenly a blinding golden light appeared into the room from nowhere and the darkness in the room was suppressed to a certain level, in an instant the dark aura surrounding the palace of the dead vanished. Derik remained seated as he gazed at the face of the man right in front of him and with a blow from his mouth, a cloud of darkish purple aura poured out of his mouth like a typhoon and completely consumed the light aura. "Ha!" Cyrus laughed as he retreated. "You are the real deal I guess" He added with a bright smile on his face. His body was had was slightly golden in color and within the white hood was a pair of bright golden eyes. He was slightly shorter than Derik and just like Derik, his body was smooth and sleek with no form of hair on his chin. "You dare enter the palace of the dead without an invitation, You have become quite fearless" Derik laughed as he sprang on his feet at a lightning-fast speed. Bam! His eyes narrowed as he struck the empty behind him and the shockwave from his attack shook the room. A figure soon appeared at that position with Derik''s fist in his hand and a wild grin on his face. "A mage with enough strength that can rival that of a guardian knight of the same level¡­ You are a monster" Kaido said with a glint of fear in his eyes. Kaido''s orange hair was cut short and he wore his usual golden armor but this time, this armor was inferior. Derik knew his growth type golden armor was destroyed during the previous battle with the silver wind dragon, only his magic broadsword remained. "I''m guessing Cyrus filled you in with the plan¡­" Derik asked coldly. "Yes¡­" Kaido let go of Derik''s fist and shook his head as he answered. "And you''re okay with it?" Derik asked with knitted eyebrows as he stared at Kaido''s face looking for some sort of facial expression. "Of course¡­ Sacrifices are necessary¡­ This continent needs its forces to be united¡­ If crippling them is what we must do, then let''s do it¡­" Kaido answered indifferently. Only then did Derik''s expression relax a bit. He waved the storage ring in his hand and a sleeveless tight black shirt appeared from it. "Then, its time for the young lords of this continent to make their moves¡­ Let''s wipe out the magic beasts in this continent¡­" Derik laughed viciously. ................................................ In Baldmar which was located at the edge of the continent, a storm appeared and monstrous waves rose so high that they kissed the sky. Black clouds gathered and a heavy downpour occurred, making everyone restless. Standing at the very edge of a cliff was a blazing red lizard man with crimson red scales and fiery blue eyes. The rain which fell from the skies, evaporated each time it reached anywhere a hundred meters near the lizard. Behind him were about five thousand lizardmen with mixed ranks, with more than fifty percent of them at the silver realm while just about a thousand was still at the bronze realm. The lizardmen may lack numbers when compared to other races and their life span was the shortest but their innate talent was stunning, helping all of them reach the high realms at a stunning speed. They easily had more than three thousand silver realm experts with over two thousand of them at the peak grade of the silver realm. As they live according to their traditions and ancient laws, the strongest Lizard had the right to battle for the position of the village head. Considering the current situation of the world and Ahika''s newfound strength, the ruling family hurriedly stepped down and handed over the gold level magic fire trident which was passed down from village head to village head. They have been expecting the arrival of the dragon and their females have already been moved to the underground tunnels which were built to hid them during times of war. Ahika stood at the edge of the cliff as stared at the rising tide. A sky blue dragon that had the head of an ancient Chinese dragon and the snake-like body length of close to a kilometer long. This beast had extremely little hands and feet, lacking the usual especial wings which most dragons had. As it rose above the sea, carrying a large portion of the sea with it as it rose into the sky. Its water domain made it able to rise with the sea and manipulate and generate water as well. Its breath was chilly and its frosty aura spread like a plague, covering the whole kingdom of Baldmar in ice in just a moment. 204 Chapter 204: Young Lords 2 Just by gazing at this monster for a brief moment, Ahika knew this magic beast was a sea type creation. He lazily glanced around coldly as the frost sped past them and quickly engulfed Baldmar in an instant. "You dare make such a move in my presence? Very Bold!"Ahika roared arrogantly and massive heatwave spread across his and covered the entire village like kingdom. His crimson red eyes were fixed on the serpent dragon above and he considered taking making the first move. Hmm? Only after Ahika acted to counter its frost did the water dragon recognize the existence of these people below, especially Ahika who was scorching red by now. It with a raised eyebrow and an inquisitive look on its terrifying face, the dragon opened its mouth and a massive water torrent that could easily cover half of Baldmar shot towards the warriors and mages of the kingdom. "Protect the village¡­ don''t let these monsters get anywhere near our children and wives¡­ As for this beast, I''ll deal with it quickly!" Ahika said before shooting into the sky, leaving shattered earth at the point where he once stood. "Fire lizards breath!" He roared and spat out a massive wave of scorching flames that clashed with the water torrent. Bang! A thick cloud of steam appeared right in front of the two combatants and none took the initiative to attack. The water serpent wore an intrigued expression on its face as it gazed at the little lizard man that dared to challenge it with the fire element. "This world has become more interesting¡­ what''s your name child?" The water dragon suddenly spoke, leaving all those that heard its voice in a confused state. When did magic beasts start talking? .......................................................... Back in Gyro, all the members of Cato residing in the towns closest to the walls of the kingdom were asked to retreat deeper into the kingdom. Under everyone''s excited gaze three powerful figures stood in midair and conversed in hushed tones. Their aura was like the vast sea and it easily covered the kingdom. Midway into the discussion, two more figures appeared, they were the two undead generals of the death mage. Everyone looked at the sky expectantly as they waited for these five people to finish their conversation and a few minutes later, four vanished and only one remained. Derik stood so high up in the air that he could literarily kiss the clouds. Black clouds gathered and loomed over the kingdom and the next second the spatial dome surrounding the kingdom began to crumble, the roars, howls, and growls of the hordes of magic beasts outside filled the air and the people were terrified. Without the spatial barrier of the spatial mage, the mighty walls of Gyro will not last long against these bloodthirsty magic beasts and when the wall is destroyed, Gyro will be annihilated. They all gazed at the death mage with expectant eyes, hoping he will explain what was in his mind "For how long will the human race hide behind these walls, scared of the magic beasts? Will you all forever be contempt with a life where you wake up every single day of your lives and fear that these walls may crumble and your lives will be stolen away from you by these beasts?" Derik''s voice was soft and had a soothing effect that everyone in Gyro felt. His blazing red eyes were fixed on the crumbling blue spatial barrier. "This has to stop¡­ I wish to build a future where the next generation can laugh happily and fear nothing¡­ where they can go outside these damn walls and play freely¡­ For this purpose, I have chosen to eradicate these beasts here and now¡­ You need not fight people of Gyro, just sit back and what your guardian eradicate your fears once and for all¡­" Derik''s gaze drew colder as he finished his short speech and in the next second, numerous purple flashes of lightning struck towards the southern gate of Gyro, giving these beasts access to the town located at that spot, Briton! With a passage opened and his death aura spread across the walls of the kingdom to frighten them away, the magic beasts abandoned their plan of destroying the walls and ran into the kingdom through the shattered gate. Those magic beasts who were at the other sides of the kingdom possessed low intellect as well, so they all ignored the walls and surged towards the southern part of the kingdom a path has already been created for them. The magic beasts which were gifted with the ability of flight were struck down by numerous bolts of purple lightning the moment they reached the walls of Gyro regardless of their level. Derik''s figure vanished from the eyes of everyone, leaving them dazed by his words. Creating a world without magic beasts? Wiping them out? His words terrified everyone but also brought hope and joy into their hearts. Numerous visual magic bugs were released around the kingdom in an instant, surging towards Briton where the battle will take place and multiple water orbs were created for the civilian to watch their guardian''s fight. The people of Cato have long since abandoned their homes, seeing Derik act now, they considered remaining here for the rest of their lives and becoming a part of Gyro if the death mage can accomplish this task. Derik appeared above Briton with a sinister smile on his face, behind him were the five youths under his care whom he brought with him in hopes of making them understand what it means to be strong. "This will be my first official lesson to you guys¡­" Derik spoke to them softly with his hands placed behind him and his red eyes getting even brighter. "When you meet a threat, don''t just defeat it¡­ or harm it¡­. Eradicate!" Derik suddenly roared as the magic beasts entered Briton. His death aura spread like a tidal wave and crashed into the first batch that appeared, forcibly draining them of their life force, leaving behind thousands of monster corpse. This method was used on the second, third, and fourth batch of magic beasts that arrive, filling Briton with a sea of magic beast corpses. Those who watched this happen were terrified of the death mages'' power and they began viewing Derik in a new light. He could forcefully steal a weaker foes life force with just his aura, didn''t that mean he could do it to them as well? Even those five kids who were the closest to Derik were scared of this ability. Everyone could clearly feel Derik''s power rise for every batch of magic beasts he killed. At this point, even these magic beasts with low intelligence could tell that entering this kingdom was just a death sentence. Soon the horde began to retreat but Derik had no intention of letting them go so easily. He breathed out a gray mist that filled Briton in the blink of an eye. Soon thousands of corpses belonging to the magic beasts began to move. Like robots, they all sprang on their feet, each possessing a terrifying death aura. "Spread out¡­ Kill them all until none is left alive, my undead army!" Derik said with a vicious smile on his face. His figure then vanished along with the dark clouds that surrounded Gyro, leaving behind only stunned viewers and five terrified kids in Briton. 205 Chapter 205: Chaos 1 The earth green dragon in Alda sneered at these people when it realized it took the whole kingdoms'' power to stop its casual attack. Didn''t the dragons that awakened it ask it to be wary of the new inhabitants of the continent? The silver wind dragon and the Flame dragon were both injured after their awakening so the earth dragon was actually expecting worthy foes. Only to arrive and see a bunch of weaklings. It let out a roar that sounded more like a burst of laughter and a massive green mist gathered around its mouth. Dragon breath: Poison breath! The earth green dragon spat out a massive wave of green mist that sped towards Alda. Strangely the green poisonous mist did not have any effect on the plants and vegetation around the dragon but the warriors and mages of Alda feel the deadly aura residing in the green mist which was big enough to cover the whole kingdom. "You are not invited here¡­ Leave at once!" A soft and enchanting voice echoed from the legendary floating palace of Alda. Moon magic: Moonlight!!! Bam! A silver beam of energy busted a massive whole from the floating palace, pierced through poisonous smoke, and crashed into the earth dragons'' chest. Following this up, the silver realm mages of Alda, used the last bit of their power two create a massive wall which was over a hundred meters tall and wide to prevent the poisonous mist from reaching the kingdom. Some passed out due to exhaustion and the others could barely stand. Bang!! The earth dragon was forced to retreat by a few steps but the attack only left a small crack on its dragon rock scales which immediately healed itself. Woooooosh! A silver beam of light flew out of the hole on the floating palace, traveling over a hundred kilometers in just a second. Diana was in her usual growth type silver mage robe and blue hood covered her face but it failed to hide the glowing silver eyes. Above her head was a massive crescent moon which was the size of a small mountain, making Diana look insignificant. "Have a test of the power of my growth type magic weapon" Diana spoke softly but the disdain in her eyes was quite visible. The massive crescent moon behind her let out a bright glow and a massive silver beam fell upon the earth dragon, forcing it to retreat further away from the Kingdom as it struggled with the silver beam. Roar!!! The earth dragon was known for its study defense and impenetrable rock scales which is rumored to be the hardest substance in this world. Its amazing healing capabilities even made it more terrifying and annoying to battle. In such a situation, the earth dragons opponents are thrown into a state of despair and depression. Seeing that her attack only left a web-like crack on its chest scales and the cracks immediately vanished, Diana''s facial expression crumbled in an instant and she quickly gathered her aura for the next strike. "Puny mortal¡­ Do you think you can harm the great earth dragon with just a few strikes? Come on¡­ show me all you are capable of!" The earth dragon suddenly spoke which startled everyone. These beasts could speak the general language of the Aldmar continent? How is that possible? Diana remained still, stunned by what she just heard, who would have thought a day would come when she will meet up with magic beasts which could talk. It''s just like saying a dog can talk! "Don''t waste my time little girl¡­ Strike me!" The earth dragon sneered. It was planning to break its opponents fighting spirit by flaunting its terrifying defensive capabilities. "You asked for it!" Diana roared as she gathered her aura and made some strange hand seals, drawing strange symbols in the empty air. "Moon magic: Three worlds collide!" Diana roared and her silver aura let out a terrifying flash. Three massive moons appeared around the earth dragon and some sort of invisible gravity prevented the earth dragon from leaving the center. The massive three moons were comparable to the size of the earth dragon and they soon began approaching it. "Moon magic: Fourth world crash!" By this time, Diana''s body was completely shrouded in silver aura and the massive crescent moon behind the moon cosmic spirit host, moved at blinding speed and appeared above the earth dragon. Like an ancient mountain, bearing down on the magic beast. "Moon magic: Moon formation seal!" Diana roared and the earth dragon, alongside the four moons, were lifted off the ground and into the air. "You will remain sealed for a thousand years¡­" Diana''s voice was full of disdain when she spoke A massive silver aura glowed and a fifth moon appeared from below and slammed into the other four violently. At this point, the earth dragon''s body could not be seen anymore, only the glowing green eyes could bee seen in the darkness between the five moons. "Ha!" Diana exhaled heavily and the silver glow which surrounded her initially was gone. Her glowing eyes had deemed significantly and her body staggered in mid-air slowly. "I did it¡­ I achieved something even Kaido couldn''t¡­ hehehe! Doesn''t I mean, I''m stronger?" She laughed weakly. Even though her growth type magic weapon was required to complete the sealing formation and it completely reduced her fighting capabilities by a reasonable portion, she didn''t regret her actions. All she had to do now is cultivate for a few years till she reaches the peak grade of the gold realm, she can then remove the seal and retrieve her magic weapon. With her improved strength coupled with that of the Alda kingdom, they should be able to kill off this earth dragon. "If this is the best you can do¡­ Then I''m disappointed!!!" The earth dragons'' voice shook the cloud and before Diana could react, a massive earth spike shot out from the ground below and pierced deep into her abdomen! "Ah!" Diana let out a faint cry as she looked up to the moon formation she set up earlier. She was wondering how the dragon could still use its abilities even after it was sealed away by her. Only then did she notice the visible crackles on all five moons! Her sealing formation was crumbling and her growth type magic weapon would be destroyed as well if she doesn''t act fast! 206 Chapter 206: Chaos 2 Roar! Ahika''s voice grew louder as his body expanded rapidly. The fact that the water dragon spoke was quite stunning but his path is not the type that could let him think things through in battle. The rage path was designed to throw the user into a blind, endless feeling of rage where he or she will have no other thoughts other than ways of destroying their foe. Pushing every shocking thought that popped up in his mind to the back of his head, Ahika focused on the provocative actions of the water dragon, thus his rage started building and his strength rose rapidly as well. His second path is called the blazing demon, this path was specifically designed by his guardian spirit to help complement his already intense flame abilities and improve his offensive capabilities. During this time where the fate of the inhabitants of this planet remains unknown, the best way is to do is to strengthen the inhabitants as much as they can. The blazing demon path allowed the user to increase their body size according to their power level, the stronger they got, the bigger they can grow. This ability was specifically designed to complement Ahika''s rage path which constantly rose his overall power the angrier he gets. It didn''t take long before Ahika became massive, as big as a mountain, with blazing red eyes and scorching orange scales all over its body. He swiped his massive fiery tail at the water dragon, planning to knock it out of the water domain which it was hiding within. Sizzle! The moment its tail entered the water domain, the blazing tail almost lost all its glow and the attack speed reduced drastically. Within the sea dragons domain, the fire element loses a sizable chunk of its power and the attack speed of everything within the domain is greatly reduced. Under the effects of the domain, Ahika''s tail swipe was like a slow-moving ball, lazily rolling towards a world-renown athlete. Under such conditions, the water serpent easily evaded the attack and retaliate by creating numerous water whips to bind Ahika. Unfortunately, just as its water domain was strong enough to negate Ahika''s fire attacks, Ahika''s blazing fire domain easily turned the water to steam the moment it entered its range. Roar!!! Ahika at this point could only see the sea dragon, his rage was so intense that he no longer cared about the people below and unleashed all his power. His sole purpose now was to eradicate the being that dared to challenge him. So, what if it has the water element? All he needs is more firepower to completely obliterate the water domain! "Blazing fire magic: Fire salamanders breath!" Ahika roared as he shot a concentrated beam of scorching red flames at the water domain which surrounded the sea dragon. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The beam of scorching red flame could only blast a hole in the water domain but since the domain was as huge as a boundless sea, the sea dragon could easily swim off to evade the beam. Splash! Right after that, a large chunk of water from the ocean below rose and merged with the water domain, replenishing all it lost. "Hahaha! To think I''ll meet a foe who dares to challenge me with the fire element¡­ Who would have thought a day like this will come¡­ Even that old flame dragon dares not challenge me at a location like this¡­ Yet, a mere lizard has the guts to do this¡­ The new inhabitants of this land are truly bold!" The water dragon laughed hysterically. The Baldmar kingdom is located at the rocky plains, just at the edge of the continent. Beside it is an endless ocean which no one dared to explore, rumor has it that the holy church came from a continent somewhere within the endless ocean. The fact that the water dragon was hibernating here all this while did not really shock these lizard men since it''s the only logical thing to do for a sea monster, but this was a massive issue that cannot be dealt with so easily. With an endless source of water on its side, it is safe to say that this water beast can defeat any person on this continent. Chances are, it can defeat beings a level above, that is why it could talk down on Ahika while the battle took place. ROAR!!! The beasts words infuriated Ahika even more and he stretched out his hands into the empty void and a massive fire trident appeared from nowhere. The rage in his face was replaced with a sneer as the trident lit up and was consumed by raging flames. The golden trident was the gold level magic equipment acquired by the lizardmen ancestors at the very beginning. This special equipment was so unique that they could subdue the three kingdoms at that time, after which they enough power to create their own kingdom. The trident had no specific element and only takes on the element of the user, drastically enhancing its power up to the gold realm level. Since it was this way, all clans in the Lizardmen civilization, be it the water clan, rock or fire clan could utilize this equipment. As long as they managed to take the position of the village head, they will be given the magic weapon. The only drawback was that those below the gold realm would die after utilizing the power of this equipment for a short while. This terrifying drawback has lead to the death of numerous prominent figures in the lizard race but that wasn''t the issue now. As Ahika has broken into the gold realm, he had no reason to fear the backlash of this godly tool. His hands gripped the golden trident tightly as the flame blazing around it increased, Ahika soon began swinging the trident around skillfully and numerous waves of crimson red flames poured out of it, circling around Ahika. "This¡­" The sea dragon retreated slowly as its facial expression gave away its fear for the magic weapon in Ahika''s hands. "Thinking of leaving? I think not!!!" Ahika roared as he struck towards the direction of the water dragon with his trident! "Tidal waves!" Ahika roared and a massive flaming tidal wave exploded and quickly surged towards the water blob which the sea dragon was hiding within. It was like actual waves caused by the sea but this time it was made of flames. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! With each wave of fire that hit, the water domain of this beast would shrink and a cloud of steam will rise into the air. To deal with this, the sea dragon continuously drew water from the ocean below it, replenishing the lost water, but to do maintain this, the water dragon was forced into a passive condition. "Not enough? Well then, let''s end it!" Ahika sneered as the flaming spear lit up once again and it burnt so wildly that even the lizardmen below could feel the intense heat. A sea of raging flames appeared above Ahika and quickly surged towards the trident held over his head. The scene made him look like a flame god and the lizardmen below had the urge to bow and worship this fire guardian spirit host. "Shatter apart! Flaming trident!" Ahika roared and threw the spear at the water dragon. Wooooosh!!! Like a rocket, the flaming spear turned into a thin orange light as it ruthlessly pierced through the water domain and still pushed forward! 207 Chapter 207: Unexpected 1 Peng!Peng!!Peng!!!Diana retreated hastily towards Alda bothers as she manipulated her damaged crescent moon magic weapon to block the earth spears that were sent flying towards her. Puti!!!She spat out a mouthful of blood, looking as pale as a sheet of paper with beads of sweat trickling down her smooth skin and her small pink lips stained red with blood.Her sealing formation failed to completely seal the power of earth dragon. Thanks to a successful sneak attack from the ancient magic beast, her condition was pretty bad and she couldn''t strengthen the formation even more.When she realized the five moons would crumble under the power of the earth dragon she was forced to withdraw her magic weapon but it was already damaged by then, reducing her overall capabilities by a reasonable portion.Peng!Peng!!Peng!!!Each the earth spears struck her crescent moon, she felt like a thousand needles struck her heart fiercely but she knew it was way better than letting the earth spear hit her directly. All she could do now was hide behind the massive crescent moon as she retreated. "Hahahaha!!! If this is the strongest warrior this puny kingdom can produce, then it should be reduced to dust for it''s incompetence!" The earth dragons voice was like a thousand thunderclaps roaring fiercely in the skies, warriors and mages who were below the silver realm were even forced to cover their ears as it started bleeding terribly."Ah!" Diana screamed in pain as she felt an aching pain in her head and lost control of her powers. The moon cosmic spirit host soon lost her control over her element and fell from the skies like a normal youth in her mid twenties. Her eyes rolled to the back of head and her consciousness began to fade."Lady Diana!" the elves watching from afar screamed in unison.Rumble!Rumble!!Rumble!!!The skies shook as the four massive moons binding the earth dragon began to shake violently, only to crumble completely a few seconds later. The fact that the destruction of sealing formation harmed Diana shows that the she was linked to the mysterious sealing formation.Bang!!!!The earth dragon fell to the ground with a bang. Its eyes let out a green flash as it gathered green mist in its mouth.Earth dragon: Poison breath!!!Diana who was free falling, as she weakly watched the green mist surging towards her. The massive crescent moon that was above her has already lost it''s power, falling towards her as well. Since she could no more maintain her control over her magic tool, It was just a massive weirdly shaped gray boudler."Kaido¡­ I failed¡­ I''ll be going first then¡­" Diana muttered as she shut her eyes slowly as she waited for the green mist or the gray boulder to crush her.Bam!"You did well¡­ leave the rest to me now¡­" A soothing voice entered her ears. For some strange reason, she felt like pouring out all her sorrows and pain to the owner of this voice. She felt a warm energy flowing into her body, healing all her hidden injures."I tried¡­ I still wasn''t strong enough" Diana couldn''t hold it back in anymore and began sobbing.With her eyes closed, her feeble hands wrapped around the strangly perfect body of this person. Only then did she feel safe. Her eyelids opened slowly and Cyrus glittering face appeared into view.One of his hands was raised over his hand and with one finger, he stopped the falling massive crescent moon. Right in front of them was a massive golden divine gate was in front of them, preventing the green mist from moving forward."For someone so strong, you are quite emotional¡­ Just like every Lady should be¡­" Cyrus eyes were like a pair of golden lights that could even peek into a persons soul."Kalos¡­ Begin extraction¡­ I''ll deal with this little problem¡­" Seeing that the lady was too dazed to speak, Cyrus spoke to Kalos who was standing behind him."Wait¡­ You want to fight that thing alone?... Its really strong¡­" Diana''s grip on Cyrus tightened, she was reluctant to let him go."Hahaha¡­ The only two absolute powers in this life is life and death¡­ If I could battle a similar beast when I was at the peak grade of the silver realm¡­ I can do even better now i''m at the gold realm" Cyrus laughed softly with a hint of pride and arrogance in his golden eyes.Diana was annoyed by this, instead she felt elated. Those eyes belong to someone who worked his way to the top from the very bottom, unlike her who was created and gifted with a very high realm and power. That explains why the death mage and the life mage have always been stronger than her and Kaido. Their life and death experiences coupled with the understanding of their realms is not something that can be ignored.Wooosh!An invisible, yet gentle force suddenly loosened Diana''s grip on Cyrus, pushing her towards Kalos gently.From the corner of her eye she saw the massive figure of the earth dragon charging towards Cyrus. Cyrus on his own side stood gallantly like an unmovable mountain, fearlessly staring down on approaching earth dragon.The warm charming smile remained on his face as he tossed the massive crescent moon aside and a massive divine broadsword appeared above the earth dragon in an instant.This time it was just like any other broadsword with a pair of wings added to the golden hilts design and numerous unknown golden symbols etched upon the steel broadsword. Right after hit was a massive golden orb which fueled the golden divine broadsword with a golden glow."Split!" Cyrus muttered casually and threw his right hand down, making a fine golden line in the air."What?" The earth dragon felt danger looming over its heads.It stopped in its tracks and quickly dived to the side but its movements were quite slow, preventing it from completely evading Cyrus attacks.Bam!The massive hand of the earth dragon fell on the ground and a large amount of corrosive green blood gushed out of the wound!It was a clean cut!!Roar!!!The earth dragon roared out in pain and retreated quickly, gripping onto its wound with it''s left hand while looking at Cyrus with a stunned expression on it''s rigid face.Who would have thought a day would come when it would meet a being capable of killing it with a single blow?If it didn''t react when it did, Cyrus divine broadsword would have splitter it into two equal parts! 208 Chapter 208: Unexpected 2 Diana and the people of Alda were stunned by what they saw just now. Not only did Cyrus easily block the poisonous mist attack which required the combined forces of Alda silver realm elites, but he also severed the massive hand of the earth dragon so easily, it looked like a steel knife was been used to cut butter. He made it so easy and effortless that they began suspecting that the problem was Diana, maybe she was just too weak! Diana''s eyes were twitching with despair as she tried to recall how easy it was for Cyrus to penetrate this beasts defense alone. Her attacks only left shallow slash marks and even her ultimate fivefold sealing formation could only leave a bunch of web-like cracks on its scales, it wasn''t even able to deal any notable damage on this earth dragon. "Pls leave miss Diana, having you here will only put me in a disadvantaged position should this magic beast decide to strike at you¡­" Cyrus said with a soft tone without even turning back to look her in the face. "What about Kaido¡­ Is he¡­." Diana muttered as she slowly drifted to Kalo''s side. "He''s strong and well¡­ He should be aiding the Lizardman fire guardian spirit host in Baldmar as we speak¡­ You don''t have to worry about him¡­ He''s tough¡­ He won''t go down easily" Cyrus replied impatiently. Even then Diana seemed reluctant to leave Cyrus, for some reason staring at his broad back and his perfect figure made her feel warm inside. She felt scared that if she let this man fight this beast alone, he may not return. She knew better than anyone that Cyrus attack only dealt this much damage since the beast was caught off guard by it and she was sure that Cyrus was aware of this fact, that''s probably why he was in a hurry to send her away. But still, she didn''t feel like leaving. Diana took a step forward and was about to speak but then she felt a cold, lifeless hand on her shoulders, and her vision blurred only stabilizing when they arrived at the center of the elf kingdom, Alda, where everyone was gathered under Kalos instructions. "You don''t have to worry¡­ Unless something unexpected happens¡­ Young master Cyrus won''t fall¡­ he''s just as strong as the death mage¡­" Kalos'' cold voice resonated from behind her and she couldn''t help but feel scared. His tone was a bit informative but with a hint of cold murderous intentions, she knew that if she proceeded to disturb Cyrus, she may not leave to see how the end of the fight. ...............¡­.. "Why do Gyro decide to help us now, after we have suffered some casualties¡­ Do you wish to force us under your wings just like you humans did to Cato? Do you think we elves are weak?" Isabel''s voice resonated from the cluster of elves below. "Yes¡­ I think you all are weak¡­" Kalos answered indifferently as he stared at the elves that were barely up to fifty thousand in population. At this point, he believed the rumors that elves had to give up their fertility for their incredibly long lifespan. An average human can live up to a hundred years if they are lucky. As for those who choose to follow the path of power and cultivation, their live spans increase as their realms increase. Kalos lived for more than two centuries and was nearing the end of his life span even as a gold realm master, that was before Derik took his life. But elves could easily live for more than three centuries and this is for those that are normal. Kalos dared not think of the life span of elves that choose to cultivate. This explains why their reproductive abilities are reduced to the barest minimum, just to balance things out. "This world is at a critical stage where it can be destroyed at any time¡­ We have seen how every kingdom in the continent has suffered numerous losses at the hands of these magic beasts that chose to revolt¡­ It will only get worse and if we remain separated we will not survive¡­ I can guarantee that¡­?? Kalos explained softly. "So you wish to have us join our strengths together¡­ The four kingdoms become one! Why didn''t you make this offer from the very beginning" Elena, the elf queen walked out of the crowd and spoke up with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Would you have given up your territory and abandoned your home, if there was still a chance that you could win against that dragon?" Kalos sneered. And there was silence! Hearing Kalos words, they knew the obvious answer to the question. It was a big no! if by chance Diana was able to drive the earth dragon away, even with the looming threat of the silver wind dragon and the flame dragon whose location remained unknown, they still won''t give up their lands until death was knocking at their door. Elena knew this so she decided not to push the matter any further. "Even if we agree to this plan of yours and become a part of Gyro¡­ The kingdom is too small to absorb the members of the four great kingdoms of this continent¡­" Elsa appeared beside her mother and spoke. "Yes¡­ She''s right undead master¡­ Do you have a plan for that¡­ can you give us a place to live?" Isabel sneered. Woooosh! Kalos ignored the little silver realm archers provocations and waved his hands. From his eyes were a galaxy of stars that opened a portal behind him and a sorcerer wearing a black and red mage robe with a red hood appeared. The sorcerer only had a cultivation base of the mid-grade of the silver realm but his diabolic aura terrified all those at the peak grade of the silver realm amongst the elves! This guy was one of the numerous experts in the palace of the undead! Seeing the fearful looks on their faces, a satisfied smile appeared on Kalos'' face and he waved his hand again and muttered two words softly. "Show them" He said. "Yes, elder!" The sorcerer bowed respectfully before he conjured a massive water orb above these people. Soon, numerous images of the hordes of magic beasts been slaughtered all around Gyro''s borders appeared. Hundreds of thousands of undead magic beasts chased after the fleeing magic beasts even after they have gone as far as two hundred kilometers away from gyro''s bothers yet they were still hunted down viciously. A gray undead mist twirled around the gyro kingdom, spread like a plague. Every dead monster covered by this mist would instantly reincarnate and join in the hunt. A cluster of darkish purple aura stood in the sky with a pair of crimson red eyes, looking down on these beasts as if they were its prey. The images shown on the water orb instantly terrified everyone present and no one dared to speak a word for over a minute. They all tried to process the meaning behind Derik''s actions and only one thought kept popping up in their minds! Derik is trying to wipe out the magic beasts in the southern region of the continent! This is something no one has ever attempted since the beginning of the time!! 209 Chapter 209: Unexpected 3 All fifty thousand elves with Diana included, stood there stupefied by the images they just saw. They sliently watched the water orb vanish and the images fade."If the life mage is a god.. That death mage is a terrifying demon¡­ How can two opposing forces live in harmony with each other¡­" Diana muttered abscent mindedly but everyone heard her words."Where there is light, there must be darkness¡­ its just a natural law¡­ both sides can not survive alone¡­ the ultimate goal of life is for it to come to an end¡­ the main purpose of death is to give the stolen life to a new creature¡­ some of us call it reincarnation¡­ They understand these principles and put aside their differences just to make things work¡­ the list this little kingdom of yours can do is cooperate" Kalos spoke calmly to Elena who was deep in thoughts at that moment.Kalos clasped his hands together and a galaxy of stars created a portal right in front of the legendary floating tower."This passageway to Gyro will last for only three hours¡­ after that.. Who ever remains in here will forever be ignored by Gyro¡­ I also have the inhabitants of Baldmar to save¡­I can''t waste any more time here!" Kalos said coldly before vanishing.The elves stared at the massive portal which was left behind for them with mixed emotions in their eyes.....................Immediately Kalos and Diana left the scene, Cyrus breathed out a sigh of relief and focused his attention on the earth dragon who was also sizing him up for battle. The two powerful beings completely forgot the existence of the elves in Alda and they completely ignored their activities."How dare you interfer with my activities?" The earth dragon spoke, after it concluded that Cyrus was a threat."We are enemies right? The mighty four elemental dragons wish to reclaim their long lost territory by all means¡­ its only natural I stand against you¡­" Cyrus replied with a charming smile on his face."Don''t get cocky becase of a lucky strike!!" The earth dragon roared furiously.Even if Cyrus was slightly stronger than it, it still felt furious about the way Cyrus spoke to it."Hahahaha! In a battle between supreme masters there is no such thing as a lucky strike¡­ If you doubt me, why don''t we try it again" Cyrus eyes let out a golden flashed and the massive guardian weapon floating above his head began vibrating violently.The earth dragon knew it couldn''t settle this with words anymore and it''s eyes narrowed as it stared towards the direction of its severed arm."Go!" it roared and the green vines, tangled around its suddenly lunged towards the severed hands.Cyrus was not a stranger to the regenerative abilities of this earth dragon, so he instantly knew what was going through the mind of the earth dragon."Trying to reattach the severed arm? I must refuse!!!" Cyrus sneered as his hands moved swiftly, performing strange symbols in air, leaving behind only tons of after images in its place.Wooosh!Wooosh!!Wooosh!!!Numerous golden arcs flew out of his hands and instantly bombarded the green vines trying to reach the arm while the golden guardian weapon let out a shriek and shot towards earth dragon. This time it was aiming for the head."You!!!" The earth dragon was furious as it was forced to retreat continually while creating mountain sized earth walls to slow down the massive guardian weapon. Its eye let out a green flash and numerous green vines bursted out of the ground beneath Cyrus. Shooting into the air and binding him before he could escape."Interesting"Cyrus wasn''t fluttered by the recent development. His body let out a divine golden light which made the green vines wrapped around him fade in an instant.He flicked his fingers and his divine guardian weapon retreated before launching forward again. It began spinning like a dice and soon turned into a massive golden disk."Not enough!" The earth dragon roared as it stomped its feets on the ground.In an instant, numerous earth pillars shot out of the ground an flew towards the golden disk, colliding into it but they still couldn''t stop it.Bam!Bam!!Bam!!!"Not yet!" the earth dragon roared and massive green vines bursted out of the ground, alongside numerous earth pillars, ambushing the golden disk before it could reach the earth dragon. After putting in so much effort, they had succeeded in stop the golden guardian weapon in it''s tracks before it could land a blow."My turn" the earth dragon roared and stomped the ground once again.More earth pillars and massive vines surrounded Cyrus in an instant, assaulting him from all sides."For an ancient element being¡­ you talk too much!" Cyrus chuckled softly as he used his hands to write divine symbols in mid air. Surprisingly each letter he wrote appeared and in just a second he had written over a hundred letters."Divine words; scripture!!!" Cyrus roared and the letters suddenly exploded, flying towards different directions while obliterating everything it made contact with."Divine words: Rupture!" Cyrus eyes glowed fiercely as he turned his attention to the earth dragon.Instantly ancient letters flew out of his mouth began bombarding the earth dragon continuously!Bang!Bang!!Bang!!!Under the constant assualt, the earth dragons supposed sturdy rock scales began crumbling until its green, scale less skin was exposed."Damn it!!! Heavy metal!!" The green dragon spat out a mouthful of corrosive green blood as it roared fiercely.Peng!Peng!!Peng!!!Suddenly the exploding letters created metal clashing sounds each time it collided with the earth dragon.Woooosh!!!The severed hands were pulled over to its side by a sneaky vine which Cyrus failed to spot while he was focused on his attacks.Bam!The hand quickly reattached to its steel like shiny body, giving off a cold metallic feel which can withstand the world crumbling on it."Let''s give this a try then!" Cyrus eyebrows were knitted together as he grabbed the void and pulled"Split the skies¡­ Shatter the heavens!!" Cyrus roared and his divine weapon doubled in size gave out a golden glow which obliterated every vine binding it!"Split!" Cyrus muttered under his breath and made a few hand gestures, sending the massive guardian weapon at the earth dragon."Not enough!" The earth dragon roared and punched out repeatedly.Peng!Peng!!Peng!!!In a short while they had already exchanged over 50 blows. The earth dragon used its steel like fists to strike the golden guardian weapon each time it approached.Each time it was sent back, the guardian weapon would gather and fly towards the earth dragon again.Puti!Cyrus retreated by a few steps and spat out a mouthful of golden blood. He quickly withdrew his guardian weapon and retreated even further. Each time his guardian weapon took a hit, he too got hurt since they were linked."I''m getting bored of this!" Cyrus declared with narrowed eyebrows, while he wiped off the golden blood around his lips.Guardian weapon path: Divine spear god!!!A blinding golden flash around Cyrus and his graceful figure was replace with that of a wing being, adorned in a complete set of golden armor and a divine spear in his hands.Gripping the spear with both hands, Cyrus mumbled some words and took three steps forward."Stop this" Cyrus muttered disdainful.Boooom! 210 Chapter 210: Unexpected 4 Boooooooom! Cyrus exploded like a cannon and was propelled forward by an unknown force. He leaned forward with the divine spear in his hands firmly placed right in front of him. Wooooosh! Even before the dragon could make a move, a small hole could be seen at the center of the chest and its corrosive green blood gushed out like a spring. It turned around quickly to gaze at Cyrus who was about a hundred meters away now and his golden armor was covered in green blood. "That was nasty" Cyrus laughed lightly as he shook himself gently to get rid of the green blood on his armor. The earth dragon wore a terrified look on its face for the very first time as it gazed at Cyrus. The heavy metal ability turns its scales to steel, in this form it could take on numerous attacks from the other three dragons and leave with minor injuries! This ability has always been its trump card from the very beginning. Who would have thought that a day would come where it would meet a foe capable of piercing the defense he has always been so confident of? "The physical and the spiritual are quite different¡­ Fire and life are not at the same time¡­ one is physical while the other is spiritual¡­ Their effects are quite different¡­" Cyrus explained softly. He grabbed his spear tightly again and leaned forward with the spear right in front of him. "Shoot to kill¡­" He muttered softly and with a bang, his body was propelled forward by an unknown force. "Damn you!!!!" The earth dragon roared in anger and brandished its metal claw t him mercilessly. Bam!!! In the blink of an eye, Cyrus was already another hundred meters away from the earth dragon, a massive hole could be seen on its palm and green blood poured out of the wound. Cyrus'' eyes narrowed as he noticed the injury on the earth dragons chest was gone and the one on its palm was already healing up. "I guess I''ll have to speed things up¡­" Cyrus muttered. He grabbed his spear tightly again and leaned forward with the spear right in front of him but this time his gaze was cold and filled with murderous intentions Boooooooooooom!!! With a bang, he shot forward again, this time he was aiming for the beasts head. ....................................¡­ While the citizens of Alda rushed into the portal in two pairs, Diana, Elena and Elsa watched the battle between Cyrus and the earth dragon with mixed emotions in their eyes. Their battle wasn''t necessarily explosive and flashy but it was fast-paced and bloody. One had superior attack power while the other had immense defensive capabilities and god-like regenerative qualities. It was a question of who could remain calm in this situation! If any of them makes a single mistake in this fight, it could easily result in their death! Numerous golden lines flashed across the earth dragon while it retreated constantly, protecting its vital parts. It''s emerald green eyes looked calm even though it had been forced into a passive situation, it felt like it was willing to drag this battle out with Cyrus, just to find out who will run out of energy first. Over twenty minutes passed by at the battle still continued in this manner but Cyrus speed had slightly reduced, yet the earth dragon didn''t look tired. "Hurry up!" Elena began to feel restless as she perceived that the life guardian spirit host was nearing his limit. They still had elves to transport, along with numerous valuable items and formations. To do this, they still needed another twenty minutes ...Suddenly... Booooom!!! A massive beam of red light intercepted Cyrus as he was about to lunge at the earth dragon again. If not for his advanced sensory skills, he would have been struck by this sneak attack. His figure flashed and appeared about five kilometers away from the earth dragon, the golden armor on him flashed and vanished as he stared at the clouds with furrowed eyebrows while gripping his golden spear tightly. "I didn''t expect to meet you here¡­ Didn''t think you will have the guts to show your face here again" Cyrus said with a stern look on his face. Flap! Flap!! Flap!!! Descending from the clouds was the blazing red fire dragon. Its glowing red eyes were fixed on the escaping elves for a while, after deciding they were not worth its attention, it returned its attention to Cyrus. "Human¡­ You will not leave to see tomorrow¡­" the red dragon declared in a domineering voice as it appeared beside the earth dragon. "Who''s gonna kill me? You? Hahahaha! Little beast, You are not qualified¡­" Cyrus sneered "Little?" The red dragon''s eyes narrowed but it did not seem to be pissed off by Cyrus words. Instead, it calmly inspected the earth dragon for a while and nodded in satisfaction. "I didn''t need your help¡­ I would have ended it if the battle dragged on a bit longer¡­ Always poking your big fat nose into matters that do not concern you¡­." The earth dragon muttered in discontent with its hands folded around its chest. "Ha¡­ Defeat him, You? I hate to break it down to you but this kid is still holding back¡­ when he lets loose, not even your corpse will remain!" The fire dragon sneered at its old friend. "What?... How is that possible?" The earth dragon frowned slightly, refusing to believe the fire dragon''s words. "How do you think I got hurt badly? This human controls the life element, there is another which controls the death element¡­. Those two are the most powerful beings in this continent¡­ Aside from us, the four elemental dragons¡­" The fire dragon nodded its head as it spoke. .......................................¡­ "How long do you need¡­." Cyrus'' voice suddenly echoed in Elena''s head. She was startled at first but then she regained her composure and looked at Cyrus who was standing in mid-air while waiting for the two dragons to finish their conversation. "Fifteen at most!" Elena said confidently while staring at Cyrus back. "I''ll give you thirty! I''ll be leaving after then, whether you all are ready or not" Cyrus finally replied after some time. "That''s more than enough¡­" Elena replied. "Good!" 211 Chapter 211: Unexpected 5 Paw!The flaming trident broke through the water domain and pierced the body of the sea dragon.Roar!!!!!The sea dragon roared in pain and fell of the skies, crashing into the ocean below as it struggled to pull out the blazing red trident from its body.Woooosh!Ahika''s massive blazing body flashed and he appeared right in front of the sea dragon in just a second. He grabbed the sea magic beast violently by the head an pulled it back while grabbing onto the trident with the other hand, pushing it in.Roar!!!The sea dragon cried in pain as it stared at the vicious lizardman with fearful eyes.Bam!The sea dragon''s snake like body abruptly spun to the left as it used its tail to knock Ahika back. Not giving Ahika the time to recover and retaliate, it sprang forward like a cannon and wrapped its massive body around Ahika, trying to crush him with just brute strength.At this point, Ahika was just as big as sea dragon and his power level has risen to the mid grade of the silver realm, yet he was easily beating the crap out of sea dragon. No one needed anyone to tell them that this lizardman was as strong as the twin Kingdom guardians of the Gyro. If nothing unexpected happened, he will definitely kill the water dragon here and now!"Bind me? No one can hold me down!!!" Ahika laughed hysterically and his body lit up instantly.His body turned from bright red colour to blazing blue! The ocean which the were fighting in suddenly began boiling and the sea dragon screamed in pain. The trident stuck in the sea dragons body also lit up and turned blazing blue, engulfed by blue flames.Sizzzzzle!!!Everyone knew this was now an endurance match, the first one to let go will definitely die. While the lizardmen retreated and cheered on their new village head, their faces also showed signs of worry when they began hearing bone breaking sounds.The sea dragons grip on Ahika was tightening but Ahika didn''t seemed bothered at all. He just poured in more mana to his flames and it kept burning brighter, with this the sea dragon stopped moving and its face showed pained expression. After both combatants stayed in this position for close to 10 minutes, sea dragon let out a painful cry and fell off Ahika''s body.Bam!Ahika brutally grabbed on to the throat of the defeated sea dragon and his eyes let out a terrifying glow. At this point he looked like a terrifying blue fiery demon which cannot be dealt with easily.Wooosh!Waving his massive hand, the trident reacted to his will and pulled out of the sea dragons body on its own, shooting into Ahika''s hand. With the trident raised high, Ahika was about to deal the final blow but then an unexpected for appeared.Bang!Bang!!Bang!!!The rounds of lightning bolts descended from the skies and struck Ahika fiercely. Forcing him to let go of the sea dragon, while retreating a few steps back.Splash!The sea dragon fell into the ocean but reacted quickly by freezing the portion of the ocean where Ahika was. With the firm ice surrounding his legs, Ahika could not escape and since he was still dazed by the attack, he couldn''t summon his flames on time.Bang!Bang!!Bang!!!Three more bolts of lightning descended from the skies and a massive silver dragon appeared from the dark clouds above. Its eyes gave out a blue spark and from his mouth a terrifying wave of lightning bolts poured out, surging towards the weakened Ahika.Boooom!!Ahika''s massive body was shot into the air. His size decreased rapidly as his body began descending and his vision began blurring.Bam!Ahika fell into the arms of an orange haired youth with a similar blazing aura. But the aura of this man seemed more intense than his. Beside this man was a short round midget who was dressed in a black mage robe. He let out a holy and evil aura at the same time. This confused everyone present."We meet again" Kaido''s eyes narrowed and a vicious smile bloomed on his face."Human! You won''t escape this time!!!" The silver dragon roared furiously, releasing a wind wave which traveled towards Kaido."Hahaha! Last time I checked you fled the battle after I dealt with you¡­ you had to rely on swarms low level magic beasts to keep me occupied while you escaped!" Kaido laughed hysterically as he punched out viciouslyBang!With a punch, the wind wave was crushed instantly and there was silence. Looking out Ahika''s severe wounds, Kaido sighed and handed him over to Aldora before flying towards the sea and wind dragon confidently."His condition is critical¡­ Heal him while I deal with these pesky dragons¡­ as soon as Kalos arrives we can leave with the lizard race" Kaido spoke casually. "Do you really think you can handle them alone?" Aldora asked indifferently as he used his power to shroud Ahika''s body in golden light."Not t really¡­ but I can hold out for a while¡­ join me as soon as you are done¡­ we will hold out till Kalos gets here" Kaido responded honestly."Fine¡­ just be careful¡­." Aldora waved his tiny hands nonchalantly.With this Kaido approached the wind and sea dragons with anticipation and excitement in his heart. It''s been more than a year since he fought. During his recovery time he took a few pointers from Cyrus and was curious to know how much he has grow since then. Even though he had a higher cultivation base than Derik and Cyrus, after witnessing their power first hand, he unconsciously began to see them as his seniors.He waved his hands and his golden magic broadsword appeared in his hands. His eyes turned completely yellow and his skin was golden. An image of a massive blazing star appeared behind him as he released his scorching flame domain. With a vicious smile that revealed his set of perfect white teeth, he gazed at his foes with a hint of disdain in his eyes. He was going to disregard Aldora''s words and try to out an end to the life of these dragons here and now.This is his duty as one of the three heroes of legend! 212 Chapter 212: Facing off against two ancient’s beasts 1 Cyrus stared at these two dragons conversing amongst themselves like old friends. The fire dragon was the one always teasing the earth dragon while the earth dragon would always reply with vicious comments. But this didn''t seem to bother the fire dragon at all. The two conversed right in front of Cyrus as if they could end the life mage any time they want, they were literarily trying to tell the life mage that he was not a worthy opponent. Seeing this, Cyrus frowned slightly with clutched fists. He was slightly annoyed and his pride got hurt but he tried to retrain himself since the actions of these two ancient beasts gave him enough time to heal his wounds so he really didn''t bother himself much. By the way, he was able to create more time for the elves to get their things together and escape. He really wasn''t in a hurry to battle these two ancient beasts. "What if I try to end this¡­ here and now?" Cyrus muttered with a raised eyebrow the thought ran across his mind. He instantly flicked his hand and the storage hand in his hands let out a white light and a flaming orange sword with a golden winged hilt appeared in his hands. The weapon felt unnaturally heavy and he could feel the life form within this semi-god level magic weapon staring at him coldly. This is the blade that once belonged to the gold realm angel Kastiel. Cyrus was able to get hold of this tool when he defeated the angel and since then he didn''t dare try to subdue this weapon, back then his cultivation base was not enough but now he is at a level. "Since they are busy with their petty argument, I might as well start with this now" Cyrus spoke to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face. Back then he didn''t dare to do this but now, things are different. He gazed at this magic weapon coldly as he manipulated his aura to engulf the weapon. A magic weapon from the gold realm and above has some sort of life in them, these magic weapons choose their masters and remain loyal to them. The existence of life within these tools granted the users great advantages in battle and also prevents the weapon from being stolen. The only reason why this semi god tier magic sword did not immediately lash out on Cyrus back then was because he possessed the same divine aura as its master but his own was even purer. It went docile, reluctant to give itself over to Cyrus since his cultivation base was still lower than that of his master by a whole realm back then. But now things are different. As Cyrus aura surrounded the weapon and blazing orange energy began shooting out of the weapon as if it were testing how powerful Cyrus aura has become. It was testing his strength. "I see¡­ Lets put in a bit more effort then!" Cyrus laughed gracefully as the aura surrounding the weapon intensified and soon began fusing with that of the magic weapon. With just the cultivation base of the mid grade of the silver realm, he was able to challenge Kastiel who was at the mid grade of the gold realm back then. Now he has broken into the gold realm, he can easily subdue little characters amongst the angels with his aura. The fusion of their aura''s was like the bonding of the souls of the user and the weapon. It required a short time and shouldn''t be interrupted. While this happened, Cyrus aura grew larger and fiercer to the level where the fire dragon and the earth dragon could not ignore his existence any more. Seeing their foe''s power level rise at a steady rate, these people were terrified and they instantly knew they could not let this kid progress any further. Fire breath! Poison breath!! Both supernatural beasts wasted no time in attacking Cyrus while the fusion was still in process. If they could disrupt the fusion process, it will severely injure Cyrus and even create a backlash that could break his cultivation. "In a haste? Chat a bit longer¡­ I''ll be with you shortly" Cyrus said with the same unconcerned charming looks on his face as he waved his free hand and a massive golden gate appeared right in front of him. Life magic: Heavens gate!! Bang! Bang!! The fire breath and poison breath collided with the golden gate and the combined power of these dragons could only leave numerous cracks on the golden gate. As the fusion continued and Cyrus power rose, so did the power of the gate and the cracks on it began to fade! "Move, now!" The fire dragon panicked, turning into a massive ball of lava, it sped towards the massive golden gate with malicious intentions. Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! The massive earth dragon skedded across the forests as if it was putting on roller skates as it ran in circles around Cyrus, planning to attack from his blind spot. For a massive dragon, carrying a large amount of heavy rock scales, his smooth mobility and speed was quite impressive. Wooosh! Leaving behind after images, the earth dragon dashed towards Cyrus from behind and its pointy green claws glittered. Its eyes were ferocious and a domain of green mist surrounded this beast as it moved. "Not enough¡­" Cyrus muttered calmly as his body shone like a bright sun, startling the earth dragon with its blinding light. Woooosh! Bang! "Split the skies¡­ Shatter the heavens" Cyrus soothing voice echoed all across Alda. The massive golden broadsword appeared above the earth dragon, releasing a terrifying amount of divine aura as it hastily hacked down on the earth dragon. Boooooom! "You!!!!!!" The earth dragon was furious and it quickly utilized its heavy metal ability while it used its claws to parry the attacks of the golden broadsword which was the size of a mountain. Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! This time, the power of this weapon had increased drastically as Cyrus fusion continued, so it was capable of forcing the earth dragon into a passive state. It could only retreat continually as it desperately defended against Cyrus guardian weapon. Meanwhile, the massive ball of lava slammed into the golden shield fiercely but it still couldn''t leave a mark on it. The flame dragon instantly released its lava domain and slammed into the golden gate countless times with its lava coated claws before visible web like cracks began appearing on the golden gate. Roar! It let out a wild roar as it retreated, gathering its energy for a final attack but, Cyrus wasn''t planning on letting it have its way. "Do exercise some patience for my sake¡­ I''ll be done in just a few seconds" Cyrus said with a mocking smile on his face and numerous golden chains appeared from the gate and sprang towards the fire dragon. Seeing this, the fire dragon desperately tried to retreat but its massive body prevents it from being agile like other creatures. Soon the fire dragon was bound by numerous golden chains and it struggled fiercely. Under Cyrus control more golden chains appeared from the gate and began whipping the fire dragon, leaving gashes and bloody wounds on its body. Everyone, including Cyrus was stunned by the sudden increase in his own strength. He never knew a single semi god tier equipment could raise a persons power to such an amazing level. With this power, killing these two magic beasts of ancient times was not a dream anymore! He may actually be able to achieve this! 213 Chapter 213: Facing off against two ancient beasts 2 Cyrus'' sudden display of stunning power way above his level stunned the people of Alda and for a moment they stopped escaping and watched the battle unfold. The domineering way which Cyrus used to tie down the two dragons skillfully. It looked like a miracle! Only after the sorcerer of the palace of the dead, dressed in black robes ordered them to keep moving did they snap back to reality. ............... Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The earth dragon roared furiously as it retreated three steps back. Even though its body was coated with steel now, the divine guardian weapon still penetrated its defense, and each time they clashed, a shallow wound would appear on its body. If not for its fast healing, the earth dragon would have sustained heavy injuries by now. "This will be an issue" Cyrus muttered with furrowed eyebrows. He was at a critical phase of fusion., the others may think he was doing this effortlessly but in reality, this caused him quite a lot of mental power and he was already nearing his limit. He only put on this confident attitude in a bid to scare his foes to submission. Even though the increase in his power shocked him as well, he still exerted a lot of mental energy to keep these two at bay. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Roar!!! The fire dragon struggled fiercely against the numerous golden chains lashing on to his body. The body of the flame dragon was covered in shallow wounds caused by the golden chain lashes. With each push, over three golden chains were broken, and soon after another three golden chains would appear to take its place. The massive divine broadsword was more than enough to keep earth dragon out of his way, the real problem here is the fire dragon. For some strange reason, it''s the beasts strength and stamina seemed endless, just like that time when they battled for three weeks straight, its resistance towards pain is quite immense and it never feels fatigued. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! "I''ll end this then! Vanish!!" Cyrus lost his cool and roared the moment he saw the dragon shatter three more divine chains. Crank! Crank!! Crank!!! The divine chains lashing on to the fire dragon began to pull the massive dragon towards the heavens gate. With the last of his mental energy pumped into this last counter, Cyrus focused on the semi god-tier magic weapon in his hands. This could be considered the longest two minutes of his life. What happens now decides the victor of this battle. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The furious roars of the fire dragon filled the air driving away every other magic beast in the region. Its eyes turned blazing blue as gray smoke poured out of its massive mouth abruptly. Its eyes were fixed on Cyrus and its murderous intentions spread forth like a tidal wave, covering the whole area. "Good! Good!! I didn''t want to use this any time soon but you''ve forced my hand''s life mage¡­. Fill the wrath of the mighty fire dragon!" The fire dragon bellowed. BOOOOOM!!! Suddenly its body turned blue as it was soon engulfed in sky blue flames. Its eyes let out a blue flash as it spat out a massive ball of blue flames while shattering the golden chains easily. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The blue flames left numerous cracks on the golden gate. Even though Cyrus was aware of the sudden change, he chose to ignore it and focus on the fusing process, in a bid to quicken it. His glittering face was already filled with sweat as he tightly gripped on to the hilt of the semi god-tier magic weapon tight, placing it close to his chest. Bang!!! Using its blazing blue claws, it shattered the golden gate and flew straight towards Cyrus, whose eyes were shut tight. "Die, life mage!!!" the fire dragon roared! "Moon magic: Moonlight!!!" Diana''s alluring voice echoed from afar and a massive crescent moon appeared in the sky. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Three silver beams of light were fired consecutively at the blazing blue fire dragon, forcing it to retreat. Appearing beside Cyrus with her slender back pressed against his own, Diana stared at the blue flaming dragon coldly for a while before speaking. "You can''t always do everything on your own¡­" She whispered to Cyrus with a reddened face. "I asked you to leave¡­ Why are you still here¡­" Cyrus acted indifferently while focusing on the fusion process. He was only a few seconds away from completing this process. "Don''t worry, I''ll look after you until you are done" Diana said, not minding Cyrus cold attitude. Wooosh! The fire dragons'' blurry blue figure suddenly appeared beside these two with its claws stabbing forward. Its blazing blue eyes were fixed on Diana with malicious intentions! The abrupt appearance of the fire dragon stunned Diana, she wanted to retreat but was still rooted in her position for an unknown reason. Closing her eyes, she awaited the massive to steal her life away. Bam! A large shockwave exploded as Cyrus appeared in front of the silver-haired moon guardian spirit, using the tip of his new magic weapon to block the claw attack. His eyes were like two blazing divine flames, seeking who to vanquish. "You were a second too late¡­" Cyrus muttered disdainfully as he swung his blade and a massive wave of divine golden flames poured out and completely consumed the fire dragon. His eyes showed no emotions as he withdrew his massive guardian sword. Curling his left hand around Diana''s waist he rose higher and stared down at the two dragons with a vicious grin on his face. This is not a look someone with such holy aura should have! This was a bad habit this young man picked up from Derik!! "Didn''t I tell you to leave this place, little host¡­ You are really eager to lose your life in this battle¡­" He stared at Diana who was struggling to break free from his grip with an extremely reddened face. "I¡­. I was just worried about you¡­" Diana said in a low tone while trying to avoid making eye contact with Cyrus. "I see¡­ Do me a favor¡­ head back first and inform the death mage I intend to kill these dragons here¡­ Tell him he shouldn''t worry and I won''t do anything too risky¡­" Cyrus whispered these words into Diana''s blade-shaped pointy ears before pushing her away gently. Before the moon, cosmic spirit host could even reply, a gentle, yet powerful force pushed her towards the portal and threw her straight into it. With the girl out of the way, Cyrus flung his golden hair back and focused his attention on the two dragons approaching cautiously. He threw his hands open as if he was welcoming them and spoke. "Come¡­ Let''s play a little!!!" 214 Chapter 214: Facing off against two ancient beasts 3 Kaido stared at the two dragons with a vicious smile on his face as his thoughts ran wild. He knew the plan was quite simple and straightforward, the goal was to step in when the champions of the two kingdoms are defeated. Taking advantage of the opportunity to extract the survivors from those kingdoms and shift them over to Gyro. All though they needed to display their strength a bit, to be able to move the heart of the masses, but that didn''t necessarily mean they should push themselves for these people. Kaido knew he was only supposed to throw a punch or two from a safe distance and then retreat., but the urge to act outside the plan was wrong. Not only was Ahika strong enough to defeat the water dragon alone, but a second dragon also appeared from nowhere. Practically, the plan was already in shambles and no one will blame him for putting extra effort. "Even if I can''t kill both, I should be able to end the life of that water dragon!" Kaido muttered silently. With that done, Kaido''s eyes lit up and his aura exploded. His golden skin sparkled under the bright sun, forcefully clearing the dark clouds gathered by the sea dragon and the silver wind dragon. "I''ll show you how much I have improved since our last encounter!" Kaido said to the silver dragon with a cold look on his face. ..................¡­. Woooosh! Diana flew out of the other side of the portal and landed on her feet. She looked towards the massive silver portal with mixed expressions on her face as a thought shot across her mind. Approaching the portal once again, she stretched her right hand towards the portal but it was repelled by an invisible force. "I guess I won''t be able to get back in there unless I wish to travel the normal way" She muttered to herself. With this taken care of, she pushed all thoughts of Cyrus to the back of her head while she gazed around the abandoned town they were sent to. Numerous elves were clustered at one spot and numerous blacked robed people and even supernatural monsters dressed in all black attires could be seen standing on different building roofs while gazing at the elves with contempt. Without anyone telling her, she could guess that these people were from the palace of the dead, the force that belongs to the death mage! Thud! Not too far away from her position a young man whose face was covered with a red hood but his eyes were blood-red, descended from the sky with an elderly man beside him. The man was bald and he looked like someone in his sixties but with just a glance, one could tell he was older. His eyes were pitch black and his hands were placed behind him, where ever he went, a cluster darkness followed closely behind. Although these two looked different, as one was young and had this bloody stench hovering around him, while the other was old, bringing darkness along with him, they still possessed a similarly strange aura that terrified Diana. "Aaah¡­ It''s you, Lady Diana!" Kira said with a mocking smile on his face as his blood-red eyes glowed brighter. The smile on his face revealed his unnatural razor-like set of teeth and each time he spoke a small bloody mist would escape his lips. The stench of blood was even greater now, Kira was not too far from her and she instinctively took a step back. She could tell from these people''s cultivation base that they weren''t mere peak silver realm elites, these two have long since surpassed this rank, moving into a greater realm but are still far from the gold realm. That explains how they have an immense affinity for their natural elements. Shifting her gaze towards the bald man whose skin was purple in color, Diana''s eyes widened in shock as she quickly discerned the person''s identity! "Councilman Kin of the Cato kingdom!!" She screamed in shock. Kaido has been the one looking after the kingdom of Cato before the great tragedy. She was well aware of the councilmen of the kingdom, with kin being the sole survivor of that group. She never thought this man would toss away his pride to become one of Derik''s minions. "Its just Kin now" Kin replied with a polite smile on his face. "Well¡­ The palace master has requested your presence¡­ come with us" Kira said casually and flew towards the cluster of dark clouds above Briton. Kin followed quickly and after some moments of hesitation, Diana finally chased after the two hastily. Woooosh! The trio soon appeared above the dark clouds, there they saw Derik whose figure was shrouded in thick death aura with his blood-red eyes gazing at Elsa who was a few feet away. She was staring at Derik with her hands placed on her chest, her eyes portrayed her sadness and the two remained silent, just staring at each other for a while. Soon the cluster of death aura surrounding Derik began to fade. This was the first time he was showing his true appearance to anyone outside Cyrus and Kaido after he broke into the gold realm. What was more stunning was that he was doing it for this elf right here! Diana, Kira, and Kin were shocked by this and couldn''t really understand the relationship between the palace master and the princess but they knew it could not be simple for him to reveal his true appearance for her sake. Derik''s long black hair was tied back into a ponytail with a purple undercut. His hair was long enough to reach his shoulders and as usual, his skin was unnaturally pale. His lips were purple and his blood-red eyes were like two flaming skulls dancing wildly. Even though he stood there topless, there was not even a string of hair on his chest! He lacked chest hair and a mustache like others his age. His fingernails were purple and the nails were longer than usual, taking the shape of a claw but it wasn''t too excessive. Derik had a good build and firm body shape, his appearance coupled with his tyrannic aura gave off some sort of domineering aura that made people think twice before messing with him. When he spoke, a set of shiny white fangs were revealed and these made Elsa and Diana''s heart skip a beat. He wasn''t forcing the transformation this time, they knew this was his original appearance. The death mage has found a way to fuse with his wolf side completely! 215 Chapter 215: Facing off against two ancient beasts 4 Apart from Kin and Kira who were not as crazy as these two ladies present, these two were expecting the infamous death mage to be ugly. In their thoughts, the death mage would be like a ruthless hideous beast, who was even disgusted by his own appearance. This was the only explanation why Derik always hid his appearance in a cluster of black aura. No one was really expecting him to be good looking, not even Elsa who had feelings for him. If Cyrus was like a perfect being, charming, loyal, caring, and all those stuff that can be found in good guys, Derik was like a drug. Once you have a taste of it, you will forever be addicted and keep coming back for more. In reality, just by looking at his perfect slightly pale body which had numerous black tattoos that roamed around his body aimlessly, the faces of these girls reddened fiercely. They even needed to take a few steps back and look away with great effort. These girls just failed to understand why this guy wasn''t putting on a shirt? In their minds, he had become some sort of underworld stripper, sent to confuse pure ladies like themselves. Derik, Kin, and Kira watched these two girls daydream in broad daylight with confused expressions on their faces. The two commanders over his forces even began to suspect he was using some sort of evil secret technique to manipulate the mind of these two beauties and they gave him a thumbs up with a big grin. They weren''t saints and always bore evil intentions thanks to the evil magic they possess, seeing their palace master do something this diabolic and perverted made them excited. "I''m guessing our palace master is not as boring as we thought" Kira''s expression suddenly turned serious as he spoke. "Yes¡­ Palace master Derik is truly a man of exquisite taste and culture" Kin said with his hands wrapped around his chest while giving Derik an approving look. "Yo¡­ Yo¡­ Slow down, I didn''t do anything¡­ I swear" Derik defended himself with a genuine confused expression on his face. "Then¡­" Kin muttered. "These chicks have issues¡­" Kira muttered with a disappointed gaze directed at Derik. "Hmph!" Derik sighed and summoned the cluster of dark aura again, completely shrouding his figure. His blazing red eyes were fixed on Diana and he slowly approached the two. "When you entered Gyro, I could sense your emotions¡­ You were worried about Cyrus¡­ Why?" Derik was back to his cold usual self. "Well¡­ He is thinking of taking on the earth and fire dragon, all alone¡­ I was just a bit worried about his safety, but I believe he may be able to pull it off with his powerful magic weapon" Diana was startled by Derik''s sudden change in attitude and quickly answered. "The fire dragon? Did it appear again? In Alda?" Derik''s visage changed and his aura started rising. "Yea¡­ Cyrus asked me to update you on the situation¡­ He said you shouldn''t worry much, he won''t make reckless moves¡­" Diana was a bit wary of Derik now. Even when Cyrus aura had fused with the semi-god tier weapon, his aura was still nowhere as terrifying as Derik''s aura. The moon cosmic spirit host at this point was unsure of who would win if Derik and Cyrus fought. "Since the fire dragon appeared at a time like this, that means there is a possibility that the silver wind dragon must have appeared in Baldmar as well¡­ Since Cyrus said he can handle the situation, I''m not bothered¡­ Even I would find it difficult to kill him if I wanted to¡­ The person I''m worried about here is Kaido¡­" Derik said with a frown on his face. He didn''t waste any more time and quickly drew a few symbols in the air while gray mist suddenly appeared from nowhere and completely filled the area. His blood-red eyes turned gray and he quickly mumbled some words. "Kalos¡­ Send me over to Kaido!" Derik finally spoke out. Since these undead''s were his minions, he could easily communicate with them from any part of the world. He could even see through their eyes a time but Derik dislikes using this ability. He complained it always makes his head a bit fuzzy. Clap! A silver portal opened a few seconds after and Derik flew into it without any hesitation. ................... Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Using his magic broadsword, Kaido parried countless air bullets sent at him. His eyes let out an orange glow as his magic weapon was sent ablaze and he forcibly pushed forward. It was obvious he was trying to reduce the distance between him and the dragons. ROAR!!! The sea dragons roar reverberated as its water domain appeared once again and a small portion of the wound had recovered. Kaido guessed this was as a result of its water healing abilities so he didn''t bother himself much. He locked eyes with the silver dragon and let out a sinister smile. "You won''t survive this encounter¡­ Sun magic: Imperious bust!" Kaido muttered softly and his body was set ablaze. With his magic weapon placed right in front of him, Kaido launched forward like a comet, bulldozing through all the form of attacks sent at him with brute strength. Ahika had received a major blow and his injury was fatal. If it weren''t for the fact that Aldora was a gold realm mage who had powerful healing abilities of the light element, he probably would have ended up dead. He heard of the three heroes of legend after the sky rift incident at the moonlight forest. These heroes are said to control mystical elements that have never been seen in this world before, such as the moon, stars, and the sun. He heard of the sun guardian knight and naturally took interest in him. This is someone whom the world claimed to be the most powerful fire-based fighter in the continent and at a point, he actually believed this since guardian spirits are weaker than cosmic spirits. But after watching Kaido display his strength, he had to confess that this guy''s orange flames were way more powerful than his and his destructive ability is even more offensive but unfortunately¡­ "His foundation is not stable!" Ahika muttered weakly. 216 Chapter 216: The One path 1 Unlike cosmic spirit hosts, guardian spirit hosts are guided by their various guardian spirits. Most times, the guardian spirits even give up a small portion of their powers just to hasten the growth speed of their hosts. Just like Ahika, Derik, and Cyrus, they all received their paths while they were at the bronze realm. This is something people acquire at the mid-grade of the silver realm if they are lucky! Mason who was lucky enough to awaken the wind rider path at the mid-grade of the silver realm is considered an expert. What the heck? Even normal mages are tutored and guided by their magic spirits, but it is an entirely different case for cosmic spirit hosts. Cosmic spirits are incredibly proud beings that impact their inheritance on whoever catches their attention at that moment and then abandons them later on. They view the wielders of their inheritances as insignificant beings, not bothering to even show them the basics. Kalos spent his whole life trying to gain the recognition of the spatial cosmic spirit host. During that time he was considered the most powerful of his time, challenging numerous foes at higher realms! Kalos pushed through the bronze realm and entered the silver realm and finally the gold realm just by feeling his way. His path was self-made and his power was unrivaled at that time! Even after reaching the gold realm, the cosmic spirit still refused to acknowledge him. With his own power, he pushed himself all the way from the low grade of the gold realm up to the mid-grade of the gold realm, hoping to gain the recognition of the cosmic spirit after he reached the demigod realm. Unfortunately, the human race lifespan was too short, even if Derik didn''t kill him at that time, he still had less than thirty years to live, this is not enough time for him to push his way into the new realm. Even if he was given another hundred years, he wasn''t sure if he could still make the breakthrough needed. Everyone expected the conditions of the three heroes of legends to be different since they descended from the heavens and their bodies were specially crafted by the cosmic spirits but this was not the case. The only difference between the heroes of legends and the other cosmic spirit hosts was just that they were created with an extremely profound level that everyone will definitely be envious of but in reality, this was even more disadvantageous. At least, cosmic spirit hosts like Kalos started from the bottom, building a steady foundation. Unlike those three that were given powerful abilities without knowing the basics! That''s why Derik and Cyrus can beat the crap out of them, any day, any time. It is like giving a gun to a person without giving bullets to the person. They cant properly use a power they don''t understand, not to talk of acquiring a path. When Ahika looked at Kaido, all he saw was wasted talents. If a single cosmic spirit host is born with the complete support of the cosmic spirit, they will definitely be able to defeat a guardian spirit host of the same level. "A pity¡­" Ahika muttered. He was sincerely feeling sorry for Kaido. ......................................... Roar!!! Boooom!!! Fierce flames collided with a massive wind dome and the silver dragon could not help but scream in pain as it retreated. The destructive power of Kaido''s flames was a level above what it used to be back then when they battled in Cato. Water whip! Seeing that the air barrier protecting the silver wind dragon had collapsed, the sea dragon acted quickly to save its comrade. Suddenly numerous water whips appeared right in front of the silver dragon, lashing out at Kaido fiercely. This was obviously an attempt to stall Kaido and create some space for the silver wind dragon to retreat. Kaido was aware of this but he didn''t seem bothered, revealing a confident smile which made these ancient beasts feel restless. When did humans become so terrifying? Each water vine was at least a hundred meters tall, with the ocean below them as its source, stretching all the way to the skies where they fought. When compared to Kaido in terms of size, each water whip was as big as a huge truck and Kaido was like a newborn baby. "Slow!" Kaido muttered Bam! Kaido stomped the air repeatedly as if it was a solid surface coupled with some flame explosions occurring at his feet to help increase his speed, Kaido bounced around wildly, leaving behind only after images for the water whips to chase after. The application of his flames to his feet in a bid to increase his speed was unexpected, even Derik who had arrived was stunned by Kaido''s current level! What did Cyrus teach this guy while he was still recovering? Seeing the situation was currently under control, Derik hid carefully and erased his presence while he observed. He was curious to know how much Kaido had improved under Cyrus'' guidance. Even though the water whip failed to hold down Kaido, it still bought some time for the silver dragon, just enough for it to retreat and reinforce its wind domain! Huuuuuuu! Kaido spat out a mouthful of hot air as the huge blade of his magic broadsword let out an orange glow. His narrowed eyes and vicious grin revealed his malicious intentions as he abruptly shifted his focus from the silver dragon to the water dragon. "SHOOT!" He growled and a beam of scorching orange flames emerged from the magic weapon and shot towards the sea dragon at a terrifying speed, aiming at its temple. Who would have thought a guardian knight who has spent the whole time trying to get closer to them possessed a ranged attack? One as terrifying as this! This was unexpected and caught everyone off guard, for this reason, the sea and wind dragons were a tad too late when reacting. The sea dragon was already in the process of leaving his location when the orange beam pierced into its left eye, leaving a scorched hole for everyone to see. 217 Chapter 217: The One path 2 The sea dragon remained rooted to its spot for a while with a hint of disbelief in its eyes while staring at Kaido. Luckily for it, its water domain was strong enough to weaken the fire beam. If it was just a not stronger, it would have completely pierced through its skull, this would have been a sure kill move. Unfortunately, luck was not on the side of the sun guardian knight! Roar! The sea dragon dared not hold back anymore and let out a roar. Its usual aqua blue color became light blue and layers of ice appeared on its body, even going as far as covering its wounded eye. The beasts frost aura spread forth like a plague, successfully freezing a large portion of the ocean beneath them. Even Kaido had to use his scorching aura to prevent this chilly aura from penetrating his body. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Numerous ice spears formed around the ice dragon and with a roar, a blizzard started. The wind was fierce and the snow coupled with the white mist reduced visibility. From within Kaido thought the blizzard affected everywhere, reaching Kalos and Aldora but this assumption was false. In reality, Kaido was stuck inside the frost dragons blizzard domain. This ability only affected a certain area, covering the sea dragon and Kalos. "You should be proud you forced me to enter this form!" the sea dragons voice resonated from the ice domain. .....................¡­. "This¡­. What is this power?" Kaido muttered with furrowed eyebrows. Within this domain, he could barely see a thing. Even his fiery orange flame domain has been subdued greatly. He could not feel almost feel the cold and this was not a good sign, what he was more bothered about wasn''t the domain, but its effects. Anyone who did not possess a fire domain or fire magic will greatly suffer in this domain. Not only will their vision and senses be taken away, but it also reduces mobility greatly. Even now he could hear his bones make creaking sounds each time he tried to move. "Damn!" Kaido cursed as he focused solely on his senses while he prepared his mind for a surprise attack. The last thing he saw before the blizzard appeared were numerous ice spears circling around his position, threatening to attack. Now his vision and senses have been robbed just when he needed it the most! ....................... With the sea dragon and Kaido battling it out in the ice domain, the silver dragon could not interfere so it chose to shit its attention to the lizardmen trying to escape through the portal created by Kalos. Its silver eyes spotted Kalos who was calmly staring at the dragon fearlessly and then moved to Aldora who was focused on healing the heavily injured fire guardian spirit host. Its instincts made the silver dragon feel extremely terrified when it looked at Kalos, so it decided to shift its attention to Aldora. If it could defeat another top tier warrior of this world''s new inhabitants, it will be a total victory for them. Roar!!! With a roar, the silver dragon pushed its massive body back using its mighty wings which flapped repeatedly. Numerous gusts of winds, hurricanes and whirlwinds appeared. "Go!" It roared as it spat out numerous wind bullets. "A puny magic beast dares attack those I have chosen to protect? Hahaha! You have chosen death!" Derik''s voice erupted from the clouds above and numerous sparkling white bone spears, coated in darkish purple aura rained down and collided with the air bullets. Woooosh! Derik''s figure blurred, appearing beside the massive silver dragon, he flung his fist at it carelessly! Smack!!! Bang!!! With a punch the magic beast was sent flying hundreds of meters away, crashing into the ocean with a bang. "Is that it?" Derik''s body appeared above the ocean, and with his right hand raised high, darkish purple clouds began gathering above his head. "Strike!" He hissed and numerous purple lightning rained down on the dragon submerged in the ocean. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Roar!!!! Numerous bolts of blue lightning suddenly abruptly exploded from the ocean and lashed out on Derik ruthlessly. "Hmph!" Derik''s casual gaze turned serious as he used his left hand to grab the bolts of lightning while the right hand gathered death energy to deal with the silver dragon that just flew out of the ocean. His left hand was scorched badly but he didn''t show any sign of pain at all. "Death magic: Death beam!" Derik roared with furrowed eyebrows. "Lightning Strike!" The silver dragon''s eyes turned blue as it spat out a massive bolt of blue lightning while a massive darkish purple magic array appeared in front of Derik and a darkish purple beam shot towards the silver dragon colliding with the blue lightning. "HAHAHA! You are nothing compared to the fire dragon¡­ you were destined to lose to me even before the battle began!" Derik laughed hysterically as he showed off his fully healed left hand. "Death magic: Bone armor!!!" Derik growled and his crimson red eyes let out a red flash! A darkish purple magic array appeared above him and a pillar of darkish purple aura instantly engulfed him. A deafening roar resonated from the darkness as a fully armored being appeared. His body was covered in a shiny white exoskeletal armor which sparkled under the sunlight. His hands were decorated with 3 meter long claws and his pair of blood-red eyes and a pair of purple pointy horns made him look as domineering as ever. "Let''s have a decisive battle!!" Derik''s crazed laughter filled the skies as he shot towards the silver dragon. Roar!! Sensing imminent doom from his for, the silver dragon retreated frantically as it conjured numerous wind-based attacks to stop Derik. But this was not even good enough to slow Derik down as he violently tore through the wind attacks, reaching the sliver dragon the next second. "Tear!!!" Derik roared as he sank his claws into the beasts chest, forcing a large amount of silver blood to gush out. In response, the silver dragon coated its body with bolts of lightning but even this failed to harm Derik. Bang! Slamming his head into the silver dragon, he forcibly dragged it into the ocean. Numerous waves and tides rose as these two monsters battle each other fiercely. The shockwaves caused by their attacks pushed aside the water around them while silver and darkish purple aura kept shooting into the sky from time to time. 218 Chapter 218: The One path 3 The lizardmen who watched Derik''s battle with the silver dragon were terrified. Ahika''s battle with the sea dragon was terrifying and bloody but compared to Derik''s battle now it looked like a child''s play. If Ahika fought like a beast, Derik was more like a prehistoric monster capable of trading blows with a massive dragon! Wasn''t this man supposed to be a mage? The lizardmen who refused to believe the stories of Deriks savagery and ruthlessness began to understand these stories were not rumors, they were actually true. With a beast like this protecting Gyro, who would dare to attack? They finally realized that the kind of forces protecting Gyro was enough to keep the kingdom safe from these dragons. Even if the four dragons joined hands, they definitely won''t able to reach the walls of Gyro! Those who initially felt reluctant to enter the portal leading to Gyro hastily jumped into the portal after they saw Derik fight. With the magic beasts in the southern region completely annihilated, they did not doubt Kalos'' words and found this place a suitable place to live in. With these forces of the various continents merged as one, they finally have no reason to fear these magic beasts, especially since they have peerless experts on their side. Bang!!! A small figure hit the belly of the silver dragon, launching it into the air with his brute strength. "It''s over!!!" Derik roared violently as he shot towards the beast with terrifying death aura surging around him. A death scythe appeared in his hands as death the death aura surged into the death scythe, up to the point that the growth type magic weapon began to tremble! "Death magic: Threefold purgatory slash!!!" Derik roared as he brandished the weapon at the silver dragon, releasing three massive waves of darkish purple energy. "Enough!!!" The silver dragon was infuriated by humiliating beat down it has been receiving from the little human. Its body was filled with numerous bloody wounds after it clashed with this human in close quarters. Bang! Four bolts of black lightning shot out from its mouth, colliding with the three energy attacks whole the fourth one struck Derik, sending him crashing into the ocean once again. "I will erase every evidence of your existence from this world!!!" The silver dragon bellowed. Its body turned black and its eyes let out blue lightning flashes. Its claws turned blue and numerous dark clouds appeared around its body. With one deep breath, numerous bolts of black lightning escaped from the dark clouds and flew into its mouth! It was preparing for a second attack!! ........................................... Kalos and Aldora who remained indifferent while Derik was beating the crap out of this beast seemed worried now. First, the sea dragon aura change alongside its appearance. It entered a new stage where its powers rose even further, and this was the reason Kaido was having a rough time now. They all suspected that the silver dragon probably possessed a similar ability to push it''s abilities to the next stage, seeing it now confirmed their suspicion. Why didn''t these beasts use this power from the very beginning? They would have won the battle if they used this¡­ When the fire dragon fought Derik and Cyrus back then, if it used a similar second form, it would have won. The question remains the same... Why didn''t the beasts utilize this ability back then? Why do they use it only when their life is greatly threatened? The only explanation that came to their mind was the limiter path which Cyrus and Derik practice. It temporarily strengthens them but in exchange, they are put in a weakened state for a long while. The price which these dragons have to pay for this power may not be ordinary that is the main reason why they refuse to use it ......................................................¡­.. "Erase me? Hahahaha!!! You don''t have the ability!!!" Derik laughed hysterically as he appeared a hundred meters away from the wind dragon. His 3 meter long claws were shrouded in the darkish purple aura as he stared at the dragon coldly. He had to admit, the new form of the dragon was definitely strong enough to pose a threat to him. If he makes a wrong move now, he may sustain major injuries or even lose his life. "Hahaha¡­ I cannot be killed" Derik whispered to himself proudly. After he attained the gold realm, he gained the undying body. He was no different from his undead army, even if his head is severed at this very moment, he still won''t die! The only way to kill him is to completely obliterate his body or possess the life element which was effective against the undead. "No one in this world can kill me!!!" Derik kept speaking to himself like a man who has lost his mind. His body rose even higher in the air as the death aura circling around him became more violently. His aura began rising and his body was shrouded in darkness once again. He twirled around within the darkness, making his aura spin violently like a vortex. Soon a darkish purple vortex appeared in the sky with Derik at the center. The wind dragon ignored his actions and kept inhaling the black lightning that surged around him. The power of both men kept rising steadily and this terrified everyone. If this two clash, even those who were a hundred kilometers away will not be spared. .......................................................... Within the blizzard, Kaido was covered in blood and his aura kept reducing. His orange eyes dimmed and some parts of his body were covered by a thin layer of ice. "You dared to stand against me? You were brave but dumb, human!" the ice dragons voice resonated from all sides. Even though Kaido couldn''t see it, he could still feel its gaze. It was like a target has been placed on him. "Hahaha¡­ Do you think you have won?" Kaido asked softly. "Yes! Or do you have anything else to show¡­" the ice dragon asked impatiently. "The three heroes of legend are destined to bring balance to this world and wipe out the beings that threaten the existence of the inhabitants of this continent¡­ Little magic beast¡­ when I send you over to the next life¡­ Do well to brag about how you were defeated by the greatest hero of legend!!!!" Kaido laughed wildly. 219 Chapter 219: The One Path 4 "Hmph! A human at the doors of death dares utters such words? I will give you a gruesome death! Boy!!!" The sea dragon bellowed. Even after hearing this, Kaido was not fazed, his eyes glowed so brightly at this point that his eyes looked like two bright suns. "Hahahaha! Even death is by my side¡­ Little magic beast, you cannot kill me!" Kaido laughed as terrifying heat energy exploded from his body and quickly spread around like a surging sea. He raised his hands towards the sky and a vicious smile appeared on his face. "To me!" He bellowed and the clouds above completely vanish and a warm ray of light descended from the heavens and fell upon the ice domain. Upon contact, the ice blizzard scattered revealing Kaido who was joyfully bathing in the sunray. His eyes were shut tight as his body abruptly shot out of the ice domain. "No!!!" The ice dragon roared furiously as it abruptly shot out of the ice domain, chasing after Kaido but it didn''t dare approach the ray of light. Wooosh! Wooosh!! Wooosh!!! The ice spears twirling around its massive snake-like body instantly shot forward, swarming Kaido from all sides. Kaido''s eyes remained shut as he kept absorbing the sunlight, not bothering with the ice spears. Derik who was within the purple vortex gazed at Kaido with a confused expression on his face but he dared not make a move. With the presence of the wind dragon, he couldn''t act as he wished, he could only believe in Kaido and hope the kid does not die easily. "Should we step in¡­" Aldora''s voice rocked Derik''s head. "No¡­ don''t¡­ things are about to get interesting¡­ we are never meant to show these lizardmen our weak side¡­ only with a display of our strength can we truly gain the trust of these people¡­ we must win in a fair battle¡­" Derik spoke softly within the darkish purple vortex but his eyes never left the black dragon shrouded in black lightning with a pair of dazzling blue eyes and sky blue claws. The wind dragon seemed to be observing him too. Both of them silently agreed to stop their battle and observe those who they both came to rescue. .................................... Psst! Pssst!! Psssst!!! As soon as the ice spears reached the ray of light, they all turned into vapor. Within the ray of light was Kaido whose skin was golden right now, up to the extent he looked like a divine golden being dressed in a matching golden armor with pair od fiery orange eyes and a long blazing orange hair. Metal clanking sounds surrounded him and the size of the ray of the sun kept depleting at a visible rate while Kaido''s aura rose rapidly. Feeling threatened by Kaido''s actions, the sea dragon decisively launched all forms of attacks ranged from water techniques, back to ice. "This is the path I chose to walk¡­ the path of the one!!?" Kaido finally yanked his eyes open and spoke. Woooosh! A massive ice spear shot towards him and with a flick of his fingers, coupled with a gentle smile, the ice spear vanished in an instant. "Such futile attacks will not save you¡­" Kaido chuckled lightly as he absorbed the final piece of energy in the hit ray. Bang!!! His golden armor instantly exploded revealing his unusual macho body. His muscles were bulging and trembling greatly with each part covered with a layer of gold. "The sun¡­" Derik remained rooted to his spot as he stared at the almost dark skies in disbelief. He could easily tell what happened but this was just too unbelievable. The so-called One path is a path which allows one to directly harness the power of their elements to improve themselves. Kaido forcefully pulled the rays of the sun towards himself and absorbed it, thereby enhancing himself. Kaido''s actions turned the Bright, hot afternoon to a normal, cool evening. No one could tell how much power he absorbed, all they knew is that it was enough to make it look like it was evening time. This is definitely not a preexisting path! This is something Kaido invented on his own! Roar! The ice dragon was terrified of Kaido''s new form and began setting layers of ice defense on itself while it waited for him to act. Kaido on his own part wasn''t necessarily in a hurry to kill this magic beast. He looked at the darkish purple vortex not too far away and a pair of blood-red eyes looking at him. "When did you get here?" A childish smile bloomed on Kaido''s face as he spoke. It was the kind of expression which a kid has when he achieves something new and wants to show it off to his elders in a bid to earn their praise and recognition. Ever since he arrived at Gyro and started listening to Cyrus'' teachings, he understood his foundations were flawed. He finally understood why he could never beat Derik and Cyrus even though his realm was higher. Under Cyrus'' guidance, he improved at an impressive rate and this deepened his respect and admiration for these two. When one commends him, considering all they have been through since they met each other, it actually means that it is something worth commendations. "I''ve been here for a while¡­ observing¡­ You have surpassed my expectations Kaido¡­ I apologize for looking down on you¡­ You and Cyrus can definitely handle the situation." A pair of white shark-like teeth''s appeared below the pair of glowing red eyes, in the darkness. "Your commendations are acknowledged¡­ Did you say Master Cyrus is a similar situation?" Kaido''s smile broadened as he spoke with a raised eyebrow. "Yea¡­ The fire and earth dragon ambushed him¡­ We don''t have to worry¡­ He''s strong¡­ at worse it will end in a stalemate..." Derik didn''t feel concerned at all. Just like him who possessed the undying body, Cyrus possessed abundant life force, so much that he can give it out to a dying person. He was practically an Immortal! The gap between the life and death element, when compared to the other elements, became more glaring as they entered the gold realm. These two will live on forever as long as they are not killed! "Any plans for these two?" Kaido finally spoke up. "Outside forces will invade this world¡­ when that time comes we will need all the help we can get¡­ these ancient dragons included¡­ We can''t afford to kill them here so let''s just send them off with a light warning" Derik chuckled as he spoke. "Does Master Cyrus feel the same way?" Kaido asked. His expression showed he understood what Derik said, he just wanted to know if Cyrus was on the same boat with them. "We never spoke of this, so we will have to make a quick trip to his side as soon as this is over..." Derik spoke after thinking for a while. "I''ll be throwing the first punch then¡­" Kaido nodded with a satisfied smile. His body exploded as he shot towards the sea dragon with a gentle smile on his face. The sea dragon retreated hastily, spitting out a massive torrent of water from its mouth. Not hesitating, Kaido dove straight into the water torrent and shot out of the other side, unscathed. He quickly threw a fist at the dragon mercilessly! Bang!!! The sea dragon cried out in pain as it was sent flying over six hundred meters away before it crashed into the ocean below. With a light step forward, Kaido appeared above the area where the sea dragon fell into. "Come on now¡­ fight back" He said with a charming smile on his face as he slowly clenched his fists. Clank! Clank!! Sounds of metal bending could be heard as Kaido slowly clenched his fists before punching down! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! "I''ll risk my life against you!!!" The sea dragon bellowed after the three compressed air shots from Kaido''s Punch''s punctured its body. Wooosh!! Numerous water tendrils shot out of the ocean, racing towards Kaido. "I am the chosen one of the sun¡­ a being you will never be able to reach¡­ Even if you risk your life against me, you still won''t be able to harm a hair on my body" Kaido explained softly as he waved his hand and a terrifying heatwave spread forth, turning all the water tendrils to vapor. With his hands wrapped around his chest, Kaido descended into the ocean to battle the beast underwater since it was not willing to come out. The moment his golden body entered the ocean, it began boiling! Meanwhile, Derik smiled since he was totally satisfied with Kaido''s power. He and Cyrus possessed three paths now after they have entered the gold realm, yet Kaido who just mastered a single path showcased a level of strength which could rival theirs now. The shocking power of these cosmic spirit hosts was really disturbing, the difference between guardian spirits and cosmic spirits became more understandable. "Well then¡­ Let''s continue¡­" Derik laughed lightly as he shot towards the wind dragon. The massive darkish purple vortex surged towards the dragon crazily. In response, the dragon retreated while spitting not countless bolts of black lightning but no matter how much lightning it shot out, it still couldn''t find Derik''s main body within the massive vortex. As the distance between the dragon and the darkish purple vortex decreased significantly, the beast became restless and flustered by the situation. The strong corrosive power of Derik''s death aura could be felt, and its instincts informed it of the gruesome death it will experience if it is caught by this death storm. Roar!!! It kept retreating frantically while firing more bolts of black lighting but this didn''t even slow the vortex. "Don''t force my hands human! Lightning Tyrant!!!!" The beast bellowed in rage as its body exploded, being replaced by a dragon-like being and charged towards the death Strom fearlessly. "Hmph¡­ you remind me of Zaylee and her lover Sternroff who could literarily become their element¡­ It''s a shame¡­ Your situation won''t be different in anyway¡­" Derik spoke softly but everyone could hear him clearly. The death storm completely engulfed the black lightning dragon. Roar!!! Within the death storm, the lightning dragon roared out and countless bolts of lightning surged out of its body, reaching every part of the vortex in a matter of seconds. As long as Derik was within this death storm, he will definitely get hit! Bam!! A rough hand slammed into the lightning dragon, grabbing it by the throat. Visions of Derik''s encounter with the former lightning guardian spirit host, Zaylee was mysteriously transmitted into the dragon''s mind and it saw visions of how Zaylee died. The same thing was about to happen again! The beast was terrified. No matter how much it struggled just like Zaylee it could not break free from Derik''s grip. It finally looked forward and saw a pair of blood-red eyes within a massive werewolf-like avatar, constructed with purely his aura. "I call this Shriek of the dead¡­ Let show you why¡­" Derik spoke softly as the wolf''s grip on the dragon''s neck tightened. Screech!!! The wolf opened it''s massive mouth and the cries of the souls of thousands of people that have all died by Derik''s hands echoed in its ears and visions of Derik''s previous battles, right from the beginning to now flooded its mind. It witnessed who Derik massacred thousands of people without blinking, squashing all of them with his diabolic magic as if they were ants. Behind Derik in those visions was a hooded figure with blazing darkish purple eyes, a pair of black angel wings, and a death scythe in its hands, laughing hysterically. This was a figure it recognized back in ancient times. One of the generals that led countless angels into battle against the magic beasts of this world, the original inhabitants! The guardian spirits, the Angel of death! Demos!! A vague image of Demos appeared behind Derik now and its perfect set of sharp razor-like teeth was revealed when it smiled. The final vision the beast saw was the way Derik would gruesomely murder it, steal it soul, and make it one of his undead. "Even in death¡­ you will never be allowed to rest again" Derik spoke softly with a loving smile. The beast cried out in fear and hastily mustered all of its power to break free from the wolf''s grip. Its body turned into a beam of black light as it fled! Vanishing without leaving even a trace behind!! 220 Chapter 220: Driving away the magic beasts 1 Derik''s figure hovered around the death storm while staring at the location which the lightning dragon fled to. He had the urge to chase after it but he decided to let it slide. He has already sown the seed of true terror in the heart of this beast, it will definitely take a long time before this beast recovers. Along the line, he also considered killing off these beasts, using their life force to help further his realm and adding them to his army of the dead but after thinking about it thoroughly, he realized this may not be the best way to do things. From what he has observed for a while now, these beasts control the magic beasts of this continent. In reality, there is a high possibility that these beasts once ruled over each region of the continent, just like the four kingdoms. Should he decide to kill these beasts, the other lower-level magic beasts will become restless, just like they have always been in the past. That way, when the major threat arrives, they will never be able to rally these monsters and fight as one force. The only reasonable option right now is to find a way and co-exist peacefully. Since these beasts can speak the language of the continent, it is not entirely impossible. "This will be quite difficult¡­" Derik said with furrowed eyebrows as he considered all the possible options and reviewed his plans once again. ................................ Bang! Bang!! The magic beast shot out of the ocean and flew into the air with Kaido chasing after it. Even though they fought underwater for a while, the beast still couldn''t gain the upper hand and ended up receiving numerous scorched injuries caused by Kaido''s Punch''s! A man was fighting an ancient dragon-like it with just his bare fists! The sea dragon felt extremely humiliated, up to the point that it was reluctant to retreat even after it saw the silver wind dragon flee. It wanted to risk its life against Kaido but it already knew that it would still die a shameful death at his hands. This beast swore in its heart that its descendants will seek out Kaido''s descendants and continue this battle till its pride as an ancient elemental dragon is reclaimed. Who would have thought this man''s power would keep rising as long as he''s battling during the day time! It was like a major cheat code. "Hahaha! Don''t tell me that''s all the power, an ancient beast like yourself can muster!" Kaido laughed hysterically as he chased after the beast. Hearing this, the dragon gritted its teeth in rage and quickly turned to face Kaido. It let out a roar as it dived down towards Kaido. Ice breathe!! The sea dragon spat out a chilling torrent of white mist towards Kaido who responded with a chuckle, diving straight into the attack recklessly! "Not enough!" He laughed as he appeared right in front of the sea dragon and punched out. Bang! Roar!! The sea dragon roared in anger as its massive head flew backward, but it was reluctant to retreat. Its snake-like body could and it''s tail swiped at Kaido, slamming into the sun guardian Knight fiercely. Bam!! "Not enough!" Kaido chuckled as he raised his right hand to block the attack, only retreating a few meters when was hit. "There, there! Now that''s the spirit!!" Kaido laughed and dived back in. That massive sea dragon''s body curled around him, hiding his figure from the view of others but merely looking at which side was constantly taking a hit, everyone could tell that if this continues, the sea dragon will die eventually. Bang!!! The sea dragon flew back by over four hundred meters before it could recover. Its body was filled with numerous open wounds and it was bleeding profusely yet the will to fight still burnt bright in its eyes. Roar!!! It roared weakly and dived forward again, but its charge forward was intercepted by a person hidden in a cluster of darkish purple aura with a pair of blood-red eyes. It stared at the sea dragon with pity as if it could clearly understand the feelings of this dragon. Bang! Derik punched out, sending the dragon back once again. The aura hiding his figure vanished and he flew towards the sea dragon slowly with his hands placed behind him. "It''s okay now¡­ there is nothing left to prove¡­ Flee¡­" Derik spoke softly yet his blood-red eyes were threatening. "I''ll kill him!!" The dragon bellowed furiously but dared not charge in Derik''s presence. His death aura was more terrifying than his domineering looks. "Your pride is hurt¡­ I understand that¡­ Flee for now¡­ Cultivate¡­ get stronger¡­ You will always get another chance to prove yourself and region your pride¡­ I understand your pain¡­ That pain made me become the person I am today¡­ It made me become the strongest¡­ you can do the same as well¡­" Derik spoke with a rare kind smile. He placed his left hand on the dragons bleeding nose and caressed it slowly. Hearing this, the sea dragon stared at Derik for a while before shooting a final glance at Kaido in the distance. It turned around after nodding at Derik and flew away weakly. It was to hurt to flee as fast as the silver dragon. It must have sustained numerous hidden injuries from Kaido''s attacks. Derik felt pity for this particular magic beast. Who would have thought they could also possess human emotions? His eagerness to communicate with these dragons rose after this short discussion with the sea dragon. If he could make these people his allies, he will be satisfied! "Hahahahaha! Fleeing? Now you''re here, don''t think about leaving easily!" Kaido''s laughter echoed as his figure shot past Derik. "Fuck no!" Derik hissed as he stretched his hand and grabbed onto Kaido by the hand and pulled him back! "You dare let my prey escape!" Kaido roared furiously as he turned abruptly and punched out at Derik! "It''s a thousand years too early for you to challenge me!" Derik sneered as he threw his left hand forward and caught Kaido''s punch. While the righthand let go of Kaido, curling into a fist as it smashed into Kaido''s chest! Crack! Bang! Kaido retreated, a few steps back with furrowed eyebrows. His cold gaze was fixed on Derik''s left hand which was completely disfigured, even his bone popped out of his skin and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "That''s what happens when a weak mage like you challenges the One!" Kaido laughed. "This? This is nothing" Derik sneered as his hand twisted violently until it returned to its original position and his bones were forced back into its rightful position. The torn skin and injuries began healing at a visible rate. "You¡­" Kaido''s smile faded as he clenched both fists, not showing any signs of backing away. "His path is incomplete and has too many flaws¡­ as expected of someone who created his own path without profound knowledge¡­ The one path must be affecting his emotions negatively¡­" Kalos'' voice rang in Derik''s head. "Yea¡­ I can see that¡­" Derik answered with a frown. The one path was too good to be true. It granted Kaido terrifying strength but in return toyed with his emotions negatively, making him more unstable and battle-hungry. "I will beat him into submission¡­ I''ll cripple him if I have to!" Derik said with furrowed eyebrows as his dark aura spread around his body. Hiding his figure once again! 221 Chapter 221: Driving away the magic beasts 2 "Cripple me, You''ve got a big mouth!" Kaido''s face turned red due to anger when Derik spoke. His eyebrows furrowed and numerous veins began popping upon his face. Soon his body size began to enlarge and his skin turned orange, his eyes were like two scorching suns, and each time he exhaled, he breathed out hot air! Bang! The sound of an explosion occurred around him as his fire domain began to withdraw, entering his body, further enhancing his already monstrous strength and power. Even Derik felt threatened by this man''s sudden transformation! The difference between guardian spirits and cosmic spirits kept becoming clearer in his eyes as time passed by. "I dare you to repeat your words, little host!" Kaido took long strides in mid-air as he approached Derik. Derik stared at the mountain of a man who was over three meters tall. A vicious grin appeared on his face as Kaido''s suppressing aura collapsed on him! He felt like his joints and bones were stiff and his muscles stiffened as well. His blood-red eyes squinted as his aura gathered and suddenly exploded violently, this time he wasn''t holding back the corrosive features of his aura. Bam! Bam!! His death aura was like a tidal wave and it quickly crashed upon Kaido. Even if his foe possessed monstrous physical capabilities, it still won''t save him from the spiritual. Amongst all elements, only death and life are absolute! This is something no being can do without, not even the creator! The sudden increase in Kaido''s strength really surprised him, he had to confess, the abilities of the cosmic spirits are not something that can be overlooked easily. If Kaido was given enough time to grow and attain three paths just like him and Cyrus, Derik wasn''t really sure if he would be able to subdue this man. "But that''s not the case¡­ You are not my opponent!" Derik laughed as he spread his death aura like a vast sea, trying to cover as much territory as possible. His blood-red eyes were fixed on the orange blurry figure, that kept retreating repeatedly. Under the threat of the death aura which could steal the life force of all beings, even Kaido could only turn around and flee. This strategy would have been effective against those he wishes to kill, but this was a different case for Kaido. His only intention for this guy is to suppress him or beat him into submission, this will be a lot more difficult. While he is trying to subdue this man, his foe is actually trying to take his life, this is the worst situation a person can always find himself. Wooooosh! Derik''s figure blended with the darkness as he circled around Kaido while his death aura kept harassing the sun guardian knight. His blood-red eyes glowing within the darkness showed signs of worry when he noticed the calm expression on Kaido''s face. It felt as if he was trying to tell Derik that his current actions were not even worth his effort! Kaido flipped numerous times in the air, covering hundreds of meters with just one move. The wave-like aura kept pursuing him but he wasn''t bothered one bit, he still retained his proud grin on his face as he retreated repeatedly. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted a pair of red eyes lurking in the darkness far away. With a glance he could easily tell, Derik was sealing off all his escape routes, waiting for a perfect time to strike¡­ "Cute¡­It''s fun to watch ants struggle¡­ I''m curious to know your intentions¡­" Kaido casually waved towards the direction where Derik was hiding and shot him a quick wink as he spoke. Seeing Kaido stare at his location, Derik''s heart skipped a beat and for the first time in a while, he felt insecure. He was planning to retreat even further but when he head Kaido''s comment, a vicious grin appeared on his face. His eyes let out a red light as he spat out a mouthful of darkish purple smoke in anger. "Good¡­ very good¡­ You are at a level¡­ That means I don''t have to act cautiously when dealing with you!" Derik roared furiously and jumped out of the darkness. Death magic: Bone armor! With a resounding roar, he was covered by a shiny exoskeletal armor with a pair of two meter long claws. Another hoarse voice seemed to be stacked atop his own as he forcefully burst through the darkness, appearing right in front of Kaido! Swipe! Swipe!! Bang!!! Derik''s body shot back like an arrow, only stabilizing after he put in a lot of effort to stabilize himself. By that time he managed to stop himself, he had crossed over a hundred meters. His chest heaved up and down repeatedly the chest plate of his skeletal armor had shattered completely. Kaido, on the other hand, had only a pair of shallow claw marks on his broad, muscular chest. Only little white marks were left on his body even after Derik struck at full force. "Such a defense!" Derik exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows. He waved his hand and his death aura spread across it and the hole on his skeletal armor was magically repaired. "With such childish attacks, you can never hope to harm me, little one!" Kaido laughed as he patted his chest proudly. "Such arrogance! You have only yourself to blame for my ruthlessness!" Derik''s rage rekindled when he heard Kaido''s words. He crouched slightly like a wild beast and showcased his extraordinarily long claws to his foe. "Silver level secret combat technique: Brilliant claw¡­" He hissed and his death aura exploded, surging towards his claws. Even if he couldn''t defeat this guy who possessed monstrous strength in free and fair combat, he should be able to cripple him from within with his death aura. As long as his death aura is able to find its way into the body of his foe, the battle is over! "Don''t worry¡­ It will over just in a few minutes¡­" Derik hissed at the sun guardian knight, lunging forward viciously. Leaving behind trails of darkish purple claw light. Seeing this, Kadio''s smile faded and his eyebrows furrowed. Faced with something that can actually harm him. He tightened his fists and waited for his foe to arrive. The real battle has just begun! 222 Chapter 222: Driving away the magic beasts 3 Roar!!! Blazing blue flames engulfed the land, frantically chasing after a tiny golden light, skillfully maneuvering through the forests. Cyrus seemed calm even though the fire dragon was chasing after him from behind, he had to confess that the new transformation of this beast was beyond his initial expectations, but his calm expression still showed that things were still under his control, so the immigrating elves had no reason to panic. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! With each step, several mighty trees fell as the earth dragon appeared from the side and swiped its metal claws furiously at Cyrus! "You will not escape us!" The earth dragon who was in its heavy metal form roared furiously. Woooosh!! Cyrus'' body suddenly shot forward and his speed doubled. He skillfully flew through the gaps between each claw with a mocking smile on his face. "And who said I''m running?" Cyrus sneered as quickly turned around after he was finally assured that they were far away from the elf kingdom. "Let us begin then¡­." Cyrus laughed with his hands spread wide open and his charming smile as bright as ever. "Arrogant!!!" the fire dragon bellowed in anger. Wooosh!!! A massive blazing blue figure appeared above Cyrus, hacking down at him with its fiery blue claws. Peng! Peng!! Cyrus gripped the semi god-tier magic weapon with both hands as he parried the relentless attacks of the fire dragon. His face remained calm as he saw the gigantic figure of the earth dragon appearing beside him. Its shadow loomed over him and a massive steel shape claw descended on him from above. Life magic: Heaven''s gate! "Not yet¡­ you should stay away until I deal with this guy¡­" Cyrus chuckled as a massive golden gate appeared right on time just to block the attack. "Capture!" Cyrus grunted softly as golden chains shot out of the golden gate, wrapping around the massive dragon violently. Bang!!! While Cyrus was partially focused on the immobilization of the earth dragon, the power of the fire dragon''s claw attacks instantly skyrocketed, sending Cyrus flying hundreds of meters away with a single hit, even though he successfully blocked it. "Arrrgghhh!" Cyrus felt a sharp pain on his wrists and his hands were still numb from the impact, he was only able to hold on to the magic sword after putting in a lot of effort. Roar!!! The earth dragon broke free from the golden chains and instantly pounced on Cyrus, alongside the fire dragon. Seeing the steel claws of the metal dragon and the fiery blue claws of the fire dragon, descending on him, Cyrus gritted his teeth and let out a war cry while tightening his grip on the golden sword in his hands. "Get back!" Cyrus roared as his eyes released a terrifying amount of golden light. Wam! A sea of golden flames quickly erupted from the golden divine sword in Cyrus'' hands and it almost consumed the two dragons. Bang! Bang!! Two massive bodies were sent crashing into the ground, four hundred meters away from Cyrus. The two dragons both wore painful expressions on their face as they gazed at the golden divine sword in Cyrus'' eyes with hints of fear flashing in their massive eyes. ............................... Bang! Bang!!! Bang!!!! "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" "Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" Resounding peals of laughter and explosions filled the sky a hundred meters away from Bladmar. Those who watched the fierce battle going on above them wore horrified expressions on their faces while the undead''s under Derik''s command reluctantly stood aside and watched the battled unfold. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood as three bloody holes appeared all over his chest but the excitement on his face never faded! He lunged forward once again, ignoring Kaido''s fist aiming for his head as both claws, brutally dug into the sun guardian knights chest. Bam! Derik''s skull exploded, turning into blood mist but only for a second as the next moment, his darkish purple aura washed through his body and a new head popped out from nowhere! "Hahahahaha! Nice one!!" Derik laughed hysterically as his claws stabbed into Kaido''s skin once again. This time it sank in well and when Derik ripped, a deep claw-shaped injury appeared around his chest, even his ribs were now visible! Puti! Kaido shot backward as he spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with his normal red blood. His hand which covered the injury on his chest was already dyed black with his infected blood. At this point, he could feel Derik''s death aura causing major damages to his internal organs and he struggled to use his own aura to slow down the process. His initial plan was to taunt Derik, tricking him into fighting him at close quarters, never in his life did he think that Derik would be such a terrifying foe at close combat. Not only was he vicious and ferocious like a wild beast, his death aura drastically reduces a person''s fighting prowess once it gets access into a person''s body! Destroying their internal organs at a terrifying speed. Finally, his undying body was something no one expected, not even Kalos and Aldora! The ability to almost instantly regenerate any physical damage received is just illogical, on several occasions Kaido managed to obliterate his head but the next moment, a new head occurred. This process was quite similar to what happens to an undead when they are injured in battle. If he knew things would turn out this way, he never would have started a fight with such a terrifying opponent! It''s too late to regret his actions! "Hahahaha! Do you wish to escape? Not while I''m still here¡­ Stay a bit longer! Let''s play more!!!" Derik''s hoarse voice pulled Kaido''s wandering mind back. Woooosh! Derik''s body appeared above him, spinning repeatedly as he launched a devastating kick on Kaido''s skull, sending him straight down into the ocean below! Kaido was a tad too late to react, so he gracefully accepted the attacks without any complaints. Bang! A large body of water sprang up as Kaido''s body slammed into the ocean. Derik''s fleeting figure followed tightly behind, diving into the ocean as well. This was exactly what Kalos and Aldora were scared of since the very beginning. They were never worried about Derik''s safety since they already knew that the only ones capable of killing Derik in this continent was Cyrus. Instead, they were worried that the bloodlust Derik has always been fighting steadily would run wild! As members of his army of the dead, they can only act according to what their master wishes, and right now, they can only feel Derik''s killing intentions towards Kaido. If they are to join in now, their bodies will automatically join hands with Derik to battle Kaido. The death of a gold realm master like Kaido will be a major blow to the inhabitance of this continent! To think that all this started because Kaido''s the one path''s backlash. The youth had no one to guide him when creating this path and since this is a new path that has never been used by someone else, he cannot be blamed for not knowing the side effects of the path he created. They could only hope and pray that Derik can filter his negative emotions and stop himself before he kills the cosmic spirit host! 223 Chapter 223: Empire 1 Wam! Wam!! The earth dragon and the blazing blue fire dragon retreated hurriedly as numerous waves of divine golden flames crashed on them! Cyrus was like a savage beast with limitless mana as he relentlessly tossed attacks at the two massive dragons. He chased after the two dragons, not showing any intentions of letting them go! The battle has already lasted for hours, the elves have successfully left their kingdom behind. All that was left now were three figures battling against each other with terrifying murderous intentions. With no one present, Cyrus did not hesitate to unleash his true power! "Go!" He roared as he threw his left hand forward vigorously! Swooooosh!!! A massive divine guardian broadsword appeared above his head, shooting towards the two dragons like a thrown spear! In response the dragons cried out furiously as the lunged at the guardian weapon hastily. "Ha! Shatter the skies! Split the heavens!!!" Cyrus bellowed furiously as his body let out a faint golden glow and his guardian broadsword doubled in size and power in an instant! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! "Break!" The flame dragon roared furiously and pounced forward! His massive blazing blue claws smashed into the guardian weapon, and the next second he was forced to retreat, stumbling backward! Usually, facing Cyrus attacks head-on would not have been considered a challenge for the fire dragon but after he fused with the semi-god tier weapon, his explosive power rose to a level where the fire dragon could barely stand when facing the massive guardian weapon. Roar! The fire dragon stumbled backward repeatedly as it struggled to regain its balance, but Cyrus had no intention of letting him recover! The guardian weapon chased after the fire dragon, spinning into the air violently before hacking down at the dragon ruthlessly! Peng!!! The massive figure of the earth dragon appeared in front of the fire dragon, using its steel claws to block the attack! The earth dragon gritted its teeth in pain since it wasn''t expecting the power of Cyrus'' basic abilities to rise to such a profound level. Although it directly witnessed the increase in power of the guardian weapon when Cyrus was still trying to fuse with the god-tier magic weapon, it couldn''t really estimate how much percentage increase in power Cyrus would gain after the fusion! This was totally above its estimations. Bang! The earth dragon stomped the ground violently while gritting its teeth as it pushed back the golden broadsword with great effort. With a roar the earth dragon struck at the golden broadsword repeatedly, preventing it from reaching the fire dragon! Woooosh!!! The fire dragon''s figure appeared above the clouds in an instant. Its fiery blue eyes were like two flaming blue balls dancing around wildly, each time it exhaled, blue flames escaped its nostrils and its chest kept heaving up and down rhythmically. Its hateful gaze was fixed on the life guardian spirit host for only a second before it dived towards Cyrus, turning into a blazing blue meteor! Seeing this, Cyrus'' eyebrows furrowed as he tightened his grip on the divine golden sword in his right hand and struck forward! Wooosh! An arc-shaped golden flame shot out of the weapon, flying towards the blazing blue meteor. Before his attack could reach the blue meteor, it quickly changed direction, skillfully evading the attack skillfully before diving towards Cyrus again! "I DON''T HAVE TIME FOlR THESE GAMES!" Cyrus screamed furiously. He inhaled deeply, pulling in golden substances into his nostrils forcefully. In reality the flame dragon and earth dragon could not see the golden substances drawn from the vegetation around them! Cyrus'' own power is not enough to support the god tier magic weapon in his hand, the only way to cover up his inability is to forcefully draw energy from all living things in the area. These dragons are too big to notice that some of the trees around them suddenly lost all life in them, turning gray! Did they really think a mortal can wield a godly weapon without any external source of power? "Get back!" Cyrus'' eyes let out a bright golden flash as he pointed his golden blade forward, creating a wave of gold flames to consume everything in front of him. Bam! "You forced me to use this!" The earth dragons voice echoed in his ears as he felt a sharp piercing pain in his soul. His guardian weapon has been damaged! A massive dragon-shaped crystal with crimson red eyes appeared in front of the golden divine sword, taking the full damage of the golden flames! Its crystal-shaped hands shot forward like lightning, busting out of the golden flames, grabbing onto Cyrus who hurriedly created a golden dome around himself. While enduring the pain inflicted by the golden flames, the earth dragon could not exert enough force to crush Cyrus barrier so it chose to let the flame dragon finish the job! Toss! Cyrus felt like he had lost control over his body when the earth dragon tossed him high up in the air! Before he could regain control over his body, a massive blew meteor slammed into him, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of golden blood! While he struggled with the massive blazing blue meteor a deep gash appeared on his chest and golden blood poured out. It was like struggling against a massive sun! He was pouring out all his power to resist the heat, harming himself in the process. Who would have thought these ancient beasts would use such a sly way to deal with him? He was too focused on obliterating his foes that he failed to notice that the earth dragon has not ascended to its second form like the fire dragon. The heavy metal skill was just there to strengthen its defense for a short time! These beasts waited for the perfect opportunity to strike and their patience gave them the victory. Bang!!! "Aaaaarrrrrgggggh!!!" Cyrus cried out as he slammed into the ground, still under the scorching blue meteor. Wooosh! Whack!! The massive guardian weapon appeared at the perfect moment and slammed into the blue meteor viciously, sending the blue meteor flying back by a few meters. The golden guardian weapon had been damaged badly this time, it had numerous web-like cracks all over it, it looked like it will fall apart at any moment. The weapon shook violently for a while before turning into a golden wisp of smoke, dashing into Cyrus'' body. Cyrus staggered as he struggled to rise on his feet. He had lost his majestic glow after taking a hit as fatal as this. He could barely hold on to the god tier magic sword and ended up using this to support himself. His golden skin was filled with numerous injuries caused by the flames. "I just need a few seconds and I''ll kill them for sure!" Cyrus gritted his teeth in rage while staring at the dragons. At this point, he wasn''t worried about himself. His abundant life force gave him a reinforced soul which can take another body at will. Even if this body is destroyed, as long as the for does not have a soul-consuming technique like Derik, he can easily jump into another person''s body, pushing away the person''s soul forcefully and taking over the body. He is practically immortal. 224 Chapter 224: Empire 2 Roar! The fire dragon had no intention of letting Cyrus go easy, its body was instantly engulfed in blue flames as it raced towards Cyrus! Right behind it was the earth dragon in its transparent crystal form, even though its movements speed had reduced greatly, its size made up for its speed, with just a few steps it arrived in front of Cyrus alongside the fire dragon and both of them hacked down on him with their massive claws! Bang! Bang!! Cyrus was shrouded in the golden aura as he barely escaped the first attack, the shockwave from the attack slammed into him from behind, sending him flying a few meters away! Only after rolling on the ground a couple of times, did he finally stop. "Damn! Damn! Dam!!" Cyrus could feel a warm liquid rolling down his forehead. His body had lost all its strength, up to a point where he could barely curl his hands into a fist. He struggled to move but his body blatantly refused to listen to his orders. His golden hair was scattered, smeared in the dirt along with his white and golden mage robe and golden blood trickled down the corner of his lips. His eyelids felt heavy and he lazily watched the two dragons dash towards his position. I got careless¡­ I asked Derik not to worry¡­ Hahahaha! I need to see his expression when he sees my corpse, by then I should have found a new host, maybe I should stay low and let my soul adjust to the new body before I reveal myself to Derik and the others¡­ that should take just a few weeks¡­ a month latest. Agus should make a perfect host, his mastery over light magic is profound and his talent is even better than mine¡­ I''ll definitely reap a lot of benefits if I take control of that body¡­ He is my subordinate so he should be proud that the palace master of the Life palace has chosen him as his new host! Cyrus'' thoughts ran wild as he waited for the ancient dragons to end his life. He caught off a glimpse of two massive figures in mid-air, planning to pounce on him. ??I''m sorry¡­" He muttered and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for death to come. AND IT CAME! Roar!!! Bam! Bam!! The earth dragon and fire dragon were sent flying violently. Since their initial intentions were to pounce on Cyrus at once, they didn''t expect an uninvited guest to appear all of a sudden. Before they could reach Cyrus, a silver portal appeared right in front of them and a cluster of darkness appeared. Within the darkness was a pair of blood-red eyes and its eyes showcased indescribable rage. The beast within the darkness had extremely fast movement speed before they could even react, its hands shot out like lightning, striking them back, hundreds of meters away. Soon Aldora and Kalos appeared with Kaido, and Ahika in their hands. The immigration of the Lizardmen race was a success, Derik somehow calmed himself down before he struck the killing blow on Kaido, also Ahika was almost done healing, he was currently staring at the messed up Life guardian spirit host who he spent most of his life trying to catch up to. Seeing Cyrus in such a bad condition, instinctively made him scared of these two dragons. The earth dragon was known for its powerful defense while the fire dragon possesses terrifying offensive capabilities! In his own opinion, considered it reasonable that these two beasts were able to defeat the famous life mage who has only lost to the death mage. "This was not supposed to happen¡­ Even if they join hands, they shouldn''t be able to defeat Cyrus¡­ In reality with that divine weapon in his hands, even I will find it hard to defeat him¡­ Talkless of two wild animals¡­ I am guessing they caught you off guard with their second forms¡­ You were not prepared for it and they hit you when your guard was lowered¡­ That must be why you are apologizing to me¡­ Hahaha¡­ You won''t do anything reckless¡­ Tch! We have always been reckless from the beginning¡­ It will be difficult to change that about us now¡­" the cluster of dark aura around Derik dispersed as he spoke, revealing his stunning appearance. His eyes looked calm and filled with emotions and a warm smile bloomed on his face the more he spoke. Without giving an order, a golden light lifted Cyrus off the ground before surrounding him. Aldora placed Cyrus next to Kaido''s unconscious and floating body, healing both of them at once. Unlike Kaido whose injuries were severe and his body was almost normal like any other warrior, Cyrus'' body was unique and similar to that of angels, his regenerative speed could be considered terrifying and his healing abilities were even better than that of Aldora! All he needs is someone to start the healing process and stabilize his condition. "Yea¡­ I messed up! That crystal dragon has crazy defensive abilities, even my divine flames could barely harm it and the fire dragon¡­ well that one should be easier for you to handle¡­ And who said I was apologizing to you?" Cyrus completely changed the topic while he spoke weakly. "Huh? Is that so? I clearly heard you say I''m sorry¡­ Who were you speaking to¡­ Yourself? I think you have gone crazy after you were defeated by these two ancient beasts¡­" Derik snapped at him. "Hahahaha! Dream on¡­ I was actually speaking to that silver-haired beauty with the moon magic¡­ Damn! She''s hot! It will be a pity if I leave this world without giving her a taste of all of this¡­" Cyrus spoke with a mischievous look on his face. "My, my, you have a big mouth, maybe I should let these dragons end you and take your place¡­ I''m pretty sure that beauty can''t resist this as well¡­" Derik sneered. Kalos and Aldora frowned at the kind of conversation these two were having and began to wonder if their guardian spirits chose wrong. How could the continents first and only line of defense speak such filthy words easily without holding back? "It''s really unfortunate, I heard the selection of hosts is done at random¡­ I''m pretty sure their guardian spirits are disappointed as well¡­" Aldora said with furrowed eyebrows. "It pains me to see the gold realm cultivation base wasted on two perverted youths¡­ what a shame¡­" Kalos sighed and shook his head repeatedly. "Damn you ancient faggots¡­ what did you say?" Cyrus twisted his body lazily and shot a meaningful glance at the two undead commanders. "Calm down now, Cyrus¡­ we can''t blame them¡­ they both died virgins, that''s why they are both ticked off about our privileges" Derik said with a mocking smile. "You two are damn lucky I''m not in fighting condition¡­ I would have gladly whooped your asses over and over again¡­ Luckily for me, you don''t die easily¡­ I can enjoy beating the crap out of you guys over and over again!" Cyrus sneered. "How did these two reach this level with such an attitude¡­" Aldora was stunned by their reply. "You!... Both of you!!" Kalos'' expression turned ugly. Who would have thought these two would gang up against them in such a situation. Cyrus has always been the calm one while Derik the hot-headed one, now their positions seemed to have changed. The two undead commanders could only slap their faces with their palms in disappointment. It was no use trading words with these two, they will obviously lose. 225 Chapter 225: Empire 3 The earth dragon and fire dragon rose to their feet and observed Derik and the new arrivals from a distance. They were reluctant to end the battle here and flee without taking Cyrus'' life since he was considered a major threat to the magic beast race. With a single slash of the golden divine weapon in his hands, he can easily annihilate a small army of magic beasts. Should these intruders successfully return to their base, it will be a lot more difficult for the magic beasts to fight them, even if all the four dragons joined hands. The fire Dragon recognized Derik whom it fought in the past, after defending against sinister and unhuman attacks from Derik that last time, there was no way it could forget Derik. The injuries it sustained from Derik''s death aura earlier on was the reason why it couldn''t access the blazing blue form in the past, dragging out the battle for about three weeks. In that battle, Derik was the main threat, that''s why it focused all its attacks on him, only after it managed to harm him did it manage to escape. The dragons also noticed the appearance of four other gold realm elites and their already ugly facial expressions turned hideous. These four, with Derik, Cyrus and Diana made it seven gold realm masters on the side of the intruders! This was close to their numbers and each of these gold realm masters possesses capabilities far greater than what these dragons possess, it was obvious their time as the sole rulers of this continent has come to an end yet they weren''t willing to accept it. They were still unaware of Francis''s existence, a man who was also a host at the gold realm too, this was probably because he has always remained hidden for a while now, only Derik and Cyrus could tell that he was still in Gyro. If they could find a way to KILL Cyrus here and now, their chances of winning this war will definitely rise! Apart from Cyrus, it seemed as if two other gold realm masters with them are injured as well. This is a heaven-sent opportunity! If they can find a way to kill these three, they can level the playing field! This is an opportunity which they could not ignore! If they miss this, they will forever live in shame! "We ancient lords have never been known for cowardice! We will settle our grudges today!" The fire dragon roared loudly and dashed forward! "Let''s show these invaders what we are capable of!" The earth dragon who was in its crystal form roared and chased after the blazing blue fire dragon from behind. ............¡­. "Well, they are coming this way¡­ we should leave¡­" Ahika interrupted Derik and Cyrus filthy talk impatiently. "Leave? Na¡­ no way! I am yet to punish them for their crimes against Cyrus" Derik replied casually, totally ignoring the existence of the dragons approaching. "Yea¡­ Kill them both for me¡­ Or just hold them off for a little while¡­ I''ll help you steal their lives" Cyrus said with furrowed eyebrows. "Ohh.. that¡­ we can''t kill them just yet¡­" Derik answered lazily. "Why?" Cyrus was confused. "I can''t explain now¡­ Maybe later¡­ I''m not in the mood" Derik answered lazily once again. "Okay¡­ Maybe later¡­ I''m guessing that''s why you put Kaido in this condition¡­ and that should be why you appeared here¡­ you were planning to stop me from killing these beasts, you never planned on checking on me in the first place" Cyrus accused Derik with knitted eyebrows. Cyrus could still sense Derik''s aura all over Kaido''s unconscious body. He could tell this was caused by Derik, only he can put Kaido in such a condition! He really didn''t know what caused the fight and he wasn''t really interested in knowing who started it, as long as no one died, he has no reason to bother himself. "What are you talking about, I was worried about you¡­" Derik answered hastily with a guilty expression on his face. ???As if!" Cyrus snorted disdainfully! "Guys they are almost here!" Ahika screamed impatiently! He could practically feel the heat radiating from the fire dragons blue flames "Calm down big guy¡­ Being able to act carelessly in the face of danger is a privilege reserved for only the strong" Derik chuckled. His blood red eyes turned cold as he slowly turned to lock eyes with the two dragons only a few steps away from them. A vicious grin appeared on his face as his aura exploded from his body violently. "Who said you can act without my permission? You must be tired of winning!" Derik laughed viciously. He waved his hands and his death aura sward forward like a sea, trying to consume the two dragons in one go. "Dodge!" The earth dragon roared. Against Cyrus attacks, it confidently stood and blocked them but after witnessing the effects of the death aura on the vegetation around, the earth dragon dared not face this ability head on! It was way more terrified of Derik now! Wam! Since it lacked wings, it could only leap the side to evade the attack while the fire dragon flew above the attack. Its body was surrounded by blue flames as it used a similar technique against Derik, diving towards them like a falling meteor! "Hahaha! You two are really tired of living¡­ Very well I''ll put you out of your misery!" Derik laughed wickedly. He pushed both hands forward and then moved both hands in an anti-clock motion. Something began happening, something extremely strange! "You only get to see this once so pay attention¡­" Derik muttered as he focused on his actions. If he is going to control these beasts, he needs to make sure they realize struggling against him is useless. He was planning to break their arrogant, fighting spirit with overwhelming power! To do this he was planning to utilize his trump card. This is an ability that Demos sacrificed another portion of its power to create! This is his third path! Realm Lord Path! 226 Chapter 226: Empire 4 To enable Derik to master such a high-level path, Demos was forced to give up a large portion of his power, eventually dropping from the mid-grade of the demigod realm to the low grade of the demigod realm. This act alone showed how much the guardian spirit was investing in Derik! From the very beginning, it helped Derik master his first path even before he underwent refinement, it also helps him create his own lower grade domain, giving up another portion of its power and finally, it helped Derik master a path which only Demigods are given access to at the low grade of the gold realm. This continuous display of selfless acts from Demos just to make sure he grows almost moved Derik to tears, to the point that he swore he would fulfill every wish of the guardian spirit and help it return to its peak state. The realm lord path is a general path that everyone in the demigod realm must master. At the demigod realm, one can create his domain, a small dimension which corresponds with the casters element and powers, creating a makeshift world within them which possesses the full destructive capabilities of the domain. Only after surpassing the demigod realm, moving all the way to the god realm can someone convert their domain''s into an actual realm. To get someone to enter your domain, one must trick them into stepping through the domain passageway which only the creator of the domain can create. The domain is considered small and lacks intelligent life forms in it. The user can not produce life in it and can only rely on the sheer destructive power of his or her element completely suppress an unlucky foe. But this is already considered a huge advantage Unlike a domain which stored within one''s self and can only be accessed through the domains passage, a realm can fuse with the environment, easily trapping anyone within it easily. At this level, numerous life forms based on the element can be created and even called out of the realm to fight for them. The realm is boundless and has no exit unless the creator decides to let a person out. Being able to utilize a domain at this level is a big advantage for the war to come. Since the creator will be occupied by worthy opponents, alongside its most trusted guardian spirits and the cosmic spirits, the inhabitants of this planet will have to defend itself the creations of the other beings at a similar realm as the creator. For that reason alone, Demos concluded its necessary for it to aid Derik as much as possible and give him an advantage against his foes at a similar rank. By the way, it can still acquire the lost power it lost if given enough time to cultivate in the underworld. With the realm lord path, Derik was ahead of every other being in this continent. It was safe to say he is the most powerful being here. ................................................... Crank! Crank!! Crank!!! Derik''s movements looked extremely slow but in reality it was quite fast, sounds of clashing chains echoed everywhere as the space in front of him began to tear! Numerous rusted black chains that exuded a large amount of death aura appeared in the same circular form and space within was covered in darkish purple light! All this was done even before the blazing blue fire dragon could reach him. "Domain of the dead¡­ Open¡­" Derik muttered lightly and he gently pushed the massive circle forward! Wooooosh! The speed of the domain gate was faster than what everyone expected, the center in between the black chains shot out a purple light which dragged the fire dragon inside in just an instant. Even though the dragon was several times bigger than the domain gate it just vanished into it! "What kind of sorcery is this!" the earth dragon cried out. The earth dragon was terrified by what it just witnessed so it retreated hastily, planning to escape. "Trying to leave? Haha¡­ Since you are already here, don''t bother about leaving this place!" Derik sneered and his body shot forward, turning into a darkish purple light as he chased after the earth dragon with the domain gate following behind tightly. Wooooosh! Since the earth dragon was in its crystal form, its speed was reasonably slower than even that of the fire dragon, it didn''t take long before Derik caught up to it. His figure appeared right in front of the beast and his death aura surged forward like a tidal wave, threatening to crush the beast under it! Seeing this the earth dragon hastily retreated in a bid to escape Derik''s attack, forgetting the domain gate behind! The moment it was close enough, the domain entrance let out a ray of darkish purple light which completely consumed the earth dragon and it was gone. Wooooooossh! Derik''s figure appeared right in front of Cyrus and the rest with the domain entrance following behind tightly. His eyes were void of any form of light, only darkness! It was as if he was peeping into the domain, witnessing the actions of the dragons within his world. Seeing them struggle, a satisfied smile appeared on Derik''s face. "Wait for me here¡­ This wont take long¡­" Derik said to the others casually and turned around, taking long strides towards the entrance. "Wait! I want to see¡­" Kalos finally spoke up with blazing passion in his eyes. He is no beginner, he knew this ability is something that belongs to those at a higher realm! Those at the Demigod realm, a realm which he tried to reach. Even if Derik''s version is slightly inferior, he still wants to see and know what it looks like. The others also wanted to see what a domain looks like. As gold realm masters, they have only heard of it but have never witnessed it! They all wanted to know what the next level for them will look like. "Then, come with me¡­ Stay close" Derik said with a smile. .............................................. It was dark in this world, with the red moon partially hidden by black clouds as the only source of life in this dark world. The air was heavy and a thick nauseating odor filled everywhere. The land was barren and there were numerous cracks on the land and many places in this world were covered by shadows. The team appeared behind Derik, levitating under the influence of his power. The moment they arrived here it felt as if they lost all their strength and couldn''t even fly! If they wished to push themselves off the ground, they will require four times the normal power they normally expend for this task, the level of suppression in this world greatly surpassed their expectations. Roar! Roar!! Not too far below them was the earth and fire dragon trying to fight against the thousands of undead surrounding them! This unholy land has become a resting place for all of Derik''s undead forces, the shadow lurker included. Its body was over twenty meters long and its skin was covered with thick purple scales. Its claws were over two to three meters long and it had a pair of green eyes. Its snake-like body wiggled from time to time as it circled around the two dragons while staring at them coldly. After it broke into the gold realm level, alongside Derik, the shadow lurker was moved to this realm, the same as all the undead in Derik''s army. Since the condition here is similar to that of the underworld, the shadow lurker had no reason to leave, it can stay here and feed off the death aura to improve its strength. Since it was at the same level as this beasts it was one of the commanders of Derik''s undead force, alongside Kalos and Aldora. This majestic beast controlled the hundreds of thousands of magic beasts under Derik''s undead curse. It was yet to be revealed to the world and only Kalos and Aldora knew about this beast, even they were slightly scared of it. Seeing Derik arrive, the shadow lurker bowed respectfully and retreated into the shadows alongside other undead creatures around, giving Derik enough room to deal with this beast. "What is this!" The fire dragon roared furiously. It''s raging blue flames was being suppressed by an unknown force in this realm, it felt extremely agitated by this and wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. "And who said you are allowed to speak?" Derik said with a vicious smile on his handsome face. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Numerous black chains smeared in death aura shot out of the ground beneath these dragons and before they could react, their legs, hands, and necks were bounded by these chains. The dragons gritted their teeth as the felt as if their skins were melting. Black fumes raced into their lungs and these ancient beasts felt their insides corroding, they were choking. Derik waved his hands carelessly as he twirled around in mid-air. The ground beneath these dragons began to shake and it shattered the next moment. Another set of black chains shot out of the ground, wrapping around the earth and fire dragon who kept struggling relentlessly. These dragons were slowly been pulled into the ground and Derik''s figure appeared above them. "Quit struggling and your sufferings will end quickly¡­ You are only prolonging the inevitable¡­" He spoke calmly with a casual smile on his face. "YOU DARE! DIE!!!" The fire dragon roared and spat out a mouthful of blue flames Fire breathe! Poison breathe!! Both dragons spat out their fire and poison but before it could reach, it vanished. The power behind these techniques had weakened and the strength of these dragons was waining due to the effects of the death aura and the backlash of using their second form. It could not reach Derik. "Hahaha¡­ In this domain¡­ I am the sole god!" Derik laughed 227 Chapter 227: Empire 5 Within the death domain, Derik could do and undo, he could create and destroy! To be able to battle him in this domain, one requires to be at a higher level. The earth and fire dragons would have been able to pull this off but unfortunately, the side effects of using their second forms have started to kick in and at their current state they could barely maintain this form. The fact that they were even able to gather enough energy to attack stunned Derik and this increased his urge to draw these beasts over to his side. Unfortunately for them his method has always been crude and sly! What keeps a kingdom together is not love and respect, these emotions can only take you so far, such emotions can easily be quenched at any moment. Only fear is absolute! The power of fear can never be underestimated, Derik intends to create a reputation where even after his death, he will still be feared greatly and people will be too scared to mention his name. "This power¡­ Death power! You are the enemy of all living things!" the fire dragon finally panicked and cried out. "Are you the reincarnation of that man of that time?" The earth dragon asked a trick question. It didn''t want to expose the identity of one of the guardian spirits that joined hands to defeat it. Without mentioning the name of the man but asking about an event related to the defeat of the four ancient dragons, the earth dragon wanted to know Derik''s relationship with the death guardian spirit. Of course, Derik easily understood the intentions of the earth dragon and chuckled in his heart. He, like every other guardian spirit, was aware of the events of the past, where the guardian spirits alongside the angels battled the powerful inhabitants of this planet! During that time the four ancient elemental dragons were considered the weakest amongst the powerhouses of the planet. They could not be compared to the rulers of the other continents in this world, only when they join hands can they face against those terrifying beasts. In reality, the new inhabitants of this continent are lucky that they paired with just these four elemental dragons, if it were any other ruler level beast, even Derik and Cyrus won''t be able to face them even if they join hands together. "That man? I am no reincarnation¡­. That man you speak of is my master and I''m his successor!" Derik said proudly as he grabbed the void in his domain and pulled. The void tore open and a figure shrouded in the darkness appeared. The man was dressed in a sleeveless black and purple robe, his eyes were like a pair of blazing purple flames, and his black and purple hair was combed back neatly. This man''s figure was flawless and his skin was slightly paler than usual, his fingernails and lips were dyed black and behind him was a human-sized death scythe right beside his pair of majestic black wings!. "Aaah¡­ we meet again¡­ little dragons" Demos spoke softly. His aura was like a vast sea that filled the whole area, no one except for Derik who has spent a reasonable portion of his life in the presence of this guardian spirit noticed that his power has dropped once again. At this moment, Demos was at the low grade of the demigod realm! "You! Messenger of death! I knew it, only someone related to you can possess such diabolic powers!" The earth dragon was completely terrified, even the fire did not dare look into the eyes of death! Kalos, Aldora, Ahika, and Kaido were stunned, only Cyrus was not moved by Demos'' appearance. The other gold realm masters could feel Demos oppressive aura, even though the angel of death has lost a reasonable portion of his power, he was still as dangerous as ever. After a few moments of observing, Cyrus finally noticed the change in Demos'' power, he could tell that the angel of death has gotten weaker and Derik was the reason. This is the reason why Derik has always been improving at a stunning rate! How much has this being sacrificed for Derik? Why is my Guardian spirit so dormant and thick-headed¡­ He''s really lucky. "You seem to be doing well¡­ Little host¡­" Demos noticed Cyrus smile and shot him a meaningful smile. Back then, his original intentions for Derik were to help him grow faster, so that he will be able to defeat the life guardian spirit host in the future but after a while, he realized that the bond between these two was not something that can be broken easily. They both have each other''s back, together they make an almost undefeatable team. "You¡­ You too¡­" Cyrus tried to calm himself down as he replied. Demos nodded in response and shot a glance to the others before returning his attention to the dragons whose body has been submerged underground, leaving only their heads on the surface. "Forgive my little host, he can be more vicious than myself¡­ Normally I won''t subject my foes to such torture, I just kill them off right away and use their soul to increase my own realm¡­ it''s really a pity you met him¡­ I apologize for his cruel acts¡­" Demos said with a charming smile. For a moment there it looked like he actually cares about these ancient dragons. "The wind and sea dragon lost to us at Baldmar and we let them flee, for the sake of the survival of this world, I''ll give you the same chance¡­ Leave and never bother us again¡­ The various races are gathering at the southern region of the continent, the magic beasts can live where ever they wish to stay, I''m not bothered¡­. Should I ever receive news of people been killed by magic beasts again¡­ I won''t hesitate to wipe out all the magic beasts in this continent¡­ The four elemental dragons included" Derik said with a stern face. He didn''t give the dragons a chance to speak and the chains quickly pulled their heads into the ground. Bam! The circular chain formation appeared again and a purple light shone out from the center, from it the two dragons shot out from the passageway and fell to the ground. Without wasting any time, the two dragons, turned into beams of light and fled. 228 Chapter 228: Empire 6 Derik and the others emerged from the portal as well, glaring at the fleeing dragons with hints of contempt and disdain in their eyes. Cyrus and Kaido were slightly dissatisfied with the end results but they had no choice but to leave with it. By the way, it was still a victory for them. Even though they greatly wished these ancients dragons responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people are dead, they chose to ignore these beasts until Derik explains why he desperately wants to keep them alive. "Where do you think they hide each time we defeat them?" Kaido suddenly asked weakly. "Yea! They just vanish, no one can trace them after they vanish from sight¡­" Cyrus muttered while rubbing his face lightly. "I guess we will never know¡­Let''s head back¡­ We still have an empire to build!" Derik said uninterestedly. .....................¡­. By the time Derik and the rest of the team arrived, all the magic beasts around the southern region of the continent had disappeared, the gates of Gyro were opened for the very first time in a long while, without being afraid of magic beasts raiding them. Songs of praises for the gold realm masters who battled these dragons were sung and the top tier masters at the gold realm were ordained the new guardians of the empire! The unclaimed land within the southern region was taken up by the elves and lizardmen who began rebuilding their various cities, while the people of Cato chose to merge with Gyro and become one force. Since they were all humans, was there a need to live separately? By the way, as a part of Gyro, they gain the protection of the four most powerful gold realm masters around! With the Death mage, Life mage, Sun guardian knight, and the mysterious nature mage on the sides of the humans, they possessed the largest and most powerful forces in the region, instantly making them the ruling race in the continent. The elves had the moon mage, Diana while the lizardmen were still stuck with Ahika, who is rumored to be as powerful as the life and death mage, his defeat at that time, at the hands of the silver wind dragon was only as a result of a well-coordinated surprise attack. If given a chance to battle both dragons in a free and fair battle, many believe that Ahika would not fall into a disadvantaged position! Many believed this, even Derik and Cyrus believed this as well, this is the reason none of them dared to look down on the lizardmen chief who wields a fire trident! In just a year or two, the elves and Baldmar were done with the construction of their own cities, and a massive wall was built to surround the cities of the three races. Each side provided their numerous defensive and offensive formations to help bluster the overall strength of the new empire, as a result, the hundred-meter wall surrounding the empire was strengthened to a terrifying degree! The human''s provided defensive barrier formations and with the aid of the undead commander Kalos, they were able to set up a spatial barrier around the whole empire. Normally this shouldn''t be possible due to the mana consumption rate but now the spatial mage has the undying body, it can never lack mana. The elves provided their nature core, planting it at the heart of the empire! This divine item is just a fist-size glowing green seed with little green vines sprouting from it, at first people who were not familiar with this godly item were doubtful of the capability of this item. When planted at the center of the empire, the vegetation of the kingdom began to improve at a terrifying speed, numerous flows and lush green vines began sprouting all around the empire, beautifying the whole empire. The borders of the empire were filled with living vines, as the elves called which roamed around aimlessly, covering the whole southern region! Agriculture became a popular occupation and food was in abundance! To everyone''s greatest surprise, the power of this nature formation far surpassed their expectations to a point where even Derik and Cyrus felt threatened by it. They could tell that the effect of the nature core was greatly improved by someone hiding within the shadow, someone with true control over nature! Someone like the nature guardian spirit host, Franics. This man was yet to show himself to the world after entering secluded cultivation to break into the gold realm but his presence still lingered around the empire meaning he was still there! Cyrus and Derik were not bothered by this man''s choice to hide himself and chose to ignore his existence entirely. As long as he helps bluster the defenses of the kingdom in his own way, they have no reason to bother themselves with his shady activities. In just five years the new empire became a paradise for that everyone had dreamed of and when the effects of the nature core were at its peak, numerous low level, docile magic beasts appeared in the southern region, all hoping to leave in this paradise rather than struggling for superiority with other magics beasts in the other regions of the continent. To settle the power distribution in the new empire an assembly was created, each race was given a chance to appoint a representative to join the assembly. Apart from this, six seats were made available for the six sun class lords in the continent, The system was quite simple, very important issues concerning the empire as a whole will be brought to the assembly, a decision will be taken based on the side with the most votes. The humans appointed Gerald as their representatives, while the lizardmen appointed Krasic, a lizardman from the earth tribe, the second strongest lizardman in their tribe and finally there was Elsa who was supported by the elves to represent them, this decision was mostly made based on the rumors of the intimate relationship between the death mage and the former elf queen''s daughter! They sincerely hoped the young elf will be able to manipulate and influence the decision of the death mage. Of course, when this rumor reached Derik who was cultivating in seclusion at that time, his resounding laughter could be heard all over the southern region, making the elves feel a bit insecure. With the new system a lot of powerful men and nobles who once possessed great status and positions, lost their power and influence! They were dissatisfied with the new system and instigated hatred towards the new government as much as they could and they soon paid the poor to carry out demonstrations and riots all over the empire with the lizardmen race being the only exception. In response, the Empire tried to control the situation down but with such powerful figures who have been accumulating wealth and power over the years, they could not easily accomplish this! More fuel was poured into the already raging fire and the situation went out of control! Soon small skirmishes began to happen all over the empire and numerous officials were injured badly. Strategic locations in the empire were overrun by a mixture of angry civilians and powerful masters of various ranks, hoping to make a name for themselves and secure a position in the empire! At the final moment when the various representatives and gold realm masters were called for a meeting, everyone was present except the death mage and the nature mage. On that very day, the streets of the empire were dyed red with blood and the corpse of numerous civilians and powerful elites served as nutrition for the vegetations in the kingdom! The death mage swept through the whole empire like a plague killing off anyone that dared speak against the government, not caring about age or gender! Both elderly men and women, even youths were not spared! In just one day the rebellious people were wiped out and does who tried to escape the empire were found dead at the borders, hung by numerous green vines. The elves claimed they were not responsible for this, leaving the mysterious nature mage as the only option. "Love and respect can never keep an empire together¡­ Only Fear can do this! Our obligation as rulers is to treat our subjects well and do our possible best to have them live a peaceful and satisfying life¡­ Once they have food on their tables and shelter over their heads, we have done our work¡­ When they dare to rise against up, we don''t resolve the situation by going soft on them¡­ We need to show them why we were appointed as their rulers¡­ even if it means wiping out half of the population of the empire, I won''t hesitate to do that, knowing that the other half will forever be loyal" Derik said when defending his actions to the assembly members. 229 Chapter 229: Justification Listening to Derik ruthless words and unrepentant expression, the hearts of most people here were moved. To be honest, most of them had no issues with Derik''s methods, they were even expecting this kind of answer. Ahika and Krasic which stood for the lizard race were disturbed by Derik''s cruel method, instead, they deemed it straightforward and effective. The human race was used to this mass murders whenever Derik appears in public, although it looked gruesome, it was quite effective and consumes less time. After Gerald was crowned king of Gyro back then, something similar happened with the fanatic believers of the holy church and in just a single day, Derik appeared and wiped out all those who stood on the side of the holy church. Back then they deemed this method evil and uncalled for but when the realized how effective it was, they silently approved of it As for the elves, Elsa and Diana wore twisted expressions as they gazed at Derik who looked unconcerned and the man in his early thirties with emerald green hair and eyes. He was dressed in a hooded green robe and in his fingers were rings made of twigs and normal looking leaves. "Over thirty thousand people were killed¡­ five thousand of these people are elves! We elves do not reproduce easily like humans¡­ every elf is very important to the clan¡­ losing close to three thousand people is just too much!" Elsa spoke with a pair of reddened eyes. "I patiently waited for the representatives of the human and elven race to step in and calm the situation¡­ I only intervened when a civil war was almost unavoidable¡­ I solved the problem which you could not solve¡­ shouldn''t you be thanking me?" Derik asked casually. He sat on a customized chair made of the bones of all those he has slaughtered over the years. His blood-red eyes showed no hint of sympathy and there was no remorse in his voice. Derik was justifying his actions and he was slowly growing impatient. He wore his usual sleeveless black top and black trousers. Behind him were Aldora, Kalos, Kira, Kuen, and Kin, all five of them representing the most powerful members of the palace of the dead. Derik''s objective in this meeting was not just to justify his actions, he was also showing off the strength of his personal force to the other representatives. That way they will think twice before acting against him. "We are talking about thirty thousand lives here!" Diana was flustered by Derik''s response and couldn''t help but scream at him. "Thirty thousand, three hundred, what''s the difference?" Cyrus pushes his golden hair backed gently as he asked the question. "They are right Diana¡­ you and Elsa are being too sentimental about this¡­ thirty thousand plus people were trying to pull this kingdom into a state of chaos and destruction¡­ Derik''s action may look cruel, but even then, it was necessary" Kaido has always been fond of Diana so he spoke to her softly. "But¡­. That wasn''t the only way!" Diana muttered under her breathe after Cyrus and Kaido spoke up. With Kaido, Cyrus, Ahika, Gerald, Derik, Krasic, and Francis on one side, there is nothing she and Elsa could do about the situation. Now she even thought about it, even if they chose to punish the death mage for his actions, who here could defeat him and his undead army? "You need to understand that these people you killed are related to innocent people in some way! You killed people''s fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and even children! I don''t wish for you to be punished in anyway Derik¡­ I just wish you understand the implications of your actions¡­ Someone''s loved one is dead because of you and Francis" Elsa turned her attention to Derik and spoke directly. "Punish¡­ Me? Ha! These people made their choices¡­ they chose to destabilize the empire so I chose to take their life¡­ it''s just the way things are! For your sake, I give you a month to calm the rioting elves who are asking for their so called justice¡­. After that time, I will sweep through the streets of the empire again and take the lives of those who dare to side with my enemies¡­ Same goes for you too Gerald¡­ should these humans continue their demonstrations, I''ll be forced to show them what it means to be the messenger of death!" Derik glared at Elsa while he spoke, after which he left the hall with his team. "Well¡­ I just hope you know I''m on his side too¡­" Francis finally spoke just after Derik left the room. Cyrus on his own part only chuckled in response and signaled Agus to leave with him with just a simple flick. Ahika and Krasic had no reason to stay behind so they left as well. With this the meeting came to an end and everyone returned to their various regions. In the end, after Derik''s message was relayed to the people, the empire went quite. They demanded justice for their loved ones since they believed numerous gold realm masters would stand against the death mage. In reality, they were expecting the life guardian spirit host who is meant to support peace and love to stand against Derik, since he is the only one capable of killing the death mage, but to their greatest surprise, the Life mage alongside the blazing fire guardian spirit host and the nature guardian spirit host took his side. With this, who could lay a finger on the death mage? The palace of darkness was currently considered as the most powerful force in the empire. With the death mage as its head, fighting alongside two gold realm undead commanders! One wielding the light magic and the other wielding the spatial magic, making it three gold realm masters in one force. Behind them are three commander level individuals, each possessing the peak grade of the silver realm cultivation base! Kira wielding the blood magic, Kin who was also a mage with the darkness magic and Kuen who is the current host of the gravity cosmic spirit! Rumor has it that this talented youth awakened his own path the very moment he broke into the peak grade of the silver realm, making him the strongest amongst the three commanders of the special forces. After the alliance of the four kingdoms, all those wielding supernatural powers just like the werewolves and vampires, abandoned their homes to join the palace of the dead, a place that did not discriminate against the supernatural! With this Derik possessed a force of over ten thousand supernatural beings with strength close to the silver realm or even nearing the peak of the silver realm! His power and influence have become so terrifying that everyone would need to band together before they can fight him! The only person capable of matching him in power and influence has always been the palace master of the life palace, Cyrus. Unfortunately, he has always been in a good relationship with Derik and every move which any of them took was backed up by the other person, making it almost impossible to deal with them individually. Seeing no reason in continuing a protest which will lead to the loss of their lives in a month''s time, these people quietly returned to their homes silently. The recent event has created a bridge between the elven race representative Elsa and the death mage Derik and their relationship began to crumble silently! 230 Chapter 230: An orc Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! A youth about sixteen years of age fire three shots consecutively from his bow while she retreated repeatedly, her green hair swayed in the wind as each shot she fired carried some sort of wind wave and her feet barely touched the ground, she practically glided in the wind, moving past the rest of her team effortlessly. The lady had bright green eyes with long shoulder length green hair! She only wore a piece of green cloth that looks like a bra to hold on to her massive bosom and green shorts which revealed her long attractive legs. Strapped to her back was a quiver filled with arrows and on her hand was a green boy decorated with green glowing ancient letters, it gave off a refreshing aura. "Gust¡­ this ain''t working? How did we get lost? Check the map again!" A red hair boy cried out impatiently. It was obvious he was terrified because he was the slowest in the group. The three arrows gust shot hit three goblins but there were still close to fifty of them chasing after them. Not to talk of the goblin shaman leading the group! "Guys¡­ I can''t hold on much longer!!" A purple-haired girl cried out. Her face was already covered in sweat and she looked paler than usual. She wore a white robe that had a cross symbol on it, indicating that the lady is the oracle of this little adventurer team. "Crap! Crap!! Crap!!!" The red-haired kid panicked and cried out. The oracle was constantly maintaining a golden barrier around them, protecting them from the arrows of these goblins. If she lets go of it now, only death will follow! "I''m too young to die!" Gust began crying at the spot while running as fast as her long legs could, her hands kept shivering and her grip on her magic weapon had loosened reasonably! Only fear can do this to a person. "Use the magic weapon! You have a magic weapon with you just use it!" The guardian knight of the team cried out. He was dressed in normal clothing, reinforced by a few pieces of light armor. On his back was a spear so long that people even wonder if he can use it. The team ran across the thick forest, jumping across logs of wood lying on the floor! the ventured too far from the walls and lost their map on the way, now they weren''t sure if they are going the right way! In a bid to find their way back to the empire walls, they stumbled upon a goblin stronghold. "Just keep running¡­ Layla, buy me a few more minutes¡­ can you do that!" A kid dressed in an oversized brown robe said calmly. "I can buy you one more minute at most" The purple-haired oracle said with a firm nod. "That should be enough!" The kid had the sorcerer class symbol on his robe and the hood worn over his head prevented others from seeing his face. No one knew whether he was anxious or just scared. The team just nodded in response and towards the light at the other side of the forest! As long as they can make their way out of this thick forest, they will be able to have a glimpse of the terrain and have an idea of where they are. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! With renewed vigor, the team relentlessly launched their attacks at the goblins while they ran. Each time the goblin shaman tossed a fireball at them, the red-haired kid would conjure his own fireball and counter the attack. It didn''t take long before the team finally made it out of the forest, arriving at what seemed to be a cliff, below them was a waterfall. With a glance they could see numerous trees and streams. "We actually went this far?" Layla''s expression turned sour as she tried to remember where they are and where they should go now. "Which way now?" The red-haired kid asked with a frown on his face. Entering the forest again is not an option since they were pretty sure the goblins were surrounding them now. "We buy Blink more time¡­" The brown-haired guardian knight said, taking a step forward while tightening his grip on his spear! Growl!!! The goblins roared and swarmed towards them with their weapons raised high! Behind the swarm of goblins was a goblin warlord who was carrying the tiny goblin shaman dressed in a purple robe on its shoulder. "So many?" The guardian knights expression twisted in so many ways. He took a few steps back and took a few breathes in, the spear in his hand let out a faint white glow. "Hehehe¡­ This won''t end well¡­" The red-haired kid let out a bitter smile while carrying two fist balls of fire in his hands. The others held their breath and waited for the goblins to arrive, Layla and the Blink stayed behind, concentrating on their spells while the others prepared to fight. Roar! Just before the goblin''s reached a loud cry was heard in the forest and even the goblin warlord was slightly terrified by this and retreated, commanding a few low-level goblins to check it out. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Each step the beast took shook the forest. Soon a green colored beast appeared from the forest, its body was decorated with red painting and in its hands were two battle-axes. The beats had a human figure and long black hair, its eyes were bloodshot and a pair of dagger-shaped teeth protruded from its mouth, making it almost impossible for it to close its mouth properly. Its upper body was left bare while the lower part was covered with shorts made of animal hide! This beast was more than two meters tall, and it stared at the goblins with a hint of disappointment. "Weak¡­" It muttered, turning its attention to the goblin warlord and the goblin shaman. "Not too bad¡­" It muttered with a faint smile on its face! Roar!!! The beast let out a resounding roar and dashed forward in an instant, bulldozing through the swarm of goblins easily. These goblins quickly ran as far as they could while the brave ones amongst them struck at the orc but their blades could not penetrate the body of the beast, leaving little marks on its body. Bang! With a single sweep, the orc sent over ten goblins flying, its cold gaze was still fixed at the goblin warlord and its lips curled up into a smile. It was practically taunting to goblin warlord! Bang! The goblin warlord swung its massive stone club, knocking away the goblins around it before dashing towards the orc! The goblin shaman jumped off its shoulder, hovering in the air while conjuring a ball of fire. Bang! The orc swiped its battle-ax at the stone club, parrying it with ease. It swung its second battle-ax at the goblin warlord who retreated to evade before hacking down on the orc with its stone club once again! Bang! Bang!! An excited smile finally appeared on the face of the orc as the stone club struck its shoulder and a ball of fire quarter its size struck its body, leaving a burnt skin odor all over the place! "More!!!" It cried out in joy as it forcefully pushed back its dislocated shoulder in place before dashing forward again with its weapons raised high. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The two sides exchanged numerous hits and the orc was slightly in a disadvantaged position, especially since the goblin shaman kept interfering with its fireballs. But each time the orc got hurt, it would laugh hysterically and fight even harder! This was a nightmare for the goblins and they soon began feeling restless. Bam! The orc kicked the goblin warlords hips, sending it flying a few meters back. It was about to chase after the goblin warlord but then another ball of fire crashed into its body, knocking it over. Roar!!! Finally hints of annoyance could be seen on the orcs face as it gazed at the orc shaman coldly. Its grip on its battle ax tightened as it spun to the left, before throwing its massive weapon at the goblin shaman, who was too busy conjuring another fireball to notice the attack. Bang!!! The goblin shaman was split in two with just a single attack! These kids watched the battle take place with horrified expressions on their faces, some of them could barely even stand. Only the sorcerer of the team, blink desperately tried to remain calm while he focused on his spell! He knew more than anyone else that as soon as this green beast is done with the goblins, they will be next! 231 Chapter 231: Invasion No matter how they looked at it, the green hairy beast had a striking resemblance when compared to the goblins, yet its strength and physical prowess were hundreds of levels above the goblin warlord. It looked like an improved version of the goblins and the beast''s thirst for blood seemed insatiable! Even after sustaining numerous injuries from the joint attack of the goblin shaman and the goblin warlord, the crazed look on the bloodshot eyes of the orc showed it was hungry for more battles. Now the goblin shaman is dead, these kids knew the goblin warlord would follow shortly, for the very first time in their lives, they prayed the goblin warlord would win this battle but it seemed as if this prayer will not be answered. Bang! With one of its battle axes gone, the orc relied on the only one left to block the stone club hacking down at it while using its fist to punch the goblin warlords broad chest, forcing it to repeatedly! With the death of the goblin shaman who was the original leader of this small community of goblins, the other little goblins who swarmed towards the orc before lost their courage and ran helter-skelter, vanishing into the forest nearby. None dared to linger around the area. "Let''s leave now!" The guardian knight said decisively with trembling hands and shaky legs. "And go where¡­ we are lost and how sure are we that the monster won''t come after us as soon as it''s done with the goblin warlord?" The robed sorcerer, Blink commented calmly. "What makes you think that the beast won''t kill us next as soon as it''s done with the goblin warlord? We need to leave now¡­." Gust cried out with tears rolling down her face. "To think you are the daughter of the legendary archery master, Mason¡­ It''s quite disappointing that you lack a backbone¡­ I still recommend we stay until I can complete my preparations¡­" Blink snorted disdainfully as he spoke. "You!" Gusts face reddened when she heard Blink''s words but she didn''t dare attack him while he was still preparing his mystical spell. "Since you are calm, I am guessing you have a plan¡­ can you share it with the rest of the team?" The red-haired kid holding two balls of fire in his hands asked calmly but a hint of impatience and fear could be seen in his eyes even though he tried to mask it as well as he could. Wam! Blink abruptly pulled back the hood of his robe revealing his handsome yet hideous face. His black hair was neatly combed back with green stripes all over it, Blink''s skin was extraordinarily pale and his face had darkish purple spots all over it as if it were an infection. His eyes kept giving out silver and darkish purple glow repeatedly, switching with the other every second, it was obvious his aura was unstable, that explained why he required much time to perform a single spell. His lips were purple and his knitted eyebrows were purple, his extraordinary calm demeanor stunned everyone present. This was the first time they have seen what Blink looks like, ever since they were paired together as one team in the adventurers association. "I am a member of the palace of the dead¡­ even though I don''t possess any form of dark magic, my magic partially leans towards the spatial side, so the gold realm commander of the dead palace, Kalos took me in as his student¡­ I know one of the living commanders of the empire guardian, Palace master Derik¡­ If I can transport him over to this side¡­ we will surely survive this¡­" Blink said with determination written all over his face as he threw the brown robes off the cliff, revealing the slim fit black and red sleeveless mage robe with fist-size skulls used to design the attire. The others stared at him in shock, who would have thought the kid who always wore oversized brown robe all the time and rarely spoke would have a stunning background and foundation. Until now, these people always thought Blink was from a poor family that couldn''t even afford common mage robes, they even looked down on him. Who would have thought this kid was just hiding his identity all the time. Even if they reject his words, the diabolic aura diffusing from his body was concrete evidence that he isn''t a fake. The darkish purple spots on his body only showed that he actually resides at the palace of the dead and the death aura of the death mage is definitely affecting him in some way. As soon as he took the brown robe off, the diabolic aura slowly diffused and filled the air, at this point they realized the brown oversized robe was not just for show, it had special qualities that allowed him to suppress his aura. "How long do you need¡­" The red-haired kid with balls of flames in his hands was the first to recover and he asked. "As expected of the son of the former royal guard, Master Karl¡­ You are as good as they say you are¡­ Just sixty seconds or so¡­ Do you think you can handle it, Bruce?" Blink asked with raised eyebrows as he gazed at the red-haired kid with an interesting look on his face. "The name is blaze! And sixty seconds should be a problem!" Blaze snorted disdainfully and focused on the battle between the green beast and the goblin warlord. With that, Blink ignored the rest and sat down in a crossed-legged position as he mumbled some inaudible words. Numerous silver ancient letters slowly kept appearing his hands, slowly reach his shoulder-length while he continued his incantations. The others only nodded and focused their gaze on the battle between the green beast and the goblin warlord. If Blink can pull this off they won''t have to worry about their safety again! They had an idea about the person Blink was speaking of, this was a person he trains under the spatial undead mage as well. A cosmic spirit host! 232 Chapter 232: The sorcerer named Blink Bang! The orc was getting more impatient and it quickly used its raised fist to block the stone club swinging towards its head. It struck forward with its battle-ax, aiming for the goblin warlords belly. The goblin warlord hastily shifted to the side evading the blunt, bloodied battle ax by a breath while throwing its clenched fist at the orcs face. Bang! The orc didn''t even retreat by a single step, moving as if it was unfazed by the blow, it readjusted its grip on the battle-ax in its hands and swung its battle-ax at the goblin warlord from the side. Peng! Using its stone club to block the attack, the goblin warlord threw a kick at the belly of the orc, forcing it to retreat by a few steps, giving it enough space to catch its breath. Indeed this was the greatest battle this goblin warlord has fought in its life, it was feeling quite excited and nervous at the same time. The orc warlord on the other hand had some traces of respect for this worthy foe right in front of it. It''s very unfortunate it isn''t an orc and it was giving the instruction to kill all life form it meets and claim this land for the horde. Roar! The orc roared all of a sudden, entering a frenzied state with its blood-red eyes glowing bright and veins bulging out all over its muscles. Bang! With a banging sound, the orc shot forward at incredible speed, covering the space between him and the goblin in a single breath. In response to the abrupt increase in physical capabilities, the goblin staggered back and swung its stone club at the orc abruptly, who crouched to evade the attack and circled around the goblin warlord hastily. Its hands stealthily went around the goblin warlords waist and locked on around its waist. The orcs blood-red eyes glowed even brighter and its muscles kept bulging continuously as it swiftly lifted the goblin warlord off the ground, with its body twisting nimbly, ultimately slamming the goblin warlords head into the ground! Boooom!!! The skull of the goblin warlord exploded and its neck twisted in ways it should have never turned. The massive two-meter tall goblin warlords lifeless body was shoved away violently by the orc who sprang on his feet nimbly. A crazed expression lingered on the face of the orc as it danced around wildly while chanting gibberish which no one could understand. "This¡­" The guardian knight wore a terrified expression on his face after witnessing the one-sided massacre which just took place a few seconds ago. "That thing does not belong to this world!" Gust cried out in fear, instantly covering her mouth when she realized she might draw the attention of the green beast. "How are we meant to fight that thing¡­" Blaze had totally lost all the confidence he managed to muster back then after witnessing the stunning power of this orc. "We don''t need to fight against it¡­ Just defend for a while and buy me some time!" Blink remained calm and unfazed by the monster''s display of strength. After living in the palace of the dead for so many years, Blink has seen so many mutated supernatural beasts residing in that mountain with monstrous strength which will forever put this green beast to shame. This orc can never compare to the main inhabitants of the palace of the dead, to him this green beast is a big joke! Even the weakest supernatural being in that mountain is twice as strong as this orc. "How much time do you still need¡­" the purple-haired oracle, Layla was trying to compose herself and asked the question calmly. "A few more seconds¡­ It shouldn''t be too difficult¡­ I''ll join in if I have to" Blink said indifferently. At this time, the silver symbols all over his body had spread up to his face, almost reaching his forehead now. He stared right in the eyes of the orc which was now staring at them with his lips curled up into a smile. "Come on boy¡­ Let''s dance a bit before big bro arrives¡­ I won''t mind throwing a punch or two" Blink laughed viciously as he got on his feet and took a few steps forward. The others were stunned by his words and began wondering if this was pure bravery or just stupidity. Anyway, this was their first official task as a team so they have never really seen Blink fight before so they weren''t really sure how strong the sorcerer is. The orc growled at them with his cold gaze pinned on Blink who he considered as the only threat present. The orc growled at them with his cold gaze pinned on Blink who he considered as the only threat present. The darkish purple aura diffusing from his body was enough to make the orc feel threatened. Roar!! The orc roared furiously and dashed forward fearlessly, picking up its battle axes along the way. The orc stomped its feet on the ground before shooting into the air like a rocket with its battle-axes raised high, falling towards them like a comet while hacking down at them. "Hahaha! Move!" Blink wore an excited expression on his face as he pushed those close to him away and quickly rolled forward. Bang!!! The ground where orc landed had two deep gashes caused by the battle-ax and numerous web-like cracks. It growled angrily and quickly turned around, swiping both axes at Blink who was behind it. Blink! As if it was an illusion, Blinks body instantly really released a silver light and he vanished, reappearing behind the orc again, he flicked his finger and a black dagger shrouded in the darkness appeared in his hands out of thin air. A vicious smile bloomed on his face as terrifying dark aura exploded from the dagger, aiming for the orcs waist. PENG!! The orcs reaction speed was way faster than that of Blink, allowing it to parry the attack on time. The orc pushed the dagger aside with one of its battle axes and hacked down at Blink with the second ax, aiming to split him in two with a single blow. Blink! Puff!!! Green blood shot out of the orcs back spraying on Blink''s figure who was holding the dagger stuck to the back of the orc. The vicious smile on his face grew even brighter and his eyes were completely darkish purple at this moment. "Do you think you can contend with a member of the Palace of the Dead? Do you think I''m scary? Just wait till my Big bro arrives¡­ You will get to know what true fear is!" Blink laughed viciously! 233 Chapter 233: Kuen appears The other members of the group were so stunned by the battle taking place right in front of them that they began to wonder how this kid in front of them is a recruit with such combat capabilities. What the heck? He shouldn''t even be in the magic class with the kind of physical prowess he is displaying is even beyond the capabilities of the guardian knight of their little team. "Are all members of the palace of the dead so strong?" Gust muttered but the others heard her clearly and shook their heads in response. "This guy is leagues ahead of us, who would have thought the person we were looking down on can single-handedly battle such a terrifying beast" Blaze said with a disbelieving look on his face. Back then the kid always dressed in an oversized brown robe insisted they call him Blink since everyone else used nicknames expect the Layla girl. They always took created their code names based on their abilities so they were quite interested in seeing what kind of power Blink possessed and on this very day, they confirmed that the name was perfect for this tyrannic mage on their team. His ability to instantly teleport from one location to another shows his immense control over the space element, though it is at a lower level when compared to that of the former kingdom guardian Kalos. This must be the reason why the undead commander took interest in him and decided to take him in as a disciple. WOOOSH! Blink spun to the left, evading the battle-ax hacking down at him while pushing his black dagger forward at lightning speed, aiming for the orcs broad chest! Peng! The orc used its battle-ax to block the attack, staggering backward uncontrollably. Before it could regain its balance, Blink was already in mid-air and the vicious smile on his face never faded for even a moment. With a short spin, he landed two consecutive kicks on the orcs face, forcing it to retreat even further while spitting out a mouthful of black blood mixed with green blood. It was obvious that the orc is suffering from internal corroding after the dagger found its way into its body at Blink''s hands. This magic weapon was specifically made for him by the palace of the dead''s best magic weapon crafter, infusing Derik''s death aura into the weapon. This magic weapon is considered an experiment where a fighter infuses his power directly into a weapon, allowing it to perform a certain task. As Derik''s death aura has been used to craft the weapon, it lost its ability to gather and release condensed aura like every other low-level magic weapon. Even then, Blink was excited when he has presented this weapon as a gift from the palace master, for officially becoming a recruit. He was literarily the youngest member of that palace, its only natural for everyone to spoil him. "Hahahaha! We are not done yet!" Blink laughed hysterically as he stomped the ground and shot forward like a missile, leaving numerous web-like cracks in his previous location. In just a single breathe, he had crossed the distance between him and his foe with his black dagger sticking forward. The orc roared in response and struck at him with both hands but once again Blink''s figure turned silver and vanished, appearing above the orc! "Die!" He cried out as he struck down relentlessly! Sinking his dagger deep into the orc skull, before using the orc''s massive body as a stepping stone to push himself back. Landing a few meters away with a bang. Blink watched the massive body of the orc fall like a rock and a glimpse of exhaustion could be seen on his facial expression. Her chest heaved up and down heavily as he fell on his butt, breathing out heavily. Constant short-ranged teleportation may be faster but his mana pool was too small for him to use it consecutively. He was completely worn out now, lazily slamming his palm on the ground creating a silver magic array on the empty space right in front of him. Wam! With a loud sound, a figure began to appear at that very spot. The man was in his mid-twenties but he looked much younger! He was dressed in a similar black and red sleeveless mage robe with skull-like designs all over it. Just like Blink, his blood-red hair was neatly combed backward, tied into a ponytail and his eyes looked like it lacked eye sockets, covered by darkness containing countless stars. "Little guy¡­ You pushed yourself too much again" Kuen said calmly after observing the worn-out Blink for a while. Not giving a damn about the other kids around, he walked up to Blink and pulled him up effortlessly. "You pulled me over to your side successfully¡­ I''m truly impressed, I didn''t think you will be able to manage this from this much distance, Master Kalos definitely didn''t make a mistake when he took you in, so what is the emergency?" Kuen who was almost twice Blink''s size stooped down like a father talking to his son while he asked the question. "You know how master Kalos always spoke about outside beings trying to invade our planet¡­ I think they are here¡­ I have gone through the info on almost all the magic beasts in the world¡­ that thing is not one of them! I brought you here to confirm" Blink spoke only after catching his breath. He pointed towards the huge corpse of the orc which he just killed a few seconds ago. I brought you here to confirm!!! These words rang like a bell in the ears of the other recruits present, leaving them speechless. Not only did Blink manage to defeat this beast alone, but he also claimed he summoned the peak grade silver realm expert just to look into the identity of this creature! This could be considered as the peak level of arrogance but none of them dared rebuke him, not after he single-handedly defeated the orc. His control over his magic was already beyond something any of them can contend with and his physical capabilities are even more shocking. The fact he was able to trade blows with the orc only showed how physically endowed he is. In reality, the truth was that Blink''s body was undergoing some sort of mutation just like the other experts of the palace of the dead due to prolonged exposure to Derik''s sinister aura. At his current state, he was already beyond the realm of normal people and even low-level bronze realm guardian knights in terms of speed and strength. This is something he acquired unknowingly in exchange for his physical appearance. Right now, only people as powerful as Kuen, Kaido, and Kin can prevent Derik''s overbearing aura form having physical changes on them and that''s why they still look completely normal. 234 Chapter 234: Invaders arrive! "It doesn''t belong to this world?" Kuen raised an eyebrow when he heard Blink''s words. He sprang on his feet like lightning and walked towards the huge orc body lying there on the ground. With a flick of his gray aura shot forward and flipped the orc''s massive body around, he appeared right in front of it almost instantly. He pressed his fingers against the orc''s wounds and frowned slightly. "You are as vicious as usual¡­" Kuen laughed as he turned his attention to Blink and smiled. Suddenly!!! ROAR!!! The orc''s eyes yanked open, revealing blinding red lights, its muscles began bulging, and red veins appeared all around its green hefty body. This was similar to the time it killed the goblin warlord, its strength and speed increased immensely! Woooosh! Its hands shot forward like lightning, trying to seize Kuen''s head while he was distracted. The orcs movements were so fast that no one could react to it on time. Bang! The body of the orc suddenly got heavier, to heavy for the orc to move. Its body smashed into the ground creating a one-meter deep crater in just a second. The orc''s bloodthirsty eyes were fixed on Kuen who was staring at it with hints of disdain in his eyes. Roar!! The orc roared and a violent aura exploded from its body and it quickly struggled to rise on its feet but then its bones began making cracking sounds when Kuen''s eyebrows furrowed. The orc felt like three ancient mountains were been stacked atop its back, it couldn''t even lift a finger! Bang! Bang!! The crater deepened to two meters and the orc didn''t even have the strength to roar anymore. It could only stay down while gazing at Kuen with fearful eyes. "That''s it¡­ Stay down, little man¡­" Kuen snorted hatefully before shifting his attention to Blink again. "Do you have enough strength to cast one more long-range teleportation spell?" Kuen asked softly. "Yea¡­ Barely¡­ Can''t we just fly back to the empire?" Blink nodded his head as he spoke. "We can but if there are more of these things it will prove troublesome if beasts like this at a higher level should appear¡­ I''m guessing this beast is the weakest since it doesn''t have any cultivation at all" Kuen spoke thoughtfully. Gasps! "Damn! Come on now, don''t tell me that!" Blink refused to believe Kuen''s words. How can something this powerful be the weakest amongst its peers in its race, he barely killed one! Blink could only nod his head obediently while gritting his teeth in anguish. he signaled for the others to gather around Kuen as he fell on both knees and placed his hands on the ground before muttering something inaudible. His eyes let out a faint silver light as ancient silver letters spread across the ground, spanning over a hundred meters wide. With the defeated orc floating closeby Kuen and the other recruits waited for Blink to finish casting the spell. As a price for having such insane power, the boy has to put in more time into training but he was yet to master this power. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! The ground beneath their feet suddenly began to tremble and numerous footsteps could be heard, it was like an army was heading towards their location. Hearing this, Kuen took a few steps forward, blocking Blink''s figure with his body, his hands were gently placed behind him and his feet slowly left the ground and he levitated into the air slowly. Bang!!! Over twenty figures shot out of the forest at once, all of them similar to the defeated orc in floating behind him, wielding battle-axes in their hands. His eyes let out a silver glow as he raised his right hand into the air before throwing it down fiercely! "Fall!!" BANG! BANG!! BANG!!! All twenty figures crashed into the ground at once, creating a massive five-meter deep crater instantly! Roar!!! All twenty orcs let out soul-shattering roars as their body size began expanding and their muscles began bulging! Under the pressure of twenty, two-meter tall green monsters, cold sweat rolled down Kuen''s head and he was almost forced to take these beasts seriously. At a point, the orcs could only stand there and stare at Kuen hatefully, not been able to move a step forward. ROAR! More roars could be heard within the forest and thirty more figures appeared in sight with thousands more still within the forest making their way forward. It''s a horde!!!! Seeing this, Kuen''s face twisted and he quickly gathered his aura and cried out fiercely in response. His eyes let out a silver glow as he spat out a small white orb, shooting it into the air. "Rise!!!" Kuen roared and hundreds of orcs were dragged into the air towards the white orb. In just a few seconds over eight hundred orcs were clustered together in mid-air, pressing against each other tightly until they formed a gigantic green ball, yet thousands of orcs were still marching towards the team, even Kuen dared not leave the magic circle which Blink formed. As long as Blink could finish this spell, they can safely return to the empire and report the situation to the others. "Giga Fall!!!" Kuen roared pushing his hands down and the gigantic ball of orcs suddenly fell to the, crushing hundreds of orcs in the distance. "Big bro!" Blink called out in worry. "Focus on you spell Kid, I''m an esteemed commander of the palace of the dead, I won''t be defeated easily!" Kuen smiled viciously as his aura exploded violently and he stared at the orcs at the distance. "Since you have chosen death, don''t blame me for being ruthless!! I will show you the power of God!" He bellowed. Woooosh! Pulling his hands into the air slowly, all the orcs began levitating slowly. While some struggled, they couldn''t match the strength of the cosmic spirit host and they were pulled off the ground forcefully. Kuen''s expression looked stern as he focused on gathering the horde in one place but then he heard a voice. "The power of a god? Are the inhabitants of this planet always this cocky?" It was a feminine voice. A green slender lady, dressed in silver battle armor appeared. Her face was completely covered with a skull-shaped metal helmet and her green eyes portrayed her malicious intentions. Kuen''s expression turned gloomy as he watched this female orc strode towards him confidently, not even bothering to look at her allies struggling in mid-air, it was obvious his power was not having any effect on this woman. She is strong enough to resist my magic? Well, let''s go at it again! Wam! Pushing his raised hands forward, the orc horde was sent flying hundreds of meters away. His eyes turned pitch black and the silver symbols on the ground lit up. Blink''s spell was almost complete! "Gravity magic: Black Hole!" Kuen bellowed and let his magic run wild. Numerous black mists resonated from his body continuously, an invisible force focused only on the female orc began pulling her towards Kuen. For the first time, the female orc felt the threw power behind Kuen''s power and couldn''t help but feel anxious. Her instincts which have been delicately nurtured kept warning her against Kuen, she knew once she gets to Kuen, her life was going to end that very instant. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! The ground beneath steel heels began to shatter as her body slowly slid forward. Kuen was astonished by the female orc''s resilence, he was pretty sure any other normal mage or warrior at the peak of the silver realm would have succumbed to his power long ago! "Truly, you are not weak¡­ But you are not strong enough either! What are you? Speak and I may spare your life!" Kuen grinned as he barked at the female orc. "¡­." The female orc remained silent as she struggled against the invisible force, not even bothering to spare Kuen a glance. Kuen was enraged by the silent treatment and pour in more power into the attack but then a green wave of pure aura swarmed towards him and the kids behind. "Who!!!!" Kuen bellowed furiously as he used his body to shield the kids and poured out his aura, planning on facing a new threat head-on. BOOOM!!! PUTI! Kuen fell on his knees and spat out a mouthful of blood, the light in his eyes dimmed as he stared at the figure approaching. It was a three-meter tall green humanoid monster with a pair of glowing red eyes flashing within its skull-shaped helmet. It wore black armor and on its back was a three-meter long black spear hanging on its back. "Who? Do you think you are qualified to ask such a question?" The orc''s black hair fluttered carelessly as it walked towards the female orc, the orcs respectfully made way for this new beast. Using its aura, it was able to forcibly break Kuen''s black hole spell. Struggling to get back on his feet, Kuen spat out another mouthful of blood with a weak smile on his face. Just with a glance, he could tell that this huge orc was some sort of commander amongst these strange beasts. His soul was hurt badly from the attack and it would take a long while for him to recover, even Derik and Cyrus cannot defeat him so easily the way this man did, that''s what scared him the most. This being must be at least a level higher than the strongest existences of this continent! "Hahaha¡­ I''m not qualified to ask such a question but, I''m sure my Palace master is more than qualified! Be prepared, you will die at his hands just like all his previous enemies!!! You will regret making an enemy out of the palace of death!" Kuen''s smile turned vicious as the whole team was engulfed in silver light and the whole team vanished in an instant! The three-meter tall orc didn''t seem bothered by the fact that Kuen had escaped. He simply closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them once again! "For using such malicious words¡­ I sentence you to death!" the beast spoke calmly and turned towards the general direction of the empire. He had managed to pinpoint the exact location where Kuen reappeared! From such a distance! How terrifying!! Unsheathing his spear, he shrouded the weapon in green aura and gently threw it towards the direction of the empire! Xui!!! ........................... Kuen and the rest of the team appeared right in front of the mansion where the palace master resides. Kuen looked extremely pale and his eyes were struggling to stay open, he could barely stand at the moment and struggled to move towards the mansion but then he''s already gloomy expression turned ugly. "Is that even possible?" He gasped in disbelief as he looked into the distance with terrified eyes. Those around, including blink, could not understand the reason behind his sudden change in expression at first but soon the clouds and the sky turned green and a massive green beam was shoot towards the palace of the dead. Even though it was yet to reach the defensive barriers used to protect the empire, no one was sure if the barriers would be able to stop this. "Palace master!!!" Blink instinctively screamed in fear. ....................... In a room shrouded in darkness within the mansion, a pair of red eyes yanked open gazing towards the direction of the green beam. His eyebrows furrowed and with a single breathe he spoke words which everyone in the continent heard clearly! "WHO DARES LAY HANDS ON MY DISCIPLES? HAHAHAHA! ONLY DEATH AWAITS!" Derik bellowed furiously! 235 Chapter 235: Life and death mage, Defeated! Its been a decade since the final battle between the new inhabitants of the continent and the four ancient elemental dragons, within this time the territories of the new inhabitants and the magic beasts have been shared equally. For this reason, the environment has remained relatively peaceful and only small internal conflicts have occurred, battles between the new inhabitants and high leveled magic beasts which possessed high intelligence stopped as well, only low leveled beasts remained aggressive but it didn''t bother anyone since the recruits and military used these magic beasts for training exercises. Its been five years after the empire civil war event where the death mage murdered over thirty thousand people in a single day just to break the rebellion! Ever since that day, the relationship between the death mage and the elf representative Elsa deteriorated, leaving both sides in a very awkward situation but this did not affect the relationship between the humans and the elves since both sides were both casualties of the death mages ruthless attacks, instead, the event brought them together since they have one common foe and their relationship deepened. The popularity of the palace of the dead pummeled to the ground and it became the most hated sect in the empire. Since the members of this sects were mostly supernatural beings and humans with evil magic, the people loathed them deeply and in some situations took actions against them, some tossing stones, some tossing food, and raw egg but each time this happened, Derik always appeared and completely wiped out everyone in the area! After this happened like five times and close to five hundred more people have died at Derik''s hands, these people''s hatred was replaced with fear and no one dared to speak against the palace of the dead publicly. To everyone''s surprise, none of the empire''s major powers houses tried to stop Derik with only the moon cosmic spirit host and the elf representative Elsa! Both prominent figures engaged the death mage in a heated battle above the empire and were promptly defeated quite easily. Both of them gravely injured and would have lost their lives if the life guardian spirit host, Cyrus did not directly come over to heal their injuries and purge the death aura lingering in their body, yet they still needed close to one year and six months to recover. In reply, the elves gathered their forces and marched towards the mountain where the palace of the dead was established, joining hands with some humans who disapproved of Derik''s method, with the human military head Creed and the elven military head Isabel leading the joint forces, they matched towards the palace of the dead. This was a force most of the civilians praised and cried out too as they marched forward confidently but when they got to the foot of the mountain, the five commanders of the death palace appeared with a horde of demonic-looking supernatural beasts and numerous hooded dark mages behind them. The battle which was expected to be a fierce battle turned into a one-sided beat down! The forces of the death mage did not even lose a member, whereas the joint forces were decimated and numerous lives were lost on their part, ultimately adding to the undead forces of the death mage! Even Creed and Isabel suffered fatal injuries and are yet to recover up till now. With this, Derik and the palace of the dead became known as one of the most powerful forces in the Aldemar empire, only the palace of life could rival it in power, fortunately, the two palace masters were very tight friends and supported each other''s decisions at all times, forming a powerful bond even among their members. For the first time in history, Life and death stood on the same side and supported each other fully! As time passed by there were no more conflicts which may seem to be a good thing for Derik and Cyrus it was a bad thing. From the very beginning, they have always broken through very quickly by stealing the souls of their victims and using it to strengthen their realm and forcibly push themselves to the next level! They only grew stronger in a chaotic environment and now the chaos is gone their cultivation stagnated while the other gold realm experts progressed at a visible rate. The others were close to the breaking into the mid-grade of the gold realm but Derik and Cyrus were still stuck at the low grade of the silver realm! Their cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and it was only a matter of time before the other surpassed them. This greatly disturbed them! ........................... Booom! Derik''s violent aura destroyed the mansion and a black beam shot out, fiercely flying towards the green spear with a resounding roar following him tightly. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows were knitted as he felt the threat of death for the very first time in a long time. He was greatly astonished by this development, he never expected to meet a power which could threaten his life in this continent, even if the other gold realm masters in the empire should breakthrough to the mid-grade of the gold realm, Derik was still sure he could still defeat them thanks to the unique nature of his element. But the power heading towards him felt so foreign and lethal that he was a hundred percent sure that this power is enough to kill him. Derik''s first instinct was to flee but realizing the palace of the dead was right behind him, filled with thousands of disciples looking up to him, he gritted his teeth and charged forward fearlessly. He had already lost his original family, even now he doesn''t know much about their current location in the kingdom and he has not bothered to check. He has created a new family, a group of people who were not too different from him they all shared the same vision with him! There is no way he is going to let them die here! "KALOS!!!" Derik bellowed gathered all his strength not daring to hold back. For the first time in a very long time, Derik used his limiter path, taking off his limiters while utilizing his necromancer path to gather his undead souls into his body! Booooom!!!! An explosion erupted from Derik''s body and his body was covered by a dome made of a combination of numerous elements! Boooom!!! Booom!!! Booooom!!! "AAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHH!" Derik out in pain as his chest exploded and a green spear shot out of his body still heading towards the palace of the dead! His body swayed in the skies a bit before pummeling towards the ground. "DERIK!!! WHO!!!!" Cyrus'' furious cry shook the whole empire, scaring everyone that heard him and his figure above of the palace of the dead. "I COMMAND THEE¡­ STOP!" Cyrus utilized the power of his third path, the word! Numerous golden letters shot out of his mouth but it couldn''t even slow the spear down! Seeing this, Cyrus'' eyebrows furrowed as he pushed his hood back, revealing his glowing majestic face. "Guardian weapon path: DIVINE BROADSWORD!" Just like Derik, he too removed his limiters as the massive divine broadsword appeared above his head. His expression turned frosty as he crouched slightly before leaping towards the green spear fearlessly, with his guardian weapon leading the way! "SPLIT THE SKIES, SHATTER THE HEAVENS!!!" Cyrus bellowed and the size and power of his weapon rose to a whole new level. Bang! Bang!! Boooom!!! "AAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!!!" Right before everyone''s eyes, the life mages guardian spirit exploded upon contact and the life mage was a tad too slow when reacting to attack, losing his right hand in the process. Just like Derik, he was covered in his golden blood and fell from the skies like a bird shot down by a hunter! 236 Chapter 236: BREAK!!! With Derik and Cyrus gone, Kira and Kin could only watch the green spear approach with gloomy expressions on their faces. Even though the barriers protecting the empire are yet to be breached, for the fact this attack could injure Derik and Cyrus who took the initiative to confront the attack, it simply meant that the barrier may not be able to stop the attack! If Kalos were here, this attack would have easily be redirected but he and Aldora were sent out on an important task by Derik earlier! There is no one here to save them! .................................................... "How?" Diana gasped as she kept staring at the sky that was dyed green already. With her cultivation level, she could see quite far without even putting in any effort. Seeing Cyrus and Derik defeated in an instant by an unknown assailant, she instinctively felt terrified of the monster behind the attack! This was the reason she was reluctant to make a move, she was sure the other gold realm masters felt the same way as well. The lives of the members of the palace of the dead are nowhere as valuable as theirs, so there is no need for them to risk their lives for it! Elsa stood quietly at the window side with Diana standing behind her, her face bore complicated emotions that even her struggled to understand. Her relationship with Derik after the creation of the empire has always been thorny, she finally got to understand the kind of person Derik is! A ruthless murderer who is ready to take countless lives to achieve his goal and she has always hated him for that. Their relationship crumbled completely the moment she confronted him and joined hands with Diana to battle him, she never expected he would fight back and even go as far as to harm both of them. At that time she concluded that Derik had lost his mind and was intentionally trying to get them killed! The death magic has corroded his mind and without the timely intervention of the life mage, they would have died at his hands. She was naive! Seeing the kind of power Derik released today when confronting the green spear made her realized that Derik was greatly holding back at that time, if he bore the intentions of getting rid of them at that time, he could have done it in an instant! Her heart was filled with mixed emotions as she watched Derik in the skies charged towards the green spear fearlessly even though the difference between their aura was great! She could tell that Derik wasn''t overestimating himself, he just sincerely wanted to keep his people safe and he was ready to risk his life for their sake! Wasn''t this man supposed to be ruthless? Does he really have a heart? "Do you understand now¡­ the pain of not being able to protect the people you love¡­." Elsa spoke softly and a mystical power pushed her words forward, towards the direction of the falling death mage ....................................¡­???........... Immediately Elsa''s words made its way into his ears, Derik''s eyes yanked open and stared into the distance, towards the direction of Elinor, the city of the elves and a weak smile bloomed on his face. "Understand what pain? I''m not weak! No one can harm my subordinates, I will never understand such feelings!!!" An unusual darkish purple light flashed in Derik''s eyes and his pupils instantly took the color! "ONLY I CAN KILL MY DISCIPLES! NO ONE ELSE IS QUALIFIED!!!'' Derik bellowed furiously and his body turned into a purple beam of light and chased after the green spear which was colliding the empire''s barriers right now. Wooooosh!!! Carrying a whirlpool of darkness behind him as he moved, Derik arrived beside the green spear in a single breath! If the owner of this spear thinks the current overlords of this empire are pushovers then they must be truly naive!! His right hand instantly reached for the green spear but before his had could even reach it, it exploded into a blood mist! Roar!!! Derik''s primitive instincts as a werewolf took over and he fearlessly reached for the spear once again with his left hand which was now coated in condensed darkish purple energy. By this time, the hole on his chest had closed up and his originally destroyed right hand had reformed! "SHATTER!!!" Derik roared as he tried to coat the weapon with his death aura in a bid to corrode it but this backfired and he could only let go while spitting out a mouthful of black blood! Wooooooosh!! Cyrus figure appeared beside Derik with a rare serious expression on his face as he gazed at the numerous web-like cracks on the barrier surrounding the empire! This was a threefold magic barrier formation which was used to replace Kalos'' spatial barrier since he was currently away. This barrier may be powerful but it was nowhere as strong as Kalos'' spatial barrier, this was why Derik took the initiative to confront the attack because he knew this barrier won''t be able to stop the attack. He was right! Numerous exploding sounds occurred all over the empire due to the collusion between the green spear and the barrier! Since this barrier is strong enough to tank attacks from mid-grade gold realm masters, it only meant that only attacks at the peak grade of the gold realm can shatter it! The realization that their opponent was at the peak of the gold realm made them feel uncomfortable. For the first time in a long while, they felt inferior to something. "Together now¡­" Cyrus gave Derik a weak smile, who nodded in response. Their aura exploded and gathered around their palms, condensing in the process, everyone present felt terrified when they saw the two figures in the sky, gathering all their powers for a single attack. They were marveled by the bravery of these two. Woooosh!!! While Derik and Cyrus were still gathering their powers, a third figure appeared from nowhere. His eyes were as bright as the sun and his glittering golden knight''s armor easily made him stand out. His orange hair swayed back and forth violently due to the violent air current in the area. "Let me help you with this" Kaido spoke calmly and his orange aura exploded from his body as well, condensing in his palms. His eyes glowed even brighter as the three of them silently reached for the green spear which was only a few seconds away from shattering the green spear. BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM!! BOOOOOOM!!! Numerous explosions occurred as the three gold realm masters grabbed onto the three-meter long green spear and they showed no intentions of retreating. Strange emotions welled up in the hearts of the members of the life and death palace as they watched their supposed invincible palace masters struggle fiercely with a single attack! Green cracks slowly appeared on the bodies of these three people, if this continued they may be destroyed as well by the attack but none of them had any intentions of letting go. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Derik''s resounding laughter filled the skies! It was the same domineering laughter he lets out in every battle! The ability to laugh in the face of danger is a privilege reserved only for the strong!!! Soon Cyrus and Kaido''s waves of laughter could be heard as well and even the orc horde and the ancient dragons which where a large distance away could hear them! The attitude of these three gold realm masters instantly sparked some sort of excitement in the hearts of their disciples who in turn forgot their fears and worries and just cheered them on from below! INVINCIBLE!!! Break!!! All three men bellowed and a massive explosion occurred which blew all three men away! Not even a piece of the spear remained! Roar!!! Derik let out a resounding roar and his figure turned into a beam of light, shooting towards the direction from which the green spear appeared. Behind him were Cyrus and Kaido who bore deep resentment for the person responsible for this! "DON''T YOU DARE THINK OF ESCAPING! NOW YOU ARE HERE, YOU MUST STAY A BIT LONGER!" Derik bellowed furiously! 237 Chapter 237: First confrontation In as much as the palace of the dead was considered the most hated sect in the empire and the palace of life its accomplice, once a threat that can damage the two peerless masters of both sects appeared, the people couldn''t help but grow anxious. The fact that the other gold realm masters in the empire didn''t appear showed that they too were terrified by this new force which can put the two most powerful existences in the continent in such a precarious position. When Derik joined hands with Cyrus and Kaido to destroy the spear, the people rejoiced, since this meant they have escaped the threat of annihilation, but when they heard Derik''s furious battle cry and saw the Life guardian spirit host and the sun cosmic spirit host charging alongside him towards the direction of the attack, they couldn''t help but cry out in fear! Couldn''t these three gold realm masters just act as nothing happened and let this foe pass without further conflict? Unfortunately for them, the pride of these three peerless masters of their generation was on the line, if they let this man go without throwing a punch or two, wouldn''t they become the laughing stock of the continent? The image and reputation they have spent their whole life to acquire will be crumbled in an instant! They are the invincible masters of this mighty continent and it has to remain that way! There is no way they can let this matter die so easily, they will rather die fighting than let these people walk away so easily! .............................................¡­ ROAR!!! Derik''s resounding roar shook the empire as a massive black whirlpool formed around him as he kept flying forward! With the limiter path in use, coupled with the negative emotions he drew from the citizens of the empire, his power level temporarily rose to the mid-grade of the gold realm! Just like Derik, Cyrus drew a tiny portion of the life force of almost everyone in the empire, coupled with his removed limiters, his power level jumped all the way to the mid-grade of the gold realm! Kaido refused to be left behind as well, relying on his perfected ''The one path'', Kaido who was already at the mid-grade of the gold realm could not jump to the next grade of the realm but he could only push his power level to a more profound level in the grade, entering the peak tier of the mid-grade, only a step away from peak grade of the gold realm. The aura of these three underwent qualitative changes as they vanished in the distance, leaving behind an empire filled with shocked and terrified people starring at the location where they disappeared to! Roars and furious bellows span across the empire as the silver realm elites of both palaces shot into the sky, chasing after their palace masters with murderous intentions! Back then, they could only watch their palace masters struggle, this time they were determined to fight the enemy, even if it means detonating their cores just to harm them! ............................................ BANG! BANG!! BANG!!! Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido appeared above the orc army a few minutes later with a banging sound resonating from their bodies, their eyes narrowed and their eyebrows were knitted together as they dived down, straight towards the horde, gathering their energy for a devastating attack! ROAR!!! With a roar, Derik spat out a small sea of darkish purple flames that quickly consumed hundreds of orcs in an instant, but to his greatest surprise, hundreds of orcs shot out of the purple flames, shooting towards him! Their eyes showed no pain or fear, only blood lust which was enough to make Derik feel uncomfortable! These beasts were practically been burnt alive but they still shot towards him fearlessly. Since they couldn''t fly, Derik increased the distance between them while creating numerous bone spears to shoot down all those who came to close. Right behind him was a wave of over a hundred orcs planning to pull him down from behind while he was busy with the ones attacking head-on. "No, you don''t!" Cyrus cried out furiously as his massive golden divine weapon appeared behind Derik and with a single swipe, all the orcs were knocked back down to the ground. "SPLIT!!" He raised his right hand up and violently swung it down with a roar. In response, his guardian weapon which was the size of a small mountain flew down like a meteor! Crashing into the orc horde ruthlessly. Kaido on his own part brandished his magic broadsword recklessly, releasing numerous arcs of orange aura at the green beasts below, with the ability to draw power from the sun, his power was almost limitless during the day time!. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! It has only been a minute since the battle began, yet explosions and furious cries rocked the continent hard and the inhabitants of the empire were stunned by this, curious to know what kind of being would force the death mage, life mage and the sun guardian knight to fight so viciously. Their auras dyed the sky above the continent black, gold, orange, and green at the same time, spreading fear into the hearts of all those who saw this. Even the silver realm experts of the two palaces who were rushing forward to battle but were left behind by Derik and the other two had to stop on their tracks and retreat fearfully. The aura these people released was violent, each possessing its own lethal quality that can kill silver realm elites almost instantly. It was obvious that these three masters were not planning to restrain their aura in this battle, they were going all out for the very first time in a long while! ................................................¡­.. "Retreat! This is not a place we can go to!" Kira said to the forces of the death palace with a bitter smile on his face. From a distance, he could see the countless green humanoid beasts below each possessing terrifying aura that could rival peak bronze realm experts. Their number was so large, it was like counting grains of sands on the beach! It looked like an endless army. No matter how Kira, Kin, or Agus looked at it, they were sure they won''t last a minute against this army. This explained why the palace masters did not restrain their auras in this battle. Since the number of these beasts are great, they can only let their violent aura kill as much as possible while they fought fiercely, but even that wasn''t good enough! Merely gazing at the number of these beasts present Kira was a hundred percent sure that Derik and Cyrus will most likely run out of mana soon, leaving only Kaido to battle them until night time when the one path is rendered useless and unusable. Even Derik, Kaido, and Cyrus were stunned by what they saw, who would have thought that Kuen and a group of recruits will encounter such a thing outside the walls of the empire! The least they can do now is defeat as many of these green beasts as they can while they wait for the powerful figure hiding within the crowed, responsible for that green spear attack to show his or herself! The shocking strength of these green beasts terrified Derik and the other masters greatly, a single orc was equivalent to a peak grade bronze realm warrior! With or without the existence of top tier masters in this foreign force, the empire will still be wiped out by this force, any day, any time! The least they can do at this point is kill as much as they can before the real war begins. What terrified Derik and the rest was the similarities between these beasts and the undead. On numerous occasions, they have dealt fatal wounds to these green beasts which are meant to kill any normal person but to their greatest surprise, these monsters would rise on their feet and continue fighting. In just a minute, contrary to their expectations, they have only managed to kill slightly over a thousand of these strange beasts. Even under the influence of Derik''s corrosive death aura, these beasts kept fighting till nothing remains! If they had super-regenerative qualities, the case would have been worse. "This world truly does possess interesting warriors¡­" A deep ancient-sounding voice resonated from the army and a three-meter tall green monster adorned in a black armor rose into the air with his face hidden within the skull-shaped helmet. At this very moment, Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido stopped attacking and turned their attention to the three-meter tall orc and the four other orcs standing behind him respectfully. With a glance, they could tell who the leader of the group was, the person responsible for the green spear attack. The three-meter tall orc in terms of power was placed at the peak grade of the gold realm while those behind him were at the peak grade of the silver realm in terms of power. "You can speak our language?" Cyrus asked with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Does it matter? All I can see right now is a dead man!" Derik growled furiously! 238 Chapter 238: Trading blows Regarding the ancient dragons speaking the general language of the continent was considered reasonable since they have been the previous masters of these continent, also they possessed extraordinary intelligence, giving them the ability to strategize in battle and even learn from their past mistakes. Even though an animal speaking looked strange, no one could complain since the lizardmen were more like animals as well. But this case was quite different, Derik and the other two were pretty sure these green beasts were not from this planet, guessing from the way they talk. Their aura was foreign and their internal body structure looked the same but was clearly different in some ways. Didn''t they just arrive? How did they learn their language so quickly? It just doesn''t make sense! "A weak-looking being just like you spoke to me rudely some minutes ago and I decided to take his life¡­ Unfortunately, thanks to your interference I could not achieve my goal¡­ From your extremely arrogant attitude and based on the same dark energy flowing from your body¡­ It is safe to assume you are the master he spoke of¡­ am I correct?" The three-meter tall orc ignored Cyrus'' question and focused his attention on Derik as he spoke. His eyes ran through Derik''s body and he didn''t need anyone to tell him that Derik''s physical capabilities were nowhere inferior to his own thanks to the werewolf side and the abundance of his aura showed he was only a level below him in terms of supernatural powers. His eyes left Derik and scanned through the dead orcs below, he could tell most of them died due to the special power this aura possesses. "I won''t deny it¡­ The man you harmed is a member of my sect and I am his master¡­ apologize now and beg for my forgiveness and I may let you leave this place alive" Derik sneered. "Your disciple spoke to me the same way and I almost ended his life¡­ Do you think I won''t do the same for you?" The three-meter tall orc narrowed his glowing green eyes as he spoke with clenched fists. He was obviously irritated by Derik''s attitude! His commanders staying at a respectable distance were stunned. This was one of the five great orc chiefs of the five clans, even then the other orc chiefs have to treat this warlord with respect because of his strength! In their world, no one dared to look down on their leader, only the orc lord who was a demigod existence dares to speak to their chief in such a ruthless way. Yet an unknown magician from another world who was clearly inferior to their chief in a few ways dares to speak to him so rudely? He must be tired of living!!! "Such insolence!!!" The orc chief roared and punched out ruthlessly! A massive green fist shot out from his hands and flew towards Derik who wasn''t too far, reaching him even before the blink of an eye! Even though this attack seemed simple, the power it exuded was so vast the three gold realm masters felt suppressed greatly under this massive force. "Kill me? With this? Ha! You are not qualified!!" Derik was the first to move, laughing hysterically as he dashed forward. Death armor! His body was instantly covered in a shiny white exoskeleton with a pair of two meter long claws. His eyes let out a terrifying darkish purple glow as he brandishes his claws at the green energy fist! "Secret level combat technique: brilliant claw!" Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!! Derik spurted out a mouthful of black blood as he struggled against the attack alone. Visible cracks appeared on his armor and his claws showed signs of breaking but his vicious laughter never seized even for a second. "You dare attack one of us? Do you think we will not join hands against you?" Kaido bellowed and appeared behind Derik, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back. His eyes let out a graceful orange light as he casually sent his fist flying towards the green fist. Boooom!!! The explosion was quite severe, forcing Kaido to fall back a few steps but he remained unscathed, only his right hand felt a bit numb. The orc chief on the other hand was forced to retreat a few steps away too, even he wore an astonished expression as he didn''t expect Kaido''s s aura which was the least threatening amongst the three could grant him such explosive power. For the first time since he met these people, he felt threatened by their existence. If they should join hands to fight him, they may actually be able to end his life. Amongst the orcs, he was considered a genius since he was able to reach this level at such a young age. Even though he was not as powerful as the other orc chiefs who he described as old monsters, his power was not far off. The green battle orc clan was known for its enhancing green aura which is used to strengthen one''s capabilities, even allowing them to reach a realm where they can easily fight until their body is unable to move anymore, with this his clan was easily the strongest amongst the orcs in terms of physical abilities! And their foot soldiers were the most feared thanks to their undead qualities. With this power and his forces, he rose to the top amongst the orcs and even though he recently stepped a foot into the peak grade of the gold realm, he was not too far off from the other orc chiefs who have been stuck at the peak grade of the gold realm for decades now. According to the orc lord, the only demi-god level existence in their world, he was the one most likely to succeed him as the new orc lord. This could be considered the first time the young orc chief has faced defeat and he was unwilling to accept it. He gritted his teeth and with curled fists, he had thoughts of battling these three to the death for the sake of his pride but before he could make a move, banging sounds echoed behind the three human masters and five more gold realm beings appeared from thin air, gazing at the orc chief disdainfully! "You are the one that dared to attack my empire? What do you have to say in your defense" A man with leaf green hair and emerald green eyes spoke up first. He was dressed in a green robe attire and numerous leaves of various kinds and colors twirled around him. "Choose your next words wisely, they may be your last¡­" Ahika spoke indifferently while tightening his grip on his golden fire trident. "RETREAT!!!!" Seeing this the young orc chief''s expression distorted and he remained dazed for a while. Not hesitating any longer he turned into a green beam of light and felt towards a particular spot vanishing instantly. Soon his commanders followed him and fled and soon the horde of orcs began to flee as well, all surging towards that location, vanishing in large numbers "A teleportation portal? well hidden!" Kalos exclaimed in shock. Roar!!!! Derik ignored everyone else and dived into the horde of orcs ruthlessly, killing as many as possible, not bothering to spare a glance at the other gold realm masters that appeared. His cultivation had reached a bottle neck for a while now due to the peaceful enivornment, now he has a chance to gather as much souls and life forces as possible, why would he hesitate? 239 Chapter 239: Path to freedom 1 Derik and Cyrus dived into the army of fleeing orcs and killed more viciously than they ever had. With a chance of breakthrough right in front of them, they were willing to grab as many souls as possible. Derik was like a death god, blitzing through the army of orcs while reaping lives at a frightening speed. His actions were so swift and decisive that it looked natural, it was as if he was just born to kill! "Sweep!!!" Cyrus cried loudly and he waved his hands with great effort. Suddenly his golden massive broadsword appeared out of thin air, sweeping the orc army like a broom sweeping away dirt! With the massive size of the golden broadsword which was as huge as a small mountain, a single attack was enough to clear a large portion of massive forest in the area, killing thousands of orcs in one go! Back then they reserved their energy when fighting against the orcs because of the presence of the top tier masters hiding within the army, but now the top tier masters have fled, Derik and Cyrus had no reason to hold back! "Death magic: Death storm!!!" Derik bellowed as a massive whirlwind made of purely death aura manifested around in, frantically pulling in all the monsters around them. A massive pair of glowing red eyes appeared within the tornado, greedily gazing at the orcs fleeing for their lives while Derik''s pearls of laughter echoed all over the continent. "HAAAAAAA!!!!!" Cyrus roared furiously as he crazily brandished the semi-god tier weapon in his hands, releasing numerous tidal waves made of golden flames, crashing on to the fleeing orcs, tens of thousands of lifeless bodies kept stacking atop each other and the other masters could only watch the one-sided massacre in shock and fear! None of them were aware of Derik and Cyrus'' abilities to use the life force of the dead to strengthen their realm, so they wondered why Derik and Cyrus were so ruthless towards these monsters! What could they have done to anger these two peerless experts? ROAR!!!! Derik and Cyrus aura kept rising and rising until their bodies were brimming with pure energy, enough to make people think they would explode at any time. They roared due to the pain of passing their saturation point and both men abandoned their thoughts of wiping out the orcs, turning into streaks of black and golden light, shooting towards the empire! ................................................¡­.. The abrupt disappearance of the two masters stunned everyone except for Kalos, Aldora, and Kaido who were the closest to these two peerless masters of their time. They only shot hateful glances at the other masters present before leading the forces of the twin palaces back to the empire. "Those two, they have definitely reaped a lot of harvests today¡­" Kaido snickered. "Hahaha! I won''t be surprised if they break into the mid-grade of the gold realm in just a weak! With the number of souls they consumed, they may even be able to reach the upper limit of the mid-grade!" Aldora laughed. After becoming an undead under Derik''s command, the former bishop may still retain the memories of his previous life but his new life now is dedicated to serving Derik. Seeing his master reach a higher level made him happier than he has ever been in his past life. This was the same case for Kalos, who was also consumed by his determination to make Derik''s force the strongest. With the two monsters gone, the remaining orcs heaved a sigh of relief and continued fleeing, the other masters showed no intentions of attacking them so they didn''t have to bother themselves much. ...................................................¡­. Derik and Cyrus alone, killed close to one hundred thousand orcs that day, sharing the souls equally. While Cyrus returned to his palace to cultivate and push himself to a higher realm, Derik stepped into his domain where he won''t be disturbed. Within his domain, he sat down in a cross-legged position, and his eyes tightly shut while trying to refine the life force from the numerous souls of the orcs. Standing right in front of him was Demos who kept looking at Derik with an ecstatic expression on his face. The two remained silent for quite a while, making the situation look awkward. "What is it? Why are you so excited¡­" Derik couldn''t help but ask. The fact that Demos has lived for thousands of years as one of the first beings in this world means that not just anything could excite him, he has practically seen it all. For something to excite Demos to the point where he is speechless simply means it must be extraordinary and Derik was sure Demos was nit excited because of the breakthrough about to occur. "Do you remember when we spoke about you becoming a demigod and breaking free from the creator''s control, becoming an independent being?" Demos asked with the same ecstatic expression on his face. "Yes? What about it?" Derik answered slowly while staring at Demos in a weird way. WOOOOSH! Demos suddenly moved light lightning, appearing behind Derik with both hands placed on the death mages shoulders. "Well, this is one of the ways to achieve the goal!" Demos spurted out abruptly. "How? I only killed a bunch of invaders, how will that make my soul independent?" Derik asked with a confused expression on his face. "As a being created by the creator, you possess a very small portion of its soul and its soul imprint¡­ It means the creator can take your life with just thought any time it wills and you will always be powerless towards him¡­" Demos explained. "And?" Derik was getting a bit impatient. "To overcome this weakness there are only three ways¡­ The first is to find an opportunity to kill the creator and fuse with its soul, becoming the new creator!" Demos continued speaking, ignoring Derik''s impatience. "Wait, what? Is that even possible?" Derik asked with a dead-serious expression on his face. "Of course it is¡­ the creator is not the only being bearing the title ''creator'', there are other beings just as powerful as it, some even stronger!" Demos exclaimed 240 Chapter 240: Path to freedom 2 Derik was stunned by Demos answer, he sprang on his feet and waved his hand lightly, conjuring two thrones made of piles of bones. With both men taking a seat, Derik nodded at Demos, signaling him to continue. If the creator can kill those carrying its soul imprints with just a single thought, how is he supposed to end its life? Derik deeply intrigued by this topic since his original goal from the very beginning is to become a separate entity that relies on no one. "You must not be the one to do the killing¡­ there are other beings or creators like ours out there¡­ a war is about to break out amongst the gods, its only natural it won''t come as a surprise if our creator should be killed in this war.. By the way people die¡­" Demos said these words so calmly that even Derik felt chilled in the spine. Wasn''t this being meant to be the trusted ally of the creator? Why would it talk about the possible death of its master as if it were any normal person was going to die! "If the creator dies and its soul vanishes, shouldn''t all its creations die as well?" Derik pushed his suspicion to the back of his head and asked Demos that question. "Yes, that is so¡­ That''s why it is best to try and seize control of the creator''s soul when it''s at its weakest¡­ only then can you jump in and try to take hold of its dying soul, that''s when you have the highest chance of success¡­" Demos responded quickly. "Doesn''t that mean I have to be in the frontlines in the battle to come¡­ I need to achieve the demigod realm first and even if I do, I will still need to survive the clash between the gods and finally, when an opportunity should arise, I definitely won''t be the only competing for the creators fading soul¡­ there are other demigods present, there are gods present, even the guardian spirits and cosmic spirits will jump in¡­ Do you think this is something I can do?" Derik asked with narrowed eyebrows as he stared at Demos with suspicious thoughts springing up in his mind. No matter how he looked at it, no one is entirely good in this life. Everyone has a price, some people are extremely expensive while the others are quite cheap, even his only parent and sibling betrayed him. As grateful as he is to Demos for his ''selfless'' acts, he couldn''t deny that Demos sacrifices are the main reason he is as powerful as he is today, but the question that keeps echoing in his mind is, why? Why would someone who initially had the intention of controlling his body suddenly turn good all of a sudden? Why would a death mage who has left for thousands of years, suddenly decide to invest a huge portion of his power into a mere mortal like him? Derik may still be young but his experience was undoubtedly one which a normal person would require a full lifetime to acquire. Derik knew that nothing comes for free in this life, the only thing is that Demos was yet to state his price. At this point, Derik was not really scared of anyone, unless his foe can successfully sneak up on him and kill him with a single strike, there is no way he can be killed, once he flees into his domain just like the fallen archangel, Samael, no one will ever be able to catch him. Even if he should battle Demos here and now in his domain, he was confident that he will force the angel of death to flee in shame, by the way, he is the sole god of this domain. His problem was not that Demos may ask something he may not be able to offer in return for all his services, Derik''s main fear was that Demos may try to take his reward while he is unaware of it, catching him off guard. "This is only one of the three options¡­ I strongly recommend you do not even bother considering this method¡­" Demos shook his head lightly as he spoke. "The second option is quite similar to the first¡­ Kill a cosmic spirit and consume its soul!" Demos continued speaking with glimpses of viciousness flashing in his eyes. "Killing a cosmic spirit?" Derik was greatly shocked by Demos'' words! In his eyes, cosmic spirits were like invincible beings which can defeat the all-powerful guardian spirits in battle! Even the various gods dare not cross these strange beings. "Yes¡­ why do you make it seem impossible? Cosmic spirits are just beings at the lowest level in the god realms¡­ they are considered weak amongst gods and in some planets, they can only be seen as lower leveled deities¡­ the only thing terrifying about these beings is their numbers and unity¡­ the gods are divided, while the cosmic spirits are united¡­ they can easily band together and kill a god¡­ But if the gods ever find a reason to join hands and battle these beings, the battle may only last a few decades at most" Demos chuckled with hints of disdain in his eyes as he spoke. GULP! Derik swallowed hard a large ball of saliva when he heard Demos''s words. He and Cyrus only battled the fire dragon for three weeks straight and they needed a long time to recover their power, they always considered this as a massive achievement but hearing Demos speaking on a battle that lasts for decades as if it is merely a few hours, he couldn''t help but feel stunned. "This¡­." Derik muttered. "hahaha! Don''t look down on yourself, the guardian spirits found your battle with the ancient fire elemental dragon alongside the life mage entertaining¡­ We spoke on it for days¡­ even the creator stole a glance at you guys when the battle raged on¡­ you should feel proud¡­ not everyone can get the creator''s attention!" Demos laughed as he spoke. "The creator set his eyes upon us during that battle?" Derik''s eyes narrowed and his eyebrows knitted together. To normal people, this could be considered a great achievement, but to Derik, this was a problem! 241 Chapter 241: The path to freedom 3 Derik stared at Demos in utter disbelief as he wondered if this being was the same guardian spirit that he use to communicate with, for some reason Demos has become rather cheerful and quite strange. The fact that a higher being like the creator has looked upon him and Cyrus mean that it has taken note of them. As such, it will indirectly guide them until they become demigods, this was a good thing but this also meant lack of freedom as well. The eyes of the creator from now on will always hover over them, should they try to act strangely in the incoming war, they won''t be able to act as freely as they want. "I understand your fears but you really don''t have to worry, the gods of this realm have set their eyes on this planet¡­ The creator is busy making it owns preparations, it won''t have time to look upon you and your little friend¡­" Demos naturally understood Derik''s fears. "I see¡­ I guess I panicked a bit¡­" Derik muttered thoughtfully. A bone dagger appeared in his hands and he began admiring the dagger as he pondered on a few things, to be able to cross paths with a cosmic spirit requires him to be at the demigod realm at the very least and break free from the constraints of this world. Even if these cosmic spirits are beings at the lowest grade in the god realm they are still bonafide gods with the ability to create life like the creator, it won''t be easy to battle them without entering the god realm as well. Also, there is an alliance between the cosmic spirits, should one be attacked the others definitely won''t remain idle and watch their ally die, that''s probably why no god has tried this. "The cosmic spirits are also known as Independent beings, not tied down by any law or any person, this is why they create hosts and just abandon them because they want to be free¡­ the whole parenting job is not their thing¡­ Once you can consume the soul of a cosmic being, not only will you retain some of its features, you will also gather enough power to rival the creators and become an independent being as well¡­." Demos explained softly. "This is not something I can achieve with my current strength, the risk is too high¡­ what''s the final option¡­" Derik pushed the thought of laying an ambush for a cosmic spirit to the back of his mind. At his current level, this thing is just a suicidal mission. "The final option is less effective but it will do for now¡­ Just like every creation has a wisp of the creator''s soul-infused in their own soul, so those the creations of other creators¡­ Just like the invaders you killed off and stole their souls¡­ each of them possesses a wisp of their creator''s soul¡­ fusing your soul with theirs will grant you a mutant soul¡­ With that even the creator won''t be able to wish you away, it will have to appear in its full glory and power if it wishes to deal with you¡­" Demos explained softly. "How much souls do I need to form a mutant soul?" Derik didn''t seem excited at all, instead, he had hints of doubt flashing all over his expression. "I''m not sure, you and the life mage are the first set of people to ever attempt this¡­ I can''t estimate but I believe all fifty thousand souls in you should be barely enough to create a mutated soul¡­" Demos answered honestly. "Having a mutated soul¡­what does it really mean¡­" Derik asked with furrowed eyebrows. "It means you belong to two masters, should one decide to erase you, you can rely on the other master now to survive¡­" Demos gave Derik the simplest answer he could come up it. Even though Demos did not dive into the details, Derik was no fool, he easily understood the meaning behind Demos'' words. The third option was nowhere as good as the other two, by stealing the souls of the invaders from different creators, Derik can easily create a mutated soul which carries the soul print of numerous creators. Should one of the creators ever choose to end his life with a thought, only a fraction of his soul will vanish and he will still be able to survive with the other half which is from another creator. To completely erase him, all the creators which he carries their soul imprint must band together and destroy him. The downsides to this method were quite much, so much that he even began to wonder if this should be considered a solution. A being with so many masters, what should he be called? Derik was not the kind that enjoys placing his life in the hands of others! A slave! This method only protected him from being killed off with a thought, if any of the gods should decide to assault his body directly, they can easily destroy his body and even eradicate the soul forcibly. This would also make him a beacon to all the gods whom he has stolen the souls of their creations. He''s practically making enemies out of celestial beings and gods. "What makes you think the creator won''t be able to find out if I do this?" Derik asked casually with a frown on his face. "Find out, your body still has his soul imprint so he won''t find out unless he decides to take a serious look at you, only then will he be able to find something amiss¡­ All you need to do is acquire the souls and keep a low profile¡­ Don''t do anything too mind-blowing, like battling a dragon for a month or two¡­" Demos chuckled lightly when he spoke. Hearing Demo''s words Derik was momentarily stunned but also relieved as well, as much as he would love to follow Demos orders, it is close to impossible for him to keep a low profile now a war between the continent and the invaders is about to break out. More powerful foes will appear and Derik was a hundred percent sure that the survival of the human race on this island rests on the shoulders of the life and death mages, there is definitely no way he can ignore the war! Derik felt dazed for a long while and pondered on what to do next, completely ignoring Demos'' existence for a while. His eyes remained closed for a long while as he sort for the best path forward in his mind but he couldn''t find one. If he chose to follow Demos method and completely fuse his soul with that of the green humanoid invaders they fought a while ago, not only will he need to remain hidden from now on, he will also have to abstain from any large scale battle! He will probably be spending most of his time in this domain, the same will also happen to Cyrus! What will happen when the real war begins? "I will have to add them to my forces of darkness¡­ an increase of fifty thousand undead''s will definitely bluster the overall strength of my sect¡­" Derik''s decision was quick and decisive enough to make Demos shudder. He was obviously not pleased with the decision¡­ "What now?" Derik asked Demos with the usual emotionless look on his face. "I just fail to understand why you choose to remain under the influence of the creator¡­ I expected you to be a bit more cheerful and eager to merge the souls¡­" Demos said with narrowed eyes and knitted eyebrows. "I was excited at first but I thought about it for a while and realized there are so many loopholes¡­ should I choose to follow this path, I will be stuck at the mid-grade of the gold realm¡­ How will progress then? I will rather keep upgrading myself and strengthening my realm¡­ when the time comes, I will become a demigod, only then will I create a mutant soul¡­" Derik said with a sly smile on his face. Demos in turn only nodded in response finding Derik''s words a bit reasonable and still within his plans so he didn''t bother about it much. Derik on the other hand telepathically communicated with his undead commander, Aldora to meet up with Cyrus first and warn him against fusing his soul with that of the green beasts, even though Cyrus was unaware of such a thing, he still didn''t want to take chances. To Derik creating a mutant soul now would be dumb, especially with his low cultivation realm, his power at this current level is still lacking in so many ways and if he is unable to grow, he will definitely find himself in a very bad position in the future. What Derik needs at the moment is to strengthen himself first before reinforcing his soul, he should be able to reach a level where he can leave this planet and battle alongside the gods and guardian spirits, it may be more dangerous but opportunities will surely arise 242 Chapter 242: Answers 1 With the issues of independence dealt with, Derik was free to let his thoughts wander wide and far. Ever since signs of the invasion began to show, the guardian spirits are not always as available as usual since their side also has to prepare for the upcoming battle which will decide the fate of the inhabitants of this planet. Series of questions sprang into his mind and he knew this was probably the best time to throw them all out. After considering a few things, Derik concluded that the condition of the various continents was not as bad as it may seem. Even though the ancient dragons were not in a good term with the humans, elves, and lizardmen, they still won''t let some sort of outsider invade their domain and drive them out without throwing a punch or two. During his short exchange with the orc chieftain, he could sense the presence of the four ancient dragons, Derik knew they were observing that was the main reason he didn''t get flustered at all even when he was overpowered, should the situation turn sour, Derik was quite sure the four ancient elemental dragons would springe into action and join hands with them to defeat their common enemy. "What are those green beasts? They look like goblin warlords but much stronger... They possess incredibly powerful warriors and can easily overrun the continent if all the forces refuse to join hands¡­" Derik asked with a frustrated look on his face. He has exchanged blows with those beasts and he was quite aware of their combat standards, even the weakest amongst them possess deep combat knowledge and their fighting techniques could be considered wild, yet refined and effective to an extent. If any normal bronze level guardian knight should battle an orc head-on, there is an eighty percent possibility that the guardian knight will lose. Listening to Derik''s question made the angel of death chuckle while playing with a strand of his long, shoulder-length black hair childishly "Those things you speak of are called orcs, creations of the war god, Acanthus¡­ A ruthless and vicious being that even terrifies our creator, that''s why all his creations are unusually powerful and are skilled in combat¡­ Don''t worry, you will soon get to see the creations of the other gods when they find the passageway to this world" Demos answered truthfully¡­ Hearing this, Derik''s eyes dilated as floods of thoughts swarmed his mind and an unusual fearful expression appeared on his face. His grip on the armrest of the bone throne tightened as his complexion ashen considerably. "This¡­ This is far beyond my expectations¡­ Tell me¡­ Do you think we can win?" Derik asked with a dead-serious expression on his face. "Win? Nope¡­ The inhabitants of this world will be wiped out entirely¡­ Your people may not even get to see the other creations of the various gods¡­The orcs your team fought against earlier consists of only one-fifth of the orc population¡­ The clan you fought against is considered the weakest in the orc empire and they were only sent as scouts¡­ The orc chieftain you barely defended against is the weakest amongst the other orc chieftains¡­ When the real war begins, You all will definitely be wiped out before the main war begins¡­." Demos surprisingly said all this with a straight face. "What? Then what''s the point of fighting if we can only prolong the inevitable? What is the purpose of the three heroes of legend?" Derik asked with furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists. Derik finally understood why Demos was planning to make him form a mutant soul as soon as possible. This is because the angel of death has already concluded that everyone would be wiped out and his presence will not change a thing, so why wait when he can create the mutant soul now and then wait for the destruction of everything that once lived in the continent. "Calm down Kid¡­ You are really too young¡­ while you see the destruction I see an opportunity! If you can take advantage of the destruction and push your realm even further with the hundreds of thousands of lives which will be lost in that battle, you will comfortably make it to the demigod realm!" Demos chuckled slyly. "An opportunity to progress while letting millions of people die for this goal? Is it worth it?" Images of Cyrus, Kaido, Kuen, and even Elsa flashed in Derik''s mind as he bellowed furiously. "And here I thought you have grown past this level and put your emotions aside¡­ Disappointing!" Demos snorted indifferently with a disapproving look in his cold darkish purple eyes. Derik in response tried hard to control his emotions, throwing his hair back while readjusting his seating posture. After breathing in and out a couple of times, Derik regained his calm and his eyes were void of any form of emotions. "I am the empire guardian of these people you don''t care about¡­ For that sake, I will do my duty as their guardian and defend them!" Derik said those words with a sly smile on his face. Bam! "You will die! Even if you join hands with all the gold realm masters in that little empire of yours, You will still be killed! The forces of the other creators are not something a divided world can handle!" Demos spoke with a stern look on his face. "OOOHHH? I thought we aren''t meant to harbor any form of emotions here¡­ Don''t worry about me, I''ll be fine¡­" Derik said in a mocking tone. Hearing this, Demos face turned red due to anger and it looked as if he could spit out fire at any moment, but Derik wasn''t concerned, to Demos, he was an investment and hope, although Derik wasn''t clear on Demos intentions for him in the future, he knew the death mage would always appear to save his life when the time comes, even if it means breaking the rules of the creator. With the number of sacrifices he has made just to raise Derik up to this level, Demos dared not think ill about this kid, by the way, he is his only ''hope''. Derik, on the other hand, was not even worried about Demos attacking, even though this is very unlikely, even if it happens, Derik was confident he will be able to defeat the angel of death in his domain. Demos'' power has dropped drastically in the last few years, placing him at the low grade of the demigod realm, if there to battle each other here, Derik believed he could drive this ancient being away! Unless Demos is determined to kill Derik and risks his life in that battle, Derik was confident he would not lose! "Let''s not get too excited here" Demos said coldly. "Excited? I''m merely stating my intentions¡­ Whether you accept or reject does not really matter to me¡­" Derik spoke nonchalantly. "You!" Demos sprang on his feet and aura exploded surging towards Derik like a tidal wave! "Not good enough!" Derik replied with a vicious grin on his face. An invisible wall appeared right in front of Derik, preventing the demigod''s chaotic aura from reaching him, his eyes looked calm and the smile on his face never faded even once. Soon from the darkness emerged numerous undead warriors and mages whom Derik had vanquished in the past, leading them was the gold realm level Shadow lurker. Soon Derik and Demos were surrounded by the army of the dead which was over three hundred thousand now. Before Demos could react, an extra fifty thousand undead souls appeared around Derik, all possessing terrifying foreign aura. These were the fifty thousand orc''s who died at Derik''s hands, their massive humanoid bodies shielded Derik''s figure from Demos view and light chuckles could be heard all over the domain. "In this domain, I am the sole god! Even death cannot steal my soul in here¡­" Derik spoke lightly. 243 Chapter 243: Answers 2 Hearing Derik''s words Demos'' lips curled up slightly and his rage vanished almost instantly. His chaotic aura calmed down and flowed back into his body as he sat down once again, staring at Derik in a friendly manner as if none of this had ever happened. "Sole God? Pfft! This is a domain, not a realm¡­ If I were to battle you seriously, I can kill you in this domain of yours if I wish to¡­" Demos chuckled lightly as he released his aura. At this very moment, Derik watched in horror as Demos aura spread across his boundless domain like a plague, trying to subdue his control over his own world! He felt like he was bound by countless shackles from an unknown source which was also forcibly draining him of his mana! AT THIS POINT, HE WAS LITERARILY CHOKING. His eyes dilated as an illusion of a hundred-meter tall grim reaper, standing behind the angel of death with a massive black scythe in its hands and two pairs of black angel wings appeared and beads of sweat rolled down his cheek. "You dare?! Bold! Very bold!!!" Derik bellowed furiously. Bang!! Bang!!! Bang!!!! Explosions occurred all over his domain as a massive volume of death aura violently split the ground and erupted from beneath, flowing into Derik, the green sky began to crumble and the domain shook violently as if it would crumble at any moment. An enraged Derik greedily took in all the death aura his domain could provide, gulping them down in one go as his body began to expand crazily. 30 meters 50 meters 70 meters 100 meters!!! Derik suddenly rose in size, rivaling the grim reaper illusion in front of him. He threw his right hand to the side violently, causing a terrifying hurricane with just a simple movement. Each time he breathed out he released great gusts of winds that even made his army of the dead retreat even further. They all watched as their master reveal his true strength in this decisive battle. "TO ME!!!" Derik??s voice sounded like numerous thunderclaps rocking the skies. Bang!!! A massive fissure occurred at that very moment, gigantic death scythe fiercely shot out of the ground and flew into Derik''s hands. He grabbed the death scythe with two hands and raised it high into the air while a massive amount of death aura flowed into it. The power contained in that death scythe was one capable of splitting this little world of his in two effortlessly, even Demos who remained seated while staring up at Derik was slightly stunned by the amount of power Derik could muster, this was beyond his expectations. Woooooosh!!! Boooooom!!! "Really impressive but in the end, you are still a mortal¡­" Derik viciously hacked down at Demos location at a speed which released explosion sounds and shockwaves that threw everyone 100 miles around them away violently. The ground beneath their feet crumbled and caved in as the massive attack hit Demos'' position. "H-HO-HOW?!" Derik''s eyes dilated, filled with confusion and disbelief as he felt like he has hit an unshakable mountain, preventing his death scythe from digging further into the ground. His figure and his weapon were too big for him to see Demos'' tiny figure. "Didn''t I tell you? You are strong but in the end, you are still a mortal" Demos voice echoed from the hundred-meter deep hole created by Derik''s attack. Demos stood there, in the center of the hole, confidently preventing the death scythe from moving any further with a single finger. The sly smile on his face and glimpses of pride in his eyes. "Begone!!!" Demos aura spread like a tidal wave, descending on Derik viciously, aiming to crush him entirely. Puff!!! "Aaaaahhhh!" Derik cried out in pain as he felt an invisible force bearing down on him ruthlessly. Before he could even resist, the force pulled him into the ground, forcing him to fall face-first into the ground. "The gap between the mortal realms and the god realms is like heaven and earth, even ten peak grade gold realm masters will not be able to suppress a demigod realm master, even if he is at the low grade" Demos chuckled lightly as he stared at the shrunken Derik trying to get on his feet. Derik was covered in blood as he struggled to get on his feet, who would have thought Demigods were this powerful? Derik initially assumed that the demigod realm was similar to other realms where one can fight on par with a higher realm opponent if he or she could find an external source of power to boost his realm. With the power he just displayed right now, Derik was confident of defeating a peak gold realm master even if he is at the silver realm! They why did he lose so easily to Demos. "Even if my power reduces greatly, I have lived for millions of years and my experience is vast¡­ My life ratings are also higher than yours, it''s not something new creations can handle¡­. Even if I should meet a human demigod at a grade higher than my own, I will still effortlessly subdue such an opponent¡­ The only ones worthy of my caution are guardian spirits who have lived as long as I have" Demos snorted lightly while speaking to Derik with hints of disdain in his eyes. Hearing this, Derik fell into despair and cursed himself for coming up with crazy assumptions, he finally realized that his numerous victories in battles have affected his reasoning in some ways. How did he even consider defeating an ancient being like a guardian spirit in the first place? If Cyrus were to hear of this event, he will probably laugh to death! He finally realized the difference between the new inhabitants and the early creations like the guardian spirit. Even though he felt bad due to his defeat at the hands of the angel of death, he still felt excited by the little insight he has acquired due to this exchange, even if he can''t fight against guardian spirits with his current power level, defeating a bunch of gold realm invaders shouldn''t be much of a problem. "Hehehe¡­" Derik chuckled lightly as he gazed at Demos'' handsome face with determination blazing wildly in his eyes. 244 Chapter 244: Answers 3 I am starting to think I''m really a bad influence on you" Demos slapped his forehead lightly with his palm when he saw the weird look on Derik''s face while he was gazing at him. Without any form of explanation, Demos was pretty sure that Derik has come up with a crazy idea and he was not particularly eager to hear it out. Times have changed and things have gotten more dangerous, soon powerful figures will start falling one after the other and even him, a guardian spirit may die as well in the upcoming battle. Understanding this, Demos was not particularly willing to let Derik dive into danger, this is the reason why he wanted his host to create a mutant soul so early, that way he won''t be able to take part in the bloody war about to occur. "How did I get such a reckless host?" Demos sighed ruefully while turning his back on Derik and walking away hastily. Wooosh!!! Derik''s bloodied body flashed, appearing right in front of the angel of death with the same weird look on his face, only that this time a broad smile had already bloomed on his bloodied face, making him look a bit childish. "Come on, hear me out first" Derik said with the same childish expression and a broad smile on his face. "Alright, Alright¡­ what do you intend to do for now? If it''s not too reckless, I will definitely agree to it and help you in any way I can but if it''s crazy and reckless as usual, I will reject it¡­ immediately!" Demos said a stern look on his face. Against other guardian spirits, even in his weakened state, Demos still commanded fear and respect but when dealing with Derik, he felt totally helpless and could only enquire about his intentions. "Hehe!" Derik let out a victorious chuckle and threw his clenched fist into the air fiercely. His undying body also granted him great resistance to damage, meaning he hardly felt any pain. "Alright, Check this out¡­ If these beings can invade our world, we should be able to invade theirs as well, right? This is the perfect opportunity to gather more souls and life force, I can push myself over to the demigod realm in just a few years! This is an opportunity for Cyrus and myself" Derik said these words with a sly smile on his face. Hearing these words Demos was momentarily stunned and shook his head in disapproval. Waving his hand lightly, he easily conjured two bone thrones for Derik and himself, since the former ones were destroyed in the short exchange between them. "First of all, your plan is dumb and crazy, just as I expected¡­ Do you think those other worlds lack peerless masters like you and Cyrus? The both of you won''t even last a day there¡­ Even if I agree to your plan, I still can''t send you over¡­" Demos gently sat down while he spoke. He waved his hand again and an invisible force gently placed Derik on the other throne. "You see even if I wish to send you over, I can''t penetrate a true god''s realm¡­ A realm and a domain are quite different, the difference between those two is like heaven and earth¡­ it''s not something that can be easily surpassed¡­ The so-called world you speak of is a true god''s realm, a world similar to a domain but more vast and definite¡­ In there the god cannot be challenged and nothing gets past them without noticing ¡­ The moment we even attempt to break into their realm, it will definitely sense us¡­ even if you have all seven all-powerful guardian spirit on your side¡­ we will still be obliterated in an instant! You will not escape death, so no¡­ I can''t let you take part in such a suicide task¡­" Demos chuckled while staring at Derik when he spoke. He found the constant change of Derik''s facial expression funny, he really didn''t mind staring at Derik like this all day. Hearing these words, Derik''s expression twisted and turned so many times that his face began to hurt, he remained silent as he slowly processed Demos words and considered the next action to take. He didn''t realize a realm which Demos has spoken to him about in the past could be used as a world for one''s creations, after thinking about it for a while, Derik found this completely reasonable and finally realized how dumb his plan was. "This shouldn''t be right¡­ on very few occasions we have been able to bypass the creator''s all-seeing eyes¡­ Even during the time of my death at the hands of those vampires from the Salvor family, the creator couldn''t spot my soul quickly, you helped me evade its divine gaze¡­ If we could evade the creator in its realm, we should be able to evade the other gods in their realm as well¡­ Derik argued with a straight face. He refused to believe Demos'' words since he has experienced some of these events personally! "Huh?" Demos gazed at Derik with a confused expression, showing he was not expecting the death mage to bring up the events. He was quite surprised Derik could clearly remember things that happened over a decade ago so easily and quite well. It seems I underestimated this kid???s observation skills¡­ "You got it all wrong, little death mage¡­ This world is not the creator''s realm¡­ If it were the creator''s realm, it would be able to view our actions at all times and would not need the aid of weaker life forms like myself and the other guardian spirits to checkmate the actions of its creation all over this unique planet¡­ If this were the creator''s realm, the other creators would not be able to invade here so easily, they can only move in through the entrance, which only our own creator can reveal.." Demos chuckled lightly as he spoke. "If this isn''t the creator''s realm, then what is it?" Derik was stunned and was completely shocked by Demos'' words. "This? This planet you reside in is the reason for the war¡­ it is the reason why all the forces in this universe are gathering to wage war against our creator who has kept this place for millions of years now¡­ Hehehehe! They call it a god vein¡­ a unique planet which has is considered a gold mine to the gods¡­" Demos answered "How? I don''t understand..." Derik was lost at this point, he could literarily feel his head spinning. "Alright¡­ let me put it this way¡­. Every god is known for one particular form of power and the most powerful ones have two¡­ it''s just like mages with a single element¡­ It''s extremely rare to see a being with three or more¡­ A gods realm can only support a person up to the demigod realm since the person is directly drawing power from his or her creator but in a god vein planet, a person can cultivate up to the god realm! Becoming a true god!" Demos explained slowly. "In reality, a person can only possess abilities similar to that of its creator, but a god vein has a different effect on its inhabitants, it brings about diversity in abilities and grants the user different elements and powers that have never existed before¡­ it is said that the old monsters we call gods now were born in a gold vein planet¡­ and that is how they got to their current level.." Demos added. 245 Chapter 245: Preparing for the end Derik didn''t know what to feel at this moment, he was slightly excited but still a bit confused about a few things. He finally understood why the other gods are frantically trying to get their creations into this planet, just like the orcs that made an appearance earlier, this could be considered the perfect time to increase the overall strength of their forces, if he were a god as well he was pretty sure he would have done the same. "Is it possible for a being at the god realm to still be a slave to the soul imprint of its creator? Once they get to the level of their creator, they shouldn''t be easily erased by their creator" Derik spoke thoughtfully. "When a being makes it to the god realm, he or she changes entirely, creating what we call a god soul¡­ becoming an independent being just like the creator¡­ I know what you are thinking, so stop it¡­ The creators ain''t dumb! Let me ask you something¡­ If you have a farm, with more laborers your ''cultivation'' speed will be much faster than that of those who cultivate alone right?" Demos asked with a vicious smile on his face. BASTARDS!!! Hearing this, Derik''s eyes narrowed and his expression turned ugly when he realized what Demos was trying to say. With Demos'' obvious hints, Derik didn''t need much time to decode his words and realize the kind of bastards they have as creators! He finally realized why they were going to war for this planet and why their own creator is preparing to defend this place till the very end! What the creator actually did was create workers who will cultivate and hastily absorb the power residing in this god vein country, when the time of harvest comes, he can easily recall all those souls and feed on the power they have acquired throughout their lifetime, increasing his strength drastically in turn! All these greedy cultivators are unaware of their true purpose in this hell they call life! They are only sacrifices to the greater beings!!! "Bastards!!!" Derik growled furiously and smashed his fist on the armrest of the bone throne. As much as he hated the creator for doing this, he had to say, this method was quite effective. He finally realized why the sky rift at the center of the world exists, it is a place where the creator tests the potential of its creations, after which it can send them precious materials that can help them increase their cultivation speed. These people are the ones the creator looks up to for a more bountiful harvest! For some reason, Derik felt like a target has been placed on his back and he began regretting why he joined the competition in the first place. "Hehehehe! You finally understand why I don''t place too much value on the lives of these people, death will surely reach them anyway¡­ The creator has used this method to strengthen itself for over a million years now, reaching a level where no single god can challenge it, they need to band together to take it down¡­ when the time comes, in a very critical moment in the war, the creator will definitely call upon all those baring its soul imprint and use their death to empower itself¡­ so why bother saving them now when they will still die later?" Demos laughed slyly while he spoke. "Why are you so cheerful? If something happens to everyone here, do you think the guardian spirits will be spared? Your lives will be stolen as well¡­" Derik sneered. "it''s not that simple¡­ As I said, gods possess a particular type of ability, they do not possess all the elements here. We guardian spirits were not created by the power of the creator, it had to draw a massive amount of power from this world to create us¡­ so our lives are tied to this world not it, why do you think the creator is still unable to wish the fallen archangel Samael away? We are beings created from the power of this world, that''s why we have control over the elements the creator does not possess and this is why even the creator does not know who the new host will be after the previous one dies, this world decides all of this" Demos chuckled lightly as he spoke. "Then why do you work for the creator? Why don''t you fight against it?" Derik was stunned by this revelation. "Like every gold mine, this planet''s resources will run dry if too many people keep drawing its power¡­ and when this planet runs dry, we guardian spirits will vanish¡­ Why won''t we help it? By the way, when this war is over, if the creator wins, everyone will be destroyed and this world will be given a chance to replenish the power it has lost over the centuries¡­" Demos spoke casually. "Then what am I?" Derik asked weakly "An insurance, I can''t completely place my fate in the creator so, I chose you as my champion¡­ that''s why I have been guiding you diligently all this while¡­ You will become this world''s guardian when the time comes¡­. All you need to do is listen to me and I will make sure you get to that level¡­" Demos answered. With this, Derik finally understood why Demos has been taking care of him all this while. He finally understood the condition they were in and realized why the angel of death is refuse to place much value on human lives¡­. "Damn¡­" Derik muttered and shut his eyes, entering deep thought. He bit his lower lips quite hard and considered what next to do, considering Demos words, even if he is a demigod right now, he still won''t be able to protect everyone. The least they can do now is train more capable warriors and prepare for the end! "Don''t despair! This world can still be considered a new world and it has so many secrets that even the creator is yet to uncover¡­ god veins are worlds meant to create new gods but these old monsters are trying to stop it¡­ but this world has its way of checkmating them¡­ The items you received as a reward are some of the materials the creator uncovered after thousands of years of search¡­ There are places the creator can''t reach because the world forbids it¡­ but you, you are not a god or a demigod¡­ You can reach those places and search¡­ whatever you are able to uncover will not be inferior to what you received at the center of the world¡­. It will help you grow faster!" Demos said with a warm smile on his face. "Really? They why haven''t you spoken to me about this before?" Derik was stunned. "You are too weak¡­" Demos answered nonchalantly. "Then or now?" Derik was confused¡­ "Both¡­ you were weak then¡­ you still ain''t strong enough now¡­ but we are running out of time¡­ I wanted you to keep all the treasure to yourself but that won''t be possible¡­ Get the life mage and sun guardian knight to join you on this journey¡­ that should increase your chances of survival¡­ I don''t trust the others, so I don''t plan on having them join you" Demos shook his head while he spoke. "UNDERSTOOD!!!!" Derik cried out with excitement glowing in his eyes¡­ If they succeed and enter the demigod realm, their chances of survival will increase tenfold! With three Demigods on the side of the empire, they will not be easily defeated by the forces of the other gods¡­ with this, the only threat they have to worry about now is their creator! 246 Chapter 246: Mid grade of the gold realm With this Derik finally understood why even the nonchalant, independent cosmic spirits would bother to join hands with the creator against the other gods. The less people that had access to this god vein the more they can benefit from it, Derik finally understood why the cosmic spirit frantically tried to snatch Kalos soul from Derik after the mage died, he easily guessed that with the mid-grade of the gold realm cultivation, Kalos had accumulated a lot of power so the cosmic spirit was reluctant to obliterate his soul through the soul imprint at the time, giving Demos and Derik the chance to snatch the soul away and corrode it with their death aura to empower themselves. "Life won''t be as easy as it uses to be¡­" Derik sighed ruefully as he considered a few things. "Hehehe¡­ You just realized? That''s cute¡­ we have wasted too much time already¡­ You have to get moving, I can''t let my word be destroyed by a bunch of greedy old fools, just like they destroyed theirs" Demos said with a clenched fist. "Hehehe¡­ That''s what I wanna hear! We have a chance to fix our broken relationship, you help me keep my people safe¡­ and I will help you protect this world¡­ Do we have a deal?" Derik laughed lightly while sticking out his hand towards Demos. "Don''t be dumb child¡­ you will serve your purpose, whether you like it or not¡­ You are not yet qualified to bargain with me¡­ Just do your own part well and I will consider aiding your people at a critical hour¡­" Demos voice faded with his body as he spoke. Derik on his own part was not annoyed that the angel of death called him a child and claimed he wasn''t qualified to bargain with him, instead he chuckled lightly and gazed at Demos fading figure, giving him a slight nod. By the time the archangel had vanished, only Derik and his army of the dead was left in the domain. He quickly sat in a cross-legged position and began to draw power from the life force of all the orcs he had killed, trying to force a breakthrough. This process was extremely delicate and a reasonable amount of effort and concentration is required to breakthrough. Five days later¡­ Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Boooooom!!!! The empty space around Derik exploded repeatedly, overshadowing his resounding waves of laughter that shook the domain. His eyes were like a pair of black holes which could definitely consume anything it gazes at, while his black hair had mysteriously grown longer, reaching his waists. Derik''s surging aura was soon suppressed successfully and the excited look on his face never vanished! After his short discussion with Demos, Derik''s knowledge about this life has reached a profound realm where almost nothing can surprise him. He knew the secrets of this world and the intentions of this magical world for him and the other guardian spirit hosts. The guardian spirits may be bound to this world but they have traces of the creators power, conflicting with that of the world, that''s why it''s a thousand times harder for them to cultivate and grow stronger! Since the guardian spirits represent the various mysterious powers that this world possesses, the world decided to use them as a means to fulfill its purpose and create new gods. To achieve this, the concept of hosts had to be used to help make sure its inheritance reached the chosen people. In the past Derik always thought that he will never be able to reach Demos level due to his position as just a host, he always believed he would never be as good as the angel of death, but after his breakthrough, Derik realized how dumb his thoughts were! As direct chosen ones of this world their power over the elements were so profound that he felt that even Demos is inferior to him. With this breakthrough, the purity of his death element had already surpassed that of Demos! He could feel it! Even though the guardian spirit was far stronger because of the difference in realm, Derik was very sure that when he reaches the guardian spirits realm, he will definitely surpass it. Where Derik was seated, he looked like a black hole ready to consume all life force around, pure black aura diffused from his body, effectively hiding his figure. Even though looked the same as ever, a pair of wings could be seen in his shadow even though it couldn''t be seen on his main body. Each time Derik exhaled, he released a black mist from his nostrils and black cracks could be seen all over his body, it looked like his skin was going to peel off anytime soon. "I can no longer be considered human¡­" Derik could effectively feel the changes in him, he didn''t need anyone to tell him how bad the effect of his power was having on his body. He raised a finger up and a green ball of skull-shaped flames appeared at the tip of his finger, dancing around wildly. "My abilities are beginning to have traces of life in them¡­ I really have taken a step forward towards the realm of the gods¡­ I too will become a god!" Derik said with furrowed eyebrows. He was about to get out when he heard Kalos voice echoing in his ear. His eyes narrowed and his razor shaped teeth gritted together as the spatial mage reported the current situation of the empire to him. "I decided not to disturb since you were busy with your cultivation¡­" Kalos said. "What happened?" Derik asked coldly. "After the incident with those green beast invaders, the other masters got anxious because they didn''t lend you a hand and when the news of the life guardian spirits hosts breakthrough spread, they knew you would breakthrough soon and they finally made a move after they confirmed you are away" Kalos explained softly. Hearing this Derik didn''t really find the situation surprising, his aggressive nature against all those who have wronged him is not something people could ignore. Its only natural for them to feel anxious after they watched him and Cyrus struggle against an attack that can easily wipe out his sect in one swoop. Also, the fact that he and Cyrus left the chaotic battlefield without even sparing them a glance confirmed their suspicion that Derik was not really happy with them. Honestly, Derik was planning to confront them concerning the matter after his breakthrough, but he really didn''t have any intentions of carrying out any offensive activities against them. But it seems they decided to make a move before him! "What going on right now?" Derik struggled to control his anger while speaking to Kalos. "They have called a meeting for all representatives and all gold realm masters, they plan to kick you and the life mage out of the assembly and have you guys dissolve your forces and serve under them the representatives directly¡­.They seem confident in their move since they have more masters on their side, they strongly believe they can subdue you all" Kalos answered slowly. "They dare make a move against us while I am away! Someone has to die for this!!!" Derik bellowed furiously and vanished from his domain the next instant! 247 Chapter 247: Derik Angus cannot be defeated easily "Bastards!!! Show yourselves!!!" an enraged voice shook the skies of the empire. Derik''s figure instantly appeared above the empire, bringing with it a terrifying death storm that literarily blocked the sun, bringing night time during the day time. The skies were dyed red and the clouds were green, the black hurricane above the empire had already begun to descend, slowly but steadily. Within the deadly storm, Derik''s eyes were like two whirlpools, forcibly draining all the sources of light around, Derik''s control over his element made it so that he could easily change the battlefield with little or no effort. Those who witnessed this were stunned and terrified shortly. The power Derik was casually displaying was way above their expectations. Everyone was aware of the conflict between the representatives of the empire and the palace masters of the death and life palace, these stories were considered rumors since the life mage was yet to make a move but seeing the death mage return in such an aggressive manner, they realized this was not just a rumor, it was actually true. Everyone was quite aware of the death mages temper, when enraged only death and destruction will follow. Without needing someone to urge them, everyone found shelter in any building close by, peeping out the window while waiting for the other gold realm masters to make their move and suppress this crazy death mage! For a while now, Derik has always acted as he wished and even then he has always been backed by the light mage and a few masters, these people still bore resentment for Derik and they were hoping the other guardian spirit hosts will join hands and defeat him. The fire guardian spirit host has always been said to be as strong as the life and death guardian spirit hosts, not to talk of the mysterious nature guardian spirit host whose strength is not inferior to that of Derik. These people sincerely believed that if these two guardian spirit hosts join hands with the other masters of this empire, they will definitely be able to destroy the life and death palace! The death storm kept descending at a steady speed, looming over the kingdom like a vulture waiting for its prey to take its last breath, yet the people were not flustered, instead, they gazed at the death storm and sneered at Derik. These people were well aware of the capabilities of the spatial barrier used to protect the empire, not only is it strong enough to withstand an attack from a peak gold realm master, but it also prevents people from teleporting into the empire, that was why Derik appeared outside. The spatial barrier prevented people from entering but it doesn''t prevent things from leaving the barrier! This could be considered a godly formation in combat, where one can attack the other safely within the barrier while the other will not be able to retaliate, these people were sure that if the gold realm masters joined hands and made use of this advantage, they can easily defeat the death mage. Their assumptions were quite true and accurate but what they failed to understand was that this spatial barrier was created by Kalos! Only a few high ranking members of the empire were aware of this, including the representatives, that''s why they didn''t dare try to take advantage of this. "What, what''s happening" the people wore horrified expressions on their faces as they witnessed the barrier vanish just before the death storm reached it, allow the black hurricane to enter the kingdom unhindered. Derik''s bone-chilling laughter spread across as empire as his speed of descent doubled. A pair of green fiery skull-shaped eyes appeared within the death storm, gazing at the terrified civilians coldly, not withholding his killing intentions. Are these the people I wish to protect? Are they even worth my care? For the very first time, Derik doubted his intentions and his goal. His intentions were pure and his methods have always been straightforward and transparent, all he has always wanted is to create a world where people can live without worry about what might happen tomorrow. Ever since he joined the adventurers association and acquired the death guardian spirit as his guardian, it has always been jumping from one battle to the other, fighting, cultivating, leaving him with no time for himself. Derik felt devastated by the kind of life he is forced to live and he sincerely wished no one would go through the same situation. Yes, his methods and crude and heartless but it is effective! Love does not bring a nation together, only absolute power can do this, that is something which none of these people understands. You do not negotiate with people hell-bent on destroying the peace, you eradicate them. Before acting, he has always given the other masters and representatives some time to resolve the issues their own way, only acting after they fail. Derik has never been hasty in carrying out his judgment and for this, he never really found his actions wrong in any way. "Since you reject my goodwill, I will definitely end it all today!!!" Derik bellowed furiously and struck down. "Don''t you dare!!!" Francis''s voice suddenly echoed from beneath the ground. Rumble! Rumble!! Rumble!!! Suddenly numerous two-story building-sized vines shot out of the ground, shooting into the death storm relentlessly. The power of nature contained in these vines were so much that even Derik could not make it wither in a few seconds, he was shocked by the discovery! "He''s only a step away from the mid-grade of the gold realm, his abilities have reached new heights!!" Derik muttered while he struggled to evade all the green vines that invaded his death storm. It was obvious Francis was trying to get hold of him directly and for some reason, Derik felt a bit afraid of the vines. The fact that Francis has always remained reserved and has never shown his true power has always made him the last person Derik would want to battle. The man''s control over the nature element is not something that should be undermined, even Derik felt threatened by his existence. "Francis! Explain yourself!!!" Derik roared as he shot out of the death storm in a bid to escape the vines. When his death storm dissipated, two figures appeared into sight. They were two figures shrouded in fire and nature aura. Ahika and Francis stood in mid-air at the same level as Derik, staring at him indifferently, as if they did not hear his question. Seeing this, Derik naturally understood their intentions and a cold smile appeared on his face. "Hehehe! Do you think I will be defeated after both of you join hands? Hehehe!!! Good, very good!!! Today I will show you that Derik Angus cannot be defeated easily!!!" Derik bellowed furiously!!! 248 Chapter 248: Kill them... Derik''s words made the two guardian spirit hosts flinch a bit but they did well to hide it flawlessly. After entering the gold realm and acquiring his second path, Francis was quite sure he wouldn''t lose to Derik in a head-on confrontation but now things are quite different, no matter how much he tried to see through Derik, he simply couldn''t see how much the death mage has improved after his breakthrough. Francis and Ahika remained silent as they kept sizing Derik, no one wanted to throw the first blow, knowing that when the battle begins, it will only end with one side''s death and they weren''t sure if they would be the one leaving here alive. Is the difference between the mid-grade and the low grade in the gold realm this vast? No matter how much they tried to perceive Derik''s cultivation level, they couldn''t see a thing, it was like trying to see the bottom of the ocean from atop a boat. They just couldn''t see a thing and this made them feel anxious, at this point, they began having second thoughts and regretting making a move against Derik and Cyrus, they are only safe right now because Cyrus who has always been the calm one is yet to make his move. Should Cyrus join hands with Derik now, they are not sure they will be able to defeat the two guardian spirit hosts. "Truly the life and death guardian spirits are the most powerful amongst all the other guardian spirits¡­ But that does not make them invincible!!!" Ahika was the first to make a move. He let out a resounding roar and his body lit up, completely shrouded in flames! Instantly his body size began to increase as well, doubling, tripling, it got to a stage where even a ten-meter tall giant would need to look up to gaze at his demonic fiery face. Utilizing his power of nature, Francis sealed off the location, wrapping buildings his vines to prevent the scorching heat exuding from Ahika''s body to harm the civilians. At this time, the giant molten lizard, wielding a flaming trident was literarily looking down on the unfazed figure shrouded in black aura. He raised his hand wielding the trident high and immediately hacked down at Derik. "AND WHO SAID YOU CAN ACT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!" Suddenly a majestic voice echoed and from nowhere a massive golden broadsword appeared and shot towards the lizardmen chief. Roar!!! Retreating by a step, Ahika twisted his massive body and with his golden trident, he parried the golden broadsword, retreating by a few more steps. While this happened, Francis literarily uprooted buildings from the ground and moved them out of the way in a bid to prevent the death of innocent civilians. Woooosh! A figure wearing a golden sleeveless robe and his face covered with a white hood appeared beside Derik. His face was well hidden with the hood, with only a pair of blazing golden eyes and some of his long golden hair visible. At this point, Cyrus was more like a deity and not a human, his body was literarily golden in color, while his body exuded a very strong life force. His cold gaze remained fixed on Ahika as he began muttering what seemed to be like an incantation, releasing almost invisible golden waves to assault the fire guardian spirit host. The power of his word path has increased tremendously and with just a single word he could effortlessly destroy mountains. The ability was strange and almost impossible to defend against. When faced with this, Ahika could only endure the golden waves while taking large strides towards Cyrus with his weapon held high above his head, if he is able to put an end to Cyrus'' life, his suffering will end as well. While Derik stood there and watched, he felt annoyed that he could not join in. He could feel Francis eyes locked on to him, preventing him from moving rashly, also should the nature mage abandon his current activities and stop protecting the civilians with his power, even though Cyrus and Ahika are intentionally reducing their ability to minimize damage, without Francis effort a lot of people will still die. For this reason, reframed from acting against Ahika. He could only stand there and stare at Francis coldly, not caring to bother about the battle going on, he was pretty sure Cyrus will defeat this lizardman. "Kill him¡­" Derik said casually after giving the matter some thought, not directing it to anyone in particular. "That''s the plan¡­ I intend to kill them all! We will settle this grudge with blood" Cyrus replied coldly while staring at the approaching Ahika and Francis. Hearing the short conversation between Derik and Cyrus, Ahika and Francis felt a bit scared for the first time. They were banking on the fact that their lives as top tier masters will matter to Derik and Cyrus since the invasion is near, they never expected these two would have the intention of killing them. They too are hosts of nature and fire guardian spirits, they were aware of the situation and the war about to happen. Right now the world requires more top tier experts than ever! In their minds, if they are unable to subdue Derik and Cyrus, they will end up using this as a bargaining chip, that way Derik and Cyrus would not dare kill them. Its only natural for them to feel flustered by Derik''s words and Cyrus'' reply. They didn''t expect these two to be so decisive and hasty in making such an important decision. No! Francis refused to believe Derik and Cyrus would be so bold as to make a move. "You intend to take our lives? Do you think you can defeat us?" Francis asked while glaring at them coldly. "Yes¡­" Derik answered indifferently, still gazing at them as if they are not even worth his attention. "Bastards! And when you succeed in killing us, who will fight against the invaders¡­" Francis''s voice was a little shaky now. His body was trembling, but no one knew what he was feeling. Fear or anger¡­ "You will still fight for me as an undead and maybe after we kill off every single one of you responsible for this nonsense, Cyrus and I will break into the peak grade of the gold realm after using your souls and life force as nutrition for our realms" Derik remained emotionless and answered. "You see¡­ we will rather have an undead partner than have a living partner who doesn''t understand what loyalty means¡­ even in an important hour like this, you all have the time to play politics and squabble for more authority in the empire? What power is greater than the one you have now? Personal strength will always overshadow other forms of strength, that''s why you all will always be inferior to Derik and I" Cyrus wore a disgusted expression on his face as he spoke. "Hehehe¡­ weaklings like yourself dare try to suppress us? Hehehe¡­ Don''t blame us for being ruthless" Derik chuckled wickedly. "Yep¡­" Cyrus nodded in agreement. Hearing them speak, Francis and Ahika could only feel a chilled, just from the facial expressions of Derik and Cyrus, they were sure those two were planning to end them here and now. They couldn''t help but feel anxious. 249 Chapter 249: Leaving the empire 1 Roar!!! Ahika roared madly as he hacked down at Cyrus with his golden trident shrouded in blazing orange flames, at this point the lizardman realized how dangerous its position was at the moment. Wooosh! Cyrus refused to move from that spot, gazing fearlessly at the massive flaming lizard. Waving his hand, a golden shone above him, taking the form of a massive divine broadsword. His eyes remained fixed on Ahika as his massive broadsword blocked the attack, pushing the lizardman back forcefully. "I once had a good impression of the lizardmen because I thought it was different and unique, so many people considered this race weak because its members are known for their honesty, they have always been above deceit but I saw this as their greatest strength¡­ You were once like this¡­ to think you would change after living with the deceitful humans for so long¡­" Cyrus sneered. He raised his hands into the air inscribing numerous golden symbols in the empty air without, not bothering to hear Cyrus reply. His glowing golden eyes were void of every emotion, no love, no pain, no hate, no anger, just indifference. "I will kill you here, Ahika¡­ it will be so quick that you may not even feel any pain as long as you do not struggle¡­ what do you think?" Cyrus asked indifferently. "This is not deceit, it is just me doing what is necessary to safeguard my race¡­" Ahika''s rigid face twitched while he answered. With just a glance it was clear this lizard man was questioning his actions and battling with his conscience but Cyrus wasn''t bothered by this at all. He simply focused on preparing his next attack. "If you choose to kill me so be it, but I won''t let you achieve this so easily!!!" Ahika bellowed as his flaming red body turned blue. Bam!!! The blue flaming demon lizard suddenly vanished leaving behind a 2-meter deep crater where it once stood, appearing behind Cyrus in just an instant. Everyone present was stunned by the sheer speed Ahika displayed in his massive body, even Derik and Cyrus frown at this, no one expected this guardian spirit host to be this capable. Bang!!! Ahika''s body flew to the side, only after traveling a few meters was he able to stabilize himself, returning to his normal form. The lizard man felt like its ribs were broken and it struggled hard to withhold himself from spurting out blood. With reddened eyes, it turned its attention to the bare-chested man in a normal orange trouser and a white towel placed over his shoulders. Kiado''s hair was wet and he didn''t seem like someone who had prepared for a fight. He gently looked up, looking at the black and golden aura which covered the skies blocking the sun and the clouds. "That explains it all¡­" he ignored everyone else and clenched his fists. Bang! Bang!! Kaido punched out twice into the air, at the same time Derik and Cyrus'' face twisted in pain forcing them to spit out a mouthful of black and golden blood while withdrawing their aura hastily. As soon as their aura was withdrawn, a pillar of concentrated sun ray fell upon Kaido and his body began expanding, with his muscles bulging out. His eyes let out an orange glow and his wet hair immediately dried up, making the youth look revived. "What are you two doing?" After a few seconds of silence, Kaido finally spoke up. "Bastard! You should have just asked us to withdraw our aura¡­" Derik wiped away the traces of blood around his lips with the back of his palm. He didn''t look angry or annoyed, instead he wore a casual smile on his face. "It wouldn''t be fun if I did that¡­ By the way, I borrowed some of this guys'' fire power¡­ had to test it out on someone strong¡­" Kaido answered with a smile on his face while pointing at Ahika. "You took a portion of his power?" Cyrus was stunned by what he just heard. "Yep¡­ the one path is just me absorbing the power of the sun¡­. even though that one is more effective, I can still draw power from any fire source just like any fire mage¡­. I only stole a small portion of his power¡­" Kaido explained slowly. Hearing this Derik and Cyrus'' facial expressions turned ugly. If a portion of Ahika''s strength could harm them like this what will happen when this lizardman goes all out on them? They initially assumed that they can be easily subdue the fire and nature mage, finding out that the fire guardian spirit host had this much power hidden made them feel insulted. Was he toying with them or was he just hesitating? No one will ever know what''s going on in the lizard man''s head. "You haven''t answered my question¡­ What are you two doing?" Kaido asked again with a frown on his face. "what does it look like¡­ we are getting rid of our problems¡­" Cyrus answered indifferently. "And the invaders?" Kaido asked with a raised eyebrow. "Having loyal undead is way better than having treacherous living allies¡­. Don''t you think so?" Derik pushed his black hair while he spoke. "Well, I do agree to this but there is one minor detail you tend to forget¡­ Your words only apply to normal people who are unaware of the severity of the situation, what the heck? Some even think we can leave in peace with the invaders¡­ I find this laughable¡­ These people are guardian spirit hosts when the time comes¡­ no matter how messed up they are in the head¡­ they will fight for their own survival¡­ We hosts will be the main targets during the war, we have no choice but to fight¡­ Also, unlike your undead which does not improve and grow in power¡­ these people can get stronger¡­ I believe they are better left alive¡­ I won''t let you harm them" Kaido yawned while he spoke, showing hints of tiredness. Sighs¡­ Derik sighed and wrapped his hands around his chest, he kept staring at Kaido for a while and his anger was slowly fading. Even though his undead could improve, they would require a large number of souls to do that, even tens of thousands of bronze realm undead souls may not be enough to increase their power by a grade. It was only natural for Derik to agree with Kaido''s line of thoughts after considering a few things. "Cyrus¡­ Kaido¡­ Meet me later today¡­ we have much to discuss¡­" Derik said turning his back on these people. "Wait, what?" Kaido was stunned. "You just intend to let this matter end like this?" Cyrus was stunned as well. Everyone present was stunned by Derik''s decision to leave, even Kaido who was persuading him to stop expected Derik to act aggressively as usual and attack. He was prepared to trade a few blows with the death mage before ending the matter, that''s why he decided to use the one path earlier to increase his strength. Who would have thought Derik would just leave like that? In their mind, someone would die today at Derik''s hands, be it a top tier master like themselves or just an unknown civilian casualty or a low-level warrior or mage. Their main aim now is to reduce the number of people who will fall victim to Derik''s uncontrollable rage. "Yes¡­ there is nothing left for us to do here" Derik answered uninterestedly, shooting a glance at the white clouds above, where the elf representative Elsa and the moon cosmic spirit host, Diana were hiding. Without letting the others reply, Derik turned into a beam of darkish purple light and vanished, while the two elves were left terrified. Just a moment ago they could have sworn they were well hidden, these people were sure that no one has noticed their presence. "Well, well¡­ I don''t know what he has in mind but I''m sure it won''t be pretty¡­" Kaido let out a bitter smile, still unable to understand why Deirk decided to act the way he did. "If he left these people alive, he must have a reason¡­ I''ll be leaving as well.. and also, You need to do better than that if you wish to hide from Derik and myself, little Elsa¡­ and don''t go deluding yourself that Derik let this matter go because of you¡­ Move against him one more time and he may even kill you as well¡­ Don''t say I didn''t warn you" Cyrus said disdainfully before leaving. "You too Diana¡­ You need to stop getting involved in things like this¡­" Kaido said before leaving as well. 250 Chapter 250: Leaving the empire 2 Derik''s actions left everyone puzzled but Cyrus'' words pierced Elsa''s heart like a table knife cutting deep into butter. She fell into deep thoughts as she considered Cyrus words, realizing it is true after a while. Derik and Cyrus use to be different, more compassionate, and thoughtful in the past. Even though Derik has always been ruthless and a bit wild due to the nature of his magic, they weren''t necessarily bad people. But now these two people were like total strangers to her, their emotions, actions, and line of thoughts seemed strange to her, it looked like she was gazing at total strangers. They have become completely different people. Could this be because of their magic or their power? Does it mean the stronger one becomes, the less human they are? They have lost their humanity and won''t flinch when killing those they see as threats, even if those people were once their allies¡­ "If this is what it means to be strong then I will rather be weak" Elsa muttered before leaving the scene with Diana. Ahika and Francis remained rooted to their positions for a while, they found the outcome of this event strange and feared that Derik harbored ill thoughts for them. This same fear was what forced them to act against Derik and Cyrus in the first place, but this time, they dared not make such a costly mistake again. Without speaking to each other, they vanished instantly, returning to the various ''hideouts'' to focus on their cultivation, hoping to break through their current realm as soon as possible. ........................¡­.. Wooosh! Derik''s figure appeared above the palace of the dead, descending like a god while staring at his sect members with mixed emotions boldly spelled out on his facial expression. In his own opinion right now, be it the elves, or the lizardmen, or the humans, none of these people are worth fighting for. If these people were the only people he is obliged to fight for, he would have created a mutant soul and just ignored the war entirely. The conspiracy was arranged and supported by the lizardmen with their leader Ahika, a great portion of the humans, with Francis leading them and then there are the elves with Elsa and Diana. All these people are wary of Derik''s power and the more powerful he becomes the more anxious they are! "These people are too short-sighted, shouldn''t having a powerful ally be a good thing? Only when you bear ill intentions towards an ally will you fear his or her power¡­" Derik muttered thoughtfully. Fortunately for these people, he had people like Cyrus, Kaido, Gerald, Kuen, Kira, Kin and the other members of the palace of the dead and life to protect, if it were just these people, it would have been easier but things became a bit more complicated because every single one of these people he wants to protect is somehow related to those ungrateful citizens. If not for these people, he probably won''t bother fighting in the upcoming war. "It is true that too many ties is a burden¡­" Derik muttered ruefully. Setting foot on the land which harbors his sect, the strongest members of his group were already waiting while the weaker members rallied behind them respectfully. With just a glance he could tell that his absence has seriously reduced the cultivation speed of these people since his death magic was not there to empower them. His aura which has played a major role in the growth rate of these people was slowly fading, so much that even people outside within the city can see the constructions atop the mountain. This was not as it should be¡­. In the past the entire mountain was shrouded in darkness, covered by Derik''s aura and none dared move to close to it, If not Cyrus life aura, steadily suppressing his own, Derik''s aura would have completely covered the mountain range easily, engulfing the location of the palace of life as well. Spending close to seven days away has greatly affected the cultivation of these people. At this point, Derik realized how magical death magic is. "Truly this world has is meant to create gods and as a god, these people are my first creations¡­" Derik was lost in thought, ignoring all those that gathered to meet him but none voiced their discontent. They only stood there and patiently waited for them. Considering a few things, Derik''s eyes dilated as some thoughts flowed into his head like a flowing stream, he felt more enlightened, yet a bit more threatened. The fact that each host is destined to be one of the new gods greatly troubled him. "Death, Life, Fire, water, lightning, wind, and nature¡­ each representing a guardian spirit¡­ This means there are meant to be seven gods¡­ seven" Derik frowned as he remembered the very day he killed the lightning guardian spirit host by Zaylee. Considering a situation where people as short-sighted as Ahika and Francis becoming gods also made his mouth taste bitter. When such people become independent beings and true gods, it will be harder to deal with them. Derik frowned slightly when thinking about this but he mustered the strength to push the thought away. Derik quickly concluded on the matter, deciding to leave the matter for another day, from the little he understands, the old gods are trying to prevent the rise of the new gods, the creator included. Instead of letting new gods rise, they have decided to utilize the resources of the god vein to strengthen their own power and push themselves to a higher realm, if any still exists. "I will take my time to consider these important issues later¡­ as for now, let me deal with my sect''s problems¡­" Derik muttered to himself. His eyes which were completely black suddenly released a red flash and his aura exploded. Using hand gestures and beautiful body movements, Derik guided his aura around the mountain, slowly shrouding the mountain in darkness once again. His followers were instantly thrilled by his actions and their blood lust flowed out violently. Even Kira had glowing red eyes with visible dagger-shaped teeth as he smiled viciously. Any outsider seeing this would this was a cult filled with deadly serial killers and psychopaths. 251 Chapter 251: Leaving the continent 1 With the thick death aura flowing around the sacred mountain restored, the members of the palace of the dead once again felt rejuvenated and more alive than ever, they could feel the power contained in Derik''s aura has increased almost twofold, making them feel ecstatic. The ability to cultivate twice as fast as the normal person is not something just anyone can enjoy, this was a privilege given to the members of their sect thanks to the godly effects of the death aura and this has always been their advantage over other warriors and mages of the empire. Under the influence of the death aura, not only can they cultivate faster but their physical capabilities are improved greatly, enhanced to a whole new level, that''s why a kid like Blink dared to go against an orc brawler confidently. The only people who could rival their power in the continent were the members of the palace of life, subordinates of the life guardian spirit host. These people enjoy similar privileges from their palace master but this did not bother them, in fact, they considered these people as brothers and sisters, who will be willing to jump in and save them in their time of need, this is the only possible, due to the relationship between their palace masters, its only natural that they get along too. Of course, in exchange for greater cultivation speed, Derik and Cyrus'' aura continues to mess with the appearance of those who are too weak to protect against it while also messing with their minds as well, making them completely reliant on them. In their various sects, these two were considered as supreme gods and deities, the presence of the creator has completely been forgotten! Seeing the effects of his aura on his subordinates has improved to a certain level, Derik nodded in satisfaction, briefly glancing at the faces of the people whom he wishes to protect before leaving. Heading straight for his underground cultivation chamber, below his mansion, Derik was slightly worried. Even though he has broken through to the mid-grade of the gold realm, he is yet to understand his true capabilities, he guessed that he would need a few days to properly assess his strengths and weaknesses, understanding his capabilities and his limitations. Even though Demos only spoke little about the place where the creator could not enter, the place where he would gain the chance to advance in realm even faster and attain more treasured pieces of equipment that will aid him in the upcoming war, Derik still felt anxious, not daring to take Demos words lightly. He was well aware of the dangers that await him in such a place would be greater than everything he has ever faced, that may be why Demos insisted that he carries Cyrus and Kaido along, two peerless masters at the mid-grade of the gold realm. Just what sort of demon is lurking in that area that makes Demos anxious about his safety Knowing Demos'' attitude, he knew that if this was something he could handle alone, Demos won''t even let him take someone along but the situation was quite different now. Demos has completely lost faith in Derik''s strength, this has never happened before and Derik could not help but feel anxious. "Is it really so dangerous that I can''t handle this matter alone?" Derik muttered absentmindedly. "What do you mean by dangerous?" Derik was slightly stunned by the question, he had already forgotten he was walking with some people. Shooting a few glances at the sides, he realized Kuen was the one who asked the question. Not only that, he realized that Kira and Kin were also tagging along! He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and even more embarrassed by his reaction when Kuen spoke to him. "What do you mean by dangerous? You have been daydreaming since you returned, who would have thought the palace master of the palace of the dead would fall in love just after his breakthrough¡­ that''s the only explanation I can come up with" Kuen found Derik''s reaction amusing and chose to assault him even more. He chuckled lightly while he ruthlessly attacked Derik in all weak spots he could find. It''s not every day one can make a gold realm master who has dominion over the death element feel embarrassed. A sense of pride and achievement swelled in his heart and he puffed out his chest proudly while gazing at Derik with a mocking grin on his face, waiting for him to reply. "Hehehehe! You rascal!" Kira secretly gave Kuen a thumbs up. Even though his hand gesture was done very quickly and behind him, it couldn''t escape Derik''s pitch-black eyes. He inwardly chuckled at Kuen''s attempt to make him feel embarrassed, choosing to ignore it. "Love? I''m too old for that¡­ I will be leaving for a while soon¡­ so I have decided to place the safety of this sect in the hands of you three. Don''t worry, you will have Kalos and Aldora by your sides" Derik went straight to the point. Hearing him speak, the facial expression of the other three turned ugly, they were aware of what may follow whenever Derik is not around. Even though Kira use to be Derik''s teammate and Kuen was also as old as him, they genuinely saw Derik as their leader, his absence naturally made them feel anxious. "I understand your worries¡­ I will find a way to steadily supply you all with my aura to help improve your cultivation speed¡­ As for my safety¡­ I have Cyrus and Kaido by my side¡­ There is no reason for any of you to worry much" Derik reassured them. "Lord Cyrus and Kaido are leaving as well? To where?" Kin asked. Even though his body was shrouded in clusters dark clouds due to his affinity to the darkness element, Derik could still see him clearly. This is something he could not do before, this was probably because the improvement in his realm also strengthened his power over the death element. 252 Chapter 252: Leaving the continent 2 "Yes, Cyrus and Kaido will be joining me in this expedition¡­ We will be leaving this continent, to a place where we can rapidly increase our strength in preparation for the war to come¡­ According to my guardian spirit, we are nowhere as strong as we need to be if we wish to have any hope of surviving this invasion¡­. For that reason alone I must get stronger so that I can protect you all and all those you care about" Derik gave Kin a warm smile as he spoke to Kin. Over the years numerous people whom he doesn''t even know their faces or names have joined the palace of the dead, just during his arrival he spotted people who resembled the surviving members of the Salvor family but he simply chose to ignore them. Derik has never been the type to take note of everyone who joins his sect. his power has been rising exceedingly, requiring more cultivation time in turn, meaning he has little or no time to notice everyone that walks into his sect. Derik also wasn''t the type to hold on to petty grudges from minor quarrels in the past. He could clearly sense everyone''s emotions and he could tell the female and male vampire of the Salvor family were a bit anxious due to his presence but they bore no ill intentions and that''s all he needs to know. These people just happened to be the natural enemies of the noble family he served at the time, both sides clashed and both sides sustained numerous casualties. What the heck? If there should be anyone present who should be vengeful, it should be him. They literarily killed him! Fred Salvor and Stella Salvor joined hands to kill him, they actually pushed their fists into his body from behind and pushed even further until their hands were sticking out of his chest, covered in blood. But things like this does not bother him even a bit, they fought bitterly against each other, they both suffered casualties and reasonable losses, but if they are willing to work with him now and forget the past, Derik is ready to let them receive the same benefits as the other members do, he has no reason to hold them back in any way. By the way, this sect was created to shelter everyone who is different in any way, be it in magic or physically or even spiritually! So Derik wasn''t overly surprised when he spotted them amongst the crowd. Kin, on the other hand, was one of the councilmen of Kingdom of Cato who possessed tremendous death magic, Derik never prevented the man from joining his sect after the people of Cato tried to kill him at the sky rift or when he was forced to hide from these people for more than half a decade, even after which they sent a powerful warrior like Kaido to end his life. In his own opinion, these people did everything they had done in the interest of their own people, to strengthen themselves, if he were in a similar position he probably would have done the same. For these reasons he had no reasons to bare ill intentions towards this man, by the way, he let more than half of their population to be slaughtered by the magic beasts simply because he wanted to weaken them first before subduing them entirely. In Derik''s opinion, it''s all business, there is no reason for one side to bear grudges for little things like this. Kin could be considered as the third strongest member in the sect, with Kuen as the first, Kira as the second and then Kin third, of course, Kalos and Aldora are not added to this ranking list. With such extraordinary strength and talent, it was almost impossible for Derik to ignore such a character, since then Kin has joined Derik''s inner circle and the man has never failed him up till now. "Then take us with you!" Kuen demanded immediately without hesitation. If any outsider should see witness this scene they will probably hold their breath and wait for Derik to slaughter the ignorant fool but instead, Derik just gave Kuen a casual smile and shook his head in denial. "If that was possible I would have taken the entire sect with me but I can''t¡­ whatever awaits me there is something I cannot handle alone, that''s why I was asked to bring along Cyrus and Kaido¡­ they are at the mid-grade of the gold realm, at the same level as me¡­ Even with our combined strength, I''m not sure we will find this journey easy¡­ There is a chance that some of us will die" Derik explained slowly. Hearing Derik''s words everyone was stunned, was there a place in this world where two guardian spirit hosts and a cosmic spirit host cannot walk through easily? They all remembered the battle between Cyrus, Kaido, and Derik against the orc horde, the fierce aura released during the battle could easily kill silver realm elites at the peak grade almost instantly. The gap between the silver realm and the gold realm is too vast, something they cannot cross easily, that is why they have been stuck at the peak grade of the silver realm for close to a decade now, yet their cultivation speed is considered inhumane. If Derik and Cyrus didn''t have their special method of boosting their power, they probably would not have entered the gold realm by now. Thinking about this, Kira, Kuen, and Kin once again realized how inferior they are to Derik and Cyrus. They realized why these people were able to rise to the top so easily and have no one else to fear in this continent but themselves! "Impossible! You possess the undying body¡­ You are invincible!" Kira refused to believe Derik''s words! They watched Derik and Kaido fight at Baldmar through the water orbs, with each punch Kaido threw at Derik a portion of his body exploded, turning into black blood mist but it always reformed faster than it was destroyed! There were occasions where Derik''s entire body was destroyed, even his head but it still reformed almost instantly! Everyone who watched Derik fight Kaido gave up on ever killing this death mage, they all agreed that the only one capable of harming Derik is Cyrus. Hearing Derik claimed that he may even be killed at the place he is planning to go to even with the help of to mid-grade gold realm masters like Cyrus and Kaido really annoyed Kira. He simply refused to believe this because if someone as powerful as Derik can be killed like any mortal person, that means that he is worse than trash in the face of true power. "Hahaha¡­ I think I said these words to Daemon back then, during the inter-class competitions¡­. No one is truly invincible¡­ Even gods can be killed¡­ Even the creator can be killed, so it''s best we always prepare for the worst" Derik chuckled lightly while he spoke. 253 Chapter 253: Leaving the continent 3 "This¡­" Kira was left speechless by Derik''s words. Over the years Kira has watched Derik fight, back then when they were still recruits and even now they have become the pillars of the empire, the champions of the human race. Derik has always had this arrogant attitude in battle and this wild temperament! He was like a fearless beast diving into battle, like it was unkillable and each time he got hurt he would just laugh crazily and fight harder. Derik back then when he was still at the bronze realm faced thousands of warriors and mages belonging to all the forces of the continent who were eager to steal the treasures he acquired in that dungeon. Even when going up against such a force he just laughed crazily and kept fighting ruthlessly until Cyrus managed to deal a fatal blow to him. To see such character act like he can be killed by just anyone left Kira speechless and confused. Derik has always shown his soft, humane side to his allies when they are out of the public''s prying eyes but something seemed off about Derik today. He looked sad¡­ As if he was mourning someone. "Derik¡­" Kira muttered while placing his hand on Derik''s shoulder. "You don''t have to worry about me¡­ It''s just that I know a lot of things right now¡­ Maybe I know way too much and that''s why I''m always lost in thoughts¡­ that''s why I need to go to such a dangerous place, to improve myself faster and break into the peak grade of the gold realm¡­" Derik smiled at Kira and walked away. Yes, his former teammates, members of the famous team guardian betrayed him the past and sold him out to the former king Robert, Kira even broke their blood oath-bound by his blood magic and ratted him out, even falsely accused him with the rest. Back then he hated them so much that he wanted to kill them all but now things are quite different, Derik finally understood that these people he called teammates had families too which they had to protect, all they did was in the interest of their own blood and kin. He realized that if they backed him up and betrayed their families, he probably would have been furious with them right now. How could he hate such people? Derik easily forgave them all, even though he never attempted to reach out to the others. Since Kira was the only always close to him alongside Kuen and Cyrus, their relationship flourished naturally and reached new heights. Unfortunately, the crimes of his father and sister were unforgivable! He was all they had and they were all he had, no relative, no blood ties, there was no solid reason for them to betray him and no matter how much he thought about it, all he knew was that these people betrayed him because of the benefits they could acquire from the royal family This is something he could never forgive! "It''s alright now, fetch me, my personal disciple, I wish to speak to them" Derik didn''t bother turning back, he easily yanked open the massive iron doors before walking into the dark room. ........................¡­.. Within the darkness Derik''s body was hidden skillfully, he sat in a crossed-legged position at some corner in the room. Each time he exhaled from his mouth a green gas would escape his lips and spread around the room and a green light shone in his eyes. His body had so many black cracks that it looked like his skin was peeling and Derik was quite curious to know what''s within. "I can no longer be considered human¡­" Derik muttered with a bitter smile. "You will always be human to us¡­" Dimitris''s voice echoed from outside the room. The massive iron doors swung open and five youths entered. These were the people he saved from the holy church''s experiment, granting them a new life and more power. These people were considered Derik''s personal disciples and for this reason, even the representatives of each race and the top tier gold realm masters have to give Derik face and treat them well. Unlike the other members of the sect who are allowed to absorb the raw aura death aura overflowing from Derik''s body, thereby corroding their skin and changing their physique, Derik allowed these five to stay in his mansion, the only place safe from his aura. In order to boost their cultivation speed, he also provided them with his aura but at a smaller amount, just enough to grant them the extra cultivation speed they need but not too much so that their physical appearances will not be affected. Seeing these kids enter, Derik quickly sucked in all the death aura flowing within the large room, his eyes were like two black holes, greedily pulling all the death aura towards him until there was nothing left. "Oh? I can see why you feel like you are not human anymore?" the female vampire with the curse magic, Jean was slightly stunned by Derik''s appearance. He looked like someone who could fade at any moment! "Will I really become like this when I get to your level?" Blake rubbed his forehead repeatedly and stared at Derik worriedly. "Hehehehe¡­ You wish! You may possess similar aura but it''s weaker than mine¡­ I am the original, you are something else" Derik teased the boy, trying to annoy him but Blake simply ignored him, he was already used to Derik''s tricks. "Uncle Kira said you are leaving and he said it''s going to be dangerous¡­" Dimitris asked with a worried look on his face. Seeing this Derik couldn''t believe that someone wielding the necromancy magic would be this cute and innocent! "Yea, Kin said you will be leaving soon so you wanted to see us¡­" Andrew who was shrouded in a cluster of darkness spoke up. Philip on the other hand just sat quietly beside Derik, waiting for him to respond. Since the kid also possessed the darkness element, he and Kin naturally got attracted to each other and they were like brothers right now. Kin always made out time to teach Andrew and help him understand the strength and weaknesses of their element and how to use it properly. That is probably why he''s growth rate is faster than every other member of their little group. Seeing these five kids, Derik''s hunger for power increased rapidly. If he''s unable to protect these five people whom he calls family, what kind of person is he? He swore to make sure that every single one of these people survives this war! "Yes it''s dangerous but your big bro is really strong¡­. Cyrus and Kaido will accompany me too, there is nothing to worry about" Derik laughed at them. The others laughed, leaving only Blake and Jean who were staring at Derik suspiciously. They were older than the other three, so they weren''t so na?ve to completely believe everything Derik says, especially in situations like this. With just a glance they easily spotted traces of worry in Derik''s smiling face, they realized that Derik too was worried but they chose not to dig deep into the matter. "You have been stuck at the peak grade of the bronze realm for a while now¡­ I''m happy you all are growing stronger, at a very fast rate¡­ Before I leave I have two gifts for you all¡­" Derik gave them a sly smile while he spoke. Hearing him speak everyone present felt excited and quickly sat right in front of him. They have all reached a bottleneck in their cultivation but they didn''t wish to disturb Derik since he was always busy, only Andrew was a step away from entering the silver realm, thanks to Kin''s help. If they can get a few pointers from Derik they can make it to the next realm in a short time. "Come on now, don''t get too excited¡­ It''s not what you are thinking!" Derik could easily tell what they were thinking. If they are expecting him to give them cultivation tips they have come to the wrong person. He and Cyrus lacked the profound knowledge concerning their elements which others possess, they have never broken through due to the use of techniques and understanding of their element. Instead, they have always forcefully broken through by using excess energy to crumble the invisible walls preventing people from reaching the next realm. The power contained in each person''s life force is not something that can be overlooked, this has always been their secret and this is why they couldn''t progress any further during the peaceful times. "I will directly force you to break through to the silver realm and then impact some of my abilities to you all¡­" Derik explained casually. Before these kids could respond, a sudden wave of death energy surged forward and penetrated their bodies and souls. Right now they felt naked, unable to hide their thoughts and feelings in Derik''s presence! His gentle hands were literarily touching their souls! Crack! Crack!! Before they could complain, they suddenly felt the invisible wall preventing them from reaching a higher realm tremble. Under the fierce assault from Derik''s violent aura, the barrier was struggling to stay up. Their eyes were filled with awe and admiration as they felt Derik''s aura forcefully tear hole in that barrier before ripping it apart completely! Bang!!! A powerful force exploded right in front of them, sending the five of them flying a few meters back, slamming them into the metal door behind them. Groans! "Ouch¡­" Dimitris muttered but his eyes showed hints of excitement. Who would have thought such a godly method of acquiring power existed? Forcefully breaking through to a higher realm with just one''s raw energy was not easy, even for Derik. Even now he felt extremely worn out and really tired just because he tried to elevate the power of five bronze realm mages? At a point, he almost even gave up but even then he had to force himself to do it. Black blood trickled down his nostrils and his eyes were even bleeding, at this point, he felt extremely worn out. "What if I tried to elevate a silver realm expert to the gold realm¡­ I will probably die¡­ I guess I will have to forgo my plans of pushing them into a higher realm with my power" Derik muttered ruefully. He once thought of elevating the power of Kuen, Kira and Kin to the gold realm using this method but after seeing how much was taken out of him just to strengthen bronze realm mages, he was quite sure he will die if he tried to strengthen just one of those three, not to mention three of these people. 254 Chapter 254: Leaving the continent 4 "This Derik tried to get on his feet but he suddenly felt dizzy and fell on one knee again. This could be considered the first time in a long while Derik has felt so weak. "I don''t think I will be trying this again¡­" Derik muttered with a bitter smile flashing on his face. The darkness clustered around his eyes lessened greatly, revealing his glowing green pupils. Laying on the bare floor Derik tried to control his breathing, he didn''t expect his actions to have such an effect on him, but he didn''t regret it. These five kids could be considered his new family, his only family, increasing their strength right now has always been his top priority! The stronger they become, the less he would have to bother about them. Now they have entered the silver realm, considering their combat standards as well, Derik was quite sure that if these kids join hands, they can defeat a peak grade silver realm expert. Right now they only have to worry about old monsters like Kira, Gerald, Gin, and others who have been stuck at the peak grade of the silver realm for close to two decades or more, or the gold realm masters. "Are you okay?" Blake and the other four ran over to Derik''s side, helping him sit up. "Hehehehe¡­ Don''t worry about me, I may be old now but I''m not that weak yet" Derik laughed weakly. "Maybe he hit his head too hard¡­" Jean chuckled lightly. "You shouldn''t do something that will hurt you this much, big bro" Philip said with a worried look on his face. "Come on now¡­ It worked right¡­ This thing I did for you guys, don''t ever try doing it for anyone else¡­ even if the person is way weaker than you¡­ This stuff almost killed me¡­" Derik said with a stern look on his face. "Okay¡­" Blake and the others agreed hastily. Only then did Derik''s face loosen slightly. "And now we are done with this, let me give you my second gift, then you will be on your way" Derik suddenly spoke up after a while. He sprang on his feet and gazed at the kids right in front of him, the second part gift he decided to give to them were small portions of his real strength. He first walked up to Philip and waved his hand, from his storage ring was a torn old parchment with ancient letters and terrifying evil aura exuding from it. The first item he received from the creator after conquering the dungeon was the death scythe, a growth type equipment that improves and becomes more powerful as long as its wielder keeps growing in strength as well. The second item was the silver container which stored all the seven deadly sins, these sins represented the emotions responsible for the downfall of man. All these emotions also represented the emotions necessary for one to reach his or her peak, as long as one the person can find a balance within all these powerful emotions, they will easily topple any challenge that comes their way. Only after inheriting all seven sins did Derik understand the truth behind this power. At first, Derik was disappointed because he was expecting something explosive, something with so much destructive force, something spectacular but when he realized these sins just allowed the user to manipulate the emotions of one based on the sin being used Derik was slightly disappointed and has never used it again. Only now, he has become more mature and thoughtful did he realize how priceless the seven sins are. Meanwhile, the final item Derik received was the strange parchment with so much evil aura that Derik dare not bring it out in public. This parchment allows one to sign a contract with the great Abyss, lord of all demons found in the underworld, and a great warrior as well. This equipment would excite any summoner but Derik wasn''t moved by this item, he already had the most powerful being in the underworld as his master, why go for the second best? Also, he wasn''t the type that would let a demon inhabit his body, so he never bothered using it. But for someone like Philp who possessed the Demon possession magic, this could be considered a priceless item. His current demon could only make him rival low-grade silver realm elites in power but the aura the scroll exuded showed that this beast could easily topple the peak grade realm experts and even allow him to compete with gold realm masters! "As strong as it looks, it''s still a demon and demons don''t like being controlled¡­ I will ask my guardian spirit to have Abyss take it easy on you but that doesn''t mean it will let you off the hook easily, demons are cunning and deceitful, we cannot let them penetrate your heart and mind¡­ this should be your trump card¡­ use it only when necessary¡­ Do you understand?" Derik explained this to Philp slowly who responded with a firm nod. Only then did Derik hand over the item to him. After this he walked over to Dimitris next, he has always had a soft spot for this kid since the very day he met him. There is something about the kid''s smile that just moves Derik''s heart, making him want to protect this child even at the cost of his life. Derik sincerely believed that amongst all the kids he saved from the holy churches underground lab, Dimitris had suffered the most since he was the one who spent the most time there, even at a younger age. Such a situation where someone is been used as a lab rat for years will break any normal person''s will and drive them crazy but this kid didn''t break, he always had a smile on his sincere smile on his face, showing that he had a very good heart and a strong mind as well. "No harm will ever befall you as long as I''m alive¡­." Derik fell on one knee as he caressed Dimitris''s face. His shadow expanded and three figures emerged from his shadow. The first was a man with bright yellow hair, surrounded by a gust of wind while the second was a woman with light blue hair and lightning sprinting all over her body, while the final was a very large man more than two meters tall, with a pair of stained white angel wings. All three of these people had the cultivation base of the peak grade of the silver realm and their combat standards are on par with Kira and the other old monsters, with their undying body giving them the advantage. "With these three as your bodyguards, you don''t have to fear anyone in this kingdom¡­I''m handing over their undead souls to you, little brother¡­ Use these three powerful undead''s to protect our family¡­ Okay?" Derik spoke to Dimitris softly. 255 Chapter 255: Leaving the continent 5 These five always moved together according to Derik''s instructions and their teamwork could be considered amazing, the same with their personal strength, but there is so much these kids can do. Leaving three unique undead characters under their care, all at the peak grade of the silver realm was not really a bad idea. As far as Derik is concerned this may not even be enough to secure the safety of these kids, that''s why Derik decided to deploy a reasonable portion of his undead army to follow them without them knowing. His shadow spread wide and numerous black shadows detached from his, taking shelter in the shadows of these young kids without them noticing. If Kin were here he would have spotted Derik''s actions the very moment he starts the transfer. Even though Andrew possessed darkness magic, he still had a long way to go in understanding how his magic works, and his realm is probably too low as well, the difference in their strength is simply too large. Even then he had this familiar feeling but he could spot the source! "Don''t worry big bro¡­ I will definitely take good care of them!" Dimitris declared boldly with clenched fists. Seeing this Derik only nodded in response and turned to meet the other three, a sly smile appeared on his face and his green pupils glowed really bright. Suddenly numerous ancient letters appeared all over his body and his eyes quivered. His aura changed entirely, creating some sort of strange balance towards everything that left these five kids terrified. They could not feel any violent intention from Derik, yet they feared him, making them retreat by a few steps. The change was so sudden and Derik was like a god in their eyes. "What kind of power is this¡­" Andrew was horrified by this and quickly asked. Just a moment ago he felt a powerful force pricking his forehead, trying to get to into his head but he was able to successfully dispel them while retreating. "Have you heard of the seven deadly sins? Derik asked absentmindedly as he too was stunned by the feeling and decided to dive deeper into it. "What are you trying to say? What are the seven deadly sins?" Blake instantly got interested but didn''t dare approach Derik. The others were also attentive, hoping to hear what could grant Derik such a magnificent presence. "Each sin represents a powerful emotion that led to the downfall of man¡­ an emotion which they couldn''t control so they were consumed by it! Pride, rage, lust, envy, sloth, greed, and gluttony, each of these are powerful emotions which man has failed to keep in check" Derik explained slowly. "So what does this mean? How will this help us?" Jean asked reluctantly. "This ability may not be too fancy and stylish but they are priceless! Each sin allows its bearer to influence the emotion and actions of people¡­ Steer up anarchy due to anger or make even the closest of friends draw they blades at each other! All of this is possible, as long as you can control someone''s emotions perfectly you can win any battle" Derik explained slowly. Not waiting for these kids to speak up Derik began chanting some words and replica''s of the words written on his body appeared all around him, his eyes first shifted to Blake. Waving his hand numerous letters flew towards the Blake, slamming into his forehead before sinking into his skin. "Gluttony¡­" Derik muttered Using the same method again, he sent another batch of ancient letters at Jean, letting it sink into her forehead. "Lust¡­" he muttered. Derik repeated this over and over again, granting Andrew the sin of greed while granting Dimitris envy and Philips rage. With this completed, Derik felt extremely exhausted, so he sent those kids away and slept off immediately. .......................................¡­ The next day, Derik woke up to the sound of the large iron doors opening. He realized he had slept for at least twelve hours and even now he didn''t feel like he has recovered completely. As he got stronger, he also realized he needs less time to rest, for over a decade now, this was the first time he slept. "I almost forgot how this felt¡­ I wish I could sleep more often" Derik muttered to himself. Thud! Thud!! "Who are you speaking to?" Cyrus pulled his hood back the moment he entered the room, revealing his golden sculpture-like face. His eyes carried hints of amusement as he gazed at the exhausted Derik with a sly smile on his face. "Don''t answer, I can only guess you did something crazy¡­ Something crazy enough to put someone as powerful as you in such a condition" Cyrus chuckled lightly. "He did? What did you do?" Kaido walked in and asked curiously. "It''s nothing too serious, I just used my energy to shatter the barrier preventing my disciples from ascending into the silver realm¡­it really put me in a bad shape¡­." Derik answered casually. Hearing this Cyrus'' perfect face twisted and he began to wonder how someone as dumb as Derik managed to go this far in life. Both of them knew how much energy they need to accumulate just to break through to a higher realm. Even though the requirement to the silver realm is less tasking, Cyrus knew any other normal gold realm master who tries to do this to five peak grade bronze realm kids will probably end up dead at the spot. "Do you really to do things this reckless?" Kaido understood the implication of Derik''s actions and was curious as to why Derik would take such a risk. "It was necessary¡­ I had to empower my people, especially since we are leaving the continent" Derik waved his hand and conjured three thrones made of bones. Taking a seat, he waited patiently for Cyrus and Kaido to digest what he has just said. No matter how powerful they have become, he was quite sure that none of them has ever considered leaving the continent, even he never dreamt of this when the offer came up. "Why are we leaving the continent if I may ask?" Cyrus tried to retain his composure and control all his bottled up emotions, trying to break out. As much as Derik was his best friend and he would always put everything Derik offers into consideration first before others, Cyrus was not really eager to leave everything he has created with more than a decade without a very good reason. The best he can do for Derik right now is to hear him out and consider his offer. "Do you know the orc chief we faced back then, is the weakest orc chieftain in their world? There are four others more powerful than it" Derik spoke up after a while. Hearing him, Cyrus and Kaido were stunned and terrified. Those green beasts they faced in the past could be considered as the most powerful force they have faced so far and their leader was the most powerful foe they have battled. To defeat this beast, all three of them had to join hands and force him to retreat. If there are four other beasts more powerful than that thing, this empire will surely crumble in due time if a full-scale invasion should take place. "I hate to say this but those green beasts are just the creation of one of the gods trying to invade our world, there are other gods and their creations will soon arrive. These people won''t be inferior to those green beasts we faced in the past, all of us will be wiped out in mere days when the time comes" Derik threw another one at Cyrus and Kaido. He clearly had no intention of letting them recover from the last words he spoke. 256 Chapter 256: An empire without Derik 1 Kaido and Cyrus were left stunned by Derik''s words. Considering how divided the original inhabitants of this world are, they will probably be killed off before they can realize the errors of their ways. These people lacked guardian spirits and were not aware of the current situation of the world. "And why am I not aware of this? Why do I know so little compared to you?" Cyrus gritted his teeth in anger. All his guardian spirit has ever done for him is grant him enough power for him to survive, it never aimed to strengthen him to a level where he can compete with Derik and it was never willing to grant his key information. All this while he never knew of the soul imprints and the mutant soul until Derik sent Aldora to enlighten him. Derik naturally knew how Cyrus felt and his reasons for feeling this way. He too found it hard to understand why his guardian spirit''s actions are completely different from his own. He didn''t have an answer to Cyrus'' question and didn''t even have a proper reply for him! In the end, Derik could only gaze at his feet while trying to formulate an answer for Cyrus. Suddenly, darkness spread across the room, blocking away all the forms of light. The temperature of the room suddenly dropped and Derik''s aura strengthened while Cyrus'' own reduced tremendously while Kaido felt like his life is been threatened by an unknown being. Cyrus felt suppressed and breathing became even hard for him, he couldn''t understand what was happened and almost panicked. "Derik!" He spurted out after putting in so much effort but to his greatest surprise, Derik was as shocked as him. "It''s not me¡­" Derik said as his visage turned cold and claws began sprouting on his fingers. "Calm down kid¡­ I was just checking something¡­." A familiar voice echoed from behind him. Demos suddenly walked out of Derik''s shadow and with a flick of his finger force assaulting Cyrus vanished. The darkness flowed into his angelic black wings and a friendly smile appeared on his face as he walked towards Cyrus. "Forgive me for my actions¡­ I just couldn''t resist¡­ I had to peek" Demos only said those words, not bothering to explain what he meant by that word ''peek''. Cyrus could easily tell the angel of death was not willing to say anything else so he didn''t push the matter further. For some reason, he felt he could trust Derik''s guardian spirit more than his own so he simply assumed that Demos would never do anything harmful to him¡­ At least as long as Derik is alive and well and he bears no ill intentions for the death mage, the guardian spirit has no reason to act against him. "It''s alright¡­ I''m sure you have your reasons¡­" Cyrus replied nonchalantly. "Good¡­. Concerning your why your guardian spirit is so reserved and refuses to reveal relevant information like this to you is simply because it''s on the creator''s side." Demos answered slowly. "On the creator''s side? What do you mean? Aren''t you on the creator''s side?" Cyrus was even more confused by Demos'' words. "Cyrus¡­ these guardian spirits are bound to this planet, not the creator¡­ If they were fully under the creator''s commands, the fallen archangel Samael would have been killed easily by the creator since we all carry its soul imprint¡­. But it''s different ¡­ This world is called a god vein, meant to create new gods¡­ The guardian spirits are a representation of the powers in this world, that''s why even the creator can''t decide who the next host is¡­You and I possess the powers of this world and are destined to be part of the new gods¡­ that''s if we don''t die anyway¡­" Derik chuckled lightly as he found his explanation confusing, even to himself. "What?" As expected, Cyrus and Kaido were stunned by this and got even more confused. They realized they knew nothing about this life and this planet they live in. Wasn''t this planet meant to be the creator''s realm? How are they supposed to be gods? After a few minutes of continuous bombardment of numerous questions, Cyrus and Kiado roughly understood everything. Why Cyrus was still intrigued by everything he heard, Kaido was disappointed that he is not one of the people destined to become a member of the new gods. Of course, Demos granted him an alternative which Derik completely persuaded Kaido to ignore. "At a critical moment in the war, should your cosmic spirit be fatally injured, you can take advantage of the opportunity to absorb it and become a new god, taking its place amongst the cosmic spirit!" Demos said with a sly smile on his face. "Don''t even think about this¡­ He''s trying to get you killed¡­" Derik sighed ruefully. "Come on now, for great power one has to take great risks¡­ is that what you all are planning to do right now? What''s the difference?" Demos chuckled while countering Derik''s words. Derik in response could only sigh and look away. "That means my guardian spirit is amongst those siding with the creator, they believe it will prevail above the other gods and become the supreme god, that''s why they are adamant on following it and they refuse to give us, relevant information¡­" Cyrus muttered. He finally realized why his guardian spirit has always kept some distance whenever dealing with him! It was simply because it doesn''t want him to know much. "Exactly¡­ These guardian spirits felt the presence of the creator when it defeated Samael. It has far surpassed the level of the true gods, and very close to entering the king god realm, that''s the benefits of leeching off the energy meant for new gods¡­. That''s why I want you all to succeed, kill that greedy being and let the power it has stolen, return to this planet¡­ before it runs dry" Demos said with so much anger and conviction, that Derik and Cyrus were even stunned. "Before we go into our expedition details¡­ I need to know, Demos¡­. There have been numerous death magic wielders before me¡­. And they all died¡­ why didn''t you bring them back to life with your power¡­ Why didn''t you nurture them as you did for me" Derik suddenly asked with a thoughtful expression on his face. 257 Chapter 257: An empire without Derik 2 "It''s quite simple¡­ Unlike the others, you lacked ambition but you had a strong will¡­ Unlike the rest who had personal agendas, hehehe¡­ really big ones¡­ you just wanted to be strong enough to live a good life with your father and sister¡­ I needed someone I can place my burden on and have him replace me¡­ Unfortunately, I was running out of time so I had to pick you¡­ couldn''t just wait and hope the new host will be good enough" Demos answered casually. Hearing this Derik''s expression turned ugly while the other two just chuckled in response. The angel of death found a way to insult Derik while praising him at the same time. "Bastard, you still got time for jokes huh?" Derik chuckled lightly and sat on the bone throne behind him. "Alright, so which guardian spirits are on your side?" Kaido asked impatiently. If what these people said is true, then they don''t have much time on their hands. "None¡­ It''s just me¡­ But it doesn''t really matter¡­ amongst all the guardian spirits, I am the strongest¡­ back then, I was only slightly inferior to Samael¡­" Demos answered indifferently. "Don''t do that¡­ Your power has already reduced greatly, you are nowhere near your peak¡­ as for the others, they too possess great power as well¡­ Don''t try to deceive us¡­ You cannot face them alone" Derik countered hastily with a sly smile on his face. They all knew he was trying to provoke Demos. "Hehehe¡­ Back then, only Samael could fight with me to a standstill¡­ it was glorious and exciting when we fought for the sake of the creator¡­. Unfortunately, I lost¡­ he was slightly stronger¡­ That''s why I will recruit him¡­ Have him join our little team¡­" Demos chuckled while he spoke "What the hell?" Derik almost spat out blood in anger. "This is not a team" Cyrus swiftly denied ever becoming a member of their group. "I agree..." Derik quickly supported him. "who is this Samael¡­" Kaido was the only one confused about the whole issue. Since he only arrived in this world after the Derik was defeated by Cyrus and forced into hiding, so it was only natural he lacked knowledge of the past. "Samael is the archangel that once bore the title of the life guardian spirit until he rebelled against the creator and lost, receiving a severe injury that crippled his cultivation but he managed to escape¡­ These two had to join hands with the fire guardian spirit host, Ahika, and the lightning guardian spirit host, Zaylee¡­ I''m sure you know of her" Demos chuckled wickedly when he said the last sentence. "Derik and Cyrus hand to team up with two other powerful mages before they could defeat him?" Kaido was stunned by this revelation. Who would have thought someone would force people like Derik and Cyrus to search for outside help just to win. "Yep¡­ Samael''s power was greatly reduced, down to the silver realm¡­ in the end, all four hosts joined hands and barely forced Samael to retreat¡­. Every one of them were injured badly due to that fight¡­" Demos laughed. "And you want to invite someone like that over to our side?" Derik furrowed his eyebrows while he asked the question. "Exactly, back then I only fought against Samael because I knew how powerful the creator is¡­ even if Samael and I join hands, we won''t be able to defeat it¡­ But now things are different¡­ we are taking a different approach, so its only natural I recruit someone as strong as him¡­ He will be of great use to us" Demos answered quickly. "Don''t forget Samael has lost a great portion of his power¡­. Even if you invite him what use will he be to us? By the way, the last time we fought him, he was injured so he fled into his domain¡­. Don''t bother trying unless you have a way of pulling him out" Cyrus said casually. "That won''t be a problem¡­ over the years Samael has been watching both of you¡­ he has always considered you all a threat and has been looking for opportunities to get rid of the both of you¡­ During that time, I was the only person stopping him from getting to you guys¡­ it won''t be too difficult to find him again" Demos explained. Hearing this Derik and Cyrus felt like the cold blades of death, placed close to their throats. Whenever they remember their battle with the fallen archangel, they all felt terrified. Engaging in such an intense life and death battle again with a powerful being like Samael is not something a sane person would wish for themselves, Derik and Cyrus won''t even wish for their enemy to meet Samael. That encounter had truly left a scare on them¡­ "You don''t have to worry¡­ Now your strength has reason to the gold realm, he won''t dare make a move against you guys as long as you stick together¡­ Samael''s power is still at the low grade of the gold realm¡­ should you three ever encounter him, I believe you guys can chase him off¡­" Demos naturally understood their fears and quickly spoke up concerning the issue. With this they let the matter die and focused on their preparations for the expedition. Since this is the first time Derik, Cyrus and Kaido are leaving the continent, they agreed to let Demos lead them to their destination. Before they left, they made a trip to the former royal palace where they met Gerald and a few old friends like Gin, Mason, and the rest. Coincidentally Elsa and Diana were there as well putting Derik and the other two in an awkward position. They wanted to keep the news of their departure a secret, letting only close friends know about it. After making their intentions known to Gerald and the rest, they left the royal palace and returned to their sects to begin necessary preparations for their departure. During this time, Derik summoned the passageway to his domain at the underground cultivation chamber in his sect. This way he won''t have to bother about their cultivation speed while he''s gone! Derik allowed the abundant death aura within his domain to flow out and fill the mountain to help facilitate faster cultivation for his members but only core members like Kira, Kuen, Kin, and his five disciples are allowed to directly enter the domain and cultivate there. And the next day, the strong presence of the death mage, life mage, and sun guardian knight vanished from the empire causing an uproar. The news of Derik''s departure with the life mage and sun guardian knight spread faster than they ever imagined. Of course, it started from the elves before reaching the humans and then the lizardmen. At first, it was joy, more than half the empire celebrated the departure of the tyrant Derik and his little group, they all screamed to the top of their voices and danced all night, drowning themselves in wine and stuffing their tummies with meat. This went on for ten days straight and on the eleventh day there was no celebration, but fear! The barrier surrounding the empire vanished on that day, covering only the mountain range where the palace of death and the palace of life is built and the forces of the two sects patrolling the empire were instantly withdrawn. Without saying a word, the inhabitants of the empire quickly knew that the two sects have decided to stop protecting the empire! What if those monsters return? Without the help of the top tier masters in the two sects, how will they survive against the green monsters that appeared in the past? Everyone knew these beasts will return and the empire will definitely be the first place these beasts will most likely choose to attack the empire first and without the spatial barrier, everyone living outside the mountain range will die first. At first, the people were outraged and cried out furiously, hoping the various gold realm masters in the empire will join hands and suppress these two sects! Since the Death mage, life mage and sun guardian knight have left the sect under the care of a few silver realm experts, this is the perfect time to weaken their forces! Luckily for them, these masters and some high ranking officials in the empire have been waiting for this opportunity and now they have a reason to attack the sects and destroy its very foundations! These people understood each other''s intentions without speaking a single word, soon they began gathering their forces aiming to tear down the sect that the two peerless masters of the younger generation created with their sweat and blood. 258 Chapter 258: An empire without Derik 3 In a spacious room filled with a mixture of pure life and death aura, two figures were seated around a round table. One had golden hair and glittering golden eyes, adorned in a white and golden robe with a golden hood placed over his head. His presence filled the room with holy aura and his looks already were extremely majestic and holy, when a person focuses on him for too long, they tend to see an illusion of a pair of angelic golden wings. Across the massive round table was another man with blood-red hair and blood-red eyes. His fangs were revealed every time he smiled and his skin was as white as a sheet of paper even though his body wreaked of the stench of fresh blood. He wore his usual black and red mage robe with a red hood placed over his head. On his exposed hands were strange black symbols that danced around his body. "What do you think they will do?" Kira chuckled lightly when he spoke to Agus "They will most likely use this opportunity to attack us since our palace masters are away and no one knows when they will return" Agus replied thoughtfully. "Hehehehe!" A bloodthirsty aura exploded out of Kira as he grinned wildly after listening to Agus'' words. Bam! The massive iron doors were suddenly yanked open and five men walked into the room. Agus could recognize four since they were all famous followers of the death mage. The first was the gray-haired youth with gray eyes, adorned in a gray sleeveless mage robe. This youth was Kalos in his undying youthful body. If someone was not aware of his existence they will definitely be fooled that this youth is not an undead. His ability to seal off his aura entirely, including the death aura oozing out of him, is something not everyone can do! The fact that he has this much strength and control terrified others greatly and they realized the death mage was only capable of killing this man back then because the spatial mage was already tired of life, he just wanted to end it all. The next was Aldora in his usual child-sized black mage robe, his tiny and circular figure made him look ridiculous but his strength simply prevents anyone from looking down on him. Since he was able to reach the gold realm while still in his early hundreds showed how talented he was while he was still alive. If given another century, the man may have entered the peak grade of the gold realm and may even surpass this level, taking half a step into the demigod realm before the end of his life span. Unfortunately, he met Derik and Cyrus before he could reach his peak. And then there was Kuen whose shoulder-length red hair has been tied back into a ponytail and his aura has risen considerably. He wore the normal black and red sleeveless mage robe with a talisman dangling freely over his neck. Considering how vast the youths aura was, he was just a few years away from the gold realm, just like the other generals of the palace of the dead. Kin on the other hand was not someone Agus could see through. The man was shrouded in darkness so thick that Agus'' light was being swallowed slowly and darkness kept encroaching every part of the room. Unlike Kira who just looked vicious and extremely powerful, Kin was more mysterious and this scared Agus. He always felt uncomfortable whenever he met Kin, even though he knew Kin was on their side, the ability to swallow light was something that terrifies every light mage. And the last person was someone he couldn''t recognize, but with just a sniff he could tell that this man was a werewolf. The man''s black hair was cut short and he wore a normal wealthy robe attire with glowing crimson red eyes and a charming smile on his face. The aura the man exuded showed that he was only slightly weaker than the sect commanders. "Scott¡­ Its been too long¡­ I was hoping you would join the attacking forces trying to overrun us" Kira walked up to the man to receive him with a cheerful smile on his face. "If I do that how will I face my family members who joined this sect? do you think I can escape Derik''s wrath when he returns¡­ He and Cyrus will definitely wipe out half of the empire when they return" Scott revealed a bitter smile and his eyes were full of pity. "Then why are you here?" Kalos asked impatiently. "To join you all in the war to come¡­ Like I said earlier some members of my family are here, I can''t let anything happen to them¡­I brought over what''s left of my family guards¡­ They may be nothing compared to what you all have but it''s the best I can do" Scott answered honestly. Hearing this everyone was stunned, they just sat there and gazed at Scott, curious to know whether his words were actually sincere. "So Derik still has some friends outside the sect¡­" Kira chuckled. "Of course Derik still have friends outside his sect!" a hoarse voice echoed from outside and some familiar faces walked into the room with warm smiles on their faces. "Guys¡­" Kira was stunned and watched these people in disbelief. He never expected something like this to happen in this lifetime. "Why are you stunned¡­ You all were members of team guardian, its only natural for them to want to help" Gerald who was amongst them chuckled when he saw Kira''s startled expression. "Why are you all helping us?" Aldora frowned as he asked the question. As a bishop of the holy church who barely left the cathedral at the time, he knew nothing about Derik''s past so it''s only reasonable that he doesn''t trust these people that claim to be Derik''s friends now he''s away. Even if their words are true and sincere, they are not members of the sect and they can turn their back on the sect at any time¡­ "Without fear there is chaos¡­ we can''t let the reputation the palace of death has built to be destroyed in one day¡­ the presence of this sect commands fear and respect¡­. It needs to keep standing, for all our sakes¡­" A lady dressed in a tight black leather clothes spoke up. 259 Chapter 259: The Derik way "Daemon¡­" Kira''s eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at the black-haired lady in tight-fitting clothes. In reality, he never expected any of these people to possess enough courage to stroll into the palace of death, furthermore, Kira didn''t understand why Kalos let them through the barrier. As much as these people were his friends in the past, he wasn''t sure how Derik would react if he were here. Now he has wholeheartedly accepted Derik as his superior in the sect, he is obliged to serve Derik! Accepting these people''s help will definitely harm Derik''s pride as a supreme master of his generation. "Its really nice seeing you all again after so long and I also appreciate your concern but we do not need your help to deal with these¡­ nobles¡­ the palace of life and death will not accept outside help¡­ even without our palace masters we as still capable of subduing this empire!" Kira said with a mocking grin on his face. Hearing him talk everyone present was stunned and they began wondering if Kira was even aware of the situation. Practically every important person in the empire are banding against them, that''s to say that they are going against the whole empire. If Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido were present it would have been a completely different issue since three of them can easily destroy the whole empire alone but without them, the fate of the two sects is complete destruction. Even the proud and powerful Agus who is said to be only weaker than Cyrus in the sect felt threatened by these people. He wasn''t fully in support of Kira''s actions! This is the time when they should seek out their friends and gather their forces together for the last stand. "Do you really think your sects can handle the situation alone?" A middle-aged youth with a blue mohawk haircut and a black undercut asked while playing with two blue daggers in his hands. This man was called the prince charming during his youthful days and his strength was extraordinary as well even though he was from a non-combat class. Gin could be considered as one of the most famous people in the empire right now, almost as famous as Derik and Cyrus! "Do not underestimate the palace of the dead¡­ We are more powerful than you all think¡­ Even without Derik present, we can pull down this empire if we wish to" Kira replied with a vicious smile on his face. "Anyway¡­ Your help is not required¡­ Unless you wish to take part in what we wish to do" Kin who was still hidden within the cluster of black clouds finally spoke up after a while. "Huh? What are you talking about?" A green-haired man with green pupils asked with a raised eyebrow. He was interested in what these people were planning to do. Looking at Mason, Kira was quite stunned. Just like Derik, when this man suddenly unlocked his wind rider path his power rose rapidly alongside his fame. He was officially declared the strongest archer of all time, being the only archer in the continent that has ever reached the peak grade of the silver realm, coupled with an overpowered path that gives him control over the wind element. Some even argue that this man should not be considered an archer anymore but a mage, after months of debates and arguments, Mason was declared the first magic archer! A title that no one has ever received before! His daughter who calls herself gust seems to have a strong affinity to the wind element and also practices to become an archer, she will definitely take over from her father and even surpass him. "Hehehe¡­ what else are we supposed to do¡­ we will do things the Derik way and kill every single person that matches to this place with ill intentions¡­ Those noble families responsible for this will be wiped out as well¡­" Kuen chuckled lightly as he spoke. "So, if you wish to help us¡­. Then you will join the forces of the palace of life to block every escape route in the empire¡­ we wish to put an end to all of this once and for all¡­ we have to kill every single one of them" Kira revealed a vicious grin while speaking. Hearing Kira speaking, everyone present felt a chill in their hearts, even Agus was slightly disturbed by these people''s intentions but he couldn''t argue with them. In reality, this was the best and only option if they truly wish to put an end to all of this. Gerald and the others were stunned by this, they had thought that the palace of the dead are scary but only because of Derik, but now they realized how wrong they were. They began to wonder how Derik has managed to make everyone whom he meets as vicious as him, even Cyrus who is meant to represent light, and holiness has become as savage and wild as a beast when provoked. They believed that if they spent more time with Derik, they probably would have been as vicious as these people. "And who said I''ll be on guard duty while you all have fun?" Agus revealed a friendly smile while speaking to Kira. "Hehehe! Didn''t think you would want to stain your clean clothes with blood" Kira chuckled. "This won''t be the first time¡­ as for the clothes, you don''t have to worry, I have many of these, too many" Agus smiled. "Now you know our intentions, do you still wish to help us?" Kira chuckled and sat down, patiently waiting for these people''s responses. "You know the gold realm masters may help them¡­ They are not really in good terms with Derik and if you all try to wipe out all the major nobles of the empire, they will be forced to interfere" Gerald said with furrowed eyebrows. "Yea¡­ You need our help to pin them down at least¡­ even though we are not gold realm masters, if join hands we can battle them to a draw" Donald who was dressed in green knight armor, with a green spear hanging tightly on his back and a sword strapped around his waist. 260 Chapter 260: Permanently "Or do you think you can handle this even without our help?" Karl shoved his red hair back with his hands while revealing a sly smile on his face. Hearing Karl''s words, Agus felt troubled as well. There are other gold realm masters in the kingdom like Francis the nature mage, Ahika the fire demon, and even Diana the moon cosmic spirit host. Should these people be forced to make a move, they will truly find it really troublesome. Even though they had two undead generals like Aldora and Kalos on their side, but these people can only hold one gold realm master off each. If even one gold realm master from those three should escape the undead generals and join the battle, their team will be easily obliterated as quickly as they gathered. Agus has stayed with Cyrus for a very long time and he could easily tell the difference between a silver realm elite and a gold realm master, considering the strength of the fact that these people are just a step away from the mid-grade of the gold real, its safe to say that they are stronger than they use to be when they were still at the low grade of the gold realm. To deal with such people they will definitely need to put together a force of highly talented silver realm elites who have been in the realm for more than five years and are not too far from the gold realm. "When that happens we will deal with it¡­ You don''t need to bother yourself" Kira answered nonchalantly. "Yea¡­ Its just three gold realm masters¡­. Pfft" Kuen chuckled. "There you have it¡­ that''s our answer, if you wish to cooperate with us, we just need to help us make sure none of these people flee the empire¡­" Kin said only after the other two commanders were done speaking. Hearing them joke about the matter everyone was stunned! How is it possible that these people are so nonchalant when presented with such an important issue. These are three gold realm masters they are talking about not normal warriors! These people have the superior backing of a guardian spirit and a cosmic spirit, they are not easily dealt with! Yet these people actually laughed when the issue was brought up to them. Even Agus was stunned and confused at the same time, he was wondering where these people got their confidence from. The first decision he didn''t completely agree with was rejecting the forces of these people. They are going against the forces of almost the whole empire, its no small force, and these people will be in the hundreds of thousands in terms of numbers. Join forces with the palace of the death will only slightly give them over thirty to fifty thousand, the number gap is too great, putting them at a disadvantaged position. Now they also rejected a once in a lifetime offer from a group of peak experts of the past generation who wants to help them and pin down the gold realm masters, yet they rejected their offer and played it off with jokes and laughs. At this point, Agus began doubting that Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido ever left! Maybe they are hiding somewhere, probably waiting for the battle to start before they pop out and kill everyone. "How can you be so confident even without Derik and Cyrus backing you¡­" Donald has always been hot-headed from the beginning, so he easily got agitated when he heard Kira and the other two treat such a serious matter as a joke. "Didn''t I tell you? Our palace of death is not so weak that it needs outside help! There are dangerous monsters living on this mountain that will even terrify the gold realm masters¡­ I hope you will accept our offer and be on your way¡­ We have lots of preparations to make" Kira sneered disdainfully. With this, no one argued any further. They could only agree to Kin''s condition of partnership and left with a sour taste in their mouth. They didn''t necessarily hate the palace of death, in fact, they are amongst the few people that believe in these people''s methods. Even though no one would like to admit it publicly, the empire has always been stable due to Derik''s special method of handling issues. All those who bore ill intentions could only dream about it and never actually actualize it. Thanks to Derik''s actions, no race looked down on the other and even if they did, no one dared show his discontent publicly and act against others from other races. The plan to unite all races in the continent only succeeded because of Derik. In reality, love can never hold a nation together, its impossible for everyone to love, humans are born evil, cruel, and selfish. Love can only suppress these emotions for a short while but it can never completely eradicate these negative emotions. Not everyone can love but fear is something else entirely! Derik has proven time and time again that fear is the only way to unite these people. Even gods fear death, those who cannot love can always feel fear, no one is immune to it, not even Derik. With the power of fear, Derik successfully united three different races and made them live within one empire. His methods prevented the first civil war and also brought about the death of members of the older generation who bore ill intentions against the newly formed empire. Even if everyone hated him for killing people related to them in some way, Derik still saved the empire from a war which will lead to the death of more people, more than the number of people he killed that day. In the end, the children and siblings of those who were murdered by Derik that very day have decided to have their revenge on the two sects that have always suppressed them for years now. The destruction of the sects will bring about the destruction of the empire. Not only will they lose the protection of the two most powerful people in the continent, but they will also lose, Kaido''s protection as well, and when these masters return from their journey, they will also most likely burn what''s left of the empire to the ground. "These nobles are dumb¡­ I believe this empire will flourish without them¡­" Gerald sighed ruefully. 261 Chapter 261: Three bloody Demons of the sect 1 Tension kept rising for over eight days as the various forces of the nobles of the empires kept gathering at Gyro, the capital of the human settlement in the empire. Large numbers of elves and humans could be seen right outside the gates of Gyro waiting for further others from their superiors before making a move. Surprisingly the Lizardmen didn''t send over any forces like the two other races, unlike the elves and the humans who had nobles and high ranking officials who can question their kings and leaders, there was nothing like that for the lizardmen. Only the lizardman chieftain holds absolute power and his words are obeyed without any delay! The fact that the lizardmen didn''t send over anyone showed Ahika had no plans of getting himself involved in this conspiracy, after the last encounter with Derik and Cyrus, the Lizardman chief realized their words were true and it chose to ignore whatever is happening in the empire, as long as his race is not involved. Knowing that the lizardmen have refused to take part in this attack simply meant that the allied forces of the nobles has lost the support of the gold realm master of the lizardmen. This could be considered a major blow to them but it didn''t mean that they would withdraw easily. Right now they had over three hundred thousand warriors and mages preparing for battle. Within those forces were about fifty thousand silver realm elites consisting of all the classes and leading them were two peerless silver realm experts of the previous generation, the former Gyro military commander, Creed, and the Elven race military commander, Isabel, the same person who saved Derik back in the dungeon, when he was just a measly bronze realm archer. These two bore deep resentment for the death mage and the reasons for this were still unknown since they never spoke about it. They were always willing to take part in any action against Derik''s sect whenever the chance presents itself and now they can successfully destroy the sect entirely, they even refused to be paid for their services. ...................... "You have chosen not to take part in this holy mission to purge this empire of the plague, preventing it from progressing" Creed''s hoarse voice was loud enough for Gerald who was standing above the walls of Gyro to hear. "This person whom you call a plague is the reason this empire was successfully formed in the first place¡­ this plague is the reason my father was defeated and his reign of terror ended¡­ This plague is the reason the empire successfully avoided a civil war!... What do you have against him, Creed? Do you forget you once fought alongside him to protect the kingdom of Gyro from all these people you are banding together with? Do you think these crappy nobles care about this empire?" Gerald asked these questions with an unusual calm look on his face. "Save your questions, little Gerald, nothing will save these two sects today¡­ the moment they withdrew the barrier protecting the empire, the committed treason, and asked for death¡­ I''m only here to grant them their desire¡­ either way, these people must die¡­ It is bad enough you have refused to lend us a hand¡­ it will be worse if you refuse to grant us safe passage through the capital, or should we need to raid this great city first?" Creed said with a vicious smile on his face. "Ha? Raid Gyro? Even if you did that¡­ You and all these people standing behind you will die miserably¡­ Fortunately for you, like always, I will remain neutral on this matter¡­ Your forces are allowed to pass through Gyro safely and move towards the mountain ranges where the sects are located as long as your forces do not cause any trouble for my people¡­ And you don''t have to be scared old man Creed¡­ I will not interfere in your business¡­ I will let the gods decide the fate of those two sects" Gerald sneered. Waving his hand while glaring at the furious Creed, the massive gates of Gerald were opened and the forces of the elves and humans matched forward. Gerald could only stare at these people with pity and regret. All these people have families and loved ones, if Kira wasn''t exaggerating the last them spoke and the death palace has enough strength to deal with these people, then more than half of these people will meet the angel of death before the end of the week. "It''s really sad" Daemon''s alluring figure appeared beside Gerald. If Creed realized that this lady had a dagger close to his throat all through the time he spoke with Gerald, he would probably have wet his pants since he couldn''t even detect the assassin. "Yea¡­ it is sad¡­ But it''s necessary" Gerald sighed ruefully. "Do you think they can actually pull it off? Do you really think Kira and Agus can deal with all these people with only thirty thousand men on their side?" Daemon asked with a doubtful expression on her face. "If Kira said they can do it¡­ I choose he can¡­ He is the strongest member of the team guardian, Cyrus and Derik excluded¡­ He''s quite powerful and I don''t think I will be able to defeat him if we fought¡­" Gerald answered. "And Agus? What do you think? He was just a commoner with a strong affinity to the light element when Cyrus found him¡­ Even though his cultivation speed is monstrous and people say he''s as powerful as Kira, I believe they are exaggerating¡­ Both Kira and Agus do not deserve such praise¡­ They are only strong because they keep leaching of Derik and Cyrus whose aura can double their cultivation speed and strengthen their abilities¡­" Daemon said with clenched fists and gritted teeth. "Hahaha! I agree that these people are only this powerful because they keep feeding off Derik and Cyrus but in reality, living with those two is not easy¡­ You have seen people from both palaces, while Derik''s sect is filled with beasts who were once human, who have gone crazy due to Derik''s aura while Cyrus sect is filled with fanatics who are equally crazy as well¡­ For the fact, those two are able to retain their sanity simply shows how strong they are! You don''t have to be jealous" Gerald said with a playful smile on his face. "Hmph! I''m not jealous¡­ even if they are strong, there is so much a single person can do¡­ Either way, the two sects will fall in a week''s time at most¡­if I were them, I will just swallow my pride and hide behind Kalos barrier and wait till Derik and Cyrus return¡­" Daemon retorted disdainfully. 262 Chapter 262: Three bloody Demons of the sect 2 As agreed, the forces of the allied noble families marched through the city of Gyro under Creed and Isabel''s supervision without causing any trouble, reaching the clear fields leading to the mountain ranges in a day. They set up a camp there and waited patiently until they received further orders. Unknown to them, three figures were standing above the campsite, glaring at the invading army with vicious smiles on their faces. "Slightly above three hundred thousand¡­ no matter how this battle ends, the empire will be weakened whether we lose or win¡­" Kin said with a slight frown on his voice. Unlike the other two commanders of the sect, Kin had already advanced in age and was not as bloodthirsty as the others. Even though he knew if they want to settle the issue permanently they will have to wipe out all their enemies here and now or they will at least they will have to deal a blow which will permanently cripple these people who bare ill intentions against their sect. "It won''t be easy but we will win¡­ That''s assured¡­ Since this happened, we can no longer be considered a part of this crappy empire filled with greedy and worthless people¡­ I am happy and eager to renounce being part of this failure of an empire¡­" Kuen said these words with furrowed eyebrows. "It doesn''t matter who wins or loses¡­ all that matters is that we settle this grudge with this battle¡­ every single person who has taken part in this conspiracy must die¡­ we can''t afford to let such events keep repeating itself! Creed and Isabel will die here" Kira said coldly. With that, the three figures vanished only after they shot one last glare at the huge army sleeping peacefully under the moonlight. Even those meant to keep watch couldn''t spot them, if they wanted the could launch a surprise attack and decimate the so-called allied forces meant to bring them down but this will give the nature mage, Francis, and the moon cosmic spirit host a reason to join the battle. ¡­??........................¡­ The next day the allied forces rallied together and marched towards the mountain ranges where the members of the sects owned by Derik and Cyrus resided. Around the mountain range was a semi transculent barrier preventing them from getting anywhere close to the foot of the mountain, they could only stop 20km''s away and wait for the members of the sect to appear. The strategy was quite simple but effective, if the sect wishes to avoid this war, they will have to return the barrier which once protected the empire and swear to only work for the progress of the empire. This may look simple but in reality, this will not only break their confidence and destroy their reputation, but it will also destroy the reputation of their sect masters. As for Derik, Kaido, and Cyrus, by the time they return Francis must have entered the mid-grade of the gold realm while Diana may reach the peak of mid-grade in the gold realm. That way they won''t have to fear these masters. If the members of the two sects refuse the offer and choose to hide within their barrier, even though the forces of the empire cannot do anything to them, the reputation of these people will still be destroyed and the reputation of their palace master will be destroyed as well. And if they choose to fight, only death will await them. "We the forces of Gyro demand an explanation from the palace of death, for going against the empire and sabotaging its defenses¡­ we demand an explanation!" Creed screamed with a vicious smile on his face. These people waited for close to a minute for a reply and when they were about to lose their patience a figure which carried a strong stench of blood appeared into sight. Kira casually walked out of the barrier fearlessly and shot a glance at the allied forces, revealing a mocking smile. "Last time we fought, I remember sending back to whatever shit hole you came out from¡­ yet you have the guts to come back here? What happened, are you so eager to die?" Kira chuckled gazing at Creed with a contemptuous look on his face. "Hahaha¡­ I would have sworn you came out here to beg on behalf of your sect, I didn''t think you would be so stupid as to come out here and spurt out nonsense¡­ My defeat last time was only as a result of a mistake on my part and not because you are superior, it''s a thousand years too early for you to challenge me, kid!" Creed laughed disdainfully. Instantly, Kira''s body left the ground and began levitating, the blood stench oozing out of his body intensified and his blood-red eyes let out a terrifying glow. "Why don''t we find out if the outcome of the last battle was a fluke!" Kira chuckled lightly while he spoke. Hearing Kira''s words Creed''s face turned pale. Kira was only slightly stronger the last time they fought and back then but now he was much stronger than he was back then. Creed could feel the threat of death from this kid, without anyone telling him, he was quite sure if he battled Kira alone, he will die a miserable death at the hands of the blood mage. "Bastard! Do you dare refuse the chance given to your little sect by the esteemed nobles of this empire? Don''t you think you are overestimating yourself? Apologize for your rude behavior and swear allegiance to the nobles of this empire and I will spare your worthless life?" Creed roared furiously. "Esteemed nobles? Spare my life? Overestimating myself? Don''t get me wrong old man, but your nobles are a plague to this empire which I must remove for the sake of this empire¡­ I do not overestimate myself, I know how capable I am¡­ You are not qualified to stand on the same battlefield as me, Creed¡­ You are a forgotten relic of the previous generation¡­ You cannot kill me, not in this life¡­ not in the next! Creed and Isabel, you all will die by my hands today!!!" Kira bellowed as fist-sized blood orbs began twirling around him. 263 Chapter 263: Three bloody Demons of the sect 3 Seeing Kira''s reactions Creed''s lips curled up into a smile and his eyes let out a silver glow as he violently grabbed on to the massive silver broadsword hanging over his back. He was sincerely hoping that Kira will act this way and both sides will clash! In reality, if Kira accepted his offer and swore allegiance to the nobles, Creed would still feel discontented, all he wanted to do now is to destroy all traces of the palace of the dead and make sure the next generation will forget of their exploits. "Since you have chosen death, I''ll let you die the cruelest death ever! Kill him!!!" Creed roared and the human faction of the army rushed into action. Even though the elves were under Isabel''s command and she is yet to give them an order, the human members of the army were more in number, they were a whopping two hundred thousand humans in the army and the elves were close to a hundred thousand. Even if the elves refuse to join in now, Creed refused to believe that Kira will be able to deal with two hundred thousand human warriors and mages, and out of this number, thirty thousand of them were all silver realm elites. With the ability of flight, these silver realm elites, naturally surpassed the bronze realm fighters and mages in speed, leading the charge with Creed right in front of them, charging towards one man. "Hahahaha¡­ Come try it!" Kira laughed hysterically as the blood orbs around him popped and miraculously formed a sea of blood swirling around him. "Let me taste your blood!" Kira bellowed as he hid within the sea of blood and surged towards the silver realm elites approaching. Chants of numerous silver realm oracles echoed everywhere and the whole army of thirty thousand elites was shrouded in golden light, waiting from the sea of blood to collide with them. Even though Kira''s power was strange, all they knew is that the youth was not invincible and was hiding his location within the sea of blood. "Archers! Mages!!!" Creed cried out Xiii! Xiii!!! Xiii!!!! Hundreds of silver realm archery techniques were used and hundreds of spells were cast, fireballs, lightning bolts, water bullets, boulders, arrows, energy arrows, raw beams of energy filled the sky above and covered the sun. Within the sea of blood, Kira stared in horror, unsure of how Derik managed to single-handedly attack the kingdom, all alone in the past. At this point, he realized that even now, at his current level, he is still inferior to Derik of ten to twenty years ago who attacked the kingdom of Gyro all alone and killed tens of thousands of people. Even then Derik was strong enough to battle Kalos and Aldora who were both gold realm masters and he was only at the silver realm at that time but now Kira was sure he would last long against a gold realm master. "Truly, the difference between magic spirits and guardian spirits are too vast¡­ it''s not something I can cover easily with just hard work and talent¡­" Kira had a bitter smile on his face as he spoke those words. "But then what else can I do but fight! Creed and Isabel must die here and now!!" Kira bellowed furiously and surprisingly kept charging forward fearlessly. His movement within the sea of blood was slick as he rapidly changed positions, preventing the attacks from reaching him but in just a second more attacks arrived and he had fewer places to run to. Roar!!! Kira''s furious cry reached everyone''s ears as a man wearing a blood-red knights armor with a bloodied red sword in his hand shot out of the sea of blood, racing towards the attacks falling from above. His eyes gave out a bright red glow as the sea of blood beneath him surged towards the blood-red sword in his hands, it was been sucked in rapidly and the aura diffusing from the sword grew fiercer in turn. "If you think I will be killed so easily¡­ then you must be crazier than me!" Kira bellowed as he brandished the sword ruthlessly, releasing arcs of blood-red aura at the attacks aimed at him. As most of the attacks missed the target he focused on defending the ones that reached him. Under the numerous assaults, Kira''s blood-red armor was struck hard repeatedly and chunks of his armor kept falling apart as time went on. Vroom!! A blinding white light soon got Kira''s attention as he spotted more than ten silver realm oracles banding together to cast a fusion spell. They were covered in a pillar of blinding white light and a massive silver magic array appeared above Kira. The size of the magic array and the deadly aura that exuded from it alone would make a peak grade silver realm elite tremble in fear. "Fall!" All fifteen oracles roared and a similar beam of light shot down from the magic array, threatening to consume Kira whole. "Hehehehe¡­ I am one of the three demon commanders of the palace of the dead¡­ If I get killed by something like this, I would be too ashamed to meet my palace masters teacher in the underworld!" Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Kira did not try to flee, instead he laughed hysterically and launched himself towards the descending beam of light. His hands tightly held on to the blood-red sword and he struck at the beam of light fearlessly, releasing all the power within the blood-red sword in one go! Booooom! The shockwave from the attack created massive gusts of winds that forced Creed and his men retreat. The watched a massive beam of red light escape the tip of Kira''s blood-red sword and collide with the even bigger white light. It didn''t take much time for Kira to be consumed by the light and he was shot straight into the ground, successfully creating a five-meter deep crater with the blood mage who was covered in a pool of blood at the center of the crater. His right hand had been placed in ways no man''s hand should be placed. 264 Chapter 264: Making a name for himself 1 "In the end, you are not invincible like the death mage and the life mage¡­ You are still mortal" Creed stared at Kira''s stiff body within the five-meter deep crater with deep resentment in his eyes but a triumphant smile on his face. The death of one commander in the army of the dead can easily change the tide of battle for them and unexpectedly, they didn''t lose a single man in this battle. "You were a fool to challenge me¡­ You overestimated your abilities¡­ You are not the death mage" Creed sneered viciously, turning his gaze to the mountains safely placed within the semi transculent barrier. Now that Kira is dead, the other is sure to make a move, they will all leave the protection of the barrier and die just like Kira. "Hehehe¡­ Derik once told me that no one is truly invincible¡­ I agree with that but I am really hard to kill" Kira''s voice sent chills in the heart of all thirty thousand silver realm elites and they instinctively took a step back. Kira''s body was riddled with bloody injuries capable of killing two silver realm experts if the injuries are shared amongst them, yet he still got on his feet as if nothing happened. Bone breaking sounds could be heard as Kira slowly twisted his dislocated hand into its correct position. "I may not have the undying body like the palace master but I still possess something similar, only slightly inferior¡­" Kira chuckled lightly as all the blood on the ground magically crawled up his body, entering the openings from which they poured out from and healing the injuries as well. In a few seconds, Kira was walking out of that crater as if nothing happened. The only signs of battle one can spot was from his tattered sleeveless mage robes and the dirt all around his body. His razor-sharp teeth were revealed when he grinned at these silver realm elites and a red blood spear in his hand while the smile faded. Booom!! Taking advantage of the fact that these silver realm elites were still stunned by his crazy regenerative abilities, Kira shot forward with a bang, leaving behind a web-like crack at his current position. "Blood magic: Blood empowerment!" Kira hissed as another banging sound echoed again and he blew past Creed even before the man could react! "Stop him!!!" A guardian knight with a human-sized rectangular silver shield roared and dashed forward fearlessly. Using the shield, he collided with the incoming red blur blitzing through their defensive lines, heading straight for their oracles. Bam!!! The guardian knight was forced to retreat by a few steps, just like Kira and he wore an astonished expression on his face. Gazing at Kira''s body now, he realized that the blood mage had suddenly gotten bulging muscles and he had increased in height slightly. His body was surrounded by frail red aura but the blood stench oozing from him was becoming even worse than what it used to be. His blood empowerment ability granted him greater physical capabilities than normal people and only guardian knights can face him head-on. He stomped the ground abruptly and launched into the air, escaping from five arrows that struck the exact position where he once stood. "Die!" Kira roared as he quickly threw the blood spear at the archer responsible for the attack. At that moment a figure appeared above him and shrouded in silver light before he could react, Creed had already released numerous arcs of silver aura. At such close range, Kira could not dodge so he quickly proceeded to instantly form a sea of blood around him, tanking the attack. "Such sly moves, as expected of a coward like you!" Kira roared furiously and the sea of blood quickly expanded, completely swallowing Creed whole before he could react. Within the sea of blood, Creed could neither see nor breathe, he shrouded his body with his aura, preventing the sea of blood from flowing into his body because he knew once that happens, his death is inevitable. The last time he battled Kira, this same method was used to defeat him but last time, Kira didn''t want him dead so he left him badly injured. This time Kira will definitely kill him if he gets the chance. "I overestimate myself? I''m cocky? You are the one who foolishly rushed to your death, if you let your silver realm elites to deal with me, I would have been defeated eventually, but you were impatient¡­ Hehehe! You die here and now, Creed!" Kira''s words echoed from the sea of blood which soon took the shape of a massive circular red orb, floating higher into the air. The human army could only watch helplessly and wait for their commander''s dead body to be given to them once Creed dies. They dared not attack the red blood orb since their commander was in there with Kira, they may end up killing him with Kira if they make a wrong move, knowing how sly Kira is, they dared not try their luck. Creed on the other hand wanted to talk back at Kira but he could not speak at his current condition. The pressure placed on him by the sea of blood had doubled, making him run out of energy even faster and his chest felt like it would tear open at any time. He could only shut his eyes and struggle in silence hoping that someone would interfere and save his life. Luckily for him, someone did¡­ "Who!!!" Bam! Kira''s figure was knocked out of the sea of blood accurately and he tumbled all over the ground a coupled of times before he sprang back on his feet. Before he could speak, five arrows had already pierced his body. Two at his kneecaps, two at his shoulders and one successfully breaking through his rib cages and penetrating his heart. His body remained as still as a rock, as he coldly glared at the alluring figure with fluttering shoulder-length yellow hair with a bow in her hands. Her eyes showed indifference and she quickly reached for the quiver on her back, pulling out another arrow. "Isabel¡­ You finally made your move¡­" Kira gave the elf a cold glare with his trembling fists clutched tightly. 265 Chapter 265: Making a name for himself 2 Unlike Creed who wanted the destruction of the two sects owned by the death mage and the life mage, Isabel just wanted the two sects to be dissolved and the main authority in the empire to be handed over to the representatives and the gold realm masters. All she wanted was equality amongst all races, letting everyone have a say but the power balance is way off, titling to the side of the humans who possess more top tier masters and experts. Her dreams of equality vanished the moment Derik stopped the pending civil war by murdering civilians and soldiers in the thousands. Even with the support of the majority of the representatives in the assembly they couldn''t have this man pay for his crimes or even apologize. In her opinion, everyone in the empire is living under the mercy of the death and life mage, once given a chance to reduce their strength in any way to help level the playing field, Isabel will definitely not reject. That''s why she is present here with over a hundred thousand elves from the various noble elf families. "Equality brings about balance and stability" she always told herself. Even though she took part in activities like this she has never taken delight in the death of anyone. That''s why she was reluctant to let her own forces charge against one man. Wasn''t it unfair and shameless? She had deeply hoped that Kira will accept the offer and end this matter peacefully but she realized too late how much she underestimated the crazy blood mage. As much as she didn''t approve of Creed''s methods, she could not let him die now. "I can''t let you kill him¡­ at least not yet¡­" Isabel said while preparing to fire another shot, this time she was aiming for his forehead. In the past, Kira has always heard of the amazing elves known for its extraordinary archery skills and superb life span. Back then he refused to take them seriously until today, at this very moment he realized how skilled these people are. He could barely even react to her attacks and more importantly, her sensory skills were just way off the charts, that''s why Isabel was able to send a black dagger shrouded in her aura to knock Kira out of the sea of blood. Kira was caught off guard by this so he could not escape the attack on time and was successfully knocked out of the blood orb. Before he could even recover from that four arrows had pierced his body and one even accurately pierced his heart. If not for his inhumane regenerative capabilities he would have died on the spot. If it were Kuen or Kin in his position right now, they would have died from this surprise counter-attack. "You almost killed me, tsk, tsk, tsk¡­ I guess you have lost your only chance of killing me¡­ You should have aimed for the head" Kira pulled out the arrows one after the other as he spoke with a mocking smile on his face. Xui!!! "Do you really think I cannot win against you?" Isabel quickly released the next arrow as she asked the question. "I am not thinking about this¡­ I already know the outcome and you should know the outcome as well¡­ You must be delusional if you think you can ever compare to me¡­" Kira caught the arrow before it struck his forehead with his bare hands. This is not something a mage or archer can do with their natural poor body talent, this is to show how inhuman Kira has become after being mutated by Derik''s death aura. "Even if I cannot kill you¡­ Do you also think Creed and I cannot overcome you?" Isabel asked again with furrowed eyebrows. She quickly put away her bow and pulled out the two silver daggers strapped to her waist. Creed on the other hand was able to break free from the sea of blood as soon as Kira was knocked out of it. He was a bit shaken but his condition was still stable. Knowing Isabel was planning to join hands with him to get rid of Kira, he felt elated and waited for the elf assassin to approach him, ordering the rest of his army to pull back and give them enough room to battle. He was quite familiar with Isabel''s personality and knew she wouldn''t fight with him if he decides to use his army to kill Kira. Soon only three people stood, only twenty meters away from each other, glaring at each other coldly. "Do you think we will stay idle and watch you kill our comrade?" Kin''s voice echoed from the mountains within the barrier and black clouds suddenly spread across the skies, the sun vanished and was quickly replaced with only darkness. "Darkness magic: One with darkness!" Roar! Suddenly Kira roared like an animal and his aura spiked, dark energy sipped into his body and his aura kept rising at a very fast pace. The darkness was empowering Kira while the forces of Creed and Isabel were completely rendered blind within the range of this ability. Unfortunately, this was not some sort of spell which had a short-range, instead, the range of this ability was vast, completely covering the entire Gyro city. "I would have loved to kill both you on my own but it seems I''m not the only one who wishes to make a name for himself in this war¡­" Kira''s voice echoed in their ears and these people''s hearts began racing. "Blood magic: Blood moon!" Kira roared and a massive red moon appeared in the dark skies dying the whole battlefield red with its red light. With this Isabel and Creed barely regain their vision and what they saw was what they feared the most. Behind Kira were Kuen and Kin and the five disciples of the death mage, all had blood-red eyes and their skin was dyed black due to Kin''s power. The two spells were made to improve the power of the dark forces, combining both moves drastically increased the power of these eight people here. Even if a gold ream master should appear now, they will only find death. Looking up, they realized the mountains had been dyed black by the dark force running towards them. The last time they checked the member count of the palace of death was barely up to fifteen thousand and that includes supernatural beings and dark warriors and mages. But now they could easily count over a hundred thousand people running into battle like wild beasts. "Hahahaha! Welcome to our world! This ground shall be the burial place for three hundred thousand soldiers, none of you will leave here alive!" Kira bellowed and dashed into battle with the entire force of the palace of the death chasing tightly from behind. 266 Chapter 266: Paladin At this point Isabel and Creed turned their back and ran, hoping to meet up with their armies before Kira and the other forces of Derik''s sect gets to them. They sincerely believed that as long as they are able to successfully meet up with their own army, they can defeat Kira and his evil army. They expected only fifteen thousand people to be on Kira''s side and if Cyrus sect decides to participate, they will gain another additional fifteen to twenty thousand fighters and mages at most but this was not the case. Right now even those watching the battle from the distance were horrified, in fact, everyone in the empire was horrified. Who would have thought the palace of the dead had such a trump card like this. Before they could even share their opinions on the possible outcome of the battle a cold breeze carrying a great amount of death aura blew from the mountain, down to the battlefield. With the death aura in the battlefield, Kira and the other seven were like prehistoric beasts, exuding an extremely dangerous aura. Unknown to these people before Derik left, he opened the passageway to his domain in his underground meditation chamber, that way the sect will never lack death aura to improve their cultivation speed. Also, he granted only the core members of his sect like Kira, Kuen, Kin, Blake, Jean, Andrew, Philip, and Dimitris access to his domain to cultivate and grow stronger. This was the reason why Kira was so confident, with access to Derik''s domain which is the resting place of his army of the dead which includes, humans, elves, lizardmen, magic beasts and even the fifty thousand orc souls, they could easily raise an undying army of about a hundred and fifty thousand members. With this force, they can easily crush any army that dares to face them without fear of anything or anyone. "They had such a trump card? That explains why they were so confident" Agus muttered in surprise. He and slightly more than fifteen thousand soldiers from the palace of life stood above the black clouds looming over the city of Gyro. On his face were mixed emotions while he stared at the massive blood moon in disbelief. He had always believed that their two sects had always been equal in power and number and this has always sustained their relationship as equals up till now. But after seeing the members of Derik''s sect going all out, he realized how dumb he was to think that way. Even when he tried to compare Derik''s strength with Cyrus, he always realized that Derik has always been stronger. Even if the difference in strength is not much, that little difference can mean a lot in a life and death battle, even so, Derik has always treated Cyrus as an equal and has always respected his decisions. At this moment he realized that what has been keeping their sects together as allies have not been equality in power, but the relationship between their sect masters. "Someday, we will catch up to your sect" Agus muttered to himself. ...............??........................¡­ "This¡­ Are you sure Derik left the empire in the first place?" Daemon wore a flabbergasted expression while watching the two sides clash. She finally realized while Kira insisted on handling this matter alone! Compared to the assistance they were planning to give out, this was way better. Not only did the threefold magic spells enhance the overall power of dark mage and supernatural beast to the point that they were undergoing mutation right in the middle of the battle but it also messed with the forces of the allied nobles mentally, reducing their overall fighting prowess. "Didn''t I tell you they have a plan, You shouldn''t be jealous¡­ You are married to someone as great as Donald¡­ hehehe" Gerald whispered these words into Daemon''s ears. Swoosh! Instinctively, Daemon pulled out her dagger and lighting speed and stabbed at the figure behind her fiercely, but Gerald was already gone before her daggers could reach him. "Bastard!" It seemed Gerald''s words hit the right spot, leaving an infuriated Daemon alone to drown in her pain and sorrow. .......................................... Bang! Bang!! Andrew was like a ghastly figure, shrouded in black clouds as he blitz threw the forces of the allied nobles, reaping lives by the hundreds. With a simple dagger in his hand, each person he flew past would have their throats cut open before they can even react. The enhancements he had gotten greatly boosted his power, making him confident of taking down anyone below the peak grade of the silver realm. Woooosh! A figured dressed in a white and golden robe which is now soiled in blood appeared with a golden broadsword in his hand suddenly appeared and swung his weapon through the darkness speeding towards an oracle. Peng! Andrew was forced out of the shadow when the broadsword collided with his dagger, forcing him to retreat repeatedly. His eyes dilated and his hands felt numb from the impact of the attack, he didn''t think someone as young as him would possess such power. "I''m sorry, but I can''t let you move any further¡­" the youth pushed back his golden hair with his bloodied hands, beneath his feet were werewolves killed by this youths blade. With just a glance, Andrew knew he had met a youth from a noble family. That explains how he could achieve such a level at such a young age! His family must be investing quite a lot in him to get him up to this level. "I see¡­ You wish to die?" Andrew asked with a raised eyebrow. Replacing his normal dagger with a black dagger shrouded in death aura, similar to the one Blink used when battling against the orc. "Hahaha¡­ You are not my opponent!" The youth from the noble family stared at Andrew disdainfully as he spoke. Golden runes began appearing on his golden broadsword and divine aura began radiating from it. Seeing this, Andrew''s expression turned ugly as he knew light magic was the weakness of all dark magicians. Adding light magic to his weapon, perfectly combining magic and physical strength is not a normal cultivator can achieve. "Paladin! You are a paladin!!!" Andrew''s expression turned gloomy as realization dawned on him. 267 Chapter 267: Andrew defeated Many may not be familiar with the term paladin but for people like Andrew who knew more about the life element, thanks to Cyrus was very familiar with the true strength of these paladins. Paladins are said to be the creators chosen warriors wielding the power of the light element while possessing even greater strength than normal guardian knights. These people are extremely skilled at leading armies and have numerous buff spells that can strengthen themselves and those around them. They are considered terrifying enemies by normal warriors and mages while those possessing evil magic refer to them as the grim reaper, sent to steal their lives. That explained why a single youth less than eighteen years of age could single-handedly defeat four werewolves as strong as silver realm elites. "Yes I am a paladin and this is the part where you run¡­ or you will die by my blade like these dogs" The gold haired youth said disdainfully and the female oracle class members who were all at the bronze realm chuckled lightly. Hearing this, Andrews face twitched with anger, not only did this man look down on him and dishonor him by commanding him to flee, but he also felt disrespected by the fact that this youth had the guts to flirt right in the middle of a war, in his presence! But in the end, he still felt helpless against this youth! His identity as a paladin dealt a serious blow on Andrews''s confidence which has been accumulated over the years, leaving Andrew with trembling hands and a shaky resolve. "These people you call dogs were once my friend, if I should flee and not avenge their death, wouldn''t that make me a coward?" Andrew tightened his grip on the black dagger while he spoke. Tiny black clouds began gathering around him once again and his bloodshot eyes released a terrifying red glow. "So you choose to die then? Isn''t it better to flee and live to fight another day? Or just go somewhere else and kill someone else¡­ It doesn''t really matter to me, as long as these ladies are safe, I have no reason to harm you" The youth said. "Hehehe¡­ I see you are more of a coward than a warrior¡­ since you have killed my friends, I am obliged to take your life as well¡­ I, the disciple of the greatest death mage of all time will end you here and now!" Andrew was now completely shrouded in darkness and he dashed towards the gold hair colored youth at a terrifying speed, leaving only black trails behind. "You dare refuse my kind offer? Die then!" The youth roared furiously and released an arc of pure golden energy. Wooosh! The approaching black clouds suddenly faded as if it was just a dream. Within the empowering domain set up by Kira and Kin, Andrew blended perfectly with the darkness, appearing behind the youth, striking at him viciously with the black dagger. Peng! "Darkness can never escape light!" The youth sneered after he successfully parried the attack. Holy prayer: Bind! A golden magic array appeared beneath him and the dark cloud and golden chains emerged and wrapped around the black clouds preventing it from escaping. Holy prayer: Divine strike! His golden broadsword released a divine golden light as it was swung ruthlessly at the black cloud, leaving behind numerous after images. This attack was obvious a killing blow and it effortlessly pierced the black cloud, splitting it in half. While the ladies rejoiced the golden-haired youth frowned, he didn''t meet any resistance and he was sure Andrew had left the black cloud before he attacked. "It''s over!" Andrews''s voice echoed from all corners of the battlefield, confusing the golden-haired youth. Soon darkness gathered around the youth, preventing him from seeing even the female oracles he sort to protect. He could not even see his own feet. Xiu! Xiu! Each strike barely missed the mark but it always left a shallow cut wound on the young paladin''s body. If this young paladin wasn''t so skilled he would have been killed by the first attack which was aimed at the throat. Even Andrew was stunned by this, he expected this playboy from a noble family to only possess the power of a paladin but lack the skill to use it properly but to his greatest surprise, the young paladin was more experienced and skilled than even himself. He finally realized how this spoilt youth was able to kill four silver level werewolves, all alone. "I have had enough of this! Holy prayer: Purging light!" The youth''s body brightened greatly and divine light flowed out of his body, spamming close to ten meters wide, clearing the darkness in one go! "Aaaaah!!!" Andrew''s scream was heard as his body flew back, crashing on the floor and rolling a few times before he stopped. His body was covered with burns as if he suffered from a fire attack, but this time golden aura diffused from the injuries. Blood flowed down the corners of his lips as he struggled to get on his feet, barely holding on to the black dagger as inspected cut wounds on the body of the youth only to find out the wounds were healing and the death aura which evaded his body had already been purged. "Holy prayer: Cure¡­" The youth muttered. He felt a warm energy flow through his body and his injuries vanish. The youth confidently walked towards the defeated Andrew, supporting the magic broadsword with his shoulder as he approached. "In the end¡­ You lost like the others¡­ light will always overcome darkness¡­ It''s just a rule of nature that should not be overlooked." The youth said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Hehehe¡­ I don''t know how a playboy like you managed to receive such holy magic and I don''t really care¡­ To think you still have the strength to spurt out crap in the middle of a battle you court death boy¡­ And who said evil can never overcome good? The last time I checked, My master defeated the life mage in the battle to kill the former king Robert¡­ would it be too shocking if I defeat you in the same manner?" Andrew sneered. "Yes¡­" The young paladin was angered by Andrew''s words, so he just gave the kid a straight answer. "Then get ready to be shocked!" Andrew retorted with a vicious smile on his face. 268 Chapter 268: Philips defea Even though Andrew knew his chances of beating this young paladin is slim, he still couldn''t back out from the battle. Derik has always been more than a brother to him, in his own opinion, Derik was like his own father, someone he always looked up to. Someone he wanted to catch up to and surpass if he were to back down right now and here, how will he be able to greet Derik when he returns. "I will rather die than retreat!" Andrew muttered and his aura shot up rapidly. Darkness magic, shadow blade! With a roar, the shadow beneath everyone''s feet vanished and gathered around Andrew''s right hand, taking the form of a black longsword with silver runes on it. His red eyes turned black the next moment and a strong gust of wind gathered around him. "Let''s end this!" Andrew roared and shot towards the young paladin abruptly. His body flashed and appeared right in front of the young paladin, hacking down at him with his black blade. Peng! The young paladin remained calm in this situation and took a step back to balance himself properly, before swinging his magic broadsword at the black blade. Boom! The shockwave that occurred from this attack pushed everyone four hundred meters around them away, the ground beneath their feet shattered and the bronze realm oracles were blown away ruthlessly by the shockwave. "Die!" The young paladin roared and his broadsword released a golden glow, shattering the black blade in Andrew''s hands. Andrew was pushed back and he lost his footing, falling back in the process. Puff!!!! The massive broadsword dug through Andrew''s chest sticking out of his back. He spurted out a large out of blood and his eyes rolled back and his consciousness began to fade. "Hehehe¡­ Die with me" Andrew chuckled slyly and another shadow blade began to gathering in his right hand once again. He raised his hand, planning to strike again but the young paladin didn''t give him a chance. "Crazy bastard!" the young paladin roared and pushed the blade even deeper, dragging Andrew off the ground and into the air. His eyes showed signs of fear since he didn''t expect Andrew to struggle this much. "Are all the disciples of the death mage this crazy?" He asked Andrew who was currently holding the hilt of the sword while spitting out blood repeatedly. "Hehehe¡­. I''m the most reasonable amongst the five¡­ wait till you meet the others!" Andrew laughed for the last time before he stopped struggling. "Andrew!!!" Philips enraged voice shook the skies and a demonic figure with a pair of bat-like wings and a pair of horns soared through the battlefield, heading straight for the paladin. His body was shrouded in black flames and his blood-red eyes glowed fiercely, his scream alerted the other three and four figures hastily moved towards the paladin''s location, not bothering to kill anyone at all. "Fuck me¡­" The paladin''s face turned pale and he quickly turned to the direction of the bronze realm oracles. He was planning to ask them to flee but to his greatest surprise, these ladies were already running for their lives. "Fuck them!" The youth''s face turned ugly. He swore to kill those girls if he survived this incident. By the time they returned to his normal position, three people were standing some distance away with Andrew''s body in their hand, his body was pale and his breathing was shallow and slow with his eyes staring into the dark skies. "Andrew¡­" Jean muttered as she kissed his neck before sinking her fangs into it. Everyone apart from the paladin was aware of what Jean was trying to do. Andrew''s condition was critical and they could literarily see the spirit of death hovering over him. The four kids shot Demos a cold glare but it didn''t reply or change its expression. The omini present power of the guardian spirits only allowed them to send over a portion of their consciousness since their main body be everywhere at every time. The angel of death had appeared to take away Andrew''s soul once he dies. The only option now was to turn him and let him live on as a vampire just like jean and Blake. It is way better than letting him die on this battleground. "You are the one responsible for this? How do you wish to die?" While the rest were focused on Andrew, Philip who was in his possessed by the black flame demon, Aziel approached the paladin with furrowed eyebrows. He was about two meters tall and behind him was a pair of bat-like wings flapping occasionally. His hands only had three fingers with sharp claws and black flames burning at the tip. In this form, he easily towered over the young paladin. "What vile magic is this?" The young paladin was stunned by Philip''s appearance but he wasn''t necessarily afraid. In reality, the only person he could feel the threat of death from amongst the group was Blake who was currently focused on monitoring Andrew''s condition. ??Philip" The usual cute and innocent Dimitris had a cold and bloodthirsty look on his face when he called out. His desire to kill the young paladin was clear and he wasn''t trying to hide it. "Just look after Andrew for me¡­ I''m more than enough to deal with this worthless noble!" Philip sneered. Xiu! Philips''s movement was swift as his claws quickly reached for the paladin''s throat, even before his hand reached black flames spread forth, reaching the neck of the paladin. Holy prayer: Purging light! A bright light escaped the body of the paladin, completely erasing the black fire and repelling Philips claw. Unlike Andrew who was sent flying by this move, Philip was only forced to retreat by a step. His body showed little signs of burns but it quickly healed. Black flame ax! "You!" Philip bellowed and a black fiery battle ax formed in his hand, hacking down at the youth mercilessly. But before he could reach the paladin, a large golden magic array which exuded divine aura appeared beneath their feet and numerous golden chains emerged, binding Philip effectively! Holy prayer: Divine strike! Puff!!! Before anyone could react, the same golden broadsword struck Philip''s chest, sticking out of his back. The once tall and oppressing black fire demon was consumed by black flame and when the black flame dispersed, a young boy, the same size as Andrew stood there with red blood flowing down his lips. He gazed at the paladin with a stunned and confused expression before shooting the dying Andrew a glance and he finally understood why someone as skilled as Andrew lost to this youth. 269 Chapter 269: The new generation "Paladin!" That word was on the lips of the remaining three disciples of the death mage. Their expressions turned grim as the attention of the angel of death shifted to Philips whose body was shoved off the broadsword violently by the young paladin. They hissed and growled like animals but none made a move against the youth. Dimitri quickly dragged Philip''s trembling body over to their side with a cautious look on his face. At this moment they finally realized why someone as talented as Andrew lost to this person. Even though Andrew could not count as the strongest in terms of raw power, his ability to adapt well in battle and exploit an enemy''s weakness effectively made him the most dangerous. If a foe should slip up even for a second in a battle against Andrew, he or she will definitely die but the young paladin defeated him and also defeated Philip in just a few moves. This shows how skilled the youth is and because of this Derik''s disciples felt no hatred for this person, in fact, if it were on any other occasion they would have preferred to befriend such a talented youth, unfortunately, this is war and one side must perish in battle. The reason why they refused to hastily rush into the battle at first was simply that they wanted to determine the opponent''s strength when he fought Philip, they never expected Philip to be defeated so easily and quickly. After injecting her venom into Andrew''s body, jean allowed the boy to rest on her laps while she watched his body undergo strange changes similar to what she went through when she was being turned into a vampire by the holy church. His skin turned pale and his looks magically improved, making him more eye-catching. His heart stopped beating and fangs began sprouting in his mouth. Seeing that the angel of death finally ignored Andrew and turned its attention to Philip, these people heaved a sigh of relief. They were scared that Andrew would die off before the transformation is completed. Meanwhile, Philip''s case was different, his ability to allow a demon of the underworld to possess his body also granted him the features of that demon. His skin color at this time was slightly reddish and claws replaced his normal fingernails while a small quantity of black flame escaped his nostrils each time he breathed out. His wounds were slowly healing and his condition seemed stable, all they had to do now is make sure no one interferes and disrupts their recovery while another person deals with the paladin. "Why didn''t they use the sins?" Dimitris frowned as he gazed at the injured Philips and Andrew. In his opinion, if Philip or Andrew used their sins against the paladin, they would have won easily while the youth is struggling with his inner desires and emotions. "Look around you¡­ everyone here is suffering from the effects of these threefold domain spells and their combat standards have reduced drastically¡­ pay more attention and you will see a few people not affected at all, all of them are paladins like this youth and are actually killing the undead army big bro left behind¡­ if such a domain spell cant harm them, how do you expect the sins to affect them?" Blake spoke casually. "Paladins have very powerful resistance to all forms of dark magic¡­ they are our bane¡­ We cant easily manipulate them¡­" Jean added "Three shadow guards¡­ come out!" Dimitris cried out and three figures appeared from his shadow. One possessing control over wind, the second had control over lightning and the third diffused divine light aura. All three of them possessed the cultivation base of the peak grade of the silver realm and their cold gaze was fixed on the young paladin, whose expression was extremely ugly at this moment. He knew that if the gray-haired kid decides to use these undead elites to battle him, he will definitely be killed instantly? "How does someone so young possess such powerful undead?" He muttered. At that point, a bell rang in his head and he remembered every word Andrew spoke before they fought. He claimed to be one of the disciples of the death mage, with such status it''s not that the death mage gifted his disciple with such high-level undead before leaving. His heart skipped a beat as he realized the mistake he has made just because he was planning to show off to some bronze realm female oracles. Putting Philip and Andrew in such a state was practically declaring war with the death mage indirectly. They say Derik''s relationship with his five disciples was as good as the relationship between a father and his children. This claim has been confirmed through multiple occasions where Derik is confronted by these five in public by these five youths, the way he treats them is way different than the way he treats his commanders. The fact he even gifted them three peak grade silver realm elite undead portrayed how much he cared about these people. Realizing this the noble youth lamented in his heart while strengthening his resolve. Even if he were to survive here by chance and return home peacefully, when the death mage returns, he may even be the first person the death mage would come after. At that time he can only hope that the nature element mage and the moon cosmic spirit host are strong enough to withstand Derik''s bloody revenge. "Since you chose to harm my brothers, I''m obliged to kill you¡­" Blake finally got on his feet and walked towards the young paladin. Unlike before where Dimitris tried to stop Philip from acting against the paladin, that did not happen this time. Dimitris just watched with an indifferent look on his face as if Blake has won already. "Please do me a favor¡­ Protect Jean and the rest with your army...we can''t let any harm befall them or big brother will get mad at us..." Blake shot Dimitris a glance as he spoke. 270 Chapter 270: What are you? "Sure¡­" Dimitris answered indifferently and waved his hands. The three peak grade silver realm undead nodded in agreement and vanished, soon a massive golden crucifix appeared above them, while a barrier made of wind and lightning surrounded them. The three silver realm undead elite stood in mid-air and watched the war raging on afar. Since Andrew and Philip''s life were no longer in danger, the angel of death shot Blake a final glance before it vanished. The young paladin could not see the angel of death but these five could see him clearly, this must be a side effect of always staying around someone who has cultivated the death magic to a profound realm. Seeing Dimitris had no intention of using the three silver realm undead on him, the young paladin heaved a heavy sigh of relief but he didn''t lower his guard. In his own opinion, Blake is just as dangerous as those undead beasts. The aura exuding from Blake''s body may not be exactly the same as that of Derik but it was quite similar to Derik''s aura when he was younger, the corrosive effect and the darkish purple color. "Don''t you think your chances of defeating me will be higher if you make use of those undead puppets to fight? I would have done the same if I were in your position" The young paladin was quite honest and spoke out his mind. Even Jean, Dimitris, and Blake were stunned, they never expected their foe to say such a thing even though he had zero chance of surviving against the undead elites. They were quite sure the boy wasn''t gloating about the issue, instead, he was just expressing his honest opinion on the matter. "Are you tired of living?" Blake asked with a confused expression. He still couldn''t understand "Not really, I''m just curious" The youth answered with a strange expression on his face. "You harmed my family¡­ I wish to win this battle with my own strength" Blake answered honestly. As soon as he was done speaking, the ground beneath his feet shattered and he suddenly appeared beside the paladin casually reaching for the youth''s head with an open palm. His movements seemed simple to anyone who was observing the fight but the paladin could feel the threat of death from this simple attack, for some reason he was a hundred percent sure that he would die if Blake''s palm makes contact with his body. Daring to be careless he leaped backward and swung the magic broadsword at Blake, sending an arc of divine golden energy to split the kid in half. "So this is the power of a paladin¡­ Disappointing¡­" Blake snorted and welcomed the golden energy arc with an open palm, grabbing on to it and tossing it aside as if it was nothing. His eyes showed only disappointment and this agitated the paladin greatly. "Don''t you dare get cocky, we are only starting!" The paladin sneered and launched himself, Blake, with his magic broadsword raised high. Holy prayer: Divine strike! With a roar, the youth''s blade was covered in a golden aura, slashing down at Blake who refused to move from that particular spot. In response, Blake once again welcomed the attack with an open palm but this time his palm was protected by his darkish purple aura. "Didn''t I say you shouldn''t get cocky?" The paladin suddenly roared and he changed his footwork, vanishing right before Blake''s eyes. "It is too late to regret!" Blake was stunned by this and panicked, taking a step back but the young paladin''s figure had already arrived beside him and his magic broadsword hacked down at Blake''s wrist, severing the palm from the rest of the hand. It was a clean-cut! Swoosh! Thud! The paladin quickly launched himself into the air after his attacks connected, performing a backflip before landing a few meters away from Blake with a bang. "Cool¡­" Blake commented as he stared at the paladin with a casual expression on his face. Seeing this, the paladin almost spat out blood in anger, he just couldn''t wrap his head around what was taking place in his presence at the moment. He was sure he severed Blake''s palm and he could still see it lying on the floor. What he couldn''t understand is how Blake was still unaffected by this and had even enough time to commend him, he didn''t even bleed after his palm was cut. "What are you?" The paladin asked with furrowed eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?" Blake asked indifferently as he walked over to his severed palm, picked it up and placed it back to its normal position, and just like a dream, the palm reconnected as if it was never cut with no signs of injury present. "Don''t toy with me! You know what I mean so, answer the question! What are you?" The paladin seemed to be enraged by Blakes nonchalant attitude towards him. He knew Blake was looking down on him and this greatly pissed him off. In his opinion, a paladin should be the worst nightmare of any person gifted with death magic and supernatural beings. His identity as a paladin has made countless supernatural beings and many dark mages tremble with fear and flee for their lives! Even the four werewolves he killed before Andrew arrived trembled with fear before he killed them. But ever since Andrew arrived with, more people have been popping up to challenge him. It started with Andrew who refused to flee even though he was aware of his identity and then there was Philips who boldly walked up to him and attacked without hesitation or fear. Now he has to deal with Blake who glares at him as if he is not worthy to be his opponent, using his bare hands to take his attacks head-on. To this young paladin, this is considered very disrespectful. At this point, he remembered what Andrew said about the others being a lot crazier than himself. For some reason, the paladin had a strong feeling that if he makes a single mistake in this battle, Blake will swiftly end his life! 271 Chapter 271: Successor "What am I? why do you ask such a dumb question? I am human of course or do I look like an elf or a lizard man" Blake wore a confused expression as he answered the question. Hearing Blake''s answer, the young paladin wore a dejected expression on his face, he really didn''t want to believe Blake''s words but the sincere expression he put on, kept disturbing the young paladin. Was this guy unaware of what he truly is? As a paladin, he can easily tell if someone is a supernatural being or not. The moment Blake and Jean appeared with Philip and Dimitris, he could tell Jean was a vampire but when he looked at Blake he was a bit confused. He knew the young man was a vampire just like Jean but something else seemed off. Only after exchanging a few blows with Blake did he finally realize this Kid was not human at all. But just like Blake said, he wasn''t an elf or a lizard man. Judging with just appearance, Blake looked like any other human with the gift of magic but once you try to peep beyond his body and look even deeper, all he saw was clusters of darkness, spinning like a black hole with numerous strange ancient symbols probably representing the different powers contained in this body. At the center of the black hole was a black-robed figure with a pair of black angelic wings, with a death scythe in its boney hands with blazing purple eyes. No normal person can have this! He is definitely a monster! "Don''t lie to me! You are not normal!" The young paladin felt his head spinning due to the confusing things he saw. He definitely could not accept this guy as a human. "Of course, I''m not normal¡­ I will be the one to succeed the death mage, how can I be normal if I want to do that" Blake flashed a vicious grin as he spoke those final words. His body vanished and the ground beneath his feet shattered as he appeared in front of the young paladin in the blink of an eye. His eyes turned black, like two tiny black holes it forcibly gathered shadows towards Blake''s raised hand. Darkness magic: Shadow blade! Right before the young paladin''s eyes, a similar black longsword once used by Andrew appeared in Blake''s hand, hacking down at him mercilessly. He quickly gathered his thought as he held his magic broadsword with both hands, swinging it at the black longsword! Holy prayer: Divine strike! Bam! Bam!! Their blades only met each other twice and with each collision was sounds of explosions and strong shockwaves, forcing both sides to retreat by ten meters. The young paladin wore a serious expression and struggled to hold on to the heavy magic broadsword because his hand felt numb, while on the other hand Blake didn''t seem affected. "This¡­ So this is your real power?" The young paladin said, hoping to strike off a conversation to buy himself some time to recover. "My real power? Don''t delude yourself into thinking I cant do better than this¡­" Blake said disdainfully and he charged towards the paladin again. "Tch! Don''t underestimate the power of a paladin!" The youth roared and shot forward as well. Holy prayer: Haste! Holy prayer: Divine protection! Holy prayer: Bulk up! Utilizing three body strengthening techniques at the same time, the aura of the young paladin underwent a qualitative transformation. If he was like a commoner in Blake''s eye back then, now he was like a well armed warrior. Swoosh! "Die!" The paladin''s sudden increase in power stunned Blake and before he could even react, the golden-haired youth was already standing in front of him with his magic broadsword raised high! When the weapon descended, it carried an astonishing amount of force with it, instantly shattering the shadow blade in Blake''s hand while severing his right hand from his shoulder entirely. "This¡­" Blake frowned and took a few steps backward but the paladin wasn''t going to let this opportunity slide. His figure was like a golden light, appearing in front of the fleeing Blake once again swinging his magic weapon at Blake, horizontally. "Hmph!" Blake frowned as he easily determined that this paladin was planning to split his body in two. Suddenly his skin color turned brown and his eyes resembled that of a snake. Numerous snake scales appeared all over his body and the lower half took the shape of the body of a serpent. Slick! Blake''s movement skillfully curled around the blade successfully evading it while throwing his fist at the paladin''s face which was exposed. Peng! The youth refused to be distracted by Blake''s demonic transformations and focus on the battle at hand. In a battle between two top tier masters, a single mistake is all that is needed to determine the victor of the battle. Now that he and Blake are so close to each other, he decided on wining this brawl before asking questions. Using his magic weapon he blocked claw attack and swiftly held on to Blake''s left hand with his free hand. Raising his weapon high he hacked down once again chopping of Blake''s left hand before kicking the monster away. Bang!! Blake crashed on the ground hard and quickly sprang on his feet before returning to his normal form. He didn''t seem bothered by the fact that he lost two hands, instead, he stared at the young paladin with hints of admiration in his eyes. If anyone were in this situation, they will probably be too nervous to bring out their best but this young paladin is doing the exact opposite. Even though he is well aware of the fact that once he defeats Blake, Dimitris will definitely order the three peak grade silver realm undead to kill him, he still maintained his cool and remained focused. Blake, Jean, and Dimitris found it difficult to believe that this kid is a member of an aristocratic family who usually spoil their kids with wealth and comfort. The thought of killing such a talented person felt strange to them and the felt reluctant to harm this youth 272 Chapter 272: Monster The young paladin felt nervous when he felt their strange, unable to understand why these people have chosen to glare at him in such a manner. He began considering the possibility of them using the silver realm undead on him. "As expected¡­ people with black magic can never be trusted." He whispered. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for what may come next, replacing his anxiety with pure determination. His fearless attitude was something Blake and the others admired, unfortunately for this young man, unless monsters like Creed and Isabel come over to save him, no one in this army can get past those three silver realm undead elites gifted them. his fate was decided the moment he almost took Andrew''s life. "It''s very unfortunate you have to die here, I would have preferred to have you as a friend" Blake sighed ruefully. "Come on, get it over with¡­ send your undead puppets to end it quickly" The young paladin sneered. "What are you talking about? I have no plan on using those three undead puppets on you¡­ they are only here to make sure no one interferes with our battle" Blake was taken aback by the young man''s accusation. "Liar! Since you are unable to defeat me, why won''t you use such vicious methods?" The youth frowned. "Me, unable to defeat you? Do you really think I was trying to kill you back then? I was only testing your strength" Blake sneered. "What?" The young paladin muttered in disbelief and he took a step back. He wanted to reject Blake''s claim but the look on his face showed he wasn''t gloating, he was actually telling the truth. "Do you think this is my true strength?" The paladin roared furiously. He refused that Blake who was at the low grade of the silver realm could defeat him. Light has always been stronger than darkness, it could be considered as its natural weakness. As long as he and Blake are at the same cultivation realm, he refused to believe Blake would defeat him, he should have the advantage in this battle. So why does he feel so insecure and unsure? "It doesn''t matter how strong you are¡­ I am stronger than death mage when he was at the low grade of the silver realm¡­ I was created to surpass him and that''s what I intend to do¡­" Blake explained slowly. "Created? Are you not human?" The paladin was stunned. "I am human¡­ But an improved version¡­" as soon as Blake said this, his body shot forward. Without been told the young paladin knew Blake was trying to reach his hands, so he quickly moved forward to intercept. In his enhanced form each stride he took left web-like cracks on the floor, shaking the earth. Holy prayer: Vanquish! With a roar the young paladin hacked down, releasing an arc of golden aura which split the earth as it moved. Seeing the golden wave, Blake only licked his lips and a sly smile appeared on his face as he took the form of the serpent demon again and slithered out of the way. "This again!" Blake frowned. At first, Blake used darkness magic similar to Andrew''s and he assumed that was his power, but now he''s using demon possession magic just like Philip, just how many types of magic does this kid possess and what does he mean by he was created? The paladin pushed aside those thoughts and focused his attention on Blake who was not too far now. Holy prayer: steps of fate! Instantly his body vanished, reappearing behind Blake with his magic weapon raised high. "You are getting on my nerves¡­" Blake snorted disdainfully and suddenly vanished from the paladin''s view. This confused the paladin at first and when he realized even his surrounding was filled with darkness he let out a bitter laugh. This was the same spell Andrew used on him when they fought, his suspicion was correct, Blake possessed two types of magic. "Now, we can start" Blake''s voice reached his ears and before he could cast a spell to clear the darkness, Blake had already released him from the magic. His hands were reattached and he wore his usual indifferent look on his face. Taking a few steps forward, Blake revealed a playful smile and his eyes let out red light. "Gaaaahhh!" the young paladin felt dizzy for only a second but that was almost enough time for Blake to act. Blake quickly appeared in front of the youth, swinging his arm at the young paladin who retreated in response but it was already too late to retreat Splash! Blood poured out from the deep slash wound on the chest of the youth which was caused by Blake''s hand. Puff! The young paladin fell on one knee while using his magic sword to support himself. He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Blake with fear boldly written all over his face. "Curse magic! You possess three types of magic!" The paladin cried out in fear. "You still underestimate me¡­ Pity" Blake said and his shadow expanded. From his shadow over ten undead souls emerged, standing behind Blake respectfully while gazing at the young paladin with resentment. Their skin color was gray and the death aura lingered around them, funny enough the young paladin was familiar with some of these people. He camped with the allied army for so many days, it was only natural for him to take note of some familiar faces. "Ne¡­. Necromancer magic! Monster!! You are not human... you are a demon!!" The young paladin fell on his butt and fearfully crawled back, leaving his magic sword behind. This was the first time he was meeting someone as terrifying as Blake. Even after watching the death mage act ruthlessly over the years, he didn''t consider the death mage as someone too frightening but Blake was something else entirely. While Derik represented death, Blake was the true meaning of darkness and evil. He finally realized why the youth dared to claim he would be the one to succeed and surpass the death mage? "Demon? No no no, let''s not do that?? The death mage is the demon, while I am the devil¡­" Blake chuckled lightly. 273 Chapter 273: Heavy price for victory At this point, the young paladin was utterly confused, even though the death mage was terrifying and powerful, Blake''s power was diabolic and devilish. For some reason, he truly believed this kid is the devil and he was still hiding a huge part of his power. The young paladin only hated the death mage but for some reason, he felt that this disciple of the death mage would be the one to bring about destruction and calamity to the world. "You have to die here!" All the fear in his eyes vanished replaced with righteous determination. Blake watched the young paladin walk over to his magic broadsword without making a move. He patiently waited for the youth to pull the sword out of the ground and take a fighting stance before he spoke. "You still have the courage to fight? You truly deserve all the praise I have showered upon you from the start" Blake laughed lightly while he spoke. "I don''t need your praises¡­ I just wish to do my duty as a paladin of the creator and vanquish all evil!" the young paladin roared. "Vanquish all evil¡­ Duty as a paladin¡­ if only you don''t spurt out nonsense every thirty seconds I would have spared your life and made you my friend." Blake spoke these words with an innocent look on his face. Sliver level combat technique: Accelerate! Wooosh! The paladin was done talking, utilizing a silver combat technique to boost his already insane speed, the young paladin appeared right in front of Blake, brandishing his blade at him ruthlessly. The sudden attack caught Blake off guard since he was expecting the young paladin to reply. He had only enough time to take a step back and the ten undead puppets could only take a step forward before the young paladin''s blade reached his neck. Xiu! Blake''s decapitated head was sent flying high, but the young paladin knew the battle was far from over. He watched Blake''s headless body attempt to reach for its head while the undead puppets lunged at him. "Hell no!" The young paladin roared and struck forward once again. This time he was aiming to severe Blake''s body from his lower half but then he felt a sharp pain on his chest. Puti! The young paladin felt a sharp pain on his chest but he managed to push himself backward in a bid to create some distance between himself and all ten undead puppets. Seeing these puppets had no intention of chasing after him, the young paladin tore his shirt apart only to see a bulging spider-shaped lump on his skin. He quickly pulled out a dagger from his boot and drove it into that spot and watched green blood spray out, followed with the cries of a dying spider. "Damn curse magic!" He muttered before he began his prayer Holy prayer: Purify! Holy prayer: Cure! Using the purify spell to removed any unseen spiritual damage caused by the curse magic and the cure to heal his injuries, especially the deep cut on his chest caused by Blake''s bare hand. He still couldn''t understand how someone is able to use their body as a weapon, but he didn''t dwell on this thought for long before pushing it aside. He had already concluded that Blake is not human, so he shouldn''t be surprised if Blake does something new. With his injuries healed, the young paladin''s condition looked better but that didn''t mean he was perfectly fine. The healing spells only dealt with damages and didn''t focus on replenishing lost stamina. The young paladin could only walk towards Blake once again in hopes of ending this battle as soon as possible. "I can see your control over the dead is not as strong as the rest¡­ they can only perform basic tasks and are more like husks rather than fighters¡­" the young paladin sneered. "My control over this branch of magic is still poor, that''s why I can''t utilize them properly¡­ It all seems strange to me¡­" Blake who had reattached his head answered truthfully but his eyes portrayed his intentions to kill the young paladin! "Good??" BAM! The young paladin shot forward once again and this time his body was completely shrouded in golden light, immediately he arrived, Blake was prepared and spat out a mouthful of black smoke with quickly expanded and covered their area. Within the black smoke, he slithered around, gazing at the golden figure who was chanting something. Maybe he is trying to destroy my magic¡­ I won''t give him a chance! Blake pushed his thought aside and slithered towards the golden figure at a terrifying speed with hopes of killing him off with a single strike but when he was only ten meters away he realized he had just stepped into a concealed magic array, prepared by the paladin Holy prayer: Bind! Holy prayer: Divine strike! Before Blake could flee he was bound by numerous golden chains and a blade shrouded in holy aura was heading straight for his head this time not the neck. The young paladin was planning to split his head in two and if this happens, he will definitely die if his brain is split in two. His ability may resemble Derik''s undying body but it wasn''t as good as Derik''s. No matter what he did, his power was always inferior to Derik''s, the only difference is that he had more spells and useful ones at that. The panicked expression on his face vanished and was replaced with a sly smile. Suddenly a black needle surrounded by diabolic death aura shot out of Blake''s mouth, drilling through the paladin''s throat, stopping the youth''s killing move. Bang! The magic weapon fell off the hands of the youth first before the youth fell on his knees. He looked like he wanted to say something but he kept coughing out blood and his complexion had already turned pale. "Let us die together¡­ You evil!" The youth managed to mutter, before using his last strength to dive towards the chained Blake. At this moment, Blake was terrified and struggled with the chain relentlessly. He never expected this noble to be so daring and suicidal. Jean and Dimitris quickly rushed forward but they were both sent flying back by an invisible golden barrier that surrounded Blake and the paladin. The barrier was made with holy power, meant to repel all evil and it did its work at the last moment! "Haaaaaa!!!!!" Blake roared furiously, surrounding himself with a pillar of corrosive death aura, he was hoping the paladin would not be able to get through to him but to his greatest surprise, the paladin reached for Blake not bothered by the fact that his hand was rotting away slowly. "Does the devil experience fear? Let''s find out my friend¡­" The Paladin said and his eyes turned golden and his body lit up. "No! you will die!" Blake cried out when he realized the youth was planning to detonate his golden soul, in a bid to deal optimum damage. "if only you don''t spurt out nonsense every thirty seconds I would have spared your life and made you my friend¡­" The paladin repeated Blake''s exact words a few moments ago before he exploded. 274 Chapter 274: Nameless Heroes! The war raged on and both sides suffered serious casualties, with the presence of people possessing life magic, Derik''s unbeaten undead army began to fall one by one. With the power of light on the side of the undead army suffered casualties and its number of over a hundred thousand reduced to mere eighty thousand. The fifty thousand orc souls marched forward as a team and decimated the enemy forces mercilessly, killing close to a hundred thousand people while suffering little or no casualties. This once again proved why they are creations of the war god and why they will easily wipe out the inhabitants of this planet when they return. Their combat standard and chemistry in battle was way beyond anything these people have seen before. They could easily break any enemy defensive formation and annihilate any force that tries to stop them. In the heat of the battle, a bright light shone and for just a few seconds everyone stopped fighting and turned their attention towards the direction of the light. There they saw the five disciples of the death mage, two already defeated, the third chained to the ground while the other two injured, trying to get on their feet. At the center was a young charming gold haired youth with a crucifix tattoo on his biceps and torn white robes. Even though blood flowed down his throat and he kept coughing out blood repeatedly, he still looked happy and proud of his achievement. The youth turned his attention the battle going on everywhere just to notice that everyone had already stopped fighting, staring at him. He saw those bronze realm female oracle members he was trying to impress earlier and he shot them a sweet smile. The youth whispered something which shook the hearts of everyone on the side of the nobles. "Freedom..." He said before he finally exploded. Taking out all five disciples of the death mage who were close to him. Thanks to the barrier Dimitris set earlier, no one else was close by so the destruction was contained. The fact that Dimitris panicked at such an important moment and forgot to order his silver realm undead puppets to end the paladin before he exploded simply showed how inexperienced he is in battle. "FREEDOM!!!!" The brave act of this paladin touched the hearts of everyone on the side of the nobles and they faced their enemies with anger and rage boiling in their hearts while they fought fiercely. Those who were at the brink of death mimicked the selfless act of the paladin and blew themselves up, not minding if the possessed the light magic or not. A single person killed close to a hundred people with this suicidal act and the paladin''s present in the battle roared viciously charging into battle, slaying their foes in the large numbers. The members of the palace of death were moved by this incident too, the death of all five disciples of the death mage was a huge slap to their faces. it simply portrayed the death of the death mages possible successors and they were not planning to let this slide. They all roared in anger and charged in viciously, planning to kill their enemies up to the last person. Soon the battlefield was filled with blood and with each step, water splashing sounds were made. The battle turned into a grudge match between sworn enemies not planning to stop until one side is completely annihilated, people who watched the war from afar were horrified and some couldn''t even continue watching. ................................................ Flying above the endless sea''s with Demos consciousness as their navigator, Derik, Cyrus and Kaido struggled against gold level flying magic beasts. The moment they stepped out of the continent, they realized that their home was literarily the safest place. Countless monsters as powerful as the four ancient elemental dragons kept assaulting them and even now the were forced to battle close to a hundred. They finally realized that there was some sort of force preventing these magic beasts from entering the continent, a supernatural force keeping them safe all this while. Their lives were at stake here! Derik hid within a black shell created by his power, simultaneously defending against the assault of two beasts, he felt anxious and found it hard to focus since he could feel his domain draw in more souls. His domain was like a black hole, greedily consuming the souls of all those who died in battle, he could feel different kinds of soul been sucked in, all belonging to those who belonged to his sect and those whom he was not sure of. He knew something big was happening in the empire but hated the fact he couldn''t return. After he left the continent and flew towards an unknown location for weeks, he could not make contact with his undead, and even access to his domain was cut off. The feeling was magical and unexpected, but there was nothing he could do. Since the angel of death was also busy with its preparations for war with the creator, he couldn''t contact it for information and could only gaze at the illusion planted in their head by the guardian spirit to lead them to their destination. This was completely frustrating! Xiu! Suddenly images of five people crossed Derik''s mind, these were the five people he rescued from the underground laboratory of the holy church and took them in as his family. He wasn''t sure if these people were actually dead and he strongly kicked against those thoughts but something told him he was wrong. Lost in his thoughts he saw a vision of his favorite, Dimitris walking towards him with a cheerful smile "Dimitris" Derik muttered and reached for the kid but the boy vanished only after giving him a warm smile. Derik''s black heart shattered at this moment and he felt like crying out loud for the very first time in a while, all he wanted to do at this point is go home and check on these people but that was clearly impossible. "I WILL KILL THEM ALL! ALL OF THEM, I SWEAR IT!!!!" Derik bellowed furiously as the barrier set around him exploded violently, pushing the two bird-like magic beasts away. He lunged towards the one at the left and with his death scythe in his hand, he split that one in half! Swish! Derik''s lower half was severed from the main body in just a blink of an eye. Without caring for his condition, Derik turned to meet the gaze of the second bird responsible for this and opened his mouth wide. From it, a large beam of death energy exploded and consumed the beast. At that time, Derik''s lower half had miraculously reattached itself to his body. Allowing him to continue with another slashing attack, splitting the second beast in two. Derik''s sudden outburst of rage surprised Cyrus and Kaido, leaving them confused for a while but when their eyes met with Derik''s pitch black eyes, they saw emotions they have never witnessed before in those eyes. It wasn''t anger¡­ It was sorrow. "Aaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!" Derik roared, turning into a beam of darkish purple light and charging into the group of monsters heading their way, all he wanted to do at this point is kill. Meanwhile, the other two understood something has happened back home and for Derik to be moved to this extent, it had to be related to those five kids he took in as his family. "Dumb fools, when we return to the empire, Derik will surely burn it to the ground¡­ No one will be spared¡­" Kaido lamented. "Be it a hundred years or a thousand, it doesn''t matter¡­ Derik will surely vent out his anger on the empire.. he will definitely kill everyone and everything responsible for this¡­ the empire has lost his protection for good this time¡­ its only natural I withdraw mine as well" Cyrus said with a rueful sigh. 275 Chapter 275: A fierce battle The battle lasted for hours and bodies piled upon each other, as agreed Gerald''s group, Scott Lockwood''s group and the members of the palace of life under Agus command were on standby to prevent outsiders from interfering or people from escaping. They could only watch in horror as both sides slaughter each other, up to the point where there were piles of corpses everywhere and those who were still battling could only trample on those corpses while fighting. Apparently both sides had no reason to retreat, they all wanted to vanquish their enemies to the last member. The death of the paladin and the five disciples of the death mage triggered this hatred for both sides and they were determined to end the other''s life, even if it meant their death as well. This was a bountiful harvest for Derik''s domain which kept consuming the souls of the dead for its master. Bang!! Bang!! Kira who wielded two blood-red spears defended against Isabel and Creeds attack. If it were a one on one battle, he would have defeated them easily but facing a guardian knight and tank all at once was currently beyond his current capabilities, forcing him into a passive state. "Ha!" Kira spun while spinning his blood spears, deflecting Creed''s attack. The pleasant fragrance of the elf entered his nostrils and he quickly dived forward. Just a second after he left Isabel''s figure slashing at his previous position appeared. Immediately Kira got on his feet, red-colored mist oozed from his body as he tried to create a sea of blood, but Creed or Isabel were no fools. They knew the moment Kira succeeds in doing this, they can only wait for death. Dashing forward with his shield raised high, Creed bashed into the red mist, slamming into Kira who was focused on his spell, successfully breaking his concentration. Kira responded by conjuring a blood dagger, hoping to end Creed with this attack, but before it could reach, Isabel''s arrows did well to deflect the dagger. The fight between the two raged on for longer than expected and both sides kept dealing serious damages. .......................................... The war portrayed the strength of the younger generation and all those who dared to watched it were stunned by a youth''s performance, who from his size was clearly not more than fourteen of age. He was dressed in the usual sleeveless black robe with red hoods, in his hands was a black dagger and he gazed down at the battlefield from the mountain with the spatial mage standing by his side. "You wish to join the battle?" Kalos shot little Blink a glance before returning his gaze to the battlefield. "The disciples of the palace master? What about them¡­." Blink ignored Kalos'' questions. He knew Kalos would normally try to stop him from entering the battlefield as bloody as this. Letting him go means he has a reason this. "At the last moment before the paladin exploded, I created tiny spatial holes to absorb the attacks at them but such small scale spatial holes can only absorb so much¡­ they should be alive, but barely" Kalos said "Why didn''t you protect them completely? You could have created a spatial gate to completely absorb the explosion and save their lives¡­" Blink frowned. "If I did that the other gold level masters will would have joined hands to interfere as well??? We don''t know where the Lizardman chief stands and from the rumors and powers he has displayed, he should be on par with the Life mage and the death mage¡­ I can''t act too rashly¡­" Kalos answered indifferently. "And now you want me to enter the war zone and retrieve their body¡­" Blink''s eyes let out a silver flash with a wicked smile blooming on his face. "At such an age you have already reached mid-grade of the bronze realm¡­ Your proficiency in teleportation has increased by leaps and bounds and your physical capabilities are on par with guardian knights at the same level or even higher thanks to the palace masters mutating aura¡­ You are perfect for the job¡­" Kalos gave patted Blink''s shoulder as he spoke. He took in Blink as his student because of the boy''s strong affinity towards teleportation magic which was a branch of his spatial magic. Ever since that time he has watched Blink grow and attain new strength at an alarming rate, allowing him to possess the strength that rivals foes a level higher than him. His fearless attitude and talent made Kalos consider this kid as his son. Even if the boy did not possess a guardian spirit or cosmic spirit, he was special in everyone''s eyes and Kalos was not really the type to put his pupils in danger. He only entertained the thought of sending Blink in because of Derik''s five disciples were involved. Waiting any longer would only lead to their death, due to the excess life magic aura left in their body from the paladin''s suicidal attack. "You don''t have to worry¡­ even if you didn''t bring this up I planned on joining the battle anyway¡­ I''m tired of people calling me the sects youngest and treating me like a child¡­ I will bring back the five disciples of the palace master while killing as many as I can¡­" Blink answered indifferently. "Those still fighting are too focused on their battle to sense the small thread of life those five are still holding on to¡­ But should you approach that area, they will definitely figure out something is wrong and move against you¡­ You need to be careful¡­ those paladins are quite powerful¡­ at best you can only escape from them¡­ don''t think about taking them on¡­ My space aura still lingers around that area, so I can guide you to the exact location¡­. Don''t fail me¡­" Kalos'' voice echoed in Blink''s head even though his lips were not moving. "who the hell do you think I am? I will be the one to surpass everyone in this sect and become the palace master''s successor!" Blink declared and vanished. Leaving a stunned Kalos, who never thought his student was this ambitious. 276 Chapter 276: Young prodigy 1 Silver light appeared in the bloody battlefield and a youth wielding a black dagger sprang out and attacked an archer on sight. His movements were slick and swift as he skillfully evaded every shot aimed at him by the bronze realm archer. The archer attempted to retreat but the hooded mage chasing after him vanished in an instant, reappearing right in front of him with his black dagger dug deep into the archer''s throat. "You!!!!" A female battle mage with watery eyes roared furiously and began chanting her spell. With a glance, Blink could tell they were in a relationship or probably married, which can only explain why the mage was acting this way. Her hair was crimson red and her tight-fitting clothes revealed her alluring body shape, leaving Blink to wonder whether the lady was aware that this is a battlefield and not a place where she can showcase her body. Blink slowly pulled out his blade from the throat of the dying archer and simply watched the lady''s big bosoms heave up and down as she casted her spell. "Incindera!" The Lady hissed and huge fireball the size of a full-grown man shot forward and tried to consume Blink none the less. At this point, the fireball completely covered Blink''s small figure making it impossible for the lady to see him teleport. Xiu! Silver light gathered behind the battlemage with Blink jumping out of it while striking at the lady viciously with his dagger. Being a battle mage who has undergone so much military training unlike her boyfriend who was just an adventurer, the lady easily sensed Blink''s killing intentions overflowing behind her. "Flame magic: Flame burst!" She cried out and explosions occurred around her, sending Blink flying back. "Interesting¡­" Blink''s talisman was more than enough to protect him from low-level fire spells, what surprised him was the lady''s skill in battle. He wasn''t expecting her to be so skilled, from the first time his eyes fell on her, he wrote her off as another young battle mage whose life revolves around relationships and not power. Knowing possessed this level of skill intrigued him greatly. "Let''s go again then!" Blink roared and dashed towards the lady once again. He roared and threw his dagger to the lady, only to vanish a second after. Wooosh! The female battle mage moved her body to the left in a bid to avoid the dagger, but to her greatest surprise, the moment the dagger flew past her, Blink''s figure appeared once again, taking hold of the dagger. Before she could react to this, she felt a warm object piercing through her neck. The last thing she saw was her the youthful face of her killer with his glowing silver eyes. Who would have thought a fourteen-year-old would be the one to steal her life? .......................... Woooosh! Blink didn''t stop at this, he kept teleporting, only reappearing just to steal lives. Most times he interfered with fights between two people and instantly killed the enemy. Unknown to him, his actions shifted the balance of the battle, shifting the advantage to the side of his sect. But his actions did no go unnoticed, especially since he had killed more than fifty people since the moment he joined the battle. He blitzed through the battlefield, only leaving behind, silver blurs and dead bodies. Soon he reached the location where Kalos led him to, through telepathy. "How are they still alive?" Blink was astonished by what he saw. Even with Kalos aid, these people still suffered severe injuries, and to top it all, their body was still being destroyed by the residual light aura flowing in them. Their condition now was so severe, that Blink refused to believe that even Kuen will survive long in such a bad condition. "Don''t you dare look down on the disciples of the palace masters¡­ These five endured years of torture when the holy church once had a foothold in this continent¡­ To be able to survive such torment and remain sane after serving as lab rats¡­ They cannot be killed easily" Kalos'' voice had a hint of joy and relief in them. Blink finally understood why people didn''t notice these five were still alive. He carefully moved the bodies of other warriors and mages who died here, piling atop the unconscious bodies of the disciples. During the process, his actions were noticed by both his foes and friends in the sect nearby. They all gazed at him with expectant eyes and while approaching him slowly. "They live¡­" Blink blurted out "THEY LIVE!!!!" a wolf twice the size of a normal man roared and proceeded to pounce on the enemies close by. The chance of survival of these five disciples was their top priority and they quickly surrounded Blink while he prepared his mass teleportation spell. While using a large scale ability his eyes always turned from silver to purple, even though the death aura mutated his body, increasing his physical prowess and mana pool, his magic could not be considered evil magic so it natural Derik''s aura was having a side effect on him. It was affecting his concentration, making it harder for him to cast large scale spells. Xiu! Blink gritted his teeth as he a massive silver magic circles formed beneath their feet, and ancient symbols began appearing one by one. No one needed him to tell them that once the symbols on the magic array are completed, the spell will take effect. .....................¡­ "That''s Blink! I''m sure of it now!!!" Gust screamed with a pale face while using her hands to cover her mouth while they watched through the massive water orb, conjured by their families Sorcerer. She and the rest of their new team suspected something was wrong when they saw the hooded figure blitzing through the battlefield, killing many. They suspected it was Blink from the very start since they knew him as the only one possessing teleportation magic, but they refused to believe it was him, refusing to believe that the sect will send a recruit into battle. Seeing him use the same spell with the same time lag during the orc brawler encounter, they were sure this was their teammate. They stared at the figure with the glowing silver eyes in fear! In their eyes, Blink was not a recruit, but a Demon! 277 Chapter 277: Young prodigy 2 Even Gerald was stunned by Blink''s appearance on the battlefield. He always kept a tab on recruits with great potential and Blink was one of the top ten on that list, seeing him on the battlefield terrified Gerald greatly, but he dared not rush in. He could only watch and wait like everyone else. Xui! Xui!! Numerous ranged attacks in the form of arrows and spells of different nature soared into the skies, descending at their spot. These people were reluctant to let the five disciples of the death mage live! Even if they were holding on to a small strand of life, they were determined to snuff it out! Xiu! Xui!! The dark mages surrounding Blink as per Kin''s orders, they began casting their spells, weaving chunks of dark clouds together until and black dome surrounded them. This barrier was like a bottomless pit, greedily consuming all form of attack which dared to dive in. Within the dark curtain was the bright silver light from illuminated the black dome. The spell was quite effective and invincible in Blink''s eyes but he too knew that magic was not so kind as to give away such a top tier spell without any hitch. With just a glance he could tell the four dark mages casting the spell were losing manner at an alarming speed. He sincerely doubted that a single person would be able to perform such a spell, that explained why these four always moved as a group in battle but this did not bother him much. His proficiency in magic has increased increasing his cast speed, in the past, he needed a little over a minute to cast this spell but now he could complete the spell in mere seconds. Even now the final runes were taking their place in the magic circle and if nothing went wrong he should be able to finish the spell and leave this place before the four dark mages run out of mana. But nothing ever goes as planned¡­ Blinks eyes turned black as the evil aura dwelling in him was restless due to the powerful light aura approaching at a very fast pace. Blink was not so na?ve to think that black dome would be able to withstand the power of light, especially when it''s a paladin wielding that power. He quickly muttered some inaudible words and threw his hands up creating a transparent barrier within the black dome. Even though he possessed a strong affinity to teleportation magic, that did not discourage him from learning a few sorcerer techniques like everyone else in the class. Swish!!! Like a hot knife cutting through butter, Blink and the other four dark mages watched in horror as the golden sword cut through the black dome mercilessly, scratching the surface of the second barrier created by Blink. Screech! With the black dome destroyed, they could easily see the face of the assailant. It was a youth with similar golden hair and glowing golden eyes, on his right wrist was a wooden crucifix tied to it and he wore a black slim-fit coat with a black shirt within which carried a golden cross design on it. The youth quickly retracted his blade one more time and with a second strike, he shattered the second barrier. "Do you think I will let my brother''s sacrifice go in vain? I bare no ill intentions for you, child, leave here and let me kill those five for my brother''s sake¡­ You have a long way to go and a long life ahead of you¡­ This battlefield is not where you should die" The youth placed his black broadsword on his shoulder for support as he confidently walked into the large silver magic array. His eyes were pinned on Blink who did not possess any form of dark magic and for that fact, he had no reason to kill the child, that''s why he gave blink the chance to leave. As for the other four dark mages, everyone knew they would die shortly after Blink leaves. "Cute¡­" A vicious grin bloomed on Blink''s face and an evil aura erupted from his body, stunning the paladin. Before the paladin could recover Blink had already waved his hand sending a wave silver aura, forcefully pushing the paladin over twenty meters away from the magic circle. At that point, the last symbol appeared and numerous silver rings appeared around them. "You!!!!" The paladin was enraged, griping his black broadsword with both hands while dashing towards the magic circle. His blade let out a golden glow which proceeded to spread to the other parts of his body. Holy prayer: Accelerate! His figure vanished and when he was two steps away from the formation a silver light appeared right in front of him and from it Blink emerged, slashing his black dagger at the paladin viciously. "Get back!" Blink roared. "WHAT?" The paladin to a step back and used his magic weapon to hastily block the attack. Xiu! The silver formation vanished at that moment with the four dark mages and the bodies of the five disciples. The paladin hurriedly rearranged his footwork as his body shifted to the side, while he slashed at Blink horizontally. In response, Blink quickly turned into a body of silver light and vanished before the golden blade could reach him. "Die!" Reappearing above the paladin, Blink was falling head first with his black dagger pushed forward. His body began to spin while black aura kept pouring out of the blade and in the next second, he was like a black drill, descending on the youth covered in a golden aura. BOOOM!!! The paladin roared angrily as he swung his golden weapon at the black drill, creating a massive shockwave that sent both sides flying in different directions. Bang! Blink crashed on the ground violently, coughing out a mouthful of blood. His vision blurred slightly but he could clearly see the glowing golden figure getting on his feet, so he hastily pulled himself up as well. "Blink, leave the battleground now! You cannot defeat a paladin¡­ You are too young" Kalos voice echoed in his head causing him a slight headache. "What are you saying, master¡­ I am the person who will become the next palace master¡­ If I win this battle, won''t that mean I am stronger than the five disciples of the palace master? This is a step which I must take alone!" Blink roared with determination flaring in his glowing silver eyes. 278 Chapter 278: Young prodigy 3 Kalos frowned while he listened to Blink speak. The kid has always been reserved and quiet from the day Kalos to him in, even though he was the kid''s master, he wasn''t sure how capable Blink is. All Kalos knew was that no one at the same grade or a grade above Blink could defeat him, he was almost as powerful as Derik when he was younger and even stronger than Kalos when he was younger. As much as Kalos would have loved to see how capable Blink is, his opponent was an entire realm above him and also held the title of the paladin. If it were anyone else wielding any other element he probably wouldn''t bother much but the case now is different. "Do you believe you can win¡­" Kalos spoke calmly while glaring at the five unconscious disciples of the death mage and the four dark mages who were using their dark aura to slowly weaken the residual light aura in their system. "No, I don''t think I can win¡­ But I don''t think I will lose either¡­ we will never know unless we try" Blink wiped out the blood on his lips with the back of his palm. His cold gaze remained fixed on the golden-haired paladin in black who kept observing him from a distance. "The five disciples of the palace masters were defeated by a single paladin¡­ While master Kira battles Creed and Isabel, the other two commanders are locked in a battle with three paladins each, that''s why they are unable to change the tide of battle because they are been pinned down¡­ if your elder brother Kuen is having a hard time against two paladins¡­ Do you think one all alone¡­ Do you think you are half as strong as your big brother, Kuen?" Kalos explained softly. He was eager to know Blink''s reply when the condition of the most powerful commander in the palace of the dead is revealed. "I see¡­ In that case, this is more reason for me to stay here and fight¡­ If big brother Kuen is having much trouble taking on these paladins¡­ If I succeed, wouldn''t that make me more famous than the palace masters? Wouldn''t that make me a core member of the sect just like them?" Blink asked in an indifferent tone. "It will¡­" Kalos'' eyebrows furrowed when he heard Blink''s words. This was not the reply he was expecting. "Then that''s all I need to know!" Blink roared and dashed towards the paladin dressed in black. ..................¡­.. Kuen glided weightlessly backward while waving his hands lightly, sending numerous corpses at the three paladin''s trying to surround him. Around them were close to fifty people, both friends and foe unable to move because of the increase in the gravity of the area, even massive werewolves and vampires on their side laid flat, only able to watch the exchange between the two sides but the three paladin''s seemed unfazed by Kuen''s power. Their body had cracks on them from which light aura poured out from, all the way to their faces. They were certainly using their life forces to empower their bodies for a short while, in exchange for enough strength to battle Kuen as equals. They dashed side by side, utilizing their magic sword to split in two anything sent their way while reducing the distance between them and Kuen. Holy prayer: Accelerate! Holy prayer: Divine slash! The three men turned into three beams of golden light and dispersed into three different directions before converging towards Kuen again. "Bastards!" Kuen gritted his teeth as he quickly halted when he saw a beam of golden light behind him. Clap! As soon as he clapped his hands together, three figures flanked him from three different directions with their blades swinging at him from different directions, blocking all his possible escape routes. "Get back!" Kuen roared as an invisible force exploded from his body and struck all three men from all sides before their blades could reach him, sending them flying close to a hundred meters away. Swoosh! Kuen''s body soon levitated from the ground with his bloodshot eyes glowing badly. He quickly brought his palms and invisible waves began flowing towards him. At the same time, all three paladins yet to recover from the previous counter felt their body been pulled towards Kuen by a terrible force threatening to split them in half if they dared to resist. "Gravity magic: Blackhole" Kuen whispered those words with an exhausted smile on his face. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! More golden aura erupted from the body of the three paladins. No matter how much they tried to deny it, they were a hundred percent sure that once they reach Kuen, their lives will end in an instant, even before they can resist. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! More explosions occurred around them as they used poured out more aura, trying to fight against the invisible force gripping them tightly. The explosions swiftly blew away everyone four hundred meters around them and even though they were airborne, a deep crater began forming beneath them. Puti! Kuen spat out a mouthful of tainted black blood but that didn''t change the fact that the final victor in this struggle will be him, so the vicious smile never faded. "You dare look down on us you heretic? You will receive the divine punishment of the creator!" One of the paladins who was bald and muscular bellowed. "Hahahaha! How can you be so na?ve at such an advanced age¡­ the power of life and darkness were bestowed upon us both by the creator¡­ You see this as evil but in truth, darkness is just another element like every other element¡­ without light, there can never be darkness but wherever there is light, there must be darkness¡­ a different side of the same coin! You all fear its capabilities that''s why you plan to destroy all those who possess dark elements¡­ this is because only darkness can stand against light!... I a demon commander of the palace of the dead will not fold my hands and let this happen¡­ I will wipe out your families and descendants up till the youngest¡­ In a hundred years from now, the world will forget your names! I swear it!" Kuen bellowed furiously! 279 Chapter 279: Struggle 1 "Silence you heretic!" A hoarse voice echoed from far and a golden spear shot down from the black clouds, shooting at Kuen. Seeing the golden spear and the aura diffusing from it, Kuen''s eye dilated and for the first time in this battle, he felt anxious. "Peak grade silver realm paladin!" He cried out in fear. If mere low-grade silver realm paladins were giving them this much trouble, what will happen when someone at the same level as the three demon commanders wielding light magic appears? Boom! Kuen instantly forgoes the thought of killing the three other paladins, instantly deactivating his black hole spell, blowing them away. "Haaaaa!" Kuen roared as he released an invisible violent wave of his aura, colliding with the golden spear. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! As the two forces collided, several explosions occurred throwing Kuen into the crater created by his black holes spell earlier. His dilated as he spat out a mouthful of blood crawling a bit before getting on his feet. Even though he managed to stop the golden spear, he didn''t expect his enemy to be this powerful. Either way he wasn''t too bothered about a second attack coming his way since he was quite sure the expert responsible for that attack must have put in quite a lot of power into it, it is not something that can be replicated easily. "As expected of the strongest commander in the palace of the dead" "You are indeed powerful..." "But it all ends here and now¡­" The three paladins blown away earlier casually jumped into the thirty-meter deep crater. Their eyes released a blinding golden aura which in turn gathered behind them, forming a pair of golden energy wings. Divine golden runes began appearing all over their body, spreading all the way to their magic weapons. At this point, Kuen''s pale face turned gloomy, this spell used by these three entirely changed their aura, turning them into beings that could rival the ancient beast. His eyes remained fixed on these three paladins are no longer humans. Holy prayer: Blessed divine deity Bang! With a bang all three paladins shot forward from three different directions, reaching Kuen in an instant. They all struck at Kuen mercilessly with their divine weapons shrouded in a golden aura. "I refuse to die here!" Kuen roared as he released an invisible force to clash against the magic weapons of the paladins. ............................. A cloud of darkness relentlessly faced off against three paladins. Kin''s situation seemed worse than that of Kuen, he was forced into a passive state. Forced to defend almost all through, Kin was yet to deal considerable damage to the paladins, and the fact he possessed darkness magic made it even worse. He felt he was destined to die in this battle but even then his resolve didn''t quiver or flatter. Swoosh! Kuen hovered almost effortlessly as he evaded a golden arc of energy sent at him by the paladin. He quickly taped the floor lightly with his toes as he spun to the left, barely evading the second golden arc. Before he was yet to recover from the previous actions another golden arc was right at his face, not giving him enough time to evade. "Haaaa!" Kuen cried out as he hurriedly coated his hands with darkness aura and reached out for the golden arc, hoping to stop with his inhuman strength granted to him by his mutations. Bang! Kuen was forced back for a second but he quickly found his footing. Just like he expected, the darkness aura coated around his palms offered little or no resistance against the light aura, fading the second it made contact with the golden. The golden arc struck Kin''s bare palm forcing him to retreat even further. Black blood spurted out of the deep wound in his hands. "If this is all the commander of the palace of the dead is capable of, then I must say¡­ You all have been exaggerated badly..." A brown-haired paladin dressed in a white and golden robe said. He gripped on to his golden spear as he assumed a fighting stance, preparing for a second attack. "Even if the five disciples of the death mage survived¡­ it won''t take long before they are killed by Young master Tristain¡­ There is no way they can escape from him¡­" A lady dressed in white robes said with a mocking grin on her face. Hearing these people''s words Kin''s expression turned pale. If by chance what these people said happens that means both Blink, his four dark guards sent to protect him, and his favorite person in the sect, Andrew will end up dead. Blink''s appearance and declaration gave him hope, the thought of losing Andrew was like a plague which he wished to avoid. He once had the upper hand when he battled these three paladin''s but after the suicide attack by the paladin which lead to the defeat of Derik''s disciples, his mind was not at ease. All he wanted to do is rush over there to check if they survived but the three paladins took advantage of his condition to pin him down and deal several fatal blows. Kin was about to rebuke the three but then a sliver light shone at the location and then vanished. "Kalos!" Kin asked hastily, knowing Kalos was somehow linked to their thoughts. "Your dark guards are safe¡­ Andrew is safe as well with the other disciples¡­ They really took a beating but they will survive¡­" Kalos'' voice echoed in his mind. "Stop holding back¡­ You have no reason to worry anymore¡­ Kill them all!" Kalos added with an angered voice. Hearing this a vicious grin appeared on Kin''s elderly face. His eyes were like two black wholes sucking in all form for light greedily while the darkness kept spreading none stop. Seeing Kin acting, the three paladins scoffed at his actions and quickly activating their divine strikes, brandishing their blades at Kin''s direction, releasing arcs of golden aura but to their greatest surprise, as soon as the golden light left their blades, it vanished. "My darkness shall swallow all forms of light¡­ not even the rays of the sun can penetrate¡­. Welcome to my world¡­. Dark magic: Darkness bloom!" Kin''s figure vanished but his voice echoed in the ears of the three paladins sending cold shivers down their spines. 280 Chapter 280: Struggle 2 The battle raged on and the palace of the dead still held the position of advantage, while the forces of the Empire dwindled in size, that of the palace of the dead started increasing. The bodies of the dead, be it both friend or foes kept rising and under the control of the numerous necromancers in Derik''s sect, they charged forward fearlessly, overwhelming their foes. ........................................... Swoosh! Kira''s body shot back and his chest caved in, leaving a clear imprint of Creeds fist there. The strength of the guardian knights at the peak grade of the silver realm had never sized to amaze him, but in the end, even this is not enough to put him down! Puti! "Hahahaha!" Kira laughed hysterically as he wiped the blood off his lips. The fist imprint on his chest slowly vanished and his wounds healed so quickly that Isabel and Creed felt true despair. If it were any other peak grade sliver realm mage, they were sure the person would have died from that hit. These two knew that this battle which had started over an hour ago would have ended sooner if not for Kira''s insane self-healing abilities, they were sure they have killed Kira at least ten times if they were to judge. Even though his self-healing ability is nowhere as good as Derik''s undying body which can bring Derik back to life even with his head crushed, it was still enough to make them feel helpless. "Bastard!" Creed cursed with a gloomy expression on his face. If Kira didn''t pin them down at this place for so long, they would have gone to other parts of the battle and probably stopped the situation from getting this bad. "Retreat¡­" Isabel finally spurted out after pondering for a long while. It was obvious their defeat will come sooner than she expected it. "This¡­" Creed gritted his teeth as he shot a glance around for a while before returning his attention to Kira. "You have won¡­ we are leaving¡­ Retreat!!!" Creed hissed with clutched fists, ordering his men to retreat. Hearing this a vicious grin appeared on Kira''s face. His buffed up body suddenly shrank as red mist exuded from his body instantly shrouding his figure. The red mist soon gathered together, forming a small stream of blood. Swoosh! Soon the stream of blood increased rapidly in size until it was like a raging blood sea, looming over the battlefield. Even though Kira was perfectly hidden within the raging blood sea, everyone present could feel his cold murderous gaze bearing down on them like a thousand-year-old mountain. The blood sea kept spreading wider and wider until the clouds were no longer visible, the members of the life palace on standby could not see anything happening below, only a red sea which kept spreading faster and faster. "You wish to leave this place¡­ Just like that? " Kira''s voice shook the skies like a roaring thunderbolt. "You attack us for no reason and wish to end the conflict because you are in a disadvantaged position? If I let you leave, what will I tell my friends and companions who fell in this battle?" The anger in Kira''s voice was evident now. "No one else has to die¡­ we can resolve this without any more bloodshed!" Creed was flustered by the constant expansion of the blood sea. The whole battleground was already dyed red due to Kira''s blood sea, if the Kira and his sect members choose to continue this battle, all three hundred thousand experts gathered by the various noble families to create the holy alliance will definitely be annihilated. "Hahahahahaha! Everyone has to die! No sin will go unpunished! My brethren died today because of your greed and resentment for my palace master and I swear on my life that everyone who has a hand in this conspiracy will definitely lose their lives for this¡­ But first, every single one of you here must die!" Kira roared and the blood sea instantly turned into a blood dome, covering the whole battlefield, preventing anyone from leaving or coming in. His words were like a fire burning in the hearts of the members of the palace of the dead, granting them the adrenaline rush needed to push themselves to their limits and beyond. While those who were observing from a distance were instantly cut off by Kira''s doom but they were not annoyed, instead they were thankful. Even a fool will understand the implications of Kira''s words to Creed. The death of over three hundred thousand capable soldiers will not only deal a major blow to the empire''s overall strength but it also means that the forces controlled by all the major nobles in the empire will be killed today! Three hundred thousand plus! This has never happened before! Not only will it weaken the empire but it will bring about a new generation filled with orphans and children missing at least a parent. No matter the crime committed by these people, a lot of innocent people will be affected and even Gerald found this fact horrifying. When Kira declared his intentions of wiping out everyone who has a hand in this battle back then, he really didn''t give it much thought and just assumed it was reasonable. But now he analyzed the situation properly, he couldn''t help but feel truly sorry for all those involved in this. The consequences of their actions out ways the rewards but he couldn''t reject the fact that it is necessary. "The change is necessary¡­" Gerald kept muttering to himself in a bid to ................................................. "All forms of dark magic are really terrifying¡­" A golden-haired youth of about twenty-two years of age dressed in golden paladin armor with a magic broadsword hanging on his back spoke of with a slight frown. He was at the peak grade of the silver realm, a prodigy belonging to the palace of life and only slightly behind Agus in terms of talent and potential, yet after all, he had seen today, the youth''s strong faith in his strength was utterly destroyed. 281 Chapter 281: Death god 1 The youth was known as Fernandos, a young paladin with enough potential to rival Agus, the brightest sun of the palace of life. He was a normal guardian knight who greatly admired Cyrus from the very first day when he watched life mage battle the priest of the holy church and his angel, Kastiel. At that time he was just a mid-grade bronze realm guardian knight with little strength but big dreams. He survived that battle and the very day the palace of life and the palace of the dead were formed, Fernados was amongst the first people alongside Agus who begged Cyrus to take him in as a disciple. Even though he lacked magic powers and enough strength to even be considered a minion, Cyrus saw the determination in the eyes of the youth and took him in. After spending a few months under Cyrus'' care, Fernandos developed an affinity for the light element. This was probably due to the fact that he was always standing by Cyrus'' side, an after effect of taking in so much life aura for a prolonged period of time. Just like Derik''s death aura, Cyrus'' life aura severely affected those around him making all of them view him as a god and his words as the only truth. Since Cyrus and Derik had a very close relationship, all the members of his sect instantly forgo the old teaching of light and death being two totally different elements which are created to destroy each other. With Cyrus taking the lead, they mingled with the members of the palace of the dead and built a solid relationship with them, all just for Cyrus'' sake. They wanted to gain the recognition of their god, they wanted to gain his blessings! After attaining the life element Fernandos'' talent was revealed and his potential rose quickly. His strength and realm rose at a rapid pace, leaving him only a step behind Agus who was considered a cultivation beast. He followed the path of the paladin and made a name for himself, being only slightly behind Agus in strength. Seeing someone like Fernandos getting flustered over the war, Agus couldn''t help but feel nervous. He didn''t necessarily feel threatened by the level of strength the members of the palace of the dead were displaying. They are allies and having stronger allies is always a good thing but he felt defeated a bit. All his life, he has always considered himself a top tier master with heavenly talent and potential, the only one capable of replacing the life mage in the future. But watching Blink''s performance left him speechless and ashamed, a low-level bronze realm sorcerer was single-handedly battling a paladin at the mid-grade of the silver realm! It is unheard of and even the death mage or life mage may not be able to achieve such results in battle if they are in Blink''s situation. ....................... Xiu! Blink turned into countless silver lights just before the black magic broadsword shrouded in golden aura hit him. He promptly appeared behind the paladin dressed in black with his hands shooting like a spear, his moves were so refined and natural that the paladin inwardly praised this kid who has managed to pin him down for a while now. It wasn''t that Blink was just too strong, instead, the kid is just too hard to kill and very dangerous as well, each of his moves always aims for a vital part of the human body. Who would have thought a fourteen-year-old kid will be a trained assassin who has refined his assassination techniques to the very peak? If it were anyone else they would have been killed by Blink thousand times over, unfortunately for Blink, the paladin was no pushover. Peng! Holy prayer: Divine wall! A golden wall appeared the paladin, preventing Blink''s dagger from reaching his skull. Holy prayer: Binding chains! The paladin roared and stamped his feet on the ground, creating a magic array that spammed over a kilometer wide. "It ends here!" He roared as he chains shot out of the golden array embedded on the soil, lashing out on every evil being a kilometer around the paladin. Unlike the chains summoned by the previous paladin to bind his foes, these chains directly pierced the bodies of its targets, directly taking out the head of some unlucky supernatural beings and undead. "Ha!" Blink exhaled heavily and for the first time the fight started, he was flustered. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Over and over again Blink turned into a body of silver light, vanishing and reappearing a few meters away from his original position every time the golden chains came for him. On his third disappearing act a golden chain shot right into his knee, shattering his knee cap. Before he could even scream in pain another chain shot into his belly and a few more completely bound him, before dragging all the way back to the paladin. "I must confess, amongst all the foes and beasts I have encountered all through my life and journey as a paladin, you are the hardest to kill¡­ You are the most capable... It took me a while to understand the way your abilities work¡­ Tsk¡­ Tsk¡­ Tsk¡­ so troublesome" The paladin sneered while walking towards the immobilized Blink. Puti! Blink spat out a mouthful of blood while pushing back his red hood, revealing his face. He looked extremely pale and eyes kept flashing silver and purple lights. He inwardly cursed the paladin for being too capable and smart! His teleportation ability was divided into two versions, short-range and long-range. Long-range teleportation allowed him to practically teleport to anywhere in the world, as long as he has seen that place and has a clear picture of the place in his mind, while the short-ranged teleportation allows him to move from one point to another with a hundred meters gap as the maximum. While the preparation for long-ranged teleportation is quite lengthy, the short-ranged teleportation is almost instant. the fact that the paladin could understand the nature of his abilities and trap him in one go clearly shows how much experience he has 282 Chapter 282: Death god 2 Blink tried to move but he felt the chain inside his body, his blood kept flowing out and his vision became blurry but his smile never faded. In the end, it was a fight between a bronze realm recruit and silver realm paladin, it was never a fair fight. Refusing to speak he just gave the paladin a thumbs up, coupled with a vicious grin which took the paladin by surprise. "It''s a shame someone your age got involved in something this serious¡­ we could have been good friends¡­ It''s a pity you have to die here" The paladin sighed ruefully. "Hehehe¡­ We would never have become friends¡­ I don''t fancy people weaker than me" Blink struggled to speak. The more he spoke the more pain he could feel around his chest area where he got impaled. "Are you saying you are stronger? As far as I''m concerned my realm is much higher and I''m the victor of this battle" The paladin didn''t seem to be annoyed, he simply tightened his grip on his magic weapon and raised it high, preparing to execute Blink. "Your realm is higher¡­ I agree¡­But isn''t it too soon for you to declare yourself the victor of this battle? I am the reaper¡­ there is no light I cannot steal¡­ paladin¡­ I will end this fight in five strikes " Blink chuckled lightly. "You! I think you should go to sleep now!" The paladin roared and hacked down at Blink. Xiu! Blink vanished, reappearing behind the paladin who was prepared for this. Not only did numerous golden chains shoot towards him, but the paladin also turned around, swinging his blade at Blink. "Remember¡­ You forced my hands¡­" Blink''s cold words made the paladin in fear. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Numerous bodies of silver light surrounded the paladin, confusing him. At first, the paladin assumed they were energy clones created by Blink but when he realized the truth, he turned pale and his face perfectly portrayed the fear and horror he felt. "Monster!" The paladin cried out and tried to run. Blink did not make any clone of any sort, instead, he was just teleporting at numerous places so fast it was almost impossible to pinpoint his current location "One!" Blink''s cold voice echoed Xiu Before the paladin could react he felt a sharp pain on his chest. It was a clean dagger cut infused with an evil aura, the aura was spreading within his body like a plague but the paladin wasn''t bothered, he just focused on running. "Second!" Blink roared again. This time the paladin perceived the attack and tried to block but then his hands felt lighter. When he realized what happened, he could only scream in pain. Right on the bloody floor was his hands holding onto the magic sword, detached from his body. It was a clean cut. "Bastard!" The paladin cried out as he watched his blood flow like a gentle stream. Holy prayer: Purging light! The paladin roared releasing an outburst of light energy blowing away all the sliver light surrounding him. "Third¡­" Blink''s voice echoed from behind a few moments after. Before the paladin could even act he felt the dagger pierce his back and more dark aura invading his body. Puti! The paladin spat out a mouthful of black blood and staggered forward with a fearful expression on his face. He fell on one knee and before he could even look up, Blink''s figure appeared right in front of him, driving the black dagger into his chest once again. "Fourth!" Blink spoke coldly. Puti! The youth spat out another mouthful of black blood and gazed at Blink''s terribly pale face. He could tell that the high-speed teleportation was taking a toll on the kid and that''s why he only used it as a trump card. Right now, Blink''s condition was only slightly better than his, coupled with the wounds he sustained from the golden chains, the paladin was sure Blink will follow him in the afterlife soon after he dies. "Hehehehe! You got skill kid¡­ don''t worry, I will give you a warriors death!" As the paladin spoke his eyes turned golden and numerous cracks appeared all over his body, from those cracks light energy poured out, overflowing violently. He was planning to detonate himself just like his brother. But Blink''s expression remained calm and cold as ever. "Fifth!" Swoosh! The paladin''s head was sent flying with a single swipe and all the golden aura he had been gathering quickly faded even faster than it gathered. Blink watched his lifeless body fall to the ground like a lump of meat. "Didn''t I tell you I will end this battle in five strikes?" Blink muttered. Bang! Blink collapsed next to the headless body of the paladin and his vision began to blur. His breathing was heavy because he was finding it hard to breathe. The paladin''s suspicions were right, numerous instantaneous teleportation has always been beyond his body''s tolerance. He was able to master this move because of his monstrous talent but in the end, he was a fourteen-year-old kid, there are things his body cannot handle yet. He could only curse his little body for his current predicament and hope that he grows soon. Tap! Tapping the ground with his index finger a silver magic circle appeared beneath him and the paladin''s dead body and numerous ancient symbols began to appear slowly. It was the same long-ranged teleportation technique used to transport Derik''s five disciples and it would take some time to complete. With that spare time, Blink could only let his thoughts run wild, not bothering about his safety. His practically looked dead and his condition was even worse than those who died already. Unless someone takes his or her time to inspect them, they will probably never realize he''s still alive. "I wonder what kind of reward the palace master will give me once he returns¡­ I was able to defeat a paladin all alone while his disciples couldn''t¡­ hehehe! Maybe he will even ask me to become his disciple¡­ Unfortunately for him I can never betray Master Kalos and ditch big bro Kuen¡­ I will just ask him to make me his successor as a reward¡­ yea, I''m sure he will be thrilled to know he has a powerful successor like me" Blink chuckled while diving deeper into his silly thoughts. He didn''t even know when the magic array activated, teleporting him back into the sect courtyard. 283 Chapter 283: One sided massacre Kira''s speech and orders only came after Blink had left the battlefield. Knowing a mere recruit was even forced to join this battle and sustained such injuries deeply hurt him and he was determined to kill everyone responsible for this. Even though Kalos explained Blink simply chose to fight for his own personal reasons, Kira still didn''t feel obliged to accept such a half baked reason. If this war didn''t happen in the first place, the kid would never have gotten the opportunity to do something so stupid. Within the blood sea raging above, he observed the battle raging on below while focusing on completing his spell. This was by far the strongest spell he has casted all through his life. It was still the same blood sea he normally hides within when fighting but this was at a whole new level. A level where his spell covered over twenty kilometers, reaching thirty the next second. His sea kept growing and spreading like a plague while his mana burnt faster like never before. He stopped expanding at forty kilometers and controlled the blood sea into taking the shape of a dome, covering all escape routes of the enemy''s forces. Many tried to run through the blood sea since it was practically liquid but none ever emerged from the other side. Another set tried to create a hole in the blood dome by bombarding it with all the power they could muster but it was all fruitless. It was like tossing a knife into the ocean hoping it will create an opening for them to jump through but their attacks only entered without creating a path. Their attacks simply got lost, just like all those that decided to jump through, nothing gets through. Desperate to escape, a few guardian knights enhanced themselves with their numerous combat techniques but just like the first set, none made it through. Not even their screams could be heard. With this, the real battle began. Instead, it wasn''t a battle but a one-sided massacre! The remaining forces of the allied forces were barely up to fifty thousand, meanwhile, the forces of the Derik''s sect only tripled in number since they raised the dead to fight for them not minding if they were friends or foes. Isabel and Creed knew this method was cruel and disrespectful to the dead but they couldn''t deny the fact that it was also very effective. Under Creed''s orders, the remnants of their forces took a defensive position, forming a circle with the guardian knights in front, archers and assassins directly behind and the other mage classes at the center of the formation. They rained numerous spells from all sides, temporarily slowing the enemy''s advances but everyone knew it was only temporary. Bang! The bodies exploded loudly turning into blood mist while Kuen who was covered in the blood of the three paladins stepped out of the twenty-meter deep crater where he fought the three paladins. With a single wave of his palm, their forces stopped charging forward waiting from the three demon commanders'' instructions before they resumed their suicidal assault. "This world¡­ this empire has brought nothing but pain and spite even after the palace of the dead has shown its goodwill over the years¡­ We stopped the impending civil war when the empire was newly formed¡­ This sect you sort to destroy today is the reason this empire was built in the first place and it is because of our palace master that you ingrates are still breathing¡­ Yet you dare gather your forces and raise your weapons at us? You dare harm the disciples of the palace master¡­ You dare harm a little recruit trying to gain recognition¡­ All of this ends today! If I fail to wipe out everyone who has actively taken part in this revolt, I will renounce my position as a demon commander of this sect and take my own life!" Kuen bellowed as he stretched his hands forward and an invisible force flowed out. Gravity magic: Blackhole!!! Instead of pushing the foes away it actually attracted them towards the cosmic spirit host. The strong ones only slid forward slowly while the weak mages assassin and archers flew forward without any resistance, flying towards Kuen even Isabel was not spared. Blood flowed down Kuen''s nostrils, eyes and ears as he strained himself to use the spell to this magnitude. It was something he has never done before, but he didn''t care! Just like Kira as long as he could achieve his goals, the consequences will never be as good as the satisfaction, if they should succeed. Just like the other two Kin was outraged too by everything and just wanted to kill them all. The forces of the allied nobles were made up of humans from Cato and Gyro. The two kingdoms the death mage saved from utter destruction in the past. Maybe it was because of the peace that made them forget or just the fact that they were just ungrateful, either way, he just hated them all. [Such parasites should not be allowed to live any longer!] He thought as he dashed forward. With a roar, Kin exploded, taking the form of a massive wave of dark clouds, shooting past Kuen and everyone else, Kin lead the charge, consuming everyone that flew towards Kuen. Once they entered the darkness only screams and shrieks could be heard before their lifeless bodies are ejected out of the dark cloud. Even the great commander of the elves, Isabel was pulled in, and just like everyone else is cries of pain echoed before her lifeless body riddle with numerous deep injuries was thrown out of the darkness like a dirty rag. Amongst the guardian knights struggling against the suction force from Kuen''s spell was Creed, the commander that once fought by Derik''s side against the holy church after the death of the former king. Derik had given him a second chance at life but instead of embracing it, he chose to go against the death mage at any chance he got. Maybe seeing the younger generation grow much faster than him and hold more authority angered his greatly and pushed him to this but none of that mattered now. From a puddle of blood right in front of the struggling guardian knight, a completely naked Kira emerged, with only his top half visible. Before Creed could scream a blood spear materialized in his hands and struck the old guardian knights throat and since everyone else was struggling to resist the suction force, they could only watch as their commander gasp for air while another blood spear formed in Kira''s hand. Puff! The second spear struck Creed''s chest making him lose his balance. The next moment he was swept off his feet and pulled towards Kuen but Kira grabbed on to his hand, preventing him from flying away. "Didn''t I tell you? Your death won''t be pretty!" Kira''s cold eyes met Creeds pleading gaze. Some guardian knights couldn''t bear to watch their commander die such a gruesome death at Kira''s hands so they use the last of their strength to dive towards Kira with their weapons raised high but before they could reach him, Kira sank into the small blood puddle, dragging Creed with him. A few seconds later the screams of the once-great commander could be heard all over the empire! 284 Chapter 284: Who invited you? A few minutes into the assault, over twenty thousand had died, leaving less than thirty thousand people on the side of the empire''s noble. Those who observed the battle through the water orbs were horrified by what they saw. In their opinion, Derik is the backbone of the sect and unless he is present, members of the palace of death would not dare act so recklessly. They never expected these people to be just as ruthless as the death mage. In the blink of an eye, more than two hundred thousand people were dead and all these people had families and loved ones, yet these people did not even blink while taking their lives. Monsters! That was the only term that could be used to describe these people. "ENOUGH!" A feminine voice echoed all over the empire and a silver beam of light shot into the sky, appearing above the battlefield the next moment. Behind the figure was a massive crescent moon-shaped object following her tightly. Diana''s eyes were bloodshot and her aura kept rising, watching so many elves die just a few hours was not something she could endure. Especially Isabel, who died at Kin''s hands! This was someone she knew since the very day she was sent to this world to protect it. Xiu! Before Diana could move forward a golden sword shot towards her, forcing her to stop and defend. Peng! A silver beam shot out of Diana''s palms to stop the golden sword, sending the sword flying back. Bang! A figure dressed in a golden knight''s armor appeared the next moment, getting hold of the deflected sword while flying towards Diana. The sudden interference of the members of the palace of life stunned her, forcing her to retreat while conjuring a silver rod to block the magic sword hacking down at her "Hello, love¡­ Who invited you?" Fernandos gave her a charming smile. Holy prayer: Divine strike! His magic broadsword let out a golden glow and a massive arc of golden aura exploded from the weapon, sending Diana stumbling back a bit. "Moon magic: Moonlight!" She roared and her crescent moon let out a bright silver glow before releasing a massive beam of silver light at the golden knight. "HAHAHAHA!" Fernandos laughed wildly, shooting towards the golden beam fearlessly. Holy prayer: Demon slayer blade! With a roar, his magic weapon trembled greatly as a massive amount of light energy leaked from the weapon. Striking at the silver beam of light, Fernandos dived in headfirst. BOOOM!!! Fernandos was sent flying like a rocket, only stopping when Agus appeared behind, grabbing him. "Are you insane? She''s at the mid-grade of the gold realm¡­ If the others didn''t cast defensive light spells on you, right on time¡­ you would have been dead" Agus said with a frown on his charming face. "Hehehe! But I''m not dead¡­ Am I?" Fernandos couldn''t careless about Agus nagging. "Holy prayer: Cure!" He muttered and all his open wounds closed up. "Our job is simple¡­ Don''t let the little elf interfere¡­ and that''s what I intend to do!" Fernandos shot Agus a grin before shooting forward again. "Search for an opportunity and strike¡­ Knights of Life with me!" He roared. Instantly, from the thirty thousand members of the palace of life''s forces, ten thousand paladins broke away, joining Fernandos. Meanwhile, Agus who was in charge of all the other magical classes in their army began preparing defensive spells to support Fernando''s unit. "Do you think you can win against me?" Diana was infuriated by the way silver realm elites swarmed towards her. Gold realm masters like her should be feared and respected. "Can they win against you? Maybe not but with our help, definitely!!!" A hoarse voice echoed from behind. Sensing great danger, Diana released an outburst of pure aura, knocking Daemon away who was dressed in black with a black dagger in her hands. She quickly regained her balance and shot Donald an annoyed glance. "When I''m trying to kill someone, please¡­ Try not to alert that person of our arrival¡­" Daemon wore a frustrated look on her face. "We aren''t meant to kill her¡­ Just rough her up and send her home¡­ I had to stop you somehow" Donald answered with a warm smile and a thumbs up. "Hahaha¡­. Its been too long since the last time we worked together" Mason appeared with a bright smile on his face and wind arrows twirling around him. Behind him was Selena, Cyrus'' replacement after he left the team. Karl and Gin wore bored expressions while gazing at Diana coldly. "Do we really need to join hands for one person?" Gin frowned while he spoke. "Yea¡­ Gin is right¡­ even if she''s at the gold realm, she''s just one person¡­ The team joining hands with the palace of life is an overkill¡­. Even if there were two of her, the outcome won''t change" Karl spoke out. "Yea¡­ Yea¡­ I know she may not be the strongest gold realm master but the Nature guardian spirit host and the Fire guardian spirit host are yet to make a move¡­ we need to defeat her quickly and lessen the burden when those two decide to make a move¡­" Gerald explained. "Yea¡­. Don''t worry this won''t take long¡­ a minute should be enough¡­" Scott who just arrived said. His eyes turned blood red at that moment and his body increased in size while black fur appeared. Fangs and claws followed and his clothes tore at a point. When the transformation was over, Scott was almost twice the size of an average human, his blood-red eyes were fixed on Diana and a vicious smile appeared on his face. This was the first time these people saw Scott use his supernatural powers, so they were taken aback a little. To think the Lockwoods were able to hide this secret from the Kingdom for centuries! If Derik did not reveal the existence of supernatural beings, they probably wouldn''t know that the Lockwood family was a family of werewolves. "A minute? That''s way too much¡­ I say thirty seconds will be enough time for us to put her down" Gin flicked his hand and his blue night armor replaced his normal clothes. Two blue swords appeared in his hands and his eyes turned bright blue. 285 Chapter 285: Perfect coordination 1 Diana wanted to rebuke them but she couldn''t speak against them. Her combat experience was the least amongst the gold realm masters and her strength was also inferior to theirs. If it were against the members of the palace of life she was confident she wouldn''t be defeated easily but against Derik''s former friends who were as wild and cocky as the death mage, she truly felt threatened by their presence. She wasn''t sure of the outcome of the battle so she concluded its best to avoid it if possible. "Do you truly wish to get involved Gerald Gyro? Do you think this will go unpunished?" Diana spoke coldly. "Join them? Don''t be a dumb girl¡­ This is a fight between the nobles of this kingdom and the death palace¡­ I am just here to make sure no one interferes and disrupts the battle." Gerald grinned wickedly. "How can you stop me from doing this? They are going to kill them all! We are talking about three hundred thousand lives! This is not fair!" Diana couldn???t help but roar. "Silence bitch! When three hundred thousand soldiers marched forward, hoping to battle the palace of death, even though their numbers were slightly above thirty thousand, why didn''t you stop them? If the death mage didn''t make leave behind his undead army to protect them, it would have been a one-sided massacre!" Gerald was enraged by Diana''s words. Hearing him speak, Diana''s face twisted in so many ways. She wasn''t annoyed because Gerald''s words were false, she was annoyed because it was true. If the forces of the nobles were the ones winning, she probably wouldn''t have moved to stop the fight. "This isn''t right¡­ these people have families and loved ones¡­ Enough blood has been shed already" Diana pleaded. "If the forces of the death mage were the ones on the losing side I''m sure you wouldn''t be doing this! Hypocrites like you shouldn''t exist in this world¡­ You shouldn''t exist in any world! Today the main culprits disrupting the peace of this empire will be wiped out and I won''t you or any other gold realm master stop this¡­ I will show you just what Gerald Gyro is capable of!" Gerald bellowed as his body was engulfed in scorching yellow flames, forcing everyone around him to retreat. He threw his fists forward, releasing two dragon head-shaped flame balls before diving forward! Dragon flame magic: Divine ancient beast! With a resounding roar, Gerald was shrouded in flames which took the shape of a massive fire dragon making every other person look like dwarfs to him. "Gold realm! A gold realm! Master!!!" Diana screamed in fear while retreating. Who would have thought Gerald had broken through all this while and kept a low profile all this while. Even those on his side were stunned. The fact that Gerald entered the gold realm automatically made him one of the most powerful figures in the continent and one of the most important figures in the empire. From young Gerald has always been considered a peerless genius that was able to train as a mage and a fight at the same time and progress at an amazing speed, even surpassing his peers. He was the treasure of the Gyro kingdom and the hope of the empire at that time, considered the brightest genius in the continent. At least, that was until Derik and Cyrus appeared. Their rise in power as such a monstrous speed was terrifying enough to make people completely forget Gerald''s talent, only seeing him as the eldest son of the former king of Gyro. Derik and Cyrus'' fame overshadowed him, making the masses to forget him and those close to lose interest in him. Gerald was only remembered when he appears in public. Luckily this did not affect Gerald negatively in any way, instead, he was thrilled by this since most of his burdens as a member of the royal family were removed and placed on Cyrus and Derik, giving him enough free time to cultivate in seclusion without fear of his responsibilities. The thought of Gerald breaking into the gold realm did not sound strange to Donald, Gin, Karl, and the rest who knew how talented the man was, their only annoyance was that he kept this from them. Roar!!! Divine flame dragon roar! The fire dragon roared, releasing a stream of fire surged towards Diana who hid behind her massive crescent moon magic weapon to escape the raging fire. "You!" Diana''s eyes dilated when she sensed the killing intentions in Gerald''s power. Moon magic: Moonlight! Her magic weapon let out a silver glow before shooting a beam of silver energy at the fire attacks. While that happened, Fernando''s group arrived with Fernando''s diving in headfirst like a crazed beast, swiping his magic weapon at her, releasing numerous golden energy arcs with each strike. Bang! Bang! Bang! Diana left her magic weapon to keep Gerald''s group busy while she dived towards the army of the palace of life since they are the weakest link. As long as she''s able to eliminate them first and reduce the burden on her own side when she decides to face Gerald head-on. No matter how strong Gerald has become, he was still just at the low grade of the gold realm. Even though this revelation stunned her and increased the burden on her, she refused a low-grade gold realm master and a handful of peak silver realm elites can defeat her easily. She is a bonafide mid-grade of the gold realm master and with each grade comes a greater difference in power. That''s why Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido had to join hand to stop a single attack from a peak grade gold realm orc chieftain, even though the difference between them in just one grade. And she was right! Bang! All three fire attacks were destroyed by the silver beam of the floating magic moons shaped weapon. The others dived forward to reach Diana but the crescent moon kept releasing waves of sliver beam to stop them from advancing. 286 Chapter 286: Perfect coordination 2 "She''s looking down on us" Fernandos laughed while he watched Diana approach. "Why don''t we show her how dumb her plan is if she thinks she can deal with us alone.." Agus figure appeared beside Fernandos. His golden eyes let out a bright golden light and a pair of golden aura wings appeared on his back, with a golden sword as well. Agus eyes showcased no or hate, just indifference! In his opinion, Diana is much weaker when compared to Cyrus or any other gold realm master. If he is unable to defeat her with thirty thousand people backing him, how will he show his face to his palace master when he returns? "Ha!" Fernandos laughed as he charged forward, leaving Agus behind. Holy prayer: Divine strike! Golden aura gathered around the magic weapon the moment he was just a few meters away from Diana, slashing at her like a mad man. Peng! Peng!! Peng!!! In response Diana didn''t retreat, at the gold realm, her physical strength rose with her power making her stronger than most guardian knights at the silver realm. With a single gesture, she created a silver rod that was used to block Fernandos attacks. ..................¡­.. Bang! Bang!! Two silver beams struck Gin repeatedly, forcing him to use his blue swords to block while retreating repeatedly, but even this wasn''t enough to wipe away the disappointed look on his face. In his opinion, gold realm masters are meant to be domineering and all-powerful just like Derik and Cyrus. But each time he saw Diana, he would always lose interest in cultivating. "If this was the power the gold realm grants after decades of hard work and strife, I will rather spend the rest of my days with my family and enjoy what''s left of my life!" Gin grunted as his swords released a blue light while his magic armor greedily fed on all the mana in the air. "We never get to fight worthy foes anymore!" Donald laughed cruelly as his body was engulfed in a green aura. His eyes turned green while pulled out his green spear. "We will end this in one strike then!" Gin shot Donald a friendly smile, engulfing his own weapons with a blue aura. "Like always! Hahaha!" Donald laughed. Booooom! The two figures shot towards the massive crescent moon with their weapons pushed forward. Meanwhile, the massive fire dragon suffered numerous hits from Diana''s magic weapon, leaving Gerald with numerous bloody wounds. Gerald''s blazing dragon path coupled with his living element path allowed Gerald to create a living dragon purely made of fire but as solid as any other living thing. It grants him the ability to see through the dragon''s eyes and hear through its ears as if it is his own but unfortunately he shared the pain of the beast as well. At this point, he realized conjuring a massive fire dragon the size of Diana''s gigantic magic weapon was the dumbest thing he could do considering the magic weapon''s ability to keep them at bay using its projectile attacks. "You forced my hands, Diana, so don''t blame me for being ruthless!!!" Gerald roared and the size of the fire dragon began to shrink. Boom! This continued until the fire dragon was completely consumed by Gerald. He roared as red dragon scales began to appear on his body and his eyes turned crimson red. Roar!!! Gerald cried out in pain as the transformation continued with bone-breaking sounds and flesh-tearing sounds. By the time the flame shielding his body from the view of other dispersed, a salamander-like creature with a pair of dragon wings appeared. If not for the fact that its gaze showed no hostility towards his teammates, Scott and the others would have joined hand to kill it first. "Blazing Dragon path: Fire salamander king" Gerald breathed out torrents of flame. Bang! "Agh!" Donald and Gin gritted their teeth as their aggression was replied with a big beam of silver energy. Casting reinforcement spells on himself and Donald, the two struggled with the big silver beam for a while before they were eventually blasted away. Puti! Gin spat out a mouthful of blood after which he sprang on his feet once again, just to realize they hit Kira''s blood dome and surprisingly they didn''t fall in like all the others that tried to get past it. His legs were a bit shaky and his body felt numb, but in the end, he only suffered minor injuries. "Mages¡­ Way too fragile" Donald gave Gin a wink as he flexed his broad shoulders. He looked like he didn''t sustain any injury at all and even his armor was intact. He too was amazed by the fact that they didn''t sink into the sea of blood, he wondered how if the spell could actually differentiate between friend and foe. "Get off me¡­" Kira''s cold voice spooked them, causing them to jump off and flying her. Like an illusion, a lump of blood rose at the surface of the blood dome before taking the shape of a human. Kira finally appeared once again with his lower half submerged inside the blood dome while the upper half was left bare with no piece of cloth to hide his well proportion muscles which a normal mage shouldn''t have. He looked paler than usual and the red light in his eyes had dimmed considerably. Even a monkey would know that the sea dome was consuming his mana and stamina at an alarming speed. "You all had just one job, but you couldn''t keep up to your own part of the deal¡­ All I could hear was you guys trash talking but none of you are yet to put a scratch of the lady" Kira had a stern look on his face but his voice revealed how weak he has become. "Apparently the magic weapon is way more lethal than the owner¡­ since it''s a gold realm magic tool it has a mind of its own and is focused on destroying us¡­ If Diana was involved in our battle we would have forced the magic tool to focus on defense and then destroy it¡­ but I guess things cant go the way we expect" Gin was unfazed by Kira''s menacing gaze "Chill man¡­ You are a mess, I think you should head back to the sect and rest¡­ we will definitely deal with everything here¡­ and don''t worry, our forces have been sent out, no one is leaving the empire!" Donald assured Kira. "Hmph!" Kira sighed as he gazed at the battle happening above and a weak smile appeared on his face. "It''s too late to retreat now¡­ Another one is coming¡­ Francis finally made his move!" Kira''s voice was carried hints of hatred and disdain. 287 Chapter 287: Francis Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Fernandos retreated each time his golden magic weapon collided with Diana''s staff. The strength Diana exhibited was way above his expectation, leaving him with a disadvantaged position throughout the fight. Luckily he wasn''t alone, over fifteen thousand paladins and fifteen thousand light mages surrounded the gold realm master, bombarding her with ranged attacks whenever they saw an opening. Although this strategy was not as effective as swarming her from all sides and using their sheer numbers to overwhelm her, it was the safest they could come up with. With Fernandos and Agus the battle veterans of their sect, tanking Diana''s attacks, the others could attack her safely from afar, slowly wearing her out. At first, Diana always evaded or crushed any ranged attack sent at her but soon, a few began hitting its mark. Her movements became sluggish enough for a skilled fighter like Fernandos to deliver a few blows while Agus could now easily deal with her attacks. "This!" Diana screeched as Fernando''s golden sword brushed past her shoulder, grazing her smooth skin in the process. Diana was more aware of her capabilities than anyone else. Without her massive crescent moon magic weapon which was her main source of defense, she was like a warrior without any equipment or weapon. But retrieving her magic weapon to her side now will only mean that Gerald''s team would join the battle as well, increasing the burden on her, instead of reducing it. "I can''t..." She muttered as she evaded Agus'' golden spear thrust, retaliating by releasing a bolt of silver energy at him, which he blocked with his golden wings while retreating. Diana planned to chase after him and put in more pressure but several golden arrows struck her back, piercing her flesh. At this point, Diana''s vision blurred slightly but thanks to the glittering golden magic weapon, she could tell Fernandos was launching another attack from above. Biting her lower lips until it bled, Diana quickly conjured a three-layered silver sphere around her. Hoping to buy enough time for herself to arrange her thoughts and set her priorities right. The truth remains that she could easily wipe out this little force, but she didn''t dare kill a single person from Cyrus sect. The thought of what will happen when Derik returns was still hunting her in dreams, giving her images of graveyards and rotten corpses corroded by his death aura. Giving Cyrus a reason to attack the empire also is suicide. At least if Derik acts alone, half of the population of the empire may die and even if they can''t defeat him, they can still reason with Cyrus and Kaido, but if Cyrus is added to the equation, Kaido will definitely join the equation, At that point, not even the so-called gods can save them from these three people. Crash! The sound of the first layer of his barrier shattering brought Diana back to reality. She watched Fernados hacked down at the second layer of the barrier ruthlessly with a crazed expression on his face while numerous light spells rained down on the barrier. "Just a few more seconds little elf, I''ll pull you out of there by the throat!" Fernandos laughed like a crazed beast while he relentlessly attacked the barrier. Bang! The second barrier shattered and the smile on Fernandos'' face widened even more. The members of the palace of life were so excited and they continued pouring out their best spells on the final layer. They were so focused on Diana''s final barrier that they failed to notice the sky turned green and youth with emerald green mage robe standing above them. With a slight hand gesture, a massive green aura hand appeared above them, and with a simple swipe, thousands of mages were blown away. "Who!" Fernando''s was stunned and forced to turn his attention to the mage standing above them. "Die!" Diana saw this as an opportunity to break free from the encirclement. She gathered silver aura in her hand, creating a silver spear which phased through the barrier like it never existed, piercing through Fernando''s chest and busting out from behind. "Bitch¡­" Fernando''s spat out a mouthful of blood but the smile on his face never faded. He lost control of his body and his vision blurred as he fell from the skies helplessly. ....................... "YOU!!!" Agus was enraged when he realized what had happened to his college, Fernandos. His hands were thrown towards Diana who was still hiding within the final sphere of the barrier, creating three magic arrays. His eyes let out a bright golden glow as three golden spears began emerging from the magic arrays. Swoosh! Bang! "Triple casting? Impressive for someone your age¡­" The man in a green mage attire appeared in front of Agus just at the moment he was about to release the spell, catching him by surprise. The sudden appearance of a foe took Agus by surprise, stunning for a second. But he soon recovered, breaking the prior spells he was planning to cast while retreating. His massive angel wings wrapped around him, acting as a barrier. Boom! The golden wings made of pure aura shattered when the clenched fist of the green-haired mage collided with it. Agus chest caved in and a fist mark was boldly imprinted on his flesh while blood spurted out of his parted lips. The pain made tears roll down his eyes and he wanted to cry out but no matter how much he tried no sound could be made. He lost control over his body, free-falling recklessly. "You all decided to act against the empire¡­ You are all charged with treason and the punishment is death" The green-haired mage roared and a massive amount of green huge roots erupted from the ground below, shooting into the skies, impaling numerous mages of light and paladins. His eyes let out a bright green flash as he made strange gestures, controlling each and every root created to chase down all fleeing targets. Gin and Donald could only stare at the man in awe and horror! Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 288 Chapter 288: Judgement from afar! "Agggh!" Cyrus cried out when he felt something sting his heart. His golden eyes dimmed and he wore a confused expression on his face. The sea raged and trashed-out around them but their combined aura could easily prevent any of this from reaching them. "Cyrus¡­ what''s wrong?" Derik asked. The other two stopped and gazed at Cyrus with worried expressions. They could only wait patiently for Cyrus to recover from the shock before advancing. "They are killing my people!" Cyrus hissed as he stared at the general direction of the continent. His eyes glowed brightly and his aura exploded. The calm and angelic aura which Cyrus had soon turned violent and demonic, causing Kaido to move a bit farther. He has never seen Cyrus like this before and didn''t know how to deal with this. Unlike Kaido, Derik was not disturbed by Cyrus'' sudden change. Instead, he was lost in his thoughts and unknown to him, his aura exploded like that of Cyrus. Cyrus aura had a different effect on his followers, making them become fanatics and blindly follow him into the grave! This is the reason why people wielding light magic who once hated any form of evil magic, submitted themselves to him and befriended members of the palace of death, taking them as their own brothers. To these people, evil magic is no different from any other form of magic and this was only made possible through Cyrus'' influence and aura. It made him become their god. During this time, Cyrus used his aura to nurture these people and train them, helping them cultivate way faster than normal people. Even the weakest people wielding just a spark of life affinity became peerless geniuses when compared with their peers. They all bore Cyrus aura in them and have built some sort of invisible connection. At the very moment of the death of a single member of his sect, Cyrus felt strange. He could hear their cries for help and pain. Through their eyes, he could see the green-haired mage butcher them in masses and quite easily. "Francis! I should have killed you back then!!!" Cyrus roared as he threw his open palm into the sky and his violent aura gathered above his head, taking the form of a massive spear which was over thirty meters long and ten meters wide. "Life magic: Judgement spear!" Cyrus roared and when he was about to release the spell, Derik caught his hand. "Don''t waste your energy¡­ we need it¡­" Derik''s gaze was cold and bloodthirsty. But he managed to keep his calm. After hearing Cyrus'' words, his doubts about the safety of his sect members vanished. He finally confirmed that something was happening in the empire and their sects are somehow dragged into it. At first, he wondered if the orcs were responsible for this but when Cyrus mentioned Francis, he realized with was an internal issue. The empire may have banded together to fight against their sects. "But¡­" Cyrus muttered. Unable to make a decision. "Let''s say you do this, how sure are you it will get to the empire? We are too far and I think you overestimate our capabilities¡­ You will just end up wasting your energy" Derik gritted his teeth, hating the fact that he couldn''t protect the people who chose to follow him at a moment like this. Woosh! Dispersing the spell, Cyrus could only slide back and ponder on what to do next. He even began considering returning and forgetting this expedition of theirs. "Your domain¡­ The passageway there is still open¡­ You can lend them a hand if you can open another passageway from here" Kaido finally spoke up when he was sure, Derik and Cyrus had calmed down. "I couldn''t create a passageway back then¡­. I was too weak¡­ Demos created it and I only summon it¡­" Derik refuted the plan. "Back then you were weak¡­ We are stronger now¡­" Cyrus said with an excited look on his face. "Yea¡­ Even if you can''t do that alone we can all help you¡­ we will give you our power" Kaido agreed. "This will mean we will spend an extra day resting to regain our power but it doesn''t matter" Derik agreed after a while. .............................................. "Mid-grade of the gold realm! He broke into that realm so quickly!" Gin frowned as he spoke. He couldn''t help but feel reluctant to dive into battle again. "Francis and Diana are two different people entirely¡­ we can''t handle the both of them all alone" Donald agreed. At this point the blood dome surrounding a large part of the forest reduced, returning to Kira. He pulled out a new set of red and black mage robes from his storage ring. "You don''t have to deal with him¡­ You two and the others should deal with Diana¡­ the three of us will deal with Francis¡­" Kuen appeared with Kin, gazing at Francis with an indifferent look on their faces. With a glance, anyone could tell these people were already exhausted. The others couldn''t understand why they couldn''t let Aldora and Kalos join the battle, things would have been so much easier. "Why don''t let Kalos and Francis join the battle? It will be way easier if we have them on our side" Donald asked. "It''s not that we don''t want to have them join us¡­. We can''t¡­ The palace master ordered them to remain in the sect and protect it at all times when we are threatened¡­ I guess the orders backfired. They cant leave the sect now we are in dire need of their help" Kira shrugged. "It doesn''t matter¡­ We are the three demon commanders¡­ Francis may be leagues above Diana but that means nothing¡­. We will still find a way to deal with it¡­" Kin added. "Yea¡­ As long as you all deal with Diana quickly¡­ You can lend us a hand later on¡­ Chill we won''t die easily" Kuen laughed. ..........................................¡­ At that moment the mountains where the two sects began to shake violently and the earth began splitting. The barrier Kalos set over the mountains instantly deactivated and a familiar death and life aura spread all over the empire instantly making the arrogant nature mage turn pale in fear. "This can''t be¡­ they shouldn''t be here!" Francis cried out in fear. "Cyrus¡­" Diana almost wet herself in fear. She struck down Fernandos with her own hands. "YOU DARE LAY YOUR HANDS ON OUR SUBORDINATES? HAHAHAHA! ONLY DEATH AWAITS YOU ALL!" Cyrus and Derik''s enraged voice shook the skies and the great walls of the empire trembled violently. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 289 Chapter 289: Lending a hand Hearing Derik and Cyrus'' words scared everyone on the side of the empire to death. They watched in horror as the entire mountain range where their sects were built was promptly shrouded in immense life and death aura, spreading fast like a plague. BOOM!!! BOOM!!! Leaving behind a loud explosion, a huge golden spear and a glittering silver bone spear shrouded in death aura shot out like a rocket, aiming precisely for the two gold realm masters of the empire. Life magic: Judgement spear!!! Death magic: Bone spear!!! Both peerless masters roared and their voice carried an invisible force that empowered all those under them. Agus and Fernandos laid on the bare ground with their eyes open wide and their glowing golden eyes dimming as the seconds ticked by. Blood flowed out from their wounds profusely and their breathing became heavy, they could only silently wait for death but then Cyrus'' voice echoed in their ears and the life aura which the golden spear carried washed over them giving them a breath of life. "Hoooooo!" Agus gasped as his eyes let out a bright golden light. "Hahahahahahaha!" Fernando''s laughed in a crazed manner as his aura spiked, exploding violently. Meanwhile, all over the battlefield, numerous pillars of golden aura filled the air and all those who were fleeing for their lives earlier from the roots turned around and charged at their enemies respectively. The usual peaceful light aura they carried vanished at that instant, leaving only wrath. The wrath of a god! "Our God has blessed us, He will never forsake us! we cannot lose!" They roared as they fought against Francis roots and vines like ferocious beasts. ....................................¡­.. "Damn¡­" Gin was terrified by the sudden transformation of these people. He suddenly realized how much he underestimated the power of life and death magic. The ability to nurture such powerful subordinates and even empower their members with mere words was just too terrifying. "This is crazy, right?" Donald threw the question at Kira. When Kira didn''t respond, Donald and Gin were forced to turn their attention to the three demon commanders and members of the palace of the dead below. Only at this point did they notice that all three hundred thousand soldiers that marched to this very location were slaughtered to the very last member. Growl! Kira''s red eyes were blood red and a red mist diffused from his body while he growled like a wild beast. They soon noticed Kira wasn''t the only one affected by Derik''s violent aura, even the survivors of the bloody war were all forced into a berserk state by Derik''s aura. Meanwhile, Francis''s face turned cold since he could feel the killing intentions the golden spear heading his way carried. The attack was so abrupt that he knew dodging the attack was close to impossible so he chose to take it head on. "I''m not afraid of any of you anymore!" Francis roared, refusing to believe he wasn''t their match. If he were still at the low grade of the gold realm, he would have been terrified but things are different now. At the mid-grade of the gold realm he could be considered Derik and Cyrus equal! He had no reason to fear With a loud cry, he waved his hands, recalling all the roots and vines chasing after the members of the palace of light while summoning more to create a spherical root dome. Boom!!! ........................................ "I''m sorry!" Diana panicked and turned her back on Derik''s death spear, trying to flee. The speed of the attack greatly surpassed hers and the bone spear quickly closed in on her, almost penetrating her defenseless back. Luckily for her, the growth type magic weapon in her possession was at the gold realm level, granting to a mind of its own. That''s why it could act on its own and prevent Gerald''s group from reaching Diana previously. Feeling the fear its master was experiencing, the massive crescent moon descended from the skies, shielding Diana with its huge body. Moon magic: Moonlight! The magic weapon didn''t wait for the scared moon mage to recover, so it quickly activated on of its abilities, releasing dazzling silver light before the light was focused into a beam of silver light, darting towards the bone spear. .......................... Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Francis watched his vine sphere crumble slowly as golden light sipped into the dark hole where he hid. His eyes were showed fear as he quickly broke away from the dome, attempting to flee but as soon as he left the dome and stopped reinforcing it with his energy, the golden spear broke through and struck at him! "Damn you!" With no choice left Francis roared as he pushed his hands forward while releasing a terrifying amount of mana to reinforce his body. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Francis spat out a mouthful of blood while he retreated, and his face turned pale. He refused to believe the power gap between them was still this much even though they were in the same grade and realm. Unknown to him, after flying over the endless sea for weeks and battling numerous gold realm monsters of different kinds, Derik and Cyrus have grown stronger. They relied on the life force of all the monsters they have defeated to further improve their realm. Even now they were at the peak of the mid-grade of the gold realm. All they needed now was just a huge push to break into the next grade of their realm. "Ghaaa!" Francis cried out in pain as his hands which was used to stop the spear exploded, turning into a bloody mist. The spear further proceeded to pierce his chest, leaving a gaping hole where his heart is meant to be. But that wasn''t enough to kill him! His ability to control the nature element of this world granted him great healing abilities. His wounds started to heal as soon as it happened and his hands began to regrow. He could only stand and watch Diana struggle with the bone spear, unable to lend her a hand or support in any way. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 290 Chapter 290 Bang! Bang! Countless web shaped cracks appeared on the surface of the crescent moon magic tool as the bone spear drilled through the silver ray and struck its core. Being linked to the magic tool has always been an advantage since it let people like Diana and Cyrus perform near-impossible tasks with their weapons with just a single thought, yet in this situation, it looked more like a curse since countless silver cracks appeared all over Diana''s body as well. She bit her lower lips tightly, unconscious of the fact that it was already bleeding while she struggled to keep the bone spear at bay. She could feel the killing intentions behind the attack and could easily tell Derik and Cyrus were not aiming to just defeat them, just like Kaido predicted in the past, these two were out for blood. They were actually trying to kill them! No one had to tell her that only death awaits her if she remains here. "Moon magic: Three worlds apart!" Diana cried out weakly, summoning three full moons to descend from the skies. To avoid death, she instantly retrieved her already damaged magic weapon and using the three full moons as a shield to tank the attacks while drifting out of the way. Diana threw a glance at the far right just to see the gravely injured Francis been swarmed by members of the palace of light. they constantly bombarded him with their strongest spells, not giving the nature mage the chance to recover from the injuries he sustained at Cyrus'' hands. She could feel remnants of Cyrus'' life energy ravaging his body while he tried to regrow his destroyed limbs. At this point, she could easily tell that his only option was to find a way to break free from the encirclement and leave this place. Should they continue this pointless battle, only death will find them. Swoosh! Noticing something was wrong, Diana returned her attention to the three moons she summoned only to realize the bone spear drilling into them was gone without a trace. Before she could process what happened a spatial tear appeared right in front of her and the bone spear shot out of it. "Kalos!" Diana was only able to speak the name before the bone spear left a gaping hole around her chest area. Splash! Blood spurted out of her wounds and soaked her aqua blew robes. In her eyes, the clouds seemed to be falling, and breathing became harder! Thanks to her unique physique as a top tier master in the gold realm, Diana was much sturdier than normal warriors, preventing her from dying instantly. She could only steady herself in mid-air and check her wounds before Derik''s enraged voice could be heard again. "Kill them all¡­. ALL OF THEM!!!" Derik half growled when he spoke. Cursing her bad luck, Diana shot Gerald and his crew a hateful glance as they slowly encircled her, covering her escape routes. ......................... Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Countless spells detonated at the center of the encirclement and even then an extremely pale green-haired man shot out with a sly smile on his face. His hands were regrowing at a visible rate and his color was returning with each breath he took, scaring the shit out of the members of the palace of life. Even though Francis was nowhere as good as Derik and Cyrus but he could still be considered Kaido''s match, making him a terrifying enemy in battle. Being able to recover from injuries just by breathing meant it was close to impossible to kill him. At least, that''s what they thought, but Francis didn''t share the same view. The confident smile on his face was only meant to kill the morale of his enemies and that was all there is to it. By breathing in he absorbed the power of nature all around to replenish his strength and heal his injuries but this couldn''t dispel Cyrus'' violent life aura ravaging his body, not to mention that each time he used this mysterious nature breathing technique, the effects weakened. "No one is truly invincible" Cyrus words ringed in his head continuously as the thoughts of dying at the hands of a few thousands of silver realm paladins and mages flowed into his mind. At this point, his resentment for Cyrus and his sect increased by leaps and bounds! Not only did Cyrus'' interference deal a major blow on his plans, but he also ended up losing two limbs. To add salt to the injury, the once fearful light mages and paladin''s suddenly turned into ferocious beasts aiming to steal his life. "I didn''t spend all those years, overloading my core with the power of nature to break into the mid-grade of the gold realm just to die at the hands of mere silver realm humans!" Francis growled disdainfully. Xiu! Francis suddenly shot forward towards the northern side of the encirclement, hoping to bulldoze his way through out of the encirclement. His eyes let out a terrifying green glow as he watched numerous paladins prepare to intercept him. A cruel smile appeared on his face as he summoned green eight green vines from his back. These vines were triple the size of an average adult both in length and in width, each releasing terrifying aura. "Vanish!" Francis growled Instantly six vines shot forward while the remaining two vines stuck close to him, tanking most of the light spells sent his way. Holy prayer: Strike! The paladin''s under Fernandos lead they coated their magic weapons with light aura as the shot towards the vines fearlessly. Performing numerous flips while descending, Fernandos struck at vine with so much power that his colleges that stuck too close were blown away by the shockwave caused by the collision. Yet not even a small cut could be seen vine, instead, Fernandos felt like he struck a sturdy iron wall with his bare fist. "What the hell!" He blurted out in surprise while he watched the paladin''s get skewered by the vines ruthlessly. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 291 Chapter 291 "I refuse!" Fernandos cried out in defiance as he shot back to evade the vine swiping down on him. His body then spun to the left as the already glowing magic weapon in his hands began amassing more golden aura. Swoosh! Bang!! Using the enhanced magic weapon, Fernandos blocked another monster-size green vine attacking from the side since he couldn''t block, getting blown away without any resistance. Luckily for him, the vines were not focused on anyone, in particular, so they attacked any enemy in reach since there were hundreds of paladins around. Puti! Fernandos only managed to regain control of his body after he had traveled over three hundred meters. He tells he had broken more bones than he actually possessed from that single attack and quickly used a holy prayer technique, cure, to heal all the damage he received in a matter of seconds. "Retreat¡­ all of you¡­ mages provide cover fire!" No one had to tell Fernandos that letting his soldiers fight against Francis at close quarters was akin to suicide. In just a few seconds after the attack, more than a hundred paladins had already died at Francis'' hands! Even if the nature mage was greatly weakened thanks to the aid of their palace master, it still didn''t mean they were his opponents. Fernandos had learned that the hard way on this very day but that did discourage him from diving in a second time. His care and worry were only limited to those in his unit and other members of the life palace. His own safety has always been secondary in his priority list, his primary objective has always been to win. This kind of mindset may be considered insane and flawed yet it is the reason he has gone this far and is considered a vicious fighter who will use suicidal techniques just to harm his foe. "Since you are begging for a date with death, I send you over to the other side!" Francis was greatly annoyed when he saw his opponent retreat but then a lone paladin flying towards him with a smug look on his face. Does he really think a silver realm elite at the peak grade can stand against a mid-grade gold realm master? "Impossible!" Francis roared to answer his own thoughts Xiu! All six green vines ignored the fleeing paladins and spells and lunged towards the lone paladin who seemed to be amused by Francis''s action. Under Francis''s murderous gaze, Fernandos slipped through every gap and holes left by the massive vines, closing on the nature mage while successfully escaped the first wave of attack without breaking his concentration, steadily amassing more power in his magic weapon which was already trembling violently. "Is that all the great nature mage is capable of? Hahaha! If that''s the case then I''m disappointed" Fernandos laughed heartily. "IMPUDENT FOOL!" Francis''s eyes turned bloodshot in anger as he recalled his vines and launched a second wave of attack on the young paladin. Using simple hand gestures to manipulate the huge vines, Francis forced three out of the six attacking vines to circle around the paladin, waiting for an opening to strike while the other three lunged at him viciously! "Dodge!" Agus screamed from afar while preparing his spells in case things go south. "I know!" Fernandos grunted while he retreated, trying to increase the distance between himself and the massive vines heading his way, but even after crossing over three hundred meters, the vines still followed while Francis was stationary. Fernandos was soon forced to drift from side to side to evade the vines while using his blade to push aside vines that brushed against him while keeping his eyes on the other three vines which kept moving towards his blind spots. In his opinion, the most dangerous nature of this spell was its almost limitless range. The ability to keep moving even when the caster was stationary and this made him feel insecure in battle. While Fernandos despaired and kept retreating he soon realized the flaw of this spell, not only was the speed of the vines reducing the farther it moved from the caster but the strength and size reduced drastically as well. "Hahaha! Strike now!" Fernandos suddenly roared. Obviously pleased with his discovery. He watched the three vines lash at him but was able to deflect two with his glowing blade while catching the third with his left hand. At that point, the other three vines circling him suddenly lunged at his blind spot hoping to impale him from behind but to Francis''s greatest surprise layers upon layers of golden walls appeared behind Fernandos, successfully stopping the vines after it successfully tore down over fifteen layers. "It ends here! Holy prayer: Archangel!" Fernandos didn''t bother holding back the moment he saw a chance, quickly activating his greatest paladin spell. Instantly he was consumed by a powerful pillar of golden light which utterly destroyed all the vines around, reducing them to dust. The light soon faded and a topless Fernandos with a large pair of angel wings and countless golden runes on his bare chest appeared. On his right hand was a golden divine sword which kept on vibrating due to the sheer amount of raw aura stored into it. "Die you heretic" Fernandos facial expression was cold and expressionless after the transformation and his original smooth voice seemed to be overlapped by a deep, hoarse voice. With a single stride forward, Fernandos had crossed hundreds of meters, appearing right in front of Francis. His hands were raised and the magic weapon in his hands trembled as he released a great arc of golden light to consume the nature mage who in turn hid within the remaining two vines which served as a powerful spherical shield. Enraged by the wasted effort when it saw Francis emerge unscathed, Fernandos roared and released a massive beam of light aura from his mount, planning to swallow Francis whole and subdue him with superior power. While a few people considered this a good move, only a few experts could understand the blunders Fernandos committed. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 292 Chapter 292 "Too young and arrogant!" Francis growled disdainfully as he caught the beam of energy with his right hand while his left hand he struck at Francis''s chest, reaching for his heart. "You talk too much old man!" Fernandos sneered. Fortunately, Agus was a guardian knight and a paladin, skilled at melee combat, coupled with the archangel mode which boosted his physical capabilities greatly, allowing him to keep up with a weakened Francis and read his movements perfectly. He quickly grabbed Francis''s left hand while slashing at him from the side with his glowing magic weapon, aiming to slash him in two. In response Francis pulled Fernandos abruptly, breaking his rhythm before landing a devastating kick on his chest, using the momentum gathered to push himself back. In a battle like this, a mage required space to safely cast his or her spells, if it were on a good day, Francis wouldn''t be bothered battling Fernandos at close quarters but in his current condition he could barely keep up with Fernandos, In a prolonged battle, Fernandos will definitely overpower him and easily suppress him with his greater stamina and combat techniques. The moment Francis was given a breathing chance, he clapped his hand together and six magic circles appeared right in front of him, drawing a terrifying amount of mana, but before the spells could activate numerous light spells bombarded the magic circles, ultimately shattering the spells halfway while some of the excess spells struck Francis. "Hexa-casting¡­ you old monsters are really terrifying" Agus shot Francis sinister smile while all the mages kept preparing a new wave of spells. "Bastards!" Francis wasn''t even given the chance to curse properly before he was deal with another volley of spells. Depending solely on his aura for defense since it didn''t require incantations or formations, Francis was forced into a defensive position for a while. "Die" Fernandos'' voice pulled Francis back to reality. Holy prayer: Guardian steps! Grabbing the hilt of his weapon tightly, he hacked down at the empty air. At first, Francis saw this extremely dumb but when the spell activated it was too late to add extra layers of protection. The nature mage could only watch a mountain-sized version of Agus magic weapon appear above him and hack down at him in the same manner. Mimicking its master''s actions! ...........................¡­ Peng! Peng!! Using her silver rod Diana parried the attacks of the dragon form Gerald but was still forced to retreat due to his overwhelming strength. Before she could get a moment of rest a black hairy beast with glowing red eyes descended from the skies, striking down at her with its claws brimming with blood-red aura. "Secret combat technique: Brilliant claw" Scott roared. In response, Diana spun to the side to evade the deadly attack entirely but to her greatest surprise, she watched the werewolf kick the empty air, shooting at her at a terrifying speed as if it was pushed forward by an incredible force. "Moon magic: Mirror image!" Diana gritted her teeth while enduring the pain of Derik''s aura ravaging her body. She tapped the space in front of her lightly with her staff, creating a rectangular mirror appear. Instantly another black werewolf with glowing red eyes and blood-red eyes shot out abruptly, colliding with Scott. After the collision, the mirror replica vanished while Scott was left writhing in pain. "Bitch!" Karl growled as he was engulfed in flame, taking the shape of a flaming phoenix while he dived down at Diana. Fire magic: Phoniex flame! In response, Diana replicated the previous spell, tapping her silver staff at his direction, sending a blazing mirror image replica at him to collide with the original. Dang! A powerful magic weapon collided with the thin but powerful layer of silver aura set around her for defensive purposes. Seeing that her assassination attempt was a complete failure, Daemon retreated hastily but Diana was much faster. She swiped her magic staff at Daemon''s general location, releasing an arc of silver energy, and a second later blood spurted out from an unknown source, and then Daemon''s figure appeared out of nowhere. She could only shot Diana a hateful glance before losing grip over her powers and falling off the skies like a bird shot down by a hunter. "You!" Donald roared furiously as he gathered his aura around his green spear before tossing it at Diana. Not caring to see whether it hit or missed, he turned into a green beam of light and chased after Daemon''s falling body. To counter this, Diana effortlessly spun to the side, evading the spear attack, only to appear in between Gin and Gerald who glared at her with murderous eyes. They were already preparing their attacks and waiting for the right moment. As soon as Diana appeared, they quickly released their attacks. While Gerald spat out a torrent of scorching red flames, Gin released a massive wave of blue aura. "Moon magic: Twofold mirror image!" Diana half growled due to the annoyance and pain she was feeling. Two mirrors appeared at the directions of the attacks, replicating them and sending them back to the casters. Gerald and Gin weren''t fools either, they watched Diana use this technique on two allies that''s why the chose range attacks. In their opinion, the reflected attacks should possess equal strength so both attacks should cancel each other out but while these attacks collided, silver energy rods moved within the attacks, unseen. By the time Gerald or Gin realized what was happening, the silver rods struck their exposed chests, forcing them to spit out a mouthful of blood and falling off the skies. While the others were drowning in despair, Diana was ecstatic. She suppressed her pains and focused on the battle! Her smug smile portrayed her satisfaction with her performance and her movements and counters only kept getting better. Diana has always been considered the weakest gold realm masters because of her lacking combat experience, ridiculed by peak silver realm experts like Kira and Gerald who were considered as old monsters. Only when battling for her survival did her instincts kick in, revealing how skilled she was in the art of combat Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 293 Chapter 293 To create the new passageway to the underground cultivation center required the strength of three peerless masters at the mid-grade of the gold realm. They had to construct a new passageway to his domain first which consumed close to half an hour or so. After this, Derik was forced to find create a link to his domain which was severed the very moment they left the continent. Creating this link was like finding a needle in a haystack. It consumed a lot of mana and concentration, leaving Derik drained and mentally weak. If it wasn''t for Cyrus and Kaido''s support he would have collapsed under pressure. Thanks to the constant supply of mana from the two masters, he had enough power to create the passageway and directly gaining access to his domain. Due to the monstrous amount of energy consumed, Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido could not crossover but this did not stop Derik from noticing that the death aura in his domain had increased threefold and its size as well. It was flourishing and expanding as it consumed more souls of the dead, using it to refine itself. At first, Derik was ecstatic about the development but when he realized the domain consumed both the souls of the foes and friends he slightly felt guilty. He, later on, realized the souls weren''t completely destroyed, just bound to his domain like the underworld. That explains why the necromancers could still summon them during the war and after the summoning contract is canceled, the souls return to his domain, just like demons of the underworld. They soon realize they couldn''t help without crossing over to the other side because this was a one-way journey. Should they choose to crossover, the passageway will close behind them and Derik had no way of creating a passageway leading to their current location. They were sincerely considering abandoning this journey and returning to the empire to deal with their problems, luckily Kalos detected their life force and instantly warped into the domain to meet them. After explaining their predicament, they could only gather their prepare their attacks and launch it through the passageway and have Kalos warp it to their respective enemies, making it look like they were actually present. The poured their aura out and covered the battlefield to grant their subordinates the mental support they need to win the battle. That was the least they could do for these people. After Kalos explained why he and Aldora could not leave the sect and Derik realized they lost so many members due to his mistake, he was enraged and ashamed at the same time. ...........................¡­.. Present Day....... Roar! Boom! Francis roared in defiance as he reached for the massive aura construct with his bare hands, stopping the weapons descent with his brute strength. His eyes let out a green flash as numerous vines shot out of the ground and quickly sped towards the aura construct, binding the weapon. "Too arrogant old man!" Fernandos'' voice was void of any form of emotion as he swiped his weapon and the aura weapon moved as well, shattering its restraints in a sing move. "You are a relic of the past, Francis¡­ You should just disappear!" Fernanods'' voice was filled with enough venom to kill ten men. "Holy prayer: Seven steps to salvation!" With a loud roar, Fernandos'' weapon and the aura weapon was shrouded in a thick layer of golden aura. "First step!" Fernandos'' figure blurred, reappearing meters behind Francis. His sudden outburst of speed stunned the injured nature mage and before he could react, his lower half had already been severed from the upper half. "Don''t get cocky brat!!!" Fernandos eyes turned black and his pupils green. Black veins popped up around his eyes and all over his body as vines protruded from his body reaching for the lower half of his body and reattaching it in just an instant. "I am nature¡­ I am the strongest force in this world! A mere light paladin cannot kill me, even if I''m on my death bed!" Francis roared in a crazed manner. Fernandos was not fazed by the sudden transformation. He could tell Francis aura was rising fast but it didn''t bother him even one bit. Francis''s condition was already critical after dealing with Cyrus attack, to temporarily boost his power means he''s exchanging something for power, either way, he is indirectly killing himself for a short outburst of strength. "Second step!" Fernandos spoke calmly once again. He grabbed the hilt of his magic sword and pushed it down, stabbing the empty space below him. In response, his aura weapon appeared above Francis and descended on him like a thousand-year-old mountain. It was like a mountain falling on a man of average height. Roar! Francis let out an inhuman cry as he reached for the skies and his fingers turned gray and stretched like the roots of a tree, increasing in size until they were huge enough to bind the massive aura sword. "Third step! Shatter!" Fernandos'' cold voice snapped Francis out of his frenzy. He noticed the young paladin was just a few meters away from him, wielding his magic weapon with both hands. In response, Francis''s mouth yanked open abruptly and a green vine shot out at an insane speed, not giving Fernandos the chance to escape properly. Fernandos quickly drifted to the side but he was a tad too slow, letting the green vine penetrate his shoulder. "Grrrr!" Fernandos fought the urge to cry out in pain and quickly used the sword to cut the vine, returning his attention to Francis''s gray hands. "This is the part where you fall!" Fernandos spat out those words disdainfully as he brandished his sword at the empty space, creating neat golden lines with each swipe. His movements looked slow but it was too fast for Francis to counter. He could only watch the gray roots restraining the aura weapon get sliced to tiny pieces. "Now¡­ Fall!" Fernandos'' breathing was slightly laborious and his eyes showed no emotions while he watched the massive aura weapon, fall upon Francis like a mountain, smashing him into the ground like a man''s feet crushing an ant! Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 294 Chapter 294 "Paaa!" Francis cried out in pain while spitting out a mouthful of black blood. His eyes dilated as his severed lower half tried to reconnect with the main body but the massive aura weapon was in the way, preventing him from healing. He didn''t need anyone to tell him what a mess he has become and even now he could still feel Cyrus'' life aura crippling his cultivation. He spurted out another mouthful of black blood, almost choking on it while he watched the angelic figure looking down on him with chilly cold eyes that could see the soul and a hint of disdain in his eyes. "Fourth step: Obliterate" Fernandos spoke those words slowly as he tried to adjust his aura and speed up the recovering of the deep injury in his right shoulder. Under his resounding voice and the expectant gazes of thousands of life mages and paladins. Bringing both palms at close proximity, a hexagram cube slowly too form as pure light aura amassed in between his palms. His eyes should no hatred, no love, no pain, all that he could think of at the moment is to deliver divine punishment on the heretic who stole the lives of hundreds and thousands of light mages and paladins. The power the hexagon cube contained kept rising as the size of the cube increased exponentially as well. At a certain point, Fernandos was forced to raise the energy cube above his head, lifting the building-sized golden hexagon cube "Fadeaway, for eternity¡­ Nature mage" His usual indifferent face showed hints of ridicule for the first time. With a light push, he released the massive cube of energy upon the nature mage, hoping to blast him into the afterlife. ................ Swoosh! Diana''s fighting prowess kept rising as time passes on and she could easily parry attacks from enemies with greater physical attributes like Scott in his werewolf form and Gerald in his fire salamander form. Her body drifted from side to side like it was been pulled by an external force as she kept dodging the barrages of blue aura arcs sent by Gin. At this point, Gin''s face was slightly pale as he used his left hand to press against his bloody chest to stop the bleeding while sending numerous arcs of blue aura with his magic sword. Since his magic armor was punctured by Diana''s rod from her counter attack, he couldn''t directly draw mana from his surrounding and could only use his own mana. Wack! The moment Diana arrived she brandished her silver staff against him, going for a high blow which was easily blocked by Gin with his magic sword, but then with her hands at the center of the silver staff, she quickly adjusted her attack, redirecting the power of her attack to the other end of the staff, successfully striking Gin on the face. Forced to stumble back the attack, Gin was not given the time to recover as another barrage of attacks rained down on him, forcing him into a passive situation. If he didn''t get hurt before she approached him, Gin would have easily suppressed her with his greater combat experience but at this point, he has lost too much blood and his vision was blurred. He could barely see the silver staff and blocked only based on instincts, yet he could still fight her to a standstill. "Fuck me sideways!" Gin cursed as he abruptly took a few steps back to evade a staff that barely brushed across his flat nose, before launching series of sword strikes at Diana who retaliated by blocking most of them and dodging the rest. As the battle continued, Diana''s silver staff glowed brighter as she amassed more power and stored them in the staff. She quickly evaded Gin''s strike by dashing to the left, before launching a counter by releasing an arc of silver aura to consume the mage from the enchantment class. There was little Gin could do in response, other than casting the fastest body strengthening spells he could before catching the silver arc with his bare hands while amassing aura in his magic weapon for a counter-attack. "Na?ve bitch! It''s a thousand years too early for you to face me!" Just like Gin predicted, while he struggled with the arc of silver aura and endured the burning sensation creeping through his right hand, Diana chose to take advantage of the situation and launch another attack from behind, only to meet Gin''s full-powered aura blast at point-blank range, sending her flying meters away violently. Bang! There was little Gin could do against Diana''s silver aura attack and was blown out of the skies after he sent Diana flying. He could only smile and feel satisfied that he was able to throw a punch before going down but apparently, Diana was not thrilled by the fact that she was bested by a silver realm none magical class member and quickly chased after Gin''s free-falling body as soon as she recovered, hoping to obliterate him once and for all. "Stay away from him!" Masons enraged voice echoed in her ears as a gust of wind violently knocked her away from Gin. The green-haired youth appeared meters away with multiple wind green arrows floating around him and a green wind bow in his hands. His bright green hair fluttered in the wind as he pulled the invisible string and fired multiple wind arrows at Diana in quick succession. "Combat technique: Consecutive shots!" "Moon magic: mirror image!" Diana cried out while using the silver staff to tap the space in front of her. Successfully creating a mirror, numerous green arrows were released, colliding with Masons attacks and causing a powerful gust of wind to erupt between them. Swoosh! Mason spun to the left abruptly, evading a few silver rods which were hidden under Diana''s mirror images. "Do you think the same trick will work on me even after using it on my friends? You must be crazy to think you can fight me at equal footing¡­ I will show you the strength of those who fought side by side with the death mage for decades!" Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 295 Chapter 295 Masons eyes let out a green flash as strong gusts of wind pushed Diana towards his position "Gale domain: Wind thrall!" Before Diana could struggle, Mason was already standing right in front of her with several twisters and hurricanes surrounding both parties. She could only cause Derik''s death aura plus the injury she sustained from the bone spear for dulling her senses and limiting her reaction speed. If it weren''t for the inhumane physique and strength granted by the gold realm, she would have died a long time ago due to the hole on her chest. Diana tried to move but she couldn''t. it felt like her movements were restrained by some invisible force, even now it felt like her body was tied to a massive bolder which she had to pull along if she wishes to move forward. Soon countless hurricanes and twisters slammed against her from all sides, desperately trying to crush her but even then, that was not the main threat. Mason''s eyes kept letting out green flashes of light and each time he exhaled, gusts of wind erupted from his nostrils. A massive ancient wind bow double the size of an average height human decorated with numerous blue runes slowly took shape above his head and a mighty wind arrow was also materializing as well. "Gale domain: Arrow of the wind god!" "Its time you disappear from this world¡­ Hero of legend!" Mason hissed while the massive bow positioned itself well perfectly. "Hehehe¡­ A hero of legend dies at the hand of a silver realm archer? Never!" Diana snarled as silver aura slipped out of his body, scattering to various locations on the battlefield. Moon magic: Mirror world! Soon countless gusts of wind appeared and soon surrounded Mason, slamming against him violently. At the same time, a giant replica of the wind god bow appeared above Diana''s head, preparing to fire. Unlike Diana who had a powerful physique, Mason was still a silver realm expert with a body only slightly stronger than that of a normal human. In mere seconds he was reduced to a bloody mess, and it wasn''t for the wind barrier he set around himself he would have been dead already. No matter how much he struggled and attempted to take control of the wind, Diana''s mirror image conjured, he couldn''t. it was as if it was absent but also present as well. A sinister smile bloomed on his bloodied face as the wind god''s bow was completed, ready to fire just like Diana''s. "Hehehe! Let''s die together!" Mason''s eyes bore no fear, just determination to end Diana here and now. ..................¡­.. While healing Gin and Daemon who was gravely injured in battle, Selena heard Mason''s word and was startled. She was the last person to join their team as the oracle after Cyrus left the team and created his sect alongside Derik. Since then she stuck close to Mason who was from a noble family, played her cards right, and got married to him. Back then she only tried to woo Mason because he was from a noble family and she was just a commoner but after they bore a daughter, the green-haired gust in Blink''s team, feelings began developing and for an unknown reason she just couldn''t bear watch Mason suffer. Hearing Mason speak such words caught her attention and only then did she see the crazed look on Mason''s face, she could tell he was severely hurt by Diana''s attack as well. Should he chose to release the wind god''s arrow, Diana''s mirror world will do the same and it will only result in his untimely demise while Diana will be crippled at most. For the first time, she felt so useless not being able to fight by his side For the first time, she regretted joining the oracle class ........................ "Is this how you really wanna go down this way?" Diana was reluctant to continue. Even though she was sure she would survive the attack, she will most likely be crippled by this attack, leaving her at the mercy of anyone who chooses to end her life. That alone was enough to scare the moon cosmic spirit host but Mason didn''t seem to be fazed by her words at all. Instead, his aura kept increasing and the power of his wind god bow kept rising as well, it was obvious he was trying to make sure she dies from this final attack. "Think about it¡­ Think about your family, Think about Gust¡­. What a nice name" Diana panicked and started spurting out anything that popped up in her mind. Death was not something she wished for. "Her name is not Gust¡­ its some crazy name she came up with and I''m damn sure my daughter would be proud to know her father killed a gold realm master¡­ One of the legendary three heroes of legend¡­ Enough stalling, Die!" Mason laughed and his aura exploded violently. At the very last moment, three figures smashed through the wind hurricanes and a powerful right fist smashed into Mason from the side, sending him crashing into a two-meter deep crater created from the impact. "As reckless as always¡­ he would have made an amazing dark mage" Kira sighed staring at Mason''s unconscious body. Kira was currently topless and the dark circles under his eyes showed how exhausted he was but his blood-red eyes were saying something different. "Yep¡­ His heart is in the right place¡­ He would have made an excellent pupil¡­" Kin nodded in response. At the moment, he was too weak to maintain the black clouds around him so his body was revealed. He wore a spotless black mage robe and his physique seemed lanky. His skin was slightly purple in color but his eyes were filled with darkness, void of any form of light. "Guys¡­ I think you will find this discovery more interesting" Kuen''s voice drew their attention to the weakened moon cosmic spirit host crawling out of a two-meter deep crater. Diana''s hand was placed around her waist, exactly the spot where Kira struck Mason! Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 296 Chapter 296 "Well, well... I guess our luck hasn''t completely run out" Kira was also excited by the stunning discovery. They have been observing the battles taking place for a while and all that time, they have been looking for a loophole in this godlike spell of Diana, but they found nothing. Who would have they would stumble upon the answer by beating up a comrade? Back then they always wondered why Diana didn''t use such techniques on Derik and Cyrus in the past but now they understood why. As much as Derik and Cyrus become ferocious beasts in battle, destroying everything in their path, they are also smart and watch out for openings and loopholes. Should they find one as flawed as this, Kira was sure Derik or Cyrus will not hesitate to bath themselves with barrages of deadly attacks just to kill her. The tendency to launch suicidal attacks was just like a second nature to them and its probably rubbing off on Mason too. "Let''s kill her now and get this over with" Kuen wore an impatient expression on his face while he watched Diana ascend to the skies again. Gazing at them with murderous intentions. Kuen was dressed in a red mage robe filled with countless holes and bloody wounds. Whenever Kira and Kin shot him a glance, they would always feel pity for him, since he was the one who suffered the most in the previous battle. Battling against a paladin is considered hell but Kuen took on three all at once who used their life force to enhance their strength just to kill the cosmic spirit host. His blood-red hair fluttered in the wind wildly and on his slightly pale face were weak looking eyes which had dark circles under them, making it look like he hasn''t slept for ages. "Yo¡­ Selena¡­ do patch Mason up real good¡­ I think I hurt him pretty bad" Kira waved his hand and released a small bloodstream that dragged the unconscious Mason towards Selena. "Bastard! You shouldn''t have hit him so hard!" Selena was outraged the moment she released her spell and realized how many internal injuries Mason sustained from Kira''s powerful blow. "Bitch, just shut the fuck up¡­ You all had just one job and you couldn''t succeed¡­ useless" Kira''s cold gaze drifted from Selena to Gerald who had reverted to his human form. Kira watched the young fire mage struggle to get on his feet but he didn''t feel pity or hate either. Gerald had just broken into the gold realm, his foundations are not solid like those who possess guardian spirits and cosmic spirits. Kira was aware the Fire mage was yet to have a deep understanding of his own abilities so he didn''t really find it shocking when he was defeated by Diana. Bang! Bang! Bang! "First you interfere with my activities, now you ignore me? Mere silver realm mages! You all have become so arrogant because of your master! I will send you all to the underworld right now!" Diana roared as three massive circular gray rocks descended from the skies. Moon magic: Three worlds collide! The three false moons made Kira, Kuen and Kin look like ants and an invisible force prevented them from leaving the space. "Cute¡­" Kira grinned wildly revealing his fangs as his eyes let out a bright red glow and a red mist diffused from his body while he spoke. "What a hassle¡­ Why struggle when death is already by the corner?" A thick layer of dark clouds diffused from Kin''s body, shrouding his figure. "What closely, big brother¡­ Let me show you how things are done here" Kuen winked at Gerald as an invisible force exploded from his body and surged to one of the three gray moons. Since the spell prevents them from leaving the center, their only option was to destroy the gray moons before they get crushed. At that moment, Diana felt an invisible force bearing down like her. If felt like a mountain was dumped on her back, pushing her to the ground. She shot Kuen a hateful glare only to meet a mocking smile on his pale face. "You!" Enraged, Diana released a massive amount of aura to tackle the invisible force. Meanwhile, Kuen''s actions weren''t actually aimed at suppressing Diana, nevertheless, they were pleased to see he was actually doing that. The plan was to distract her and buy Kira and Kin enough time to complete their spells. "You lost girl! Blood magic: Blood sea!" Kira roared and the red most that had spread all over the place took gathered, forming a sea of blood surrounding the three mages. Darkness Magic: Darkness decent! Kin''s voice was weak but the power behind his was just as powerful as that of Kira. Barely a second later the clouds above their heads gathered and turned black and suddenly collapsed with a loud bang. "Unison spell: Raging black blood sea!" Both men clasped their hands together and screamed. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, the thick black clouds fell into the blood sea, mixing with it perfectly. With the black sea covering their location and thanks to Kin''s darkness magic, the location of the three mages was unknown. Before Diana could recover from the shock, the black sea dispersed, attacking the three gray moons on three fronts, revealing that Kira, Kuen, and Kin were no longer at the center of the formation. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, the black blood sea slowly consumed the three gray moons, wrapping around it until nothing could be seen. "Don''t get cocky!" Diana''s eyes let out a silver light and a tiny with orb appeared at the center of the three gray moons and a powerful suction force began pulling back the black sea to the center. "Don''t think about escaping so easily!" Diana hissed as she empowered her three gray moons, channeling her power through the three moons and releasing a powerful shockwave that pushed the black sea back to the center of the formation. "Arrrgh!" Within the black sea, Kin cried out and fell on Kira''s shoulders for support. "This¡­" He muttered with a dejected expression on his face. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 297 Chapter 297 "We are lacking mana¡­ dang it!" Kira was as pale as a ghost. Both men would have been crushed to death by the silver gravitational core placed at the center of the formation if it wasn''t for Kuen who was using his gravity magic to limit the power of the silver core. Just like the others, he wore a dejected expression on his face but he couldn''t speak or dare lose concentration at a critical moment like this. [she shouldn''t have this much power left¡­ that''s why we jumped in¡­ Did we overestimate ourselves or just underestimate the strength of the gold realm masters? If only we weren''t this worn out¡­ this battle would have been over faster than it started!] Kuen cursed in his mind. Meanwhile¡­. Diana stared at the black blood sea which took the shape of a sphere with keen interest. The fact that the magic was yet to dispel meant the casters of the magnificent spell were still alive. "Kuen!" she hissed disdainfully. Without anyone telling her, she knew the only one capable of challenging her silver core is someone with powerful control over gravitational magic. "Struggle no more! Just accept your fate!" Diana roared and a fourth gray moon slightly bigger than the others appeared above the other three which had already surrounded the black blood sea "Moon magic: Fourth world crash!" Diana cried as she watched the fourth gray moon descend slowly. The fourth moon soon appeared above the other three and the black blood sea which was still trying to resist, crashing into them violently. Pfft! Kuen spat out a mouthful of blood but he didn''t let go of the silver core threatening to crush them faster than the four gray moons. ...............¡­. Diana was about to end it but it was then the bright golden light blazing from afar caught her attention, forcing her to check on Francis''s situation, only to be stunned by her discovering. From a few kilometers away she could see the massive golden sword dug deep into the ground and only the green vines slowly wrapping against it made her realize Francis was pinned. Her eyes soon shifted to the winged, majestic-looking being standing on the hilt of the golden aura sword with a massive hexagon cube made of pure energy, floating above his head. He was whispering something that Diana couldn''t understand but his rising aura was enough to tell Diana he was going for a finishing move. [How did I not notice? I was so absorbed in my own battle that I didn''t notice what''s happening around me! If those light mages kill Francis I''ll be next¡­ I need to wrap this up and help him out!] Diana suddenly realized how bad her situation is. "I would have loved toy with you all a bit longer but I don''t have much time left! Moon magic: four-way moon formation seal!" With a loud explosion, the four gray moons crashed into each other with great force, trying to destroy the black blood sea and crush all those within it. .................. "You dare lay your hands on my most trusted subordinates? I will be sending you over to the underworld now! Aldora, go!" Derik''s voice echoed once again and his aura spread forth like a plague once again. Suddenly a golden beam of light shot out from the mountain ranges shooting past Diana who was fast enough to evade only to realize the mistake she made. She returned her attention to the moon formation seal she set up and saw the round, big-bellied midget, observing the formation with a bright smile on his face like a child who was given a candy bar. "These are interesting techniques you gat here¡­ You have gotten bold¡­ But you heard the boss¡­ You have to go" Aldora wore a friendly smile on his face and simply slapped the air. Immediately a massive golden palm appeared beside Diana, sending her flying with a powerful slap even before she could resist. His face showed no joy in his actions as he turned his attention to the moon formation seal. While Diana would have been a monster to these silver realm elites and even the new gold realm fire mage. Gerald. For someone like Aldora who was a bonafide gold realm master in his past life, in her weakened state Diana was like a powerless human to him, unable to hurt a hair on his head. Supreme deity path: Divine severing palms of the great buddha! A faint image of a mountain-sized buddha appeared behind him before striking forward with over ten gigantic palms. Aldora got more fascinated with the formation the more his buddha palms collided with it, to the extent he began doubting if he had to power to shatter it if Diana was at full power. The realization that the elf cosmic spirit host could be more powerful than him, if they are forced to battle on equal terms disturbed him greatly but he quickly pushed the thoughts away. Even though he has become an undead and only powerful light mages can threaten his life, she was quite sure this sealing formation will be able to trap him for eternity. "Break!" Aldora roared and prepared to land a decisive blow on the moon sealing formation but then a beam of silver light shot from afar, towards his direction. Moon magic: Moonlight! "Annoying!" Aldora grunted as he slapped away the beam of silver light which was twice his size, only to realize Diana was already above him and had fired another beam of silver light. "Even with the master''s aura, destroying your cultivation from within, you are able to showcase this much power? I''m truly impressed!" A vicious grin appeared on Aldora''s face as he reached or the skies and blocked the beam with an open palm, not bothering to take any defensive measures. "Serving under the death mage for too long as made you as reckless and dumb as those three!" Diana''s voice range in his little elf-like ears as her figure appeared right in front of Aldora whose chest was exposed. In her hand was a silver rod that was shrouded in a thick layer of her aura as she struck at Aldora''s exposed chest ruthlessly. "Am I ?" Aldora replied with a sinister grin on his face. Peng! Right before her eyes, the silver rod shattered into a thousand pieces, not leaving even a single scratch on Aldora''s chubby body. Please go to to read the latest chapters for free 298 Chapter 298 "How?" Diana was stunned, staring at Aldora in disbelief. "You are the one who has grown cocky from fighting these kids¡­ Just a few moments ago, I have been slapping your attacks away and you actually thought you would be able to hurt me with that little staff? Impudent child" Aldora''s voice struck Diana like lighting and she watched the chubby midget create a massive golden hand above her head, planning to slap her away like before. But this time she didn''t run. Francis has been defeated, she can only take this hit and let it send her as far as possible before slipping away while Aldora is focused on cracking her formation. [There is no reason to remain here] she thought, preparing to take the hit. But then¡­ Boom! Black blood sea surged forward, instantly destroying the gray moon right beside them. At that moment Diana realized how bad a mistake she made by staying next to her own moon formation seal. While Aldora remained unfazed by the sudden development, Diana tried to escape but a powerful pale-colored hand shot out from the black blood sea, grabbing Diana by the face. "Thank you, old man¡­ If you didn''t weaken the formation earlier we would have never been able to escape and deal with this bitch ourselves" Kira''s cold and detached voice echoed all around the area but his voice also carried hints of weakness. Before Diana could even put up any resistance she realized she was already surrounded by three men who looked ghostly pale and extremely exhausted. For some reason, her body had lost all the strength in it and she felt helpless against these three and could only stare at their cold eyes, waiting for their judgment. She acknowledged the fact that she got herself into this situation due to her carelessness! If she didn''t try to fight Aldora at close quarters, this would have never happened or if she just paid attention to her surroundings and the moon formation seal, she would have been caught like this. "What now? If you all kill Francis and I, who will defend the continent when the orcs return? Do you think you can do that?" Diana decided to try and convince these people not to take her life. If she could understand how Kira is able to place invisible bounds on her, she may be able to escape "Die" Kira literarily spat out those words, not giving others a second to consider her words. His grip on her face slightly tightened and the next moment countless wounds appeared all over her body and her blood gushed out from those points, including her eyes, nostrils, and mouth. Kira watched the bloodied Diana free fall to the ground without any resistance, the hatred and disdain in his eyes were enough to even spook the gods. "She had a point though¡­ If the orcs attack again before Derik and Cyrus return, we will be two gold realm masters short" Aldora chuckled. "Well¡­ I suggest we properly deal with our enemies¡­ If you think that little blood manipulation trick you used is enough to kill a gold realm master, then you are more na?ve than every other person I have met¡­ she lives" Aldora''s eyes let out a golden flash and a mighty golden spear began to form above his head. ............................ At this moment, the golden hexagon was completely charged, the size of a two-story building. The massive ball of energy floating above Fernandos head began descending slowly, its target was the pale man in tattered green mage robes and dark green eyes. Francis'' heart skipped a beat and he finally realized why the world always succeeded in killing the hosts of the guardian spirits in the past even though they were clearly weaker. "Greater numbers are really terrifying¡­ Derik and Cyrus understood this and created their own personal forces¡­ Now I understand it all" Francis sighed and shut his eyes waiting for death to steal him away very soon. "I suggest we end here today!" A cold indifferent voice shook the skies which turned orange and the temperature of the kingdom rose to higher levels. A massive flaming ball emerged from the red skies, directly smashing into the hexagon energy ball, causing it to explode prematurely. Since Fernandos was the closest to it, he was caught in the explosion and was severely injured. Boom! At the same time, an enormous wave of flames flew forward and consumed Aldora, and his mighty golden spear the next moment. Flash! It all happened too fast for anyone to react and the next moment a red-scaled lizardman was seen standing slightly above them with Francis and Diana in his hands. His eyes showed no hate or love, just indifference but his aura was so powerful that images of Derik and Cyrus appeared in the minds of everyone present. Ahika shot everyone a glance, before turning his attention to the mountain ranges ahead and slightly nodded. "I can''t let these two die here¡­ we still have need of them" Ahika''s voice was clearly like that of a master merely telling a servant his intentions for formality sakes. "You dare interfere with my war? You damn lizard! How do you wish to die" Cyrus roared. "Die? None of you can harm me¡­ I cannot be killed by you or Derik" Ahika voice was calm but it moved the hearts of everyone present. No matter how they wished to refute his words and shove it down his throat, they couldn''t deny his claim. Ahika has always been considered Derik and Cyrus equal, and he is the only one except for Cyrus who successfully defeated Derik in free and fair combat. The only reason Derik and Cyrus were always able to suppress him was simply due to their crazy cultivation speed which has always given them an edge against everyone. But this time, it''s different! 299 Chapter 299 At the mid-grade of the gold realm Ahika''s aura seemed more chaotic than ever. Just by standing there, everyone present found it hard and kept sweating profusely, even the light mage Agus was slightly terrified while Kira, Kuen, and Kin wore a dejected expression on their faces, silently asking the gods why their luck is rotten. "You chose to side with our enemies¡­ is that it, Ahika?" Since Cyrus stopped speaking due to shock, Derik covered for him. "I have chosen no sides, that''s why I didn''t interfere with the war¡­ I didn''t stop your commanders from taking Creed or Isabel''s life¡­ neither did I stop them from slaying over three hundred thousand people¡­. I just came here because I believe these two are more useful to the empire alive¡­. Do you understand?" Ahika explained slowly. "I will rather have them join my army of the dead that let them live¡­" Derik''s voice turned cold. "And then what? Let them remain stagnant just like your other gold realm undead? If the bishop Aldora were still alive by now¡­ He would have advanced to the mid-grade of the gold realm by now and probably gone midway in the realm¡­ Don''t you understand Derik? Your necromancy ability is not a gift but a curse¡­ It stunts growth¡­ I won''t let that happen to these two, especially since their potential and growth rate is exceptionally high¡­ You are not allowed to touch a hair on their head" Ahika sneered. "I won''t have you stand in my way either¡­ Shadow lurker, Aldora, Kalos¡­ Take him down¡­ Kill Francis and Diana!" Derik roared before his voice completely faded alongside his presence. ................... That was the last order he could give before the passageway they created crumbled, leaving the three gold realm masters in a terrible condition. They were ghostly pale and they seemed to have lost some weight. "I hope you are okay with our decision to end Francis and Diana" Derik shot Kaido a glance, wondering what was on the kid''s mind. Kaido and Diana have always had a long history together and are considered good friends. They have known each other since they were created by the various cosmic spirits and bound together by their creators. Even though Kaido was silent throughout the event, Derik could feel his negative emotions, pain, and anguish. Unfortunately, the other two weren''t so lucky. Derik and Cyrus would require to absorb the life force of living beings if they wish to recover so fast and the only beasts they have come across have always been gold realm level masters. "I knew while I''m away, you all will definitely do something stupid" Demos figure appeared beside the dummy version meant to lead Derik and the rest for the mystical land. From the look on his face, they could tell Demos was infuriated by their actions and they really didn''t know how to face him or explain their actions. It couldn''t be helped, the people who believed in were in trouble so they chose to lend them a hand. At that moment, keeping their sect members alive was not something they regretted doing. "It was necessary¡­" Cyrus spoke up first. "We had to do it¡­ We had to keep them safe" Derik added. "Hehehe¡­ you are standing above the endless seas, filled with gold realm monsters and above¡­ with zero checkpoints where you can rest and replenish your concentration and you chose to all your energy on opening a new gate to your domain just to help a bunch of silver realm warriors and mages in their little struggle?" Demos cold voice made them feel insecure. "Those silver realm mages and warriors are our people¡­. We brought them under our wings and trained them¡­ we have led them to the right path, our path for a while now and we have a place in their hearts¡­ we can''t abandon them at the time of their need! We just can''t" Cyrus roared in defiance. "He is right¡­ we are their god, saviors, and the ones they look up to¡­ what kind of people will we become if we can''t keep them safe at a time like this¡­. They are only suffering this much because we made so many enemies¡­ the empire wants to bring them down because of us¡­ we can''t have that¡­ I won''t have that¡­ even if I can turn back the hands of time¡­ I definitely will do the same thing again" Derik took a step forward as he spoke. Clap! Clap!! Clap!!! "Good¡­ very good¡­ You all want to play god? then I will have you understand why the role of a god is more of a burden than a gift¡­. Have you ever asked yourselves why gods let calamity happen and watch their creations get slaughtered, yet they don''t lift a finger¡­ Do you think its because they don''t care? They are just saving their strength for greater calamities to come¡­. Don''t be delusional boys! There are some things that must be ignored¡­ for every action, there must be a reaction¡­ You may have saved your people but what about yourselves¡­ do you have the strength to continue this journey¡­. You claim to have done this to save your people but all I can see are the saviors of this world choosing to save a few and abandoning the rest! Sometimes you have to let the few die to save the many" Demos rebuked. 300 Chapter 300 "What do you mean by that? What''s the use of having this power if we can''t protect those we love? And what if we refuse to let the few die just to save the many? Only weak gods are forced to make such nasty choices¡­ We! We are not weak¡­ we will complete this journey" Derik said with a confident smile on his face. With Kaido drawing power from the sun to replenish his lost energy, after a day he should be strong enough to protect them from the beasts of the sky while he and Cyrus recover their own strength. At least that''s what he thought. "Hehehe! You are not that kind of god? do not forget you are just at the mid-grade of the sun realm, you cannot even raise a candle against guardian spirits, not to talk of true gods and cosmic spirits, it is still too early to get cocky, but since you choose to do things this way, I will not interfere in the activities of supreme beings like yourselves" Demos shot them a vicious smile and vanished. Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido were not left to wonder the meaning behind his words for too long as a loud bird cry shook the skies. Soon a whole horde of wing race beasts large enough to cover the skies swarmed towards them in great numbers. "Can we win?" Kaido''s mind went numb due to fear and he instinctively glided backward. "What the hell, if we were at full power we will never be able to deal with this number of enemies¡­ This is just too much" Cyrus spat out his thoughts as he experienced fear for the first time in a long while. "Run¡­ Just run!" Derik cried out before turning into a beam of light alongside the other two gold realm masters, vanishing the next instant. ............................ A ten-meter long serpent-like beast with thick green scales shot out from the mountain ranges, flying directly at Ahika with its blazing green eyes shining bright. But before the beast could reach its target a spatial gate appeared behind Ahika and a fist brimming with mana shot out abruptly, striking at his head. "GET BACK!" Ahika growled as he unleashed his terrifying flame aura, forcing Kalos to retreat. Before he could speak any further, a golden light appeared above the lizard man and a sacred golden buddha figure the size of a small mountain appeared as well, throwing an open palm at the airborne lizard man, alongside the Diana and Francis who were still unconscious with the intentions of squashing them all at once. "You dare!" Ahika roared in anger. His aura spiked as he drew power from his rage path, exchanging his rage for power. He promptly let go of Francis and Diana, using his tail to wrap around them, preventing them from falling to far. With his hand raised, he summoned his blazing fire trident and with a loud explosion, a sea of flame poured out, shattering the golden palm after a second of resistance. He took a deep breath before throwing rapid punches towards the empty air and in response, the hundred palmed buddha launched a barrage of relentless powerful palm attacks. In response, Ahika roared like a crazed beast and released an even greater wave of fire consuming the entire buddha as well. Puti! Kira spat out a mouthful of blood when he was struck by a powerful shockwave caused by Aldora''s attacks. His eyes looked sunken and he looked extremely weak, but no one had to tell him what to do next. Kira alongside every other silver realm level fighters and mages instantly fleed the scene, dragging the reluctant Fernandos with them too. At their current level, they knew they are not capable of spectating the battle between gold realm masters, so they decided to do the next best thing. The members of the death palace and life palace soon joined hands to evacuate the civilians in the Gyro city which was nearest to the battlefield. While this took place, numerous defensive formations were set up and empowered by thousands of light mages to help reduce the damages that could be caused by the battle while Kira and the other top-ranking members of both sects, began hunting down all those who took part in this conspiracy. Numerous noble families were slaughtered and properties worth thousands of gold coins were destroyed. They didn''t have to worry about their lack of mana since their targets were usually humans or elves with little or no cultivation level. They could easily kill them off with the flick of a finger. Meanwhile¡­ Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! After barrages of attacks, Ahika was buried underground while hundreds of gigantic buddha palms slammed into him mercilessly. The lizardman was frustrated not because he was been suppressed but because he was actually stronger than his oppressor. If it weren''t for the fact that he was trying to keep Francis and Diana alive, he would have easily powered through this barrage of attacks and put an end to this undead commander. "Thanks" Francis''s voice reached his ears, giving the frustrated lizard hope. At the moment, he was on his knees, within a fire barrier created by his fire trident, while Francis and Diana were laying on the ground right next to him. Francis looked pale and his green hair had turned gray as a result of whatever method he used to boost his strength and suppress Cyrus aura when he fought Fernandos. His eyes were sunken and he had dark circles below his eyes coupled with dry lips and wrinkles all over his skin. At this moment, he aura was weaker than that of even silver realm fighters, it looked like he had aged greatly after the battle. "They sure did a number on you¡­ I asked you not to get involved in this mess the nobles cooked up¡­ How did it turn out for you?" Ahika voice oozed of sarcasm but his facial expression remained indifferent while he spoke. 301 Chapter 301 "As you can see, it didn''t end well, just like you predicted... who knew the death mage and the life mage will be able to interfere even when they are so far away¡­ Curse them!" Francis gritted his teeth in anger and curled his fists but there was nothing more he could do. His eyes looked old and displayed his weakness. "You and Diana will need some time to recover¡­ Draw power from your elements and regain your lost strength¡­ burning your life force just to retain fifty percent of your strength in battle was a foolish move but it was the only move you all could make so I don''t really blame you¡­ You will have to stay under the radar, else these battle-hungry undead commanders will end you" Ahika said with a hint of impatience in his tone. Francis threw Diana a look and realized her hair had turned gray as well and she seemed to have aged greatly. The majestic moon power which always hovered around her was gone and she looked no different from a normal civilian with no powers at all. Francis bit his lower lips in anger but once again couldn''t do anything about it, the least he could do now is leave and let the fire guardian spirit host go all out against these undead commanders. "Throw a punch for us, old friend" Francis said as numerous green vines sprouted from his back and soon shot into the ground. He grabbed onto Diana and soon started phasing into the ground slowly, giving Ahika a slight nod while he left. "I ain''t throwing any punch for you, human¡­ I''m not doing this because I am pleased with your actions¡­ I am only doing this because the empire still needs you and the moon cosmic spirit host:" Ahika hissed while he watched them slowly merge with the ground. As soon as they vanished a crooked smile appeared on his face while he shot Kalos a meaningful glance. .......................... The fire sphere surrounding Ahika prevented them from seeing where the man was actually going on inside the sphere. Kalos couldn''t see through the blazing sphere but he wasn''t bothered since he could still sense the energy signature of the three gold realm mages, he simply watched Aldora relentlessly pummel the fire sphere deeper into the ground. "Where!" Suddenly Kalos'' eyes were brimming with mana when Francis and Diana''s energy signatures vanished. Even though their energy signatures were too weak due to their condition, there was no way they could succumb to their wounds and just die. "Gold realm masters don''t die that easily" Kalos hissed as he gathered silver mana in both hands preparing to shatter the earth beneath them until those within get caught in his attacks and die as well. Roar!!! At that moment the flame sphere exploded and a gigantic fire lizard emerged from it, throwing its massive golden trident at Kalos while he was preparing his attack. "Didn''t I tell you¡­ Those two are under my protection, no one is allowed to harm them!" Ahika roared as he threw a punch at the massive buddha above. Boom! The buddha was sent flying from the hit while Ahika was forced to retreat by a few steps. Spreading fire wherever his gigantic feets touched. Soon the whole battlefield was set ablaze. Hiss! The shadow lurker hissed and lunged forward at a terrifying speed which only permitted Ahika to see blurs. Roar! Ahiak''s mouth yanked open and he spat out torrents of flames but the shadow lurker easily evaded this attack, circling the gigantic fire lizard. Ahika''s rage path coupled with his growth path, allowed him to become a gigantic flaming demon with destructive capabilities that makes Derik and Cyrus look like weaklings. In reality, if he were to fight any of the two while at the same realm and level, there is a higher possibility that Ahika would come out victorious but in the end all massive creatures like this lack the same thing. Speed. The shadow lurker kept circling the gigantic fire lizard, easily escaping his attacks even though its attacks had a large range due to his size but the difference in speed was much. "You are the greatest opponent, I have fought but for my master''s sake¡­ You must be removed here" The shadow lurker''s voice was filled with venom and disdain. Ahika wanted to refute this beasts words but when the shadow lurker suddenly increased in size rapidly, the fire lizard was left astonished for a few seconds, giving the shadow lurker enough time to reach him. Bang! The shadow lurkers green claws struck Ahika''s red scales and bounced off, leaving the shadow lurker astonished too. "Die!" Ahika took a step back and swiped its massive tail at the shadow lurker, which shot into the air like a spring. Its eyes let out a green blow as a green beam escaped its eyes but Ahika was quick enough to use its eyes to shield its eyes, preventing the demonic beast from blinding him. With the giant lizard covering its eyes with its hands, the shadow lurker took the opportunity to wrap its snake like body around Ahika, attempting to crush him. "A mere demon beast dares attack me! You are courting death!" Ahika was enraged and he promptly released an outburst of flame, forcing the shadow lurker to loosen its grip and scream in pain. "Vanish from this world!" Ahika roared as scorching red flames gathered in its mouth, threatening to burst out. "I will not be defeated by a mere lizard!" The shadow lurker roared in anger as its green eyes lit up and green flames gathered in its mouth. Fire magic: Salamander Emperor Flames! Death magic: Underworld sky covering funeral flames! Both gigantic monsters released their different colored flames at close proximity, creating a powerful shockwave that sent shattered layers of defensive formations set all over the battlefield. 302 Chapter 302 Chilly green and scorching red flames surged from the mouths of the two beasts, clashing at close proximity, creating a powerful shockwave strong enough to blow Kalos and Aldora away, preventing them from approaching the two beasts. The defensive formations set up around the Gyro kingdom were instantly shattered and a good number of buildings were flattened in just a few seconds. Booom! The explosion created by the attack instantly blew away both beasts, sending them flying thousands of meters away from each other. At this point, Kalos and Aldora could only pick themselves up and watch from a safe distance while drowning in despair. Even though their undead body granted them immortality and an almost indestructible, it also prevented them from cultivating and improving their strengths. Even if they chose to improve, they would need Derik to sacrifice tens of thousands of high-level souls of silver realm warriors just to push them to a higher level and even then the increase in strength will be too small when compared to the price that was paid for this increase. But the thought of seeing younglings like the shadow lurker and Ahika surpass them troubled them greatly. For the first time since their death and reincarnation, they almost regretted what they have become but this feeling was instantly washed away by an invisible force, depriving them of their true feelings and robbing them of their freedom. Bang! Bang! The shadow lurker quickly lunged forward like a spring the moment it struck the ground. In response, Ahika summoned the fire trident in his raised hand before striking down at the shadow lurker, mercilessly coating his weapon with a thick layer of scorching flames. But to his greatest surprise, the shadow lurker was seen through his actions, promptly slamming the ground with his hand to push its massive body to the side. "Bastard!" Ahika cursed his bad luck as he retreated. The shadow lurker somehow managed to increase its body size making mighty trees look like shrubs, yet its movement and reaction speed were not reduced by its size. Bam! Bam! Bam! With each ball of flame sent at it, the shadow lurker was swift to change its location and quick to charge at Ahika, swiping its massive claws at him. Under the constant assault, Ahika was forced into a passive condition, rely on defensive spells to keep himself from harm, giving Kalos and Aldora enough time and chance to act. Xiu! The clouds were already covered by thick black smoke caused by Ahika''s fire yet a powerful golden light penetrated the cloud and a golden palm descended from the heavens to inflict divine pain. Disturbed by the powerful new aura, Ahika abruptly swiped his blazing tail at the shadow lurker, knocking the surprised demon beast meters away, and only then did he turn his attention to the golden fist descending from the heavens. With a powerful roar, he released a powerful torrent of flame that instantly consumed the golden palm. But before he could react a spatial gate appeared from the side and a golden palm shot out, slamming into him from the side. Crack! A loud bone-shattering sound could be heard as Ahika was blown forced to stumble for a while before regaining balance. He gritted his teeth and endured the pain, planning to counter-attack, only to meet the shadow lurker''s claws which was now shrouded in green chilly flames. Puff! Blood spurted out of the deep claw injury on his chest as his vision blurred and he fell to the ground on his back. He could feel the chilling green flames invading his body trying to destroy him from within while above him was the golden buddha with Aldora''s chubby face, a hundred arms, and an hourglass following him tightly. Its eyes were crimson red and its hands turned into a golden blur as it rained down on Ahika like arrows, repeatedly smashing into him. Buddha path: A thousand palms of pain Boom! Booom! Booom!! With each blow, the power the next one carried doubled until a 30-meter deep crater was formed and trees were leveled due to the shockwave of the attack. While Aldora released all the pain and anger he bottled up, Ahika was forced to endure the pain while trying to regain his focus amid the barrages of attacks. "ENOUGH!" Ahika roared Blazing fire magic: Blue flame of the creator! With a powerful explosion following closely behind, a powerful pillar of blue flames descended from the skies and completely engulfed the golden buddha and the blazing fire lizard. Enduring unimaginable pain, Aldora tried to retreat but his buddha body was swiftly restrained by Ahika''s powerful tail. At this point, the former bishop of the holy church began regretting the day he chose to make the buddha path his main path. Although undead puppets could not feel pain, Aldora''s path was an exception. It granted the priest the ability to summon the great buddha into this world, attaching its powerful core to his soul. Should the buddha take damage which is very unlikely since only very few people can summon such power, Alodra''s soul will suffer. Even though he has become undead and his soul has been tainted, it was still binding the buddha to him and now the buddha was facing off against an attack that could completely obliterate it, Aldora was bound to suffer greatly. "Bastard! Bastard lizard!!" Aldora gritted his teeth as it endured the pain. In such a critical condition, Aldora was excited. The ability to feel pain once again was like a dream come true a rare commodity. Instead of anger and anguish, he was overcome by excitement and unleashed another barrage of attacks on Ahika since he couldn''t escape Ahika''s death grip. "Very well then, let''s see who will remain standing and who will fall!" Ahika roared as the pillar of flames doubled in size and the gigantic lizard''s scales and eyes turned sky blue. it used its hands to shield its face while enduring the barrage of attacks sent at him, waiting for Aldora to succumb to the power of his blue flames! 303 Chapter 303 Gliding slightly above the surface of the endless seas, Derik looked over his shoulders with dilated eyes, desperately praying that his pursuers took the bait and got lost or maybe just got bored and dispersed, but that wasn''t the case. Chirp! Chirp!! Chirp!!! The horrifying sound reached their ears and the aura signature of these beasts kept approaching at an astonishing speed. In response, all three once again gathered what little power they had and created three more identical beams of light with a little part of their life force embedded into it to make it more realistic, sending it north of their direction, but this only caused a split second hesitation for their pursuers before they continued the chase. Soon a strange looking humanoid bird appeared into view with shiny golden talons and beaks. Its eyes were locked on Derik, Cyrus, and Kaido, while a smug look appeared on its face as it watched them flee desperately. With a loud cry, five more members of the birdmen tribe appeared, and then the number doubled, and then it tripled, it didn''t take long before Derik could easily count over a hundred with just a glance. These beasts her the figure of a man, some buff and macho while the others were slim but all had four limbs, with golden feathers covering their bodies and their blue eyes glittering under the sun they looked like heavenly creatures and in any other situation, they would have taken their time to admire these magnificent beasts but not today. "Damn it¡­ They literarily brought their whole clan" Cyrus gritted his teeth while silently cursing their bad luck. Not only were these beasts faster, making it possible for them to catch up to them easily. But their ability to see through replica''s, clones, diversions made them the perfect predators. "What god did we offend?" Kaido''s face turned pale when he saw how easily these beasts caught up to them even though they had a few seconds headstart. Derik and Cyrus would have been pleased in the past if they knew about these beasts and their role as guardians but at their current position, they really couldn''t care less about their past deeds and roles, they were only focused on surviving. Roar! Derik suddenly let out a loud roar as his eyes let out a bright red light. Almost instantly, his body began twisting and turning in various ways they shouldn''t. His body kept enlarging and his skin tore, letting his black blood gush out from the wounds but this wasn''t even the worse part. Bone breaking sounds echoed all over the endless seas, stopping both the birdmen, Cyrus and Kaido. They could only watch the transformation in horror and fear. This was the first time since Derik acquired the werewolf curse from Scott Lockwood that he dared performed a full transformation. This transformation is usually restricted to the alpha''s only and ever since Derik died at the hands of the Salvor family vampires and was then revived by Demos, his link to Scott''s pack was completely severed, granting him the title of a lone wolf. Lone wolves are only as strong as betas and usually weaker than alphas in a wolf pack but this didn''t matter to Derik since he always relied on his magic to defeat his opponents. After he created his own sect harbored hundreds and thousands of humans with supernatural powers, werewolves and vampires included, Derik rose from the status of lone wolf to alpha. In normal circumstances, Derik wouldn''t have bothered to use this ability and endure the pain of transformation but the situation was different now. With little or no mana, he could barely maintain his flight spell not to talk of use magic, meaning he could only rely on his physical strength. Since they couldn''t flee, its only natural for him to chose the next best thing. To Fight. After his transformation, Derik became a two-meter tall werewolf, standing on its hind legs with bright purple fur and glowing blood-red eyes. His claws were shrouded with death aura and his body oozed of death. "Since you wish to fight¡­ I''ll be your opponent" Derik''s eyes squinted as he spoke. With his immortal body, coupled with the werewolves terrifying physical capabilities, he was sure he would win, as long as he could endure the pain of being killed over and over again. "That won''t be a problem" Derik revealed a cruel smile, revealing his fangs. "Crazy bastard¡­ since we can''t flee, I might as well lend you a hand" Kaido let out a sigh when he understood Derik''s intentions. He quickly stored his shirt in his storage ring before taking a deep breath and gathering his energy. "The one path" He muttered as his body also grew in size and his muscles began bulging. A thick pillar of the sunray fell upon him and his power spiked creating a shockwave that blew Cyrus back but Derik remained unmoved by this power. He only shot Kaido a glance before smiling cruelly. 304 Chapter 304 Roar!!! Derik charged forward fearlessly, diving into the massive horde of flying creatures. His bright red eyes glowed fiercely as the death aura hovering over his claws thickened considerably. Secret combat technique: Brilliant claw! With a loud roar, he brandished his claws at his foes, releasing countless claw-shaped aura attacks but these wing creatures dodged the attacks effortlessly, making Derik curse his stupidity. Such fast creatures capable of catching up to them easily can not be caught by such straightforward attacks. Not even one was hit. "Dang it" Derik growled while considering his next line of action. Diving into the horde of monsters there meant instant death, both for him and Kaido. Removing ranged attacks from the list of possible attack methods also shattered their hopes of winning this battle in Derik''s mind. "I will initiate the attack¡­ both of you will follow" Cyrus said before clasping his hands together and releasing a massive amount of life aura above him. Guardian weapon path: Divine broadsword! Kaido and Derik watched in silence as the massive golden broadsword formed above them and the majestic aura circling Cyrus slowly faded as well. While Derik''s death magic granted him the immortal undead body, Cyrus received abundant life force. Enough for him to give life to others and even cheat death on numerous occasions just like this one. He didn''t hesitate to use his life force as fuel for his spells since he was lacking manner. At most he would lose a few hundred years of his life span which was near infinite. Derik was considered immortal because of his immortal body that will never age. Unless his body is entirely destroyed until not even a drop of blood is left, he will most likely live forever. While Cyrus had so much abundant life force that he may actually live forever. With the two possessing immortality like traits, they refused to die a worthless death at the hands of these magic beasts without risking their immortality at least "The creators favorite¡­" Cyrus muttered as he drew power from the life force of the hundreds of birdmen hovering above them, further strengthening the power of his guardian weapon. "Split the skies, shatter the heavens!" Xiu! With a loud bang, the golden divine broadsword shot forward like a spear towards the hordes of hundreds of birdmen hovering above them. In response, the birdmen hovered to the sides at an astonishing speed to evade the attack but to their greatest surprise, the guardian weapon did not fly past them. Instead, it stopped and hacked at them mercilessly, instantly shattering their formation while slaughtering a few that were caught off guard. "Nice one¡­" Derik laughed as he drew power from the negative emotions of these bird-like beats. Death magic: Bone armor! With what was left of his mana, Derik chose to reinforce his defense by dawning his bone armor atop his massive wolf body before diving forward. Chirp! One of the birdmen cried out before diving towards the flying werewolf. Its talons were soon engulfed in green aura as it struck at Derik''s chest, hoping to rip it apart with one blow but Derik managed to drift to the side just at the last moment to escape the attack. He quickly swung his claw at the birdman but before his attack reached, the birdman was already gone. "Where!" Derik growled anxiously before a loud bang could be heard from behind and a warm red liquid poured all over him. "You are lacking in speed¡­ don''t try to beat it at its own game¡­ just overpower them, I''m sure they will find it hard to kill you, so I don''t see any reason for you to dodge¡­ to be honest blustering your defense with the little mana you had was a dumb move too¡­ you should have strengthened your attack instead" Derik turned around to see the Birdman''s headless body in Kaido''s firm hands. After using his path, he was like a whole different person entirely. Someone bold enough to give Derik and Cyrus pointers in battles and reprimand them when they made mistakes but this didn''t bother them at all. "Okay big shot¡­ Go get them!" Derik sneered. "I''m not your dog, dog!" Kaido snarled before shooting forward. His movement speed left Derik jealous and he was forced to spend a second wondering how someone so big could move so fast. Under his envious gaze, Kaido appeared beside a birdman and slapped away its head effortlessly. "How can these beasts be considered gold realm magic beasts if they are this weak?" Kaido grunted in disgust. Before Derik could respond two birdmen appeared right in front of him and struck his chest with their golden talons. Taking Kaido''s advice, Derik didn''t try to dodge. Instead, he welcomed their attacks with open arms and watched their golden talons shatter his bone armor and promptly penetrated his chest. "Cute" Derik growled while watching black blood spurt out of his injured chest. Wooosh! His hands moved so fast that the birdmen couldn''t react since they were too close. He promptly grabbed their heads and crushed it effortlessly, confirming Kaido''s words. "These beasts are too weak to be at the gold realm" Derik tossed the two birdmen aside, waiting for the new batch of enemies heading his way. Bang! Puti! Cyrus staggered backward as his massive divine guardian weapon was blasted meters away by the joint effort of two birdmen. He spat out a mouthful of golden blood and shot a glance at Derik. "What they are lacking in defense, they made up for it with their ridiculous offensive power!" 305 Chapter 305 Boom! Boom!! Booom!!! Countless explosive sounds and shockwaves rocked the battlefield and only with the joint effort of Kalos and the shadow lurker were they able to contain the destruction the two gold realm masters caused. The blue flame pillar kept expanding while the flames also grew fiercer as the seconds ticked by. Even then the golden buddha floating within the pillar of blue flames, spared no effort as it rained down all hundred palms on the gigantic blazing blue lizard man. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! Each blow was stronger than the previous and each strike felt like a mountain was dropped on him, yet the cruel smile on Ahika''s face never faded. His eyes were brimming with excitement as he silently shielded his head with his large hands and took the blows graciously. Not even once did he make a sound on cry out in pain. Instead, he took it all in and watched the golden buddha crumble from within. [It''s only a matter of time] he thought. It didn''t take long before the strikes of the battle buddha to weaken and currently, it took more time to throw punches. Its movements were slow and the golden figure was filled with numerous web-like cracks, revealing it could crumble any time soon. Ahika on the other hand wasn''t necessarily in a better condition, his body was battered badly and each time he moved, bone-cracking sounds echoed all over the battlefield. His breathing was heavy but the blue flames in his eyes burnt fiercer than ever as he watched the massive golden buddha drop to the ground and fall on its knees. "And it ends" Ahika didn''t let his guard down. He kept protecting his head while speaking. "Hehehe! I have one more card, I''m yet to play" Aldora revealed a vicious smile before clasping his tiny hands together. Deity path: One true god! Divine deity! With a loud bang, the gigantic deity fell Aldora, releasing a powerful golden light. "The death mage was defeated by this in the past¡­ You will fall to this power as well!" Aldora''s voice shook the skies. Soon the light began to dim and a ten-meter tall golden man-shaped statue appeared with six hands. Its eyes were filled with darkness and countless twinkling stars lighting it up. His body seemed stiff and strong as if it were made of gold and around his neck were golden beads and similar beads could be found in his six hands. His facial expression carried no hate, joy, anger, rage, or any form of emotion. There was just indifference like a god prepared to carry out judgment upon its creations. On its right was an hourglass filled with golden sand and on its left was a divine golden scythe used to reap the souls of the unjust and upon his head was a golden halo, representing the holy nature of this newborn deity. "Vanish from this world!" Aldora quickly reached for the golden scythe and hacked down at Ahika. BOOOM! Both figures were blown out of the blue flame pillar, causing it to disperse. Ahika could only stare at Aldora in shock as he struggled with his numb hands, trying to tighten his grip on his magic weapon. Bang! Aldora didn''t even bother to give the blazing blue lizard man the time to recover before launching a second attack. His massive golden body vanished, leaving a three-meter deep crater at its previous location as it appeared above Ahika, hacking down at the blue scaled lizard man brutally with his golden scythe. Ahika didn''t bother to speak, quickly readjusting his stance to help increase his balance, he raised his blazing blue trident over his head, planning to take the attack head-on. Boom! His legs dug into the ground due to the impact and his body shivered greatly as bone-cracking sounds echoed throughout the battlefield. He was yet to recover when another blow was throw down, followed by another and another. Soon it was a barrage of attacks and each carrying enough power to make the gigantic lizardman''s hands go numb. It was only a matter of time before his weapon was knocked off his hand and a deep gash appeared around his shoulder, only because he was fast enough to move to the side, if not he would have lost his hand entirely. "How?" Ahika was yet to recover from the shock or speak when Aldora''s figure appeared right in front of him. Xiu! Ahika crouched and barely escaped being beheaded by Alodra''s golden scythe. He ducked low to evade the attack only to meet four golden palms, striking at his face. Bang! Ahika was thrown airborne easily by the attack, he ended up covering close to six hundred meters before he reached the ground, rolling a few times before he stopped completely. "Paaa!" Ahika spat out a mouthful of blood which instantly set all vegetation around ablaze. "How did a weak midget like you suddenly become this strong" Ahika laughed lightly as he struggled to get on his feet. "The deity path consumes a lot of mana and puts great strain on the user''s body¡­ In the past when I used this power against the life mage and the death mage I was defeated not because they were better¡­ I just didn''t have the right body to wield the power of the gods¡­ But now, things are different¡­ I have an immortal body¡­ unlimited mana¡­ why hold back? I have truly ascended to the realm of gods" Aldora laughed. Ahika listened silently while stretching his body. His eyes showed no emotions and even though he was been thrown around by Aldora he still didn''t seem bothered. "The realm of gods? Hmph! Compared to the death mage and life mage, you are still human¡­ You and the spatial mage are relics of the past¡­ You have no place in this future¡­ so just forgo the thoughts of becoming something more than what you already are!?? Ahika scoffed. 306 Chapter 306 "Blazing blue fire magic: Scorching false world!" Ahika growled and his blue scales let out a bright glow while his claws were soon engulfed with blazing blue flames. Heatwaves soon spread from his body, covering every corner of the battlefield, increasing the temperature of the battlefield greatly. At a point, even Kalosand the shadow lurker felt extremely uncomfortable. They were forced to admit that any person below the gold realm will die in less than five seconds if they should step into the battlefield. Xiu! Aldora didn''t even bother to speak as he pushed forward, reaching the blazing blue lizard in just a few seconds despite his massive body size. Gripping his golden scythe tightly, his massive body turned into a golden blur, reappearing behind Ahika the next moment and hacking down at him ruthlessly. In response, Ahika threw a punch at Aldora the moment he reached him but the next second the deity had vanished, reappearing behind him. Roar! Letting out a loud battle cry, a great wave of blue flames exploded from his body, blowing Aldora away. "Blazing blue fire magic: Searing flame spear!!" Tightened his grip on his golden trident, the magic weapon was soon engulfed in blazing blue flames, crashing around it like countless tidal waves. "Tear!" Ahika roared as he tossed the flaming spear at Aldora who just recently sprang on his feet. Looking at the attack it was neither fast nor slow. From what Aldora could tell it only contained a terrifying amount of destructive power which he would rather evade than face head-on. "Do you think this level of power can harm me?" Aldora sneered, sidestepping lightly to evade the attack. Bang! Aldora could have sworn he watched the blazing blue spear blow past him but then he felt a scorching spear pierce his chest with enough force that he was sent flying. "How?" He stuttered with his astonishment written boldly all over his face. Wooosh! The spear on his chest vanished and once again appeared Ahika''s hands. Blazing blue fire magic: Searing flame spear! "With this same technique, I defeated your master, the death mage, years ago¡­" Ahika spoke calmly as the golden trident covered in Aldora''s golden blood was once again shrouded in blazing blue flames. Seeing the lizardman was preparing a second attack, Aldora, Kalos, and even the shadow lurker watched attentively not to miss any movement or hidden attacks. All three of them were caught off guard by the previous attack, leaving them with so many unanswered questions and assumptions and in a battle between two top tier masters, the worst types of techniques to defend against are those that cannot be explained. To deal with this Aldora chose to wait and watch and see how things unfold. Swoosh! "Not this time!" Aldora growled as his body shot towards the side at an astonishing speed, covering hundreds of meters in just a second. Bang! The moment he stopped moving a powerful force pierced his chest, pushing him some meters back. Aldora was knocked off his feet and forced to fall on his back, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood in the process. "Impossible!" Kalos and the shadow lurker exclaimed at once, staring at Ahika in disbelief. They clearly saw Ahikatoss the flaming blue spear and they watched Aldora escape the range of the attack. For the former bishop to be struck by an invisible attack for the second time only brought new doubts and suspicion in their hearts. "Could this be? But it has never been heard of in the past" Kalos eyes squinted and various thoughts raced into his head. "An illusion¡­." The shadow lurker finally spoke after pondering for a while. "This beast claims it defeated my master in the past with this same technique but I refuse to believe he is capable of defeating my master in a head-on fight¡­ I strongly believe this lizard is utilizing an illusion spell to hide its attacks and create a mirage to confuse the enemy" The shadow lurker simply poured out its thoughts on the issue. After listening to the shadow lurker''s thoughts on the matter, realization finally dawned on Kalos and he regretted being too arrogant and nonchalant while he was still alive. Back then when the expedition team returned, he heard about the death mages defeat at the hand''s fire guardian spirit host. Back then they were all just bronze realm mages and not enough to catch the attention of a gold realm lord like himself. For this reason, he didn''t bother to look into Derik''s defeat and how it happened, maybe then he would be able to counter such an attack. "An illusion that conceals his attacks? What about his body" The shadow lurker''s eyes let out a bright green glow. Taking a deep breath and gathering the green chilly flames in its mouth, it then proceeded to release a barrage of green chilly flame balls, hurling all of them at Ahika''s direction. In response Ahika just shot him a glance, staring at the chilly green fireballs, and when the attacks struck his figure turned into a gray mist before dispersing. "The illusion can even be used on itself?" The shadow lurker finally realized the blunder it had committed and proceeded to scan the battlefield in search of the original. The next moment, Ahika appeared right in front of the shadow lurker with a golden spear engulfed in blue flames, striking down at the shadow lurker viciously. His appearance may have been sudden but the shadow lurker was no rookie, its senses, reaction speed, and movement speed surpassed that of Ahika by far. "Die!" The shadow lurker roared engulfing its claws in chilly green flames at striking forward, completely ignoring Ahika''s attacks. Kalos wouldn''t sit still and let this opportunity slide, so he quickly conjured a spatial gate, right in front of the falling blazing blue spear and a second by Akila''s side as well. "This ends now!" He sneered 307 Chapter 307 To deal with such a dangerous technique that cast illusions, the shadow lurker decided to sacrifice its body and trade blow for blow and that''s why it ignored the blazing spear attack to launch an attack of his own. It refused to believe the blue scaled lizardman will be capable of withstanding more punishment after enduring Aldora''s explosive attacks in the past. Luckily for the beast, Kalos had plans of his own and chose to cover for the demon beast by placing a spatial gate where the attack. The duo was almost assured of dealing a critical blow to the lizardman, after which they will proceed to finish him off and then search for Francis and Diana to carry out their master''s commands. But things don''t always turn out the way we expect. Puff! The moment the shadow lurkers blazing green fists reached Ahika, the lizard man turned into a big cluster of smoke before dispersing alongside his blazing blue spear. His sudden disappearance left the duo stunned just long enough for the shadow lurker to feel a scorching weapon pierce through its scales and defenses like butter. Before it could even react to the pain it felt, the scorching blue spear had already dug deep into his body, sticking out from the other side of its body. "Damn magic beast¡­ You are quite smart and quick-witted in battle¡­ This explains why the death s mage favors you and nurtured you up to this level" Ahika who was standing right behind the beast spoke those words with a sincere feeling of admiration blazing in his eyes. He regretted the fact he had to fight a magic beast that had ascended through the level of other normal magic beasts to become a being worthy of the death mage. "Bastard lizard!" Kalos was enraged by the shameless tactics Ahika was making use of in battle but he hated the fact that he couldn''t harm the beast unless the beast tried to harm him. "Go to sleep old man¡­ I believe it has been a really stressful day for you" Ahika yanked his mouth open abruptly and blue flames began gathering in it, crashing on each other like tidal waves on a stormy night. In response, Kalos quickly prepared a spatial gate, waiting for Ahika to release the attack. He could tell this Ahika was the real one especially since he was still gripping the spear which was currently making the shadow lurker suffer. The stronger the flames rolling in Ahika''s mouth grew the more excited the spatial mage become. The thought of knocking out the lizardman just in one move excited the undead. It simply meant he could end this pointless battle sooner than expected. His train of thought soon crumbled when his sixth sense kept screaming danger before Kalos could pinpoint what was wrong something hard struck him, drilling through his undead body and successfully leaving a massive hole on his chest. Ahika''s tail soon became visible after the successful attack, leaving Kalos dazed for a second. How could he have missed this? Instantly a small orb of blue flame appeared in the gaping hole on Kalos'' chest, preventing is injuries from healing. Only now did Kalos panic! A being capable of stopping an undead''s healing factor simply means he or she is capable of killing it. That''s exactly why light mages have always been the bane of undead creatures. Their ability to render their healing factor inactive grants them the ability to keep destroying their body until there is nothing left and with this, their tainted soul will also be destroyed. "Stay still for me!" Ahika''s indifferent face sent chills down Kalos'' spine as he began searching for a way to flee with Aldora and the shadow lurker. The next second, countless blazing blue chains erupted from the blue ball and proceeded to bind Kalos, quickly draining him of all his strength. "Blazing blue flames: Fiery bounds of hell" Ahika said softly as he pulled out the spear from the shadow lurkers chest, creating a similar but bigger blue orb in the around its chest area from which massive blazing blue chains erupted, holding down the beast while also robbing it of its mobility. "Fortunately for you all, I have no intention of killing any of you and making the death mage my sworn enemy¡­ you have seen what I can do¡­ I only wish to protect those who will protect this empire from the invaders¡­ In my opinion, Francis and Diana are still needed so they are under my protection¡­ As for the nobles of the empire, I have no reason to protect them¡­ that''s why I didn''t stop your forces when they attempted to leave¡­" Ahika said while shooting Aldora who had returned to his normal form a glance. Even for an undead, he looked miserable and exhausted, it was obvious that Ahika had worn the undead out. Even the holes on his chest caused by the blazing spear attacks remained there, healing at a very slow rate. At first, they were stunned by this but then they found it reasonable. They were aware of the fact that this planet they live in is a god vein and the hosts were the candidates chosen by the planet to become the new gods. If the other gods had no way of countering the death god''s necromancy powers wouldn''t that make it the strongest and ultimately destroy the balance? The thought of Ahika being able to counter Derik''s abilities sent chills down their spine and they finally realized his words were not false. Only if Derik and Cyrus join hands will they be able to subdue him, should they fight one on one, their chances of victory and defeat was 50:50. "And do you think my master will let this slide when he returns? Do you think he will let the nature mage and the moon cosmic spirit host live after everything they did? You are only prolonging the inevitable" Aldora sneered. "I think he will forget about them for my sake¡­ and if he doesn''t¡­ I''ll be forced to kill your master" Ahika said nonchalantly 308 Chapter 308 Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! With a clutched fist, Kaido threw three powerful punches at the empty air, releasing three fist-sized compressed air balls at the birdmen, who in response promptly maneuvered through the attacks effortlessly, reaching the fleeing Kaido in a single breath. "Are you sure, they didn''t sacrifice their defensive capabilities for speed too?" Kaido snarled while clasping his hands together to release a violent fiery shockwave to push the birdmen away. On normal circumstances, he would just power through everything and destroy his foes with a single blow but after Cyrus revelation, he was forced to defend all through. He probably would have doubted Cyrus'' words if it wasn''t for the gaping hole in his massive divine weapon, created by just two birdmen. Even if he, the sun cosmic spirit host decides to damage Cyrus guardian weapon, he was pretty sure he would have to go all out. Now if these beasts could do this to such a powerful weapon, how much resistance can his body put up against them? Unlike Derik, he didn''t have the immortal body or an abundant life force and the ability to possess another body like Cyrus. Charging blindly into battle in this situation is too much of a risk to take, an untimely death is something he was determined to avoid. "Crazy offense and ridiculous speed? Hehehe! It doesn''t matter in the face of absolute power!" Derik shot Kaido a mocking glance as he shot past the sun guardian knight to confront his pursuers. "You!" Kaido was about to reply but he was promptly flanked by another group of bird men. No matter how much he checked to see if the number of their foes was dwindling, he could easily count over a hundred of them with just a glance. Gritting his teeth, he promptly summoned his golden growth type magic sword from his storage ring and dashed forward. Xiu! Leaving behind an orange blur, Kaido appeared right in front of a birdman, and with a swift hand movement, the beast was neatly cut in two. His actions caught the beast by surprise since it expected Kaido to keep retreating like before. Chirp! He heard a cry from behind and quickly turned around, brandishing his magic weapon at the beast but to his greatest surprise, the beast parried his attacks skillfully with its golden talons, buying enough time for another birdman to swipe its claws at Kaido''s broad back leaving a deep bloodied wound behind. Bang! Meanwhile, Derik let out a loud roar, lunging towards the bird men group fearlessly, but unlike Kaido who could match these beasts in speed, Derik was greatly lacking in that aspect, giving them the opportunity fly around him in circles. Chirp! One of the birdmen dived down after circling for a while trying to blitz past Derik and taking a limb with it as well. The normal reaction would be to defend but to the magic beasts greatest surprise, Derik didn''t retreat or stop. Instead, he pushed forward and swung its claw at the blurry figure heading his way. Puff!! Blood spurted out of the spot where his hand is meant to be but the smile on Derek''s face never faded. He gazed at the birdman who kept shivering and blood kept dripping down its body uncontrollably. The beast turned around to meet Derik''s wild gaze, revealing Derik''s severed hand sticking deep in its throat. "Nice shot" Derik revealed a vicious grin while he complimented himself. When the birdman dived down at him, he simply swung his claws at it recklessly with no specific target in mind. Since the beast was too fast he didn''t have the luxury to aim. Who would have thought he would he would land a critical blow unintentionally. "I guess my luck is not as bad as I thought" Derik laughed while darkness aura covered his severed hand, replacing it with a new palm. "Who wants to go next?" Derik grinned while glaring at the hordes of magic beasts slowly circling them. This time there was no fear or anxiety, just excitement. At this point, Derik realized he had spent years and even a decade without engaging in a deadly battle that required him to put his life on the line. All this while, he has simply overpowered his for or joined hands with Cyrus and Kaido to defeat stronger foes safely. At this point old memories of his days as just an archer, facing off against a goblin warlord and even the alpha of the Lockwood pack, Scott Lockwood flowed into his mind. He finally realized that he spent even though his life was on the line back then, it was the thrill and excitement that kept him going. These are priceless emotions he has lost in the past and now he finally realized why powerful men usually travel the world in search of worthy opponents that can rekindle their passion and love for battle, most of them are even willing to lose their lives just go the sake of this unusual feeling. Back then he considered this foolish but now he began to see the world in a whole new way, birthing a new goal and a reason to live. A reason to survive this deadly encounter and push forward. Roar! Derik let out a loud roar as the hairs on his body stood up and size once again increased. At this point, he was over three to four meters tall with blazing purple eyes. Each time he exhaled, he released a small most of death aura. " I''ll end this in an instant!" Derik growled. 309 Explode! Cyrus shot back alongside his guardian weapon which was filled with tiny holes and numerous web-like cracks. At this point, Cyrus was terribly pale but that wasn''t enough to wipe away the smile on his face. Just like Derik the thrill of battle easily overcame the pain and fear he felt, replacing it with bloodlust and an astonishing thirst for victory. In his opinion, winning this bloody battle meant a lot, even more than those days when he and Derik battled each other. Back then he never had to worry about death because Derik was always careful not to deal life-threatening blows and that was exactly what he did for Derik too. In his opinion those couldn''t be considered as real battles, it was more like a more violent training session in his eyes. "Scram!" Cyrus roared releasing a powerful shockwave to keep the foes at bay. Flinging his hand recklessly, his guardian weapon let out a loud shriek before shooting into the cluster of disarrayed enemies, and with a single swipe over ten foes were decapitated. "I don''t mind losing a few hundred years worth of life force if it means winning this battle!" Cyrus growled summoning his God tier flaming divine sword from his storage ring. His eyes let out a bright light as he brandished the divine weapon at his foes releasing a sea of golden flames to swallow those magic beasts. ................................................ Roar! Derik''s massive werewolf body released a darkish purple aura that took the form of an ancient wolf with blazing purple eyes and thick black fur. "Secret combat technique: Werewolves roar!" Derik said between growled while swiping a claw at his foes. Roar! The werewolf avatar let out a loud roar, freezing its opponents with fear before lunging forward. "Now!" Kaido saw this as an opportunity and quickly flew towards the horde of bird men. Sun god path: Supreme deity¡­ Fiery domain! Kaido''s body further expanded and his body turned golden. His body shone so bright that it instantly lit up the battlefield and the heat he radiated instantly turned all foes around him to crisps. As the battle progressed Kadio regained his power by drawing power from the sun but Derik and Cyrus'' increase in power were more terrifying. With each foe that died on the battlefield, their strength would shoot up accordingly. They constantly swallowed the life force and souls of the dead to replenish their lost strength and by the time they were about twenty minutes into the battle, Derik and Cyrus had already recovered about fifty percent of their lost strength. "Let''s end this!" Derik''s eyes let out a purple flash as he poured in more mana into his werewolf avatar further increasing its size and power. Secret combat technique: brilliant claw! "You chose the wrong people to mess with!" Cyrus sneered as his body was soon engulfed with a golden aura. The word path: Chant of the sacred scriptures! Cyrus began speaking in an ancient and unknown language, and with each word he spoke countless golden letters flew out of his lips, flying towards the birdmen magic beasts. Cyrus went as far as to manipulate these golden letters, making them surround the horde of magic beasts, detonating upon contact. With Derik and Cyrus'' joint effort and skill in manipulating their skills and techniques, the birdmen were forced to a corner, placing their backs on each other while trying to defend against the relentless attacks of the Life and death mage. Maybe too focused that they forgot the existence of their third and final foe. Woooosh! "Now, now¡­ there is no need to panic¡­ I promise this will end in an instant!" Kaido laughed maniacally. Kaido''s figure appeared above these magic beasts and a cruel smile bloomed on his face as a web like cracks appeared on his golden skin. His power kept rising and his body kept glowing brighter, rising alongside the heat waves his body produced. "Light them up" Cyrus chuckled "Burn them all!" Derik roared Cyrus and Derek were not spared from the consequences of Kaido''s actions. They simply ignored the scorching pain while casting their spells to make sure none of the magic beasts breaks free from the encirclement. Their intentions of killing off the birdmen race in one go sent shivers down the spine of Demos who was secretly watching the battle unfold. He silently wept for the race which was about to go to extinct at the hands of three young mages but he didn''t attempt to stop them either. Seeing renewed strength and fighting spirit burning in their eyes pleased him greatly. With Derik and Cyrus attacking the beasts from the sides and the guardian weapon tagging alongside the werewolf avatar harassing them from below, the birdmen race realized the only way out of their current predicament is to push from the top. As long as they could get rid of the golden fire mage heating up the battlefield, they can easily escape it even counter-attack. They realized they were put into such a bad position because they clustered together for too long, but it''s too late to review their mistakes, all they could do now is push and finish the fight as quickly as possible. Chirp!! The bird men cried out loudly as they surged towards Kaido fearlessly. Hoping to overpower him and escape his scorching domain. "It''s over! Sun God path: Imperious Burn!!!!" Kaido laughed. Unfortunately for these magic beasts, this has always been part of the plan. The moment they all flew towards Kaido, Derik and Cyrus increased their attacks, killing off those who were caught off guard by the sudden change while Kaido was promptly consumed by scorching orange flames, descending from the skies like a shooting star. At this point, these beasts understood their mistakes and tried to retreat but it was already too late. Letting out a loud cry, the scorching ball of fire exploded and the flamed consumed everything on the battlefield. Derik and Cyrus included! 310 Chapter 310: Return of the Fallen archangel The smiles on their faces never faded. Be it the internal injuries or the injuries that can be seen, they all healed at a rate visible to the eye for both Derik and Cyrus so they were not bothered about their condition. Instead, they focused on consuming the roaming life forces and souls of the birdmen who died a gruesome death at their hands. Their eyes remained shut and they entered a mediative state while trying to digest the souls of their victims and use it to further develop their realm. Swoosh! Suddenly a fourth figure appeared, Demos eyes were fixed on Derik, gazing at him in such a strange manner, that even Derik felt quite restless. Soon he shifted his attention to Cyrus who reacted the same way as Derik, each wearing a puzzled expression on their faces while waiting and hoping Demos would speak his mind. "Last time I checked¡­ You left us to die at the hands of those magic beasts, and then you show up as soon as the battle ends and keep giving us some sort of crappy look? Why are you really here?" Derik got impatient first and spoke out. In response, Demos only nodded before turning his attention to the empty space west of their location. Death magic: Black lash! "You never change" Demos sneered and quickly threw his palms open a rope shaped aura construct shut out of his hands, shooting towards an empty spot ahead. "Always hasty¡­ You never change" A familiar voice echoed as a semi transculent golden wall appeared, preventing the darkish purple aura rope from passing through. Behind the golden wall, an angelic figure over three-meter tall being with a pair of golden angel wings and well proportioned muscles appeared. His hair was golden and his eyes were like the dark skies harboring countless twinkling stars that could charm any heart. The angelic being wore an expensive golden mage robe with a divine fiery weapon hanging gallantly on his back. "You talk too much!" Demos roared. Instantly twenty more darkish purple aura ropes shot out of his hand and circled around the golden wall, trying to reach the fallen archangel. In response, Samael shot Demos a worm smile before clapping both hands together, summoning five more golden walls around himself forming a perfect defensive shell to protect him from all sides. "You must have gotten cocky!" Demos was infuriated by Samael''s attitude in battle. Death magic: Death spear! Demos aura exploded from his body and quickly gathered over his head. His eyes released a terrifying purple light as his aura took the shape of a two meter long spear. "Shatter apart!" Demos roared while flinging his hand forward, sending the death spear forward. BOOOM! Upon collusion, the shockwave was powerful enough to send Derik, Kaido, and Cyrus crashing into the endless seas below, but even then, Demos didn''t even spare them a glance. Instead, he focused on his death spear, which created countless web-like cracks on the golden cube Bang! The cube crumbled under Demos power and the death spear proceeded to attack Samael directly. "Same as always" Samael yawned as he reached for the death spear with his bare hands, grabbing it hastily. BOOM! Under everyone''s watchful eyes Samael shattered the golden spear effortlessly. "You don''t wish to hear me out before attacking? Is this how you treat an old friend?" Samael shot Demos a warm smile once again, not showing any intentions of attacking or leaving. Swoosh!!! Hello¡­ Goodbye!" Before Demos cold react, Derik who was now in his human form, appeared right in front of the former archangel, alongside Derik was Cyrus. "Split the skies¡­ Shatter the heavens!!!" Cyrus screamed and a massive golden divine sword appeared above Samael''s head, swinging down at him viciously while letting out a loud screech. Meanwhile, Derik quickly summoned his death scythe into his hands and poured in as much manner as he could into the weapon. Soon the magic weapon felt extremely hot in his hands to the extent that he felt his flesh melting and his blood boiling. "Death magic: Threefold purgatory slash¡­ Alpha!" With a loud roar, Derik slashed released all the power at once, slashing from the side while Cyrus guardian broadsword struck down at the fallen archangel from above. "Interesting... But not good enough" Samael chuckled as he raised his left hand above his head and stopped the guardian weapon which the size of a small mountain with just his brute strength. Boom! A powerful wave of death aura, released by Derik smashed into the fallen archangel from the side but was only strong enough to make Samael frown slightly. "Weak!" The fallen archangel caught the purgatory slash with his bare hands and forcibly pushed it away, sending Derik flying back. "And you... You shouldn''t use such delicate techniques on stronger opponents" Samael''s eyes let out a golden glow and with his bare hands, he instantly shattered the guardian weapon. Puff! Cyrus turned terribly pale, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood before falling off the skies like a log of wood. Swoosh! Kaido dived in and caught the falling life mage in his hands, only to see the fallen archangel standing right in front of him. "Who said you can save him?" Samael smiled warmly at Kaido but the later felt terrified instead of joyful. The countless stars in his eyes let out a bright light, releasing a powerful golden beam of energy but before it could manifest, Samael felt two strong fists smash into his face, sending him flying meters away. 311 Chapter 311: Demos versus Samael 1 The combined strength of a demigod and a werewolf alpha greatly surpassed Samael''s tolerance level, so he was sent flying easily by their combined attacks. Unfortunately for the fallen archangel, Derik was not willing to let him go with a single punch and proceeded to chase after the former Guardian spirit. Roar! Not daring to waste more time, Derik quickly shapeshifted into a werewolf, taking into account that his foe was could easily overwhelm his spells, so he chose to rely on his physical strength. Xiu!! Derik appeared beside Samael while he was yet to gain control of his body, swinging his claw viciously at his for. Bang! The power behind the punch far surpassed Samael''s expectations and once again he was sent flying due to Derek''s supernatural strength. Bang! Once again, Derik intercepted his flight just at the right time to deliver another blow, repeating the process over and over again. "Had your fun? Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end" Samael said calmly as soon as Derik arrived to deliver another hit. The next moment, the fallen archangel released a powerful shockwave of life energy and blew Derik away effortlessly, only then did he wipe off the golden blood trickling down his nostrils. Bam! Demos suddenly appeared and caught Derik who was still flying away uncontrollably. He quickly placed his hands on his chests to check for any hidden injuries, letting go of Derik only when he was sure Derik is perfectly fine. "Why are you here Samael?" Demos breathed out a sigh of relief while he spoke. "Hehehe! You finally wish to talk¡­ but is that how you speak to an old friend?" Samael chuckled. Demos simply ignored his remark and moved towards Cyrus who was in a terrible condition. Since his guardian weapon was linked to his soul, allowing him to control the powerful weapon with just a thought, Cyrus is forced to share the damage the weapon sustains in battle. At this moment, his soul was badly damaged due to the fact that his guardian weapon was destroyed. Rendering him incapable of fighting at the moment. In Demos''s opinion, his condition will only get worse if he doesn''t find a way to heal the damage received. "Fine¡­ I came here for that kid¡­ I''m here to take his body" Samael said while pointing a finger at Cyrus but his line of sight was soon blocked by Derik''s large wolf body. "You see¡­ my host has developed feelings for the life mage¡­ they are more like brothers now¡­ what makes you so confident I''ll let you take his body?" Demos sneered. Hearing this, Demos fell into deep thought, considering Samael''s words. From the very beginning, he has known Samael for so many things. His greed, his thirst for power but never as a liar. At this point, he was forced to look back on the period of Derek''s breakthrough into the mid-grade of the gold realm. Even he realized that the death aura hovering around Derik was thicker than the death aura hovering around him. He only overpowered Derik back them due to the difference in the realm but he was sure if such difference was not there, Derik may be able to defeat him with his greater variant of the death magic. "How did I not notice?" Demos was stunned by the discovery and shot Derik a meaningful glance. Demos could easily be considered a very smart and crafty being so he really didn''t need Samael to explain the second part of his plan. At the moment, Derik and Cyrus are on a journey to the center of the god vein where they can acquire their inheritance. While the birdmen were tasked with preventing travelers from migrating to another continent, they were also created to make sure the Guardian spirit hosts wielding the powers of the continent can only reach this place when they ready. Only when their body has acquired the true essence of their elements will they be able to acquire the inheritance and rise to the realm of the demigods. With the birth of a demigod wielding the inheritance of the death element, the cycle of reincarnation will end and there will be no new death guardian spirit host, the same goes for the other elements. Demos was quite sure Derik and Cyrus are qualified to acquire this power, ever since they possessed the immortal body and the abundant life force. The inheritance of the god vein will surely accept them, just as long as they get there safely. "If we should take their bodies now¡­ we can acquire the inheritance for ourselves¡­ we can shatter the creators hold on our souls and become the new gods capable of rivaling the old gods and even surpassing them!" Samael licked his lips while he spoke. Upon hearing those words both Derik and the badly wounded Cyrus were startled. They quickly prepared themselves mentally for the worst while gazing at Demos who was lost in his thoughts, hoping the angel of death will not disappoint them and switch sides at the moment they need him the most. Even Derik couldn''t deny the fact that the offer was quite enticing. He has always believed in taking matters into his own hands and not relying on anyone''s strength. If Demos had the same thoughts as him, he should be more than willing to take over Derik''s body, take the inheritance and protect this world on his own. 312 Chapter 312: Demos versus Samael 2 "And you say you know how to directly take control of a body and make it yours?" Demos asked after a few minutes of silence. Death magic: Death spear! He waved his hand and effortlessly created a darkish purple aura spear. He shot Derik a meaningful glance before shifting his attention to Cyrus and then moved back to Samael. "Of course I know how to use such a spell¡­ This world is filled with treasures and lots of crazy loots¡­ so much you will be shocked" Samael laughed. He was obviously pleased by Demos'' reaction to his words. "How sure am I you are bullshitting me here?" Demos'' eyes turned completely black and his death aura kept oozing out of his body slowly. "You have heard of elder Samuel¡­ the supposed immortal elder of the holy church who has been serving as the advisor of all the popes ever ordained in the holy Church¡­ Who do you think that person really is?" Samael chuckled lightly while he spoke. "what are you trying to say? You are that elder?" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow. "Hehehe¡­ don''t bullshit me now¡­ have you ever heard of someone capable of living forever? The wingmen race possesses a powerful life force which makes even the weak amongst them live for more than two centuries and the strong live for over a thousand years but it doesn''t grant them immortality¡­ All that the lord of life gifting him with immortality is all bullshit¡­ don''t tell me you actually believed that?" Samael raised an eyebrow while he asked the question, refusing to believe Demos actually believed such nonsense. "I had my suspicion since you are the one backing the holy church¡­ the so called Lord of light they pray to¡­ But then again, it doesn''t make sense¡­ why would you chose to take the body of an old man and become just an elder in your own group when you can just become the immortal pope and rule everyone with an iron fist?" Demos sneered refusing to believe Samael''s claim. "If I were the pope¡­ I would have never been able to recover my power and regain this much strength¡­ there are lots of responsibilities which I prefer to avoid¡­ its much easier when you control it from the shadows" Samael confessed. "This¡­" Demos muttered and got lost in his thoughts once again. In his opinion, Derik just like every other host is too young and impulsive. They make lots of mistakes and are usually led by their emotions. Demos only invested so much in Derik because he knew they were running out of time. He couldn''t afford to lose another host and wait for the reincarnation process. From that point, Derik has been his only hope and probably his best shot but now the situation has changed. Now he has the chance to take Derek''s role as the host and protect this world which he loves so much, wouldn''t it be dumb for him to refuse such an offer? Finally! A loophole in the system that can be used in his favor!! "So what do you say, old friend? " Samael shot Derik a warm smile once again. "This the most interesting offer you have given me so far¡­It is almost impossible to refuse¡­ Almost!" Upon saying those words, Demos summoned twenty more death spears. He skillfully controlled them with his mind, promptly surrounding Samael before he could even react. "We were given the roles of guardians for a reason Samael¡­. Don''t blur the lines, don''t reach out for something that you know so little about... There are still so many unknowns¡­. This world has put up countless measures to make sure only the hosts can get their hands on the inheritance¡­ Even the creator can''t reach it and even got badly hurt the last time it tried. Do you think this world won''t have a means of countering this so called loophole you have found?" Demos asked. "We will never know until we try" Samael''s answer was simple yet so convincing that Demos hesitated for a second. "Give me a reason why I shouldn''t kill you?" Demos sneered. Hmph! Samael grabbed a death spear with his bare hand and shattered effortlessly. "I will give you two¡­ First, you can''t kill me¡­ and second I pose no threat to you or your host¡­ if you can give me the life mage I''ll be on my way" Samael said. Not showing any signs of worry. "And why would I do that? The life mage is my disciple''s dear friend¡­ why would I give him up so easily? What do I get in return for this exchange?" Demos flicked his finger and the death spears slowly approached Samael. "In exchange¡­ you little disciple will have a more capable and experienced ally in the fight against the creator and the old gods¡­ His chances of victory will be higher than ever¡­ with both of us guiding him, there I see no reason why he won''t become the perfect host you have always been searching for" Samael laughed. At this point, Cyrus'' heart skipped a beat while Demos cursed himself for asking such a question. He should have already known this from the very start. Not only is Samael more experienced but he is a better fighter and a perfect strategist who dared to plot against the creator in the past. No one dared look down on this fallen archangel and everyone was very much aware of his worth as an ally. If he truly decides to take Derik''s side and support him, Demos has almost no need to worry. He can entrust the Derik''s safety in Samael''s hands since the former Guardian spirit is no longer bound by the strict laws of the creator! 313 Chapter 313: Demos versus Samael 3 Confusion, indecision, realization, and resolve! These emotions flashed across Derik''s hairy wolf-like face before he turned his attention to his guardian spirit who was waiting for Derik''s reply with a weird look on his face which made Derik feel even more ashamed of himself. Judging based on the indifferent look on Demos'' face, Derik could tell the guardian spirit had already made a decision, while he was still contemplating and weighing his options even though Cyrus was his best friend. He couldn''t help but feel ashamed and curse his weak mind and fragile heart but Demos didn''t bother much about it. He even complimented Derik inwardly for making such a decision so fast and decisive, considering the fact that it was his life that''s on the line here and the guardian spirits had little or no part to play in this fight. "So what is your decision?" Samael wore the same confident smile on his face which terrified Derik. Demos quickly turned at Derik''s decision, to confirm if they were on the same page before making a move. Seeing the death mage shake his head in disapproval gave Demos a reason to smile as his eyes released a purple light and his calm temperament suddenly turned violent and unstable. "My disciple said no¡­ I think it''s time for you to leave!" Demos growled and promptly gripped the empty air above and then pulled down viciously. Not even giving the chance to reply, Samael was repeatedly bombarded with numerous death spears from all sides. Forcing him to cast a defensive life technique, divine embrace just to survive the first round. Almost instantly a massive pair of golden aura wings appeared around the fallen archangel, wrapping around him in a bid to protect him from the death spears "Didn''t you say I can''t kill you? Well then let''s find out" Demos laughed before lunging forward towards the golden aura wings. Bang! With a quick right fist, the golden wings crumbled and the death spears once again crashed down on the former guardian spirit ruthlessly. "Since you won''t give me what I want¡­ I will be forced to take it¡­ even if it means killing you all!" Samael seemed rather calm, ignoring the crumbling divine wings and the death spears raining down on him. "Life magic: Divine radiance!" Letting out a war cry, his body released a powerful outburst of golden light that quickly consumed everything in its path, covering close to four hundred meters. Derik and Kaido were forced to retreat with Cyrus in their hands while Demos was too close to escape the technique or maybe he didn''t plan on leaving at all. Bam! "Tell me, old friend, How do you want to die?" Demos sneered. "I believe we talked about this a few minutes ago, old friend. There are lots of people who can kill me... But you are definitely not one of them" Samael smiled sheepishly before pressing his finger down on the empty space casually. Instantly a massive golden finger appeared above them, and rammed the angel of death into the endless sea below, without giving him a chance to retaliate. "He always falls for that trick" Samael turned his attention to Derik who was shielding Cyrus and Kaido with his massive werewolf body. Swoosh! Covering more than five hundred meters in a single breath, Samael stood before Derik, forcing the two-meter tall werewolf to look up to him like a kid looking up to a watchtower. He ran his big palm across Derik''s hairy face with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Demos struck gold¡­ He found such a reliable host¡­ If only I had a host as good as you or the life mage¡­ things probably would have ended differently for me¡­ maybe I would have remained as a guardian spirit¡­ Maybe I never would have rebelled against the creator¡­ Demos and I would have still been good friends¡­ the peerless masters of our time and the greatest warriors of our generation" Samael''s voice carried hints of sorrow and pain but his face showed no emotions at all. "How did you recover so much power in a short while¡­ Back then in the sky rift you barely had enough power to take on four hosts¡­ How can you face the angel of death now?" Cyrus struggled to look strong as he spoke but he wasn''t fooling anyone. "Hehehe¡­ Don''t tell me you have never heard of the power of faith" Samael wore a doubtful expression on his face. But when he saw the confused expressions on Cyrus and Derik''s faces, he was assured that these kids knew nothing about faith, "Let me guess¡­. Demos or that weakling Michael didn''t speak to you about the power of faith¡­ While Demos has a habit of keeping sensitive information to himself until the last moment¡­ Michael is the creator''s lapdog who doesn''t even have access to light magic¡­ That''s why that crappy shit thought you literarily nothing about life magic and bestowed paths which normal light mages make use of¡­ To be able to match the death mage in power even after lacking so much shows how talented you really are¡­ If you had a guardian spirit capable of using life magic like myself¡­ You would have surpassed the death mage¡­ Just like I surpassed Demos in the past" Samael''s words made Derik and Cyrus hearts tremble and they instinctively retreated. Gazing at the former guardian spirit as if he were some archaic beast. 314 Chapter 314: Soul pact 1 All this while he felt a bit jealous of Derik''s relationship with Demos and kept wondering why his guardian spirit is unable to replicate Demos'' feats and sacrifices. Even Ahika was on the right path and just a step away from surpassing him, while he is stuck with Michael who bestowed paths which even priests of the holy church use. In the past, Cyrus simply assumed Michael didn''t want to teach him, but now he realized that the fake guardian spirit just couldn''t. This explains why a mere light angel like Kastiel dared fight him in the past. It wasn''t scared of Michael, but Cyrus was pretty sure no one would dare mess with him if he had someone like Samael as his backer. "Don''t tell me you didn''t notice? Guardian spirits cannot be replaced easily¡­ Unless I die, no new guardian spirit wielding the life element can be born¡­ So yes¡­. Your Michael is a fake" Samael answered after giving the matter some thought. "Faith power¡­ What''s that all about?" Derik interrupted them with an eager expression on his face but he still remained in his werewolf form so his deep, hoarse voice didn''t fit the eager expression on his face. "Should I really be telling you all of this? I came here to kill you all... Doesn''t this seem strange to you?" Samael scratched his head, feeling a bit lost himself. Just the same way Derik and Cyrus were willing to forget about Samael''s intentions and learn from him, Samael was also quick to forget his goal and felt quite happy he was guiding two talented individuals, especially since one possessed his element. "Its because you are still a guardian spirit¡­ No matter how twisted and dark you are within¡­ You are still one of us¡­" Demos'' voice echoed from behind. Forcing Samael to turn his attention to the angel of death. "What?" Samael frowned at Demos'' words but he didn''t deny it entirely either. He just stood there and waited for Demos to explain further. "We are called guardian spirits for a reason¡­ We derive satisfaction when we guide people¡­ We are the ones tasked with creating the new gods and not become the new gods¡­ You lost sight of our true purpose and chose to become a god¡­ that''s why you feel empty and that''s why I feel satisfied with what I am¡­ That''s why I chose to sacrifice my power just to speed up his growth" Demos said. "And who are you to make such assumptions¡­ what if I just plan to kill them all after speaking to them? what if this is just a parting gift?" Samael sneered. "Yet you wholeheartedly trust them with your life by turning your back on them while they value you enough not to launch a killer sneak attack" Demos chuckled lightly. "This changes nothing!" Samael roared and his body generated a blinding golden light which proceeded to create numerous golden tattoos on his body. His skin turned golden while his eyes turned already golden wings were coated in some sort of golden metal of an unknown source. His flaming magic sword appeared in his hands while a golden armor appeared all over his body. "True Life path: Supreme being of the heavens!" Upon speaking those words, an ancient scroll appeared by his left and unfolded beside him, following it was an ink jar with a golden feather appearing by his right. Boooom! Following the loud bang, the space around them began to crumble and the spatial cracks began appearing everywhere. The life aura which exuded from his body was powerful enough to make it hard for Derik to breathe or even stay airborne, while Cyrus greedily fed on the excess life aura, healing his injured sole at a rapid rate. "Samael! Do you truly wish to die by my hands!!!" Demos roared in anger. Seeing Derik suffer infuriated Demos and his aura exploded from his body, spreading like a plague. Instantly his skin pilled off slowly while his body soon began increasing in size. It wasn''t long before Demos was a three-meter tall, skeleton dressed in a black mage attire with two pairs of massive black wings. Within his empty eye sockets were dancing green flames and in his right hand was his death scythe but in his left hand was a skull shrouded in darkish green flames. "True death path: Birth of a Litch King!" Boom! Another loud explosion occurred and even more spatial cracks appeared. Lighting sprang out from the spatial cracks, lashing out on everything violently. Thanks to Demos'' death aura suppressing Samael''s life aura, Derik regained control of his body and he was able to evade the lightning strikes alongside Cyrus and Kaido. "Is this what you want Samael? A battle between two demigods will leave an everlasting scar on this world and these kids dead¡­ I don''t know about you¡­ But I''m not ready to let my student die!" Demos roared. "If this is the only way of getting what I want¡­ then I have no regrets" Samael''s voice lacked conviction as he spoke. Watching Derik and Cyrus struggle to defend themselves against the void lightning made the fallen archangel feel strange. He repeatedly shot them meaningful glances while waiting for Demos to attack first but that never happened. Demos quietly waited and watched his own friend feel uneasy while trying to pretend he was alright. Even though Samael is known as the ruthless archangel who betrayed the creator in search of power, Demos knew the fallen archangel as someone who was fed up with the crappy system and chose to do something about it. 315 Chapter 315: Soul pact 2 "What happened to the creator''s laws¡­ Last I remembered you and the other guardian spirits are not allowed to directly interfere with the activities of mortals¡­" Samael said. "First of all, you are no mortal¡­ and even if you are right and the law applies to this situation¡­ Then fuck the law¡­ I will keep my host safe¡­ I have come too far to let him go now" Demos'' voice neither quavered nor shook when he spoke. Seeing the conviction in his voice and the lack of fear Demos displayed when he claimed he would go against the creator just to keep Derik safe, Samael really had no reason left to deny how committed he is to this goal. In the end, they all aimed for the same goal but they ended up using different methods. At this point, Samael recalled Demos'' words a few minutes ago and found them reasonable. Since the soul transfusion combat technique is a treasure hidden within the planet, it shouldn''t be entirely impossible for someone to assume that the world has a method of countering this technique if used against the hosts. In the end, taking over Cyrus'' body and stealing the life inheritance may carry risks which will definitely lead to death. "I guess this path may not be absolutely necessary¡­. But that doesn''t mean I have completely changed my mind on the issue¡­ I don''t plan to leave here empty handed either, so I suggest you give me something to hold on to" Samael was engulfed by a pillar of golden light and after he dissipated, he returned to his normal form. Seeing Samael had no intention of fighting anymore, Demos powered down as well, returning to his normal charming human form. As soon as both sides withdrew their powers, the lightning vanished and the space became calm again. By then Derik, Cyrus, and Demos were drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Those two guardian spirits may not have noticed, but if they wasted any more time or even decided to fight, Derik and his crew would have been reduced to ashes by the lightning. "So this is the strength of a demigod" Cyrus muttered weakly while shooting Samael a glance. They have heard stories of all the warriors and mages who managed to attain the demigod status vanishing mysteriously. Back then they didn''t know the reason and didn''t even bother to check but now they understood why. The gap between the mortal realm and the realm of the gods is too vast, something that cannot be covered easily. Derik and Cyrus could tell if Demos and Samael fought here, there will be severe consequences for both the planet and the people living in it. "I have an offer you may be interested in" Demos winked at Samael while giving him a thumbs up, making the life guardian spirit feel annoyed but amused at the same time. "If you do then say it¡­ I''m just a few moments away from blowing you and these kids into oblivion" Samael snorted disdainfully. "Take the life mage as your disciple¡­ Become his guardian spirit¡­Impact your will and strength in him¡­ Let him carry your burden, just like Derik does mine" Demos said, leaving the life guardian spirit stunned due to shock. Samael quickly shot Cyrus a glance only to meet the pleading gaze that made him feel more miserable. Drifting backward while he pondered on the issue, Samael found the offer quite reasonable. His true goal has always been to remove the Creator and protect this planet just like every other guardian spirit should do. The only difference between him and the others is that he never really trusted all those who possess the creator''s soul imprint, so he chose to carry out this task all alone. In his opinion, the perfect disciple must be one who possesses the same element like the life guardian spirit host. But the only difference between Cyrus and all the other hosts is his ability to see things for what they truly are. After centuries of guiding different hosts in the past only for them to die fighting the host of the death guardian spirit in a bitter battle, Samael went insane. He failed to understand why someone would assume that the death element represents evil while the life element represents good. This mindset has led to so many wars between the supposed good and evil sects, leading to the death of many talented mages and guardian spirit hosts. The last death and life mage trained by Demos and Samael who made it to the peak of the silver realm and only a step away from the gold realm, battle each other bitterly and even when the continent joined hands and surrounded them with their forces, those two ignored their true enemies and focused on killing each other. In the end, the life mage was victorious but was too weak to fight against the continent alone and was swiftly killed. If those two joined hands, they would have defeated their true foes or even escaped so easily. But the resentment they had for each other just because of their different elements, mad them act foolishly and die in a pitiful manner. This is the reason why he chose to take the power of the life mage for his own and change his status as a guardian spirit, to a host. 316 Chapter 316: Soul pact 3 Swoosh! Appearing right in front of Cyrus, Samael quickly took his hand while muttering some inaudible words. Cyrus soon began to feel a pricking sensation in his head and strangely he began relieving every moment of his life right from the day of his birth to date. During the few seconds of the flashback, tears rolled down his cheeks at first but then a smile bloomed on his face. Thanks to Samael''s strange spell he was able to relieve every moment of his life again and after watching it all, he still didn''t regret anything, if given the same choice, he would still make the same choices all over again. "To think someone who hated the death mage so much would become so attached to the same person he referred to as evil" Samael was slightly astonished by Cyrus'' past, he was aware of the fact that Cyrus'' deep hatred in the past was due to Michael''s constant interference. Messing with Cyrus'' thoughts and twisting his beliefs, he was able to put both mages against each other from time to time, but as Cyrus grew stronger and Michaels hold over his mind weakened, Cyrus hatred for Derik began to fade as well. upon entering the silver realm, Cyrus was rid of Michael''s influence and began supporting him from the shadows even though the whole kingdom was against him. Samael was able to see the things even Derik is still currently unaware of. He knew the previous king of Gyro, received news of Derik''s whereabouts a year before the death mage revealed himself and even hired numerous silver realm mercenaries to search and remove the death mage who was still at the bronze realm at that time, recovering from the injuries Cyrus inflicted on him during their final battle in the sky rift. To keep Derik safe, Cyrus always ambushed these mercenaries while they made their way to Cato, killing them all before they could reach Derik. And even when Derik finally attacked Gyro, he didn''t win the battle against Cyrus because he was stronger. In fact, Cyrus was stronger at that time but he let Derik win and even went as far as to letting him severe his hand. "Kid¡­" Samael let go of Cyrus'' hands before using an invisible blade to cut a deep wound at the center of his right palm and doing the same to Cyrus. "Let''s make a soul pact" Samael finally spoke up after a while, leaving Cyrus stunned. "A soul pact? What''s that?" Cyrus was still unsure of Samael''s intentions so he didn''t let his guard down. "It''s like a promise which cannot be broken¡­ I will take up the role of a guardian spirit and teach you everything I can¡­ Give you the knowledge and power you desire but in exchange, you will carry out your role as a man destined to be a new god¡­ destroy the creator and protect this planet¡­" Samael explained slowly. "And?" Cyrus refused to believe it was so simple. "And if you fail, your soul will perish and I will be allowed to take your body like mine and carry out the task which you failed to accomplish" Samael''s eyes let out a wicked light when he said the last part which terrified Cyrus. Even though Cyrus wasn''t happy with the last terms of the pact he found it reasonable. All the guardian spirit wants is to fulfill its duty as a guardian spirit and protect its home while removing the ones polluting it. As an inhabitant of this planet and one of the new gods, this was also his duty. Even without Samael asking, Cyrus was already planning to take up this burden as his life goal. Shaking Samael''s bloodied hands with his bleeding hand he nodded in agreement, making the former guardian spirit smile in satisfaction. He was finally convinced that Cyrus is the host he always dreamed to have and the one to carry out his will. He was satisfied with the outcome of this meeting since he didn''t have to kill anyone or go against his best friend Demos. For the first time in a long while, Samael felt at peace, knowing the strongest death mage and life mage he has ever seen since the planet created the first hosts are working together to protect this world. Even though the other elements and guardian spirits are relevant and strong but in his opinion, the death magic and life magic has always been the strongest amongst the rest. The only once capable of rivaling them in power has always been the host of the fire guardian spirit. "Now can you tell me what the faith power is?" Derik interrupted the former guardian spirits train of thoughts with his question, making Samael frown in disdain and wish he could destroy the kid right here and now. He still hasn''t forgotten the humiliating defeat he suffered at the hands of Derik, Cyrus, Ahika and Zaylee back then in the sky rift decades ago. 317 Chapter 317 "Go on old friend¡­ answer the kid''s question" Demos sneered. "Just wait¡­ I''ll get a chance to settle this in the future¡­" Samael replied. "No, you won''t" Demos snarled in response. Cyrus, Kaido, and Derik were left confused by the short conversation between the two. Even though Derik could perceive negative emotions of those around him, he couldn''t feel that of Samael, just like Cyrus couldn''t draw power from Samael''s life force. At this moment, the realized that the difference between them and these two archangels is something that will take them centuries to cross if they choose to use the normal methods. "So?" Derik really didn''t care about what they were bickering about. All he wanted to know is how to utilize the power of faith. Ever since he saw how fast Samael regain a large portion of his strength, stepping into the demigod realm in just two decades or so and has attributed his rapid growth to want he called the power of faith, Derik''s undivided attention was caught. If he could harness this same power, he should be able to grow at a more astonishing rate and get enough power to protect everyone he loves. "Hmph¡­. The power of faith is quite simple¡­ when you have those who visualize you as a god, loyal followers, and people who will pray to you in their times of need... Of course, this method is slower than normal cultivation methods but then the more followers you have the easier it becomes for you amass power and improve your realm" Samael grumpily explained, leaving Derik and Samael stunned. "Both of you utilize the power of faith yet you don''t know? Dumb kids" Samael cursed. "We do? When?" Cyrus was stunned and left confused by Samael''s claim. He shot Derik a glance but the youth shook his head in reply, indicating he didn''t know what Samael was talking about. "You all could easily tell when members of your little group needed you the most¡­ do you think it''s your sixth sense?" Samael covered his face with his palm, wondering how these two who were meant to be the strongest on their continent be so clueless. He was forced to blame Demos and Michael for their ignorance. In reality, what Derik and Cyrus wrote off as a sixth sense was actually something more. The ability to hear the cries and prayers of loyal servants and followers is an ability reserved for gods only. The visions Derik and Cyrus saw were not hallucinations as they thought, they were actually watching the battle take place from the eyes of one of their followers. "You heard their cries and even witnessed how they died from their own eyes¡­ and even at their moment of death, the only ones they thought to call out to were the two of you¡­ and you heard them¡­ do you think its something any mortal can do?" Samael shot Derik a glance while he explained. "At your current level, the bond between you all and your followers has become strong enough the just your presence strengthens them¡­ Thanks to your interference, your core members acquired a temporary boost in strength which allowed them to face off against Francis and Diana while not falling into a disadvantaged position¡­ so yes¡­ You do use the power of faith" Demos confirmed Samael''s words "Then how come we don''t grow as fast as you? Why haven''t we entered the demigod realm?" Derik after giving his words son thought. "Yes¡­ if we have been using this same method why haven''t we reached the demigod realm yet?" Cyrus asked Hearing them, Samael and Demos laughed their hearts out, wondering what have these kids to call the demigod realm so easily as if it were any other realm. "Damn it¡­ How can you all have the guts to mention the demigod realm like its child''s play. Anyway¡­ while Samael is simply recovering what he lost, making it simpler¡­ not to mention the fact that he has a whole continent that dedicates their life to pleasing and serving him¡­ Do you really think you can compare?" Demos laughed. "Exactly¡­ I have millions of loyal followers while you barely have up to thirty thousand¡­ even then I''m recovering what I already have¡­ its much easier than acquiring something new¡­ you are millions of followers away from rising this fast kid¡­ I suggest you forgo the thoughts of improving your image in your continent and acquiring new followers¡­ after your sects slaughtered over three hundred thousand brave soldiers of the empire and destroyed all the prominent noble families of the same empire¡­ hehehe¡­ I believe its safe to say you and Cyrus are the most hated people in the history of that continent" Samael chuckled. Upon hearing this Derik and Cyrus'' facial expression crumbled, turning them as pale as ghosts. For a moment they almost regretted their actions but when they thought about it all, they realized they would still do the same if given another chance. That''s just the type of person they are. 318 Chapter 318 "Samael has so many followers and his power is rising at an incredible speed¡­ What about you Demos? Why don''t you create some sort of cult and have people worship you as a god?" Cyrus spoke up after pondering on the issue for a while. "Because it''s against the laws for guardian spirits to gather followers or portray itself as a god¡­ Doing something of such is a crime since the creator believes it''s the only one worth that needs to be worshiped" Demos answered with a bitter smile. At this point, they realized why Samael left. Not only is the creator a leech feeding off from the resources meant to be used to create new gods, but it also feeding off the hard work of its followers, trying to gain more power without any form of compensation. "It''s settled... I am gonna kill it" Derik snarled making the rest laugh heartily at his stupid words but nonetheless they were still happy he had the guts to say it. "Lest I forget¡­ How did you know about our current location, our achievements, our sects back in the empire, and our followers? its been about two decades since the last time we met, I didn''t expect you to know so much " Cyrus raised an eyebrow as he spoke. In response, Samael''s face turned red and he shot Demos a glance. His lips parted but no words escaped his mouth, he could only look away and pretend as if he didn''t hear the question. But Demos was already prepared for this and decided to answer in his place. "Even if he is no longer officially recognized as a guardian spirit by the creator, this world still recognizes him as one and he still retains the unique abilities if all other guardian spirits¡­. He has been watching you all for a while now and even now, he''s preparing the forces of the holy church to invade the Aldemar continent, I have been the one delaying his plans¡­ and the birdmen clan which attacked you earlier was sent by him¡­ he chose to finish you all off with those magic beasts while you are still weak" Demos answered gladly. "Bastard!" Samael stroked his golden hair while he cursed. At this moment, he began regretting not battling Demos to the death earlier, maybe this could have been avoided. "Hehehe¡­ Nice one¡­ Since we were enemies up till this moment¡­ it doesn''t count" Derik chuckled. "Yea¡­ I probably would have done the same or even worse¡­ So it doesn''t really matter, as long as you call off the attack on the continent" Cyrus added. "Hello? Don''t you think we have wasted too much time here?" Kaido''s voice suddenly caught their attention. At this point, they realized they had gotten too distracted that they completely forgot about Kaido and their main goal. The soon looked up and realized its almost noon, making them wonder how much time they wasted. "He''s right¡­ we have spent too much time here¡­ The passageway to the god veins core is not far¡­ there you will find an inheritance for each element. Find yours and consume it¡­ Just yours!" Samael said the last part while shooting Derik a meaningful glance. "What happens when you take the inheritance meant for another guardian spirit host?" Derik ignored Samael''s gaze and asked the question. In his opinion some of those who possess the title of a host is not worthy to bear such a title, putting their personal gains over that of the world they live in. Wouldn''t it be better he took the power meant for those people as well? "I don''t really know, but I prefer avoiding issues like this" Samael scratched his head. "Hehehehe¡­ and when did the almighty Samael turn a coward?" Derik sneered. "Stop it¡­ I can understand your train of thoughts¡­ taking more will most likely make you more powerful¡­ there are hosts who do not deserve to be elevated to the position of gods¡­ but then again that power is not yours to take¡­ If the host is one of those who do not deserve the power, kill the host and let the reincarnation take his place¡­" Demos said with a stern look on his face. Seeing such a serious expression on his face, Derik chose not to push the matter anymore. Rather than have the angel of death as an enemy, alongside the guardian spirit of the life element and probably the host whose inheritance was stolen and his guardian spirit as well. "I really doubt he will be able to take it though¡­ even if he succeeds, he will most likely implode and die a painful death¡­ and I believe this world should have a way to prevent such mistakes¡­" Kaido sighed. With this matter settled, the team proceeded to head towards their destination, with the life guardian spirit and the death guardian spirit as their guides. For Kaido the presence of those two powerful spirits meant more security, but for Derik and Cyrus, this was a rare opportunity to learn directly from them and further improve their technique by mimicking their masters. The images of their masters utilizing the death and life magic when they planned to fight each other remained fresh in their head and they were determined to have these ancient spirits teach them how to use those techniques. 319 Chapter 318 Soon they arrived at a place which Demos and Samael referred to as the center of the word. It was just darkness surrounded by the ocean waters with four black pillars sticking out, each possessing some magical properties that created a barrier that prevented the water from reaching the darkness at the center. This sight left Derik, Kaido and Cyrus astonished since they never expected to see something this magical. It was like a gateway at the center of an ocean. The kept gazing at the twirling darkness rotating like a whirlpool with unsure expressions on their faces. The power the felt from this mystical formation made them believe the would die instantly if the thing were to lash out at them. "I hate you¡­ So this is how you plan to get rid of me? By tossing me into the abyss, right?" Derik quickly accused Demos of bearing ill intentions for him and his crew. "And why would I want to kill you? And even if I do want to kill you, I can do that easily with just a snap of my fingers" Demos threw him a meaningful glance before returning his attention to the black whirlpool. "What''s this?" Cyrus too felt threatened by this strange formation, forcing him to drift backward while he spoke. "This is the center of this world¡­ where your inheritance is stored and protected¡­ This is where you must go if you wish to keep this mentor, disciple relationship of ours going" Samael chuckled. "What do you mean by that, you barely thought me a thing in the past three days¡­ How can I call you my mentor?" Cyrus growled. The former guardian spirit just ignored him and looked away. When Derik and Demos finally calmed down, the Guardian spirits explained all they need to know about the dark whirlpool. Apparently, the formation and barrier were not only created to prevent ocean water from flowing in. Instead, it was created to prevent powerful beings like the guardian spirits and creators from stealing the inheritance. According to Demos, the creator once tried to break into this place in the past and ended up receiving a deadly blow which almost took its life. At that time, the creator was just at the godly realm and it needed centuries to recover. Demos and Samael went on to admit that they too have tried to break into this formation but they ended up losing a few limbs as a result. At least their injuries were not as severe as that of the creator sing they knew when to retreat while the creator was so desperate for the power, it kept trying until it was a few inches away from death. "Doesn''t that mean I can''t go with them?" Kaido sounded a bit disappointed. "Of course not¡­ you will die the moment you touch that barrier" Demos answered. "Then why did you ask me to tag along without mentioning this part earlier?" Kaido was a bit frustrated, so he struggler to hide his anger while he spoke. "Would you have risked your life if you knew you won''t be able to get something tangible from the journey? These two needed protection¡­ you are the only trustworthy person who could rival them in strength and power¡­ if you weren''t here do you think they would have survived against those birdmen magic beasts? It was necessary!" Demos couldn''t careless about Kaido''s feelings. In his opinion, he had a job and he did it¡­ the method doesn''t really matter since he got the desired result. "You!!" Kaido roared but a firm hand gripped his shoulder preventing him from moving. "I understand how you feel¡­ but it wasn''t a waste of your time¡­ consider it this way¡­ you protected your friends and let them acquire something that will guarantee their journey towards the realm of demigods¡­ it may seem like a total waste for you but, they will help you protect this world and when the time comes¡­ they will help you defeat your creator¡­ if you can consume your cosmic spirit¡­ you will be able to stand amongst gods as their equal¡­ You just gained powerful allies kid¡­ be happy" Samael said while patting his shoulder. As much as Kaido wanted to slap those hands off his shoulder, he couldn''t entirely deny the fact that Samael was right. The last thing he would want to hear is that his friend left the continent and was killed by some magic beasts when he has the power to save them. Also, if this inheritance talk is the real deal, doesn''t that mean they are safe? The next time the orcs appear with the rest of their clan chieftains, they will have enough power to fight them back on equal footing or even overpower them. Or the issue with his cosmic spirit. If these two can join hands in the future and help him suppress the sun cosmic spirit and protect him while he consumes it and makes its power his, then he has little or nothing to worry about. In the end, these two owe him and he is pretty sure they will be more than willing to repay their debt to him when he needs them the most. Apart from that, the continent he''s tasked to save just acquired two more capable guardians, capable of taking on Demigod level foes, making the Aldemar continent the safest place in the world. 319 Chapter 319 Soon they arrived at a place which Demos and Samael referred to as the center of the word. It was just darkness surrounded by the ocean waters with four black pillars sticking out, each possessing some magical properties that created a barrier that prevented the water from reaching the darkness at the center. This sight left Derik, Kaido and Cyrus astonished since they never expected to see something this magical. It was like a gateway at the center of an ocean. The kept gazing at the twirling darkness rotating like a whirlpool with unsure expressions on their faces. The power the felt from this mystical formation made them believe the would die instantly if the thing were to lash out at them. "I hate you¡­ So this is how you plan to get rid of me? By tossing me into the abyss, right?" Derik quickly accused Demos of bearing ill intentions for him and his crew. "And why would I want to kill you? And even if I do want to kill you, I can do that easily with just a snap of my fingers" Demos threw him a meaningful glance before returning his attention to the black whirlpool. "What''s this?" Cyrus too felt threatened by this strange formation, forcing him to drift backward while he spoke. "This is the center of this world¡­ where your inheritance is stored and protected¡­ This is where you must go if you wish to keep this mentor, disciple relationship of ours going" Samael chuckled. "What do you mean by that, you barely thought me a thing in the past three days¡­ How can I call you my mentor?" Cyrus growled. The former guardian spirit just ignored him and looked away. When Derik and Demos finally calmed down, the Guardian spirits explained all they need to know about the dark whirlpool. Apparently, the formation and barrier were not only created to prevent ocean water from flowing in. Instead, it was created to prevent powerful beings like the guardian spirits and creators from stealing the inheritance. According to Demos, the creator once tried to break into this place in the past and ended up receiving a deadly blow which almost took its life. At that time, the creator was just at the godly realm and it needed centuries to recover. Demos and Samael went on to admit that they too have tried to break into this formation but they ended up losing a few limbs as a result. At least their injuries were not as severe as that of the creator sing they knew when to retreat while the creator was so desperate for the power, it kept trying until it was a few inches away from death. "Doesn''t that mean I can''t go with them?" Kaido sounded a bit disappointed. "Of course not¡­ you will die the moment you touch that barrier" Demos answered. "Then why did you ask me to tag along without mentioning this part earlier?" Kaido was a bit frustrated, so he struggler to hide his anger while he spoke. "Would you have risked your life if you knew you won''t be able to get something tangible from the journey? These two needed protection¡­ you are the only trustworthy person who could rival them in strength and power¡­ if you weren''t here do you think they would have survived against those birdmen magic beasts? It was necessary!" Demos couldn''t careless about Kaido''s feelings. In his opinion, he had a job and he did it¡­ the method doesn''t really matter since he got the desired result. "You!!" Kaido roared but a firm hand gripped his shoulder preventing him from moving. "I understand how you feel¡­ but it wasn''t a waste of your time¡­ consider it this way¡­ you protected your friends and let them acquire something that will guarantee their journey towards the realm of demigods¡­ it may seem like a total waste for you but, they will help you protect this world and when the time comes¡­ they will help you defeat your creator¡­ if you can consume your cosmic spirit¡­ you will be able to stand amongst gods as their equal¡­ You just gained powerful allies kid¡­ be happy" Samael said while patting his shoulder. As much as Kaido wanted to slap those hands off his shoulder, he couldn''t entirely deny the fact that Samael was right. The last thing he would want to hear is that his friend left the continent and was killed by some magic beasts when he has the power to save them. Also, if this inheritance talk is the real deal, doesn''t that mean they are safe? The next time the orcs appear with the rest of their clan chieftains, they will have enough power to fight them back on equal footing or even overpower them. Or the issue with his cosmic spirit. If these two can join hands in the future and help him suppress the sun cosmic spirit and protect him while he consumes it and makes its power his, then he has little or nothing to worry about. In the end, these two owe him and he is pretty sure they will be more than willing to repay their debt to him when he needs them the most. Apart from that, the continent he''s tasked to save just acquired two more capable guardians, capable of taking on Demigod level foes, making the Aldemar continent the safest place in the world. 320 Chapter 320 "I don''t know or care about whatever you had in mind initially, but you all owe me one¡­ all of you and I will definitely ask for a favor when the time comes" Kaido emphasized on the favor part while he spoke. His meaningful gaze was fixed on Demos who nodded in agreement to his demands, alongside every other person present. Only after everyone agreed did Kaido heave a sigh of relief, he briefly bid Derik and Cyrus farewell after which Demos effortlessly created a spatial gate leading back to the empire, leaving the group in despair. To create a passageway leading back to the empire, Derik, Cyrus and Kaido had to join hands and they barely maintained it for a few minutes before their mana ran dry. Yet Demos opened one effortlessly and waited for them to complete their farewell speeches. The fact that the difference in power between a gold ream master and a demigod realm being is so vast once again threw them into despair. They realized they had a long way to go but little time to meet up. "You said by claiming their inheritance, Derik and Cyrus are bound to reach the demigod realm¡­ Does this mean they are going to jump grades and push past the realm of mortals?" Kaido was already entertaining the thoughts of having two demigod allies and he found it appealing. He could hardly hide his excitement when he asked the question, but the look on Derik and Cyrus'' face was so disappointing, his dreams shattered even before they could answer him. "Are you retarded or just plain dumb?" Demos asked with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering how someone could entertain such crazy thoughts. Like how could mere gold realm masters at the mid-grade of the realm skip the peak grade of the gold realm and jump into the demigod realm directly? "That''s not possible¡­ In the past, there have been many warriors and mages who reached the peak of the gold realm, yet only a handful of them made it to the demigod realm¡­ do you know why?" Samael quickly stepped in and tried to explain. In response to his question, every one of them shook their heads in disapproval. They were unable to understand why someone would be unable to cross to the next realm, even after attaining the peak of the previous realm. The difference between a host and a normal mage wielding a similar element has never been sheer power. But instead, it''s their understanding of their element, a knowledge which is improved rather quickly with the help of their guardian spirits. The greatest advantage a host possesses over his or her peers is purely based on their mastery over their elements. Such an advantage has always allowed them to surpass their peers and quickly widen the gap between them. Those with high mastery of normal magic can always be powerful enough to make someone mistake them for guardian spirit hosts if their mastery over their element is as great as that of another host. "Basically¡­ You are trying to say we need to have great control over our element to be qualified to enter the demigod realm?" Cyrus'' questions made Samael''s heart skip a bit since he didn''t expect her to finish so soon. As much as he was intrigued by his new disciple''s wisdom, he still felt a bit uncomfortable. "Yes¡­" Samael answered. "Our control is already superb and our skills are crazy¡­ What''s the need for the inheritance then?" Derik asked. Xiu! Raising his hand and pointing a finger towards the sky everyone watched golden aura gather from the environment, camping on the tip of the former guardian knights finger. Like a show, the light aura twirled around his fingertip while taking different forms, captivating all those who watched. "You see¡­ The difference between Demigods and gold realm mortals like you is quite vast. It''s not something children like you all can understand¡­ Unlike you all who consume mana to replenish your lost energy, we demigods can directly draw the power of our elements from anywhere to replenish our strength" Demos explained while flicking his finger, forcing dark aura to gather from all sides into his fingertips just like Samael. "The difference between a demigod and a gold realm mortal is not something that can be overlooked¡­ the level of understanding needed to achieve this is not something any of you can easily cross even if given a thousand years¡­ those who are capable of doing this in just a few are considered as peak experts and young masters" Demos explained. "So the inheritance will grant us what exactly? We already possess the true form of the death and life which is purer than yours¡­ so I''m guessing it will grant us more understanding of our elements¡­ Right?" Cyrus asked, making Demos and Cyrus chuckle at his words. "You are crazy if you think this weak thing you possess is the true power of the death and life magic¡­ In fact, it''s pitiful¡­ How do you intend to become gods with this kind of power?" Cyrus laughed "There is no reason for us to waste more time here¡­ You will understand what we speak of when you the time comes but for now... we have to get going and finish this as soon as possible. 321 Chapter 321 Bang! The spatial gate shattered as soon as Kaido passed by but the stern look on his face remained as he gazed at the empty space, behind Derik and Cyrus. While Demos was disturbed, Samael seemed furious, both of them gazing at the same spot. "Don''t you think you all are too old to be playing such nasty tricks?"Samael roared and three figures appeared directly behind Derik and Cyrus, with their hands placed on their shoulders. Derik and Cyrus were startled and tried to move but some sort of invisible force prevented them from moving a finger, only minor gestures were allowed. They failed to understand how three people with such powerful life force could sneak up on them without them noticing, the most horrifying part of the whole issue is that they still can''t sense their life force even though they were gazing at them right now. Amongst the three, two wore a white robe with a golden crucifix at the center with a chaplet hanging loosely around their neck, each possessing a pair of wings and dazzling golden eyes. These people are the reason why Samael lost his cool in the first place because one is a former pope of the holy church while the other is the current Pope of the holy church. Each possessing the legendary demigod realm cultivation base, yet the always listened to Samael''s order. "I don''t remember asking any of you for help¡­ why are you here?" Samael''s voice carried enough venom to kill even the creator, scaring the shit out of those two men. Even if they have chosen to abandon the man they once prayed to as a god, that doesn''t necessarily mean they have overcome their fear of him. "Now, now, old archangel¡­ Don''t go about instilling fear into the loyal soldiers of the creator¡­ It''s not nice" the angel with plain white hair and intensive glowing golden eyes spoke. He had two pairs of golden wings and wore a golden armor with a golden spear hanging loosely on his back. "Michael¡­ take you hands off those two first¡­ or I''ll kill you" Demos finally spoke. The frown on his face was finally gone, replaced with a sadistic looking smile with even sent chills down the spine of the angel. "You¡­ You are one of the soldiers of the creator¡­ You must help us vanquish this enemy of the heavens!" Michael roared, ignoring Demos'' threats. Swoosh! Finally, Derik and Cyrus were able to move again and when they looked over their shoulder s, they saw the severed hands of the three men still gripping on to their shoulders and no matter how much they pulled, they couldn''t remove it. "I am no one''s pet, neither are you allowed to boss me around, remember that or the next time¡­ I''ll be sure to kill you off for good" Demos hissed. He knew these people all possessed great control over the light element and he watched them regrow their severed hands but he wasn''t bothered by this. "What are you saying? Do you dare attack the faithful servants of the creator? Did you join hands with this traitor as well?" Michael said while pointing a finger at Samael while he accused Demos of betrayal. "I see you are eager to die¡­ Am I right?" Demos was quite stunned by Micheal''s attitude. Originally this person was just an average angel with the mid-grade of the gold realm as his cultivation base. And after Samael''s betrayal and banishment, Michael was elevated by the creator and given the position of the guardian spirit of life. Reaching the demigod realm was as a result of the creator using its power to forcefully push him over his limits and into a greater realm. Yet it is still considered a waste since all it possessed was normal magic and even its mastery and control of his element was still not on par with that of other guardian spirits, making him the weakest. In the past, Michael always tried hard to avoid conflict with the other guardian spirits even if it meant running and throwing away his pride. Over and over again, Michael has chosen this path and has never looked back, so Demos never expected him to be so gutsy. "So it is true you have betrayed the creator at last¡­ Unfortunately, you must be removed by me, before you become a problem" Michael said as he slowly approached Demos. Meanwhile, Derik and Cyrus stood hundreds of meters behind Samael while he was confronted by the two popes. Choosing to stay that far and at the same time so close to the formation was a good call since they could escape into the portal when necessary, just in case, things go south. "Kill me? You? HAHAHAHAHA! I MAY HAVE LOST A LARGE PORTION OF MY POWER WHEN NURTURING MY HOST, BUT YOU, MY FRIEND, YOU ARE FAR FROM BEING ABLE TO KILL ME¡­ IT''S A THOUSAND YEARS TOO EARLY FOR YOU CHALLENGE ME, BOY!!!" Demos roared as he released his death aura with a loud bang. Under everyone''s watchful gaze, the aura spread fast and far like a plague. 322 Chapter 322 "This¡­We don''t have to do this Demos¡­ All you have to do is kill those kids and help us kill Samael¡­ I''m sure the creator will reward you greatly" Michael was terrified of the strength Demos just displayed so it decided to try to convince Demos to help them defeat Samael who in their opinion is more of a threat than Demos. "You just don''t know when to shut the fuck up and run right?" Demos was enraged even more by Michael''s words. ...... "So it is true you have colluded with the forces of darkness, lord of light" The current pope said with a sad look on his face. "We followed you blindly¡­ we destroyed the evil in this world in your name and you turned your back on us" The former pope said with a disappointed look on his face leaving Samael a bit confused. Hypocrisy is something he could never get use to, back then and even now. He glared at this people for a while silently musing over their previous words while trying hard not to laugh. At this point, he was both amused and enraged. From the moment they came here, he could feel their killing intentions, even before they revealed themselves. The popes have always served as Samael''s informants. Just like every other warrior or mage who gets to the demigod realm, the creator wastes no time in calling them over to his side since it means they have one more capable fighter on their side. With them leaving the realm of mortals and living alongside the creator, the angels and other demigods, they can easily monitor the activities of the creator and report back to their master. This is something they have been doing for centuries now and now, Samael knew it was all about to change. "I am the reason you all reached the demigod realm¡­ I taught you the secrets of the light magic and guided you through your transition¡­ You have my blood running in your veins, yet you wish to kill me? Do you think that''s possible?" Samael''s calm reaction made the two men take a step back in fear. Even though they were all at the low grade of the demigod realm, the power oozing from Samael''s body made theirs more like childs play. They knew much about life element and knew Samael uses such element, making his own magic more powerful than theirs naturally. At this point they could only rely on their numbers to make up for their weakness. "Explain yourself and we can resolve this peacefully" The former pope cried out. "You want me to explain myself? YOU ARE ASKING YOUR GOD TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF¡­ RECEIVE DIVINE JUDGEMENT! TRUE LIFE MAGIC: HOLY SPEAR!!!" Booom! Bang! "Confine!" Both popes roared and a thick layer of golden aura appeared around the golden Cyclone, completely containing it. "Light magic: Thousand years containment technique!" They quickly pulled out a silver container which reminded Derik of the container used to seal the seven sins, making him panic. He knew how powerful such ancient artifacts are and considering the way the fight started, these people always bore the intentions of using such an nasty technique to seal Samael. "SNEAKY BASTARDS! YOU DARE USE UNHANDED TECHNIQUES AGAINST YOUR CREATOR!" Samael''s enraged voice shook the skies and created powerful hurricanes. The silver lid yanked open and soon a powerful suction began pulling the golden cyclone towards it and when Samael tried to escape, powerful golden chains shut out of the container and quickly bound him, pulling him towards it. "Bastards!" Demos barely had enough time to curse since he was surprisingly been suppressed by Micheal who suddenly powered up to the mid grade of the demigod realm. This was obviously planned from the start, while the two popes seal Samael , Micheal received the creators grace which ended up enhancing his power by one grade. The difference between the grades in that the demigod was like the difference between realms in the mortal level. At this point, Demos felt like he was a silver realm mage fighting against a gold realm guardian knight! Total suicide! No matter how much he tried to detach, Michael always larched on to him, preventing him from interfering with the process. He couldn''t go all out either because of Derik and Cyrus who were still observing from afar. "Damn it!" Demos cursed his bad luck. ......¡­?? "So this is what my original guardian spirit is like¡­ I feel ashamed I once listened to that fools ramblings in my head" Cyrus felt disappointed by Michael''s behaviour. "You can talk on that later... Let''s save your new master first" Derik sounded uninterested in the topic Cyrus wanted to bring up, instead, he was completely focused on the battle and as usual, was searching for openings. "Damn you¡­ are you blind or just plain dumb¡­ they are demigods what do you plan to do? Throw a bone spear at them?" Cyrus was stunned by Derik''s proposal. He just couldn''t understand how Derik intended to get involved in a battle between demigods and survive, especially since they use light magic stronger than his own life magic which was his weakness. "Of course¡­ we will launch our attacks but not at them¡­ The silver sealing container¡­as long as we can interrupt the process, Samael will definitely find a way to escape¡­ and yes, I''m just as reckless as ever¡­ that''s how I got this far¡­" Derik laughed and began gathering his energy. Cyrus wanted to speak against the plan but when he saw Derik seriously gathering his power for a final attack he had no choice but to join him too. 323 Chapter 323 Death aura and life aura leaked out of Derik and Cyrus bodies while a golden spear and bone spear formed in their hands, yet their enemies were yet to take notice of their actions or even spare them a glance, it made them feel like they never existed. Since they both possessed similar aura to their master''s monstrous aura, they could cast their spell and go unnoticed. Apart from that was also the fact that they were just at the mid-grade of the gold realm, making them insignificant in the eyes of these people. In the eyes of these demigods, there is almost no difference between Derik and Cyrus and normal people with no powers or supernatural gifts. .....................¡­. Swoosh! Demos drifted to the side evading the golden spear while swinging his death scythe at the enemy from the side, hoping to split his body from his waist down in one strike but Michael wasted no time in getting hold of the weapon with his bare hands before thrusting his golden spear forward once again. Meanwhile, Samael was just like a ferocious beast struggling for its life while he struggled with the golden chains. Each time he pulled and snapped the chains only got stronger and stronger, up to the point that over a hundred golden chains were needed to hold him down completely. The two popes were covered in sweat and they all wore an exhausted look on their faces while they watched Samael completely enter the silver container which was floating right above them. Even then Samael''s roars could still be heard and the silver container kept trembling but these popes did not worry sand they focused on casting the final part of the spell, creating the sealing silver lid. "You should have paid more attention to us" A cold, detached voice echoed in their ears. Xiu! Booom! They reacted pretty quick but by the time they heard the voice, the deed had already been done. A golden aura spear and a bone spear appeared out of nowhere and struck the silver container, creating a shockwave that knocked everyone away, including Derik and Cyrus. The force was enough to knock them into the barrier protecting the black whirlpool and they felt the powerful suction force of the black whirlpool, pulling them in. They were utterly powerless against this since the power far surpassed their own. With no other choice, they could only shot the battlefield a final glance, there they saw the pope''s and Michael giving them the death stare, while Demos threw Derik a thumbs up. A small crack appeared on the silver container the moment the two popes lost concentration and before they could realize their mistake, the sealing tool exploded, revealing the enraged Samael. His facial expression turned soft when he gazed at Cyrus who was been pulled into the whirlpool, giving him a nod and whispering something inaudible to others except Cyrus. "Thank you" He said. ...........................¡­ Derik and Cyrus soon fell into the black whirlpool hoping to be transported to a place more colorful but to their greatest surprise, there was only darkness. No matter how much they screamed they could never hear each other so they assumed the other was transported to somewhere different just like the guardian spirits said. According to the guardian spirits, the world will lead them to their inheritance. There was no need to struggle or fear, the process was just like been placed in a deep state of sleep, no one knew how long they will be stuck this way but they will only be ejected out of the black whirlpool when they have completely consumed the inheritance. ...........................¡­. "Well¡­ Now the kids are gone, I can kill you without any concern" Demos said and his aura exploded from his body True Life path: Supreme being of the heavens! Upon speaking those words an ancient scroll appeared by his left and unfolded beside him, following it was an ink jar with a golden feather appearing at his right side. Bang! An invisible force exploded from his body and his muscles began bulging for a moment and the next moment they were soon covered by a thick layer of glittering gold alongside the rest of his body, making him look like a golden statue with a golden halo around his head True death path: Birth of a litch king! Demos quickly pulled up the hood of his black robe over his head while his skin peeled off, leaving behind only shiny white bones. It wasn''t long before an extra pair of massive black wings sprouted on his back and green flames began dancing in the empty eye sockets. In his right hand was the death scythe and in his left hand was a skull shrouded in a ball of darkish green flames. "Now¡­ Now¡­ Don''t give us that look, did you think the two peerless masters of the past will be easily defeated? Why do you think the other guardian spirits refuse to mess with us even though we have lost most of our powers?" Demos'' words struck fear in the hearts of the three demigods. These three were present when Demos and Samael first released this technique, at first they felt it was something they could handle but now they felt like fools for even entertaining those thoughts. The difference between the time this ability was used in the presence of the hosts and now was entirely different. Demos and Cyrus had become completely different beings, so huge that their heads were above the clouds making Michael and the two popes look like mere flies. The space around them crumbled and the chaotic energy flowing out of the void restricted the movements of the three demigods. They could only watch in horror as the two guardian spirits gathered their powers for a final attack 324 Chapter 324 But to their greatest surprise, none of that happened. Even the members of the death and life sect who were expecting Kaido to battle Ahika and force him to bring out the injured Francis and Diana were disappointed as well. Not only was Diana a close friend of his but he also believed the empire still had a need for those gold realm masters, at least, until Derik and Cyrus returns. So he had no intentions preventing them from recovering. All he could do at this point was to gather the rest of the nobles involved in the bloody war and have them killed. Every single one of them was murdered gruesomely under his watchful eyes and the system of power in the empire was quickly pulled down. Every representative of all races which made up the empire was swiftly stripped of their positions and power, and everything was handed over to the two sects. It didn''t take long before the streets of all parts of the empire were occupied by members of the palace of life and palace of death. The sudden change in power was not welcomed but no one dared to speak up since Ahika showed no signs of opposing this change. Just like Kaido, Derik, and Cyrus, Ahika believed that the only thing which can keep an empire together is absolute power. Since love couldn''t keep it together in the past, it wasn''t bad for them to try a new approach. As long as the people were not oppressed and the power was not misused he had no reason to interfere, by the way, he had little time for politics, since he decided to focus on his cultivation and increase his power. In his opinion, little issues like this a complete waste of his time. With no one to stop him, the reform went smoothly and soon no one could speak against Kaido''s actions. People like Elsa, Gerald, and other former high ranking members of the empire who once served as representatives could only send requests with hopes that their requests would be considered and accepted. They held no real power. At first, people considered this an insult and spoke against this because their loved ones were amongst the undead army but Kaido was not moved by their cries and continued. It didn''t take long before this method proved to be effective, making everyone who spoke against it in the past keep shut. Be it within the empire or outside the walls of the empire, these undead puppets were vicious and ruthless against all those who were considered a threat to the safety of the empire, eliminating them with no casualty on the side of the civilians. During this time, countless small gangs and cults appeared but they were all visited by the dead who didn''t need to rest or sleep neither were they corrupt or persuaded. In less than six months, the empire returned to normal and it soon began growing once again, faster than ever. With the perfect security forces and no selfish nobles who twisted the laws just to enrich themselves, the economy of the empire bloomed and since the threat of the magic beasts and the holy church was gone, these people for the very first time in their lives enjoyed a year of peace and prosperity. The adventurers association was soon merged with the empires military and Gerald was asked to lead it since Creed was already dead. During this time the orcs returned to the empire, but this time they didn''t come just to destroy and annihilate, they came to stay. It didn''t take long before a portion of the continent was occupied by them and a stronghold was quickly erected. Before they could further expand, two more foreign beings invaded the continent as well, putting the orcs in a bad position. Apparently, the orcs were just the creation of one of the old gods and probably the first to invade the god vein, but it didn''t take long before the other old golds could send over their own creations. While this was not necessarily a good thing for the empire, they didn''t have to worry much since the foreign beings residing in their continent, ignored their existence and soon began battling each other for land. Every one of them had the intention of creating their own empire in this world but there was limited land for them to occupy so they chose to fight each other for it. While they could easily attack the empire or the magic beasts which resided at the southern part of the continent, they didn''t dare do it alone or any time soon. At the side of the empire, these people could detect the about six or so gold realm masters residing there, with a large number of silver realm experts, coupled with the thick stench of death which exuded from the strong three hundred thousand armies of the dead surrounding the empire upon their arrival. While they may win this fight, they will most likely lose a lot of powerful figures in such a battle, weakening their strength while giving the other invaders a chance to dominate them or completely annihilate them. 325 Chapter 325 Since the death mage and the life mage left and even though it can''t be considered a long time most of the inhabitants of the continent had already forgotten them. But of course, this feeling was only limited to the civilians who had no real reason to fear him. But for powerful masters and people affiliated to noble families, they all lived in fear of the day the two beasts will return and seek justice for their dead. They fear Derik and Cyrus may go on a killing spree and not listen to reason. As if this was not enough to keep them on their toes, the appearance of the invaders still shook the world. Their sheer numbers and power could easily rival that of the empire but to some reason, these invaders have refused to attack. Instead, they fought amongst each other for land and fame. Within the past two years, these invaders had already split the continent of Aldemar into numerous territories and strongholds had already been established. It didn''t take long before these invaders began taking part in normal activities like farming and trading. Originally, Kaido and the other masters expected these invaders to be conquerers and warmongers, people whose sole goal is to ravage the lands and destroy its inhabitants. No one expected them to actually start a new settlement and create their own kingdoms. In Kaido''s opinion, this was a good thing since the chances or been attacked have been greatly reduced but that did not necessarily mean they are safe. Amongst the invaders are the orcs who are battle crazed beasts, searching for worthy foes. They even dare to start wars amongst other invaders and in most cases, they always emerge victoriously. At the moment these be as control the whole central region of the continent but even though they are surrounded by foes, these beasts have never shown any sign of fear, instead they keep getting excited. Even gold realm masters like Kaido and Ahika are courteous of these beasts and would always be on their guard against them. .................................. .....Present Day......¡­.. "Funny enough¡­ these are just their basic fighting gear¡­ I have seen them bring bigger tools through the gateway¡­ more of them are coming¡­ at this rate, only the gold realm masters will be strong enough to survive an attack from them and even then I believe the gold realm masters will be forced to flee¡­ our world has become a mess¡­" Blink''s eyes were fixed on the men in camouflage clothes patrolling the streets. Thanks to his physical enhancements, he could see them even from the top floor of the four-story building hotel they were lodged in. "Don''t be so pessimistic¡­ They let us into their city¡­ They have been treating us well lately¡­ They are by far the most friendly invaders we have met" Gust said as she jumped on the soft king-sized bed, rolling around uncontrollably. "Yea man¡­ You shouldn''t be so restless over issues like this¡­ By the way, the death mage''s name is not foreign even to these invaders¡­ For the fact you are a member of the palace of the dead¡­ they dare not mess with you" Blaze walked up to Blink while he spoke. Even though his words made sense, his eyes betrayed him. None of them felt entirely safe¡­ At this point, Derik is more of a myth to these invaders who have never seen him. The stories of his control over the death element, his undying body, and his mastery over necromancy have been enough to command fear and respect from the invaders but for how long? Derik has yet to make an appearance for two years now and the world has started losing faith in him. Most people have forgotten him and some even believe he died in his search for power, even with the palace of the dead. Only a handful of people know he still lives and he will definitely return but the problem is they don''t have a way to prove his existence. Right now no one has dared to make a move against the empire because it possesses peerless masters that are said to be able to control life and death, but soon enough if these peerless masters do not show themselves and show their strength to the world, the empire will be a thing of the past. "He needs to return¡­ I know he''s still alive¡­. Palace master Derik cannot be killed¡­ He is invincible!" Blink muttered to himself. From all he has seen so far, the peace which the people of the empire have enjoyed for years now is about to end. Be it the orcs or these humans with strange weapons which they call technology or the other invaders, they will most likely fall in a fight against any one of them. 326 Chapter 326 Thanks to this, the strength of the members of the death palace soon surpassed that of their friends and rivals, the life palace. In just a year after the bloody civil war, Kira, Kin, and Kuen broke past their limits and stepped into the gold realm, granting the palace of death three more peerless masters on their side, while the Life palace''s Fernandos and Agus broke into the gold realm two years after. A year''s worth of cultivation difference! With this not only did people see the true effects of Derik''s aura but this also drove away chased away the rumors that the life and death mage was killed in their search for power. A domain cannot exist without its master, only a realm can. The fact that Derik''s domain still exists meant that they were still alive. "It''s getting stronger¡­ Very strong!" Kaido was seated on the bare floor at the underground training chamber where Derik usually stayed. In there was the passageway to his domain and the three demonic commanders of the palace of death. "What does that mean?" Kuen was a bit confused. Within these two years, he had grown a mustache, and just like the other cosmic spirits, his cosmic spirit is yet to speak to him. He wore a red Japanese kimono with a black Katana strapped to his back coupled with his blazing red eyes which gave him an imposing look. Beside him was Kira whose appearance kept getting worse and worse but his strength kept rising at an alarming rate. At this point it was clear, Kira had given up on resisting Derik''s aura to preserve his looks. Instead, he chose the path of power and gave up on his physical appearance forever. His black hair had grown longer, down to his shoulders but they were more like clouds of black smoke instead of actual hair, bending to the direction of the wind easily. Coupled with his extremely pale skin was his eye sockets that lacked eyeballs, instead it was just darkness with a tiny red light glowing fiercely within. He was dressed in his normal sleeveless black mage attire with a red hood draped over his head. His exposed arms revealed numerous blood-red tattoos inscribed on his body and where ever he went, the stench of blood always followed tightly. "Then he''s actually taking the inheritance master Kaido spoke of but for how long? How much more time does the palace master need to complete this transformation and return? The empire needs him" Kin said with a saddened tone. As usual, he was completely shrouded by clusters of black clouds so no one could actually see his body to know how much he had changed. All they could say about him was that the dark mage was just like a black hole, consuming all forms of light around. "Soon¡­ It won''t take too long now¡­ They are almost done..." with the voice came a powerful wave of death aura which even rivaled Derik''s power. But they weren''t necessarily surprised since the existence of the guardian spirits was no longer a myth. As the end of their world drew closer the guardian spirits have been making appearances all over the world lately, especially the death god who has been visiting Kaido more often, making people wonder what kind of relationship they had. "I see¡­ So what do you suggest we do concerning our current¡­ condition" Kaido didn''t seem moved by the news at all. "At the moment, the death mage and the life mage have completely consumed their inheritance yet they are still in a state of eternal sleep¡­ They need to be woken up¡­ They need a push¡­" Demos responded indifferently. "So what do you suggest? We jump into the black whirlpool and beat them till they wake up?" Kaido raised an eyebrow while he asked the question. At this point, he was extremely frustrated by the situation they were in and no matter how much he would love to deny it, they were outclassed by the other races, especially the orc race. Even though the people of the empire were living a peaceful and stress free life, unaware of the dangers lurking in the shadow, those at the top were very much aware of their current predicament, suffering from exhaustion due to sleepless nights and constant anxiety. "Don''t be stupid little sun guardian knight¡­ if you jump into the black whirlpool, you will be erased from this world permanently¡­ that will be a stupid way to go about it¡­ even for you" Demos yawned as he spoke, infuriating Kaido even further. "First of all, don''t call me little¡­ I''m in my mid-twenties now and by normal age grades in this world, I am an adult¡­ As for jumping into black whirlpool¡­ that was only a joke" Kaido growled but even then Demos didn''t seem flustered. " I know.. I know¡­ anyway, its time for you all to make a move¡­ gather your forces¡­. Pick an invader race and attack¡­. I suggest you wipe out the beastmen of the south first¡­. They are Formidable fighters and quite troublesome¡­ the other invaders won''t be offended if these people are wiped out¡­ So you don''t have to worry about others interfering" Demos chuckled. 327 Chapter 327 "We take them on alone¡­ It will be a one-sided massacre!" Kaido laughed bitterly. "Don''t be dumb human¡­ If you all rushed in alone with your forces¡­ You will be wiped out in a matter of minutes and the gold realm masters amongst you all will only hold for a few weeks¡­. Even I can see that?" Demos felt offended by Kaido''s lack of faith in him but Kaido couldn''t care less. "Then what do you suggest we do? Or do you hope that at our time of need, Derik and Cyrus will awaken when they hear the death cries of their sect members?" Kaido asked with furrowed eyebrows and a clenched fist. "No and yes¡­ I''m banking on the fact that Derik and Cyrus'' connection to their faithful followers will be able to trigger their awakening when they sense the danger their followers are in¡­ but not in the suicidal way you are thinking¡­." Demos explained slowly, making Kiado heave a sigh of relief when he knew they weren''t going for a suicidal dive. "Then what do you have in mind?" this time Kaido seemed more alive and eager to know what Demos had in mind, making the guardian spirit puff his chest in pride as he prepared a short speech in his mind. "You all tend to forget the magic beasts still reside in this huge continent with you all¡­ Do you think they will just accept the new invaders without any resistance?... I have spoken to the four elemental ancient dragons and they are more than willing to join the action as long as you all create some sort of disturbance¡­ initiate the battle and they will join in¡­" Demos explained. Hearing this Kiado was a bit annoyed but he couldn''t deny this has lifted a lot of burden from his shoulders. With the backing of the magic beasts, they can definitely battle one of these invaders on equal terms and they may even win. Adding the four elemental ancient dragons alongside Derik and Cyrus was complete overkill. They will definitely obliterate any foe with little effort, except the orcs and beast-men. "This is a good plan¡­ But I plan to change our target¡­" Kaido said while rubbing his facial hair carefully. "We sent our forces to scout the enemies a long time ago and even now we are still gathering information¡­. So far, we agreed the orcs and the beast-men are too strong for us to deal with¡­ so we spotted the perfect target just a few weeks ago¡­." Kaido said with a sly smile on his face, making Demos flinch. It''s rare to see someone like Kaido wear such expressions unless he truly has something crazy in mind. At this point, Kuen stepped forward and shot Demos a meaningful glance first before speaking. "They call themselves humans¡­ Just like us¡­ But the only difference is they have no special abilities¡­ no elemental affinities¡­ no supernatural beings¡­ just technology¡­ At least that''s what Blink called it¡­ weapons fast enough to kill mages even before they can think of casting spells¡­ weapons so destructive, it makes the fights between gold realm masters look like child''s play¡­ despite being the last invaders to set foot on this continent with the least number, they are already strong enough to repel attacks from the orc horde" Kuen said with fear boldly written in his quavering eyes. "We sent Blink and his team to investigate and it''s not getting any better¡­ These people¡­ These humans found a way to create a spatial rift and keep it open¡­ more people are crossing over¡­ More weapons are been brought into our world¡­." Kin shuddered as he spoke. Even though his body was hidden by the cluster of darkness, making it impossible for someone to tell how he feels through body language or facial expressions, it still couldn''t conceal the fear boldly spelled out in his shaky voice. "These people are still friendly because they fear the palace master¡­ They received Blink and his team because Blink identified himself as a member of this death palace¡­ Derik has made a name for himself and its only because of his crazy stories that these people are yet to attack¡­ they can feel the death aura around this empire and they assume Derik is still present¡­ But for how long? How long will they live in fear? If these humans gather enough forces and bring them into our world¡­ coupled with the weapons and technology they use¡­ Not just the empire but they will easily eradicate all life on this continent!" Kira said with furrowed eyebrows and his arms wrapped around his chest. Unlike the others, he didn''t seem afraid. Instead, he seemed pissed off by the fact that they were yet to do something about the situation. Even after they were done speaking, Demos remained silent for over a minute sending cold chills in the hearts of the four gold realm masters. The fact the angel of death is left speechless by something like this means, he already knows more than they do and maybe the little they know is nothing compared to his own knowledge. "They are here too? How? Does that mean they weren''t using their true strength when they wiped out the wingman race? They didn''t need to use their true strength to destroy the holy church? How is that possible?" Demos was as pale as a ghost when he spat out those words. 328 Chapter 328 Their war weapons were just too powerful and deadly. Winged shaped metal beasts soaring through the sky and shooting down foes, metal beasts of the earth, capable of releasing explosive ranged attacks that make a silver realm fire mage sweat in his boots. Each of their soldiers possesses metal weapons that allow them to kill over five or more mages and guardian knights before they can even cast their spells or ready their weapons. The sheer power of these mages and guardian knights look like kids and only the strong amongst them can last long enough to throw a few blows before they die. And when the gold realm masters of the holy church appeared, they were bombarded with even bigger and more powerful weapons that made rivaled them in strength and power, shooting them out of the air. The battle was one-sided and only a handful of people escaped the disaster and they are currently on their way to the Aldemar continent to seek refuge in the empire, under Samael''s commands. If the former guardian spirit didn''t intervene, countless people would have died in that battle too. Back then, Demos only watched the battle that lasted only a couple of days in horror, greatly annoyed by the fact he couldn''t interfere. After the battle between him, two demi-god realm popes, the light angel, Michael, and the former guardian spirit Samael. Demos was banned from interfering with the activities of mortals by the creator and if he should flaunt this order, he will be dismissed from the heavens and become a rogue demigod being like Samael. As much as he would love to show the creator his middle finger and murder as many dumb angelic beings and demigods in the heavens, he still needed them. He still knew how important it is for him to stand at the creator''s side since it allows him to witness all that''s going on the first hand and get the most recent information easily. At that time he was grateful to Samael for stopping him when he was about to end the life of the light magic angel and the two demigod popes. Since he didn''t murder any of the creator''s lackeys, he was able to confidently use Derik as an excuse to fight alongside Samael. In his defense, he claimed Cyrus and Derik were both assaulted by the three demigods. In such a position he didn''t care whether Samael was a friend or foe, he just joined hands with him to protect his investment. No matter how much the creator would have loved to refuse such an excuse, it was too good to reject. The least it could do was ban Demos from getting involved in the fight of mortals and giving the same punishment to the three demigods he fought as well. They haven''t seen these ''powerless humans'' fight in a full-scale war and only relied on the information blink provided them with. If what Demos said is true, how can they stand against such monsters in combat? Even with the help of the magic beasts, they may not last so long. "when fighting them, do it within their settlement¡­ don''t try to overwhelm them with numbers since it''s going to be useless¡­ I suspect, they were able to build an artificial sky rift which allows them to bring people from their world over to this place till... so I suggest you destroy it¡­ send only the strong¡­. And leave as soon as you are done¡­ You can''t fight them head-on¡­ as for Derik and Cyrus¡­ don''t bother putting the lives of their followers at risk¡­ they will go crazy if hundreds of them should die, just to wake them up¡­ I will find another way to wake them up¡­ Just focus on destroying their sky rift¡­" Demos said before vanishing abruptly. The urgency in his expression, made these people realize how dire the situation is and they dared not waste any more time. "Contact Blink¡­ Have him prepare for the raid¡­ Kira¡­ Gather all the other powerful masters of the empire¡­ We are going to lay waste to that settlement before the day ends!" Kaido''s eyes let out a bright red glow while he spoke. "What about those two? Do we need them?" Kira''s eyes carried signs of displeasure and disgust but Kaido couldn''t blame him, he could understand why Kira and the other demon commanders despised Francis and Diana so much. Unfortunately for them, this was no time for petty grudges, in as much as those two are yet to recover their true strength after they sustained severe injuries at the hands of these commanders, they were still useful. The possessed the experience as gold realm masters, making them more capable than Kira, Kuen, and Kin who just stepped foot into the realm. "Unfortunately¡­ we need everyone experienced enough¡­ when Derik and Cyrus return¡­ let them settle the matter how they see fit¡­" Kaido said indifferently. "Outrageous! How can we even trust they will have our backs after everything that has happened? They can easily backstab us and join the enemy!" Kin''s enraged voice echoed in the room. "I wish I could give you an answer but I can''t¡­ I don''t want these people to watch my back but then again¡­ we don''t have a choice¡­ a force capable of destroying the holy church is not something we can underestimate¡­ we need all the help we can get" Kaido smiled bitterly while he spoke. Even he was not completely okay with the idea, but it was necessary. "But!" Kin wanted to argue further but a hand invaded his dark clouds and accurately grabbed his shoulders. Suddenly an invisible force befalls him, making his legs tremble while the ground beneath his feet cracked. "Don''t worry my friend¡­ I always act as the battle support¡­ Now I have reached the gold realm¡­ I won''t find it difficult to subdue those weakened old hags¡­ I''ll keep an eye on them" Kuen released the pressure as soon as he released it, making the darkness mage relax a bit. The later could only nod in agreement since Kira didn''t show signs of disapproval anymore and the three dispersed to gather the masters of the empire and prepare for what could be the toughest battle of their lives. 329 Chapter 329 "I will be sending you all back¡­ I will handle the rest" Blink said while he remained focused on his cloaking spell, preventing the patrolling soldiers from noticing their presence. "I know what you are thinking but don''t you think you are underestimating us a bit too much?" Blaze was not necessarily annoyed with Blink, he just felt hurt by his teammate''s lack of faith. Even then he couldn''t necessarily blame the youth for that. As a team that has remained intact for over two years now, they were all aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Blink has always been the strongest thanks to his inhumane speed and strength, a versatile arsenal of spells granted to sorcerers, and his signature teleportation magic which makes the others look like powerless kids. His participation in the war greatly boosted his reputation, coupled with the fact that he somehow managed to defeat a silver realm level paladin which all five disciples of the death mage failed to defeat. With such achievements, the youth has been one of the most celebrated talents of the empire and what sealed his position as the number one talent of the empire was his victory in the last inter-class competition, where he single-handedly defeated the combined forces of the strongest members of the other classes. Amongst those he defeated was Blaze, the representative of the battlemage class, and Gust, the representative of the archery class, earning their respect and friendship. "It''s really nice you all want to play hero¡­ But I can''t continue with you all¡­ I work better alone and you know that" Blink''s eyes let out a silver glow and series of silver arrays appeared beneath the feet of his teammates. Before they could speak against his actions, they realized they were back in the empire. "That bastard! I''ll kill him!" Blaze roared in anger only to regret his actions the next moment. At this moment, they realized they were teleported to the desolate area behind the empire where all the powerful masters gathered. "That''s my little brother you are talking about right there¡­ careful young lad" Kuen said at Blaze without sparing him a glance. Bam! "The kid did what''s right¡­ amongst you all he is the strongest¡­ you will only get in his way if you stayed behind¡­" Karl lightly tapped his son''s shoulders, making the kid panic. Considering Blink''s nature, it was only a matter of time they will be abandoned as well just like their other team members and this terrified them greatly. "I never thought I will be forced to come out of retirement¡­ after fighting against those two¡­ I just wanted to enjoy what''s left of my life¡­." Donald sighed while giving Diana and Francis a meaningful glare. "No you didn''t¡­ if for one thing, you have always been restless and eager for more battles¡­. If didn''t happen, I won''t be surprised if I hear you attacked the orc settlement alone¡­." Daemon snapped at her husband, making the others laugh out loud. At that point, a massive silver array appeared beneath, and before Blaze or gust could even react, they were pushed out of the silver array by a calm, yet strong wind created by Gusts father.,, Mason. "Don''t worry dear¡­ Stay with your mother a bit¡­ I will return as soon as this is over" Mason gave the little green-haired girl a wink but even then, Gust still felt terrified. Unlike these powerful masters crossing over to the other side, they have actually seen these weapons and how they work. It was a known fact that Mason is the most powerful archer of the empire and a very powerful warrior at that with decades of combat experience, but that didn''t make her feel any better. She tried to act strong while she was with Blink to calm him down but the thought of having her father battle those monsters was just too terrifying for her to bear. "Yea¡­ You don''t have to worry¡­ Your old man will just settle things fast and return home¡­" Karl gave Blaze a warm smile before he and the other masters were completely covered by silver light. ........................................................ Back at the human settlement, while Blink focused on maintaining the long-ranged teleportation formation, he kept cursing his bad luck and wished Kalos could leave the empire and help. But ever since Derik left, everyone who envied the undead gold realm mages under Derik''s command quickly changed the way they thought. After Derik and Cyrus left, the weakness of these undead commanders finally surfaced. Back when Derik and Cyrus were within the continent, they were free to act without the approval of their masters but now they are gone, Kalos and Aldora were only slightly better than the average undead puppet. At this point, they couldn''t even leave the empire or act without permission. After their defeat at the hands of Ahika, the undead mages continued roaming the empire as its main line of defense since they couldn''t leave it. "That''s as far as you go, young man¡­. The colonel was right¡­ you mages can''t be trusted" A deep voice resonated from behind but even then Blink didn''t panic. He just removed the cloaking spell since he has already been found, revealing the massive silver magic array above the settlement! 330 Chapter 330 It was a team of four, all heavily armed and each wearing normal green camouflage military uniform and they each had some sort of black google, Blink guessed they used that to see through his cloaking spell. At this point, everyone was gazing at the massive silver array above, troops were gathering, preparing for the worst and even armored fighting vehicles were been moved. With this, Blink realized these people were prepared for this day. "Bring down your spell and come with us quietly¡­ where are your friends?" The man had a thick bushy mustache and a scar that ran down his left eye, all the way down to his jaw. "Hehehehe¡­ My friends? I sent them off early¡­ They would get in my way when dealing with you all¡­ I guess I made the right decision¡­ as for the magic array above this settlement¡­ I can''t take it down just yet¡­ Instead of wasting your time on me, I believe you should focus on fortifying this settlement first because when that thing activates¡­ The strongest warriors and mages of the empire will be stepping into this place... Maybe my master will be there¡­ Maybe not, either way¡­ this settlement will be burnt to the ground" Blink''s eyes released a bright silver flash and more strange runes kept appearing on the magic array above, while he summoned his twin magic death daggers from his storage ring. Hearing the mage speak about the warriors and mages of the empire, the sergeant didn''t get flustered and remained emotionless but when Blink spoke about his master, the team of four soldiers trembled unconsciously due to fear. The moment Blink mentioned his master, his silver aura was quickly invaded by some sort of darkish purple aura which carried the smell of death with it, stunning those four men. Apparently, even they have heard of the immortal death mage with the undying body and a legion of the dead under his commands. Even though they have made various preparations to be able to challenge the death mage and his army of the dead and they were quite confident of succeeding, that doesn''t mean they didn''t feel threatened by his presence. A man capable of taming death is not easy to deal with. "Kill him before he completes his spells!" The sergeant roared and the whole team opened fire on them. Unfortunately for them Blink was already one step ahead and had already set up an invisible barrier around him. Seeing the bullets bounce off the barrier, he once again felt happy he was fortunate to join the sorcery class and not the battle mage class. Having a wide range of spells, even if they are not offensive spells, they are more useful in situations like this. "This is some supernatural shit¡­ blow that little shit to smithereens!" the sergeant roared. Following his orders, the soldiers dropped their assault rifles and picked up RPG''s, all aiming at Blink whose calm expression crumbled. Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Before Blink could take action, three explosions occurred right in front of him, making the empty space around him tremble while revealing the shape of the barrier he set up. Puti! The mage spat out a mouthful of blood and fell on his knees but at the same time, another rune appeared on the massive silver array above, making the soldiers despair. "Hahahahaha! Do you think I will just roll over and die so easily? Don''t underestimate the mages of the palace of the dead! You powerless humans!!!!" Blink completely went crazy at this moment, releasing his death aura which took the form of a horned red-eyed beast, stunning the soldiers once again. "What are you doing? Get yourself together and shoot him down!" Thanks to the sergeant''s orders, they regained their cool and prepared to take another shot. Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! "You!!!!" Blink roared as his silver eyes turned purple and he sent forth a powerful wave of death aura from his magic daggers, causing them to explode before they hit the barrier! But in the end, they were still close enough to cause some damage to the barrier, forcing him to cough up some more blood but a sinister smile bloomed on his face as another rune appeared the silver array above them. "One more shot and you are done¡­ Hehehe¡­ take the shot! Let''s see who will remain standing!" Blink laughed while sluggishly pushing himself on his feet. His crazed nature and unyielding spirit even in the face of death, made these soldiers experience fear. They finally confirmed that Blink was a member of the palace of death sect and began considering a situation where they are forced to fight an army of suicidal, crazed mages like Blink or even his master, the death mage. "One more time¡­ We will get him this time¡­ Shoot him down!" The sergeant roared, snapping his soldiers out of their daze. At this point, there were visible web-shaped cracks on the barrier Blink set up and even the mage didn''t look good either. He was blood from his mouth, nostrils, and even eyes. Even though he is yet to get hit by one of their attacks, it was obvious, he was sacrificing a lot to keep the barrier alive. The fact he was yet to repair the damage simply meant the youth was nearing his limit and Blink knew this. He cursed himself for having the base cultivation of the mid-grade of the bronze realm and wished he had more time to grow. If only he was stronger, he would have been able to wipe these people out while creating the long-ranged teleportation array. At this point, he realized that he gave up a lot of time to send Blaze and Gust back. If he didn''t waste so much time, he would have been done with this spell already but even then he didn''t regret his action. He would rather make sure they are safe and face dangerous foes alone than have them endanger themselves and ultimately get killed. This was the same reason he left their team in the first place and forced it to disband. Apart from Blaze and Gust, the others were just too weak and since the empire had higher expectations of him, they always tend to give him dangerous tasks. Rather than have them all die off because of him, he decided to leave and take the only two members who could keep up with him along the way. Yes, he didn''t say this to anyone because he was afraid they will think he''s soft. But it''s still the truth! Gazing at these people prepare to launch another barrage of their attack, Blink decided to forgo defense and focus on the remaining rune which was in the process of forming. He could feel the killing intentions overflowing from these soldiers, especially the sergeant but he wasn''t flustered. "COME AT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! POWERLESS HUMANS!" Blink threw his hands open and screamed at the top of his lungs as their short battle reached the climax. 331 Chapter 331 Blink! Zoom! "This¡­" Kuen bit his lower lips in rage but he tried as much as possible to control his rage just like Kira and Kin. Directly below them was the consciousness of the angel of death, hovering over a body submerged in a pool of his blood. His body was covered in burnt wounds and a deep hole could be seen on his chest. The pressure released by the three enraged mages was enough to draw the attention of everyone in the settlement, including those responsible for Blink''s current condition. As much as Francis and Diana despised the members of the palace of the dead, they couldn''t help but feel enraged by the condition Blink was in. Even though the kid was a member of the sect they both wished to destroy, they couldn''t deny he was reduced to this sorry state while serving the empire. Of course, they couldn''t see the spirit of death hovering over the kid, only Kira, Kin and Kuen could, probably due to the side effects of Derik''s aura. Slowly, the three demon commanders of the palace of the dead descended atop the building, never taking their eyes off Blink. At this point, the sergeant and his comrades were terrified, especially since these three possessed the same diabolical aura like Blink but theirs was on a completely different level. They tried to move but their body felt heavy and their weapons even heavier. The worst part was that they couldn''t let go of their equipment, they could only watch in horror while wait for the three mages to take their life away. "He''s not dead¡­" Kin who was shrouded in a cloud of darkness said with furrowed eyebrows. "Of course he''s not¡­ He is the strongest of his generation and my sworn little brother¡­ If these powerless humans could kill him, then I will be greatly disappointed" Even though Kuen spoke with a straight face, he couldn''t hide the relief in his voice and trembling hands. "And these scum bags?" Kira asked while he released his blood magic on Blink. Right before everyone''s eyes, his wrist was cut open by an unknown force and his blood rained down on Blink''s injuries. At a speed visible to the eyes, Blink''s injuries were healed but even then the kid didn''t look rejuvenated, instead, he looked more exhausted than before. "Let¡­ Let me take care of them¡­" Blink muttered weakly while he reached for Kira. Like watching a horror movie, those four military officials watched Blink rise to his feet with no injuries at all. Apart from the fact he looked a bit pale and exhausted, the murderous intention diffusing out of him was enough to make the soldiers ignore his current condition. "You had fun beating me up while I was unable to retaliate right? Let''s how well you do against me now!" Blink staggered while he spoke but his hands kept playing with his daggers. Seeing the determination in his eyes, Kuen didn''t try to stop Blink. Instead, they chose to return to Kiado, since the spirit of death hovering above Blink was gone. .......................... BANG! BANG!! BANG!!! The style and the pressure the peak masters of the empire brought with them when they appeared was more than enough to stun the whole settlement, but it was only momentarily. Soon countless gunshots erupted from below and bullets rained on them from below. Fortunately, these masters took advantage of the little time their flashy appearance bought for them to coat their bodies with their aura. Everyone in this group was at the gold realm and only a few were at the peak grade of the silver realm. Even then these people have been in the silver realm for so long that they could contend with gold realm masters, they only lacked enough talent to find their path and break into a new realm. Even then they could be considered as old monsters and were not weak in any way. The bullets just struck their aura and bounced off, making these masters wonder if Kaido exaggerated the strength of their foes. If this was all they are capable of, a single gold realm master can easily swoop in and destroy everyone. Puff! Blood spurted out of a massive hole on the chest of the lizard man Krasic, stunning everyone around. The attack was just so fast that they could barely react to it, all they knew was that a red beam of light emerged from afar and pierced through Krasic''s defense like it was butter before penetrating his chest. Krasic was the strongest lizardman of the earth tribe with a cultivation base of the peak grade of the silver realm, comparable to the other members of Derik''s old team, team guardian. Even then he possessed the greatest physical defense amongst the group since his body was covered in powerful golden earth scales but he was still destroyed in one hit. Before these people could even lament, they realized the beam of light pierced through the lizard man''s body and hit Gin who was standing behind him. The lizard man died on the spot, falling off the air like a rock thrown into to river while Gin was a bit lucky. He saw everything clearly and since Krasic tried to struggle, he successfully bought the enchanter enough time to react by ducking to the side but his left hand was blown away by the attack entirely! 332 Chapter 332 "Not like this¡­ I refuse to die like this!" Gin roared in defiance and mustered all the energy he could for a final push, ultimately turning into a beam of light and heading to an unknown part of the settlement. "Bastard!" Donald roared in anger and was planning to dash forward, unfortunately, the others didn''t let him vent his anger out recklessly, they had to stop him. "We need to separate... if we remained clustered like this, they might as well kill us all in one go" Kira said while gazing at the direction Gin flew towards with strange emotions in his eyes. "I agree¡­ according to Blink, the artificial sky rift created by these people is located somewhere underground¡­. And I believe he''s right¡­ I can feel a powerful amount of energy below the earth but it scattered so we can''t really tell where" Kaido frowned while gazing at the direction where the red beam came from. With his enhanced vision as a gold realm master, he could see a black cannon like machinery slowly positioning itself for another shot at them. If it were only one, he wouldn''t be too bothered, what annoyed him the most was that there were tons of them, positioned all around the mighty walls of the settlement which is protected by a powerful forcefield that even he was not confident of breaking easily. These masters were no fools, the safest place and the smartest thing to do at the moment would be to descend and stand amongst their people, that way, these humans would not be able to utilize their deadly weapons unless they wish to risk killing their own as well. But their pride as peerless masters of their generation kept clouding their judgment, making them refuse to stand at the same level as mere mortals with no special powers at all. ............... Meanwhile, Blink panted heavily but the smile on his face never faded. His body shifted from side to side leaving only after images but even with an enhanced speed thanks to his mutation, he couldn''t completely escape the barrage of bullets raining on his position, forcing him to blink out of the way. "Hahaha¡­ Your weapons are formidable but you are not¡­. I don''t have to be faster than those weapons... I only need to be faster than the person that uses it!!!" Letting out a savage war cry, Blink dashed forward once again but this time, his eyes were not on the weapons these people carried, instead, it was fixated on their bodies. Bang! Just a split second before the sergeant could release the shot, Blink stomped the ground launching himself to the side. He quickly spun his daggers rapidly before shooting towards the four men fearlessly. Soon the team of four formed a circle, backing each other while firing at the moving mage. At this point, even Blink had to admit this was an effective way of shutting him down. They were atop the roof of a building with little room to maneuver and as long as they could cover all parts of the roof, they can either kill him the moment he makes a mistake or just wait until he runs out of mana. But of course, their formation had one flaw. "Well, well¡­ You shouldn''t have done that, I almost got shot" Blink''s cold voice sent shivers down the spine of these four men, especially since it came from behind. Before they could react it was already too late, Blink had already teleported himself into the center of the formation with their backs turned on him, there was no way he would miss such an opportunity. Puff! Puff!! He drove his daggers deep into the skull of two soldiers not minding the blood that splattered on his body neither did he bother about retrieving the dagger from his victims, quickly reaching for the commander and the other soldier and the sergeant with his bare hands. In response, the sergeant barely reacted better than the others but it was enough for him to perform a forward roll before turning his attention to Blink who had already killed the last member of his team by ripping out his throat with his bare hands. "Monsters! You are not human!!" The sergeant roared in anger before releasing a couple of shots but Blink could not be killed so easily. He ignored the sergeant''s words and focused on his body movements, flawlessly predicting the time of the attack, allowing him to evade the gunshots almost easily making his foe grit his teeth in despair. "Are the others like you?" The sergeant took a deep breath and calmed himself down before dropping the assault rifle and getting on his feet while he asked the question. "Not really¡­ I am the strongest amongst my peers and the one who will succeed my master, the death mage¡­ It''s safe to say no one in my generation can be compared to me" Blink wasn''t in a hurry to kill the sergeant either, he simply walked over to the corpses of the soldiers he killed earlier and retrieved his magic daggers. "Ha! We are saved¡­ If everyone your age was this strong then we will definitely find it hard to survive if your empires attacks with its full force¡­ this explains why only those old monsters came¡­" The sergeant heaved a sigh of relief as he spoke, successfully pissing Blink off. "What do you mean?" Blink asked with furrowed eyebrows and a pair of glowing silver eyes. "Well¡­ You see, Those men who came here will never leave this place alive and even if they do, some of them will die in this battle¡­ and you if I can kill you here and now, we have no reason to worry about the younger generation¡­in the end, we win!" The sergeant said those words with enough confidence to make Blink almost believe his words. "Heee? Defeat me? Do you think you can do that on your own?" Blink''s utter confidence in his abilities was the only thing that prevented him from diving deep into despair. He couldn''t completely deny the fact that this man''s words were not false but they were not entirely true either. The strength of these people is unknown and there are high chances that these powerless humans may have made necessary preparations to checkmate the gold realm masters but the empires champions are no pushovers either. Even if the others will die Blink was sure the three demon commanders will not be defeated so easily. Even though they are one of the newest gold realm masters of the empire, they are still considered one of the most powerful and dangerous. Not to talk of the sun cosmic spirit host and guardian knight, Kaido whose strength has been increasing too quickly recently. Even if their foes are that formidable, there is no way they will be defeated so easily, not after what they have all gone through together in the past! 333 Chapter 333 Blink watched the man pull out a dagger and enter a fighter stance, releasing enough pressure to make any normal person tremble. "Hahaha! Unfortunately, you won''t be alive to find out who won the bet!" Blink''s cruel words were only slightly faster than his body which instinctively lunged towards the military official like a savage beast. ........................................................ Pa! Gin was as pale as a ghost while he spat out another mouthful of blood. The once great master of the gyro kingdom was forced to stagger forward, moving deeper into the alley while covering his wound with his hand but even that couldn''t stop the blood from flowing freely. "It''s only a matter of time before I bleed out and even then, you bastards won''t let me die in peace¡­" Gin leaned against the wall, not bothering to look at his enemies pointing their weapons behind him. His bright blue eyes had already deemed and he looked so powerless that these soldiers didn''t feel the need to rush but even then they didn''t get close, apparently there were still wary of Gin. "Hehehehe! I never thought I would be the first member of the team guardian to die¡­ I could have sworn it would be that stone head Donald¡­ I guess he calmed down a bit after he got married to Daemon¡­ They are a really nice couple, right?" Gin turned with so much effort to meet the gaze of his foes before asking them the question that left them stunned. At first, they believed Gin was just too weak to fight but now they have seen how pale his face was, they could tell a normal person would have died already. Was it the sheer will to live? They just couldn''t understand how someone in such a condition could still stand. In the end, Gin''s injuries were way worse than everyone thought, not only was his left hand blown off but a good portion of his shoulder was blown away too. He was like a walking dead at this moment. "You won''t answer? THEN DIE!!!" Gin suddenly roared and shot forward with enough power to make the soldiers flinch! Bang! Bang!! Bang!!! All three soldiers opened fire and riddled the alleyway with bullets but to their greatest surprise and horror, Gin was running on the walls and not slowing down at all. His right hand released a blue flash and a mighty blue sword appeared in his hand, swirling with enough blue aura to make his foes fall deeper into despair. "Shot!!!!" The man in front roared but just as soon as he was don speaking those words, Gin had already blitz past him, severing his head along the way. Swoosh! His blade drew a blue line where the heads of his enemies should be but to his own surprised, they dodged by crouching! "OOH? YOU CAN DODGE?" Gin was stunned by this but what left him more astonished was the fact that one of the remaining two soldiers was a lady. The fear but courage in her eyes made stopped him in his tracks just long enough for the two soldiers to toss two grenades at him and dive forward for cover! Bang! Bang!! "Did we get him?" The lady asked while gazing at the thick cluster of smoke, preventing her from seeing whose within. "I''m sure of it¡­ he didn''t move even before it exploded¡­. I watched him take the hit!" The other soldier growled with determination blazing in his eyes. "You are a bit loud, how am I supposed to die peacefully if you keep screaming that way?" The figure of a man soon appeared into view within the smoke and a second after Gin walked out of the smokescreen, completely unscathed while dragging his blue longsword along the way. "What did you think will happen? Something this weak can''t harm me, kids¡­ I am Gin, the strongest member of the enchantment class¡­ My body is riddled with body enhancing spells¡­ Your guns can''t harm me either, that''s what you call it right? I just choose to dodge because its fun" Gin was kind enough the give them an explanation since he could see the confusion in their eyes. At this point, he too felt bad. The enchanter class has been known as the most successful over the years and a must-have in a team because of their great defensive spells. A good enchanter is capable of improving the defensive abilities of a guardian knight, making them almost invincible. Gin had all his life to master enchantment spells and even greater ones if he wished to use his family background but he never did that. He may have been a mage but he always had the spirit of a fighter, neglecting the enchantment spells and focusing on his physical prowess and combat capabilities. This may have made him the strongest enchanter in history but it also made him the weakest enchanter in history too. He could support a team in the front lines but he could never defend them with his spells since they were too weak. Even a silver realm enchanter could compete against him and maybe even win when it came to fortifying their guardian knight. If only he made time to study the enchantment spells, he would have been should have been in possession of a defensive spell capable of protecting them from that red beam, or at least a spell capable of protecting him from that red beam. But it was already too late to regret, right now he had only one thing in mind. Kill as many enemies as he could before his death! 334 Chapter 334 "Sorry¡­ I am against killing female foes but I have a duty to accomplish as a member of the greatest adventurer team in the history of the kingdom of Gyro" Gin''s eyes were void of any form of pain or sadness just determination. ......................................................¡­.. Zoom! A powerful red beam shot across the sky once again dying the clouds red and aiming for the supreme masters once again. But this time they were ready, Kaido soon flashed and appeared right in front of the intended target, using his bare hands coated with raw orange aura before catching the red beam of light. BOOM! A strong wind blew away the black smoke revealing Kiado still standing in his place with his hand complete burnt. But even then he didn''t look bothered, instead, he stared at the direction the attack came from. "Interesting" He muttered. Zoom! Zoom!! Zoom!! The next second, countless beams of red light shot towards them from all sides, making the expressions of the silver realm warriors and mages amongst them crumble instantly when they remembered Gin and Krasic. "Don''t you dare look down on us! Powerless humans!!!!" Fernandos roared while clasping his hands together. Holy prayer: Knights guard! Instantly, numerous massive golden shields appeared around them and twirled around them while blocking the red beams almost effortlessly, meanwhile, Agus focused on healing Kaido''s injured arm "If you think you will be able to defeat the supreme masters of this world so easily¡­ then you must be insane! We cannot be killed so easily!" Kaido''s voice was calm but it was powerful enough to shake the skies above the human settlements. Wooosh! His words riled up everyone but the will to fight vanished as soon as it came as they saw a missile flying towards them. Even though they really didn''t know what it was but their sixth sense was screaming out loud, warning them of the impending doom about to befall them! "It won''t hold¡­ my barriers won''t hold!" Fernandos blurted out abruptly! .................................................... Meanwhile, Swoosh! "Not enough!" The sergeant screamed before thrusting his dagger to the empty space behind him without hesitation. "Crap!" The moment Blink appeared behind the man the dagger was already making contact with his belly but tanks to his enhanced physical capabilities, he was fast enough to push himself to the side, but that didn''t stop the dagger from leaving a shallow cut wound across his belly. The young mage, rolled on the ground a couple of times before he could regain his balance and return to his feet. He still couldn''t understand how a powerless human was able to survive his attacks and retaliate almost perfectly. "Are they really powerless?" Blink muttered but it was loud enough for the sergeant to hear. "Of course we are¡­ we lack special abilities like you all but that doesn''t make us weak¡­ after surviving countless battles in my world, taking on a kid like you isn''t much of a problem¡­ especially since you rely on your abilities too much, making it easy for me to read your moves and predict your next move," the sergeant said with a hint of pride blazing in his eyes. In as much as Blink possessed magic he still needed time to chant before casting. In a battle like this there is little or no time for that and since he was been suppressed, not by the man''s greater strength and build but his fighting techniques and combat experience, leaving him with the almost instantaneous teleportation technique. To think a normal human would be so skilled in combat, that even he a mutated human is been suppressed by a weaker opponent with just far greater battle experience. "Crap!" Blink blurted out before shooting forward recklessly. Without even asking, he proceeded to brandish his magic dagger at the enemy, releasing a small arc of death aura but like his other fruitless attacks, it missed the mark. The sergeant quickly dived to the side to dodge the attack since he was already expecting it, making Blink despair. Before the kid could follow up with another mage, the sergeant had already pulled out his pistol, shooting only once before driving his dagger towards the empty space by his right while ducking low as well. Watching the sergeant dodge his attack easily made Blink want to puke blood due to anger but he managed to suppress it while preparing to launch another attack at the man only to see a gun pointing at his direction. [Fuck!] Blink screamed inwardly since he didn''t expect the man to launch a counter so quickly after such a maneuver. His eyes let out a silver flash as he quickly swung his dagger at the empty air before vanishing while performing the action. Splash! Blink''s blood flowed out of the wound on his tummy, dying the sergeant''s hand red but the sergeant didn''t seem troubled. He just looked at Blink''s hand wielding the black dagger with mixed emotions since it was only a few inches above his head. [He''s learning??.] the sergeant thought. Before Blink only threw his attacks carelessly and utilized his teleportation magic only to escape attacks he couldn''t dodge. But now, not only did Blink escape the attack but he also tried to attack as well! It''s one thing to teleport and attack but it''s another thing to teleport while launching an attack as well. If it wasn''t for the fact that the sergeant was the careful type and put this into consideration while attacking, his skull would have been shattered instantly by Blink''s attack. At this point, he finally realized the difference between prodigies and normal people. Ever since Blink arrived here with his friends, he has always been the cautious one, their eyes. As someone sent to keep an eye, the sergeant couldn''t deny the fact that sometimes he lost track of Blink and before he could be declared missing, he would always reappear. On numerous occasions during their stay here, Blink has instinctively avoided such places and situations. The sergeant was sure the other Blaze and Gust didn''t notice his presence since powerless humans didn''t possess any, but Blink did. He always knew they were been watched and was always a step ahead to keep his team safe, just like when he sent them away while creating the long-range teleportation array to bring the masters of the empire over to this side. "You are a monster kid¡­ I''m sorry but I can''t let you live any longer" The sergeant sighed ruefully before gripping the dagger stuck in Blink''s belly with both hands, planning to tear a large hole in Blink''s belly. "And who said I''m ready to die?" Blink''s cold and detached voice stunned the man, forcing him to withdraw but even then, Blink caught his hands wielding the daggers with only one hand. No matter how much the sergeant tried to pull or push, he still couldn''t force Blink to move or let go. At this point, the man truly realized the difference in their strength and physical capabilities was not something he could simply overlook. This made him wonder what kind of mutation the boy had to go through to possess this level of strength since mages are said to be weaker than even normal humans physically. He tried to picture what others will think when they see a huge muscular military official, unable to move a lanky pale youth. "Your attacks cannot kill me, I only dodged because I chose to sharpen my skills and now that is over¡­ I can kill you now, and move on with my plans for today" Blink''s silver eyes quickly turned purple and his aura changed as well, enveloping him and the man! Crippling him with pure terror! "What?" The sergeant''s heart sunk and the last bit of hope he was desperately holding on to shattered in an instant. All this while he thought he was fighting a prodigy of the mages on equal terms, a feat he planned to boast of all though his life. But now, realizing all this was just a joke made him go crazy! "Of course¡­ compared to the injuries I sustained while fighting the paladin two years ago¡­ this is nothing¡­ But¡­" Blink suddenly stopped as his senses ran wild making him feel light-headed. He looked towards the sky only to see the missile heading towards the supreme masters of the empire while they waited for it to arrive. "Hehehe¡­. Those bastards dared to use this weapon, knowing full well I will be killed by the explosion too? Are these the people I have been fighting with for decades now?" The sergeant wore a crazed expression that made Blink worry even more. At this point, Blink began wondering if there was something wrong with their gold realm masters, or was they always this stupid? Even if they survived such an attack, what will happen to the silver realm experts amongst them? And what if another attack of this scale was launched at them over and over again until they all die out? The simplest solution was to fight on the grounds where they won''t dare attack ruthlessly but because of their silly pride, they have refused to descend. "Dumb bastards¡­ If you won''t move to the ground, I will do that myself!" 335 Chapter 335 Bang! With what looked like a normal slap, Blink effortlessly decapitated the sergeant without a second thought. He quickly pulled out the dagger from his belly with blazing silver eyes as a massive silver array appeared below the feet of the gold realm and silver realm masters of the empire. He couldn''t help but curse them for making him use such drastic techniques in such an occasion and he hastily labeled all the silver realm masters of the empire present as fools. Because they don''t wish to lose face in front of the gold realm masters, they have chosen to die at the hands of something they can easily survive if they just run. "YO! SUPREME FOOLS¡­ DON''T YOU DARE FORCE ME DO SOMETHING THIS DRASTIC AGAIN! I WILL DRAG YOU TO THE GROUND IF I HAVE TO!" Blink''s roar caught the attention of the gold realm masters and only then did they notice the silver magic array beneath their feet. They watched Blink slam the ground ruthlessly and a silver magic array appeared at a location hundreds of kilometers away from their current position. BOOM! As much as they would have loved to thank the kid for saving their life, their pride wouldn''t let them admit that they were wrong this once. They could only watch the explosion that occurred when the missile hit Fernando''s golden aura shields in horror, making them wonder if they would have survived such an attack in one piece. These masters were too captivated by the image of buildings been tossed aside by the powerful shockwave which was still racing towards them. "Useless!" Blink roared in anger as he appeared right in front of them and while muttering his incantation. Instantly, a semi transculent barrier arose between them, and the shockwave just a second before it hit. Boom! Puti! Blink quickly fell on his knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood while watching his barrier crumble in horror. He really couldn''t blame the supreme masters for their slow reactions since this was actually their first time of seeing something so powerful yet plain looking. The power of these humans far surpassed their expectations and they finally realized why Blink strongly recommended they are destroyed so early. The explosion which occurred right now easily claimed the lives of hundreds of their own but the supreme masters were sure they opponents didn''t flinch at all. "You have done good kid¡­ Let this old man give you a hand" "Haaaaa!" With a loud roar, Gin struck forward with his blazing blue sword, instantly parting the combination dust, powerful force and debris heading their way with little effort. His condition looked pitiful but the charming smile on his face never faded, making tears roll down Blink''s face. Zoom! Right before they even got the chance to celebrate, the quickly spotted a second missile heading towards their direction, making these masters wonder if the enemy had another settlement elsewhere, since they were hellbent of nuking the life out of them in the same city they built. Either way, it was more than enough to make the supreme masters fall into despair, with strong fear gripping their hearts. "Kid¡­ send these old fools away¡­ I will stop the next one¡­ but that won''t stop them from launching another¡­ Start weaving your spells¡­ Okay?" Gin shot Blink a warm smile making the youth feel even worse. "W-wh- what about you?" Blink stuttered while speaking. At this point, he didn''t even bother trying to stop the two streams of hot tears flowing down his cheeks. "Me? Hehehehe¡­ I''m going to be a hero comparable to your master, my friend¡­ Derik¡­ This is my life''s final act, I might as well put on a show for everyone to see¡­. I am counting on you to keep my other friends safe¡­ return to the empire or they will all die here" Gin chuckled lightly before turning his back on Blink and moving forward. Without saying a word, Blink nodded and quickly created another massive silver array beneath them, preparing to cast a long-ranged teleportation array. Unlike the short-ranged teleportation array, he cast on the supreme masters to drag them to the ground, which was almost instant, this one would require some time to prepare. Enhancement magic: Iron skin Enhancement magic: unbreakable Enhancement magic: stone skin Enhancement magic: reinforcement Enhancement magic: Bulk up "Hehehe¡­ I know it''s a total waste of time and mana¡­ But I just feel like using these spells since I never used them in the past" Gin chuckled Gin kept casting body enhancement spells while leisurely walking at the incoming missile with the same charming smile on his way. "Since this is my life''s final act¡­ I might as well show these powerless humans what an old monster like myself is capable of!" With a loud battle cry, Gin''s body was quickly engulfed in blazing blue flames purely made of his aura. Boom! Right before everyone''s eyes, Gin turned into a beam of blue light and shot towards the missile with pearls of laughter echoing all over the continent. Roar! While he screamed blue aura flames escaped his mouth just before he collided with the missile, causing it to explode prematurely. Even then, his aura dyed the sky blue as it completely consumed the explosion, preventing it from spreading. 336 Chapter 336 The room looked simple, everything was made of gold with four golden pillars at the center of the room. Between the pillars was where the supreme being was seated surrounded by a handful of angels. At the corners of the rooms stood even greater beings, each brimming with the power of various elements. But even then none of them dared look the creator in the face. If Derik and Cyrus were here, they would be shocked to see Demos and Michael present. These beings were staring at the empty space, yet they could easily see the battle going on in the continent of Aldemar. As much as they couldn''t interfere with the battle of mortals, it didn''t stop them from feeling greatly impressed by Gin''s actions. Unknown to the other supreme masters of the continent, a second before his death, Gin''s finally broke through and reached the low grade of the gold realm. It''s only sad he didn''t live to enjoy the new level of strength he acquired, instead, he focused all that power on suppressing the explosion and safeguarding everyone he cared about. "What a valiant soul¡­ reaching the gold realm at his final moments of life¡­ You are truly a rare being¡­ Maybe if you were given a few more decades, you would have broken into the realm of the demigods and surpassed all mortals¡­ Unfortunately, your luck wasn''t as good as your talent and I also regret the fact I couldn''t step in, if I did the other old gods will be alerted¡­ The least I can do for you now is put your soul to good use¡­ I will your power to create another demigod amongst my angelic army" The voice of the being seated on the throne was neither masculine nor feminine. Even though the being spoke such kind words, everyone present knew it didn''t mean a single word it said. The greed oozing out of the creator was enough to make the guardian spirits look away in disgust, unable to watch another outstanding mortal be used to further its agenda! The hands of the creator stretched forth, and even though it moved slowly and didn''t seem to be going anywhere, in particular, it was actually crossing different spaces and dimensions, until it reached the human settlement where Gin drew his last breath. "AND WHO SAID YOU CAN CLAIM THIS SOUL FOR YOURSELF? YOU ANCIENT BEINGS HAVE BECOME TOO ARROGANT!" a familiar voice shook the heavens and made the hearts of the guardian spirits tremble in joy and excitement! As the godly hand reached for Gin''s soul, chilling green flames invisible to the eyes of the mortals quickly consumed it. Before the creator could still recover from the shock, a wave of golden heavenly flames engulfed its hand as well and but surprisingly, the death flame from Derik and the life flame from Cyrus did not resist each other. Instead, they blended in perfectly to create something greater than the expectations of the guardian spirits and the creator. "Arrrgh!" The creator cried out in pain and quickly retrieved its hand, stunning the heavenly beings and the guardian spirits. Right before everyone''s eyes, two figures appeared around Gin''s soul, shielding it with their body. Their aura was not as oppressive as the guardian spirits expected but for some reason, they couldn''t gaze at the face of these two beings without their heads aching and their vision blurring! "Who!" The creator roared furiously will raising its hand to reveal severe burn wounds wreaking of both life and death aura. A red spear soon appeared in the hands of the creator as it looked down at Derik and Cyrus who both felt the threat of death as well but they didn''t flutter or retreat. Instead, they stood there and gazed at the skies with an indifferent look on their faces, it looked like they were begging the creator to attack them and this enraged the supreme being even more. "I WILL NOT LET YOU!" Demos suddenly appeared in front of the creator and his death aura quickly turned the well-lit room into complete darkness. But this only lasted for a second as the overwhelming power of the creator quickly crushed his and sent him flying into a corner of the room. "Lay your hands on the salvation this world needs and you will have us, the guardian spirits of this world to deal with" A being with glowing blue eyes standing in a dark corner suddenly roared. Lightly power began crackling around it as its oppressive aura befell the angelic beings surrounding the creator forcing them all to kneel. "You dare defy me, lightening guardian spirit¡­ Do you think you can actually subdue me, even with the help of the all powerful angel of death, Demos" The creator sneered with disdain in his eyes but even then the guardian spirit did not back off. Instead, its power even rose and its aura kept gathering. "We may not be enough to defeat you¡­ But don''t think you will leave here in perfect condition! If the guardian spirits join hands, I am confident we can deal a crippling blow before our deaths¡­ Then you will not only lose your chance to fight against the other old gods in equal terms but you will also lose your trump card against them¡­ Us!" A feminine voice belonging to a being made up of only roots and vines echoed from one of the corners. If Francis were here, he would have been shocked to find his guardian spirit here. Seeing the determination in the eyes of the other guardian spirits, the creator could only curse them in silence! 337 Chapter 337 If it were in a different situation, he dared not stand against the creator to protect Derik and Cyrus but now things are entirely different. After they consumed the inheritance of the life and death element, they are sure to reach the god realm as long as they are not killed prematurely. Their power may have only risen by a grade, pushing them to the peak grade of the gold realm, but their combined powers were still enough to harm the creator. To the guardian spirits, these two are their hope! These guardian spirits will even let their hosts die if it means increasing Derik and Cyrus'' power. At this point, these two are probably the most important people in this world, harming them now is only slightly easier than slapping a dragon and hoping to walk away alive. Either way, no one was going to let the creator lay his filthy hands on their hope and pride. "Very well then¡­ I will do them no harm" The glowing red spear vanished and returned to its throne while staring at its injured arm with mixed emotions in its eyes. At this point, it has already given up on harming Derik or Cyrus. Not only were they protected by the guardian spirits, since they could harm him, they should also be able to harm the other old gods. Before the creator felt it would have to take on the old gods alone since it was the only one present who could harm them, but now two more potential allies have appeared, why kill them off now when you can use them in the war and kill them off then while the other guardian spirits have their hands tied. By the way, fighting the other guardian spirits here is suicide. Even though they are a whole realm below, they still have the power to challenge an old gold if they should work together and if the worst amongst them, Samael should appear, they old god may even lose. The creator was well aware of the fact that these guardian spirits are yet to kill it not because they wanted it alive but they needed it just as much as it needed them. Killing it off will reduce their chances of victory against the old gods to zero, the same goes for it too. The creator knew it couldn''t afford to lose the guardian spirits, so all it could do now was fulfill their wishes. "Interesting¡­" a vicious grin appeared on the face of the creator as he spoke. The excitement in its voice made the other guardian spirits feel even more uneasy. ........................... "Stay calm kid¡­ They are back" A familiar voice reached his ears, making him jolt up in shock, shattering the magic array he was preparing. Even then Blink was too shocked to bother about their only way out been destroyed because of his lack of concentration. He focused on the cold hands on his shoulder and shifted his focus to Gin''s face, unable to say a single word. Gin''s skin was as white was a sheet of paper just like the other undead generals under Derik''s control, apart from the new set of black knights armor he wore, there was no other difference. "Gin told us everything¡­ You did really good kid¡­ really, really good¡­ I hope you don''t mind becoming my disciple¡­ the palace of the dead needs a successor anyway" Derik''s calm voice shatter the little strength Blink had mustered in the past, making him fall to the ground butt first while gazing at the two people he admired the most in his mind. "How is my luck so bad? I never get amazing youths like this¡­ I guess I will keep going as sect leader until I find a successor too" Cyrus complained but he still wore a charming smile on his face. Hearing these words, Fernandos and Agus looked down in shame, unable to look Cyrus in the eyes. Derik and Cyrus wore sleeveless mage robes, black, and gold respectively, each with the hood covering their faces. All these people could see was their glowing eyes which carried so much power, they felt the urge to bow and worship these two. "Is it just me, or did these two grow taller?" Daemon muttered in shock. Only after Daemon spoke did everyone realize that Derik and Cyrus were almost twice their size now. They literarily had to look up to see their faces and even then, they found it hard to keep their vision focused on those two since their head kept getting some sort of stinging pain. "They are no longer humans¡­ They are gods" Diana stuttered in horror. She couldn''t feel Derik and Cyrus aura, yet it was hard to breathe even now. There was this oppressive air around them that made her senses scream danger! "They were never humans! They have always monsters!!" Francis finally panicked crawling away in fear. Back then he thought after killing of the members of the life and death palace, he could easily focus on his cultivation and break into the peak grade of the gold realm, only then will he be able to stand at the same footing with Derik and Cyrus. But now he just felt stupid for thinking that way! Ahika was at the peak grade of the gold realm just like Derik and Cyrus but it felt like they were a whole realm above the lizard man! Ahika was just like another ant that can be easily crushed when compared to these two! 338 Chapter 338 Contrary to his expectations, they all shifted their gaze to Derik and Cyrus with a hunger for knowledge very visible in their eyes, even then, Derik and Cyrus didn''t blink. Only Kaido was calm since he already knew the answer. "Who will stop that toy of theirs?" Cyrus asked, ignoring their expectant gazes bearing down on him. Instead, he pointed at the incoming missile coming their way, making the others realize they were not safe yet. "That? It was strong enough to kill Gin so it''s safe to say, it will most likely harm us as well if we get careless" Derik said nonchalantly, not bothering to look at the missile heading their way. Instead, his eyes were focused on Blink who was too stunned to say a word. "You should do it¡­ using my abilities in front of these people may scare them¡­ Yours is more¡­ people friendly¡­" Derik said after giving the matter some thought. "Very well then¡­" Cyrus said with a sigh. True life magic: Embrace of the deity! By muttering words which the other supreme masters could not even understand, a golden avatar of a female angelic being appeared. It was over four meters tall, making Derik and Cyrus who were slightly over two meters tall look like kids. Right before everyone''s eyes, the golden being gently fell on its knees before wrapping all its hands around them like a mother embracing her child. Not long after, its two pairs of golden wings wrapped around them as well. "It¡­ It''s alive! His magic is alive!" Blink finally spat out the words but everyone was already stunned since they noticed this as well. The ability to make one''s magic come alive could be considered the goal of all life mage. creating life by using magic, preserving life while using magic, and taking life while using magic, these were the three principles each and every light mage aspire to achieve from the day they awakened their magic. "Well well¡­ while yours scare people, mine leaves them astonished¡­. Even supreme masters like these are no exceptions" Cyrus shot Derik a smile. Cyrus'' golden hair was like calm flames, flickering to whichever direction the wind blows. He had a well-built physique, not too muscular, not too lean either, just perfect. His gold skin glittered under the sun and his two fiery golden eyes were like two suns staring down on mortals. Coupled with his height and his clam, tranquil aura, Cyrus was like a deity from the old stories, a being worthy to be called perfect. While gazing into his eyes, Blink felt lost and he could literarily feel Derik peeping into his innermost secrets, his past, his present, and most likely his future. He was lost deep in his thoughts that he failed to notice when the missile hit, the earth tremble, and people quiver in fear. He failed to hear the screams of those who fell victim to the attack or even notice the rising of debris that violently clashed against Cyrus'' barrier or the shockwave that made the earth tremble. All he could see right now were two dancing flaming deep skulls piercing deep into his soul. "So you always wanted to become my successor but you felt it would be impossible because of my disciples? And even then you still worked not to lag behind¡­ at such an age you are already capable of doing all this and two years ago you joined the battle against three hundred thousand strong foes¡­ Interesting" Derik wide grin revealed his fangs, making Blink feel terrified even more. Being able to see everything he has done so far and even the past, he still was able to read his mind and see what he desired the most! Wasn''t this the power of a god? Either way, it didn''t matter to Derik what Blink thought of him. The kid was right to feel worried about his disciples taking the position of the successor, Blake to be precise. In the past, that has always been his plan but Derik wasn''t so rigid as to turn his back on a kid with such magnificent talent. Compared to Blink, his five disciples who have always received his attention and guidance during practice lack talent. For the kid to be able to push this far even without any external help showed that he wasn''t only talented but determined. For him to proactively claim to be the successor of the sect showed just how ambitious he is. In Derik''s opinion, he is the perfect candidate. "Choosing me as your successor will definitely cause some issues in the empire and the sect¡­ Do you think¡­" Blink lost the strength to speak while looking at Derik in the eyes, making the later chuckle lightly. "Choosing you as my successor will definitely cause some problems¡­ even amongst my disciples¡­ Be at this point¡­ There is no going back¡­ My mind is made up¡­ you will inherit all that''s mine,¡­ when the issues arrive¡­ we will deal with it together¡­ what do you say, kid?" Derik stretched forth his fist for a fist bump. "Right!" Blink screamed enthusiastically, smashing his fist into Derik''s with as much strength as he could muster! While others may refuse with Derik''s plans, the three demon commanders couldn''t entirely deny that Derik was right to pick Blink as his successor. The kid far surpassed the expectations of everyone in the sect and at the moment, he may be strong enough to battle any of the five disciples in a free and fair one versus one match without falling into a disadvantaged position. And these people are an entire realm ahead of him! What these disciples lack most of all is ambition! They lack the drive to do anything, they just do it because they have to. No one would dare challenge their strength and craftiness in battle but that was all they had. They just know how to survive while Blink had the leadership qualities the sect needs! He is brutal when he has to be, yet he is also kind to his allies and always bothers about their safety first. And unlike the supreme masters of the continent, this kid didn''t let his achievements or his title as the strongest of his generation to get to his head and cloud his judgment. "Good¡­ and take these old men and leave¡­I and my friend here will take care of this settlement¡­ This continent needs to know its guardians have returned! They have no reason to worry!" Derik spoke calmly but his voice shook the skies. Soon he and Cyrus levitated to the skies slowly only to realize more than half of the settlement has been destroyed by their constant attacks¡­ most people will jubilate in their victory and fail to notice that something was off but Derik and Cyrus couldn''t make such a mistake¡­ as the embodiment of life and death, they could easily tell everyone retreated to an underground chamber so that they can keep bombarding the supreme masters with missiles until they die off. "A well-thought plan¡­ Interesting" Cyrus chuckled lightly. "Too bad for them, we are their opponents!" Derik frown while he spoke. Almost instantly the sky above the continent turned black and the clouds turned green. Derik rose even higher as countless rusty chains shot out of the clouds attaching to each other and pulling itself to the others until it took the shape of a skull. "DEATH AND LIFE HAS RETURNED TO THIS CONTINENT¡­. WHO DARES CHALLENGE US!!!" Derik roared making the whole continent tremble! 339 Chapter 339 "Derik!" Elsa gasped in shock as the death aura flooded into her living quarters. Even though she was stripped of her power and position in the empire, she still knew how bad their situation was with the invaders. Derik''s sudden appearance meant that Cyrus has returned as well. With the two most powerful mages of in the continent back, she could help but feel safer but that didn''t mean she didn''t feel terrified as well. Soon the fear turned to despair as she remembered Francis and Diana joined hands to attack the death palace two years ago and failed. Derik and Cyrus are aware of this and when they are done dealing with their current enemies, they will definitely turn to those two. Only death awaited them at this point and with Cyrus around too, not even Ahika will be able to stop them from killing those two. "You weren''t always like this¡­" Elsa muttered while clenching her fists so hard that it turned white. Remembering when they found Derik back at the sky rift dungeon, saving him with her healing spells and even spending some time with him during their journey, Elsa realized she was wrong. Derik has always been like this, the death mage was neither good nor bad, he was just fair at least. He simply repays his debts according to what he''s given, once you are good to him he will treat you accordingly and if you are bad he will definitely do the same. She couldn''t help but wonder what would have happened if Derik agreed to join the elves back then and have his death magic sealed away. Both of them should still be together now, happy and her closest friend who had a fall out with Derik, Isabel will still be alive. But then again, if Derik didn''t become this and didn''t become as strong as he is, they probably would have died at the hands of the ancient elemental dragons. "Derik please!" Elsa cried out. ............................... "This¡­. Elsa¡­" Derik frowned upon realizing the implications of this. Ever since the empire was created, he and Elsa has always been in bad terms, never able to see eye to eye but even then he didn''t think she would still feel this way. "Unfortunately¡­ It''s too late for all of that" Derik revealed a savage grin while staring at the enemies who probably thought they are well hidden underground. At this moment, only Cyrus remained calm when faced with Derik''s oppressive death aura, even Blink who was tasked with sending all the supreme masters back to the empire was lost in fear and admiration as he stared at Derik standing beside the massive green skull. Unfortunately, Derik had no intention of letting him and the other supreme masters linger around any longer so he decided to bring Kalos over from the other side with just a thought. It didn''t even take a second before Kalos and Aldora appeared by Derik''s side, both with astonished expressions on their pale faces. Ever since Derik left not only was their powers greatly limited but their consciousness was slowly fading away. At a point, they were almost no different from any other normal undead puppet and this worried them greatly. They finally understood the limitations of their abilities and the consequences of staying away from their master for too long. "It has been a while, old man¡­" Derik shot Kalos a smile and the undead returned the greeting with a deep bow, alongside Aldora. For some reason, they couldn''t explain why but Derik was like a totally different creature right now. Aside from his sudden increase in height, there were other things about him they couldn''t explain, like the urge to fall on their knees and worship him like a god. Without saying a word they could easily tell Derik''s intentions, so Kalos proceeded to create a spatial gate behind the supreme masters while Derik flicked his hands lightly, to create an invisible force that pushed all into the portal without giving them a chance to struggle. "You can leave now¡­ we will return to the empire as soon as we are done¡­" Derik said to Aldora and Kalos. "What do you plan to do?" Aldora asked with a slight frown on his face. Yes, he too noticed the extraordinary changes in Derik and Cyrus but that doesn''t mean they are invincible with their newfound strength. As far as he is concerned, there are more capable warriors on the side of the invaders too. Especially the beast-men and the orcs! 340 Chapter 340: Making themselves known! 1 "Hehehehe¡­ we are only making ourselves known¡­. That''s all!" Derik smiled sheepishly before he continued chanting. His eyes released a powerful green flash and with his right hand raised, he grabbed the empty air and dragged it down forcibly. To the horror of those below the who were watching all that was unfolding above through security cams set around what of left of their settlement, they could only shiver in horror unable to utter a word. They didn''t know how to explain to their comrades and superiors that they only had a second to live and the death mage they heard about was just as terrifying as they said! They were fools to think they could hold two continents at once, choosing to send such little group to Aldemar, they should have attacked with their main force! In the end, regret definitely won''t save them from their current predicament. In fact, their pent up negative emotions stacked together amused Derik as much as it excited him. True death: Hell flames! A loud screech which originated from the green skull-shaped cloud reached the ends of the continent, drawing the attention of everyone on the continent. At this point, the green cloud was set ablaze and began descending to the ground. To the horror of the undead generals who didn''t leave, the realization that this spell was big enough to completely destroy settlements as big as the empire terrified them even more. If not for the fact Derik was the one who wielded this kind of power, they were willing to risk their life and battle such a foe to the death before he becomes a real problem to the world. Bam! Bam!! Bam!!! Boom! The green fiery cloud smashed into the ground, turning the earth green and revealing the green flame sipping out of the cracks on the ground. It didn''t take long before the screams of pain and anguish filled the air and then a large pillar of green flames abruptly erupted from below, reaching the heavens and successfully the skies of the continent green with its power. Of course, the green pillar flames were as large as the entire settlement and it failed to hurt Aldora and Kalos only because its master willed it not to. The screams of the humans underground were amplified up till the point that Kalos and Aldora realized it wasn''t them screaming in pain anymore, these people were already dead but their souls were still suffering and hovering within the green pillar of flames unable to escape this deadly fate even in death. To think Derik''s power has grown to the level where he could easily harm the body and soul effortlessly. On that very day, the cries of tens of thousands of souls coupled with the Derik''s pearls of shrill laughter that followed, making the undead commanders shudder in fear. "We know we are not the strongest at the moment¡­ but we are not weak either¡­ Please don''t look down on us" Cyrus said with a charming smile but that didn''t make them feel any better, instead, they were more terrified. What was more terrifying was the fact that he was standing within the green pillar of flames, yet he didn''t seem to be suffering. If he could easily withstand this level of power against the death element, how strong is he? Numerous thoughts raced through Kalos and Aldora''s minds, making them fail to notice Gin arrive. "I am guessing you will be going ahead now¡­" Gin wasn''t really stunned by all of this, in his eyes, Derik and Cyrus will always be the same. "Yea¡­ We need to pay our enemies a visit¡­ and throw a few punches¡­" Derik smiled "Throw a punch for me too¡­ I am not satisfied with just these guys suffering¡­" Gin laughed before stretching out his fists for Derik and Cyrus who quickly smacked it lightly with their fists. "Your body was destroyed entirely that''s why I had Derik make you one of his undead¡­ Once I return¡­ we will get for you a suitable host and have you reborn¡­ The life of an undead doesn''t suit you, my friend" Cyrus shot Gin a smile before he and Derik vanished, leaving the three undead puppets to stare at the after-effects of Derik''s spell. A land that will forever remain barren! "They are monsters now¡­" Aldora stuttered. He never thought an undead could experience fear until this very day. "Don''t they scare you?" Kalos turned his attention to Gin who didn''t look fazed by Derik and Cyrus'' power at all. Hearing the question, Gin first pondered on it for a while before laughing out loud. "No way¡­ Derik and Cyrus have always been this way even back then when we were still recruits¡­ they just got a little stronger that''s all¡­ But they are still the same people to me¡­ why should I be scared?" Gin replied with enough confidence that made the other undead commanders agree with him. .........................................................¡­.. No one knew how long had passed, was it a second or just a minute, Derik wasn''t sure either but he didn''t really care since his enemies were directly beneath him and he felt the urge to utilize the same spell to wipe out the orcs but he knew it wouldn''t be that easy. "To think they would easily take over the whole central region of the continent¡­ they must have really competent fighters amongst them to be able to achieve such a feat¡­" Cyrus muttered to himself but Derik could hear him clearly. "You remember the orc with the green spear which almost put us to shame?" Derik laughed "Yea¡­. Hehehe¡­ why bring up old and sour memories" Cyrus shrugged away the thought. "Don''t forget he claimed to be the weakest amongst the five orc chieftains¡­. It is quite possible there are demigods amongst their ranks¡­ I am not sure" Derik said with a slight frown on his face. "Or just veteran gold realm experts at the peak grade¡­ Demigods are not so easily created¡­ especially since they just recently entered the god vein¡­ in the past, they were dwelling in their creator''s realm¡­" Cyrus disagreed with Derik outrightly. Refusing to believe that Demigods could easily be created without the help of a god vein. "True¡­ or false¡­ we will find out real soon¡­." Derik chuckled. 341 Chapter 341: Making themselves known! 2 "There is no way those stones are just for show¡­ I must confess these monsters far surpassed my expectations" Derik frowned slightly. "That''s not even the main issue here¡­ am I the only one who is unable to peak up the energy signature of these beasts? We are literarily staring at them yet we can''t feel their aura¡­ This settlement is armed to the teeth with magic arrays" Cyrus frowned. Only after Cyrus mentioned this did Derik notice, even though they were hidden within the clouds while watching these orcs go about their daily activities, he still couldn''t feel their aura. All living things possess aura and only extremely powerful beings can hide their aura from weaker beings. The fact that even the normal orc brawler is cloaked by some sort of spell means there is a powerful being hidden within that city and the fact Derik and Cyrus are unable to sense this being means that they are weaker than whatever is hiding in that city. "I didn''t spend years in darkness while consuming the inheritance just for someone to tell me there is someone hiding in the enemy base that is even more powerful than myself!" Cyrus growled in anger. Just like Cyrus, Derik too found it hard to believe. After consuming the inheritance, they attained a level where the world is their power source. Just like the guardian spirits, they do not use the mana that fills the air like every other mage, they directly draw power from their respective elements, meaning limitless energy while they are still on this planet. To admit an invader who isn''t one of the old gods is actually stronger than them will strongly hurt their pride. "We came here to make our presence known¡­ What better way is there to do that than directly challenging the strongest invaders in the continent?" Derik shot Cyrus a vicious smile which was returned with a nod of approval. "By the way, we still need to throw a punch for Gin¡­ though if we are able to destroy this settlement¡­. It would be nice too" Cyrus licked his lips while he spoke. Bang! Bang! The explosion resulting from the abrupt release of their aura cleared the clouds around them while releasing a loud bang which drew the attention of everyone in the orc settlement. Right before their eyes, one half of the sky turn dark while the other half was so bright they could barely see the figure responsible for this. True death: Hell Flames! Green clouds formed above their head, gathering and taking the shape of a skull. Screech! Setting ablaze, accompanied by a loud screech, the fiery green skull double the size of the settlement began to descend, but strangely even in its descent the orcs were yet to show any signs of fear, they only roared and slammed their hands on their chests in excitement. With a single glance, Derik and Cyrus could understand what these people were feeling. It wasn''t fear but excitement, a way to escape the boredom they have suffered from for a while. "There is a barrier there¡­. Set up by someone more powerful than we are!" Cyrus'' eyes narrowed while he spoke. That explained why these orcs didn''t show any fear. On when hand they had complete faith in their chieftains to protect them from all threats that were beyond their current strength and second they knew of Derik and Cyrus strength, to think they will be privileged to watch powerful masters battle each other to the death, what better way is there to chase away boredom? "Don''t you dare say it! I didn''t come so far to be told I am inferior to someone! Derik Angus is second to none!!!" Derik roared as his green fiery clouds crashed against the massive barriers of the orc settlement. A powerful shockwave leveled all forms of vegetation over fifty kilometers away while the bright green light blinded everyone for a short while. But of course, the settlement still remained intact, not affected by anything like the shockwave or even the bright light, making Derik despair in his heart. But even in such a condition, he wasn''t afraid, instead, he felt strong excitement like the orcs, hoping to meet the one responsible for his failure. Swoosh! Swoosh!! Swoosh!!! Before anyone could recover, three beams of light shot out of the settlement, appearing in front of the death and life mage fearlessly. Of the three, Derik and Cyrus recognized only one! The three-meter tall orc who wore a full set of black knights armor with a three-meter long spear hanging over his back. Apart from him were two others. The first was a female orc dressed in a sleeveless black mage robe, decorated with skulls of her victims and even now the odor of fresh blood oozed out of the red war paints on her face. "Wow¡­ she would have been really hot if it weren''t for her green skin color and her muscular build¡­ Maybe I would have considered her¡­ Don''t get me wrong, but I find using blood as a war paint quite interesting" Cyrus chuckled making the orc yelp in shock. The thought of having a human check her out was unexpected even for an orc chieftain. At this point, she lowered her head in embarrassment and fury, swearing on the souls of her ancestors that she would kill this human who made her act in a disgraceful manner. "I see you are still as perverted as ever, even after the two years of darkness¡­ well at least that helped us realize these beasts can speak our language" Derik sighed. "EXACTLY¡­ two years of darkness made me like this¡­ what''s wrong with a young handsome guy checking out ladies?" Cyrus argued. "That''s not what I meant¡­ there is no issue with that¡­ Even I tend to throw a second glance at people I deem beautiful but even then, why must it be chicks of another race? What happened to the humans? Our people¡­ You have never shown interest in any of them¡­ I am sure if death was female, you did hit on her! You have such a weird taste" Derik sneered making the guardian spirits watching above burst into series of uncontrollable laughter while Demos lower his head in embarrassment, cursing himself for not letting the creator kill those two. [why must I be used as an example for one of your weird discussions?] Demos thought. "Yea¡­ says the person who fell in love with an elf and is yet to get over it¡­ who the fuck are you to judge me!" Cyrus roared in reply. "DON''T YOU DARE IGNORE US!" The orc chieftain in knights armor punched out, releasing a fist-shaped aura attack flying at Derik and Cyrus. "Scram!" Derik roared in anger! "Don''t get involved!" Cyrus growled. Both mages seemed more annoyed than worried, as they waved their hands lightly, releasing two arcs of their aura which proceeded to shatter the enemy attack and also proceeded to knock the orc chieftain off the skies. Without even noticing, these two managed to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies with a simple arm fling! 342 Chapter 342: Making themselves known! 3 Berivs alongside his clan members were previously sent to this continent as the scouting party to gauge the strength of the inhabitants and after he battled Derik and Cyrus he deemed them not worthy of the great overseer''s attention. In the past, he could have easily dealt with both of them if they joined hands but now things seemed different about them and everyone around, in just two years the strength of these people grew by leaps and bounds, making him, Berivs, a being who was considered the greatest genius of his race look like a talentless child. "I refuse¡­ I don''t know how they acquired so much power in a short span of time but I refuse to believe I am inferior!" Berivs growled as his body released a powerful shockwave of green aura, dispelling Derik and Cyrus'' aura which prevented his body from responding to his commands ...........................¡­. "Elsa is different from the rest, at least she''s from this world¡­ While you? You are busy hitting on some muscular orc who I believe is more manly than all the males in the empire! I won''t be surprised if the next person you hit on is a dragon" Derik sneered. Hearing this Cyrus turned pale and quickly avoided eye contact with Derik. It wasn''t because he hated what Derik said but it was because everything Derik said was true! He had once considered dating a dragon if it were female. "Well¡­" Cyrus stuttered, unable to find the right words to defend himself. "Wait¡­ wait¡­ wait¡­ don''t tell me you also considered that as well? A dragon¡­ dude?" Derik slapped his face not knowing what to say next. He couldn''t exactly read Cyrus'' mind but he has lived long enough to tell what his best friend was thinking with a glance. Roar! At that moment, Berivs appeared once again shrouded in green aura and his aura rising at an alarming rate. But even then, Derik and Cyrus didn''t seem bothered. "We will postpone this discussion for later¡­ But its not over! We seriously need to find you a human girlfriend when we get back" Derik said before turning his attention to Berivs. "were we always that weak? It''s disgusting" Cyrus blurted out, coughing Berivs to spit out blood due to anger. "Nay¡­ we were even weaker¡­ I feel ashamed of myself¡­ But I feel sorry for this dude¡­ Right now he thinks he''s powerful¡­ He doesn''t know¡­" Derik chuckled when he said the last part making Berivs scream like a crazed beast and dash forward. "As much as I hate Berivs, I hate these humans even more! They dare look down on the orc race... Do they think we are trash? I will have them beg for mercy before I slay them!" Mol of the Orakh clan roared and dashed forward. Mol was the chieftain of the Orakh clan which was known for its overwhelming strength and physical prowess. This clan for centuries has been known as the backbone of the Orc army, that was until Berivs came along and completely revamped his Arzu clan. The young orc chieftain was able to teach his forces how to use their aura to manipulate their bodies and force it to heed their commands, even when they are half dead. With this, Brevis created an almost indestructible army, earning them the title, the army of the dead. Mol had bushy eyebrows, coupled with a bushy mustache and a bald head which could reflect the sun rays. He possessed so many muscles that the other orcs looked like children when compared to him, coupled with the two hand-ax hanging around his waist. Derik and Cyrus were more disturbed than afraid, especially since the orc refused to put some clothes on, only tying a piece of cloth around his nether regions. "That golden-haired bastard is mine, No one is allowed to lay a finger on him!" Uram of the Url''m clan said with killing intentions oozing of her body while she began chanting her spells. Even though Derik and Cyrus'' words were specifically directed at Berivs, they couldn''t deny the fact the orc race was been insulted as well. Berivs was on par with the other chieftains, if not stronger and he was called weak, if that''s the case, what are they when the greatest genius of their race was been looked down on. If they are unable to deal with Derik and Cyrus here and now, they will never be able to live with the shame or face their clan members ever again. Roar! Berivs was like a big ball of green aura as he smashed into Cyrus who only bothered to push forth an arm and stop the green ball of aura in its tracks with little effort. Cyrus yawned at Berivs relentless efforts to push him from his current position but even then Cyrus didn''t move an inch. Meanwhile¡­. Bang! A powerful shockwave when both hand ax''s struck Derik''s shoulders but even then it couldn''t penetrate the death aura twirling around him, not to talk of piercing his skin. He gazed at Mol with a confused expression, waiting for the orc to follow up with the attack. "Don''t tell me that''s all you are capable of? Those muscles must be fake" Derik sighed 343 Chapter 343: Ro Although she knew Derik and Cyrus were ridiculously powerful, she still didn''t expect Derik to be able to take a direct hit from Mol and shrug it off as if nothing happened. Mol was the chief of the Orakh orc clan known for its insane physical capabilities and Mol was the strongest chieftain the clan has ever had, capable of shattering mountains with a single punch, yet Derik took a direct hit and still looked unfazed by the attack. "Monsters!" Uram cried out and retreated even farther than her usual position the moment she noticed Derik''s gaze on her. "Don''t worry I won''t act against you until you cast that spell of yours¡­ You are the first orc I have met who uses incantations¡­ I am curious as to what orc spells look like¡­ I suggest you give me your best" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. But even then Uram didn''t feel any better, instead, she felt worse. It was like the world around her collapsed and a darkish green aura escaped Derik''s body to take the shape of a fiery skull, steadily increasing in size until Uram was like an ant staring at a giant. "Uram snap out of it!" Berivs''s voice brought her back to reality. At this point, Uram realized she had been holding her breath all the while and she was covered in sweat. She looked at Berivs only to realize the young orc was covered in shallow cut wounds and his black knight''s armor was reduced to metal scraps. "That''s a nasty thing to do Derik¡­ Don''t forget I had a crush on her just a few minutes ago" Cyrus complained but the smile on his face betrayed his serious tone. "I swear I did nothing, I only gazed into her eye, she was the one imagining stuff¡­" Derik said with an innocent look on his face. "Now, what about you¡­ won''t you attack a second time? Or should I throw a punch first?" Derik said with the same charming smile on his face, making Mol who has been lost in thought to flinch and take a step back. Only after taking a step back did the orc realize the blunder it had committed. Not only did it allow Derik ridicule the strength which its ancestors used to stand at the top in the past but he also insulted all orcs in general. An orc warlord such as himself, retreating in battle was not acceptable and it was a shameful act which is punishable by death! "Don''t you dare look down on the Orakh Clan!!!" Mol roared as his bushy beards and hair fluttered in the wind. His eyes released a green glow as steam gushed out of every opening in his body, soon consuming he and Derik, making the others unable to see them, but of course, Derik and Cyrus could see him clearly. Within the smoke Derik was slightly astonished to see that the already massive orc had doubled in size, towering over him easily. All the muscles in his body were bulging and veins kept popping out randomly. Bang! Orakh clan secret technique: Unbreakable! Mol screaming the name of the greatest technique in the Orakh clan attracted the undivided support of all the orcs in the settlement as they chanted his name and roared in defiance. Their voices and cry rekindled the confidence Mol lost and even though they couldn''t see him within the mist, they were sure when the mist clears, only Mol would be standing. "Now pay for your crimes against my ancestors with your blood!" Mol roared as he clasped his hands together before swinging down both hands viciously, aiming to deal a killing blow! BOOOM! The shockwave from the attack tossed Berivs and Uram away as if they were rags and even the orcs within the settlement would have been affected if not for the barrier set over them by the unknown master. The steam was blown away and the orcs were expecting to see Derik''s corpse falling off the skies but then they all noticed something. Cyrus had not moved from his spot and he didn''t look bothered either, the smile on his face never faded and he didn''t even bother to glance at Derik. "Crimes against your ancestors? All these ancient relics of the past¡­ I believe its time you all fade away¡­ I will start with you, then the one responsible for that barrier and finally your creator" Derik''s words shut the orcs up and replaced their excitement with fear. When the smoke cleared, Derik was seen gripping Mol''s hands with a single hand. He didn''t seem injured or fazed by the attack but Mol was already trembling badly with fear and sweating terribly. "Let me take your pain away¡­ The fear will be gone too¡­ I promise it won''t hurt" Derik said those words calmly but this even increased the fear all the orcs felt. He slowly placed his finger on Mol''s chest since he couldn''t reach his head. At this point, his eyes let out a green glow and his death aura visibly flowed through his body, all the way to his fingertip and flowed into Mol''s body. The orc was paralyzed by an unknown force, unable to take his eyes off Derik''s blazing green skull-shaped pupils. "The purpose of all life is death¡­ Rot away, my friend" Derik spoke slowly so that everyone would hear and understand each and every single word he spoke. Right before everyone''s eyes, Mol turned gray and his skin slowly began to peel! It didn''t take long before countless cracks appeared all over his boy but even then the fear in his eyes told everyone who was able to see it that the orc was still alive but it couldn''t even fight against Derik''s power. Derik then took a step forward and blew at Mol lightly from his mouth, making his body crumble and turn into dust. On that very day, Mol of the Orakh clan, known for his godly strength was defeated so easily, he didn''t even have the chance to struggle! 344 Chapter 344: Orc empire Both the orc brawlers below and the orc chieftains above were rendered speechless. The Orakh clan was always regarded as one of the major clans in the orc empire in the past and that was until Berivs appeared and took charge of the Arzu clan. The Orakh has always been considered the main force of the orcs army because of their super strength and mobility in battle, making them great warriors and powerful infantry units but after Berivs thought his clansmen how to manipulate their life energy and managed to create the undying army, the need for the Orakh clan soon diminished and they were pushed from the capital of the orc empire to the mid rim. This was one of the main reasons Mol never really liked Berivs since he was the reason for his clan''s downfall, in fact, his clan would have fallen to the outer rim if it weren''t for Mol''s outstanding strength in battle. It wouldn''t be false to say, he was the only reason the Orakh clan was still standing on its feet. The orc civilization was led by power and only through strength could one gain recognition. They followed the laws of the jungle and there were almost no rules to keep the weak safe from the strong! The top three clans were allowed to reside in the capital or inner wall known as Yatur, while the next three clans chosen based on strength are placed at the Mid rim or mid-wall known as Bologra while the last three clans were placed at the outer wall Atulg. The ranking was purely based on the over the strength of the clan and this same system was used in the settlement built here. While Uram and Mol were clans from the mid rim, Berivs was the only chieftain from the inner rim. If Derik and Cyrus knew the invading orc army was split into different forces shared across the continents in this world they would definitely feel uneasy. Just like the powerless humans, not even up to half of the orc''s true forces were here, yet they could rival the empire in strength and force them to hide behind their walls. Of course, Derik and Cyrus were unaware of this fact, and if they knew they probably wouldn''t be joking with their opponents. They probably won''t hesitate to destroy the entire orc settlement in one go! "Mol just died¡­ so easily¡­" Uram muttered as she retreated slowly, not minding the orcs watching. Mol''s clan may have been reduced to a second-rated clan in the orc empire but Mol''s strength as a bonafide first rated clan chieftain was never reduced in any form! That was why the clan didn''t fall to the outer rim! If Mol could be defeated so easily then what could she do? The only person who had a chance now against Derik and Cyrus was the overseer but he wasn''t here. "What are you doing Uram of Url''m" Berivs cold voice drew her attention away from Derik and Cyrus. "When have the orcs ever retreated in history? Or do you want to be the first to shame our race and ancestors? This is a battle that must be settled with bloodshed and I, the chieftain of the great Arzu clan is no afraid of a bunch of humans! Cooperate with me and I assure you we will get rid of these human scums!" Berivs roared and dashed forward without waiting for Uram''s response. His words struck the right places and the orcs observing from below forgot their prior fears and cheered for Berivs. As much as Uram wanted to retreat she couldn''t bring herself to do it, not when hundreds of thousands of orcs below were chanting their names and banging the war drums without care. At this point, her train of thoughts changed and she couldn''t help but find Berivs words quite reasonable. To take Mol''s place as one of the top three clans in the orc empire, Berivs not only had his army defeat Mol''s army in a full-scale war but he also defeated Mol in a one on one battle where he beat the orc into submission and had him admit defeat. But even then Berivs hadn''t gone all out and even the overseer had claimed that Berivs had hidden more than thirty percent of his strength. According to the overseer, Berivs was the only one amongst the orc chieftains to have taken half a step towards the demigod realm and his chances of reaching this godly realm were over a hundred percent if he is not killed before then. Even Derik and Cyrus were slightly moved by Berivs war cry and without Cyrus speaking, Derik already knew Cyrus planned on taking on the two orc chieftains on his own so he simply stepped aside and watched from the sidelines, making Uram heave a sigh of relief. Zoom! Berivs was like a green beam of light as he smashed into Cyrus'' open palm but still unable to move the life mage from the spot he was standing. Woosh! In response, Cyrus swung his hand lightly, releasing a small arc of golden aura but even before he could complete the attack Berivs had already gone around him, reappearing behind him. "Ooooh? You can do that much?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow as he turned his head towards Berivs direction only to be stunned by what he saw. At this point, all of Berivs armor was shattered and his bare body was visible to all, only the piece of cloth wrapped around his waist prevented his private parts to be seen but even then Derik and Cyrus found it hard to understand how a piece of cloth would remain intact when such massive amount of violent aura was oozing out of the orcs body! 345 Chapter 345: True strength of the orc prodigy "I never expected a day would come where I would be forced to use my clan''s secret technique¡­ I didn''t use it because It required me to exchange my life force for power¡­ It''s only temporary but during that period, I will be invincible" Berivs answered honestly, not because he was afraid of Derik or Cyrus but because he strongly believed that they deserved to know since they are the only ones who have been able to make him use such a suicidal technique. "Don''t be a stupid little orc, no one is truly invincible¡­ even I, the death element of this world can be killed!" Derik snarled. He would have loved to say more but he was stunned by Cyrus. "How invincible are we talking about?" Cyrus asked with the usual smile which made his enemies feel uneasy. Even though he had stopped Derik, he too believed in Derik''s words and logic. No one in this world could be considered invincible, not even the creator. In their opinion, there is no such thing as a supreme being that can never be defeated, stuff like that only poops up in crappy stories and novels. As long as there is a being as powerful as that, there must be another being capable of defeating it. There has to be a balance, it''s just the basic rule of nature. In the same way, the elements are weak against other elements and strong against other elements as well. Their theory has been proven time and time again, and even now, the being they always viewed as the ultimate, the absolute will soon be forced to enter a battle where it may lose its life. In their eyes, the creator was no different from them, it was just another person that managed to achieve a greater realm, playing god. "I apologize but I do not have the time to chat¡­ I will put you and the death mage down¡­ here and now!" Berivs roared as his body let out a bright glow and his green aura could be visibly seen, flowing through his body. His eyes completely turned blood-red as a thin line of green aura soon gathered around him, forming some sort of energy armor. "It ends here¡­" Berivs muttered and his figure suddenly vanished. Cyrus was about to respond to his words but then he felt the firm orc hands grab his face and forcefully drag him away towards the river located just beside the settlement. "How?" Cyrus muttered in shock. Not only was he too slow to see Berivs approach but he was too weak to struggled against him, he could only encase his body with his aura before they smashed into the river, diving even deeper. It didn''t take long before a loud bang sound was head, signaling Berivs had dragged Cyrus all the way to the bottom of the river. Woosh! Berivs appeared above the river in an instant and quickly punched down, instantly releasing a massive green fist that made Derik and Uram look like ants when compared to it. In fact, the two had to move out of the way to avoid getting struck by the attack. They could only watch the fist descend into the river from above, smashing into Cyrus who was at the bottom of the river but even then, Derik didn''t look worried, he only looked slightly stunned. He had to confess, he didn''t expect Berivs to attain this amount of power in a short time. At first, he led himself to believe that Berivs had intentionally hidden some sort of information from them but after pondering on the issue for a while, he found it reasonable. In the past, he had consumed souls and used the life force of his victims to forcibly breakthrough to a new realm. In the past, he thought it was nothing and even believed he was able to progress so fast because of his innate talent or some crap like that, but he was wrong. He only realized this after he tried to use his own power to forcefully help his disciples breakthrough the peak grade of the bronze realm into the silver realm but this action almost cost him his life. Even with all the power he had amassed as a gold realm master, he still struggled to do that much. This made him wonder how much power a person''s life force contained. This explained why the creator bothered to create humans and beasts of other races and have them cultivate in this world. The creator knew as these people grew stronger, so will their life force and upon their death, when the life force is returned, it can use this to empower itself or one of its demigod candidates. This explained why the creator was even eager to take the soul of Gin who was just a silver realm expert at the peak grade. Derik and Cyrus guessed it was planning to use that life force to strengthen one of its demigods or itself. And this happened for Kalos as well, when he died and his cosmic spirit attempted to steal his soul and consume his life force. If the soul of a mere silver realm expert like Gin could draw the attention of the creator, how much power can the life force of an orc at the peak grade of the gold realm possess? "I see you are the only one who got to fight someone strong today, Cyrus¡­ My luck has always been bad¡­ hopefully, the one responsible for the barrier protecting these orcs will show himself or I will be forced to take drastic steps that even Demos will frown upon" Derik 346 Chapter 346: A Demigod orc? Boom! Boom! Over and over again the massive fist rose and struck at Cyrus repeatedly but even then Derik still didn''t look worried. In fact, he wasn''t really watching the ongoing battle, he was busy observing the barrier protecting the orc settlement. He still couldn''t understand how his Hell flame spell failed to destroy the barrier and concluded that the barrier held up probably because it possessed an unknown special trait that could nullify his power or the person who set up this barrier is just stronger. As much as Derik would have loved to believe that the first reason is right, he knew it was not so. He literarily couldn''t think of anything that could nullify his death magic except for life magic. Meaning the only option left was the second. Thinking of this alone made him grimace while biting down his lower lips hard. At this moment, the only thoughts that ran through his mind was the identity of this being capable of putting up such a powerful barrier. "A gold realm master at the peak grade? Impossible¡­ there is no way we did be inferior to any gold realm master¡­ not even a demon or angel at the same level can harm us¡­" Derik refused to believe this barrier was something created by a gold realm master like them. No matter the perspective he chose to look at it from, there is no way a gold realm master can fight against them. The only beings capable of harming them at this level are demigods and god realm creatures.t "Demigod¡­" Derik''s body trembled slightly upon mentioning the forbidden realm. Uram took notice of this and for a moment she thought it was fear, Derik was afraid Berivs would kill Cyrus but soon she realized how dumb she was to entertain such thoughts. Derik soon began laughing while trembling with excitement, while it may terrifying to go against being at the Demigod realm, but this could be the only foe capable of making him go all out. At this moment, Derik wasn''t really sure how strong he is, the most he knew was that no one on this continent could challenge him. His curiosity got the better of him and he began pondering how he can make the orc responsible for the barrier to show himself. "You¡­ Who created this barrier and how do I get to this person?" Derik quickly appeared beside the orc shaman before she could flee. "*\u0026%^%$#" the female orc shaman was startled by Derik''s sudden appearance, considering the fact he wasn''t paying attention to her earlier. She quickly released one of her readied spells creating a massive magic circle beneath Derik''s feet and the next moment a pillar of flame erupted from the magic circle, completely consuming Derik but even then no screams of pain could be heard. "Is this meant to slow me down or harm me¡­ Because you failed at both!" Derik''s voice reached her ears and before she could react, the death mages hand tore through the sphere of flame around her, grabbing her by the neck. With a single flick of his fingers, Derik''s aura exploded, forcefully driving away all the elements she had summoned to aid her. "I suggest you answer my questions¡­ if you do, I promise you death will be swift and painless" Derik said with a reassuring smile that made Uram even more terrified. She was terrified of Derik but she was even more terrified of the orc he was asking about. The orc he was talking of was even more powerful than Derik and more ruthless than Derik and Cyrus joined together. In her opinion, the overseer is always watching, and it''s already bad enough she hesitated in battle, divulging information concerning his whereabout could be considered as betrayal and she can be charged with treason. Instant execution! Rather than pissing it off the overseer, she would rather face Derik and Cyrus at once! That was just how much she feared the overseer. "Don''t underestimate me!" Uram roared. Suddenly invisible serpents escaped from her mouth, slithering onto Derik''s hand. These snakes began coiling themselves around Derik. Soon the bind began to tighten but even then Derik''s grip never loosened. "What an interesting technique¡­ are they venomous?" Derik kept staring at the invisible snakes with a certain level of interest visible in his eyes, stunning Uram. The void snakes were one of the numerous secret clan techniques of the Url''m clan. The race of orc shamans has always boasted of defeating their foes without them being able to tell how they lost. These snakes were only visible to the caster who gave them life with his or her life force but known to her, no one could hide their life force from Derik and Cyrus who controlled the death and life element. Since the serpent was made up of pure life force, Derik could see it clearly. He watched the snake slither up his arms and wrap itself around his neck and even let it sink its fangs into his neck. He was only curious to know what kind of strength this thing possessed. "How can you see it?" Uram was even more terrified now. "I am death¡­ I can see anything that has a life force, just like the soul of your comrade I killed a minute ago¡­ he will become a member of my undead army¡­ and with this army, I will wipe out every member of your race¡­ both the women and children as well¡­. After that, I will kill the one responsible for this damned barrier as well but all of this¡­ you can avoid this if you can just give me the location of that person¡­ I will let you all return to your world¡­ no one has to die" Derik chuckled lightly while staring into the eyes of the invisible serpent 347 Chapter 347: The Demigod appears 1 In her opinion, Derik may be strong but even if there were three of him, there is no way he would be able to defeat the overseer. She would rather fight two of Derik all alone than get on the bad side of the overseer! "Heeeeeee? You underestimate me little orc" Derik didn''t seem annoyed one bit. Instead, he had a bright smile on his face. He could understand the fear of the female orc clan head. The fact she knows so little about demigods shows how strong the old god of war had on these orcs. In her opinion, only the old gods can fight the overseer. She saw him as an invincible character but just as Derik has always said. "No one is invincible¡­ not even me" Derik muttered before snapping the neck of the female orc. Since she had no intention of speaking, Derik had no reason to keep her alive. .........................................................¡­.. Meanwhile, Countless green aura fists smashed into a particular location underwater, repeatedly but even then Cyrus was yet to make a sound to express the pain he felt. At first, Berivs assumed this meant that the life mage was dead but reality and common sense forced him to push those misleading thoughts aside. He knew how powerful Cyrus and Derik are and even a fool could tell these people cannot be easily defeated, not by someone of his level. Even though he talked big about taking them out earlier with his clan''s secret technique, it was all empty talk. He knew even in this mode he wouldn''t be able to defeat the life mage or the death mage, not to talk of when they joined hands together. At this moment all his hopes were pinned on the overseer! Since the barrier he erected around their settlement has been disturbed by Derik''s attack, Berivs assumed the overseer must have noticed it and was currently on his way here. His plan from the very beginning was never to win but to buy enough time for the overseer to arrive. "Why don''t you just die!" Berivs screamed The number of green aura fists pummeling Cyrus into the ground doubled and the destructive power increased as well. But even then, he couldn''t help but feel restless. Cyrus had completely concealed his aura preventing him from telling his exact location but that wasn''t much of a problem since his attacks covered a large area. He knew he was the one attacking, but his instincts were screaming danger in his head. He already knew that only death awaited him, the moment Cyrus found a way to break through his aura fists and reach him. Running also wasn''t an option since it was against their laws to flee from battle and even if he could flee, how sure was he that Derik won''t come after him? Bang! Fear! Extreme fear! Just enough to make Berivs trembled in fear as well. At this point, he began wondering, if leaving the barrier was the right call in the first place. Not only has Mol died but Uram as well. How was he supposed to hold out against Derik and Cyrus alone? He had forgotten about the thousands of orcs below, watching him and eager to see how he would destroy their enemies. Unknown to them, Berivs had almost lost hope. Almost! "Hey... Cyrus, how long do you wish to stay down? Or do you enjoy taking a beating from this guy?" Derik asked not even bothering to look at the river. "You always find a way to spoil my fun¡­. Not only did you murder the girl I called cute¡­ You also made this guy lose his fighting spirit¡­ I was this close to understanding the way his secret clan technique works" Cyrus'' voice echoed from behind, stunning Berivs even more. He quickly turned but was only fast enough to see a glimpse of a man engulfed in a golden aura. Before he could do anything, Cyrus'' palm smashed into his face and with a powerful slap, Berivs was sent crashing back into the green barrier formation around the orc settlement. To Derik and Cyrus'' surprise, Berivs wasn''t repelled by the barrier, instead, he flew past it like it was nothing, before slamming into the ground, surrounded by hundreds of orcs. "The formation is capable of distinguishing between friend and foe? This is beyond my expectations¡­ If the creator of this thing is truly a demigod then we have to end it soon or contact our guardian spirits as soon as we have found it" Cyrus wore a serious expression on his face for the first time since he came here. Even though he was confident in his abilities, he wasn''t as reckless as Derik. They were both capable of fighting the peak beings just a step away from the demigod realm but a bonafide demigod is something else entirely. But that didn''t mean he wasn''t excited by the thought of battling a demigod to the death. The fact remains that they are yet to know the true extent of their powers and they were eager to find out. All they needed now was a dummy who would take the full brunt of their strength and not break easily. For this reason, Derik''s eyes let out a darkish green glow as he raised his hand and clouds turned green while the sky turned black. "If you won''t show yourself, then I will just have to destroy every single orc present!" Derik roared as his death aura began gathering around his hand. Green lightning shot down from the green clouds, striking the barrier relentlessly while a final massive darkish green mass of death aura gathered above Derik''s head! The orc beneath watched the changes in the sky and the dreadful aura that filled the air, filling them with fear and despair. Bervis on the other hand tried to move but his body wouldn''t respond. His eyes showcased his hopelessness and he could only wish he was stronger. Although the young orc chieftain had faith in the overseer''s strength, it didn''t mean he wasn''t cautious of his enemy. Just like the overseer, Derik and Cyrus possessed powers that seemed to be abundant and limitless. It was like looking into the ocean from a fishing boat, hoping to see the bottom of the ocean. IMPOSSIBLE! Just like he couldn''t tell how strong the overseer is, he also couldn''t tell how strong, Derik and Cyrus are. "How did they get so strong in such a short amount of time? compared to them, I am trash¡­" Berivs muttered those words as memories of his first battle with Cyrus, and Derik flooded his mind. At that time, he tried to kill Kuen with his golden spear but failed because a bunch of weak gold realm masters joined hands to drive him away. Yes! Derik and Cyrus were weak and not even noteworthy in his eyes at the time but now things seemed to be different. Berivs always felt proud when he was considered the orc empire''s prodigy! The strongest and most talented orc of not only his generations but of the previous generation as well. At the age of twenty, he was able to take control of his clan reach the gold realm and in just two years he pushed from the low grade of the gold realm to the peak grade of the gold realm. This is something not even Derik and Cyrus could do through the normal means if given double the amount of time Berivs needed. But of course, the orc knew nothing about the battle about to commence between the old gods and the new gods. He didn''t know that Cyrus and Derik were amongst the seven candidates, selected by the god vein planet to become members of the new gods. He knew nothing about the black whirlpool and the inheritance they consumed to become this strong in such a short time. All he knew was that these two would only get stronger and an alarming rate if given the time. "For that reason¡­ I will have you all die here with me!" Berivs staggered while struggling to get on his feet. Even though his voice was shaky, his determination was greatly admired by Derik and Cyrus and they could only bow their head slightly to the orc whom they wished was human or at least on their side. 348 Chapter 348: The Demigod appears 2 "A warriors heart¡­ This I respect!" Cyrus said while shaking his head with a sad look on his face. Believe it or not, the life mage did not derive any joy from killing valiant warriors like Berivs. "For your sake, I will take this fight seriously like my life depends on it¡­. Now come at me¡­ Young orc chieftain!" Cyrus roared. Instantly a powerful pillar of golden light descended upon him, creating powerful golden rays of light strong enough to make even Derik instinctively back away. From the pillar of golden light emerged a figure with pure and smooth golden skin with glittering golden eyes and a perfect body shape. At this point, Cyrus was over four meters tall and in his hand was a golden spear that radiated so much divine aura that Berivs could even feel his life force slipping away even though it was directed at him. "Thank you¡­ Human!" Berivs'' let out a final battle cry before dashing straight towards the majestic golden figure fearlessly. The closer he got the brighter the golden light became and since he was using his life force to strengthen his abilities temporarily he unconsciously began to draw power from Cyrus abundant life force mixed with his aura. Countless cracks appeared all over his body and from it, a pure green aura poured out on his body. At a point, the size of the green beam heading towards Cyrus kept increasing and increasing, until the orcs who had lost hope began to rejoice again. Berivs was getting stronger! Normally this could be considered a good thing, but in this case, it wasn''t. while the others rejoiced, Berivs lamented as he couldn''t stop the constant inflow of life force. His body has reached its saturation point and it was just a matter of time before he explodes. "If that''s the case??? I will take you with me!" Berivs roared as he reached Cyrus and exploded! Creating a massive green mushroom cloud that can be seen from miles away. "True life path: Supreme being of the heavens" Cyrus muttered as he swung his spear at Berivs ............................................................... "He was a valiant warrior¡­ a perfect addition to my collection of undead generals!" Derik said with a vicious smile. He knew that level of the explosion wouldn''t be enough to harm Cyrus so he wasn''t really bothered about his safety. At this point he closed his eyes, trying to pull Berivs soul into his domain but he felt nothing. No! "There is something there!" Derik''s eyes yanked open abruptly and with a single swing of his arm, he created a strong wind to blow away the residual green aura that was blocking his vision. Bang! The orc was dressed in a casual sleeveless green mage robe with a hood draped over his head. The orc had a muscular but lean built, surprisingly he wasn''t as buff as the other orcs, his physique was similar to Derik''s. His pupils could not be seen since his green aura kept oozing out of every opening in his body, creating a light green mist around him. On his back was a war ax, hanging loosely and most importantly, while looking at this orc, Derik and Cyrus were reminded of the endless seas. They couldn''t tell how strong he is, they couldn''t tell his limit as well. "Fortunately¡­ we are yet to know our limit yet¡­ we also get that same feeling whenever we try to gauge our power" a vicious grin bloomed on Derik''s face as he took the initiative to approach the figure. In the overseer''s hands was the unconscious Berivs and only after seeing this did Derik understand why he couldn''t steal Berivs soul. It was because the young orc wasn''t dead! Somehow the overseer managed to stop him from detonating himself. "This young orc really has good luck" Derik laughed lightly. Now he was only a few meters from the overseer "I know right? He''s the most talented youth of my race, whom I intend to keep alive" The overseer didn''t miss the disappointment in Derik''s eyes but even then, he chose to be friendly. "You are the overseer, right? The one responsible for this barrier?" Derik''s eyes let out a darkish green while he spoke. In response, the overseer smiled and nodded. Before coming here, it was watching over the battle between the powerless humans with technology against the other main clans of the orc race. To win against these humans, even he a demigod had to get involved, and even with its involvement, they were still at a stalemate. It didn''t take long before it felt someone attacking its barrier set over the settlement here in the aldemar continent, guessing from the power of the attack, it knew this was not something Berivs and the other chieftains could. It had to cross the endless seas in a matter of minutes just to get here only to see Mol die. The overseer decided to stay hidden for a while longer and observe Derik and Cyrus, hoping to understand what and who they are. "No gold realm master should be able to wield such power! They must be extraordinary!" It said to itself back then. As the fight continued, he watched Uram fumble not just once but countless times and at a point, the overseer concluded it would kill her even if she somehow survived the battle. It was only impressed with Berivs fighting spirit and determination, that''s why it decided to step in and stop the young orc from throwing his life away. "I made the right choice when I made you my successor!" The overseer said with a smile while looking at the unconscious Berivs, 349 Chapter 349: Battling a demigod! 1 "He is our race''s hope¡­ for that reason¡­ I can''t let you harm him" The overseer said with a calm smile on his face which could not be seen. With the hood draped over his head, all that could be seen was darkness and a pair of blazing green eyes, terrifying enough to make Cyrus retreat instinctively as soon as he spotted it. But Derik was different! Coupled with his hunger for chaos as the harbinger of death and his werewolf side, his body was currently trembling with excitement, up to the point where he consciously had to make an effort to prevent himself from attacking the overseer. "Well??? Death has come for his soul¡­ I suggest you hand it over!" Derik said. At this moment, his eyes turned gray and his voice was hoarse. All those hearing it could tell it was not just a person speaking! It was like hundreds of thousands of voices overlapping each other. With this, Cyrus could tell Derik was already using his necromancy ability. "Necromancy path: Legion" Cyrus muttered while shaking his head. This ability allowed Derik to merge with all the souls he has consumed so far, granting him all their abilities, memories, and skills. This could be considered as his trump card when using his necromancy skills and what even stunned Cyrus more was that Derik used one of his trump cards without hesitation, this made him believe he made the right decision by fleeing the moment he realized the orc overseer had arrived. ............................... Back in the empire¡­ While the gold realm masters and the top silver realm masters were still trying to make sense of what happened back at the powerless human settlement and also trying to understand how Derik and Cyrus got so strong, the three undead commanders, Kalos, Aldora, and Gin were soon engulfed in darkish green aura and they could hear a powerful enticing voice. "Return to me! Your master needs you!" Derik''s voice made the ground tremble and even gold realm masters like Diana and Francis shuddered in fear. Even though Gin had only been an undead for less than an hour, he too felt compelled to help return to Derik as soon as possible, to aid his new master in any way he could. "How is this possible¡­ even when he was at the silver realm and fought against me... he still didn''t need your help when he utilized the necromancer path: Legion!" Aldora said to Kalos with a flustered look on his pale face. "A demigod!" Kalos blurted out after giving the matter some thought. He was aware of Derik and Cyrus'' strength and just like the others he was very sure there was no way gold realm masters could trouble Derik and Cyrus anymore. The fact that Derik would request for their souls to return simply meant that they were battling a demigod! Only such an existence can push Derik to this point. "Hehehehe! Those two are addicted to battling foes a realm ahead of them¡­ They seem to enjoy embarking on suicidal tasks¡­ what are we waiting for? Let''s go serve our master well!" Aldora said and the other two nodded in agreement before letting the darkish green flames consume them until nothing was left. Meanwhile, the gold and silver realm experts and masters left behind could not hide their shock when they heard the conversation between the three gold realm undead commanders. Not only did Derik and Cyrus destroy a single settlement with a single attack, now they were battling Demigods. While most of them were relieved that Derik and Cyrus had become so powerful, meaning the empire would become a safer place under their leadership, people like Diana and Francis were soaked in sweat when they remembered they had joined hands to attack Derik and Cyrus sects, and successfully killed thousands of their loyal followers! "I will definitely become like him! One day I will¡­ Just watch me!" Blink who has always been cold and reserved was bubbling with excitement at this point. He felt proud to be a member of the palace of the dead and he was sure, Kira, Kuen, Kin, Agus, and Fernandos felt proud of serving the two sect masters capable of rivaling a demigod in battle! ................................ Like a rocket, countless darkish green flames flew across the continent, gathering at one point, Derik! His eyes yanked open and a gray mist exploded from his body, followed by a lighter darkish green aura that blended together while spreading across the skies. Soon several blazing green orbs surrounded his body and when clasping his hands together, he used his green flames to craft a bow and the green orbs of flames took the shape of an arrow. Each surrounded by the power of different elements, from all the souls he was drawing strength from. "True necromancy path: Legion emperor!" Derik said with a confident smile on his face 350 Chapter 350: Battling a demigod! 2 "Since you won''t let me have that soul¡­ I will be taking yours!" Derik growled as he called upon one of the green arrows into his hands. Xiu! His archery skills were even greater than it was before, and when he attacked all Cyrus could see were after-images! He couldn''t tell when Derik had released the arrow but to his greatest surprise, the overseer had moved to the side to evade the attack, escaping the arrow quite easily. Or so he thought! "Do I look like a joke to you?" Derik''s eyes released a silver glow and the next moment a portal spatial gate appeared and the arrow flew in. Almost at that same second, a second arrow appeared so close by the side of the Overseer, that he didn''t have the time to dodge. When the arrow appeared from the spatial gate, it became obvious to it that Derik was aiming to steal Berivs life so he quickly tossed the young orc away while using his aura to create a protective barrier around Berivs. Boom! The arrow struck and following the explosion was a deadly release of a strong wave of death aura. Derik stood there with a satisfied smile on his face as he waited patiently for the green mist which the attack created to clear. "So this is the power of death¡­ I must say, this is quite deadly" the overseer''s voice was enough to wipe the smile off Derik''s face. When the green smoke cleared, the orc overseer had moved from that spot and he seemed to be in almost perfect condition. Only after gazing at his left hand where the arrow hit did Cyrus realize the orc overseer''s skin was rotting, but at a very slow rate. With furrowed eyebrows they watched the orc overseer dig out the affected flesh without any hesitation! "He used his aura to delay my power¡­" Derik suddenly spoke up, catching Cyrus'' attention. "What?" Cyrus asked with an astonished look on his face. He couldn''t help but feel shocked by Derik''s revelation. This was the first time he had heard of someone capable of suppressing the corrosive nature of his death aura with his or her own aura. The fact that even he, the life mage will have a tough time cleansing Derik''s death aura from a person''s body made it harder for him to accept this fact. "You have got good eyes, little god¡­ I believe it''s my turn to strike" The orc overseer said with a calm smile and even then his aura had no fluctuations, making Cyrus feel more insecure and Derik feel more excited! "Hahaha! Bring it on¡­" Derik was yet to finish his sentence when the orc overseer vanished. Wooosh! Orakh clan secret technique: Unbreakable! "Derik move!" Cyrus roared. For the first time in a while, he felt the threat of death from the attack of a person other than Derik! Even though his voice was loud enough to make the earth tremble, Derik didn''t move. At this moment, images of mole utilizing this same technique flooded into his mind, making him hesitate for a split second. It was the same technique! But different users at different power levels! "Hahahaha! I will play with you!" Derik laughed out loud with a crazed expression on his face. Claws sprouted on his hands while darkish green aura quickly gathered around them. Secret technique: Brilliant claw! Boom! Boom! With a loud roar, Derik threw his claws at the hands coming down at him like a comet falling from the skies, yet he showed no fear! As soon as the attacks struck, Derik could be seen flying out of the gray mist uncontrollably, crashing one of the hills surrounding the orc settlement. Both his hands had been completely destroyed and at the moment, black blood flowed out of his injuries while chunks of rock from the hill crashed into him from above. Cyrus watched his blood flow like a stream, from the peak of the hill down to the river below! Everything it made contact with rotted away the next instant and when his blood finally made contact with the river, it turned back and all aquatic life within it died instantly. It was clear the overseer had greater physical capabilities. To be able to deal this much damage to Derik whose physical capabilities were leaps and bounds above that of other gold realm masters was still too shocking for Cyrus. He watched Mol use the same attack and even then he couldn''t put a scratch on Derik at all. "I guess, the difference in realm really means a lot" Cyrus chuckled as he turned his attention to the orc chieftain. At this point, he realized all the spots on his hand which had a claw mark on it were rotting and the overseer had to dig out those spots before the infection spread. At this point, his wounds were bleeding and Derik''s attacks went so deep that Cyrus could see the overseer''s bones. "Well, well¡­ He''s not crazy after all" Cyrus chuckled as he slowly approached the overseer with his golden spear in his hands. He still remained in his supreme deity form, and as he approached his golden light shone even brighter. Six pairs of golden wings began sprouting on his back as a second golden spear took form in his left hand, "My friend here is hot-headed¡­ I suggest you wait until he recovers¡­ Until then, I''ll be the one keeping you busy!" Cyrus declared confidently. 351 Chapter 351: Threats The god vein does not prevent any god from creating life on the planet and its selection of the new gods candidates are mostly at random. As long as they could build a stronghold here and the god of war can create new life on this planet, there is a possibility that one of its creations will become a candidate as well. To accomplish this task, the overseer was tasked with killing every guardian spirit host he could find. "The power to control the life element¡­ While you give, he takes" The overseer said the last part while pointing a finger at Derik''s direction. "Light and darkness are two different entities all together¡­ Good and evil cannot coexist¡­" The overseer said. The overseer already had prior knowledge of the elements of the guardian spirit hosts, it failed to understand how two people wielding life and death elements could coexist and fight together. It''s just like fire and water mages becoming the best of friends. "Don''t be stupid old man¡­ Light and darkness are only two different sides of the same coin¡­ Life needs death to coexist and death also needs life as well¡­ they are inseparable! To maintain balance, the two must exist together as one!" Cyrus proclaimed while approaching the overseer who was constantly retreating. "Using one''s life force as a detonation device by overloading it¡­ That is a seriously messed up ability you have there¡­ unfortunately you are too late! If you tried to kill me with this ability five centuries ago, I probably would have died instantly but at this current moment¡­ at our current levels and realms, I am not an opponent you can handle alone!" The overseer roared as he forcefully dispelled all the life energy flowing into him. Unlike gold realm masters who practically had no control over their life force, the overseer was a demigod and has remained in this realm for centuries. Its control over its life force and aura are at levels which Cyrus and Derik cannot imagine! "Heee? You are even more capable than I expected¡­ I might have to take you out the normal way then" When Cyrus was done speaking, he was already standing right in front of the overseer. Seeing the overseer was yet to move or speak, Cyrus concluded the ancient orc was stunned by his majestic power. That was the only reason the overseer was yet to attack him or even reply but in reality, the overseer was only lost in thoughts. Since his face was hidden within his hood, Cyrus couldn''t see the ugly expression wore at that very moment. The ability to adjust one''s height and size is something reserved for only beings that have surpassed the realm of mortals, that''s the demigod realm. The fact that Cyrus was able to utilize this ability meant he was at the demigod realm, at least that''s what it should be but looking at him again, the overseer was very sure Cyrus was still at the peak grade of the gold realm! He was still a mortal, then how? Normally a being like an overseer who has lived just as long as the guardian spirits wouldn''t be worried about gold realm masters taking half a step into the demigod realm or just breaking into the demigod realm entirely. No matter how they chose to look at it, these people are considered inferior to them since they lack centuries worth of knowledge and understanding of their realm that they have acquired since their creation. Not to speak of the power they have successfully accumulated since then! In the end, overseers and guardian spirits didn''t consider these people as threats, that''s why Demos and Samael weren''t flustered when they were ambushed by two wingmen demigods and the angel Michael who was also a demigod. In fact, even if they were double their number, Samael and Demos wouldn''t even complain, in their opinion, that could still be considered a fair fight but Derik and Cyrus'' situation was quite different. Their position as the hosts of the guardian spirits has always granted them an advantage against foes of the same level or even a realm above. This advantage is what they have been making use of to suppress their enemies in the past but even then, this advantage meant nothing against guardian spirits and overseers. But now they have acquired their inheritance, it was a completely different story altogether. The difference between the mortal realm and the realm of the gods is just too vast. Even a newly born demigod can shatter continents if he or she decides to fight seriously. The power difference has always been so much that they are forced to leave behind all their worldly possessions and even family, just to join their fellow demigods. The world of mortals was no longer fit for them and for the sake of the mortals, these newly born demigods are bound with lots of laws and rules. Even a being as powerful as Demos is bound by such rules! Rules that even he is afraid to break since even other guardian spirits agree with this. 352 Chapter 352: You disappoint me At this point, the thoughts of Derik and Cyrus reaching the demigod realm scared the shit out of the orc overseer. The power boost they would gain, coupled with their already insane power level was enough to make this overseer realize why the old gods are so adamant about killing all the guardian spirit hosts, especially those who have gotten their inheritance and become new god candidates. "Die!" Cyrus'' voice forced the orc overseer to forgo his thoughts and focus on the battle at hand. He could see two golden spears descending from the skies and even though he was quite sure he had enough physical strength to take these spears head-on, the overseer had become more cautious of the duo because of the various unknowns surrounding their strength. Wooosh! Leaving behind only after images, the overseer easily circled the massive golden figure due to his greater speed. While the increase in height greatly strengthens a demigod and increases his physical capabilities, as well as his attack range, it also means they are slower than normal people. Even though the increase in attack range covered for the reduction in movement speed, a very fast opponent can utilize this as an advantage when fighting against another demigod. This is why the overseer is always reluctant to increase his body size. "Url''m clan secret technique: Void snakes!" Suddenly countless hissing sounds filled the skies as the overseer''s right hand began to morph and an unexpected amount of invisible snakes lunged forward, wrapping themselves around the gigantic golden man with two golden spears in his hands. Cyrus had observed the fight between Derik and Uram and had also seen the invisible snakes back then. Uram was only able to create one void snake but here, the overseer created so many void snakes that with just a glance, Cyrus could count over a hundred of them. He also noticed these snakes were bigger than Uram''s and even more sturdy. But in the end, he could still see them even clearer than Derik, unfortunately for Cyrus, the overseer had no intention of getting into a prolonged fight. Accompanying a loud roar, a massive wave of green aura erupted from the overseer''s body and rose above his head. The green arrow twirled around each other until it took the shape of a massive green spear, flying straight at the immobilized Cyrus who was yet to break free from the void snakes. "Just like my friend the dead chick used this same technique on him earlier, I also did the same for you, hoping it will be different but in the end it''s still the same!" Cyrus sneered as his life aura exploded and gathered above his head. "Guardian weapon path: Divine godslayer blade!" Cyrus roared Instantly his life aura took the shape of a massive golden broadsword, decorated with countless runes. The guardian weapon diffused of powerful life aura and it was literarily the size of a small mountain, making the overseer''s green spear which is considered large look like a dagger been compared to a longsword. Without saying a word, the massive golden broadsword, spun rapidly, knocking away the green spear effortlessly. Before the overseer could express his shock, the golden guardian weapon was already above the overseer hacking down at him mercilessly. "How?" The overseer cried as he quickly summoned the green spear to act as a shield but both he and the green spear were soon knocked out of the skies, falling deep into the black river, contaminated by Derik''s blood. Even with the outcome of the short exchange, Cyrus didn''t seem happy. Even a monkey would tell that the overseer was yet to reveal his true strength and this was probably because of the orc settlement not far from their location. Cyrus had been observing his foe, right from when he battled Derik till now, hoping to find some sort of weakness which can be used against him but since then and up till now the overseer is yet to show his real abilities. All this while the overseer had been utilizing combat techniques meant for gold realm masters. These are abilities still in the mortal realm! Yet he has been able to draw out power from such weak techniques enough to make him and Derik keep their guards up when fighting. These were the techniques the three orc chieftains used and still failed to leave a single scratch on him and Derik. The thought of this man utilizing his real strength was enough to send shivers down Cyrus'' spine. But this wasn''t the time to dwell on such thoughts. Since the void snakes were practically life force manipulated to take the form of a serpent, Cyrus didn''t need any form of crafty technique to break free, neither did he need to use brute strength to release himself. "All this while I expected the so-called Demigods to be unreachable beings capable of wiping out mortals with just a single word¡­ But after seeing this poor display of power¡­ I must say, overseer, you disappoint me!" Cyrus said. 353 Chapter 353: I am not dead yet! "It''s been so long since I have said these words¡­ I can''t the fact that even I am excited by this battle! Guardian weapon path! Spit the skies, shatter the heavens!" Cyrus roared. The massive guardian weapon levitating above his head soon began to tremble for a few moments before it doubles in size, diffusing an even more intense divine aura than before. "Shatter!" Cyrus roared as he pointed at a particular part of the black ocean where the orc overseers aura signature could be found. Shriek! The divine guardian weapon quickly let out a loud cry before descending from the skies like a comet. The sheer size of the guardian weapon allowed it to block out the sun while making hills surrounding the area look small. Booom! Upon collision, the attack created a loud bang sound, coupled with a powerful shockwave strong enough to temporarily separate the river for a few seconds. The power of the attack was satisfactory and Cyrus was pleased with his newfound strength, the only problem at this moment was that the attack failed to hit. Xiu! It may have been for only a split second but Cyrus saw the green spear flying at him at a speed which made Cyrus see only after images as he moved. The life mage at this time forcibly propelled himself to the side, barely escaping the green aura spear attack. At that moment, he returned his gaze to the river only to realize the overseer was no longer there. "Damn it!" Cyrus roared as he clasped his hands together creating a golden sphere all around him. Bang! The massive green spear struck the golden sphere just a split second after it was erected. Surprisingly, the impact was strong enough to make Cyrus'' head spin, and his vision blur for a short while. The image of the overseer standing on the green spear with a crazed look on his face. Apparently, none of his clothes survived the black see and his thick green skin seemed to be peeling off as well. Seeing the overseer in such a condition left Cyrus even more stunned. The life mage wasn''t sure he would survive if he were to fall into the black river without any source of protection, yet the orc overseer did it. Although he was still suffering from the effects of Derik''s blood, he could still pull out enough power to almost one shot Cyrus. Xiu! Suddenly two spatial gates appeared in an instant! One below Cyrus and the other beside the overseer! All this happened so fast that even the overseer didn''t have time to react to it. Boom! While Cyrus fell into the spatial gate leading to another location in the area, Derik dived out of the second gate, dragging the overseer with him until they reached the green barrier surrounded the orc settlement! Only then did he proceed to smash the overseer''s head on the barrier. Bang! Like an arrow, Derik shot back and only regained control of his body after he had covered hundreds of meters. His eyes were completely black as he spat out a mouthful of black blood while watching the hole on his chest close slowly. "Don''t you dare forget about me¡­ I am not dead yet!" Derik roared at the overseer who was pulling himself away from the green barrier. Seeing the fist-sized hole on Derik''s chest slowly close up, the overseer''s expression turned bitter as he kept considering how best to deal with Derik and the rest. The damage Derik had just sustained in that fight should be enough to kill any mortal realm expert and even the demigods would need some time to completely heal from it, yet his wounds were healing at a visible rate, making the overseer''s heart tremble. At this moment the overseer realized that Derik''s hands which were completely destroyed had regrown and they were in perfect condition. He couldn''t wrap his head around what was happening or how Derik was able to heal so fast. Currently, Derik''s eyes were pitch black and all the hair on his body stood up. His claws and fangs had sprouted and he seemed slightly taller than usual. If the overseer didn''t have prior information about Derik and Cyrus, he would have assumed Derik was from the colony of beast men invaders while Cyrus is a member of the wing men race. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to give me enough time to recover¡­" Derik''s voice was quite deep and hoarse. Just like Cyrus, he was extremely excited. At this point, he has been forced to combine the necromancy path: Legion emperor and his werewolf abilities. He could feel the different energies gathering within his body to form something new. While he had the immortal body, the orc overseer didn''t. At this moment, most parts of his skin had turned gray, and even then more spots were still rotting! The orc overseer smelt like death and it was only a matter of time before he is unable to withhold the rotting effect of Derik''s aura. "It''s a shame you had to die protecting the people you love¡­ You orcs have my respect" Derik said 354 Chapter 354: Joining hands "Don''t talk like you have already won! You damned human!" The orc overseer roared as he grabbed the empty air and pulled back. Xiu! At this point, Derik had already forgotten the massive green spear the orc overseer was riding before he was knocked off. The attack was so fast that Derik could barely react! He could only watch the green spear fly towards him from the corner of his eyes. "Clumsy as always!" Cyrus'' voice echoed the next moment and his massive guardian weapon appeared by Derik''s side, parrying the attack for the death mage. Before Derik could express his gratitude he realized Cyrus was already standing beside him with his hands wrapped around his chest. Unlike before, Cyrus had lost his usual glow and even his size had reduced. At the moment he was no taller than Derik and Derik knew why. "I told you but you won''t listen¡­. Don''t go big against everyone you see¡­. Unless the demigod chooses to increase his or her size only then should you do the same¡­ It makes you slow!" Derik complained while Cyrus looked away in shame. Indeed, he had realized his blunder by increasing his size when going up against the overseer, not only was he slower but he was a bigger target! Even though he knew Derik was right he wasn''t planning on admitting it. "We will have to join hands if we wish to defeat this demigod!" Cyrus quickly changed the topic. "We will?" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow. "Of course dummy¡­ it may seem like we have the advantage now¡­ It may seem like we are destined to win but what if he goes all out? His death means the death of those orcs he''s trying to protect and probably the death of all the other orcs spread across this world! We have been pushing and when he finally hits the wall he will definitely bite back!" Cyrus slapped the back of Derik''s head while he explained. Considering this Derik found it reasonable. The orc overseer has been holding back all this while because he just wished to protect the weaker orcs around. The question now is this, when the overseer realizes it can win against them while holding back and its death means the death of not only the orcs in this settlement but also that of the others in the various continents spread across this world, will it still be willing to hold back? The answer was definitely a no! because Derik knew what he would have done if he were in a similar position. "Dummy, that promise had nothing to do with Demigods¡­ only when we join hands can we call this a fair fight!" Cyrus said. Bang! The golden broadsword once again deflected the green spear aimed at Derik, drawing their attention to the overseer once again. They could tell the overseer had no intention of letting them chat away and Derik also noticed the death aura in the man had reduced drastically. "Is he forcefully purging my death aura with nothing but his own aura?" Derik''s expression turned ugly upon realization. Cyrus was shocked when he heard this and when he looked closer, he realized Derik wasn''t joking. A good portion of the overseer''s body which was gray had regained its green color and more of Derik''s death aura was been pushed out. This was driving him crazy! It was one thing to suppress the rotting effect of Derik''s death aura with just his aura and no light or life magic, that Cyrus could understand and accept but purging the death aura was another thing altogether. He saw this as an insult to him, the life mage who is meant to be the only one capable of countering Derik! "We must kill him¡­ here and now!" Cyrus roared and Derik nodded in approval! "You support¡­ I attack!" Derik''s words sounded like a growl as he clasped his hands together. Instantly over twenty spatial gates were created, surrounding them and their foe. "I didn''t think I will be needing your strength so earlier on, bear with me" Derik muttered to his three undead generals currently residing within him. The next moment a ten-meter tall golden man-shaped statue appeared with six hands. its eyes were filled with darkness and countless twinkling stars lighting it up. The body of this golden construct seemed stiff and strong as if it were made of gold and around its neck were golden beads. Similar beads like that were also found around all six hands. Its facial expression carried no hate, joy, anger, rage, or any form of emotion. There was just indifference, like a god about to carry out judgment upon its creations. On its right hand was an hourglass filled with golden sand and on its left was a golden divine scythe used to reap the lives of the unjust! Upon its head was a golden halo representing the holy nature of the newborn deity! "It''s your turn next old friend¡­ I''ll be needing your strength as well!" Derik muttered! Upon saying these words, Derik''s death scythe appeared in his hands and his darkish green energy soon began to gather around it. Before anyone could express their shock, they realized all the mana in the atmosphere was been siphoned by Derik. At this moment his eyes were blazing green and his body was shrouded by raging green flames! "Gin¡­ Kalos¡­ Aldora!" Cyrus gasped in shock. 355 Chapter 355: A fight to be remembered for ages But in the end, Cyrus couldn''t blame him. Having someone counter his death magic which should be absolute, not once, not twice but three times now was a major attack on his pride as the representation of death in this world. "I understand how you feel bro¡­ Even I feel hurt by the fact that this ancient crap is able to dispel your death magic faster than I ever could¡­ so you don''t have to worry¡­ we are in this together!" Cyrus'' eyes lit up with power while he spoke. Instantly, two pairs of golden wings sprouted on his back but no offensive weapon was summoned as well, only the massive golden broadsword twirling over his head remained to wait for its master''s order. "Here I go¡­" Derik muttered. He crouched slightly before shooting forward at an amazing speed. Everyone, including Cyrus and the overseer, expected him to charge forward but the moment he lunged forward, a spatial gate appeared in front of him and he flew in. "Where?" The overseer was on guard now for the very first time in a long while. It had acknowledged the fact that Derik and Cyrus are potential threats, capable of stealing taking his life in an instant. As much as he would have loved to reveal his true strength and put an end to all of this, Derik and Cyrus were right when they concluded that the overseer couldn''t go all out because of the orcs below. They are the reason he''s here so he would toss them aside unless his life is seriously threatened. At this moment, the overseer was confused and on the edge. Not only did Derik suddenly disappear but he left behind over twenty spatial gates around him! Knowing which gate Derik would have emerged from is practically impossible. Wooosh! From a spatial gate below, Derik emerged with his death scythe shrouded in a darkish green aura. He let out a roar and when listened to properly, Cyrus could hear Gin''s voice overlapping Derik''s voice. With a single swing, a massive arc of darkish green aura shot out, dashing towards the overseer. "Slow!" The overseer yelled and dashed forward to evade the attack coming from below. On normal circumstances, the overseer would have chosen to move back since Cyrus was still hundreds of meters in front of him but considering the orc settlement behind, he chose to take the risk and dived forward. Derik on the other hand revealed a vicious smile in response to his actions! Bam! Only at this point did the overseer realize that when Derik moved the massive golden buddha had not moved an inch. From the corner of his eye, he could clearly see one hand out of the six hands the buddha possessed was still inside a spatial gate created by Derik. "I didn''t think it was going to be this easy!" Cyrus laughed as his massive guardian weapon let out a loud cry before dashing forward the next moment. The massive sword began spinning on its way towards the overseer until it looked like a massive golden disk capable of slicing anything in half! "Damn these kids¡­ How long do you think I have lived?" the overseer cursed as a green spear flew past him and promptly blocked the golden disk attack, successfully deflecting it! Woosh! From another spatial gate not too far away from the side, another powerful golden fist emerged heading straight for the orc overseer. Orakh clan secret technique: Unbreakable! With a loud roar the overseer''s eyes let out a green flash as his body expanded and countless green runes appeared all over his body. His muscles kept bulging as his body expanded at a terrifying rate. Bang! The overseer quickly threw a punch at the massive golden fist creating a powerful shockwave. Crack! Crack! The overseer gritted its teeth in pain as the broken bones in his fists began returning to their rightful positions. He didn''t expect the golden buddha to possess such physical capabilities capable of harming him in exchange. But then thinking about, he felt like it was reasonable for the buddha to have that much power. He too is able to make even the most basic technique look advance and power and this is only thanks to his cultivation base. That''s why each time he utilized the secret clan techniques of the orc clans, its power output is always greater than that of those normal gold realm orc masters. Before he could get a chance to retreat another golden fist shot down from a spatial gate placed above his head, forcing him to take a step back before throwing both fists at the golden fist descending upon him. Boom! "You always leave yourself wide open" Derik''s voice reached his ears startling the orc overseer! "You are really begging for a backstab old man" Cyrus'' voice made stunned him as well Pa! Instead of a head-on attack or the use of brute force, Derik and Cyrus did something different. Both mages quickly grabbed the hands of the overseer and a large amount of life and death aura quickly surged into the overseer''s body. "Rot away!" Derik roared. ''Life overflow! Let''s see how you handle this!" Cyrus growled! 356 Chapter 356: God tier guardian spiri "Life overflow! Let''s see how you handle this!" Cyrus growled! The next moment the overseer felt the abundant life energy flowing through his veins and his strength rising. The feeling was so addictive he could not move a finger yet it didn''t stop him from watching Derik''s aura do its magic. Right before everyone''s eyes, Derik''s aura spread all the way from his hand and across his body turning everything gray. His skin began peeling off and the only thing that has stopped him from dying instantly now was the fact that he was using his aura to forcibly repel the death aura. At this point, he had this feeling which he thought he had forgotten for ages! The feeling of breaking through into the demigod realm. The abundant life force which they received during the breakthrough which makes them almost immortals. The fact that Cyrus could replicate this feeling by pouring in even more life force into his body scared him. Finally, his body began to swell and visible golden cracks began appearing all over his body. Derik''s death aura did not stay ideal during this time as it quickly spread towards the cracks, corroding the edges and widening the wound, even more, allowing more life energy to invade the body through the opening. From outside all they could see was darkish green and divine golden aura twirling around the overseer. At this stage of the process, Derik and Cyrus let go of the hand and glided backward a bit but they never stopped channeling their aura into the overseer''s body. ........................................................... Meanwhile from an unknown realm, the creator, his angels, and the guardian spirits all wore ugly expressions on their faces as they watched the scene unfold. They sincerely couldn''t believe what they were seeing. It''s one thing to able to rot someone with the death aura or overload someone with the life aura, all that can be done but doing both at the same time was something else entirely! They could see the death and life aura interact but none corrupted the other, there was no friction or resistance. Everything went on smoothly as if it was just one element in use. "How? How can they tame their elements to such a level? What kind of proficiency do they possess over their elements?" The creator spoke while turning his attention to Demos. But the angel of death only shook his head in response. Even he is yet to achieve this level of mastery over the death element. In fact, at this moment it was obvious Derik''s level of mastery over the death element far surpasses his. "How is it possible for him to tame his element to this level? Don''t screw with me, they are gods! Both of them¡­. They are the new gods¡­ Just the way you are the best at what you do, they are the best at what they do¡­ The only difference between you and them now is the realm¡­ This I am sure they will achieve in the future" Demos sneered at the creator who chuckled in response. "That''s if they live that long¡­ Am I correct?" The creator''s words were enough to send shivers down the spines of the guardian spirits. They all wished to refute his words but they couldn''t help but worry. If the creator should go out of his way to harm Derik and Cyrus, there is only so much they could do to stop it and even if the creator doesn''t get involved, the chances of Derik and Cyrus dying in just a few years is quite high! The world is a mess no and countless foes at various levels, from various old gods, are appearing. Each of these invaders possesses those they call their champion and now these champions are unknowingly been lead to the Aldemar continent where the war between the mortals will take place. In this war, the guardian spirits will be too busy defending the other realms so Derik and Cyrus will be left alone. Even with the strength, they have acquired, the chances of them dying in battle are still extremely high. Just like Derik said, no one is truly immortal, no one is truly invincible. When the time comes and both sides collide even new god candidates can be killed. Honestly, the creator doesn''t even need to lift a finger to get rid of them. "They are strong¡­ those two won''t die so easily" Demos declared in defiance. "Of course they can''t¡­. especially since I will be watching over them¡­. that''s one of the perks of turning rogue" A familiar voice echoed through the halls and under everyone''s stunned gaze Samael appeared. He wore a golden hooded mage attire with a golden armor worn upon it. On his back was a mighty golden sword and his blazing golden eyes which were filled with power was enough to make the angels retreat in fear! Samael was exiled from this realm long before most of these angels were created, so his story was like a myth to them. None of them had seen or come in contact with the guardian spirit that battled the creator for his throne, until today. The aura surrounding the life guardian spirit was so thick that even Demos was stunned. He could remember the last time he met Samael, the guardian spirit had just returned to the demigod realm after recovering enough strength. But now, things were different! His current strength surpassed that of a mere demigod. Just like the creator, no matter how hard Demos and the guardian spirits tried they couldn''t see his face. "Old friend¡­ what did you do?" Demos gasped in shock! 357 Chapter 357: Same crime but different purpose By the time the powerful warriors and mages were all gone and his strength was not yet at the level which he wished it to be, Samael pushed his attention to the normal villagers and inhabitants of the various kingdoms. Even though they had no cultivation base making their life force almost insignificant, it was a different story if a massive amount of them are slaughtered. In the end, the numbers made up for the lack of quality. Soon defenseless civilians began vanishing in thousands and soon tens of thousands. It was a dark age for every mortal being and since Cyrus didn''t bother what race they were from, all the races suffered equally. By the time they found out about his evil deeds, Samael had already taken half a step into the true god realm, a realm where Demos could only dream of reaching. It didn''t take long before the guardian spirits approached Samael and his supporters and after what could be considered an intense battle, Demos and the other demigods were defeated by Samael. But of course, Demos did not leave the life guardian spirit uninjured. With heavy injuries, Samael was confronted by the creator whom he battled for months before his defeat. Some say he only lost because of his injuries, some say Samael was just too weak compared to the creator, while others call him a fool but Demos didn''t believe any of that. He has always been a close friend to the life guardian spirit and knowing the way he thinks, Demos knew Samael would not challenge the creator if he didn''t see a chance of victory. Maybe it was because he was caught too early and not given the chance to reach the god realm. Or maybe his injuries were the reason why he lost to the overseer. But this time is quite different. The Samael in front of them was bubbling with a power greater than what he had in the past. The moment he stepped into the room, his divine aura spread wide and far, reaching every dark corner of the mighty hall and even purging Demos darkness! And even though he was standing not too far from them, they still couldn''t see his face. Their vision blurred and when they persisted, they were inflicted with a powerful headache. "God realm! The god realm! Samael what did you do!" Demos used his hands to shield the light from his eyes while he spoke. Upon hearing this some thoughts popped up in Demos''s mind, making him tremble with anger. The human invaders had clashed with the wings men in their own lands and won. According to reports, the wingman race was almost wiped out and only a few survived. Those are the ones currently on their way to Aldemar, seeking refuge in the empire Derik had created. Considering what Samael said it was obvious the wingmen did not lose because the enemy was stronger. They lost because Samael had intervened and used them as a means to strengthen himself! Tens of thousands of people, all with high cultivation base were probably slaughtered by him. "You bastard! They all believed in you! They considered you their god!" Demos roared in anger as his death aura exploded and began spreading across the room, pushing the light back. At this point the other guardian spirits and angels took a step back making room for the life and death guardian spirit, meanwhile the creator just sat there, looking at Samael with a face void of any form of emotions. In their opinion, only Demos have been able to face Samael as an equal even in the past. If he is unable to beat Samael now, none of them except for the creator can challenge him. "What are you talking about? I gave them life¡­ I created that race¡­ I simply took what I gave¡­ This was their true purpose from the very beginning old friend¡­.it was necessary¡­" Upon saying the last part Samael''s body lit up as his golden divine aura shone so bright that everyone in the hall had to cover their eyes. "Don''t you dare use those words on me! You took advantage of the chaos to carry out the same crime you committed in the past¡­ You knew we won''t notice¡­ I was sincerely hoping you would change after you chose to take the life mage as your disciple¡­ But I was wrong!" Derik growled and the next moment his aura turned violent and a darkish purple mist diffused from his body shielding his figure. This also prevented the golden light from penetrating. "Yes, I committed the same crime but for a different reason¡­ I haven''t forgotten my promise to take Cyrus as my disciple¡­ that is why I did this¡­ This battle is too big for those two alone¡­ I have seen the strength of the various invaders first hand and when they all gather at Aldemar after wiping out the other inhabitants of the other continents, Derik and Cyrus will be killed as well¡­. They need someone capable of looking after them... Someone not bound by the creator anymore and that someone is me¡­ that is why I had to do this¡­. That''s the difference between you and me, old friend¡­ while you keep hesitating, I always end up doing what needs to be done to secure a better future for us¡­ It has always been that way¡­ that''s why I have always been stronger¡­ that''s why I will always be stronger!" Cyrus said 358 Chapter 358: There can only be one life guardian spiri The moment he was done saying those words, a powerful golden shockwave exploded from his body and when it made contact with the darkness, both Demos and his death aura were blown away. Once again all the darkness faded, replaced by the strong light which shone too bright. The other guardian spirits watch Demos struggle to rise on his feet while spitting out a mouthful of black blood and only one thought crossed their mind. THE DIFFERENCE IN REALM IS JUST TOO HIGH. After sacrificing a lot for Derik, Demos could be considered the weakest guardian spirit in terms of the realm since he was at the low grade of the demigod realm. Even the overseers of the other old gods are at the mid-grade of the demigod realm. But even then, none of them dared to go against him because Demos had a long history of defeating foes grades above him. Even when Samael attempted to overthrow the creator in the past, amongst all the guardian spirits, only Demos could fight him head-on and went as far as dealing a fatal blow before his defeat. But this time the realm gap is just too high. They watched Demos rise on his feet but to their greatest surprise, there was no anger or rage on his face but a charming smile which they haven''t seen in a while. "When I think about it¡­ You are right¡­ I may not be happy with your methods but you have always acted this way with this world''s interest at heart¡­ Hehehe¡­ I am the one with the death magic here yet I am the soft one¡­ anyway, the deed has already been done¡­ I can only entrust Derik and Cyrus safety in your hands and you also have to promise never to repeat this act again¡­ Don''t even think of suggesting such a method to them¡­ If you do that, I will be forced to kill you with these hands" Demos always had a smile while he spoke but when he said the last part, the smile faded. It was clear he was serious and meant every single word he said. "Hahahaha! Sure, sure¡­ You have my word, old friend¡­ I will not let them know about this method¡­ It''s our little secret" Samael nodded. Bam! "Ooooh¡­ You are there, I almost didn''t notice you" Samael walked past Demos, approaching the Creator fearlessly. "Hahahaha¡­ Because you reached the god realm through the use of diabolical methods you think you can challenge me? You have grown cocky over the centuries little life guardian spirit" The creator stood by his throne while he spoke. Soon numerous angels flocked around it, acting as a wall between the creator and Samael. "You seem to have become bolder than before old god¡­ the last time we fought I remember I left you with a parting gift¡­ How are your injuries doing¡­ With your cultivation level, I am sure you must have found a way to recover¡­. I would have loved to kill you now but unfortunately for me, this world needs you¡­ For the sake of these guardian spirits and for the sake of this planet, I will not harm you¡­ For now" Samael sneered. Hearing his words shocked the guardian spirits greatly. After the battle between the creator and Samael, Samael escaped from the heavenly realms and for some strange reason, the creator did not pursue. The creator had meditated in seclusion for centuries and back then they assumed the creator didn''t chase after Samael because it felt it could kill Samael at any time¡­ they assumed Samael was outrightly defeated but considering his words right now and the creator''s silence, the guardian spirits finally understood what transpired after their defeat¡­ Samael was defeated but the creator sustained fatal injuries as well, that''s why it chose not to chase after him. That''s why it chose to hide and use meditation as an excuse to hide and recover from its injuries. "Yes¡­ The creator is practically one of the weakest amongst the old gods¡­ That''s why I chose to remove it on that very day¡­ unfortunately things didn''t go as planned¡­ It has been feeding off the life force of every being that has died from the very beginning¡­ improving its strength with the resources meant for the new gods¡­ Only after centuries of cultivation did it finally surpass the other old gods¡­ But originally it was the weakest¡­ It noticed it¡­ that''s why I chose to eliminate it" Samael said. Revealing even more about the creator. "SILENCE! WHY ARE YOU HERE, GUARDIAN SPIRIT OF LIFE?" The creator was enraged but even then it still didn''t move to attack Samael, confirming his words once again. "Why am I here? Well¡­ Let''s just say I am here to remove this imposter¡­ There can only be one life guardian spirit" Samael declared! 359 Chapter 359: I think we broke him "Why am I here? Well¡­ Let''s just say I am here to remove this imposter¡­ There can only be one life guardian spirit" Samael declared! Upon saying this Samael''s let out a blinding golden light forcing everyone in the room to shut their eyes. Within the light a figure made its way through the creator''s army of angels, heading for Michael who was currently standing by the creator''s side. "Don''t you dare think you can just come in here and do whatever you like!" the creator''s enraged voice made the entire hall tremble greatly. A mighty hand swung forward recklessly grabbing the moving figure by the throat and only then did the light fade. A vicious smile appeared on the face of the creator but when it looked at whom he had grabbed, the creator realized it was a life clone made of Samael''s life force. That was why the creator couldn''t tell the difference! "My lord! Aaaaaarrrrrgggggghh!!!!" Michael screamed in pain as a scorching golden blade pierced through his back, sticking out of his chest. Right before everyone''s eyes, Samael grabbed Michael by the neck from behind and proceeded to lift him off the ground. Golden energy flowed from Michael''s body into Samael''s body and while this happened the young angel who once had a youthful appearance began aging before everyone''s eyes until there was nothing left but dust. Samael had completely consumed Michael''s life force, further boosting his own strength! "Ha! That feels refreshing¡­ If I knew the life force of demigods granted this much power boost, I wouldn''t have attacked mortals¡­ The guardian spirits and angels would have been much better" Samael chuckled lightly. "You!!!!" The creator roared, as its body was soon shrouded by an invisible force, spreading across the room like a plague! His aura was so strong that even the guardian spirits like Demos found it incredibly difficult to breathe! The invisible force sped towards Samael who seemed to be mumbling some words. Just a second away from reaching the life guardian spirit, a large spatial gate appeared behind Samael an invisible force quickly pulled him in! Boom! Samael had escaped into his realm, a place where even the creator couldn''t go! "You don''t have to worry about me old god¡­. As soon as this war is over¡­ I will seek you out¡­ then, we can settle our differences for good!" Samael''s amused voice spread across the room, spreading fear in the hearts of all those who heard it. On this very day, A guardian spirit had bested an old god. Killing one of its demigods and even the old god couldn''t top it. And to add salt to the injury, the guardian spirit went on to challenge the old god after successfully escaping. ............................................................. Meanwhile, most of the overseer''s body had turned gray, leaving only his head. No matter how much the overseer struggled he couldn''t break free from the cycle of death and life energy Derik and Cyrus had created around him. He tried to call on his aura spear but Cyrus'' divine guardian weapon wouldn''t let it get anywhere close to them. "To think the great overseer would die so easily for the sake of weaker beings¡­ How touching" Derik sneered before sending another jolt of powerful death aura to consume his foe. Upon hearing Derik''s words, the overseer''s eyes yanked open abruptly and a powerful blast of green aura blew Derik and Cyrus away. Luckily, they were already prepared for this so they prepared numerous defensive spells prior to the attack. Boom! "You just had to open your big mouth" Cyrus who was hidden within a semi transculent pair of golden wings spoke. "Come on man¡­ I was eager to see the true power of an overseer¡­ This is an experience of a lifetime¡­ Don''t tell me you are not as curious as I am" Derik flashed a wild smile on his face which made Cyrus smile as well. "Well, I can''t deny it either¡­ The last time we met demigods, we were thrown into the black whirlpool not to get in the way of their battle but now things are different¡­ This time we will be the ones doing the fighting¡­ who would have thought we would come this far in such a short while?" Cyrus chuckled. "Hehehehehehe! I did" Derik replied. "I think we broke him" Cyrus chuckled as his eyes let out a golden flash. "Haha! That''s even better" Derik laughed. What used to be the great orc settlement had become a complete wasteland with hundreds of thousands of orc corpses littered around. At this moment even Cyrus'' guardian weapon which was the size of a small mountain was like a dagger when compared to a 6ft tall man. The overseer''s eyes were blood-red as green liquid flowed down his body. His body released an intoxicating green aura which created a large monster that quickly spread across the central part of the Aldemar continent. The fact that all the orcs stationed in this continent had died was enough reason for the overseer to go crazy with rage. At this point, the overseer had made up his mind to kill Derik and Cyrus before wiping out all the inhabitants of the empire. The green aura soon took the shape of a massive dome, preventing other top tier masters across the continent from seeing what was happening, all they could see within the massive green mist were a pair of blood-red eyes. ............................................................. ¡­At the empire¡­ The massive green mist was large enough for everyone to see, the oppressive aura of the overseer was strong enough to reach even these people and all powerless civilians could only run into their homes and hide under their beds in fear while the gold realm masters stood and watched with fear written all over their faces. 360 Chapter 360: Power of demigods "Of course they are¡­ It''s just that they have surpassed the level of we mortals¡­ It shouldn''t take too long before they become Demigods¡­ only then will this continent be safe¡­ But first, they must survive against their current foe¡­" Kaido said. "Of course they will win¡­ Palace master Derik is the strongest¡­ Palace master Cyrus is his eternal rival so he''s just as strong¡­ whenever they join hands they are invincible!" Blink had lost all his cool kid act, smiling like the kid he is. "Hehehe! Of course, our palace master cannot lose¡­ Death shall never know defeat!" Kira laughed. The empire''s peak experts could only watch from a distance as the green mist began to spin violently, forming a massive green hurricane. Ever since the overseer decided to stop holding back, his aura has been all over the place. These supreme masters couldn''t even feel Derik or Cyrus and at a point, even Elsa, the elf representative closed her eyes and silently prayed to mother nature for Derik and Cyrus'' safety. Everyone knew that if both of them are defeated, the empire won''t even last a minute against this demigod. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! IF THIS IS THE TRUE STRENGTH OF A DEMIGOD, THEN I MUST SAY I AM DISAPPOINTED!" Derik''s peals of laughter echoed through the skies, reaching the ears of everyone on the continent. "HEHEHE! THERE IS NO REASON TO FEAR CITIZENS OF THE EMPIRE, THIS WON''T TAKE LONG!" Cyrus said. While Derik''s words made the blood of all those who heard him boil, Cyrus'' words brought comfort to the hearts of those who heard it. Everyone who hid in their homes now stepped outside cheering for their champions who were currently risking their lives for their sake. BOOM! BOOM!! Two thunderous sounds spread across the skies and a darkish green and a golden hurricane comparable to the overseer''s green hurricane appeared in the skies, causing people to cheer even more loudly. While most of these people were probably among those who have spoken against Derik and Cyrus sect in the past, this situation was quite different. At this point, the past didn''t matter anymore! All these people could see were two men fighting to protect them at all costs. "Be it a demigod or even a true god our sect masters are invincible!" members of both sects roared as loud as they could All the members of their sects who heard their voices stood up with watery eyes, they were proud to know that their sect masters whom they have been waiting for a long time now, had returned. Not only that but they have already begun to vanquish their enemies as soon as they arrive. ...........................¡­ "We are protecting them anyway, so it really doesn''t matter if we took advantage of them this one time¡­ By the way, if we die they will be dead soon after" Derik didn''t really seem bothered by the overseer''s actions. He remained calm slowly feeding off the energy of every civilian in the empire. Derik and Cyrus'' words were not only meant to reassure the people of the empire but it was also to force them to feel. Using this method, Derik fed off their fear and hatred for the overseer while Cyrus drew strength from them in mass! Using their life force and negative emotions to strengthen themselves, Derik and Cyrus had prepared their mind to battle this overseer to the very end. In their opinion, they have created a strong grudge with the orc overseer, so it didn''t matter if they survive today or tomorrow. The overseer will keep coming for them! "True life magic: Supreme being of the heavens" Cyrus roared. Since his opponent has chosen to reveal its true form, Cyrus had no need to worry anymore. His body size kept increasing until he had reached the same height as the overseer. Adorned in a golden knights armor, coupled with the four golden angelic wings and the two golden spears in his hands, Cyrus looked like a divine being sent to bring justice to the world. "True death magic: Devil beast of the underworld" Derik chuckled while saying those words. While absorbing the inheritance, their bodies underwent its final changes. While Cyrus became a golden knight of Justice just like Samael when he fought against the other demigods alongside Demos, Derik became something different. He would have taken the lich emperor form just like his guardian spirit Demos but due to his werewolf form, Derik became something else entirely. Body size grew to match that of Cyrus and the overseer but his look was entirely different. Derik was no different than how he normally looked. The only difference was that he had blazing darkish green eyes, fangs, and claws, a pair of black demonic bat-like wings, and a massive death scythe levitating by his side. He was topless, revealing his perfect body shape, abs, and muscular build, wearing only a black leather pant. Upon the appearance of Derik and Cyrus'' true form, the green mist surrounding the overseer was blown away by their aura, revealing the massive orc hiding within it. The three demigod-level masters slowly approached each other destroying mountains and landscapes with each step they took while one sent forth death and pestilence, the other oozed of life. If it weren''t for the fact that Derik and Cyrus were consciously trying to suppress their aura and the overseer''s aura, all life on the continent below the gold realm would have seized to exist by now. Derik and Cyrus were aware of this, and that was why they were unwilling to make the first move. 361 Chapter 361: Not here His eyes let out a golden flash and he began muttering some strange words which in turn created countless golden runes that twirled around him. This was the first time he was using his word path after he absorbed the life inheritance. Unknown to them, even though their aura were subdued intentionally, the continent couldn''t handle the power of this level. If it were only one demigod, the continent would have been devastated but three was just too much. Cyrus was about to release his spell when Samael appeared right in front of him. He quickly turned his attention to Derik only to see Demos standing right in front of him. Looking past their guardian spirits Derik and Cyrus noticed the orc overseer was surrounded by other numerous demigod-level beings as well, but their aura signature was quite different so Derik and Cyrus could tell these people were also invaders. "You can fight whoever you wish??? but not here¡­" Samael said with an odd smile on his face. Just like Samael, Demos was also all smiles. This made Cyrus and Derik begin to wonder if these demigods finally got a girlfriend or something. They just couldn''t understand why these two were so happy and cheerful today. Of course, this was simply because they were unaware of what transpired in the heavenly realm between Samael and the creator. "Why? We finally have a chance to kill our enemy but you choose to stop us?" Cyrus was not really annoyed, he was just a bit confused. "Yea¡­ I know this place can''t withstand our power but that''s why we were planning to drag the orc overseer into my realm¡­" Derik explained. Hearing them speak, Demos and Samael shot each other a glance. From their expression, it showed they were shocked by the fact that Derik and Cyrus were oblivious of the damage they were causing to the continent just by standing there and doing nothing. If Cyrus was given the chance to unleash whatever technique he was planning to use, the continent would have split apart from the pressure. "Well¡­ they can''t be blamed for this¡­ when fighting such a foe like an orc overseer, they can''t afford to be distracted¡­. That''s why they didn''t notice" Demos said and Samael nodded in agreement. "Take a look around and see understand what we are trying to tell you here" Samael said prompting Derik and Cyrus to turn around and look at the world around them. At this point, they realized the world beneath their feet was trembling and countless mountain ranges have been destroyed just by their existence. The earth has split and even a thunderstorm was brewing above their heads. The skies had turned black and the clouds had been dyed red by the blood of hundreds of thousands of orcs spilled on this land. "If we could do this just by existing¡­ how much more damage can we do by casting a single technique?" Derik was shocked. With that said, Derik and Cyrus reverted to their normal human-sized form as well as the orc overseer and every other demigod present. They could only guess the other demigods present were the various overseers of the other races. The invaders were not necessarily evil in Derik''s opinion. All they wanted was a share of the god veins resources but to get that they would have to kill the new god candidates and settle down officially. For that reason, they couldn''t have anyone destroying this world over pointless battles. That''s why all of them stepped in to stop the overseer from continuing the fight. If he wished to do so, these Demigods will not hesitate to execute him at the spot. "Don''t go about thinking you are are still humans¡­ as for being mortal, you all have become immortals a long time ago due to the nature of your abilities¡­ while Derik became a living version of the undead with the immortal body, Cyrus had so much abundant life force that he could even raise the dead¡­ and all this was before you even acquired the inheritance you have now¡­ The only difference between both of you and us is that you are yet to reach the demigod realm but that difference is gone now¡­" Demos explained. Hearing this Derik and Cyrus could understand his train of thought but the last part about what he said still left them with so many questions. "What do you mean by the difference is gone now?" Cyrus asked. At first, Samael and Demos thought Cyrus was messing with them but seeing the genuine confusion in his expression, they couldn''t help but believe that Derik and Cyrus were too focused on their fight to notice the changes going on in their body. Even the demigods of the other races were staring at them now with renewed fear in their eyes, especially the orc overseer, Naar. "You two have taken a step into the demigod realm¡­ Your body is still undergoing some changes but it''s not yet complete¡­ I suggest you use the time you have left here in the world of mortals to set things right¡­ Because once the breakthrough is complete¡­ You will be forced to leave the realm of mortals for good" Demos said, causing Derik and Cyrus to tremble slightly. A breakthrough? When and How? All these two could remember was facing off against the humans, the orc chieftains, and the overseer. What have they done to warrant this sudden change? How did the breakthrough happen so fast? Derik and Cyrus couldn''t understand why this happened so soon. Normally they would be happy that something like this happened but it was quite different in this case. They just returned to the continent, how can they just leave like that? And this time their departure will be permanent. 362 Chapter 362: It’s not over But this wasn''t the most important question on their mind right now. All they wished to know at this moment was how they were able to rise so fast! In their opinion, it would at least take them about two years or more to break through to the demigod realm. So how did this happen so fast? At this moment, images of all their actions till this point flashed through their minds and they finally realized what went wrong! Not only did they destroy the powerless human settlement which had tens of thousands of people residing in it but they also caused the destruction of the orc settlement which had hundreds of thousands of orcs of different realms residing in it as well. At this point, they realized that their body had been pulling in the souls of all those that died around them. They were like two walking black holes and even without consciously trying, they kept consuming the souls of all those who died around them. "So that''s how it happened" Cyrus said with a dejected look on his face. "We got careless!" Derik gritted his teeth while clenching his fist. Hearing them speak like this wasn''t enough to stun Demos and Samael. They could feel their emotions so they understood how these two felt. Leaving the continent, a place they had sworn to protect will be pretty difficult for them, especially since all the invaders are currently moving towards the continent since the other continents have been conquered. "Now is not the time to grieve¡­. You need to set things straight in the empire¡­ choose your successors, strengthen your sects, bluster the empire''s defenses¡­ You don''t have time for this" Samael growled. "Samael is right¡­ Now you two are about to reach the demigod realm, the target on your back will be removed¡­ New god candidates in the demigod realm will always be more powerful than even we guardian spirits¡­ not to talk of mere overseers¡­ You need to bring up the other new god candidates to speed¡­. They need to be able to protect themselves from those who would wish to take their place as new god candidates" Demos explained. Hearing this Derik and Cyrus could only calm down and let go of it. At this point, there is no turning back! The least they could do right now is to prepare for the worst. "It''s not over! Do you hear me! It''s not over yet! I will make sure to end both of you!" The orc overseer roared in anger. They were more enraged than afraid! They are the reason hundreds of thousands of orcs and some of their chieftains died so the overseer''s actions were understandable. Honestly, Derik and Cyrus hoped to eliminate the overseer before it could exert revenge on them, and considering their current situation, once they make it to the Demigod realm, the overseer won''t be able to harm them anymore. Its next target will be the empire. This is something, Derik and Cyrus cannot overlook. "Hahahaha! It''s not over? And who are you to decide that" Cyrus laughed out loud. "You got your ass whooped by gold realm masters and now you think you can spit out any crap that slithers up your brain¡­ It''s five hundred years too early for you to challenge us, little overseer¡­ Just wait till our breakthrough is complete¡­ Once we reach the demigod realm¡­ let''s see how you intend to harm us" Derik sneered. Hearing their remarks, the other overseers of the various races felt like spitting out blood out of anger. They could tell Derik and Cyrus were in the process of reaching the demigod realm but even then, they were still gold realm masters at the moment. Cursing at the orc overseer recklessly meant they were not afraid that it may try to kill them before they can breakthrough. In their opinion, since Derik and Cyrus dared to call the orc overseer who is on par with them weak, Derik and Cyrus were indirectly calling them weak as well. As much as they would love to walk over there and rip the life and death mage apart, they could feel the intense aura surpassing that of a mere demigod residing in Demos, while they couldn''t feel Samael''s presence at all, terrifying them even more. The only time they have felt this way in the past is when they are in the presence of their creators, the old gods. This means that Samael was at least in the god realm. Moreover, while Derik and Cyrus were preparing to clash with the orc overseer, the aura the two diffused were far greater than what the orc overseer could release. These other overseers were pretty sure if they let the fight continue, the orc overseer will be killed in such a battle. These Demigods couldn''t explain how Derik and Cyrus'' power level rose so high in such a short time and they were not willing to find out either. "You!" the orc overseer felt like spitting out blood due to anger. It was just a few moments away from pouncing on Derik and Cyrus, so the other demigods had to retrain it and vanish, but only after shooting Derik and Cyrus a final glance. "Jackpot¡­" Cyrus chuckled lightly. "It had to be done¡­ we will soon have a crazy overseer coming for us¡­" Derik sighed. "Don''t look gloomy¡­ this will be fun!" Cyrus declared. 363 Chapter 363: No regrets At this point, everyone knew waiting for them to reach the demigod realm was not an option anymore. Once their breakthrough is complete and they reach the demigod realm, they will be forced to leave this world. During the period they are away, nothing stops the overseer from returning and destroying the empire with just a snap of its fingers. For that reason alone, Derik and Cyrus chose to provoke it and have it come for them while they were still mortals. This is a problem they must resolve before breaking into the demigod realm! "I can''t say I am against their methods¡­ But isn''t this a bit too dangerous? There are more mysteries in the demigod realm than they know of¡­ They only bested the overseer because they had the element of surprise¡­ the next time he comes¡­ he will be prepared.." Demos whispered to Samael who nodded in response. They didn''t need any hand signs or someone to explain Derik and Cyrus'' intentions when they chose to taunt the overseer. They clearly understood their intentions and for some reason, they felt proud of them as well. "If we were in the same situation we probably would have done the same thing so I can''t blame them¡­ as for their safety¡­ Don''t worry, I am not tied down by the laws of the creator¡­ I will watch over them¡­ I will definitely step in when they need me" Samael responded. Only then did Demos calm down. ............................................................... Since the battle was already over and they had no time to waste, chatting with Demos and Samael, Derik and Cyrus returned to the empire, only to be greeted by the entire citizens of the empire cheering for them. The two descended from the skies like gods, choosing to walk through the streets of the empire rather than fly for the very first time. On their way towards their sects, they looked at every face of every person cheering them on, trying to memorize what they look like. The thought of leaving these people behind burdened them, especially since these people who once saw them as tyrants finally saw them as their saviors. "I wish this happened way earlier¡­ I know I should be happy but I can''t help but feel saddened by this¡­" Derik said to Cyrus as he picked up a little girl who ran towards him and grabbed his robe. Only after this encounter did Derik realize how much he and Cyrus had changed. Even though they were in their normal human form, even those considered to be tall, had to look up to see their faces. They finally saw how the average man looked and when compared to their looks, they realized how handsome and godlike they were. While Derik in his sleeveless black mage robe and a black trouser, and black long hair with fiery green pupils looked a bit wild but extremely attractive. Cyrus who was in his sleeveless white mage robe, long golden hair, and slightly golden colored complexion was like a deity. They were both extremely attractive in their own ways, and none seemed superior to the other in terms of appearance. "Wishes don''t always come true¡­ all we can do right now is to make sure these people are kept safe¡­ We have to take this seriously and give it our all" Cyrus said with a slight frown on his face. Derik only nodded in response. .............................................................. The two kept walking down the streets of Briton until they got to a familiar road which made Derik halt in his tracks. In front of an old building, he used to live in was a girl in her early twenties, with short brown hair with red stripes, dressed in casual maiden attire, staring at Derik with watery eyes. "Linda¡­" Derik muttered as his eyes let out a green flash. At this moment, Cyrus knew who the lady was and why Derik was forced to stop. It was his younger sister Linda Angus and this was their family home located in Briton. After the episode with the former king of Gyro, Derik had cut all ties with his family, since they betrayed him. Even though Gerald pardoned them and stripped them of their noble titles, Derik never bothered to seek them out. He never tried to check on them to find out how they were doing. He could understand why his former team had betrayed him, they were all trying to protect their families from the wrath of the former king of Gyro. But this, having his family whom he worked so hard just for their sake, betray him. This hurt even someone like him who had murdered thousands of people and even till now, Derik was yet to recover from that pain. He shot a glance at the girl he once called sister and placed his hand over his chest where he kept feeling a stinging pain. Derik chose to keep moving but Cyrus firm hands fell on his shoulders as he whispered some words into Derik''s ears "No regrets¡­ I advise you to go now¡­ This may be the only chance you will ever get" Cyrus said. Only after hearing these words did Derik take a second look at Linda. At that moment he noticed something strange, he felt something pleasant and familiar. It was the spirit of death hovering over the place he once called home! 364 Chapter 364: The way forward "Hell no!" Derik growled. Woosh! All it took was a single step for him to make his way through the crowd and reach Linda who was still at the doorpost of the stone house. With a glance, he could tell this was not actually Demos so he really couldn''t blame the guardian spirit of death for this. Death is a natural disaster that must befall every mortal and the angel of death is there to lead the souls to the underside. Contrary to what people think, the angel of death cannot be everywhere at once at all times. Hundreds and thousands of people die every day and some even at the same hour. To meet up Demos was forced to create lesser clones of itself, these clones possess just a tiny fragment of his consciousness but even then its strength is too powerful for mere mortals to resist. If it were in the past, Derik would have just stood there and watched helplessly but now things are different. "What happened to him?" Derik growled, startling Linda. She hasn''t seen her brother in years and even though she knew Derik wasn''t on good terms with them, she never expected him to be this vicious. Taking a step back she tried to understand his question and after a second of deep thinking, she could tell Derik was asking about their father, John Angus. "Father has been ill for a while now¡­ He''s not getting better either¡­ I am¡­." Before Linda could even finish speaking, Derik blew past her, shoving her aside in the process and reaching the second floor in an instant. Bang! The door to John Angus''s room was yanked open viciously as Derik stormed into the room hurriedly. His eyes were like glowing green lamps in the darkness, allowing him to see the being preventing him from saving his father. As the representation of death itself, Derik had come to understand a few things about the cycle of life and death. There are deaths caused by unfortunate events while the other type of death is the one that only takes place when a person had lived to the number of years assigned to him or her during creation. Even though the sickness was used as a cover, Derik could tell John''s time to die had come and in such a situation, this angel of death will definitely not step aside and let him save the man. "Do you know who I am? I am death incarnate¡­ I am the god candidate, wielding the power of the true death magic¡­ Leave now and I will forget this ever happened" Derik growled but even then the angel of death didn''t move an inch. Its face was hidden in its old black oversized mage robe with its purple fiery purple eyes burning bright in the darkness, two pairs of black angelic wings, and a human-sized Death scythe levitating by its side. Through its words, its intentions were made known to Derik. He could tell the angel of death had appeared to collect his father''s soul and it was not willing to back off even after knowing Derik''s true identity. The thought of facing a being equivalent to a demigod all alone was enough to make Derik rethink his actions. Why did he so desperately want to save his father? Didn''t this man, alongside his sister betray him? Because of them, he spent a decade running and hiding from the four major forces of the continent at that time. Then why? Why was he preparing to face the angel of death in a death match? Was this because of the promises he made to this man when he was still little? Images of his conversations with his father about how he would become the greatest mage in the continent and protect everyone flashed across his mind. Derik threw a quick glance at himself and sighed once again. He was arguably the most powerful being in the continent at this moment, so he had already fulfilled the first part of that promise. The second part couldn''t be fulfilled because of his complicated relationship with his family at the moment. Thinking back at how disappointed he felt after he was assigned to the archery class and how hard he worked, hoping to become the greatest archer of all time. The awakening of his death magic has been a blessing and a curse at the same time. It gave him the chance to become something more but this power was probably the main reason why he ended up in a bad spot with all those he once called friends. This power made him the supreme being he is today but it also made him the monster feared by everyone. Francis, the Lockwoods, Diana, Creed, Isabel, his family, his former team, and even Elsa! All these people were forced to take a step back because of the nature of his ability. They were forced to act against him because they were afraid of the power that gave him unparalleled strength. Derik was quite sure that Cyrus could only relate well with him because he too possessed enough strength to rival Derik''s power and even surpass it. "If Cyrus was just another normal light mage¡­ would he have stuck with me all through all of this? He too probably would have taken a step back" Derik mumbled. At this moment Derik realized the mistake he had been making all his life. When these people had doubts all he did was give them more reasons to doubt him. when they were wary of his strength, he reacted by going on a rampage! Giving them even more reasons to be afraid of him. "This¡­ This is the way forward¡­." Derik stuttered. 365 Chapter 365: Life sprite In his opinion Derik is one of the peak existences in this continent, Cyrus couldn''t see how Derik would fail in driving away a fragment of Demos consciousness. Unknown to him, these fakes still had the power of Demigod realm beings. "I shouldn''t get involved¡­ He will catch up later" Cyrus muttered and kept moving forward, leaving Derik alone with the angel of death to deal with. ......................................................¡­.. Meanwhile, Derik had snapped out of his deep thoughts with a charming smile on his face. He had realized the mistakes he had made in the past and he had no intention of making such a mistake again. While the life cycle was important, Derik couldn''t give two shits about it. He had lots of things he wished to say to this man he once called father! He had a lot of things he wanted to show this man. "For that reason¡­ You will have to die here¡­ If I can''t even save this one person, then I don''t deserve this strength" Derik growled as he clasped his hands and the death aura in his body surged towards John Angus, quickly taking the form of a spatial gate but this one was different. The gate was decorated with skulls, ribs, and all sorts of bones and when the gates opened, a bone-chilling wave of darkish green death aura flowed out, spreading across the room like a plague. At first, the angel of death was slightly confused by why Derik would summon a passageway to his domain right in front of his father but then a thought popped up on its mind. Was Derik trying to escape with John Angus into his domain, a place where not even the real Demos can invade unless given permission by Derik. Its suspicion was soon proven right as a powerful suction force began dragging the unconscious John Angus towards it. The suction force was so great that when the angel of death chased after John, grabbing him by his feet with his boney hands to prevent him from falling into the passageway, he too was struggling to remain on his feet. Only when the angel of death had committed such blunder had Derik appeared behind him with a wicked smile on his face. "Let me help you out here!" Derik chuckled. Bang! Slamming the defenseless angel of death into the portal, Derik took hold of John Angus, carefully placing him on the bed before turning his attention to the passageway he created and jumping in as well. "It''s only been a few minutes and they are doing something stupid already¡­ Just as I thought this babysitting job won''t be easy" Samael complained while robbing his forehead Samael too knew the importance of keeping the balance and letting the Cycle go unhindered but he could also understand Derik''s feelings and why he had chosen to fight the angel of death. As far as the life guardian spirit is concerned, Derik''s actions were reckless but understandable. He could tell Derik was too clouded by his emotions to notice that John was already in the last few moments of his life. In just a few seconds, his life force will slip away from his body. "He''s way too reckless¡­ Just like me and Cyrus is as calm as Demos¡­ Are you sure the god vein didn''t misplace the inheritances?" Samael chuckled. The god realm being simply placed a finger on John''s forehead and an abundant amount of life force had flowed into his body at an alarming rate, causing John to instantly look twenty years younger. Samael''s actions drove away death and granted John another twenty years of life. The aura of death hovering above his head vanished, leaving Samael with one more thing to do. Snapping his fingers, a human-shaped golden light appeared out of nowhere falling on its knees at Samael''s presence. If Derik were here to see this, he could feel even more scared of Samael because of the nature of the technique the guardian spirit of the life element had just used now. Since both Derik and Cyrus could consume souls why was Derik the only capable of using those souls to create undead puppets who battled for his sake. The only reason Cyrus is unable to replicate this magic is that he didn''t know how to. Samael knew more than anybody that Cyrus foundation was lacking greatly, that''s why at some point he was always inferior to Derik in the past. This was because the light angel Michael was set to look after him and this being had zero knowledge of the life element since it didn''t possess it. The life sprite is just another form of necromancy meant for life mages. Unlike the death mage who''s death magic allows the soul to retain its body before death, the life magic was different. To create a life sprite, the life mage would need to use his abundant life force to create a human-shaped body purely made of life force. They could only sculpt new bodies for their sprites but this privilege was only reserved for the life mages sprite generals who are on par with Derik''s undead generals. "The balance must be preserved" Samael said as he clasped his hands together, releasing a life sprite from his command and freeing the soul. Since Samael had saved a soul, he had to offer up another soul as a replacement, just to maintain the balance. 366 Chapter 366: Shocking truth 1 "This is his domain¡­" the angel of death said casually. Even though it was just a small bit of Demos consciousness, it still carried Demos'' memories. "Of course¡­. This is my domain and in here I am the sole god!" Derik''s voice shook the grounds and the skies. Only then did the angel of death realize Derik was standing right behind it, carrying his black death scythe in his hands. Although this realm was brimming with death aura, the angel of death just couldn''t seem to draw power from it. In fact, it felt like the death aura had a consciousness of its own, continuously rejecting it. "His domain is only a step away from becoming a realm of its own¡­ Could this be one of the benefits of becoming a god candidate?" the angel of death muttered. Even though the angel of death was just a wisp of Demos consciousness, it didn''t stop it from asking such questions since it was quite sure Demos would be stunned if he were here as well. In the first place, a domain is something granted to only Demigods, this isn''t something a mortal should be able to create but Derik was able to accomplish this thanks to Demos who sacrificed a portion of his strength just to aid him. Getting a domain earlier or not did matter in Demos'' eyes, in his opinion, Derik would still have to reach the god realm before his domain would evolve and become a realm but this wasn''t the case at this moment. Gazing at the abundant death aura which seemed to possess a mind of its own and realizing that everything in Derik''s domain seemed to resonate with his will, the angel of death could tell these were clear signs of a domain transcending to a higher realm to become a realm. Unlike a domain which was just a limited space that could not be accessed by anyone else, a realm was more like a new world entirely. Only after attaining a realm can a god create lesser beings and mortals to live in the realm, to think Derik would reach this far without making it to the true god realm was just too shocking. "I don''t think you have the luxury to get lost in thoughts when standing before me!" Derik roared. Bang! Bang! Instantly the ground beneath their feet shattered and countless green chains shot out, trying to bind the angel of death. In response, the angel of death soon shot into the air while gripping its death scythe tightly. It flew across the skies, skillfully dodging each and every chain so skillfully that even Derik was slightly mesmerized by his splendor. The first wave of attack was just a few chains but this time the grounds completely disappeared and countless green chains appeared giving the angel of death, no space to dodge. Derik stood there and let the green chains pass through him while he watched the angel of death struggle against his attacks. From the blazing purple eyes hidden within the hood, Derik could tell the angel of death was silently cursing him at this very moment. Purgatory slash! The angel of death let out a series of inhuman screams as it swiped its death scythe violently, releasing countless darkish purple arcs of death aura flew out, shooting towards the green chains but to its greatest surprise, immediately its darkish purple aura escaped its magic weapon''s blade, it was soon confronted by the aura that made up this domain and even before it could hit the green chain, its color changed from darkish purple to darkish green, fading away in an instant! "I was right! THIS DOMAIN IS ONLY A STEP AWAY FROM BECOMING A REALM!" The Angel of death screamed in elation. Bam! Bam! Bam! Countless green chains crashed into the angel of death, while some pierced its body, the others wrapped around it leaving only its cloaked head visible. By the time the green chains were done binding the angel of death, looking from afar it looked like an Egyptian pyramid with a head sticking out at the top and two pairs of black angel wings sticking out. Woosh! Derik appeared behind the angel of death the next second, gripping its wings and pulling them out forcefully. The next moment, the angel of death could only howl in pain but no matter how hard it shook, it could never break free from Derik''s green chains. "Now tell me¡­ what is this realm stuff you speak of?" Derik''s eyes let out an intimidating green flash of light but the angel of death didn''t seem to be shaken by this. Why should it be afraid? After its death, its energy will be returned to the Demos from which it could be created again. But on the other hand, It had no reasons to keep such information away from Derik since it was sure Demos would have explained about the realms if he were here. "A realm is simply a greater form of a domain which only true gods possess.. . Unlike a domain which is just a limited space which could not be accessed by anyone else, a realm is more like a new world entirely. Only after attaining a realm can a god create lesser beings and mortals to live in the realm¡­ It''s just like the orcs you tangled with recently¡­ They all reside in the realm of the god of war¡­" the angel of death said with a straight face, leaving Derik more confused and shocked. 367 Chapter 367: Shocking truth 2 "You say a god is capable of creating its things, animals, and people once it attains a realm, correct?" Derik spoke so slow that the angel of death was left more confused. "Yes¡­ I said that¡­ The realm is always reserved for the gods, allowing them to create new beings¡­ why do you ask?" the angel of death was confused as to why Derik was acting strangely. "Tell me, how is a god created? How were the old gods created?" Derik asked again but this time he had a more dire expression on his face. The look in his eyes was made the angel of death believe that Derik was sincerely begging for a wrong answer. "Well¡­ Gods are born in planets like this called god vein with each acquiring the various inheritances of the god vein has to offer¡­. The old gods were born in a similar pattern but unlike your world, back then only the old gods existed¡­ they started life and now they may wish to end it¡­ The new gods should have been created in a similar pattern but unfortunately, the old gods are interfering" The angel of death replied while gazing at Derik with complete focus. "I see¡­ I see¡­. How are god veins found?" Derik went on to ask another question. "I don''t know¡­ It just appears when the world is ready for new gods, just like now" The Angel of death was felt extremely nervous when Derik retreated a few steps and exhaled. "Have you ever considered the fact that we may be living in another being''s realm? The same way the Gods created us, someone created those old gods as well¡­. Think about it, god''s vein popping up when the world needs new gods¡­ the old gods were created in this manner and who created them¡­ So many questions and so few answers, I can only speculate here based on everything you have told me¡­." Derik finally spoke up, leaving the angel of death stunned. "Of course, I may be wrong but it doesn''t matter now¡­ I may even be crazy to think this way but right now, I am not so thrilled about leaving¡­ This piece of information ruined my day¡­ I just decided I won''t be keeping you here any longer than you should stay, I''ll be sending you back to the guardian spirit of the death element immediately!" Derik''s visage turned violent in an instant. Roar! A loud inhuman roar exploded from the angel of death as its body expanded at an alarming rate, tearing through the chains that bound it to the ground with sheer brute strength. "And who said you are free to go?" Derik''s growled and the next moment something unexpected happened. A gigantic snake-like beast with dark green dragon scales and blazing green fiery eyes appeared from beneath, shocking the angel of death. Instantly recognizing Derik''s pet, it quickly brandished its death scythe at it. Unfortunately for it, even though the shadow lurker was as large as the gigantic angel of death, its size didn''t seem to hinder its speed in any way. The angel of death was forced to watch in despair as the shadow lurker maneuvered all through its attacks before wrapping itself around him as a normal snake would do. "You lost!" Derik breathed out a sigh of relief as he watched the angel of death struggle fiercely but it couldn''t escape the shadow lurker''s grip. Waving his hands, more green chains erupted from beneath, latching onto the angel of death binding it to the ground once again, and forcing it to go on its knees. "As a reward for being so cooperative earlier and listening to my nonsense speculations, I will make your death quick and painless¡­ and I will let your wisp of consciousness return to the guardian spirit of death. I promise I will not consume you like the others!" Derik chose to remain in his little human form, not carrying about the size of the shadow lurker and the angel of death. He slowly descended on one of the large green chains and upon making contact, a powerful wave of chilly green flames erupted from all the chains and quickly consumed the angel of death. Even though the shadow lurker was binding the victim, it wasn''t suffering from the flames Derik had released. There were no screams or cries of pain, no anger or hate, the angel of death just knelt there gazing at Derik as he slowly burnt away. "I will have to thank you then for your kindness¡­" That was its last words before it was reduced to ashes¡­ ..............................¡­.. Somewhere in the other realm where the other demigods and guardian spirits were gathered, Demos suddenly shuddered as one of his clones returned to him. Its memories soon began to play in the mind of the guardian spirit, leaving Demos even more stunned and restless. At this point, Demos wasn''t annoyed with the fact that Derik murdered his clone. The only thing that annoyed it was the fact that Derik was planning to mess with the cycle but unlike Derik, he was already aware that Samael had handled it for him. What left him quivering was Derik''s questions and conclusions! Never for once did he consider this or even consider that something like this could exist. Even though Derik''s words sounded nonsensical, he could sense some sort of truth behind it, preventing him from completely shoving this memory to the back of his mind. The guardian spirit of death was left to ponder on the possibilities of this while taking it into account that even normal humans, leaving normal lives will find it nonsensical if someone should wake up one day and tell them that the guardian spirits and old gods exist. The same may be for him since this being Derik had spoken of may be at a high realm. Unknown to these two, Derik''s actions and words that day had reached the darkest and farthest part of this universe, awakening something that has been asleep for a long while now. "Someone Just thought about me" It said. 368 Chapter 368: Before departure 1 "Did Derik do this?" Linda fought hard to hold back her tears. Even after everything they had done to Derik, this was the last thing she expected to see. She assumed he would just watch John die but the reverse was the case. "I could have sworn those were my final moments¡­ At that time, I couldn''t hear anything, only darkness surrounded me and all I could see was Derik facing off against something in black hooded attire and two pairs of angelic black wings¡­ I couldn''t tell what they were saying to each other but the next thing I saw was Derik, dragging that thing into some sort of portal¡­ No matter how I look at it¡­ I just know he saved me from death¡­ I just don''t know what to say" John swallowed hard while also trying to fight back the tears threatening to overflow. The last thing he expected was Derik who tried to kill them alongside the former king Robert of Gyro to protect him. "You don''t have to say anything¡­ all you have to do now is relax and live out the rest of your life, bearing in mind that I bear no ill intentions towards you and Linda" Derik''s voice echoed all over the room and right in front of the bed, a spatial gate appeared and Derik stepped out of it. His eye was fixed on John and even without been told he could sense the strong life aura emanating from his father''s body. Even if he had driven away from the angel of death, all he could do with his death magic was keep John alive but he couldn''t heal and even go as far as to elongate the man''s life span. "Cyrus? No¡­ even Cyrus is not this strong yet¡­ it has to be Samael¡­ Thank you" Derik whispered. Leaving John and Linda confused since they couldn''t understand what he was saying and who he was speaking to. "Don''t thank me just yet¡­You owe me, one kid!" Samael''s voice rang in Derik''s ears, forcing him to break a smile before busting out pearls of laughter for close to ten seconds. ...............¡­. It''s been long Derik laughed that hard and even now his jaws hurt because of it. Sitting on a wooden chair, next to the wooden round table, Derik slowly sipped the hot green tea offered to him by his sister and to his greatest surprise, he didn''t derive any joy from it. Not taste, nothing at all. At this moment, Derik realized he had gone for years now without feeding and he was still perfectly fine. He couldn''t tell if this was also one of the benefits one acquires as a god candidate but he didn''t really like this. "Say whatever you wish to say, because this may be the last time we will speak¡­ You will never get this chance again" Derik''s voice was stern, telling those two he wasn''t joking. And this made them wonder. Where was he going? "Why? Where are you going? Did something bad happen or are there bad people chasing big bro away?" Linda mustered up enough courage to ask while holding her breath. Looking at Derik now, Linda and John could barely recognize him. While Linda and John had brown hair, Derik''s hair was jet black with green stripes crossing across it. His complexion was pale, making his skin color a bit lighter but even then he still looked gorgeous instead of intimidating. His eyes were like two balls of darkish green flames dancing recklessly within the darkness giving Derik a more dangerous yet it still felt appealing to them. For some reason, they felt like falling on their knees and worshiping this person who they once called brother and son. "No! no! no! You have got it all wrong¡­ Your brother is the strongest mortal alive¡­ No one can threaten me now¡­ But these things are a bit more complicated than you think¡­ The road to attaining true strength is even more intense than we all thought¡­ There are just some unwritten laws I cannot fight against¡­. I am left with no choice but to follow them¡­ For your sake and the sake of everyone in this empire I fought so hard to create and protect, I must leave after my next breakthrough¡­ But you don''t have to worry, I will be watching over you all from above" Derik said while slowly patting his sister''s head with a passionate smile. For some reason, he felt both happy and sad, all at once! Derik was the reason their mother died and since then he and Linda had never been on good terms since he never let go of the past and kept blaming him for her mother''s death at the hands of the cruel nobles. Images of the past flowed through his mind, reminding him of how she treated him with contempt, not giving a damn about him. Hearing the same person call him big bro for the first time in like, forever was enough to move his heart and stir up some emotions. "Does it have to be you¡­ Does it always have to be you protecting everyone? Always putting your life at risk to keep these people who despise you safe¡­ I have watched from afar and seen the way these people look at you¡­ I have always given into my anger, and I keep wondering why do you even bother with these people¡­ why risk your life for such an ungrateful set of bastards who can''t see the light even when it''s right in front of them" John said with trembling hands. Hearing this, Derik silently got on his feet and walked towards the door. He opened it and only then did he look back with a strange smile on his face. "I once promised I will keep everyone safe, get rid of the magical beasts, and let everyone live a life without constant fear¡­ This promise I also made to you¡­ I got rid of the magic beasts, and so far I have been protecting everyone¡­ I did not choose to take up this role because I wanted to¡­ I just have to¡­ I have lost a lot in the past and I''m not willing to lose anything to anyone anymore¡­ WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE ME? It''s because your son has become the strongest man alive¡­ Instead of trembling in anger, you should rejoice¡­ Your descendant has surpass the realm of mortals and will soon become god!" 369 Chapter 369: Before departure 2 "When did you all become so soft? Hehehe¡­ In that case, this is my last gift to you all, my dear family" Derik muttered as his shadow suddenly expanded, forming a circle with his feet at the center. From it another shadow like creature escaped, speeding into the old building so quickly that Linda and John didn''t notice. "Keep my family safe¡­" Derik muttered. "Yes, my lord" within the shadow a pair of golden eyes appeared. ...........................¡­.. Bang! As Derik appeared above the sect, a booming sound followed, and then his darkish green death aura spread across the sect once again, twirling around the skies like a typhoon. The sect members slowly gathered and cheered as they watched their sect master who was capable of taking on the legendary demigods. "Oooh My, I can''t say I didn''t expect this but this is a lot more intense than I ever expected¡­ How can I struggle against this? I am pretty sure Cyrus is facing this same issue as well, I wonder how he''s holding up¡­." Derik said was he looked at the direction of Cyrus sect, if not for the loud cheers and cries from his people below, he was pretty sure he could have heard people from the life palace cry out in joy. "Well¡­ I won''t deny this but it does feel good to be appreciated" Derik said while returning his gaze to those below him. At this moment, those outside the mountain ranges where both sects are located could only see darkish green and golden clouds gather and twirl around the mountains. Even though these two elements were opposites, they didn''t hinder each other nor clash. It was like a perfect mix, signaling the return of the palace masters. "Enough" Derik spoke lightly but his voice was like thunder, loud enough to make the ground tremble and silence tens of thousands of people. "Big bro!" Amongst the silenced crowd, five youths cried out and flew towards Derik. Dimitri flew directly into Derik''s embrace while the rest circled around him, gazing at their sworn big brother in shock. The changes Derik''s body had undergone was just too much for them to accept so easily. "You have grown up quite well, my little Dimitris¡­ Same for all of you¡­" Derik spoke with affection oozing out of his voice, stunning all the members of his sect. Everyone present knew what Derik always cared about them and he always showed it in so many ways but not this manner. This was all new to them, but Derik could careless since his days here are numbered and he was planning to declare who his successor will be right here and now. Hearing this, Derik shot a glance at the other four only to notice the serious expression on their faces. He could easily guess they too had to deal with such rumors. "This, Did you really think your big bro will die so easily? Hahahaha! No one can kill me, not even demigods" Derik gently stroke Dimitris'' hair while he spoke, causing all five to smile sheepishly. Woosh! Woosh! Woosh! The next moment Kira, Kuen, and Kin, the three demon generals appeared behind Derik. Waving his hand lightly, three souls escaped his body, taking the form of three humans. "Kalos, Aldora, and Gin¡­ I wish you all to bear me witness as I pick my new successor¡­" Derik said with a stern tone to prove he was serious about the matter. Except for those who already knew that Derik had picked Blink as his successor, the others were excited, bearing false hope in their hearts, especially Derik''s direct disciples who assumed they were the next in line with the exception of Dimitris who really didn''t take any interest in ruling the sect. in fact, if he is to be chosen, he may even end up turning down the offer unless Derik insists. "First of all, I must say a few things first¡­ Thank you¡­ When I killed the former king Robert and liberated Gyro from the holy church I felt alone¡­ no matter where I went or what I did, I always felt like no one in this world could understand me¡­ people just see me and assume I am evil because of the nature of my magic¡­ I felt truly alone until I created this sect and found all of you¡­ People just like me¡­ People who understand my true feelings¡­ We have all gone true a lot together¡­ fought against so many foes together as allies and defeated all our enemies together¡­ I must say, you all are the family I once lost¡­ and I wish I can always stand by your side but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end" Derik spoke slowly so that no one would miss a single word. Everyone present could tell this was not a prepared speech, everything Derik had said so far was from his heart, his true emotions! "My time with you all has been cut short¡­ The legend of the disappearance of all those who found a way to reach the demigod realm is not something that can be overlooked anymore¡­ It''s not false¡­ The life mage and I have reached the peak stage that any mortal can reach and we have broken past it¡­ in no distant time, we will break through to the Demigod realm and we will vanish from the face of this world as well¡­ It may be unexpected coming from someone like me but I have to be honest with you all and myself¡­ But I don''t want to be forgotten¡­ I wish you all will remember me when I am gone" 370 Chapter 370: Before departure 3 Over the years, Derik has never even shed a tear or shown any sign of remorse when destroying and ravaging settlements, slaughtering his former friends and foes, or even defenseless citizens. This has gone up to the point that his sect members do not consider him human anymore, so his affectionate and passionate words were exactly the last thing these people expected to hear today but based on the serious expression Derik wore, they could tell he wasn''t joking. "Is it doubt, confusion, and utter rejection I see? Why do you think it''s impossible for me to have such feelings? Or do you think someone like me cannot possess such desires? Stupid!" Derik''s eyes let out a green flash as the thoughts of everyone below him constantly echoed in his head. This reminded him when he was still weaker, the same way Demos could read his thoughts perfectly, this also proved the fact that he and Cyrus were about to go through a major breakthrough. "Extremely disappointing" Derik hissed as he showed off his right hand for everyone to see and under their confused gaze, claws began to sprout on them until a complete set of five thick black claws formed. Bam! Puff! While some chose to cover their head in fear due to the lingering thought that they may have angered Derik and he was trying to punish them and the others simply gazed at the hand his claws filled with fear. Either way, neither of the two groups expected to see Derik drive his right hand into his chest, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of black blood. These people watched as Derik pulled out his hand, allowing the black blood to gush out uncontrollably. "As you can see, I bleed like any other mortal¡­ I feel pain like any other mortal¡­ So why am I not allowed to share the desires that any other mortal can possess?" Derik asked with a straight face. Everyone could only watch in horror as the fist-sized hole on his chest closed up as soon as he pulled his hand out. They all had one or two things to say but none of them dared to speak up since they were all afraid and they also knew that Derik was making a valid point. Either way, it didn''t matter much since Derik could easily read their thoughts and reply accordingly. But the question now is, who? Swoosh! With a simple hand gesture an invisible force pulled out a youth from the crowd, the last person everyone expected to be chosen. Half his hair was silver while the other half was darkish purple, just like his skin color which had countless darkish purple spots on them. It was clear this kid did not possess any form of evil magic or dark magic making it even more difficult for these people to understand why Derik had chosen this kid. The kid had only been mutated by Derik''s aura, but that never made him a bonafide member of their little sect, that''s why people barely took notice of him. "Blink will be my successor¡­ Is there a problem?" Derik slowly turned to Blake who was levitating behind him. The killing intent oozing from Blake was enough to overshadow everyone else present, combined! That''s why Derik couldn''t help but take notice of it. Even then he remained calm and his charming smile never faded. Countless thoughts of methods to resolve this issue popped up in his mind but Derik pushed them all aside since they all ended with Blake been gruesomely murdered by him. No matter who he use to be in the past, after his encounter with his family, Derik was determined to be different, to do things differently, if not he would have instantly killed Blake on the spot. "What makes him more qualified than I am¡­ than any of the other four here! We are all sworn brothers and sisters¡­ Unlike these other people, the six of us are family? Why would an outsider who doesn''t even possess any form of dark magic take what belongs to us? I won''t allow this!" Blake ground and his aura spiked, releasing a powerful wave of darkish purple death aura. "Heee? Mid-grade of the silver realm in just two years? cute!" Derik flashed a warm smile as he slowly stretched his hands towards Blake. The youth wanted to flee but his body refused to respond, paralyzed by fear. For a moment everywhere was shrouded in darkness and all he could see were the boney hands of the grim reaper reaching for his head while in reality and probably what the others saw, Derik was simply reaching for Blake, gently tapping his forehead with a single finger. Chapter 371 - 371: My successor (1) The next moment all the violent aura surrounding the youth vanished and all the strength bubbling in Blake''s body failed him, forcing him to struggle greatly just to stay afloat. "Krrrrrrrhhhh!" Blake hissed, already coated with sweat and barely able to sustain his flight technique. His eyes were bloodshot and no matter how much he tried he could not summon his aura. "What the hell is this?" Blake roared while gasping for air. "Silence¡­" Derik frowned getting a bit impatient. "Leadership qualities are not something you possess little Blake¡­ I have seen you all, watched the five of you grow, and even tutored all five of you in the past¡­. Do you think I never considered handing over this sect to you? But in the end, you just lack what is needed to become the palace master¡­ Based on strength and accomplishments as well, you, my friend are quite inferior to Blake here, who fought against the empire''s strong three hundred thousand armies even with his bronze realm cultivation base¡­ This kid you keep looking down at, saved your life and the life of the other four! So I suggest you show some respect and be grateful!" Derik''s aura went wild while saying the last part. Instantly an invisible force descended on Blake, dragging him off the air, all the way to the ground before slamming him violently. The collision forced some dust to rise and after it had settled down, Blake could be seen on his knees, struggling but he couldn''t stand. The murderous intentions in his eyes had faded, replaced with fear! All his life, he had seen Derik do so many cruel things but none of them has ever been directed towards them so he really couldn''t tell how terrifying Derik is until today. His instincts kept screaming at the top of its voice, and at this moment, Blake knew one more mistake would cost him his life. "He won''t hesitate to kill me" Blake muttered in fear. Meanwhile, Jean, Andrew, Philip, and Dimitris were terrified, they had never seen Derik like this. They too may have not fully accepted Derik''s decision in making Blink his successor but they didn''t get the chance to voice out their thoughts first. They felt lucky, Blake was the first to act and even know they couldn''t even look Derik in the face. Derik was annoyed! His aura suppression on Blake doubles, forcing Blake to fall on his face while digging even deeper into the ground. "I will make you strong¡­. Strong enough to protect everything I own! ;Strong enough to protect everything I care about!" Derik''s eyes were like bottomless pits when gazing at Blink in the eye. After saying this, he turned his attention to the other sect members, waiting to see who would come up and challenge his decision but after a minute of silence, it seemed no one dared to speak up. "Good¡­ As for the five of you" Derik turned his attention to Dimitris and the others, but this time the anger boiling in his heart was gone, the aura suppression on Blake was gone too but that didn''t stop these people from feeling afraid. "Just like I had my three demon commanders¡­ You five will become the five demon commanders, you will only answer to Blink" Derik said. With that done, Derik didn''t even wait for anyone to reply, he simply vanished alongside Blink, his undead generals, and his three demon commanders, leaving a crowd of terrified and astonished people behind. ................. ; Making his way into his dark underground chamber with Kira, Kin, Kuen, his undead commanders, and Blink, Derik was informed of an unexpected visitor. Even though he could literarily smell her, he just refused to speak to her since they have never been on good terms for a while now. "Wait here," Derik said as he walked into his personal cultivation chamber only to meet the former elf representative standing alone in the dark room. Even though it was dark, he could see her clearly, starting from her long smooth blond hair and smooth light-colored skin. Elsa wore a tight-fitting green gown which revealed her curves and large bouncy chests. "You were the last person I expected to meet here" Derik snapped his fingers and green flames escaped from his body lighting all the torches in the room. Waving his hand, he was consumed by a pillar of green flames and it dispersed, Derik''s black sleeveless mage attire was gone. He was currently putting on black trousers and no shirt. His blazing green eyes were like piercing daggers, stabbing into Elsa''s soul. At first, Elsa felt Derik was charmed by her beauty but when she got to look at it even closer, she realized those eyes were dead, void of any emotion. She had taken her time to prepare for this meeting, hoping to arouse some old feelings Derik had once nurtured for her but after what she just saw. It became clear to her that Derik felt nothing. Chapter 372 - 372: My successor (2) Unknown to Elsa, Derik was greatly moved by their meeting. Memories of their time together from the first day they on the second floor of the dungeon crossed his mind. He could remember, harming her unintentionally back then. He could remember fighting Samael alongside Gerald back then and he could remember her offer to him. "You asked me to return to the elf empire and have my powers sealed, that way we can be together¡­ Do you think that would have been a good idea?" Derik said with a charming smile on his face. He waved his hand, quickly conjuring two bone thrones, taking a seat while patiently waiting for Elsa who was still taken aback by his question. The young elf definitely didn''t expect that to be the first thing Derik would say to her. Based on his prior expression, she was expecting him to send her away even before she gets the chance to say a thing. Thinking back on the question now, Elsa couldn''t help but blush in shame. Thinking back on her offer back then she realized how stupid it was, but that didn''t mean she still didn''t wish Derik agreed. Thoughts of their future together if Derik just agreed and returned to her homeland if Derik accepted her offer kept popping up in her head and at a point she was lost in thought, daydreaming right in front of Derik. Derik didn''t find this disturbing since he could see everything Elsa thought of just by looking at her. All her romantic thoughts flowed into her mind and at a point even Derik couldn''t help but smile at these thoughts. Who would have thought she liked him this much? Derik allowed Elsa to drift deeper into her thoughts and they just remained silent for close to five minutes until a certain image made its way into her head. It was Derik who introduced this thought in a bid to see the way she would react. It was a scene where Derik would lose control of his power and go berserk. Apparently, the seal on his death magic could no longer be contained and his power had consumed him, forcing him to go on a killing spree. Finally, he is confronted by Elsa who will soon die by his hands if nothing is done. [Now let''s see how you deal with this] Derik thought. ........................ Surrounded by rubbles, Elsa stared down at the man she once loved shrouded in a thick layer of darkish purple aura with blood-red eyes walking towards her. Elsa couldn''t stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks as she saw countless slaughtered elves littered the streets of the Alda kingdom. Amongst the dead were her mother and Isabel, her guardian. "Dieeeeeeeeee!" the man''s voice was like the cries of a thousand souls seeking redemption. Bang! Instantly the black figure shot towards Elsa and completely different from Derik''s expectations, Elsa didn''t flee, instead, she ignored the black claws reaching for her chest and simply reached for Derik''s face. Bam! The death aura surrounding Derik''s body faded and tears rolled down his left eye but the deed was already done, his claws had struck deep into Elsa''s chest, there was no redemption for her! ...........................¡­.. Elsa yanked her eyes open only to see Derik still seated in the same position but just like in the dream, a tear rolled down his left eye. She was left stunned and confused for a while but after remembering what happened in her dream, she realized Derik had found a way to infiltrate her thoughts and manipulate her dreams. "Why didn''t you run" Derik''s voice lacked any form of emotion but his eyes told a different story. "Because I love you" Elsa replied honestly, putting it into account that if Derik could infiltrate her thoughts that way, it meant he could actually read her mind. So there was no reason for her to lie. "I see¡­" Derik looked away and took a deep breath, trying to rearrange his thoughts. "Then why do you run from me right now?" Derik suddenly asked. "Because this you, is more terrifying than that person¡­ This you scares me¡­ At least you in the dream even when standing right in front of me I could feel its emotions¡­ pain, rage, depression¡­ I could feel all of it and all I had to do is embrace it because I love you but this you¡­ I can''t feel anything¡­ It''s impossible to predict what you will do next¡­ One moment you are passionate and the next moment you are a murderous being capable of killing people who call you big brother" Elsa said with her head lowered. She was probably terrified that Derik would lose his calm but to her greatest surprise, Derik remained calm, gazing at her with an emotionless expression on his face. "You saw that?" Derik instantly knew she was talking about the events that happened recently. She most likely saw him when he suppressed Blake. "Yea¡­ Yes, I did" Elsa''s words were more like a whisper but Derik could still hear her clearly. "Please tell me¡­. Why are you like this? Why can''t you just be good? I heard you speak to them about leaving soon¡­ is that true? Is it true you can never come back? You are going to leave me in this world all alone" Elsa whispered the last part but once again Derik heard it perfectly but even then his expression didn''t change. "Why am I like this? I tried to express my feelings today¡­ I left my heart exposed to the people I care about and what did it bring? Revolution¡­ They dared to question my decision¡­ why can''t I be good? What makes a person good or bad? I don''t believe in such sentiments¡­ No matter what decision you take someone must be against it and will label you bad¡­ You all care too much about the public approval and that''s why you don''t progress¡­ that''s why you are weak¡­ you and so many other people may assume I am bad but there a few people who still see me as good" Derik said. Chapter 373 - 373: Retribution! "Why am I like this? I tried to express my feelings today¡­ I left my heart exposed to the people I care about and what did it bring? Revolution¡­ They dared to question my decision¡­ why can''t I be good? What makes a person good or bad? I don''t believe in such sentiments¡­ No matter what decision you take someone must be against it and will label you bad¡­ You all care too much about the public approval and that''s why you don''t progress¡­ that''s why you are weak¡­ you and so many other people may assume I am bad but there are a few people who still see me as good" Derik said. After saying this, Derik made a strange motion with his hands, gripping the void tight before pulling. Right in front of Elsa, Derik tore it open and from the gap, the shadow lurker emerged. Its appearance was marked with a powerful wave of chilly green flames spreading across the room. Elsa watched the shadow lurker which was twice the size of a full-grown man curl around Derik''s bone throne and laying by his side. "You see, your concept of good and evil is misguided¡­ Everything I have done so far is has been aimed at protecting this empire and its people¡­ Yes, yes, my methods are cruel but absolutely necessary! Because of me, this empire I built is still standing¡­ You all should show me more appreciation and respect, I believe I deserve that much¡­ Don''t you think so?" Derik''s eyes let out a strong green light while he asked the question which also reflected in the shadow lurker''s eyes. "Master¡­" The shadow lurker slightly bowed its head while addressing Derik. "My dear shadow lurker¡­ My oldest and most loyal companion¡­ With the increase in my strength, yours has risen to the peak of the gold realm as well¡­ I have a task for you and with your current strength, it shouldn''t be much of a problem" Derik revealed a vicious grin which scared the hell out of Elsa. At this point, even she felt threatened and countless thoughts raced through her mind as she searched for possible reasons why Derik may attack her. "Speak master and this loyal servant will get it done" the shadow lurker replied in a respectful tone. "You don''t have to feel threatened my dear Elsa¡­ I really care about you¡­ so I do not plan to hurt you" Derik smiled sheepishly while he said this but even behind the smile, Elsa could see the coldness in his eyes. "Go, Bring me the nature mage Francis and the moon cosmic spirit host, Diana¡­ You will accompany him too, Kalos, Aldora, and Gin¡­ If the fire guardian spirit host tries to stop you¡­ Cripple him!" Derik said Only at this moment did Elsa realize that she''s not the only one in the room. Three more figures dressed in clad black armors, oozing with powerful death aura emerged from Derik''s shadow. "YES, MY LORD!" All three undead commanders bowed their heads as they screamed those words with so much passion that Elsa was left worried. Xiu! Kalos quickly waved his hand and a spatial gate open which all three entered alongside the shadow lurker. At this point, Elsa wanted to speak against Derik''s actions but she realized she couldn''t move or speak. Quickly shifting her gaze to Derik, she realized his cold gaze was pinned on her! She could tell he wasn''t using his aura to suppress her like Blake, if the same amount of pressure was placed on her she would die. Derik just decided to use his insane killing intentions to paralyze the young elf. At this point, the atmosphere was even heavier than it was when the three undead generals and the shadow lurker appeared. "You don''t have the right to tell me that¡­" Derik said suddenly. It was obvious he was reading her thoughts and replying accordingly. "These people killed thousands of my followers¡­ People who referred to me as their god¡­ people I swore to protect¡­ They chose an ungodly hour to carry out this attack¡­ They chose to kill my people as soon as I left¡­ This cowardly act shall not be forgiven!" Derik growled revealing his fangs. Unknown to Derik, Cyrus was done settling most of the issues concerning his sect''s welfare. At this moment the life mage was standing in the skies, staring down at the fire guardian spirit host, the nature guardian spirit host, and Diana, the moon cosmic spirit host. ..............................¡­.. What is privilege? Privilege allows you to read ahead of the regular update schedule. From First December the update schedule will be 2 chapters a day and with the privilege system in place, you get to read 2 extra chapters. How much does it cost? There are multiple tiers and the higher the tier the more chapters you get to read in advance but right now I only have one. 1 coin for 2 advanced chapters {This can change later one¡­ If I have more free time on my hands I will move up the privilege tier and provide you all with more chapters} What happens if I don''t get privilege? Nothing, the story continues to update as it has always done, that''s two chapters a day. This is optional. Also When you pay for the privilege(1 coin) you still need to pay for the chapters. Paying for the privilege tier does not unlock the chapter as well. The free pass cannot be used on privileged chapters. Once you pay for a privilege it will last till the end of the month, meaning you will be ahead by two chapters for the whole month. If you want to continue to do so you must pay for the privilege again at the end of the month. Privilege is a way to support the author similar to Patreon but in return, you get advance chapters ahead of everyone else. I have set the privilege to the lowest possible cost of one coin every two advance chapters. Of course, there may be more tiers in the future. Any questions please feel free to comment below. Tomorrow, we push!!! Chapter 374 - 374: Swift Justice (1) It was a swampy area filled with shallow bodies of water which was obviously constructed by the inhabitants of this part of the empire. The ground was muddy and mud houses filled the entire region, coupled with the hundreds of trees surrounding the area. In the only massive stone building which belonged to the chieftain of the lizard were three sun realm masters staring down at Cyrus whose hands were placed across his chest, with his murderous gaze bearing down on the three. After the return of Derik and Cyrus, Francis and Diana could tell their days were numbered. Leaving the empire was not an option since the land was now inhabited by invaders who are more than ready to kill them on the spot without asking questions. At this point, the safest place these two could think of was with the blazing lizardman whose strength could equal that of Derik and Cyrus. At least, Ahika was on par with Derik and Cyrus in the past but now, things are completely different. Even though these two knew Ahika couldn''t protect them anymore, they still chose to stay with the lizardmen since they believed Cyrus and Derik wouldn''t dare kill him. If they lived long enough for Ahika to talk some sense into them, they might just survive this disaster about to befall them. ......................................................¡­. "What''s the meaning of this?" Ahika growled at Cyrus. The lizardmen are not cunning beings so the lizard man could not really tell Diana and Francis intentions. All Ahika knew was that Francis and Diana were better off alive than dead, with a few more gold realm masters the chances of the empire surviving the invader''s predicament is much greater. On normal circ.u.mstances, Cyrus and Derik would put the nature of the lizardmen into consideration when dealing with Ahika but this was not the time for that! This time, Derik and Cyrus were ready to deliver justice no matter the price! For the sake of the thousands of comrades and believers who died due to Francis and Diana''s actions. "ON YOUR KNEES!" Cyrus spoke lightly but his voice was like countless thunderclaps. With his words came a mysterious force that was enough to make all three gold realm masters fall on their knees without any form of resistance. The word path which the former king Robert once practiced and Cyrus currently practices, coupled with his life and holy magic made all his words seem like prophetic declarations that cannot be evaded. His words carried the weight of over a thousand mountains making even the most powerful mortals useless when faced with it. "Cyrus!!" Ahika roared as his body was instantly engulfed in flames but even then it couldn''t get on its feet. The lizardman felt like its knees were rooted to the ground by some sort of invisible force. "For your own sake, I hope in the next life, you will not make the same mistake!" Cyrus'' voice lacked any form of empathy and his killing intentions could not be concealed by his tone. Guardian weapon path: Divine guardian broadsword! A large amount of golden aura escaped Cyrus'' body, gathering over his head and soon taking the shape of a massive golden broadsword. "Vanish!" Cyrus muttered while waving down at them. Swoosh! Slowly but steadily, the massive golden broadsword descended from the skies, completely crushing the building and countless buildings it as well. Everyone watched in horror as the massive divine broadsword crush the building, digging deep into the ground, thereby resulting in a minor earthquake. ............................................................ "Now you understand my pain¡­ You understand why I must act and even if you don''t¡­ it won''t change a thing¡­ But then again, think about it Elsa, try to put yourself in my shoes¡­ if those you love were stolen from you while you were away¡­ slaughtered for no reason at all, how will you feel? How will you react when you have the chance to retaliate?" Derik sounded calm but his glowing darkish green eyes and his claws and fangs were telling another story entirely. It was clear to Elsa that Derik was putting in a lot of effort to keep a calm appearance in her presence. The rage boiling in his heart was like a violent storm and every moment Elsa remained quiet, his anger doubled. That was until Elsa''s negative emotions flowed out, lingering at every corner of the room. Derik''s eyes widened slowly in shock and he couldn''t understand how to respond to this {What''s this feeling?} Derik thought. "I understand your pain¡­ I know how you feel¡­ and I know how I will act if I lose someone whom I love¡­ Ever since you disappeared during the sky rift incident with the treasures, I was lost, I felt broken¡­ Not knowing if you are still alive or dead¡­ I hated Isabel for not giving the order for the elves to protect you, even though I knew she was doing her job¡­ Diana, she was the one who comforted me¡­. When the three heroes of legend appeared and Diana joined the elf empire we bonded like sisters¡­ She''s like the only family I have now and if you take her away from me, I don''t know if I will ever be able to forgive you¡­ Hating someone you love is so difficult¡­ You should know that as well right? How did it feel hating your family that betrayed your trust? H¡­" Elsa''s eyes had reddened at this point as she spoke her mind, letting all the bottled up emotions out. This caught Derik by surprise and for a while, he was unable to react, he could only listen to her in silence. He could feel her negative emotions so he knew she wasn''t just acting! Her pain was real! And then she brought up the part about hating someone he loves, this reminded him of all the bad blood he had between himself and people he once cared deeply about. At this point, Derik''s body trembled, brimming with anger! "Enough Elsa! Tell me why you are here!" Derik growled and this time his voice was less human and more beast. Chapter 375 - 375: Swift Justice (2) "This conversation has gone for too long, Elsa¡­ tell me why you are here! And I suggest you pick your next words carefully¡­" Derik''s eyes were like two blazing green suns lighting up the entire room. Even though Derik was not aware of it, Elsa could see hairs sprouting all over his body, his claws turned black, and some sort of ferocious beast air gathering around Derik. It''s true that werewolves tend to have a bad temper and when pushed too far, they always lash out! At this moment, Derik''s body was transforming even without him knowing it. "Spare their lives¡­ even if it''s not for my sake but for the sake of the people in this empire¡­ the same people you want to protect¡­ Since you and Cyrus will be gone soon, we need people who can protect us¡­ the destiny of the three heroes of legend is to protect us against the invaders and lead us to victory¡­ don''t forget that¡­ pls don''t make this mistake¡­" Elsa slowly fell on her knees and begged with her eyes shut tight. She didn''t know if Derik would lash out or listen to her words, all she could do now is beg and hope she can get to him and if she''s unable to reach him, she was ready to bear the consequences. Unknown to her, the rage in Derik''s heart had vanished, at this moment Derik was staring at her with a charming smile on his face. "Okay then¡­ I accept" Derik said, leaving Elsa stunned. She looked up and saw the calm Derik smiling at her. Before she could speak any further an invisible force lifted her off the ground and pulled her towards Derik who stood her and slowly embraced her. "Just this once, for the sake of what we once had¡­ I will listen to you" Derik whispered in her ears, making Elsa''s face redden instantly. At this point, she realized Derik''s upper half was left bare and she could feel the warmth of his body. She wanted to pull away but her mind was messed up as countless dirty thoughts flowed into her head preventing her from thinking straight. Unable to control herself, her hands wrapped around Derik''s body, pulling him in even closer. Even Derik was stunned by this, he didn''t expect her to react this way. If he were still completely human, he was sure he would have been caught in the moment, unfortunately, he was no longer human! The feelings faded as soon as they came. Bang! A massive explosion shook the ground and since this chamber was built underground, Derik and Elsa felt it perfectly. The room shook violently, enough to make Elsa fall but luckily Derik was holding on to her. While Elsa was confused and terrified, Derik''s expression darkened. He knew the implications of what just happened! "Cyrus is trying to kill Diana and Francis¡­" Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. "Please! You have to stop him! save them!" Elsa tightened her grip on him as she begged. "Me? Stop Cyrus? Impossible¡­ If we both fight¡­ One of us will surely die¡­ I am only fifty percent sure I will be the victor¡­" Derik hated to admit it but he considered Cyrus his equal. Cyrus was not someone he could just fight without making preparations. Either way, his words left Elsa stunned! She knew Cyrus could rival Derik in strength but she didn''t know he was this strong! This was the first time she had seen Derik hesitate! ............................. Bang! Bang! Bang! Countless massive green vines erupted from below, quickly restraining the massive golden broadsword that was embedded into the ground. "Moon magic: MOONLIGHT!" Diana''s cries echoed all through the skies as a massive crescent moon shaped magic weapon descended from the skies, firing a massive beam of silver aura at Cyrus. "Childs play!" Cyrus hissed using his palm to slap away the beam of silver energy effortlessly. Bang! At that same moment, Ahika who was now shrouded in blue flames shot out of the ground, shooting towards Cyrus fearlessly. "CYRUS!!!!!" Ahika cried as a powerful torrent of blue flames shot out of its mouth, shooting towards Cyrus. Only when facing against this blue flame did Cyrus frown. "True Life magic: Divine embrace!" Cyrus muttered. Instantly a pair of massive golden wings completely made of aura sprouted from his back, wrapping itself around him just before the blue flames reached him. "Haha! As expected of the only guardian spirit host who could match Derik and me in strength¡­ You Blazing blue flames are as dangerous as ever!" Cyrus laughed but Ahika chose to ignore his words. "You made a mistake coming here alone Cyrus! You underestimated the power of three gold realm masters!" Diana''s voice rang in his ears once again causing Cyrus to look up. Only now did he notice three massive moon shaped silver spheres descend from the heavens. With Ahika still releasing torrents of blue flames, Cyrus could only remain on the defensive and watch the three moons gather around him. "Moon magic: Three worlds collide!" Diana roared and her silver aura let out a terrifying flash. The three massive moons appeared around Cyrus who was still hiding within the golden wings and some sort of invisible force prevented him from leaving the center of the encirclement. Cyrus could only watch the three moons approach. "That''s not all! It ends here for you, Life mage! Moon magic: Fourth world crash!" Diana cried out. By this time, Diana''s body was completely shrouded in silver aura as her massive crescent moon magic weapon descended from above like an ancient mountain bearing down on Cyrus. "Begone! Moon magic: Fourfold moon formation seal" Diana roared and Cyrus alongside the four powerful moons were lifted up towards the skies. "This shall be your resting place, for eternity! End it!" Diana roared. "I expected Derik to be the first to make an appearance but it seems I was wrong¡­ who would have thought you would be the first to attack¡­ But this is where it all ends¡­ Cyrus!" Francis roared as he prepared his own technique. Chapter 376 - 376: Undead commanders vs Hosts (1) "I expected Derik to be the first to make an appearance but it seems I was wrong¡­ who would have thought you would be the first to attack¡­ But this is where it all ends¡­ Cyrus!" Francis roared as he prepared his own technique. Clasping his hands together a powerful wave of massive green and brownish vines shot out of the ground, speeding towards the four fake moons used to seal Cyrus. "Nature magic: Thousand years binding seal!" Francis roared with bloodshot eyes. Boom! The vines quickly reached the four moons before wrapping themselves around the four moons, binding them together. During this time the lizard men not too far away watched how each massive vine bearing countless green runes slowly wrapped around the moon, placing magic seals on it. From the looks of it, it became clear that Diana and Francis never had any intentions of fighting Cyrus to the death since they already know it''s a losing battle. So, they chose to wait until he lost his guard before they prepare the threefold sealing technique. As for Ahika, he only agreed to help Francis and Diana as long as no one had to die. In its opinion, Cyrus is just as useful as the other two, for that reason, sealing Cyrus was only aimed at keeping him at bay until he calms down. "Blazing blue fire magic: Blazing Furnace seal!" Ahika roared. The next instant a powerful pillar of blazing blue flames erupted from below, engulfing the four fake moons and the earth vines but even then none of them were getting burnt. "Seal!" All three of them roared as their sealing techniques quickly released a powerful wave of their mixed aura before settling down. ....................................................... Only after the blinding light from the colorful aura had settled down and there no movement within the three elemental seals did Francis, Ahika and Diana heave a sigh of relief. Honestly, utilizing such sealing techniques consumed so much mana and concentration, that''s why they barely use such techniques unless extremely necessary. At this moment, these two barely had enough mana to repeat the same sealing techniques on Derik when he finally arrives. "We need to rest and recover as much strength as we can before Derik arrives¡­ Once we recover enough strength, we should be able to suppress the death mage as well" Francis said while panting heavily. His face was slightly pale and his body was covered in sweat, just like the other two gold realm masters present today. In his opinion, even though Derik was slightly more terrifying than Cyrus, he was confident the three of them would be able to stop him if they joined hands. By the way, Derik was still at the peak grade of the gold realm, yet to enter the demigod realm. "You are either pretty confident or just the dumbest person alive" Gin''s voice rang from afar, stunning all three gold realm masters. Looking towards the three elemental seals, Francis, Diana, and Ahika noticed Gin and Aldora gazing at them with overflowing hostility while Kalos studied the seal from a safe distance. "To think they believed this thing can hold Derik or Cyrus¡­ Stupid kids! Even I can break out of this if given enough time" Kalos shook his head in disappointment as he spoke. The pressure these three exuded was enough to make Francis''s scalp feel numb. This was a carefully thought plan which took two years to devise but even after that, who would have thought Derik would choose to rely on his undead commanders this time? Taking on these three at their current condition will definitely be a very difficult task, especially since they had no one with light magic who could suppress the death magic. Another issue was the fact that these three undead commanders were at the gold realm as well. If anything should go wrong, they could even lose their lives or after the battle, after they manage to win against Derik''s undead commanders. They are left exhausted and defenseless. How do they plan to fight against Derik in such a condition? "This was not part of the plan" Diana''s pale face bore a hint of hopelessness as she gazed at the three undead commanders fearfully. The thoughts of fleeing the empire crept into her mind but this option wasn''t what she could jump at. Even if she fled, where will she go? No part of the world was safe right now, all she can do now is struggle until her last breath. Sensing the hostility emanating from all three of them, Gin couldn''t help but chuckle. His usual sky blue aura had turned darkish green due to Derik''s necromancy used on him. His darkish green eyes lit up as he summoned his trusty magic broad sword and his magic armor which had already turned darkish green as well. "There is no need for violence¡­ I sincerely hope you all come along with us to meet Derik¡­ Remember, this is not a fight you can win¡­ this is for your own good" Gin''s voice revealed his eagerness to test his newfound powers in this necromancy state. All this while, Gin had suffered from the drawbacks of using aura in its raw form, limiting his strength and fighting capabilities. Amongst the former members of the team guardian, Gin had always been outstanding, just like Cyrus and Kira, keeping up to Derik who had awakened his death magic at the time. All this while, the enchanter class master had focused on strengthening his body and further expanding his limits, allowing him to handle more raw mana in battle and even though this worked, his progress has always been slow, making it difficult for him to keep up with others in terms of cultivation realm. But now things are different! Gin could see the limitless aura flowing into him, thanks to his magic equipment. His body''s limitations have been shattered thanks to necromancy and at this very moment, he felt like he could even overwhelm power gold realm masters like Ahika who is known for his destructive capabilities! Chapter 377 - 377: Undead commanders vs Hosts (2) Gin knew Cyrus'' intentions of granting him a new body and at first, he found this attractive but the thought of having to struggle from the bottom to the very top once again just made him push the thought aside in an instant. Why give up an immortal body for a weak one? Now he had no limiters placed on him with this new body of his, why would he give it up so easily? At most, all he has to do is serve Derik. While some may say this life is not the best for him, what difference is there? Gin had spent his whole life fighting not for himself but for his family, trying to make a name for them! He even betrayed Derik just for their sake! In his opinion, having Derik order him around once in a while is nothing compared to the shackled life he once lived in the past! In his opinion, This is freedom! Roar! Gin wasn''t willing to wait anymore and he soon let out a loud roar while dragging all the mana in the air towards the tip of his blade. Right before everyone''s eyes, a massive darkish green ball of aura began forming at the tip of his blade which was placed above his head. While this did not affect the guardian spirit hosts and the cosmic spirit host present, it did prevent normal mages around from using their spells since all the mana around was been siphoned by Gin. It didn''t take long before the size of the green ball soon rivaled the size of the massive fake moons used to seal Cyrus, making Diana''s heart bleed terribly. "With no body limiters, he can just keep pulling the mana in with no end¡­ if given enough time to gather enough strength, he can even one-shot a peak grade gold realm master!" Francis could easily tell what was going on with a glance. Judging from his darkened expression and his words, Ahika and Diana felt their hearts skip a beat and a renewed fear appeared in their hearts whenever they turned their attention to Gin who was now like an ant when compared to the massive green aura ball gathering above his head. "We have to stop him now!" Diana roared as she shot forward and Ahika followed behind quickly. Since her magic weapon is needed to help complete the seal placed on Cyrus, her combat power was reduced drastically. At this point, all she could rely on now was her own combat capabilities, meanwhile, Ahika was even more desperate than her. This region belonged to the lizard men and this is the reason he didn''t use his gigantification path on Cyrus. Even though everyone had evacuated prior to the battle with Cyrus since it was already expected, their homes and properties were still here, Ahika was trying as much as possible to protect everything he could! "Damn you! Blazing blue fire magic: Searing fire wave!" Ahika roared. Taking a deep breath at first, Ahika soon released a massive wave of scorching blue flames towards Gin in hopes of stopping him but his expression soon darkened when a spatial gate formed right in front of Gin, allowing the scorching blue flames to flow in. "Don''t resist and no one has to get hurt¡­ there is no need for violence!" Kalos said as he waved his hand and another spatial gate formed right behind the gold realm trio, releasing the same scorching wave of blazing blue flames. "You underestimate us! You really do!" Diana growled as she summoned a glittering silver rod. Turning around to face the incoming sea of blue flames, she gently tapped the space in front of her with the rod, creating a rectangular mirror right in front of her. "Moon magic: Mirror image!" Diana gritted her teeth. Instantly, a powerful wave of blazing blue flames poured out of the mirror, smashing into the one sent at them. "Don''t you dare think that we can be suppressed easily!" Diana growled as another rectangular mirror appeared above her head and a massive ball of green aura appeared, increasing in size at the same pace as that of Gin. "Bitch!" Kalos growled in anger. He too remembered this technique Diana used back then to defeat many prominent fighters of the empire. The ability to mimic any ability thrown at her at any given time was no small issue and since Kalos wasn''t present during the battle, he never really got to know how Diana was defeated. He never asked Kira and the other three demon commanders since he felt that such information was irrelevant and now, he was deeply regretting it. While the Aldora and Kalos wracked their brains on how to defeat these three without killing them as per Derik''s orders, Gin was diving deeper into the feeling of having so much raw mana at his disposal. He could feel the endless stream of mana flowing into his body through his magic equipment. He could feel the mana circulate and pass through all parts of his body, before been pushed towards his blade which was like another part of his body. "This is power¡­" Gin was so lost in this feeling that he failed to notice the three elemental seals behind him tremble. "I REMAINED HERE HOPING THE THREE OF YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING MORE TO SHOW¡­ SOMETHING WORTH MY TIME SINCE I ASSUMED YOU ALL HAD TRUMP CARDS SINCE YOU DECIDED TO FIGHT BACK! BUT SEEING THAT YOU REALLY HAVE NOTHING UP YOUR SLEEVES, THERE IS NO REASON FOR ME TO WAIT HERE ANY LONGER!" Cyrus'' voice boomed like lightning. Even though he sounded calm, it was still enough to make the three guardian and cosmic spirit hosts tremble in fear! They refused to believe Kalos when he said this seal was not enough to hold Cyrus and Derik and chose to ignore their words, writing it off as a bluff. But now it seems Kalos was just being honest! They stood there in despair and watched the seals that consumed a large portion of their mana crumble and within a dark space in there, a pair of golden eyes were fixed on them. Chapter 378 - 378: Just die! Diana and the others could only stand there and watch in despair as their greatest sealing techniques crumbled easily and a figure encased in blazing golden aura slowly came into view. The process was slow but none of them dared to make a move against Cyrus while the seals crumbled. At this point, their mind went blank and they fell into a state of confusion since their only plan had failed. Not only did they fail to seal Cyrus, even if they should face Cyrus now and probably try to seal him a second time, will they have enough strength to resist the three undead commanders? Talk less of Derik, if he chooses to make an appearance in person. "This is the end¡­ You are too arrogant¡­ begone¡­ Those words you all used are words reserved for the strong¡­ You are not qualified to use such words" As usual, Cyrus'' voice was calm but the murderous air hovering around him, revealed his killing intentions. The figure shrouded in golden light soon emerged from what was used to seal him, slowly approaching with an expressionless face, striking deep fear into the hearts of his enemies. Bam! Gin who was still lost in the feeling of controlling so much aura soon felt a strong hand grip his wrist. Before he could even struggle, all the aura he had gathered at the tip of his blade shattered in an instant, dispersing without hesitation, leaving the undead commander more pissed off than stunned. "Why?" Gin gritted his teeth as he tried to pull his hands away but no matter how much he tried he couldn''t escape Cyrus'' grip. True life magic: Divine spear of judgment Snapping his fingers, Cyrus proceeded to summon a golden spear by his side aimed at Diana. He heard Gin''s question and only frowned slightly to show his annoyance before answering. "This is my fight¡­ They are not yours to kill¡­ I will take their lives with my own hands" Cyrus replied softly as he watched a rectangular mirror appear above Diana''s head. Moon magic: Mirror image "Didn''t I tell you, Don''t you dare look down on us!" Diana roared as the image of the golden spear appeared in the mirror. Cyrus watched silently with a smug on its face as the golden spear slowly emerged from the mirror. Only after the spear was halfway out did the mirror suddenly shatter, canceling the technique entirely. "Trying to mimic the technique of a true god? How foolish of you!" Cyrus chuckled lightly while he spoke. His words stunned everyone present since they all knew the power of Diana''s mirror image. So far, the spell has been able to mimic every ability show to it no matter the power or the size. Even now, Diana successfully mimicked Gin''s aura ball and it only fell apart because Cyrus stopped the spell midway. They were unable to understand how the technique shattered while trying to replicate Cyrus'' technique. "Impossible!" Diana cried out. At this point, she was dripping with sweat! Without her magic weapon, her mirror image and mirror world was her only means of protecting herself. Not only did Cyrus destroy her crescent moon magic weapon while breaking out of the seal but he has also rendered her magic mirror magic useless, making her a burden to the other two. But how did her technique fail to work? As far as Diana is concerned her mirror image should be able to mimic abilities at the same realm or even a realm above her. She would understand if her technique failed to work against a real demigod but Derik and Cyrus were yet to enter that realm, so she couldn''t understand why it didn''t work! They are still at the peak grade of the gold realm and even if they are about to breakthrough it shouldn''t count! "Don''t be na?ve little girl¡­ Derik and I have already surpassed mere demigods¡­. We are potential true gods, a status you can never acquire in a million years¡­ In case you have forgotten, we just went up against a demigod and we returned without a scratch¡­ Do you think mere gold realm masters can do that? Well, it doesn''t matter because it all ends here¡­ In my opinion¡­ I wasn''t the one that underestimated you all¡­ I believe you three are the ones that underestimated me" Cyrus said with a sigh as he waved his hand and the golden spear let out a bright golden light as its size suddenly began to increase. Under the watchful gaze of the three gold realm masters, the golden spear kept increasing in size until it could even rival the size of the fake moons, making everyone like tiny in its presence. The bright light it exuded and the divine aura that radiated from this spell was all focused on Francis, Diana, and Ahika, making it impossible for them to move. If they fail to counter such an attack with equal power, they will die! "I left this empire to strengthen myself for your sake¡­ I did this so that I can protect every one of you¡­ Derik and I have never harbored any ill intentions towards this empire and from the very beginning, we have always fought to get stronger so that we can protect what we have created and everyone within it¡­ But short-sighted bastards like you who only have selfish intentions will never let it all work out well¡­ Because you are lacking in strength, you all always end up feeling threatened by our existence so you always attempt to destroy our efforts in any way possible¡­ All this while I assumed Derik was merciful for not killing you off since but now I believe Derik made a foolish mistake by letting you all live this long! You three dared to lead a three hundred thousand strong army against two sects that barely had up to thirty thousand capable fighters¡­ because of your actions, thousands of people who I swore to protect, ended up dying in that battle¡­ People who looked up to me and worshipped me¡­ AND FOR WHAT REASON? I AM HERE TO CORRECT THE MISTAKE DERIK HAS BEEN MAKING FOR A LONG WHILE NOW¡­ I WILL HAVE YOU ALL JUST DIE NOW!" Cyrus roared! Chapter 379 - 379: Cyrus vs Undead generals The more Cyrus spoke, his aura became more oppressive, revealing his true state of heart. The rage and anger boiling in him were made known to everyone present, forcing the retreat even farther in fear. The life magic is their bane and the fear of being erased by Cyrus'' aura made them tremble in fear. "Master Derik asked that these people be brought to him! I don''t believe he plans on having them killed!" Kalos cried out to Cyrus. "You don''t have to worry much¡­ I will let you have what remains of them, you can offer that to Derik¡­ that''s if there is anything left!" Cyrus laughed as he threw his hands forward and the gigantic golden spear shot forward! "It can''t end this way! Moon magic: Mirror world!" Diana cried out as countless rectangular mirrors appeared behind her, capturing the image of the massive golden spear but as soon as the image appeared on the mirrors, they all shattered instantly, leaving Diana with a deadly pale complexion and blood rolling down her nostrils. "Just die!" Cyrus growled as the golden spear soon reached his targets but the next thing that happened was totally unexpected. A massive spatial gate appeared right in front of the golden spear and a powerful suction force drew the attack into an unknown realm! At the same time another spatial gate appeared behind the three gold realm masters, planning to pull them in Francis, Diana and Ahika were quickly shrouded by Cyrus'' golden aura, which pulled them away from the second spatial gate. Without saying a word, everyone knew Kalos had tried to save the three gold realm masters but Cyrus was a step faster. "Explain yours¡­" Cyrus was yet to finish his words when a powerful wave of darkish green aura shot towards him, filled with Gin''s killing intentions. Cyrus responded by simply slapping the attack away with his bare hands but soon the sun''s rays was suddenly blocked by a gigantic six-handed golden buddha. It was a ten-meter tall golden statue of a man with six arms and eyes as black as the night. Within the darkness in his eyes were dazzling stars and his body seemed to be made of gold. Around his slender neck were strange golden beads that had countless magic symbols carved into it and similar beads could be seen on all his limbs as well. On his right was an hourglass filled with golden sand while on the left side was a divine golden scythe, used to reap the souls of the unjust and the wicked. On his head was a golden halo and the divine aura which diffused from his body indicated that this man had surpassed the realm of mere mortals, pushing over to the side of the gods. "Sands of time!" Aldora roared Soon, the hourglass trembled for a while before exploding and releasing the countless golden sand held within! The golden swam towards Cyrus, rising like a tidal wave before bearing down on him like an ancient mountain! "True life magic: Heaven''s gate!" Cyrus roared while placing his right hand in the direction of the incoming golden tsunami. Instantly a massive golden gate bound and sealed by a thousand golden chains appeared above Cyrus, tanking the whole attack in one go. "Capture!" Cyrus roared as the chains binding the gates began detaching from the gate, shooting towards the massive golden figure. "The buddha path... A power only you dared to use! When you were alive, you tried to breach the gap between mortals and gods¡­ You created a technique that will make you take the form of a true deity¡­ With this magic, your light magic became purer than that of the others, up to a point, where it can be mistaken for life magic¡­ if you had completely mastered this path you would have surpassed even the popes of the holy church and become a true demigod! Unfortunately, Derik and I killed you before you perfected it¡­ Hahaha! In the end, it''s just an imitation! I am the sole god of life! Every other person is an imposter!" Cyrus laughed as he watched the golden chains bind Aldora easily. "This new god candidate stuff is really getting to your head" The emotionless face of the golden buddha suddenly revealed a smile which revealed a set of razor-sharp golden teeth making Cyrus'' heart skip a beat. Bam! The golden sand which Cyrus assumed he had stopped had finally spread around, going round the great gate, speeding towards Cyrus. Before Cyrus could curse his bad luck, countless spatial gates appeared around and this time it wasn''t trying to pull him in, instead, the golden sand soon took the form of countless golden daggers and diving into different spatial gates. "F.u.c.k my life!" Cyrus''s expression crumbled as he understood what would follow next. Under normal circ.u.mstances, he would easily defeat these three undead commanders with a simple hand gesture but this time things were a bit complicated. Cyrus was deliberately suppressing his strength since he was scared of destroying the empire or even the continent with just his aura! Right now, he was almost no different from a mage at the peak grade of the gold realm! "True life magic: Divine embrace!" Cyrus cried out hurriedly as he summoned a massive pair of angelic golden wings that wrapped around him. While he contemplated on what to do next without mistakenly drawing his true strength, countless golden daggers collided with the golden wings making it tremble but it wasn''t enough to make Cyrus worry. He chose to ignore everything and find a way to immobilize Kalos first without killing him but then his face turned pale and he looked at Kalos who was standing quite far away. "Bastard! Bastard! I will kill you!" Cyrus never thought he would be forced into a corner by these people. He could only watch a massive spatial gate appear above his head and a massive golden spear slowly emerged from it. It was the spear he sent at Diana, Francis, and Ahika! "My master wants them alive¡­ I intend to deliver them to him in one piece!" Kalos growled! Chapter 380 - 380: Don’t call my name in vain "Vanish!" Kalos roared as the spear shot out of the spatial gate, slamming into Cyrus who was still hidden within the golden angelic wings. "Grr!" Cyrus couldn''t help but struggle to defend against this attack. His body quivered as numerous web like cracks appeared on the angelic wings made of golden aura. Bang! "KALOS!" Cyrus screamed like a crazed man as the spear which was ten times his size smashed into him, dragging him all the way to the ground before pinning him there. The shockwave from the attack destroyed countless buildings around, leveling even the tree and vegetation around. Even with Cyrus supposedly defeated, Kalos wasted no time in creating a second spatial gate which quickly pulled in Diana, Francis, and Ahika! As long as these there could get to Derik alive, their job will be done. "What now?" Gin said with a complicated look as he stared at the massive golden spear pinning Cyrus down. The life aura this weapon possessed will definitely erase them if they get hit by this. "We hold Cyrus here until master Derik is done and requests we return" the massive golden buddha deity spoke lightly but his voice was still like countless roaring thunders gracing the skies. "Yea¡­ We have no other choice but to pin him down here with the best of our abilities¡­" Kalos nodded in agreement. "Pin me down?" Cyrus''s voice suddenly rang in their ears causing them to panic. "Think about it, do you three think you can pin Derik down with this level of strength?" Cyrus asked Hearing his question, the three of them shuddered in fear! Even without saying anything else, they already understood what Cyrus was trying to say. In terms of strength, Derik and Cyrus are equal as far as they are concerned. Pondering on Cyrus''s words, these three realized that even if they are given a power boost, they won''t be able to suppress Derik. If they can''t stop Derik how are they supposed to stop Cyrus who possessed the element they are weak against? "I hate it when I''m looked down upon¡­ not only did you send my own spell back at me, hoping it will harm me but you also entertained the thought of suppressing me¡­ Don''t you think I deserve as much respect as what Derik receives? Or do you all look down at me because I have always been calm all this while, preserving my strength for my enemies alone? Very well then, all that is about to change! Even if you are Derik''s undead commanders, I will erase you all from this world!" Cyrus voiced carried emotions. The massive golden spear shattered instantly and a figure with two pairs of golden wings slowly rose to the skies. His hair and white robes were tattered and his blazing golden eyes were like a pair of scorching sun''s looking down at lesser beings. "Vanish? That''s the word you use earlier, dear Kalos¡­ Let me show you the power you can never hope to achieve even in another life!" Cyrus roared as he raised his right hand above his head and his guardian divine broadsword appeared above his head. "Shatter the skies, split the heavens!" Cyrus roared as the guardian weapon doubled in size and the divine aura diffusing from it thickened as well. While all this happened the three undead commanders couldn''t flee or attempt to counter. They were been suppressed by Cyrus''s overbearing life aura, leaving them vulnerable to Cyrus''s attack. "Die!" Cyrus roared as he threw his hand down! Bam! Cyrus suddenly felt a strong grip on his shoulder and before he could even react, a massive death scythe coated in darkish green aura appeared from nowhere, deflecting the divine golden broadsword. "You have been using my name so recklessly today¡­ have you forgotten who I am? Cyrus? I am death! Don''t call my name in vain and no one is allowed to lay their hands on my subordinates!" Derik''s voice echoed in Cyrus''s ears causing him to tremble in fear. "You!" Suddenly Cyrus felt Derik''s death aura invade his body, spreading as fast as a plague! BOOM! Cyrus''s life aura suddenly exploded, knocking Derik away while dispelling all the death aura that invaded his body. "Well, well, well¡­ This will not go as easy as I expected" Derik complained as he retreated a bit farther, only stopping when he was standing next to his undead commanders. "How are you guys doing?" Derik said with a charming smile stunning his undead commanders alongside Cyrus. Was he planning to act as none of this happened? "You shouldn''t have stepped in! I was just about to unleash my secret weapon!" Gin quickly played along, patting his chest while he spoke shamelessly. This act alone left the others even more stunned than before. They just couldn''t understand why Derik would suddenly lose focus and goof around now. "I apologize then, Gin¡­ I should have had more faith in you" Derik laughed with his eyes closed while running his hands through his black flowing hair. "Mhmm!" Gin nodded as a sign that he accepted Derik''s apology. "Just make sure this doesn''t repeat itself next time¡­ But since you are here, I''ll let you handle things now!" Gin said not minding the reaction of those around him. Only Derik laughed at this since he and Gin had been really close before their team disbanded. Back then when he just awakened his death magic and the others rejected him, only Gin and Kira remained by his side. The three of them went through tough times together! These are memories that cannot be replaced easily. "Derik! Don''t you dare ignore me after all that has happened so far! You owe me an explanation!" Cyrus roared as the gigantic divine broadsword suddenly shrank in size and suddenly fell into his hands. True death magic: Bone armor! Derik''s body was soon covered by shiny skeletal armor and within his helmet were a pair of darkish green blazing eyes. The death scythe also shrank and fell into his hands. ???I will say this only once Cyrus¡­ You are like a brother to me, but if you dare try to harm those who I have chosen to protect¡­ I won''t hesitate to cut you down!" Chapter 381 - 381: Mercy "I will say this only once Cyrus¡­ You are like a brother to me, but if you dare try to harm those who I have chosen to protect¡­ I won''t hesitate to cut you down!" Derik said with his killing intentions spread across the empire. Even then Cyrus remained unfazed and gazed at Derik for a short time while pondering on what to do next. While killing Francis, Ahika and Diana are important to him, he wouldn''t be able to do it with Derik standing in his way. As powerful as Derik maybe, Life magic will always be his bane so, in a one versus one fight, his chances of winning will always be higher. The problem now is, if they should fight here and the battle gets serious where they both go at each other without holding anything back, chances are the continent itself may be destroyed as a result of their battle. Cyrus knew Derik was well aware of this but still chose to stand in his way, so the question is why? "Puf!" Cyrus let out a deep breath and the divine golden broadsword in his hands vanished alongside the pair of golden wings. "I know just like me, you really want to kill those bastards¡­. So what stopped you? Why do you choose to die at my hands instead?" Cyrus wrapped his hands around his chest while saying the last part with a mocking smile on his face. Seeing that Cyrus had let go of his weapon, the bone armor on Derik vanished as well alongside the death scythe. He ignored Cyrus''s questions at first slowly pushing his hair back with his hands before turning his attention to Cyrus. "Die at your hands¡­ according to my records, we have fought four times in the past and if I am not wrong I have won three out of four!" Derik sneered causing Cyrus''s face to turn red in shame. He too tried to recall, and when he remembered their first battle at castle black outside the walls, where he was defeated by Derik, he felt more ashamed. They also fought when he was trying to escape from Gerald before they made it to the moonlight forest. At that time, Derik did not only fight against Cyrus but also every other member of their team guardian and still won. When he also came to kill the old king Robert, Derik also battled Cyrus and the other members of team guardian and won! The only time Derik had lost to Cyrus was after clearing the dungeon and receiving the creator''s treasures, all four kingdoms ganged up on him and with Cyrus''s help, they were able to deliver a powerful blow that left Derik crippled for more than half a decade! "This time will be different!" Cyrus looked away in shame, causing Derik to laugh hard. "It''s okay, it''s okay¡­ Concerning Francis and Diana¡­ You know killing them will give me great joy since we lost so many people who served us well because of their actions and even to this day I regret not being able to protect them¡­ But now, I''m not thinking about the past or the present but the future! After our breakthrough into the demigod realm and we are forced to leave this realm, who will protect what we have built? Francis and Diana may be our enemies but we all have one thing in common, we love this empire, we love this world and we will do anything to protect it¡­ they may act against us because they perceive us as a threat and feel insecure but in the end, they are still here¡­ Fighting to protect what we built¡­" Derik spoke slowly to give Cyrus some time to ponder on his words. "I know, I know but!" Cyrus was clearly struggling with Derik''s words. Not because they were false or because he completely agreed with Derik, but because those words were true and no matter how much he tried to deny it, he just couldn''t. "And when we leave, who will protect everything we have worked hard to create? Who will protect we love and care about from the invaders? I am really sorry but we can''t afford to lose these people¡­ we will spare their lives in exchange for their services!" Derik said with a sly smile on his face. ............???...............¡­.. After a few moments of consideration, Cyrus had no choice but to agree. The empire had always depended solely on him and Derik for protection in the past, and now they are gone, the strength of the empire will surely reduce, and the various invaders will surely attack once again. In fact, the only reason why the invaders hadn''t attacked in the past was simply that they had heard of Derik and Cyrus, the duo who controls life and death. Unlike Francis and Diana, they didn''t dare attack while they were away but instead, they chose to gather their strength and prepare for the inevitable confrontation with them. It didn''t take long for the news of the total destruction of two settlements spread across the continent and even the world. The Death mage and the Life mage who they have been scared of had finally returned, easily destroying two settlements in a day. At first, fear spread across the other invaders on the continent but when they received news about Derik and Cyrus battle against the orc overseer, the fear turned to despair as these people couldn''t think of a way to fend of two men capable of taking on a demigod and returning unscathed? Initially, these invaders began entertaining thoughts of leaving the continent entirely but the final piece of news they received finally calmed them down. The life mage and the death mage are going through a transition into the demigod realm. While they can still fight in this condition, they can''t use their full strength so they will most likely avoid combat if necessary! During this period these invaders have no reason to fear since they were sure Derik and Cyrus will not attack them and after the breakthrough, they will be forced to leave this realm, leaving behind a weak and defenseless empire! Chapter 382 - 382: Before departure (1) After a few minutes completely devoted to persuading Cyrus, Derik was finally able to get through and follow up with his plan. By they returned to the underground training chamber at the palace of the dead, Francis and Diana were already shivering in fear, leaving behind Ahika who was the only one amongst the three who still had the will to fight. Contrary to their expectations, Derik and Cyrus didn''t have them killed. Instead, they asked for their allegiance to the empire in exchange for their lives! At first, it came as a shock but when they saw the serious expressions on Derik and Cyrus''s faces they realized these two were not joking. After thinking about this for a while, they also found it reasonable. These two will soon break into the demigod realm in a few weeks and they will be forced to leave this realm, leaving behind everything they have created and all those they care about! When that time comes, Derik and Cyrus won''t be able to protect them anymore. Now it''s their duty to protect everything they have built! Right in front of them, the three swore with their lives to protect the empire and everyone in it with their lives, in return the palace of death and the palace of life will support them in any way possible. With this, the conflict between the empire''s top officials and the sects created by Derik and Cyrus had come to an end and no one from the noble families could ever speak against them since they finally have the support of all the gold realm masters in the continent. ................................ With this taken care of the duo returned to their sects to prepare their heirs and strengthen their sect members. With the acquisition of the inheritance and true forms of their power, Derik and Cyrus''s aura had an effect even stronger than what it used to have. The cultivation speed of their people tripled and even the person with the crappiest talent was considered a peerless genius when compared to those outside. With this it didn''t take long before the three demon generals quickly pushed from the low grade of the gold realm to the mid-grade of the gold realm and even at that, they were nearing their peak, preparing for a second breakthrough all within two weeks! The standard and overall power of their sect had increased greatly as even the weakest members of their sects had reached the low grade of the silver realm and the elite members were already at the mid-grade of the silver realm. As for the five disciples of the death mage, each and every one of them had reached the peak grade of the silver realm as well. The most astonishing change in the sect was that of Blink, Derik''s successor. Spending the whole time cultivating alone with Derik, Blink had reached the peak of the silver realm, jumping realms thanks to Derik. At this point, his hair had turned snow white and his eyes were just like a pair of silver torches, shining bright even in the day time. For Blink''s training, Derik could not pass on his knowledge of dark magic since the kid was more inclined to spatial magic. To resolve this issue, he only gave the kid tips on the little he knew and also allowed Kalos to guide him thoroughly. As for his body, Derik had focused on using his aura to constantly strengthen Blink''s body, granting him strength beyond the level of mere humans. At this level, Blink was capable of defeating supernatural beasts like vampires and Werewolves with just his brute strength. Seeing the terrifying strength Blink possesses, he quickly gained the respect of almost everyone in the sect. Based on the analysis, at the peak grade of the silver realm. Blink could compare to the three demon commanders of the sect, meaning no one else below that level could defeat him. While many believed this, a few truly felt Blake was still superior to Blink, especially since his magic is closely related to that of Derik. At a point, the sect was already split into two factions, those that support Blink and those that support Blake. In the end, Derik wasn''t bothered much. Honestly, if Blink and Blake should fight even he wouldn''t know the outcome and this was simply because Blake possesses a lesser version of the death magic but in the end, it is still the death magic, so its strength cannot be underestimated. Finally, Derik had no intentions of interfering. In his opinion, a small opposition would be good for Blink''s growth. If he wants the respect and admiration of these people then he must earn it with his own sweat and blood. ............................... Concerning the palace of life, things were a bit different. While Cyrus refused to make Fernandos or Agus his successor for some personal reasons, he still helped them cultivate up to the mid-grade of the gold realm. There were his right hand and left-hand men so for the sake of whoever his successor is going to be, It is necessary Cyrus makes them strong! At least strong enough to rival the three demon commanders. Just like Derik, Cyrus''s aura had also strengthened greatly after consuming life inheritance. His aura''s strengthening effects became so strong that the cultivation speed of his subordinates rose to its peak. With this, his sect''s main force was not inferior to that of Derik both in cultivation speed and realm. Concerning the selection of a new successor, Cyrus had different plans. The true nature of his life magic was the ability to give life to his spells. While some may think his spells were actually alive but in reality, he was simply sharing his consciousness with his spells, making them act according to his will. For most of the time he had left in this world, Cyrus remained indoor and focused on perfecting this technique. While some believed he was focusing on his breakthrough, Cyrus was actually trying to find a way to perform a feat that only guardian spirits like Demos have accomplished. Creating a living avatar of himself. Chapter 383 - 383: Before departure (2) To create a living avatar of himself which will continue as the sect master even after he is gone. As much as Cyrus would love to rely on his sect members and the other gold realm masters left behind to protect the empire, he just couldn''t do that. He has seen the way Demos creates avatars bearing his consciousness and this seemed to be the only way he could leave but also stay behind to protect his sect. To accomplish this, Cyrus needed two things. Firstly was the ability to split his consciousness and allow that fragment of his soul exist outside his body for a long while. But this wasn''t a problem for Cyrus since unlike other people, his life magic granted him abundant life force and a very powerful soul. That''s why even in death, Cyrus'' soul would be able to exist and search for a new body. The main problem he encountered was the second requirement. To continue with this procedure, Cyrus needed to be able to create an artificial body that his soul will possess. Unlike Derik who already had the necromancy path which allowed him to create artificial bodies for his undead generals, Cyrus had no such ability and he couldn''t rely on Derik on this. Since Derik''s power was drawn from death, his soul wouldn''t be able to reside in a body made of death magic so he had to go with option B. Possess a living being. For this reason, Cyrus sort for a suitable host. Someone who would vanish and no one would notice. For this reason, he left his sect and wandered into the residential area of the human race, silently moving from house to house searching. And then he found one on the fifth night! ...................................................... Cyrus''s footsteps were too light and quick for no one to notice as he blitzes past those on the ground floor and quickly went up the stairs, into a room oozing with death. Even though he could not see the spirit of death hovering over this youth, he could still sense his death was near. "Clovis Sanguine, born into the Sanguine family with a strange illness which has plagued you all your life¡­ Even with the help of countless healers which your wealthy family could afford, no one was able to heal you of this illness. At last, your mother conceived and bore the family another child, a male child who could replace you and take over as the heir of this small-time noble family¡­ after his birth, your parents spent less time with you and at a point, they stopped visiting as well¡­ Right now they all wait for death to take you away since you have been nothing but a burden!" Cyrus could easily tell the boy''s past just by taking hold of his emaciated hands. The golden-haired boy listened to the words of the stranger quietly as tears rolled down his eyes. Who was this person? How could he tell about his past so easily? Why did he even speak on his condition? Couldn''t he even see that he, Clovis was waiting for death to remove him from this unjust world? "Who are you?" The boy asked weakly. With a glance, Cyrus could tell this kid was a few seconds away from passing on to the afterlife. At first, his sole purpose was to take control of this kid''s body and become the successor of his clan but after making contact with the boy and viewing his past, Cyrus understood one thing. Clovis was a good person! Even though he is in his final seconds in this world, he bore no hate for his parents that once abandoned him, no, instead, he was happy. In his opinion, after his death, his parents would have no reason to suffer any shame or ridicule for his sake anymore. He was wishing them well, even after all the injustice he had suffered! "Stupid mortal¡­" Cyrus''s eyes let out a bright glow, creating a golden sphere around him and the kid, preventing the angel of death from reaching them. "Tell me Clovis, what if I gave you a second chance at life, where you can make things better, get everything you deserve and still protect all those you love¡­ would you be willing to hand over this body to me" Cyrus asked leaving the kid startled. "You¡­ You are the great life mage, Cyrus! Palace master of the Palace of life!" Clovis said with a hint of surprise in his expression. Even though he was sincerely excited, he was too weak and Cyrus knew that since he could sense the kid''s true emotions¡­ "Yes, I am the life mage Cyrus and I am here to make you my heir" Cyrus answered honestly. "And you spoke about giving up my body to you¡­ Does that mean, I will die?" Clovis asked calmly. "Yes¡­ my soul fragment will completely expel your soul from this body, granting me complete control over it¡­" Cyrus once again answered honestly. Even he was surprised by the fact that this kid didn''t shiver or show any signs of fear, even after Cyrus confirmed he would die. "Why are you not afraid?" Cyrus was truly intrigued by this kid''s personality. "I have never had the chance to live even from death, so what''s the point of fearing death now?" Clovis laughed weakly. "As long as you will be able to help people with this body, I don''t mind at all¡­ you can have it¡­ it''s not like I have anything to live for in the first place¡­" Clovis added. Gazing at this kid who had no cultivation, no strength, no family, nothing he could hold on to, fearlessly make such bold statements moved Cyrus''s heart to the point where he actually felt sympathy for this kid. With a flick of his finger, Cyrus released a powerful wave of life aura which spread across the room, driving away the angel of death lurking around! "Don''t worry, little one¡­ You have earned my respect and admiration and for that reason, I will use this body to do great things and I promise you¡­ You will be there to see it all!" Cyrus declared! Chapter 384 - 384: Strike first With the defeat of the orcs, the central region has been left unoccupied and many other races have been scrambling for this location as well. Everyone race present are trying to secure more land for themselves and thanks to Derik and Cyrus'' presence, the other invaders have been less violent lately. In what was expected to be a heated battle for more land, these invaders simply chose to share that region amongst themselves. Apparently, no one was willing to reduce their military strength in a useless conflict when the real threats are still in the empire. In no time, new small settlements began springing up. These settlements were small and considerable forces were moved to each of these settlements, weakening the main base where these races once formed. Derik and Cyrus didn''t bother themselves with these new settlements appearing in the central region of the continent. By the way, the other races are already moving towards the continent, once they arrive everything will be reshuffled. Some races will fall, and some races will stand tall. Only after that battle will the true overlords of this planet be known. Their current interest is in the other races that may pose a threat to the empire. Before they leave, they had decided to launch an attack against the most powerful races, especially since they are not expecting Derik and Cyrus to act during the period of their breakthrough. Of course, these two couldn''t act while they are still in the middle of their breakthrough but they both have successors ready to make a name for themselves. In Derik''s opinion, this is the best time to showcase the strength of their successors before they leave. At least if things should get too dangerous, they can always step in and save them. ..............................¡­. "And that''s the settlement we are bringing down today" a golden-haired youth not more than seventeen years said. He was dressed in a white tight-fitting mage robe with a white scarf wrapped across his neck. Behind him were Agus, Fernandos, and about ten thousand mages and paladins all from the palace of life. Amongst these warriors, the weakest amongst them was at the mid-grade of the silver realm, yet they were all kneeling before this youth whose cultivation base was only at the mid-grade of the bronze realm. "The beast men? This is will be a difficult task¡­ Interesting" A youth in a black and red mage sleeveless attire spoke up. His face was hidden by the hood, but his silver hair and glowing silver eyes revealed his identity pretty easily. All over Blink''s body were countless black tattoos and his palm was covered with a black glove. Behind him are the five new demon commanders, Blake, Andrew, Philip, Jean, and Dimitris, alongside the former three demon generals and finally an army of over ten thousand dark mages, dark knights, and supernatural beings. "If we can weaken this race before the new races arrive, their chances of getting swept away in the chaos will rise, reducing the foes the empire will have to deal with when our palace masters are gone" Clovis said while looking at the beast men settlement from the mountain their forces stood. Blink gave Clovis a meaningful look, unable to respond properly. He could definitely feel Cyrus''s presence in that body but the way he spoke and the words he used is not something Cyrus would use, so Blink didn''t know how to address this person properly. "Don''t worry, I''m Clovis and I am also Cyrus¡­ we are one, speak to me as if you are speaking to a fellow successor, there is no need for formalities" Clovis could easily tell Blink was feeling uneasy about his identity and he couldn''t blame the poor lad. In fact, Blink''s reaction was even a thousand times better than that of his sect members who were left bewildered by the news when Clovis suddenly arrived at the sect claiming he is Cyrus'' successor. His cultivation base after Cyrus had possessed him was merely at the low grade of the bronze realm and when compared to people like Agus and Fernandos, he was a joke. This sudden appearance caused some conflict which resulted in a short battle between Clovis and some normal sect members at the low grade of the silver realm. With Cyrus taking control of the body and utilizing his life magic, these people were subdued leaving Agus and Fernandos stunned. By the way, Clovis was actually able to utilize the life magic just like Cyrus, backing up his claim to the throne and in just a week, he moved up from the low grade of the bronze realm to the mid-grade of the bronze realm, leaving people shocked by his incredible cultivation speed. What these people did not know was that Clovis'' body was still slowly adapting to Cyrus'' soul fragment and power and with each successful adjustment''s made, Cyrus'' power in Clovis strengthens, increasing his realm even further. "The beast men are rather easier to deal with since they don''t possess a strong variety of spells and techniques like we do¡­ Their power simply revolves around their spirit beasts¡­ once you understand the nature of their beasts and their capabilities¡­ dealing with them shouldn''t be a problem" Clovis said calmly. "hehehehe! As expected of you¡­ Trying to make it sound easy to calm our nerves¡­. Your words may be true but do you really think it will be that easy?" Blink chuckled in response. "Well, if they could rival the orcs in strength then it definitely won''t be as easy as I''m trying to make it look¡­ but it doesn''t matter, does it? We can all have fun here and save the world at the same time¡­ I''m sure the successor of the death mage is not afraid of some little danger, right?" Clovis shot Blink a sly smile making Blink chuckle lightly in response. Suddenly, Blink fell on one knee with his head bowed respectfully. "Palace Master, your orders?" He whispered softly. Chapter 385 - 385: Yes, My lord! With the dark room, in the underground chamber located right under the palace of the dead, a man whose aura kept fluctuating sat there in a cross-legged position. His eyes were the only source of light in the room and even his body was covered in thick black fur. "Damn it¡­ Transcending into the demigod realm is really strange¡­ My soul is been strengthened and purified by the world energy I have acc.u.mulated so far and yet this thing¡­ It''s trying to purge the werewolf side in me since it''s a curse" Derik muttered with a pained expression on his face. The werewolf curse granted to him by Scott Lockwood had saved his lifetime and time again when he was weaker and now, this same curse is trying to kill him here. He could feel the world energy trying to expel it and the werewolf curse resisting. These two sides struggling was greatly damaging Derik''s body, weakening him considerably. at this point, his body was slowly morphing into that of a werewolf, bone-breaking sounds could be heard all over the underground chamber but Derik never cried out in pain even once. He completely focused on the fusion, trying to prevent the inner conflict rip his soul apart. "I bet Demos didn''t think something like this would happen during my breakthrough¡­ I am probably the first being with a supernatural curse transcending to the demigod realm, that''s why no one warned me of this earlier¡­" Derik muttered with a bitter smile on his face which was covered in sweat. Even when enduring all the pain, the death mage couldn''t help but wonder why his soul was rejecting the curse, doesn''t this mean a supernatural being cannot break into the demigod realm? But he thought about this for a while and pushed the thought aside. Since there are beast men in the demigod realm, why can''t there be werewolves too? Since he hasn''t heard of such restrictions, Derik quickly assumed it to be false and pushed the thought aside. Could this be happening to him because he wasn''t born with the ability, making it more of a curse than an innate ability? That will explain why his soul is desperately trying to remove the curse since it wasn''t part of it from the very beginning when it was formed so why change now? "I guess I just rotten luck" Derik laughed weakly. "Palace Master, your orders?" Blink''s voice suddenly echoed in his head, causing him to look up. "The beast men are the targets and you know why you are doing this right?" Derik tried very hard to hide the pain in his voice. "Yes, master" Blink replied. "As a leader, you cannot save everyone¡­ all you can do is minimize casualties and attain the desired results¡­ People whom you brought alongside you will die in this fight¡­ some will die in gruesome manners while others will die protecting you¡­ you do not have to blame yourself for their death¡­ blame your lacking strength rather and use the pain as a motivation to get stronger¡­.do you understand what I''m trying to say?" Derik said while beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "I understand, Palace master" Blink kept his head low while he responded. "Good... Good¡­ then it''s time for you to lead your people into battle¡­ remember, everything you do now is for the powerless citizens of this empire unable to protect themselves from these invaders¡­ Go now, wipe them! If possible, leave no one alive!" Derik growled! "Yes, My lord!" Blink roared in response. ............................... Clovis and the others patiently waited for Blink to finish conversing with Derik via telepathy, a privileged which only the successors of their sect is granted. The ability to directly contact the palace master, anywhere, anytime. During that time, he could feel some negative emotions, spreading across the room and all of it resonating from Blake who was standing directly beside Blink with his hand on the hilt of his sword. "My, My, so vicious and impatient¡­, This is why Derik didn''t choose you as his successor and yet you are about to commit another crime¡­ I must warn you, Blake¡­. If you go through with this, you will never be able to face Derik again¡­ wouldn''t it be a waste? Not only will you fail but you will also lose your place as one of Derik''s favored ones and a member of this empire" Clovis said with a sly smile on his face making Blake shiver involuntarily. Judging by his realm, he could easily kill this kid just by flicking his fingers but the problem is, his guards, Agus and Fernandos are gold realm masters and even the undead commanders on his side will still try to stop him if he should try to kill Clovis. By the way, even though his realm was higher, for some reason, he felt like if he were to battle Clovis here and now with no interference from any outside party. He would still lose! Each time he looked at Clovis, his animal instincts kept screaming danger and that was the reason for his fear. "What are you trying to say? Are you saying I may betray these people I call family and then what? Where do I run to? Where do I go to? I sincerely don''t know what you are talking about" Blake quickly defended himself in front of everyone. His words may not be as reliable as that of Clovis since they have always known that Blake has always been eyeing the position of the successor for a while now but his reasoning did make sense to all those who heard him. Even if he should choose to betray the empire and kill Blink, then what? Where would he run to? Which invader group would accept him and invite him into their ranks on such short notice. And what will he gain by killing Blink and losing his identity as a member of the empire? "You see, I am not saying you may try to betray us¡­ I am saying you will betray us¡­ mere hate cannot produce this much negative emotions¡­ your killing intentions this time is not only directed at Blink but at everyone¡­" Clovis''s eyes lit up with power as he finished that sentence. Chapter 386 - 386: Beast men tribe Everyone watched the Clovis slowly close the distance between Blake and himself while his aura began building. They all remained confused about what to do since they knew so little about this Clovis. All they knew was that Cyrus tends to speak through him, more like a personality switch, so everyone was scared of offending him, since they may not be offending the successor but the current palace master, Cyrus. "Are you threatening me?" Blake growled as his eyes released a powerful purple light and his aura exploded. He leaned slightly and with his demon possession magic, snake scales began appearing all over his body while he began sprouting claws and fangs as well. His aura took a 360 turn, from just violent to dangerous! Apparently, he had no intentions of been pushed around either. "Cute" Clovis chuckled lightly. He shot Blink who was still on his knees, communicating with Derik, completely oblivious of what is happening, and chuckled. "What I do now is for your safety¡­ Vanish!" Clovis said as he released a wave of powerful life aura which shot towards Blake. This aura was undiluted, clearly on the same level with Cyrus in terms of purity and it was capable enough to make Blake shudder in fear! All he could see was death! Bam! The golden aura struck something hard and struggled against the wall of silver aura and after a few moments of struggle, the golden aura finally succ.u.mbed and dispersed. "Well, well, well¡­ I can''t have you killing my sect members while I''m distracted" Blink said. He was currently standing right in front of Blake, shielding him with his silver aura. His eyes were like two blazing silver lights, capable of piercing even Clovis''s soul, forcing the kid to hesitate a bit before taking a step back. "You see¡­ your realm is weak but your power is strong¡­ against those with dark magic, you will excel quite well¡­ but unfortunately for you, I don''t use dark magic and so the elemental advantage is lost and since my realm is quite higher, you cannot compete against me¡­. So you see, you cannot win against me¡­ I suggest you restrain yourself when dealing with my sect members" Blink''s voice was stern, reminding Cyrus of when Derik threatened to kill him if he should try to harm his sect members. [They are so alike] Cyrus chuckled in his mind. "I bear no ill will, I am simply trying to destroy this traitor before he can cause any harm¡­ I''m only trying to prevent a disaster here¡­ Blake bears ill intentions for all of us and honestly I have a strong feeling he will act when we begin the raid¡­ I am only looking out for you" Clovis chuckled. "I appreciate your goodwill and I am aware of Blake''s ill intentions towards me¡­ I took what he believed to be his own, so it''s unavoidable¡­ as for him acting on it and my safety¡­. You don''t have to worry¡­ Blake will always be a member of my sect until he betrays my trust¡­ until then I will not move against him¡­ and when he does try to act against me, I will kill him myself, so you have nothing to worry about¡­. Blink has been so many things over the years but Blink has never been weak!" Blink responded while shooting Blake a vicious glance, forcing him to also take a step back. His words were that of someone who has absolute confidence in his abilities¡­. Words reserved for only the strong! While the others respected him even more for everything he said, Blake couldn''t help but feel threatened by his presence! "Master Derik has given the order to attack¡­ We are to wipe them out and take no prisoners¡­ my demon commanders and your left and right-hand men will deal with the high cultivation level foes while we deal with the rest¡­ all that remains is your master''s approval to this plan" Blink bowed slightly as a sign of respect as he knew he was speaking to both Cyrus and Clovis. "Strong and respectful towards his elders¡­ I completely approve of your position as successor of the palace of the dead, Blink¡­ As for my permission? You have my permission and my blessing! Go and make us proud" Cyrus''s voice kept overlapping with Clovis''s voice as he spoke. ................................................................. The beast men were almost no different from animals as they lived more like animals than humans. Their settlements had no walls no defenses, just huts and campfires littered all over the place. Each beast-man had a coat made of the skin of their spirit beasts and with that they separated themselves into different clans based on their spirit beasts but even then, they still mingled well amongst each other with zero or no interest in the person''s clan. They all lived by the same code of the jungle, the strongest will survive while the weak ones will always be suppressed. Females were fought over for and the strongest beast-men would usually select as many as they want, leaving the rest for the others. Stories of a beast-man, murdered by another beast-man in order to take his mate are very common and thanks to this lifestyle they were able to produce very powerful offspring, capable of rivaling the powerful orcs even with their lesser numbers. This is why Derik and Cyrus decided to wipe them out before their main forces would arrive and join this one. At that time, they would be too powerful for the empire to handle and Derik alongside Cyrus will be gone by then. ................................................................. "SAVAGES LIKE YOU ALL SHOULDN''T EXIST, BUT YOU DON''T HAVE TO WORRY, OUR MASTERS HAS CHOSEN THIS DAY AS YOUR LAST DAY ON THIS PLANET" Blink''s voice shook the skies! Boom! Boom! Suddenly a silver and golden light shot down from the clouds, moving towards the center of the beast-men settlement viciously. Behind them were three more black lights and two more golden lights, heading towards the enemy camp! Not too far from their settlement, war cries from the two armies dressed in golden attire while the other in black attire filled the air. Chapter 387 - 387: Battle of the successors! Clovis and Blink had gone ahead of the army, heading straight for the center of the camp, leaving the army behind but the gold realm demon commanders and Cyrus left and right-hand men pursued them with countless thoughts in their mind. Why would these two do something like this? Are they high on something? Or do they think they can do this alone? Either way, the action of these two brought back some memories of their battles alongside Derik and Cyrus. Those two would always rush into battle, regardless of the size of the enemy''s army or their strength. They carried this crazed aura that was quite infectious, making their followers as crazy and fearless as them. It was the same thing with these two successors now and this made the old monsters smile. ROAR! Blink let out a loud roar as the silver light around him grew brighter and brighter as he drew closer to the center of the settlement. At this point, his silver light was so bright that everyone following him was hidden within his light and even successfully blinding the enemy in the process! Boom! Blink struck the ground hard, releasing a powerful silver shockwave that blew away everyone about five hundred meters around them. He and Clovis had arrived first and in their minds, they truly intended to kill as many as possible before the main force reaches them. "Shall we?" Clovis chuckled lightly as his eyes flared up with his golden aura. "Of course!" All the black tattoos on Blink''s body lit up as a silver magic array appeared beneath his feet and from it, a silver dagger appeared. The beast men all around them remained silent, watching them with an astonished expression on their faces. Not only didn''t they expect people to be bold enough to attack them directly and even worse, they never expected it to be two kids. "You dare!" A man wearing a coat made of snake skin roared before lunging forward. The next moment his body twisted and turned like there were no bones in them. His eyes changed like that of a serpent and snake scales kept appearing all over his body. "Don''t you dare!" Blink said while releasing his overwhelming aura. "Look down on us!" Clovis roared as a golden sword appeared in his hand. "You weakling!" Both of them screamed as they both swung their weapons at the incoming foe, releasing two waves of golden and silver aura at the incoming target. Boom! As a member of the snake clan, the man possessed extraordinary reflexes, allowing him to gracefully stomp his foot on the ground, successfully changing his trajectory. "Where do you think you are going?" Blink''s cold voice made the snake man tremble in fear as a silver light appeared right in front of the man and in the next moment, Blink appeared, driving his dagger into the man''s skull. At first, there was silence, everyone watched a member of their race killed by these kids in two moves. What came next was not shame, no it was something these savages had let go of a long time ago. Instead, it was anger and rage. They definitely won''t let these people get away for what they have done, especially the boy whose face was hidden by the hood dr.a.p.ed over his head. ROAR! ROAR!! "KILL THEM!!!" These people roared like whiled beasts and like a swarm of bees, they just ran towards those two youths at the center of the settlement, but even then these two showed no fear. They watched the horde of enemies coming and couldn''t help but smile! Their battle with these beast-men was been broadcasted to every part of the empire without their knowledge. The purpose of this was to let the empire see the true strength of those who would succeed the death mage and the life mage! While kids on the streets were trembling with excitement, elderly men held their breath and prayed for their safety in silence. The youths roared at the top of their voices in support of the two successors and Blink''s old teammates could only sigh in shame and regret. The gap between them just kept widening. They were still at the bronze realm and yet Blink had already reached the peak grade of the silver realm and he was about to make the history books of the great empire on this very day. "Hahaha!" Blink''s domineering laughter in the face of danger only attracted more cheers from the people. Even when faced with hundreds of thousands of foes, they didn''t seem to tremble, instead, he retreated to Clovis''s side and quickly cast his spell creating over ten silver magic arrays around them. Unlike Kalos who had a spatial dimension, allowing him to transport people into it, Blink''s spatial magic was of a lower-tier so he lacked that advantage. Instead, he could only create spatial magic circles that allowed one to transport something from one point to another with a short distance "Spatial magic: Zone!" Blink roared. "I can see what you are trying to do¡­ I will collaborate with you, but just this once! Life magic: Divine judgment spear!" Clovis said with a smile on his face while summoning three golden spears. Unlike Cyrus''s divine spear which was massive, Clovis spears were just the size of a regular spear, lacking in both power and destructive capabilities. The youth couldn''t help but curse himself for his weak body, limiting how much of Cyrus''s power he could draw out. "Roam!" Clovis roared and the spears scattered. They all flew into different spatial gates, appearing in the next and making another trip to the next spatial gate the next second. These spears repeated these actions at extremely high speed until all the enemy could see were countless golden lines circling Clovis and Blink. "Die!" The first beast-man to arrive seemed to be from the boar clan based on the animal skin hung over his shoulders. He grunted as he brandished his two axes before jumping into Blink''s spatial zone! Puff! The beast man''s waist was first severed from his body the moment he jumped in and even before his body could reach the ground more of the golden lines had gone through him countless times, reducing his body to just numerous chunks of meat. Chapter 388 - 388: Battle of the successors! (1) While the battle raged on, five figures remained hidden in the clouds above, as they watched the two successors face thousands of beast-men with smiles on their faces. "Huh? They are doing better than I expected" Kira chuckled lightly. "Of course they are doing well¡­ They are the successors¡­ Don''t look down on them" Agus said with furrowed eyebrows. "Well, I guess we can rest a bit, and enjoy the show before the main force joins the battle" Kuen said with a satisfied look on his face. "Yea¡­ Just let the empire enjoy the show¡­ No need to rush, we will step in when needed" Fernandos'' eyes were fixed on Clovis and a smile could be seen on his face. ................................................................. Immediately the first beast-man who stepped into the spatial zone was ripped to shreds, the others stopped in their tracks and gazed at the formation carefully. Contrary to Clovis and Blink''s expectations, they were even more enraged. "We really hit the spot there" Clovis chuckled while summoning a second golden sword. "I guess we did¡­ the question is, what can they do about it?" Blink chuckled as he summoned a second silver dagger. Roar! The beast men all fell into a raged state, surging forward fearlessly. Surprisingly, they are dashed into the spatial zone, and even when the golden spears killed lots of them in large numbers, they didn''t retreat, instead, they pushed forward, twice as hard. "Haaa!" Blink and Clovis roared, dashing forward to meet the enemies head on. Bang! Bang! Bang! Sounds of weapons clashing, accompanied by the screams of defeated foes filled the air. While Clovis''s angelic golden wings acted as a shield, allowing him to attack without worry, Blink was forced to teleport constantly so as to evade attacks and deal killing blows. Each time he brandished his weapon, someone''s life would end abruptly. This battle continued for a while and even then, these two could hold their own against enemies flanking them from all sides. Since their enemies only possessed bronze level strength and the strong ones amongst them had could rival low-grade silver realm experts, Blink and Clovis had no problem ending them instantly. "At this rate, they will die¡­ The number of these people is just too great" Kira said as he watched the battle unfold. Honestly, he never expected these two to last this long. In his opinion, they should have been forced into a corner by now but right now all he could see are men still holding their own against so many foes. But how long can they keep this up? "Young master Clovis will fall first¡­ His body is still unable to withstand palace master Cyrus'' power for too long¡­ He still needs some time for his body to adjust to palace master Cyrus'' soul fragment residing in that body" Fernandos said. "That''s the price master Cyrus chose to pay when he refused to completely expel Clovis soul¡­. Now it will take some time for these changes to take place and Clovis''s soul will have to adapt to it, if not it will be harmed in the process" Agus sighed as well. "Shouldn''t we step in now?" Kin who was shrouded in darkness suddenly spoke up. In his opinion, these two will definitely fall in a few minutes at most. "Not yet¡­ Their opponents now have a low cultivation base¡­ the powerful beast-men are yet to make a move¡­ I''m sure they won''t stay idle for much longer" Kira said! ROAR! "YOU DARE ACT C.O.C.KY AND ATTACK OUR SETTLEMENT ALONE? ALL BECAUSE YOU ARE FROM THE EMPIRE? YOUR DEATH WILL NOT BE PRETTY!" Just as soon as Kira was done speaking a loud voice shook the place from afar and a beam of yellow light shot towards Blink and Clovis. "This pressure!" Clovis''s eyes squinted as he watched the yellow beam of light heading towards them. "Hehe¡­ A strong one just appeared" Blink chuckled while a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Boom! Killing close to a hundred beast-men close by upon landing, the huge man who had a bear fur dr.a.p.ed over his shoulder frowned and gazed at the sky. At this moment, Blink was levitating a few meters above Clovis by his side, staring down at their new foe below. "His strong" Clovis sighed. "I know right?" Blink seemed excited. If he failed to teleport himself and Clovis out of the way, when he did, they would have died alongside the beast-men around them. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN FLEE AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE? EVEN THE DEATH MAGE AND THE LIFE MAGE CANNOT SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH!" The beast-man laughed as he stretched his hand towards their direction and pulled. Bang! An invisible force suddenly pulled Blink and Clovis towards the beast-man, not giving them a chance to struggle, and just like before, Blink vanished with Clovis just before they reached, appearing a few meters away on land. "A gold realm master at the low grade¡­ I am quite disappointed, you won''t even last two seconds against my master" Clovis said casually. "A mere gold realm master dares to utter crap about my palace master? You will not leave this place alive!" Blink growled as he entered a fighting stance. At this point, the beast men around had retreated some meters away, giving enough space for the bear clan chieftain to battle these two invaders. At first, they strongly believed the chieftain of the bear clan would be able to end these two instantly but after seeing them escape twice they began having doubts, and then these two suddenly declared to be disciples of the two most powerful beings in this continent. Boom! Boom!! A silver and golden pillar of aura engulfed Blink and Cyrus as they slowly rose above the ground. Their joint strength was not inferior to that of the beast-man in any way and for a moment, they looked more menacing than their opponent. Golden and silver tattoos surfaced on their bodies as their weapons lit up in their hands. "Let us show you, why we were chosen as their successors!" They growled! Chapter 389 - 389: Battle of the successors! (2) "Did they just say, successors?" The beast-man chieftain from the bear clan took a step back in fear. At first, he only thought Clovis and Blink were just mere disciples but now, hearing them boldly claim they are the successors of the two most powerful men in the world made him hesitate and retreat in fear! Thinking back on everything that has happened so far, the chieftain of the bear clan finally understood why these two boldly flew into their settlement all alone, facing thousands of foes and still laughing in the face of danger. Is it that they were confident in their strength or probably trying to make a name for themselves while their masters are still around? In his opinion, none of these mattered since these two were practically toying with the pride of their race and as a chieftain of a second rated clan in the settlement, he had no other choice but to defend their pride since he has taken the initiative to step out of the shadows. "Forgive me for looking down on you earlier but this is where it all ends for you! The death mage and the life mage are in a critical stage of their breakthrough¡­ I will end your lives here and now!" The bear clan chieftain roared and shot forward. His massive build did not hinder his speed in any way, as he quickly reached Blink and threw a punch at the youth. BANG! "End our lives? You are not qualified!" Blink growled as he threw his fist at that of his opponent recklessly and upon collision a shockwave occurred, blowing both sides back. Leaving them with reddened fists. "IMPOSSIBLE!" "HE IS ABLE TO MATCH THE CHIEF IN STRENGTH?" "MONSTER!" Series of terrifying screams came from the side of the beast-men while those in the empire screamed in joy and elation. Members of the palace of the dead weren''t really surprised because they were all aware of Derik''s gift Blink. Since he couldn''t teach the boy anything based on spatial magic, he could only use his death aura to refine and strengthen Blink''s body. This was a gradual and painful process and after two weeks, Blink had reached his limit and at that point, he looked like a moving corpse. Pale as a sheet of paper with no signs of blood flowing in his body. Coupled with his white eyelash, hair, and blazing silver eyes, Blink became more terrifying than handsome and that''s why he always makes use of a hood to hide his face. But with such a sacrifice, the physical capabilities he gained was just too tremendous, making him capable of matching almost everyone in strength. "Life magic: Judgements spears!" Clovis roared as three golden spears appeared by his sides lunging towards the target. Bang! The bear clan chieftain chose to take the attack head on, using a single punch to shatter the three spears. Puff! Blood poured out of this neck as Blink teleported to his side and drove his dagger into his neck but leaving himself open in the process. A punch from the beast-man was enough to send him flying, meters away but this was enough to keep the beast-man distracted enough for Clovis to close the gap between them and drive his golden swords into the belly of the beast-man. Bam! Clasping its fists together, the beast-man struck at Clovis who used his angelic golden wings to block the attack. But even that couldn''t stop him from flying close to a hundred meters away and landing roughly on the ground. In a short exchange, the true strength of the terrifying beast-man chieftain was revealed. "Hehehehe! This won''t be easy¡­" Blink was the first to stand, flexing his muscles while he took bold steps towards the beast-man. "I need a minute¡­ This is way beyond my expectations" Clovis said as blood rolled down his forehead, all the way to his lips. "Sure, sure¡­ don''t die on me so easily!" Blink roared as he charged forward towards the beast-man fearlessly. .................................¡­??....................... "I think it''s time we step in¡­." Kira said with furrowed eyebrows as he watched Blink exchange blows with the beast-man from the bear clan. His problem wasn''t that Blink would lose to this person, no. At this point, he had complete faith in Blink who is currently at the peak grade of the silver realm. In Kira''s opinion, amongst the two successors, if there is one with enough strength to rival a gold realm master, it''s Blink. The only thing that left him worried was the possibility of Blink sustaining some kind of fatal injury before the battle ends. It would kill the morale of their forces if their leader should be incapacitated in battle. "Attack¡­" Kuen whispered but his silent words traveled through space and reached the ears of Dimitris and the other disciples of Derik. Roar! Suddenly a small mixed army of people dressed in gold and black, shooting towards the beast-man army came into view, taking the beast-men by surprise. Each and every one of them was at least at the low grade of the silver realm and even the weakest amongst them could be considered an elite in the beast-man forces. Roar! Even though they were quite inferior in terms of numbers, each member had enough strength to take on one or two beast-men comfortably. Dimitris shot into the battlefield with numerous undead puppets following behind tightly, causing havoc as they moved while the moment Andrew reached the battlefield, darkness spread across the land and only screams of his victims could be heard. The very moment both sides clashed, the outcome of the battle was decided! The army of the empire murdered their enemies in hundreds and those who lost their lives in the battle were instantly brought back to life as undead puppets by the necromancers in Derik''s sect. In this situation, the size of the empire kept increasing and never reduced! The tide of battle was in their favor until¡­ Chapter 390 - 390: Betrayal? Boom! Blink performed a series of backflips before landing hard on the ground, leaving behind shattered earth underneath his feet. His hands were filled with bruises and trembled lightly, but the beast man wasn''t in a better condition either. His body was riddled with cut wounds and injuries caused by Blink''s powerful blows but the only difference was his healing capabilities were high enough to give Blink heartache. He had seen Derik''s immortal body in action and he has always considered this a godly skill for Derik. But never in his life did he think a day would come where he would have to battle someone possessing self-regenerative abilities. And even though the beast-man regeneration ability was extremely inferior when compared to Derik''s immortal body, it was still enough to give Blink a headache. "This is the eleventh time you should have died today" Blink said coldly as he watched the man pull the dagger from his throat and finally watched the wound close up at a rate visible to the eye. "Hahahaha! Why do you think the orcs couldn''t suppress us even though they had the advantage of numbers? While they have a large army that can fight at full strength even when their body has sustained fatal injuries¡­ Our people possess innate healing capabilities making us harder to kill¡­. So unless you strike vital points or severe our heads, we won''t roll over and die" The beast man laughed viciously. "Well, well, well¡­ This won''t be easy¡­ How are you holding up there?" Blink asked Clovis who was leaning on his golden sword for support. "My body has reached its limit, for now, I need some time for it to recover¡­ Can you still hold up?" Clovis asked with a small smile on his face. "Against this small fry? There won''t be much of an issue!" Blink chuckled before dashing towards his enemies fearlessly. ........................................................ Kira, Kuen, Kin, Agus, and Fernandos glanced through the battlefield once again to confirm everything was going according to plan. Blink was doing quite well against the beast man chieftain while the main forces had the upper hand in the head-on confrontation thanks to the presence of the new five demon commanders once known as Derik''s direct disciples. With a single move, they killed enemies in large numbers, bulldozing through the battlefield, making way for the main forces to push effectively. "What''s this?" Kira spotted a figure dashing towards Blink and Clovis''s location without any form of resistance. The beast men made no effort to stop him and instead they made way for him, making it almost impossible for Kira and the rest not to notice him! "BLAKE!" Kuen growled as he quickly realized something was wrong. For a long while now, Blink and Kuen had always seen themselves as sworn brothers since they were both originally disciples of Kalos the spatial mage. Realizing that Clovis''s words were true, he couldn''t help but panic. So Blake truly had plans to kill Blink! But even if he did, so what? They had the upper hand in battle and even without his support, the empire is sure to win this fight but the question now is when. Is it really worth it to kill Blink and become an enemy of the empire? Why ally yourself with a settlement about to be destroyed? Nothing about Blakes plan made sense because no matter how they looked at it, his plans were bound to fail and that''s what terrified them! They were sure they were missing something! Kuen''s growl had attracted the attention of the others, including Blake who only shot him a murderous glance without slowing down at all, instead he quickened his pace. Kuen intended to chase after him but then five beams of light shot out of different parts of the battlefield and soon five beast men stood before them with their hands wrapped around their chest. From their aura, it was safe to say all five of them were at the mid-grade of the gold realm. All of them strong enough to prevent the old monsters of the two sects from leaving this place and saving Blink. Now, not only is Blink forced to face the gold realm beast man chieftain of the bear clan but he is also forced to defend against Blake! [Please be okay!] Kira prayed in his heart but then his face. At this point, their only hope is that the main forces will drill through the enemy defensive lines and reach the two successors before Blink and the beast man chieftain kills them off. But even that dream was shattered as a large force of orcs soon charged out from the forests behind the beast men settlement, circling the main forces of the empire and cutting off their routes of escape. This terrifying army had over fifty thousand orcs of different levels in it and even before Kira and the rest could curse their bad luck, space tore violently and a figure stepped out of it. It was a youth adorned in black armor and a green spear in his hand. His aura shook the entire battlefield, putting the army of orcs below into a state of frenzy as they lunged at their targets fearlessly. "Berivs!" Kira roared as he turned into a red whirlpool and surged towards the orc leader in rage. The worst possible outcome has occurred, no one expected the orcs to team up with the beast men. The gold realm masters on the side of the invaders now surpassed that of the empire and all those engaged in this battle are key figures in the empire! Their death will definitely weaken the empire considerably! Who would have thought Blake would collude with the beast men and orcs? How was he capable of communicating with these two clans without Derik or Cyrus noticing? The answer soon came in the form of a gigantic green barrier that spread across the battlefield preventing people from leaving. This barrier possessed a familiar aura that quickly drew the attention of Derik and Cyrus who were focused on their breakthrough. "No¡­" Both men turned pale in fear as they realized who was behind all this. It was the orc overseer! Chapter 391 - 391: Chaos! "Why now?" Derik''s expression crumbled as he realized how dire the situation was. He and Cyrus were at a critical phase of their breakthrough so their fighting power has reduced considerably! In the past, they were confident of killing the orc overseer if they were to join hands in that fight but now things are quite different. How did they get to know, they were in such a critical stage of their breakthrough? It wasn''t a coincidence that the enemy chose to strike at such a time! Only one name could come to his head! "BLAKE!!!!!" Derik''s roar reached the boundaries of the continent and even went beyond! His eyes flared with power as a bone spear appeared in his hand. From his underground cultivation chamber, Derik pinpointed Blake''s location, ready to launch an attack. "You will not harm that child! He has a brighter future with me" A sinister laughed echoed over the skies as a massive green ball of manner descended from the skies, heading straight towards the empire, causing Derik to seize in fear and anger "Nar you dare stop me from killing this traitor? Very good! I''ll kill you first before I take his life!" Derik growled as he turned into a black beam of light and shot out!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-391-chaos!_50628588164148353 for visiting. At this moment, Derik and Cyrus finally understood how Blake got to set up such a well detailed plan without any of them finding out. The only person capable of hiding themselves from the eyes of the death mage and Life mage at this point are demigods who possess domains of their own. A place where even the creator cannot reach! Blake has been plotting against the empire for a while now with the orcs and the beast men! It is understandable if he did this just to kill Blink and get back at Derik but he dared to drag the whole empire into this, including his sworn brothers and sister, Andrew, Philip, Dimitris, and Jean! This is a sin that cannot be forgotten! Bang! Bang! Soon a golden beam of light and a black beam of light shot towards the green beam of light heading towards the empire. The battle which was meant to be viewed by the civilians as a source of entertainment and also to help the successors gain popularity was more of a horror movie now. They watched the people meant to protect them get slaughtered, the demon commanders alongside the life mages left and right-hand men struggle against foes, and finally, the two successors fight desperately for their lives. This was not something they expected, this is not something anyone expected. Blake''s traitorous actions will definitely lead to the fall of the empire! .................. Bang! Bang! Bang! Blink continuously performed well-timed side steps to evade the vicious attacks from the beast man. Upon evading the last attack, Blink vanished appearing behind the man abruptly. His body spun viciously in the air as he performed a deadly roundhouse kick, sending the beast man flying. "BLAKE!" Blink roared like a mad man as he sensed the strong aura approaching them. Bang! Ignoring the beast man, Blink shot forward, bulldozing everything in his path as he flew towards Blake! Even when Clovis warned him of this and he truly knew Blake may try something like this, he decided to give Blake a chance they were all from the same sect. He was too na?ve to think that Blake''s love for the sect and the palace master will stop him from making such a costly mistake! Roar! Blink, whose figure was shrouded in silver aura suddenly shot in the air while brandishing his daggers. Upon descending, he shot towards the man hidden in a darkish purple aura, moving towards him. BOOM! Creating a massive shockwave that blew away everyone around, only Blink and Blake were left in the empty space, throwing deadly attacks at each other while struggling to defend against their attacks as well. Meanwhile, Clovis watched the beast man get on his feet, ignoring him and walking towards the direction Blink had run off to. "Don''t tell me you are just going to ignore me and walk away?" Clovis asked with a sly smile on his face, causing the orc to stop. "You are weak¡­ Not worth my time" The beast man chieftain said before he continued walking away. BOOM! "Looking down on me is the same as looking down on the power that my master has granted me! I won''t stand here and watch you talk down my master''s power! For that reason, you will die by my hands!" Clovis''s body was quickly surrounded by a pillar of golden aura as he spoke. At this point, he could tell his prediction about Blake was right and things have gone bad. The continent has fallen into chaos and it seems that all the other races here were waiting for the victor to emerge before making their move! So even if they were to survive this, there is a high possibility that they will be confronted by another enemy almost immediately! "Killing him at that time would have made no difference so I don''t blame you Blink! The plans had already been made, so even with him dead it would have been executed¡­ nothing would have changed! The least we can do now is go all out and protect those we are tasked with ruling!" Clovis roared at the top of his voice as his golden aura gathered above his head and soon began to take the shape of a sword half the size of a mountain. "This is one of my master''s most prized techniques¡­ he said I should only use this when I''m fighting to protect something important to me! Guardian weapon path: Divine broadsword!" Clovis roared as the golden tattoos on his body lit up and he threw his hands forward! Boom! Boom! Boom! The golden divine broadsword flew across the battlefield reaping the lives of all unexpecting enemies. Even those who could see it coming could not stop the attack since its destructive capabilities could rival that of a gold realm master! Chapter 392 - 392: Farewell? Bang! Bang! Bang! Where ever the golden guardian weapon went, hundreds of beast mean and orcs died up to the extent that the golden weapon was dyed red with the blood of its victims. It shot past the main battleground, heading towards the orc horde heading towards the battleground and smashing into them. "Do you think it''s wise to ignore and my big sword?" Clovis said with a vicious smile on his face as blood ran down his nostrils. Using such a high-level guardian path was definitely taking a toll on his body but all of that didn''t matter. At this point, all that mattered to him was giving his side a chance of victory in any way possible. "YOU!" the beast-man chieftain roared with bloodshot eyes. His body size doubled and thick fur began appearing all over his body. Just like during a werewolf''s transformation, bone-breaking sounds echoed all over the battlefield and his muscles kept bulging until the beast-man easily towered over Clovis. ???Don''t look at me that way, your people chose to collude with a member of my race and the orcs and form an unholy alliance. Because of the actions of your race leaders, my people will die in large numbers¡­. The best I can do is assist them in any way I can" Clovis said this while wiping the blood off his nostrils. "In that case, I''ll have to end your life here and now!" The beast-man chieftain roared and leaped forward! Bam! "Kill me? With this level of strength? I will love to see you try!" Clovis roared as he dashed forward for a short while before leaping towards his foe with his golden angelic wings flapping vigorously and the massive divine guardian weapon hovering over his head! ................................. BOOM! BOOM! The space above the empire was filled with countless spatial cracks and tears as the three top tier masters battled for the survival of their species. Bang! Bang! Bang! Cyrus was struck three times by the orc overseer, forcing him to retreat and spit a mouthful of blood. His golden, sculpture-like body was filled with numerous cracks with a golden aura leaking out of his injuries and his power depleting quickly. His eyes carried along with the pain and sorrow he felt deep within while gazing at the empire below. If the spatial barrier was not placed over the empire, it would have been destroyed the moment these three clashed. "YOU KILLED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ORCS ON THAT VERY DAY! I WILL RETURN THE FAVOUR! THE EMPIRE WILL BE DESTROYED!" The orc overseer roared as he swung his massive right fist at Derik who struggled to block the attack with his death scythe. BANG! Derik was forced to retreat and just like Cyrus, he too was covered in so many deep wounds, his blood kept flowing out freely. The glow in his blazing green eyes had deemed considerably and his strength was abandoning him as well. It was obvious they were at a critical point of their cultivation, they were not in the condition to fight but at this moment they didn''t have a choice. They were the only ones who can stop the orc overseer! "You dare launch an attack on us? Have you forgotten the rules of the demigods? You will incur the wrath of the other demigods! Tell me, old man, are you prepared for that?" Derik spoke while gasping for air. "HAHAHAHA! WRATH OF THE OTHER DEMIGODS? HAHAHA! I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT THE WAR HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED IN THE HEAVENS¡­ THE DEMIGODS ARE TOO BUSY TO NOTICE WHAT''S GOING ON DOWN HERE! JUST LIKE YOU DID TO MY PEOPLE, I WILL RETURN THE FAVOUR!" the orc overseer roared as his body began to enlarge. Seeing this, Derik and Cyrus instantly wore gloomy expressions and for the first time in their life, they felt anxious and unsure of their abilities. The orc overseer was planning to return to his true, gigantic demigod form, and releasing this power right above the continent would only spell doom for the civilians and even gold realm masters below! Everyone will be killed instantly! "DON''T YOU DARE FORCE MY HAND, OLD MAN!" Derik''s eyes suddenly flared up with power as his darkish green aura exploded from his body! BOOM! Like a rocket, he shot forward leaving behind a very loud sound and a powerful shockwave that shook even the buildings in the empire. Smashing into the stunned orc overseer, Derik forcibly dragged the orc by his face, instantly flying out of sight. "Taking him somewhere else where we can fight more freely? I guess that''s the only way¡­ who would have thought a simple silver realm kid could create so much problem for us immortal beings?" Cyrus sighed ruefully. Bang!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-392-farewell_50881066222796877 for visiting. Bang! Bang! Soon all the gold realm masters appeared in front of Cyrus with terribly pale faces and trembling bodies. Space and time was been distorted when these three fought and judging from their earlier conversations, it was clear, Cyrus, Derik, and the orc overseer were holding back. What will happen when they go all out? Finally, all those who had intentions of catching up to Derik and Cyrus fell into despair and completely forgot about competing with them. "Kaido¡­ lead these people and assist our successors¡­ once this battle is over¡­ I request you take the guardian spirit hosts in the empire to acquire their inheritance¡­ You are the only one who knows the way aside from us¡­ if we are going to win this we need more capable fighters on our side!" Cyrus said hastily. He wasn''t sure how long Derik would be able to hold out against the orc overseer. "Why? Are you leaving? What will happen to the empire without you two?" Diana asked out of anxiety. Seeing the other gold realm masters nod in agreement to her question, Cyrus quickly understood what was going on. The empire has always been shielded and protected by him and Derik. Once they are gone, the empire will lose more than fifty percent of its strength. These people were afraid of what the invaders may do after they are gone. Cyrus was taken aback by the question at first but he soon pushed away the shock and faced these people with a fierce look on his face. "It was obvious Derik and I would have to leave soon¡­ This event only cut the time short or so¡­ This battle with the beast-men is been monitored by the world¡­Now is not the time to cower in fear, instead to give your enemies a reason to fear you¡­ I don''t know what will happen in this battle against the orc overseer, we are not in our top fighting conditions¡­ we may die or we may survive but one thing is certain, we will kill that bastard¡­ so you don''t have to worry about him returning! You have my word! Have faith in our successors" Cyrus said and without waiting for them to replay, he turned into a golden beam of light and shot towards the direction, Derik and the orc overseer were heading to, leaving the others still a bit stunned and shocked. They could see Cyrus''s condition was terrible but even then he still chose to fight for the empire, he and Derik. These people they have always pushed away were actually the ones risking their lives for their sake. Unfortunately, it''s too late to apologize since this may be their last battle! ............................... Pst! Over the endless seas outside the continent, Derik and the orc overseer kept exchanging powerful blows, none of them were backing down. The two gigantic figures entangle and struggled against the other without a care of the world! This was a death match! "True death magic: death beam!" Derik roared as a beam of darkish green aura escaped his mouth and completely engulfed the orc overseer''s face. Bam! Bam! The orc overseer in response shielded his face with his arms as he stumbles back and with each step he took, he created powerful tidal waves. Die! Peng! Derik''s hands instantly morphed into a claw as he swiped at the orc overseer''s throat viciously but a thick layer of green aura surrounded his body blocking the attack. Forcing Derik to retreat! "At this rate, if you continue fighting like this, not only will your body suffer but your soul will be damaged as well! Won''t it be better for me to just end your miserable life than become a normal human after your cultivation shatters?" The orc overseer sneered. Boom! Cyrus soon appeared by Derik''s side with his arms gently placed behind him. His eyes flared up with a golden aura as he gazed at the orc overseer with great hatred in his heart. "Of all the foes I have faced all through my life, you are the one I hate the most! You have stolen the little time I had left with my people¡­ for this reason, I will not forgive you!" Cyrus growled viciously. Waving his hand''s countless golden swords revolved around him like a wheel and on his command, they all shot at the orc overseer viciously. "Derik, do it!" Cyrus growled. "I know!" Derik replied as he clasped his hands together and the space around them began to tremble. True death magic: Accursed gate of the underworld! Chapter 393 - 393: Killing a demigod (1) True death magic: Accursed gate of the underworld! Clasping his hands together, Derik''s eyes released a blinding green flash as the space behind the orc overseer began to crumble. Behind the demigod was a massive passageway leading directly to the underworld, Demos domain! Boom! A powerful suction force erupted from the gate, attempting to pull the orc overseer in but even that was not enough to move the beast. "Die!" Cyrus growled as he pushed both hands forward, sending all the golden swords forward "True death magic: Bone spear!" Derik growled as his death aura spread forth and from it hundreds of bone spears appeared, shooting towards the enemy. They could feel their souls been transformed even while they fought! The evolution process had continued and it had already reached a critical point! Before the main final point of their breakthrough reaches they must defeat the orc overseer. ........................¡­??.............................................. Bang! Bang! Bang! Blink shot into the air as he skillfully deflected three bone spears with his silver daggers. His eyes let out a silver flash as his body abruptly shot forward, leaving behind a silver streak as he moved. "Darkness magic: Shadow blade!" Blake roared as black clouds gathered in his hand taking the shape of a blade. He quickly brandished his blade at the silver figure right in front of him but his attack only struck the residual silver aura left behind. Peng! Acting purely based on instincts, Blake quickly spun to the right, striking at the empty space by his side. BOOM! A loud explosion, followed by loud bone-shattering sounds occurred as Blake struck the silver dagger heading his way. The shadow sword in his hand shattered almost instantly and he was sent flying over a hundred meters before hitting the ground! [What kind of physical strength is this?] Blake cried out in his mind. Swooosh! Blink appeared above him with his daggers in his hands, aiming for Blakes skull but before he could reach his target, Blake yanked his eyelids open, spitting out a large wave of darkish purple hell flames from his mouth, forcing Blink to teleport away once again. "Ouch! That hurt" Blink muttered revealing a small portion of his hand where the flames hit. It was rotting away! ......................................................................... "Split the skies, Shatter the heavens!" Clovis roared as he threw his hands forward, sending the massive guardian weapon forward. Its size doubled and so did its power but even the beast-man chieftain from the bear clan could still match its strength. Bang!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-393-killing-a-demigod-(1)_50926693271004665 for visiting. Bang! With two punches, the guardian weapon was sent flying back the Clovis who was barely standing on his feet. Blood flowed down his eyes, ears, and nostrils as the golden tattoos on his body glowed fiercely. At this moment, his body was nearing its limit, making it even harder to control the guardian weapon. "For a child with the cultivation base of the mid-grade of the bronze realm to display strength capable of rivaling with that of a gold realm master like myself¡­ The real task was never to defeat you, but to last long enough for you to run out of juice¡­ I guess I was right" The beast-man chuckled lightly as he walked towards the weakened Clovis slowly. The beast-man was covered in so many deep cut wounds but this wasn''t enough to bring him down. When gazing at Clovis a hint of respect and fear could be seen in its eyes since no one expected a bronze realm mage to be able to hold out against a gold realm master for so long. This is an achievement worth his recognition and praise! "And who said it''s over? Who said I can''t fight anymore? Don''t you dare go assuming crap¡­ If this is all I can do wouldn''t that mean I am not qualified to be called Master Cyrus''s successor?" Clovis spoke weakly while using the golden sword in his hands to support himself. "Oooh? You have the heart of a true warrior! It''s a shame you were not born into my clan, I would have treated you as my own son¡­ I will give you a death worthy of a true warrior!" The beast-man roared as he shot forward. His hands were engulfed with orange aura as it punched down at Clovis, aiming to finish him with one blow. "DON''T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Clovis roared as the golden divine weapon let out a loud shriek before shooting forward to meet the beast-man. His golden wings flapped a couple of times before he shot forward as well with his golden sword in his hands BOOM! Both Clovis''s sword and the guardian weapon shattered when it met the beast man''s fist and even his wings which quickly moved to protect him shattered as the fist smashed into the youth sending him flying. Bang! Falling hard, Clovis couldn''t help but spit out a mouthful of blood and saliva. He tried to move but his body refused to respond to his commands. On his chest was a clear imprint of the beast man''s fist and even without anyone telling him, Clovis knew he had sustained so many internal damages. "This is not how it was supposed to end¡­" Clovis muttered as he felt Cyrus'' power fading away. Since his body could no longer handle the power, the power began to reject him. He gazed at his hand only to realize the golden tattoos on his body was fading. "Hehehe¡­ I guess giving it your all in battle is not enough to guarantee victory¡­ everyone here is giving it their all, so I am not doing anything special" Clovis said with a bitter smile. "Of course it''s not enough¡­ In war, you are either stronger than your opponent or capable of outsmarting him¡­ Luck is also a factor here but I suggest you don''t rely on that" Cyrus voice suddenly echoed in Clovis''s head "Master!! I have failed you¡­. I know that¡­ If you choose to dispel my soul and take full control of this body, I will not be offended" Clovis muttered weakly only to hear Cyrus'' pearls of laughter resounding in his head. "Dispel your soul? That''s not why I am here¡­ I am here to show you, how to make use of my power! So consider this your first lesson!" Cyrus chuckled lightly. Chapter 394 - 394: Killing a demigod (2) Boom! Clovis''s aura suddenly exploded and the golden tattoos soon appeared once again. This time his aura kept rising so steadily that the beast-man could tell Clovis wasn''t in control anymore. For the first time since he began battling Clovis, the beast-man finally sensed the threat of death and instinctively backed away but an invisible force prevented it from moving any farther. "YOU DARE LAY YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON MY PEOPLE? YOU MUST BE TIRED OF LIVING!" Clovis growled and his words were like ancient letters flying towards the beast-man. No matter how much the beast-man struggled, it couldn''t break free from Clovis''s grip! Both his aura and new strength was something beyond that of mere gold realm masters! "PALACE MASTER!" Agus and Fernandos who were both battling two gold realm beast-men chieftains couldn''t help but scream in elation. Hearing their cries, other members of the life palace looked up to see Clovis who was decorated with numerous golden symbols all over his body. The massive divine weapon stood gallantly above his head and his two pairs of golden angelic wings flapped majestically. The golden halo placed over his head was more than enough to tell people that Clovis was no longer in control. But this time it was the soul fragment that Cyrus had put in Clovis''s body the day he chose him to be his successor. These people were convinced that it was Cyrus fighting, not Clovis! "PALACE MASTER!" Many screamed in elation and with just his presence the fighting spirit of everyone present rose to terrifying levels! BOOM! Immediately those golden letters entered the beast man''s body, his body inflated like a balloon before bursting, leaving behind a bloody red mist and a few pieces of flesh! Clovis had just instant killed a gold realm master like that! "To does of you who dared fight against my empire, I will show you the sad fate that awaits you all!" Cyrus''s voice kept overlapping with Clovis''s voice, making them sound even more menacing. "True life magic: Divine radiance!" Clovis roared as he burst into a large amount of golden light which spread across the battlefield causing the enemy troops to explode one after the other! He was overloading them with a pure life aura! "Cyrus!!!" Berivs furious cries instantly shook the skies as the orc chieftain quickly broke away from Kira and shot towards Clovis angrily! "Because I am making use of such a weak body, you feel you have a fighting chance? You dare call the name of a god without fear and respect? It seems I should have killed you back then when I murdered every member of your little clan! It''s a thousand years too early for you to challenge me, even if I am in a weak body!" Clovis roared viciously. Waving his hand, his massive guardian weapon, swung viciously at Berivs forcing him to halt his advance and utilize his aura to create numerous layers of defensive barriers. BOOM! Like a rocket, Berivs was sent flying at such a speed that only a few people could see him moving. His body struck the green barrier used to seal off the area, creating countless ripples on it. "It''s over!" Kira''s voice echoed as he surged towards Berivs now the orc was yet to recover from Clovis''s attack. Blood magic: Blood sea! His body soon exploded and formed a massive body of blood. The blood sea quickly cornered Berivs and completely consumed the orc, within the blood sea, Kira was a god since everything around them. He had been waiting for the opportunity to trap Berivs in this ability but he had never gotten the opportunity until now! "The death mage and I are still battling the demigod¡­ Be rest assured, the orc demigod will die at our hands¡­ once that happens this barrier will fall and gold realm masters of the empire will be able to assist you all alongside our magic beast allies¡­ this is goodbye because once this battle is over, the death mage and I will be gone for good¡­ From now on, you can only put your faith in our successors¡­ don''t worry my dear friends we are still watching over you all, just like we have always been doing¡­ This is my final gift to you all!" Cyrus said. And with a simple wave of his hand, his strong life aura spread across the battlefield. While it healed the wounds of the injured and helped them recover their strength, this abundant life aura was enough to bring back all those at the brink of death and return them to their peak condition. All though it was not enough to resurrect the dead, it was enough to return everyone who had been weakened to their peak condition and heal their injuries, Including that of Blink who was still facing off against Blake in a bitter deathmatch. With Cyrus'' presence gone, the pressure placed on the beast-men and the orcs vanished while the forces of the empire were saddened by the news of their two greatest experts'' departure. In normal cases, the morale of the forces of the empire should fall massively but contrary to everyone''s expectations, it rose. With loud battle cries, coupled with vicious roars, the forces of the empires pounced on their foes fiercely! They blamed these people for the departure of the two men they literarily served as gods and in their opinion, murdering every single one of them was the only way can they make these people atone for their sins! ..............................¡­.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-394-killing-a-demigod-(2)_50957943704712245 for visiting. "Did you hear that? They are leaving and once Derik is done who will protect you from me?" Blake breathed heavily while staring at Blink who was completely fine. He once had the upper hand in their battle but due to Cyrus'' interference, he was back to square one again. He couldn''t help but curse Cyrus and Derik for pulling off one last stunt but in the end, everything was still going according to his plans. Whether Derik and Cyrus kill the orc overseer or they are killed, it didn''t matter much to him! Chapter 395 - 395: Killing a demigod (3) "It''s done¡­" Cyrus slowly opened his eyes which showcased the intense grief and sadness he felt. Their life from the very beginning when they joined the adventurers association, up till now has been filled with battles, fights, and wars. Derik and Cyrus have never gotten the privilege to just sit back and enjoy this world, just like the other but now, they are leaving sooner than expected. Even the joy of getting stronger could not overshadow their grief right now and after Cyrus'' last speech to the forces of the empire, they couldn''t help but feel empty. "I guess this is where it all begins¡­ our lives as true guardians" Derik said with a sad smile on his face. Even though he too felt bad about leaving, he had fulfilled the promise he made to his father when he was little. He destroyed the gates of the kingdom and subdued the magic beasts that filled the continent. Just like he said to his father, he had also become one of the strongest beings in the mortal realm and now he''s about to transcend and reach the realm of the immortals, the true gods. His only regret at this point in time was that he never made enough time for Elsa. He knew he never had a choice, it was either giving up his path of cultivation for happiness or getting stronger but remaining alone and up till this day, Derik had never regretted the choice he made. At this point, he can only wonder what life would have been like if he chose to just live with Elsa and forget everything else. "As soon as we get rid of this piece of shit and transcend into the demigod realm¡­ we can finally begin living our lives as guardians!" Cyrus replied. His vicious gaze was fixed on the orc overseer who was bound by chains from the accursed gate of the underworld trying to pull him in but the orc was doing well to resist this. It knew that once it is forced into that gate, not only will it be forced to face Demos as well but it would be forced to face two powerful death mages in a land with abundant death aura. It is almost impossible to face Derik alone in such a place not to talk of Demos as well. "You! Don''t act like you have won already!" the orc overseer roared as his body expanded revealing numerous green symbols all over his body. It was the Orakh clan''s secret technique, Unbreakable! Bang! Bang! Shattering the chains easily, the orc overseer shot forward but this was all within Derik''s plan. Clasping his hands together, a new passageway appeared right in front of the charging orc overseer and darkish green chains shot out of them, latching on the orc overseer before he could retreat. Bam! A powerful golden guardian weapon struck the orc overseer on the back pushing him into the domain gate! "He got careless¡­." Cyrus said. "He''s not to be blamed, Normally a person shouldn''t be able to summon more than a single domain gate but I can summon two¡­ that''s the advantage I have over others¡­ its only natural they fall for this kind of trap" Derik smiled sheepishly. "They desperately try to avoid the first gate with all their might and when they are able to break through, they are met with a second gate which takes them by surprise" Cyrus yawned. "Yep¡­ Let''s put an end to all of this" Derik said to Cyrus before the both of them walked into the gate. .................................¡­ Bam! Blink flickered back, diving into one of the spatial gates surrounding them, leaving Blake wondering where he may come from next since there were over twenty spatial gates present here. Xiu! Abruptly shooting out of the same gate he entered, Blink was like a silver beam of light, with his sliver daggers held out in front. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-395-killing-a-demigod-(3)_51019480117081730 for visiting. Swooosh! Blake''s body which was covered in snake scales twisted and turned just to evade the attack. Before Blink could launch a second attack, he realized the clouds above had turned black and for some reason, they were descending. "Darkness magic: Shadow descent!" Blake cried out. Bam! The black clouds above fell to the ground, covering the who battlefield, as such no one could see a thing. Blink tried to move but then his body felt heavy, he could see different strange purple symbols on his body. After spending most of his life in the palace of the dead, Blink was no stranger to curse magic. He was aware of the fact that Blake possessed all forms of dark magic and for a time in the past, he too believed that Blake was the one qualified to be the next palace master of the sect. "Curse magic!" Blink growled as he tried to activate his teleportation magic but he could feel a stinging pain in his head, stopping him from focusing, meaning he''s unable to use magic. With the stinging head pain, Blink is unable to use long-range teleportation since it required time to prepare and focus and since he couldn''t see a thing around him, his close-range teleportation was rendered useless since this ability required him to see where he''s going for it to work! "You got me" Blink gave a dry laugh! Bam! The black cloud cleared up and everyone could see once again. Instinctively their eyes moved to the center of the battlefield where Blink and Blake were battling! There they saw Blake''s scaly fist, dug deep into Blink''s chest and protruding from behind. The spatial mage vomited blood repeatedly before falling on his knees but even then Blake refused to pull his fist out of his chest. Based on the numerous purple tattoos on his body, everyone knew he was subdued with curse magic, and the sudden blackout was meant to counter his teleportation. With just a glance, they all understood why Blink lost. Why he failed to defeat a monster like Blake! On this very day, the world witnessed the death of a successor! Chapter 396 - 396: End of an era (1) "NO!" Kuen growled but no matter how much he tried he couldn''t break away from his opponent. The other demon commanders watched in silence as Blink remained on his knees, with his breathing extremely heavy while gazing at Blake with an expressionless look on his face. "And now this is done¡­ what next¡­ what do you intend to do after this¡­ do you think the palace of the dead will accept you after this? Do you think the empire will welcome you back after this? What do you stand to gain from all of this?" Blink struggled to speak and breathe at the same time. "Well¡­ for starters I was never one of you¡­ I was tortured and experimented on by humans! And then the palace master found me¡­ he gave me a home¡­ he called me family¡­ a reason to live¡­ I was ready to die defending this empire but then he betrayed my trust and abandoned me¡­ He gave out his inheritance to a stranger! A total nobody who didn''t even possess any form of dark magic! That was unacceptable!" Blake growled but Blink remained calm. "And for that reason, you chose to drag the entire empire into this revenge scheme of yours? What happens to the innocent families who will be left defenseless because of your actions? What will happen to them, who will protect them?" Blink asked slowly. "It''s unfortunate they were dragged into this¡­" Blake hissed. "And the other members of the palace of the dead? The people who treated you with respect¡­ the people who stood up for you when the palace master declared me the new successor¡­ they are all here, desperately battling for their lives¡­ fighting to survive¡­ what do you have to say about them?" Blink growled in anger. "People die¡­ it''s very unfortunate they had to die¡­ I really do appreciate each and every one of them" Blake hesitated for a while before responding. "And what about your family¡­ those who were tortured and used for experiments just like you¡­ they too were treated unjustly by this world, by we humans¡­ these people called you brother from the very start and even till the battle began¡­ if for no other reason, for the sake of your bond with them¡­ they are the only true family you have¡­ but now they are also struggling to survive in this cruel battle¡­ swarmed by enemies from all sides¡­ what do you have to say about all of them? what happens to them now?" Blink slowly rose on his feet as he said those words. There was silence. Blake gazed across the battlefield as if he were looking for something. Images of Andrew, Jean, Philips, and Dimitris popped up in his mind and for the first time since he started this, he felt pain. He tried to locate their location by sensing their aura but he couldn''t, there are too many people on this battlefield, so he couldn''t really find their own aura signature. They could be dead They could still be alive This is war! He may never know "It''s very unfortunate that they were dragged into this as well¡­" Blake finally replied with his eyes shut tight.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-396-end-of-an-era-(1)_51019521993001879 for visiting. "Then what now¡­ what happens when you are done¡­ when everyone that cares about you is dead¡­ what do you plan to do next" Blink asked slowly. "I will return to the empire and rule¡­ I''ll enter a peace treaty with the other invading race¡­ there will be peace after you all are gone¡­ so you have no reason to worry" Blake replied immediately. "And what happens when the empire rejects you and the people revolt against you?" Blink asked with a slight frown. "Then I will destroy it¡­ I will kill everyone that stands in my way!" Blake growled. "and if everyone in the empire rejects you?" Blink asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then I will kill everyone and burn the empire to the ground!" Blake replied. Hearing this, Blink''s eyes flared up with silver aura as he quickly placed his hand on Blake''s chest and six silver seals appeared on all parts of Blake''s body. "In that case, As the successor of the palace master, I must not let you live any longer than you have already done!" Warping seals; activate! Upon activating the seals, Blake''s limbs and head were instantly teleported away from the main body all the way to different parts of the continent! His limbless and headless body fell to the ground as blood flowed out of all the holes, quickly creating a small puddle of blood. To be able to place the warping seals, Blink needed to make physical contact with Blake just long enough to create the seals and position each and every one of them. He had already decided to kill Blake from the very beginning, he just asked those questions to buy some time. Staggering back, he could feel his vision fading and his strength leaving him. The only person capable of healing his injuries was still unconscious and the green barrier kept preventing their reinforcements from entering the battlefield. The war wasn''t in their favor and they were going to lose sooner or later. "I guess this is where it ends for me? Hehehe! But before I go, I''ll make sure we don''t lose this war¡­ that''s the least I can do, for my master and for the empire!" Blink growled as a pillar of Silver aura fell upon him and a massive teleportation magic array appeared above the whole battlefield. A similar teleportation magic array appeared at the empire and at a remote part of the empire, a part forgotten by everyone. "This is the time for you to repay my master''s kindness!" Blink''s voice echoed through the teleportation arrays. ROAR! The battle going on had just stopped the moment the loud roars echoed all across the continent. Both the empire''s forces, the beast-men, and the orcs froze in fear as they watched four terrifying magic beasts appear through the portal. "The four ancient elemental dragons!" Kira gasped in shock and fear! Behind them was an army of magic beasts of different kinds charging towards the orcs and the beast-men. From the same teleportation array, the main forces of the empire appeared with all its gold realm masters. Chapter 397 - 397: End of an era (2) Roar! The vicious cries of the four elemental dragons simply marked the end of the world as the main forces of the empire charged in through Blink''s teleportation arrays alongside the magic beasts. As far as these magic beasts are concerned, apart from the people of the empire, every other race present are just invaders that do not belong here and for that reason, they chose to fight alongside the empire to eliminate this threat. Blink laid there on his back, gazing at the teleportation array dwindling in size as his consciousness kept fading slowly. With the amount of blood gushing out of his wounds, he was literarily lying on a small puddle of his blood, struggling to remain conscious but for how long? As long as possible! "Even if I am meant to die here¡­ the least I can do right now is support the empire in any way possible before I leave¡­ I can''t just die so easily! I am supposed to be palace master Derik''s successor!" For the first time since the war began Blink got emotional and was on the verge of tears. The youth wasn''t afraid of death, rather he was scared of not fulfilling his role as a successor but at this point in time, there was nothing else he could do. His body has reached its limit and he was using the last strands of mana left in his body. "You have done enough¡­ leave the rest to us" Blink suddenly heard Gin''s voice next to him. He struggled to look up only to see Aldora casting a powerful light spell on him and next to him was the unconscious Clovis. "Yes, I definitely won''t let the empire lose¡­ not after your sacrifice¡­ not after master Derik''s sacrifice!" Kalos said with determination as he gazed upon the gold realm masters battling above while the silver realm elites and bronze realm warriors and mages fought on the ground. The battlefield was filled with small mountains of corpses and blood flowing like a stream, it was a terrible sight to behold. ..............................¡­. Haaaa! Derik within his domain was like a death whirlpool that covered the entire sky, surging down on the orc overseer like a deadly storm. "You!" The orc overseer roared as green aura amassed in his hands taking the shape of a powerful green aura spear. Tossing it into the whirlpool, the orc overseer could only watch his attack get lost in the massive body of the death whirlpool. His face turned gloomy as he glanced over to see Cyrus who remained unmoving, sitting in mid-air, in a crossed-legged position. "Bastards!" The orc overseer continually retreated as he was constantly forced to keep his distance from the death whirlpool. At this point, the orc overseer finally understood what was going on! At first, he strongly believed that Derik was earnestly trying to battle him but as the battle rage on, he realized that the death mage was only stalling, giving Cyrus a chance to breakthrough! If Cyrus could breakthrough into the demigod realm, he will be able to suppress him and give Derik the chance to breakthrough as well. Its one thing to face off against two demigods but it''s another thing to battle two demigods in their domain! Right now he wasn''t sure how much time has passed while they were within Derik''s domain but one thing for sure was that a few days has gone by and all through that time, Cyrus has purely focused on cultivating! No matter what he did, he could never lay a finger on Cyrus. Bang! "Not yet!" the orc overseer roared as he clasped his hands together to create numerous green spears, launching them into the black whirlpool! Argh! Roar! A painful cry could be heard from the black whirlpool and a figure fell off from it but before the orc overseer could capitalize on this, something unexpected happened. From below, a loud growl could be heard as the shadow lurker suddenly shot out of the ground beneath, shooting a powerful wave of cold green hellish flames, forcing the orc overseer to defend with his energy barrier.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-397-end-of-an-era-(2)_51086533414935033 for visiting. "You wish to kill me, in my domain? At this point in time, even Demos will be murdered mercilessly if he dares challenge me here¡­" Derik''s voice resonated from behind the orc overseer, startling the demigod. Pa! Bam! By the time the orc overseer had turned around, Derik already took hold of his left hand, pulling it out forcefully with his enormous strength before kicking the orc overseer away. "If the legendary angel of death cannot defeat me here, do you think you stand a chance? Your blood will serve as nourishment for my domain and with your death, I will use your soul to further my realm¡­ imagine me having an undead commander at the demigod realm¡­ I will find out what that feels like really soon!" Derik said with a vicious smile as he tossed away the orc overseer''s hand. From the forest below, Derik''s undead army of different realms began to emerge, slowly encircling the orc overseer. Even though this force was almost insignificant in the face of a true demigod, in this domain they had unlimited power and they could not be killed. "You dare stand on the same level as our master? On your knees beast!" The shadow lurker roared and instantly numerous green chains shot out of the ground below, shooting towards the orc overseer. In response, the orc overseer flew even higher and when he was sure he could not evade these chains nor outrun them, he turned to face them, conjuring an aura spear in his hands. Bang! "You are sincerely begging for a backstab!" Derik''s cold voice could be heard from behind and even before he could react he could feel a tearing pain in his chest. Looking down at it he could see Derik''s claws protruding out of his chest and his blood flowing like a stream from his injuries. "The boy you colluded with to set up this ambush, did this to my successor¡­ I had to send my undead generals over, just to make sure he''s fine¡­ Do you see it now? You have given me countless reasons to kill you old beast¡­ your chances of survival would be a lot higher if you chose to mess with the overseer instead of me!" Derik spoke calmly into the orc overseer''s ears. Only after Derik was done speaking did the orc overseer notice his whole body was slowly rotting. He could feel Derik''s death aura surging into his body from the injury he received earlier! He wanted to struggle but his body refused to respond to his cries as the green chains soon got hold of him, binding him before pulling him all the way down! Boom! "And this is where it ends!" Derik roared as he reached for the skies and his death scythe appeared in his hands. An abundant wave of pure death aura surged into the death scythe making the weapon tremble. Boom! Derik shot to the ground, cleaving the orc overseer in two even before he could struggle or scream! "Sure enough, the suppression of a domain is far greater than what I thought, or is mine a tab bit greater since it''s close to evolving into a realm?" Derik muttered. He knew his domain was expanding rapidly every day as he got closer to entering the demigod realm, he just didn''t expect defeating the orc overseer to be this easy. He too was shocked by the gap in power after they managed to drag the orc overseer into this domain. Earlier he thought he would have to depend on Cyrus'' help but this was entirely out of his expectations. Wooosh! A gray light shot out of what remained of the orc overseer, shooting towards the skies but it was soon stopped by an invisible force! "Didn''t I tell you that I will use your soul to further my realm? Or did you think I was joking!" Derik gazed at the immobilized soul in mid-air, fighting frantically to break free. "Derik! Let me go and I''ll let you leave, don''t you dare force my hand!" The orc overseer''s voice echoed from the gray cloud. As long as it can escape this place, he can always look for an orc to possess and when that happens in just a few months he should be able to recover his power once again. "You dare to threaten me again? Do you think you are in a position to bargain? Die!" Derik growled as a powerful suction force began pulling the demigod soul towards him! The orc overseer struggled fiercely and even for a while, Derik found it hard to take this soul but as time went on, the soul began losing strength and was slowly pulled towards Derik. "Since you won''t let me go! Let''s all die herein this domain!" the orc overseer roared. BOOM! The orc overseer''s soul lit up and suddenly exploded! The explosion was so powerful that the entire domain trembled and even Cyrus who was cultivating as caught in the explosion. Seeing this, Derik turned pale and with a fearful expression on his face he conjured the strongest defensive barriers he could create with the little time he had but even then, the barrier could only hold out for a few minutes before crumbling. Derik was consumed by the soul attack as well! Who would have thought the orc overseer would make such a move! Detonating his demigod souls in hopes of dragging Derik and Cyrus down with him! "Mad man!" Those were the only words Derik could use to describe this orc! Chapter 398 - 398: A new beginning "So this is where I die?" a youth lying on a bed muttered weakly. He could practically see darkness looming over him. "Get out! This body belongs to me now!" Suddenly a vicious voice echoed in the youths head and before he could cry out for help, he could feel a powerful suction force pulling his soul towards the darkness. While moving up towards the black clouds above, the youth saw a greenish ball of soul energy dash into his body! His eyelids yanked open slowly and a piercing pain soon invaded his mind? Derek held his head as countless images and memories of an unknown person began flooding into his mind. His body trembled and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he rolled off the bed falling to the hard ground. He tried to raise himself but his body failed him, his feet refused to move and he was left there in a white garment, lying on the cold ground. For the first time in a long while, he truly felt weak. "What is this? Where am I?" Derik frowned. His memories were still jumbled so he really couldn''t really make anything out of all of this. Had could feel that the body he was currently inhabiting was completely weak and feeble, so much that he could still vaguely feel the spirit of death hovering over his this body. It became clear to him that this body was set to die earlier but someone his soul had taken possession of it. "Demos?" Derik looked at the black cloud hovering over his head. He could slightly feel the power of death within it both there was no consciousness in it. "Strange? If this isn''t Demos that what is this? Who is this? Where am I? It doesn''t matter anyway¡­ since you are here don''t even think about leaving this place!" Derik growled as he reached for the dark cloud and a powerful suction force, emerged, rapidly pulling in the black cloud. Opening his mouth, Derik greedily consumed the black cloud of smoke and slowly he could feel his power recovering but it was only at a very force small pace, it was more like a drop of water in the ocean. "Its quite little but it should be enough for my werewolf genes to dispel whatever disease is plaguing this body" Derik said. He could already feel the body regaining its strength as he slowly sat up in a cross-legged position and began meditating. Using the little mana he had, Derik checked the condition of this body and only after confirming that whatever strange disease that was supposed to kill this kid is gone. Bam! At that point, he felt like his head was smashed by a hammer as images of his past life ran through his eyes in the form of pictures. These were just fragments of his life memories¡­ Apparently, he and Cyrus survived the suicidal attempt by Nar, the demigod orc overseer, but they were left badly hurt. Their lives was saved by Demos and Samael, after which they safely made it to the demigod. The little images Derik saw was the final moments of the godly war!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-398-a-new-beginning_51112165242883545 for visiting. Francis, Ahika, Cyrus and the other members of the new gods faced off against the old gods in a heated battle that literally set the world on fire. Since it was only pictures, Derik couldn''t tell how the battle which was to protect the God''s vein turned to a battle between the old gods and new gods, all he could tell was that they all made it to the true God realm. The final battle lasted for centuries and only when the entire realm was at the verge of crumbling did something more powerful appeared. Derik could clearly remember his previous conversation with Demos consciousness while trying to save his father''s life. He remembered how he brought up a topic about a greater being which may be the reason for the creation of the old gods and the new gods. On that very day, his greatest fears came to life as the being appeared. Its power was so terrifying that the old gods and new gods entered a temporary truce and joined hands to battle this new being but they were defeated. Without the aid of the cosmic beings who still chose to remain neutral, the old and new gods were slaughtered by the greater being. Derek and Cyrus were the last to die. They died fighting till the very end. Images of the God killer made Derik shudder in fear. Even though the being was no longer present here, the fear of this being appearing once again and killing him made Derik fear death. Who would have thought death could die? And in such a gruesome way that left him scared! "Apparently, true gods cannot be killed entirely¡­ upon our death, our godly essence spread across the world¡­ if I can retrieve all of it I should regain my godly strength once again" Derik thought out loud. But even if he could reclaim his godly essence for what purpose would he do that? The main reason why that God killer is yet to appear and take his life for a second time may be because Derik was practically no different fmaybere mortals here. He''maybeweak to draw the attention of such a powerful being and for that reason, it should be a bit safer if he remains hidden for a while. At least until he understands where he is and what this world is all about. Springing on his feet like an agile cat, Derik walked towards the window at the far right, next to it was a mirror. His host''s body was strangely pale in complexion and he was quite thin as if he has not been feeding well for a while. The youth had strange purple eyes and in some ways his he looked a lot like Derik back then, only slightly different but Derik suspected this may be as a result of his godly soul inhabiting this body. He wasn''t really shocked by this. Chapter 399 - 399: Alicia? Gazing at his pale and tiny hands, Derik was sure the strange illness which took the life of the youth was gone but he still felt weak in spirit. "This world is stuffy" Derik muttered as he tried to pull the mana in the atmosphere but there was none within! A world without any concrete source of mana is a nightmare for all mages. Even someone like Derik who had once reached the god realm was terrified of this, especially since his soul was already damage and unlike the past when he was at his peak, he was barely worthy to be called a mage here.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-399-alicia_51122894893271849 for visiting. Bam! Another piercing pain assaulted Derik''s head causing him to fall on the ground once again as countless images flashed across his eyes all in an instant. This time it wasn''t the memories of his past life but of that of this world. Lucia Alexis is the second son of the Alexis family main branch, a big time noble family in the kingdom of Kedus which was just a level five kingdom in the Pelgas empire. Lucia was born with extraordinary talent and brilliance which made him excel in all aspects of his education, but he was born with a weak body. As time passed on, the strange disease plaguing him intensified, preventing him from attending classes like others his age. His parents hired a private tutor but soon he also got even weaker and couldn''t stay conscious for long hours. His elder brother, Chole was quite different. He lacked Lucia''s brilliance but he made up for it with his combat skill and strength. At a young age, Chole had joined the military and after a few years of service, he has ordained a knight of the Kedus royal family, successfully becoming one of the three great knights of Kedus, only inferior to the royal imperial army. The reason the Alexis family has grown so fast and well was solely due to Chole''s efforts and for that reason, he was already declared the family''s successor. Lucia''s sister, Alicia at this point could be considered the black sheep of the family. She excelled at nothing and her grades in education have always been poor and all her focus was pinned on parties, social events, and wooing of noblemen. At this point, the family was just looking for a way to marry her off. "What a normal family" Derik frowned. "Too normal for my liking" He added as he took off his white garment, revealing his emaciated body. He could feel his body recovering but very slowly due to his werewolf side but even that was greatly suppressed here. Gazing at the mirror, Derik felt a bit disgusted by his appearance and began devising plans on how to improve himself. After spending almost half a century in his previous life and reaching the realm of a true god, Derik''s pride would not let him settle down and become a mere scholar. Not in this life and not in the next! "This may be a wild guess but I believe this is still my world¡­ this should still be the god vein¡­ the question now is, where did all the mana go and why did humans become so feeble" Derik muttered to himself. Deep down he knew this was still the same world he was born in. He did not transmigrate or anything, he just simply reincarnated thanks to his god soul wandering around, looking for a suitable host or something, even he wasn''t too sure since his memories were messed up. Woosh! Opening up his palm, Derik created a very small whirlpool of pure darkish purple aura which could only last a few seconds before vanishing. At his current condition, he can barely maintain his magic, and even his death magic which was darkish green in color while at its peak phase was just darkish purple now. This is the beginning phase, the fake form of his death magic! "If I am alive, does that mean, Cyrus, Francis, and the rest reincarnated as well?" Derik muttered once again while he kept checking out his body in the mirror right in front of him. "It doesn''t really matter since they won''t be able to get to me, considering my condition¡­. I refuse to believe they are living much better than me¡­ anyway, that''s a minor issue¡­ my main focus right now should be finding a way to replenish my mana before I begin my search for my god essence scattered all over this world¡­ with this level of suppression I can even be killed by a child! I have to train this body properly" Derik said with a frown on his face. Only after speaking did he notice the figure standing at the door, blankly staring at him in shock. Her long black hair was decorated with roses and her fair and tender skin complimented her beautiful face. Her chest was only average but in Derik''s opinion, it was a perfect size, nothing too excessive or too little. Even he couldn''t help but appreciate the lady''s beauty from the mirror and for the first time probably all through his life, he felt his body screaming and crying, asking him to claim this woman for himself. Without his cultivation base, Derik was no different from any normal man even someone like him who was once a true god had to put in some effort just to take his eyes of the lady in the mirror. "Alicia, why are you here" Derik''s face was void of any emotions as he slowly picked up his garment and put it on. He could understand why Alicia was yet to respond, still standing there with her jaws dropped wide open and her eyes staring blanking at Derik. Not only was he supposed to be dead by now according to the physicians but even if he was meant to survive, he should at least be in a coma. Yet a youth who has been bedridden for decades was standing firmly right in front of her, stack n.a.k.e.d. At this point, she sincerely didn''t know what was more shocking! Chapter 400 - 400: BEYOND "Do I have to repeat myself for you to respond?" Derik said with furrowed eyebrows. Thanks to the fact he received Lucia''s memories, he could speak their language fluently. He was done putting on his white garment when he heard footsteps approaching his location. It was obvious his family had assumed he is dead already and they probably came to see the body one last time before burying it. That would explain why they were all standing at the door of his room, gazing at him with utter shock visible in their eyes! Derik found this disgusting. "If you have nothing to say, I suggest you leave¡­ I need some time to rest properly" Derik said with a frown on his face, startling them as well. Those present at this time were Alfred, Lucia''s father, Mariam, his mother, Alicia, and a few maids who were most likely meant to take away his body. They sincerely didn''t understand how Lucia survived and how someone who hasn''t been able to stand on his feet for years is standing firmly now. They simply assumed that Lucia''s cold treatment towards them was for abandoning him at his final moments so they overlooked it as well.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/legendary-guardian_14507836505582505/chapter-400-beyond_51134395725184107 for visiting. Turning to face the mirror one more time, Zero gazed at his black hair once again, and only then did he realized some part of his hair was turning purple. It was obvious his soul was gradually integrating with the body and slowly altering its appearance to make its resemblance with Derik''s previous body more noticeable. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned only to meet Alfred who was standing right behind him with complicated emotions in his eyes. Alfred has never been the kind to show emotions and he always trained his kids strictly but that didn''t mean he didn''t actually care about his family. To see Lucia who was supposed to die, standing and moving around easily filled his heart with emotions which he was battling to suppress. "Is there a problem?" Derik asked nonchalantly. In his opinion, these people are still mere mortals and are nowhere near his level, so he had no reason to share their feelings. He gazed out of the window, to see the lush green grass that filled their family''s prosperous domain, and for a short while he actually felt relieved he was born in a well-to-do family. They weren''t too important so as to attract unwanted attention but they were still good enough to reach his minimum requirements. "Lucia, how are you feeling my boy?" Alfred asked, causing Derik to turn his attention to the man again. "I feel great¡­ better than ever¡­ You don''t ever have to worry about my health again!" Derik said with a warm smile, just to calm the man down. Hearing this the family was even more stunned and they shot each other a questioning glance before turning their attention to Lucia. "I will have the physicians come to check up on you once again¡­ we need to be sure everything is alright!" Alfred said half smiling. "That won''t be necessary¡­" Derik said as he moved over to the center of the room and slowly dropped to his legs and hands. Right before everyone''s eyes, Lucia began doing pushups, so easily that it seemed as if it were nothing to him. "If I can recall correctly, the physicians are the ones who declared me dead and yet I am still here¡­ I would love to take a shower as soon as I am done working out¡­ have someone prepare something for me to eat after that¡­ I have lost a lot of weight" Lucia said while he continued his push-ups. Alfred could not help but smile as he watched his crippled son perform over thirty push-ups and still going. He couldn''t explain how the weak and feeble Lucia was able to attain this much strength but it didn''t stop him from rejoicing in his heart. In this world, as important as scholars are in this world, having offsprings in the military attracted even more respect and prestige. Lucia only focused on education in the past because his body was too weak and he didn''t meet the minimum requirement to join the military. But now, his dreams and prayers have been answered. If Lucia said he needed no physician, then no physician will be brought to him! The fact he was easily performing push-ups which were difficult even for the average man was proof of his good health! He needed no more proofs! "What are you waiting for? Prepare a hot bath for my son! And prepare a feast, Send someone to fetch Chloe, the lord of light has answered our prayers! My son has been healed!" Alfred roared in joy. Derik remained silent and continued working out until he was sure that everyone in the castle was gone, only then did he stop. He looked towards the door and frowned slightly as more images flashed across his eyes. "This world is definitely my world!" Derik growled angrily. He finally remembered! During the war between the old gods and the new gods, the world was set ablaze and was on the verge of crumbling, while the gods fought above the skies, their creations fought bravely in the Aldemar continent. The world was in total chaos and countless lives were lost. The prayers of the weak filled the air and their cries of help could be heard from everywhere. But this time, the prayers were not directed towards the old or new gods, it was a plea to something even greater. Something more terrifying than the gods themselves! It was the Beyond! The being that created all life, the being that created even the gods! The cries of the people and awakened the ancient being and it had come to rescue the world from the gods. At that point, the inhabitants of the continent stopped fighting each other and turned against the gods! The empire and the magic beasts turned against Derik, Cyrus, and other guardian spirit hosts who have been fighting so hard to protect the planet! Chapter 401 - 401: Betrayal For how long now have they been fighting? And for what reason? All through their lives, Derik and Cyrus have been jumping from one battle to the other with no time to relax and just enjoy the world as it is. And even when they weren''t fighting, they remained caged up in their cultivation chambers, trying to raise their strength! As planned, after breaking into the demigod realm, Derik and Cyrus joined hands with the creator to repel the forces of the other old gods and with the help of the other guardian spirits, Francis and the other guardian spirit hosts acquired their own inheritance and reached the demigod realm. During that period, all the guardian spirits hosts of each element fought as one unit, decimating the enemy lines! They soon earned the respect of the old gods and their enemies shivered in fear when they heard their names. Even as mere demigods, these hosts performed extraordinarily well in battle, and at one time, Derik and Cyrus fought against the God of war, the creator of the orc race. In that battle that lasted for weeks, both sides refused to retreat as they all bore bitter grudges against each other! The battle raged on and after a long while an unexpected end was what actually happened! The god of war, an old god and a true god at that was defeated and murdered by the duo. After their breakthrough to the demigod realm, their control over death and life was so immense that they could practically tamper with one''s life directly without much effort. The god of war was the first major casualty of the war and this instantly changed the way the old gods viewed these guardian spirit hosts. At first, they only viewed them as potential god candidates but they were yet to reach the god realm so they didn''t pay much attention to them. and even when these guardian spirit hosts destroyed countless demigod foes in battle, the old gods merely regarded this as an expected outcome since their identity as new god candidates made them slightly more special or so they thought. The battle between Derik and Cyrus against the god of war was instigated by the events happening on the planet below. The bad blood between the empire and the orcs got worse after Kira had slain Berivs, the orc empire''s prodigy and probably next overseer, sparking the great battle in the heavens. In the long and bitter battle, Derik and Cyrus displayed their true strength which terrified even the gods. They could only imagine how powerful these guardian spirit hosts will become after they become true gods and considering the rate at which these two were growing and gaining power with each battle, it was clear it wouldn''t take too long before they caught up to the old gods. To prevent this the old gods, including the creator came to an agreement and split the god veins resources amongst themselves equally. Rather than fighting against themselves, they deemed the new god candidates as a real threat to their existence and so the counter-attack began. The creator betrayed his own people and joined his fellow old gods to siege the heavenly palace where their main forces were stationed. In this battle, most of the battle on the side of the new god candidates perished in battle, and to survive this, the guardian spirits gave up their lives, using their life forces as a means of forcefully pushing their hosts to break through into the true god realm. With this the all-powerful guardian spirits that have lived for thousands of years vanished in just a single night, leaving their host in bitter tears. It was then that the true war began, the battle between the old gods and the new gods which threatened to destroy the entire world occurred and no side came out the victor! .............................. Two bright lights shot across space, frantically trying to escape what seemed like a massive black hole that consumed every in its path! No matter what the duo threw at it, the black hole kept approaching causing both godly beings to sink into despair! As the last two survivors and the only gods alive, they dared not relent in their escape. Derik and Cyrus decisively chose their homeworld as the place where they would make their last stand. Maybe drawing power from the faith of the entire world when they see the danger approaching, they may be able to gather enough power to defeat the monster! But upon returning, Derik and Cyrus could tell something terrible had gone wrong. The world had turned against the gods and killed everyone who chose to remain on the side of the gods and prayed to them. they had only arrived above the empire just to see their successors, Blink and Clovis been burnt to ashes like witches and mere criminals! They also soon realized that their entire sect had been destroyed by these people and the magic beasts of the world had been wiped out too alongside the lizard clan and the elves led by Elsa who chose to remain loyal to Derik and Cyrus. With a single thought, Derik and Cyrus appeared at the elven court which was already abandoned. Their the bodies of all the prominent elven nobles still laid there unattended to! They were all slain in gruesome manners. There he found Elsa''s body, Linda''s body, Geralds body, and the body of all those he once called his teammates while they were still members of the adventurers association. No one was spared. Apparently, Clovis and Blink were the final believers to be defeated and now they were burnt to death. Roar! Derik''s roar of anger and anguish instantly split the continent as the empire was instantly set ablaze by his hellish green flames. Vegetations all over the world began to rot and the lands turned barren!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%C2%A0_51149512684663713 for visiting. Their war against the old gods may have endangered their lives as well but it wasn''t a good enough excuse for the people he loved and cared about! The world had betrayed him for the last time! Chapter 402 - 402: Church of Light In rage, Derik''s death aura consumed the world and set it ablaze! In one swoop, Derik managed to kill more than half of the population of the world, even without putting in any effort and Cyrus just stood there and watched. He too felt the pain and the urge to eradicate these ungrateful beings but he didn''t have the heart to commit genocide of this level but Derik didn''t care either way. Derik was about to make his first conscious attempt to destroy all life when the world was suddenly engulfed by darkness and the great darkness descended into the planet. "You!" Derik and Cyrus were already in an extremely foul mood so their previous fears were gone. The two quickly assumed their godly forms, not caring about the disaster this will cause since godly beings should not be found in the realm of mere mortals. They once again faced off against the beyond in a battle that is still spoken of today by the so-called believers of the lord of light! This supreme god these people serve is the god slayer, the beyond, who single-handedly defeated the gods of death and life even when they joined forces. ...................................................¡­.. "Huff!" Derik instantly sat up and only then did he realize he was drenched in sweat. His body felt a bit stiff but nothing out of the ordinary. Rays of light piercing through the open window, reached his eyes, causing him to shield his eyes from the sun with his hand. "Kaido¡­" Derik muttered sadly as he remembered that the sun cosmic spirit host, a man he once called friend. "Is something wrong?" Alfred''s voice rang in his ears and only then did he realize that the old man was sitting on a stool in his room, gazing at him with worried eyes. "You don''t have to do this every morning¡­. I already told you I am okay" Lucia slowly got down from his bed and took off his sleeping robes, not minding that the old man was still in the room. Every morning, he would wake up to Alfred watching him sleep and waiting for him to wake up. He could tell the old man was worried he may never wake up and he honestly appreciated the man''s concern but seeing this happen every morning was quite annoying, even for someone as patient as him. It has just been a few days since he took over this body. Back then this body was emaciated and weak but thanks to the rich delicacies prepared for him here and his werewolf side, actively trying to improve his body and return it to his peak condition, Derik had finally regained his strength once again. At this point, he was no longer thin but just lean with well-proportioned muscles, complementing his extremely charming face. His god spirit kept influencing his appearance steadily, up to the point where he was even more attractive than most men. His lack of beards didn''t make him look less manly but even that had a special charm to it, making him quite dazzling, that even the male servants can''t help but stare whenever he walked past. Has Lucia always been this good looking? This was the question in everyone''s mind. "I know, I know, but you keep waking up like this¡­ always suffering from nightmares all through the night¡­ if you want me to stop, then let me invite Khalid from the Church of light¡­. let him take a look at you and dispel all foul spirits still lingering around you¡­ if you agree to this, I''ll definitely stop bothering you!" Alfred said with hopeful eyes as he gazed at Lucia''s almost perfect body. He was used to seeing Derik undress every morning to check himself out in front of the mirror and he really couldn''t blame the kid. If he were blessed with such an amazing physique, he may never put on a shirt all through his life. Looking at Derik''s well-proportioned muscles and perfect light skin, even he couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous! "Khalid, the family priest from the church of light? I remember him¡­ do what you must then¡­ as long as I don''t wake up every morning to meet you staring at me, I will be satisfied!" Derik said nonchalantly. According to Lucia''s knowledge, supernatural beings still exist in this world but they are very few. The church of light was practically the same as the holy church back then in the Gyro Kingdom. They held crusades against anything related to the darkness, pure fanatics, and extremists. The original owner of this body was a non-believer, who refused to believe these people have any divine power or accept the existence of supernatural beings like witches. He truly believed that every person, gruesomely murdered by these people were normal humans wrongly judged so his impression of this church was not really good. The teaching of the church of light always focused on their stories of the past as how the lord of light single-handedly defeated and murdered the warring gods who sort to destroy the entire universe with their conflict. According to their story, the god of death and creation stood against the lord of light in a final showdown, in this very world and lost. From the story alone, Derik could tell these stories were cooked up by the people who survived the incident, people who he failed to kill before his death! As for Derik, he too never liked anything pertaining to religion since there are bound to be extremists and fanatics who take things too far. That too didn''t stop him from wanting to meet this church. He was curious to see just how capable the priests of this church are and if they actually have supernatural powers. As for Alfred who kept speaking of dispelling the demon hovering about him, he could only laugh at the man''s ignorance. If this man knew that the being inhabiting the body of his dead son is the god of death spoken about in the church he would most likely faint due to fear. "Let''s not give them any spoilers" Derik chuckled likely, he was sincerely eager to meet these priests! Chapter 403 - 403: Possessed? Derik spent most of the day time working out and trying to strengthen this weak body of his as much as he can with the little mana he could muster. While his god soul allowed him to regenerate a certain amount of mana daily, this was still too small to be used to carry out mass chaos and destruction. Since this world was already void of mana, Derik decided to follow the path of a true fighter. Using the same method he used to strengthen Blink, Derik kept refining his body slowly with his death aura, strengthening it slowly. Without his powers, he is no different from any normal human so the least he could do for now is to become the strongest fighter in this little kingdom. After washing his body, Derik returned to the mirror to gaze at his body once again. Thanks to his werewolf path he didn''t need much effort to attain muscles or look buff, the problem with this path he has chosen is that his skin was turning pale "My death aura is seriously affecting this body¡­ but it doesn''t mean much¡­ according to this person''s memories, My pale skin may arouse suspicion¡­ but as long as there is no concrete evidence that I am a supernatural being then there are no issues¡­." Derik said nonchalantly. After his arrival here, he had already changed his lifestyle and choice of clothing. Derik put on a black shirt and black trousers, just from gazing out the window he could see three carriages right in front of the gates and men dressed in white and gold robes slowly walked in. "They are here?" Derik was not impressed since he couldn''t sense any form of power from these men. Then how are they able to detect supernatural being. Pondering on this for a while, Derik chose not to write these people off just yet. There is a lot he doesn''t know about this world now and until then he can only proceed cautiously. ................................ The people of the church of light gathered at the great hall where they met with Alfred, Alicia and Mariam. Chloe was yet to return and Lucia was yet to come down to meet the guests as promised so all they could do was wait while discussing. The church of light in this world possessed power comparable to that of the emperors of various kingdoms. Since this was the only acknowledged religion in the world, they had gained so much power that they could rival empires in strength. For that reason, even the noble families and royal families had to treat them with respect. Thud! Thud! Thud! The great hall fell silent as Lucia walked down the stairs with an emotionless expression on his face. The priest Khalid and Derik were locked in staring contest and none of them was ready to back away, shocking those around. In this world only royal families are bold enough to gaze at the member of the church without fear. Even a high class noble man can be put to death by a mere priest of the church so no one could understand how an ordinary character like Lucia would be bold enough to gaze at a priest in the eye without fear. Reaching the great hall, Derik ignored everyone and moved towards Khalid, offering his hand to shake. Seeing this everyone''s heart skipped a beat and they shuddered in fear! Even Alfred who was currently the patriarch of this noble house bows slightly as a sign of respect when greeting the priest but Derik was bold enough to offer the man his hand to shake. "Do you know who you stand before! Heretic!" a man whose face is covered with a hood roared in anger. The man''s white robe had only one ray of golden light embedded on it so based on Lucia''s memories, Derik quickly guessed that this man was a deacon. Behind them were three white knights dressed in heavy white knight armor with their shields and swords in their hands just waiting for the order to pounce on Derik. Khalid''s gazed was fixed on Lucia who didn''t look fl.u.s.tered at all. He shot the three knights a lazy glance before shifting his gaze to the deacon and then returning to Khalid. Never once did he show any sign of fear or concern. "Courage! This is what all great men must have!" Khalid laughed loudly as he shook Lucia''s hands with excitement. Only then did the tension building in the room die down. Alfred has been excited by the changes in Lucia after his diseases miraculously healed. During the past week, Lucia had shown great physical prowess, wisdom and courage and never for once did he think that Lucia would be bold enough to do something like this. "Fear is an unnecessary emotion, only felt by the weak" Derik replied with a warm smile. "Hahahaha! Well said young man¡­ Lucia are you weak?" Khalid asked with a suspicious tone in his voice. "I was in the past but now, I am not!" Derik replied instantly with a confident look on his face, making it hard to read his intentions. Khalid was taken aback by this and for a while he pondered on his short conversation with Lucia. Based on the information Alfred provided him with, Lucia was diagnosed with a strange and incurable disease which he should have died from. On the day he was supposed to die, Lucia was found very much alive and strong! Serving in this kingdom for so long, the priest Khalid had a rough understanding of Lucia''s previous character which was calm and a bit introverted. Lucia has never been the bold type and even though he wasn''t necessarily interested in the church of light in the past, Lucia wasn''t so bold as to look him in the eye for so long and not blink. The main possibility now is that Lucia is dead and some sort of demonic beast was inhabiting this body "Lucia, I know after a near death experience you have become bolder and a more reliable person. Honestly I am glad but I also wish to perform so tests on you, to be sure you are okay!" Khalid said with a sly smile. "Sure I don''t mind" Lucia replied casually as he dragged a chair over and sat down gazing at priest Khalid in the face without a sign of fear or discomfort. In a situation like this, the demon should be fl.u.s.tered and feel uncomfortable. Even a supernatural beast would attempt to escape now but Lucia remained calm. Could this person really change so much because of his near death experience? Khalid shoved those thoughts aside as he signaled the others to prepare for the ritual. With salt a circle was made around Lucia with three triangles in it. Four candles were lit within it and the three deacons alongside the priest stood around the circle, all with their sacred beads in their hands and containers filled with holy water. Splash. Spilling some holy water on Lucia while chanting some words in a strange language, the circle lit up, turning golden! To those observing, these holy men were sputtering rubbish but Derik could understand them perfectly! This was the ancient language of the world in the past, when he was still Derik Angus. They were calling on the beyond to reveal Lucia''s real identity to them. With the holy water, constantly spilled on him, Derik couldn''t help but frown. If it were a normal supernatural being, he was sure they would have been set on fire by the holy water but he was different. During his breakthrough into the demigod realm, the werewolf curse was expelled from his boy, making him a normal human mage but contrary to his expectations, the werewolf curse was not entirely removed. Instead it was shifted from his body to his soul, giving his god soul the werewolf imprint. Unless summoned by him, his werewolf side can never be revealed to people and things like full moons cannot force him to transform anymore. As for his death magic, this is a power belonging to his god soul, this is not something that mere mortals can detect. "Don''t you think you have done enough?" Lucia yawned casually while wiping off the water spilled on his face. His clothes were wet but apart from that he looked perfectly normal. With this the people of the church of light couldn''t say he was possessed. His pale skin, black hair and purple streak made him look strange and unusual, coupled with his unnatural charm. These people could have sworn that Lucia is possessed by something and that''s why they continued the process for a good thirty minutes even though they were not getting any result. "This¡­" Khalid said as he took a few steps back. They all watched Lucia walk out of the circle which has been used to bind so many supernatural and spiritual beings in the past as if it''s nothing causing despair in the hearts of these people. "So is there something worng with me?" Derik asked calmly, causing Khalid to flinch. Deep inside him, his guts told him something is wrong with Lucia. His mind and soul kept warning him of his impending doom if he should push this matter but he had no way to prove that something was wrong with Lucia. As a priest who have casted more than twenty demons and killed at least ten supernatural beings, Khalid was very famous and treated like a saint around here. If he should reveal his uncertainty or request from a bishop his reputation will suffer greatly. "I can assure you, there is nothing wrong with Lucia¡­ His near death experience is truly the reason for his sudden change¡­ You don''t have to worry about him" Father Khalid quickly said to hide his uncertainty. He couldn''t afford to show weakness and let his reputation fall because of it. Chapter 404 - 404: Chloe "I can assure you, there is nothing wrong with Lucia¡­ His near-death experience is truly the reason for his sudden change¡­ You don''t have to worry about him" Father Khalid quickly said to hide his uncertainty. He couldn''t afford to show weakness and let his reputation fall because of it. Listening to the priest''s reply, Derik couldn''t help but laugh inwardly. Even though he necessarily couldn''t remember most of his time as a true god realm expert, the pride of having fought against the creator of all beings, the beyond, always made him look down on all those around him. In his opinion, mere mortals trying to detect any form of evil spirit within his host body with trivial techniques like this is something he found extremely funny. If these people knew he was the great evil preached about in their church services, they would probably beg for their lives right now. "In the end, all this would have been truly hilarious if I still had my godly powers" Derik muttered as he calmly pushed his hair back while taking a seat once again. His actions completely showed his disregard for all those around him but no one dared to speak up to him. The current Lucia sitting right in front of them right now is completely different from the person they once knew. The air around Lucia was mostly heavy now and there is an oppressive filling one gets when they are around him. A feeling making them want to submit to him entirely. While Derik was disappointed by the fact that these so called priests were not as powerful as he expected, he wasn''t entirely annoyed. Thanks to this minor event, Derik finally understood what happened after his death.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-404-chloe_%!d(string=51371853461123376) for visiting. After he and Cyrus were betrayed by humanity, they fought against the beyond in a battle that almost split the god vein in two. After a long and intense battle which resulted in the beyond been grievously injured, Derik and Cyrus were murdered brutally. They were only able to harm the beyond because of the efforts which the other gods, both the new and old had taken a toll on it, so it wasn''t necessarily at full strength when Derik and Cyrus faced off against it. In the end, the beyond felt threatened by the existence of all those who possess powers and he chose to strip away the ability to cultivate from humanity thereby forcing them to only rely on one source, the beyond. The more faith people have, the more power it grants them. From what Derik could see, these priests and deacons are just normal men until they call on the beyond and he grants them power. This method of exchange guarantees more people will want to receive its power and devote their lives to it, granting it the power of faith to help strengthen it. "Faith" Derik muttered while rubbing his forehead with his delicate slightly pale hands. As a godly being even he understood how the power of faith works. Lesser beings praying to the gods grant them more power, that was why he and Cyrus ran back to the empire when chased by the beyond. They were hoping to borrow the strength of everyone they could through faith and get enough strength to defeat the beyond. The fact that a being as powerful as the beyond is using this method means that it incurred more damage in their last battle than Derik and Cyrus expected. It was practically leeching off these people to regain its true strength. "But then, how much power can mere mortals grant us? We are gods, our upper limit is boundless¡­ I don''t think I have been gone for too long so I am pretty sure the beyond is yet to acc.u.mulate enough power¡­ meaning I still have time on my side¡­ as long as I can find my god essence and regain my godly strength alongside other new gods, we should be able to eradicate the beyond before it regains its full strength" Derik muttered to himself still ignoring all those around him. Because of the sudden change in his demeanor, everyone was careful around him and they all tried to keep their distance! Only Lucia''s father, Alfred was unaffected by this change. Instead, he was overjoyed by it. Derik considered his options now and finally came to the conclusion that there are only two ways forward in this world. He can either find a way to make people believe in the ''great evil'' preached about in the church of light and have them pray to it. That way he would be able to gather the power of faith and slowly recover his power, just like the beyond. Or He can just keep searching for his essence in this world. As long as he can meet other new gods who reincarnated in this world, Derik was sure they can safely recover their godly essence and eradicate the beyond, alongside the old gods. "Or I can just do both" Derik said nonchalantly. His words drew the attention of the priests and every other person in the room. All this while, he has been muttering to himself and now he finally spoke up, people couldn''t help but look at him. Bam! Alfred was about to speak when the doors of the great hall were yanked open violently and a man dressed in a knight''s armor which was almost perfectly hidden with a red cloak walked in. He was over six feet tall and each and every one of his steps was heavy, making the hall tremble. He had a thick beard just like Alfred but his black hair was slightly longer and it was tied back to form a ponytail. His gaze was fierce and terrifying and right across his left eye was a scare acquired through battle. Behind him was a slightly shorter man dressed in regular military attire, carrying a massive sheathed broadsword with great effort. "Chloe," Derik said with furrowed eyebrows. His memories of this man were a bit cloudy so he didn''t know exactly what to expect until now! Chapter 405 - 405: A Duel (1) Alfred was about to speak when the doors of the great hall were yanked open violently and a man dressed in a knight''s armor which was almost perfectly hidden with a red cloak walked in. He was over six feet tall and each and every one of his steps was heavy, making the hall tremble. He had a thick beard just like Alfred but his black hair was slightly longer and it was tied back to form a ponytail. His gaze was fierce and terrifying and right across his left eye was a scare acquired through battle. Behind him was a slightly shorter man dressed in regular military attire, carrying a massive sheathed broadsword with great effort. "Chloe," Derik said with furrowed eyebrows. His memories of this man were a bit cloudy so he didn''t know exactly what to expect until now! "Chloe!" Father Khalid said with a twisted expression on his face. His eyes showed numerous emotions but fear was the most dominant one. As one of the three highest commanding officers in the kingdom, Chloe has taken part in so many battles between other subsidiary kingdoms, the hunting down of supernatural beasts, and even a battle against another empire. He was well known for his brutal nature and even priests of the church of light were scared to offend this man since he acts first before thinking. He may not hesitate to kill them if he is offended. "Lucia!" Chloe said in a deep tone as he took a few more steps forward while gazing at his little brother who was supposed to be dead. Staring down with someone as big and intimidating as Chloe, even Derik could feel a little bit of pressure. Right now, apart from the superhuman strength, his werewolf side gives him, Derik is no different from any other human. If he wishes to activate his Lycan god mode he would need to transform and when he does that, surely the church will come for him. He can be killed by just anyone in this world, and this bothered him greatly. "Brother, you have returned," Lucia said with a calm expression on his face and his hands gently placed behind him, making him look like a royal. His words and actions looked so majestic that one may even mistake him for royalty. Hearing Lucia speak, Chloe couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. His wimpy brother who couldn''t stare at him in the face back then is actually standing in front of him, gazing into his eyes without showing any hint of fear? Even Alfred would be terrified when speaking to him!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-405-a-duel-(1)_%!d(string=51457155554931778) for visiting. "Good! Very good!" Boom! Regardless of the heavy red armor, Chloe wore, his body moved so quick that almost no one noticed at first glance as he threw a vicious punch at Lucia, whose hands were still placed behind him. While others may be shocked, Derik remained calm, he had practically seen through all of this, and while others may consider Chloe''s speed as amazing, to Derik it was only average at best. His movements looked slow but in reality, it was very fast! Choosing not to dodge, Derik reached out for the incoming fist with an open palm. Bam! "Aaaah!" Alicia screamed in terror Lucia was seen sliding a few meters back after meeting the punch head-on. Derik''s hand felt numb and he was sure something was broking but he didn''t bother since his Lycan god''s healing technique is way too fast and efficient. He gazed at his wrist and frowned since he wasn''t satisfied with the result. Derik chose not to evade the punch, not because he couldn''t but because he wanted to test his strength against someone who is considered strong in this world, to know his current level. And after the brief exchange, Derik was extremely displeased with the result. According to Lucia''s memories, Chloe was considered unique and extraordinary but even then, he is not necessarily the strongest, there are more people even stronger than him. And if he could barely defend against Chloe, what will happen when he goes up against the others? This realization annoyed Derik greatly and after considering all his options, he came to a conclusion that when going up against such people he can only transform into his Lycan form if he chooses to win. The only bright side about all of this is that he is yet to see any one person who will be facing him head-on when using this power. Even amongst the old gods and the new gods, they have all lost their powers just like him and they don''t possess such an ability like this, so even if he should encounter an old god in this world, he will definitely dominate the battle since the other will only slightly stronger than the average human while he still possesses his werewolf form. While Derik remained unmoving, diving deeper into his chain of thoughts, everyone else was shocked out of their minds. The once weak and fragile Lucia not only fearlessly faced the priest of the church of light but he also had the guts to stare at Chloe in the face and not flinch and now he actually caught Chloe''s attack and still remained standing. He didn''t even seem hurt! "This family has produced another monster! Once Lucia joins the military and gains more military merit, their status will rise even more¡­ if he and Chloe keep performing so well, they may even be invited by the empire to the capital¡­ this small kingdom will mean nothing to them anymore!" Khalid sighed with hints of fear in his eyes. As for Alfred, he could barely hide his excitement as he watched his two sons stare down at each other. Lucia had only recovered a week ago and miraculously he got fit thanks to his regular exercises(At least thats what they thought). He knew Lucia was fit to join the miliatry and do quite well but he never for once thought Lucia would be strong enough to face his brother head on! Chapter 406 - 406: Duel (2) While murmurs filled the room, making it noisy and irritating, Chloe remained silent as he gazed at Lucia meaningfully. He has known Lucia from the beginning, he knew about his timid nature and his weak body. He remembered bullying Lucia when they were a bit younger, he could never forget the face of the kid who cried at any chance he got, never able to fight back. Now that brother he once labeled useless has somehow survived death and now he is bold and strong. If these changes happened in a few years it would be understandable but only a week! Lucia required only a week to go from extremely weak to strong! At this point, even Chloe was convinced that Lucia is dead and probably possessed by some sort of evil spirit. By the way, he has faced against supernatural beings in the past so he wasn''t an unbeliever. Chloe quickly threw Father Khalid a questioning glare but the latter only shook his head in reply. "He''s perfectly fine¡­ we have done that already¡­ so you don''t have to worry about that¡­ he is your brother" Father Khalid said in a respectful tone. Only after hearing this did Chloe calm down and look move his gaze back to Lucia who remained calm, probably lost in his thoughts. Guessing based on his disappointed gaze, it was obvious Lucia wasn''t satisfied with his level of strength. For someone who was considered real just a week ago to grow this fast, Chloe expected such a person to be excited to be closing in on him in terms of strength but yet Lucia looked unsatisfied and this pissed him off. "My little brother has grown stronger overnight and yet he doesn''t look satisfied¡­ tell me, how did you become this strong" Chloe''s anger could be heard in his tone. "Huh? Me?" Derik snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Chloe. The look on his face showed he was slightly irritated by the fact that Chloe chose to disturb him while he was still pondering on his future here. "I didn''t do anything special¡­ I only ate good food and worked out a bit¡­ my body healed on it''s own¡­ maybe I was destined to be this strong or even stronger¡­ we will find out soon" Derik said while moving towards the empty knight''s armor in the great hall. His vicious gaze was fixed on the sword and a sinister smile spread across his face but since he had his back turned on everyone, no one could see his expression. "If that''s true then the Lord of Light must truly favor you, little brother¡­ Now you have acquired a good body and amazing strength, what do you plan on doing next¡­ do you wish to continue pursuing knowledge and become a scholar like you always have? Or would u prefer to join me in the army and experience what it means to knock at the doors of death!" Chloe said the last part with a wild grin on his face which scared everyone around him. Even though everyone was uncomfortable with his words, they were also interested in hearing Lucia''s reply. It was only at this point did Alfred realize he has been planning Lucia''s future without making his intentions known to Lucia first. He knew if Lucia chooses to continue with his education there is nothing they can do about it but respect his wish and that was the reason he held his breath while gazing at Lucia''s back. Wooosh! A cool breeze shot across the room as Derik greedily feed off the negative emotions of everyone in the room. Hatred, envy, anger, insecurity, fear, all of it combined created the best environment Derik has ever experienced since he came to this world. Purple veins slowly popped up in different arts of his body as the air around him suddenly turned cold. He was some meters away from the others so they could barely notice the change, all they could tell was that Lucia had stopped moving and he was probably pondering on Chloe''s question. {Too little, I have recovered some power but it''s just too little¡­ hahaha, at this level I am no different form what I use to be when I was still a recruit¡­ sad} Images of Kira, Gin, Cyrus, Daemon and Donald flowed into his mind. He could remember their time in castle black outside the great walls of the Gyro kingdom. He could remember all their battles together and their fight against team Gyro''s Kuen who later became one of his most precious subordinates. He could remember Elsa, Gerald, Kin, Dimitris and the others who died believing in him. People who saw him as their God! "In my past life I fought all through and had no time to appreciate what I had¡­ those I had around me¡­ and now I have lost it all¡­ Demos gave up his life just to make me what I am now¡­ Blink died protecting those I love¡­ for their sake I can''t rest now¡­ I have to fight¡­ I will create a new world¡­ a new world where there is no more death! A new world where I make the rules¡­ a world with no betrayal¡­ no hate¡­ no wars¡­ no sorrow¡­" Derik said in an ancient language that these people couldn''t understand. They only watched him take away the sword from the knight''s armor and the way he held on to it, they could all tell he had no knowledge of swordplay. In his previous life, Derik barely used weapons and when he did, it was either his bone spear or his death scythe. Never for once has he thought about using a sword as a weapon. "You don''t have to worry about my proficiency with this weapon¡­ all I want now is a duel¡­" Derik said nonchalantly as he tossed the sword into the air and caught it again by the hilt.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-406-duel-(2)_%!d(string=51508192634529949) for visiting. The air around them turned heavy as Derik approached with his killing intentions running wild! Chapter 407 - 407: Duel (3) Watching Lucia approach with a sword in his hand coupled with the sudden silence would scare the shit out of any normal man but Chloe was no average person. Most of his life was spent on the battlefield and up to date, he has killed so many people that he has lost count. When faced with someone like Derik whose presence alone is enough to make any man tremble, Chloe stood firm and a vicious grin appeared on his face. His mind was screaming and crying out, trying to warn him of the impending danger and the calamity about to befall him but his instincts horned for decades would not let him retreat, instead, his will to fight got even stronger. "If you defeat me, I will be whatever you want me to be¡­ a slave, a beggar¡­ what the hell¡­ anything you want" Derik was quite impressed by the fact that his presence wasn''t strong enough to chase someone like Chloe away. Even after losing his powers, he could still use his godly presence to intimidate almost anymore. He was actually expecting Chloe to flee or retreat at least but the man stood firm and even grinned in the face of danger. Even he couldn''t help but respect this person. "And if you defeat me?" Chloe no longer dared to look down on Lucia. Right here and now he saw Lucia as an equal capable of taking his life if he makes a mistake. "What do I want? I don''t know yet¡­ let''s just say you owe me a Favor!" Derik screamed as he spoke the last word while lunging towards his opponent with his sword pointing forward. Peng! Not daring to waste any more time, broadsword which his sword-bearer was holding on to. Since he could barely react to Derik''s speed, he didn''t bother to unsheathe the weapon and ended up parrying the attack while shielding his subordinate with his body. "Oh?" Derik was a bit stunned. For someone with a large build like Chloe, he never expected him to be fast enough to block his attacks, neither did he expect Chloe, a person who has bullied Lucia all his life to be the type of person who would defend a comrade while putting his life on the line. "Die!" Derik roared as he quickly pulled back a bit, before slashing upwards without care. In his opinion, if he ends up killing Chloe, it will prove that he is more capable than his brother, so the kingdom will be willing to pardon him in exchange for his services. As for his relationship with Chloe, Lucia and Chloe always had a bad relationship. And since he wasn''t really related to any of these people, he really didn''t care if something happened to them. Peng! Once again Chloe was able to use his large broadsword to block the attack before it could reach his face. His eyes carried hints of surprise and shock since he never expected Lucia to be this capable. The once timid and weak brother was now someone else entirely! Someone strong and vicious just like him or even more than him! Judging from the short exchange between them, he could tell Lucia really had no knowledge of swordplay and was entirely rely on his strength and speed to suppress him. "In that case, don''t blame me for killing you if things get out of hand!" Chloe laughed madly as he pushed forward while swinging his large broadsword, aiming for Derik''s waist. Swoosh! Just before the sheathed sword could make contact, Lucia was seen airborne, spinning rapidly, and show no signs of falling soon. Pa!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-407-duel-(3)_%!d(string=51552984865235306) for visiting. It happened so fast that no one expected it. Just like a snake striking forward, Derik struck towards Chloe almost instantly, catching everyone off guard. Who would have thought someone airborne would be able to attack with such accuracy? Before Chloe or anyone could react, Derik''s sword struck his face, all the way from the cheeks, up to the left eye, and then the eyebrows! "Arrrrghhhh!" Chloe roared in pain as he covered his bleeding eye with his hands and fell on both knees. His body trembled as he finally felt the threat of death coming from his brother Lucia who was standing right in front of him. He wanted to speak but the pain prevented him from thinking straight and piercing his words together. "Kill me? Hmph! It''s a thousand years too early for you to utter such unreasonable words¡­I simply chose to duel you as a means to use you as my starting point¡­ the news of your defeat will instantly push my agendas forward and help me skip so many levels when I join the military¡­ So you see big brother, you are only a tool..." Lucia''s words echoed across the great hall. Sending shivers down the spine of all those who heard him Everyone once assumed Chloe was the most vicious amongst them but after hearing him speak, they finally realized how wrong they have been. Who would have thought Lucia would deliberately destroy Chloe''s left eye just because of fame. Since no one else spoke, Derik nodded in satisfaction before turning around to leave. In his opinion, his actions had actually the desired effects. He could always play the good and hardworking child and with his knowledge and powers, he could excel in anything he wishes to do, earning everyone love and admiration but this path is not the one he is ready to walk. This path is time consuming and tiresome to him. As the god of death, he is arguably the most vicious being to ever live and honestly, he would really put in a lot of effort if he were to play the good guy here. To deal with this, Derik decided to play the role he was always born to play. The role of an antagonist! In his opinion, love can only go so far but fear is what keeps the world running. The word is yet to go all out against each other, not because of love but because they are scared of their enemies'' military might. In his opinion, fear is more effective than love! Chapter 408 - 408: Final Moments Since no one else spoke, Derik nodded in satisfaction before turning around to leave. In his opinion, his actions had actually the desired effects. He could always play the good and hardworking child and with his knowledge and powers, he could excel in anything he wishes to do, earning everyone love and admiration but this path is not the one he is ready to walk. This path is time consuming and tiresome to him. As the god of death, he is arguably the most vicious being to ever live and honestly, he would really put in a lot of effort if he were to play the good guy here. To deal with this, Derik decided to play the role he was always born to play. The role of an antagonist! In his opinion, love can only go so far but fear is what keeps the world running. The word is yet to go all out against each other, not because of love but because they are scared of their enemies'' military might. In his opinion, fear is more effective than love! .................................... Derik and Cyrus shot backward while weaving numerous layers of defenses to keep the beyond at bay but even their best defensive techniques could not buy them more than two seconds. They were going up against a being that even true gods like them would call a monster. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of blood as his blood as he placed his hand on the wound on his chest. His immortal body was not working, his injuries were not healing and his godly blood was flowing out uncontrollably. His vision blurred but he could barely see the darkness with countless eyeballs and razor-sharp teeth in all parts of its body approaching. The beyond was like a black storm with twinkling lights within which looked like stars and when gazing at it from afar, it looked like a black worm made of black smoke. Compared to the beyond, Derik and Cyrus were like ants looking up to a giant but even then they showed no signs of fear. Even with the fatal injuries they sustained in battle, none of them showed any sign of fear, instead, they fought even harder! "Since this world has turned its back on us, we will turn our backs on it as well!" Derik growled like a mad man. He let out an inhuman cry as his hands slowly moved in a circular motion. Behind him, a massive spatial gate slowly appeared and soon a whole new world of the dead was revealed to everyone. Swoosh! Like a black hole, the spatial gate released a powerful suction force that slowly consumed everything in the world. Ever since the death of the guardian spirits, this world has been in a chaotic situation at all times. The absence of the guardian spirit of death meant there is no one to lead the souls of the dead to the underworld and as a result of this, countless souls of the dead wandered across the surface of the earth aimlessly. As the spatial gate pulled in more souls, Derik''s aura grew in power as well. Blood rolled down his cheeks all the way from his eyes as he could hear the cries of the people who once believed in him, seeking justice against this cruel world. He bit his lower lips as he heard Gerald, Donald, Karl, and Daemon cheering him on, even if they still had faith in him. They believe he would be able to defeat the beyond and avenge their deaths. "Master!" "Derik¡­" BOOM! "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Elsa and Blink''s voice reached his ears and almost instantly a pillar of darkish green aura exploded from Derik''s body. His eyes revealed his killing intentions as he gazed over the world, seething with anger and rage. Suddenly the suction force from the gate was tripled as all the magic beasts in the world were been pulled in and soon all living things in the world were forcefully pulled towards the spatial gate as well. With each soul consumed, Derik''s power rose and it didn''t take long before his power soon reached the upper limit of the true god realm. He was trying to break through into a realm which only the beyond has taken a step into! "YOU MONSTER! DIE!" The beyond finally panicked and quickly dived down towards Derik. The main reason Derik and Cyrus fled back to this planet was so that they could rely on the power of faith which they can gather from the people of this world to strengthen themselves and face the beyond but since these people betrayed them, Derik chose to swallow them all whole and use their souls to strengthen himself for a final showdown. "Kill him? You will have to deal with me first!" Cyrus roared as he shot towards the black storm heading towards Derik. The beyond voice was like a thousand voices overlapping each other but even then Cyrus and Derik showed no fear. As long as they can win, as long as they can survive this battle, they can recreate everything with their godly powers. They can bring back their dead friends and lovers and create a world with no more pain or sorrow. The perfect world where they will be the sole gods! The legendary guardians of this new world! Swooosh! BOOM! Cyrus quickly transformed into a beam of dazzling golden light, fearlessly crashing into the black smoke. Two forces entangled, slowly merging into one as the two beings within the mixed aura''s clashed with each other viciously. With each blow thrown at each other, the world slowly crumbled under their power but Derik didn''t look bothered at all. Cyrus understood their dream and goals and for that dream, this world was no longer needed since they planned to build a new one from scratch. His only worry now was that Cyrus may not be able to hold out long enough for him to break through completely.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-408-final-moments_%!d(string=51578464205066657) for visiting. "I can only have faith in him!" Derik said decisively, after giving the matter some thought. He sat in a cross-legged position as he focused on pulling in more living beings into his realm and using them to improve his cultivation. "Sure enough, you are powerful but can you really hold out against Cyrus and me all alone?" Derik said with a hint of contempt on his face as he felt a strange force trying to repel his suction force. The beyond was trying to stop him from consuming all life on this planet! Chapter 409 - 409: Cyrus death If they were battling the beyond at full strength, Derik and Cyrus wouldn''t stand a chance but thanks to the collaboration of the old gods and new gods, the beyond was injured badly, reducing its combat capabilities, even before it could face off against Derik and Cyrus. At this moment the beyond is not as terrifying as it uses to be and that''s why Derik and Cyrus dare face it alone. In this weakened state the beyond is also forced to divide its strength even further just to stop Derik from consuming all living things in this world while fighting Cyrus as well. In such a situation, Derik believed that everything was playing out perfectly, and with the current condition the beyond is in, he should have enough time to break through into a higher realm and then assist Cyrus and finally vanquish this beast that claims to be the beginning of all life! The battle between the beyond and Cyrus raged on for months while Derik struggled with the strange energy preventing him from consuming all life on this planet. In just three months, Derik had already consumed over half of the population of the world, reaching the peak level of the true god realm and threatening to breakthrough soon. Everything was going well and if given another month he was sure he would be able to reach that level which he is destined to reach. At this point, his realm had evolved into something different, right now all he could see were stars, planets, space, all of it! He was practically creating a new universe, something unthinkable in the past. His power level was already nearing that of the weakened beyond and he could feel his body undergoing a breakthrough. Derik couldn''t help but feel ecstatic since he could tell that after this breakthrough he will be able to reach the peak of cultivation in this world. His body was slowly becoming more transparent and countless twinkling light which looked like stars were slowly moving all around his body and beside him was something that resembled an hourglass indicating his control over time in this new world he is about to create, yet there was no sand in it! His transformation was still incomplete. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cyrus painful cries finally reached his ear. Bam! Before Derik could react, a black spear struck his heart and the beyond''s darkness surged into his body. He quickly sent forth his death aura to tackle the power but he could also feel his death aura getting consumed by this power surging inside his body. Derik instantly turned pale as he pondered on what to do. He was at a critical point in his breakthrough and in such a situation his fighting capabilities are below average. "Leave this place!" Cyrus cried out as he rushed forward to meet the beyond in battle once again. He was breathing heavily and his golden blood flowed out of all his wounds he has sustained so far. With a glance, Derik could see that his godly soul was already damaged and he was so close to death that Derik could even feel his soul slipping out. "Cyrus" Derik coughed out a mouthful of black blood while gazing at his closest companion from the very beginning when they were still mortals. Even when the Gyro kingdom declared him wanted, Cyrus was the only member of their team guardians who understood him and fought for him. All through their short lives, they have been fighting battles that do not concern them. They had a choice to just be normal and enjoy their mortal lives but he and Cyrus refused. They wished to protect the people they love more than anything else. Because of this they walked the path of cultivation and faced the world together. Cyrus has always been more than a friend to Derik, he was more like a brother. For the first time in history, Life and death did not repel each other but they fought as one. "Thank you for letting me fight alongside you for so long but this is where it ends for me¡­. That''s why I am asking you to leave now¡­ carry out our dreams, bring back our friends and family, and then come back and murder this bastard" Cyrus said with a bitter smile on his face. Visible cracks began appearing on his golden skin as his life aura exploded violently. His body lit up as he shone so bright that his light could be seen from all parts of the universe. This is life''s final act and he intended to go down with a bang! Without a second thought, Cyrus shot towards the massive black storm fearlessly. Plunging into the darkness, his light vanished as he plunged in even deeper. "Die!" Boom! Suddenly a golden light shot out of the black storm as Cyrus'' voice shook the skies, he wasted no time in detonating his godly body creating a large explosion that even made someone like Derik retreat in fear!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=14507836505582505)/chapter-409-cyrus-death_%!d(string=51598453788173882) for visiting. Derik could feel Cyrus'' godly essence scatter to all parts of this world and with blood rolling down his cheeks, he dived towards the passageway of his realm, hoping to escape this explosion that would destroy this planet. Bam! "You!!!!" Derik was so close to escaping but then he struck a solid invisible wall, preventing him from entering his realm! He watched as the black storm wrapped around the passageway of his realm and forcefully shut it down. Derik''s grief turned to rage as he turned to face the beyond who had finally fled from the black storm, revealing her true form. The black storm hovered over their heads as it struggled to contain the explosion created by Cyrus'' suicidal act and with a glance, Derik could tell that she won''t be able to contain it anymore. Cyrus'' death brought about the end of this world and the final battle between Derik and the beyond was about to commence. Only one of them would live through this calamity. ............... "Damn!" Zero yanked his eyes open and yawned weakly. It was just another dream¡­ Chapter 410 - 410: A sign "Damn!" Derik yanked his eyes open lazily. His eyelids felt heavy and he also felt considerably weak as well. The limitations of his mortal body were seriously getting to him and he found it extremely annoying. {It was just another dream} Derik thought. It has been a month and a few weeks since he arrived at this world and took hold of this weak human body. Ever since that day, a good part of his memories was missing and each time he shut his eyes to rest, his mind is always assaulted with parts of his lost memories as a godly being and even though this could be considered good, he always felt exhausted each time he woke up. These visions kept him on edge and always left him restless. "It seems I almost surpassed the realm of mere true gods¡­ I almost became a peak existence that can rival the beyond in strength¡­ interesting¡­" Derik muttered as he gazed out the window with an uninterested look on his face. From what he could remember he was close to reaching the realm of the beyond but he was stopped at a critical stage and this almost crippled his cultivation. The last thing he could remember was he and the beyond locked in a heated battle of the eyes, preparing to rip each other apart at any second. Even without a clear detail of what later happened in the final battle, Derik was sure he lost badly. Based on the dream he had, he could tell he was greatly weakened and he was only facing the beyond simply because he was angry. Cyrus''s death got to him so bad that he wanted to avenge his fallen friend and because of that, he didn''t bother trying to run again. "I almost became the peak existence in this world¡­ Doesn''t that mean if I gather all my godly essence, I will most likely surpass all the new gods and old gods out there¡­ this means that the beyond is the only person I have to worry about." Derik said as he gazed at the old buildings from the window of the carriage he was one. After his short fight with Chloe, Derik had become a very famous person in the kingdom. The injured eye of his elder brother was proof of his strength. To be able to beat someone like Chloe who has proven his strength repeatedly in battle, no one could deny Derik''s strength even though he was yet to show it in public. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Derik refused to join the military, instead, he offered his services as a mercenary that the country can hire. He refused to be bound by the laws of the world neither did he agree to be under someone''s commands. The path of a mercenary may not be as graceful as that of a fulfilled soldier but it had its perks. For one, Derik had no obligations and can choose jobs to take part in. This way he had a lot of free time in his hands which allowed him to deal with other issues, just like the one he is trying to check out now. Over the days, he suddenly realized that the rate at which his mana replenishes has increased quite a bit and recently he has been hearing voices in his head all from the slums of the kingdom. Derik was confused as well but soon he realized that these were not just mere words, they were prayers offered to him by believers. This new discovery came as a shock since he never expected that someone would ignore the beyond, the so-called lord of light, and pray to the god of death and destruction. For this reason, he couldn''t suppress his curiosity so he decided to check it out. The kingdom was practically divided into two parts, the residential area or the slums and the commercial area which belonged to the noble and wealthy families. From the little information he could gather before coming over, Derik was made to understand that the gap between the rich and the poor was so high that a low tier noble family is even capable of sharing his wealth amongst ten poor families and still be rich! The rich kept getting richer while the poor kept getting poorer. There were numerous occasions where riots and revolutions occurred but they were instantly destroyed by the military leading to the deaths of hundreds of people. Based on the little he knew, he could guess that the royal family of this kingdom didn''t care at all and the church of light only concerned themselves with the wealthy who can provide more benefits for them. "Is this the world you chose to create? You murdered me and Cyrus who planned to create a perfect world and yet you still turn a blind eye to all this injustice? Just wait a bit, the god of death will return and this time, you will not survive this encounter!" Derik said while gazing at the skies. He was speaking to the beyond! Peeping out the window, Derik gazed at the living environment of those in the slums and he couldn''t help but feel bad for those who live in such a place. He finally understood why people would dare pray to the god of destruction since the god of light has abandoned them. Bam! The carriage suddenly stopped and he heard loud noises outside. His eyes flared up with mana as he saw numerous soul signatures surrounding their carriage. "Bandits¡­" Derik said with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice as he rubbed his chin lightly. Even though there were several people around, he didn''t look scared or worried. Instead, an idea popped up in his mind as a vicious grin popped up in his mind. These people occasionally prayed to the god of death and destruction but he could still sense hints of doubts in them. He was sure it was because the god of death and destruction is yet to give them a sign. "Well then, let me give them the sign they desire!" Derik said with a sinister smile on his face. Chapter 411 - 411: God of death has returned Bam! The carriage suddenly stopped and he heard loud noises outside. His eyes flared up with mana as he saw numerous soul signatures surrounding their carriage. "Bandits¡­" Derik said with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice as he rubbed his chin lightly. Even though there were several people around, he didn''t look scared or worried. Instead, an idea popped up in his mind as a vicious grin popped up in his mind. These people occasionally prayed to the god of death and destruction but he could still sense hints of doubts in them. He was sure it was because the god of death and destruction is yet to give them a sign. "Well then, let me give them the sign they desire!" Derik said with a sinister smile on his face. The appearance of these bandits did not come as a surprise since the carriage he was on bore the banner of his noble family, they were practically a moving target and Derik was well aware of this before embarking on this journey. Also, Lucia''s family went ahead to prepare a small force of five capable warriors to escort Lucia on this trip. By the way, it was only after Derik defeated Chloe did these people begin to give him the respect he deserves. So since they couldn''t stop him, they could only assist him in the little way they can without discomforting him. Swoosh! Puff! Before the coachman could even scream for help, an arrow pierced through his left eye, puncturing his brain, killing him almost instantly. "Interesting" Derik chuckled as he stretched his hands forth and released a powerful suction force that allowed him to snatch the soul of the coachman. In the process of consuming this soul, Derik realized how different this world is from the original. Unlike the past where people cultivate and strengthen their souls in the process, those around here are quite different. They are just normal humans with extremely feeble souls so consuming them brings no benefits to him unless he decides to use them for his necromancy magic. "I really need to get my godly essence back¡­ this weakness is just way too disgusting¡­. Even for me" Derik complained. After returning to this world, Derik promptly realized he couldn''t summon his undead legion. The first reason was mostly because of mana. In a mana dry world like this, where he barely has enough energy to sustain himself, how would he be able to provide for gold realm undead? And the second reason was simply because he couldn''t. Before his death, he sent everything important to him into his realm and shut the passageway. To be able to gain access to these things, he needs to be able to reopen the passageway to his realm and in his current condition, he is too weak to make that happen. "Gaaaahh!" "AAAARRRGGGH!" Derik heard cries of pain, and with a glance, he could tell that the soldiers meant to protect him have been slaughtered. The enemy troops were over fifteen but he had only five people meant to protect him. The outcome was within his expectations! Bam! The door of the carriage yanked open and one of the soldiers covered in blood gazed at him with a terrified look on his face. "You must flee my lor¡­." Before he could complete his words an arrow pierced his skull from behind. "Huh? Are they all dead? I guess it''s time to make my move" Derik chuckled as he consumed all five souls of the soldiers meant to protect him. .................................¡­. "Surround it¡­. The person within must be a very wealthy person¡­ if we can seize him, all this will definitely be worth it!" A bald topless man with a club roared to the rest of his group and they slowly surrounded the carriage. The name of this bandit group is leafless. While a lot of people argue that the name isn''t as menacing as it should be, each member of this group are trained fighters who were dishonored for one reason or another during their time in the military, causing them to lose their position and status in life. These people strongly believe they were treated unfairly in life, so they dedicated the rest of their lives to oppressing the rich and noblemen of this kingdom who dare step foot into the slums and when they are not fighting against noblemen, they engage in petty crimes like r.a.p.e and armed robbery. Brrrrrrrrrr! Suddenly the carriage they were approaching was set on fire and a figure promptly shot out of it. The surrounding people watched as the carriage was been burnt down by darkish purple flames and above it was a man dressed in an expensive robe and a hood covering his face, levitating above the carriage majestically. At first, they cleaned their eyes a couple of times in disbelief since none of these people should have any crazy abilities. "Fear, rage, disbelief, hate¡­ I can feel all of it¡­ the people of this kingdom have prayed to the god of death and finally, the god of death has responded¡­ I the messenger of death has come to this world for the sake of the people here¡­ The leafless bandit group has committed crimes against the innocent and weak and I am here to collect their soul!" Derik''s voice was like two hoarse voices overlapping each other, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him, and within the hood, his face was covered by a skull mask, making it impossible for anyone to identify him as well. His words spread across the slums and people couldn''t help but shoot a gaze at the skies, to see the man or god being who was speaking. His words struck deep into their hearts and for a short while these people felt elated and ecstatic. They all cl.u.s.tered to watch the battle between this man who claims to be the messenger of death and the leafless bandit group who has terrorized the people of the slums for too long! Chapter 412 - 412: Demon wolf Thud! Everyone watched as the hooded man whose face was hidden with a shiny bone mask began to descend. Gently he landed on the carriage which had was consumed by darkish purple flames but didn''t seem to be burning. Derik would have loved to continue flying while destroying members of the leafless bandit group but he was seriously lacking mana. Everything he has done so far, like setting the carriage on fire without making it burn, flying, and enhancing his voice so that everyone can hear and all that are not normal magic techniques that bronze realm level mages can use. All of this greedily consumed his mana, living him with just enough to put on a show while fighting these people and also a stunning exit. At this point, his goal was not to terrify the people watching but to impress them with magic. "What the hell" A member of the bandit groups couldn''t help but cry out in confusion. The others remained silent since they were too stunned to speak. Gazing at the hooded man all they could see was death and despair. Every other person may not be able to see it, but these bandits noticed that Derik''s shadow had three pairs of wings and something like a scythe. No one could tell if this was an illusion or maybe it was real. Xiu! Pa! An arrow suddenly shot straight at the masked man but it was caught effortlessly, even before it could reach his masked face. Breaking the arrow in his hands, Derik showed no signs of making the first move. In a battle like this where he needed to defeat so many people with so little mana while impressing the spectators, he chose to let the enemy throw at him everything they have. Once they are done trying, they will fall into complete despair, and only then will he take their life. "Come at me¡­ show me what you can do!" Derik spread his eyes wide open while he spoke as he jumped down from the burning carriage. "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" Suddenly a loud cry could be heard from the side as a man wielding a spear charged forward fearlessly. Gazing at the approaching man Derik couldn''t help but admire the man''s bravery even in the face of death. He watched the man leap into the air and strike forward with the spear but this attack was stopped by Derik who caught the blade of the spear with his bare hands. "Monster!" The man screamed as he tried to pull the spear back but it couldn''t escape Derik''s firm grip. He couldn''t understand how someone can hold a blade firmly. "Die!" Suddenly a vicious cry could be heard from behind as a man over 6ft tall appeared behind him, hacking down at him ruthlessly with an ax! "Cute!" Derik responded as he raised his left hand to grab the ax! Swoosh! To his greatest surprise, both men let go of their weapons and dashed back, and only then did he notice the group of archers preparing to end him with ranged attacks. For the first time since this battle began he couldn''t help but praise the enemies'' coordination and teamwork, even he didn''t see this coming. "You dare go against the messenger of death? It seems you do not value your lives!" Derik growled as he instantly triggered his Lycan path! Roar! Following the roar we''re bone-breaking sounds which sent chills down the spines of the enemy. A werewolf twice the size of the average man spoon appeared with its black fur covered with blazing purple flames. Its claws were covered in hell flames just like its eyes which were like two scorching purple suns that could stare into the souls of its enemies. The appearance of the demon wolf instantly cursed an uproar and the observers quickly fell on their knees and prayed to the beast. This came as a surprise to Derik but after going through Lucia''s memories, he finally realized what was going on. In the gospel of the church of light, it was said that the God of death and destruction represented all supernatural beasts and it was said that the God of death was a werewolf as well. The appearance of a mighty blazing werewolf chased away the doubts in the mind of these people. If the God of death has answered their prayers and has come to save them from the kingdom''s oppression, they have no other choice but to pray to it. Swoosh! Instantly a cool breeze washed over Derik as the power of faith flowed into him. He could feel the sincerity of these people''s prayers. The massive wolf suddenly began to grow once again as the people prayed. As it grew in size it looked more ferocious with its long claws and fangs. Peng! Peng! Peng! The barrages of arrows bounced off Derik''s thick fur like it was a pencil thrown at a wall. The bandits who were paralyzed with fear didn''t even know when their weapons slipped off their hands and fell to the ground. They watched the massive wolf slowly walk towards them and they couldn''t help but fall on their knees and beg for mercy. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth¡­ you repay evil with evil¡­ only a greater evil can subdue the lesser evil¡­ I am that greater evil¡­ I am the one who will rid this kingdom of corruption and injustice¡­" the wolf spoke causing who heard its voice to tremble with excitement. They all watched in ecstasy as the massive demon wolf ripped the members of the leafless bandit group apart. One by one! ............................................................... With this operation, Derik secured the majority of the kingdom''s population as commoners. The tales of the God of death sending its messenger of death to visit spread across the kingdom and even members of the army who were present narrated all that happened and also described the werewolf which was almost as big as a building, if not bigger! Evidence of his appearance remained on the streets of the residential area. And as time passed on, no one could deny his existence anymore! Chapter 413 - 413: First task After the visit of the God of death and its pet hell hound, most of the population of the kingdom began praying to the God of destruction and death, leaving behind the church of light. A month passed and the worship of the God of death became more rampant just after Derik made a second appearance, killing off a small army sent by the queen to subdue the rioting poor masses. During this time, Derik''s mana regeneration rate had improved greatly but even then, it only granted him enough power to cast a few spells which can be rated silver level back in his own time. With the more power of faith, he received the more his body kept changing, slowly resembling that of his old self which is already considered too perfect for mere humans. A month into the incident, Derik had become so good looking and perfect that even Alicia began developing feelings for him, alongside all the other suitors that came for his hand in marriage instead of the other way around. It didn''t take long before he was recognized as the most attractive person in the kingdom. The closest thing there is to perfection in this world and according to the church of light, Lucia was probably on par with the fourth prince of the empire who is regarded as the son of light. It didn''t take long before the church of light was forced to move against the poor masses of the kingdom, especially since they dared to build a sculpture of the God of destruction and death, making sacrifices and offering prayers to it. Unable to ignore their sinful acts anymore and in one day over fifty knights of light and three priests, alongside father Khalid, were sent to the sight and on this day, Derik got his first job from the royal family. ...........................¡­.. ... Present Day¡­... "I am to escort the church of light in their crusade against the heretics and should the messenger of death appear, I am tasked with killing the man or beast¡­ whatever form he comes in¡­. That''s interesting" Derik glanced through the letter presented to him before turning his attention to the messenger and military personnel escorting them. He could literary feel the malicious intentions which were used the write the letter. The letter in his hands was oozing with a darkish sinister aura that could make any normal man shiver but to Derik, this was mere childsplay. He could hear their true intentions while writing down this letter and he instantly understood the reason behind their actions. In just a month, Derik has become one of the most popular figures in the kingdom, so popular that he easily overshadows the royal family, becoming one of the most important individuals in the kingdom. The problem wasn''t that he was too famous, the real problem is that he is unwilling to submit to the royal family. Derik refused to join the military for this reason and he had gone further to refuse the marriage proposal from the royal family, as they hoped to tie him down through marriage with the youngest princess. Since they can''t hold him down the best thing to do now is to eliminate him. What kept amusing Derik was that this plan was actually well thought out. He is meant to die at the hands of the messenger of death but if he does survive, it means not to them since he will incur the wrath of the poor masses of this kingdom, this way he has no way but to remain on the side of the throne. Since he only works for the royal family as a mercenary, there is always an option to reject the mission but this would mean he is going against the royal family, the nobles, and the church of light. Going against those three factions is too much, even for him, therefore Derik was left with no choice but to accept the mission. "Tell the royal family, the nobles and the church of light that our great kingdom is in its time of need, I, Lucia will be more than happy to lend this great kingdom by strength¡­ I will do as ordered and when the messenger of death appears, he will have me to deal with¡­ As a citizen of this great kingdom, I remain loyal to the crown¡­. Tell them not to worry about my payment¡­ I do not wish to charge the crown for such internal matters" Derik said with a charming smile on his face, causing all those who were around him and tensed to calm down. With that dealt with, the messengers of the crown left, leaving Derik with some time to ponder on what to do next. As the messenger of death, if he wished he would make sure the messenger of death will not appear during the occasion but that wouldn''t solve anything. Without the messenger of death appearing to defend its believers, his source of faith power will be cut off and even if he does appear, what will he do? Breathing out heavily, Derik released a small green cloud from his nostrils, and right before his eyes, the green cloud began changing form, slowly taking the shape of his past self. Waving his hand a darkish purple gas escaped his body and soon flew over to the n.a.k.e.d him standing right in front of him. Completely covering the clone, the green gas took the shape of his past sleeves mage done which had a good and a death scythe in its hand. Derik had no intentions of giving up his source of faith and since his godly powers allowed him to create clones by splitting his soul, it''s only natural he would create someone who will represent the God of death and destruction. "The kingdom wants a battle between myself and the messenger¡­ we are both meant to battle ourselves to the death so I''ll give them just that¡­.a battle so intense, bloody and breath taking that it will be recorded in the books of history!" Derik said with a sinister smile on his face. Chapter 414 - 414: Invincible Lucia As the priests of the church of light matched into the residential area, a small army of twenty knights of light followed tightly behind, and right in front of them all was a youth with unusually pale skin, beautiful darkish purple eyes, and long flowing hair. This man wasn''t even dressed in armor, instead, he wore a black leather jacket, black trousers, and a black boot to complement it all. His hands were covered with black gloves and strapped to his back was a black metal double-bladed spear. His figure was not as imposing as that of his brother Chloe. In fact, he was considered extremely attractive and not terrifying but for the fact this man was able to win against Chloe, it didn''t matter. "Go, wipe out these heretics from the face of the earth!" Priest Khalid roared and the knights of light kneeled in response before charging forward. Derik remained silent as he watched the crowd stand firm in defiance. The statue of the God of destruction was surrounded by defenseless citizens of the kingdom who strongly believed that this God is their hope for a better life. Derik remained silent and with his eyes shot he slowly assimilated the true emotions of these people. In the most trying times does the faith of a man reveal itself at its best. These people watched armed knights ready to slaughter them for their beliefs approach and all they could do was stand and pray to the one they believe in. Even Derik was touched by this and he wished he could just slaughter everyone here. "I ordered that these heretics be wiped out¡­ why do you still stand here doing nothing?" Father Khalid''s voice reached his ears, causing him to slowly open his eyes. Turning his attention to the priest, Derik was strongly battling the strange voices in his head which were asking him to chop this man to a thousand pieces. His darkish purple iris lit up as he gazed into father Khalid''s eyes with his killing intentions made known. "You slaughter innocents for not believing in your religion? And you order me to be a part of it?" Derik hissed as his hands slowly reached for the double-bladed spear on his back. Causing the three priests to swallow a lump of saliva while the five knights surrounding them drew their weapons. "The lord of light is the one and only true God¡­ anyone who refuses to serve it does not deserve to live!" father Khalid replied with hints of fear in his eye and shaky tone. "I, Lucia has refused to serve any God¡­ does that mean I deserve to die too? Hehehe! Come and kill me if you can!" Derik roared as he pulled out his black spear. Boom! A massive ball of darkish purple flames suddenly poured down from the sky, completely consuming the twenty knights before they could reach the statue of the God of destruction. Above them was a hooded figure, whose face was covered with a bone mask and his body hidden in a black robe. Beside him was a black scythe levitating by his side and his eyes were like two balls of purple flames dancing wildly. "YOU DARE TRY TO HARM THE CHILDREN OF DEATH? MY MASTER HAS SENT ME TO VANQUISH ALL THEIR ENEMIES¡­ YOU MORTALS DO NOT STAND A CHANCE!" The clone growled spat out a mouthful of purple flames which promptly consumed father Khalid while Derik rolled out of the way. "Get back!" Derik growled at the two remaining priests and the five knights of light meant to be protecting them. They all watched as father Khalid rolled around and screamed at the top of his voice as he was consumed by the purple flames. Their eyes were filled with fear and admiration as they watched Lucia stare down the flying figure above. They have heard stories of the messenger of death and they have seen signs of its existence, so many people have died at its hands and even then these priests doubted its existence. Now they have come face to face with it, they even forgot to call on their God for assistance. Sounds of jubilation filled the streets as the civilians gathered and watched the most attractive man in the kingdom standoff against the messenger of death. The females in the crowd silently prayed that Lucia survived this encounter while the jealous men prayed that Lucia is given a slow and painful death, leaving Derik astonished. This fight which is aimed at their liberation is forgotten for such petty matters as his looks. He couldn''t help but curse these humans for their inability to focus on what''s important. "F###king mortals" Derik couldn''t help but curse. "¡­." Even his clone remained silent since it didn''t know how to reply to the thoughts of these humans. Bam! "Let''s go!" Derik roared as he charged towards the flying figure, causing people to gasp in shock at his bravery or stupidity. "YOU DARE ACT AGAINST THE MESSENGER OF DEATH? YOU MUST NOT VALUE YOUR LIFE!" the clone roared as it waved it''s and in a circular motion and three purple fireballs appeared all around it, before shooting it forward. Swoosh Bang! Bang! Bang! People watched in awe as Lucia skillfully evaded all three balls of purple flames with well-timed side steps before shooting into the air and striking forward at the messenger of death viciously! Peng! Both figures shot to the ground, landing roughly while gripping their weapons tightly! The eyes of those watching this battle were filled with shock and disbelief as they watched Lucia and the messenger of death exchange blows! Everyone has heard of Lucia''s strength and his brother was a reminder of what he is capable of but no one has seen him in battle to this day. Who would have thought the most charming man in the kingdom would also be the strongest man, strong enough to rival the messenger of death in strength. In the opinion of the civilians observing, even though Lucia is fighting against them, he has gained their respect. It doesn''t matter if he wins or loses, he is still a legend in their eyes! Chapter 415 - 415: Taking advantage In the opinion of the civilians observing, even though Lucia is fighting against them, he has gained their respect. It doesn''t matter if he wins or loses, he is still a legend in their eyes! Thud! Thud! Thud! Soldiers of the king marched towards the location of the battlefield with carriages carrying the royal family and the most important nobles of the kingdom. Arriving at the destination, they watched in disbelief as Lucia and the masked man clashed. The so called messenger of death was dressed in bone armor and his face was covered with a skull-shaped mask with bull horns. With its cloak gone, its slightly gigantic figure coupled with its buff build and equipment made it even more imposing. No matter how much they thought of it, these people couldn''t help but wonder how Lucia has survived for so long against a being as terrifying as this. "You have fought gallantly, for that reason I will give you a chance to serve the god of death¡­ I am sure he will grant you power beyond your wildest imagination!" the messenger of death said with its deep voice which could make anyone shiver. Hearing his offer, the royal family couldn''t help but gulp down a ball of saliva in fear. The greatest fear of any ruler is if their most talented fighter is recruited by the enemy and that is exactly why Lucia did this. He planned to make these fat, useless men realize his worth and because of this, he will earn even more benefits. The ground suddenly began to tremble terribly as war weapons were been pushed forward. Watching the royal family and nobles bring war ballista and catapults to use in such a densely populated area, filled Derik with disgust. Back then when he was still a palace master, he was willing to risk his life even for the weakest member of his palace of the dead, yet these idiots dare plan to use this in a place where the weak and defenseless citizens but he had no intentions of stopping them, the more hate the people bore towards the royal family and nobles, the easier his work becomes and the more negative emotions he can draw power from. "Lord Lucia we are here to support you, please step back!" the captain of the royal guards shouted out loud as the war weapons were put in place. Swoosh! Peng! They watched Lucia crouch low to evade the scythe attack meant to decapitate him in one go. In response, Lucia quickly followed up by slashing hard at the born armor but he couldn''t even leave a scratch on it. Woosh! The messenger of death suddenly reached out to him but Lucia was fast enough to duck to the side while delivering a strong left foot at the face, forcing the masked man to retreat by a few steps. Fire! Bang! A human-sized bolt shot so fast that even Derik could barely see it. It struck the messenger of death even before it could try to defend against it. The force of the attack was enough to knock it off its feet and send it flying but it didn''t even leave a scratch on the bone armor, causing the royal family and the nobles to gasp in fear. "Mere mortals dare try to defile a God?" the messenger asked with a light chuckle that sent cold shivers down the spines of all those who heard him. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three more rounds were fired but it could only force the messenger of death to retreat by three steps, even then it couldn''t leave a scratch on its armor. This made the people wonder how Lucia even got to survive for this long. Soon, people began to flee as the boulders on the catapult were set on fire and ready to launch. Derik watched in shock since he never expected these people to be shameless and ruthless. "What the hell are you trying to do?" Lucia growled at the captain of the royal guard. Jumping in front of the countless citizens present, he gripped his double-bladed spear tight as he watched the royal guards prepare to fire. He originally thought he would need to put in a lot more effort if he wishes to win the approval and support of the people since he never expected the royal family to make such stupid mistakes like this. "There are people here, hundreds of them¡­ defenseless citizens who have nothing to do with this freak of nature¡­ do you really wish to use these war weapons even when you know your people will be caught in the crossfire?" Lucia refused to move, using his body to shield the countless civilians standing behind him. The image of his firm back was etched in the hearts of all those who watched him and the next moment he could feel the power of faith pouring into him tremendously. Just as much as these people were beginning to love Lucia who seemed to be perfect, in all ways, their hatred for the royal family kept rising. Drawing strength from both positive and negative emotions, another small portion of Derik''s hair turned purple as he could feel his strength returning. [Everyone''s emotions are at the peak¡­ if I must make a move, to solidify my position in the hearts of these people, it has to be now!] Derik thought. .........¡­. Within one of the royal carriages, a chubby man with curly yellow hair and dressed in expensive royal attire watched the situation unfold from the window of the carriage. Sitting in front of him was another man who looked slightly older, with a well-combed gray hair tied back into a ponytail. His spectacles gave him a calm and intellectual look and his royal attire complemented his hairstyle. "We can''t possibly kill an assert like him¡­ not only is he strong and capable but he''s the closest person there is to perfection in this kingdom," the gray-haired man said fearfully. Chapter 416 - 416: I am your god The chubby yellow-haired man shot Lucia another meaningful glance from the window of the carriage with fear visible in his eyes. While others saw a perfect man, with perfect skin, a wild aura, and a worried expression on his face, trying to protect a bunch of defenseless citizens with his own body against the wicked royal family and nobles, King Jules saw a vicious beast of a man with razor-sharp teeth and a sinister smile spread across his face. While gazing at Derik with malicious intentions, Derik instantly felt his gaze and intentions and promptly shot a glance towards that particular carriage and with a smile on his face, he waved slightly at the King and his advisor, making both men turn as pale as ghosts! "Damn it! What the hell is he?" King Jules looked away in fear as he breathed heavily. King Jules has never been the type to envy a man since he has almost everything he needs and he''s fairly satisfied with his achievements and wants to live out the rest of his shot lives, eating, drinking, and sleeping with as many stunning women as he can. Right now, all he is trying to do is keep his crown from the greedy eyes of all those who wish to end him, and all through his short life, his greatest asset is his ability to sense danger or misfortune from a mile away. Every single time he see''s Lucia, all he can see is a dark cloud hovering over his head, spreading like a plague across his little kingdom and as much as he would love to end Lucia with his catapults and war ballista''s, there are too many people here and thanks to his selfless act just now, killing him will cause an even greater uproar. "How sure am I that I will be able to kill him with this even if I try? There is something about this youth that is just too terrifying, even for me" King Jules muttered with a sweaty face. "Because you won''t be able to¡­" Lucia''s voice echoed in his ears causing both men in the carriage to scream in fear. Lucia was seated in the carriage with his legs crossed and his hands spread across the King''s shoulder, with a sinister smile on his face. Looking outside once again, the king realized that all the war weapons were set ablaze by purple flames and the entire royal guards were reduced to ashes. Jubilant screams and cries of joy feel the streets as the citizens cheered in ecstasy for the victory of their new god. They gathered around the fiery purple werewolf and worshiped it like a god, thanking it for its mercy upon Lucia who allowed him to flee after his selfless act. Be it, Lucia or the messenger of death, both have acquired the respect of the people and even right now, Derik could feel more power flowing into his body. These people thought they were pouring their faith into two different people but it was just one being in two forms. The guards surrounding the carriage were petrified by an unknown spell and now Lucia was sitting inside the carriage with the most important person in the kingdom, who is only a few breaths away from him. Call it fear or despair or whatever, King Jules and his advisor were terrified out of their mind. None of them dared to talk as they waited for Derik to speak first, each and every one of them terrified of getting killed even before they can beg for their lives. "You see, I have lived as a god too long for me to live as a mortal again¡­" Derik said while rubbing his forehead with a frown on his face. "W-what do you mean?" King Jules sat properly and responded boldly. Judging based on Derik''s first words and his actions, he could tell Derik has no intentions of killing him or anyone. So he chose to remain calm and collected while trying to communicate with him. "The kid known as Lucia is dead, I swallowed him whole¡­ The church of light speaks about the god of light facing against the gods of creation and destruction, thousands of years ago¡­. It speaks of the great battle that almost destroyed the entire realm, but it didn''t tell you how the god of destruction gravely injured the god of light before his death, forcing it to flee in fear!" Derik hissed. Instantly his eyes flared up with power and a skull-shaped ball of darkish purple flames appeared at the center of the carriage, letting out bone-chilling shrieks. Judging based on the story Derik just told and the confidence in his tone, they could tell he wasn''t lying when he spoke about the god of destruction, harming the god of light before his death. King Jules has never been a religious person and his flexibility made it easy for him to mingle with almost anyone. Lucia currently claiming that the original Lucia is dead confirmed his suspicion and this gave birth to another question. "If all you say is true, then what are you? Another demon? Of vengeful spirit? Or are you really the messenger of death?" King Jules couldn''t help but shiver as he spoke those words. No matter what Derik chose to pick, he will always be terrifying enough to make their lives miserable. "Hahahahaha! You got it all wrong¡­ I am no vengeful ghost or messanger¡­ No, no, no, no¡­ I am Derik Angus, the god of death and destruction¡­ the person that sent your god of light running for his life¡­ and the one who will do it again, very soon!" Derik said with a vicious smile on his face making everyone around him shiver. Immediately he said that the fiery purple werewolf vanished and the frozen guards began to move again. King Jules watched some sort of essence or power flow into Derik and another portion of his hair was given another purple streak. His purple eyes glowed even brighter and his skin got even smoother. The power he was initially radiating vanished and he looked like another harmless youth, dressed in expensive clothing. "I am your god!" Derik chuckled lightly. Chapter 417 - 417: Your soul is mine Originally Derik was prepared to keep plotting against the royal family and gaining the trust of the people while making them loathe the royal family but in just a moment he changed his mind on how to do things. In his past life, he was never the type to plot against an enemy, he could barely remember the last time he did. When threatened back there he just confronted the enemy head-on and resolved matters with his fist. Choosing a different method of dealing with enemies gave him a strange feeling that made him uncomfortable. He thought of the future after he takes the throne, then what? He was never the type that loved ruling and even if he did, he would draw too much attention. Dealing with a kingdom as small as this shouldn''t be an issue for someone at his level but dealing with the empire is something else entirely. "So tell me, what do you want from us? We are mere mortals¡­ so why would a God need us?" King Jules asked his questions while trying to sound humble. If Derik is as strong as he claims and he is what he says he is, then with his power, he should be able to subdue this world with a snap of his finger, according to the stories of his strength and demonic power. Gazing at King Jules for a while, Derik was a bit impressed with the way the mind of the youth works. With the amount of faith power he has acc.u.mulated in the last month, he was nearing the silver realm power level and for now, he can read the mind of weak men if he puts in some effort. Answering this man''s question will not only solidify his claim but will also reveal his weakness any normal man would hide his weakness but Derik was no man! "You are smart I like that" Derik commended King Jules. His nails grew longer as he gently tapped the king''s forehead and a visible darkish purple energy flowed through his body, into that of the King. At first King, Jules screamed and trembled as tears rolled down his fat cheeks but soon all the pain was gone and what came was a feeling the old man had never felt before. Strength! Power! His fat shrank by a reasonable size and he could feel muscles bulging from all parts of his body. His body felt as light as feather and he could feel a fierce energy pumping into his veins. Bam! The door of the carriage yanked open and numerous guards wielding their weapons found only two men inside the carriage. They could see the king was alright and they felt embarrassed for barging in. These men apologized, claiming they heard the king scream and thought he was in trouble but the king was too fascinated with his newfound strength to punish or scold them. But that didn''t stop him from taking note that these men couldn''t see Derik who was seated in the carriage with them. They acted as if he wasn''t there at all, leaving these two men a bit more convinced that Derik is the real deal. "I died in my battle with the God of light¡­ defeated, my godly essence scatters across the world¡­ A true God cannot be killed permanently, I just awakened from my slumber and chose Lucia as my host¡­ as for me needing you¡­ that''s partly true and false¡­ I need to find my godly essence and to do that I need eyes and ears everywhere to make it easier for me¡­but that does not mean I need you to make this happen, you will only make things easier for me" Derik gave them a rough explanation of his situation. He chose to give King Jules a gift first, before going on to explain. "Work with me and I will raise you from the level of a small king to an emperor of this empire" Derik''s eyes let out a bright glow which made death''s aura rooted deep inside King Jules tremble greatly, causing him to get excited as well. The thoughts of him becoming the emperor of this great empire has crossed his mind once but he never dwelt on such dreams for too long since it''s almost impossible to achieve but if someone like Derik is giving him an assurance as strong as this, that meant there is a chance for him. More fame and glory will be attached to his name and he will live out the rest of his days in luxury! "If you work well with me, I will go as far as increasing your life span by a few decades¡­" Derik whispered those words in his ears with a soothing voice that made him shiver in ecstasy. "I- is that really possible?" King Jules was practically salivating all over Derik but he didn''t bother himself with that as he back and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Of course! I am the God of death! I am death itself! Depending on your contribution to my goal, I will make sure the angel of death will never come near you¡­ you will live last the hundred years limit of mere mortals in this life and I am willing to double the life span if you do well¡­ all you have to do is pledge your allegiance to me and give your soul over to me!" Derik said. Lost in the moment, King Jules fell on his knees and bowed to Derik swearing to serve the God of death from now to the very end. Upon doing this, Derik could feel another wave of refreshing faith power pour into his body, making him slightly paler than usual. At this point, his nails have already turned black and his lips were painted purple but this made him even more attractive than usual. "Now, Your soul is mine!" Derik said while licking his lips. Unknown to King Jules, his advisor started silent, unable to speak even when he tried. It felt like a powerful force was holding him down, preventing him from moving or interfering with their business. "What now?" King Jules finally lifted his face to look Derik in the eye. "Let''s start by wiping out all those who dare plot against you in this kingdom¡­ those who want your throne!" Derik said as the advisor''s head exploded almost instantly. Chapter 418 - 418: Taking control The royal courtyard on that very day was filled to the brim with the various nobles'' family heads of the kingdom, including the Alexis family of the Kedus kingdom. According to the king and a large portion of the noble family, Lucia''s actions of protecting the civilians during the riot are a crime against the crown and the nobles and could be considered treason. The punishment is death. These people overlooked his contribution in the battle against the messenger of death and all those that saw him fight that way were terrified of his strength, some consider him a threat while the rest feel jealous of his perfect looks coupled with his amazing strength, so this is just an opportunity to kill him off. Regardless most of the nobles knew the implications of killing someone who had just earned the love and respect of the people and Lucia''s death will lead to a major riot but none of them cared about it. All they wanted is the pretty boy to die. Bang! The doors of the courtyard yanked open and Derik walked in fearlessly. He still wore the complete black attire he had when battling the messenger of death but his face and hair looked even more charming than usual, annoying most of the nobles even further. Reaching the center of the courtyard, Derik shot Alfred a confident smile since he could see how worried the man was and he truly appreciated his sincere emotions towards him. Bam! "In light of the recent happenings¡­ a few noble families are not satisfied with your actions and claim you are the reason the entire royal guards were wiped out¡­" King Jules spoke slowly. People were too focused on Derik to notice the fear in his eyes while he spoke. They failed to realize that the kingdom was now in the hands of the man they are about to kill. "And they call it treason and wish to end my life¡­ the usual" Derik interrupted the king''s speech causing an uproar. While the King is seating at the highest point of the room where the throne is located, with a good number of well-trained guards standing by his sides, the nobles were seated at the two sides of the room and Derik was standing. With only a small space separating him from these weak mortals, these people didn''t know Derik was putting a lot of effort to just stand there and not tear them apart. The smile on his face never faded because he knew these people had only a few minutes to live. Did I say minutes? I meant seconds! "You are charged with putting the Kingdoms interest first before your selfish interest¡­ yet hundreds of people at the slums die weekly due to starvation¡­ many people are executed for petty crimes¡­ your kids r.a.p.e defenseless ladies of the slum and kill their husbands¡­ crimes upon crimes, bodies upon bodies piled up¡­ Your sins stacking up and you all turn a blind eye and act like you see nothing¡­" Derik said as slowly walked towards the throne where the king was seated. The guards quickly surrounded the king and kept screaming at Derik to stop but he moving forward with a smile on his face. The thought of mere mortals who have lived for a few decades annoyed him greatly. These people are yet to see the worst of this world, back in his days, he barely had time to enjoy the world. He kept fighting from the very beginning till the day he died. "Mere mortals like you dare tell me what to do!" Derik''s voice deepened as his eyes let out a purple flash as he walked up the stairs. His words left these people confused and lost but no understood why they kept feeling the cold embrace of death all around them. Bang! The massive golden doors of the white hall suddenly shut tight giving the hearts of everyone in the room a jolt. "What is the meaning of this!" Many nobles screamed out loud but Derik could feel their fear. The combined fear of everyone in the hall was so intoxicating that Derik was almost lost in the feeling. The fear these fat and weak nobles released was far greater than the fear he felt from the civilians at the slum! He kept drowning in the feeling, silently praying it will never end. He could feel his strength returning faster than ever and he couldn''t help but wonder why he didn''t do this earlier! By simply waving his hand, all the guards that were standing in his way with their weapons unsheathed were sent flying across the room. King Jules in response quickly stood and bowed respectfully as Lucia sat on the throne. The entire hall was silent as the nobles watched in terror as all ten hit the ground hard, cracking their skulls open and they watched the blood flow out of their wounds until it formed a small pool of blood. They all wanted to stand and flee or just scream for help but they couldn''t say a single word, neither could they stand on their feet. They couldn''t understand what was going on and even Alfred was filled with fear and confusion. "Lucia?" He managed to mutter, catching Derik''s attention. "Interesting¡­ I didn''t expect one of you to muster enough will power to talk while under the effect of my death stare" Derik chuckled. At this moment, everyone in the room realized that this entire thing was already planned by the king, or was it the other way around? The way the king stood behind Derik respectfully, made them understand that Derik had already taken control of the entire kingdom. Right now their fates are in his hands and if he should decide they die now, no one will be able to survive. "What are you?" Alfred said again but this time his eyes were bloodshot and his face was red. It looked as if he was lacking oxygen. "You spoke again? How is that even possible?" Derik was more shocked than surprised. He didn''t think anyone amongst these useless nobles will have enough willpower to battle his death gaze. Chapter 419 - 419: Genocide For many present in the massive hall, they couldn''t understand why Lucia seemed annoyed by the fact that Alfred had spoken twice but for Derik, he couldn''t help but feel pissed off. The fact that a mere mortal like Alfred could resist his death gaze twice through sheer will keeps reminding him that in this world, he is nowhere as strong as he should be. At his current level, he is no different from a mere mortal with some fancy and flashy powers. At this moment he was no different from any supernatural being in this world, he was only slightly stronger! And he can still be killed! With a wave of his hand, Alfred was pulled out of the crowd of nobles and pulled towards him by an invisible force. The expression on Derik''s face was not that of anger or rage but confusion! He knew Lucia''s backstory and he knew how his parents abandoned him, waiting for the disease to take his life. He couldn''t tell for sure if this was love or something but, in his opinion, no such feelings should exist between the two. Was it that these are his true feelings? The revelation of his son''s death must have triggered something within the man that must have granted him so much willpower that allowed him to resist his death gaze twice. "Love within family¡­ that''s how it should be but things are not always that way" Derik was speaking to himself. He could remember his past life where he was betrayed by the only two people he could call family and how he was betrayed by Blake whom he picked up and took in as his sworn brother! The word family always gave Derik a painful sting, followed by bad memories. "Your son is dead, just like he was meant to¡­ I am Derik Angus and you should be afraid of me!" Derik said while revealing his razor-sharp fangs. Contrary to his expectations, Alfred wasn''t scared by his words, instead, he was saddened by the news of his son''s death. He stopped struggling against the invisible force while Derik dropped him gently. He got on his feet and offered King Jules the throne before standing behind him. He could feel the fear in King Jule''s mind, he quickly assumed that Derik had changed his mind or gone against his words, deciding to take over the throne. "I AM DERIK ANGUS, THE GOD OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN YOUR RELIGION¡­ YES, WE GODS EXIST!" Derik said as his eyes flared up and a darkish purple aura escaped his body, before shooting into the corpse of the king''s guards that approached him earlier. These men who were once dead, drowning in a pool of their blood began shivering and slowly they rose to their feet with a foul stench of death oozing from them. Their eyes were hollow and there was no sign of life in them but they moved so quickly that one would think they are ghosts and not humans. Wooosh! Sprinting into the crowd of nobles, the undead soldiers quickly began slaughtering all those who entertained the thought of involving the church of light in this issue. It wasn''t that he wasn''t confident in his strength but Derik felt like this isn''t the time to make more enemies. He would rather stay hidden for now and build his strength and also trying to get fanatics to work with him, so he chose to use them as a means of showcasing his strength. "ALL I HAVE TO SAY RIGHT NOW IS THIS¡­ JOIN ME AND I WILL MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF THIS LITTLE KINGDOM¡­ I WILL TURN THIS KINGDOM INTO AN EMPIRE AND THIS WORLD WILL KNOW EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU¡­ ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WORK WITH ME¡­ AND DON''T BOTHER ABOUT SPEAKING, I CAN TELL WHAT YOU REALLY FEEL" Derik said with a sinister grin on his face. Soon screams and cries of help could be heard throughout the kingdom. Derik with the undead guards chose to murder all those who were adamant about going against him while he chose to spare the lives of those just scared and wary of him. To cover up for his actions, the King, Jules had to declare those noble families as enemies of the crown before leading a small army to wipe out every single member of that household. In a single day, hundreds of nobles died and their blood dyed the streets red. This action reminded Derik of his past life! He remembered days when the empire would turn against him and he would settle it by going on a killing spree. The actions of the military against the civilians at the residential area were pinned on the dead nobles and as an act of goodwill, the king formally appointed Lucia as his new adviser. With this, the tension between the royal household and the people lessened and peace returned to the kingdom. During the first few months since his rise to power, Derik found a way to lock down the Kingdom, preventing emissaries from other kingdoms from walking in. Thanks to his godly senses, he could pick out spies through their thoughts and negative emotions. Just like Derik promised, King Jule''s shaky position as the king was cemented and no one dared talk back at him or question his actions. While the nobles were more scared of Derik who was now living in the royal palace with him, what they didn''t know was that King Jules was actually the one ruling. Except for a few times when Derik gave out orders, all the other decisions concerning the welfare of the kingdom were managed by the king. What these people didn''t know was that Derik never wanted to rule since he considered it hectic and he would most likely end up drawing the attention of the reincarnated new and old gods. All he needed was a quiet and safe environment where he can focus on recovering his strength while trying to figure out where his godly essences are located. Chapter 420 - 420: Secluded cultivation! With all the possible threats in the kingdom neutralized, Derik could finally focus on dealing with the church of light! First of all, he had to secure the civilians of the kingdom who worshiped him like a god, just the way they worship the god of destruction and death. Following King Jules''s orders, the army was dispatched into the residential area of the kingdom but unlike last time, there were all sent to defend the people. Lucia publicly declared the people had the freedom to serve any god they like. While this caused an uproar all over the empire since the kingdom of Kedus is only a level five kingdom in the Pelgas empire. It could be considered a small kingdom and one of the weakest in the entire empire, yet it dared make such a declaration even though the royal family of the entire empire accepted this religion. The Church of light was not just any small group, it had a force that could rival that of an empire so no one dared to directly antagonize it. Listening to the reports on how the King''s new advisor made such an insane declaration came as a shock and most superpowers considered it as amusing. No one took this seriously and no one even thought the kid, Lucia Alexis would last a week. The first notable clash between the kingdoms forces and the knights of light of church of light happened at a small temple erected by the poor masses, dedicated to the god of death and destruction who has brought them great fortune ever since they started serving it. The church branch in the kingdom quickly dispatched fifty knights of light to destroy the temple but they were soon intercepted by a small squad of ten, led by Derik! A fight broke out and all fifty soldiers of the church of light and Derik''s little group. For the very first time in a long while, the news of Derik''s victory shook the empire! The thought of only eleven men, slaughtering fifteen soldiers with no casualties was just too stunning! According to eyewitnesses, the ten soldiers were only average at best, the main issue was Lucia who moved so fast that he left afterimages behind. Those who talked about the battle claimed that it wasn''t a fair fight, instead, it was more like a one-sided bloodbath! News of Lucia deflecting arrows, diving into a crowd, and slaughtering everyone or how he is able to fight and protect his subordinates all at once kept spreading, improving the fame of the kingdom and Derik''s fame most of all. The faith of the royal family and the nobles in Derik kept rising as he kept winning more battles easily. During his spare time, he took the time to personally train the soldiers, giving them some tips while showing them a few tricks. His wealth of knowledge when it comes to everything far surpassed that of the oldest men in the kingdom, making these people believe his claim concerning his identity as the god of death. Even though he has refused to showcase his powers in public for certain reasons best known to him, that didn''t stop Derik from flaunting his powers in meeting sessions. The more fame he brought to the kingdom, the more people accepted him and put their faith in him. converting that much faith into power was enough to push Derik past the bronze realm and into the silver realm. At this level, he had no need to fear any of the next-door kingdoms. At this realm he was able to summon the accursed gate of the underworld inside his chambers, filling it with an abundant source of death aura. Since his body was still too weak, he lacked the backing of Demos, the guardian spirit and he wasn''t too sure how the concentrated death aura of the underworld would affect his feeble body and mind, he chose to just let the death aura flow into the sealed chamber for a short while before releasing his magic. At his realm, he can only do this once a week and but with the amount of death aura he could summon, he easily replenished his lost strength and pushed his realm even higher. During the month of his breakthrough, the small skirmishes between the kingdoms army and the church of light kept rising, becoming more intense and bloodier. Both sides kept losing members of their forces and this was only because Derik has refused to come out of his secluded cultivation. After ordering King Jules not to disturb and wait for his return, the King couldn''t help but feel anxious. Derik had made enemies both within the kingdom and outside. The kingdom of Kedus was on the rise and other level five kingdoms and a few level four kingdoms couldn''t sit by and watch their next-door rivals grow in strength. Since the empire has remained silent since the beginning, these kingdoms took the opportunity to publicly declare their position with the kingdom. They claimed that the Kingdom of Kedus had turned their backs on the empire and the lord of light and for that, they should be punished. They claimed that the royal family even kept silent when their army clashed with the faithful followers of the church and for that they should be punished. It didn''t take long before three-level five kingdoms eager to gain the favor of the church and the favor of the higher level Kingdoms. Their forces gathered in a few weeks and they slowly began marching towards Kedus. "We are doomed" King Jules covered his face with his palms as he was informed about the fifteen thousand strong armies of the three kingdoms marching towards Kedus. It wasn''t that he didn''t have faith in Derik, the problem is the entire kingdom''s military might was slightly over four thousand and the main problem now was that Derik has been away for over a month now and no one dared to wake him from his slumber. The last guard that tried to reach him, was reduced to a pile of bones in a few seconds!Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #!_52671656056908194 for visiting. Chapter 421 - 421: Faith! With faces filled with worry, King Jules and the entire noble family heads of the kingdom gathered at the sacred chambers dedicated to their new god. Images of the guard who dared to touch the steel doors of this room and was reduced to ash were still very fresh in their heads and at this moment, they didn''t know what next to do. Even though they knew disturbing Derik may mean death, they also knew that not doing anything meant death for them as well. They have put their entire faith in Derik and this is the time for him to prove to them that he is truly the god of death and destruction. "Lucia¡­" Alfred called out slowly. After the entire event and the mass murder of countless members of the kingdom''s noble families, Derik''s attitude towards the Alexis family had not yet changed. While Alfred thought Derik would lock them up or kill them all or even put them under home arrest but he never did such things, neither did he look for ways of holding them down. His attitude towards them has always remained the same as it was even before they found out his secret, he treated them a lot better than other nobles. "You already know Lucia is gone¡­ I prefer you address me by my real name" Derik''s voice echoed from within the room, leaving everyone shocked. On multiple occasions, the king had tried to call him out from a distance but Derik never responded but it took Alexis just a word to make him reply. These people couldn''t help but envy the relationship between the Alexis family and their god of death and destruction. "okay¡­ Derik, we need your help, the¡­." Alfred was trying to speak but Derik cut him off. "They have joined hands against us and their forces are currently marching towards this kingdom¡­. I can hear you all even from this sealed room¡­" Derik said calmly. The doors of the room yanked open and a man engulfed in a darkish purple aura walked out. Within the cl.u.s.ter of sinister aura were two bright darkish purple eyes and his voice sounded like that of a thousand people crying out for help. All the nobles present were terrified and even the king could barely stand on his feet, they all gazed at the cl.u.s.ter of sinister aura as if they were looking at death. "Your lack of faith in me is quite annoying¡­" Derik said with furrowed eyebrows as his body forcefully pulled in the aura. At this point, he was close to his original look, and Lucia''s unique features were already gone. Anyone from the past who sees him now will definitely recognize him as Derik the angel of death! His black and purple hair has grown to the waist level and his psychical features were more profound now. He wasn''t too muscular but he was still very muscular, he perfectly represented the word perfect. "Are you really Derik?" King Jules asked fearfully since he didn''t expect Derik to change so much. Derik could tell the other nobles the same questions so he had no reason to complain.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #!_52688523215555280 for visiting. "Yes¡­ the more strength I recover, the more I return to my old self" Derik explained slowly. He was now at the mid-grade of the silver realm and his strength at this level could be considered high since he''s dealing with powerless humans. He couldn''t help but feel extremely lucky since he never expected he would still be able to access the underworld domain. After pondering on it, he found it reasonable since a domain is somewhere no one can invade unless they are invited in by the creator. No 4guardian spirits. Even in death, Demos was still so helpful to him, Derik began to miss having his annoying voice in his head. He felt truly lonely in this world. "Gather only a thousand fighters and place them outside the gates of this Kingdom, leave the rest to me" Derik said calmly while turning around to return to the room. "What do you plan to do?" Alfred asked the question on everyone''s mind. "What do I plan to do? You all worship the god of death and destruction¡­ I will show the world that my people cannot and will not be harmed easily!" Derik''s eyes let out a purple light as he spoke. Not waiting for them to ask any more questions, he drifted into the room like a ghost and shut the doors behind him. If only he can summon the passageway to his domain, he should be able to bring his undead army into this world. The souls of his allies who died at the hands of the dumb humans of this world were pulled into his domain as well. "Blink, Kira, Elsa, I will see you all again¡­ but first I need to get stronger¡­ strong enough to destroy the beyond and make a safe place you can call home¡­" Derik muttered as he gazed at the sealed bone gate right in front of him. Through his rough estimations, he will never be able to enter the demigod realm without regaining his godly essence¡­ If he decides to keep cultivating this way, he will only reach the peak of the gold realm at most, and without reaching the demigod realm, he won''t be able to have access to his realm, and if he should forcefully open the gates just a little bit, he will most likely end up hurting himself badly. "I am seriously limited here¡­. It''s really annoying" Derik said. Clasping his hands together and stomping the ground with his feet, a smaller gate appeared and he walked in. The sky was red and the land was barren with countless cracks visible on it. The realm that was once the most feared place during Demos''s time as the angel of death, meant almost nothing now. It looked abandoned and it seemed to be losing its power slowly. [I guess this is what happens when the owner of the realm dies¡­ slowly it keeps fading until there is nothing left] Derik lamented in his heart. He too has been gone for a long while and for that reason, he couldn''t tell the condition of his realm and could only hope it wasn''t too bad for the souls of all his friends and family he dragged into that place. "I can''t let the things you love vanish¡­ I cant love the last thing you left behind crumble, Demos¡­ For that reason, I will make this place mine!" Derik''s eyes flared up with power, he let his aura surge into the domain without restrain! Chapter 422 - 422: A glimpse of his power "I can''t let this place die out¡­" Derik muttered as he kept releasing his aura which carried his soul imprint. Ever since Demos died, the land was first chaotic since there was no one present to lead the beasts of the underworld. This continued for over a thousand years and after that, all the inhabitants of the underworld could feel the power maintaining this realm crumbling. If the realm should crumble, it simply means they will be destroyed alongside it. So when they sensed the presence of a new master willing to save them from their deadly fate, these magic beasts couldn''t help but be joyous and grateful. No one wished to know who or what saved them, all they knew was that the person who saved them must possess abilities similar to that of Demos and that''s the only reason the domain was willing to accept him. They all watched from a distance as barrages of green chains shot out of the ground and lashed onto the levitating Derik. He didn''t even struggle, instead, he chose to watch the chains wrap around him and slowly pull him into the depths of the underworld, where he will become one with the realm! ......................................................... Two more weeks passed by and Derik refused to reveal himself to the world again. On the last day of the second week, the joint forces of the three kingdoms appeared from insight bringing fear into the hearts of the people. It has been more than a century since this kingdom had fought a war and thanks to the peaceful times, men had become weak, so weak that they disgust Derik. The church saw this as an opportunity to strike back and wipe out the royal family and nobles of this kingdom, so they too began mobilizing what was left of their forces in Kedus. They expected the kingdom to send all their forces to the front lines but to their greatest surprise, only a five hundred strong men from the cavalry unit were sent outside the gates while five hundred marksmen were positioned at the walls with a few war weapons to support. The decision left a lot of people confused but the royal family went ahead to announce that this was the instructions of the god they chose to serve. They went further to encourage the people to have a little faith in Derik, since he already got them this far, he will most likely get them past this war. ........................................................... The two armies stood face to face, only a few hundred meters away from each other and just a word away from clashing. The spies of the various kingdoms and even the empire lurked around in the shadows, observing. These people were eager to know why the people of Kedus and the royal family chose to leave the lord of light behind and serve the god of destruction. They wished to know why they sent only a thousand men to welcome a power force of fifteen thousand men. Many considered their actions stupid and considered them crazy but when looking at the determination in the eyes of the five hundred cavalries, on their horses they couldn''t help but feel that these people actually believed in this their god. They have heard of the god of destruction sending out its messenger of death and its demonic fiery purple werewolf. But these were all stories, these people have never really seen it happen and that''s why they sent these spies, they wished to see it for themselves. ............................................................... Sitting on the snow-white horse, in his royal armor and his golden lance in his hand, King Jules slowly took off his helmet and faced the army. Thanks to whatever treatment Derik gave to him back at the Carriage on their first encounter, he was no longer fat and chubby, right now, his physique rivaled that of any great warrior but his strength far surpassed theirs. "Right here, right now, I stand with you all, not because we are the mightiest or we are going against a weak foe and I wish to claim the victory and gain more fame by bullying the weak¡­ no, today we are here to protect our religion¡­ our beliefs and our people¡­ everything I have done, everyone I have said so far has been in accordance to the will of our maker! And today our maker said we should go ahead fearlessly and meet the enemy in battle¡­. He assured us of our victory! And to prove my faith and loyalty to this greater being, I have decided to put my life on the line as well¡­ I will lead the charge and I promise you, we will come out victorious!" King Jules roared! "THAT WON''T BE NECESSARY!" Suddenly a loud voice that sounded like countless thunderclaps shook the skies and made the heavens tremble. The bright day quickly turned to night in an instant as a massive bone gate appeared above the forces of Kedus! A figure dressed in a sleeveless hooded mage robe with two pairs of black angelic wings appeared beneath the gate. Within the hood was a pair of blazing purple eyes and from his mouth, a darkish purple gas sipped out each time he opens his lips. "SINCE YOU HAVE PLACED YOUR FAITH IN ME, LET ME SHOW THIS WORLD A GLIMPSE OF MY POWER!" Derik said as he waved his hands and the massive bone gates slowly opened. "COME FORTH BEASTS OF THE UNDERWORLD, FEAST ON THE FLESH OF MY ENEMIES AND GET DRUNK WITH THEIR BLOOD!" As Derik said those words, strange beasts that have never been seen in this world surged out of the underworld in large numbers. Compared to these demons, the fifteen thousand strong armies were like a speck of dust in the desert, and in just a few seconds they were entirely consumed in battle. Many tried to flee for their lives but they were quickly caught and slaughtered. The spies sent to watch the battle were horrified and they even began to wonder if those who sent them will believe the stories they have to tell. Their legs trembled in fear as they watched the one-sided bloodbath take place! Chapter 423 - 423: Destroying the church! Those sent as spies to watch the battle were frozen at a spot unable to move as they watched the demonic beasts feed on the enemy forces. Strangely these magic beasts ignored their existence and only focused on the enemy forces. The way they attacked and moved was way too coordinated, making people look at the figure in the sky whose face was hidden within a hood. They kept gazing at the figure hoping to realize his identity but the more they stared at him, the harder it became to see him.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #!_52736893405681622 for visiting. On this very day, the god of destruction and death made an appearance and murdered all fifteen thousand men sent to burn Kedus to the ground. As soon as the enemy united forces were completely destroyed, the beast of the underworld, took to the skies, surging into the massive bone gate from which they came from. Boom! Shooting to the ground like a cannonball, Derik struck the ground so hard that he created a two-meter-deep crater right in front of the small forces of Kedus. He watched the excitement and joy in their eyes and he couldn''t help but feel good about himself. When was the last time someone had looked at him that way? Only members of the palace of death have ever made him feel this way. Raising his palm, an invisible vortex appeared above his head, pulling in the souls of the dead. While the soul of people these days are too weak due to the absence of cultivation, fifteen thousand is no small number, and the consumption of all fifteen thousand souls instantly boosted his power from the mid-grade of the silver realm to the peak grade of the silver realm. "Now you have seen my power, I hope you have no problems with me completely eradicating the church from this kingdom!" At this level, Derik''s eyes were filled with darkness and then a pair of darkish purple flaming skull, dancing in them. King Jules shook his head as he and his men were still tongue-tied by Derik''s performance. He was actually expecting a great battle with Derik by their side, casting large-scale spells and after a long and well-fought battle, they will emerge victorious with only a handful of survivors, but this was just too overwhelming. "I am the absolute¡­ this shouldn''t surprise you¡­" Derik said before shooting toward the skies. ............................................................¡­.. Bang! Landing at the Center of the Kedus kingdom was the Cathedral of the church of light in Kedus. The building was surrounded by numerous knights of light and all of them seemed to carry the same aura. They wreaked of the beyond! Snap! Snapping his fingers, the moon vanished and the dark clouds vanished as well, returning night to day. Pushing his hood back, Derik revealed his identity as Lucia leaving the crowd around stunned. "The holy church has annoyed me, the god of death and destruction¡­ their fate is sealed¡­ Only death awaits them!" Derik muttered as he walked towards the knights of light fearlessly. "KILL HIM!" someone growled and all fifty men charged forward fearlessly. "Pointless!" Derik sneered. His death aura surged forward and invaded the bodies of the approaching knights. His eyes lit up with power as he snapped his fingers, causing all fifty soldiers to explode like balloons popped with a needle. Their cries and pleas for help could be heard as they surged into Derik''s body and for a split second, Derik felt refreshed by absorbing the souls of people from this world. He felt his strength rise considerably and he quickly concluded that this was as a result of the Beyond''s blessing placed on them. Since it''s part of the Beyond''s power, Derik felt refreshed while consuming it. Bang! The doors of the cathedral were burst open and Derik stepped in. At the altar ahead were three priests, over twenty knights of light, and a few deacons. Stepping into the church Derik suddenly felt suppressed by an invisible force which made his body feel heavy, golden chains shot down from the ceiling and all parts of the room, lashing on to Derik and binding him thoroughly. Each and every single one of those chains wreaked of the Beyond and this annoyed Derik, he could feel his strength slowly fading as the deacons and knights kept chanting some strange words while approaching. With each chant power flowed into Derik and out, shaving away small chunks of his strength as it continued the process. "I can''t believe father Khalid failed to spot the evil spirit residing in this body¡­ maybe he was not as faithful as we thought," A fat and bald priest said as he took bold steps towards Derik who was chained. Gazing around, Derik realized he was standing on a strange circular marking on the ground with strange symbols on it. Similar markings can be seen directly above him and on different parts of the room from which the chains emerged from. "Young¡­ beautiful¡­ perfect¡­ strong¡­ all vanity! I knew Lucia, the cripple oozed of vanity the moment I set my eyes on him¡­ from a cripple to a strong, handsome, and very capable warrior. I knew it couldn''t be normal¡­ and then the beasts of the underworld released upon the three kingdoms united forces, yet the so-called great warrior, Lucia was missing from the battlefield¡­ I knew something was up¡­even a fool could tell you''re true identity!" An old man in white robes said with a hint of disgust in his tone but Derik didn''t mind. He could tell that these people were pulling strength from the sleeping Beyond, yet they dare act recklessly in the presence of a true god who put the beyond in the condition he is now. If these people knew who they were trying to perform exorcism on, they would tremble in fear and pee their pants. Shuuuuuuu! A strong wind that smelt like death surged into the room as a vicious smile appeared on Derik''s face and his eyes lit up with power. "Even a fool can tell my true identity? Who am I then?" Derik licked his lips as he asked that question. Chapter 424 - 424: Rebuilding the palace of death(1) "Huh?" None of the priests expected Derik to be able to speak in this condition. Normally, any possessed person or supernatural beings caught by the chains of the beyond are either too weak to speak or they just scream in pain and agony. Only now did these people realize that Derik was yet to scream in pain or cry out for help or mercy. He kept gazing at them with a bone-chilling smile that made them feel like death was present in the room. "I ask again¡­ what am I?" Derik asked with the same sinister smile on his face causing the priests to take a step back instinctively. Thinking back on the information they gathered so far, Lucia arrived, and even after a purification ceremony was carried out by the late Father Khalid, he still wasn''t detected. Only after his appearance did the fiery demon wolf appear, alongside the messenger of death, and today, the gates of the underworld were opened by this man and demonic beasts entered this world for the very first time since the defeat of the god of death and destruction. It was obvious he was no normal evil spirit! Maybe he is truly a messenger as he claimed. At first, they were overwhelmed by fear and the thought of fleeing filled their mind but soon the fear vanished and was replaced with greed and excitement. These three priests realized that Derik was yet to break free from the constraints placed on him so they assumed he couldn''t. After analyzing the situation and realizing that Derik was no normal evil spirit, they wondered the kinds of promotion they will receive when the news that they dispelled the messenger of death who opened the gates of the underworld and slaughtered fifteen thousand men alone. They may be given the position of Archbishops instantly! "You are just another evil spirit while many see you as powerful, you are no different from the small bugs I have crushed¡­ You won''t be the first or the last evil I purge from this world!" the bald priest stepped forward and spoke boldly. It was obvious that the other two were still not too sure so the bald man chose to step up and take all the credit. He quickly pulled out a strange flask while whispering some words, he poured a large amount of holy water which instantly released a scorching sound, and Derik''s figure was soon shrouded in smoke. "Who sent you, speak and I will give you a painless death!" The fat man barked boldly. Woosh! A strong wind blew into the room, blowing away the entire smoke with his mouth, Derik sighed annoyingly and effortlessly shook off the chains from his body and walked towards the terrified fat man. Pa! Gripping on to the bald man''s neck with just one hand, Derik pulled him off the ground. "This is so boring and disappointing" Derik yawned as he turned his attention to the two priests present. From the beginning, he has always hated the concept of religion and that''s why he only makes use of it in a dire situation. In his past life he did not build up a sanctuary in his name, neither did he force people to worship him. He just let things happen as they should and never tried to be something else in a bid to gain the attention and admiration of mortals. In his opinion, Religion, in general, is for the weak-minded who cannot face reality alone so they put their faith in a nonexistent being who does not give a crap about them. Religion promotes dependency and that''s what he hated the most about it. Seeing that their god''s strength has failed, these three priests were so terrified that there was almost no difference between them and terrified children. This terrified everyone present! "I AM DERIK ANGUS, THE ONE THAT PUT YOUR SO-CALLED GOD OF LIGHT TO SLEEP¡­ ALL YOU ALL DO IS DRAW IS NOT EVEN UP TO A FRAGMENT OF HIS STRENGTH¡­ WATCHING YOU ALL TRY TO SUBDUE ME WITH SUCH INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF POWER VEXES ME GREATLY" Derik''s voice shook the entire building and it slowly began to crumble. Everyone screamed and they tried to move but they could not move a muscle. They screamed and cried out in fear as they gazed at Derik''s shadow and saw something strange. Even though he had the body of a human, his shadow was that of a mighty werewolf. They thought back on the scriptures that described the God of death and destruction in his normal form and they couldn''t help but realize that Derik may be the real deal! Having the right to summon the gates of the underworld in the human realm, the consuming of the souls of the dead, and even his looks fit in perfectly. Ever since he took over Lucia''s body, the body has been slowly changing form to match the shape of his original body. It was expected since it would be strange if a god''s soul doesn''t affect the mortal body in some way. In fact, a god''s soul shouldn''t be able to exist in a mortal body at all! "What is a god doing in a mortal body! You are supposed to be dead!" The elderly priest said as he brought out a pendant that looked like a light ray, pointing it forward. Derik couldn''t help but chuckle while seeing this. While this may be insignificant for him, it''s enough to suppress the supernatural beings of this world so he didn''t completely write them off. It wasn''t that their powers are false, it was just that these powers are nothing for someone like him. "Well, just like your religion says, I was killed by the lord of light but it didn''t add that your god was gravely injured in that battle and it''s currently trapped in a deep slumber until its wounds are completely healed¡­ as for me, gods cannot be killed, we just vanish and reappear a few hundred or thousand years later¡­ as for how my soul is able to inhabit the body of a mere mortal¡­ let''s just say, I am weakened now, but I''m still strong enough to wipe the floor with all of you!" Derik sneered Chapter 425 - 425: Rebuilding the palace of death (2) Crack! A bone-breaking sound echoed across the room and only then did Derik realize he just killed the bald priest without knowing. He felt a warm energy flow into his body and his power rise reasonably. Apparently, the priests possess more of the beyond blessings than the others. At a time like this, retaining his strength is necessary just in case he is to go against a large army or another reincarnated old or new god. The fact that he is still mortal troubled him greatly and he couldn''t help but feel insecure. "Humans are too fragile but they always act tough¡­ Sad" Derik yawned. Yawning due to boredom Derik decided not to waste any more time on these people. The war has just ended and his presence is needed at this crucial hour. This is the best time to strengthen people''s faith in him. while killing may grant him a minor power boost, creating a church of his own with devoted worshipers will help grant him more mana regeneration rate since this world lacks mana. Derik chose to continue playing God and using the religion he hated so much. "Turn to dust!" Derik said. His eyes widened as his death aura spread forth like a tsunami, crashing upon them mercilessly. Soon cries of pain and agony filled the air as the cathedral was engulfed in darkish purple flames. Stepping out of the building, Derik snapped his fingers, changing his clothes to something more comfortable. It was a sleeveless, black and red mage robe with a red hoody. His wings are gone and with his long waist-length black hair and his blazing purple eyes, Derik looked like himself in the old days and he also had a striking resemblance to the god of death in the church''s description. He could remember back then when he could only read about the creator, the angel of death, and all that but now people read about him. With his recent actions he had solidified his position in the hearts of the kingdom and all that is left now is to expand. .......................................................... Stories of the one-sided bloodbath that was supposed to be a war spread. At first, no one believed it! How could they believe that a massive gate made of bones and skulls appeared in the sky and opened up. From it, beasts of the underworld appeared and destroyed the entire fifteen thousand strong forces of the three-level five kingdoms. Many kings were prepared to even execute their spies but when they realized that all the spies sent by all the kingdoms were saying the same thing, they had to look into the matter personally. According to the report, the five hundred forces of the Kedus empire did not move a muscle and they had zero casualties. The news of the reincarnation of the god of death spread and kings were eager to see this reincarnation. The church of light has been the dominant religion for so long but now that they are been challenged by someone who doesn''t seem shy to reveal his power, their position became somewhat shaky and unstable in the empire. Even though many subsidiary kingdoms did not come out to denounce their belief in the lord of light, some were offering prayers to Derik in secret. The main reason these people were yet to publicly accept Derik was because of his harsh demands of total submission. But even though these people were enraged by his demands they still found it reasonable for someone who was called the god of destruction. Communication with the kingdom of Kedus was only through letters since the kingdom decided to close its walls to visitors after the war, and not long after, it was heard that the three-level five kingdoms that joined hands to attack Kedus was set ablaze, and the entire kingdom was burnt to the ground by some sort of darkish purple flames. No one was spared, not even kids and women! While Derik hated using this method, he knew it was necessary if he wanted to get stronger soon. He was nowhere near the gold realm and he had already drawn too much attention. The old and new gods are enemies and since he has already made himself known it won''t be unlikely for them to pay a visit any time soon. Putting fear in the hearts of the other kingdoms granted him a reasonable source of power, as he kept feeding off them to improve his cultivation speed. Prior to this, Derik abolished the hunting and massacre of humans with supernatural bloodlines all over the empire! He offered them a home in Kedus where he will be able to watch over them and they will never have to run or hide, they can live in the open and their needs will be taken care of. Following the scriptures of the church of light that spoke about the demonic cult set up by Derik in the past which consisted of so many supernatural beings, the empire didn''t find it shocking that Derik made a move like this. Soon different people from different places all over the empire began sneaking out of their kingdoms and moving towards the Kingdom of Kedus in search of a new and better life. A large portion of land was awarded to these special people by King Jules and a new settlement was built for them. During that period, be it the bloodsuckers or the vampires or banshees or whatever, none of them dared to make trouble with the normal civilians present. Derik fed them his black blood only once a week and surprisingly this was enough to keep them sustained while empowering them. His black blood carried his great demonic power with it and as a result, most of these people who were ''washed up'' versions of the werewolves and vampires back in his days were regaining their true strength. While Derik kept using his death aura to slowly enhance the body of the human troops, he also used his blood to strengthen the supernatural beasts in Kedus. In just a few months after the war, the strength of the kingdom had reached a level that even level 1 kingdoms would think twice before making a move at them. What confused everyone was that the emperor was yet to say anything concerning the situation! Chapter 426 - 426: Plans In a blink of an eye, a year passed by since the bloody, one-sided war and up till now, the royal family of the empire was yet to reach out to the kingdom of Kedus or ask for an explanation. The tension between the empire and the church of light had turned sour as rumors that the royal family of the empire had changed religion as well. As a godly being, Derik could practically hear the prayers of everyone who prayed to him. Should he focus he can even see them, where ever they are, and watch them pray to him and since then, Derik was very sure that no one had from the empire''s royal family had prayed to him. In fact, the news bothered him since this may mean the presence of a reincarnated godly being in the empire. At this point, the problem with the situation wasn''t that the godly being maybe an old god which may cause conflict between them. The problem was expansion! If Derik should ever dream of entering the gold realm, without gaining his godly essence, he may actually need to increase the numbers of believers openly praying to him. But in a situation where two gods are involved, it will not only reduce the power of faith they receive but will stunt their growth speed. At this point, the kingdom had over four thousand troops at their disposal and each one of them has been strongly enhanced by Derik. While they still retained their human side, they were paler than any normal human, stronger and faster as well. Apart from that, they had about two hundred supernatural beings ready to die for Derik as long as he requests for their lives. All this coupled with Derik''s direct interference in battle, raised the kingdom''s strength by leaps and bounds. Up to the level where no one dared to act rashly when dealing with Kedus since it''s the home of the god of death. "We need to expand¡­ I need more believers! I need to recover my power soon!" Derik rubbed his chin while he spoke. He was in his usual black and red sleeveless mage robe. His presence has gotten stronger but not yet as strong as Derik was hoping. Adverse effects of cultivating excessively with the pure death aura of the underworld were beginning to show because of his mortal body, so he chose to put it on hold right now. So for a year now he has only been depending on the prayers, offered to him and he couldn''t help but get frustrated. "what will you have us do?" King Jules asked while the other nobles watched him in silence. Unknown to Derik who was still pacing around the room, the admiration these men have for him has risen by leaps and bounds after he wiped out three kingdoms in one day. As for Derik, he has long considered the possibilities of him conquering other kingdoms and through so many wars and death, he will acquire more power but the presence of the empire and other level one subsidiary kingdoms have been making him hesitate and now the possible presence of a new godly being has arrived suddenly, he couldn''t afford to be too reckless or he may end up going against other gods in battle. "As of now, I only possess access to my limiter path, granting me a brief boost in power which may raise my strength to that of a low-grade gold realm master but I''ll rather not use that¡­ back in the days, while I was still a recruit, using it crippled me for a long while and back then mana was abundant¡­ if I do the same now that mana is scarce¡­ I won''t be surprised if it takes years for me to recover my strength" Derik muttered while pacing around the room. He had many plans and one of them includes wiping out the church of light from the face of this world. If he is able to do that, he was a hundred percent sure that the world that once served the beyond will turn to him. But there are too many unknowns, coupled with his current level of strength. By the way, even if he decides to make such a move, he was pretty sure that the other reincarnated gods won''t sit idle and watch him gain all the attention. "F.u.c.k me sideways¡­ this life won''t be as easy as I thought" Derik complained, only to realize that the meaningful gazes of the king and all the nobles are on him. They could only hear him talk but they could not understand what he was saying. All they knew was that Derik was trying to recover his power and they also understood that the more powerful Derik becomes, the more benefits they gain. "The emperor and his royal family may be serving another god¡­ new or old I can''t tell from here¡­ I need to get to the capital to know and that''s probably why he is yet to try and destroy this kingdom¡­" Derik said causing many to gasp in shock. "Is this reincarnated god someone we have to worry about?" Alfred asked with a concerned look on his face. "Not really¡­ back in my days only the god of life, my best friend could match my strength¡­ as long as he''s not the person involved, you have no reason to worry about anything¡­ but if its him¡­ hahahahaha, I don''t wanna think about it" Derik laughed lightly. His words left them stunned because no one could actually understand how someone would be able to match Derik''s strength, especially since he controls the beasts of the underworld. To these people, Derik has become an unbeatable figure, the absolute and if Derik should ask them to go to war against the empire, they would do that without thinking twice. That''s why they found it hard to believe there was someone who can match his power! "Concerning the problem, I think we can help spread your fame during the military competitions!" King Jules suddenly said, catching Derik''s attention. Chapter 427 - 427: Military competition "Military competition? What''s that?" Derik was genuinely shocked by the information. He didn''t expect something like this would come up and he would actually have to ask these people who worship him for information. "It''s how a kingdom''s strength is graded¡­. There are five levels and as you already know, level one kingdoms are the strongest¡­ while level five is the weakest" King Jules answered quickly. Surprisingly they weren''t gloating deep within them that a godly being like him is oblivious of something this important in this era. Instead, they were genuinely happy that they could help him out somehow. This made Derik question his beliefs in life and his years of experience with nobles in his past life. These people were supposed to be selfish and self-centered. Honestly, he has been waiting for some of these nobles to betray the kingdom and he would have to hunt them down and murder every single one of them. At this rate, he doesn''t really see that happening and he found this really annoying. What Derik failed to notice was that his attitude towards humanity was different now. At this moment, he wasn''t struggling to make life better for the humans here, neither was he fighting to protect the weak. His only goal now is to recover his strength, kill the beyond while it''s still asleep, and then destroy this world and create a new world where everything is perfect. A world for his friends and loved ones who died at the hands of the ancestors of the humans inhabiting this world now. If one were to ask for his honest opinion on humanity, he would rather have them all dead now but he was lacking the strength to do that and he still needs them. (AN; Somehow our Mc is now the bad guy here¡­ Lol¡­ Sorry guys, but this is reality.) Another thing Derik failed to notice was that his death aura was slowly corrupting the minds of the noblemen in the kingdom. All those who kept participating in the closed-door meetings were slowly affected by the excess death aura diffusing from his body, just how it worked on the members of the palace of death in the past. He had acquired loyal and capable subjects without knowing! Even Alfred Alexis had forgotten his dead son Lucia and was totally okay with the fact that Derik was residing in his body. In his opinion, it''s an honor that someone as powerful as Derik was making use of the body. "So I got sent to a level five kingdom? Like the weakest in the pack? But a god reincarnation was sent into the capital of the empire? How bad is my luck?" Derik couldn''t help but blurt out his discontent about the situation. Huff! Exhaling. Derik pondered on the next thing to do. If he understood King Jule''s words well, the military competition would hold at the capital and all the subsidiary kingdoms would be forced to fight against each other. After the battle, the level of each kingdom will be assigned according to performance. "Are there any rewards attached to this event?" Derik asked while he pondered on the best way to exploit this event. As a god of destruction, Derik really missed those days when everything could be solved with force. Those days when he would just fly over to the opposing force and subdue them with his overwhelming strength or just slaughter them all. But now he is forced to plan and plot against his enemies! In his opinion,only weaklings do this! [When faced with overwhelming power, all forms of tricks are useless! That''s what I use to say before but I don''t think I will be able to say that again] Derik lamented in his mind. "Of course, there are rewards¡­ the territory given to the kingdom is increased or reduced, depending on their performance and they have more access to the resources of the empire! And let''s not forget the prestige it brings with it" King Jules explained with a greedy look in his eyes. "Hmmm¡­" Derik began pacing around the room once again while he pondered on the course of action to take. Since the entire empire is taking part in the competition, this is the perfect opportunity to boost its popularity. He can always take part in the military competition with Lucia''s identity and then showcase the power of death and claim it was granted to him by the god of death and destruction. This way a good portion of the empire will turn to him and pray for such strength. The only loophole with this idea is the godly being living within the capital. If it''s truly a godly being just like he suspected, then the person will instantly recognize him. it didn''t matter if its an old god or a new god, Derik was sure they will spot him out instantly since the stench of death is always too strong. Just like in the past, Derik has never been scared of any foe. In fact, he was eager to face off against the reincarnated god since it''s been a while since he has fought a good battle. In fact, his blood l.u.s.t was making it hard for him to focus on other things now. The problem is those who follow him. A fight with the godly being the empire is serving is no different from treason. The entire empire will turn on them, leaving them with no other option but to battle for their survival. Their four thousand plus troops and their two hundred supernatural beasts will be forced off against at least a hundred thousand forces, that''s separate from the empire''s special forces. It will chaotic and there will be lots of bloodsheds. People will die in large numbers and negative emotions will consume the entire kingdom. "Perfect!" Derik suddenly exclaimed with a sinister grin on his face. Turning his attention to all those waiting for his orders, Derik couldn''t help but give them the same sinister grin that sent cold shivers down their spine. "I remember I promised to make you emperor¡­ I will do justice to that promise at the military competitions!" Derik said. Chapter 428 - 428: Overwhelming victory!(1) The military competition helps to check the individual strength and the military tactics of a kingdom. It gives the opportunity to shine to everyone who participates in it, so the possibilities of talents been wooed over to another kingdom are pretty high. For this event, most kingdoms pull out the best of their forces and move to the capital without fear since it''s forbidden by the empire to attack a defenseless kingdom during this period. That way subsidiary kingdoms dare not plan sneak attacks against each other once the main forces of a kingdom have left for the exercise. ..............................¡­. "what the hell is this?" Watching the troops of Kedus march out of the kingdom, the spies camping around the kingdom couldn''t help but scream in shock. Right now, roughly a thousand soldiers were leaving the kingdom''s gates with the King, Jules, Lucia, his advisor, and Chloe, the commander of the forces. Watching a small group, ride out of the kingdom without any hint of worry in their eyes is something none of these spies could explain. Thanks to the laws of the empire, the kingdoms are at their safest as during with military exercise, so it''s not unusual for a small kingdom to pull out all its forces in hopes of marching the big kingdoms and making a name for itself. Many could understand that the Kingdom of Kedus has grown quite powerful over the previous year but then only a thousand troops are too small. Even level one kingdoms don''t bring less than fifty thousand troops and that''s when they are taking things easy. For a kingdom to bring only this small amount of forces was a sign of disrespect, not only to the other kingdoms but to the empire itself. These spies cursed Kedus for their c.o.c.kiness, before returning to their masters to report the situation. It didn''t take long before the news of the one thousand-man march spread across the empire and the hatred for Kedus which was already high skyrocketed by leaps and bounds. ................................. "Are you sure only a thousand men are enough?" Chloe couldn''t help but ask as he gazed at Lucia''s back. He was only a commander and only followed orders set by the king but of recent he noticed that the king wasn''t the one making the decisions, it was Lucia. Alfred was yet to tell the family the truth about Lucia''s death, so they all still assumed that this was the same Lucia they knew. They all assumed that Lucia had been chosen as the physical representation of the god of death after his appearance above, and they weren''t too wrong since Lucia was Derik''s host. The only difference was that the real Lucia was dead, and they didn''t know. "The god of destruction has decided that a thousand of us is more than enough to take the empire¡­ we have no reason to worry!" King Jules replied firmly, causing Derik who was riding in front to break a smile. At this point, the once fat King Jules had become muscular and fit. Complementing his shiny black armor was his black crown and the massive black broadsword his sword-bearer was carrying. If one should get close enough they would notice the eyes of the horses were bloodshot and each time they exhaled a black gas escaped their nostrils. Except for Derik who looked perfect, everyone present had a pale complexion and dark circles under their eyes. Each of them wore heavy armors and carried along with towering shields but they didn''t seem tired at all, neither did the undead horse look tired either. While other kingdoms stopped at night to set up camps and rest, the forces of the kingdom of Kedus never stopped to rest. For three days straight they kept riding and the spies sent to tail them ended up losing sight of them due to exhaustion. In reality, they were still humans but they were closer to death than life now. They possessed the unlimited stamina of an undead and their pain receptors were gone too but that doesn''t mean they won''t die if they lose too much blood, or get injured fatally. They were humans but undead as well. Their advance continued until they left they came across a level three kingdom known as Hous! One of the only few kingdoms in this empire that still strongly believes in the church of light. As a level three kingdom, a bishop is sent to oversee the activities of that branch and because of his presence, those who wished to try their luck with the god of death were immediately killed upon suspicion. There are many more safer and shorter, routes to the capital but Derik chose this part because he was expecting a confrontation from this group. He knew the church''s current priority is to destroy his rising fame and regaining control over the masses and since it''s not illegal to attack a party on their way to the capital, the chances of this happening are quite high. What these people didn''t know was that Derik had already predicted this and he chose to fall into their little trap because he was searching for an opportunity to increase the fame of his forces so as to be able to legitimize his claim to the throne when they conquer the capital. What he wanted wasn''t just victory but an overwhelming one! "Mortals are so predictable!" Derik grinned as he gazed at the large army ahead, adorned in white armor. Knowing fully well that this may occur, many other forces from kingdoms of different levels had chosen to follow Derik''s forces closely. They have all heard the wild stories of Kedu''s achievements and normally they can''t deny it but now they had the chance to see it happen upfront. Everyone was eager to know the outcome in a battle between the dark forces of Kedus and the light forces of Hosu. In their opinion, this was not only a battle between two forces, instead, it was also a battle between the god of light and the god of death and destruction. The outcome of this fight will determine their choice of religion tomorrow. "We demand an audience with your king and bishop!" Derik spoke lightly but his voice transmitted throughout the entire area, reaching everyone''s ears. It felt like his words were been carried by an invisible force. Under the watchful gaze of everyone, he and King Jules rode towards the thirty thousand forces of the Hosu Kingdom! The most stunning about this was that even when faced with the thirty thousand forces of Hosu, Derik and his forces wore a confident smile on their faces. The look on their eyes carried hints of pity for their enemies but their smiles were filled with contempt and disdain too. " You asked for us¡­ Here we are! May I know the reason for this unexpected visit?" A bald middle-aged man, adorned with white armor and an elderly man wearing a bishops garment with the same light pendant hanging around his neck appeared. Those who watched Lucia and King Jules approach the enemy forces were stunned by these two''s bravery and some even called it stupidity but for the King of Hosu and the bishop, they could feel a strong force surrounding these two men, making them reluctant to attack. They came prepared to fight at first but now they even entertained the thought of letting Derik''s forces go if they would just agree to turn around and leave. "Unexpected? You look well prepared for our arrival¡­ maybe too prepared!" King Jule''s voice sounded threatening as he gazed at the enemy''s forces without fear. In his opinion, bring out this many force as a welcoming party was a declaration of war and an insult to a man like him who will most likely become the new emperor in no distant time. "We have heard stories of your achievements¡­ so it won''t hurt to be careful when going up against powerful foes" The bald king responded calmly. Thud! "Speak your mind and begone¡­ why are you here?" The bishop seemed rather impatient and vexed. His hostile gaze was fixed on Lucia who he determined was the most dangerous here. While he could see the amount of death aura flowing out of King Jules, he couldn''t see or feel any aura from Lucia. As someone who has lived long enough to be ordained a bishop, he knew the basic knowledge of preys and predators in the supernatural realm. When dealing with a supernatural foe, as important as it is to gauge their power through their aura, it is important to know that the stronger predators tend to hide their aura in a bid not to scare away their prey before getting the chance to pounce on them. Gazing at Derik, he could see something no one else could see. He could see the Derik''s shadow and within the large shadow which had the shape of a demon wolf were many eyes of different kinds. Within that shadow, countless cries and howls of pain and anguish rang out like a bell. "You! You are really something!" Derik couldn''t help but commend this bishop! Chapter 429 - 429: Overwhelming victory! (2) Not everyone can detect his true identity and since he has come to this world, this is the first time someone is able to do this much. After his little dance with the priests of the church of light, he felt very disappointed by the current state of this world. Without the inflow of mana, cultivation has been made impossible, preventing others from attaining greater levels in life. This planet was once a god vein but now all its power has been drained, leaving behind normal, powerless humans. The fact that this bishop was able to see through the human skin he was wearing and still didn''t show any sign of fear stunned Derik. It was either this man was extremely confident in his capabilities or he is just too confident in the god he serves, either way, it was just enough to make Derik feel slightly uncomfortable. If mere bishops are this bold, what awaits him when he comes across the archbishops, cardinals, and finally the popes? How strong are these people? Does it really mean that the strength these men can draw from the beyond differs, depending on their positions in the church? "Interesting!" Lucia suddenly revealed a smile that made the horses retreat instinctively while their masters struggled to control them. His lips stretched so far it reached his ears, revealing his razor-sharp set of teeth. His normal black eyes flared up with power and the aura around him strengthened twofold but even then only the bishop and his mount remained unaffected by all of this. He kept gazing into Derik''s eye coldly. "I ask for a second time, why are you here!" the elderly man roared The man had gray short, curly hair. His skin looked dried up while his boney fingers looked spooky. Derik wouldn''t expect much from someone of this stature but to his greatest surprise, the amount of power this man could draw from the beyond was quite amazing. "We only seek safe passage from here¡­. This is a shorter route to the capital¡­ I hope you agree to our request" King Jules replied with a hint of worry in his eyes. This was the first time he has seen Derik tongue-tied and he couldn''t help but wonder if Derik was worried about the priest. "I must refuse your offer! No evil being shall be allowed to pass through our holy cities, so I suggest you turn back¡­ if you do, I''m sure you can still make it to the capital before the military exercise" The bishop replied coldly without shifting his gaze from Derik. "But¡­" King Jules was about to speak further but his path was blocked by the king of Hosu. "If you wish to avoid conflict, leave now!" the bald man said with a threatening tone. King Jules was about to speak further but Derik was already returning to their army in silence, forcing him to retreat and follow Derik silently. Derik''s face carried no expression so it was difficult to understand what was going on in his mind. The forces of the other kingdoms observing from afar couldn''t help but feel disappointed. So after all that bravado, this is what the kingdom of Kedus is capable of? They began doubting the reports they have been getting from their spies all this while and some of them even felt the urge to execute them at the spot without interrogating them first. "What''s wrong?" King Jules finally asked as soon as they returned to their army. Even if Derik chose to retreat now, he has seen Derik perform before so he strongly believed Derik must have retreated for a reason. "Are we retreating?" Chloe asked with a confused look on his face. "Retreating? Impossible! I am only giving them a chance to prepare themselves for the inevitable!" Derik finally spoke up and his terrifying smile surfaced once again, sending shivers down the spine of everyone. Just like last time, his words were transmitted to everyone''s ears by some mystical force. "Let it be known that I don''t plan on using any supernatural abilities here¡­ this will be a battle to show the world your strength as a fighter and not that of me, your god¡­ But fear, not I shall fight alongside you¡­ as a mortal!" Derik said as he took a spear from his sword bearer and threw it towards the enemy forces. Xiu! Like an arrow or even faster! The spear shot past the bald king and his bishop, piercing through the armor of a knight riding behind them. Everyone watched as the knight was forcibly dragged off his horse and tossed into the air like a piece of rag and after traveling for at least two hundred meters the spear lost its momentum and he hit the ground like a rock! IMPOSSIBLE! That was the only thing on the mind of everyone! There was at least a five hundred meters gap between the two sides! For Derik to throw a spear that far and it still carried so much force attested to his superhuman physical capabilities. Many believed he was the one chosen by the god of death and destruction as a golden child, that''s why he escaped the hands of death from a terrifying sickness and he suddenly became strong enough to perform feats like this. The most shocking part of all of this is that he could have killed the king or the priest of Hosu with that attack but he chose to miss on purpose! This was a sign of complete confidence in his own abilities! "Hahahahahahahahaha!" Derik began to laugh madly as he and King Jules took their weapons from their sword bearers. While King Jules made use of a massive two-handed broadsword, Derik used a two-bladed, Chinese fashion spear. "Some of their troops are hidden on the hills and I believe they will attempt two flanks us from the sides while we are bombarded from the front with arrows! Interesting!" Derik said with a vicious look on his face. Just like he said, he could feel the presence of at least two thousand men on both sides, hiding on the hills surrounding them. It was obvious they had prepared beforehand. "What do you plan to do¡­" Chloe was surprised by something. Even after hearing how bad their situation was, he didn''t seem bothered or worried, instead, he felt excited and his men felt that way too. The fear of death did not exist in their hearts anymore, because they serve death! "What do I intend to do? Hehehehe! King Jules and I will charge at the enemy forces in front and destroy their formation¡­ Don''t join us until the enemies at the side break off their formation and get involved in the battle!" Derik said casually stunning everyone! Chapter 430 - 430: Overwhelming victory! (3) "King Jules¡­ Will you do me the honor of riding with me into battle?" Derik bowed slightly as a sign of respect. While those with them knew this was just Derik joking around and trying to look dramatic, those outside felt Lucia was making a request from the king. This way they all assumed King Jules was still the one in charge and Lucia was only a loyal follower. "I will ride to hell and back with you, My lord!" King Jules responded with a deep grin. "You couldn''t have said it any better" Derik laughed wildly. He was beginning to grow fond of these people he called his own. Time and time again they have proven to be able to adapt to his kind of lifestyle and right now it felt like all these people understood him clearly! "IF THEY WON''T LET US THROUGH, WE WILL JUST BURN THE ENTIRE KINGDOM TO THE GROUND!" Derik''s roar was like countless thunderclaps, shaking the skies terribly. Boom! Following his war cry, he and King Jules charged forward fearlessly. Watching only two Lucia and King Jules charge towards the enemy while their main forces remained at their position, many leaders came to the conclusion that their spies were not wrong. These people couldn''t help but believe that the reports given to them were all true, the people of Kedus have gone crazy after the arrival of their new god. "Archers!" The bald King of Hosu did not flutter. He called out to his forces and all two thousand men hiding in the hills revealed themselves with their bows and arrows. Amongst the thirty thousand men behind him, at least ten thousand of them were archers and they all prepared to block out the sun with their arrows "Looooooooossssssssse!" Following his order, arrows shot into the air, blocking out the sun as it attacked from three sides. "Shield wall!" Chloe growled and his one thousand men formed a circle before stacking their large shields atop the other to block the incoming attacks. Their eyes were on Derik and Jules who were alone and they couldn''t help but wonder how they planned to counter. "My King!" Derik roared and King Jules nodded in response. Woosh! Both men jumped off their horses and kept charging forward. Using their horses to block their sides, King Jules placed his shield right in front while Derik his above their heads to block the arrows raining from above, leaving everyone stunned. This move left everyone stunned since it should be impossible for any normal human! Not only were they fast enough to keep up with their running horses even though they wore heavy armor and carried heavy shields. What really stunned these people was the fact that their horses were actually coordinating with them! The way they moved to block their sides, taking the hits from the arrows, and the fact that these horses had their bodies riddled with arrows and they were yet to fall was just too unnatural. They were undead horses! Roar! Following the shocking event with left the enemy forces too stunned to act for a while, Derik and King Jules reached the enemy forces and quickly charged in. BANG! BANG! BANG! With their shields raised, they charged into thousands of foes, smashing into them and bulldozing through effortlessly. The observing parties watched as two men did the work which a thousand men would not be able to do. They charged into the enemy likes, smashing into them and moving deeper without any signs of slowing down, not even for a second. In just one move, Derik and King Jules crushed over a hundred foes while many more were left gravely injured. "This will do!" Derik laughed as he and King Jules soon found themselves at the center of the enemy forces and enough space has already been made for them since no member of the enemy force was bold enough to face them and their hellish-looking horses alone! "Hahahahahahahaha! CHARGE!" King Jules roared. "CHARGE!" No one knew who screamed those words next but almost instantly, Chloe and the others surged forward while maintaining their shield walls in case of ranged attacks. The fact that they can advance so quickly in such conditions was terrifying enough to make the enemy forces shiver and scream out the only them that can be used to define people like them. Monsters¡­ Those positioned at the hills surrounding them had no choice but the run down the hill, hoping that they can make it in time to support their people in battle. Boom! ............................................................¡­.. It didn''t take long before both sides clashed in battle and what was originally shocking became terrifying. Those who observed the battle from afar wet their pants in fear and many swallowed hard as they watched one thousand men slaughter thirty-two thousand. The way the forces of Kedus moved was too irregular, coupled with the fact that their physical prowess was far greater than that of men considered strong, they seemed to possess something the looked like a third eye. When fighting it felt like they could see through each other''s eyes, blocking and countering fatal blows that would have resulted in the death of a partner. They always maintained formation and even when they took damage, they brushed it off like its nothing. The coordination of this army was so stunning that everyone who watched them feared and coveted them all at once. Everyone watched them battle in awe and they couldn''t help but commend Chloe who was located at the center of the formation, dishing out orders and coordinating his forces properly. Twenty minutes into the battle, Kedus was yet to lose a single man but Hosu had lost over five thousand. King Jules was like an unmovable wall. Thanks to their black armor which has been enhanced by Derik''s death magic, no matter how many attacks it took, they couldn''t leave a scratch on it so the people only had to protect their exposed heads. Meanwhile, Derik was like an unstoppable spear, bulldozing through the enemy forces with ease! Chapter 431 - 431: Strength of a bishop! Thud! Thud! Thud! He could feel the wind brush against his face as he dashed forward with his upper half leaning forward as he cleaved through enemy forces effortlessly. Dashing forward nonstop, Derik felt the excitement of battle he had l.u.s.ted over for so long. For the first time since he came to this world, he felt a surge of power, flowing into his body. The hatred, fear, rage, and all negative emotions were like pleasant feelings to him. "Shit!" Derik slid on his knees while leaning back to dodge an attack meant to separate his head from his body. While he moved his hands worked as he brandished his weapon against all those in his path. With a thin layer of death aura laced around his blades, each attack was a death blow for his enemy and no weapon could block his attacks. "Aaaaahhhhhhhh!" Loud screams were heard as Derik bulldozed through the enemy forces and kept moving deeper. Even though he was hundreds of meters away, his vicious gaze was fixed on the bishop and the bald king stationed behind their forces. "If a king doesn''t move first then he has no right to expect his people to march into battle! I hate it when I see spineless leaders who are unable to lead their fighters to victory or defeat, instead they choose to hide behind their forces until the battle is over! Despicable!" Derik''s eyes released a darkish purple light as he stomped the ground, shooting into the air as if he was taking flight. Shooting out of the crowd and into the air, Derik gazed at his targets with a vicious grin on his face as he took aim and tossed his double-bladed spear at the bishop. Everyone watched as the spear shot forward like a missile and never showed signs of slowing down until it reached the bishop! Peng! "What the?" Derik muttered as he descended from above and back into the crowd of enemies with an astonished look on his face. He clearly saw a semi-transculent wall of light appear in front of the bishop to block his attack. While he fell he watched the bishop throw his palm towards his direction. Bam! Something strong slammed into the airborne Derik, sending him flying meters back. His body slammed into the enemy forces, knocking them off their feet as he slid back. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of black blood as he slowly got on his feet. He had a hint of surprise in his eyes since he never expected someone in this powerless world to possess this amount of power. He finally understood how the church of light works. The higher one''s ranking is, the more power the person is able to draw from the beyond. He couldn''t help but wonder how powerful the archbishop and the pope are. In his current body, he can''t boldly display death magic since he''s still using Lucia''s identity but that doesn''t mean he won''t be able to perform little tricks that will go unnoticed to the normal human eyes. "The last bishop I faced was named Aldora¡­ he was a thousand times stronger than you and he ended up serving me as an undead general, up till my last days! Old man, you will suffer the same fate!" Derik growled as he shot forward like a missile. Swoosh! He blitzes past the enemies even before they could raise their weapons and judging based on the fact that he didn''t kill anyone it was clear his only target here is the bishop! "SHOW ME THAT POWER AGAIN!" Derik was pushing this body to its physical limits as he tried to influence it with his god-beast soul without triggering a transformation. Anyone who looks close enough would see Derik''s blazing purple eyes and fangs. As he moved pieces of his armor began falling off and crumbling, leaving Derik astonished. He found it hard to believe a mortal could shatter an armor he strengthened with his death aura. "It doesn''t matter since you are going to die anyway!" Derik roared as his already insane speed increased further. At this point, he looked like a wild beast determined to destroy its foe. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, the bishop didn''t look bothered. The look in his eyes was filled with confidence as he watched Derik approach while mumbling some words. Swoosh! Breaking through the enemy lines, Derik growled before lunging towards the bishop who was surrounded by a few knights of light. Bang! Bang! Bang! Even before these knights could react, Derik had already delivered crippling blows which sent them flying! "You are mine now!" Derik growled as claws appeared in his hands as he struck forward ruthlessly. "SILENCE DEMON!" The bishop roared as an explosion occurred Boom! The shockwave was so powerful, the bald king of Hosu alongside his horse were sent flying meters back. The battle raging on paused for a brief moment as everyone watched both men struggle. The bishops eyes let out blazing white light as he was surrounded by what looked like a hurricane while Derik was outside the hurricane, slamming into it relentlessly. Boom! Boom! Boom! The longer the battle lasted the bigger the hurricane got but even then everyone watched Derik force his way in. Puti! Spitting out another mouthful of black blood, Derik wore a sinister grin, revealing his fangs which was stained with black blood as he slowly walked towards the priest who was located at the center of the storm with great effort. "Did you just call me a demon? Are all members of this church so clueless? The true gods has returned to this world and soon, the beyond you all serve will die at our hands and once again balance will be returned to this world¡­" Derik laughed crazily. Right now, both he and the bishop were hidden within the storm, so no one could see or hear them, they could only wait for the storm to clear and the victor of the battle to be declared. "What do you mean by the true gods? I will not be easily deceived by the words of a demon¡­ The lord of light cannot be defeated by anyone!" The bishop replied, after which he began mumbling some strange words all over again. "Is that so? Is that what you were told? HAHAHAHAHA! The knowledge of mere mortals like yourself is too limited and that''s why you dare face off against the god of death! As far as history is concerned no one is truly immortal! No one is truly invincible! There was a time, I too believed I cannot be killed but here I am, in the body of a weak mortal, trying to recover my lost strength and reclaim my position as the true god of death¡­. Sad right?" When Derik said these words, he was already standing right in front of the bishop with a devilish grin on his face. "You were strong old man, but not strong enough!" Derik said. Chapter 432 - 432: Destroying Hosu "Get back you foul beast!" The bishop roared but that didn''t do him any good. Derik was already standing right in front of him with many cut marks all over his body. The super-regenerative abilities of a god beast soul had already kicked in a long time ago but the hurricane kept inflicting new wounds on him. As a matter of fact, he''s still alive because of the high-speed regeneration his werewolf side grants. Unlike the priests who would be screaming and begging for their lives by now, this bishop kept gazing at Derik with a look of defiance in his eyes. Derik couldn''t help but wonder what gave these people so much confidence even when death was standing right in front of him. As much as Derik felt offended by the fact that these people are not taking him seriously, he could understand why. For centuries now this world has been in their hands and during those times, numerous factions have risen against them and they have all fallen as well. To them, Kedus'' rebellion is nothing special, in the end, they will all fall just like the rest. "I guess it''s time I make this world take me seriously!" Derik growled as smashed his palm into the bishop''s chest. Crack! Crack! Crack! Outside the powerful hurricane, everyone stood and watched with expectant eyes. The outcome of Derik''s battle with the bishop will determine the victor of this war. Many held their breaths as they watched with expectant eyes while the leaders of the observing forces were sweating buckets for no good reason. No one could tell why they were feeling so anxious. BOOM! Following the loud explosion, the hurricane vanished and two figures came into view. The bishop could be seen on his knees, his body was dried up badly and a bloody hole could be seen on his chest. Meanwhile, Derik stood in front of him with a beating heart in his hand and a hooded figure standing right behind him. The strange hooded man had two pairs of black angelic wings and on his face was a bull skull mask used to hide his identity. While many people may not have seen this man before they have definitely heard of him. He is the angel of death who has been protecting the people of Kedus, the one who opened the gates of the underworld and destroyed over fifteen thousand people in less than an hour, and now he has saved Lucia from the hands of death. "THIS KINGDOM DARES POINT ITS WEAPON AT MY PEOPLE? YOU SEEK DEATH!" The hooded figure slowly rose into the air as it spoke. The people of Kedus cheered but King Jules knew that this was only a fake created by Derik to fool the public. He still wished to keep his identity as Lucia to the public for some purposes best known to him, so he chose to create this false being within the storm. Everyone watched carefully as they waited in hopes of seeing something new this godly being may perform. People were hoping to see the fiery demon wolf they have always been hearing of while the people of Hosu were already trembling badly. "RISE!" Suddenly the sun was turned red and the clouds turned black. Everyone watched as a skull appeared above the sky and in hollow, dark eyes sockets, darkish purple flames suddenly flared up. The ground began to tremble as ghastly beings began emerging out of thin air. In the blink of an eye, over fifteen thousand of them appeared and took the shape of real men in armor. Each still bearing the injury that led to their death. "Rise my army of the dead¡­ let''s show this world what true fear is!" Derik spoke through the mouth of the clone he created. Leaders of the observing forces were so terrified that they fell off their horses in shock as they recognized some of the faces of these undead soldiers. These were the fifteen thousand forces that joined hands and tried to battle Kedus back then. The ones that were wiped out by the creatures of the underworld. "Not yet! Settle down!" the angel of death roared As another batch of undead appeared but this one was not part of the fifteen thousand forces. They were over five thousand and every one of them wore the Hosu battle armor on them and leading the forces was the dead bishop who was killed by Derik a few moments ago. Wooosh! Thud! Suddenly the angel of death shot to the ground and fell on one knee in front of Lucia, bowing respectfully. Although Derik did not want to reveal his identity as the god of death, he needed to make everyone believe that the relationship between him and the god of death is strong enough for him to have some power over the forces of the dead. That way he won''t be just another character that can be written off. "Your orders!" The angel of death growled as it bowed respectfully. "Search and destroy!" Lucia roared! ...............................................................¡­. On that day, all thirty thousand forces of Hosu were massacred and they were added to Derik''s new undead army. Although these forces are weaker than his original undead forces of the past, they were the most suitable since this world lacked mana. Normally undead draw mana from their summoners to cast their abilities and that''s why in most cases, Necromancers limit the number of undead they summon at a time due to their mana reserves. But since Derik had almost limitless mana during chaotic times, he had never seen this as a problem until today. Right now, the world has changed and unless he can find a way to restore the world to its original state, even if he''s able to summon the realm''s passageway now, he will not be able to sustain his undead generals and undead army should he bring them over to this side. To fix this mana issue he has to regain his godly essence before he can consider returning to the core of the god vein and restoring it to its original state! Chapter 433 - 433: Realization Upon dwelling on the thought for a bit longer did Derik realize how dumb he has been all this while. while the slaughter of the Hosu forces was going on, Derik sat on a pile of bodies as he pondered on the current state of the world. He could tell he was still on the same planet that he was born into. He could feel that this is the place that was once known as the Aldemar continent and nothing much has changed. According to his knowledge on how this world works, a god vein destroys once it is drained of all its resources and mana is one of them. Enough mana to allow a normal man to cultivate till they reach the god realm. The problem with this is, if the mana of this world is drained completely, it simply means that the world should have crumbled by now but that hasn''t happened. "Interesting!" Derik muttered as he reached for the sky with his right hand and shut his eyes tight. As a true god candidate of this world, he has some level of authority over it. The fact that there are places Derik and the other guardian spirit hosts could go that even the creator couldn''t go at that point in time proves the point. Bam! Suddenly his eyes yanked open, revealing only darkness. Many may not notice but some invisible ancient texts began appearing all over Derik''s body as he opened his mouth and dragged in some air. "Come¡­ to me!" He whispered and waited. A minute, two minutes, five minutes, and then he felt it. A warm familiar feeling washing over his body once again just like it used to be. It was the mana he was searching for! His strength that was already at the peak of the silver realm began climbing again and he got a familiar feeling which he has forgotten for a while. The feeling of breaking into the gold realm! "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Unknowingly Derik began laughing like a crazed man, forgetting all the battles going on around him and those observing from a distance. He failed to notice that the black clouds turned green, just like his eyes and his darkish purple aura had returned to its darkish green color. Everyone watched as the clouds took the shape of a skull and all the undead battling stopped halfway to bow to their master. A pillar of darkish green aura exploded from his body as he slowly left the ground and levitated into the sky. Lucia''s facial features suddenly vanished at it was completely replaced with his original looks. His hair grew longer and his nails and lips were painted black just like before in the past. He could feel it, the mana surging in and his strength replenishing at a very fast rate. It was like the world was desperately trying to help him recover! The god of death has returned! Or so he thought! Boom! "YOU!" Derik cried out in pain and anger as he was shot out of the sky, falling to the ground while spitting out a mouthful of blood. Black blood rolled down his eyes, ears, and nostrils as he tried to purge the foreign aura trying to destroy him from within! It was an aura that could stand against the corrosive effect of his death aura but it wasn''t life aura! It was the beyond! At this moment, realization dawned on Derik and he finally understood what went wrong with this world. After his battle with the beyond, he was killed but the beyond was gravely injured, and the only way to recover quickly before the gods reincarnated and regained their strength was to depend on the only functioning god vein around. But following the same method as the creator did is too long and tasking and before he can go halfway, Derik and the rest must have reincarnated and regained their original strength. So, it chose to do something that has never been done before! The beyond forced its way into the core of the god vein and sealed it with itself in it. It blocked the exits and consciously prevented mana supplied by the core to reach the rest of the world and because of that magic began to fade until there was nothing left. Considering all of this, Derik could tell the beyond was consuming the core of this world and trying to regain its strength, that''s why when Derik actually tried to pull the mana of this world, the world recognized him and gave him more than he asked. It was as if the world was pleading with him to save it but the beyond noticed this leakage and quickly intercepted it, sending forth his own mana to harm whoever is tampering with the core. "It''s killing this world! The world Demos died protecting! The world Demos made me swear to protect!" Derik has never been so furious since he came to this world. Right now both he and the beyond are now aware of each other''s existence and location. It''s now a race against time to see who recovers enough strength first. "SINCE YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME, I WILL REPLY IN KIND! NO ONE DARES CHALLENGE THE GOD OF DEATH AND LEAVES UNSCHATTED!" Derik growled as he slammed the ground and his death aura surged forward like a plague. It traveled into the soil at an alarming rate, so fast that this process lasted for only a second. Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! ''Aaarrggghhhh! Derik Angus! I see you have returned! That''s nice! You shall die by my hands once again but this time it will be permanent!" a feminine voice resonated from the earth making everyone tremble. This was the first time something like this has ever happened and it was happening all because of the man called Lucia! "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THE DEAD CAN NEVER DIE! BEYOND! YOU CANNOT KILL THE GOD OF DEATH! AND DON''T EXPECT THE OUTCOME OF THIS BATTLE TO BE THE SAME AS LAST TIME BECAUSE THIS TIME, I AM NOT ALONE!" Derik roared. At that moment, a pillar of golden light appeared in a far distance, in the direction of the capital and almost chasing the darkness Derik had summoned. It carried a holy aura that made Derik''s skin burn but it still made him smile sheepishly. "Welcome back old friend¡­ I knew you wouldn''t stay silent for too long!" A calm and soothing voice resonated in the skies. Chapter 434 - 434: New Gods unite Listening to this everyone was left speechless. A lot of supernatural activities have taken place, all in one day, this made it hard for them to process it all. Lucia''s sudden change in appearance came as a shock to all those who didn''t know him as the god of death and destruction. Right now Derik was putting on his usual sleeveless black and red mage robe with his long flowing black hair which was up to his waist level. He looked more wild but still incredibly handsome and this gave people mixed feelings when they looked at him. "Hehehehehe! You bastard! When did you awaken!" Derik chuckled as he slowly levitated into the air. His menacing gaze was fixed on the golden beam of light shooting towards him and he couldn''t help but remember Cyrus final moments before his death and the pain he felt when he realized he had just lost his best friend. If gods could cry he would have been doing that already but right now, all he can do is smile. Bang! Following a loud sound a second figure appeared in front of Derik. He was dressed the same sleeveless mage attire but this one was white and golden and it carried the empire''s royal family crest on it. His eyes were like two bright golden lights and his skin was just as perfect as Derik''s. In reality, there was no difference between him and Derik if one should compare their perfect bodies. While he gave off a calm and noble aura, Deirk''s aura was wild and exciting. Bring both of them together created the perfect combination. "Isn''t that Castiel? The son of light?" Someone screamed out! Kastiel is the youngest prince of the empire who began to showcase so much promise and talent just ten years ago. He had extraordinary strength and charisma and wisdom. Even the church of light called him the son of light because of his extraordinary beauty and elegance. He was the one meant to inherit the throne. "A decade from now " Cyrus answered with his usual charming smile. "A decade? What the hell?" Derik said as he pondered on this, trying to figure out why he failed to reincarnate at the same time with the others. BANG! BANG! BANG! Before he could speak any further more loud sounds could be heard and more people arrived with each and every one of them carrying their own distinct aura. The different aura which Derik could remember clearly. For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on his face as he gazed at all of them and all he could say was. "Guys¡­" Francis god of earth, Ahika the fire god, Cyrus the god of life and creation, Derik the god of death and destruction, Spinx the goddess of lightning, Liana the goddess of the sea, and Typhoon the wind god. The new names only surfaced during the warring periods in the past, while Spinx was the replacement of Zaylee, the original lightning guardian spirit host who was murdered by Derik in the kingdom of Cato. The other guardian spirit hosts surfaced when the original inhabitants gathered to fight off the invaders. By then Derik and Cyrus were already demigods and all they could do was guide these people and help them attain the inheritance of the god vein. "I guess the time of awakening is determined by how early you die¡­ the rest of us have been in this world for over fifty years now¡­ we kept living in the shadows while trying to regain our strength but the church of light has been destroying every church dedicated to us, that was until Cyrus appeared ten years ago and now you are here¡­ I guess the entire crew is here now¡­ the new gods, united!" Francis chuckled. Listening to Francis'' explanation, Derik couldn''t help but nod in approval. He also realized that the religions that have been springing up since then actually belonged to these guys. Looking at them, Derik realized they were all still at the peak grade of the silver realm, meanwhile, Cyrus was already at the low grade of the gold realm. Unlike him and Cyrus who could attain strength from death and life, the others had to completely rely on the power of the people around them and they weren''t really doing well in that aspect. "But even then¡­ apart from the bishops, you should be able to deal with every other person easily¡­ How could your churches fall so easily? Don''t tell me mere mortals were able to best you?" Derik asked with furrowed eyebrows. Even if these people went ahead to take on bishops of the church of light, he didn''t see them losing in any way. He just couldn''t understand how gods like them would be defeated by mere mortals. "I wish it was only mortals we had to deal with¡­" Spinx smiled bitterly. "What does she mean by that?" Derik was left confused. Shifting his gaze to Cyrus, he realized his old friend wore a bitter smile on his face too. "She means that we are also up against the old gods¡­ somehow the beyond managed to strike a deal with them¡­ their job is to hold us down until the beyond manages to regain its full strength, then their godly essences will be returned to them and they will be free to live their lives as gods just like they did in the past¡­. If that happens we are done for!" Cyrus said with a bitter smile on his face. "Those bastards!" Derik''s eyes lit up with power as he clenched his fist and cursed the old gods. He finally realized why Francis and the other new gods were having a hard time. it wasn''t because they were weak and couldn''t deal with mortals. It''s because they were unable to hold out against the old gods. Since these old gods have the backing of the beyond, Derik was sure they would be at the gold realm at least. if that''s true the only ones who can stand against them are him and Cyrus. "Death has returned¡­ This time, I will do well to consume their god souls when I slay them!" Derik hissed viciously. Chapter 435 - 435: Storming the capital In silence, Derik pondered on the next course of action to take. Unlike he and Cyrus, the other new gods required more to regain their power since their main source of power was uncommon. Looking back at how far he has come in just a year plus compared to these people who have been here for half a century, Derik couldn''t help but feel bad for them. To regain this much strength, he was sure they must have gone through so many hardsh.i.p.s and because of that he couldn''t help but commend them. "The old gods chose to side with their killer because they weren''t confident in their strength... All they want is to go back to their old lives of deciding the fate of mortals... Giving them a better life doesn''t matter... Nothing matters as long as they regain their position as gods and creators... Pitiful!" Derik hissed in annoyance. He drifted away from the team slowly as he pondered deeply on what next to do. As it stands now, his deal with the King of Kedus, Jules doesn''t stand anymore. With a flick of his finger he can wipe out their army but then he has taken a liking to these people. Looking down at the armies below, the zeal to wipe out Hous from the face of the earth was no longer there. He gazed at the piles of corpses of his enemies littered all over the battlefield and he began to wonder. How could a godly being like him wage war against mere mortals? How far has he fallen? Throwing a cold glance to all those around beneath him, Derik breathed out heavily before asking. "How many empires exist in this world?" Hearing his questions, everyone was taken aback, they didn''t understand why Derik would suddenly ask such a random question like this. "Six... There are Pelgas, Brix, Agus, Hanes, Creek, and Leron... That''s if Cricx, the church of light headquarters is not included " Spinx answered. Hearing this, Derik nodded in satisfaction as a thought popped up in his mind. "And how many of them adopted the church of light as its main religion?" Derik asked. "All..." Cyrus answered with furrowed eyebrows. "Only after our appearance did the conflict begin and thanks to Cyrus and you, the church of light has lost its strength in Pelgas..." Ahika said. In this world, he wants a lizard man like before. He was just like any other muscular human with blazing red hair and thick beards. His eyes carried his blazing will which made Derik smile. It was nice to know his old friend hasn''t lost his fiery will which he possessed in his past life. {Even death has failed to break my companions... That''s nice to know... We still have a chance at survival} Derik thought. "Since the old gods are on the side of the beyond, it''s safe to say is an empire against five others..." Derik said with a bitter smile on his face. "You make it sound nice... We are yet to take control of this capital yet... The church''s archbishop still has a stronghold in the empire... My arrival only tipped the balance a little... I''m still not strong enough to take over the capital alone... The forces of the church stationed there are not something we can topple easily" Cyrus said with an embarrassing look on his face. "What?" Derik was greatly confused by the statement. He couldn''t understand how someone as powerful as Cyrus, a gold realm master is forced into submission by mere humans. Mortals! "Archbishops are on a whole new level" Liana said. "I don''t even want to think of the pope" Typhoon muttered. While Liana was a petite blue-haired curvy youth, dressed in a marine blue robe, Typhoon was a 6ft white-haired teenager with spike white hair with a white scarf wrapped around his neck and a white cloth wrapped around his waist. He looked like the Greek God of lightning in his younger days. "This would have been a lot easier if we weren''t abandoned by your friends!" Francis said with furrowed eyebrows. Hearing those words plunged everyone into depression as images of Kaido, Cyrstal and Diana flashed through their eyes. After putting so much effort to help those two consume their cosmic spirits and take their place in the stars, they ended up following their decision and remaining docile when Derik and the others needed them the most. "That was the past... I put my faith in people who had different goals... It won''t happen again" Cyrus said. "That''s not enough! We fought against gods and cosmic beings just to give them the chance to consume their creators and enter the true God realm... We risked our lives for them and when we needed them the most they abandoned us..." Francis said again looking more vexed than before. "So what do you suggest?" Derik finally spoke up while giving them a vicious glare causing Francis to remain silent. "It doesn''t matter much... Cosmic beings have always been neutral, although it was disappointing to know that they turned their back on us when we needed them, it''s not wrong to say that it wasn''t expected... It''s not like they helped the enemy so there is no reason for us to go on a killing spree... By the way, each cosmic being plays a vital role to maintain the realm balance... If they are removed, things will definitely crumble" Ahika said nonchalantly. "Thank you" Derik said with a small smile on his face. Turning his attention to those beneath, he realized it''s time for them to move. If they are to win a battle against this archbishop it should be now when they still have the element of surprise. The enemy shouldn''t be given enough time to prepare. "Don''t move!" Cyrus said! His words were simple but due to the word path he followed in his past life, his word was law to mere mortals. Everyone remained in their position, unable to move. Even those who are gravely injured remained in an uncomfortable position, with their internal organs bulging out. If it were in the past, Cyrus would wave his hand and heal everyone but right now, the world is lacking mana and it is necessary for him to save it for the upcoming battle. "Next stop, the capital... Let''s make this empire ours!" Derik said with a wild grin as he turned into a beam of light alongside the other new gods. Vanishing even before anyone could say a world Chapter 436 - 436: Archbishop Blata "This won''t take long... I will be back soon" Derik''s soothing voice echoed in the ears of all the one thousand men of Kedus and king Jules. He knew they were still shocked by the sudden turn of events and he could also feel the fear of getting abandoned by them, so he decided to leave a quick but reassuring message. ..... Bang! Bang! Bang! Following countless loud explosions, seven figures appeared above the capital, catching the attention of everyone. At this point, hiding their identity meant nothing to them anymore. Since they desperately wished to utilize the power of faith, they must let the people know of them while they crush the lord of light. While feeding off the fear in the hearts of the powerless humans below, Derik kept gazing at the majestic castle in the distance which most likely belongs to the emperor and the royal family. Looking at this, the promise he made to King Jules resurfaced in his mind and he couldn''t help but turn his attention to Cyrus. "The Royal family doesn''t control the empire?" Derik asked. Since Cyrus couldn''t grasp absolute control over the empire, it meant that the strength of the royal family is not as powerful as people think and the church of light has a very strong hold over them. "They are mortals who have not faced hardship for long... The church of light practically unified the world because of them, there has been peace for so long... So these people are too soft... They can be swayed easily... that''s why the least I could do for you at that time was to make them turn a blind eye to your activities in Kedus... Believe me, it wasn''t easy" Cyrus said with knitted eyebrows. Listening to him, Derik nodded in approval. He finally understood why the empire always turned a blind eye to all his activities. He thought they were scared of him or maybe he''s too small to catch their attention but all this while Cyrus has been the one covering up for him. Pa! "Thank you, old friend," Derik said while tapping his shoulder gently. "I wish to install the king of Kedus as the new emperor of Pelgas... He has served me well and as you all can see, he has complete faith in me... I believe he will represent us well... Any objections?" Derik asked politely. The others shook their heads in response. They didn''t have anyone in mind and since the royal family of the empire was not good enough, they had no problems with Derik planning to remove them. "Cyrus?" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow as he noticed his friend was yet to respond to his question. "It''s all good... Although I lived with them for a decade, I always hated their lifestyle... Do what you must" Cyrus shut his eyes and took a deep breath as he spoke. Derik could feel that the life mage wasn''t fully in support of his decision but he knew it was necessary and that''s why he didn''t speak against it but even then, Derik understood Cyrus still had some sort of attachment to these people after living with them for ten years. He tapped his friend''s shoulder as he took a deep breath. "This won''t take long... I promise their death will be swift... They won''t feel a thing" Although Derik spoke in a calm and soothing tone, the aura radiating from him was wild. He was excited! "Now! Let''s begin!" Derik laughed out loud as he threw his hands towards the skies. ..... "The prince has been gone for too long... He just flew out of the windows... Like flew!" A girl wearing an expensive attire with the royal crest said. Cyrus'' sudden actions left all of them stunned and even the Emperor wore a confused and worried look on his face. For a long time now, the royal family has been held hostage both by the church and Cyrus. Both sides have been forcing their will on them and the possibility of both sides clashing has always been high. "The fourth prince is not needed... You have many sons and even more capable heirs... As for protection... I, Archbishop Blata will protect the royal family!" A youth who looked like he was barely up to twenty-one said with a confident smile. His white hair was neatly combed back and his purple pupils were too eye-catching to ignore. He wore a red robe and a white scarf wrapped around his neck. Dangling loosely on his neck was the church of light pendant. This man oozed confidence and power that even the emperor couldn''t help but feel calm whenever he speaks. For a long while now, Blata always had a strong grip on the emperor until Cyrus'' arrival. Meeting someone who was even more charismatic and elegant quickly shattered his grip over the empire and slowly his power weakened. The news of Cyrus'' disappearance was a welcomed one to him but for some reason, he couldn''t help but feel anxious. For Cyrus who has been adamant about staying to vanish, it meant that something worth losing his grip over the empire just appeared. "PROTECT? YOU THINK YOU CAN PROTECT THIS EMPIRE FROM THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEW GODS? IMPOSSIBLE!" Derik''s wild laughter resonated from all parts of the empires, reaching the ears of all hundred and fifty subsidiary kingdoms under its rule. The sky was dyed red and the sun turned green while the clouds turned black. Right before everyone''s eyes a massive blazing darkish purple skull began descending from the sky. Looking out the window, the archbishop and the members of the royal family gazed out, only to spot seven outstanding figures and amongst them was the fourth prince! "Castle! You finally chose to show your true colors! You chose to side with the God of death and destruction!" the archbishop roared angrily. The entire royal family gazed at Cyrus in disbelief. They hoped that all this will be an expensive joke which will be revealed over time. "I would prefer if you call me Cyrus, God of life and Creation... A mere mortal like you dares to speak to me with such a tone? You must be tired of living!" Cyrus roared as he raised his hand towards the sky and a massive golden broadsword appeared above his head! Chapter 437 - 437: Gold realm mortal? Hearing Cyrus'' words, Blata''s face wrinkled as he felt the threat of death looming over his head. Right from the very first day, Castiel changed and became so majestic and charismatic, Blata knew something was up. A member of the spineless royal family suddenly became bold and boldly challenged the church. His first thoughts were to eliminate Castiel but then, there was something about him. Some sort of aura that kept warning him of the impending doom if he should engage Castiel in a fight and that''s why he is yet to face him in battle. The same goes for Cyrus. Apart from Derik and the beyond, Blata was someone else he felt the threat of death when standing face to face with him. He had seen people spend most of their lives trying to attain the position of a priest or a bishop but someone as young as Blata was able to obtain the post of the archbishop and was sent over to Pelgas to suppress the rising of the new gods. It was obvious this youth had some sort of hidden strength they were not aware of. Either way, the royal family and archbishop Blata watched from afar, as the seven new gods written about in the history books stood from afar and kept gazing at them from a distance. He could feel his body tremble with excitement as he watched the giant green flaming skull slowly descend from the heavens, threatening to crush the entire royal castle but even then there was not a hint of fear in his eyes, instead the only emotion Derik and the other new gods could feel from this youth was absolute confidence. How can a mortal stand against gods with complete confidence? "Do you believe in the lord of light? Do you believe in his strength?" Data ignore the flaming skull about to crush them and turned to the royal family. "Y-yes we do!" they all answered in unison as they fearfully gazed at the attack which may result in their deaths. Boom! Suddenly a semi-transparent barrier appeared around the castle. Derik watched as his killer attack smashed into the barrier and only left a few cracks on it. A powerful shockwave spread across the capital, uprooting stone buildings but the royal palace did not even tremble once. "Amen to your words and now, we will vanquish this evil in the name of the beyond... Don''t worry my emperor, you don''t have to lift a finger... Just sit there and watch me deal with these heretics... I assure you, no harm will come to your family!" Blata said with so much vigor and energy that the emperor and his royal family were left speechless. Either way, none of it mattered to them since all they were worried about is their safety. If the archbishop claims he can protect them, they are willing to stay on his side till the battle ends, after which they can easily switch to the victor''s side. "Go... Deal with them, you have my support" The emperor said with a decisive look on his face. "Yes, your majesty!" Blata replied while assuming a bowing posture as a devilish grin bloomed on his face. ... Meanwhile, Derik and the other new gods watched with a stunned expression on their faces as they tried to understand what happened right now. For a mere mortal like Blata to block an attack like that from him, he must have a strength that rivals that of a mid grade gold realm master and considering the fact that he didn''t even put in much effort to counter-attack, he must have a cultivation base of peak grade of the gold realm. "Damn!" Derik muttered as he tried to pull himself together. It has been a long since he has met someone who can take a hit from him with fear in his eyes. He finally realized why the youth spoke with so much confidence and pride. "Cheer up... At worse, he will be forced to take on the life and death duo... No one has survived this combo, not even the Beyond was spared of our deadly might!" Cyrus tried to console Derik but that wasn''t enough to make him break a smile. "I refuse... How can I let a godly being like myself join hands with you to fight a mortal? Do you really think I will lose because he is two grades ahead in level?" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow. "That''s not the issue and you know it... We command life and death and in the past, we have defeated foes a realm above us... Defeating this joker won''t be much of an issue... The problem is the time we live in now... This world is filled with powerless individuals... If you go all out, we may end up destroying the empire without noticing" Cyrus said. Only then did Derik calm down. He and Cyrus gazed at the Archbishop slowly levitate into the air with his hands gently placed behind him. He never thought a day would come when he would have to face off against a human who can possess power that could rival that of peak masters in his past life. If an archbishop is this strong, doesn''t that mean the pope should have the strength to rival demigods? Derik and Cyrus finally understood how these mortals managed to pin the world powers down with their supernatural strength. They finally realized how these people managed to wipe out most of the supernatural beings in this world. He finally realized why the other gods who appeared half a century ago couldn''t rise easily, in fact, they were forced to run with their tails dangling behind them shamefully. These mortals are so confident in the beyond''s strength that they do not fear the new gods. Honestly, Derik couldn''t blame them since no one has given them a reason to fear. The highest feat any of them has achieved to date is just defeating a mere bishop. "It''s all good, I will let you taste what true fear is!" Derik said with a vicious grin Chapter 438 - 438: Power of space! "He dares stand on the same footing with us? When did we become so weak that any person can look down on us?" Cyrus said those words with a charming smile on his face. Derik ignored the question and focused his attention on the enemy standing only a few meters away from him while greatly resisting the urge to dive forward and tear his enemy to shreds. " Are you really the new gods, spoken of in the books?" Blata''s words came as a surprise to all seven of them since no one from the church has ever asked such a question. They were used to the church denying their existence and paying no heed to their words until the last moments of their life but they never expected someone of his ranking to be the one to ask first. "Will you believe us if we say yes?" Derik asked with furrowed eyebrows. "Of course... No mere mortal should be able to achieve these feats you all have achieved... The story has gone round... After your defeat at the hands of my lord, the beyond... Your God souls wandered the land for thousands of years before returning to his world... And now you all are here, trying to recover your essence and faith!'' Blata said with so many emotions, it felt like he was mocking them, leaving all of them stunned. "YOU DARE!!" "YOU THINK YOU CAN MOCK US AND GET AWAY WITH IT? IMPOSSIBLE!" BOOM! Typhoon and Spinx aura exploded so violently that every other member of the new gods had the retreat while guarding themselves with the aura, just to avoid getting hurt. As much as they felt insulted by Blata''s words they could sense the threat of death from the archbishop but Spinx and Typhoon have always been impulsive even in their past life. So their reaction didn''t come as a shock to the others. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Typhoon roared as powerful twisters were summoned around Blata, blocking his escape routes. "SPINX!" "I KNOW!" Spinx replied as his body trembled with power. Lightning magic: Lightning Tyrant! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Countless bolts of lightning exploded from his body, shooting towards Blata viciously. "Cute!" Blata muttered as he flicked his finger and an invisible force exploded from his body, shattering everything sent at him, leaving everyone stunned once again. Whispers! Whispers! Whispers! Looking down, Derik and the others realized that they were been watched by the entire inhabitants of the capital. Their actions now will determine the way the people see them after they take over. Seeing the way Blata effortlessly shattered typhoon and Spinx attacks made them blush with embarrassment. Weren''t they supposed to be the new gods? How could a mere mortal challenge them? These thoughts ran through the minds of all the new gods but Derik and Cyrus didn''t seem bothered at all. This was expected ever since they realized the source of their power. The Beyond was a being who surpassed all other beings controlling the space element. The stars, the sun, and the moon were all part of its power and that was why Kaido and Diana couldn''t help but remain neutral when they realized the identity of the enemy. The other gods died before they could see the enemies'' true abilities and that''s why they were taken aback by the outcome of the short exchange. "That''s enough... I will deal with this myself" Derik said as he slowly floated towards the enemy with his hands placed behind him gently. "Derik!" Cyrus called out but he didn''t even get a glance from Derik. "If you care so much about those watching below, I suggest you all focus your strength on us and contain our battle... Our pride as new gods are on the line, I can only reply with force now" Derik said without looking back. Hearing Deriks words, the others could only nod in agreement as they retreated while using their aura to confine both sides. Swoosh! Following a light gust of wind, Blata slowly approached Derik fearlessly. He had a confident smile on his face while Derik''s face was void of any form of emotion. "It will be an honor to vanquish the God of death and destruction just like my lord, the beyond did... Maybe I will be rewarded greatly if I do" Blata chuckled. It was obvious he was trying to provoke Derik but the latter didn''t seem annoyed at all. He just remained indifferent. "First of all, the beyond is a she... Also, I left your master so hurt that she doesn''t dare confront me right now... If I can do that to a being of that level, imagine what I can do to you" Derik yawned as he spoke, revealing his fangs. "You don''t scare me!" Blata''s visage turned serious as soon as he heard the beyond was a female. "You should be afraid... Very very afraid!" Derik''s eyes let out a bright glow as his hand tore the void and from it, a weapon shot out. The skies trembled as the legendary death scythe slid into his hands and his violent death aura exploded instantly. Woosh! Taking a step forward, Derik vanished, reappearing right in front of the enemy with the death scythe raised above his head. A violent darkish green aura kept flowing into the death scythe, making it tremble viciously. "Shatter!" Derik muttered as he hacked down at the enemy. Swoosh! Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Blata didn''t block, instead, he retreated hastily with a face filled with cold beads of sweat. Everyone had expected him to block with the same overwhelming power he used against Spinx and Typhoon but instead, he ran, causing them to gasp in shock. "For someone who has only lived for a few decades... You have good sensory skills... If you didn''t dodge, you would have been killed instantly" Derik spoke as he walked towards Blata. His aura kept rising and his body size kept increasing as well. The closer he got the more pressure Blatas felt. For the first time in his life, the archbishop felt the need to experience fear! Chapter 439 - 439: Absolute power "It''s been a long while since I have relied on a magic weapon in battle... In fact, it''s been a while since I have used the abilities I learned and perfected in my younger days... I guess this is a good opportunity for me to make use of them again..." Derik said with a smile on his face. Turning his attention to Blata, he spread his hands open, signaling his for to throw the first blow. "It won''t be fun if it ends before you get the chance to showcase your strength..." Derik whispered but the words echoed repeatedly in Blata''s ears! BLASPHEMY! "You dare look down on the strength of the beyond? You are courting death!" Blata roared as his body let out a bright glow and countless golden chains shot out from multiple magic arrays set up around Derik, binding him even before he could raise a finger. "You fail to understand one thing... The only thing absolute in this life is death!" Derik''s eyes widened as his death aura began to leak, slowly rotting away the golden chain. "I won''t let you!" Blata roared as he gripped the void and pulled down viciously. Star power: Star fall! Suddenly the sky turned blue and countless star-shaped glowing white rocks began shooting down from above. "Cute" Derik who was still bounded by the golden chains watched the countless human-sized twinkling stars and smiled. He could recall his battle with the beyond and when this technique was used on him. He had to defend against countless planet-sized stars. Compared to that, these human-sized stars were like child''s play to him. "I will play with you, little one! Death magic: Shriek of the dead!" Derik laughed as the chains around him shattered and a massive angel of death avatar began forming around him. It was a larger version of the angel of death with four black wings, a black hooded robe dr.a.p.ed over his head, and a massive death scythe in its hands. Gazing at it from afar, the legs of the civilians began trembling and many wanted to flee but their legs refused to carry them. They gazed at the seven new gods in awe and fear and many were confused on what to do next. "Shatter apart!" Derik spoke calmly but his dead avatar let out a loud shriek which sounded like a thousand souls crying for help all at once. Swoosh! Brandishing its death scythe against the countless stars, a powerful pulse of death aura was sent across the skies and almost instantly, all the stars were wiped away like they never existed. "Impossible!" Blata''s calm demeanor was gone now. Swoosh! Almost instantly, the death avatar vanished Derik vanished as well. Placing his hand on Blata''s shoulder he yawned again pissing Blata off even more. "Get back!" Blata was spooked by Derik''s disappearing act and quickly released a shockwave of his invisible force, hoping to blast Derik away. "Interesting!" Derik grinned as he was slowly pushed back while struggling with the invisible force. "Shatter!" Derik''s eyes let out a bright glow as he shattered the invisible force. Pa! Blata attempted to flee but before he could move, Derik was already in front of him. Holding him tightly by the throat. "You can only summon magic on par with a peak grade gold realm master... But have no control over it... You are just like a child given a sheathed sword, playing with it without knowing that the main blade is yet to be revealed... You can not draw out the full power granted to you because your foundation is lacking... You all are the same... Weak!" Derik said while looking down on the archbishop with an eye filled with contempt. His grip on the archbishop''s throat tightened and loosened occasionally as he considered if it would be wise to just kill him off immediately. He considered using the archbishop as a plaything to help reduce the faith these people have in the beyond, but these kinds of things are not what Derik enjoys doing. "Don''t you dare look down on me! Scorching sun!" the archbishop said after so much effort. Wooosh! The sun got brighter and the temperature kept rising at an alarming rate. At first, Derik chose to ignore it but then it felt so hot that he couldn''t help but think that the sun was placed directly behind him. "Hmmm?" Derik was a bit stunned when he saw a huge sun descending from the skies, threatening to crush him. He turned his attention to Blata and a vicious smile appeared on his face he asked the question. "Do you want to die?" "Hehehehehehehehe! Let''s die together!" Archbishop Blata laughed wildly causing Derik to reevaluate the man in front of him. He came to a conclusion that Blata was actually too young and impulsive to be an archbishop. It''s quite possible that he was made an archbishop under the orders of the beyond and sent as a scapegoat. They were most likely using him to gauge their strength before they can make a move. "Just another pawn" Derik sighed as he lost interest in the battle. Raising his left hand, he stole a glance at the falling sun and a vicious smile bloomed on his face. "Only one person''s light can match my darkness and it''s not yours! Vanish! Blackout!" Saying this, darkness suddenly enveloped the sun, before reducing it to dust. Cyrus couldn''t help but smile at Derik''s earlier comment. He too was stunned by the domineering power Derik showcased here. "Maybe I have been dead for so long, I have forgotten the kind of people we used to be" Cyrus said as images of their past battles together flashed across his mind. Never for once did they consider their enemy''s realm. Death magic had almost no limitations, drawing power from all sources and no rules applied to it, unlike other elements. "The purpose of all life is death!" Cyrus muttered Derik''s words and he was beginning to believe it. He was beginning to believe in the absolute power of death! Chapter 440 - 440: it has been a while "Didn''t I tell you... I am the absolute... Even death cannot hold me!" Derik said with a kind smile on his face. He watched the face of the pawn, Blata turn red as he struggled for air. Tears rolled down his eyes and based on the dejected look in his eyes it was obvious he was trying something but the beyond was not responding to his calls. Since he has already reached his limit there is no reason for the beyond to waste any more time on him. "It''s heartbreaking right? Abandoned by the one you love and serve with so much vigor... Sad" Derik''s eyes held no form of sympathy as he spoke. He tightened his grip on the youth''s throat and was just a moment away from ripping his head from his body but then a thought popped up in his mind. At this point, Blata was no different from a normal man. The power of the beyond has left him and killing him won''t bring him any benefits, so why not keep him. They are gods and mere mortals shouldn''t be able to reach them. If they should create a church of their own, they should need a priest or someone normal people can relate with. He could feel Blata was already broken and his faith in the beyond was crushed. This is the best time for him to come in and give the vibrant youth a new reason to live. A new reason to fight. "That''s enough for today" Derik sighed as he let go of the youth''s throat. With his own power, Derik was able to keep Blata afloat, leaving the youth a bit stunned. "Cyrus please heal his injuries" Derik said casually leaving the other new gods stunned. Especially Typhoon and Spinx who bore a grudge against this man. Since Blata was well known around here and his popularity in the kingdom cannot be undermined, Derik saw him as the perfect candidate to become their first priest or pope. Whichever they decide. Also, the youth knew about the inner working of the church and how to set it up. These are small issues Derik and the other new gods do not pay attention to. Using basic telepathy, Derik conveyed his thoughts to the others and waited for their approval. This wasn''t like the past where he could just enforce his will on the other hosts with force. This time all their lives were at stake and unless they work well with him and Cyrus their chances of survival are low. It took a few seconds but after it was decided, Cyrus proceeded to flick his fingers, and Blata was completely covered in a golden light which slowly faded, alongside all the pain he felt and all the injuries he sustained. "Why? Why are you helping me?" Blata was more fearful now when facing the new gods. He realized everything Derik said was true, including how he fatally injured the beyond. That explains why the beyond is yet to show himself and deal with them. He could also tell that he was still able to fly because Derik was keeping him afloat with his power. "Now that you have adopted the right tone when speaking to greater beings like us, I will give you a gift" Derik said as his death aura slowly surged into the youth''s body. Blata was terrified as a warm feeling spread across his body and he shut his eyes tight waiting for the pain to start before his death but after waiting for a while he felt no pain, instead, he felt like he was getting stronger. His purple eyes had turned darkish green just like Derik''s and his white hair had streaks of black on it now. He felt like the strength which the beyond took away from him was returning but this strength was different. Derik''s death aura gave him the feeling of an unstoppable spear which nothing can stop. For the first time in a long while, he felt invincible and was completely lost in the feeling of strength. Pa! "Don''t be silly... No one is truly invincible..." Derik lightly tapped his forehead while he spoke. With the power of the beyond gone, Blata was no different from any other powerless human. Derik could read his thoughts easily. His eyes carried no hostility or hate, it was more like an elder brother speaking to his little brother. "But you... You said you are absolute! Death is absolute... That''s what you said" Blata gently rubbed his forehead while he spoke. "Gosh!" Derik slapped his face. "Death is inevitable... All living things will eventually die... Even gods die... The beyond can be killed... That''s why I say death is absolute but that doesn''t make me invincible... I can be killed too but I can''t stay dead... If you have the power of death, it doesn''t make you immortal or invincible, you can still be killed but the only difference is that you have no reason to fear death because death is on your side" Derik winked at him while he said the last part. Blata was left stunned by these words and he turned to look at the other new gods who wore serious expressions on their faces. Shifting his attention back to Derik, Blata noticed Derik was frowning too. They were all looking towards one direction and the killing intentions oozing out of them made him believe strongly that Derik was only toying with him back then. Xiu! Suddenly a blood-red spear shot through the skies, shooting towards Blata but Derik reacted quickly, pulling Blata behind him before reaching for the spear with his bare hands. Boom! Derik grabbed onto the spear before it hit, creating series of powerful shockwaves which forced Derik to retreat repeatedly. "YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE HERE? WHAT HAPPENED CREATOR? ARE YOU SO EAGER TO DIE?" Derik roared as struggled with the spear with furrowed eyebrows. His vicious gaze was fixed on the young lady standing on the clouds with a similar red spear in her hand. Her cunning smile flared up the anger in the hearts of the new gods even more. "it''s been a while, Derik Angus, how is Demos doing?" She asked. Chapter 441 - 441: Adinos ROAR! Derik let out a loud cry as he shattered the spear with just brute strength. His eyes flared up with power as black blood rolled down his fingers. "I guess I hit a nerve" Adinos said while licking her lips. Back then, while they were yet to attain their inheritance, Adinos has been a figure many prayed to and called upon as the creator of every being in this god vein. Just like the beyond, many had mistaken her for a he but that didn''t matter as long as she received the power of faith, coupled with the resources of the god vein. Life was moving smoothly and her godly realm was rising at an alarming speed, making her superior to the other old gods whose cultivation was practically stagnant. All these ended as soon as Derik and Cyrus made their first appearance, after digesting their inheritance. Derik and Cyrus joined hands to hurt her when she greedily reached for Gin''s soul and since that day the loyalty of the guardian spirits changed and her position in the heavens dropped. Derik and Cyrus became the most popular figures in the world and compared to an unseen God, people chose to pray to them instead of her, depriving her of the power of faith she once enjoyed. To end it all, Derik and Cyrus soon stepped foot into the heavenly realm, quickly cutting off her last supply of power from the God''s vein. Her hatred for these two has gone beyond things mere words can explain. BAM! Following a loud sound, Derik could be seen standing face to face with Adinos. He was over six feet tall making Adinos who had a smaller build look like a junior when compared to him. Compared to her elegant and graceful appearance. Her succulent red lips, pointy nose, blood-red long hair, and her tight red robe attire which showcased all her curves, Adinos was extremely pretty just as Derik was extremely handsome. "I dare you to repeat those words, my dear creator... I assure you, you will be dead in less than ten minutes!" Derik half growled, revealing his fangs. "Do you think I''m scared of you? My power level is at the peak of the gold realm while yours is at the rock bottom... So I think it''s very unwise to take me on unless you think you can deal with me the same way you dealt with the useless archbishop?" Adinos said with a vicious smile on her face and even when faced with the full pressure of Derik''s presence, she showed no fear. Hearing her words, Derik''s frown vanished and was replaced with a casual smile. The murderous intentions and violent aura oozing out of his body settled but he didn''t move away. "Your identity makes no difference to me... Before I kill you, I must ask first... What brings you here, where the seven new gods reside... All alone" Derik asked casually like he was talking to an old friend. Seeing his demeanor change almost instantly, Adinos couldn''t help but frown. In their past life, she had crossed swords with Derik repeatedly during the battle between the new gods and the old gods, which drew the attention of the beyond. Derik was vicious, destructive, and terrifying when angered but when calm he was more calculation and lethal. That is the Derik she refuses to fight. The Derik that almost took her life before the beyond popped out of nowhere and dealt the killing blow. "You... kill me, I don''t think that will be possible... I just came here to make sure the bishop dies... That''s all there is to it... If you let me end him, I will leave here without any conflict... No one has to get hurt" Adinos tried as hard as possible to hide her emotions but it was already too late. Derik could smell the fear oozing out of her. His darkish-green eyes brightened and claws sprouted on his fingers. He slowly increased in size, as his muscle began bulging. "And what if I say no? This man you all abandoned is under the protection of the new gods?" Derik asked slowly. With all, he has heard he finally confirmed his theory. Even the beyond is aware of the change in power if Blata works for them and creates a church for them. Once the world hears that a former archbishop of the church of light is converted and now serves a new god. This will further boost the reputation of the new gods and not only will the new gods will have total control of Pelgas but they will also gain the support of many people from the different empires around. "If you refuse I will be forced to act... It won''t be pretty" Adinos said with furrowed eyebrows. "Go ahead, take your best shot!" Derik replied. BOOM! Blata was still floating in mid-air blankly, trying to make sense of what''s going on two figures appeared right in front of him, exchanging over thirty blows before he could even react. Adino''s attacks were swift and accurate but Derik''s claws laced with his death aura were not inferior in any way. "Secret combat technique: Brillant claw!" Derik muttered as a vague image of Scott Lockwood and other members of the Lockwood family appeared in his mind as he moved his hands. His moves were a bit slower than that of Aldino but they all generated darkish green aura marks in the air which remained there long after the movement was done. Each mark worked like a barrier leaving Adino fewer places to strike while giving Derik more space for Derik to prepare his Killer move of the past. "Pay attention Blata... You only get to see something this amazing once in a lifetime! Secret combat technique: Roar!" Boom! His aura exploded as a massive amount of darkish green aura gathered around him, slowly taking the shape of a majestic werewolf. Gazing at the massive construct slowly take form, Blata who was observing couldn''t help but marvel at the level of strength Derik was showing now compared to when they fought. Chapter 442 - 442: Immortal Derik Roar! A darkish green aura version of a werewolf on all fours appeared, frightening everyone. Unlike Derik''s battle against Blata which looked like Derik was only toying with him, this fight was more intense. It was a battle to the death! All the loud sounds, tremors, bright lights, and roars terrified the powerless humans beneath and most of them began to flee with no particular destination in mind. Adinos watched with a frown on her face as the negative emotions coming, the fear and terror of all those in the capital fueled Derik''s already insane power. Seeing the darkish green Werewolf avatar grow in size while Derik''s grin grew even wider, she couldn''t even help but curse the life and death element. In her opinion, such an overpowered element shouldn''t exist at all. When comparing Derik and Cyrus to other new gods, the difference between them is always like heaven and earth. "Roar!" Derik said as the werewolf avatar let out a loud roar as it kicked the air, creating a powerful shock wave that almost knocked Blata off the air, lunging towards Adinos. Derik who was still within the head of the construct had his hands clasped together like he was praying while muttering something. "Mid-grade of the gold realm? I guess that''s all the fear of powerless mortals can give you... I don''t even know why I was worried in the first place" Adinos said lightly as she tapped the red spear in her hand, releasing some sort of red sonic waves. Screech! Screech! Screech! "What the hell!" Derik growled as he was forced to stop his chant midway and cover his ears with his hands. The sound was already abnormally loud and when coupled with the fact that Derik had enhanced hearing, thanks to the werewolf side, it was loud enough to make Derik''s ear bleed. "JUDGEMENT SPEAR!" Suddenly, Aldinos smile vanished and was replaced with pure killing intentions. The spear in her hands was promptly engulfed in red aura as he threw it forward. Xiu! The red spear shot through the skies, tearing through the sky like a red beam of light while the high-pitched sound kept disrupting Derik''s chain of thought and concentration. "Move!" Derik roared With great effort the werewolf avatar lept to the side to evade the red beam, leaving Derik panting while covering his ears tight with his hands. "Come one now, we are only starting!" Adinos said as she began performing hand seals. Xiu! Suddenly the red beam changed trajectory and began pursuing Derik once again. As long as her sonic waves continued, Derik found it hard or impossible to focus. He gripped his bleeding ears while struggling to control the werewolf avatar properly. "This..." Derik''s left eye was shut tight while the right was barely open. He kept gnashing his teeth until his mouth began bleeding. He understood why this ability was foreign to him. Just like when he reached the God realm, he abandoned his old abilities for even stronger ones. He concluded that the creator must have done the same. {My enemy has watched me all through my life... She watched me grow from the bronze realm to godhood and that''s why she can counter my abilities perfectly but I know nothing about her...This is bad...} Derik thought as he watched the spear pierce through the temple of his werewolf construct, digging a hole on his chest even before he could shift his location. Puti! Black blood sprayed across the sky and rained on those below. Derek knelt in mid-air, breathing heavily as his organs dangled around freely and more blood flowed out from his wound. Seeing this, everyone was worried, including Blata who knew his life was in Derik''s hand. He couldn''t help but pray for Derik''s victory, in all honesty, only Cyrus, Ahika, and Francis didn''t look bothered. "Just stop goofing around and end this already!" Cyrus said causing Derik to laugh. His pearls of laughter resonated across the sky, leaving everyone stunned. The man who should be at death''s door was the one laughing out loud! It seemed so strange and unusual. "When faced with true strength, all forms of tricks are useless! If you fought me a few hours ago, I probably would have died but that won''t be possible anymore... Immortal Derik has returned!" Derik laughed crazily as his wounds began closing at an inhuman speed. "Impossible! Judgment spear!" Adinos roared as the read spear let out a loud sound before shooting forward again. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Again and again, the red spear pierced his body, leaving behind a bloody hole that quickly closed up. Derik''s skull was even reduced to a bloody paste by the red spear but even then, it regrew so fast it looked like an illusion. "Didn''t I tell you? I cannot be killed by you... The dead can never die!... Limiters release!" Boom! A massive pillar of darkish green aura fell upon Derik from above as his power began to rise at an immense rate. The limiter path was the first path he chose as a mage. This allowed him to skip levels and jump to a higher realm! With the help of the negative emotions, drawn towards him, Derik was able to push his level to the mid-grade of the gold realm and with his limiters removed, he quickly reached the peak of the gold realm. "The purpose of all life is death! Accept your fate!" Derik said as he performed a strange arm gesture and countless after images followed his palms. The sky above them tore open and the bone gate appeared above them. The bone gate was riddled with cracks and looked like it will crumble soon but even, extremely concentrated death aura kept seeping out of it. "Open up! Your god has returned!" Derik growled viciously as the gates trembled greatly before reluctantly opening up. The world watched the gates of the domain, slowly open and they couldn''t help but tremble in fear. Even deep beneath the earth, the beyond was shaken by the ill-feeling he got. He could sense an incomplete realm! A realm that belongs to only Derik! Chapter 443 - 443: Welcome to my world! Bam! Loud sounds kept rocking the skies as the damaged bone gates slowly yanked open. Gazing at the massive gate the creator couldn''t help but feel the threat of death for the first time since this fight began. Chanting of their gods return resonated from the sealed gates and each voice bearing its distinctive power and strength. This made people wonder what kind of powerful beings were stuck in that world. "I''m sorry it took me so long but your God has returned... We will make this world ours!" Derik''s eyes flared up with power as a powerful force pushed the gates open forcefully. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Before anyone could react seven figures were already in front of Derik in a kneeling position and their heads bowed. Each of them released an aura similar to that of a gold realm master. "Master!" They all said in unison, causing the skies to tremble. At this point, the creator felt like fleeing but for some reason, her instincts told her that she''s still alive, solely because she hasn''t tried to escape. The fear she felt was greater than any other voice in her head, causing her to stay rooted to one position, with her judgment spear floating safely beside her. "Kira, Kin, Kuen... Gin, Kalos, Aldora, and Blink... I missed you all" Derik took a deep breath before speaking. He could feel their body shiver since this world was not conducive for undead since it''s lacking mana. Right now, these seven are all he could afford to summon due to his massive mana reserves. Apart from that, he was also using his mana to maintain the gates of his realm. At this point, his mana was depleting quickly and his undead companions knew it. "Go!" He said and the seven figures sprang into action. Xiu! A bright silver flashed across the sky and a figure could be seen muttering some ancient words. His eyes were like two bright stars and countless ancient texts appeared all over his body as a silver magic array appeared beneath everyone''s feet, including that of the creator. "Absolute teleportation magic!" Adinos frowned. Unlike Kalos who could only create gates that people must willingly pass through to get to a new location, Blink could forcefully drag someone from one place to another, not giving the person a choice. The only problem with his ability is that it requires enough preparation time, which is an opportunity for anyone to kill the caster. "Don''t get ahead of yourself!" Adinos roared as she sent her judgment spear straight at Blink. Peng! The spear was suddenly deflected by Gin who wielded a blade engulfed in death aura. He wore a calm expression on his face and a confident smile which terrified the creator. "And who said you are allowed to harm my sworn brother?" Gin asked. Wooosh! Suddenly the smell of blood filled the air as Kira charged forward. His body suddenly exploded into a massive tsunami of blood, crashing down on the creator even before she could recall her red spear. "What the hell is this?" Adinos cried as she tried to move but her body felt so heavy that she couldn''t even lift a finger anymore. Her vision was clouded by some sort of darkness and her senses prevented her from noticing the golden fists assaulting her within the sea of blood where Aldora''s golden buddha attacks been teleported into the sea of blood by Kalos. The new gods and Blata listened to the creator''s screams of pain and their fear for Derik''s death magic were renewed. "Even in this new world he is still as scary as ever!" Francis said and Ahika nodded. Cyrus on the other hand kept gazing at the gates of Derik''s domain for a while. Even though it was difficult, he could sense the souls of Agus and Fernandos in there. He could also feel the tainted soul of Clovis, his successor, and many other members of this palace of life stuck in there. He remembered clearly when they returned to their home only to realize that everyone who believed in them was killed and all their souls were wandering around the world, searching for them, Derik fell into a state of madness and quickly opened his realm, greedily consuming all the souls in this world. This act gave them hope for the new world they wish to create since the souls of their family and friends still remain so they can be resurrected. "I will be leaving now... Blink is ready... I can tell your realms have crumbled already since it was abandoned for a very long time... Mine is crumbling too and I must stop It or everything will be lost! I trust you will deal with all the issues that arise until my return" Derik said to them before he was engulfed by silver light. They could all see how pale he had become just after maintaining seven powerful undead for only a few minutes. The same happened to all his undead subordinates and Adinos. As soon as they were teleported back into the realm, the gates slowly vanished out of existence. "Adinos won''t survive this... Derik has won" Cyrus said nonchalantly before turning his attention royal palace far away. ......................................... Bang! Adinos struck the floor hard, making her vision blur a little. She tried to get on her feet but her hands and legs were been pinned down by green chains that erupted from below. Looking up, She could see Derik holding Elsa tightly in his warm embrace while hundreds of thousands of powerful undead surrounded her. The crumbling world was slowly getting repaired since its creator has returned. Behind Derik were Linda and John Angus! Zaylee, Gerald, The Lockwood family, everyone in the past who meant something to him. He brought them all here, sustaining them with the new world he has created while he patiently waits for the day when he would be opportune to take over the God''s vein and make it his own. Their home! "My dear creator, welcome to my world... In here, I am the sole god!" Derik chuckled lightly. Chapter 444 - 444: Consuming a god soul Boom! Cyrus and the other new gods quickly stormed the royal palace, moving so quickly that no one could stand in their way. In just a few seconds, they had already reached the royal courtyard where the entire royal family was located and surprisingly no guards were defending them. "At least the emperor is smart enough to know that their entire forces mean nothing to gods like us," Typhoon said with a hint of contempt in his voice but Cyrus ignore him. The royal courtyard was just like any other palace, it had three pairs of golden pillars located at the various edges of the room. The entire room was painted white and at the edge of the room was the throne which was surprisingly placed on the same level as other furniture in the room. In their past life, they were used to seeing kings place their thrones at higher points that way they can look down on everyone else. "You lived with someone like this for ten years?" Spinx asked with a raised eyebrow. In their opinion, a king should be someone that must be envied and feared. If an emperor cannot command respect then he''s not worthy to rule. What annoyed Cyrus the most about the Emperor was that he was so scared of everything that he tries as much as possible to please everyone. "Castle! Blata! I am happy to see you all resolved your issues... Now we can all work together.." The Emperor was as pale as a ghost when he saw Castiel and Blata standing together. His original intention was to try to plead for mercy with the winning party but now, both of them arrive together, it would be hard betraying one without making it awkward. "We? There is no we... You lack the qualities of an emperor and that''s why you were easily used by the empire... If we new gods will use this empire as our stronghold... A lot of things have to be changed! That''s what I am here to fix" Cyrus said indifferently while gazing at Blata. "You already have a candidate to replace the Emperor?" Blata asked with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, we do... Typhoon... Spinx, bring the place down" Cyrus said as he flew out of the castle through the hole on the wall he created when he busted in. Blata and the other news gods followed him quietly, ignoring the cries and pleas of the people inside the castle. Upon leaving the castle, Typhoon summoned a powerful tornado which forcibly uprooted the castle from the ground before Spinx created a thunderstorm, striking the castle repeatedly until only dust remained. ....... Boom! Boom! The judgment spear kept clashing with Derik''s bone spear, creating numerous shockwaves that prevented anyone below their level from interfering. With the domain crumbling faster than ever, its power has been weakened, limiting Derik''s strength in here. The creator was able to break free from her constraints and put up some resistance against Derik. The battle would have ended a long time ago if everyone in the domain were to fight but Derik chose to battle Adinos alone. "You turned your back on us and joined the one responsible for your deaths? How shameless can the old gods be? Where is your pride?" Derik half growled as he conjured over a hundred bone Spears to assault the enemy. "You new gods are the reason the beyond was awakened... Our battle which you all caused, caught its attention... It was only trying to prevent the destruction of the realm due to our senseless war!" Adinos replied as she stood on her massive red spear, maneuvering through the bone spear attacks and trying to reach Derik who showed no intentions of backing away. Seeing his enemy coming, Derik felt there was no need to continue the discussion. The old gods were never known for their pride or loyalty. They should have seen this coming from a mile away! "Bind" Derik whispered as countless chains exploded from all parts of the realm, lashing on the Adinos and her spear just before she could make contact with Derik. She tried to move but these chains were stronger than the last one she broke free from because they were been strengthened by Derik''s death aura. "You are beyond redemption... Vanish from this world... Death magic: Touch of death!" Derik muttered with a gloomy face as he tapped the forehead of the creator with his index finger. Brrrrrrrrrr! The red spear beneath her feet began to crumble. Adinos turned brown and slowly began to crumble like sand been blown away by the wind. He tried to move and fight it but the death aura which was ravaging her from the inside was been fueled by the domain, was far stronger than whatever Adinos could muster. "And now you have taken my life, you have nothing to gain! I will just reincarnate in a few hundred years... Or the beyond may even choose to let me rise sooner... This won''t end well for you!" Adinos hissed. Hearing her rant about getting reborn, Derik wore a sad look on his face as he caressed her face. He touched her slowly and delicately like a lover would do to his partner and remained silent until Adinos was done speaking before he spoke. "You fail to understand something.. You must have forgotten the type of god I am... You must have forgotten the magic I command... I can''t let your soul go... I intend to consume it here and now... That way, you will never reincarnate and your godly essence will be mine to take... I almost defeated the beyond the last time we fought... I put it in the condition it is now... By consuming the souls of gods my power should rise fast enough to give me a fighting chance against her..." Derik muttered in her ear as a powerful suction force began pulling her soul out of her body. "No! You can''t consume a god soul! No one has ever tried that before... It is too much even for you, that''s why the beyond never tried to consume our souls after our death... It''s suicide for the both of us!" Adinos warned with fearful eyes. Chapter 445 - 445: One soul "Hehehehehe!" Derik chuckled lightly as he kept trying to pull the creator''s soul out of his body. Unlike other souls which were easy to snatch, a god is mostly stronger in its soul form. Stealing the soul of a demigod is extremely hard not to talk of that of a god. As for the Beyonds reason for not consuming their souls after death, the answer was still unknown but Derik was pretty sure the beyond would never risk leaving himself open for the sake of just a single god soul when there are many more god realm enemies still alive and even when Derik was killed, the beyond was too damaged to consume a god soul. Derik came to the conclusion that Adinos was only saying this in a bid to save herself. Bam! Striking her chest with his hand, digging deep enough to grip her beating heart with his hand, Derik shot the creator a devilish smile. "In the end, you are no different from any other mortal that fears death... It''s a thing of shame that a true God who has left for over five thousand years will fear death to the point that you would lie just to have your life... Pitiful!" Derik snarled as pulses of death aura surged into her chest causing her body to explode. Xiu! A blurry ghastly being shot out of the body as an opening opened in the space, leading straight to the void. But before it could reach the hole, Derik had already summoned more green chains to pin it down while he forcefully closed the crack in his realm which she tried to escape through. "Derik Angus! Please don''t... This doesn''t have to end this way! I will serve you, I will be your loyal servant... I will be your lover... Anything name it! Just spare me!" Adinos cried out in fear but the green chains kept pulling her towards Derik. "I already have someone I love... As for a loyal servant who will serve me well, I believe you will serve me better as an undead" Derik said as the suction force increased pulling the soul into him. Roar! As soon as the god soul shot into his body, Derik let out a painful cry as he lost all the strength in his body and fell off the sky. He could feel a sharp pain, spreading through his body. Puti! Derik couldn''t help but spit out black blood as Adinos soul kept up rocking him from within. "This!" Derik never expected a soul would be able to harm him after it has been consumed. It was completely wrecking his own soul. At this rate, he felt like his soul would shatter if no care is taken. He thought about using his death aura to the consciousness of the god soul but he realized that the soul has already assimilated with his soul, making it impossible to reach Adinos'' god soul without harming his god soul. "Derik!" "Master!" Derik heard worried cries of all those depending on his realm. All his life, he has always been used to feeding off of the negative emotions of those around him, but he never expected a day would come when he would have to receive the sympathy of all those who worship him like a god! "Big Bro!" Dimitri''s voice reached his ears causing Derik to look up. His vision was blurred but he could feel Dimitri, Andrew, Philips, and Jean approaching. "Stay back!" Derik hissed as he set up an invisible wall around him, preventing anyone from reaching him. His eyes were completely black as black blood flowed down his face. His bloodied eyes shifted to Dimitris and a warm smile bloomed on his face. His death means another century or so of roaming the void before finding a new host. By the time that happens, the realm must have crumbled by then and every single soul living in his realm will be destroyed alongside the realm too. He will lose his past and his future! "never again!" Derik''s eyes widened in rage as he struggled to suppress Adinos soul with his own. A God soul was going against another God soul, leaving him in a position where both souls may implode. His only chance of survival now was to combined the beast God soul with his main soul. In the past, Derik left both souls separated because it allowed him to change form at will. Should both souls be combined, he may even be forced to remain in his werewolf form forever! "Very well then!" Derik growled as he breathed in deeply, before attempting the fusion. Sitting in a crossed-legged position, Derik began assimilating the beast soul into his main God soul. As the assimilation progressed, visible changes began to occur all over his body. His long and smooth hair became even longer and spikier. His body slowly increased in size and claws began sprouting on his fingers. Everyone watched as Derik''s aura which was originally lethal and dangerous turned ferocious outrightly. His eyes slowly opened, revealing his wolf-like pupils and the smile on his face revealed his fangs. He was expecting more changes to take place and even considered the fact that he would never look human but probably due to his god soul, he was unable to completely hide turn! Apart from his head, hair refused to sprout on any other part of his body. "Right now... Anyone can tell my identity as a werewolf, no matter the body I jump into" Derik frowned. If a situation should occur where he should die and reincarnate again, he will be spotted out by any religious group easily and since he will be too weak, he would be killed immediately. Derik remained silent as had felt the two souls actively suppressing that of Adinos while slowly assimilating it into his body. He kept pulling his life force and using it to advance his strength. He didn''t know how long it would take to completely refine, Adino''s energy, neither did he know how long he was going to spend in this realm just to fix it. All he could do now is hasten his progress and return to the real world outside! Chapter 446 - 446: Church of seven With the death of the entire royal family, Cyrus went ahead to showcase his godly strength to the entire Pelgas empire, leaving him drained but he achieved the desired result. Priests of the church of light remaining in the empire were forced to renounce their faith in the beyond or die. The massive crusade started with Blata spearheading it. Just like the beyond, the seven new gods could channel their powers through mortals, granting Blata and the priest who chose to follow him great power, far beyond what they imagined. Since the new gods had no intentions of spreading further any time soon, they decided to band together and create one church known as the church of seven. This creation was dedicated to all seven new gods and every prayer said was directed to all seven of them since it was believed that all seven were at the same level. The other new gods were grateful to Cyrus for giving everyone such information even when it''s obvious that he and Derik were the strongest amongst the seven. With these prayers from all the empire kept pouring and steadily, each and every one of these new gods began to rise in power. Unlike the beyond who is never seen, the new gods made appearances once in a while, utilizing their abilities to make life easier for the people. Thanks to the God of nature and earth, Francis, the empire had abundant food and with the help of Spinx and Typhoon, they never experienced draught. Ahika directly challenged the cosmic being of the sun, Kaido from time to time, altering the weather in the favor of the people, reducing the day time, and increasing the night time. The entire empire was always cool and during the periods it was chilling cold, Ahika made it warm. Liana made sure the empire never lacked water and with their strengths combined they created an empire akin to Paradise for both supernatural beings and normal humans. While greatly devoted members of the church of seven were granted access to the powers of the seven new gods in their dire times of need. Poverty was alleviated and even the poorest man in the empire could afford shelter and three square meals a day. Under the watchful eyes of the seven new gods, the nobles dared not act against the poor recklessly. With poverty taken away, Cyrus was left to deal with the health of the people. Terminal illnesses were cured effortlessly and the entire kingdom was kept healthy. With Derik yet to return from his realm for close to a year now, Cyrus and the others were forced to create defensive formations around the empire. The relationship between Pelgas and the other five empires turned sour and war was a possibility but the people showed no fear since their faith in their gods was strong. Typhoon, Spinx, Ahika, Liana, and Francis soon broke into the gold realm, regaining control of the true nature of their abilities. At this point, all they needed was enough time to search for their godly essence scattered across the planet and they were pretty sure the old gods were doing the same as well. With Pelgas located at the center of the continent, it was surrounded by enemies and on numerous occasions, spies tried to get into the empire but were killed before they could succeed. Soon bolts of lightning striking down a random person in the public became normal as more spies made their way into the empire. Even then, civilians were not scared of this since they knew all those killed were enemies and this even deepened their faith in the seven. Only those who had something to do with the enemy kingdoms were scared to death by this. ............. Brrrrrr! The sky tore open and from it, three figures appeared. One was a man over 6ft tall with spiky long black hair, the pupils of a wolf, and a very sturdy build. He gave out this wild and ferocious vibe that made people tremble in fear yet the white-haired and golden-haired youths standing behind showed no signs of fear. Instead, they gazed at the people below with a hint of hatred and contempt in their eyes. "You shouldn''t blame them for the mistakes their ancestors committed... They have been loyal... Thanks to them I have reached the peak of the gold realm and only a step away from the demigod realm... They are my people, and I hope you can accept them" Derik said to Blink and Clovis as they descended to the ground. He was topless and wore black trousers with black boots. With both hands shoved deep into his pockets, Derik looked more like a hoodlum than a God. The two youths standing beside him wore black and white mage robes respectively, with each of them releasing enough death aura to make everyone around them tremble. "Lord Derik has returned!" Blata''s voice echoed from behind and he slowly fell on his knees and bowed respectfully. Seeing the pope of the church declare this wild-looking man Derik, the God of death, everyone on the street fell on their knees and bowed fearfully. "Blata... You have grown stronger" Derik gave him a charming smile which contradicted his wild aura. No one expected someone with such a ferocious aura would have a calm demeanor. As for Blata''s increase in strength, Derik knew it was due to his increase in strength too. He left his imprint on Blata''s soul, that way he cannot benefit from the powers of the other gods but he would grow in strength with Derik. Although he is limited to only one element unlike other priests, he grew stronger with his master. "I love what you all did with the place... Adinos was a bonafide God, so it was quite difficult to deal with her... But it''s all done... She won''t be returning to this world again... " Derik chuckled making Blata tremble. Even the beyond couldn''t permanently kill the gods but Derik had just succeeded in killing Adinos permanently. His body was brimming with a power that far surpassed the strength he had a year ago. Indeed, his master has gotten stronger! Chapter 447 - 447: Return of the legendary successors "Why are we here, master!" Blink bowed respectfully as he asked the question. He could understand that the world they live in now is void of mana and because of that, the only way for him, a magician to survive is to depend on Derik. A year ago, in their battle against Adinos, Blink didn''t fail to notice that Derik was serving as an anchor to their magic, fueling each and every one of their spells with his mana, from his reserves and this almost left him dried up. Just like everyone else in the realm, after Derik explained the situation outside, they all agreed to stay within the domain and wait for his return. When he finally destroys the beyond and returns the balance of the world, they will be able to leave this place and rebuild their homes. So just bringing him and Clovis is along while there are more capable fighters out there left them confused. "You are here because we chose you as our successors¡­ You lived and died fighting for us and for that reason, both of you are the most valuable persons we met during our past life¡­ In my opinion¡­ we were lucky to have both of you in our sects¡­" Derik said all that with a straight face but it was enough to steer the emotions hidden in the depths of their hearts, locked up for a long time now. "Well said¡­ If given enough time, you two would have performed wonders and even though you were young we placed so much burden on you two which cost your lives¡­ for that we apologize¡­" Cyrus''s voice echoed from behind causing everyone to turn around and look at the stunning god of life and creation. If an undead could cry, Blink and Clovis would have been soaked in their tears. Derik and Cyrus walked towards their successors and embraced them warmly as a father would do to a son. As much as they are not related and they had even more powerful subordinates, these two were the youngest, and yet they were the most outstanding. And even after they entered the demigod realm and left the realm of mortals, these two won the respects of their sect members and under their leadership, they won many battles in the name of their masters and the empire! If given a second chance, Derik and Cyrus will not change a thing. "Thank you¡­ Master!" Blink said. "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Cyrus" Clovis said. Xiu! Suddenly all four of them and Pope Blata vanished, reappearing in the newly constructed royal castle where the royal family and the new gods were residing. Appearing the royal courtroom so suddenly was enough to make King Jules and the nobles scream in surprise, springing to their feet and then on their knees in fear. Derik''s ferocious presence kept everyone on the edge, forcing them to expect the worst at any moment. "That won''t be necessary¡­ Rise!" Derik waved his hand and an invisible force pulled them back to their feet, leaving them stunned. Considering the kind of presence Derik exuded, they were pretty sure he was vexed and was planning something cruel but the gentle smile on his face told a different story. "Emperor Jules¡­ I kept my part of the bargain¡­ I made a King from a small level five kingdom emperor and you served me well till then¡­ so far our relationship is blossoming beautifully¡­ that''s a nice thing" Derik smiled at the new emperor quaking in his boots. When he took over the kingdom of Kedus, Derik had also wiped out the King Jules family since they were also part of the group who strongly believed that Jules shouldn''t be king. They found it disgusting that fat and a weak man called the shots meanwhile the other kingdoms had young, strong kings who charge into battle gallantly with their forces. There was a plot to kill Jules and the queen getting remarried to a more capable man, who was secretly her lover all this while. After wiping them out, Derik thought this man would never recover but right now, he couldn''t help but confess that even though Jules was powerless and fearful when it counts, the king stands his ground and becomes more courageous than even the greatest warriors. He respected this man immensely. "Master Derik, Master Cyrus, what shall your humble servant do for you?" King Jules fell on his knees as he spoke and the Nobles fell on their knees as well. "I would like you to put these two in charge of our forces¡­ They will train our forces and teach them how we fight in the old days¡­ I believe it''s time to take back this world, I can''t leave my family waiting any longer" Derik said so calmly, it felt like he was a hundred percent certain of his victory. The confident nod, Cyrus gave in reply reminded their successors of the old days when their palace masters were so overbearing and powerful that even when faced with Demigods, their laughter could be heard across the continent. Seeing that death did not change their masters in any way, these two were overjoyed. "Will these humans be okay with undead leading them?" Clovis asked thoughtfully. Hearing this, Derik and Cyrus shot a glance at each other before returning their attention to their successors. "We will create new bodies for you... A body just as good as your old one... You will live once again" Cyrus said confidently leaving everyone stunned. No one doubted their powers but body sculpturing is something only a god can do. As powerful as Derik and Cyrus are, they shouldn''t be able to do this so soon. At least not until they regain their godly essence. "We want to give you a second chance at life... We want to give you a chance to lead our forces into battle while we deal with the old gods. As for how we intend to do it... Can you just have some faith in us?" Derik asked with a charming smile on his face. Chapter 448 - 448: Hurting the beyond from afar "You should have more faith in your master," Derik said as he took a few steps back and waves his hand. "Body sculpture!" he said as strange energy left his body. It was like countless twinkling stars gathered at one point, shining so brightly that only Derik was visible. Focusing on Blink''s appearance in his mind, Derik slowly molded a new body for Blink while Cyrus did the same for Clovis. Their foreheads were covered in sweat as they concentrated solely on their work. The body sculpturing technique is gained at the true god realm as one is expected to create his or her race by then. It''s mostly a profound knowledge of the human anatomy and the way to manipulate the elements of nature to create a being bearing your nature affinity. In reality, a true god can only create beings with its elemental affinity and only god veins can create mortals who possess the different affinities of magic that make up the god vein. On a normal, since Derik''s affinity is death and evil magic, he shouldn''t be able to create a being with teleportation magic like Blink. What he decided to do in a situation like this was to create a husk that resembles Blink, before pushing his soul into the body and sealing it in there. Huff! Derik breathed out heavily as he focused on every single detail during the body sculpturing. The light on both sides grew stronger and their respective aura began to weaken greatly as this is not an ability meant to be used by gold realm masters. The only reason they didn''t die on the spot for attempting this was their former position as true gods and their god souls which contained immense power. Everyone watched in silence as Derik slowly stepped away from the Husk he created that looked exactly like Blink. It possessed spikey white hair and a slim yet muscular build. Just like Blink, Cyrus had replicated an exact copy of their human bodies, leaving the souls as the only thing left to complete the body sculpturing. "Purge!" Cyrus said weakly as his life aura instantly engulfed the two undead youths, slowly cleansing them of the death aura fueling the necromancy. Right before everyone''s eyes, their undead bodies began to crumble, leaving behind the white, shapeless soul in its purest form. "Soul imprint!" Both Derik and Cyrus whispered as they quickly left their imprint on their successor''s souls. Since the World is lacking mana and these two are mages, the least they can do was become their mana source. That way these two can cast spells indefinitely, as long as Derik and Cyrus have enough mana reserves to support it. They watched the souls get pushed into the body and before they even got the chance to catch their breath, the souls eagerly flew into their respective bodies, letting Derik and Cyrus cast the soul sealing technique "That wasn''t as easy as expected... It''s not mana we are lacking, but concentration... I never thought a day would come but I have a headache I can''t heal" Cyrus chuckled. Waving their hands, their life and death aura shrouded the bodies and when it vanished, they were in the sorcerer robes they used to wear in their past lives. "This is your chance to serve us well once again... Emperor Jules will handle everything else... Cyrus and I will be busy for a while... We will come to check on you guys when we are done" Derik said as he and Cyrus vanished even before Clovis or Blink could thank them. ......................... Appearing in a massive underground chamber constructed to the taste of the new gods. Each of them was seated in a cross-legged position trying to refine their body with the energy they collect from the faith of all those around them. Derik and Cyrus observed as their bodies occasionally morphed to their elements and back to their original form. Upon entering the gold realm, they were equal to Derik and Cyrus in terms of power. The formations set around the empire by them were so strong that even Derik and Cyrus were not sure if they can penetrate if they join hands. "You have returned?" Liana was the first to break out from her meditation and focus on Derik. Only then did the others realize that Derik and Cyrus were in the room. Everyone observed Derik and the presence he exuded. They couldn''t help but shudder in fear when they gazed at the handsome youth who possessed the same presence as an ancient ferocious beast. "Empty, silent, and cool... Just the way I like it" Derik said as he observed the room which was half the size of a football pitch. It was empty and only the floor was decorated with the first carpets in the land. Since the room was located underground there was no source of light, all that was left was abundant mana to make the place, perfect for cultivation. "Since we are all here... It''s time we make this empire paradise for cultivators like us!" Cyrus said. Upon hearing this, everyone in the room smiles viciously as they all shot out of the room, appearing in the skies. Their tremendous aura was enough to catch the attention of everyone below, causing them to look up with a hint of confusion in their expression. This is the first time the seven new gods have made an appearance since their battle with Blata and the old god Adinos. "WATCH CLOSELY, AS WE RESTORE THIS WORLD TO ITS FORMAL STATE!" Derik roared as all seven of them reached for the skies and called forth the mana of the world. As the new gods and the one''s meant to inherit the god vein, their power within the god vein is only second to that of their realms! The ground began to tremble and lighting stuck at random locations viciously as the atmosphere slowly turned cold and a strong breeze blew across the kingdom. "THE SEVEN NEW GODS DARE CHALLENGE ME? YOU MUST WANT TO TASTE DEATH AGAIN!" The beyond furious cries sent fear into the hearts of everyone who heard it Chapter 449 - 449: A rematch? Upon hearing the Beyonds voice, a powerful storm began brewing as countless thunderbolts shot towards the new Gods but none of them count touch their skin. The clouds gathered and took the shape of a feminine face with silver glowing eyes, looking down on the new gods with great anger visible in its eyes. The Beyond''s voice struck fear in the hearts of all those who heard it. Even the new gods couldn''t stop the images of their deaths from appearing in their minds. They all remembered they were at their peak back then but they lost to this being. And no matter how much they tried to shake that thought off, it stuck to their memories like glue. "ME? FEAR DEATH? IF YOU ARE SO CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES WHY DON''T YOU COME AND FACE ME, HERE AND NOW!" Derik growled viciously. Roar! Letting out a roar, Derik''s death aura, alongside Cyrus'' life aura exploded, creating a powerful field of energy that struck the face in the clouds, forcing it to cry out in pain. "YOU DARE! ONLY DEATH AWAITS YOU ALL!" The beyond furious screams shook the skies as the entire sky crumbled and was remade into the darkness with countless twinkling stars! A large eye appeared at the center of this darkness, giving out red flashes of light as it drew closer! This was the form the beyond took when it made its first appearance, murdering both the new and old gods. This form was scary enough to make the new gods, including Cyrus retreat instinctively due to fear brought up by memories of the past. Roar!!!!!! Seeing the other retreat, Derik turned to the beyond furiously and shot to the darkness like a mad beast. His death aura kept surging out until his figure was completely shrouded in it. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Upon collision, numerous explosions kept rocking the skies as both sides kept exchanging blows. Everyone in the continent could see the battle going on in the skies as two figures surrounded by dark aura kept throwing punches and none was trying to dodge or block. They were taking each other''s hit fearlessly! Bang! The darkness and Derik''s death aura had completely blended making it impossible for any to tell the difference. Within the cl.u.s.ter of stars were faint green laces of aura running across the skies. "Space power: Star fall!" Countless glowing gray massive rocks fell from the skies, trying to crush Derik who wore a crazed smile on his face. Pope Blata could tell this was the same ability he tried to use on Derik but now it was being used by the Beyond it was on a whole new level entirely. Judging based on the being posing as the Beyond, it was also at the peak grade of the gold realm but the power it was capable of releasing was far beyond that of a gold realm master, but even then Derik wasn''t far behind in terms of strength. "In the face of absolute power, all forms of tricks are useless! Secret combat technique: Brilliance claw!" Derik growled as a darkish green aura exploded from his claws and he lunged towards the gray meteors shooting down at him. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! With each strike, the gray meteors were reduced to dust, but the death aura gathered around his claw lessened. It didn''t take long before he started struggling with the gray meteors, needing more than three strikes just to destroy one. BAM! Derik was struck hard by one of the rocks, forcing him to slowly descend as he tried to adjust himself to be able to carry the weight of the meteor. Bang! Bang! Bang! Countless meteors crashed into the first one, greatly increasing the weight of the meteors Derik was holding on to. His vision blurred for a moment and his body felt numb but then he could hear voices below. No prayers! Prayer of his believers, prayers of all members of the church of seven, hoping that their new gods triumph against the lord of light whom they abandoned for the new ones. Their prayers revealed their fear of death, causing Cyrus and the other new gods who initially retreated in fear to feel ashamed. To think that after living for so long and fighting countless battles, they still won''t be able to overcome their fear? Shameful! "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Suddenly Derik''s mad laughter filled the skies as he still struggled with the meteors. His laughter gave those beneath him confidence and certainty that even when forced to battle the lord of light, the god of death could still laugh. The Church of the seven carried around the truth of the events that led to the death of all the gods, both new and old. Unlike the Church of light, it didn''t portray their gods as the absolute. Instead, it recounted the events of the past just the way they happened. Hearing Derik''s signature laughter as told in the stories, these people couldn''t help but feel at ease. Who would have thought that the god they feared so much would be the one to give them comfort at their time of need. "DEATH MAGIC: DEATH RAY!" Derik roared and a beam of darkish green aura exploded from his body, piercing through all the gray meteors and reducing them to dust! {All his abilities reduce everything it touches to dust? Wasn''t that how he was while he was still a true god? He shouldn''t be able to have such power until he recovers his godly essence! What the hell is going on!} The Beyond thought as it considered what to do next. As far as he''s concerned, Derik was still at the peak of the gold realm. The true nature of his element shouldn''t be so strong right now. The Beyond couldn''t tell how Derik recovered so much strength or can draw out the true nature of his death magic at this point! "Of course I haven''t recovered my godly essence but I did get something almost as good as it... A God soul!" Derik read the Beyond''s mind and replied accordingly. Chapter 450 - 450: Spirit materialization Hearing Derik''s word, the creator was left dumbfounded for a short while. Even though he knew the meaning behind Derik''s words he found it hard to accept it. Consuming a God''s soul is akin to suicide if the god in question wills it. Gods may possess powerful bodies but they are more lethal in their ethereal form. Unless Adinos allowed Derik to consume her willingly, it should be almost impossible! The sudden disappearance of Adinos raised a lot of questions amongst the old gods. With Adinos dead their strength reduced but with the Beyond by their side, they could wait until Adinos reincarnates. Without her, their advantage over the new gods who have two monsters like Cyrus and Derik would be gone entirely. "How?" The blood-red eyes within the darkness had their gaze fixed on Derik with hints of fear visible. Even Cyrus and the other true gods we''re shocked by this. They simply assumed that Derik was hurt in his battle against Adinos and had to hide in his realm while trying to recover his strength. None of them ever considered the possibility of Derik consuming Adinos soul and that''s why they never asked. They had all their minds on watching Adinos reincarnate in a few centuries. Hearing their only hope was dead for real didn''t go down well with them. Suddenly the old gods hiding in the background who were waiting for the perfect chance to strike began to back away. If Derik''s words were true, then he is more dangerous than the Beyond. While the Beyond can only kill them temporarily, Derik can kill them off permanently. What didn''t people didn''t know is that Derik could only use his beast soul to suppress Adinos, long enough for him to consume a good portion of his soul power, before using the excess to repair his realm. If Derik had actually tried to consume Adinos soul entirely, he would have been destroyed just like these people said. But even then, to be able to suppress a God soul, long enough for him to refine it is amazing enough to give them a reason to fear Derik. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! While many others may not have noticed, Derik and Cyrus whose sensory abilities have been considered the best could feel the concealed powerful energy signatures hiding within the dark veil set up by the leave one after the other. Cyrus could understand their reason behind this and he found it extremely reasonable. While the Beyond could only kill their body but could never stop them from reincarnating, Derik can kill both the body and the God soul. The fear they had for Derik was twice what they felt for the beyond. While this would have been a good thing, Cyrus has lived long enough to know how these new gods act when threatened. They may perceive the Beyond as a threat but he''s not bad enough to plunge them into a state of constant fear. It wasn''t a servant, master relationship since both parties just want to return this world to the peaceful state it was once in before the arrival of the new gods and that''s why they could join hands and face the new gods who are fighting for their right to exist. The Beyond is normally dormant, meaning they all have a chance of catching up to it in terms of strength if given enough time. Derik on his own is something else entirely. Not only has his death magic guaranteed his constant growth and unlimited potential, making sure that the old gods will never catch up in strength. The more chaotic the era is, the faster his power grows, and even during peaceful times, people die contributing to his power as well. Now, not only does he have to power to kill the body but the soul as well. In their opinion, Derik is a foe that must be put down to avoid unexpected events from occurring in the future. They may be leaving now but when they return it will definitely be to put an end to Derik and the other new gods. "Your lackeys have abandoned you... Don''t you think it''s time you run as well?" Derik said with a sinister smile on his face. "I never said I needed any of them!" The voice of the Beyond resonated from the massive eye in the sky. On normal circ.u.mstances, it would have retreated by now but Derik is too much of a threat to be left alive and given more time to recover more strength. Also, Derik and the new gods plan to return this world to its original mana rich form. If they do this, it means they will damage his seal, slowing his recovering speed even further and this will also lead to the birth of a new generation with the ability to cultivate once again. "You remain because this is not your main body... This is only a spiritual manifestation of your true body... If it dies, you still remain" Derik said with a sly smile which left the beyond trembling inwardly! "You noticed? And what about it? Do you think I am as weak as those old gods? If you try to consume this portion of my soul you will definitely get hurt! That I can assure you!" The beyond roared but the smile on Derik''s face remained causing his heart to skip a bit. Pa! Pa! Pa! Derik''s body slowly drifted towards the beyond while he clapped. "I admire your courage but you all fail to listen to my words and understand one thing... I, Derik may be weak... I may be lacking in so many aspects but my magic is something entirely different... My death magic is the absolute... It devours everything in its path and you are no exception!" Derik practically growled while saying those words. Pa! He clasped his hands together once again and when his hands parted slowly, a powerful wave of darkish green death aura escaped his body, spreading far and wide. His eyes flared up with power as a massive gate appeared above their head and suddenly the world around time began twisting and turning violently. Everything looked like an illusion. "I will say this only once... I am the absolute! I will not be defeated by the same opponent twice!" Derik snarled! Chapter 451 - 451: Death to the world! Hearing Derik''s words the beyond couldn''t help but shiver. It tried to tear a hole in the void and escape but for some reason, it had lost control of the space around it. Looking around, the Beyond realized that even the other members of the new gods around them wore an astonished look as well. They all watched the laws of the earth around them change and death becoming the predominant element. They watched as the sky twisted and turned red while the clouds trembled and turned green. The air around them became heavy and the laws of this world greatly restricted their powers. Even the airborne new gods struggled greatly to remain afloat. "Death to the world" Derik said as he clasped his hands and the transformation of the world around them was completed. Boom! Derik''s aura spiked as the world around him heard his call, thick green chains shot out of the ground and the skies, piercing Derik''s back and before anyone could react, a thick current of death aura flowed through the chains and into his body. "This¡­" The beyond and the other new gods couldn''t help but exclaim. After gazing around for a while, they finally realized what was going on. At first, he wanted to scream at the top of his voice while asking how this is possible but when he realized Derik''s death magic has returned to its strongest form after consuming the God soul, he realized that this is also possible. Looking back at how Derik was able to manipulate his realm perfectly, not to mention the condition of his realm, the beyond began understanding all that has transpired under his nose. Just like Derik, all the other true gods both new and old tried to protect the people they loved the most and shoved them right into their realm. At first this would have been considered the best thing to do but after a while and due to the strange turn of events, they realized that they made a mistake. After their death, they spent at least a thousand years in deep slumber and due to their absences their realms began to crumble. Even when they got reincarnated, they still spent at least a decade before they could get to the gold realm and when they tried to regain access to their realm and open it''s gates, they realized it was destroyed already and all those within it were dead for good. Derik''s situation was different since he could feed off the negative emotions of people during negative times, plus the aid of God vein, he reached the gold realm fast but even then his realm was already at the verge of crumbling just like that of the other true gods. Considering all of this, it should be known that repairing a realm is not something that can be accomplished in a short time. Derik''s realm may not be in perfect condition but it''s condition is way better than it should be. Traces of Adinos soul could be felt all over the place. "You consumed Adinos soul and the excess soul power you couldn''t assimilate was used to repair a good portion of the damages dealt to your realm." The beyond said with a frown on his face. Fighting Derik in this realm is as good as fighting a demigod with an army of mages and fighters at different realms and levels. Behind Derik was now so big that his head could touch the clouds were his undead generals who all had a cultivation base of gold realm. Both the new gods and the beyond were surrounded by capable fighters and mages from the silver realm and above. "The ability to materialize your realm in a confined space is something only true gods can do... I guess Adinos'' soul gave you a real boost in power. That explains why you are able to utilize the realm materialization... But even then do you really believe you can win against me? This may he a materialization of my spirit power but then it''s even more capable than you think! Don''t think I will go down so easily!" The beyond roared as it reached for the skies and summoned the laws of space to his aid. "Realm materialization!" The Beyond roared as his half of Derik''s realm began to twist and turn like an illusionary image. From the division came union as his realm began to merge with that old Derik, filling the blood red skies with countless twinkling stars and the sun and moon! Derik''s deaths aura kept conflicting with the Beyonds space aura. "Your first mistake was pulling me into the realm even when you knew I control the space element... There are no restrictions with my element... We bypass all laws and restrictions set by other laws... We are invincible! Derik Angus... This is where you die, for good this time!" The beyond said with a vicious grin on his face. Seeing this, the new gods felt like moving but the were now suppressed by the laws of two realms all at once. At this point, their strength was no different from that of a bronze realm mage. Even flight was currently impossible for them. "Darn it!" For the first time since they came to this world they felt the threat of death. The pressure coming from the two realms was slowly crushing their mortal bodies, leaving them with no chance to struggle. "Derik..." Cyrus muttered as he fell on his knees alongside the other new gods. Gazing ahead he could see all the members of the palace of life gazing at him. He felt pathetic and weak to be seen like this by all those who referred to him as a God and prayed to him relentlessly and when they needed him the most, he wasn''t around to save them from the world. Remembering their faces when they died made Cyrus throw up. He lost his glow and calm for the first time in his life as guilt overwhelmed him. Even Derik who was focused on the beyond couldn''t help but feel the tremendous negative emotion flowing out of his body. Chapter 452 - 452: Fated reunion? "This is not a place you can stay... You all will only be a burden to me if you stay here... Leave!" Derik didn''t even bother to look at them as he flicked his fingers and a warp gate appeared behind them, pulling them out of the realm even before they could struggle or the beyond could intercept his warp gate. Thanks to whatever means the beyond used to merge both their realms into one, the amount of power Derik could draw from his realm was greatly limited. At this point, he was only at the low grade of the demigod realm, just like the beyond. "Our realm keep pressing each other, preventing us from making full use of its capabilities... So what? What do you stand to gain from these crazy actions you keep taking? At the demigod realm, I was strong enough to take on God realm foes... With my undying body, powerful death magic, and my God weapons, I was almost invincible... Do you think you can win against me?" Derik said as he watched his body size reduced due to the restrictions set by the beyond''s realm. He kept Shrinking until he was no different from the beyond in size. Without speaking, all those within his realm had already backed away, leaving only Derik and the beyond behind. The battle of demigods is not something they can join in, that''s why they all understood the reason why Derik didn''t hesitate to send Cyrus and the other new gods away from the way he did. Even before the creation of the realm, in the outside world where their power was still at its peak, they couldn''t fight against the beyond due to fear. Now the beyond has an upper hand against them how can they help? They have been a burden from the very beginning, so there is no reason to keep them around. "Before I became the realm protector, I was an excellent mage who created the stars, the sun, the moon! Everything! I understood the laws of space and manipulated them to create a perfect universe and that''s why I was selected to serve as the realm protector... After putting in so much effort to create a perfect world, I am woken up to see, younglings destroy my creations which took me centuries to accomplish in just one day! The cosmic beings whom I created to maintain balance had deviated from my words and also sort power... The gods whom I appointed to maintain sanity and peace amongst the mortals had gone power crazy and have forgotten the path which I thought them! I have lived for millions of years! I have the experience! I have the power! Do you think you are worthy to be placed on the same footing with me?" The beyond growled. Listening to him speak, Derik could pick out a few things. The cosmic beings bear the soul imprint of the beyond and that''s why Kaido, the cosmic being of the sun, Diana, the cosmic being of the moon, and Cyrstal, the cosmic being of the stars betrayed them. These are his friends whom he put so much effort into getting them to the top. He fought the original cosmic beings and killed them just for them to be able to take that position. Yet they turned their back on him when he needed them the most. There are five cosmic spirits, each bearing different powerful magic. The sun, moon, star, space, and gravity. To think all this power originally belonged to the beyond who only split them up because he needed powerful beings who will cover for it while it dives into a deep slumber. Considering this Derik couldn''t help but believe that the beyond may be the most powerful being he has faced all his life. But even then only one thing came to mind. "Didn''t I tell you? I am the absolute... be it space, time, whatever, it means nothing when faced with absolute power! Death is absolute! Like I said earlier, Death for the world!" Derik said with a confident smile on his face. Boom! Suddenly, a powerful wave of space aura exploded from his body and shot towards Derik but it was blown away by Derik''s death aura. Not giving Derik the chance to speak anymore, five gates appeared around him, and from it, five people appeared with each possessing the strength to rival demigods. "Derik Angus, I promised you that this will be your last battle and I intend to keep that promise... The God vein may be suppressing their strength but they still possess the demigod cultivation realm... With this, it''s you against six demigods... Do you think you can win?" The beyond growled. The main purpose of mixing his realm with that of Derik was so that he would be able to summon the spiritual representations of the cosmic beings above. If he summoned them outside his realm, this world would try to suppress them reducing them to mere gold realm masters and with that, the new gods will be able to face them on equal footing. The Beyond original plan was to trap them in this mixed domain and then summon the cosmic beings. With the strengths of the new gods suppressed greatly by the mixed domains they will be killed off too easily. Leaving Derik to fend for himself alone. Once Derik does it means that the new gods have been wiped out, and with the centuries before their return should be enough time for him to regain his strength and look for a way to kill them permanently or imprison them permanently with his space magic. "Well, it doesn''t matter... Once you die, the others will soon follow... It''s only a matter of time" The beyond said while gazing at the silent Derik with a victorious smile on his face. He thought it was fear or the pain of having to face his old friend Kaido. He felt that Derik was broken within and that was the reason for his silence. "Yooo! Kaido... It''s been a while" Derik shattered The Beyond''s thoughts with his casual question and the charming smile on his face. Chapter 453 - 453: You’re outnumbered†"It''s been a while Kaido, I almost thought you all forgot about your old buddy, you too Diana, Crystal¡­" Derik said with a genuine smile on his face. It looked like a man meeting his old friends after a long while. His composure and confidence even when surrounded by six demigods was enough to make their hearts skip a beat. ''We¡­ I¡­" Kaido muttered. He was left speechless by the genuine smile on their face. Kaido wore dazzling golden armor with the face of a lion carved on the chest plates of the armor. He had a blazing red tattoo on his forehead which kept flashing from time to time and behind him was a massive orange sun following him closely. Diana on the other hand wore a blue sari with a choli top and a long skirt. On her left hand was a plain-looking gray staff but from it, Derik could feel an incredible power flowing through it. Behind her were three moons hovering behind her. Crystal wore a silver long sleeve mage attire with a silver hood dr.a.p.ed over her head. Derik wouldn''t have noticed her if not for her special aura signature and blazing white eyes within the hood. Gazing behind her Derik could see close to a thousand tiny twinkling stars bright enough to make a normal person go blind. In normal circ.u.mstances no one should be able the see crystal and even the other cosmic beings have issues seeing her appearance but Derik could see her clearly. Giving her a wink was enough to make her heart jolt in fear and panic. Derik blatantly refused to pay any attention to the other two since he concluded that they are not worth his time. All he knew was that one controlled gravity while the other controlled the space elements. These two are the cosmic beings of Kuen and Kalos who never considered them worth their time and for that reason, they were his enemies naturally. One had long, curly gray hair with an eye filled with darkness. The atmosphere around him was too heavy and it seems as if the space around him was been pulled down by an invisible force. The second guy had short silver hair and wore a silver robe. This man had no special features but the silver tattoos all over his body was quite eye-catching. "You don''t have to say anything old friend... I can understand why you abandoned us... I can understand why Diana abandoned Elsa!! I can not understand why you three abandoned the people who once called you family! You didn''t have the balls to go against your creator like I did as the new God''s did! I can understand all of it but all those who died because of your actions are yet to understand. Those who were murdered brutally are yet to understand why their best friends abandoned them! Those who fought till the very end are yet to understand why the gods they prayed to couldn''t do the same! I STILL HEAR THEIR CRIES, THEIR SOULS CRY OUT FOR RETRIBUTION! FOR JUSTICE! AS THEIR GOD, THE LEAST I CAN DO IS ANSWER THEIR LAST PRAYERS! KAIDO, DIANA, CRYSTAL... I MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE... I KILLED THE ORIGINAL COSMIC BEINGS FOR YOUR SAKE... NOW FOR THE SAKE OF MY PEOPLE, I WILL DO THAT AGAIN... WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOUR SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATIONS... KEEP IT IN MIND THAT I WILL BE COMING FOR YOUR REAL BODIES AND BELIEVE ME ON THAT DAY THE BEYOND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!" Derik growled and his calm aura suddenly turned murderous and violent causing the cosmic beings to shiver in fear. Derik may have remained calm when the new gods brought this up and demanded revenge, simply because he wanted to kill them himself. He could remember how much effort and dedication he and the others had put in just to defeat gods while they were at the demigod realm. To think someone whom he called friend would watch all those who looked up to him die due to fear. Fear of what? Fear of the Beyond! There was no way he would let them live after this blunder that cost the lives of millions. The least he can do for them is avenge their deaths by killing all those responsible, directly or indirectly. "Just like I said earlier, the purpose of all life is death! Death is the only absolute! I am inevitable... Death to the world! I suggest you don''t hold back, there is enough of me to go round!" Derik had regained his calm but the look on his face was even more terrifying than the one he had when he growled at them. His aura exploded from his body and soon his entire figure was hidden within a darkish green hurricane with a pair of two green glowing eyes gazing at them. "Six against one? Hahahaha! Don''t get the wrong idea... You are outnumbered!" Derik laughed loudly. ................................. The other six new gods appeared outside the domain only to see every inhabitant of the pelgas empire, gazing at the sky with an astonished looks on their faces. Looking up, Cyrus and the others realized that there was a massive black sphere above them. With a glance, they already knew this was the product of domain materialization and it was in there and Derik was battling the beyond. Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly extremely loud explosions kept resonating from the black sphere, telling everyone that the battle had begun meanwhile the new gods wore a frown on their faces when they felt five new aura signatures within the domain. Three out of them belong to their old friends and companions, vexing them even more. The thought of having Derik battle six demigod level foes alone vexed them to no end and what pissed them off even more was that Kaido, Crystal and Diana were amongst them! "Those bastards! When I regain my true strength! I will kill them all!" Typhoon growled in anger. Chapter 454 - 454: The plan! The thought of letting Derik fight alone against six demigod level foes in the mixed domain kept haunting these new gods since they blame themselves for the current situation of things. When they agreed to break the Beyond''s seal and siphon as much mana as possible into this empire, they never expected the Beyond to make a bold appearance like this. They were yet to recover from the horrors and nightmares their death brought to them so when they were face to face with the person responsible for their death, they were paralyzed. None of them could explain how Derik could push away his fears and fight in such a condition, all they knew was that the people below have seen their cowardly acts and they could already feel a good number of their power of faith which they were receiving from the mortals below vanish. Who could they blame for this? No one but themselves! For that reason, they wouldn''t dare act against the humans below for lacking faith in them. "We have to do something," Spinx said as she ruffled her blue hair while she thought of a way to help. The other had the same thought but the realm is the absolute power of a true god that cannot be invaded easily by even a true god, talk less of them who are still in the gold realm. Now there are two realms combined, the hopes of invading the realm were instantly destroyed, leaving them with no choice but to observe from a distance... "There is something we can do¡­ something only us can do!" Ahika said with a dejected look on his face. He knew if they had helped Derik earlier, there may be no need for him to summon his domain since they would be able to kill off the spirit materialization of the beyond quite easily. Now they have failed in that aspect, the least they can do is carry out the original plan while the beyond is still distracted. If they can make good use of this chance, they can use the authority bestowed upon them as god candidates of this world to call forth the mana in this world. While it may take a lot of effort without Derik, they should be able to accomplish the original task. "I guess we have no choice but to finish this without Derik" Cyrus had the same thought as Ahika and seeing how everyone nodded in agreement, they decided to begin. Appearing around the massive black sphere in the sky, where the beyond and Derik were doing battle, the six new gods began muttering some unknown words as they reached for the sky with their hands. The earth began to tremble and spatial tears began to appear all around them but what was most shocking was the amount of concentration they were putting into this. Slowly the ground began to split and from it, a light blue breeze began escaping into the world! At first, the people were terrified but as the mana filled the environment, these people began to feel comfortable. It felt as if their minds became clear and their senses enhanced. They felt like the world around them has changed and something stolen from them was beginning to return. The seal placed by the beyond was slowly weakening and the world around them kept changing as the amount of mana entering the world kept increasing. The old gods who had returned to their various empires couldn''t help but enjoy the refreshing feeling this change was bringing. It continued up to the point where they began to question why they even agreed to go against the new gods in the first place. What they were doing was beneficial to all of them so there was no legit reason for them to try and stop them. They silently prayed that this feeling would never end but some prayers can never be answered. "Let the fun begin!" Cyrus said as his face was covered in sweat. The other members of the new gods were in a similar condition so no one thought much about it. Hearing Cyrus declare the beginning of the second phase of their plan, they couldn''t help but feel excited. The seal used to contain all the mana in this world was placed by the beyond so it''s not something they can completely shatter at this level. The best they can do is to damage it at so many spots leaving it with enough gaps and space for mana to flow out. While this is a good thing it also means the amount of mana escaping through the holes is limited. Leaving such a small amount of mana to circulate across the entire planet will greatly affect their plans because cultivation will be close to impossible due to the little quantity of mana. But if they are able to horde all that mana for themselves, the mana density in the empire will be double what it used to be in the past. Thereby doubling their cultivation speed! "Come here!" Cyrus growled as he and the new gods began redirecting the path on which the mana was flowing. All across the world, everyone could see the light blue breeze moving towards the Pelgas empire, robbing them of the comfortable feeling these people once felt. Back at the empire, those beneath watched as the new gods kept performing strange movements which looked like an ancient dance. Even though they couldn''t tell what this was for, they could feel the mana density around them increase continuously. "Blink! Clovis!" Cyrus growled as the mana around the empire had become so thick the entire environment was light blue which in normal circ.u.mstances will make vision difficult but in this case it made people see even clearer. With Derik''s absence, they were lacking a member who would seal all the mana gathered within the territories of the empire. Anyone of them breaking their concentration now meant that all the mana they have struggled to gather will disperse and that''s not something they were willing to allow. Thankfully they still had their successors! Chapter 455 - 455:True laws of death Bam! Bam! Clovis and Blink appeared behind Cyrus bowing with strange looks on their faces. They realized that Derik and Cyrus had planned for their return and everything they are doing now is currently for them. To make cultivation possible, for them! This was truly a second chance given to them and they didn''t know how to thank them. They could see the mana twirling violently like a storm around the empire but it didn''t harm anyone, in particular, it was only there to show how much effort the new gods put into pulling it towards the empire and pinning it here. It was more like trapping wind or confining it into one space. "Your command? Master Cyrus!" Clovis and Blink asked in unison. "Place a seal all over the empire, trap the mana in here¡­ I know your techniques and spells are not as profound as ours but you should be able to hold it in for a while... We will reinforce your seals once it''s done!" Cyrus said with a weak smile on his face. He looked a little pale and had lost.is usual glow. These two have never seen Cyrus in this condition before so they were taken aback by it. "Can you do that?" Cyrus asked with a smile. "Yes, Master!" Both of them screamed in unison. ...................... Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! It felt like the air was getting pulled down by an invisible force and all of it was concentrated on Derik. The cosmic spirit of gravity activated his power, gripping the air and pulling down and the world around them obeyed his commands. For the first time in history, the clouds were only a few inches away from the ground and the earth was split open into various points due to the power of the force assaulting it but even then Derik did not move an inch. "Cute¡­" Derik''s hands were placed behind him as he remained airborne making it seem like the increased gravity strong enough to pull down the clouds did not affect him. All this while, he has been on the defensive. In his past life, he fought Kalos the spatial mage, and barely won the fight. Then again, he has worked with Kuen who also controls gravity magic but on a much smaller scale, so he had a rough idea of what may happen if care is not taken. It''s not that he is scared of the enemy, he is only cautious of the enemy''s strength. By the way, it''s one against six¡­. "Do you know how your master was reduced to such a pitiable state where even his creations can triumph against it? Did you know how badly I hurt your master before he dealt the final blow on me? Of course, you do¡­ you all are gods¡­ you must have watched the battle take place but you didn''t have the guts to face us then¡­ if you didn''t dare to interfere then, why do you interfere with my battle now?" Derik asked calmly and casually. Gazing at him, everyone present could tell he was not intimidated by their presence and that''s why he can boldly stand there calmly and ask questions. Kaido, Cyrstal, and Diana watched Derik from a distance with fearful expressions on their faces. As the trio who spent a good part of the mortal life with Derik before they became gods, they were very much aware of Derik''s capabilities, attitudes, and habits. They all knew how capable Derik is and how all his enemies who crossed him ended up dying. He wiped out races without blinking and he fought against the strongest dragons known to mankind. In their opinion, Derik is a legend, an unstable force that even the beyond is finding it hard to contain. The fact that he is just standing there with a confident smile on his face meant that he didn''t consider all six demigods as worthy foes. Judging based on the look on his face, he gazed at them as opponents who never stood a chance against him. "I can smell your fear¡­ but that shouldn''t be scared now¡­ I''m yet to regain my true strength so you still have a few years ahead of you¡­ maybe a decade or two¡­ or maybe half a century¡­ who knows¡­ you have a long time ahead of you... So you should be afraid¡­ it''s far too early for that" Derik shook his head slowly in disapproval as he spoke. "Do you know what the power of death is? Do you know the true nature of death! Even in death, there is revival¡­ both the strong and weak are equal in the eyes of death¡­ it''s a pity I had to die before I could understand my true strength¡­ Before I could decipher the true nature of my ability¡­" Derik kept speaking to himself like there was no one else there. He gazed at his palm for a while before turning his attention to the six demigods in front of him. His face lacked any form of emotion yet his aura kept rising at an alarming rate. His darkish green aura kept spreading across the land while his figure kept increasing in size. "The laws of this world do not apply to death¡­. Death is something entirely different¡­ I wish I could explain further but I can''t¡­ this is something that has been bothering me since my reincarnation¡­" Derik spoke as he slowly approached the six. He looked like a man genuinely lost in his thoughts and problems. His words were like the confused ranting of a mad man but they all paid attention to him. No one has ever seen Derik in this condition before so no one knew how to tackle him. Right now they could only watch as Derik''s realm slowly consumes the beyond''s realm and his power keeps rising. His body flared up with power but he never showed any signs of attacking the enemy. Instead, he gazed at the millions of souls living in his realm. The laws of the death element kept getting clear the more he pondered on it and slowly a small smile bloomed on his face. "You know what? Since I can''t explain, let me show you all of it!" Derik said with a kind smile that inspired fear. Chapter 456 - 456: All the same "You know what? Since I can''t explain let me show you¡­." Derik said with a kind smile on his face. His hands moved strangely, leaving behind afterimages. Slowly the darkness consumed the stars, the moons, and the suns in the Beyond''s domain. Soon darkness enveloped the land and a new world began to form. A world of darkness¡­ A world of death¡­ A world that only listens to Derik''s calls¡­ "In this world, the creation of life can be stopped, a child can be killed while in his mother''s belly¡­ people grow, live long and die¡­. Even those who claim to be gods flee at the sight of death¡­ Death has no respect for anyone¡­ Your status, your cultivation realm, your power, your friends, your background, your will¡­ They all mean nothing, they are all the same when death comes¡­ it is inevitable¡­ I am inevitable!" Derik spoke slowly as his realm digested the beyond''s realm. The beyond watched this unfold in horror as his control over his realm slowly vanished! A realm his has been nurturing for thousands of years was been digested by another realm? If he were to tell this to anyone, no one would believe him. "If we don''t kill him now, we are as good as dead" Kaido said with a bitter smile. Thinking back on how close Derik and Cyrus are, he couldn''t help but envy them. Cyrus has always stood by Derik''s side even in the worst situations and for some unknown reason, they have always survived. After they became the new cosmic beings, his intentions towards Derik and the new gods have always been good but the appearance of the beyond shattered everything. The fear of going against the being that created the cosmic beings overshadowed his sense of loyalty towards his friends. Since he, Diana, and Crystal were asked to remain neutral as usual and not interfere with the things going down below, they obeyed while believing it was the best they could do. "It was a coward''s way out¡­ an excuse used to cover up our guilt and calm our conscience" Kaido muttered. Derik fought against his creator even when his life was at stake, not because he wanted to be recognized or he wanted power. It was simply because he wanted to protect this world from Adinos who was feeding off the core of the god vein, threatening to destroy it! There was no excuse for their actions and as far as they were concerned they were as good as dead. "Don''t give me that look now¡­ its too late for that¡­ The least you three can do is fight for what you believe is right¡­ fight to the very end¡­ at least it''s interesting that way!" Derik''s voice snapped them out of their train of thought. Bam! "Enough! Of this nonsense! This is why I chose to wipe out the new gods¡­ You all are failures, abominations, and abnormalities that shouldn''t exist¡­ Your existence almost led to the end of this world and if I didn''t step in, everyone would have been dead¡­I simply maintain the balance as the realm protector! I only exterminate what I feel is not necessary! Don''t you understand that? Even if you succeed in killing me, the space, the moon, the sun, the stars, all of them will seize to exist¡­ this world will plunge into darkness and everyone will die due to your selfish ambitions! Do you really want that?" The beyond growled. "What?" Derik replied with an indifferent look on his face. He couldn''t tell if the beyond was indirectly begging for his life or not so he was left confused for a little while. Clasping his hands together, Derik slowly pulled his hands apart and between his hands, a red spear slowly took shape leaving everyone stunned. It was the judgment spear of Adinos! "How is that even possible?" The Beyond asked. It was understandable if Derik created an undead version of Adinos, using his necromancer path. Or if he let her soul possess his body, allowing him to utilize her abilities. But watching him create Adino''s spear without using any of the two was simply unbelievable. "Didn''t I tell you, I will show you? This is death, the dead returns to its source¡­ me! In the past, I would need to put in a lot of effort to summon the souls of the dead and borrow their power even though it belongs to me¡­ back then I was limited to the strength of those I killed but now I realize that it doesn''t matter who kills them¡­ as long as they die, their power is mine¡­. This why I keep saying this¡­ I am the absolute¡­ I cannot be defeated again¡­" Derik muttered as he waved his hand and a miniature version of the sun, moon, and stars appeared behind him. The former cosmic beings, Kaido, and the others replaced was death so their powers are his for the taking. "You see¡­ Once you die, your strength becomes mine as well¡­ your power becomes mine! This world will not crumble¡­ I thank you for your services to this world before my birth, but your services are no longer required¡­" Derik said as he waved reached for the skies and a massive sun appeared above his head. "Burn away!" He spoke softly as he let the sun fall towards them. In response, Kaido stepped forward and generated a massive sun of his own and tossed it forward as well. "I don''t remember giving you the permission to move!" Derik snarled as clasped his hands and a spatial gate appeared in front of Kaido''s sun, consuming it even before he could reply. "Don''t think you are the only one who can do that!" The gray haired elderly man said as he prepared to create a spatial gate of his own but his actions were intercepted by Derik. "SILENCE! DON''T MOVE!" They have only spoken words but somehow these words possessed enough authority to halt the old man''s movements. "What is this?" Kaido asked. "The word path of the late king of Gyro!" Diana responded with a terrified look on her face. "ENOUGH TALK! ON YOUR KNEES, EVERYONE!" Derik roared with a hint of disdain visible in his eyes! Chapter 457 - 457: Death, at it’s best ENOUGH TALK! ON YOUR KNEES, EVERYONE!" Derik roared with a hint of disdain visible in his eyes! He threw his hand above his head and swung it down with great effort and in turn, the beyond the other five cosmic beings felt an invisible force weighing them down. It was like an ancient mountain was dropped on their backs, forcing them to fall on their knees. With an understanding of how Derik''s death magic works now, it wasn''t shocking that he could replicate the gravity magic since Kuen possesses the power as well. "Let me show you what I mean when I say death is absolute" Derik muttered as he waved his hand and countless fake moons appeared above him, blocking out the sky and the clouds. His eyes had no hint of emotion in them when he gazed at the six cosmic beings. "You! You are just one man!" The cosmic spirit of gravity roared viciously as he forcefully broke free from Derik''s grip alongside the other cosmic beings. His eyes let out a bright light as a black hole appeared amid all fake moons, slowly pulling them in. Derik was about to act but then he felt the scorching heat of a thousand suns heading towards him from all sides and a sky full of stars descending from above. Crystal and Kaido weren''t holding back anymore, probably because their lives depend on it. "Did I not tell you, you are not qualified to face me... My death magic is absolute" Derik spoke slowly as he clapped his hands together and a powerful spatial wave spread across the battlefield setting up hundreds of complex spatial formations which was too much even for the beyond to understand. This wasn''t Kalos''s ability. No! This power belonged to Blink! "There is a reason why I chose Blink as my successor¡­ as far as I am concerned blink has the potential to surpass me, but his body is the only limitation he suffers¡­ the power far surpasses that of any new or old God¡­ and now that power is mine" Derik smiled dully as a bright light blinded everyone and spread across the entire realm. The first day, Derik set his eyes on blink, he didn''t think much of him. In his opinion, Blink was just another human with a special magic affinity but after a while, Derik noticed something odd about the youth. Blink''s magic and soul had no ties to their world! He lacked any form of soul imprint and something like this should be impossible. Every creator must possess a soul imprint and only God-level beings are exempt from this. Sometime later, Derik realized that Blink''s spatial magic was completely different from that of Kalos. In fact, it was of a higher level and that explained why his body was crumbling under the pressure of his own power! This is unheard of! To fix this, Derik had to use his death magic to refine the body and strengthen his soul, just strong enough for it to be able to withstand the power of magic. He would have loved to do more but at that time this was the best he could do for the kid. Blink has always been a question that he could never answer and that''s why he is the most precious subordinate! This is because Derik was pretty sure that with enough time, Blink will surpass him! Before any of them could understand what was happening, they realized they swapped places with Derik. The beyond and the other cosmic beings tried to move but they realized they were sealed at that spot by countless spatial formations! Boom! "In the end¡­ none of you could escape death!" Derik laughed lightly as he stretched his hand and a powerful suction force began pulling the spirit materializations of the cosmic beings. They wiggled and struggled to break free but their strength had reduced greatly after taking a direct hit from all those attacks. Swoosh! All six souls were forcefully pulled into Derik and his body began inflating, threatening to explode. His eyes widened, revealing hints of pain as he struggled not to scream. He knew absorbing six God''s souls all at once is akin to suicide but if he doesn''t do this, their souls are sure to escape! ............. Outside the black dome, Blink and Clovis focused on erecting a shell around the empire. Using his spatial magic, Blink first created a shell to contain the mana within the empire. Thanks to his new body and thousands of years of practice within Derik realm, Blink was a lot faster when casting his spells. Clasping his hands together over fifty complex spatial arrays appeared around the empire. It is nothing compared to Derik but it is amazing for someone at the peak grade of the silver realm. "Huff!" Blink breathed out as his eyes let out a silver glow. "Spatial magic: Spatial lock!" Blink roared as silver beams shot out of the countless spatial arrays, linking each and every one of them. "Lockdown!" Blink muttered those words as thousands of thin silver beams shot around the empire making it look like a silver net was thrown over the empire. "YOU DAMNED NEW GODS! THIS I WILL NOT ACCEPT! YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO HORDE ALL THE POWER OF THIS GOD VEIN? THIS IS NO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE BEYOND IS DOING! YOU ARE ALL THE SAME!" An enraged roar shook the skies. "Damn it! I didn''t think they will come so soon!" Cyrus said while gritting his teeth. The seal was not yet complete and in their current condition, they won''t be able to stand against any old God that comes at them. He contemplated on leaving his post and heading out to hold them back but before he could act a silver beam of light shot towards the skies at a shocking speed. "YOU DARE SPEAK TO MY MASTERS WITHOUT RESPECT? YOU MUST BE TIRED OF LIVING!" Blink roared as he grabbed the sky and pulled. It looked like the sky was about to crumble as Blink forcefully teleported the old God from where he was hiding to their current position!. Chapter 458 - 458: Absolute Derik Tanatos the God of innovation was the one who created the powered humans with war weapons who almost killed the Gyro gold realm masters, alongside Blink. While many may not remember, Blink did well not to forget his enemies! His eyes let out a silver flash as the God suddenly appeared in his arms struggling to break free. Spatial abilities have been used to perform amazing feats in the past and even the old gods couldn''t deny the fact that the cosmic being bearing this power is amazing but they could all swear on their lives that the cosmic being of space cannot forcibly move an unwilling talent from one point to another! Even if it can do it, it should be amongst the mortals, not true gods! If not all the new gods would have been dead a long time ago since they can be picked off one after the other. "Impossible!" Tanatos found his neck in Blink''s arm and watched the youth try to choke the life out of him. Since he has lost a huge portion of his power and was just at the gold realm, even people like Blink can harm the gods. As the old God of creation and innovation, Tanatos lacked the strength of other old gods but he had his inventions. A mechanical sound echoed all through the skies as a strange white mechanical armor surrounded him. Bzzzzzzz! Before Blink could react, he felt a powerful jolt of electricity flow through his hand and to the other parts of his body, forcing him to retreat. The face was covered by black glass while the white armor looked made him look like a man from the future. Blink held on to his hand while gazing at this man with a stern look on his face. After his encounter with the powerless humans, he seriously hoped a day would come when he would meet the piece of #%%&$# who created a weak but troublesome race. "I won''t let this happen! I won''t let you horde the God veins resources!" Tanatos roared as his hands took the shape of a submachine gun and released hell upon everyone in his path. Luckily, Blink acted fast by teleporting away. He appeared behind Tanatos but this was expected as a section of the white armor opened and countless grenades were shot into the air, raining down on Blink! "You cannot beat magic with science!" Blink growled as his silver spirit energy went wild and all the grenades falling from the skies vanished! "You!!!" Tanatos was about to act but all the grenades appeared around him, exploding all most once and his painful cries muffled by the sound of the explosion. BOOM! Everyone watched from below as Blink''s mage robes fluttered as the explosion occurred. A hint of admiration could be seen in their eyes and even the new emperor, Jules finally understood why Derik put these two young men in charge of their military. Cyrus was a bit worried about Blink taking on an old god. In his opinion, even if his strength has been greatly reduced, it''s not something Blink and Clovis can ever handle. "I guess I underestimate our successors¡­" He muttered with a weak smile. Gazing at Clovis, he realized that his successor didn''t even bother to watch the battle. He didn''t have any hint of worry or shock on his face while he worked to complete the barrier around the empire. It wasn''t because he didn''t care, instead the look on his face shows that this is only possible because he has absolute confidence in Blink. Cyrus didn''t know what happened between these two for a thousand years after their death while they were living in Derik''s domain, but he was happy these two trusted each other so much that it reminded him of his younger days with Derik. "Blink¡­ Finish him off and get back soon" Cyrus finally spoke catching Blink''s attention. "It won''t take long¡­" Blink answered dryly while he waited for Tanatos to emerge from the explosion since he knew this is not enough to kill a god. "Do you plan to keep hiding or do I need to pull you out again?" Blink asked as silver markings began appearing all over his hands making it look like an ancient text which even Derik cannot read as appearing all over his body. "Don''t get c.o.c.ky, child!" Tanatos growled as two blades attached to chains shot out of the way cl.u.s.ter of black smoke, shooting towards Blink. "Do I look like a joke to you?" Blink''s arm dived into an invisible space and from it, he pulled out a black dagger that wreaked of Derik''s aura. Swoosh! He shot forward and used the black dagger to parry the two blades but upon contact an explosion was released from the tip of the blades, sending Blink flying back with a few burns. "Don''t you dare think a mere mortal can kill a God!" Tanatos roared as he stepped out of the black smoke revealing a white backpack-like equipment and from it over fifteen chains with blades attached to them appeared. He wore a wicked smile on his face as he spoke and the chains kept wiggling and twirling on their own. Seeing this Blink remembered saying this battle won''t take long but now he felt like eating those words. Bang! The Black dome shattered and a black figure shot towards Tanatos. Faced with all fifteen blades, the black figure ignored the series of explosions occurring around him and grabbed the chains, forcefully ripping them off the enemy''s back! "Who!" Tanatos roared but upon the realization that the black dome had vanished a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The first thought that came to his mind was to flee but he soon realized that something was off! A formation similar to the one placed around the empire surrounded him and the black figure but this one was performed so fast that he wasn''t given the chance to act. "Spatial magic: Space lock, " Derik said with a charming smile on his face. Chapter 459 - 459: A new god vein "What the hell is this?" Tanatos looked fearful while gazing at Derik. He couldn''t understand how Derik managed to kill the beyond''s spiritual materialization or that or that of the other cosmic beings, all he knew was that Derik was stronger than ever. The aura he released was even more oppressive than when he was still at the peak of the true God realm. Tanatos failed to understand why Derik suddenly became more powerful and was left confused for a while until a strange thought invaded his mind. "Did the beyond lose? Consuming a portion of its realm guardian soul is the only way Derik can enter the demigod realm even without regaining his godly essence!" As Tanatos spoke, the fear in his eyes became more visible. The fact that Derik has consumed a portion of the beyond''s soul and he has reached the demigod realm without regaining his essence meant that he would definitely reach the realm protector realm once he finds his godly essence! This means he would be at the same level with the Beyond and judging based on his prior knowledge about their elements and powers, Tanatos was a hundred percent sure that the beyond was only able to kill Derik in the past because of the difference in the realm. He concluded that the Beyond would be easily defeated if it were to face Derik on equal footing just like what happened now. "We can talk this through! No one has to die!" Tanatos quickly retreated while speaking. Gazing at the gentle smile on Derik''s face was even more terrifying. "Talk? Why would I want to do that? I have the advantage in terms of strength... Your death is assured and my power will rise with your defeat¡­ Choose your next words wisely, your life depends on it" Derik answered calmly. Hearing this answer, Tanatos calmed down and quickly searched for a way to preserve his life. Running is not an option and fighting is suicidal. The other old gods are most likely too terrified and the beyond is too hurt to even look his way. As a true god, he never thought a day would come where he would need to talk his way out of death. He shot Derik another glance before taking a deep breath and speaking. "I will let you place your imprint on my soul! That way I shall be your loyal subordinate till the end!" Tanatos said hastily causing Derik to chuckle lightly. He had to commend Tanatos on the words he chose first since they are the only reason he is yet to rip his head off his body. Although Derik can always kill him and have access to his powers thanks to his perfect death magic, this places too much burden on him. He has seen the power of science first hand and he knows, Tanatos is unable to display his true strength because of his realm. In his opinion, change is necessary, advancement is needed for a stronger race. The powerless humans created by tanatos used these weapons to defeat gold realm experts and even killed Gin! If he didn''t step in, all the gold realm masters and a few guardian spirit hosts of the empire would have died on that day. The part about putting his imprint on Tanatos soul was the most attractive since it means the god''s life is in his hands. This assures perfect loyalty and this increases his overall power. "My battle with the beyond is far from over and I need more capable allies so, let''s go with this¡­" Derik said after giving it some thought. Swoosh! "I am only doing this because I got to understand that there is strength in numbers¡­ The beyond and I still struggle for ownership of this world¡­ most of the old gods are still on its side and the cosmic beings as well¡­ In terms of numbers they have the upper hand but that doesn''t change the fact that I am superior in terms of strength¡­ you will reduce the burden on me" Derik said as he placed his soul imprint on that of Tanatos. "How am I supposed to compete with the other gods¡­ I have always been the weakest¡­ I lack the strength of the other gods¡­ My strength lies in my inventions¡­" Tanatos replied in a low tone but seeing a genuine smile on Derik''s face he was puzzled a bit. "I think that why you are the most powerful¡­ we are the past and the present but you¡­ you are the future! You made powerless humans capable of killing Gold realm masters! Tanatos we were enemies and even now, we are still in a bad place but I have to tell you one thing¡­ if any other old god made this request I would have killed them at the spot without a second thought but you¡­ you are different" Derik said. Hearing this Tanatos was left speechless. This was the first time someone had said so many nice things about his ability. "Go¡­ finish up their barrier" Derik said to Blink while he released the spatial seal around him and Tanatos. At the demigod realm, his power has become too great for him to reside in the same realm with mortals unless he''s consciously suppressing it. Derik was about to open the passageway to his realm but then his vision blurred as he felt a bit dizzy. A vision of battles going on in an entirely different world flashed across his eyes! Beast men and humans are locked in a bloody battle. In that battle, two beast-men and one human caught his attention! While one was the descendant of a Phoenix god, the other was a descendant of a dragon and the only human amongst them possessed the power of time. Their power was enough to make him frown! The environment in that world was similar to theirs, yet different. Their abilities were similar, yet different. They looked weak, yet strong! Either way, what caught Derik''s attention was not those three. Instead, it was something powerful! Too powerful to exist in this realm. "What''s wrong?" Tanatos asked the moment he noticed Derik in pain. "A new god vein has appeared and a lot has happened during our absence¡­ the beyond may not be the only one we will have to deal with" Derik said with a bitter smile on his face as blood trickled down his nostrils. Chapter 460 - 460: A leap forward "What do you mean by a new God vein has formed? So you know how hard it was for us to find this one? Adinos stumbled on this place by chance... So how can you tell?" Tanatos asked Derik with a hint of disbelief in his eyes. The realm is too big and a god vein is usually well hidden in a bid to give the new gods enough time to grow. Adnios stumbled on Derik''s planet by mistake! She ruled this world and used it to improve her strength, long enough for her to surpass the other old gods! Even Derik couldn''t tell how this happened since he too agreed with Tanatos theory but then a strange thought crossed his mind. {This only happened after I consumed a portion of the beyond''s soul¡­ does that mean I share his senses since my soul has gone beyond the level of merely got souls and is now at the level of the realm protector?} As dumb as it sounded, Derik couldn''t help but find it reasonable for one reason. During the war between the new gods and the old gods, the beyond was able to find them almost effortlessly. No matter where they ran it always followed closely, forcing them to return to their planet for the last battle. He went ahead to understand the role of the realm protector. In each realm, there can be only one realm protector which is considered the guardian of the realm of the most powerful being in the realm. While Derik didn''t know what else is beyond this level, he knew that the realm protector has to watch over the activities going on in the realm and that''s why they are informed when a new God vein has been formed. As a potential realm protector, he too was informed of the creation of a new God vein during the battle between the new gods and the old gods. Thanks to the information he received by consuming a portion of the beyond''s soul, Derik got to know that the formation of a God''s vein means that the previous gods have been considered failures and the realm has come to a decision to replace them... After getting to know all of this, Derik couldn''t help but wonder who or what someone as powerful as the beyond answers to. He wondered what realm is beyond the realm protector realm! "I''m not sure¡­ it''s only a vision¡­ I may be wrong¡­" Derik decided not to reveal more information to tanatos since they weren''t actually allies, they only joined hands recently. Swoosh! The duo dived down towards the city by shooting into the barrier like it never existed in the first place. Upon arrival, Derik joined Cyrus and the other new gods in shattering the seal placed at the core of the God vein by the beyond. While this means they will have a constant supply of mana, it also meant they would be able to slow down the recovery rate of the beyond and give Derik and the others a chance to recover their strength before it. With the help of the Demigod level Derik, the beyond could only sit and watch as its seal was slowly shattered and filled with so many holes that it could barely contain half of the God veins mana. While they could not completely destroy the seal, trapping half of the world''s mana in one empire raised the mana density to thrice what it was in their past life. The presence of mana soon took effect and the newer generation were born with elemental affinities and special attributes just like in the old days. Thanks to the presence of mana, Derik could now afford to summon his undead generals and have them spread the knowledge of cultivation all through the empire. During this period he secluded himself from the outside world alongside Tanatos and the other true God. Since he was yet to digest the souls of the cosmic beings, Derik needed some time to focus on corroding the souls of these demigods. To improve the overall military strength of the Pelgas empire, Derik had Tanatos work on an invention that will help double the power of spells cast. As for those who do not fall into the mage class, Derik had them use guns and laser guns and as for those who were more proficient in close combat battles, a lightsaber fueled by their mana was handed down to them when they are "ready". The events of that day were engraved in the hearts of mere mortals since they have never experienced something so spectacular. Thanks to that battle, these people realized that not all members of the new gods are equal. While some are stronger than others in terms of battle skills, the others are more suitable for playing supportive roles. Thanks to the countless inventions created by Tanatos, his name became a household name and many prayed to him because his inventions helped to make life easier and training sessions more effective. Cyrus and the other new gods entered secluded cultivation after they saw Derik display the power of his true death magic. Seeing the leap in power they were all eager to search for the true strength of their various elements as well in hopes that the gap in strength between them and Derik would reduce if not vanish but of course, Derik never hesitated to chuckle at their thoughts since, in his opinion, only death is absolute! No matter how strong they get, they will all remain inferior to him. Meanwhile, even though Tanatos betrayal was known by every old God and the beyond too, none tried even once to reach out to him. To get to him, they would have to go through Derik and this is not something they are willing to do. Ever since the news of the Beyonds defeat was broadcasted by Tanatos who was deliberately trying to vex the realm protector in a bid to force it out of hiding and make an appearance but since then, it has refused to show its face leading others to believe that the beyond was hurt really bad. Chapter 461 - 461: A new world In the blink of an eye, a year passed since the battle and the world had settled into two factions. One belonged to the remnants of the old gods and their leader the beyond while the other side belonged to the new gods and their leader Derik who had reached the demigod realm and has stabilized his cultivation. Due to the injury the beyond incurred from its first fight with Derik, it was reduced to the lowest grade of the true god realm due to the fatal injury it incurred and that''s why it tried to recover its strength by hoarding all the resources of the god vein and after its current battle with Derik where its spirit materialization was consumed by Derik, it was reduced to the Demigod realm, placing the beyond and Derik at the same level. In such a position it''s safe to say Derik has the advantage and can kill the beyond in a one-on-one battle, he is yet to make a move because of the presence of the cosmic beings. Derik strongly believed that even though the beyond was currently weaker than the cosmic beings, they still carried its soul imprint so they will most likely stand against him if he should try to wipe out the old gods and the beyond. For that reason alone, Derik has remained in secluded cultivation. The beyond on its own part believed that the help of the Cosmic beings does not assure victory. From its encounters and clashes with Derik, the beyond finally understood that conflict fuels Derik''s power, and unless absolute victory is assured, it had no intentions of risking Derik consuming another god soul and increasing his power once again. Both sides remained silent and the humans under their watch lived their normal lives not knowing the war about to take place. During this period, the first batch of capable mages and superhuman fighters were formed and the remnants of the supernatural creatures in this world were used to create a new squad in the empire''s military. During the space of a year, Derik, Cyrus, and the other new gods joined hands to create new bodies for their most formidable allies in the past, purifying their souls and sealing them inside their new bodies. Amongst those resurrected were Kira, Kin, Kuen, Kalos, Elsa, Agus, Fernandos, Aldora, Gin, Donald, Daemon, Gerald, Mason, and Karl. While Elsa was resurrected for personal reasons best known to Derik, the others were resurrected because they were considered the most powerful gold realm masters of their time. To improve their strength, these people were needed and while many failed to understand why Derik didn''t leave them in their undead form, Derik wanted to create a new world where everyone is given a second chance at life. He wished to give these people the opportunity to cultivate even harder and reach the demigod realm! This is something considered impossible if they remain as undead puppets. ..............................¡­. "It''s done.." Tanatos voice echoed in Blink and Derik''s ears, causing them to stop halfway through their meditation and vanish. Reappearing at the lowest chamber of the underground facilities in the empire, Derik gazed at the massive construct there. It was a ring-shaped machine as large as two jeeps stacked upon each other. There were too many wirings and machines around which made Derik''s head spin since he couldn''t understand any of them. During that one year, Tanatos has been a great help to Derik and the people of the empire, thereby earning their trust. As for Tanatos, this was the first them he could feel the sincere joy of people having a none combatant god around. He could tell that the people admired him and even some of the new gods envied his gift. While he lacked strength he had something even Derik will never have and surprisingly, Derik appreciated him more than any other person has ever done. After seeing how much he has contributed to his new world, Derik decided to open up on the vision issues. He told them about his theory on how he was able to get the vision and how he just knows where the new god vein is located. After listening to him, Tanatos found it reasonable and understood why Derik came to him. Derik could feel something extremely powerful residing in that world and he knew it''s an energy source capable of granting him access to a realm beyond the realm protector level. The problem now was that Derik is unable to leave this planet with his current cultivation realm. A god vein suppresses the cultivation base of beings considered threats and that''s why the cosmic beings are yet to dive into this planet and wipe out everyone with their immense power. They know if they should step foot into this world, their strength will most likely be reduced to the demigod realm or even lower, leaving them helpless against Derik. But in turn, Derik is unable to leave this place since it''s the safest place for him, at least until he recovers his true strength. This was the same reason why he couldn''t go to the new planet himself because the world will also suppress him and more importantly those here need him. "I call it the spatial wheel¡­ It allows you to focus your spatial powers at a particular spot and makes it possible for long-ranged teleportation" Tanatos explained. Since Derik knew the location of the god vein, if he should focus on its location with the help of the machine, Derik should be able to open a spatial gate leading directly to the new god vein. Wooosh! Cyrus and Clovis appeared in the room but the others didn''t seem shocked. Clovis had a golden seal on his forehead, just like Blink who had a black seal on his forehead. Since these two are needed here, they had no choice but to send their successors. "I have no intentions of repeating the mistakes of the old gods and create enmity between us and the current new gods¡­ I am not even sure the god vein has produced new gods¡­ all I want is that power source¡­ You two have been given a means to contact us¡­ If there is an issue you cannot deal with, contact us and we will let them know who your masters are!" Derik said with a sinister smile on his face. Chapter 462 - 462: Lost in a new world "I understand!" "I understand!" Blink and Clovis responded as they fell on one knee with their heads bowed slightly. Looking at them act the same way they did over a thousand years from now made Derik and Cyrus curse themselves for not asking them to drop the act a long time ago. Derik and Cyrus wore uncomfortable looks on their faces but Blink and Clovis failed to notice since their gaze was pinned on the spatial wheel and they had a hint of excitement in their eyes. Over the months sent with Tanatos, their hatred for this old god slowly vanished as he kept contributing to the development of their empire and now the hatred has been replaced with genuine admiration. Tanatos has been creating amazing inventions from time to time and for different purposes. From inventions that help aid domestic chores to gadgets that help improve combat capabilities of fighters and even pieces of equipment that help to improve a person''s affinity and proficiency with magic. Over the months Tanatos had struggled each time he tried to create gadgets that can strengthen the proficiency of special grade magic elements like death, life, spatial, gravity but each time he tried it always failed until today. "Damn¡­ Nice one man!" Clovis said, ignoring the fact he was speaking to a man who was once recognized as a true god but Tanatos didn''t seem to care. In fact, he felt more comfortable when people spoke to him as equals and not as a higher being. They have been chosen to go to a new world and secure the power source in the new god vein that caught Derik''s attention. They weren''t sure what was waiting for them at the other side of the spatial wheel and they were sure things could get bad fast. They also considered the possibility of meeting enemies at various levels, some weaker and some stronger and since this is a new god vein, they are not too familiar with the power system of this world but to them all these are excuses. In their opinion, all that matters is that they complete their mission no matter the cost! Derik and Cyrus have given them everything needed to aid them in this journey. The first gift came in form of a ten man team under their command, comprising of five fighters and five mages of various classes with each well equipped to the teeth with the best of Tanatos inventions. Each of them have a cultivation base of the peak grade of the bronze realm, meanwhile when putting all their gadgets to use, they can further reach the low grade of the silver realm. The second was a personal gift from Tanatos which allows them to continuously draw as much mana in the atmosphere as possible, that way they will never run out of mana in battles. The third came in form of the seals placed on their foreheads containing the powers of their masters. When released their strength would be instantly skyrocketed from the peak of the silver realm, to the peak of the gold realm! This way, anyone capable of harming them must be at the demigod realm. Since this can only be used once and its duration is not that long, its considered as the final card up their sleeves. Only when death is certain and victory is not visible are they allowed to use this but this did not matter much to them since they have been ordered to return right after. As for their escape route and their ticket back home. Since the spatial wheel cannot be opened from that side of the realm, Derik had no other choice but to grant Blink and Clovis access to his realm at all times, meaning they can summon the gates of his domain and from within the domain they can now open a gate leading directly back to the empire. "Have this" Derik said after giving matter some thought. He grabbed the empty air and pulled alongside Cyrus, successfully tearing a hole in space. From it Derik pulled out the death scythe while Cyrus pulled out a golden crucifix. These were their favorite weapons, back in the day when they were just gold realm masters but now they strongly believed their successors should have them since its more useful to them. ''THANK YOU MASTER!" Both of them fell on their knees once again as they screamed those words with so much passion, Derik and Cyrus couldn''t help but feel uncomfortable. In their opinion, after spending so much time with these two, their relationship should be a bit more casual just like that of Tanatos. Derik was going to scold them but seeing the genuine excitement on their faces while they gazed at their new weapoms like toys. "Whatever!" Derik hissed as his eyes let out a bright silver light from his eyes as he walked towards the spatial wheel. He could feel like the machine was calling out to him so he kept moving forward without any sign of hesitation. Reaching out towards the machine, Derik remembered Tanatos instructions and he acted accordingly. He focused on the image he could remember best from his vision! It was a battlefield littered with bodies from both humans and beast-men. An open green field located at the center of the continent which is one of the only unclaimed lands by three empires. Xiu! The bright silver light from his eyes shot towards the ring and upon collusion, a circular portal appeared within the ring, creating a powerful suction force which made Clovis, Blink and their ten subordinates struggle but Derik, Cyrus and Tanatos didn''t seem affected by something so weak. "Remember when faced with terrifying foes, remember who you serve¡­ if necessary make it known to them¡­ if they go ahead to bring harm upon you¡­ when I return to this world personally¡­ I will rain hell upon them!" Derik said before they were swept off their feet by the powerful suction force and pulled into the portal. Bam! The machine made a loud sound before shutting down, leaving only Derik, Cyrus and Tanatos in the room. Chapter 463 - 463: This world is twisted! "Why didn''t you go instead? I could have created a decoy to make the beyond and the other old gods believe you are still here¡­ if you went there instead, this would have been finished in mere seconds" Tanatos asked with a frown on his face. Even though he failed to show it there, the truth remains he is not in support of sending those kids to another world filled with unknown danger. Lack of knowledge of an enemy''s strengths and weaknesses puts a person in a disadvantaged position. In his opinion, the chances of Blink, Clovis, and the other ten members of their forces die are quite high and after spending a year here and getting welcomed properly by everyone, Tanatos felt like it''s his duty to protect them. "Huh?" Derik was taken aback by the question. Focusing on Tanatos he couldn''t perceive any ill intention, instead, he noticed the old god''s feeling towards those kids is genuine and pure. He didn''t know how Tanatos suddenly had a change of heart and now dedicates his life to protecting the people here but he liked it. "I can''t¡­ God''s veins are not stupid¡­ They can detect other gods and place necessary restrictions on them once they enter¡­ Not only will my strength as a demigod be reduced but my strength will also attract strong foes¡­. The strong attract the strong! Don''t forget that¡­ a day''s trip will last for months and years and if I''m not careful, I will be killed¡­ That''s why I sent them since they are all normal cultivates with a standard cultivation base! The world has no reason to suppress them and with everything we have given to them, they should be able to battle the strongest existence in that world" Derik explained slowly as he gazed at the stairs leading out of the underground chamber. Listening to him, they all found his reasoning reasonable and his line of thoughts perfect. He solved all of the problems and placed as many safety measures as possible just to make sure that Blink and Clovis survive. What left them stunned was that someone like Derik who always claimed to be absolute is suddenly afraid of a new god vein. "Don''t overthink it¡­ I claim to be the absolute and not invincible¡­ those are two different things entirely. I am inevitable¡­ Death will surely come for every one of us, including me¡­" Derik said before walking out of the room. "If anyone hurts my successor, I will burn that world to the ground and kill every living being in it" Derik said as he left the room. .................................¡­.. As soon as they got pulled into the portal, they found themselves in a dark tunnel with light at the end of the tunnel. The journey to the other side was short, yet long. Their perception of time was badly disrupted and they couldn''t tell how long it took them to get to the other side but when they did¡­ Bam! Blink and the others found themselves on the ground. It felt like their eyes were spinning and they felt extremely sick. Blink wasn''t too affected by this so he didn''t throw up like the rest as someone who has dabbled with spatial magic for too long. Instead, while the others were busy spitting their stomachs out, Blink walked forward and took his time to understand the terrain. He realized many humans remain here like rotting skulls, bones, and more hidden under the grass. This didn''t surprise him much since from Derik''s explanation, they got to understand that the beast-men are the ruling race here and their powers were more amazing than the beast-men in their world. Looking far north, Blink noticed a thick forest and felt its best they leave this place through this route. In his opinion, it''s better to find a well-concealed place first before he can attempt to find the location of the power source by using his largescale sensing techniques. "Prepare to leave¡­ we need to go before anyone finds us here" Blink said. He was about to start moving towards the north but then he felt the existence of a group of people approaching from behind. Their aura was different and fierce, while also calm and controlled! Blink could clearly feel their strong affinity to their various elements while possessing the aura of well-trained fighters as well. Is it possible for someone to be so perfect as a fighter and mage? Even My master can''t do this! Blink thoughts went while as he decided to wait and see those who possess this aura. His mind kept screaming that this is the perfect time to flee but his body refused. Derik is arguably the most powerful being in this realm and even he couldn''t perfectly blend his fighter path with his mage path. He gave up his archery skills for his magic since they couldn''t develop together as one. Even Gerald the perfect prince of the Gyro kingdom once followed the hybrid path, developing his strength as both a fighter and a mage. For a while, it was going well but soon his strength began regressing and he was forced to focus on magic alone. Clovis and the other ten realized Blink was focused on a certain direction and also prepared themselves for the worst. "This world is twisted!" Blink said as the first person came into sight. It was a red haired youth in his early twenties adorned in a blood red Kimono and a red katana attached to his waist. His eyes were completely bloodshot and he had this undying animal aura around him which made the ten men behind them tremble. His smile looked intimidating and his words carried weight as he asked; "Humph! Humans! Which empire do you belong and what gives you the right to set your foot on these sacred grounds? I can understand we slaughtered your kind here in large number and that may hurt but that''s what happens when weak humans go against us! Descendants of god beasts!" Chapter 464 - 464: True creation path "Descendants of god beasts? Pfft! You are yet to see how terrifying real gods are!" Blink scoffed as he walked towards the trio. Before getting sent over here, Derik had supplied them with as much information as he could about this new god vein. According to the information he received, during their decades spent on war and the thousands of years, spent in the void as a result of their death, this new god vein had formed and produced its first set of new gods. Unfortunately, power corrupts and since even magic beasts in the world could rise to the realm of gods, a battle broke out between the human gods and the god beasts. The human gods were more in numbers but the god beasts were stronger due to their special bloodlines and innate abilities. According to Derik, the battle ended in a tie and up till today the victor is unknown. The gods of both races vanished, only leaving behind mortal descendants to take their place. Because of this history, the feud between the humans and the beast-men had reached great heights. Seeing the red-haired beats man youth, alongside his other beast men colleagues, even Blink couldn''t help but admit that the average beast-man is worth at least two talented human mages or fighter or even both combined. If they were moved over to the Aldemar continent and are given an equal chance to grow, Blink was sure these people will dominate. His bad habits inherited from Derik, clicked and his urge to subdue this race with the best of his abilities kicked in. He didn''t feel like bringing them down, just for the sake of satisfaction but because the human race in these worlds are the ones enslaved and only the human emperor has been able to keep them safe. Blink would have considered joining hands with the human emperor and staying a bit longer here just to wipe out the enemy forces but Derik''s mission comes first. He can''t risk having the others know about the power source Derik is searching for. "You are dumb not to have noticed we are not from this world¡­ Where I come from, we wiped out the beast-man race¡­ I personally led an army of humans and murdered beast men in the thousands¡­ Spoiler alert, there is none left in my world" Blink sneered. He knew it was best to keep his identity hidden and a low profile but this is something he couldn''t ignore. He was pretty sure if Derik was here, he would have done the same. {My master always said I can only regret things I didn''t get to do¡­ If I leave this place without leaving a mark, I don''t think I''ll ever be able to focus} Blink thought. Bang! His clothes fluttered as his silver aura escaped from his body, creating silver tattoos all over his arm all the way from his shoulders. His silver sleeveless mage robe complemented his glowing silver eyes. "I see this field is filled with human corpses, I guess it''s only fair if I add yours to the number" Blink spoke as his body was engulfed with his silver aura, making everyone else feel small. "What the hell¡­." Bradley muttered as he refused to back down from the challenge. As a member of the Fotia empire royal family, Bradley had no intentions of fleeing, neither did he have a choice since his family name and his pride is on the line. Even though he wasn''t a member of the main branch of the Phoenix clan, running from such a confrontation is akin to a death sentence placed on him when he returns. He couldn''t understand what Blink meant by killing thousands of beast-men or his claim of coming from another world, all he knows is that one of them has to die here. "Such big words for someone younger than myself¡­ I am Bradley Phoenix, a descendant of emperor Fei of the Fotia empire! A second year in the Fotia academy and a warrior realm mage at the mid-tier¡­ Don''t think you can kill me so easily!" Bradley said. Boom! "Heeeeehhhhhhhhh!" Bradley was engulfed in a red aura as a fire hurricane and a wind hurricane twirled and twisted around him. The two youths standing by his side retreated, giving both combatants space to fight on equal terms. Bam! Bam! The staredown lasted for a few seconds and the next second both men were dashing towards each other. "Creation path: Fire phoenix!" Bradley clasped his hand together and slowly opened it. Behind him, a fire phoenix formed and shot forward. Cawwwwwwww! The flaming bird figure shot towards Blink and as it moved it slowly increased in size until it was about 4ft tall in size. Its body lacked in-depth details but its eyes showed signs of life and intelligence which was unusual even for someone like Blink. "Giving life to a spell? Impossible!" Blink growled as he mimicked Bradley''s actions. Clasping his hands together and slowly moving them apart, a spatial gate was formed in front of him, just a moment before the flaming bird was about to collide with him. Cawwww! Swoosh! Too dumbfounded to talk, Blink watched in shock as the Firebird swiftly spun to the side, gracefully evading the spatial gate. Bam! Landing roughly, the fire phoenix raised an arm, revealing its magnificent flaming wings before swiping it at Blink like a blade even before anyone had the chance to commend its beauty. "The hell!" Blink growled as he stomped the ground hard and jumped into the spatial gate he created earlier, narrowly escaping the attack. "That wasn''t a mistake¡­ The mage wasn''t controlling the flaming bird¡­. It has a mind of its own¡­ I guess he wasn''t joking when he said creation path¡­." Clovis said with a bitter smile on his face as he watched a new spatial get form a few meters away from which Blink jumped out from. He could understand the reason for the surprised look on his partner''s face since this was too unusual. Even Derik''s signature secret combat technique: werewolves roar may be regarded as a branch of creation magic but these beasts can never go beyond Derik''s limitations. It was clear Derik was controlling the demonic wolf but Bradley here was not controlling the flaming bird in any way. Chapter 465 - 465: First blood Swoosh! Blink shot out of the portal but Bradley was already standing right in front with his palm firmly placed on the ground. Creation path: Wind serpent "Don''t think you can get away from me, Kid!" Bradley roared as almost invisible serpents shot out of his sleeves and lunged at Blink. Yet to touch the ground, Blink watched the perfectly planned ambush but he couldn''t help but wear a mocking smile on his face as his body dissipated into a body of a thousand particles of silver light just before the attacks hit. Xiu! Bam! Blink reappeared just about twenty meters away from Bradley with an annoyed look on his face. He gazed at the flame eagle looking at him with malicious eyes and Blink couldn''t help but hiss at it. The wind snakes were invisible to the normal human eyes while the flame bird looked unstable and most likely to explode the next time it gets close to him. "Fall on your knees and beg and I will consider letting you and your pals live this place alive" Bradley said with a gloating look on his face. He thought the surprised look on Blink''s face was because he was surprised by his enemy''s strength but that was not the case. Blink could sense the element and what he realized was that this god vein was almost no different from theirs in terms of elements! The only difference is that its mana and elements are in purer forms. The gods to be produced by this god vein are created not as a different entity but to replace the originals like Derik, Cyrus, Ahika, and the rest. "This messed up god vein is just an improved version of ours¡­ those here are expected to replace our masters!" Blink muttered those words and shot a glance at Clovis and judging based on the look on his face he knew the youth had the same thoughts running through his mind. The old gods had different and unique abilities like Adino''s red judgment spear, Tanatos Brilliance, and all that, meanwhile, the new gods were all elemental based. For the fact that this god vein grants the elements and at a purer and more powerful form, that means its plans to replace Derik''s set with newer and more powerful elemental gods. Since he realized his master''s position was at stake, Blink took this mission to heart now. "Fall on my knees and beg? A child like you does not know death when it''s standing right in front of him¡­ I do!" Blink snarled Pa! "Let me show you, what real strength looks like!" Blink''s voice echoed in everyone''s ears as they watched spatial ripples escape his body. The air turned heavy as visible cracks began appearing everywhere. Thousands of Blink appeared everywhere like mirror images but this time, the mirror was broken making it almost impossible to follow his actions even though all of them were mimicking each other. "This is a little trick I picked up after centuries of practice¡­ Now, guess which one is real" Numerous Blink voices overlapping each other was enough to make any person go crazy. All hundreds of Blink began walking forward. The closer they got the farther they looked but Bradley was pretty sure they were getting closer. He gazed at these images and was left confused on how to encounter them. He has heard of the spatial magic and he has seen the human instructor Han use it but it has never been used like this. At this point, he began believing Blink''s words about coming from another world. Pst! Pst! The sound echoed from behind Bradley what he saw were the headless bodies of his friends who came here with him. Their eyes portrayed their shock and disbelief but what caught his attention was that the images walking towards him held a black scythe stained with the blood of his friends. "Don''t you dare look down on me!" Instead of fear, Bradley was enraged as his aura turned fierce as a strange red figure of a mighty phoenix appeared behind him. Its hostile gaze fell on Blink before spreading its wings and shooting into Bradley''s body "The Shift" Bradley muttered with a deeper voice than usual. Gazing at him, his eyes were now similar to that of the phoenix, his hands and feet were also replaced with talons, and on his back are mighty red and white wings. As his power rose, so did that of his magic! His flaming bird increased in size until it was over 5ft tall. The same applied to the wind serpent. Seeing this Blink once again, confirmed his theory that these people are superior since the quality of their powers seems purer. He could remember the beast-men he fought back then, none of them could compare to this kid in terms of oppressive aura even though their cultivation base was even greater than that of this kid. "Phoenix Flames: Burst!" Bradley roared as he punched the ground and a powerful fire shockwave spread across the battlefield. With each image of Blink, it touched the cracks in the space were repaired. This continued until all the Blink decoys were cleared, leaving behind the original who shielded himself with his aura. "Aoe skills are always a pain in the ass!" Blink as he contemplated how fast he should kill this beast-man. As powerful as this youth is, apart from Derik''s death magic and Cyrus'' life magic, Blink was confident of killing anyone else with little or no effort. He only let this battle last this long because he wished to see the full strength of this kid and what it meant to be a beast-man. "Unfortunately, I have no time to waste on you anymore" Blink said as he took a step forward and his body flashed. Before Bradley could even reply to his words, Blink had appeared behind him and his head slowly slid off his neck. "You are coming with me" Blink gazed at the body with a hint of disdain in his eyes while creating a spatial door which he threw the body into the spatial gate Chapter 466 - 466: Infiltrating an Empire! Dragging the three bodies along, Blink threw them into his spatial gate before stepping into it, alongside other members of his party. Blink took the bodies with him not because he was scared that someone may find the body and start searching for them or their bodies will keep the enemies on alert, instead, he took it for personal reasons. The magic owned by these people was purer than any form of magic Blink has seen and this worried him. His discovery or his theory was only an improved version of theirs and the gods to be created here are meant to replace the current new gods was terrifying. If someone with the purer form of death magic could appear here and later in the distant future, end up facing off against Derik, doesn''t it mean that Derik has a chance of losing? Never! Blink was not the type who would accept defeat or let his master taste defeat. For that reason, he chose to keep the bodies, hoping that once they return and Derik utilizes his necromancy magic on them, he will be able to look into the nature of their magic perfectly and find a way to improve his magic. "So what now?" Clovis asked with a hint of worry in his eyes. Guessing from the attitude of the man Blink just killed, he was sure this man was from a powerful noble family at the very least. While they weren''t afraid of the three emperors on this continent, he felt it would be a lot more convenient if they completed this mission while avoiding unnecessary battles. "Even master couldn''t pinpoint the location of the power source so it will be a little bit difficult¡­ Based on the images I received it should be somewhere within an Empire called Fotia¡­ I believe if I can make my way into that empire, I should be able to find it" Blink said without a hint of worry in his thoughtful eyes. Waving his hand a dimensional corridor appeared and with each step they took, they covered thousands of kilometers. At the walls of the dimensional corridor were countless spatial gates leading to various points places. The group ignored all those gates until they reached the extreme, stepping out of the gate. Stepping out of the new dimensional gate that appeared, Clovis and the others realized they were miles away from the empire walls and this left them confused since they expected Blink to send them into the empire directly. "What''s wrong?" Clovis walked over to his side and asked while the other ten wore worried expressions on their face. Gazing at Blink''s face, they realized he too wasn''t smiling, it looked like he was more irritated than annoyed. "Someone set up a spatial barrier around the empire¡­ it blocks spatial mages from leaving and coming in using their magic¡­ so if we want to go in, we have to walk" Blink glared at Clovis as he spoke. Hearing this everyone''s heart sank and they began considering their next line of action. While they were not afraid of walking in through the front door, they believed this will attract too much attention. "Can''t we just walk in and then teleport into the city without causing any problems?" One of the ten peak bronze realm warriors assigned to them asked nervously. Hearing this, Clovis and Blink shot each other a glance and laughed loudly. These ten are from the newer generation. They just awakened their powers and they are yet to experience war so they could understand why they felt nervous when the thought of attacking an empire came to mind. "If we use my spatial corridor as soon as we get into the barrier, the spatial mage who set this up will be able to find us¡­. The range of this barrier is only limited into the borders of this empire¡­ as long as we get past the walls, we can use my magic without getting traced" Blink chuckled while he explained. When they heard this, these people couldn''t help but gulp down a big ball of saliva in fear as the thought of going against an entire empire kept bothering them. "Don''t worry, you don''t have to raise a finger, we will be the ones doing all the fighting" Clovis comforted the ten with his words. "Yea¡­ it doesn''t matter who we go against, we are the successors of the two most powerful gods¡­ we cannot be defeated!" Blink added. "By the way we have the element of surprise, before they rally their forces, we should be long gone!" Clovis said. ________________ Xiu! Following a strong wind, twelve figures were seen flying towards the Fotia empire at great speed. While the bronze realm warriors and mages with them shouldn''t be strong enough to do this yet, but thanks to the enhancer bracelets given to them by Tanatos, they could temporarily push their realm all the way to the low grade of the silver realm, allowing them to access the flight ability. DING! DING! Loud bells could be heard as the forces at the wall tried to alert the entire empire of the invaders. Soon barrages of spells shot towards them, completely blocking their view of the wall ahead of them. "Don''t move!" Blink ordered as he reduced his speed, allowing Clovis to fly ahead. Those behind him could only watch and obey while placing their hopes on the successors. They watched Clovis pull out the Crucifix given to him by Cyrus while mumbling some incantations. "ARK!" he growled as he threw the weapon forward. BAM! Almost instantly the small crucifix suddenly expanded, taking the form of a massive golden cross the size of a small mountain, blocking all the attacks directed at the twelve. The forces stationed at the wall were left dumbfounded since this was the first time they have seen something like this. Just long enough for Blink to shot past the crucifix while summoning the death scythe in his hands. "THIS WILL BE A MA.S.SACRE!" He roared as the death scythe trembled greatly while greedily consuming his mana. Chapter 467 - 467: A worthy opponent? Chapter 467: A worthy opponent? With a single shot Blink obliterated the wall and killed everyone on it but the next second he could see more enemy units running towards him. ''Shouldn''t flight be a common ability here?'' he thought as he shot down alongside his comrades, hoping to meet his enemies on the ground. Bang! With a loud bang, they landed roughly, leaving behind a small crater at their positions. "Blink!" Clovis said as he pushed the massive golden crucifix in front of them to block the incoming spells. "I know!" Blink replied with a frown as he blinked in front of the crucifix and brandished his death scythe at them, releasing another massive wave of death aura but something different happened this time! Unexpectedly, a spatial gate appeared in front of his targets, swallowing up the attack and releasing it above them. Blink could only watch his attack destroy a castle farther away from his position. "What the hell!" One of the Bronze realm mages blurted out but Blink remained silent for a while. ''The spatial mage seems to be watching! We need to leave now!'' Blink thought as he proceeded to create a spatial gate in front of them but upon creation, it suddenly shattered like broken glass and crumbled instantly! ''Spatial lock zone! Bastard!'' He knew to be able to influence his spatial magic, the spatial mage must be somewhere close. Since he wasn''t present on the ground it meant he could only be in one place! Above! "YOU DARE USE A SPATIAL LOCK ON ME? HOW BOLD OF YOU!" Blink roared as he reached for the sky and pulled. At first, it looked like nothing was happening but the next moment someone was pulled out of the clouds, forcefully smashing him into the ground. The person was a man in his early twenties and had long silver hair, neatly tied back into a ponytail. This man wore a traditional Japanese silver kimono with crashing blue waves design littered all over it. "Impossible!" the man muttered as he struggled to move but his body wasn''t responding. "You are weak¡­ Just like your spatial magic!" Blink said with a hint of disdain in his eyes as he released his own spatial magic, using it to shatter the spatial lock placed around them. ''This world focused on every detail to the last letter¡­ This may be an advantage for them when it comes to magic but it doesn''t seem to be the best when differentiating races¡­ Humans in my word are far sturdier than them!'' Blink thought. He was about to act but another barrage of spells was launched towards him and this man but thankfully, Clovis placed the massive golden crucifix ahead of them, blocking all the attacks. "Hurry!" Clovis said in a stern voice and Blink nodded in agreement and proceeded to create a spatial gate. He never planned to kill this spatial mage anyway since he was human and according to Derik''s vision which was revealed to him also, this man won''t affect their plans later on when they reach the power source. If it was a beast-man he probably would have killed him. "SPATIAL MAGIC: ZONE!" The man roared just before his spatial gate was complete. A silver spatial wave was released from his body, spreading as far as five to eight hundred meters around them, taking the form of an actual silver dome. Blink could only watch as his spatial gate was shattered once again as his magic was locked away. "You dare interfere with my plans again? Die then!" Blink roared as he walked towards the spatial mage with his death scythe in his hand. The spatial Zone this man had created was like nothing he had seen before! It was like a room that seals off spatial magic and within this room, he could feel the power of this man rise! For the first time since he came here, he considered a person from this world a threat and was determined to end his life. "DON''T YOU DARE!" He raised his death scythe and was about to behead the man he heard a roar from his right side. Out of nowhere, someone shot towards him, like a missile, moving so fast that Clovis couldn''t keep up with him with his Golden crucifix. "WHO!" Blink roared anxiously as he swung his death scythe at the incoming foe. He felt anxious because he didn''t see an enemy coming, neither did he sense him. If it wasn''t for the fact the enemy announced his arrival, he wouldn''t have been able to react to him! Xiu! To his greatest surprise, his attack failed to hit the target! ''Above!'' Blink roared in his mind as he saw a figure spinning violently above him but for only a second and the next second he was gone. ''No the side!'' Blink has never felt this anxious since he arrived in this world. He saw something like a spinning wind wheel beneath the feet of the enemy and it was heading towards his throat! With little time to react, Blink opted to block the attack with his hand but as soon as the attack hit, he could feel the wind wheels spinning faster as it drilled deeper into his wrist the moment they made contact, threatening to cut it off entirely. Xiu! "You dare try to kill a loyal mage of the Fotia empire? You must be tired of living!" the youth growled angrily! Chapter 468 - 468: Lucien Raizen "Who are you?" Blink asked with a straight face as he gazed at the youth with a lot of thoughts flooding into his mind. Guessing purely based on the size of this youth, he could tell this kid was nowhere near sixteen of age. The wind wheels that pierced his wrist and almost chopped off his palm were beneath the kid''s legs and this explained how he moved so fast. What he couldn''t understand was why he could barely feel this youth''s aura. "Lucien Raizen! The man who will surpass the beast emperors! A human dare asks for my name¡­ You''ve got balls" Lucien answered with a hint of contempt in his eyes. Hearing his reply, Blink couldn''t help but recall the visions shown to him by his master, Derik. Unlike the white-haired spatial mage who was still on his knees, this kid played a major part in the struggle for the power source. He saw it all, the past, the present, and the possible future of their struggle. The annoying thing was that the vision wasn''t clear so he wasn''t sure if they succeed, all he could remember clearly was this kid taking part in the battle. Pushing those thoughts aside, Blink began reviewing all that happened and found it a bit reasonable. Not only was his spatial magic suppressed in the spatial Zone created by the spatial mage, his movements felt sluggish as well and that explains why he could barely keep up with Lucien. He realized that he couldn''t sense the Kid''s aura, simply because the kid is too weak and was lacking mana! He could barely keep his spell running not to talk of battling him a man who has reached the peak grade of the silver realm and only a step away from the Gold realm! At first, his facial expression was filled with surprise which then changed to disappointment and then anger! "What the hell! Did I just retreat because of someone as weak as him?" Blink screamed in anger! "What the hell are you talking about?" Lucien was a bit confused by the sudden change in attitude by his sudden change in attitude. "At first, I was fl.u.s.tered when you attacked because I couldn''t sense your presence¡­ back then I felt you were stronger and that''s why my movements were sloppy but just now I realized why¡­ You are running out of mana and you can barely maintain that little spell of yours! Am I correct?" Blink said with a slight frown on his face but it seemed like he has calmed down already. "¡­ and now you know that so what? Do you think you can win against me?" Lucien''s heart was pounding but he chose to push his fears aside and face the enemy bravely. "You know, you are quite hardworking and brave¡­ you remind me of myself a thousand years ago¡­ I would have loved to let you leave here alive but I think it''s best you die now¡­. You will be a major problem in the future if I don''t put you down now! As a reward for answering my name, I will give you mine¡­ They call me Blink!" ''Deal with the others while I deal with these two'' Blink communicated with Clovis telepathically before making his move. Saying this Blink charged forward with the death scythe raised above his head. With his superhuman physical capabilities, he was sure he would be able to match Lucien''s speed but thanks to this zone his movements were slower than usual, giving Lucien the upper hand in terms of speed. The death scythe hit the ground but Lucien was nowhere to be seen. ''Not again!'' Blink cried out in his head as he instinctively looked to the side but Lucien wasn''t there. ''Shit!'' He screamed in his mind as he felt the youth''s feet connect with his face, letting out a loud bang sound but that wasn''t enough to throw Blink off his feet. Bam! Successfully dodging the attack and sweeping his opponent off his feet, Lucien hurriedly threw his hands back as he swung his feet with all his might, planting a powerful kick on Blink''s face even before his body reached the ground! Bang! "What the hell¡­" Clovis had just finished with the few mages left before he heard the sound. He was expecting to see Lucien lying on the floor dead but it was Blink instead. All ten mages and warriors places under them took a step back in shock as they watched someone like Blink overwhelmed by the enemy. It was obvious that the spatial zone suppressing their strength played a major factor and since using spells within the zone consumes more than twice the amount of mana needed for the spell was more than enough to make anyone reluctant to cast a spell, even for Blink! Puti! Blink slowly got on his feet and wiped the blood trickling down his nose and also spat out some blood as well. While many may not have noticed Lucien did! Blink''s blood was black and he too had a strong stench of death around him. Even now, Lucien was struggling hard not to puke his guts out since he had a feeling if he looked away for only a second, he will die. He knew something was off about this group trying to break into the empire but he couldn''t tell what exactly. He remembered the comment the Blink made, revealing he had lived for thousands of years! Although it''s hard to believe, Lucien couldn''t help but link it to the stench of death around him and his black scythe! The man must have found a way to prolong his life. "I would love to get this over with quickly¡­ As you can see I lack the mana needed to maintain this spell for too long¡­" Lucien said as he slightly leaned forward and threw his hands back. He was ready for a second round! Chapter 469 - 469: You just messed up! ''He wants to end it quickly? How c.o.c.ky is this brat!'' Blink screamed in his mind as he slowly rose to his feet. Judging purely based on how hard it is for him to deal with this spatial zone, he concluded that the was the trump card of the silver-haired mage. The ability to seal off all spatial magic while suppressing every enemy caught within it, Blink considered this a powerful spell. Just by forcefully casting a short-ranged teleportation spell, Blink could feel a reasonable chunk of his mana getting drained. Considering this, he couldn''t tell how much mana it would take to shatter this zone. ''I miss the old me'' Blink couldn''t help but complain in his mind. In the past, his original body was mutated by Derik''s death aura, up to the point where he could match high-level cultivation fighters in strength!. His physical capabilities were only inferior to that of gold realm masters and his mutated body granted him strong regenerative ability. In his opinion, the only difference between him and the undead was just the fact that he was still alive. Right now, the damages he sustained from the beginning of the fight till now remain and his mana was not close to unlimited like before. Even though the body created for him by Derik granted him enough physical strength and speed to be called a superhuman, it was still inferior to the original. Boom! Blink was about to speak but then an explosion occurs as the silver-haired mage shot into the air, with his body shrouded in the blazing silver aura. "Someone got serious" Blink chuckled as he straightened his back. "I never thought a day would come when I will be forced to say this but Lucien, we need to keep them here until the other Instructors arrive¡­ I don''t think I can deal with this on my own" the silver-haired mage confessed with a frown. He has seen Lucien fight and even though he knew his spatial zone play a major role in suppressing the enemy, he couldn''t help but commend Lucien! "If you put it that way then I have no choice but to help you¡­ Just this once! Also, I think it''s time I stop holding back!" Lucien declared with a vicious smile on his face. Hearing this, Blink''s face turned red in anger but he tried as much not to let his emotions get the better of him. With a glance, he could tell the mages stationed at the wall were dead, leaving only Lucien and the spatial mage. His body was currently limiting his power so he had no choice but to keep calm and not act rashly. Clovis understood the feelings Blink was going through and was sure that he was the one in this position, he would do the same. "Finish it, quickly" That was all Clovis could say to a man with a hurting pride. Blink is someone who has endured wars and countless battles! He died fighting the world in a bid to defend the name of the man he calls master! Just seeing this kid talk about not holding back anymore should be enough to make Clovis want to rip him apart but he knew this was not his battle! This is a fight, Blink has to win alone! For the sake of his pride. ________________________________ Blink watched calmly as Lucien''s body released a bright silver light that soon took the shape of a man with an eagle head, talons for hands and legs, and two pairs of wings arranged like that of a butterfly. Thinking back on the three beast-men he killed earlier, Blink realized they never showed this ability. The young Lucien who had almost no aura suddenly made a 360-degree change! His aura was fierce and wild, like that of a vicious magic beast as the silver light returned to his body. Gazing at him the only physical changes Blink could notice was that Lucien''s body seemed a bit harder and darker and his hands and legs were replaced with Talons. "Cute¡­" Blink said as he began walking towards the spatial mage and Lucien. "You wished to finish this battle quickly? Did you decide to stop holding back? You just messed up kid! That is the reason why none of you will leave this place alive" The death scythe in Blink''s hands vanished and was replaced with two silver daggers. "What you saw me use earlier was my master''s magic weapon¡­ this is my first time using a death scythe so pardon me if my skills are below standards¡­ Don''t worry, I can assure you... I am way better with my daggers!" Blink''s words were filled with so much venom it made his enemies shudder in fear. "This will be a massacre!" Upon saying this Blink''s life aura exploded taking the shape of a massive skull above his head! This time his enemies were scared senseless by his overwhelming presence. Seeing this Clovis and the others couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief. They were truly afraid that the previous events would demoralize Blink but seeing him act this way, it served as a reminder of why Derik chose him as successor even when they were more powerful candidates at the time. ''End it!'' Clovis whispered in his mind "What the hell is this?" Lucien asked as beads of sweat trickled down his face. He failed to understand how Blink suddenly changed and became so terrifying! Even though the silver skull above Blink''s head was only made of mana, Blink couldn''t help but think death was staring at him! He and the silver-haired spatial mage were greatly suppressed by Blink''s aura alone! Due to fear, the silver-haired mage lost focus and his spatial zone shattered! ''NO!'' the spatial mage gasped in his mind but it was already too late! Swoosh! Blink wasted no time in tossing one of his silver daggers at the airborne spatial mage! He wasn''t going to let this opportunity pass by! Suddenly Lucien appeared in front of the dagger, throwing a kick at it but instead of the dagger he met Blink! ''He switched places with the dagger?'' Lucien screamed in his mind as his leg was caught by Blink. Pa! Pulling him towards himself, Blink shoved the dagger deep into Lucien''s belly and proceeded to smash him into the ground with as much power as he could muster, creating a small crater where they stood. "Y-o-u" Lucien muttered "You have a big mouth kid! Just keep your mouth shut and die!" Blink hissed Chapter 470 - 470: Unexpected reuinon Cough! Cough! Blink watched Lucien cough up two mouthfuls of blood while pressing the wound tight. He could feel a warm liquid flowing out of the back of his head, unknown to him, he was laying in a small pool of his blood. "No... You didn''t switch places with the dagger¡­ you ran to it¡­ who would have thought you would be faster than me even with my wind rider spell" Lucien muttered slowly as he analyzed the situation calmly. "Hmph! That zone was the only thing keeping you alive¡­ it''s nice to know you are capable of analyzing the situation even in this condition¡­ which shows how talented you are¡­ I have to say, you would have gone far since you remind me of my master but it''s unfortunate you have to die here, you will be a problem in the future!" Blink said as he pulled out the dagger from his belly and raised it high but this time he was aiming for his throat. "Spatial magic: Zone! Swap!" Lucien had already accepted his fate by shutting his eyes tight while waiting for death. It was at that moment that Instructor Han''s words reached his ears and suddenly he found himself in spatial mage''s arm. "What the hell¡­" Blink muttered as he gazed at the white piece of kimono soaked in blood. In just a short while he could guess that Silver-haired spatial mage tore off a piece of his cloth and used it to swap places with Lucien. "Equal exchange! That''s what it''s called... This is something you will never grasp!" Instructor Han said with a vicious look on his face. Gazing at him Blink could tell the man was enraged. He didn''t expect to see a human protecting a beast-man so he was taken by surprise. He was about to speak but then he felt numerous powerful aura signatures heading towards them. He knew the reinforcement these people were speaking of was close. He considered continuing the battle while having Clovis and the other ten hold them off but Blink knew wasting more time and mana will only make it harder to leave when the time comes. His expression was filled with reluctance when he gave Clovis a deep stare before exhaling and finally speaking; "A prolonged fight is not what we need... We will tire out!" Blink said to his comrades before turning his attention to the silver-haired spatial mage. "Your magic is inferior!" Upon saying this he clasped his hands together and forcefully opened a spatial gate within the spatial zone! This was a way of showcasing his overwhelming power! "Saved by a human¡­ shameful" __________________________________________________________ After sending away the successors to a foreign land, Derik left the empire in search of his godly essence. With the defenses and magic arrays set around the empire, Derik was quite confident that even the old gods would not be able to penetrate without getting hurt. He would have loved to postpone this search but he couldn''t anymore. Ever since he absorbed a portion of the beyond''s soul, Derik has been having visions of the past present, and future! It was a sign that this world had considered him a potential realm protector candidate. Concerning his godly essence, after consuming a portion of the beyond''s soul, Derik got a ''glimpse'' of where his essence may be. Flying towards the center of the God vein, Derik wore a stern look since he wasn''t fully in support of what he is about to do. ''In the past, flying was too dangerous because we had to deal with countless wind-based magic beasts like the winged clan¡­ now anyone can just take to the skies without fear¡­ life was fun back then'' Derik said in his mind as he reached a familiar spot that changed his life. Memories of Demos and Samael, the guardian spirits of life and death taking on three demigods here just to protect them flooded his mind, making him break a smile. "You won''t be away for too long my old friends¡­ we will bring you all back and create the perfect world you all dreamed of, " Derik said while looking at the black whirlpool. Bam! Like a missile, Derik shot into the black whirlpool only to be greeted by darkness. "MOVE!" He growled as the darkness fled from him the moment he shot out of the other side of the water. Beneath him was a majestic world filled mad of gold. It was like a royal courtyard with a golden altar erected at the center of the room. Gazing in the direction of the temple were two figures, both of them were people he recognized perfectly. "So this is where my treacherous sworn younger brother ran off too¡­ it''s been a while, Blake! I''m here to finish the job I assigned to Blink before I became a demigod" Derik''s words were filled with so much venom and hatred that even the beyond shuddered in fear but Blake didn''t look afraid. "W-Why are you here! How did you know where to find me?" The Beyond was a lady in her early twenties. She had a perfect hourglass shape and wore a tight purple gown which was considered unusual for people of this time. Her long, flowing purple hair and her perfect face was so enchanting that any normal man would fall in love almost instantly but Derik didn''t bother to glance at her, his focus was fixed on Blake who was shrouded in darkness. "You have come for your godly essence? Sorry but it''s mine now, big brother Derik¡­. Right now, we are equals, you cannot kill me" A pair of darkish purple eyes opened within the cl.u.s.ter of darkness and gazed at Derik who was hovering above. Hearing this Derik''s face twisted in anger and his eyes lit up in power! He was finally here to avenge the death of Dimitri, Andrew, Philip, and Jean who once called this monster Brother! Chapter 471 - 471: Blake... The vision Derik got exposed the Beyonds location and also exposed someone he never thought he would come across again, Blake. Thinking back on it, Derik remembered Blink winning the fight by severing Blake''s head from his body. He also remembered Blink cutting off each limb in Blink''s body and scattering them to different parts of the continent just to make sure no one gathers his body parts and revive him since everyone knew Blake was the only immortal silver realm masters, thanks to the experiments he had undergone at the hands of the holy church. Back then Derik considered this an appropriate punishment for his crimes since he always believed there are fates worse than death so he didn''t bother destroying him or consuming his soul. The vision he saw explained a lot about their current situation. Derik realized that upon revival, their soul essence is meant to call out to them but never happened even once. Considering this he realized that their soul essence never called out to them because it was either suppressed on been consumed by someone else. Arriving here made him realize what he feared the most has happened. Within the darkness, Blake''s body was like a broken record, shifting back and forth, side to side, damaging the space around him. He seemed to be in a lot of pain but he managed to bear it for so long. He was trying to absorb the godly essence of all the gods! Both new and old! After his battle with the beyond, leaving it gravely injured, the beyond sort a force that could counter the death element. The only one she could find was the being that was closest to Derik and similar and that''s when it found Blake. Assembling his body was only a small part of the work, the goal now was to empower him and make him surpass both the new and old gods and that''s why she allowed him to gather their godly essence into his body. His strength was slowly rising, surpassing that of Blink, right now he was already at the peak grade of the demigod realm and only a step away from the god realm. "It''s good I found you, It would have been troublesome if I am forced to deal with you when you enter the true god realm," Derik said with a sly smile! ROAR! Letting out a vicious roar, Derik was consumed by his death aura as he shapeshifted into his demonic wolf form. His size alone made full grown dragons look up to him just to see his face. "To think you would take your lycan form for the very first time just to face me¡­ even when you fought the beyond, you didn''t do this¡­ I am honored you consider me an enemy" Blake said as he stared into the eyes of the massive darkish green with fiery green claws and eyes. Looking at him, one would notice that his body didn''t seem solid at all. It was like green flames that could be swayed by the wind. "So this what a god tier werewolf looks like" The beyond said with a hint of fear in her eyes. If it wasn''t for the fact that Blake showed no sign of fear, she would have been panicking by now. "Letting you completely digest our essence means that this world has to accept you as a new god candidate¡­ the suppression placed on invaders like the old gods, cosmic beings and the beyond won''t work on you¡­ even though I am not scared of fighting a true god, I believe it''s best I try to avoid such a nasty situation" When the fiery green werewolf opened its mouth to speak, steaming red blood poured out of it, causing the Beyond to flinch! ''Those with the death element are truly terrifying'' this was all she could think off As for Derik, he stopped considering Blake as a person. All he could see is a monstrous black hole that wishes to consume everything in his path. He couldn''t understand what the holy church did to this body that allowed him to be able to wield so many abilities at once without getting hurt but he was sure if the person was here to see this, he or she would feel satisfied by the result. BAM! Diving down towards the treacherous duo, Derik viciously slammed into the barrier set to prevent the mana from the source to get out and circulate all over the world. "Hahahahaha! I didn''t think this barrier was created to protect you as well! I underestimated you, woman! But this is where your life ends! No wall can stop Derik Angus!" Derik''s eyes squinted as he spoke. Grrrrrrr! Instantly his murderous intentions filled the space as his body increased in size and the blazing darkish green flames around him burnt even fiercer. Roar! Derik growled as he smashed into it and this time, everything trembled greatly, causing the beyond the shiver in fear. "How long will your barrier hold?" Blake asked indifferently while his figure was still hidden within the dark fog around him. He wreaked of death and life at the same time, not to mention all the other elements he had consumed. At this moment, it was fair to say that Blake was the perfect candidate to be called invincible, absolute, and perfect. "Roughly a few hours if I try to put in more energy in maintaining it! I didn''t expect letting him consume a portion of my soul would be a serious problem for us¡­ accept my apologies" The beyond said with a respectful tone. After Derik consumed a portion of her soul, her strength has further reduced and now everyone knew she was not Derik''s match anymore. The only one who can face Derik on equal terms and win is Blake! "You don''t have to worry¡­ This man used to be a big brother and a father to me¡­ I know how he fights¡­ he sealed his fate when he stepped into this place, now no one will be able to save you, Derik Angus, or should I call you, master!" Blake chuckled. Chapter 472 - 472: Lucardo Family Stepping out of the spatial gate, Blink and the others found themselves in a thick forest with large trees that prevented the sunlight from penetrating. Blink and Clovis chose to follow Derik''s orders and act according to the vision he received. In that vision, this is a place known as the torn forest, at the borders of two noble family territories belonging to a human family and a beast-man family. According to the vision, a team of human soldiers from that family would appear and lead them to somewhere ''safe'' Clank! Clank! Clank! Sounds of men in knight armor began echoing from a certain part of the forest but Blink and Clovis showed no signs of fear. "Throw every piece of equipment you have in there¡­ Don''t resist¡­ they will take us somewhere safe until we can pinpoint the location of the power source" Blink tore a hole in the space around him and before speaking to his comrades. He watched as they reluctantly tossed their weapons and gadgets gifted to them by Tanatos but none voiced their opinions since they had no choice but to believe in Blink and Clovis. A few minutes later, about twenty knights in black and red knight armor appeared with their weapons unsheathed but to their greatest surprise, the strangers in the Torn forest showed no intentions of fighting, even though they all possessed powerful aura. "Take us to your leader" Blink took a few steps forward before speaking. The look on his face revealed he expected their arrival so it was hard to tell his intentions. The news of the invasion has yet to reach every part of the empire so he had no reason to fear that these people would consider them the invaders. "State your name and your reason for trespassing" A young man on low cut and bushy eyebrows roared boldly. Judging based on the double red strip on his armor, Blink considered him the leader of this small party. The others had a single stripe and their faces were covered by their helmets but this kid looked different and more confident. "Firstly, I have no reason to give my name to weaklings and last time I checked, the Tron forest is a neutral territory! This is not trespassing" Blink said as his silver aura slowly escaped his body, slowly overwhelming those in front of him and making them shiver in fear. "Just take us to your clan head¡­ I am sure you all will be rewarded greatly" Clovis said as he released his own aura as well, making them fall on their knees. From what he could tell, these people were only at the low grade of the bronze realm, if they should be judged by their world''s standards. As for the two strip captain, he was only at the mid-grade of the bronze realm, meanwhile, the weakest members of their team are at the peak grade of the bronze realm, they stand no chance of winning. "O¡­ Okay!" The captain barely let out those words as he found it hard to breathe under the pressure of their aura. If it were only one of them, he may have considered fighting but these two were incredibly powerful and even they are yet to attack them, this meant they had no negative intentions for them, so he quickly came to the conclusion that its best for him and the others to comply since they are not armed. ___________ Bang! Bang! Bang! Numerous cracks could be seen on the barrier but even then it was far from falling, the barrier was a lot sturdier than expected. Or so he thought before he realized what was going on! The Beyond was taping power from the god vein''s source and using it to reinforce the barrier infinitely! It was practically killing this world just to keep herself safe! "BASTARD!" the fiery green werewolf thundered as it brandished its fiery claws at the barrier. His attack was fiercer and more intense than before, making the Beyond turn pale. Bang! Bang! Bang! "I can''t hold out for much longer!" The beyond shot Blake a glance. "Huh?" The darkness gathered around the figure slowly vanished as Blake was revealed. He had a Mohawk hairstyle with a black undercut which complemented his darkish purple hair. His eyes were filled with so much darkness that even the beyond dared not look deep into his eyes for too long. He wore a black trouser, leaving his feet and his c.h.e.s.t b.a.r.e that was filled with tattoos of different shapes and symbols. "I only asked you to hold him off for an hour because I needed some time to rest¡­ My body aches a little¡­ since you can''t do this much, all I have to do is get rid of him, then I can rest right?" Blake said with a charming smile on his face. The beyond frowned as she heard this. She initially thought that Blake had some sort of plan and that''s why he asked her to hold out for an hour. But judging based on the confidence in his tone, the beyond had no other choice but to not to his words. "Good! It''s nice we all agree¡­ take down the barrier and I will settle this quickly " Blake said with so much confidence that the beyond didn''t know when she instinctively shut down the barrier. ROAR! The entire room was shrouded in darkness the instant the barrier feel as the blazing darkish green werewolf dived in. "Cute!" In response to the darkness, Blake chuckled as the divine golden light of the life element shone so bright that the darkness retreated. "You cannot win me, I am everything, starting from the old gods to the new, all their powers are mind¡­ including yours!" Blake''s voice got thinner as his body slowly changed form to that of a serpent-shaped beast with two horns. His snake scales were as hard as diamond and its black body complemented its blood-red eyes giving it a demonic look! Hiss! Chapter 473 - 473: Death godly essence Bang! The two gigantic beasts smashed into each other, successfully creating thunderclap sounds that shook the entire space around them. The beyond watched as the massive black serpent maneuvered through the fiery green wolf, successfully evading all of its attacks and wrapping itself around it. "YOU DARE!" Derik''s cries came in form of a growl which sounded like loud explosions! BOOM! Instantly the blazing green flame around him grew fiercer and brighter, forcing the serpent to retreat in fear. WHOOSH! Derik took the initiative to revert to his human form since he long noticed that the Lycan form was not suitable for beasts that possess terrifying speed and flexibility. "You wish to fight the man you once called master? HOW BOLD OF YOU!" Derik growled as he clasped his hands and countless massive magic arrays appeared. "Death magic: Shadow bind!" He growled as numerous black chains shot out of them, shooting towards Blake. "If this is your sorry attempt to kill me then I apologize, I overestimated you!" The massive black serpent hissed as a massive golden magic array appeared above him and from it, a majestic golden gate appeared! "Life magic: Heaven''s gate!" Blake hissed as the gate appeared. Bind! Instantly, countless golden chains shot out of the gate, clashing with the black chains and ultimately shattering them almost instantly. "Cyrus¡­" Derik couldn''t help but gasp as he saw the incoming golden chains and memories of his battles with Cyrus in the past resurfaced in his mind. He failed to understand how nature would let an abomination like Blake exist but thinking deeply about it, Derik came to the conclusion that Blake was nature now so nothing can harm him. With the abilities of the new gods and the old gods, he has become a being that even the beyond has to treat with respect. Although Derik couldn''t tell how or why the beyond chose to invest so much in Blake when there is a chance that the young lad will betray her. "Don''t get c.o.c.ky, boy!" Derik chose to switch his method of approach now. Clasping his hands one mighty scorching sun formed in front of him and shot forward, incinerating all the golden chains in its path. Since his death magic was working against the life magic, he chose to take a different approach when dealing with his enemy Watching the massive sun growing as it moved, Blake quickly reverted to his human form while conjuring numerous walls of water but the massive sun just smashed through everything while shooting towards him. "Moon magic: three worlds collide!" Derik''s angered voice reached his ears. Almost instantly, three massive moons appeared from the side, smashing into Blake and blocking all his escape routes. He could only stand and wait for the massive sun to reach him while trying to repel the three moons about to crush him. "In the end, you were still weaker than my successor!" Derik sneered as the scorching sun, smashed into the three fake moons. He was about to turn his attention to the beyond but then he felt something off! Or rather, something familiar. A darkish purple aura surged out of every available space found! Derik watched the fake moons and the massive sun slowly withers away quite easily. His face twisted and reddened due to anger as he gazed at Blake and screamed. "You will return my godly essence¡­ Now!" ____________________________ Blink and the rest of the team were led towards the Lucardo clan gate and just like Blink suspected, there was an anti-spatial magic seal, placed outside the gates that prevent spatial mages from using their abilities, until they have passed through the gates. His team was surrounded by the twenty or so black knights but the black knights seemed to be the nervous ones. Blink followed them until the large stone gate with plenty of guards stationed at the wall with their bows and spears pointed at them. Seeing this, Clovis and Blink chuckled, causing the black guards to stiffen. In front of the gate, they were forced to wait while the captain moved forward to meet the guards stationed at the gate. After a minute or two of discussion, he signaled the rest of the troops, and the gate was opened for them to pass. "I guess it''s time to leave" Clovis chuckled. "Yep¡­ I don''t plan to get dumped in a stinking cell for a day or two or even a weak before the clan head decides to hear us out" Blink frowned. The moment they walked past the gate they were greeted by at least fifty knights with spears, only then did the confidence of the two stripped captain return as he turned towards them with a hint of disdain in his eyes as he spoke. "You two may be powerful mages but you cannot do as you please here! We are the Lucardo family and we answer to no one! On your knees!" He growled. "Pardon?" Blink replied with a raised eyebrow. "ARE YOU DEAF? I SAID ON YO¡­" Puff! Before he could finish speaking, his head was cleanly removed from his neck by Blink''s death scythe. Instantly, a golden dome appeared around Blink and the other ten mages/ warriors, protecting them from the ranged attacks fired at them. "They still use bows and arrows in this era? If it were back home, you will be greeted by a giant golden sword the size of a small mountain or a power bolt of purple lightning or a powerful green aura spear!" Clovis complained. "As much as I would love to show these people what real power looks like, I think it''s best we don''t cause too much trouble¡­ that way the family head will be more willing to work with us" Blink shook his head as he spoke. All twelve of them ignored the attacks and spells bombarding the golden dome since they were sure none of it would be able to penetrate. "Let''s go then" Blink said as he opened a dimensional corridor leading. At the end of the dimensional corridor was the throne room of the Lucardo clan head! Chapter 474 - 474: Blood pact In a grand hall belonging to the Lucardo clan, numerous prominent individuals of the clan gathered for something that looked like a party but it was more like a secret meeting. This was the vision shared to Blink by Derik and thanks to it he knew the main reason for this meeting. Apart from the prominent members of the Lucardo family, there were also members of the Artino family, Frangos family, the Dellis, and finally the Luno''s family, the only beast-man clan attending the party. While these people would have worn their clan exclusive attire with their clam crests boldly pasted on it, they chose to wear mere expensive attired worn by rich merchants and traders in a bid not to arouse suspicion on their way here, even their carriages did not carry their clan banner as they moved. The grand hall is spacious enough to contain at least a hundred people, with its golden pillars and golden lion statue placed at the center of the room. Bam! Following the loud sound, a crack appeared in the space located at the entrance of the room! Slowly a spatial gate appeared and twelve figures stepped out of it confidently. Seeing this everyone in the room was startled a bit but they were not terrified neither did they show any sign of getting fl.u.s.tered by the sudden appearance of twelve strange people. Instead, they simply gazed at the intruders meaningfully, and with their golden cups in their hands filled with wine, they tried to discern the strength of the intruders. "They are experts" Blink chuckled lightly as he walked forward with Clovis while the other ten stayed at the entrance of the spatial gate, just in case things go wrong. It''s not that Blink didn''t have faith in the vision revealed to him by Derik, it was just that he only saw images and heard a few voices, plus the vision was a bit jumbled so it''s hard to discern the meaning and that''s why he chose to be careful. "Welcome to the Lucardo clan territory¡­ You are in my palace, so I guess it''s only logical for me to ask these questions¡­ Who are you? And why are you here?" it was a gray-haired elderly man who needed a staff that looked more like a club to walk. Gazing at him Blink and Clovis could tell that death was hovering over him but for some reason, it couldn''t get close. The man is probably terribly old and has far surpassed his normal life span but he was able to keep himself alive somehow. "You should have been dead a long time ago, old man¡­ I wonder how you are still living" Clovis said with a sly smile on his face. His words made the Lucardo clan head stiffen for a short while before regaining composure. "Believe it or not, we are not from your world¡­ we are here to search for something and until then, we need a secure place to stay" Blink ignored Clovis''s words and spoke. With a glance, he could tell who the leaders of various families involved in this gathering are since their strength was quite almost equal to their own. Considering how noble family heads are on par with them, Clovis and Blink couldn''t help but wonder how strong the so-called '' Phoenix Beast emperor'' who subdued all of them is. The Lucardo family head maintained his meaningful gaze on them with his old gray eyes as if he was searching for something. The other leaders of the various noble families remained silent and acted like nothing out of the ordinary was taking place. "You are the ones who broke into the empire, through the west gate?" The old man finally asked while calmly tapping his staff. His eyes were void of emotions so Blink couldn''t tell what was going through his mind. "Yes¡­ I didn''t know the news would have reached here¡­" Blink answered honestly with no hint of fear in his eyes. Seeing this the old man nodded his head in satisfaction before taking a few steps forward and asking another question "Give me one good reason why we shouldn''t subdue you and hand you over to the emperor," he asked while tapping his staff even faster now. Hearing this, Clovis and Blink laughed loudly for a minute or two before taking bold steps towards the old man. "First of all, even if all of you joined hands, you won''t be able to win against us" Clovis''s eyes revealed a bright golden glow as he spoke. "And finally, we know what your intentions are¡­ my master revealed all that to me before sending us here¡­ we can help you kill the beast emperor¡­. With our help, the humans will become the dominant species in this empire" Blink completely ignored the presence of the Luno clan leader as he said this. Woosh! As soon as he said this, he felt the spirit of death hovering all over him as the old man swung his staff towards him. Looking at it, it was neither fast, not was it slow but for some reason Blink could tell if he gets hit by this, he would be gravely injured. "Cue!" Blink said without making a move. "DON''T MOVE!" Clovis spoke softly but his voice was amplified by some sort of power. Boom! Following the loud crashing sound, the leaders of the other families watched in disbelief as they saw the old man visibly struggling but unable to move. The staff was just a breath away from Blink''s face yet it won''t move an inch! "I told you¡­ you all won''t be able to beat us even if you joined hands" Clovis said with a bored look on his face. He couldn''t help but commend Cyrus'' ''the word'' path and its effectiveness on weaker foes. He knew this old man could break free if he stops holding back but he was sure he wouldn''t do that. "All we wish is a place to lay low for a weak or two in exchange for our services... As for an assurance that we will keep our end of the bargain, we will perform a blood pact, that will bind us and you all to our words¡­ if any side should go against it, they will die a painful death" Blink said with a sinister smile on his face Chapter 475 - 475: Demigod realm Derik The power Blink and Clovis demonstrated was like nothing these people have ever seen before, so they were a little bit shocked. Even though they refused to accept that they would lose to these two youths if they joined hands, they couldn''t deny the fact that they would lose to these people in a one versus one deathmatch. "You are not as young as you seem to be" The Lucardo family head said as he gazed at both of them skeptically. While their body was that of a youth, their eyes showcased that of two men who have experienced the worst the world has to throw at them. He soon realized that when they spoke and smiled, their lips part and their facial expression changes but their eyes remain the same. Comparing himself to them, the old man felt like he was a ten-year-old kid trying to teach a seventy-year-old sect leader the secrets of cultivation. "We have lived just a little longer than you guys" Clovis shook his head repeatedly as he spoke. "We have lived and died and we are here again¡­ self-leader a few thousand years older so it doesn''t mean much" Blink added casually. Judging based on the way they said those words, everyone in the room could tell they are not lying but this led them to wonder how old the master they spoke of is and how powerful is. "This master you spoke of¡­ who is he or she" A lady in a marine blue gown spoke as she approached them. While moving it looked like she wasn''t even making contact with the ground! Her movements were so graceful and elegant that any normal person would be enchanted by her beauty almost immediately. She had deep blue hair and sky blue eyes that made her stand out. The tight blue gown revealed her robust b.r.e.a.s.ts and her well-endowed backsides. Fortunately while many may not notice, Blink and Clovis clearly perceive the stench of a beast from her. "You are from the beast-men race, yet you wish to help these humans¡­ Why?" Blink was more agitated by her presence than they expected. After his experience here with the beast-men, it was safe to say his hatred for this race increased tenfold! His aura slowly escaped from his body, filling up the hall with his power. Only now did these clan leaders realize the depth of Blink''s strength. "Naturally, I don''t agree with the way things are¡­In my opinion, everyone deserves fair and equal treatment, that''s why I chose to help the humans in the task of destroying the emperor!" The lady tried as much as possible to remain calm while answering the question. After she was done, Blink remained silent for a while and pondered ok her words before speaking. "My master is the God of death and destruction and his is the God of life and creation¡­ As long as you help us, you will remain on their good side and they will treat you well" Blink and Clovis summoned the death scythe and Crucifix to back up their claims. "As we said before, we do not belong to this world" Clovis added. The immense life and death aura surging out of the two magic weapons was so great these leaders couldn''t help but tremble in fear unconsciously. They didn''t completely believe that their masters are gods but they all could tell their masters are extremely powerful! "If we aid you by hiding you here, do you assure us that you will aid us during our time of need? When we act against the emperor, will you stand by our side as an ally?" The old Lucardo family head asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can assure you¡­. With the blood pact, all you have to do is call our name and request for our help¡­ no matter how far away we are, we will be compelled to come over and aid you" Blink assure them with a smile. _______________________ Watching another person utilize the death magic was enough to send Derik into a murderous rage. Even though Blake possessed his death aura in the past, his ability never had anything to do with the death magic, he just had abilities related to different dark elements. So seeing the same person use his power so casually like it''s his own was enough to make Derik go crazy. His body grew larger as he assumed his true demigod form. "Don''t tell me he has already assimilated our souls and has broken through into the demigod realm?" The beyond''s face looked gloomy as she gazed at the gigantic figure above. In his true form, Derik had spiky black hair with a green undercut. His pair of eyes were completely dark void of any form of light, except for the tiny spark of green flame at the center. He was bare-c.h.e.s.ted, revealing numerous signs and symbols drawn all over his body. Beneath his body was a black Lungi with the green color visible at the edges. At the edges of his eyes was some sort of green paint and his lips and fingernails were also painted green. Seeing this, the beyond couldn''t help but remember the intense battle between her and Derik before his death! Derik had injured her enough to reduce her power to that of a mere true god realm being and after he consumed a portion of her soul, her strength reduced further to the demigod realm. In the past when she faced Derik, her realm was always higher and even then she could never step out of their battles in one piece but now he was ad the same realm as her, she could help but feel the threat of death looming over her. Her instincts told her if she battled Derik, she would end up dead in less than an hour! "I know you are scared but if you wish to win, then you will have to cooperate with me¡­. I know how strong Derik Angus is¡­ The death magic isn''t what made him powerful, he is the one who made this magic so amazing" Blake said with a hint of admiration in his eyes. Chapter 476 - 476: God of death returns Gazing at Derik''s figure, Blake couldn''t help but feel proud that he once knew this man and once fought by his side. In his opinion, death magic was considered a peak three-star magic back in the days but Derik made it surpass the five-star magic spells known to man! The death magic may have been powerful but the previous users were all killed either by the life guardian spirit host or hosts! But Derik changed all of that. He was the first to surpass all the host and subdue all his enemies with brute strength! He showcased the power of death in ways no one ever dreamed of and now he is a God of death who death cannot hold! All Blake ever wanted was to serve by his side and since he had something similar to the death magic, he expected Derik to peak him as his successor! He expected Derik to leave all he has built to him and he sincerely wished to surpass Derik in the future. "Whether I surpass you by fighting with you or against you, it doesn''t matter¡­ I will surpass you anyway!" Blake said as his body began enlarging as well. Seeing the two Titans about to clash the beyond had no choice but to join in. This is their best chance of killing Derik, to do this they have to work together! "Just this once! I will go all out!" She said those words with great effort as the sky turned black and black clouds gathered around her. Soon her figure vanished as the black cloud kept rising and expanding until it was just the same size as Derik and Blake. Massive red eyes appeared within the black cloud, reminding Derik of the form she took when battling them in the past. "Hahahaha! This brings back memories¡­ thankfully, this space within the black whirlpool is strong enough to withstand our power¡­ no one will know this ever happened¡­no one will save you this time" Derik said with a bright smile on his face as a massive shiny bone spear appeared in his hand. "Cute words, but the truth remains that no one will know you died, neither will they ever be able to recover your body" Blake sneered. ''Huh,'' Derik''s face twisted in anger as he red meaning into Blake''s words. "Are you trying to say you can kill me permanently?" Derik''s eyes revealed a bright green flash as he spoke. "I am just like you¡­ or even better! I have consumed the divinity of every God that has ever existed, all at once and I am still alive¡­ can you boast of that? Consulting your soul won''t be much of a problem¡­ I am sure of it" Blake said with a calm look on his face. "You wish to consume death? You have a death wish!" Derik''s voice with a bit raised now, showing he was losing his cool. "Death wish? Death magic is only an element¡­ without it, you are just a normal man¡­ you are nothing!" Blake hissed. "Hahahaha! You should have remained silent boy! Come to me!" Derek growled as he grabbed the empty air and pulled. At first, everyone thought he was either trying to pull the beyond or Blake towards him but for a while, nothing happened. But soon Blake''s face turned green, making him look sick. He grabbed his belly as he swayed back and forth looking like he was about to throw up. His eyes turned dark as a darkish green gas poured out of all the openings in his body. The beyond watched as she felt his power level reduce while the darkish green gas poured out. The darkish green gas began shooting towards Derik and soon started making its way into his body. While Blake''s power reduced, Derik''s power increased. For a short time, she was left confused but a few seconds later she finally understood what was going on! Derek was forcefully taking back his godly essence! "Impossible!" The beyond and Blake managed to blurt out since they never thought something like this can happen. "You know I have this bad habit of mine where I limit my strength down to my enemies level¡­ as they get stronger I raise my power level too¡­ a one-sided fight is never fun¡­ did you really think I need your permission to take back my godly essence? Without me, there is no death and without death to can still exist¡­ I am the element now and a fake like you cannot take what''s mine¡­ Blake, you will not survive this encounter!" Derik''s voice deepened as he spoke. With his godly essence returned, he could feel his body going through qualitative changes. Seeing this Blake roared and charged forward as a mighty divine sword appeared over his head, hacking down at Derik ruthlessly! Right before his eyes, Derik caught the golden sword effortlessly. The weapon lost its glow the moment it fell into Derik''s hand and just like any other element, it turned to dust in a matter of seconds. "Didn''t I tell you¡­. Death is absolute! True death magic: death spear!" Derik said while clapping his hands and countless bone spears appeared behind him. This time each one of these bone spears possesses glowing green symbols on them, releasing a threatening aura that made someone as confident as Blake shiver in fear Life magic: Heaven''s gate!!! "Help me!" Blake roared as he clasped his hands together and a massive Golden Gate appeared in front of him. He was about to speak but then he saw a bone spear smash into the Golden Gate and slowly the gate lost its glow and slowly rotted away just like that. His eyes widened in horror and his confidence vanished. Blake took a step back and could only think of one thing. "Run!" Chapter 477 - 477: The word path "Run!" Blake shot backward as the barrage of bone spears shot towards him and the beyond. "I will deal with this" The Beyond''s voice reached his ears as the dark clouds appeared in front of him. Just before the bone spears could reach him, a spatial gate appeared in front of the cl.u.s.ter of black clouds, swallowing up the bone spears all at once. "Nice trick¡­ I guess I will have to deal with this the normal way!" Derek grinned as his eyes let out a bright green light and his huge body vanished. Appearing right in front of the thick black smoke, Derik stretched his hands and touched them. Right before everyone''s eyes, even the black cloud began to rot and fade away. "Your power is crazy! It has no laws and follows no rules!" The beyond couldn''t help but scream in fear as the clouds around her rotted away easily. She could understand when Derik made the golden sword rot since she believed the sword without divinity of life no different from any other normal sword! Since Derik could overwhelm the divinity of the sword it''s reasonable that he could make it rot. What she couldn''t bring herself to understand how Derik can make clouds rot! "GET BACK!!!" Blake roared as his eyes let out a golden light and ancient letters flew out of his mouth, smashing into Derik and throwing him a few meters back. BAM! While flying back uncontrollably Derik was forced to summon two pairs of black angel wings to regain control. Finally stopping, Derik rubbed his forehead with his eyes shut for a while before opening his eyes again and looking at his opponents. In the past, he always said that a second is enough to decide the victor in a battle between top-tier masters but that''s different for him now. Why? "Because I am the absolute!" Derik muttered as he slowly approached the duo again. "If only I had my death scythe, this would have been over a long time ago" Derik yawned while he spoke. Seeing Derik''s attitude when facing them, these two couldn''t help but feel insulted! They are beings that have reached the peak of this realm, yet they are been looked down on by someone today! "GRAVITY MAGIC: GIGA FALL!" The Beyond roared viciously as she grabbed the space around her and pulled down. The entire space around them was been pulled down by her power but Derik didn''t even move an inch. She could feel the gravity magic lingering around him and she instantly knew he was using his gravity magic to prevent hers from affecting him directly. "ON YOUR KNEES!" Blake growled as he planned to use the word path but he received the shock of his life. "SILENCE!" Derik growled and an unknown force prevented both the beyond and Blake from speaking. "I call this absolute death magic! The abilities of all those who once died are registered and I am capable of using them¡­ King Robert of Gyro was the first to make use of this path¡­ now it''s mine¡­. Do you understand¡­ you cannot win against me¡­ why? Because I am the absolute!" Derik laughed as he slowly walked towards them. He watched them struggle but none of them could speak. A satisfied smile surfaced on his face as he clasped his hands together and two death spears appeared behind him. "DON''T MOVE, GET IMPALED AND ROT!" Derek muttered those words but it sounded like bells ringing in their ears. Swoosh! The two bone spears shot towards them and no matter how they struggled they couldn''t move! The unknown force created by Derik''s words was strong enough to keep them tied down. At this point, when looking at Derik, these people didn''t see a God or a human being. Instead, they saw a monster! Before the spears could hit, a massive spatial gate appeared behind them and they were pulled in by the gate''s suction force and the gate closed just before the spear could reach them. "Nice trick, I am genuinely impressed" Derik couldn''t help but commend the Beyond''s choice of spell. Even though Derik had regained his gold essence, he is yet to recover his true strength. While his strength was slightly higher than what it was before he got here, he could now perform some godly abilities which he couldn''t do in the past. Shutting his eyes, he spread his consciousness across the entire planet, searching for the beyond. He instantly found the location of the old gods and a handful of other potential enemies but these people are not his main target for now so he chose to ignore them. "They left the God''s vein" Derik muttered in shock but he also found this extremely reasonable since it''s the best thing to do. Now he has regained his godly essence, no one else in this world can challenge him and he can easily kill them off whenever he wants, so the best place to be is a place where there no one can challenge them, where they can get help! The chambers of the cosmic beings! "Do you really think I won''t dare go after you? Don''t think too highly of yourself!" Derek growled as he grabbed the space around him and tore it open, instantly creating a spatial gate. He shot a final glance to the space beneath the black whirlpool and silently swore to visit here and learn more about it when the battle is over. ___________________________________________ With the destruction of the Beyond''s barrier, mana returned to the world spreading across the land. The sudden occurrence came as a shock, leading many of the old gods and new gods to form several theories as to why it happened. While old god''s believed that something must have happened to the Beyond for this to happen, they really couldn''t tell if she is dead or alive. Meanwhile, the new Gods were aware of Derik''s departure from the empire and they knew he was searching for his godly essence. With the sudden destruction of the Beyond''s barrier, they assumed that Derik must have met the beyond and defeated her but what worried them more was that Derik was yet to return! Chapter 478 - 478: The Great Hall The beyond and Blake appeared in something that looked like an endless corridor with mighty statues of the God realm cosmic beings littered by the sides of the corridor. She looked pale since it took a lot of will power to summon a spatial gate even when under the influence of Derik''s word path abilities. "I have called the cosmic beings to aid us, I doubt Derik would dare step foot here! If he does he will be going up against five true gods and two demigods with just the demigod realm cultivation base." The beyond and Blake quickened their pace as they walked down the extremely long corridor. "If that''s all you have to say, then you do not know who Derik is or what he is capable of¡­ Do you really think I would call someone normal ''master'' for years? Do you still underestimate the strength of his absolute death magic?" Blake looked a bit irritated by how clueless the beyond is but he couldn''t blame her. She is one of the first set of creatures created in this realm and from the beginning of time till now she has remained dominant with her space element. In the past, she had reached a power level where she could even create beings at the true god realm cultivation base! Even Derik is yet to achieve this level! So he could understand why she is unconsciously belittling Derik''s strength over and over again even after seeing it so many times. Bam! Finally, they reached the end of the long corridor and the beyond wasted no time in pushing the massive doors open. With the massive grand hall was a round table where all the cosmic beings were seated. Taking his time to observe the entire grand hall, Blake noticed the numerous images of all the cosmic beings that have ever existed. He was pretty sure that Kaido and his group were not the first to overthrow their cosmic spirits. "Why is he here? A hiss could be heard from across the table and Blake couldn''t help but recognize the man. He was dressed in a bright orange knight armor with a massive blazing broadsword which had a lion face shaped hilt was placed on the large table. His strength at the low grade of the true god realm! While this is far lower than what it used to be, he knew this drop in power was a result of their defeat at the hands of Derik. He consumed portions of their souls granting him a boost in the realm and their powers as well. In his opinion, these people have done more harm than good but he chose not to bring up the matter since they are still true gods and if he wishes to survive today, he will need their help. "Long time no see, Kaido¡­ Why are you so pissed? We all betrayed Derik¡­ He wants our head so it''s best we stick together" Blake spoke lightly with no hint of anger or annoyance in his tone or face. Hearing this not only Kaido but Crystal and Diana were infuriated by his words but they couldn''t entirely refute him. They tried to convince themselves that they didn''t betray Derik for personal gains but the truth remains that they did. Their actions led to the death of the new gods who they once called family! "At least we didn''t betray him for trivial reasons like power" Diana hissed but Blake did not look moved by her words. Instead, he shot her a glance and said; "Power is worth dying for¡­ You betrayed your family so that you can live¡­ if you ask me¡­ that''s pathetic" Bam! "Enough!" The Beyond screamed immediately Crystal, Kaido and Diana jumped on their feet, ready to pounce on Blake. "My master and your friend is coming¡­ Derik has regained his godly essence but he is yet to completely digest it¡­ his cultivation base is still at the demigod realm but I must say, it will be dumb to look down on him¡­ This is our best chance to kill him... Your best chance of survival!" Blake said in a serious tone. Ssssshhhhhhhhh! "The last time I came here, it was to kill a few cosmic beings¡­ I succeeded¡­ Do you really think that having the beyond and my run-away apprentice by your side will change anything? You all must be confident in your abilities or plain stupid" Derik''s voice surged in from across the hallway. The air got thinner as a darkish green aura surged into the room spreading all across the room. "Didn''t you say he hasn''t reached the True God realm?" Diana felt fl.u.s.tered by Derik''s presence and the thick death aura made it impossible to detect his realm. The other true gods seemed to agree with her, they found it hard to believe that someone with such a powerful and intense aura is still in the demigod realm! "He is yet to reach the true God realm¡­ a thousand years of peace have dulled your senses and has made you weak¡­ that''s why six of you couldn''t face him" Blake spoke those words filled with venom. Boom! His life aura exploded and spread across the room, meeting Derik''s death aura fearlessly. Everyone could feel the two energies collide and since they didn''t know of the beyond''s plan they were left shocked and dumbfounded. "That''s Lord''s Cyrus power!" Diana screamed out in shock. "You wish to use life aura against my death aura? Have you learned nothing?" Derik''s enraged voice could be heard from the long corridor. "Back then I was scared of destroying the source of the God''s vein, here I have no reason to hold back, Derik Angus!" Blake growled as his life aura flared up, mixing with the aura of various elements! Chapter 479 - 479: Suppressing death The sudden change in Blake''s aura took Derik by surprise, as he felt different shades of aura smash into his aura, forcing him to stagger a little bit. The thought of having someone use different powers all at once was just too shocking but quite interesting to see. "You are truly talented!" Derik said as stomped his feet on the ground and a massive green magic array appeared behind him. TRUE DEATH MAGIC: PESTILENCE! From the magic array, countless swarms of green death insects surged out heading towards the grand hall! Meeting the different shades of aura created by Blake, many died but they were just too much to be put down by Blake''s aura. "Stand there and watch me die! Idiots!" Blake roared as his body let out a bright golden light. Life magic: Radiance!!! Blake roared as he released scorching divine light, striking down the insects as they came! He was desperately trying to prevent them from moving through the doors of the grand hall since it will be a lot more difficult to deal with them if they have enough space to maneuver! "Do you really think you can stop me with this level of strength? Do you just fail to understand the meaning within the words True death magic?" Derik sneered as he kept walking forward slowly. The blinding golden light around Blake began to deem slowly as the swarm of green bugs started to overwhelm him. Puti! Blake spat out a mouthful of blood as he retreated by a few steps but struggled to maintain the blazing golden light. "Just this once, I will help you!" Kaido roared. Blake felt someone grab him by the cloth from behind and pulled him away effortlessly. Before he could complain he felt a scorching hit resonating from where he once stood. "Sometimes, life element not always the best option against death!" Kaido roared as his fiery orange aura prevented any of the green bugs from getting past him. Sun magic: Rolling sun! "In this life, In the face of brute strength, all forms of tricks are useless! You can''t defeat me outside your God vein, Derik! Do you hear me?!!!" Kaido roared as he punched forward and a scorching sun size of the massive corridor slowly formed, destroying all the undead bugs before shooting forward. "Well said, my friend! But do you really think you can beat me with this level of strength?'' Derik roared as he watched the massive rolling sun approach. "Amusing!" Derik growled as he clasped his hand together and a green magic array appeared on his c.h.e.s.t. "True death magic: Armor of the bone king!" Derik muttered as his body let out a light glow and when the light was gone, his body was revealed. He looked as if his skin and muscles were pulled off, including his hair shaved off as the bone armor covered his body. BOOM! The rolling sun smashed into Derik and exploded and just as everyone expected, Derik walked out of the raging flames unfazed by the attack. "If that''s the best you can do then I am disappointed" Derik said as he continued walking at his usual slow pace. "If you think I have shown you half of my strength then you must be sadly mistaken!" Kaido roster as numerous scorching rolling suns appeared out of nowhere and shot forward by even then, Derik kept walking forward slowly. BOOM! BOOM!! Upon the third hit, Derik was forced to retreat by a step as he felt the scorching heat penetrating his armor. "You! You dare hold back on me?" Derik growled viciously as he charged forward. "Hahahahaha! You must be mad but you can''t blame me¡­ Don''t you dare think for a moment I considered giving you my head without a fight!" Kaido roared as he formed more scorching suns and threw them forward! As long as Derik still needed to cross the corridor all he needs to do is to kill him or at least tire him out before he is unable to cross over to his side. BOOM! BOOM!! BOOOM!!! Following the numerous explosions, Derik could be seen charging into the exploding suns and come out completely unscathed but soon his movement became sluggish, and only then did they notice that his bone armor was falling apart, revealing his flesh filled with blisters. "Bastard!" Derik growled as he soon began regretting giving these people the chance to fight him while he was still in the corridor. He was at a disadvantage due to terrain! Bang! Bang! Before he could even get back on his feet, he was assaulted by another barrage of scorching rolling suns, forcing him to fall on his back. Puti! Derik spat out a mouthful of green blood with a hint of pain in his facial expression. ''Am I getting destroyed?'' ''Did I overestimate myself by coming here?'' ''maybe it was really too early for me to face off against true gods! They are yet to make use of their divinity! Yet it''s already this difficult'' Countless thoughts rolled through his mind as he struggled to get on his feet. From the corner of his eyes, he could see scorching red balls shooting towards him. ''Should I summon the death scythe?'' ''I can''t! Blink will definitely need it when going up against whatever is in that world!'' ''I guess I have no choice but to do this the hard way!'' Derik roared in his mind as he jumped on his feet and shot towards the blazing red sun. Sun magic: Rolling sun! Derik''s eyes turned gray as he mimicked Kaido''s actions and started spitting out numerous scorching rolling suns! Two barrage of suns from both sides kept colliding but Kaido had the upper hand purely due to his higher cultivation realm! It now became clear to everyone! The terrifying death god was being suppressed by Kaido! Chapter 480 - 480: True death magic! ''Do you think you have an edge over me?'' ''Do you think you can win against me one on one?'' ''Do you really think that this demigod death mage will not be able to defeat a cosmic being like you?'' ''DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN WIN BECAUSE OF YOUR CULTIVATION BASE IS HIGHER?'' "You think too highly of yourself! KAIDO!!!" Derek growled as his body let out a solver glow and countless mirrors appeared behind him. "Moon magic: Mirror world!" Derik''s eyes let out a silver glow as the mirrors mimicked Kaido''s attacks, releasing rolling sun attacks. Everyone watched as ten mirrors set behind Derik kept releasing ten times the number of Kaido''s scorching rolling suns. With the mirror world set, Derik could replicate Kaido''s attacks at its peak level. "No, you don''t!" Diana''s voice reached Derik''s ears and when he looked up he saw ten mirrors appearing behind Kaido replacing the attacks! "You!!!" Derik''s face turned red as he wanted to spit out blood due to anger. All he could think of was escaping this corridor, once he does this, he would be in a much better position to fight these people. "I will give you a hand!" Blake''s voice reached Derik''s ear, causing him to panic. In his opinion, Blake is the most dangerous amongst everyone in this room and if he can kill Blake, he will be more than willing to retreat and let these cosmic beings and the beyond live a little while longer! Brrrrrrm! "Ahika¡­" Derik muttered as he watched a wave of scorching blue flames shot towards him. The number of attacks heading towards him was so much, he couldn''t rely on the mirror world to replicate everything. With no other choice, Derik decided to take chances! True death magic: Bone wall! Stomping the ground and then jumping back, Derik summoned a mighty wall made of bones. His eyes let out a green glow as numerous layers of bone armor began appearing all over his body, overlapping one another! He slowly increased in size and became bulky as more bone armors kept overlapping the rest. Soon Derik looked like a massive bone man-made of the finest bone armors ever crafted in history. Roar! Not waiting for the bone wall to crumble, Derik let out a roar as the bone armors were engulfed in chilly green flames. "Shoot!" He cried out as he dashed forward smashing through the bone wall and pushing forward. Everyone watched as countless attacks smashed into the massive bond beast but it didn''t even flinch neither did it slow down. Seeing the enemy shooting towards them, Kaido and Blake shivered in fear as they kept launching attacks, relentlessly. Slowly the bone armor began crumbling but thanks to the numerous layers placed, Derik didn''t show any sign of falling anytime soon! "He will cross! We can''t let him cross!" Blake growled as he released fierce blue flames in hopes of stopping Derik but it was too late. "Move!" Bang! "Hahahahahhaahaha! Bastards! You almost killed me there" Derik hissed as the injuries all over his body were healing at an amazing rate but that didn''t mean it could cure his exhaustion. "You came here just to be killed" The Beyond said as she and the other cosmic beings slowly surrounded Derik. They kept gazing at the injured Derik and even though, Kaido and Blake''s achievements boosted their confidence, it still didn''t make them dumb enough to jump at Derik at first chance. Their fear for him was so strong that even if he were to lose his powers, this person will still be reluctant to attack him. "Kill me? Not in this life! Not in the next! NEVER AGAIN!" Derik growled as his death aura exploded. Boom! "I will show you all the form that left the beyond in this condition for thousands of years!" Derik''s enraged voice could be heard from within the pillar of green spirit energy. BOOM! BOOM! TRUE DEATH MAGIC: BIRTH OF THE LEECH EMPEROR! WOOOSH! Right before everyone''s eyes, Derik''s hairs fell off and his skin peeled off revealing his bones. They watched as his skins got peeled off one after the other until he was reduced to a skeleton covered in blood. The beyond and the others watched in horror as Derik''s scream of pain reached their ears and they couldn''t help but imagine something so painful that Derik would cry out in pain. His blood gushed out of his wounds and spread all over the room, rising to the level where they were forced to fly just to avoid making contact with his corrosive black blood. Clank! Clank! Clank! "Beyond, Is that fear I see in your eyes? You have seen these powers before! The last time I flooded the world with my blood¡­Hehehehehe! Good times" the skeleton spoke in a low tone as it struggled to move forward. When it spoke its mouth opened revealing bright green flames within its body. "Kill him before his transformation is over! If we let him change, we are all doomed!" The beyond roared with a hint of fear in her tone! But even then no one moved! At that moment she realized even though she gave the order but her body was too terrified to move. The others weren''t going to move either since their leader was reluctant to make a move. "Hahahahaha! That''s a nice plan¡­ in fact, it''s the perfect plan... Flawless! But the problem is you are too scared to follow through with your plans¡­ haven''t you heard, the others won''t move if the king doesn''t take the first step forward!" The skeleton laughed Chapter 481 - 481: Battle of the century "Hehehehe!" Derik''s dry laughs instilled fear into the hearts of all those around him and the creaking sound of his skeleton body echoed across the room. The hollow space in his eye socket was replaced with a faint green light and his blood that filled the entire room burst into green flames! "This is evil¡­" Diana muttered in fear. A good part of her life as a mortal was dedicated to watching Derik battle his enemies and even though she found it terrifying then, this was the first time she is able to witness Derik in his most horrifying form. Wooosh! An orange and darkish purple light shot across the room, shooting towards the skeleton. Peng! Upon collision, a powerful shockwave occurred and the ground beneath the Skeleton''s boney feet shattered. It was Kaido and Blake brandishing their weapons at the skeleton but the skeleton easily blocked their attacks with its boney hands. "At least we have a few bold men in this room!" The skeleton laughed wildly as it continued deflecting the attacks thrown at it. "Dumb F.u.c.ks! Help!" Blake roared as he spat out a mouthful of red blood the moment he got struck by the skeleton. Puff! "Do you think you can kill me with this level of strength? Impossible!" The skeleton roared the moment it saw everyone in the room shooting towards it. It felt like time has paused for Derik as he gazed at so many enemies through the eyes of the skeleton and he felt something he hasn''t been able to feel in a long time! Blood l.u.s.t! His bloodthirst was at its peak, giving him an ecstatic feeling which even s.e.x may not be able to provide. For the first time in a long while, he laughed out loud in the middle of the battle and he finally realized why he didn''t choose to settle down. He may have feelings for Elsa but his love for a battle far surpasses what he had for her. "ENTERTAIN ME!" Derik roared as darkish green flames exploded from his skeleton body, throwing all those shooting towards him meters away. Brrrr! His body was soon consumed by the green flames as his body rose to the air, leaving behind pearls of laughter for the enemies to listen to! "THIS IS WHY I LIVE! THIS IS THE REASON I EXIST! CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION ARE WHAT MAKES LIFE INTERESTING!" Derik''s voice echoed from the bright green flames and when it dispersed a new Derik appeared. It was the same skeleton but this time its lower half was replaced with green flames, shaped like that of a serpent. On its skull was a crown made of green flames and every section of its boney body was decorated with green symbols. "True death magic: Birth of the leech emperor" Derik muttered while throwing his hands open and saying; "Come¡­. Kill me if you can!" ___________________________________________________________________________ In the empire, Cyrus and the other new gods couldn''t help but worry about Derik. Knowing how impulsive Derik was, Cyrus was sure Derik had a hand in the changes happening in this world. The fact that mana had suddenly returned to this world simply shows he must have battled the Beyond and ended up destroying the barrier used to seal it off. The question now is why hasn''t he returned? The thought of Derik dying in battle is very unusual but also possible. As much as they would love to deny it, Derik is not as invincible as people think. Alongside the other new gods, Cyrus retired to the underground chambers under the royal palace of the empire. On their way there, they met Tanatos who wore a grave look on his face, his eyes carried fear and worried, enough to make Cyrus ask. "What''s wrong?" Cyrus began wondering why Tanatos was blocking the entrance to the underground chamber. "I need you to come alone¡­ it has something to do with the secret mission¡­" His voice trailed off as he didn''t know how to speak further without the other new gods noticing. Derik and Cyrus weren''t willing to let the other new gods know about the power source in the new world, neither did they bother to tell them about the new god vein. This is because in their past life these new gods have never been trustworthy. In the past, they have fought against each other repeatedly for selfish reasons and they only joined hands when the lives of all new gods were at stake! "I wish to speak to Tanatos in private¡­ you all should leave¡­ I will have you all gather when the time is right" Cyrus turned and said to the new gods. Although they wished to ask questions and just refuse outrightly, but they knew they couldn''t. Cyrus is just as strong as Derik and sometimes even crazier than the death god. Cyrus hardly gets furious but when he does, it''s difficult for even Derik to calm him down. With no other choice, they left without looking back, and only then did Cyrus and Tanatos dash into the room. What Cyrus saw left him so shocked he didn''t know whether he should be pissed off or terrified. He saw Blink and Clovis, lying on a huge round table, unconscious and barely breathing. Their bodies were covered in blisters and their life force was fading quickly. "When they got here they were in a worse condition¡­ I had to use my life force as a means of keeping them alive until you got here" Tanatos quickly explained as Cyrus ran over to them and began healing them with his life magic. As the god of life, healing people a step away from death''s doors are not even challenging, but what he couldn''t get off his mind were two questions that kept popping up like ads. "Who is strong enough to beat them down to this condition and what happened to the ten warriors and mages sent to accompany them?" Chapter 482 - 482: Master vs student Looking at Blink, Cyrus noticed he lost an arm and sustained many fist-sized wounds which led to the total destruction of his organs in that section of their body. It looked like their insides were set ablaze the moment they received the injury, reducing their organs to ashes. Meanwhile, Clovis had only one fatal injury and that was the massive hole at the center of his c.h.e.s.t with the inside scorched just like that of Blink. Gazing at it, Cyrus couldn''t help but imagine the kind of pain these people had to endure in that battle! As much as Cyrus would love to claim that they survived that battle thanks to their strength as the successors of the two most powerful gods of all time, he couldn''t deny the fact that they only survived that long because of the seals placed on them, containing their power. It was meant to be used as their trump card and seeing how they survived, he was pretty sure it worked. "At least they didn''t die at a foreign land¡­ It would have been troublesome" Cyrus muttered under his breath as he gazed at their mutilated bodies. He couldn''t help but wonder if these two were killed in the other world, there would be no way of retrieving their souls! Even Derik won''t be able to summon their souls with his death magic since the influence of his power is limited to this world! That''s why he felt extremely bad for the ten bronze realm warriors and mages who didn''t make it alive, there is no hope for them. "We thought it would be a good experience for them! They were the best of their generation and that''s why we sent them there hoping we can train a new batch of elite warriors and mages and now they are gone, for good!" Cyrus muttered with a frustrated look on his face. He turned his fierce gaze towards the spatial wheel and instantly Tanatos understood what was going through his mind. "No way! You can''t!" Tanatos stepped in front of his invention as he spoke. "We true gods are restricted the moment we step foot into a foreign god vein! Why do you think the new gods and guardian spirits could hold their own against us? Why do you think, Derik didn''t dare go over to the other side and secure the power source for himself? You are yet to recover your true strength so it''s not advisable to start a war in a foreign land when there are more powerful enemies at home! If you go in there, I can assure you that the same beast emperor who defeated your heirs will kill you as well!" Tanatos said fearlessly. "What do you suggest I do then?" Cyrus growled and clenched his fists tight but Tanatos showed no fear, instead, he took a bold step forward. "Put your petty grudge aside for now and focus on saving the lives of those two, even though they failed to complete the mission, they still fought bravely and deserve our respect! Second! Chill out till Derik returns¡­ By the way, life and death are two sides of the same coin¡­ they are more powerful together¡­ Both of you made me understand that" Tanatos said firmly. "This¡­." Cyrus wanted to say more but he knew Tanatos was right so he silently focused on healing Blink and Clovis. ...............¡­. TRUE DEATH MAGIC: PESTILENCE! Bright green bugs swarmed out of the body of the blazing green skeleton, spreading across the gray hall. "Everything my children touch is reduced to dust¡­. Tell me how you intend to deal with it, now their movements are not hindered!" Derik''s temperament had changed along with his appearance. Knowing how strong these cosmic beings are, Derik didn''t wait to see the outcome of his attack, instead, he pointed his bony finger at the ceiling of the room, and slowly, a green firestorm slowly appeared into existence. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The blazing green storm slowly took the shape of five blazing green skulls that kept letting out loud shrieks of laughter. "Fall!" he screamed as the five blazing green skulls collapsed on him, spreading hell flames across the entire hall, leaving no spot untouched. BOOM! Following the explosion, the entire hall was filled with bright green flames making it hard to see. Life magic: Divine Judgement spear! Suddenly a golden light pierced through the green flames and struck the green skeleton''s c.h.e.s.t, causing green flames to erupt from the wound, sending shivers down Derik''s spine. His gaze turned murderous as he tried to free himself but he was greeted by another spear, causing him to stagger back. ''How can his life magic be so pure? In normal circ.u.mstances, I should be able to shrug it off but now I am actually getting hurt!'' Derik screamed in his mind as his body twitched due to the intense pain from the purifying aura spreading across his body. Woosh! The raging green fire slowly died down and Derik saw all the true gods placing channeling their power into Blake while standing behind him. At first he wonders how they survived the pestilence and the raging green flames but now he finally understood why. He couldn''t help but commend their quick thinking because it saved their lives just now. "Putting all your hopes on a fake? How low have the cosmic beings fallen! Even the great Beyond has no choice but to rely on the strength of my student to face me!" Derik shattered the two golden spears as he spoke. Black blood flowed down his boney body but he didn''t seem to mind. "The victor writes history! We don''t need to worry about this getting out since we can decide to tell the world whatever we wish after your death!" Blake hissed as he clasped his hands and his golden aura surged out furiously. "Guardian path: Divine guardian Broadsword!" He growled as a mighty golden sword appeared above his head, releasing its divine aura which clashed with Derik''s death aura! "Impudent child! You dare challenge me? Amusing!!" Derik growled as his aura erupted as well! Chapter 483 - 483: Derik Flees? Boom! Both men lunged at each other with ruthless intentions. Woosh! From above a mighty golden broadsword hacked down like an ax, splitting the space around it as it moved, reminding Derik of the only person who has reached a terrifying level with the power, Cyrus! "Back then at his peak, I could beat him what makes you think this will be different!" Derik roared as he kept pushing forward! Rising his bony hand above his head, a massive bone spear appeared above, blocking the attack from the massive golden sword almost effortlessly. "DON''T MOVE!" "DON''T MOVE!" Both men roared at the top of their voice as golden and darkish green letters shot out of their mouths colliding with each other and creating an explosion strong enough to send them flying! The word path! Derik couldn''t help but shudder at the thought of having someone like Blake fighting him on equal footing. While he may be more powerful as the wielder of the death magic, Blake had the advantage of diversity! "Lord Cyrus couldn''t defeat you because he stood alone¡­ but I am not alone! DERIK ANGUS, YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE!" Blake growled as the guardian weapon above his head suddenly doubled in size, releasing an even greater divine aura Split the sky, shatter the heavens! "How many people have made such baseless declarations? How many have succeeded? You are no different!" Derik hissed as he sent the massive bone spear to meet the golden divine sword but to his greatest surprise, his bone spear shattered easily. "What?" Derik gasped as he placed his bony hands above his head, taking in the full damage of the golden divine sword head-on. BANG1 Everyone watched in anticipation as the blazing green skeleton struggled with the massive sword as his body was been pushed deeper and deeper into the ground. "How can this be? I never expected his power output to rival that of true gods! If I knew things will end this way I wouldn''t dare face him head-on!" Derik hissed as he saw two divine golden spears taking shape by Blake''s side. "CUT!" Blake growled as the massive guardian weapon let out a bright golden light and its strength doubled even further. ''I can''t hold it any longer!'' Derik screamed in his mind as he released a powerful shockwave of death aura, temporarily knocking back as he dove to the side, unfortunately, his right arm was caught in the attack and was instantly severed from his body! Piss! Derik staggered back as the residual life aura from the guardian weapon prevented his limb from regrowing. "You will pay for this!" Derik turned and roared, only to see the two golden spears heading towards him at a terrifying speed. ''Shit'' He screamed in his mind as he tried to move but his body didn''t respond. Boom! Thud! Derik cried out in pain as his left arm dropped to the ground and vanished under the intense effects of the life aura stored in the spear. He could help but gaze at his c.h.e.s.t as he couldn''t help but scream in pain once again as he noticed the golden spear on his c.h.e.s.t. ''Darn it'' Derik muttered in his mind as he could feel the life aura rushing from the spear and into his body, destroying his organs and acupuncture points at a terrifying rate. "No¡­" Derik''s pale face turned grave as something flashed through his mind! This feeling was the same as the Beyond felt when she and Derik fought in the past. With his last breath, Derik impaled the beyond with his bone spear and let his death aura surge into her body, almost crippling her cultivation and bringing her down to the level she is now! Blake was trying to do the same! He was desperately trying to cripple his cultivation! ROAR! Derik let out a loud painful cry as he created a powerful shockwave of death energy, shattering the golden spear on his c.h.e.s.t but at what cost? BAM! Everyone watched with a hint of excitement on their faces when the bone skeleton was consumed by its darkish green flames and when the flames died down, an extremely pale Derik emerged, and yes, he was still lacking both arms and had three bloody holes on his c.h.e.s.t. "So this is what utter defeat tastes like¡­ Interesting¡­" Derik let out a bitter laugh as he fell on his knees since his legs lacked the strength to support him. For the first time in his life, he was completely defeated without having a chance of fighting back! "Hahahahahaha! I can tell you all are shocked and happy to see your worst nightmare in this condition! Hehehehe! I commend you all for your effort!" Derik laughed as black blood poured out of his mouth with each cough. The flesh around his severed arms twisted and turned violently, making it look as if a new arm was desperately trying to pop out but something was holding them back. The cosmic beings, the beyond, and Blake watched in silence since they were unsure how to follow up. The man who gave them sleepless nights was finally defeated yet they were too scared to finish him off. How pathetic are they? "Well then, since you all are in no mood to talk, I will leave first!" Derik said as he took in a deep breath before breathing out darkish green flames! "He''s trying to escape! STOP HIM!" Blake was the first to snap out of the daze and quickly summoned about six judgment spears and sent them flying towards Derik! Looking at this, Derik could only laugh wildly as the sea of Hell flames clashed with the judgment spears, creating massive explosions! When it all subsided, Derik was gone! _____________________________________________________ Within the underground hall, where Cyrus was still healing Blink and Clovis''s injuries. Their skin was as good as new and their limbs have been replaced. At this moment, they laid down on the desk while speaking to Cyrus about what they encountered in the mission in the new God vein Boom! Suddenly the space tore open and from it a man missing two limbs jumped out, covered in black blood and injuries far greater than what Blink and Clovis sustained. "Help me¡­" Derik muttered before passing out. Chapter 484 - 484: Derik’s defeat In the grand hall, located in a space where only true gods and cosmic beings can find, Blake and the other cosmic beings kept gazing at the spot where Derik was kneeling just a few moments ago! The image of their greatest fear almost dying at their hands and yet evading them soon after was something their mind couldn''t comprehend too soon. "I ask the questions, you all answer!" Blake''s eyes flared up with power as he stepped away from the six gods and let his murderous gaze befall them. After putting so much effort to subdue Derik to that extent, something deep within him keeps telling him, they will never get this opportunity again. What he found more annoying is how five true god realm cosmic beings and the beyond remained frozen in shock and fear when they were needed the most. "Today we lost the chance to put an end to our greatest foe¡­ why? You may ask¡­. Because you all were scared to death by a half-dead demigod!" Blake growled. The beyond and her cosmic gods remained silent since they were yet to wholeheartedly accept the results of this battle. The way they acted only pointed towards one thing¡­. They never saw a chance of winning! If not they wouldn''t have acted that way. "He shouldn''t even be able to escape through the use of spatial magic! This place was built to prevent long-range teleportation¡­. That way no one can come in and out however they wish, they must enter through the hall!" the gray-haired old cosmic being of space complained. "I designed this place and even went ahead to place such harsh restrictions, knowing fully well that I will be affected too¡­ yet he managed to leave this place forcefully. That man is truly terrifying!" The beyond shuddered as she spoke. "If that''s the case, I am pretty sure my master''s god soul is damaged for forcing his way out¡­ his cultivation will be slowed down if not stopped for a very short period of time and his cultivation base will most likely drop as well¡­ The thing now is, he still has his godly essence and once he recovers his strength, he will return¡­" Blake was practically speaking to himself while pondering on what next to do. "Well, it doesn''t matter¡­ By the time he is done consuming the divinity of death, I will be done consuming the divinity of the other gods and ascend to godhood¡­ I should be able to take him on properly then" Blake sighed as he spoke with a face void of any forms of emotions. While this meant little to him, this was a piece of amazing news for the beyond and the cosmic beings. With Blake around, they were actually confident that they can walk out of this event as the victors! "Derik Angus is not immortal¡­ Neither is he invincible!" Diana, the cosmic being of the moon muttered. "I think wasting more time and waiting for him to recover is not advisable¡­ can''t we descend on the god vein and with the help of the old gods, we can stage a final battle and wipe out the new gods permanently" Crystal said after thinking about it deeply. Upon hearing this, many pondered on this issue for a while and considered this a very good option but the Beyond and Blake outrightly refused the plan and with a bitter smile on their face, they responded. "I wish we could but something tells me that the next time we step foot on that world¡­ we will be wiped out if we are not prepared for the worst." The beyond said as Cyrus'' enraged image came to her mind. She couldn''t forget that back then when she was a realm ahead of them, while Derik was desperately trying to break through, Cyrus was the one who held her off for what seemed like forever and even ended up hurting her badly before dying. "You see, My master may be a beast but the Life mage is a monster! I have only seen him enraged once and that was enough to make me fear him more than my master¡­ By the way, if you all descend on the god vein, it will place restrictions on you guys since you all are considered foreign beings¡­ You will die before you know it¡­ The best option is to wait for them to recover their strength and meet them at a neutral ground¡­ for now, all we can do is prepare" Blake said and the beyond nodded in agreement. ______________________________________________________________ With just a glance they could tell Derik had recovered his godly essence and that''s why the whole thing was even more shocking. Who could beat Derik so badly even with his godly essence returned? Without wasting time, Derik was placed on the table and Cyrus placed his hand on him as he tried to understand why Derik''s wounds were not healing since he knew he cannot use his life element to heal him, that''s no different from purposefully killing him. "What the hell!" Cyrus'' visage turned cold and his murderous intentions exploded all over the room the moment his hand made contact with Derik''s bloodied body. For the first time in a long while, these people got to see how the enraged god of life looked like and they couldn''t help but shudder in fear while backing away. "What happened? Who could do this to him and why isn''t his injuries healing? Doesn''t he have the immortal body?" Tanatos didn''t seem afraid at all. "Whoever did this is wielding my godly essence!" Cyrus growled. Chapter 485 - 485: Pissed off Cyrus Blake was still in the mysterious world of the cosmic beings suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he felt the life element in him getting worked up by an unknown force. Brrrrr! Suddenly he received a vision where Cyrus'' face became visible and slowly his body appeared as well. Right before his eyes, the golden-colored version of the god of life kept increasing in size until Blake looked more like a child to him. "You dare lay your hands on what''s mine and hurt my partner with it? Interesting! Very interesting! I HAVE A FEELING WE WILL RUN INTO EACH OTHER SOON AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, AS LONG AS YOU ARE YET TO REACH THE REALM PROTECTOR LEVEL, YOU WILL EXPERIENCE AN ABUNDANT LIFE FILLED WITH SORROW AND AN UNRELENTING SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS!" Cyrus''s intimidating image made Blake stagger back in fear and fall on his b.u.t.t. Only then did the image vanish and when it did, Blake realized everyone in the room was gazing at him with a confused look on their faces. They couldn''t understand why Blake suddenly got terrified by looking at the empty air, covered in sweat while looking up as if he was gazing at a gigantic mighty figure. "Cyrus¡­ The god of creation just sent me a message¡­ If I step foot on that god vein, I will not die but ''live''" Blake shuddered in fear as he said the last word. Everyone was shocked as they saw the man who defeated Derik shudder in fear when faced with the life mage is supposed to be weaker than the death mage. And how can someone make living be so terrifying? Thinking of this, they too couldn''t help but shudder at the thought of meeting Cyrus. ____________________________________________________________________________ What just happened was a manifestation of Cyrus'' anger and Cyrus wasn''t even aware of the person holding on to his godly essence. Since Derik''s condition was that serious, he opted to focus on saving his life first. To do this he had to analyze Derik''s injury and when he realized how grave it is, he couldn''t help but curse under his breath. "Will my master be okay?" Blink asked with a blank face like someone who is lost. "Derik''s injury has been infested with a terrifying amount of Life aura, he has only survived this long because he is strong and that''s not even the worst injury he sustained¡­. The next is his god soul¡­ I believe he was sealed somewhere and in a bid to escape, he damaged his god soul just to summon enough power to break the seal and escape through spatial magic¡­. For this reason, his strength has dropped from the peak of the demigod realm to the low grade of the demigod realm¡­ It may fall more or just remain stable, I am not sure¡­ one thing I know is that it will take a short time before he is able to cultivate again¡­ his god soul needs to be repaired first before anything else!" Cyrus just gave Blink a rough explanation of what''s going on. Honestly, if nothing is done soon, Derik may die due to the damage his soul sustained. While Derik moved all the souls he consumed to his realm, making it impossible for them to cross over and save him by sacrificing themselves, Cyrus always kept the millions of souls he has consumed all through his lifetime inside him. The first thing he chose to do was to push his hand into the bloody hole on Derik''s c.h.e.s.t and forcefully summoned all the life aura in him towards his hand, ultimately absorbing it like a sponge. After which he began summoning souls he has consumed and using their life force energy to help stop the crumbling god soul in Derik. Since Derik''s soul is a god soul, it took close to a million souls before Derik''s crumbling soul to stop. Preventing a soul from crumbling and healing a damaged soul were two different things entirely! The latter was even more difficult so Cyrus gave up on that without a second thought. After successfully pulling out the remnants of the life aura in Derik and then preventing his god soul from crumbling, Cyrus and the others decided to take a seat and watch Derik''s revival. His severed arms began to regrow and all the holes on his body slowly healed as well. "He got lucky his cultivation wasn''t destroyed" Tanatos said as he gazed at the unconscious death god. "He didn''t get lucky¡­ DEATH DOES NOT GET LUCKY!" Blink replied coldly. Cyrus and Clovis slowly nodded their heads in agreement as they began considering the possibility of a god''s cultivation getting crippled. "That won''t be fun" Clovis muttered and Cyrus chuckled in response. BAM! After an hour or two, Derik grunted as he smashed the table with his fist while getting on his feet. His eyes were filled with darkness, void of any form of light and his complexion was a lot paler than usual. "Damn¡­" He muttered as he placed his hand on his c.h.e.s.t where a hole should be. "How long was I out?" Derik asked as he jumped down the desk, not minding he had no clothes on. "An hour, my lord!" Blink hastily answered as he brought a black sleeveless mage robe and offered it to Derik. "An hour? Hahahahaha¡­ Blake did a number on me ¡­. That punk is more capable than we all expected, he will be the death of us all" Derik let out a dry laugh while he put on the new clothes. Cyrus has remained silent all this while focused on Derik''s facial expression. He could see Derik was tired and unsure of the future! He tried to figure out why Derik was experiencing all these emotions. Was it because he was too attached to Blake he couldn''t kill him due to his emotions? "I will kill the little brat for you¡­" Cyrus said indifferently. Chapter 486 - 486: Annoying revelation "You will do what?" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow. His meaningful gaze was pinned on Cyrus for a while before nodding. "If you plan to kill him, someone will have to separate him from the cosmic beings and the beyond¡­ when they all join hands to supply him with energy, he is close to invincible¡­" Derik said causally. Listening to him, Cyrus remained silent with a disbelieving look on his face. Since he wasn''t there it was hard for him to believe that Derik the God of death, who had acquired his godly essence lost to a kid they picked up from the Holy church''s underground lab. He knew he was different because he had numerous types of evil magic in him but he never expected it to reach a terrifying level like this. "Believe it or not, Blake is currently the most powerful being in this God''s vein" Derik noticed the disbelief in Cyrus''s eyes and got annoyed. "His body can house so much magic¡­. Back then I thought it was all he could do but I guess we were all wrong¡­ Blake is capable of consuming other forms of magic, powers, and divinities... He''s like a black hole! Nothing can feel him up! That''s why he was about to consume the godly essence of all new gods and old gods! Right now he is the absolute¡­ don''t tell me you think I was reduced to this condition because I didn''t want to hurt my old pupil¡­ Lol¡­ I gave it my all" Derik let out a dry laugh while he spoke. The room fell silent as they all considered the implication of Derik''s words. They failed to understand how someone as powerful and ruthless as Derik was reduced to this level. Maybe this is what happens when a powerful figure experiences defeat for the first time. "You lost¡­ he has the godly essence of both the new and old gods¡­so what? Let''s just kill him the next time we see him¡­ just like we do to the other powerful foes we encountered in the past" Cyrus said after thinking for a while. His voice displayed his lack of interest in Blake''s newfound power. All he knew was that Blake will definitely for the next time they meet. "Hehehehe¡­ Just like old times right?" Derik revealed a bitter smile. "Just like old times¡­" Cyrus said with enough confidence to make Derik believe his words. With that settled, Derik turned his attention to Blink and Clovis. He noticed the duo are in low spirit and they kept avoiding making eye contact with him. "You failed and the ten talented youths of this empire, whom I left in your care died as well¡­" Lucien''s voice lacked any hint of emotion as he walked towards Blink and Clovis. He could only guess the situation of things based on their facial expression. "How did you know?" Blinks and Clovis knew Derik could read minds but they just couldn''t but chat them "Hehehe¡­ You look as miserable as me" Derik answered calmly as he walked towards the duo and placed his hands on their heads. With his godly essence returned, Derik had regained a good number of his godly powers and all that is left for him is to get stronger and return to the true God realm. Images of everything that happened flashed through his eyes from the perspectives of two people, causing him to frown. Not only were people from this world more capable than he expected, but he also agreed with Blink''s theory that the God''s vein is better than theirs and the beast-men there are even more capable than he expected and their magic is way purer and more advance than theirs. "Is the world advancing? Is that the reason why God''s veins keep popping up it is decided that the previous God vein is a failure?" Derik said with a frown on his face. Taking a step back, Lucien pondered on the possibility of the existence of a higher plane of existence... What if this realm was just one of many realms, what if the realm protector cultivation level is just a beginner level, a greater world out there, far surpassing theirs. He couldn''t help but consider the possibility of their activities being controlled by a so-called greater being. "I can die in a battle and accept defeat but what Derik Angus will never be someone''s puppet!" Derek growled and as usual, he didn''t bother to explain his findings to the others. They just watched Derik pacing around the room with a vexed look on his face and they couldn''t help but wonder what pissed him off so much. Is it their failure or the death of the ten mages and warriors sent to the other world? After close to twenty minutes of silence, Derik calmed down and turned his attention to Blink and Clovis again. "You formed a blood contract with the humans of that world¡­" Derik said causally. "Yes, they intend to overthrow the beast emperor soon¡­" Blink answered calmly. "Based on your battle with the beast emperor, do you think they can win¡­" Derik asked with a raised eyebrow. "No¡­ I don''t think so¡­ Even when fighting against us, the beast emperor was holding back even when we went all out¡­" Blink said. "I don''t think you are right¡­ The Lucardo family head is a sly man and quite competent as well¡­ I don''t think they plan on taking on the beast emperor directly¡­they must be waiting for the perfect g moment and since they didn''t feel us in with their plans I can only guess they are quite capable¡­ chances are, we are just one of their many back up plans" Clovis said thoughtfully and Derik nodded in agreement. "Sometimes overwhelming strength is not always the best way, especially when the gap between you and the enemy is not too high¡­" Derik said while sitting down and crossing his legs. "I think it''s best we make a minor adjustment to your deal¡­ when the time comes, when they summon you for help¡­ the people who will answer their summons will be Cyrus and I," Derik said with a sly smile on his face.