Zac looked at the emperor through a crack in the ranks of soldiers in front of him. The man was nothing like the Medhin princeling he killed on the first day. Tyrbat had relied on the empowerment of his war array and his trinkets, but Nenothep was completely different.
He gave off a similar aura as Greatest. Of course, not the same levels of power, but the air of someone who had fought countless battles. Zac had a feeling this would turn into another battle where his lacking experience would be holding him back. However, he didn’t care much about Nenothep himself, he was more worried about where Thea was being held.
“The girl is with me,” a voice suddenly sounded in his head, making him look around with wide eyes. “You won’t find me, Mr. Atwood. Thea Marshall will be safely released, but you must cooperate with my game. Kill Nenothep and she will be set free. Try to find her and I will immediately execute her.”
Zac’s heartbeat sped up as he tried to look anywhere for the source of the transmission. He didn’t recognize the voice, but after putting two and two together he had a strong suspicion it was Vasidas Medhin who spoke. He didn’t know who else would be able to find him when it appeared not even the emperor had spotted him.
Zac looked around, but he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He also couldn’t see Thea anywhere, meaning she likely was hidden away out of his reach.
He realized that his plan had been naïve. How would he free Thea in a situation like this? He didn’t even know where she was. The most likely place would be within the protective arrays of the summit palace, but to get there he would have to cross the entire Medhin army. The question was whether he should go along with the voice or if he should ignore it and try to locate Thea while the others duked it out.
Unfortunately, the rest of the world didn’t wait for him to decide on his course of action. A shocking aura started seeping out of Ylvas as he aimed his sword at the emperor. Zac’s brows rose in surprise from the supreme aura he emitted. Honestly, Ylvas hadn’t given him a large impression so far, but it was clear that he was the real deal. Unfortunately, it was also clear that while he was very strong for an early E-Grade warrior he was still not Nenothep’s match.
“Your dynasty ends today. Berum will never become the fuel for your insane Redeemer,” Ylvas said, undeterred by the fact that his aura was getting somewhat suppressed by Nenothep.
Soldiers shared confused glances in both camps due to Ylvas’ proclamation, meaning that the Medhin soldiers were unaware of the truth of their imperial family. They would likely become fuel as well if their side won, yet they exhibited a great bloodlust as they glared at the resistance army who in a sense tried to save their lives as well.
Of course, the forces of Berum would likely try to spread the news as widely as they could as soon as they got back, in hopes of fomenting insurrection within the Medhin population.
“Shields!,” a general to the right Nenothep roared, and the next moment a huge silver shield covered the whole army that stood behind Nenothep.
“Empyrean Guard!” a second general shouted, and within seconds Nenothep was covered in a golden glow.
The setup was similar to all the other squads that he had encountered. One part defended the footsoldiers whereas another part empowered their champion. It made sense since the foot soldiers would only become fodder if they tried to personally fight against people like Zac or Ylvas.
The dense aura of Nenothep increased even further, and Zac felt that the Emperor would have no problems contending with Inevitability in his current condition. However, Ylvas wasn’t cowed by the aura and unhesitantly pushed forward with enough force to cause huge cracks in the ground.
The power Ylvas emitted was far beyond anything he had shown during the past days, and it all seemed to be concentrated in the tip of his sword as he stabbed straight toward Nenothep who swung his spear to intercept the strike. A shocking collision made the whole mountain shake, and that initial salvo was the start of the war. The huge general pushed forward with heavy steps and slammed her sword into the ground as she ran.
Somehow she managed to rip up a three-meter tall boulder with her sword, and with shocking precision launched it straight at Nenothep with a grunt as she kept running. The stone was imbued with some high-level Dao as well since it started burning and caused multiple explosions in the air as it approached its target.
However, Nenothep barely spared a glance at the incoming boulder, and with a lightning-quick stab of his spear turned it into fine sand that exploded outward. Fire and gravel flew in all directions, but Nenothep was unfazed by the assault.
The attack might not have wounded the emperor, but at least it obscured his vision somewhat. Ylvas was ready and tried to use the fire as a distraction while he stabbed at the Nenothep’s guts with a sword shimmering with some unknown power.
At the same time, two roots pierced through the ground, aiming to stab the emperor in his back. It was the final general, and Zac only now noticed that his staff looked like a tree planted in the ground, likely spreading its roots all the way over to the battle between Ylvas and Nenothep.
Even the large general had caught up, and tried to decapitate the emperor with a wide swing flying straight above Ylvas’ head. But it was as though the emperor had ten hands, every attack was blocked by either his spear or a bracer. He even had time to slam a knee into Ylvas face, throwing him back ten meters with a grunt. Worst off was the female general, who had a large gash in her side from a lightning-quick stab.
“Come all, you maggots!” Nenothep roared as his bloodlust soared to the skies, and he forcibly started to suppress the trio who desperately tried to get past his defenses.
The generals weren’t the only ones who had gone all out from the start, as large shields were erected above the ranged attackers while the melee warriors started a suicidal run toward the enemy ranks. There was no longer any time to hesitate, and Zac turned toward his huge ally.
“Billy, I can’t find Thea,” Zac whispered to the giant who balefully glared at the other side. “We will have to beat up the bad guys first. Can you break that shield? It is very strong.”
“Billy will give it his biggest Thwonk,” the giant nodded as he started running toward the shield along with the other melee fighters.
Zac followed suit, using Billy’s enormous frame to hide out of sight from Nenothep and his generals. The sky was starting to blot out with attacks soaring between the two camps, and there were already a few fatalities amongst the melee warriors who couldn’t dodge or endure the onslaught.
The Medhin army was far better off since not one of them had stepped outside of the protective cover of their shields, and they could leisurely pick off one approaching warrior after another with ranged attacks.
Zac tried to help as much as he could by rapidly throwing out dozens of daggers to intercept the more powerful attacks, to save at least a few lives in their approach. Billy was also getting ready as he took out his club halfway to the other side. Suddenly his aura simply exploded, and he actually started to grow.
In just a second he was over ten meters tall, holding an equally monstrous club. His skin glowed with a golden luster, and Zac was shocked to sense some ancient power emanating from his friend. It was as though Billy wasn’t human, but rather some ancient Titan as he took the last lumbering steps toward the shield.
Even the emperor couldn’t help but look over at Billy’s massive frame, and he frowned in consternation. He tried to move over to stop him, but Ylvas and his two generals desperately fought to keep him at bay.
“Intercept him,” Nenothep roared in anger, and tons of attacks flew toward Billy as he slowly lifted his club.
Billy clearly needed some time to accumulate enough power, since massive energies swirled around him as his muscles kept swelling. The attacks would arrive in a split second, and Zac didn’t know whether Billy could survive such an onslaught even in his enormous form. Out of options he hurriedly activated [Nature’s Barrier] and imbued it with the Dao of Sanctuary making a storm of leaves cover them both.
Luckily Billy’s enormous leg blocked any sight of Zac himself, making it look like it was Billy himself who had erected the defenses. Zac felt a huge amount of Cosmic Energy get expended as almost a hundred attacks slammed into his leaves, but at least it lessened the damage on Billy by about 80%.
Still, the defenses couldn’t block everything, and many attacks slipped past the leaves and slammed into Billy. It was clear that his Endurance wasn’t too high, as multiple wounds erupted all over his body, making a rain of golden blood pour down on Zac.
Zac was surprised by the color of the blood since a transformation skill shouldn’t change his blood like that. It was also clear that while Billy had been wounded he wouldn’t be deterred from completing his task. A ruthless aura emitted from him as Billy ran forward the final steps until he stood right in front of the shield.
“BILLY IS NOT STUCK WITH YOU! YOU’RE STUCK INSIDE BILLY,” the giant suddenly roared with enough volume to be heard across half the hunt, and he swung down the club.
An otherworldly pressure was released from the club, and Zac felt the force was easily stronger than when he used his [Nature’s Punishment] along with the Dao of Heaviness. It contained a titanic strength as it sailed down toward the shield. Its might even forced some soldiers down on their knees before it had even landed.
“No!” Nenothep roared in anger as he lit up in blazing power.
The next moment it was as though Nenothep’s spear turned into a laser as it elongated and aimed straight toward Billy’s heart in an attempt to instantly kill him. Zac’s eyes widened in alarm as he immediately jumped up and changed the Dao infusion to the Dao of Trees in his defensive skill.
There was no way that Billy would be able to dodge in his cumbersome form, and he definitely did not possess enough defense to withstand it. The swirling leaves lit up in emerald luster as they formed a tighter screen in front of him as Zac rose to over 6 meters in the air to intercept the strike.
With a growl, Zac also swung [Verun’s Bite] with all his might to stop the attack. However, the attack far surpassed what he had expected. It looked like the emperor wasn’t holding back when he tried to kill Billy.
It felt like he had been hit by a truck when Zac’s axe collided with the incoming fractal spear. Luckily he barely managed to change the trajectory, and the attack gored a large wound in Billy’s shoulder instead of piercing his heart. The attack went straight through Billy’s body, continuing for hundreds of meters.
Zac wasn’t much better off as the collision slammed him into the ground with enough force to crack a rib and push the air out of his lungs. Worse yet, he had clearly been exposed since he sensed multiple stares at him as he tried to orient himself.
“It’s you!” Nenothep exclaimed with widened eyes as he stared straight at Zac.
Billy wailed in pain from the attack, but thanks to Zac he managed to keep his attack going as it swung down at the shield with world-ending force. A huge shockwave rippled outward as the shield cracked, causing widespread damage to the cultivators who maintained it. Some of the weaker soldiers even exploded from the force, causing multiple fountains of gore to erupt around the Medhin Soldiers.
Ylvas also managed to seize the opportunity while the emperor’s attention was on Billy and Zac, and managed to stab his sword deep into Nenothep’s gut. Nenothep growled in anger and was forced to refocus his efforts at the trio who assaulted him with newfound vigor, ignoring their mounting wounds.
Zac’s ears were ringing but he knew he couldn’t slack off, so he ignored the pain and forced himself to his feet. The defensive shield had a few large cracks from Billy’s strike, but it was rapidly repairing itself. Zac didn’t hesitate as he activated [Loamwalker] to flash inside the array.
A few cultivators tried to stop his approach but a dozen people were instantly bisected by a huge fractal edge tearing straight through them. Zac looked back and saw a pale Billy who was rapidly shrinking.
“Billy, good job! Return to the back lines and heal up,” Zac shouted.
Billy nodded and started lugging back with slightly unsteady steps, avoiding errant attacks as best he could. Many of the melee warriors even chose to use their own bodies to protect his retreat, since Billy was clearly one of their aces. Billy’s part in this assault was over, and he had delivered far beyond what Zac could have expected.
The force behind that swing was just insane. Five enormous fractal edges appeared at the edge of Zac’s axe, and Zac’s aura was finally completely unleashed as he looked at the soldiers who instinctually stepped back from the billowing killing intent that he emitted.
Billy had held up his part of the bargain, and now it was time for him to uphold his.
