Dyon turned back to Akash, taking his mind off of their observers. The mountain range was much too large and innate aurora wielders were much too versatile to handle nonchalantly.
Dyon’s hand flashed as a ring appeared in it. Handing the ring to Arios, he spoke, “This ring is filled with medicinal pills. I ended up having to buy them because I simply didn’t have the time to make them myself, but they should be good enough for now. We were lucky enough not to lose any members this time because the demon generals protected their groups of ten well, but its best we don’t allow injuries to pile up, or else its only a matter of time before someone dies.”
The surrounding campaign leaders looked at Dyon as though they were staring at an alien. Spending money on medicinal pills for foot soldiers? Who would be willing to bear such a cost?!
Dyon raised an eyebrow at this reaction, “If you don’t treat your army well, why should they treat you well?”
This was a simple concept, it had nothing to do with money. In fact, if you kept having to replace members of your army because they got injured, they would never become elite. And if they never became elite, you’d be stuck in a perpetual rut of mediocrity. The martial world was too concerned about the growth of their campaign leaders and didn’t pay enough attention to their foot soldiers. No one wins a battle alone.
Arios nodded, taking the ring to handle the task Dyon had given him. He was quite painfully aware that although Dyon was standing tall now, his fatigue was unquestionable. Dyon had already been drained after amplifying so many attacks, but then he forced himself to stay out even further passed his limits just to make sure communication was seamless. The problem was that communicating took even more soul power… Dyon hadn’t rested all day.
Ri looked at Dyon’s side profile, worried. Any casual observer wouldn’t see anything wrong with Dyon, but Ri could clearly see his clenched jaw and pulsing veins… He was ready to collapse at any moment.
Ri tightened her grip on Dyon’s hand, sending her soothing ice will to stabilize him for the time being. She smiled, hearing a message of thanks enter her ears.
Dyon looked up and into the sky, it had seemed easy, but he was aware that it was anything but. Had their commander realized that Dyon could only stop them from raising the ground for ten minutes, the turtle shell defensive formation would have been hard pressed to continue working. In fact, if they had heightened their vantage point, they would have seen the quirks of the formation and maybe would have made counter measures against it.
Dyon was snapped out of his thoughts as a familiar red-haired girl walked out from the crowd, “Big brother, let me help you with that. After all, the rest of us did nothing.”
Dyon smiled, ‘Looks like I can rest easy.’ But, thoughts of peace didn’t last long before his dreams of sleep were interrupted by Airic.
“Prince Consort Sacharro, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
Dyon was stunned by the form of address, looking at Ri before bursting into laughter, “oo oo, that hurts. Yea, sure. What’s your question?”
Airic looked confused about why Dyon was laughing. Wasn’t a man marrying into a family via their princess known as a prince consort? What was funny about that?
Dyon almost started laughing again at Airic’s reaction, ‘This guy is too serious…’
Airic shook his head, ignoring Ri’s smile and Dyon’s antics, “What was the point of the javelin?”
“I can answer that for you actually…” A faint voice rang out causing everyone to look up and into the sky.
The eyes of the campaign heads sharpened, ‘Where’d he come from.’
Dyon looked up to find a young man standing beside a beautiful young lady in the air. Beneath their feet, an array of shimmering reds lay, holding them up.
The young man had short jet-black hair. He was handsome, but rugged, standing at over four meters tall. However, his defining characteristic was a faint red scale that was etched into his forehead.
A bestial aura emitted from him as his hand played with the woman by his side with no reservation.
The white haired lady herself didn’t seem to mind. She was about two years younger than the young man, most likely around Dyon’s age, and yet she towered at three meters tall, somehow still dwarfed by the young man. However, her defining feature was a glittering blue scale at the center of her forehead.
“It’s simple really.” The young man continued, “The javelin was a misdirection. It was actually meant to complete a purification type array. One that only lasts for about ten minutes. The Phantus are just idiots. I could have sent them a message that would have changed the tide of the battle, but I preferred that they suffered for their ignorance.”
Commander Draven grit his teeth in agitation, looking at his tied-up brothers.
The young man groped the breasts of the tall young lady, seemingly reminiscing, “It’s the law of the jungle. The weak should die.”
Suddenly, the young man paused, sniffing the air and locking his eyes on Ri, “Interesting. So that wasn’t a body modification technique, you’re an actual beast. A beast worthy of being compared to my lineage if I’m correct. And yet you gave your virginity to a human?… Whore.”
Ri’s anger raged, “How dare you.”
Dyon was silent, but his aura was anything but. Faint flickers of black flames danced in his eyes as he stared into the sky.
His body trembled, but it was involuntary. He was truly too weak right now. And, what wasn’t helping was the fact he felt as though his demon qilin blood was being supressed.
The young man didn’t seem to care about Ri’s words, “I should take you right now. You’d make a good slave girl for me to toy with every once in a while. It seems you’re quite loose anyway, right? It must be the greatest joke in existence for a human to be expected to curb the desires of a beast.”
The campaign leaders watched silently, which was something the young man clearly expected. They felt no obligation to help Dyon.
Suddenly, the woman by his side giggled, “Do you smell that?” She gently rubbed the crotch of the young man. “I smell an inferior bloodline. There’s no doubt. He can’t compare to you.”
The young man laughed, looking down on Dyon, “Imagine that. A human pretending to be a beast. It’s truly pathetic.”
Almost inexplicably, Dyon’s anger vanished as he looked to Ri by his side.
Ri’s brows furrowed, “Don’t do anything stupid. You can always deal with him when you’re healthy. Now isn’t the time.”
“Ah yes. Since I’ve decided to not leave without this little beast girl here, you should just let her come with me. At least then, you can live for a bit longer.” The young man looked at Ri with lecherous eyes, she was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, ‘Maybe only she can compare…’
Dyon ignored him, walking to the Phantus troops. “You called them idiots, right? You could have changed the course of the battle with a single message, right?”
The young man raised his eyebrow, “What makes you think you have the right to ask me questions?”
Dyon chuckled, “I’m quite tired right now.”
The campaign heads scrunched their brows listening to Dyon’s words, what was he talking about? Even if he was tired, that shouldn’t be something he told his enemy.
“However, insulting my woman is already enough to co-sign you to death.”
The young woman’s eyes widened in surprise before she suddenly started laughing as though she had just heard a funny joke. “You’re not even bigger than me.” Her pinky lifted into the air with disdain. “How could you possibly match up to my husband.”
Dyon didn’t look up, instead crouching down to one of the tied-up Vice Commanders and lifting his head up by his hair.
Looking into the reddened eyes filled with hatred, Dyon chuckled, “If you like choosing your women based on how big they are, you might want to re-evaluate this macho man stance of yours.”
The eyes of the young man sharpened at Dyon’s words, instantly understanding the innuendo. “It seems you don’t want to live today. I’ll cripple you first.” His aura changed, a crackling fire red blooming around him. “Then, I’ll strip your woman down in front of you and take her.”
Dyon nodded, “That’s three times now.”
Dyon lifted up the Vice Commander, grasping his throat. “Only a 2nd stage soul at essence gathering? Pathetic.”
An inhuman roar ripped through the throat of the Vice Commander as his veins popped.
His body looked as though it was being deflated, Dyon’s touch being nothing less than his death sentence.
In the distance, Arios was leisurely administering medicine to the troops. He and the demon generals hadn’t even looked to help Dyon. If he needed their aid, he’d have asked for it.
They smirked to themselves as they watched Dyon go from Vice Commander to Vice Commander, devouring each and every one of their souls.
The young man watched this scene up in the sky, not entirely certain of what was going on. All he could tell was that Dyon was killing the Vice Commanders, but, that was good news for him.
Finally, Dyon reached Commander Draven much to the commander’s dismay – but, he stopped. “Eh, I think that’s enough for now. I’ll deal with you later.”
Dyon walked back to Ri with a big grin on his face. “Which one do you want? I can give you Mr. Big Dick. Or, I can give you Ms. Big Dick.”
Ri snorted in laughter, hitting Dyon’s shoulder, “What are you saying?!” But, she settled down afterwards. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Dyon laughed, “Of course. The only reason I didn’t use my devour technique to replenish my soul with the Eostre family was because the culprits that deserved death had soul power that was too high for me to take easily. But, The Phantus are body cultivators, and they’re much younger, it’s quite easy to use them. I’m at full capacity.”
Members of the Saeclum heard Dyon’s words and shook violently… This was exactly how they’d lost their genius! But, why would Dyon be bothered with such hypocrites, he simply turned a blind eye to the shift in aura. If they made a move, they’d die just the same.
Ri smiled. “You take the girl. I feel the need to chop off some important limbs right now.”
The men all shivered at Ri’s words. Was this really the princess of the Elvin Kingdom?
In fact, they had been so surprised by the change in events, that none of them stopped to consider what it meant for Dyon to have taken the virginity of a woman with a faith seed.
“Don’t get any funny ideas pervert. You’re only allowed to make me and big sister Madeleine pass out. If you’re fighting a woman, I expect you to go for the kill. After all, she seems quite used to self-pleasing men.”
Dyon grinned, a six-foot-long silver sword materializing in his hand, “Your words cut pretty deep, I’m sure your sword will cut deeper.”
Dyon turned to the fuming couple in the sky. “I’m quite aware that you have no confidence in showing yourselves here. The only reason you risked it is because you don’t want us to find out what the Commander knows. Unfortunately for you, in the process of doing that, you’ve angered me and my little feu glace. There is a price to pay for such things. And today, that price is death.”
Dyon aurora blazed at its full strength, immediately collapsing the red array below the tall couple.
The shattering beads of energy rained down as they fell from the sky, unperturbed by the change.
The wind accelerated around them, blasting outwards as the earth cracked beneath their feet. “Whether you know our goal or not,” The young man said through gritted teeth, “Is irrelevant to whether or not you can stop us.”
The young man surged forward toward Dyon, but Ri immediately stepped forward, “Didn’t I say I was going to deal with you?”
“Get out of my way woman. I’ll have pinned down between my legs soon enough.”
Ri didn’t bother responding, her faith seed blooming into action with a decidedly flashier flair.
Dyon smiled, ‘I was wondering when you’d make use of your god constitution… You neglect it too much.’ Suddenly Dyon’s eyes widened, “You’ve been hiding your manifestation from me?… That’s not nice.”
Ri smiled, her tails blooming into existence. A majestic aura spread out from her, making everyone feel as though it was only right that they should be kneeling.
A crown decorated in precious jewels burst in the air, expanding again and again. But, that wasn’t the end of it.
The growl of a feral creature tore through the wind, manifesting as a blue-silver fox, ten tails whipping out violently behind it.
The fox was a creature with beauty beyond words. Its pointed nostrils flared out adorably while its delicate paws hovered in the air, standing tall behind Ri. A blue crystal melded to its forehead, giving the demon fox an undoubtedly noble air.
But then, a change occurred.
The crown slowly lowered itself, melding into the blue crystal and turning it gold. And with this change, Ri changed as well.
Flashes of gold swept through her body, lacing her tails with tracks of golden fur.
Her eyes brightened from their blue silver, their depths shimmering with hints of gold.
Ri suddenly laughed, standing in front of Dyon, not an ounce of fear in her as the large five-meter tall young man barreled toward her, “You say my bloodline can be compared to yours… But, from what I see. You’re the equivalent of a shit stain beneath my feet.”
Dyon looked up toward the three-meter-tall woman who seemed intent on charging toward Ri as well, “I think it’s best you stay out of this, my little feu glace isn’t too happy right now. Your husband dug his own grave by questioning the decisions she makes.”
Dyon flashed forward with his celestial movement technique, the faint ripples of space being left in his wake.
The white-haired girl’s eye flashed with surprise, Dyon’s swinging sword seemed to take up all of her senses.
“Liska, BE CAREFUL.” The young man’s voice boomed as Dyon’s sword continued to swing downwards, but it was already too late.
Liska’s eyes widened as she raised her arm up in defense, the sword cutting directly into her flesh.
“Interest…” Array’s bloomed below Dyon’s feet as he leaped backwards, watching as blue scales spread across Liska’s arm.
‘She’s not a dragon… Something different?’
Liska looked down at her bloodied arm in a rage, looming over Dyon. Her eyes became blue gem-like slits, seemingly piercing toward Dyon’s very soul.
Dyon suddenly felt as though his body was solidifying. His eyes widened as a realization came over him, ‘soul attack? Petrification?’
Almost as though in response to Dyon’s thoughts, a long red tongue slithered out of Liska’s mouth, “Serpent King’s Reign: Petrification!”
Dyon smirked, ‘A basilisk huh… I wonder how many more human world legends are real… But, if you’re trying to use a soul type attack on me – too many have tried and failed.’
The battle was over even before it began. Dyon immediately circled his devour technique, completely crushing Liska’s soul attack.
It was clear Liska hadn’t expected this at all. The feeling of her shoulder being pierced through, being pinned to the ground and stood over by a man she had just looked down on… it was too much. She couldn’t even maintain her scaled form anymore.
She tried to circulate her aurora to use arrays to get out of her situation, but every time she did Dyon circulated his devour skill, completely cutting off her power source. If she had been even a second late in retracting her attack, she’d be dead.
In fact, the only reason why she wasn’t dead now was because her soul was still too powerful for Dyon to actively try and absorb on his own.
“Bas…” Liska cried out, her voice coming out as little more than a mosquito’s whisper.
Bas looked over, completely shocked. Liska was a genius, how did she lose so quickly? But, his mind suddenly thought back to the technique Dyon had used to replenish his strength, ‘He has a perfect counter to soul attacks!’
However, wasn’t it too late to think of this now? He had to focus on this fight, or else he’d end up exactly like Liska.
Ri’s tails seemed to have minds of their own, flashes of gold and blue melded with raging red flames as she clashed with Bas again and again.
Bas’ hand flashed as two sabers appeared in his hands, red scales spreading over his skin as he towered over Ri.
But, Ri didn’t seem fazed. Her tails seemed to have an odd pure energy that blocked attacks out of her normal range, threatening Bas with their power every time they whipped out.
Ri’s sword danced through the air, her style much more elegant than Dyon’s. It was as though she was drawing in the air, her sword the very reincarnation of softly falling snow.
Ri leaped backwards, beams of ice shooting forward without remorse, “Ice Petal’s Dance…”
A massive lotus of ice appeared in the sky, hovering beneath the feet of RI’s demon fox manifestation.
Her eyes flashed into a deep blue, icing of the gold. The wind picked up, rapidly cooling under the oppressive ice will.
Dyon watched with a smile on his face, feeling completely at ease.
“First petal: Ice rain.”
Bas charged forward, his sabers curving through the air toward Ri, but they never got a chance to reach her.
Tens of petals separated, spinning in the air before charging forward with the downward swing of Ri’s sword.
BOOM!
Bas was flung backward, deep cuts dripping with a blood red that was hardly distinguishable from his scales.
“Fuck! Serpent King’s Flame: Crown!” Bas’ arms shot from himself as a massive ring of fire appeared around him.
Ri looked on calmly, her dark blue hair coated in a sheet of ice, “Second petal: bloom…”
The ice lotus immediately expanded to another size, the temperature dropping again. A shimmering light of blue and gold raged through it as Ri pointed her sword forward, her hair fluttering in the strong winds along with her tails.
“DIE!” Bas’ ring of fire surged forward. But, almost as quickly as it spread, it was stifled just as easily.
The lotus slowly descended from the skies, as though there was no choice but to wait for its fall.
Bas could only look up in the sky helplessly, his body locked by an inescapably piercing cold.
Dyon smiled, ‘I guess it was a mistake to anger her, hm? Well, I’d say you live and you learn but – ‘ Dyon’s thoughts froze as his eyes widened, “RI, MOVE!”
Ri’s move was taking too much focus, she had no thoughts to deviate to her surroundings. And unfortunately, that was the opening someone else took to attack!
Dyon’s body flashed, completely ignoring Liska and leaving his sword in her shoulder.
‘NO!’
A calm looking young man appeared from seemingly empty space. His had a flower in his long black hair and held an oil paper umbrella in his hand. It was as though he was taking a leisurely stroll instead of stepping into a raging battle.
His umbrella folded, piercing toward Ri’s back. A golden array bloomed in the direction of Dyon, trying to slow his pace down.
Dyon’s eyes flashed, ‘Innate aurora! They have 3 of them, not 2?!’
Wings burst from Dyon’s back, his humanoid manifestation appearing in an instant, skyrocketing his soul to the peak of the 6th stage.
The eyes of the young man widened, he had no idea Dyon had a second manifestation, much less one that boosted his soul strength!
The young man’s array shattered immediately, much too hastily made to match up to Dyon right now. His lip curled in disdain as his umbrella continued to pierce forward, but Dyon was having none of it.
His eyes raged with purple-gold, an intricate lower master level defensive formation blossoming in the air between Ri and the umbrella.
But, the young man remained unperturbed, a stream of energy flying outwards from his umbrella and towards Ri’s back.
Dyon flashed forward again and again, feeling his legs crack and fracture under the constant pressure of pressing his celestial movement technique forward with amplification arrays.
And then, just as the energy was about to reach Ri’s back, Dyon lunged forward, “First act, third stage Demon Emperor’s Will!”
Dyon’s body immediately expanded to five meters tall, his muscles tearing and ripping under the strength of his first transformation of this level.
He wrapped his arms around Ri, pulling her out of her attack. The lotus exploded in a rain of ice, piercing toward Bas.
“AGH” Dyon grit his teeth as the black crystal coated scaled on his back were pierced by an inexplicable energy. It seemed gentle, and yet so grating, calm, and yet so raging. Dyon nearly blacked out from impact.
He could only look up helplessly as the young man flashed to campaign head Akash, killing Commander Draven with a sweep of his umbrella without giving her any time to react. It was as though the young man could completely erase his presence. What Dyon hadn’t realized yet was that he was the only one who could see the young man!
The demon generals were too far in the distance to do anything, still tending to the army. The appearance of the young man was too abrupt, if it wasn’t for Dyon’s complete focus and the habit he had of enhancing his senses with his crystal will, Ri would be dead!
The campaign heads were even more useless. They had never intended on helping Dyon in the first place, and although commander Draven’s death wasn’t beneficial for them in the least, they too weren’t fast enough in reacting…
The young man’s array alchemy was so powerful that even Dyon hadn’t sensed him until he planned to attack!
The last thing Dyon saw before he blacked out was the young man’s cold expressionless face radiating in victory as he swooped Bas and Liska away, “Weren’t you going to crush me ‘just the same’ when I appeared? Why are you lying on the ground now?
Pathetic.”