Emperor's Reckoning

A single stomp was all it take for the ashen-haired cultivator to waste the luscious land.

“He just came out from the cracked space and put the cherry on top of the cake,” Agist gulped.

“What terrifying being… He entered through the spatial storm and exited through one unperturbed,” Connak shook his head. “I doubt our arrow could even pierce that guy’s skin, even if we pulled it with all of our might.”

Galaeron shook his head, “No need to compare your arrows against him, not even mine could do it. You think I would kowtow, had my forehead against the ground because I was bored?”

Connak and Agist looked at one another before they got dejected at the same time. Truly the dishonor display of their king arrived with a reason. The difference in strength was something that not even the mightiest of them could shorten the distance of. The horrendous power, the raw prowess that was displayed by Lyon and the others had terrified the old king of the elven kingdom himself.

“I can only be thankful for the fact that he is neutral,” Galaeron let out a weak smile. “Otherwise it would be our end.”

“But! He is interested in going to Hell, Your Majesty, can we do something about that?” asked Connak.

“Nothing I can do more than bowing my head against the ground, or perhaps you have something in mind?”

“N-No, Your Majesty, apologies,” Connak immediately had his head down.

Galaeron shook his head, “No need to apologize. I give the best I could and so were you two.”

Agist nodded.

Galaeron continued, “It’s all up to fate now, we have used everything in our arsenal to prevent him, but if he is so adamant, then who are we to stop.”

“His Majesty is right,” Agist nodded. “Besides, they are going to the Dark Continent, how many cultivators had fallen on that place.”

“The Dark Continent,” Galaeron muttered. “Even the orcs avoided the place, it’s like the bane for all cultivators. The beasts are unsightly and their powers are also terrifying.”

“However, with that guy’s power, I don’t think that they would have any problem at all traversing that treacherous place,” Connak nodded. “And he has three others at his back and call.”

“Perhaps the human will be the first to cross that forbidden bridge,” Galaeron shook his head. “Such diplomatic advantage! I’m envious.”

“However, they did mention a place that was located inside the Dark Continent,” Agist nodded. “Somewhere called Myriad Devil.”

Galaeron had his ears perked up before he turned.

“What is it, Your Majesty?” asked Connak as he followed Galaeron’s glance.

The king of the elves squinted his eyes before he snorted a smile. “Looks like our time is up.”

“It’s the humans,” Agist furrowed his brows.

Connak put away his bow before he smirked, “They’re late for the party.”

“Typical,” Galaeron smirked. “Let’s go home.”

“I will smear some light illusion first,” Agist bowed.

“En,” Galaeron smiled before he darted back at the dots from the horizon coming. The three elves gradually distorted the space around their bodies before they became translucent and disappeared from the common unsuspecting eyes. Their presence and their traces were out from the most sensitive noses. Under the sun, they were never there.

A considerably large dark raven was zipping the sky with one figure standing at the back of it. It was a woman wearing a hat like that of a witch. Her purple lips quivered the moment she got into full view of a ‘valley’.

“Oh my…” Yunesia muttered before she gulped her saliva. Her raven cawed as it hovered around the cracks. Her distinctive purple eyes glanced over the mangled corpses and the wasted nearby forest. A huge war was apparent to have happened earlier before she came. “This is not something that I would have ever expected.”

“Miss Yunesia, I don’t see any orcs here,” asked Porealus who was hovering by using his own cultivation.

“My sword sensed no life either,” Zet furrowed his sword brows as he look around. “Big Brother!!”

His voice echoed but found no replies.

“There is a good chance that we are too late,” Yunesia smiled. “Look around, you can see the mangled corpses of the orc and some of the cloaked cultivators.”

“Wait a minute,” Porealus had his lips twitching, “Don’t tell me he did it.”

“Well I don’t see any Lyon around here, nor the woman that they abducted from Nostria either,” Yunesia smiled. “And all clues seemed to hint away that Lyon had successfully captured back his woman and leaving few fresh lumps of meat for nature to consume.”

(The way you phrase your meaning is quite frightening) Porealus thought before he sighed. “Well, I guess we are not needed after all. Damn it, I knew that he would be able to handle this matter without our help.”

“Miss Yunesia, didn’t you say that the orcs cultivated a different source than ours?” asked Zet as he placed his palm on the hilt of his curved sword.

“Yes, that is correct,” Yunesia nodded.

“Woah, Big Brother is really amazing, isn’t he?!” Zet’s eyes instantly turned starry as he looked below.

(Why do I have to stick with this fanboy) Porealus sighed before he noticed the raven Yunesia was riding descending down.

“Alright,” Yunesia lightly jumped out from the back of the raven before landing her boots right around the center of the crater.

“Hmm,” Yunesia took a closer look at the headless corpse. “Now then, what could be so special that Lyon killed him in such a manner.”

“Oi, are you forgetting something important?” asked Porealus.

“What would that might be?” asked Yunesia without looking up.

“These guys used the opposite power of Mana, does that mean that Lyon killed the orcs with his raw strength?” asked Porealus with his brows furrowed.

“Most likely,” Yunesia nodded. “Unless he knew some other way, he must have used raw strength and raw skill to outdo his enemies.”

“That’s insane,” Porealus shook his head in disbelief.

“Big Brother is amazing!” Zet’s eyes turned into a star before he descended down and fascinated himself by the work of the man he looked up to.

Yunesia chuckled in amusement as she watched the two opposite emotions coming out from Zet and Porealus. She darted her focus from the corpse in the middle of the fresh crater toward the door at the far end. Her purple lips smirked before she slowly approached the sealed door.

“Interesting,” Yunesia smirked.

“Interesting? What do you find?” asked Zet. “Is it one of Big Brother’s huge exploits?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Yunesia answered without looking at the genius young swordsman. “This door seemed so old and ancient, this must have been around for at least a few centuries.”

“Do you have any idea where it would lead?” asked Porealus as he hovered down. “I don’t know, the first rule of any sealed door is not to unseal them,” he shrugged.

“That’s a wise move,” Yunesia chuckled. “You’re starting to act like your grandfather now.”

“Hey, I’m not like him,” Porealus clicked his tongue, “I’m not as strict nor as disciplined as my grandfather.”

Yunesia smiled before she darted back at the mysterious door. “Well, both of you see the bigger picture more often than not.”

“That’s…” Porealus couldn’t deny Yunesia’s words. “Still, I can’t believe that the demi-humans would rage against the humans just on the day I want to lay rest my sore muscles.”

Yunesia chuckled, “Maybe it’s the way fate works, who knows— Anyway, back to the topic.”

She looked at the door with her brows furrowed. She touched the mana-packed seal and felt a light cold sensation to the touch. “Wherever this leads to, they wanted it, orcs and cultivators alike.”

“Hell, probably?” uttered Zet out of nowhere.

“Maybe,” Yunesia pondered.

“If you’re done here, I’m leaving,” Porealus yawned. “I haven’t slept a wink in First Heaven.”

“Oh? What’s wrong? Why didn’t you have enough sleep in First Heaven?” asked Yunesia.

“I have to keep an eye on an old geezer of mine,” Porealus rolled his eyes before he heard the laughter of the two.

—

Meanwhile, the Garuda City.

Just right above the garden of the palace, a thunderous clap on a sunny day caught everyone living in the city by surprise. A muzzle of the head of a horse immediately broke open the space before the entire chariot was pulled out.

The Tetragram Chariot stood steadily in the air as the four horses occasionally let out hot steam of snorts.

Lyon got out of the chariot before landing on his two feet without problems.

“Welcome back, how was the trip?” asked Cecile as she raised one of her brows and then coupled it with her smirk.