The Martial Gods froze, many of them not knowing what just happened.
They were the best of the best, the strongest of the strongest. Since the start of their cultivation journeys, they couldn't remember having ever been forcefully teleported anywhere in their entire lifetimes, let alone so many of them at once by one man.
It was just a casual move, an almost careless flick of his wrist, and yet the dynamic was set in stone.
They were inferior. So far inferior that they didn't know how to describe it all in words.
A cold shiver set into their hearts, all of the momentum their armies had had crumbling to ash right before their eyes.
"You see that?" Ryu said casually. "Your man isn't bad, don't you think?"
Rose only smiled and looked away. Okay, maybe she liked a man who could speak just a little bit more than she thought. But that didn't change the worry deep in her heart.
It wasn't the numbers she was worried about.
Ryu had infinite stamina and rejuvenation. So long as he had enough time, he could defeat enemies no matter their number.
Plus, with the internal structure of his path of cultivation, he could protect those he cared about well.
The main issue was that his Inner World wasn't perfect yet. It wasn't prepared to take on the birth of a talent at the level of his son. Because of that, he had no choice but to allow Hope to give birth under the effects of the Shrines, and this made her more vulnerable than she already was.
This would be a weakness his enemies could take advantage of.
But… even that wasn't what Rose was worried about. As difficult as Hope's labor would be, it would be a short frame of time considering how long this battle could truly go on for.
She didn't believe that Ryu would slip up during that time… not unless something forced him to. Something unexpected, something they couldn't quite account for.
But even now, that hadn't appeared.
"Return my granddaughter to me."
A booming voice came down from above, an old man standing among three appearing high in the skies.
He was wreathed in chains, a heavy mask of them wrapping around his arms and legs. They slithered out of his back like wings and rose from his head like horns.
"He looks ridiculous, don't you think?" Ryu asked.
Rose bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. This was a serious situation! Couldn't he see that she was worried?
"Hey," Ryu called out. "Can you tell me how you let this idiot bee your leader? You have a crown on your head and you're not even number one in your own Clan?"
Ryu's gaze was on the Hegemonic Bloodline Ancestor, an old woman that looked like she might keel over any moment now. He didn't know her name, and though he could have scried Fate to find out, he honestly… didn't really give a damn.
There was a flare of rage in the old woman's eyes, but Ryu only shook his head.
"I really don't get it. How can you be the Hegemon of anything if you can't even keep your own house in order? What did you build your Dao on, exactly?"
"Verrona!" the voice of Solara's grandfather clapped like thunder.
The old woman suddenly snapped out of her anger, a cold sweat pouring down her back. She had been that close… that close to her Dao Heart shattering.
"Guard your Hearts!"
Ryu's smile didn't fade as his gaze landed on the third of them. A Divine Wing, an Ancestor of wife and her father to be sure.
Once again, it was an old man with a foot in the grave. Their auras seemed so depleted and fleeting that he wouldn't be surprised if any one of them truly died right this moment.
And yet, they dared to stand before him here and e to fight. They were obviously relying on something he didn't quite understand.
"Since they are useless in this battle, there is no need to keep the majority of them." The Divine Wing Ancestor said calmly.
"Indeed." Verrona replied.
The chains of the Divine Chain Ancestor flared, the wings of the Divine Wing Ancestor spread, and the crown of the Divine Hegemon Ancestor glowed.
Chains of blue steel cut through the air, piercing into the bodies of one Martial God after another as the rest had their very essence pulled out of their orifices.
Half of the Martial Gods were wiped out in a blink of an eye, their vitality pooling into the bodies of the three Ancestors.
At that moment, the skies trembled, the doors of the Heavenly Court appearing once again, but struggling against the binds of Fate.
"Verrona! Zercius! Merculy! You traitorous scum!"
A familiar voice came from above, booming with a furious might. But not only did Fate hold it back… but so too did the chains that extended from Zercius.
The doors were sealed in place, locked in a limbo of time and space where it could neither advance nor retreat.
"The Title of Almighty should be mine," Zercius said coldly.
His aging lines faded one after another until he returned to the countenance of a middle-aged man, a streak of white in his hair being the only signs of his former weakness.
Ryu watched this scene without a word. His smile was still there, but it seemed to only be growing more sinister.
He pinched Rose's waist and then let her go with a light pat.
An anger that had been buried deep in his heart was slowly manifesting itself right this moment.
"You know, if all you had done was seal me as a mere infant, I would have still killed you all, but I wouldn't hate you.
"But not only did you seal me… you actually had the audacity to treat me as a casual bystander in your little war instead of your main target.
"And then… you went and killed my grandparents in that same little war.
"I made my grandmother a promise."
"Little Ryu, I only want you to promise this Empress one thing…"
Ryu looked up to the skies, his third eye opening in a blaze of blinding silver flames as white scales erupted across his body. His robes shattered, a chiseled physique causing the air to collapse and waver.
"I'll kill every last one of you."
Ryu vanished.
User Comments
0 comments from readers