Areth knelt before the grave, placing his forehead on the ground. Then the boy made an oath that he would avenge them all in front of the grave. The deep hatred could be felt from his tone and each of his words in the oath.

After he made the oath in front of the gravestone, the boy could no longer hold his tears. He wept, broke down, and kept saying sorry for not being able to protect them. He held the tears for so long until he could not keep it again.

Tang Shaoyang gave him space while Zowen stayed next to him, hugging him from the side, and caressing his back. The Lightning Magus was not as callous as he thought when she was a spirit. He did not see this side of her when she was a spirit.

The Skelly Family pulled the skeleton army off, keeping a watch on the surroundings. Tang Shaoyang sat on the bench, not from the grave. Areth buried everyone at the center of the village, where most villagers would gather at night. The usually boisterous spot was now ruined beyond recognition and surrounded by a heavy atmosphere as the remaining smoke lingered in the area.

“Do you feel bad for them?” Rosalie asked.

“I do, and that’s why I wipe out the Virandal Empire’s soldiers,” Knowing a lot of people died because of him, leaving him with a bad aftertaste in his heart. It was like something small stuck in his throat, making him uncomfortable.

“Are we going to fight them?” Them was the Virandal Empire. It sounded crazy for less than a thousand forces to try to fight such a big force. However, she knew that Tang Shaoyang was capable of doing it and did not fear doing so.

Tang Shaoyang did not give the answer right away, closing his eyes. But it could be seen from his expression that he was considering fighting the Virandal Empire seriously.

He shook his head, “I don’t think I have the time for that. I don’t have the time for such a long war that might end up with nothing when there are people who want me dead and destroy my empire.” He was in a race against time until the Divine Church and the other God Alliances found his home. A lot of people’s lives were on his shoulder, so he would not delay his journey to find the boss floor for the villagers that had been kind to him.

“Are you disappointed in me?” He looked up, trying to discern her feelings through her expression. He did not use Dragon Sense on his people, so he did not know what she felt right now. Rosalie concealed her feelings better than Zowen.

“No,” The Flame Empress shook her head, “I am here to remind you not to do it if you decide to fight the Virandal Empire. You made the right decision and got the priority right.”

Tang Shaoyang was about to say something, but he ended up not saying it. He stood up from the bench because Kaiser sent him a message that Skelly7 had returned with the surprise. The reason he stayed in this depressing village longer was to wait for Skelly7 done with the creation. He headed to where Skelly7 was, and the Archmaster Bonemancer held the surprise he had prepared for his master.

It was the battle-ax he requested, and it was made of white bone, everything. The long shaft was made of white bone with a pointy end. Then three smaller bones connected the shaft with the curved blade that was made of white bone as well. It was similar to Mzed in size, and it looked creepier for a battle-ax.

Tang Shaoyang could feel Skelly7’s excitement. It came over and handed the battle-ax to him, then he sensed the anticipation feeling from the giver.

Abyssal Bone

Grade: Ancient

Bonus Attribute:

– Bonus 1 Star Strength

– Increase Elemental Damage by 20%

Additional Skill:

– Elemental Diffuse

He was surprised with the grade, not expecting this one to be an Ancient Grade. The bonus attribute was nice, and he did not know what the skill did. But the option did not really matter to him. He swung the battle-ax, feeling the weight. It was heavy for sure yet not too heavy. It was perfect, and he gave Skelly7 a thumbs up.

That gesture made the skeleton swell in excitement and happiness. Skelly7 took a step forward, telling him more about the Abyssal Bone feature.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Try imbuing your Chaos Fire into the Abyssal Bone, master!𝓞𝗏𝗅𝒩xt.𝗇𝓔t

Tang Shaoyang followed the instruction, imbuing the battle-ax with his Chaos Fire. Chaos Fire was an exclusive elemental power for him who managed to fuse the Divine Fire and Wrath Fire. As he imbued the battle-ax with the Chaos Fire, the white bone turned black. It started from the shaft and ended up at the blade. Then the blade was covered in black fire, just the blade part.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Try swinging the Abyssal Bone again, master.

The excited Skelly7 told him, and he followed the instruction. He swung the battle-ax down to the ground, and the black fire burst out as soon as the blade hit the ground.

Boom!

The ground shook as the smoke billowed up to the sky. It was just a casual swing yet it had so much destruction power. Three meters in diameter crater formed on the ground, and the crater was one meter deep. The Chaos Fire blazed inside the crater. That must be the additional attribute, the additional twenty percent elemental damage, and also the Elemental Diffuse skill.

Zowen and Areth rushed out of the village, heading toward him in a hurry, “Are they coming!?” They were drawn by the commotion, thinking that the Virandal Empire sent more people to the village.

“Oh… No.” Tang Shaoyang shook his head, “I am testing my new weapon, but I did not expect to make such a big commotion.” He showed the Abyssal Bone in his hand.

“You….!” Zowen pointed her finger at him, furious for him to make such a ruckus in this kind of situation.

Tang Shaoyang ignored her. It was not like he was purposely doing it, his eyes landed on the young man, “Have you made the decision?”

Areth wiped out the remaining tears from his red eyes and replied with great determination, “Yes. I want to destroy the Virandal Empire to their root!”

Tang Shaoyang nodded and gestured to the young man to follow him. Rosalie and Zowen followed them, curious about what the two wanted to talk about. At this point, Zowen acted like she was Areth’s big sister. He could feel Skelly7’s disappointment directly transmitted to him.

Tang Shaoyang raised his thumb up in the air and said loudly, “Don’t be disappointed, Skelly7! You are doing a great job, and I like my new weapon very much. You will be seeing your creation a lot in the fight, and I hope you keep improving!”

The disappointment turned into happiness, and for some reason, he could picture Skelly7, giggling by himself after receiving the compliment. That was a weird imagination to have, but it stuck in his head.

He threw the useless imagination to the back of his head, leading them into the house that was still intact, remaining untouched after the raid. There was no better place to have a conversation than in a closed room. He told the boy to sit, and he took the opposite seat.

“As I said, what you need for your revenge is the resource and experience, not the training,” Tang Shaoyang did say it before, and Areth remembered everything. The boy nodded his head.

“I can help you with the resource, but not with the experience. The experience is something you get by yourself, not something I can give to you…”

“What is this? Are you just going to give him the armor and weapon, then let him fight by himself? Are you going to leave him behind?” Zowen interrupted the conversation. She was on Areth’s side in this conversation. The boy was grieving for the loss, yet the man was so heartless to leave him behind instead of bringing him with them.

“Why can’t we bring Areth with us? Help him just like you did with the skeleton? We can bring and train him at the same time!”

“If it’s an official meeting, I will raise my voice at you, Zowen. You can’t be interrupting his conversation like this, and you should need to get used to that from now on,” Rosalie reminded Zowen, but she was not angry at her friend. Zowen was being emotional, and she understood her feelings.

“First, let him finish the conversation, and you can have your turn later. Second, you misunderstand him. He is not leaving Areth behind yet, but he is telling Areth to get the experience by fighting the monster by himself just like the skeleton did. We can’t be protecting him all the time if he had a big ambition such as destroying a giant empire, unless he wants a peaceful life, we can grant him a peaceful life, a roof for him to sleep in, and food so he does not starve.”

Zowen raised her hand, “What do you mean by ‘he is not leaving Areth behind YET’?”

“I can’t help him fight the Virandal Empire, not when the God Ranks are after me and my people. I have a responsibility, for the safety of my people and empire. I am not going to waste my time to help him fight the Virandal Empire,” Tang Shaoyang made it clear and easy to understand for Areth and Zowen. Direct and blunt, but it was necessary to avoid the misunderstanding.

Zowen was a little bit angry after hearing the first part because the villager died because of him. However, she could not bring that up when he said the last part. He did not have time for helping Areth even if he wanted because they were also racing against time. She understood that and dropped her shoulders.

“I understand. You will give me the resource, the tool, and the foundation to build up my strength for my vengeance. That should be enough, more than enough. This is my battle, and I will face them myself!” Areth replied with a hoarse voice.

“This is the first resource for you,” Tang Shaoyang took a vial of red liquid and placed it on the table. “This is Dragon Essence, and you have twenty percent of awakening Dragon Bloodline by drinking it. However, this is not a pure Dragon Essence, and you might awaken a different bloodline.”

“It might be a strong bloodline, and it might be a weak bloodline. I don’t know for sure. You can take it if you want or you can wait for something better. However, I have to remind you that this might be the best one out of many bloodlines. Twenty percent of awakening Dragon Bloodline is worth a shot. The choice is yours.”