126 Meeting Aron

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Leader took a deep breath, holding his Ruler’s Bow at the ready. He made a full scan of his surroundings in an instant, his eyes flashing.

The Great Lord was off with the other Dragon behind them, while the arrogant Golden Flame Dragon was standing next to him. The enemy they were facing, the Vice-Head of the Diamond Department, Taemin, stood pridefully out in front, his diamond hand open and gesturing at them to walk forward.

‘The sheer arrogance of this fool… you shall break before my Pride. How dare you try to humiliate the Great Lord.’ Without holding back, Leader entered the ‘Super State’ that those that studied the Law of Pride could muster.

Immediately, his senses kicked into high gear. His perception of time and physical strength jumped enormously, as did his durability. The rainbow Aura that flowed around him seemed to intensify, his Pride becoming physically domineering.

‘Amazing…’ Leader thought as he looked back behind him. Dorian was simply staring forward, his face a calm mask.

Even in his strongest state, using the full power of the Law of Pride, he was unable to detect more than a sliver of the Great Lord’s might.

‘He is truly fearsome.’ To be able to almost perfectly conceal his true power from him in his Super State… The Great Lord was a man, no, a Demon, that truly lived up to their ancestry.

‘He truly might revive the other Great Laws, and bring our righteous study back into the mainstream.’ Leader’s eyes flashed with determination, renewing his confidence in the decision he had made.

It had been a hasty one, but one he knew in his heart was the right choice. It was almost as if Fate itself had told him that this was the man he should follow. That, and the fact that he had almost been annihilated by a few casual blows from the Great Lord.

‘Even I do not know the limit of the Great Lord’s true might… he might truly be limitlessly strong, hiding his power in a veneer of disinterest.’ He mentally nodded and then focused back on the present.

He had his Ruler’s Bow in his hand and was facing the arrogant Borrelian Wizard that challenged him to combat. He couldn’t let down the Great Lord, not when he was watching.

‘Firing a Hypervelocity shot would create a huge explosion, destroying the path the Great Lord is standing on. I’m sure he would be perfectly uninjured, but I couldn’t bear the shame.’ He shook his head for a brief fraction of a second and then raised his bow, pointing directly at the half-diamond man.

‘I’ll stick to normal fast velocity shots.’

Aiden, meanwhile, was thinking along a similar line of thought.

‘I can’t reveal my Draconic form here. We need to lay low, especially in front of the Borrelians.’ His eyes were cold.

‘I’ll remain in my Humanoid Form.’

Almost in unison, the two began to attack.

Leader struck first, spraying a dozen energy arrow shots from his Ruler’s Bow. Each shot carried a huge amount of force, enough to crater wherever they landed with an explosion of power. Each arrow was imbued with the Law of Pride.

Aiden, meanwhile, rushed in, the golden Aura that covered him boiling forth. His hands flashed as two long knives appeared in them.

Each Draconic Tribe usually had a few Laws the Tribemembers focused on. The Law Aiden studied was known as the Law of Majesty, the harder of the three Laws that most Golden Flame Dragons would choose from.

His every movement gave off a feeling of royalty, of complete assuredness that his attacks would land. That knowledge allowed him to imbue a huge amount of strength into any blow, spell, or projectile.

Taemin, meanwhile, simply narrowed his eyes, not letting a hint of worry appear on his face.

‘Two King Class foes… one with the Law of Majesty, the other with an unknown Law. Both close combat or physical combat specialists.’ Taemin mentally swore as he saw this, righteous anger filling him.

‘How dare they oppose the Borrel Autarchy.’ Warrior after warrior, Wizard after Wizard, the enemies he had faced today seemed unending.

Yet, in his heart of hearts, he knew the Autarchy would prevail in the end. It was inevitable. No one could stop the man that led it, after all.

Taemin was considered an absolute genius among humans, but even he knew his limits. Facing two extremely strong King Class enemies without preparation could lead to his death.

Therefore, for the first time today, he deigned to use Magic.

“Diamond Magic: Expansive Shield.”

Immediately, the diamond arm he was holding in front of him expanded, surging into a large, two meters wide and tall shield. Faint blue light covered it, imbued with the Law of Solidity that he studied. A mysterious, little-known Law that focused on toughness and durability, vastly enhancing one’s defensive prowess, as well as the impact of one’s blows. A perfect match for Diamond Magic, one of the most defensively powerful branches of Magic.

At the same time that his arm expanded into a huge shield, Taemin also set his feet into the ground, readying himself.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

A series of explosions rang out as Leader’s arrows detonated onto the shield, bright explosions of light that formed small craters in the ground, but failed to penetrate, or even push Taemin back.

Aiden, in the meantime, had rushed forward and cut to the side of Taemin’s shield, on the left side of his body. Just as he managed to get past the shield, he jumped forward, leading his two daggers forward in an elegant strike.

Taemin just barely managed to counter the daggers, using his left arm to punch out and force Aiden to shift to the side. The two daggers covered in golden light missed the vital points of Taemin, instead tearing two long slashes on his left shoulder. His defensive Aura helped prevent the strikes from cutting too deep, but couldn’t stop them entirely.

Blood spattered off the injuries, dripping down his back.

“Diamond Magic: Igael’s Blade.” Instantly, a large, glowing broadsword made of pure diamond appeared in Taemin’s left hand. He cut downward with the sword, taking advantage of Aiden being off balance to try and land a blow of his own as he ignored the injury he took.

At the same time, he withdrew his massive diamond shield, his right arm transforming back into its regular diamond arm shape.

Dorian saw all of this, the battle clearly visible to him standing off to the side. As he watched the unfolding fight, his eyes flashed.

‘Let’s try it now.’ His will fluttered as he looked at the Vice-Head of the Diamond Department.

‘If I redirect his blow, that would probably cost a huge amount. Stopping him in the middle of an intense battle would also cost a ton.’ He mentally nodded, his thoughts racing.

He glanced down, at the feet of the battling warriors. The rocky ground was covered in loose stone and ashes, cracked from the impact of the ongoing battle.

He smiled.

‘I command you… trip, ever so slightly!’ He pulled hard on his soul, using his every iota of will to command Fate to twist.

Changing the Fate of something major, for a powerful figure with a strong soul, was bound to bear an enormous cost.

Changing the Fate of something quite minor, for example, the ground beneath a mighty figure, would still cost more than it would otherwise… but would hold a much lesser cost. After all, the Fate of a piece of dirt could only be so important.

WHOOSH

Dorian felt a noticeable amount of energy leave his soul. Around a thousand points worth, sizable, but not too large.

On the other side of the stone path, Aiden was ducking backwards, his eyes scrunched up as he prepared to take a blow.

‘Damn… this human is far more skilled than I prepared for.’ He mentally cursed at himself as he saw the blade cut towards him. He didn’t have any chance to dodge. The human had sacrificed taking his two knife stabs in order to land a blow of his own, showing courage and tactics surpassing Aiden’s expectations.

‘I’ll just have to take the damage.’ He braced himself for the impact as he leaped backwards, trying to minimize the injury.

WHOOSH

THUD

Aiden tumbled through the air, flipped backwards as he landed down hard, a dozen meters away. His hands planted into the stone ground, halting his retreat as he looked up in surprise.

He was uninjured.

Instead, the mighty Diamond Wizard that had caught him by surprise and launched an attack that took him completely off guard…

Was lying face down in the dirt.

“Hup!” The Diamond Wizard leapt upwards, his face a mask of confusion as he held the diamond sword at the ready, his eyes glaring daggers.

Aiden and Leader both paused, exchanging glances.

“Did he just… trip?” Aiden began, an odd tone in his voice.

“Yep. While standing still.” Leader responded back.

A silent moment ensued briefly and was just as quickly broken.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Ahaha!”

The duo broke into laughter as they stared at the Diamond Wizard, the tension of the moment slipping away.

“How dare you! You dare insult the honor of the Borrel Autarchy!” Taemin went berserk as he heard this, his body blurring as he rushed towards Leader, chopping down with the large broadsword in his left hand.

Before he could make it far, however, his feet seemed to shift oddly.

WHOOSH

THUD

The Diamond Wizard fell face first into the dirt a second time.

“Ahahahahahahaha!” Leader fell to the ground, clutching at his sides as he watched the Diamond Wizard bounce off the dirt and tumble head over heels all the way to the edge of the stone path, almost flung off into the lava below.

Aiden wasn’t much better, snorting uncontrollably with mirth as he covered his mouth, trying to maintain his dignity.

“Da-damn you!” Taemin sputtered as he got to his feet, the blue Aura around him surging as he stamped into the ground. He glared at his feet, and then at the duo, his eyes cold. He then looked beyond them, at Dorian and Mira.

Twice now he’d lost his footing in a completely unnatural way. He instantly surmised that something strange was afoot. The only issue with that was that he didn’t sense even the slightest hint of a Spell being cast. It was almost as if each time he tripped, it was ordained by Fate, not affected by magic.

Mira simply stared back at him, her face unperturbed. Dorian had a poker face of his own, crossing his arms and shrugging with disinterest.

Internally, he was barely holding back a smile.

‘Hahaha, excellent! So I can change the Fate of other things, and that can indirectly interfere with other people! Even if changing their Fate directly would cost too much, I can still affect the Fate of the mighty in this way!’ The realization was a reassuring one. If he needed to face up against a powerful enemy, he had another arrow in his quiver.

‘Let’s test it a bit more…’ Dorian thought, a small smile appearing on his face.

Before he could do anything else, however, a loud roar shook the air.

ROOOAAAAAR

A huge presence smashed down on the stone path they were standing on, flying in from more than a hundred meters high in the air. A large, grey and black skinned wolf that had a body that practically vibrated with force.

A blade appeared to be pierced through its snout, giving it an incredibly odd appearance.

–

Species: Langshen – Divine Wolf

Class – Lord Class (Pseudo-King)

Maximum Energy Level: 722,998

–

The impact from the Divine Wolf’s landing left a thirty meter wide crater in the ground, sending up shards of rock and stone, a cloud of ash spiraling into the air.

At the same time, as Dorian’s eyes widened at the appearance of the beast, Dorian also felt a connection with the creature. One that throbbed deep in his soul.

‘This is a fellow Anomaly! It has King Class strength, but is listed as only Lord Class. Is its strength boosted somehow, like my Condense Ability?’ His thoughts raced ahead of him.

ROAAAAAR

The Langshen let out a second fierce roar as it jumped forward, its head twisting and turning as if it was looking for something. When its sight landed on the group of humans and Humanoid dragons, it froze, the air around it shivering.

A berserk, heavy feeling flowed off the Divine Wolf as it began to rush forward, a mad gleam in its eyes.

The route it was taking just so happened to have it charging directly at Dorian first.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

The scraggly man wearing a bright pink robe covered his face in shame as he watched Vice-Head Taemin trip twice in combat. He was currently standing nearly a thousand meters away, hovering high in the sky atop a floating piece of rock. Flying on a world where flying was supposed to be nearly impossible, a feat that Aiden, a King Class Golden Flame Dragon, struggled with.

“I was going to come help you… but you… are pathetic… how do you trip while standing still…?” The drunk middle-aged man sighed with frustration,

“And here I thought you were supposed to be some Godly genius. Well.” He shook his head sadly.

“Let’s see… two Dragons, a Human, and some type of Vampire. Three at King Class, but none near Completion. They are fighting against Taemin… hmm… I might need to go kill them all…” He mused to himself.

It was at the moment that Aron appeared, in his Langshen form, berserk energy rippling off him as he went on a rampage.

“Oh? Some type of Divine or Heavenly beast? That’s rare.” The drunk stared at Aron, his eyes alighting with interest.

“Ohh, it’s charging right at you… huh? I can barely sense any energy coming off you.” For the first time, the drunk’s voice was filled with a hint of curiosity as it looked at Dorian.

“You’re either an old monster like me, or fairly weak.” He rubbed his chin softly,

“Which is it?”