Fortunately, Izroth arrived at the time that he did; otherwise, his presence would have undoubtedly been discovered. Nevertheless, the presence of the Pillar of the East changed everything.
‘How troublesome. Now I understand why the conditions given by the system for an SSS-ranked quest seemed so generous. It looks like there’s no choice but to alter our original plans. That being said…’
At the moment, Izroth had no way of getting into contact with Astratis, who was currently on his way to confront the Pillar of the West.
Hopefully, the Son of Thunder had yet to enter the palace. If he did, Izroth may already be too late!
‘A way to draw their attention without alerting them… Perhaps that method will work. It’s a bit risky since I don’t know how the Pillar of the West will react, but it’s the only option right now that won’t cost me a great price to implement. Though if it comes down to it, I may have to use it—the items I received from her.’
After ensuring that there was no one else entering the palace, Izroth activated his Flickering Steps. In addition, so that his presence would stay hidden, Izroth employed charges of his Enhanced Instantaneous Movement to cross certain areas where there was a lack of darkness. In this way, Izroth was able to maintain the effects of his Shadow Blending skill.
…
“A mortal wants to taint the sacred land of our master and block my path?! You deserve a thousand deaths!” A screeching voice filled with anger echoed.
This voice came from a person who bore a striking resemblance to the Keeper of the Ninth Gate, Vagelrio. The major difference was that this man’s horns were much thicker than Vagelrio’s. This individual was also a member of the Megada ancient race and one of the Keepers who served Ourami.
Name: Keeper of the Seventh Gate, Keros(???)
Level: ???
“Mortal this, mortal that—it’s getting old. Just shut your mouth and talk with your fists, you oversized steak!” Hakros said as he slammed his fists together, creating a small but powerful shockwave that spread out in Keros’ direction.
“Arrogant mortal! You dare compare me to mere cattle! Die!” Keros’ eyes turned red with bloodlust as he struck the earth in front of him with both of his large hands, penetrating into the ground.
The next moment, the number of veins on Keros’ arms increased as the earth around him trembled.
Crrrrrack!
The sound of the fracturing earth could be heard as the ground started to break apart. Then, in one swift motion, Keros pulled upward with great might, breaking off a thick piece of the earth that was more than ten meters in length. This was not a special skill, but just Keros displaying his raw physical strength!
“Ahhhh!”
“Sir Keros! We’re still here!”
Some of the ancient races who were less fortunate became caught up in Keros’ path; however, the Megada ignored their cries as some fell from the large stone.
BANG!
The shockwave send out by Hakros collided with the piece of earth lifted by Keros and shattered a portion of it upon impact. It also hit some of the ancient races who were lifted up by Keros.
Swoosh!
After blocking the shockwave, Keros slid his foot back into a throwing position.
“Silence!!!” Keros cried out before launching what remained of the huge piece of earth towards Hakros with some of the ancient races still onboard!
“What’s this? You want to have a contest of strength with me?” A grin formed on Hakros’ face as he kicked off his back foot.
Instead of running away from the incoming attack, he charged right into it without fear!
“Then, don’t disappoint me!” Hakros roared as the aura around him exploded.
Hakros crashed right into the huge piece of earth. Upon doing so, it was shattered into countless pieces as the ancient races who managed to hold on were flung away in every direction!
“Block him!” One of the nearby ancient races called out.
Several members of the ancient races quickly positioned themselves in between Hakros and Keros. Despite Keros’ brutal actions against his own side, the hierarchy was clear. They did not dare slack off in fear of incurring the Megada’s wrath. Or, even worse, angering their master!
However, as those individuals from the ancient races attempted to intercept Hakros, the aura around him seemed to only grow stronger.
There were those who were confident in their strength and sped forward to stop Hakros; however, they were immediately flattened under his feet.
Bladed weapons, razor-sharp claws, poisonous needles—no matter what the group of ancient races sent at Hakros, it all appeared to deflect off of his hardened physique!
“What’s with this crazy mortal?! Why does his body ignore all of our attacks?”
“His defense is too tough! He must have the protection of a high celestial! We have to combine our attacks to get through!”
“We outnumber him! Focus your attacks on him! Focus your attacks!”
In the blink of an eye, Hakros was surrounded on all sides as he continued his charge in Keros’ direction. In total, there were more than one hundred ancient races whose only goal right now was to claim his life!
But, what his enemies did not know was that trying to defeat him with numbers alone was the worst possible solution!
“That’s more like it! All of you, come at me together! Ahahaha!” Hakros’ eyes glowed red as a heavy dark blue and white aura encompassed his body.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!
Out of nowhere, the cry of a peerless ancient beast reverberated throughout the battlefield. This cry was enough to cause an instinctive fear for many of the ancient races present. However, this was not surprising considering the origins of this ancient beast’s cry.
The Ancient Behemoth Okath was one of the primordial beings—an entity equivalent to the father of all dragon bloodlines who was brought into existence by the world itself, the Celestial True Dragon!
It was that same ancient behemoth’s bloodline that flowed through the veins of Hakros and granted him the power to overcome everything in his path. And, the more enemies he faced at once or the stronger the opponent in front of him, the greater Hakros’ strength grew!
BOOM!
With every step Hakros took, it was as if the space around him was bending and fluctuating. The pressure generated by the strengthened aura of the ancient behemoth was enough to directly affect the gravity in the environment, causing the space around the Unstoppable Behemoth to curve!
Whenever Hakros’ foot touched the ground, the earth trembled and nearly gave way as multiple fissures formed on his path.
The weaker ones among the ancient races could not even get close enough to attack due to this unusual phenomenon!
As for Keros, his anger only seemed to grow as he watched the repeated failure of those under his command.
“A bunch of weaklings! Can’t even handle a puny mortal! Move!” Keros blurted out as he swept his arm outward, knocking away his own allies that were in front of him.
Keros lowered his stance with his horns pointed forward. Then, in a split second, Keros accelerated at great speeds. He was on a direct collision course with Hakros!
“Gah!”
“Move aside, Sir Keros is- Ahhhh!”
Those who stood on Keros’ path, be it ally or foe—it mattered not to the Megada. He had watched this disgraceful scene go on long enough!
If they could not even handle a single mortal, then what use did they have for him or his master? This was Keros’ simple thought process.
As for how a mortal was able to break through the encirclement and survive for so long, Keros did not care. All he knew was that as a member of the Megada ancient race, how could he lose to a mortal when it came to strength? It was an absurd notion!
The distance between Hakros and Keros quickly shrunk. Neither looked as if they had any plans to move out of the other’s way.
10 meters…
5 meters…
1 meter…!
“DIE!” Keros roared as he prepared to run through Hakros with his horns!
But, what happened next caused the atmosphere to immediately undergo a drastic change.
Splat!
Without his momentum lowering in the slightest, Hakros charged right through Keros, splitting the Megada’s large body in four directions!
This scene shocked the ancient races present whose eyes were filled with terror and disbelief at what they had just witnessed.
There was no resistance, no struggle, no contest of strength—only a one-sided slaughter!
Hakros halted his charge as a looked of disappointment appeared on his face.
“Since he was so confident, I didn’t hold back, but… What’s this? Why the hell was he so weak?” Hakros frowned.
Zeeeeut!
Hakros narrowed his eyes as he instinctively swung his fist to his right side; however, once he noticed who it was, he immediately halted his attack partway through.
“Oh? This guy… Although I pulled back my attack just now, he’s stronger than he looks.” Hakros internalized as he felt a hand pressed against the back of his wrist.
“That’s quite the greeting you have,” Izroth said calmly.
“You’re not gonna blame me, right? Sneaking up like that while we’re in the middle of a battlefield.” Hakros replied.
“Your words are not wrong. That aside, the item I left with you, hand it over. There’s been a change of plans. Also, I’m curious—how confident are you in your defense?” Izroth stated with a carefree smile.
“Oh? It sounds like you’re about to do something interesting. Whatever it is, count me in. This guy wasn’t enough at all. As for my defense, whatever it is, I’ll receive it head-on!” Hakros commented proudly.
