NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1082: Is that supposed to scare me?
The bonefire surged, overpowering the crimson energy on the trident and pouncing on the Firelord's essence. It fed greedily, its own flames growing stronger and brighter with every passing moment. As the fire blazed, it burned away the last vestiges of the strange blood energy that had coated the trident, and the sensation snapped Orion out of his altered state.
"Now!"
Under the cover of the chaos, the Balor from the Cult of Four discreetly crushed an arcane fire orb. The vengeful spirits barrier shattered instantly in a deafening explosion.
The blast was indiscriminate, a wave of raw force that sent everyone—Orion included—flying. Orion's allies and the remaining Cult of Four arch lords were all caught in the blowback, sustaining heavy injuries.
Orion's flesh writhed as his siren regeneration kicked in, knitting his wounds back together in seconds. Across the ruined dais, the female knight, the shadow-figure(leader), the tailed demon, and the Balor scrambled together, their eyes fixed on Orion with grim intensity. Their original party of seven arch lords sent to eliminate a single target had been reduced to four, while Orion's side now numbered six.
With the barrier gone, the Balor acted fast. It produced a small, intricately carved dragon statuette and immediately crushed it.
In an instant, the four colossal god statues standing at the perimeter of The Dais of Judgment began to glow. Beams of divine light shot from their eyes, converging on the fragments of the statuette. A blinding flash erupted, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
ROAR!
Amidst the shower of sparks, a dragon's roar echoed across the platform as a demigod phantom coalesced around a newly formed body of fire.
"By the Four Gods, all heretics who defy the majesty of the Cult of Four shall face judgment!"
The fire dragon opened its eyes. Its gaze was ancient and weary, sweeping over Sever and the Bone brothers before finally locking onto Orion.
"You actually managed to kill the Abyssal Devourer," the demigod's voice boomed. "No wonder Pontiff Jack(Clown) takes you so seriously."
The dragon was an avatar of Konak, one of the twelve Pontiffs of the Cult of Four and the master of the southern Black Tower. He sounded mildly surprised by Orion's performance, but the surprise was quickly replaced by an imperious and cold authority.
Konak's presence was immense. His gaze was like a physical weight, sharp and piercing, carrying the full pressure of a demigod as it bore down on Orion.
"Heretics who offend the Four Gods will always be judged," Konak declared. "Admit your sins. Accept my teachings. Only then can you be forgiven. Only then can you find salvation!"
While crushing Orion with his aura, Konak was also trying to turn him. An arch lord this powerful was a rare find, even within the Cult of Four. The thought of recruiting him had already crossed Konak's mind.
"Hahaha… Are you trying to recruit me?" Orion laughed wildly. The intention was so obvious a fool could see it.
Before Konak could reply, Orion added with pure contempt, "You're not worthy."
"Sigh… Insects never comprehend their own insignificance," the dragon avatar lamented, its voice dripping with condescension. "You cannot know the chasm that separates an arch lord from a demigod."
The fire dragon opened its maw, and a scorching dragon flame began to gather, compressing into a brilliant sphere of pure fire that pulsed with suffocating pressure.
"You're nothing but a dragon avatar," Orion spat. "Is that supposed to scare me? Then die!"
He raised his trident. Lightning, fire, and blood energy swirled around the tines, a vortex of raw, conflicting powers.
"WAAAGH!"
Whether it was Orion who unleashed Instant Impact first or the demigod avatar that fired its compressed sun, no one could say. All the other arch lords knew was that The Dais of Judgment was consumed by an apocalyptic explosion.
Through the blinding light, the enraged roar of a giant and the furious bellow of a dragon echoed without end.
***
Titanion Realm—Aenari Island.
The sea was a murky brown, churned with blood and sediment. The school of gargantuan rays had been annihilated, yet not a single corpse floated in the water. Every casualty, ray and Ocean Hunter alike, had been devoured by the surviving hunters. The fodder had consumed the fodder.
"Everyone, that is Aenari Island ahead!" Marina's voice cut through the air. She leapt from the ship, her feet touching down lightly on the waves. Treading across the blood-stained water, she walked step by step toward the shore.
Rendall, Beyn, Drakthul, and the others exchanged a look before steering the Sea-Devouring Warship to follow close behind her. One by one, they set foot on Aenari Island.
At the heart of the island, on the small islet in the central lake, Dadur, Eshyra, and Cyclon were gathered once more, their expressions grim.
"They really are from an arch lord faction," the Reverse Whale Dadur said. His voice was a strange mix of resignation and grim resolve. "Not a single one of my vassals survived."
"So, are we proceeding with the plan?" Eshyra asked. Her earlier hysteria was gone, replaced by a cold calm.
"And why not?" Dadur shot back. "It's just one lord. Are you telling me you're scared?"
From the moment Marina had set foot on the island, the three of them had felt her aura from afar.
"Afraid? Of course not," the naga retorted, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "Worst case, we kill them and flee back into the open ocean. We go back to being wanderers." Despite her words, her gaze shifted to the Dreadfin, Cyclon.
Among the three of them, when it came to true power and backing, it wasn't Dadur who held the highest authority, but Cyclon of the Dreadfin race. On the surface, the Reverse Whale was the strongest, but the Dreadfin was the one with the deepest roots.
Both Dadur and Eshyra fixed their eyes on him, waiting.
"A single Legendary level expert," Cyclon said, finally looking up to meet their gazes, "is not enough to make us run."
His word was final.
"Then let's prepare," Dadur said with a slow, grim smile. "Time to meet our new friend."
***
Silverwood Realm—The Dais of Judgment.
When the searing, blinding light finally faded, only wreckage remained.
Orion stood before the massive body of the fire dragon, his trident held firm, his expression a mask of crazed determination.
The avatar of the demigod Konak, a fire dragon at the peak of the arch lord level, had been decapitated by a single blow.
"Pathetic," Orion grinned.
As Konak's demigod phantom began to rise from the dragon's corpse, Orion casually waved his hand, collecting the body and the Survivors chest that had dropped from it into his storage.
"DAMN YOU! YOU BLASPHEMOUS WORM! I'LL KILL YOU!" Konak's phantom roared, his fury absolute. Being killed was one thing, but being killed so decisively in front of his own subordinates was a humiliation he could not endure.
"Your rage is music to my ears," Orion taunted. He had just killed a peak arch lord dragon in a single strike with his Wyrmsbane Gyre, giving him a newfound appreciation for the skill.
It was, in every sense of the word, a true dragonslaying art.