Chapter 657: The Empire's Age of Exploration: Jean Claude Battles The Three Sovereigns |
"How do you know all of this?" Karak asked, not hiding his skepticism.
"The Dragonfists are distant descendants of the Dragonslayer Royal Clan," the General calmly replied.
"What?"
"The Dragonslayer, in their hubris, hunted the dragons and giants to extinction. For many generations, they had to rely on the passing of their bloodline to ensure they had powerful souls, but as you can imagine, their blood power started thinning with each generation.
"One of their rulers was wise enough to foresee what future awaited the empire and the family, so he secretly hid a few members to ensure his lineage survived the fall of the Styrex Empire."
"So, your family has been researching how to reclaim the power of dragons ever since," Karak sneered.
"That's right," General Luk calmly admitted.
"Since you brought us here, it means you have succeeded," Serashi added. "Why haven't you used it on yourself?"
General Luk was briefly quiet. "The price required to activate this dragon heart is the blood and energy of countless powerful warriors and mages."
"You're doing well, Dragonfist, sacrificing my people as if they were nothing," Karak sneered.
"Our sacrifice will be for the motherland's future," the General replied calmly.
"Our? You don't mean —" Serashi asked.
"I never ask my men to do something I'm not willing to do," the General replied calmly.
"I respect that," the queen sighed.
"You must defeat the Arcanist," General Dragonfist insisted. "This is the key to saving our world."
"So what if we defeat him? There is still the Arcane Empire behind him," Karak sneered.
"You not only need to kill him but do so while keeping his tower intact," General Dragonfist continued. "That thing contained the knowledge to elevate our civilization to the next level. With its technology, we can travel to other planes and gather resources. More importantly, we can build another home for our people in case we lose to the Arcane Empire."
"We understand," Queen Serashi nodded. The General handed them each a scroll before walking out of the room. A few seconds later, numerous screams echoed from the mountain, followed by a blood river that headed directly to the humongous stone.
…
As soon as Claude detected the massive energy reading from this area, he sent a few Sorcerer Eyes to check this location. He was extra careful despite the fact he had already conquered this world. Then, he saw the three former rulers floating above the sky, releasing their aura and energy for the entire world to sense.
"Interesting. Is this a challenge?" Claude did not back down and soon teleported to their location.
"You should be careful," the Sorceress immediately warned through their soul link. "I have detected a power similar to dragons that have extended their Soul Dimensions and protected their souls."
"No wonder they were so confident to challenge," Claude nodded.
"One more thing. It appears the Law Resonance Spell is about to fail, meaning the Plane Will will be active and restrict your power. You should win this fight as quickly as possible."
"I was prepared for this kind of prototype to malfunction," Claude replied. "Don't forget to exaggerate things in the report so the government can reimburse us."
"No problem."
Claude looked at these three, but his focus was on Queen Serashi: "All the information I've read about you indicates you have the talent of an Arcanist, albeit more of a Battle Mage than a Scholar; it is still an Arcanist. Instead of wasting time in this pointless battle, why don't you follow me? I'll tell you all the benefits of being an Arcanist."
"Foreigner, we have sacrificed so much for this opportunity, and nothing you say can persuade us to surrender," Serashi replied coldly.
"What a shame," Claude said before instantly manifesting two magic circles beside him. Two spirits appeared; the first was dressed like an African warrior with two machetes, and the other was a black female warrior with a long spear.
Serashi frowned, and with a wave of her hands, she cast a few buff spells on her allies, including Physical Enhancement Spell, Mana Regeneration Spell, Magic Immunity Spell, and Increase Life Energy Spell.
'Wielding mana has become so effortless with the Dragon Soul,' Serashi contemplated. Claude appeared unbothered and sent his ancestral spirits to an opponent. The machete warrior targeted Karak, and the woman rushed toward Virek.
Boom!
Serashi dropped a rain of lightning on her opponent, but Claude remained calm as his magic shield protected him. Serashi snapped her finger to generate two massive tornadoes of flames that tried to grind Claude into pieces. However, he calmly changed the nature of his magic shield to counter wind and flame magic, allowing him to remain intact.
'Damn it, why is he so powerful?' Serashi complained. She had only used two spells in their encounter, but she could already detect the vast difference in their strength, especially since Claude hadn't moved from his spot.
'I've never succeeded in casting that spell, but it might work now,' Serashi thought. She did not waste time and controlled the vibration from her body to control the mana inside and in the environment. Claude sensed something and immediately raised his head.
'A meteor? Interesting. It seems she is rapidly adapting to her newfound power,' he analyzed. The longer this battle continues, the more powerful the queen will become. Claude raised his hand to double cast. The first spell shrunk the meteor coming to him until it was the size of a tennis ball. Then, once the meteor was close to him, the second spell activated.
The second spell reverted all the meteor's kinetic energy and redirected it toward Serashi. Thus, the tennis-size meteor flew toward the former empress with unparalleled speed. Serashi reacted swiftly and activated numerous shields to defend herself, but it was pointless. The meteor contained too much force that it plowed through these shields.
The empress did buy herself enough time to teleport out of the way, but the shockwave from the small meteor shook her internal organs, injuring her slightly.
'I am not his match in a one-on-one,' Serashi immediately realized. So, she checked on her partners to see if they could gang up on this Arcanist. Sadly, their situation was not ideal. The two emperors had the advantage in strength, primarily due to her previous buffs. However, these spirits were highly skilled and had one significant advantage: no physical or magical attack could hurt them.
'Damn it,' Serashi cursed as she realized the situation. These two may no longer have a flaw in their souls, but they have no way of utilizing them for attacks, meaning they have no way to kill these spirits. In other words, Claude is still targeting their weakness to ensure his victory in this battle.
Serashi raised her hand to cast a spell on these spirits, but with a wave of Claude's hands, her spell disappeared.
"What just happened?" she asked.
"I'm done playing around," Claude replied.
Serashi's sense of danger went on overdrive, so she instinctively became fiercer. She used her most potent spell — Spatial Magic. Previously, all her spatial spells would take minutes to cast, but with her newfound giant soul, these spells were instant.
The Queen controlled the vibration of her body to cast a Space Cutting Spell. However, Claude released another vibration, and her spell dissipated.
"No, this can't be," Serashi uttered before trying the Dimension Exile Spell. However, the result was the same. "What did you do?"
"Anti-magic," Claude replied truthfully. "Compared to the Empire, your civilization's understanding and utilization of mana is like an infant trying to hurt the best scholar in the world."
Serashi had an ugly expression as she tried a few more spells. As she realized her effort was futile, a look of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes. The book General Dragonfist handed her contained one last ditch effort to save the world, and now it appeared she had to use it.