Chapter 91: The 4 Heavenly Kings (3)
The ground went up high.
"GRRRROOOUUUU!!"
A large scream.
It echoed through the air, shaking the clouds and the ground all at once.
Water cascaded down the sides of the rising mountain of mud. But it was not a mountain. The green and brown ridges were perfectly symmetrical. Massive ancient trees that had grown on its back were snapping at their roots. They fell into the churning lake below with heavy splashes.
A head the size of the Grim Palace pushed through the surface of the water. Dark green algae sloughed off its rocky scales. Gallons of water poured from its gaping maw. Two glowing yellow eyes, each as large as a house, locked onto our tiny group standing on the shore.
It was a giant turtle.
The Island Turtle.
The Garden Gnome fell to his knees immediately. He grabbed his tiny hat and buried his face in the dirt. Nea drew her weapon, her hands shaking slightly as the immense shadow of the creature covered us entirely.
"Axel," Nea whispered. Her voice was barely audible. "That is the Heavenly King. The second of the four."
"I can see that," I said. "And there’s 5."
I looked at the giant beast. Then I looked down at the tiny turtles scurrying up its massive claws. The contrast was absolutely ridiculous.
"It is just a big rock with a face," I told her to lighten the mood.
"A big rock that can crush our entire city by rolling over," Nea pointed out instantly.
The giant turtle let out another heavy breath. The wind from its nostrils nearly blew us off our feet. A heavy pressure settled over the clearing. It felt like gravity had suddenly doubled. My knees buckled for a fraction of a second before I forced myself to stand straight.
This was the aura of a Heavenly King. The Gryphon had been strong, but this felt entirely different. This was an ancient and unbreakable presence.
"HUMANS."
The voice did not come from the air. It exploded directly inside my head. It rattled my teeth and made my vision blur. Telepathy. Of course the giant magic turtle had telepathy. Why use vocal cords when you can just vibrate the skulls of your enemies.
"YOU HARM MY CHILDREN."
"Harm is a very strong word," I shouted back at the giant face. "We just gave them a very firm eviction notice. They were eating our property."
The massive yellow eyes narrowed. The ground shook violently as it took a single step toward the shore.
"THE FOREST IS OURS. YOU KILLED THE GRYPHON. YOU DISRUPTED THE BALANCE. NOW YOU POISON MY BROOD."
"Nea," I said loudly, ignoring the booming voice. "Do you have the remaining stew?"
Nea blinked in surprise. She reached into her spatial storage and pulled out the small metal pot. The dark purple mist was still leaking from the lid.
"I have it," she said slowly. "But Axel, look at the size of him. Are you crazy?"
"Size does not matter," I said with complete confidence. "The recipe is flawless. We weaponized your cooking today. Let us see how the big boss handles it. If the kids run, the parent will run too."
I took the pot from her hands. The tiny turtles on the shore saw the pot and immediately started shrieking in terror. They scrambled frantically back into the water to get away from the cursed smell.
"Behold," I yelled at the giant turtle. "The ultimate deterrent of the Grim Palace."
I threw the lid away. I scooped up a massive wooden ladle full of the bubbling purple stew. I aimed for the giant glowing yellow eye and threw the concoction with all my physical might.
The purple liquid sailed through the air. It hit the side of the turtle’s massive snout with a loud, wet slap.
I waited for the gag. I waited for the giant beast to recoil in absolute horror just like its children did. I waited for the grand victory that my brilliant tactical mind had just secured for the city.
The Island Turtle did not flinch.
It did not blink.
It slowly extended a massive tongue, easily the size of a merchant carriage, and licked the purple stain right off its rocky scales.
It smacked its giant lips together.
"NEEDS MORE SALT."
The telepathic voice in my head was completely deadpan.
My jaw dropped to the floor.
"What," I whispered.
"Axel," Nea said. Her voice was trembling uncontrollably now. "It didn’t work."
"I can see that it didn’t work," I yelled back. "How How can it be!?" I fell to my knees. "It actually liked that and wanted more SALT!? SALT!"
"I TOLD YOU," the ancient voice boomed in my mind. "THEY ARE MY CHILDREN. THEY ARE WEAK AND YOUNG. I HAVE LIVED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. I HAVE CONSUMED MAGICAL TOXINS THAT WOULD MELT YOUR PUNY BONES. YOUR KITCHEN SPICES ARE NOTHING TO ME."
Well, shit.
The turtle raised its giant head higher into the sky. The sheer mass of the creature blocked out the sun completely. The lake water started to churn and spiral violently around its massive legs.
This was not just a big animal. This was a force of nature waking up to exterminate a pest. And we were the pests.
"Wait, wait, wait," I shouted, putting my hands up in the air. "Let us talk about this. I am a very reasonable man. We can negotiate a treaty."
"THERE IS NO NEGOTIATION WITH INSECTS."
The water in the lake began to rise. It was not just splashing around. It was being pulled straight up into the air by an invisible force. Massive spheres of water, each as large as a house, floated out of the lake and orbited around the turtle’s head.
Magic.
The Heavenly King was gathering its mana. The pressure in the air grew so intense that the Garden Gnome actually fainted, face planting right into the mud with a soft squelch.
"Nea," I said very slowly.
"Yes," she answered. She was gripping her weapon so tightly her knuckles were completely white.
"We might have made a slight miscalculation."
"A slight one," she agreed, stepping closer to me.
The giant turtle lowered its gaze to us. The glowing yellow eyes held no anger. They only held the cold indifference of a creature about to step on an anthill.
"YOUR CITY WILL BE WASHED AWAY. YOUR TREES WILL BE CRUSHED. THE BALANCE OF THE FOREST WILL BE RESTORED TODAY."
Hundreds of the floating water spheres began to merge together above its massive head. They rapidly formed a giant, swirling ball of pressurized water. It cast a dark, suffocating shadow over the entire clearing. If that thing dropped on us, we would not just drown. The impact alone would shatter every single bone in our bodies into fine dust.
And behind us, just a short run away, was the city of Serenia. If the turtle marched forward and unleashed that attack, the sheer weight of the water and its footsteps would flatten the Grim Palace and everything else we had worked so hard to build.
The water began to fall.