Chapter 46: Three Beast Kings!
The instant Kyo entered the battlefield, [Spider Sense] locked onto him.
Peak Rank Five.
No hostility.
Joren let the warning fade and looked down at the Frost Direwolf beneath his feet.
It had stopped moving.
The massive head lay nearby, blood still spraying from the severed neck. Before it could hit the ground, the freezing air turned it into tiny beads of ice that scattered with a sharp clatter.
"Plunder."
His voice had gone hoarse. The scarlet in his eyes had yet to fade.
[Ding! Consumed 1000 Bloodstars. Successfully plundered blue Talent: Frostgrave Path.]
Buzz.
A current of killing cold burst from the soles of his feet and shot straight up his spine.
His blood had been burning from one violent burst after another. The cold washed through him, and all that heat settled at once.
Cool.
Heavy.
Still.
[Talent: Frostgrave Path Blue]
[Talent Description: Wherever you walk, the earth freezes beneath you. When you enter the battlefield, death spreads like frost, and the frozen end of all things follows in your wake.]
[Talent Effect: Grants extreme affinity with ice. A Frostgrave Domain automatically forms within fifty meters. Enemy movement speed is reduced by 40 percent, and one stack of Frostbite is applied every second. Attacks gain 30 percent armor penetration and have a chance to trigger Frostburst, dealing 500 percent shatter damage.]
Joren lowered his gaze.
White frost spread from beneath his boots.
The blood soaked mud crackled, hardening almost instantly into clear ice.
The remaining Rank Four lords had not made it far.
Then Frostgrave Path took shape.
Every fleeing giant shuddered.
Their pace faltered.
At some point, the ground beneath them had become a slick sheet of killing cold. Every push against the earth sent pain straight into the marrow.
"Keep going."
Joren moved.
What trailed behind him was no longer a simple chain of afterimages. Dozens of frost figures formed in his wake, pale statues carved from ice.
He was about to finish the last few strays when the storm stopped.
For one second.
Rain hung motionless in the air.
On the cliff, Kyo’s smile vanished.
His hand closed around the hilt of the greatsword on his back.
"Get back!"
The shout rolled across the battlefield like thunder.
Too late.
Boom!
The clouds split apart as though torn open by an invisible hand.
A dark golden pillar pierced the storm and slammed into the center of the battlefield with crushing force.
The Golden Dragon Falcon.
Peak Rank Five.
It was not especially large. Even with both wings spread, it measured only around thirty meters.
But every feather looked like a heavy sword forged from pure gold, burning brightly against the dark sky.
Then the abandoned office tower in front of Joren collapsed.
Dust surged outward.
From within it, an enormous serpent head slowly rose.
Pitch black.
More than five meters across.
Peak Rank Five.
The Abyssal Blackscale Python.
Its pupils glowed a pure spectral violet. Each flick of its tongue released dark green poison mist that ate into the air with a vicious hiss.
"One more."
[Spider Sense] screamed.
The shadow behind Joren was moving.
Coming alive.
A figure less than two meters tall emerged a hundred meters away, yet the air around it twisted and warped.
A Shadow Fiend.
Limbs like an ape.
A single horn rising from its skull.
Thick darkness clung to its body like liquid ink.
Three peak Rank Five beast kings.
The three most terrifying rulers around Norcrest had all arrived.
At central command, Manester’s communicator dissolved into harsh static.
Every electronic surveillance system failed at once.
"Field distortion detected..."
"Spatial signals are being disrupted..."
"Those are beast kings."
Manester stood before the enormous window.
Even from dozens of kilometers away, he could feel those three pits of malice pressing down on Norcrest.
The city’s last trace of hope seemed ready to disappear beneath them.
"Kyo..."
His teeth ground together.
At the center of the battlefield, the fleeing Rank Four lords stopped.
Then they lowered themselves to the ground, trembling like subjects welcoming their kings.
The three beast kings spread into a triangle, trapping Joren and the newly arrived Kyo at the center.
The pressure was unlike anything before.
Frost formed by [Frostgrave Path] cracked apart inch by inch beneath the aura of the Golden Dragon Falcon.
Roar!
The Abyssal Blackscale Python struck first.
Its truck sized head lunged forward.
Twin beams of condensed Mental Force burst from its violet pupils.
Joren’s mind rang.
Darkness washed across his sight.
Even with the foundation of a Rank Two Psionic Master, the impact still forced blood from his ears.
So this was Rank Five.
A gap too wide for Talent alone to close.
[Ding! Rank Five Voidbeasts detected. High quality Talents found.]
[Detected peak Rank Five Golden Dragon Falcon. Possesses purple Talent: Sovereign of the Skies.]
[Detected peak Rank Five Abyssal Blackscale Python. Possesses purple Talent: Netherbane.]
[Detected peak Rank Five Shadow Fiend. Possesses purple Talent: Domain of Eternal Night.]
[Ding! To plunder a purple Talent, Host must reach Rank Three, kill the target, and consume 10000 Bloodstars.]
Far too early for him.
Joren still ran his tongue over his cracked lips.
His voice dropped so low that only he could hear it.
"One day, all of you will be mine."
Boom!
High above, the Golden Dragon Falcon released a cry that pierced the clouds.
Thousands of dark golden feathers fell like a storm.
Every one of them locked onto Joren.
Purple lightning and pale frost twisted wildly across his body.
He had to trigger [Phantom Thorn] and force his way clear.
Then a hand landed on his shoulder.
A vacuum opened around him.
The mental assault vanished.
The golden feathers vanished.
Everything that touched that invisible field simply disappeared.
"Hey, kid."
Norcrest’s only member of Sirius Bureau pulled a crumpled cigarette from his pocket.
Click.
The lighter flame did not move, even in the storm.
Kyo took a long drag and let the smoke drift from his mouth.
"Not bad."
"When I was your age, I was still wasting time at school parties."
He lifted his hand from Joren’s shoulder.
The ember at his fingertips went dark.
One last stream of smoke left his lips.
Then the weariness in his eyes was gone.
The black greatsword behind him began to hum.
The sound rolled through the sky.
Wind and rain split apart around him.
Kyo moved.
One hand reached back for the hilt.
One step forward.
Boom!
He became a black shadow sharp enough to cut the sky itself, charging straight at the three peak Rank Five beast kings.
"Fuck off!"