Chapter 484: Surprise Rocket
King Vander realized his blunder but it was too late to take it back.
"Do not involve me in your mess, Primordial," Vander said with a deep frown, noticing that some arkships were inching closer and closer.
"But you have already chosen a side, have you not?" Kael asked calmly, placing his arms behind his back and raising his chin high.
"Ma’abu wishes to eliminate me. Not because of a personal offense, but because he genuinely doesn’t like the existence of Primordials.
That is why he created the Anti-Primordial Coalition in the first place.
He knows that eliminating me is tantamount to cutting off the lion’s direct access to the power and blessing of the Law of Conquering.
Yet, he still wishes to continue in his damning ways.
Is that not a sin against Lionhood? To threaten the integrity and life of the lions with his own ideals.
And you support him. Vander, you think he is right.
You are a sinner,"
The glow coming from Kael’s eyes increased in intensity.
The tension had reached its peak.
Exalon flexed his shoulders and twisted his neck, causing warp effect ripples to form on the surface of his skin.
Seeing Exalon flex his shoulders was like a signal for the other arkships and the lion kings, they drew closer.
Multiple compartments opened up with thousands of cannons aimed at King Vander alone.
Who will gain that mystery gift, they were yet to know.
King Vander suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.
"Hahahahaha, I assumed you came to intimidate us with such numbers. I didn’t expect that you guys actually wanted to fight.
We might be the weakest coalition combat-wise, but do you really think that you all can suppress the power of close to a hundred thousand Fortune Lions? "
King Vander relaxed, realizing that it wasn’t that serious.
The combined power of the fortune lions could easily offset anything Kael wanted to do.
But Kael came here prepared.
He no longer said anything to King Vander. Hue turned away from the elderly lion and looked at a particular arkship casually hovering in the midst of other arkships.
...
Kael: Launch.
...
That particular arkship suddenly moved.
Exalon, King Vander, and the others were curious to know what Kael was looking at and they followed his line of sight to see a trembling arkship.
They noticed something at the top of this arkship’s pointy center.
"Are those magic rocket launchers?" Someone asked, a magus Lion who found the pattern extremely familiar.
"It looks like it...oh it’s already launched,"
Warp signals flew from one arkship to another.
The specific arkship that Kael was looking at suddenly shot out one rocket from the launchpad at the top.
It was an instant event. By the time most could tell what was happening, the strange rocket had already flown over Kael and the others’ heads and was heading straight for the red star.
"Enough, Primordial," King Vander said, bored, and reaching out to the flying rocket with the vast power of his fortune.
He attempted to prevent the rocket from doing any harm.
Either way, the launch of this strange rocket was the signal that Kael had officially launched an attack on the String of Fate Coalition.
This was enough reason for the others to start blasting their cannons with reckless abandon, hoping to kill one sinner in the process.
The beams of their cannon blasts arched over Kael’s head, casting multicolored light shows that mesmerized Ozia.
King Vander continued to exert the power of his fortune, knowing fully well that he might not be able to interfere in such a disaster.
However, what was was not always what will be.
The strange rocket that was shot first was fast. It didn’t need to reach the star for it to have its intended effect.
As soon as the rocket got close enough to the nearest island and the nearest fortune lion.
*WHOOM!*
The rocket exploded, turning into an invisible wave that swept out in an omnidirectional manner.
Never would King Vander have prepared himself for what happened next.
They went off. Everything just went off.
It didn’t matter how high their power levels were, once the wave swept past their bodies, they were rid of their powers.
With so many of them clumped together on their islands around the small red star, it wasn’t hard for the wave to touch many of them.
Another thing happened.
As the wave spread, it also hit all the incoming beams that had been blasted by the cannons of the arkships.
Like a strange magic trick that they had never seen before, all the beams vanished upon coming in contact with the wave.
A feeling of dread appeared in the hearts of not just King Vander and the affected Fortune Lions. Even Exalon and the lion kings supporting Kael were filled with fear.
They had never seen anything like this.
Luckily, the radius of the wave after the rocket’s explosion was limited. It didn’t reach Kael and King Vander.
That faint and heavy aura of fortune that had been coming from the red star island formation had diminished significantly.
Almost half of the fortune lion kings had lost their powers temporarily all of a sudden.
Kael estimated that close to forty thousand lion kings had lost their powers.
Just like that, a chunk of the civilization’s fortune was gone.
"What was that?" Exalon asked, an incredulous expression on his face.
"A weapon," Kael said.
He had not told Exalon about this. Only N’bayé and Katari were aware of the plan and the existence of the anti-power rocket.
One had to know that Kael’s decision to come here was a really bold one. Too many enemies were out to get him all at once.
It was overwhelming and it would be a lie if he said he didn’t feel the pressure.
He was acting fast while he could and making sure he was doing it smartly.
If all he had before coming here was backing of the ten thousand lion kings, the arkships, and Exalon’s loyalty, he wouldn’t have come in the first place.
He would have just played a more defensive strategy instead of going on this aggressive offensive.
Kael kept his consorts close and his hidden cards closer, reducing the chances of anything surprising him.
Meanwhile, King Vander erupted into a fierce furball of fury. The invisible halo of fortune appeared over his head and the heavy power of misfortune surged out of his body.
"Primordial, what did you do?" He asked.
But Kale did not answer him. Ever since he admitted to agreeing with Ma’abu’s philosophy, Kael no longer saw him as someone worth talking to.
"Primordial, is this your plan? To tear down everything that stands in your way?" Vander asked.
Exalon stepped forward to stand between Kael and Vader.
"Yes, anything that stands in the way of The Conquering must be torn down.
For the sake of Lionhood," Exalon said with a narrowed gaze.
Kael turned his head to the side and waved his hand at Exalon, "Why are you still talking to him? The dead shouldn’t converse with the living..."
Ozia nodded his head in approval, also wondering why Exalon felt the need to speak up for Kael.
Exalon himself was just acting instinctively out of politeness for the elderly lion’s age and power level.
A tier 7 fortune lion warranted respect, something Kael was not in the mood to give.
Exalon stared at King Vander coldly, understanding what Kael was trying to say. He then turned to King Saul and Thawne.
"You both have already joined the lion system. Do you wish to forsake us and be neutral?" Exalon asked.
King Saul and Thawne received this question as a blatant threat.
Exalon was already distrustful of them after Saul tried to defend Vander.
"No," King Saul thought for a bit and said solemnly, surprising the other fortune lions.
They wondered how King Saul could clearly see that the Primordial Supporters were somewhat outnumbered against their enemies, yet still support them.
Little did they know of all the addictions Kael had stuffed into the lion system, anticipating a moment like this to come.
"Wise answer," Kael said.
A golden screen appeared in his vision, showing the models for the new feature he had been working on.
A behavior pattern recognition feature, designed for the sole purpose of labeling sinners and heretics.
With a single thought, Kael activated the new feature, allowing it to seamlessly integrate into the rest of the system.
From now on, there were certain behaviors any lion would perform in front of another lion registered on the system that would be flagged and cause automatic labelling.
This didn’t mean the lions were not free to do or act how they wanted. Just saying some things or taking some actions that were clearly and deliberately in conflict with the creed of the lions would be noticed immediately.
And just as he had intended, King Vander was the first scapegoat.
...
[The Great Purification:
Sinners:
1, Ma’abu
2, Vander
...