Lightning Is the Only Way

They finally arrived at the meeting spot. Gravis didn't know where the meeting spot was, but the fact that he saw a ton of Emperors and Kings was indication enough. Right now, Gravis and Azure were close to the Grand Lake. Gravis could even see the Grand Lake in the distance.

Additionally, Gravis was now close enough to see the Striders in their full glory. From this close to the lake, the Striders looked like a whole new world. Their size was just incomprehensibly massive.

Gravis wasn't even sure if any Emperor came even close to such a size. One would have to increase their size with every single evolution ever since they were born to become that big, and even then, Gravis doubted that one would be able to become so incredibly massive.

The slow-moving feet on the horizon created a tremor every time they hit the lake's ground again. The lake was probably hundreds of kilometers deep, but the Striders were just so big that it seemed like they directly stepped on the Grand Lake's surface. The depth of the Grand Lake seemingly made no difference to them.

Gravis could see Emperors with many different elements and powers standing beside other Emperors. They were probably socializing while most of the Kings were off talking with other Kings. Yet, there were still some Kings that simply stood respectfully behind their Emperor while their Emperor was talking. When an Emperor talked, a King had no business in butting in.

"Do you think I wanted to act this reserved and cold all the time? I'm a very talkative and socializing beast, but nooooo, Styr said that this would be bad for my image. Hey, if you want to act all royal-y and stuff, you go be the Emperor."

And Azure was still talking.

She hadn't taken a single pause. Gravis felt like he needed to pay attention to her words, but everything she said just seemed so unimportant. It was like she was filling his head with useless garbage. Yet, what was he supposed to do? Azure had helped him immensely, and listening to her complaints didn't even come close to repaying her. Of course, that didn't change the fact that it was frustrating Gravis.

By now, several Emperors were throwing weird glances at Azure since she didn't transmit these thoughts to Gravis but spoke them openly. Most of the Emperors knew Azure, and her conduct was very different from the last time they saw her. Additionally, she was talking that much with a mere King? Where was her dignity as the leader of a level three Empire? Such a powerful Emperor shouldn't talk to a measly King like that.

After having been distracted by the new environment, Gravis went back to aimlessly staring into space. Azure was exhausting him.

"Greetings, Empress from-"

"Shut up! Don't interrupt me!" Azure shouted aggressively at the level one Emperor that wanted to strike up a conversation with her. The Emperor only looked with shock and an opened mouth at Azure. What was going on? No Emperor talked to him like that!

"And then the Mountain of Pride needs polishing, and I need to assign some Emperor to polishing duty, and they always want payment even though they're just polishing some useless stone. Did you know how much I had to argue with these…" Azure continued as she turned to Gravis again.

Gravis only continued staring into space as he tried to keep track of what the Empress was saying. By now, he had come to the brilliant conclusion that Azure was not a big fan of being the Empress. He also guessed that it was probably rather annoying to keep an Empire going.

Several more Emperors tried to strike up a conversation with Azure, but every single one of them was shot down just as abruptly and rudely as the first one. After several hours passed, Gravis was hoping for salvation. Yet, even the level three Emperors were sent off by Azure. Apparently, she didn't respect any of them.

"Oi, watch where you're going. I'm growing here, asshole!" a melodious voice transmitted to the surroundings. "Were your parents a bull and a mosquito, or why are you so careless while walking!? Did no one tell you that you should watch where you're going? They probably didn't since you seem to be quite good at listening with these Strider-sized ears of yours!"

Gravis recognized the voice and looked over. Sure enough, he saw a tiny flower growing on the ground. Besides the small flower, an elephant stood and looked at the flower with disdain and rage. It was a level five King.

Gravis actually had to chuckle when he saw the elephant. Yes, a trunk looked kind of similar to a mosquito's stinger. He could see the resemblance.

The elephant looked incredibly shocked and enraged. He had probably never been shouted at by a small flower. Additionally, that flower only exhibited the power of a level three King.

"Are you part of the Bulwark?" the elephant asked coldly. He probably wanted to make sure that he wasn't about to crush a plant from the Bulwark, which would result in heavy punishment.

"Fuck you, I AM the Bulwark!" Meadow shouted back with her harmonious voice. "You think these shitty weak-ass plants in the Bulwark can touch this mighty flower!? Don't insult me, you brain-dead, malformed bull! How are you so bad at listening with these huge-ass ears of yours!? Are they just accessories that you use to make your enemies think your head and brain are bigger than they actually are!?"

BOOOM!

The elephant stomped on the flower in disdain. How dare this weak flower insult him!? He was about to become the most powerful King in this world! Even if this flower were from the Bulwark, it had insulted him enough that he wouldn't receive any punishment.

CRRR! SHING! SHING! SHING!

Suddenly, several huge roots shot out of the ground and impaled the elephant across his whole body. The disdainful look of the elephant didn't even leave his face as he immediately died. Then, the roots pulled the corpse into the earth.

"Your ears were definitely just for show," Meadow commented smugly.

Gravis had to laugh when he saw that. "Hey, Meadow!" he shouted from a distance, beside the ranting Azure.

The flower turned its head to Gravis. "Oh, it's my boy Gravis. You're also here?" she asked, some pleasant surprise appearing in her voice.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Azure shouted from beside Gravis, but then she noticed the flower in the distance. "Hello, Meadow," she said with a friendly tone.

"Sup, Azure?" Meadow answered. "You're not your prissy, stuck-up self for once. What happened? Did my boy Gravis give you a good dicking and fucked that stick up your ass out of your mouth?"

If Gravis didn't have scales, his face would have become red. He knew that Meadow was only joking, but her wording was just too direct.

"No, Styr finally took over as the Emperor of the Icy Pride Empire. I'm finally free!" Azure said with elation. It was almost like she didn't even notice Meadow's inappropriate comment.

"Oh? Styr managed to comprehend a level three Law? I always knew that this young boy had it in him," Meadow said.

"Yes, and it took him over a millennium to do it! I'm so happy that I'm finally free. You can't believe what I had to deal with in the last thousand years. Do you know how many ways an Elder has to ask for mating or time in a Law Comprehension Area? You won't believe me!" Azure said as she started ranting again.

Gravis wanted to talk to Meadow some more, but, apparently, Azure reserved Meadow entirely for herself. It seemed like they knew each other.

Gravis saw Azure flying closer to Meadow as they continued talking. Instead of taking part in their conversation, Gravis slowly backed off. He was finally free from this torment!

'Fuck, I can finally talk freely. Now, I want to vent to someone else!' Gravis thought with frustration and elation.

When he gained quite some distance from the two beings, he released a sigh.

"Hey, Gravis! Over here!" someone transmitted to him. At first, Gravis didn't recognize the voice, but after he looked over, he saw the one talking to him.

It was one of the Emperors he had met at the defensive line when he had fought Morus. It was a green sparrow.

Gravis flew over to the group of Emperors. The green sparrow welcomed him happily and introduced him to the other Emperors…

Who looked at Gravis with disdain.