Chapter 202: Tanaka Vs The Beastfolk King

He walked casually through the battlefield, ignoring all the eyes on him. He looked to be in his late twenties, with long white silver hair flowing down his back and a pair of elegant golden antlers rising from his head. His eyes were an amazing amber color with thin pupils that occasionally glowed with lightning, and he wore a loose white robe marked with golden designs. Faint scales ran down the length of his neck.

While he looked human, he felt completely different from any normal Beastfolk. There was a strange, regal aura to him, and the mana around him was so dense that the remaining mages had trouble breathing. He stopped a few feet from Tavren.

"This is troublesome."

Tavren’s expression changed instantly. "Your Majesty!"

All the Beastfolk around him bowed. Some went to one knee while others bowed deeply. Tanaka watched carefully. So this is the Beastfolk King.

The Beastfolk King, Aurelith, hadn’t been seen in Bravelm for a long time. He wasn’t just a ruler of a single territory. He had authority over multiple clans and kingdoms, and even the Beastfolk rulers of today had to listen to him. The Kirin was also known as The One Who Does Not Hunt, due to his long history of not getting involved in the struggles of lesser creatures unless they threatened the balance of the whole region. Originally he had given the Wolf Crown the responsibility of keeping that balance. Aldren had been his chosen king.

Aurelith looked at the fallen Wolf King. His expression changed slightly as he walked over to the body and knelt. He placed two fingers on Aldren’s forehead and golden mana burst from his fingertips. The mana formed elegant lines and flowed across the dead king’s face before disappearing into his body. Aurelith’s expression became colder.

He had felt the moment he lost his connection to Aldren. The bond he had formed when he had given the Wolf Crown to the Greymane ruler had vanished. Even from afar he had felt the disturbance. He had originally thought that Aldren was under attack, but upon viewing the memories he saw that it was much worse. Aurelith slowly stood and looked at Tavren. "Come here."

Tavren hesitated. "Your Majesty, I—"

"Did you not hear me?"

Tavren walked towards him, his body tense. Aurelith placed a hand on his forehead and golden light burst from his eyes. Memories flooded into his mind, showing his anger at Mereth’s death, his demands for Lynessa, failed negotiations, and the challenge that had led to Aldren’s death. Aurelith saw the proof. He saw the warnings. And he saw how Tavren had chosen pride over patience. As the light faded he removed his hand.

"Fool!"

Tavren’s expression tensed. "Your Majesty, my sister was murdered! I just wanted to bring justice!"

"And what did you achieve?" Aurelith’s voice remained calm. He held up a finger. A bright bolt of lightning struck Tavren, forcing him to his knees. His strengthened muscles tightened as electricity ran through his armor. Deep burns appeared on his chest and arms. As he tried to stand another bolt hit his legs.

The surrounding Tigers moved instinctively. Aurelith looked at them. None moved forward.

"You were given authority over your people, not permission to sacrifice them because your pride was hurt. You let your sadness turn to anger. You accepted every accusation and dragged an entire kingdom into a war without knowing who was responsible. You even threatened the Wolf Crown for not giving up someone who hadn’t been proven guilty."

Tavren struggled to lift his head. "But the challenge—"

"It was a legitimate victory." This surprised everyone. Aurelith continued. "You won the challenge under the terms set by Aldren. This does not mean that you can abuse your authority and it doesn’t change what happened. I shall now place a seal over your head." He raised his hand and a golden seal appeared above Tavren’s head. "Until the murders have been investigated and the damage caused by your actions has been fixed, you will no longer have authority over the Tiger territories."

Tavren’s eyes widened. "Your Majesty!"

"Be thankful I’m not taking your life." The seal fell. Tavren fell to the floor as his mana was suppressed by the seal. His warriors moved forward but stopped when they saw the Kirin’s eyes. None dared to challenge him. Aurelith turned away. "Take him to the royal residence. He will stay there until I say otherwise." The Tigers reluctantly complied.

Aurelith faced Tanaka. The strange slime had been silently standing there with a few strong subordinates. Something about him had caught the Kirin’s attention since he had arrived, but now he could feel it clearly. Draconic energy. His golden pupils narrowed slightly. "Interesting." Tanaka looked up. Aurelith walked towards him, analyzing the mana flowing through him. The slime had a clear draconic aura, but it wasn’t natural. It had been given to him. It was a blessing from one of the strongest beings in creation.

Aurelith chuckled. "You were blessed by the disrespectful brat Malachiel." Tanaka blinked. Disrespectful brat? He thought back to Malachiel’s crazy nature and found it quite funny, so he decided not to comment. Aurelith continued to analyze him. "So it seems that the troublesome dragon has finally taken an interest in someone outside of his usual circle. How interesting." He narrowed his eyes. "Come now, dragon blessed. Show me why you think you can join us."

Tanaka tilted his head. "Join you?" "Didn’t you come here to make peace with us? You have made deals with us, got involved in our conflicts. You even challenged our rulers when you thought they were in the wrong." "I came here to make peace. I’m not that interested in ruling anyone." Aurelith smiled. "Prove it." Tanaka sighed. He had just finished dealing with one conflict and now another strong being was asking him to fight. "Do I have a choice?" Aurelith took another step forward. "You can say no. I’ll just be disappointed." Tanaka stared. "...That’s not much of a choice." Aurelith laughed. His body vanished.

Tanaka’s Mana Sense screamed. He barely had time to raise his arms before a fist smashed into his chest. He flew through the air, across the broken hall, smashing through the remains of a stone building and flying a few meters further. Dust filled the area but Tanaka was already moving. His slime body reformed around the damaged areas and he looked at the figure where he had been. Aurelith hadn’t moved much. He simply lowered his fist. "You have a good reaction time." Tanaka stood up. "That was a good introduction."

He blasted a gust of wind underneath him and sped towards Aurelith. As he moved a loud whoosh of air surrounded him. He appeared in front of Aurelith with his fist raised. The Kirin simply tilted his head slightly and the punch missed. Aurelith raised a finger. "Heaven’s Judgment: Thunderfall." The sky flashed. A huge bolt of lightning smashed down onto Tanaka. His body was surrounded in white light as electricity surged through every part of his slime body. The ground around him melted and the remaining debris turned black. Tanaka’s body jerked as the lightning ripped through his mana pathways. He couldn’t move for a few moments. The lightning faded. Tanaka fell to one knee. "...That hurts." Aurelith looked slightly impressed. "You’re still conscious?" Tanaka looked up. "Should I pretend to pass out?"

He placed a hand on the ground. "Earth Impact!" The ground below Aurelith exploded. Massive stone pillars shot up from the ground. They came from multiple directions trying to crush the Kirin. Aurelith didn’t move back. He raised his hand and the ground beneath the pillars changed direction. It wrapped around him and shattered into numerous pieces. Tanaka quickly followed up. "Tidal Break!" A huge wave of water burst from the nearby water channels. It was condensed into a powerful wave and surged towards the Kirin. Aurelith raised his other hand and the water instantly froze. A huge mass of ice formed and shattered. Aurelith looked at Tanaka. "You can manipulate earth and water. You have a good understanding." Tanaka didn’t reply. He had already moved.

Aurelith raised his right hand. The clouds above the city rushed together to form a huge spiral covering the broken area. Lightning crackled between them and gusts of wind began to swirl around the battlefield. His hair floated slightly as more mana gathered around him. "Kirin Art: Azure Heaven’s Descent." Multiple pillars of lightning fell. Tanaka moved. He blurred across the ground. The first bolt hit behind him. Another exploded where he had been. A third hit his shoulder and electricity surged through his body. He twisted in mid-air and landed on a nearby wall. He pushed off and every movement caused a loud crack in the air. The warriors around him struggled to keep up with the flashes of dark blue slime.

Tanaka raised both of his arms. "Storm Fiend!" Gusts of wind swirled around him. A huge swirling figure formed and deflected multiple lightning bolts. He then pulled moisture from the air and released a thick mist of water droplets. This created a current and Aurelith simply smiled. "Trying to use water to conduct the lightning?" Aurelith clenched his fist. The whole storm changed direction. The lightning traveled through the floating water droplets and attacked Tanaka from all angles. His fiend shattered and multiple bolts hit him. He was thrown to the ground creating a crater. Aurelith watched. "Better. You’re learning."

Tanaka slowly stood. His body was damaged but something inside him had changed. The constant exposure to lightning had caused him to adapt. This meant less damage was done to him. He still felt pain but the energy no longer traveled through him as easily. A new resistance had formed. Tanaka wiped some darkened mana from his face. "You’re really making me struggle." Aurelith laughed. "Good. I would have been disappointed."

Tanaka vanished. He attacked from below by using Earth Impact to launch himself through the broken ground. His fist appeared below Aurelith but the Kirin moved out of the way and placed his palm on Tanaka’s shoulder. "Fivefold Thunder Palm." Five focused bursts of lightning hit. The first broke through his defense. The second sent him flying back. The third spread across his body. The fourth and fifth hit before he could steady himself and sent him flying through the remains of another building. Tanaka appeared from the rubble. His body was damaged but his movements were more steady. The resistance forming inside him had started to protect his core from the damage. He could now withstand attacks that had previously left him almost immobile. Aurelith noticed. "Oh?"

Tanaka looked up. "I found something useful." He raised his hand. A large magical circle formed below the Kirin. Another appeared above him. The ground exploded and thick stone pillars wrapped around his legs. A focused fire spell fell from the top circle. Aurelith looked up. "Fire too?" He raised his hand. A torrent of lightning burst from his palm. It clashed with the falling fire and destroyed the magical circle. The explosion lit up the whole district. A wave of heat and pressure spread across the areq. When the smoke cleared Aurelith was unharmed. Tanaka’s expression became serious. Aurelith rolled his shoulders. "Not bad. Your techniques are becoming more interesting."

He raised both of his hands and the atmosphere changed. The ground shook. The clouds darkened. Lightning surrounded him. A bright outline formed around him showing the ancient creature his race descended from. For a brief moment Tanaka could see the outline of huge antlers and long scaled body behind the human. Aurelith smiled. "Now, dragon blessed." His golden eyes glowed. "Let’s see how much of Malachiel’s blessing you can actually use." The lightning surrounding him roared. Tanaka dropped into a lower stance. The battle had just begun.