Reaper of the Martial World

Book 4: Chapter 85: Arrival – Amell and Nora

After the shattered daos were absorbed into the ancient tome, the fourth page was no longer blank. Although the Dragon King had explained how the Will of Heart worked, Dyon simply didn’t have time to do anything about it now. He would have to save them for later.

Outside of the Belmont Holy Land cave, the battle was still raging onward. But, in the center of it all, Chenglei, who was being heavily protected by Daiyu clan members, suddenly felt a sense of loss. However, it wouldn’t be until much later that he understood just why…

After absorbing Elder Daiyu’s soul, because Dyon made no attempt at scanning his memories, he was able to replenish his soul to the best of his abilities.

Taking a deep breath, an ominous air filled the atmosphere as an obsidian tree with cracks of crystalline rocks weakly flickered into existence.

From the very beginning, Dyon understood that only the best of soul techniques could manifest physical forms. It required either outstanding soul talent, or an outstanding technique in and of itself. So, when Dyon saw that his Tree of Life and Death was more illusory than real, he could help but grit his teeth before sighing. He had no idea if he’d be able to absorb any essence from Elder Daiyu like this.

‘It seems your soul is too damaged.’ The Dragon King spoke, confirming Dyon’s suspicions.

The Tree of Life and Death was quite frankly useless in this form. Its corporeal form wasn’t just about piercing things, it quite literally represented its power.

It seemed that Dyon was too naïve in believing he could take advantage of this situation like this. He had been lucky to even be capable of using devour.

However, he could understand. Devour required his soul, yes, but there were no requirements for it to be complete in order to be used. But, Manifestations were different.

Manifestations were quite literally meant to be a projection of your soul. In learning the Acacia family technique, Dyon had to body cultivate to cause changes to his bloodline, that would then affect his soul directly. So, how could an incomplete soul project something complete? It was impossible…

Loki seemed to have sensed this and started laughing uproariously. “Just 4 more minutes. What could you possibly do with that sham of a manifestation. You should just be lucky that you haven’t dropped dead yet!”

Even as Loki finish his words, Dyon’s broke out into a cold sweat as an intense pain tore through his chest. He coughed violently, unable to stop the torrent of sweet blood from flying from his mouth.

Dyon collapsed to his knee, wheezing for breath.

In a way, Loki was right. Anyone else would have long since collapsed from burning their soul. Zabia had only managed to remain conscious for ten minutes before Dyon was forced to save him, and yet Dyon had managed to hang on, on his own for hours – even with Loki’s torture!

Loki couldn’t help but gloat at Dyon’s misfortune, staring at the charred boy as though he was nothing more than a corpse walking.

There really was no hope for Dyon left. If he could muster enough power to hurt a saint before Loki could move again, he was basically waiting for death.

Relying on the Dragon King was a fool’s errand. Although it didn’t particularly matter whether Loki was ready or not – because the Dragon King would win anyway – the problem was that if the Dragon King was the one to subdue Loki, Dyon would lose all control of him. Dyon wasn’t so naïve as to believe that the Dragon King was some benevolent being. The only reason why he helped Dyon in his weapon form was because he was bound by the laws the universe set for weapons. This was the price he paid for leaving a part of himself in this plane.

As for Dyon’s puppet, that was even more impossible. Elder Daiyu, before his death, had completely destroyed the arrays that kept Dyon’s puppet together. Although the material could still be reused in the future, what made the puppet itself tick was completely gone. If it wasn’t, Dyon wouldn’t have even had to connect his soul to it in order to kill Loki because the puppet would have had peak saint cultivation even with being controlled.

The only other chance Loki could think of Dyon having would be force feed him some sort of poison, or to unlock some seals on his odd weapon. But, after seeing the toll unlocking those seals put on him at peak condition, how could Dyon handle it in his current state? As for poison, after being tortured for so many years in Ragnor clan territory, how could any normal poison effect him anymore? Not to mention the fact that carrying around poison capable of ending a peak saint’s life was rare in and of itself.

For all of these reasons, Loki no longer bothered with Dyon, instead choosing to focus on his own recovery. At the moment, the only thing that stopped him from moving was the dangerous levels his soul had reached. He quite literally felt like his life was hanging on by a thin string.

If he didn’t properly replenish his soul, his life could slip away at any moment. Thus, he had no choice but to take his time and soul cultivate, something he rarely did considering most of his power was based in his energy cultivation.

Unfortunately for Loki and many others like him, soul cultivation was a task that was exceedingly difficult, painful and slow. So, when he said he needed ten minutes to stabilize himself and stand, he was no exaggerating a single bit.

However, none of that mattered. All Loki could think about was how he could keep Dyon alive for the longest period of time so he could feel his body being ripped apart.

King Patia-Neva, having reclaimed his title and much of his power, stormed through the skies, careening through Earth’s atmosphere with rings of fire blazing around him.

Although he didn’t have King Acacia’s True Empathy, he didn’t need it to be able to tell something ominous was going on. The amount of blood lust he felt chilled him to his very bones, and he couldn’t help but worry. His love and his daughter were in the arena now as far as he knew, and yet all he saw was a bloody massacre.

Patia-Neva’s eyes widened as he appeared above the skies of the arena. Below, the war was still raging, but this was no normal war he had ever seen…

Red crystal humans that looked oddly beautiful as the reflected the heavily falling rain were actually death sentences for anyone who even thought of admiring them! A simple touch to a weak warrior would mean their blood essence being forcefully sapped. Patia-Neva watched in horror as countless allies fell, turning into skeletons as they were devoured from the inside out.

The screams of elves and Pakals alike filled the stadium. The red crystals may have looked beautiful, but they were drenched in the scent of death and blood so thick that even a celestial would feel their stomach upturn.

‘Just what is this…’ Patia-Neva didn’t know what to do or how to approach this. Would purifying it with his will work? He had no idea…

The gazes of the ten Ipsum clan elders snapped up into the sky when they sensed a powerful aura sweeping over the stadium. They were much too fatigued to do much of anything else, but they had no choice but to alert Saeclums. At this point, they no longer needed the formation to sustain this damage, this plague would spread without their support anymore – it had absorbed enough blood essence to sustain itself for a long while. However, they still couldn’t afford to lose the formation either. Because if they did, they would have no way of harnessing the power the red crystals absorbed at the end of all of this.

If Loki didn’t get what he wanted… The Ipsum elders paled when they thought of the consequences.

Warriors were still trying to run away, but the army of red crystals skeletons was seemingly being and ocean of red that none of them could avoid.

Patia-Neva finally acted. He knew he couldn’t risk attempting to cleanse whatever this was, because that would likely lead to more deaths. He could sense that he wouldn’t be the first to attempt this cleanse, and although he would be the most powerful, he wasn’t so conceited as to believe he could match the power output of thousands of combined elves. Although their cleansing ability was inferior to his, they made up for it with numbers.

That didn’t mean that Patia-Neva had no chance at cleansing the red crystals, but rather it would take time he couldn’t afford to give at the moment.

In a flash, Patia-Neva appeared on the front line of the battle, drawing a line of ice that blasted away the enemy. The appearance of a celestial had drastically turned the tides, causing the Ragnors who had been shamelessly chasing their retreating allies to pause with fear in their eyes. Without a celestial on their side, how could they match up to Patia-Neva? It was a fool’s errand!

The wall of ice grew explosively, stopping the barrage of red crystals.

“Run!” Patia-Neva roared. He could sense that even with his purity path, the red crystals were leeching the power that sustained his ice will. Even worse, he could feel an endless vitality coursing through the bombardment of crystals on the other side of his wall. He didn’t have to think much to understand… He had seen this very technique used once before… When he had watched his clan be wiped out!

A cold light flashed through Patia-Neva’s eyes. He refused to allow this evil to deal his allies a fatal blow again. Not while he was here.

**

In the skies, King Belmont was continuously assaulted with blinding golden flames. Describing his state as sorry was an understatement, and the fact he was still alive only attested to his will to fulfill his duty as a King. He felt he had let everyone down… he should have been prepared for this, but he wasn’t! And to think his own son…

“To have lived through this… I have to say, you’re worthy of the title of King. I’m sure with the capabilities of your son, the Belmont name will be just fine, mm?”

King Belmont looked to the elves and Patriarch Pakal who were still fighting in the far distance. A pang of guilt assaulted his heart, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to help them… This was likely where he would die… A fitting end for a useless king….

“No last words?” Seeing that King Belmont said nothing, King Aumen’s fingers began to shine much more brilliantly than before. “I guess that’s enough for now. I hope you raise a more filial son in your next life.”

King Belmont could only watch as an overbearing heat swarm toward him. He could only sigh. Although he wanted to punish Lionel, he was his son after all. Could King Belmont really kill his own son as a traitor to his city?

A sinister glow flashed in King Aumen’s eyes just as his attack was about to land. Now in this universe, there would only be one family of flames!

However, the massive impact King Aumen expected never happened. In fact, the massive power of his attack seemed to have hit something soft and cushioned, making it completely unable to display its full power.

Just as King Aumen was going to act, a formless pressure descended onto the surroundings along with the clearing of his vision. When he saw what lay before him, his eyes couldn’t help but widen.

There stood a couple, a match made in heaven. The woman was a beauty beyond reams who held a small white fox in her arms, but the man had an aura so stifling and domineering that King Aumen involuntarily took a step back.

King Belmont’s sighed in relief, a massive weight falling from his shoulders. “Amell… Nora…”

An unsightly expression overtook King Aumen’s arrogance. He could feel a pressure coming from these two that couldn’t be matched up to anything he had felt before. They even surpassed the pressure Loki placed on him!

If King Aumen knew that this entire time, Loki was nothing but a peak saint, he might have shed real tears at this moment. That said, he didn’t need to feel too aggrieved about the matter. Because of Loki’s magic specialty, his illusions were nearly unmatched to the point where he may be able to fool even weak dao formation experts who weren’t alert to his abilities. Since this was the case, how could King Aumen be any different?

“Little Belmont, I’m disappointed. Losing to inferior flames isn’t like you at all.” Nora lightly chastised, stroking the fur of the white fox in her arms.

“This…” King Belmont could only smile bitterly. He had to fight three celestials single handedly before fighting King Aumen, anyone else would have considered that he did his best. However ….

“Secluded meditation for 10 years. I can tell you haven’t made any strides forward in your rudimentary domain. It’s been 17 years since we last met, wouldn’t this make me a laughing stock?” Nora continued to reprimand King Belmont as though he was a child, unwilling to let him be.

During this entire time, the cold sweat on King Aumen’s back only continued to grow. Who in this universe had the right to reprimand King Belmont? Much less call him Little Belmont?! Who were these people?!

What King Aumen didn’t know was that King Belmont’s next words would send off millions of tiny explosions in his mind, causing him to stare blankly and listlessly…

“Yes, master. Disciple is ashamed.” King Belmont did his best kneel and kowtow despite his injuries. Now that his master was here, it didn’t matter if his injuries were ten times worse.

“And don’t think I didn’t notice you calling me by my first name. Consider that an added 5 years of seclusion.” Nora harrumphed, before turning back to her injured disciple.

King Belmont could only withhold his grievances, putting on his best ‘you’re always right’ facial expression.

It had been his very master that told him to pretend as though they were friends to hide their true relationship. He hadn’t understood the command when it was first issued, but he had always obeyed his Master no matter what. So, him calling her by her first name, Nora, was something she had personally asked for! And yet he was being punished for it.

This might be the first time in history that a King of a royal god clan was treated as such so near to his prime.

However, despite her words, Nora lovingly kneeled before King Belmont and place her small and delicate palms over his bloodied wound without a care for her own cleanliness. In an instant, King Belmont was washed over with a feeling so pure that he nearly fell asleep in the skies.

“Congratulations master!” King Belmont couldn’t help but say. Although Nora’s array alchemy was far too advanced for him to put an accurate estimation on, he could tell that his master had vastly improved. But, what was more was the fact she had been gone for less than two decades!

To some, a master expecting improvement in 17 years would seem reasonable. But, one has to remember that the higher your comprehension and cultivation rise, the more even a single step becomes as difficult as climbing a mountain. So, the fact Nora could improve so drastically in just 17 years, despite having already been a monster before, was a testament to the fact she was an even more monstrous talent!

Nora smiled lightly, causing the world to seem as though it had frozen in time. She was such an otherworldly beauty that her even her slight movements could cause such a thing. However, King Belmont didn’t dare to have such thoughts about his master. Not only would she see through such lewd thoughts in an instant with her intuition, her husband was an even scarier character…

In what seemed like an instant, the flames that had be rampaging through King Belmont were snuffed out by a gentle will and golden flames. If Dyon had been there, he would have been surprised to notice that it was celestial will! But, it was on a level of intent that he couldn’t imagine… In fact, if Dyon was knowledgeable enough, he would have known that it wasn’t on the level of an intent at all…

Nora’s husband, Amell, scanned the situation calmly. His golden eyes seemed to pierce through everything and the feeling he gave King Aumen caused him to fall to a knee, unwilling to look up.

By now, how could he not understand what was happening? What he didn’t understand was just how such powerful experts could ever be a part of this universe. What were they doing here? And the fact that such experts would take a disciple from here? Nothing was making any sense.

Everyone was aware that King Belmont was fairly young, to the point where he had yet to name a true crown prince. Many thought it was because of this that he never showed any ambition to become a King God Clan. With so much time ahead of him, he was just biding it well, ensuring that he had the largest chance for success.

That said, King Belmont wasn’t so young that he was worthy of being a disciple for such otherworldly beings… Right? He was only young for his cultivation by the standards set in this universe. After seeing what other universes had to offer, King Aumen had long since started to see his own as pathetic.

However, it was in that instant that Amell said something that completely shattered their otherworldly auras.

Taking out an array plate, he looked down as his handsome face became distraught. “Some little bastard’s been stealing from me!”

King Belmont’s face twitched as he heard this. But, Nora, having long since become used to her husband’s personality, only giggled lightly, before continuing to heal her disciple.

“I really can’t trust those little gremlins to run anything when I’m not around. Do they think money grows on trees? Who can even eat this much food in such a short time?!”

The more Amell scanned over the information, the more irate he became. This supposedly calm and otherworldly expert had completely disappeared, replaced by a business tycoon who felt wronged.

He didn’t understand what was happening, the amount of food, even from the very beginning was much too much. Being aware of this universe and the landscape of its experts, there shouldn’t be anyone who can eat this much without exploding. It wasn’t that he didn’t consider the fact the meals were feeding multiple people, it was more so that he had information on how often the meals ordered were eaten in a single sitting! When he corrected with that information, the amount of food that individual ate was off the charts! Even if he had 50 people with him at that time, it would have been too much.

“It seems greed has met glutton.” Nora said with a knowing voice, not hiding her sin nickname for her husband. “However, if this person really eats as much as your calculations show, it seems we’ve overlooked a worthy talent. He or she should be of great help to our plans, no?”

A sudden realization hit the two of them as those words were spoken. They had done a clean sweep of the planet, looking for any and all worthy talent before they left, 17 years ago. And yet, they hadn’t found anyone who would be capable of such a thing.

It may sound silly that such experts were putting such importance into a person who they only knew had ridiculous eating ability, however, one has to understand that often times, eating capacity reflected strength! The stronger you were, the more energy you spent, and thus the more you needed to eat.

However, what really shocked them was that since they hadn’t met this person 17 years ago… This person was still young! Young beyond belief!

Not only was this person definitely a talent worth nurturing, they had somehow been capable of stealing from Amell! This meant only one of two things, either he had defeated one of Amell’s disciples and taken their ownership abilities. Or, this person’s array alchemy had reached such an outstanding level that the arrays meant to protect Amell’s assets meant completely nothing to them!

The shocking part about all of this was that Amell’s youngest disciple was already over 20. And yet this person was without a doubt below the age of 17! To be able to beat a talent chosen by Amell, at an age younger than them… This talent… Amell almost forgot he was angry thinking about the truths of the matter.

“Husband… Do you think this person?…” Nora asked hesitantly.

Amell shook his head, “Even if he was like you and had an innate aurora, even if he trained from the moment he was birthed he wouldn’t be able to circumvent Heaven’s Wine’s arrays. Although it was I, and not you who built the arrays, and I may be far less talented than you in that aspect, I don’t think a child would already have the capability of ignoring me.”

Even Amell and Nora had to abandon the idea. Even if that person somehow had an innate aurora, less than 17 years to reach such mastery was unheard of. And that was even if they were born the instant Amell and Nora left, and trained from that moment to now.

What was more, the first incident of this stealing occurred more than two years ago, which mean at the time, that person would have been 15 at the most – likely even younger based on simply probability. How could someone that young do such a thing?

Maybe if Dyon was in better condition, he would be sneezing at so many mentions of him. The truth was that Dyon’s array alchemy hadn’t been good enough to circumvent Amell’s fail safes back then. He had been able to reach the top floor, yes. But, that was completely different from ‘hacking’ into the restaurant’s arrays and forcefully making it bring you food.

However, what Amell and Nora didn’t know was that the only reason Dyon hadn’t been able to at that time was because up to that point, he had only studied array alchemy for less than three months!

In addition, the only reason Dyon didn’t forcefully order food for himself now was because he had no reason to. Why would he when he had Iaachus’ array plate?

If Amell and Nora knew that doing such a thing now was well within Dyon’s power, who knew how they would react…

“If this person truly is an array alchemy expert, he’ll be my disciple this time,” Nora mused, lovingly ruffling King Belmont’s purple hair as she stood.

Amell didn’t have any objections. After all, his wife’s soul talent far surpassed his own. She was among the very few whose soul was capable of keeping up with her energy cultivation. In fact, if it wasn’t because she was so careful, her soul would have even surpassed her cultivation.

Nora rarely took disciples. King Belmont was currently her only one and that was because he showed exceptional talent in control, something Nora had always excelled in. After all, King Belmont did was no other Belmont had ever been able to do in fusing their red and blue flames into violet under his own merit. This was all done under Nora’s guidance.

“Let’s wrap this up, shall we?” Nora’s smile faded as they all finally faced King Aumen.

King Aumen trembled, facing the gazes of the three of them. Even if it was just a fully healthy King Belmont he would have felt apprehensive. It was because of this reason he had waited until after King Belmont was tired to step in. But now, he had to deal with a healthy Belmont and two experts whose cultivations he had no way of seeing through? He was doomed.

“You know I won’t fight you battles for you, right?” Nora said, looking at her disciple with a side eye.

King Belmont, having already expected this, nodded. But, the problem was far more than just about his individual struggle with King Aumen. He had a whole planet to defend, he couldn’t afford to waste time here!

Turning his gaze to the fiery haired King Aumen, King Belmont’s eyes narrowed. “Piss off back to your planet and take all of your people with you, or else I’ll kill you where you stand.”

This was the only way. King Belmont had to weaken the opposition’s resistance, or else things would get bad even more quickly. He could already tell that this situation on the Earth was getting out of hand.

This was especially so for Nora and Amell. With their senses, how could they not sense the dense blood and killing intent coming from the surface of the planet that rotated slowly in the distance?

King Aumen was startled by this, thinking that King Belmont would do any and everything to kill him and seek revenge. But, it seemed he put the safety of his people first.

A part of King Aumen wanted to say that King Belmont was scared, but he didn’t dare to. Whether his master would really not intervene was up in the air. And, even if by some miracle King Aumen won and killed her disciple, what was stopping her from retaliating? Absolutely nothing.

As such, King Aumen no longer hesitated. He sounded an order for retreat among his most esteemed elders and blasted off into the distance as quickly as his cultivation would allow.

King Belmont’s cold gaze follow the streaking golden flames, but he made no move to stop him. In the end, King Belmont could only look down in shame.

“Master… I’ve failed…”

Looking at her disciple, Nora could only shake her head, a look of pity on her beautiful features.

With Nora and Amell’s senses, they had heard what King Aumen said about King Belmont’s son while they were still miles away. After all, in the vacuum of space, the only sound that could be transmitted where those forced into existence by experts. That meant that in reality, it was easier to hear things at a greater distance.

“There are some things that even the strongest of people can’t control…” Nora’s voice threatened to turn hoarse, but she controlled her emotions. However, in the end she couldn’t help but think of the sacrifices her and her husband had made. She had no right to judge King Belmont… At least he was there for his children…

**

Dyon breathed raggedly as he tried to catch his breath. He had only forcefully manifested his soul for an instant before it collapsed, and yet he felt as though he had just run a marathon.

His chest ached to the extreme, completely dwarfing the pain his charred body was sending to his senses. He even felt as though his mind would collapse at any moment. Almost all of the benefits he had received from absorbing Elder Daiyu’s injured soul disappeared in an instant, leaving him in an even worse position than he had been before.

He couldn’t help but call himself an idiot. He had wanted to cure his body, but in the end, he had ended up injuring it even more. There was nothing he could do… He couldn’t very well eat Elder Daiyu’s corpse. Not only would that be ridiculously disgusting, Dyon wouldn’t have the energy to refine the meat properly.

Loki’s laughter was like a constant annoying ringing in his head, unwilling to let him have any peace of mind.

‘So much fighting…’ Dyon thought as his eyes threatened to close. He had done the impossible, time and time again, and yet fate seemed to throw him to worse and worse situations. For an instant, Dyon wondered what it would be like to be oblivious of all of this… To not have to have his life on the line everyday… To live a life of peace…

However, those thoughts were erased in an instant. Replaced by an endless rage.

It was these people who constantly sought to make his life miserable. It was these people that treated him like a tool to be sacrificed at their leisure. It was these who tested his limits, time and time again.

Blood slowly trickled from the cracks in Dyon’s charred skin as he struggled to stand.

His feet were slow, and he often stumbled, but, he steadily walked toward Loki’s figure, a light of hatred erupting in his eyes.

Loki of course noticed this, but he couldn’t move his body. The best he could do was sneer, inviting Dyon to torture him some more.

“Go on, vent out the last of your frustrations. In less than two minutes, it’ll all mean nothing! I’ll slowly kill you with my own two hands! I’ll make sure you live hundreds of years just so you can be tortured for every day and night!”

Dyon’s feet dragged, until eventually, he stood above Loki just as his eyes were threatening to close.

“Today…” Dyon wheezed, “You die.”

Before Loki could sneer, Dyon took out The Soul Tome. On its 5^th page, shun its new addition – Elder Daiyu’s corpse. However, that wasn’t what Dyon’s hopes were hinged on.

The first page of The Soul Tome housed something its previous owner stored within – [Inner World: Santuary].

Its second page housed something Dyon had placed in it – [The Dao of Array Alchemy].

However, its third page housed something that Dyon hadn’t known was able to enter its pages until his grand teacher told him all those month ago – Death!

Dyon roared with the last bit of his soul strength, manifesting the death qi that had once been under Lotus Tower and pushing it out from The Soul Tome’s pages.

Loki’s eyes widened in shock as he watched, helplessly incapable of movement. For the first time, he felt regret…

He hadn’t felt regret when he forced the Saeclums to give up their lives to divine the future for him. He hadn’t felt guilty when he forced the Ipsums to undergo untold pain to refine their aritificial will. He hadn’t felt any emotions when he constantly experimented on Tammy, even as he listened to her scream until she could no longer make a sound…

But as every disgusting and vile person in existence had ever existed, when Loki saw that it was his own life in the palm of another’s hands… He collapsed into a miserable mess…

An explosion of untold magnitude resounded through the Belmont Holy Land even as Dyon’s consciousness collapsed.

However, in those final moments, the Dragon King did something that should have been impossible… In the end, the 6^th page of The Soul Tome was filled, unbeknownst to a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who had given his everything in this fight to honor the last words of his master…

Live on.