Chapter 1239 Greed [1].

Just contemplating the sheer range of bloodlines he could fuse at once and the bloodline combinations that would now be available to him was just exhilarating.

He hadn’t dared attempt merging with more than one bloodline before, as he knew his body couldn’t withstand the raw power then.

However, even though he hadn’t finished his breakthrough yet, he was already feeling that his improving physique is now capable of unleashing his full potential.

Beyond that, his elemental mastery had expanded exponentially after there had been breakthroughs in the stages.

Paired with his refined mana and reformed physique, Alec could help feeling that he now has vast options in his arsenal that he could choose from for his future battles.

“I suppose you could call me a versatile battle mage,” Alec mused aloud, completely swept up in a wave of pure euphoria, as inside him, he could feel the runes were rapidly converging as he approached the threshold of becoming a Tier 7 human mage.

“CRACK-BOOM!”

A deafening clap of thunder suddenly reverberated through the heavens, almost as if the sky itself was replying: ’Think you’re tough, do you? Fine—double the punishment for the final round.’

“Oh, hell no! Please, I take it back—I’m just a lowly mage!” Alec yelled upward, realizing far too late the mistake of voicing his pride.

However; the sky had already surged as the tribulation cloud expanded once more, churning with denser, far more lethal arcs of lightning.

Though Alec could only sense the swelling vortex above in the skies, he needed no prophet to let him know that his current lightning resistance that had upgraded from him advancing his lightning control to the third stage would not be able to shield him completely from the agonizing, soul-rending pain that was about to strike him.

And like that, the heavens unleashed their fury.

Unlike the previous six formless lightning strikes, this final tribulation bolt coalesced into a defined, terrifying form. Denser than anything before it, the energy outlined the shape of a massive Eastern dragon as it plummeted straight toward the transparent dome of the mana shield.

_ _

Positioned atop a siege engine, which continuously hurled massive, boulder-like projectiles energized by the light battle mages, Julian cried out in astonishment at the sight of the thunderous dragon descending from the sky.

“How is it even possible for a Tier 6 mage to summon such a terrifying heavenly tribulation? I witnessed the breakthrough of one of my elders who was at the peak of the Tier 7 realm when he was attempting to break through to the Tier 8 realm, and even the thunderous tribulation he faced back then wasn’t this intense.” Michael Lightbringer asked in disbelief.

“Which is precisely why we need to eliminate him right now while he’s still vulnerable, because I can assure you this, if he manages to actually reach the Tier 7 realm, any hope of defeating him would be close to impossible.” David Tudor insisted.

To the side, Cassandra Blade, the lady of the Blade Clan who had chosen to create her domain alongside her other Holy Grail Academy companions instead of her own kin, kept her gaze fixed on the Tier 6 leaderboard, as she saw Alec’s name was flickering with such intensity that it appeared ready to vanish at any moment.

Just before Cassandra could notify the group that Alec had reached the final phase of his breakthrough and that they needed to act, a message arrived for her from Kaelus. Though concise, its contents infuriated her.

As she had neither wished to cross paths with a fellow clansman nor had any intention of taking his life.

[ KAELUS: I couldn’t stop him. Kill him yourself if you can. ]

“Incompetent,” she spat, cursing Kaelus for failing to hold back Lucas, while most of the Blade Clan’s younger generation were no match for Kaelus, both Cassandra and Aeron viewed themselves as exceptions, confident they could defeat him in battle.

However, neither of them had harbored any desire to claim leadership over the Blade Clan. For Aeron it was because he sought liberation from the elders’ persistent meddling in the affairs of whom they deemed the clan’s prince, while Cassandra was driven by her love for Julian, as she had been searching for any means to escape the clan’s overbearing grasp.

For her, entering the Origin Realm had offered her the perfect opportunity to escape her clan’s control, however now she realized that apart from her and Aeron someone else with the strength to make his own decisions had appeared in Lucas.

“It’s time we made our move,” Gabriel Lightbringer declared after checking the Tier 6 leaderboard. Julian, Michael, and David all turned to look at him as he confirmed that Alec’s name was blurring on the list, a clear sign that he was about to be erased from the lower rankings and ascend towards the Tier 7 ranking.

This leaderboard was precisely what they had been monitoring to pinpoint when Alec would enter the most vulnerable stage of his breakthrough. After having confirmed the critical moment, they wasted no time, ascending into the sky and unleashing their full aura, as Tier 7 cultivation pressure was sent crashing below towards the rampart.

Julian Soul, who is positioned at the front in a simple attire, began to radiate a soft light-blue glow, as he reached for his blade, he then drew it slightly from its sheath, prompting the manifestation of a light paladin behind him which is cladded in a fusion of Japanese and European medieval armor.

The massive, ten-foot-tall astral entity mirrored Julian’s every movement as he raised his blade skyward.

In unison with its summoner, the phantom paladin knight lifted its formidable sword into the air.

[? High Tier Spell - Holy Judgement Sword. ?]

“Fall back!” Leon shouted at his soldiers, who were stubbornly holding their grounds on the rampart of the city walls, though many of their comrades had fallen, but they had still managed to eliminate roughly five thousand enemy mages, including the Templars and paladin mage warriors.

The light battle mages were the ones responsible for manning the siege weaponries while their priests focused on healing their allies battling for supremacy on top the rampart and applying debuffs to the Spartan Infantry and the few among the barbarian units that were defending the ramparts alongside them.

And only with the priests’ excellent healing spells have they been able to even last this long, because without the priests’ support, the casualties suffered by the Holy Grail Academy lords’ alliance army would have been far higher than the current counts.

Initially, the alliance expected an easy victory due to their superior healing capabilities, however they were forced to swiftly realize that despite having just fought a previous battle, Alec’s forces were vastly superior to their own. It was a bitter pill to swallow, as reality shattered their initial expectations.

Off to the side, Michael grit his teeth in frustration upon recognizing the sheer number of Tier 5 and Tier 6 realm mages within Alec’s ranks.

“How on earth did he elevate his army to such a high realm so quickly?” Gabriel bellowed in frustration upon realizing why their forces were struggling against Alec’s ranks.

“Rest assured, once we bring him down, all his secrets will be ours. Just imagine the power our Tier 4 light class legion will command after we have devoured all the knowledge of Alec’s mage army fast ascension, our Legion would also gain the ability to sweep across many regions, and we’ll establish the Holy Grail Church and be revered by all.” Michael reassured his brother, as he was eyeing the Spartan infantry warriors with insatiable greed; like they were already his.