The Oracle Paths

Having no Aether or Reiga Cores, he drew on his own Mana Core having accumulated energy for over 500 years and spent it all at once, also overdrawing his life force. If Jen was in his chest form, one could have seen the wood wither and the metal edges tarnish and rust at a rapid rate.

The tunnel extended for kilometers and kilometers until an ocean of blackness barred its way. Asfrid's pupils narrowed when she saw this and with Nucnar and the Nullifyer squarely in her sights she pressed both palms forward and muttered grimly,

"Force Push."

BANG!

The two Players were thrown at an insane speed, going from 0 kilometers per hour to over 10 per second in the blink of an eye. The scene was not too dissimilar to Vhoskaud's boxes entering hyperdrive mode.

The Nullifyer could easily nullify such an ambush with his powers, but he was so unprepared for such a move that his mouth gaped slightly in disbelief as he and Nucnar both disappeared into the mass of black clouds.

Asfrid clenched her fist with relief as she saw that she had succeeded in the most crucial step of their plan.

Pulling off this ambush had not been easy and she had consumed a good portion of her Soul Power in this attack. She was having trouble staying awake. Using her mental connection to the other Eltarians she hurried to restore her Soul Strength as quickly as possible.

With their most dangerous enemy out of the picture, the other Myrtharian Nerds didn't hesitate for a second and sprang into action. In Nucnar's absence, the previously stable cave also began to crumble, its intended collapse clear for all to see.

With Jen temporarily out of steam, Asfrid took on the role of his bodyguard temporarily so that he could open a new tunnel for them to escape upwards and let Lost Divinities be buried alive.

Leading the charge with Lucia, Hephais stepped out of Belakor's shadow and impaled him from behind with a gigantic dark spike from his anus to the top of his skull. The thirty meter demon did not succumb right away and summoning his huge infernal broadsword he ignored the spike and spun around, hacking ferociously behind him. The assassin cloaked himself in a blanket of shadows and scattered into countless specters that melted away into the darkness, untraceable.

Svara also summoned a Shadow Wolf with her True Will behind Felphi, but the blue-skinned woman did not defend herself, letting the creature bite her ankle. A drop of blood beaded on its surface, drawing a surprised "Oh?" A glint flickered in her eye and the wolf disintegrated. The next thing she knew, Svara was spitting out a mouthful of blood, her mind damaged.

"Do not attack this woman, this is between her and me!" Hade warned them telepathically, releasing an aura packing more energy than dozens of nuclear bombs. Faced with the Disrupter who had defeated him he was not going to take any chances.

"What a man..." Felphi smacked her lips as she aimed her finger at him, apparently not at all worried about the fate of Ael, the Nullifyer.

Instantly his aura dissipated, but the next breath it returned, flashing and flickering like a candle about to be blown out by a gust of wind.

"True Will of Stability? Or maybe Anti-Disruption? You weren't capable of that last time." She praised appreciatively. "Even assuming you cooked up this move to counter me, it takes time to awaken such True Will. You must be older than I thought. The real question is how long can you resist?"

"Long enough." Hade replied unfazed. "You should be more concerned about how many of your subordinates will be killed while I keep you here."

As Felphi and Hade began their showdown, the other Myrtharian Nerds reached their targets. Kenway engaged in wild hand-to-hand combat with a minotaur officer with superhuman strength named Jasur. He was the one who had killed his brother Lysander.

Temra, the Dragonid commander recruited by Lucia, confronted the horned swordsman in a kimono, but was soon overpowered by the deity's unfathomable sword technique. Less than a second later, he had his arm cut off and Alef, the military instructor and katana expert from New Earth, replaced him. The Dragonid bowed his head and found another target.

Ryo raised his hefty claymore with both hands and roared "Yiiiiihhhaaaa!" as he threw himself into the fray, promptly chopping off the head of an ill-prepared Lost Divinities Player. His childhood friend, Craig, conjured up several Aether Spells to boost his fighting performance while cautiously boxing with his custom gauntlets against another enemy Player.

The remaining New Earth troops and Ruby's companions fearlessly opened fire on the enemy using all the military demolition gear they had been able to preserve so far. Those who had survived until now were not weak and with the element of surprise they quickly placed several Lost Divinities Players in difficulty, forcing them to adopt a defensive stance.

Wang Xiaoming, the martial arts master of Ruby's team had stayed behind with Jake and the others as a Throsgenian to contain the radiation, but even without him they could manage. At least until the Lost Divinities officers joined the fray as well.

Thyohr, the elder with long white hair and a mage's loose robe brandished his staff and as he stuck it into the ground the entire man-made cave was frozen, a thick layer of snow covering the walls while a blizzard swept in.

Unaffected by the cold, Lord Phenix swooped down on the huge firebird of Lost Divinities and the two phoenixes began an aerial dance of utmost violence, exchanging blows with their beaks and talons that melted all the snow in their path.

Lord Phenix's initiative marked the entry into battle of the Aristocats and the dragons. As one, all the dragons with different elements opened their mouths and a barrage of flames and other projectiles rained down on Lost Divinities, wiping out its players with far greater efficiency than the New Earth troops.

Seeing what was happening, Khag' Dagmai, the Nosk leader drew his black saber and in a few steps reappeared above the neck of a dragon. He flicked his wrist, the blade vibrated at a high frequency with a high-pitched sound and the huge head of the mythical lizard rolled to the ground releasing spurts of scalding blood.

"Irrolth!" Jinlong screamed in rage and grief.

Ceasing to spit his flames made of sharp metallic sand, he regained his human form and with a stomp he reappeared before the Nosk King. His half-opened fist covered itself with golden scales, releasing a tremendous killing intent, and he clawed at his opponent's face with the firm intention of tearing off his head in return.

Khag' Dagmai curled his lips disdainfully and immediately strangulated the humanoid dragon with one of his long luminous dendrites serving as his hair and prehensile limb while another immobilized Jinlong's arm.

"Too weak."

When he was about to kill the old dragon, a soft voice whispered a few feet away,

"You're weak too."

This voice had a strange ring to it, as if it were an echo from both the past and the future. As this phrase echoed in his head, the world seemed to accept the statement as fact, and even the Nosk was subconsciously convinced that it was true.

Jinlong's restrained arm began to move again as the dendrite stranglehold loosened, unable to crush his throat. The dragon's claws flashed in front of the alien's face and a splash of fluorescent blood trickled to the ground. The Nosk had not been decapitated as expected, but the claw strike had disfigured him.

Ignoring the dragon that wounded him, Khag'Dagmai slowly turned his head towards Will and growled, licking his lips,

"A Dragon Soulspeaker? Now there's a prey worth hunting."

Will frowned as he sensed something was wrong and the next moment a monstrous spiritual aura erupted from the alien, blasting Jinlong into the distance. The merchant found himself unable to move or speak because of the pressure and began to suffocate.

Still, he didn't panic and after a fleeting moment of turmoil he regained his composure and the diamond-shaped emerald embedded in the middle of his forehead began to glow. His eyes also beamed and a gigantic green dragon wing sprang from his back to stop the Nosk's saber with a burst of sparks.

"Who is the prey and who is the hunter between the two of us has not yet been decided." Will smiled as he infused his voice with his Soul Power and Charisma Aether.