Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 136 part1! Enjoy!
Not much happening besides being a bit busy IRL.
Anyway, that's it for today, so if you can and want to support my work, do pledge at least a month on Patre0n (Starts at 1€/month) and/or buy my book (8€=9USD) through the links below.
Bye!
Support Links:
-Don't hesitate to Follow, Review, Favorite, Power stone, share etc. (Depends on the platform you're currently reading on) if you like my different novels. It helps a lot with growing the number of readers.
-(Ebook Format)Book 1 - 'Memories Of The Past' is available for purchase through this link for those of you interested (8€=9USD): https://book.stripe.com/4gw9Dr9n0aMn7dK3cd
-I've set up a Stripe page, so if you feel like making a one time donation of any amount, don't hesitate to swing by. Thank you in advance! https://buy.stripe.com/4gwdTHfLo2fR2Xu6oo
-If you prefer having something 'tangible' for your donation, you can visit my patre0n page.
My patre0n: https://www.patre0n.com/CalmWanderer (Switch 0 with o)
To all my Patrons: Thank you very much for your support!
********************
Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Chuckling heartily, Mikhail replied.
"As long as Core Elders like you think that way, then it's just a matter of time before we do surpass them. Whether it takes thousands more years doesn't matter much, does it? In any case, with my current lifespan, I'm certain to witness it."
A few giggles escaped her lips before she remarked.
"Always seeing the positive sides of things, don't you?"
As those two were bantering, they suddenly heard an irritated voice in their ears.
["You two, can you stop flirting and follow the plan?"]
Hearing Pietr Anrepov's annoyed tone, the two felt a wave of embarrassment, especially Eldoria, who recalled the 'old man' word she used previously, prompting her fair cheeks to gain a light red hue.
While avoiding each other's gaze, Mikhail commented.
"You should go up to help Elder Anrepov. I'll stay here to deal with the aftermath."
What he did not voice out was that, with his current cultivation, the Third Void Layer was impossible to reach, his limit being the Second Void Layer.
Thus, he had no choice but to let her go alone to face those two Emperor Grade Demon Beasts with Core Elder Pietr Anrepov.
Was he frustrated? Of course! But emotions were one thing, and reality was another.
Nonetheless, as someone who prided himself on his inner strength, he kept his expression neutral, though it did not fool Eldoria, as she had known the man for thousands of years and was used to his way of doing things.
However, she did not reveal his 'lies', instead choosing to smile and say.
"Life is unpredictable, Mikhail. So is cultivation."
As that last word reached his ears, her figure completely disappeared along with the barely alive Frost Whale body, leaving him alone with his Heart filled with complicated emotions.
For a brief moment, he turned absentminded, while subconsciously whispering, his tone wistful.
"If only..."
A second later, he shook his head slightly, and his body also disappeared from the Second Void Layer, where the previously surging Void waves began to progressively settle down.
Down in the Third Void Layer, a few moments prior, Pietr was using his movement Spell 'Lightning Mirage' to flicker away from the enemy's numerous attacks, from those mountain-crushing tail swipes to that snake's malicious Mist Corroding Spell, along with the ferocious Sword Fish's Void-crushing Blood Sword Rain Spell.
While avoiding the enemy's assault, he did not forget to repeatedly hurl his signature 'Heavenly Lightning Flood Cage' Spell toward the two colossal Beasts facing him.
That was the best Spell in his repertoire to deal with multiple opponents, and the one that awarded him his nickname of Lightning Flood Anrepov.
As the name implied, it consisted of a Heaven-covering Water Domain used to conduct Lightning, creating a Water-Lightning cage used to trap and obliterate the opponent.
It could also be used defensively in conjunction with his Lightning Mirage Spell, using the abundant Water and Lightning Element to not only flicker away from any attack coming his way, but also redirecting the destructive Energy toward any point of his choosing inside the 'domain'.
That Spell was the perfect example of how deadly a true Lightning cultivator was, with few with similar cultivation able to face him without dying.
Indeed, not being defeated, but actually dying.
It was not an exaggeration either, as a thousand years prior, a Mid Low Emperor-Grade (Second Level Void Seed), who had sneakily blood refined every inhabitant of a capital city from one of the Federation's major Outer Islands had fallen under Pietr's furious retaliation, his Heavenly Lightning Flood Cage Spell having obliterated the Beast's endless vitality and having painted the sky Golden Red with the Beast's blood.
Although its death enraged the Supreme Frost Whale Emperor, with the Federation's Supreme Elder guarding, there was nothing that Whale could do but stew in his anger.
However, while that powerful Whale was furious, a seed of fear was planted inside the rest of the Palace's Demon Beasts' minds.
After all, for any King-Grade Beast, due to the extraordinary transformation induced by the induction of the Void Element, they became incredibly hard to kill for those of the same level, even if the Beast's combat strength was much lower than the opponent's, let alone for an Emperor-Grade beast whose transformation went even further.
That was why, seeing a Second Level Void Sapling human cultivator slay one of their own Low Emperor-Grade Beast made the Demon Beasts discard most of the underestimation they previously held against those Federation's cultivators.
From then on, the attacks on the Federation became much more subdued, with none of those average Emperor-Grade and below attempting to blood refine any of the Federation's capital cities, even those from the Federation's weaker Outer Islands.
The phenomenon grew even more apparent when Pietr was assigned as the Bright Star Island's Core Elder Protector.
Of course, those High and Peak Emperor-Grade Beasts, with their cultivation being a minor level above the man, were not too affected since every minor level in the Void Sapling Rank was a chasm.
Nonetheless, for the majority of Demon Beasts, the man had truly become a nightmare, and the current fight clearly displayed it was a well-deserved reputation.
Indeed, although Misty Serpent, with its mastery over the Water Element, could defend against Pietr's powerful Spell without incurring too many or serious injuries, King Bone Sword's body was actually the opposite, completely riddled with numerous wounds, from light bleeding to deep enough to see the bones under the mangled flesh.
Honestly, if it were not for the cultivation boost he received from the City Formation, turning his current Mana much less refined than his usual one, and Misty Serpent protecting the other Demon Fish, King Bone Sword would have lost his life long ago, and the Demon Snake would have been heavily injured already instead of only receiving surface-layer injuries.
Although he wished he could slay those two, or even just the weaker Sword Fish, Pietr had to face reality and accept that the current result would probably be the best he would get.
After all, unless they were extremely stupid—and even Demon Beast's idiocy had a limit—, they would instantly flee once they felt they would no longer be able to hold on.
Being tied to the City Formation, no matter how unwilling, the man would still have no choice but to let them leave without being able to stop them.
'If only the Formation was at Tier 5...'
He thought with a hint of annoyance, though it quickly disappeared when he recalled the young man he was tasked to protect.
'With that young man's potential, it's just a matter of time before those two vile things end up dead under his Spells. Who knows, with a potential like his, a few hundred years may even be enough... Well, maybe I'm being a bit too optimistic...'
As a few random thoughts traversed his mind, his Senses suddenly caught the 'flirting' scene between the young Silk and Mikhail.
Feeling a bit exasperated, he sent a Voice Transmission to those two before completely focusing back on the fight, though he could not help but think.
'A few thousand years old and they still act like teenagers, I swear...'
Barely a few moments later, Eldoria Silk's enchanting figure appeared behind him with that Frost Whale's half-dead body floating above her upturned palm.
Unlike the bashful look she sported while chatting with Mikhail, the woman's face was now as cold as frost as she stood silently in the Void, her gaze fixated on the Demon Beasts' giant bodies.
It took a brief instant for the latter's minds to register the woman's arrival.
However, as soon as they realized her identity, along with the presence of the General's dying body floating motionlessly above her hand, the two understood that their plan had failed.
In an instant, the two moved away from the battleground, stopping far enough to protect themselves from the two Federation cultivators' potential sneak attacks, though neither Pietr nor Eldoria had planned on resuming the battle.
With a thought, Misty Serpent's body transformed into a giant human male, with a face that even three-year-old children would know not to trust.
With a dangerous expression on his face, Misty Serpent exclaimed.
"Humans are truly deceitful. Using the strong to bully the weak. It's really an eye-opener for the old me."
Rolling his eyes, Pietr retorted.
"Misty Serpent, every time I think I know how hypocritical you vile Demon Beasts are, you succeed in refreshing my understanding."
Pausing for a brief instant, a taunting smile then appeared on his face before he added.
"To be fair, we're just copying your tactics, using fire to fight fire, so to speak. Wasn't it what your plan was? Using King-Grade Beasts to kill a peak Chi Gathering youngster? And look at the result: All of those dumb Beasts slaughtered to be used as cultivation resource for our Federation's cultivators."
As those words left his lips, his expression turned exaggeratedly confused.
"Now, I'm not sure if I should be angry at you for trying to kill my people, or grateful for sending us free resources. What a dilemma..."
Hearing those taunting words, the other three had drastically different reactions.
Eldoria felt speechless at the man's childish taunts, a man who was two or three times her age, while the other two were furious, although both of them knew not to fall for it, or the consequence would be more than they could bear.
Misty Serpent may be fine, since his cultivation was high enough to protect himself and even fly away if needed.
However, King Bone Sword's body was already in tatters, and that was only with one Anrepov as an opponent.
If he added that Mermaid woman in the mix, even if his senses told him that her Void Sapling cultivation was rather shallow, indicating a recent breakthrough, his little life would certainly end today, with no other possible result.
With a frown on his face, Misty Serpent threatened.
"Anrepov, don't push your luck. I'm sure you noticed that the High General in your hand is one of the Supreme Emperor's prized descendants. As long as you free him, we can let bygones be bygones, but if you don't, the Supreme Emperor's fury will certainly fall on you and the Island you protect. By then, every single human and beast under your protection will be used as blood food, and everyone you care about will have their Souls tortured for millennia until any trace of them has disappeared from this world. No one can bear my Emperor's wrath, not even your Supreme Elder."
Hearing the literal Beast in human skin's threatening words, Pietr burst into cold laughter for a few moments before regaining his calm and beckoning toward the miniature Whale's body, the latter instantly shifting to float above his own palm.
"All of you filthy things clearly don't understand how we from the Federation do things. Shedding tears and blood for the homeland that raised and protected us is every Federation cultivator's honor. Threatening us with death? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. So what if I die? As long as there are those behind me still willing to raise the torch and take my place as protector, then dying for them would be a good death!"
As those words left this lips, an indomitable Aura exploded from the man, planting a seed of fear in the two Beasts' Hearts.
Even Misty Serpent, whose cultivation was higher than Pietr's, was strangely affected.
That seed grew even stronger when they noticed the last hint of vitality leaving the Whale's body, displaying how little the other man cared for their threat.
As soon as the Demon Beast died, Pietr exclaimed.
"That old fish emperor couldn't do anything to me a thousand years ago when I killed one of his so-called kings, so what can he do now? I just killed his descendant, so what are you all going to do about it?! I, LIGHTNING FLOOD ANREPOV, AM WAITING FOR THAT PIECE OF FILTH'S SO CALLED WRATH!! YOU FUCKING COWARDLY LOACHES, INSTEAD OF THREATENING ME, COME FIGHT ME!! I'M WAITING HERE FOR YOU!!"
Pietr Anrepov, true to his nickname of Lightning Flood, was a man with extraordinary boldness.
Otherwise, his fighting prowess alone would not have been enough to deter those bloodthirsty Demon Beasts from the Frost Beast Palace.
A powerful man was scary, but a powerful man who would not hesitate to risk his life to slaughter the enemy was even more frightening.
Following the Evil Method of Essence plundering, Demon Beasts were inherently more selfish than most beings following the orthodox method.
Asking them to match the opponent's 'recklessness' and risk their lives? Unless forced by someone much stronger, the chance of that happening was close to zero.
Pietr, however, had spent 20,000 years in battle against those bloodthirsty Demon Beasts, killing millions of them, seeing comrades sacrifice their lives to protect him and others, and so many innocents being killed and devoured.
He witnessed the best and the worst of Humans and Beasts, Demonic or not, refined his Heart, and found his Path.
He, Pietr Anrepov, like those before him, would unhesitantly use his cultivation and life to preserve his homeland, and most importantly, the people relying on him, those too weak to defend themselves against those bloodthirsty monsters waiting to slaughter them.
Was he a hero then?
It depended on who you asked.
However, in his mind, Pietr simply thought of himself as a man repaying the grace of protection he received for years.
Having enjoyed the efforts of others, now that he had the means, why shouldn't he pick up the Torch that so many predecessors died to keep lit? One day, it would be someone else's turn, like that young man below him.
But in the meantime, he would hold it proudly, using everything he had to kill as many of those evil things as he could.
This was his philosophy.
This...
Was his, Pietr Anrepov's Path!