Return of the Mythic Bloodline

Chapter 442: The Final Stand

"Your Highness, the empire’s soldiers have been teleported to the Sentinel Line. It will take them at least two to three months to arrive," Titan said, sitting in the meeting room along with the other Sect Leaders. "So why do you intend to attack them after just seven days?"

"I share the same opinion, Your Highness," Aethon added, joining in. "We should at least wait for Lord Aurelion to awaken. Fighting the vast forces of the empire without territorial advantage would be troublesome, even for us."

The others also expressed strong opposition to the idea of leaving the fortress. Not only were they outnumbered, but their greatest war asset, Demi-God Aurelion, was currently unconscious. Taranis’s decision to launch an attack seemed completely illogical and utterly reckless.

Once everyone had spoken, Taranis finally broke the silence in a low voice, "We cannot delay. Time is not a luxury I can afford right now."

His words seemed unconvincing. They had ample war supplies. Food was abundant throughout the country. There was no apparent reason to hurry.

"Your Highness, you wish to end this war as soon as possible, to the point that you are willing to take such a great risk," Barbatos spoke up, his face carrying a serious expression. "There must be a reason behind your decision. At the very least, reveal it to us, since we will be risking our lives by following this command."

Taranis silently looked at the faces of the Eternal Sages before him, who were ready to risk everything for him.

He parted his lips and revealed, "Nymeria is alive."

His words fell like a silent bomb into the meeting hall, leaving them all wide-eyed.

"Th-the Snow Goddess is alive? But did she not break the Soul Oath?" Sylvaris asked, confused.

"She is, and her insides have already collapsed. Lady Gumiho is using her Divine Soulforce to prevent the Death Energy from completely consuming her," Taranis explained with an unreadable expression.

"That explains Lady Gumiho’s absence from the battlefield, even though Lord Jambavan and Lord Vyaghra are actively fighting at the front," Tartaglia said with a sigh. "So the urgency to attack the empire must be connected to this."

Taranis nodded and continued, "Lady Gumiho can only temporarily suppress the Death Energy. Once her Soulforce is depleted, the Death Energy will claim Nymeria. I have a method to prevent it, but for that, I need to reach the final level of my current realm. I am currently at level five."

They had all witnessed Taranis’s unique ability to break through during battle. They understood the reason behind his urgency. Just like Taranis, Nymeria was also a Divine Being who bowed to no one, not even the king. Her status was equal to his, so it felt natural for the Eternal Sages to risk their lives for her survival.

All of them silently accepted Taranis’s decision to attack the empire’s army without any further questions.

---

"That was what you told us, Prince Taranis," Barbatos murmured, a grim expression on his face as he witnessed the massacre Taranis had unleashed upon the empire’s soldiers. "But is it truly necessary to go this far?"

Both the Banes and the empire’s soldiers had stopped fighting, all of them staring at Taranis in shock and fear.

They were frozen, unable to move. The land had turned crimson with the blood of countless bodies, and still, Taranis showed no intention of stopping.

Without the slightest hesitation, he charged forward toward the hundreds of trained True Sages standing before him, the final defense before he could reach Kharos.

Just as he was about to attack them, a loud voice echoed, "Wait!"

Taranis’s demonic eyes shifted to Kharos at the center, the source of the voice.

"Do not shed any more blood. I... I surrender."

"What are you trying to pull?" Taranis muttered in a deep voice, his eyes narrowing.

Kharos was a ruthless ruler with the ambition to stand at the pinnacle of the world. He wanted to be remembered in history like the first emperor who united all but one kingdom under his banner. The only obstacle to his ambition was the Hundred Sky Mountains. The absolute monsters that inhabited those mountains were strong enough to fight multiple opponents of the same realm.

During the thirty-year-long war against the demons, Kharos had witnessed the might of each Sect Master of the Hundred Sky Mountains with his own eyes when they temporarily visited the Sentinel Line.

They were undoubtedly powerful, yet Kharos had been confident that he could defeat them with his mighty army.

There were only two individuals he was uncertain about. Demi-God Voltrex and Demi-God Stormir. Their strength defied all logic. As long as they stood, it was impossible for him to rule the entire Western Continent. Eventually, he abandoned that ambition, until Taranis arrived at the Sentinel Line.

The monstrous strength Taranis possessed, along with his blatant disrespect toward Kharos, posed a direct threat to the Azure Sun Empire. He was a Divine Being whose body had already matured into adulthood at the age of five. Who knew how many years he would rule over the Hundred Sky Mountains? What if he decided to invade the mainland? There would be no one capable of stopping him.

Kharos needed to eliminate him, along with every other Thunderbane who possessed similar talent. So he swallowed his pride and resorted to the most dishonorable method, assassinating them with poison.

And yet here he stood, in the midst of the very war he had tried to avoid by betraying the Thunderbanes. More than half of his army had already been slaughtered, and many more would fall under the wrath of the Lightning God.

"We have already lost. There is no need to kill more people now," Kharos murmured, his half-open gaze fixed on the battlefield covered in corpses and blood-soaked soil.

Taranis’s eyebrows furrowed, his hair flickering between radiant gold and abyssal black as his Soulforce-formed left arm began to vanish.

"How dare you surrender so easily after what you did to my family and my people?" Taranis shouted, his expression darkening with anger.

"I do not accept your surrender. My anger will not be satisfied until I take your hea—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as he saw Kharos slowly drop to his knees.

"Y-your Majesty!" the knights exclaimed, rushing forward to stop him, but he raised his hand, halting them.

"I will offer my head, but in exchange, let my son Hector live," Kharos said, for the first time in his life, his knees touching the ground.

The moment he knelt, the soldiers began dropping their weapons one after another and knelt as well.

Until now, Taranis had been driven by absolute hatred toward Kharos. He had never expected Kharos to surrender at the final moment.

Numerous emotions surged within him, spinning his thoughts. Frustration, annoyance, and anger were evident on his face.

For a few seconds, he said nothing.

"Very well... you surrender?" Taranis muttered as he moved forward, the tip of his sword dragging along the ground.

Upon reaching Kharos, he raised his sword high, glaring down at him without a trace of mercy.

The empire’s soldiers pleaded with Kharos to reconsider. They were ready to throw away their lives at a single command, but Kharos firmly refused.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

"So this is how it ends," Barbatos murmured as Taranis brought his blade down.

Suddenly, Barbatos’s eyes narrowed, an unusual expression of shock appearing on his face.

"Your Highness!" Barbatos shouted, rushing toward Taranis at full speed.

Just as Taranis’s blade was about to reach Kharos’s neck, an empire knight kneeling nearby swung his sword toward Taranis’s throat.

He was clad entirely in silver armor from head to toe, and the speed of his blade was unnaturally fast.

Thanks to his Divine Sense, Taranis detected the attack and raised his arm to block it.

He was just a moment too late. The blade struck his forearm and severed it completely.

"Hahahahaha! I got you, bastard!" the voice echoed from within the helm as he launched a kick into Taranis’s abdomen.

"Hector, what do you think you are doing?" Kharos shouted, recognizing the voice and armor.

"I am doing what you could not, Father," Hector retorted, pushing Kharos to his feet.

"Soldiers, raise your weapons!" Hector roared. "That monster has lost both of his arms. He cannot wield a sword anymore!"

The soldiers hesitated at first, but when they saw Taranis standing motionless, his body returned to its normal state with both arms severed, their fear faded and they rose once again.

"You empire dogs!" Barbatos’s furious voice echoed through the air as he descended from the sky.

"I will handle the Master of Winds!" Hector commanded. "All of you, eliminate that monster!"

"As you command, Prince Hector!"

The soldiers roared, releasing explosive bursts of Soulforce toward Taranis.

"I will not let you!" Barbatos shouted, drawing his bow.

Before he could release the arrow, Hector clashed his sword against him midair and muttered with a wide smirk, "You will be facing me."

"Get out of my way!" Barbatos’s emerald eyes blazed as a violent storm erupted outward from his body. The sudden burst hurled Hector backward, but at the same time, the combined assault of the True Sage knights struck Taranis, erupting into a massive explosion.

"Hahahaha! Die, you monstrous bastard!" Hector laughed as clouds of smoke and fire engulfed the area where Taranis had been standing.

"N-no, Your Highness!" Barbatos gasped, rushing toward the explosion.

As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Taranis’s figure became visible.

Horrifying wounds covered every inch of his body, with bones exposed in several places. Blood dripped from his severed arm and facial orifices.

At a glance, he looked as though he were already dead. Yet his presence sent chills down the spine of everyone who saw him.

He was still standing, gripping the hilt of his sword in his mouth, his terrifying glare fixed on Hector.