Chapter 73

I'm posting some chapters ahead of time on my discord server: https://discord.gg/r2VSvS5kaH

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"You had it coming, Antares."

One of the things that Ashborn despised the most was probably the monarchs. Their nature, even though it was pretty similar to his, was born from darkness. His title of monarch came from them. But all of them knew it: The Shadow Monarch was very different from them.

This title was given to him by Antares as a sign of their mutual cooperation. The shadow monarch wanted vengeance, and Antares had to defeat the rulers. In reality, they never had close ties.

It was already no secret to Ashborn that it was the dragon monarch who betrayed him in the first place. The Monarch of White Flames and the Beast Monarh, strongest amongst monarchs (If we exclude Antares), were sent by Antares to assassinate him.

"You betrayed me, and I despise traitors. The white candle and tiny dog among you have already felt my hatred."

"Huh, you managed to figure it out?"

The dragon monarch no longer made an effort to conceal it. There was no reason for it now anyway. He had neither the desire nor the need to work with the shadow monarch. His plans were carried out without the need for any collaboration.

But it was necessary to get rid of the shadow monarch. Later on, he will gather a bigger and more powerful army, attack the rulers, and destroy them.

The coexistence of three absolute beasts in one multiverse was intriguing, though. Himself, and the two shadow monarchs... Both of them can live off the dead and draw their powers from the darkness. Certainly, both will be on the side of each other if not removed.

The first shadow monarch was directly in front of him, giving him the opportunity to make him disappear without anyone's interference.

"You know, Ashborn, I think our prior agreement to cooperate was a grave mistake on both of our parts."

From his throne, Antares got up and walked over to Ashborn. His appearance this time was similar to his, and as he stood in front of him, it gave the impression that he was being mirrored. The dragon monarch looked into the shadow monarch's purple-burning eyes with his own golden eyes.

The tension reached its peak as other monarchs in the room began to feel the strain. That is why those two were referred to as the strongest of their kind. They were a league above every living being. They were of their own kind, and they possessed unfathomable strength.

Truth be told, even those monarchs and rulers put together might not be able to handle these people directly. And now those monarchs are in the presence of both, only a little bit reassured since one of them was an ally.

Even those who called themselves by the same title, however, were unable to conceal their apprehensions due to the two monarchs' menacing aura. Even their bodies were affected by the cold. Additionally, it didn't help that this time, monarchs had Asuran bodies.

Now it all depends on who is going to make the first move?

Other monarchs were still waiting, and neither Antares nor Ashborn was attempting to move first. Was the reason they weren't moving caused by fear? No, Ashborn wasn't acting because he thought there was unquestionably a problem.

Antares was the only monarch he could detect before coming here; all other monarchs were overshadowed by the dragon monarch. Ash began to wonder why they were acting in this way. Could it be that they were trying to stage a surprise attack?

But now that he's here, he is aware of the return of the monarchs.

'Could it be...?'

Ashborn heard a flash of lightning close to him as he was about to make a point in his thoughts. That was definitely what they were going for, something burst into the room and came up behind him.

Before the shadow monarch could turn to block an approaching attack, every other monarch in the room used their own authority against him. Despite his ferocious resistance and immense power, the monarchs delayed him for long enough for him to be frozen in place for just this attack.

A light-blue sword emerged from his chest after it pierced his back and crushed his internal organs, destroying his rib cage and drenching the ground in blood.

Ashborn ìnwardly cursed. He shouldn't have just skimmed the surface of everything; the mere fact that so many monarchs were present ought to have made it abundantly clear to him that Antares was capable of doing the same as Agrona!

Of course, he would have brought someone back. Even the person whom he, the one in charge of death, had imprisoned in the realm of eternal nothingness.

Baran, the Monarch of White Flames!

"Shadow Bastard, your time is almost over!" Baran shouted joyfully in Ashborn's ears, the white flames on his head almost twitching with his feelings.

Ashborn would shout obscenities at the traitor if he had the ability to do so right now. Nevertheless, his current concerns were different. His bloody hands moved upwards and touched the white-blue sword. He tried to break it, but those monarchs weren't letting him do so.

He sensed the sword heating up a split second later. Baran was launching yet another assault, as evidenced by the insane expression on his face. This was the one on which the bastard was concentrating all of his strength.

His entire body felt the shock in every cell. His skin was being burnt alive and his hair was soon to become ash. This was barely being kept up with by his regeneration. Killing Baran would have been simpler than having to keep regenerating everything.

But holding him in this manner while being supported by the strongest Antares and all the monarchs. It appeared to be a lovely dream. Ash couldn't break the sword nor move forward. His limbs were bound from every angle.

But this wasn't a situation where he could think of something, despite his mind being electrocuted every millisecond. He gathered his strength and gave a command to his loyal shadow soldiers.

'Everyone, attack!' His thoughts may go unnoticed by the monarchs, but shadows are acutely aware of them.

They burst from the shadows like a great tidal wave and rushed to attack the monarchs. The adversaries were taken by surprise. They weren't expecting Ashborn to act rationally in this circumstance, much less call for his soldiers.

As the shadows swarmed the throne room, they destroyed the pillars that were holding the roof over them. The Monarchs jumped out of the falling building. They were followed by the shadow soldiers, who weren't letting them even think about targeting their lord.

"Marshall Beru!"

The prominent shadows took control of the situation and chose to attack the most powerful. To win the day for their liege, they hoped to unite and, at the very least, kick the dragon monarch a few kilometers away.

With Beru being the strongest in the physical aspect, they decided to trust him first. The Ant King chose a pretty straightforward way of attacking Antares.

His wings flapped and made him fly forward in quick succession. The jaw received the antly fist, which caused Antares to launch far from the area of combat.

The nearby Windsom didn't allow the dragon monarch to propel himself. He changed into his draconic form, opened his enormous mouth, and unleashed an energy blast that was potent enough to cause the nearby ground to evaporate.

Not letting the monarchs even take a break was the key to buying some time. Everyone, including Aldir, understood that there was no time to consider the repercussions. Every attack had to be made with all possible effort.

Aldir slipped into the fray to attack the king of dragons just as his feet were about to make contact with the ground. The soldier was prepared to use the technique as his purple, non-closing eye shone brilliantly and responded to his will.

'World Eater!'

Unfortunately for Aldir, despite all his efforts to activate this technique as quickly as possible, they failed. He still couldn't outrun the speed of the dragon monarch, and if not for Agrona, he'd be dead.

The shadow soldiers finally felt pressure equal to their lord's as the waves of flames that Antares had unleashed subsided, but it wasn't from Ashborn this time. The Monarch of Destruction was simply observing their initial location rather than giving them a glare.

Indrath's Castle, which was now a pile of rubble.

"Don't let him attack!"

The shadow soldiers charged at Antares without a second of hesitation. Willing to give their own life to win a few extra seconds for their lord.

"These…bugs."

Antares shifted his focus to his assailants. While they weren't on the level to defeat monarchs, he had to admit they were very strong. He'd compare them to former soldiers under Ashborn's command, the particular one could stay its ground against the weakest of Monarchs.

The destructive flames that could burn the soul itself engulfed his fist. He didn't move from his position and deflected the incoming attacks by just standing. Those soldiers had annoyingly good communication skills with each other.

Except for one.

Antares was able to make a vague comparison between the ant-like creature and its clone from a different universe. This one was rather peculiar. Unlike others, the ant king was almost on his own. Searching for his weak points and trying to cut a limb or two, while he himself concentrated on others.

The attention grabber was Agrona. Oh yes, that one, Antares remembered. When he first entered this world, he encountered this face.

'Ashborn always knows how to pick up a bunch.' He couldn't resist praising the shadow monarch for his perceptiveness.

'If only I had such loyal soldiers.'

While looking at them, an uncertain question arises in Antares. How does it feel to be in charge of unrestrictedly devoted soldiers who are not subject to outside control, he pondered as he cast a glance at the Indrath's destroyed castle?

"Hah, what a shame we are on different sides." Antares chuckled ominously. He looked at another approaching attack. It was too late to play around. He opened his mouth and something glowing and bright blinded the soldiers...

*Breathe of Destruction*

Antares spit a devastating torrent of fire from his mouth. It leveled the ground as it swept towards the shadow soldiers. If it touches them, the shadow soldiers are gone for. This breath is Antares' most dangerous weapon, as it could erase even the shadows.

'What a devastating technique.' To avoid the fire, Agrona leaped away. The fire passing next to him made it clear how dangerous its nature was. Unlike normal fire, this one would burn for real. Their regeneration won't work.

There are no words to describe the fire's aftermath. What remained of the mana-rich land was a scorching desert. Standing on it made Agrona feel sick. It was so burningly hot that his regenerative abilities started acting up.

"Oh well, I have something similar of my own."

His hands were covered in the ominous flames as they charged for a long-range attack. It was directed at the Dragon King by Agrona. When he was about to launch it at his intended target, he was stopped. Agrona experienced a sudden familiarity.

He became disoriented while doing that task and was about to experience the breath of destruction directly into his face.

"Agrona, don't get distracted!" Before they both vanished, the other shadow soldier grabbed Agrona and moved him away from the area.

"I apologize, Marshal Aldir."

Wisdom concentrated all of his efforts on stopping the person with a stronger energy blast so that Antares wouldn't unleash another torrent of fire on the two. Windsom shot a constant stream of purple energy at the king of dragons, which was negated by the monarch in the same manner.

Instead, he attacked the Windsom with the breath of destruction. The two explosions collided as each attempted to dominate the other. It became clear in the end that the shadow's attack was weaker. To avoid the blow, Windsom changed into his more human form.

'We won't be able to keep him at bay like this.' Wisdom deduces after seeing the power of the dragon monarch firsthand. They are only attacking back and forth aimlessly; they haven't harmed him at all.

'When he finally gets a hold of our pattern, he'll kill us.'

The former dragon asura looks over his comrades and establishes eye contact. Every single one of them had the same idea, but no one had a plan of action.

"Just don't stop! *Screech*" Beru screeched as he charged at the dragon monarch. The dragon monarch was immediately confronted by him as he flew into the cloud of dust. Despite being incredibly stupid, it was successful because Beru was the only person who managed to damage Antares.

However, Antares' body was only scratched by Beru's claws as they tore into the clothing. The king of dragons had unparalleled durability when it came to physical damage. He could have tanked any attack so far but instead chose to simply negate all of them with his own.

*Grab*

"Finally caught you, little insect." The dragon monarch's voice was audible to Beru as he was being grabbed by the neck. The ant king's eyes grew larger than a pan. He tried to escape, but he was unable to flee.

From behind, he could also hear his comrades charging up the attacks. Maybe if he's able to hold the monarch in one place, they'll be able to hurt him... Beru decided to do so, and it'll fortunately work.

"Attack! I'm holding him in place!"

Beru grabbed onto Antares' hand, which the ant was held by. The dragon king's expression was that of a maniac. A set of teeth could be seen when he opened his mouth. Beru shut his eyes as he mentally readied himself for the blow.

'My liege, it was an honor to serve under you!' Beru chanted for the final time in his mind.

*Boom*