End of the War

With the fate of their leader unknown, the two 4-star Beastmaster fighting the other two King Realm experts immediately fell back. They're probably ready to pay some price to kill the Hero but never they would've thought that someone weaker could alter the outcome.

Raiden will probably live through that attack even without my interference but he won't get out unscathed.

He probably prepared something for an unexpected situation like that.

The Dark Beastmasters used an instrument which produced a sound close to a whistle as their signal to retreat. Upon hearing that, the beasts and the other Beastmasters immediately stopped and retreated. 

The Corrupted Barbarians were confused at the sudden event in which they thought they would've won just because of their advantage in numbers. Some of them fled together with the Dark Beastmasters while some of them surrendered or killed themselves. As to their reason, maybe those who surrendered were just Barbarians who were brought in by their superiors and those who killed themselves already lost hope. 

The battle was abruptly ended. Their leader who seems so invincible moments ago were buried in the debris of rocks in which they don't know whether he's alive or not. They lost their leader and if they lose everyone, it will be a huge loss for them. They didn't bother to check if he really died from it, but even I wouldn't think someone defenseless like that will be able to withstand Raiden's barrage of crazed attack.

Old Man Reol, seeing that unexpected outcome laughed out loud and for the first time, he unleashed 5 of the Jewels embedded in his crown. That was probably the Ultimate Move someone could create upon reaching the King Realm.

Supported by Four Pillars a dragon-like apparition appeared from behind Old Man Reol. It blotted the sky and seemingly covered the sun, darkening the whole battlefield.

The eyes of everyone, be it allies or enemies who surrendered and those who were currently retreating, were drawn to that occurrence.

Compared to the Flaming Falcon from the first King Realm I witnessed, this is several levels higher than that. Just the imposing figure of a western dragon inspired awe to everyone. Maybe there were legends about it, he's a veteran King Realm who made a name for himself years ago after all.

When the apparition fully materialized, it opened its mouth and chomped on the Giant Monster that was summoned earlier. Compared to the beast forms of his Pillars, this Dragon was more realistic. But in the end, it's still formed by a large amount of condensed Brute Energy. 

The Giant Monster raised its axe to block its realistic fangs but that was proven futile. Its axe broke into countless pieces as the Dragon's fangs lodged on its neck. With a yank, a huge piece of the monster's neck was torn, forming a fountain of his reddish-black blood.

The Giant Monster tried to cover his neck but he fell slumped to the ground which made the ground shake because of his weight.

But the Dragon has just started.

It opened its mouth again and from its throat, a huge ball of fire, hot enough to melt the ground they were standing at, were unleashed. It immediately charred the Giant Monster and due to its gigantic body, sizzling sounds were produced as if Old Man Reol was barbequing a huge prey.

But the fire he was using didn't stop until the Giant Monster was charred black and became a huge piece of charcoal.

Ending this war on that note, everyone gulped their saliva down. Just by the heat it produced, everyone was parched and sweated a lot. 

That was Old Man Reol's true prowess. All this time he's holding it back. No matter how fast Raiden is, he can't possibly outrun that Ultimate of the Old Man.

When I asked Old Man Reol about that skill, he called it the Crown's Prestige or Prestige. Every King Realm will develop their own Prestige which will contain the essence of their 5 Halos that were turned into Jewels.

It's like the combination of all the Physique Cultivator's 5 Augmented Skills that were upgraded to the maximum. I still don't know how that works but maybe I'll get the idea when I reach that realm.

With the death of that Giant, we finally got to see the fate of the leader of the Beastmasters.

He's still alive but if you could call someone whose body was almost smashed to a pulp as alive, I guess that would work. All the bones in his body were probably pulverized. Not only that, but he was also even implicated by Old Man Reol's Prestige skill. He's already at his last breath.

I didn't know that my arrow could produce such an effect. Did the Psyche Energy produce conflict with his own inherent energy? He stiffened at that moment, resulting in the energy that was powering himself to freeze which ultimately led for his momentum to vanish.

In any case, this one's already at his last breath. And like I thought, Raiden finished him off to end his suffering.

There's still risk if they took him back, the information they had about these Dark Beastmasters was currently lacking. It's better to pry answers from those lower in ranks first.

There are some who didn't manage to run away and got captured together with the surrendered Corrupted Barbarians.

Only when the battlefield calmed down did the cheers for victory resounded.

Raiden walked triumphantly back to where he was standing before it all started.

"Daisuke. I'm in awe. You're more than just a Support. I know we both have differences in character but this time, I gotta hand it to you."

Raiden patted my shoulder when he passed by me. He might have been a musclehead but I guess his character isn't that bad. If I could turn my eye away from his habit of crushing those weaker than him then everything's fine.

As if it was as easy as that. In the end, he always gets the job done. He might look like a figurehead for now with Old Man Reol doing most of his job but that's enough. His strength is real, despite being only at the Saint Realm, he can fight those higher than him.

"Great job, Daisuke."

Old Man Reol did the same when he flew back. For the first time, he looked exhausted. Looks like using that Prestige skill of his could drain him physically. It's stronger than most so it's also more taxing. Plus he flew from the tribe to here and his only rest was when I was prying out information from the Corrupted King Realm.

As he passed by, I threw two balls of Physique Boost towards him. Realizing what just happened, he looked back in surprise.

Honestly, he should stop being surprised by me. I'm worried about his heart if he finds out that when I come back here next time, there's a possibility that I will be stronger than him. Well, I also hope he breaks through his bottleneck. A stronger ally was always better than those who you needed to carry.

When I sat on his Pillar, I found out something about it through my Adaptability. Those Pillars will be the foundations of his Empire. When I told him that phrase, his eyes lit up as if he was enlightened. However, the urgency of finding Raiden was our priority so he put off mulling over that enlightenment he just had.

After settling everything in this tribe, Raiden prepared to go back to the Heavenly Lightning Tribe. The Portal that will send us back to Earth will appear at the same place we appeared from.

I also need to go back to see Avelin and Erin before I go back to Earth. With the two-years agreement I had with the two of them, maybe by then, they would have a change of heart. I don't know. Liking them and them deciding to make me father their future child seems so abrupt. They're already listed at my system so we certainly have a connection to each other but two years is a long time.

Anyway, there's no use thinking about that for now. Let the time decide whether it will change or not. They're still my companions here, anyway.

The two will lead those who I've taken under me, with Ophelia as something like a Guardian for both of them.

And in turn, they'll grow stronger than they are now and will become a huge figure of this world.

Since Raiden annexed a large tribe which made his tribe to become the largest tribe in the Desolate Plains, the other silent large tribes will soon voice out their dissent. We're going back to Earth in two days so all these troublesome things will be left to Old Man Reol.

If he managed to reach the Emperor Realm, I guess he can unify the plains all by himself and swiftly clean the world of the Invading Forces.

But yeah, cleaning them doesn't mean the attacks will be stopped. They will just send a new batch of forces and maybe a stronger one that can match an Emperor Realm when the portal they're using becomes wide enough to send them to worlds like this.

After returning to the tribe, two days quickly passed by and the time for our return to Earth arrived...