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CCLXX. | Ch. 269: 'O, defending lord...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Nine: 'O, defending lord...'Hector's brown eyes stuck on the message he took a moment to process what he'd just read.And then his body was moving. Without even thinking, he was already going somewhere. Where? Strange he had to ask himself that.The Entry Tower, he realized. The tower that bottle-necked up to the surface.He needed to warn everyone, though.'Garovel,' he thought urgently, 'Abolish is already here.''What?!''I don't know who ...
CCLVIII. | Ch. 268: 'The approaching bloodstorm...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Eight: 'The approaching bloodstorm...'Indeed, Hector's hunch proved correct. The news had been just about the worst thing he could've possibly imagined, right now. Or close to it, at least.Abolish was about to launch a major offensive into Lorent, apparently."I'm sorry we can't provide direct assistance," Ravi was saying. His reaper, Beldorix, hovered right behind him, his skeletal face looking somehow even more dour than it normally did. "This war...
CCLXVII. | Ch. 267: 'Thy strongest bonds...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Seven: 'Thy strongest bonds...'Warrenhold hadn't felt this empty in a while. With so many of the Rainlords having ventured off to join the fight in Vantalay, there was a certain tension in the air that Hector couldn't quite describe.Maybe it was just him, though. The remaining Rainlords didn't let any nervousness show. Even with most of their warriors away, they managed to look quite calm and collected, like it was just business as usual.But it wasn't, of cour...
The next chapter is still in progress
Sorry for the delay. Fallen a bit behind. I'll try to get the full chapter up within the day or two. Thanks for your patience, guys.
CCLXVI. | Ch. 266: 'The breaker on the ridge...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Two Hundred Sixty-Six: 'The breaker on the ridge...'Linus eyed the Rainlords, gauging their reactions. He wasn't in the habit of telling people his last name like that, mainly because it often prompted so many unpleasant responses, but he'd decided to make an impulsive exception here. Truthfully, these Rainlords intrigued him. They'd left the Vanguard, too, so perhaps they would understand him.And from all he'd heard about them over the years, he highly doubted that they would be afrai...
CCLXV. | Ch. 265: 'O, slumbering Dragon...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Five: 'O, slumbering Dragon...'The timing of everything couldn't have been more awkward or more uncomfortable. The news that his brethren were being held captive in Vantalay, that there was finally a visible path to freeing them--that was incredible.But then there was Hector's coma. And the threat of war coming to Atreya, to Warrenhold specifically.Zeff Elroy was torn. Again.It seemed like he always was, these days. It felt like he had a thousand reasons to leave, and...
CCLXIV. | Ch. 264: 'Thy scrambled visage...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Four: 'Thy scrambled visage...'Okay. Perhaps that had been the wrong thing to say. Hector supposed he couldn't blame Lord Abbas for giving a look like he was out of his mind.Because. Well.Maybe he was.It was hard to explain. And probably too much hassle, right now. From everything Garovel had told him, time wasn't on their side.There'd been so much to catch up on. Seeing the restoration of Warrenhold leap forward from when he last remembered it was a marvelous sig...
CCLXIII. | Ch. 263: 'Bright steward, flash and burn...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Three: 'Bright steward, flash and burn...'Abbas couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept. Physical exhaustion just seemed like a way of life at this point. His body protested every movement he took, but he was barely even aware of it.Mental exhaustion was not his problem. His mind was constantly racing. New ideas, old idea in a new context, new problems, old problems. This could be fixed. That could be attempted.A working Fusion Forge at his disposal. It was tr...
CCLXII. | Ch. 262: 'As an archdemon digs...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Two: 'As an archdemon digs...'Man, those tattoos were a tough nut to crack. Just flaying the skin off of the little Lion of the Desert's bones was not enough to nullify their effects. Physically, they were destroyed, but their soul-signature remained, bonded directly to the lad's soul.Frustrating though it was, it did make for an interesting puzzle. How many years had it been since he'd found a lock that he couldn't break? It was a fun exercise in its own way....
CCLXI. | Ch. 261: 'O, riving serpent...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-One: 'O, riving serpent...'Raul Blackburn had been busy.The situation in Vantalay was more precarious than ever, but his determination to not let everyone down was stronger than ever, too.The moment he'd heard that his captive kin would be coming here, everything had changed. His priorities. His strategy. His entire attitude toward this operation.He was calm. Calmer than he'd ever felt in his life. His sense of purpose was so clear that all other worries had seemed to...
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<<Page 3058 -- CCLXIII. || all Chapter 263 pagesA working Fusion Forge at his disposal. It was truly magnificent.There was so much to learn and do. The potential spurred him on. He'd have to rest at some point. Probably. But for now, he was entirely consumed.And loving every minute of it.In here, the outside world mattered so much less. He was still aware of the urgency of his tasks, of course--they were perhaps the largest aspect of his motivation. But it was process. It couldn't really be rushed. Urgency had no real weight.He'd ha...
Page 3058 -- CCLXIII.
<<Page 3057 || all Chapter 262 pagesThe trip to his favorite workshop would be a long one. It was all the way over in Ardora.Jercash wouldn't be happy about him leaving Eloa, but eh. The sly boy didn't need his help. In fact, Morgunov might just have to start thinking of him as the sly man from now on.Hmm.Nope, that was too weird.Still, he supposed he could at least send some extra assistance Jercash's way. It would be a pretty big downer if Jerky got overwhelmed by an uncharacteristically competent group of Vannies all of a sudden....
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<<Page 3056 || all Chapter 262 pagesHe waited.The Omnivore Drive should kick in soon. Its function was to break down any material given to it, analyze its molecular structure, and then attempt to integrate any power-producing components that it detects into its own design.A kind of self-upgrading mechanism. Similar in concept to the way that certain worms could absorb the abilities of those that they ate. That was where he'd gotten the idea from, at least.He kept watching, crossing his fingers as the Mk. VI kept churning and grinding. It wa...
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<<Page 3055 || all Chapter 262 pagesHe felt kinda bad, actually. He almost wanted to help 'em out. Revive some more helpers for 'em. Or maybe even jump in there and give 'em a hand, himself. That'd be funny, if only to see the looks on their faces.And on any other occasion, he might've indulged such whims. But not today. Time was a factor, thanks to the question of whether or not Qorvass had managed to contact anyone.Sadly, this was a no fun zone, at the moment.So he had the Mk. VI get on with it.The hulking metal body split...
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<<Page 3054 || all Chapter 262 pagesSo it was a shame that the boy had lost his damn mind and forced Morgunov to put him down. Out of mercy, really. He'd been a danger to himself and everyone around him. In fact, it was like he'd wanted Morgunov to do it. Like he was just barely sane enough to realize what was wrong with him but not enough to do anything about it himself.Tragic.And even the lad's reaper had become irrational about it. Refused to release his soul. Didn't seem to believe that Damian was truly beyond saving at that...
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<<Page 3053 || all Chapter 262 pagesAll of that was merely to say that Morgunov, in the back of his mind, always had reason to believe that perhaps some of his "dead" students might one day reappear before him.In an attempt to kill him, for example.And in that regard, the most prominent candidate in his mind was one Damian Lofar.That little trio had been in his thoughts quite a bit, recently. And it began with Damian--or more accurately, with that whole mess that went down at Bellvine. Damian was the entire reason that he'd even bee...
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<<Page 3052 || all Chapter 262 pagesHe'd asked her how she'd managed to survive the vaporization, and apparently, she'd rigged up an illusory double for her reaper, having anticipated that Morgunov might discover what they were up to and kill them.Neat trick, for the time. Had to give her credit, but it wouldn't work on him these days.And then, of course, there was ol' Hamish. Now there was a guy who'd pulled off a surprising escape. One of his brightest students ever, in retrospect. For the longest time, the lad's o...
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<<Page 3051 || all Chapter 262 pagesAh, maybe he'd check up on some of the survivors, soon.Heck, maybe he'd check up on some of those who didn't survive, too.It never hurt to be extra sure of something like that. Historically speaking, servants and reapers had a pretty good track record when it came to faking their own deaths. Even to people like him.Lozaro, for example, definitely should've been gone forever after being tossed through the Red Rift mere moments before its destruction. And yet somehow Morgunov had seen the guy, a...
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<<Page 3050 || all Chapter 262 pagesMore likely, they were eventually cycled back into the planet in the form of ardor through some as yet unknown process. And then, of course, that ardor would in turn give rise to new souls.So in a sense, he believed in a kind of reincarnation. Or rather, he thought it was the most logical explanation for the way the world functioned.Academically, not many agreed with him, though. There was currently no evidence to support the hypothesis that souls returned to Eleg in any form whatsoever or that ardor could tr...
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<<Page 3049 || all Chapter 262 pagesThe subject of reaper extinction had been yet another area of interest for him at various points in his life. And he'd had his doubts about it, too. Reapers had a way of exaggerating their problems, of trying to elicit sympathy. Sometimes it helped them to acquire influence and power. Other times, it was just in hopes of receiving mercy.Tricky devils, the lot of them.Even now, their tricks were still somewhat effective on him, of all people. Just a bit. He was ever so slightly reluctant to actually take t...
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<<Page 3048 || all Chapter 262 pagesHe might've needed to thin the herd a bit, but once he was back at his favorite workshop and able to use the Clown Pit again, he wanted to have plenty of test subjects at his disposal.When was the last time he'd tried throwing a living person into the Pit? Decades, at least. Eheheh. Hadn't ended so well before, but practice made perfect, after all.For here and now, though, the generals who'd performed the worst in his obstacle course would make for the best candidates. If they died--which, hon...
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<<Page 3047 || all Chapter 262 pagesThe reason the reapers needed to regrow their servants was two-fold. One, Morgunov hadn't wanted to bother feeding and caring for so many hostages. That was always the trouble with prisons and the like. And two, he'd already played with them a bit over the last month, and none of them had survived it particularly well. Or at all, really.Apparently, a simple obstacle course was too much for them. Sure, he'd built it out of machines that could analyze their movement patterns, adjust positioning on t...
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<<Page 3046 || all Chapter 262 pagesYep. That was the ticket, he decided.He made his way over to the room that he'd been using for everyone. He hadn't wanted to just leave them all sitting there in the hangar with all that military ordnance and hardware lying around. He wasn't too worried about them using any of it to escape. He just wanted the option to play with that stuff himself.Which he had, by the way.He'd very much wanted to make it so that the Roberts were capable of transforming themselves into one of those fighter jets...
CCLX. | Ch. 260: 'O, wicked shifters...'
<<Previous Chapter || Next Chapter>>Chapter Two Hundred Sixty: 'O, wicked shifters...'When Loren Lighteyes stepped off the boat, he was only too glad to finally have solid ground beneath him again. He would have much preferred to simply fly back to Eloa, but apparently, there were huge dogfights going on all across the skies of the Luthic, and even Abolish didn't want to risk transporting anyone by plane unless they were to serve as reinforcements.Concealing themselves among civilian boats, however, was somehow not a problem. He'...
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<<Page 3045 || all Chapter 262 pagesYes, the wisest course of action was to move. Even if it was a pain. Taking all these captives across the continent would be quite the hassle. Sure, the Roberts would make it much easier than doing it himself, but still. Perhaps it would best to just... thin the crowd a little, first.It wasn't like he needed all of these Vannie generals, right? And they'd just become a thorn in his side the longer he left them alive, anyway.Bah. It just seemed like such a waste of valuable resources. He'd planned ...
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<<Page 3044 || all Chapter 262 pagesOr maybe he was created by a future intelligence and sent back in time! In order to help bring that same intelligence to life! A future god that brings about its own creation!Because what better definition of a god would there be than something that creates itself? A paradox, sure, but what was a paradox to a god?That was his funnest theory, anyway. If it somehow turned out to be true, he'd be absolutely ecstatic. It wasn't impossible. But how many more centuries would he need in order to create a tru...
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<<Page 3043 || all Chapter 262 pagesMoreover, in order to get to Asad's soul through Qorvass, he would need some specialized equipment. He wasn't even sure that anything he currently possessed would do the trick. He might just have to make something brand-spanking new. And doing that meant making a trip all the way back to his biggest, most secure workshop, where he kept the Clown Pit.Ho-hum, ho-hum. Might be worth the bother, though. He hadn't created anything truly new with the Clown Pit ever since pausing development on the Rober...
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<<Page 3042 || all Chapter 262 pagesMorgunov knew the Old Man was up to something. He'd sent a sizable chunk of his men to Ardora for some reason, which wasn't exactly a normal decision during a war that was exclusive to Eloa. Morgunov was greatly tempted to pop over to Ardora real quick, just to spite Dozer and crash whatever little party he had going.It would probably turn into a huge mess and almost certainly jeopardize the war effort in the process--but it would also be lots of fun, he was pretty sure.Eh, maybe later.First, he was d...
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<<Page 3041 || all Chapter 262 pagesEven just a few years ago, there'd been no obvious winners among the top boys. Jercash, Gohvis, Gunther, Dunhouser, Ivan, Vanderberk. They certainly had their own opinions about who was stronger than whom, but as far as Morgunov was concerned, none of them had truly been tested for the last century.The Battle at Lac'Vayce, for example, might've gotten plenty of attention around the world and been seen as a rip-roaring success for Abolish, resulting in over a million casualties, but what actual shi...
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<<Page 3040 || all Chapter 262 pagesHe knew from experience how dangerous new players on the board could be. Without a clear track record or reputation from which to judge, they could be hiding all manner of surprises.The big fear, usually, was that it might be a so-called "secret emperor's" coming out party--that was, one of those folks who thought they could cower in the shadows for a few centuries and then just step out onto the world stage as one of his equals.Nevermind the fact that true strength required so much more than just...
