Chapter 9: Between The Hammer And The Anvil

Indignation, resentment, hate, an oath to return.

Flying as a black streak above Monivore city, going as fast as he can, Zax frantically sought a thread of lifeline that he could use to escape while being consumed by turbulent emotions.

No matter how far, to which direction and how many quick turns, he had the constant feeling that the orange haired man can stretch his hand and catch as easily as picking up an ant from the ground.

Twenty five seconds left.

After making up his mind Zax decided to leave the city, but when he reached its farthest border from the orange haired man, a beastly killing intent was radiating from afar, giving the impression that it will arrive Monivore city before his thirty seconds are up.

‘Who is that?!’ The killing intent was acute and malevolent, slightly superior to the orange haired man, not much below that of the two Overlords.

Thinking up the answer as quickly as the question was raised in his mind, Zax guessed that if the approaching expert did not belong to one of the five powers, he or she was still definitely arriving because of him.

‘Two ... Two adversaries!’ The peril he was in aroused the fresh memories of his experience in Demirva Ridge and then the even newer memories of his short journey on sea. ‘Two adversaries!’ The second time he repeated a flash of insight shone in his eyes and his state of mind submerged in hasty determination.

‘Entering the sea without proper arrangement will evoke the fury of the two Overlords!’ His idea was to set up the orange haired man and the other person approaching against the two Overlords, however, simply leaving the continent in the same manner he previously did will only be provoking death one too more times.

...

‘He sensed her killing intent, stopped and turned toward the harbors. Is he thinking that he can get away on a boat? Absurd, even if I’ll do nothing the Overlords’ disposition is off. They will not care for the protective formation ... In this particular occurrence it would have been less stupid to just alternate between flying and swimming’. The orange haired man sneered at Zax’s behavior and continued to count down, now and then averting a more concentrated gaze at the incoming killing intent and changing his countenance from smugness to seriousness.

...

Unlike the beaches, the harbors and ports were crowded by people and humanoid beast. Most where crew members of some ship, be they sailors or experts responsible for maintaining the ships’ protective formations, etc. others were docks’ workers and concerned city officials, there to discuss when the embargo will be lifted.

‘I knew it!’ Restraining the urge to cry in happiness, Zax kept a stiff expression while hovering above a harbor pecked with stocked crates, ready to be boarded the instant it will be safe to sail.

He got there so fast, many of those who followed his exploits since creating a stir in the police station lost track of him, locating him again when he stopped above the city’s harbors while simultaneously being noticed those already there.

...

“L- L- Liminton, it’s him!” The tanned youth, Bin Bin, burst into a small cabin aboard a large ship, breaking the door lock in the process.

“Yaah!” A feminine shouted in surprise and a delicate figure, clearly a human, ran out of the cabin, covering her naked body with a female sailor uniforms!

“Dammit, Bin Bin!” Liminton yelled, getting up, naked, from the one person bed. “I told you not to interrupt my, you shitty brat, do you think it’s easy to seduce those sailor girls and convince them they will not lose their job if they’ll bring a man to their quarters?!” As it so happened, Liminton the beast had no apprehensions from being with a human woman.

“He is alive, Liminton!” Bin Bin ignored the scolding. “The one creating troubles in the city, he returned, alive! Here again!”

“Returned? Who?” Liminton was confused, inwardly weighting the good some beating will do to the inconsiderate punk. Releasing his Sublime Soul Sense he got the answer before Bin Bin replied.

“That guy from two weeks ago who-”

“Idiot! Don’t you feel it?!” Liminton silenced him. “Out, get out!” He roared, grabbed Bin Bin by the collar of his shirt and pulled him after him, still naked.

...

Dark attribute domain unleashed, spreading in concert with Soul Sense.

‘There they are!’ Zax noted the spots where the ships and boats protective formations were embedded. The formation relating to the Horned Eel was etched to either the keel or turbines of each vessel. The formation for the Four Wings Stork was engraved on the funnel or stitched to sails.

Taking a step forward, Zax descended, appearing in front of a confused old bearded man and throwing his arm in a swift snatching motion. Retracting his arms and opening his closed hand, a coin with two sigils, each emanating an almost indiscernible fluctuations, was resting in his palm.

‘Back then, despite the protective formations, they were afraid of me boarding because I didn’t have this thing’. Zax now understood why although the crew on the fishing boat had the good intentions of warning him, they were hesitant of to allowing him on the boat. ‘I can feel similar fluctuation to those of the ships’ protective formation, but nothing further. It can’t even be drawn to a spatial ring ... If I bet right, this will eventually only work in my favor, I guess... ‘ Finally he had the confidence to grin, even though rage brew in his stomach, even if by doing so the orange haired man will be forewarned.

Sending repels through his dark attribute domain, Zax resumed his flight in high speed across the harbors and ports.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

...

Successive shattering sounds echoed from the pockets of every person that was within the radius of the dark domain.

“Hey!”

“What’s that?!”

“My Voyage Charm!”

Using his dark domain, Zax destroyed all the coins with the double sigils, all the Voyage Charms. Surprisingly they were more fragile than he anticipated and less or not at all protected than he thought they would be.

‘There aren’t anymore’. He inspected all the humans, beasts and establishments near the harbors and shores and done so quickly, concentrating on so many Voyage Charms and destroying them in one go squandered almost ten seconds of his precious time.

“Blessed Army”, at last permitting his temper to erupt, Zax shouted, addressing the orange haired man and through him to the power behind him that circuitously contributed to today’s loss. “For forcing me to run and threatening my life ... I swear, such opportunity will not come to you again! Should I see any member of your power whose cultivation I can manage, with no exception and until I’m satisfied, all I’ll kill!”

His voice thundered in the ears of everyone in the city, that he could due to his physique alone, but to deepen the impression on the orange haired man and all the other adequate cultivators in the vicinity, especially the one which killing intent he could feel penetrating him from afar, he amplified each word and syllable with the dark attribute worldly energy.

...

“Crazy! Someone is actually waging war on the Blessed Army?”

“Stupid cultivator, does he has a death wish?”

“Yeah, how many perished under the overwhelming strength of the Blessed Army or any of the other four powers?”

“Well ... He does seem strong”.

“He is, but how many like him are within the ranks of the Blessed Army?”

“I think it’s the guy that assaulted mayor Deg and made a mess in the city”.

“Blast it! Is the city and all its residents going to become a warzone because some reckless guy is board to the point of challenging the strongest force on the continent?!”