CHAPTER 327: SHORT AND FAIR

A new day had just risen over the vast desert. At that moment, inside the city of the Fiendgods, the atmosphere felt strange. The reason was simple: their leader had returned recently, his body covered in wounds and his expression heavy.

The Golden Monkey had fled right after Darian created that black-and-red sun. He had witnessed its destructive power and knew Darian could easily kill countless beasts. Being only someone at level 3, far weaker than those creatures, he would’ve been killed in no time. So he made the choice to preserve himself.

When he returned to the city, he felt immense relief.

He was convinced Darian was the son of someone from the final phase of the Trial, and that power was just some external trump card. Without a doubt, he believed Darian would be killed, since it was impossible for him to hold such strength for long.

Afterward, all he’d need to do was return and apologize to the beast leader for running away. He thought about that as he closed his eyes and focused his bloodline on recovery.

A cheerful smile never left his lips, because now he had in his hands an immense amount of resources given to him by Darian.

With that, he could earn many favor points, without the risk of being accused of theft by the thieves and killers of the desert. All he had to do was tell the truth — that the one responsible had already been punished. With this, he would reach level 4 and maybe even be one step closer to leaving the desert.

Suddenly...

*BOOOM!*

An event similar to the one that had shaken the city recently repeated itself. An explosion, followed by a tremor, was felt by everyone.

"The Gate has been destroyed!" shouts of surprise echoed.

Golden Monkey’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly rushed out of the building.

He ran toward the entrance, saber already in hand. All the strongest ones ran as well, prepared for a hard battle. But when they arrived... everything was silent and calm.

The dust began to settle, revealing four figures thirty meters from the entrance.

"YOU!" Golden Monkey roared, completely terrified. How was this possible?

They looked perfectly fine, without a single scratch. And around them, thousands of tiny runes floated, making it clear they had won and saved everyone of that race.

Darian snorted, casting a glance over the whole city.

"I’ll keep it short and fair." His voice echoed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Since you’ve taken care of the Heavenly Elemental Spirit, I won’t cause trouble for the city. I only came for the head of that bastard Golden Monkey. Step aside, and I won’t touch anyone else. Afterward, I’ll even leave behind everything I gave him. With that, you’ll have enough resources to raise a new leader at level 3, maybe even 4."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" a female Fiendgod roared, glaring at the three young ones.

They sighed coldly. It wasn’t the fault of everyone in the city; some were good people and had cared for them. But the leader had to be eliminated.

"Lady Frezyn, please step back," Tir said seriously. "That idiot betrayed us and sold us out to the enemy. I bet he didn’t even tell you that brother Darian left behind a huge amount of resources for all the warriors, did he?"

Everyone heard that and fell into confusion, many throwing doubtful looks toward the city’s leader. Indeed, they hadn’t known anything about that.

"Nonsense!" Golden Monkey roared coldly.

Awel sneered: "You’re not running away, no matter what lies you spit out. You planned to keep it all for yourself, didn’t you? That’s why you sold us out?"

"You little..." He pulled out his saber, his gaze torn between coldness and desperation.

Darian waved lightly. "I don’t have the patience for games. Come fight me alone, one last time, if you really care about your race. My word is as good as gold: they’ll survive without you."

"Ridiculous! Who would believe an idiot, son of someone from the last phase?! You people always treat the weak like trash, and use us to grab everything for yourselves!" Golden Monkey shouted, stirring up the Fiendgods around him. "Brothers! Let’s fight to the end, we have to protect our home!"

The Fiendgods’ expressions shifted. Their leader’s words made their blood boil. Darian still knew little about this world, but he could clearly see the deep hatred they felt toward the children of powerful people.

It didn’t matter the universe or the place: whenever people were born into high positions, they believed they could use those below however they pleased.

"Don’t listen to that bastard!" Eleri cried out desperately to the city’s Fiendgods.

But everyone snorted and drew their weapons. Who would they believe? The leader who had protected and commanded them for more than a century, or four unknown youths? The answer was obvious.

Darian wasn’t surprised by the outcome. Even if there were proof, maybe only a minority wouldn’t want to fight. But the influence of the rest, and the fear of future retaliation, would force them to side with their leader. The result would be the same. Still, he needed to show the reality to the young ones at his side.

Darian waved. A strange dagger appeared, floating at his side.

"Get ready to kill!" the Golden Monkey roared.

But the very next second, his body froze. His eyes bulged in horror as he noticed tiny black particles floating around him.

"Ridiculous... fight? Just you?" Darian’s cold voice echoed as he waved his hand.

*Pierce!*

No one even had time to react. When that Golden Monkey shouted, the next instant the dagger tore through space out of nowhere.

A rain of blood poured down. The Fiendgods watched in shock as their massive leader collapsed to the ground, thrashing among his own guts... black lines appeared in his eyes, then spread across his whole body.

In just a few seconds, he stopped moving forever.

"So? You gonna die for free for this bastard?" Darian’s cold voice rang out toward the others.

They swallowed hard, unable to believe it. He had killed the leader—the strongest one in the city—with just a casual move?

Seeing no reaction, Darian stepped forward lightly. Nobody moved, their eyes just followed him in fear.

He stopped beside the body, sheathed his saber, and then pulled out the spatial crystal with his belongings from within his clothes. Darian checked the contents and confirmed everything was still intact.

Then... he took a deep breath. Turning toward the frozen Fiendgods.

He tossed the crystal to that female Fiendgod. The three youngsters always talked to her, and she had treated them kindly before. She was a good person—and one of the strongest after their dead leader.

"Use all that to rack up points and get as strong as you can. From today on, me and the Heavenly Elemental Spirit have nothing to do with you. If you cross our path, I won’t show mercy."

After speaking, Darian moved away, turning his back on them.

Awel, Tir, and Eleri stood still, surrounded by thousands of tiny colorful runes. They looked at Darian with faint smiles, but didn’t say a word.

They were getting to know, day by day, that older brother better. Darian was... really kind, and he didn’t like making people suffer, even if he was right.

"Let’s go." Darian said, and they all nodded, leaving right away.

A little later, Eleri asked excitedly, holding onto his arm: "Where are we going, Brother Darian?"

"Hmm... before we met, I passed by a newly-abandoned city. I still have its map. Looks like a good place to stay for a while." he said, and the three nodded, just as excited.

Darian sighed, resuming his pace. Then finally turned his attention to the system as the green screens popped up.

[Current Status: Mortal Realm]

[Primordial Points to next realm: 1000/1000]

[Do you want to advance to the next realm?] [Yes / No]