CHAPTER 345: CHAPTER 345: STANDING GUARD

Belgrod realized that the more Kael was left alone, the more things would go out of control.

He had to die, he couldn’t be left alive.

And they had to chase after Chloe. If she activated the command system and locked it from the inside, that would be the end.

One could imagine the kind of power she would be able to wield if she successfully got control of the Arkship.

All this time, Belgrod had hoped to find a lion that knew the foundational rules that governed this machine. But none of the lions he had met could have been able to do anything worthwhile.

Putting an uneducated lion in the arkship was more likely to be disastrous to both parties.

The tigers have had to protect this metal structure from lions for fear of what could happen if the royals reclaimed their ark.

They were not willing to give the Lions an advantage again.

Belgrod had hoped to be able to find an educated lion and use him to get access to the arkship, the way his ancestors had described in the info orbs.

All he had to do was allow a lion to go in and follow them to the command center, then hack the system before complete control could be given to the lion.

Everything was going as planned. It should have gone as planned if not for Kael.

Who would have guessed that this was a Primordial Lion with mysterious powers that negated their influence?

And now, his plan, his very simple plan, was crumbling before his eyes.

All because Kael stood in the way.

Belgrod immediately clawed at Kael, causing hundreds of magic circles floating in front of him to shoot after Kael.

Each magic circle turned into a tangible circular weapon, spinning with sharp edges and aiming to shred Kael into pieces.

Kael stomped his sandaled feet into the ground, channeling the power of vegetation through his body, and into the ground.

Vines rose into the sky like snakes springing like needles. The vines waved about, precisely hitting any magic disc that came close to Kael.

Kael reeled his head back, narrowly dodging an ice blade that almost tore through his neck.

The temperature dropped to a shockingly low degree. Snow began to fall and a layer of frost formed on the surface of the metal structure.

Ten seconds in and the climate had already changed multiple times by force. The clouds didn’t know whether to stay or be pushed away.

Shockwaves resounded everywhere as Kael struggled to keep every tiger from getting in.

He was genuinely struggling.

It was somewhat annoying to him because he could sense that Belgrod and Agatha were not using their full power, yet they had kept him in a defensive position.

Their attacks were relentless, barraging him with an endless amount of magic discs and ice blades. Kael zoomed left and right, dodging and neutralizing the ice spikes that were popping up randomly.

*Sniff*

Agatha paused her attack, she perceived blood. Belgrod and the other tigers also perceived it.

Kael smirked, he knew that this could only be Katari’s doing.

She had already acted and blood was already spilled.

"We don’t have time for this!" Belgrod shouted for the first time. The more time they spent with Kael, the closer Chloe got to finding the control center of the Arkship.

Hundreds of magic circles appeared in the sky right above Kael. Their glowing edges rubbed against the body of the metal structure, causing weird phenomena.

Kael glanced up and recognized the magic circles to be full of binding runes.

He realized too late.

Thousands of glowing red strings shot down like the tongues of a chameleon, striking Kael’s body with brutal precision.

They whipped at him as he jumped away, trying to avoid another ice spike. The red strings wrapped around his hand and legs, pulling him up into the air.

The red strings covered his body as though they were red spider webs. He was wrapped in a red cocoon and lifted into the air.

While Kael was being lifted and wrapped into a mummy, Belgrod directed the tigers.

"Let’s go," He said as he flew toward the entrance.

Already, some of the tier 4 tigers had rushed at the entrance the moment Kael was bound by the red strings.

Ten tigers rushed in with beastly speed, blazing their way through the corridors in pursuit of Chloe.

The eleventh tiger was about to cross into the passageway when a vine pierced through his head from below and broke through his skull, turning his brain to mush.

More vines rose into the sky, complemented with flames or lightning pillars.

"Futile," Belgrod knew that this was probably Kael’s last effort to guard the entrance.

He covered his whole body with his magic barrier before flying toward the wall of vines, fire, and lightning himself. He decided to personally tear a path to catch Chloe.

The power of the tier 5 tigers was felt at this moment. His mere intentional movement caused the ground to compress and flatten around him as magic pressure was exerted from his body.

With a magic barrier around him, he shot at Kael’s defensive wall. If nothing was done, he would definitely break through and rush into the Arkship.

At this time, Kael who was carried high above, wrapped in innumerable red strings moved.

The red strings stretched and expanded rapidly as the body they were trying to hold down was transforming into something they couldn’t contain.

Just like what happened with Katari, the red strings started snapping one after the other. In Katari’s case, the red strings snapped because of an opposing magic force.

Now, the red strings were snapping because of Kael’s raw physical might that he was exerting to break free.

One by one, the red strings snapped and broke apart, fading away. The more red strings disappeared, the more space twisted around Kael.

Golden fur became visible as the body expanded rapidly. Two bumps on the back elongated and expanded until two golden feathered wings broke out of their confines.

A loud lion roar of primal rage was heard as Kael fully shattered all the red strings on his body, blasting every form of magic around him to oblivion.

His eyes locked on Belgrod’s form which was a few milliseconds from contacting his defensive wall.

The wings flapped with expanding muscles and spatial distortions.

Kael disappeared, leaving a vacuum where he had been. He broke the sound barrier within that instant, shattering spatial limits to increase his speed.

Like a meteor, he shot down, leaving a brief streak of gold behind him.

*BAM!*

Belgrod was smashed into the ground. Kael had broken free and acted too fast out of desperation. Even Belgrod had not expected such.

The ground shattered into a wide semi-circle crater around the entrance. The defensive wall of vines and fire was obliterated by the force of the impact.

Three tier 4 tigers were crushed into the ground, their strong bones holding on for a while but their organs had already stopped working.

The rest of the tigers were blown away by the shockwave. They were flabbergasted, was this still a tier 4 lion?

Agatha brought her hand to her face to block her eyes from the dust and small pebbles. With a cold expression, she jumped into the crater, bringing with her a storm of ice and death.

The storm of ice followed Agatha into the deep crater, covering the whole earth in a layer of mist and frost.

For a second, there was silence, before an unsettling heat was felt.

Meanwhile, another party was moving in this direction fast and he was coming with the anger of a wrathful god of destruction.

"LEAVE!" The remaining tier 4 tigers heard Constantyne’s voice in their ears.

Before they could react, a ball of flame skewed through the air. The air screamed as it was torn apart by the fast-moving burning object.

At the same time, a pillar of golden flames burst out of the first covered crater. Belgrod and Agatha broke through the earth, being blasted away by a force that shocked both of them to their core.

Golden light filled the region, and the sky seemed to take on a holy glow as the universe sang praises for a mighty king.

The cracks in the ground glowed with a deep ethereal golden light. Clouds in the sky quickly gathered to form a vortex with golden lightning forming.

The air stiffened, as if fearing the presence of the one who conquered all. The trees bowed, underground waterways began to flow in reverse, space became stable.

All these inanimate things acted as if they were before the presence of a mighty being.

Constantyne, the massive ball of fire that was quickly closing in on the pillar of golden fire, didn’t care. He could sense the change in aura and he was equally shocked.

But so what?

This Kael might be special, but he was special too.

Thinking of this, Constantyne’s aura raged higher and his flames burned brighter. He roared, signifying his might.

He was challenging the king.

...

...

[Conqueror Mode]

How would the king respond?