CHAPTER 403: CHAPTER 403: MA’ABU’S DETERMINATION

The arkship that the Anti-primordials had spotted above Eridoria had vanished from the chaotic star system.

The next time anyone spotted it, it was already moving at warp speed, flying away into the starry distance.

At the same time, the pulse of the Primordial Lion was felt, the same pulse that resonated with every lion in the galaxy.

It was like a wave of power that washed through the bodies of everyone, not once, not twice, but repeatedly.

As if the Primordial Lion was drawing their attention.

"Dammit!" One of the lion kings of the Anti-Primordial Coalition cursed as his arkship’s warp signals detected the rogue arkship moving away.

From within his chamber of command where everyone was recovering from the freakish accident, the lion king barked out orders, stomping his paw repeatedly as he urged them to chase.

The warp engines were activated and the whole arkship vibrated. The vessel sped off, allowing space and time to warp magnificently over its body.

Suddenly, a lonely light appeared from the other side of the star system.

It was a blue beam that streaked across the void and headed straight for the arkship.

The tip of the blue beam was shaped strangely, looking like the head of a ferocious beast roaring at the heavens.

Within the blink of an eye, the beam had crossed the vast distance and arrived beside the moving arkship.

Despite the arkship moving faster than the speed of light, this beastly beam which was clearly not following the laws of physics, reached it faster.

The beam hit and a shockwave spread out. The arkship was knocked out of its flight path.

The semi-transparent barrier was pierced through and the hull was damaged. That single strike had destroyed a couple of chamber worlds.

If that blue beam had hit a planet like Eridoria, it would have been destroyed, shattered with its countless remains flung throughout space.

That strike was just one of many as different multicolored beams shot over from the dark distance, hitting one arkship after the other and causing varying degrees of damage.

One arkship even sped over at super speed, its circular edges spinning with sharp light as it collided with another bulky arkship closest to it.

Tens of thousands of magic shuttles, each more or less a kilometer long, streamed out of the arkships.

Soon, an interstellar dogfight began. Laser beams and beast cannons roared across the void, the space was filled with killing intent.

It was a surprise attack and the Anti-primordials had not expected it at all.

Sure, they had imagined that a fight would break out as soon as they got close to the Primordial Lion. They just didn’t expect a distortion field to suddenly deactivate out of nowhere and cause so many accidents.

Exalon and his Supporters took the opportunity to strike, destroying many arkships and killing some Lion Kings in the process.

Could it even be called an opportunity? From the way Ma’abu saw it, this was already planned.

The mysterious arkship was flying away and the Anti-Primordial Coalition was stuck here trying to defend themselves.

It was clear that the other party was trying to buy time for the Primordial Lion to escape.

"The Primordial Lion, he’s getting away," Ma’abu roared as the pillow throne he stood on began to glow brightly with an ominous dark light.

He had felt the pulse, there was no mistaking it, the Primordial Lion was definitely inside that mysterious arkship.

Ma’abu was frustrated, deeply frustrated.

He was absolutely livid.

Everything was about to go out of his control and it annoyed him so much that he was having trouble keeping his emotions in check.

"ENOUGH!" Ma’abu roared.

From his body, a strange sound wave spread out. The sound wave was not ordinary as it carried with it the enigmatic power of time.

The temporal sound wave spread out, seeping into the systems of the arkship and reaching the amplifier runes instantly.

The temporal sound wave burst out of Ma’abu’s arkship, the sound of a Time Lion’s roar echoing into all the hidden dimensions.

And then, everything stopped.

Everything stopped moving.

It was like someone had pressed the pause button on a remote. That was how everything looked.

Paused.

The stellar flares from the unstable star were frozen in place. The arkships and countless shuttles that were streaking through the void had stopped.

The shattered remains of Eridoria that floated away were paused.

The ruins of broken arkships and the bodies of different creatures, including lions stopped in their trajectory.

Even the thick and destructive planet-busting beams that shot everywhere were forcefully paused.

Time had...stopped.

It HAS stopped.

It wasn’t universal though, it was just like the distortion field, except this field stopped time.

A time bubble had formed around the entire star system and everything inside this bubble had stopped moving completely.

It was like time was absent in this region. But for how long could this last? How long could Ma’abu stave off the danger and conflict that was now at their disadvantage?

For a single being to be able to do this was incredible.

Inside his chamber of command, Ma’abu gritted his sharp teeth, his black mane was disheveled and his limbs shook.

Blood flowed out from his shut eyes and soaked his furry cheeks.

His two power pools were being drained rapidly and his body was weakening. Ma’abu could be seen visibly getting older as seconds passed by.

"Quick, I can’t hold on," Ma’abu muttered through gritted teeth.

He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. He had intentionally avoided some arkships, keeping them away from the power of his Time Hold.

There were about fifty of these arkships and they were at the edge of the star system, away from the conflicts, and had the best chances of escaping and not getting carried away by the fighting.

The arkship could not move, but the lion kings within them were aware as time still flowed normally within.

Witnessing the sacrifice Ma’abu was making just to make sure they caught up with the Primordial Lion, they were touched.

Inside his chamber of command, Ma’abu could not hold it any longer, he collapsed and fell off his pillow throne, losing consciousness in the process.

Right after, time resumed its usual course. The beams flew around and the shuttles continued their dogfight.

Besides the fifty arkships and the inhabitants, no one knew that time had been halted.

Not yet.

///////

"You’re Majesty, fifty arkships broke out of the star system and are going after the Primordial’s arkship."

Exalon’s Prince reported immediately. He had a frown on his face as he felt that something was wrong.

Exalon narrowed his eyes from the top of his pillow throne.

"I see, so he’s that dedicated," Exalon said with a hoarse voice. His whiskers vibrated, sensing the faint mismatch in time and space.

Knowing that his enemy was determined to win gave Exalon a sense of ecstasy. He was so eager to continue fighting that thoughts of flying out of his arkship and settling everything with his physical might started to cross his mind.

His sharp claws buried deep into the surface of his pillow throne, holding him in place.

"Let them go," Exalon replied to the Prince, "We’ve achieved what we came for, the Primordial Lion should have created some distance between them,"

The prince was confused, but he bowed and walked away so that he could focus on navigating the arkship out of this impromptu battlefield.

Exalon smiled, he was somewhat satisfied... somewhat.

They had managed to kill some Lion Kings and also mislead the entire Anti-Primordial Coalition.

It was good to see plans become a successful reality.

However, the battle had not yet been won.

Exalon gazed at the massive screen in front of him, resisting the urge to transform and put his humanoid hands behind his back.

On the screen, the live image of Ma’abu’s arkship could be seen.

More than a hundred massive arkships flocked to his sides, shielding him and forming a powerful barrier to withstand any attack.

"Your Majesty, we’re detecting dragon aura," One of Exalon’s princes spoke out all of a sudden.

/////

While the confusing conflict was going on behind them, fifty arkships made a beeline for the mysterious arkship.

The mysterious arkship left a trail of red and blue with faint echoes of the Primordial Pulse.

Within the command chamber of this mysterious arkship, a slim brown-skinned, bald man sat cross-legged on his pillow throne.

"Hahaha, they’re so dumb," The man laughed boisterously. His eyes were a mix of fiery red and royal gold.

Flickers of golden flames appeared and died off on his shoulder.

He was the one who had released the pulse not long ago.

This wasn’t Kael, this was Chloe’s grandfather.

"Ah, when was the last time we had this much fun..." The thin man said to one of his consorts who was lying down at the bottom of his throne.

Just then...

"Your Majesty, we’re detecting fifty arkships pursuing us from behind," One lioness reported.

"Bah, they’ll soon realize that I’m not the Primordial Lion..." The skinny man waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, we’re detecting another presence ahead of us...

Your Majesty...it’s...it’s..." The lioness was stunned speechless as she stared at the massive screen in front of them.

Chloe’s grandfather stared at the image on the screen, his casual expression gradually turning serious, then transitioning to fright.

"Is that...Ibadon?"