One month later, the Four Divine Beasts Clan had completed all their preparations for the move and had likewise finished celebrating. All that was left to do was to complete the move now, and today was precisely the day they intended to do just that.
Thousands of metallic lifeforms rose into the skies above Skyrite Mountain at the same time – dozens of which were actually top-quality ones no smaller than Ace and Beirut's.
It had to be remembered that each top-grade metallic lifeform cost 100 million fate-stones or 100 million inkstones rather – the name of the currency in the Infernal Realm. It was truly an exorbitant sum that clearly showed that the wealth of those peak clans couldn't be underestimated.
As for Ace and his crew, aside from Alyssa, they were all sat in the Golden Sun Pirate Ship, along with Beirut, Wukong and his group, and the rest of Linley's group minus Linley, Wharton, and Gates.
Those from their group with the bloodline of the four ancestors were with the rest of the clan in preparation for the upcoming final battle.
It wasn't that Ace and the others weren't willing to fight alongside them, but their assistance was wholly unnecessary; as such, they would just be spectators from this moment on.
The first section of the trip to the Starmist Sea went off without a hitch. No bandits or pirates dared to even think about making trouble for them. Regardless of whether it was quantity or quality, the Four Divine Beasts Clan were incomparable.
Still, when they started approaching the Starmist Sea, the corners of Ace and Beirut's mouths arced upwards as they sensed the complete force of the Eight Great Clans patiently awaiting their rival's appearance.
And it wasn't just them; Ace could sense several other powerful experts leisurely flying in the distance – there to watch the festivities from a safe distance. There were over 20 Commander-level experts, but the one that caught Ace's attention was actually a paragon.
Seeing the surprised expression on Ace's face, Beirut was able to immediately guess who Ace was focusing on. He smiled and said that the paragon Ace was sensing was an old friend of his named Dunnington – a paragon of the Edict of Death.
Hearing that, Ace merely nodded slightly. At his current level, a paragon wasn't enough for Ace to feel much more than a little surprised, not anymore. As such, after making sure the man had no intention of getting involved in the upcoming battle, Ace went back to watching the main event.
As they neared the Eight Great Clan's ambush, Garott had his clan come to a stop before ordering Gisalson and the other leaders and Great Elders of the four branches to go out and meet them, along with Linley.
Seeing their leaders stop and get out of their metallic lifeform, all the High Gods of the clan that had reached at least the level of a five-star fiend did the same.
Seeing their enemies so confidently step out of their metallic lifeforms, seemingly preparing to meet them head-on, the warriors of the Eight Great Clans sneered.
The Patriarch of the Ashcroft Clan, who was also the leader of the alliance due to his strength, was the first to speak. Looking at Gisalson, he told him that it was time this war of theirs finally came to an end. To which, Gisalson nodded and replied that he couldn't agree more.
The Ashcroft Patriarch was an extremely powerful and ancient expert who was actually from the same era as the Four Divine Beasts. He had actually been the rival of the Azure Dragon ancestor at one point before the Azure Dragon got his hands on a Sovereign Spark of water. And although not an Apex Divine Beast himself, he was still a fairly powerful Divine Beast himself, and having been alive for billions of years already, the fact that he, like Ace, was only half a step away from becoming a paragon should come as no surprise.
With his power, he didn't fear anyone below the paragon level, especially not Gisalson and the rest of the experts of the Four Divine Beast Clan. If anything, he feared Linley's potential. If Linley was able to one day break through to the High God Realm and reach his level of comprehension, as a true Apex Divine Beast, he understood that not even he would be able to match Linley, but Linley was far from that level as it was.
It was for that very reason that Lord Ashcroft was so confident charging forward, leaving the rest of his army behind him, heading not for Gisalson but for Linley.
Still, even as Linley watched the incredibly powerful Patriarch nearing him at breakneck speed, a sneer spread across his face.
A frown spread across Ashcroft's face, but he was nothing if not decisive. He knew that regardless of what they had planned, as long as he killed Linley here and now, there would be nothing left for him or his clan to fear in the future.
Unfortunately, before his strike could land, he spotted the very corporeal phantom of an all too familiar Divine White Tiger appear from the rear of his enemy's Army.
It took him but a single glance to realise that Linley wasn't the only Apex Divine Beast that had appeared in his enemy's clan.
In that moment, his back went cold as his mind went to the worst-case scenario – what if the Four Divine Beasts Clan had hidden this expert to allow them to mature? What if this hidden expert had actually become a paragon-level Apex Divine Beast without them knowing?
What made it even more believable was the sneers on the faces of Linley and the others. Only an expert of that calibre could make them feel so confident in front of him.
Ashcroft knew full well that the Divine Ability of the Divine White Tiger was among the most heaven-defying. For the ancestral White Tiger's descendants, they were able to use it to truly warp space and teleport anywhere within the sphere of their Godrealm, but for a true White Tiger, when active, their Godrealm would turn into a spatial domain where they could teleport not only themselves – provided the difference in strength wasn't too drastic.
Ashcroft was just about to use a drop of Sovereign's Might to prevent this unknown expert from controlling him whilst also escaping their domain when he noticed that the owner of the Godrealm was actually only a Full God.
A sadistic and angry grin appeared on his face as he realised he had almost been taken for a fool. This expert was at most following the path of a Supreme Genius, like Linley, but they were far from a match for him.
To vent his anger, he increased his speed to get to Linley as soon as possible. He wanted nothing more than to tear Linley limb from Limb, but it was right then that he saw an all too familiar face suddenly appear directly in front of him – a face he prayed he would never see again.
As Garott appeared in Ashcroft's path, blocking him from nearing Linley, his body didn't radiate so much an ounce of his aura, something that should be impossible to do for an expert like Ashcroft, who specialised in the Edict of Death and was, by extension, an incredibly powerful expert in the ways of the soul.
As much as Ashcroft wanted for the man before him to be nothing but part of an illusion, he knew his senses weren't playing tricks on him.
Garott really was here, and if he had escaped the seal, he had to have become a paragon – he was the real secret weapon of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
Garott calmly grabbed Ashcroft's outstretched wrist in a vice-like grip with one hand before indifferently slapping down with an open palm on top of his opponent's head.
The battlefield was deathly silent as they watched the body of Ashcroft – the most powerful expert of the Eight Great Clans – implode on itself.
As soon as Ashcroft died, the senior members of the Eight Great Clans immediately turned to escape with their tails beneath their legs. Unfortunately, Garott had no intention of letting any of them escape.
Speed may not be his forte, but as a paragon, unless you were a freak like Killian or Ace, you could forget about even thinking about running away from him.
Space seemed to warp around his body as he shot forward at a speed that none from the Eight Great Clans could even follow, appearing in the middle of all their leaders who had barely moved from their initial position.
He infused his willpower into his voice, allowing it to travel right through the Starmist Sea. He shouted that his Four Divine Beasts Clan was no longer a clan that could be bullied by mere deities. At the same time, the phantom of a Divine Black Tortoise appeared behind him, radiating an oppressive might that shocked even those who had come just to watch the fun.
Aside from Beirut's friend Dunnington, the others all had to escape further away. Not only had Garott infused his Divine Ability with his Willpower, but he had also even used a drop of Earth-Type Sovereign's Might.
Though he didn't have to move from his original position, like the others, even Dunnington's eyes constricted as he watched space compress on itself, crushing a little over a tenth of the Eight Great Clan's army into oblivion in one go.
In one attack, not only had Garott killed around 40 Commander-level experts of the Eight Great Clans, but he had also killed over 10,000 of their experts – each of whom was at least at the level of a five-star fiend.
The most fearsome part was that, if not for the fact that each of the Commander-level experts all simultaneously and unhesitatingly using their respective Sovereign Might with hopes of escaping, Dunnington knew that the attack would've wiped out at least half of the enemy's force.
After getting over his shock, Dunnington could only sigh in helpless resignation. This is what made Apex Divine Beasts so fearsome.
Upon becoming High-Gods, even if they hadn't fused a single, profound mystery, they would have the strength to battle against seven-star fiends and some weaker commanders relying on nothing but their Innate Gifts and Divine Abilities. Upon bringing their comprehension up to the seven-star fiend, they would be considered invincible beneath the paragon realm.
It was because of those ridiculous abilities, though, that their comprehension was so weak in comparison to other races.
The chances of one becoming a paragon were almost impossible, but whenever one did, they would immediately be referred to as Invincible Paragons.
------------------------------------------
Please check out and support my new novel - A Tale of Pride!
-------------------------------------------
Story Complete!
Currently 86 chapters ahead!
Head over to the P atreon if you wish to read to the end uninterrupted!
P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon