Chapter 393: Just as Luke Falls… Five Golden Chains Appear!

Gorzak clenched his teeth, although he eventually stopped arguing and returned his attention to the battlefield.

Then a faint sound suddenly reached their ears.

"COUGH! COUGH!"

"...!"

All three immediately looked toward its source.

The coughing came again, accompanied by a weak groan from somewhere beneath the smoke.

"He's alive!" Gorzak exclaimed, his earlier frustration immediately turning into fierce excitement.

Kroghar also sensed the faint presence coming from the ruined ground, and considering the destructive power of the explosion, he doubted any of their B-Rank warriors could have survived.

The three exchanged glances, each understanding what the discovery meant.

"We've already lost our tribe, so we cannot afford to lose the reward as well," Vradok said, his voice becoming serious.

Gorzak immediately agreed, although Kroghar raised another concern.

"We need to capture him and leave quickly, before that crimson dragon discovers what happened here."

Hearing his warning, the other two nodded.

They had already suffered considerable injuries during their earlier confrontation with Rhaenyra, and none of them wanted to fight that furious Dragon Princess again, especially after losing almost their entire army.

With that, the three restrained their auras and descended toward the faint coughing sounds, eventually discovering Luke's enormous crippled body lying inside a crater.

A tiny crimson coffin was moving across his injuries, weaving golden-white threads over the exposed wounds.

Gorzak's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Well, well, the puppet of the traitor god is still alive."

His words were filled with amusement, although the hatred in his eyes made it clear that he hadn't forgotten the destruction of his tribe.

Not far from the crater, Emberlyn was also observing the aftermath from her concealed position.

Having survived the explosion through her A-Rank strength, she had been searching for Luke among the ruins, and when she finally sensed his faint presence, relief immediately washed over her.

She was preparing to approach him when three powerful auras suddenly appeared above the crater.

Emberlyn stopped.

'Those three...'

Her expression became increasingly troubled as she recognized the A-Rank leaders of the Zhurkhal Tribe.

'This is bad!'

If she revealed herself now, a confrontation would be unavoidable, and a battle between four A-Rank beings could easily kill Luke through the resulting shockwaves.

Moreover, there was still her father's order to consider.

'Damn it! What should I do?'

She clenched her fists, watching the three Orcs approach Luke's crippled body while struggling to decide whether she should intervene.

Meanwhile, inside the crater, Kiki had already noticed the newcomers.

"KIKI!"

The little crimson coffin immediately stopped weaving its golden-white threads and climbed onto Luke's enormous head, where it raised its tiny body and began hissing toward the intruders.

"KIKIII!"

The sight was rather comical, considering that a one-foot-tall coffin was attempting to intimidate three fifteen-foot-tall A-Rank Orcs while standing on the head of a severely injured seventy-foot Titan.

However, Kiki seemed completely serious about protecting its master.

Gorzak examined the little coffin before chuckling.

"Hah! It's good that this strange treasure survived as well."

Kroghar also glanced toward it, although neither of them felt threatened by its faint energy signature.

After all, Kiki currently possessed so little energy that it could barely maintain its tiny form.

Luke, however, wasn't willing to risk losing it.

'Kiki, go back.'

"Kiki?"

The little coffin turned toward him, apparently unwilling to leave while the three threatening figures remained nearby.

'I'll be fine. Just go.'

After a brief hesitation, Kiki finally obeyed.

VMMMM!

Its crimson body dissolved into a faint glow before disappearing.

"Hmm?"

Vradok raised his eyebrows upon seeing the coffin vanish, although he quickly dismissed the matter.

They had already witnessed enough of Luke's unusual abilities to understand that capturing him would likely provide opportunities to uncover his secrets.

However, one particular ability still worried the Great Shaman.

'His spatial movement...'

Although the ancestral dome had been destroyed, Luke had previously demonstrated several methods of teleportation, and allowing him even a brief opportunity to recover could prove troublesome.

Vradok looked down toward his severely injured body.

"So, Hero of Light, I think you've caused us enough trouble for one day."

Luke stared at him without speaking, since with almost all his strength exhausted, he could barely move, much less prepare a technique capable of resisting an A-Rank existence.

Vradok slowly raised his hand.

"You should sleep for now, and when you wake up, you'll find yourself in heaven."

He casually flicked his finger.

BOOOOOOM!

The seemingly insignificant movement released a terrifying shockwave that crossed the short distance between them before Luke could even react.

BAAAAAANG!

The attack struck his chest directly, tearing through the already damaged flesh and nearly splitting his torso apart.

KRRRRAAAACK!

Most of his remaining internal organs ruptured beneath the force, while golden-red blood erupted from the injury and scattered across the surrounding ground.

"UGHH—!"

Luke barely managed to release a pained cry before his consciousness disappeared.

His enormous body jerked backward, striking the bottom of the crater as the remaining strength sustaining his transformation began weakening.

Had he not been maintaining Vorthar's extraordinary physique, the blow would almost certainly have killed him instantly.

Meanwhile, Emberlyn witnessed the attack from her concealed position.

'LUKE!'

Her expression changed completely, and she nearly rushed forward before forcing herself to stop.

'No! If I fight those three now, the shockwaves might kill him!'

She looked toward the Orc leaders, then toward the thick dust rising from Luke's crater, desperately searching for an opportunity to intervene.

Fortunately, before Gorzak could disperse the smoke, something unexpected happened.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

Five golden chains suddenly emerged from within the dust cloud, their radiant links rattling violently as they become visible in the sky.

FWHOOOSH! FWHOOOSH!

The chains extended toward five different directions, making anyone feel, that those chains were crossing the distant sky with extraordinary speed.

However, one of them appeared noticeably shorter than the others, pointing toward a location somewhere within Bravaryn.

"What is that?!" Gorzak exclaimed, instinctively stepping backward.

Kroghar also became cautious, while Vradok stared at the golden chains with growing suspicion.

Although the three possessed A-Rank strength and were far from approaching the level of demigods, they could clearly sense an unfamiliar divinity radiating from those links.

The discovery immediately made them wary.

However, the chains didn't attack.

Instead, they continued extending toward the five wives connected to Luke, carrying an urgent warning about the danger threatening him.

---

Far away, within the Blackstone Highlands, life had gradually returned to normal following Rhaenyra's departure.

Although rumors about a dragon appearing in the territory continued circulating among the inhabitants, attracting attention from neighboring regions, most people had already resumed their ordinary activities.

At that moment, Aurielle was seated inside the Time Chamber, quietly meditating as she attempted to gather enough energy to advance her cultivation.

Her objective remained unchanged.

She wanted to become strong enough to bring the real Luke back from the Dragon Continent, rather than continuing to depend upon his clone.

However, just as she was concentrating upon the energy circulating through her body, something suddenly disturbed her meditation.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

A golden chain emerged from the region of her heart, its radiant links trembling violently as it extended toward a distant location.

Aurielle's eyes immediately opened.

"What...?"

She looked down toward the chain, only for her expression to change as she sensed the desperate warning being transmitted through it.

"LUKE!"

The name escaped her mouth before she could restrain herself, and she immediately rose from her meditative position.

'What happened to him?!'

Her thoughts became chaotic as she recalled that Luke was currently on the Dragon Continent.

Even though Rhaenyra didn't appear particularly interested in protecting him, Aurielle had still believed that the Dragon Princess wouldn't simply allow something terrible to happen to her husband.

Yet the golden chain was warning her that Luke's life was in danger.

"What happened, darling?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from nearby.

Aurielle turned and saw Luke's clone approaching, but the moment his gaze settled upon the violently rattling chain, his own expression changed.

'The main body is in danger!'

He immediately attempted to establish a connection with Luke's consciousness.

Unfortunately, the result remained the same as his earlier attempts.

There was no response.

The connection between the clone and the main body still couldn't be established.

Aurielle noticed his reaction and hurried toward him.

"Luke! What's happening to my husband?! Tell me what's going on!"

Her voice trembled with anxiety as she looked between the clone and the golden chain.

However, the clone could only shake his head.

"I can't connect to the main body, Aurielle. I've tried, but I'm not receiving any response, so I don't know what's happening to him."

"..."

Aurielle stared at him, seemingly unable to accept what she had just heard.

Then her eyes filled with tears.

"Useless!"

The word escaped her mouth in frustration, although the anger she directed toward the clone was also directed toward herself.

If she had been stronger, perhaps she wouldn't have needed to depend upon others to protect Luke, and she could have accompanied him instead of remaining helpless so far away.

Unfortunately, none of those thoughts could change the situation.

Aurielle slowly turned toward the direction in which the golden chain extended, her hands trembling as she clasped them together.

"Please be safe, Luke..."

Her voice became quieter.

"Please... come back to me."

The golden chain continued rattling before her, while she remained standing inside the Time Chamber, helplessly watching the direction in which her husband had disappeared.