Chapter 727: [10:00]
Chapter 727: [10:00]
Jack Kaiser stood motionless in the dead zone.
The borderlands stretched out around him in all directions. The sky above was beginning to darken as clouds gathered, drawn by the sheer concentration of magical power unleashed across this battlefield.
His right hand extended toward empty space.
The gesture was simple. The hand opened, and reality tore.
A portal erupted into existence. It wasn’t large, but perfectly calibrated to the task.
Through the aperture, the familiar landscape of Floor 25 came into view. The ethereal light. The domain where everything lived in peace under Jack’s rule.
Chain’s materialized from his hand and went searching for a specific individual.
It passed through the dimensional boundary with the certainty of something that understood its purpose.
The moment the chain crossed the threshold, Jack’s consciousness registered the connection.
A system notification bloomed across his vision.
[Ren - Sovereign-class | Forgotten Hero]
[Binding Initiation: Soul Anchor - Alive Soul]
[Forcibly Bind to Army?]
[YES] or [NO]
Jack’s consciousness didn’t even pause. His hand moved with absolute certainty.
’Yes.’
The notification shifted.
[Binding Initiated...]
[225,000,000 Death Tokens Spent]
[Time Until Completion: 10:00]
[New Death Token Count: 1,630,077,680]
Jack’s hand lowered. The portal collapsed behind him, reality sealing itself shut with a whisper of displaced air. His breathing remained steady, controlled, the respiration of a creature operating at a perfect baseline despite the magnitude of what was unfolding.
"Moments now, and I will change the course of history itself," he said aloud to himself, the words carrying the weight of absolute certainty rather than doubt.
The binding of a Sovereign-class creature while alive retained all memories.
This alone represented a fundamental shift in the balance of power. Being able to bind any creature and have them retain their memories was a massive change.
When that timer reached zero, Ren’s binding completed, and the hero could be summoned to the battlefield. Everything would change.
But until then, another matter demanded his attention.
’The Herald took the bait.’
The voice that manifested in Jack’s consciousness was gravelly, ancient, radiating with the weight of something that had existed for centuries.
The dragon of fire and magma. The creature whose power Jack had woven into his very being when he made a deal to kill The Council.
’This is the right thing to do,’ Emberion continued, his tone carrying something that transcended simple approval. It was anticipation. Raw, primal hunger for combat.
’The Dragon King will hear of this. Typhoon will understand that the Soul Warden does not hide. That he does not cower behind proxies and schemes. He faces the Herald directly, announces his presence to the entire draconic hierarchy, and prepares to demonstrate why the ancients feared him.’
"Elegantly calculated," Tharaxis remarked, his tone reflecting a contemplative and observational nature. This represented the other dragon spirit residing within Jack’s consciousness, serving as a strategic counterpoint to Emberion’s more direct approach.
’To broadcast your power through single combat is to declare that you require no army. That individual strength transcends numerical superiority. The message will reverberate across every dragon territory within three hundred miles. Typhoon will have no choice but to acknowledge that a true power has emerged on this continent.’
Jack’s hand clenched into a fist.
The countdown timer was now visible at the edge of his perception. [9:32]. [9:31]. [9:30]. The seconds were ticking away with inexorable precision as Ren’s binding progressed in the depths of Floor 25.
His consciousness expanded outward, tracking far in the distance but approaching at incredible velocity, as the Herald’s form blazed across the borderlands.
A system notification suddenly appeared.
[The Red Herald]
[Level: 178]
[Title: Commander to the Dragon King Typhoon]
[Rank: Emperor]
[Stats]
[Strength: 3,247]
[Stamina: 7,642]
[Agility: 1,237]
[Vitality: 10,000]
[Endurance: 3,247]
[Magic: 11,450]
[HP: 50,000,000]
[Mana: 21,742,642]
Jack had used Flawed Sight to see the herald’s stats.
Jack’s breath came in through his nose, out through his mouth. The rhythm remained perfect, controlled, the breathing pattern of a creature operating at a perfect baseline despite the magnitude of the enemy force descending toward him.
His massive scales became visible first. Then the wings spread to maximum extension, creating pressure waves that made the ground beneath Jack ripple from the displaced air.
Then the claws, each one the size of a minotaur, extended forward as the Herald positioned himself for an assault that was meant to obliterate the human in a single strike.
The impact was so violent that the ground itself seemed to reject the presence of such overwhelming force. A crater formed around the dragon’s feet, not deep, but wide.
Expanding outward in concentric circles as the sheer kinetic force of the landing propagated across the scarred earth. Dust and debris exploded upward, creating a cloud that temporarily obscured the Herald’s form.
But Jack could see clearly. His perception transcended conventional sight.
The Herald’s golden eyes locked onto Jack’s position. The dragon’s jaw opened, revealing teeth that were each twice the size of a large human.
The creature’s scales flared with radiance so intense that the very air around the Herald seemed to distort.
"You stand before Commander of the Draconic Brigade," the Herald boomed, his voice carrying the weight of centuries of absolute dominion.
"I am the Herald of Typhoon, the Dragon King. I am the creature who has conquered territories that humans could only dream of claiming. I have torn down civilizations with my bare talons. I have consumed thousands of creatures weaker than you without even registering their resistance."
The dragon’s massive head tilted slightly, regarding Jack with the particular condescension that came from something that fundamentally didn’t recognize humans as legitimate threats.
"You are fragile. Soft. Your body is a collection of tissues and fluids that will rupture the moment my claws make contact with your insignificant frame. You lack the scales that would protect you. You lack the wings that would allow escape. You lack the power that would enable resistance."
The Herald’s right claw extended.
"Look at your body, human. Observe the absence where your left hand should be. That wound speaks volumes about your capacity to withstand draconic assault. A creature of true power would never allow such mutilation. A creature of true dominance would never find itself in a position where self-amputation was the only remaining option."
Jack’s expression remained perfectly calm.
His yellow-orange eyes tracked the approaching claw with the precision of a tactical system. His right hand remained at his side, fingers relaxed, posture communicating the absolute certainty of a creature that had already processed every variable of the engagement.
The Herald’s claw descended.
It wasn’t a swipe meant to wound. It was an assault meant to obliterate.
The dragon was committing its entire upper body weight to the strike, positioning itself to drive the claw through Jack’s body and into the earth beneath him. The dragon expected the human to fragment under the force.
The dragon anticipated finding nothing but blood and scattered bone when it withdrew its talon.
Jack raised his right hand.
The movement was efficient. His palm was oriented towards the descending claw with the absolute certainty of someone who had already calculated the precise angle of impact.
A surge of power erupted from his consciousness.