Chapter 755: Fulmination

Turns out Hayden had a lot to share, and when Julius listened, he began to understand just how far the Conclave had already gotten. And how close their plans were to fruition.

He also found out that they didn’t really even need Kaito’s cooperation anymore. At least, it wasn’t essential. Clan Yoshu’s help would accelerate their timeline by a considerable amount, but that was all they needed.

Hayden didn’t know exactly what they were planning, but the Conclave was trying to gain control of the Golden Tear’s Spring. It was the primary source of Goldmere’s energy and what fueled most of the city’s defensive and supportive arrays. Not only that, but it drew energy in so that there were fewer rifts and rift overflows around the city.

It was a very powerful resource, and it was something that only the Golden Cauldron Sect and a select few clans had control over. However, the Conclave was hoping to use this source of power for something big.

He also found out why Hayden had tried to kidnap those girls. It was because the Celestine needed to replenish some kind of ritual materials. Apparently, they had been stolen several months ago, and due to the urgent nature of the situation, they were forced to use less-than-ideal materials as a replacement.

Julius silently apologized to all the girls and to Clan Kaizen, which was blamed for the theft. At least he had helped those girls out. Perhaps that was fate giving him a chance to rectify a problem he accidentally caused.

However, he couldn’t understand why Celestine or the Conclave needed these materials or girls. Marcus was certain it had to do with some kind of sacrificial ritual, but for what exactly remained unknown.

It sucked because Hayden told him that not even Celestine understood all the reasons behind the Conclave’s actions. At least that was what he believed. Julius was sure he wasn’t lying about this, but it was entirely possible that Celestine knew more than she let Hayden know.

It was clear that Hayden’s relationship with her was more of a subservient one. The contract she placed on him said as much.

Julius also found out that Celestine was in trouble with the Conclave. The missing ritual materials were part of this reason. But also because she failed to get Clan Yoshu in line. It was actually her idea to attack Lora.

Not surprising at all. Julius could have guessed that part on his own. The woman was an evil snake and was next on his list of people to punch in the teeth.

What Julius didn’t understand was why the Conclave was going up against the Golden Cauldron Sect. Going up against the Golden Cauldron Sect was essentially going up against Corvus. As one of the most powerful Ten Great Sects, the Golden Cauldron Sect wasn’t just any organization to make an enemy of.

Not to mention, the Conclave had already attacked the Empire. The attack on the capital during the tournament had quickly placed them at the top of the Empire’s enemies. Why were they going around and causing so many problems for so many powerful people and groups?

While he learned a lot from Hayden, he didn’t have as much time as he wanted to. He was interrupted by the noise outside. He looked over at the shivering and sobbing figure of Hayden. Julius had been quite aggressive with his aura application, and Hayden’s spirit hadn’t been able to take it.

While it made for easy questioning, he suspected the man would need some healing before he could move around or even function properly. Still, Julius wasn’t one to take chances and knocked Hayden out with a swift kick to the face.

Julius tied him up and took a note out of Marcus’s book. He removed a box from his storage ring and shoved Hayden into the small container. He locked it and exited Hayden’s home only to see the estate on fire.

Kaito had already made his move and started to remove the traitors of the clan. And from the looks of it, there were a lot more of them than anticipated. Fortunately, with Haruto and the other Tier 5s who attacked them in the Howling Skylands dead or out of commission, the resistance wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

That being said, Julius could see that his help would be appreciated, and he quickly let mana flood into his body.

It was actually quite simple to differentiate the traitors from the good guys. He just needed to go after the people who were trying to escape. He quickly spotted a large concentration of forces up ahead and sprinted over to get a closer look at the situation.

It would appear that a large number of the traitors had gathered together. Julius looked over to the side and saw Kaito fighting a couple of elders. He also saw another fight between two elders a little further away.

However, he didn’t go to them. Instead, he went over to the large group of Tier 4s fighting a group led by the older female elder Julius had seen at the meeting when he arrived with Lily. Understanding that she was Haruto’s supporter, he knew who his opponents would be.

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At the moment, the two groups were at a stalemate. There were more loyal members than traitors, but the elder was supporting her group well enough to hold off the tide of Tier 4s. He could sense several powerful applications of supportive and buffing magic infused into her group.

This slight buff gave the traitors just enough of an advantage to hold back the loyalists. Even then, it was really tense. At any moment either line could break.

At the moment, most of the fighting was being done from range. Mages had erected various mana constructions and barriers to use as cover. Dozens of magical spells and attacks flew from the cover and blasted into the other groups. He even saw what seemed to be a giant green serpent made of wind mana crash into the loyalists. It was only due to the sheer amount of barriers placed around them that the serpent didn’t cause more damage.

The vanguards were in front, making sure that they weathered the damage from the other side. But they weren’t able to cross the distance to engage with the enemy. The elder seemed content with fighting at range. He didn’t blame her either; he had a sneaking suspicion the giant serpent had come from her.

Julius quickly came up with a plan. It wasn’t exactly the most elegant, but that was par for the course. His style of fighting had never been described as well thought out. And while he’d been trying to get better at it, old habits were hard to break.

Plus, he kind of enjoyed it.

He cracked his neck, and with a big old grin, he flooded his body with mana. His [Lord of the Dying Sun] skill was the main thing being powered, and that was the glorious part of his master plan.

When he’d sparred with Marcus, he had accidentally blown himself up. And while that wasn’t exactly what he was going for now, he was going to try out a similar application. This time a bit more purposeful and hopefully didn’t involve him getting blown into chunks of meat.

Once again, it was addicting to feel the power coursing through his body. The legendary skill was really quite special, and he knew he hadn’t even touched the surface of its potential. Then again, he suspected that this skill wasn’t supposed to be used in this way.

He chuckled, and before his inner Lily could tell him otherwise, he launched himself forward with kinetic energy. He tore through the air like a rocket. A streak of white light flashed across the courtyard and towards the traitorous group.

Not surprisingly, his sudden motion didn’t go unnoticed. He felt several Authorities come crashing down on him, trying their best to peel away his skills and control. However, they were nothing compared to the domains he’d experienced before, and he smashed through them with little issue.

Several barriers moved and shifted to block his path. But instead of avoiding them, he slammed his face straight into the barrier. He didn’t want to teleport and potentially lose his momentum. He wanted to gain as much as he could. Fortunately for him, [Lord of the Dying Sun] channeled kinetic energy even better than his old skill.

Each step flooded his body with more kinetic energy. His fire mana was also building up rapidly, making the surface of his skin so hot it was glowing white. His skin blistered a little bit, but the new skill had given him some impressive fire resistance to his already resilient body.

The barriers these Tier 4s made didn’t stand a chance when he crashed into them. They shattered like thin panes of glass, and if anything, the impact redistributed through his body and increased his momentum even further.

Several attacks pummeled him from all sides. He had certainly gotten this group’s attention at this point. But he continued to gain momentum with each step and each blow.

It was only when he felt the elder’s domain reach out and surround him that he was forced to take some action. He activated his anti-domain technique immediately. He’d already prepared for it, anticipating the counterattack.

The domain still managed to suck some of his momentum out, but that was also expected. At this point, he’d already gathered enough for his plan.

He broke through their line of defense and came face to face with their warriors. Some of them had shields, and they were already raised to intercept him. However, he wasn’t planning to attack the vanguard. His target lay past them.

So instead of engaging them, he finally activated his [Void Step] skill. He hadn’t wanted to use it in the beginning so he could siphon and gain more momentum, but now that he had enough, he made sure to keep it wrapped inside his body with the aid of [Field of the Shattered Will].

Several attempts were made to disrupt his teleportation skill, but they had obviously never encountered void energy before, and their attempts were ineffective. He slipped straight through their hands and appeared directly into their midst.

The mages who had been busy handling the barrier and long-range attacks were not prepared for him. He heard several of them curse loudly when they spotted an enemy so close. They were already preparing several powerful skills. But by then it was too late.

Julius had already finished his master plan before he teleported. He sent one last burst of energy through [Lord of the Dying Sun], replicating how it felt when he blew himself up. Only this time around, he made sure to leave intentional openings for the energy to escape.

His grand plan had been to run headfirst into the enemy's lines and then turn himself into a bomb.

While it didn’t seem like the best plan on paper, it turned out to be really effective. Actually, it was a lot more effective than he had initially planned. The amount of momentum he gained, as well as the deliberate loss of control of his skill, created a weird phenomenon where all of the energy being channeled into his legendary skill compressed so tightly together that his soul was strained by the sudden flux of sheer power.

He knew right away that he wouldn’t be able to control it properly, and so before he could lose the slight teetering influence he had, he decided to send it through the exits he created all over his body. The resulting explosion was like a supernova. Truly like a dying sun fulminating across the void.

Everything within a few dozen feet was instantly vaporized, himself included.