Chapter 304: Ambush

Four figures emerged from behind the gateway structure.

Darian Scott. The Spirit Soul Rank 1 cultivator who had been expelled from the dragon’s throne room. His expression was cold, the disappointment of rejection hardened into something sharper.

Beside him walked the high elf, Peak Mana Heart Rank 9. And behind them, twins. Two identical men with sharp features and cropped dark hair. Both at Peak Mana Heart Rank 9. Their mana signatures were distinct.

Kael looked at the four of them. His expression was indifferent.

"What the fuck is this, man?"

Darian stepped forward. "Hey, Kael. That’s your name, right?"

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "Do you intend to fight or what?"

Darian’s lips curved into a smug smile. "You mistake my intentions. We haven’t come here to fight you. Not at all."

Kael scoffed. "Well, if it was, it would have been an execution."

One of the twins snorted. Pfft. "Come on, Darian. We haven’t got time to waste with this fucker. Give us the damn treasures you obtained from the dragon."

"Zolis and Molis," Darian said, his voice calm. "Let’s keep this civil."

Kael sighed. "Oh, so it’s just greed. I understand. I really do." He paused. "But honestly, to get the treasures, you technically have to tear me apart to get them."

The high elf moved first.

FWOOSH!

Three lightning strikes screamed toward Kael—crackle-crackle-crackle—converging from different angles. The high elf’s technique was aimed at a different vital point.

Kael moved.

Step. Step. Step.

He stepped between the lightning strikes. Each bolt passed within inches of his body—fzzzt—and he didn’t flinch. His lightning rule power let him see the pathway of every strike before it materialized. The trajectories were obvious to him who had already comprehended the lightning rule power to the second step.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The strikes hit the ground around him kicking up dust and shattered stone. Kael stood in the center of the devastation untouched.

He dusted his cloak. Pat-pat. Then stored it in his system storage.

"Come on," he said flatly. "That cloak is too valuable, man."

He stretched his arms. Pop-pop. Lightning sparked around his body—crackle—blue-white arcs dancing along his skin, his hair, his fingertips.

"Alright. I’m ready."

His aura exploded.

WHUUUM!

Mana Heart Rank 8. The pressure pressed outward—whuum—flattening the dust around him. The ground beneath his feet cracked—creak—and the air hummed with compressed mana.

Darian’s eyebrows rose. Then he smirked.

"Is that all?"

Kael smirked back. "Why don’t you try me out first?"

Darian’s aura exploded.

WHUUUUUM!

Spirit Soul Rank 1. The pressure was on a different level entirely—crack—the air itself seemed to solidify around Darian. His mana was denser, heavier, more refined than anything a Mana Heart cultivator could produce. The gap between Mana Heart and Spirit Soul was fundamental—not just in quantity, but quality.

Darian clapped his hands together. Clap. Lightning coated his body—crackle—forming a blazing armor of electrical energy. His spear materialized—shing—a Tier 1 weapon humming with condensed lightning.

Kael activated Lightning Body. CRACKLE. White electricity consumed his form.

Darian rushed forward. WHOOSH. His spear thrust toward Kael’s chest, enhanced by Spirit Soul-level mana.

CLANG!

Kael deflected with both Shadow Slayer blades—shing—redirecting the spear tip sideways. Sparks flew.

The high elf appeared behind Kael. ZIP. A lightning-coated palm strike aimed at Kael’s spine.

Simultaneously—Zolis and Molis attacked from the flanks. Zolis fired a concentrated flame blast—FWOOOSH—while Molis discharged an energy beam—BZZZT—both attacks converging on Kael from different angles.

"GRAVITY PUSH."

WHUUUM!

An omnidirectional gravity field erupted from Kael’s body. Darian and the high elf were launched backward—whoosh—their attacks disrupted. Darian managed to stabilize mid-air—hummm—but the high elf crashed into the canyon wall. CRASH.

Kael activated Orbital Deflection. WHUUUM. The gravitational field around him rotated—bending Zolis’s flame blast and Molis’s energy beam sideways. Both attacks veered off course—FWOOSH-BZZZT—and detonated against the gateway structure.

Kael turned toward the twins.

"Thunder God Flash."

CRACKLE—ZIP!

He vanished. Not Lightning Body speed—something even faster. Thunder God Flash—a King Grade speed blitz technique from the Dragon Thunder Manual. The technique compressed lightning rule power into the cultivator’s legs, propelling them at speeds that distorted perception itself.

Kael materialized in front of Zolis. The fire twin’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating in shock. He tried to raise a fire barrier—FWOOSH—but Kael was already there.

Kael’s hand grabbed Zolis’s face.

SLAM.

He drove Zolis face-first into the ground. CRACK. Stone shattered. Blood erupted from Zolis’s nose and mouth—splatter—and his body went limp.

Kael raised his Shadow Slayer blade—shing—aiming for the killing strike.

FWOOOOM!

Molis fired an energy beam discharge blast—point-blank—BZZZT—a concentrated beam of raw energy that could punch through Tier 2 armor.

Kael’s left hand shot up. A dark shield materialized—Vvvvm—Devouring Darkness compressed into a barrier. The energy beam struck it—crackle—and was partially absorbed. But the force pushed Kael backward—slide—his feet carving trenches in the ground.

The high elf attacked from behind again. WHOOSH. A lightning-coated blade descended toward Kael’s neck.

"SOUL SPIKE."

PZT!

An invisible soul spike hit the high elf’s consciousness. His eyes widened—AGH—and he grabbed his head with both hands. Grip. His blade clattered to the ground. Clatter. The pain was blinding—his soul was far too weak to withstand it, and Kael’s Soul Manifestation realm made his soul attacks devastating against non-soul cultivators.

Kael thrust forward with his Shadow Slayer—shhk—but a lightning blast from Darian hit him in the side. CRACK.

The lightning pushed Kael back—slide—but his Tier 5 body shrugged it off. Creak. His aura absorbed the electrical energy—fzzzt—converting it. His body was simply too durable for such weak lightning attacks to damage.

The high elf jumped back—whoosh—retreating to a safe distance, still clutching his head. His face was pale. Sweat poured down his temples.

Darian watched the exchange. His expression had shifted.

"I was right to be careful about you," Darian said slowly. "Even in a one-on-one situation, I don’t think I can defeat you. Easily, of course." He paused. "After all, you’re still a Mana Heart cultivator."

Kael frowned. Darian was the only real threat. Spirit Soul Rank 1. His mana quality exceeded Kael’s by a realm quantitation. His techniques were refined. His combat experience was clearly extensive.

The others—the high elf, the twins—were just annoyances. Their attacks couldn’t penetrate his Tier 5 body. Their mana was Mana Heart level. Against Kael’s current physique, most Mana Heart cultivators simply weren’t threats anymore.

But Darian was different. Spirit Soul mana operated on a fundamentally different scale. If Darian landed a clean, full-power strike, it could injure him. And with the others providing support and distractions, the risk increased.

Kael breathed. Hhhh.

"You know," he said, his voice cold, "ganging up on me isn’t necessarily a good idea."

He stored both Shadow Slayer blades in his system storage. Click. Click.

His hands formed a seal.

"Dark Summoning."

WHUUUM.

From Kael’s shadow, a shape emerged. Massive. Four-legged. Eyes like burning embers. A dark wolf. Its aura now radiated Peak Mana Heart without the cap on its cultivation as an intruder into the world and the help of Vaelthara. Its fur was darker—shimmer—laced with residual lightning energy.

The high elf jumped back—step—giving more space between himself and the wolf.

Then the ground shook.

RUMBLE.

Kael’s shadow expanded—spread—growing larger and darker.

CRACK.

A creature emerged from the shadow. A winged massive creature. A dark wyvern—six meters long, its body covered in scales of compressed darkness. Its wings spread wide—whoosh—blocking the light. Its eyes were violet-black. Its claws gleamed with condensed dark energy. Its aura radiated Peak Mana Heart—same as the wolf—but its physical form was far more dangerous. Armored scales. Venomous tail. Flight capability.

The wyvern roared.

ROOOAAAR!

The four cultivators’ eyes widened. Even Darian.

The dark wolf positioned itself at Kael’s left. The dark wyvern settled behind him—its massive wings folding against its body, its tail swaying—swish.

Kael patted the wyvern’s head. Pat.

"You know," he said, looking at Darian and the others, "it wasn’t easy taming this bad boy."