Chapter 381: Final Act of Dawn (3)

FWOOSH!

A writhing, terrifying shadow erupted from the Queen’s own feet.

Soren immediately rushed to attack her but.....

CLANG! CRASH!

Soren’s twin daggers sparked violently against the broadsword of the King’s personal shadow guard who immediately intercepted him. The guard, a towering brute with a scarred face, pressed his advantage, forcing Soren back into the corner of the throne room.

Meanwhile, the shadow under the queen’s feet expanded rapidly, coalescing into a tall, gaunt figure wrapped in tattered black cloth. His face was hidden beneath a hood, but two glowing, crimson eyes pierced the darkness. A pair of curved daggers, dripping with a sickly green poison, gleamed in his hands.

Varkos. Bjorn’s hidden adoptive brother. An Early Origin Realm Shadow Assassin.

The temperature in the room plummeted from the sheer killing intent radiating from the assassin.

Astrid locked eyes with him, her voice trembling but resolute. "Wait... wait for the right moment. Kill him in one strike."

Varkos gave a slow, silent nod, his form dissolving back into the shadows of the throne room.

Kael, hovering above the injured King was entirely focused on the monster before him as his injuries quickly healed.

FZZZZT!

Bjorn roared, slamming his greataxe into the ground. His Frost Rule: Absolute Stagnation flared to its absolute limit. The air turned into a freezing, immovable sludge. Simultaneously, the ancient frost-iron runes carved into his massive arms and chest blazed with a brilliant blue light. BZZT! The runes pumped raw, physical power into his muscles, bulging his veins and swelling his frame.

"You think a few weak spears can stop me?! Now, let me show you true strength." Bjorn bellowed.

He lunged. BOOM! The ground cratered beneath him as he swung his greataxe in a massive arc. Kael’s three rule powers—Lightning, Gravity, and Darkness—erupted simultaneously. CRACKLE! A bolt of lightning deflected the axe head. WHOOSH! A gravitational push sent the King skidding back. SLICK! A wave of darkness lashed at his legs, but the runes on his legs flared, absorbing the blow.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Their clash was apocalyptic. The throne room shattered. Pillars of ice collapsed. The massive rank 5 rune barrier that Kael had preemptively set up around the palace shimmered under the strain. Outside, the kingdom’s soldiers slammed against the barrier. THUD! THUD! Cracks slowly spiderwebbed across the violet surface.

I need to understand those runes, Kael thought, his Spirit Eyes glowing. They acted as a massive multiplier for Bjorn’s physical strength, elevating his already terrifying Tier 6 body to a level that could challenge an Origin Realm rank 2 cultivator easily.

SWISH! Bjorn suddenly blurred. The runes on his legs ignited with power. His speed was blinding, almost teleportation.

Thunder God Technique, First Form: Flash of the Thunder God!

CRACKLE! Kael’s perception accelerated. Time seemed to slow down. He tracked Bjorn’s movements perfectly, swinging his Shadow Slayer blades to intercept the incoming greataxe.

CLANG!

Sparks flew. Kael was pushed back, his arms trembling. He’s too strong physically. Damn it, guess even with my Primordial Void Sovereign Physique, I can barely keep up with his clashes since my body cultivation is still at the late tier 5 stage.

Taking advantage of the opening, Bjorn drove a massive fist into Kael’s chest. CRUNCH!

"Guh!" Kael spat out a mouthful of blood. His left arm snapped, bone jutting through the skin, and one of his lungs was punctured by a shattered rib. He was sent flying, crashing through a thick wall into the adjacent corridor.

Nine Rivers Soul Mending Art!

Kael gritted his teeth, channeling his aura. The shattered bone pulled back into place, muscle knitting together in seconds. He stood up, gasping. Guess a true Tier 6 body cultivator is a monster.

But Varkos had been waiting for this exact moment.

SHLICK!

A poisoned dagger, amplified by Dark Severance—a rule power that allowed the blade to phase through physical armor—erupted from Kael’s own shadow, aiming straight for his heart.

Void Step!

WHOOSH! Kael barely dodged, twisting his body. The dagger still sliced deep into his ribs, tearing through his flesh and releasing a burning, necrotic poison into his bloodstream.

"Another Origin Realm?" Kael muttered, leaping back. He grimaced, pulling the poison out of his blood with his soul power.

"Varkos!" King Bjorn roared, furious. "What are you doing?! This is my battle! I will crush this insect myself!"

Varkos materialized beside him, his voice cold and raspy. "Your pride will get you killed, brother. This boy has too many tricks. We end this together, or we die."

"Soul Weaver’s Requiem: Soul Shockwave!" Kael screamed, unleashing a devastating blast of soul power.

BUZZZZZT! The attack hit both Bjorn and Varkos. Bjorn stumbled, his mind reeling, but Varkos, being an Origin Realm assassin, recovered almost instantly.

SHLICK! Varkos appeared from Kael’s own shadow, his dagger—amplified by his Dark Severance rule power aimed directly at Kael’s heart.

Lightning body!

Kael dodged before firing a blast of the demonic asura lotus flame as Varkos immediately jumped back from the torrent of flame as the flame destroyed the ground where he was standing.

King Bjorn, seeing Varkos interfere again, roared in fury. "VARKOS! I TOLD YOU TO STAY HIDDEN! THIS IS MY BATTLE!"

Kael let out a long, exhausted sigh. He looked at the two Origin Realm cultivators—one a physical powerhouse, the other a lethal shadow assassin.

"I guess the fun had to come to an end at some point," Kael said, his voice calm.

He weaved a series of hand seals. The shadows beneath his feet swarmed, expanding outward in a massive pool of darkness.

ROOOOOOAAAAR!

A deafening, primal roar shook the entire palace. From the pool of shadows, the Void Behemoth exploded into the throne room.

Fifteen meters tall, its body covered in interlocking black plates that absorbed all light, its massive purple horn crackling with spatial rule power. Even though its cultivation was suppressed to Origin Rank 1, its sheer, monstrous physical presence was suffocating.

Bjorn’s eyes widened in shock. Varkos took a step back.

"What... what is that monster?!" Bjorn gasped.

Kael smirked. "My new pet. Behemoth, kill the assassin."

STOMP!

The Void Behemoth lunged at Varkos. The assassin cursed, dissolving into the shadows. But the Behemoth’s spatial rule power tore through the shadows, forcing Varkos to materialize. SWISH! A massive claw slammed into Varkos, sending him crashing through the palace walls with a sickening CRUNCH.

Bjorn, enraged, turned back to Kael. "I’ll kill you, then I’ll kill that beast!"

Bjorn’s aura exploded. He poured every ounce of his Frost Rule Power and his physical aura into his greataxe. The runes on his body blazed so brightly they began to crack his own skin.

"Frost Dragon’s Judgment!"

A colossal, fifty-meter-tall dragon made of pure, absolute-zero frost materialized above him. It roared, descending toward Kael with the force of a falling star. The attack was his ultimate technique—a devastating strike that could freeze a city block solid.

Kael just stood there, a smirk on his face. He whispered inaudible words.

SHLICK!

Bjorn’s eyes widened. He looked down. A dagger, coated in a dark, viscous poison, was embedded in his back.

Abyssal Nightshade Extract. A poison that paralyzed mana veins.

Bjorn froze. The massive Frost Dragon above him dissipated into mist. His rule power shattered. He dropped to his knees, his greataxe clattering to the ground.

"Astrid..." Bjorn choked out, turning his head. "W-Why..."

"I’m sorry, my love," Astrid sobbed. "He has our children. I had no choice."

Kael walked up to them slowly, his footsteps echoing in the ruined palace. He reached out, gently touching Astrid’s tear-stained cheek.

"You shouldn’t be sorry, Your Majesty," Kael said softly, his voice dripping with false comfort. "Very soon, you and your husband will be part of something much greater."

Astrid looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion and fear. "What do you mean?"

SHLICK!

Kael’s blade flashed. Astrid’s left hand was severed cleanly at the wrist.

"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed, collapsing beside Bjorn, clutching her bleeding stump.

Kael looked down at her, his eyes cold and devoid of pity. "And you shouldn’t think I didn’t see what you did earlier, Your Majesty. Summoning the assassin was a very foolish move." He crouched down, his silver-flecked eyes boring into hers. "Did you really think you could betray me and get away with it?"