Chapter 391 -: 390 A choice.

Chapter 391: Chapter: 390 A choice.

Closer to the invisible barrier surrounding the four stationary continents, a fierce battle was raging between enormous thunderbolts and flames that burned hotter than even Aryavrata’s.

Lightning tore through the sky in brilliant flashes, each bolt carrying enough destructive force to shatter mountains, while waves of crimson fire surged forward to meet them, illuminating the surrounding heavens with their intense radiance.

The two opposing forces collided repeatedly, producing deafening explosions that sent shockwaves rippling across the sky, yet neither side managed to gain a decisive advantage.

Compared to the other battles unfolding across the heavens, this one was considerably less spectacular, despite Nathaniel’s relentless attacks and the destructive power behind them.

Every time he swung his arm, enormous waves of fire erupted from his body, sweeping across the battlefield with enough heat to reduce entire landmasses to ash.

His flames spread like an endless inferno, threatening to consume everything in their path, but Chakravartin continued to intercept them with thunderbolts that descended from the sky or erupted directly from his body.

The Zlycon Patriarch rarely launched attacks of his own, preferring to deflect Nathaniel’s spells while maintaining his position, as though his only objective was to keep his opponent occupied rather than defeat him.

Eventually, Nathaniel halted his barrage and studied the man standing before him. He had expected Chakravartin to be furious, considering that the humans had launched a sudden invasion into the very heart of Zlycon territory, endangering countless civilians in the process.

Even if the Zlycons had anticipated the betrayal, such an attack should have provoked some visible reaction from their Patriarch, particularly when the humans had brought the combined forces of their most powerful families, kingdoms, and empires.

Yet Chakravartin remained remarkably composed, showing neither the anger nor the urgency Nathaniel would have expected from someone in his position. If anything, the Zlycon Patriarch appeared to be passing the time, patiently waiting for something that had yet to happen.

"Were you surprised by the sudden betrayal?" Nathaniel asked, raising an eyebrow as he observed his opponent.

"Surprised?" Chakravartin repeated, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Not particularly. You humans seem to have forgotten that we have a War Master, and he happens to be a Diviner. Of course, his abilities have their limitations, especially when compared to Saint Uriel’s Mind’s Eye, but even he can predict certain events. Although the Saint managed to prevent him from obtaining the information he needed, our War Master was still able to foresee the possibility of your betrayal."

Nathaniel nodded slightly, having expected as much. When Uriel had first proposed the plan, the Saint had already warned them that the Zlycons might discover their intentions beforehand.

However, according to Uriel, knowing about the betrayal would not necessarily allow their enemies to prevent it, and the humans had decided to proceed regardless.

They had even entrusted the Saint with the Fairyborn Empire’s heirloom, an artifact capable of storing living beings within its space, allowing him to enter Zlycon territory without immediately alerting their enemies to the full extent of their preparations.

The plan had been designed to catch the Zlycons off guard long enough for the human forces to launch their attack, and although they had hoped to eliminate at least one of their most powerful opponents during the initial assault, the results had fallen short of their expectations.

Nevertheless, the operation had not been a complete failure. Nathaniel had managed to inflict serious injuries upon the Patriarch of the Sun family, forcing him out of the battle and depriving the Zlycons of one of their strongest combatants.

That alone had made the risk worthwhile, especially considering the scale of the conflict that had followed. Their enemies might have anticipated the invasion, but the humans had still managed to achieve some of their objectives, and Nathaniel saw no reason to regret the decision.

However, there was one matter he could not make sense of, and the longer he observed Chakravartin, the more suspicious he became.

The Zlycon Patriarch possessed strength comparable to his own, if not greater, yet he had spent the entire battle defending against Nathaniel’s attacks instead of retaliating with the full extent of his abilities.

He had shown no signs of exhaustion, nor had his movements become noticeably slower despite the continuous barrage of flames.

It was almost as though he had deliberately chosen not to end the battle, even when he possessed the power to make their confrontation far more dangerous.

"Why are you only defending?" Nathaniel finally asked. "Are you waiting for reinforcements, perhaps?"

"Waiting?" Chakravartin repeated, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Perhaps. However, there is something I would advise you to keep in mind, Nathaniel. Although you are a human, I believe that within the next few hours, you will change sides."

Nathaniel frowned at the unexpected statement, his expression hardening as he tried to determine what the Zlycon Patriarch was implying.

"What do you mean?"

His heart began to beat a little faster as an unpleasant possibility crossed his mind.

Julius had entered the four stationary continents, and if Chakravartin had somehow managed to capture his son, the Zlycons might attempt to use him as leverage.

Nathaniel had no intention of allowing anyone to threaten his family, but the situation would become considerably more complicated if the Zlycons tried to force him into turning against the humans.

He could imagine several ways such a confrontation might unfold, none of which would end particularly well for either side.

However, Chakravartin seemed to understand the direction of his thoughts, for he shook his head before Nathaniel could voice his suspicions.

"I know what you are thinking, but you are mistaken. We are not going to make you change sides by capturing your son or threatening his life. You will turn against the humans because of your son’s own wishes."

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Nathaniel snapped, his patience finally wearing thin. The flames surrounding his body began to intensify as he prepared to unleash his Domain, no longer willing to entertain the Zlycon Patriarch’s cryptic remarks.

If Chakravartin had no intention of fighting seriously, then Nathaniel would simply force him to do so.

He had more important matters to attend to than listening to riddles in the middle of a war, and he certainly had no intention of allowing his opponent to dictate the pace of their confrontation.

"It is not nonsense," Chakravartin replied calmly, extending one hand toward the enormous tower standing behind him.

"I knew your son would come here. In fact, he has been inside our territory for the past five years, and I have known about his activities throughout that time. To be honest, I initially intended to accelerate his growth, but you should understand how Diviners are. They tend to be rather stubborn when it comes to matters concerning destiny."

Chakravartin paused briefly, allowing his words to settle before continuing.

"Our War Master opposed my suggestion and told me that your son’s path had already been established by Destiny herself. According to him, interfering with that path would only complicate matters and potentially ruin everything that has been arranged. Your son was supposed to enter the tower at the appropriate moment, and that moment has finally arrived. He entered only recently, which means that when he eventually comes out, you will have to make a decision."

Nathaniel’s expression grew increasingly grim as he listened, his gaze shifting toward the enormous structure behind Chakravartin.

The 101st Treasure Tower stood silently in the distance, its imposing form visible even through the destruction unfolding around it.

Julius was inside, somewhere beyond the tower’s entrance, and Nathaniel had no way of knowing what his son was experiencing or what awaited him when he emerged.

He had known that Julius was pursuing his own path, but hearing that the Zlycons had been aware of his presence for years raised questions he could not immediately answer.

More importantly, Chakravartin’s words suggested that Julius’s actions were connected to something far greater than either of them had anticipated.

The Zlycon Patriarch had not attempted to interfere with his son’s progress, despite possessing both the authority and the opportunity to do so.

Instead, he had allowed Julius to remain inside the tower until the moment deemed appropriate by their War Master, as though even the Zlycons were unwilling to interfere with whatever awaited him.

"What exactly are you expecting my son to do?"

Nathaniel demanded, but before Chakravartin could respond, the entire sky trembled beneath a deafening rumble.

The invisible barrier surrounding the four stationary continents began to shake violently, its surface rippling beneath the immense pressure gathering around it.

Thin cracks appeared across the barrier before spreading in every direction, branching outward like a spiderweb across a sheet of glass.

The fractures grew wider with each passing moment, and the sound of the barrier struggling to withstand the pressure echoed across the battlefield.

For countless years, it had protected the Zlycons from external threats, but now its seemingly impenetrable surface was on the verge of collapse.

Nathaniel instinctively turned toward the disturbance, his attention shifting away from Chakravartin as the cracks spread throughout the barrier.

The Zlycon Patriarch, however, merely watched the spectacle with an expression that revealed little about his thoughts.

A moment later, another thunderous rumble swept across the heavens, and the entire barrier shattered into countless fragments of light, vanishing from existence as though it had never been there in the first place.

Beyond the remnants of the barrier, the full force of the human armies finally came into view.

Flying ships filled the sky, carrying spell casters and warriors from every notable family, kingdom, and empire that had joined the invasion.

Thousands upon thousands of powerful individuals stood aboard the vessels or floated freely in the air, their auras spreading across the heavens as they looked down upon the Zlycons below.

The sheer scale of the army was enough to make the surrounding sky feel crowded, and the destruction caused by their arrival left little doubt that the humans had committed everything they could to this assault.

Among the assembled forces were familiar figures whose influence extended across the human world.

Nathaniel could recognize the Pope herself, Elizabeth, and the Emperor of the Fairyborn Empire, all of whom had brought their respective forces to participate in the invasion.

The Pope raised her hand, and thousands of warriors immediately surged forward at her command. Their attacks descended upon Chakravartin from every direction, filling the sky with spells, weapons, and overwhelming waves of mana.

Yet the Zlycon Patriarch did not even turn to face them properly. A thunderbolt erupted from his body and pierced through the chest of the first attacker who approached, killing him instantly before the man could complete his spell.

Another warrior suddenly appeared directly in front of Chakravartin, attempting to exploit the brief opening created by the first attack, but the Patriarch simply thrust his hand forward and drove it through the man’s chest.

The warrior’s body went limp almost immediately, and Chakravartin withdrew his hand as the corpse fell through the air.

He shook his head faintly, seemingly disappointed by the ease with which the humans had thrown away their lives, before turning his attention back toward Nathaniel.

The incoming army continued to advance, and the sky around them grew increasingly chaotic as thousands of combatants joined the battle, yet Chakravartin appeared far more interested in the man standing before him than in the enemies rushing toward his position.

Nathaniel barely noticed the approaching forces. His gaze remained fixed on the 101st Treasure Tower, his thoughts occupied by the son who had entered it only moments earlier.

He could not shake the feeling that Chakravartin’s words carried a meaning he had yet to understand, and the possibility that Julius’s return would force him to make an impossible choice left him deeply unsettled.

"Humans are slaves to the gods," Chakravartin began, his voice carrying clearly despite the deafening chaos around them.

"You possess free will, yet you continue to choose to serve them. The Holy Empire may worship the gods openly, offering prayers and devoting their lives to their supposed divinity, but the rest of humanity is no different. You may not kneel before their altars or speak their names with reverence, but deep within your hearts, you still acknowledge their authority. You fear them, and that fear has become another form of worship."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the vast army approaching from beyond the shattered barrier before returning to Nathaniel.

"That is what makes humanity so pitiful. You convince yourselves that you are fighting for your own ambitions, that your victories and defeats are the results of your own decisions, yet you rarely stop to question whether the path you are following was ever truly yours to begin with. Even now, you have gathered your forces and launched an invasion, believing that you are the ones taking advantage of the situation. But have you ever considered that the very circumstances leading to this war might have been arranged long before any of you decided to act?"

Chakravartin allowed a brief silence to settle between them, his expression remaining as composed as ever. The thunderbolts surrounding his body continued to crackle, illuminating his features in brief flashes of blue-white light, while the flames around Nathaniel burned with renewed intensity.

"Now, it is your turn to decide, Nathaniel. Will you stand with us and fight against the gods, or will you turn against your own son and continue fighting alongside those who have enslaved humanity for generations?"