2305.Armies

Divine Architect had never lied during her conversation with King Elbas, and the latter knew that. Divine Architect was better in countless fields. Yet, King Elbas had shown that he could beat her.

Rank 9 cultivators could survive apocalyptic events and world-shattering attacks, but they had weaknesses, especially when it came to those at the very peak of the journey. Those experts had founded their power on years of training and firm faith in themselves, so insecurities and similar feelings could create massive flaws.

Divine Architect didn't belong to that group. Her world was vast and deep, but she used her knowledge as her source of power. That made her the perfect inscription master, but it also exposed her to dangers that she found unrealistic.

The matter was truly simple. Divine Architect believed to be the most knowledgeable cultivator in the higher plane, but King Elbas had shown how her understanding of the world had gaps. They weren't huge or significant, but they remained flaws nonetheless.

"Only ants would rejoice at such a shameful achievement," Divine Architect announced.

"Stop lying," King Elbas laughed. "I can feel the chaos in your mind. You didn't expect my last victory. It's clear that I can touch you."

Silence fell between the two, but Divine Architect and King Elbas could sense the heavy meaning among that absence of words. Something was about to change in their battle. They were only waiting for one of them to make the first move.

"Very well," Divine Architect exclaimed while standing up. "You seem desperate to test my power. I will indulge you."

"How kind of you," King Elbas mocked. "We both know that you aren't doing me any favor. You are merely pissed that my attack escaped your understanding."

"You are correct," Divine Architect acknowledged as her dense aura came out of her figure and filled the void past the castle. "You have succeeded in affecting my emotional state. You can find some comfort in this once death looms over your mind."

"Let's not fight here," King Elbas stated, ignoring the threat. "I don't want to ruin my loot."

"I won't fake arrogance just to play along with your joke," Divine Architect snorted.

"No style at all," King Elbas sighed before snapping his fingers.

A golden light suddenly came out of multiple tiles and other pieces of the castle. The radiance expanded until a net covered the structure and transformed it into an ethereal building.

King Elbas then waved his hand, and the castle followed his gesture. The ethereal structure flew past the two and stopped in a random spot between the sky and the landmass.

"I knew that you knew," King Elbas pointed out.

"Why did you even try to take me by surprise then?" Divine Architect wondered.

"I wanted to see your reactions," King Elbas revealed.

"You wouldn't have gained anything even if I had an emotive reaction," Divine Architect stated.

"I would have had fun teasing you afterward," King Elbas declared.

"Fun," Divine Architect repeated. "Such a waste of my time."

Divine Architect raised an arm to point it at King Elbas, and her aura immediately reacted. The white radiance coming out of her figure condensed until hundreds of portals opened on its surface.

King Elbas couldn't help but smile in front of the army of inscribed items appearing around Divine Architect. He could see avatars, strange creatures, weapons, and far more while everything came forth and occupied specific spots.

That deployment ended in a mere second. Divine Architect showed her true might to King Elbas. An army occupied the areas in front of her, weapons floated above it, and strange crystals hovered under it.

Moreover, many ethereal mirrors floated around Divine Architect and reflected different shades depending on their targets. They tuned gold whenever King Elbas' reflection appeared inside them, but various colors came out once they pointed at the void.

"Interesting," King Elbas exclaimed while inspecting the mirrors.

"Are they?" Divine Architect asked before tapping on one of the mirrors to make it spin faster. "These are mere tools meant to enhance my senses."

"You created items to inspect the meanings hidden in the void," King Elbas uttered. "Were you planning on leaving Heaven and Earth?"

"Depending on Heaven and Earth was never part of my plans," Divine Architect revealed. "It's only normal to seek alternatives when dealing with such a powerful existence."

"You improved on what you created in the Mortal Lands," King Elbas commented. "You built an item to gaze at higher worlds back then. You have done the same now."

"Are you surprised?" Divine Architect wondered.

"I wouldn't insult you like that," King Elbas replied. "The entire higher plane is aware of the level of your expertise. Still, you remain disappointing."

"You couldn't do any better," Divine Architect stated.

"I was busy preparing a war against a quasi-rank 10 existence," King Elbas pointed out. "I didn't give up and changed sides as soon as things became difficult."

"You know that's not what happened," Divine Architect replied.

"I'm teasing you, remember?" King Elbas reminded. "You really are no fun."

"Just do it already," Divine Architect ordered. "Stop trying to surprise me."

King Elbas' eyes flickered, but he eventually chose to stop playing around. He snapped his fingers, and most of Divine Architect's army exploded due to the golden infection he had applied during the conversation.

The detonations were quite violent, but nothing managed to reach Divine Architect. An invisible barrier covered her figure and protected her from any wave of energy or fuming shard.

King Elbas was ready to show his proud face, but his expression grew cold when he counted how many assets had survived his infection. Three-quarters of the army had turned into dust, but the rest of it was more than fine.

"How often do you plan to use the same attack against me?" Divine Architect asked. "Your existence can give birth to countless iterations of the same infection, but all of them are part of my knowledge. It won't take long before I start to predict which ones you are going to use."

"You will remain defenseless by that time," King Elbas declared.

"Will I?" Divine Architect asked before her crystal eyes released a blinding flash.

The light radiated by the crystals spread through the entirety of the higher plane and affected all the items that carried Divine Architect's aura. Those creations shattered and transformed into energy that flowed toward Divine Architect to fuse with her power.

The white glow expanded again and generated even more portals. King Elbas soon found an even bigger army occupying the space between Divine Architect and him. That force was only a fraction of what Heaven and Earth had unleashed, but its quality seemed to surpass that.

"Do you want to infect my creations again?" Divine Architect asked. "Maybe I should make them attack before that."

Those words worked as an order that the army didn't hesitate to follow. The various avatars, weapons, creatures, and crystals began to radiate white glows as the energy inside them fueled their best attacks.

King Elbas didn't even need to think. He knew that he didn't have the time to take out the army stealthily. Attacks started to fly toward him even before he could come up with a proper plan, but that didn't make him powerless.

Countless white rays with various shapes and natures shot out of the army and converged toward King Elbas, but a golden light soon filled the area and overwhelmed Divine Architect's offensive.

Roars that carried nine different tones resounded in the area as a giant figure replaced King Elbas. A massive nine-headed hydra expanded in the void while the white offensive fell on its body and failed to inflict any damage.