1216 On The Roots Of The World Tree



'You're here?'

Even though none of the three royalty opened their mouths, Varian could almost hear them screaming as they watched him slip out of his stealth.

"Aha, haha, nice to meet you again," Varian rubbed the back of his neck and greeted the hunter trio.

Reaper wasn't impressed. The Skeleton had no expression to speak of, not like one was possible. But the fire in his eyes—the only thing that came close—remained disturbingly stable.

It was as if he expected Varian to come here. Which was surprising for the man himself but not the Reaper.

As the hunter who killed countless, he identified Varian correctly. He wasn't the type to cower and give up. He'd fight to kill and succeed or die trying.

He raised his hand and spheres of darkness aimed at Prince Sohan, who just gulped down a precious pill.

Before the Prince could fully recover, he faced off against the vitality devourers which jeopardized his recovery and sabotaged his plan of counter attack.

Trihound stared at the girls with a hungry look, drooling from its three mouths. While in prison, Varian learned that this creature was particularly fond of female bones, especially the pelvic ones.

With a kick of its legs, the creature punched onto the princesses who rolled away at the last moment and escaped its paws.

Numan, the traitor, however had a surprised and equally impressed look.

"Hehehehe," He gradually broke into a relieved but creepy smile.

It had been a big regret of his letting Varian escape. But the prey willingly jumped into the trap.

So, this time, Numan vowed to torture the young man as much as he could and break his spirit.

The tongue that called him coward and traitor would be pulled off. The eyes that stared at him defiantly shall be gouged out. The back that stood straight will have its spine ripped out. The man would regret it. He'd regret everything he said.

And then, when he would beg for mercy against for death such torture, he shall not grant it. He'd heal him back to full health and then torture him to hell, again and again, until he got bored of the toy.

Varian didn't know what the traitor was thinking. But if he did, he'd have burst out laughing.

Such torture would indeed traumatize him. Even after all he'd been through, Varian didn't like putting himself through pain unless he had to. But if he did go through such suffering, the gains he'd reap would be enough to crush Numan a dozen times over.

"Very nice to meet you. I thought you'd stay in the safe zone, tail tucked between your legs. You have a spine. Too bad it's going to be broken." Numan raised his axe and slammed it down.

A one-meter deep crack appeared on the incredibly tough root and the shockwave reached Varian in a blink.

It was a force that Varian would've dodged without any second thought previously. But this time, he focused his power onto the Adept path and raised his arms into a cross.

The shockwave passed through him. His skin ripped apart, drops of blood splashing down his forearms and dripping down his elbows.

But that was it.

Varian narrowed his eyes at the three hunters.

[Reaper: High Rank 6

<Injured. Current prowess equivalent to Mid Rank 6>]

[Trihound: High Rank 6

<Injured…>]

[Numan: High Rank 6

<Injured…>]

"Heh," Varian smirked without meaning to.

"You little shit." His smug face pissed off Numan who took it as a provocation and kicked the ground.

As if he teleported a full ten thousand miles, the traitor appeared in front of Varian instantaneously.

The heavy axe in his hands flared with sinister green aura and the breath of death filled the surroundings.

The root of the world tree under them shook slightly, repelling the dark aura, but as a result, more of that aura was concentrated onto Varian, who became an unintended target.

"Ugh,"  Varian's throat burned as if he swallowed fire. The air in his lungs seemed to have been ignited and set his entire internals ablaze.

But not a scream left his mouth. Only a gnashing of teeth and a scoff. "Is this it? The so-called traitor's power."

"You!" Numan's axe spun like a top and a hurricane of green aura formed around it.

As if he was the god of thunder bringing down tribuation lightning during the apocalypse, Numan brought down his spear onto Varian's head.

Varian's demonic sword soared into the air and clashed with the axe. The sparks that flew out of their collision melted Varian's skin two inches deep and the rebound from the exchange ripped his arm muscles apart.

Like a bike that was hit by a speeding train, Varian was blown back. His feet dug into the root, blood spilling out of his arms like they were fountains. The only reason he didn't collapse was the sword in his hand that acted as the final support.

It was an exchange with a clear winner and loser. Even though he was at his peak state, Varian was overpowered by an injured Numan.

Numan wasn't happy nor was Varian depressed.

"You…is this your true power? What happened to your rank? Are you playing us since the beginning?" Numan's eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Varian winced as he got back onto his feet, the pain from his broken kneecaps unforgiving and distracting. "True power? No, this is only 1% of my power."

His words caused a period of silence in the battlefield.

Reaper didn't follow up his attack against Sohan. Trihound jumped back and assumed a defensive posture. Numan himself took out a shield and stared at him vigilantly.

"What?" Varian was dumbfounded.

It was just a joke to him.

But to the ones that had seen his soaring strength that made no sense, it might as well be true.

Who could say Varian's strength was just what he showed so far?

What if it was all an act?

What if…everything so far had been an act?

What if he had been aiming for the same thing they were from the very start?

The thoughts of the three hunters surged to a dangerous proportion and they looked at each other with a solemn gaze. That was enough for them to come to a decision.

Numan and Reaper threw a glowing round pill from their storage rings to Trihound who caught it with ease. Then, it opened its own storage ring and swallowed the three pills at once.

The beast's vitality began to soar, its injuries disappearing and its energy recovering at an astonishing pace.

With a roar that could've scared off a young dragon, the creature's three heads split into three bodies and lunged at the royal heirs. Each of the bodies was weaker than the original, but still stronger than them.

The royal heirs struggled against the tirade of the energized and healed beast.

Reaper and Numan, on the other hand, walked to Varian with decisive and solemn steps.

Then, with a single step at once, they disappeared from their place.

"Alright, if you want to take this that far," Varian activated his artifacts. The strangeness began again and they started to hum, a strange and deep music ringing in the void, filled with longing.

"Shut up and get to work." Perhaps his words worked, the humming stopped and the artifacts gave him their boost.

Varian's strength reached the next level and he flashed forward.

At exactly halfway between their initial positions, the three clashed.