The countdown had begun. In just under fifteen minutes, the summoning ritual would pull a necro Tier 4 into Elysium to aid in the assault against the Fallen. Arnold remained by Seth’s side, both to protect him and to keep a close eye on him. The necromancer hadn't been thrilled about it, but Priam had insisted, arguing that the chances of another assassination were slim. It was fairly certain that the Var Elegis knew where his priorities lay, and the rewards from the System for killing Sumstreh were far more valuable than finishing off his rival.
The Terminator was nothing if not pragmatic.
As for Seth, though he despised his killer, it was unlikely he would use the summoned Tier 4 to take him out. Behind the bitterness and hatred, there was fear. The Var Elegis had been raised to the status of a bogeyman.
Flying towards Oasis with Esmée, Priam hoped Seth would be able to control the corrupted summon. A bit of chaos obfuscating the playing field would be useful to save Sphinx, but he didn’t want it to devolve into a free-for-all. At least, not until Sumstreh was dead. That was the key to being rewarded by the System.
New Quest: Fallen
Once a God, now a Fallen.
Will they who fell by arrogance repeat their mistake?
Kill Sumstreh, the Fragnted Rabbit.
This is a shared quest (8 participants).
Reward:
Bloodline Purification ( 1%)
Talent Token - Seraph Rarity
Reward (for the executor):
Title - Seraph Rarity
Difficulty: Seraphic
Priam hoped to be the executor, but he knew his chances were slim. Besides his Breath, he didn’t really have any ultimate move. With Sumstreh aware of this trump card, it was unlikely to be enough.
What else could he do? Dropping a nuke in Sumstreh’s Domain would be counterproductive; the System didn’t reward its users for that sort of thing—he had slaughtered over ten million corrupted with two nukes and hadn’t earned a single Sun Point. I guess I should build the bomb from the ground up for it to count...
Even without the bonus reward, purifying his draconic bloodline and gaining a Seraphic Talent—two tiers above Mythic—was already incredible. Since all the Champions shared the sa quest, Priam was confident they would work together until the Fallen was on death’s door. Then... everyone would want to land the final blow.
Priam smirked, considering his rivals' machinations. No matter their secrets, his hand was stronger. Back in Ti would not only reveal their true faces but also their trump cards. Of course, there was another consequence: after the rewind, he would be the sole beneficiary of the rewards. According to Esmée, this needed to stay under wraps.
“If you tell them you can rewind ti, why would they help you?” she had asked when they reviewed his plan.
“For the sa reason you’re helping : I’m willing to share intel about their Tribulations.”
Esmée had arched a charming eyebrow. “Why would they trust you? Put yourself in their shoes for a second; you’re asking them to risk their lives to help you take down a Fallen—knowing you’ll be the only one rewarded—show you their weaknesses, and let you get close when they’re at their most vulnerable. All that with zero guarantees.”
Priam had grimaced. Presented like that, there was no need to be paranoid to refuse his offer.
“So you want to keep it secret; to exploit them.” The idea made Priam slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t have much love for so of his rivals, but Dishnu and Arnold had helped him recently. Well, Arnold did kill before, so I guess we’re even.
“You really want to thank them? Learn from this tiline and optimize the real assault against Bastard. If they figure out you can rewind ti... Seth will try to kill you, and he won’t be the only one.”
So, Priam decided to keep the secret. As the haunted forest whizzed by beneath him, he glanced at Esmée. Holding his right hand, the princess smiled like a child, clearly happy to be flying. Her hair was so long and lustrous that she looked like Rapunzel.
“Why are you helping ?” he asked bluntly.
“Hm?”
“Earlier, you said our rivals have no reason to trust . Kazuki follows because he’s a friend, and Jasmine is my subordinate, but you... Why?”
“Because you are cute.”
Surprised by the out-of-character response, Priam lost control of his skill. The couple dropped about ten ters before he stabilized them. Esmée shrieked before bursting into laughter, clinging to his hand.
“I admit that was a half-lie,” she giggled. “The real reason is that it’s statistically improbable you’ll break your promise to —at least, that’s what my skills tell .”
“So you don’t trust , but your abilities,” Priam sumd up.
“Well... I’m learning to trust you,” the young woman smiled.
Priam returned her smile. Claire had taught him not to trust too quickly, and it was perfectly understandable that Esmée needed to spend more ti with him before she would be ready to entrust him with her life.
“So, I’m cute?”
Esmée blushed, avoiding his gaze. Now it was Priam’s turn to laugh. For the first ti, Esmée reacted like a young woman and not a princess.
Before he could tease her further, the forest beneath them began to change. Under the influence of Log-a-rhythm and the enhancents of Oasis, the trees lost their haunted appearance and regained their leaves. The protective do of Oasis appeared, and Priam groaned when he saw Dishnu already inside. The drya wasn’t alone.
“And here I thought the protective barrier was supposed to keep people out,” he said as they landed.
“Your security doesn’t account for plants,” replied his rival.
Assistant, remind to fix this critical flaw once we rewind ti.
[Command saved.]
Priam turned to the seven Tier 4s waiting and watching Oasis. Most looked impatient, except for Ophis, who was massaging his chest thoughtfully.
“How did you get in?” Sotis, a direct question was the best way to get an answer.
“I hacked your barrier in six minutes.” Gryphe chuckled when Priam grimaced. “You’re lucky; Braato gave ten before forcing his way in.”
“I don’t like waiting,” the Gaeserts’ Chief admitted with a shrug.
“Neither do I,” said a man in his thirties standing behind Gryphe. His eyes resembled those of a tiger, and Priam suppressed a shiver as their gazes t. The stranger’s aura was a notch above the other Tier 4s.
“Leo, our Chief,” Gryphe introduced. “And the old fart next to him is Felix.”
“Pleasure,” the old man smiled. He had fewer wrinkles than Louis, but Priam would bet he was much older.
“Welco to Oasis,” Priam declared. “About the fulcrum—”
“The shadow girl already gave it to ,” Leo interrupted. “Where’s the Fallen hiding, and when will you trigger the diversion?”
Priam concealed his irritation at the powerhouse’s bluntness. It was understandable since every second here was a chance for the Necromoon forces to ravage his tribe, but he hated being cut off.
“Dishnu’s going to trigger a quintuple Tribulation nearby.”
All the mid Tiers turned to the drya, as if seeing him for the first ti.
“... Fucking genius,” Gryphe spat on the ground. “Not my business, but are you sure you want him triggering a quintuple Tribulation on your Land?”
“Good question.” If his past Tribulations had taught him anything, it was that the System didn’t care about collateral damage. Priam turned to Dishnu. “Why here?”
The drya pointed at Log-a-rhythm. “I want to temporarily resonate with the Tal Quercus.”
Priam frowned. “Explain.”
“Its wood resists Tribulations.”
The stump Priam had found when he first arrived in Elysium had been struck by a Tribulation. Its death—or perhaps its resurrection—had given it an interesting feature, Tribulation Resistance II. It was the material used to build the Tribulation Chamber.
“I see.” Priam took a mont to think. Refusing now would disrupt his plans, while accepting would give him a clearer picture of the drya’s plans for Log-a-rhythm. “Alright, give a mont to evacuate my people. I’ll give you the signal to start.”
Without another word, the Guardian of the Forest headed towards the massive tree. Using Log-a-rhythm’s domain as a relay for their systems, Priam inford Jasmine of the change in plans.
“Dishnu’s going to trigger his Tribulations in Oasis. How many crafters have completed theirs?”
“All of them. I’m gathering their notes now.”
“Perfect. Get them to Valaryth, finish collecting everything, then co back. It’s almost our turn to step into the fray.”
Quickly checking Ève’s clone’s viewpoint, Priam nodded before turning to the Chiefs and shamans.
“Here’s what’s going to happen…”
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