The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 614 Fleeing the Scene

However, apart from the dragons, there was one other person that wasted no time to jump back into action. The helmed swordsman sped up yet again. He vanished over and over, dealing critical death blows without a care for sharing EXP or leaving behind carcasses that were precious materials. All that mattered was that his precious preys were trying to flee.

The others below stepped into action as well, but they couldn’t keep up and were left with the slower, weaker dragons while Dragov and Phoro finally continued their paused ascension.

Targeting the speedy Storm Dragons first, the swordsman teleported to them and killed the strongest survivor. As the Storm Dragons split up, the swordsman ignored any dragon under lv. 75 and showed preference to the remaining dragons around lv. 80, though most had been killed already.

When the strongest surviving Storm Dragons were killed and stored away, the swordsman vanished again to target the magma dragons. He repeated his strategy, slaying a couple of dragons around lv. 80, placing their corpses in his storage, and then disappearing again for a time.

After another minute had passed, the swordsman reappeared on the original battlefield without his sword in hand.

Those that hadn’t stormed off to slay fleeing dragons were rushing to the aid of the many wounded on the ground below. Sure, the Leisure Guild managed to hold back the dragons and protect the ascending beasts, but it wasn’t without a cost.

But the helmed swordsman arrived just in time to witness history.

For the first time since the creation of Kartonia, beasts of earth and wind affinity evolved for a third time, apart from dragons. This was monumental news. It officially cemented the future bloodlines of those new gods as equivalent to the draconic races, just as Hell-flame Foxes and Nine-headed Glacier Hydra’s had down before.

Dragov unleashed a ground-shaking roar as his body and innate energy finished their transformations from mortal to divine. His already unfathomably large body had grown in length and width, gaining more legs and what seemed like a second layer of natural armor atop his earlier exoskeleton. Rather than shedding his old hide, Dragov’s body created a second layer of exoskeleton to cover the new gaps of his natural armor and offer twice the protection in vital at the same time. His rows and rows of teeth made Dragov the nightmare of any horror movie, turning his maw and throat into the most devastating meat grinder on the planet.

At the same time, Phoro rocketed out of Dragov’s mouth with glee. But no one saw the Minokawa exit the centipede’s mouth. People only noticed Phoro due to his roars and cries of excitement high in the sky. His speed had evolved again, letting him exit Dragov’s mouth and travel hundreds of meters without anyone on the ground being able to see him mid-flight. Phoro had grown again, becoming nearly ten meters tall with an even larger wingspan. The scales beneath his down had grown tougher and his talons were now sharp enough to rival Karronteel’s or Moranti’s. With even better eye-sight and more nimble agility, the stunts that Phoro could perform now far outclassed any wild flying he could imagine as a mortal.

But Phoro’s excitement suddenly stopped.

"Mom!"

The first-ever Minokawa God rushed to the ground below before anyone could think of blinking. All happiness and excitement had washed away from Phoro’s face. All that was left was grief. "Mom! What-- Who did this?!"

"Phoro..."

Gathered around the beaten and bloodied corpse of their Minokawa sovereign, the other surviving Minokawas were left speechless in Phoro’s presence. Apart from Phoro’s new intimidating form, they felt the natural strength of his fully evolved bloodline, which immediately dwarfed theirs as Phoro made not attempt to hide his bloodline strength during his pained shouts.

"Jack!" Phoro shouted, staring intently at the sky. "Help my Mom, please!"

All the Leisure Gods were gradually descending. None of them bothered chasing after the mortal dragons, keeping to their morals against the fighting mortals. Also, they knew that those below like Jin, Hadurt, Kori, and the swordsman wouldn’t allow the strongest mortal dragons to flee from death.

Jack, as well as the other gods, were focused on one thing, the strange timing of Daruun’s announcement and the content of Daruun’s announcement. But Phoro’s cry was more than enough to get Jack’s attention. After all, it was the first time that anyone had ever seen Phoro act so stressed and overwhelmed with emotion.

The gods rushed down the battlefield with some sorrow in their hearts, following Jack toward the center of it all.

"Jack, you’ve got to help! I know you can!" Phoro pled, not hiding the tears leaking from his powerful eyes.

One look was all it took. Jack could instantly answer Phoro. But everyone else also knew the answer, given the obvious state of the corpse.

Phara, the proud Minokawa Sovereign, rested in pieces against Phoro’s feathers. Her new armor was either punctured, torn apart, or missing. One of her wings was gone and nowhere to be found, most likely eaten by a dragon. The other wing was shredded and lacked all feathers and many chunks of flesh. Both legs were shattered and crippled while half of her talons were missing and the other half were broken. Her chest was gashed open in many locations, showing that she had been injured not only by the Storm Dragons in the sky but also the dragons down below that were trying to eat her already dead body. Half of Phara’s face was missing, having been gnawed off. If it weren’t for the golden tips of her feathers and her larger size, not even Phoro would’ve recognized her corpse.

"Phoro... I don’t think we can do anything..." Jack sighed.

"Try! Please..."

Dragas placed the bodies of Guuro and Choron on the ground before speaking up, "Phoro... As a master of holy and nature magics, I have to agree with Jack. She’s too far gone. We have no means of reviving her"

"No! NO!" cried Phoro, visibly shaking. "No... no..."