Chapter 126: The Grand Showdown (3)
Yao Shen made no effort to conceal the tension tugging at his features as he willed his Earth Qi to shift the packed earth before him.
Perhaps the fact that his visage and for that matter, the rest of his body, was covered by the most powerful version of Full-Plate Lumenite Armor had a role to play in that candidness. Almost all of it was owed to Vondar, but Yao Shen had indeed made a few key changes to the design; including one major change that would likely make the Tellurarchs gasp in horror if they were to discover what he had been up to.
While designing his own armor, Yao Shen had gone for a far more angular, aerodynamic build. The end result was a sight to behold, his armor markedly different from the mass-produced Full-Plate Lumenite Armor he had forged for the Elders. The helmet took on a more tapered shape that clung to his form far more intimately over the one size fits all approach he had taken for the original design.
The contours of the gauntlets and greaves had been smoothed out as best he could, the chestplate benefitting from a less bulkier yet nearly equally effective make and with Vondars assistance, he had managed to make its joints a degree more flexible than the baseline set in the original Full-Plate Lumenite Armor.
Of course, not all the design changes were physical in nature. While Yao Shen had chosen to exclude the Rune of Focus out of the design for the Elders armor, the same did not hold true for himself. Two such Runes had been inscribed onto the gauntlets palm plates, the design aimed to give Yao Shen maximum versatility whilst deploying the Offensive Greater Rune.
The Rune of Focus strength still fell a notch below his own attuned Qi attacks as a Soul Emperor and whilst it would do little against the enemies he expected to fight while clad in Full-Plate Lumenite Armor, the potential of an offensive attack that did not rely on his Qi reserves still could not be underestimated.
It could very well be the difference between life and death if used at the opportune moment.
However, even the Rune of Focus paled in comparison to the single most ruthless difference between the Elders Lumenite Armor and his own. The Self-Destruct Rune served little purpose in an armor specifically designed for his own exclusive use.
That was at least until Yao Shen found himself confronted by the realization that unlike the Dwarves, the Lumenite Armor was no sacred benediction to him only a means to an end. Even Vondar had been shocked by Yao Shens decision to inscribe the Self-Destruct Rune onto each major armor component.
He had no intention to outright use the armor as a weapon to inflict destruction, but Yao Shen had already resolved himself not to hold back whilst dealing with the Demonic Path. If pushed far enough, the individual pieces of the Lumenite Armor would be his means of buying his escape or perhaps, even victory. After all, it was not a weapon whose efficacy he could test until the time came.
Yao Shen did not allow his momentum to falter as he withdrew a specialized communication artifact from his spiritual ring. Cloaked in shifting wisps of shadows, Yao Shen channeled a single divine sense strand into the artifact as he had done many times before and observed as the primary communication means of the faceless flared to life in a scrawl of vivid red text.
His gaze flickered from one line to the next across the upward crawling text, his features tightening as he considered the information. One Elder from each of the three divisions had been tasked with periodically reporting on the status of the battle and the last report had been delivered ten minutes ago.
Seventeen dead, He muttered under his breath. Zero casualties. Total estimated enemy count Thirty six, all Peak-Stage Nascent Soul, Yao Shens unease only grew as he considered how the battle was progressing, how smoothly it was going for them. Had Wujing Yang been overzealous in his estimation of the threat? Or had Gavril Arkael moved without permission of Ilivara Feralheart, throwing off his expectation of a Flesh Puppet?
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The former did not seem like a likely possibility. Even with Yao Shen defending the three divisions as best he could, arrayed against thirty six Peak-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators that had dabbled into the forbidden paths, winning without any casualties would have been a highly unlikely possibility.
The distance between the three divisions, the need to protect All-Havens mortals and Yao Shens own limitations as a single cultivator would long since have forced him to seek protection from the Eastern Righteous Path Alliance, if it were not for the ace up his sleeve. Even then, it was a chilling thought to be confronted by the realization that even a fraction of the Ancient Codexs strength would be enough to overwhelm their Azlak Plains.
Yao Shen, halt, An ancient, wizened tone conveyed the command via divine sense.
While Yao Shen found the intrusion on his mindscape unexpected, it was not necessarily an unwelcome one.
Vondar, Yao Shen acknowledged.
I believe that I may have found who you are searching for, Vondar dropped the revelation without hesitation, causing Yao Shens features to warp in astonishment.
How? Yao Shen asked, his tone sounding flummoxed. Yao Shen was a Soul Emperor in both body and soul, whilst the present Vondar was merely a fragment of the original. How could his sensory capabilities surpass Yao Shens own?
While much of your history remains a mystery to me, it is not surprising to me that us Dwarves remain a hegemonic power in this era. You see, Yao Shen, we possess a rather keen sense of smell, Vondar explained.
A keen sense of smell? Yao Shen inquired, not being able to parse through the hint.
We are children of the Earth, Vondar began, his tone grandiose. Our souls are more closely attuned to the Earth, making it far easier for us to tread the Dao of Earth over any other. The Elves share a similar yet profoundly different variation of this gift a more powerful version of it, some may argue, but it does not change the fact that both races can detect when the ways of the Earth of Nature at large, are profaned.
The Flesh Puppet, Yao Shen muttered in realization, his expression turning ugly.
To infect anothers soul with your own is to blaspheme against the cycle of reincarnation. A grotesque act that, if inflicted upon a fellow Dwarf, would prompt brutal and swift retaliation, Vondar further explained.
I see, Yao Shen replied. I am indebted to you for confirming the Flesh Puppets existence, but I am not sure if the price for its coordinates is one I am willing to pay.
You think too little of me, Yao Shen, Vondar chided. My hatred towards you humans is a personal one, whilst my vendetta against blasphemers of the natural order is intertwined with my sense of identity as a member of the Dwarven Race. To twist the bounty of nature into bloody arts designed to kill, maim and infiltrate both body and soul, defying both the ways of heaven and the cycle of reincarnation in narrow pursuit of misguided strength little else can infuriate me more than those cretins that are willing to trade their sapience for ephemeral strength. Go, Vondar declared and before Yao Shen could respond, the direction and distance he had to travel to reach the purported Flesh Puppet.
Yao Shen could not help but be moved at the gesture, forced to wonder if he himself could be so magnanimous in face of the injustice Vondar had faced at the hands of the Earth Divisions ancestors.
I will find a way to repay you for this favor. However, Yao Shen trailed off, unsure how to explain his circumstances.
However?
I am afraid that you cannot accompany me to this fight. There are still secrets that I must guard, as I am sure that there are Greater Runes and techniques that you would not feel comfortable disclosing to another.
Oh? Then let me call upon that favor and ask that you leave the artefact carrying my soul as close to the site of battle as possible, even if it remains outside the detection range of my Divine Sense.
Beneath the Lumenite Armor, Yao Shen grimaced. Vondar had only just revealed to him the unfathomable depths of his sensing ability, leaving him uncertain as to what his actual range was. At the same time though, the favor Vondar had granted him was not one whose value could be measured easily, let alone repaid.
It was a test of the weight of his word of honor, from a race Vondar expected none.
Very well, Yao Shen replied, acceding to the request, before taking off full force in the direction Vondar had pointed him towards.
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