"Well… Isn't this just fantastic…" Dyon chuckled.
It was such a shame. His soul was only a half step away from breaking into the celestial stage. At that point, he'd be able to repair his puppets to reach the peak level of celestial cultivation. With that kind of power, if he used them cleverly enough, it was likely that even a lower dao formation expert might have trouble dealing with him.
That said, Dyon fully understood that if he tried to push his soul to such a level now, he would die. His body was simply too weak. Then there was the amount of time it would take to repair such complex arrays. Not to mention the fact that Dyon hadn't studied any array alchemy theories past the grandmaster level.
From his understanding, array alchemy reached a massive watershed when your soul stepped into the Celestial stage. Even with his genius, he'd need more than just a moment to fully grasp it…
'I could bring out the demon generals… The most talented amongst the saints can last at least a few bouts against this caliber of celestials. If they team up, maybe they can even last longer than that. But, is it smart to reveal the demon generals now…? Just because they could survive, doesn't mean they'd win… At this point it would be hundreds of thousands against three thousand. But, unlike the gates, they aren't capped to our level…'
Dyon had to be smart about his movements. He was their leader. He couldn't just rely on their power while putting them at risk like this. It would be easier to maneuver with less people for now. His top priority was to protect Ri and Madeleine and make his way over to Clara. Then he'd go and get Little Lyla and Zaire.
"Look at you, planning." Vidar suddenly sneered, walking up to the stage Dyon stood on casually to stand beside Tau who had previously paused his pursuit. "Can't you see that this is inevitable? If you return Tammy to me now, though. I can let you have a little bit of dignity in death."
Had anyone else said this, maybe they may have fooled those listening into thinking they actually cared for a family member of theirs. But, Dyon knew better.
After hearing how good of an effect Tammy would have as a dual cultivation partner, Vidar's eyes had shone with jealousy. He wondered why his father hadn't just given her to him if he hadn't wanted her.
Dyon's face twisted in disgust.
"I'd like to pound his face in." Ri growled, a dense black void aura manifesting itself around her as ethereal tails whipped about, destroying the already damaged stage.
She still hadn't recovered from the past ten minutes of emotional upheaval. In fact, these were the first words she had spoken since Dyon's drastic recovery. But, she had to step forward now. While everyone else was in awe at Dyon's sudden recovery, her and Madeleine felt something completely different. No one knew more than them how tired Dyon was right now.
He had just faced a battle against the universe itself. Then, he pushed his soul to the absolute limit to treat a wound that should have been untreatable. And, even worse, he was still diverting some of his soul power right now to keep the soul of the man who gave him that wound from dissipating.
And yet, instead of complaining or looking for help, his eyes were calculating how he could do more.
How could they feel anything but rage?
'How do I deal with this…' Dyon thought. He wanted to just send Ri and Madeleine into his ring, but if something like sending a person in against their will was so easy, Dyon would never have to worry about an enemy ever again. And, it was very much clear that neither of his wives would agree to being sent in.
'They're too powerful for me handle. The puppets could work, but I would have to use the stronger one as well… Alright, that's fine. I'll do it. But, it has to be at the right time. When the stronger one appears, it has to kill one of them for sure, or else it would be a waste. Also, the puppets need my guidance to be the most effective. If I let them fight on their own, they're susceptible to being tricked…
'Okay… Then I'll –'
Suddenly, something happened that made Dyon realize that all of his previous thoughts had been silly. He was so used to fighting alone, so used to scratching and clawing through the world by himself, that he had almost forgotten that for the first time, maybe everything wasn't on him…
King and Queen Acacia appeared in the air, right along side King Belmont, Big Red and Patriarch Pakal. They faced off against their enemies with their heads held high.
To Dyon, it had been a long time since he had seen backs broad enough to stand in front of him and it had been even longer since he felt that same warmth well up inside of him.
Their opponents had nine celestials on their side. Two Royal God Clan heads, and their two subordinate God Clans, along with Patriarch Ragnor, Patriarch Cavositas, and the Matriarch of the Niveus sect. Anyone could see how lopsided this affair was… Well, it was until the Elvin Head Sigebryht and Grand Elder Deryth made their appearance.
The sight of sixteen celestials facing off was enough to place a weight on any warrior's chest.
Inwardly, Dyon was hopeful. Despite the two-celestial difference, Dyon was well aware that his mother and father in law had battle prowess that far outweighed their cultivation. This wasn't as hopeless as it seemed.
However, there was something else that Dyon was worried about. According to the information he had, Planet Mino with their Shruti Royal God Clan, and Planet Nix with their Jafari Royal God Clan weren't the same clans that had represented those planets in the previous world tournament…
So, the question was just what were their motives?
And maybe more strikingly, were they yet another foe they had to face off against?...
