*SHING*
The top part of the mountain slid and fell to the ground, splattering into pieces.
The aura of a Grandmaster had been felt, but it moved too quickly for them to react.
The Emperor had all Avillians hidden in a compartment underneath Villa, while those deemed valuable were taken to safer places.
Since the territory had already been plundered for most of its worth, the Emperor had no qualms having it wrecked as Grandmasters fought.
This moment, the battle took a turn as everyone paused.
The Emperor was the fastest to react as he blasted off.
Master ranks could wait, his interests were at stake here!
Without pause, he dived from the sky and landed with a bang right in front of the mountain.
He didn't get to land before being smashed into what remained of the mountain by an invisible sword slash, which made a decent gash in his armor.
His expression was still calm.
'As expected'
It showed how thoroughly the Emperor prepared.
Meanwhile…
'It was true!'
'To think it was real!'
'Unbelievable'
The opposing Grandmasters had their eyes widen in shock as they beheld the spectacle of mana particles dispersing into the air.
The previous night, nearby kingdoms had sent word and shared information to each other on how to deal with the Empire.
It was a routine set up for whenever the Empire bared its fangs.
So the news of a mountain of mana crystals had reached them before dawn…along with the fact that Avilla was being secured by five Grandmasters!
With the source of information being withheld, most scoffed in disbelief, leaving remarks like…
'He must have seen it wrong'
While others mocked…
'Are you sure you haven't gone senile?'
Yet there it was.
Their eyes changed along with their priorities.
Their armies were officially crippled, or almost, that was a fact.
If they let the Empire monopolize such a drastic amount of mana crystals, then Niton conquering the whole continent wasn't an impossibility.
Better still, why did the enemies confront the Grandmasters with lesser numbers?
This was why.
The expressions of Mervida and Gaga brightened.
From afar, troops marched forth in their horses with their armor gleaming as it reflected the hot sun, while a circle crest depicting a throne with the sun above it came to light.
Reinforcements had arrived.
Simultaneously, the Emperor burst out of the mountain to meet the one responsible for harming his interests.
His face immediately crumbled.
"You…"
The assailant was a man in ash leather clothing with his face almost triangular, his eyes dark and calm, while in his left hand was a straight, blue, single edged, short sword.
It had no unusual marking that would distinguish it from any other sword otherwise.
The Emperor spat out his name with a deep gaze as shredder appeared in his hands.
"Leerstrom, why am I not surprised?"
The other stared with a crazy grin.
"It's Swordmiester now. And I've been waiting for this for a long time!"
"Hah, your moniker is as pathetic as you are"
With that, the battle began with Leerstrom taking the initiative with a popped vein.
The Emperor no longer released lightning.
Instead, he concentrated it on his weapon and swung it with a large stride.
With his instinct ringing, Leerstrom stopped his charge, but the Emperor was already upon him, with a few words to add…
"Let's make this quick"
As the weapon descended, aiming to cleave Leerstrom in half, a projectile flew towards the mountain, increasing the heat drastically as it was a large fireball.
Again, the Emperor thought…
'As expected'
There was another rat in hiding.
Before that, his movement was broken half way through as shredder released the condensed lightning bolt upwards, colliding with the ball of fire, which resulted in a thunderous explosion-
*BOOM!*
-that filled the air with a lot of smoke.
Leerstrom had himself sliding across the ground as the Emperor kicked him afar just as he broke his movement.
An aged voice rang out moments after.
"What are you doing?!"
The anger and annoyance was palatable.
A man in black and red robes, with white hair, sturdy muscles, and a staff so black it seemed dead, lay suspended in the air with fire underneath his feet.
Leerstrom didn't get to answer as the Emperor was upon him once more.
'Shit!'
With haste, Leerstrom tried to regain his balance.
But he was too slow.
At the same time, a very wide magic circle with a shade of red expanded from the old man's staff as a fireball mirroring the previous one was released towards the mountain.
The Emperor shows his worth by doing the unexpected.
He grabbed Leerstrom by the head and threw him into the air.
Leerstrom was baffled by the action till he saw the gleaming red on the surface of his sword.
Without time to react, the fireball consumed him.
Such an awkward situation brought confusion upon the fire mage and Leerstrom.
So, the fire mage couldn't properly prepare when the Emperor appeared at his side.
Immediately, a punch was sent out, and the fire mage found himself plummeting to the ground.
His arms took an 'x' shape, but his facial muscles told of his pain.
With his senses, he moved to gain distance from the Emperor.
Before he could do so, the Emperor was upon him once more, sending him another punch, this one fiercer than the last.
With it, the fire mage crashed into the ground like the Master from before, spreading dust in all directions as blood leaked from a corner of his mouth.
His eyes quivered as his thoughts reeling…
'How can he be so strong?!"
Attempting to add more damage, the Emperor gave another punch, knocking the man farther into the soil, but before he could add another, a clear sound of something cutting through the air was heard.
The Emperor backed away to see Leerstrom's sword land in his former position.
The man in question was approaching Andrew by…running on the air? Or was he bouncing on it?
Either way, his speed was nothing to scoff at, but neither was the Emperor's.
"You underestimate me still?"
His fist, imbued with lightning, hit that of Leerstrom, whose fist showed nothing.
Or so it seemed, but the Emperor's lightning was suddenly deflected, leaving him surprised for the first time in a while.
Leerstorm grinned inwardly.
'You must be surprised'
But the Emperor didn't dwell on it, choosing to increase his attacks in both power and speed.
*Keuk!*
And Leerstrom immediately felt the change.
He saw the figure of the fire mage, now unconscious, and his cockiness faded.
'Dammit all! I'm going to die at this rate!'
And he wasn't about to let that happen.
So he spoke, his voice echoing loudly…
"GET OVER HERE! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS GUY ON MY OWN!"
Seconds passed by with nothing happening, and then, two people rose into the air.
With that slight movement, the Emperor's gaze hardened, while the three guild masters backed away from their opponents.
For once, the Emperor was surprised.
'I expected five since our numbers would've been reported'
Yet they had two others still waiting.
The Emperor let out a cold chuckle.
'So I was right to decimate their troops. These bastards were never here to follow the rules!'
Also…
'They are not here for Avilla'
It could only be one other thing.
'The manite mine!'
His gaze grew cold.
'It was bound to be known…but this soon?'
He had the information about it locked down to just him, the guild masters, and Cavarl, so how did the enemy get the information?
'No, wait, Bolton knows'
The Emperor shook his head. Bolton would never do that.
More than that, where did these two Grandmasters come from?
So many questions, and so few answers.
The Emperor cast such worries aside. He had to deal with the problem in front of him first.
The two Grandmasters were almost upon him.
The moment they got close enough, the Emperor released a shout…
"Jebas, NOW!"
