ALONE

Leonel walked across the city walls. Heavy rain pelted down like an aggravated assault. It rebounded off of his golden armor, shattering in the air almost like tiny orbs of glass.

The moment the Sea Gods began their attack, he no longer bothered to hide the purpose of the formation.

lightsΝοvεl ƈοm The minerals and salts were quickly soaked into the Force Art, strengthening it. At the same time, the rain above became so heavy that the world was practically wreathed in darkness. It felt like there was hardly a difference between standing in this rain and being submerged in the depths of the ocean.

Quickly, the waters that were soaked up from the ground were replenished by an even heavier rain. All at once, the formations of the Sea Gods were co-opted and aggressively commandeered.

The application of Crafting that Leonel was using here was far beyond the imagination of even most Demi-God Crafters. It was likely that only hidden masters of the Owlans and Dream Asuras could match up to him in terms of raw theory and creativity.

Of course, they most definitely had far greater strength and the capability to Craft far stronger Crafts as a result. Unfortunately, Leonel couldn't yet fully divorce what he could Craft from his own strength or that of Little Tolliver's.

Essentially, to make an overly complicated matter simple, he had begun to use the protective Force Arts of the Fleeting Cloud Empire like a human's body.

The minerals were being used up, and the water was being consumed and expelled. It was an application of the Self Path that was truly extraordinary. He had managed to change many of the fundamental tenets that helped the Force Art to run without actually changing its foundation at all.

However, it wasn't enough... not just yet.

For one, in this rain, his greatest strength, his Fire Force, was handicapped. The concentration of Water Force in the region was so high that the use of practically any other element was nigh impossible. Even if it was a Lightning Force, with how heavy the rain was, unless your control was excellent, you'd likely end up electrocuting your own companions.

That said, Leonel couldn't use his hallmark Forces in this place, not unless he could be sure to kill anyone who saw it. So this wasn't as big of a deal to him.

The larger issue was something else entirely.

Not only were the Sea Gods still fiercely attacking the formation and seemed capable of breaking it-at least in part-very soon, Leonel had yet to see any obvious effects of his plan.

'Was I wrong?' Leonel's eyes narrowed as he scanned the battlefield. 'No, I can't be wrong.'

Leonel didn't conclude this because he was so overconfident in himself. The real reason he was certain was because the best proof was right before him.

How could it be so coincidental? Would the Sea Gods really attack the instant it started raining just because?

Logically, the odds of that were much lower. It just meant that the benefits weren't as obvious just yet.

But that made sense. If the weakness of the Sea Gods was so blatantly obvious, then it would have been used against them long ago.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Commander! What should we do?!"

Leonel looked over. "Is the army prepared?"

"Yes, I've done as you said. Everyone is organized behind the city gates, but-."

Leonel waved a hand. "Follow me."

He knew what his lieutenant wanted to say. Leonel had had them all gather up behind just a single city gate. In fact, he had cleared out large portions of the city, turning this northern face into a battleground. He had gone as far to even level several buildings in the region.

But in the minds of others, this was a foolish decision. Unfortunately for them, that was because they didn't understand the changes Leonel had made to the Force Art.

They believed that if the formation was cracked and failed, the entire city would be open to attack. Many would fly over the walls and attack from different points. They might even separate their armies and attack from all four gates at once.

Because the Sea Gods had already surrounded the city, it would be even more difficult.

The Sea Gods were clearly operating on this assumption as well. They weren't attacking from several points despite surrounding the city. Instead, they had concentrated all of their attack on a singular point, a point that happened to be right in front of the gate Leonel had asked them all to gather behind.

A normal formation would certainly shatter completely after a single point was breached. Leonel's, however, would not do this.

Any fracture would be localized, and any hole created would be singular.

Not only that, but as it absorbed more of the salts and minerals that the Sea Gods were still trying to pump into the environment, it would heal itself.

The best part was that whatever shattered pieces were taken from this region would directly be used to strengthen the other regions. Meaning, breaking it apart here would make it harder to do the same in other regions.

Leonel couldn't explain all of this to these people. Not only was he unaware of whether the other side had Dream Force experts or not, reassuring everyone of such a thing was a waste of his time.

That was why he needed this commander's prestige.

They would listen because they had to, and for no other reason.

Leonel stood before the armor and flipped over a palm. In it, a golden halberd appeared, shimmering with a bright light beneath the darkened skies.

His mind was completely consumed by another thought. He didn't care how they felt about his plan, they would see his thought process soon enough.

What was grating on him was the fact that even after observing the army below, he couldn't figure out who their commander was.

They had blended in far too well, and it was as though the Sea Gods had gone the extra mile to ensure that they couldn't be spotted.

'But to even go as far as to not even have a figurehead... why? If they didn't want to expose themselves, shouldn't they have propped up a fake leader, at the very least? And why send a bunch of young men and women? Where are their real experts?'

All of this pointed to one conclusion.

He had been right all along. One of his enemies, his real enemies in this excursion, was already here.

Were they a Demi-God or a God?

BOOM!

"OPEN THE GATES!" Leonel roared, pointing his halberd forward.

The command shocked many more, but they followed it nonetheless. They were all disciplined soldiers.

A command should be followed, no matter what. Even if it meant rushing through the gates of hell.

Leonel stomped a foot and the city quaked.Content © 2024.

With a boom, he shot forward. The rain formed a bullet around his speeding form, his body becoming akin to a projectile as he drew first blood.

The Sea Gods were taken aback, both by the fact the Force Art didn't collapse entirely and the fact the gates had opened just like that.

They were disorganized, having prepared themselves for another siege after the Force Art fell. How could they expect the humans to suddenly have such a weird-acting formation, and to even give up their best advantage so quickly?

Even Talon had never seen a formation that acted like this one, let alone the others.

It just didn't make sense. A Force Art was built upon each fundamental rune used to build it. When one shattered, the whole thing should.

How had...

It didn't matter.

With a single sweep of his halberd, Leonel had already killed as many as three dozen.

The valiance of his actions seemed to be the only tonic the warriors of the Fleeting Cloud Empire needed to forget their doubts and charge after them.

"HOLD THE LINE!" Leonel roared again.

His voice resonated like a bell, echoing even beneath the harsh pitter-patter of the rain.

Since he couldn't find the leader through normal means, he would either have to force them out or force them to retreat.

The tip of his halberd trembled, and droplets of rain seemed to freeze around it.

He thrust out dozens of times in quick succession, forming an impenetrable barrier that covered the large hole in the formation. In that moment, he seemed to have become the new body of the Force Art.

He never hesitated once, though he was using an unfamiliar weapon. His time with the Spear Domain Ring had taught him that the form of a spear simply didn't matter.

It could be the crooked branch that became his first spear. It could be the double headed Duality Spear that he missed even to this day. It could even be a trident that wore the scales of a sapphire dragon, a spear he had used many times before.

In his hands, anything could be a spear so long as he willed it to be so.

And beneath his will, anything could be his Domain.

The rain suddenly froze around Leonel in a sphere as his avalanche of spear strikes descended.

One strike.

One kill.

Droplets of rain became as lethal as heavenly blades, slicing apart the tough, gigantic bodies of the Sea Gods as though they weren't there at all.

His body thrummed with life, and he seemed to comprehend something.

No, it was something that he had always had but had not truly understood until this moment.

The answer had been right in front of him. The Domains of the Spears changed so frequently, without limitations or purpose. He had dealt with spears that could change the laws of physics to ones that wielded water as though it were a God.

Did he have to comprehend Water Force to refine this Realm?

Or could he rely on his Spear alone?