WHAT TO DO?

The Rapax were a simple-minded race, but they weren't fools. Many of them understood immediately. Ultimately, they had still made quite a bit of progress through the Dimensions.

The first to understand was Xenothrall, and his expression became ugly. Once again, his claws lengthened and his tail left slicing winds through the air. The wind pressure alone could have cut someone in two.

It all settled in for them at once, and those that didn't understand learned from those beside them.

Down below, that was a clash of Overlords just now. With the strength the Sea Gods had displayed earlier, none of them should have survived this assault.

They had all seen it. They hadn't used any protective treasures, but rather relied on their own strength because there wasn't time to pull such things out.

And yet, while some had died, the majority had survived.

How was that possible with the strength they had displayed earlier? Could it be that they were really holding back earlier and had only come to put on a show? How was this acceptable?

The Rapax began to howl in agitation.

What they didn't know was that Leonel had purposely controlled the shockwaves to a level that the young geniuses could handle.

Originally, he wanted to fight them one by one, but he knew that the Sea Gods would never allow this, so he pivoted to another plan.

In this situation, there was nothing more important than optics, and he had won that game.

All he had to do was keep the shockwaves to a level that they could just barely handle, and make it fast enough that they didn't have time to bring out anything else to protect themselves.

The moment he landed, he already expected everything that had happened, and from start to finish, they had played into his hands.

Geniuses or not, there was no way these Sixth and Seventh Dimension "geniuses" could survive the clash of Overlords had Leonel not allowed it.

And the worst part was that it was the perfect scheme.

Even if the Overlord noticed, what could he do? Forcefully kill them himself?

Not only would Leonel not allow him such a chance, how could he have the stomach do so such a thing?

It was the perfect trap. As Leonel always said, the best scheme was the one the enemy had no choice but to wholeheartedly participate in.

The moment he took the first step, everything was already over.

And the best part was that Leonel had accomplished all of this without really throwing the face of the Rapax. The Rapax in the stands believed that their Race's geniuses had been holding back as well, whereas in reality, it was just that the geniuses of the Sea Gods were on an entirely different level.

The only ones holding back were the Sea Gods themselves. The Rapax had been going all out.

But... they didn't need to know that.

Leonel was playing the role of human who respected the Rapax. The gift of the Dimensional Verse's Rapax was the cherry on top. They believed in him wholeheartedly now.

Xenothrall turned an enraged glance toward the Sea God noble.

The others wouldn't know, but how could he not know what happened? He hadn't ordered his geniuses to do such a thing, so that could only mean that this noble was the one that told his people to hold back.

The Sea God hurriedly stood. "Xenothrall, this..."

SHUUUU!

Xenothrall's tail suddenly appeared at the Sea God's throat.

A Rapax could die, but their honor could not be impugned upon. He would rather die than have someone insult him in this way, and he knew each one of those geniuses below felt the exact same way.

This was the pride of the Rapax.

Xenothrall's tail trembled. He was truly infuriated at this moment, but the worries on his mind were heavier than the others. He was still somewhat different from the other Rapax. His thoughts were more meticulous.

Even so, his instincts really wanted him to strike forth. Even if it meant that Rapax taking on the wrath of the Sea Gods, he would prefer this to living the life of a coward.

If it was him alone, he would have already struck. But what about the Rapax who relied on him for their survival?

The Sea God noble held his hands up, trying to give a placating smile. But Xenothrall could see that he didn't have the slightest fear in his eyes. He didn't take Xenothrall's threat seriously at all.

That was the final straw. © 2024.

Xenothrall attacked. His trembling tail became focused, and he pierced out.

The blade of his tail was only a few centimetres from the Sea God's throat, and yet the speed it exploded with in an instant was mind numbing.

The Sea God's expression became ugly, but he wasn't slow to react.

A shield of Water Force appeared around him.

BOOM!

The elevated noble region exploded, and a battle erupted in the skies.

Leonel watched all of this from below, trying to figure out the best next step to take.

He had done all of this on a whim because there was no better chance to turn this around. He had succeeded, but that also left him flying blind.

Should he help openly or in secret? Should he help at all?

Leonel's wrist trembled and the blade of his jet black spear ripped the Overlord beneath him to shreds.

With another sweep of his spear, every one of the Sea God geniuses was shredded to pieces.

The obvious answer seemed to be to help. But the problem was that he had just used the pride of the Rapax to instigate this situation. If he helped Xenothrall out, he would be stomping on that very same pride.

But at the same time, Xenothrall was an important cog in all of this.

There was certainly someone else behind all of this happening. If Xenothrall died, which is what looked would happen, then Leonel had no idea what the fallout might be. In fact, that might even help whoever was in the background.

Now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What to do?