In the wee hours of this fateful morning gnomes are rushing to the dwarven city in doves. They had been mobilising since their king had seen Kairos’ battle.
Not just a team or two, but all forces that can be send out were sent.
For the two allied races, such an action is tantamount to breaking centuries of trust. But the gnome king is prepared for the consequences even if the dwarf king ask for a hefty remuneration or revokes some of the benefits the gnomes are currently enjoying.
In fact, it is acceptable even if they are to give up on monopolising the alcohol trade – the main motivator for the gnomes to join the human-elf alliance.
To make such a decision is already indication that the gnome king regrets taking opposite sides of that young man called Kairos.
Understandably, there is no king that will consider such an outcome when the target was just a mere boy – even if he is a summoned hero. Perhaps, it is precisely that Kairos is a summoned hero that they underestimated him. Otherworld travellers may be rare but they appear every now and then – especially whenever the human race found themselves losing wars.
If those youths the Jarls summon were truly far superior then the world would be under human rule by now. The summoning spell only scours the different worlds for talented humans and not powerful ones because the Jarls needed someone they can brainwash and control. They have to find people from worlds that would be amazed and attracted by the power of Aura Arts and Magic, otherwise only fools will work without pay.
Moreover, no one can be sure that they would not accidentally pull into this world a murderous psycho that would slaughter them all.
It is why the summoning spell will only select individuals that fit certain perimeters and deemed controllable.
The Jarls are greedy for power but fearful of losing their thrones to the heroes. This irony and that many newly summoned heroes act arrogantly like they are the saviours of this world really made the other races look down on them.
But Kairos really made them think if he was really summoned by the spell. Could he be an otherworld traveller like the Mage King?
The gnome king and two elders started calculating the chances that Kairos and Relestia appeared during the summoning by accident.
Their conclusion was stunning: Highly probable.
What everyone thought to be impossible was in fact very possible.
The spell was not faulty to have summoned 6 pairs of heroes instead of 5. All along there were only 5 pairs as intended!
Then the error must have occurred because Kairos and Relestia met some of the summoning spell’s perimeters and invited themselves over.
Young, weak, controllable… those are the filter conditions that prevents nasty beings from barging into the Axis and stealing all their resources.
Thinking back on his injuries, it is highly likely Kairos squeezed into the conditions of the summoning spell.
This was a mistake from the beginning. They aren’t dealing with a young upstart. They are dealing with a Great General. In fact, the boy had said so himself, but everyone just assumed that he couldn’t be too strong when he came from a world without Aura and Magic.
What if this boy was a Great General from a world more dangerous than their own?
It’s not likely that Kairos came from the upper immortal or celestial realms, or else how can a mortal become a Great General? But, there are countless higher realms even amongst the mortal planes.
There are plenty of dangerous worlds filled with frightening beasts and treacherous lands. The tales he read about Orcs, a legendary race of war beasts, caused the gnome king to shudder.
If the lad was someone who came from such a world…
The gnome king feared to imagine.
He looked at the two elders by his side.
The red elder and the black elder. They are the ancestors of the Death Apple and the Death cap hence the colours of their clothes, and over time their actual names were gradually forgotten.
For a race of sentient plants, these two elders had been pillars of their race that had protected them from outside forces. Both are highly poisonous and fearsome plants. Just being close to the Death Apple elder causes lethal toxic burns, breathing the fumes in is the preferred method by his victims just to end the suffering faster.
The Death Cap elder is prone to deceiving foes, masking as harmless food that are highly temptations and incredibly delicious.
In a war, unless a soldier finds a way to survive without eating, they will find themselves eventually poisoned by this elder.
The most terrifying thing is the victims would not know they are poisoned until it is too late and others can only watch as they succumb to a horrifying death.
Just having them around is normally enough to bring reassurance even when facing against the elven and human armies in the past, but now against a lad the confidence is shaken.
As for the gnome king’s actual identity, he is an ancestor of the strangle weed, a parasitic plant that can latch onto others to gather nutrient. Moreover, he can control his victims as long as he is attached to them.
Looking unassuming, no one expected such a being to reign in their race in the beginning, but he eventually succeeding after proving to be extremely resilient, highly intelligent, and capable of controlling thousands of hosts at the same time.
If the two elders are born to protect their race, then the king was born to rule.
These three are legendary figures for the gnomes. To see them obviously anxious yet trying to maintain composure is nerve wrecking for the officials.
The gnomes believe that they have already pulled out the big cannons against this young hero.
Most kings will slowly increase their forces when dealing with a few individuals.
To throw their back into hunting down minorities is both unfeasible and costly.
Yet the three leaders are escalating matters to a national survival level of threat and praying that they did not underestimate Kairos again.
“Listen up, these are our targets!
Linda Stout, age 8 human female, civilian.
Leo Stout, age 38 human male, Class 5 Aura Master. Gamma-level Threat.
Boink Guardo, age 23 human male, Class 7 Aura Knight, a highly talented bodyguard. A Beta-level threat.
Clef Huntsman the Hyena Mage, age 36 human male, Class 7 Aura Mage, he can shred an army if you underestimate him. He is an Alpha-level threat.
Lulatia Greatoak the Shield Magus, age 102 elf female, Circle 7 Spellsinger, she is specialised in defensive magic and blessings. If engaging the White Tree in a group, prioritise in neutralising her. Another Alpha-level threat.
Relestia Vestimore, age 12 – 15 human female, proceed with caution, she is the person who destroyed a castle and the jarl. Consider her an Alpha-level threat as well.
Our mission is to separate the targets and capture them, if that is impossible – eliminate them.
During the operation, be wary of one person. An Omega-level threat that only the three Class 9 fighters can handle.
Kairos Astroire, age 15 to 18 human male, exceedingly dangerous.
You are not to engage him in any situation, report his location and avoid at all costs.
The operation will begin immediately. All squad leaders assemble your team at once!”
No one noticed at the gnome king and the two elders have discreetly joined a team in this operation.
At the same time, Kairos’ group are making their way towards one of the many the intercity connectors. In their hands is a hit list of targets: The gnome king, the red elder, the black elder, the commander-in-chief, and a few officials from the information bureau.
These are the masterminds behind this operation and the ones directly liaised with the human-elf coalition.
Taking them out will neutralise any hostile forces remaining in both cities within this mountain.
But this is only the first step towards establishing a base for the Snowdrifts. Just taking out the leaders could not win him a fortress; Kairos needs to smash their will into tiny bits.
The city interconnectors are very long shafts that shuttles people up and down using platforms pulled by huge chains that are empowered by a giant magic crystal.
When Kairos’ party reached the place, there were several families waiting by the checkpoint to get on the platform.
Kairos took a look at the small queue. Among some adults there were even gnome children and grandparents. Most of them are quiet, seemingly exhausted. Even the young ones seemed lethargic and ready to go home.
A small smile appeared on his face but it wasn’t one with any warmth.
Without a word, he drew his sword from his scabbard.
His friends were deathly silent. What happened to not killing those uninvolved?
Is Kairos drawing his blade against children now, just because they are gnomes?
Sensing his companions’ unease, he looked at them with the same smile as before and said, “Target the adults.”
They looked at the few wrinkly old gnomes in the group and furrowed their brows. Many of those elderlies are holding on to a young child.
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Ignoring their hesitation Kairos repeated, “Target the adults. This is a wartime command. Those that refuse will be tried. If you have any disputes bring it up afterwards.”
After saying this, Kairos charged towards those gnomes in line. Following right after him was the bodyguard who had immediately ran forward with blade unsheathed.
The others joined only a moment after, leaving only Leo holding on to Linda.
The elf, the princess, and the aura mage were holding back sub-consciously.
This is the first time they fought alongside with Kairos, and it was natural to be shocked by such a command.
To swing their blades is already above expectations.
However, the moment they attacked, they immediately realised their targets were not weak and elderly.
In fact, the first strike from Kairos shaved one of the ‘grandparents’ they were attacking.
When everyone saw the dark roots underneath the wispy white hair, they finally recognised that these are not simple civilians like they thought.
Kairos’ blade did not stop but continued downwards, almost splitting his target diagonally.
At this time, accompanied by a triumphant roar from a gnome, the bodyguard flew backwards at breakneck speeds just as he clashed with his target.
The target, a frail looking middle-age gnome, suddenly took out a battle axe and nearly split him in half. The bodyguard did not expect such a tiny foe had this much power. As a bodyguard, the opponents he faced are less varied than a warrior and he did not experience fighting a brute-type gnome before.
The dwarves and gnomes are not cousins for nothing.
Fortunately, Boink is an expertly fighter himself and he deftly defended, but the immense blow still caused both his hands to be numbed.
His opponent is undoubtedly at Stage 7, equalled to him in overall fighting ability but superior in terms of strength.
However, before anyone can react, Kairos kicked his target away and using the rebound he switched over and took the axeman’s head with a single slash.
It was a swift execution, as if Kairos planned to kill him from the start.
In fact, his sword left an unbroken u-shaped tail of light showing that cutting down both gnomes were one slash not two.
As Kairos slide past the headless gnome, he twisted his body to face his opponents.
By now, everyone had entered the fray.
While a few of the gnomes are still taken by the surprise, Kairos shouted a swift command, “Northern Star Array! Kill the blue shirt gnome!”
Without hesitation, the group flew into formation and lashed out as a team on the unfortunate gnome wearing blue who was also the most oblivious to this sudden attack.
This gnome is the leader of this small group. At the edge of entering Stage 8, he is the strongest of the group.
He was the one who kidnapped a few young gnome children, drugged them into semi-consciousness, and waited here for the targets.
Anyone seeing tired children and grandparents would let down their guards.
Although he do not think he can kill an Omega-level threat by himself, but with the element of surprise he can fulfil their mission of separating Kairos’ group – or even deal a blow to them.
Sadly, he did not account for Kairos’ sudden attack and was facing away at the time of attack.
In the time to blink just once, the third gnome – and leader of the group - was killed.
“The one in grey!”
This time the gnome wearing grey responded. He took out a spell crystal and crushed it between his fingers. Instantly, he was wrapped by an arcane rope and pulled towards safety.
Yet, it wasn’t enough to save him, as Kairos’ group covered every retreat and hacked him down in mid-air.
The potency of his arrays is tremendous even here on the Axis.
The members participating in the attack felt as though they had become a gigantic hand that toyed with their targets while the gnomes they are attacking are red berries being plucked.
What happens if a star array is used without Ki to empower it?
Although the northern star array they are using now do not come with the special ability to gather everyone’s power into one member, it helped everyone to move as one.
It was like a combo punch unleashed by an expert boxer.
When someone was attacking, another person is in the position to take over once he is done, and after that, there will be yet another unceasingly.
Of course, the gnomes sent on this operation are professionals with years of teamwork. However, the Northern Star Array is a complicated formation that takes into consideration down to the details of the number of steps and how wide each person’s stride would be during battle.
On Gaia, only cultivators can learn such difficult movements with their improved awareness and comprehensive skills forged by Ki refinement.
On the Axis, naturally, no one besides Kairos and Relestia had these advantages, but the mages of this world are far more skilful than those on Gaia who are used to resolving things with spellpower over techniques.
After all, Gaia had much more mana than Axis Mundi, and the southern mage countries had to protect themselves against armies of superhuman cultivators. Their research into spells are more heavily inclined towards dealing massive destruction than any other branches.
But here… when Kairos raised the need that everyone have to use a battle formation expertly without practice, the spellsinger simply nodded and enchanted their clothing.
Her spell calculated the needed speed, directions, and distance to target then encouraged each person to move accordingly.
That way, they only need to subconsciously adhere to the magic’s encouragement, and then strike at their foes according to situation.
This was the fastest Kairos had seen any group became proficient with one of his arrays.
Granted, they did not need to learn how to cycle their Ki within their meridian channels and this made things simpler.
With three gnomes down just like that, the rest immediately regathered their wits and tried to strike back.
Kairos took one glance and then shouted, “Attack the one in red!”
The gnome wearing red immediately retreated chased by Relestia the little princess, Lulatia the Shield Magus, Clef the Hyena Mage, and Boink the bodyguard.
For some reason, the other gnomes felt a small sense of relief that they are not the next target. It was a foolish thought, but in such an intense situation, their brains sought any forms of relief.
But just as the one in red moved back, he left a teammate in horrible position.
A sword flew straight at the place he just left and rushed past into the forehead of another gnome at the back.
This gnome had been holding the children hostage, thinking he might be able to use them as tokens to get away. He had been pretending as a loving grandfather,
Kairos had been wanting to eliminate him from the start, but regretfully the conniving gnome had a good position behind his teammates.
In the blink of an eye, five targets are down. Only the one in red, the checkpoint officer, two females wearing black and a guy in pink are left.
Though they match the number of fighters on Kairos’ team, they had already lost all of their fighting spirits, and without a leader to command them, their movements were disarrayed even as they tried to flee.
Kairos did not give them any opportunity to run away. Wherever he pointed, Relestia, Boink, Lulatia, and Clef would charge forward and soon all the enemies were taken out.
They looked down at the aftermath. The weapons scattered across the floor show that everything was a trap to be sprung awaiting them.
At the side, Leo had covered Linda’s eyes and ears, and the little girl obediently waited without trying to peek.
All of them who had fought gnomes before, especially Lulatia and Clef, were astonished by how swiftly and easily the battle ended.
These are not greenhorns waiting to pounce on a newborn goblin but elites handpicked to neutralise an Omega-level threat accompanied by several Alpha-level threats.
Not only are they in disbelief at how smooth things went, they looked at Kairos uncertain how he was sure that the grandparents and even the checkpoint officer were enemies in disguise.
Kairos smiled without explaining.
His Veritable Sight could tell if someone was strong, although not at the level of distinctly knowing the exact power level if his target had been suppressing his strength. Moreover, he can only read energy signatures and not physical qualities like muscle mass – besides no one will purposely bulge their muscles or plant fibres to show off how tough they are.
However, just knowing that this was a group of people with certain strength was inadequate to deduce they are foes.
After all, they could be a bunch of Stage 3 to 5 gnomes that are just passing through.
It was not strange for civilians to be a little stronger and some very ordinary families might be made up with Stage 5 to 8 members, especially for gnomes that prefer gardening and making trades to combat.
But Kairos’ had casted the City Surveillance spell last night. Anyone in and about Blacken Soot City was within his observation range.
Although he named it the ‘City’ Surveillance spell, the range was not limited to one city this time, since the Royal Garden City that is elevated above is close enough.
Kairos had long been aware of the gnomes pouring in since the wee hours since he can even playback to see what went on when he was asleep.
Looking around, Kairos found a storage shed for cleaning tools at the checkpoint. When the rest were wondering if he was going to clean up the evidences of battle, they heard sounds coming from the small compartment and within it, they found the real checkpoint officer.
They looked at Kairos with surprise, thinking that this was the reason he had discovered the enemy’s plot.
To be able to tell this much from so little made all of them even more impressed with their leader than how swiftly he led them to defeat the gnomes.
While they freed the officer and cured the drugged up gnome children, the dwarven guards finally arrived with Sparrow in the lead.
When she saw the corpses, she turned aghast. Not from the gore but because she recognised the gnomes who were killed.
These are all killers, hitmen, and assassins of the highest calibre. Most of them were the top of their generation and came from all walks of life. Their team is only possible because of the longevity of their race. The gnomish government had sought them out through promises and threats and banded them together to form an assassination group called The Reapers - much like the Silent Lambs’ Phantoms and the Saint Empire’s Dark Hall.
As the dwarven princess, Sparrow knows of their existence and grew up hearing their frightful tales.
Whenever she was naughty her grandfather will tell her of the appalling killer gnomes and it will make her immediately remember her manners.
The dwarves are war freaks, highly resilient to all kinds of physical and magical attacks, but this does not make them foolhardy enough to think they are unmatched.
Gnomes are a sentient race of plants while dwarves are born from the belly of a volcano, yet there is a reason why these two races that are so distinctly different are considered cousins.
It’s not because of their origins either, the gnomes’ divine garden and the dwarves’ sacred volcano have nothing to do with each other but an old tale from the beginning of time connected them. During the endless wars of the gods the gnomes and the dwarves were fighting for their creators turned to each other in a bid to survive.
The original gnomes are made from wood and water elements while dwarves are made from fire, earth, and metal.
In the five elements of creation, Metal brings water, water nourishes wood, wood raises fire, fire makes earth, and earth births metal.
In difficult times, the two races supplements each other greatly and lets them curb deadly encounters that would exterminate their species individually.
Moreover, the dwarves and gnomes are similar in size, and when in combat, both species show incredible physical strength. The former are naturally endowed, the latter endowed themselves by reverting to their natural plant-forms. It was then that they became close and through magic the two ancient races bound each other as cousins.
But soon they discover that during peace, these two species are full of disagreements, because at the same time, wood absorbs earth, earth covers water, water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, and metal kills wood.
In fact, despite the dwarves having three affinities, the gnomes are usually the ones who starts the conflicts.
Because both of the gnomes’ elements counters the dwarves’ - wood absorbs earth and water extinguishes fire - whereas the dwarves while having equal advantages - earth covers water and metal kills wood – also weaken themselves by having fire melting metal.
In terms of combat potential – whether in brute strength or trickiness - the gnomes do not lose to the dwarves in any way.
Yet, here are a group of gnomes considered to be the most dangerous amongst their kind laying scattered on the ground like insects that had flew into a hurricane.
They looked at Kairos – the target of this assassination group. He patiently waited for the dwarven guards to arrive knowing that an entire race, a whole country, and endless blades are hoping to draw his blood.
Sparrow thought, perhaps he needs their help.
As a friend of the dwarves, Hogard will undoubtedly try to move resources around or even negotiate for Kairos’ sake.
She simply hoped that they will be able to meet his request.
Sparrow quickly went towards Kairos as her team started cleaning up the battle scene.
She waited anxiously for Kairos to bring up the favour he needs, fully prepared to stick out her neck if he needs help.
The dwarven princess gritted her teeth, her hand ready to draw her sword for a friend, then Kairos spoke.
“Princess, can do you me a favour?”
She nodded, a small light of excitement glowed in her eyes.
Sparrow also enjoyed a good fight like any other good ol’ dwarf warmaster.
She is Grade 6 herself and believed to be able to help somewhat. Perhaps Kairos wanted to bring her to charge into the palace of Royal Garden City?
Just thinking about it made her even more exhilarated than before and she bubbled, “Let’s go smash their palace!”
Kairos coughed.
He shook his head and laughed, “I just needed help in taking care of little Linda for a while. We can’t let the child see so much bloodshed.”
Sparrow pouted, “I had been smashing open heads since I was twenty!”
For a dwarf, the age of twenty is similar physical development to a five year old human child. Although, over the twenty years the things she saw will be considerable, her developing brain would not be able to process them at that time.
At the other side Relestia also pouted, “I’m only fourteen but big brother Kairos already brought me here.”
Kairos felt a little embarrassed at what his princess said, but he quickly noticed that the first time he fought for his life it was when he was twelve. Relestia is a year older than he was now.
Behind them, Linda who still had her eyes covered by her father but her ears finally unplugged also shouted, “Unfair! Everyone is leaving me behind? Waaaa… Big brother Kairos doesn’t want to play with me anymore!”
Kairos buried his face in his palm.