As the Legion trudged forwards inexorably, the monkey finally got off of his throne. Reaching up to the heavens with one of its arms, it brought its hand down towards the Legion. There was a deafening roar from beyond the edge of the circle, and a trio of dragons sped out of the sky like rockets, swooping down towards the soldiers. Each of them aimed for a different area, with the largest targeting Johannes.

Johannes flicked the blood off his blade, and planted his feet, before slamming his fist into the dragon’s chin as it came down. That was enough to shift its course slightly, and Johannes opened up its belly with his sword as it passed by, using its own momentum against it. The monster crashed to the ground, spilling its entrails out all over the earth. Johannes then flicked the blood off his sword, and sheathed it again.

The other dragons carried off a dozen Legion soldiers each, but Johannes did not seem to care. The Legion commander started striding towards the monkey, who bared its fangs, and advanced. Sam and the others were going to get left behind at this point. The monsters ahead of them were blocking the path to the center of the area with their titanic clash, and the real battle was about to go down. If they didn't do something, then they would lose their chance to get the staff. As Sam agonized over what to do, Claude put his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“You need to run ahead. Forget about us. We can catch up.”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked. He knew that it was the simple reality, but he felt bad about constantly showing his companions how weak they were.

Claude nodded immediately, grinning.

“Go show those bastards our might. Good luck!”

Claude slapped Sam on the back, and he took off, racing across the arid ground. His feet were like pistons as he ran, and the ground beneath him was turned into a cloud of dust. The five odd miles to the center were eaten up by his feet as he dodged and weaved around nearby monsters.

About halfway there, a large flightless bird squawked at him, and slammed its tail end down in front of him. Sam leaped up into the air, and landed on its back. The creature screeched at him, and then started to gurgle, before expelling a spray of acid towards him. The liquid rolled off its own feathers, but where it touched Sam, it burned. He gritted his teeth and ran up its back before bringing his hammer down on the middle of its spine. The bird crumpled as its back was broken, and it tried to reach him with its neck.

Sam was already gone however, leaving the monster there to be devoured by the others. Everything behind him was devolving into chaos, but he had only one thought in mind. Getting to the staff. The far end of the circular expanse was now divided into distinct areas. The Legion forces were grouped by the far end, fighting off a tide of weaker monsters, the monkey with the staff was making its way across the hard packed earth with purposeful strides, and Johannes was moving to meet it, his massive bulk casting an ominous shadow on the ground. Then there was Sam, running desperately to reach this battle of titans in time. He had no illusions that this was a long shot. Both of his enemies were much higher level than him, and even with all of his advantages, fighting two of them at once would not end in his victory. He would have to do this the smart way.

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"Well, fortune favors the bold and all that. Time to test if that’s true,” Sam thought grimly as he sprinted towards his possible death.

As Sam ran, the figures ahead of him started to come into sharper focus. Johannes was not wearing a suit of black armor, as it had appeared from a distance, but rather a roiling mat of black material that looked as if it was alive. In addition, his sword was not made out of metal, but a shard of some glassy material that seemed to drip blood. As the liquid pooled on the tip and dripped off, it evaporated into nothingness.

The monkey on the other hand was almost exactly as Sam had seen and expected. It was about his height, and dressed in some sort of lamellar plate armor, painted red and gold. In its hand was a nondescript iron staff that seemed to contain a titanic life force within it, as opposed to its appearance. The two fighters were closing in on each other fast, and Sam was going to be left behind at this rate. He was about a mile out at this point, and past the bulk of the monsters. Sam fired off a quick analysis on the monkey, smiling a little as he saw that it was not as powerful as he had feared.

The Sage

Sovereign Ape

Level 83

It was actually lower level than Johannes, but still higher level than Sam, and the Hammerwraith for that matter. It had been more than a week since Sam had fought that particular guardian however, and monsters could level up too. The monkey was surrounded by a host of powerful beasts, which explained the level. Still, it was outclassed by Johannes, who had presumably been funneled power from the weaker members of the Legion to boost his level. Sam could see no other way that the man was that highly leveled.

Sam started to regulate his breathing as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs from running. Seizing control of himself with Girdings of the Arbiter, Sam forced his body to run past its limits, trying as much as he could to mitigate the damage. His Dao energy coursed through him like a tide of fiery red light, stemming some of the damage. By this point however, Johannes had noticed Sam.

“Sam Atlas, I see!" The man’s voice boomed out of the land. It was deep and sonorous, exactly what Sam had expected. “You who have been causing so much trouble for my kin. I have to admit, you're certainly weaker than I had expected, considering all of the tales that have been told to me by my whining subordinates. Your level is pathetic. I hope that you have some hidden strength concealed within you, or this will be a hollow victory.”

"Why don’t you focus on the enemy in front of you, you bastard? Are you really so cocky that you think you can take us both on at the same time?” Sam called out.

“Yes.”