As soon as the Revenant had been destroyed, Kari and Lostro had hurled themselves against the two Immortal Goblins, determined to eliminate them in a few blows.

Three of the hooded Immortals were engaged in battle against the Formations controlled by Orma's warriors at the Tenth Phase. Crispio, Big, Nelia, Roxy and Guiccia. Each of them was doing their best to take out Orma's enemies as quickly as possible.

Although the Formations of Orma were very ancient and powerful, the warriors at the Tenth Phase still struggled to keep up with their respective opponents. However, they knew they were already at a disadvantage and were counting on a miraculous victory from Cesar and Aure, who would then help them turn the tide of the battle.

Unfortunately, the two Immortals of Orma, the pillars of the city, were busy against two Immortals each. Kari and Lostro faced Cesar, two hooded figures Aure.

For none of them that confrontation was going to be easy.

Cesar was certainly stronger than Kari or Lostro and would have easily beaten them in a single fight, but he would hardly have been able to neutralize them both at the same time.

Aure, for its part, by attacking with experience and trying to limit the damage, had created a stalemate.

It was Cesar who had to tip the balance.

Once more, the whole of Orma bore down onto his shoulders. It wasn't going to be easy, but he couldn't afford to lose.

A King never loses. A king cannot bow, he cannot surrender. If the King of Orma had been defeated, his people would have been brought to their knees with him. And a King is nothing without his people.

A King who surrender is nothing.

How many times had Cesar heard the tales of the great ones who had been on his throne before him… The King of Orma felt a responsibility coming from ancient times, able to transcend the boundaries of his present kingdom and invest it with an unparalleled dignity.

When those legendary figures had reigned over Orma, the walls of Orma had always been protected and had stood for centuries. There were certainly few Immortals in the city, but that didn't make a difference.

Orma was the Immortal city for the Goblin people.

Of all the Goblin populations, theirs was certainly one of the most advanced on the planet, if not the most advanced. They had developed crafts and arts that ordinary humans considered superfluous. The residents of Orma immersed their minds from an early age in painting, sculpture and study; the Royal Library could be considered one of the greatest cultural hubs in existence.

Only Driana's immense library could totally outshine Orma's. Cesar had seen an expanse of shelves filling rooms, halls and corridors and was amazed, so much so that he did not realize what was around him.

In fact, there was a small prohibition that prevented him from returning to it for his whole life.

Cesar often regretted never having taken an interest in culture at a young age and now, when he would have given anything to hold an ancient tome, Immortals far more powerful than himself were on guard in Driana's library to prevent him from crossing the threshold in every way.

But was it his fault that, falling asleep from boredom, he had almost set fire to half the library by overturning an Infinite Brazier?

Okay, maybe yes.

But it was too late now, the damage was done. Perhaps it was precisely that accident that spurred Cesar to become more interested in knowledge and study. And the prohibition that hung over his head had prompted him to greatly increase the already imposing Library of Orma.

What had all that effort been worth if it was all at stake now? At any moment, everything could have been destroyed by such insignificant beings as the Undead and the Trolls. Yet the survival of the entire city was at stake.

Kari fired a black beam from his hands, forcing Cesar to dive in mid-air.

Skill Activated:

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Wild Sledgehammer

Lostro suddenly appeared in front of Cesar, waving a huge iron club. Although the Troll already possessed a considerable size, his weapon was at least two meters high and at its end stretched a heavy metal sphere, studded with spikes and with a diameter of at least a meter.

Cesar crossed his arms in front of his head to block the blow. He thought his body was tough enough to withstand such a blow, but he was wrong. He was thrown against the wall of the Colosseum. The King of Orma felt the metallic taste of blood hit his tongue. He swallowed it and assumed his attack position.

Victory was farther and farther away.

The coordination between Kari and Lostro wasn't incredible or invincible, but their combined attacks were enough to put Cesar in a tight corner.

Kari didn't think twice about attacking. Before Cesar could make any move, the Undead appeared behind him, two black spheres in his hands. The King feared those two spheres more than any stab in the centre of the chest: Kari was a skeletal Undead, capable of summoning powerful Malus; if one of those spheres had even touched Cesar, his body would have been invaded by an indefinite number of curses.

Cesar tried hard not to be touched by Kari's attack, but he couldn't dodge yet another blow from Lostro.

The Troll's elbow hit him in the shoulder this time, making him spin in the air. With a roar and a shock wave, Cesar managed to stop shortly after and counterattack by surprise. With disarming speed, Cesar created a Mana blade with which he tried to stab Lostro. However, the combined attacks of the two enemy Immortals and the hardness of the Troll's skin meant that the only result of that blow was a shallow cut on the Troll's chest, which quickly healed.

Now, the King of Orma had an accelerated heartbeat and was beginning to pant.

Winning against those two was not going to be easy. Fighting together, Kari and Lostro had been able to create openings in Cesar's defences and use their strengths to hit his weaknesses.

But Cesar had a dormant force, which was hidden in the depths of his chest: it was a force that came from the responsibility of defending each of his subjects, every citizen of Orma, every living being who had spent his life in the alleys of the city and in the shadow of the imposing Colosseum.

The King's eyes suddenly turned golden as an ancient and terrifying power made its way inside his body.

An impressive Aura hit Kari and Lostro, who were speechless.

"What the hell is that?" Kari cursed. The Undead had long foretold victory over Orma's two great Immortals. He had organized their defeat down to the smallest detail, recruiting enough talent and such a large number of Immortals that he could easily beat them, Cesar and Aure, the traitor, and destroy all of Orma.

But suddenly fifteen Immortals had vanished, thus delaying the elimination of those present in the arena, and now Cesar showed that he possessed a power of which none of them was aware.

A golden aura covered Cesar's body. The Mana that sprang from the void and enveloped his body seemed very ancient and precious.

Lostro frowned: "He's using a Forbidden Skill."

Usually, with the transition to Immortality, it was necessary to abandon the old Skills, which became too weak for the newly acquired constitution. Since the meridians of an Immortal were different from those of a warrior in the Tenth Phase, without guidance or without insights it would have been nearly impossible to develop or evolve Immortal Skills.

This meant acquiring and mastering new Skills and adapting them to one's strength. Because of this, both Kari and Lostro didn't have any Skills that were really powerful.

Only a people with a very ancient history or an unprecedented talent would have retained Skills even after passing to Immortality.

But Cesar was the heir of generations of kings, of incredible governments and of arts matured in the course of millennia and Orma was among the most ancient and venerable cities of the continent; despite what Humans had always believed about Goblins, they were not barbarians without reason, but a refined, evolved and compact people.

So compact, even Aure had decided to betray himself to remain faithful to Orma.

The heroism of these characters clashed with the animal-like figure burned into the minds of mere Humans, who thought that confining Goblins to a city-state made them caged beasts.

But wasn't it they, the Humans, who were slaves to something more elusive and deceptive than the walls that surrounded Orma?

The vigour that ran through Cesar's limbs did not belong only to him.

Skill Activated:

Mos Maiorum

Each time your limbs will move, they will be worthy of the strength that is hidden within you, the strength of the people you have supported, which you will hold and hold and sustain as long as Orma has life.

You belong to the people.

The solemn words of the kings of Orma began to pour into his mind, exactly as they had on the day of his coronation.

Being the King of Orma meant more than just wearing a crown. The power of the Goblins was also in their union and in their loyal to a single and imperishable ideal: never kneel before the enemy.

Before the public coronation, a secret ceremony took place in the catacombs of Orma, during which the new King obtained Skills that were transmitted from ruler to ruler and that would make him the protector of all the Goblins of the capital. Once the sacrament was received, his life was consecrated to Orma.

And if this ceremony hadn't taken place, Orma's power would have weakened tremendously. Aure himself had repeatedly feared that even if he killed Cesar, he would not be crowned according to the Goblin tradition. If that were the case, it would go against everything he believed in and make his life a useless waste.

Looking at golden threads covering Cesar's legs, arms and chest, Aure was once again convinced that his choice had been right. No one could have protected Orma better than his current king.

The golden threads that had wrapped Cesar had melted into a solid gold armour. In the King's right hand, a guardless sword appeared in a flash of light, the apotheosis of what a weapon could be; to his left forearm was anchored a shield that seemed indestructible, an impenetrable wall.

The King of Orma grabbed the power his ancestors had lent him and made it his own.