Chaos Heir

Chapter 1578: Rhythm

Needless to say, the giant tree didn’t just watch the interaction. The elderly King’s companion’s blinding attacks had prevented him from continuing his offensive, but that moment was over.

Ilman was still outside the barrage of roots, meaning it was time for the crown to attack. The vast array of thick branches that created a vast blemish in the otherwise spotless white sky trembled, and all hell broke loose.

A storm of warning signals immediately rang in Ilman’s brain, but he recognized those familiar sensations in his perception. After all, that wasn’t his first time facing the branches’ prowess. The destroyed ground all around Ilman proved as much.

Nevertheless, Ilman switched tactics now. He had focused on dodging earlier, unsure about what his new state was capable of, but the time for hesitation was no more.

Ilman didn’t need to lift his red gaze to track what was raining down on him. The air had twisted beyond recognition as countless shockwaves flew toward the ground, intent on eradicating the whole area and him with it.

The mass of incoming shockwaves was so widespread that anyone facing it would only have three options. Rushing out of its range, facing it with a similarly big spell, or diving into the barrage of roots. Yet, Ilman didn’t do any of that.

The King’s strategy was evident but perfect. Ilman had figured it out immediately. The alien could continue attacking without ever exposing itself, and that world of True Chaos was bound to favor him in a prolonged battle.

Running away wouldn’t solve anything since the gargantuan tree could follow after Ilman and force him to face its vast crown again.

Facing the shockwaves directly would be foolish, too. Even if Ilman did have something as vast as the incoming offensive, the branches above would send more volleys in the meantime, making him lose any initiative he could hope to gain.

Diving into the array of roots sounded like the only real option, but anyone could see it for the trap that it was. The deadly aura that enveloped that whole intricate barrage had been enough to keep Ilman away. Chances were that was the King’s offense’s best aspect.

And yet, Ilman had to go there, just not immediately. There was little initiative to be gained in that predicament, but he could probably work something out. He actually was the perfect man for the job.

Despite talking like an idiot and acting like one, too, Ilman was far from stupid. His personality left much to be desired, and he rarely had the opportunity to show it, but he was a true genius among his generation. Liiza was better, but he stood up there with her.

That talent didn’t only apply to mere battle prowess. Ilman was a true Niqols, with few truer than him. His real skills lay with all the mana-related fields, and perception was one of them.

The incoming, vast volley of shockwaves resembled a stormy sea in Ilman’s perception, but his brain could spot a rhythm to that chaos. He also felt the ground under his feet, its density and durability, almost predicting how it would shatter once the attack crashed on it.

Then, that twisted air came crashing down, and the whole area rose into a mess of shattering chunks of black ground that exploded outward. A storm of debris filled the sky and raged everywhere as the surface plummeted.

It was chaos that expanded far and wide, but the giant, elderly face only had eyes for the far tinier figure inside that mess of debris. At least, the King should have done that, but he couldn’t find Ilman anymore.

That was shocking, to say the least. Ilman was truly tiny compared to the tree, but sizes had little meaning at that level. Evolved warriors were literal masses of incredible power, so it was theoretically impossible to lose track of them, especially with so much True Chaos in the area.

Yet, that was exactly what happened. Ilman was just gone, as if the crashing shockwaves had killed him on the spot.

As much as the King would love for that outcome to be real, he didn’t let down his guard. His eyes kept scouring the environment, his perception expanded, and more of the area melted into smoke that converged toward his roots, giving him more energy.

The absorption affected the storm of debris. Chunks of that shattered soil turned into raw True Chaos that flowed toward the gargantuan tree, wanting to empower him while clearing the area, but Ilman remained nowhere to be found.

Then, something touched the King’s perception, only for that sensation to come from the very opposite side of where his giant eyes were pointing. Yet, his huge face promptly dived into the tree, vanishing to reemerge on the other end of the trunk, only to witness something incredible.

A dark figure that radiated red shades darted all over the barrage of roots, incredibly fast but also strangely silent. Ilman used those thick protuberances as footholds, even releasing quite a decent amount of power to cross vast distances with mere leaps, but the King had somehow only noticed him now.

As for how, the elderly King quickly figured it out, but he couldn’t believe his eyes or senses. His roots never stopped moving, going up and down, digging through and rising from the ground, and Ilman had somehow flowed alongside that momentum to hide his steps.

Needless to say, that was impossible. There were too many roots with countless twists and turns, each moving independently. Ilman couldn’t have found a pattern, either, because there wasn’t any.

That meant that Ilman had basically chosen right until now, perfectly adjusting the strength behind his leaps with the roots’ moves, creating a nullifying effect that hid his aura.

The vast distance Ilman had crossed unnoticed also made his feat incredible, and the King was forced to acknowledge that he was one second too late.

Under the King’s will, the roots tensed and changed their rhythm, but Ilman somehow reacted to that sudden event. The red glow radiated by his eyes rose as he looked up, pointing it at the huge face that had appeared on his side of the trunk, only for his figure to disappear again.

However, that disappearance was far from graceful now. A roar ran through the air as a violent force pushed countless roots aside, snapping many of them.

That disappearance also wasn’t factual. The King could keep track of Ilman now. The latter was just too fast for the alien to do anything about it.

So, Ilman reached the trunk’s base with that mighty, final leap, delivering what looked like a simple palm strike that made that gargantuan, mountain-like tree bend.