Chapter 1029 - 1029: Machine god
“Exactly. So… should we learn sword intents?”
Evan asked while parrying an axe blow from a hulking enemy, his tone as relaxed as if they were talking about lunch.
To his question, Arthur chuckled, crushing a charging soldier mid-step with a burst of gravity magic while responding.
“I mean, why not? I wouldn’t mind adding that to the arsenal.”
The teen progenitor shot a glance at Evan before slipping past a flurry of arrows raining down around them.
Evan’s eyes lit up as he spun to evade a spear thrust, then, cleaved through two attackers in his path in one fluid motion.
“Not gonna lie, I really want to learn sword intents. The stuff they can pull off in those Manhuas is insane.”
Arthur laughed in response, raising a hand to stop a volley of spells in mid-air before redirecting them.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Right as he spoke, both leapt at the same time, dodging a shockwave that tore through the ground. Landing smoothly, they continued cutting through enemies like they were on autopilot.
Evan then glanced at Arthur, a bit more thoughtful.
“But before I’m certain Jamie’s found the planet I’m thinking of, I’ve gotta ask you something.”
Arthur, finishing off a group of soldiers with a wave of destruction energy, nodded in response.
“Shoot.”
Evan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Your mother’s a Leviathan devil, right?”
Arthur’s brow raised slightly, but he answered without issue.
“Uh-huh.”
At his response, Evan’s eyes narrowed as he pieced together the rest of Conroe’s words.
‘If that’s the case, it should be Arthur, right?’
He opened his mouth to confirm his thoughts but suddenly froze, his body tensing.
Thanks to the release of his Vision Seal’s First and Second Layers, Evan had regained a portion of his Deity Soul’s power, significantly expanding his senses.
Those heightened senses picked up on the multiple Deity-Level existences gazing at Waregough—as well as the one that had now locked onto him and Arthur.
Arthur sensed it too, his gaze flicking toward the moon above them.
“Jamie, is that you?”
Responding to his question was a message materializing before them.
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ says that he is, in fact, NOT Jamie.]
“A wild McEnda appeared!”
Arthur exclaimed in mock surprise, while Evan sighed, shaking his head as he casually froze another group of soldiers in place.
“I think you’re the only person who can use the word ‘wild’ when referring to a Demon King.”
Arthur shrugged, blasting an enemy apart with destruction energy before addressing McEnda II.
“How are you, Senior McEnda? Came to check on your son? He’s on the other side of the island, though.”
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ says he was inspecting the battle as expected of a Demon King supervising Aramis.]
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ says he noticed you two strolling through the battlefield like it’s a casual walk and wonders what exactly you’re up to.]
To any eyes from above, Arthur and Evan’s leisurely walk through the city would undoubtedly draw attention.
Even while momentarily pausing to read the message, they hadn’t stopped killing anything that got too close.
On a side note, Arthur had been deliberately avoiding Legendary Realm enemies, leaving them for Evan to finish off and absorb the precious EXP.
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ questions why you aren’t actively participating in the battle.]
Arthur waved dismissively, disintegrating a wave of attackers as he resumed walking.
“Oh, we’re headed to where Ger’s disciple is. In the meantime, we’re talking about power-levelling Evan here.”
He gestured toward Evan, who casually cut down a mounted knight charging at them.
“But anyway, McEnda, do you know of any dungeons, dimensions, planets, realms, whatever, that give extra EXP so we can toss Evan into there to power level him?
He levels four times faster than usual, so…”
Evan didn’t react to Arthur casually revealing his enhanced levelling speed. He expected McEnda II to already know.
When Alvey had reported Evan’s arrival on Aramis back in March, Evan was Level 576. Now, he was over Level 700, so it was obvious something was extraordinary about his levelling speed.
The thought made Evan take a brief moment to reflect on how much he’d grown.
‘Wait a sec…it’s August, and I got here in March!’
He’d only been on Aramis for four months, but with how packed his days had been, it felt like years had passed.
“Come to think of it, When I arrived there four months ago, I was level 576. As we speak, I am level 760—”
[Level Up]
“—761.
In the span of four months, I went from 576 to 761. I’ve gained nearly 200 levels in four months. Almost 200 levels!”
Arthur glanced over, quickly running the numbers in his head.
“185, to be exact.”
“Doesn’t matter. In the entire year before I got here, I only gained 76 levels, and that was due to me being busy as fuck and having to travel to a different country almost every week.
Now, in just four months, I’ve gained nearly 200 levels.
I have killed more things in the past 4 months than I have in the past 4 years!
It’s kind of mind-blowing when I think about it.”
Arthur paused at Evan’s words, skimming through his own memories and realising he wasn’t so different.
“Turns out I’m the same. I have killed more things in the 9 months here on Aramis than in the past 9 years of my life.
Heck, more than my entire life before Aramis.”
Thinking back to the Aramisian bases he’d wiped out, and the thousands who had fallen to his AOE attacks, Arthur knew it wasn’t an exaggeration.
Arthur had never been the type to worry about his surroundings in a fight, and in war, collateral damage was inevitable. Even demons had fallen to his attacks when they strayed too close to the action.
It made sense that he’d taken more lives on Aramis, after all, Aramis was a warzone, something he had never experienced in the Hell Universe.
He’d slain thousands of high-level enemies, and that was one of the main reasons his power had skyrocketed.
In a universe where experience points dictated growth, Arthur’s accumulated EXP was immense. The same went for Evan.
“Damn. First, I fought that Forsaken Divine…”
Evan’s mention of ‘Forsaken Divine’ had Arthur momentarily confused, but Evan didn’t elaborate and kept going.
“And then on Plomux, I just let loose and turned everything in my sight to EXP. I also participated in the subsequent battles in the next week.
And then we fought Idrilla.”
At that, Arthur nodded in understanding.
“She’s the reason you shot up close to the Legendary Realm.”
“Exactly. She was higher level than me—Level 750—but thanks to Artemisia’s buff that brought me to 700, I managed to hold my own. She wasn’t much of a fighter herself, more of a summoner and necromancer, but she was still way stronger than me. I landed the final blow.”
The fight against Idrilla was one Evan was very grateful for. He did wish her ‘Graveyard of My Enemies’ Adversaries’ was a ‘Skill’ that he could copy.
‘Idrilla’s ability would be perfect against High-Ranked Demons who’ve killed innumerable people for EXP…’
The thought momentarily crossed his mind as he continued talking.
“Then I killed two of those four guards in Iklaque, and the Chief Priest—that’s what finally pushed me past level 700.
After that, we ended up on Gozon and because of that, we ended up in those three worlds, Olrerth, Hollora, and Toverus.
And uh… we don’t need words to explain what we did on those three worlds.”
Arthur chuckled at Evan’s conclusion but couldn’t disagree.
On those worlds—especially the first and third—they had been nothing short of a force of destruction.
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ confirms that the islands Evan left in flames are still burning, or at least, what remains of them is still burning.]
[The ‘Demon King of Corrosion’ questions if you used his Blessing.]
“Ah, yeah. Your DoT was good.”
Evan replied casually, while Arthur—unfamiliar with the ‘Blessing’ in question—turned his attention back to the approaching Aramisian platoon.
“Really has been a long ride, huh? Of the 20 years I’ve lived, these last four months have been the craziest by far.”
When Evan said this as he wiped out a group of enemy summons, Arthur glanced at him briefly before shrugging and pressing forward.
He already knew Evan was older than his appearance would suggest, and that his status board reflected his body’s age, not his soul’s.
Technically, Arthur was the youngest between him, Evan, and Jamie, but right now, that detail didn’t matter right now.
Their target was finally in sight, after all.
Arthur summoned his semi-transparent sword, channelling dense temporal and destructive energy into the blade before thrusting it forward.
“Extreme Nothingness.”
A purple-silver beam tore through the battlefield, annihilating everything in its path. The Administrative Compound’s defences crumbled, Aramisians disintegrated, and Divine Humans scattered in panic like headless chickens.
Evan dashed ahead, hunting down any Level 700+ enemies to fuel his growth, while Arthur down the Sovereign and Legendary Realm guards that remained to defend Kalon since the Transcendent Divine Humans and gods were occupied battling the High-Rank Demons and Dark Dragons.
Nothing below Transcendence posed a threat to the current Arthur, so the guards perished the moment they encountered him.
The Cycle of Reincarnation would surely be overwhelmed with an influx of damaged souls today.
At last, they reached their target.
Ger’s disciple, Kalon, appeared barely older than twenty, his fingers pressed against his temples as if trying to suppress unbearable pain.
His bunker had been breached, his guards lay dead, and space around the entire Archipelago was sealed, preventing any teleportation.
Even his undersea escape route was useless, as Barron’s Vice Admirals had spread their auras over the ocean surrounding WA-O3, ready to detect even the slightest disturbance.
“Oh, he was a demigod?” Arthur asked aloud.
His words made Kalon lift his gaze, locking eyes with the two masked teenagers before him. Recognition dawned, quickly replaced by fury as he cursed.
“You!” he spat, struggling to his feet. “You’re really going to ruin everything for me here!”
Arthur was about to reply when Kalon staggered back, glowing circuit-like runes appearing on his hands.
Sighting those runes, Evan let out a soft sigh and facepalmed, already knowing what was coming.
‘Unique Skill: Machine god,’ he thought.
Before Arthur could even analyse what the runes were about, Kalon extended his palms outward and bellowed, just as Evan had predicted.
“Unique Skill—Machine god!”
The atmosphere shifted as metal law energy surged through the building. Machinery, broken or intact, responded instantly, tearing free from their stations and swirling around Kalon in a storm of mechanical debris.
Since this location was linked to one of the Fake Divine factories, it was abundant with machine components for him to draw upon.
Floating at its centre, Kalon’s body absorbed the metal, fusing with it as his Unique Skill took effect.
The factory floor trembled as larger machines were consumed, their grinding echoes filling the air. From his Inventory, Kalon summoned pre-prepared components, seamlessly integrating them into the ever-growing construct.
In mere seconds, the raw materials reshaped, bending to the will of Metal and Creation laws Kalon commanded.
A humanoid outline formed—first the legs, then the torso, powered by a massive divinity crystal at its core. The arms followed, each equipped with deadly weapons.
Once the last of the surrounding machinery was absorbed, the full extent of Kalon’s skill was finally revealed to the two boys.
A towering mech, 10 meters tall, loomed over Arthur and Evan, its metal frame reflecting the surrounding flames of destruction.
Jet boosters flared to life on its back, and a humming divinity blade materialized from its right hand. Its left hand transformed into an energy shotgun, while missile compartments on its armoured shoulders clicked open, primed to fire.
Evan’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at the mech, his expression mirroring that of a child who had just seen their favourite toy.
‘This…looks like it’d be fun to beat up!’
That crazy thought crossed Evan’s mind as he raised his hand and stopped Arthur who was about to end the mech in an instant.
“Arthur. Leave this guy to me.”