Decisive

The Giant King's greatsword was strange. One half was in the ruinous state of Twilight, while the other was rusted and stained with blood, giving it an air of Iron and Blood.

"Is that..." Truman furrowed his brow, staring at the exaggeratedly long sword, which seemed out of place beside the Giant King's ruinous Twilight.

The moment he saw the greatsword, Truman felt as if it had locked onto him. Its edge made him deeply uneasy, as though it could see through his shortcomings and Weaknesses.

The feeling was familiar. He had sensed it in Medici before, but now it was much stronger.

"Could it be a high-sequence characteristic of the Red Priest, or the Uniqueness?!" Truman drew a sharp breath, uncertain. After all, the aura of decay around the Giant King was far too strong; he couldn't get close.

But one thing was certain: that sword, with Twilight and Iron and Blood coexisting within it, was no ordinary weapon. It was connected to the Red Priest.

"Could the God of War have died at the hands of the Giants?" Truman couldn't help wondering.

"But could that be... the God of Spirits?"

The God of War had been the subordinate god of Vathun, King of Exotic Species. He had died in that war among the Ancient Gods, and by now, no one could even remember his name.

The King of Exotic Species wasn't simply of the Alien Species Pathway. No one knew what characteristics he had devoured, but judging from the God of War, his subordinate god, he had most likely possessed a high-sequence characteristic of the Red Priest Pathway.

During that war among the Ancient Gods, the God of War had fallen, while the God of Spirits had made off with the King of Exotic Species' possessions and vanished without a trace.

All Truman knew was that the God of Spirits had traded with Sasrir for the entire Alien Species Pathway.

Perhaps this connection to the Red Priest had come from the God of Spirits?

But the Ancient God races had fought so savagely over the past several centuries, and countless members of their races had died. All kinds of unexpected things could have happened.

"Characteristics connected to the Red Priest... now that's good stuff!"

"Why wouldn't someone bring me something this good? I've got a piece of the Abomination, too," Truman muttered. But the two Ancient Gods' battle had already begun.

Terrifying thunderbolts split the Twilight and exploded above the Giant King's Court. The Giant King swung his sword and charged, while the Elf King met him with a trident in hand.

Lightning and Twilight swallowed everything. No one could see what was happening inside, and Truman wisely looked away.

Watching a divine battle for too long wasn't necessarily a good thing. A bolt of lightning or a wave of Twilight might come crashing down at any moment.

The battle didn't last long. By the time the thunder began to fade, the Elf King had disappeared.

Had the Giant King gained the upper hand?

Otherwise, with the Elf King's Tyrant temperament, why would he have retreated so easily?

"Twilight and the Red Priest..." Truman faintly thought of a Lunatic from a later age.

But the Giant King hadn't tried to accommodate the thing. He had simply wielded it as a weapon.

After all, if he accommodated another high-sequence characteristic from a different Pathway, the Giant King would only grow even madder. He wouldn't be able to suppress his urge to destroy.

"Looks like the Giant King has some confidence in daring to work with the Ancient Sun God."

Watching the Twilight recede once more, Truman gained a clearer picture of the Giants' current strength.

Then it would come down to what each side could do...

Boom!

The Elf King returned to the Elf King's Palace and took his seat upon the divine throne.

"You went to the Giant King's Court?" Queen of Calamities Cohinem asked.

"I taught Aurmir a lesson!" the Elf King snorted.

The elf attendants in the palace all lowered their heads. They could tell that the Elf King's words didn't tell the whole story.

The next moment, slick tentacles began slapping at the air, bright Lightning Snakes flickering around them.

"Aurmir has grown even stronger!" Only after the attendants had left the palace did the Elf King speak of the battle's outcome.

"The Giants are still contacting secret human organizations. Harvest and Dawn are leading them," Queen of Calamities said, her face troubled.

"Humans? You mean that sun!" The Elf King's voice boomed like thunder. "Is it Dream?"

Queen of Calamities nodded coldly, then said, "We can't let them join forces."

"Contact Gregrace. She doesn't need to believe us. Just tell her about Aurmir's little schemes!"

"And we'll get ready to deal with the humans and the sun!" Cohinem was decisive, quickly settling on their opponents.

"Good! I've never liked that sun! If I didn't always feel like eating that dragon whenever I saw him, I would've teamed up with him to attack the sun long ago!" Thunder crackled across the Elf King's body. He looked ready to charge over there without a second thought.

"Ankewelt..." Cohinem fell silent for a moment before deciding, "We don't need to worry about him. This time, we only need to demonstrate our dominion over the seas, rivers, and lakes. That will be enough to make the humans wary!"

"Strike fast and finish it!"

At that moment, Cohinem seemed more like the ruler of the Elves than ever, with ample determination and reason.

"Have the God of Beauty and the God of Fortune lead the Sanguines and Elves who've pledged themselves to us in holding back the Giant Race. You will bring down a calamity upon the humans!"

The Elf King was short-tempered and couldn't bear to wait. He immediately issued the divine oracle.

"War again?" The God of Fortune was deeply reluctant. If he could help it, he would never get caught up in a battlefield, especially when this time they might face the Sun God's faction.

For several centuries, he had felt uneasy around that Dream Angel holding a book. He had never felt such dread, not even when facing an Ancient God!

"What is that thing, anyway?!" The God of Fortune left his palace helplessly. As one who sought the Elf King's protection, there were some things he simply had to do.

He used his luck, hoping to avoid running into that "Monster" again.

"Hm?" Far away in the Giant King's Court, Truman suddenly felt a strange sensation and muttered, "It seems something is interfering with me."

"Is it that Snake of Mercury?" Truman quickly recognized the familiar feeling from his memories.

"He's the Elf King's subordinate god!" Truman narrowed his eyes, growing more and more suspicious.

"Buzz!"

Information flashed across the Robe of the Sage he was wearing. The prophecy had been triggered.

Truman closed his eyes and sank into the prophecy.

A bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, and Truman saw a human city-state. Beyond it rose a colossal tsunami, hundreds of meters high!

Wind and thunder roared. The enormous waves churned, and the whole world trembled!

The city-state looked pitifully small before the towering waves. It wouldn't stand a chance.

"The Elves are going to attack the humans?!" Truman jolted awake from the prophecy.

"The Elves are going to make everything clear and bring it out into the open." Truman immediately realized what the Elf race was planning.

"If they do that, all the Ancient Gods might start moving."

How decisive... Truman secretly praised them. This probably wasn't the Elf King's idea. He was known for his hot temper; perhaps he would have preferred to fight the Ancient Sun God instead?

"Queen of Calamities, Cohinem!"