The crowd’s cheering died down quickly. They saw Kiefer’s armour turn instantly from black to white. However, both of the contestants were just standing still. Gale was muttering a really long spell incantation while Kiefer just stood motionless, staring at Gale. It was as if time was frozen itself, as everyone stopped to carefully watch what was about to go down on the other side of the ice barrier.

Then, there was a minute movement within the audience. Isana and Sher took out what looked to be a blacksmith’s shield mask to protect their eyes from blinding lights during work. The 2 ladies casually put it on their head and swung the face shield down, still looking at the arena.

*BBBZZZZZZZNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!*

A deafening roar blasted through the arena as a blinding yellow/orange beam tore through the clouds from the heavens, landing dead center in the arena where Gale once stood. The beam bore through the ground, creating a small lake of magma. However, no one could see it as everyone had shut their eyes and shielded their faces from the beam’s descent.

The blinding light which came to be known as ‘heaven’s smite’ lasted for 2 whole minutes, melting all the snow within the arena. The audience could feel the heat, even behind Isana’s ice barrier. The beam cleared away as quickly as it arrived, leaving a pool of molten magma deep below ground inside the 100m deep hole that now took the place of the beam.

The once cloudy sky was clear blue, without a single speck of snow within the air while the heat from the beam lingered around the arena. As everybody reopened their eyes to find out what they missed, they saw only one man standing in the arena – the victor of the duel and culprit behind this massive destruction on a scale never seen before.

Gale’s squad of genius mages did not even have time to react, much less respond to the incredible attack spell that the enemy had just cast. As everyone stared at the hole in shocked silence, Kiefer removed his helmet and faced the MC of the arena.

“Hey shouldn’t you be announcing the results?” he yelled, waving his hand in front of his nose to fan away the pungent smell of molten and vaporised magma.

“Ah… AH! Yes of course!” The MC replied, having been brought back to reality after the shocking scene. “T- the winner of this duel! Kiefer from Mutatis city!” He announced, his voice sounding throughout the arena.

Unexpectedly, everyone simply stared at the monster in front of them, not a single member of the audience applauding or cheering. The fight started interesting, but ended so abruptly they did not know how to feel. What’s worse was that none of them caught the finishing move, closing their eyes from the blinding light that descended upon the arena.

“Arthur!” Kiefer yelled facing the special seats reserved for Arthur and Aria. “With this, I presume you will stay true to our agreement and grant me authority over all the lands that Alluviate once owned?” he yelled out.

King Arthur looked at the gaping hole in the ground where his brother was standing just moments ago, then turned his gaze to the monster responsible for the destruction. He never had the intention to go back on his word, but seeing this monster, he knew he wouldn’t be able to even if he wanted. The might that this man possessed was simply too great. It was no wonder the titans were gathered around him. Only someone who could rival the titans in power would be able to gain their approval.

Looking back at Kiefer, he nodded firmly, before standing and announcing out loudly. “From this day forth, as per our prior agreement and under my authority as King of Alluviate, Lord Kiefer of Mutatis city shall be granted ownership of all land territory within Shearwood province! Alluviate shall be ruled as per Mutatis laws and she shall be a subordinate city to Mutatis! However, I am still the leader of Alluviate and I assure you I will make sure your lives will be pleasant and unaffected to the best of my abilities.”

Kiefer smiled, looking at all the stunned faces of the audience. Then, he took out a small red and silver device from his PD and attached it to his ear. “Rashael, move to phase 2” he whispered. Immediately, as if there had not been enough surprised for one day, a giant hawk made of pure white light shot up through the ground from below the arena.

The hawk was slightly smaller than Isana’s dragon form, and had an aura that looked both intimidating and soothing. The sharp beak and pointed talons made it look like an apex predator, while the soft feathers and the warm soothing pulsating glow from the body seemed to calm the mind and soul of anyone who looked at it.

Rashael flew high up above the arena, made a loop around the sky and descended back towards the arena, stopping and hovering above the audience without flapping his wings. Then soft white mists extended from the tip of his wings, swirling and approaching the gaping hole that Kiefer had left in the ground. The mists slowly combined from both wing tips, forming a small orb of light that grew in size. The orb eventually grew larger and changed shape, forming what looked like a man in foetal position on the ground. Finally, the warm light shattered, revealing a certain Gale Reyzwald awakening from his slumber.

Arthur’s eyes widened at the sight of his once dead brother, quickly rushing down to the arena to confirm what he was seeing. Gale was struggling to stand, but managed to prop himself up on his feet with the help of his mage squad. Rahsael meanwhile, had shrunk down from his bird form into his human form, winking as Arthur rushed past him. He then joined Isana, Sher and Feir amongst the audience to let everyone know that he too was a titan that was part of Kiefer’s party.

“What happened… I – I thought I died…?” Gale asked, still groggy and unclear of his own condition.

“Yes you died. That’s for sure. I killed you, a little too quickly if I might add. I told you to try to last a little longer.” Kiefer replied, walking up to his opponent.

“Gale! Is it really you?!?” Arthur cried, rushing forwards, brushing past Kiefer and hugging his brother.

“Yes Arthur. It’s me. Though I don’t understand what is going on.” Gale replied, turning to face Kiefer now.

At this point, Kiefer was grinning, ecstatic that his plan was executed flawlessly. “Well, I said I would kill you didn’t I?” Kiefer asked, pausing unnecessarily before speaking again. “But I did not mention anything about making sure you remained dead.”

“Wha – what have you done!? Are you telling me u summoned me as an undead? That I am your puppet to control?!!” Gale yelled, pushing his brother aside and striding up to Kiefer’s face.

“Show a little more gratitude won’t you?” Kiefer scoffed, “I asked my Rashael to resurrect you from the dead. You are alive and well, not a mere zombie. After I interrogated your son, it would seem that I had a somewhat misguided conception of your character. You were merely defending your son back in the palace when you attacked me, like any father would. You obviously knew nothing of his untowardly activities involving slave trading. However, the duel was already issued and set so I thought I might as well make full use of this opportunity to showcase a little of my might.”

“So.. so he’s really ok then?” Arthur asked, stuttering in his speech quite unlike a King.

“Yes I assure you your brother is fine and healthy. You can get your healer to confirm his condition. And also, you’ll be glad to know that I decided against killing your nephew, Arthur. Though I might have done so without batting an eye in the past, I reconsidered it, on the account that he is tied to the royal family after all. However, I assure you his punishment is not light and you won’t be seeing him for a long time.” Kiefer added.

By now, the titans were all on the arena walking towards Kiefer. The Mc had announced in the midst of the reunion of the 2 brothers that Gale was resurrected by Rashael. The audience was now cheering at the display of magical prowess by the team from Mutatis. After advising that Gale rest his body, Kiefer assured Arthur that he will be back soon to discuss further changes to the lands around Alluviate. Having said that, Kiefer took to the skies with the titans amidst the loud cheering and screams of the audience.

“So what now?” Rashael asked. “I know you did not create Icarus solely for this measly duel did you?”

“No of course not.” Kiefer replied, sprinting through the air next to the flying titans. Feir copied Kiefer, creating mana footholds as he sprinted alongside. “Now we move on to phase 3.” Kiefer declared, changing directions abruptly towards to sky and beyond the cloud line.

Following Kiefer, the titans were unsure of what phase 3 was. He had yet to tell anyone about it. They had all assumed it the entire plan ended at phase 2. Kiefer opened his PD and took out a huge cylindrical object with one end covered in screw threads.

“That!” Rashael exclaimed, recognising the object instantly. “You sneaky bastard. I never showed you the designs, how did you manage to create it?”

“Well I don’t really need your design now did I? I just copied the idea from your titan laser model and came up with this myself. Besides, it does not serve the same purpose. It has a similar effect to your muzzle attachment, but it is much more effective. Watch.” Kiefer replied gleefully, pulling Icarus down from the skies using his mana ropes.

Within the new muzzle attachment for Icarus was a dispersal unit lined with numerous misted glass mirrors. The attachment was modelled like a wide open cone, with a small ball mirror supported by prongs down the middle, a distance away from the cone. Diffused light exiting the dispersion unit leaves the middle of the cone and reflects off the ball, hitting the mirrored cone which then spreads the light out over a wide area. Kiefer tweaked the power settings on the amplifier module and returned Icarus to the skies.

Finally, descending down onto the snow covered Alluvian plains, Kiefer activated Icarus. Instantly, a warm shower of light rained down upon the entirety of the plains, captivating all that were in the plains within its warm embrace. The snow began to melt and soon, the temperature in the plains was hovering around 25 degrees celcius.

With the snow melted, Icarus revealed a crater filled ground that was moist from the freshly melted snow, forming small puddles in some of the bigger craters.

“This is phase 3 of my plans for Mutatis. With the heat from Icarus, This wide expanse of land will be able to support a lush meadow all year round. I intend to relocate some of the farmers from Alluviate to here so that they can let their animals graze freely. With the supplement of fertilizer and development of infrastructure, this should serve as a center for the agricultural sector that will feed both Mutatis and Alluviate.” Kiefer explained.

“Now to hold a second metals acquisition event. I will get the participants to help level out this field and process it for growing crops and grass.” Kiefer thought internally as he switched Icarus back off. Snow soon began to fall again as temperature dropped steadily back to below zero.

“Hey Kii?” Isana asked, pulling on his sleeve while he was deep in thought. “can I ask a favour of you?”

“Sure of course Sana. You know you don’t have to ask me that. Just tell me what you want.” Kiefer replied, snapping back to reality after thinking too hard about plans for Mutatis.

“Can you build another one of those? Maybe even 2 more? My province is in the far north and it is perpetually winter there. There are a few demi human tribes living there but they have resorted to living underground to avoid the cold. I’ve come to enjoy the hustle and bustle of people and I want to liven up my frozen province too.” Isana asked, hoping it would give her an opportunity to bring Kiefer to her province.

“Hmm.. I can try but it is going to be difficult. I’m running short on orihalcom and mithril after building it. I don’t think I have enough to make even one more. Unless we can find a rich vein to mine, and the manpower to mine them, I think it is not possible. I’m sorry Sana. I can however, move Icarus to the north during other seasons of the year.” Kiefer answered, apologising for his inability to fulfil her wish.

“My province has plenty of metal veins, it’s just too cold to work the mines there. Maybe if we could prospect the ground and mine them, we could get you the materials you need?” Isana suggested, not giving up on the idea.

“That sounds reasonable. I will have to look into that. Rashael can help too. You will, won’t you?” Kiefer threatened, glaring at Rashael who was trying to sneak away underground, not wanting to be caught up in this.

“Haaah…” he sighed, “Fine. But that’s only if you show me the designs for your new muzzle attachment.” Rashael bargained.

“Sure. Why don’t you get started now? Go underground and see what you can find in Isana’s province.” Kiefer ordered, to which Rashael merely grumbled and sank into the ground.

“Thank you Kii!” Isana yelled excitedly, to which Kiefer smiled, dragged her close and kissed her passionately. Sher and Feir looked away in embarrassment as the 2 were embraced by each other.

“Anything for my wife, and my family.” Kiefer replied after pulling his lips away from a madly reddening Isana. “Why don’t we return home first? I’m sure you and Sher have learnt some new dishes, haven’t you?”

Well, this is a short chapter, and no cliffhanger this time. I've had many people ask me where this arc is going since there doesn't seem to be a specific goal, but i assure you this arc is actually heading towards the conclusion and will be longer than the 2 previous ones. You just have to stick with me and wait it out.