Chapter Fifty

Alex gritted his teeth as he stumbled to his feet. He glanced down at his chest to find four deep gashes running downward at any angle from his left pectoral down to the last rib on the right. That cat had sharp claws. Though he supposed he deserved the retaliation.

Light footsteps alerted him to the arrival of another person. He turned, already knowing who it was with the strange sense he had of his new territory.

A woman with shoulder length white hair and brown eyes entered the cavern. Her eyes gravitated to the still bleeding gashes on his chest, but her expression portrayed nothing.

After a quick glance to find they were alone, she came to a conclusion. “Are you sure it was a good idea to expel them?”

While trying to keep the pain off his face, Alex smiled at the woman. “How do you know I expelled them? Maybe they left on their own.”

She raised her eyebrow as she continued. “We could have used them to defend the island. It will be difficult to fend off those who wish to claim the island from you.”

Alex met her eyes. “They have their own role to play, as do we. You will soon find it won’t be as difficult to keep the island. In fact, we might not even have to defend it at all if that massive turtle’s plan goes as planned.”

“Turtle? You mean the turtle with a city on its back blocking our access to the ocean?”

“Yes, though she isn’t blocking the ocean anymore, not that we need to worry about that any longer either way. She contacted me right after the dungeon island challenge ended. Things are about to get interesting. If we don’t want to miss the show, we better find a high vantage point.”

On cue, a muffled explosion vibrated through the cavern, causing them both to sprint outside. Chaos greeted them upon entering the arid jungle clearing. The previously orderly Changed scrambled in random directions, unsure of where to go as loud explosions sounded from all directions.

In the know, Alex opened his leadership interface then sent a command to everyone, ordering them to gather. He didn’t want to risk one of his fellow Changed getting caught in the crossfire. All they had to do was weather the storm. If things went the way the turtle said they would have the island to themselves.

A sudden darkening drew his attention upward, causing his eyes to widen. All he could see was the bottom of a massive turtle, far bigger than what should be possible.

He was glad he didn’t have to face that monster. How could a creature be that big?

Apparently, many shared his thoughts as the explosions silenced for several seconds as the turtle flew overhead. However, they soon resumed this time with a fervor far exceeding the previous volleys.

Distraction over Alex shimmied up a tree, made easier by several deep gouges, probably from a certain feline since he knew they spent time in the area and this was the tallest tree nearby.

His muscles strained, sending a flare of pain from his still open wound, but with a jolt of electricity, he persevered, propelling himself near the top. He straddled a branch as he looked out at the panoramic view before him, breath hitching at what he saw.

The previously orderly encirclement of the island was in disarray. Half the ships were on fire or on their way to the bottom of the ocean. The ones faring the best were in full retreat, scattering in random directions.

What could’ve caused this? He knew from his time under President Burns that Urus couldn’t directly interfere with the Elemental Councils unless a high elemental involved themselves. That didn’t seem to be the case, as he couldn’t spot a high elemental ship nearby.

In case they ran into one during their mission, Donaron drilled into their heads what a ship like that would look like. At best, he spotted several high-ranking ships from the water and lightning elemental councils.

Definitely way more than they could handle, but he had no doubt Urus could destroy them all with a single attack.

A glance at the turtle in question drew confusion. She was just floating above the island, uncaring of the mayhem below. If she wasn’t the one attacking, then who was?

Just as he turned his gaze away said turtle moved, but instead of going toward the battles, she flew to the southwest. The only section of the barricade unaffected by the attacks.

Thrazk stared down at the fleet of ships, excitement bubbling at the thought of the coming battle. Finally, they would strike back at the water elementals after all the years of their underhanded attacks. Every time he tried to organize counterattacks, Urus overruled him, but this time was different. This time, they brazenly conspired to take their dungeon island and endangered their young.

Pot shots at their warriors was one thing, but attacking those who were just starting their journey was just too much. He would teach them the consequences of their actions.

His reptilian eyes surveyed the array of brothers and sisters in arms and in blood, all ready to dole out devastation. A hundred strong, led by the remains of his team when he was no older than those wronged by the elementals.

With a raised fist, he roared, then jumped off Urus’s shell. Ninety-nine more roars joined him, blood thirsty killing intent filling the air as they all plummeted toward the fleet below, unaware of the devastation they would soon face. Unlike the rest of his attack force, who slowed down with the help of Colossus Urus, he raised his war hammer and activated the skill he spent years perfecting just for this occasion.

With a mighty swing, his hammer impacted the deck of the largest ship in the fleet just before he touched down, releasing a shock wave of titanic proportions. The ship below his feet shattered in an instant. Those lucky enough to survive plummeted to the waters below.

Nearby ships didn’t fare much better, several of which met the same fate as the flagship, while others tilted dangerously from the shockwave but righted themselves with the help of their water elemental crew.

Unfortunately for the surviving ships, that was only the opening attack. Groups of ten landed on each of the remaining water elemental ships, releasing their own payloads of magic. Lightning bolts struck masts as fire burned through hulls unbothered by the water splashing on the fire. If anything, the attempts of the water elementals to put out the fires only spread the fire, creating more panic. Many elementals abandoned ship even before said ship was in danger of sinking, preferring their chances in the water.

Within a minute, dozens of ships sunk to the ocean depths as a hundred Chrotile floated on a platform of force created by Colossus Urus.

Temptation sparked to hunt down the fleeing water elementals, but they refrained. They wouldn’t think to their standards. Besides, they needed to leave some alive to spread the word. No one messed with the Chrotile.

Instead, they turned their attention to the remaining fleets, many of which were in full retreat under no illusion they could face the small group capable of destroying an entire water elemental fleet in under a minute.

One such fleet caught their attention as it bore the iconic lightning bolt of the lightning elementals. Unlike the water elementals, the fleet consisted of only five ships, each much smaller than the ships they sent to a watery grave.

Thrazk flashback to a certain the young lightning elemental he’d like to hunt with again, but Colossus Urus’s orders were absolute. They would only attack the water elemental fleet. He just hoped young Elysia would survive to their next meeting. A small scouting fleet like that wasn’t much of a threat, but if a fleet on par with the water elementals found her, she would stand no chance. Though that was based on the Elysia he knew. Colossus Urus seemed confident in Elysia’s chances of survival. Maybe Mezo was more profitable for her than he thought.

His strike team ascended upward back to Colossus Urus’s mighty shell, with Thrazk surveying the devastation they wrought. If young Elysia couldn’t fend off such a fleet, she wouldn’t be a worthy hunting partner. Though if she could, their hunts would be glorious. He couldn’t wait until she grew to the full potential he saw in her. To have such a potent lightning and a blessing even before her second evolution. If she didn’t reach the heights he expected of her, she didn’t deserve her freedom from the elementals.

As soon as they touched down, Urus began to move. A smile formed in anticipation of their next little pit stop before they went on their way.

Green lightning lit up the dark cabin as a man with green hair stared down at a shattered crystal on his desk. As he expected, his latest attempt couldn’t stand up to a higher tier elemental. He put up a fight, but he just wasn’t up to the task. No matter, the next attempt would correct the deficiencies. If only he could get his hands on one of the Arashi twins.

What made them so perfect at such a young age? Every time he tried to create a blood related elemental, they had some deformities. Donaron was close. He nearly matched his own power, but his core was already showing structural issues.

Was an elementally infused being’s core incapable of handling the essence of a highborn elemental? No, that couldn’t be the case. The twins certainly had highborn essence, yet at least one of them started as an elementally infused. Though even then she was no normal elementally infused being. Alex Thompson couldn’t handle her lightning despite out leveling her by over 60 levels. Such a shame on losing Alex. He showed promise. Maybe even enough promise to become his next subject.

The opportunity presented itself he would retrieve him. If nothing else, he made an excellent subordinate, unlike most of his kind.

He wouldn’t make a move until after the councils left. It wasn’t worth the risk of drawing their attention more than he had to. He knew they would hunt him down if they knew about his experiments.

It was probably a blessing Donaron perished. If they struck the island and found his latest experiment, he would have to answer some questions, though he could pass it off as an evolved Changed. Donaron showed all the signs of an evolved elementally infused being after all. Including the destructible instability of his core.

He really didn’t understand the council’s banning of forcefully evolving elementally infused beings. Sure, they felt disgusting, but they made perfect throw away weapons. It wasn’t like they had a shortage of such beings either, especially after their planet merged. Until they changed their minds, he would keep his experiments hidden. The merge made such hidden activities all the more easy.

If he ran out of subjects here, he could always venture further east. He was sure there were plenty of other struggling civilizations ripe for the taking. It was almost comically easy to take control of this area and he doubted it would be any different further east.

Satisfaction bubbled deep within her as she watched her Chrotile deliver their retribution. Job done, she returned them to her shell, then rotated toward their next destination. She had a little pest to squash who played with things he shouldn’t have.

As she leisurely floated toward the single gaudy looking yacht floating a kilometer southeast of Mezo, a presence prodded her mind. She opened the connection upon recognizing it as her brother who helped make their little plan succeed.

Unlike with the smaller beings, his voice didn’t boom in her mind. “Hello sister. Did the plan work out?”

“Yes, wonderfully, in fact. All I have left to do is squash a certain lightning bug.”

Excited expectation filtered into her mind from her brother. “Excellent. Shall we proceed with the next phase?”

“Yes, if the twins continue on their current path, our plans should proceed as we expect them to.”

An affirmative flutter reached her mind before her brother cut the connection, wanting to get to his side of the next phase as soon as possible.

Urus returned her attention to the yacht, foolishly remaining where it was as she approached. Did he think it he could stand against her? What a foolish decision. If it weren’t for old vows, she would have squashed him long ago. What he did to the humans and elementally infused of this area was unredeemable. He wasn’t even worth using her magic on. He would face the most disgraceful way to die to a Colossus instead.

She positioned herself directly over the yacht, then released the power keeping her aloft. In an instant, gravity took hold of her massive form, sending her plummeting to the waters below. With a crunch, the yacht disappeared under her shell as a tidal wave spread from her landing.

A spark of lightning reached her senses, causing her to mentally scowl. Though a moment later it sputtered out. Even if he somehow survived, he had a long swim back.

Her bug squashing done, she levitated into the air once more and turned to the south. With Mezo claimed there wasn’t much reason for her to stay in this area. She was sure the now free elementally infused beings would establish order in the area, anyway. No need for her to remain involved.

Time to move on.