Chapter 722 Another Tale Of Backstabbing (1)
Bone Goliath... it had been a while since Ashton last used such skill. Well, it was because he found it a pain to carry vast amounts of bones, and while he could use his skeleton soldiers for supply, the Goliath made from their bones would be too weak to last against Rood or Kro'Han.
Even then, Ashton knew he had to do something unexpected to catch Rood off guard and steal the Trident. That's why he left Astaroth to distract Rood while he summoned his skeleton army to help him look for the bones of the Precursors.
It was a gamble because, for all he knew, the Precursors might not have left their allies' corpses on the Verge. But the fact they had placed several traps and other creations to protect a forsaken planet meant they had to be hiding something.
Thankfully, Ashton's gamble paid off when the skeleton soldiers found a graveyard right outside the ruins. But the bones he gathered weren't enough on their own.
In the end, Ashton had to use some of his soldiers to make up for the lacking amount and summoned a Bone Goliath primarily consisting of Precursor's bones.
With the Trident gone, Ashton's Precursor Aura should return to normal. But Ashton could guess from his earlier encounters that Rood was proficient in fighting against Precursors and Xyrans.
Hence, instead of depending on his newfound genes, Ashton decided to go old school and defeat Rood without using his Precursor lineage.
"You sure about it?" Astaroth asked Ashton again. "You could use your aura to get rid of him-"
"You think he has no contingencies prepared for this situation?" Ashton replied. "He had learned how to fight against Precursors from my father. Although he wasn't as strong as Kro'Han, he was still the leader of the Precursors."
"Yeah... Gotta give the man some credit where he deserves," Astaroth sighed but agreed. "So, what do we do next?"
"Defeat him, what else?" Ashton smirked. "He has to know something about Kro'Han that would come in handy later on, so let's try not to kill him."
"That's easier said than done."
"What do you mean?" Ashton questioned. "Use Raphael and seal him! Wait... no, you didn't!?"
"Yes, I did..." Astaroth admitted with a sheepish grin. "I left him to spend some quality time with his granddaughter back on Xenithar."
Ashton couldn't believe his ears. What kind of glorified general would leave his primary weapon behind before venturing into a potentially dangerous zone? Despite his disbelief, Astaroth's candid confession clarified one of Ashton's lingering confusions.
"So that's why you were fighting barehanded!?"
"Yup... But hey! My arms are no less than a weapon!"
"Sure, your arms are as much a weapon as your brain, which is useless!" The banter would have continued if not for a stray boulder shooting past them.
"Oi! Watch where you're throwing things!" Astaroth yelled at the Goliath, who just shrugged and continued bashing Rood... or at least trying to do it.
Goliath had overwhelmed Rood, and it seemed Rood's strength was fading away without the Trident in hand. Even then, he went toe to toe with the towering bone creature. The sight made Ashton wonder how strong Rood would have been in his prime.
"Looks like your father had an eye for talented people," Astaroth commented.
Ashton didn't respond but smiled. His life had been full of drama, but whenever someone mentioned his father, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of life he led before coming to Earth.
Unfortunately, the only people who seemed to know him personally were out for Ashton's blood, so it wasn't like he could learn more about him from them.
"Let's end this and go home," Ashton mumbled. "We can devise strategies to get rid of Kro'Han some other time."
"Right..."
As soon as they were done, the duo sprouted their wings and rushed towards Rood with all their might. Rood saw the pair heading his way from the corner of his eyes. But even though he did, he could do nothing to stop them as his hands were already tied as he dealt with the Goliath.
Astaroth and Ashton closed in with incredible speed, their wings slicing through the air as they aimed for Rood. The intense rush of wind echoed on the planet as they approached the enemy.
Rood could sense the Precursor Aura leaking from Ashton and knew he couldn't ignore him. He swiftly disentangled himself from the struggling Goliath. The massive creature roared, but Rood paid it no heed. He knew he had a more immediate threat.
"No point in fighting back, Old man!"
Astaroth led the assault, his golden wings glittering in the night. Without stopping, he unleashed a barrage of strikes on Rood, aiming a powerful punch at Rood's midsection.
But Rood, despite being occupied, managed to evade the blow by shifting his body weight to dodge. Astaroth's punch had missed its target, but it created an opening for Ashton.
Ashton lunged at Rood from the side. His massive jaws were ready to clamp down on Rood's shoulder. However, Rood's precognitive skill, honed over the years, kicked in, allowing him to predict the attack.
But even then, he couldn't dodge the strike himself. But he had another way of dodging the attack, by allowing himself to get hit by the Goliath's massive arm.
Thanks to the punch, his body got twisted, and he narrowly avoided Ashton's bite. Rood did not want to face three opponents on the ground and brought out his wings before rushing into the air.
Watching Rood soar over them, Ashton prepared to rush after him, but Astaroth stopped him when he noticed something suspicious in the air.
"No, don't!" Astaroth yelled to stop Ashton.
"What!?"
"Can't you see for yourself?" Astaroth barked back.
A shadow loomed overhead, casting an ominous presence. The two of them looked up, their eyes widening as they saw a massive spaceship descending from the cosmic expanse. It didn't take long for Astaroth to recognise the ship—it was once used by the Precursors.
"Is that... Kro'Han?"
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