Chapter 569: Kael is really getting impatient.
The old man’s voice had faded as the entire Central Kingdom reacted.
It wasn’t a simple response to Kael’s presence.
It was mobilization.
The rivers of mana that flowed through the continental branches changed direction simultaneously. Golden currents began to course through the entire structure of the World Tree like arteries awakening after a long period of rest. Space vibrated. The gigantic leaves above them produced a deep sound, like the roar of a distant storm.
Then the inhabitants of the Central Kingdom began to emerge.
Not by the thousands.
By the millions.
Kael watched as the horizon disappeared.
The farthest branches were covered with figures emerging from the living wood itself. Some had humanoid forms. Others resembled ancient animals. There were creatures made entirely of roots, entities composed of primordial crystal, and giants whose mere presence made mountains seem small.
Everyone looked at him.
Everyone.
The old man sighed.
"You’ve accomplished something impressive."
Kael kept his sword resting on his shoulder.
"I imagine."
"In millions of years, you’re the first person who’s managed to irritate practically all of them at once."
"I have a talent for this."
The old man closed his eyes.
"I can see that."
The woman beside the entrance remained silent.
She had clearly given up trying to stop the situation.
Because it was too late.
The war had begun.
A wave of mana swept through the Central Kingdom.
Instantaneously.
Thousands of entities advanced.
Kael disappeared.
The impact of the acceleration exploded the air behind him.
The first line of attack didn’t even manage to react.
His sword pierced a giant formed of crystallized roots.
Then another.
Then three more.
Their bodies shattered before they could even comprehend what had happened.
But it made no difference.
There was more.
Much more.
Creatures began to emerge from the sides.
From above.
From below.
From every possible direction.
Kael spun his body.
Mana exploded around him.
Thousands of ice blades instantly appeared.
The projectiles advanced like a storm.
Hundreds of enemies were pierced.
Others froze.
Dozens fell from the continental branches.
But new ones immediately took their places.
The quantity was absurd.
Kael felt a huge creature approaching from the right.
Without looking.
Without hesitating.
He swung his sword.
The blow released a compressed wave of mana.
The creature was split in two.
Another emerged.
Then another.
Then ten.
He advanced.
The battle became a blur. Bodies exploded.
Mana scattered.
Branches were destroyed.
Entire structures collapsed.
But the inhabitants of the Central Kingdom kept arriving.
Like an endless ocean.
A group of crystalline archers raised their bows.
Thousands of luminous arrows streaked across the sky.
Kael raised his hand.
A wall of ice appeared.
The arrows pierced the first layer.
Then the second.
Then the third.
But they lost enough force.
Kael pierced his own barrier.
His sword gleamed.
The cut traveled for miles.
The archers vanished.
But the victory lasted less than a second.
Because a new presence emerged above him.
Gigantic.
A dragon.
Not a true dragon.
But a creature built by Yggdrasil itself. Its body was composed of ancient tree trunks and condensed primordial mana.
Its wings spanned kilometers.
Its eyes shone like golden suns.
The creature roared.
Space trembled.
Kael charged directly at it.
The dragon opened its mouth.
A torrent of energy surged across the sky.
Kael did not flinch.
For the first time.
The flames around his fingers grew.
The Chaos Fire appeared.
Small.
Controlled.
But present.
He touched the golden torrent.
The energy vanished.
It was not blocked.
It was not deflected.
It disappeared.
Consumed.
The creature froze.
For a single instant.
Long enough.
Kael appeared before it.
His sword descended.
The blow pierced the colossal neck.
The dragon’s entire body shattered.
Millions of mana fragments scattered across the skies.
Silence.
It lasted only a second.
Then the war continued.
The ancient entities finally began to participate.
And that changed everything.
The first of them appeared before Kael without warning.
A man.
Just a man.
Clothing made of leaves.
Golden eyes.
No weapons.
No armor.
But his presence surpassed that of thousands of guardians combined.
Kael attacked first.
His sword pierced space.
The man raised two fingers.
Blocked.
The blade stopped.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
The man smiled.
Then he landed a punch.
Kael vanished.
Too late. The impact struck his abdomen.
His body pierced through three continental branches.
Mountains exploded.
Forests vanished.
Rivers of mana evaporated.
Kael regained his balance in the air.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The man remained still.
Exactly where he was.
The old man watched everything in silence.
"He woke up angry."
The woman nodded.
"I would be too."
Kael wiped the blood away.
Then he smiled.
It was a small smile.
But dangerous.
Primordial energy continued to enter his body.
The runes glowed.
The fragment of Yggdrasil pulsed.
His heart raced.
Mana coursed through every muscle.
Every nerve.
Every part of his being.
Then he lunged forward again.
This time faster.
Much faster.
The man managed to keep up.
Barely. Swords clashed.
Fists.
Knees.
Magic.
The two traversed kilometers in each exchange of blows.
The Central Kingdom trembled continuously.
Kael landed a cut.
The man dodged.
The man landed a blow.
Kael blocked.
The battle transformed into an absurd succession of impossible movements.
Then thousands of other inhabitants decided to interfere.
Kael sighed.
"Of course."
A rain of attacks descended from the heavens.
He unleashed mana.
An ice storm instantly arose.
Creatures froze.
Others were destroyed.
But the number kept increasing.
The entire dimension seemed determined to bury him under a mountain of enemies.
Then something changed.
Within him.
The fragment of Yggdrasil pulsed.
Stronger.
Much stronger.
Primordial mana flooded his body.
The fissures in his soul widened.
Kael felt it.
But ignored it.
He just advanced.
His sword became a blur.
Each blow destroyed dozens.
Then hundreds.
The speed increased continuously.
The strength too.
The Central Kingdom responded.
Ancient entities began to descend from the heavens.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
All advanced at the same time.
Space exploded.
Kael was engulfed in a storm of attacks.
Light.
Wood.
Crystal.
Mana.
Everything collided simultaneously.
The impact illuminated the horizon.
Continental branches cracked.
City-sized leaves were torn away.
Mountains disappeared.
Even so.
Kael continued advancing.
His red eyes blazed intensely.
The flames of Chaos grew.
Small still.
But increasingly unstable.
The woman watched this.
Her expression became serious.
Very serious.
"He’s reaching his limit."
The old man remained silent.
"Yes."
"If he continues like this..."
"I know."
She returned to observing the battle.
Kael cut through entire armies.
Creatures disappeared.
Ancient entities retreated.
Even the oldest inhabitants began to realize something.
He wasn’t fighting to win.
He wasn’t fighting to conquer.
He wasn’t fighting for power.
Kael was fighting for one reason only.
To keep advancing.
Nothing more.
Then he finally saw the entrance.
Again.
Much closer.
The woman was still there.
The door was still there.
But now there was a path.
A path built through an impossible war.
Kael took a deep breath.
Then he channeled his mana.
All his mana.
His body shot up.
Thousands of enemies tried to intercept him.
They were destroyed.
Hundreds of ancient entities emerged.
They were overtaken.
The entire Central Kingdom seemed to roar.
But he continued.
Faster.
Stronger.
More determined.
The distance decreased.
Kilometer.
Kilometer after kilometer.
Branch after branch.
Until only a few seconds remained.
Just a few.
Then something descended from the heavens.
Something so gigantic that even the old man fell silent.
Even the woman’s eyes widened.
Even the ancient inhabitants stopped.
A shadow covered the entire Central Kingdom.
Kael raised his head.
And for the first time since arriving there...
He truly understood the magnitude of what he was facing.
Because what descended from the heavens was not a guardian.
It was not an ancient entity.
It was not a manifestation.
It was a part of Yggdrasil.
A true part of it.
And it had just awakened.
The old man kept his eyes fixed on Kael for several seconds.
Around them, the ancient presences continued to awaken through the endless branches of the Central Kingdom. Some watched in silence. Others exchanged currents of mana similar to conversations incomprehensible to any ordinary being. The dimension itself seemed suspended in expectation.
Then the elder sighed.
The sound traveled for miles.
"I truly hate it when her descendants appear."
Kael rested his sword on his shoulder.
"The feeling is mutual."
The woman who was the Gate closed her eyes again.
Clearly, she no longer possessed the emotional energy to deal with either of them.
The old man raised one hand.
Immediately, thousands of golden circles appeared among the branches.
Kael felt the change.
This was not a demonstration.
Nor a threat.
It was preparation for combat.
The ancestral consciousnesses scattered throughout the Central Kingdom began to respond.
One after another.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Currents of mana converged from all directions.
Space began to produce forms.
First shadows.
Then silhouettes.
Then entire armies. Soldiers made of primordial wood.
Giants composed of ancient roots.
Crystalline beasts larger than mountains.
Knights clad in golden armor.
Archers whose arrows were made of condensed mana.
Kael observed all this without altering his expression.
The old man pointed at him.
"You want to pass."
"I do."
"Then show us."
Kael frowned.
"Show us what?"
The elder smiled slightly.
"Why should we allow it?"
The Central Kingdom exploded in motion.
The first attack came immediately.
Thousands of golden arrows covered the horizon.
There were no spaces between them.
There were no escape routes.
The entire sky disappeared behind the barrage.
Kael vanished.
The place where he stood exploded in a shockwave.
The arrows pierced only a void.
An instant later he appeared hundreds of meters above.
His sword described an arc.
A wall of ice appeared before him.
The arrows struck the frozen structure.
Successive explosions shook the space.
The wall was destroyed.
But it served its purpose.
Kael had already advanced.
The first group of knights appeared before him.
Spears.
Swords.
Shields.
Perfect formation.
Absolute discipline.
Kael dove directly towards them.
His sword pierced the first shield.
The blade continued advancing.
It cut the knight.
The second.
The third.
The impact released an explosion of freezing mana.
Dozens of soldiers were thrown back.
But that was only the beginning.
The giants advanced.
Each step made the continental branches tremble.
City-sized fists descended toward him.
Kael spun.
A punch passed by him.
Another struck only empty space.
The third almost reached him.
Almost.
His sword gleamed.
A vertical slash ran down the giant’s arm.
The entire structure shattered.
Roots exploded.
Mana leaked out.
The arm fell through the Central Kingdom.
But three new giants were already advancing.
Five.
Then ten.
Kael accelerated.
The world became a blur.
His vision followed only flows of mana.
Movements.
Threats.
Possibilities.
Everything happened too fast.
His sword moved without interruption.
Each blow destroyed something.
Each movement eliminated an obstacle.
Each second brought him closer to the Gate.
But the army was infinite.
Because it wasn’t an ordinary army.
It was an entire dimension producing defenders.
The old man watched everything in silence.
The woman too.
Neither interfered.
Neither helped.
They only watched.
Like judges.
Like witnesses.
Kael passed through a formation of archers.
His body disappeared amidst dozens of golden explosions.
When he reappeared, the archers were falling by the thousands.
Then he felt something.
Danger.
Instinctively he dodged.
A spear pierced the space where his head had been.
Different from the others.
Very different.
Kael turned.
His gaze met the culprit.
Another elder.
A new consciousness awakens.
Humanoid.
Covered in ancient bark.
Wishing a single spear.
His pressure was absurd.
Far above the guardians.
Far above the giants.
The elder advanced.
Kael responded.
The two weapons collided.
The impact ripped through miles of space.
Shockwaves rippled through nearby branches.
Entire forests vanished.
The enemy was strong.
Very strong.
Perhaps the most powerful adversary Kael had faced since entering that realm.
The spear spun.
Tried to pierce his chest.
Kael dodged.
Counterattacked.
The elder blocked.
Attacked again.
Both vanished.
Moving too fast for any ordinary observer.
Collision.
Strike.
Block.
Mana.
Explosions.
Each exchange destroyed part of the environment.
Each clash released enough energy to devastate cities.
Then Kael realized.
The enemy was learning.
Adapting.
Just like the previous guardians.
Just like the entire Yggdrasil.
"How annoying."
The spear almost hit his neck.
Kael recoiled.
The elder advanced.
Without emotion.
Without hesitation.
Just perfect execution.
Kael gritted his teeth.
Then released more mana.
The fragment of Yggdrasil responded.
Primordial energy flooded his body.
The runes of Elion glowed.
The world slowed down.
Or perhaps it had sped up.
His sword pierced the elder’s guard.
The blow struck his shoulder.
Then his chest.
Then his mana core.
His entire body exploded into golden fragments.
The silence lasted less than a second.
Because others appeared.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Elders.
All different.
All absurdly powerful.
All watching Kael.
"Oh, for God’s sake."
They advanced together.
The Central Kingdom became a battlefield.
Kael disappeared again.
His sword became a blur.
Ice blades crisscrossed the space.
Storms arose.
Freezing explosions cut through entire armies.
But the elders kept advancing.
Spear.
Hammer.
Sword.
Bow. Ancient magic.
Impossible techniques.
Attacks capable of destroying continents.
Everything converged on him.
Kael fought.
Without pause.
Without rest.
Without retreating.
Because behind those enemies was the Door.
And beyond the Door was Sylphie.
The only thing that mattered.
An arrow pierced his defense.
The projectile struck his flank.
Pain.
Real.
Deep.
Kael responded immediately.
His sword cut the ancient archer in half.
Another appeared.
Then another.
The army seemed endless.
His body began to accumulate wounds.
Small.
But numerous.
The runes continued to regenerate.
But they no longer kept up with everything.
The fissures in his soul grew larger.
He felt it.
The woman was right.
His body was reaching its limit.
But he kept going.
He always kept going.
An ancient giant tried to crush him.
Kael pierced the creature’s chest.
He exploded its core.
He kept advancing.
Two knights appeared.
They fell.
Three archers.
They fell.
An ancient mage unleashed a golden storm.
Kael cut through the technique.
The sword struck the spell’s core.
Everything exploded.
The old man watched.
Without interfering.
Without interrupting.
Just watching.
Then he noticed something.
Kael did too.
The distance to the Gate had decreased.
A lot.
More than it should have.
While fighting, he advanced.
He always advanced.
He always found loopholes.
He always found ways.
The elders began to notice this.
The pressure increased.
More soldiers appeared.
More giants.
More consciousnesses.
More power.
The entire dimension seemed to converge against a single man.
Kael took a deep breath.
His gaze found the opening.
Nearby.
Finally near.
Then he raised his sword.
The flames of Chaos reappeared.
Small.
But present.
The old man narrowed his eyes.
The woman did too.
The elders hesitated.
Because they all recognized that energy.
Not as something powerful.
But as something wrong.
Fundamentally wrong.
Kael observed the flames.
Then the army.
Then the Gate.
"Last chance."
No one answered.
The first elder attacked.
Then another.
Then thousands.
Kael sighed.
"Just as I expected."
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