Leon was still surprised and shocked by Oris' sudden breakthrough when the A rank Demon appeared. At the appearance of a powerful foe, he quickly snapped out of his daze and passed on the information to the others.
"I was right." Leonidas nodded his head. He turned to Lyra and said, "Open a transportation portal. I want to go there myself."
His words instantly rose eyebrows. No one had expected that.
"Your Excellency, it is not proper for you to go yourself." One of Leonidas' guards said.
Leonidas held his chin in thought for a moment before responding. "Very well, then. You will go in my stead."
"As you wish!" He saluted.
"I will go too." Leon spoke up from the side. He had been watching the fight between Oris and the A rank Demon, and had noticed that Oris was not able to get the upper hand in the battle. Not only was the Dark Wing Eagle King much not used to his new powers, but he also had much less accumulation in the realm of A ranks when compared to his opponent. The Demon was able to use his powers in a mysterious and subtle manner that allowed him to render most of Oris' attack ineffective.
Eyes turned to Leon next, and Leonidas opened his mouth. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Leon nodded his head.
Lyra Decabell stepped forward at that point in time. Her hands were held up and mana danced on her fingertips.
"Are you ready?" She smiled and asked Leon and the guard that was going with him. The guard's name was Rhys. When she got the affirmative, and Leon shared the location of the fleet to her, she then got to work on opening the portal.
Whoosh!
A golden portal that was three meters tall and two meters wide appeared in front of the group. There was no need to make it big if it was just two people passing through it.
The scenery changed before Leon's eyes as he stepped through the portal. The smell of salt in the air had become much stronger, and the rush of wind was also stronger, mostly due to the ongoing battle.
The appearance of two people above the fleet immediately caught the attention of Vander and Viktor, who had remained behind in the flagship as they oversaw the ongoing battle. Immediately, they recognized that the new arrivals were also A ranks!
"Dammit! They are not giving us a chance to breath!" Vander swore.
The Demons were well informed of the internal division between most nations of the Central Continent. While none of them openly declared war on each other, there was still a lot of friction between some of them.
While planning, the Demons had counted on that internal division to allow them to tide through the initial clashes, before the nations of the Central Continent got serious. They had expected that they would have been able to at least claim the Desolate Lands in order to build a fortified stronghold that would serve as their base of operations and facilitate the deeper invasion of the Central Continent.
"Viktor!" He called out to his friend beside him while also dashing out of the cabin of the ship. Their two figures blurred out and they appeared in the sky, opposite Leon and Rhys with fierce expressions on their faces.
Vander immediately recognized Leon. With all the hype that had surrounded him during Divinity's Bout, it would basically be blasphemy to not know who he was. It took him a bit longer to recognize Rhys, however, and recall his abilities. As one of the commanders who would take part in the invasion of the Central Continent, it was vital for him to be familiar with the most powerful figures of the Central Continent, which means basically any and all A ranks.
Rhys had a special ability to warp reality. This was an extremely powerful ability, and he had been specially groomed by the most powerful people within the Gublin Empire. Just this ability alone was enough to secure him a seat of high power within the empire, but when presented with such an opportunity, Rhys had instead chosen to reject this opportunity and take up a place as a Royal guard.
Ever since he was at B rank, he had taken up a position as a Royal Guard, and had gradually climbed up the ranks, while building up his prestige amongst the high ranking mages of the Gublin Empire. Eventually, at the age of forty five, and upon reaching A rank, he had been granted the position as one of the Emperor's Personal Guards. This position was an extremely prestigious one, and something that granted Rhys much more power than as an average Royal Guard!
A few tense seconds passed as the four of them had a stare down. The air between them crackled with mighty power as they all prepared their spells.
Caw!
Oris had noticed his master and immediately cut a part through the fleet, making a beeline for Leon.
Whoosh!
With a gust of wind, the Dark Wing Eagle appeared beside Leon. The space around his body trembled as he retracted the violent spatial barrier that he had erected around his body to make it harder for Raiko to damage him.
"Well done, Oris." Leon patted his loyal summon's head before turning back to look at the Demon that stood opposite him. He knew nothing about this Demon, so he could not help but be wary of him. However, in the next moment, a subtle voice slipped into his mind.
'The person you are facing is Vander, son of High General Ashtar of the Demon Continent. Ashtar is the one who spearheaded the Great Shift. Vander has the ability to manipulate gravity and also has a high affinity for fire and wind. He is a Low A rank, but the information we have on him is outdated, so he should have made many more advancements in his strength after the end of the Great Shift.'
Leon gave Rhys a subtle glance, surprised. He knew that it was Rhys that gave him that information because the man also sent a subtle glance in his direction.
The Demons did not speak, so Rhys took the chance to speak up.
"You vile Demons have troubled us time and time again. This time, we shall put a stop to your ambitious plans of expansion!" With his exclamation, he raised his hands and a red light shone from his eyes. A red fog lingered on the tips of his fingers and he vanished.
"Shit!" Viktor exclaimed and hurriedly waved his scythe. The wicked blade tore through the air, but struck nothing at all. His eyes darted around, trying to peer through the cover of Rhys' spell, but he was not able to find any abnormality. The next moment, a cold pressure burst from behind him, and his instincts screamed at him, forcing him to dodge a red blade by a hair's breadth.
The sudden movement of the two of them caused the others to also spring into action.
Oris and Raiko continued their dance, while Leon and Vander also faced off.
Black shadows flashed around Leon as his Domain unfolded around him. At once, the space around him was dyed in a darker shade, and the air became colder. Dozens of summons rushed out of the darkness, diving into the water. Great Crocodiles, Great Pythons, and Lizardmen, all dove into the water where they could display their strengths. Kaladin and Nero also appeared, ready to fight on Leon's behalf.
"Kaladin, you handle ranged attacks, Nero, you can smite all that stand in your way." Leon quickly instructed the two on how to handle the rest of the fleet below.
"Relying on your summons. Do you have no shame?" Vander sneered.
"I am a Necromancer. My summons make up a fundamental essence of my strength. What would I call myself if I don't use them in any battles?" Leon shrugged with a grin that dug under Vander's skin.
With Leon's summons there, the fleet would be ravaged. There were three A rank beings on the opposite side, which matched the number of A ranks that they had on their side. Not to mention, Rhys was a Mid A rank, while the others were Low A ranks, so Leon's side held the advantage in terms of strength.
Things were looking bleak!
Vander gathered his mana as he activated his skills. The wind churned and his hair burst into flames. A subtle, dark glow of mana clung to his skin, and Leon recognized it to be Gravity mana.
'This will be interesting.' Leon thought to himself.
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