"No worries! We have done this many times in the past. It is a piece of cake"
The words were reassuring but many would take them as an ominous premonition which came through half way through the chains. Niu looked like an ant crawling up a giant wall running on the chains' surface but the worst was yet to come.
"WELCOME, AVATAR OF WAR AND...OH MY! BUT IF IT ISN'T A CELESTIAL BEAST AND HIS CHAMPION COMING TO DEFEAT LITTLE OLD ME. I MUST PUT MY BEST FOOT FORWARD AND IMPROVE THE RECEPTION....PLEASE ENJOY!"
It was an unprecedented development since the last time that Bato was there with Rahz and the others. The chains had lightning descending on them from time to time but there was no mighty voice welcoming them or talks of a proper reception the previous time.
The statement send Bato into memory lane but he didn't have long to reminisce about the past. A portal opened at the top of the chains and metal golems with an electromagnetic core that seem to pull them together started popping out and heading down to greet them.
The pace of the golems was steady and from an outsider's point of view it looked like an army of ants about to ram into a beetle. The golems were not that big and they were not bulky at all, their bodies allowed them to move relatively smoothly and used their two skills gravity control and Energized with great proficiency.
The two skills were really easy to use correctly and they were extremely lethal. The construction of the golem was well thought out. They had the ability to Control Gravity to increase and decrease their weight allowing them to generate momentum for a very powerful punch or kick. On the other hand, Energized, absorbed the electricity falling on top of the chain to propel tiny pieces of their bodies as bullets from a railgun.
The whole thing was a highly advanced use of magic and the power of nature in a way that was very refined for a monk and a barbarian that lived in the places separated from modern society.
The first bullet came, and in the eyes of Bato and the other two, it looked like a white piece of liquid and the amount of damage that it could do was very deceiving by the nuances of the skill. While Vulcan and Bato dodge by leaning to the side, the stubborn Xiao challenge the projectile with his horns that were supposed to be made out of the strongest material the realm had to offer.
MUUUU!!
Whimper!!!
Xiao Niu felt an electric current passed through his whole body followed by a very sharp pain. On the top part of the horn, there was a hole the size of a baseball and there were scorch marks around the border.
Xiao jumped like a bronco from the pain and his eyes shone with Golden Light while nature energy started healing the wound.
"How did you get injured? Was it really that powerful?" said Bato.
"I...I fucked up, MUUU. I don't want to talk about it"
Vulcan sneered while Bato just sighted.
The truth was that Xiao Niu really mess up and paid for his arrogance, the horns were in fact made of the strongest material in the realm but it was exponentially more difficult to break them if the hit was trying to compress the horn. Xiao fail to align the tip of the horn with the metal bullet coming from the golem and was hit along the side of the horn where his defense was the weakest.
Bato touch his wrist and the Pearls of Enlightenment started expanding. There were 8 pearls of Enlightenment and each possessed wonderful abilities. The first ability allowed it to change its shape into a weapon that was literally indestructible while the second ability was to provide Enlightenment on what the threshold of the human body could be, enhancing Bato's physical progress enormously allowing him to move at incredible speeds distorting space by a small scale.
The third Bead was a defensive skill called The Siddhartha's Aegis which encased the wearer in a divine light that stop all damage for a couple of seconds and was especially lethal when combined with the Karma bead.
The fourth bead was called the bead of the harmonious path allowing the monk to harmonise with his opponent and steal a skill used against him. The Harmonious Bead would allow the monk to enter enlightenment and use it to his maximum potential.
The master of the elements imbued Bato's attacks with elemental magic making them more lethal and even giving him the ability to heal minor wounds when using the nature's element.
Heaven's Punishment was the sixth bead and it was a detrimental skill that took away all the 6 senses of the person it affected and success depended on the will of the individual. The person affected by the skill would just see a dark space all around them without the ability to feel any external stimuli.
Karma was the seventh bead and allowed Bato to create a link between him and the attacker deflecting all the sensation of pain to the person link to him for 10 seconds.
The last bead was, Spirits of the Realm which created clones of a different element that would attack Bato's target with the same skills as the original infusing their own element. The Higher the level Bato was at, the more beads he could activated at the same time and since it was a realm item as long as they were in the realm, Bato could use the skill time and time again as long as his body could tolerate the stress generated by them.
In the current situation, Bato's idea was to use the second ability to increase his speed and distort the space around the golems while Xiao used his charge to break through. It was a feasible plan but even before he could put it into motion Vulcan stood up on top of Xiao and held his sword in the air at a forward angle like he was commanding troops.
I AM THE AVATAR OF WAR. THE CONQUEROR OF THE REALM, I COMMAND THEE. DESTROY MY ENEMIES…
"BERSERK LEGION"
The aura around Vulcan went berserk and the killing intent generated from the thousands of people he had killed in combat spread out and took the shape of the soldiers he had destroyed. It was one of the trump cards of the set and it was in line with the God that granted it. Unlike the skills of other sets, the potential of the skill was unlimited. The more people he defeated in battle, the bigger his legion became and as an additional bonus their weapons were encased with a little of the divinity of Fadall.
ATTACK!!
Thump ...thump...
The Legion went forward without fear against the golems and absorbed all the railgun bullets they threw until they were close enough to chop them down. The weapons of war infused with divinity cut through them like a knife through butter but it didn't stop there. No matter what material was used in order to make the golems in crumbled into dust.
"I HOPE THIS IS JUST A TEASE, TOO WEAK!!"
Xiao and Bato looked at each other and were impressed by the skill displayed by their new companion and although they didn't know what lay ahead, in terms of fighting power he was worthy of his title.
Xiao reached the top and jumped into a platform before looking around to assess the situation. Even during their time doing missions, the barren palace was a no fly zone thanks to the electromagnetic energy that allow the palace itself to float.
The platform was about 20 ft in diameter but the entrance to the actual palace was across a giant space and underneath was the very mass of energy that could rip apart anybody that fell into his center.
"How are we going to make it to the other side?" said Vulcan
"There is usually a platform that comes and takes us there"
Right on cue, a platform was making its way to them but it only made it half of the way.
"HEROES OF THE REALM… YOU HAVE PROVED YOUR MIGHT SO FAR BUT IN ORDER TO BECOME MY PART… COUGH...COUGH... TO REACH THE PALACE YOU HAVE TO PROOF THAT YOU ARE DARING. USE THE ELECTRO CANON TO LAND ON THE PLATFORM, AND REACH THE DOOR"
"What the fuck is going on!!!Where are the troops of level 50 plus dragonkin?" Said Vulcan.
"WRONG ISLAND, TRY THE BONEMIRE, THERE IS PLENTY THERE"