Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3018: Legion

Two weeks had passed since the Karat Grand Tribulation, and Emery’s brief visit had brought him back to Neo Terra with more than he had expected.

The first was a gift.

A single box filled with rare apothecary herbs and high-grade beast cores, each one carefully selected with obvious thought. It was not a generic reward of valuable treasures. Someone within the Karat faction clearly knew exactly what Emery needed and had assembled the collection accordingly, making the gift feel as thoughtful as it was generous.

The second gain had been an unexpected bonus.

His participation in resisting three of the tribulation’s lightning bolts had left behind a profound trace of the Law of Metal. Metal had always been the element he lacked most, and the insight filled a crucial gap in his understanding, rounding out his mastery of the natural laws in a way that years of ordinary cultivation might never have accomplished.

This was one of the hidden blessings of a heavenly tribulation.

To endure the wrath of the heavens was to be tempered by it.

Although Emery had experienced only a fraction of the tribulation, it had still granted him valuable insight into the Law of Metal.

He was certain the four Karat guardians, who had each endured far greater portions of the storm, had gained far more than he had. Some of them might even achieve a breakthrough on the strength of those insights alone.

The greatest gain Emery brought back from Golden City was neither a treasure nor a newfound insight.

It was a person.

Veyarel, a Three Cosmos Grand Magus, had officially joined the ranks of his Khaos Seeds.

In the two weeks since his arrival, the impact on the entire network had been extraordinary.

Through the [Khaos voidweave], every Khaos Seed benefited from Veyarel’s presence. His immense experience, refined understanding of the laws, and thousands of years of accumulated wisdom flowed freely through the shared consciousness, enriching every member connected to the weave. Yet among them all, Emery was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary.

Veyarel’s mastery of the Law of Space was formidable, naturally pushing Emery’s own spatial comprehension forward at a pace that would have been impossible through solitary cultivation.

Surprisingly, however, it was another law that proved even more valuable.

Law of Shadow.

Before he had ever mastered space, Veyarel had been a shadow-law expert — a legendary thief who moved unseen through the shadow and space of a hundred vaults.

Emery could not help but wonder, privately, whether Veyarel might have made an even better Khaos champion than himself. It was only fortune that the primordial wisp had chosen Emery first.

Within only a few sessions of the [Khaos Voidweave], Emery’s own comprehension of the Law of Shadow advanced by leaps and bounds.

The improvement immediately bore fruit.

For the first time, he could finally decipher the fourth Khaos Art.

The revelation confirmed what he had suspected all along. His previous inability to understand the ancient runes carved upon the Khaos monument had never been caused by insufficient cultivation. The true requirement had been a sufficiently deep comprehension of the Law of Shadow. Now that missing foundation had finally been completed, and the once-chaotic symbols gradually rearranged themselves into meaningful patterns.

Emery immediately enlisted Veyarel to help him unravel the remaining mysteries hidden within the inscription.

Weeks of constant discussion, meditation, and analysis followed before the ancient runes finally revealed their secrets. Layer by layer, the incomprehensible symbols settled into perfect order until the first stage of the fourth Khaos Art unfolded completely before his eyes.

Its name echoed through his consciousness

[Khaos Legion]

It was not an active combat technique.

It offered no offensive power, no movement ability, and no means of spatial displacement. Instead, it was a high-grade summoning art—and, fortunately, one whose material requirements were far less demanding than those of the previous three Khaos Arts.

Where the earlier arts had required exceedingly rare spatial catalysts, [Khaos Legion] relied primarily on shadow-attributed materials, chief among them a substance known as [Nightshard]. Although expensive, Nightshards were far more common than high-grade spatial ores. Within only a few days, the Earth Faction’s trade network had gathered enough for Emery to complete the Tier 7 spell.

The moment he cast it, darkness blossomed beneath his feet.

His shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor before separating from the ground altogether. From within the living darkness, a figure slowly emerged, taking on Emery’s exact appearance until an identical copy stood before him, its body formed entirely from condensed shadow.

Emery could not help but smile.

The sight reminded him of his old Tier 5 Jade Warrior spells that had faithfully served him during his early years before eventually becoming hopelessly obsolete. The concept was fundamentally the same, but [Khaos Legion] elevated it to an entirely different level.

After several rounds of testing, Emery found himself genuinely impressed.

Although each shadow clone possessed only the cultivation of a peak Magus, every one of them was infused with pure Khaos energy. That unique power allowed them to surpass ordinary cultivators of the same realm. It also came with innate concealment ability, making each clone far deadlier than its cultivation suggested.

With only the first stage of the art and his current level of mastery, however, Emery could create no more than ten clones at a time.

They were fundamentally different from his avatars.

Unlike his light and dark avatars, the shadow clones possessed no independent consciousness or personality. Nor were they true physical bodies like the Serpent Supreme’s cloning technique, which required an enormous and continuous expenditure of energy to maintain.

These were simpler creations.

Hollow soldiers born from shadow, existing solely as extensions of Emery’s will. Every movement, every action, and every decision came directly from his own consciousness.

On the surface, ten peak-Magus clones held little value to a cultivator of Emery’s current level. Against Grand Magus opponents, they would be destroyed almost instantly.

Their true purpose lay elsewhere.

Reconnaissance.

Ten tireless scouts that required no rest, felt neither fear nor pain, and could be sacrificed without hesitation.

But their greatest advantage lay in something else entirely.

The shadow clones could use the Khaos Waypoints.

The realization sent a thrill through Emery.

The ten shadow figures silently assembled around him as he walked toward the great stone table at the center of the Khaos Hub.

At his touch, the ancient star chart bloomed to life, filling the chamber with countless points of shimmering light. Tens of thousands of Khaos Waypoints spread across the void, each one leading to a different corner of the universe.

Tens of thousands of destinations.

Tens of thousands of opportunities.

His gaze drifted across the glowing star chart until it finally settled upon a familiar region.

The territories of the dark elves.

A slow smile appeared on his face.

The shadow clones had arrived at exactly the right moment. They would allow him to infiltrate places his true body could never safely enter, slipping silently through hostile territory, gathering intelligence through eyes that could be discarded without consequence.

And this time...

He already had a target in mind.

Kieran.

The holder of the Fourth Khaos Gate.

Emery finally possessed the perfect means to seek him.