Child of Destiny

Flouree and Crimson could not help but halt their tracks after reaching the next intersection. It was because they saw Leonard and the others split up and take three different directions without even looking back.

Their burst of speed was so strong that they left the pair in the dust within just an instant.

Flouree could not help but furrow her brows as she could see why Leonard and the others had made this choice. However, she did not expect that these guys would be decisive, boldly taking this choice despite the grave risks that came alongside it.

Crimson also furrowed her brows after being shocked. “What now, Captain? Are we going to continue chasing them?”

It was also at this moment that the rest of the team caught up to them. They looked at the corridors connected to the intersections and did not know what to say.

Flouree went silent for a moment before asking. “Where are Senior Gernard and the others coming from?”

“They are spawned at the northeast part of the map. We will most likely meet them if we take this corridor ahead,” replied Matilda after a brief calculation.

Looking over, Flouree knitted her brow once again. It was the place where Leonard and Akailu were heading.

She was considering whether to give chase or not, but she quickly shook her head and dropped that thought. “We are stopping here. We will head to the central hall as per our plan and wait for the others there.”

“Why?” Sylas could not help but ask as he felt that was a good chance to take down the opposing side now that they had separated.

They could ignore Alucard and Diablo if they want and chase after Leonard and Akailu, trapping them into a pincer attack with Gernard and his group.

At the very least, they could cripple the strongest force of the Empyrean Talons if they managed to take down the War God with this opportunity.

Unfortunately, reality was far from what he was expecting. It was Lucid who had replied to him. “Do you think it is easy to catch that guy?”

“He is a War God for a reason. His experience is much richer than you expect. If we can think of such a plan, he can obviously think of it as well.”

“If we try to chase and push him toward a certain direction, there is a high chance of his seeing through our intention and avoiding the paths that can possibly lead them into a trap,” he added before turning ahead.

Flouree also nodded at this point as she added. “Thinning out our forces is also not a good choice since it is no different from falling into their intention.”

She then turned to Lucid before asking. “What about Kael and the other two? How’s their situation on that side?”

Lucid slightly furrowed his brows before closing his eyes. It took him quite a while before opening his eyes once again.

With an even deeper frown, he replied. “They still seem to be locked in battle against the Battle God and Herald of Chaos.”

“Those two other rookies of the Empyrean Talons, the little shaman and the paladin, are also still alive, somehow,” he added.

Flouree nodded before issuing her order. “Let’s go to the central hall. Once we meet with Gernard and the others, we will immediately head for the Battle God.”

“He is the centerpiece of the Empyrean Talons. Once we have taken him down, the rest will be much easier to deal with,” she added.

The others also did not question her decision and could only turn and head in the direction of their meeting place.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom! Boom!

At the same time, the battle between Shin’s team and the trio from the Earners Mercenary Group had finally reached the most crucial level.

Kael’s level of power had already reached an unimaginable level after increasing the number of elemental wisps under his command, further enhancing the efficiency of control over the elements.

But despite all of these, he was still unable to fully overpower Shin, who was clearly advancing and improving during the battle.

The scariest part about this was the fact that Shin was also starting to figure out the logic about his Elven Ancient Powers, which was also being applied to Shin’s control over his elemental powers.

He was applying the logic behind Kael’s method to amplify the resonance between him and his elemental spirits, which resulted in multiple surprises.

Because of this, Kael started to lose his footing and all the initiative in every exchange. His frown was also growing deeper as he needed more focus in the battle compared to earlier.

This also led to him neglecting the side where Yamamoto and Sakura were fighting.

That was also when accidents happened.

…

Samael fully understood that it would be harder for them to catch the two Maverick Gods with their limited strength. If they wanted to catch these two godly experts, they had to lure them into a trap, which could give them the opportunity to defeat them in a single swoop.

Looking around and noticing that they were no longer under the suppression of Kael’s overwhelming spell. The said Godlike Player was also quite far from them, dragged by Shin, in the distance, to fight.

If anything, Samael knew that this was the most ideal opportunity that they had, where they could catch Sakura and Yamamoto.

Checking his current position, he realized that he was currently within the center of Huahua’s Totem Array and Chaotic Luck’s Battle Formation.

He then recalled one of their training sessions and came up with an idea. He then looked over his shoulder and said to his little sister. “Huahua, get ready to activate the Five Sealing Array. I’ll be luring them in.”

Huahua might have little experience, but she could at least tell what her big brother was planning to deal with this current situation. “Brother, there is no need to…”

But before she could even persuade him, Samael immediately added. “There may be some other ways for it. But given our current situation, having one of us sacrifice ourselves is the only way for us to secure a much higher chance of success.”

“We can’t always rely on the others to save us all the time. Sometimes, we have to take the initiative to take the risks if we want to achieve something bigger,” he added as he also recalled his experiences when participating in the ongoing war between the two major factions of the game in the Dark Cloud Kingdom.

At times, they also had to consider the bigger picture if they wanted to achieve the results they desired.

‘Losing the battle but winning the war’ was one of the things that he had learned from that chaotic place.

Huahua wanted to say something more, but she quickly swallowed her words after recalling the lessons that their Commander had taught her.

Cloe had told her that it was close to impossible to save everyone in battle, so the healer’s main job was to minimize the casualties as much as they could.

Only if she were strong enough could she save everyone and protect them from any harm.

A decisive look suddenly appeared on her face as she nodded heavily. She would be going with the plan that her brother wanted to try this time, while trying her best to assist him. She hoped that she could also save him. But she would not be stubborn about it if it were still far from her capabilities.

She could only train hard and try to do better in the future.

Seeing the look that his little sister was making, Samael smiled before turning his head back to Sakura and Yamamoto, who were locked in an intense battle against the blazing skeletal monsters.

“I’ll be luring them in. Prepare yourself well,” he said before charging forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

On the side of the battle, Sakura and Yamamoto were also starting to gain a decent advantage over the legion of blazing undead due to them not being under the pressure provided by Shin’s presence.

They also had more freedom this time, especially when they were gaining enough momentum and tempo in the battle.

Swoosh!

But before they could even overwhelm the skeletal monsters surrounding them, Samael suddenly invaded their area of control, which disrupted their rhythm.

Bang!

“This brat again!” cursed Yamamoto as he was getting annoyed at Samael’s presence.

This guy always appeared whenever they were about to gain a better footing in the battle and about to turn the tide.

“Let’s deal with him first!” shouted Sakura, feeling the same frustration.

Seeing them focusing on him, Samael swiftly retreated, planning to use the surrounding skeleton soldiers and skeletal monsters as a cover for his retreat.

“There is no running away this time, brat!” yelled Yamamoto as he quickly gave chase.

Meanwhile, Sakura took a detour, trying to block the paladin’s retreat path while also attempting to target Huahua, who was in the distance, at the same time.

Samael remained calm when he saw all of this, retreating steadily. He then suddenly stopped when he had lured them deep enough into the Totem Array.

Yamamoto and Sakura could not help but pause their tracks when they saw this, sensing that there was something wrong with the action of the latter.

Unfortunately for them, it was already too late to retreat at this point.

Samael held the sword with both of his hands, placing it vertically before him. He then channeled the blessing of the sun and moon into it while chanting out the unique prayers of the church at the same time.

He did not even wait for the opposing side to fully react as he swiftly raised and quickly flipped the sword before strongly stabbing it into the ground.

‘Paladin of the Sun and Moon (Tier 3): Imprisonment of the Solar Storm’

…