The Villain's Story

Chapter 976: The Jade Army(2).

All beings constructed by the supreme grade domain known as the Jade Palace have one thing in common, it is their relation to their creator.

From the smallest serpent to the largest king of beasts. From the weakest soldier all the way to the strongest champion… the core of their existence is always Alan Peccator.

All of them are modeled after him, they share his traits, his tendencies, and to a certain extent, his gifts. Under the influence of the false crown, they embody a young Alan Peccator, the one that was still sealed perfectly.

A raging blizzard, an unstoppable force of nature. Nobody could stop Alan in the confines of his own rank, and even above, to a certain extent. He is unstoppable, he was made to be unstoppable.

He was made to reach the pinnacle of not only the dragon race but also the god beasts, as well as the void spawns. Furthermore, he was designed for survival, for supremacy, for dominance. James had made him to be so.

He was his magnum opus, and someone as arrogant and self-absorbed as James would never allow his masterpiece to be anything less than perfect. Everything he had done, he had done with purpose.

To create a being so powerful that he would eventually rise above the Three Prime Species, a being so powerful he would touch the realm of Absolute, a being that would make The Creator whimper in fear, a being that would be better than everybody. His ego would settle for nothing less than that.

And the soldiers of the Jade Army embody this perfectly, they show a part of Alan that he does not understand himself yet, an ego that does not dare let anything anything prove themselves better.

They march, under the order of their generals, and they march with the ferocity of Alan Peccator, they march with the Will of Alan Peccator. They march with the tenacity of Alan Peccator.

Furthermore, they march with the power of Alan Peccator. His strength, his speed, his endurance. Even if they do not possess the healing factor Alan has…

They do not care. They will rip and tear until the job is done. Furthermore, they will march, and if they cannot march, they will crawl. And if they cannot crawl, they will propel themselves with mana to finish the job.

And with potent healer units right behind them? Nestled in the middle of their formations, where they can do as they wish? They plow through the ranks of insects like a grinder. A single soldier is capable of taking three termites by himself, anymore and he would lose. Even a single worker has a good chance against a soldier ant. It is simply the difference in species.

It is the embodiment of Alan’s own existence, a superior being that none can match. At the forefront of their army, their generals continue to plow down hordes after hordes of insects as they continue the conquest.

The Serpents devour the termites, and their knights cleave them apart. Any that get past, the soldiers turn into paste. The entire army is supported by powerful mages, that although restricted in a single element… play directly to the strengths of the Jade Army.

The Jade Palace is a domain of the [Frost] affinity, frost spells work the best in boosting them, and furthermore, they are still within the vicinity of the Jade Palace, providing them an additional buff.

The General Type units are more fit to battle, and shower their army with their passive skills to empower them further. The fragile, commander type units are in the back, keeping a keen eye on the situation. The mages support the army with a cacophony of spells…

And all of it results in an absolute slaughter of the insects. They may have numbers on their side, but in the tunnels, in their own tunnels… they are incapable of using that advantage. Even in the broader chambers, they can do nothing but be shredded apart by the Jade Army.

Due to the mages constantly bombarding the area with frost spells, along with the generals doing the same, the walls are covered in ice. They cannot climb, their claws struggle to find a proper grip… but the Jade Army?

They can do whatever the termites could, for now, it is their home ground. The ice assists them in every way possible, enabling them to perform a weaker version of Alan’s frostwalker.

Allowing them to walk, or rather, slide through frozen air, making them unpredictable. They are chaos incarnate for the Termites, and they simply can’t do anything as their very home is turned against them.

They can do nothing against the invaders, for they counter them in every way. The cold bites into their bodies, slowing them down. Their natural weapons are covered in layers upon layers of ice, and they break down right in front of their very eyes.

In the purest sense of the word, it is a slaughter. The army moves in sync through all the tunnels, as they slowly but gradually approach the heart of the nest.

But the army will be late, for the nest faces another adversary.

The Champion of the Jade Army walks through the tunnels with leisured steps, every step he takes infuses the world around him in strong frost energy, turning any insects in the vicinity into sculptures of ice.

There is no urgency in his march, and none are capable of disturbing it. His entire body is covered in a layer of thick armor, he is as tall as Alan Peccator in his Ice-Draconian form, and just as bulky, even without the armor.

Below the armor, are scales that most of his rank find it near impossible to penetrate. His bladed tail is packed full of muscle, and easily capable of skewering the sturdiest monsters.

Champions are unique units, there can only be a set number of them at any time, and the cost to summon one is exorbitant. However, Champions are direct images of Alan Peccator, confined to a single element.

They are him, in the truest sense of the word. They are the units of the Jade Palace closest to their ruler. Furthermore, they know everything he knows.

Not a single insect is capable of stopping him, and soon, he reaches the heart of the nest. His mana permeates the surroundings, freezing the walls, the air, and the mana of the hundreds of the Queen’s guards. Some die before being awakened, but most are ready for him. Behind them all, the Queen watches the invader as its mana moves to protect and strengthen the soldiers.

So it is you? The bastard that dares invite his army to my nest?

The Champion turns his head towards her, as a spear of ice, an exact replica of the Ame-No-Sakahoko materializes in his hands. A construct of his own mana, more potent than most weapons of his rank.

He stares at the queen through the gaps of his helmet, his reptilian… no, dragonic eyes peer through the wall of guards and find the enormous insect behind. He nods, and points his spear at her.

You come alone? Foolish, when you are defeated, your army will retreat as well. How foolish of the leader to march by himself!

A wave of mana is released from the Termite Queen, a show of her fury, of her defiance, and desire to live.

The Champion responds.

“I am not the leader. The lord remains in the palace, merely waiting for me to bring him your head.”

His voice is empowered with mana, though a far cry from real Dragon Tongue, it is capable of destroying the mana of the Termite Queen, pushing it back into her body.

Die!

She orders, and her royal guards rush at the champion, who responds by raising his spear high towards the sky. His mana moves with the precision of a dragon subspecies, and revolves around his spear.

With high speed and terrifying power, a chainsaw of mana envelops his spear, and he brings it down.

Abyssal Rend.

No, this is not the seventh star martial art, but something eerily similar. Something the Champion created himself, using his sole affinity to ice to his advantage. It is something inspired from the Abyssal Spear, but he has yet to name the martial art.

It is better for his lord to decide that, however, the Champion is well aware of the name of the first technique of the technique, one carrying the name of one of his lords spells, one signifying the power of his element of ice.

Glacial Rend.

A blanket of white takes over the nest, blinding the guards, the Queen, and the world itself. The nest trembles from its sheer might, one that even Alan feels in the heart of the Jade Palace. He smiles a little, satisfied.

The Royal Guards, the countless eggs, and the Queen herself are gone, reduced to nothing but powdered snow. They offer no resistance, for they are too slow for it. Winter had come for them, and they were unprepared.

The Champion leaves the empty room, returning to his army, which has also annihilated the nest. In only half a day or slightly more, the Jade Army has annihilated the nest.

Not a single insect remains, and not a single casualty is suffered by the Jade Army.

They return to their home, to tell their lord of their flawless victory.