“So, you’re the one who’s been wreaking havoc on Abrinadus’ faction?” The Admiral said. “I have to say, you’re smaller than I expected.”
Sam simply stared at the man, before shaking his head. “I feel like my actions should say more about me than my height. Whatever. Your subordinates said that my help was wanted?”
“Yes. We’re planning a concentrated attack on Abrinadus’ greatest holdings, in order to cripple his faction before we go for the kill. Are you interested in joining us?”
“I was planning on killing the dragon as soon as possible. Why should I delay for this?” Sam asked.
“Abrinadus is not what he seems,” the Admiral said. “He draws power from those beneath him, with that twisted Dao of his. He’s too strong right now for any of us to defeat, even in his old age.”
Sam opened his mouth, but then shut it as memories of his crushing defeat at the hands of Granthar played through his mind. Of his body, twisted and broken on the shattered ground, as the tyrant king battled above. I’m not invincible. I need to start acting in a more intelligent manner.
“In that case, I’ll join you. We might as well soften up Abrinadus before we kill him.”
The other man’s face twisted into a grin. “Great. Let’s get started.”
A notification appeared a moment later, confirming Sam’s decision.
You have entered Floor 8 of the Desolation Belt(Challenge Mode)
In killing thousands of Abrinadus’ underlings, you have drawn the attention of the Blacktusks, a local pirate group. While you surpass them in every way, you have decided to ally with them temporarily, and lay low the forces of your ultimate foe. Slay the remainder of Abrinadus’ forces, as many as you can without directly engaging the dragon himself. For this quest, allied kills will count, but only if you contribute at least a quarter of the total.
Completion: 0/783,947
Rewards: Title Upgrade
Shit,” Sam said, raising an eyebrow. “There’s that many of them?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“That many of who?” Boss asked.
“Abrinadus’ forces. I just received a quest from the System. It says there’s almost a million of them.”
On the other side of the screen, Admiral Zarnag smiled. “Yes, there are. That’s partially why this whole thing is taking so long. To say nothing of Abrinadus, we only have a few hundred E Rankers in the entire fleet. Abrinadus has thousands of them.”
“I assume they stay close to him?” Sam asked, wondering how the dragon maintained his power, if it was truly dependent on the lives of his followers.
“Most of them live in Abrinadus’ stronghold. He calls it Wyrm’s Haven. It’s made from the core of a dwarf star, forged into a bastion over a millenia.”
“Sounds like a worthy challenge,” Sam replied, already imagining the fight in his mind.
“Oh,” Zarnag began, grinning, “it certainly will be.”
***
Time passed as Sam traversed the asteroid field, now with a ship to carry him. The Brutalizer was a lot faster than it looked, using the element of space in a different way to most spacecraft of a similar Rank. Rather than accelerating over time, it used vast quantities of Dao energy and Dark elemental energy to punch holes in space, traveling over vast distances in the blink of an eye.
The only problem was that it required time to recharge, about an hour. While in that state, it was basically paralyzed, with only a few boosters able to propel it. The problem didn’t come from construction, rather, from the conceptual energy involved. The entire engine was a sort of cheat mechanism, able to access higher tiers of elemental control, at the cost of a long cooldown period. The only reason it worked was that the ship made up for its traversal of space by remaining still for extended periods of time. While an hour was a long time at E Rank, the fact that it could jump anywhere within the span of a few dozen light years was a definite bonus.
Sam stood on the bridge, looking through the thick glass as space warped around the ship, transporting it to another one of Abrinadus’ strongholds. A craggy lump of rock a few hundred miles across, the asteroid was half destroyed, an impact crater blasted into it that was large enough to hold a small ocean.
Within that crater, a vast portal had been constructed, a loop of swirling light out of which ships poured, carrying all manner of advanced weaponry. While the servants of Abridanus were hardly the strongest of fighters, they had access to the dragon’s riches, accumulated over his millenia of life. Cannons capable of scarring moons adorned the largest ships, with even the smallest ones were outfitted with city-killing weaponry. However, none of that meant anything, not when Sam was on the battlefield.
He teleported out of the ship, appearing in the blackness of space, his armor a barrier between himself and the void. He was nearly invisible against the backdrop, and he took advantage of that, teleporting towards his foes. The vastness of space was sometimes deceptive, and while his E Rank senses could easily pick out the nearest ships, that nearness was relative. They were still hundreds of miles away. It took a few teleports to get to his target, a small cruiser, about two hundred feet in length, and fifty in width. Its cannon was pointed directly at the Blacktusk ship, and was preparing to fire.
