The Achievement Junkie

"After I'm done learning you, then I'll make sure and teach that runt Halmut a few things!"

"THAT BRAT!!!"

Halmut roared and smashed one of the chairs around the viewing table, one of the chairs that Halmut hadn't already smashed.

"He's lucky to be alive!" shouted Halmut, breathing more fire around the room. "When I get my chance, you'll be left drawn and quartered! Your skull will rest at my desk and your hide will adorn my floor so that you'll forever be trampled under my feet!"

As Halmut tried to calm his breathing, flames trickled out of his throat. Only the soothing sensation of absorbing stimulants could calm Halmut's wild flames.

But the more Halmut watched, the fierier his temper became.

*****

"After I'm done learning you, then I'll make sure and teach that runt Halmut a few things!"

That statement rocked the legendary gods to their core. Most didn't know the truth about Halmut's stature but every god understood exactly how the arrogant Sun God would take such disrespect. At the same time, the Leisure Gods smiled and laughed at such a statement. It would be unfitting for Jack to not say such things, and Duorda was chuckled the hardest of all.

Torian grimaced at hearing such a comment but his mind was elsewhere. He was focused on the dagger that was left in his back.

The Thundering God pulled out the blade and took a sniff. Immediately, Torian's eyes widened. "Poison…"

Having a divine constitution made nearly poison useless against him. However, Torian wasn't one to underestimate his opponents. Torian wouldn't give Jack so little credit after managing to string Torian along some elaborate plan without the dragon knowing any better. That's why Torian was sure that such a poison may actually have some effect, and having Dragas on Jack's side only added to that possibility. It was slight and nearly unnoticeable, but Torian felt that part of his back already starting to grow numb. Torian chomped down on another potion but it had no effect.

However, Torian had no time to spare. He rushed to the aid of Grixor, leveling the playing field and forcing Moranti to focus more on defense against the fastest god. One moment was all it would take for Dragas to get targeted, but the same could be said for anyone.

"I'm… alive? Already?" Kori asked with a sigh.

One of Jack's copies vanished, leaving one holding the Fox in the air. "Can you help Jin? That other swordsman has something else to do?"

"Right… I'm on it!"

Getting his focus back to the moment at hand, Kori leaped to the battlefield below and that image of Jack faded away. Once Kori hit the ground, he entered his full fox form and dashed into action. The fox slaughtered anything he could while maintaining his top speed.

Tyres, keeping a close eye on the surroundings, noticed Kori's fall and mad dash. It was easy to deduce what was about to happen.

Suddenly, Tyres forced his body to fight at its absolute peak strength, expending a tremendous amount of energy in a single moment. He had no time left with a third combatant arriving to tip the scale of battle. Since Tyres still had a slight edge now, he intended on keeping it.

Lightning wrapped around Tyres's body and wind kept Tyres nimble and light-footed. The Sword God rocketed forward, aiming to cleave through Jin's neck and torso.

Such speed was too much for the under-leveled Jin to keep up with. The samurai managed to block one sword but failed to defend the second strike. However, something strange happened the moment Tyres made contact.

CLANG!

Tyres connected with a shockingly strong shield, held up by the mystery swordsman. Though the swordsman was thrown back by the blow, the shield remained intact with only a few scratches. Jin was also pushed back, nearly tumbling after colliding with the mystery man.

"A shield?! Where's your courage?!" Jin shouted, belittling the helmed swordsman. "True swordsmen have no need for such things!"

The man remained silent and dashed forward with his thick and heavy roxite shield at the forefront. With the heavy shield in one arm and the flexible rapier in the other, the man charged at Tyres from various angles, changing his fighting style in response to Torian's sudden urge to end it all.

"Just die! You're wasting my time!" Tyres shouted, infuriated to learn that the swordsman had actually been holding back the whole time.

Now, when Tyres tried to rush past, the helmed swordsman man would simply halt each charge or protect Jin when the samurai couldn't keep up. Against the swordsman with a defensive mindset, Tyres's efforts and surplus mana turned futile.

Tyres focused on the shield now, creating a deeper cut in the roxite with each attack. It was still a mortal item, after all, proving unable to fully keep up with divine combat. But just as Tyres cracked the shield and left them defenseless, Kori had arrived.

"No more help!" Jin shouted, rushing Tyres and not wanting Kori to steal his kill.

Yet, to Jin's and Tyres's surprise, the mystery swordsman teleported away without reappearing with another strike against the Sword God.

"He's busy, so now it's just you and me, Jin!" Kori howled, entering his hybrid form and surrounding their vicinity with roaring black flames. "I'll support, so go for the kill."

"Fine!" Jin agreed as he clashed his katanas against Tyres's long swords. He was glad that at least another swordsman wouldn't kill his prey or outshine him.

On the other side of the battlefield, Dragov neared ascension. But more and more dragons were ignoring the other beasts and rushing toward the centipede. This led to those protecting Dragov feeling undeniably overwhelmed.

Jack's wives and party were seen as some of the weaker defenders, now standing in the high sixties while others like Argyle or Kaldor were entering their eighties. Their teamwork was the reason for their success thus far, and the lack of teamwork between the various species of arrogant dragons. However, being overwhelmed was still a viable strategy for the dragons.