Chapter 976 The Final Defense

Without sugarcoating it, the former Peak Saint of Vantrea, Rathnaar the Conqueror, candidly offered Kahn advice on a strategy that would ultimately result in the loss of some of Kahn's allies. As this marked Kahn's first encounter with another Hero of a god possessing the Necromancy divine ability, his knowledge and expertise in facing such a formidable opponent were severely lacking.

Despite drawing upon his memory, Kahn could only recall a handful of potential weaknesses that might be exploited, yet none of them provided a guaranteed solution. This was unsurprising, given that Brutus, too, possessed an additional Divine Ability. Furthermore, given Brutus's previous roles as a skilled politician and tactician, it was evident that he had devised a strategic combination that would ensure his own survival.

[Kahn, the biggest trump cards we have here are you and Maximus. You won't die easily to Darkness and Rot used by a Necromancer and Maximus has an affinity to most of the natural elements of reality.

Also, he can use Light Element even better than anyone present here.

Instead of wasting time on a long-drawn frontal confrontation, you should focus on assisting him and exploit some of the weaknesses of Heroes with Necromancy divine ability.] revealed Rathnaar sternly.

[As long as it gets us alive out of this situation.] replied Kahn.

As for the whole strategy of 'sacrificing' allies to secure victory, Kahn didn't even hesitate to consider it.

Why?

The answer lies in the absence of any emotional bonds that might have deterred him from such a ruthless tactic. Although the battles they had faced thus far had been filled with camaraderie and teamwork under Maximus's leadership, the current version of Kahn was emotionally detached enough not to form any meaningful connections with those around him.

His presence in this perilous mission was driven by the need to maintain his fabricated identity as Atreus and gain access to the God's Domain designated for him. Inside that divine realm lay the opportunity to absorb the Divine Essence left behind by the God of Darkness, which was essential for preserving his own life.

Kahn's purpose here wasn't to play house or cultivate those typical 'Nakama-power' relationships often portrayed in manga and novels.

Kahn was a rational individual, and his decisions were consistently guided by logic and self-preservation.

In a scenario where the choice came down to sacrificing others, particularly those whom he didn't regard as friends or individuals worth knowing in the long run… Kahn's obvious priority would always be himself.

[Alright, kid. Now here's what we are going to do…] whispered Rathnaar.

Soon afterwards, he revealed his plan based on his own experience when he was alive and used to kill Heroes for the sake of making a statement.

[This is… ingenious.] replied Kahn and a slight smirk formed on his face.

Their whole encounter within his mind and the entire thought process was barely 15 seconds in the real world after Marcus Brutus had just declared his intentions and revealed the summoned Saints Guardians.

"This place is too small for my entertainment." said Brutus with a devilish grin.

Stomp!

He stomped his scepter on the floor and soon, the surrounding walls of the throne room turned into white dust, disappearing with a gust of wind.

Before anyone from the Hero's Party could react, they were all now transported to a pristine white desert filled with a chilling aura and a massive bright moon in the sky.

"This is… outside of the castle?" wondered Rolakan, the basilisk-kin mage.

This place was indeed outside of the black castle they previously saw after they entered through the gateway of this realm.

Meanwhile, Kahn had his own worries.

[That was at least a Legendary Rank spell that transported us all in a second. It's not an illusion magic skill and neither was it related to space law.

It was more like teleportation spanning hundreds of kilometers without even chanting a word and he somehow bent the reality to bring us here as if this realm beckoned to his will in mere seconds.

He's definitely not a foe to be taken lightly.] thought Kahn to himself.

He himself was a proper mage and his master was none other than the former Dragon Emperor himself. So obviously, Kahn could infer and analyze the situation and what kind of spell was used in mere moments.

"Make it entertaining. And most importantly, I want to see despair on the Hero's face as all of his comrades are killed in front of him." spoke Brutus meancingly and slowly leaned on his throne.

Shing!

A blinding golden shield encapsulated the Last Guardian and soon, his entire figure disappeared into thin air.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

One after another, massive auras made of leaden saint pressure erupted as the six undead guardians, now in their full saint rank form released their bloodlust.

Spat!

All of the Hero's Party members including Maximus and Kahn were instantly forced to fall flat on the ground made of nothing but white sand, their bodies unable to even move a muscle or take a breath.

But right at that moment…

"Divine Ability : Izanami's Champion!"

BOOM!!

A massive and multicolored aura skyrocketed and all the saint pressure mad e of killing intent was thwarted and thrown off of their bodies.

Thud!

The rest of the party members were throne few hundreds meters backwards from the point of explosion as the aura erupted.

Thud!

Thud!

The blinding light finally faded and in this vast and cold white desert, a ginormous titanic figure appeared, looking down at the saint guardians as if looking at small ants.

Maximus Gladius, aka the Hero of Nature had used his divine ability to transform into his perfectly synergized Titan Knight form as they faced the group of saints.

"Strategy 21." spoke the massive Maximus as his golden hair fluttered in the air and evn his words resonated in the nearby 3 kilometers.

"Atreus. I leave you in charge. If things go wrong, you know what to do.

So quickly get away from here. Because the way things are going to happen here from now on…" spoke the Hero of Nature with a firm and resolute voice of a overlord as he declared…

"I might end up killing you all by accident."