Chapter 290 Who Is The Strongest?
Reflecting on the first time he created the Dawnshadow Blades, Moku bows his head and gazes at the twin Karambits in his hands. The blades of the Dawnshadow Blades have a bright and translucent blue color, with pulsating magical energy shimmering along their length. As Moku grips the weapons, dragon prana begins to flow automatically from his body, filling the Karambit blades with perfect precision.
The blades have an elegant and curved design, with sharp and deadly tips. Moku feels as if he is looking at claws that are an extension of his own nails, such is the fusion of the Dawnshadow Blades with his being.
The handle of the Dawnshadow Blades is made from the same material as the blades, with a touch of magic that makes it comfortable to hold and in harmony with the dragon prana that Moku possesses. The handle adapts to the shape of its owner's hand, making Moku feel as if the Dawnshadow Blades are one with his hand, providing extra comfort and agility when used.
When wielded in battle, the blue biofield contained within the weapons emits a faint glow that exudes a menacing presence. When injuring enemies, the Dawnshadow Blades are capable of absorbing vital energy from their bodies and using it to enhance the owner's strength. This is due to the dragon prana within the Dawnshadow Blades consuming the mana within the enemy's body and converting it into new dragon prana for Moku.
With the Dawnshadow Blades in his hands, Moku no longer needs to fight while consuming his enemies, as he did when facing the swarm of Arachnid Bees. He can continuously replenish the dragon prana within his body and enhance his regenerative abilities.
Furthermore, the uniqueness of the Dawnshadow Blades lies in their ability to adapt to their owner. The weapons actively respond to the strength and emotions of their wielder, strengthening the bond between them and providing additional advantages in battle.
With the distinctive blue biofield material originating from his own body, the Dawnshadow Blades become highly personalized weapons with a strong connection to Moku. They are not just deadly killing tools but also an extension of the owner's power and identity in this world. They become a symbol of what Moku envisioned when he created them.
Moku was highly satisfied with the Dawnshadow Blades. However, he remained aware that even with the Dawnshadow Blades, he was no match for a Level 5 Constellation Mage with domain abilities. Upon hearing the story of Nezena's Raid Army's battle with the mages in the village of Rizan, Moku realized that the mage's domain was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Within their domain, it was as if the world belonged to the caster. They could control anything as long as it was within their domain's scope. The enemies Nezena faced were even able to manipulate the souls of dead elves and control them as extensions of their own hands.
There was no place to take shelter from the mage's spells within their domain. Enemies could suddenly attack from all sides, corners, and directions. It was like fighting against three people at once. While we could defend or attack those in front or beside us, it was nearly impossible to control those who came from behind.
Fortunately, the enemy Nezena faced at the time was a mage specializing in the Soul spell faction. His main ability was to debuff his enemies within the domain. However, this would not be effective against asuras and valkyries because the dragon prana within their bodies automatically consumed any mana-based debuffs.
However, this ability was deadly for monsters that did not possess dragon prana within their bodies. Out of the two hundred hobgoblins and druids sent with Nezena's Raid Army, only twenty survived. Even then, it was because they were positioned outside the mage's domain when the battle took place.
If they had been within the domain, their fate would have been the same as the other hobgoblins and druids. However, the final attack from that mage, which caused Nezena to lose half of her body, was truly terrifying. Moku even doubted if he could survive or if he would end up like Nezena when that attack was directed at him.
That's why he suppressed his anger and followed Nevare's advice not to attack without proper preparation. Nevertheless, as Moku and the monsters prepared themselves, news of the battle between Nezena's Raid Army and the mage forces would surely have reached the ears of the high-ranking members of the Elven Alliance.
Their hidden existence was finally revealed. Moku was also certain that the mage forces had begun to search the Bog Forest for traces of Nezena's Raid Army, who had fled with severe injuries. It was only a matter of time before they arrived at Bitter Maja and realized the existence of the Wilwatikta Kingdom.
If that happened, Moku didn't know how ambitious the Elven Alliance would be in their desire to destroy them. He had to act quickly before that could happen.
Moku closed his eyes and began to focus his dragon prana to enter the lotus flower in the fourth chamber. He had climbed all the stages of evolution and reached the fourth chamber. He had already bloomed six petals of the lotus flower, with only one petal left before he could open the gate to the fourth evolution.
Within a few minutes, Moku channeled all the dragon prana he had acquired from eating several platinum-tier danger mutated animals and also utilized the stored dragon prana in the generator room. Just before the amount of dragon prana he possessed reached a mere 60%, the final petal of the lotus flower in the fourth chamber opened.
As before, the lotus flower spun clockwise, absorbing all the mana around Moku and transforming it into dragon prana. Moku's body became like a large black hole, absorbing all the light around him. However, before the lotus flower could spin counterclockwise and create the illusory giant trumpet like the previous evolutions, Moku transformed into his Mind Body form.
Instantly, he was transported into the Mind Realm and arrived in Pandava. The evolution process continued, but the illusory giant trumpet was not created in the real world or the Astral Realm; it existed only within the Mind Realm.
This was the method that Moku discovered to conceal the mana explosion that occurred during Asuras' evolution. By connecting them to Pandava, all the asuras could be transported to the Mind Realm when their evolutions were about to begin.
As a result, the rampaging mana would lose its target and return to a calm state as before. This way, even though many mages were currently engaged in battle around the Bog Forest, they would not sense the mana explosion or be aware of the presence of the asuras as they did previously.
The illusory giant trumpet formed above Moku and his body was immediately enveloped in a white membrane, forming a cocoon. The giant lotus flower at the tip of the illusory trumpet began to spin rapidly.
Slowly but surely, the cocoon surrounding Moku grew thicker, and his consciousness was drawn toward the gate of evolution. Standing there was Garuda, with its majestic wings folded. It stared at Moku from head to toe, without uttering a word.
Moku remained silent and stared deeply at Garuda. He had a feeling that even if he were to open the gate to the fourth evolution, he still wouldn't be able to reach Garuda's level. The question of how strong Garuda was resurfaced in his mind, causing Moku's heart to tremble as he looked at the goal before him.
Moku always wanted to become the strongest, so he had a strong desire to understand what it meant to be the strongest. The strongest creature he had ever encountered was right in front of him, and he yearned to experience its immense power.
"I am not the strongest, and if you want to test my strength, be prepared to never see your wives again. My breath alone may be a danger to you," Garuda replied to the question in Moku's mind.
Moku reflexively asked, "Who is the strongest?"
Garuda remained silent for a moment as if contemplating something or experiencing something. Only when he became much stronger in the future would Moku realize that Garuda was considering how much he could tell him before the young asura's body turned to dust.
Sometimes, certain things could be so dangerous that knowing them required sacrificing one's life.
"You know who," that's all Garuda said.
"Who?" Moku was confused.
Garuda shook his head and changed the topic of conversation. "Is there something else you want to ask me?"
Moku understood that Garuda didn't want to delve further into the matter. So, he began to talk about the domain abilities possessed by Level 5 Constellation Mages.
"Do you have any advice on how to fight against or at least defend against their domain abilities?" Moku finally asked.
Garuda answered, "The domain ability you mentioned is one form of the fraction of the Power of Law. Every world has its own laws, and those laws are controlled by something. In your current world, that something is mana. When a mage reaches a certain level of power, their closeness to mana becomes so profound that mana trusts them to control the fraction of the Power of Law.
"However, a fraction is still just a fraction. Mana doesn't fully trust them to wield the Power of Law, so its usage remains limited. In this case, the usage of the Power of Law is restricted to the extent of the domain that the mage is capable of creating."