Empire Of Souls 149 Battle For Supremacy 3

As the battle on the ground raged on, the one above the clouds had reached its finale. This was the true battle, because the victor would be the new and only hegemon of the Steppes. It didn't matter which army won, because a DemiG.o.d could easily slaughter tens of thousands. It may seem pointless to have the armies do battle when a single fight between two individuals could decide a conflict, but there was reason in it. 

The only way one could grow stronger, was through battle and tempering the soul. Those that survived, would be stronger for it, and those that died would provide nourishment for their deity. There was no loss to be had in this for deities. Whether they lived or died, it still served their purposes. It's just that, a DemiG.o.d's gains would be far less efficient than that of a G.o.d. Even Aleks would lose a portion of the 'Soul Potential' he gained when devouring souls. Keeping them alive would provide a continuous stream of potential from a wors.h.i.+pers soul. 

This was only a small amount, but when considered over a lifetime, was quite large with little loss due to inefficient integration.  Death would bring a one time benefit, which was a huge chunk of their acc.u.mulated 'Soul Potential', but the loss due to inefficient integration was huge. For Aleks, there was a much lesser loss when devouring, but there was still a loss in 'SP' gained. Of course, only Aleks could quantify this loss and gain through the inherited system he gained from Babel. For other beings, there was no way to quantify as such and it was more based on intuition and experience. Also, only Aleks could gain 'Soul Potential' from any being he devoured no matter which G.o.d or deity they served.

After the shockwave of power which rocked the region had finally dissipated, one could see the shock in the Dragon King's eyes. Aleks had blocked his most powerful attack and seemed to not even have weakened in the slightest. His translucent and ethereal monstrous form had not dimmed and the violet glow of purple flames still illuminated his enormous tentacled body. The tendrils coiled and writhed in a strange cadence seeming to close the curtains of this shocking battle. 

The Dragon King's strength was beginning to wane and he wouldn't be able to retain his gigantic body for much longer. He had used too much of his vitality. This did not escape Aleks's eye who was carefully and continuously a.n.a.lyzing his opponent as they fought. The Mask of Ishmael gave him this power, and it was one of his most useful tools. This mask was not just for show, and it could provide him vital information about his opponents in real time. As he grew stronger, the information it could give him would only increase. This was not its only use, and there were other important functions of the mask. This mask was already on the level of a G.o.dly artifact and would become Aleks's personal artifact on his road to ascension.

"I have decided to let you live. Submit to me." 

The Dragon King didn't expect for Aleks to demand his submission and he snorted coldly, "I am a dragon, a being far above mere humans. You would dare demand I submit? I would rather die and I will take you with me!"

Aleks chuckled. He found his words to be so hypocritical and absurd, "A being above humans? Yet you have struggled for how long and yet you have still not ascended. How many dragons have become G.o.ds? How many humans? If we are to consider this, then wouldn't dragons be far beneath humans, who greatly outnumber dragons among the heavens? You are delusional if you think it matters. You are a beast and while your physical forms are powerful, your comprehension of laws are limited. This is the reason why it is so difficult for a dragon to ascend."

Aleks's words had hit a sore spot and the Dragon King angrily growled, "Enough talk!"

The Dragon King's body began to shrink, but this was not because he had fully lost his strength. Instead, the Dragon King hoped to gain speed in order to launch a suicide attack on Aleks. He was hoping that he could take out Aleks alongside him. This way, at the least, his kin might survive and perhaps one day they could achieve what he could not.

"Futile." was all Aleks said, and as the Dragon King shrank and then picked up speed, Aleks's tendrils vibrated rapidly. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

His 'Soul Tendrils' illuminated in the light of his 'Soul Flare' ability which merged with the tendrils whipped around in an effort to strike at the Dragon King. Although he had shrank in size, his body was still large and about the same as a normal adult dragon. It was difficult to avoid the whip like tendrils which lashed at him. As he sped up and drew closer to Aleks, his body heated up to an extreme temperature. So much so, that his scales which were black began to burn up taking on a reddish orange glow. It appeared as if he were overloading his body with magma in order to explode in one last attack. This would be far more powerful than his previous attack, but at the cost of his life.

Even Aleks needed to handle this attack with care and he doubted he could take it head on and survive. He continued to control his tendrils and hundreds, if not thousands, of tentacles whipped around in the air eventually grabbing ahold of the hapless dragon. If Aleks hadn't intentionally been trying to capture the dragon alive, this would have been a far shorter battle. It had always been his plan to force the dragons and their servants into submission. They would be far more useful to him alive. This was the reason he had told his subordinates not to kill any of the Legendary dragons with the exception of the first one Grobak killed. Of course, no one knew it was Grobak who had done the killing.

With the tendrils beginning to surround the Dragon King and latch onto his body, the Dragon King slowed down and began to be restrained. He tried to forcefully struggle out of their grasp, but more and more tendrils wrapped around him. The worst part was the violet flames which were draining his vitality and strength the longer they touched his body. Since he had the body of a powerful DemiG.o.d, they didn't immediately reduce his body to ash. They instead were draining his vitality and also had an effect on his soul. This caused his ability to begin to fail and his body was starting to visibly cool as he became weaker.

"d.a.m.n you! I won't submit!" roared the Dragon King in a rage.

"You have lost. No matter how much you struggle, you will never free yourself from my clutches. You won't submit? Will you submit after I kill your kin and offspring one by one? How many will it take? Or perhaps I should wipe away any memory that there ever was such a Dragon King and a Black Dragon Clan?"

His words only enraged the Dragon King even more, but it didn't matter how he struggled. He couldn't free himself from the hundreds of 'Soul Tendrils' which wrapped around him like chains. 

Seeing his plight, Aleks's words softened, but not out of any type of kindness. First he would offer him the stick, and then he would offer him the carrot.

"I could easily wipe out all of your kind and make sure that no dragons will ever find a place of rest. But.. this is not something I wish to do. I have no quarrel with your kind and I even admire your strengths quite a bit. Serve me as your master and I will promise you that when I inevitably ascend there will be a place for you at my side. I have need of such servants for my road is long and filled with danger. Think, your life has been long and you have risen to such heights despite the adversity your kind has faced. Will you really abandon all of that for a moment of anger?"

With such insidious words, the Dragon King visibly calmed and could not refute. He knew that these words would only lead him down an endless pit, but what choice did he have? And if it could in fact lead to what he had been wis.h.i.+ng for even in his dreams, would he not hop right in?