Hades mimicked a courteous Dragonmarshian gesture before he raised a hand and swiftly brought it downward. As a loud thunder boomed around them, the dark shadow of a palm the size of a hill materialized out of nowhere, and with the downward motion of Hades‘ hand, it too slammed down upon Rufus.
Under the enormous shadow, Rufus looked as tiny as an ant. Had the impact been brought down anywhere else, it would have reduced the entire medical center to a pile of rubble, much less any human.
“Boom!” Even from a great distance away, most of the Boulderthorn members fell to their knees and threw up blood from the remnant of the force. Vulnerable bystanders were always the ones who bore the brunt of the consequences whenever there were conflicts between those of greater power.
Ultimate grandmasters were basically nuclear weapons in human form! Just one move from them was enough to bring down mountains and cause the earth beneath their feet to part! Of course, these mere mortals would not be able to withstand it.
“Huh?” Dustin’s brows furrowed when he saw the huge shadow of a palm overhead. Just as he was hesitating on whether he should go ahead and make a move, an old man dressed in white emerged and pulled Rufus behind him.
At the same time, the old man emitted dazzling golden rays from his body, and a golden giant about 15 feet tall arose from behind him. In one swift motion, the giant’s fist made contact with the enormous palm–shaped shadow. With a reverberating bang, the shadow, which was about the size of a hill, instantly shattered into fine shards. The golden giant stood motionless and steady behind the old man, looking very much like a golden statue.
“Who are you?” Hades demanded maliciously. He had thought that they had their assassination plan down to a tee. It had never occurred to them that there would be a secret master hidden under their nose.
“You may call me Wilkins. I’m just a regular attendant in Aylka.” Though the old man had white hair, he had a childlike appearance. When he spoke, his gaze was cast downward to the ground, showing extreme humility and submission, and he lacked any sort of authority.
“Mr. Wilkins?” Hades squinted as he studied the man in front of him.
Then, it suddenly seemed to dawn on him. “Oh! I remember now. So you’re Nestor Wilkins? The legendary, unrivaled master within the palace gates?”
“That’s just a rumor. Nothing of the sort.” Still, the old man hung his head low, as if embarrassed.
“I do not care if that’s a rumor. I need you to get lost right now, or I’ll make sure you never get to see the next sunrise!” Hades ordered haughtily. They were in Dragonmarsh territory now, so he needed to get things done as fast as possible. The longer things dragged on, the higher their chances of failing were.
“I can’t.” Nestor shook his head. “I’ve come bearing two orders, and the first one is to protect the prince.”
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“Oh? And what of the second one?” Hades asked nonchalantly.
“To annihilate the gods of Streuqua.” And as he spoke, Nestor suddenly disappeared into thin air. When he took form again, he stood right in front of Hades with less than three feet between them.
“Huh?” Hades blanched. He felt like he had fallen into an icy stream. His scalp crawled, and all his hair stood on end.
Just as he was about to make a move, Nestor grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up over his head. Hades stiffened all over, and he could not feel his limbs. He could not even lift a finger. Gasps of astonishment broke out all around as they saw how weak Hades was in this person’s hands.
“We have laws here. And when you’re in our territory, you’ve got to obey our laws. It doesn’t matter if you’re a human, a demon, or a god; if you break our laws, you will pay for it. Oh, and I forgot to mention, no gods allowed in Dragonmarsh!” And with that, Nestor’s grip on Hades‘ throat
tightened, and with a deafening crack, his neck was snapped in two. Hades ceased to exist right then and there.
