(Dumpy’s POV)
Dumpy watched the clash unfold from the sidelines, his bulging eyes following every spark and shockwave as Charles thoroughly dominated the two enemy Commanders.
Usually, he was indifferent to stuff not pertaining to himself or his Lord Father, however, for the first time today, he felt a strange excitement unfold within him as he saw Charles kick ass.
"Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! I knew the smoking man had to be conserving his strength..... he’s too strong to let those fools dominate him.
But what I don’t understand is, why did he take damage in the first place?
And why is he still gazing towards the sky, as if expecting another opponent?" Dumpy muttered, as he followed Charles’s gaze towards the night sky, but saw no-one up there, as he felt baffled on what was really going on?
—-------------
(Meanwhile, Raymond)
As per Kaelith’s command, his son Raymond had been stationed just beyond Juxta’s skies for nearly a year, his fleet drifting in patient silence like wolves at the edge of a campfire.
During this time, he had occasionally tested the planet’s strength, sending a handful of ships to strike the mana shield and measure its response, but nothing more.
For when he first arrived, Soron himself had delivered a warning, one so blunt and absolute that it shackled every move he made.
The message sent was clear: if Raymond so much as attempted to pierce Juxta’s atmosphere or set foot upon its soil, Soron had promised that he would personally hunt him down.
And hence, even today, he did not join the initial wave of attack launched by Entrail and Streak, and instead watched the situation unfold from afar.
"The Commanders sent by Mauriss have both been killed by Charles, father..... he’s made short work of them, and is currently gazing in my direction.
I feel like, from the very start, he didn’t register those two as genuine threats, and was more fixated on my actions." Raymond said over a crystal stone, as Kaelith answered from the other side.
"Soron must have known that Charles is strong enough to handle those fools.
My brother won’t reveal himself for such minor matters.
But I would suggest that you steer clear of this conflict, because if you so much as dare approach Juxta, my brother will come out personally to kill you." Kaelith warned, as Raymond felt a chill run down his spine.
His father was the strongest fighter he had ever faced.
Nicknamed the ’Eternal Sovereign’, he was hailed as the Strongest God within the Righteous Faction.
Yet only those closest to him knew just how much he feared Soron, for his voice always quaked in fear, at the mere mention of his brother’s name.
’I wonder how strong uncle really is, for even father to always be so cautious of him.
I’ve never seen him so cautious of anyone else—’ Raymond thought, as he lowered his head and pinched his nose.
"Father... if I may...." He said gently, as he tried to propose an outrageous idea.
"Can I just probe if uncle is still within the Cult or not?
I won’t enter Juxta’s airspace, but let me just move my ships slightly towards the planet, and see how my uncle reacts.
Surely, he won’t kill me without a warning, yes?" Raymond asked, as Kaelith chuckled in response.
"I wouldn’t count on your uncle’s mercy anymore. The softness in his heart died the day I betrayed my father.
It’s your life, if you want to gamble with it, you’re free to do so.
However, don’t expect me to come out there and save you, in case your uncle does choose to come out and attack." Kaelith warned before disconnecting the call, as he left Raymond to make his own decision.
—----------
Back on the ground, Charles’s gaze never wavered from the colossal ship that hovered a few hundred kilometers from the skies of Juxta, the one he knew carried Raymond.
*Shuffle*
*Shuffle*
In his left hand, he gripped his sword tight, however, with his right hand, he constantly shuffled the orb that Soron had entrusted to him, which was a safeguard reserved for only the gravest of emergencies.
"If that bastard so much as moves his vessel an inch, I’m crushing this orb immediately...." Charles muttered to himself, as he nervously kept watch.
For while warriors like Entrail and Streak had never been enough to become a cause for his unease, Raymond was someone he acknowledged.
Across the universe, Raymond was only known as a powerful Monarch, however, both Charles and Soron knew the truth.
Raymond wasn’t a mere Monarch, but a powerful Demi-God, who was simply concealing his true strength to not upset Mauriss and Helmuth, if they found out that Kaelith had raised a Demi-God son.
And hence, his presence outside the Cult skies had been a source of constant worry for Charles over the past year, with him often losing sleep over the same.
Thankfully, it was Soron’s firm warning a year ago that deterred Raymond from making any big moves.
However, if that illusion was to break under any circumstances, Charles knew that he himself wasn’t strong enough to stop Raymond alone.
Hence, it was for precisely this reason that Charles had refused to expend Soron’s orb against Entrail and Streak, for no matter how savage their blades or how vicious their strikes, they were still manageable opponents for him.
However, Raymond was another game entirely.
And it was for this very reason that he had deliberately played the part of the beleaguered defender during the earlier stages of battle, allowing Entrail and Streak to believe that they were carving him down, because the longer they thought they were winning, the longer Raymond would have believed that his intervention in this war was unnecessary, which was Charles’s ultimate goal from the start.
For now, even if Raymond wanted to act, he still needed to break the planetary barrier again, which was enough time for him to shatter the orb and make him believe that Soron was still here.
"Your move.... Bastard. Do you dare attack?" Charles mused, as he eagerly waited for Raymond’s response.