Chapter 36: The Grand Scheme


    Zeke''s conjured creatures momentarily got taken away as he lost consciousness from the attack. He didn''t re-summon them however as; this may cause his enemies to attack him againwhoever his real opponents might be.


    With the [Blood Counter] registering that damage, Zeke knows that he''ll have a trick up his sleeve once he goes out to fight.


    "A single hit that takes out my whole [Health Points] would definitely hurt him back if I use [Blood Counter]." Zeke thought to himself yet, he felt that this in itself is not enough. As he looked in his minimap, there is now a huge distance between where he is and where the four are standing. With that being said, Zeke prepared to make his counterattack.


    Hismunication bracelet glowed in the process, making him hear everything that went on.


    "What are you trying to pull here de?" He asked himself, hearing the whole continuation of events.


    "What do you think are you doing?" Erio said as de immediately left the stage and went to Hark''s side. The prisoner nodded to him as de began to speak.


    "Time wille when the lion rises from the dead. And when it does, it will devour the wind." de said as he took out his sword from its scabbard. The color began changing which put both the King and Erio in a state of shock.


    "No. It can''t be." King Aeolus said they both saw the de turning onyx ck.


    de looked at the two who are still on stage  with Erio guarding the King.


    Both the King and his General knew what the de meant. It meant that, de is a trueborn of the Leonis household because, there is only one de that could change into an onyx color  the de of Gallio Leonis.


    After murdering the first king, members of the council tried turning this sword back to its original color. Not because the color is important, but because, the effects held by the sword have also vanished together with its distinct color. They made Gallio''s corpse hold on to it and they saw how the color changed again. They tried making the dead wife and daughters of Gallio hold it but, the color didn''t change.


    This led them to two conclusions. Only a male member of the Leonis household could turn the de back to its former glory and, they thought that this needs to be the firstborn son. Hence, with the sword being virtually useless in their hands, they threw it away.


    The surviving members of the Leonis household were able to take this information and recovered the sword. A sword that King Aeolus now sees with his own eyes.


    "Aeolus, run away." Erio said, knowing that the fight might have more surprises than they can handle.


    "I''m not a child Erio, I can fight alongside you." The King replied, holding on to his sword.


    "Look at the two of you, being all chummy and stupid." de said and, as he did, the gem on hismunication bracelet turned red.


    de looked at both the King and the General, smiling like the devil himself before speaking this word to themunication bracelet:


    "Commence."


    At this, they heard various explosions, making the ground shake in the process. A bunch of messages came from the soldiers again, all in a state of panic.


    "General there are elves with a strange skin color attacking us!"


    "General there seems to be a coup!"


    "The prison has been breached!"


    "What the hell is going on!" Erio shouted as neither he nor the King could make their move.


    "Everything is in and simple actually." de answered, holding up the de.


    "I am revoking my rights as the firstborn of the Leonis household and passing it on to the demaster." He gave the de to Hark who, after grabbing it, began changing the color of his skin and his hair.


    "Thank you, my descendant, you''ve done well enduring up to this point." Hark replied.


    There are a lot of things that must be exined before the story could move forward. The primary part of this is how Gallio Leonis kept changing hosts in order to live out his revenge. After the Leonis follower got some of his blood, the same servant also drank it before it dried off.


    This transferred Gallio''s skills and attributes to the host while adding to his own. Thus, Gallio became even stronger even after reaching the level cap during the Cmity War. However, as his hosts cannot endure the strain of his strength, it gave out after a year of being used.


    Thus, Gallio kept switching from body to body while maintaining a close contact with his household. The loyal members have blended well into the society. Some have even risen to the rank of nobles with the new identities they took. This went on for a long time while Gallio waited for the perfect host to take him in. After all, he cannot take back his continent with a frail body that could break from a single fight.


    Thus, the years have passed and as this happened, the Leonis household kept training young boys and elves in a hidden dungeon. They trained them to be ruthless, practical and, most importantly, to be the apex predator.


    The years kept adding up and, Gallio thought that no suitable host would evere out. That is, until a single boy came out from the dungeon, carrying the head of the final boss. With eyes that hated the world and strength that could only be described as a gift from the God of War, Gallio trained and honed the boy until he became a fine vessel. And out of respect for his raw strength, Gallio bestowed hisst name to the boy  Hark Leonis.


    Gallio sent this boy to the capital for his final test. The boy was made to work as a ve in the coal mines but then, disaster stroke as thed''s heart melted with love for Sylvia Windsprite. Yet, even this disaster was viewed by the king as an opportunity.


    The Windsprite blood is, after all, a rare and precious blood. As Gallio researched the household''s background, he found out that their kind is the most suitable for a Blood Elf. Hence, he plotted on killing them off and, using their corpses as sample materials in order to perfect his own. But there was another reason why he allowed the love between Hark and Sylvia.


    As the next in line to being the queen, many of the things that goes around the capital are told to her. With Hark and her constantly being together, he was able to gather more information enough to finally set everything in motion.


    On the night of the rebellion, Gallio made Hark drink his blood. The blood of the king integrates with his current host thus, there is always a supply of his blood as he switches body. Hark didn''t want to, of course. But then, Gallio smiled because he knew this moment woulde.


    There are followers of the Leonis household who now surround Hark''s beloved and, if he does not follow Gallio''s orders, he''d have the woman killed. At this Hark submitted -pletely turning into Gallio Leonis.


    With all the years of transferring bodies, Gallio earned enough strength to even smite down the gods. However, he is still restricted as the body of Hark could only allow him to use 50% of his current strength. Yet, this was enough for him to murder the king and take away Sylvia, two parts of his n to take back the throne.


    The next part is deeply reliant on the current firstborn of the Leonis Household  de.


    He made the necessary preparations as he is already considered a part of the Windsprites. A lot of trust has been ced on him especially because, he has continued saving the troublesome Sylph from a lot of dangerous situations.


    Initially, de wanted to kill Sylph in the Viper Headquarters but, an unexpected variable added. The appearance of a human with the strength of a whole military force and, the youngest member of the Windsprite household both appeared. With this factor added, de made modifications to his ns.


    All those years of nning and plotting, have now led to the current event.


    In the middle of the capital, facing both the General and a descendant of his murderers, Gallio Leonis returns.


    With his onyx sword [Leo Rex], he looked more regal. Even with his torn prisoner clothing and, standing barefooted, everyone knew instinctively that he is not a man to be trifled with.


    As he held the [Leo Rex] in his hands, the following effects added up.


    [Endurance is increased by 50%]


    [Strength is increased by 70%]


    [Speed is increased by 65%]


    [Intelligence is increased by 50%]


    [The wielder is immune from all paralyzing, stunning, corroding, and poisoning effects.]


    [The wielder gains an upgrade of all skills owned.]


    This very moment is a culmination of all the efforts made by Gallio and his followers. On a night of the full moon, under specific circumstances, a challenge can be made to the current king. Gallio knew this and pointed his sword at Aeolus, mouthing the words:


    "I, Gallio Leonis, challenge King Aeolus for the throne."