Chapter 281 - Destiny (1)

Some conflicts are worth dying for if you are protecting those you love from a determined foe. Yet most of the people are driven away by the thought of death, so retreat becomes the only option. And that's exactly what Arnold was making the soldiers do. 

While Arnold was explaining the situation to his trusted companions, someone overheard him. The news of a possible nuclear explosion spread like a wildfire. Everyone grew restless and even though the portal Arnold had generated was gigantic, there was a rush to escape. 

The swamp was thrown into an uproar. Some soldiers were carefully falling back into the travel portal while Arnold's summons protected them from the onslaught of the lizardmen. While the rest had abandoned all sense of reason and were getting more and more restless by the moment.

Grock and his lizards were a bit confused with the abrupt retreat of the enemy forces. But he knew one thing, a retreating enemy is weak and thus easy to kill. That's why he had given the lizardmen an order to kill the invaders. Sadly, it was easier said than done. The moment the new guy appeared on the battlefield, Grock's plan to kill the humans was torn to shreds. Not only that, that dragon he had brought along with him, was mercilessly killing his bidders almost made him feel like they were its playthings.

"That demon is the cause of all this." Grock gritted his shark-like teeth together, "I have to deal with him first. As soon as he's out... The situation should return as it was before."

But to kill Arnold, he would have to sneak past dozens of his soldiers first. Thankfully, he had an ability to help him through situations like these. He gave his trusted warriors a look and they understood what they had to do. While Grock erased any signs of his existence, his lizardmen diverted Scylla's attention towards them. His clan came not to save their own lives, yet to preserve their standing in swamps as the 'kingsmen'.

It distraction didn't last for long because Scylla burned them alive immediately. But it was enough for Grock to sneak past Scylla and the rest of the elite summons. He had turned into a silent assassin with a single goal in his mind... To kill the man responsible for the destruction of his clan. 

***

Everything was moving more or less the way Arnold had expected. But now it was time to save his summons too, namely only two of them, Talos and Scylla. Since most of Arnold's summons consisted of dead monsters and humans, no matter how many times they perished, they would resurrect sooner or later. However, the same wasn't true for Scylla or Talos. 

No matter how strong Talos was, at the end of the day he was just a huge chunk of metal. In a sense, he was strong but perishable. Arnold had doubts whether he'll be able to survive a nuclear explosion or not thus he didn't want to take any chances. After all, if Talos got trashed beyond repairs, it would be a huge loss for Arnold. 

Then there was Scylla. The strongest and most fearsome among his soldiers. But in the end, she was a living being, unlike his summons. Thus the probability of her dying by radiation was quite high. Arnold knew he had to ensure their safety first before his own. 

Without wasting a moment, Arnold opened another portal leading to the domain. Next, he instructed both, Scylla and Talos to get inside. Scylla was a bit hesitant to do so as she was having so much fun but what could've she done against her master? Talos, on the other hand, immediately realise why Arnold was making such a request all of a sudden. 

As Talos was leaving, Arnold pulled him back for a moment, "T, there's guest inside. Would you mind giving him a house tour? Also, let him have a taste of our hospitality but do not kill him."

Arnold's voice was extremely cold as he said those words, obviously referring to Devon whom he had thrown inside the domain.

Talos told his master to rest assured and he'll do whatever was needed of him before disappearing inside the darkness of the void. 

As soon as the portal closed, Arnold quickly turned around and threw a punch... Hitting no one? It looked as if he was practising some form of martial arts. But the following moment, his fist got covered with some blue coloured liquid which awfully resembled lizardmen blood. 

Nina who had been standing behind him was shocked. The air in front of her began distorting and the next thing she knew, a huge black scaled lizardman was standing between her and Arnold. 

"What the hell..." She mumbled, immediately drawing her sword out. Ready to stab the lizard to death. But before she could do as she intended, Arnold's voice came from the other side. 

"Don't bother staining your blade with his blood unnecessarily." Arnold said, his voice colder than before, "He'll be dying shortly either way."

***

Grock had been completely blindsided by Arnold's sudden action. He thought the his camouflage ability totally erased his presence from the mortal plane by transfer into his soul into the astral plane. One moment he was ready to strike Arnold down with his gigantic axe, but the next moment, his life was turned upside down. It should've been impossible for Arnold's attack to hit him, yet, he remembered the moment vividly. 

The lizardman had never experienced such unbelievable power before and was completely stunned by Arnold's strength. Right before striking at Arnold, he felt a chill around his chests, and before he could even react, an excruciating pain emanated from his heart and shot through the nerves right into his brain. All of this happened in a flash.

Grock looked down and froze in horror. His already huge eyes widened even more, and pupils contracted. Arnold's hand had pierced into his armoured chest, with all five fingers plunged deep into the body. His heart was literally in Arnold's hand now. It was over yet Grock's mind was filled with questions... 

How could his armour and scales be pierced through by a mere hand? Just how!? Not even bullets could penetrate through his thick hide yet... It was absurd... The strength of the human was disgusting. No, he wasn't a human at all... No human could've done it. 

He looked into Arnold's eyes... They were filled with rage yet calm like a monk. With a mouth full of blood, he asked Arnold, "How..."

Arnold, however, did not say a word before he ripped out the monsters throbbing heart. Blood spurted out from his chests, splattering everywhere. Grock wanted to scream in agony but it seemed his body had other plans. As a thick stream of blood poured from his mouth instead. Weirdly enough, he could still see his heart throbbing in Arnold's hands. 

"Just die already!" Arnold yelled as he squeezed and crushed his hearts without any hesitation.