Birth Of The Crafts-God

Deep inside of the Forbidden Void Expanse's outer region, two major battles that had roughly exceeded the base level of the outer region took place at the same time.

The first battlefield had eleven men against one desolate beast. Of the eleven men, eight were at the peak of the sixth level, two at the seventh level, and the last man was a bonafide eighth level Apertures Opening stage stellar practitioner. On the other hand, the desolate beast was a peak seventh level desolate beast with a Grand grade bloodline.

Although it looked like the desolate beast was on the losing side as it was outnumbered, the battle was actually a barely even fight. Despite having a somewhat lower hand in the right, the desolate beast was able to put up an incredible fight. The desolate beast —a White Antler Snake— knew when to attack and retreat. It was also able to use its large size to terrorise its opponents and attack multiple targets at once. This gave the attackers a hard time as they fended it off. What's more, its scales were incredibly hard and could almost rival a Grade 4 defense-type vestige, so it was able to ignore the majority of attacks from its enemies.

The second battlezone was a lot less overwhelming in terms of visuals. However, it was even more fast-paced and life-threatening. It also held a lot of meaning.

A rhyman versus a hyuman. A terrorist versus the princess of the ruling dynasty. A defeated race versus the dominant race.

Whether it was their identities or their motives, the two sides were destined to be on opposing sides.

At this moment, the princess extracted herself from the hole in the tree and glared at the rhyman.

Although it wasn't severely damaged, her armour now had a dent mark on it. For the rhyman's energy beam to be able to deal such damage, it was clear that the attack wasn't something she could take head-on continuously.

"A Grade 4 armour is pretty impressive." The rhyman's lone eye stared at her.

As the princess of the Oklo Dynasty, it was only natural for the lady to be armed with the best vestiges possible. Considering her strength, this would be Grade 4 vestiges.

Grade 5 vestiges, which could only be made by Tier 1 Grandmasters found in the Belfargos territory, were a bit above her level. After all, those vestiges were meant for peak eighth level stellar practitioners at the very least. However, being armed with a few Grade 4 vestiges made sense. Nonetheless, there was a limit to how many vestiges a stellar practitioner could use.

'She should have three.' The rhyman surmised.

Vestiges weren't weapons that were powerful for no reason. They relied on the quality of the material as well as the stellar practitioner's energy to be able to show off their might. The higher the vestige's grade, the higher the requirement for handling it. This was why when a stellar practitioner used a vestige above their level, they were unable to bring out its full potential; like when a second level stellar practitioner tries to use a Grade 3 vestige, the result would be disappointing unlike when a fifth or sixth level stellar practitioner uses it.

With that in mind, there was a limit to how many vestiges an individual could wield, even if it was of their level; and this was dependent on the quality of the vestige.

For instance, a seventh level stellar practitioner could wield a couple of Grade 2 vestiges, up to fifteen. However, they could only wield seven Grade 3 vestiges at the same time. As for Grade 4 vestiges, they were limited to three.

'A Grade 5 vestige shouldn't be in her hands.' The rhyman studied the princess.

Unlike the situation at the lower levels where a stellar practitioner without the qualifications could barely use a vestige —although the power displayed would be low— at higher levels, this wasn't possible.

For a seventh level stellar practitioner, Grade 5 vestiges were too much for them to handle as the requirement to activate them was very high. Even if they had one, they would at best be able to use it 2-3 times before they become tired out. As such, it wasn't reasonable for one below the ninth level to wield a Grade 5 vestige even if they could afford it. Nonetheless, certain geniuses at the peak of the eighth level could, but this was the limit.

While facing the rhyman's provocation, the princess didn't say a word. However, the ambience around her had turned cold.

*Whoosh*

The princess' silhouette disappeared once again as she appeared in front of the rhyman.

Three spear shadows darted at the target from different angles with each one aiming at a vital spot. One went for the rhyman's only eye, another attacked his left thigh while the last one went for his abdomen.

The rhyman countered by mobilizing all twelve limbs to attack. For each spear shadow, three limbs were sent forward to block. The remaining three closed the gap and went for the princess.

The princess formed a fist with her left hand and punched forward, creating an air blast that fended off the three limbs.

The rhyman's eyes flickered as he suddenly had a thought.

'It looks like I underestimated her.'

Just like her spear, it was most likely that the princess' armour was also a heavy gear. By applying her hint on it, she could explode with more force than normal.

The two sides were locked into a fast-paced battle with multiple attacks being made within each second. The spillover from their attacks damaged the grey hard floor, but the duo were not concerned about this. Instead, their attention was fully fixed on the battle that was currently at a draw.

Logically, the rhyman should have held the advantage after all, he was using twelve extendable limbs on par with Grade 3 vestiges to take on the princess. There was a large difference between attacking using twelve limbs and twelve weapons, with the former being superior as it was easier for one to control their limbs more fluidly. On the other hand, the princess only relied on her spear and her ability. Despite that, she was able to fend off her opponent.

The reason for this wasn't anything particularly special.

Even though the rhyman had more limbs to attack with, the princess was both stacked and skilled.

As an Oklo, she received the best training possible since birth and was able to take on three people at the same level as she was. This could be translated into six limbs. For the other six limbs, the princess relied on the boost from her Grade 4 vestiges to fend off her opponent.

The Purple Sun spear had superior offensive ability and penetration might, so even the rhyman had to confront it with at least three of his limbs. As for the armour, it was called the Star Guardian LX218 model.

Both vestiges were made by the Oklo Dynasty's Tier 1 Grandmaster. The Star Guardian LX model was only limited to the Dynasty's direct bloodline, meaning each one was specially customized for each family member. The LX218 was made just for the princess and it was created while considering her abilities, fighting style and more. It was the perfect battle armour for her, and further boosted her abilities.

With all these vestiges as well as her talent and skills, it was understandable as to how the princess was able to hold her own against the twelve-limbed rhyman.

As the battle grew more furious, two presences drew closer from the opposite direction. But due to the fact that both the princess and the rhyman were too focused on their fight, they failed to notice them.

*Bang*

A gunshot was resounded in the clearing, but even before the sound reached the duo, one of the rhyman's limbs on his head was pierced through.

A large gaping hole appeared on the tentacle-like limb, rendering it ineffective. The hole was so large that it occupied seventy percent of the limb. The limb could hardly maintain its balance and looked as if it would be cut off from his head at any moment.

The rhyman frowned from the pain as he prepared to withdraw the limb. It was pointless for it to remain in battle. He also prepared to retreat at that moment.

However, just before he could even complete his action, a figure appeared behind him.

A dagger glinted in the dark as the blade went straight for the rhyman's head.

Alarm bells rang, but the rhyman was too slow to react. Not only was this because his attention had been on the princess all this while, but the pain from the bullet had shut down his reflexes for a second. The mysterious attackers seemed to have expected that as the ambush was timed exactly at that moment.

The bullet earlier had been aimed at his head, but his instincts made him react and move his limb in the path of the attack. Although he had lost a limb, it was much better than losing a head. But who would have expected that a follow-up move was performed at the same time.

'Move!'

Fear gripped the rhyman as he pushed his body to the limit and tilted his head forward.

It was only just a centimetre difference, but that difference saved his life.

Without hesitating, the rhyman withdrew half of his limbs and lunged forward to get away from the ambusher.

However, how could the assailant let go of such a perfect opportunity?