Chapter 1460: Meteor

Khan watched the general departure before glancing to his side. George and Doku were still there, seemingly hesitating to leave, only for both to prove him wrong.

The two men didn’t need to endure Khan’s might directly to know how outclassed they were for the meeting.

Still, theoretically, Doku would have to stick around to represent the Niqols. The ceasefire didn’t imply that Liiza could take care of those duties.

Doku was also quite the dutiful soldier and Chief, but he only ended up winking at Khan there, waiting for George to steal a couple of bottles from the nearby tables before jumping off the dune with him.

Khan didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head, but the situation didn’t allow either reaction. Actually, once anyone unsuitable for the meeting got far enough from the dune, the space next to him twisted, bringing some of the guests everyone was waiting for.

Four tall figures suddenly teleported onto the dune, and the atmosphere tensed up before the auras they released. Only evolved warriors and Yeza were left in the area, so no one could misjudge the newcomers’ shocking might.

Lord Mighty, Lord Envoy, Lord Enforcer, and Lord Blind Sword didn’t wear capes or crowns, but their allegiance couldn’t be more evident. The representatives of the Thilku Empire had finally arrived, but none of them seemed interested in the event’s political nature.

“[That was an excellent battle, Blue],” Lord Blind Sword promptly praised. “[We must feast to your victory]!”

“[My congratulations for the swift victory, Lord Blue Shaman],” Lord Envoy joined the praises.

“[Ah]!” Lord Mighty cried, pointing at the child in Liiza’s embrace. “[Blue, isn’t that your daughter? I think she shrank]!”

“[Your existence is an insult to all seeing beings],” Lord Blind Sword sighed.

“[Lord Blind Sword is correct],” Lord Enforcer commented.

“[Blue],” Lord Mighty continued, disregarding the previous comment to lean over Khan’s head. “[Why is your daughter glowing]?”

That gathering of evolved existences that defied reason obviously wasn’t the place for a baby, but Liiza kept protecting Yeza. All her white light had gone to her daughter, enveloping her in a bright defensive membrane.

“[That’s to protect her from your idiocy],” Lord Blind Sword said.

“[Ah]!” Lord Mighty cried again, straightening himself and crossing his arms. “[Lord Mighty is too mighty for barriers to defend against his influence].”

“[Lord Idiot Muscles is correct],” Lord Enforcer stated.

“[Even Lord Enforcer can’t deny my might]!” Lord Mighty declared, grinning until he showed his sharp canines.

“[Lord Enforcer meant that we are all dumber due to your presence],” Lord Blind Sword scoffed.

“[Lord Blind Sword is correct],” Lord Enforcer confirmed.

The tension brought by the newcomers didn’t match the ruckus at all. The conversation was happening in the Thilku language, so its contents weren’t clear, but every bystander could see the playful vibe behind those powerful existences.

Also, to the bystanders’ shock, Khan looked completely at ease and part of the picture. If anything, he was the only one wearing colors proper to a Thilku Lord.

Still, as much as Khan would love to join the bickering, he couldn’t possibly fail to notice how the Thilku group lacked its central piece. He also knew the Royal Guards would never leave their posts, and the answers arrived when something touched the edge of his perception.

“[Was there no better way]?” Khan cursed in the Thilku language before switching to the Niqols’ as he stole Yeza from his wife’s arms. “[Liiza, please].”

Liiza’s perception was almost as monstrous as Khan’s, so she knew what her husband wanted from her. She briefly glanced at the sky, calculating something before stepping toward the dune’s edge, unleashing her mana.

The temperature instantly dropped, and white ice replaced the sand on one side of the dune and further past its base, creating a frozen landmass that stretched toward the horizon.

The landmass also glowed with faint but pure light that started to affect the world above it. The air seemed to slow down under its influence, and the same went for the symphony. Still, most of that ice’s power remained inside its fabric.

That instantaneous display of the Niqols’ arts caught the evolved bystanders’ attention, but something far greater soon brought their eyes to the sky.

Something had appeared, too powerful and vast to ignore, and was getting closer at unfathomable speed, even accelerating in the process. A meteor made of the greatest existence those evolved warriors had ever witnessed was plummeting toward the area, showing no signs of slowing down.

Then, a blur crossed everyone’s senses, and the meteor crashed on the white landmass, causing the most violent earthquake yet and unleashing a shockwave that lifted storms of disintegrating frozen shards.

Still, for each shard that shattered, the white light intensified, creating a cold but strangely cozy pillar that rose into the sky and shone onto the quadrant.

The sudden, violent earthquake immediately waned, seemingly quieted down by the bright pillar. That white light also contained the shockwave, never giving it the chance to reach the dune or the surrounding desert.

Yet, the destruction continued. Violent energy kept trying to expand, only for the vanishing landmass to slow it down, forcing it to release its energy on the spot and in a far more bearable manner.

Eventually, the meteor’s consequences waned, and the same went for the white pillar. That bright structure shrank and faded, revealing a massive gorge littered with a few surviving chunks of ice.

Of course, the figure at the center of that half-spherical cavity made the surrounding and previous destruction trivial. A tall Thilku donning a thick cape and a golden crown proudly stood on the sand, utterly unaffected by the disastrous fall.

The Emperor of the Thilku Empire had stepped outside Zedekiel for the first time in probably forever, and his arrival couldn’t have been more scenic.

Nevertheless, Emperor or not, that grand and impossibly vast existence remained a Thilku. In many ways, he embodied everything the Thilku had to be and brought it to the extreme, so his first announcement played right along with his Royal Guards’ bickering.

“[Lord Blue Shaman],” The Emperor called, not needing to raise his voice for it to reach the dune. “[The next battle is mine]!”

Needless to say, that excited statement wasn’t something mere sand could endure. Sandstorms rose again, and the dune Khan had been careful enough to keep standing was blown away as if it were nothing more than a small pile of dust.