Chapter 864: The Four Banishing Blades (2/2)
“I have felt something, a terrible danger that can impact our future. A rapid, destructive force.”
This wasn’t the avatar itself, but rather Monarch speaking through this echo of its power.
The Violet Prince looked upon the avatar in shock. “From those humans?”
Monarch’s deep voice answered. “No. The sword they stole. So thi is why they were so willing to put themselves in danger, so determined to abscond with that weapon. My first impression was incorrect, there is something more contained within it. The human who brought it to me was not dead, his spirit remained inside – otherwise we would not have suffered at the hands of the interlopers. All of you must recover that sword, no matter the cost.”
The Violet Princess answered, unconvinced. “The humans have proven strong, but your merger with Queen and Consort is nearly complete. Soon you will create what the humans call an immortal realm and a Domain for us to survive in. Then we will be able to travel through the universe at a whim, destroying any vestige of humanity without effort. Even if that weapon is dangerous, would it mean anything in the face of your future supremacy?”
Monarch’s avatar sniffed derisively. “You understand nothing. The mysteries of their species are revealed to me the more of their essence I consume. Many years ago humans had an immortal realm, stronger and more prosperous than what we will achieve. I suspect that sword is a relic of those times, conveyed to the humans from the gods they once served. The ones who came and took it from me also bore swords of similar caliber. I heard their song, and in the depths of my mind I sensed the danger they present. This danger is such that our power would mean nothing. Your task is to interrupt this power before it can be brought to bear against us. It must be thoroughly destroyed.”
The Violet Prince nodded. “As you wish!”
A cold light passed over the avatar’s face. “Remember – at any cost!”
“Of course,” the Prince replied.
Suddenly, the Princess felt a strange sensation trill through her. Such feelings had plagued her since they consumed human genetics for their own benefit. Monarch was unaffected by the Prince and Princess were more human-like as time went on. They even preferred to converse in human language.
She did not find these human weapons as dangerous as Monarch claimed. More dangerous was the assimilatory power of human genetics. They may have taken this genetic material from the humans, but it was changing them as much as they were using it to empower their abilities.
Once this immortal realm was established they would become more and more like the creatures they consumed. Maybe the human essence would completely replace what they used to be. What would happen then, she wondered?
The Violet Princess knew that much of this evolutionary process was derived from the latent memories of the humans, locked within their DNA. Monarch was trying to mimic what the humans had achieved thousands of years before.
ξ
“In ancient times but one bearer established the Banishing Stance, the Grand Master of Heaven Ling Bao. Beore his overwhelming power even the likes of Heavenly Sovereign Taishang and Celestial Master Yuanshi, along with two others, were at a loss as to what to do.But as the four clashed against the Grand Master they managed to defeat him. Thus the swords earned their titles as the most lethal under heaven. The Strategy, with the four swords as its pivotal center, directed this unfathomable power. From what we can understanding the Strategy focuses and guides a portion of universal protogenia.”
Li Ke shared all he knew of the Banishing Strategy with the four new bearers. As they listened intently it was as though gates hiding these secrets from them were opened before their eyes – especially for the three who were already familiar with their swords. Suddenly their knowledge and connection with these godblades was deeper than ever.
“Now we cannot rely on a single person’s power to establish the Strategy, of course. Nor can any of you fully command the power it contains. What you must do is approach the home worlds, establish the Strategy, then entice them forward. The enemy will react to you once the trap is in place.”
The sword contained profound knowledge, and even though Li Ke had been trapped within it for years he had only scratched the surface of its mysteries. Without the other three weapons parts of those mysteries had been locked away.
Knowledge of the Strategy had always been kept in Ultus, but many specifics of it were contained in the other swords. Only once all four of them were together was the entirety of the Strategy laid bare.
Lan Qing, Lan Jue, Zhou Qianlin, and the Pharmacist were all brilliant people. They could follow Li Ke’s information to its logical conclusion, comprehending the substance of his point and asking poignant questions.
Because they lacked the strength to control the swords’ power, they had only one chance to lay out the Strategy. Whether or not they could eliminate the enemy was a question too difficult to answer now.
After all, the full strength of these swords – the most lethal weapons under heaven – was unknown. No one knew what would happen once the Strategy was enacted. All they knew came from old legends and whispered tales. They had to rely on faith that these stories were true.