The formation hummed to life, bathing the chamber in blue light. Thalion, just to be safe, retreated to the entrance in case something went wrong. The formation did its job: threads of mana wrapped around the crystal, slowly shrinking it smaller and smaller. What worried Thalion, however, was how long it was taking. The threads were growing more intense by the second while the crystal itself began to hum with increasing power. Normally, shrinking a crystal took a minute and even then, it was considered slow.

The massive blue crystal had already been shrinking for ten minutes, and now things weren't looking very stable. Thalion now waited outside the chamber, glancing in from time to time to check on the process. It took another twenty minutes before the crystal reached the size of a human, and at that point, the formation began rumbling dangerously.

While waiting, Thalion practiced his control by summoning tiny fireballs in his palm. Each attempt worked better than the last, but it still wasn't nearly enough for battle against stronger opponents. The fact that he was currently weaker than when he had fought Ankhet gnawed at him, though he knew it was only a temporary setback. Soon enough, he would be stronger than ever.

As the last few minutes dragged on, the chamber shook violently, and Thalion didn't dare step inside until the trembling stopped. Finally, he entered with high expectations and was not disappointed.

The enormous crystal had transformed into a crystal sphere, glowing constantly like the Tesseract from the Avengers movie. A wide grin spread across Thalion's face until he was smiling like a child on Christmas morning. Perfect. Even better, the new size meant he could easily feed it to the Tidecaller Serpent, though he wouldn't dare attempt such a thing yet. The crystal's power was still far too overwhelming, and he would need to prepare more before trying to integrate it into the serpent's body. Simply swallowing it would be far too dangerous.

For now, he placed the crystal in his spatial ring. Once he advanced to the new world, he could always keep it in his hands to ensure he didn't lose it. The rules stated they could bring along anything they carried, which technically meant everything on his person. With this crystal, he could transform even a simple pond into a cultivation ground for the Tidecaller Serpent. Even if he couldn't use it immediately, it was still an incredible boost for the future.

Thalion was in high spirits as he descended the stairs back to the chamber with his sword. But halfway there, he received a message: the elves were on their way and would arrive at the gates within minutes. With a sigh, Thalion turned and headed toward the main gate. Even though his control was improving, he refrained from using Mistform or his telekinetic dash to fly there instantly. Instead, he walked through the crowded streets, wearing the red silk robe he had been working in since he began crafting his armor. The robe was comfortable and one of the spoils he had taken from a vampire's spatial ring.

The top of the main gate was already crowded with guards. Maike, Kaldrek, Althirion, and Lee the warrior monk stood ready, while the rest of the troops were either out hunting or looting Ankhet's palace.

"So, where do we stand now?" Thalion asked as he vaulted onto the wall. The others looked slightly confused that he had strolled through the streets rather than rushing, but they didn't comment. In hindsight, the question was pointless, since he could already see the elves in the distance.

Hundreds upon hundreds of them advanced on horseback, with a skyship floating directly above. They were still too far away for Thalion to make out their faces, but his vampiric blood vision told him enough: these elves carried potent blood indeed. Eagly would have been able to identify them more clearly, but Thalion didn't bother shifting forms. The elves would be close enough soon.

"So far, everything is going well," Kaldrek reported, his voice tense. "We have two large skyships ready, two thousand fighters on alert, and every defensive weapon armed and primed. If you feel like you can't win, you can always retreat behind the walls."

The others were clearly far less relaxed than Thalion. But he was perfectly calm, waiting for the elves, preparing his mind for battle. In his mind, there was no possibility of losing or dying. His only frustration was that he probably wouldn't be able to secure the female elf's bloodline.

"How can you be so calm? And where is your armor and sword?" Althirion finally asked, unable to hold back any longer. His voice carried a note of regret, as if he was already second-guessing his decision to join Thalion's camp.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"They're with the smith getting an upgrade," Thalion said with a shrug, clearly unconcerned. He was starting to slip into the zone as he focused on an elven figure riding at the front, radiating extremely potent blood. Likely the female elf, the one he would soon be fighting.

"You did what? How can you possibly think you can fight her without armor or a weapon? We need to interfere right now!" Althirion exclaimed, panic creeping into his voice. He probably believed Thalion's greatest advantage came from his gear.

In Thalion's mind, the armor and sword were only one part of the machinery that made him strong. True, in his human form the fight would likely be difficult, but he had no intention of staying in that form. What worried him slightly was that everyone might realize his true power as a crippled Eclipsari. Then again, they should already know, after the battle in the catacombs. And soon, he would gain a power-up from the Fearpillar. Thalion only hoped that boost would push him to the next level. By then, it wouldn't matter if they understood his current strength.

"You really need to calm down. This will be easy," Thalion said while running through his battle strategy. He planned to begin in his human form and, at the right moment, shift into the crippled Eclipsari. Just because he didn't have his sword or armor didn't mean he was defenseless.

He had countless ways to attack, and he wondered if her mental defenses would hold against a Crimson Gaze, especially with his bloodline fueling it. When the female elf drew close, he would change form.

"Calm down? You're about to fight the strongest elf in this entire tutorial! She's a beast on the battlefield. If you want to live, you need to cancel this fight. I was worried before, but without your armor you have no chance!" Althirion's desperation grew with every word as he glanced at the others, searching for support. Kaldrek and Maike only shrugged helplessly, and the guards stayed silent.

"Really? No one?" Althirion cried after a few tense seconds.

"Seriously, just stay calm. This will work out fine," Thalion muttered. He could already imagine explaining in detail afterward why the female elf had never stood a chance. Of course, Althirion would probably never believe the simple truth: that Thalion was just stronger.

Althirion huffed, clearly unconvinced, but finally stopped arguing. Together they watched the elves approach. More and more fighters gathered along the walls and towers to witness what was about to unfold. Two massive skyships now hovered above Thalion, bristling with warriors ready to intervene. From the walls and ships, Thalion could hear bets being exchanged about who would win. Althirion's loud concerns had tilted the odds heavily against his favor. A big factor was surely that Thalion wasn't carrying armor or a sword too.

The elven force halted about three hundred meters from the walls, likely staying just out of range of the defenders. Thalion leapt down with a monstrous jump, carrying him over fifty meters forward to meet them halfway. The skyships advanced slightly behind him, but not far enough to provoke the elves. Calm and unhurried, Thalion walked closer, nothing like what one would expect from a human facing an elven army. To the elves, humans were little more than tools for experiments or slaves.

Thalion's confidence wasn't arrogance, as the elves no doubt assumed. In raw power, he was stronger than ever. The only real issue was control, but that only mattered if he planned to capture the female elf alive. Winning, on the other hand, wouldn't be too difficult and it would give him good practice with his evolved bloodline.

Keeping the flames of his bloodline in check had become second nature. Otherwise, the entire patch of dry grass beneath his feet would already be ablaze from the aura he was leaking. It wasn't much—certainly not enough to intimidate trained fighters. The quality of his aura, though, might shock a few. Still, the elves showed no uncertainty. Their expressions said everything: they were here to conquer, and they didn't expect serious resistance.

The female elf smirked arrogantly, her expression twisting into anger the moment she spotted Thalion, especially his maddeningly calm demeanor.

"Yes," Thalion thought, suppressing a grin. "This will escalate very quickly."

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