Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1785 Form Up

The bald man coughed, and his chest suddenly bulged. He hopped to his feet and his beard glowed an even more fiery light.

However, just as he was about to attack, a pair of heavy double doors opened.

A woman with long legs and a river of flames for hair strolled in. She was dressed in a black military uniform and her lapel was adorned with countless achievements, so many that they seemed to overlap and form a complex array all on their own.

She swept a glance over the room and the bald man froze, no longer daring to reach for his ax. The aura of an Omniscient Sky God wasn't something they could ignore.

The gaze of the woman paused when she saw Ryu, and she frowned when she sensed the sparks of Lightning Chaos Qi in the surroundings.

Also… blue lightning? This was the first she had seen of such a thing. It was only Sovereign Lightning Chaos Qi, but it felt so much more powerful than that.

She had seen varying shades of lightning from black to dark gold, but this dark hue of blue was something different.

It was a clear mutation.

Did the Lightning Elementals send this guy here to cause trouble? Just from a glance, she immediately didn't like Ryu at all.

Ryu slowly retracted his fist. Unlike the others, he didn't seem nearly as eager to pretend as though he had done nothing.

"You fought here?"

"I defended myself." Ryu replied indifferently.

"Bullshit!" The bald man roared. He hadn't even been able to grab his ax yet. How was Ryu defending himself?

"He grabbed for his ax, so I finished the battle first." Ryu replied just as evenly.

"Is that true?" The young woman looked toward the bald man.

"Absolutely not!" The man directly denied it.

The woman spread her gaze over the rest of the room, but everyone only seemed to confirm the bald man's words. Only the second bald man didn't say anything.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" The woman asked.

Ryu yawned. "If the Fire Elemental Fiends are so bored to lie to save face, then I have nothing to say."

The woman's gaze turned malevolent, a violent aura coming from her in waves.

Ryu's eyes narrowed as the suffocating pressure landed on him. Without the ability to his Chaos Qi, his combat prowess was much worse than normal.

Seeing that Ryu was still unmoved and not apologizing, the woman nodded and retracted her aura.

"Garbage Barracks."

She pointed at Ryu, then hooked her finger over her shoulder toward the open doors.

The gazes of subterfuge filled the room.

The real nof Ryu's assignment was actually known as the Tiger Barracks. They were given such a courageous nbecause they were the fierce-hearted youths and veterans who chose to take up the front lines.

But as tpassed, they instead becknown colloquially as the Garbage Barracks.

The fact that a Commander had directly called it out by its nickninstead of its real nmeant that she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was targeting him.

To their surprise, Ryu just laughed.

In a flickering dance of lightning, he passed by her side and snatched the token she tossed.

"I'm not surprised by the actions of the Fire Elemental Fiends at all."

These were the only words he said. He didn't add any curses, but these words alone were enough for the Commander's expression to turn dark.

A dangerous light flashed in her eyes.

**

Two days later, Ryu was brought to the Tiger Barracks, a broken down and dilapidated encampment deep in the battlefield.

The heat was excruciating and there seemed to be cripples littered about everywhere, many having just one leg or just one arm.

This was curious to Ryu because he thought that this Race would just be able to replace their limbs with elements whenever they wanted, but it seemed that things weren't so simple. It seemed that he still had more studying to do.

He had only done a cursory overview of the three because he was on a tcrunch. He already felt like he was wasting much too much time.

Despite being cripples, many who saw Ryu felt their face twisting in disgust.

It was only over the last few days that their hatred of his Lightning Elemental status was more than about just a dislike of other Races. No, it was that the two elements seemed to have a particularly contentious history.

One would have thought that it would be Fire and Water, but no. It was this instead.

Ryu couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Even if he had known this, he would have taken this path anyway, because it was the only way to guarantee that they would hate him enough to take things this far.

Only by being on the front lines could he find an opportunity to escape across the border.

That said…

Ryu's gaze flashed with coldness.

He had already marked that Commander for death. Even if she had done exactly what he wanted, sending him here for the purpose of killing him, it still wasn't something that he would accept.

He was sure that such a woman definitely wouldn't let things end here.

And that bald Fiend…

Ryu's gaze turned more malevolent as a horn filled the skies.

'About time.'

An enormous man stomped out from a heavily patched tent. The surrounding flames shined with a golden light and he clearly stood above the rest.

At four meters tall, his heavy great sword was five all on its own.

He swept an indifferent gaze over Ryu and opened his mouth.

"FORM UP!"

His roar caused Ryu's hair to blow back.

'… Dao Sovereign.'

Ryu's gaze narrowed, but he didn't say much as he complied. Making it across the border now would certainly be far more troublesome. It seemed that even though these were the Garbage Barracks, not everyone here could be labeled the sway.