Carrying some cured meat, Jarius inquired among the eaglefolk who had already completed their missions.
Clad in a bearhide cloak and wielding a bone spear, Jarius posed as a royal guard of the eaglefolk court, leading his clan members into the sky with bold confidence, flying openly out of the camp.
The journey was uneventful; such groups were common, and no eaglefolk paid them any mind.
Royal eaglefolk led squads of fifty tribal warriors out, while others returned with a dozen or so survivors.
Before a battle, scout units always suffered the heaviest losses.
In these skies, the eaglefolk tribal warriors were the weakest. Forget the dragon-blooded hybrids that dominated the heavens, or the various flying drakes and wyverns—even a single griffin could hold its own against a squad of fifty eaglefolk scouts.
As Jarius neared the camp's edge, a royal eaglefolk guard stationed at the perimeter suddenly frowned and flew to intercept him, his face expressionless as he demanded.
"Who are you? I've never seen you before."
"I'm new. Just arrived today,"
Jarius replied calmly.
His composure was flawless, leaving the guard with no reason to suspect him. The guard nodded and waved him through.
Behind Jarius, his clan members' hearts pounded so loudly they feared they'd give themselves away. When the guard let them pass, they exhaled in relief.
Only for their hearts to leap again at Jarius's next move.
Instead of leaving, Jarius quietly approached the guard and slipped a piece of gold into his hand, asking.
"Brother, I'm new here. Where's the fiercest fighting for control of the skies?"
Gold was a universal currency, even in these ancient times. This piece had been looted from a defeated snakefolk tribe.
The guard pocketed the gold with a satisfied nod and grinned.
"I get it. These days, the eastern front is the hottest. Even a few noble transcendent eaglefolk have fallen. Little brother, you're new—head west. It's safer."
"Thanks, brother,"
Jarius said with a smile, then led his clan westward.
The eaglefolk camp bordered the Goblins'. In the future, this fallen race would be a shadow of its current glory, but in these primordial times, Goblins were a major force among the Titan's vassal races.
With a population of tens of millions spread across the world of Felander, they even served under the ancient dragons.
The Goblins were clever. Jarius noted their camp was far more organized than the eaglefolk's chaotic sprawl. Massive trebuchets stood ready, alongside wooden arrow towers and neatly arranged low tents.
Beyond the Goblins lay the Trolls' camp, as haphazard and messy as the eaglefolk's.
Jarius knew that among them might be the ancestors of the elegant Elves of the future.
Further on were the camps of Centaurs, Dwarves, Beastmen, and more.
A vivid tapestry of the world's intelligent races.
Flying out of the camp, Jarius led his clan deeper west, searching for small lakes, ponds, or streams.
The great river cutting through the forest, described in Old Turtle's memories, was not where the creature had lived in its youth.
At night, Jarius brought his clan back in small groups.
To avoid suspicion over their numbers remaining largely intact.
For days, they scoured the west but found no trace of Old Turtle's habitat.
On the fifth day, the gate guard stopped him, warning that he couldn't keep heading to the safest western front.
Reluctantly, Jarius led his clan south.
They carefully avoided the dragons' wyverns and griffins but inevitably crossed paths with a two-headed wyvern.
After losing a few clan members, Jarius hurled his spear, striking the wyvern's eye with deadly precision.
The beast roared in agony, but the wound wasn't enough to incapacitate it. Instead, it grew more ferocious.
It went berserk.
Acting decisively, Jarius broke away from his group, luring the wyvern alone.
They raced through the skies above the forest, startling other battling creatures. Fortunately, Jarius's flight skills were sharp, and the injured, half-blind wyvern couldn't catch him.
As the chase wore on.
The sky suddenly darkened.
Looking up, Jarius saw a blue dragon with a wingspan of five hundred meters soaring overhead.
The Ancient Blue Dragon King was wreathed in blue lightning capable of sundering the heavens, its massive body clad in steel-like scales, radiating majestic power.
The wyvern pursuing Jarius let out a triumphant roar.
This was its dragon lord!
But before it could revel, a thunderous bellow echoed from the distant north.
"Alileitos, I haven't come for you yet, and you dare seek your own death?!"
The deafening roar made Jarius turn toward the north.
There, a towering two-hundred-meter-tall giant strode forward, his body crackling with purple lightning. Clad only in a belt of unknown material, he wielded a silver spear wreathed in world-shattering thunder. Each step shook the earth.
The blue dragon roared back, undaunted.
"Yatri, foolish and arrogant Titan brute, today Alileitos grants you eternal oblivion!"
Though they seemed far apart, for such colossal beings, the distance was crossed in an instant.
Boom!
The two primordial titans clashed in close combat!
The earth quaked under their battle, the sky tore apart, and forests were flattened beneath their feet. Winds whipped up endless dust, raging between heaven and earth.
As the masters fought.
Countless races from both factions joined the fray on land and in the air.
On the ground, Minotaurs swung massive trees, Goblins lobbed stones from back-mounted slings, Trolls brandished stone axes, Stonefolk smashed their bodies into the earth, Goatfolk charged with their horns, Centaurs galloped across the battlefield, Snakefolk fired wooden bows, Dwarves wielded stone hammers, and Boarfolk gored with their tusks…
In the skies, eaglefolk fought in flocks, two-headed wyverns screeched, firebirds blazed across the heavens, griffins tore with claws and teeth, and dragonhawks sliced with blade-like wings…
This was a mythic battlefield of epic proportions!
And Jarius was at the heart of it, closest to the two titanic beings.
To seize opportunity amidst danger was a gamble yet to be decided!
In an instant, Jarius made his choice.
Behind him, the wyvern, inflamed by the battle's fervor, charged at him with renewed vigor.
With flames burning in the sky and combat all around, Jarius stopped evading. Drawing a bronze shortsword from his chest, he lunged as the wyvern dove, landing on its head. With a single thrust, he drove the blade into its skull and twisted.
[You have slain a two-headed wyvern. exp +100]
As the wyvern's lifeless body plummeted.
Jarius clung to its back, feigning mutual destruction.
Below, he had already spotted a crescent-shaped lake.
Recalling Old Turtle's future home—a vast crescent-shaped lake—he was certain this was the place.
With a splash, he and the wyvern crashed into the water.
The wyvern floated on the surface, and under its shadow, Jarius dove deep.
Swimming swiftly, he soon found a tiny, adorable pink turtle at the lake's bottom, perched on a smooth stone glowing with azure light.
Jarius's heart leaped. This was it!
He swam to the turtle, patted its tiny head, and gently moved it to the stone's edge before sitting on it himself.
Instantly, a soothing, cool sensation flooded his body.
Outside.
In the Vast Sea Forest, the two-hundred-meter-tall Titan giant stood scarred but unyielding, his golden eyes blazing with cold fury.
"Hmph, the world belongs to the Titan gods! You dragons are nothing but thieving vermin!"
"Self-proclaimed gods? What arrogance! Even in the astral realms, few races are as brazen as you. You deserve death!"
The blue lightning dragon sneered, charging back into the fray.
Its dozens-of-meters-long tail lashed, crackling with explosive lightning.
The Titan laughed, thrusting his three-hundred-meter-long spear.
"We Titans have the power to move mountains and fill seas, to overturn heaven and earth. Why shouldn't we call ourselves gods?"
"Pathetic!"
Their words fell, and the two mighty beings collided again, stirring up a storm of dust and clashing thunder. Their battle grew ever more brutal.
Golden blood sprayed from their wounds, scattering across the forest battlefield.
Both were demi-gods, their blood turned to gold!
In the heat of combat, the dragon Alileitos's claw tore into the Titan's shoulder, and a torrent of golden blood rained into the crescent lake where Jarius hid.
In an instant, the lake was filled with golden Titan blood, enveloping Jarius and the turtle!
A searing pain, like being roasted in a sun's fire, burned through his entire being!
It was as if he were cast into a furnace of ten thousand degrees!
At the same moment, the system's voice rang out.
[You have bathed in Titan blood. All attributes enhanced!]
The pain was unbearable!
Even with his iron will, Jarius writhed in agony.
Beside him, the pink turtle had turned red, flailing on the stone.
But then, a wave of cool relief surged through them.
Looking down, Jarius saw the stone's azure glow intensify, enveloping them both.
The respite was brief. More Titan blood flooded the lake.
Worse, as they were so close to the demi-gods' battle, the Ancient Blue Dragon King's blood also spilled into the lake.
The burning torment returned in waves.
[You have bathed in Titan and Dragon King blood. All attributes enhanced!]
Now Jarius understood why Old Turtle had been reluctant to speak of its awakening. The pain was excruciating—a relentless torture!
Time blurred.
[You have bathed in Titan and Dragon blood. All attributes enhanced!]
[You have bathed in Titan and Dragon blood. You have awakened the Power of Thunder!]
[You have bathed in Titan and Dragon blood. Your bloodline has transformed!]
[Your will has been tempered in Titan and Dragon blood!]
[You have awakened the talent: Champion's Will!]
-----------------
The golden blood's essence was fully absorbed by Jarius and the turtle, and the torturous pain finally ceased.
Both had changed dramatically.
The turtle's shell was now purple-blue, faint lightning crackling across it, its tiny green-bean eyes gleaming with newfound intelligence.