Chương 519: Chapter 488: A Great Plan

Thalion left the city immediately, shifting into the Heavenrend Wyvern and taking to the sky. The next system event wasn't far off, and he wanted this finished before then. Seraphina had asked if they could go together, but Thalion hadn't decided yet. Liryan's system event would be some kind of survival trial and he wasn't sure if he wanted company. She had also liked how Rina had handled things and chose to stay in the city for now. Thalion's mind was filled with bloodlust as his massive wings beat steadily.

More than two kilometers above the ground, he shot toward the elven Chosen. This opportunity was too good to pass up. Their camp was right by the ocean, which meant he could retreat if other Chosen showed up. And a plant-based Chosen? Could there be a better matchup? To be fair, that fire elf from before might also end up as a snack now that his fire resistance had reached absurd levels. Oh yes… this would be fun.

Just as Thalion was considering which form to use, he spotted four ships moving across the ocean below. They were filled mostly with humans dressed in ragged clothes, metal collars glinting around their necks. The sun was slowly setting, and it looked like the ships were about to return to shore. Slaves. Perfect. First, he would free them—and then let the elves send a message. What would the elven Chosen do when hearing that Thalion had attacked their ships? Calling for help and sharing the bounty seemed unlikely.

In that regard, Thalion fully trusted in elven greed. Diving downward, he quickly ran into his first problem of the day. In wyvern or serpent form, freeing the humans without killing them would be difficult. His human form—or the Eclipsari—would be a far better choice. Some slaves might still die, but with the other forms, casualties would be unavoidable—especially with the elves so close to them. On top of that, he needed the elves to know it was him. They had to survive long enough to raise the alarm.

With that in mind, he shifted back into his human form and simply let himself fall. Saranya immediately began complaining in his mind. She had already been annoyed that he kept switching forms, and the Primordial Bloodseed made it very clear that further shapeshifting was… unwelcome. Still, falling like this felt incredible. Just him, the wind—and a complaining sword in his thoughts. Perfect. He slipped on his mask, giving his eye-based abilities an extra edge the elves would hopefully appreciate.

As he descended, he got a closer look at the ships—and frowned. They were covered in intricate runes. Far too complex to have been created here. The knowledge simply didn't exist—and even if it did, the craftsmanship required to carve and infuse them without destroying the material was beyond anyone on this world. So where had they come from? Even the Chel'Kari ships looked nothing like this. Could it be the work of an incursion? It had to be.

The only other option would be that they had opened portals to their patron's domain—but it was far too early for that. Thalion's thoughts were cut short as his fall ended abruptly—crashing straight into the deck. Good thing he had spent so much time perfecting his superhero landing. It was useful surprisingly often—and the impression it made on enemies mattered. There were over ten elves on the ship and at least twice as many slaves, with a few more still in the water. Everyone froze. Everyone except one.

A human stood there—short hair, wearing glasses, holding a clipboard in one hand and a feather pen in the other. Thalion drew Saranya, but before he could strike, the man spoke.

"Human. Level one hundred five. Extremely skilled. Chance of freeing all slaves: seventy-eight percent. Chance of killing all elves: ninety-four percent." Thalion paused for a brief moment, staring at him. What a strange guy. And only seventy-eight percent to free all slaves? He'd show him. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Thalion shot forward, blood manipulation enhancing his speed. The first two elves died before they could react.

The third managed to trigger an alarm—a shrill, high-pitched sound cutting through the air. All the elves wore green robes marked with an intricate plant emblem. Clearly tied to the elven Chosen. The swordsmen had small saplings growing along their blades, and one elf on the side had even transformed his arms into full branches that lashed out at Thalion like snakes, curling across the deck. Good thing Thalion had spent so much time training in Ratgul's domain.

Fighting a few elves wasn't much of a challenge anymore. First, he needed them to send a message to their Chosen. After that, they had served their purpose. Thalion unleashed a slash with Saranya at the two elves rushing him. He aimed to cut through both the main mast and their midsections in one strike. The elves were split cleanly in half. The mast, however, only gained a shallow scratch. That… was new. So far, Saranya had cut through everything—even the prince.

That a simple wooden mast could resist her edge was… surprising. Good to know. Danger flared behind him. Thalion dodged to the side and seized control of an elf's blood, lifting him into the air. To the others, it must have looked like he was using some kind of invisible force.

"I am Thalion. First place in the system event. Do you really think mere elves like you stand a chance?" He infused his voice with mana, letting it echo across the ocean. The elves hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances. But the first reply didn't come from them.

"Reevaluation. Chance of freeing all slaves: eighty-nine percent. Chance of elves winning this battle: zero." Thalion blinked. This guy again. And still only eighty-nine percent? The elves seemed even more confused now, so Thalion generously tried again.

"My name is Thalion. The strongest human, and—""Red robes with intricate runes," the man interrupted calmly.

"Likely designed for blood manipulation. Strong musculature, yet agile—ideal for combat. Sword: highly specialized, radiating significant power. Mask matches multiple rune patterns. Combat skill: extremely high. Conclusion: death to all elves in the area." Now Thalion was starting to get annoyed. The guy was just listing his abilities out loud.

"Alright, great. Can we get to the important part? I am—" He was cut off again—this time by an elven war cry from one of the other ships. Multiple auras flared to life. That hadn't been part of the plan. He had wanted the elves to call their Chosen—not charge in themselves. Well… if they wanted it this way. So be it. Against such numbers, Thalion had to fully tap into his power—and into the Primordial Bloodseed.

As he cut through elf after elf, he made sure not a single drop of blood touched the slaves before it was absorbed. After a few minutes of intense fighting, it was over. Three elves had managed to escape. One remained, lying at Thalion's feet—missing an arm, one leg twisted at an unnatural angle. The elf screamed at the top of his lungs. It was clear this was the first time he had ever truly felt pain. And it overwhelmed him completely.

The slaves stared at Thalion with wide eyes, unable to comprehend how a single human had slaughtered all the elves. Two individuals, however, seemed quite pleased. One was Thalion—who had almost reached level 106 and the other was the man with the glasses.

"Just as I predicted," he said, nodding with quiet satisfaction. That comment didn't sit well with Thalion.

"What do you mean just as you predicted? Every elf but one is dead, and all the slaves are alive." The man remained completely calm.

"Of course I updated the analysis once the fight began. You may have missed it—there was quite a lot of noise. Next time, I'll speak louder."

"Now that's just ridiculous. Literally anyone here could've made that prediction," Thalion huffed. For some reason, he really didn't want to give that smart-ass any credit.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and help me get that Chosen here? With your great intellect, that shouldn't be a problem at all, right?" That seemed to motivate the man. He rolled up his sleeves.

"Oh, I'll show you what true planning looks like. Not this crude theater you just staged." Thalion raised his hands defensively and took a step back. That was the moment the elf finally stopped screaming and decided to contribute something useful.

"I will never help you! You will never defeat our dear mistress! You… you stupid human!" It always amazed Thalion how utterly stupid these elves could be. The man with the glasses stepped forward—and began analyzing the elf.

"Hm… you have an innate fear of spiders. And the fact that your sister died at birth still weighs heavily on your soul." Now Thalion was interested. Did this man have some kind of special bloodline—or was he just messing with the elf? Judging by the elf's wide eyes, he was spot on. The man observed him for a few seconds, then casually walked over to one of the corpses and pulled a token from its pocket. He pressed a rune and began to speak.

"Listen, elves. We have freed ourselves and are willing to exchange the captured elves for the human slaves." Thalion frowned. Surely that didn't require a special skill or bloodline to come up with. Then the token crackled to life.

"What? Who is speaking?"

"Like I said, a former slave from the crews sent to gather pearls from Reef Quadrant Six. Release all slaves, and in exchange, we will free the elves currently in our custody. You have thirty minutes." The token went silent, and the man relaxed. Thalion, however, was less impressed.

"First of all—who are you? And second, where exactly was the master plan? That didn't seem all that special."

"I'm called Pikar. And don't look at me like that—my father was a Star Trek fan," he huffed.

"Now, as for why my plan is better than whatever you were attempting…" Pikar started pacing in front of him.

"I figured out you're some kind of important figure. But throwing your name around like that only increases the chance that the elves call for reinforcements. You're right—they're arrogant. But that doesn't mean they're stupid. I'd say there's roughly a thirty-three percent chance they'd contact others through a teleportation circle." Now he really got going.

"There are also variables we can't control. For example, their god might be watching. I know they can communicate—but I don't know how much the god can actually see. What we absolutely don't want is divine interference guiding the Chosen." He stopped and looked directly at Thalion.

"Especially not when you're the one who won the first system event. That's the kind of thing gods pay attention to." Thalion raised an eyebrow. Pikar continued, clearly in his element.

"My approach has several advantages. First, no god is going to care about a few escaped slaves. Second, the pressure on the elves is already high—the war is starting. They'll want to resolve this quickly, without unnecessary risks." He gestured toward the ships.

"There are additional benefits. You can attempt a sneak attack using the ships as bait. They're less likely to call for reinforcements. And if it fails, you can still reveal your identity afterward." Pikar paused for a moment before adding:"And one more thing—if you're actually strong enough to kill the Chosen, we could infiltrate their base and free the remaining slaves. If we manage to destroy their teleportation circle, we might even be able to hold the territory. There are no major factions nearby." That was…

a lot. But Thalion had to admit—Pikar had a point. He hadn't even considered that gods might actively guide their Chosen here. During the treasure hunt, that hadn't been possible.

"You know what?" Thalion said with a grin, breaking the brief silence.

"I think I like you." He let out a short laugh, the tension easing.

"Now let's get that slave collar off—and then we've got an ambush to prepare."