Bydrith Tilrae frowned. He spoke.

“Are you sure that the information is accurate?”

Gwentel’s voice sounded out from the small sphere in his hands.

“Yes. The Elean Empire has been annihilated, and we’re most positive it was humanity’s Liam Allister, based on his apparent relationship with Luweth and the fact that he was nowhere to be found when the Elean Empire was destroyed.”

“I thought we had a good relationship with humanity. Isn’t the Aeothian Kingdom in an alliance with him?”

Gwentel’s voice sounded disappointed.

“…Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. We are. He seems to have ignored his relationship with the Autarchy and acted independently. We do not know why.”

The Autarch rubbed his chin. His dark skin and pointed ears were reflected in the walls.

“There must be a reason. If he wanted to act against us, there would be no need to do it so incredibly early, when we haven’t even gotten started with our alliance. There was much we could have explored with humanity; they stood to gain much from us. Attacking us because of Luweth is frankly stupid.”

Bydrith thought in silence.

Why did he act against the Elean Empire? Did he simply want to take care of two things at once, annihilating a competitor and fulfilling the covenant with Luweth at the same time?

Just because Liam had attacked the Elean Empire didn’t mean that he would go for the Navalon Autarchy. For starters, the Autarchy had much more territory and a better structure, not to mention that the Autarch was also considerably more powerful than the Elean Emperor. The more Supreme Techniques one had, the more one could merge them and use multiple of them at the same time. As such, the distance between an Emperor with more than ten Supreme Techniques and one with fewer than ten was enormous. Ten Supreme Techniques acted as a milestone.

If he defeated Typhon, he must have at least eight Supreme Techniques. His growth rate is too fast. How long has it been since he became an Emperor? Less than a year?

It was nonsensical, no matter how one looked at it. There was something intrinsically different about Liam Allister, but that didn’t mean his talent came without a cost.

It could be related to why he’s acting so quickly and decisively. At the same time, he might just be trying to end the Convergence as soon as possible for the good of his kind.

It was a fool’s errand. Even if Liam managed to defeat Telman Hirt and the Hive, there was no way to overcome the wall that was Clyranth. His venture was bound to fail. The Autarch spoke.

“I understand. Thank you for your report, Gwentel. Your kingdom’s service will not go-”

It happened in an instant. Bydrith’s eyes widened slightly before his grayish Aura covered the entirety of the Navalon Autarchy’s territory, save for the very outskirts, which were immediately destroyed by a storm of golden Aura. The Autarch gritted his teeth in fury and stepped through space. He arrived above a man with pure black skin dotted with golden stars and constellations. Two halos floated above and behind the man’s back. Bydrith sneered as he looked at Liam’s blank expression.

“A savior? A god? You’re just a mass murderer on a killing spree.”

Liam said nothing. He merely raised the spear in his hands and pointed it at the Autarch.

The distance between them was one that he could cross instantly.

…

Liam stared at the Autarch. He saw no need to respond to the hypocrisy of one who had reached level 100 at the cost of countless lives. If one was fighting for one’s life in the Convergence, at the very least, one should possess enough self-awareness to be aware of one’s sins. He had no interest in entertaining a self-righteous man who thought only those who acted against his species were wrong.

Liam’s strategy was simple. He would gauge how powerful the Autarch was and immediately teleport away at any sign of danger. It was likely that the Dark Elf wouldn’t follow him outside of the Autarchy’s territory, especially if Liam concealed himself in the Endless Sea. There would be no way to even identify his location, let alone chase him down. After determining the gap between him and Bydrith, which was sure to exist, he would decide what his next move would be. Liam pierced forward.

The distance between his spear and the Autarch’s chest was reduced to zero. He felt a strong resistance and frowned.

His defensive capabilities are much higher than Typhon’s. Is he also a defensive Emperor?

Liam had no time to conjure up further thoughts. Bydrith’s sword was almost at his throat. Twisting his body, Liam put the spear in its way, halting the attack. Liam’s body shook. His spear was rapidly pushed back in spite of his full strength being poured into it. The full backing of the Law of Force did nothing to stop the Autarch’s sword’s advance. A chill went up Liam’s spine. Thankfully, the Dark Elf was still limited by the concept of speed. His movements, albeit extremely fast, weren’t instantaneous. The impact of this single characteristic was as large as the gap between heaven and earth. Liam could react to every attack and move accordingly. There was no way for him to dodge or block too late. He could act even in the smallest time window. It wasn’t the first time Liam realized how powerful the effects of surpassing “speed” could be.

He retreated. The Autarch’s sword followed after him with extreme speed, but it was as if he had an eternity to react. He teleported directly above the creature, using his Supreme Techniques all at once. The Singularities rained down upon Bydrith’s body, who grinned and swung his sword only once. The sword light expanded and multiplied, carrying a deep grey color that swirled within the attack. It was a seamless combination of several offensive Supreme Techniques, blocking Liam’s attack completely. An instant later, the sword light continued moving, completely cutting through the Singularities and rushing at Liam’s body at a blinding speed. The man stared at the attack with a blank expression.

There are at least eight Supreme Techniques in this swing.

He unceremoniously teleported away. His eyes widened. The entire area within Bydrith’s influence was covered in the grey slashes, each seeming even more powerful than before. It was the same strategy that Typhon used, but this time, the attacks were powerful enough to disperse Liam’s strongest move and kill him at the same time. In an instant, Liam removed himself from the Convergence, landing on the Endless Sea. He had executed the greatest possible escape.

Nevertheless, it changed nothing. He was unable to breach Bydrith’s defenses and had no way to deal with his attacks. This was without mentioning the other Supreme Techniques the enemy hadn’t revealed. Liam could be considered to be practically unkillable because of his ability to escape whenever, but he was also incapable of defeating the enemy. This created a precarious situation that wasted his most precious resource.

It wasted his time.

His most important goal was winning the Convergence and setting humanity up for success before he died. There was only so much time he could spend fighting against the Navalon Autarchy, considering the number of species he had to defeat. Winning the Convergence altogether was already a tall task. He didn’t have the universe-destroying capabilities of Clyranth. He would need to go after groups of several species at a time. It meant that his leftover time was reduced even further.

How do I win against the Autarchy in the shortest time possible?

Liam considered his options. He could create new Supreme Techniques, but the effectiveness of this method was unclear unless he managed to match the number of the Autarch’s techniques in three months at most. Given that the enemy had at least twelve Supreme Techniques, it was unlikely. He could try to increase his understanding of Laws, which could prove to be effective. The sudden increase in his Perception had helped him max out what he could, but there were still gains to be made in the Laws of Spacetime, Soul, and Will. His efforts would naturally be focused on them.

Worst-case scenario, Liam would be forced to take advantage of the fourth petal’s increased resistance to Chaos and Order to try and bridge the gap between him and Bydrith while only consuming a few weeks of his lifespan. However, it was unlikely that the difference created by several additional Supreme Techniques would be that easy to nullify. Liam made a decision.

Let’s attempt to fight him once again, this time focusing completely on the Laws of Spacetime, Soul, and Will. In the case of failure, I will retreat and spend one month studying Laws or creating Supreme Techniques. If nothing works, I will use Chaos and Order.