All Chapters of War God Returns: Lein Ashford : Chapter 261
- Chapter 270
279 chapters
Chapter 261
The Demon Fang headquarters stood on the edge of the settlement, in a corner that had very few neighboring buildings because the neighbors who once lived nearby had long since decided that distance was preferable to proximity.The building itself was larger than the others, its walls thicker, its doors made from wood that was anything but cheap. Inside, music from instruments unknown to the people of Earth drifted through corridors that had witnessed countless conversations never meant for outsiders to hear.In the innermost chamber, Krul Ashgor sat on a leather sofa nearly the size of a small bed.He was large in a way that made ordinary furniture incapable of conveying his true size. His long black hair was neatly combed back, contrasting with a jawline that was never completely clean-shaven. A half-finished cigar rested between his fingers. Leaning against the side of the sofa was a massive sword whose blade was as wide as an adult man's back, waiting with the silent confidence of
Chapter 262
Lein landed on a branch seven meters wide, halfway up a tree that stretched more than a hundred meters into the sky. Ryn and Sael climbed down from his back and stood on the broad surface of the branch, like people realizing for the first time that a floor did not need to be perfectly horizontal to be solid enough to stand on."This will be a suitable location for now," Lein said, looking both upward and downward. "At least until I settle things with the Demon Fang."Ryn glanced below, then toward the massive trunk beside them."An Ironcrown Tree." His eyes traced the bark, which was harder than ordinary wood and carried a bluish-gray color unlike any other tree in this forest. "It's the only tree in Xollos that can't be burned, even by fire itself. But there's a problem.""What problem?""Grimfang Serpents live beneath it." Ryn looked at Lein. "They can grow up to ten meters long. Their scales are tough enough to withstand ordinary swords, and their venom..." He paused. "It's enough
Chapter 263
Ryn continued his explanation."Each Realm has ten levels. Level One is the lowest, and Level Ten is the highest. People here usually refer to Level Ten as the Peak Level." He traced an imaginary diagram in the air with his finger, not because it was necessary, but because he was used to explaining things that way. "So if someone is at the Peak Star Realm, it means they've reached the highest limit of the Star Realm before advancing to the Sky Realm."Lein nodded."What about the creatures living in this forest?""They're called demon beasts. And this is something you need to understand clearly." Ryn leaned forward slightly. "Demon beasts have the same hierarchy as humans. Seed Realm, Warrior Realm, Spirit Realm, Star Realm, Sky Realm, and God Realm. But never assume that a Star Realm demon beast is equal to a Star Realm cultivator."His expression grew serious."They're far stronger.""How much stronger?""To kill a single Star Realm demon beast, it usually takes three cultivators of
Chapter 264
One of the three men let out a small laugh."And who exactly do you think you are?" His voice carried undisguised contempt. "The three of us and Dren, one of the Three Elites of Devil Fang, are more than enough to crush a clueless traveler who doesn't know his place."Dren did not laugh.His nose had stopped moving the moment Lein emerged from the bushes, replaced by something simpler and far less pleasant. The aura he sensed from the man standing before them did not match the image of a weak traveler who had arrived late."Be careful," he said quietly. "He's strong.""Why should we worry?" The man who had kicked Ryn in the settlement shook his head. "There are four of us, and he's alone. As long as we attack from three directions at once, he won't stand a chance."His eyes flicked toward his two companions, a subtle signal that required no words.They understood immediately.Then all three moved.They charged simultaneously from the front, left, and right, their movements swift and c
Chapter 265
Lein looked at the four bodies around him.One by one, he examined the lingering auras they had left behind.The three men who had attacked him possessed auras equivalent to the Soul Realm on Earth. Dren Skarr, the man known as one of Devil Fang's Three Elites, was equivalent to the Immortal Realm.Lein calculated quietly in his mind.Their auras matched the Soul Realm and the Immortal Realm. Yet when he compared what he sensed from these four men to the cultivators he had faced on Earth, there was a noticeable difference.They were... weaker.Despite living in a world overflowing with spiritual energy, they did not utilize it properly. They merely absorbed it without truly refining or controlling it.That was why their auras felt powerful, yet they seemed weak in actual combat.Even Gareth Mourne, without using a single artifact he had brought to the Varek battlefield, would have been capable of defeating Dren Skarr and the other three by himself.It was not a conclusion born from ar
Chapter 266
Ryn looked at the bundle Lein had brought.His nose caught the aroma even before it was unwrapped, and something in his stomach responded without permission. Beside him, Sael, who was usually better at controlling her expressions, quietly swallowed in a way that was not nearly as discreet as she intended.For their entire lives, warm meat had been something they recognized from the scent of other people eating, not from their own plates. The meat they occasionally managed to get was usually cold, half-eaten, scavenged from trash piles or discarded food.Neither of them said it aloud.There was no need.The way their eyes kept drifting toward the bundle and then back to somewhere more neutral, repeating at shorter and shorter intervals, said enough.Lein placed the bundle on a flat section of the branch."Go ahead and eat. I brought enough for all three of us."Ryn and Sael exchanged surprised looks before Ryn finally spoke."You should eat first, Traveler. Whatever is left over will b
Chapter 267
Night atop the Ironcrown tree was different from night on the forest floor.The wind moved more freely at this height, carrying the scent of the forest—a scent that was never quite the same from one hour to the next. Below, the sounds of Varkaan Forest filled the darkness, movements that did not need to be seen to be known.Inside the branch-house, Ryn and Sael were already asleep.Lein knew from the sound of their breathing—steady and uninterrupted, with none of the pauses that suggested someone was only half asleep. They had fallen asleep faster than he expected, the way people did when their bodies had gone too long without the chance to rest somewhere safe enough to truly let down their guard.Lein moved to a branch farther from the house's entrance.The branch was not much narrower than a two-lane road, wide enough for him to sit cross-legged without worrying about balance.He sat down.Closed his eyes.And allowed his awareness to expand outward, sensing everything around him.T
Chapter 268
The explosion from the collision forced the eagle backward several meters, its wings beating erratically as it struggled to maintain its position in the air.Lein did not move from where he was.And at that moment, he could sense something from the eagle that did not need to be spoken aloud. The creature that had ruled the skies above this forest, that had never encountered anything capable of directly withstanding its talons, was experiencing something entirely new.Surprise.Just as Lein had expected. A powerful aura did not always equate to equivalent strength.Naturally, he wasted no more time.White energy gathered around both of his fists, growing denser with every moment, until a faint white glow hovered over their surface like steam rising from boiling water.Lein charged.His speed closed the distance between himself and the eagle—still recovering from the previous impact—in an instant that left it no time to prepare. His right fist slammed into the creature's side, then his
Chapter 269
Lein placed the spirit stone in the palm of his hand.Its weight was disproportionate to its size, far heavier than something that large should have been. Perhaps twenty to thirty kilograms. Beneath its bluish-violet surface, energy drifted slowly within like small clouds unable to find an escape.He did not need to ask anyone how to absorb it.The moment his hand made direct contact, his body already knew. It was like two things designed to connect, requiring only one side to open itself for the other to flow through.Lein closed his eyes.His entire focus narrowed to a single point—to his palm, to the stone resting there.He opened the pathways within himself, just as he had done earlier while meditating. But this time, he was not drawing energy from the air.This was something far more concentrated.And the instant those pathways opened, the spirit stone began to work.The energy did not flow gently like a stream. It was more like a dam whose gates had been thrown wide open in a si
Chapter 270
The main hall of the Demon Fang headquarters had never looked like this at midnight.Fifty people stood in loose rows, not perfectly organized but careful not to stand in the wrong place—the behavior of people who had spent long enough under the same leader to understand that a midnight gathering was not something to be taken lightly.At the front stood Krul Ashgor, carrying the same imposing posture he had worn during the day, unchanged despite the late hour.To his left stood a woman with short hair cut nearly to ear length. She was not physically large, yet the way she carried herself seemed to occupy more space than her size should allow. There was nothing soft about her appearance. A strong jaw, eyes devoid of patience, and a double-bladed axe strapped across her back in a way that suggested it had been used far too often to be considered decoration.Vera Khal.Among the members of Demon Fang, her nickname was The Iron Axe.A Peak Star Realm cultivator who specialized in overwhel