Speed Is King

394 In Elliot\'s Hands

Saint Dul\'Akharat was standing calmly atop the highest peak of the largest planet in one of the most prosperous Star Systems of the Central Galaxies, the Mountain of Skulls of the Linhasan Empire.

Of the five Central Galaxies, the Linhasan Empire had fared the worst.

Nearly the entire Royal Family had been infested by Shadow Parasites, and it was only due to the fact that the King of Linhasa was a powerful newly ascended Primal that he was free from infestation.

But even so, he had failed to prevent the complete annihilation of his standing army.

Led by the once in a millenial genius daughter of his, the Seventh Princess Elleanor Linhasa, the infestation had spread to almost half of his army, and they had instantly turned on the other half as soon as the Shadow Realm made their move.

Within hours, the infested half had completely destroyed the uninfested half, and were laying siege to the Grand Palace of Linhas, the Seat of Power for the Linhasan Empire.

Thanks to his newly advanced power, King Jerle Linhasa was able to capture most of the infested army. But he only managed to do so for the King, Emperor and Hegemon level fighters.

The infested Ancients chose to self-destruct to further incapacitate the Linhasan Army.

And thus, the once mighty Linhasan Empire was left almost completely devoid of Ancients, and less than a quarter of its original army.

But with the loss of so many top fighters, Linhasa\'s strength was less than one percent of its previous peak.

King Jerle\'s ascension was the only thing that kept the Linhasan hope of survival alive.

And if King Jerle was to fall in battle, Linhasa would cease to exist, much less remain one of the five main powers of the Central Galaxy.

It was in this weakest link of the five Central Galaxy powers that Saint Dul\'Akharat had chosen to make his personal stand.

Of course, his clones were spread out all over the place to aid the rest of the Primals and to maintain a close eye on the situation.

But the bulk of his personal strength would stay in Linhasa.

Whatever the situation, the five Central Galaxies must survive the war. It was their beating heart. Almost every life form was represented within them, and every single precious resource could be found in abundance.

If the five Central Galaxies survived the war, they could rebuild the rest of the universe relatively quickly from there.

But if they were to fall, the rebuilding process would be much slower.

Saint Dul\'Akharat did not entertain any thoughts of losing the war.

With Elliot and Elise Sands working behind enemy lines, he was confident that they would eventually succeed.

But even so, he was sighing deeply as he stood there.

The beautiful view comprising of heavenly mountains, rivers, waterfalls and grasslands set in a picturesque setting did little to lighten his mood.

Elise Sands had finally remembered to inform Saint Dul\'Akharat of the current development, and the news had completely caught Saint Dul\'Akharat by surprise.

Of course they had!

Elise Sands had broken through to Saint level? Good!

Thousands of full-strength clones of Elliot and Elise? Very good!

They had went on to destroy thousands of Star Systems? Excellent!

Realm of Banshees open? Bad!

Wild Space open? Very bad!

Wild Energy Blytoros? Disastrous!

Wild Energy Blytoros could kill FIVE of their clones with a single move? … …

Wild Energy Blytoros has grown powerful enough to challenge the Elder Gods of the Shadow Realm? … … … …

Overall, although they were making progress with the spike in top level fighters they could field in the war thanks to Elliot\'s Clone Portals, the situation hadn\'t changed in a significant manner for them.

The Shadow Realm still sent in their troops, and the bloody defensive war they wanted to avoid at all costs still erupted with startling ferocity.

"Why are you sighing, My Lord?" Primal Jerle Linhasa asked him politely.

Being a new Primal, Jerle Linhasa was extremely courteous to the almighty Saint Dul\'Akharat who held the fate of his precious Linhasan Empire in his hands.

"I suppose you\'re qualified to know, now that you\'re a Primal." Saint Dul\'Akharat glanced at him and smiled ruefully. "Although, there will be no benefits in the knowing, even though you\'re already at the peak platform of strength within our known universe."

"Information is power. Knowing is always better than not knowing." Primal Jerle Linhasa said quietly. "I would have known of it anyway, if the only other Primal of Linhasa did not fall so early in the battle."

"Primal Farlinor of Linhasa\'s demise was certainly unexpected." Saint Dul\'Akharat agreed. "But it was unavoidable. He was fighting a three on one battle. Buying that much time to allow me to reach this place on time was already a glorious achievement, one that he should be proud of."

Primal Jerle nodded wordlessly.

The Empire of Linhasa stood at the brink of annihilation. There were only so many words that courtesy could bring out of Primal Jerle.

Saint Dul\'Akharat went on to explain the situation to Primal Jerle.

"If that\'s the case, then wouldn\'t our current crisis be solved if they simply sent their clones to protect us? Or even better, if this Elliot\'s clones come and set up these Clone Portals for us? A single clone portal could easily protect a full sector of the known universe. I don\'t see why they couldn\'t do that." Primal Jerle asked quietly.

"Elliot had gone into uninterruptible cultivation much too suddenly. Apparently according to Saint Elise, he hadn\'t moved an inch ever since he started." Saint Dul\'Akharat smiled bitterly.

"The secret of the Clone Portals lay with him. Saint Elise could only control her own clones, which she had already sent to defend the countless Star Systems without a proper army. We are now officially in a fight to buy time. If we can somehow survive until Elliot wakes up, we will be fine. If not… it is our fate "

"What about his existing clones and existing Clone Portals? Couldn\'t they help?" Primal Jerle pressed on.

"His clones and clones portals all winked out of existence the moment he entered the critical stage of cultivation." Saint Dul\'Akharat said slightly grimly.

The fact that they were depending so much upon Elliot irked him endlessly. But that was the reality they were in at that moment.

Their lives were all in Elliot\'s hands!