The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1023: Worthy of Being Called Rivals Ell’Hakan stood atop the highest tower the palace had, alone, as he stared up at the starry sky and two moons hanging far above. He was still hidden within the barrier of the palace but potentially out in the open enough for the hunter to take his shot. However, so far, nothing.

It was nighttime, and he had a lot of matters on his mind. His most recent conversation with the Augur had truly given him food for thought, and he could admit that what would happen next would be hugely impactful for his Path.

He saw a total of four major Paths before him based on the choices he made and the outcomes of these choices. The first two included running as the Augur proposed. He would flee to another planet ruled by the Holy Church and lay low there until the Prima Guardian event was fully completed, at which point he would teleport to another universe and into the heartlands of the Holy Church. If he was there, no external threats mattered anymore.

The question from there would be if the Augur was correct because that’s where Ell’Hakan saw a potential issue. He knew the emotions of the hunter, and currently, he doubted that the Chosen of the Malefic One would simply forgive and forget, no matter how long passed.

He saw his two Paths with the Holy Church either ending with him living in peace or, more realistically, getting hunted down after many years. And, if he was being perfectly honest, he wasn’t sure either option appealed to him, as he’d never wanted a peaceful life in the first place.

The second two options included fighting the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Such a fight would naturally have one of the two outcomes: each where either party won. It really didn’t need to be more complicated than that.

So, to run or fight. The Holy Church obviously wanted him to run, and Ell’Hakan knew why. They wanted his Bloodline. That was the deal they’d made, after all. That’s why they wanted him to pick the safest option available, and he was sure the Holy Church’s ideal scenario was one where Ell’Hakan went with them, advanced a few grades more under their influence, before giving them children who inherited his Bloodline... at which point they would no longer need him.

They didn’t care about him reaching his full potential. If he went with the Church, he also knew the lingering sense of regret from having run away from the fight would haunt him for the rest of his life. Chances are he wouldn’t be able to go as far as he should rightfully be able to, especially now that he’d become the Usurper of Yip of Yore.

No... even if he thought about everything logically, he really only saw himself having one real choice. Ell’Hakan was now stronger than ever before, and while he could admit that the Chosen of the Malefic Viper was superior to him in potential, that didn’t mean the hunter was stronger right at this moment. In the future, the gap would only widen, which made now the best moment to strike.

Should Ell’Hakan win, he would not only have removed a potential threat to his life down the line but cement his Path as a Usurper by creating a legend right off the bat. Proof that even if Yip of Yore had fallen to the Malefic Viper, his Chosen had still been superior to the Viper’s Chosen.

Even if he would face backlash from it, the Holy Church still wanted and needed him... and given enough time, he had confidence in getting real influence within the faction. He would make them see him as more than just a way to get his Bloodline, but as someone they truly couldn’t do without. Again, it wouldn’t be anything fast, but he had confidence down the line.

Of course, it all required him to actually beat the hunter, but as mentioned, Ell’Hakan didn’t feel like he had any better choice. It was either fight now while he was at his strongest just after the Usurper ritual, while even on his own homeworld, and with the hunter potentially still slightly weakened due to his recent soul damage, or sit back and wait for the hunter to kill him in the future.

So, even if he only had a one-in-a-thousand chance to win, it was the only option available. Besides, he believed his chances were a lot better than that, even if he wasn’t necessarily favored.

to find the Chosen

“The Planetary Pylon?”

under actual threat. Without hesitating further, he rushed down the stairs and toward the Prima Vessel to teleport down there...

Pylon. The energy given off by the Pylon aimed to destabilize the magic,

done and placed correctly, several more hours had passed. He was ready to go, but Jake didn’t immediately begin as he instead took out a mana potion and consumed it. He then placed barriers around all the magic circles to keep them safe as he sat down in meditation for an hour to fully restore himself and get the potion cooldown back while getting him to an optimal state before the fight he assumed would soon

the barriers that were pausing the ritual. He then activated his ritualism skill once more and moved all the magic circles to make them overlap and bend as they, one by one, wrapped around the Planetary Pylon. They weren’t active yet, but they were still struggling due to the intense energy given

Intense energy began to radiate from the magic circles, and he felt the Pylon instantly begin to fight back, but it was too late

of the Malefic Viper,” Jake spoke as he held out a palm toward the

original

while taking on a dark green sheen. The wrapping of magic circles broke apart in an instant but was just as instantly replaced with something far more powerful. A dozen dark green snakes appeared in the magic circles’ stead, encasing and

also felt a connection with whatever was going on as something was drained out of him. He didn’t know exactly what, but it mixed with the divine aura of the Malefic Viper and made the snakes take on a purplish gleam reminiscent of Jake’s arcane affinity. Right as they

as it slowly laid claim to the Pylon. Jake couldn’t help but smile as everything had gone as planned so far. While it wasn’t very feasible for C-grades to go around claiming and bargaining entire planets like this, in the realm of the gods,

why Jake knew no one could stop the Divine Bargain once it had been initiated. Doing so would require whoever tried to overcome not only the

new skill for a bit too long, stopped fucking around and retreated away from the Planetary Core as he also began to enter stealth once more. What he’d just

that deep underground was a shitty place to fight for him, but if that was the only thing he could reasonably get, he would take it. He also considered for a moment if he should pull out his special Eternal

Ell’Hakan was the one coming, he would more than likely do so through the Prima Vessel. If that was the case, he would have to leave it out of its one exit, yes, but he’d also

be clear, Jake didn’t believe the Eternal Hunger arrow was enough to kill him in one go, especially not after the Usurper Ritual Jake suspected him of having gone through. Just like how Jake had Moment of the Primal Hunter, he

be far better to bait the other Chosen into a long-drawn fight before Jake would unleash his real trump cards. Also... perhaps it was just

he also recognized the guy was the number two of their generation. He was a supreme genius in his own right, and Jake simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to fight many of his kind. The duel with

help push

was thinking about all these things, something finally happened. Space began to ripple violently, and just below the Planetary Pylon, the large Prima Vessel teleported into the core room. The

of the core room with his stealth skill active. Taking out an arrow, Jake