Child of Destiny

...

On a secluded map within the Beast Glade Kingdom, Shin and the group were already in the perfect place to intercept the army of undead that they were expecting to invade the Kingdom.

But despite them waiting on their spot for quite a long time, they still couldn't see any kind of movement from the opposing side.

"Are you sure that they are going to take this path?" asked Owen with a slight doubt.

Hearing that, Akailu also couldn't take it anymore and quickly chimed in. "Given the size that we have estimated, it is impossible for them to hide their movements. So, how come we still can't see any movements despite that being the case?"

The others who were unfamiliar with Shin were also on the same page as those two. But despite receiving the doubtful looks from them, Shin was still acting rather calm.

Then he swept his gaze at them before answering their concern. "I understand where you guys are coming from since it is true that it is impossible to hide the tracks of such a large troupe. Unless-…"

He trailed his words a little before continuing with a smirking tone. "Unless they are moving underground."

"Ah!"

Hearing that, the others immediately realized what Shin was thinking and quickly turned their heads towards the towering Elemental Spirit standing among them. – "So, that is why this guy is summoned right after we arrive here." –

"If you already thought about it, then can you at least inform us beforehand," complained Owen while clicking his tongue.

This time, Shin refused to reply as Owen just closed his eyes to take a quick nap while waiting for Astaroth to inform him of the arrival of their opponents. But not long after, he suddenly remembered something and quickly stood up and walked over to Akailu.

"Brother Akailu, can I ask you a favor?" said Shin while putting up a smile.

On the other hand, the Beastmaster suddenly felt an intense shiver on his spine the moment he saw Shin's polite attitude. He then unconsciously asked in return. "What is it?"

"Can you appraise a pet egg for me?" said Shin directly, without bothering to beat around the bush.

Hearing the words 'appraise' and 'pet egg' immediately piqued Akailu's interest, so he quickly asked. "Pet Egg? What is its rarity? If it is high enough, then I may help you for free."

But soon, he immediately regretted what he just said. It was because the rarity of the pet egg that Shin had shown him was much higher than what he had expected. "T-this-…! Where did you get this pet?"

"Ahm… I just saw it somewhere and picked it up," said Shin while making it sound as natural as possible.

When Akialu heard those words, the expression on his face suddenly turned stiff as he didn't know whether to hit Shin with what he just said or let it slide. But his stress level immediately went up when he heard Shin urging.

"So, what kind of pet is it?"

Akailu gave Shin a sharp glare before activating his pet appraisal skill to identify the egg that Shin had handed to him. And right after he was done, his eyes almost fell from their sockets for what he had seen. "What kind of nonsense is this? Is this kind of creature allowed to be in the game?"

Then he quickly turned his head towards Shin and asked with full of expectation. "Are you planning to sell this little guy? I will buy it right away if you want!"

Unfortunately, Shin quickly snatched the egg back from Akailu's hands and said smilingly. "Too bad, this little guy already has an owner."

Akailu wanted to say something more but Shin quickly turned around and headed back to his spot right after giving his thanks.

Naturally, Shin was not that ungrateful to let the Beastmaster work for free. So, he took a special item from his inventory which was also perfect for Akailu's class. Then he tossed that item to the latter while saying another thanks.

Akailu stared at Shin blankly as he didn't know how to figure out Shin. 'Tsk! This guy really had a serious mood swing.'

On the other hand, Shin was pretty much satisfied with the details of the pet. "This one is really the same quality as Arthur's golden dragon."

------------------------

Monster Name: Heaven Devouring Serpent

Nickname: (Not assigned yet)

Life Rating: Elemental Creature (Legendary)

Growth Rate: 120

Level: 0

Details: (Need to incubate to fully unlock the remaining details)

------------------------

"What's that? Is it the so-called reward that you promised Sister Cloe?" whispered Leonard as he sat beside Shin.

Shin gave him a sidelong glance before replying. "Well, that girl will stubbornly insist on coming with us if I don't promise her anything."

"Hiss~! From what I can see, she is expecting something else in return," said Leonard while clicking his tongue. Then his face suddenly turned serious before asking. "Shin Bro-… why are you not-…"

But before Leonard could even complete his words, Shin immediately cut his words off by saying. "You already know my answer for that."

"But she said that she doesn't care!" refuted Leonard strongly.

Hearing that, Shin forced a laugh before patting Leonard's shoulder. "Her thoughts are one thing, but it is a different case for the people around her."

"But-…!"

Leonard wanted to say something more but Shin didn't let him finish his words once again. "We already talked about this before. And I also agree with Uncle's thoughts."

"I am still a man with an unknown origin-…" he added while wearing a lonely smile before standing up. "What's more, we are still young and we also don't know what will happen in the future. So, who knows whether-…?"

Swoosh!

Shin was still in the middle of talking when Leonard suddenly stood up and quickly grabbed the collar of Shin's armor. "Don't you dare mention that stupid bullsh*t ever again if you still consider me as your sworn brother!"

Shin was slightly taken aback by Leonard's actions. He then stared at the latter's angered face before wearing a bitter smile.

Leonard glared at Shin for a few moments before pushing the latter forward and turned around to walk away.

In the meantime, Shin was left leaning on the tree behind him while staring at Leonard's back. Then he suddenly muttered with a lonely tone. "It is not like I have any other choice. You guys should know my situation better than anyone."

...

The group continued to wait for a couple of hours before Astaroth finally felt some strong vibrations deep underground and quickly looked at Shin.

Being linked with each other, Shin was able to read what the Elemental Spirit wanted to tell and quickly informed the others. "They are here."

Hearing that, the others started standing up one by one before getting ready for the incoming battle.

Arthur and Leonard also jumped from their hiding positions and jumped in the middle of the road. Their roles were to attract their opponent's attention first before hitting the opposing side with their strongest punch.

On the other, Shin and the others would stay hidden for as long as they could. So, they could hide their real battle prowess until their opponents show all of their cards.

They waited for a couple of moments before quickly Shin gave his signal to Astaroth. And when the latter saw that, the Elemental Spirit quickly put his palms together before raising them in the air.

A moment later, Astaroth suddenly slammed both of its hands on the ground and sent a powerful ripple underneath.

Rumble!

Then Shin turned his attention towards Arthur and Leonard before telling them that it was their turn. "Slam it down!"

Seeing that, Arthur and Leonard quickly made their respective moves. He formerly channeled a large amount of mana on his spear before pointing it towards the sky before stabbing it on the ground.

On the other hand, Leonard jumped high up in the air while also channeling his mana on one of his battle-axes before throwing it powerfully towards the ground.

Boom! Boom!

Then there was a pair of simultaneous explosions right after their weapons hit the ground. And not long after, the ground was suddenly split open before huge debris towards the sky alongside a large group of undeads.

"Oh~! Look at these guys. Are they a mole or something?" said Arthur smirkingly before thrusting his spear forward and releasing a large amount of golden mana from its tip.

Roar!

Then the streak of mana transformed into a golden dragon that flew straight to the undeads in the air and devoured all of them in the process.

Swoosh!

And when the golden dragon started to dissipate, Leonard suddenly shot down from the sky and descended with unstoppable force.

He flew straight in the middle of the undead army that was still at the bottom of the collapsing ground.

Boom!

Then there was another explosion when he came in contact with the ground. And the impact was strong enough to send a powerful shockwave that sent all of the undeads around him to fly in the air.

And because of that, there was another batch of undeads for Arthur to be targeted.

"Alright, let me vent out my frustrations to these guys," said Leonard while wearing a grim look on his face.

...