Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1282: Thorak of the Thunderous Step

Sylas stood on the hull of the ship in silence, his breathing calm and collected. To his side, Captain Herrs lay in a kneeling position, his head lowered, blood leaking from his wounds.

The scene was a complete contrast to what one might have expected to see, especially since the Dwarf Iron ship wasn’t actually designed with a hull to stand on during travel at all. Sylas was just purposely standing there anyway, allowing those watching from a far-off distance to see exactly what was happening.

He wasn’t much of a grand entrance sort of guy. But today... he would be doing exactly that.

**

The Beast Warlord Sanctum was a place that could only be called beautiful. A single planet, rotated by dozens of moons, the array of colors felt endless.

Each moon carried its own character. Some of them had bands of rivers running across what was mostly thick forestry, others had practically no greenery at all, smothered and submerged in endless tides of blue as far as the eye could see.

Those two were probably the most common combination to see—a war between land and sea—but there were certainly other, more unique ones as well. Like moons that had clouds of thick, misty violet, some that seemed to just be endless desert plains without an ounce of water at all, and there was even one moon that looked less spherical and more like prisms of ice stacked atop one another.

And then there was the central planet—the one known as the Sanctum—and the one large behemoth that practically acted akin to the sun of its own star system.

It would have almost reminded one of Earth in its simplicity if not for its overwhelming size and the golden temple that stood so tall and wide that it could be viewed peeking through the clouds even from a light-year away.

However, this temple was one that most of the Sanctum would never get a chance to step foot on. Instead, they would be restricted to the other half—the half where the various Lineages of the Sanctum mingled and got together, the central hub of the Sanctum itself.

It was here that several administratives were waiting on the arrival of this batch of starships.

Unlike on the outer ring world Sylas landed on before, this hub was one where the traffic was much higher. This main hub communicated with traffic that included official disciples that did have access to teleportation channels and hyper highways, so the movement in and out was much heavier and congested. Without a proper coordination department, it would be utter chaos.

These administration heads and assistants played a role not too dissimilar from Megean back when Sylas first met her, but just on a far smaller scale. Some of them were indeed Rune Masters, but the majority of them just came from Lineages with strong mental capacities.

Of course, every existing member of the Beast Warlord Sanctum had the capacity to be a Rune Master, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to draw their Warlord Armor in the first place. The distinction was just between those who focused solely on their Armor and those who did not.

The Warlord Armor was so complex that it wasn’t rare for a member of the Sanctum to never learn another Rune in their lives, dedicating all of their time and effort to understanding their Armors just a little bit more. Most wouldn’t have the time to consider other aspects of Rune Mastery and thus couldn’t be considered true Rune Masters.

Still, this was one of the easiest ways to accumulate Warlord Points without risking their heads on the end of a pack of beasts’ toothpicks, so they took up these tasks nonetheless.

It was in the middle of this hubbub that the ground shook a bit, a towering figure strolling in.

His skin was as black as night, what looked like whip marks of elevated, scarred flesh forming complex patterns of a lighter gray over his body.

He was a true specimen of a man, imposing in a way that made the air whine and creak in his presence. It certainly didn’t help that the heavy mesh of leather and chainmail he wore probably weighed as much as a mountain.

Those waiting in queues for processing and the loud shouts didn’t necessarily stop, but they surely turned their attention over.

There were dozens of Lineages in the Beast Warlord Sanctum, each one representing an apex predator. However, compared to the millions upon millions of disciples that were a part of the Sanctum, this number was still pitifully few...

As were the number of them that could be official disciples under the Lineage Heads as well.

The Rhino Lineage’s 713rd Warlord, Korrak Stoneheng, was a man well known across the Sector for his heart-shuddering power and impenetrable defense.

This man here, however, was his younger disciple, accepted during the last cycle and well known in his own right. A true powerhouse amongst E-tiers, he stood proudly on his own long without the heavy input of his master.

Thorak.

That was the only name others knew him by. Well, it was the only name that he was born with. As for those he had gained after his birth, many liked to call him Thorak of the Thunderous Step—a technique of the Rhino Lineage similar to the Scorpion Lineage’s [Earth Escape], though not in function.

Most couldn’t even master their Warlord Armors enough to use their hidden techniques. But Thorak had mastered it to the point it was practically an extension of him... enough that he could be named after the technique.

And now, this man was here for reasons unknown, ignoring the queues and walking up to the counters.

”How can I help you?” a young man behind the counter asked respectfully. Though Thorak was powerful, he was still an E-tier, while the young man himself was already well into the D-tiers. He didn’t need to bow and scrape, though he was respectful.

”My master has recently taken in a disciple. She should be arriving today.”

The words were like a stone’s throw into a calm lake.