The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Klaus smiled as this series of texts hovered before his eyes. The past 24 hours had been a good one for him. Aside from recovering his energy, his other bodies, with the exception of Efad, had levelled up greatly. Having three bodies who are now Immortal Kings is something to be happy about.

They each can now support him in ways he never expected from the start.

When he learned he could cultivate other bodies separately from the main body, he never expected it would be fun.

Back then, while the allure of having nine other bodies that could wield god-slaying powers sounded like a cool thing, he knew it would take a lot to actually be able to cultivate all of them.

However, in less than a year, he had moved from the Early Immortal stage to three Immortal Kings and two True Immortals.

If he were to create the five bodies he had left now, they would all come out as True Immortals with their own immortal rings.

Klaus imagined the day he would have to augment his main body with all nine bodies. The feeling coursing through his body as he thought of that nearly made him drool.

Today, he understood that, indeed, while he would need to train ten times harder, he would one day reap the benefits of his struggle.

Turning slightly, he looked at his teammates. They all seemed to have recovered, and looking at the light in their eyes, he knew they had gained something great.

Of course, he wasn’t about to assume they had leveled up as he did, but they seemed happy.

Omen now has seven immortal rings, and so does Echo. However, Klaus can tell that Slate has absorbed the core of the three-headed lion, giving him his 8th immortal ring.

’The average warrior can handle only 7 immortal rings. Since he can handle 8, then there is nothing stopping him from going for a 9th. Luckily for him, it will be from Immortal Essence water, where he gets to create the immortal ring himself.’

The reason Immortal Essence water is sought after by all immortals is its versatility when used to create an immortal ring.

Unlike calamity cores, where one of the immortal rings wielded by the calamity beast is inherited by the immortal, or the immortal rings awakened by absorbing treasures containing immortal essence having innate qualities, the Immortal Essence water allows one to conceptualize and create an immortal ring from what they can perceive and comprehend.

It has no backlash even if they fail.

So Klaus knew his teammates would benefit from it. He, on the other hand, is destined to reap more than he sowed.

Already, his incarnations, Rhazor, Orion, and Kaden, had awakened 8 powerful immortal rings when they became Immortal Kings. So he sent two drops each to them to absorb and create two immortal rings each.

His main body, however, had nine thanks to the two Calamity cores he had absorbed, so he planned to add one more. That would be his limit as a True Immortal.

Once he reaches the Immortal King stage, he will have the chance to add more.

As someone who is cultivating a body worthy of defying the Heavenly Dao, having more immortal rings will come in handy.

”You all seem happy,” Klaus said with a smile loking at all four teammates. They nodded, and he turned to Slate. ”Buddy, what is the effect of your 8th immortal ring?”

Slate smiled and answered, ”I can clone myself into three perfect copies.”

He activated his 8th immortal ring, and two identical copies in both looks and energy signature appeared beside him.

”It takes less effort to control them, and even better, I can swap places with them. However, even if I wasn’t fast enough to swap places and my main body were to be killed, I will respawn in one of the clones.”

Klaus smiled. ”That is incredible, Slate. Now, you will have the chance to create a 9th immortal ring that will make the 8th much more overpowered. Of course, I will leave everything to your imagination.”

Klaus retrieved one bottle containing a drop of the Immortal Essence water and handed it to Slate. The poor man, who never knew a day like this would come, received it with shaky hands.

Klaus could tell he was doing his best to hold back his emotions. Someone like him had no business forming more than 7 immortal rings. The reason he was selected as a personal guard for the royal family was his incredible skill with his spear.

In the Stella Human Army, he is among the top three warriors ever to come close to defeating Lord Victor.

Today, he is on track to form his 9th immortal ring, and it was all thanks to Klaus. Klaus wasn’t stingy; he treated them like equals, and that was everything a warrior like him would forever respect.

Klaus had seen them fight, and he could tell that Slate, Omen, and Echo were battle-hardened warriors. As someone who had lived nine lives, each filled with deadly battles, being impressed by three immortals says a lot.

”Relax, buddy. Like I said three days ago, by the time I am done with you three, not even an early god will scare you,” Klaus smiled. ”That said, prepare for when we leave here. It will be even more harrowing battles, ones that will require you all to bring your A-game.”

Slate nodded and moved away to handle his immortal ring creation.

Klaus turned to Omen and Echo and handed each of them two bottles. ”No pressure, but it will be good if you can handle everything in the next two days.”

”Okay.” They also received their share and moved aside to handle it.

”I am sure when we return, they will resign from the Stella Army and start following you,” Rory joked, watching how Klaus treated Omen, Slate, and Echo.

Klaus smiled. ”I won’t mind, provided father-in-law doesn’t mind either.”

Rory blushed, hearing him call Lord Victor father-in-law. ”You are a good person, Klaus. Never forget that.”

Klaus nodded and kissed her. He produced three bottles of Immortal Essence water and handed them over to her. ”You can use two for now since your body is now much stronger after taking my blood.”

She nodded and kissed him, too, before leaving. With nine immortal rings now formed, she is bound to have 11 by the time she is done absorbing the Immortal Essence water.

Looking at the four teammates busy at work, he smiled.

Unlike them, he knew the kind of immortal ring he wanted to form. He had formed it before, so in less than 20 minutes, he was done.

He stood up and activated all ten immortal rings under his command, bringing a warm smile to his face.

Each immortal ring is akin to a 35% boost in his strength, so watching all ten come to life, he knew his days of being weak were over. Once the opponent is below average, they wouldn’t know how they died.

Klaus walked out of the cave and sat at the entrance, creating ten clones and sending them to scout ahead in ten different directions.