I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 338: A Dream of War! II

And at the apex of the mountain of blood, like a war titan enthroned, he sat.

Broad and brutal, with starlight flowing across his bronze skin like living veins, the man waited. The corpse beneath him oozed streams of gold-red ichor, but he did not shift. He watched.

Achilles hovered before him seriously.

He stepped forward. His boots touched the brittle skulls of beasts larger than cities, his breath catching as the sheer weight of carnage pressed in from all sides.

That figure looked up. Eyes sharp, jaw set. He had no crown, no robe, only the authority carved into muscle and battle-hardened bone. His aura burned from conviction.

Achilles approached, pulse steady but thoughts racing.

This had to be one of his grandfathers. Multiple greats away. Maybe the Fourth or Fifth Adrastia Emperor King? But the closer he drew, the more unplaceable the man’s presence became.

His voice was deep, hoarse, weathered by centuries, if not more.

He stopped a few steps away, where the blood-stained stone plateau gave way to the piled corpses of ancient beings.

The man stood.

He was taller than Achilles expected, a mountain of a man. Without hesitation, he reached forward and grasped Achilles’ jaw, moving his head side to side.

Scrutinizing.

Judging.

Finally, a grunt. Approval? Disdain? It was hard to say.

"Good enough. Now attack."

Achilles blinked. "What?"

"Are you deaf? I said attack me. You’re here because you’re under pressure. The only reason lineage would activate is because you’re about to face something that demands more than what you are now. And I can’t help with anything except combat. So attack. You want to live? You want to rule? Learn to fight better."

HUUM!

A pause.

Achilles considered telling him the truth- that this was no simple dream. That as thr Ninth Adrastia Emperor King, he could assimilate and do many things! But he held his tongue.

With his elevated power, he knew that he had at least 2 hours within this Dream. This memory!

So, he nodded.

And power bloomed.

The Imperial Sun surged behind him, brilliant and pure. The Crown of Adrastia burned at his brow. His aura ignited, a radiant field of starlight and Gamma Radiation searing the air. He unleashed it all.

The heat could melt mountains. The pressure could level cities!

They crashes down towards the former Adrastia Emperor King!

But...

BZZT.

The shimmer of starlight around the man didn’t even flicker.

Achilles frowned.

The burly man raised a brow. "That was laughable. Again!"

HUUM!

With narrowed eyes, Achilles extended his hand.

The Echelon of Starlight surged forward, a lance of raw brilliance crashing into the shimmering veil.

Nothing.

He followed with the destructive waves of Gamma Radiation, the invasive forces and qualities of Organic and Inorganic Planetary Body Assimilation, then the crushing power of even Destiny!

And..

Still nothing.

He used all of his different Assimilations. Each with devastating consequences!

Each...completely ineffective.

He was silent.

The mountain of a being was silent as he was judged!

And then, above the man, a star ignited instantly.

It bloomed like an inferno of every color known and unknown- gold, blue, red, violet, yellow. Its presence dwarfed Achilles’ own sun a thousandfold.

The man didn’t even glance at it. He pointed at Achilles’ flame.

"Weak."

The word cut deeper than it should have.

Achilles felt thr truth as he did not deny it!

He was powerful. Yes. But here, before this mountain of corpses, before this ancestor who reeked of war and legend, he was a flicker.

The man turned his back and began pacing.

"You think strength is in the flare of your aura. The heat of your flame. It’s not. Strength is discipline. It’s knowing the shape of your enemy before they strike. It’s turning their plans against them before they know they have plans."

HUM!

Like a teacher holding a class, this mountainous being began giving lessons!

"You rule? Then know this: a King who only knows how to fight will always be outmaneuvered by those who know how to win. I asked you to fight, and all you did was throw out attacks. Is that the only way you know how to fight?! You could have done so much more! Used your mouth, your head...anything!"

....¡

He stopped.

His voice hardened.

"Victory isn’t about overwhelming power. It’s about inevitability."

The golden sun above him pulsed.

"You can lose a battle. You can even lose a war. But if you make yourself into something that cannot be undone, cannot be forgotten, then you’ve already won. Your enemies will chase your shadow. They will fear your gaze."

Achilles stood still, absorbing every word.

The man turned as if making sure Achilles was still listening, and he pointed to the swathes of corpses all around them.

"Always know the terrain. Always know your enemy’s weakness. Let them think they have the upper hand, then break it. All of these corpses fell one reason or another because of this!"

...!

"Never confront force head-on unless you’ve already tipped the scale. And never let your heart grow dull. Pain will sharpen you, if you let it."

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them as if he wanted to instill as many lessons that he knew in this short period of time.

"Use bait. Use misdirection. Let them see the blade in your right while your left holds the real weapon. Understand the timing of a fight. The moment to advance, the moment to retreat. And always, always..."

He stopped inches from Achilles.

"...make them believe they chose their defeat."

BOOM!

Make them believe...they chose their defeat!

Achilles exhaled slowly.

His gaze firmed.

He bowed his head.

"Thank you."

He raised his eyes.

"You... should also know that I am the Ninth Adrastia Emperor King. The Last of our Bloodline. And among the many things I have that others did not...is the ability to assimilate anything I desire...."

He paused.

"Even within a dream."

HUUM!

The mountain rumbled.

The golden sun above them trembled.

And the man?

He became stern.

A booming, echoing sound that shook the bones of the dead.

"Boy! You should’ve led with that!"

...!