Chapter 156: King's Gift to the World
The blood of the city carried the Sun and King through its veins, thrashing them against the stone walls and filthy mounds. But the waters did not go on forever. It eventually slowed down after joining an underwater lake. Sun swam to the shore, lit by giant glowing yellow mushrooms. King swam after him. Sun aimed his palm at King, but he retracted it as doubts sets in. Sun was aware that he was pulling his punches. He can't risk expelling his mana out without a care in the world.
But hesitation can cost him greatly. Those were the teaching of his past life mentor. In the streets of the city, every second matter, every decision irreversible, and regret only comes when you miss your opportunity. The bear would not hesitate, but Sun did just for the moment. And it gave King time to teleport in front of him. He kicked Sun against the damp wall.
King ran to him, ducking low to grab his legs. A foolish mistake against an experienced street brawler such as Sun. He pushed King's back to the ground before he could even grab his ankle. Sun went around King and tried to trap him with a rear chokehold, but King quickly rolled on his back and faced Sun.
However, this did not save him from Sun, who started pounding him on the head once he was presented with an easy target. But King learned to fight like Sun. He spewed out flames which startled Sun off his body. "How do you like it?" King shouted, "Was it as hot as yours?"
"No," Sun wiped his face, "Not hot enough." He unleashed his fire breath, which was strong enough to destroy the wall behind them, revealing a spiral staircase. Sun tackled him through the wall and body-slammed him against the staircase.
Blood sprayed out of King's mouth. He grabbed Sun's collar and headbutted him. Sun stepped back to regain his balance the world around him begin to shake. King extended his hand and called for his sword. The black blade jumped out of the water and flew towards King. Sun, sensing the sword behind, jumped over it before it could impale him from behind. King caught the sword, and its black blade turned bright blue.
"Maybe this will be more your liking!" King imitated Sun's blazing sword, launching a heatwave that scorched the muddy floor.
"Fire beats fire," Sun clapped his hand, and the hot compressed air clashed with the heatwave and caused an explosion that blew the two away from each other.
Sun landed on the murky water. He swam back to the surface and saw King charging his attack. A large white ball grew in size on the palm of his hand. Then King began to compress it between his hands. The cost for this attack was his entire stock of mana, but King still had a surplus from absorbing the mana from Sun's brothers. And with nowhere to escape under the city, Sun will have to brace for the explosion.
"Bet you don't have the fire to beat this!" King threw the white ball at him.
Sun dove back into the water and swam as deep as he could. The white sphere exploded, and the city shook from its foundation. The cavern's roof caved in, and the light of day lit up the dark underworld. Most of the water evaporated, leaving only a muddy pond.
King collapsed to the floor and began to meditate. He shuffled his mana around, refilling his kas with the mana he stole. But his meditation ended quickly. Sun dug himself out from his hell and jumped back to the staircase.
King had his senses closed off and was unaware of Sun standing on top of him. Sun pulled out a rope and tied King up. The water protected him from most of the blast, letting him save up his mana. Before, he expended a large amount of it to shield him from the explosion. But now he had enough mana to reinforce the rope.
When King opened his eyes, he was stuck in a hogtie. "What the fuck?" King screamed, "You bastard! How are you still alive."
"I feel like I tied you the wrong way." Sun examined his butt, pointing to the air, "Yeah, I don't think this is right."
"Answer me!"
"Oh, come on, it's like the second time I survived that. Are you really surprised?"
King released his mana from his body, pushing Sun away from him. Then he used brute force to break free from his bindings. Then he grabbed his sword and ran up the stairs.
Everyone on the surface saw the explosion. And those the closest to it took a peek on the edge of the hole, except for Shuja. She jumped in the hole and swung her way to Sun. "Sun, are you ok?" She asked while still swinging towards him.
"Yeah," Sun jumped back on his feet and caught Shuja in his arms, "You're lighter than you look."
"Shut up!" Shuja flicked his forehead, "Now put me down."
"Ok, I will, but what are you doing here? We need as many people up there fighting."
"Actually, we secured the castle already."
"What?"
"While you were fighting, Stick got the ship to the castle and barricaded themselves there. Only a handful of our warriors are at the city stealing the mortars the goblins were using."
"Still, it must be tough. They have guns, after all. Tungstree material is strong, but I don't know how well it can endure so much gunfire. If only they didn't have guns, we'd have conquered the city faster."
"Actually, the guns were really the problem. It was their Chiefs that were the issue. I think only about ten or twelve goblins had guns. The only other problem we faced would be the suicidal slaves that would explode when you kill them."
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense." Sun was puzzled, "Why would he not give his goblins guns when he's practically mass producing them."
"Beats me,"
Sun called out for his sword. The black blade flew to his hand. "I'm going after him. Help out the goblins above, make sure we don't have too many casualties."
"Ok, but before you leave," Shuja leaned in and kissed him on the lips, "Now go get him."
Sun smiled then ran up the staircase with confidence. But there still reservation in his heart because he needs to be resourceful when fighting King. So far, it was easy to do, as King lacked the experience to fight. Relying more on his brute strength than actual technique.
The staircase led him to a hidden passageway connected to a basement underneath a small stone temple. He climbed up a ladder and entered the halls, where he saw King enter a side room behind a stack of pews. Sun followed him inside.
King slouching over a table before he turned around and pointed a revolver towards Sun's face. "Let's be real. That bullet is not going to work," Sun said as he covered himself in a thin blue coating.
"Why you?"
"What?"
King pulled the trigger, and the bullet ricocheted off Sun's skin. But the loud sound did startle Sun, "Dude, what the fuck?"
King continued firing, but Sun lunged towards him and pinned him against the table. While they struggled to take control of the gun, Sun's eyes noticed the papers lying on the table and the drawings on its surface. They were blueprints for different models of guns. Sun lets him go and took a step back, examining the room. Blueprints of all sorts hanged on the wall.
Now it was Sun's turn to ask questions. "Why?" He pointed at the wall with his sword, "You have so much here!"
"Those are nothing." King hid his gun behind him and began to gather mana at the tip of the barrel.
"Yeah, they are, and you have entire factories underneath this city. You could have supplied every able-bodied goblin here with guns, and yet you didn't."
"They don't deserve it."
"They don't deserve it?"
"Only the strong should be rewarded with that power. An army of weaklings will always be an army of weaklings even with these weapons, especially in this universe where living weapons of mass destruction roam the earth like me and you." Then King pulled out his gun and shot Sun on the chest. The bullet could not penetrate his coat, but it did push him out of the room. "So why? Why did he give you his mana?"
Sun threw the bullet sticking out of his coat, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Pagasa gave you his mana! It's the only explanation. The only reason why you've managed to survive my bombs! Why did he even give it to you when I am already the strongest? I single handily beaten your strongest, including you, and yet he chose you."
"Cut your bullshit," Sun lunged at King and attacked him with his sword. King parried the strike, then teleported on top of the altar. "Pagasa didn't choose anybody. He wanted someone that could save the goblins. He found you and me, and he trained us to save our new people. But you chose a different path. I was wondering why you never used the horn to break the curse, and I think I know why."
"You know nothing," King fired an entire barrel, all of which were deflected by Sun's sword.
"You're strong and proud of it, and even proud of the goblins you believed to be strong. Meanwhile, you treat the weak like disposable cattle while you act tough. You could have made them stronger with the gifts you've brought from our world, but you'd rather sell them to the highest bidder. This must be all just a game to you. Fighting, holding a position of power, all of this is just another world that you have no connection to, like video games. You don't care about those that tried to kill the goblins. You just want to continue living your power fantasy."
"Easy for you to say when Pagasa gave you his own. This world was supposed to be about the strong making a mark in the world. And I am the one that should have received that power to leave that mark. Give back the power Pagasa gave you!"
"My power doesn't come from him. It came from my mom."
"Your mom?"
"Yeah, that's right. I have a mom. And I'm going to beat you up with the power she gave me."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KJ_The_Cat
KJ_The_Cat A lot of talking back and forth between these two, but I wanted to reinforce the theme they represent. King sees this world as a way to live his power fantasy while maintaining his privileged life. Meanwhile, Sun has already accepted his role and understands that this world is part of him as he is to it, literally since he was actually still together with his mom physically just recently. I will also go to an On break schedule next week on March 8, then go on a one-week hiatus on March 15 to 19, and will return on March 22.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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