The Great Devourer did not answer at once. It was a little surprised—how did this tiny lifeform dare speak to it like that?
["Just putting on a show of calm. You have no idea who you're facing. Last time in the Octarius region I let you win once. But do you think that was a true win?"] the Great Devourer said.
"I know you're up to tricks. Yet I'm still slaughtering your broods. You keep sending hive fleets to fight my Orks,
trying to conceal something. But I don't care. Do you know why?" Rhodes said.
As long as he kept killing Tyranids, he'd get a steady stream of system coins. Whatever schemes the Devourer had, as long as the monsters he summoned were absolute enough, strong enough, there'd be no comeback.
With Tartarus and Zog in his corner, Rhodes was brimming with confidence. The Indomitus Crusade had already gone on three years by now.
He had amassed another large stack of system coins, and after exterminating those beetle-men he'd gotten a lot more.
He could fire off Advanced Shop ten-million-coin draws at any time—and not just once.
He'd summon boss-tier monsters of the highest class. Why should he be afraid? What was there to fear?
However strong the Great Devourer was, it still crawled within this universe. Could it step outside it?
["What makes you so confident? We've been apart such a short time—blink-of-an-eye short to me,"] the Great Devourer asked.
It was intrigued. This lifeform was indeed more perfect than the last time—his flesh had reached the peak of this universe.
Still far beneath the Devourer, but in realspace he was second only to those beings called Star Gods.
"If you want to know my trump card, come and find out for yourself. Didn't you say this was a trap set for me? If you're so sure, then by all means, spring it," Rhodes sneered.
At the same time, he spent ten million system coins on a 100-pull in the Advanced Shop.
You should belittle your opponent in words and spirit, but Rhodes wouldn't underestimate the Great Devourer—he'd be fully prepared.
This time he chose random, not specifying—he'd pull a random monster to test the Devourer.
Light flashed through the Shop. Shards dropped one after another: Dark Giants, Abnormal Beasts,
other movie bosses and TV final bosses. Unfortunately, none of them reached ten shards, and there were no mysterious bonus drops either, which disappointed Rhodes a little.
Without a word, Rhodes spent another ten million coins for a second 100-pull.
The Shop erupted in light again. This time a monster from the Advanced Shop was finally completed.
Another monster reached nine shards—he'd only need to trade ten other Advanced shards to complete it.
Twenty million coins down, and finally two Advanced monsters were ready to be summoned.
The first: Alien Empera—the famed Black Emperor, the madman who dared invade the Land of Light alone.
When Rhodes first crossed over, he'd gotten Empera Sword.
Rhodes had used that sword long ago. Now, in his gigantic form, he could wield it again—though its dark nature didn't really suit him.
With Steel-Breaking Bull Fist and Ultra Shockwave, Rhodes hadn't yet met an opponent that demanded the Empera blade.
Summoning the Emperor himself this time did stir him. In the Ultra Series universe, the Alien Empera is top-tier.
In the Advanced Shop, he's among the pinnacle bosses, just below those bug-tier monsters—the Top Shop types, who are basically multiversal.
Rhodes even felt that once the Emperor was out on the field, unless the Black King or one of the four Chaos Powers of the Warp descended into realspace, he'd be basically unbeatable.
As for the other monster, he wasn't as famous as the Emperor, but he was a true regular:
No need to belabor his power—he's the combination of five top monsters and appears frequently.
Not the brightest, but in raw combat strength, aside from Tartarus, a maxed-out Alien Mefilas,
and Zog, the Angel of Ultimate Annihilation, he might be the strongest. Even Daram in ultranized form might not beat him.
Rhodes chose not to summon this one yet. He needed ten more shards; there was no rush, and this battlefield wasn't ideal.
In the Shop, Rhodes fused the Alien Empera.
Ten shards merged, black mist welled up, and a black-cloaked figure 56 meters tall and 49,000 tons in mass took shape.
The Alien Empera wielded absolute darkness. His black energy could blanket an entire star and snuff it out.
His kit was lavish in the extreme: his cloak could block Ultraman beams; his dark energy wave could one-shot elite Ultras or ordinary kaiju.
His left hand could fire Black Rock fireballs and unleash supreme telekinesis—no weaker than a maxed-out Alien Mefilas.
His combat power was tremendous. He also possessed sealing arts and myriad uses of dark energy—his mastery exceeded even the Dark Giants.
All right then, Great Devourer—let's see what you use to play with my Alien Empera, Tartarus, and Zog.
["I used the biomass of Orks in the Octarius region and elsewhere in the galaxy to craft an avatar.
It holds a tenth of my true power. If you can defeat it, I may take you a little more seriously,"] the Great Devourer said.
Rhodes snorted and summoned the Alien Empera from the Shop.
A cloud of black smoke billowed out, and the 56-meter-tall Alien Empera materialized aboard the starship.
A terrifying surge of darkness erupted from him. Tartarus hastily raised both hands and cast a golden ward,
to keep the dark energy from spilling out—otherwise the mortal troops outside wouldn't even need the Tyranids; they'd be devoured in an instant.
"I am the Alien Empera!" the newly arrived Emperor proclaimed.
His aura was domineering to the extreme. The darkness he exuded surpassed even a fully enhanced Daram; to Rhodes it felt like the Emperor of Darkness incarnate.
The energy rolling off him was the absolute, ultimate night—the pitch-black of the material cosmos.
"Glory to you, my great master. Alien Empera will fight for you," the Emperor said, dropping to one knee before Rhodes after his declaration.
"Rise. This is your weapon—I'm returning it to you," Rhodes nodded, handing over a stashed Empera Blade.
"My great master, I have no need. I already have a weapon," Empera said, drawing another Alien Empera's Sword from beneath his cloak.
"…"
Rhodes.
So the sword was part of the set. The blade he'd drawn before didn't count—the summoned Empera came with his own weapon,
and his resplendent cloak, and even his personal craft, the Dark Terror—a fifty-meter-diameter fireball with a vast subspace within,
large enough to store an entire planet, and boasting terrifying defenses. Ordinary attacks would be absorbed by the gigantic fireball.
"Empera, a worthy opponent awaits you the moment you enter this world: the Great Devourer's avatar. You'll take him," Rhodes said.
Tartarus and Zog would hold the line. In sheer power the Emperor should be just beneath Tartarus.
In fact, if it came down to it, the little golden man might not beat the Dark Emperor.
The Emperor could not currently be enhanced. To power up Advanced-Shop summons, Rhodes would have to upgrade the Enhancement Shop—cost: twenty million coins.
"Master, I've just arrived in this world. I'd like to stretch my limbs," the Alien Empera said.