An encroaching darkness, different from the cloak of the night, covered the sky, a chilling aura with Arthur at the center, spread to all directions, causing weaker cultivators to fall unconscious. Everyone was affected by this sudden darkness, even mighty figures like Wrath and the old man leading the Holy Dominion group.

Although it lasted only for a few seconds before it vanished, it still brought fear to the closest people. The pink-haired girl, who never expected such a sight when coming here, retreated to the back with a pale face and a shocked expression. Even when the Dark Magic user fought back in the capital, it wasn't like this… this intense.

The Flame Crown Prince's expression turned uglier, he glared at the man wrapped in darkness, murderous intent leaking from him.

When everything became clear again, two figures were standing next to each other, facing the not-so-ready Holy Knights. One with two wings erecting from his back, one white and the other black, while the other was a woman with a silver-hair, she had a striking resemblance to Angelina, who was also surprised by what just happened.

"What are you staring at them for?! GET THEM!"

The old man loudly shouted at his subordinates. His yell snapped them out of their daze, they unsheathed their weapons, raised their shield and approached Arthur and Lucy.

As he saw the incoming bunch, Arthur's hand turned illusory and before anyone could react, the sixteen Holy Knights which acted as a vanguard lifelessly fell on the ground, their bodies missing their heads.

The spectators could only see Arthur's only eye shine with a blue light and then his hand turn illusory, they couldn't see what he did or when he did it.

In a second, sixteen peak God Monarchs were killed without being able to resist. The ground under the sixteen bodies quickly turned jet black, pulling them inside.

"T-this…"

Cardinal Zeves, the old man leading the group, became speechless upon witnessing what just happened. Even an Overgod like himself wasn't able to see what happened.

He exchanged glances with the other elder accompanying him then jumped to the front. The woman who was previously talking with Delia also joined the two old men. She held a thick two-handed sword which caused a strong reaction from Makaze.

'A Divine Sword?'

'Definitely a Divine Sword! It's Eclipse, Reaver of the Flame.'

'Oh well… it matters not, all enemies shall be killed today.'

With Makaze in his hand, Lucy by his side, there's little chance they'll be defeated.

The woman holding the Divine Sword was hesitating as her mind was busy talking to Delia, who repeatedly told her not to act. Unfortunately, with the situation turning like this, she can't sit there and watch after sixteen of her comrades were slaughtered.

"You don't understand! You can't defeat him… not after he got his blade back! Please!"

The woman ignored the pleading Delia and glared at Arthur, not bothering to hide her rising killing intent. She was also a high-ranking individual from the Holy Dominion and it's her duty to apprehend or kill evil people, especially those who use malevolent powers.

The whole area behind Arthur and Lucy was divided into one of the darkness and one of Ice. Just like her husband, Lucy held Twilight's Vow, her enhanced saber and prepared to face the remaining enemies.

'I'll handle the woman, you get rid of the two old men.'

Arthur nodded his head and vanished from her side, appearing in front of the weaker old man, the one who was a Half-Overgod. Their cultivation was sealed so they can't demonstrate their real powers, nevertheless, they weren't pushovers either.

As he saw the enemy before him, the old man raised his hand, which emanated a blinding light. The light disappeared almost instantly as Arthur's free hand unleashed an ominous darkness that devoured the light. Makaze didn't lag behind as Arthur slashed at the old man, cleanly cutting off his left arm.

This was but a series of small yet deadly attacks, green lightning bolts entered the old man's bodies through the gaping hole in his shoulder.

Cardinal Zeves finished casting one of his superior spells, resulting in a being of light to materialize and leap at Arthur, whose attention was solely on the retreating old man.

He used [Faster Than Movement], appearing behind the Half-Overgod and spat a large amount of lethal acid. The liquid which could melt everything in its landed on the back of the old man, causing him to shout from the excruciating pain.

Nonetheless, he was a person from the Holy Dominion and they especially excelled in Healing. A gentle golden light enveloped the old man, healing his heavy injuries. Unfortunately, before he could fully heal himself, his body froze while his expression turned inexplicably pale.

Just like that, he fell on the ground, unable to even understand how he died. Natural Lightning was swift and deadlier than any poison, it didn't take Arthur much effort to stealthily guide it to the victim's heart and burst it.

Cultivators will try to protect their Dantian before anything else, moreover, the old man never noticed the thin lightning bolts that invaded his body.

Now that he took care of the Half-Overgod, the remaining enemy was the Overgod, who isn't going to be easily killed.

On the other side, Lucy and the woman started their fierce fight. The woman never intended to attack Lucy but the latter charged at her and started relentlessly attacking.

There were many other Holy Knights still at the back but none of them dared to join the battle. The opponents were just too strong and they weren't tasked to fight but to set a formation.

Sneakily, they positioned themselves around Arthur, Lucy, and co then knelt on the ground and raised their hands, praying to their almighty God.

The thin and soft white saber wasn't a match for the woman's Divine Sword so Lucy quickly stored her weapon and started getting serious.

A chilling aura emanated from her, freezing the ground and causing countless snowflakes to appear around the two women.

As she noticed this change in environment, the woman creased her brows and tightly held her thick two-handed sword.

"I'm not here to play, let's end it."

A silver object appeared in Lucy's hand. The woman's instincts alerted her about the incoming danger and repeatedly told her to retreat. In this Secret Realm, her powers were greatly reduced, contrary to the enemy.

Silent Moon was pointed at the woman, who, instead of retreating, rushed at Lucy. The Divine Sword started burning with a golden flame.

As one of the nine Divine Swords, Eclipse had a special ability too. It can use unleash any flame it had devoured so the woman decided to use the Golden Crow's flame to counter the ever-so-expanding Ice territory.

Noticing the golden flames, Lucy grinned and pulled the trigger, firing the 4th-Grade Yin Bullet. This bullet is one of her strongest and it can even injure Arthur.

As one would expect, even with the Divine Sword, the woman wasn't able to block neither the bullet nor the burst of Yin it unleashed upon contact.

She was sent flying like a kite, stopping only when her body coincidentally crashed in the barrier blocking the entrance to the dragon's lair.

The bullet's damage wasn't just that, for as far as the eye could see, the place turned into ice. An Ice storm made the younger talents unable to see clearly but the creepy Ice that was slowly freezing their bodies was more than enough to scare them.

Wrath, who went back to napping, waved his hand, causing a semi-transparent grey barrier to envelop him yet even such a barrier showed signs of crumbling as ice-covered more than half of it.

Almost all the cultivators, even the Holy Knights, quickly retreated but it was a bit too late for some as they were completely frozen, unable to escape from the after-effect of the Yin Bullet.

The only unaffected people were Arthur and the Overgod, who were fighting a bit far away.

Angelina, whose gaze was locked onto Lucy, activated her Dark Void Physique while retreating a few hundred meters. Her foot was half frozen, just like her hands and shoulders. She gritted her teeth and resisted the coldness, not paying attention to the condition of her body.

Even with her Physique, she wasn't spared which shows how powerful the bullet was.

Actually, something occurred which shocked the nearby spectators. The dragon's barrier was also hit by the ice and showed signs of crumbling. Instead of a half-transparent barrier, it became a wall of Ice which had countless cracks on it.

Many rejoiced while others remained skeptical, unwilling to approach the entrance for fear of being affected by the still raging snowstorm.

"W-what the hell?"

Clara, who was accompanying the silent Flame Crown Prince, witnessed what happened with a gaping mouth and constricted pupils.

Emily also recognized the couple but chose to retreat far away, even dragging the princess with her. Isadore's little sister was hell bent on watching the fight but was forcefully dragged by her best friend, who advised her to leave now lest they suffer the consequences.

"There is no need to panic like this."

She pointed at the far away Wrath while assuring Emily

"See? Wrath is here so there's no need to over-react."

Emily shook her head and, with a grave look on her usually cute and young face, retorted

"You just don't know. Come on! You'll thank me later!"

The princess could only sigh and follow her friend. Shu Ru retreated to the far back with her sect members.

Cold Sword was wise enough to leave this area. She wanted to see Arthur fight with his sword but upon seeing the scale of this battle, it was wise to retreat to a safe distance.

…

Far East, in the peaceful forest which is inhabited by only a few strong beasts, the scarred old man was flying in the sky, obviously heading toward the center of the secret realm.

He clearly felt Makaze's aura and the Dark Magic and it didn't take a fool to know that Lucy is with him. Although there is a strong chance that Wrath is there, the butler resolved himself to use anything to bring Lucy, even if it means sacrificing his life.