BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Dust and ash flew out from the core of the Black Mask base, tainting the world in a white and grey hue. Thunderstrikes flashed throughout the thick smoke, while hundreds of Umbras were instantly fried. A ghastly man emerged from the smog with a fearsome Seven-Headed Hydra flying by his side. The winds and lightning coils that surrounded him were enough to deal with the lower-tiered Umbras that ran out from the gate in droves, and the man had every intention to destroy any darkness beasts that dared to crawl in his path.

“Wuga, watch where you’re firing that thing!” Xunyu Lengjing, the rapier-wielding Spirit Venerate, cursed the Qilong Clan’s domain user. “Each time you fire your Tempest Cannon, everyone nearby would be affected!”

“Hmph! My Tempest Cannon is enough to deal with them brats!” The gaunt man snorted. “If you feel that I’m hindering you, go fight in a different location!”

“Like I said… Urgh… This guy doesn’t listen...” Before Xunyu Lengjing could retort, the Seven-Headed Hydra flew higher into the skies, absorbing as much spiritual energy that it could. The young-looking woman rubbed the temples of her forehead, before finally turning to her fellow comrade. “Senior Sister Yisa, please boost me… I don’t think that my body can handle the attacks from two fronts...”

“Haha, do your best!” The middle-aged woman replied with a bitter smile.

From the beginning, Jingyu Hilin, the Rank 88 ‘leader’, had divided their tasks equally. Qilong Wuga and Longyu Xiuteo, who were both masters in wide-area combat, were to thin down the number of Umbras that the Black Mask was creating. Xunyu Lengjing would be responsible for taking down the upper-tiered Umbras or the more powerful Black Masks that stayed within the castle. Shenshe Yowang and Zhangyu Yaofu would be assisting the Dalgeom Sect’s Sword Venerate Pangu in taking on the World Serpent while Meijing Yisa supported the rest with her boosting ability. Finally… Jingyu Hilin… The leader herself… was responsible for the most crucial aspect… Taking down the colossal obsidian gate that measured over ten kilometres tall.

Only Heigui Xuegang, who was busy defending Shin from any potential threat, wasn’t present to deal with the Black Masks. The other seven Spirit Venerates that Shin had brought over were now fighting their own respective battles, and that wasn’t all…

GGGGGGRRRRRRRRROOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!

With an amazing vigour, all of the Azure Dragons that were under Shin’s command blasted through the skies. They opened up their amazing jaws, biting down on every single foe that stood in their path. Dense mana particles flowed out from the two leading Azure Dragons, turning into heavy breaths that collapsed the entire sky. The aerial dominance of the flying umbras, particularly the winged serpents, were now being broken. Though… That success didn’t last for long...

“Hup!!!” A tense manly groan echoed through the skies as a black shadow was flung up. One of the Azure Dragons, who was closest to the attack, was instantly struck by the heavy bludgeon and was sent spiralling down onto the ground. The other Azure Dragons quickly flew back to assist their fallen brother, only to be stopped by yet another dastardly hammer. As the smoke dissipated, a tall shadow emerged from within the barrier.

Brown-hair and severely obese, the Brahmin that emerged held onto a black iron hammer as if it were a piece of candy. Not one Azure Dragon dared to fly close to the Brahmin, fearing the wrath of the large hammer.

“Pffttt, even the mighty Azure Dragons fear my hammer!” The fat man raised both his arms over his head in jubilation. “Hey, if you’re that afraid, why don’t you run along now! I won’t blame you in the slightest!”

That obvious taunt didn’t go unheard. All of the Azure Dragons universally cracked their faces, and heated mist flowed out from their mouths. Dragons were always prideful creatures. From birth, they were blessed with an ungodly amount of mana and the growth rates were second to none. If anyone were to be prideful, it was them. How could a mere Brahmin dare to look down on them?! One of the Azure Dragons who faithfully served Zishen rushed to the front and bared all of his deadly fangs.

“Arrogant human...” The Dragon cried out in the human tongue. There were indignation and anger in its tone, but that didn’t intimidate the Brahmin in the slightest. “State your name…”

“Me?” The fat man pointed to himself, amused that the Azure Dragon would ask for such a demand. “My name is Pangzi! Though it shouldn’t really matter to you...” The Brahmin took up his hammer and slammed onto the earthen soil. Five terrestrial golems, each one bearing the identical black hammers, emerged from the snowy lands and took to the skies like deadly missiles. “You know… I never had Dragon’s meat before… I’m really curious as to how it tastes like...”

“GRRRRAAOORRRRRRRRRRRR!!!” One Azure Dragon roared, this time, its eyes were completely bloodshot, and the breath that it unleashed was a thousand times hotter than before. It wanted to rip that fatso in front of it into pieces of lard, even if it meant risking its own life in the process. Fortunately, the ‘leader’ of the Azure Dragons stopped its compatriot before anything brash was done.

The ‘leader’ of the Azure Dragons closed its eyes and spied deep down into its Beast Soul. Inside, there were thousands of Celestial particles, each one gleaming with an otherworldly hue. It was warm, gentle… but most importantly… fierce and powerful. The Azure Dragon quickly took deep breaths in, assimilating with the remnant blessings that Shin had bestowed upon it. The mana quickly melted down into the Dragon’s core before finally…

Bling!

A meandering sparkling river, highly reminiscent to that of the Celestial River, dazzled the Azure Dragon’s forehead. It was now… No longer a Tier 8 Spirit Beast. It had entered into the realm that was hard to reach, even for Dragons that were blessed by the elements. It was now, a Tier 9 Spirit Beast.

“It’s decided… The Azure Dragons will take you down, Pangzi… Let it be known to all that those that cross our paths… Never return in one piece!!!”

“Hoho...” The fat man sent a thousand hammers flying at the Azure Dragon’s direction, only for them to be expertly countered by a single breath. However, Pangzi wasn’t deterred. Instead, a dense earthen ball of mud rose from the surface, giving the Spirit Venerate a platform for him to stand on as balls of clay orbited around him. With a sly smile, the fat man licked his lips: “I’d like to see you try!!!”

❖❖❖

Each battlefield’s respective battle had finally begun. Spiritual energies went wild as many tremors shocked the entire region, while hurricanes broke through the surface. Trees that filled the area had all been uprooted while the winter snow had been replaced with ash, dirt and rainwater. Theoretically, nowhere was safe from the onslaught of the Spirit Venerates. However, there was one place that was wholly unaffected by the summoning of Hell upon the Kori Federation…

A kilometre away from the Illusory Canyon, there was a cave that was obscured by one of the Soul Trees that the spawned nearby. To further blend into the surroundings, there were countless of dense overgrowth and mossy plants littered all over its entrance. Just like the castle fifty kilometres away, the cave was protected by a powerful barrier, one that couldn’t be destroyed even if a Spirit Venerate attacked it with their full might. It really was the perfect hideaway for anyone that wanted to escape the carnage. However, even though it was the best place to be, it didn’t stop a young woman from worrying excessively.

“Are you sure that this place is safe?” The woman embraced her plump little baby, nuzzling his mouth at her left breast. She was trying to quell the cries of the infant, who was just a few weeks old and sensitive to the loud noises.

“Don’t worry, Shia… I’ll never place you in an unsafe location...” A viridian-haired man answered her cries. “Senior Vellan would be stationed here throughout the ordeal… If push comes to shove, he’ll escape with you and Errol. Everything has been planned out… You don’t have to worry about a thing!” Junius gave his signature smile, gently stroking Shia’s head in the process.

“What about you?” Shia couldn’t help but notice that Junius had left his own name out of the equation.

“Ah, I’ll be here too!” The Brahmin assured. “However, there might be an instance where I’ll be called out to protect the Illusory Canyon. So, there’s no guarantee that I’ll escape with you when the time comes.”

“What?! That can’t be!” Shia grabbed on Junius’ shirt, her face was on the verge of tears. “You can’t let me be a widow!”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” Junius replied by pinching the woman’s adorable lips shut. He smiled and leaned in for a short kiss before releasing the pressure on his fingers. “Who said that I’m going to die? Are you cursing your husband?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Flustered, Shia flailed her arms in the air. “I just… Can’t stand the thought of losing any more members of my family...”

Junius’ wife was a fair bit older than himself, but she still behaved like a spoilt child that wished for her family’s comfort. There was no helping it. After the Awter Clan fell, those that survived the massacre had bonded together like a family. They were all motivated by the same goal and served the same purpose. However, over the years, their numbers were thinned down rapidly, either by losing their lives on Black Masks missions or simply dying due to disease or old age. Before, there used to be over a hundred survivors. Now... barely two dozen remained.

Shia has seen too many people she loved leave to never come back. She couldn’t do that again with Junius… Junius was the ‘leader,’ the shining light for the survivors. And most importantly, he was her husband and the father of her child. If Shia lost Junius...

“Hehe, don’t worry… I won’t die! I promise!” Junius gave a broad smile, showing his full set of pearly teeth. “Hey, I want to see Errol grow up! I want to see him marry a bride and give me a hall full of grandkids! There’s no way I would throw my life away, right?”

“Ah… Right...”

“So, there’s no need to worry! For now, just rest with Errol in the chambers… I need to be alert, lest the Allfather calls for me...” Junius gently tucked his wife, who was breastfeeding his son, into the bed as he gave her a goodbye kiss.

Junius got out of the room and plastered his back against the wall. A despondent sigh escaped from the man’s mouth as he gazed up at the ceiling. “Family, huh?” The Brahmin blinked twice, thinking about all of the past experiences that had led him to this point. Based on the headquarters orders, Junius was to wait in the safe house and was only allowed to secretly leave once the battle had concluded. However, deep down, both the Black Masks and he knew that it wouldn’t end that simply...

“Junius...” A broad-chested man emerged from the end of the hallway, calling out the viridian-haired man.

“Senior Vellan,” Junius smiled at his senior’s entrance.

Vellan stopped just inches away from the door opening his ears to the best of his ability. When no sound was heard, the man asked. “Has the mother and child settled down yet?”

“... Give her some more time,” Junius replied.

“Haha, that’s to be expected!” The hefty man bellowed out. “It’s chaos outside after all! I doubt any baby can sleep soundly...”

“...” Junius carefully gazed at the burly man, noticing every change of expression that he had. Worried by the unsettling gazed, Vellan sweated and anxiously asked: “What’s the matter? Did I say something wrong?”

“No.. That’s not it...” Junius shook his head. “Senior Vellan… You know that I trust you more than anyone else in the Black Masks… No, I probably trust you more than anyone in my life, save Shia.”

“Yeah...”

“So… Actually...” Junius’ eyes shifted around like a wildcat, not sure if he should divulge the information that he had. However, in the end, the man dropped his shoulders and gazed right into the colossal man’s eyes.

“Senior Vellan… Could you do me a favour?”