Late autumn. A time of year that the Himmel Empire dreaded, particularly those located at the southern tip of the country. The warm winds were slowly being replaced with chilling howls of winter, and the abundance of crops had been slowly dying out. Most farmers had already retreated all of their valuables into their barns while merchants had begun to wind down their businesses. Late autumn may be beautiful, but everyone knew how dangerous their situations really were. Particularly since the Black Masks still roamed the earth.

Fortunately for them...

“Kill them all! Don’t let a single one escape!” An agitated cry stormed out of a youngster’s mouth. A Guandao in one hand, the lightly armoured man barked out orders at his subordinates, forcing them to burst into the battlefield with immense vigour. One woman under his command screamed with all that she had, sending a shockwave filled with mana pulsating outwards. Merging with her Spirit, the woman’s arms gradually grew feathers and eventually, her hands had turned into fiery grey, wings.

“It’s a harpy!” One of the onlookers declared, his eyes glimmering with intense excitement.

“No you idiot, that’s Marchioness Alyssa’s Spiritual Body Enhancement!” Another commoner declared, his face flushed as well. “Combining with her Lightning Falcon, the Marchioness can turn her hands into wings to fly unhindered in the air. Honestly, if you can’t get your facts right, don’t spurt out nonsense.”

“IT’S A HARPY!”

“My goodness...”

Alas, the knowledgeable commoner’s words fell on deaf’s ear. Yet another spectator roared in joy as he watched the gorgeous beauty zap through the air, killing all of the Umbras that ran out of the nearby Payirci. It wasn’t just Umbras that were being massacred, even Spirit Beasts and Black Masks guarding the flying structure weren’t spared. Elements flew about as potent strikes were released from each one of the elites chasing evil.

The towering black structure, which had been hiding in the ravine close to a nearby village, was now under heavy siege from Guardian Sword. A couple years back, the forces of the Himmel Empire would have killed to figure out the location of the Payirci, but alas… The Black Masks were sly. Hiding the place with a mixture of arrays and natural terrain, it proved difficult for many to find the elusive black tower.

However, they now had a sure-fire way to triangulate the place where most Payircis would be… Why? Because of Shin Iofiel.

“This marks the sixth one...” Shin stood watch over the whole operation as he stood on Zishen’s Dragon back. He watched joyfully as Suji’s platoon, an elite force that would give most powers a run for their money, laid waste to the Payirci’s surroundings. The leading three were obviously powerful. Suji with his profane Guandao that massacred anything that came into his view. Danroy with his ridiculous defence using the Bangeo Rhinoceros. And finally Natasha Aldana with her signature Moonlight Dance. All three of them were capable of rivalling Shin’s own team. However, what really surprised Shin were the other four that Suji had brought over.

Alyssa Stanret, Suji’s wife, was one of the fastest Spirit Spectres that Shin had ever seen. Her Lightning Falcon could move her a kilometre within seconds and her agility at times made her seem illusory. Additionally, the lightning bolts that unfolded from her wings were as deadly as Suji’s own thunder strikes. The other three weren’t to be underestimated either. Fabian Dicregin and Deandre Clamen both had powerful Spirits, Fabian with the Jagoibe Flower and Deandre with the Blood-Laced Scimitar.

Finally, Lynne Rahchell, Elyse and Fionn’s classmate, completed their elite team with her Staff of Hueuol. A potent treasure-type Spirit that could boost the overall power of all her allies. They weren’t as complete as Shin’s own elite team, but their attributes fully complemented one another.

“Looks like I don’t have to worry about them after all...” Shin smiled and turned his attention to the collapsing Payirci.

Straight after Guardian Sword was formed, Shin jumped straight into accepting requests by the Alliance. Using his Celestial Dragon, he’d scoured through the possible known locations for the Payircis. In no time at all, Shin had already discovered ten of the missing hundred remaining floating towers and had already begun clearing them out. For the barrier protecting the Tree of Darkness and the Allfather to fall, the Alliance needed to destroy every single Payirci that existed, not one could be ignored. Thus, Shin’s involvement had saved them countless headaches.

“Mmmm, you look happy, My Prince.” Zishen’s holy voice boomed out from his Dragon’s mouth.

“How could I not be?” Shin beamed from ear to ear.

Today marks the third month since Guardian Sword’s formation, and it also marked the sixth successful Payirci collapse that Shin had supervised. The first time, Shin had brought over the full force of Guardian Sword. All hundred elites were ferried over to the Himmel Empire using the Azure Dragons as mounts, and under Shin’s direct supervision, the Paradise Heart was destroyed with two days. The second time was mostly the same with Shin bringing the exact same force to crush yet another Payirci in the vicinity.

However, continually moving his forces and making them attack an unknown Payirci relentlessly was rather taxing for the young organisation. Furthermore, the full power of Guardian Sword was nothing less than overkill when it came to conquering a Payirci. Therefore, with the help of the logistics adept Elrin, Shin had begun a rotating system. A third of the forces would be helmed by Suji and his team of elites, the other third would be taken care off by Qilong Hu and the Luminaries that came with him, while the final third would be the reserve forces.

In the beginning, Shin was somewhat nervous with dividing Guardian Sword’s overall power, and he had supervised each and every subsequent raid from afar. He’d even stationed his reserve forces to provide help whenever it was needed. However, the power of Shin’s subordinates far exceeded his expectations. They entered each Payirci with a chest full of confidence, destroying anything that dared to stand in their way. In time, Guardian Sword started to see back-to-back victories and the world was stunned by their efficiency. Some had even questioned the capabilities of the Alliance and their previous iterations, the White Knights.

Now that Suji’s team alone could take down an entire Payirci, Shin could finally heave a sigh of relief.

“With all of these victories, I’m certain that we’re on the right path.” Shin face reddened up, filled with pride and joy. He looked down at Suji and his team weeding out the remnants of the Black Masks bit by bit. In the distance, Shin could see thousands of ordinary folk cheering Guardian Sword on, as if they were supporting their favourite sports team.

‘Yes, Guardian Sword is meant to be the protector of the innocent… To save those that can’t resist the strength of the Black Masks and only want to live their lives in peace… Isn’t that right, Junius?’ Shin gazed heavenward with a bitter smile. The Alliance had been losing ever since they’d waged war against the Black Masks. It was about time that the Allfather suffered a setback or two.

“Once Suji is done with this area, we should visit the town and let the agents relish in their success. It would be good… Senior Zishen?” Shin blankly talked to Zishen, but the Azure Dragon Lord showed no signs of response. Instead, his draconic brows furled together as he rose higher in the air.

“Mmmm… My Prince, something’s amiss.” The Azure Dragon Lord let out his most grim tone since Shin had met him. Dragons, particularly a Tier 9 one like Zishen, were particularly attuned to their surroundings. Their senses far outmatched that of any human’s sensory organ, and few Spirit Saints could hope to match their sensitivity. Therefore, if the Azure Dragon Lord felt that something was immensely wrong, Shin had to take notice.

Instantly, a wave of celestial energy emerged from the depths of Shin’s chest, filling the area with a myriad of rainbow colours. After Junius had passed over the purified Allfather’s mana into Shin’s body, the young man had improved by leaps and bounds, reaching the Rank 60 Spirit King realm in one-shot. However, that was just the beginning. After breaking through to Rank 60, Shin had managed to stabilise the remnants of the Allfather’s mana, enabling him to instantly reach Rank 66. Adding in the power of the Celestial Dragon, Shin could likely crush any Spirit Emperor that dared to stand in his path and put up an even fight with any Spirit Venerate.

As of this moment, Shin was among the elites now. Although he couldn’t hope to scratch on the toes of a Spirit Saint just yet, there were only a handful of cultivators and Spirit Beasts alike that could possibly defeat Shin.

The Celestial Dragon coiled around Shin, and oddly enough… It was wearing the same expression that Zishen had. It was concerned about something… Something huge that Shin had no clue about.

“Mmmmm… My Prince. Please stay on my back!” Zishen screamed as he rose higher and higher.

And well… Shin didn’t retort.

Right now, at the centre of his very core… Shin could feel it. There was something wrong with the ground. No, there was something wrong with the earth. No… There was something wrong with the continent. His veins were screaming out in fear and the Celestial Dragon bared out its fangs with pure rage. Its scaly body tightened around Shin’s waist as if to protect the man with all that it had. And its fears weren’t unfounded.

Cracks started to form throughout the ground, and the earth was gradually splitting in two. Suji and his fellow companions were stunned for the moment, but they quickly got to work. Spirit Spectres carried those that didn’t have the ability to fly up into the skies while the Azure Dragons helped the weaker commoners to higher ground. Cracks continued to form all the while, and dense spirit particles floated up like effervescence.

“W-What’s this?” Shin could reach his fingers out and touch the array of particles. They were all oddly powerful, unlike their simple image and somehow… Shin found the spiritual energy familiar. It was as if… He’d seen it multiple times in the past.

Zishen however, was terrified of the power. Scowling, the Azure Dragon flew even higher up into the skies, seemingly wanting to leave the planet altogether. “MY PRINCE! DO NOT TOUCH THAT!!!” The Dragon screamed out uncharacteristically.

“Zishen, what’s going on?!”

“MMMM!!! I don’t know! Just stay on me for now!”

At this moment, the Azure Dragon Lord could care less about the peasants on the ground. It didn’t care if the entire world was engulfed in flames or not. The only thing that Zishen wanted… Was to run away from the terrible power that was seeping out from the continent.

Rising higher and higher, Zishen eventually reached the highest point that humans could reach without dying. Any higher and the Dragon would have led Shin out of the planet and into the darkness of space. However, to Shin, it was a blessing in disguise. At this height, he could have a macro view of what was causing the endless cracks of the earth and well…

“T-T-This…!”

The man was speechless. The Azure Dragon Lord, who had lived for over a thousand years, was also in the same state. They both couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Why?

“T-The Terre Continent… It’s breaking apart!!!”