“This is odd...”

“Hmmm? What is?”

Shin frowned while his wife gently held his warm, sturdy hands. As the top dogs of Guardian Sword, neither of them had to lift a single finger to attack the Payirci. They watched their subordinates conquer floor after floor with anxious eyes, not certain if their men would fail or not. However, thus far, the elites of Guardian Sword had been flying through the floors with little resistance. Yes, there were the odd hiccup where one fighter got injured, or one healer ran out of mana, but otherwise, it was a smooth-sailing conquest. And that was the strange part.

“It’s far too easy.” Shin grimaced as he’d never thought that he would say those arrogant words. “The Payircis we faced before were all of varying difficulties. Some of them are particularly tough, even when we field our entire force, while others could be cleared with one team. Though this Payirci isn’t the easiest one we’ve faced, it also isn’t the hardest. I would believe that a Payirci protecting the Tree of Darkness would be at least ten times more difficult than the other ones.”

“Far too easy? Hmmm, I guess you could say that’s the case.” Kanari nodded as she recalled the first time she cleared a Payirci with Shin. Back then, Junius had used the Paradise Heart to bring them to the brink of annihilation. It was a memory that the Princess would never, ever forget, even if she were to be reincarnated into a frog. In comparison, this Payirci was really akin to that of a walk in the park.

“But we’re all far stronger and more experienced with the Payircis. There’s no other organisation in the world that has more experience taking down Payircis other than Guardian Sword. Also, all of our best elites are here! You’re even supervising the whole thing! Is it possible that we’re making it look easier than it really is?”

“Still...” Shin scratched his forehead. He could see his wife’s point. Guardian Sword really were far stronger than they originally were. Before, they would struggle just to clear one Payirci without sustaining any casualties. Now, it was common for them to breeze through one without even a single splinter on any of the participating elites’ bodies.

“Given that it was a Payirci that was once housed by a Noble Beast, I would imagine that there would be more unexpected defences… Guess I was wrong.” Shin couldn’t remove that budding feeling of unease in his heart. He knew that the Tree of Darkness was the Black Masks’ final opportunity to reach the Immortal Realm. There was no way that it could be that undefended… Right?

“Shin! We found the Paradise Heart!” Just as the Guardian Sword Master thought that things couldn’t get any easier, Suji’s team sent a transmission that they’ve found the central core of all Payircis. If they destroyed the Paradise Heart, the Payirci would be rendered useless, and the barrier protecting the Tree of Darkness will fall.

“That quickly?”

“There’s no doubt about it!” Suji’s voice was trembling. Both in unease and excitement. Just like Shin, he felt that the difficulty of the Payirci was far too easy. However, why should anyone ignore a free meal when they were presented with it? It was possible that the Black Masks had run out of resources to defend this Payirci and allowed it to be run over without any hindrances.

In fact, that was likely the case. Shin knew better than anyone how thinly stretched the Allfather’s forces were. Kin and Gin had given them all the information they needed after all.

“The Payirci was lacklustre, but the Paradise Heart is the real deal! This high concentration of spiritual energy that mirrors that of a Spirit Saint… It must be the Paradise Heart, no question about it!” Suji continued his hysterical rant. “What should we do? Do you want to personally come and destroy it? Or should we take care of it for you instead?”

“... I’ll leave it to you.” Shin replied without much emotion. The grip on his wife’s hand tightened, as his head pivoted to the exit of the Payirci.

Knowing her husband’s behaviours, Kanari instantly knew that Shin was thinking about moving elsewhere. “Shall we exit?”

“Yes… I want to see it with my own two eyes.” Shin spat, his eyes burning with concern. “The Allfather isn’t one to make such a horrendous mistake. There are two possibilities for our situation. One, it’s a trap, and once the Paradise Heart is taken down, we would be met with an ambush that will wipe us out. And the second option...”

“What?”

“The second option is… This Payirci doesn’t matter at all. Even if we destroy it, the barrier will remain intact. If it’s the former, then good. We can make an escape while delivering a heavy blow to the Allfather. If it’s the latter… We’re in for some trouble.”

Kanari’s shoulders shuddered, realising the gravity of the situation now: “All our efforts will be washed down the drain.”

“Yes… But let’s pray that it won’t come to that...” Shin frowned before he bunny leapt dozens of metres out into the open. It wasn’t long until the married couple were out of the Payirci, staring down at the single Tree of Darkness that towered over the entire Neutral Lands.

“Suji should be destroying the Paradise Heart any moment now… Let’s wait and see what happens.”

The pair held hands firmly, waiting for the exact moment where the Payirci would finally sink into the Abyss where it belonged. They waited and waited, and two minutes later…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The anticipated sound came. Hearing the explosion, Shin glanced back down and watched as the floating tower in the sky crumbled away. Bricks fell without any warnings as waves of mana surged out like overflowing rivers. Shin had seen this scene multiple times before, and almost always… The Payirci would lose all power, weakening the chains that increased the Tree of Darkness’ potency. So… Shin was waiting for that exact moment. The moment where the barrier will finally weaken and allow the Alliance to barge into the Allfather’s base.

And then… It happened.

“No way...” Shin dropped his jaw, not believing the scene that was panning out before his eyes.

Once the Payirci lost all of its power, an immense hole was ripped in the Tree of Darkness’ energy field. Not only that, as if a domino chain had been released, but the other three Payircis that the Himmel Empire, Kori Federation and the Lantis Republic were attacking had also started to crumble away.

One hole became four and from thereon… Multiple tears could be seen over the mighty Black Masks’ barrier. It was like a honeycomb that had lost a few of its pieces. The barrier which was capable of defending against Saint Geom’s all-out assault… Was now dissipating away like the winter’s snow in spring.

It wasn’t just Shin that couldn’t believe his eyes. The Spirit Venerates which led the charge in the other Payircis, failed to comprehend what they saw either. They had anticipated success, but not at this scale. They’d done the impossible, breaking into the Allfather’s domain without sustaining a single injury.

“We did it?”