Merely touching the item meant alerting the Realm and Saint-patron Bôrakos. The man would be able to teleport here instantly thanks to the formation.

It was impossible to escape once the Saint-patron in charge made a move. After all, that man was already the top player of this world but he would then be empowered by the formation that spanned throughout the entire world.

Who could face that?

Certainly not Cheng in his present state.

Even at his best, he would have had no chance.

However, there were always a way.

He began to earnestly study the formation.

…

Meanwhile, outside, everyone felt and saw as it happened.

Powerful explosions resounded from behind and nearly everyone could not help but turn around. Even the eyeless paused for a moment, the sheer power of the explosions alerting them.

Then, everyone could not help but rub their eyes.

The branches of the Ancient Tree were falling down onto the roots.

Sarina screamed: “Cheng!”

She could not believe he would activate the bombs at this time. Could he not see the situation?! There was no more need for those bombs! Everything was already chaotic enough.

However, he exploded them.

Everyone watched as the branches fell and destroyed everything under them as they reached the ground. The scene of devastation made many stop fighting. They simply stood there as they watched the Capital they loved and were here to protect being destroyed.

Many of the soldiers began to cry. They dropped to their knees as their weapons fell down to the ground. Tears fell down their faces as they thought of their loved ones that were there, supposedly safer within the walls.

So many would have died from this… How few would have even survived?

Even if the branches did not fall over them, the resounding wave created by the impact would have been enough to decimate everything surrounding it. Even the trunk was not spared though it still stood.

The bark was broken in many places.

Long gone was the magnificent appearance of the Tree.

One of the commanders could not help but give up: “Without the protection of the Ancient Tree, we will all die”

He was one of the few aware of the formation and its ability to defend the Capital. He counted on it to win through this ordeal.

Now, seeing as the Capital exploded, there was not much hope left. Instead, despair prevailed.

The natives were done. The negative impact on their mental state too heavy.

The debtors were fighting the eyeless while rushing madly towards Jin, no longer interested by anyone else.

The Oceanics were still there but began to wonder what they were fighting for.

That’s when Sarina screamed: “FIGHT FOR THOSE STILLALIVE!”

While it brought a few out of stupor, it did not do much over all. Even though her voice travelled far, it was not enough. Mere words could no longer have enough effects on the army’s morale.

Grunleden sighed. He was prepared to grab her and flee.

But then, there was a change in the surrounding spiritual energy and the rules.

…

Cheng figured it out at some point.

The only way to take the chain out without alerting the Saint-Patron was to switch it for something else of equivalent power.

Of course, he had no such thing and if he did, he would likely not be coveting this one so much.

But there was always a way, was there not?

He did not need the formation to work at all. To be honest, he did not give a fuck about it!

As such, what he needed was not to switch it with something that could create the same effect but, instead, something that could fool the formation.

Even for a time.

And that was something he had.

He circulated his spiritual energy and will within his right palm and grabbed his left with it.

“Soul Puppetry – Second Technique – Severance”

His hand grabbed onto his own soul and he tore it. Within his right hand was held his soul’s left arm. In its illusory yet real state, it looked the same as the real one.

The real one fell limp next to his torso.

His expression was savage as he spit out blood.

He began to chuckle as he approached the chain and threw his arm within the formation. Then, he circulated spiritual energy and will into his left arm and forcefully controlled it to move.

He made hundreds of hand signs as the formation flickered through all the colors of the spectrum.

Then, the black chain was ejected while the illusory arm took its place.

And nothing special seemed to happen.

Cheng laughed, blood and spit launched around him.

He grabbed at the dark chain and spit a bit of blood upon it. It fused into the chain and the chain coiled around his right arm.

He could feel its power pulsing on his arm. This was a pinnacle item in this world. Nothing could truly compare to it. Not many things could at least.

That’s when he felt it. The change.

The rule of the area had switched.

He frowned.

Of course, his soul was not enough to power the formation and its only value was on fooling it for a time…but the change in the rules was potent to say the least.

Cheng made his move.

There were no more reasons to remain here. He quickly left.

The Monarch’s body remained on his throne. Ink-black spots were appearing over it. The dagger had been poisoned.

The man would die powerlessly sitting there.

…

Outside, they all felt it.

Grunleden was the first as he was the strongest.

As he felt the switch in rule and was no longer restricted, he did not question the reason behind the change. Instead, he quickly made use of that opportunity.

He transformed back to his true form.

A sea serpent now floated over the land obscuring the sky. His eyes were deep and cold. Its mouth opened as he invoked all the spiritual energy in the surroundings and used his strongest technique:

“Water World”

All the water particles within the air and close to the eyeless began to shake before exploding and torrents of millions of kilograms of water began to surge.

A vortex was created as it destroyed the entire land.

All the poor souls that were unfortunate to be too close to the eyeless were impacted along.

While the eyeless were freed from the restriction as well, there was nothing they could do. None were at a stage beyond the 60th, none could resist.

Everything was decimated in mere seconds.

Jin was part of the impacted area.

…

An hour later,

The Water World technique finally stopped and people could finally see the result. Nothing was left there. There was now a lake spamming for dozens of kilometers. No one could see how deep it was but the strongest could feel it to be dozens of kilometers as well.

No eyeless survived.

Few debtors were left.

Jin was nowhere to be seen.

Grunleden slowly went down as he returned to humanoid form. He called out to Sarina: “I do not know how long the rule will remain like this. We need to move”

Sarina nodded heavily.

She said: “Order the Oceanics back, I won’t forget what they did. As for you…You need to find Jin”

Grunleden frowned: “He is dead”

Sarina shook her head as she smiled a little: “No. He’s alive”

Grunleden looked towards the brand-new lake he created. He could not help but wonder if it was really possible for that thing to have survived his technique.

Nonetheless, he did as he was told.

The Oceanics still alive began to run at top speed away. They had enough of this war. It was not theirs and now that their chief let them go, they had no plans to stay.

The ones with family in the Capital began to rush there. They did not fight solely for themselves and it would have all been for nothing if their families were dead. Then again, most of those soldiers would end up in despair. The death count would be incredibly high.

Sarina sighed.

This was something she let happen.

This was something that should not have happened yet did.

It was the end this time though. They would leave this place behind and it would be nothing more than a memory of the past.

Or not.

At that moment, two portals appeared in the sky.

One was made of gold and shining star-like patterns exploded around it while the other felt like darkness itself was opening up upon itself.

From the first one, a couple in golden armor exited while a man in a battle robe seemingly made of eyeballs exited the dark one.

Sarina recognized them both and could not help but tremble.

Sure, she had been standing at the top of the world at one point but, as the saying goes, there’s always a heaven beyond the heaven.

These people belonged to that highest heaven.

They were those who reached the peak of the 76th stage yet refused to ascend. The ones who would rather remain the ruling frogs of their well.

The siblings and lovers of Greed.

The Nightmare.

They were beings she could not even reach when she was at her peak, let alone now. Even Grunleden was trembling. He was nothing but a baby in front of these behemoths.

The three hegemons looked around.

“Interesting” whispered Alexia.

Nightmare laughed heartily: “Well, well, well, I did not expect to see you two here. I thought we had a deal? What about all these people with golden collars?”

Alexander snickered: “They are here of their own volition; we did not specially pick them and send them here”

Nightmare chuckled: “Right, well, since they’re not yours, then they might as well become mine”

As he said so, a dense fog of darkness began to seep out of him and cover the sky as it slowly made it descent.

Then, a golden fog erupted from the other two and belayed the dark one.

Alexia hid her small smile with her right hand as she stated: “Did you really think that would happen?”

Nightmare turned and said: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”

They began to banter for some more time before they got to the point.

Nightmare asked: “How should we settle this, now?”

The couple looked at each other before turning back to Nightmare, they did not even need to discuss this. Alexander stated: “It is our win, obviously”

Nightmare coldly laughed: “I don’t see Jin in your hands though?”

Alexia retorted: “Neither is he in yours”

The tension was felt by everyone in the area. Especially Sarina, Grunleden and Cheng. Cheng was at the top of the trunk, looking at the three figures standing in the sky openly.

It did not matter even if he went to hide.

To such experts, he was an ant before and he was an ant now as well.

Nightmare turned his gaze downward and asked: “Where is my disciple, Jin?”

His words contained the pressure emitted from his higher realm. Most people fell helplessly into coma from the simple fact that the words were directed at them.

No one answered him.

He frowned as dark gaz began to seep out of him.

Alexia spotted Grunleden and as she looked at him, asked: “Little snake, tell us where Jin is”

Grunleden felt all the scales of his body tense at that very moment. The oppressiveness of being stared at by such a being was impossible to describe.

He sweated profusely.

He grit his teeth as he answered: “I do not know”

The next instant, he was impaled on a golden lance. He could not even see it happen much less react. He spat a mouthful of blood as he fell to his knees. Sarina instinctively began to move towards him as he lifted a palm to stop her.

He could not get her implicated though it might be too late.