The Neutral Lands. Mythpoint Reach. A Hundred Kilometres south of the Tree of Darkness.
The Tree of Darkness' reappearance had triggered some major changes in Mythpoint Reach, mainly environmental. Thousands of trees and endless plains of grass and moss had been wiped clean and were replaced by dark, rocky lands. Void of life and filled to the brim with Darkness-Elements, Mythpoint Reach had become a nesting ground for Umbras to spawn, all while they were powered by the eight Payircis floating overhead.
The warmth of morning had been masked, leaving only the chill of a never-ending night. Though, there was no moon or heavenly stars. Just plain black clouds that blocked all semblance of light from the Neutral Lands. An ocean was the best place to find water elements. A volcano would breed fire. A cave would bring earth. It was the balance of the natural world. Some places were hotbeds for certain elements to thrive. However, as Shin and the Alliance were nearing the epicentre of Mythpoint Reach, all they could feel were Darkness-Elements. It didn't matter if they were in the sky, on the earth or underground. The Darkness-Element reigned supreme.
Kanari groaned, not at all pleased with the putrid atmosphere. "That Allfather bastard… How dare he do this to Mythpoint Reach!"
"He's a bastard alright… That's why we're going to hunt him down," Ella swung her Ice Bow once, sending glitters at subzero temperatures flying.
Ella was no longer the simple teenage archer that everyone knew. Throughout her years serving as a founding member of the Hall of Hunts, Ella had grown exponentially, particularly in the combat front. Her Ice Bow had evolved twice, after each bottleneck she passed. Ella's trusted Spirit was now about a metre and a half long, with icy tree roots reaching out to each corner. The crystalline bowstring was now basically invisible, not allowing any of Ella's prey to view when it was pulled. However, the most drastic change to the Blizzard Fairy Sharpshooter was the dense killer aura that she produced. Her eyes had turned to that of a seasoned hunter that killed over a million beasts. Once, Ella stared her target in the eye, and he froze like a stunned deer in lights, giving the archer an easy kill.
"Finally, we're going to finish this war..." By Ella's side, a gorgeous woman who bore a similar face to her heaved out a relieved sigh. "All the years of suffering from Junius… It will finally end now."
Emma held her Ice Bow in a more reserved position, watching the distant Tree of Darkness with eyes of hope rather than anger. If Ella grew, there was no way that her twin sister would trail far behind. While Ella was fueled by the death of Shizen to continuously improve, Emma's desire was much more benign. The Glacial Fairy Markswoman wanted to see peace, and she had taken her growth in that similar direction. Emma's Ice Bow had evolved as well, though not in the pure offensive way that her twin sister's had. Two dove wings spread out from the central point of her bow and a gentle aura pulsated out from its core. The string was woven out of pure white feathers, with supportive essence seeping out from its very being.
In the beginning, the twins had Spirits that were as similar as can be. However, as they had grown, their personalities had influenced how the Ice Bows had evolved. One was for the hunt, the other… for the people.
"Yes, we can finally avenge all those that had lost their lives to the Black Masks." The white-haired woman standing behind all of them frowned. "Himmel, Kori, Lantis… It all doesn't matter now. Once that tree falls, all that remains will be our laughter."
"Elrin..." Emma glanced back at her fellow auxiliary mate. The Zedcris Conglomerate heir didn't seem an age above twenty; still the same height and wearing the exact same fresh expression as the first time they'd met. However, the same couldn't be said about what's inside that petite young woman.
Elrin had been managing Guardian Sword's Hall of Gold, but that didn't mean she skimped on training. In fact, Elrin surpassed the twins when it came to cultivation, peaking at Rank 64. Ella, Emma and Isadore were either Rank 61 and 62. If they didn't count the two oddities that were Shin and Kanari, Elrin had the highest cultivation among the Heroes! And that was just considering their cultivation levels.
Elrin's Rosary of Eternity was considered to be the most premier of treasure-type Spirits, which support abilities that could make any auxiliary Spirit User cry out in envy. Now that Elrin was a Spirit King, there was no questioning the effectiveness of her abilities. If push comes to shove, the darling daughter of Zedcris was capable of boosting Shin's Celestial Dragon as well!
"Let's not get carried away for now. We should focus on the task at hand," Shin paused his companions' wild thoughts, directing them to the mission they had to complete. "Isadore, you're the mastermind, what's the plan?"
"Thought you wouldn't ask." Isadore smiled before pointing towards the desolate ground below. Hundreds of bodies, weapons, armours were littered all over, with Umbras walking the grounds. Given that there was a battle just a few weeks back when the Tree of Darkness came out from the Abyss, it wasn't surprising to see that much death and destruction. Though, there was one oddity. "See those markers? The spears that are standing out?"
"Yeah?"
"They show the path that we have to take to the Payirci." Isadore elaborated. "In Mythpoint Reach, the Umbras are the second most deadly thing that we have to look out for. Traps are far more dangerous, to be honest. Ground traps, aerial traps, buried traps… I can't count the number of operatives that got injured just to identify them all. Anyway, we've found the safest path to our designated Payirci. One void of traps and has minimal Umbras standing in our way."
"I see," Shin nodded. "What about our escape route?"
"Secured," two voices echoed behind one another. Elyse and Fionn, the two pillars supporting Isadore in the Hall of Whispers, said out loud. Elyse, the one closest to Shin from young, took a step forward and declared: "Brother Shin, once you've conquered the Payirci, a vacuum tunnel will be opened for you. And don't worry, we have more than one method of extracting you all safely. So rest assured and attack the Payirci with all you've got."
"Haha, I knew I could count on you," Shin beamed in delight.
After the meeting of the higher-ups, it was determined that the Alliance would strike at all four of the vulnerable spot simultaneously. The Kori Federation and their Spirit Saints would take the western one. The Lantis Republic, the eastern Payirci. The Himmel Empire the southern one and finally… Guardian Sword will attack from the north. They would charge their way through the weakened spots in the barrier and hopefully take down the disabled Payirci, breaking down the barrier and giving way for the main force of the Alliance to raid the Tree of Darkness.
Naturally, many felt that it was too dangerous to send Guardian Sword alone without the support of any Spirit Saints. After all, should they meet a Primordial Beast, they would run the risk of a complete wipeout. Hence, to reassure the worrywarts, Shin fielded Guardian Sword's entire force.
Zishen, the Azure Dragon Lord in charge of the Hall of Guardians, will lead the frontlines. Lady Seraphim, the Master of the Hall of Science and Lady Bingying, the Master of the Hall of Hunts were both taking care of the rear, protecting the main force from any Umbras that may threaten their advance. And finally, who could forget the main force?
Shin would personally lead all of his elites, who all have a decade's worth of experience taking down Payircis, to raid the northen front. Kanari Saniela, the Witch of the South and the Master of the Hall of Diplomacy. Isadore Himmel, the Himmel Spear and the Master of the Hall of Whispers. Elrin Zedcris, the Divine Merchant and Master of the Hall of Gold. And finally, the Icy Bow twins, master huntswomen and part of the original seven Heroes that shook the world.
Six of the most prodigious talents of their generation would be leading the charge, with many more elites from Guardian Sword following close behind. Suji Lasgeor, Natasha Aldana, Danroy Frithron, Qilong Hu, Jingyu Taiyi, Longyu Linji, Xunyu Feifei, Kim Haeun, Sierra Glynrel… These were some of the names that followed Guardian Sword into combat, many of them great talents of their own superpower.
And yet, they were fighting under one banner. That one banner that represented the unity of all humanity, to free themselves from the suffering and pain caused by their universal enemy.
"Let's chop that tree down."