Chapter 2750 - 407-416

Chapter 407 - Inverting Right And Wrong

Royal Palace, Great Hall.

"Your Majesty."

The Supreme Elder and Princess Faelyn both greet upon Heinrich's arrival.

After Heinrich acknowledged their greeting and sat down on the throne, he gestured for them to be at ease and take their seats on the sides.

"I heard you were going to be returning to your tribe, Marquis Haldir?" Heinrich asked.

The elven Supreme Elder nodded and admitted, "That's right, Your Majesty. We have stayed in the kingdom for much longer than we have originally planned to. If we do not return and let our tribesmen see our well-being soon, I'm afraid that they might grow restless and do something rash."

"I understand. That would be a bit troublesome, wouldn't it? Have you settled your matters at the World Tree?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. We have met with the esteemed Elder Evergreen and came to an agreement with his village, but I wonder what you have planned for my tribesmen, Your Majesty?"

Heinrich paused for a moment before he said, "I have given it some thought. Originally, I planned to gift you a fiefdom to settle your people in the kingdom. But after a talk with my son one time, I have decided that we should let the people of our two races interact and not be alienated from each other."

"Your Majesty's intention is to...?" Haldir was slightly doubtful as he looked at the king for answers.

Heinrich nodded and said, "A new capital will be built by the World Tree, and both humans and elves should live together in it. No doubt, the quickest way for two races to get along is to interact and understand each other."

"Even so, the elven tribe is not small. It will take some time before a city large enough to house everyone is built. As such, I plan to divide your people into groups and settle them down in the kingdom's surrounding cities and towns. This way, your tribesmen can also help with the various crop cultivation throughout the kingdom and boost the economy while interacting with my people."

While listening to Heinrich talk, Haldir appeared to have some concerns for his tribesmen under this arrangement.

Heinrich understood what those concerns were and continued speaking, "I know what it is that you are concerned about, and I am also aware of the complications that will arise from this forced interaction between two races. Without a doubt, there will be discrimination and exploitation—Such is the nature of some people."

"However, we cannot let our fears of these things halt us in our steps and stop us from advancing towards our desired futures. If we are not even brave enough to take the step forward, when will we ever achieve our goals—right?" Heinrich said meaningfully.

Haldir repeated the king's meaningful words in his mind before he smiled self-deprecatingly. To think he would be educated by someone many times younger than him. Perhaps, this is why the person was king—a wise king.

"You're absolutely right, Your Majesty. If we are too fearful of moving forward, when will we ever achieve our desired future? — these words have struck me profoundly. I will follow the arrangements of Your Majesty. I only hope that your guarantee fairness for my tribesmen and not be bias towards your own people." Haldir said.

Heinrich chuckled slightly and embarrassingly admitted, "Actually, someone else had said those exact words to me in the past. It is why the capital could adapt some crazy ideas and achieve such transformation."

"Also, you are mistaken about something, Marquis Haldir." Heinrich suddenly corrected with a promise, "You are all my people. I will naturally guarantee fairness for all my people. There will be no favoritism and bias due to race. You have my word."

"On behalf of the elves, I thank you, Your Majesty." Haldir solemnly saluted the king with a respectful bow. Princess Faelyn followed suit and did the same.

"Alright, I understand that you have places to be and things to do since you have made your decisions. I shan't keep you around any longer. I pray that you have a safe and pleasant trip." Heinrich bid his farewell.

"Yes, thank you for your blessings, Your Majesty. I plan to bring more tribesmen over after this trip back to Elvengarde." Said the elven Supreme Elder.

"Is His Highness around, Your Majesty? I also wish to bid the prince farewell before we leave." Princess Faelyn suddenly said to the king.

However, Heinrich shook his head, "I am afraid that will not be possible. My son has left for somewhere far away. It is uncertain when he will return the kingdom."

"Is that so?"

Princess Faelyn expressed mild disappointment, but she quickly got over it. She bade her goodbye with a curtsy, "Thank you for receiving us and seeing us off, Your Majesty. Until we see again."

"Until we see again. Oh right, feel free to stop by the Lancaster's Workshop Tower and take one of the airships back. I'm sure it will be more convenient for your travel." Heinrich added.

Haldir and Princess Faelyn expressed their gratitude once again before they left the palace. They followed the king's suggestion and dropped by the Lancaster's Workshop Tower.

Shortly after, the Duke and Duchess lent them a spare airship and crew before they took off for the west.

…

Infertile Plains, Darkmoon Tribe.

Within the tribe's central district, near the foot of the rocky plateau at the center, there was a relatively large plot of land, walled off on all sides and belongs to the Golden family.

Inside of a large hut within the said plot of land, Lord Goldenfang laid asleep on the bed with several other people gathered outside with looks of concern.

At that moment, Goldeneye stormed into the hut and gazed upon his father's weak sleeping face before his expression dropped.

"Brother, you're finally here." Goldenrod greeted from the side of the bed.

Goldeneye nodded before asking heavily, "How did this happen to father? He did not look this pale earlier in the day."

"I'm not sure either. I have just arrived not long ago and have yet to learn about the situation. However, the men outside appear to know what happened to father." Goldenrod explained.

"I see."

Goldeneye immediately left the hut and swept everyone a sharp look before asking in a commanding tone, "Who can tell me what happened to my father?"

The group of people immediately shivered and dropped to their knees. Goldeneye is usually approachable and easy-going, but it is enough to terrify everyone present once he is mad.

They had never seen Goldeneye kill a tribesman before, but they have seen him feed other humans to his Dark Wyvern during confrontations with other groups on their big hunting trips.

No one wanted to face the wrath of the Dark Wyvern.

"My Lord, it was like this…"

A brave warrior at the Early-rank Great Warrior Realm from the Beast Tamer Faction began to recount what he knew to the Goldeneye.

In summary, the Beast Tamer Faction's White family sold their Barrenrock Courtyard to the chief and learned firsthand information of Leonhardt joining the tribe. They relayed the information to Lord Goldenfang after learning that Goldeneye was absent from home.

"Is this true?" Goldeneye furrowed his brows deeply and questioned the few people from the White family.

They did not dare to hide anything and nervously admitted, "Y-Yes, Lord Goldeneye! We are terribly sorry. We did not know that Lord Goldenfang would end up like this!"

Goldeneye closed his eyes briefly and repressed his turbulent emotions. He reopened his eyes after calming down slightly, and impassively said, "You should not have done that."

"My father has dedicated his entire life to raising the Golden family's status to greater heights in the tribe. He's been pushing me for the tribal chief position, but this is not an easy position to obtain without absolute strength. Nevertheless, father has become impatient in recent years due to his old age and declining health… he should have been the last person to speak to about faction matters."

Goldeneye appeared to be speaking to himself before he shook his head and refocused his gaze on the White family members with a sharp glint.

"I will punish you all to 20 hard lashes, do you accept?" He asked.

"We accept!"

Goldeneye turned to the side and gestured to the other warriors to carry out the punishment. The warriors complied and took out a terrible and lethal-looking bone whip, made from a demonic beast's spine with numerous sharp points to administer the punishment.

No doubt, the reinforced skin of warriors will still be lacerated if they were to be whipped with such a weapon. Despite that, the White family accepted their punishment gladly.

While the punishment was being carried out, Goldeneye inquired the rest of the details from the two warriors that followed Lord Goldenfang to meet Leonhardt previously.

The two warriors recount the event to Goldeneye. Still, they did not forget to invert black and white, making themselves out to be the reasonable party while Leonhardt was unreasonable and overbearing.

"Lord Goldenfang invited that person so courteously, but that person was just too arrogant and disrespectful. Not only did that person refuse Lord Goldenfang rudely, but he also insulted your family! My Lord, you must take revenge for this injustice!" The warrior said.

Goldeneye watched the two warriors speak with an indifferent look before calmly asking, "Is that what really happened?"

Lord Goldenfang was old-fashioned and placed great importance on the seniority of one's age. Goldeneye cannot imagine his father extending an invitation to someone from the younger generation politely without throwing his weight around.

The two warriors immediately sweated and dared not to utter another word of nonsense after hearing Goldeneye's question.

His eyes shortly flickered with a cold glint.

Chapter 408 - Rank 5 Body Tempering

"If you two speak untruthfully again, be prepared to be punished! This time, I will let it slide. But do not let there be another time, understood?!" Goldeneye sternly warned.

"Yes, Lord Goldeneye!"

"Hmph! This matter should be dropped today. Do not pursue that person for revenge." Goldeneye left those words with a flick of his wrist, heading back inside the hut to watch over his father.

"Are you just going to leave it like that after what that person did to our father, brother?" Goldenrod asks.

Goldeneye glanced at his younger brother and said, "Leonhardt isn't someone we can touch right now. At least it cannot be known that it is done by our faction. He enjoys great fame right now, and even his importance far outstrips mine. Do you understand the difference between us?"

"Brother's Dark Wyvern represents the birth of a future Battle King." Goldenrod wrinkled his brows and said, "However, Leonhardt can cure Demon Possession. His existence represents the possibility of birthing many Battle Kings."

"Exactly. This person has the ability to raise the tribe to the sky and upset the power balance of the entire Infertile Plains! It no longer matters where this person came from. What is important is his ability to cure Demon Possession! Anyone who touches him will be the enemy of the entire human race!"

Goldenrod frowned and said, "But I heard that the rats from the Great Ironhawk Tribe tried to assassinate him after failing to recruit him to their side."

"That is because they are narrowminded and selfish! They know that so long as Leonhardt stays with our tribe, our Darkmoon Tribe will rise to greatness. Thus, since they cannot have him, they do not want anyone else to have him! Right now, news of Leonhardt's abilities and feats have only spread in our tribe. It is the only chance they have to kill Leonhardt without suffering the consequences."

"I see. If news of Leonhardt's existence is spread to the rest of the Infertile Plains, the Great Ironhawk Tribe will not dare to assassinate him again. They can only do so now while Leonhardt is still relatively unknown to the Infertile Plains. Thus, even if we accuse them, they can just deny that such a person existed."

"That's right. That should be exactly the logic of those rats when they made their move against Leonhardt." Goldeneye nodded.

"Still…" Goldenrod glanced at their father and said, "Are we just going to let our father suffer in silence like this without doing anything?"

Goldeneye fell silent for a moment.

After a while, he opened his mouth and said, "Although we cannot touch Leonhardt for the betterment of the tribe, it does not mean we need to suck up to such a person either. We are destined not to get along after what has happened to our father. Thus, it's fine to find some trouble with Leonhardt as long as we don't take it too far."

"I understand." Goldenrod suddenly had an idea. They cannot make a move against Leonhardt himself, but maybe they can touch the people around him.

Nevertheless, this would just be a petty move.

Goldeneye furrowed his brows slightly. He recalled a matter and asks, "I heard you made a bet with the person and became his subordinate after losing?"

"You also heard about that?"

Goldenrod immediately became awkward.

…

Barrenrock Courtyard.

After Darlene tried on each set of clothes found inside the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch, she picked the one she was most comfortable wearing and put the rest back in the pouch.

'Hubby also bought me Enchanted Equipment… these must have cost a fortune.' Darlene thought as she glanced at the leather armor inside the pouch while feeling sweet inside.

She had never received anything so expensive before. She was a little afraid to wear the Enchanted Equipment, lest she damages it and feels pained.

After placing the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch in a secured drawer, Darlene headed outside for some fresh air and to look for Leon.

However, she found no one in the courtyard. She searched every room but still failed to find a trace of Leon. The entire courtyard was empty, and even the entrance was busted down.

What happened here? Did something happen to her hubby while she was asleep in the bedroom? Feeling that something serious might have happened, she decided to contact the chief. She did not know that the entrance had been busted down much earlier.

Back inside the bedroom, Darlene sealed the door before loosening her hair bun and took out the voice-transmission stone hidden within.

In the Chief Palace, Chief Valencia was in the middle of a discussion with Master Woodrow, who suddenly visited when she felt her voice-transmission stone lighting up.

"Sorry, Master Woodrow. Something came up." Chief Valencia furrowed her brows and spoke.

She moved to a more secluded spot away from the Great Hall before she answered the voice-transmission stone.

"What is it?"

"Young Master Leonhardt is missing, chief," Darlene answered from the other side of the voice-transmission stone.

"When did this?"

Darlene recounted her intimate moments with Leonhardt again before passing out and how he was already missing when she woke up and discovered the busted door.

"Alright, I understand. Remain on standby and do not go anywhere. I will handle this."

"Understood, chief."

After Chief Valencia ended the call with Darlene via the voice-transmission stone, she summoned the scouts and inquired, "Where is Leonhardt right now?"

"Leonhardt should still be inside Barrenrock Courtyard, chief. None of my men have reported Leonhardt leaving that place." The scout answered.

Chief Valencia frowned.

"Are you positive?"

"Very positive, chief."

Chief Valencia rubbed her temples before asking, "How's the rat extermination task going?"

��We've taken down five and captured two. Apart from that, there is still another two spies at the Extremity-rank Great Warrior Realm on the run, chief."

"Speed it up. Request from the senior warriors if you need to. I want these rats off my streets as soon as possible."

"Yes, chief!"

"And send some men to look into Leonhardt's disappearance. See if it has anything to do with those rats or the Beast Tamer Faction." Chief Valencia ordered.

"Understood, chief!"

After the scout left, Chief Valencia narrowed her eyes coldly and softly muttered, "Don't let me find out Leonhardt's disappearance had something to do with you people."

She had been very accommodating of the Beast Tamer Faction and left them to their own devices. However, if they do not know what is good for them and played a part in Leonhardt's disappearance, she will not hesitate to wash the Beast Tamer Faction in blood.

Perhaps, this was what Leon meant by those words he left the last time they met. When a group of people and her do not see eye to eye, it is better to cut them off before they grow and bite her back painfully.

"What happened?" Master Woodrow asked curiously upon seeing Chief Valencia return to the Great Hall.

Chief Valencia sighed, "Leonhardt went missing."

"What?"

Just a moment ago, Master Woodrow was happily discussing with Chief Valencia about gather the Venerable Shamans and pooling all their ancient book collections together. But hearing about Leonhardt's disappearance, his mood immediately plummeted.

…

Meanwhile, Leon was still cultivating under Barrenrock Courtyard. He did not know that his disappearance would cause such a big commotion in the tribe.

He refined every ounce of Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy he could before continuing to temper his flesh according to the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] and [Godfiend Body Forging Method].

In a short few hours, his body's strength and defensive capabilities had jumped by leaps and bounds in cultivation. Under the right conditions, his cultivation had improved at a tremendous rate!

Ding!

Leon pushed through the barrier and broke through to Rank 5 Body Tempering Realm! At this level, his base physical strength reached 50-thousand jin!

There was no exaggerated effect or sound when breaking through to higher levels in the Body Tempering Realm. It just an instinctive feeling when his body reaches a certain threshold of strength.

On the other hand, his body's defense has reached a terrifying level of 500-thousand jin! He was halfway through to the third stage of the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique!

Leon's eyes suddenly snapped open.

He exhaled some turbid air from his mouth before shaking his head with mild disappointment.

"If I did not run out of pseudo-Grandmist Energy, I would be able to keep cultivating!"

He had expended both his primary pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserve and Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy reserves.

Although the ring of grey energy revolving around his soul core in the Black Vortex was able to transform into any element he comprehended, it was more challenging to replicate pseudo-Grandmist Energy.

After all, he did not have something like a Grandmist Seed or Nihility Seed either.

To refine more pseudo-Grandmist Energy, he still needs to gather more energy from heaven and earth, especially Spatial Energy and Temporal Energy, which was sparse in his current location. They are most abundant in the void, where everything else seems absent.

Furthermore, his body cultivation improved the quickest when he was tempering his body with Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy!

"I need to refine more Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy! But I also cannot break through this planet's sky with my present cultivation, let alone enter the void!"

Leon sighed.

Not having enough energy for cultivation has always been the biggest problem since his transmigration.

Suppose he wants to leave Planet Gaia to cultivate in the void.. In that case, he might need to rely on alternative methods before his awakening cultivation reaches an adequate level for breaking through the world's atmosphere.

Chapter 409 - Fist Cannon

"There's another problem I need to address soon."

Leon began to frown in thought while his body was still glistening with sweat from his cultivation session.

"The first three stages of the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique required spirit, fire, lightning to temper my flesh subsequently. I was able to bypass these requirements by simply using pseudo-Grandmist Energy to cultivate."

However, there was a big problem if he wanted to continue cultivating the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique.

"From the fourth stage and beyond, the requirements become more stringent. Great pseudo-Grandmist Energy alone will no longer be sufficient to practice this [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique."

Leon pondered.

"According to the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard] technique, I will need the black turtle bloodline if I want to continue practicing the technique from the fourth stage onwards. There are seven stages to the [Black Turtle Heavenly Guard], and the fourth stage represents the start of the latter stages."

"In the legends, Black Turtles were bolstered for their body's ultimate defense. It is impossible for mortals, let alone humans, to achieve this level of defense with True Grandmist Energy alone. If I want to practice this technique to the zenith and achieve god-level defense like the Black Turtle God Beast, I will need its bloodline… but, where the hell am I going to find myself some black turtle bloodline?"

This was a question he had no answers to. It was apparent that many of the god and devil heritage required their bloodline to practice.

"It is impossible for mortals to achieve Godhood without the bloodline of the Divinities? Is this the real problem that plague Divine Kings from breaking through to a higher realm? Is Divine King the peak of mortals?"

Leon frowned.

After a moment, he shook his head.

"I don't the strength of the gods and devils to take my revenge on the Divine Kings and traitors that played a part in my father's death. I just need to be stronger than they are!"

With the godly cultivation methods in his grasp, it would not be an impossible dream for him to become an existence stronger than the Divine Kings of the Divine Realm.

Furthermore, he had yet to explore the entirety of Planet Gaia, let alone the entire starfield as recorded on the star map engraved into his memory.

The possibility of other heritages from the primordial era of gods and devils still exists. Perhaps the Black Turtle God Beast's carcass was preserved and just lying hidden somewhere, waiting for him to find it!

"For now, I should return to the surface and check on Darlene." Leon decided.

Once his strength reaches the adequate level, he will travel the world and search for the ancient heritages belonging to the Black Turtle God Beast's bloodline and the bloodline of other god-level existences from the primordial era.

Leon stowed away the partially depleted supreme-grade spirit stone and dug his way back up to the surface. After reaching the surface, he used his earthen abilities to patch up the hole in the ground.

Shortly after, he shook his head when he noticed his new clothes drenched in sweat and slightly dirtied by the ground's soil.

'I should have taken them off before I started cultivating… Never mind, I'll just wash them and wear the other set I bought for now.' Leon inwardly decided.

"Hubby!"

Darlene's cry was suddenly heard. Shortly after, Leon felt a pair of soft mounds pressed against his back as Darlene leaped and clung onto his back like a cat.

After hearing some noise in the courtyard, she had gone out to check right away. She was surprised to see Leon climb out of a hole in the ground, but at the same time, she was overjoyed that nothing had happened to him.

It seems that it was a false alarm.

"What's wrong?"

Leon glanced over his shoulder with a smile before pinching her cheeks in teasing. Darlene pouted and said, "What were you doing underground? I thought something happened to you?"

As Darlene said this, she subconsciously glances towards the broken doors. Leon understood her meaning and laughed it off nonchalantly with a smile oozing with confidence, "What could happen to me?"

Darlene was slightly surprised.

She felt like her hubby had grown much stronger. Although nothing seemed to have changed, she was under this illusion that his body was faintly glowing with vigor.

Leon turned around and glanced down at Darlene's clothes before asking with a smile, "How's the dress?"

"I love it! It fits perfectly! Thanks, hubby!

Darlene smooched him on the cheeks. Leon smiled lightly at her words. Of course, it would fit perfectly. He specifically selected her clothes based on her dimensions.

Nevertheless, Leon felt that something was missing and asked, "Where's your Interspatial Pouch? You don't like to wear it on your body?"

"Ah? The Interspatial Pouch? Oh, right! I'll fetch it right now!"

Darlene pulled herself away from Leon before rushing into the bedroom. She took out the Interspatial Pouch from the drawers. After she emptied out the contents into the drawer, she ran back to Leon and passed him the Interspatial Pouch.

"Here you go!"

Leon accepted the pouch and glanced inside briefly before he looked back at Darlene and said, "What do you mean by this, my little wifey? Where did the stuff inside go?"

"Eh? I took it all out and put them in the drawers. Didn't you want the Interspatial Pouch back?" Darlene asked with a confused look, unsure by his questions.

Leon shook his head in a 'what am I going to do with you' manner with a smile and chuckled softly.

"No, of course not. That Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch is for you, silly. I have my own right here." Leon tapped Darlene on the head with the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch before showing his own Tier 3 Interspatial Pouch strapped to the side of his waist.

Darlene was surprised and looked at Leon unbelievably. However, he did not seem to be joking. She accepted the Tier 1 Interspatial Pouch back and felt a bit overwhelmed by emotions.

"Why are you so good to me?"

"You are my woman. If I am not good to you, then who should I be good to?"

Leon shook his head and turned her around in the direction of the bedroom before patting her butt off.

"Alright. Go and pack the stuff you took out back into the Interspatial Pouch. I'm going to practice for a bit, then I will start teaching you how to cultivate, okay?" He spoke.

"Mmm…"

Darlene nodded obediently before running off into the bedroom with a flushed look. Leon watched her leave before he took off his top and faced an empty wall.

His eyes glazed with seriousness before he started throwing a few practice punches to test his new strength.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The air blew wildly from his punches.

Each casual punch contained the shocking force of 50-thousand jins! He reached the level of Early-rank Great Warrior as a Rank 5 Body Tempering Realm Practitioner!

"Time to get a bit more serious." Leon softly muttered and cracked the stiff joints in his neck due to sitting still.

Boom!

He threw out another punch using Five Echoes Oscillating Fist, and the wind exploded. A fist mark formed purely from wind pressure imprinted itself on the wall.

Despite that, Leon was unsatisfied with the force of his punch as his brows furrowed slightly in question, "The fist strength does not match…"

He was only able to exert 150-thousand jin in that punch. Logically, he should have exerted 250-thousand jin at Five Echoes.

Now that his body's defensive strength has reached 500-thousand jin, he could easily execute Nine Echoes without mutilating his arm if he wanted to do.

"Let��s try again."

Boom!

A Six Echoes Oscillating Fist was thrown, and another fist formed from wind pressure imprinted itself on the wall. However, the force exerted was still 150-thousand jin.

After he tested Seven Echoes, all the way to Nine Echoes, the results did not change. It was still the force of 150-thousand jins.

"I understand now. 100-thousand jin is the limit of the Nine Echo Oscillating Fist. No wonder, it is only a foundational-level fist technique for Body Cultivators." Leon spoke to himself in realization.

He would have realized this fact sooner if he had tempered his flesh to the adequate level of withstanding Nine Echoes sooner.

Nevertheless, 150-thousand jin was not the limit of strength he can exert at his current level. He had not utilized all his abilities.

Boom!

Leon tossed out another fist with Divine Will Enhancement, causing the wind swirled and blew a hole straight through the wall like some air cannon.

"Huh?"

Leon was rather startled.

The fist's force reached 200-thousand jins, which was within his calculations, but blowing a hole in the wall was beyond his imagination.

"It seems I have unwittingly created a battle skill." Leon rubbed his head with pleasant surprise before his eyes narrowed into deeper thought, "However, this battle skill still has room for improvement."

200-thousand jin force is not a weak punch. It was equivalent to the attack of a Peak-rank Great Warrior. However, the force of the air cannon itself was only around 50-thousand jin.

There was a 150-thousand jin deficit in force. What can he do to improve this battle skill and channel the full 200-thousand jin force into his range attack?

Leon pondered.

Chapter 410 - Keep It Toned Down, Okay?

From time to time, Leon would continue to test his air cannon's effect by throwing out more punches enhanced by Divine Will, creating more holes in the wall.

'I understand now.'

Leon quickly understood why his 200-thousand jin punches would only produce an air cannon of 50-thousand jin.

When he enhanced his punches with Divine Will, he also subconsciously revolved and compressed the surrounding air to the tip of his fist.

The air cannon was created by punching this ball of compressed air and shooting it. If he can consciously gather and compress this air more firmly, he would produce a stronger air cannon.

'Let's try it.'

Leon decided.

At the same time, an angry neighbor living on the other side of the wall was attracted to the commotion caused by Leon.

The person walked over to the hole in the wall and complained, "Oi! Keep it down, will ya?! You're also making a mess of my—"

Swoosh~!

The person did not finish speaking when another air cannon blew a hole in the wall and send several more wall fragments crashing into his home, narrowly missing him and giving him a slight scare.

"I'm so sorry about that. What were you saying just now? Didn't quite catch the last bit." Leon apologized with a slightly awkward expression.

He was too focused on improving the self-made battle skill that he left out his considerations for his neighbors who live on the other side of the wall.

"Ah, no… it was nothing… Just keep it toned down, okay?" The person softened his stance with a humbled expression.

Leon smiled wryly when the person quickly left before he could give the person his answer. He decided to stop using the wall for target practice.

He had more or less figured out the finer details of new battle skills. Consciously compressing the air with Divine Will does generate a greater force, but he was still losing a lot of power when he tries to channel the strength of his punch into it.

Rather than punching compressed air, he needed to reduce the distance between the compressed air and his fist to zero and push it instead.

Only by achieving this would he channel the strength of his punch efficiently and shoot out an air cannon of equivalent force.

'If I add elemental powers to this fist force, it will enhance the power and destructiveness of the fist force further and make it more practical in battle situations.' Leon mulled.

He already decided to call it Fist Force. Depending on the attribute he adds to the battle skill, it can become Lightning Fist Force, Fiery Fist Force, or Icy Fist Force, etc. These were variations he could play with.

Darlene had been watching from the side quietly after returning from the bedroom, unwilling to disturb Leon's practice. After seeing Leon finally stopped his training, she walked over and called him.

"Please use this, hubby."

Darlene offered a towel for Leon to wipe his sweaty body. She blushed slightly when Leon accepted and said, "Thanks, wifey."

Leon called her as such before, but the feeling she received this time was different from before. It left her heart jittery and dancing with joy.

She smiled happily and proceeded to pick up the soaked top Leon had previously tossed aside and prepare to go wash it, but Leon stopped her.

"Ah, don't worry about washing that. I can just wash that later." Leon wrapped his hands around her waist and took the top from her hands.

Darlene's heart skipped a beat, but then she argued, "How can I let you do that? These menial tasks should be left for me to do. It's the least I can do for you."

"Well, only if you want to." Leon smiled before had a shrewd look and teased, "But my pants are also soaked and dirtied. Are you going to take these off me to wash them too?"

Darlene was surprised and quickly glance around. There were holes in the walls, broken doors, and even a few taller buildings in the surrounding area. If someone wanted to spy inside Barrenrock Courtyard, they can.

Her lips slowly curled up into a sly smile and teased back, "Hubby won't mind if I strip you here and let others see your little wiener down there?"

She glanced down at his crotch daringly.

Leon felt a little embarrassed that Darlene was daring enough to make a comeback at him, but it also proved that she was slowly changing from her previously more subservient self.

"Ahem." Leon coughed and said, "Never mind that. Come, I will teach you how to cultivate today."

This time, Darlene was startled and give the surrounding another sweeping glance before she said, "Are you going to teach me right here, hubby? Won't it be a problem for hubby if someone sees us while you are teaching?"

"Of course not."

Leon smiled calmly at Darlene's considerations and reached out his hand to rub her head like a little kid. She pouted with displeasure but still enjoyed the head rub like a cat that likes to be caressed.

"Rather than a problem, it will be advantageous for me instead."

Leon added.

By now, he understood that Chief Valencia and other people in the tribe were becoming more and more suspicious of his origins. This is also the most probable reason why he was secretly monitored.

But the more this was the case, the more he was not afraid to showcase his abilities and show his worth, even if it is at the risk of exposing his true identity as someone from the Human Domain.

Hiding his abilities is only advantageous towards him when he is being viewed as a threat by others. However, if his abilities are beneficial to others, it becomes a disadvantage to hide them instead.

Thus, he was not afraid to display his abilities. The more he reveals, the higher his standing in the hearts of the people will be.

He was someone akin to their savior, someone who can bring salvation to them, and he is indeed working in such a direction.

Thus, when his identity is revealed, people will not care about it even if they learn about it. They would only care about the benefits he can bring to them.

While others were scheming about how to make use of his abilities, he was not passive either. He was also plotting how to bring them all under his wing.

The average strength of humans living on the Infertile Plains was much higher than the people living within the Crawford Kingdom. There was no way he was going to pass up on such a strong fighting force.

"How so?" Darlene asked, unsure of her hubby's statement. Isn't it better when secrets are kept hidden? Nevertheless, her heart thumped with anticipation for Leon's teachings.

Leon shook his head with a light smile. There was no need for him to explain to Darlene. She will understand eventually.

"Sit."

"Okay…"

Darlene obeyed Leon's command obediently and sat down stiffly while hiding the excitement in her heart. She was not too bothered that her hubby ignored her question.

Everyone had secrets.

Leon observed her seated meditative posture before he crouched over and started massaging her stiff shoulders.

"Relax. You are too stiff. You will not be able to cultivate properly like this. Let me help you…"

"Mm~! Hubby, your hands are being naughty!"

Darlene complained as a soft moan of pleasure escaped her mouth due to Leon's dexterous touch.

Leon shortly denied her accusation, "Nonsense, I am just helping your body relax so you can begin cultivation practice effectively."

"Do you also help others relax by teasing their bosom?" Darlene pouted with a light blush.

Leon glanced down and suddenly exclaimed, "Aiyo!"

He gave himself a light slap on the back of the hand before saying, "Curse these roguish hands of mine. There, I punished them��Are you happy now, wifey?"

"Now you are just silly!" Darlene giggled.

Leon observed her with a slight smile.

Seeing that she was relaxed in both and mind, he began to instruct her, "Alright, no more nonsense. Close your eyes and empty your mind. Don't think about anything and just listen to my voice while feeling the changes to your body."

"Apart from the cultivation of the body, there is the cultivation of the energy, the soul, and the law. What you will be learning is the cultivation of the law, called awakening cultivation. To cultivate the law, you must first sense the element most intimate and close to you, which we already happen to know is the spatial element. Can you feel them around you?"

With her eyes close, Darlene only saw the dark expanse that exists inside her mind when her sense of sight is shut.

She was not sure how she was supposed to feel the spatial element surrounding her, causing her expression to crumple slightly.

"The spatial element may feel very indistinct and sparse as it is hidden among the various other elements that surround us. Don't try to feel it with your body. Feel it with your mind, but not so much as to feel as it is to know it."

While Leon instructed, he expanded his senses and used Divine Will to gather the surrounding spatial elements hidden in the surrounding for Darlene to feel.

"I think I feel something. It feels familiar, but I'm not sure if these things are the spatial elements you are talking about, hubby." Darlene softly stated while her eyes remained closed, and her expression slightly eased.

At the same time, Leon also felt a slight tug on the spatial elements he gathered towards her. He nodded approvingly and said, "That's it, those are the spatial elements.. Focus your mind on them and pull them in like your mind is forming ropes to catch them."

Chapter 411 - Void Soul Constitution

After Leon instructed Darlene, he focused on sensing the changes to the elements in the surrounding. Darlene's brows furrowed slightly when she tried following his instruction at the start, but after a moment, her expression relaxed.

His lips slightly rose into a smile as he felt the spatial elements pulled towards Darlene. It was her first time absorbing the spatial element, but Leon knew she could do it before even teaching her the standard breathing technique.

"That's it. You got it. Now, gather them towards a single point at the center of your stomach." Leon continued to instruct.

Darlene gathered the spatial elements to her stomach as she was told. After she was done, she asks, "I did it. What do I do now, hubby?"

Leon seat himself directly behind Darlene and place one of his palms on her back, causing her to be startled for a moment before quickly recovering her calm.

"Remember these routes within your body," Leon said.

Shortly after, he seeped his divine sense into Darlene's body and took control of her spatial elements with Divine Will before driving them through a particular set of circulation routes, completely several cycles.

"When you circulate the spatial elements like this, the spatial elements will gradually be refined into Spatial Energy with your spiritual imprint on it, making it belong solely to you. Once you complete this step, you need to store it. Do you know where it is?"

"Um, I think so, but I'm not too sure," Darlene answered hesitantly.

She vaguely felt a part of her mind that wants to devour the newly refined strands of Spatial Energy, but she was not confident that it was the right place to send the few strands of Spatial Energy.

Nevertheless, Leon was not planning to go easy on her and said, "If you know where it is, just send the Spatial Energy there."

"Are you sure? Will there be any problem if I send it to the wrong place?" Darlene asks nervously with unease.

"Don't worry. Trust yourself and have some confidence. Even if something goes wrong, I am still here."

"Okay."

Leon's words were not reassuring as it was supposed to be, but the words "I am still here" was enough to calm down Darlene's nervousness. This showed the amount of trust she had in him.

After Leon returned control of the Spatial Energy to Darlene, she began sending it towards the Black Hole within the deepest parts of her sea of consciousness.

When the energy entered within a specific range, it was immediately pulled and devoured by the Black Hole's attraction force. Despite that, Darlene did not lose track of the Spatial Energy strands. Her senses were still locked onto it.

She felt the strands of Spatial Energy dropping an abyss like a drop of water falling into the ocean as it stirred ripples and seemed to have awakened something dormant inside her on a deeper level.

Leon bypassed the terror of Black Hole and subtly followed Darlene's consciousness inside of it. What he inside the Black Hole made him greatly surprised.

There was no Spatial Seed inside of the Black Hole. There was only the soul core at the center, enclosed in crystallized energy of unfathomable depth. Other than that, there was nothing else.

The Spatial Energy ripple resulted from it landing on the wall of crystallized energy surrounding the soul core.

Rather than there being no Spatial Seed, it could be said that the Black Hole itself was most likely the Spatial Seed.

However...

'This is so strange. This is the first time I've seen a soul core being inside of an elemental seed. This world sure has all sorts of peculiarities.' Leon thought before he shortly paused.

'No, I can't really say that my elemental seeds are normal either, now that they have fused with soul core and that the Black Vortex, this subspace formed around it.'

Leon quietly observed the inner space of Darlene's Spatial Seed like a leech attached to her consciousness. Nevertheless, he could not observe for long before Darlene's consciousness left the inner space and returned to the outside of it.

She did not leave on her own accord—Rather, she was kicked out, and him along with her.

A surge of power exploded from within Darlene's body and shot to the sky as if connecting heaven and earth. Like something elusive and almighty acknowledging's Darlene's spatial law, Leon began to sense her cultivation.

Not only did he sense it, but he also felt it rising rapidly! In a few breaths, Darlene's cultivation broke the first step and advanced to the third step without any sign of slowing down!

4th Step Awakener!

5th Step Awakener!

6th Step Awakener!

It was like a powder keg going off. Darlene's cultivation just kept rising with explosive momentum. The few strands of Spatial Energy that landed on the crystallized energy wall within her Spatial Seed was like an ember falling into a sea of oil, setting everything aflame.

Leon had already retreated and observed Darlene's changes from some distance away. The commotion also attracted even more people to Barrenrock Courtyard.

Nevertheless, he did not care so long as they do not get too close and interfere with Darlene's advancement through the cultivation ranks.

'Is this the result of our numerous copulation?' Leon pondered.

He recalled that his partners would also enjoy slight benefits to their cultivation after enjoying a passionate session with him. It seems that all the benefits had been accumulated in Darlene's Spatial Seed for this moment.

Furthermore, her Spatial Seed had been naturally gathering all sorts of energy since a young age, which prevented her from practicing body cultivation.

Now that everything had been set aflame, her energy was driven furiously on its own as waves after waves of spatial elements spilled out from the Spatial Seed.

They circulated through her cultivation routes and transformed themselves into Spatial Energy before returning to her Spatial Seed and continuously enhancing her cultivation.

The speed of refinement was staggering, but the rate of Darlene's cultivation was even more so. In several more moments, she broke through the 7th Step Awakener Realm!

Leon watched everything unfold and thought, 'There was nothing about Darlene's body that was out of the ordinary. Calling this a Void Body is incorrect. Her soul, on the other hand, is quite unordinary… It should be called a type of Void Soul constitution instead.'

It was strange that all his partners were extraordinary in a sense… or was it his unique body that made them extraordinary? Nevertheless, Darlene's cultivation was the fastest he had seen.

'With this kind of momentum, I don't think she will stop at the 9th Step Awakener Realm… However, this steep power growth and rush of energy are concerning…' Leon knitted his brows in worry, silently hoping that Darlene does not lose control.

A crowd gathered outside Barrenrock Courtyard, but no one dared to enter without permission after seeing who was inside. Everyone was afraid to offend the Divine Doctor despite their intense curiosity.

The pillar of spatial power surging into the sky from Darlene's body was colorless, but not formless. They could see the slight distortion in the space above Darlene.

Swoosh~!

A figure descended from the sky and landed inside the courtyard with a heavy thud on the ground, causing Leon to frown with slight traces of anger.

"It would be appreciated if Chief Valencia can be quiet and not disrupt Darlene's concentration. Even if you are the chief, I will not be polite if something goes wrong." Leon warned.

"It seems you care about this servant greatly."

Chief Valencia was surprised, but no visible displeasure was shown despite Leon's words. However, she realized the inappropriateness of her words. Darlene was no longer her servant, at least on the surface, according to her.

"My apologies, I have been insensitive. I'm glad that you are safe. Can you explain to me what is going on here?" Chief Valencia said. She had rushed over, thinking the Barrenrock Courtyard had been under attack.

Leon raised an eyebrow. He turned towards her and asks, "Am I not supposed to be safe? Never mind, I also apologize for saying some unpleasant to Chief Valencia."

"I don't mind. I was in the wrong first." Chief Valencia said.

Chief Valencia was startled by her slip of tongue, but she was shortly relieved that Leonhardt did not pursue the matter.

"Anyway, Darlene is currently in the process of awakening the latent powers that dwelled within her. You can also say that she is awakening her Shaman Ability. However, her ability is particular towards a single element, space." Leon explained without going into too many details.

Nevertheless, the explanation was enough to startle Chief Valencia and everyone that overheard it, collapsing their understanding of people with Void Bodies.

"Incredible. So people with Void Bodies can awaken their Shaman Ability without having to train Body Cultivation first. This is a great discovery!" Chief Valencia exclaimed.

Actually, anyone can awaken these so-called 'Shaman Abilities.' There is more than one cultivation path, after all. Nevertheless, this was not something he needed to explain to Chief Valencia unless she took the initiative to inquire from him.

Crack!

It was like an invisible barrier was broken. Darlene's cultivation broke past the 9th Step Awakener Realm and stepped into 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm before her cultivation speed started to diminish.

Shortly after, her cultivation ceased its rise like it had finally run out of fuel to burn, stopping just a bit short from the 2-Star Ranked Awakener Realm.

Leon sighed softly.

It could be said that Darlene had shot to the skies with a single leap.. He faintly looks forward to seeing Darlene's reaction after she learns how strong she had suddenly become.

Chapter 412 - Interrogation Room

After the strong spatial aura dissipated, Leon began making his way over and gave Darlene's inner self a quick diagnosis with his divine sense.

He was relieved to see that she has broken all the through to 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm smoothly and without any lingering problems.

Seeing Darlene kept her eyes closed, Leon smiled and softly said, "You can open your eyes."

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

Darlene felt a bit disorientated and confused, but after a moment, she adjusted and recovered. She started feeling the changes to her body before her eyes lit up with joy.

"I felt like I am overflowing with energy!"

"That is because you have broken through many levels and reached 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm in a single cultivation session—no, it was not even a session. It only lasted a few moments. You won't have this kind of effect the next time you cultivate. Even so, this kind of speed can be said to be heaven-defying and invites the envy of others."

"Uwaaa~! Thank you, hubby!" Darlene exclaimed joyfully and leaped into Leon's arms, giving him many pecks on the cheeks while oblivious to her surroundings.

She did not know how strong the 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm was, but the feeling of becoming much stronger made her heart bursting with joy. She began to look forward to the future with hopeful expectations. She was not useless!

Seeing how overjoyed Darlene was reacting, Leon found her to be very cute at this moment.

"Ahem!"

Chief Valencia interrupted Darlene with a cough, causing her to be startled. Seeing so many pairs of eyes glancing in her direction, she became mildly embarrassed. She distanced herself from Leon to calm herself down.

"Your strength should be around the same level as a person in the early Fighter Realm, but the spatial ability will give you an edge over them. Why don't you go there and practice on your own for now, while I deal with Chief Valencia?" Leon said to her.

Darlene subtly glanced at Chief Valencia, who was giving a vague 'I'll be talking to you later' before she nodded compliantly to Leon, "Mm, I will listen to you."

She briefly hesitated before giving him another peck on the cheek before running off to practice and adjust to her new strength in the corner of the courtyard.

"Are all Void Bodies able to become like her…?" Chief Valencia carefully asked, unsure if her question was touching upon a sensitive topic to Leon.

She vaguely sensed the power coming from within Darlene. It was still weak and insignificant compared to her own strength, but it gave her a strange and cautious feeling. In any case, Darlene was no longer as useless as she used to be.

She had been completely transformed by Leonhardt and bloomed brilliantly like some peerless treasured flower coming into being.

"It should be possible for all Void Bodies to unlock this ability, but whether they can reach the same level as Darlene in a short time is another matter," Leon explained.

Chief Valencia was surprised and thought of something before she shook her head. She did not believe his words. If Darlene could do it, it should be the same for every other Void Bodies too.

"Little Brother Leonhardt has not been entirely honest with me. This must be the real reason you wanted those other female servants with Void Bodies, right? I suddenly regret giving them away to you so easily." Chief Valencia said with half a smile.

She believed Leonhardt had the method to awaken all the female servants' special abilities with Void Bodies. This would give him a group of people with strange powers.

"You can choose not to believe it if you want. I truly just asked for them to satisfy Darlene's wishes." Leon said in response with a nonchalant shrug.

Unless he also popped the cherries of these female servants and enjoy intensive copulation with all of them, the chances of them breaking through to 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm upon awakening was very slim.

"All of you, leave."

Chief Valencia smiled wryly and dispersed the crowd watching from afar, outside of the courtyard. After they left, she curiously asks, "I wonder if Little Brother Leonhardt is willing to talk more about this 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm? What kind of realm is that?"

"It is the realm of an entirely different cultivation system."

"No doubt, Little Brother Leonhardt also has the method to practice this set of new cultivation system, right? Is Little Brother Leonhardt willing to sell this method to me?" Chief Valencia asked with interest.

Leon gave Chief Valencia a profound smile and said, "That depends on how much Chief Valencia is willing to pay for it. However, let us put aside this matter for now. This isn't the best place to discuss this."

Chief Valencia quickly agreed with this point.

"Chief Valencia should have another reason for coming to see me, right?"

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot this matter, now that you've mentioned it. But before that, is true that Little Brother Leonhardt used some uncanny ability to remove the demon core from Old Tailor's son and cure his Demon Possession disease?"

Leon rubbed his chin and said, "Why ask what you already know? You should have already validated this information from Old Tailor himself, no?"

"That is correct, but I just wanted to confirm with the person in question myself. It's important, so I hope Little Brother Leonhardt can answer truthfully." Chief Valencia requested with a respectful tone.

"Un."

"That's great!"

After Leon gave Chief Valencia the silent nod of admittance, Chief Valencia clapped her hands together.

She proceeded to explain, "We've caught a few spies from the Great Ironhawk Tribe, but we have also been unable to extract any information from them. I thought Little Brother Leonhardt might be interested in knowing, considering they have been making attempts on your life."

"Brother Woodrow—Ahem, you weren't able to obtain any information from them even with the help of Master Woodrow and his hypnotic mysticism?" Leon asked with surprise.

He figured that they would be able to extract any information they seek from a person they target with this ability.

Leon did not doubt that Chief Valencia had already learned the awakening cultivation system and ranks from his adoptive mother and other ex-disciples.

For example, the reason she still asked him about it was to lead him into the topic and probe his willingness to sell his own cultivation method to her.

"We did request the Venerable Shaman's assistance in the matter. However, it was useless. There's a big problem stopping us from proceeding with the interrogation process."

"And I supposed this big problem is something I can deal with, is that right?" Leon presumed.

Chief Valencia nodded but shortly shook her head after.

"I am not too certain. However, if Little Brother Leonhardt cannot solve it, then I do not think anyone in this tribe can. How about it, Little Brother Leonhardt? Are you interested in paying a visit to the prison cell with me?"

"Alright, just give me a moment." Leon agreed.

"Of course, there's no hurry."

Leon returned to Darlene's side and said, "Come with me. We will be taking a trip to the palace. We can also pick up your sisters on the way back."

"Right now? Are you find going out like this, hubby?" Darlene asked in surprise and glanced down at his soaking wet and dirtied pants. "How about taking a quick bath while I wash the dirty clothes for you, hubby? Will the chief be fine with waiting?"

Leon pondered for a moment before he nodded in agreement, "It should be fine. Let us do as you suggested."

After giving Chief Valencia a heads up, he entered the room to undress and enter the cold wooden bathtub. At the same time, the dirtied wet clothes were taken away by Darlene to wash.

About ten minutes later, Leon exited the room in a fresh set of clothes. Darlene was still washing Leon's clothes, but he did not plan to keep the chief waiting further.

"Come, you can continue to wash it later."

"Ah—!"

Darlene was happily washing Leon's manually over a small wooden bucket of water when she was suddenly lifted and carried away by Leon.

Chief Valencia mentioned that they had caught some spies, meaning there were still more enemies out there. It was too dangerous to leave Darlene home alone, lest they decide to move against her to get to him.

After they met up with the chief outside the courtyard, Chief Valencia nodded to Leon. She had no problem with Darlene tagging along and asks, "Ready?

Leon nodded back.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived within the interrogation room next to the prison cells, located under the colossal amphitheater next to the palace.

The place reeked with a strong smell of blood and all sorts of torture tools hung on the sidewalls. However, none of these were currently needed with Master Woodrow around.

"We meet again, Little Brother Leonhardt."

"Yes, much sooner than I expected, Brother Woodrow." Leon and Master Woodrow greeted each other with a handshake.

"Oho, quite the firm grip you got there. I see that you have become much stronger in the short time frame since we last met." Master Woodrow said with surprise.

Leon smiled without commenting.

Chief Valencia gave Leon a quick glance. She also felt the changes to Leonhardt's body. However, she had not said anything until because Darlene's changes came as a greater shock to her.

"So, what is the problem with these two people, that it would render Brother Woodrow helpless from extracting information from them?" Leon gazed towards the center of the room and asked.

Two warriors laid on top of stone beds at the center of the room, bound and unconscious.. This was to prevent them from resisting and committing suicide.

Chapter 413 - Great Ironhawk Tribe's Objective

While and uproar was going on outside due to Darlene's breakthrough to the 1-Star Ranked Awakener Realm with her spatial element earlier,

After Leon jumped straight to the point of him coming to the interrogation room, Master Woodrow and Chief Valencia no longer idled with meaningless talk and became solemn.

They glanced at each other in silent debate, like they were deciding who should explain for Leon. After a moment, Chief Valencia shrugged and said, "Fine, I will do it."

She turned to Leon and said, "We have discovered that every spy sent by the Great Ironhawk Tribe has an Exploding Secret Rune implanted inside their head. Because of these Exploding Secret Rune, the spy's head will just explode when Master Woodrow hypnotizes them into divulging their secrets."

"Exploding Secret Rune, huh?" Leon muttered with a thoughtful look.

It was the first time he heard of such a name, but he could guess what it could do based on its name and the situation troubling Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow.

"I see. I supposed you would like me to remove this Exploding Secret Rune from them?" Leon asked.

Chief Valencia nodded, "If you can, that would be great."

"Alright, I will have a look."

Leon did not try to negotiate any benefits for his service. He was also interested in the secrets that these spies have to offer him.

His divine sense immediately shot into the unconscious spy's body lying on the left side and searched for the Exploding Secret Rune.

"Oh?"

Leon quickly discovered the rune and exclaimed softly in surprise shortly after. Whoever implanted the rune was not simple, by any means.

"Is there a problem?" Chief Valencia quickly asked.

Leon shook his head and said, "Not too sure yet. I found the rune, but I still need to study it for a bit longer."

The so-called Exploding Secret Rune was comprised entirely of Demonic Energy and found to be imprinted on the spy's soul core.

To create and plant the rune in such a delicate location proves that the mastermind did not just have the Divine Will ability that Shamans had, but also some sort of clairvoyance or omnipotent ability like Leon's divine sense.

'The Demonic Energy used in the creation of this rune should have come from the Demonic Cores of Demonic Beasts. This shouldn't have anything to do with demons… but the possibility also cannot be ruled out. One thing for certain though, the person capable of producing an intricate rune of pure energy like this is already capable of becoming a Spiritual Array Master.'

Leon pondered.

Or maybe he should call it a Demonic Array Master?

He knew that Spirit Energy was needed to create Spiritual Arrays, but he was not sure if Demonic Energy would do the same. Considering it can be used in runes, arrays, formations, it should be theoretically possible.

However, Demonic Energy was so unstable, it was hard for Leon to gauge the destructiveness produced from it. Nevertheless, this was something to ponder another time.

More importantly, he needed to remove the Exploding Secret Rune uncover the Great Ironhawk Tribe's secrets.

'Chances are, this Exploding Secret Rune will immediately activate if I even try to touch it with anything…' Leon furrowed slightly, feeling the volatile energy coursing through the rune.

'If I want to remove this rune, I cannot even short-circuit it. Doing so will cause it to explode immediately… If that is the case, the only way to remove this rune is to make it disappear instantaneously before it can be activated…'

Leon did not doubt that even if he touches it with his divine sense slightly, the rune will activate and explode when it detects his foreign will. Only the original creator would be able to remove the rune with ease.

'If my comprehension of the Nihility Law were higher, I could simply just make it vanish like it never existed, to begin with…' Leon mused.

After pondering his options, he figured out that he only had one safer method to use. The rest were too risky. Even so, it was not like this 'safer method' was not without its own risks. It depended on how quickly he can remove the rune from the soul and toss it into his Worldspace.

'Well, there's another body in case I f*ck up on the first try.' Leon thought. However, it would be preferable if he succeeds on the first try.

Seeing Leonhardt getting closer to the stone beds and placing one of his hands on the left spy's forehead, Chief Valencia queried, "Do you have a solution?"

"I do have a solution, but I cannot guarantee 100% success. Is that fine?" Leon asks.

"There are still two more rats on the loose outside, so it's fine even if you fail both attempts. We would just have to go out and catch more." Chief Valencia said straightforwardly.

"That's good then."

Master Woodrow shortly retreated and cautioned for the others to do the same, giving Leon some space to focus without being disturbed.

Leon began gathering his concentration.

In order to throw the rune into his Worldspace quickly, he had to open the spatial rift next to the rune. It was the first time he had to open the spatial rift, connecting to the Worldspace, remotely away from his body.

Nevertheless, he had the hunch he would be able to pull it off. As the saying went, 'if there's a will, there's a way.'

As he anticipated, the spatial rift directly appeared next to the Exploding Secret Rune when he concentrated his Divine Will.

'Success! That's one hurdle out of the way. Now, onto the most important step; removing the rune from the soul core and quickly tossing it into the rift!'

Leon did not know how strong the Exploding Secret Rune was, but he did not plan on ruining his own garden. The Exploding Secret Rune was going to be directly thrown into the Universal Life Conversion Array.

'Now's the time!'

Leon used Accel World with the Temporal Law and went bullet time, causing everything to be quicker for himself.

In an instance, his Divine Will transformed into a scythe-like weapon and sliced apart the point of contact between the rune and soul core, cutting the connection, before driving the spatial rift forward and swallow the rune into the Worldspace.

Ka-boom!

The explosion went off in the Universal Life Conversion Array, but it did not expand far before everything was swallowed by the array and broken down to the finest particles.

Unfortunately, nothing was produced from the Universal Life Conversion Array after devouring the explosion. Nevertheless, that was not important. What was important was that he succeeded!

"Phew... it's done!" Leon said with a relieved expression. Darlene immediately walked over and wiped his forehead with her clothes' sleeve like a diligent wife.

"You've worked hard."

It was as if she could understand how much effort Leon put into the removal process in order to succeed.

Leon smiled wryly.

If he did not have to worry about the rune damaging the soul core, it would not have taken so much effort.

"Thank you for your hard work." Master Woodrow and Chief Valencia also stepped forward to say, although they understood less than Darlene and only out of courtesy.

Leon smiled lightly and said, "It's up to you now, Brother Woodrow. I'm going to rest my mind a bit."

"Un, leave it to me." Master Woodrow nodded.

Leon found himself a spot to meditate on the ground with his eyes shut while Master Woodrow woke up the spy and commenced his hypnotic interrogation, "What is your name? Where are you from? And why are you here?"

His voice had a strange, vibrant frequency that put the person in a trance and seemingly pleasant dream.

"My name is Ironback... I've come from the Great Ironhawk Tribe... and I have come to the Darkmoon Tribe to carry out a great mission assigned by the chief." The person called Ironback slowly answered.

Master Woodrow frowned and changed his question, "What is the great mission you were sent by your chief to do here? Was it to steal from our Dark Crystal Mine?"

"Dark Crystal Mine... No, I was not sent here to steal Dark Crystals... Such a thing pales in comparison to the great mission of destroying the Darkmoon Tribe's Water Vein..."

Chief Valencia's aura immediately surged fiercely like her tigress tail had just been pulled. She glared at Ironback murderously with killing intent and barked, "What did you just say?!"

Of the three possibilities she had previously guessed, the Great Ironhawk Tribe is actually after the least probable yet most important one of the three?!

"Say that again! Why does the Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy my Darkmoon Tribe's Water Vein?!" She questioned with a commanding and overbearing tone. She had to get to the bottom of this!

However, her words did not produce the desired response from the person. Instead, her powerful voice snapped the person out of his trance and woke the other one up!

Master Woodrow had to expend extra efforts to put them back under control.

Afterward, he turned to Chief Valencia and reprimanded sternly, "Calm down, lass! What were you thinking? If you want an answer, just tell me. I will do the questioning. Things could have gone terribly wrong just now."

"...I'm sorry, Venerable Shaman. I have made a fool of myself. What the spy said just now was too great of a shock; it angers me so..."

After a short moment, Chief Valencia quickly recovered her calm and said, "I'm fine now. Please continue."

At the side, Leon also furrowed his brows. Why would the Great Ironhawk Tribe target the Water Vein, which was the lifeline of the Darkmoon Tribe? Did they want to start an all-out war?

Chapter 414 - Celestial Water Spark

The Darkmoon Tribe can do without the Dark Crystals, but it cannot do with the Water Vein. On the Infertile Plains that run amok with Demonic Beasts, water was equivalent to life. Without water, life cannot be sustained. The humans would all die of thirst.

As such, if the Great Ironhawk Tribe had succeeded in their plans, the Darkmoon Tribe would have slowly ceased to exist if they could not find another Water Vein in the underground to regain access to drinkable water.

Leon began to understand why they would go to such lengths to keep the secret sealed. The Great Ironhawk Tribe wanted to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe, but they do not want to fight an all-out war.

This should also be why the spies no longer tried to recruit him and made attempts on his life. It was not a closed secret that he can cure Demon Possession. If the spies stayed within the tribe for a period of time, they would come to learn this truth.

They had no other choice but to kill him since he could potentially remove their runes once they are caught, which in the end, did happen.

"Why is the Great Ironhawk Tribe doing this? Why target the Water Vein? Does the Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe?" Master Woodrow questioned with his hypnotic voice.

"The Great Ironhawk Tribe does not intend to destroy the Darkmoon Tribe specifically... Other groups had also been sent to aim for the Water Veins of Blackwind Tribe and Crimsonfog Tribe as well." Ironback said with a struggling expression, as if not knowing how else to answer the question.

"Oh?"

Master Woodrow narrowed his eyes dangerously and exchanged a glance with Chief Valencia.

"The Great Ironhawk Tribe want to destroy the entire Seven Tribe Alliance by themselves? Or do they want to force us to migrate to the central plains and surrender to them? Either way, the Great Ironhawk Tribe sure has a big appetite!"

Ironback continued to struggle and failed to answer any further questions. He knew some information, but he did not know the most vital parts of the great mission assigned to him and the others.

"The chief did not mention this in his plans..." The spy could only say.

After Master Woodrow asked a few more questions without gaining anything useful from the spy's answers in return, he said, "It seems this person does not know anything else."

"Since he is no longer useful, then he also no longer needs to live." Chief Valencia said coldly, giving the person the death sentence.

She had been holding back her fury while the interrogation was underway. But now, there was no longer any need of her to hold it back. She immediately used her hand as a sharp knife and decapitated the person.

"Haiz, lass, you're letting your anger blind you!" Master Woodrow sighed with a shake of his head after Chief Valencia killed Ironback.

Leon also nodded and added, "It was a waste to kill him so soon. He might not know anything else pertaining to the mission directly, but we could have learned more information about the Great Ironhawk Tribe. If we can understand the Great Ironhawk Tribe's situation, we might be able to come up with an educated guess for the reason behind their motive."

After hearing this much, Chief Valencia was slightly startled and refrained from killing the other unconscious spy.

Nevertheless, she did not feel good. She wanted nothing more than to immediately set out and slaughter every person from the Great Ironhawk Tribe.

"What you said makes a lot of sense… I will have to trouble Little Brother Leonhardt again later," Chief Valencia said wryly with a forced smile.

"Don't worry about it."

Leon smiled lightly in response. However, he could not help but start to think about the Water Vein. He had yet to see the Darkmoon Tribe's Water Vein for himself; thus, he was quite curious about it.

"What do you have on your mind, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow asked after noticing Leon's thoughtful expression.

Leon gathered his thoughts for a moment before he said, "There's something I've always found strange. The tribes on the Infertile Plains have always been using the Water Veins for the past few hundred years?"

"That's right. That has always been the case. Without the Water Vein, it is challenging for a tribe to prosper. After all, one would be at the mercy of others if they have to buy water from them. Has Little Brother Leonhardt never seen a Water Vein before?" Master Woodrow asks.

Leon shook his head.

"Would like you to check it out?" Chief Valencia offered.

Leon turned to the chief and asks with surprise, "Is that fine?"

Considering how furious Chief Valencia is after learning the Water Vein was being targeted, he would assume that he would not be getting a chance to check it out.

"It's fine. I need to get out of here anyway. The more I look at these people, the angrier I become." The chief nodded with a solemn look, suppressing her boiling emotions.

It was her family's ancestors that founded the Darkmoon Tribe. Her anger was understandable when the tribe's prosperity and all tribesmen's lives are being threatened by other tribes.

After giving some instructions to the warriors outside to guard the unconscious spy securely, Chief Valencia took the group down to the underground mines to show Leon the Water Vein.

Under her lead, Leon followed with Darlene closely beside him as he glanced left and right at the mining equipment inside the Dark Crystal Mine. Everything was automated by large runic machinery, from drilling in the earth to sorting out the Dark Crystal ores.

It was an impressive sight to behold. If the Crawford Kingdom could rely on such mining technology, they could increase the kingdom's mineral production by many folds and cut down on the required manpower, allocating it elsewhere.

"It seems Little Brother Leonhardt has taken a great interest in the Dark Crystal mining equipment." Master Woodrow commented after seeing Leon looking around with rapt attention.

Leon nodded and admitted, "That's right. It is quite impressive that all of this can be used to replace the need for manpower. I'm quite curious about the technology behind it."

As it turns out, all the metallic minerals and Demonic Core harvested from Demonic Beasts were all concentrated here, in the mines.

Chief Valencia listened to their exchanged and silently made a mental note of Leonhardt's interest.

The group continued to venture deeper into the underground mines. After some time, they eventually took a turn and headed for another underground section through a spacious passageway that took them away from the mining area.

This new section had many metal pipes running along the side of the walls, and Leon could also hear the sound of constant flowing water.

Not long after, the end of the large passageway led them to a vast open cavern. Two points of interest immediately captured Leon's attention.

There was a huge pond at the center of the cavern, where many pipes were connected to and could be seen pumping water out of the pond. After this, the unclean water undergoes some sort of purification process before transferring outside through other pipes.

At the furthest back of the cavern, there was a massive metal gate, engraved in countless runes and sealed tightly. Water flowed out from small pocket holes in the metal gate and flowed into the pond.

"Is the Water Vein behind those large metal doors? What else is behind it? It is not just the Water Vein, is it? Leon asked curiously.

"That's right. Behind those doors are the Catacombs, where the location of the Water Vein is located. However, our tribe's greatest treasures are also stored there, and everything is guarded by our slumbering ancestors." Chief Valencia explained.

"I see."

"What are your thoughts after seeing this, Little Brother Leonhardt?" Master Woodrow asks.

Leon knitted his brows briefly and said, "I supposed this is as far as you can show me? No one is allowed to enter the Catacombs, right?"

Chief Valencia nodded.

"That's right. No one is permitted to enter the Catacombs unless the tribe is facing a calamity as per the ancestors' instruction."

"Hmm..." Leon pondered thoughtfully before he said, "That is to say that no one has ever checked on the Water Vein all this while?"

"...That is also correct. Why does Little Brother Leonhardt ask about this? Do you suspect something is wrong with the Water Vein?"

Leon smiled wryly and said, "It's hard not to suspect something. Think about it, so many tribes relied on the Water Veins for so many years, but where does all this water come from? Supposed all these Water Veins are connected to the same source, don't you think there would be a day when the water is all used up?"

"That's impossible!" Master Woodrow denied with alarm.

Leon glanced at him and asks, "Why not?"

"Because these water and Water Veins are all formed by the Celestial Water Spark!"

Chapter 415 - Competing For Hegemony?

Master Woodrow was steadfast in his answer. It was like he was very confident that the Water Veins will have an inexhaustible supply of water—or rather, he dared not think about what would happen if the Water Vein's water does happen to run dry one day.

"Celestial Water Spark? What is that?" Leon asked with surprise.

"The Celestial Water Spark is a celestial object, filled with an unfathomable amount of power. Don't ask me where it came from, though. I don't know much about that. Maybe the Dark family—Ahem, I mean maybe Chief Valencia knows more about this."

After Leon turned to face Chief Valencia, she pondered for a moment before deciding there was no need to keep such a secret.

"It's no big secret, really. The Celestial Water Spark was, as you would expect, it was found underground, a long time ago when our predecessors decided to pioneer in the Infertile Plains for a new place to live, away from the cold winters of the Northern Snowlands." Chief Valencia said.

"I see." Leon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He was filled with doubts about this Celestial Water Spark. Anything with 'Celestial' in its name cannot possibly be ordinary.

"So, this celestial object has always been hidden underground since its discovery? No one tried to take it away? Not even once?"

"Hahaha, in history, people naturally have. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on a celestial object with the power to produce an unlimited amount of water? Whoever wields it gets to control the fate of all humans living on the Infertile Plains."

"However, it is not that easy. People fought for it, but they could not even get close to touching it when the victor tried reaching for it. After all, celestial objects are capable of changing the surrounding environment itself. The Water Veins weren't naturally formed by nature, but due to the high-pressured water from the Celestial Water Spark drilling its way through the earth."

After listening to Chief Valencia's talk of the celestial object, Leon vaguely started to guess what the Celestial Water Spark was.

To be able to change its surrounding environment implies that the Celestial Water Spark contained an extreme power of law. Furthermore, it had 'Celestial' in its name. This cannot be a mere coincidence.

After knowing that Transcendents leave behind Transcendent Crystals after their deaths, Leon had wondered what Celestials would have left behind.

At this moment, he might have found his answer.

"Seems like this Celestial Water Spark is very amazing, huh? But who decided that its power was inexhaustible? How was this determined?" Leon asked.

"This…"

Chief Valencia was rendered speechless by Leon's question. She had no way to prove her answer's authenticity, even if she could provide one for Leonhardt.

The predecessors said the Celestial Water Spark was inexhaustible, so it was taken as the truth. However, what if they were wrong? They might not have predicted what would happen hundreds of years later.

Seeing Chief Valencia was silent, Leon asks, "Does the Great Ironhawk Tribe guard the Celestial Water Spark?"

"No, but the Black Warbear Tribe next to the Great Ironhawk Tribe does." Master Woodrow answered for Chief Valencia.

"The Black Warbear Tribe? How strong are they?"

"Strong, very strong! As a tribe with five living Battle Kings, they are among the strongest tribes within the Infertile Plains and can be considered a ruling tribe."

"Hmm… that is to say that if the Black Warbear Tribe to the Great Ironhawk Tribe, they would obey it?" Leon asked an important question.

"Oh?" Master Woodrow furrowed his brows and asked back, "Do you think the Black Warbear Tribe ordered the Great Ironhawk Tribe to destroy our Water Veins?"

"I cannot be sure, but think of it this way. Suppose the Celestial Water Spark is truly running out of power, and the Water Veins of tribes situated outside of the central region are all destroyed. Who do you think will be the biggest beneficiary in this ordeal?"

Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow immediately felt heavy as they pondered in silence with a solemn expression.

"If all the Water Veins are cut off, only the one situated closest to the Celestial Water Spark will still have access to water at its source," Leon added.

"Do you believe the celestial object is truly running out of power, Little Brother Leonhardt? Just give me your honest opinion. Whatever you say, I will take it as the truth." Master Woodrow said, placing great trust in Leon. He was the first to deny Leon's claim but also the first to support his guesses. It was quite ironic.

Leon shook his head and said, "I honestly don't know unless we can obtain more vital information. However, I cannot think of another reason why the Great Ironhawk Tribe would risking starting a war with multiple tribes to destroy the Water Veins. They are strong, but not strong enough to take on the combined might of seven—Well, six other tribes now."

"…Not unless they have the backing of the Black Warbear Tribe." Master Woodrow said thoughtfully.

"Exactly my point."

At that moment, Chief Valencia suddenly spoke, "Let us say that the Celestial Water Spark is running out of celestial power to produce more water. Even if the Black Warbear Tribe is destroying the Water Veins to enjoy more water for themselves, they are not so strong that they can cover the entire Infertile Plains with one hand. If they are unwilling to share their water, they will only be destroyed under everyone's fury."

"Yes, I have also thought about this point. However, what if their goal were never to destroy other tribes and save more water for themselves, but to gather everyone for something else entirely?"

"You mean…?"

"No matter how much water is saved, it will still be gone once the Celestial Water Spark runs out of power eventually."

The one who suddenly said this was Darlene.

Chief Valencia and Master Woodrow turned their gazes to focus on her, causing Darlene to feel slightly embarrassed and fidget nervously. Perhaps, it was not her place to interrupt their serious conversation.

Leon reached out his hand towards her, causing her to cower slightly and shut her eyes. However, the expected hit did not arrive. Instead, she felt a hand pat her on the head and gently caressed her.

She reopened her eyes to Leon's warm expression. All the apprehension and extraneous thoughts that she might have overstepped her boundaries were immediately washed away in that instance.

"Yes, it's exactly as Darlene has said. No matter how much water is saved, it will all be gone eventually." Leon continued the topic and said, "So, why not give it all away to buy everyone's loyalty and achieve hegemony under the Black Warbear Tribe?"

Hegemony!

The word immediately gave everyone goosebumps and made their blood boil with excitement.

However, their minds were shortly brought to reality upon further thought. Only the strongest tribe can become a hegemon. The Darkmoon Tribe was far from this level.

Chief Valencia frowned and said, "If the Black Warbear Tribe wants to achieve hegemony, it still won't be easy. The Holy Sunfire Tribe, Mighty Whitewolf Tribe, and Divine Tortoise Tribe will not agree to their hegemony without a fight."

"Those tribes are…?"

"They are also ruling tribes with five living Battle Kings."

The corners of Leon's lips shortly twitched after Chief Valencia answered his question.

The Infertile Plains did not seem like they had a lot of Battle Kings when looking at each tribe individually, but there is actually quite a number of them when pooled together.

"It seems like the fight for hegemony will be quite ferocious in the near future… In any case, all of these are just hypothetic guesses. However, The Great Ironhawk Tribe trying to destroy our Water Vein was real. What will you do about this, Chief Valencia?" Leon asked.

Darlene and Master Woodrow both turned to face Chief Valencia, awaiting her decision. Whether she wants war or not, her decision will affect the entire Darkmoon Tribe.

Chief Valencia tapped her foot in thought for some time before she stated, "We will not take any action against the Great Ironhawk Tribe for now. I'm going to summon the other tribes in the alliance to a summit to discuss what we talked about today."

"Understood."

Leon nodded.

Chief Valencia made a wise choice.

If the Celestial Water Spark dries up in the future, the Infertile Plains will become inhabitable with the absence of water. A large-scale migration will occur, and a fierce war for territory will be fought in the new land.

The local power would not allow such a large-scale migration of people to take over their territory without fighting.

Leon did not know how strong the regional powers outside of the Infertile Plains were, but he can expect the battle to be a giant bloodbath.

The Darkmoon Tribe might not be able to survive this.

Of course, another option could be opened to them if he decides to build a large Teleportation Array and bring them over to the Human Domain.

'I wonder how much time the Infertile Plains have…' He silently pondered.

Chapter 416 - Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows

While Leon and the others were discussing in the underground cavern, the tension at the Crimsonfog Tribe was high.

"Chief, the Undead Battle Kings and Liches have been sighted at the borders!"

Chief Baskara held a voice-transmission stone and listened to the scout's report before he said, "Alright, I got it. You can retreat now. Get out of there at once."

"Yes, chief—Oh, no! Arghhh—!"

The voice-transmission ended abruptly.

Chief Baskara stored away the voice-transmission stone in his hand and sighed before he gazed into the horizon from atop the tribe's wall, while rows of warriors lined the walls, geared and ready for the battle of their life.

"Your orders, chief?"

A warrior beside him asked.

"Start the Crimsonfog Formation!"

"Yes, chief!"

Once Chief Baskara gave his order, the warriors immediately started placing black Demonic Cores the size of oranges into empty sockets found along the bottom of the tribe's walls.

Another group poured basins of demonic beast blood mixed with human blood into several manholes found in the ground by the foot of the walls.

Shortly after, the dark crimson blood started filling in the gaps of the engraved runic lines on the ground surrounding the manhole. The blood followed the runic pathways and ran up along the wall before connecting to the Demonic Core stuck in the wall sockets.

Once that happened, the dark blood began to increase in temperature and glowed with bright crimson light.

Bloody mists spewed out from these runic lines and pervaded the entire tribe before spreading out outwards. In a short while, the Crimsonfog Tribe was hidden within a dense cloud of blood mist.

"What are your next orders, chief? Please give us your command!"

Bam!

Chief Baskara wore a scaly crimson armor and held a large bone halberd, the Dragon Bone Halberd in his hand as he gazed through the crimson fog silently with narrowed eyes before he firmly said, "Now we wait!"

Bam!

The Dragon Bone Halberd was thumped into the ground with a heavy thud, while his aura exploded with battle intent.

Sometime later, the two Liches shrouded in darkness could be seen visibly approaching the tribe from a distance. The two Undead Battle Kings trailed behind them like mindless puppets.

"Oh? An interesting sight we have here. Seems like these humans have expected our arrivals and prepared to welcome us." One of the Liches said, intrigued by what it saw.

"Kekeke…" The other Lich laughed creepily and said, "Since that is the case, it will be rude of us not to follow through."

"Go play with the humans."

After the two Liches gave the orders, the two Undead Battle Kings immediately shot forward like blurred shadows and disappeared in the crimson fog, followed by the earth repeatedly quaking shortly after.

Boom! Boom!

Within the crimson fog, the Undead Battle Kings mistook the particles of blood mist for the vitality of humans and began attack randomly, creating shockwaves and craters in the ground.

"The Undead Battle Kings has entered the Crimsonfog Formation, Chief!" A warrior reported.

Chief Baskara nodded and barked, "Get the Artillery Team to lock onto the Undead Battle Kings and load the Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows!"

"Yes, chief!"

A group of messengers answered and left without questioning the chief's decision.

The Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows were the strongest type of ballistic arrows they have. It was tough and costly to create, but each arrow supposedly had the power to slay Arch Demons.

These arrows were usually sent to defend the Death Passage from the demons that try to invade the Infertile Plains from the Land of Darkness. However, they brought over for this moment; to be used against at the Undead Battle Kings!

Even so, these Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows have only ever recorded slaying Greater Demons in the past. They have yet to actually used the Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows to slay an Arch Demon with it before!

In other words, they were not confident if the Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows could fell the Undead Battle Kings, but it was worth a shot!

Sometime later, the messengers returned and reported, "The ballistas are locked and load! The Artillery Team is ready to fire on your command, chief!"

Chief Baskara nodded and refocused his attention in the obscured distance.

The earth continued to tremble and quaked from the Undead Battle Kings' powerful attacks. The Undead Battle Kings were still confused and lost in the Crimsonfog Formation!

However, tremors and earthquakes grew louder and stronger each time. This was a sign that the Undead Battle Kings were drawing closer to their tribe!

It was a matter of time before they pass through the thick red mist and discover their tribe! Chief Baskara was not going to wait until that happens.

His eyes became fierce before roaring, "Bombard it!"

His powerful voice quickly traveled across the entire tribe! Everyone heard it loud and clear!

"Fire!"

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Ballistas were fired, and large bolts of destruction flew!

Boom!

It was a direct hit!

The Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows activated their enchanted runes on impact and erupted with an almighty explosion of hellfire, ripping apart the earth and threatened to tear the sky asunder!

Vast clouds of burning soil shot into the air, kicking up a big storm of dust in its wake that blew away the blood mist in the area!

The Two Liches stood outside of the crimson fog and waited to hear the terrified screams of humans, but what they got was a deafening explosion that shook the earth fiercely and threw dirt and hot soil into their faces, alarming them to the unexpected outcome.

"What the heck just happened?!"

"What kind of power is this? what did these humans do!?"

"I remember! This must be the demon-slaying arrows that were said to be used at the Death Passage to keep the demons away!"

"Darn thing! They actually brought such a weapon over to deal with us!"

After the dust settled and the crimson fog cleared, a 200-yard-diameter crater was seen by both. The edge of the explosion was only roughly 70 yards away from the foot of Crimsonfog Tribe's wall. The shockwave was close enough to knock everyone off the wall.

However, an invisible barrier had been activated and protected everyone within the tribe from the shockwave and flying hot soil.

"Impossible..."

"How can they still be moving after that...?"

The tribesmen were filled with disbelief as they gaze into the distance and saw the Undead Battle King still standing at the epicenter of the crater.

Even so, the undead battle Kings was not unscathed after being hit by an explosion of such magnitude.

Many parts of their body were seared and scorched black, while some arms and legs were also missing. Either way, the Undead Battle Kings' movements were impaired one way or another.

"Do we have any more Tier 5 Demon-slaying Arrows?" Chief Baskara asked seriously with his gaze fixed on the severely damaged undead battle Kings.

"None, chief! We used them all!"

"Then use the Tier 4 Demon-slaying Arrows! Continue the bombardment! Don't allow it to fight back!"

As Chief Baskara gave his orders, the Undead Battle Kings also gazed back at the tribe ahead of them. After the Crimson fog was cleared, there was no longer anything obstructing its vision or confusing its senses.

In that short instance, Chief Baskara felt a dangerous chill and cursed, "Sh*t!"

The Undead Battle Kings lunged forward with their limping bodies and missing limbs. Their speed was significantly reduced, but not to a level that they should be underestimated.

"Those below Battle Master Realm, assist me with projectile weapons!"

Chief Baskara gripped his Dragon Bone Halberd and leaped off the wall to fight them head-on. The other tribesmen would just by sitting ducks.

"Those at the Battle Master Realm, join me!" He cried.

Six figures immediately shot out from the crowd with their own unique Soul Weapon and lunge at the Undead Battle Kings from different directions.

Chief Baskara dodged one Undead Battle King's claw attack and swung out his Dragon Bone Halberd at the other.

Dang!

However, the other Undead Battle King struck back. A tremendous amount of force passed through the Dragon Bone Halberd, blasting Chief Baskara away along with his Soul Weapon!

The Undead Battle Kings immediately chased after Chief Baskara, but numerous bone arrows and bolts rained down on the two Undead Battle Kings. The projectiles bounced off their sturdy bodies and caused no damage, but it was enough to delay them slightly.

At the same time, the six Venerable Shamans of the Crimsonfog Tribe closed the distance and unleashed their own set of attacks on the two Undead Battle Kings.

Ding! Ding! Puchi!

Several attacks landed, but only the strongest of the six, a Peak-rank Battle Master, could only damage one of the Undead Battle King slightly.

Even so, the Peak-rank Battle Master's Soul Weapon, a Tier 4 Bone Sword, ended up getting stuck between the Undead Battle King's bones in the neck!

The person's expression dropped when he was forced to abandon his Soul Weapon and retreat from the Undead Battle King's follow-up claw attack!

"Dammit, these Undead Battle Kings' strength is inferior to their former selves, but their body's defense has shot up to inconceivable levels!" The person shouted.