"What is the Luminous Central Origin's Crimson Army doing here?" a bird in the central hall gulped as they struggled to resist the nightmarish aura.
There were nine total armies under the direct command of the Luminous Central Origin's ruler, and they followed the colors of the rainbow, then black and finally white. This was also the approximate estimation of their combat power! This Crimson Army was the third strongest under the black and white armies! Just the fact that it was being personally led by ten half-Rank 3 vice-commanders and a full-fledged Rank 3 commander showed how frightening they were. It was even harder to fathom that there were two armies stronger than the Crimson Army!
The petite and child-like commander did not say anything with her blank face. She stepped off the flying warship and using Martial Energy she floated on the spot! Upon reaching Rank 3, a person could achieve such unbelievable feats! The girl stood high in the sky like a god with her blood red armor about to give her divine judgement. Her cold eyes swept over the Featherwind Sect in a condescending manner before finally resting on the main tower, the pillar and symbol of the sect. The bird elders inside had an abrupt change in expression. As the girl raised her hand and signalled to the three thousand soldiers behind, the birds hurriedly shouted for defenses! Several enormous dome-like barriers were deployed immediately after, separating the sect and outside world. It was one of the core defenses of the sect! It could not be breached so trivially.
The sight alarmed everyone in the sect and gave them precious time to assemble and react. Yet, the commander did not seem deterred. In fact, there was a faint glimmer of contempt. On her command, the thirty warships brandished their main armament, a massive cannon mounted on the underside. Magic Energy was siphoned from the ships' propulsion systems and diverted into the complex Magic Array on the cannons. Magic Circles continued to be added, and every new one increased the energy intensity by another fold. By the third one, everyone could feel the tremendous hair-raising distortion of energy in the vicinity as the world trembled. Light was sucked in and lightning crackled while a blindingly bright ball of pure destructive power condensed. Countless people held their breath and thought… if there were thirty cannons firing at once, could their defenses survive?
On the commander's mark, when the fifth Magic Circle was completed, the thirty cannons fired! The shockwave produced from their firing was so absurd that the warships recoiled back, and the earth was flattened underneath. Everyone wondered if they went deaf. The world was illuminated like the surface of the suns! The thirty balls of white light unleashed thunderous beams that shot across the skies at unimaginable speeds. The heat released was so extreme that it could melt metal! When they arrived in front of the barrier, it was like the arrival of the apocalypse. Boom! An earth-shattering and sky-crashing explosion drowned out all light, sound, and senses. If the Alzar Kingdom's capital faced the attack, then it would have been deleted from existence! Every human would have died! That was how absolute it was!
As the earth and heavens cried out and a towering dust cloud rose, lightning rained down as if trying to avenge the world. The power of the Luminous Central Origin was hard to estimate, but since they could wield such destructive weapons of war, their status as a mid-tier Rank 3 civilization was well-deserved! After all, the combined power of the thirty cannons had firmly reached the Rank 3 standard! The cannons had to wait before they could accumulate enough Magic Energy to fire again though. Had they been able to fire endlessly, then the deterrent force of the genuine Rank 3 commander would have been pointless. It would have been easier just to continue blasting! And that was the true root of the problem. These weapons might be strong, but they were a one-time gimmick. The commander was the true core of the Crimson Army!
The commander continued to stand there patiently. Using a glimmer shield, the shockwave travelled harmlessly past her, while her vice-commanders did the same. When the dust cloud and shockwave receded, their eyes narrowed. Before them, the defensive barrier of the Featherwind Sect withstood the fierce offense! Well, it was not entirely intact. There were very large glaring cracks covering the dome-like bubble shield, akin to the shattering of glass. The people inside sucked in a cold breath. They had confidence in their defenses since it was one of the core defenses of the Featherwind Sect! Yet, the fact that the attack could inflict such severe damage revealed how precarious their situation really was… Although the barrier was hurriedly repairing itself, it was unlikely to last another three or four hits!
At this time, the elders finally darted out of the tower with hundreds of other close subordinates. They were wearing lightweight but durable armor that coated their wings too. This augmented their already explosive speed to another level as they shot like shooting stars. The massive procession of birds stopped shortly before the barrier and faced the Crimson Army head-on. The acting Sect Master locked eyes with the commander while grasping a blue pearl. Strange inscriptions and patterns were carved on its surface, reminiscent of clouds. It was one of the core weapons of the sect, the Featherwind Pearl!
"What is the meaning of this? I demand answers, Commander Infernal Witch King! No… Avar Mellin!"
The air dropped by several degrees as soon as the acting Sect Master said those words. The vice-commanders gave him a vicious glare. Even the commander had her stoic expression shift to a hostile one. Upon reaching the illustrious and lofty height of Rank 3, she was granted the title of Infernal Witch King. Due to the immense authority and power she attained, everyone referred to her respectfully with her granted title. It would be a different matter should the one facing her was a Rank 4 Emperor or a Rank 5 God, but he was merely a half-Rank 3 acting Sect Master… To call her by her true name was beyond disrespectful! It was a brazen insult!
"You… You dare to call our commander by her name?" one of the vice-commanders roared. "Do you think that turtling inside your barrier will protect you? Wait until we break in and then I'll show you what it means to respect someone!"
"Speaking so boldly, aren't you curious about your beloved Sect Master, Winding Serpent King?" another one cracked a grin.
"Tell me! What happened to our Sect Master!" the acting Sect Master shouted furiously with red eyes. He was not stupid. He could faintly sense the dangerous undercurrents, but he still wanted confirmation. If their master was really dead, then… His heart dropped.
"Enough," the commander said lowly, silencing the discussion.
Under everyone's gaze, Infernal Witch King then stretched out her hand and pointed her fist forward. On her ring finger was an unassuming crimson red ring with a crystal rose. Channelling her Magic Energy into her special weapon, the rose began to bloom as the petals unfurled one by one. A series of Magic Circles manifested in front of her and rapidly absorbed the strength of her Blue Depth Core. Soon, a monstrous aura arose from her tiny body while liquid Magic Energy formed!
The acting Sect Master shouted in panic, "Alarm the guardians! We can't let her complete the spell!"
Others might be unaware, but he understood. The difference between a single Rank 3 attack from the warships and a Rank 3 King was too great! Although their barrier survived once, he did not believe it would survive the coming onslaught! Moreover, he looked wryly at her ring. This was not an ordinary magic weapon, but one of the trump card weapons of the Luminous Central Origin, the Underworld Rose, and its terrifying ability was even stronger than the Featherwind Pearl! In the sky far above them, positioned directly over the sect's central tower, a massive illusionary rose manifested. While it encompassed less than a tenth of the barrier, the rose would have loomed over the skies of Algard. It was larger than an entire city! Currently, it matched the state of the commander's ring, slowly unfurling one petal after another. Once the flower was fully unraveled, then her attack would commence!
Responding to the acting Sect Master's orders, the four guardians sprung into action. Instantly, four behemoth birds pierced into the heavens and stretched their wings. Their wingspan could easily cover a small town as their figures eclipsed the suns! Creating huge wind gusts on their arrival, their aura aggressively swept through everyone. Each of the four birds' feathers were a different color, attributed to their primary elemental mastery. Surprisingly, three of them were half-Rank 3 while the leader was a full-fledged Rank 3! The four guardians were the Protectors of the Featherwind Sect! Their presence helped stabilize the morale of the sect. After all, they were akin to living gods!