Kris, who was blown towards the forest, coughed up blood from the intense impact and the nearly ninety degree turn he made as he descended.
"Kugh!"
His body had several cuts on it which was probably due to his blade technique and some shards stuck on his right arm.
Aside from the cuts, there were no major injuries on his body.
'It's a pity about my blade though.' Kris thought as he looked at the handle on his right arm.
However, he did not succeed without a price. The blade he used to perform the attack was shattered from the rebound of the barrier.
Upon the moment of the wall's rebound, Kris used the slight delay to straighten his body forming one straight line with his blade.
Thus, when the impact happened, the blade bore the brunt of the force and was destroyed while most of the force was used to propel Kris outwards!
'Protecting my innards was the right thing to do.'
The reason why the two knights at the fourth lookout tower did not see him perform any defensive measures on himself was because he was using it "in" his body. He knew that the sudden change of direction was something that would kill ordinary humans.
With his body already at the Origin Palace Realm, it was strong enough to even withstand a blade without an imbued Innate Energy, however, his internal organs were a different matter. Thus, he focused all of his Innate Energy to protect his viscera and hold them in place.
"Hehehe." Until now, Kris still can't believe that he was able to do what he did. Only after doing the amazing feat did he finally feel proud of himself.
Such a feat was something unimaginable for most people and would often invite ridicule but he was able to successfully execute it.
However, as he revelled on his achievement, he forgot his current situation where he was flying at an extreme speed without a way to control his trajectory.
As he was speeding through mid-air, he finally entered the forest and large trees were now on sight!
"Oh, shit!" Kris could not help but curse as he quickly used some basic defensive Innate Energy around his body while putting most of it on his arms. He raised his arms in front of him and used it to guard the upcoming impact.
But, he crashed into ten large trees before completely stopping on the eleventh.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Kris struggled to stand up as he felt the reeling pain in his body.
Right now, his arms were swelling from the intense impact. The skin on his forearm was already purple from the internal bleeding. "I got ahead of myself too much but..."
When he looked at his surroundings, he was roughly able to estimate how far he was from the flower field. He covered twenty to thirty kilometers in a little more than a minute, "But at least I'm only about five kilometers away from the field."
"The aura of two of the three experts seemed to have started fighting. It seems like Leila really is on the flower field. I need to rescue her, however, I need to recuperate first." Kris assessed the situation and immediately used the pouch he had on him and ate some recuperation pills to treat his energy.
"Hm?" As Kris was circulating his energy, he suddenly felt a sudden surge in the quality of the Innate Energy in his body! The Innate Energy he accumulated was circulating on its own and was fluctuating at a fast rate!
"Is this a sign of breakthrough?! But I just advanced two months ago?!" Kris was confused at first but he was able to quickly pinpoint the reason for this sudden breakthrough.
"The only reason that I can think of right now is the stunt I did back at the castle wall. The rate my Innate Energy depleted in the past few minutes was something I never did in the past." Kris thought. He always aimed for stability in his strength and would often spend hours just practicing his blade arts and his close quarters techniques.
In the past few minutes, he used his movement technique and increased the speed of his descent. Then, he used his strongest attack to further amplify the acceleration and momentum that the barrier would reflect.
Immediately after, he used nearly all of his Innate Energy to guard his internal organs. Lastly, he had used a significant amount of Energy to defend himself from the collisions with the trees!
He had depleted close to three quarters of his energy reserves. Normally, a person would be feeling Innate Energy deficiency symptoms from the rapid consumption but, at rare times, it also presents opportunities where the body craves for more Innate Energy and causes the remaining Innate Energy in the body to surge!
"To think that such an opportunity would be presented to me! This would be the perfect time to use one of the graduation gifts I received as the valedictorian, the Golden Flame Pill!" Kris rejoiced and thought that there was no opportunity better than the one he had.
"I have to advance quickly and rescue Leila after!" Without further ado, he quickly ate the Golden Flame Pill and started his advancement!
========
The headquarters of the Soaring Cloud North Army was located roughly at the center of the North Area of the city which was a minimum of fifty kilometers away from the North Gate.
Similarly, there are four more armies that exist for each area of Soaring Cloud City. They are all named according to the area they reside in: The Central Army, The South Army, The East Army and The West Army. Each existed to protect the areas of the city which span thousands of kilometers in territory, especially the central area which is at least ten thousand of kilometers in diameter.
Inside the headquarters of Soaring Cloud North Army, the old man from the fifth lookout tower was found in the Office of Chief of General Staff! He was standing side by side with the Chief of General Staff of the Soaring Cloud Army, Brad Schwer. He was a muscular man with a stature of over three meters with trimmed facial hair.
"I never would have thought that you would come back to the office again, Master. Kurarara!" Brad Schwer gave a hearty laugh which showed his appreciation for the return of the old man.
"I only came back because aside from the Malevolent Magnate, there are two other auras. After examining their aura, I noticed that they are using the Cross Clan's Imperial Technique! Not to mention, that those two were relatively young and seemed to be part of the younger generation of the Cross Clan." The old man replied.
"What?! A younger generation at the Mortal Severing Realm? Is the clan of a late "True King" really that monstrous?!"
"Indeed. Despite there being none at the present, the threat of "True Kings" is what keeps the other countries from invading our land even with our national strength weakening. It is only natural that those freak of nature have progeny with such an astonishing degree of talent. What's more, those young ones look younger than my grandson, especially the young lady." The old man said mysteriously.
"But the Young Master is only twenty-four years old and he has still yet to touch upon Palace Establishment yet those two have reached Mortal Severing at such a young age?!" Brad Schwer was taken back from this absurd truth.
"I assume that the young lady is from the direct line because he bore resemblance to the wife of the current chief of the Cross Clan when they visited this city once. That's why we should immediately organize the Purging Army and assist them as soon as possible! Else, Soaring Cloud City might meet its doom from the wrath of a True Kings Clan." The old man exposed the ultimatum and revealed the gravity of their situation.
"Understood, Master. I have already organized the Purging Army and will be leaving in exactly two minutes from now. I'll also inform the four other armies of the current situation. Does the malevolent Magnate have any back-up?" Brad Schwer nodded.
"No. She is alone." The old man nodded
"What? How could that be? We are gathering the army just for a single Malevolent Magnate?! What's more, it's a woman?!" Brad Schwer thought this was absurd.
"How many times do I have to tell you to not underestimate the opponent regardless of their age and gender?! That Malevolent Magnate may be a woman but she is also at the peak of Mortal Severing and at the very least stronger than me. What's more she is only around my grandson's age!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!?"
"That female Malevolent Magnate might belong to an underworld sect that is far stronger than us. With the level of her talent, I won't be shocked if she has some type of expert protecting her. At the very least, that person guarding her would be at the Half-Saint Realm."
"THE HALF-SAINT REALM?!" Brad Schwer exclaimed
"..." The old man remained silent.
After the brief silence, Brad was able to fully grasp the situation.
"So, what Master is trying to say is that we can't touch both parties but we must make a move? So, the reason why the Master wants to gather the army is not to subjugate the female genius but to create a situation where our city has an advantage when negotiating? This must also be the reason why you came here first instead of directly interfering?"
"It looks like the ignorance of the past is no longer gone. I'm glad to see that you have already grown to the point that you could understand my intentions. Our goal is to safely secure the young lady of the Cross Clan and to make the Malevolent Magnate flee. It is only then that we would be able to resolve this matter without offending either side." The old man considered all possibilities.
Then, with a slight hesitation, Brad Schwer asked, "Will you also be joining the march?"
"I only came to inform you of the complexity of this issue but as things stand, I will keep close watch on how things develop. If by any chance, the Malevolent Magnate has set her mind to kill the young lady, I would need to step in and fight her. But if the expert behind the Malevolent Magnate truly appears, then we would have to concede and let them take the young lady." The old man added.
"To think there would come a day where I will see Soaring King, the leader of the Legendary Generation in action!" Brad Schwer had a fanatical expression on him as he was starting to reminisce about the glory days of his Master!
But it was only temporary before he quickly regained his composure, "Master, don't worry. I believe that even if the worst does happen, the Cross Clan would not necessarily blame us for being unable to fight a Half-Saint."
"However, there is one thing that I don't seem to understand. If the Malevolent Magnate might also have an expert as her protector, then shouldn't the young lady of the Cross Clan also have such an expert?"
The old man said, "I thought it was strange too but from my experience, I was able to deduce from the amount of the energy that they currently have that they recently fought with another party. It is most likely the party led by the Malevolent Magnate. The two parties must have been locked in a deadlock with the Cross Clan's retainers at the losing side."
Brad Schwer grasped this and continued the story, "This gave the chance for the young man and the young lady to escape; however, as both sides were at a standstill, the Malevolent Magnate was also able to sneak out and chase them which led to the current situation."
"In any case, we must prepare. The two parties are already getting ready for combat. I will go back and monitor the situation. Make sure to arrive in fifteen minutes. That is exactly how long I estimated the young man would hold out." The old man said before leaving.
"Yes, master! I will quickly move out as soon as possible!" Brad Schwer reassured as he watched his master leave his office.
======
In a pub near the headquarters of the North Army, there was a large room that was occupied by handsome young knights with a beautiful girl beside them having a drinking session.
"Brandon, to think that every single one in our batch became a captain because of how you persuade your dad! HAHAHA!" The blue haired young man laughed merrily as he drank his beer.
"My family was so surprised that they bought me a brand new sword to use! Hahaha!" Another young knight added.
"It felt so good to command a hundred troops when it was only my first day today hahaha. It is all thanks to Brandon!"
"It was hard since my father was always strict about everything. But, thanks to our performance, during the graduation exam, I was able to convince Dad." The man who replied was Brandon Schwer, the son of Brad Schwer! He was a tall dashing young man with shoulder-length hair.
"A performance that was only possible with Kris leading our batch. Che, what scum." A man muttered to himself in the far corner of the bar and drank his wine alone. However, it was only him who heard his words.
"Oh, yeah, Brandon, how did you get Kris to be assigned as a look-out guard? To think that our valedictorian would be posted in a low position! It suits his status as a plebeian! HAHAHA!" A green haired man laughed his heart out.
However, there was a slight change in Brandon's smiling countenance when he heard the word "valedictorian". His smile became forced and his hands were clenched so tightly that veins became increasingly visible.
But, a purple haired young knight noticed the slight change and interjected, "Bah, what valedictorian? If only that plebeian was not a show off during the exam, Brandon would have surely been the valedictorian instead of the salutatorian!"
'If he did, we would not have been able to achieve such an excellent result.' The man at the corner scorned them in his heart.
Then, Brandon's smile eased and answered, "Hahaha, about that arrogant bastard, I used my connections and switched his assignment without my dad knowing. By my dad's knowledge, Kris is currently in the Central Army for his so-called outstanding performance. What's more is that my uncle reports to my dad about his status and naturally, my uncle agreed to tell him what my father wants to hear. To make things full-proof, I even convinced my father's secretary to change his name whenever he reports something from the lookout tower! HAHAHA."
"Hahaha, Brandon, you're amazing!"
"How Brilliant!"
"That serves that bastard right for taking my rightful place when he is only a low-class scum!" Brandon cackled as he enjoyed the shower of praises.
'Pathetic. To think that is what actually happened to Kris! How disgusting are these people to repay their debt with enmity!' The man stood up and headed straight to the door as he could no longer stand the shamelessness of this bastard who rode on Kris' coattails and repaid his kindness with enmity.
The green haired young man noticed him and called him, "Hey, Deracs! Where are you going?"
Contrary to his inner thoughts, he happily replied with a smile, "I apologize, Brother Kyle. My superior has told me to return quickly after getting a meal because of an urgent situation."
Deracs was filled with remorse as he thought, 'If only my situation was better.... I would have told General Brad already. I'm sorry, Kris... I'm a failure as a friend...'
"Is that so? I was also called for the same reason. I guess I'll go back with you." Instead of Kyle, Brandon stood up and said. He also walked towards the exit.
"If that's so, we will also leave with you guys!" Kyle and the others finished their drinks and stood up to leave.
When Brandon neared Deracs, he put his arm around his shoulder and said, "I heard you were friends with Kris. Do you two get along well?"
"Ah... That's..."
"Come on, aren't we Brother-in-laws? You don't need to be shy with me, your older brother. Your elder sister is a concubine of mine after all." Brandon said with a smile.
But to Deracs, that smile was that of a devil, he was afraid he might abuse her sister like how the rumors stated Brandon harmed his other girls.
"We're just acquaintances. I only ask him often since he is more talented than me in the way of the blade. If I used the sword, I would have consulted with Brother Brandon instead." Deracs ultimately denied his friendship for the sake of his sister.
'I'm sorry, Kris. I can't risk my sister's safety...' Deracs felt his heart was pierced as he denied the friendship they built with countless spars and conversations together.
"Good, I thought you were friends with that fucker for a second there." Brandon smiled with satisfaction as he heard the words he wanted to hear.
Kyle, who approached them, asked another mindless question, "Brandon, did you also switch the Golden Flaming Pill that was awarded to him as a Valedictorian? I heard that pill could help in the formation of the Origin Pillar of the Origin Palace! Knowing you, you would have gotten it right?"
Brandon's face twitched once more as his mood went grim. The purple haired young man tried to reply on his behalf but Brandon stopped him, "It's fine, Lucas."
"But, Brandon..." Lucas tried to speak.
But Brandon had already started talking, "About the Golden Flame Pill, I was not able to steal it since it was my father who awarded it to him personally during the graduation..."
"Ah, sorry. I didn't know..." Kyle now became embarrassed when he realized that he just placed Brandon in a tough spot.
But, surprisingly, Brandon continued and revealed a shocking truth, "So I hired a person to sprinkle the Golden Flame Pill with Energy Burst Powder!"
"WHAT?!" Everyone in the pub was shocked!
Brandon spoke with hate-filled eyes, "When he uses the pill after accumulating energy for a breakthrough, the powder will react with the Golden Flame Pill and produce excessive amounts of Golden Flame Energy! The amount by which it is produced by the reaction of the two pills is not something any human could convert to their own Innate Energy!"
He continued, "His already full Spirit Core would swell with excessive production of energy along with the reaction of the powder to his own Innate Energy and eventually explode. Not only that, he would experience the greatest pain of his insides feeling as though it was burning in a furnace! Then, the result would be similar to failure in cultivation and I would publicize him to brand him as a loser! HAHAHAHAHA"
"....."
Everyone was silent. They did not expect that there was such a plot related to the Golden Flame Pill.
Deracs could only hope, 'Kris, please don't consume that pill or you will die a dishonorable death....'
But what they did not know is that Brandon had more malicious thoughts that he kept in mind, 'Of course, as the great man that I am, I will take care of his beautiful sister. Oh, yes, how I will take care of her so much that she would be begging to die. Bwahahahaha!'