The sky returned to darkness after a long day, and night activities began to appear here and there, marking the start of the evening. People were going about their business as usual. For example, at this moment, a young couple was walking down the street, holding hands like any ordinary couple, smiling and joking.
They stopped at a food stall to buy food and enjoy the night when suddenly, a dagger pierced their chests, striking their hearts. They only struggled for a moment before the light of life faded from their eyes. Blood flowed onto the ground, followed by the screams of surrounding people who were shocked by the obvious murder in front of them.
But the murderer had already fled. Some people caught a glimpse of the soldier attire of the city guardians on the assailant, which raised doubts about why they killed these people. Their doubts didn't last long because, after their deaths, the corpses emitted an aura that most people on this continent knew all too well.
"The Devils."
The people who saw the corpses began to avoid the area and panic, but fortunately, the cleaning team from the city guardians arrived to control the aftermath. The corpses were quickly moved to a specific place, and the area was swiftly cleaned as if nothing had happened. However, many understood that there were Devils among them, and they hadn't known. They also didn't realize that at that moment, similar ambushes were happening across the city.
"Area A4 clear."
"Area B6 clear."
"Area D7 clear."
"Area A8 clear."
Many reports came to Livrin's ears through the communication artifact in his hand. At this moment, he was standing in the night sky above Balin, directly supervising the operation. His eyes darted in many directions so he wouldn't miss the slightest disturbance and was ready to support if necessary. The cultivator from the duke stage could control their surrounding energy effectively enough to make themselves float and fly in the air.
There is a qualitative change in energy control when one breaks through from Marquess to Duke stage. The duke stage cultivators control their energy efficiently, allowing them to fly without wasting too much energy. Peak marquess stage cultivators can attempt to float in the air, but it's very limited, requiring intense concentration for energy control, which also drains their energy faster. That's why most of them avoid floating or flying until they reach the Duke stage, Livrin, who is at the king stage, can float naturally, as effortlessly as breathing.
Livrin floated in the middle of the city, still under the shade of the giant world tree. The light of the moon and stars couldn't penetrate the lush foliage of the world tree. After surveying all the places and noting that there were no problems, he turned his gaze to one room in his mansion.
"Let's see how you are going to face them— Hm? He already teleported? Where is he?"
Livrin looked into every nook and cranny with his king's sense. A king stage cultivator's senses could almost cover the entire city in one sweep. After a few minutes, he found Aldrian outside the city, in the middle of a vast field. Aldrian stood there with his eyes closed, his sword at his waist, his hair moving with the wind. His handsome face was serene, showing no movement. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes.
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Inside a luxurious room in the Golden Swan Commerce, eight people whom Aldrian recognized from the day's reconnaissance had gathered. They sat in their designated seats, but there was one new face that Aldrian had just seen with his 'Eyes of The Heaven'
"Do you feel something odd? I can't reach the spies from my group in the surrounding mayor's mansion." one of the men said.
"Me too. I already sent a few men to check their situation, but they still haven't responded," another answered.
"Damn it! It's almost time to teleport a new batch. Without outer surveillance, this is a risky situation. What the hell are they doing?"
"Relax, we can also ask the commerce to act as our eyes. Isn't that right, Norman?"
The middle-aged man with blonde hair and a yellow mustache smiled and answered, "Of course, we can help with that."
The others gathered there showed mocking smiles.
"Heh, what a snake. Well, I'm not complaining."
"We only take what we need to support our families. There are no lingering feelings." Norman said.
"That includes betraying the orthodox cultivators?" one of them asked.
"Including that." Norman answered.
"I really like you. Maybe tonight I'll give you a reward." said a woman in scanty clothes.
"I wouldn't dare—"
Before Norman knew what had happened, the others suddenly disappeared from their seats, leaving him alone.
"What?"
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On the vast field outside the city, Aldrian no longer stood alone. In front of him were twelve people, some of whom nearly fell to the ground as they suddenly lost their seats.
"How did we end up here? Where are we?"
"We're outside the city," one of them said, pointing at the city wall.
"Who is this Viscount?"
They exchanged confused glances before turning their attention to Aldrian. Although bewildered by their situation, they quickly suspected Aldrian had something to do with it.
"Hey kid, who are you? Why are we suddenly here?"
"Is this some kind of formation—"
"Wan Yang," Aldrian interrupted, naming one of them. The person he named was stunned.
"Liam Standstorm."
"Ivan Grikovich."
"Dian Stoneheart."
"Arman Ash."
"Jacques Bron."
"Louis Martin."
"Friedrich Wagner."
"Lin Mei."
"Lucy Miller."
"Lidya Balenova."
"Diya Givani."
"I'm seriously astonished by your method to infiltrate this place. Does Golden Swan Commerce have some kind of cone—" Before Aldrian could finish, three of them attacked him with enough power to cause serious injury. Fire, Earth, and Wind elements came straight at him.
"Don't kill him! We need to know how he knows our names and operation!"
But before the attacks could touch Aldrian, the Fire and Wind attacks were absorbed into a spatial crack that suddenly appeared, and the Earth attack, coming from underground, was blocked by a trench that materialized in front of Aldrian. He had created the trench as a barrier. Suddenly, a silhouette appeared behind him, wielding two small scythes. Aldrian blocked the strikes with his unsheathed sword. The silhouette kept attacking relentlessly, but Aldrian parried each move with precision and efficiency.
"They're on a different level from Marquess. No wonder Duke is categorized as one of the top experts on the continent." Aldrian could feel the weight of their attacks. Even though they held back from killing him, each strike could easily obliterate a Marquess like Arion. He opened a spatial crack to the others, who were already in position to attack him, and sent the earlier attacks back at them with higher intensity.
"He knows space laws! He can redirect our attacks using space laws! Be careful!" Liam exclaimed.
"You guys are really decisive. I haven't even introduced myself, and yet you attack me with enough power to reduce a Viscount stage like me to nothing, even though you're trying to interrogate me." Aldrian blocked another strike, this time from a flying sword aimed at his shoulder. The Devils remained silent, continuing their barrage of attacks and weapons.
"Viscount stage? Like we believe that!" Ivan thought.
"Your ability says otherwise!" Arman thought. They tried to severely injure Aldrian with one decisive strike, but once their techniques were blocked and he parried them evenly, they concluded that his cultivation level was fake.
"They're good, not blindly attacking but coordinating their efforts," Aldrian thought, dodging a dark spear that nearly grazed his cheek. He examined the spear. "Is that darkness or shadow? Shadow laws?"
While Aldrian continued to battle a few of them, the devil called Dian grew anxious.
"If we don't hurry, someone will notice the commotion here. Also what kind of barrier is that? That barrier can withstand our combined attacks! We need to use a teleport talisman to get out!" he thought, his heart racing. Unlike Aldrian's first fight with the devils, this time he had created the barrier more seriously, unaware of its true power. Duke stage cultivators have enough power to cut mountains, and their battles can reshape the landscape. The barrier Aldrian created could withstand their combined attack, suggesting he might also be a formation master.
Dian then used one of his techniques.
"Earth Prison!"
The ground surrounding Aldrian rose, forming a spherical structure to trap him inside. Lin Mei combined her wind and fire elements, shooting them inside the prison before it entirely closed on top, creating a giant purgatory oven. They paused their attacks to observe their work. Suddenly, they felt something from inside—
"DUCK!!" Arman screamed. Without hesitation, they ducked.
Swoosh!
A line cut the prison horizontally, causing it to crumble. The energy that cut through the prison passed the devils with tremendous speed. Had they not ducked, all of them would have been bisected. Aldrian stood there, his sword unsheathed, covered in wind energy and a unique aura.
"Sword intent!" the devils thought.
"Let's continue," Aldrian smiled, then dashed towards them, ready to continue his 'play'.