James' screams prompted the princess into action. She was supposed to take her own life, but instead, she grabbed a pistol and came out of the safehouse, firing off at the silhouette. The bullets hurtled toward the enemy but stopped right before they hit him."Ah, the princess of Brundela. As beautiful as they say." The silhouette went past the bullets and approached Elizabeth with a vile idea in mind.A scared Elizabeth was forced to a corner with nowhere to go."Your Highness!" James charged at his enemy, but the silhouette sent him flying away with a flick of his hand. "I came for the princess. Nocturna is waiting for her. You'd better save your strength for the Ebony Skeleton." The enemy laughed.He made his move. Just when Elizabeth was about to fall into enemy hands, a silhouette crashed through the ceiling and landed in the safehouse. The silhouette didn't see the princess anywhere, so he smashed the metal door away and came into the lobby.The god was stunned to be met wit
"Well, that's rude of you. I helped you regain your sanity. You'd have to spend the rest of your lives in an asylum otherwise," Nox joked. Then, he realized these people didn't speak Faeastian.Nox was about to ask Vermilion Bird to translate, but James spoke in fluent Faeastian."Who are you? What do you want to do to Her Highness? She is the princess of Brundela. Are you going to take her as well, Faeastian?""Huh, that's some fluent Faeastian. Wait, I think I've seen you before." Nox realized that the agent looked familiar, and he remembered seeing the guy on TV. "Ah, I've seen you on TV before. You must be the celebrity agent. The movies are based on you, aren't they?"Nox gave him a thumbs up. The adaptations were well done, after all. James let a bit of his guard down. He was about to ask who this guy was. After all, not everyone could scare a god. He wondered if Faeast had gods as well.On closer look, James thought Nox looked familiar. "Wait a minute. I've seen you on TV b
James then remembered that the princess asked that he give her cyanide. Their intel did say that Nox was a miracle healer, so James quickly let Nox check on Elizabeth.Nox could tell if Elizabeth was poisoned or not right away, and she was not. However, he pretended to check on her anyway. "She's fine. She's just weakened and a little shaken. She should wake up soon."The princess was fine, yet Nox picked her up. James knew what he was doing, but he couldn't do anything about it. The guy blasted a god into nothingness. James prayed that Nox wasn't the same kind of scum these gods were.The rain of bullets came to a stop. With their bullets finished, Ebony Skeleton's members whipped out their knives and pounced at Black Tortoise.These super soldiers were made by the hands of gods, and they were killing machines. However, they were nothing but jokes when their enemy was Black Tortoise. They only felt no pain and didn't fear death when their enemies were people like Brundela's specia
"So, you're Vermilion Bird?" James' eyes shone. His respect for her was obvious. He had heard of Vermilion Bird, of course."Good, then let's cut to the chase. Thanks to my lord, we won the battle with Winterosch. It is now our vassal state. He has also slain Ice Emperor on Nineside Peak and scared the Light Nations into submission."We came to Brundela to get rid of the Assad gods. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say. So now you know why we came," finished Vermilion Bird. There was a veiled threat inside.James looked grim. They were trying to force Brundela into a partnership. James said darkly, "We can strike up this partnership, but I don't think you're just trying to partner up with us, are you?"Vermilion Bird didn't even bother arguing. "So what if we aren't? Do you think you have a choice? Faeast is not the same nation you once knew. A hundred years ago, Brundela was the first to attack us and poison our people. You stole so much from us. Our vengeance is justif
Nox could fully represent Faeast, but James couldn't do the same for Brundela, so he had no idea how to answer.Nox said, "It's alright. We'll strike up a partnership with the royal family. I'll handle the affairs with Brundela after that."James heaved a sigh of relief. Without Nox, Elizabeth would've died. Then, James remembered that Dickson's fleet was still in the waters."This isn't a safe place to talk, Nine-State Lord. Dickson's fleet is here. If they were to fire their cannons, none of us can leave," James said quickly.Vermilion Bird gave him a look of scorn. Cannons were useless. With her lord around, he could stop even a forbidden item."I'll handle him when the time comes. Is White Tiger done? Check on him, Vermilion Bird. I don't want him taking out the whole fleet. They're our exit ticket."Vermilion Bird quickly went to the fleet. At the same time, Elizabeth stirred."Your Highness!" James and the royal special forces huddled around Elizabeth. They were overjoyed
Elizabeth grabbed Nox's hand, forcibly shaking it. "I'm Elizabeth Snowden, and I've always admired you. How did you survive being surrounded by the ten nations in the Ocean of Death?"Nox chuckled in shock. How did the princess of Brundela know of that?At the same time, he felt some awkwardness. After all, what he did in the Ocean of Death was not something to be commended for.Even James could tell Nox was feeling awkward. It was a surprise to find the Nine-State Lord anxious."Your Highness, the martial arts masters of the ten nations in the Ocean of Death were no match for Lord Nox. He was only surrounded by enemies because he was betrayed by a woman he trusted," James explained.As a national intelligence officer, James naturally knew the truth behind the Ocean of Death incident."Please stop talking about it. It was so embarrassing. I've never been so pathetic before," Nox said with a wave of his hand."No! How can it be embarrassing? It was none of your fault. In fact, it
In the straits near the Brunhild Manor, a fleet of three ships was stationed there.Thunder crackled across the skies as the waves crashed in fury.Even so, the three ships remained stationary on the sea, unfazed by the weather.This was not good news to the ships' crew members.It felt like the ships were haunted. It was just too creepy!A dark and sinister force enveloped the three ships, causing the crew to panic and fervently pray to their gods for protection.On the flagship, all of the crew members were rendered immobile on the floor by a horrifying aura.Occasionally, shrill screams of pain would echo across the ship.Half of the corpse of a demigod from Assad Temple crashed through the ship's cabin walls, leaving a trail of blood across the deck.Not long after that, Nocturna was pinned to the deck by an immense force. It took him a long time before he managed to stumble to his feet.At that moment, Nocturna lost all of his previous confidence. His face was stark whit
On the ship's bridge, Vermillion Bird noticed something was off. The deck below her was engulfed in a dark cloud that her Divine Sense could not penetrate."Stupid White Tiger. You refused to strike back then. Now, look at this. You've given him a chance to use the Forbidden Arts. If I weren't here, who knows how much more time you would have wasted?" she grumbled. Just as she was about to make a move, White Tiger's voice reached her."Stop! Who are you looking down on? I don't need your help! Also, keep a civil tongue! I am ranked second among the Four Great Generals. I am your superior!"She fell silent."You're a fool!" Vermillion Bird rolled her eyes. After informing White Tiger to deal with his own mess, she ignored the fight and went into the bridge control room to contact the security center of Brunhild Manor.As she communicated with them, White Tiger's fight continued.However, it was not White Tiger who made the first move. It was Nocturna, who had merged with the black
If the altar was not unsealed, Nox wouldn't have enough power to handle the path of the martial and the path of the ancient divine. Even if he was only facing the leader of the path of the martial, he only had a sixty-forty chance of winning, and that wasn't enough to turn things around."We need to do this. At this point, we have no choice. We'll do everything we can and leave everything to fate. We must unseal the altar. Even if someone tries to disturb us, any powerup is good news for us," said Aphrodite."Fine, then we'll unseal the altar. You stay here as well. I think there's going to be a lot of this energy. I'll reach my limit very fast. You can use the energy to train as well. Queenie, you're a phoenix. If someone tries to disturb us, devour all the energy," said Nox."But I'm at my bottleneck. Devouring it won't do me any good. It's a waste." Queenie frowned."Better than letting the enemy take it. At worst, you can use them as energy bombs." Nineve curled her lips.Quee
"Will you shut up already? There's plenty of energy here. The Sea of the Fire God has a whole reserve for you." Nox sent Kirin flying away with a kick. The guy just wanted to take advantage of the situation.Replenishing spiritual energy and devouring it were different things. No matter the quality, replenishment would eventually fill up the user's tanks. Power level, however, was different. Lower-level spiritual energy couldn't be absorbed and refined, but higher-level energy was limited. There was no place to house a large amount of it.The fact that Fiery Ignis knew a place like that was a great help for Nox."Come with me." Fiery Ignis led everyone through the Altar and down to the underground. At the deepest depths was a cavern, where water and fire fused like they were perfect for each other. Weaker ones would die here if they stayed long enough, let alone pass through it.Nox used his Saint power to protect everyone as he went down as per Fiery Ignis' orders. After going thr
"The path of the martial would never destroy the Temple of Fire, but Nox forced their hand. Even though you think this is bad enough, something worse is coming," said Aphrodite.Nox first thought of Faeast, after which he remembered the path of the sword. His guesses were correct. Aphrodite explained, "They will attack Faeast, but we can't get distracted now. People will die, but they can't kill everyone. A few deaths for a long-lasting peace is worth it. What we need to do now is raze Mystia to the ground."For that, we need the path of the sword," said Aphrodite. What came next was simple. Their destination was the path of the sword's grounds."Path of the sword? We can do that, but give me some time. I need to take the Altar off the formation and bring it with me," said Fiery Ignis."Of course, but make it quick. They won't hesitate to attack the path of the sword," said Nox solemnly.Fiery Ignis laughed. "They're not as simple as they look, Nox. The path of the martial might o
"Carrying out orders? No beef with the Temple of Fire, you say?" Nox laughed. "But I have a beef with you! Naturally, I will kill you!"Nox swung his hand, and the Minor Saints exploded. Their souls flew out, and they cursed Nox as much as they could. "You're cursing me? Fine, guess you want a slow and painful death, then."They could've died a quick death, but once Nox used his Blazing Holy Eyes, they had to suffer a slow burn. The Minor Saints' screams filled the air. The survivors gleaned grim satisfaction from the enemies' suffering.Nox descended on the altar. The Temple of Fire was only standing thanks to this ancient artifact. It'd have fallen a long time ago otherwise."Mr. Nox!" The Temple of Fire survivors saw Nox as chief of them all, second only to the temple lord."Sorry, I was late." Nox nodded. He came in the nick of time. If he'd been a moment later, these people would be dead.Fiery Ignis wasn't in good shape either, but the Altar was more important. He extracted
William could finally relax a little with Nox in the mix. He told Nox that the remnants of the enemies' temples attacked him because he was friends with the guy. His pavilion was destroyed, and his mentor died in battle. A lot of his fellow students died as well.Fortunately, the Temple of Fire saved him. Before he could even take revenge, the enemies attacked the Temple of Fire. Fortunately, Nox appeared in his darkest hour.Nox cursed, "The bastard! William and I aren't even that close! Why'd you attack him? You're not leaving here alive!"Furious, Nox put the island on lockdown. No one was going to leave this place alive. Thanks to the team's efforts, a group of survivors were saved. The remnants were all cleaned up, and Aphrodite was scouring the leaders' minds with her soul technique for intel.At the same time, Kirin had arrived at the island's center and fought the leader of the invaders. The path of the martial sent out a dozen Saints to destroy the Temple of Fire. Most of
The mocked god was furious, and he wanted to see who the bastard was. However, when he realized who it was, he froze. The woman was the mistress of the Byrds. Then, his eyes shone. This woman was a prodigy among prodigies."Save me, Celestial Goddess! I'll give you everything I have," pleaded the god. He would be her slave if it came to it. The other cultivators asked for Katherine's help as well."The decision lies not with me." Katherine shook her head and looked at Nox.The cultivators were stunned, and they turned their attention to Nox. They thought the young man was unimpressive, and they wondered why Katherine would listen to him.The god of thievery threatened, "I don't care who you are, boy. Tell Celestial Goddess to help us, or I will kill you!"Bloodlust filled Nox's eyes. "You don't care who I am? How dare you! Open your eyes and take a good look. I know you know me."The god of thievery cursed and pushed through the pain of the flames. He focused on Nox's face, and w
Nox unleashed his divine sense and noticed the Temple of Fire standing in the distance. It was in shambles. Mystia's factions had attacked it. "Get to the temple right away, Kirin. I'll stay here and contact my mentors. We'll regroup in a minute," Nox ordered. He sensed cultivators fighting in the distance."Thought you'd never ask. Finally, you're not asking me to act as a guard." The trip to Celestial Domain annoyed Kirin to no end. He almost got killed without a fight, and now he wanted to fight as much as he wanted to.Kirin activated his bloodline and hurtled ahead like a meteor. Nox cast a secret art and sealed his message in talismans, then he sent them flying in all directions. Nox then kept everyone covered with his Saint power and flew ahead to where Kirin was.They flew out of the Sea of the Fire God, and they saw the Temple of Fire. It was located on an island. It was obvious the island used to have a lot of grand buildings, but now it was ravaged by the fires of war, an
If modern language wasn't of any use, Kirin tried ancient Faeastian, but the scorpion only shivered. Left with no choice, Kirin spoke in beast tongue, even though he didn't like it. The scorpion finally gave a response.Aphrodite noticed this, and she could guess the answer. If the mystery person knew Kirin would be here, they must've cleaned up their tracks. As she expected, a short while later, Kirin smacked the scorpion angrily."No wonder it's so stupid. Someone tampered with its brain. It's useless!" Not even the best soul technique users could change memories that easily. Even if they did it, it would hurt the brain of the target.Not everyone had Aphrodite's patience. The mystery person wasn't going to waste their time on a mere beast. They destroyed most of its nerves. The scorpion only survived this long thanks to its power.A while later, Nox unraveled the runes, and the formation was activated. The golden gates leading to Mystia were opened. "Done. You can come in now. K
"They still have saint power in their bodies, and their insides are intact. So are their bodies. Someone destroyed their souls immediately. They couldn't even cast their spells, so that would explain why there are remnants of their energy inside them," said Nox.Everyone was horrified. That meant this mystery person was incredibly powerful. Queenie asked quietly, "Can you deal with them if you run into them, Nono?"Nox frowned. "If my divine sense can't see them, they might be able to stage an ambush and injure me. Even if we get into a fight, they would be a formidable foe. This person alone can keep me busy." He looked solemn.Everyone, however, heaved a sigh of relief. Nox pointed at the pile of bodies on the ground. "What? You think the enemy could kill me as easily as they did these people?"Everyone but Kirin was wondering who the mystery person was. He cursed, "Damn that bastard. I can't believe they set me up! They'd better pray I never find out who they are, or else!"Tho