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
White Tiger was extremely savage. The ship’s crew was scared to the brink of death, and the demigods from the Assad Temple were so shaken that they abandoned the ship and ran off. "Where are you running off to, scum?"White Tiger leaped off of the ship and slaughtered the fleeing demigods. The wind had stopped howling, and the rain came to an end. Everything on the ships went back to normal, swaying with the ocean waves. "Lord Nox, the ships are settled. As ordered, we have killed off everyone from Assad Temple while leaving the crew unharmed."Still, if you didn't send me over to keep an eye on things, White Tiger would have been crazy enough to slaughter the crew as well," Vermillion Bird said to Nox in a message. "Very well. Your Highness, it's time for the transfer."Nox led Elizabeth and the survivors to the ships. As James and the other team members rowed toward the ships, Nox flew across the sea with Elizabeth in his arms. Nox was not just the Nine-State Lord. I
Brundela's so-called fleet only consisted of three tiny ships. In comparison, the Faeastian fleet consisted of nearly a hundred ships, over thirty of which were large-scale battleships. It even included a recently commissioned aircraft carrier.The sight made the commander of the Brundela ships sigh in envy. Centuries ago, Brundela was the ruler of the seas with a navy no one could defeat. However, things had changed. Brundela's navy had fallen from grace, replaced by Faeast, the nation everyone once picked on.Just the might of this one portion of the fleet could overwhelm all of Brundela's navy.Moreover, according to Vermillion Bird, these were just the ships from the Southern Sea fleet that could be deployed in an emergency and just one of Faeast's five fleets.Brundela's commander was left gaping the entire time.With both fleets united, Nox led Elizabeth onto the Southern Sea fleet's flagship. With state-of-the-art technology, it was a top-tier capital ship. It would not be
Kirin happily flew toward the path of the sword's grounds. Fiery Ignis, however, was worried about Nox. "Be careful, boy. The path of the martial didn't send anyone after you. That can only mean one thing: almost all of their forces are attacking the path of the sword. If you go there, they will attack you as well.""Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," said Nox.Fiery Ignis led his temple's cultivators and the Ice Temple guys toward the path of the sword as well. After the group was gone, Nox kept sending messages everywhere. If any of his mentors were coming his way, they would be redirected to the path of the sword.Then, Nox and the ladies went to the path of the sword. At the same time, the path of the sword had set up defensive formations at every entrance, but they had all fallen. The path of the martial's people was in a melee with the swordsmen.The swordsmen were stretched thin, and it was a matter of time before they were annihilated. Some of them were defending the entr
Jonah came closer and told Nox everything. Nox nodded. "Saints of the Five Elements. They responded to my call first."Fiery Ignis said, "And they're very fickle people. You can't trust them.""Don't worry. They like me, and I know exactly what they want. Only I can help them with their path. No one else can. They must be hitting their bottlenecks, so they're in a hurry to help me out. Only when I grow in power can they use the Sacred Beast Seal to devour sacred beast bones and go further."Back then, he taught the five of them the Sacred Beast Seal, and they taught him the secret arts of the five elements. Back then, Nox was not as powerful. They were already at a bottleneck, and the seal's level wasn't up there yet.Nox had become more powerful, and once he taught them the leveled-up version of the seal, they could continue their training."I see. That's a relief." Fiery Ignis felt better. He looked at Jonah. The guy might be craven and servile, but his luck was great.Nox's me
"With the phoenix's bloodline, she can live for ten thousand years, at least. That's more than enough time to become a Great Saint," said Fiery Ignis. Technically speaking, talent didn't matter as long as a cultivator had enough time and resources. Those alone could make anyone a Great Saint.However, reality was often… different. Cultivators would run into a lot of things beyond their control. Even if they didn't, lifespan was a problem. They would usually die of old age if they couldn't get to the next level.With the phoenix bloodline, Queenie didn't have to worry about her lifespan. With Nox's power, he could easily get her a place to train until she became a Great Saint. After Queenie came out, it was Nox's turn.Fiery Ignis couldn't sense his aura. His divine sense didn't even sense his presence at all. "What is this… Oh, right, if the gap between us is too big, divine sense can't sense them. I wonder how powerful he is now."They came back to the surface, and Fiery Ignis ask
Fiery Ignis would not leave anything to chance. If he made the wrong choice, the effects would be disastrous.Jonah had no choice but to wait outside the temple. If the path of the martial assaulted them, the Ice Temple people would be cannon fodder.Days went by. Nox had been in isolation for more than a week. The altar, after a long silence, finally reacted. Fiery Ignis' divine sense had been keeping an eye on it."Finally!" He was excited. After more than a month, Nox was finally coming out.Everyone was waiting with bated breath, and then Nineve came out. Fiery Ignis sensed her power level immediately. She was Pinnacle Legend Realm and nearly a faux Saint. "Not much difference. She was about the same level before going in. Her talent is limited. Though she has a Sovereign bloodline, her own talent is lacking."Fiery Ignis guessed that she'd finished training a while ago and had been waiting for everyone else. As he guessed, Nineve had finished training a while ago. Though the
'He's improving fast.'"Temple Lord, you told me that Mr. Nox has taken the Ice Temple for himself. Do you think they've turned their backs on him?" a cultivator from the Temple of Fire asked."Not sure, but a Three-ring can't impact anything," said Fiery Ignis.Though the Ice Temple had a lot of people, if they thought they could stop Nox, they would be underestimating the Temple of Fire's power.Jonah noticed the fighting spirit rising in Fiery Ignis, and he quickly said telepathically, "We're here to help you. Nox is my lord. I have sworn my loyalty to him. I would never turn my back on him."Fiery Ignis was one of the oldest people in Mystia. He didn't believe Jonah at all. "Give me a reason. Why should I trust you? Who sent you here?" Fiery Ignis asked back telepathically. He refused to let these Ice Temple people go further.The scout could sense something was wrong, and he turned on the Ice Temple guys. Jonah finally told Fiery Ignis who sent him. "Saints of the Five Eleme
Katherine was being docile here because Nox possessed the Nine-State Crucible. Only people from her faction knew how powerful that item was. They only managed to rise to power because the crucible went missing.Nox said nothing more. He infused his Saint power into the altar, and it woke up. The moment it did, a small space opened up, isolated from the world. Through the altar's entrance, everyone saw the ancient energy within. It was huge. Enough for Nox's use.Then, the energy started to leak. Not even Nox could stop that. "This thing is connected to the island. The whole place is radiating energy. Pick up the pace, people," Nox said.Everyone went into the altar's chamber and quickly took in the energy.Fiery Ignis was on the island, taking the Altar back. He sensed the spilling energy, and he knew Nox had begun. "Get ready, people. If Nox breaks through smoothly, we'll fight with the path of the sword. If he fails… be prepared to fight to the death," he said to the survivors te
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