Norehca's was buried into the ground with a foot standing on top of his head. A pair of marvelous silver wings flapped once as the powerful gust of wind was instantly extinguished.

Those wings belonged to a man with a breathtaking appearance, flawless fair skin, and silky silver hair that stretched down to the middle of his back stood over Norehca. He had an indifferent expression on his face as he stared towards the sky. But, his gaze seemed to be looking towards something much further away.

​​

"...I want to return to that place again... Again? Have I been there before..?" He mumbled to himself as if he were in deep thought. This man was none other than Izroth's Soul Avatar, Empyrean!

Norehca's body twitched briefly before becoming motionless. Just like that, a level 45 NPC had been eradicated!

What Empyrean used just now was one of the abilities that came from his Sky Culling skill. This ability made it so that the greater distance Empyrean traveled without lowering his speed, the more damage his next physical attack would deal to its opponent upon impact. Having flown hundreds of meters—it was no wonder Norehca was unable to survive the intensity of the SS-ranked skill!

'That skill he used to clear the mist—was it Great Spirit Magic or Ancient Spirit Magic?'

Izroth carefully observed Empyrean. At the moment, he was unclear about the upper limits of Empyrean's strength. In fact, if the two of them fought without holding back, Izroth was uncertain who would emerge as the victor!

Empyrean's most glaring flaw at the moment was his inability to equip items below the divine-rank, as well as his low level and HP value. But, these were all flaws that would naturally be corrected over time. When that time arrived, Izroth would essentially have a world boss at his beck and call!

Izroth was, of course, a man of his word. As promised, he did not touch a single hair on Norehca's body and chose to let Empyrean take care of the cleanup.

After he finished off Norehca, Empyrean flapped his silver wings and, with one leap, landed in front of Izroth.

"Were you successful?" Izroth asked. He had not summoned Empyrean to this place. Instead, Empyrean was already on his way to meet him. Since the two were linked, Izroth knew this beforehand, which was why he agreed to let Norehca go.

Before Empyrean left the Mystical Realm Palace, Izroth entrusted him with several tasks. But, it had not even been half a day yet—how could he have completed every task he was given so fast?

While Izroth was directly linked to Empyrean, their means of communication weakened the further away he traveled. So, for Empyrean to seek him out of his own free will indicated that he either finished his assignment or something unexpected occurred.

Empyrean nodded in response as he held out the palm of his hands. The next moment, a handful of plants, materials, and ores appeared—the lowest of which was rare in quality. There were also several superior-quality resources among the batch! But, what truly stood out was an almost translucent object that looked as if it contained the night's starry sky within it. It was no larger than one's finger; however, it was unquestionably the most valuable item Empyrean presented—an ancient-quality material!

'He was able to gather this much in such little time?'

Even Izroth was taken aback. Not by the fact that Empyrean acquired the material itself, but with his speed in doing so! It could not have been more than eight hours since he took his leave from the Mystical Realm Palace, and yet he managed to get his hands on an ancient-quality material!

Izroth guessed that Empyrean's collection speed had to do with his S-ranked Flight skill. It appeared the advantages of having a genuine flight skill was unimaginable!

'It looks like I will be able to carry out my plan a lot sooner than I anticipated.'

Izroth accepted the materials from Empyrean and placed them into his inventory. These resources played an irreplaceable role in what he had planned.

"We will discuss the other matter later. For now, I want you to head over to assist the Rosentarus Commander. They should be fighting against two of the strongest opponents on the enemy's side. Also, as long as it does not slow you down, assist the War Brigade members along the way and get rid of any hostile enemies." Izroth stated as he gave Empyrean an approximate set of coordinates to the Rosentarus border.

Gathering resources was not the only type of task Izroth gave to Empyrean; however, those matters would have to wait until the Unsanctioned Zone was secured.

"Understood," Empyrean replied as he closed his eyes and flapped his wings. He then flew towards the Rosentarus and Malentansium border at incredible speeds. However, he did not fly upward into the skies. Instead, Empyrean remained just a few meters above ground level and stayed low.

"What is that thing?!" One of the Amaharpe War Brigade members exclaimed after an extraordinary force of wind blew past him, almost knocking him off his feet. He did not see Empyrean, only a streak of silver light due to how fast Empyrean was flying. But that was not the strangest thing.

The Skounae that he was fighting against was sprawled out lifeless on the ground. On its body were countless tiny cuts that were definitely not there a few seconds ago. This same phenomenon was occurring everywhere on the battlefield. The instant a silver streak passed by, it was followed by a surge of wind force, and then the Skounae within that vicinity dropping dead with cuts everywhere on their body. This was the second effect of Empyrean's SS-ranked skill, Sky Culling.

The best part was that the system registered Empyrean's eliminations as ones that belonged to Izroth. It was like having a passive skill that granted free Contribution Points! This was the primary reason why Izroth sent him to "assist" the Rosentarus Commander.

'I should start moving, as well.'

Now that the mist had been cleared up, the communication system that was grayed out had been re-enabled. Izroth sent a quick message to Maeva, letting her know the circumstances and the fact that he would not be meeting up with her at the checkpoint. After doing so, Izroth swiftly transformed into a shadow using Shadow Movement and made his way towards the Amaharpe and Malentansium border.

...

Swoosh!

Aurie leaned forward and slammed the side of her right forearm into the abdomen of a Skounae. Or, to be more precise, the tonfa she wielded smashed into them with power great enough to send the Skounae twirling backward.

At the moment, Aurie was not in the best state as there were visible wounds marked at various spots on her body. Her armor was damaged in multiple areas, and parts of it had been ripped off. However, despite her unfavorable circumstances, Aurie's facial expression remained neutral and calm.

When Aurie first arrived at the border to check on the situation, she was attacked by an Earl of the Immortal Umbra Horde. After exchanging a few blows, it was clear that she had the upper hand in the battle. But, because it was night time and the mist's effects were in place, she failed to notice that a second Earl was lying in wait to ambush her!

Though with her quick reflexes and sharp senses, she was able to dodge the unexpected attack. However, what Aurie did not expect was that there would be a third Earl who launched a surprise attack right after she avoided the first one. Because of that blow, her left arm had been impaired by an extremely potent toxin.

"This woman—how is she still standing for so long after being poisoned by my Silver Cloud Venom." One of the Skounae said with a frown. Their appearance was similar to Norehca's, with the main difference being that they were a female Skounae with longer hair. The aura around them was also many times stronger than that of Norehca.

NPC Name: Immortal Umbra Horde Earl Essirie(Rare)

NPC Level: ???

"What are those useless fools doing?!" The Skounae, who just got knocked back by Aurie, roared and complained as the mist disappeared. If he did not enhance his defenses at the last second, he would not have been able to shake that blow off without suffering severe injuries.

NPC Name: Immortal Umbra Horde Earl Norebua(Rare)

NPC Level: ???

"Hmph, worthless bunch—can't even maintain a simple spell. I will be sure to punish them when we return. For now, we should finish up here and claim the Unsanctioned Zone in the name of the Night King." The Skounae next to Norebua commented.

NPC Name: Immortal Umbra Horde Earl Salokin(Epic)

NPC Level: ???

These three Skounae were Earls of the Immortal Umbra Horde. Each possessed a power that was on par with the Commanders of Amaharpe. But, what they did not anticipate was that this particular Amaharpe Commander would be so challenging to deal with. Any other Commander would have been immobilized after a few moves by Essirie's Silver Cloud Venom, and yet she had only lost movement in the arm that was struck by it. Her movements were also not sluggish like they were supposed to be, and the power behind her attacks could not be ignored.

"The mist disappeared. Who was it?" Aurie said to herself. She sensed someone with a large quantity of mana had appeared on the battlefield; however, she could not tell if it was an ally or foe. But, even if they were not an ally, at the very least, Aurie hoped that they were not an enemy. After all, she currently had her hands full.

"This poison is bothersome." Aurie glanced at her left arm that hung freely at her side. She had some natural resistance to poisons; therefore, whatever poison those Skounae used on her had to be highly potent or unique.

"Give up, Commander, and we will leave your body in one piece. You are outnumbered and outmatched. This Unsanctioned Zone belongs to the Night King of our Immortal Umbra Horde." Salokin declared.

That was when, for the first time since the fight began, Aurie's facial expression changed. A slight smile appeared on her face. However, rather than call it a smile, it was closer to that of a smirk.

"I acknowledge that you outnumber me. But, outmatched? If you continue to make such jokes, I am afraid I will die of laughter before you have the chance to claim my head." Aurie said with confidence in her voice.

"?!" Aurie's words seemed to hit a nerve of the three Skounae. A human dared to look down on them?!

"Good! Since you refuse our kindness, we will make sure to rip you into twenty pieces and scatter your remains throughout the corners of this world!" Salokin howled. Along with Norebua and Essirie, Salokin moved to surround Aurie and cut off her escape route.

Meanwhile, in the sky above the Amaharpe and Malentansium border, a great storm was brewing.