After the crushing defeat of the Holy Dominion, no other factions dared to block the undead army's way. Most of them followed from behind, silently watching the army and reporting to their higher-ups.

Not only did the Holy Knights lose, but their bodies were also added to the undead, empowering Arthur's forces and increasing his chances of success. He didn't personally act as he needs to save his skills for the ultimate fight against the White Specter.

His main priority is safely saving Lucy then focusing on the clan. He already warned Katrina so the death of whoever is going to die is solely the Matriarch's fault.

Along with the three Overgods he revived, there was an extra two that belonged to the five Phoenix Kingdom. They will be responsible for the strong individuals of the White Specter Clan, the four Divine Beasts will fight Katrina and the two mythical beings will provide support.

Everything was proceeding as planned and even if there are some forces who will aid Katrina, no faction will go out of their way to dispatch their strongest experts to fight a war that doesn't involve them. At most, they'll sacrifice a few disposable pawns that can be replaced.

Someone like Katrina obviously is aware of this but she'll still welcome their help. Although she's incredibly strong, she still can't face 400 million undead, it's just too much for her.

Unlike Arthur or Lucy, she'll get tired sooner or later, it's just a matter of time.

*******

Back on Astria, Jackob was standing on the roof of the High Tower, seemingly contemplating something. It hasn't been long since Arthur departed with the army and despite his pleading, he was flatly rejected.

Jackob became a strong warrior but Arthur didn't let him come with him, telling him that he has to take care of the sect and especially his newborn son.

Suddenly, his closed eyes abruptly opened as if he sensed something. He quickly crouched and retrieved the long sniper rifle from his back. He laid on his stomach and instantly readied Ace(the name of the weapon) before taking aim.

The scoop of Ace is very different from the normal weapons that existed on Earth. It boosted the user's Dexterity and allowed him to see target miles away from his location.

Within a few seconds, he located his target and focused on the descending figure. At first, when his eye landed on that figure, he was momentarily shocked, unable to think straight.

She had silver hair and looked exactly like Lucy, however, Jackob knew better. There's no way Lucy would show up here out of all places, and so randomly, at that.

It just didn't make sense… Arthur didn't go through all that trouble just so his wife would spontaneously appear on Astria just like that. So, the only explanation is that it's either an illusion or a trap.

Nonetheless, Jackob hesitated for a slight second before he pulled the trigger, sending a powerful rotating bullet flying straight at the woman's throat.

No matter who it was, be it the king of Green Leaf or this mysterious woman, are not allowed on Astria. It's an iron rule set by Arthur and being his temporary replacement, Jackob would resort to any means to get rid of unwelcome invaders.

Just as the bullet was about to hit Angelina, she raised her hand and blocked the fast projectile with her bare hands. The difference in strength was so big hence the miserably failed attack of Jackob.

In times like this, where a strong person happens to invade Astria, Arthur prepared many precautions. He can't always be here so the best way to handle such situations is formations.

Not only was the MoonStar City protected by a very powerful defensive formation, but there are also many formations laid in the sect's remaining territory, guaranteeing its safety from hostile creatures. Even if the Cthulhu were to strike again, they wouldn't even be able to get past the first formation.

So, being the temporary master of the sect, Jackob was the one in charge of controlling the formations. If an opponent he can't handle were to appear, he's free to use any means to subdue them or kill them, those were Arthur's exact orders.

Angelina, who just appeared on Astria, was immediately attacked. Fortunately, the assailant wasn't strong but he was a fair distance away from her.

She stretched her senses and discovered a big settlement dozens of miles away, however, before she could locate the exact location of the attacker, the ground under her started shaking violently.

By the time she reacted, two gigantic hands made of black earth rose from the ground and tried to squash her. She swiftly flew into the sky, successfully dodging the large hands but that was only the beginning.

…

A few hours later, after several failed attempts, Jackob managed to subdue a heavily injured Angelina. She was decently strong but she was unable to do nothing but continuously dodge the attacks of many formations. In the end, she exhausted all her energy and was ruthlessly bombarded by many heavy attacks that paralyzed her.

Currently, she laid on a dark ground, bloodied and barely able to move. A prison made of bones was trapping her inside while the ground under her was slowly but surely sucking the remaining energy out of her body and weakening her.

It was only when he was certain that she's no longer a threat did Jackob show himself in front of Angelina. With the sniper rifle pointed at her, he approached her with slow steps while coldly saying

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Her vision red, her breathing ragged, Angelina raised her head and gazed at the muscular bronze-skinned man approaching the prison of bones.

"I-is this Astria?"

"Why do you care?"

Despite her miserable situation, she stared at him with an unwavering gaze and repeated:

"Is this Astria?"

'BAM'

Jackob pulled the trigger, shooting her at the right side of her chest, causing a lot of blood to gush out. In her current state, even a bullet from Ace can kill her, much less injure her.

Angelina spent a couple of minutes to catch her breath and spit some blood before saying:

"I, I'm Lucy's sister."

"So?"

Honestly, Jackob didn't care if she's Lucy's relative or not, what matters is that she came here uninvited. Furthermore, didn't Arthur go to save Lucy from her family? This was more of a reason to eliminate this threat.

Just as he was about to finish this once and for all, a person appeared next to him and lowered the long sniper rifle.

"Stop it! She means no harm."

It was none other than Taliya, who arrived at the nick of time. Jackob shoved her hand away and raised the weapon again, ready to shoot. He was forced to stop only when Taliya stood between him and the wounded Angelina.

"Are you really going to be like this?"

"Arthur left me in charge so either move or face the consequences."

The demon snorted, crossed her arms and retorted

"What? Are you going to kill me too?"

Jackob coldly glared at Taliya, Ace still raised and pointed at the latter. Only after a minute or so did he lower his weapon but the killing intent emanating from him was still present.

"If something happens, you'll take full responsibility."

He threw one last glance at the imprisoned Angelina before taking off, leaving the two women alone.