Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Arthur didn't know to proceed. He had trump cards that could save his life but it's a bit too soon to use them now, furthermore, all three enemies were focusing on him, rendering him unable to perform a sneak attack.

When the Marshall stated his reason for coming here, the other two were displeased but didn't object and maintained their silence. The man clad in armor started approaching Arthur, his face calm and his longsword hanging on his back.

He only felt a bit threatened by the energy released by the orb, as for Arthur, he wasn't considered a dangerous or worthwhile opponent. As the Marshall got closer to both Arthur and the rapidly rotating purple orb, a shooting black star came flying from afar and crashed into the Albert, causing him to be pushed back a few steps.

However, this wasn't the end as two other streaks of light followed right after, one clashing with the woman and the other with the old man from the Holy Dominion.

The Archcardinal was suddenly struck by countless thunderbolts, stunning him for a split second before the incoming blue light clashed with him and flung him a distance away.

As for the woman, she was more prepared than the old man as she swung down her whip in an attempt to block a small figure which tried to kick her away.

After a few seconds cleared, everything became much clearer, revealing the identity of the new incomers. To Arthur's big surprise, both Astrith and Saly were present, moreover, his daughter's appearance drastically changed and the aura around her was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

Her hair became much longer and snow white, her eyes blue as the sky, and face a bit mature than before. He was dumbstruck as he saw the little girl viciously kick the woman many times before backing away.

Though she wasn't able to injure her enemy, she was still able to grab her attention, buying him enough time to deal with the orb. Fortunately, he had his pain immunity active or else he would have felt an unimaginable pain as the rotating orb was affecting his body as well as his soul.

Due to being linked to his consciousness for a long time, the orb formed some kind of reliance and its reaction was somehow changing his body. Whether it's for the better or the worse, only time will tell.

"Saly?"

Arthur tried calling out for his daughter but he was interrupted by a black-haired man wielding two short swords. He was the one facing the Marshall and seemed to be much stronger than his two other companions, Astrith and Saly.

He was none other than Wrath, one of the seven deadly sins and the personal guard of Isadore Marfront, King of Green-Leaf. In addition to these three, there was a sizable army composed of many cultivators which followed the trio shortly after.

Leading this army was a familiar figure, a girl with long black hair and a red one-handed sword. Not long ago, she was appointed as the sect master of the Mountain Ba Sword Sect and after a bitter internal struggle, she finally decided to lend a hand and join forces with Isadore. Basically, she chose to bet on Arthur and hoped he'll prevail against the White Specter Clan.

"This is not the time for a happy reunion, hurry up and hide that damned orb!"

Wrath shouted at Arthur then turned to face the Marshall, who was momentarily startled by his new opponent's sudden appearance.

"Sin, are you going to defy the Cloud Sea Sect?"-Albert

Wrath shrugged his shoulders and retorted:

"What I do has nothing to do with you crazy people. Now, why don't we spice things up?"

The dark-haired man grinned and charged at the Marshall, brandishing his swords and going all out. In a matter of seconds, the two started fighting, exchanging hundreds of attacks.

The more Wrath fights, the stronger he gets, furthermore, he's an ancient entity who battled countless people and is definitely not someone to underestimate. His speed may be slower than Arthur's and his defense may be lower than Losha's, however, he's still one of the seven deadly sins and by no means he's a pushover.

A distance away from the two battling freaks, a large wolf covered in a dark blue fur was facing the old man from the Holy Dominion.

"An unusual lightning beast… interesting."

Unfazed by Astrith's blue lightning and he's ferocious appearance, the Archcardinal chuckled and raised a short golden cane while chanting a spell.

Due to the urgency of the situation, neither Astrith nor Saly got to greet Arthur, they immediately started fighting their opponents, who are Exalted Gods. No matter how much they trained, the two of them weren't as strong as their enemies, however, their reckless and almost suicidal way of fighting allowed them to hold on for a decent amount of time.

The red sky was covered by a net of blue lightning and every few seconds, several red thunderbolts would rain from above, hitting the old man's Holy Barrier.

****

"My my, I'm not one to hurt little kids."

The woman facing Saly seductively laughed while brandishing her long whip, she examined the little girl from head to toe before talking again

"I have to say, your aura is special and… delicious."

She licked her lips and swung her whip at Saly, who crossed her arms to block. The moving whip emitted deafening sounds as it whistled in the air and hit Saly, sending her flying dozens of meters away.

The girl's arms became bloody but this was nothing compared to the agonizing beating she endured from her merciless teacher. She may be in possession of a few powerful skills but the Joker repeatedly told her that relying on them will only hinder her.

To win a fight or to kill the enemy, one must have fast reflexes and a calm mind capable of coming up with the best decisions no matter how desperate the situation was.

Though she was flung away, Saly flew at her enemy with lightning speed and punched the woman, causing cracks in the space around the two of them and emitting violent wind waves.

The woman raised her hand and easily grasped Saly's fist while smiling, clearly not feeling threatened. The strength of the Exalted God was far beyond what Saly could handle, nonetheless, the little girl did something that shocked her enemy.

Her fist still held by the enemy, Saly twisted her body then raised her lower half, kicking the woman's head. A cracking sound could be heard as her harm bent in a weird way and her bones broke yet she didn't even groan from the pain and focused all her strength in that kick.

The close combat her teacher taught her is the peak of any martial arts and it allowed her to use a momentary burst of strength to injure enemies far above her level, or so said the Joker.

*****

Meanwhile, the battle between the undead and the white specter grew fiercer as many variables were introduced. Jian Si led the army provided by Isadore and valiantly clashed with the reinforcement brought by the Holy Dominion.

The Archcardinal only brought fifty or so Holy Knights but they were all Sovereigns and very well-equipped. Still, the girl dived straight into their ranks and crazily waved her sound around like a mad dog. Her murderous and violent sword essence slaughtered everything in her way, sparing nothing but the dead.

As for the undead, their numbers drastically decreased and their forces were slowly breaking as the awakened white specters were struggling all their might. What made matters worse was an orderly squad of soldiers brought by the Marshall, they used large-sized cannons that released a burst of Holy Magic which pulverized thousands of undead at once, even the Bone Dragons weren't spared and turned into nothingness.

Fortunately, the Divine Beasts were almost done with the elders, they managed to defeat every last one of their enemy except the head elder, who was very resilient.

What made him last long was an ancestral weapon provided by Katrina. It was a flute which could lock several targets in place and deplete them of all their energy. His constant use of the flute wore him out but he still persisted for a long time until Katrina finally appeared and lent a hand.

She instructed him to guard the cocoon enveloping Lucy while she took care of the raging Divine Beasts. The constant flow of energy provided by the formation set by Arthur allowed them to endlessly. As long as the formation stands, none of the Divine Beasts would suffer a lack of energy hence their reckless and continuous use of powerful abilities.

At this point in time, the whole place turned into a complete mess… the winds raged, thunderbolts rained from the sky and flames danced from West to North. This place no longer resembled the once-majestic and beautiful White Specter Clan, chaos reigned all over and the body never ceased increasing.

The strong fought the strong, the weak fought the weak and the nauseating stench of blood spread across the whole battlefield, sending shivers down the weak-willed ones.

Amidst this grisly war, the prayers were heard and the cries were answered, and soon, the gates of Oblivion will open...