‘So now I have to keep a lookout for a magical shield, where could something like that be? I’m not sure I have any time right now, luckily they left me that thing. My little informant didn’t give me much information though, at least I’ll be able to move from here soon…’

Zhang Dong was reflecting on what had happened some time ago. For the time being, he was stuck sitting at the bridge between Empires protecting his people. They were building massive walls and inscribing defensive formations everywhere. The new fortress that would be defended by his people needed to be able to block the way into his lands.

It had been a whole month since his hostile takeover. This time he needed to mostly spend hovering in the sky with his radar out. It was similar to the time he had to protect his sect from any spies and just like before there had been some attempts. Various tribes from the demi-human side were trying to gather information while wandering closer in smaller groups.

Yet no large-scale skirmish had erupted, the demi-human presence was slowly being drowned out as they retreated north to where their second fortress was. It was quite a stressful month for him as the Emperor of the demi-humans might have decided to attack. Valentine was forced to cough up some information but it didn’t really help much.

The Emperor seemed to just be the strongest member of all the demi-human tribes. Every ten years they would host a tournament where everyone could participate. The winner would become their leader, only strength counted in their society, and family ties were nonexistent. His kids would need to defeat their father if they ever wanted their position and could easily be then vanquished by a rival tribe member.

This Emperor apparently had been in power for over five hundred years. At this point, no one was confident in beating him in an honorable way. Even when the battle tournament started only the foolhardy participated and were massacred while tribe leaders like Valentine sat back and watched. Only if they spotted some kind of weakness in their leader would they attempt to sink their claws into his neck.

Besides the power structure and the notable tribes, there was not much that Valentine could disclose. The Emperor was apparently so overpowering that his new informant could not list any weak points. How strong this enemy was compared to someone like him or the Azure Emperor was unknown.

Then there was the issue with his new partners that were not out of the picture yet. Perhaps after he found their holy shield they would suddenly require divine armor from him. Luckily his task was made easier by them handing over a tracking device. After he proved that he would be helpful they put some trust in him.

“Hm? Speaking of the devil.”

While contemplating his next move he noticed a certain item that was vibrating. He quickly waved his hand and a crystal orb popped out. After injecting some mana into it he was greeted by the face of his wizard friend, Argus.

“Greetings my friend.”

“Hey Argus, what can I help you with?”

“Ho ho, I can’t ask for any more help, you have already done so much for us, I just wished to give my gratitude again, those emblems that you gave me worked like a charm!”

“Is that so, did any of the sects or clans complain or were they accomodating?”

“They were surprisingly cooperative, your name alone was enough to make them kneel, this will truly aid us immensely in our quest!”

Zhang Dong smiled at the wizard that had been more relaxed ever since their first meeting. It seemed that his commanding officer Lucius was now actually listening to this powerful mage for once.

“Good but be wary of the Heavenly Crane sect and the Long Clan, they might not put as much respect into my name like the others.”

“Aye, we will keep that in mind.”

“Just keep Lucius out of trouble, if he attacks those people you’ll be in more trouble than necessary.”

Argus started laughing but Zhang Dong was serious. The Heavenly Crane sect would probably have enough power to go against the magic knights that had lost some of their knights in the last battle. He expected the people from the magical kingdom to be victorious if it ever came down to it but that would weaken his side.

‘The Heavenly Crane Sect has a lot of their sub-sects in the eastern regions, they probably have already suffered some losses from the Emerald Phoenix Empire but as long as they can keep them busy it should be fine.’

After the conversation was over a group of elders from the building faction arrived to make a report. The whole area around the bridge had been worked on by his people with no time for sleep.

“Patriarch, we are finished with the first main stage of the construction, the base formations are ready for you.”

“Good, let’s go.”

He nodded and moved towards the gigantic wall that had been established here. The bridge that the wall was blocking luckily had a ceiling. They had just enough to make it halfway there but with the addition of the defensive formation, it could be fully blocked off. Now he just needed to add some of his own spiritual energy to jump-start it.

Thus he floated right before the long construction and onto the middle tower. With the two largest on each side, there were exactly nine smaller ones on the inside. He took a seat on the middle one that was also a lot larger than the other ones around it. This was the center point of the protective formation and needed to have most of the defenses.

‘I hope this will be enough…’

The coffers of the sect had been emptied to develop this defensive structure. The demi-humans didn’t stock up on resources that cultivators used so receiving compensation was hard. The only thing they could do was to ransack the abandoned clan abodes and sect grounds that were devoid of people.

Soon the mostly gray walls started pulsating with power. Magical circles together with various characters started to light up as the whole formation system was activated. In the middle of it was Zhang Dong, just sitting down and concentrating. He needed to drain all of his power so that if the enemies came they would not easily break these defenses.

Not far away were Huo Qiang and Zhang Zhi. Both of them were guarding their leader and friend against any surprise attacks. If someone was informed about what they were doing then this would be the perfect moment for an assassination attempt. By raising the protective barrier he would be weakened and need to recover for a few days.

Luckily for him, his sect would not be willing to part with their Patriarch. Thus everyone that was able surrounded the glowing orb of light that was rising above the central tower. Zhang Dong had surrounded himself with a shell of golden energy. Arcs of lightning were shooting out and quickly bombarding the whole place with his essence.

The energy that started out as chaotic lightning started to quickly connect to the various lines of power. These lines that were previously faint and pale started to churn with energy that made all the various magical runes glow even more. Soon there was a strange sound that indicated that the protective barrier became operational.

Zhang Dong that was previously surrounded by an orb of holy energy started to slowly float down to the ground. His breathing was somewhat erratic and beads of sweat covered his forehead as he had used up almost ninety percent of his spiritual reserves. Yet before he could gently drop down and rest a sudden glint entered his eye.

“Die!”

A thick black spear shot out from underground after the barrier was created. It was aimed right at Zhang Dong’s heart and already breaking the sound barrier after it was shot out from underground. The one responsible for this act was a large humanoid being that had a face similar to a mole. His body was quite muscular and his hands were replaced by sharp claws.

Yet before the black spear could reach its target it was stopped by a combination of molten lava and water. First, a giant fist made of plasma energy collided with it that belonged to Huo Qiang’s soul beast. Secondly, after losing some of its speed it was devoured by the water dragon belonging to Zhang Zhi.

“It’s just as the Patriarch said, block his escape!”

To the demi-human mole man’s surprise, they had been waiting for his appearance. Thanks to this being already Zhang Dong’s domain he was able to scan it with his mapping function. A week or so ago a small squadron of mole men had attacked their encampment. During that scuffle, their leader hid underground and waited for the right chance to strike.

The risky trap had been deliberately created by them. They had ordered some of the sect members to talk loudly about how he would be powerless after the act was done. Now after the leader took the bait they could finally remove him from the chessboard. With how the barrier was successfully created he would be unable to flee even through the ground.

‘I see that they don’t need me for every little thing anymore.’

He observed the fight from a distance, Zhang Zhi, Huo Qiang, and three other nascent soul masters were giving chase. Together with all the ranged support from their new defensive cannons and the flying ships the mole-man had no place to hide. By superheating the ground with his soul beast, Huo Qiang was able to force the enemy outside where he took his last breath.

With how the barrier was constructed it didn’t allow anything to escape even through the underground. This was one of the reasons that he decided to draw the mole-man into this area. If this tribe leader was unable to break through the newly created protective shielding, then the worms they used to get through the tunnel wouldn’t either.

While he was truly tired he could still check for any damages that the protective barrier sustained. Even after the scuffle, it was still fully operational and quickly recovering from any damage it sustained. With the test out of the way, he could now focus back on the second problem which were the demi-humans stationed in the north.

‘With the fall of their fortress they might start taking us more seriously now, the training wheel period will now be over…’

With that in mind, he removed himself from this area. After recovering it was time for more upgrades to his golden fortress, the old vampire castle was already half stripped for resources and all of them would be getting moved. The time to proceed with the war effort was at hand and soon after Wang Long’s demise was on the menu.