Six figures sat around a stone table, each one taking turns to stare at the other. Shin sat in between Bingbing and Zishen, his arms relaxed on both the armrests while his back was plastered to the support of his chair. Zishen was in a far more relaxed position. After realising that the three people sitting opposite from them were weaker than himself, the Azure Dragon Lord simply smiled and allowed Shin to do all the talking. Finally, Bingbing was just absent-mindedly gazing into nothing, completely uninterested in the conversation at hand.

On the other side, Jimga and Yeunghi shuffled around in their seats, unsure of how to appropriately react. Shin was a junior that they were loosely familiar with and had once used as a guide for their purposes. Now, even though Shin was still technically their junior, his position had shot up to the stratosphere, leaving them in a somewhat awkward position. They couldn’t be too overly familiar with him, and neither could they act like they’ve never met him before. Thus, with no solution on the horizon, they simply remained silent, giving Shin all the initiative.

“Seniors, there’s no need to be this tense...” Shin dropped his shoulders with a radiant smile. It was odd seeing people he held with a significant amount of respect behave in the same manner as the rest of the common folk.

“Your Grace, we...” Yeunghi’s lips quivered a little bit, before being interrupted by Shin’s uplifted hands.

“No need for formalities,” the handsome man chuckled. “On this mission, we’re all allies that are fighting against the same enemy. Who cares about titles during such a drastic time?” Shin’s words could be considered to be blasphemy, but the man didn’t care. Shin truly believed that in a war, it didn’t matter what pedigree a person was from. As long as they contributed to the battle, they were all warriors that were meant to be respected.

“...” Jimga and Yeunghi looked at one another, before turning to the one remaining person seated in between them. The man had been silent for a while, as his emerald eyes carefully observed the man called the Prince of Water. It was the first time that he’d met Shin and he wanted to evaluate the young man as much as he could. The piercing gazes of Jimga and Yeunghi finally came to a halt as the man’s stoic expression broke out into a smile.

“Young Master Shin, your reputation really precedes you...” The middle-aged man chortled. “I see that Wangu’s life wasn’t sacrificed in vain… Perhaps it was his destiny to leave his soul behind, just for you to escape...” He looked up to the ceiling as he remembered his deceased disciple.

“You are?” Shin never got the man’s name. After being escorted to the Dalgeom Sect’s abode, Jimga brought over a venerable swordsman that seemed to be their leader. And that was barely a minute ago.

“Pardon my rudeness,” the man exhaled so hard that the table shook slightly. “My name is Pangu, Wangu’s teacher and one of the Masters of the Dalgeom Peaks. Just like you, I’m here on a mission of vengeance… A mission to take down the beast that killed my beloved disciple...”

“I see...” Shin nodded and examined the Spirit Venerate from head-to-toe. Not that he’d like to brag, Shin had seen his fair share of Spirit Venerates and Tier 9 Spirit Beasts. He could acutely tell the difference between an average Spirit Venerate and a top-tier one, just by examining the cultivator’s aura. Thus, Shin could tell that Pangu, just like Sentinel Macron from the Dragon Tiger Gate, was a frightening existence.

“Senior Wangu was a brave man… Even when the odds were stacked against him, Senior Wangu never once lost his conviction to save us… If half of all cultivators had his willpower, I’m sure the Alliance would have utterly destroyed the Black Masks by now...” There was nothing but praises from Shin about the late Wangu. Shin did owe his life to the swordsman after all.

Pangu blinked twice, before finally loosening his body. Who wouldn’t like to hear someone else sing praises about their students? “That’s right… Wangu really was a man that everyone in the Dalgeom Sect looked up to… His perseverance, his dedication to the sword… They were all legendary…” The happiness in Pangu’s voice quickly evaporated and was replaced with a red hot endless wrath. “But… He still died…”

“...” An awkward silence fills the room. The Lantis Republic, the Himmel Empire, the Kori Federation, they had all lost friends and family to the onslaught of the Black Masks. It was hard not to feel empathy for the mourning Pangu.

Shin took a deep breath in and quickly changed the subject. “Senior Pangu, if I may be so bold… Have you fought with the World Serpent before?”

“That… No...” The swordsman was mildly taken aback but quickly bounced back with his own question. “What of it?”

“I have… Twice, in fact...” Shin added. He wasn’t gloating though, he was just stating it as a matter of fact. “I roughly know how the World Serpent fights… So, I can help with the planning… However, in return, I would like some of you to train me in swordsmanship… Particularly the style that Junius is adept in...”

That was Shin’s primary goal from the beginning. If he could get pointers from elites of the Dalgeom Sect, the premier organisation for sword martial arts, Shin would have an added defence against the danger that was Junius.

‘Also… It’ll give me some time to blow off some steam...’ Shin gritted his teeth while his fists tightened up. From the moment that he’d found out about Shizen’s death, the young Prince hadn’t had the time to grieve or vent out his frustrations. He wasn’t even given a steady training session to warm his body up. Everything since then was either travelling or planning their resources. If Shin wanted to defeat Junius, he had to be amply prepared…

“Hoh… So we’ll get to see the Prince of Water personally fight, huh?” Pangu teased the youth.

“Haha, if you wouldn’t laugh at my inexpertise...” The young man shrugged his shoulders. Standing up from his chair, Shin dragged Bingbing along as he walked towards the exit. With one deep breath, Shin’s entire disposition completely changed. Gone was the aloof young man that smiled at every single man that came by his path. Instead, there was a ferocity of a lion that had braved a million battles. “Come seniors… Let us train… Let us train until we’re strong enough to defeat anything the Black Masks have!!!”

❖❖❖

The Uncharted Wilderness. Illusory Canyon. The Black Masks Stronghold.

Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…

Snow fell from the trees, and the sound of the winter winds was disrupted by the constant trembling of the ground. Sparrows flapped their wings violently, escaping from their comfortable abodes and retreating into safer lands. Foxes leapt out from the burrows onto open ground, hoping to prevent any falling debris from permanently damaging their bodies. For almost fifteen minutes, the tremors of the earth continued on, covered by the mist of winter. Also...

“Hurry up!” A sharp human cry resonated in the tunnels underneath the canyon. The harsh winter conditions were one thing, but the Black Masks had also ensured that there was a vast interconnected web of tunnels linking their stronghold to multiple secret exits. That way, they could move resources and people unhindered by the constant surveillance of the Alliance.

Mindless Dalits carried boxes over their backs and were watched like a hawk by the Shudras that oversaw the operation. Should any Dalit slow, the Shudras’ whip of cruelty would come flying down, spurring their weakened bodies to be pushed even further. It truly resembled a scene depicted in the seventh hells, where men atoned for their sins by serving the demons that ruled the netherworld. Still, none of the Dalits complained, or rather… They couldn’t.

Their brains were burnt by the Allfather’s mana, and most of them were only moving on instinct. They could eat, sleep and fight, but other than that… They were just cannon fodder for the more pristine Black Masks.

A tall man stood among the Shudras, coldly looking down at the orderly line. His face was distorted slightly, displeased at the rate his minions were working at. No… There was also something else that was bothering him...

“Fred! Did you hear the news?” A chippy voice came from the sides, calling out the muscular man.

“Charles...” Fred glanced over his shoulder to find the only friend he had in the Black Masks running over. However, he wasn’t amused by Charles’ presence. Instead, he was annoyed. Why? Because he knew what news his friend was bringing.

“So you did hear...” Looking at Fred’s expression, the former noble of the Himmel Empire smiled. “Looks like your reunion with that unattainable flower is scheduled sooner than expected… No, since she’s been with Shin for all this time… I guess she’s already someone else’s flower, huh?”

That’s right… The person in charge of the Black Masks’ logistical operation was the former talent of Imperius Academy that the entire Himmel Empire went crazy about… Fred Newton. Though he wasn’t as talented as Kanari and Shin, Fred was still on track to become at least a Spirit Emperor. Everyone wanted his signature, but alas… The man was solely devoted to one girl and one faction… Even after getting turned down for the thousandth time, Fred still dreamt of marrying Kanari and of becoming her knight in shining armour.

It really was a shame… Of all the organisations he could have joined, he entered the most repulsive one that existed.

“Shut it before I wring your neck!” Fred warned his friend and based on the fury in his eyes… He wasn’t joking.

“Haha, a joke! A joke!” Charles brought both his hands up in surrender.

“...”

No matter how long Fred thought about it, his anger wouldn’t subside. Each time he closed his eyes, Fred could see Kanari’s disgusted face as she turned him down time and time again. Then, the man imagined the very same maiden falling into Shin’s arms, with a radiant smile blossoming. It was infuriating!!!

BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

Fred’s right arm turned into iron as he punched out at a nearby Dalit. The poor man flew straight into the upper ceiling of the tunnel, as his brittle bones were shattered throughout. Blood was coughed out, and his pupils turned back into its sockets. With one punch, Fred had murdered one man… Out of pure spite… However, no one cared. There was still a job to be done, and the Dalits were mindlessly carrying out their orders.

“You don’t have to be that violent~” Charles rolled his eyes. “Look here, Shin and Kanari would be coming to the base in pursuit of Kshatriya Junius. Before long, you’ll gain the chance to rip Shin’s head off and take Kanari as your own personal trophy! So, why the long face?”

“You think I don’t know that, Charles?” Fred scoffed. “I can’t wait to get my hands on that fucking adulterous pair… Before, I thought that I could be a partner to that bitch… I thought that as long as I loved her enough, she’ll give me a chance to stand by her side… But then, just like any whore… She went for the guy that had the most influence and talent...” Fred’s iron coating extended itself from his arm and slowly crept up his entire body.

The wrath of the man didn’t stop there. His spiritual pressure climbed rapidly, forcing many Dalits to fall to their knees. Some of the weaker ones even crumbled to the pressure and were struggling to even breathe. Alas, no one cared about their well-being. All they could do was to squirm like the worms they were before the absolute might of the Spirit Lord.

“Shin Iofiel… Kanari Saniela… I’ll be the one to end your fairy tale… I’ll be the man that kills you all!!!”