I expand the range of my all-seeing eye and enemy detection once I hear Luna shouting. My range reaches out as far as the town nearly 10 km away on one side, but I can't sense anything in the opposite direction.

On full blast, I can feel the readings of rogue dungeons up to 50-70 km away if I push myself, but for some reason, I can't sense this Dark Guard that she's crying out about.

Maria is on alert too, and I feel her natural aura spread out a few kilometers, but the same confused expression shows on her face as she doesn't sense anything out of the ordinary either.

Luna makes it nearby us, and points far out in the desert in the direction of Sector 1.

"It's coming. Whatever it is, it's incredibly angry."

She keeps pointing in the same direction, but I'm positive there's nothing out there.

Still, the fact that she accurately described the 5th ranked Dark Guard's appearance and number placement makes me believe her vision is real.

I jump in the air, and Maria follows me upward. I use telekinesis to carry Luna again and we start drifting off in the direction she's pointed.

"Tell me if we're going the right way. We'll confront this guard before it makes it close to the town."

She nods, looking around with her eyes glowing with a light blue aura, but speaks up before activating her ranked-up buff again.

"I can't see it without my buff activated."

On her status now, I see Legendary Grade [Moonlight's Gaze], along with two buffs; [Eye of The Last Full Moon] and a new one that she received after hitting level 1000 called [Awakened Guardian's Eye].

The enormous blue eye emerges from her back and floats above us, staring off into the empty desert and I pose a question.

"Which buff is this? I can see you have two."

She doesn't reply for a moment, but points off in the desert.

"It's the Awakened Guardian's Eye. I can't see far enough with the other one, same with my skill; they work best at night."

I turn my head up to look at the eye and hear her voice call out from behind me again.

"About 300 kilometers. That's how far out it is by the way... At its current pace, it still would have taken all day to make it here... I might have overreacted."

I grin.

"No. That's exactly the reaction I wanted, don't worry about it. Is that the limit to your range? 300 kilometers?"

"Right now? I think so... I notified you the moment I saw it."

"Are there any other troops with it? Or is the guard all alone?"

She shakes her head.

"There's nothing else around it. It's just trudging through the desert alone... I don't know why..."

"Good. So with you on watch, we'll have plenty of time to prepare if any other troops do show up in the future. Keep using that eye and notify me if there are any changes in its behaviors or you see any more troops within range."

I let a handful of mana potions out of my items storage and let them float over to Luna while I increase the speed of my steps to catch up to Maria.

"Seems like it's the same guard you fought in Valor City. You ready for round 2? I think you can take it on with your power now."

Maria's eyes light up with Ice magic and the barrier of Qi surrounding her body reflexively gets more dense around her vital areas before she responds.

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"Yes, I've been waiting to face that Guard since the moment I entered the isolation pod. What are the odds it'd come to greet me once I finished my training?"

She takes another step forward, leaving ice behind with each of her footsteps and small wisps of white Qi, speeding up her pace.

I increase mine as well to match hers and we soar through the desert sky for over an hour at top speeds before the Dark Guard comes within range of my all-seeing eye and enemy detection as well.

Just as Luna said, a suit of jet-black armor trudges through the sand with the number 5 printed on its chest.

The only difference I see in its appearance since the last time I saw it is a large [X] marking over the number 5 on its chest, almost like it has been scratched out.

Red-orange energy is leaking from the small cracks in the black armor, and as Luna also stated previously, its aura exudes rage and every step it takes amplifies its anger.

I point forward and lean to Maria.

"We're getting close. Get ready to fight soon. This is all you, I'll let you have the rematch you deserve."

Our pace slows a bit and we begin to descend down to the desert floor.

Maria pulls out her silver blade and imbues Qi into it while descending even faster than me.

Eventually, the Black Suit of Armor becomes visible on the horizon without using any of my skills, and Maria sees it too.

"Stay back and let me test out a few moves I couldn't try on you while sparring. This should be over in a few minutes."

I halt in midair a few hundred meters above the ground and cross my arms to watch as Maria touches down on the sand, making a crater of ice as she lands.

Luna floats behind me, catching up still while being dragged along by my telekinesis, then comes to a halt by my left side with her enormous blue eye still staring down from above.

I speak up.

"This should be an interesting fight, time to watch closely and learn a few things."

As the impact from Maria's landing with the sand sends ripples through the desert, the suit of armor finally speaks up in a loud angry yell that can be heard by everyone in the area.

"It's you! You! The one that ruined my reputation! You're the one that made the Dark One disown me after years of diligent service!"

The bright 5 etched into its chestplate glows red-orange, and the [X] scratched across it bleeds with this energy-filled light as well.

"The only way I'll be accepted back is if I kill you! The Ice Empress, the one that foiled my plans! I just wanted you to serve the Dark One and join the winning side. It is a shame you refused my offering in such a flashy manner. I should have killed you when I had the chance at the City Gate!"

Memories of the enormous crimson Ice crystal that destroyed the Arena in Valor City surface in my mind.

This was the finishing move Maria used while channeling all of her Red Hydra's remaining soul energy into a single attack to deflect the this Guard's attack and give our teammates enough time to escape.

By the way this guard is talking, it seems he's been exiled for failing to capture and turn Maria, Abby, and Monk into the Dark One's slaves.

Maria understands the situation as well and speaks up while pointing her silver sword forward, playing into the rage-filled knight's words.

"Well, this is your chance to prove yourself again. If you really are a loyal follower of the Dark One, then you won't lose to me a second time, will you?"

She allows a small portion of her mana control to leak out from her Qi barrier, giving the Black Knight the perception that her strength is still the same as it was the time they met just 2 days ago.

The Dark Guard's red glow beneath its armor grows brighter and brighter, until it forms two long energy blades in its hands just like it did in that underground training room before.

Its steps are powered by orange soul energy, but they're mixed with its own blood-red aura. The sand beneath its feet is melting with every step, turning into molten glass while it speeds up more and more, dead set on reaching Maria.

It yells. "That's right! The first time was a fluke! At your level, with nowhere to run, it will be impossible for you to fend me off again. This will be your end, I'll get my seat back at the Dark Guard's assembly right now!"

He lunges forward, swinging both of the red energy-manifested blades across his body to create the same crimson-colored slashes that were impossible for Maria to block last time she was faced with only one.

Instead of attempting to dodge like the Dark Guard predicted, Maria lunges forward too, saturating her blade with Qi, and taking the two Soul Energy attacks head-on with her glowing white sword.

A magnificent white and red collision of energy lights up the battlefield below me as Maria's blade slices through and obliterates both crimson energy slashes with a white crescent of Qi from her own blade in return.

It rockets across the desert floor aiming for the Dark Guard. Then, shatters the two red energy swords it wields when the attempt to block her incoming attack fails.

The crescent of white-hot Qi collides with the [5] printed on the Dark Guard's chest, cracking its armor to pieces before it even registers what hit it.

The entire battlefield appears to be moving in slow motion for everyone watching.

Luna's enormous eye is wide open, taking in every detail of the fight. I'm impressed by Maria's first Qi blade manifestation's power, and she's equally excited to unleash her full strength if the guard survives this blow.

As the black armor shatters and falls to the desert floor, it's impossible to see what's underneath. A blinding red light expands from within, blocking everyone's vision of the Dark Guard's true form. This flash of energy is followed by the roar of a monster that does not sound at all like the angry human yells we heard moments ago.