Aganth was already swimming in complete and utter chaos. Alyur forced Aganth to defend themselves against her countless hordes of minions. Now, the Monster Faction suddenly attacked. Their wanton slaughter in their search for the Hatchling made the stench of blood far too common. As if that wasn't enough, a new player has joined the already devastated city.

Sadin’s entrance to Aganth did not justify the amount of trouble he would soon introduce to the city. Entering through the western side of the city, he escaped the majority of the powers currently settled inside. He warily gazed towards the northern side of the city. He could sense a large amount of monsters prying their way inside the city. This was the current location of humanity's defensive line.

“A Great Dragon.” Sadin muttered. The rush of monsters during this was well beyond what they had ever encountered before. Alyur was not wasting a single moment as Sadin's entrance to this already precarious situation was complicating the situation even further.

Sadin raised his hand to cover Alyur's figure in the distance. He tightly clenched his fist. "One day."

On the front lines, Weston was fully focused in trying to reorganize his troops when the sudden increase of these rushing monsters caught him off-guard. This further exemplified the power that a Great Dragon could gather. “Xeril! Stand back, you’re useless here. Miss Jynnette, it’s time to go to the battlefield.”

"It's not yet time, she's attacking with even more ferocity than before! Alyur's breaking the contract!"

Above the skies where clouds began to condense, a majestic light immediately appeared to smite her down. The impact of such a powerful force made Alyur fall down. One of her wings had been severed and vision had been cut off as she lost one of her eyes. Her body crushed numerous monsters beneath her descent. Unfortunately, it was barely a dent in her army.

The devastating result of breaking a contract was in full display for everyone to see. Not even a Great Being could so easily bear the cost. Still, she forcefully raised her body and continued the assault nonetheless. Without anything stopping her, she was free to do as she wished.

"Dammit! She survived it. All those in the Awakened Realm fall back! City guards, it's time to finally protect Aganth! Bear arms!" Weston yelled out. Now that the contract had been broken, his attention was on the frontlines was irreplaceable. Even he had to go out and help limit the casualties.

Xeril was held back against his will. The monsters they were facing had reached a point of turning into a genuine calamity. If Sammuel was here, he could see that each monster rushing forward had the bare Combat Power of 1000. They all even had [Blessing of Moonlight], further strenghtening them. Worst still was that the horde that recklessly threw their lives away was only getting stronger.

As for the truly terrifying ones, they had already reached the Revelation Stage, boasting an overwhelming Combat Power of 10,000. In this battle, those in the Awakened Stage could no longer have a say. It was time for the Revelation Stage experts to make their move.

Fortunately, there were some kind of complications as they all seemed quite exhausted. Alyur had forcefully rushed all of these creatures from the Hallowed Gap to Aganth. She had severely exhausted them but it was a price she needed to pay to exert even more pressure on Aganth. This gave those soldiers in the front line an easier time as the monsters they were facing were already exhausted.

The Great Dragon that had suffered the backlash didn't stay down. Gathering the mana all around her, she continued to attack the barrier. One devastating attack after another landed on the barrier, it was still holding on strong but it wouldn’t last as long. With Alyur suffering the backlash, both sides were somewhat equal in their states. It had now come to the point that both sides were trying to outlast the other.

Compared to the Monster Faction’s attacks, the wave Alyur had sent was an entire league above it. Compared to the dangerous hordes of enemies rushing down Aganth, the Monster Faction was delegated as an afterthought. Weston was replenishing the barrier with the help of the other humans in the same realm as him while at the same time mowing down as many foes as possible. There were only a handful of them but due to how the barrier was constructed, they could hold out on their own for a decent while. And out of everyone, the person that was bearing the most burden was undeniably Weston.

Further in the battlefield, a woman was silently encroaching into the largest congregation of monsters.

Jynnette took a single step forward, her eyes staring daggers at Alyur. Her mother’s plea for revenge weighed heavily on her mind these past few days. Yet she still wasn’t strong enough to take revenge right now, the next best course of action for her was to bring it out on the countless monsters sieging Aganth.

The very next moment, Jynnette was already past the entire wave. There weren’t even any corpses left, merely slabs of meat and ground bone. Her combat prowess truly showed off just how vast the difference between talent was. Although she was still in the Revelation Stage, her terrifying combat power was clear for everyone to see.

Seeing how vastly different the battle had been, Xeril no longer dared to enter the battlefield. “Permission to help the survivors in Aganth.”

“The Monster Faction should be recouping right now. Do as you wish.” Weston knew Xeril was going after Sammuel. He had been gone for a little while but he should still be alive.

“I’m joining you. We're in this together, remember?” The ever-feminine figure that was Ian suddenly intruded. He already seemed prepared for the upcoming battles.

With Weston's blessing, Xeril and Ian didn't recover like the rest of those in the Awakened Stage.

The two then proceeded to try and find Sammuel’s traces. Though, they understood how much of a herculean task it was when they saw what was in store for them. As they finally entered the bloody streets of Aganth, human and monster corpses still littered it. Rivers of blood were formed and mountains of bodies were stacked all around. There weren't any marks of what was what anymore.

It was a gruesome sight but they both held it in. If nothing else, the battlefield had given them the ability to bear the burden of such a sight. Still, Xeril had to take a moment before proceeding. Such senseless violence didn’t sit well with him.

“All because of the Hatchling. I don’t even think it's here.” Xeril couldn’t be blamed for thinking so. Despite things reaching this point, it still hadn’t revealed itself. “Just where could it be hiding?”

“The Monster Faction might be keeping their heads down right now but let's hurry.” Ian said.

The search for a person in such a chaotic situation was genuinely, nearly impossible. It was best for them to try and cover as much land as possible. After hours of helping those guards still fighting against the scouts of the Monster Faction and asking the remaining survivors, it seemed as if their luck had run out.

A minotaur holding a great axe appeared before them. Right behind him were countless monsters that rallied under his banner. He viciously stared before Xeril and Ian. Raising his great axe, he slammed it down.

The Monster Faction had finally managed to recover their forces. They ran out of time.

[Combat Power: 68,539]

The streets beneath his feet started cracking apart, and even the buildings all around him started shattering away. With one singular move, he had completely cleared up an entire district. His raw power was well beyond what either Xeril or Ian could handle.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

They were immediately blown away without any power to resist. Xeril didn’t back down, he had used [Point Burst] to tackle the shockwave coming right at him while Ian used [???] to enclose the attack coming right at him and isolated it within another space.

Flying through the skies, Xeril twisted his body and landed on his feet. He took out his spear and fearfully gazed at his foe. “One of the 12 leaders of the Monster Faction, Bargom the Minotaur. Ian, any ideas on how we’re getting out of this alive?”

Ian’s eyes were glued to the monster before them. He was completely outmatched by such an absurd monster. He was just a mere normal member of the Genesis Foundation, he had no special ability that would let him get out of this situation alive.

“I don’t.” There was no fighting against absolute power. It was complete suppression.

“The golden boy, Xeril. That’s a good hostage.” Bargom raised his great axe, aiming to cull away the fledgling sheep right beside him. Xeril noticed this and immediately came up to defend Ian. He had moved out completely out of instinct. "That Weston should be hiding the Hatchling. There's no other place left that we haven't looked at."

Bargom stopped his great axe mere inches before Xeril’s head, keeping Xeril was much more beneficial for them than just killing him. This didn’t stop Bargom though, turning his great axe, he slammed Xeril away.

Flying through the air, Xeril was immediately knocked unconscious. His body slammed against concrete, breaking apart. Xeril’s head tore open, causing blood to flow down his face. Bargom's power wasn't something he could bridge at all. Even surviving Bargom's attack alive was a miracle.

Ian was already way ahead of Xeril, closing his eyes and looking at Bargom. “What a nice friend.”

When Xeril had been fighting against Bargom, Ian had already tried to find a way out of this situation.

[???]

Bargom immediately struck out, aiming to kill Ian. Unfortunately, he was just that split second late. Ian had disappeared before his very eyes. Ian used his mysterious power to escape Bargom's grasp. Even he couldn't do something against someone that powerful.

I can only cut my losses.

“A rat escaped. But that doesn’t matter at all. We caught something good. Go tell Malach.” Bargom walked over and collected his spoils. Holding Xeril’s head in his hand, he threw his body into the cage.

From the distance, Weston saw everything unfold, his heart was raging on. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! Those psychopaths are attacking! Do they want to die?!” The Monster Faction was taking this opportunity to lead both sides into mutual destruction.

He had been watching Xeril from a distance this entire time to check up on him. Everything was supposed to be within his expectations but for the Monster Faction to completely flip the script meant that there was something he missed. And the very thing he missed was simply the Monster Faction's assumption that they were hiding the Hatchling from them.

If it was a being from the Revelation Stage or lower, Weston would’ve been able to slay them quite easily but for someone within his own realm, the Ascendant Realm, it was near impossible. If he leaves the battlefield right now then countless soldiers would immediately fall. If he battles Bargom, he would be able to rescue Xeril yet that would result in thousands of casualties.

What made this situation even worse was that Alyur’s attacks had started to become even stronger than the last time. The reason was annoyingly simple to the point that Weston could do nothing about it. They had been fighting the Monster Faction the entire day, the sun was eventually setting down.

Alyur was using her status as a Great Being to draw power from the world itself. Weston wanted to fight against the current attack by the Monster Faction but all at hand were currently battling against such a terrifying horde.

The weakest people on the battlefield right now are peak Awakened Stage experts. Every single weakling had already died long ago. Aganth was being pressured by both internal and external conflicts. Weston could only do so much alone.

Problems were arising from one side to another. The current state of affairs was procedurally getting worse. Everything that could go wrong was going wrong. It seemed to be the end for Aganth at this rate.

And with that... Weston made the firm decision. "Continue fighting! The fourth battalion and the seventh battalion will head back and guard against the Monster Faction's attacks!"

Weston had decided that Xeril wasn't saving. If it had been up to him then he wouldn't hesitate to save him yet rationally speaking... Xeril's life wasn't worth thousands of Revelation Experts.

It was at this moment that deep within the southern part of the city did another incident took place. As for the hero of the Vis Empire, Sadin had finally made his move. He looked at an ent with its roots embedded within the underground basement. His eyes only saw red, his anger was rising to the peak.

Sadin had entered the Monster Faction's headquarters.

“How did you find this place, human?” Svern tilted his head. It was preposterous. For a mere human to find this area meant that their faction had been breached. Fortunately, they had already foreseen this possibility and made Svern stay back to protect everything.

Sadin checked this creature’s status.

[Name: Svern Enctus

Species: Ent

Essence: Ascendant

Affinity Level: 43.55%

Combat Power: 59,261]

Despite the overwhelming disparity between them, Sadin didn’t fear at all. He had grown quite monstrously to the point that other than a Great Being, he wouldn’t fear anyone at all. His foundation was built on invincibility. He hadn't only been hiding away and having fun, he was keeping track a way to get stronger.

Sadin wasn't working to try and bring a Great Being down but instead to face the only other person he acknowledged. The only person who managed to lock him up in the previous world.

[Great Favor: Great Spirit of Fire | Gain Combat Power: +??? | Sadin: +???]

Svern felt something odd suddenly transpire from within Sadin. The person before it was a mere Revelation Stage expert, he was leagues weaker than he was. Yet for some depraved reason, he felt his very instincts tell him to run and abandon all hope.

[Status: Wrath of Fire | Gain Combat Power: +5863 | Sadin: ???]

[Status: Wrath of Fire | Lose Combat Power: -15,823 | Svern: 43,438]

The air dried itself from the heat. All sense of moisture was gone. Sadin’s body started emanating a completely overwhelmingly terrifying power. Sadin seemed to be the embodiment of fire itself, the vigorous anger of fire. As the environment changed, so did it affect those within it. As Svern was an ent, fire was his natural weakness. Especially the fire of a Great Spirit.

Sadin’s [Perfect Affinity] had caused the four Great Spirits of the world to bend to his will. At the very least, a fragment of their existence. With such overwhelming power, it was essentially having the power of four different Great Beings at his disposal. Although there was a burden, it was essentially non-existent in the context.

Svern wasted no time, despite getting weakened to this degree, he still had tricks up his sleeves. He wasn’t afraid of losing at all. Just as humans had their own [Skills] so did he.

[Greater Blessing of Domination | ...]

“No matter how much of a genius you are, you cannot-”

Sadin's wrath towards the disgusting stench of that Great Devil's blessing. His temper rose to the high heavens as he unwillingly unleashed his rage.

[???]

And thus the world felt the impact of his wrath.

~~~

Sammuel hastily went back to where Fian had hidden away. Retracing his steps, he waited where the entrance was and was taken away into a different space in time. He was greeted by Marie tightly hugging him with a worried expression on his face.

By the side, Lawrence was still working on his invention. Despite the worse working conditions within this place, it was leagues safer than the current outside world. Sammuel had already given him enough Mirage Apples to finish off with a bit of surplus over.

“What happened in the outside world?” Fian only saw as far as where the entrance lay. It was similar to digging a hole in the ground and peeking out of the hole she had made. No one can see her but unless people came to above her, she wouldn’t be able to see them.

“Fian, the situation changed. I need you to understand the current severity of the situation. The Summoning of the Two Great Heroes, the very same thing that brought me to this place, one of the other people that I came along with has arrived.”

“Isn’t that good? You know each other?” Lawrence suddenly asked. He didn’t know what the Summoning of the Two Great Heroes was but it sounded as if it was Sammuel’s friend.

“It’s not looking good. Sadin’s a cruel person who’s only after his own self-satisfaction. And from the looks of it… for some unknown reason, he’s after the Hatchling. Fian, I need you to understand just how terrible the current situation is. He’s stronger, so much stronger than I am.”

Fian held Marie’s quivering hand. “He can’t possibly be that much stronger. He might’ve been blessed by one of the two Empires but he shouldn’t have that much of an advantage.”

Before Sammuel could even speak, Fian’s eyes widened in pure terror. Sammuel noticed her expression and asked, “Fian, what did you see?”

“One of the twelve leaders of the Monster Faction has fallen. Svern the Ent, has been burned into ash. The southern district of Aganth has been purged with flames. Sammuel… that can’t be…”

Sammuel clenched his fists. “It’s him. The hero of the Vis Empire, Sadin. The one after Marie’s life. Fian, other than Alyur, no one can deal with him. Marie, I know I promised that I’ll do my best but the best course of action right now is for you to leave with Alyur.”

It took Sammuel all of his guts to say this out loud. “I can’t protect you anymore. I'm stupid for even thinking so.”