After whaling away at the Rank 10 beasts alongside the barrier, the Sect Masters were quickly running out of Qi and stamina. However, they had prepared plenty for this invasion. If need be, they would continue their assault until they broke through it or they died. That's how much importance they placed on this event.
All except for one felt this was the only way for their Sects and, consequently, themselves to rise up in the world.
Taking in deep, heavy breaths, Aelina peered down at the giant tortoise, her brows creased in frustration.
So far, even with some of her most powerful attacks, she had only been able to crack the surface of its shell. However, the thing was so big that it didn't even matter! It would take her days to get passed the defensive of this stupid turtle!
Fortunately, other than being large and resilient, it didn't have many forms of attack other than shooting water beams out of its mouth.
"...These guys are quite resilient, huh." She muttered.
Looking over at the other Sect Masters, she saw that their situations weren't any better than hers. They were all in a stalemate. Though, it was clear that in the long run, the beasts would eventually win.
However, at what cost?
Glancing at her army of disciples cutting through hordes of beasts as if they were tofu, a smile grew on her face. The disciples from the other Sects were impressive in their own right, but she could clearly see that her side had fewer casualties.
'And this is just the beginning.' Her smile widened, only to disappear when she sensed the Wyvern charging up an attack toward her disciples.
'Haaa… This asshole is really getting on my nerves.'
She sent her avatar to the beast, but it just knocked her away with a smack of its tail.
Sighing again, Aelina charged up an attack, but this time, it wasn't aimed at the Wyvern.
'Fine. You want to play like that? Let's see what happens when I wipe out your underlings!'
Creasing her brows in concentration, a 10-meter-long purple steel-tipped lightning bolt appeared in her hand. Then, using Mira's gravity technique, she formed a cyclone around it, giving it such an insane rotational spin that it was as if the lightning bolt wasn't moving.
Her arm shook slightly as she tried to keep it within her grasp, but the lightning bolt sought release. As time passed, the effect grew stronger, but she kept it steady.
The Wyvern, sensing an insanely dangerous attack, looked over at Aelina and held its breath.
Stuffing the fire in its throat into the pit of its stomach, the beast spoke in a deep voice, "Release that, and I will hunt you to the ends of the world, woman."
"Why? Nervous?" Aelina chuckled, but from the trembling of her hand, it was clear she was having a difficult time holding back.
"I assure you… you don't want to do this, Aelina."
"Oh~" She teased, "I think I do~ After all, I'm not welcome here~"
"...I'll call a temporary truce. We can work something out and come to a compromise. Isn't that what you wanted? Let's end this farce and act like respectable ancients."
"Compromise? Truce? You're misunderstanding something, beast," She sneered. Tensing her arm so much that veins began to burst, she reeled back the lightning bolt and hurled it at the remaining barrier with the power of a mountain behind her.
"I CAME HERE TO CONQUER!"
*BOOOOOOOM!*
The lightning bolt instantly shot through the barrier as if it wasn't there. It vaporized everything it touched, killing all the weaker beasts within it. It wasn't even a split second before it struck the ground, only to drill deep within the earth and explode when the pressure became too great!
The barrier that had stood tall for countless generations began to crack and chip around the new weak point in it.
Alexander, sensing an opportunity, dashed toward the barrier.
'Immortal Sword Art 6th Form - Oblivion Convergence.' He thrust his sword in one swift motion. The world seemed to go silent for a moment. It was as if he hadn't done anything but look cool.
However, those who were strong enough to sense it could feel the immense power behind his attack.
Soon, a tiny point sunk into the barrier, but as time passed, it kept growing. Within a second, it got so big that it connected to the weak point Aelina made.
Cracks spread out like a spider web until his attack was finally completed.
The barrier exploded into millions of illusory pieces, followed by a massive sword beam that shot through the newfound land, creating a massive crevice in what was once a beautiful terrain.
Now, the whole battlefield really turned silent. Everyone stared at the barrier, beast and human alike as if they were witnessing history. Instinctively, they all knew that starting today, things would no longer be the same.
Whether for better or worse, a change was coming. A change where Aelina, Alexander, and the beasts were at the center of it all.
"HAHAHAHA~" The silence was broken, just like the barrier, by Aelina's boisterous laugh, attracting everyone's attention.
"HAHAHAHAHA~ FINALLY!" She yelled with a massive, maniacal smile. "I've accomplished what my ancestors were too scared to do!"
Taking out a handful of pills, she popped them into her mouth, causing her Qi to mostly regenerate. Now, she was ready for what was to come.
"You-! What-! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, WOMAN?!" The Wyvern shouted, its bloodshot eyes continuously transitioning from the broken barrier to Aelina, its emotions a mess.
With her arms spread out, still laughing, she turned to the Wyvern, whose eyes had turned bloodshot.
"Compromise? Truce? I've had enough of that shit! Today, we see what you guys are hiding in there!" Then, in a much louder voice amplified with Qi, she shouted, "My disciples! It's time! Don't hold back and charge in there! We'll handle the rest!"
"YES, SECT MASTER!"
The disciples shouted and pounced on the beasts, catching them off guard as they were still trying to take in that the barrier that had been protecting their home for countless years was destroyed.
Truth be told, some of them had already started attacking even before Aelina said anything.
Mira, unsurprisingly, was one of those people.
'What a crazy woman.' She shook her head, only sparing Aelina a glance before she continued piling up beast corpses in her Storage Space.
Still, she couldn't help but think back to the technique the woman had used. Or rather, the portion she recognized.
'I guess she's not a master for nothing.' She thought, swinging her scythe around, chopping up any and all beasts she came across.
While Aelina was wasting her time training Rhydian, they had talked about the Gravity Technique quite a bit. Thanks to both their insights, they were able to come up with other ways it could be used.
Of course, only someone with almost perfect Qi control could pull them off, but that wasn't a problem for Aelina.
'Th-That woman,' Elenei's voice rang out in her mind. 'She's too strong. H-How could she break that barrier?'
The Dracophoenix was sitting in Mira's soul sea. Since Mira and Rhydian already drew enough attention, they both felt it'd be better for her to hide. However, at the same time, neither of them wanted Elenei to miss this opportunity to take part in the "Convergence".
Thus, she was forced to be a passenger again.
'Do you know what that barrier is?' Mira asked in surprise.
'Mmhm. It's called the Divine Sanctum Barrier. I'm sure you can guess from the name, but its purpose is to keep all intruders out. However, that's just one of its functions.'
'Are there any consequences for breaking it?' Mira asked. She wasn't too interested in its functions since it was now destroyed, but from Elenei's tone, it seemed like there was more to it.
'Well… I wouldn't really call it a consequence, per se… It's just, the only reason you would stay behind a barrier like that was if you were trying to hide from something.'
Mira frowned slightly at that. Now that she thought about it, the fact that they were surrounded by barriers was already a bit odd.
Previously, she just took it as they were trying to conceal their affairs, but they were essentially the rulers of the continent. What did they need to hide for?
On top of that, the Wyvern's behavior when Aelina channeled that attack was peculiar as well.
'If something happens because of this, I'm sticking next to Aelina. Maybe she can suck up some of my bad luck.' She nodded at her idea, making sure to keep those that thought fresh in her mind.
While she was preoccupied with her thoughts, the invasion was going much smoother now that the barrier was destroyed.
The beasts had lost all semblance of order, and since there was now nothing stopping them, the Battle Maiden Sects were the first to march their way in.
Since they had some 'free time', some even decided to help out the other Sects and collect a few more points.
All the while, the Sect Masters continued their battles against the beasts, trying to make way for their disciples.
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