Zaimo spent his time in the city taking care of the wounded after the desperate battle. While the civilians residing there were not directly killed by the invaders, the cultivators who fought to defend the city weren’t as lucky; two-thirds of them lost their lives.
Everyone watched Zaimo in extreme shock as he, in turn, assessed the overall situation. As the leader appointed by the empire to take care of this inland place, he quickly sent a message to the central city. The destruction in the city’s structures, coupled with the lack of capable cultivators to protect it, was devastating.
On the third day after Alm and Bruno’s arrival, at dawn, Zaimo and all the city’s inhabitants boarded several warships. Returning to the empire was the safest measure for everyone.
Alm and Bruno carefully observed all the cultivators present and asked Zaimo for more information about the place. Everyone in this universe, since the hero’s fall, had been engaged in a war against the Divine Fairies. The cultivation of one of them was completely unknown, to the point where they couldn’t even sense her QI after countless battles. She only fought using full armor, and a faint glimpse of her elven ears could be seen.
But the other Divine Fairy was different. She was a human who exuded a black power that seemed infinite, her cultivation level was above even the emperor, who was at the end of the Body Destruction Realm. However, her power was still unstable around her, and her QI seemed unable to settle in her body.
’Surely this woman is at the elemental level of the Realm of Spiritual Fusion,’
Bruno quickly spoke, reaching a conclusion, now having an idea of the enemy’s level. Someone’s ability to reach divine realms, even in a mortal world, was rare but certainly not impossible as long as they had a powerful bloodline or an appropriate technique. Stabilizing the realm, however, was another story.
It took half a day to cover a tremendous distance. The technological level of this universe was high, and even without divine cultivation, they managed to create things far beyond the ordinary.
Quickly, Alm and Bruno glimpsed a world covered by a massive formation that stretched up to the sky.
Warships emerged and approached the formation. Then, both the ships and the surface of the formation were illuminated by various different runes.
The warships then halted at the boundary of the formation, and everyone disembarked to pass through a checkpoint. It was a measure to prevent enemy infiltrations. If Zaimo and the others presented anything suspicious, the formation would instantly destroy them. Everyone was already familiar with this procedure for a long time.
There was a line of cultivators. It took a while before they were attended to, during which Zaimo explained the hierarchical structure of the place.
’Lord Mephistooge, there are three main clans that control the empire. They vie against each other every generation to have the emperor from their clan. The three clans are of humans, dwarves, and divine beasts,’ he explained mentally, while looking at the city walls. ’After the emperor is chosen, the three clans become the forefront of all battles in the empire. The vice-emperor and the general who commands them all.’
He sighed heavily and continued with sorrow. ’The leaders of the clans live in endless rivalry. Initially, they vie for the title of emperor, then for that of vice-emperor, and then against the other clans, and finally among themselves. If it weren’t for these rivalries, the Divine Fairies wouldn’t be advancing every day, conquering more and more territories...’
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.
Alm and Bruno listened without emotion. They had all lived in peace for a long time and now, in times of war, the two fairies seemed gentle and merciful. Combined with the presence of the comforting queen, they didn’t really feel the mortal pressure they should. Losing a few planets and cities? Millions of innocents dying? They didn’t care one bit, as long as their safety was ensured.
’The emperor of this generation belongs to the clan of dwarves; he is the former leader of my clan. But his leadership was extremely weakened because of this war that happened,’ Zaimo continued, with a serious expression. ’The vice-leader became the new hero shortly after the war began. But he ended up dying in battle about a year ago. This only worsened the situation; currently, this fragility has spread throughout my clan. We suffer intimidations from the other clans, unable to retaliate to avoid further harming the emperor’s situation.’
At that moment, it was their turn at the checkpoint, but when Zaimo saw the people there, his expression darkened.
’Not good. They’re from the human clan,’ he muttered mentally.
Then, the checkpoint attendants spotted Zaimo and the others. Initially, they mocked them with disdain, but when they took a step toward them, another man emerged from the back and seemed to send a message to everyone. Suddenly, their expressions changed. They immediately summoned their battle weapons and surrounded them.
"You shameless traitor who dared to let the enemies go dared to come back!" their leader shouted.
Zaimo retorted sharply, "Kidai, I sent a message to the emperor reporting everything in advance. You have no right to judge anything."
Cold laughter echoed from the humans surrounding them. Then, the leader cast a disdainful look at Zaimo and said, "Who do you think you are? Even if you sent a message, so what? I’m warning you right now, drop to the ground with your hands behind your back or you’ll be executed. I’ll count to three. Don’t make me kill anyone! Three, two..."
Alm and Bruno took control of the body, and Zaimo’s eyes turned icy.
CRACK!
A black shadow replaced the image of the dwarf. Suddenly, a hand seized a throat. Kidai, the human who was the leader, clad in full metal armor, saw his protection as fragile as mud before that hand. It was instantly crushed; he soon felt all his cultivation sealed by that hand.
Zaimo held Kidai’s throat. Despite the size difference, his hand gripped him like a vice.
"Lord Zaimo!" All the city’s inhabitants cried out in alarm.
Only then did more than ten people attack the dwarf at once, their weapons piercing him.
Suddenly, an explosive sound reverberated. It was the sound of metal breaking, mixed with the sound of bodies exploding. People barely had time to comprehend what was happening before they were killed, along with their armor destroyed. The dwarf merely made smooth movements with one arm holding a strange knife, and everyone was obliterated.
Everyone was stunned. Had Zaimo really killed people there? Now, they were horrified. It was completely forbidden to kill people in that place. Then, the city’s formation began to accumulate energy in an imminent obliteration of power.
"You asked me who I thought I was? Why don’t you tell me who you think I am, you bastard?" Zaimo’s voice sounded with endless bloody malice. "I didn’t come here to be threatened. My time is too precious. Someone who maliciously wastes my time is harming my life; that’s my enemy. And against my enemies, I have never had mercy. Since you don’t want to let me in, I will kill to get in."
Then he moved his other hand, a rusty kitchen knife slowly advanced. He pierced the barrier as if it were made of tofu a few meters ahead.
BOOM!
The attack prepared by the formation was immediately interrupted. Everyone jumped in shock to see a giant hole made in the barrier while a deafening alarm sounded.
The dwarf then threw the idiot who was still clinging towards the barrier; he immediately exploded without a trace. Only then did the dwarf cross the hole in the barrier and walked towards the city slowly.
Everyone followed behind without knowing what to do. A dense and malicious QI emanated from the dwarf, and Alm made sure to draw as much attention as possible. Here was the empire of the queen’s worshippers. All he wanted was to be able to kill all of them; someone was causing him trouble? Excellent.
Bruno sighed but didn’t intervene. His hatred was identical to Alm’s, after all, they were the same person. They had little time and couldn’t afford to get involved in intrigues. So, they moved forward, expecting a spectacle. This aura of willpower and terrible pressure scared the others.
’Lord Mephistooge, we need to talk properly!’ Zaimo desperately spoke in his mind, addressing the two who controlled his body.
The appearance and intention of the dwarf really suggested that he was about to massacre all the inhabitants there. If that happened, they would all become villains! Unfortunately, they had been for a long time and didn’t care.
"Who dares to attack...!"
At that moment, the sky shook, and numerous fully armed dwarf cultivators appeared. The person in front started to shout, but his shout was interrupted when he saw that figure, becoming dumbfounded.
"Is there anywhere under the heavens where I wouldn’t dare to attack? Come all at once!" Zaimo replied sinisterly.
"Brother!?" The dwarf in the center spoke astonished. Alm snorted immediately, and Bruno made Zaimo regain control of the body.