Birth of the Demonic Sword

Steven led Noah and the others outside of the intricate structure after completing his end of the deal. The group returned inside the valley, and they quickly reached the surface to begin their long travel.

"I still think that this is pointless," Steven exclaimed when he saw that the group was about to leave.

"Come with us then," Noah proposed. "You'll see how we handle Heaven and Earth."

"Isn't your plan to destroy the connection?" Steven asked as a tinge of curiosity appeared on his face.

"Fights like these must happen on multiple layers," Robert announced. "Making a few organizations waste many resources is pointless for our goals. We need to make sure that they understand the price of joining Heaven and Earth."

"We aren't ready for a war," Steven replied.

"The war has already started," Noah laughed. "It's your turn to choose what role you want to play."

Clear struggle appeared on Steven's expression. He felt curious about Noah's methods, but he also had his organization to protect.

"I can add a few defenses if you like," King Elbas added while placing a hand under his chin and moving his eyes toward the ravine. "They won't be as complicated as those tunnels, but they will improve the overall protection in this area."

"Fine," Steven exclaimed after a few seconds of silence. "I'll give orders to my troops. I'll be here shortly."

Steven dived back into the ravine, and King Elbas neared the edges of that fissure to study the inscription thoroughly. He couldn't risk triggering the defenses with his formations, so he had to create something suitable for preexisting protections.

King Elbas took a few days to place everything. Steven had already come back by then, and he felt marveled while inspecting the expert's work.

"Who exactly are you?" Steven eventually asked once King Elbas finished his task.

His question wasn't only for King Elbas. Steven wanted to understand how such a group of experts could even come to be. Each of its members seemed to be a monster in one or multiple fields. They could become leaders of large organizations, but they still followed Noah.

"We are misfits," Divine Demon announced.

"Maniacs," Noah added.

"Idiots," King Elbas concluded.

Steven didn't know how to react to that group. None of them seemed to take the battle against Heaven and Earth seriously. They wasted time joking around even when they had to approach a protected location.

"You'll understand soon enough," June eventually said to awaken Steven from his astonishment. "They all do."

Steven didn't say anything and began to follow the group once they started moving. His curiosity had intensified after June's words. He was actually looking forward to reaching their target now.

The group moved quickly. They flew across the Outer Lands and explored deeper areas. The winds intensified during their travel, but all of them could endure the pressure generated by those chaotic laws.

A series of lakes eventually unfolded in their vision. The group reached a massive land filled with white water and few sparse pieces of ground. It would almost resemble a sea with islands if it didn't have a mountain chain surrounding the entire area.

"Who can we expect to find under the lakes?" Noah asked once the group took position inside the mountain chain.

"A few solid stage cultivators and many defenses," Steven replied. "The organizations in charge of defending this place don't even know that I'm aware of its location. Their protections should be at their lowest."

"I'll take one of the solid stages!" Sword Saint promptly exclaimed. "I won't remain on the sidelines again."

"I also must take one of them," Robert added. "My cultivation level forces me to take care of one leader."

"I shall ta-!" Divine Demon wanted to say something, but Jordan and Wilfred grabbed him and closed his mouth.

"Can't we just improvise?" King Elbas asked. "Most of us can't follow plans anyway. Let's attack and see how it goes."

"We should at least plan the entrance," Noah suggested before summoning Snore and closing his eyes to call upon his ambition.

Robert, King Elbas, and Wilfred revealed a cold smirk as they began to prepare their offensive. They would launch a joint attack before diving toward the lakes.

"What are they doing?" Steven asked when he saw the various experts working on their techniques.

"They are preparing the initial offensive," June explained. "You should do the same since your cultivation level won't get in their way."

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The region with the lakes had a large underground structure under its surface. The human organizations had dug it for many years and had created a layout similar to the ravine recently visited by Noah's group.

The reason behind those similarities was quite simple. One of the organizations involved in the building of the underground structure was the secret organization. The cells that worked for Heaven and Earth had ideated that layout.

Most of the tunnels led to other lakes. A maze that often forced experts to end up among chaotic laws protected the central hall that featured a large underground pool. A white radiance covered its waters, and a few powerful cultivators stood nearby to bathe in that light.

Some of those cultivators even moved their lips during their inspection of the pool's waters. No sound came out of their mouths, but they were clearly talking with someone.

However, a sudden earthquake disrupted that situation and forced the experts to snap back to reality. Anger immediately filled their faces, but they couldn't give voice to shouts since boulders began to fall from the ceiling.

The cultivators activated their abilities to destroy those boulders. The ground of the Immortal Lands was tough and rich in energy, but the experts only needed a wave of their hands to shatter it.

"Who dares?!" One of the cultivators shouted, and his voice seeped inside the ceiling before spreading in the sky above.

The expert received a series of explosions as an answer. The whole sky above the region had gone dark, and abilities of different nature continued to fall toward the ground.

King Elbas used long spears that exploded as soon as they triggered the defenses on the surface. The golden flames that they released carried his curiosity, which made them able to destroy most of the enemy inscriptions.

Wilfred's arms seemed on the verge of exploding as he used his entire physical strength to join his palms and creating a massive strike directly inside the ground.

Robert launched giant masses of toxic energy that fused with the terrain and tainted the lakes. Everything seemed to crumble after the first attack. The expert had learnt the nature of that region and could already target its weaknesses.

Steven decided not to involve himself in that attack, but he remained on the sidelines to inspect the other experts. His focus often went on Noah, but the latter limited himself to float among the sky. A massive snake with power in the upper tier flew behind him, but the creature had yet to attack.

****

Author's notes: The fever has stayed above 39 degrees for the entire day. I basically just stopped shaking. I'm really sorry about this, but I can't write properly until I feel better. I'll do one chapter of chaos and one long chapter of demonic sword until my bones stop aching. (I know, not cool after my announcement from yesterday, but I didn't expect the fever to hit me so hard.)