Similar incidents were happening at the same time on all four battlefields; each of the cult's saints had stepped onto the battlefield, only to be intercepted by the 'saints' of the Gol territory.
Unfortunately, aside from Wukong, the others weren't able to deal with it quite as easily.
The moment the [Fallen Angel Battle Formation] was deployed on the battlefield of the second division, Killian, Leo, and Alissa found themselves in a precarious situation, where they were constantly bombarded by the attacks of the six fallen angels sent to this battlefield.
And whilst five of them were only of the ninth rank and, as such, easily dealt with, there was still one saint among them. Even though said expert was only at the early stages of the saint rank, he was still a saint nonetheless.
It required the combined effort of Leo and Killian to deal with each strike. Still, both man and lion understood that they wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.
"You told Ace already?" Alissa asked worriedly when she saw drops of blood escaping the corners of Killian's mouth as he blocked yet another blow to keep her safe.
"Roar," Leo nodded as he constantly wielded his flames to attack the incoming strikes.
"How long will he…"
Alissa didn't have time to finish her next question as she saw the cocoon of pure darkness enveloping them crack all of a sudden before dissipating and turning into motes of light.
"Ace," Killian grinned as he saw the body of the saint-level fallen angel dead by his feet.
"You guys alright?" Ace asked back hurriedly as he scanned each of them, a sigh of relief escaping his lips when he failed to see any serious injuries.
"We're fine," Killian nodded.
"Did they send saints to your battlefield as well?" Alissa asked sceptically as it hadn't been longer than about 15 minutes since the start of the battle, yet Ace had somehow travelled god knows how many miles to get to them.
"Yeah," Ace frowned as he turned to look in the direction of Amira's battlefield.
The moment Leo told him they were trapped via their bond, he immediately left Cirulus in charge of the first division so he could make it here on time. Now that he could see everyone here was safe, he couldn't help but be worried about Amira.
Though she had the power of a saint, that was only reluctantly. She had gained insights into Wind's Profound Mystery of Velocity and Light's Profound Mystery of Lightspeed. In terms of raw speed, she would find it hard to find a match among saints at the early stage, but when it came to power and endurance…
The only saving grace was that whilst Division Two's battlefield was closest to Division One, Amira and those of Division Four were closest to Wukong.
As long as Wukong was there, he doubted anything would happen to Amira, but still, until he personally laid eyes on her and made sure she was alright, he wouldn't be able to rest easy.
"Go," Killian said, easily able to guess what had Ace so worried. "We'll be fine now!"
Ace nodded before stamping on the ground and basically teleporting as he shot off into the distance, leaving Killian and the others gaping as they looked down at the crater he had left.
Over the last year or so, aside from the Profound Mystery of the Essence of Fire, which was complete, Ace's insights into the Profound Mysteries of Heat and Flamebody had deepened; his most significant improvement came from his recent insights into the Profound Mystery of Explosions.
Although it was only still at its most infant stage, the additional power it provided him with was substantial.
It was because of that insight that Ace's use of [Soru] had skyrocketed. By creating a small flame beneath his foot and detonating it the moment he was about to step off using [Soru], the sudden burst of acceleration made it seem like he was teleporting, and still, that was still the most basic application.
Ace was greatly looking forward to the day he was able to fuse the profound mysteries of the essence of fire with explosions. At that point, he would be able to cause parts of his [Pseudo-battle-qi] to explode whilst maintaining the rest of it.
Still, that was a matter for the future. Right now, all he could do was pray Amira and Wukong were safe as he sped through the skies breaking the sound barrier with each step.
.
.
.
As Ace predicted, Wukong quickly dealt with the fallen angels that appeared on his battlefield before speeding over to support Amira.
Though he had to face two saint level fallen angels, both were merely at the early stages of the saint realm. His strength had just touched the peak of the saint realm before Ace entered his coma, as for now…
The six fallen angels didn't even have time to set up their battle formation before being smashed to a pulp by Wukong's crystalline staff.
As for Amira, like Wukong and Ace, she was too fast to be trapped by the formation. Still, there were two saint level experts amongst those deployed on her battlefield, one of whom was 'Granny Harriet' the six-winged fallen angel at the middle stages of the saint level.
"You must be Amira, Princess of the Rohault Empire," Maria said indifferently as she stared at the dual wielding swordsman in front of her. "I'm guessing you're the reason that Ace rejected my mother's marriage proposal all those years ago."
Amira didn't respond; she simply stood in the air facing the team of fallen angels who had failed to capture her. Still, she knew exactly what Maria was referring to. Ace had long since told her about Empress Shelia's proposal for him to marry her daughter, effectively becoming the prince of the Dark Alliance, and she, of course, recognised Maria.
Though they had never met in person, as the princess of one of the most powerful Empires on the continent, she knew of all the continent's top movers and shakers, and the princess of the Cult of Darkness was definitely one of those movers and shakers. Whether it was her background or her talent, she was almost without peer.
Still, Amira wasn't bothered by that. If it weren't for the presence of the six-winged fallen angel, Harriet, Amira wouldn't be anywhere near as bothered by Princess Maria and the rest of her group.
"It's fine; I don't need you to respond," Maria continued, not seeming to mind Amira's silence as she calmly summoned the purple-black treasured long sword from her interspatial ring. "They say your generation is the golden generation for talents, far eclipsing that of even my own. As the number one woman of my generation, I just want to see how true that is by challenging the number one woman of your generation. What do you say?"
A sadistic smirk formed on the beautiful face of the princess as she prepared to make a move when her eyes constricted suddenly.
"This king always knew you were trash, Maria," Wukong snorted as he appeared between his junior sister and the group of fallen angels.
"Wukong…" Maria gritted her teeth, indignation and a hint of fear flickering in her big black eyes.
"Did this king give you permission to talk," Wukong snorted disdainfully. "Unless you want to eat this king's staff again, you should keep that hideous mouth of yours shut!
And who do you think you are to challenge this king's seventh sister? Hmph! This king challenges you, your shitty mother, and your bastard father."
The moment Wukong appeared, a relaxed smile appeared on Amira's face; as much as he liked to cause trouble, she knew he was nothing if not reliable.
On the opposite side, Maria and the others were all staring cautiously at Wukong.
The general public didn't know much about Wukong, but all the higher-ups of the major forces did.
Over the years, he had had run-ins with each of the peak geniuses of his generation, Maria included. But like Saber, the Cult of Darkness had kept it quiet.
How could they volunteer the information of their number one genius and princess being ravaged by an unknown youth?
His ridiculous strength made a lot more sense now; after all, with an expert like Arianna for a master, how could he be anything but a monster?
It was also for that reason that despite the fact he had yet to break into the saint realm, none of the group from the Cult of Darkness dared to underestimate him.
Whether it was Arianna, Ace, Aiden, or even Amira, which one of them wasn't a freak who could defeat those several realms above them?
"Maria," Granny Harriet said coldly as she stared at Wukong, not daring to take her eyes off the ape-like man for even a second. "You handle the girl and leave Wukong to me."
As soon as her words left her mouth, her six-black wings flapped gently once, propelling her frail body forth as she summoned a sabre from her storage ring.
At the same time, Wukong stomped on the ground, causing his body to transform into a bolt of lightning as he shot forward.
The collision of the two peak experts created an explosion that sent the soldiers of both armies stumbling back, unable to maintain their footing.
When they looked up again, one figure was sent flying back, crashing into the ground in the distance, knocking over any trees that got in its way.
"A mere mid-staged saint isn't enough to whet the appetite of this king!"
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Book 13: Part 19 – Linley's Lucky Break
Creation is hard, cheer me up!