PRETEND THIS CHAP DOESNT EXIST


    The contents are just old chaps again its pointless to waste money on it


    The murky ck Emperor Bone Sea reflected in the Tephit n Head''s personal training room was dyed red with the color of blood.


    ''Almost…just a bit more and I can finally leave this ce. I can finally…be a god.''


    A light of madness painted his eyes. This escape n had been brewing for more than just the n Head''s lifespan. Every n Head before him aided in thepletion of a n that was just nowing into fruition.


    The reason was simple.


    To use blood sacrifice to tear open a hole in Aquazyl was easier said than done. Aquazyl was created by the Sea God, an unmatchable existence. Naturally, it took a great deal of time to properly umte the necessary sacrifices.


    Now, millions of yearster, their hard work was finally paying off. With just a few thousand more sacrifices, the crack would be opened wide, allowing Tephit to not only escape Aquazyl, but also to truly control the Emperor Bone Sea.


    ''Your refusal will not faze me. You will be mine!''


    The Tephit n Head excitedly licked his lips. The scene on the projected walls around him changed, reflecting the inside of Aquazyl.


    Despite the low level of authority he truly held, he could at least spy on the happenings in Aquazyl.


    ''Ahhh, you''ve finally decided toe. I''ve been waiting for so long!''


    Tephit excitedly grabbed a transmission talisman and sent a message, ordering all forces to return to the main headquarters and prepare for war.


    At the same time, he pushed open the training room doors and appeared in Aquazyl for the first time in many years. His reentrance clearly signified the importance of this moment for him.


    A few children thought themselves powerful and decided to wage war against him. In normal times, he naturally would''ve been extremely irritated by their behavior. But in his current circumstance…


    War was just another opportunity.


    ***


    The main attack force consisted of Damien and Zara, Maximus and Ria, the Sanctuary''s 4th ss beings, and the most powerful 4th ss beings from the Ruvia and Oga ns.


    This force didn''t have more than 20 people, but it was a team of elites. Those weaker than them would trace their steps and attack the lower-level Tephit n members while they pushed forward.


    They stood in the middle of a t in. The Tephit n''s main headquarters was surrounded by arge concealment array, making itpletely invisible to the outside world.


    But to Damien, it almost felt like home.


    "There is a threeyer defense system behind the concealment array that tries to beguile and kill anyone who enters. The firstyer is an intricate beguiling formation that uses Aquazyl itself as a foundation. If you aren''t careful, your mind will be broken by it. The secondyer is more material. Tephit n guards armed with powerful technology will be waiting there. If your mind bes too immersed in the formation, they''ll move and kill you before you can even react. As for the finalyer…just leave that one to me." Damien said with a grin.


    "Everyone is aware of the n, right?"


    "Hmph, it can hardly be called a n. Your only intention is to kill until there is nothing left to kill." Bianca scoffed.


    Damien scratched his head sheepishly. "I mean, is there any better way to do things? At this point, our options are pretty limited."


    Bianca shrugged and didn''t say anything. Of course, there were plenty of other ways to go about this n. The problem was that every other method would take strenuous amounts of time, time they didn''t have.


    This full-frontal assault would indeed be the most efficient route to take in their current circumstance, especially due to how knowledgeable Damien had suddenly be about the Tephit n.


    The main attack force had already discussed this n countless times in the past day. Now that they were at the enemy base, nervousness and anticipation hit them in waves.


    But before they could submerge themselves too deeply in forethought…


    "Let''s go!" Damien yelled enthusiastically. His body shed forward, his fist flying through the air!


    BANG!


    Cracks spread through the air as the sky itself seemed to shatter. An extremely well-hidden concealment array cracked and fell apart, giving way to the Tephit n''s scenery.


    With Damien''s knowledge of the n, finding the array''s weak point wasn''t difficult at all.


    He didn''t stop after breaking the array. His body shed through the beguiling formation. His powerful mental strength protected his mind with everything it had, but even then he could feel himself veering off course.


    "Haa!"


    With a spirited shout, Damien spread spatial mana around him in a thin web. His awareness infused into this web as he moved, allowing him to better sense the surrounding space.


    Ting!


    A sudden reaction came from the web''s periphery. There, a Tephit guard was slowly making his way towards Damien, armed head to toe with luxurious armor.


    Damien grinned. ''If youe to me, that makes things so much easier!''


    ''Material Shift''


    Damien''s recent breakthroughs in Dimensional Magic allowed him a supreme ability to manipte position. Dimensional Shift was this concept used on the grandest scale, shifting the position of the dimension itself.


    However, there were smaller and more precise applications of this ability that Damien could use. Material Shift was likely the most practical of them.


    Indiscreet spatial mana wrapped around the unaware guard. In the next instant, he found himself directly within the beguiling formation!


    Damien''s body took the guard''s original position. Using the boost he''d received from this move, Damien shot forward and increased his momentum!


    Material Shift allowed him to toy with the position of material objects, whether they were living or nonliving. If he wanted to, Damien could use this skill to easily transport his every team member past the beguiling formation.


    But this wasn''t his job.


    Damien''s target…was the n Head himself.


    But before that, he had to take care of something else. He zoomed past the secondary defensiveyer of armored guards and arrived at the thirdyer. Unexpectedly, thisyer was actually arge wall of murky ck water.


    This water was from the Emperor Bone Sea.


    Not only would the water itself harm intruders through poison and other nefarious methods, the beasts and nts residing within were terrifying in their own right. Damien had personally experienced their ferocity, so he knew not to downy this defensiveyer.


    However, in the end, this was merely a spark of the Emperor Bone Sea, not even enough to be quantified as a fraction. If he showed fear in front of this tiny piece, how could he confidently im the entire sea in the future?


    His hand reached out and brushed against the sea wall''s surface. Pitch-ck mana exited his fingertips, snaking along the wall.


    ''Devour it all. And don''t worry about portion sizes. There''ll be plenty more to eat after this.''


    Void Mana jumped and danced in jubtion upon hearing his words. In its excitement, its foggy form became more material, resembling the gaping maw of a terrifying and unknown creature.


    In the next second, the maw emitted a soul-snatching suction force, forcibly devouring the Emperor Bone Sea wall whole.


    While Damien made a beeline for Tephit, the rest of the main attack force split off into their own roles as well.


    The Tephit n kept a loose structure like the other four ns on the surface, but their actual internal structure was extremely hierarchal. Anyone who fell out of this line would be executed without mercy.


    The Tephit n had two Great Elders at thete-middle stages of 4th ss, roughly around level 330, tens of High Elders at around level 300, and countless normal elders who were between levels 200 and 300 in strength.


    The only Law Comprehension their bloodline allowed them was the same Law Comprehension that the other four ns used, just utilized with different methods.


    Knowing these two facts made facing them far easier. Firstly, Maximus and Ria would fight against the Great Elders. They were both incredibly strong and held extreme familiarity with the strangews of Aquazyl. They would take care of the two Great Elders faster than anyone else.


    The Sanctuarians were in charge of the High Elders. Their strengthy mainly in the uniqueness of theirws, giving them an advantage during first contact. In a race against time like the current raid, they needed to capitalize on this advantage as much as possible.


    The rest of the regr elders of the two ns would fight against the regr elders of the Tephit n. With these bases covered, there wasn''t much left to do besides carry out the n to perfection.


    Of course, there was one more job. Zara moved silently through the battlefield. Her beast form stood at its smallest height, no different in size than a wolf cub. As she ran, her shadow split from her body and materialized into a copy of her.


    The two versions of Zara moved in opposite directions, avoiding direct confrontation as much as possible.


    Their job waspletely unrted to everyone else''s. In fact, it was something only known to her and Damien.


    But in the end, her role in this raid was likely even more important than Damien''s, despite the fact that he was facing the Tephit n Head himself.


    ***


    Maximus and Ria made it through the beguiling formation not long after Zara. Their steps were light and rapid, their location already set.


    Boom! Bang!


    A jet of mana and a fist shot out, pulverizing the two Tephit guards who tried to stop them. Passing the secondary defensive line, they prepped themselves for the most terrifying third.


    But when they arrived, they only found empty space.


    "T-that terrifying ck wall is…" Ria muttered.


    "M-mm, it''s gone…" Maximus said, equally shocked.


    They thought they''d grown ustomed to Damien''s ferocity, but they were sorely mistaken. The terrifying ck wall that used to reside in this space was a harrowing defensive measure and the main reason none of the other ns had been able to invade the Tephit.


    That ck wall contained a deathly energy that invaded one''s body and corroded them from the inside out. This energy was so subtle that it was impossible to notice until the final stages of decay when one''s body ceased functioning.


    Not to mention, there were countless other dangers lurking within the water wall.


    The ns of Aquazyl viewed this wall not as the Tephit n''s property, but as the mark of the sovereign.


    But now, in front of their eyes, that mark of sovereignty had vanished. They didn''t know how Damien did it, but it was clearly his doing.


    "Tch, it''s not a good feeling being surpassed so much by a child," Ria mumbled inint.


    Maximus smiled lightly and patted her on the head. "Well, there isn''t much we can do about that. Shouldn''t we just be content that the younger generation is surpassing the old?"


    Ria pushed his hand away with a blush, replying, "hmph, don''t think I can''t see through you. You''re just acting nice because you know he can''tpete for sovereignty."


    "I can''t argue with that," Maximus shrugged, "but it''s true that I respect him. If this raid ends in sess…"


    He didn''t finish his words. Instead of posing hypotheticals, he''d much rather move into action.


    The duo pressed their feet against the ground and pushed off, flying through the water with precision and speed thatnd dwellers could never replicate. Before even Damien reached the n Head, they were already at the Great Elders'' abodes.


    "Raka, Tilis,e out and fight me!" Maximus yelled.


    "Hmm, so it has finally begun. Our time…has alsoe…" an aged voice rang out from within.


    "Time…aye. It has truly been so long." A second voice joined it.


    The residence''s door opened slowly, revealing the figures of two old men. They were both unremarkable in appearance, but both Maximus and Ria''s eyes hardened when they saw them.


    "Stop working with Tephit. Join us and get away from his schemes. Only then can you live…teacher!" Ria yelled.


    Raka and Tilis, two old men who had lived for untold millennia. They were not only elders of the Tephit n, but also the adored teachers of almost every n Head alive today.


    One day a few hundred years ago, they broke their neutrality and joined the Tephit n. Nobody was able to find out why, nor did the two leave any hints.


    In the end, the two didn''t even help the Tephit n in any way. Their actions were iprehensible.


    But still, the two old men didn''t budge on the decisions they made. Others…didn''t need to understand their reasoning.


    Tilis smiled warmly as he looked at the two n Heads. He remembered when they were still children who didn''t even know how to use mana.


    "Seeing how you two have grown…I''m truly overjoyed by your progress. And it seems you''ve found sce in each other. With the way you used to fight, who would''ve ever guessed?"


    "Ha, your vision is too narrow. I predicted their matrimony long ago, you just never listened to me."


    "E-elders!" Ria shouted in embarrassment. She nced over at Maximus, only to see the dumb smile that had lit up his face.


    "What? The two of you obviously want each other. Why are you hesitating so much?" Tilis said slyly.


    The blush on Ria''s face reddened. The two of them weren''t even married yet! It was true they''d had more than just a little fun, and it was true that they cared for each other abnormally, but the Prominence War and their responsibilities didn''t allow them to calmly ept marriage.


    Nevertheless, there wasn''t time for idle conversation at the moment. As much as she wanted to speak to her former teachers, Ria understood her priorities.


    The Tephit n needed to be exterminated. Until that happened, they needed to dy the two elders. They already knew that defeating them was impossible.


    Maximus was the same. Marriage might not have been possible at the moment, he would have all the time in the world to consider it in the future. For now…


    The two red their auras and readied themselves. To fight against the beings who raised them and taught them to fight in the first ce…


    Whether emotionally or technically, this fight would be extremely difficult for them.