The whole army moved in perfect sync after being split into twelve large groups. With the info Camille had gathered over the years, they knew exactly how to move and get close as silently as possible until they surrounded the city.

Before the operation, Darian used the Academy crystal that Howlyn had given him and got her confirmation — everyone at the Academy had worked hard and managed to take over the remaining planets in that galaxy, leaving no Risen behind.

It was likely that once he ordered the attack on one of the great cities of Leaf World, the leaders of the other people important to the Celestial Shadow would send warning messages to him.

In the two previous worlds, the Black and White Blood ones were irrelevant, but now things were completely different. That's why Darian didn't rush ahead; he preferred to take the four years to gather resources carefully.

The current plan was simple. At the exact moment, the White Blood soldiers would use their space-manipulation ability together, creating a direct passage right into the city, launching an attack without giving any chance for retaliation.

Obviously, there was a barrier protecting the city, designed to prevent exactly that kind of thing. Camille explained everything to Darian, not knowing what he planned to do; it seemed impossible to fight a battle on that scale with favorable odds. But... Darian simply said calmly that he would be the one to break it.

He was the only one who could make such a perfect plan work. Besides him being the only one capable of destroying the barrier, there were also countless scouts watching the whole area around the city.

Without any hesitation, he and Niara moved slowly, avoiding them with precision. After all, Darian could sense their karma from far away, and with Niara's help, he could avoid any kind of detection inscriptions.

The army waited a few kilometers away, everyone in position. Camille held a crystal, anxious — it was the first time she was truly fighting side by side with Darian.

Then...

Suddenly, the color of the world changed.

The inner city pulsed, automatically activating its barrier to the max. Then, a dagger with a runic seal pierced through it like lightning.

Eleri, Awel, and Tir still didn't have runic seals, but Darian carried dozens of those daggers with him, stolen from that clan in the past.

*KBOOOOOM!*

"Now!"

Camille shouted, and all the White Blood soldiers of the army used their spatial power to the max, creating a short-distance channel straight into the city.

In just two seconds, inside the massive city, an army of over a million soldiers appeared in the center, unleashing a storm of destruction.

Lucy dashed like lightning to the central building, where the inscriptions were. When the Golden Bloods reacted and sent emergency orders asking for help from the other cities, all communication and inscriptions were already cut off.

The city's army, made up of Golden Bloods, fought with everything they had. But the nine-ring Spiritual Guardians were the elite of the Demons and Charming Eyes. Their Summoners were also well-trained and knew how to fight and survive tough battles alongside their partners.

The main reason those elite Spiritual Guardians managed to reach nine rings — surviving countless battles over the years against the Risen of this universe — was because they possessed high-level Spiritual Techniques.

Those techniques could be used even in another universe, though at only 30% of their original strength. Each Spiritual Technique had a unique purpose. For example, the people of Vadise used the blood technique created by Painita to strengthen the Mannaz, giving them insane physical strength and endurance — making them incredibly hard to kill.

Darian calmly observed the battle, paying attention to every detail. Watching his universe's elite fight, he finally understood the true importance of Spiritual Techniques.

When he returned to Earth, he needed to improve his own technique so that people of his Clan could use it in this universe. That way, they could fight on their own, conquering galaxies without him worrying.

As for the emperors and important figures from Earth, they all had only low-level Spiritual Techniques, along with some magical techniques of the same tier. Nothing grand, but they used what they had together with their blessings to the limit.

They'd reached eight or nine rings through pure effort, intelligence, and luck. They were weak in power, but they'd been through a lot and survived. If Darian gave them more time and resources, they'd definitely stop being weak and reach the same level as the universe's elite.

The battle lasted for an hour, and no one inside the city managed to escape thanks to the blessings and the tanks' blockades. Everything was perfectly coordinated by Camille, who was much more experienced than Darian when it came to commanding armies.

Darian had specialized in training people with potential and creating simple tactics by abusing his own powers. Camille, on the other hand, knew how to command and organize everyone's different classes and blessings, coming up with the best plan to make the most of their abilities.

In the end, the city — and everyone unlucky enough to be inside it — vanished. But it was certain that others outside would quickly alert the remaining cities.

That's why Darian didn't waste any time. Just moments after the battle ended, everyone left the ruins and moved in sync in another direction.

Along the way, thankfully, they had a high-level Alchemist who had already prepared several pills using the resources gathered in that world.

The army recovered their energy and healed their wounds as they advanced quickly.

In less than four hours, Darian and Niara were already moving stealthily toward the new barrier, while the army got ready to repeat the same tactic.

---

In less than two days, the three main cities of the Golden Bloods were completely destroyed.

In the last city, aware of the others' fate and driven by desperation, the Golden Bloods burned through all their resources trying to survive and stop the invasion.

But resistance was impossible. Darian didn't hesitate to destroy a dozen rune-sealed daggers just to shatter any barrier blocking their advance.

The battle was unavoidable. In the city, the Golden Bloods had double the army size. They could be considered on the same level as above-average nine-ring Spiritual Guardians.

Even so, Darian's army had thousands of elite nine-rings, while the rest acted in perfect coordination, giving support with their abnormal blessings.

That was the real advantage of a Spiritual Guardian: when their blessings were used properly and in groups, they became terrifying opponents.

The classes and power structures didn't exist for nothing. When everyone used their strengths to the fullest and in sync, even enemies far stronger and more numerous could be completely overwhelmed.

That was a fact proven in missions across other universes. Even in places with incredibly powerful cultivators, Spiritual Guardians using their blessings showed far greater potential to handle any kind of threat.

So, in this battle, the Golden Bloods from the three cities experienced true despair firsthand.

Darian and Niara watched closely, only attacking to eliminate key targets that could tip the balance of the fight. Besides that, whenever someone from the army was badly injured, Darian healed them completely in a second with his white power. Meaning...

...this wasn't even a real battle. There wasn't the slightest chance of victory for the Golden Bloods.

It didn't take long for Lucy to discover, through some people's memories, where the Divine Flame of Life was hidden. The entrance was located underground in one of the cities.

After finishing everything, Darian and Niara headed there. The army moved along with them, now to gather every possible resource from the ruins.

When the two entered, everything was empty. In the center, there was a seal with a faint, dim rune. They immediately noticed that this figure's condition was very different from the other two.

The Golden Bloods were far stronger, and because of that, they had managed to drain almost all the power of the Divine Flame of Life in a short amount of time.

The three flames were already doomed, having been exploited to their limits to help the Celestial Shadow recover. Less than 2% of their original power remained when they were handed over.

Every time their cores produced more power, the flames' souls weakened even further, leaving them only a limited amount before total exhaustion. The Black Bloods were weak and could only drain energy slowly, but the Golden Bloods were sucking everything dry at once, without hesitation.

Right there, before them, almost nothing was left — only the primordial heart and the faintest remnant of that poor figure's soul.

'...missionary'

A weak, barely audible voice echoed in Darian's mind.

"Yes, don't waste the little energy you've got left. Feel my partner here beside me," Darian murmured, turning to Niara. "She's got a primordial heart created by the Divine Dragon. On top of that, the Divine Flame of the Soul and the Divine Flame of the Mind merged with her before they disappeared."

After a short pause, he spoke seriously:

"I've already destroyed the three cities of those bastards who were exploiting you and avenged the other two in the previous worlds. Even if you don't have much left, your primordial heart will be put to good use so we can end the Celestial Shadow's plans. Also... I need more detailed info about the other two worlds and the enemies' current plans. Only you can give me that."

The voice didn't respond — it was really at its final breath. That figure had held on only out of hope that something could change before the end. Now, it could finally fade away with a sense of peace.

A moment later, a white light slowly drifted toward Darian. He received it eagerly — it contained all the knowledge that figure had.

Then...

"!"

Suddenly, Niara's eyes widened, feeling something terrible instinctively.

"Dan! We have to go back!"

She screamed, shocked, turning to him. Darian looked confused but nodded and quickly resealed the flame. It would hold out a little longer.

The two ran out, leaving that small world behind.

When they emerged, they found themselves surrounded by a dark, sinister sea.

"Miasma..."

They both felt instantly crushed. The level of Miasma was terrifying — there was no light or life that could coexist with it.

When they turned toward a specific point...

A pair of giant red eyes opened, locking onto them.

At that moment, an overwhelming pressure struck their souls, making their knees tremble.

"A Risen... immortal... how?" Darian muttered, stunned.

Before, they'd crushed their enemies without giving them any chance to fight back. But now, the tide had turned. In front of them stood an opponent they couldn't even dream of defeating.