The command hall at Sorrow's Peak was silent for a moment. The nine Soul Formation experts were absorbing the new reality. This was it. The second major offensive was about to begin. A true push deep into enemy territory was beginning.

Jian Xuan, ever the showman, stepped forward with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Grand Elder! A fine plan! A glorious journey to a new fortress!" he boomed. "As the proudest champion of the Great Crab God, I shall naturally lead the vanguard!" He then gestured magnanimously toward Li Yu. "And it is only fitting that my Brother Li shall be the vanguard of the vanguard! His... unique abilities are perfect for leading the front and helping to limit the number of dead on our side."

Li Yu sighed internally. 'Vanguard of the vanguard.' It just meant 'first one to get hit.' They had discussed this already so it came as no surprise to Li Yu when Jian Xuan mentioned it. However, he still didn’t like how it felt but he knew he should do it.

However, before Corvus could agree a voice as cold as a glacier sounded out.

"I object," Lady Vyltra said.

The room went silent. Her glacial-blue eyes were not on Corvus but on Li Yu. "He is a child. We are a strike group of nine Soul Formation masters. We do not send a child to take the most dangerous position. It is... improper."

Before Jian Xuan could sputter a reply, Forgemaster Krell responded. "The Ice-Witch is right. It is not honorable. The most dangerous point is for the seniors. For the strong. We have lived our lives. The younger generation is to be protected, to be allowed to grow and then carry on the fight. It is ill-omen and improper with so many old people around to use a youth as a shield."

Vizier Morn glided a step forward, his unnervingly large eyes still unblinking. "A logical position," he hissed. "The kid is young. His potential is unknown but clearly vast, given his recent ascension. To risk him is a poor choice. A senior with known and stable power should lead."

Li Yu was for a moment stunned. When he heard the objection he had expected contempt, or at best indifference. He had never expected... this. A gruff, honor-bound and seemingly genuine desire to protect him.

He quickly recovered and stepped forward, bowing his head slightly to the three demons. "Honored seniors, I thank you for your consideration. Truly."

He then straightened, his face calm and resolute. "But in this, I must agree with Brother Jian Xuan. My domain's weakening effect is our greatest tactical advantage against the forces we face. I am also extremely fast. I am the best person for this job."

He looked them in the eye. "If I encounter something I cannot handle, I am confident I can retreat back to you before I am truly harmed. Please, allow me to take this role."

Zaltar's four arms crossed, a rare smile on his demonic face. "He speaks the truth, Vyltra. The 'child' is far more resilient than he appears. He has my full confidence."

Lady Vyltra held Li Yu's gaze for a long moment to think. She clearly still disagreed with the principle but she saw the resolve in his eyes. She gave a sharp, almost imperceptible nod. "Foolish. But your choice."

Forgemaster Krell let out a huff, a small cloud of sulfurous smoke. "Stubborn young kids these days. Fine." He reached into his storage ring and with a thud that shook the floor, produced a set of armor.

It was a deep, black and segmented cuirass that looked like the night. Etched on the armor were dull red runes. "If you will be at the very front, you should have additional protection. For the lives of our subordinates as well as ours. This is an Umbral-Forged Plate. It will give you some extra protection."

“It is one of the finer armors that I have made, boy. Make sure you are still alive to give it back to me.”

Li Yu's eyes widened. This was no simple gift. This was a finely crafted treasure. The meaning behind it was great as well, his seemingly brute of a man had a heart of gold.

Before he could even react, Lady Vyltra's hand flicked. A small, ice-blue talisman carved from a shard of what looked like frozen ice, shot over and hovered in front of him.

"You used your life-saving treasure in the ambush," she said, her voice flat. "It is a waste to have the vanguard be without one. This is a Frigid-Void displacement charm. An extra I had. It should be able to trap someone at the 4th Soul Formation realm for a bit of time. It should be enough to help you escape when needed."

Li Yu was floored. He looked at the powerful armor and the life-saving talisman. These were gifts of enormous value, given by demons he had met only minutes ago, for reasons he could only guess at. He felt a strange warmth inside. He couldn’t help but to once reevaluate the demon race.

‘Just like with any of the races or species I’ve run into. There were good and bad from all sides. I should never be narrow minded into just thinking they were all similar or the same. I’ve seen humans worse than demons and demons seemingly as honorable as Theron.’

He bowed deeply, a full formal bow of respect. "Senior Krell. Senior Vyltra. I cannot thank you enough. I... I will register this kindness in my heart. I will make sure I do a good job at the very front."

He accepted both, storing them with a sense of gravity he hadn't felt before. He was not only being looked after by seniors he had just met but he also had a great responsibility being at the front. He steeled himself for what was to come.

Within the hour, the entire strike group was in the air.

They traveled on three large battleships. Lady Vyltra, Zaltar, Krell, and Morn took the lead vessel, the Shadowspike. The cultists, Vrak and Malara, kept to their own eerie ship, the Carrion. Corvus, Jian Xuan, and Li Yu were on the Nightwing. Their teams were with them.

Li Yu stood at the front of the ship looking out. His new armor was already fitted and worn beneath his robes and the talisman he was given in his storage ring. His spiritual sense spread wide, acting as the fleet's eyes. His two minds were working in perfect, parallel harmony.

Mind One was focused entirely on the outside world, sweeping the terrain in every direction, searching for any sign of Xylarri movement. Mind Two was still working on the Sentry technique.

There was an increasing amount of unease as they continued forward. The unease came not because there were enemies everywhere they looked but that there was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

As they flew eastward, deeper into territory that should have been crawling with Xylarri. The land was desolate, silent and empty.

"This is wrong," Li Yu finally said in the command cabin.

"Wrong?" Jian Xuan asked, looking up from meditating. "I find it remarkably right! A smooth journey is a blessing from the Crab!"

"It's a trap," Corvus countered, his knuckles white on the map table. "They know we're here. They're letting us fly deeper. This is an execution ground."

As they crossed the invisible halfway point to the Sentinel Pass, the communication token on Corvus's belt and the other leaders screamed—a piercing, high-priority red alert.

Corvus’s face went ashen. "That's... that's from the first barrier. The first defensive line!"

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He activated it. A frantic, screaming voice burst from the token. "UNDER ATTACK! HEAVY FORCES! XYLARRI HAVE BYPASSED THE PERIMETER! WE ARE… AAGH! WE HAVE SIGHTING ON... THREE... NO, FOUR SOUL FORMATION PRAETORIANS! THEY ARE... THEY ARE AT THE MAIN ARRAY! TIDES OF..." The voice cut off into a wet gurgle, followed by an alien shriek.

The cabin went ice-cold. Zaltar's and Vyltra's faces instantly appeared on the main communication array; they clearly got the message as well.

"How?" Zaltar's voice was a low, volcanic growl. "How did they get there?"

"A full-scale flanking maneuver..." Corvus was muttering, his mind racing. "They must have some method to hide their forces..."

Before he could finish, the token flashed again. The voice of Commander Theron filled the air, strained but controlled. "All strike groups, this is Theron. The first defensive perimeter is under heavy assault. Similar, smaller-scale strikes have been reported at a few other outposts. They are coordinating a deep-line assault."

There was a pause, a distant roar. "Stand by... Confirmation. Great Prophet Khaos has personally intervened at the first barrier. The Soul Formation threats are neutralized. The remaining forces there will be able to withstand the tide of lesser Xylarri.”

“All strike groups, maintain your heading and continue on your mission. I repeat, maintain heading. We do not know how they bypassed our patrols. Be vigilant."

The transmission cut.

The silence that followed was heavy and there was a spreading fear for the unknown.

"They can move undetected," Vizier Morn’s hissing voice came over the comms. "A method of travel that bypasses spiritual sense and they are organized enough to do so. This... is a disastrous development."

Corvus slammed his fist on the table. "He's right. This changes everything. Keep moving but double all scans and be extra careful.."

The strike group continued forward but the mood had changed from tense to funereal. Every shadow on the ground looked like a hidden army.

And still, there was nothing here. Not even a stray Xylarri.

They were perhaps three-quarters of the way to the Sentinel Pass when the token screamed again. Red alert. It was Theron.

"ALL STRIKE GROUPS! ABORT! ABORT MISSION! REPEAT, ALL STRIKE GROUPS, ABORT MISSION! The plan has failed. They are not behaving like we thought."

Theron's voice was no longer controlled. It was a strained roar. "The Sunken Basin, the outpost the cultist's took, is under massive attack. Five, repeat, five Soul Formation are with the group. They also have heavy Core Formation support. The arrays won’t hold against that many forces. Corvus and team, they are the closest to you. Return and reinforce!"

"All strike groups are being recalled to their defensive posts!" Theron's voice was a bellow of fury. "The Xylarri are bypassing our lines en masse. They are not engaging us in the field and towards our assault like we thought; they are backstabbing us, collapsing our defensive line from the back! MOVE! NOW!"

The communication cut.

Malara’s face appeared on the array, her red eyes wide with panic. "The Basin! They will be slaughtered! Our entire garrison...!" A good amount of her troops were still stationed there along with the reinforcements that were sent there to help fortify it.

"The ships are too slow!" Corvus roared, his mind instantly shifting. "All hands, prepare for disembarkation! Store the vessels! We fly!"

In the open red sky, three massive spiritual flares erupted as the battleships were sucked into storage rings. The entire strike group, composed of nine Soul Formation experts and their hundreds of troops, floated in the empty hostile air.

"We must split!" Corvus commanded. "The larger main group cannot keep pace! Lady Vyltra! Take Zaltar, Vrak, Malara, Jian Xuan and Li Yu! You are the Advance Group! Get there as quickly as possible and save as many as possible.

He pointed to his two remaining demonic experts. "Forgemaster Krell! Vizier Morn! You are with me! We will shepherd the troops and follow as fast as we can! GO!"

There was no time for another word. Lady Vyltra became a streak of blue-white, icy light. Zaltar was right behind her, a four-armed comet of black and gold. The two cultists were surprisingly fast, becoming streaks of black and red shadow.

Jian Xuan was encased in a golden comet-like shield. He roared and was shooting forward.

Li Yu said nothing and was already following the other Soul Formation experts. He was actually faster than they were and was flying at the front.

The journey back was a desperate, silent and high-speed blur.

They saw it from a distance out. The outposts defensive arrays flickering like a dying candle and it had a hole in it already. Cultivators were trying to block passage into the hole and were barely holding them off. Swarming it like a tide of purple-black insects were thousands of Xylarri.

"We must hurry!" Jian Xuan yelled. "On the ridge... five... no, six! Seven Praetorians! If their formations fail now the forces inside won’t be able to hold against that!"

"We engage now!" Malara’s voice was hurried. She sped up even further. "Zaltar, Li Yu you hold off the three on the left! Vrak, Vyltra, the two on the right! Jian Xuan, the one in the center pounding the array! The one that seems to be leading them is mine!"

"Brother Li, let us show them the glory of the Crab!" Jian Xuan roared, his bravado returning as he locked onto his target.

"Be careful out there," Li Yu yelled back. His gaze bypassed the Praetorians. He saw the immediate problem. It was the hole in the array. Hundreds of Xylarri warriors were pouring in, slowly but surely they were slaughtering the hopelessly outnumbered defenders.

He changed trajectory and void-stepped ahead. He dropped from the sky like a meteor, aiming for the thickest knot of elite Xylarri warriors.

«Void-Lattice Domain»!

He unleashed the raw field. A 500-meter-radius dome of his newly revised domain, infused with the essence of void and water, slammed down onto the battlefield.

Every Xylarri in the dome came to a stop. Some of the stronger ones had their movements becoming extremely sluggish. Their Qi seized. Their bodies felt like they were weighed down like a mountain. Many of them were completely stuck, their limbs locked and even their faces frozen in expressions of alien horror.

"FOR THE CRAB GOD'S GLORY!" Jian Xuan screamed, diving in right behind him. He too saw the issue and came to help Li Yu. His golden light unleashing a storm of a thousand blades into the helpless, frozen Xylarri and turning the breach into a charnel house.

With the hole temporarily plugged, Li Yu and Jian Xuan then turned their attention to their assigned targets. Li Yu’s eyes locked on one of the Soul Formation Praetorian.

The Praetorian saw this new human charging it and was now facing it. It screeched and its purple multifaceted eyes glowed with malicious soul power.

Li Yu felt it, a spike of soul-tearing energy aimed directly at his mind. But this time... nothing. It was like a pebble hitting a mountain.

His Human Soul, sitting on its white-purple island didn't even flinch. The purple psychic spike hit his Ocean of Qi and dissolved instantly. It sizzled into nothingness against the passive and unyielding light of his new Soul Formation realm and additional soul.

The Praetorian recoiled physically, its mandibles clicking in surprise. Its powerful soul attack that had worked so often in the past had failed.

That slight moment of surprise was all Li Yu needed. He void-stepped again.

He was now right next to it. He swung his staff which was now humming with the power of his Koi Qi.

WHAM!

He smashed the rod directly into the Praetorian's midsection. The alien's thick purple-black chitinous armor exploded. Its entire lower torso and legs were obliterated, blown away in a spray of viscous purple ichor.

The Praetorian was still alive as it let out an incredibly loud screech. It’s ruined torso falling to the ground. It was helpless. It was broken. It stared at Li Yu with eyes full of hate and confusion.

Deep within his Ocean of Qi, Li Yu's Human Soul moved.

The fisherman, who had only ever nodded and waved normally finally stood up on his island. With a sharp, practiced flick of his wrist, the star-dusted fishing rod arced.

The ethereal line shot from his Ocean of Qi.

It phased through Li Yu's own body, invisible and intangible to the outside world. It snapped through the air at an impossible speed and the hook lodged itself in the faint purple wisp of energy that was its soul.

"GAAAAH—!" The Praetorian's physical scream became a psychic shriek that only Li Yu could hear.

The Human Soul yanked.

With a sound like tearing spiritual silk, the purple soul was ripped free from the ruined body. It was pulled back along the fishing line, shrinking as it flew. It zipped back into Li Yu's Ocean of Qi and was absorbed directly by the fishing rod, flowing up the translucent line and into the Human Soul's body.

The Human Soul glowed. A faint, satisfied smile washed over it before it sat back down and went back to fishing.

The Praetorian's torso hit the ground, dead. It then rapidly turned to dust

Li Yu hovered for a split second, his mind processing what had just happened, even as the larger battle raged around him. Vyltra was a roaring blizzard of ice, flash-freezing one Praetorian solid. Zaltar, in his four-armed battle avatar battle technique, was holding off two at once.

'...Huh?'

His two minds whirled, processing the new data. 'It can... it can hook souls? It can absorb them?'

He looked at the now dust of the remains below.

'Why now? Why did it not do that right away? Is it because… because it was weakened first? Broken? Helpless and unable to resist?'