Zia turned toward the Dragon Guards and issued her orders. “Take him, the injured man beside him, and every surviving Iron Wolf who needs medical attention. Get them out of here and arrange immediate treatment.”Several guards stepped forward to carry out her command. Two of them carefully lifted Michael while another helped Victor remain upright, and the wounded Iron Wolves were quickly gathered for evacuation.Victor looked at Zia with genuine gratitude. “Thank you. We owe you our lives.”“You don’t owe us anything,” she replied. “We’re simply following our King’s orders.”Victor froze.“Your King?”He stared at her, trying to understand what she meant. As far as he knew, Kade’s only royal title came from his time ruling Tartarus. He had never heard his boss mention commanding a clan of cultivators, let alone an entire force capable of deploying hundreds of elite warriors to a battlefield.Just who exactly is my boss? Victor wondered.Before he could ask another question, an enraged

Another group attempted to open fire on her, but their bullets struck nothing but empty air. Zia moved between them at a speed their eyes could not track, her body becoming little more than a fleeting shadow among the soldiers. Every time she appeared, her daggers flashed, and another group fell before they could react.Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!She darted through the battlefield, using Aether to propel herself in sudden bursts of acceleration. She could change direction instantly, cross several meters in the blink of an eye, and strike from angles that left even trained soldiers helpless. Some tried to swing their weapons at the shadows they saw, while others fired blindly into the chaos, but none could keep up with her movements.Zia soon reached a dense formation of Sovereign soldiers attempting to surround the Dragon Guards. She spun through their ranks, her twin daggers tracing rapid arcs as she manipulated Aether to extend the reach and force of her strikes. Golden flashes cut thr

Meanwhile, aboard the Sovereign warship, Cassian Null felt as though his heart had stopped.“No…”He gripped the railing, staring at the battlefield with wide eyes. “No, this can’t be happening!”His brother was dead.Karl, the Supreme General, the man Cassian had trusted to crush every enemy standing in their way, had fallen in front of thousands of soldiers. Cassian had watched him slaughter the Iron Wolves with ease and had genuinely believed that no warrior could defeat him. Yet Reign had dismantled that supposed invincibility in seconds.“How?” Cassian whispered, his voice trembling. “How could Karl lose? He’s the God of Strength! He’s never lost a battle!”His thoughts raced as he looked across the battlefield. The Dragon Guards were still cutting through the Sovereign forces, and the soldiers who had once marched confidently toward victory were now fleeing in every direction. Their numbers meant nothing against opponents who could slaughter entire formations with their Aether t

Then Roman removed the beads from his neck and wrapped them tightly around his fist, and their crimson glow intensified as he approached Kade. Before Kade could steady himself, Roman drove his fist into his abdomen, unleashing the artifact’s destructive enchantment directly into his body.BOOOOM!Kade’s body folded around the impact as a sickening crack echoed through the ruins. The force shattered several bones in his torso, and the beads’ enchantment spread through his body, tearing into his Aether essence. He barely had time to cough up blood before Roman seized him by the throat and slammed him against the ground.“Didn’t I tell you to stay down?” Roman sneered.He raised his fist and struck Kade again.CRACK!The blow crushed the bones across Kade’s chest, sending fragments grinding against one another beneath his skin. Before Kade could even gasp, Roman delivered another punch, this time into his back. The impact shattered the bones along his spine, the force traveling upward un

He slowly lifted his gaze, and the sight before him made his blood run cold. Kade remained suspended above the ground, his body radiating a brilliant white Aether that illuminated the ruins like the light of a celestial being. There was no strain on his face, no sign of exhaustion, and no trace of the battered man Roman had nearly killed moments earlier.For the first time in years, Roman felt something he had believed he had conquered forever.Fear.It was the same terror he had experienced when he first encountered a cultivator in his youth, the crushing realization that no matter how strong he became, there would always be someone capable of making him feel powerless. He had devoted his life to escaping that feeling, only to find himself facing it again.But Roman Null had never been a man who accepted defeat easily. He clenched his fists and forced himself to his feet, his expression twisting with rage as he tried to bury his fear beneath his pride.“I am Roman Null!” he bellowed.