Chapter 64: The One Ruling in the Shadows

Outside of the walls of Academy City.

On the marble road that had one of the entrances into the walled city, there was a cluster of transport carriages that were being filled with Equipment and Cores being hauled out from the city.

"Brother Derek, I envy that you guys just get to oversee the operations of a city. We have to join the major battalions that are pushing further into the Light Continent soon!"

Under the light of the beautiful rays of the sun, a Silver Blessed from the Dark Continent spoke to a being he knew for years- A silver Blessed from Academy City that was in charge of transporting the Resources they collected from the Rifts of the City to be handed off to the forces of the Dark Continent!

The one known as Brother Derek was actually Number 87- just another being that was under Noah's mind domination.

Number 87 smiled towards the Blessed as he saw the resources were all placed into the carriages and they were ready to set off.

"Being within the City isn't as easy and fun as you would expect, much of it is just boring work!"

The Blessed from the Dark Continent rolled his eyes as he peered through the sliver of the open gate to see the inside of the city, shaking his head as he gave a command to the forces taking care of the transport.

"Let's set off! We have to pass by two other Cities before docking everything into the airship…"

The Resource Transport began to move out, the gates of Academy City slowly closing as Noah watched all this from a distance!

The task of taking over a city silently had been successful, where even the transport of Loot Resources had been taken care of without an issue or raising any red flags from their enemies.

To them, they were talking to and doing business with the same beings they knew over the years!

'Good. Then there is the situation of the city itself…"

Noah thought of this as he turned his head towards the center of the City where the aura of Golden Commander Stephon shot out majestically as soon as the Resource Transport left the gates of the City.

"Gather and heed a new Edict that has been passed down!"

RUMBLE!

The words of the Subjugated Golden Commander rang throughout the city as many beings were brought to attention, his figure gloriously floating in the skies of the City as the Silver Blessed lined up powerfully below him.

The people throughout the City raised their heads to the skies as resonant words rang out.

"The Dark King is truly wise, passing out the Edict that everyone within the Subjugated Cities must act like brothers in arms, working together for a brighter future!"

…!

"If this Edict is broken...it does not matter what Continent you call your home as you will be executed on the spot."

RUMBLE!

Alarm and confusion crossed the minds of the thousands of Bronze Blessed from the Dark and Wild Continent, while shock passed through the minds of the locals of Academy City!

This was because such a declaration effectively meant all the injustice and bullying they faced from the Blessed of the Dark and Wild Continents would come to a stop, and they didn't understand why the stance of the powerful Golden Commander in the skies would change so quickly.

"You all hear that?!" From another direction in the skies, the even more oppressive Red Berserker shone with a glint of gold as his eyes coldly looked down at the forces from the Wild Continent.

"I better see everyone within the City working together with no conflicts. Otherwise, we will soon be seeing Blessed being made examples of!"

…!

The words of a second GOLD Expert cemented the new Edict, as well as show how serious they were if it was broken.

The eyes of Golden Commander Stephon blazed with a hidden blue light as he finished.

"Go forth and raise your strength, the Silver Blessed below me will monitor everything closely!"

RUMBLE!

His figure disappeared from the skies as he left the masses of the city with a myriad of emotions, nobody within being the wiser about the change in power!

The city was still locked down as nobody could enter or leave, with information heavily restricted as life within seemed to settle to a new normal.

Annalise was discussing with Rose after they saw the scene of Golden Commander Stephon finish, their eyes turning towards Noah's figure that appeared in front of them seconds later.

The three of them still remained in the first Villa they took over as it continued to be the base of operations.

Seeing Noah's figure, the girls smiled as Rose was the first to speak.

"With the first Edict and Blessed constantly running on watch to oversee it, we're heading in the right direction!"

Rose had been the one to propose that they raise multiple Edicts to change the situation around the City, Noah agreeing to lay them out in phases as today's Edict was to ensure no more injustice or war crimes would play out within Academy City.

"We'll draft the new Edicts as we see how things go...but it seems like we can slowly grow our power even as the forces from the Wild and Dark Continents are still around us!"

Noah gave a smile at Rose's words as he sat down while letting out an exhausted sigh. A second later, a flash of gold bloomed in front of them as the two Golden Commanders that were just in the skies appeared.

Their eyes were locked onto Noah as they fell to their knees on a shocking scene that would scare anyone who saw it!

"Master, everything is proceeding with no issues."

The bowing experts didn't feel an ounce of shame as they looked reverently towards Noah, who only glanced at them as he spoke while looking at the list of Edicts that Rose and Annalise had devised, as well as the ones he had in mind himself.

"By tomorrow, be ready to demolish the current army ranks from the Dark and Wild Continent. Another Edict will be passed for the formation of a new army that all capable Blessed within the City can join. For those that join…"

THRUM!

Noah waved his hands as hundreds of Iron, Bronze, and Silver [Equipment] and [Skill Books] sprawled out in front of him!

"...Powerful skills and equipment wait for them."

…!

Even the girls had their eyes sharply open at Noah's domineering wave of a hand to cause treasures more than 10 times what the City gave for today's Resource Collection to appear in front of them. The two Subjugated GOLD Blessed only looked towards Noah more reverently as they nodded.

The innumerable amount of Loot that Noah had just brought out were of course just a portion among the shocking amount that he gained in the past two days of collecting the Loot Resources from the Rifts that were still running in Idle Mode!

The boxed Rifts were glimmering gold when he entered the Idle Gaming System Interface to claim them a few hours ago, giving him Loot that would make others drool. But to him, it still wasn't enough as his main focus at this moment was the Idle Exp.

He stared at the abysmal 8,245/100,000 Idle Exp as he wanted this number to increase even faster, knowing that the rate his strength grew would only become more and more explosive as he unlocked more of the System!

The last unlocks gave him the wondrous Tower of Champions and then the Shattered Planes Rifts, and he was eager to know what else the System had in store. For this...he would use his time wisely as he navigated how to move in the middle of enemy territory while gradually expanding his influence.

He came out of his thoughts as he spoke towards Annalise and Rose.

"Tonight, we'll take the GOLD Blessed and dive into all the Rifts within the City again to achieve an event faster clear time. Coordinate with those in charge of the Rift Encampments to have them cleared out when we head over…"

Noah's words resounded out as the two girls and kneeling Blessed nodded, plans being made for an even faster clear time of Rifts that would increase the rate he gained loot and reduce the days before the next System upgrade!

"Also, we need to collect the information on how many Rifts there are in the nearby subjugated Cities...this will guide on which city we expand our influence to next…"

A myriad of plans were made and carried out as Noah moved efficiently, the lesson of how many things could change in a short period of time still very clear in his mind!

After the planning and discussion session with Rose and Annalise ended with the two girls moving to take care of many things within the City with the GOLD Blessed and tens of Silver ready to follow their orders, Noah himself disappeared from the Villa as he reappeared in the Waiting Room where he could access the Tower of Champions and the Shattered Rift Planes.

RUMBLE!

It was time to ascend the Tower and break his own shackles at the Silver Rank!