Chapter 290: 290. Brother

Everything became messier.

The battles began to spread through the entirety of the two armies.

They were slowly crashing on each other, the front line had fallen as soon as the red cultivators joined the war.

Cultivators in the liquid stage weren't much of a threat for those in the solid one but they could still overwhelm them with their numbers.

The first clash had left the Empire outnumbered after all, even with the help of those in the solid stage, its army was still forced on the defensive.

Yet, the casualties had stopped increasing so rapidly.

The red cultivators had become the main power in each battle while the blue ones were just providing support, the difference in strength between the two sides wasn't that overwhelming.

Noah could run freely on the battlefield in that situation.

The soldiers were engaged in their personal or group battles, their focus was on the opponents in front of them, they couldn't be distracted for even a second.

That's why Noah resumed in his killing.

He would reach for the most one-sided battles and help to deliver the finishing blow on the blue soldiers of the Empire.

The layers of mental energy around his figure allowed him to appear behind their backs almost unnoticed, most cultivators wouldn't even understand what had hit them even as they died.

'This is similar to the battle against Orson. I'm surrounded by cultivators stronger than me and the energy released from their battles is enough to blow me away. Yet, if I plan it carefully, I can decide the outcome of some of them.'

Killing one blue cultivator could break the balance in each battle and create the chance for a fast victory.

It wouldn't cause the death of the red soldiers but it would surely increase the casualties among the blue robes.

Also, due to that diminished obstruction, the red soldiers on his side would have an easier time defeating their opponents.

Ants were small and inoffensive but a million of them could take down a tiger.

The same went for the cultivators in the liquid stage joining the battles of the red ones.

Their power was not a match for those in the solid stage but their attacks could still wound their bodies.

One attack from a red cultivator could kill anyone with a blue robe but they were still forced to defend against the joint offensive of those in the liquid stage, especially if they were backed by red cultivators too.

Eliminating the pawns to leave the knights unguarded, that was a really common battle tactic.

"Found you!"

However, Noah's actions couldn't remain unnoticed for too long.

Noah turned toward the voice that had just shouted those words only to find a red cultivator sending icy shards at him.

'Fuck!'

The chaos inside the battlefield had covered the tracks of that enemy even from a careful person like Noah.

Yet, he wasn't that close, Noah was able to promptly react to that spell.

Twenty fuming slashes shot from his inscribed weapons, the slashes multiplied mid-air and the black smoke resonated with the sabers, tracing black lines in the air as they reached for the crystalline shards.

An explosion rang out, the shards were destroyed and exploded in every direction, stabbing themselves on the soldiers around the area of impact.

Also, a black cloud formed there, creating a dead zone that consumed any unfortunate cultivator that came in contact with the smoke.

'This madman actually used a spell in such a crowded area!'

Noah didn't care about the damages that his attack caused on his allies, he had to defend himself after all, he had no other way to block that spell.

However, the determination of the red cultivator had surprised him.

'Is he tasked to take me down?'

Noah couldn't help but think that he had become some sort of target in the eyes of the Empire.

"Typical of the Empire, you don't care about your soldiers at all!"

Another voice sounded in the area and a red cultivator from the Odrea nation jumped right in front of Noah in a protective manner.

"You have no honor, you actually chased down a weaker cultivator! Let me teach you a lesson!"

The cultivator that came in Noah's defense was one of the female cultivators in Logan's troop, Noah vaguely remembered her face.

"Hmph! Weak my ass. That devil has unleashed mayhem in our ranks and even killed my brother who was a fellow red robe! Heaven itself wants me to take revenge!"

The woman was surprised by the man's words and turned to look at the outsider behind her.

Noah's actions weren't seen by many, he was behind the enemy lines after all, there weren't any witnesses from the Odrea nation.

However, when she turned, she noticed that the hooded figure had disappeared.

"AHGH!"

A pained cry came out from the red cultivator in front of her which forced her to turn again.

Then, she saw a scene that she would never forget.

The man in the solid stage was holding his head with a pained expression, his brows were knitted as if he was suffering from a powerful headache.

A blue figure immediately appeared behind him.

His hood flapped due to the fast movements of the young man, revealing his cold bloodshot eyes firmly staring at the man's neck.

A black light flashed and the man's head was severed, everything had happened so fast that she almost didn't realize that a cultivator in the solid stage had just died in front of her.

Noah stored the corpse in the space-ring and nodded at the woman that had come in his help, she was able to see how the black veins filling his face slowly faded as he put his hood back on his head.

She then understood what had happened.

Noah had used the moment of distraction that she had created to kill the red cultivator.

There was no hesitation in Noah's actions, he had recognized that chance and grasped it, obtaining the best possible outcome.

His cold eyes resembled those of a magical beast pouncing at its prey, there wasn't any superfluous emotion in them, only a sharp determination was exuded.

She felt a chilling sensation on her back as she looked at his lonely figure going back on the battlefield to look for more prey.