The battle in the sky started even before the army on the ground met its enemies. The heroic cultivators on the invaders' side didn't fear the Empire's battle formation anymore, and they promptly divided themselves into groups to face the Tyrannosaurus that suited their level.
There were nine Tyrannosaurus. Three of them were similar to the one faced by Noah and the others in the previous battle. Instead, the others barely neared the fifth rank in terms of power.
It seemed that the Empire was short of rank 5 cultivators that knew how to perform the battle formation. Otherwise, there would be no point in creating six of them that any expert in the fifth rank could destroy.
Still, the invaders had prepared strategies for similar events. The various groups that they had formed were one of them.
Noah was with the higher-ups of the Hive. Since there were only three quasi-rank 6 Tyrannosaurus, the three forces could divide themselves according to their faction.
A crucial aspect of each group was the number of cultivators capable of launching attacks with power in the solid stage, which Noah and Elder Julia covered when it came to the Hive's team. Another important aspect was the defense, but the Council had deployed enough Elders to offer a golden shield to each group.
As for the other rank 5 cultivators, their role was to defend until those capable of an offensive in the solid stage destroyed the wings. At that point, everyone had to focus on attacking.
The battle on the old continent had already proven itself to be different from the war in the new one. Back then, the Empire had relied on formations powered by the marvelous ground of the piece of Immortal Lands.
Instead, it was now using techniques that no other organization in the world knew. Even the Royal family only had a few studies when it came to battle formations.
It couldn't be helped. Relying on formations in the new continent was only normal since its ground diminished the consumption of such inscriptions. Using them in the old landmass could make the Empire go bankrupt due to the immense quantity of Credits that it would need to fuel them.
The battle formations used the cultivators as their fuel, and the Empire had plenty of them. Also, they were quite effective since they forced any attackers to face them directly and suffer some injuries.
The only flaw in the Tyrannosaurus was that they found it hard to inflict casualties in the enemy army. The invaders were too cautious and prepared, while the battle formations had evident weaknesses that they could exploit easily.
Noah and Elder Julia took their time to cut away the wings of their target. They didn't have multiple cultivators able to express the power of the solid stage, so they could only take things slowly.
However, they had many rank 5 cultivators set only on defending them, which made their role safe. The only tricky part was controlling their attacks so that they would dodge the Tyrannosaurus offensive and still hit the wings.
More than ten exchanges had to happen before Noah and Elder Julia managed to destroy all the wings. The blue light around them dispersed at that point, and a series of rank 4 cultivators appeared. That event was the signal for the other cultivators of the Hive to start their offensive.
The Tyrannosaurus was a formidable opponent even after it lost its wings. After all, its power resembled a quasi-rank 6 creature, even if it had many flaws.
Those who weren't capable of launching an attack with power in the solid stage could only see the Tyrannosaurus' light dimming by a little every time of their attacks landed on its body.
The group needed to weaken it a bit before all the Elders could hurt it. There was little that the other experts could do while its power was still above the fifth rank.
Nevertheless, the battle went well. Noah and the others had many defenses in place and managed to slowly exhaust the Tyrannosaurus until the entirety of its blue body shattered and revealed the cultivators inside it.
The fight was far from over though. The soldiers of the Empire had the chance to escape back then due to the defensive walls and the injuries suffered by the invaders.
Yet, they had nowhere to run now. Those experts were fighting above their homes, and showing their backs to their enemies could only worsen that already tragic situation.
It was better for them to fight, especially since they had an unshakable faith in Shandal and his Left Hand, who was still managing the organization.
Noah chose his target in an instant. He was one of the few members of his group that had come out of the battle completely unharmed, and he didn't hesitate to dive toward a fight.
Elder Julia was fine too, and she led the path toward the enemies that were waiting for them. The other Elders were injured, but they didn't dare to remain behind during such a crucial moment. After all, Noah and Elder Julia's performance had been inspiring in their eyes.
As for Noah, he had decided to charge right at the soldiers of the Empire because he had recognized Icy Stare among them.
She had managed to escape death with the Second Life formation the last time, and her cultivation level had suffered a blow due to the consequences of the miraculous inscription method.
Still, there she was, standing proudly on the air and radiating "Breath" in the liquid stage of the fifth rank. Also, she was keeping her cold gaze on Noah as her long blonde hair fluttered in the wind.
It was as if she was challenging him to come, and Noah didn't hesitate to accept her provocation since his awareness didn't sense any particular danger. If the Empire had managed to create a formation capable of hiding itself from him, he would face the consequences of his actions.
The other Elders of the Hive followed close behind him, and Noah couldn't help but curse at that sight. He couldn't use his full strength when it came to battles alongside his companions. His corrosive smoke was too wild.
However, he didn't slow down when flying toward Icy Stare. He wasn't the same newly advanced rank 5 cultivator as before. Now his body was in the upper tier, their cultivation levels matched, and he had many tools that he didn't have the chance to test against cultivators yet.
The Black Hole spell appeared on his palm and floated until it took its position above his head. The Demonic Sword split, and Noah wielded the two halves. Ethereal and material sabers formed a sea that surrounded him.
Noah's figure became unclear too, and he sprinted as the Merging spell pushed his speed to the limits.
He ended up arriving near the soldiers of the Empire at the same time as Elder Julia, with the only difference that he had already swung his blades by the time that he stopped.