Chapter 1459: 1459. Invasion

The strongest guild hired by the organizations involved in the invasion occupied a tall mountain that featured a thick forest on its sides. The environment was easy to defend due to its geographical layout. The experts of that force had even learnt to exploit the trees to improve their battle prowess there.

Many inscriptions surrounded the area. They kept track of the various magical beasts that inhabited the region and ensured that no cultivator crossed those borders.

The guilds were different from the large organizations. They moved whenever a better region became empty, but that force was different.

The four solid stage cultivators in charge of the guild were quite famous. They had completed many jobs for the large forces and had earned a decent reputation in a world controlled by rank 8 experts.

That guild had even received multiple invitations to join some organizations, but its leaders had always refused them. Those experts strongly believed that one of them would reach the eighth rank, so they couldn't bother to become the slaves of the large forces.

The inscription master in charge of the various formations around the mountain was a slim man called Bret. He was the second in terms of cultivation level in the guild, but his expertise mostly covered the formations' field.

Bret sat cross-legged inside a cave placed at the center of the mountain's peak. A luminous sphere floated in front of his eyes and depicted the entire layout of the region.

A few bright spots indicated the various cores of his formations. Bret could inspect all of them to study how the pack of magical beasts living inside the forest behaved. He could also do the same whenever his inscriptions sensed the presence of unwanted experts.

Nothing could escape Bret's control, but something he couldn't explain happened a few months after Noah's group departed from the Outer Lands. One of his cores flickered before returning to function normally.

That had never happened to his formations before. A malfunction on the defenses could cause a chain reaction that would leave the entire guild unprotected. Bret couldn't allow that, but his inscription didn't show any strange behavior after that short flickering.

"Did something happen?" A woman said after she suddenly appeared behind Bret.

"Your senses are as sharp as ever, Adele," Bret replied. "I wonder why do I even bother to keep track of these formations with you here."

"Did your formations detect something?" Adele asked, ignoring Bret's comment.

"It doesn't seem so," Bret replied. "Maybe I need to reharmonize some materials, but the formations work fine. I can even look through their cores."

"Don't leave your position during this period," Adele said. "The families can summon us at any moment. We can't have you wanted around in such an important moment for our guild."

"Right, right," Bret added. "The fight for the Outer Lands is necessary for our force. I didn't forget that."

"But your words don't carry our determination," Adele said.

"I can't help but feel that the Boss is wrong this time," Bret replied. "We don't need a larger land. The mountain is perfect for our number already. Risking everything to be the mercenaries of some organization seems pointless."

"You know how a larger environment can benefit all of us," Adele said. "Besides, I don't see any risk in this mission. The Legion will soon retreat as it has always done. Humans might not be able to do anything against the magical beasts, but those hybrids aren't a problem, especially when the large organizations are involved."

"We don't usually underestimate our opponents," Bret continued.

"They aren't our opponents," Adele said. "The organizations will summon us only when the fight is almost over. I wouldn't worry so much."

"You are right," Bret said. "Our backing is too powerful this time. We have nothing to fear."

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"I told you to be careful!" King Elbas shouted toward one of the new members of Noah's group. "You are lucky that I'm here. I managed to tamper the formation before it captured your faces. It's safe to cross it now."

King Elbas was in charge of that part of the invasion. His methods allowed him to see almost every inscription in the area. He was the most suitable expert for the task.

"A magical beast was about to reach this area," The hybrid answered. "I needed to protect the mission."

"Protect it while following my directives," King Elbas concluded before he watched through his lenses again to see if he found more inscriptions.

Noah and the others were right behind the Royal. Ian, Divine Demon, Jordan, and the other hybrids followed him closely and didn't dare to step outside of their group.

King Elbas had to deactivate and tamper with all the formations that he found. That was necessary to keep the guild unaware of their movements.

"How long do you need?" Noah asked as a tingling sensation filled his fingers.

Noah couldn't wait to fight. He barely contained his excitement for that battle. He could face another solid stage, and his mind often wondered about the boost that his potential would get after he defeated that expert.

"I need to be thorough," King Elbas replied. "Then, I need to create the barrier. You can't rush this process."

"I would have done it in half the time," Divine Demon said before exploding into a loud laugh.

"No, you wouldn't have," King Elbas replied firmly before starting to ignore any external input.

King Elbas' task was crucial for the mission. He had to take his time to deactivate every formation in the area and create traps through the mountain. He also had to build something that prevented eventual who decided to fly away mid-battle.

No one had to know that the Legion was attacking the guilds. That would only unify them against a common enemy. It was better to maintain secrecy.

King Elbas took his time. He tampered with every formation in the area and built an untraceable barrier that isolated the whole area. No one could escape anymore unless they invested weeks in taking that restriction down.

"Can we charge now?" Noah asked after a satisfied expression appeared on King Elbas' face.

"Yes," King Elbas replied. "We are free to go. What's the attack plan?"

Noah smiled before giving voice to a draconic roar. Jordan, Don, Ian, and the other hybrids joined the cry and forced most magical beasts in the area to flee. Those that remained marched toward the group and bowed their trembling head toward their new masters.

After receiving a few orders, the magical beasts began to run toward the mountain's peak, led by a selfless desire to satisfy their new leaders. They couldn't escape those hybrids' orders after bowing their heads to them.

Noah and the others followed the tide of beasts closely. They already knew who their opponents were. The issue was to find them and divide them according to their strategy.

A loud alarm echoed through the area when the beasts reached the series of habitations on the mountain's peak. Countless cultivators began to fill the sky, but a wave of red flames covered the sky and turned them into ashes.

Four powerful auras came out of the mountain's peak at that point, and the invaders divided themselves according to the level of dangerousness coming from those presences.

Noah and King Elbas soon found themselves in front of a short solid stage cultivator who wore an eccentric metallic robe. He was their opponent. The two of them had decided to work together to take down one of the four leaders.