A few months later.
Trillions of kilometers from the Shadowcrest Outpost, a sentry hidden from the ground was set up,
"Enemy sighted," Zoe, Nathan's wife, muttered.
Zoe's physique is called the Heavenly Eye.
It grants her the ability to see, hear, and smell farther than an average individual in the same realm.
"They've already arrived? How far?" Nathan frowned and asked.
"1,030 trillion kilometers. I estimate they will reach the Shadowcrest Outpost in a few days."
"The time has come..." Nathan sighed, taking out a device to report the news to the base.
While doing so, he suddenly noticed his two sons, Silvan and Martin, sneaking out.
"Where are you going?"
"Uh, to help Uncles and Aunties?" Silvan replied uncertainly.
"No, that's not how our family fights. We sneak silently and strike from the back. Staying on the frontline would only promote your recklessness in a fight," Nathan said seriously.
"But why is Lila on the front line?" Martin asked, pouting like a child.
"Lila has her aunties as her backup. You, as a man, can only stand on your own, so you'd better stay here," Nathan said coldly, ending the discussion.
His two sons were a bunch of brutes who couldn't control themselves.
If Nathan and Zoe's fighting style was neat and silent, then Silvan and Martin's fighting style was dirty and loud.
These two bloody sons of his were fighting maniacs, wild beasts craving for blood.
Martin especially; if he didn't paint the battlefield with blood, he would tremble as if he were having a withdrawal.
At first, Nathan thought something was wrong with Martin.
However, after consulting with his father, he learned that Martin's reaction was due to his physique.
Blood Ashura is a physique that seeks excitement and blood.
If not appropriately controlled, Martin had a high chance of going mad and becoming a bloodthirsty beast.
Not wanting Martin to grow into such a bloodthirsty beast, he suppressed his son's actions and taught him his fighting style.
He also obtained a complementary Origin Manual for Martin to internalize his strength and not be controlled by it.
Now, as long as Martin was controlled appropriately, his withdrawal syndrome would no longer appear.
Meanwhile, after being shut down by their father, Martin sulked to the side like a little kid.
Because of his physique and the Origin Manual, Martin's mind retained childlike innocence when not in a fight.
"Brother, does Father hate me?" Martin pouted and asked.
"Silly brother, Father loves you the most," Silvan said, ruffling his hair.
"But why won't he let me fight? Killing the enemy sneakily is not something a righteous knight should do!" Martin complained, remembering the quote from his uncle Max.
"But we're not righteous knights; we are protectors from the shadows. We exist to protect everything important to us!" Silvan said, teaching his little brother.
"Really?" Martin asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Hmm, we are protectors. We fight not to kill but to protect."
"We fight not to kill but to protect?" Martin repeated as if understanding the meaning behind it.
"Hahaha, Vaelin, looks like we are in for a treat!"
"I wonder how they taste?"
"Such soft bodies~ I want to ravage them and put them on display."
"Vaelin, choose your pick. We'll choose right after you."
Vaelin had the highest status among them, hailing from the Duskreign family, a ruler of a tier 12 dimension.
How could they not flatter him?
If not for embarrassment, they would want to flatter Vaelin with every other sentence that comes out of their mouth.
"Gladly~" Vaelin felt satisfied with the flattery, flying forward confidently as if choosing which toy to play with first.
Just when Leopold wanted to warn him to be cautious, Vaelin's protector gave him a look as if saying not to interfere with the young master.
Each top talent, even in the Virtual World, had protectors.
"Tier 10?" Leopold muttered, feeling the protector Vaelin had.
Although tier 9 is the limit the Dimensional Battlefield allowed, top forces and organizations still had a way around it.
Using special means, they would suppress the protector's strength, fooling the virtual adjudicator.
Of course, this loophole was an open secret; it was a convenience tacitly approved by the top brass of Dimensional Alliance.
"Oh, what a bother~" Leopold shook his head in helplessness.
Meanwhile, having heard all their conversation, Lily and the others frowned.
Although they were used to others admiring their beauty, it was usually not so obscene.
"Hello, I'm Vaelin Duskreign. I must say, your beauty has captivated even me, a noble person."
"For this reason, I shall grant you the gift of being with me."
"How does that sound? Are you excited? Are you thrilled?" Vaelin asked in confidence.
Hearing this, Lyla, the most outgoing among them, was trembling with anger.
"You there, I see your face is red. Are you blushing because of joy at the thought of accompanying me?" Vaelin said, pointing at Layla.
"What a sick bastard!" Lyla no longer cared and flew toward Vaelin, kicking him with all her might.
As the kick was about to land on his face, Vaelin easily grabbed her foot.
"What a feisty little cat; I like you more and more~" Vaelin didn't care about Layla's presumptuousness but became more excited.
"Then die for me!" Layla said coldly as her body exploded.
"You can't die even if you want to~," Vaelin said, thinking Layla would rather die than be humiliated.
Unfortunately, Vaelin's skills were inferior and couldn't suppress Layla's suicide explosion.
With disappointment, he could only look at the other 8 Valkyries.
As for the suicide attack? It didn't even leave a scratch on his skin.
Possessing a complete tier 11 armament, how could a mere pariah from a tier 9 dimension damage his skin?
"I can only choose another one..." Vaelin muttered.
However, as he walked forward, his body suddenly felt weak all over.
Thud~
Falling over, the dust began to cover his pristine garments, causing silence on the battlefield.