In the Enemy Main Outpost:
After months of receiving no reply, the top leaders of each force confirmed the death of their reconnaissance army.
"This is much harder than we thought..."
Although the reconnaissance army they had sent out was not strong in battle, they excelled in stealth and escaping.
To be killed without even sending back a message, they could only conclude that the Shadowcrest Family was far stronger than they had imagined.
"What do we do now?"
"Send more people. I don't believe a mere Shadowcrest Family has the ability to eliminate all our men without leaving behind any trace of information."
---
In the Etherium Realm Void Territory:
"There are more this time?"
A few years after eliminating the enemy, another troop arrived in the Etherium Realm's territory.
This time, learning from past mistakes, they were far more cautious, not daring to venture into the range of the Source of Knowledge.
"Trouble..."
Without them stepping into the range of the Source of Knowledge, Maximus wasn't certain he could prevent all of them from escaping.
"Don't worry, Dad. We'll take care of this one," Lily said with a confident smile, seeing her father's concern.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Seeing his daughter's concern, he no longer worried about the Source of Knowledge's ability to isolate being discovered.
After all, it was merely a cheap trick he had developed through the conjunction of his system.
Watching his daughter leave, Maximus turned his attention to the Seed of Path in his hands.
"Sixteen Seeds of Path... How marvelous," Maximus mused with a smile.
Maximus had deliberately made a high-profile move to provoke this war—for the Seeds of Path.
To deduce a Seed of Path, he not only needed strands of the desired path but also thousands to tens of thousands of years to fully decipher it.
However, by using the lives of the Masters of the River of Law to condense everything they had learned about their paths, Maximus could deduce a Seed of Path in mere months.
Although he couldn't absorb their Rivers of Law, deducing their paths was more than enough.
Looking at the Seeds of Path, Maximus held himself back.
"1... 20... 50... 100... 200... 500... 1,000... There are over 1,500 Masters of the River of Law!"
"This—!"
Surrounded by over a thousand enemies, the members of the Order of Maxim went pale.
With fewer than 50 Masters of the River of Law among them, the odds seemed insurmountable.
As despair began to creep in, Liam's voice echoed in their ears.
"Don't be nervous! Everything is under control! My father, Maximus Shadowcrest, is still here!"
Hearing this, a wave of calm instantly spread through their ranks.
That's right!
They still had the Supreme Primordial Candidate—the Pioneer of Knowledge, the Great Maximus Shadowcrest.
Meanwhile, in contrast to their mixed emotions, Maximus wore a smile.
"What a sect and families~,"
Sending him such a feast—how could he not be delighted?
Although it would take a long time and a lot of effort to 'digest' this, Maximus welcomed everyone to the fray.
"What do we do now, Father? Should we get going?" Max asked eagerly.
After recovering, he felt invigorated and ready for more battles.
"I can't fight this battle. It would break the balance..." Maximus shook his head.
Once he appeared on the battlefield and disrupted the balance, the Masters of the Ocean of Law would surely intervene.
Although this would happen sooner or later, the longer this stalemate lasted, the more advantageous it was for him.
The stage of the dimensional war was still in its testing phase.
By revealing his strength bit by bit, Maximus could maximize his harvest.
"But—how can we fight without you, Dad?" Lyla, who was also eager to fight, froze at the realization.
Taking on over a thousand Masters of the River of Law on their own—even she felt afraid.
"Don't worry. You have the Source of Knowledge acting as a natural barrier."
"Their numbers won't matter much on such a battlefield."
"Is that so..."