The moment Rowan lifted his hand, the vast legion behind him surged forward like a living tide, heading straight toward Earth.
More than a thousand warriors followed him. His personal battleship, the Black Dragon, could hold nearly three hundred passengers. Nacoro's vessel, built in the same class yet larger in interior volume, easily carried the remaining troops. Even traveling across more than one hundred thousand years of cosmic distance, the fleet crossed space in a single flicker of transition.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared high above Earth.
Their arrival tore open the calm sky above the residential district known as Moonlight Community. Once both ships opened their hatches, countless figures streaked into the open air like a rain of descending gods.
Planet-grade fighters. Star-grade elites. Their collective energy rippled outward in a sweeping wave, shaking every house in the district. Residents who were themselves trained fighters dashed out in alarm, staring upward in disbelief at the countless powerful beings filling the heavens.
"Unknown alien fleet. Damn it, Earth is being invaded. Sound the alarm."
"So strong. Too strong. They're all planet-grade, and most of them are ninth-rank. And those few I can't see through… are they star-grade warriors?"
Panic spread instantly. Alarms blared through the headquarters of the Limit Dojo. South River Base's emergency sirens followed only seconds later, screaming into the sky.
A deafening roar erupted from afar, shaking the very clouds. A colossal figure soared toward the community with terrifying speed. Dozens of fighters clung to its shoulders and back, including Commander Jaye and another planet-grade warrior racing beside him.
Before even arriving, sweat drenched Jaye's forehead. The overwhelming energy pressure radiating from the newcomers crushed him with the helpless insignificance of an ant facing a storm.
Yet even with fear sinking like ice into his veins, he flew on. Earth's safety depended on it.
At the same time, Limit Dojo and Thunder Dojo received the emergency broadcast. Hunter Long and Raiden tore out of their secluded training chambers and shot skyward like lightning.
Both men were drenched with sweat, pushing their planet-grade eighth and ninth-rank speed to its absolute maximum. Sonic booms cracked behind them as they ascended.
"Hunter, this is the one thing I hoped would never happen," Raiden said, his voice tight with panic. "There are nearly a hundred star-grade auras ahead. And almost nine hundred planet-grade ninth-rank fighters. What are we supposed to do?"
Both had grown strong under Rowan's guidance. Raiden had already mastered the second layer of his domain. Hunter had reached the fourth. Together, they believed they could face several hundred ninth-rank planet-grade foes and fight them to a standstill, perhaps even perish alongside them if necessary.
But a hundred star-grade warriors were far beyond anything they could imagine resisting.
Even worse, their sharpened senses detected something else among the legion. One aura heavier than the rest. One presence that felt like a primordial beast waiting in the dark. Merely feeling it from afar made their hearts sink as if the sky were collapsing.
Earth… was this the end?
Across all nations, every planet-grade fighter rose into the sky. Even those who normally avoided battle understood there was nowhere to hide. As the call spread through the War God Palace, nearly all of Earth's planet-grade fighters more than a hundred gathered their courage and flew toward Moonlight Community.
But when they arrived, what greeted them stunned them into silence.
More than a thousand powerful beings stood calmly within Rowan's villa compound.
The Azure Sea Dragon lay peacefully beside the garden pond, docile as a house pet. Commander Jaye was chatting casually with Rowan as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
When Hunter Long and Raiden landed and saw the scene clearly, their minds buzzed in disbelief.
In a single glance, they understood: these thousand beings had come with Rowan.
They descended silently, scanning the area. Nearly two hundred ninth-rank planet-grade psychics. More than six hundred ninth-rank warriors. Over a hundred star-grade elites. And then, standing at Rowan's side, the one whose presence felt like an ancient, slumbering catastrophe.
None of these beings looked human. Blue-skinned humanoids filled the courtyard. Those closest to Rowan were darker in tone, marked with faint glowing flame-like patterns members of otherworldly races.
"Hunter, Raiden," Rowan called with a warm smile. They exchanged a look and approached.
"What… happened here?" Hunter asked.
"We'll talk when everyone arrives," Rowan replied. "Have the leaders of the Five Great Nations come as well. We need a full council meeting."
Neither of them dared refuse.
Soon the entire Moonlight Community and ten kilometers around it were emptied of civilians and placed under tight military lockdown. Only leaders and planet-grade fighters were allowed entry.
In the vast courtyard, Rowan, Hunter Long, and Raiden sat at the front. Before them were over a hundred seats, filled by every planet-grade fighter Earth possessed. Behind them sat the representatives of the remaining nations and organizations.
Rowan rose.
"You've all seen the people I brought," he said. "They are slaves I purchased."
His words detonated like a shockwave.
"What? Planet-grade ninth-rank fighters, even psychics, reduced to slaves? They're on the same level as Hunter and Raiden."
"Those star-grade warriors…"
Fear spread across every face.
Rowan continued, telling them about the wider universe how merciless it truly was, how civilizations without strength were wiped out or enslaved.
His words pierced their hearts. Hunter and Raiden felt their world shatter. They had once imagined that planet-grade warriors were already significant across the stars. That star-grade fighters would be honored and respected wherever they went.
Reality crushed that illusion effortlessly.
They were frogs in a well.
Rowan lifted his hand once more.
"I have purchased Earth's territorial rights from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. From today onward, I am the Lord of Earth. For now, no outside civilization will dare covet this world."
Relief washed across many faces, but Rowan did not let it settle.
"However, Earth's crisis is not over. This planet is rich in resources. It will always draw attention. Especially the secret realms. Some are powerful enough to attract seasoned beings from across the cosmos. We must grow stronger, all of us."
He gestured, and several storage rings floated beside him.
"I have acquired one hundred thousand tons of Violet Essence. Enough to propel countless trainees into martial advancement. And here are a thousand sets of cultivation manuals refined and optimized for human physiology. These will help you sense cosmic energy faster than any technique you currently possess."
Hunter and Raiden both stiffened. They felt the immense potential in those manuals.
Rowan wasn't just protecting Earth. He was cultivating it.
"Furthermore," Rowan said, "all ancient civilization ruins will be entrusted to me. I assume there is no objection."
No one dared utter a single disagreement.
Once the meeting ended, Rowan established a new super-organization to safeguard Earth. Nacoro would serve as its leader, with Rowan watching from the shadows. Aogul and Iron River would govern their respective alien clans on Earth.
Rowan also ordered Babata to purge Earth's entire network, rebuild it, and place it under secure monitoring. All ancient ruins would be concealed. The Zerg Mother Nest and the Machine Race Vessel were sealed away behind artificial structures, guarded by alien clans.
Three months passed.
A Norland family ship accidentally slipped through a wormhole and found Earth. They marveled at the planet's beauty but retreated immediately after discovering the presence of a universe-grade warrior and over a thousand high-level fighters.
The disaster that once befell them in another timeline never occurred.
Meanwhile, on Jupiter, the Golden Horned Beast roared as its shell cracked. Loren Fang's human body was born anew. With overwhelming joy, he raced back to Earth to meet Rowan, who briefed him on everything that had happened.
Loren Fang listened, shocked to his core, finally understanding just how perilous Earth's future truly was.