High above, Jiang Ao watched the Blood Master suddenly fly away; his face was ugly, and he dared not give chase.
A massive wound ran from his left shoulder to his right flank, and through the gash he could faintly see his still-beating organs.
"Looks like Director Bai finished off the Dragon God and forced them to withdraw." Jiang Ao glanced toward the capital; the storm cloud that had hovered there was gone.
He turned and flew back toward the mountain where everything had begun.
In the forest, Deng Mengcheng had been released again and was not pulled back in.
He sensed a vile spiritual power rapidly receding.
"Did that damned thing give up?" His face was pale, but inwardly he felt lucky.
After killing Ghost Buddha more than thirty times, his own spiritual power had hit the danger line; if the fight had dragged on, he would have had to run.
Not far away, Wan Tianhong stared toward the capital; the trees below were burning.
Tyrant's figure had vanished.
'I'd better head back first.' Wan Tianhong's back erupted with flame, rocketing him toward the mountain.
They had drifted several kilometres from the original peak… Bai Wenliang streaked toward the mountain at the speed of sound.
Suddenly a 3.5-metre-tall, pitch-black, powerfully built Monster appeared at the edge of his vision.
The creature held a mangled human form in one hand.
"So you're the Level Six Awakener. This one is Hei—" Black Gold began confidently.
The next instant a white light flashed through Black Gold's body, vaporising it entirely.
"Stop the prattle; I don't have time for games." Bai Wenliang was instantly beside the blood-soaked figure.
One glance and he shook his head. "Zhengqing, I told you to train more and not rely so much on your ability. See? Someone beat you to death."
The mangled corpse had died moments earlier; its bones, muscles and organs had been pounded into a single mass.
Ten thousand metres above that spot…
Jiang Yan, hands behind his back, watched Black Gold insta-killed and smiled faintly. "The old man's still got it—he just wiped out a million of your clones in a blink."
Beside him, Black Gold grumbled, "Master, it's just an old geezer. Let me go Golden Form and I'll grind him into the dirt."
Jiang Yan said nothing; the moment Bai Wenliang struck and the Dragon God died, he knew this Level Six was no ordinary foe.
"You're my trump card; trump cards are for the crucial moment, not for wasting on some old man." He refused Black Gold's request to intervene.
In this world, though the Xuanjian Division is the top Awakener force and has two Level Six experts…
…no other organisation possesses a Level Six.
Organisations don't, but in a world this vast there are bound to be lone Level Six roamers.
Now that a nation has fallen and the uproar is huge, should any Level Six think to assassinate him, Black Gold will serve as the hidden ace; under an information gap, any attacker would simply deliver their own head. Killing the old man below is meaningless—this battle has already achieved Jiang Yan's goal.
With that, Jiang Yan ordered Cloud Ray to turn back.
The operation was a complete success: Anna Country annihilated and the supporting Xuanjian Division crippled.
Across Anna Country, Monsters received the retreat order; they reverted to normal humans, used illusion crystals, and scattered into neighbouring nations.
The day after the Battle of Anna Country, the outcome of the clash between the Xuanjian Division and the Monster Association appeared online.
Every power in the Awakener world gasped when they saw it.
With eight Level Five and one Level Six deployed…
…the Monster Association had still killed three Level Five, gravely wounded three others, and even slain the Deputy Director. Had the Director not arrived in time, the rest would have perished as well.
Within the Teya Alliance, in the coastal nation of Guteburg…
…on a scenic seaside hilltop stood a white villa.
Inside, members of the Bureau of Gods sat on sofas reading the news.
Satellite footage played alongside.
Silence fell over the room.
Ming Wang, book in hand, remained serene. "Even Long Zhengqing died? I hadn't expected a Deputy Director to fall in such a small country."
A white-haired youth propped his chin. "If it had been us in Anna Country, could we have driven the Monster Association back?"
The question deepened the silence; they had gathered precisely to discuss what to do if the Association came for them.
A pink-haired woman in glasses counted on her fingers. "Long Zhengqing, Zhao Zhenyi—either of them could stand shoulder to shoulder with Lord Ming Wang. Apart from the Director, who here can match Ming Wang?"
"When even such powerhouses died there, if the Bureau of Gods—without a Level Six—faced the Monster Association, we might be wiped out," said Xiang Jing, blue hair swaying, frustration in his voice.
When they woke, the Bureau's global ranking had slipped another notch—to third.
In their midst lounged a middle-aged man in a suit, his hair a mix of black and white, a cigar between his lips.
Eyes closed, he leaned back. "If they come, we nuke them. The Xuanjian Division paid with their lives to show us how terrifying the enemy is; we won't repeat their mistake."
Everyone nodded agreement.
The white-haired youth grinned. "That's the Director for you. Commoners are born to serve us; if some die we just hand out benefits and have them breed more."
Xiang Jing laughed. "Exactly. As long as we're safe. There are only so many Level Five Awakeners; if something happens the common folk will just have to suffer."
Smiles spread across their faces; they had long wanted to say it.
But they waited for the Director to speak first—if they voiced it themselves and things went wrong, they might be left holding the bag.
Ming Wang's expression never changed; he kept his eyes on his book, ignoring the laughter around him.