Chapter 144 - WAR (1/2)

In 1944, during World War Two General George S. Patton make a speech to the United States Third Army.

The speech was said to be delivered before the D Day. Many iterations of his speech exist with differences in wording

In one of his speeches he is said to say this word.

'An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, and fights as a team. This individual hero stuff is bullshit.'

That word used to be true. There is no individual hero that could affect the course of a war, not matter how the stories try to prove otherwise. There is no man that could mow down an army alone.

There is no man that could charge alone into a thousand man troop and survives.

'That word used to be true' Jesse muttered as his weapon is pointed to the sky.

Behind him a thousand men pointing their weapons at the sky, their forehead sweating and their hand trembling.

They are all in high alert, pointing at the man in the sky; all were lined strategically across the island entrance.

Arrows are readied, swords are sheathed, guns and cannons are loaded. The alarm rings with blaring noise in the background.

Up there in the blue sky and white clouds, stand a man clad in black, his cape blow majestically by the wind, his hand crossed each other, his pairs of cold hazel eyes bore down on the troops.

He was on the clouds, like some sovereign of the sky, floating up there, looking down.

He did not say anything but the pressure on the thousand men troops is increasing by the second. Jesse gulped. He knows who this man is.

Lord Shadow.

Jesse was the first responder when Lord Shadow first appeared. He was at the surveillance room this morning supervising the work when an unidentified bogey come flying to the island.

He rings the alarm. He summons the troops and he gave the warning to the bogey to identify itself.

He sent a few missile projectiles and he sent people after his warnings were ignored.

Nothing comes back and the bogey keeps approaching with high speed.

And then the Energy Barrier was erected to defend itself from aerial attack. Jesse made an executive decision to erect the barrier up and thank God he did.

Because not long after that came the sound of explosion. Like the sky cracked open.

And there he is. Floating outside the Wall of the World Government, on the sky, looking at them, unable to invade the World Government airspace.

If he wants to enter he can either try to destroy the barrier or walk through the front door. The barrier only protects the airspace of twenty feet and above.

And the wall is twenty feet high

It's like a partial dome.

Jesse was about to shout to Lord Shadow to ask him to state his intention when Azief looked at him.

And then his gaze causes a thunderous roar inside Jesse ear.

Jesse expression changed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his entire body felt ice cold.

A deadly force fall upon him, crushing him with the weight of a mountain.

His head spun and he lost the power to even think or form a coherent thought. He felt his body withering and crushed by this pressure.

It was almost like Death was upon him, that destruction comes to him like a tidal wave. Blood dripped down from his ears and nose as he falls to the ground kneeling.

This is only a second after he look at Lord Shadow eyes.

'Major!' Some of his troops yelled as that troop realizes what is happening to his superior. They rushes to Jesse and Azief snorted.

It was like tribulation lightning descended.

Azief look at the troops that are running to Jesse.

And suddenly the sound of bones cracking could be heard as those two dozen troops in the front suddenly discovered that as they run to their superior, their bones was broken by an external force.

A boundless and terrifying pressure. And they scream in pain as some of them had their fingers bent in an unusual way.

Their bones are not as strong as an Energy Disperse Stage bones but still their bones are sturdier than normal human bones yet it was easily crushed.

Then Azief look back at Jesse and Jesse quickly hold up an amulet. And the amulet shines with a bluish purplish color.

This amulet he got from a Chinese American man from his previous squad. 'It is a lifesaving talisman' that man said to him before he died.

Azief release the pressure of Seed Forming and the sky above his head changed colors, red as blood and the amulet Jesse hold up exploded and Jesse immediately shouted

'Lord Shadow! What do you think you are doing?!'

'Open the barrier' Azief said, looking uncaring

'Hmph' a cold snort rang out; filling the entire entrance of the island and someone emerged from the ground.

Muscly and handsome, and holding a hammer with lion armour, a man with long straight blonde hair appears. He has a manly beard, trim and neat.

He was tall almost as tall as Azief.

His figure was valiant and heroic and his face is pleasant to look at, possessing that charm that attracts people to speak to him.

Azief immediately knows who this person is. Raymond. And he smirked. Surely, the World Government won't jeopardize their relationship just for a man?

Raymond looks at Azief in the sky and sighed before saying

'Your attainment is at Seed Forming level. Not at low realm either but in the High Realm. Isn't it beneath you to bully an Orb Condensing Stage user like this?'

Lord Shadow smiles and without warning he stomped his feet at the clouds.

A deafening earth shaking roar erupted as the space around him distorted and the winds around his feet changed direction.

The sound thundered out, seeming as if everything in sight would crumble from it as the clouds exploded into even smaller particles of atoms.

The red clouds above his head dissipated and the sky regains its calm. Azief slowly floats down and then his feet touch the ground.

The ground beneath his feet crumples up like paper because of the heat and pressure generated around Azief body.

The wall to the entrance of the World Government is huge and this narrow path is the only way in right now.

Behind him he could hear the lapping of waves. Not far from where he is standing is the white pearly sand of a beach.

The Island is idyllic and heaven on earth yet with Lord Shadow appearance, it looks like this Heaven will be invaded and almost like a certain evil has come to rob the island of its idleness.

Azief could use his sabers and destroy the Sky Barrier but Azief is not here to make trouble with the World Government. He wanted to retrieve Will.

He stood in front of a thousand men, unflinching and unafraid, standing there like a mountain.

As if he was the only person in the world. Azief stares coldly at Raymond and spoke

'It seems a person with authority has come out.' He said with a gentle but cold laugh.

'I'm here to take something of mine. I hope that the World Government will not obstruct me. After all you did give me the title of Prince.' His eyes were filled with an indescribable arrogance.

Raymond looks at this man in front of him. An enigma. His attire is as black as the night, and domineering.

He is tall, and his face is hidden by his hood. His stylish black hair reached his neck.

His attire looks like an Assassin Creed costume if Assassin Creed costume look like the reaper of death.

His attires look like armour for people that go to war. And Raymond realizes something else.

The man….has no shadows. Even when light shines on him, there is no shadow produced by him.

And he realizes the Ten Rings on each of Lord Shadow fingers and he grew restless looking at that ring

Because with his Discernment Eyes Skill he could see that ring is very ancient and very powerful.

And what makes Raymond even more unease is the fact he could not see Lord Shadow weapons.

Not the blade in his hips but the sabers that he saw in the footage. Where is that domineering saber? He asked himself.

'It is better to keep our relations amiable, Raymond.'

The troops behind Raymond all looked at Azief like they were facing the greatest enemy of their life. Raymond sighed and then he said to Azief.

'I'm sorry. But I could not accede to the request. Your spy knows too much'

Azief eyes narrowed

'World Government sure is arrogant aren't you?' Said Azief with a harrumph.

His voice rang out like a thunderclap as he stood there alone, surrounded by a thousand troops, suppressing the voice which had just spoken.

Then he waved his hand and a hum sounded out as an invisible wind sprang up and gales as sharp as sword were formed from the forming of his energy.

It shot toward Raymond and Raymond stomp his feet as a ten foot high Earth Wall suddenly exploded from the ground.

The sharp gales slice the Earth Wall and crumbles almost immediately. But Raymond has already retreated ten feet away, leaving him and his troops harmless.

'Return him to me!' Azief said and he takes a step as the essence of death envelops him and the ground where he landed his feet withers and darkened.

Raymond looks at this sight and instead of feeling dread he smiles. There is not many people in this world that could take that kind of tone with him.

But it is also an opportunity for Raymond to temper himself with battle.

'He knows what's in the Closet' Raymond said and he looks at Azief expression trying to see if he knows it too.

But he was disappointed to see that Lord Shadow expression remains the same.

Raymond is not sure whether Azief has already knows about the location of the Closet and what inside it or whether he still did not get the report from Will.

The Closet contains something that is vital to the survival of the World Government. It is what convinced Raymond to join the World Government.

It is also the reason why the World Government did not interfere with the Forest Region.

Because Lee Sangmin knows what's in the Closet, and the World Government knows what secret Lee Sangmin hides in his Cave.