Birth of the Demonic Sword

The rebels had prepared for more than a hundred years for that event. They had invested most of their resources to develop a method to control the hybrids, but the dimensional tunnel remained their main target.

Noah didn't believe that they didn't invent a method to quicken the invasion. The fortress's defenses were automatic, and no one could deactivate them, but knowing their structure could make the armies' attacks more efficient.

The death of one of the leaders didn't affect the tide of magical beasts and hybrids. The invasion continued almost undisturbed since many defensive formations either fell apart under the attacks or deactivated on its own.

Only the automatic defenses remained in place and released a relentless series of attacks in the middle of the invading packs. The loyal forces knew that they couldn't stop the leaders with the few formations still active, so they focused on the weaker creatures.

As for the sixth rank leaders, the loyal forces could only hope that the fortress and Noah could kill them.

Beams of various elements and hundreds of puppets went after the weaker beasts while Noah shot in the sky toward the remaining Manatee. The Demonic Sword and Snore were still trying to stop its charge, but the powerful creature forced them into a passive position.

Noah's arrival reverted the situation. He executed the same tactic as before, with the only difference being that he ignored the body at that time and focused on its head.

He would have done the same before, but the presence of an ally so close to the beast made it troublesome for him to attack it in that exposed spot.

The Manatee opened its mouth, showing its short but sharp teeth right before Noah reached it. Yet, Snore coiled around its body and bit its mouth to interrupt its attack.

The fuming armor appeared around Noah once again, and he stabbed his clawed hands on the immobilized creature's eyes. The Manatee's skull became his handhold as he started to strike its mouth with his knees.

Corrosive smoke poured inside the hybrid's head while Noah turned its mouth into a bloody mess. Shards of teeth and bones shot out of the creature every time his knees crashed on its tissues, and the entirety of its lower maw soon vanished.

The Manatee couldn't even roar properly when the Demonic Sword flew under it and stabbed its brain from the wound. Corrosive smoke spread among one of its vital organs, destabilizing its balance and making its mind go dark.

The living weapon actions stopped the instincts' arrival, giving Noah enough time to crack the remaining skull open with his bare hands.

The last of the Giant Manatees disappeared from the sky as Noah stored its corpse inside his space-ring. His next targets were the Hydras, but some anxiety filled his mind when he saw that they had already reached the fortress.

Noah had taken care of the Manatees in less than ten minutes. Still, the invading forces had already reached the core of the city by that time.

The entirety of the fortress began to tremble at that point, and shining lines lit up on its surface. A humming sound also echoed in the environment and disturbed the leaders' concentration.

The experts had fused both worlds' inscription methods to create a building capable of fending off both cultivators and hybrids. Yet, the natives had always focused their expertise on fighting magical beasts, so the fortress was stronger against those carrying their features.

The leaders roared in anger as the humming noise continued, and the shining lines soon released a red halo that enveloped the entirety of the city.

Noah recognized that light. It had the same color and aura as the crystal on Angela's wand. Still, the fact that the rebels had also used that method meant that they knew a lot about it.

Both magical beasts and hybrids lowered their heads when the red halo illuminated the sky. Even the leaders couldn't resist its oppressing features.

Noah guessed that the red light would be able to hurt him too if he still was a complete hybrid, but his latest breakthrough had removed that weakness from his existence.

A series of large runes appeared on the fortress' surface while the noise and halo suppressed the armies. "Breath" gathered on those complex forms before thick whips shot out of them.

The whips were five meters thick and didn't seem to have a limit to their length. Pure red light made their structure. They shot after the leaders while they remained still.

Both Hydras and Octopuses released painful cries when the red whips entangled themselves on their bodies. Smoke came out of their skin as the corrosive properties of their red light affected those creatures.

Noah flew at high speed toward the Hydras even if the fortress's defenses seemed to have everything under control. Those formations could even stop a powerhouse in the end. He didn't expect anything less when it came to their favorite targets.

However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that the rebels had predicted that eventuality. After all, they would need months to cross the defenses, which was enough time to warn the main world's powerhouses and request help.

The rebels would have never decided to pursue that approach in those conditions. Noah believed that they had a way to quicken their charge toward the dimensional crack.

'I need to kill as many leaders as I can before they are ready to show all their cards,' Noah thought as he sprinted toward the first Hydra. Large cracks appeared under his feet, but the technique wasn't perfect at that time either.

The red whips restricted the Hydra and its seven heads, making it nothing more than a punching bag in Noah's presence. He landed directly on the first head and began to slash his way through its insides until its eyes lost every light.

Noah then shot toward the next one and repeated the process. He didn't even need to activate the Demonic Form to take care of creatures in that condition, but he did it anyway to accumulate corrosive smoke in the air.

The red whips let go of the creature when Noah destroyed its last head, and the creature's body ended in his space-ring while he turned to its ally. The other Hydra was in the same condition as the previous one, so Noah shot after it, planning to execute the same tactic.

Nevertheless, something flew out of one of the buildings in the city at that point and left a white trail while it reached the highest point on the battlefield.

Noah didn't feel any danger when it stared at that inscribed item, but his mind warned him that something was off.

The white trail dispersed as the item remained up in the air. A second of silence spread in the battlefield before the cylindrical weapon detonated and radiated a wave of white light that covered the entire city.

The light crossed every beast, cultivator, and hybrid in the area without hurting them. However, all the buildings and formations went dark at its passage. Even the defenses of the fortress stopped working.