Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's audience had cultivators from the three nations, but they all followed his orders. Some of them executed the injured or collapsed rebels on the ground, while the others flew toward the various formations' cores to activate them again.

Many battles happened between the rebels and the loyal assets. The former took control of the cores even before the revolution started, and they had infiltrated the fortress.

However, they had no control over the automatic formations. The best they could do was preventing the loyal forces from reactivating them.

Noah engulfed the sky above the fortress in a cloud of corrosive smoke and black flames while the hybrids were busy defending from his counterattack. He would usually leave his spot and go after his enemies, but he couldn't risk that his connection with Snore broke during the battle.

He could use the dark matter to remain linked to his Blood Companion, but every defense around the dimensional crack would fall if the hybrids happened to cut his connection with the Snake.

The rank 6 leaders released angry roars when they saw the dangerous cloud. Part of the flames threatened to touch their bodies and forced them to take a few steps back.

Without the rebels' brainwash ruling their minds, they only had the faint memory of their original target. They knew that they had to destroy the dimensional tunnel, but they felt Noah had the priority.

Yet, they weren't willing to charge through that annoying cloud. The hybrids' intelligence made them take the safe approach, which meant relying on long-range attacks.

The Seven-headed Hydra spewed seven different attacks aimed at the center of the cloud, and the Steeled Octopi cracked their tentacles to create shockwaves that cut both flames and smoke.

Noah smiled when he saw those attacks. His goal was to buy enough time to restore the fortress's defenses, and the careful nature of beings with intelligence was working in his favor.

Flames came out of his mouth and blocked the Hydra's attacks. The Octopi's cuts were less precise, so he could ignore those that didn't risk hitting the tunnel. Still, a few of them aimed for Snore, which forced him to intercept them with his body.

Noah punched the shockwaves, but his fists weren't suited to block such immaterial attacks. He had to use his body to stop them completely, and his Demonic Form wavered when they landed on him.

The Hybrids didn't stop their offensive. More currents of various nature and sharp shockwaves ran through the cloud, searching for the annoying opponent that had managed to stall the situation.

Noah repeated his approach every time, using flames to block the Hydra and his body to stop the Octopi. Those actions initially took him no effort, but he began to feel tired after he reactivated the Demonic Form for the fifth time.

Even Noah's incredible body had its limits, and he was in a passive position. He could only defend without ever being able to strike back.

His solid darkness eventually became scarce as the relentless offensive forced him to activate the spell for the tenth time. It wouldn't be a problem if he could keep it functioning after every exchange, but the Octopi's attacks managed to destroy his armor every few blows.

Noah cursed his condition as he stuffed pieces of the Hybrid's body in his mouth. His body couldn't produce darkness on its own, but it could empower the features that didn't lack energy.

The production of mental energy increased, and his body's temperature rose as the dark star spun faster. His skin blushed as more power flowed in his tissues and increased its defensive capabilities.

The dark star diverted so many nutrients on his skin that Noah became able to endure the Octopi's attacks with his bare body and without suffering any injury.

Nevertheless, he didn't deactivate the Demonic Form completely. His body still exuded corrosive smoke, which didn't solidify into the armor. Noah produced it only to increase the size of the cloud.

The hybrids' offensive became weaker as the cloud enlarged. Their attacks had to go through kilometers of a raging fire and deadly smoke, so they lost a lot of power before reaching Noah.

On the other hand, Noah began to diminish the amount of smoke poured into the environment. He didn't have enough darkness to continue using a spell in the sixth rank.

Of course, that forced Noah to use his bare body to defend more often, which eventually broke even his enhanced skin. Gray smoke and dark matter came out of his wounds whenever a cut appeared, and some blood rose from his throat as the effects of the shockwaves accumulated.

Noah had taken the role of a punching bag in the end, but that was only a temporary act. His mind kept on sharpening throughout his time inside the cloud, ready to counterattack when the situation allowed that.

The formations in the city began to show signs of life after an hour. Light spread along the lines on the most peripheral areas, and some defenses started to activate.

The horde of magical beasts and hybrids had gone on a rampage after Noah's roar. They fought both loyal forces and rebels since they barely recognized their allies anymore.

The reactivation of the defensive formation gave them a common enemy. Beams, puppets, and large shields appeared in the city's remote areas, creating battlefields that dragged their attention away from the fortress.

More formations activated after them. Most of the city began to shine with a blinding radiance as the loyal forces seized the defensive mechanisms.

Noah's condition wasn't ideal, and some tiredness appeared on his rosy face. He had protected the dimensional tunnel for more than one hour, and the cloud had begun to shrink since he couldn't waste any more darkness.

There wasn't any significant injury on his body, but his skin featured many superficial ones. His last layer of protection was about to fall, and he couldn't remain still for much longer.

Still, a cold smile appeared on his face when blinding red light filled his vision. The fortress under him had resumed emitting its humming noise, and the massive whips came out of its defenses' cores once again.

The defensive methods saw Noah's cloud as an enemy, and it released an intense red halo that forced all the smoke and flames to disperse. Once again, the leaders appeared in Noah's eyes, but their eyes showed tinges of fear when they sensed the violent aura coming out of his figure.

The whips shot forward to restrict the hybrids, but the four creatures wouldn't let them get close again. They had been taken by surprise the last time, but they could approach the dangerous building with the proper methods now.

Yet, they couldn't predict that Noah's mind had reached an instinctive level during the hour he spent as a punching bag. He felt utterly in tune with his body and the darkness around him, and he knew that he could pierce it with the right move.

Noah stomped his feet in the air and a crack with a humanoid shape formed in the sky as he disappeared from the scene.