Birth of the Demonic Sword

The victory against the Three-headed Dog led the invasion into a new phase. The three organizations now knew that they had enough power to defeat the other puppets, so they only had to plan their strategies before resuming their assault.

The Eight-armed Titan, the Snake, the Nine-headed Hydra, and the Phoenix were stronger than the Three-headed Dog, but they shared the same weakness.

Its healing ability rebuilt the body parts that required fewer efforts to fix before moving to the areas that had more inscriptions. That flaw allowed the invaders to suppress the puppets as soon as they inflicted severe damages.

Of course, the invaders had to approach every puppet differently. Noah would push his ambition to its fullest only once in the fights, so they had to inflict as many structural damages as possible with that attack.

The invaders decided to attack the Phoenix after defeating their first puppet. They wanted to take care of the weaker defenders before dealing with the stronger ones.

The Phoenix had an erratic battle style. It didn't require long periods of acc.u.mulation to launch its attacks, but it couldn't cover a large area with its offensive.

The creature launched giant fireballs through its wings, but it could only create four of them at the same time. The invaders had an easier time blocking them since they could join their forces to take care of that offensive whenever the Phoenix decided to attack.

Noah decided to cut away one of its wings since its offensive appeared to rely on them. His choice gave good results, and the Phoenix became unable to launch more than two fireballs at the same time after it lost that limb.

The invaders could apply the same tactic that had defeated the Dog at that point. The Phoenix didn't let them attack too often, but it couldn't stop them from inflicting damages to its body.

As long as the large injury created by Noah's slash remained, the damage inflicted by the invaders always surpassed what the golden flames could heal.

That was enough for the invaders. They only needed to keep attacking after their battle reached that situation. The puppet would eventually crumble if they continued to worsen its condition.

Third Prince and Second Princess appeared on the battlefield again while the invaders suppressed the Phoenix, but Noah and Great Elder Diana had predicted their arrival.

The two leaders shot toward the Royals when they stepped on the battlefield, but their assault didn't lead anywhere. Noah and Great Elder Diana could only force Third Prince and Second Princess to use a few defensive items to escape.

That outcome disappointed the two leaders, but their actions prevented the Royals from refilling the Phoenix's reserves of energy. That eventually allowed the invaders to destroy the puppet faster than the previous one.

The invaders picked the giant Snake as their next target once even the Phoenix crumbled and Thirty-seven helped remove any lingering inscription.

That puppet gave off a stronger aura than the Nine-headed Hydra, but Noah strongly advised against focusing on the weaker target since it represented Second Prince's technique.

Noah didn't fear Second Prince's methods, but he wanted to clear as many territories as possible before being stuck into long battles. Restoring a stable foothold on the continent had to be his priority if he cared about his organization's power.

The Snake was different from the previous two targets. It didn't have a clear weak spot, and its body was too thick for Noah. He could sever it with the right angle and enough time to prepare, but he didn't know how freely the puppet would let him move.

Having only one head gave the Snake fewer spots to defend. It could focus all its flames on a magical beast's sensitive areas and made those who could come close to its power struggle to wound it.

Moreover, the puppet could launch waves of flames that filled large pieces of the sky without acc.u.mulating energy. The invaders had to prepare fire-resistant robes before the battle since the Snake was too dangerous to face without inscribed defensive items.

Noah attempted to cut its head a few times, but the Snake always managed to dodge or avoid his attack.

Golden flames would come out of its skin whenever Noah's blade became too close, and it could also perform evasive maneuvers whenever Noah managed to sprint past the fire.

In the end, Noah had to settle for cutting away a large chunk of its body and leave the head intact. That slowed down the invaders' advance, but they managed to destroy the puppet anyway, even if they had to attack it four times and with different battle tactics.

As for the Royals, Third Prince and Second Princess didn't show themselves while the invaders ripped the Snake into pieces. They feared what Noah and Great Elder Diana could do if they managed to capture them.

The last two puppets were both quite annoying. The higher-ups had tested their power while Noah was still inside his year of break from the invasion, and they couldn't understand which one was stronger.

The Eight-armed Titan wielded an incredible physical strength, and it could create massive swords with its flames. It didn't have any long-range attack, but it was a threatening foe already in its current form.

The Nine-headed Hydra had opposite abilities. Its physical might was on par with the Titan, but it could only launch long-range attacks. It was quite powerless when an enemy managed to slip past its flames.

Noah would typically choose to fight the Hydra since it appeared to be weak against his abilities, but he had to be wary of Second Prince. He didn't know if the puppet carried a trace of the Royals' prowess. Only King Elbas was aware of that.

The Matriarchs understood his concerns after Noah explained the situation to them. Second Prince was King Elbas' heir in the end. The puppet that depicted his technique had to be different from the others.

The leaders decided to put a hold on the battles against the puppets due to those doubts. Defeating the other three creatures had already opened the path for the conquest of half of the new continent. The invaders only had to deal with the defensive formations there to seize them.

The three organizations expanded on the northern side of the new continent. The various powerhouses led different attacks while Noah and the Matriarchs studied a viable offensive to defeat the two remaining puppets.

Years of battles went by, and the invaders slowly reached the eastern coast as their advance continued. The defensive formations on their path could only hinder their inevitable conquest of those areas.

The leaders let their organizations settle in their new domains before resuming the war. They wanted to jump back on the positive trend that they had abandoned when they escaped inside the separate dimension.

They were finally back into a prosperous land filled with resources. It didn't matter that the current new continent had already suffered from many wars. It was a paradise compared to the separate dimension.

As for the war, the Matriarchs eventually decided to listen to Noah's instincts. They would leave the Hydra as the last puppet and move their focus on the Titan for now.