The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

Shen Yao and her comrades looked far beyond the city walls, and there they saw glowing lines stretching across the ground, extending far into the distance.

"T-This...?"

"What is that? A concentration of mana?"

Those lines on the ground gave them a strange feeling. They looked like runes, but judging from their appearance, they seemed different.

They couldn't be certain since they weren't Rune Masters. Even though they had seen countless runes back in the Heavenly Court, they weren't arrogant enough to claim that they had seen every rune in the world.

"A formation of runes... If it is, then who carved all these runes here? And how come no one discovered them?" Shen Yao muttered to herself.

Rumble!!

The earth suddenly convulsed beneath them.

The ground buckled violently, sending cracks racing across the streets like monstrous claws. Buildings groaned as their foundations were shaken, while entire roads heaved upward before violently dropping back down.

The earthquake grew stronger.

Rumble! Rumble!!

Walls collapsed with deafening crashes. Roofs tore apart, towers swayed dangerously, and massive chunks of stone were thrown into the streets. The screams of the people were drowned out by the roar of the earth.

In different cities across the central region, structures collapsed one after another.

BOOM!!

A large building crumbled, burying everyone beneath it in an instant.

BOOM!!

Another structure collapsed, sending a cloud of dust and debris rolling through the streets.

Casualties quickly began to pile up as countless people were trapped beneath the ruins. Some screamed for help while others desperately clawed at the rubble with their bare hands.

Even the experts hovering above the Royal Capital could feel the violent tremors through the air.

Shen Yao's expression became solemn.

This wasn't an ordinary earthquake.

Something beneath the land was awakening.

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!

A series of explosions erupted in the distance, lighting up the darkness as pillars of fire suddenly rose into the night sky.

Every expert in the air could see the massive explosion erupting in one of the nearby cities. It was so enormous that it illuminated the darkness, and they could clearly see it even though they were more than ten kilometers away.

It was devastating.

It was as if a small sun had suddenly been ignited in that area.

Shen Yao and the others widened their eyes upon seeing the scene.

"Let's go!!"

They immediately flew toward the explosion.

This shouldn't be a local battle.

Nothing about this pointed to a local battle.

...

Somewhere beneath the central region, deep underground, a spirit was staring at the dark cube floating in front of her with a worried expression.

"They are here... It won't be long before they discover my tracks. They even used the [Sovereign Rune Formation] that Gluttony left behind. I can't escape."

She muttered to herself.

She couldn't help it. The remnants of the Gluttony Army had discovered her tracks. Although they couldn't pinpoint her exact location, they still knew that she was somewhere in the central region of the Great Shen Empire.

She couldn't keep running.

"Fortunately, they couldn't use the full capabilities of the [Sovereign Rune Formation], or else..."

The [Sovereign Rune Formation] was one of the treasures left behind in the vault after Gluttony fell. Various members of the Gluttony Army had fought to claim the treasures stored inside the vault. There were dark-grade artifacts, spellbooks, combat arts, tons of legendary-grade fruits, and even Archetypes hidden inside.

During Gluttony's conquest, he had plundered and destroyed numerous countries. He had even killed God-rank powerhouses who had stood at the pinnacle for ages, acquiring the treasures they had accumulated throughout their long lives.

When Gluttony fell, the members of the Gluttony Army began fighting among themselves for those treasures. Those who won became stronger by turning the legendary-grade fruits, combat arts, artifacts, and Archetypes they acquired into their own strength.

There were even three mythical-grade fruits at the time, and those who acquired them became insanely powerful. They eventually became leaders of their own.

And then there was this dark cube.

It had also been found inside the vault.

This thing had a terrifying origin, something that mortals shouldn't dare to use lightly. Otherwise, they would suffer the consequences.

Once it was unleashed, countless people would die.

It would turn this land into something similar to 'that' land.

A place where death became the only certainty.

And that was why the spirit stared at the dark cube with fear.

She knew exactly what would happen if it was unleashed.

A Monster Lord.

...

The entire central region was attacked by an unknown force.

Several cities were bombarded within just a few minutes, killing countless people and destroying various forces in the blink of an eye. Even the highly noble families weren't spared.

The scale of this attack was several times greater than what had happened in Yunze City.

This time, it wasn't just a single city that was affected.

It was an entire region.

And if the attack continued, it could spread across the whole nation.

Rumble!!

The entire region continued to shake.

Shen Yao and her four comrades split up to investigate the various cities that were under attack. Splitting up was dangerous, especially since they didn't know anything about their enemy, but they had no choice.

They needed to uncover the truth as soon as possible so they could come up with a plan.

The five of them flew in different directions and soon discovered the ones responsible for attacking the central region.

The Gluttony Army.

The Gluttony Army didn't bother hiding their identity. Once they made a move, they didn't care whether someone recognized them or not.

They would simply accomplish their mission, even if it meant slaughtering countless people along the way.

"Gluttony Army..." Shen Yao muttered with a grim expression.

This wasn't her first time encountering the Gluttony Army. They had even tried to kill her when she was attempting to break through to the Seventh Shackle Realm.

She descended onto the city walls of one of the cities that had been bombarded. She could feel the immense pressure in the air, hear the voices of the survivors, and feel the constant vibration of the ground beneath her feet.

Almost ninety percent of the people in this city had been wiped out in the blink of an eye.

Even the nobles and various other forces weren't spared.

This city had become a battlefield.

Smoke billowed into the sky as houses collapsed one after another. Most of the infrastructure was already in ruins from the initial explosion, which had erupted with enough force to shake the entire city. It had caught everyone off guard, leaving numerous forces crippled in an instant.

The once-bustling city was now filled with flames and rubble. Smoke enveloped different areas as the thick stench of blood spread through the air.

The screams of civilians fighting for their lives were drowned out by the sounds of battle echoing from every corner of the city.

Shen Yao's fists clenched tightly.

Her expression turned cold as her energy began to rise.

"HAA!!"

With a shout, she threw a punch into the air.

BANG!!

The air exploded from the force of her punch, sending a powerful shockwave through the surroundings and scattering the smoke and flames.

"I will purge you bunch of garbage!!"

She stepped into the air, and her figure flashed into the distance.

Her movements were incredibly fast as she arrived at the noble district.

The once-majestic district, filled with exquisite mansions, was now in ruins. Corpses and blood were scattered everywhere.

People wearing dark robes were running through the streets, killing every civilian they encountered.

Children, adults, men, and women.

They were all slaughtered indiscriminately.

In the face of death, they were all equal.

Shen Yao didn't bother hiding her presence. Her mana erupted and bore down upon the entire noble district.

She was announcing her arrival.

A warning to the Gluttony Army that she was here, and that they shouldn't lay a hand on the civilians.

BANG!!!

Elsewhere, a bald man with a red skull tattoo on the back of his head suddenly paused.

His hand was wrapped around the neck of a noble family head, but his grip loosened slightly as he turned his head.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Shen Yao, who was suspended above the district.

A deep frown appeared on his face.

"A capable expert has arrived?!"

He was surprised as he felt the energy rising within Shen Yao's body. His instincts told him that this woman was dangerous.

"As expected, even though this is a remote place, there are still one or two experts hiding here."

It was obvious that he didn't recognize Shen Yao.

Even though Shen Yao was famous, she wasn't famous enough for everyone on the continent to recognize her.

On the other hand, Shen Yao looked at the bald man, and the frown on her face grew deeper. Her gauntlets emitted a brilliant light as her energy continued to rise.

There was a reason why she had come here instead of going to another part of the city.

It was because she had sensed the most ominous and intense energy fluctuations here.

And she was right.

This bald man was the strongest among the members of the Gluttony Army attacking this city.

Therefore, Shen Yao would do everything in her power to stop him, no matter the cost.