The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

"What are you people trying to do in this place?" Shen Yao asked, trying to test her luck.

The bald man scoffed.

Then he launched himself into the air.

BOOM!!

The ground beneath his feet shattered from the force, and his figure shot forward like a cannonball.

He raised one hand, and a massive axe materialized in his grasp.

Swoosh!!

In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly in front of Shen Yao.

The enormous axe came crashing down.

Shen Yao's pupils contracted.

"Tsk!"

She clicked her tongue and immediately threw a punch.

The muscles in her arm bulged beneath her clothes as her fist tore through the air with terrifying force.

BANG!!!

The fist and the axe collided.

For an instant, everything went silent.

Then,

BOOOOOOM!!!

A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact.

Sparks exploded in every direction as the surrounding air distorted. The streets beneath them cracked apart, and the nearby buildings trembled violently from the sheer force of the collision.

Shen Yao felt an overwhelming force slam into her fist.

It was as if an entire mountain had crashed into her body.

Her arm went numb.

The force traveled through her entire body before violently throwing her backward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

She flew hundreds of meters through the air, smashing through several walls before twisting her body and forcing herself to stop.

Her feet finally touched the ground.

CRACK!

The ground beneath her feet shattered as she dug her heels into it.

Shen Yao's breathing became heavier.

"So strong..."

She muttered as she raised her head and stared at the bald man who had just blasted her away.

Yet the bald man hadn't pursued her.

Instead, he was staring at his axe.

His eyes widened slightly before a grin slowly spread across his face.

Then he looked straight at Shen Yao.

"I'm impressed. My instincts were right."

He slowly raised his axe onto his shoulder.

"You are a danger to me."

His grin widened.

"A Peak Eight Shackle Realm expert taking a direct swing from me and surviving without a single injury..."

He laughed.

"That's impressive."

He finally spoke.

He hadn't answered her earlier because he didn't want to waste his words on weaklings. But Shen Yao had proven herself.

Now, she was worth talking to.

"Normally, I can kill a Peak Eight Shackle Realm expert with a single swing."

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"But you're different. You're not even injured."

He tilted his head slightly.

"I guess you must be one of those prodigies, right?"

The bald man showed his white teeth as he rested the axe on his shoulder.

"People with special talents are interesting."

He paused for a moment before introducing himself.

"By the way, I'm Voltarion, also known as Rage Axe. I'm one of the six leaders of this operation."

His grin became even wider.

"Also, an executive of Dreyfus Blue Shadow Killer."

"Who is Dreyfus Blue Shadow Killer? And what are you doing here?" Shen Yao asked.

"Well..."

Voltarion paused for a moment and looked around.

His eyes swept across the city. His subordinates were still fighting, hunting down the surviving civilians and slaughtering anyone who tried to resist.

He then answered, "After our Lord fell, those who received the Lord's blessings separated and fought each other for the right to claim the things our Lord left behind. Dreyfus Blue Shadow Killer is the one I chose to follow."

He grinned.

"He's different from the others. In my opinion, the others didn't deserve to receive the blessings of our Lord. They're only lucky that they were born earlier. If they hadn't been, they wouldn't have received our Lord's blessings in the first place."

His expression became somewhat disdainful.

"Ice Death and Thousand Earth deserve it more. They're only in their early twenties, yet they've already caught up to what the others achieved over several decades."

If their Lord hadn't fallen, then surely those two would have received his blessing as well.

Even he, a man known as Rage Axe, had to admit that he was inferior to those two when it came to talent.

"As for what we're doing here..."

Voltarion paused and looked at Shen Yao.

"I can't answer that."

He raised his axe and pointed it toward her.

"Why don't you force the answer out of my mouth?"

He taunted her with a grin.

Shen Yao took a deep breath.

"I never expected to receive an answer in the first place. At least I learned something about the remnants of the Gluttony Army."

Those who had received Gluttony's blessings were either Ninth Shackle or Tenth Shackle Realm experts.

Demigods couldn't receive a blessing.

As for why they couldn't, Shen Yao didn't know the answer.

She only knew that, for some reason, Demigods couldn't receive a blessing.

"You're lucky that you've met me. If you had met Anti Mage, perhaps you could defeat him with your physical strength. But me?" Voltarion smiled slightly. "I could defeat him with one hand, and I've already done it several times. It's understandable since he's only at the Advanced Eight Shackle Realm."

He slowly raised his axe and bent his knees.

In the next moment, he launched himself toward Shen Yao.

"Let's start the battle!!"

His laughter reverberated through the city.

Shen Yao took a deep breath before charging forward, meeting Voltarion head-on.

BOOOOOOM!!

...

The members of the Gluttony Army were scurrying everywhere, killing everyone who got in their path. They were turning the entire central region upside down as they searched for something.

They could have searched for it in secret, but this was the way of the Gluttony Army. They had been unreasonable ever since they launched their first campaign.

In the Royal Capital, Emperor Shen was sitting on the throne with a gloomy expression. Standing beside him was Xi Xing, the greatest mage of the Great Shen Empire.

They were looking at a hideous man wearing the robes of the Gluttony Army.

"Are you going to kill us?" Emperor Shen asked.

"Emperor of this remote empire, people call me Anti Mage, and yes, we're going to kill you."

The hideous man introduced himself without the slightest hesitation.

"Why? I don't remember offending the Gluttony Army," Emperor Shen asked.

The appearance of the Gluttony Army was beyond his imagination.

This wasn't a local battle anymore.

This was an invasion from outside the Immortal Land.

His empire had no way to contend with an enemy of this caliber. For the first time, Emperor Shen felt that the fate of the entire Great Shen Empire was hanging by a thread.

"We're trying to find something here. We know it's here, but we can't pinpoint its exact location. So, we'll have to wipe out this entire land, and that thing will eventually reveal itself."

Anti Mage answered with a slight smile on his hideous face.

"That's..."

Emperor Shen and Xi Xing were shocked by how casually Anti Mage disregarded the lives of everyone in the central region.

"If you're thinking about reinforcements from the Holy Lands, then you, of all people, should know how far the Heavenly Court is from this place."

The Immortal Land was divided into two halves. The first half belonged exclusively to the Heavenly Court, while the second half was filled with numerous nations and sects.

Although the Heavenly Court didn't interfere much with the second half of the Immortal Land, it was still under their rule. Their authority and deterrence prevented outside forces from expanding into the region.

"It's unfortunate that the thing we're searching for decided to hide in this land."

Anti Mage shook his head and waved his hand.

In an instant, all sorts of magic circles shattered.

Even if someone tried to form a magic circle, he could destroy it with his ability. He was the natural counter to mages who relied heavily on spellcasting.

"Time's up. Let's begin."

Anti Mage looked straight into the emperor's eyes.

"If you want to resist, then do it with all your might."

He paused for a moment.

"Also, I'm not your opponent."

"Huh?"

Emperor Shen was confused.

Then, he suddenly felt something.

He turned his head and saw a woman appear beside him in an instant, her hand reaching toward his face.

Before he could react, the woman grabbed his face and slammed him into the throne.

BOOM!!

The throne shattered beneath the impact.

The two figures wrestled across the floor before crashing through the palace walls.

BOOM!!

The entire palace trembled violently.

Xi Xing widened his eyes in shock.

"YOUR MAJESTY!!!"

Everything had happened too fast.

He hadn't even sensed the woman's arrival.

Even the runes protecting the throne room had failed to detect her.

But how?

"Don't worry about him. I'm your opponent."

Anti Mage's voice suddenly echoed beside him.

Xi Xing's expression changed.

He turned his head and saw a fist already inches from his face.

He immediately crossed his arms in front of himself.

BANG!!!

The fist slammed into his guard.

An immense force exploded against his body, sending pain through his bones.

His body bent from the impact before he was blasted backward like a cannonball.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Xi Xing crashed through several walls, pulverizing stone and scattering debris everywhere.

Bang!!

He finally rolled across the ground, his entire body aching.

He pushed himself out of the rubble and looked around.

He was outside the palace.

'Impossible!'

His eyes widened.

'There are countless runes throughout the palace. Breaking through them shouldn't be this easy!'

He couldn't understand how Anti Mage had bypassed the palace's defenses so effortlessly.