Damned Healer

Several flying ships cut through the air in formation. People fleeing the city toward the sect lifted their heads and pointed excitedly, blood boiling.

"The sect is here! Are they finally starting the counterattack?"

Cheers echoed. Since the Radiant King Dohans began his oppressive reign, the Divine Seven-Star Sect had been forced into a defensive stance—they had never taken the initiative to strike back.

Most commoners living in the cities had no real idea what was happening inside the sect. As a result, the sect's silence during attacks had left them anxious and afraid.

But today, it seemed the sect had no intention of hiding anymore.

"I never thought we'd ever do something like this…"

Hirel's voice rang with emotion from the flying ship. Both battalions clenched their fists; their blood practically boiled inside them.

The terrible actions of Radiant King Dohans were widely known. He forced everyone to bow to his rules; anyone who refused died. Those who obeyed were forced to follow cruel regulations.

The main one was natural selection: only those with powerful bloodlines could receive resources or start a family. Creating hybrids was strictly forbidden, and everyone lived under insane training and quotas.

Failures were executed. Even those who never failed, considered the apex in their positions, occasionally disappeared, and it was declared they had committed a crime. No forgiveness, no mistakes, no choice—no one had a real life.

So many weak commoners, knowing they would be killed, fled and sought refuge in the sect. Since the sect needed fighters, everyone was welcomed into the cities within its territory.

Unfortunately, the sect could only accept Chromaraics or hybrids with that blood because of its main technique. The other races lived in the cities with no real chance of defending themselves—adding to their anxiety and fear.

Thus, everyone in the sect carried the weight of their own lives and the lives of others. Within the sect, there was a minimal peace worth protecting. War was cruel: bloody, terrifying, and repulsive. But sometimes, fighting was the most important part of preserving the world and peace.

"Prepare for battle!"

Remira shouted suddenly. The city could already be seen in the distance.

As they approached, they saw mountains of corpses piled atop the walls, almost flooding the city—members of the sect left there for protection, traitors marked with slave seals on their souls.

On top of that macabre scene, the city's massive protective inscription was full of holes, looking like it might collapse.

"Slaughter every one of our enemies! Use their blood to kick off the Divine Seven-Star Sect's counterattack!"

Following Remira's cry, the flying ships surged straight into the heart of the battlefield.

Multiple colors and runes erupted from the ships, firing like bullets. Many enemies surrounding the city were caught off guard and shattered.

When they got within a hundred meters, a mist of blood filled the air.

The sect member responsible for defending the place was drenched in blood inside the city. Seeing the reinforcements didn't bring joy; he roared in despair.

"Get out! It's a trap!"

When the flying ships reached the core, the space around buzzed and spatial portals opened like demonic eyes, appearing in all directions.

After the previous failed attack on another city—thanks to Darian—the enemies were far more prepared this time.

"We know it's a trap, but we came anyway. Everyone, it's time to fight!" Remira roared.

Seeing the seemingly endless army of enemies emerging from the spatial portals, the battle intent of both battalions ignited instantly.

"Advance!"

Darian ordered, and the flying ships activated their maximum speed.

*Woooosh!*

Like missiles, they surged toward the city.

Seeing them, the enemies didn't try to stop them; they only ordered a retreat and then surrounded everything. Inside the city, the reinforcements would be trapped, making it much easier to kill them with nowhere to flee.

So, they entered without much resistance.

As soon as they arrived, everyone leapt from the ships and began clearing the enemies inside.

"Traitors showed up in our city. They're the ones who sent the distress signal. There's no way to protect the city now, and we've also dragged you into this. I… I…" The man spoke, loaded with guilt—it was an old warrior who'd fought countless battles for the sect.

Remira narrowed her eyes at that.

In the sect, the traitors had already been identified, but several clans remained neutral toward the enemy and maintained some contact with the sect.

This city was near one of those clans; they traded with them, and many people from the clan ended up living among the city residents. Those were the traitors.

Darian snorted. The enemy had also planted neutrality in some clans to infiltrate the sect in other ways.

"Don't blame yourself. Even the Divine Seven-Star Sect produced hundreds of traitors. It's nothing to be ashamed of. And no matter the situation, sending that distress signal was the right choice," Remira said seriously, showing a level of empathy she'd never shown before.

Darian nodded. "If you don't ask us for help, who will you ask? Don't worry about dragging anyone into this. As long as there's even the smallest hope, we'll fight together until the death. But… we came to wipe them out. Don't worry about a thing."

Darian's confident words made the man take a deep breath. He had fought in countless campaigns and knew how hopeless this war was. His chances of victory were zero. But seeing the aura and determination radiating from Darian, his blood boiled again.

After Darian's defense of the city in the past, the enemies planted this trap. The man wasn't a fool—he'd lived through many campaigns—and he was the one who noticed the massive trap around the city. Any reinforcements that arrived would be sent straight to death.

The urgent distress signal had been sent by traitors inside the city. By the time he discovered it, it was too late. He wanted to warn everyone not to fall into the trap, but communication had already been broken by the traitors.

The worst part was that these traitors had also destroyed part of the city's defenses. Even though they were all killed in the end, they left a lethal blow to the local protection.

In less than five minutes, Faden's voice rang out: "Boss, they've all been eliminated!"

Darian nodded. There were few enemies inside the city because they had been waiting to see if the sect would send reinforcements; most of the enemy troops were outside, prepared.

At that moment, from the multiple spatial portals, an enemy army ten times larger than before prepared to attack and slaughter from all directions. The army filled the sky and land.

"Everyone, get in formation! Go all out!"

Darian ordered, and the nearly two hundred soldiers roared. They leapt into the sky in every direction around the city.

"DIE!"

They charged out of the city, and the endless sea of enemies saw them—at least twenty times their number.

Then…

The world lost its usual color, everything bathed in a multicolored radiance, like a living rainbow.

Everyone activated their maximum power at the same time. Their bodies seemed coated in seven-colored armor.

The enemy leaders' eyes widened; a terrifying, deadly pressure immediately surrounded them.

This enemy army wasn't particularly strong—the majority were at most level five—but in numbers, they could overwhelm multiple battalions of the sect through exhaustion.

But now… everything had changed.

*Chromaraic Cataclysm!!*

They shouted, and their weapons fired. The seven elements intertwined around their bodies, forming an offensive power beyond conception.

*BOOM! BOOOM!! BOOOOM!!!*

Multicolored lightning tore through the sky, waves of light flooding every direction. Explosions echoed; countless cracks and holes appeared in space from the attacks.

The enemies didn't even have a chance to summon their chaos power—their bodies couldn't withstand it and exploded.

At the same time, nearly all two hundred soldiers had blood dripping from their lips. That power was extreme even for them, but thanks to the stellar physique, they could sustain it for a time.

Darian watched all of it with a faint smile. Indeed, the technique he'd won as the ultimate prize in the Earth array had been worth the effort. Unfortunately, it was useless for him personally, but now, it finally proved its value.

Numbers meant nothing against true power. Even if there were a hundred times more enemies, they would still die easily to just those nearly two hundred.

Soon, Darian began moving calmly across the battlefield. The confirmation screen appeared, and he accepted to absorb the core of every enemy falling from the sky.

Since arriving at the sect, he hadn't absorbed anything; since he needed infinite resources to evolve his primordial core, he had focused on other areas. Now, he truly began to strengthen himself again.

"I will avenge you… just wait."

Darian murmured, clenching his fists. The pain he'd felt after the death of those three hadn't lessened one bit over the years. But the day of revenge was drawing closer and closer.