Damned Healer

In just a few minutes, the whole battle was over. The enemy army was completely wiped out, like it was made of paper.

Remira, who'd been watching while helping with the command, saw Darian among the corpses and rushed over to him.

"Everyone's almost out of energy to fight again. We need to get the people of this city back to the sect quickly, or the Black Marble Clan might attack us."

Darian turned to her calmly. That clan was a few hundred kilometers away, and they were the ones who'd infiltrated the city pretending to be neutral, only to betray the sect.

"Gather everyone. We're attacking again," Darian said dryly.

Remira's eyes widened. "What? Everyone's out of energy to fight. And also... the clan's upper circle might be traitors, but most of the common people aren't at fault. If you attack..."

Darian looked at Remira with a faint smile. Who would've thought this woman had grown so much in just a year, now actually thinking about people. Then he moved and turned over the body of a dead Chromaraic that was lying face down.

Remira stared at the body... then noticed the clothes he was wearing. Right on the chest was a small symbol of the Black Marble Clan. It would've been hard to notice if he hadn't shown her.

"A good part of that clan's people came here to kill us in the ambush. We probably just wiped out their main force," Darian said lightly.

A clan wasn't like a sect with hundreds of thousands of disciples. They were more like one big family, everyone having some kind of kinship. And now, to help with the ambush in the city, they had just lost most of their power.

"But..."

Remira stopped halfway. Saying there were innocents in that clan would've been pretty naive. Most of the stronger ones surely knew everything. As for the weaker ones... they had to pick a side and deal with the consequences.

"I know. Just gather everyone," Darian replied calmly.

***

In the middle of a massive mountain range, with giant cliffs piercing through the clouds, lay the Black Marble Clan.

These mountains weren't ordinary: underground, a huge amount of high-quality metals was generated every year.

In that region, primordial treasures made for evolving weren't that common. For that sort of thing, this place was just average.

But the ores could be forged into top-level weapons and gear. That's why the Chromaraic clan specialized in blacksmithing and mining; they sold everything and got the resources they lacked. That's why the sect had kept good relations with them — but now, they'd chosen to play for the other side.

You could say this clan had an endless supply of resources and was considered the greatest blacksmith clan in that world.

...

Everything was calm in the clan, like on any other day. Until...

On top of one of the immense mountains, a lookout using a special mechanism detected an approach from far away. He saw clearly that it was several flying ships, and from the material fluctuations he knew exactly where they came from.

"This... these ships are from the Divine Seven-Star Sect!" He surely knew a few things, so he immediately triggered the clan's alarm.

When Darian and his army finally spotted the clan ahead, suddenly everything pulsed with an intense yellow glow. A defensive barrier covered the whole region, radiating an extreme earth power, completely impenetrable.

The Divine Seven-Star Sect had a top-level defensive inscription, but other clans, and even sects of the past, also had similar things — though weaker.

Remira snorted, "It's impossible to break in head-on... not to mention, now that they've activated the defenses, they must've already sent a call for help to their allies. In less than an hour they'll be here. We don't have time to wait."

Darian didn't reply, he just ordered them to keep advancing. When they were less than fifty meters from the barrier, he signaled for them to stop.

"Get ready to break in. I'll handle this," he said calmly, moving to the prow of the ship.

Everyone turned to Darian, who pulled out a strange-looking dagger. With a leap, he flew toward the barrier.

Seeing his actions, everyone almost shouted in shock. Facing that inscription alone? That was no different from suicide!

That defensive mechanism had power strong enough to block even the Radiant King. Even that powerful figure would have to attack countless times with full strength to try and destroy it — and might still fail.

The ideal would be to just wait, since keeping the barrier up drained huge amounts of resources; in a day at most, the energy would run dry.

Everyone trusted Darian blindly... but still, their hearts pounded. Their eyes were fixed on him, and in that instant, time seemed to slow down.

Darian flew up close to the barrier, took a deep breath, and fully opened his inventory.

At that same moment, the whole world changed color.

Everyone on the flying ship widened their eyes. A sea of countless wind and fire runes erupted and spread all around them. You couldn't even estimate how many there were, and worse... these weren't the simple system runes everyone got daily. They were top-tier runes — the kind almost nobody in this world has.

No wonder: Darian had already pushed all common laws to +10. And for two years he'd saved every rune the system gave him each day. Now he pulled out 100% of the runes he'd stacked for those two elements.

With total focus, he motioned.

All the runes moved and pulsed in unison, radiating their full power.

Within seconds, the space high in the sky began to vibrate and crack.

In the center of it all there, formed a blade that looked like it could split the world in two.

The Whirlwind Flare formed at just a hundred meters — small compared to the barrier and the clan, but the concentration of power there was terrifying.

"Open!" Darian spat dryly, and the blade fell with a deafening boom.

**KBOOM!!!**

A blinding light hit everyone; the shock sounded like a meteor striking a planet. Even the sect far away felt the ground tremble.

Seconds later the light faded.

Then... they saw the barrier completely crazed with thousands of fractures, like a glass orb. Everyone on the ships was stunned. Even trusting him blindly, they couldn't believe one single person could hold such terrifying power.

Right after, Darian moved. A man and a dagger shot forward like lightning. He spun like a nail hitting the barrier.

*BOOM!*

The invincible barrier — the kind nothing could easily break — had, in mere seconds, a huge hole forced right through its center.

"Advance!" Darian's dry voice echoed.

Remira roared and the ships shot forward in sync, passing through the hole. Then they all poured into the clan at its heart.

They'd barely arrived when a shrill alarm blared. Countless figures rushed out of the buildings.

"I'll say this only once, so listen carefully."

Suddenly Darian's voice rang out across the clan. People looked up and saw him hovering above the flying ships.

"The entire upper ranks of this clan are allied with the Radiant King. I don't need to tell you what kind of people they are. This place is a nest of enemies near the sect. I came to destroy this clan. Leave everything behind and get out now. You can go wherever you want; we won't chase you. After this, the Divine Seven-Star Sect might even protect you if you wish. I repeat — this clan will not exist after today. But if you raise your weapons and try to resist or defend this place, you will die today."

His words struck like thunder in everyone's head. This was their home, where countless generations of their families lived. Would they abandon everything so easily?

"KILL THE INVADERS!!"

Roars of deep hatred rose from the crowds almost instantly. Their response was obvious: most would fight to the death.

"MY CLAN IS FULL OF HONORABLE PEOPLE! WE WOULD NEVER SIDE WITH A KING LIKE THAT! IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY US, TRY IT!!"

Another screamed in frenzy. Maybe only a few of them knew the whole truth. But everyone had their own smarts. The signs of collusion with the enemy were everywhere. Nothing happens out of the blue.

Darian felt calm. He'd given those people a chance to live.

Any ally of that king had to be eliminated — they could be used against him. There were no innocents here: the choice was given, even safety inside the sect was offered. So everyone had made their choice.

"Kill those traitors!" Darian said flatly and sheathed the dagger.

"Attack!" All two hundred soldiers roared and leapt into action.

They couldn't use their max power again and had to operate at under 20% of their capabilities. Still, they could fight with weapons and system laws — and they were well trained.

It wasn't a hard fight, because the clan's main fighters had already been killed in the city attack. The enemy's ambush on the city relied on bringing clan people through special portals since they were nearby.

If there wasn't a nearby connection, bringing so many people so fast would've been impossible. That's why even though Darian attacked this clan, the enemy could only rush over in flying ships.

Shouts of fury and explosions rang out.

The two hundred soldiers showed no mercy: anyone holding a weapon or showing the slightest hate became a target. They were like tigers among a flock of sheep. Traitors were the most detestable existence — more hateful even than the enemy.

Because of this clan's actions, how many lives had already been taken? They'd forged things for the enemy, who massacred without pity.

They tried to fight... but soon realized no one lasted even a moment.

A few who fled in the first minutes were let go without a second glance. But after nearly twenty minutes, others, seeing the situation, pretended they didn't want to fight and accepted the offer to leave.

Darian watched everything, analyzing each person's karma. Nobody with a thick, black karma — anyone who could potentially betray them — was allowed to escape.

He made sure because Remira had gone straight to the core of the clan's inscription and controlled the area, raising a subtle barrier enough to stop escapes.

After confirming no undeserving person would get away, Darian moved and started checking the ground. He seemed to be searching for a spot, feeling the earth beneath the rubble.

Suddenly he pushed aside some debris and found an opening. In the lower levels were piles of armor, weapons, metals, ores and other treasures. They'd kept everything of value for the clan down there.

"We've struck gold," Darian said, grinning, then sent a message to Remira.

"Order them to stop killing the traitors, we don't have much time. This clan won't survive after today. Gather all the treasures! We've got at most fifteen minutes left, move fast!"