While Nuk and the demon army advanced, on the other side, Din finally arrived at the battlefield.

He was met with deep ravines that were like long, swirling scars on the ground and holes so deep they were filled with darkness. Mountains had been broken down, rivers cut off, and the entire ground was turned upside down.

Below, a large army clashed with another, their end not in sight as the scent of blood permeated the surroundings. Broken limbs and dead corpses were everywhere.

Turning his head, Din saw two different camps in the air. A ten-meter-tall bull-headed demon, and across from it were ten humans, each of different age ranges, all radiating Rank 1 auras.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out one plus one is two. This demon would likely be the leader of the demon army, while these ten beings were ancient martial warriors.

As Din was observing them, so were Vakim and the ten martial warriors. After all, this was the Rank 1 entity that seemed to have spawned out of nowhere. They were curious, but mostly about who he was.

Because that would determine if he was an ally or an enemy.

"Who are you?" A martial warrior with sleepy eyes, long legs, and a rather husky build spoke with his peachy voice.

"Din, and I’m here to protect the mortals," Din spoke as his aura flared up.

Hearing this, Vakim’s eyes brightened while the ten ancient martial warriors looked at one another.

Deep in Din’s consciousness, Void’s eyes widened.

"Holy fuck, look at those giant horns. They really are Bull Horn Demons. And that facial structure..."

"Tsk, ugly as fuck. Learn from me and go the more humane path. You won’t get any girls, honestly."

While the situation outside was tense, for Void, he was unwinding and relaxed as he enjoyed the view while also insulting Vakim. Thankfully, neither Vakim nor Din could hear his special "respect" for Vakim.

Protecting the mortals made him seem like an ally to them, but they weren’t too sure.

Just then, Vakim chuckled.

"Tell me, how are you supposed to protect these so-called mortals while carrying the demon bloodline?" Vakim asked as the ten ancient martial warriors’ eyes widened.

How was this possible?

They hadn’t expected this.

But Din was quiet, a silent agreement to what Vakim had said.

"You..." one of them spoke up, but then—

Boom...

The sky stretched out as a giant shockwave hit the others, sending the ancient warriors spiraling away.

Their faces were full of shock, their mouths agape.

No one expected it.

Din suddenly attacked Vakim out of the blue.

They looked at the distant body, and their shock drastically increased.

Vakim was bleeding from his chest, his scales peeled off at the side, while Din looked on with a solemn expression.

"This..."

"How was it possible?"

The ancient warriors were full of disbelief.

How long...

How long had they been battling Vakim?

They could only stop him, but he was never actually injured. Most of them were injured instead, and some had almost died at his hands.

Yet this new Rank 1 entity could...

Well, it was a sneak attack, but they were still shocked.

Glancing at one another, they weighed their options.

Maybe if Din didn’t have a demon bloodline, they would have joined in immediately.

But now they wondered if this was a trap.

If Din was with Vakim, what would they do?

While they were hesitating, Vakim had already healed as he attacked Din.

Bang!

Din flew back, surpassing the speed of light as he crashed onto the ground.

The instant this happened, a strange will descended on the martial warriors, and they attacked immediately.

This was the will of the world, and it bore goodwill toward Din.

Although they still had doubts, at least the world’s will supported Din, so even with a demon bloodline, he must not be an enemy... yet.

Just as Vakim was about to pursue Din, he instantly sensed danger and stopped in his tracks.

The space he would have stepped into instantly collapsed as a long mace appeared.

Vakim’s eyes glowed as his tail lashed out to block a spear aimed at piercing his body.

But it was not over.

Grabbing a sword and an axe, Vakim was hit in the gut by the rest of the ten ancient martial warriors’ attacks as he flew backward.

Din disappeared and appeared behind Vakim, throwing a kick.

Vakim was nimble and dodged, but the instant he moved, he felt two pressure points strike his knee, causing him to vomit blood instantly.

Then four punches hit his chest as he crashed down, creating a bottomless pit.

But it wasn’t over.

In fact, it was far from it.

Vakim jumped into the sky, and the instant he did, space folded as his ears, nose, and fingers were instantly cut, blood seeping out.

Seeing this, Vakim stopped as eleven figures flashed before him.

"Hahaha..." Vakim laughed as his scales glowed with an eerie red light, his heartbeat sounding like a pounding war drum.

The temperature rose another notch as he moved.

The instant he did, blurred figures appeared around him.

Then..

Boom!

He clenched his fist and punched out as the very air compressed, blasting everyone beside him away.

Then, picking a target, he chased after it.

The martial warrior’s eyes widened as he crossed his weapons to block.

His dual blade edges were laid out to slash into Vakim as he attacked, but a meter away, Vakim suddenly stopped.

And just a few inches ahead of him—

Boom...

Two fists clashed as the very air violently exploded.

But before it could spread farther, Vakim grabbed both wrists of the fists and applied pressure.

Crack.

They broke as groans of pain rang out.

Then Vakim released them, turned, and punched out.

Din’s body moved as he instinctively dodged instead of meeting the punch head-on.

Vakim was stronger than all of them physically and in realm.

Going head-to-head was dangerous.

Din narrowly dodged the attack as he closed in on Vakim.

But then his vision blurred as he was struck by a giant tail and crashed to the ground.

Vakim moved, appearing behind another ancient martial warrior as he grabbed his head and used him like a weapon as he smashed him into another ancient martial cultivator.

Then, in a few seconds, the eleven beings made eleven bottomless holes in the ground as Vakim stood alone as the victor.

Seeing this, the demon army below roared as they attacked the human martial warriors even more.

Their morale was boosted.

But just when Vakim was relishing this, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis as he turned back and crossed his two fists, but it was too late.

Boom!!!

The sky darkened as Vakim was pushed thousands of kilometers away.

His two arms throbbed violently as he felt one or two bones might be broken.

A creature’s body was briefly seen moving through the dark clouds like a snake.

"It can’t be..." Getting out of the hole, one of the ancient martial warriors said in disbelief.

Din frowned and asked, "What can’t be? What is that?" Din asked as the others laughed.

"I thought they were extinct. That is a Qilin... an ancient beast of luck. Haha..." he laughed happily as Din glanced at the giant, then at Vakim.

"Twelve against one... it’s our time," Din suddenly said as the others came to a realization.

That was correct.

It was their time.

The fact that this beast attacked Vakim meant it could be called an ally.

Din and the others didn’t believe that with twelve Rank 1 beings, ranging from High Rank 1 to Low Rank 1, they couldn’t do something to a Peak Rank 1 demon like Vakim.

Then they moved, instantly surpassing the speed of light as Vakim felt a chill run down his back.

But instead of fear, Vakim grinned in anticipation.

Boom!!!