Boom——!!!

A corner of the Divine Hall collapsed with a roar, and a terrifying giant sword charged with electricity shattered the tower and broke through the wall.

A nimble figure turned into a wisp of smoke, passing through the enormous gap. Tapping the "Great Treasure Sword" with the tip of his toes, he let out a sneer and was about to soar away.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Unexpectedly, within this short moment delayed by breaking through the Great Divine Hall, the city’s defensive forces had already responded.

A glimmer of a cold star flashed through the sky, breaking the sound barrier and carrying a deafening roar, shooting straight toward Aiven.

Swish!

It interrupted his "escape," creating a giant crater on the ground in the process. The fierce brilliance slowly receded, transforming into a blue-and-white porcelain lance nearly four meters long.

The Cyan Porcelain Knight, wrapped in a magnificent Combat Qi Flame, descended from the sky. Along with General Black Pottery, who chased out from the Great Divine Hall, they rushed toward Aiven.

"A Titled Knight of Porcelain? Interesting!"

Aiven, having roamed the seas for years, had seen many cases where people transitioned from the infinitely compatible Knight’s Path to other paths.

But it was eye-opening this time, encountering a freak who transitioned from psychic abilities to the Knight’s Path.

I guess the Cyan Porcelain Knight must have chosen his Knight’s Path from the "Eight Great Virtues" at the Tier 3 Great Knight level, and then advanced all the way to today’s Titled Knight.

His combat capabilities were incredibly formidable, and he could also become an impregnable copper pea, with great adaptability on the battlefield.

But only after a qualitative change in will can Combat Qi be activated, and trying to be compatible with spiritual power should be impossible, just like the problem Aiven encountered back then.

However, this city has more than just him as the powerful Titled Knight.

"Who are you? Daring to cause trouble in Erbil City!"

Truly worthy of being the stronghold of the Ceramic People.

Following another loud shout.

A Steel Knight donned in heavy armor and exuding an imposing aura erupted with pure black Combat Qi Flame. Holding a shield akin to a non-reflective black hole, he transformed into a comet that fiercely slammed toward Aiven.

Before Aiven could react, the enraged General Black Pottery roared in the spirit realm:

"We can’t let this bastard escape; he’s destroyed half of our [Fire of Creation]!"

The imposing aura of Iron Man [Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls] and the Cyan Porcelain Knight sharply changed, with bone-chilling murderous intent surging forth, as if turning the place into a winter’s frost.

"Oh~ so scary, I’m out of here, I’m out of here!"

Exaggeratedly patting his chest, Aiven lightly tapped his foot. The "Great Treasure Sword" vanished beneath him, and he himself transformed into a dazzling white lightning bolt, piercing through the atmosphere as he fled.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three Tier 4 ceramic figures, with a burst of air blasts under their feet, unhesitatingly leapt into the sky following him.

Among the many Tier 3 subordinates who came with these Tier 4 elites, one seemed eager to earn merit, disregarding the significant gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4, and followed as a trail of bright silver light.

Simultaneously,

behind them, the entire city echoed with the angry roars of King Sun Face and Queen Moon Face:

"Ah! Bring back his head for me!"

...

Just as Aguirre Ancient City’s proximity to the "Gray Forest" at the border is not far, the Ceramic People’s Erbil City is also on the front line.

Two warring tribes, each with the aura of guarding the frontier for the emperor.

Within just a dozen minutes, four streaks of flowing light, one leading and three following, pierced the sky, soaring over the "Gray Forest."

Aiven led first and plummeted down.

Gazing at the dark forest below, Iron Man [Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls] turned his head to glance at General Black Pottery beside him, who immediately understood and promptly replied:

"My lord, our intelligence personnel have been monitoring closely, Lion King Rhine hasn’t left his palace, and the other Tier 4 Transcendents are the same."

"Hmm."

As long as the Lion King, who could match his strength, isn’t ambushing here, any conspiracy or trickery would be nothing but a child’s plaything to someone wielding the [Divine Shield: Iron Wall].

Step!

Without further hesitation, the three of them landed in three directions, surrounding Aiven completely.

Seeing his reckless confidence, General Black Pottery was furious:

"Damn sinner, you’re already surrounded! Did Rhine send you here to die?"

Aiven, however, remained leisurely, scrutinizing these three top tier Ceramic elites before him, especially Iron Man [Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls], acclaimed as the strongest among the Ceramic People.

Others might find the idea of an Iron Man and Ceramic People unrelated, but Aiven, capable of selling ceramic products worldwide, knew well that it’s the iron content that determines the color of the glaze.

The most basic and simple three colors are celadon, white porcelain, and black porcelain, with celadon containing 1%-5% iron, below 1% being white porcelain, and above 5% being black porcelain.

The existence of Iron Man perfectly fits the law that the richer the glaze, the stronger the power, but he’s purely a "glaze person."

Until he used a piercing gaze that seemed to dissect them, making the three uneasy, Aiven finally broke into a mischievous smile at them:

"I should be the one surrounding you instead!"

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!....

The scorching electromagnetic cannon shots were already raining down like a storm.

Except for General Black Pottery, who used [Mind Transmission] to dodge in time, Iron Man and Cyan Porcelain Knight, both Titled Knights, were violently blasted away.

Holding their shields defensively, they plowed two long furrows in the forest.

Having hidden in the sky in advance, using [Life Magnetic Field] to create the optical invisibility of [Gem River], it had already followed closely, attacking from above.

Olivia and Three-no Girl "Baihe," piloting [Gem River: No. Squid Girl Form], launched a joint assault on the Cyan Porcelain Knight.

Simultaneously, in the sky, a Tier 4 Psychic Ability user with the lower half of a lizard and the upper half of a human charged at General Black Pottery, while another imposing golden figure directly attacked Iron Man.

It was indeed the long-ambushed Animal Kingdom.

They’re no fools, knowing well that every full moon night, the Ceramic People whose powers are enhanced would launch a massive attack, they’d of course seize the advantage of timing for a preemptive strike.

The face of General Black Pottery, responsible for intelligence, changed drastically:

"Impossible, Lion King Rhine? The scouts clearly confirmed you’re still in Aguirre Ancient City! Could it be that you’ve mastered the technique to use remote [Mind Transmission] in the Magic Forbidden Zone?"

Rhine had no interest in answering the enemy’s questions.

After all... they’re all going to die!

Even he himself couldn’t understand how Aiven created a doppelganger identical to himself in appearance and aura out of thin air.

"Let’s end this, Tinhead!"

Swinging his longsword, Lifting Light as Heavy, as if wielding a mighty heavy weapon, he slammed down towards Iron Man.

Clang—!

[Awakened Lion Swordsmanship: Long Spear and Halberd]

In an instant.

As the battle among Peak Transcendents began, the entire "Gray Forest" trembled in fear.

The [Residue] and [Echoes of Residue] scattered throughout the forest had long fled, nowhere resembling their past bloodthirsty appearance.

Atmospheric turbulence, trees shattered, mud and sand scattered violently, the rumbling sound seemed to shake the earth’s crust...

The most intense battlefield was naturally between [Invincible Banner] and [Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls].

In the plan Rhine and Aiven devised to lure and ambush, seizing victory swiftly with superior military forces was key before reinforcements arrived.

Aiven had perfectly executed the first half, and as the main attacker for the second half, he couldn’t lag behind, unleashing his full might from the start.

Rumble....

Above, a golden banner fluttered, and around Lion King, an army knight order suddenly materialized, armored and roaring, accelerating to transform into a galloping steel onslaught of thousands of troops!

The Titled Sacred Artifact held by Lion King Rhine was called [Invincible Banner].

Absolute: Unstoppable!

"Ha! Old Lion, even if you use tricks and schemes, you won’t defeat me!"

[Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls] realized that the opposing side, limited by the number of high-tier transcendentals in Animal Kingdom, had a very limited personnel allocation, and though ambushed, was not overly panicked.

Suddenly, he slammed the [Iron Wall] in front, the immovable mountain-like aura slowly spreading out.

As long as this divine shield in his hand remained, the combat between both sides repeated the countless battles of the past, a contest once again between spear and shield.

Yet this time, an unexpected third party inserted itself into the showdown.

"Three minutes, swift victory!"

Aiven lightly shouted.

Buzz—!

[Divine Power] turned to full power, and a powerful electric field filled the entire "Gray Forest."

[Desperate Thunder Swordsmanship: Divine King’s Banquet]

Once Aiven used this move to control half of the Invincible Fleet’s shipborne artillery, turning them into [Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root] to launch a decisive strike on the Titled Knight [Bone Shattering Warhammer].

Now, only one could enjoy such treatment—Iron Man!

[Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls] had just activated the divine artifact when his body suddenly stiffened, bursting into dazzling electrical sparks, and the steel armor rapidly transformed into a semi-molten red hue.

The technique wasn’t complex; it was merely based on the electromagnetic induction heating principle like a rice cooker, and the impure steel was an exceptional heating coil.

If not for the copious amount of Combat Qi Flame within desperately repelling the invading electric field, he’d be squashed and kneaded by Aiven in the blink of an eye.

In contrast, the weaker Cyan Porcelain Knight and General Black Pottery weren’t affected at all by the electric field due to their ceramic material.

"Mutual generation and restraint" was evidently part of the plan; before the battle, Aiven, Olivia, Milan, and Rhine had analyzed and anticipated the enemy based on existing intelligence, and made a series of preparations from target selection, coming up with several backup plans.

Despite the average Extraordinary level within the Secret Realm being higher than outside, the closed environment caused their warfare art to lag behind the outside world by more than an era.

Iron Man unintentionally drank Aiven’s foot wash.

Strike when he’s down.

Aiven’s longsword turned into a cold and frosty white, seemingly capable of blinding eyes just by a glance.

The incredibly sharp [Tyr’s Blade: Splitting Sword] greatly enhanced Sword Qi; even though Aiven currently had only 80% Master-level swordsmanship, he could already wield 30% of the power of [Sword Qi Ripple].

Easily passed through the gap created by the rigid operation of [Iron Wall] due to losing its master’s control.

Clang—!

The longsword returned to its sheath.

The upper half of [Giant Shield of Ten Thousand Walls] had already slid to the ground along the smooth cut, subsequently melting into a puddle of iron in electromagnetic induction.

And Aiven grasped the [Divine Shield: Iron Wall] in reverse.