Blaze clicked his tongue as he watched the view beneath him rapidly shift.

"This is still rather strange, isn’t it? To be riding on the back of an enormous Aether Beast. It is rather exciting."

Blaze raised a brow, "Is it? I believe taking a flight on a plane should be mostly the same thing."

Haru chuckled, "I wouldn’t know. I had never been on a plane before."

Blaze seemed even more surprised.

He glanced over to the others scattered on the back of the enormous flying Aether Beast with a subtle look of surprise on his face.

One of the other Beastmen scratched his beard,

"I never got the chance to travel as well. Plus at that time, there really was no need. All we ever wanted was here in City Z."

Another one nodded,

"All my family is here too. Now that I think about it, no one really ever traveled."

"I guess you could say we were all bound to where we were. We had no new desires, so there was never a need to see new things." Haru said with a strange smile on his face.

Blaze’s eyes widened.

’This is...’

He glanced around. These men around him were a part of Cain’s personal crafting crew. When there was less business with blacksmith requests, they often went out to hunt and gather materials for themselves.

He had become acquainted with them a bit.

Over time, he had gotten to know not just them, but also a bunch of other people.

Those who fought, and those who didn’t.

He had noticed something rather peculiar, but had had no way to confirm his suspicions.

’These people— no. We. We all seem to have found purpose.’

It was something that seemed inconsequential at first.

After all, who doesn’t live for a purpose?

But then, it had hit him.

Back then, before the world had gone to shit, a lot of people, without the woes and worries they now face, had become numb. Everything had become painted in two shades for the common man.

They lived their lives and they died.

The social, political, and even economical climates were so stable, there was nothing to discuss.

No disasters or tragedies. No upheavals and discord.

There was nothing.

Slowly numbing them all into a halting cycle of stagnancy. A cloying rot.

But with the danger and death.

With all the despair.

Somehow...

That feeling of purpose that had been lost generations ago, had been rediscovered.

The look on their faces as they discussed and laughed was both amusing and thought provoking.

Still, it would make no difference.

In the end, it stood to add nor take anything from their current circumstances.

Blaze shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, listen up. We are about to descend into a battle. My guess is that the tide of mutant creatures have already made contact with the wall. The defenses should still be standing strong, but we should prepare for the worse. We will be joined by another team to handle this mess. Do you have any questions?"

Haru raised his hand.

Blaze nodded at him,

"Do you have any idea on what kinds of creatures we will be facing?"

Blaze paused for a moment then shook his head,

"No. I do not. Why do you ask?"

Haru chuckled as he ran his hand over a ring on his finger,

"Well, let’s just say I am a bit eager to... test a few creations of mine. I wonder how well they will hold up in actual combat."

Blaze frowned,

"What do you mean?"

Haru immediately explained,

"Well, the thing is we regular guys with blessings are significantly weaker than those with access to the system. So we have to be a bit more creative in picking the methods we use to fight."

He flexed his fingers as he spoke, the glow in his eyes rather bright,

"So, I have been thinking of ways to enhance our capabilities through magical engineering and smithing. Pretty neat, huh..."

Blaze was silent for a moment. Then he huffed,

"Go crazy if you like. But since you are under my supervision today, I’d rather you all stay in one piece."

Haru guffawed. The rest of the Beastmen laughed loudly as well.

Blaze shook his head and muttered something under his breath before turning around.

The expanse of ruined land finally seemed to taper off into something else as his sharp eyes picked a change in the area below.

The ground had turned redder and a bit more fragmented. He could also sense the terrible disarray of energy coming from two separate locations. One of them, he could guess was the Devil Chasm.

The other...

The edge of Valestorm’s wall.

He sucked in a deep breath and lifted his gaze.

A low groaning sound filled the air as an enormous shadow covered him.

The others on the back of the winged Aether Beast looked up as well.

Flying above them, was an enormous creature that resembled a Manta Ray. It was the color of blood, and looked like a creature from the depths of the ocean.

Blaze sucked in a deep breath and glanced down at the others,

"Looks like the second team has arrived too. We will be descending in a few moments."

The sound of terrible cries, shrieks and roars could already be heard from way up in the sky. The wall was under siege.

Haru turned to look up at Blaze.

The corners of his lips stretched into a grin as he turned around,

"Get ready, boys! It’s about to be a show!"

The others wore grins as well.

A sudden burst of radiance enveloped them as they were instantly clad in full body armor that Blaze could only describe as... bulky and excessive.

He grimaced,

"This... How do you expect to fight in these?"

The armors were more like hulking suits of metal. The helmets eerily resembled the heads of Devils.

Blaze’s eyes narrowed,

’No. It all looks like the exoskeletal armor of a Devil.’

However, the armor of Devils were a deep shade of black mixed in with darker shades of color.

In this case, the armor that these men wore, were of a dazzling golden hue.

He heard a chuckle come from one of the armor. It was Haru,

"This is their first application in actual battle. From this day forth, they are to be dubbed; The Golden Angels."