Chapter 388: Own Convictions

The first fifteen days of the Celestial Event passed in the blink of an eye.

The types of enemies constantly changed, becoming increasingly varied and acting in perfect tactical cooperation. At the beginning, it had taken a hundred weak Specters to earn a single point; now, killing just one of these creatures was enough to obtain the same score.

After emerging from the abyss, some species of Specters tried to ignore the direct confrontation, attempting to sneak away and escape the planet. However, the wooden dome erected around the perimeter was impregnable. Every monster that emerged within Ironweald Sect’s territory — even those that tried to dash toward the open field — was relentlessly pursued and cut down.

In this sector, Safira was responsible for the heavy artillery, intercepting and pulverizing any attempt at escape.

...

...

...

Day after day, the massacre continued.

First place in the ranking held an unshakable position. The leader was named Wayto, coming from a western sect specialized in extremely high-level formations and inscriptions.

Most likely, his faction had set up a massive automated extermination array, sustained by nearly unlimited resources provided by his sect. With that, remaining at the top until the end of the event would be simple.

Was it cheating? Technically, no. Resources and treasures were considered part of an individual’s power.

Meanwhile, the top ten positions in the ranking constantly changed. Dandara’s name fluctuated between twenty-ninth and twenty-third place. Besides the power of her beasts no longer being enough to keep up with the frantic pace of the leaders, the competition for the top positions was becoming increasingly fierce.

As time flowed, even more powerful Specters emerged from the depths. The core disciples gritted their teeth and fought ferociously. Even so, after an entire month of uninterrupted battle, they had suffered three thousand deaths.

By then, the Specters had grown strong enough to threaten even the most powerful combatants. To make matters worse, previously unseen varieties appeared with bizarre combat methods. Each new species caught the disciples off guard, and most casualties occurred precisely during those first moments of confusion.

Suddenly...

*BUZZZ*

Spatial cracks appeared in the center of the abyss, floating in the sky.

"Everyone, prepare to advance! The real battle is about to begin. You are the protagonists of this confrontation, so warm up your engines and show our brothers and sisters from the inner sect what real fighting is!" Dandara shouted, radiant with excitement.

This was the point where the local space intertwined with the Specters’ small world.

For the spatial structure to collapse like that, the pressure from the other side must have increased to an absurd degree. In other words: infinitely more terrifying creatures were about to emerge.

The generals drew their weapons with hungry smiles. Everyone in Priam’s faction — along with the newly recruited Sages — had been dying of boredom after spending an entire month merely watching the front lines.

*BOOM!*

Space exploded. The number of Specters pouring out of the abyss multiplied on a terrifying scale. On top of that, a torrent of black energy emerged from the spatial rift.

It was like an ocean of gigantic monstrosities shooting in every direction.

The moment they caught sight of the new enemies, the expressions of the core disciples changed drastically.

They were humanoid creatures, ten meters tall, with four arms packed with dense muscles. Their bodies looked as though they were made of cast iron, radiating such brutal physical strength that it seemed ready to burst from their skin.

Each one possessed an overwhelming aura. In terms of raw power, they definitely weren’t inferior to Philosopher Sages. The mass advance of that horde resembled an unstoppable avalanche — a sight capable of instilling pure despair.

But before that despair could spread, Flaris shot forward, surrounded by bluish Yin flame armor.

Her horns pulsed with vivid red light, giving her the imposing appearance of an ancient Demoness born to burn the world.

She tore across the skies like a falling star, heading straight toward the newly arrived Specters.

A flash of Yin flames tore through the army of four-armed Specters.

Flaris’s sword shone with intense light, splitting into four sharp blade projectiles. Each slash stretched for dozens of kilometers, slicing through everything in its path.

Priam smiled inwardly when he saw the scene. Flaris was drawing out the maximum power of her two bloodlines: the perfect fusion of Yin flames with the soul power of her partners.

She had learned to master this technique on her own, through trial and error. His cousin was a true talent, gradually honed until she became this incredible figure.

Any Specter struck by her conceptual blades was instantly reduced to pieces. That entire sea of creatures was sliced in half.

"Kill!"

Inspired by Flaris’s lightning-fast advance, the more than two thousand bloodthirsty warriors charged forward like a pack of wolves.

Explosions of red and black erupted everywhere as the enemies’ bodies were destroyed.

Those two thousand soldiers charged forward in a straight-line formation — a seemingly fragile arrangement, but one they used with mastery to crush their opponents through sheer brute force. They not only contained the avalanche of monsters, but also began pushing them back toward the abyss.

After all, even before the battle broke out, Dandara had already strategically arranged several battle lines, assigning the core disciples to defend their respective positions.

However, every time new variants of Specters appeared, they caused chaos and forced the defensive lines to retreat. By that point, the core disciples already found themselves cornered against the imposing wooden wall erected in the sky.

That was when the main army advanced with relentless momentum across the battlefield. As the dark ’blood’ stained the air, the soldiers moved like perfectly calibrated machines, shredding their opponents. Within moments, they had reclaimed all the lost ground, restoring stability.

The brutal efficiency of the fighters trained by Dandara — their explosive striking power, the speed of their refined attacks, and their flawless coordination — left the core disciples completely stunned.

Although those young prodigies had made an effort to cooperate during the confrontation, deep down, they were still fighting individually, thinking of themselves above all else. Now, they were witnessing how a true army fought an intense battle.

They operated as a perfect unit. Even the ninety newly arrived Sages displayed a high degree of coordination, the result of the bonds forged in the previous war. Although they still weren’t on the same level as the army’s core, the difference between them and the core disciples was absurd.

Those terrifying four-armed creatures were sliced apart and crushed like tofu in the face of such flawless cooperation. And the most surprising part: the soldiers hadn’t even activated their Essence of Creation. Perfect teamwork alone had been enough to create a massacre without effort.

"I always thought group battles were limited... that the more people fought together, the lower their individual efficiency would be. But now... I admit I’m impressed," Safira praised, watching the scene with genuine respect.

True geniuses tended to despise relying on teamwork. To them, the combined strength of two fighters rarely resulted in twice the fighting power; most of the time, a lack of coordination reduced their efficiency to one or even less.

Working together required absolute trust. And trust was the rarest commodity in this savage world. No one liked the idea of placing their own life in someone else’s hands.

"Remember: in this world, nothing survives alone."

At that moment, Priam approached the still-stunned core disciples.

"A single drop of water quickly evaporates if isolated. It needs to merge with the sea, drawing upon the ocean’s strength to resist the erosion of the heavens. In turn, the sea cannot survive on its own; it would dry up sooner or later if it weren’t fed by the rivers flowing from the land, relying on the continuous cycle of the elements to replenish itself.

The stars don’t exist in isolation either — they merge with the cosmos and orbit in harmony with its will. And the cosmos itself wouldn’t exist within absolute emptiness.

The drop of water trusts the sea to endure; the sea trusts the cycle to survive through the ages; and the stars follow the cosmic order so they don’t fade away. Nothing in this world exists to exist in solitude — otherwise, there would be no blood ties, fathers, mothers, companions, and so on. Trust is the true foundation of an individual’s growth. If you don’t trust others, you’ll never earn their trust. Sincerity attracts sincerity. Right now, you lack trust; that’s why your growth has stagnated.

How about trying to entrust your own life to your companions at least once? When you feel that others are entrusting their lives to you, you’ll understand the true meaning of existence. Every great expert needs to carry their own convictions."

Priam spoke the words without haste. All the disciples remained in absolute silence, absorbing every word.

It was a speech Priam had read in a book from Earth. Even though it came from a different world, where magic and power didn’t even exist, it contained something indispensable to every living being.

"Conviction..."

Those words sounded like resounding hammer blows against the hearts of the core disciples. The idea of entrusting their own lives to another person was completely foreign to everything they had learned; it went against all their survival instincts.

However, after witnessing the blind devotion of those soldiers in the heat of battle, they felt a profound shock.

Suddenly, a violent, shrill buzzing pierced the heavens.

In the very same millisecond, Priam’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Finally. Those motherfuckers are showing their claws. I was already getting impatient... but now, the real harvest is about to begin.’