CHAPTER 328: TERRIFYING ARMY

Darian watched calmly. During the fight against the beasts, he had seen countless windows pop up, all showing the points gained from each enemy he killed. It was true—killing was the fastest way to rack up points and move forward.

But... he chose not to advance just yet.

There was no point in rushing ahead to the next stage recklessly. He needed to complete the special mission, to make sure he became as strong and powerful as possible.

Of course, he couldn’t take too long, or Remira might finish the Trial before him. Still, he was sure she wouldn’t succeed that quickly.

After her father sealed away all her power as punishment, she was basically like a normal person, on the same level as everyone else; she had to make her own choices, for better or worse.

The ring in the ruins had been left for her, but apparently, she made the opposite choice from him: to advance as fast as she could, ignoring the opportunities around her. That’s why she was captured and locked up—she wasn’t much stronger than the others in that place.

But Darian’s goal was to complete the Trial, master that entire world, and claim the supreme artifact. He couldn’t forget—returning with just the bare minimum wouldn’t save him. The demons from his universe wouldn’t keep their end of the deal, and he needed to find ways to deal with them.

The group kept moving through the desert.

On the way, Darian found another shadow, shaped like a white wolf with lightning running through its body. He struck it down to get its essence. He had already lost seven days of that technique, but there was nothing he could do.

[Law of Lightning added for use]

[Daily uses available: 02]

[Time until charges restore: 23H : 59M]

"Oh!" He read it excitedly. He finally had it again.

It was pure luck. After all, Laws of Yang-type elements, like fire and lightning, were extremely rare on the Yin side of the desert. Generally, people on this side didn’t even get the option from the system. Only a few races with natural affinity could receive that possibility.

A few hours later, the abandoned city appeared before them. Everything was just like he had seen before: empty and half-ruined.

"Tir, we’re counting on you."

As they entered the city, Darian handed the young man a spatial crystal. Inside, there were countless metals and minerals from the old beast city.

Darian had destroyed it all, and knowing they’d need a new base, he’d taken the chance to loot everything he could before leaving.

The earth element allowed for manipulation of minerals and metals fairly easily, even if it wasn’t exactly the same thing. Tir grabbed the crystal, nodded, and unleashed his full power.

The ground shook. Suddenly, walls dozens of meters high, made from the highest-level materials, rose up around the city slowly.

"Good. This’ll be a solid control training for you. Later, try using the rest to build small houses." Darian muttered, and Tir nodded, determined to practice.

Darian then walked toward the central building of the city, which was still in decent condition. Entering with the two girls, the first thing he did was pull out the saber.

The two looked at him silently, confused.

Darian took a deep breath, then pulled out the soul-power materials he had stored in his inventory. Calmly, he began to work them, feeding the weapon.

"!"

A few minutes later, a fluctuation of the wind element spread out—Awel’s eyes widened.

The saber trembled. Then Darian turned to them and explained:

"He’s healed and awake now... unfortunately, his real body merged completely with the saber and there’s no way to bring him back. He’ll be a blade forever, but he can still live normally. Once he gets used to the differences, he’ll be able to use metamorphosis."

The two girls rushed forward and grabbed the saber in shock.

The blade kept trembling, as if trying to speak, but it was hard. It was like a human suddenly taking the body of a beast—adapting would take time.

Awel was the only one who managed to connect with the saber, since both she and Eldu had been born from the wind element.

In just a few minutes, her face collapsed into tears.

"He... he’s thanking you..." she whispered, looking at Darian, lost for words.

He just nodded, replying indifferently: "Take him to Tir so he can see him too. I’ve got a lot of work to do."

The two girls took a deep breath, and moments later, wide smiles full of excitement spread across their faces.

...

One day later.

Darian closed his eyes, his expression absurdly worn out.

"Big Bro!!"

"Brother Darian!"

"D-man!"

Countless cheerful voices echoed, and Darian slowly opened his eyes. Around him... stood an army of thousands of Heavenly Elemental Spirits. All of them had been nurtured by him and were now completely healed.

They used metamorphosis and... every single one of them took on a form that matched their childish mindset. Thousands of youngsters, pure and innocent.

He took a deep breath. In less than a day, the city was already fully populated, and Tir was working hard to build basic houses for everyone. Luckily, they didn’t need food, sleep, or any of that.

That night, Darian gathered everyone in the city and announced his intent.

"I plan to complete the special mission, and I’ll need people. I won’t force anyone..."

"WE’LL FIGHT BY YOUR SIDE!" suddenly, countless energetic shouts burst out.

Carried away, everyone began shouting the same thing.

In the end, no one wanted to stay behind in the city without helping. They all roared that they would do whatever it took and follow his orders no matter the cost.

Darian swallowed hard. The weight on his shoulders was terrifying. But those youngsters weren’t weak at all. In fact... they were the perfect match for him. Thanks to the blessing of Heaven’s Will, Darian could connect to them and share a bit of his ring’s power.

In battle, even if only a fraction of that power was boosting them, their potential would already be frightening. With proper training, they could become a terrifying army to face.

"Good. I’ll divide you all into small groups according to your elements and abilities." Darian announced loudly, making every pair of bright eyes turn to him.

"Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin group training. After that, we’ll go back to hunting all the desert bandits. They live off the blood and tears of people, so we’ll use them to feed ourselves."

"YES!!!" everyone shouted thunderously in perfect unison.

***

Days passed. Weeks. Months.

Until, after two full years of intense training and hunting, the moment finally came.

Darian gathered everyone once again at the center of the city, which now stood incredibly strong and solid.

Everyone smiled and confirmed their points out loud. All nine thousand Heavenly Elemental Spirits had reached a thousand primordial points.

Finally, it was time to fight... and then leave that desert behind.