One year had passed since the Dark Lord revealed himself who he truly was. Almost all the kingdoms in the world mourned the destruction of Thusia. They announced holidays in the na of Victoria Barnes, who fought the Dark Lord valiantly to the end and lost her life. The world called that day a black day. Everyone in the world lit candles and light sources for the entire day to fight off the darkness. The Elon continent mainly went through several changes. The Sunrise sect, which the Dark Lord studied, beca the target of the Guardian Guild. However, the new Supre Guardian concluded that the sect had done nothing wrong. Despite the reputation of the sect that the Dark Lord used to study, the Sunrise sect beca one of the most powerful sects in the entire world. Many still suspected the sect leader to have connections with the Dark Lord, but no one had any proof. The Guardian Guild had dismantled the majestic alchemy chain founded by the Dark Lord along with Hades, the restaurant. The Guild stopped all the revenue streams of the Dark Lord and marked him as the enemy of humankind.
Anyone who aids or worships the Dark Lord would be put in the darkest dungeons in the guardian guild. The new Supre Guardian used a diplomatic approach to ally with almost all the great eight clans. Under his new leadership, the Guardian Guild slowly started to regain its forr glory. Despite everything, many groups still worshiped the Dark Lord and hoped he would take over the world one day.
When the sun reached the middle of the sky, several ships reached Pentown. The people rushed out of their hos to take a look at the ships casting shadows on the ground. One by one, the flying ships halted as people flew out from the ships. They all headed toward Winston Manor. A few minutes later, the empty hall inside the Winston Manor beca crowded with people wearing various armor and robes, Majority of them had the symbol of the Guardian Guild on their chests.
"Alpha Guardians,"
Alicia and Norvin entered the room as the people quickly bowed their heads. Yes, Alicia was promoted to the Alpha Guardians of Hunter Guardians, while Norvin beca the Alpha Guardian of the Beast Guardians. This was one of the many changes brought to the guild by the new Supre Guardian. Unlike the previous alpha guardians, these two brought results. Hence, the stakeholders and financiers didn't raise a finger. Moreover, the new Supre Guardian was working on creating new ways of revenue instead of depending on fat rchants. They were the main reason for the corruption in the guild.
Over the past year, Norvin grew out of his tiny stature. Norvin walked beside Alicia wearing golden robes, transforming himself into his new humanoid form. His humanoid form was muscular, hairy, and had the puffy mouths of monkeys. Norvin had lost the childness on his face and looked mature. Alicia, on the other, looked as she always did, cold and distant.
"Everyone except the hunter guardians can stay outside. The Supre Guardian will be with you shortly," said Alicia. The guardians and the warriors from various factions left the hall, leaving a group of guardians behind. Silence fell over the hall as they waited for the Supre Guardian.
A few monts later, Noah Winston, adorned in his new white knight armor, entered the hall. Noah radiated a much more powerful aura than he did a year ago. The noticeable thing about Noah was his hair. He cut his long raven black hair short and grew a stubble beard. Besides, he looked a bit tired and exhausted. The usual glossiness was missing on Noah's face due to the pressure and responsibilities of a Supre Guardian. Leading one of the most powerful guilds took a ntal and physical toll on him.
"Supre Guardian," the group of hunter-guardians knelt down to show their respect. Although Noah was weaker than them in terms of cultivation stages, his godly aura and leadership talents gained the guardians' respect. Ultimately, Noah single-handedly pulled the Guardian Guild out of the hole the previous leader put the guild into. After the Dark Lord's interview with Nadia Hall, every organization put the Guardian Guild under the microscope. Many blad the Guardian Guild for its incompetence and corruption. The revelation about Andreas being alive hit the world like a violent storm. It was always easier to put guilt on soone than prove them innocent. The Dark Lord's interview and the people's hatred toward the guild forced Noah to reveal the prophecy of the Dark Lord. That was the only way to calm the people down and focus on the real threat, the Dark Lord. But Noah himself hated the guild and Skyhall for massacring innocent people three thousand years ago. No matter what Andreas said, Noah refused to accept that killing many people was justifiable. This put a dent in the relationship between the teacher and the student.
No one except Noah could rebuild the guild and simultaneously focus on stopping the Dark Lord. It was hard, especially when he and his ntor Andreas had different ideologies and plans to deal with the Dark Lord. Noah acknowledged the team with a nod. He flicked his wrist as a stone table appeared in the center.
He went to the table as the team gathered around it. Alicia spread opened the southern continent's map and the surrounding regions. An 'x' mark was on the farthest west side of the continent, with nothing but an endless ocean. This ocean was unmapped territory for the rest of the world. Due to the constant lightning storms, tornadoes, and tsunami waves, no one ventured into this ocean. Since it was inside the void line, even the cultivators refused to venture into this part of the map.
The previous naless ocean was now called the Dark Ocean by the world because that was where the Dark Lord currently resided. The Dark Ocean was the only place next to the Dark Forest where the sun didn't shine. It's always dark there.
"What did you learn?" asked Alicia. The group around her was the best of the best among the hunter-guardians. Alicia sent them to learn about the Dark Lord's operations in the southern continent.
"The Dark Lord is building sothing on his floating mountain. He's been pouring resources and n into the construction. Judging by what we saw, I'd say he's building a castle for himself,"
"How is he keeping the mountain afloat inside the void line?" asked Norvin.
"No idea," a hunter guardian shook his head.
"What else?" asked Alicia.
"According to the spies I placed in the southern continent, no one has seen him since Itholan. If I have to guess, he'd be in the mountain,"
"What are our chances if we are to attack the mountain now?" asked Norvin.
"Not great at all," the hunter guardian slowly shook his head.
"The mountain has three layers of defense as far as we have learned. The first and obvious one is located inside the void line. Second, the lightning storm around the mountain. Besides, the tsunami waves and tornadoes will make reaching the mountain impossible. Third, the dark figures flying around the mountain. They constantly guard the mountain. We cannot gauge their strengths, but if we have learned anything about the Dark Lord, he doesn't have weaklings under him,"
Alicia and Noah listened to the guardian in silence.
"Where does he get the materials to build his castle from? Can we place a guardian as a builder?" asked Norvin. The guardian sighed as he flicked his wrist. Soon, a skull appeared on the table.
"Already tried that, and this is what's left of the five n I sent to spy on the Dark Lord,"
"So he knows about you?" asked Norvin.
"If I was him, I'd know the guardians will always try to hunt down,"
"It doesn't matter whether he knows about the spies or not," Alicia said.
"We need to know more about him to get ahead of him. He puts us in a corner because he always knows more than he should," Alicia banged the stone table and turned her cold gaze toward Noah.
"We should have killed him when we had the chance,"
"Calm down Alicia. We didn't know Ghost was the Dark Lord. Also, we don't kill people. There'd be no difference between him and us if we go down that path,"
"If you think we can deal with the Dark Lord without killing people, you are not right in the head. He slaughtered our n and sunk an entire island to the bottom of the ocean. The families didn't even get to put a body into the ground. This will end in only one way, the death of the Dark Lord," Alicia coldly said to Norvin. They all turned their gazes toward Noah, who remained silent.
"Noah," Alicia said.
"You have sothing to say,"
Noah sighed.
"There is no use trying to reach his mountain. Putting a spy into the mountain is like sending them to their death. The Dark Lord will find out," said Noah.
"So what should we do?" asked Norvin.
"The best thing we can do now is target his underlings. We need to know more about his Order. Turn your focus on his order. I am sure if you find a small rat, it'd lead you to its hole," Noah ordered the guardian.
"You can take whatever you need from the armory. I am working on an efficient way to communicate with you through the void line. If it's successful, we can talk in real-ti,"
After dismissing the guardians, Noah waved his hand as a throne appeared behind him. He collapsed down, sighing. He felt tired and exhausted. It had been weeks since he got a good night's sleep. Alicia ca to him and helped him remove the armor pieces.
"You should take so rest, Noah. What if we go sowhere for a day or two?" asked Alicia.
"That does sound good, but I can't. I have too many things to deal with,"
"You do know that the Supre guardian is allowed to take ti off? You cannot be a no-show at Katherine's baby shower. Even Rowena is coming. Your entire family will be there. At Least we can go there as a family,"
"I am sorry Alicia," said Noah. Alicia was surprised.
"Why?"
"I am sorry I postponed our marriage," Noah's tone beca soft. He took Alicia's arms and squeezed them gently.
"You don't have to be sorry, Noah. I know the pressure on you. We will get through this, I promise,"
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