In a zone full of frozen trees that had a cape of snow covering everything of hundreds of kilometers around it, a blinding light appeared. Once it was gone, the figures of Zatiel and the rest of the invading force could be seen.
The entire army was feeling nauseous and looked like they were exhausted. It reached the point that some Rank 1 started to puke.
Zatiel was not an exception. He was very tired, and there was concern on his face.
He was not surprised by the physical state of the army since even if you do not count the impact that inter-planar teleportation has on someone's body, the debilitating effect, produced by the restrictive pressure that any invader force will be subjected once they arrive a new planet was very powerful.
If there was someone strong enough, he could see all sorts of shackles surrounding the bodies of every person in the army which increased in both quantity and quality, the stronger the person was.
The most practical and efficient way of getting rid of the restrictive pressure was to enhance your understanding of the world's natural energies.
The reason for Zatiel worry was not the restrictive pressure, but due to the fact that the moment he entered the world, he felt as if someone was watching him. Although it was just an instant, and it disappeared immediately, he was sure that their arrival in this world had been noticed.
Zatiel's consciousness explored his surroundings and once he noticed that there was no one near them, he activated his Eye of Life and Creation, and immediately an immense amount of golden flames were released from his body and surrounded the entire army.
The life force inside the flames was entering the bodies of every member of the army, filling them with energy and vitality, and although it did not remove the restrictive pressure, it improved everyone's condition dramatically.
"Dante, we will need to move fast. Initiate the information gathering and exploration of the surroundings immediately. We need to find a place with good natural defenses to construct the magic tower and also the location of cities and highly populated areas," Zatiel was sitting down and his face was even paler than before due to him using so much energy.
Although acting too fast during the initial part of the invasion could be dangerous, Zatiel only needed to implement his plan and then they would have enough time to calmly explore the rest of the world and collect its resources.
They will also give them the time to create a safe haven for those Rank 4 when they arrive.
Once he heard Zatiel command, Dante did not hesitate and divided the army into eight battalions, each one with the same amount of battle power, capable of facing multiple Rank 2 life forms.
"Each battalion will move into one cardinal direction, taking this forest as the center. In case of finding any populated area, you will do initial surveillance and with the information gathered I will decide whether to attack or retreat.
In case of an attack, kill everyone at Rank 2, but the rest must be left alive. Erase the memories of any Rank 0 that saw you and bring back those Rank 1. I will read their minds and see if I can transform them into our spies," Dante's expression was serious and his tone was firm, even though he was a child, he was a born commander and he gives a fitting aura.
He knew that any drastic fall in the population of any area will raise some suspicions, and anyone smart enough will be able to use those places to calculate their position.
The army understood that time was of the essence, and since the threat of Zatiel was still very clear in their minds, they acted immediately, following the boy's order and left the forest.
The only ones that didn't move were Dante, one Brain Golem, and Zatiel who was sitting on the floor and consuming food to replenish his lost energy.
......
In another part of the world, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the forest where Zatiel landed, there was a beautiful city where buildings were made out of white and pure stones that resemble marble, populated by beautiful winged humanoids with a massive castle in the center.
In a room inside this castle, a man was floating in the sky with his eyes closed. He was two-and-a-half meters tall, with red hair, a muscular body, and a majestic appearance. The most striking thing about him was the three pairs of wings on his back.
Each wing was two meters long, and they had no feathers at all. Instead, they were made purely from lava.
The man was training and not containing the power inside him, so all sorts of phenomenons were formed around him, like the illusion of volcanos or fire elemental creatures.
The entire room was filled with flames and it reached such a temperature, that if any Rank 2 life form were to be in here, they would die in a matter of seconds.
The man was training his proficiency over his laws, using his bloodline as a guide. He was in deep concentration when repeated knocking was heard on his door.
He frowned due to the disturbance, but since he knew that his people knew that it was prohibited to bother him as he trained, whatever it may be, it should be very important.
He waved his hand, and all the fire inside the room and the phenomenons disappeared before the door opened.
The figure of an old man appeared, but despite his advanced age, he was still very handsome. There were two pairs of wings made of lightning on his back.
This characteristic should make the old man display an impressive grandeur, but the only thing you could see on him was the worry and fear on his face.
"Damian, this better be important, you know that I don't like to be interrupted as I train my comprehension over the laws," Despite the man being displeased, his voice was soft, and anyone who hears it will feel relaxed.
But Damian's condition did not improve and you could see that what had happened has affected him greatly.
���Lord Oliver, something terrible has happened!"
Seeing the state of the old man, Oliver's expression became serious, and he made his wing expand and release a red glow.
When the red glow touched Damian, he calmed down, and his complexion improved a little.
"Speak, what has happened?" Oliver has known the old man for a long time and knew that he was not someone who could be disturbed by small things.
"Lord Geiner has just died," Damian was barely able to say those words without losing his composure
"How could that happen!? Geiner was a Rank 3 Angelic Paragon. Even though he was not very skilled in battle, as a master of divination, there should be no one that could kill him inside the castle without me noticing them, even if the attacker was a Fallen."
Oliver knew that his man will not lie with something so important, so although he did not want to believe it, he knew it was true, and the rage and killing intent in his eyes was immense.
"No one attacked him, my Lord. I was by his side when it happened. It was during one of his divination training, everything was normal until out of nowhere he started to scream in pain and yelled some type of prophecy," When Damina remembers that scene, he started to shake uncontrollably.
When Oliver hears that, his expression becomes incredibly solemn. For users of divination, backlash due to them seeing an event that carries too much repercussion or affects beings of immense power is normal and something they all try to avoid but even when it happens, as long as they are strong enough they should be fine after resting for a couple of years.
For a Rank 3 Angelic Paragon to die due to the backlash of divination, whatever he saw was something that will affect this entire world.
"Tell me every single word you heard coming out of his mouth."
Oliver released an imposing presence that made Damian unconsciously kneel and a submissive look appear in his eyes.
"Due to screaming from the immense pain he was feeling, he was only able to yell some phrases and nothing more. What he spoke was, 'the race of destruction has touched the world, the Eye of Life will open the door of chaos, the sun cocoon will open, eight wings will cover a golden sun.' That was everything he said before dying."
Damian could not stop the fear from reaching his heart as he remembers the apocalyptic prophecy and the screams that Geiner released as he spoke it.
Unlike this man, Oliver was someone that had experienced many things and had battled through different parts of the universe, and yet he was shocked and frozen for a second when he heard those words.
It was not the omen of death that affected him, but the mention of the golden cocoon and eight wings. As a Soul Forging Angelic Paragon, he was very clear what those words mean for his race.
'An Archangel will be born in our world, and whoever this golden sun is, they will clash against each other. The repercussions of their fight will affect the entire world and will be enough to kill a Rank 3 Angelic Paragon who dares to scry into it.'
As the image of an Archangel passed through Oliver's mind, a zealot light flashed in his eyes but he immediately focused here.
"You will not speak a word about what you saw or heard to anyone," Oliver's voice carried a special command that was engraved in Damian's mind.
After saying those words, he disappeared from the room and instantly reached a throne before sending a message.
"My generals! Come to me in this instant. An invader has come to our world!"
