The warriors took a deep breath out of fear when they saw the force slowly approaching them.
Five Mid High Mages and ten Early High Mages.
Nearly 40 of the 85 True Path Stage warriors were at the Initial True Path Stage, essentially making them useless against this force.
Another 40 were at the Early True Path Stage, but only about ten of them had undergone the Procedure.
That left only five Mid True Path Stage warriors, and only one of them had undergone the Procedure.
Fifteen people against 85 people.
Yet, this force of merely 15 people severely outclassed the 85 people.
The Mid High Mages would very quickly deal with the Mid True Path Stage warriors, and then they would decimate the Early True Path Stage warriors.
The fifteen Mages stopped around two kilometers away from the border.
"This is your last chance to join the winning side in this five-minute war," one of the Mid High Mages spoke.
The warriors on the border felt terrified.
If they didn't do anything now, they would all die!
Many of the warriors looked at each other.
They had decided to remain part of the Storm Eagle Zone, but when they saw the Skythunder Kingdom's forces with their own eyes, their beliefs wavered.
Silence.
And then, one warrior began to flee.
He was the single Mid True Path Stage warrior that had undergone the Procedure.
He was the third strongest warrior in the world due to the Procedure. Sadly, he couldn't enter the top two due to his mediocre Path.
The two strongest warriors were the Dean of the Warrior Academy, Mervin, and Duke Whirlwind's General. Both of them were at the Mid True Path Stage. Even though both of them hadn't undergone the Procedure, their experience and powerful Paths allowed them to triumph over the fleeing warrior.
When the warriors saw such a powerful warrior leave without being stopped, they felt hope.
Maybe they could flee too?
And then, one warrior after the other fled.
As soon as they arrived at the Mages' side, their Space Rings were confiscated, and they were put into powerful handcuffs that blocked the usage of Mana of any kind.
The Mages didn't take any chances when it came to these warriors. It was very possible that this was a ploy to take the Mages by surprise, and they wouldn't allow something like that to happen.
Over the next couple of minutes, nearly 20 True Path Stage warriors fled to the enemy's side.
The Storm Eagle Zone had only around 65 True Path Stage warriors left.
The Skythunder Kingdom had managed to reduce the Storm Eagle Zone's power by a third without even launching a single attack.
When ten minutes passed without someone leaving, it became clear that this was the point where the fleeing of the warriors ended.
Everyone left in the Storm Eagle Zone was loyal and would fight with their lives on the line.
Meanwhile, in an isolated building near the frontline, five people were watching everything that happened with their Spirit Sense.
"This should be everyone," Jerald said with a dark expression. "I wouldn't have expected for so many True Path Stage warriors to leave."
"It doesn't matter," Shang said, wearing his helmet and armor. "We've talked about this. The warriors that aren't willing to fight for their own future are worthless."
"If you want to live a good life, you have to fight for it. The Council is trying to suppress the warriors, and the 35 warriors that have left are not willing to fight for their freedom."
"They have the power to fight but are too afraid to use it."
At that moment, Shang's aura grew darker. "And if they are not willing to fight for their futures, their futures are forfeit."
Jerald sighed. "It pains me to say it, but you're right."
Then, he turned around and looked at the other three people in the room. "Are you ready to go?"
Right now, Shang stood in the middle of the room, and he was surrounded by several Magic Circles. Vast quantities of Mana surrounded him, and his armor was shining in multicolored light.
Three other people stood around him, and they were casting several Spells on Shang.
About five seconds later, all the light emanating from Shang's armor vanished, but it was replaced by something else.
Red, grey, and black lines traveled across his armor and his helmet. It was almost like his armor had transformed into a volcano with several streams of magma flowing down from the top.
"We're ready to go," one of the Mages said as he stepped away from Shang.
Shang felt a heavy pressure suppressing him, but it wasn't nearly enough to slow him down in any way.
Jerald looked at Shang's armor, and he felt the incredible complexity of the Magic Circles and the heavy pressure of the Mana emanating from it.
The sight was amazing and terrifying.
After so many years, the information Shang had brought back from the Grandmountain Kingdom was finally put to use.
Shang had been the victim of months of experimentation, and the knowledge he had gained from that experience was now increasing his power.
Project Primal Assault was what the Grandmountain Kingdom had called it.
They had put several augmenting Spells on Shang's body back then to push his power far beyond its usual limitations.
However, this project had still been in its early stages, and it had been developed by a couple of True Mages.
After having access to this information for decades, the three High Mages of the Storm Eagle Zone and Jerald had transformed it into something far more advanced.
Instead of putting the Spells directly onto Shang's body, Jerald had designed an armor that could do it for him.
This was not a duel.
This was a war.
And in war, no one fought alone.
If Shang were alone, the force of the Skythunder Kingdom could be enough to kill him.
But he wasn't alone.
He had four powerful High Mages and decades' worth of research on his side.
All four of these High Mages had put thousands of hours of their time into increasing Shang's power as much as possible for this very day.
This was the power of having strong allies.
"Good," Jerald said with a malicious grin.
His revenge was finally here!
George!
Mattheo!
It was finally time to take revenge!
"Then let them see the power of Project Black Scythe."
