Somewhere in the Wild Continent, a golden palace emerged from the void and took rest on the earth below.
The palace was large on its own, but when placed in the mountain range where it currently found itself, it didn't look too magnificent at all.
Within his personal quarters, Damien sat quietly with his eyes closed. A white and black swirl of mana circled his body and pulsated, growing denser and purer with every passing second.
"Huu…"
Damien exhaled a light breath and opened his eyes.
'Samsara Intent is still difficult. Using it in battle has become smoother, but creating a moveset using Samsara Intent is more taxing than expected…'
Damien frowned. When he first started comprehending space, he used his sword as a medium to project his mana with ease. Using a medium to create a move set and comprehend a concept was far easier than doing so without one.
'However, I don't want to make a new sword art.'
Damien wasn't a sword practitioner. He used the sword out of necessity when he first started out, and as he grew, it became one of his many viable attack methods.
If he were to return to the sword at this point in time, it'd harm him more than it helped him. Even if Damien knew he was a genius, he wouldn't recklessly bite off more than he could chew.
The sword path wasn't for him, and that was inviolable fact.
'Then…'
In terms of weapons, the only other one he had was the Twin Moons.
'A gun art?'
It wasn't unheard of, and it also provided an avenue wholly different from the sword path. If Spacetime and Samsara could be separated into sword and gun, maneuvering them in battle would also become much easier.
'The only problem is that I know nothing about professional gunplay.'
Damien shook his head and stood up, thinking that he needed to find a master on the outside to teach him once he returned to Eien.
'Actually, couldn't Priscilla provide one for me?'
Last time, even though she'd creeped him out, Priscilla had given Damien a great deal of help. And even if he didn't use her much, Ximen Wuhen wasn't a bad helper at all.
After the original battle, Damien took the opportunity to stuff her in the Sanctuary and keep her there. Of course, he would still bring her out if he ever needed help, merely…
'Priscilla's eyes can't be so sharp.'
It was fine if there were people who observed him from a distance, but such close-range observation that could unearth his secrets, especially when he was still growing with the help of the various things he earned from the Void Corridor and beyond, wasn't acceptable. He had decided long ago that Priscilla would only learn about the cards he wanted her to know, no more no less.
Ximen Wuhen had no method to escape the Sanctuary, and after staying there for two years, she learned to adapt and fit into Theavel's society.
In all honesty, Damien believed she would do far better as a minister in Theavel than anything she could accomplish under Priscilla.
Nevertheless, Damien didn't bring it up to the woman quite yet because her personality seemed to be a blank slate other than her loyalty for the High Commander, likely the result of some kind of mental manipulation.
'Whatever, it's not my business. For now, I should plan my path forward.'
It was unknown when the Void Corridor would reopen and force everyone out, but before then, the Nox needed to go.
'I could place faith in Heaven's Army, but according to Alexandra, the current force is led by a subsidiary faction of Blood Asura Holy Land. Interacting with them is dangerous, especially right now.'
It wasn't the worst-case scenario. Three months still hadn't passed since Damien's exit from the Celestial Realm, so there were still a few tens of days before the Bloodlock Clan learned about what he did to Reavus. However, revealing his location right now in any capacity was dangerous.
He still hadn't acquired the power he desired, the power that would allow him to fend off the extreme peak experts of the Bloodlock Clan.
'If Heaven's Army isn't viable, there are two routes I could take…'
The first route was more direct. It was for Damien to personally take action and make use of his familiarity with the Wild Continent to lead the Nox on a rat race that slowly whittled away their forces.
The second route, however…
'Can I enlist their help? With their dispositions, it will either be more straightforward than I could ever hope for or nigh impossible with no in-between.'
Regardless, if he got their help, Damien was confident in killing off the Supreme and decimating the Nox Army.
Several tens of thousands of extreme peak masters, just how big of a setback would the Nox face if they died?
It was a scene Damien desperately wanted to see.
As such…
'Fuck it, let's just try it out. Even if I can't defeat them, they can't kill me either.'
With that thought in mind, Damien's body flashed away from the golden palace, traveling several million miles in the distance before reaching a hidden alcove covered by wild vines and greenery.
"Old hag, come out!" Damien yelled.
His voice echoed through the alcove in an impossible manner, seemingly disappearing into a void that didn't exist.
Suddenly, the mana in the air swirled and took the form of an old lady not much taller than Damien's leg.
When her figure took physical form, she glanced over at Damien indifferently.
Then, her face changed,
"Brat, didn't I tell you not to address me the same way you do with those old ghosts?! I'm alive and well, you know! I'm still in my prime!"
Her eyes turned red and her teeth turned into jagged edges. She raised the cane in her hand and, without suspense, started relentlessly beating Damien over his head.
"Hey, hey! Okay, I'm sorry! Let me go, granny!"
"Granny?"
"Auntie?"
"Auntie?!"
"Big…sister…?"
"Brat, you're dead!"
"No, I'm too young and handsome to die!"
Damien ran in circles around the alcove as he tried his best to avoid the old lady's cane, though, it was an impossible goal in the first place.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
Three strong wacks had him lying on the floor with a comically large bump on his head.
"Haa, Granny Liu, did you have to give me such a rough greeting? I'm a fragile man, you know?" He complained as he sat up and brushed off his injuries.
"Tch," Granny Liu scoffed, "you brat only looks for people when you need something. Don't try to play me like a fool because I'm old."
Damien chuckled awkwardly and looked away. Well…he couldn't necessarily prove her wrong.
'But if you're going to call yourself old, why are you beating me for saying it?!'
Wait, that wasn't the point right now!
"Granny, I need help! Please give me a trial!"
Granny Liu glanced at Damien and sighed, "What is it this time?"
Seeing her positive response, he grinned.
As expected, forming a good relationship with these people was a great idea.
When he first arrived in the Wild Continent, he'd met them by chance after raiding a great emperor's tomb. They were headed to find the inheritance as well, but strangely enough, rather than the inheritance, they just wanted a small portion of the resources he earned.
The resource they needed was called the Crystallized Ginseng, something Damien didn't need at all since it was a body-tempering resource.
He could've made a trade with them, but since he didn't need the resources and he was looking for a way to get rid of some of his stock, he simply gave them all the Crystallized Ginseng he'd found until that point.
His random act of grace ended up getting him in the good graces of this indigenous race that resided in the Wild Continent.
Damien grinned.
"I want to take care of some pests." He answered Granny Liu's question with confidence.
Because with their help, a mere Nox Army that only had a single supreme wouldn't be a problem anymore.
After all…
They were descendants of the Titan Race, the progenitors and ancestors of the Giant Race that existed in the Grand Heavens Boundary in the current era.
When it came to physical power…
Perhaps even the greatest Primal Sovereign wouldn't even be able to match their top experts.
