Mandate Province.

This province was a combination of sixteen cities. It was like a small kingdom, and after years of planning and construction, City Lord Albert had managed to cover all of them, clear the outer-ring corruption fields, and merge everything into a massive, kingdom-like structure, sealed within a ring of towering walls.

Right now, several evolvers stood along the walls with grim looks on their faces. These evolvers were all stationed here under the direct orders of City Lord Albert.

To them, it felt like they were handling a time bomb that was inching closer to detonation with every passing moment.

Some evolvers on the walls held phones in their hands, watching the livestream with grim expressions. The stream offered multiple points of view, and among them, aside from fiery light streaking across the skies, there was a particular perspective where purple lightning tore through the air, followed closely by multiple streaks of blazing fire, moving at terrifying speed.

"He's going to be here soon," an evolver at the mid-stage of the 2nd rank said, shuddering.

He had begun to seriously doubt whether he had made the right decision.

However, in the end, just like the hundreds upon hundreds of 2nd rank evolvers stationed along the city walls and above the city formation, he could only follow City Lord Albert's orders and prepare to engage the intruder that was about to arrive.

Above the city formation, several old figures hovered in the air, their expressions grim.

Standing at the forefront was a man in his early thirties. He wore blood-red combat armor that made him resemble a mechanical construct rather than a human. This combat armor was the latest research breakthrough of the Mandate Research Institute of Science and Technology.

It greatly elevated an evolver's mobility and provided extremely fine control over one's strength. It could redistribute brute force from opposing evolvers, store it as energy, and release it back in controlled bursts. It also allowed energy to be reused efficiently through precise tuning.

This combat armor was invented by a genius inventor known as Inventor Jasmine. She believed that technology was the key to fully evolving into a higher existence and had descended to the Southern Region from the floating city.

Recognizing her capabilities, City Lord Albert had no objections to her working here. Soon after, she completely revolutionized the province with her technology.

Because of her, the province leaped forward by decades in a single stroke. Defensive formations were replaced by modular energy grids that utilized technology to gather cosmic energy, communication delays vanished under real-time signal relays, and even ordinary soldiers were equipped with standardized combat gear that narrowed the gap between mortals and evolvers.

The combat armor itself became the symbol of that transformation.

"He's going to appear at any moment, City Lord Albert," Elder Joshua said as he flew toward Albert. "If what we saw on the livestream is real, then his summoned army is most likely at the 12th level, if not higher."

Elder Joshua had never witnessed anything like this before. Summoning hellish beasts out of thin air made him seriously wonder whether this was some trait of an emperor-grade bloodline beast.

"Let him come," Albert said coldly. "So what if he has an army? In my presence, he won't be able to do anything."

"We've already deployed the killing array, City Lord Albert," another elder appeared. He specialized in formations and was also a peak 2nd ranker.

"If he dares to step foot into the Mandate Province, he won't be walking out," the elder said calmly.

Just then, another elder in the distance shouted while pointing ahead. "Look over there, everyone!"

Everyone turned in unison toward the direction he indicated.

Their pupils shrank instantly.

"Ho? Looks like everyone made enough preparations for me." A distorted, glitched voice echoed across the Mandate Province.

The entire province stirred at the sound of his voice.

"He's here!" one civilian shouted excitedly.

"Yes! Finally!"

"Hey, everyone who bet he wouldn't reach here within thirty minutes, pay up!"

"No!" another civilian groaned. "How did he arrive this fast? What the hell? Traveling from the east by foot would take months!"

"Why are you measuring by foot, dumbass? He's a powerful being, possibly on the same level as our City Lord. For someone like him, distance means nothing."

The civilians weren't scared in the slightest. In fact, they were excited to see who would win and whether Grey Lockhart would truly take over the Mandate Province.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that many people were rooting for this young prodigy who had defied all odds.

How did he gain such power at such a young age?

They eagerly anticipated the battle.

They knew they would remain safe thanks to the barriers surrounding the Mandate Province.

These barriers were formed through energy grids powered by technology developed by Inventor Jasmine. They weren't particularly dense, but their system allowed them to absorb incoming damage and convert it into fuel for their defense.

As civilians abandoned their work and gathered to watch the livestreams, chatting among themselves, the color of the world suddenly shifted.

A terrifying power descended upon the Mandate Province.

It was an overwhelming storm of energy.

"W-What is this?" The 2nd rankers stationed on the walls trembled. In the next moment, their eyes rolled back as they lost consciousness one after another.

"Zenith Sword Art, Fifth Form!"

Grey's cold voice descended from the heavens.

The clouds split apart as a massive concentration of purple light gathered above the Mandate Province, spanning all sixteen cities.

The expressions of civilians and evolvers alike turned pale.

"This… Is he planning to destroy the entire province in one strike?!" someone screamed.

"Mommy!" a child cried.

Yet the purple light continued to condense.

Mysterious symbols formed around it as it took the shape of a sword capable of splitting the heavens, shooting downward like a blade of annihilation.

"Grey Lockhart, are you out of your mind?!" City Lord Albert roared in panic as the sword descended.

His power surged violently, causing the world itself to tremble. Golden light burst uncontrollably from his body.

But he was a step too late.

Boom!

The sword pierced straight into the Mandate Province. The barrier that enveloped the entire region, once praised as capable of withstanding powerful attacks, shattered effortlessly like glass.

For a brief moment, evolvers, elders, the city lord, and civilians alike stared in disbelief.

"What a joke," Grey's voice echoed as he descended into the airspace of the Mandate Province, accompanied by his army of infernals.

"A barrier of that scale isn't enough to stop my attacks."

Grey hovered not far from City Lord Albert and the elders, his unnatural saint eyes glowing and his dragon horns blazing with Nexus energy.

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