For the next three days, Lilin stayed quietly in the fort. Her knights were lightly trained and received education from the veterans.

Unlike other battlefields, one Duke could not completely change the course of a battle here as there were many Dukes both hidden and active from each side on the battlefield.

This made the overall situation very dangerous and far more bloody than anything else.

Rose meanwhile was worried about something else,

"So. Do you know why those demons are silent?"

She was extremely uneasy.

The eternal battlefield was a three-way battlefront composed of Lustburg, Wratharis, and Envylia.

One of the reasons this front kept a certain equilibrium was because of this three-way battle that stopped them from investing all their force on one front.

But now — Envylia stayed silent. Their soldiers simply keep watch over their borders and do not participate.

Ironically, this action, rather than encouraging Lustburg and Wratharis to fight it out, made them far more cautious and unwilling to fight at full strength.

"General. We have been receiving messages from our spies but they are also in the dark. All they know is that the higher-up ordered a ceasefire on their side and they are even debating sending a peace envoy to express their desire to not actively participate in this war."

"Huh…"

Rose frowned and looked at Lilin quietly before nodding to her Butler.

"Very well. You can go for now. Prepare for a fight. Is the information about the new vanguard of Wratharis, true?"

The butler immediately became tense. The information he had received was that formidable and worrying.

Who was the leader of Wratharis?

Officially, it was the two blessed. The King and the Supreme Daughter.

Officiously though, there was a hidden power behind Wratharis, the very reason why Sun Wukong was considered as the uncrowned King of Wratharis.

They were the Seven Sages.[1]

An ambitious group created by Sun Wukong when he was nothing but a Duke who ended up fighting and exploring the Astral realm in many ways, making them even stronger.

Now, even though the six remaining sages were still at the Duke level, it was known that any of them could jump the gate at any moment and become a King level.

"The Stones monkeys are taking the vanguard this time and while the Monkey King has yet to move, they will be led by the Flood Dragon Queen and the Camel King."

Rose could feel a headache coming. The seven sages were known for their absolute arrogance in bestowing themselves titles that would have been enough to be accused of disrespect towards the goddesses.

The flood Dragon Queen, known as the Great Sage overturning the Sea.

It is said that she was a hybrid dragon born in the Dragon realm who later followed Sun Wukong after being subdued by him.

As befitting her lineage, the woman was a very powerful entity who caused trouble everywhere he went.

She hadn't been very active since twenty years ago. So it was a surprise.

The same went for the Camel King, a man who called himself the Great Sage who moves mountains.

He was a hybrid born in the Phoenix realm and once again started following Sun Wukong after getting beaten up by him.

It was funny to say, but this showed both the charisma of Sun Wukong and how battle-thirsty those individuals were

The titles they chose were extremely arrogant but there was no denying that at least in the mortal realm, they had more than enough strength to back it up.

Rose taped the table, her mind moving as she prepared countermeasures. If the two sages decided to attack at full force, the situation would go from bad to worse really fast.

"Please leave us alone for now. Call the Captains and warn them to warm up the horse and clean their equipment. Tell the mages to activate the full defense system of the fortress."

The butler twitches. The resources necessary to even activate the defense beyond 50% were astronomical. 

"General…"

"Do not argue. This is my final order. I will accept any punishment later on."

"Understood."

He nodded and left.

Now alone, Rose asked plainly, 

"Princess, I will be blunt. I have two questions. Firstly, do you know anything about the suspicious movement of Envilya and two, do you have any experience in fighting Dukes?"

Lilin smiled.

Did she have any experience fighting against a Duke?

She wanted to ask in return. Do you have any experience facing a sword slash that can cut dimensions?

Do you have any experience in facing a man who can tank such a slash and get up like nothing happened?

What about facing someone who could freeze your time? Or fighting against a Duke who could judge your very soul?

"I killed a Duke."

— And it wasn't just any Duke but a member of one of the most infamous criminal organizations.

But for Lilin, compared to fighting against her mother, Setsuna, Sol and even training with Isis, killing a Duke was nothing worth bragging about.

"I do not know how strong those so-called Sages are but even if I do not win, I am sure that I will not lose."

This was not bravado. This was pride and assurance born from an absolute confidence in her skills and training.

More than anything, after living all her life surrounded by monsters — There was not much mundane Dukes could make her feel.

If anything, the only one that slightly interested her was the Flood Dragon Queen

She was wondering — Were her scales tougher or brittle when compared to Sol's?

She would have to find it with her Sword.

Furthermore — Perhaps she should capture her for Sol?

—-

Meanwhile, in the fortress opposite the one belonging to Lustburg, a group of expressionless men and women were standing in order, while gazing at the two warriors in front of them.

One was an old man with a long beard, and a hunched back. In his hand was a rugged wood cane and his legs were wobbling as if he was about to fall and die at any moment.

It was a figure easy to underestimate but there was only respect when the soldiers looked at him.

Next to the old man, as if contract him at every point was a young-looking adult woman with flowing aquamarine hair and a dragon tail.

She had a long bow on her back and her gaze was steady and full of confidence.

"When do we attack, old man?"

Her voice was petulant but she was waiting for the opinion of the Camel King. After all, he was the oldest and wisest one of the group.

The Eldest brother so to speak.

"I have fully analyzed the situation. Tomorrow, we strike. But do not forget our goal."

"I know, I know. We simply have to bring out the Sword saint and let her fight with Big Brother."

The Camel King smiled and started walking away.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day.

***

After this a certain calm came but this was nothing but a calm before the storm.

The knights were all tenses and everyone was preparing one way or another, wishing to do nothing more than becoming stronger even if for a little bit.

This time was sadly not enough for them.

The war which had somehow entered a lull during the last few days on the Eternal Battlefield came back in earnest like a bolt of Thunder.

— This was pretty literal.

Thunder roared after lightning flashed, directly impacting the formation barrier surrounding the Fortress. 

This was a greeting. At the same time a warning.

Floating in the air, an old man wearing large clothes with a hunched back and cane spoke quietly, 

“Greeting soldiers of Lustburg. I am the Camel King.”

Everyone, those in the barrier and those outside tensed.

“Be it I or my siblings, we loath war and senseless bloodshed. Our goal is not to massacre weaklings who are only fighting in the hope of putting food on the table. We only have one target.”

He smiled, “Bring us the Queen of Lustburg. You have One day.”

He did not speak more and vanished instantly, leaving a wind of unease in the fortress.

Back down, Lilin frowned and looked at Rose, they were currently present in the conference room with all the higher up and the air was solemn.

“The barrier shook slightly.”

This was the greatest problem. The Camel King was even more powerful than they imagined. This was a strike that no normal Duke should have been able to throw at them. But here they were.

“Should we…?”

One person started quietly but Rose waved her hand, 

“Don’t even dream of it. For one, bringing out a King would be a breach in the current situation. Neither army reached close to threatening the borders of the capital of the other if our Queen moves now. We will only be in disadvantages.”

There was something else Rose didn’t say. She knew clearly that they only had two kings, both Lilith and Camelia. As for Dukes, they did not have many Dukes who could hope to come close to the 6 sages.

The taunting of the Camel King was clearly because Sun Wukong wished to fight Lilith. 

‘We must never enter the level of King fight.’

They only had two kings and Wratharis had three. As well as Six more who could slightly come close. When it came to higher levels of power, they were too much behind.

The strategy was simple, they had to win as much terrain as possible then sign a treaty and be done with it.

This was how the war went out for years to avoid bringing out the King's rank on the battlefield.

Another reality was — How useless would they be if the enemies only had to threaten them once for them to go running and call their queen? 

This would destroy the morale of the army.

“I will fight the two sages.”

She raised her hand, causing everyone to quiet down. Some in doubt, some in surprise, and few in disdain.

“Captain…”

“I know that I do not have enough achievement to make you believe me. I initially hoped to slowly do so. But the situation changed and there is no more time. This is why I am talking as the Eldest Princess of Lustburg rather than the Captain of the Scarlet Knights. I will take the field and face the two Sages.”

All those who were about to speak immediately shut up. They knew that this was something different.

“Two Dukes dared to challenge my mother, the Queen. It’s necessary to show them that they are not worthy.”

Everyone looked at Rose. She was the main leader here in their opinion, 

“Princess. You should understand, right… The enemy will not care about your blood. If you fail and get captured, we will all have to fight to our death to get you back or avenge you otherwise we will be known as traitors and executed.”

 

“I will win.”

“Very well. Then — Let’s fight now.”

She was not some old conservative soldier who could not take the lead when it was necessary.

If those bastards wanted a fight then they would give one. Why wait until the end of the ultimatum?

But Lilin shook her head and stood up, 

“Just wait for me. It will not take long.”

She planned to go all out from the start. There would be no need for her to hold back or even hesitate.

The current situation where there was no soldier out was to her advantage. 

There was only one question honestly for her, 

Whether or not she should kill those so-called Sages.

In the end, she decided that she would only spare them as long as they weren’t too dangerous. They wanted Sun Wukong on their side after all.

It wouldn’t do to kill his friends.

“I hope Sol will praise me.”

The soldiers present had no time to even protest before Lilin vanished completely in front of their eyes, causing all of them to feel a cold chill.

They realized then and there that they had been underestimating the Princess a little too much.

—-

Standing in the fortress of Wratharis, the Flood Dragoon Queen looked at her friend and brother.

Despite how frail he looked, he was the second fastest in their whole group if Sun Wukongw was not added to the count.

—-Sun Wukong was never added to the count

“Do you think this will be enough?”

Camel coughed, “If this was, then I would be sorely disappointed. Humans can be pretty stubborn.”

“True.”

“Either way. Our goal is truly not bloodshed. This whole war is…”

He shook his head. As one of the seven sages and for all intent and purpose, the subordinate of Sun Wukong as well as his strategist, Camel knew very well that this war was nothing but a farce. 

Perhaps the greatest play in the history of the mortal world.

He was not averse to killing. But losing soldiers and killing people in such a war was nothing but distasteful for him. A waste of time and energy.

“Well. There is no one fun to fight in this place anyway. Outside perhaps General Rose. I heard this woman is quite strong when using an army.”

“This is pretty normal when it comes to Generals who rose to the rank of Duke. Their Zone will reflect their years as soldiers and be more useful when used on large-scale battlefields than when strengthening themselves individually. The only true problem is that barrier.”

He sighed, “Even if we go all out. As long as they stay and turtles up, we will not be able to destroy it.”

“Heh. We don’t need to destroy it. We just need to make them consume all the fuel used to keep it up.”

“Very well then —!!!”

Camel and Flood immediately raised their head with horror in their eyes. Their instincts which had become slightly dormant because of all those years of peace and rest woke up like they had been beaten awake, alerting them of the incoming danger.

The world seemed still the same. Nothing seemed to have changed. At least this was the case in the eyes of everyone else outside of some Stone Monkeys who started to feel restless.

To the two of them though. They had the impression that the very world itself was filled with nothing but one thing — Sword slashes.

***

The two of them reacted directly, a dome of wind and water appeared at the same time, covering all the soldiers who were inside the fortress to protect them from the incoming attack but their perception had been distorted. They had never been the target.

The only target was —- The barrier itself.

One time. Two times. Three times. Sword light moved and slashed as if it was never-ending.

In one instant the horizon seemed to be completely fragmented as more than ten flashes of light attacked the barrier surrounding their fortress. 

Unlike Lustburg. Wratharis didn’t have the chance to have the blood of a Dragon King as an ingredient for their defense. Even so, this was a barrier powerful enough to need many Dukes to attack at the same time before hoping to destroy it.

— At least this was what they all believed until now.

The two sages and all the soldiers witnessed as this barrier was helplessly destroyed like nothing in but an instant. It was as if a simple cover made of paper was helplessly torn apart, giving not even the slightest resistance. 

Looking up, they could see a purple-haired woman walking in the air toward them, the aura emanating from her was so overpowering that they could feel it from here even though she was still close to Lustburg’s base.

This also made them understand that she had destroyed their barrier despite the great distance that was separating them.

“Is this…Lustburg Queen?”

Flood gulped a little as blue scales started to cover her fists, 

“No…”

Camel’s voice was hoarse. 

“She looks too young and she is….She is only a Duke.”

“Haha…”

The two gazed at each other before starting to float as well. Camel was using his power over lightning while Flood had two large wings appear on her back.

They were surprised. Astonished even.

But in the end — They were excited.

Fighting and bullying the weak had never been something they were interested in. Their only desire was to chase after the back of Sun Wukong and for this — There was nothing better than fighting someone strong.

The flood Dragon Queen, Jialong,  immediately changed. The bright scales entirely covered her body, giving an appearance close to what the War form gave.

This was nothing but a copy. She had the form but not the essence. Even so, this form of her was enough to inspire respect in the Dragon realm as she went from being nothing but an inferior species to being a strong contender for even the title of Princess back then.

“I am going first!”

Water formed below her feet and propelled her at full speed toward Lilin.

She did not bother asking who she was. What she was or why she looked so much like the Queen. Jialong had no care about such a thing.

All she wanted to do was crush the strong opponent in front of her.

Lilin, though, was utterly calm. She planned to end this fight as fast as possible. She did not know what their Zones were or what they could do.

She had read the reports about the fight Nuwa went through and understood that underestimating a Duke with unknown skill was foolishness. 

This was why —

“You should have come at me together.”

— She would go all out. Using the window where they still somehow underestimated her and planned to test the terrain.

Her zone had long since been activated, and the scale it could cover had increased tremendously ever since she signed a contract with Sol and increased the power of her soul.

“This is a shame but — I have to win by all means. I will just incapacitate you.”

The grip of her sword tightened. This was a new sword. One Theresa’s created for her by using her blood and horns. Like she did for Nuwa. This weapon even had the scales of Sol.

It felt weird using her beloved as gathering materials but she had to say — His blood and scales were truly good when it came to this.

The world around her started to change. Her eyes took a slitted demonical form and her purple aura raised like a haze.

Lilin’s path of the sword was hard to explain when compared to the straightforward Lilith.

For years, she rejected the concept of her mother and created her very own. One based on blood lust.

Following this, she awakened her dormant bloodline and started to focus more on the concept of Boundless, erasing all distance to nothing.

But in the end — Those two were all one.

Her existence as a bloody swordsman. As a human.

Her existence as one who followed the boundless sword. As a demon.

Finally, the fact she truly was neither of the two. A princess.

True faces.

They are all hers and she truly was neither.

Her purple aura changed, gushing even more strongly, transforming into a deep crimson aura, like a river of scarlet blood, even her blade turned red.

The stench of sulfur and blood filled the air and the nostrils of all those who were watching the fight while fear filled their minds.

The image of a horned demon with three faces and 9 arms all holding swords appeared behind Lilin, seemingly covering heaven and earth.

The Camel king’s reacted, 

“Jialong!”

So did the Flood Queen.

But it was already too late.

Be it the Camel King or the Flood Queen, they realized that moving was useless. They had no means to escape.

This was her strongest move. One she realized after witnessing the attack on her mother.

This was —

[Re Immortal Slaying Art: Ashura!!]

Lilin slashed, her sword even cleaving the clouds in the Sky.

Nine slashes cleaved the ground, creating a crater so deep, one could barely see the end, irreversibly changing the entire landscape of the battlefield.

On that day, a new legend was born as two old legends fell in defeat at the of a sword woman. This new legend was not of a Sword Saint, inspiring the world with her sword technique. But that, of a Brutal Sword Demon, destroying everything against her path.