Birth of the Demonic Sword

"It's rare for different cells of the secret organization to group up," Luke explained, "But the sudden expansion of the Legion has turned everything upside-down. The human organizations don't have enough space anymore."

Luke, Noah, and other experts interested in the imminent mission had gathered at the center of the Legion's domain to discuss the secret organization.

Apparently, the sudden shift in the political environment caused by the Legion had forced the secret organization to take a stand. That force couldn't remain outside of the human struggles anymore, but the different agendas of the various cells had inevitably created a problem.

Some of the cells wanted to side with the human forces and see where Heaven and Earth would lead them. Instead, others saw in Noah and the Legion natural allies.

That division caused a leak in the network of the secret organizations. The human forces learnt about the involvement of some of their leaders with Heaven and Earth, and chaos inevitably spread.

The matter wasn't as simple as it looked. Internal fights happened inside the human organizations. Discord started to thrive among those forces after they learnt about the hidden interests of some of their leaders.

Most organizations didn't know about their leaders' involvement with Heaven and Earth. Only a few experts held the secret meetings, while the others continued to believe that the cultivation journey would eventually make them clash with the rulers.

The crisis that had fallen on the Balrow family didn't help Heaven and Earth's side either. The experts had learnt that some of their leaders wouldn't mind sacrificing their entire force to take out a few enemies of the world. That information only intensified the internal clashes.

Luke's team had gathered that knowledge during the expansion of the Legion. They had even found a few cells willing to share information about the new environment of the human domain in the Outer Lands.

Luke could contact those cells without revealing that Noah and the others had returned. He could inform them that a plan was in motion and that he needed their cooperation to make it work. In exchange, they could become allies of the largest organization in the world.

"How come they all want to be our friends now?" Divine Demon asked. "We should be the misfits!"

"The cultivators don't know who to trust," Luke explained. "Discovering that some of their leaders are secretly working for Heaven and Earth has spread chaos through their ranks. Instead, the Legion has always been clear about its position."

"Destroying a few castles of the Crystal City turned us into heroes," Wilfred sighed as a tinge of disgust appeared on his face.

Wilfred liked the life of a true hybrid. The changes of sides of the human forces disgusted him, but he hated the secrecy of their leaders even more.

"You don't understand," Luke continued. "The magical beasts are the greatest enemy of the human organizations, but the Legion has hybrids capable of ruling them. This is a tactical advantage that the cultivators can't ignore."

Noah remained silent while he listened to Luke's explanations. He didn't like the situation either. He felt that the human side was too untrustworthy since it was willing to switch sides only after losing its domain.

Still, he understood that the human organizations as a whole weren't to blame. Only a few experts were at fault. The others were generally too weak to understand what happened behind the scenes.

"I only want to find the place where they contact Heaven and Earth," Noah announced. "I don't care about the human forces. The talented cultivators willing to fight the rulers will eventually end up inside my organization anyway."

"That might be an issue," Luke revealed. "Only one leader in the faction that opposes Heaven and Earth knows about that place, and he will never reveal that information unless we give something in return."

"What can they even want?" King Elbas snorted. "We are all moving toward the ninth rank. Most items and resources have become useless."

"They want lands," Luke answered.

"The Legion won't give up to its territories," Ian said. "We won't sell even an inch of our domain."

"They don't want them here," Luke added. "They want the Legion to take control of part of the magical beasts' domain and clear those areas for them."

Noah's eyes sharpened. The secret organization basically wanted to see if the Legion could really handle the magical beasts' issue.

The lack of lands wouldn't be a problem if the Legion proved itself up to the task. The magical beasts' domain was far larger than the other zones. It had an immense number of regions, but the human organizations didn't dare to approach it for fear of triggering a new invasion.

"So what?" Divine Demon asked. "Do we clear a region and give it to his cell in exchange for our target? That sounds too easy."

"And arrogant," Noah added, and all the experts turned toward him.

"I don't think this leader understands how things work now," Noah explained. "We are at the top of the food chain, so he has to give up the information first."

"I've only heard rumors about him," Luke sighed. "He is stubborn. He will never give up on his sole leverage."

"We can also be stubborn!" Ian complained. "Let them rot in the Outer Lands. They aren't as resilient as us. The winds will eventually break them."

"We won't go out of these lands anytime soon," Noah explained, "But we shouldn't go silent either. I want to meet this cultivator."

"That might go poorly," Luke said.

"It will definitely go poorly," King Elbas exclaimed. "You aren't famous for your political expertise."

"I don't care," Noah announced. "The higher plane has to learn who we are. We are approaching the final battle. We have to disregard safety to establish our position."

Everyone went silent when Noah mentioned the final battle. The memories of Heaven and Earth's trap were still vivid in their minds, but their power had yet to obtain the necessary features to counter the rulers.

"When do you want this meeting to happen?" Luke asked as a helpless sigh escaped his mouth.

"I don't know yet," Noah explained. "Follow Ian's advice for now. Leave this cultivator hanging while we seclude ourselves. I won't risk going out before absorbing the recent experiences."

Luke nodded before standing and leaving the underground area. He would alternate with his team to handle the political interactions with the outside world.

"We can always launch a direct attack to every organization in the Outer Lands," Divine Demon proposed. "Some of them will decide to side with us."

"These tactics won't work," King Elbas snorted. "We would only invite spies. You can't be so reckless when building a force."

"We are a reckless bunch," Noah laughed. "Don't worry. We won't have new members for a while. I plan to cause a mess in the Outer Lands, but I want to see this cultivator first. Also, our seclusion comes first. I wouldn't even mind spending an entire millennium here after what we went through."

The atmosphere turned heavy again. Noah's words had officially marked the beginning of the training session. Everyone would have to evolve their law and turn it into something that could counter Heaven and Earth.

Those who failed in that task would most likely lose their spot in the final battle.

****

Author's notes: Ehm. Italy has won yesterday. I guess I don't need to explain anything else. I'll do just this chapter for win win and skip chaos today.