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"War... I see," Noah muttered before pausing to allow Helena continue.

"Yes. The great guilds and certain houses of the royal family have launched attacks on some big noble families. At least the ones that they suspected were the causes of the mass killing."

"The rumors about war had grown at that point. And truly one started. A majority of the large noble families in the Cusk nation were found to have defected to an underground order desiring the destruction of this nation."

"Due to this, tier five battles have raged on. Ten battles in the fifth tier have occurred in only this nation. Hundreds of thousands have died. A huge portion of the royal armies' lower forces have been wiped out and the guilds continue to struggle to maintain order now that their members have been summoned by the royal family," Helena explained.

"We are actually members of different guilds deployed," she mentioned taking a break from the narration.

Noah nodded at her words but made no real movement. She had told him almost all that he needed to know. And he had concluded. The events that had led to the wiping out of the royal council's emissary grew into something larger.

Confusion had been the first event that put the Cusk nation in trouble, but the second one was genuine treason.

"Let me guess. The central city has remained untouched by this whole thing," Noah voiced his thoughts as calmly as he could.

The lady nodded grimly in response.

"The battles have never reached the central city. The forces of the elves and the defectors know only trouble awaits them in the royal city. And for this reason, masses of people have journeyed towards its outskirts."

"The economy was already failing, but if further plunged. Food is barely available for the lower forces, the elves have surrounded and taken control of huge areas at different points in our nation. Farther outside you go, the more dangerous it becomes." She sighed.

"Elves are involved." He spoke falling into curiosity.

"Yes. They are the main perpetrators. But they better have chances of eradicating settlement with the help of the insiders. The defectors."

"What are the royals doing about it apart from sending troops outside the city and calling upon the numbers of the guild? I know they have taken a large portion of the map under their control, but if tier fives are involved then the situation should have gotten better," Noah explained.

"The royals are doing nothing apart from supporting areas with manpower. But many of us still die. The enemy is a different race. Their rules are the same. We find ourselves quite underpowered compared to them even if we are technically n the same level," her tone had fallen soft and somber.

"In short, the average power isn't effective anymore," Noah stated, they both nodded.

"Those of us with lower powers have been told to guard inner areas like this one. While the stronger ones are on the outskirts of the nation. The real ones keeping things together.

"You mentioned this before, but where exactly are we?" Noah asked.

"North of here; the next settlement would be the Barculous region," She pointed in the said direction, and Noah understood just how close to the center they were.

"We're deep into the Cusk nation," He stated falling into realization. For this reason, he arrived at another conclusion. The battles he had fought were that close to settlement. Attention would have been gained.

"Thank you, Helena," Noah bowed. He still had myriads of questions about the ordeal, but he understood why those areas had been free of fighting or raids.

"You're welcomed," Helena nodded a bit embarrassed. He had been nice to talk to. They hardly had any visitors come by, and even if they did they never let them in due to the royal decree. Anyone could be in the order.

Helena thought about how bad the situation had been in the last 30 years. She hadn't been completely clear with Noah.

She had left out the side the fact that the royal council had held a political meeting with the heads of the order and an announcement stating the rules was made.

Apparently, the elves had just as many tier 5 individuals as the nation did, making hardcore battles almost pointless as they would only lead to more destruction.

Due to this, the elves had been allowed to further their agenda.

A century was all that would be given to the elves, if they had not managed to completely take under control half of the Cusk nation's land area then they would leave. But if they did. Then three different battles would occur.

Battles between the fifth-tier experts. Battles between the fourth-tier experts and finally one big battle between the third-tier cultivators.

They had come to that agreement and surprisingly the elves had been eager to accept. The decision had worried those of the lower chains of authority. It was public knowledge that the elves had something in mind.

Only about 70 years were remaining, and the rate at which they conquered areas seemed like the eventual outcome would be a great battle. Probably one of the more spectacular ones in the nation's history.

Noah would find out that truth, so she didn't feel guilty for not telling him.

'I will be taking my leave now," Noah announced after his appreciation. He moved backward for the first time in the minutes they had spoken.

The event startled the duo since Noah continued to feel incredibly dangerous.

"O... Okay," Helena stammered a bit, exchanging glances with her partner. She had been called from the Iron mountain guild and he had been called from the Hushing wind guild. But they had been together for the past decade, allowing their closeness exist above the average point.

The head of the three had been summoned by his guild, he would be back in a few days.

Noah nodded at her reply bowed again and shot out of the area. His departure caused the wind flow to grow violent, but he didn't care. His figure streaked across the sky, but his body vanished in a white light soon after.

He opened his eyes in the white environment of his cultivation room but vanished an instant later teleporting to a location he had frequently utilized.

Noah opened his eyes to the sky of the place that featured the floating city of the Divine lightning guild.

His eyebrows creased however when he raised his head and found an empty sky. He lowered his gaze to the ground and uttered a curse.

An enormous black crater unfolded in his eyes. Its size was literally many miles in radius. He recalled Helena's words about ten tier 5 battles.

It would seem the divine lightning guild had experienced one firsthand.