Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

--Delta--

"Uargh!"

Using his Tiger Cloud Step and his spear force, he easily pierced through the chest plate of the team's leader. It was pathetic how easily these people went down, he thought arrogantly. Of course, in total disregard of the fact that he was invisible and did a surprise attack.

"Tsk, useless natives. They really need me to step up to deal with this kind of vermin?" the invisible attack scoffed as he pulled out the spear tip from his victim's stomach.

The bloodied weapon turned to the rest of the man's group. They all wore the same armor and a weird mustache. They did not look fearful like he expected them to. The members of the Oathguard looked confused in his general direction.

All but two, who were chanting something. He was a little disappointed to not see their faces struck with fear but it didn't matter to the attacker. They were just savage little sheep he had to slaughter.

Determined expressions appeared among the members of the Oathguard as they got in battle formation. Two warriors with shields and swords in the front, a spear wielder in the middle, and the two mumbling people in the back.

Their futile struggle amused him. They still thought they had a chance despite seeing how easily he dispatched their leader. A grin twisted his face as he lifted his spear again and circulated his Qi to use his Tiger Cloud Step once again.

He charged forward, faster than any of them could possibly react, his spear aiming for the gaps in their armor. Just when he was about to pierce the shield wearer's throat a weird, segmented barrier made up of transparent hexagons appeared, blocking his attack.

The spear tip glanced off, unable to stop his charge he crashed into the barrier, shattering the weird Daoist magic.

"Tsk, how embarrassing." he thought to himself. The impact had no effect on his tempered body, but it was embarrassing nonetheless. However, now their flimsy protection was gone. He looked forward to their shocked faces when he felt a searing pain pierce his kidney.

These barbarians. How could a fellow man aim for his kidney? Covered in a golden glow, the Team leader stood behind him. The wound in his chest was closing at a visible rate.

"I guess we got a little complacent since you bastards were unable to injure us previously," he muttered, seeing that his surprise attack had worked.

The cultivator growled enraged as he swung his spear to wipe away this man, however, his move was stopped mid-swing because he had to block the sword of the shield wearer. At some point, he was surrounded by the team leader, the spear wielder, and the shield wearer.

He had lost the initiative and was forced to face their coordinated attacks. How could he, a warrior at the peak of foundation building, possibly be cornered by a bunch of savages? The two shield wearers had already gotten too close to use his long spear effectively and the opposing spear kept aiming at his openings.

He finally couldn't take it anymore and used Aerial Ascend to take this battle to the sky. How very embarrassing that he was forced to flee to the sky. Pissed he decided to show these people what it meant to offend him.

Ripping off the stuffy cloak those stinky natives gave him, he revealed himself in all his glory.

"Savor the last moments of your life!" he cried out and gathered Qi for the Palm of the Ancient. He would squash the whole group in one move!

Still not accepting their fate a group of ice spears was shot from the chanting one among them, but they were easily dodged. The next moment a tremendous palm force descended on the team of the Oathguard.

The ground around them slightly sank as they were crushed onto the street. Their armors couldn't stop their bones from breaking under the weight.

"Kukuku Hahahaha!" the cultivator in the sky laughed at the sight. Although they were still breathing, watching them crawl and squirm like maggots warmed his heart and relieved him of the frustration.

"You dare!?" a mighty, high-pitched voice echoed through the valleys of glass towers.

An overbearing royal aura bore down on him, as an overwhelming force suddenly hit the back of his head. He fell from the sky like a shooting star and turned a pedestrian cobble street into a crater. Fortunately, it was empty as the citizens had long fled when the fight broke out.

He had a hard time thinking. His brain was throbbing, his skull probably fractured. He laboriously pulled himself out of the crater and looked up at the figure that had suddenly attacked him. Despite her small stature, she had a regal aura, like a king or even an emperor.

"What-?" he tried to speak, but despite her regal aura she unceremoniously started thrashing him.

Fists as small as raindrops, but as piercing as metal wind showered his whole body. His finely tempered skeleton was broken apart with surgical precision, and he could do nothing. Even as the little being kept clobbering, her majestic aura only kept increasing, making him unwilling to resist.

Not that he had a chance of resisting, to begin with.

Maybe it was just the severe brain damage he suffered from the first attack that made him hallucinate... However, these thoughts could not liberate him from the pain.

...

"Fin! Keep him alive! We already secured the newbies." Lyxiss cautioned her as she ran over.

"Don't worry, he is still breathing. I just broke his bones and his dan-thingamajig." the fairy answered after she channeled all her anger into the cultivator's body in the shape of pure violence.

"Good, I will call some people to transport him away."

"Where are we taking him?"

"Why do you ask?"

"In case I have to let off some more steam...?"

"Oh! We are taking him to Al'Zalsar." Lyxiss answered readily.

...

Seth was tapping with his finger on the tabletop. The blacksmith was not amused. Seth, Hoen, and Wedan had just finished refining the pieces of materials for the helmet and boots when a messenger informed him of what happened.

All Lords of Minas Mar were assembled in the meeting room to discuss what had happened. Fin and the members of the Oathguard in question recounted the event. They had already been healed enough to act normally, but they had still taken a tremendous beating.

"All of you know what this means, right?"

Up to now, the person behind the events in Delta had been satisfied with indirectly framing them. Suddenly, they had brought in a cultivator that could actually deal damage to the members of the Oathguard. Even when they were just the newer ones that had yet to even reach lv. 70.

"Someone tattled on us." Monique voiced what everyone was thinking.

Though maybe not in that exact wording. The chance that their change in behavior was triggered by Minas Mar taking action was high. The only way they could have found out was if someone informed them.

"I don't think it's any of our people. I also doubt it's one of the Adventurer Guild." Mary gave her opinion.

"That only leaves the investors and political partners." Jane summed up what Mary implied.

"On that note, I may have a way to lower their involvement." Seth threw in the room.

Originally, he didn't think of giving the investors the boot but seeing how there may be some with connection to the enemy, it might be a good chance to cut ties.

Everyone looked at him when he shared what he talked about with Karina.

"Even if things work out with Karina, I still don't think it's a good idea to just kick out the investors because of some suspicions. We should investigate first and find those we can trust and pull them into our boat." Jane reasoned.

Seth knew that it wasn't a good idea to just go back on their words and cut ties, and he had not planned to do it rigorously. Since Jane suggested solving their problem, it was decided for her to take care of it.

Jane's face darkened as she realized that she had been had. Nobody thought it was a good idea to offend their would-be investors. But now, as the first one to step forward with a solution, she had burdened herself with a ton of additional work.

"If you need people or connection, try sending someone to a person named Charred in the demon's Shade District. Maybe he can help you." Seth suggested, remembering his recently made contact with the demonic information broker.

"...Fine."