Noah continued to kill as many blue cultivators as he could as the battle kept going.
They were the easiest targets on the battlefield, he couldn't find isolated red cultivators anymore.
Yet, that didn't discourage Noah, he kept on lowering the number of blue robes to force an opening in the red ones' defenses.
Time passed.
The battles between cultivators could last a lot, they had great reserves of energy and strong bodies, victory couldn't be decided in just a few minutes.
That's why, as the hours passed, Noah found fewer and fewer targets to kill.
His actions had finally aroused the wariness of the Empire, they had begun to fight in an extremely careful way.
'They are not leaving me any opening. Should I just join a battle?'
The army of the Odrea nation had completely overwhelmed the Empire by then, only the red cultivators and a few hundred blue ones were left on the battlefield.
'I don't really want to… I don't fight well with allies and I don't want to end up in a fight with two or more red robes.'
His new spell needed eye contact to work, Noah could only hit one cultivator with each activation.
If he was to fight against two or more cultivators in the solid stage, Noah's only option would be to escape, he simply wasn't strong enough for that kind of battle.
'This is getting boring, I could be training right now…'
Noah scratched his head, no one was coming at him and he didn't want to join any battle, he found himself with nothing to do on the battlefield.
However, an event forced him to focus again.
From the bottom of both armies, right when the sun was about to fall into the horizon, the cultivators with black robes took a step forward!
'Are they going to fight?'
Noah's eyes shone with interest at that sight.
Cultivators in the third rank were on a completely different level, he couldn't even hope to touch them.
'Their battle should be interesting!'
It was with that thought in mind that Noah moved toward the sidelines of the battlefield to find a safe spot where to look at their battle.
Black robes walked slowly from both sides toward the center of the valley, the cultivators engaged in battles interrupted their fights at the sight of their passage.
Some of them directly walked right between them, uncaring of the attacks that were about to be launched.
Yet, the cultivators from both sides would just stop when they passed, they wouldn't dare to break their concentration and incur in their wrath.
Their gazes were fixed on the nearing opponents, fifty rank 3 cultivators against fifty rank 3 cultivators, Noah was expectant toward that battle.
It couldn't be helped, he had some sort of reverence toward power, he wanted to know more about the upper stages of cultivation.
After all, the only warrior on that level that he fought was William and he was just training him.
The gazes of all the soldiers moved toward the black robes, they maintained their attention on the enemies near them but they still wanted to take a look at that battle.
Then, the clash happened.
Just as they arrived at one hundred meters of distance from each other, the rank 3 cultivators of both sides jumped ahead.
A loud explosion resounded in the valley, the clash of those two sides created shockwaves that made the ground tremble and crack.
The cultivators that were too close to their battle were swept away due to the might of the impact, the amount of "Breath" released by their attacks was simply too much to withstand.
'Amazing.'
Noah judged in his mind as he stared at the battle.
The weapons of the soldiers in the third rank were all inscribed, a normal weapon could not handle the energy that they released as they fought.
Martial arts were performed with extreme precision, each of their forms produced incredible effects that reverberated through the entire valley.
Air slashes, afterimages, piercing strikes, Noah could recognize each of those forms but the power behind them elevated those movements toward a higher realm, something he couldn't still hope to reach.
The black cultivators were fighting one versus one battles, they were in the same number after all and no one of the bystanders could interfere in their fights.
The other soldiers slowly resumed their battles, they couldn't just stand there, they still had their personal reasons to fight.
Only Noah could somewhat watch the battle of the rank 3 cultivators in its entirety, the soldiers of the Empire avoided him while those from the Odrea nation held the advantage already, there was really nothing that he needed to do.
He stood on the sidelines, his back was on the rocky wall of the mountain and his gaze was fixed at the center of the battlefield where the battle at the apex of the human ranks was held.
'I can't even distinguish in which stage they are, they simply seem too strong in my eyes.'
Noah carefully analyzed each of their movements, both sides were experienced, it was almost impossible to reach the third rank while being unskilled.
'They are not using spells either, their battle is just for show.'
Noah was a bit disappointed by that but he could understand the reason behind that choice.
Cultivators in the third rank were the most powerful asset in the war between the Odrea nation and the Empire, their value surpassed any number of blue and red cultivators.
Also, they were extremely valuable outside of that limited environment, Noah remembered how lofty their positions were in the Utra nation.
The war continued for another hour keeping that rhythm when the sun ultimately disappeared and the darkness enveloped the valley.
The soldiers immediately stopped fighting, they were scared that another attack would break the rules of the agreement between the two countries and produce some repercussions so they just stopped altogether.
The war was over, it was time to gather the dead and reorganize for the next month!