In the six months that followed, the political situation of the archipelago was particularly tense.
Generally speaking, retrieving an Inheritance from such a dangerous dimension would boost the power of any organization by a few levels.
After all, the Chasing Demon had recently broken through the sixth rank, it was normal to think that beings at that level weren't many in the archipelago considering that his sect was one of the strongest in the Hive.
The Inheritance contained spells and resources up to the fifth rank, the power of any organization would instantly reach the apex of the archipelago after obtaining it.
Yet, the dimension had closed and no consequences occurred.
What was even stranger was that no exotic or powerful item had appeared in the markets of the islands in that period, excluding the possibility that a weak organization had succeeded in the trials.
That calm, coupled with the fact that every organization has suffered huge losses for what concerned their human assets, led to a tense atmosphere.
Noah was still cultivating in the pit, he had climbed on the surface of the training area only when he needed to test some of his deductions.
A mental message arrived on his inscribed notebook, Noah listened to its contents before standing up and storing his "Breath" blessing.
He knew that the time to attack had come!
Heilong's wings appeared behind his back, they supported Noah as he climbed where he could completely unfold his wings and fly back to the surface.
"I hope your seclusion gave good results, Prince."
Roy greeted him with a bow when he saw the winged figure coming out in the open and landing in front of him, Noah simply nodded at that gesture before speaking.
"Did the elders already make a battle plan?"
"Yes, the information is here."
Roy handed Noah a simple-looking scroll but that caused a reaction in his horned face.
Noah controlled his tattoo and made it touch the surface of the sheet, a series of information entered his mind as the connection was maintained.
Even though Noah had been appointed to lead the human assets to war, he didn't have the authority nor the knowledge to make battle plans.
The truth was that Noah was simply following orders, human cultivators were just pawns in the eyes of those in the heroic ranks, the real battles would be fought in a realm where he couldn't interfere.
Yet, human cultivators reflected the power of an organization, winning the battle in the human ranks would show which organization had the best foundation.
As for the battle in the heroic ranks, the Chasing Demon sect had a mighty rank 6 cultivator, Noah didn't think that their heroic assets were lacking compared to the other organizations.
"Inform everyone, we will attack in three days."
Noah ordered as he stored the sheet, Roy wanted to question him about that delay but stopped himself when he realized the state Noah was in.
Pale skin, large eye bags, a seemingly ill complexion, Noah appeared completely exhausted and drained of any energy.
Even his weight had been affected, his soft facial features had become sharp due to how caved his cheeks were.
"As you order. In three days, I'll gather everyone in front of the cave that has been specifically prepared for you in the residential area for rank 3 cultivators. Do you want me to send Byron or some outer disciple to attend you? Your hair has grown quite a bit."
Roy commented when he saw Noah's aspect but the latter shook his head as he moved toward his cave before adding something.
"They already know that I'm here, there is no point in changing my aspect anymore. I'll keep my hair long, that's how I like it."
.
.
.
Noah's reappearance created a wave of rumors that engulfed the sect again.
His return simply meant one thing: Battle was near!
Yet, some concern rose due to Noah's aspect, he didn't appear as someone ready to lead his troops.
Nevertheless, six months ago Noah had clearly expressed his stance.
He was following the orders of the patriarch who had been inspired by his master, no cultivator dared to defy Noah's position when they learnt that.
Three days passed quickly, Noah focused his everything in returning to his peak form, he had really gone all out in those six months.
He had cultivated and trained his mental sphere without break, using the many drugs in his ring to keep those centers of power healthy.
He had activated the Divine deduction technique at least once a day, relying on potions to make up for the consumption of mental energy.
He had also tested his deductions from time to time, that training schedule had inevitably affected his aspect, especially considering that he had barely eaten or slept during that period.
Two days were spent to return to his normal aspect, long periods of sleep and a large amount of nutrient food did the trick.
It had to be said that Byron didn't let go of that food happily but Noah's contributions to the sect had far surpassed what merit points could evaluate, he was simply forced to prepare the best meals that he was capable of.
The last day of rest was spent analyzing the reports of the events occurred in his six months of seclusion.
The situation in the archipelago seemed to be in a sort of stalemate, every organization was wary of the others, all the different forces seemed to be bombs ready to explode.
After all, they could only be sure that they didn't obtain the Inheritance, anyone else could just be lying.
Also, the dimension had closed, the focus of the organizations went back on the islands and, since everyone had been somewhat weakened, there seemed to be a lack of manpower everywhere.
Noah came out of his cave before the sunset of the third day, Roy wore an inscribed black robe as he stood in front of a hundred or so rank 3 cultivators.
Those cultivators were the full power of the human assets of the sect, all the captains were forced to gather there due to the orders of the elders.
The elder's battle plan was clear but Noah had to divide the captains according to their power and assign specific tasks, it was needless to say that the plan forced Noah to take care of the most valuable parts.
"Make way, form a circle! I'll give a task to each one of you. Complete it or die trying! In one week, all the peripheral islands of the Coral archipelago must carry the banner of the Chasing Demon sect!"
It was with that speech that Noah entered the crowd of captains and began to explain the battle plan.