On one of the peripheral islands of the archipelago, about two hundred cultivators were sitting on the floor of a large hall inside a seemingly ruined building.
Peripheral islands were generally the poorest in the archipelago, only weak and poor cultivators inhabited them and their quality of life could be even worse than that of commoners.
Yet, that island had some luxurious buildings on its surface, it was clear that some powerful organization had set an important facility there.
To be more specific, that island was a dock used by the Shandal Empire as its main connection with the continent, it was needless to say that it was far better protected than the other peripheral islands.
Noah sat in the middle of the crowd of cultivators with a map in front of him.
There were about fifteen rank 3 cultivators around him while the others in the crowd were all in the second rank.
Between the many groups formed for the assault on the islands, that one was the strongest.
Of course, that implied that their task was more dangerous.
Noah's role was clear, he had to lead the human assets, one way to do that was to take care of the most troublesome issues.
"We will encircle the building and focus our spells on its surface, the protective formation should break after a few rounds of attacks."
Noah explained the plan to the other captains, they would lead part of the rank 2 cultivators in their respective tasks.
"The defensive formation will give enough time for the soldiers on the island to gather in our position, that's your signal."
Noah pointed at three captains.
They were tasked with the destruction of the teleportation matrixes, isolating the island was needed to prevent the arrival of reinforcements.
"We have far more rank 2 cultivators than them. Your role is to overwhelm them with your numbers and salvage as many resources as you can before they manage to destroy them. I and the other captains will take care of their rank 3 assets."
Noah finished his explanation.
The plan was rather straightforward, there was no need for complex battle formations, it was a simple full-power offensive.
Yet, that was possible only because the other teams would take care of the islands belonging to the Shandal Empire and connected with this one, the organizations on the archipelago didn't have the power to defend so many areas at the same time.
"Uncover your faces, we are done hiding underground or behind the Hive. We will take this island in the name of the Chasing Demon sect."
Noah spoke again and lowered his hood, his delicate facial features had returned to their normal state after three days of complete rest and his cold attitude was completely reflected by his icy eyes.
Black hair fell on his face, his aspect was slowly returning to the one that he used to have in the Utra nation.
The other cultivators were slightly inspired by his words, being powerful but unable to use that power had weighted on their minds for a long time.
Also, they had to always be careful when venturing on the surface, the legal organizations wouldn't let go of a member of the Hive when they found it.
Noah stood up, his gaze went on a fissure on the wall, he could see the sun slowly disappearing on the horizon.
"It's time, focus and try not to die."
The crowd stood up and followed Noah outside the building.
Three rank 3 cultivators separated from the group and went in the direction of the teleportation matrixes on the island, they would wait until the soldiers defending them left their position to help in the siege of the central buildings before destroying the formations.
Meanwhile, Noah ran toward the luxurious buildings followed by the remaining disciples.
Two rank 3 cultivators in the solid stage stood at his sides, they were the strongest warriors in his team and had the additional role of protecting Noah in case of danger.
Two hundred cultivators running in the direction of the core facilities of the island wasn't something that went unnoticed.
Shouts and alarms immediately filled the island but no soldier dared to approach the disciples of the Chasing Demon sect as they reached for the formation, there were simply too many of them!
Noah raised his hand as his targets became closer in his view, "Breath" and mental energy were expended as a black ray shot from his index and landed on the surface of the building.
The lines of a formation lit up where the ray landed, they flickered as they tried to block the piercing spell, revealing part of their form.
There were runes with a floral shape in certain areas of the formation, they radiated the energy that fueled the defensive formation.
"Focus the flowers, attack!"
Noah ordered as soon as the formation stopped shining, his Dark ray spell had been successfully blocked but a minute fuming mark had appeared on the surface of the building anyway.
The cultivators behind him didn't hesitate, they launched their most precise attacks, focusing the runes that had been revealed previously.
A torrent of shining attacks shot from the cultivators, it was as if a messy rainbow had been created due to the many colors carried by those strikes.
The runes flickered to no end, their light dimmed when the energy needed to repel the attacks was expended.
"Again!"
Noah's voice sounded a second time, another series of attacks was launched and landed on the runes.
The flowers on the formation began to lose their petals, that was the sign that the reserves of energy contained in the runes were reaching a critical state.
Also, some cracks began to appear on their surface, it didn't seem as if the formation would be able to hold much longer.
"Again!"
Another order, another series of attacks.
That time, the cultivators successfully managed to destroy five of the runes that formed the core of that side of the formation.
The shining lines that surrounded them slowly lost their light and began to fall apart, the precious materials used for their creation fell from the surface of the building and broke when they landed on the ground.
The formation had been breached!
Yet, that took some time, enough for the soldiers on the island to gather in that position and surround Noah's group.
About thirty rank 2 cultivators came out of the buildings and another thirty gathered there, leaving their position on the island.
About seven rank 3 cultivators came out in the open with only one of them in the solid stage.
"Prince, leave her to me."
One of the solid stage cultivators next to Noah said, pointing toward the woman in the solid stage.
However, Noah shook his head and took a step forward.
"No, I'll handle her."