Losing spells was a bit annoying, especially for a cultivator of the darkness element since that aptitude made them quite rare. However, Noah traded that for an increase of power in all the abilities that expressed his individuality.
Also, there wasn't much that he could do about that drawback. His existence was simply becoming more specialized in specific fields rather than others.
The only thing that mattered was that he was able to match rank 5 cultivators older than him. His search for new abilities would come later, as well as his plans to create new ones.
During his training and healing, Noah started to think about ways to create his higher energy.
It had been a somewhat streamlined process with June. King Elbas had already discovered the method required by the lightning element, so she had only to find procedures that allowed her to reach that result. However, the research was quite vague when it came to cultivators with light and darkness aptitudes.
It was a good thing that those rare elements could theoretically give birth to higher energies with any procedure, but it made Noah's work harder since he didn't even know where to start. It seemed that he could only overcome that issue by immersing himself in a long series of tests again.
Nevertheless, the war wasn't the right period for that kind of seclusion, and his priority was expressing his individuality since it benefitted his centers of power. Any research or test had to come later the nourishing of the stable sources of his strength.
It didn't take much for the attacking forces to uncover the secrets behind the defensive measure of the Shandal Empire.
Having the Elbas family as an ally turned out to be quite amazing since its ranks had experts in every field that concerned the cultivation world. The Royals had already started to analyze that defensive method since their last defeat, and seeing it again gave them the pieces of information needed to define the limits and triggers of those pillars.
It seemed that they were some sort of formations able to draw and accumulate the energy released during a battle and turn it into fuel to create a repelling force. The inscriptions though were inside the city, which meant that Noah and the others could only prevent the activation of that defensive method by winning their battles quickly.
Once they discovered those features, the three forces reorganized and created a simple battle plan that took into consideration the pillars. They would simply overwhelm the Empire with their numbers.
Noah didn't see Peaceful Storm when the forces of the three organizations gathered in front of the city that signaled the beginning of the Empire's domain.
His injuries had wholly healed during the two months that had passed, but Peaceful Storm still needed some time to return to his peak. Also, Noah guessed that he had to refill his stash of talisman before he felt confident of joining the battlefield again.
There was even the possibility that Peaceful Storm was creating something that targeted him personally, but Noah couldn't do much about it. That was simply one of the drawbacks that appeared once the cultivators exposed their abilities.
However, he noticed how Thaddeus Elbas was among the rank 5 cultivators of the Royals' army, and his cultivation level matched his companions'. His mental sphere was still in the fourth rank though.
The attackers didn't create three different fronts at that time. Their focus was on taking the city before it accumulated enough power to create a blue pillar again. So, working together on a single battlefield was better than dispersing their troops and giving a chance to the Empire to exploit their political division.
An army made of twelve cultivators in the fifth rank, almost a hundred rank 4 cultivators, and countless warriors in the human ranks gathered in front of the city only to discover that the Empire had matched the number of their assets again. Most of those existences didn't even join the previous war, which meant that the Empire could give them a break without weakening its army.
The battle started immediately at that time. The two armies clashed on each other as if they were two tides meeting themselves in the sky.
Noah's opponent was an old woman with long white hair and a hunched back. Her name was Countless Wings, and the reason behind that title became quite apparent when Noah forced her to fight properly just like he did with Peaceful Storm.
Countless Wings dodged all of Noah's attacks thanks to a pair of insect wings made of flames that had appeared behind her back as soon as the battle started. Also, she would leave a trail of fire able to give birth to small flaming butterflies whenever she retreated.
Noah soon found himself surrounded by hundreds of those red butterflies, which would explode when he entered their area of destruction.
It seemed that the Empire had already created a countermeasure to Noah's battle style and chosen an opponent that forced him to fight at some distance from the actual battle.
Countless Wings would even shoot arrows with an inscribed bow when the butterflies managed to hinder Noah's path. That was the worst opponent for him since he didn't have too many attacks that could work at that distance.
The butterflies would target the saber-shaped runes too, which made it impossible for them to accumulate enough energy.
Noah could only use his mental attacks at that point, uncaring of the fact that the Royals on the scene could recognize those abilities. He was a rank 5 cultivator now. There was a limit to how much the Elbas family could threaten him when the Royals were the only ones in possession of the images of his revenge.
Hundreds of ethereal sabers clashed with the swarm of butterflies, causing their explosion and slowly opening a path for him. He deployed his runes again as he saw the butterflies diminishing and used the Demonic Form when he understood that those arrows could hurt him.
A strange substance covered the metallic tip of those arrows. It was similar to the liquid used by Noah during the drawing of the rune for his current cultivation technique. It was just a far more intense version that made him feel weak whenever he dodged an arrow.
The items retrieved in the other Mortal Lands had the magical beasts as their main focus. After all, the dire state of the natives wasn't an act. So, their experts had spent most of their time researching how to weaken those creatures.
The effects of those resources generally had a limited impact on him since he wasn't only a beast, but it appeared that the Empire had used its time efficiently in those past years. Yet, the weakening only lasted for a few seconds, and Noah had dodged all the arrows that aimed at him. The butterflies though were rather hard to avoid, and Noah could only use his Ghostly Sabers to make them detonate before he entered their area of destruction.