Noah hadn't seen Icy Cascade since Chasing Demon's mission when he had to find the remains of the Demon sects. She had been a rank 4 cultivator in the gaseous stage back then, but she had improved in those years. She was now in the solid stage of the fourth rank.
That growth wasn't spectacular when compared to Noah or the other talents of his generation, but the fact that icy Cascade didn't stop improving showed that she had some potential.
After all, only a complete stop in the growth could lead to the stagnation of the centers of power. There was no problem with cultivators who had slow but steady improvements.
More heroic cultivators appeared behind her. They all wore flashy inscribed armors that shone with a dark-red color and stepped forward while glancing at the battlefield with stern expressions.
Then, their focus went on the heroic cultivators of the invading forces on the other side of that region. It was evident that the Empire was ready to take those battles more seriously now that the attackers were nearing the borders of its domain.
"They are the Wardens," Elder Ingrid said when she saw those heroic cultivators. She was aware of the force tasted to defend the Empire's borders since she had handled the Lutren nation for quite some time.
Noah knew about that force too, but he didn't expect that the Empire still had so many powerful cultivators in its ranks.
There were a dozen rank 5 cultivators among those reinforcements and more than fifty soldiers in the fourth rank. Also, Noah didn't see any of them in the battles in the new continent. That meant that they had spent all those years in those areas.
'I shouldn't expect any less by the Empire,' Noah thought as he straightened up his posture.
The Empire was an organization created by a god who had lived for more than fifty thousand years. It had been able to produce two powerhouses, and one of them had even ascended!
The fact that its number of powerful assets appeared endless didn't come as a shocking surprise for Noah. Still, he had to admit that the Empire was revealing itself as a formidable opponent.
Losing the new continent wasn't enough. The most powerful organizations in the entirety of those Mortal Lands attacking it, but it was still capable of holding its ground.
No matter how many cultivators the invaders deployed, the Empire always appeared able to match them.
The members of the Wardens didn't move. They remained in the sky behind the human troops as if waiting for the attackers to make the first step.
That seemed a trap, but Noah didn't sense anything different with his innate awareness. It was as if the Wardens wanted to face the enemy heroic cultivators without making use of their advantage as defenders.
The group of Royals took out a series of inscribed items to study the environment, looking for eventual formations or defenses in place. However, even their advanced scanning methods didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
An exchange of glances happened between the heroic assets of the invading forces at that point. There was a bit of hesitation in their expressions, but the lack of defenses made them decide to advance toward their enemies.
Noah had no intention to reveal Snore so soon. It had been a long time since he had abilities that the world wasn't aware of, and he would prefer to keep it in that way for as much as he could.
Yet, he still wanted to seize dantians to feed his body. After all, the breakthrough of his sword had just increased his need for nutrients.
The situation didn't seem ideal for his usual battle style.
The members of the Wardens remained close without dispersing through the battlefield. They didn't appear inclined to choose different opponents and to fight them separately.
'It might be a good moment to test the new runes,' Noah thought as he stopped at some distance from a short man that radiated the aura of a rank 5 cultivator in the liquid stage.
His allies had similar ideas and didn't get too close to the Wardens. However, they still chose opponents that matched their cultivation level.
Noah glanced at the rank 4 cultivators under him. They were imitating the higher-ups by choosing suitable opponents, but they were too close to the experts in the fifth rank.
There were even rank 5 cultivators in the solid stage above them. Being right under them while they fought could kill them in a few exchanges.
Nevertheless, the rank 4 soldiers of the Empire didn't seem to mind that aspect and prepared themselves to face the dubious invaders.
Noah felt a series of glances landing on him. His weaker allies were worried that his renown smoke would kill them even before the shockwaves were released from his battle.
The Demon Prince of the Hive wasn't famous for his consideration in battle. The rank 4 cultivators could hope that the other higher-ups would try to hold back due to their presence, but they didn't have any faith in Noah.
"Shall we rise?" Andrew Elbas gave voice to everyone's thoughts at that moment, and the weaker cultivators under him breathed a sigh of relief when they heard him.
Yet, the Wardens replied by kicking the air under them and releasing a massive amount of "Breath" that filled that entire area of the sky.
A series of blue lines appeared under the Wardens' feet after that action, and the event wasn't limited to the higher-ups. Even the rank 4 cultivators had executed the same gesture and had blue lines spreading under their feet.
The invaders quickly took a few steps back when they saw that strange phenomenon. They weren't ignorant about what was happening, and they didn't want to face it before understanding its actual power.
The Royals' knowledge covered almost every kind of inscription method, and every sect in the Papral nation taught those techniques. Also, the Elders of the Council had used those formations during the war in the new continent. S,o even the cultivators of the Hive could recognize that ability.
The Wardens were using a battle formation that involved a dozen cultivators in the fifth rank and more than fifth in the fourth rank. It was pointless to say that the power of a technique activated by so many powerful existences was bound to be threatening.
Noah and the others retreated until they exited the range of the technique, but their eyes never left the Wardens. They kept track of how the blue lines spread in the sky and enveloped all the heroic cultivators of the Empire to take the shape of a vast magical beast.
Noah couldn't believe what he was seeing. A vast Tyrannosaurus had appeared and shone with the blue light of the inscriptions that made it.
It even had strange features that didn't match any record about that extinct species. The creature had two long horns, two pairs of massive claws, and three pairs of broad meat wings behind its back.
Also, it radiated the power of a quasi-rank 6 existence.