The rounds of raids on the Ravaging Demon sect's territories eventually ended. All the experts involved in the battles held a series of meetings to summarize the situation.
The battles of the alliance in the Papral nation had been mostly successful. The only failures happened whenever the raiding teams met formations and inscribed items that targeted some of the separate dimension's capabilities.
The alliance's kill count had reached eleven rank 5 cultivators of various stages and multiple assets in the fourth rank. The losses of the Ravaging Demon sect had been immense. It lost half of its strongest experts in just a few attacks.
Of course, the alliance didn't expect that trend to continue. The raiding teams had exploited the subtlety of the separate dimension well, but its enemy was bound to resort to countermeasures.
The spies inside the Papral nation reported that most sects were moving in the locations that had survived the attacks. All the Ravaging Demon sect's remaining assets amassed in three regions to prepare for the next waves of attacks.
The rest of the Papral nation became empty of humans, and the packs of magical beasts didn't hesitate to swarm them now that their enemies had disappeared. It took only a short period before those regions fell into a wild state.
The forces of the alliance remained silent in that short period. Their enemies moved through teleportation matrices, which prevented eventual offensive operations. Also, some of their assets had to recover.
Noah didn't fight anymore after the battle in the True Mountain sect. His injuries weren't severe, but the damage on the bones required some time to heal. His position on the leaderboard fell by a few spots, but he didn't care about it. He didn't need fame. His priority was on the path ahead.
The Demons claimed the first spot though. Their fury against the Ravaging Demon's underlings was boundless, and they vented it even on sects that didn't have any rank 5 experts.
However, even with all the separate dimension's advantages, their enemies still had many powerful cultivators in their ranks. Simple sneak attacks could only make the raids easier.
The Ravaging Demon sect had inherited part of the Council's strength after the rebellion, but it could only retreat in front of the alliance. The Hive still had fewer experts than the other organizations in the world, but they were so strong that no one would consider it inferior.
The Hive was a relatively young organization. It was normal for it to have fewer assets in the higher ranks. Yet, no one could match the quality of its experts.
Noah alone raised the standard. After all, he was a cultivator capable of defeating existences on a higher stage!
The reappearance and battle prowess of the Demons declared that the Hive owned the most talented cultivators. The only organization that could claim that spot was the Elbas family, but its fame mostly came from the incredible King Elbas.
The alliance observed the Ravaging Demon sect's behavior for a while and kept part of its attention on the territories of the Elbas family.
Ravaging Demon had yet to show his face again. No one had seen him after the battle above the blue dome, and even the recent raids didn't make him appear.
A peculiar event happened in that period though. The alliance was still deciding on its next step when cultivators started to clear and habit the peripheral regions of the Papral nation.
They were nothing more than settlements with only human cultivators led by a few experts in the fourth rank. The alliance didn't mind them since they appeared as nothing more than hunting parties. Only the Hive knew that they had come to conquer some regions once the situation stabilized.
The alliance had yet to divide those territories, and it wouldn't do so until the threat of the Ravaging Demon sect vanished. Also, it was in no hurry to conquer them since they were part of the old continent.
Only the most affectionate assets of the Council wanted their old home back to restore their face. After all, the Ravaging Demon sect's rebellion had been something unexpected, but that they could prevent in many ways.
Still, Ravaging Demon had helped the Council claiming the entirety of the Papral nation in the past. The losses that they had suffered during his betrayal had come after many advantages seized thanks to him.
The alliance decided to assemble the armies once every expert had recovered from their injuries. Nothing peculiar had happened in those regions, so the attacking forces felt the need to pressure the Ravaging Demon sect before it came up with other countermeasures.
They didn't opt for the separate dimension though. That had to be a frontal attack that saw the Council and the Hive going against their common enemy. All the world had to see that scene.
Three armies formed. The plan was to apply pressure on all the crowded areas at the same time and see if they could force Ravaging Demon's hand. Of course, the powerhouses of both organizations would lie in wait for him.
Noah and the Demons became the army's leaders tasked to attack the Four Sigils sect, which was the new name given to one of the crowded areas. Some assets of the Council would join them, together with weaker cultivators from both organizations.
There were even human cultivators, although not as many as during the war against the Shandal Empire. They were mostly assets that showed no talent or determination for the cultivation journey, and experiencing a battle could help them.
"How do you want to drive them out?" Flying Demon said as he stared and the array of tall structures under him from the sky.
"Prince, do you have something to throw at them?" Dreaming Demon asked as she turned toward Noah. There were assets of the Council among them, so she preferred to use his title when talking with him.
The army had gathered in the region occupied by the Four Sigil sect, and the heroic assets were analyzing it from their position in the sky.
Their target appeared as a marvelous city. It had four huge pagodas on its corners and a series of peculiar buildings among them. A series of mountains encircled those structures and worked as natural protection. They had faint traces of inscriptions on their rocky surface, meaning that they were part of the sect's defensive formations.
The Council's intel had revealed that the Four Sigil sect had four rank 5 cultivators in its ranks, but only one of them was in the solid stage. With Noah and the Demons there, that threat was manageable.
The only problem was its defenses. They could tilt the scales of the battle in favor of the sect.
Noah shrugged his shoulders before waving his hand. Dozens of spiked spheres appeared in front of him and began to fall toward the mountain chain.