Chapter 548: First Clash

Nolan's spiritual force swept over the group of enslaved beings ahead, then spread across the entire Zhenhun Bay.

To his surprise, he realized that the number of humans living here was far more than the ten thousand he had expected.

If, as Sophia said, these people had no choice but to be killed, then indeed it would be cruel.

He narrowed his gaze upon the golden knight standing at the forefront of the crowd. Though this man hadn’t become a Wraith Knight, dark energy surged within his body—similar to Carlos’s condition back then.

Yet, unlike Carlos, this one could control it freely, much like Rulans now.

In short, these people seemed incapable of coexisting peacefully with ordinary humans, and likely beyond redemption.

If only one path remained, then there was no other way.

Suddenly, while Nolan was lost in thought, an immense pressure descended from the northeast.

Nolan smiled faintly. "Looks like we've got company."

"McKen, Sophia—keep holding the town. Ridal, come with me."

As the words left his lips, he and Ridal shot into the sky, arriving in an instant above the wilderness outside Zhenhun Bay. There, not far ahead, a towering figure wreathed in flames emerged.

Nolan was genuinely surprised. The first enemy to arrive at Zhenhun Bay wasn't the so-called Shadow Lord Salonas, but Phoenix, whom he'd fought before on the continent of Stars.

Though that had been a mere fragment of the being before him, the human form was identical—allowing Nolan to recognize him instantly.

"You're here!"

Phoenix mocked, "Never thought you’d be so eager to die!"

He cast a glance toward Zhenhun Bay, knowing full well its garrison had already been wiped out by Nolan’s forces. If he hadn’t come, this harbor would soon become a human stronghold.

At the thought, Phoenix cursed Salonas inwardly.

The Demon God himself had issued a warning, and Phoenix had relayed the possibility days in advance—but Salonas had dismissed it with arrogant confidence. Now, this disaster unfolded.

Had even one Sage remained to guard Zhenhun Bay, the situation might have been entirely different.

Faced with such mockery, Nolan merely chuckled. "Only a few years have passed—have you already forgotten the pain of losing your avatar? Heh… come to think of it, I’ve never slain a Grand Sage before."

His achievement panel now displayed only one remaining goal: **King of Slaughter**, requiring the elimination of a transcendent entity of Grand Sage rank.

All other achievements—Renown Across Lands, Flourishing Population, Conquest of Cities, and Boundless Fortune—had long been completed in every tier.

Nolan didn’t know if there was a higher tier beyond slaying a Grand Sage.

But just this level’s reward alone—two hundred thousand attribute points—would be enough to max out his Mage progression (46055/225000).

And then—he would break through to the rank of Grand Sage.

Throughout history, the strongest known being was Arian, who over a thousand years ago slew the Storm Demon King Bagda. Yet even Arian had only reached the Grand Sage level.

No one knew whether anything stronger existed beyond that threshold.

If he could kill Phoenix here today, perhaps the answer would finally be revealed.

"Arrogant!"

Phoenix erupted in furious flame, turning the sky crimson. "You think defeating my avatar gives you the right to challenge my true self?"

Blazing tempests surged toward Nolan and Ridal. The searing heat wilted all greenery below, igniting the earth in roaring fire.

Yet Nolan did not flinch. The perfected *Anti-Nothingness* enveloped both him and Ridal, rendering every fiery assault meaningless—dissolving meters before reaching them.

"We were never meant to get along," Nolan said calmly, drawing the Flameflow Sword. "Your nature is perfectly countered by mine."

With one slash, space itself twisted. Unparalleled force tore through the storm of fire and struck Phoenix directly.

The King of Flames staggered, his expression shifting. Dark light flared across his armor, revealing a grotesque silhouette—an apparition of a demon god.

A thunderous impact—the swordlight split the shadowy image, yet dissipated completely upon contact.

Phoenix was hurled back hundreds of meters. "Impossible! How can you possess such power?"

He couldn’t believe it.

When his avatar had descended upon the continent of Stars, he had clearly sensed Nolan’s strength—just an ordinary Sage.

For a Sage to reach Grand Sage power—even with external aid—should take decades, if not centuries.

How could Nolan have ascended so quickly?

"I don’t believe it!"

Scales erupted across Phoenix’s body. His tailbone extended into a thick, serpentine tail—within moments, he transformed into a draconic humanoid.

Simultaneously, a terrifying shadow expanded from his core, swallowing the surroundings. Nolan’s vision plunged into darkness.

But for one of his caliber, visual darkness meant nothing. He still perceived everything with perfect clarity.

Whoosh—

Phoenix vanished from sight, reappearing instantly behind Nolan. His tail lashed like a steel whip, aiming straight for Nolan’s neck.

A direct hit wouldn’t sever it, but the sheer force would twist and shatter bone, inflicting devastating damage.

Nolan tensed. *Anti-Nothingness* couldn’t negate physical attacks—he raised his arm to block.

Mana surged, and dark-blue dragon scales shimmered to life across his forearm—a defensive gauntlet forged by Simon and Carlos using true dragon scales.

Crash!

The whip-like tail struck the scaled armor, sparking blinding light. The impact sent Nolan flying backward, the force jarring his arm painfully.

"Phoenix’s physical strength is monstrous. Even though the dragon-scale armor is tough and resilient, one more strike like that will warp and deform it beyond use."

Nolan estimated that two or three more hits would render the vambrace useless.

"Critical Burst!"

Ridal flickered into position above and beside Phoenix, throwing a punch that churned the surrounding darkness.

But the enemy had already vanished—like a ghost.

"Is this spatial manipulation through shadow energy?"

Nolan’s instincts flared. His spiritual sense permeated the space around him—and suddenly, he detected ripples to his right.

"There!"

Vacuum Annihilation slashed out, striking Phoenix just as half his body materialized. He felt himself caught in a vortex, torn by relentless shredding force.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Energy storms shattered the dark domain. Phoenix recoiled violently. His extraordinary physique allowed him to endure the Vacuum Annihilation, but scattered, upturned scales marked fresh wounds.

Though only three or four exchanges had passed, Phoenix now fully grasped his opponent’s strength—undeniably at the Grand Sage level.

Moreover, the red-haired man beside him—his last attack had clearly reached Sage-tier power.

These strangers from the distant continent of Stars had already disrupted the delicate balance of the Crescent Continent.

At that moment, two new presences approached from the distance.

Salonas arrived, his face grim, landing beside Phoenix. He had already observed the battle through spiritual senses—and never expected things to turn out this way.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired Laine laughed heartily. "Nolan—we finally meet!"

Ryan Sears stepped beside Ronin. "I knew you were powerful, but I had no idea you had grown strong enough to exchange blows with Phoenix without suffering defeat."

He continued, "'Shadow Shifting' is his signature technique, one that has caused many of us to suffer over the years. I never expected that in your very first encounter, you would track his movements so swiftly."

Ronin smiled and nodded in acknowledgment; this was the inaugural meeting between the respective leaders of the two continents.

"I happen to be rather sensitive to spatial fluctuations, which is how I managed to capture his trail."

For years, Ronin had been studying the domain of flame, the art of vacuum strangulation, and the 'Spatial Inversion' ability unlocked by the Flowing Flame Sword upon his ascension to Archmage, deepening his perception of spatial forces.

Since Phoenix's Shadow Shifting was merely another manifestation of spatial manipulation, Ronin had been able to counter it with relative ease.

"Ryan, let us join forces today and eradicate these two demon kings of the demon race right here!"

"Hahaha, that is precisely my intention!"

As Ryan spoke, a faint ripple emanated from his body, seemingly the manifestation of some domain power.

As the guardian of the City of Dawn and a leader of the human race, though Ryan was only a half-step Archmage, his decades of deep cultivation in the magical arts had granted him mastery over numerous abilities.

"What should we do?" Salonath asked in a low voice.

Phoenix's expression was filled with resentment; facing Ronin alone should not have been an issue, considering he had not yet exerted his full strength moments ago.

Yet, Salonath was absolutely no match for a combined assault from Ryan and Rydal.

"The balance of the battlefield has shifted. We need to report to the Demon God and formulate a new strategy."

With a grand sweep of Phoenix's arm, a terrifying demonic shadow descended from the void, enveloping both him and Salonath.

Was this a sign of their impending retreat?

"Strike!"

Ronin's figure blurred instantly, the power of the world surging to amplify the lethality of his strike.

Simultaneously, Rydal and Ryan launched their attacks almost at the exact same moment.

The three assaults converged simultaneously, their magnificent might sweeping everything in the vicinity into the vortex, destroying and consuming everything within a radius of several miles as a terrifying pressure rippled outward, leaving the people in Soul-Quieting Bay breathless and overcome by an urge to kneel in worship.

Yet even against their combined strike, that terrifying demonic shadow managed to trigger the teleportation light just in time, sending Phoenix and Salonath away at the exact instant of its shattering.

"They escaped!" Ronin muttered, a trace of resentment in his voice.

Over the years, he, Belora, and Elrond had also studied the teleportation arrays of the Northern Wu territory, and to this day he had still not fully mastered the ability, which spoke volumes of the sheer difficulty of spatial teleportation.

Perhaps, by utilizing the library of the City of Dawn and obtaining guidance from Ryan, he could construct a teleportation array blueprint.

"They have likely been teleported back to their base deep within the Blazing Gorge."

Ryan spoke with a smile, "Ronin, your arrival has brought a dawn of hope to the Crescent Continent. We never imagined we could reclaim this Soul-Quieting Bay so easily!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to Ronin, "On behalf of the countless heroic souls who have perished here over the years, I offer you my highest gratitude!"

Ronin hastily stepped forward to support the man, "Eradicating the demon race is not solely the responsibility of the humans of the Crescent Continent; it is the duty of those of us from the Astral Continent as well."

He sensed that the enemies over at Bolt Town seemed to have received the orders from Phoenix and Salonath and were now retreating, signaling that this particular battle had drawn to a preliminary close.

The further a war progressed into its late stages, the more the clashes and outcomes between top-tier powerhouses dictated the direction of the entire conflict.

If they could have slain Phoenix and Salonath today, only a single Storm Demon King would remain on the Crescent Continent, making their task far simpler.

"We must devise a method to restrict this teleportation ability of theirs."

Ronin suggested, "I wonder if the City of Dawn has conducted any research in this area?"

"We have also been actively researching spatial lockdown capabilities over the years, but because it involves both time and space, the experiments have remained in a state of collapse and have failed to succeed."

Ryan offered an invitation as he spoke, "Since you mentioned earlier that you are sensitive to space, perhaps you could join our research."

"It would be my absolute pleasure!"

The two exchanged a few more words before finally descending to the ground.

Soul-Quieting Bay, the once-prosperous port city that linked the two continents, was now finally under human control once more, destined to flourish anew in the days to come.

"They are beyond saving."

Ryan looked at the enslaved people of Soul-Quieting Bay who still gripped their weapons, resisting Ronin's forces.

Faced with Ronin's proposal to rehabilitate these people, he, as the leader of the City of Dawn, could only offer sympathy without the power to help.

"The power of the Nightmare Fiend surges within them, their souls have been broken, and their minds have long been branded with the ideology of 'everything for the Witch-Soul Race.' No matter what method you employ, you will never turn them into normal humans. Not even their descendants will be spared."

Ryan shook his head, "Therefore, granting them death is the ultimate mercy we can offer, and it is the only responsible action we can take for our soldiers and citizens."

Ronin could not help but sigh, "Very well, I understand."