Chapter 514: Wandering Sellswords & Hidden Eyes.

More than half a century later, things had evolved beyond recognition.

The Realm of Abezan was no longer what it used to be. Lands had shifted and rivers had changed their course entirely.

It couldn’t be blamed, however, since all the 8 Realms surrounding the Land Above All had altered to the point of no return.

The war which everyone thought would die down in a decade or two had continued!

No one was expecting it to last so long, but only did it not diminish, but somehow, both sides had enough resources to fuel it even further.

All the Realms had become a war zone so massive that nowhere was safe.

Even the distant smaller Realms and the Broken Worlds had begun to feel the effects of this cosmic scale battle.

The Heavenly Emperor, who had worn silence for so long, had moved once only.

He had given the Supreme Palace’s troops to his son, Kami.

This action of his had allowed Kami to continue the assault against the Lord of Shadows for far longer without getting desperate.

Many had thought that the Heavenly Emperor had finally begun to take interest in the affairs of the mortals again, but they were bound to be disappointed.

After that, he was never heard from again. He had again confined himself to his room.

The most disappointed person, however, was none other than Old Gu.

Assuming that the Heavenly Emperor was crippled due to his inner demons, he had taken it upon himself to seal the very child supposed to be his plight. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

’Did I make a mistake?’ He questioned himself later. ’Could it be that the child wasn’t the one in the prophecy?’ That doubt ate away at his mind for a long time.

However, he came to terms with it believing that the Heavenly Emperor wouldn’t have let him take these actions if that wasn’t the case.

It also made him realize that maybe the Emperor’s silence on his actions also weighed like guilt on the latter’s mind.

Old Gu had stopped with his speculations after years of waiting.

He had hoped the so-called God would finally take some concrete actions and put an end to the needless suffering spanning the Realms.

’If he won’t step up, then I will...’

Unable to extend his support to Kami, the brat he considered immature, he instead joined the Lord of Shadows.

Despite knowing that the man’s main goal was to kill the Heavenly Emperor, Old Gu still sided with him, judging him better than Kami at the very least.

He had played this bold move considering that his involvement might even make the Emperor step in as well. If that happened, he wouldn’t need to worry about the Realm anymore.

With the Old Gu assisting the Lord of Shadows, they gained momentum.

The battles shifted from the Realms that housed the Celestial Beasts to the other Realms.

The Lord of Shadows commanded his forces to shift from their defensive stance. His factions all over the Realms began to attack.

After countless tries, they had even been able to take complete control of the Realm that housed the Celestial Tiger.

Still, the progress remained slow.

Most of the time, the Celestial Beasts refused to help in these battles. Although they had aligned with the Lord of Shadows, they cared little about conquering and more about protecting their own territories.

With the Celestial Tiger’s fierce nature, it was easier to convince and thus they were able to take complete control of the Realm.

The factions supporting Kami were completely wiped out in that Realm!

Still, the Lord of Shadows was stalling for time. He had many opportunities where he showed unusual restraint that stumped even Old Gu.

. . .

One newly formed group on the Realm of Abezan observed all these skirmishes carefully.

The village-turned-city and named ’City of Refuge’ quickly became a hub of refugees.

With 4 Sages protecting it, neither the Phoenix City nor the Coalition of the Sect and Wilderness wanted to disturb the hornets’ nest.

Among other things, Raven was able to spread the news that they were mercenaries for hire easily.

Renowned for their neutrality, their group known as the "Wandering Sellswords" quickly garnered attention to themselves.

They refused to accept long-term contracts that forced them to align with any one faction.

With the group consisting of both Beastkin from the Wilderness and the Dragon Hatchlings raised under Ember, their neutrality didn’t come under much suspicion.

It further solidified their standing when the upcoming battles saw the cultivators from the Wandering Sellswords fighting for both factions at the same time!

It was also the first mercenary organization that let people hire Transcendent realm cultivators!

Everyone knew that in the remote kingdoms, a single Transcendent cultivator was enough to rule everyone. Yet, here they were, being hired for money, resources, and artifacts.

At one time, Blaze was even persuaded by Rai to take part in one of their offensive battles. But the former hadn’t agreed without fair compensation.

After years of boosted Spiritual Essence in the Realms, Phoenix City had gained 2 more Sages in addition to the 5 Sages sent by Lord of Shadows.

Though the Coalition too had grown, these numbers had made them stand almost on equal standing.

With a mercenary like Blaze joining one side, it put pressure on the Coalition, forcing them to also seek their services.

Fortunately for them, Vesta was more than willing to take up their offer.

Following this setting, even though both were part of the Wandering Sellswords, they fought a bloody battle on the battlefield.

This situation repeated itself many times in the following skirmishes.

Both factions had realized that they were unnecessarily feeding their mercenary group, but neither side could keep their hands away from hiring an additional Sage.

If either one of the two had such an advantage, it could result in a definite victory for them.

Raven also managed to expand her information network from the funds they earned through the mercenary work.

After 5 decades of work, the ’Hidden Eyes’ organization had taken root all over the Realm of Abezan.

Initially, it took a lot of effort to keep things running. The more she expanded the operations, the more money she needed.

However, once it had established itself, the information network was able to sustain itself. They regularly sold key pieces of information from all corners of the continent.

Sadly for her, however, there was no news of the bead-like object that had absorbed Ozul that fateful day.

They had uncovered the fact that Old Gu had thrown that bead after tearing apart the fabric of space. If that was to be trusted, the bead could be anywhere from the big 8 Realms to the countless Broken Worlds!

Raven wasn’t deterred by this realization. Instead, she continued to grow and expand everything.

The City of Refuge, the Wandering Sellswords, and the Hidden Eyes were all new names that had taken root in everyone’s mind.

No one could ignore them, especially since they were all controlled by the same group.

Ember held immense regret after seeing their progress.

She knew they were capable, but all of this had once again exceeded her expectations. She regretted letting them go that day, but nothing could be done over spilled milk.

The biggest achievement of their group, however, remained hidden.

Raven deliberately hid the fact that she had also established contact with the other Realms.

She had obtained such artifacts which allowed them proper communication between the two Realms.

The information network that was confined to the boundaries of the Realm of Abezan had finally spilled into the other worlds.

For the first time ever, a cross-dimensional information organization was established!

But Raven waited to grow stronger before she started selling information from one Realm to another.

Although they had properly grown in the Sage Realm, it was far from enough now that the number of Sages had increased everywhere.

They weren’t the only ones growing stronger, they were just faster.

With no news of Ozul, Blaze remained stoic and irritable throughout the years. The only times that he showed any emotions were in battles.

Every day, he inched closer to unlocking the true legacy of the Ice Monarch. Once he had that, he knew he would step into the Empyrean Realm as well.

If they were Empyreans, they would finally have a solid standing to contend against the real players of this war.

Despite his growing cold nature, Zier was one step ahead of him in terms of indifference to the world.

Once he used to be a kid who clumsily followed after Ozul, now he was one of the most skilled poison experts in the entire continent.

He had only told Raven yet that he had created a poison that could even kill a peak Sage now!

From the Beastkin’s group, however, only Vesta was able to keep up with their monstrous growth.

Her progress, although a tad bit slower than the trio, was still considered unprecedented among the Beastkin.

They firmly believed that once she was able to achieve her true form, the Nine-Tailed Fox, she could lead all Beastkin to true freedom.

But that dream was still distant since it required her to step into the Empyrean Realm as well.

Slowly but steadily, they were growing stronger.

No one doubted that they wouldn’t be able to reach that place, the one which allowed them to stand toe to toe with heaven-defying entities.

The terrain kept changing with the waves of war, but their City of Refuge stood stronger than ever.

Soon, the world would come to regret allowing these flower buds to bloom in the ashes of war.