A metallic scent of blood lingered in Argyle's nostrils, causing the weathered general to frown.
"I wonder how long this war will last?" The thought flickered through his mind, tinged with weariness. The gray-haired veteran couldn't suppress a quiet sigh.
Just then, a burly soldier in military uniform approached and spoke in a hushed tone. "General, we've made initial contact with those outsiders."
Argyle suppressed his melancholy, his expression hardening into disciplined focus. He asked calmly, "Are you certain this wasn't a diversion orchestrated by the Submissives?"
"We've confirmed it, sir. According to intelligence from our forward operatives," the uniformed man replied, keeping his voice low, "those outsiders caused significant disruption in enemy territory. The commotion rules out any deception."
Argyle exhaled with relief. "Where are they now?"
"Because some of those outsiders possess power comparable to yours, General, we refrained from provoking them during initial contact. I'm afraid you'll need to meet with them personally."
Argyle wasn't surprised. Caution was prudent, he couldn't fully trust these strangers yet either.
"Lead the way."
"Yes, sir."
Elsewhere in a secluded valley, Tempest sat slumped in a chair, his face drawn with exhaustion as he recovered his strength.
The chair's sudden appearance might seem odd, but wasn't it normal for Lore Cardians to carry unusual cards? Some could summon entire furnished villas complete with plumbing and electricity.
Beside him, Victor, his upper body wrapped in white bandages, was having his card apply medicine. Ignoring the sharp pain, he asked casually, "Master, do you trust those creatures in this secret realm?"
Tempest didn't immediately respond. The Fighting God simply said helplessly, "Victor, don't be so reckless in future battles."
Knowing Victor's stubborn nature, Tempest understood his advice would likely fall on deaf ears.
He shook his head and moved past the topic. "Based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, they appear trustworthy."
Because Tempest had caused such upheaval entering the secret realm, he'd managed to reunite most of the Empire's Lore Cardians who had entered earlier. These Lore Cardians had already accumulated considerable information before regrouping.
The intelligence confirmed that two factions were locked in warfare within this secret realm: the Resistance and the Submissives.
Regarding the conflict's origins, speculation varied, some claimed it stemmed from power struggles, others from cycles of revenge.
However, given that the Resistance members didn't drop materials when killed by Lore Cardians, the true cause was clearly more complex.
Unfortunately, as outsiders, uncovering the complete truth in a short timeframe was impossible.
And these "mysterious creatures" Victor mentioned were precisely the Resistance faction.
"Master, they're here," Victor said suddenly.
Both he and Tempest looked skyward simultaneously.
They'd sensed an extraordinarily powerful aura approaching.
A Master-level presence.
Speak of the devil, the very people they'd been discussing had arrived.
Tempest vanished in a flash, leaving only a single command lingering in Victor's ear, "Be prepared. If things go wrong, retreat with everyone."
In the sky above, Argyle stared expressionlessly at the Lore Cardian encampment below.
He was now certain these people were indeed outsiders, this world possessed no such power structure.
Suddenly, Argyle asked, "How many individuals as powerful as you exist among your people?"
Tempest, who had materialized across from him without warning, didn't provide a specific number.
Instead, he replied calmly, "We've endured for hundreds of years."
Argyle momentarily froze, then his gaze gradually hardened. He murmured, "So our suspicions were correct."
After a moment's contemplation, he looked up at Tempest. "Shall we talk?"
"Let's talk."
Having reached consensus, the two quickly began exchanging information.
Naturally, neither Tempest nor Argyle was foolish enough to fully trust the other's words.
After this brief exchange, Tempest understood the current situation within this secret realm.
To summarize: Your ruler surrendered when we were prepared to fight to the death.
The World Consciousness had capitulated, willingly becoming a servant of the World-Devouring Disaster.
The Resistance faction was founded by those unwilling to accept this outcome. After all, they'd witnessed the devastation inflicted on other secret realms during the World-Devouring Disaster's invasions.
Given a choice, who would willingly become fodder?
For the sake of all living beings, the Resistance rebelled against the World Consciousness.
Unlike the obedient Submissive faction that followed the World Consciousness, the Resistance had been spared the World-Devouring Disaster's mark because a Sovereign-level being willingly sacrificed itself, preserving a spark of hope for them.
This action had undoubtedly enraged the World Consciousness.
It resembled a body's immune system suddenly becoming a virus, constantly attacking other intact immune cells.
Thus began a protracted war.
Hearing this, Tempest had reason to suspect this secret realm's World Consciousness wasn't as powerful as Earth's, otherwise it wouldn't have allowed the Resistance to rebel against it.
"I'll have my operatives help locate the secret realm entrance," Argyle said after their information exchange. He let out a weary sigh. "As for cooperation between our forces, I hope you'll consider it carefully."
As the war dragged on, the Resistance was gradually losing ground. Their defeat seemed inevitable. After all, having rebelled against the World Consciousness itself, they were essentially fighting within enemy territory.
However, the timeline of their demise remained unpredictable.
Clearly, Tempest and the other Empire Lore Cardians represented an unknown variable.
Considering this, Argyle began wondering, Why would the World Consciousness deploy him into battle before we were even defeated?
Before he could ponder further, Tempest spoke. "I'll carefully consider your proposal, but I'll need time to deliberate. I hope you understand."
"Of course." Argyle hadn't expected Tempest to decide immediately. After all, they'd only established the most basic trust. "Then I'll take my leave. I'll have someone help conceal certain aspects of your presence here."
"Thank you."
Tempest's eyes flickered as he watched Argyle depart.
Honestly, if the information was accurate, then the Empire could indeed consider cooperating with them. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Tempest understood this fundamental principle.
Of course, he needed to contact the outside world first.
What Tempest didn't expect was Argyle returning the very next day.
He looked at the gray-haired general, whose expression appeared far stranger than yesterday, and instinctively asked, "Have you located the secret realm entrance?"
Tempest could be forgiven for assuming, after all, they'd agreed yesterday to allow him time for careful consideration regarding cooperation.
But surprisingly, Argyle shook his head. Then, with a flick of his fingers, a projected image materialized before them.
The image displayed a massive humanoid fox demon and a purple-armored giant. The landscape surrounding these two behemoths had been devastated beyond recognition.
"This footage was transmitted by our informant from the Submissive capital," Argyle explained, then hesitated before continuing. "Excuse me, but do you recognize the powerful figure in this image?"
"Since half a day ago, the Submissive faction has been gradually withdrawing elite forces from the frontlines and rushing reinforcements to the rear."
However, Tempest was no longer listening to Argyle's words.
He stared at the projection in astonishment and uttered two words in disbelief, "Azrael?!"
Seeing his reaction, Argyle immediately confirmed his suspicions.
"As expected, being a lackey never ends well."
The old man, who always appeared unshakeable before his subordinates, couldn't help feeling a surge of vindication.
He quickly calculated and said, "Since you know each other, "
Before Argyle could finish, Tempest bowed respectfully. "Thank you for this intelligence. The person in that image is my colleague."
"However, I must apologize regarding our cooperation."
With that, before the gray-haired general could react, Tempest vanished from sight, clearly heading to support Azrael with the Empire's Lore Cardians.
Witnessing this, Argyle frowned deeply.
He understood the Submissive faction's true strength. Therefore, even though his informant had reported an unknown outsider wreaking havoc behind enemy lines, Argyle didn't believe this situation could last indefinitely.
Once the Submissive faction's powerful forces completed their encirclement, the enemy would likely face catastrophic defeat.
Argyle now faced two choices: observe passively as these outsiders clashed with the Submissive faction, or lead the Resistance in an offensive strike.
The Resistance had undoubtedly reached a critical juncture. Either choice would ultimately impact the balance of power between both factions.
"Should I gamble on this?"
The shattered battlefield was littered with severed demonic limbs and broken bodies.
Azrael stood behind Naruto and Sasuke, arms folded, his expression cold and indifferent as he gazed at the three Master-level demons seemingly surrounding him.
"Is this all the force you can mobilize?"
His emotionless voice echoed through the ears of the three Master demons.
Hearing this, the three demons sneered but offered no reply.
In their estimation, the outsider was already dead, no point wasting words on a corpse.
They admitted the opponent was formidable and had caused considerable trouble.
But so what? Three against one, how could they possibly lose?
With such overwhelming advantage, even their grandmothers could claim victory.
Azrael hadn't expected responses from the demons. He simply had Naruto and Sasuke dismiss their Nine-Tails transformation.
Witnessing this, one Master demon couldn't help but scoff. "What's wrong? Scared now?"
"Too late!"
He prepared to continue his taunt, but was interrupted by what happened next.
A giant, orange-yellow humanoid demon fox and a purple-armored giant crackling with lightning rose from the ground, towering above the earth within moments.
The sudden transformation caused the three Master demons to frown. They could clearly perceive that the Ashura Nine-Tails Mode and the Tailed Beast Susanoo before them were essentially splitting the Nine-Tails' power into two distinct forms.
At this moment, they sensed both the fox and the giant radiating terrifying auras far surpassing their previous states.
Yet even so, they refused to believe they would lose.
After an eerie silence, the battle erupted.
BOOM,
Accompanied by puffs of white smoke, the single fox suddenly split into several identical clones.
Upon witnessing this, the three demons initially believed these were merely superficial duplicates.
Then,
CRASH!
Several jet-black Tailed Beast Bombs flew toward the three demons at breakneck speed. After a brief silence, a deafening explosion erupted.
Only then did the Master demons realize that clones could be lethal!
Suppressing the dread surging in their hearts, they stared grimly at the multiple foxes charging toward them, attempting to identify the original.
But Sasuke wouldn't give them such an opportunity.
Faster than sound is light.
Only after terrifying thunder crackling with Tailed Beast chakra crashed earthward did a shrill cry finally ring out.
SCREECH!
Thunder ripped the earth apart. In an instant, the battlefield transformed into an apocalyptic hellscape.
Witnessing this devastation, the Submissive demons attempting to provide support from a distance halted their advance.
Clearly, they'd realized that joining this battle would result in their complete annihilation, leaving no trace behind.
Within the battlefield itself, the three Master demons remained unaware that their subordinates had been thoroughly intimidated by the outsider's overwhelming power. Perhaps even if they'd known, they wouldn't have cared, after all, they'd never counted on those worthless creatures in the first place.
Then they saw fox-formed arms hurtling through the crackling thunder, charging straight toward them.
BOOM!
With a dull impact, two of the three Master demons were launched into the distance like cannonballs.
Their immense momentum carved long furrows through the ravaged ground.
The demon that had successfully blocked Naruto's attack now wore a grim expression. He hadn't expected that even with full vigilance, they'd still suffer setbacks.
"Do you need help?"
"I can give you time to prepare."
At this moment, Azrael suddenly spoke.
He wasn't trying to provoke them, rather, he wanted to determine whether his counterpart hiding somewhere possessed hidden trump cards.
After all, until now, the mysterious Master-level being had only revealed his aura the moment Azrael stepped into this secret realm, then vanished completely.
This made Azrael wonder if the being wasn't in optimal condition.
Hearing this, the three Master demons instinctively exchanged glances. Then one said with a dark expression, "Since you're so eager to die, "
"We'll grant your wish."
As his voice fell, a strange frequency suddenly surged outward in all directions.
The Submissive demons in the distance felt shock ripple through them upon sensing this frequency.
Because this meant the Submissive faction would eliminate that unknown terrifying existence at any cost necessary.