The Herb King

From the rear position of the army, Patriarch Silverton and Patriarch Featherkind were looking over at the battlefield with solemn faces.

"Patriarch, Sir Stanley has fallen!" An urgent report was delivered by a panicked messenger.

"What?!" Patriarch Silverton was ashen-faced. Stanley was one of the Nascent Soul Espers of their family. Among the four Nascent Soul Espers that they have, his strength was ranked third.

The messenger wiped the sweat on his face as he relayed the situation. "According to our scouts, he was ambushed by three Nascent Soul Espers. He couldn't resist the combined attacks of the three and perished in less than a minute."

"Those bastards!" Patriarch Silverton punched the wall in his anger and left a deep hole.

"Sir Silverton, we have to step into the battlefield now!" Patriarch Featherkind urged him.

Patriarch Silverton nodded in agreement. "Let's go! We'll launch an attack on their main force and lure out those old men!"

With that, the two experts disappeared and joined the battle.

The presence of the two patriarchs immediately changed the situation. Hundreds of rebel soldiers were killed and the count was steadily increasing. No one could stop their fearsome attacks which resulted in heavy casualties on the rebel force's side.

At this moment, the rebel forces have seven Nascent Soul Espers in total, but one of them was sent to the rear to prevent the reinforcements from advancing so only six of them were on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Silverton Family only had three left after the death of Stanley.

The Featherkind Family has two Nascent Souls and the Abaveron Family only had Dan as their only Nascent Soul on the battlefield. This means that they have the same number of Nascent Soul Espers as the rebel forces.

"Those fools! They really took the bait!" The patriarch of the Coleman Family muttered in contempt.

"Men, let's move out and kill those old men!"

The twelve Nascent Soul Espers soon clashed on the battlefield. To prevent friendly fire, they battled in the skies.

Their clashes caused shockwaves to spread over the sky. Even the soldiers fighting beneath them could feel the overwhelming pressure they released.

After hundreds of clashes, there was still no clear winner between both sides. This was because they were only feeling out each other's strengths.

"Old bastards, how dare you collude with the savage beasts?! Do you know what you've done?!" Dan Abaveron shouted furiously. Many of his children and grandchildren died in this war. He couldn't forgive the rebels for what they had done.

"Spare me with your nonsense, old fart! We all have different aspirations! We pursue the ultimate strength. Even if we sacrifice thousands of lives, so what?! As long as we break through the Void Tempering Realm, their sacrifices will not be in vain!" Patriarch Coleman sneered.

"You lunatic! Face your death!" Dan Abaveron could no longer hold back his rage. He rushed out and launched his most powerful attack.

"Sir Dan, don't be reckless!" The patriarch of the Silverton Family and the Featherkind Family quickly followed him.

Dan ignored their warnings and brandished his sword.

"How foolish! Do you think you are strong enough to kill me?" Patriarch Coleman laughed in disdain.

There was a huge difference between Nascent Soul Espers. He was already close to the peak stage so someone like Dan was not his match.

Patriarch Coleman deflected Dan's attack. He then grabbed his axe and cut down Dan's dominant hand.

Whoosh!

"Ahhh!!" Dan screamed in pain as he hastily retreated. His face was pale as he stopped the gruesome wound from bleeding excessively.

Patriarch Coleman didn't want to let him escape, but two figures appeared to stop him.

They were Patriarch Silverton and Patriarch Featherkind.

Patriarch Coleman grinned upon seeing them. He then brandished his axe aggressively, not even giving them the chance to take a breather.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew out in all directions every time their weapons collided.

Meanwhile, the other Nascent Soul Espers also clashed, including Dan who was heavily injured.

"You guys are too weak!" Patriarch Coleman laughed in disdain. He then kicked Patriarch Silverton and sent him crashing into the ground.

Just as he was about to finish him off, Patriarch Featherkind immediately blocked his axe. "Do you think I'll let you do as you please?! Ha!" He grunted.

Clang!

The ground beneath them sunk and created a huge crater.

Patriarch Coleman frowned. He pushed off Patriarch Featherkind's blade and swiped his axe horizontally.

Patriarch Featherkind quickly backed off, narrowly dodging the axe, but how could Patriarch Coleman let him off so easily? The latter reappeared behind Patriarch Featherkind and slashed his axe down.

"Hm?!" Patriarch Featherkind was already a step too late. He tried to retreat, but the axe still swept his shoulder, leaving a deep gush that revealed his bones.

"Sir Featherkind!"

Patriarch Featherkind staggered and his sword slid off to the ground. He found out to his horror that he could no longer move his right arm. He lifted his head and stared at Patriarch Coleman with a helpless smile. He had also opened four soul nodules, but there was still a huge difference in their strength.

Patriarch Coleman immediately rushed to support him, but another expert held him back, preventing him from taking another step.

The others also tried to help, but the enemy Nascent Souls didn't let them get away.

Everyone could only watch in despair as Patriarch Coleman brandished his axe.

Just as the axe was about to cut off Patriarch Featherkind's head, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him and blocked the axe.

Clang!

It was an expressionless man with a handsome face. His clothes fluttered under the shockwave of their collision.

Patriarch Coleman stepped back and frowned. "Who are you?!" He didn't sense the presence of this man. He also tried to gauge the other party's cultivation, but he couldn't read his power! It was like he was looking at an ordinary person.

Aethelwolf ignored him and turned his gaze to Patriarch Featherkind. The man's shoulder was broken, but he was still alive. He took out a healing medicine and helped him consume it. "Leave the rest to me. Stay here and recuperate."

Everyone stared at him in shock, wondering which expert this person was. Aethelwolf was still unknown in Warmridge so no one knew who he was.