“All of you, stop trying to kill the Dark Saint. If he was pushed too much, don’t you think he might do something extreme? You still have your families and country to worry about, do you want to endanger their lives? Even if you don’t care about your families, would the other mages of your countries think the same?”

The discussion has always been everyone against Howling Lightning. As such, he has no choice but to pull this card

This was one of the reasons why even if the majority of 7th rank mages hate a fellow mage at the same level, giving the said person a death sentence is still always impossible

Once the 7th rank mages are determined to kill a mage, that mage might pull everyone down with him

It was easy for them to erase all four countries of the earth. Pushing any of them to the extreme would just end in mutual damages

While there are 7th rank mages that don’t really care if their countries were to be destroyed overnight, there are still those that are very patriotic. They would not let such a thing happen

“Aren’t your Dark Saint famous for his virtue and justice? Do you think he would really do something like that?” The Mermaid Goddess of the Southern Country tried to reason but Howling Lightning merely look at her coldly

“And he also killed someone like the Space Monarch who has a reputation for being kind. No matter how kind a person is, wouldn’t they still change if their life is threatened?” Howling Lightning said back causing the others to sink in silence

Even if these representatives ignore the threat on their countries, the other mages of their country would be different

This puts them in a dilemma, unsure of how to proceed from here on

“If you care about those ants, only death would await all of us” the Serpentine Empress interjected

She was the only person here that knew exactly how dangerous Claude is and she was vexed by how these mages are acting right now

Their lives are literally in danger yet they were thinking about useless things. Just how stupid could these people be?

The five continue to discuss the matter without much progress when they once again sensed someone trying to enter the isolated space that they are staying in

The fabric of space distorted and from it, a man wearing a half-white and half-black robe entered

His face was simply handsome and the air around him was filled with nobility. He looks like a person that was born to be at the very top of the world

“Dark Saint!” This person’s title echoed in the minds of the five 7th rank mages. Their nerves unconsciously tightened and even Howling Lightning was no exemption

The powerful would always be a source of fear no matter how kind they appear to be

“You son of a bitch, you dare appear before us?” White Hair Hermit instantly exploded from rage as soon as he saw Claude and the projection of his Blessed Land appeared above him

All the hair on his head and chin grew far longer than they usually are and approached Claude at a speed that normal people’s eyes couldn’t possibly see

Crack…!!

Because of his actions, space was instantly shattered like fragile paper. It can’t be helped, the fabric of space was simply too fragile on earth. Every attack of these 7th rank mages could cause a spatial storm that would affect a large area

Knowing that if the isolated space shattered and the spatial storm leaks out that the nearby countries would be affected, everyone aside from Claude and the Serpentine Empress moved to solidify space

With the origin energy that they possess, it was akin to having a world of their own and possessing the ability to manipulate almost everything in the realm

Fortifying and shattering the fabric of space was within their abilities even if they don’t specialize in spatial magic

In return to White Hair Hermit’s sudden attack, Claude sent a streak of lightning using the nearby mana that also ripped the fabric of space

Using the projection of one’s Blessed Land, a mage’s attack would be boosted to the point that anyone below the 7th rank would be as fragile as paper

However, their peak power comes from sacrificing the origin energy that was used to create their Blessed Land as fuel for their magic

As long as the opposing side’s attack was not to that point yet, Claude with the help of the realm itself still has the ability to resist

All the mana in the isolated space and even kilometers away from it were used by Claude to fuel his attack

Not only was he able to fry the hair of White Hair Hermit, he even causes him to be paralyzed even for just a fraction of a second

“Y-you…!” The old man was further enraged but before he could attack again, the others already stopped him

“White Hair Hermit, this island is closer to my Northern Country that any other country. Do not do anything stupid that would affect my country” Ghost Queen said coldly

Once a country was destroyed, the mages of that side wouldn’t have anything to lose anymore and their attacks would be more vicious than ever. Knowing that fact, White Hair Hermit calmed himself but he still glared at Claude and the same was true for the Mermaid Goddess

“Claude Preston…” the Serpentine Empress muttered. She still has disdain towards Claude just like any other earthling but she is also aware that that man has the chance to kill her. As such, she cannot help but feel apprehensive

She is definitely one of the top targets of Claude considering her identity as an outsider

“Attack him, he should die here if you don’t want any of you to die” she said, arousing the mages’ killing intent but it was at that moment that Howling Lightning moved in front of Claude

“My Eastern Country wouldn’t allow that” he said firmly with a tone of finality

“Serpentine Empress, are you that afraid of me that you want to obtain the help of the ‘lowly aboriginals’ to kill me so that your secret would be safe and sound?” Claude said with a vicious expression causing all the mages to unconsciously look at the Serpentine Empress

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mermaid Goddess cannot help but ask

They heard the Empress calling them aboriginals earlier but they ignored that. But could it be that there was something else that they do not know about?

The Serpentine Empress chose to remain silent as she doesn’t know what Claude was talking about and she was trying to avoid walking on a trap

Unfortunately, even words are sometimes more lethal than raw power

“I’ll explain it then…” Claude started. “I know that the Serpentine Empress might have said something about me but whether those words are true or not… I hope that all of you are smart enough to discern what was right or wrong…”

“I don’t know what exactly she said but I know one thing and that is the real identity of the Serpentine Empress!”

The Serpentine Empress is using the other mages against Claude. Why couldn’t Claude do the same thing?

This outsider was the most dangerous of them all. Just like the mirror with bronze edges that she used earlier, who knows how many items of similar quality that she has?

Items that could possibly threaten the entire realm are within the possibility that the Empress possesses them

After all, while not just anyone could destroy an entire realm with their personal power alone, entities with that level of power still exist

And if such entities could exist, who could say that items with similar power couldn’t?

Claude has to be cautious of the Serpentine Empress if he wants to save the earth realm and it is better if he could obtain the help of the earth’s leeches to kill her

“Claude Preston!” She said loudly but Claude was not intimidated in the slightest and he continued talking

“We all know the state of our realm. Its laws are broken, cutting off our path of magic. However, there are countless realms out there with perfectly intact laws, and the Serpentine Empress came from one of those realms!”

“Think of it clearly, we all instinctively know that there was something wrong with our realm and that other realms exist. However, aside from the fact that mages from those realms are far stronger than us, what else do we know?”

“What do we know about their means and the extent of their power? What do we know about the Serpentine Empress and the things that she, an outsider could do?”

A moment of silence lapsed as everyone stared at the Serpentine Empress with unfriendly eyes. She came here to have these mages gang up against Claude but it seems like what would happen is the exact opposite of that