Tower of Heaven

Atlas didn't have to travel far to reach his destination.

'This time, there were more than just recruitment facilities and minor buildings contained within the information.'

After months of conflict, Dusk's tight leash on the information flow in and out of their influence had been broken. Many previously hidden areas were now public knowledge to anyone who could afford it.

The target he chose was an alchemy factory. It was a place where hundreds of alchemists were kept together to produce pills in large quantities.

After the war ended, alchemy factories had become very important to the preservation of Dusk's forces, so it was normal to attack them if one knew where they were.

The factory in question was on the 34th Floor of the Tower, completely hidden away and disguised by the floor's scenery.

Even Atlas was impressed when he saw it in person. If he wasn't aware that it was present, it truly would have looked like a natural part of the massive jungle. The physical illusion worked so well with the illusory formation around the building that it almost entirely erased the building from existence.

However, with the Eyes of One, Atlas could see it.

He could see it, and they weren't aware of that fact.

Standing outside, Atlas prepared his attack.

'One large attack from the outside will be able to remove any formations standing in the way. I will also attempt to collapse as much of it as possible from here before entering the premises.'

He also couldn't rule out the possibility of Dusk preparing hidden attacks in locations like these, so he had to be careful.

'Good.'

Everything was set up nicely. Qi flowed through the channels in his body and produced hot energy that would manifest into flames when it made contact with the world.

That flaming energy wrapped around itself and formed into a technique of Atlas' creation, slowly creeping to his fingertips when–

"Stop."

"Haa…"

A voice came from behind him.

Atlas sighed to himself.

He had already sensed its owner's presence, so he didn't turn around or act surprised.

"I cannot allow you to do that."

Atlas felt the cold blade of a sword at his neck, along with the newly revealed presences of seven other people.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I knew I would find you here, white mask."

Finally, that person came around to stand in front of Atlas, making his identity clear.

Atlas remembered him. It hadn't been too long since their last meeting. They had only spoken a few sentences, but this man had said that he would find Atlas and bring him to his superiors at Dusk.

Unfortunately, the surprise Atlas would have felt was overruled by his annoyance at their interruption. If they were going to stop him, couldn't they have at least come a bit earlier?

Atlas' memory of their first interaction was something minuscule. It was but a dot in his recollections.

After telling that man to try his best, Atlas disappeared from that place and continued with his plans, so he didn't necessarily find this man's presence to be anything significant.

However, to the person who he could only refer to as "that man," he was everything.

For the past several months ever since the first incident, he had been tracking the movements of those attacking Dusk in order to find Atlas.

However, he learned that the "white masks" being presented to the public were all ruses. The real culprit who started everything had vanished off the face of the earth.

Then, where was he?

In his mind, the person who instigated the entire conflict was more dangerous than those participating in it. He even had an inkling that the white mask he encountered would be able to tell him more about the "Pangea" that was responsible for everything.

He had to be somewhere, and he had to be watching over the conflict between Dusk and its enemies. He wanted Dusk gone, so he couldn't have left completely. When he saw the perfect opportunity, he would strike again.

The ceasefire was that opportunity, and with so many injured troops, the alchemy factories had increased in value by several fold.

As for which one he would choose… Well, it was really luck on his part.

He chose this facility because it was the most public. He assumed that his target would want to cause a huge scene with his actions, and this was the best location for such a goal.

Atlas didn't come here for the sake of causing a scene, but rather because it was the closest location to where he was.

However, if he wanted to break the ceasefire, he did indeed have to make everyone aware of his actions.

"So, you have tracked me here. What are you planning to do now?"

Atlas spoke calmly despite there being a blade on his neck. He didn't feel any sense of threat even though he knew that he would not be able to challenge this group of eight without getting serious.

In the face of an enemy, he would never show any emotion they desired out of him.

The man glared at Atlas for a moment before withdrawing his blade. Immediately, it was replaced by two others.

"I am Darian Knight of Dusk's First Sun Squadron. You, the White Mask, will be detained by me and taken to my superiors for questioning."

As he spoke, he brandished a pair of shackles made out of Darkstar Iron. It was a favorite among all cultivators, as no other ore could suppress qi as well as it.

"I would advise you not to resist."

Atlas watched him approach carefully.

'So, Dusk wants to capture me instead of killing me now.'

Their previous relationship clearly didn't matter anymore, as he had information that would help them combat all of those who opposed them.

They needed him alive so they could torture him, break his spirit, and extract all of the knowledge they wanted from his head.

Was he going to let them do that like a fool?

The moment Darian got close enough, Atlas ducked down. Quickly, two swords followed his movements and crashed down after him, however, he was already rolling away.

[Flame Qi Eruption]

Boom!

The air was filled with bursts of wild flame that charged at any enemy in the vicinity and attempted to incinerate them.

Atlas was originally planning to use it on the building, but he could worry about that after these eight were taken care of.

'Their captain has a powerful qi signature. He will not be an easy opponent. The rest of them…'

They weren't weak, but they were less of a problem than Darian.

Atlas ordered their importance in his mind as they combated his flame qi and started their counterattack.

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'I haven't fought against other cultivators in a long time.'

Beasts were good practice partners, but the real enemy would always be other sentient beings. The reason Atlas didn't turn away and flee was because this was a great opportunity.

This alchemy factory wasn't important enough for him to risk himself in battle.

However, his own improvement absolutely was.

Thinking along such lines, Atlas brandished his qi and chain sickles and faced the enemies rushing towards him.