Tower of Heaven

The eight of them made up the "First Sun Squadron" that Darian mentioned. They moved in a formation that they'd learned and engraved into their bones.

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This kind of formation ensured that they didn't throw themselves into danger and always had their enemies inside of their web, but it also benefited Atlas in that the eight of them weren't directly attacking him together.

His eyes shot to the side as he noticed the activation of a mobile array. On the backline, there was a woman standing next to Darian with a formation disk in her hands.

'She is the primary controller, is it?'

Atlas rapidly backed away as a sword slashed down on his location. He raised his right sickle and blocked another sword coming from his left. A third sword slashed at him after the first two attacks had been made, but it was also dodged.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Atlas faced three main attackers. The formation around him wasn't suppressing him at the moment, but it had enclosed the area so he couldn't run.

'The other two are also standing in the back with Darian. Are they ranged attackers?'

Atlas didn't know how he felt about organized formations like these that delegated isolated roles to people, but he had faced them several times in the Tower both as allies and enemies. Creating such a group and using such formations was a popular strategy for clearing the Tower, as many people saw it as the better alternative to climbing alone.

He had seen how good these formations could be from the perspective of someone they were protecting.

When he was facing them…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

He couldn't continuously dodge because of the barrier formation. The three people directly in front of him, a black-haired man, a brown-haired man, and a red-haired woman, forced him into any corner they could find so that he would be forced to confront their swords.

Whenever he dodged them or found a way out of the corner, the two standing in the back would pour out large attacks filled with qi that stalled him until the other three could catch him. Darian didn't do anything, almost like a power move, and the last woman was focusing her qi on the barrier, so she was guaranteed to not join the battle.

[Volcanic Spires]

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rather than his qi techniques, Atlas found himself using martial skills more as he faced them. They were swordsmen using the sword techniques of Dusk, not pure energy cultivators who liked to fight at a distance.

Atlas had the two that fought in such a way in the back of his mind at all times, waiting for the moment when he could approach them and take them down, but his main focus was obviously on those in front of him.

"He's acting as expected," Darian muttered, watching the battle.

"You were supposed to be something special, but you're nothing much."

The battle didn't look one-sided at all, but Darian believed that he was guaranteed victory. He had seen the work of this formation before and knew what Atlas didn't, after all.

'Continue to fight against Paren, Jon, and Gina. Do not question anything, and you will find yourself defeated before you understand what is happening.'

Unaware of the thoughts of the other man, Atlas did exactly that.

His eyes were completely focused on his movements and the movements of his enemies. His mind was starting to reach a flow state.

A blade came from the left, but it was quickly deflected by Atlas' own weapon. His arm swung out, tracing the path of its enemy to find flesh and blood to cut into.

[Flow Like Silk]

Almost at the same time as the attack, water qi surrounded his body and turned him into a jet of blue energy. He escaped the encirclement of the three sword practitioners while also attacking, leaving them surrounded by a sharp and terrifying water qi.

His eyes swung around.

'This is not right.'

He noticed something off as he continued to fight. They had been crossing blades for about five minutes already, but what was this slow pace?

He had clearly seen the three sword practitioners avoiding critical strikes instead of taking opportunities. He had even created opportunities for them to test his thoughts, and he confirmed that they were intentionally avoiding strikes that would critically injure him.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

'What are they planning?'

They drew the fight out and attacked with increasing intensity as time passed by. The two who fought from the back line were only attacking occasionally. If they were more active, Atlas would have been much more easily cornered.

'Everything they do makes sure that the battle continues as long as possible.'

He didn't know what it was, but they were plotting something.

[Intrinsic Foresight]

His eyes couldn't find anything wrong with the situation, which could only mean that their plans had not been manifested yet.

'You think I am unaware.'

He glanced at the cold expression on Darian's face as his blades swung out to meet the three sword practitioners who had started another counterattack.

'Well, regardless of what you do, nothing will change.'

Atlas would win here. He wouldn't allow any other outcome.

Unbeknownst to any of them, their conflict wasn't a private one.

The alchemy factory was hidden in a jungle, sure, but it existed merely half an hour away from the nearest city. It was a place easily accessible to those who needed to access it while still being hidden enough to escape public perception.

Whether or not that was still true, the battle attracted the attention of many nearby cultivators who sensed the large release of energy. The woman standing next to Darian contained their energy as fast as she could, but it was not fast enough.

On the outskirts of the area where they stood, a crowd was already forming. People had already appeared with recording crystals after hearing rumors of people in Dusk uniforms fighting against someone wearing a white mask.

It was widely known news that the white mask had become a symbol of those who stood against Dusk. The two sides were supposed to be in a ceasefire, but were they still secretly fighting?

Already, rumors started to spread through the Tower Forums, but the battle was only beginning.

In front of this crowd, Atlas was going to truly make his debut in the Tower. He was going to break out in a way where nobody could ignore him.

From today onward, his name would be known.

However, it didn't currently look like that.

Currently, it looked like an even damage where not much damage had been done at all. All of the participants had used some of their energy, but none of them had serious wounds past some small cuts and bruises.

It would take much more than this for the battle to become famous enough to spread all the way through the Tower, but the signs of such a battle were already starting to show themselves.

After all, Atlas already used [Flow Like Silk].

Perhaps that specific move wouldn't be discovered, as it was incredibly secretive, but once Atlas started using other energies as well, what would people say?

It only remained to be seen when everything was over.