The Ascenders from the Salvation Army led the charge. They raised heavy Super Alloy Shields, roaring with fervor as they pushed through a hail of bullets. Every roar was heard crystal clear by the Government Army soldiers.

In that instant, like the fury of a thunderstorm, a deafening roar erupted as a dozen or so Ascenders charged straight into formations of hundreds, even thousands, of soldiers. They had waited for this moment for far, far too long. The tragic memories of their past, of merely surviving like slaves, surfaced in their minds, only to be ignited by flames and transformed into an endless wellspring of Power.

These soldiers sent to intercept them were the Government Army’s elite. They were not common folk but members of the upper class who had always regarded the lower class as untouchables and slaves. In the face of such bitter enemies, how many could remain completely rational?

Who was it that treated the lower class like pigs and dogs? Who was it that beat, cursed, and killed them at will? Who was it that turned them into these wretched husks, neither human nor ghost? And who was it that destroyed their families and left them bereaved and broken?

Carrying a lifetime of resentment and Anger, the warriors charged their enemies.

An elderly Ascender from the Salvation Army tightened his grip on his Alchemy Longsword. In an instant, with no room for error, he thrust forward. The blade pierced through thick steel, bursting out from the back of a Dashing Pegasus Mark IV Armor’s chest plate, its tip stained crimson.

The Dashing Pegasus pilot cursed, attempting a final, desperate counterattack, but the old veteran gave him no chance. With a twist of the blade, he shredded the man’s heart to pieces.

After withdrawing his longsword, the old veteran sidestepped just as a giant iron hammer whistled past him. His eyes narrowed as he activated his Extraordinary Ability. The next second, the hammer’s wielder began to choke violently, coughing up a sticky glob of white rice. Seizing the momentary opening, the veteran’s blade swept out, and a head flew through the air.

Seemingly sensing the old veteran’s strength and the bizarre nature of his ability, several machine guns took aim at him. Fire!

He should have been dodging, but instead, the old veteran raised his sword and charged. He weaved through the bullets with nimble footwork, an extremely dangerous maneuver. One wrong step and he’d be turned into a human sieve. The veteran knew he shouldn’t be facing this head-on, but with his blood boiling in his veins, he just couldn’t hold back.

His own past flashed through his mind. In his youth, a factory owner had forcibly seized his family’s land and had his parents beaten to death. He had narrowly escaped with his life, and from that day on, he lived on as a husk of a man, neither human nor ghost, lost and directionless like a puppet.

Later, after he had finally managed to earn some money, he planned to marry the girl he loved. But then, terrible news arrived: she had been raped and murdered by the lackeys of an upper-class man. That man didn’t even have to spend a dime; a single phone call made the incident disappear. Her death was simply forgotten, becoming a trivial, insignificant event.

Consumed by Anger, he secretly swore to avenge her. He spent three months planning and finally succeeded in killing her attackers and that upper-class man, one by one. After that, he became a wanted criminal, forced to hide in the city’s corners like a hunted rat. After he also killed the factory owner who had stolen his family’s land and had his parents murdered, he reverted to that hollow state of being neither human nor ghost, completely directionless once more.

Amidst a massive police manhunt, he was eventually discovered. On the night he lay dying from four gunshot wounds, a veteran of the Salvation Army saved him. After a week-long assessment, the veteran revealed his identity and invited him to join the Salvation Army. He explained the Army’s ideals, and for the first time, the man saw a glimmer of hope—the hope of winning justice for everyone who had been wronged.

Filled with burning passion, he followed the Salvation Army into battle after battle, seeing Havier as his guiding faith. He firmly believed the Salvation Army could change the rotten-to-the-core world of North Carolina. But then, disaster struck. The uprising failed, and Havier vanished in the final battle, his fate unknown.

The Salvation Army was branded as terrorists, hunted by all. The survivors scattered, going into hiding. He endured an incredibly long period of Darkness. It was the lowest point of his life; he couldn’t see even a sliver of hope and considered suicide many times, but somehow, he managed to pull through.

They say even a decade of hardship cannot cool a passionate heart, but he had endured far more than just ten years. Only he truly knew the extent of the suffering and tribulations he had faced.

And yet, despite it all, that burning passion from the past had still not been extinguished.

In fact, it now burned even more fiercely!

"Kill!"

The old veteran let out a mournful roar, as if to expel decades of pent-up anguish. He charged through the hail of bullets and into the trenches. Heart-rending screams immediately followed. Amidst the glint of flashing blades, blood blossomed from countless soldiers as they were dismembered. A significant portion of the soldiers broke and fled in Fear.

And scenes like this were unfolding all across the battlefield.

"KILL—!!!"

Roars rose and fell like a tidal wave. Every Salvation Army warrior had come prepared to die. They did not fear sacrifice, for to die on the battlefield was a worthy death. The Salvation Army would care for their families, and their names and deeds would be remembered forever. Such a life was not lived in vain.

’That being the case, what is there to fear?’

It was time to give this world a new face!

"Hahahahaha! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Sensing the death-defying will of the Salvation Army warriors, the mercenaries let out hearty laughs and threw themselves into the exhilarating slaughter.

’You want victory? Then we’ll bring it to you!’

·

Zhou Chen held a pair of binoculars, watching the brutal battle unfold. A vibrant halo of Essence shrouded the battlefield, where Combat Techniques, Extraordinary Abilities, Extraordinary Artifacts, and various other forms of Extraordinary Power clashed violently.

Even from so far away, he could feel the Salvation Army warriors’ death-defying determination.

It made his own blood boil with excitement.

"Plague Doctor, I’m going to join the fight."

After a long moment, Zhou Chen lowered his binoculars. This might be his chance to form his Golden Soul. Just two hours before the decisive battle, the Alchemy Association had delivered a portable Advancement device to him.

"Alright. Be careful." The Plague Doctor didn’t try to stop him, continuing to observe the entire battlefield through his binoculars. He trusted "Siegfried" to know his own limits. Even if he encountered danger, he could always escape with his Magic Wand.

Zhou Chen put down his binoculars and summoned his Magic Wand. He gave the ground a light tap, and his figure vanished in an instant.

He used the Great Transformation of Living People to rush toward the battlefield.

After a few consecutive Instant Teleportations, Zhou Chen suddenly stopped. Frowning, he surveyed his surroundings. He was in a bamboo forest.

’But there shouldn’t be any bamboo forests near the battlefield.’

SWOOSH!

Suddenly, a bamboo leaf shot toward him. Zhou Chen snapped his head to the side, but the leaf still sliced his cheek, drawing blood. A sharp pain spread from the wound as his flesh began to rot, the veins on his face turning black. The leaf was poisoned.

Zhou Chen tapped himself with his Magic Wand, and the poison turned into clear water, flowing harmlessly from the cut. With his powerful self-healing ability, the wound on his cheek healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

A light breeze swept through, causing the green bamboo forest to sway with a rustling sound.

An imperceptible killing intent filled the air.

’An ambush!’

Despite the bizarre circumstances, Zhou Chen remained perfectly calm. His eyes narrowed as he tried to use the Magic Wand’s Great Transformation of Living People again. His figure vanished on the spot, only to reappear in the exact same place a second later.

’A Barrier? When did I get inside?’ A thought struck Zhou Chen. He drew upon a faint sliver of Power from the Prayer Space and looked at the bamboo forest once more.

He then discovered that the flowers, grass, bamboo stalks, rocks, and even the stone path around him were all made of individual brushstrokes of ink!

’The Painter!’

The name instantly surfaced in Zhou Chen’s mind.