Master Tempest had a rough understanding of Azrael's strength, but according to their plan, Azrael was safest within the protective boundaries of Kunlun Mountain.
After all, the other Lore Cardians, aside from Master Tempest himself, were traditional summoner-type transcendents whose true forms were significantly weaker than those of similar rank.
Otherwise, Chris wouldn't have died at Azrael's hands.
Unfortunately, Master Fujimaru, the master of Kunlun Mountain, was currently missing. Master Tempest deduced that she might have been incapacitated.
Just like them, the demon army surely held a hidden weapon in reserve.
'But if Azrael had truly faced the Inverted Cross alone earlier, I wouldn't have to worry too much now,' Master Tempest thought silently.
At this point, he decided to focus all his attention on the demon army commander across from him.
Meanwhile, Catherine was engaged in a simultaneous battle with two commanders.
She glanced at the dense forest covering the entire Thousand Peaks City, her eyes flickering slightly. "There is indeed the aura of a Master."
"Why does it feel so familiar?"
"And why do I feel something is wrong?"
As the Empress of Tsarist Russia, Catherine had certainly encountered Chris more than once.
At this moment, she sensed a strikingly similar aura emanating from the forest.
Before she could even consider it further, the two military commanders confronting her had already launched their attacks.
Meanwhile, in the forest below, the white-armored female demon also noticed the sudden appearance of a Master-level presence behind her. "Is it real?!"
She was startled, but she didn't stop moving.
The wind arrived before her body.
The raging gale brushed against the Sacred Blade Armor on Azrael's body, making an ear-piercing shriek.
Faced with this deadly approach, he immediately wanted Shiraori to lead him away from the enemy.
Unfortunately, Shiraori didn't obey his command this time. Instead, she raised her white scythe and charged forward.
Clang!
With a resounding clash of metal against metal, the figures of demon and spider instantly locked together.
Under the immense force, the earth crumbled into neat chunks, and the surrounding dense forest was snapped in half in the blink of an eye.
Azrael's face darkened as he immediately understood what had happened.
Under the influence of the Binding Barrier, Shiraori was temporarily unable to use her spatial abilities.
Seeing her attack blocked, the white-armored commander remained calm. With a slight push of her hand, Shiraori flew backward like a cannonball.
After all, the gap between Diamond tier and Master tier was still quite significant.
Fortunately, as a Lore Cardian, Azrael had more than just Shiraori as his summoned creature. The rest of his cards immediately attacked the white-armored female demon.
Seeing this opportunity, Azrael took the chance to hide deeper in the forest, using Shiraori's Silent skill to conceal his presence.
Of course, this trick wouldn't be able to hide him from a Master-tier opponent indefinitely.
That's assuming the opponent wasn't distracted, of course.
"That was a close call! That woman is truly terrifying!" Shiraori patted her chest with lingering fear. The moment they clashed, she'd already sensed mortal danger. "But luckily, I've identified her information."
She then transmitted the identification information to Azrael.
[Name: Tempest]
[Title: Scourge Lord]
[Level: Master]
[Available Drop Material: Doom Storm Lord]
Upon seeing the available drop materials, Azrael was stunned for a moment, then his expression grew serious. He muttered to himself, "This material..."
"Looks like another reason to kill her."
"But..."
"Can I do it?"
Unlike Chris, whose strength had been affected by his arrival in the secret realm, Tempest was currently in a state of complete victory. As the commander of the demon army with years of combat experience, she was certainly no weakling.
'Do your best, and leave the rest to fate,' Azrael sighed inwardly, then led Shiraori away from Tempest's immediate vicinity.
Meanwhile, sensing she was surrounded, a slight ripple finally appeared on Tempest's expressionless face. She frowned slightly and said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Annoying fleas."
As she finished speaking, the invisible gust of wind around her was tinged with a pale green hue.
Then it was unleashed.
In an instant, a howling storm swept outward, crushing Chris's lingering spirit.
Indeed, Tempest intended to deal with the Master-level presence with the strange aura first. After all, in her opinion, the opposing Lore Cardian's combat power probably lay largely in this spirit.
High above Thousand Peaks City, several Masters who had deliberately stayed away from the main battle also noticed the sudden terrifying aura and cast their gazes in that direction.
"Is Tempest getting serious?"
The white-robed military commander tilted his head slightly as he watched the storm sweeping across the sky and earth.
Grand Duke Nicholas, who was engaging him, gazed with fluctuating emotions at Thousand Peaks City, which had largely collapsed under the raging winds.
Although a large portion had actually been destroyed when the Flower Tree Realm first descended.
"Can that child really hold on?"
The Grand Duke thought the situation was already dire after Master Fujimaru's disappearance. However, since Catherine hadn't ordered a retreat, he had no choice but to continue fighting the demon before him.
In the Flower Tree Realm, Tempest's face was filled with astonishment and a hint of shame-tinged anger. "How ridiculous."
She had undoubtedly seen that Chris's spirit was merely a facade, weak inside, completely lacking the strength expected of a Master.
After all, who could be a Master who couldn't even withstand the aftermath of her own attack?
Tempest watched helplessly as the spirit, before even reaching the storm's edge, was transformed into a faint wisp of light by the raging winds and dissipated into the air.
She breathed deeply, forcing herself to calm down.
Seeing this opening, Azrael's cards certainly wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands."
Hashirama Senju clasped his hands together and roared.
With a thunderous clap, his declaration became reality.
Beside him, Minato Namikaze, who had entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, stared in amazement as the First Hokage unleashed such a terrifying technique without even forming hand seals.
'Then what about us ninjas who use normal hand seals?' Minato was about to voice this thought when he remembered that his Flying Thunder God and Rasengan didn't seem to require hand seals either.
That was fine then.
As the younger brother, Tobirama Senju had clearly grown accustomed to his older brother's frequent displays of overwhelming power. After all, if he wasn't strong enough, the other ninjas from the rival clans wouldn't sit still and listen to their idealistic older brother's dreams of peace.
But don't forget, Hashirama Senju was currently blessed with multiple special bond abilities.
Therefore, the power of his Wood Release in Sage Mode was naturally greatly enhanced.
[First Hokage] + [God of Shinobi] + [Power of Asura] + [Second Hokage] + [Fourth Hokage] + [Foolish and Unhappy] + [Vangeance of Fire].
With so many bond characteristics activated simultaneously, Hashirama Senju's strength could not be underestimated.
A towering wooden Buddha rose from the ground, countless massive hands looming behind it like a divine manifestation.
It seemed as if this single figure existed to dominate heaven and earth. Even the largest palaces in Thousand Peaks City seemed like playthings in its grasp.
The Buddha's compassion would temper all living things.
The tremendous movement immediately captured everyone's attention.
While Master Tempest and his companions had already distanced themselves dozens of kilometers from Thousand Peaks City in their struggle with the demon commanders, the True Several Thousand Hands technique was truly enormous.
So large that even from dozens of kilometers away, they could still clearly make out the wooden Buddha's serene features.
"A new card?" Master Tempest was startled by this sight. This card wasn't in the information Master Fujimaru had shared with him.
Regardless, the fact that Azrael was stronger than expected was certainly a good thing.
Sensing a faint, unsettling aura emanating from the Buddha statue, Master Tempest grinned. "It seems my worries about Azrael facing a Master-level opponent were unfounded."
"I've lived so long, yet I still underestimate the younger generation."
The elegant middle-aged man didn't mind this realization as he delivered a powerful punch toward the distant demon, endless radiance emanating from his fist.
The military commander facing Master Tempest had a slightly grim expression, thinking to himself, 'No wonder a mere Diamond-level Lore Cardian dares to interfere in a battle between Master-level opponents.'
'So he's this confident in his abilities.'
The demon took a deep breath, his eyes cold. "Master Tempest, don't get complacent."
"Tempest isn't as weak as you think." He admitted that these Lore Cardians always managed to come up with new tricks, but it was ridiculous to think that alone guaranteed victory.
Meanwhile, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief.
After the appearance of the True Several Thousand Hands, she felt that today's surprise attack had a real chance of success.
As long as the young man could hold back a Master-level demon, the battle could still continue in their favor.
Catherine didn't think Azrael could actually kill Tempest, of course.
After all, after so many years of dealing with the demon army, she knew how formidable these commanders could be.
While the wooden Buddha impressed the Empress, that alone wouldn't be enough to overcome such a vast gap in power.
In the remaining portions of the Flower Tree Realm, Azrael looked at the True Several Thousand Hands in the distance and couldn't help but sigh. "If only I had Madara now."
On one hand, he really wanted to see what the Susanoo Buddha combination would look like, and on the other, with the added strength of Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju's power would surely rise to another level entirely.
Besides, Uchiha Madara was a formidable fighter in his own right.
"Let's wait and see if there are any suitable materials when I return this time."
Remembering that he had already obtained two materials suitable for creating Uchiha Madara during his last material gathering trip, Azrael made his decision.
Elsewhere, Tempest's eyes flickered as she looked at the wooden Buddha towering before her.
Due to the close distance and its sheer scale, even looking upward, she couldn't see the True Several Thousand Hands' full form.
"Useless!"
Tempest sighed softly, her right hand clenching at thin air.
Instantly, black clouds gathered from all directions, thick lightning snakes constantly coiling within them. The terrifying storm emitted a shrill roar like the wails of tormented souls.
However, faced with such an obvious charge-up period, how could Azrael's cards miss such a golden opportunity?
Hashirama Senju, standing atop the Buddha's crown, saw this and immediately clasped his hands together, shouting, "True Several Thousand Hands!"
The next moment, countless giant wooden hands that had been towering behind the Buddha surged toward Tempest, who remained stationary as she gathered power.
Faced with such massive incoming force, the white-armored commander remained expressionless, observing everything with cold apathy.
Boom, boom, boom, !
Crashing. Shattering.
Giant hands as large as palatial buildings rushed to the ground, shaking violently like an earthquake and cracking the earth beneath.
One hand. Two hands.
Until the very last hand fell, a massive cloud of dust obscured all vision.
But it wasn't over yet.
Azrael's cards knew their opponent wouldn't die so easily from that alone.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
"Nadegiri!"
Countless attacks suddenly flew toward Tempest's location.
"Strike while she's weak." The cards understood this principle perfectly.
As expected, facing the oncoming barrage, a pale green light suddenly shone through the smoke and debris.
Then, whoosh!
A storm, an endless, howling storm, surged in all directions.
Azrael's cards' attacks detonated before they even reached their target, and the violent explosions created new clouds of smoke and dust.
But the next moment, all the dust and smoke were swept away by the raging tempest.
Tempest reappeared before everyone's eyes.
The white-armored commander's hair was disheveled, and her armor was covered in countless scars and scratches. She looked utterly disheveled compared to her pristine appearance moments before. It was clear that the blow from Hashirama Senju had left her feeling somewhat distressed.
But it was only slight distress.
For now, no one cared about such minor details.
At this moment, before everyone's eyes, Tempest's white armor became shrouded in a swirling vortex of wind.
In her hand, she now clutched an invisible sword bound by condensed storm currents.
"I admit, you're powerful."
"But if that's all you can do..."
"Listen to the storm's requiem and rest in peace."
Tempest slowly positioned the Storm Sword horizontally behind her, her gaze cold and merciless.
A sizzling sound of air currents slicing through space made one's teeth ache with tension.
"Sage Art: Myōjinmon!"
Seeing the opponent charging up a devastating attack, Hashirama Senju once again clasped his hands together, unleashing the same sealing method he'd once used to restrain the Tailed Beasts.
A massive crimson torii gate descended from the sky, attempting to confine Tempest within its bounds.
The other cards weren't idle either.
Ichigo Kurosaki instantly entered his Merged Hollow form, unleashing several devastating Getsuga Tenshō strikes.
Yamamoto Shigekuni concentrated all his flames onto his blade.
"Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin!"
The same slash that had killed Chris flew toward Tempest in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the hair scattered before her eyes curl slightly from the intense heat, the white-armored commander took a deep breath.
Feeling the cool air rushing through her nose and filling her lungs, Tempest swung the Storm Sword she'd positioned behind her.
Whoosh!
It was only at this moment that Azrael truly witnessed the terrifying power of a complete Master-level being unleashed with full intent.
After all, Jin and Chris had not taken Azrael seriously before their defeats.
But Tempest was giving him this opportunity to witness her true strength.