When Julian arrived at the combat zone, he found several hundred warriors clad in Steam-Plate armor holding the line. They were locked in a desperate struggle against a swarm of Skittering Shadows.
These warriors weren't just using brute strength; their armor hissed with pressurized mana, powering jagged hydraulic spears.
However, the alien invaders were relentless. Their chitinous tails lashed out like whips, the poisonous hooks seeking the delicate brass joints of the warriors' mechanized suits.
"Hold the pressure! Purge these monsters!"
The man leading the defense shouted through a grated helm, his voice amplified by a localized vox-unit. He lunged, his steam-powered lance whistling through the air, but the iron tip skidded off the monster's carapace as if hitting a reinforced hull. In contrast, a Skittering Shadow's tail easily punctured a soldier's cooling vent. A necrotic black stain immediately began to spread through the mana-coolant.
Julian's gaze sharpened. These were not mere scouts; they were elite variants, significantly stronger than the ones he had encountered before.
"These are prime candidates for a specialized legion," Julian thought, his heart quickening. He didn't hesitate.
He lunged forward, his Nova Sovereign Technique surging through his meridians.
The golden mana didn't just coat his blade; it radiated outward, forming a shimmering, translucent armor of heat around his body.
In a blur of motion, Julian was among the aliens. His longsword, empowered by the intense solar heat of his technique, sliced through their "steel-plate" carapaces as if they were warm wax.
"Look! An Ascendant has descended from the Aether!"
"The gears of fate have turned! We're saved!"
Ecstasy replaced the soldiers' despair. Seeing Julian's radiant figure carving through the monsters, the soldiers found a second wind, their armor venting clouds of steam as they pushed back.
"Charge! For the City!"
The young commander saw the tide turn.
Under Julian's lead, the warriors reorganized, surrounding the remaining Skittering Shadows. Within minutes, the dozens of alien elites were nothing but smoking remains.
"These monsters were at least Mortal Rank 4 or 5," Julian noted, standing amidst the ichor. Without the evolution of his technique into the Nova Sovereign grade, this would have taken far more effort.
"Thank you, My Lord!" The commander approached Julian, disengaging his hissing faceplate to reveal a weary, grime-streaked face.
"Where did these creatures come from?" Julian asked calmly. He noted their sophisticated gear. They were clearly a professional military force.
"My Lord, we are a vanguard from The Brass Horizon City. The metropolis is under siege. We were sent to lure a portion of the hive away to keep the main gears turning."
Julian pondered. The Brass Horizon City was likely the industrial heart of this sector of the Stargate.
"Is the city currently being overrun?"
"The fortifications hold, but the peripheral outposts have been harvested," the commander said. "These demons... they don't just kill. They feed their young with our fallen."
Julian realized the scale of the invasion. This wasn't just a High Dragon class trial anymore. This world was being systematically purged.
He looked at the weary soldiers. "What is your plan now?"
The commander looked at his remaining men. Returning to a besieged city without a way to breach the alien hides was a fool's errand. He looked at Julian's golden aura—a power far beyond their steam-tech.
"I, Arthur Vance, and my men... we wish to follow the Ascendant!"
He planted his hydraulic spear in the dirt and knelt, his armor venting a final puff of steam in salute. Behind him, the hundred or so warriors followed suit.
"We are willing to follow!"
"Very well," Julian smiled, waving his hand. "I will show you a world where you can forge a new destiny."
A ripple of spatial energy swept through the clearing, and the warriors vanished.
Julian sent a mental transmission to Viktor.
"Viktor, coordinate with Barrett. Integrate these steam-plate warriors. Select 100 of the strongest youths from the Gear-Heart family to join them. Form a permanent guard under Barrett's command."
Viktor, who was overseeing the construction of new dwellings near the Ember-Fall Manor, was stunned as a hundred armored soldiers suddenly appeared, their mechanical suits clanking on the soil.
"Do not panic!" Viktor shouted to the startled Gear-Heart villagers. "These are our Lord's new recruits!"
He approached the confused soldiers. "Are you Arthur Vance?"
"I am," Arthur replied, staring in awe at the golden palace and the pure, mana-rich air that lacked the soot of his home city.
"Come. Barrett is waiting. You have much to learn if you are to serve the Lord."
Back in the outside world, Julian bypassed The Brass Horizon City for now. He wasn't interested in a protracted siege until he had more power. He moved with a speed that blurred his silhouette, his Mortal Rank 9 cultivation pushing against the barrier of the Ascendant Realm.
He eventually arrived at the mouth of a hidden valley. The silence here was absolute. No birds, no insects, not even the hiss of wind through the crags.
"Quiet as a grave," Julian whispered. The air felt heavy with a strange, stagnant energy.
In his experience, such extreme environmental abnormalities meant one of two things: a high-level alien nest, or an 80% chance of a Rare Treasure.
Drawing his sword, Julian stepped into the unnatural stillness of the valley.