Michael breathed heavily. His body was covered in injuries and his mana reserves were low, yet despite all that, his mood was excellent.

Not only had he finally reached Level 75, the maximum level of Rank 3, but his advancement task had also finally been generated. After waiting for so long, he was finally about to see what stood between him and Rank 4.

Well, in truth, this could count as his fastest Advancement speed outside when he wanted to advance to rank 1.

Michael immediately focused on the system.

However, before he could check the newly generated task, another notification suddenly appeared.

[Ding!]

[Your Undead: Lily has leveled up.]

[Current Level: 86]

Michael froze. "…What?"

For a moment, he thought he had misread it. Level 86? Lily?

Michael blinked several times. Then his expression became strange.

His first thought was simple. Had the opponent Lily fought been a monster? After all, only monsters granted experience points. If Lily had killed a powerful monster, then reaching Level 86 might not be impossible.

But Michael immediately dismissed the idea. It made no sense. If Lily had killed a monster, he would have received a kill notification as her master and shared a portion of the experience gained. Yet he had received nothing, which meant Lily had not killed a monster.

Michael's brows furrowed. Then realization slowly appeared in his eyes.

"Lily…"

A complicated expression crossed his face. The details of Lily's Law flashed through his mind. Lily could devour the essence of whatever she wanted for personal benefit. Not only could she use it to absorb the traits of what she devoured, she could also use it to grow.

Michael had known about the latter for a long time. After all, he had personally fed her many corpses. Yet until today, despite all that feeding, Lily had never directly gained a level from it. He had assumed it had something to do with the quality and quantity of what she consumed.

In any case, for her to level up now, knowing Lily, there was a high probability she had eaten something. And that something was most likely her opponent.

A silence fell over Michael. His expression became even more complicated.

On one hand, he was pleased. His undead becoming stronger was naturally a good thing, especially an undead as terrifying as Lily. On the other hand, the person Lily had eaten had been human. An intelligent being, not a monster or some mindless creature.

Michael stared at the notification panel for a few moments. Then he sighed.

He was not yet at the stage where he could willingly feed a human to his undead, even knowing it would benefit them and even himself since his talent could also devour their corpses for evolution points. But since he had not been there to make that call, he had no grounds to dwell on it.

Before Michael could think any further, another notification suddenly appeared.

[Ding!]

[Your Undead: Beginning has leveled up to Level 89!]

Michael's eyes widened. What was this nonsense?!

Normally his undead levelling up was great news, but when it came from Beginning and Lily it was strange in many ways. Did Beginning levelling up mean his opponent had also been a monster in disguise? Even Michael did not believe such a coincidence was possible. So how had Beginning levelled up from killing a human as well?

Lily was understandable given her Law, but Beginning would not grow simply from eating someone.

"Ohh…"

It was then that Michael recalled the ability of Beginning's Trial Domain, and understanding washed over him. Though both undead were technically doing the same thing in a broad sense, Beginning's method of devouring was far more acceptable to Michael than Lily's. Perhaps it was simply a matter of aesthetics.

In any case, his undead levelling up was good news. It also meant that in addition to the two he had killed himself, plus the two the undead had accounted for, the empire only had three Legendary beings remaining out of their original seven.

The emperor was currently fighting the Rank 4 Demonic Supernatural, while the empire's two strongest protectors were battling the High Drake.

Though he wanted to focus on his rank advancement quest now, Michael knew what his priority currently was.

Aside from Beginning, none of his current available forces could realistically assist the High Drake, and might even get themselves killed trying. That meant the only viable target left was the emperor. With him gone, only those two serpent ancestors would remain, and with everything Michael could bring together, this battle with the empire would soon be over.

Thinking this, Michael took a deep breath and immediately made his way toward the emperor's location in the void while reaching out to Lily and Beginning through their bond.

Far away from Michael's battlefield, another battle was reaching a critical point.

Purple flames and black water collided once more. The resulting explosion tore apart massive sections of the void as shockwaves spread in every direction.

The Emperor's enormous serpent body twisted through the darkness. His obsidian scales were cracked in several places. Purple blood dripped into the void while flames burned between the gaps in his armor-like scales.

Opposite him, the Rank 4 Demonic Supernatural stood silently. Dark water flowed endlessly around its body. Its expression remained as calm and emotionless as ever.

A gigantic serpent tail descended. The Demonic Supernatural raised a hand. An ocean condensed around its fist.

The two attacks collided. Space shattered. The Emperor was forced backward several hundred meters.

Normally, such an exchange would not have affected his composure. Unfortunately, he could not calm down. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.

The Emperor's eyes flickered across the surrounding void. Where were they?

The battle had been going on for a long time. His side had possessed seven Legendary beings. The enemy had only five. Even accounting for the terrifying strength Michael's forces had displayed, numerical superiority still existed. By now, at least one battlefield should have been resolved and someone should have appeared to reinforce him.

Yet there was nothing. Only silence.

The Emperor's heart gradually sank. A terrible possibility surfaced within his mind, one he immediately suppressed.

_Drakon