It wasn't that I doubted him, but it was still a little bit of an eye opener to feel the tunnel rumbling all around us after just traveling a few more feet. We couldn't even really see the destination in full yet, and the ants were already upon us.

Honestly, I was kind of itching to just take off and meet them, but my word is my word. The Black Dawn will be handling the initial push.

I observed the group of Infernals before me separate from each other as the rumbling got closer. One thousand Infernals kept advancing while the rest slowly followed behind. Although we were allowing the Black Dawn to handle the initial push, if they began to get overrun then support would be right here.

I could then see one of them run ahead of the group slightly with a spear gripped tightly in their hand. Their voice could then be heard seemingly throughout the tunnel.

"Members of the Black Dawn! We have displayed a pitiful showing on the account of our Patriarch's orders! In times of war we are to be his blade that removes his enemies from existence! We have failed in this endeavor, but another chance has been graciously granted to us by our Patriarch!

"He watches us even now as we journey to meet his enemy! WE WILL NOT FAIL AGAIN! NOT BEFORE PATRIARCH! RAISE YOUR SPEARS, LIFT YOUR SPIRITS, AND LET US DELIVER DEATH TO ALL THOSE WHO DARE TO OPPOSE OUR PATRIARCH!!!!"

The members of the Black Dawn responded to her with a shout that probably shook the tunnels more than the approaching ants ever did.

But I suppose that's Izanshi huh. Not bad. Show me you deserve the Eternal Flame. Show me the choice of Lidaz and the boys to make you the leader of the Black Dawn wasn't wrong.

Hm, should I rile them up even further? ...No. She did enough. They know I am here. They know I am watching. Anything more than that would likely be needless pressure.

Ah, here they are.

More ants than I've ever personally witnessed in real life or even seen in any documentary poured out into the tunnels like a fire that just latched onto a blade of grass in a wide open plain.

In one moment you went from looking at lush greenery to nothing but winds of fire, ash, and smoke blazing all around you. The ants didn't just cover the floors, no…the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel were their domain as well.

My spear floated ominously behind me as if it could almost sense the urge in my body to jump into the fray. My time was coming soon, but for now, I watched as Izanshi and the other Nascent Soul Infernals of the Black Dawn flew into the air and one by one unleashed a maelstrom of abilities at the ants that covered the ceilings.

Their Qi all had the faint tint of black and it practically ate away at the bodies of the ants whenever it made contact. While they did that, the situation on the ground had quickly reached a point of chaotic intensity.

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My Infernals quickly broke out of their tidy formation and created a line across the center of the tunnel. Two separate groups quickly detached from the main and brought up the flanks on the left and right side of the tunnel respectively.

Like this, they were now fighting with intense passion across the entire width of the tunnel. This wasn't bad, but they were not pushing them back. No matter how many they killed, or how many attacks they levied against the ants, more of them just kept pouring down the tunnel.

If this was all they could give, I would be disappointed in the least. At the end of the day, I gave them a task that was beyond their reach from the get go. Something that wouldn't have happened if I knew better. The only problem was that I knew they would feel ashamed if I were to step in now.

It's just that I don't think I have a choice. This is nothing but a battle of attrition that they are not likely to win. Even if they could fight like this for days, maybe weeks without rest, it simply wasn't worth the potential cost to keep doing so. Not when there was help nearby.

Just when I was getting ready to order everyone else to advance, Izanshi yelled out to the Infernals around her.

"NOW!"

The other Nascent Soul Infernals quickly stepped beyond her and took over her spot in defending the line, allowing her to drop back. I watched on as a whirlwind of Qi quickly began rushing to her and gathering at the blade of her spear.

The sight of it all was truly mesmerizing to see as the black tinted Qi was visible for all to see. This process went on for a few moments before she slowly raised the spear above her and yelled out to her fellow members of the Black Dawn.

"MOVE!"

In practiced fashion, every Infernal still in front of her disengaged and jumped backward quickly. The ants didn't waste any time moving to fill the emptied space, but Izanshi was just as quick, if not quicker.

"ETERNAL!!!"

She then brought her spear down at a speed that I couldn't keep up with even though I was as focused as I could be on her actions.

"RENDDDDDDD!!!!!"

She roared out like a lion announcing to the world who the ruler of the jungle was, and her spear roared along with her with the noise it made as she completed the slash.

The world itself seemed to freeze for a moment as all sounds disappeared from the battlefield for just a split second. Then a massive line formed from the ceiling of the tunnel to the floor.

The line was black in color and it only stayed stationary for a small moment before the sound of hard ant carapace and everything it contained was sliced in two by the line that extended down the tunnel.

Izanshi roared out once more as the ants before her were split right down the center as if someone threw a massive chainsaw down the tunnel.

"PUSH!!! FOR THE PATRIARCH!!"

The rest of the Black Dawn didn't let the strike delivered by Izanshi go to waste and very quickly they began to push the ants back down the tunnel. That's exactly what I wanted to see. I wouldn't have been disappointed if what they showed previously was all they had, but I would be lying if I didn't expect more from them considering they asked for this.

Though…it was surprisingly easy for me to forget the might that someone in the Nascent Soul realm holds.

Even though I experienced a war and bore witness to who knows how many of them were fighting, I think because they were fighting each other, I never really got to witness the full force of their power.

But Izanshi here reminded me.

Yes, it was true that I now sat at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, but an attack like that would have killed me every single day of the week and twice on Sundays. I know if I had enough time to call upon the Eternal Flame then the result would be different, but the caveat was that I wouldn't get that time.

If the Immortal Vamp wasn't so arrogant that he wanted to brag about and play the role of a cartoon villain, I simply would've died without being able to do anything back then. That same thing goes for fighting those at the Nascent Soul realm.

Beings who were fast enough to kill me before I could utter a single word.

It's alright though. My time is coming.

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