"Last battle?"

Noah's words made the four cultivators raise their heads in his direction.

"What do you mean by that?"

Lisa asked.

She had kept track of his battle records and knew that his kill count had still to reach half of the agreed number so she was surprised by his statement.

Lisa and Logan couldn't find anything different when they watched him but Leo and Luke had surprised expression as they inspected him.

Noah's cultivation level was completely exposed to their sight when he first arrived in the country but now it was cloudy, they couldn't make out the limits of his power.

The reason for that was that he had enveloped himself with a layer of mental energy, which could somewhat block the protectors' probing now that his mind had reached the third rank.

"You… What has happened to you?"

Leo couldn't hold his curiosity back and directly gave voice to what he had in mind.

Lisa and Logan turned toward him but they realized that something was wrong when they saw that even Luke seemed interested in Noah's answer.

"I've become a rank 3 mage."

Noah nonchalantly said.

The eyes of the four cultivators widened at that statement, even Leo and Luke with their usual demeanor as elders couldn't suppress their surprise.

"It's no big deal, with the Mausoleum strengthening my mental sphere and my mass production of inscribed items, I'm surprised it has even taken this long."

Noah uncaringly replied to those gazes and neared the table that they encircled, a map depicting the valley at the border of the country was placed there, he could make out the formation of the army from the disposition of the pawns over it.

"I have an offer to make and, in my opinion, it would be far more beneficial than simply killing one hundred red soldiers. Do I have your attention?"

His words were somewhat able to bring them back from their stupor but they still eyed Noah with strange gazes.

It couldn't be helped, Noah had the aspect of a young man, that image didn't match the one of a mage at the peak of the human ranks at all!

"Speak."

Lisa was the first to react.

Her cultivation level was too low, she didn't know the hardships that a cultivator had to go through to reach the third rank of the sea of consciousness so she simply labeled Noah as a genius in her mind.

Noah sighed before beginning his speech.

"Our first meeting was quite traumatic, I entered your country and was captured. Initially, I was pissed about that but now I understand that you are just doing everything in your power to survive."

He still remembered his first meeting with Logan, when his centers of power had been threatened.

The truth was that Noah had overreacted: The Odrea country didn't have any ill intention, they just wanted his intel about the outside world and his battle prowess.

Other than that, there wasn't much to expect from a random outsider.

"Your situation is tragic but you were still willing to pay me for my services on the battlefield. Then, you saw that I could perform inscriptions and you gave me access to your inventory, allowing me to keep some of my creations. All in all, I can say that I've been treated quite well."

The Odrea country had simply treated him like one of its soldiers, it has just forced him to share the fate of its citizens.

Differently from the Balvan mansion and the Royal dynasty, the Odrea country was a prison were everyone was a prisoner, Noah could relate with its soldiers since he had experienced their lives for more than one year.

"That's why, instead of limiting myself to the killing of one hundred cultivators in the solid stage, I've decided to make a new deal."

Noah sighed again, he had thought about this plan as he searched for an escape route and that was the best option.

"This deal comprises two gifts on my part and one on yours, I'd like to start with your part."

"You want us to help you with your escape. The Empire is on our borders and you can't safely leave without our help. This can be done, what do you offer?"

Lisa interrupted him, she could clearly understand Noah's difficulties, they were the same that forced her citizens inside the formation.

Noah sighed for the third time, Lisa was inexperienced when it came to cultivation but her political skills had already surpassed Noah's, he wasn't her match in that field.

"My first parting gift will be turning all your materials in the inventory into weapons for future usage. I should be able to create a few thousand Instabilities and Hidden blasts with the remaining beasts that fit their structure which would give your nation a few years of stability. Mind you, the power of these new weapons would be higher since my mind is in the third rank now."

Lisa listened to his words and nodded, she liked that idea.

She turned toward Leo and saw that he also nodded after a loud sigh.

He handled the inventory after all, losing so many materials over disposable weapon was a heavy blow on the reserves of the country.

However, they didn't have a better use for them, exchanging them for years of overwhelming victories was a good trade due to their unique situation.

"So, you want to avoid the battlefield to concentrate on your inscriptions, I understand, I believe that you already have an idea of how many months you will need. What about your second parting gift?"

Lisa pressed Noah to continue.

His improved mind had an increased thinking speed and could perform some tasks of the Elemental forging method in far less time, Noah had already a vague idea of the time needed to use all the materials that fit his criteria.

Noah wore a stern expression as he pointed toward the map depicting the valley.

"I will give you a battle where all the soldiers of the Empire, except those in the third rank, will die."

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