Noah could move his attention on the battlefield now that the two platoons were trapped inside his techniques. Killing those privileged cultivators would help his side, but he wanted to see if he could do more than just that.
His eyes inevitably went on the six leaders among Heaven and Earth's army, but he felt forced to exclude some of them right away, especially Caesar. The latter wasn't a problem for now.
The old man couldn't be a potential target either. Sword Saint was having a hard time dealing with him, but Noah didn't believe that his companion could lose.
Divine Architect was also out of reach. It was probably better to kill her right away, but Noah couldn't butt in when King Elbas was handling her. He had to leave that fight to his companion to allow him to improve.
The Rulers' Resolve was troublesome, but he now had Supreme Thief and Great Builder to worry about. Noah didn't know if they could win, but giving even more attention to a single privileged cultivator would only make it harder for his side.
Only Decumia and Marcella remained as potential targets in Noah's mind. June didn't want interferences in her battle, but Noah believed he could help a little, especially since she wasn't fighting alone anyway.
Still, Decumia seemed far more problematic. Steven was literally dying to fight her, and the Foolery had yet to join those exchanges. They needed help, and Noah didn't mind flying there to send a slash or two.
Nevertheless, a surge of power suddenly appeared in the range of Noah's consciousness and forced him to turn toward the spherical cage made of roots. A wave of energy had pierced the parasite's branches, and a figure had used it to escape that trap.
Noah didn't feel any surprise when he saw the old man coming out of the violet energy. The latter was the only cultivator in the platoon who could pierce the roots so quickly, but Noah didn't let the other experts use that hole to escape.
The ethereal blackness sent potential to all the assets involved in the cage, which exploded with power and forced the experts to interrupt their movement techniques. That delay allowed the roots to grow and seal the hole created by the old man.
"Things won't be as easy as you think," The old man announced as he crossed his arms and hid his hands inside his sleeves.
Noah coldly eyed the expert without giving any answer. The Demonic Sword growled, and the Cursed Sword voiced a single high-pitched noise before going silent. They were both preparing themselves for the imminent battle.
"Your weapons are restless," The old man commented. "I bet you share that feeling."
Noah remained silent while the space-time array replaced the world in his vision. He still struggled to affect the void with his understanding, but his destruction had reached new depths, which allowed him to alter the environment to improve the effects of his movement technique.
Small spots on the lines of space shattered before Noah shot forward. Those gaps in the space-time array allowed him to skip entire areas of the void, transforming his sprint into a series of teleports that shortened the overall time required to reach his opponent.
Noah reached the old man in less than a second, and his sword darted forward before the latter could summon his energy. The space-time array bent due to the massive power generated by the two blades, and the privileged cultivator found himself unable to react to the offensive.
A black and dark-red explosions enveloped the old man before flinging him in the distance. His right arm had disappeared, while a huge hole had opened on the left side of his chest. Black lines had also filled his figure, and his expression showed nothing but surprise while he flew through the void.
Noah resorted to his movement technique again to reach his opponent, but the latter was ready at that time. The old man had predicted that Noah would come again, so he had summoned his power even before sensing the incoming attack.
A violet shade filled Noah's vision, but he roared to spit a wave of black flames. The fire shot forward while condensing to transform into a rain of black swords that pierced the incoming energy, but the old man didn't let his attack crumble so easily.
The violet energy began to spin and condense to send the fiery swords at its center. The old man gave birth to a vortex that destroyed Noah's attacks and used it to increase its power.
Noah wanted to wave his swords, but the pressure coming from the vortex became so intense that his body struggled to move properly. Even his incredible physical strength seemed unable to get him out of those restraints.
The old man used that chance to jump upward and enter his vortex. The missing pieces in his figure reappeared, and the black lines shrunk back under the effects of the pulling force, but he didn't stop there.
Violet trails of energy left the old man to fuse with the vortex and alter its properties. Two series of gales came out of the raging structure and started to rotate to create arm-like limbs that converged toward Noah.
The pulling force became far stronger now that Noah ended up at the center of those two arms. He could feel the technique attracting him from three different sides, but he remained calm.
Something was off there. The old man had been part of the team that had chased Noah throughout the higher plane. Yet, he had never used that powerful pulling force to alter Noah's movements.
Noah could only find one explanation for that odd situation. The old man didn't use his technique before simply because he couldn't, so there had to be a trick behind it.
'He absorbed my energy,' Noah thought before closing his eyes and filling his mind with potential to search for remnants of his energy.
The whole higher plane had traces of Noah's influence, but faintly familiar sensations also came from inside the vortex. Noah had to push his mind beyond its limits to find the nature of that familiarity. Still, a smirk appeared on his face at that point.
The old man had used Noah's energy to create a technique that could suppress him, but he had to keep that power alive during the process. That feature made sense due to the overall strength and efficiency of the ability, but it turned out to be a fatal weakness against Noah.
The ethereal blackness sent even more potential to Noah's mind and forced it to redirect that power toward everything connected to him. Snore, the roots, and his influence grew stronger, and the same happened to the energy inside the vortex.
That empowerment alone couldn't change Noah's situation, but it allowed him to gain a better grasp of the connection between him and the vortex. Once Noah found it, he sent potential directly through those channels, forcing the energy inside the vortex to express power far beyond its limits.
The old man's eyes widened in surprise when he saw black spots appearing in the middle of his vortex. That darkness gave birth to black lines that stretched through the whole technique before releasing their destruction.
The vortex crumbled once the destruction became too much to bear. The old man enveloped his figure with violet energy and started to retreat, but a black flash filled his vision before he could leave Noah's range.
Noah reappeared behind the old man, and his swords didn't hesitate to announce their anger. Meanwhile, the privileged cultivator exploded with violet power to hide the fact that his body had split into two halves.
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