Chapter 3233: Chapter 3233: The Shrinking Sky Net

Gethin did plan to join the Sun Crow race's attacks on the Oneness Sky Palace eventually, but at a critical moment to deliver the fatal blow.

While the Sky Net remained in place, the Vastness Mountain wouldn't dare make a move.

They couldn't risk revealing their hand in the conspiracy too early. For now, he had to continue pretending to be on the side of the other six mountains.

He had to wait for the right moment to strike and make his rebellion known.

Meanwhile, Zen remained on guard near the Sky Net even after seizing control of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.

The Sun Crow race still hadn't made a move, even as the Sky Net continued shrinking. It was clear a storm was brewing.

A voice suddenly piped up in Zen's head. “General Zen, please come to the Oneness Array.”

Zen quickly recognized the voice. It was Pearce, the master who had once scolded him in the Supreme Dragon Hall.

Not that it mattered to Zen now. It was but a distant memory in this time of war.

With his mind, he directed the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows to fly to the Oneness Array. They headed out in a neat formation.

They soon arrived at a magnificent array of Lofty Swords.

Each one was occupied by a master from the Oneness Mountain.

Zen cupped his hands in front of him and bowed to them respectfully.

The masters eyed the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, which all emanated such gloomy and powerful auras they subconsciously made anyone observing them keep their guard up.

The Oneness Array was consisted of Lofty Swords arranged in a wedge-shaped formation: One in front, then others widening to the back on both sides.

Libby, who occupied a Lofty Sword at one end of the array, craned her neck to finally catch a glimpse of this Zen people kept talking about.

The disciples on the first and second floors of the Land of Sword Grief were in different arrays of the twelve passes, while the disciples on the third floor were in the arrays of the seven mountains.

This was because the disciples on the first and second floors were closest to Oneness Generals in terms of strength, while the disciples on the third floor were most similar to Oneness Governors.

This didn't explain, however, why the powerful Libby was placed at the end of the array.

She was definitely not weaker than the masters of the Oneness Mountain. She had simply been placed in a less prominent position because of her junior status. R̃ÀℕՕBĚs̩

After joining the array, she had been sitting quietly on the Lofty Sword, waiting for orders.

She was not qualified to participate in the decision-making yet. She was only subject to the more senior masters' commands during battle.

Libby now stared at the new arrival. When Pearce and the others had been discussing Zen earlier, Libby hadn't been paying much attention.

She was just now realizing she had seen Zen before. She had already encountered him in the Land of Sword Grief, but he had left such a weak impression in her mind then that she didn't even bother catching his name. She never imagined that guy would be the famous Zen.

Her eyes narrowed at him.

'This is the guy who ranks first on the second floor?

I would never have thought he was the same person Elder Pearce and Elder Auden were talking about!'

Libby thought to herself, scoffing with incredulity.

Word in the Land of Sword Grief was, this Zen's talent was extraordinary. Some had even said he could surpass Libby. But she refused to accept he could match up to her in only a few months. Over her dead body.

He was probably just another over-hyped upstart.

She did wonder, however, how a new disciple on the second floor managed to turn the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows over to his side.

She couldn't deny that accomplishment. He was accompanied by the crows, after all.

'Hmph! He probably just stumbled upon a special method by sheer luck, '

Libby thought to herself disdainfully, looking Zen over with a raised eyebrow.

She had always been the pride of the Oneness Sky Palace. She didn't even take the mountain chiefs' sons seriously. Why would some newbie disciple impress her?

She was confident enough in her strength to take on masters like Athemar and Goran. Zen probably couldn't even compete on the same level.

As he straightened up, Zen spotted Libby in the array.

He was a bit surprised she was in the formation, but he figured disciples on the third floor were qualified to join the great arrays, anyway. Shrugging it off, he continued riding the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow toward Pearce.

Libby slit her eyes. She was sure Zen had caught sight of her, yet he didn't even acknowledge her. She glowered at being so disregarded.

“You summoned me, Elder Pearce?” Zen asked, as he approached.

Pearce eyed the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow hovering beneath Zen's feet. “Yes, it was me. But first, I must apologize, Zen, for my behavior before. Forgive my indiscretion,” he said humbly.

To punctuate his words, he bowed deeply before Zen.

That Pearce, one of the founding members of the Oneness Sky Palace, would humble himself before Zen this way surely boosted Zen's status.

“Oh, no, please, sir, it was no issue at all! No offense taken!” Zen waved his hands frantically in embarrassment.

To his surprise, Auden chimed in. “You truly deserve not only our apologies, General Zen, but also our gratitude. Without you, we would have been in deep trouble by now!”

Zen was taken aback by Auden's words.

He only had the guts to steal the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows from Elizabeth simply because he was confident the Oneness Sky Palace had his back. He didn't realize, until now that Auden highlighted it, that he had made a rather crucial move they hadn't even thought of.

“Since these crows are under your control now, General Zen, we hope you can assist us when the Sun Crow race breaks through,” Pearce implored him.

Zen nodded. “It would be my honor. I came here on Master Goran's call-to-arms. It is my duty to fight for the Oneness Sky Palace. But if I may ask, what is the situation now?”

Zen guessed Elizabeth had a greater force behind her, but he knew nothing about the details, nor how the Oneness Sky Palace planned to deal with it.

Pearce trained his eyes on the shrinking Sky Net. “If I'm guessing right, there should be a great array behind Elizabeth. After the Sky Net shrinks to a certain extent, the Sun Crow race will launch their full attack.”

As the other six arrays and eleven passes continued to move, the circular Sky Net kept contracting toward its center.

Strong as Elizabeth was, she had no choice for now but to fall back in the face of the Sky Net.

Nothing could be seen in the space behind her.

With a series of caws, the Sun Crows swooped in from all corners of the sky to gather in the area behind Elizabeth. They all disappeared in groups as soon as they reached that spot.

The Sky Net shrunk to only 800 miles across.

500 miles.

200 miles.

50 miles.

As the span of the Sky Net continued to shrink, the distance between the twelve passes and the seven arrays also decreased.

The mountain chiefs all guarded their large arrays as they observed the Sky Net warily.

No one would let their guard down, not even if the Sun Crow race were successfully caught in the Sky Net.

The Sky Net shrunk further.

It was only 25 miles wide now!

The Sun Crow race was now only one step closer to the Oneness Sky Palace.

Up in the sky, all the other Sun Crows had seemingly disappeared, save for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth exhaled and moved her hands. Six dots of light emerged behind her, flickered, and quickly expanded into six hexagonal seals. Together, they formed an immense array.