# Chapter 6: The Plan Needs to Change
By now, Joshua had been advancing for three days following the guidance of the Holy Radiance Mirror, heading toward the direction where the sun set.
According to the maps given by the villagers of Yaren Town, the Grandia World also had the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The inheritor of the Fourth Sage's relic was currently located in the southwestern region based on the warrior's judgment—precisely the place where, according to them, the vast majority of survivors had banded together to resist the Death Shadows.
The light points within the Holy Emblem Mirror occasionally shifted slightly in position, indicating that the Fourth Inheritor was currently moving at high speed. However, the Azure Orb showed no unusual activity, suggesting that the situation had not yet reached its worst point.
Joshua's flight speed was not fast. In three days, he had only just flown out of the mountain range where Yaren Town was located, arriving at a flat plain. During this time, he continuously sensed the different forces of heaven and earth in various regions, while also helping Ying and Lin adapt to the power of this world. Over the past few days, his power release rate had reached forty-one percent.
It was now evening. The warrior hovered in the sky, scanning his surroundings with some confusion.
Just now, Joshua had sensed an unmistakably clear malice directed at him—for an Ultimate-rank expert, sensing danger and perceiving malice could be considered basic skills, let alone such an obvious hostility with no attempt at concealment. Temporarily curious about this, he decisively stopped in his tracks and began scanning the surroundings with Life Energy.
The current Grandia World was indeed an apocalyptic era plagued by undead. Yaren Town seemed to be the only properly formed large settlement within thousands of square kilometers. Other human survivors numbered at most a few dozen, rarely reaching a hundred, and most hid deep in mountain forests, relying on natural defenses like caves to survive.
Joshua had passed through several former large human settlements while traveling across the plain, but they were all ruins. Countless skeletons lay scattered everywhere, with not a trace of living human presence remaining—only the deep, particularly unpleasant dark mist spreading.
This was not surprising. The plain region had no natural defenses to rely on. When the undead tide surged, even the sturdiest fortifications would be crushed to pieces.
But precisely because of this, Joshua felt surprised.
Because he had actually sensed a large group of active beings near this plain.
Night had fallen. The sun's light had completely extinguished. Dark mist began to rapidly proliferate in this world, and from it, endless black phantoms were born, covering the earth.
Joshua did not bother to eliminate the group of Death Shadows below him. His attempts over the past few days had taught him that destroying these weak undead creatures was meaningless. Nourished by the black mist, no matter how many times he killed these shadows, they would be reborn. Moreover, since there were no human villages nearby, there was no need to eliminate them.
The sudden appearance of countless Death Shadows did not affect the warrior's earlier perception. After thinking for a moment, he changed direction and flew toward the gathering place of those 'beings' with noticeably higher energy levels and more active movements.
In the darkness, a pale blue moon emerged in the sky. Its somewhat dim light shone upon the earth, becoming the only illumination remaining in this world.
The warrior soon arrived above the place he had sensed earlier.
This was a sizable plain lake. Around the lake, tens of thousands of Death Shadows were wandering aimlessly in a daze. But unlike other places, the temperature in this area was noticeably colder than elsewhere. A cold wind blew, mixed with the moisture from the lake, causing frost to form on the surrounding grass and branches.
And waves of magical fluctuations rose and fell with the cold wind.
Joshua watched the scene below him with interest—around the lake, there were dozens of beings whose auras were far stronger than the other Death Shadows. They were not shadows born after nightfall but the beings the warrior had sensed in the evening.
These powerful Death Shadows and monsters of various shapes and sizes seemed to be negotiating—from their earlier actions, it was clear that these monsters, which did not dissipate under sunlight, possessed intelligence. They were vaguely divided into three factions, confronting and conversing with each other.
"Where are the fragments of the Sacred Stone Seed?"
Among the three factions, the smallest group, composed entirely of humanoid Death Shadows, had a swordsman wearing armor and carrying a sword step forward. He spoke in a hoarse voice, coldly: "Don't think about keeping them for yourself."
This Death Shadow was indeed the first intelligent monster the warrior had encountered. The aura fluctuating around him was genuinely powerful. Visible gray magical energy wandered restlessly around the swordsman Death Shadow's body, grinding nearby grass and branches into powder. No other Death Shadow dared to stand beside him, not even the other humanoid Death Shadows under his command.
"Roar."
Nearby, a pitch-black leopard-shaped beast, seemingly formed from shadows, also let out a low roar. It was the leader of another faction of beast Death Shadows. This intelligent Shadow Leopard had allied with the previous humanoid Death Shadow, jointly pressuring the remaining faction—a group composed entirely of aberrant Death Shadows—apparently also inquiring about the Sacred Stone Seed.
Under the residual power of these two, many of the other dazed Death Shadows near the lake exploded upon impact. The black mist composing their bodies drifted through the air before being absorbed by this group of clearly intelligent Death Shadows.
As for the last faction—composed entirely of various specters—they remained silent, completely ignoring the pressure and threats from the other two powerful Death Shadows.
Unlike the Death Shadows, these specters were completely transparent. Under the moonlight, they looked at first glance like crystal flakes floating in midair. Yet they too possessed intelligence. Their leader, a massive soul-form at least several meters tall, was currently swaying uncertainly, apparently choosing an escape route.
These Death Shadows seemed to have gained, through some accident, the power and intelligence to maintain their form even during the day. But even so, their intelligence was not high. After a long stalemate without receiving any answer, both the humanoid and beast Death Shadows lost patience. Bloodthirsty light flickered in their crimson eyes as they raised their blades and bared their fangs, charging toward the silent specters.
But Joshua had no interest in watching this farce continue. After confirming that none of them had shown hostility toward him, the warrior extended his right hand toward these monsters from high above.
His right palm, seemingly forged from molten steel and appearing indestructible, opened completely. The center of his palm aimed at the Death Shadows and specters already locked in battle. There was no emotion in the warrior's eyes as he simply reached out—then clenched his fist.
And then, vast energy rippled through the atmosphere.
On the ground, the leaders of the three factions engaged in brutal combat all raised their heads in terror at the same instant. They looked toward the sky, where a crimson giant palm descended, carrying an aura that would annihilate everything. It covered an area of several hundred square meters, as if intending to grasp all existence within its palm and crush them in a single grip.
The humanoid Death Shadow had no time for words. He swung his sword toward the sky—
But before he could even complete the motion, the giant palm had already closed.
*Boom!*
A dull, heavy sound echoed. The ground trembled violently. The lake surface churned, sending up waves several meters high. The surrounding Death Shadows, whether dazed or intelligent, were all crushed into black mist by the shockwave.
When the crimson giant palm slowly opened again, the area it had covered was completely flattened. The ground had been compressed several meters deep, forming a perfectly circular crater. Within the crater, not a single Death Shadow or specter remained—only a faint black mist slowly dissipating.
Joshua withdrew his hand, his expression calm.
"Forty-one percent power release, and this is the result."
He muttered to himself, somewhat dissatisfied: "If it were in Mycroft World, this blow would have at least shattered the space within a hundred meters."
Shaking his head, the warrior was about to continue on his way when he suddenly paused.
"Hmm?"
He turned his head, looking toward a distant direction. There, he sensed a gaze filled with malice and fear.
"Interesting."
A slight smile curled at the corner of Joshua's mouth: "So this is the one who was hostile toward me earlier?"
Without hesitation, he transformed into a streak of light and shot toward that direction.
---
In the distance, an amorphous black shadow using some peculiar spell to track the warrior's aura froze in place.
"Peak of Heaven Realm... about to reach the Saint Domain..."
The voice of the Shifting Shadow, Loz, had lost all the venom it had when speaking with Yaren earlier. That had been merely a persona deliberately adopted by this subordinate of the Death Shadow High Commander to complete his mission. In reality, Loz, who excelled at imitating other Death Shadows or humans, was cautious by nature, with a cunning and unpredictable mind. He could not possibly be as arrogant and vicious as he had appeared before.
But now, regardless of Loz's true nature, only endless terror filled his heart: "One palm crushed forty initially awakened high-rank Death Shadows! His energy fluctuations are at the peak of the First Energy Level—if not for a slight stagnation, this guy could immediately break through to the Saint Domain!"
Initially, judging by his commander's tone, Loz had thought this being from another world was at most at the Earth Realm, or perhaps just entering the Heaven Realm. Who would have expected such a terrifying existence? And judging by the fearsome killing intent and resentment (yuàn niàn) that could even dim the heavens, this being was not someone who could be threatened or easily dealt with.
"The plan needs to change."
Without any hesitation, the amorphous shadow completely rejected its previous plan: "I need to report this news to the commander as soon as possible."
"This variable is far greater than anticipated."