The two men were casually sitting atop the corpse of the Ro'trah's queen.

While the merciless swarm had eaten the corpses of the fallen Generals, they had left the corpse of their own queen intact.

Ironically, the creatures capable of devouring everything in sight wouldn't touch their own kin, even when on the verge of starvation.

It was certainly weird, considering that the other alien races didn't have much problem with eating their brethren.

"The scary cats left their shelter!" Richard exclaimed, proud that he had been able to withstand the onslaught of the hive until the very end.

"Were you two out the entire time?" Claire mumbled in amazement, seeing how badly they were injured.

"Pretty much." Michael shrugged before elaborating.

"With the queen dead, the hive is left directionless. The smaller creatures are mindless on their own, often running wild and feeding without purpose. As long as you stay calm when they start attacking, they'll lose interest and move on."

Richard laughed out loud. He was immensely proud of his scars. And after today their number had increased exponentially.

"...But why would you do this?" Enzo muttered, puzzled by the choices of his rival.

Wordlessly, Michael pointed below him, where the lifeless body of the queen stained the ground.

Naturally, since the swarm had left the queen's corpse intact, the spiritual energy the body once contained was now freely dispersing into the air.

Victoria's eyes narrowed in realization. She could guess that, after confirming there were no more soldiers to rescue, the two madmen had turned their attention to the queen's corpse, intent on absorbing its power.

Given the potent energy the queen was releasing, it would gradually heal their bodies, undoing the damage they'd suffered from the swarm.

In a sense, it was a never-ending cycle.

The swarm would slowly eat them, while the cultivating would heal them.

Usually, Michael wouldn't risk taking anyone with him on such a dangerous endeavor. After all, if the person were to panic, they would die. The same would happen if they failed to focus on cultivation. They would eventually succumb to their wounds.

In the end, they had managed to endure. While the unit spent hours taking shelter, Michael and Richard focused on absorbing the spiritual energy from the queen's corpse, drawing from its potency before it began to fade, and bringing them closer to their next realm.

The energy was weaker than an Overlord, but since the queen was much stronger than the average General, it was more than worth it.

Michael was one step away from entering the Master realm.

Exhausted, the soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Everybody had suffered serious wounds, and they would have liked to make use of the corpse and cultivate.

However, they felt reluctant. Michael's timely intervention had been the only reason they survived the alien ambush. Not to mention, he had stayed outside all this time, absorbing the spiritual energy.

"It's fine."

Noting their hesitation, Michael waved his hand dismissively.

"I am not a person that hogs the power over others' heads once I attain it. You all deserve this, so cultivate freely."

"..."

For a moment, the soldiers were taken aback by Michael's selflessness. It was a rare sight in a world constantly at war with aliens, where humans often did whatever they could to deceive and outsmart each other.

"Thank you for the opportunity!" They saluted in unison, getting into a meditating position.

Even the Grandmasters were inspired by Michael's actions as they too closed their eyes.

In a bizarre turn of events, the city that had been ravaged with constant buzzing just a few hours ago turned quiet as the soldiers focused everything they had on recovering their bodies.

Even if the corpses of the Etrox Generals were eaten, they too had leaked a part of their spiritual energy in the air, aiding the humans in their journey.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye. The first to open their eyes were the Grandmasters. Though still far from their peak condition, their wounds had all healed.

Soon the rest of the troops followed suit. Very few had managed to achieve a breakthrough. Due to their wounded state, most of the energy had gone towards mending their wounds rather than ascending their realm.

"Shit! Still a Peak Master!" Richard cried out loud. He had hoped this would have been enough to attain the status of a Grandmaster, yet he found himself short of enlightenment.

Victoria and Claire felt the same way. They could tell that the energy residing in their bodies was more than enough. What they lacked was inspiration to achieve enlightenment.

"Hehehe~" Contrarily to the others, Ava had a large grin.

She had achieved a breakthrough once again! She was now officially a Peak Expert!

"Daredevil doesn't cease to amaze me…" Leo sighed in dejection, still being stuck at the Middle Expert stage.

"Drop the nickname!" The petite woman ordered, kicking the man behind the shin. Since she didn't spare strength, Leo dropped to the ground. Instantly he began to hurl curses at Ava.

"Heck yea!" Enzo pumped his fist in the air, proud of achieving the Late Expert status.

"Stop overreacting." Amelia sighed. She too had reached the Late Expert realm. In her eyes it wasn't that significant of an achievement.

"Thank gods, I haven't." Bryce exclaimed joyfully as he stroked his overgrown beard. It was common knowledge that the higher the realm of an individual, the longer they would live.

"I've lived more than enough. The only thing I want now is for my Sunshine to find someone to be with. After that, I can pass on peacefully, with no regrets."

Claire frowned. "There you go speaking such nonsense again!"

Gradually the atmosphere began to liven up, with no soldiers succumbing to their lethal wounds.

Amongst them, one singular person remained silent, diligently absorbing the last traces of spiritual energy in the air.

"...Boss?" Richard asked, sensing that something had suddenly shifted in Michael.

"..."

Michael took a deep breath as he opened his eyes, meeting Richard's gaze.

Instantly the temperature dropped. Even the Grandmasters noticed the abrupt change.

"How do you feel?" Richard questioned.

Before replying, Michael glanced at the notification that had popped in front of his eyes.

[You have achieved enlightenment!]

[Peak Expert → Early Master]

Clenching his palm into a fist, he answered emotionlessly.

"Like, killing a Lord is now within the realm of possibility."

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