Michaux had already led his casters to cast buffs on Guan Dongyang's spell. They couldn't leave everything to the Inferno Hell, since it would be inadequate to fend off the Zergs' attacks. These Zergs were powerful, and not even the forbidden power was capable of wiping them out, much less Guan Dongyang's spells.

After the Mastery casters had finished a group spell, all of them would be too exhausted to carry out any other tasks. Therefore, there would be no point in reserving their power right now.

The fire danced and sputtered on the battlefield, lighting up the moonless night sky. The Zergs seemed to have sensed the danger that was about to come, so they picked up speed as they charged at the human soldiers. The Zergs were much better than the humans in controlling their urge while on the battlefield. However, they were unable to follow their instructions and position while the situation threatened their lives.

What was Mastery? It was the art of balancing the forces of the world. There was no other race save for the humans who could comprehend the meaning behind it.

Guan Dongyang was brimming with powerful emotions as he reflected on how Wang Tong had changed his life completely. He had always been obsessed with the power of mastery, and Wang Tong had given him a key to unlock its secrets.

This was the life that Guan Dongyang always needed. The moment he met Wang Tong, he had made a decision to follow him for the rest of his life, a decision that had been proven to be right.

Lie Xuan loved it when his man took control of things. His focus and domination made him look so irresistibly charming; he was eager to enslave while she was willing to oblige.

Fire sputtered from Guan Dongyang's fingers and became alive. His power had surpassed the legendary level, and he had become the real Fire Lord.

The more Harmon saw, the greater uneasiness grew inside him. Guan Dongyang's power had well exceeded his expectations. To tap into the natural power was easier said than done; however, even from a great distance, Harmon could feel the fire elements in the air frolicking in excitement at the slightest hint of Guan Dongyang's soul energy.

This would never have happened to any ordinary casters.

By then, Guan Dongyang was fully engrossed in the spell; the world had ceased to exist for him, and so had his own self. The talented caster had reached a moment of epiphany about the truth of the world, leading to yet another improvement in his power. Everyone walked on a different path of cultivation: for Wang Tong, it was the soul essence, while Guan Dongyang, he had found his own way in the dancing flame. He was born with a natural affinity with the element: not only his tactics were fire, but her woman also had a knot of fire inside her. Therefore, he realized that in order to improve his power, he needed to become one with the fire.

This would bring him infrequently close to the element, exposing himself to the risk of the element damaging his sea of consciousness. However, Guan Dongyang was the only mastery caster who would not have to worry about it, since he had learned to accept the element rushing into his sea of consciousness. He always believed that the natural forces were sentient, and they also had their feelings and emotions.

For so many years, he never repelled any rogue energy that had leaked into his system; instead, he invited them in and listened to their stories. There and then, the fire answered Guan Dongyang as if he was one of them. He was the first person in human history to have grasped the heart of fire.

Wang Tong and Michaux could feel the glee in the fire element as well. They frolicked and pranced toward Guan Dongyang like children would around their parent.

The sudden increase in Guan Dongyang's power had caught Wang Tong and Michaux off guard as they hurried to make adjustments in their contribution to the spell, letting the former take the lead. If not for the experience and skills of Wang Tong and Michaux, this group mastery would have already fallen apart after Guan Dongyang's power deviated from the original plan.

By then, Guan Dongyang was taking full charge of the spell. After having adjusted his soul energy, Wang Tong channeled in his soul essence as it was a much more flexible medium to carry power. In addition, exposing Guan Dongyang's sea of consciousness would also help to speed up his improvement.

All the other casters followed the leaders and also adjusted their soul energy. The could feel the fire element transforming, transcending into a more powerful form of energy.

A spell that carried a terrifying power was being completed.

Wang Tong chanted the spell as the soul essence flowed slowly into the conglomeration of energy. Immediately, the soul essence boosted the spell power by a few times. However, just the fire damage was not enough; it needed some other elements to spice things up. After all, their enemy boasted powerful defense against mastery spells.

Suddenly, fiery clouds rolled over in the sky as Guan Dongyang summoned a different element. Wang Tong took up the cue and slowly fused clouds with his soul energy until it was seething with energy. The color of the cloud changed from red to dark purple, and then finally became inky black.

The black clouds somehow burned like flames. This form of a hybrid spell had been Wang Tong's plan; however, due to Guan Dongyang's sudden surge in power, he had delayed the release of this element. By then, the amount of energy in this spell had surpassed that of the forbidden power. Plus, it came with a surprising twist.

Wang Tong was lurking behind the dark clouds, looking like a devil all the more so. Harmon's face suddenly paled as he reckoned that it was about to come.

Black fire tumbled out of the inky clouds as if from the scorched lands in hell, the undying conflagration.

The dark fire fell to the ground like a heavy and velvet curtain. It didn't sputter or roar like a normal fire; it simply came and smothered everything.

In half a heartbeat, everything on the ground had changed.

The dark flames turned into a thousand scythes that harvested lives at an unimaginable speed.

The Forbidden Art—Black Scourge.

The METAL warriors quickly formed a GN shield around the casters and blocked the fire. However, even across the GN shield, the soldiers could still feel the immense heat of the silent and otherworldly flame. Meanwhile, on the other side of the shield, the dark fire had cleansed anything that had sinned.

It was a punishment from the god.

One dribble of this dark fire would set anything aflame until the life within was consumed. Its incredible speed of spreading was what set it apart from normal fires.

If not for the elemental void that Wang Tong and planted around where his men were stationed, even the human warriors would have been devoured by the deadly fire.

This was the devil's fire, a milder version of the Dawn Goddess' Absolution, and also the spell that Wang Tong had wanted to unleash. However, Guan Dongyang's sudden enlightenment had changed everything. It had leveled up the power of the spell above that of the forbidden power.

The black fire not only brought death to the Zergs, but also fear. The potency of the power had shaken the Zergs as fear and despair spread in their hearts while the dark flames swallowed more land. Not a single dark one entered the danger to save their own kind. They knew that those who got caught in the fire were hopeless.

Once the power of the mastery was let loose, not even the casters could stop its power from growing and spreading.

Everyone watched in amazement as the fire swallowed a swath of land; they reckoned that they had created a merciless monster. Wang Tong and the other mastery caster's hearts were gripped by one thought: they should never allow this spell to be used against a fellow human. Therefore, this might be the last time they would ever evoke it.

Harmon had a good plan, but by then, it had already turned sour. The dark ones were done for, and it was only a matter of time before the humans took over Mars.

Harmon reckoned that if he were Wang Tong, he would simply kill all of the dark ones in the castle and wouldn't bother killing Moye. What would a dark lord do when there was nothing to lord over?

When the day broke, the dark flame was still burning. It had been at it for three hours, and there were no more Zergs left on the battleground. Only a handful of dark ones were able to escape their doom; the rest had all become fuel for the fire.

It wasn't until the fire finally died down that the warriors started up toward the dark castle. The victory was near, and no one could stop them. The mastery casters had contributed the most to the victory in the last battle, and therefore, the METAL warriors were eager to take center stage in the next battle. The spell had exhausted the casters as they slumped on their rides, trying to take a rest.

The direwolves were in no better state than the casters. The fire had burnt away any food they were hoping to get after the battle. By then, they were plagued by hunger.

When they finally arrived at the dark castle—the source of fear in all humans—Lie Jian shouted and punched at the heavy gate.

"Bang!"

The gate shattered into pieces instantly.

"Charge!"