It wasn't like he had a grudge on her or anything. Instead, he simply didn't wish to get involved in the continental war. After all, the lady that had called for his help was a princess of the Zamuria Empire.
So, the moment he helped her, he would be making an enemy of the Guria Empire. With that in mind, that was just an unnecessary headache for the current him that was worrying about being able to find an infant continent.
That was why he hadn't attacked anyone all this time, only retaliating when they came at him with the intention to kill. On top of that, to avoid killing people unnecessarily, he showed his power first, making people hesitant to attack him.
His goal was to safely reach the Guria Continent and then head beyond. With that, he didn't wish to become involved in anything that might cause him difficulties later.
Unfortunately for him, reality proved different.
"So, you're not part of the Zamuria Empire" the lady said, frowning. "To think there was still someone living on my continent that isn't part of my empire yet."
Krune immediately noticed a subtle change in the stares of all the cultivators that were part of the Zamuria Empire. They stared at him with wariness, looking like they might plot against him to prevent him from obtaining any treasures.
"I have no intention to fight, to be honest," Krune said, continuing to walk when suddenly, something slammed into him, causing him to stop as he looked at the object.
It was a sword, having been sent at him with the intention of killing him. After all, it had targeted his forehead. Krune stared at the attacker, noticing that it was a middle-aged lady that was part of the Guria Continent.
She was part of the reinforcement, having taken action the moment she arrived, dealing the final blow to the lady that had asked for his help earlier.
She unleashed her Land Incarnation, beginning to shred apart the Land Incarnation that had been placed in the area before. She then pointed at Krune casually, causing the sword that had attacked him to explode. "You're next."
It seemed the sword contained a lot of power, judging by how strong the explosion was, causing even Krune to be surprised as he sighed. 'I shouldn't become too arrogant. Users of Spiritual Incarnation are strong as well.'
The middle-aged lady snorted, frowning as she watched the smoke vanish, looking at Krune's pristine appearance when something similar to glass shattered all over his body. "That's an impressive defensive ability you have there."
"Let's see how many times you can rely on that." As she said that, her Land Incarnation completely manifested in the area, allowing her to wield her power wholly, immediately beginning to condense numerous swords around her.
Butjust as she was about to attack him, her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed numerous danger signals being transmitted from her Divine Sense, causing her to hurriedly condense more than one hundred swords before her to act as her defense.
Bam!
It was unknown as to what had happened, but an ear-piercing sound resounded through the place, for a moment causing everyone in the core region to stop fighting as they gazed at the source of the sound in alarm.
Slowly, like a rising tide, the sounds of the ocean waves increased in rhythm as intense winds billowed at the place. As for the hundred swords that had defended against Krune's fist, they had shattered into fragments.
The middle-aged lady was shocked at Krune's strength, instantly making her body turn into metal, punching at Krune's face, noticing her fist penetrate him easily.
However, upon sensing no resistance, she noticed that what she had punched was just a film of water that resembled him, possibly due to her Divine Sense registering his afterimage as his real body.
When she came to her senses, Krune was standing at the edge of her Land Incarnation, intending to proceed deeper but noticed that a formless force was restraining him, preventing him from setting another foot forward.
"Haha! Are you an idiot? The only way to move forward is to defeat us one after another. You can't enter enemy territory due to the Sub-Realm's rules that have been imposed upon here." The middle-aged lady quickly regained her composure, taking action immediately.
Countless swords jutted out of the ground to impale upon Krune, being blocked by a transparent film that had formed on him.
He had condensed a layer of ice on his body to protect himself. And using Moving Ripple, he was able to control it freely to cover his body while he was on the move.
The moment he became stuck at the place due to the imposed restriction, a man standing at the back of the Guria Empire's region, having watched Krune's actions all along, took action, teleporting before Krune as he condensed a jet-black blade in his hand.
It resembled a knife with a thin blade, but the amount of Godly Energy circulating within it was tremendous. Moreover, it seemed to be as if the man had condensed the entirety of his Land Incarnation into this knife, plunging it into Krune's eyes.
It easily shattered through the layer of ice on his face, piercing through his ice before getting lodged halfway deep. The man was a bit surprised at how dense Krune's body was, but he didn't bother with that, grinning as he lodged the knife deeper and deeper into Krune's head, saying, "WE meet again, bastard."
"You?" Krune noticed that the man before him looked familiar. Soon, he remembered that the man was one of those from the Guria Empire that had fought against him and Cultivator (The name Zamura went by back then) in the Four Sectors' Border Plains and tasted defeat. "Wasn't your Spiritual Incarnation related to blood and essence, Hrook?"
"Dead men shouldn't care about that," the man addressed as Hrook said in anger. "You have come a long way in your body cultivation. It was vexing to see your traces everywhere."
"Well" Krune used his hand to grab hold of the knife, slowly pulling it out as the laws forming his Spiritual Incarnation clashed with the laws forming the knife. And the moment he pulled it out, Krune's casual demeanor vanished entirely.
Replacing it was now an enigma of viciousness as Krune's voice turned a bit hoarse. "Do you seriously believe I would just stand still for you to kill me?"