I.. Am God?

"I'm being like this to help!" Matthias rebutted, "We need to be rational to win this kind of battle, General!" He reprimanded and emphasized the 'General'.

"What do you mean by emphasizing that?!" General Tarsus uttered angrily.

"You are a General, General Tarsus! You should know that irrationality begets demise! As a general, you should know that!"

Princess Raya audibly sniffed, "Han Jianyu is right. We need to be rational." She then faced him, "I'm sorry Han Jianyu. We just needed to grieve." She sniffled.

Hearing her sadness, Matthias visibly softened, but still remained stout, "Still, grieve once we're out of this situation." He advised.

They nodded and sneakily left the premises of the city. They then went far, where there were visibly no settlements that could be seen. The others set camp with the soldiers while Matthias, General Tarsus and Tuwa, and Princess Raya gathered. "We need a map." Matthias requested. General Tarsus then conjured one.

Matthias scanned every part of it, "Based with the direction and length of our travel, I estimate that we're here." He pointed at a part of the map. "Under the old Hayle's jurisdiction–"

"Old?!" Hearing how Matthias phrased it, General Tuwa flared at him. "But that is the current situation, right?" Matthias countered, which made her silent. "Continue." Princess Raya said.

"Ehem." He cleared his throat, "Under the old Hayle's jurisdiction, there were 17 cities under their rule. With the capital and Hayle taken, that means the other cities also have potential to be taken by the rebels. We need to look at every city. I'll take care of the reconnaissance." He explained.

"The escapees from the two cities are also being tracked down. We need to gather them fast." He added. "We would face a potentially huge enemy possessing control over at least two cities. We would need every help that we can get."

"We need to seek help from the other races!" Princess Raya voiced out. "Very unlikely. We can't depend on that." Matthias shook his head and answered.

"Why?" She asked nervously. "We aren't certain that they aren't also facing the same thing. If I'm right, then there's a possibility or even a certainty that they wouldn't help us." He replied.

They groaned with grief. Looking at them, Matthias sighed. He imagined being in the same situation as them and thought that their reactions would just be the same.

"Then, we need to maximize our efforts." Princess Raya said. "The soldiers need to be trained just like how Royal Guards are trained." She then turned to General Tarsus, "How many soldiers do we currently have?"

"We have 500 soldiers in the old camp, then there's us, so we have 528 men." He answered.

"We need to go back to that camp." Matthias said. "That's a certainty." Tarsus nodded.

"Let's just spend the night here. We'll need energy for tomorrow's journey." Matthias said and the others nodded.

They separated and did what needed to be done. General Tarsus and Tuwa arranged the fighters, Princess Raya comforted and led the other Spirits, while Matthias trained with his skills and swordsmanship.

Inside his mind, Old Man Sanyi was instructing him, "I know that you don't really focus on swordsmanship, but to protect yourself, you need to learn as much weaponry as possible. Focus on any weaponry as much as you would focus on halberds."

"I know that you comprehended Sword Dao, but your Sword Dao is too shallow. Someone inside your galaxy has a deeper comprehension of Sword Dao than yours, and he has already destroyed countless geniuses." Old Man Sanyi added.

"How did you know?" Matthias asked curiously. "We know almost everything. Every change in fate would be known by us. You live in the past, we live in the future." Old Man Sanyi replied with extreme profundity.

"Anyways," Old Man Sanyi changed the topic and continued with his lecture earlier, "The way of the sword is boundless, just like any other weapon. You don't just hack and slash, you feel the nature, the miniscule changes, the absolutes, the order, and the path."

"The teachings of mortal swordsmen that teaches '1000 slashes in every direction every day for decades' don't even make the cut." Old Man Sanyi declared arrogantly. "Even if you hack and slash hundreds of thousands of times, if you do not understand or have any meaning for that move, then all of it is useless effort. In the Other Universes, Heaven and Earth will always be linked with each other one way or another, the same as them being deeply linked to the sword. That is also the law of This Universe, but it is still too shallow because.."

Matthias waited for the continuation but it didn't arrive, "Because?"

"..."

"Lord Fate's understanding of Heaven and Earth is still too shallow. I'm sorry!" It was as if Old Man Sanyi rapped when he said the first sentence, and apologized to someone that Matthias didn't know.

"Anyways.." Old Man Sanyi's voice returned to his normal teaching voice, "In some occasions, a true swordmaster's slash can reach hundreds of millions of li, stretching as far as the sky, rending the heavens and splitting the earth."

Matthias imagined it and gasped with wonder. Old Man Sanyi didn't stop there and continued, "Sometimes, their Sword Aura itself could sunder the realms and splinter the walls of the universe. I have heard of someone from my kind activating his Sword Aura and destroying the Universal Wall, crossing over to the other Universe. For now, he hasn't come back yet."

"Your kind is really powerful, huh? I guess that the Hell Emperor is powerful too?" Matthias gawked and wondered. Old Man Sanyi was filled with pride and replied, "Hah. What you're thinking will never be close to the common power and authority of our kind. But fret not, someday, you will be a part of us too."

"I really wish to." Matthias chuckled. "So, finish your training. With your capability, your peak power would be even stronger once you become a part of us." Old Man Sanyi reprimanded and he nodded.

"Remember, Heaven, Earth, and the laws must always be with you once you rend, pierce, and pummel. Feel the laws of any world you're in and correspond with it. Doing so, the force of your attacks will force anyone to crumble and bow before you." Old Man Sanyi instructed.

Following his teacher's instructions, Matthias tried to feel the laws of this realm, but for naught. "Damn, that's hard."

"Close your eyes, Matthias. You aren't a master of laws to just randomly try to feel it. You depended on your godcraft and authority too much, that's why you're experiencing that." Old Man Sanyi reprimanded.

"Sigh." Matthias nodded and closed his eyes. He breathed in and out deeply, sensing the laws of the realm. Feeling that what he was doing was insufficient, Matthias moved with the sword.

He slashed, dashed, jumped, slid, pierced, rend, smashed, all sorts of moves and attacks in all sorts of directions. With the sword, his body moved. With the sword, his feet lunged. With the sword, his soul became one with nature.

Slowly, his body, soul, sword and nature merged into one, tackling the boundaries of laws and slowly applying it to himself. It was like his sword as the butter knife, the laws as the butter, and his body and soul as the bread. The sword scrapes the meanings of the laws and applies it to himself slash after slash.

His sword became an extension of his arm. He transferred the sword from one hand to the other just as smooth as butter and still moved with grace and power at the same time. His moves became art, a dance. Even though he was just practicing, it felt and looked as if he was performing a Sword Dance.

He did it for hours on hours. When Princess Raya saw him, she gasped with horror. "T-That.." She stuttered.

In her sight, Matthias was brimming with power, laws, sword auras, and harmony. Every stroke that looked gentle severed wind and space itself.

This time, General Tarsus and Tuwa also saw Matthias. Just like their Princess, they gawked with horror on their faces.

"This is the first time I'm seeing this kind of law comprehension." General Tarsus uttered with a deep voice.

General Tuwa nodded, "He's crazy. Although I know this doesn't go against the rules of law comprehension, I still feel that this is illegal and we would be smitten by the Lightning of Law." She gulped.

"I think this really is the first time someone ever attempted and succeeded in this way of comprehension." Princess Raya said with solemnity. "His talent is immense. I'll train him."

"Princess?!" General Tuwa shrieked with fright.

"Princess, that is too much!" General Tarsus paled. "I have decided, General Tarsus, Sister Tuwa." She replied with full resolution.

"You know one of the abilities of us Royal Spirits." She explained, "I feel peace within him. He would help us, and we desperately need his help." She then turned to look at the practicing Matthias, "Although he is currently covered with laws, I know that the law inside him is still too barbarically absorbed, which in turn would do harm in the far future. Knowing that he's from the Surface, it would be harmful for him to have that kind of barbaric laws just pent up inside him."