Ollie sighed wearily as Bob spoke, its eyes diggering even deeper into its head than normal. Although Shadow Talons looked like owls, and were supposed to have large eyes, the countless sleepless days had brought it to the state that even as an Immortal, it was on the verge of exhaustion.

Could it be helped? Bob had said that with eyes so large, it should be able to peer into the grand secrets of the universe even in its sleep. How did that make sense? What did sleeping have to do with the grand secrets of the universe? What did big eyes have to do with seeing these secrets?

But since when did logic matter? Ever since that day, every time he slept, he would dream about a war that consumed the entire universe. What's worse, in those dreams, he even witnessed some secrets that someone of his level should not have been able to see.

Ollie complained to the other crew members, but what could any of them do? Even Jack just looked the other way. This certainly wasn't happening because they had visited a number of focus points to search for the Nexus point, setting up the formation that could tap into the flow of destiny.

Yes, his crew most certainly wasn't being affected by the fact that as Earth Immortals, they were somehow being marinated in the more obscure laws of the universe that even Heaven Immortals could hardly control. That was most certainly not what was happening.

But the endless trouble brought about by Bob aside, their crew had really benefited over the past few months. They had visited countless realms, all of them far from being mature, so the Hazish Major realm was the first major realm they entered. That meant this was the slowest flow of time they'd encountered so far.

It was not without reason that they had already traveled so far and wide while Lex had only done a few things. It was because their flow of time was faster!

As if that was not all, they had more or less shaken off that completely inaccurate and accused title of a pirate crew. Instead, they had registered as mercenaries in a large universe-wide organization, and were able to take on jobs that helped them get paid while they explored the universe.

It was exceptional work. As if that wasn't enough, Jack had developed a new habit. Wherever he went, he made new friends. Specifically, he befriended people who were in trouble - decent people who he genuinely and truly liked - and then helped them out of trouble.

Like that, he had been strengthening his Paladdin cultivation! Lex was taking care of the laws, he was taking care of the Paladdin stuff, and together they were mutually aiding each other in progressing. For example, fairies were able to access any and all energies and laws generally speaking.

Some energies, such as Divine and Profane energy, remained outside their control because those energies required unique circumstances, but Jack shared Lex's unique cultivation technique. That meant even as a Fairy, he could gain access to them.

So, he was thinking of finding a time and cultivating those two energies as a fairy as well. He was really interested in unlocking that unusual power as a fairy and seeing what happens. Jack had a feeling that it would be awesome, and wasn't that what life was all about? Doing awesome things.

"Guys, stop causing a ruckus," Jack said, ignoring the lamenting Ollie and the mumbling Bob. "If we don't get the visa to stay here, we'll have to take a massive detour. So be on your best behavior. This is a Major realm, and not a new one like Artica. Let's not attract any unnecessary attention. Our destiny in this realm is to catch a teleportation formation to our next destination."

As if to specifically prove Jack wrong, there was a massive explosion in the Inter-realm teleportation terminal, destroying the teleportation formations and disabling all security measures.

The strength of the explosion far exceeded the likes of what mere Earth Immortals could resist, which is why, with the locking formation that had sealed the Jolly Rancher in its place disabled, they were launched out of the terminal with strength and speed they could not ordinarily gather.

If the ship hadn't specifically been strengthened and treated by the Humanoid Alliance, it too would have been destroyed.

The force of the explosion immediately assaulted the whole group as well, threatening to outright kill them. Jack, with Lex's vast experience, did not care how or why this was happening - he just responded immediately.

He threw Pebbles over Ollie to protect the Shadow Talon. As for the hamster, Jack doubted he would die.

He also didn't bother protecting Bob or the Boblings - neither of them made sense. Instead, he covered the rest of the crew in his own barriers using his Paladdin energy, while taking control of the ship to fly away as quickly as

possible.

"What the hell is happening?" Monk asked, the hair on top of his head burned off, leaving him bald like a real monk.

"Quack!" exclaimed Goldilocks as it stuck its head outside the barrel it was bathing in. There was still a foam beard around the duck's chin, though that too was quickly turning to gold!

"Don't be ridiculous," said Longbeard. "This is a Major realm. It can't be war. It's most likely an accident or something."

The very next moment, the realm barrier of the Haszish Major realm rippled before solidifying. The owner of the realm had made an open declaration. Someone had attacked their realm in over a million places, and a tide of corrupted wraiths had broken in.

In essence, someone unknown had initiated a war on the realm, and this was their opening salvo. The abruptness of the situation took everyone by surprise - especially considering that this was a Major realm with hundreds of Dao

Lords inhabiting it. Who the hell would be bold enough to attack it?

It seemed... they would have the misfortune of finding out in person.

"Everyone, tend your wounds and prepare yourselves," Jack roared as he grabbed the helm, a grave expression on his face. "A war means dead experts and unclaimed loot! We cannot let this injustice go uncorrected!"