It was at another section of the snowy forest maze.

Although most of the independent realm was covered by an endless sea of trees, there some spots where there was mostly open plains of vast snowy lands.

At one of these spots, there was a group of divinely beautiful white robe women slowly traversing the limited tree snowy plains.

A dignified aura exuded from each one of the angelic-looking women; nobody would be able to take their eyes away if their gazes were lucky enough to land on them.

Of course, out of every Mercenary group in the whole New Branch City, the only squadron that can possibly exude such majestic auras was the Snow Angel group.

For this specific squadron, it was the usual six other Mercenary Squadrons groups had formed.

Though for their Squadron group, they were an extra layer of special compared to the norm.

At the front helm of the group, the always calm Zara was leading them.

During regular times in the whole Snow Angel group, she would just be deemed as an Angel Captain. But for the Mercenary Exchange Event, she was temporarily promoted to head Captain and had absolute control over her group.

But even with a bit of an extra status, Zara carried her usual serene stride and is competently leading her squadron to the various treasures within this realm.

Right beside Zara was another seventh-level Heavenly Transformation cultivator.

She was Captain Kaile, the second in command here. And essentially, she would have to follow any orders Zara gives. But really, Captain Kaile didn't mind being subservient to Zara. She has quite a formidable reputation around their whole group.

Behind them were four sixth-level Heavenly Kings, forming their whole squadron. Given that they had two seventh-level Heavenly Kings on their squadron, this was a decently strong lineup for the Event.

Just a few minutes before, their whole squadron had undergone a peculiar event.

For them, it's been five minutes since that dazzling blue pillar of light had torn through the yellow sky. And from the Snow Angel's squadron position, they all had caught sight of it.

But even if they didn't catch sight of it, they all sensed that unfathomable aura belonging to a mighty titled Grand Sage powerhouse.

Initially, they all wanted to test a bit of their luck and go around to the general area of the blue pillar of light.

Even as they all knew there would be numerous other squadron groups there, Zara had reassured her whole group that they could come out safely.

Captain Kaile and the others weren't quite sure what was making Zara more confident than usual. But it wasn't like they could guess why since Zara didn't explain her assurance in detail and her face remained impassive as ever.

The lack of reasoning was a bit odd for them, but they still had reasonable faith in their head captain.

With a plan in mind, they started to set off to that blue pillar of light, feeling slight eagerness over the potential treasures there.

However, in the midst of tracking that Grand Sage aura, the blue pillar of light had suddenly vanished. It was just so abruptly that it caught every Zara's squadron entirely by surprise.

Without the means to track that Grand Sage aura, Zara's squadron, and numerous other Mercenary squadron groups had no other options but to look for another treasure.

Luckily for them, Zara had picked up on another decent treasure, and they were now making their way over it.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for them. Zara and her squadron had experienced the boosted powerful Spirit Monsters this independent realm had suddenly gained.

It certainly slowed their speed down but wasn't enough to cause a huge damper in their group.

They had already traversed a mile to the next treasure, and the several berserk crazy Spirit Monsters they encountered were all swiftly dealt with. Because of their efficient teamwork and various powerful items, they managed to pull through relatively unharmed.

What also helped was the Spirit Monster's base cultivation realms not being too terribly high, so their berserk powers weren't that much.

Everything all seemed good and well for Zara's squadron.

Soon, they all thought they were finally about to come up with something worthy of their troubles. But right then, after traversing several feet from the one-mile mark, Zara abruptly stopped walking.

Without any warning, or rhyme, or reason, Zara stood utterly motionless.

Captain Kaile and the other members nearly tripped over at how sudden that was. Their eyes locked on Zara while all of their Spirit Senses expanded even further than before.

Captain Kaile and the other members all instantly dawned on serious expressions, expecting another fight.

But, after a couple of seconds of inspecting around the area, Captain Kaile and the other member's expressions morphed into slight confusion.

No matter where they searched, none of them sensed any Spirit Monster or even any hostile intentions towards them. It made them confused as to why Zara would so rigidly stop if there's no danger.

The only thing peculiar they all felt was a strange, chilling air slowly gathering around them.

Captain Kaile and the other members didn't pay much attention to the strange, chilling air and just wrote it off as the environment changed.

And since Zara still wasn't talking, Captain Kaile had to ask her, "Captain Zara? Is something the matter? Perhaps you sensed something we couldn't?"

Even after getting directly called out, Zara didn't respond.

She was like an empty stature that was utterly oblivious to the outside world. On her face, her expression was entirely blank so were her eyes. She was wholly unreadable and a bit creepy at this point.

Right then, Captain Kaile and the other members felt some slight dread enter their bodies. They know more than anybody else that Zara would never do something to intentionally mess with them.

She simply wasn't that kind of person. And at the same time, she would always give out reports to the slightest bit of danger so they all could be at attention.

However, now, it was like Zara suddenly became a different person.

Though Zara didn't respond the first time, Captain Kaile had no choice but to try again. She began reaching her hand over to Zara's shoulder while saying,

"Captain Zara? Are you..."

Captain Kaile's hand hovered right above her shoulder.

And right as she was about to touch her, Captain Kaile went entirely rigid. At the same time, the other members behind her froze up as well.

Inside of their bodies, they felt their gut instincts roar at them to back the hell up from Zara! And simultaneously, Captain Kaile and the other members jumped over twenty feet backward.

But right then, as they soared through the air, Captain Kaile and the other members' pupils shrunk to pebble sizes. All of their bodies were forcefully crushed to the ground as immense dread began to wrack their nerves.

Captain Kaile and the other members all struggled to stay on their feet while feeling almost entirely suffocated.

Completely out of nowhere, Zara's aura had explosively increased! It wildly spread throughout the whole area without care for anyone's safety.

This sudden increase in power from Zara made Captain Kaile and the other members feel a surge of fear.

Whenever Zara fights, her aura is naturally the most powerful among them. But this explosive increase in power trump's whatever aura she gathered before!

Captain Kaile and the other members felt a legitimate sense of death permeating the air around them.

And it all was coming from Zara.

Captain Kaile and the other members were too shaken to even move at that moment. As they were frozen in fear, Zara had suddenly begun to move again.

"Nn...nng!!"

Painful groans leaked from Zara's mouth as she began violently clutching her head in seeming pain. Her fingernails dug deep into her scalp, drawing a bit of blood from her head.

While she was going through this sudden, painful state, her aura only turned increasingly chaotic.

The other snow angels members were absolutely bewildered at this moment. For as long they know Zara, they barely see their calm Captain overreact to anything.

Even when she deals with people who annoy her or she plain out dislike, Zara's calm facade never fades.

But now, all the other squadron members could do was watch in shock as their Captain was undergoing immense stress. If they were to try to help, they all know they will only get flung away from Zara's chaotic aura.

While she was enduring this searing pain, Zara's eyes suddenly gained an intense Darkness glow. She began gritting her teeth as she forced herself to say,

"I...I-I am no...Servant!!"

'Chi!'

Right then, a pure sea of Darkness burst from Zara's eyes! Her aura turned even more turbulent, causing a mass wide of destruction around her.

Snow began to swirl in a violent storm, enormous cracks started to tear through the ground, and the air currents became incredibly heavy.

"Fall back!!"

Captain Kaile immediately order as gathered a massive sum of her Heavenly Qi. At the same time, she and the other members all exploded with their own Heavenly aura and flashed over fifty feet backward.

Zara's power was still only at the seventh level of the Heavenly Transformation realm. But its chaotic nature was causing tremendous pressure on Captain Kaile and the other members.

If they were to stay rooted in their previous spots, they all were sure they would've actually stuffed some injuries.

Captain Kaile noted she would've been able to come out with menial injuries. But she did sense the other members would suffer something potentially critical or, at worse, fatal.

This chaotic explosion of power of Zara, while mind-boggling, didn't last long at all.

After only a couple of seconds, her chaotic aura vanished, returning back to her standard power in a snap.

Inside Zara's eyes, the sea of Darkness glow vanished as well.

When everything had settled down, Zara was left standing still, her back remaining turned to Captain Kaile and the other members.

Seeing everything is seemingly back to normal, Captain Kaile narrowed her eyes a bit. No matter how strange that moment was, Zara was still the leader of their squadron.

So even if she was still fearing, it was up to Captain Kaile to see if she was ok.