Chapter 195: Conclusion and Escape
Deep within the seas a distance away, a giant essence beast suddenly opened its eyes with a dangerous glint. It swiftly charged towards a certain direction as it headed towards the sea's surface. It emitted a powerful aura on par with a Golden Lord as it swam at an incredible speed, as if receiving a summons.
…
Flying at an extreme speed in a certain direction, a flying, partially mangled beast traveled the skies with a horrifying killing intent, its aura near the peak of an Early Stage Mortal Lord. Its eyes glinted with a terrifying bloody light as it unleashed bombardments of attacks upon any creature that got in its way. Not long afterward, the beast reached a giant island.
A fierce expression appeared in its gaze as it lingered in the air momentarily before charging over the giant island with terrifying momentum. Its appearance swiftly drew eyes toward the many inhabitants on the island and soon among the seas.
This creature was none other than the Winged Serpent Demonic Beast that Elton and the others had encountered on numerous occasions. Its appearance here only had one meaning, and disaster was certainly on the horizon…
…
On the main battlefield, the towering aura of the Winged Serpent Demonic Beast drew the attention of all of the experts present as they felt a sense of dread.
"What's going on?! Why has a demonic beast of this level suddenly showed itself here?!" shouted an expert.
Similar sentiments spread among the tens of thousands to nearly a hundred thousand warriors gathered there. The eight Mortal Lord experts of the four nations wore grim expressions as they suddenly sensed heavy bombardments throughout the island before vaguely seeing the silhouette of the Winged Serpent in the distance heading in their direction.
"We have to dispose of that thing!" angrily shouted the Red Flounder Race King.
The other experts all nodded in agreement for a possible temporary truce as they swiftly made their way toward the incoming Winged Serpent.
…
– Eternal Dawn Sealing Strike –
Schiiilllng!
Unlike how he had usually contained the skill within the tree branch in the shape of his Blue Heavenly Star Destroyer, Elton let his power run wild, causing the strike to more closely resemble the original 8th Bright Brilliance Sword Slash.
The reason was simple. The 3rd Imperial Minister had recovered too quickly and had already put up a bit of a defense. Not to mention, Elton sensed a threat of a similar level approaching—thanks to Shayleaf, who spoke to him through his tree branches.
A blinding light erupted as the 3rd Imperial Minister attempted to defend himself. An explosive sound emerged, causing the waters below to ripple and boil heavily as a giant tidal wave rose and the skies crackled. Before long, the entire area for a long stretch was covered in a dense mist, and the waters below became murky.
Elton had not only used the branch in his hand but six other branches to explode with combined power to unleash the devastating attack. Even so, he still felt deep down that somehow the Imperial Minister had managed to somewhat defend himself, though his injuries might be heavy.
"All forces, prepare for a swift retreat! I repeat, prepare for a swift retreat!"
Suddenly Obianuju released a magic flare as she loudly spoke, calling for those under her command to retreat according to Christy's plans.
It was at this moment that a powerful Mortal Lord aura erupted with an army in tow, although it was obvious they had suffered earlier. Due to the mist, no one could completely see each other, but they could feel each other's presence.
"What's going on here?!" a mighty voice erupted with fury as he sensed the lingering essence of powerful experts all throughout the air, including the 3rd Imperial Minister's.
This person was none other than the Mortal Lord of the Aethalgard who had come to reorganize the forces near the main battlefield after not seeing any signs of the 3rd Imperial Minister. With a wave of his hand, he began to push as much of the mist away as he could—and what he saw caused him to be shocked. So many dead from the Aethalgard Kingdom in this spot alone. He swiftly became furious as a bitter expression appeared on his face.
He leaped down from his large flying sea beast and moved to a specific spot in the sea where he found a terribly injured 3rd Imperial Minister struggling to regain himself while floating in the water.
"You… how could this be?! Who could've done this to you?!" the Fishman said with a shocked expression.
"Kuh… t-there..! We… We…" The 3rd Imperial Minister did his best to give the details of what happened to the Mortal Lord before him.
…
Back on the tree island, Elton had already secretly returned with a grim expression and terrible-looking injuries. The battle here was great, but things would not end so soon—especially with the newcomer.
"Have all preparations been made already?" Elton asked as he looked around in concern.
"Yes, Gege. Obianuju has even called the contracted beast she spoke about, and it arrived just in time," Christy said with a serious expression, squinting her eyes in pain. The strain of her constant usage of the Kokon Tengan was clearly affecting her.
"And this tree island?" Elton turned to Shayleaf.
"It's already set, Brother Elly! In fact, I think we have more troublesome people that will be showing themselves soon. It's a premonition…" Shayleaf said with glee before her expression suddenly dimmed into seriousness.
"It seems that our so-called allies will now become our traitorous enemies after taking down that Mortal Lord. They've already begun moving and distancing themselves as they converge with the other two factions. Those Fishmen are truly difficult to understand…" Christy said with sarcasm as she shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. I made sure that their leader was somewhat caught up within the explosive force of my attack to temporarily weaken him," Elton said as he narrowed his eyes.
"We are all set and ready for takeoff," Obianuju said as she came running toward Elton and the others.
"Good, then let us—"
It was at this moment, before Elton could finish his statement, that the Aethalgard Mortal Lord unleashed his crushing aura as he swiftly began to sweep away the mist from the area, making preparations for a powerful attack.
"Tch, how troublesome… You all go first!" Elton barked orders before grabbing hold of his Blue Heavenly Star Destroyer.
Christy and the others forced down the urge to protest as they jumped on Elchris' back. Obianuju leaped onto the giant sea beast with the Umankans she planned to take with her on her journey, while the others—unaware of her plans—jumped onto another sea beast. The escape quickly commenced.
It was also just in that moment that powerful, widespread explosions and attacks far greater than anything seen thus far erupted as nine Mortal Lords and nearly hundreds of thousands of troops came rushing forward. Without hesitation, they attacked the Aethalgards just as a pretense.
"You bastards actually dare!" The Mortal Lord of the Aethalgard grew furious upon seeing such audacity as he directed his rage upon the four nations.
The 3rd Imperial Minister, as if catching a second wind even in his terribly injured state, also erupted with power as he attacked the intruders.
The servants captured by Elton and the others had already begun to flee long ago, even a bit before Obianuju's group did. Elton looked in horror toward the skies at the many experts, but most of all, what terrified him the most was that cursed Winged Serpent Demonic Beast. He just could not understand why that mangled thing was still alive—and even more powerful.
He utilized his Nature Magic to control the island and the four beasts steering it, making it swiftly float to a certain spot in the seas. Afterwards, he sat down in meditation, swiftly injecting high amounts of his energy throughout the island silently. He devoured thirty lower-grade essence stones, three Gold Tier demonic beast cores, and two Gold Tier essence beasts in a dangerous manner to circulate terrifying amounts of power into the island at an extreme pace.
The battle was treacherous, and there were even many experts attacking the tree island, which was swiftly collapsing with even the barrier barely holding on.
The Winged Serpent swatted away three Mortal Lord experts with sharp winds before looking down at the tree island with a sharp glint in its eyes. It suddenly roared with fury as a fierce beam of light shot from its mouth, smashing apart the barrier and drilling a gaping hole into the nearly collapsing island. Five Mortal Lord experts took that opportunity to launch deadly attacks on the Winged Serpent, causing it to roar furiously amid its bloody injuries. Two Mortal Lords descended toward the island with intrigued expressions and killing intent.
In seconds they spotted Elton, who had already gotten up and leaped atop his Blue Heavenly Star Destroyer.
"You can just stay where you are, kid. Something about you makes me feel as though you are too dangerous to let live," said one of the Mortal Lords, an expert from the Red Flounder Kingdom.
"I hate you, but I agree!" said an expert from the Serpent Shark Kingdom.
An Umankan Mortal Lord suddenly appeared on the island with a grim expression as he looked at Elton. "Enough of your chatting! We have to dispose of this guy and then deal with that damned serpent!"
Elton looked at them all before shaking his head and weaving a hand seal. Suddenly, the island erupted with heavy power, and before the Mortal Lord experts could react, they were bound by many vines and tree roots that sprouted from the ground.
"As if this would stop us!" they each sneered as they began trying to rip through. They could sense that some of their energy was being absorbed, but it didn't matter.
"Well then, you guys, I will now bid you farewell. If you are able to survive, then maybe we will meet again."
Elton looked at the Umankan Mortal Lord with a disappointed expression before disappearing on his Blue Heavenly Star Destroyer into the horizon at a shocking speed that left them in disbelief.
They suddenly felt their hearts jump a bit before dismissing his words and swiftly trying their best to break through the roots and vines. All of the experts at the Mortal Lord level, the Golden Lord level, and the God Tier 4s were watching this scene to some degree and were stunned momentarily before their armies moved about with plans of chasing him down.
It was at this moment that a large thunderous rumbling sound erupted. The air became extremely thick, the waters violent, and a strange pressure emerged.
The three Mortal Lord experts finally managed to break out of their imprisonment, but it was at this moment that they realized the source of the strange rumbling sound. The island was filled with inscriptions, and it swiftly began to glow with a fierce burning light, much to many people's horror.
The Winged Serpent, who had caught sight of Elton earlier, roared furiously, but it was too entangled by those Mortal Lord experts to chase him. It suddenly looked at the glowing tree island, and a barely readable dread filled its eyes before it made an attempt to escape.
"Shit, what is this?! Everyone retreat as far away as possible!" shouted the Red Flounder King with a paling expression.
Not long after, a catastrophic explosion erupted, swallowing everything in a near one-hundred-mile radius. It was a huge disaster.
…
One day later, news spread that a huge massacre had happened within the Daemonorcs' capital city, where a massive rebellion of former prisoners had aided in the carnage. The Daemonorc King, in a fit of rage, threw all caution into the wind after finding out one of the Mortal Lords of their race had died and another was severely injured. By chance or not, it was hard to say, but the very Umankan Mortal Lord who had attempted to attack Elton died at the King's hands after being caught off guard in his severely injured state.
The Aethalgard moved in full force to attack both the Red Flounder Nation and the Serpent Shark Nation, with reinforcements from places much further out of the region. It was a huge calamity for both, since many of their experts were severely injured or killed in the midst of the great explosion.
Still, the Aethalgard lost two Mortal Lord experts—one of them being the 3rd Imperial Minister. The other died in a mutual destruction battle between a severely injured Mortal Lord from the Serpent Shark Kingdom who attacked Elton on the island.
The Red Flounder Kingdom was in complete shambles, with initially only one Mortal Lord expert remaining taking the position as their King. The other expert who had attacked Elton had also died. A living ancestor reappeared with a Middle Stage Mortal Lord cultivation, effectively making them the most terrifying existence in the region at that moment.
And yet, more terrifying than all was that the Winged Serpent actually survived. Three days after the explosion, and for the next two days, it ripped through the Aethalgard Ducal, the Umankan Nation, the Daemonorc Kingdom, and the Serpent Shark Kingdom before finally being crushed by their combined strength, sending it fleeing at death's door.
The Umankan Governor and the other Umankan Mortal Lord expert took that opportunity to kill the Daemonorc King in a sneak attack. The power balance in the entire region completely shifted.
Word also quickly spread in many surrounding regions, and the hunt for Elton and his companions became an extremely serious matter. Unfortunately, that time would never come, since the powers were too focused on their inner turmoil—and Elton and the others had escaped too far a distance.