518-531

Chapter 518 - Bad Omen At Dawn

"T-This…" The commander began breaking into cold sweats. He wanted to continue convincing Lilith otherwise.

However, Lilith stated willfully, "I'm going."

"Haiz… As you wish, Miss Lilith," The commander quickly gave up after seeing how resolute Lilith had made her mind.

"The advance group will be leaving would our transport arrives while the second group will be departing by foot in two hours. Please be present when our transport arrives, Miss Lilith. Otherwise, we will be leaving without you." The commander informed of the army's departing schedule.

Lilith quickly nodded gratefully, "Thank you, commander."

Shortly after Lilith left to pack her belongings, the commander rubbed his forehead with distress. He could imagine the angry scholars once Miss Lilith leaves the World Tree's region.

"I won't be around anyway, so I would have to deal with their complaints. I hope they don't blame me and rely on their noble backgrounds to make life difficult for me, though…" The commander mumbled.

…

Meanwhile, at a particular location by the foot of the World Tree, a beautiful young lady in a blue dress could be seen sitting quietly in meditative cultivation.

The surrounding air was cold with frigid energy, while the surface of the ground was frosted in a thin layer of ice.

No one dared to approach the area due to the terrifyingly low temperature, nor did they dare interrupt the person's cultivation session either way.

A tight wrinkle could be seen on Lynne's face while she was in deep concentration.

Within her sea of consciousness, she was trying to fuse her Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation together.

However, the Ice seed revolving around her soul core refused to bulge from its orbital position, while the Revolving Core in her energy center cannot be moved into her sea of consciousness.

"I have achieved the Revolving Core Realm, but why can't I fuse Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation together like Aria did?" Lynne softly mumbled with a sigh shortly after opening her eyes.

As fellow Divine Cultivators, she had long noticed Aria had practiced Divine Cultivation and merged it with her Awakening Cultivation.

However, she was unable to seek answers from Aria on how to achieve the fusion due to her competitive spirit.

The Ice Phoenix Divine Canon required Frigid Energy to cultivate. As such, the Frigid Energy in her Ice Seed significantly sped up her Divine Cultivation while she fused them with the Spirit Energy she refined.

If she could merge the Revolving Core and Ice Seed, she would be able to further enhance her cultivation speed.

"It is because I advanced to the Revolving Core Realm too early?" Lynne pondered in silence, beginning to believe that this was indeed the case.

"Perhaps, If I had made the Ice Seed the energy center for Divine Cultivation from the start, merging Awakening Cultivation and Divine Cultivation would have been possible?" Lynne bit her lips as she thought of this.

It was too late to back over that step unless she wanted to restart her Divine Cultivation.

The Revolving Core has settled firmly in her glabella region while she had reached a bottleneck in Awakening Cultivation.

If she restarted Divine Cultivation, it would delay her progress considerably.

"I have no choice but to push forward with Divine Cultivation if I want to continue growing stronger." Lynne furrowed in thought.

Something was wrong with her Awakening Cultivation.

Although she had reached 9-Star Ranked Awakener Realm, something stopped her from making the push for Transcendence—no matter how much she tried to comprehend the Law of Water.

She began to feel that her ice ability was not simple…

"Never mind. I will think about this issue another time. I should consolidate my early-stage Revolving Core Realm before making use of the environment to push for the middle stages." Lynne decided before closing her eyes and entering deep meditative focus.

Her aim was to at least reach the Heaven Ascension Realm.

…

Western Frontier, Great Wall.

An entire night quickly passed before the rising sun revealed its first ray of brilliance, illuminating the eastern horizon and dispersed the receding shadows.

Light gradually reached the Great Wall before shining into the Wildlands, revealing the neverending swarm of rats in the plains.

The wall of fire continued to hold back the rat tide under the united efforts of Fire Awakeners while mountains of blackened carcasses littered the plains.

Cling! Clang!

The hammering of metals could be heard coming from the military city by the Great Wall in the early morning.

While Fire Awakeners have moved to the Western Frontier to assist in the Great Wall's defense against the rat tide, it never stopped the blacksmiths from continuing their work.

The military city had its own set of workshops.

Nevertheless, many soldiers had gotten used to the sound of hammering metal and fallen hard asleep atop the Great Wall.

Only a few were awake to keep watch over the situation below on the Wildlands' side, albeit with red eyes, while the rest of their comrades slumbered from exhaustion.

Suddenly, the soft, distant rumbles of the earth and shaking of the Great Wall woke up many soldiers.

"What's going on?" A soldier rubbed his eyes with a yawn before he suddenly stared into the distance with wide eyes.

"I-I-Is that a tree?! A moving tree!" Another soldier exclaimed.

The discovery immediately shocked many soldiers awake before they stood up and gazed into the distance with focus.

The two fiery walls in the distance were old news to them since last night, but where did this giant tree come from?!

Many soldiers' jaw dropped in astonishment.

"I-Isn't that the Elder Tree from the Great Forest?! Look, the Elder Tree is not there anymore! This had to be it!" A soldier pointed in the direction of the Great Forest.

The soldiers quickly shifted their gaze before another soldier exclaimed, "The elves have arrived!"

After an entire night of burning, the forest fire had already died down, and the clouds of black smoke dispersed into the skies.

Nevertheless, the skies above the Wildlands was not as bright as it should be. In fact, it was gloomy with dull grey clouds.

In the distance, Leon paused.

He gazed up the skies with a frown as it began to crackle with increasing frequency.

The elves' destination was right in front of them, but the omen in the sky was not a good sign for the tribesmen in the far back of the line.

"This could be bad…"

Chapter 519 - Into The Thunderclouds

Boom!

The skies crackled loudly with thunder and grew more potent by the moment like it was gathering strength for a big thunderstorm!

With so much heat and smoke dumped into the atmosphere, chances of a thundercloud forming were to be expected.

"Leon!" Faelyn called out after seeing Leon flying over to her.

Leon nodded to her before looking at the backline tribesmen that were still quite some distance from the Great Wall.

"We need to urge the tribesmen to pick up the pace. The surrounding fires are already on their last legs. If it rains, the tribesmen will be in trouble!" Leon stated.

The rat walls had been burning for an entire night, thanks to everyone feeding more fuel into the fire. However, it would not last much longer before they are snuffed out.

"Right! I notified the tribe right away!" Faelyn nodded heavily with solemnity, understanding the severity of the situation.

Rain is not always accompanied by thunder, but thunder is always accompanied by rain. No matter how much water is stored in the clouds, it would only take a little sprinkle to snuff out the flames!

"Everyone, please increase your pace! The Great Wall is just within sight! I know you are all tired, but we only need to push a little bit further!" Faelyn spoke with urgency.

Although her voice was not harsh and loud, it was clear and well-articulated, reaching the ears of her tribesmen.

Shortly after, panic spread within the crowd.

Although Faelyn did not mention it, the tribesmen could all guess the situation from looking up at the looming thunderclouds in the skies.

"Let's go, everyone! Just a bit further! We can do it!" A male elf tried inspiring his fellow tribesmen to strive harder despite the exhaustion they were feeling from the long travels.

"Right, it's just a little bit of distance to go. Don't make Her Highness worry about us, everyone!" Another male elf spoke despite the nervousness in their heart.

Even though there was panic in the crowd, no one had the energy to rush ahead of the others and gain a lead in reaching safety first.

On the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick gazed at the thunderclouds with a deep frown.

The rain would not just put the elves traveling on the plains in danger; the Great Wall would also face the threat of the rat tide.

"Go call Duke Ignis over from the workshop," General Marquis Hendrick ordered a nearby soldier.

"Yes, sir!"

Shortly after, Duke Ignis was brought over before General Marquis Hendrick stated, "We have a problem on a hand."

"What seems to be the prob—oh." Duke Ignis paused on the rumbling thunderclouds in the sky. "Oh, that does look like trouble."

"Any solution?"

"Nope!" Duke Ignis said.

General Hendrick Marquis looked at him with doubt. How can Duke Ignis give him such an answer without any looks of concern?

"My son-in-law will figure something out." Duke Ignis shortly said with a beaming smile, causing General Hendrick Marquis to look at him speechlessly.

The Duke's daughter was not even married to the Crown Prince yet.

"How is your daughter, anyway? I have not heard much about her with the prince. On the other hand, the prince's harem seems to grow bigger each day. It seems they aren't all that fated to be together." General Hendrick Marquis said.

"Haiz…" Duke Ignis sighed with concern after General Marquis Hendrick brought up the matter. "I'm also not sure what my daughter is thinking, but she is very immersed in cultivation these days. I'm sure the two children have some feelings for each other. Perhaps, I need to consult my wife about stepping in and giving them a push…"

Shortly after, Duke Ignis shook his head and said, "Never mind. Let us not talk about this matter. We have the situation in front of us to worry about it."

"Right…" General Marquis Hendrick said with a soft sigh.

He also had his own son to worry.

Ever since he returned to the Western Frontier with his son, the person had been sitting in a daze every day. Evidently, Rowan was smitten by the elven princess and daydreams about her every day.

General Marquis Hendrick had no idea how to resolve this.

"Haiz…"

…

Meanwhile, everyone out hunting in the vast plains swarming with rats began to return to the traveling group after realizing the weather condition.

The royal guards, the High Elves, the Elders, The Supreme Elder, and Princess Thessalia were shortly seen returning from different directions.

Shortly after, the airship was also seen in the distance.

However, it did not come closer within a certain distance from the Great Wall to continue attracting the rats to kill each other.

A white figure could be seen flying over on her ice-lightning sword before leaping off and diving onto Leon's back while he was considering a solution.

"What are you thinking about?" Aria asked curiously, not at all concerned about the current weather in the area.

"A solution to the current thundercloud problem," Leon spoke with a contemplating look while looking at the thunderclouds in the sky.

The thunderclouds are brimming with lightning essence. It was evidently an excellent place for Lightning Awakeners to train and replenish their energy reserves.

"Do you have a solution yet? If not, we can try mine."

"Oh? I do have one, but let's hear it." Leon said with a smile.

Aria nodded before she explained, "I am an Ice-Lightning Transcendent. As long as I get close to the thunderclouds, I can absorb all the Water Essence before it rains."

"What a coincidence. I was thinking the same. Of course, I cannot compare to you when it comes to absorbing the power of lightning and water." Leon smiled before he said, "Let us go together."

Aria was surprised before a sweet smile hung on her face. It was a pleasant feeling, knowing that their thoughts were in sync.

"I borrowed this from the airship captain earlier." Aria took the modified pendant device from her storage space.

Leon's eyes quickly flickered with surprise before he said, "So you came prepared."

"Un." Aria nodded with a small blush on her face.

Shortly after separating the modified pendant device into two pendant devices, Leon and Aria shot up into the thunderclouds above together.

Chapter 520 - Duna's Army

Not long after Leon and Aria flew towards the thunderclouds in the high skies and disappeared within, the downpour of rain occurred quickly ahead of time.

It was like the heavens did not want the elves to survive.

"Quickly, everyone! Hurry! The rain has begun!" Elven warriors urged with waving gestures while over elven warriors pulled their carts and carriages with a quickened pace.

The Fire Awakeners quickly received orders to create a passage for the elves before Silver brought the first batch of elves to the foot of the Great Wall.

The ropes and lifts were shortly lowered for the elves to climb and transport their goods to the top.

Nevertheless, the Great Wall was never equipped to take in so many people at once. As such, a large crowd was quickly gathered at the foot of the Great Wall.

"This is troublesome. Our equipment can only bring in a few hundred at a time. At this rate, it will take several hours before we finish bringing in the whole elven tribe." General Marquis Hendrick muttered.

At the same time, Supreme Elder Haldir realized the situation and made his way over.

"Marquis Haldir."

"General Marquis Hendrick."

The two greeted each other before General Marquis Hendrick mentioned, "About this situation with the elves…"

"No need to concern yourself with this matter, General Marquis Hendrick. I will solve this issue," Supreme Elder Haldir stated before he studied the rope lifts used to transfer the tribesmen and goods to the top.

After he understood the rope lifts' simple mechanism, he found empty spots along the Great Wall to construct his only rope lifts—ones that are wholly made of vines.

Once the first construct was completed, the thorny vines began rotating in gear and lowered the platform to the ground before a group of tribesmen was shortly brought up.

"Haiz, Wood Awakeners sure are versatile in their abilities." General Marquis Hendrick sighed with emotion.

They can heal people, accelerate the growth of crops and herbs, and construct many things with their magical mutant vines.

Compared to Wood Awakeners, it did not seem like there were not many things Wind Awakeners could do with their wing ability except use it for combat.

Nevertheless, General Marquis Hendrick would still choose his wind ability despite his envy for Wood Awakeners.

An ability equipped for combat suited him just fine. Perhaps, there were many ways to wield the wind. It was just that he had not thought of them yet.

"There are also many things that Wood Awakeners cannot do," Supreme Elder Haldir responded casually before shifting his attention to the batch of tribesmen brought up by his vine lift.

"Supreme Elder."

The group greeted respectfully.

Among the group of tribesmen brought up, there were a few high-level elven warriors within their midst.

Supreme Elder Haldir nodded.

"The warriors will stay." He said before assigning a single elven warrior to lead the rest of the tribesmen, "The rest of you will follow this person. He will lead you down the Great Wall to our designated gathering area."

"Yes, Supreme Elder!"

"You will take charge of this vine lift. The rest of you, follow me." Supreme Elder Haldir began instructing the warriors shortly after the group of tribesmen left.

"Understood, Supreme Elder. Just leave it to me."

The elven warrior patted his chest proudly.

While Supreme Elder Haldir could construct several vine lifts, he could not mentally operate them all on his own while he is busy producing new vine lifts.

It would be too exhausting on his mental strength.

As such, it was left for these elven warriors to operate and manage. Not to mention It was more efficient this way.

Meanwhile, the fires on the plains grew weaker with each drop of rain from the sky.

As the tribesmen saw the flames reducing in size along with the sizzling sound of rain turning into steam and water vapor.

"Ahh!" Several tribesmen cried as their carriage was overturned from hitting a small bump on the ground in their hurry.

"What the hell are you doing! Don't block the road and delay the rest of us!" A male elf immediately shouted with a blaming yet nervous tone.

Evidently, everyone was beginning to panic greatly at the sign of danger.

"What's going on here?" Faelyn shortly arrived.

"Your Highness, those fellows over there are blocking the road!" A middle-aged female elf accused the group with a pointed finger.

Faelyn shifted her gaze over.

"We didn't do it on purpose, Your Highness! The carriage struck a bump and tilted over on its own!" The group quickly explained in fear of punishment.

Faelyn frowned and made her way over to help the warriors clean up the scattered goods on the ground with her wood manipulation.

The carriage was flipped back on its wheels, and everything was placed back inside before Faelyn spoke, "Go. Don't delay the others further."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The tribesmen expressed their gratitude before they left.

"I know you are concerned but don't forget you still have warriors protecting you. There is no need to fight amongst yourselves over a small mistake. We will make sure you get to the Great Wall safely!" Faelyn assured everyone with a determined look.

At the same time, explosions were heard in the surrounding distances.

Princess Thessalia and a group of royal guards could be seen tossing out exploding pills in areas with weakened flames about to turn into openings for the rats.

During the night trip, Leon had refined hundreds of additional exploding pills, and as expected, the preparation was not made in vain. Apparently, they can never have too many exploding pills.

The exploding pills were all put to good use.

In another location, deep within the rat tide, Duna stood on the grassy fields alone while the rats rushed past her.

None of them seemed interested in her.

Nevertheless, a black barrier of darkness surrounded Duna and corroded every single rat that came in contact with the barrier to death.

"Arise," Duna uttered from time to time.

Shortly after, the blackened rat carcasses would rise to their feet before lunging at other living rats in their surroundings.

Suddenly, Duna narrowed her eyes in the distance.. The edge of the seemingly endless rat tide was finally within sight.

Chapter 521 - Descending Beams Of Light

In the sea of raging thunderclouds above the plains, static electricity could be seen jumping from clouds to clouds unpredictably.

At first glance, everything seemed normal.

However, the thundercloud's movement was unnatural. It was gathering strength at an unbelievable rate.

Gravity was twisted, and space became distorted.

"Something's not right about this… this region is unstable—no, should I say the entire sky is unstable instead?" Leon mumbled with furrowed brows.

Aria nodded before saying, "In any case, we still need to make the rain stop, or the elves will be in trouble."

"Then I will trouble you to get started on that first, Aria. Either way, this place is beneficial for your cultivation." Leon smiled lightly before stating, "I will go investigate what is happening up there. It's giving me an ominous feeling."

"Alright, be careful."

"Un, you too, Aria. You might be a Lightning Awakener, but these are, after all, thunderclouds that can potentially form the Heavenly Tribulation. It won't be a little more careful."

"I got it." Aria smiled sweetly.

After giving Leon a quick peck on the cheek, she immediately separated from him, taking off on her ice-lightning sword to find a suitable spot in the thunderclouds to absorb the Thunder Essence and Water Essence accumulating within.

A static barrier was shortly formed from the lightning aspect of Aria's ability as it surrounded her, protecting her from stray bolts of lightning.

At the same time, the lightning barrier acted as a lightning rod, quickly attracting all of the thundercloud's static discharge towards her.

The temperature quickly started to drop as the surrounding space was shortly affected by Aria's law of ice and lightning.

Water vapors became frosty and emitted icy cold energy as they were drawn towards Aria, while some fell like hail from the sky.

Ice and Lightning Energy collided on the surface of Aria's barrier, bashing against each other until they merged and formed strands of white ice-lightning energy.

Leon watched Aria refined the energies coming from the thunderclouds for a moment before he proceeded to further into the skies, quickly rising several thousand feet in altitude.

As he flew above the thunderclouds, he began to frown.

Although he had the pendant device protecting him from the sky's suppression with its anti-suppression rune, he could tell that the sky's suppression force has weakened.

"No, the sky's suppression has not precisely weakened. It is fluctuating… but what is causing this fluctuation?" Leon mumbled in thought.

As Leon continued to rise higher and higher in the sky, he reached an extremely high altitude—an altitude that he had not previously thought of reaching before breaking through to Transcendent.

He had reached the stratosphere layer at roughly 100,000fts.

There were no clouds in this layer—or rather only a few types of clouds ever appear in this layer, such as; polar stratospheric clouds, extreme cumulonimbus clouds, and clouds related to the formation of hurricanes like the one seen right below.

It was also considered the first heaven.

"If not for the fluctuating force of suppressing weakening, I'm not sure I would have been able to reach this height with my present cultivation even if I have anti-suppression runes," Leon muttered.

In the early morning, the airspace within the first heaven was below the freezing point. However, such coldness was still well within Leon's level of tolerance.

More importantly, there were fewer elements in this region. The air was cold, and the winds were strong, while space was felt in abundance.

There was no doubt that the higher Leon climbs, the more spatial elements that could be sensed in his surroundings.

Even so, just cultivating at this altitude would increase his refinement of Great Pseudo-Grandmist Energy by many folds greater than cultivating on the surface.

Nevertheless, this was the least of Leon's concern at the moment.

As Leon observed the surrounding space above the clouds for suspicious points of interest, his gaze soon paused on the brilliance of the sun.

Although the sun was not yellow, it was generally observed as such from the surface. However, what Leon saw was more than just yellow.

It had a strong tint of red.

"We are running out of time. The sun is about to erupt!" Leon determined.

He realized that all the fluctuation of forces happening within the suppression zone were foreboding signs of the Cataclysm's eruption!

At the realization, Leon immediately plunged back towards the surface.

Just as his figure disappeared into the clouds below, the sun suddenly flashed with intense red light as its surface erupted with an explosive burst of extreme scorching hot flames!

The powerful wave of solar flare bursting out from the sun affected every celestial body in its immediate surroundings.

According to the star map embedded in Leon's memory, Gaia was the third closest planet to the sun within the Vandelhelm Star Realm.

There were two other planets before planet Gaia, which was the small red planet of Ouphus and the slightly bigger yellow planet of Laetis.

However, the surface of these two planets was immediately scorched by the sun's solar flare! Even their atmosphere was blown away by the powerful passing flame wave!

Within moments, the solar flare reached planet Gaia!

Although the explosive flame waves themselves failed to reach the planet, Gaia was still greatly affected by its heatwave!

The debris ring surrounding planet Gaia was distorted as smaller pieces of debris were immediately pushed out of orbit!

Some were flung far away from the Gaia while several more descended towards the planet's surface alongside scorching sunlight piercing through the veils of clouds!

A few beams narrowly missed Leon by a small margin.

However, he could feel the intense heat radiating from these pillars of light as they shot past him and descended on the earth like the arrival of judgment day.

"Ahh, my eyes! It burns!"

Several people cried after glancing up subconsciously when light beams descended, while many resisted the urge after hearing their painful cries.

"I can't see! It hurts so much!"

"I think I'm blind! Help me!"

They continued to wail.

Many people trembled at their suffering while they endured the world's rising temperature as it quickly reached the peak of summer.

Many knew that this day would come again.

However, no one was truly prepared for it when the time actually came! The Cataclysm arrived too swiftly and without warning!

Chapter 522 - Falling Debris

Whether it was on the Great Wall, by the foot of the wall, or on the plains, shouts and screams were heard everywhere after the light beams descended.

"Ahh, It burns! The light is so hot!"

"Everyone, quickly take cover!"

Tribesmen cried after being scalded by the light while elven warriors warned them before conjuring large shields made of vines for everyone around them.

On the top of the Great Wall, high-level elven warriors also made vine covers for themselves and other soldiers in their vicinity before they continued to bring up their tribesmen located at the bottom.

At the same time, a great change took place within the sea of rats on the plains as the scorching sunlight seared them after vaporizing the rain.

Squeak! Squeak!

The rats struck by the intense sunlight were paralyzed on the spot as they dropped to the ground and squirmed in burning agony!

Their furs were reduced to ashes, their limbs bent in weird angles, and needle-like spikes began poking from under their flesh!

It was like they were undergoing a transformation—no, a mutation!

The entire world experienced its own series of troubles brought by the Cataclysm's arrival as timbered buildings within cities were set aflame amidst panicky citizens seeking cover and molten steel beams falling apart.

Outside of towns and cities, the cold rivers boiled while the snowy peaks of the Great Mountain Range melted.

Hot water descended from their steep cliffs like waterfalls, transforming the nearby regions into swamps and flooded areas.

Within the deep Wildlands, twelve pillars of red light surged towards the high heavens from their ancient relics.

Wingrats were not the only beasts plaguing the Wildlands.

They were not the only breed of rats as there were also Groundrats, Shadowrats, and variant species of rats plaguing the Wildlands with their incredible numbers.

Even so, not all regions within the Wildlands were plagued by rats.

In different parts of the Wildlands, the rabbit race was an even bigger problem than the rats!

Rabbits were docile omnivorous beasts, considered to be one of the weakest species amongst the beast race existing within the Wildlands.

However, their numbers were even more fearsome than the rats!

And when all these cute bunnies are transformed into ferocious, hunger-crazed, berserk rabbits, their threat level can only rank them higher than the rats!

No one truly knew how dangerous they were until they all crawled out from the rabbit holes!

Many Low-rank beast tribes and Mid-rank beast tribes fell to the swarms of rabbits and rat tides while survivors fled for higher ranking beast tribes for even a fighting chance of survival during the outbreak.

Outside of High-rank beast tribes and King-rank beast tribes, carcasses piled like tall mountain peaks, and blood flowed like rivers!

These tribes were the absolute hegemons of the plains!

Their tribesmen numbered in the tens of millions while their Transcendent-level warriors numbered in the tens of thousands!

It was not possible for such behemoth tribes to be toppled by weak races like the rabbits and rats, even if their numbers were in abundance.

Absolute strength could not be defeated by numbers alone.

…

Back in the Western Frontier, Leon descended from the skies, shortly returning to Aria's side within the thunderclouds.

Aria had long reopened her eyes due to the events happening. Seeing Leon returning, she quickly asked, "Did the Cataclysm…?"

"Yeah… it has arrived," Leon admitted with a nod.

Seeing that Aria was planning to follow him, he stopped her while shaking his head, "Stay here and continue to cultivate, Aria. You don't get many opportunities to cultivate in places with much Lightning Essence."

"But…" Aria wanted to speak.

However, Leon shook his head again, "No buts. Stay here obediently and cultivate. Now that the Cataclysm is here, the future is uncertain. As such, we must use every chance we have to raise our strength as quickly as possible. I will go see the situation outside."

Aria immediately bit her lips.

She understood Leon's reason and completely agreed to it. As such, even though she was unwilling, she nodded with her head lowered, "Be careful."

"I will." Leon smiled.

The strong sunlight was able to pierce through gaps within clouds.

However, the thick and concentrated thunderclouds were one of few places where even the sunlight could not penetrate.

As such, it was almost entirely safe as long as Aria remained cautious and did not purposely allow herself to be zapped by the full brunt of the thundercloud's high voltage.

Shortly after Leon left, Aria gazed in the direction of his departure with eyes filled with hidden emotions.

"You're giving me this chance to cultivate and quickly raise my strength, but who will do the same for you?" Aria muttered with a soft sigh.

She did not doubt that many areas on the surface required attention and help now that the Cataclysm arrived…

And the person who wanted to raise his strength more than anyone, is being forced to busy himself helping others.

Leon was tied down by responsibilities.

This made Aria feel extremely uncomfortable in her heart. She wanted to share his burden, but it seems that reaching Transcendent was still far from enough.

Her eyes immediately became sharp and determined before she closed her eyes and focused wholeheartedly on her cultivation within the thunderclouds.

…

Meanwhile, after Leon descended out of the clouds, the chaotic situation on the surface became clear to him.

The rain stopped, and the fires were stuffed out.

Normally, this would have been bad for the elves still waiting to be transported to the top of the Great Wall. However, the rat tide was paralyzed by the sunlight as they underwent strange mutations.

On the Wildlands' distant horizon, burning debris shortly fell from the heavens and parted the earth with colossal amounts of soil rising into the skies.

Rumble!

The earthquake generated from the crash reached all the way to the Western Frontier with a strong gust of wind as the Great Wall shook and several tribesmen staggered, falling off the rising platforms.

"Ahh, save me!"

"Help me!"

They cried with fear.

Leon immediately shot over without much thought, but there were also much closer people who reacted and caught the tribesmen before him.

"Young Prince, you're here."

"Marquis Haldir."

Leon returned the Supreme Elder's greeting with a nod shortly after the person saved his tribesmen from the fall.

Chapter 523 - Wrathful Demonic Energy

"That looks like bad news, doesn't it? How do we stop that, young prince?" Supreme Elder Haldir asked while gazing at the rising earth in the distant horizon.

Leon creased his brows.

Without a doubt, a firestorm was quickly coming their way. Hot winds will blow, and fiery rocks will rain from the skies like a meteor shower.

Even if they can hide underground, they cannot move everyone below within the limited time given to them.

This was not something Leon could solve with his current capabilities. Even so, it did not stop him from pondering for a solution.

"For now, we should quickly transfer all the tribesmen to the other side of the Great Wall," Leon stated.

They should do what they can. Perhaps, their lives can only be left up to fate after giving their all to survive.

"Right." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he said, "We are already doing the best we can. However, it is still too slow."

Leon glanced at the long queue of tribesmen waiting for their turn to use the lifts at the foot of the Great Wall before he nodded, "That's for sure—"

Rumble…

Suddenly, a huge rumble was heard from the distant horizon.

When Leon turned to look, he saw that the rising columns of earth were blown away in another direction before it was further repelled by some colossal forces.

Leon felt his hand shivering while everyone hiding under vine covers on the Great Wall gazed at the scenic view in awe.

There would also be a day when he will have the strength to command the winds and rains and reshape the earth on such magnitude.

"That must be the power of Acknowledged Paragons. Their strengths are every bit insane as one would imagine them to be," Supreme Elder Haldir sighed with emotion.

"Acknowledged Paragons, huh?" Leon muttered before adding, "Even so, for them to be able to avert a disaster just like that, they have to be Paragons even amongst Paragons…"

To avert the disaster as Leon had witnessed, he would assume the Paragons had strengths of up to 100-million jin strength.

It was hard for him to imagine that early-Rank 3 Transcendents could wield this much strength when Rank 2 Transcendents peak at roughly 10-million jin worth of strength.

"Right… You have a point, young prince. Perhaps, it was the Demigods themselves that made a move," Supreme Elder Haldir guessed.

Demigods…

Leon smiled wryly at this term.

Only existences that have transcended and stepped half a foot into the realm beyond Transcendent Realm could call themselves Demigods.

Alas, this was a joke.

The journey to godhood was much, much further, more treacherous, and more difficult to reach than the Wildlands believe it to be.

At least, Leon was aware that the Celestial Realm exists between Transcendence and Godhood. Nevertheless, he did not comment on this topic.

"Now that the immediate danger has been averted, we should focus on the other problems in front of us," Leon stated.

"Right." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before asking, "Does the young prince have any solution?"

"Leave the tribesmen here to me and go deal with the rats while they are still immobilized. I have a feeling they will become an even bigger threat after they complete their mutation." Leon said objectively.

Supreme Elder Haldir nodded solemnly before departing immediately without questioning Leon's means.

If he had a quick solution, then he surely had a quick solution.

Naturally, Leon's method was quite simple. After the Supreme Elder left, he made a whistle and called over the Elder Tree in the distance.

As the Elder Tree answered Leon's call and made its way over, its huge towering crown immediately cast an enormous shadow over the Great Wall, sheltering everyone from the strong sunlight.

The 300ft Great Wall could not be compared to the over 2000ft Elder Tree.

"Everyone, take cover behind the Elder Tree!" Leon barked shortly.

The giant Elder Tree not only provided shelter from everyone, but it also blocked the incoming fiery rock and soil that slipped past the Paragons.

After all, the Paragons' priority was to protect their own tribe and not some human settlement located thousands of miles away.

Meanwhile, shortly after hearing Leon's order, the elves that were spread out along the foot of the Great Wall immediately gathered towards the center of the Elder Tree's shadow, albeit with difficulty as they trekked through the muddy ground.

Even so, everyone made it under Faelyn's encouragement.

Swoosh~!

The hot winds quickly blew past, and few fiery rocks struck the Elder Tree.

Nevertheless, the Elder Tree was able to endure the blows without sustaining substantial damage. The elves that took shelter under it were completely protected.

Shortly after the situation calmed down, Leon communicated with the Guardian Spirit before the Elder Tree used its large roots to transport the tribesmen to the top of the Great Wall.

"Arf, arf!"

The three-tailed silver wolf's barking was heard before Leon shifted his gaze over and saw that it was still tied to the big vine carriage it was pulling.

After using wood manipulation with a wave of his hands, the vines shrank and reverted to seeds before flying into his grasp.

"Awrooo!"

Silver howled with excitement, enjoying its freedom after being released from the vines that were no different from shackles.

"Go wild, Silver."

Leon pointed into the distance.

"Arf, arf!"

The three-tailed silver wolf barked in response, understanding Leon's intention before it took off with a giant leap and dived straight into the paralyzed rat tide.

Shortly after watching the three-tailed silver wolf crush the helpless mutating rats beneath its feet, Leon began looking left and right for other parts that required his attention.

Suddenly, he paused of the figure of Princess Thessalia and several royal guards flying back to the Great Wall from the direction of the Wildlands, albeit weakly.

After reaching Leon's location, Princess Thessalia almost collapsed into Leon. However, she forced herself to remain strong before warning, "Be careful of the sunlight. There's something wrong with it."

"You were struck by the initial beam." Leon immediately noticed as his eyes flickered with surprise before furrowing his brows.

Princess Thessalia and the several royal guards suffered from various burns from the initial wave of sunlight.

"Yes…"

Princess Thessalia nodded.

They did their best to heal themselves with Wood Energy. However, the wounds regenerated slowly like something was obstructing their recovery.

Traces of Wrathful Demonic Energy were noticed in their wounds.

In fact, Leon could sense Wrathful Demonic Energy in every direction since the moment the sun's wave of solar flare arrived!

Chapter 524 - The Sun's Hidden Secret

After Gaia was struck by the heatwave, the world's temperature swiftly rose for a period of time and was also the planet's hottest period.

Nevertheless, after some time, the world's temperature would eventually return to normal. Until then, the people needed to do their best to avoid direct sunlight and survive.

Leon locked onto the Wrathful Demonic Energy within Princess Thessalia and royal guards before he extracted them with Divine Will, absorbing the energy into his body before it corrupted their bodies further.

"What are you…"

"You were all plagued by a type of Wrathful Demonic Energy, which prevented your wounds from being healed. However, it should be fine now," Leon explained casually.

Princess Thessalia and the royal guards were surprised.

Nevertheless, Princess Thessalia quickly shook her head and said, "Never mind that. What about you? Isn't this energy very harmful? Are you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry. I know what I am doing. You should take the rest of your people and return to the top of the Great Wall to recuperate, Princess Thessalia. I will take care of the situation here," Leon suggested calmly.

Princess Thessalia stared hard at Leon for a moment before she nodded with a sigh, "Alright. Sorry for troubling you with our responsibilities, Prince Leon."

"Don't mind it. You will all become the citizens of my Crawford Empire. As such, it is my duty as its crown prince to take care of all of you."

Princess Thessalia furrowed her brows slightly after Leon's words, but she shortly nodded and excused herself, dragging her body along with the royal guards to leave.

Not many would dare to absorb Demonic Energy, let alone this type of Demonic Energy that contained traces of the Wrath Law.

If Leon did not have his Black Vortex Space and Nihility Law, he would also be the same as the others. But since that is not the case, he was naturally destined to be different from other people.

Shortly after the Wrathful Demonic Energy was refined by the Black Vortex and absorbed into Leon's energy ring, he noticed tiny fragments of Wrath Law in the mix.

His eyes immediately shone with a glint.

Although the law fragments were comparable to a single grain of rice in a rice bowl, insect meat was still meat. It was better than nothing.

With enough accumulation, it will turn into something useful.

However, the discovery of these law fragments came as much of a surprise as it alarmed him!

For there to be law fragments present after the refinement, this implied Leon had absorbed someone, something, or some supreme entity's sliver of will!

Princess Thessalia and the royal guards were directly scalded by the sun's surge of concentrated Solar Energy.

As such, the Wrathful Demonic Energy could only have come from the Solar Energy, which in turns, came from the sun directly!

"Wrong, wrong, everything was wrong. The fleshly abominations did not produce the Demonic Energy. They filtered them from the Solar Energy the Energy Conversion Tower collected!" Leon muttered in realization.

He did not even dare to imagine what this entailed.

Glancing down, Leon could see his own hands trembling before he tried to stop it with his other hand. He was trembling in fear.

Whatever life challenges were thrown at him, he would always find a way to overcome them.

But when the difficulty of the life challenge is set so tremendously high and seems nigh impossible to overcome, Leon suddenly felt lost.

He did not know what to do.

The Cataclysm was a calamitous event that did not frequently happen throughout history. In fact, there were no records of it beyond the era of the Nova Civilization!

However, it was occurring for the third time within a 10-thousand year period. Something has sparked the Cataclysm to happen, and at an accelerated frequency at that!

Artificial Spirit Energy Conversion Relics.

It can only be that.

Something dreadful was sealed within the sun, and the seal was unwittingly weakened by the Nova Civilization's endless greed for energy to support their development.

Although they were ultimately destroyed by that greed, they have started the timer to unleash something horrible on the world.

The Cataclysm was not a calamitous event. It was just the prelude to the true catastrophic event!

Suddenly, a pair of supple mounds pressed against Leon's back before soft white hands wrapped around his neck.

"It's not like you to be distracted in the middle of a crisis. When you are feeling lost, you can consult those around you, you know?" Faelyn's words entered his ears.

She was not sure what Leon was thinking about. However, she wanted to share his burden and be there for him, just like when he was there for her.

Leon shook his head with a rueful smile.

He was tired of being weak. Naturally, he had to remain firm and strong in front of those he wanted to protect.

Although Faelyn interrupted his thoughts, she also calmed him down. It definitely had nothing to do with the pair of soft mounds pressing on his back. Ahem, definitely not…

After Leon calmed down, he was able to think about matters more thoroughly.

There might be some sort of almighty devil sealed within the sun, but the seal has not been broken yet. There was still time—time to prepare for the worse.

After taking a deep breath, Leon's eyes flickered with determination.

"Thanks, Faelyn. But it won't be necessary." Leon held Faelyn's hand on his cheek to feel her warmth. However, he suddenly felt her hand trembled slightly before he noticed her wound.

He separated from Faelyn to study her hand's wound carefully before he said with a frown, "You got scalded by Solar Energy as well?"

As he said this, Leon extracted the trace of Wrathful Demonic Energy from Faelyn before quickly healing her wound with Wood Energy.

Faelyn gasped softly with surprise before recovering after a moment.

"Un, but it was just a minor burn. However, quite a few tribesmen suffered much more terrible burns than mine during the first wave," She replied.

Leon nodded.

"Let's go gather them all for treatment. It will become a problem if the Demonic Energy in their burns are left untreated." He said.

If the corruption infiltrates the elves' minds, they would undoubtedly go berserk—or much worse, undergo some strange mutation after extended exposure to the sun.

Chapter 525 - Duna's Absence

Located on the other side of the Great Wall, the elves pitched camp on an open field outside of the military city.

The entire area was soggy wet from the downpour of melted snow from the nearby mountain peaks, and steam could be seen rising as the water boiled from the heat.

Many elves suffered burns from the sunlight and scalded from the swampy boiling water and steam that flooded the area.

Nevertheless, the tribesmen built raised platforms of vines in the area to avoid the water.

"Everyone, quickly gather around. Your Savior, Prince Leon, will purify you from the sun's scorching burns," Faelyn spoke clearly shortly after arriving with Leon.

He glanced at helplessly in question, "Do you really need to address me as such?"

"The tribesmen take you to be their Savior. Can't you at least put up with it to live up to their expectations?" Faelyn whispered with a pleading tone before giving him a soft nudge.

Leon shrugged with a sigh, "Alright."

Shortly after, Faelyn's words spread throughout the large crowd before the injured tribesmen gathered towards her and Leon.

"You're all afflicted by Demonic Energy, which prevents your wounds from healing. Once they are removed, you will be able to recover normally. As such, don't hesitate to come forward for treatment if you've been hurt in any way!" Leon urged the hesitant tribesmen that pretended they were fine.

"This isn't normal Demonic Energy. If you let it corrode your body for a period of time, it will also corrode away your mind and make you go berserk like the mindless rats!" Faelyn added.

Once these words are spoken, no one dared to hide their injuries, even if they were injuries unrelated to the current situation.

After Leon confirmed everyone was gathered with his spirit sense, he immediately extracted their Demonic Energy with Divine Will.

Everyone was shocked when they saw strands of red mist seeping out of their bodies.

"This is Demonic Energy?"

"When did this get inside me?"

They exclaimed with questions.

In fact, Wrathful Demonic Energy could be found anywhere in their surroundings. The entire world was currently overflowing with Wrathful Demonic Energy.

However, few will be able to sense it.

Most of the Wrathful Demonic Energy was fused with Solar Energy and hidden within its light. As such, not many people will be able to see it, let alone sense it.

In addition to the Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden within the elves, Leon also absorbed the surrounding Wrathful Demonic Energy hidden in the air.

As the large quantity of Wrathful Demonic Energy poured into his body, Leon suddenly felt like he was being stared at by a mighty and vicious beast that caused his entire being to freeze.

However, it only lasted a moment before the Wrathful Demonic Energy was ground down to the finest of particles and refined by the Black Vortex Space.

"The Savior was right! My wounds are starting to heal now!"

"Same here! My wounds are healing normally too!"

"But why was there something like that hidden inside of our bodies?"

The tribesmen quickly cheered after seeing their wounds closed quickly under the healing effects of their Wood Energy while others questioned the Demonic Energy's existence.

At the same time, Leon staggered slightly before Faelyn supported him with worry and alarm, "Are you alright? Why are you absorbing so much Demonic Energy? Are you sure it won't become a problem?"

"I'm fine. I was just a bit startled." Leon smiled wryly.

Nevertheless, his back was drenched in cold sweats.

He did not expect just the gaze alone could freeze his entire being due to fear. Whatever was sealed inside the sun, it must not be let loose

"Savior, will you be alright? Isn't Demonic Energy harmful?"

"Why did you absorb the Demonic Energy, Savior?"

A few tribesmen approached Leon with worry before a child tugged his clothes and asked, "Savior won't suddenly turn into some terrifying demon, right?"

"Don't worry, I will be just fine." Leon knelt down and ruffled the elven boy's head before he explained reassuringly, "I have an ability that allows me to purify the Demonic Energy, so it will not be able to harm me."

"Is that so?"

"Of course."

Leon nodded reassuringly.

He was not really lying. Considering the Black Vortex separates the Wrath Law from the Demonic Energy, it was basically purifying—except the Demonic Energy was still harmful to those that cannot use it anyway.

Not that it really matters, since no one else would be using the refined Demonic Energy except him either way.

Sometime later, Leon returned to the Great Wall to check on the rat tide situation while Faelyn remained behind to take care of the tribesmen and settle them into a new area.

The soldiers and Fire Awakeners have all evacuated from the foot of the Great Wall along with the last of the tribesmen.

At that moment, only elven warriors, royal guards, soldiers, General Marquis Hendrick, and Princess Thessalia remained on the wall.

Supreme Elder Haldir and the Elders continued to fight alone on the plains with the three-tailed silver wolf as they slaughtered the helpless rat tide like sitting ducks.

Nevertheless, not all rats were paralyzed from being inside the sunlight areas. The thunderclouds blocked out most of the sunlight on the plains, and only a few made it through the gaps in the clouds.

Leon greeted the others on the wall with a silent nod before he continued to observe the situation while absorbing the Wrath Law Fragments in his Black Vortex Space.

Suddenly, he paused.

The sealed entity in the sun seemed to have its consciousness fused with the Wrath Law itself.

Wherever there was Wrathful Demonic Energy to devour, the Black Vortex Space would also produce law fragments for him to absorb.

This implies that he was shaving away a part of the entity's consciousness and soul every time.

'Would I be able to weaken that being if I keep devouring its Wrathful Demonic Energy?' Leon seriously considered.

Shortly after, Leon frowned when he failed to spot Duna among the group in the area.

Her absence made him feel uneasy, especially considering the sun's current Solar Energy was an extremely potent Yang Element that was harmful to spirits of Yin alignment like Duna.

"Nothing could have happened to her, right?" Leon muttered with worry.

Chapter 526 - Black Region

No matter when Leon searched, Leon could not find Duna anywhere nearby. Undoubtedly she was not anywhere close to the Great Wall.

They had traveled an entire way from the Great Forest.

The carcasses of rats could be seen littered all over the plains as they were hunted throughout the night. Duna could have been anywhere along this journey.

Knowing that Duna could potentially be in danger, Leon could not remain still. He had to search for her proactively if he wanted to make sure she was alright.

It would be too late for regrets if something happened while he waited and hoped for her wellbeing.

"I will leave everything here to you, Marquis Haldir. Please take care of everyone while I am gone." Leon flew over and spoke to the Supreme Elder before preparing to take off in search of Duna.

"Of course." Supreme Elder Haldir nodded solemnly despite his initial surprise. Nevertheless, he could not help but ask, "May I inquire where you are going, young prince?"

"To find a missing friend."

Supreme Elder Haldir also realized that the female spirit was not seen anywhere in their vicinity as he butchered another rat on the ground.

Suddenly, he recalled something and mentioned, "If you are looking for Miss Duna, I remember that she ventured off quite deep into the south while we were still around halfway through the trip."

"I got it, thank you."

After giving the Supreme Elder his thanks, the three-tailed silver wolf in the distance barked at Leon, "Arf, Arf!"

"Stay here and continue to help me clear out these pests, Silver," Leon flew over and spoke while wiping some rat blood off the three-tailed silver wolf's fur before patting its head.

Silver whined like a child about to be abandoned and wanted to follow Leon, causing him to smile wryly in response.

"Fine, you can come along."

"Awrooo!"

The three-tailed silver wolf howled excitedly after receiving Leon's approval.

"However, in return, I will need to give your reward to the Guardian Spirit to do extra work in place of your absence here," Leon said seriously before taking out one of his few remaining supreme-grade spirit stones.

After the Elder Tree was called over from the Great Wall, Leon communicated with the Guardian Spirit and quickly received its willing agreement before tossing the spirit stone over.

Silver wanted to immediately snatch the supreme-grade spirit stone from the Guardian Spirit.

However, its limbs were suddenly bound by sneaky small roots from the Elder Tree before the Guardian Spirit gobbled down the supreme-grade spirit stone with its thicker roots.

As if it was not satisfied with having anticipated the three-tailed silver wolf's intention, it further antagonized it by waving its roots in front of the three-tailed silver wolf like it was saying, "Too bad for you."

"Grrr!" Silver growled unhappily while baring its fangs at the Elder Tree.

However, the three-tailed silver wolf was suddenly given a smack on the head by Leon before he casually said, "What are you getting all unhappy about? This is what you chose! Suck it up and let us go!"

The three-tailed silver wolf felt wronged, but Leon was right. It could only follow behind Leon obediently.

Looking back, the Elder Tree could be seen making some sort of victorious gesture with its roots before the three-tailed silver wolf snorted and no longer looked back.

"If you are so slow, I am leaving you behind, Silver," Leon stated before he took off into the distance with the Tier 4 Bone Spear in his hand, sweeping away rats after rats in his path.

He flew low while his divine sense expanded to its maximum range to sweep the area.

"Awrooo!" The three-tailed silver wolf howled in response like it was accepting a challenge before chasing after Leon, stepping on numerous rats, and crushing them underneath its feet to death with its weight.

The plains were littered with Wingrats everywhere.

The living rats feasted on the flesh and blood of their dead brethren, but after picking up Leon and Silver's scent, they immediately joined the other rats, who already made their move ahead of them.

Nevertheless, these rats posed no problem.

Leon and Silver bulldozed their way through the rat tide and continued on their journey through the plains.

From time to time, Leon would increase his altitude to observed the surroundings from a high vintage for any peculiar sightings that might give him clues towards Duna's location.

The deeper he headed into the Wildlands, the further he realized the land was not flat but continued to rise on a gradual slope.

Considering the enormity of the Wildlands, it would not be strange if the ground level of the middle and central regions of the Wildlands was well within the supposed sky's suppression zone.

The twelve rising pillars of Demonic Energy appearing at different vertical positions in the far reaches of the horizon further confirmed his guess.

Perhaps this was the secret to the powerful strengths of the beasts and humans living on the Wildlands.

Their bodies were consistently tempered by strong gravity as their bodies adapted to live in such harsh environments.

Sometime later, Leon spotted a peculiar black region in the southern direction while he was on routinely high altitude search.

"Silver, we are heading this way!"

"Arf, arf!"

Shortly after, Leon and Silve made their way over and arrived at the black region on the grassy plains.

Rat carcasses could be seen everywhere, inside and outside of the black region.

What came as a surprise to Leon was that they had reached the end of the rat tide. There were no rats in the surroundings except for the ones they attracted over on their journey.

After finishing off the remaining rats attacking themselves, Leon entered the black region with Silver.

The region had fewer clouds in the sky and allowed for more sunlight to shine clearly in the area, revealing the mountains of blackened rat carcasses.

"These rats weren't charred black… they were corroded by Darkness and Death Energy!" Leon quickly determined.

His heart surged with worry due to the amount of sunlight in the region.

"Duna! Where are you?!" Leon shouted.

Silver also wanted to help, so it mimicked Leon's method of searching for Duna and howled loudly, "Awrooo—!"

Chapter 527 - Porcupine-like Mutation

Wherever Leon looked and swept with his divine sense, all he found were black rat carcasses on top of black rat carcasses.

Nothing else.

Nevertheless, Leon had a feeling Duna was somewhere in this region while he was searching left and right.

"Duna has to be in this black region somewhere—she has to be!" Leon strongly believed while muttering, "There shouldn't be many beings who can wield the Darkness and Death Law outside of the Dark Continent unless they are demons…"

Not only were wielders of these laws were few, but Leon also did not believe demons would be so kind as to help them clean up their rat problem.

Boom. Boom.

Distant rumbles were heard from time to time, coming from the far horizon where the twelve crimson pillars of Demonic Energy shooting into the heavens were located.

Nevertheless, the chaotic situation deep in the Wildlands was none of Leon's concern. That was something for the local beasts and humans residing there to worry about.

"Where are you, Duna?! Answer me if you hear me!" Leon continued calling out as he scoured the black region with the three-tailed silver wolf.

"Awrooo!"

Silver howled periodically.

Although the area was searched by Leon's divine sense, the three-tailed silver wolf still knocked over piles of rat carcasses as it followed some distance behind him.

"Just how many carcasses are there here? It must be in the tens of millions at least." Leon furrowed his brows while pondering. "To think Duna slaughtered all these rats by herself in one night…"

Duna's killing speed was a little too terrifying for Leon to imagine as he pondered, "How did she achieve this much in one night?"

Nevertheless, he did not think too deeply before his attention shifted to a specific mountain of black carcasses in the distance.

The sunlight in the area was also especially intense.

Underneath the piles of blackened rat carcasses, Duna's sleeping figure was quickly locked onto by Leon's divine sense.

"Duna!" Leon shouted.

He immediately shot over before he lifted the mountain of carcasses with Divine Will.

While keeping the carcass mountain as cover from the sunlight, Leon slid his arm under Duna's spirit body in black dress and picked her up slightly before studying her condition.

"As I feared, Duna has been harmed by the sun's strong surge of Solar Energy!" Leon quickly determined with a frown.

Duna's pale white spirit body felt very soft to the touch and very similar to a female human's delicate flesh, except there was no warmth exuded from her spirit body.

Leon could only feel icy coolness.

At that moment, Duna's pale body was blackened like charred firewoods and filled with cracks like broken chalks.

She appeared to be in a very weak and fragile state.

At this realization, Leon was afraid to move her too further in case of aggravating her condition.

Even her black dress made of Yin Energy had mostly disappeared in various areas, revealing much of Duna's fair body that was beautiful like sculpted jades.

Leon studied her body seriously without any lewd thoughts. Definitely not.

"Awroof!"

Silver suddenly barked.

"Ahem." Leon coughed lightly after his thoughts were interrupted by the three-tailed silver wolf before he took out spare black clothes and draped them over Duna's exposed body.

"What is it?" Leon glanced at the Silver impassively.

The three-tailed silver wolf snorted.

Shortly after, Leon thought of something was glanced back at Duna and took a peek under her draped clothes before his brows furrowed.

Generally, the soul dress made of Yin Energy is white. It only becomes black after mixing with Darkness Energy, which has also become a distinguishable trait of Duna and Lumi switching personas.

However, Duna became white-dressed since her awakening while Lumi was nowhere to be seen. Now that they have become black-dressed, does this mean Lumi has reclaimed control of the body?

Even if that was the case, she was still unconscious. And more importantly, what about Duna? Was she okay?

"You worked hard."

Leon sighed softly while gazing down at Duna and Lumi's sleeping face.

After a moment, Leon carefully sent their body into the Worldspace and placed them on the ice bed within the Yin-biome of the herb garden.

This was done to preserve their body and prevent their present condition from possibly deteriorating.

Furthermore, there was no better place for Leon to put them. Evidently, the ice bed was the best choice available to him.

Nevertheless, Leon's frown did not relax after his astral avatar disappeared from the Worldspace and returned his consciousness outside.

"Duna and Lumi will not be able to recover if they cannot regain their consciousness..." Leon muttered while rubbing his frown.

"Hm?"

Leon suddenly paused with a thoughtful look.

"I recall reading about a type of spiritual treatment technique that allows a person to dive into the consciousness of their patients to rouse them awake from their long comas and vegetative states... I should look further deeper into this once I get back."

In truth, he had started reading into this technique that was called [Soul Dive] while he was researching soul-related treatments in the Archive when Duna and Lumi had fallen unconscious previously.

However, he thought that it was no longer necessary after Duna awakened. But as it turns out, it was still required in the end.

"Silver, we are done here. Let us head back to the Great Wall!" Leon called out to the nearby three-tailed silver wolf.

"Awrooof!" Silver responded.

...

Meanwhile, back at the Great Wall, the rat tide situation became intense after the rats completed their mutation phase.

Their danger level was raised to new heights.

"Here comes another wave! Raise your shields, men!" General Marquis Hendrick barked to human soldiers and elven warriors alike.

At that moment, everyone had retreated back to the top of the Great Wall, equipped with vine shields.

After hearing General Marquis Hendrick's orders, they immediately raised their large shields together and entered a tortoise-like formation as numerous spikes shot over from below.

The Wingrats became similar to Porcupines after their drastic mutation. Their entire missing layer of fur was replaced by hundreds of spikes that could be projected from their bodies like missiles!

Even worse, these spikes could be quickly regrown!

At the bottom of the Great Wall on the Human Domain's side, several soldiers could be seen skewered to death by said spikes.

Evidently, everyone had already experienced the threat of the spikes firsthand and made countermeasures.

Chapter 528 - Rain And Lightning

Phft! Phft! Phft!

The rain of spikes shortly struck the vine shields repeatedly with swishing sounds as the soldiers and elven warriors endured the onslaught.

While the rats have mutated into a deadlier beast, their strength had not grown too big.

Even so, few weaker soldiers and elven warriors in the rear formation were unable to withstand the repeated battling of spikes as their arms gave way.

After their vine shields dropped, they were skewered until they fell off the wall and plunge to their deaths. With the number of spikes pierced into their bodies, even if they somehow survive the fall, they were beyond saving either.

"Take cover, everyone!" An Elder warned.

At the bottom of the Great Wall, numerous survivors from the military city immediately screamed at the downpour of spikes that made it past the Great Wall.

Everyone immediately scurried for shelters within the buildings after being warned by one of the Elders.

However, there were few exceptions.

Some were too fricken with fear that they were rooted on the spot as they gazed at the incoming rain of spikes with wide eyes.

The few Elders and elven warriors stationed at the bottom were able to save some of the survivors, but not all of them.

The few unfortunate ones were immediately skewered to death.

Back on the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick did not have the luxury to keep tabs on the casualty.

Shortly after the rats fired their spikes, another wave of rats immediately rushed forwards and scaled the Great Wall by leaping on top of each other.

"Burn them!" General Marquis Hendrick quickly roared after the volley of spikes ended.

The soldiers and elven warriors immediately disengaged from their tortoise-like formation before Fire Awakeners stepped forward and produce a large flame wave that dropped down on the mutated rats!

Alongside them, the soldiers quickly brought forward the wine and oil before pouring them over the wall to feed the flames and create a bigger fire!

Squeak! Squeak!

The mutated rats immediately cried in burning agony before the piling mountain of rats quickly collapsed back to the ground.

Even so, the rats quickly avoided the area like a plague before rushing to other places without fire to scale the Great Wall.

Flames were not as effective on the mutated rats as they were before the rat's mutation.

Meanwhile, roughly 80 yards away from the Great Wall, the airship hovered high in the sky under the Elder Tree's crown while the Elder Tree busied stomping down on rats en masse with its large roots.

Boom! Boom!

Every slam shattered the earth and collapsed the ground, revealing the subterranean space underneath as the mutated rats in the area were plunged into chaos.

Nevertheless, the mutated rats ignored the Elder Tree's onslaught and continued to rush towards the Great Wall.

The berserk mutated rats were never interested in anything they could not eat.

If they cannot pick up the scent of other living fleshly beings, they would feed on the flesh of their own dead brethren. And if there were no deceased rats nearby, only then would they attack each other.

"How many exploding pills do we have left?" Princess Thessalia inquired while she observed the situation on the surface from the edge of the airship.

The personal guards following Princess Thessalia immediately checked the inventory before one of them answered, "We are down to four dozens pills left, Your Highness!"

"I see." Princess Thessalia nodded before she requested from the airship captain, "Please take us closer to the wall, captain. We will use these few remaining exploding pills to assist the Great Wall's defense by targeting the mountains of rats!"

"Understood, princess."

The captain nodded.

Under the airship, numerous dents could be seen on the airship's hull. Evidently, the airship had also been targeted as it carried more than fifty people on board.

Although damaged, none of the spikes had managed to penetrate the hull.

As the airship descended in altitude, a portion of the rat tide was quickly attracted over as they aimed at the flying steel boat in the sky with the spikes on their back.

Phft! Phft!

The spikes ripped through the air, closing in on the airship swiftly!

However…

Bip! Bip! Bip!

The sound akin to hail on a rooftop was heard coming from the airship's hull before numerous spikes were bounced off while several others snapped on impact!

Nevertheless, the spikes rained back down on the mutated rats before several dozens to hundreds were impaled to death shortly after.

Crackle!

The thunderclouds in the sky above the Elder Tree crackled with thunder before a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the ground in a flash some distance away!

Bzzt!

Several mutated rats were immediately fried as they were struck by the scattered electrical discharge.

Within the dense rolling clouds of thunder, Aria did not continue to cultivate after recharging her energy reserves to the brim.

Instead, she tamed the thunderclouds and controlled the rain and lightning in the sky after paying attention to the situation on the surface.

The thunderclouds moved like a singular object under her will and steered away from the Great Wall before she rained lightning bolts on the mutated rat tide like some thunder god!

It had become her personalized nimbus!

Bzzt! Bzzt!

The power of the lightning bolts was great, but its killing efficiency was not!

However, it did not take long before a sudden downpour of rain descended on the surface and soaked the region in icy coldness.

The rain's freezing temperature slowed down the mutated rats' movements and cooled their minds, forcefully snapping them out of their berserk state!

Unfortunately, the rats did not regain their sanity for long before a bolt of lightning descended and caused a chain reaction as the powerful electric discharge zapped through the water!

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Tens of thousands of rats were immediately wiped out in an instance!

Shortly after, more bolts of lightning descended one after the other! Aria's kill count soared rapidly as she shocked the mutated rat tide to death, en masse!

On the Great Wall, General Marquis Hendrick and the other saw the barrage of lightning and felt a chill in their hearts.

It only takes one stray lightning to stun—if not outright kill everyone on the Great Wall!

Chapter 529 - Frozen Calamity

Grassland Region.

Moments before the Cataclysm erupted, the advance party of the army had departed for the Western Frontier.

Lilith sat in the back of a large military truck along with two dozen other soldiers despite being offered the privilege to sit in the front seat with the driver, where it was more spacious.

Lilith had insisted on sitting in the back with the other soldiers.

She did not want to take up the seat of another high-ranking soldier due to special treatment from the commander leading the advance party of roughly 2000 men.

The military truck traveled along the main road with 100-odd other military trucks following in tow behind one another, forming a long single row of military trucks.

Lilith's military truck was the leading vehicle in the advance party.

At that moment, when the entire world was struck by the eruption of the sun's great solar flare, the entire advance party managed to avoid the scorching heatwave coming from the sunlight.

Even so, the temperature quickly soared, causing the military trucks' interiors to become hot and stuffy.

The leading military truck came to an abrupt stop due to the sudden change, causing the rest of the transport vehicles following behind to also stop.

"What happened? Where did this heatwave suddenly come from?" A soldier spoke in the back of the leading military truck.

"I don't know, but this heat is killing me! I'll go out and check!" said another soldier, who was seated on the far rear just opposite of Lilith.

However, the soldier only stuck his head out before the intense sunlight burned him.

"Ahhh!" The soldier cried from the searing heat before another soldier seated near the front urged, "Quickly pull him back inside!"

Nevertheless, the nearby soldiers had immediately reacted and pulled the soldier back inside before the person could finish speaking.

Shortly after, they gazed at the burns on the soldier's head before gasping with shock, "How can sunlight be so intense?!"

"How bad is it?" The burned soldier asked with a bitter smile before saying, "I will make sure to always wear my helmet from now on…"

Meanwhile, the commander sitting in the front passenger seat narrowed his eyes before he stated, "The Cataclysm must have erupted!"

"What shall we do now, commander?" The driver asked.

"We can't stay here in the open sunlight. We need to quickly find some shade. Go, take us off road!" The commander spoke before pulling out a communication device to notify the others.

Commander quickly understood that the temperature would eventually drop after the initial surge. However, everyone would be grilled before that happens.

"Yes, sir!"

The driver answered.

Unfortunately, the truck refused to move like it was stuck in something.

"What's the matter? Why aren't we going?"

"Sir, I think the tires have melted!"

…

Meanwhile, Demonic Energy surged from the deep subterranean space underneath the World Tree after the cataclysmic eruption.

Lynne's eyes snapped open from her meditated cultivation before shooting to her feet with furrowed brows.

Looking at the heatwave transforming the world around her into a field of red, Lynne muttered, "Is this the so-called Cataclysm recorded in history. It came so suddenly…"

Shortly after, she frowned at the red energy seeping out from underneath the World Tree while the screams and growls of explorers within could be heard.

She was suddenly surprised by a deep sense of loathing for the red mist despite not knowing what it was. The feeling seems to be surging from deep within her very soul.

A few people managed to take the rope lifts and escaped the subterranean space before they were stopped by soldiers.

"What is happening down there?" The soldier interrogated.

The explorer's eyes darted left and right at what was also happening outside before he responded with panic, "I don't know! Red mists suddenly surged from out of nowhere before people started going crazy and tore at each other!"

"People went crazy and tore at each other…?" The soldier repeated incredulously before he suddenly noticed the explorer's eyes turning red from numerous blood veins. "Hey, are you alrigh—"

The explorer suddenly lunged at the soldier and bit his neck, tearing off a piece of flesh from the person before the soldier wailed, "Ahh! Get him off me!"

"Are you f*cking crazy, cannibalistic psycho!" Two nearby soldiers quickly pulled the frenzied explorer off the soldier.

Bang!

The frenzied explorer was shot dead in the head by another more decisive soldier before the person urged, "Leave the body here and quickly take this brother to get treated by a Wood Awakener!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers said after a moment of surprise.

Blood spurted crazily from the soldier's bitten neck while the person tried to stop the bleeding with his hands.

Nevertheless, strength rapidly left the soldier's body due to the blood loss.

"Quickly! We are losing him!"

"Yes, sir!"

At the same time, numerous people in the World Tree vicinity could be seen rushing towards it while holding items of all kinds above their heads, shielding themselves from the intense sunlight.

Without a doubt, the World Tree provided the biggest cover from the sunlight and was also the coolest spot in the Grassland Region!

Anyone taking shelter elsewhere is either too far away or simply idiots! Even so, the World Tree was not exactly the safest place to be either!

"What should we do, sir? We cannot stay near these red mists, but we cannot leave the region either," Asked a soldier as he hoped for a good solution from his immediate superior.

The higher-ranking soldier furrowed his brows in thought before he noticed Lynne approaching the red mist.

"Be careful of the red mists, Miss Lynne! They are dangerous!" The person warned.

However, Lynne did not seem to have heard the soldier.

She continued walking towards one of the many entrances leading to the subterranean space underneath the World Tree before she waved her hand.

A cold breeze quickly flew past, freezing all the red mist before they dropped to the ground like blocks of ice and shattered into countless pieces.

"Leave the subterranean space to me," Lynne said impassively.

While she approached the entrance equipped with rope lifts, her eyes glowed with blue light.

Frosty mists exuded from her being and surrounded her in biting coldness while every step she took left behind patches of frozen soil.

The coldness froze all the red mist before they could come close to Lynne. Even the nearby soldiers suddenly shivered from the chilly air.

On one side, they were freezing from the temperature drop, while on the other side, they were melting from the rising hot temperature.

The temperature around Lynne continued to drop below freezing point, causing the surrounding ground to quickly freeze as they were no longer limited to her footsteps.

Even her black hair quickly turned white again.

Shortly after arriving at the edge, she took her first step into the air before stepping onto a quickly forming staircase of ice.

After reaching the bottom of the subterranean space, all the berserker explorers and researchers in the area were quickly attracted to Lynne's scent and rushed towards her.

Facing a few familiar faces among the group, Lynne's expression was surprisingly calm as she softly uttered, "Ice Phoenix's Absolute Blizzard of Frozen Calamity."

Swoosh—!

A blizzard storm surged out from her body and instantly transformed the entire space into a domain of frozen hell.

The red mist, the people, the ground, the walls, the air itself, everything was frozen in a layer of ice.

Chapter 530 - Ballistic Missiles

Wildlands.

In the far western parts beyond the Great Wall, the carcasses of both normal and mutated rats filled the plains as Leon and Silver quickly returned.

The skies gradually became less bright as the initial wave of the solar flare passed, returning the world to its previous brightness while the temperature dropped at a slow but sure rate.

Leon suddenly paused in the middle of the journey before he observed the surroundings with creased brows.

"Death Energy is increasing due to the dead rats in the area…" Leon muttered before shifting his gaze to the Wrathful Demonic Energy suffused in the air.

At the same time, Silver's paws dug up dirt as it came to a grinding halt before it looked back at Leon confusedly, "Awroof?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm probably just overthinking." Leon shook his head before he said, "Let us continue heading back."

"Arf, arf!"

Shortly after, Leon and Silver resumed their journey.

…

Great Wall.

The battle between people and rats continued to rage on.

After the Aria's rain of lightning bolts shaved away a large portion of the mutated rat tide, the mutated rat's movement took a sudden change.

"The mutated rats are retreating!" An elven warrior exclaimed with surprise.

Everyone watched the mutated rats retreated from the foot of the Great Wall, heading towards the lightning-ridden region with excitement.

"We won! We defeated the rat tide!" Another elven warrior declared before a weary soldier gazed at the retreating mutated rat tide and muttered, "Did we really win just like that?"

However, General Marquis Hendrick frowned.

Generally, the mutated rat tide is still under the berserk state. They would not leave unless a bigger prey attracted their attention.

"They must have been frightened away by Miss Aria's bolts of lightning! Lightning Awakeners are so overwhelming!"

"I agree that Lightning Awakeners are powerful, but if the rats are truly frightened by lightning, they should be running away from that lightning region and not towards it!"

The elven warriors and human soldiers debated.

Within the lightning-ridden region, remnant traces of lightning danced between puddles of water and in between mutated rat carcasses and their spikes.

The area had become a sea of lightning after becoming energized by the numerous lightning bolts that struck the area.

In the sky, Aria frowned at the mutated rat tide's movement.

"What are these rats up to? If they rush into this lightning-ridden region, they will electrocute themselves to death." Aria muttered.

The following scene went precisely as she expected it.

The mutated rat tide dived into the sea of lightning and electrocuted themselves to death. White smoke rose from their fried bodies as they piled on top of their already electrocuted brethren.

As more mutated rats dived into the area, the lightning-affected region gradually became less effective as the lightning power diminished.

Just as Aria prepared to send down more bolts of lightning, she, as well as everyone else, was surprised by the mutated rats sinking their sharp teeth into the cooked flesh of their fallen brethren.

"The mutated rats are eating their own kind!" a person exclaimed while the elven warriors and human soldiers on the Great Wall all widened their eyes in shock.

They could not understand why this was happening.

"Could it be that they prefer cooked flesh over raw flesh?"

"But that is their own kind! What the hell is wrong with them?"

"Everything is wrong with them, actually!"

As they continued to observe the situation in the distance, one of the soldiers wondered, "Would they leave us alone after they fill their bellies?"

"Maybe if they are normal, but they are not normal at all. The rats have all gone berserk! Even if they are not hungry, I believe they would still try to kill us for the sake of killing!" another person spoke.

At the same time, Princess Thessalia was also observing the situation from the airship in the sky.

As the mutated rats consumed the electrocuted flesh of their fallen brethren, a few sparks of electricity appeared on the mutated rat's spikes.

Princess Thessalia's pupils immediately shrank at the scene.

"Miss Aria, they are gaining lightning immunity from eating the dead rats! They are becoming intelligent!" Princess Thessalia shouted.

Once Aria heard this, her eyes immediately flickered.

The mutated rat tide was already a problem in their berserk state.

If they were becoming smarter whilst still in their berserk state, it was hard to imagine how much more significant of a threat they would pose to everyone.

Aria quickly reacted and rained down more bolts of lightning on the mutated rat tide.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Squeak! Squeak!

The mutated rats cried while getting struck by lightning. White smoke rose from their seared flesh, but the lightning was shortly drawn to the spikes on their backs.

Shortly after, the spikes lit up with electricity dancing between them like lightning rods!

This was not as simple as gaining lightning immunity. No, the mutated rats have gained lightning attributes, which made them resistant to lightning!

"Oh my god, these mutated rats can gain the power of lightning from eating lightning-infused flesh just like that?!"

Many people's jaws dropped.

However, more surprises were waiting in store for them!

Shortly after gaining lightning attributes, the lightning-mutated rats began rushing back to the Great Wall, stopping some distance away from the foot of the wall before raising their backs with pointed lightning spikes.

"These mutated rats are resistant to lightning now, but they should still be weak to fire! Use your remaining exploding pills now!" Princess Thessalia barked.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The personal guards quickly complied and dumped their few remaining exploding pills on the lightning-mutated rat tide below.

Boom! Boom!

Bursts of flames immediately swallowed the lightning-mutated rats before lightning and fire clashed, generating a greater explosion!

BOOM!

Lightning-mutated rats exploded into pieces like firecrackers as their bodies burst into flames with sparks of electrical discharge scattering!

Shortly after, the other lightning-mutated rats immediately directed their lightning spikes at the airship hovering in the sky above.

Princess Thessalia felt a chill and quickly roared, "Take us out of here, captain!"

"At once, Princess Thessalia!" The captain quickly complied.

Unfortunately, they failed to escape in time.

The lightning spikes projected from the mutated rats like a flash of lightning as they zipped through the air and penetrated the airship's hull like being barraged by ballistic missiles!

The airship was turned into sieves before it began dropping out of the sky.

Chapter 531 - Icicle Shower

"Princess Thessalia!"

Many elves on the Great Wall cried while everyone else widened their eyes in shock at the penetrative power of the mutated rat's ballistic lightning spikes.

Swoosh~!

Supreme Elder Haldir immediately took off from the Great Wall after equipping his vine armor and wings, flying towards the plummeting airship in hopes of saving Princess Thessalia.

"Please be safe, Princess Thessalia!" The elves quickly prayed.

In the elven camp outside of the military city, Faelyn suddenly turned towards the Great Wall, vaguely sensing something that made her heart anxious.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness? Your face looks a bit pale," An elvish man asked out of concern after placing down a barrel and wiping the sweats off his forehead.

Faelyn touched her cheeks absentmindedly before she shook her head, "It's fine. I'm just feeling a little unsettled for some reason."

"Perhaps, something big has happened on the Great Wall? If it puts your heart at peace, you can go check, Your Highness. You do not need to worry about us. We'll be fine on our own for now." Another elvish man spoke.

At that moment, large banana leaf trees were erected everywhere in the area, sucking up all the water in the ground and casting a massive shade over the elven camp for the tribesmen to take shelter from the hot sun.

Many tribesmen could be seen resting on the vine floor, massaging their sore muscles from the long trip, while others fanned themselves due to the heat.

At the same time, a few elven volunteers could be seen distributing bananas around to the tribesmen to satiate their hunger and recover their energy.

"Then I will go and check for a bit," Faelyn said hesitantly while looking around at her tribesmen, urging her to leave.

"Yes, Your Highness. Don't worry about us and go with a peace of mind."

"Yeah, maybe you can share with us what is happening out there when you are back, your Highness."

The tribesmen spoke.

"Alright, thank you, everyone." Faelyn nodded before she departed the elven camp with a big banana leaf over her head.

Shortly after, Faelyn arrived on the Great Wall.

"What's the current situation?"

"Y-Your Highness? Y-You're here."

The elven warriors were surprised before Faelyn nodded with furrowed brows and said, "Yes, is that a problem?"

"Perhaps, it's better not to come here. It's not safe, Your Highness." An elven warrior warned with a mixture of fear and concern.

Nevertheless, the elven warrior did not retreat from his post.

Faelyn could immediately sense the tense atmosphere on the Great Wall before she made her way through the rows of elven warriors and soldiers lined up on the wall.

Before she could reach the front, she heard General Marquis Hendrick shouted, "Raise your shields and brace for impact! Here comes another volley of spikes!"

At the same time, General Marquis Hendrick snapped his fingers and summoned a winding tempest in front of the Great Wall to divert some of the incoming lightning spikes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thousands of ballistic lightning spikes quickly rained on the Great Wall in quick successions, causing audible rumbles on the wall before some soldiers and elven warriors were struck from the front!

The power of the ballistic lightning spikes immediately pierced the shields of several dozen soldiers and elven warriors, blasting them off the Great Wall along with everyone else behind them!

Faelyn froze as the few people besides her were blown off the Great Wall along with the other unlucky soldiers and elven warriors struck by the ballistic lightning spikes.

The remaining soldiers and elven warriors drew deep breathes to calm their tight nerves before their expression turned extremely grave.

No one knew when the next volley of ballistic lightning spikes would strike them next.

Even so, they cannot retreat unless they were given the order to withdraw. No one also knew when the next breath they draw will be their last, but they were prepared to be killed at any moment!

"Such power… this isn't something people below the 9th step Awakener can withstand!" General Marquis Hendrick frowned.

Looking at the gaps in their formation, he was about to order the troops to reform themselves and fill the gaps.

However, such orders were the same as sending the weaker troops to death.

Faelyn shortly recovered before searched the sky.

"Where's the airship? Where's my elder sister, Princess Thessalia?" Faelyn quickly asked a nearby warrior after failing to locate the airship. After a moment, she also added, "Where's the Supreme Elder as well?"

"Princess Thessalia and the Supreme Elder are…" The elven warrior shortly responded while turning his gaze towards the front.

Faelyn frowned and quickly made her way to the front before noticing the airship had crashlanded on the surface in the middle of the mutated rat tide.

Although a dome of vines fully enclosed the deck and successfully prevented the mutated rats from breaking through, the condition of the people inside remained uncertain.

In the sky, Aria bit her lips with a heavy and guilt-ridden expression.

Although she slew a large portion of the mutated rat tide, she also made the situation worse for the others.

Who would have known the mutated rats were capable of such transformations?

Shortly after, Aria's eyes became resolute with intense killing intent.

If lightning attacks are no longer effective against the mutated rat tide, she will use elemental ice attacks instead!

She raised one of her hands into the sky before the surrounding temperature quickly plummeted below the freezing point.

Shortly after, the raindrops transformed into sharp icicles, frozen in midair around Aria.

Once her raised hand was dropped, volleys of icicle attacks immediately rained down on the mutated rat tide, impaling thousands of mutated rats to death!

Some dozen miles away from the Great Wall, Leon arrived on a distant hill with Silver stopping beside him.

The rat tide had shrunk significantly since he last left the Great Wall.

However, the situation appeared quite delicate and dangerous as he observed the ongoing icicle shower ahead with [Spirit Eyes].

Shortly after, his gaze shifted to the fallen airship and spikes in the Great Wall.

"To think the Great Wall would fall to such dire straits even with the Elder Tree's help in the area…" Leon muttered with a raised brow before he quickly urged, "Let's go, Silver! Time to hunt!"

"Awrooo!"