613-623

Chapter 613 - Plague

"I... Is that really alright?"

"Of course! Why don't you try asking the others for the opinions?" Leon suggested casually.

Lilith hesitated for a moment, but the answer was already clear in her heart.

After making her resolve, she spoke to the group with a firm look, "This might be selfish of me to ask of you all, but please help me save my clan, everyone."

"I don't mind. I have nothing to do anyway," Duna spoke before nonchalantly stating, "However, this Desolate Netherbird Prince better pose enough challenge to keep me entertained."

"…"

Beastkin warriors were immediately speechless.

"Do you even understand what you are saying? The Desolate Crow Clan's problem isn't something that can be solved with bravery alone! We are talking about facing multiple Mid-Rank 2 Transcendents here!"

Jorn clenched his fist and continued, "And if we hurt the Second Prince, the Desolate Netherbird King will not be pleased! The wrath of a Paragon is not something anyone can endure, let alone an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent like you!"

Although he was unsure what kind of being Duna was, he could at least vaguely sensed her strength to be around the Early-Rank 1 Transcendent, according to the aura she emitted.

Nevertheless, Duna's expression became cold once again after listening.

"Although I don't need to prove anything to you, your ignorance pisses me off. Perhaps, I should just erase your existence from the face of the earth?"

A wisp of Destruction Law gathered on the tip of Duna's fingers as she spoke, "Paragons are nothing to me!"

Her Destruction Law could even destroy the fabled Celestials that exist beyond the Transcendent Realm!

Of course, it is a different matter entirely whether they would just let Duna strike them with the power of destruction.

Leon blew a wisp of Nihility Law over and snuffed out Duna's Destruction Law before he chided, "Don't use your Destruction Law so casually. It's troublesome to heal."

"Don't I have you?" Duna grinned slyly with a hint of flirtatiousness.

"..."

Leon's lips twitched.

What he meant was that it was troublesome for him! Not her!

'Am I your emergency first-aid kit or something?' Leon thought speechlessly.

"What was that power just now? Did you just call it the Destruction Law?" Jorn inquired with shock. He felt all his hair rising the moment the power came into existence.

Nevertheless, Duna was too lazy to explain it to the beastkin warrior.

At the same time, the rest of the beastkin warriors all looked the group in a new light.

They realized that everyone in the group was extraordinary in their own way, whether it was status or power.

Meanwhile, Aria turned to Lilith and spoke with a smile, "A friend of Leon is also a friend of mine. Of course, I will be willing to help a friend out."

"Thank you, Aria..." Lilith expressed her gratitude for Aria's willingness to lend a hand.

However, shortly after, her brows slightly wrinkled with doubt, not sure whether it was just an illusion, but Aria seemed to have emphasized the word "friend."

"Don't worry about it, friend," Aria waved it off as a small matter.

'No, no, no, she is definitely emphasizing the word "friend" to me,' Lilith thought speechlessly.

Shortly after, Lilith turned her head to seek Soft Feather's opinion.

However, before she could say something, Soft Feather spoke first.

"Don't look at me. I am just a ride. I will follow wherever he goes," Soft Feather said lazily while throwing Leon a glance.

"Thank you..."

"I don't know whether I can be of any help at all, but I will do my best," Darlene quickly spoke with a humble attitude as soon as Lilith's gaze fell on her.

Leon noticed Darlene's hidden troubles and concerns before he made a mental note to help her increase her cultivation as soon as he can.

"Well, there you have it."

Leon eventually clapped his hands after everyone voiced their opinions to Lilith before turning to Jorn.

"Looks like we will be staying after all," Leon smiled slightly.

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into here," Jorn stated with a deep frown.

"Oh, but I think I know very well what I am getting myself into. It's precisely because I know that I cannot leave."

Leon spoke coolly before urging, "Let us not waste any more time and enter the clan. I'm sure there's a lot of sick people in need of help."

"How did you know that?" Jorn widened his eyes in astonishment, not understanding how Leon knew what was happening in the clan.

"Well, I am a doctor after all," Leon explained before commenting casually, "It would be weird if nothing is wrong when your entire clan is living in an enclosed area under this heap of carcasses."

At the same time, Lilith was startled before asking with a frown, "What exactly is going on in the clan, Uncle Jorn? What are you hiding from me?"

"Well..." Jorn smiled bitterly before saying, "It is as Prince Leon said. Everyone in the clan is currently sick."

"Only Transcendents haven't been affected yet. However, the plague is getting worse. It'll only be a matter of time before it affects everyone."

"This... you wanted me to leave because of this?" Lilith asked.

"Partly the reason. I did not lie to you, Little Princess. The Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent will capture you if he finds out."

Jorn shortly turned to Leon and inquired with a solemn look, "How do you planning on dealing with this?"

"We will see how bad the plague is first before I decide on an efficient treatment method. If that Lord Ballsacks wants to interfere, then we will simply just kill him," Leon stated calmly.

Jorn was immediately taken aback before correcting Leon, "It's actually Lord Bahlzacs..."

"Hm? What did you say?"

"No, never mind... It's nothing."

Jorn decided to keep silent and observed from the side for now.

Although he did not believe this group of people could overturn the whole situation, there was some faint hope in his heart after witnessing their mysterious abilities.

Perhaps he will be able to witness a miracle.

Shortly after, everyone made their way over to the entrance into the Desolate Crow Clan before the ladies all furrowed their brows in disgust.

Without needing to enter the Desolate Crow Clan, they already understood that the place reeked with a pungent stench—and most likely very unsanitary.

"This place reeks… No wonder there's a plague..."

"Rats are known for being carriers of diseases. If you don't clean up after you are done with the battle, then you are asking to be stricken with the plague…"

The ladies commented.

The beastkin warriors all wore helpless looks before Jorn explained with a sigh, "Everyone was already worn out from the battle. Before we could recover some strength to clean up the mess, it was already too late."

"I doubt the mutant rats would have come close if you had just set fire to the place. That would have definitely given your people some room to breathe," Leon shrugged.

Shortly after glancing at the size of the entrance, he glanced over at Soft Feather's huge body before saying, "I'm afraid you will have to stay outside, Soft Feather. Will you be fine waiting out here?"

"Of course. Why would I want to squeeze myself down that filthy hole?" Soft Feather responded with disgust. "I wouldn't go down there even if you kill me."

"Haha, alright. Call me if something happens."

…

Sometime later, Leon arrived inside the Desolate Crow Clan with Duna, Lilith, Jorn, and the other beastkin warriors while Aria and Darlene thoughtfully stayed back to keep Soft Feather company.

"The situation is worse than I thought," Leon frowned deeply while looking at all the bodies littering the streets of the Desolate Crow Clan.

Among them, there were some that no longer had any breath left in them. In other words, people were already dying from the plague within a mere span of a few days.

"As you can see, the situation is quite bad," Jorn introduced while leading the way.

Duna expressed little emotion regarding the sorry sight within the Desolate Crow Clan. On the other hand, Lilith was completely shocked.

"Quite bad? That's an understatement! How did the situation degrade to such a state?! It's only been a few days since the Cataclysm started!"

"How indeed…" Leon muttered in deep contemplation before his eyes flickered in realization, "If the rats can mutate, then so can the diseases it carries…"

The situation was much trickier than he had hoped for.

Pre-existing diseases all had treatment solutions, but if they mutated into variant diseases, then he would have to conduct research to develop new treatment methods for them.

Fortunately, he had the Divine Book of Life. Otherwise, he would not have any confidence in treating variant diseases brought by the Cataclysm.

"Little Princess, please use a clean and wet cloth to cover your face while breathing. The plague is quite contagious and spreads really quickly. Although this doesn't help much, it still lowers the risk of you contracting airborne diseases."

Jorn warned while offering a few wet cloths for Lilith to choose from before she accepted with a nod, "Alright…"

Shortly after, a sickly boy made his way over and tugged on Leon's clothes before pleading weakly, "Big brother, can you please help my mother? She is very sick and refuses to eat…"

Leon was surprised for a moment before he realized why he was chosen from among their group. The child naturally feared the beastkin warriors while he was a new face.

As expected, without any surprises, Jorn's expression changed abruptly upon seeing an infected child touching the human prince.

"Filthy child! Get your hands away from, Prince Leon!" Jorn barked, causing the little boy to tremble with fear.

"Uncle Jorn! How could you raise your voice against a child?!" Lilith immediately chided.

Chapter 614 - Holy Water

As Lilith reprimanded Uncle Jorn, she crouched down and placated the little boy, "Don't cry, don't cry. Where is your mother? This big brother here will definitely help."

"Isn't that right, Leon?"

"Hm, yeah. It's still too early to tell how tricky the variant disease is, but it shouldn't be a problem for me," Leon nodded reassuringly.

At the same time, Uncle Jorn's expression turned ghastly upon seeing the Little Princess make contact with the little boy before he shouted with concern, "Little Princess, you mustn't touch this boy! You'll also contract his disease!"

"Un. There's a chance that I might." Lilith acknowledged with a nod.

However, her expression did not reveal any concern for her own wellbeing before she continued, "But even if I do get infected, I believe Leon will be able to cure it."

"Even if you say that, nothing has been proven yet. You don't know that for sure—"

"If Leon cannot cure this plague, then it will be my fate to die with my people. It is simple as that. I cannot stand by while my people suffer. If we suffer, we suffer together. And if we die, we die together," Lilith stated.

Uncle Jorn opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He was both stunned and surprised to hear such words of resolution to come out from the Little Princess's mouth.

Was this still the Little Princess that ran away from home a few months ago?

"You've grown up, Little Princess." Uncle Jorn sighed.

Shortly after, he turned to Leon and sincerely requested with a steep bow, "I will leave the Little Princess in your care, Prince Leon. And also, I beg of you to save our people with whatever means possible."

"Un, I will do my best." Leon nodded.

"Thank you."

After receiving Leon's affirmation, Uncle Jorn turned around and commanded the beastkin warriors to leave with him.

"You're leaving, Uncle Jorn?" Lilith quickly asked.

Uncle Jorn paused his steps for a moment before saying, "I need to report back to Lord Ballsacks and buy you all some time."

"Didn't you say his name was Lord Bahlzacs?" Leon smiled.

"Ah?" Uncle Jorn shifted his gaze to Leon before he grinned, "Did I say otherwise? Must have been your imagination, Prince Leon."

Shortly after, Uncle Jorn finally left with the Transcendent-level beastkin warriors, heading for the main palace located in the center of the clan.

Leon's lips curved slightly before shaking his head.

The person called Uncle Jorn by Lilith was more approachable and amiable than he initially gave the person credit for.

"Brat, you're quite brave. How will you compensate me for staining my clothes?" Leon spoke to the little boy with a grin.

Rather than bravery, he knew the child sought help out of desperation. Still, it was commendable for one as young as the child, who appeared to only be roughly 10 years old.

Nevertheless, the little boy immediately shook with fear.

Lilith frowned and prepared to reprimand him for scaring the little boy, but before she could do so, Leon reached out his hand and ruffled the little boy's head.

"Hehe, I'm just joking. Here, eat this. It will make you feel better."

Leon immediately flicked a pill straight into the little boy's mouth before the pill melted and quickly spread its medicinal efficacy throughout the little boy's body.

Within a short moment, the sickly boy felt invigorated and lively again due to the Tier-1 All-Purpose Healing Pill's effects, albeit temporarily.

Nevertheless, it was enough to make the little boy excited.

"Wow, what did you just feed me, big brother? It tastes quite nice!" The little boy exclaimed while flexing his limbs energetically.

"Just a type of candy," Leon smiled.

"How can candies be this magical?" the little boy did not easily believe him.

Moments later, the little boy recalled his purpose for seeking help before he pleaded once more with teary eyes, "Big brother, I beg of you to help my mother!"

"Of course! Lead the way." Leon gestured to the boy to take them to his sick mother.

However, their little scene did not go unnoticed by the numerous sickly people lying weakly on the streets.

After taking a few steps, they were quickly surrounded by sickly people from the Desolate Crow Clan.

"A moment of your time, please! Please save my child as well, noble doctor! Her breathing so weakly, I'm afraid that she will stop breathing entirely in the next moment!" A desperate mother pushed through the crowd with her young daughter in her arms.

"Please save me too, noble doctor! Esteemed doctor!"

"Divine doctor! I beg of you to save me! I don't want to die!"

At the same time, numerous low-ranking Desolate Crow Clansmen spoke desperately while pushing and shoving each other to get in front of Leon, drawing extremely close and on the verge of knocking into the group.

"Hmph!" Duna snorted.

With a wave of her hand, the crowd was pushed back by black clouds of darkness before it formed a slithering serpent under her control of the Darkness Law.

"Ahh! The lady in black is killing people! Help!"

The sickly crowd retreated in fear of the black serpent made of darkness while crying loudly as several people stumbled and fell over, hurting not only themselves but also by others stepping on them.

"Ahhh! Stop! Don't step on me!"

"Nooo! Don't step on my child!"

The cries were loud and raucous, causing Duna to frown in annoyance as she raised a hand, preparing to silence the crowd.

"Stop it, Duna." Leon grabbed her hand and spoke, "They are just desperately seeking my help in order to survive. There's no need to use excessive force on them."

"Hmph! If we don't show them our strength, they will just walk all over us!" Duna snorted before stating fiercely, "This disorderly mob needs to be whipped into order!"

"What you said makes sense." Leon nodded before he added, "However, some of these people are already very weak due to the plague. I'm afraid your little display of force will kill them."

"Remember; we are here to save people, not kill them," Leon stated.

"Hmph, suit yourself." Duna snorted.

She took off from Leon's side and headed off to explore the Desolate Crow Clan on her own.

At the same time, a veil of darkness protecting a mother-daughter duo from being stepped on disappeared along with her.

Leon scratched his cheeks wryly.

Duna was outwardly cold and inwardly warm. Even so, some things needed to be said to prevent accidents from happening.

"Divine doctor, please save us…"

"I don't want to die… My family needs me…"

The crowd of sickly clansmen continued to plead for Leon's treatment, albeit from a distance. Evidently, they were afraid of annoying the only person who could potentially save them.

"What should we do, Leon? There's quite a lot of people gathered here. I don't think we can treat them all at once, even if you are the one treating them," Lilith sought Leon's opinion.

"Right… this is a bit troublesome…" Leon muttered before ruffling the little boy's head, "Sorry, brat. Saving your mother will have to wait a bit."

Shortly after, Leon strolled over to the mother-daughter duo and popped a Tier-1 All-Purpose Healing Pill into the 3-year old girl's little mouth.

"This medicine will not cure her, but it will help her recovering some fighting strength to last a bit longer," Leon explained to the mother.

"Thank you, doctor! Thank you very much!" The mother bowed in gratitude.

After witnessing the sick girl in the mother's arm recovering a lively complexion and stable breathing, the crowd became a bit restless.

Nevertheless, no one dared to step forward.

They waited for their turns to be treated impatiently with red eyes like a pack of hungry wolves that would devour whole—if given a chance, causing Leon's hair to rise with goosebumps and his lips to twitch slightly.

After observing the sick crowd while contemplating, Leon spotted a water fountain in the distance before his eyes lit up.

"Follow me, everyone."

Lilith quickly followed Leon closely while the crowd trailed some distance behind before they reached the water fountain moments later.

Leon glanced at the red water in the fountain that had been contaminated by rat blood before he quickly spread out his divine sense and began cleansing the water fountain.

The blood was gathered with Divine Will before getting extinguished by the Nihility Law. After taking several measures, the water fountain became sparkling clean.

The sick crowd observed silently with curiosity while a few marveled at his display of miraculous abilities, sensing the air in the area had also become slightly purer and less stuffy.

"What are you trying to do, Leon?" Lilith inquired.

"Preparing a temporary solution to buy time for your sick clansmen," Leon stated before he resumed taking out Tier-1 to Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills from the Worldspace and tossing them into the water fountain.

The Tier-1 and Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pills dissolved quickly like salt.

Shortly after, several spirit herbs were also refined on the spot with his 9-Star Fire Ability as he extracted their herbal essence and mixed it in the water fountain.

Within a short moment, the water fountain glowed with a soft green light.

"I guess this can be considered a type of Holy Water…" Leon muttered.

After completing his preparations, he could sense the restorative effects of the Holy Water just by looking at it.

Shortly after, he turned to face the crowd.

"The Holy Water has been prepared. All of you only need to take a sip to experience its effectiveness. Note that this is a temporary solution that will allow you to survive a bit longer."

"It will not completely cure you even if you were to drink everything.. So do not be greedy and share among yourselves accordingly," Leon stated calmly.

Chapter 615 - Hope And Attraction

"Thank you, Divine Doctor!"

"Thank you for helping us!"

The sick crowd quickly cheered before rushing to the water fountain after Leon moved away with Lilith and the little boy.

However, due to the affection of their sickness, their movements were, in fact, relatively slow, like they were shuffling.

"Easy! Don't push, don't push! Didn't you hear what the doctor said? This is just a temporary solution! Don't be greedy unless you don't want to be treated completely!"

"That's right! The doctor may be human, but we have all seen how effective his medicine is! He'll definitely be able to cure completely in the future!"

"Oi, oi! Stop shoving! Do you want to offend the human doctor with your non-compliance?!"

"I understand all that, but what does it matter if my child doesn't make it?! Make way! Please let me through first! My child won't last much longer!"

"F*ck, do you think the rest of us and our families are in any better conditions than your child? Don't be f*cking selfish!"

Despite Leon's warning, chaos still broke out within the sick crowd as they fought for the water fountain.

"Order—!!" Leon shouted.

His mighty voice immediately shook the area and stunned the sick crowd into silence.

Shortly after, Leon gestured to Lilith with a glance before she nodded in understanding.

She stepped forward before she began speaking in a clear voice, "If your symptoms are only mild, please let the severe ones through to drink from the water fountain first!"

"Don't forget that you are all clan members of my Desolate Crow Clan! Even if you are not directly related by blood, we are all one big family! Everyone should be good to each other so that we may overcome these difficult times together!"

After Lilith finished speaking, several sick clansmen in the lead immediately felt ashamed for not letting their more severely ill clansmen through.

"It's the Desolate Crow Princess... The Desolate Crow Princess is back!"

"Welcome back, Your Highness! Where have you been? Please lead us, Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, you should quickly hide! If Lord Bahlzacs hears of your return, he will personally capture you, Your Highness!"

The nearby clansmen immediately recognized their Desolate Crow Princess's return before offering their greetings and warnings.

Within a few lines, it was clear where their loyalty lies.

"All of you still see me as your princess even though I ran away and caused trouble for the clan?" Lilith inquired the nearby clansmen, feeling guilty after witnessing their unswerving loyalty to her Desolate Crow Royal Family.

"Your Highness, there is no need to be so harsh on yourself. We would have never learned about the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's ambition nor the Desolate Netherbird Royal Family's inner conflicts if you had not done so."

Lord Bahlzacs may be a powerful Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent, but he was still regarded as an outsider even if he took control of their clan by force.

This was especially so when Lord Bahlzacs's leadership does not bring them any benefits and only death.

"You only need to give us the word, and we will gather our forces to drive Lord Bahlzacs out of the Desolate Crow Clan, even if it means laying down our lives to do so!" A bulky male clansman spoke with a clenched fist.

"Right, Lord Bahlzacs had not cared for the wellbeing of the clansmen at all since he forcefully took control of the main palace! He has been nothing but a tyrant!"

"When should we retaliate, Your Highness?" Another clansman inquired.

Despite being weak and lethargic, the clansmen displayed determination in their gazes.

Lilith looked at them before she shook her head, "Now is not the time to retaliate against Lord Bahlzacs. He is still a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent, but more importantly, we must deal with this plague first."

"Go drink from the fountain to recover some energy and fighting strength for now. I believe it won't be long before the plague is resolved with this person around," Lilith spoke with a smile.

The clansmen shifted their gazes to Leon for a moment before one of them inquired their princess, "Where did you find such a capable person, Your Highness? Why is he your lover?"

"Friend… He is my friend…" Lilith immediately corrected with a slight blush before sneaking a glance at Leon.

However, he pretended not to have heard or noticed.

Rather, he reached out his hand and rubbed the head of the little boy who had been at their side all this time.

"Thanks for waiting patiently. What's your name?"

"My name is Abel, big brother." The boy answered.

"I see. Abel, is it?" Leon nodded before urging the boy, "You can lead us to your mother now. Is she far?"

Abel shook his head vehemently before pointing to a building some distance, "My mother inside our home over there!"

"Alright, let us head over and check your mother's condition."

"What about the rest of these people, Leon?" Lilith quickly asked after shooing away the clansmen, who became annoying after giving her ambiguous glances.

"The news about the Holy Water will spread quickly, and people will gather around the fountain for a scoop of Holy Water before long, crowding the area. We'll have a look at Abel's mother first and decide after."

Leon contemplated for a moment before adding, "It just so happens that their place will be more convenient for me to focus on finding a treatment solution for the plague. It's away from the crowd, and I won't be easily interrupted."

"I see. That makes sense." Lilith nodded in understanding.

Without further delay, the two of them followed the little boy home and disappeared off the main street of the Desolate Crow Clan.

Not long after, news of the Holy Water exploded, spreading rapidly throughout the Desolate Crow Clan, just like Leon predicted.

The Holy Water he refined was not something that could be kept hidden, especially during a plague like the Desolate Crow Clan was experiencing.

…

Inside of an ordinary household within another part of the Desolate Crow Clan, a little girl laid in bed weakly with a deathly pale complexion while her sickly mother held her hands at the side of the bed.

"Mum, I'm very sleepy…" The little girl spoke with droopy eyes.

The mother's hands immediately shook before she cried, "You mustn't sleep, my baby! If you sleep, you will never wake up again like the other people sleeping on the streets!"

"I don't think I can hold much longer, mum. Sleeping forever doesn't sound so bad…"

"No! You mustn't think like that, my darling! You must fight it! It until the end!" The mother cried as tears began to flow.

Tears also welled up in the little girl's eyes, but she was too weak to reach her hand out to wipe her mother's tears.

"Don't cry, mum… I won't talk about sleeping anymore, okay?"

"Mm-mm."

The mother nodded, but her tears would not stop.

Even the local doctors were helpless to stop the plague from killing everyone.

Although they could prolong a person's life in combating the disease with medicine, the problem was that there was not enough medicine for everyone.

For an ordinary household like theirs, they would not have priority to the medicine.

"Where is father…? Does he not want Alicia anymore…?"

"That's not true!" The mother shook her head vehemently and said, "Your father is searching for a miracle outside. That's why you must keep fighting and not give in, okay?"

"Yes, mum… Alicia will do her best…!"

Shortly after, the doors to their home were knocked open before a sickly middle-aged man rushed in, startling the mother.

"Hubby, you're back!"

The husband coughed repeatedly before urging his wife, "Quickly pick up our baby girl. We heading out right away!"

"Where are we going? What news do you have?" The mother asked with a hopeful gaze after picking up their 5-year old daughter.

"Some miracle doctor just came to the clan and made an entire water fountain of medicine that works even better than the local doctors! People who drank from the fountain were all able to regain their natural vigor!"

"Is that true?! What kind of medicine did that miracle doctor refine for it to sound so miraculous? Is it the legendary Holy Water that can cure all diseases with a single sip?"

"How can the person be called a miracle doctor if he doesn't have miraculous medicine? I did hear the clansmen calling it Holy Water. However, it's not as impressive as the legends."

The husband shook his head before stating, "Even so, This Holy Water is what our daughter needs right now! It will give her a fighting chance until a real remedy is made available!"

"That's great! Did you hear that, Alicia, my darling?" The mother was excited.

However, the little girl was too quiet, immediately making the mother shake with fear before she cried, "Alicia, wake up! Don't sleep! You can't sleep, my precious!"

"Uuu… sorry, mum… I dozed off a bit. Alicia won't sleep anymore... Please don't be mad at Alicia..." the little girl responded.

The husband continued to cough before urging his wife with a solemn look, "Let us head over quickly. Our daughter is running out of time."

"Mm!"

…

Similar situations played out in other regular households as the ordinary families within the clan faced their own share of difficulties.

The news of Holy Water was like their only beacon of hope, illuminating the dark world that was initially headed for a grim future filled with despair and sorrow.

"Have you heard about the Holy Water from the southside's market square?"

"Of course! Where do you think I am headed right now? I definitely can't miss it!"

Whether they were warriors, regular clansmen, or the noble aristocrats within the Desolate Crow Clan, everyone was quickly attracted to the Holy Water Fountain after hearing the news.

Chapter 616 - Commotion

Within the royal family's palace grounds of the Desolate Crow Clan, The group of Rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warriors arrived in the courtyard before Jorn order, "Wait here while I go report to Lord Bahlzacs."

"Will you be fine facing Lord Bahlzacs alone, Brother Jorn? Are you sure you don't want us to accompany you?" One of the Beastkin warriors asked.

"No, only the strongest of us is needed to report to Lord Bahlzacs," Jorn shook his head and said, "If any you also follow me, Lord Bahlzacs might become suspicious."

"This… Then be careful, Brother Jorn."

"Relax. Nothing will go wrong if I behave normally."

After Jorn spoke, he left the group and entered the palace, heading straight for the clan leader's bedchamber—which was now Lord Bahlzacs's den of lust.

At the same time, Jorn's expression turned solemn instantly the moment he stepped inside the palace, which was filled with a depressive air.

The servants quickly noticed Jorn's entry with a glance, but none offered to greet him as they all wore dull looks.

Some servants were seen moping the bloodstains on the ground while others carried out the bodies of female clansmen.

It was not long before Jorn arrived in front of the bedchamber with a grim look.

After inhaling a gasp of air, he issued a long sigh to relax his nerves and mentally prepare himself before knocking on the door.

Knock, knock!

"Come in."

A casual yet raspy voice was heard on the other side of the door, permitting Jorn's entry before he pushed open the bedchamber doors.

An intense smell immediately assaulted his nostrils, causing his expression to wrinkle slightly in disgust before his gaze fell on Lord Bahlzacs's figure lying lazily in bed with four other naked female clansmen with dull looks.

His gaze lowered slightly onto the sight of several more naked clansmen lying on the floor without a single breath left in them while bruises and blood covered their bodies.

Jorn clenched his fist tightly.

"Report," Lord Bahlzacs uttered.

A glint of interest flickered in the corner of his eyes as he silently observed the Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent in front of him, wondering how much longer the person could endure before snapping.

"The disturbance outside of the clan was caused by a group of strong beastmen that was passing by, Lord Bahlzacs."

"And the rat tide?"

"The rat tide is no more. They were drawn away by the group of beastmen that accidentally attracted them. The clan is freed from the rat tide. But for how long, this subordinate cannot assume an answer."

"I see…"

Lord Bahlzac studied Jorn's calm expression carefully for any hint of lies before rubbing his chin in deep thoughts.

"Will you be heading outside the clan for some fresh air, Lord Bahlzacs?" Jorn continued to inquire calmly, but he was not sure how long he will be able to keep up his false calmness.

Nevertheless, Lord Bahlzacs did not notice anything.

"No. Maybe later, but not now," Lord Bahlzacs wrapped his arms around two naked clansmen, pulling them closer to himself with a grin before he continued, "But you are right about fresh air."

"The air in here has been rather stuffy lately. Go, take the chance to arrange people to dump the dead bodies outside and clean up the filth in the clan."

"Yes, Lord Bahlzacs."

"Wait."

Lord Bahlzacs suddenly called out just as Jorn prepared to leave, causing him to turn around and ask, "Is there anything else, Lord Bahlzacs?"

"Find another two beauties and deliver them to my bedchamber as well," Lord Bahlzacs stated with a sly grin.

Jorn's body immediately trembled with anger, but he held everything in with his clenched fists and nodded in compliance.

"Understood."

…

Meanwhile, news of the Holy Water continued to spread like wildfire throughout the Desolate Crow Clan, drawing all the clansmen over to validate its authenticity.

Of the three groups of clansmen heading towards the location of the water fountain, the clan's noble aristocrats were the last to arrive at the site.

Nevertheless, once they arrived, trouble was sparked once more.

"Make way! Get out of the way, you filthy peasants!"

"The aristocrats are coming through! Y'all better move it!"

A group of strong servants barged into the gathered crowd of sick clansmen, clearing a path by force for the arriving nobles.

No matter how aggrieved the regular clansmen felt, they had no choice but to step aside for the aristocrats in the clan.

They watched as the group of black-winged aristocrats passed through the crowd and reached the water fountain.

"Move it, peasant!"

The leading black-winged aristocrat, a middle-aged man with the strength of an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent, immediately lashed out with a kick at a clansman scooping up Holy Water for a sip.

"Ahhh!"

The male clansmen flew before vomiting blood some distance away before the crowd immediately drew in sharp breaths.

How vicious!

As expected of the high-standing aristocrats!

They do not give a sh*t about the regular clansmen that were born without the black-feathered wings like them!

"This is the so-called Holy Water?" The black-winged aristocrat muttered while scooping a handful of Holy Water to drink.

The black-winged aristocrat's eyes immediately lit up in the next moment, feeling invigorated and lively again due to the Holy Water working its magic.

"Such potent medicine! It's even better than the medicine refined by the best doctors in the clan!" The black-winged aristocrat exclaimed.

After looking at the half-emptied water fountain, the black-winged aristocrat immediately made a decision.

"Hmph, such good medicine must be monopolized by the aristocrats. Go, shoo away these lowly peasants and contact the other aristocrat families."

"Yes, my Lord!"

The servants quickly nodded in compliance after the black-winged aristocrat issued his order as they turned to the regular clansmen with fierce looks and barked, "Hurry up and get lost!"

"Lord Naargoc has issued his order! No peasants are allowed here! Hurry up and leave if you do not want to get hurt!" Another servant hollered.

Unsurprisingly, the regular clansmen were immediately rioted.

It was still bearable when the aristocrats wanted to jump the queue for drinking Holy Water, but now, the aristocrats also wanted to deprive their hopes?

How can they continue to endure this?!

"You can't do this to us! The Holy Water is for everyone to share!"

"How dare you monopolize the Holy Water for yourself! Do you have no compassion for your fellow clansmen?!"

"These damn aristocrats want to drive us to our deaths! We must fight them! Stand up, my brothers and sisters! Stand up and fight!"

The regular clansmen roared furiously despite their weakened states.

However, they were not alone.

Even the warriors and the other clansmen who have already drunk from the fountain joined them in protest, causing their united voice to shake the ground.

The servants were immediately at a loss.

They could bully the peasants all they want, but killing them was a different story entirely. If they do it, they will become outcasts hated by all.

At the same time, a young black-winged man stepped forward from the group of aristocrats and spoke, "Lord Father, if you mustn't push the regular clansmen too far or they will rebel."

"Also, the Holy Water was refined by the miracle doctor. You can't simply monopolize the miracle doctor's medicine without his approval. I think we should first ask—"

Smack!

Lord Naargoc gave his son a tight slap before looking at him indifferently, "When was it your turn to tell me what to do? One day, you will be the head of the family. But that day hasn't come yet."

"Do not question my actions again." Lord Naargoc frowned before adding, "Doctors might be a respectable profession, but they are still weaklings who cannot fend for themselves."

"I do not need their permissions when I do things," He stated arrogantly before waving his hand to a servant, "Go, take some servants with you to find the miracle doctor and capture him."

"You want to capture the miracle doctor? How can you do that, Lord Father?!" The young black-winged man exclaimed in shock despite the burning pain on his left cheek.

Shortly after, he started criticizing his father, "The miracle doctor has helped the clan greatly by refining this Holy Water! We mustn't replace gratitude with malice!"

"Hmph, what do you know? If we can offer both the Holy Water and the miracle doctor to Lord Bahlzacs, we will be able to improve our family's position greatly!

"But this not the way of the Desolate Crow Clan! It is morally wrong! Who would still respect our family if you do this?"

"Respect doesn't mean sh*t! I am doing this for our family's survival!" Lord Naargoc thundered before ordering a servant, "Take the young master away. The disease has gotten to his head, not making him think straight."

"Yes, Lord Naargoc!"

"You're the one not thinking straight, Father! Stop this madness at once!" Lord Naargoc's son protested, but he was helpless to resist the servant's strength as he was taken away.

…

At the same time, the loud commotion outside reached Leon and Lilith's ears inside of the little boy's home before they began to frown.

"I'll go see what is happening outside, so you can focus on treating this patient," Lilith stated before getting up promptly to head outside and check.

Nevertheless, she did not forget to rub the little boy's head and said, "Be good while I am gone and don't interrupt your big brother's treatment, alright?"

"Yes, big sister! I won't!" The little boy said.

Shortly after Lilith reached the door, Leon spoke, "Just shout if you need help."

"Mm.." Lilith nodded.

Chapter 617 - Exposed

"What's going on here?!" Lilith's thundered as soon as she arrived outside.

Although she did not possess a mighty voice that could be easily heard by the rioting crowd, her voice was quickly recognized by those who were close enough to hear.

"Your Highness, you're back! Please administer justice for us! Lord Naargoc is too much!" A regular clansman spouted as several clansmen's eyes lit up at the Desolate Crow Princess's arrival.

Considering the Desolate Crow Princess allowed everyone to drink from the fountain, she would definitely stand on their side.

"Tell me what happened first," Lilith said with a frown before adding, "I will decide after I hear the details."

"Yes, Your Highness. After Lord Naargoc and the aristocrats arrived, they laid claims to the Holy Water Fountain and wanted to make us leave, depriving us of our only hope for survival. You must do something about this, Your Highness!"

"Yes, Your Highness! Please administer justice for us! No, even more than that, please punish Lord Naargoc! He wants to capture the miracle doctor and offer him up to Lord Bahlzacs!"

"Right! Lord Naargoc is no longer worthy of being a member of the Desolate Crow Clan! He is totally trying to suck up to Lord Bahlzacs and get on the good side of the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince!"

As the clansmen spoke, more and more clansmen overheard them, and before long, it quickly spread throughout the crowd until everyone realized that the Desolate Crow Princess came back.

"Please punish Lord Naargoc, Your Highness!"

"Please punish Lord Naargoc, Your Highness!"

The crowd eventually shouted in unison as they made a clear path between Lilith and Lord Naargoc at the water fountain.

"Is it true what they say, Lord Naargoc? Please confirm," Lilith questioned with a firm stance that demanded complete honesty, although she knew that it was most likely true.

After all, there was no smoke without fire.

However, Lord Naargoc did not answer Lilith's question but studied her appearance silently with a sharp gaze.

Shortly after, he opened his mouth and spoke with doubt, "Are you really the same Desolate Crow Princess that ran away from the clan a few months ago?"

"That's right! Have you forgotten who I am already?! Or do you know want to recognize this princess now that you have decided to switch side?" Lilith narrowed her eyes with a frown.

"If you are the Desolate Crow Princess, then where are your wings?!"

Once the question was raised, the crowd immediately broke into discussions as the clansmen whispered to each other with doubt.

"I suspect you are an imposter!" Lord Naargoc accused before barking, "Servants! Capture this fake princess for me! I want to see who this person truly is!"

"Yes, Lord Naargoc!"

The nearby servants of Lord Naargoc quickly made their way over Lilith's side before she sprouted her single black-feathered wing and thundered, "Who dares?!"

The servants immediately froze.

"I may have lost a wing, but the fact that I am the Desolate Crow Princess will not change! Not now, not ever! The blood of Desolate Crow flows in my veins, hmph!" Lilith snorted.

But at the same time, she was frowning inside her heart with hidden concerns. Lord Naargoc was a Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent while she was still far from the Transcendent Realm.

Even worse, she had no one strong to support her except Leon and Duna.

However, Duna had headed to god knows where much earlier while Leon was busy studying the variant disease plaguing the Desolate Crow Clan.

"Bahaha! It's fine if you were an imposter, but it's even better if you are the real deal! Capture her! Lord Bahlzacs will be most pleased to know about the Desolate Crow Princess's return!" Lord Naargoc stated.

"This… Are we really going to betray the Desolate Crow Clan?" One of the servants asked with hesitation.

At the same time, the other servants of Lord Naargoc also showed similar signs of hesitation, causing Lord Naargoc to become very displeased.

"What are you waiting for?! Capture her!" Lord Naargoc barked before adding, "If you are not going to do what I ask, then what do I still need you for?! I will kill you all and do it myself!"

The servants trembled before their gazes flickered with decisiveness.

"Sorry, Your Highness. Please don't think badly of us," The servants apologized before they surrounded Lilith.

Just as they were about to reach out their hands and capture Lilith, a beam of darkness suddenly shot down from above and forced all the servants to retreat in alarm.

The darkness quickly coiled around Lilith's body like a giant serpent—but without coming into contact with her body as if protecting her.

"Do you need help?" Duna casually asked as she descended.

Her arrival was so silent and ghostly that she was unnoticed by everyone until her voice finally captured their attention.

Nevertheless, Lilith was very excited to see Duna's appearance.

"You're back, Duna! That's great! Your timing could not have been more perfect!" Lilith sighed with relief and expressed her joy.

Shortly after, she sincerely requested, "Please help me kill Lord Naargoc, the Mid-Rank 1 Transcendent. He has defected and become an enemy of the Desolate Crow Clan."

"Sure." Duna gave Lord Naargoc a casual glance before she nodded, "Just a small matter. I was getting bored anyway. Who knew that it would become so lively here after I left?"

"Do you want to kill yourself, or shall I do it for you?" Duna asked the black-winged aristocrat shortly after.

'A Transcendent?'

At the same time, Lord Naargoc gazed back at Duna solemnly with a frown, sensing a dangerous vibe about her, but he could not pinpoint the cause.

"Who are you? No, what are you?" Lord Naargoc inquired cautiously with a solemn look.

The woman's aura seemed to be around the Early-Rank 1 Transcendent level. However, he was getting a dreadful feeling that she was much stronger than that.

Nevertheless, Duna nonchalantly stated, "Dead men do not need to know."

In the next moment, she waved her hand, sending out a wave of destruction that shot towards Lord Naargoc quickly.

Lord Naargoc's danger instincts spiked in that instance, causing his expression to turn aghast as he retreated in fear.

"What kind of power is this?!"

…

Back in the Desolate Crow Clan's main palace, Lord Bahlzacs continued to lie in bed with a lackadaisical expression when he suddenly sensed a powerful aura surging in the clan.

His expression changed immediately as he shot to his feet in alarm, "A Transcendent Awakener!?"

"There shouldn't be any Awakeners in the clan! Looks like the warrior lied to me and secretly brought outsiders in the clan, hmph!" Lord Bahlzacs snorted coldly.

Boom!

The bedchamber walls immediately shattered under Lord Bahlzacs's might at the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent Realm!

Jorn did not exit the palace and reunite with the other beastkin warriors for long when he suddenly saw Lord Bahlzacs burst out of the palace.

"I will deal with all of you later!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted coldly before shooting off into the direction of the source to investigate.

At the same time, Jorn and the other beastkin warriors' expression turned grave.

"What happened? Why was Lord Bahlzacs so mad? I thought you handled everything well, Brother Jorn?" One of the beastkin warriors asked.

Jorn frowned for a moment before he realized, "Lord Bahlzacs must have sensed something from that surge of aura in the distance just now!"

"Dammit!"

He cursed shortly after.

He tried to buy time, but his effort was all in vain.

He knew that a battle with Lord Bahlzacs was inevitable. However, he did not expect it to happen so soon!

"Come, let us head over quickly as well! Something big must have happened over there!" Jorn immediately urged the Transcendent-level beastkin warriors.

"Yes, Brother Jorn!"

...

Back at the location of the water fountain, a commotion broke out in the area—but under a different reason as the crowd gazed at Duna with wide eyes, shocked.

"Oh, my lord! Who exactly is this lady?! She's so powerful!"

"Lord Naargoc was a Mid-rank 1 Transcendent, but to think he would die so easily under that lady's attack!"

As the crowd commented with shock, astonishment, and awe, Duna held up Lord Naargoc's lifeless body with her hand stuck in his chest.

Lord Naargoc was cornered in just three moves before she penetrated the person's heart and destroyed his innards with the Destruction Law!

Shortly after withdrawing her bloodstained hand from the person's chest, Duna drank the dripping blood before her expression abruptly changed to disgust.

"Ptui! Disgusting!"

Duna immediately spat out the blood before tossing the body to the side.

At the same time, the crowd was taken aback by the sight of Duna's attempt at drinking blood. Was she a monster or a beast in human skin?

"Thank you, Duna. I owe you one for this," Lilith approached while expressing her gratitude for Duna's help.

However, Duna suddenly barked at her, "Stay back! Something is coming!"

Boom!

A blurred shadow shot down at Duna's location with lightning-fast speed before the ground ruptured immediately!

"Duna!" Lilith cried as Duna's figure disappeared inside of an obscuring cloud of dust.

Chapter 618 - Mutant Bacteria

Inside the little boy's humble home, Abel watched Leon popped a single pill in his mother's mouth before she quickly recovered a lively complexion and steady breathing.

It was a Tier-3 All-Purpose Healing Pill.

Shortly after, Abel's mother opened her eyes to see a relatively young yet unfamiliar human right beside her before she was surprised.

However, she quickly felt much more comfortable than she was in the last 24 hours before realizing it must have something to do with the young man.

Shortly after, she noticed her son behind the young man before she asked, "Abel, who is this young man? Is he the one who treated me?"

"Mom, you're all better already!" Abel exclaimed happily before jumping onto her lap and nodded furiously, "Mm, mm! Big brother gave you a pill to swallow, and boom, you were all better!"

"Big brother's medicine is so magical! It's much better than those recovery pills from the local doctors and alchemists in the clan!" Abel added.

"Shhh!" Abel's mother quickly hushed with a startled look.

After checking her surroundings cautiously, she heaved a sigh before pinching her son's cheek in admonishment, "You mustn't speak carelessly even if that is the case, Abel."

"Your words can offend some people, and if they are cruel, they will vent their anger out on us," Abel's mother said before sighing again, "You can blame Mother for being incapable and not being able to protect you."

"Sorry, mom… I didn't know about that…" Abel said apologetically with his head lowered before looking at Leon with caution, "Big Brother, you… you wouldn't dob on me, would you?"

"Me? Dob on you?" Leon smiled casually while giving Abel a head rub before saying, "Why would I dob on you? Do I look that bored to you, Abel?"

"What would I even say to those other doctors and alchemists? That I am better than them? C'mon, I am not that vain."

"So… You wouldn't?"

"Of course not!"

After Leon gave a firm answer, Abel was finally able to pat his chest with relief before expressing his gratitude, "Thank you, big brother!"

"I must also thank you, young man. Such potent medicine must be very precious and valuable… For you to use it on ordinary folks like us, I don't know how we should repay you…"

Abel's mother began wondering what they could do to repay Leon for his grace when he raised his hand and shook his head, "There's no need for that."

"Also, my medicine has only suppressed the disease slightly. The both of you have not been cured completely. In order to find a suitable cure, I will need your cooperation," Leon said.

"How can we help?"

Abel's mother expressed her willingness to cooperate before Leon casually stated, "Nothing much. I just need to inspect your body and study the disease."

"This…"

Abel's mother appeared to hesitate.

After hearing Leon's words, a small blush crept on her face before she nodded, "Alright. Abel, why don't you go play in the next room for a bit? Mother needs to help this young doctor find a cure."

"Alright, mom." Abel complied obediently.

After recalling his promise to Lilith, Abel left the bedroom without much thought. At the same time, Leon was a bit puzzled why Abel's mother needed to send her son away.

However, he was immediately stunned when Abel's mother began to speak, "Sorry, I am a bit uncomfortable undressing in my son's presence. No one has seen my body since my husband passed away…"

"But since the doctor requires a body inspection in the name of finding a cure, I am willing to cooperate. It's the least I can do to repay you for the valuable medicine—"

"W-Wait! You have misunderstood me!" Leon immediately stopped Abel's mother from undressing herself before stating, "I do not need you to undress!"

Abel's mother was stunned.

Shortly after, her face was flushed with embarrassment before she awkwardly asked, "Is that so? It was just my misunderstanding?"

"Very much so!" Leon said firmly.

"I see… I guess you wouldn't be interested in an old married lady like me…" Abel's mother muttered.

After hearing her words, Leon gave Abel's mother a studying glance.

Although it was true that Abel's mother was married and already has a son. However, she was still far from being considered old.

She appeared to be around 28 years of age—if not for the disease making her dehydrated and feeble, she should be quite the beauty after a slight touch of beautification.

"You're wrong. You are still in the prime of your life and also a rare beauty. I would definitely be interested in normal circumstances. However, I already have a few women," Leon stated calmly.

Also, their current relationship was that of a doctor and his patient. An upright doctor should not have nefarious intentions on his patients—Leon suddenly recalled moments from his previous life.

…

"Doctor, thank you for treating my illness. I am a little low on Spirit Stones. How about I repay you with my body instead?"

"Doctor, my heart aches so much. I think it can only be cured with an injection from your little brother…"

"Doctor, I've been injured while practicing an Extreme Yin Technique and have been feeling so cold ever since. Do you think I am suffering from a deficiency of Yang Essence? Can you inject me with some Primordial Yang Essence?"

…

Some of the words from his past patients were recalled in his mind before Leon coughed awkwardly. Those days were behind him.

He was not like that anymore…

"I see… I am still a rare beauty in your eyes…" Abel's mother muttered with a smile.

"Ahem, anyway. You can call Abel back in if you want." Leon cleared his throat before saying, "I only need you to remain still and silent while I carry out the inspect—"

Cough!

Leon suddenly felt a tickling sensation in his throat and lungs before he started coughing heavily for a moment.

"Are you alright, doctor?" Abel's mother asked with surprise.

"Ahem, I'm fine. Well, not really, but I am fine. It seems I won't be needing you for an inspection anymore," Leon stated.

He realized he had been infected by the same disease unwittingly and could just inspect himself to study the nature of the variant disease.

Without delay, he closed his eyes and commenced self-introspection with divine sense.

It did not take long before his eyes snapped open with results from his quick inspection before he muttered, "I see… The variant disease is a type of bacteria that attacks the lungs before invading the rest of the body through the bloodstream…"

"However, this bacteria has been mutated, which in turn, makes it more tenacious and invasive than ordinary bacterial infections…" Leon continued to analyze.

"Fortunately, most bacterias are curable with antibiotic medicine… I should be able to treat this disease with a slightly higher-quality antibiotic medi—"

"Duna!"

Lilith's cry was suddenly heard following a sudden shake in the ground outside before Leon immediately darted outside in a flash.

Swoosh~!

Within moments, Leon swiftly arrived by Lilith's side before inquiring seriously, "What happened?"

"Leon, you're here!" Lilith exclaimed before quickly urging him, "Hurry up and save Duna! She was helping me dealing with a rebel when something suddenly shot over and struck her!"

"I think the commotion attracted the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent over! You know, the one called Lord Bahlzacs, who should have been residing within the palace!"

As Lilith spoke, the surrounding clansmen retreated in shock, alarm, and fear, utterly incomprehensive of what exactly just happened.

"Ahh, what happened?! Why did the ground suddenly explode?!"

"I think I saw blurred shadow shooting over quickly just now!"

The clansmen spoke.

Some saw, and some did not.

The speed at which the blurred shadow arrived was too fast that the weaker clansmen failed to follow it with their eyes.

Only the stronger clansmen were able to.

At the same time, Leon promptly shifted his gaze onto the cloud of dust in front of them before he started frowning.

In the next moment, he waved his hand.

Swoosh~!

The cloud of dust was immediately parted by a powerful gust of wind, clearing away the area before the situation hidden inside was revealed for everyone to see.

Leon's gaze immediately turned cold in that instance.

Duna's chest was penetrated by Lord Bahlzacs's hand while hanging motionlessly in the air as Lord Bahlzacs raised her body up with his arm before giving her a sharp look.

"You're the one causing trouble in my clan? If I knew you were this beautiful, I would have kept you alive as one of my mistresses… You are much better than the inferior goods from this shitty Desolate Crow Clan."

Lord Bahlzacs spoke with disappointment before sighing, "Unfortunately, it's too late to undo my action—"

Just as Leon was about to make his move, he suddenly paused.

In that instance, Duna, who had remained hanging lifelessly, suddenly made her move by grabbing onto the arm that penetrated her chest.

"What?! How can you still be alive after I penetrated your chest and crushed your heart?" Lord Bahlzacs exclaimed with an abrupt change in his expression.

Duna gave Lord Bahlzacs a cold gaze before smirking wickedly, "I wouldn't die from something like this. You, on the other hand, are about to die by my hand!"

In the next moment, the power of the Destruction Law gathered towards Duna's hands and started disintegrating Lord Bahlzacs's arm, causing him immense pain.

"Uwarghhh! What is this power?!"

Lord Bahlzacs was shocked by the sight of his arm breaking down into dust-size particles before his gaze quickly shone with a decisive glint!

Puchi!

Lord Bahlzacs's slighted off his arm with his sharp claws in the next moment before retreating quickly with a paled yet ugly expression.

Chapter 619 - Clan Evacuation

After drawing distance between them, Lord Bahlzacs cast his gaze at Duna with a grave look before forcefully stopping the bleeding with his contracting muscles.

"You...what the hell are you? You're not human!" Lord Bahlzacs questioned with gnashing teeth.

At the same time, Duna also retreated before clicking her tongue in disappointment, "Tch! How decisive!"

If Lord Bahlzacs had only hesitated for even a fraction of a moment longer, the Destruction Law would have reached his main body.

If that had happened, he would have been as good as dead.

Swoosh~!

Leon appeared beside Duna in a flash.

After giving her penetrated chest a quick inspection, he inquired her with concern, "Will you be alright with such a wound? It looks pretty serious."

Not just serious, but anyone else would have already died in Duna's case after having their hearts ruptured.

Nevertheless, Duna casually answered his question, "Nothing to worry about. Don't forget that this body is only a mere vessel for my spirit."

"I know that. I'm asking if your spirit is okay?" Leon stated with a hint of speechlessness. Even in a state like this, she was still trying to act like nothing is wrong.

"Don't pretend like you are okay. I know that your spirit overlaps with your physical body. Considering Lord Ballsacks's attack puncture right through your chest, your spirit must have taken damage as well."

"If you know, then why are you asking me?" Duna rolled her and said, "Should I also blow a hole in your chest then proceed to ask if you were okay or not?"

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about my injury." Duna added before licking her lips in a flirtatious manner, "I can hold on for now, but I am going to need your help after we are done with this person."

Leon blanked out under her seductive smile, immediately feeling a reaction coming from his lower body before Duna snapped her fingers at him, "Focus! Did you seriously just get an erection while we are in the middle of a dangerous situation?"

"You… I don't know what to say about you." Duna gave Leon a disdainful look, yet on her face also hung a teasing smile.

Leon was speechless.

"It's hard to say which of us don't know what to say about the other. Are you really going to blame me? It's your fault for getting me dickstracted." Leon smiled wryly with an awkward posture.

"Hmph!" Duna snorted.

But a smile hung on her face shortly after.

Suddenly, Leon's gaze flickered before he quickly warned, "Careful! He's coming!"

Boom!

The ground shortly cracked underneath the strength of Lord Bahlzacs's stomp as he catapulted himself over with incredible speed!

Leon and Duna immediately stomped the ground and leaped away in opposite directions, causing Lord Bahlzacs to come to a forceful stop before shooting straight after Leon with another strong stomp on the ground.

Boom!

Lord Bahlzacs closed the distance between them very quickly, gaining on Leon like he was hunting down his hated enemy with a frosty look on his face.

Nevertheless, Leon was far from moving at his maximum speed and did not feel pressure from facing a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent despite the person well above his own strength.

More importantly, he was astonished that he was the person's target.

"Yoh~! Why are you going after me?! Did I tickle you in the wrong spot with my words?!" Leon hollered, immediately exerting his strength to increase his pace.

Boom!

The distance between them was increased several yards in a single instance.

At the same time, Lord Bahzacs's expression grew colder as he snorted and pressed on with his pursuit before suddenly shooting feathered projectiles!

Swoosh—!

The black feathers cut through the air with even more incredible speed than Lord Bahlzacs himself, quickly reaching Leon in the next moment!

"Careful, Leon! He's a Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent with roughly 3 million jins of physical strength!" Duna warned from a distance.

"I know!"

Leon responded while twisting his body to dodge the feathered projectiles.

He pulled out a black spear from his Worldspace while flying at low altitude before stabbing it into the ground and used it as a spring, launching himself in the air.

Swoosh—!

Leon evaded Lord Bahlzacs's claw after the person caught up due to his delayed maneuver in dodging the feathered projectiles!

In the next moment, the black spear shot out of the ground, flying straight into Leon's grasp under Metal Manipulation before his arm bulged with swelling muscles that increased to 30% of its original size!

"You want to play with projectiles? Then eat this!" Leon immediately hurled the black spear at Lord Bahlzacs in the distance.

Swoosh—!

The black spear shot over with great speed, but it was only met with disdain from Lord Bahlzacs as the person slapped it away with his remaining arm.

"Early-Rank 2 Transcendent? Not bad. Unfortunately, It's not enough—!"

Lord Bahlzacs did not finish his words when he suddenly noticed his damaged claws; a result of contacting Leon's black spear.

"This is no ordinary spear…!"

Lord Bahlzacs immediately viewed Leon's Tier-3 Black Spear as some treasured weapon, causing him to cast his greedy eyes on it.

Seeing that the black spear was being recalled back to Leon again with Metal Manipulation, Lord Bahlzacs's immediately shot over to snatch it!

"How can you use such a good weapon like some disposable trash?! This black spear will only exhibit its true worth in my hand!!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted.

But just as his hand was about to reach the black spear, he suddenly sensed incoming danger from behind!

"Hm—?!"

Duna's shot an Arrow of Destruction Law over but ultimately missed due to Lord Bahlzacs's quick reaction, albeit cutting it a bit close as the corners of his black-feathered wing crumbled into ashes.

"Hmph, I plan to deal with you later, but since you are in a hurry, I will deal with you first!" Lord Bahlzacs's gaze glinted with killing intent before he immediately shot towards Duna with his broken claws.

Alas, his attack was interrupted by another strong hurl of Leon's black spear.

Boom!

The black spear impaled itself into the hard ground, just half a step away from Lord Bahlzacs's feet.

It was immediately picked up before Lord Bahlzacs laughed boisterously, "Hahaha! You never learn, do you? Now that your weapon is in it my hand, what can you—"

Lord Bahlzacs almost choked on his following words upon witnessing another three dozen bone spears suddenly floating around Leon—all of which were not inferior to the black spear.

His smug look disappeared without a trace.

"The strength of you two are beneath me, but your attack powers are a little too frightening…" Lord Bahlzacs commented with a frown.

At the same time, Leon gazed at the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent with pity as he muttered, "One man's trash is another man's treasure, huh?"

"Never mind. Have anyone told you that you talk too much nonsense during a fight?" Leon shook his head before stating coolly, "Let us end this once and for all!"

"Hmph, very well!" Lord Bahlzacs nodded.

He tightened his grip on the black spear. With the black spear in hand, his combat power definitely increased—even if he only had one arm left to wield it!

…

Meanwhile, the Desolate Crow Clan was plunged into chaos due to the sheer strength of Leon and Lord Bahlzacs's physical attacks.

As Jorn and the other Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors arrived at the periphery of the water fountain, they saw the clansmen fleeing for their lives from the area.

"This…"

Jorn's expression was grave.

The situation of the Desolate Crow Clan was not particularly good enough to endure a battle on the level of Transcendents within its city.

With each transcendental attack, the area shook, forming cracks in the dome-shaped frame holding up the countless rat carcasses above the Desolate Crow Clan.

"If this situation continues, I'm afraid the supporting dome frame will collapse, and the Desolate Crow Clan will be buried in the truest sense!" Jorn stated gravely.

The Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors were quick to agree with Jorn's statement as one of them spoke, "Right. If that really happens, many of our clansmen will be crushed under the immense weight of the carcasses."

"I fear only the Transcendent-level clansmen would be able to survive the collapse…" Another spoke before asking, "Do you have a plan, Brother Jorn? What can we do to remedy this situation?"

"There's not much we can do. Quickly order the clan's evacuation!" Jorn spoke with a frown after a moment of contemplation before adding, "A battle of this level cannot be stopped!"

"Even if I can get Prince Leon and Miss Duna to stay their hands, Lord Bahlzacs would definitely not do the same, causing them to fall into a disadvantageous position."

"Go, evacuate the clansmen with haste!" Jorn quickly urged before stating, "I will go look for the Little Princess."

"Understood, Brother Jorn!"

The Transcendent-level Beastkin Warriors nodded before barking out instructions to each other before they headed off into different directions.

Chapter 620 - Destruction Thread

As Leon and Duna a face-off with Lord Bahlzacs, the tension was high, and the atmosphere was solemn while they gazed at each other, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

At the same time, Lord Bahlzacs contemplated whether he genuinely wanted to fight a death match with the two people surrounding him.

The two people were simply too weird.

He was not a defensive-type Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent. As such, his defensive strength fell far behind his physical might.

Even an Early-Rank 1 Transcendent with a treasured weapon could kill if they landed a mortal blow on him, let alone an Early-Rank 2 Transcendent with three dozen treasured weapons.

On the other hand, the woman was even weirder.

She was simply not a normal person. No normal living being could survive a fatal blow to their heart. At the same time, the person wielded an overbearing power that he did not dare to touch a second time.

He could still feel the sting of his arm loss.

'The situation is unfavorable, and I no longer have absolute confidence in myself. First and foremost, I need to carry out the Second Prince's task. I should not take unnecessary risks here,' Lord Bahlzacs narrowed his eyes in thought.

Shortly after, he flashed a brief glance at the Desolate Crow Princess, Lilith, nearby.

…

At the same time, Jorn quickly found Lilith in the square observing the Transcendents' battle from a distance.

"Little Princess, it's not safe here. We should quickly leave before you get implicated in the battle!" Jorn urged.

Lilith saw the long queue of clansmen leaving from the clan's main entrance before asking, "Did you order for the clan's evacuation, Uncle Jorn?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Jorn nodded before explaining his worries, "The structural integrity of the frame holding up the mountain of carcasses will not last."

"Cracks forming, simply from the impacts of their blows to the ground. If such attacks landed on the frame itself, I fear its immediate collapse, crushing everyone underneath."

"Your worries are not misplaced. We shouldn't leave anything to chance. You have made the right call, Uncle Jorn," Lilith stated before accepting the advice to leave, "Let us leave quickly."

"I will seek Aria's help once we are outside. Aria is at the Seeking Insight-stage Transcendent Realm. Together, they should be able to deal with the Mid-Rank 2 Transcendent."

"Yes, Little Princess." Jorn nodded.

Meanwhile, Lord Bahlzacs continued to face Leon without movements before he suddenly snorted, "If you aren't going to attack first, I will!"

Boom...

Lord Bahlzacs's aura immediately surged with vigor and intense fighting spirit as if he was preparing for a big attack, causing Leon and Duna's gazes to turn sharp in response.

However, in the next moment, Lord Bahlzacs immediately fled in a flash.

Swoosh~!

Lord Bahlzacs shot towards Lilith's location very quickly, causing Jorn's expression to change abruptly as he shouted, "Be careful, Little Princess!"

At the same time, Leon was taken aback before his eyes narrowed coldly. Lord Bahlzacs wanted to grab Lilith and flee!

"Do you think I will let you?!" Leon's arm bulged before he began hurling his Tier-3 Bone Spears in his hands with great force!

Swish~! Swish~!

The spears immediately closed the distance with great speed and headed straight for the gap between Lilith and Lord Bahlzacs!

Lord Bahlzacs was forced to twist his body and change his direction slightly before drawing closer to Lilith.

But before he could get close enough to grabbed Lilith, a few more bone spears shot over, forcing Lord Bahlzacs to avoid them hastily.

Swoosh~!

During the slight delay, Duna and Leon shot over to protect Lilith from being captured by Lord Bahlzacs.

'Shit! Guess I have no choice but to leave empty-handed!' Lord Bahlzacs cursed with a frown, seeing his plan had failed.

Boom!

The ground cracked underneath Lord Bahlzacs's quick stomp as he shot himself flying in the direction of the main entrance leading outside!

"Do you think I will let you run?" Leon twisted his body and changed his direction, shooting off in pursuit off immediately.

At the same time, Lilith's expression changed.

"Oh, no! The clansmen are gathered over there! They are going to be in danger!" Lilith exclaimed in realization.

With the evacuating clansmen blocking up the exit, if Lord Bahlzacs wanted to leave, he would naturally have to mow his way through the crowd!

Since Lilith could see it, naturally, Leon could also see it.

He immediately furrowed his brows and increased his speed with a kick at the empty air, causing an explosion that propelled him forward as if he just went supersonic.

The 30-odd bone spears failed to keep up with Leon as he closed the distance on Lord Bahlzacs within a short instance.

Nevertheless, he still carried a bone spear in each hand.

Lord Bahlzacs felt Leon's closing presence before he snorted, "Hmph! Your treasured weapons might be capable of harming me, but that doesn't mean an Early-rank 2 Transcendent like you can contend with me head-on!"

"Know your place, human!"

Lord Bahlzacs abruptly turned around to receive Leon's attack with the black spear in his grasp. He wanted to put Leon in his place with his superior physical strength!

However!

Just they were about to clash with their spears, Leon's body twisted with uncanny timing and angel, narrowly avoiding Lord Bahlzacs's spear before maneuvering around the person to obstruct his escape path.

"You want to protect the Desolate Crow Clansmen?" Lord Bahlzac immediately understood from a glance, seeing as Leon stood in front of them and guarded their evacuation.

Shortly after, Lord Bahlzacs grinned wicked with a cold glint, "Well, good luck!"

Lord Bahlzacs quickly made the clansmen his target before shooting after another batch of clansmen heading over to the main entrance, forcing Leon into a direct confrontation with him in order to protect the clansmen!

At the same time, the group of clansmen under the lead of an Early-rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warrior quickly glanced up at the incoming danger and shivered.

"Oh, c'mon! Are you fricking kidding me?!" One of the clansmen exclaimed with fear and frustration.

They had just retreated from the location of the water fountain where the battle had been taking place. But not long after the exit leading out of the clan was in sight, they also found out the battle had been shifted over.

They were trying to get away from the battle, but the battle followed them!

They were just regular clansmen with meager strengths. Their lives were like grass in the face of such an overwhelmingly high-level battle.

Are the heavens cursing them to die?!

"Get back, all of you!" The Early-rank 1 Transcendent Beastkin Warrior warned, preparing to face Lord Bahlzacs's incoming attacking.

Alas, the warrior knew that he would not put be able to put up a single shred of resistance. The difference between their strength was simply too significant.

Even so, he could not show cowardice.

Just as the beastkin warrior thought he was going to face certain doom, watching Lord Bahlzacs come sweeping in with the black spear, Duna, who caught up and hid in the crowd, suddenly fired out a Destruction Wave.

Swish~!

The Destruction Wave closed the distance on Lord Bahlzacs in an instance. It was almost as if the person flew straight into.

"What?!"

Lord Bahlzacs immediately cried with a horrified look before twisting his body and neck in his best effort to evade the attack.

Boom!

The black spear blocked most of the Destruction Wave while the rest shot into the distance and struck the dome frame holding up the mountain of carcasses.

"How sly of you! You almost had me! Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough!" Lord Bahlzacs spouted with complacency, but his heart shivered, and his back broke into cold sweats.

He was too close to death just now.

The woman wielded a power unlike anything he had ever seen before. Even Paragons might fall to such overbearing destructiveness if they were careless!

His wounds could be healed when cut by treasured weapons, but if that woman's destructive power struck him, he would be fucked.

'I need to kill this woman first!' Lord Bahlzacs's eyes glinted with killing intent.

However, just as Lord Bahlzacs had that thought, Duna looked back at him calmly and casually said, "Oh really? Look again. You're already a dead man."

"What?"

Lord Bahlzacs could not comprehend her words.

But as if Duna's words were the mandate of heaven, Lord Bahlzacs suddenly felt pain on his neck before a red line was formed like a ring around it.

Shortly after, blood sprayed from the ruptured veins in his neck like a sprinkler, causing Lord Bahlzacs to immediately drop the black spear and grasp his neck to stop the bleeding.

Not only that, he feared that his head would simply roll of his body if he did not hold it in place. Even if he was defeated, he had to know how he was defeated before he goes.

"How can this be? I was confident that I dodged that attack…" Lord Bahlzacs expressed his shock before suddenly frowning, "No, something is not right… That attack was almost vertical, but this wound is…"

"You deflected the first attack, but you never saw the second one coming, did you?" Duna grinned while playing with a nigh invisible threat of Destruction Law.

"Of course, you wouldn't have. The second attack had been compressed so thinly it is hard to see, not to mention that it was hidden under the cover of the first attack." Duna continued without waiting for Lord Bahlzacs's answer, just as her right hand crumbled into dust.

"To think I would be defeated like this… I am unconvinced," Lord Bahlzacs muttered before his eyes lost their colors.

He died on the spot.

"So what if you are unconvinced? Bite me.." Duna spouted at the corpse.

Chapter 621 - Unexpected Rescue

Even after Lord Bahlzacs is dead, Duna did not spare his corpse. Just looking at the person's motionless body causes her to frown as she recalls the person's lustful gazes.

With a flick of her other hand, she destroyed the person's lower body with the power of Destruction Law.

Upon seeing this sight as he quietly arrived beside Duna, Leon could not help but flinch slightly as if he was the one getting his balls destroyed by her.

"There's no need to keep attacking. He is already dead," Leon said with a forced smile before lifting her hand and admonishing her, "Look at yourself. You're being overly reliant on the Destruction Law."

"It doesn't really matter. I know you'll still be around to fix right up. Isn't that right?" Duna gave Leon a suggestive look while licking her lips.

Still, Leon smiled wryly in response.

"Don't think that your trick will always work on me. At least, not with your hands looking like this," he pointed at her missing hands.

"What hands?" Duna waved her handless arms playfully in front of Leon.

Leon could not help but shake his head and sighed while transferring some Grandmist Energy to Duna, "My power isn't always readily available. Please stop getting yourself hurt."

"Hm, alright. I'll keep that in mind." Duna stated after a slight paused.

As time slowly passes, more and more carcasses began to drop inside the clan, and the damage in the dome started to spread faster on its own, being unable to support the weight.

"Come, we need to leave. The structural integrity of the dome has already been compromised due to your previous attack."

"Mm." Duna nodded.

...

At the same time, the clansmen began to speed up their evacuation with fear and alarm despite their feelings of weakness due to the widespread disease.

"Hurry! This place is about to be buried! Move faster! What are you waiting for?!"

"Ahh! Faster, faster! The sky is falling! The rats are raining!"

The clansmen, young and old, all urged the people in front of them to move quicker with impatience.

Thud! Thud!

The rat carcasses dropped like hammers, smashing on top of buildings and roads, even fellow clansmen.

The weak and unfortunate were heavily injured after being struck while the strong sought to protect them.

"Be quicker! This place isn't going to last much longer!" Jorn and Lilith arrived at the exit point and frowned at the long queue of clansmen waiting to get outside.

"Uncle Jorn, the passage is too narrow. If it could be widened, more people would be able to evacuate at once."

"I'll quickly arrange people to the task at once." Jorn nodded.

Shortly after, Jorn hollered for all the Transcendents to gather. Whether they were warriors or aristocrats, all of them had to contribute.

The Transcendents were divided into two groups; one big and one small.

The small group was responsible for increasing the size of the exit passage while the other group protected the clansmen from the falling carcasses and dome fragments, which were made from the bones of beasts.

"Don't think that I have forgotten the matter of the Holy Water Fountain. I will deal with all of you after," Lilith said with her narrowed eyes, gazing at the group of aristocrats who had been with Lord Naargoc.

"Yes, Your Highness..." The aristocrats shivered slightly.

Although the monopoly of Holy Water was Lord Naargoc's idea, they were accomplice for silently agreeing and not persuading Lord Naargoc otherwise.

Shortly after, the group of low-level aristocrats followed the clansmen to evacuate.

"Your Highness, what about Lord Naargoc's son? Do you need me to..." Jorn made a slicing-neck gesture.

However, Lilith furrowed her brows and said, "We'll deal with this matter after getting clansmen to safety outside."

"That being said, I distinguish between punishment and reward fairly. I heard Lord Naargoc's son was the only one who tried to persuade Lord Naargoc?"

"Yes, that seems to have been the case from what I have heard as well," Jorn nodded, recalling some clansmen mentioning about it back then.

"However, we will still need to validate the truth of what happened back then before I pass judgment," Lilith said.

After all, what they heard were only soft discussions in passing. Neither of them had been present to witness the entire event from the start.

"Little Princess, there is no need for you to stay back here where it is dangerous. How about waiting outside where it is safe instead?" Jorn suggested.

Lilith glanced around the crowd for a moment before she replied, "Not yet. Let me wait a bit longer for my friends."

"Fine. But if the situation deteriorates to a dangerous level before they arrive, I will take you outside," Jorn stated.

"That's fine with me." Lilith nodded.

...

"This seems to be the opposite direction of the exit, no?" Duna casually stated while following Leon's lead.

The exit was still in sight at their previous location. But now? They were getting further and further away. Or rather, they were returning to their original location.

"I need to check something. We can leave after I am done. Or else, you can so leave first, and we will meet up later."

"Hm, Nah. I think I will stick with you." Duna suddenly latched onto Leon's back for a free ride without further extraneous effort on her end.

"The collapse of the dome might be dangerous for those weak Desolate Crow Clansmen, but it poses no danger to us."

"That's true." Leon nodded.

Shortly after, the two returned to the water fountain before Leon's gaze flickered while Duna's brows wrinkled.

"As I thought, there are still people here..." Leon muttered while gazing at the large group of clansmen gathered around the water fountain.

They were scooping out Holy Water into big jugs and emptying out the water fountain.

"What a bunch of idiots. What the hell are they still doing here when the whole place is collapsing?"

"They probably didn't want the remaining Holy Water to go to waste. For them, each scoop of Holy Water is equivalent to a life in this pandemic," Leon casually said.

"This is why they are idiots for risking their lives," Duna stated before saying, "You can simply refine more Holy Water for them, or can you not?"

"I definitely can, but they do not know that. They believe the medicine is precious and thus, believe they are doing a heroic deed by saving the Holy Water," Leon casually stated.

Of course, the sick clansmen could just be procuring the Holy Water for themselves. However, Leon did not think so.

He could overhear them talking.

"Hurry! We are running out of time! The whole place is about to go down! We need to leave now!"

"Just a bit longer! We almost have everything! Each extra drop is extremely precious! There are still many clansmen depending on this medicine to live!"

The clansmen babbled with nervous sweats from pressure and looming threat above them.

Thud! Thud!

Rat carcasses dropped through the dome cracks like rain before they were slapped and kicked away by nearby warriors as they protected the clansmen carrying out their mission.

Suddenly, Leon's ears twitched to a weak cry in the distance before his gaze shifted to an area of broken rumbles.

The spot was unassuming at a glance and appeared as one of many other buildings that had collapsed due to the previous battle.

However, this particular location especially grabbed Leon's attention.

"These rubbles are..." Leon's eyes suddenly flickered in realization before darting over to the rubbles in a quick flash.

Swoosh~!

Leon landed near the ruins of a familiar building before the weak cries became more distinct and clearer. They were the voices of the little boy, Abel, and his mother.

With a wave of his hand, the heavy rubbles of broken stones and hardwood were lifted and removed from the area with Divine Will.

"Are you two alright?" Leon inquired.

"Big brother, you're back! Please save my mother!" Abel strongly requested after his initial burst of excitement.

However, Leon already knew their conditions with divine sense.

Nevertheless, he did a double check on the leg wound of Abel's mother before he shook his head, "It's just a flesh wound. Nothing serious."

"Eh? Is that really true? But there's so much blood…!" Abel stated.

"Truly. But if you are not assured, then you can rub this stuff on your mother's wound. It will heal the wound quickly and stop the bleeding," Leon passed a bottle of Tier-1 Golden Ointment to Abel before saying, "The two of you were very lucky."

"En. Thank you, doctor. You saved us again." Abel's mother bowed her head slightly before urging her son, "Hurry up and thank the doctor."

"Ah! Yes, mother!" Abel exclaimed before bobbing his head cutely, "Thank you, big brother!"

"Call him doctor!" Abel's mother tried to get her son to address their savior respectfully.

"Thank you, big brother doctor!"

"…"

Abel's mother did not know whether to laugh or cry before she ruffled his hair with a wry smile, "You little rascal… What should I do with you?"

"It's fine. He can call me whatever he wants. More importantly, you two need to get out of here quickly. The dome is about to collapse," Leon reminded.

"Right… We will leave as soon as possible." Abel's mother nodded solemnly before adding, "Once again, thank you, doctor!"

"Don't worry about it. Your situation was partially mine to blame."

"I see… Even so, thank you!"

Shortly after Abel treated his mother with Leon's Tier-1 Golden Ointment and witnessed its effectiveness, the two quickly left.

At the water fountain's location, the clansmen were still present when Leon returned to the area with Duna.

"All of you should leave quickly as well if you don't want to die!" Leon hollered with a frown.

Chapter 622 - Raising Pillars

"Y-Yes, doctor!"

after being urged by Leon, the group of clansmen finally gave up on extracting every ounce of Holy Water left in the fountain.

"Quick, let us get out here! We've already stayed for too long!"

"Doctor, please leave with us! It's dangerous to stay here!"

The clansmen barked at each other to wrap things up to depart before urging Leon to leave as well.

"Oho, so you also know it's dangerous, huh? Since you know then why haven't you left yet?!" Leon snarled.

"R-right! We'll leave right this instance!"

Leon watched the clansmen pick up their pots of Holy Water and leave under the protection of the clan warriors.

Shortly after, Leon spread out his divine sense to search the area survivors that may have been overlooked.

"Seems like there isn't anyone left. Let us go too, Duna."

"Okay, but I'm going to borrow your back."

Duna suddenly hopped onto Leon's back weakly with her eyes closed before refining the True Grandmist Energy and beginning her self-repair process.

"Finally feeling the toll, eh?" Leon muttered before stomping the ground and shooting off into the distance.

Within moments, Leon returned to the exit point where many clansmen still queued up, waiting their turn to leave.

"Leon, Duna, you're both back!" Lilith approached with Jorn following behind from a distance before noticing Duna's state. "Is Duna going to be alright?"

"Un. Nothing can happen to her with me around," Leon stated confidently before asking, "You were waiting for us?"

Lilith admitted with a silent nod before Jorn said, "Since the people arrived, it's time for us to leave, Little Princess."

"Alright." Lilith nodded before frowning shortly after, "However, there are still many clansmen here."

"I'm afraid the dome would not hold until everyone gets out."

"Come to think of it, the dome should have reached its breaking point and collapsed already," Leon suddenly mentioned.

He realized the frame holding the place together was still breaking piece by piece.

"For this to be happening... The weight pressing down on this area must have been greatly reduced...!"

"That's right." Jorn nodded before adding, "We have another team working outside, removing the carcasses from this section to buy us more time."

"Aria and Soft Feather must be lending their assistances on the surface as well." Leon understood.

Boom!

A massive section of the dome suddenly collapsed on the other side of the clan, causing its surrounding parts to collapse with it.

"Talking about timing," Leon muttered.

He watched the section above them being mildly affected by the big collapse in the other areas.

Three-quarters of the clan was buried in immediately, leaving them with one-quarter of the dome left standing, albeit not for much longer.

"Ahh, the dome collapsed! Move faster! Get me out of here!"

"Hurry up! Why the people in front so slow?! Even turtles move faster than this!"

Panic spread through the crowd as they began shoving people in front of them to increase the pace, causing disorder and chaos in the mix.

With sickness coming into contact with everyone, it was not strange that the crowd's pace was slow. The clansmen living closest to the exit were also the farthest from the fountain of Holy Water.

Nevertheless, the pot-carrying group of clansmen managed to arrive safely before they began shouting, "Holy Water! We got the Holy Water here! Who is in most dire need of Holy Water?!"

"Please pass these bowls of Holy Water to those in urgent need first! Please, everyone! Don't fight, and don't be greedy! In times like this, we must stand united more than ever!"

The pot-carrying group of clansmen began swooping small bowls of Holy Water and distributed them to the crowd.

"Thank you, young heroes! You're all lifesavers! We will remember your heroic deeds!" The crowd cheered.

It was the least they could do.

Some of the pot-carrying clansmen glanced back buried section of the clan before their lips twitched. They had cut it a bit too close and nearly got themselves buried with the clan.

"Fortunately, we were urged by the doctor to leave. If we had stuck around for a bit longer, some of us—if not all of us would have been buried," a pot-carrying clansman spoke with dread and cold sweats breaking out.

"We're out of time. Time to leave, Little Princess! Pardon the offense!" Jorn immediately picked up Lilith upon seeing the situation.

"Wait, Uncle Jorn! What about the rest of the clansmen?" She asked urgently.

However, Jorn shook his head and said with a sigh, "Sorry, not everyone can be saved. It's regrettable, but there's nothing else we can do."

"Not necessarily. I will buy them more time," Leon casually stated before muttering, "I don't really use this ability often... it's the most neglected of all my elemental abilities..."

Shortly after, Leon stomped the ground, shattering it like a giant earthworm burrowing through the earth.

Rumble!

The ground shook before a colossal earth pillar rose in the distance, supporting one corner of the remaining quarter-dome.

"Earth Manipulation?" Jorn muttered with surprise before wondering how many more abilities the human prince still has.

At the same time, Leon furrowed his brows before stomping the ground again, shaking the ground and raising another colossal earth pillar to support another corner of the quarter-dome.

'Strange... When did my Earth Ability become so strong?' Leon silently wondered.

Although the power was not greater, the range and amount of earth he could control has far outstripped that of a Preliminary Accession-stage Transcendent.

'My comprehensive understanding of the Earth Law definitely has yet to reach the Transcendent level. Only Earth Transcendents could borrow the limitless power of the earth...'

'Did becoming Nihility Transcendent remove the limiter on my other elemental laws?' Leon made a wild guess before he quickly ruled out the possibility with a shake of his head.

He had been using some of his other elemental abilities since he achieved Nihility Transcendence. They were not as powerful as his Earth Ability.

Clearly, this was not the reason.. Or at the very least, not the sole reason.

Chapter 623 - Epiphany & Phenomenon

'Perhaps, it has something to do with my connection to the earth.' Leon silently determined.

Of all the elements, oddly enough, he had the closest affinity to the earth. But it had not always been the case.

It happened during the time he nearly lost himself while comprehending the Earth Law in the depths of the underground. That time, he had sunk his consciousness too deeply into the earth, two nearly integrated.

"Mother Gaia is boundless. If one can connect to it, one can wield all the earth it has to offer..." Leon muttered while unwittingly closing his eyes to muse on the Great Way of Earth.

Only by being close to the elements, can one's affinity with them be raised.

While Leon had lapsed into silent contemplation, Jorn glanced at the temporarily stable quarter-dome before stating, "Although the collapse has been temporarily stopped, we should still leave."

"The clan cannot continue staying cooped-up in this rathole. It is simply a breeding ground for diseases."

"You're right, Uncle Jorn. Once we are outside, I want these carcasses burned to ashes before we proceed with the cleanup procedures of the clan." Lilith stated, no longer resisting Jorn's attempt to take her outside.

"Otherwise, even if the clansmen are treated, they will just get sick again."

"Understood, Little Princess. Prince Leon, how about—"

Jorn was about to ask Leon when Duna's eyes snapped open and interrupted while she was still clinging to Leon's back.

"Don't interrupt him. This is a crucial moment for him." Duna gazed coldly before Jorn backed off awkwardly.

"My apologies for not knowing better, Miss Duna. Well then, we will be leaving first."

"Alright, go."

...

Eventually, Jorn and Lilith reached the outside with the clansmen, leaving Leon and Duna inside the clan alone.

"Lilith, over here!" Aria called out to Lilith from a distance before asking shortly after, "Where's Leon and Duna?"

"They are still inside. Leon seems to be experiencing some sort of epiphany," Lilith explained after she approached Aria while Uncle Jorn left her side to make arrangements with the clansmen.

"An epiphany?" Aria repeated.

Suddenly, the skies began darkening with looming grey clouds being spawned and gathered above the clan.

"What's happening? Why did the sky suddenly start darkening? Isn't the weather changing too drastically?"

"I feel like I've seen these kinds of weather changes somewhere before... It seems oddly familiar, but I can't seem to recall..."

The clansmen quickly broke out into discussions with a mixture of fear and curiosity towards the sky.

"A phenomenon?" Aria muttered with her head raised to look at the sky. She could not be more familiar with the cloud-gathering phenomenon.

"This is a Transcendent Phenomenon. Someone is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm," Aria calmly stated.

However, she quickly noticed something wrong with what she said and began to frown in thought.

"Something is not right…"

"A Transcendent Phenomenon, huh? I've heard about this and seen it a few times," Soft Feather stated nearby before adding, "You humans practice the way of nature, learning natural laws of the world to wield powerful elemental abilities."

"That's right. But the question is, whose Transcendent Phenomenon does this belong to? Who is breaking through to the Transcendent Realm?"

"None of the humans in my Desolate Crow Clan practices Awakening Cultivation, so it cannot be anyone among them," Lilith stated with a puzzled look.

"Besides, if we did have someone close to becoming a Transcendent Awakener, that person would have been known by now."

"You've only just returned to the clan after being away for a few months." Aria stated before she questioned her, "How can you be sure that there isn't one among your clansmen now?"

"That's true... I will have to confirm with my clansmen. You. Yes, you over there. Come over here." Lilith called a young black-winged aristocrat male over before asking, "Does the clan have any high-level Awakeners?"

"None, Your Highness. You know what the mainstream cultivation practice of our clan is. We all practice the way of enhancing our bodies," the young black-winged aristocrat male began answering her question.

"Apart from you, I don't think there is anyone else among the clansmen that practice Awakening Cultivation, Your Highness."

"I see. You may leave now."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After Lilith permitted the young black-winged aristocrat male to leave, Aria's brows furrowed more deeply, "If not someone from your clan, then it is someone from our group?"

"But that doesn't make sense. Duna doesn't practice Awakening Cultivation, while Leon is already a Transcendent. Darlene is still far from reaching that step, and I am right here."

Of course, Aria thought of another possibility; it was not a Transcendent Phenomenon for the Preliminary Accession stage but The Seeking Insight stage.

However, that possibility was even more impossible in Aria's mind. Leon had once told her that his breakthrough to Nihility Transcendent did not have any phenomenon.

'Unless the phenomenon came late? A Transcendent Phenomenon, lagging?' Aria wondered ridiculously. She must be going crazy to think that.

"Your Highness, do you have any idea what is going on here? Are we being attacked by some mystical being?" Jorn inquired after returning to Lilith's side.

"No, we are not." Lilith shook her head before she said, "However, we might as well be soon if we do not move from this location."

"Uncle Jorn, please order the clansmen to retreat from this area immediately," Lilith requested shortly after.

Jorn blinked for a moment before he patted his chest and nodded, "Understood, Little Princess. Leave it to me."

Shortly after, Jorn left to bark out orders, and the clansmen began shuffling away from the collapsed mountain of carcasses.

"If I have to guess, I believe this should be Leon's Transcendent Phenomenon," Darlene spoke quietly on top of Soft Feather after everyone had moved to a safe location.

Nevertheless, Aria overheard her. She shifted her gaze to Darlene before asking, "Why do you think so?"

The question seemed simple, but it was Aria's test for Darlene. She wanted to understand this new sister's character and how she viewed her man.

"Leon is so mysterious and seemingly able to do and solve everything. If there's something that cannot be explained, it should be one of Leon's doing," Darlene voiced her honest opinion without realizing anything.

After a moment, Aria nodded with a smile, "That's right. The Transcendent Phenomenon is most likely Leon's doing."

"As for the specifics, we can only find out after Leon completes his breakthrough."