Into The Dark

Ear splitting shock waves ripped a long path of trees to pieces as Derek ran away from his previous position at full speed. He had no other choice but to do, so since a rank 3 mage had discovered him. Staying and trying to disable the arc cannon at that point would be a futile effort. Derek had more hope in fighting off an army of 1000 rank 2 cultivators then a single rank 3 cultivator. It was a sad but irrefutable truth that running when confronted with someone a higher rank than yourself is the best and safest decision. While there does exist people that can fight above their weight limit Derek was not one of them and he knew that well.

Derek breathed sporadically as he sensed the threat of danger growing behind him. The arc cannon was charging its energy at an alarming rate. Making Derek's hairs stand on end because of the incredibly danger.

'Damn it, im going to die at this rate the range of the arc cannon is to large for me to escape the blast radius with my cultivation level'.

As Derek was thinking hard he stopped in his tracks and looked at the ground. He noticed no one was even bothering to chase after him meaning that they thought that he wasn't worth the energy because the arc cannon would finish him off anyway. Gritting his teeth Derek looked down for salvation.

Derek had a smirk on his face because he found it laughable that his safest option was also the most dangerous one as well. The only difference between the two being was that he may not die instantly if he goes down under. The Undergrowth was not a safe place for anyone. The seemingly infinite tunnels between each layer was mind boggling to fully grasp. Getting lost in the intertwining tunnels and caverns were the least of your worries down there. Because you not only have to look out for the horrid mutate monstrosities in the dark you also have to be weary of the true darkness within the dark.

That is because despite any fancy name changes that people have made to things over the years it doesn't change the fact that the undergrowth is apart of the Defiled Lands along with every other square inch of the world. The clash of the gods defiled everything nothing escaped the corruption.

Resolute Derek stuck with his decision and begun to burrow down. On the ground Derek's fist slammed down and cracked the earth. Trees were uproot and blown away with a single swing a cloud of dirt flew up into the air as the ground caved inward. As Derek was digging down he activated the emergency contact seals that were imprinted on every scouts body before they set out.

A plethora of glowing lines forming seals sprouted up on Derek's right arm up to his head. In this intense life or death situation Derek didn't forget to follow through with his duties and informed Delmar City about the attack.

...

Command Center, Delmar City

In a very odd room that doesn't appear to be any conventional command center. Hundreds of naked people from all kinds of different races were scrunched up in the fetal position inside of large glowing containers. Their bodies twitched irregularly every now and again but over all remained still. Amongst these people was Emma Von Cooler she wasn't naked inside of a container she was strapped to a large bulky seat that was raised up in the middle of the room.

Emma though laying completely still and silent she was giving complex orders all throughout the battle field while monitoring everything in real time. Since the start of the war she hasn't rested once because in the state that she was in something like sleep wasn't needed and neither was food. While It sounds strange the hundreds of people currently inside of the containers slept and ate for her. They even boosted her thinking capacity to a ludicrous level allowing her to rival the thought processing speed of a rank 5 cultivator.

While In that perfect state of man and machine Emma received the emergency communication message from Derek that stated this.

"This is Prowler D-52, I have confirmed sighting of an arc cannon amongst the enemy forces that is less than a minute away from firing. A full scale attack on Delmar City is imminent. The devices location is in sector 35-56v-70Y. Be warned estimated forces guarding the weapon are approximately 1000 rank 2 cultivators and three rank 3 cultivators. I've been discovered is extraction potentially impossible. I'm currently seeking shelter in The Undergrowth. You must raise the shield defenses. End of Transmission Prowler D-52 signing off".

During the who message Emma coldly listened to Derek desperately slamming his fists into the ground as he tried to dig his way into the caverns below. Any thought about Dereks safety was tossed to the back of her mind as she focused on ensuring the city's safety. All kinds of lights started lighting up in the command center as Emma got to work.

Emma's monotone voice was the only sound in the hall so her words were clear when she said,"imminent threat detected, increasing shield output by 5%, event aftermath calculated, error loss of life over acceptable boundaries, safety protecall activated increasing gravity by 500%, increasing shield output by an additional 1%. Shield output is currently at 16% any loss of life is now within acceptable levels".

...

Memorial wall, Delmar City

At the Memorial wall the situation was less then ideal the scene there looked like something straight out of hell. Smog as thick as tar and blacker then an ex-wife's heart permeated the air. Even the eyes of trained cultivators found it difficult to pierce through the vail enshroud their eyes. But it wasn't like they would even want to even if they could because down through the cloud of smoke and ash laid a valley of death. Millions of creatures of all kinds decorated the floor below for hundred of miles while their slayers stood over their chard remains.

The ground floor was as black as coal but far more toxic to inhale. But in the poison fumes their existed things that breathed in that stench of death and decay as if it was fresh air. Their towering forms brought with it a fear that none of the vile beasts before could even compare to because they were the kings that resided inside of the Clover Forest.

True champions that have with stood a test as old as life itself. Their movements cracked and shook the earth bringing about a never ending earthquake. Their beating hearts were louder then plane engines and their roars were like explosion that made the barrier keeping them at bay waver. The dead beneath their feet were ignored as they were squished like putty between their toes.

Some of the smallest ones were 40 stories tall while others had their bodies stretch on for miles. The city guards fought on with conviction as they faced these mighty foes. Most of the attacks that landed bounced off those beasts skin. The attacks that did hurt them only left bruises and drew a little blood. Their ferociousness even made the city deploy some of the cities rank 3 combatants as a safety net just to keep those things in line.

During this defensive battle the dome shield surrounding the city lit up like never before. Many different kinds of runes and seals appeared and began to dance in the air. The shield that rippled before was now as sturdy as a bolder. Many people were happy that the city finally decided to increase the shield defense but the more experienced soldiers knew that the only thing that would make the city do that is an even worse attack then before. The soldiers looked on as their bodies suddenly became heavier making them feel like they put on hundreds of pounds. Many of those at apprentice level and below were forced to their knees or they simply fell over completely. This event confused a bunch of people until they heared a city wide message.

[Warning high energy attack detected all units seek shelter behind the defensive line and brace for impact].

The soldiers only had enough time to listen to the warning before a bright flash of light bloomed in the distance.

...

Clover Forest

Before the arc cannot fired Derek was currently 30 miles below the earth. He was still madly digging through the dirt and rock at an amazing speed when suddenly his fist burst through the sealing of some cave. Delighted Derek pried his way through and burst through. The cavern was pitch black with thousands of holes on all sides with a bottom that was seemingly none existent. Derek without questioning how safe it was shot down like a rocket allowing him to travel a few miles lower in a matter of seconds.

While travelling down Derek stopped himself after a few miles to latch onto a wall and enter a tunnel. Derek could have still went much further down into the seemingly bottomless ravine but Derek was weary of what he could possibly wind up finding down there. There existed fates worse then death, so Derek would much rather take his chances with the arc cannon.

While clung to the wall a fierce earth shattering rumble echoed through the ravine. Derek looked up only to feel and see the heat of the sun bearing down on him. After only a few moments the walls were liquefying into magma. Not waisting a moment more Derek ran into the tunnel to wind up who knows were.

...

Above ground the impact of the arc cannon was worse. When the cannon fired a long thick beam of plasma shot out destroying everything in front of it. It didn't matter wether it was a living creature or not everything got incinerated. The weapon carried with it the destructive might of an erupting volcano as it washed over the land like tsunami. The towering colossal beasts that stood in front of the city gates were the first to taste the weapons might.

An unending wave of sunlight enveloped them all before it crashed onto the barrier. An explosion as magnificent as 10 nukes exploding pushed against the barrier. The city's defenses shook as a wave of energy enveloped everything. By the time the fallout ended all anyone could see was a sea of bright red magma.