Vigil: Everyone, retreat.
With the pressure emanating from the sky and the temperature rising, this place will be reduced to a terrifying destruction.
Lanfer cast an aegis over everyone, levitating them into the air and retreating into the horizon in an instant. Vigil and Ishvel also vanished and reappeared miles away. Everyone else retreated.
Roar! The Bahamut roared.
Zakhar: Don't die on me. (He was descending like a miniature sun, a meteor of immense heat. This meteor wasn't fast like his previous attack—it was slow, but its destructive power was overwhelming. The lower the meteor descended, the higher the temperature and the stronger the gravity, amplifying the impact forcefully.)
Roar! The Bahamut entered a berserk state once again and fired an even more powerful attack skyward: Nova Breath Cannon, countering the slowly descending meteor attack. But the meteor was impossible to be countered.
As it descended, the ground beneath the Bahamut and miles around burned into dust. All life was reduced to ashes, and the land slowly turned into an ocean of lava. The Bahamut kept firing into the meteor and cast multiple defense barriers around itself.
Xukhar: Such a terrifying attack. (A clash between two colossal energies raged a mile away.)
---
Meanwhile, Liam and Forgo also observed the situation.
Forgo: This… (They witnessed a vast forest miles in radius consumed by flames, reducing all beasts and plants to ashes, the ground transformed into a lava lake.)
Liam: Such a terrifying display of power.
Multiple Mythical Beasts had also retreated. They witnessed four Mythical Rank powerhouses and many Legendary and Mythical Beasts fall back. Observing from the distance, these groups weren't fleeing the battle but watching what would happen after the meteor impact.
They also realized that these were the ones fighting earlier. In another horizon, a colossal dragon lay on a mountainous region—a Mythical Beast not even bothered by the chaos.
Liam: Where did all these beasts come from? This location was supposed to be only teeming with Legendary Beasts. The danger level of this part has gone up another level.
Forgo: For sure, those beasts are tamed, Young Master. It seems like the previous battle they had earlier before us was the advance party. Look—those beasts are the ones fighting earlier. (They were invisible, wearing an invisibility cloak artifact.)
Liam: Hmm. Tsk. We lost seven clan members just like that, and we ended up testing the waters for them. We shouldn't have chased that beast from the very beginning. (If he weren't so greedy, he could have prevented the deaths among his men.)
Forgo: More figures have appeared. It seems like the situation has caught the eyes of the Watchers. (These Watchers were under the Eisien Clan.)
Looking into the distance, seven Legendary Rank individuals wearing Watcher uniforms were observing. Among them, one Mythical Rank had joined and was now talking with the others in the sky—it was Teo. The Watchers didn't seem like they were going to interfere.
In another direction, seventeen auras were approaching—another group of Legendary Beasts led by a young man dressed in all white. (It was Lyrus, arriving together with his new beasts.)
More hunters were also approaching the location, but they were keeping a distance, merely observing.
---
Teo: Norton, you're back.
He approached the seven figures in the sky wearing Watcher uniforms. Only Norton wasn't wearing one.
Norton: The influx of beasts in the western region has become massive. The Eisien Clan commanded us to thin out the beasts in the Wildlands. We just parted ways a few days ago and you're already a Mythical Rank? Not just you—but the four of you. Together with some of your beasts.
Teo: Haha.
Norton: What kind of beast is fighting over there? With that massive destruction and power display, those are surely Mythical Beasts of Ancestral or Lord class.
Then Teo briefed him about the beast currently fighting and whose beast was descending like a meteor.
Norton: That Creatops? And a Margorio—the Bahamut Dragon near the Black Sea? (He was surprised that Creatops had become a Mythical Rank with such destructive power. And not just that—a Bahamut Dragon. Dragon species were very strong; even when weaker in rank, they could fight beasts three realms higher.)
Then suddenly, Lyrus arrived in the distance.
Norton: This… (He observed that Lyrus's tamed beasts had increased by dozens. He turned to Teo.)
Teo simply stayed silent and nodded, confirming they were Lyrus's beasts.
Norton also noticed that Ishvel, Vigil, Lanfer (referring to Leonor), and the Swarm Mother (referring to Lanfer) were now all Mythical Beasts.
Norton: Such growth in a matter of days. This is impossible… (Observing the other four, it seemed they had encountered great opportunities in just a few days.)
Norton (murmured): Lucky bastards…
But the most shocking thing—Lyrus already had multiple Mythical Beasts. He could now be considered one of the strongest heirs among his father's sons.
Norton: I need to report this to the clan. (He murmured. 'Haha, with this information I'll get money and more cultivation resources,' he thought.)
---
The sky was illuminated with scorching brilliance as the meteor collided with the Bahamut's Nova Cannon.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion shook the earth, triggering earthquakes and fissures. A mile-wide explosion formed a giant mushroom cloud of dust and smoke. The land within the explosion was now a black, mile-wide, scorched crater.
The pressure was so intense—even though they were already far away—Lanfer cast a new aegis barrier around everyone again, including Lyrus and his newly arrived beasts.
Even with the barrier, everyone was thrown even farther by the sheer force of the destruction. Luckily, all of them were protected inside the spherical aegis.
Lyrus: Such strength… (Lyrus turned into white amidst the chaos and pressure, traveling deeper into the epicenter. Despite the violent clash of destructive forces between Zakhar and the Bahamut, he was unaffected in that form and moved without care. He arrived deep beneath the huge crater.)
Lyrus wasn't the only one who slipped in to reach the scene. Sedestro turned into black mass and followed Lyrus. Xukhar also did the same, turning into a purple mass. These two had awakened something similar to Lyrus—invisible to everything. But Lyrus didn't know how Xukhar had awakened and become something like them. Maybe it was because of his constant battles and challenges against Sedestro that caused his evolution.
They arrived at the epicenter. Zakhar was sitting atop the massive head of the Bahamut—it was unconscious.
Zakhar: Master. (He greeted.) Sedestro, hurry up—or this guy might wake up any moment. If that happens, we're done for. I'm already exhausted and out of energy.
Sedestro: Leave it to me. (Sedestro descended and became a black mass, entering the Bahamut's body. A moment later, he emerged with a large black sphere in his arms. Inside, a miniature Bahamut was sleeping.)
Hehe. Master, this guy's soul was too strong. I think I can only hold this out for an hour. You need to bind it.
Lyrus: Good job. (Lyrus's white energy cascaded from his body into the black sphere containing the Bahamut's soul, slowly integrating it. Most of the cascading ocean of white then flowed into the Bahamut's massive body, beginning the bonding process.)
You've done well, Zakhar. Rest first in the White Domain. (Zakhar was covered in white and vanished. Then he found himself in a white space.)
Zakhar: This... (He was surprised by the sudden change of environment.) Hmm. (He looked at his wounds—they were slowly recovering at a much faster rate. His energy was also replenishing in this white space. Then he sat and meditated.)
The integration of the soul was finished in no time, and Lyrus placed it back into the body of the Bahamut. A miniature sphere also formed inside his consciousness, meaning he had successfully tamed it. But the white integration into its body was still continuing.
Sedestro: By the way, Master, we also caught another tough beast. (Then another black ball emerged from his hand, and the soul of a bear was revealed.)
Then Xukhar's purple mass cascaded across the surface of the crater, and the gigantic behemoth bear's body slowly emerged from his purple mass.
Xukhar: This is the beast, Master.
Lyrus: You...? (Lyrus wasn't surprised by the behemoth's body—but by Xukhar's new power, which was identical to his and Sedestro's.)
Xukhar was bewildered and didn't know what Lyrus meant. He had a questioning expression when Lyrus said "You" to him. He thought, 'What did I do wrong?' like a confused kid.
Sedestro: It just happened, Master. This awakened just a while ago during the battle. It seems like he grasped something similar to our prowess and evolved into this, and awakened.
Xukhar finally understood what Lyrus's expression meant. His confused look turned into one of pride.
Lyrus: Well, it's also a good thing. Good job, Xukhar.
Xukhar: Yes!
Then Lyrus integrated the bear's soul together with its body. It disappeared and was now in the White Domain. Lyrus's white energy continued cascading into the Bahamut's body, integrating it further.
Lyrus: Secure the perimeter. (He commanded both of them.)
Xukhar and Sedestro: Yes, Master.
They flew into the sky. The explosion was still raging with intense heat, turning the mile-wide crater into a lake of magma and lava. The mushroom-shaped smoke of the impact still raged high, polluting the mile-wide surrounding and the sky.
Sedestro: Blackening. (He exploded into a cascading ocean of eerie black, spreading further and further.)
Xukhar: Spread out. (He did the same. Now an ocean of both black and purple covered the one-mile battleground, from land to sky.)
With the two intervening in the explosion and its continuing destruction, the temperature began lowering, the smoke dispersing, and the pressure of destruction calming. A massive dome of black and purple was slowly expanding from the epicenter, covering kilometers of area and creating an impenetrable shield. This shield wasn't normal—anything that crashed into it would pass through to the other side. It transported anything that could harm the barrier.
Then both Sedestro and Xukhar materialized again.
Lyrus: These guys... (He was satisfied with their growth.)
---
Meanwhile on the other side, Lanfer noticed the black and purple dome, recognizing Sedestro and Xukhar's abilities.
She canceled all aegis barriers she had cast on individuals. Her body illuminated in golden light. Then a massive light descended upon the mile-wide crater, which was still expanding—enclosing the destruction inside a massive, enormous aegis, preventing further devastation.
Norton: The hell... (Everyone was surprised—the Watchers, Teo, Vania, Logan, Selso, Liam and Forgo, and others observing from afar.)
Liam: Another powerful beast...
Forgo: Not just that—two more powerful beasts appeared in the epicenter. Look at that black and purple dome expanding, calming the destruction caused by that meteor attack.
Liam: We already got what we originally came here for. Let's go back to the clan. (He was pissed—they not only failed to take down the Bahamut, but they also lost seven Legendary Rank clan members. Their prey was stolen by these powerful individuals. But they had already taken what they came for in this part of the Wildlands. Liam was holding a black egg with strange markings on it.)
Then they departed again, heading south. They uncloaked themselves, and their two Mythical Trilokan descended and flew south. More people noticed when the Celestial Hawks descended and two Mythical Rank beings left.
Teo and the others noticed it.
Norton: Nebelius? (He recognized the Trilokan—it was the signature aerial beast of the Nebelius Clan, and only Elders and heirs had them.)
Then Teo briefed Norton that some members of the Nebelius Clan had entered the Wildlands a month ago. It seemed they were looking for something.
Norton: Hmm. I think I also need to report this to the clan. (Looking at the hurriedly departing Trilokan, it seemed they had already achieved their goals in the Wildlands.)
Even while they talked, all of Lyrus's beasts had gone inside the massive barrier made by Lanfer, heading into the epicenter. Vania, Logan, and Selso, together with their beasts, also moved inside—along with Teo's other beasts—leaving only Vasha with him.
The Watchers attempted to pass through like the others—but they smashed into the massive golden barrier dome made by Lanfer.
It seemed that only permeated individuals could pass through the barrier.
Then Teo and Norton noticed it.
Teo: I also need to go. (Then he rode Vasha and entered the barrier.)
Norton: Don't worry about them. (He ordered the Watchers.) Thin out the beasts in the Wildlands. (The Watchers scattered and began a mass hunting of beasts in the region.)
Hayz. This kid has already grown beyond expectations... (He was referring to Lyrus. Then he retreated back to Bulgaria.)
---
Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, all tamers were summoned to help subjugate the horde of beasts coming from the Wildlands. The Watcher's border had already turned into a battlefield. Thousands of city guards were deployed, and thousands of Watchers were also helping. Around a million beast tamers from Bulgaria came to aid in the subjugation of the horde.
A spectacular battlefield unfolded at the borders of Bulgaria—a battle between tamers and the horde. Paired with firearms, the battle tilted in favor of Bulgaria. Some Mythical Rank powerhouses from the Eisien Clan also arrived, making the subjugation faster and safer.