The five people on the boat sat in silence. They were prepared to enter the detection range of the World Tree soon, so they didn't want to alert it. They didn't know that it had been in her domain since the very beginning.
Unlike other armies, they didn't use any concealing arrays or runic fields. After all, they feared that the technology they used had already fallen into the Golden Sap Arborarchy's grasp. The chances of being discovered would be higher than when they didn't use it.
After a while of sailing, one of them finally spoke. "How many do you think there are?"
He was referring to
"I don't know." One woman answered. "Nevertheless, they have at least two."
"Two? Where did this number come from?"
The woman looked at the person who asked. She was a slender and average-looking woman. "Have you read the report? Or were you waiting for me to explain, like I always do? Even Garrik, as dumb as he is, read the report."
Garrik, at the side, complained. "Hey, Sweris! Why am I receiving strays here? I didn't even do anything!"
Sweris sighed. "Forget it. Let me explain some details. First of all, we fear that the strong energy pulse might originate from the Wild Continent. That kind of worldwide pulse is difficult to track, which is why our people are so confused. Second, the disappearance of the Songtree family. The only place they could've gone without being detected is the only location where we lack any sort of spies."
"We do?" The woman was confused. "How is that possible? We have spies even inside the Covenant. Can a newly formed power catch ALL our spies?"
Sweris looked at the woman with a baffled expression. "You… How can you be so ignorant? I didn't see you at the conference, but this is just too much. Are you messing with me?"
"No." The woman shrugged. "Lady Thyra ordered me to come and kill a World Tree. Then, she must have confidence that we five are enough, no?"
"NO!" Sweris grabbed her head. "First of all, we five are going as a punishment because Kaelis and a group of high-level spies have disappeared inside the Wild Continent. We lost contact with Kaelis over two years ago, and we lost contact with the spies six months ago when they went to check information about her. The Wild Continent is currently layered with thick fog, and we know NOTHING about it. Do you understand? All the information we have we've learned from the other powers."
The lazy woman finally reacted, her face changing to a serious one. "Huh? Isn't this a big deal?"
"Oh, branches above, I am going to turn religious to pray for you, Falira, to be smitten and have your brain rewired!"
Sweris's curse almost made Liu Shu burst into laughter. 'That was a good one.' Looking at the scene, she was thoughtful. "Why didn't they come flying? Isn't it easier to go unnoticed if they fly over my detection range? Well, not that they know, I can see many tens of thousands of kilometers into the air, so I would've caught them either way. Nevertheless…'
If a
Firepower, concealment, and reach. They were true nightmares for non-Fourth Energy Cycles.
While the four other people brought the lazy woman up to speed, the 10 Arboreal Winged Serpents soared into the sky and beelined in their direction.
'Hm~. At this pace, they'll clash around 20 minutes later. I wonder, will the battle be close, or just a complete and utter slaughter?
To be honest, when she saw their stats, Liu Shu was quite frightened. Usually, summoned creatures were weaker stat-wise compared to their summoners. Much weaker, in fact. That's why summoners could innately boost the stats of their summons.
Thanks to her large amount of
***
Summoning Affinity: Summon Cost (-85%), Summon Enhancement (+40%), Summoning Invoking Time (-85%), Summon Upkeep (-85%)
***
These numbers were naturally ridiculous. If the summon had half your stats, a 40 percent increase would only bring it 20 percent toward having your stats. Nevertheless, what if the summon's base attributes were similar to the summoner's?
After all buffs, the summoner's invocation would become a true monster.
In Liu Shu's case, the A Tier Arboreal Winged Serpents perfectly embodied the "overpowered summon" category. With natural titles, skills, equipment, and even intelligence, each of them had around 80% of Liu Shu's stats in their main stat.
Ophion, for one, had 180,000
Liu Shu didn't want to exaggerate her handsome serpent's stats. But all things considered, her summoning ability was among the strongest of all her skills.
The serpents arrived not long after Liu Shu was done with her musing. Once they arrived, the spellcasters began gathering elemental Aether Mana in crazy amounts.
Sweris, Falira, and Garrik were quick to notice the egregious accumulation of energy in the sky. Their faces changed, and they quickly flew out of the ship, the other two following behind them.
Right as they left, two pillars of Aether Mana descended from the sky.
One of them was a pillar of water, carrying enough strength to flatten the side of a mountain. The other was a pillar of wind, its cutting power shredding their boat into pieces.
Falira asked, her eyes full of shock. "Hey, Sweris, you didn't truly call for some strange god to smite me, right!?"
Garrik cursed at them. "Is this really the time to fuck around!? Above!"
Looking up, they saw several giant serpents descend with terrifying auras around them. Chills ran up their spines when they saw them. Sweris shouted the most sane thing she could at this moment. "RUN! RETURN TO THE CONTINENT!"
They understood the difference in strength between them right away. If they dared fight, it wouldn't be an equal battle but a massacre.
The other four didn't hesitate for a single instant and turned around to flee in different directions.
Ophion noticed and squinted his eyes with disdain. Looking into the distance, Ophion divided the group and hissed. "Hunt them down. If your prey escapes, I will make sure when you return that you go through the Scale Breaking Mountain to train."
All nine of them felt their feathers puffing up with fear, and in the next instant, they turned into blurs and sped into the distance. Meanwhile, Ophion flapped his wings and rushed after Garrik alone.
His giant body soared above the water, the wind currents from his speed raising the water behind him. Garrik turned back and noticed that only one serpent followed him. 'Thankfully, it's only one.'
However, he was not naive enough to turn around and fight it. Among all the flying creatures, the one following after him was clearly the leader and biggest of them all. The armor-like, scaly bark surrounding Ophion felt like it would never crack. Garrik, therefore, continued fleeing in the general direction of the Abyss Void Nexus continent.
Ophion squinted and analyzed his prey while taking into account his speed. He naturally could go faster, but first, he needed to understand. After all, as a hunter, one needed to take time.
Garrik continued flying as fast as he could, calculating the time he would need to catch up. 'At my current speed, I should see the shore of the Abyssal Void Nexus in ten hours… eight if I go a bit faster. Nevertheless, I might get tired before I arrive if I speed up.'
He looked behind, wanting to check on his predator. "Huh? Where is it?"
Seeing the open sea behind him, Garrik was confused. Of course, he didn't stop even for a second. Instead, he continued speed flying and checking up and down behind him.
"Where is it? Where is it? Did it give up?"
He was sure that he was quite fast, even among other Fourth Energy Cycles, so if the serpent gave up, it wouldn't be strange. He even maintained a fixed distance from it for a while.
However, as he flew, the man suddenly felt a sense of intense danger. All
With no time to think, Garrik changed his flying path and soared skyward.
Right then, the water before him exploded, Ophion appearing with a wide-open mouth ready to chomp him. Luckily, his maneuver saved him by just a few meters of distance. "It can swim!? Isn't it a winged creature!? Where is the logic there!?"
Garrik wanted to curse whatever gave birth to it very badly. Still, he held back. "It can fly right after swimming… This monster is too strange. Why have I never seen it in the monster encyclopedias I've seen in the past?"
Flying snakes were aplenty. Nevertheless, flying snakes with a bark-like, scaly body? That was a first. Moreover, the feathers of the wings looked like tree leaves, making it even more strange. It was as if a tree had suddenly changed into a snake form and grown wings from its branches.
"No time for this. Focus."
Garrik tightened his expression and flew forward. Still, unlike before, the serpent was closing in on him quickly. 'It sped up. Is it because it is wet? Does this snake have some affinity with water?'
Thinking as such, Garrik threw a powerful fire rune behind him. These kinds of one-time use items were rare and expensive, so using them made Garrik's heart hurt. Still, his life was more valuable.
BOOM!!!
A fireball engulfed Ophion, making Garrik smile. The smile only lasted for a second, though.
Ophion burst forth from the fireball, his body intact. Strangely, the fireball that could heavily injure a normal Fourth Energy Cycle was nothing for the creature that appeared to be made out of wood.
Wind energy gathered toward Ophion, and soon, his speed soared even higher. With a powerful rush, Ophion closed the distance, appearing right by his side. Garrik's eyes widened before Ophion struck him with his wing.
BOOM!
The man's speed changed its spatial axis abruptly, crashing into the ocean before he could even register it.
Not losing this chance, Ophion rushed inside and attacked the man underwater with a barrage of close-ranged strikes. Each strike sliced millions of Phoer, and within minutes, all of Garrik's bones were broken.
With the prey practically immobilized, Ophion opened his mouth and had a nice dinner.