The Battle of a Hundred Saints had already lasted for a full week.
The fighting was incredibly intense, with countless streams of blood spilled, only to be instantly evaporated by flames or shattered along with the glaciers themselves.
Yet, as the glaciers broke and seawater poured in, the freezing atmosphere would immediately cause the water to freeze into new glaciers.
This process repeated, over and over again, in an endless cycle.
Nearly a hundred beastmen fought fiercely, their bodies covered in scars, yet showing no fear. The human Saints on the other side were equally united in their hatred, their combined profound forces shaking the space, transforming the landscape beyond recognition.
"Awooooo! Grulu sa ahaji wumala!"
A piercing howl shattered the sky, seemingly aiming straight at everyone's souls.
Amid the chaos, a handsome knight clad in silver armor, draped in a red cape, and fluent in the beastman tongue, suddenly paled upon hearing the howl. Instantly, he shouted with the help of wind elements to amplify his voice:
"Not good! The bear-men are preparing to once again invoke their ancestral power! We cannot let them succeed!"
As soon as his words fell, all the Saints' gazes pierced through the rapidly forming wall of beastmen, focusing on a group of more than ten bear-men who had quietly slipped behind the lines. They held bronze horns in their hands, their chests heaving as they blew with all their might, unleashing their innate roar:
"Tooooot..."
The sound of an ancient, deep horn resounded, causing space to tremble with an unusual energy.
The Saints sensed the change and, with grim expressions, spread out in a circular formation to disrupt the bear-men's ritual.
"You shall not thwart the great plan of the Beast God!"
The blood moon werewolf who had first issued the command licked its lips, revealing a bloodthirsty grin. This was the current Beast King—the Bloodthirsty Wolf King. Determined to fulfill his grand ambitions, no matter the cost, he roared another order.
Immediately, more than ten blood-moon werewolves with crimson fur let out a simultaneous howl, their entire bodies steaming with blood energy as they entered a blood frenzy, their power greatly increasing.
As the human Saints tried to bypass them, the werewolves split up with practiced precision, streaking toward their targets like blood-red lightning to block their way.
"Timos! Where do you think you're going? Your opponent is me!"
The Bloodthirsty Wolf King, with the sharpest claws and most agile body, locked onto the faintest, stealthiest presence, sniffed the air, and leaped into the sky with a cruel smile still on his face.
With a deafening sonic boom, the Wolf King tore through space, closing in on the hidden shadow in an instant. His sharp claws slashed out, creating an arc in the air as the wind howled around him.
The black shadow nearly split in two, forced to reveal itself. The figure of Timos, furious and shocked, emerged!
Disengaging from the Profound of Invisibility, Timos glared coldly at the Bloodthirsty Wolf King that refused to leave him alone, a shadow of darkness darkening his eyes.
"Toka, I advise you not to meddle! This northern land is human territory, and you beastmen are not welcome!"
Timos shouted angrily.
"Hahahaha! So by that logic, you're admitting that the rest of the land belongs to us beastmen?" The Bloodthirsty Wolf King laughed insidiously, but his hands moved quickly, his claws gleaming as they aimed for Timos' throat.
"Darkness—Deprivation!"
A glint of murderous intent flashed in Timos' eyes as a skull-headed magic staff materialized in his hand. He pointed it toward the Wolf King.
Countless tendrils of black mist appeared like tentacles, entangling the Bloodthirsty Wolf King. The blood mist flowing from the werewolf's body immediately weakened under the dark mist's grasp, as if it had met its natural enemy.
The Wolf King's face twisted in fury as he snarled, "Damn it! Not this trick again!"
He began to pump his blood energy furiously, his heart racing like a motor as an invisible shockwave burst from his body, clashing with the power of Deprivation.
Boom!
The impact destabilized the Deprivation force, causing the black mist to dim significantly.
In the next moment, the Bloodthirsty Wolf King's muscles quivered as he pierced through the black mist like a blood-red flash, violently slamming into Timos' chest while snarling, "Die, Timos!"
Timos remained cold as ice. "Bloodthirsty Wolf King, your sins are too great. Today, your reckoning comes. Leave the human world now."
"Darkness—Corrosion!"
"Darkness—Deprivation!"
"Darkness—Devour!"
He spoke the words without emotion, each carrying lethal intent.
Even for a master like Timos, such high levels of spiritual power consumption made him furrow his brows slightly.
However, the effects were equally devastating. The sky grew darker, as if shrouded by a giant cloud of darkness that hung over the battlefield like the gates of Hell itself, pressing down on the Bloodthirsty Wolf King alone.
Endless dark elements, like wailing demons, clawed at the Wolf King, dragging with them all manner of negative energies, as if trying to pull him into the abyss.
Splurt!
The Bloodthirsty Wolf King spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.
Under this onslaught, the wolf's blood energy froze, his state weakening dramatically as if he had aged in an instant.
Having three powerful Profounds land on him simultaneously caused excruciating pain.
But as he glanced at the bear-men in the rear, a cunning smile flickered in his eyes. "I managed to stall you..."
Hearing the whispered words, Timos' pupils shrank in alarm, a deep sense of unease rising in his heart.
He immediately moved to break away from the Wolf King, rushing forward.
Through years of experience, Timos could sense that the beastmen's actions this time were different from past attempts to invoke their ancestral power—there was a single-minded, all-out determination behind their efforts. It wasn't as simple as triggering an ordinary ancestral transformation.
"You won't get through!"
The Bloodthirsty Wolf King, bleeding profusely, blocked Timos again, even enduring the full brunt of perfected Profounds. He was determined to keep Timos tangled up, even at the cost of his life.
"Move!"
"Get out of my way!"
Timos was beside himself with rage, roaring as he brought his skull staff crashing down onto the Wolf King's head.
It was a shocking sight to see a powerful mage resorting to physically smashing his staff. But this was no ordinary blow—Profound Deprivation was infused within it.
The Wolf King's head spun, his mind dizzy from the strike, his spirit nearly obliterated.
In any other fight, he would have avoided such a deadly move, but today was different. For the sake of the beastmen's grand plan, even if it cost him his life, he would not back down.
"This is my chance!"
Seeing the Wolf King's momentary daze, Timos' eyes lit up.
Not missing a beat, he dissolved into dark elements and disappeared into the space, rushing toward the rear.
At that moment, the sound of the bear-men's horn had nearly died down, becoming weak and low.
But the spatial tremors grew even louder, as if some monstrous force was hammering against the fabric of the world.
Though most ordinary people couldn't sense it, every Saint present could feel the high-level vibrations in the air, and they all looked on in fear, unsure of what was happening.
One thing was certain: whatever the bear-men were doing, it was definitely connected to this terrifying disturbance.
Ignoring their wounds, the Saints pushed past the beastmen's interference to disrupt the ritual.
"Hahaha, it's too late! The beastmen's grand plan will be accomplished today!"
The Bloodthirsty Wolf King, shaking off his dizziness, saw that Timos had gotten past him, but when he felt the profound change in the space and the horn sound nearing its end, he burst into manic laughter.
"Once the Ancestor God of the Beast God Realm descends, conquering this world will be as simple as snapping a finger!"
"Foolish humans, you have no idea what the power of the Beast God truly is!"
The Wolf King howled in frenzied joy, his eyes wide with excitement as he gazed up at the sky.
By now, the tremors in space had intensified, like a volcano on the brink of eruption.
His words echoed in the hearts of every Saint—Beast God Realm? Ancestor God? What were these entities? Ancestors of the beastmen?
Could they truly descend into this world?
This revelation weighed heavily on every heart, as they all knew how impossible it was for someone to break through the boundaries between worlds. Whoever this ancestor was, his power was unimaginable.
In less than a second.
A deafening "boom" rang out.
Timos' face flashed with fear, but there was also a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he looked toward the sky.
As they waited in conflicted anticipation, a tear suddenly split open the flawless white sky.
Beyond the tear was a glimpse of endless void, as if some terrifying beast was trying to squeeze its way through.
At that moment, everyone—human and beastman alike—instinctively ceased fighting and turned their attention skyward, their gazes locked on the next event.
Half a second later.
A translucent dark hand extended from the rift.
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats—could there really be a creature entering?
The beastmen's faces lit up with brilliant smiles, believing that their Beast God was about to descend!
Meanwhile, the human Saints' faces turned deathly pale. Though they couldn't fully comprehend what was happening, their instincts screamed that this was something profoundly unfavorable.
"Damn it, what in the world is that?!"
"I feel a shiver deep in my soul!"
"Everyone, we must fight with everything we've got! Even if we die, we'll drag the beastmen down with us!"
A Saint Knight mustered his courage in the critical moment, shouting loudly to rally the troops.
But before the humans could act, a translucent dark figure slipped through the rift. Just as the rift was about to close, a giant purple eye followed, squeezing into this world.
The dark figure, cloaked entirely in black mist, concealed its face and body, but the most striking feature was a pair of horn-like protrusions atop its head.
The massive purple eye floated nearby, its gaze spinning 360 degrees, curiously surveying the surroundings.
"Hehehe, Undead Patriarch, you've really gone and made mortal enemies of the Beast God Realm. After all their hard work creating this passage, you just shut it down!" The purple eye chuckled malevolently as it glanced at the beastmen below.
The translucent dark figure spoke in an aged, raspy voice:
"To be used by me is the Beast God's honor. Without me, they wouldn't have had a chance to cross over at all…"
"Heh, you've got a point. So, what's your next move?" The purple eye gazed at the dark figure's back, intrigued.
The dark figure didn't answer. It simply lowered its head and looked down at the shocked, dazed expressions of everyone below. Its gaze eventually locked onto the most powerful aura present—Timos. A trace of surprise flickered in its eyes. "Him again... how interesting…"
The purple eye followed the dark figure's gaze, landing on Timos as well. "Fascinating. That one seems to have a strong command of dark elemental essence. If he ever found his way to the Netherworld, he might have great potential…"
"Wait a second, did you just say... 'again'?" The purple eye suddenly realized something and asked the dark figure in surprise.
"Hmm... I've encountered him once before, though it was merely a weak avatar," the dark figure said, as it extended a dark claw toward the ground.
For reasons unknown, when the purple eye and dark figure appeared, both human and beastmen alike were momentarily stunned, their minds blank as though their thoughts had frozen.
As the dark claw descended, the people below stood still like puppets, staring blankly at the sky, as if their souls had left their bodies.
Only Timos' eyes showed a flicker of emotion. His expression betrayed an inner struggle.
It was as if he recognized that dark claw and the shadowy figure above. Fearful memories surfaced from deep within his heart.
Darkness enveloped Timos like a cage, trapping him in place!
As the foremost Dark Elemental Saint Magus of his time, this sensation was not unfamiliar to Timos.
—He would never forget that day, while conducting experiments on a test subject, a mysterious dark shadow had struck him down with a single blow, nearly killing him.
When he awoke, the shadow had vanished, along with all his experimental materials.
Since that day, Timos had abandoned all arrogance. He realized that, within the world, or perhaps even beyond it, there existed unknown horrors far beyond his understanding.
Now, the familiar aura reawakened those buried memories.
Despair surged within him like a rising tide, threatening to drown him, suffocating him.
As the dark claw neared his body, the scythe of death seemed to graze his very soul!
Under the crushing weight of impending death, an unstoppable force stirred within him. A storm erupted in his spiritual sea, and in that critical moment, the essence of darkness within him erupted in full splendor.
The Profound power in his mind collided, and in this life-or-death crisis, Timos unleashed a strength unlike any before!
—A sword formed from pure dark elemental energy materialized from the void, fused with a deeply profound power, radiating an unstoppable might. It severed all the bonds that imprisoned him.
Timos broke free from his restraints.
The profound power emanating from the dark elemental sword felt both familiar and foreign. Even Timos was taken aback by the strength he had tapped into during the heat of the moment. The force, born from the fusion of Deprivation and Corrosion, had evolved into something even more powerful.
This new combination produced an effect far greater than the sum of its parts, allowing him to escape the dire situation.
But before he could savor his victory, the purple demon eye shot a beam of light directly at Timos. In an instant, his entire body dissolved under the light, disintegrating like snow in the sun, reduced to dried flesh and bone, and then to dust.
The dark figure clenched its hand in a fist.
Where Timos had stood, a transparent soul floated upward, quickly soaring into the sky, only to be caught by the dark figure's hand.