The underground basin continuously trembled.
AoOoOoOomm~!
The mournful howl sounded from every direction, resonating throughout the cavern and causing the cave walls to vibrate. Loose gravel rained down from above, and a cloud of dust began to thicken.
Hum!
The six figures, four demons and two dragons, stood firm, their heads turning to scan the surroundings.
In every direction, ghost-like wisps of wolf-shaped specters had appeared and surrounded them, like a pack looking down on their prey. These grey wisps all had different shapes and sizes; the only unifying characteristic was that they vaguely resembled wolves.
Soon, one of the pale grey wisps suddenly lunged forward, its figure blurring as it tore through the air.
A quick assessment made it clear that this creature had a cultivation at the Golden Core Realm. Its small body distorted mid-air, rapidly expanding into a more distinct wolf-shaped phantom roughly the size of a small horse. Looking even closer, its transparent and constantly fluctuating body still vaguely resembled a cracked creature wrapped in a wave of pale mist. Countless lines could be seen spreading across the surface of its body like broken porcelain, and its two glowing eyes pierced through the darkness like twin lanterns that glowed with white flames.
It wasn't only this one; soon, dozens of the closest specters began to distort and enlarge, lunging not long after. Those large creatures, the ones that appeared to be the pack leaders, sat high up and watched from above as the onslaught began.
The horse-sized wolf spectres attacked, their large hollow mouths opening into storm-like voids that swirled around violently. There was a silent scream, it was a terrible mix between the sound of a wolf and a man, then followed by the soaring shriek of an eagle; it attacked in a blur-like flash of light.
But! Before these creatures could even land, the six figures had already burst into action.
Raina, Gillion, and Hirano flew forward, each charging in different directions and taking on one large wave at a time. Next, Nodaba, the strongest demon, and perhaps the strongest combatant present, stomped his foot and flickered away. He reappeared above, approaching one of the large shadows completely concealed in the darkness, its position elevated even above those previously thought to be the leaders. As for Atllin and Lilit, those two figures, one gold and one silver, flickered and disappeared, reappearing on a distant rocky ledge. After clearing out the surrounding shadows, they watched from above, taking a passive stance as their eyes swept across the battlefield.
Returning to the fight…
Gillion swept through the light shadows like a bull, throwing countless specters into the air, and scattering just as many on the spot. His arms and legs seemed to blacken as dark-type elemental energy gushed out of his body and wrapped around his limbs. The large, bare-chested demon stepped forward and threw a punch directly into one of the creature's skulls, causing the entire wolf to explode into fragments of pale light that shot out with such force that they destroyed even more of the surrounding specters.
"Hah!" He grinned fiercely.
"Weak! Too weak!" Like a beast unleashed, he aimlessly tore through the assault.
Buzz!
For every shadow he killed, three more wolves would condense nearby, promptly rushing him with seemingly no regard for their own lives.
Seeing this, Raina frowned. "They regenerate quite quickly!"
Like Gillion, she fought her own horde of howling wolves. Only instead of fighting them with her hands and feet, she manifested a black hammer that she swung in massive arcs, causing large waves of black light to sweep through the area and shake the stone steps.
Meanwhile, Hirano had already begun fighting his own battle. This old demon moved surprisingly quickly for a man of his age. Dark elemental energy flowed beneath his feet as he rapidly retreated across the uneven terrain, continuously waving one hand. Unlike Raina and Gillion, Hirano utilized the foundational strengths of the Summoner Pathway. While using countless darkness element spells to assist—
Buzz!
—several pitch-black beasts condensed from the shadows around him. A giant serpent, two crow-like creatures, and a mass of crawling insects appeared. These were intermediate-level elementals, each possessing unique abilities that he had cultivated over many years of practice and refinement.
The Summoner Pathway…
Unlike the straightforward violence of the Immortal pathway or the passive casting of the Mage pathway, the Summoner pathway specialized in a wide range of generalities. Summoners form temporary contracts with elementals from the elemental realm, ranging from overwhelming hordes to individuals with unique abilities.
At the highest level, some summoners can even fuse with their summons…
The summoner pathway—
The first realm of the Summoner pathway focuses entirely on introducing elemental energy into the body until it reaches a state of absolute saturation. Once saturated, this energy enhances the individual's perception and deepens their compatibility with their innate element or elements.
The second realm of the Summoner pathway requires one to shatter their spirit roots, scattering the fragments throughout the body. The summoner must then absorb these fragments, completely integrating the essence of their spirit roots into their own flesh and blood.
The third realm of the Summoner pathway is achieved when an individual forms at least one elemental armament. This armament can manifest as anything, ranging from weapons and armor to horns or specialized artifacts, and there is no limit to the number a summoner can create. Crucially, these armaments serve as external storage devices that are constantly strengthened, refined, and fueled by the elemental energy of the summoner. In a sense, when the summoner is incapable of absorbing any more elemental energy, it can be stored within these elemental armaments until the summoner has more capacity within their physical body.
The fourth realm of the Summoner pathway is the stage where a practitioner transforms quantity into quality. At this point, the summoner absorbs elemental energy into their body much like the first realm; however, instead of merely saturating the flesh, they intentionally overfill, compress, and expand the energy in a continuous cycle to push past the limits of their physical vessel.
The fifth realm of the Summoner pathway focuses entirely on forming an Elemental Body and transforming oneself into an elemental lifeform. At this stage, a summoner can freely transform their physical body into their respective element, as well as manipulate that element at will.
As for the realms above this stage, those were currently inaccessible to the Demon Clan, but that didn't stop them from already being extremely terrifying.
Old Man Hirano and his small army demonstrated this combat superiority effortlessly.
-
Nearby, Atllin and Lilit merely watched.
Neither dragon moved.
Their eyes calmly observed the battlefield as if evaluating something…
-
Returning to the fight—
AoOoOoOomm~!
Rumble!
The entire basin suddenly shook violently.
Everyone looked up, quickly spotting Nodaba high above, locked in a fierce struggle with something hidden in the shadows.
At the same time, from just below the peak, 'leader-like' creatures began to step forward. Some were spectral and transparent, while others seemed to have solidified, manifesting physical bodies. It was clear that there were two distinct types of rulers, half were those specter-like shadows, while the other half were the physical beasts of this realm, the true Singing Stone Wolves!
Seeing this, several of the fighters frowned, their eyes unconsciously straining to get a closer look at what Nodaba was fighting. The reason? If these approaching beasts were already the Singing Stone Wolves, could that thing in the sky be the Wolf King?
No, it was unlikely! What was approaching them now were the Wolf Kings, but there were too many of them! Since that was the case, it could only mean that the entity thrashing in the shadows was a kind of emperor: a Singing Stone Emperor that ruled over the Wolf Kings.
How troublesome!
It really was the worst-case scenario…
Boom!
After leaping down, the dozen or so Wolf Kings landed with a deafening thud. Their bodies stood dozens of meters high, easily eclipsing the common magic beasts of the secret realm.
The most shocking part was—
Each of them was already a fifth-order magic beast!
As they approached, every footstep brought a heavier, crushing pressure. The air began to vibrate as the surrounding stone was slowly shaved down by the sheer weight of their presence. Breathing became difficult. A faint light began emanating from the demons' bodies as they channeled their inherent power to fend off the suffocating wave of spiritual pressure.
Soon, one enormous figure after another slowly emerged from the darkness, allowing everyone to see the full, terrifying form of these monsters.
These wolves, unlike the specters, were the true, physical forms of the towering Singing Stone Wolves. They were massive beasts with skin like cracked stone and long white fur that seemed to glow in the darkness. Their eyes were piercing, and their teeth constantly radiated a terrifying mist of pure spiritual energy that spilled out from their maws and engulfed their heads, fluctuating in time with the song of stone. Each possessed six legs, two front claws and four back legs, and twin tails that swayed with embers of white fire. In addition to these unifying features, many of the Wolf Kings bore unique mutations: flat faces, extra tails, or jagged rock formations protruding from their bodies. Each one was distinct, their scarred forms carrying the long history of their rise to power, and their ultimate submission to whatever existence ruled from the darkness above.
As they fully appeared, the Song of Stone also intensified instantly, causing even the fighters' souls to shudder at the sound that was constantly condensing.
Raina's expression warped. "This is bad!"
She could already feel the so-called incomplete domain beginning to form!
Boom!!
Before anyone else could react, Nodaba had already made his move.
From the darkness above, his body exploded out with a terrifying pressure, one that seemed to surpass the fifth-order limit currently imposed on the Demon Clan.
He shot down.
Boom!
He landed in a crater between the currently fighting demons.
With an eruption of energy, he intercepted the group in the center of the basin who were being surrounded by the Wolf Kings. Then, leaping back up into the air, he raised a hand while hovering above. The darkness around him distorted, turning to a near-absolute black. As he lowered his hand, his true reserves of the darkness element exploded from his body, erupting like a fountain, and staining the already dark cavern even darker. With a faint roar, the surrounding shadows thickened into a sludge-like compression, and twenty-six black spears materialized around his figure.
With a downward sweep of his arm, the spears shot violently into the earth, embedding themselves in a perimeter around the group like large pillars.
A dark light unfolded. A restriction-type formation snapped into place instantly, conjuring a black wall that intertwined with itself to seal off the surroundings of the central basin.
When he landed, Nodaba didn't stop.
He raised his spear, spoke a few inexplicable syllables, and cast a curse. With another wave of darkness magic, the formation condensed even further, boxing Raina, Gillion, and the old man inside this quickly constructed arena with the dozen Wolf Kings.
This effectively separated the Wolf Kings from the rest of their packs.
Next, with a swift, flickering step, Nodaba dashed into the barrier, grabbed Gillion and Hirano, and flashed back outside, leaving only Raina trapped within.
Raina looked over, completely dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
What just happened?
Her brain couldn't keep up.
Even Gillion and Hirano, were thoroughly confused, to say nothing of the two dragons watching from the sidelines.
Was this considered internal strife?
Nodaba didn't have time to explain. In that exact instant, a gaze that made Gillion and the old man shiver swept over the battlefield. They turned, only to discover Nodaba had already jumped back into the sky, returning to his desperate battle with the entity in the shadows near the roof of the cavern.
His voice echoed down as he faded into the dark: "I want to see what that little girl has done to you. This is a rare opportunity to let loose without having to worry about being discovered by those people from the Church of Light!" Those words were directed entirely at Raina, who was now left facing a dozen ferocious beasts that loomed over her like towering shadows.
She gritted her teeth!
"Damn Nodaba! Damn old man! Just watch! This old lady will have her day!"
BOOM!