Poison could only affect living creatures, so against a spell that was basically a mass of Magic Energy, it should be useless. That was conventional knowledge. But when the lion pounced at the poison wall, the fog seemed to strangle the lion with numerous tentacles. For the first time, the spell lost momentum. Its image of invincibility was broken! This was unsurprising since this was the Triple Poison Ferret, a Half-Rank 3 Beast King! A step further and it could stand with the likes of the Sword King and Protector Avin. It would truly become a symbol of destruction! Unfortunately, that day was not today. The lion growled. Boom! Lightning and fire surged across its body before erupting! The explosive attack effortlessly vanquished the poison fog. The lion stood valiantly in the middle of the crater, practically unharmed.
Protector Avin had less than a quarter of his Magic Energy left. He was outnumbered five-to-one. In addition, he had to deal with mysterious abilities, and fight across a foreign landscape in the middle of a blizzard at night. He had all these disadvantages stacked against him, and yet, it was not enough. This was the might of a Rank 3 King. Only under extremely specific circumstances was it possible for a Rank 2 Lord to defeat a Rank 3 King. The Featherwind Sect's battle with the Sword King was the best example of a close fight. Of course, that was relative. If the Sword King was pushed too far, he could use his strongest moves, like his Bloodline Ability. Protector Avin was the same. Therefore, he was never in any real danger. He just lacked the opportunity to counterattack until now!
Upon seeing its failure, the ferret dashed away with Martial Energy. It was actually fleeing! Although it had entered the battlefield proudly, hoping to deal the final blow on its rival Beast Lords and Protector Avin, it was running away with its tail between its legs. It had to because it knew… Protector Avin was an insurmountable opponent! The lion stomped on the ground and gave chase. They flew through the forest at breakneck speeds. The ferret was small and agile, barely making a noise as it fled. The lion, on the other hand, was huge and clumsy, smashing through everything with supreme force. Every time the ferret used poison, the lion would retaliate with lightning and fire. A trail of destruction followed them. Despite its best efforts, the ferret could not escape the rampaging lion.
Elder Crus saw they were headed in her direction and frowned. Even if it was not direct, the aftermath of a Rank 3 King's spell could seriously wound her. She would rather not chance it. With a flap of her wings, she started ascending into the clouds. At that moment, Protector Avin gave a signal. Elder Crus barely had the time to curse and put up her defenses when the lion suddenly exploded. Boom! An enormous storm of lightning and fire blasted the area, engulfing both Elder Crus and the Triple Poison Ferret. The shockwave leveled a large portion of the forest and tore open the clouds above. It could be faintly felt across the Mordrigan Peaks and even the Poderis Region!
Protector Avin used his True Perception to check what happened. The Extreme Blade Mantis and Bubble Trap Toad were dead without a trace. The Fat Light Chicken was barely alive. Its recovery ability was lacking for once. As for the Triple Poison Ferret… he could not find it anywhere in that swirling storm of energy. Maybe it died, or maybe it escaped. It was hard to tell. A bird soared out of the dust cloud. Elder Crus survived by concentrating her Martial Energy into a single point to redirect the blast away. It required a near-perfect control of Martial Energy that only a former Grand Rank 2 Lord could achieve. This was the best she could currently do, as a Perception Realm Adept. Blood dyed her white feathers red, as she cursed Protector Avin's name over and over again. He must have known she was there. He did it on purpose!
The man snorted and inspected his Core. After using two high level spells, he did not have much Magic Energy remaining. It would be bad if the Featherwind Sect decided to attack him now. Of course, killing him was a different matter, but saving Freon and Nassandra was his top priority. Thinking so, he activated his movement spell. Whoosh! He disappeared from the spot. Although the clash with the Beast Lords was brief, it took him off the Mordrigan Peaks and into the neighbouring forest. Everywhere he looked, there was devastation.
When he returned to the cave entrance, he was greeted by a surprising sight. Littering the area were hundreds of animal corpses, along with several Rank 2 Beast Lord corpses! The blood pooled together and drenched the snow in a bright red. At the center of this massacre were the Featherwind Sect's elder birds. They received minor injuries, but that was it. While the beast armies might have looked impressive, it was a classic case of quantity over quality. Most of the beasts were Rank 1 Mortals with a few weak Rank 2 Beast Lords leading them. It was all too easy for the Featherwind Sect. Elder Crus descended from the sky, huffing and fuming. She wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
Paying her no mind, he searched for Freon and Nassandra with his True Perception. He then discovered multiple groups slowly making their way towards the surface. Everyone was pretty roughed up and close to death though. Regrettably, none of his spells were helpful here unless he went in himself. A wind tunnel formed, as he casted his movement spell. He decided in less than a second. Freon and Nassandra were essential for the Arcellius Family's revival and more importantly, they were the last people he could call family in this world. He would not let them die!
Once he left their sight, Elder Crus stomped her crane feet. "That damn human! How dare he look down on me!?"
"Calm down…"
"Don't tell me to calm down, brat!" She snapped at Elder Ludin, who was less than half her age.
"…"
"Now, now…" Elder Terus coughed. "We should be thankful that Protector Avin lured those Beast Lords away. We wouldn't have been able to handle that Triple Poison Ferret on our own."
"Forget about that! We need to harvest everything before they spoil!" Elder Unvo cried. He flew at the corpses of the Beast Lords and opened his storage artifact. A few corpses disappeared into the ring around his foot.
"Split up. Remember, we don't have a lot of space in our artifacts," Elder Argo said, as he flapped his wings and took off. His destination was the peak of the small mountain. There was a high chance of finding something good due to the rich World Energy density.
"Elder Crus, what about those Beast Lords that Protector Avin killed? Where are they?"
The crane's face soured. "The Obsidian Wind Wolf's corpse was gone by the time I returned. Something must have stolen it while I wasn't looking. As for the Extreme Blade Mantis and the Bubble Trap Toad, their bodies were destroyed by Protector Avin's spell."
"Well, your strength isn't what it used to be, so it can't be helped. Then, about the Triple Poison Ferret and the Fat Light Chicken…"
"I don't know what happened to that ferret. The chicken is recovering though. Before you ask, I wanted to finish it off, but I used up my Martial Energy to survive that final explosion."
Elder Terus pondered briefly. "You, Elder Ludin, and I will go and kill it. A Grand Rank 2 Beast Lord's body is a pile of treasure. We can't afford to lose it. Elder Unvo, stay here." The three birds quickly departed for the other battlefield.
Nobody spoke a word to the two people in the corner. Lord Fredrick's guard stood there stiff like a statue with his eyes wide open. As a Perception Realm, he considered himself fairly strong. There was not much he had not seen. His reputation was great enough that the Ovarr Household hired him to guard their young lord, one of the three rising stars of the Grand Nobility! He could hold his head up high. That is, until today. In the distance, the sky began to brighten. Dawn had arrived! This dreadful night was finally over!