Mega large Chapter, almost 7000 words!!!
The rules of the exchange meeting allowed the presence of escorts as long as they stopped in the territories before the set location.<*>
Shiraori had travelled to the Natural Paradise region that belongs to Forossa as that was the location Tallon wanted for the meeting before he had departed to the Center of the New Continent with the other Rank 6 powerhouses.
She had went with a few Arachne Spiders she had given birth to, she was still a spider and could reproduce via laying eggs.
They would be classified as Rank 4-Solid Magical Beasts if she had to give them a ranking, though that's because they were nurtured out of the hundreds of Rank 4-Gaseous and Rank 3-Solid Spiders she could give birth to at a time.
The Representatives for each Faction that would be attending this meeting were the ones that had the talent of which they would become the powerhouses of their Nation one day.
Shiraori after coming to this world with Tallon still retained some of her past abilities from the System in the other world, these abilities were innate to her species but also were her parallel minds and Evil Eye abilities.
With all those together, she could let her parallel minds operate on their own and take over respective roles and responsibilities at a time.
One would develop a strategy, one to analyse the spells and techniques used and cast them without her needing to focus on them all too much, and so on. It was essentially Auto-Battle Mode, no wonder she would definitely become one of the powerhouses of Forossa.
Although, she still lost when she fights the other Demigods of the same Rank as her, that being Rank 5-Gaseous.
Ciri was also another candidate to come to the meeting, but my parallel minds would help me to analyse and copy the diagrams of the Spells and Techniques during the meeting without needing to buy them, thus I was the optimal choice to go.
Once I return to Forossa, I'll just create duplicate copies of all the Spells and Techniques I had been able to analyse and copy.
Shiraori had appeared at the Natural Paradise days before the meeting so she would make sure all the preparations hosted by Forossa was complete for the meeting.
Once she confirmed everything, she waited a few days for the others to arrive.
The first to appear was a woman called Faith Vigney who had brown hair, shining green eyes, slim eyebrows, a small nose, and a slender waist, a quite ample bosom, and wore a luxurious white robe that enhanced the entirety of her harmonious body.
"Greetings, you must be lady White, I am Faith Vigney of the Quiet Lake sect, an envoy sent by the Council." Faith said as she introduced herself.
"To you as well. You can call me Shiraori, not many people call me 'White' so it might feel out of place since I'm not called that alot." I replied.
She nodded her head in acknowledgement before she began to look around at the waterfalls and the insect magical beasts that tended to the ecosystem of the Natural Paradise.
"This place is certainly incredible. The waterfall brings life to the hard rocks that make the terrain and peace to the magical beasts that inhabit it. I'm glad that your nation respects the beauty of this place to not disrupt it's stability."
"This is the territory I've been put in charge of, mostly from my own preference. It's quite here and I'm not bothered by anyone, though I haven't been here for some time." I informed her as she continued to gaze at the beauty of the waterfall and its ravines.
It took a while but both I and Faith continued to talk to kill time. I normally don't speak and remained silent but I've been more open to social interactions recently.
The next person to arrive was a Noah Balvan himself, the Demon Prince of the Hive wearing robes that had an octopus on it to represent the Archipelago's insignia.
Faith greeted him and I myself stepped forward and gave a slight bow of the head.
"I am Shiraori White, the envoy for Forossa. Pleasure to meet with you Demon Prince."
Noah didn't have a reason to show any disrespect, thus he kept our interaction cordial and did a friendly greeting in return with a simple "pleasure" and slight bow.
Faith struck up a conversation with Noah about the environment and the water while I just went to the side to wait in silence and peace until the others came.
...
"Faith, don't mind the eunuch, any man that can't appreciate your beauty shouldn't be worthy of your thoughts."
A manly voice resounded in the area.
Shiraori didn't open her eyes but spread her senses to see the person as she remained motionless from her spot. A two meters tall burly man appeared; he approached Faith and kissed her hand as a form of greeting, and to woe her.
"Did he bother you in any way? You know the voices about him, he isn't called Demon only due to his title."
The man asked Faith while wearing a concerned expression, he seemed really worried about her well-being.
"Andrew, you can drop with your act. I've already said that I won't accept a man that can only think about war."
Faith retracted her hand, and a bit of coldness began to fill her figure.
"I also think a lot about you!"
Andrew complained, but Faith simply heaved a sigh and distanced herself from him.
"I apologize for his rude words. He is Andrew, also called Eager Titan, and he is the envoy from the Shandal Empire."
Faith revealed the man's identity to Noah, but the latter simply nodded and continued to analyze the environment under him.
The two of them kept on staring at each other, and the atmosphere between them became tense.
It seems the duo, after a few moments of staring, had came to a silent agreement to test each other's capabilities.
Then, Noah broke the silence with a few words.
"I'm ready when you are."
"You think that, just because you have defeated your worthless uncle, you know the power of melee specialists?"
Andrew's aura surged as he gave voice to those words.
His muscles bulged, and his hair fluttered as mental energy and "Breath" were exuded from his body.
"Faith, do you have anything against this battle?"
Andrew asked without moving his gaze away from Noah.
Faith sighed before answering.
"Do what you want, but this place is her home and she has graciously allowed it to be used as the meeting place for all of us. Take it up with her before you cause a mess."
The dup turned to Shiraori waiting for an answer.
"I'll allow it, but nothing beyond this room is to suffer damage of any kind from your scuffle or you'll need to take it up with the Frost Monarch himself. He comes by here from time-to-time to relax."
Needless to say, Noah and Adrian both shivered at the potential danger of the effects their battle could cause on the environment and the consequences of facing the wrath of the Frost Monarch, a Rank 6 powerhouse.
Tallon's name was not known publicly, and nearly all records of Tallon Luminous reports him as dead from a few hundred years ago. Since then he had been using alias names or the Frost Monarch in place of it, only the Rank 6 Powerhouses were aware of the Frost Monarch's real name, Tallon Luminous, but hadn't some hadn't been able to spread the information as of yet for a few reasons.
One is that he intentionally used the 'Frost Monarch' as a title and alias until now, and the second was they didn't want this to get public that they had exposed his real name. Even Chasing Demon, God's Right Hand and God's Left Hand didn't reveal their names to their underlings, only if they had been around from the distant past would some be aware of their real names. Thus, calling them by whatever name they choose is just mutual etiquette and to not antagonise anyone of the powerhouses that could rival the Mortal Lands strongest existences.
Noah and Adrian looked to each other and agreed to immediately stop should anything start to affect tge surroundings to avoid the Wrath of a Rank 6 being.
Then, right when Andrew was about to charge Noah, a fourth figure appeared in the area.
Noah and Faith turned toward the new presence, while Shiraori could view them with her senses, as well as Andrew, who dispersed his aura when he noticed the action of the two of them.
A young-looking woman with wild silver hair appeared in their view.
A golden spear filled with orange inscriptions was in her hands, and her eyes radiated a bright orange glow.
Noah diverted his gaze to look as the woman, June Ballor the envoy of the Utra Nation, then a few moments later he fixed his gaze back ontop Andrew.
However, June began flying toward Noah at that moment.
The battle was interrupted once again by June since she quickly arrived next to Noah.
Noah showed a curious expression when he turned, but June's words made his eyebrows arc in surprise, something which Shiraori could detect since her senses covers the entirety of an area, even the smallest molecules of the air moving she was able to detect, though this Omni-Sense didn't extend past a certain range.
"Demon Prince, I'm ashamed that a fellow student of the academy has betrayed my nation and committed uncountable crimes. Yet, I must admit that your achievements deserve my respect."
June said as she stretched her right arm toward him.
"I respect you. Take my hand if you feel the same about my achievements."
According to what Tallon said in his reports for Ranni, Shiraori who also read them knew this, these were the words which Noah said to June more than 20 years ago when he was in disguise as Vance during the Utra Nation Academy years.
After that he was forced to flee and move on where he would act as a Mercenary for some time before leaving and travelling to the Archipelago where he became the Demon Prince of the Hive after completing Divine Demon's inheritance, but not before giving June the ability and location to obtain Eccentric Thunder's inheritance.
He didn't immediately take her hand, and Shiraori knew from the report the entirety of this interaction. She was afraid they didn't have the same relationship from that time. Noah continued to wait and June showed signs of regret but right then Noah took her hand firmly in his grasp.
This only appeared as a normal handshake to Andrew and Faith but it hid deep meanings that only Noah and June could understand.
June then left Noah's side and went to greet the others, after giving her greetings to Adrew and Faith she approached Shiraori who opened her eyes as to not cause confusion and misunderstandings. She doesn't actually need to open her eyes to see but they didn't know that.
"I am June Ballor, envoy of the Utra Nation." She spoke as she extended her hand outwards.
"Shiraori White, envoy of Forossa." Shiraori replied as she took her hand and shook it.
"May I ask a question regarding the Frost Monarch?"
"You may, depending on the question I might have to refuse a answer." June nodded at my words.
"Years ago he provided me with things that had helped me immensely and even my own battle style had improved greatly. I was wondering who taught him the fighting styles I had read in the manual he gave me. The Sword God Style, Water God Style, North God Style?" She asked and waited for a reply.
"I think he had once told me that he created them based on inspirations he received from somewhere else he had seen it from. The Sword God Style is primarily offensive, Water God Style is what he prefers along with the third one because the Water God Style is defense and focuses on counter attacking as described in the manual he gave you I assume. And the North God Style is like a all-in-one mixed style. It uses spells, Martial Arts, elements, Formations, Inscriptions, items and so on. The third style is very diverse. Since all of you are listening I say it once. June Ballor is more suitable for the Sword God Style, Andrew for Sword God Style. Faith Vigney, North God Style. Myself the Water God Style. Noah Balvan for the North God Style. As for my master the Frost Monarch, he prefers the Water God Style primarily but he has sometimes used things that might classify himself as a Jorth God Style user so I'd say he is a Hybrid between the two."
The others had been interested by June's initial question for Shiraori and had listened in, especially when Shiraori was describing what each of them are more suited for. As well as, what a Rank 6 powerhouse prefers as their preferred method of fighting.
"North God Style? Based on your explanations it doesn't quote fit with how I fight." Noah Balvan said, wanting to know why Shiraori would view that Style as the most optimal for himself.
"You use the Twin Sabers style as your preferred form of fighting. It can be used offensively and defensively. You have displayed many varying spells and Martial arts that covers many different areas and aspects while also using items from time to time which requited adequate Knowledge in Inscriptions and Formations. You pursue power of any road it takes you down, especially those creatures you can summon, they are they best example of it. No need to be so suprised, my master already knew about after all he was the one that created the Beast Inscription which you have been using for so long."
(A/n this is a lie, a Cultivator called Assea made the Beast Companion Inscription and died in the snake valley with his notes, Noah found it during young age while still at the Balvan family Arc. Tallon travelled there before Noah, made a copy of it and wrote his name in the book to trick Noah into thinking he is the author and creator of the Inscription for future reason in story.)
Noah's eyes widened that one of his most treasured abilities was created by a potential enemy, especially that the other envoys picked up on it but didn't fully understand what Shiraori was talking about other than the fact Noah could summon Magical Beasts as one of his abilities.
"What do you mean, explain." Andrew asked but Shiraori nodded her head side-to-side.
"I suggest that this stays confidential between us, or my master the Frost Monarch will personally hunt each and everyone of you down after his return should anyone outside this room learns about the possible capabilities of one of his Inscriptions. The Demon Prince has earned found his notes and thus has the right to keep it for himself and use it as he pleases. Should your higher ups find out about it, then you will be responsible for instigating hostile relations between your Faction and Forossa and start a possible war. We wouldn't want that now would we?"
"Alright, very well. You've made yourself clear, shall we start with the meeting then?"
Everyone agreed with Andrew's words and decided to officially begin the trade meeting between the Envoys of all the Factions.
The five Envoys stood in certain places, momemts later a ethereal five-sided pentagram table materialised itself and floated into the air at table height, while five chairs appeared out of thin air, each chair was uniquely designed to represent each Faction and was made out a specific material while cups with similar designs had also appeared on the table should they want to drink.
They had all been informed about the proceedings of the exchange neeting since Firossa had to prepare the area in order to ensure a environment was created where no one can lie and would be able to trsut each other's words.
Not a single one of the five Nations trusted the words of the other, and so this formation was established to ensure fair and proper conduct could be carried out for all parties involved.
The exchange meeting begun immediately after the formation was activated beneath them. The rules for the exchange was discussed and agreed upon by everyone.
The diagram in question would need to fulfill three criteria to determine its worth.
The Effect, element and the limit of its rank.
a spell of the thunder element up to the fourth rank would be worth less than a diagram of the fire element that could be used till the sixth rank.
The element factor is up to the envoy and the needs of its organisation. The light and darkness element diagrams are rarer since there are less than a handful of known light and darkness element cultivators in the world.
This is a lie since the Empire secretly harbours many up to 8 light and darkness element cultivators, however they were only up to the 4th Rank and their growth had stagnated. Of course Tallon was the only one who knew this information based in his future knowledge, thus it was Shiraori's goal to avoid any Light and Darkness diagrams from being wasted on going to those clown cultivators of the Empire. Besides, Forossa has quite the number of Light and Darkness element users as of now.
The limit of a diagram means the limit of power the diagram can reach. Of course certain diagrams can exceed that limit and can still be used, but it's Potency is limited to that point.
However, both Noah and Tallon knew how to surpass this limit barrier, and thus was able to constantly improve their current repertoire of abilities when reaching higher ranks.
For example, Noah Balvan's Demonic Form spell has a Mental limit ramk, meaning that this spell is limited by whatever Rank his Mind is at. This was previously a Rank 3 default spell, but Noah can still use this same spell even when he becomes a Rank 8 or Rank 9 Cultivator because it is a Mental limit diagram.
As for Tallon, he has a Martial Arts Technique called "Hidden Dragon Door" which is a Rank 6 spell of his own design. This spell can entrap and encase anything within a separate dimension similar to the Storage Space Rings. Afterwards, should the user wish to, they can even release what they stored within "Hidden Dragon Door" back at the original source or attacker. However, this spell does have a limit to how much power and things it can contain before it is flooded and overflows with power.
This spell has a limit of being a Rank 6 spell and not exceed that to being a Rank 7 spell because it doesn't have a Law or Individuality that can strengthen its power, however Tallon knows this and intends to createva new version of this same spell once he becomes a Rank 7 Cultivator by infusing his Law into into, thus making this Spell have near infinite levels of storage space within its own dimension.
(A/n you remember all those Rank numbers with a + and some without a + on the character sheets I made of Tallon and Tiche so far, basically the ones with a Rank 6+ means that it can naturally be used at higher ranks with more input of Breath like Noah's Demonic Form Spell but slightly more complicated then that. But ones with a Rank 6 and no + means that Rank 6 is its limit and needs to be remade at higher ranks or a entirety new diagram must be made to replace it.)
The Effect category is the most crucial one since there are spells that are combat or support orientated but nearly all Cultivators focus on battle related diagrams.
Noah has the Warp spell with let's him teleport himself or certain objects, even his Shadow sprint Martial Art which he can use for fast movement are support orientated while many other spells are combat focused.
Much like the spells Ranni used in her battle against Second Prince. She had used a 1st Rank spell [Blinding Veil] to cover her real attack in the mist while she casted battle focused spells.
That covered everything related to the rules and the explanations of how the meeting's conditions of trade was established and screed upon.
After a few minor trades of low Rank Spells and Martial Arts, it was time for the Heroic Rank diagrams.
Shiraori had been on the lookout for one spell in particular on Tallon's behalf, and lo and behold there it is.
Andrew, the Empire's envoy, had presented a Rank 6 Spell of the Water element that was potentially able to entirely reconstruct a body as long as the sea of consciousness and dantian of the cultivator were intact.
This spell was coined by Tallon as [Resurrection], and he wanted it badly and was willing to give an copy of equally valuable diagram of Forossa to obtain it for himself.
The ability to regenerate his entire body from nothing was a must, and with his intellectual mind alongside geniuses like Ranni, Miquella, Seluvis, Godwyn and even Dragonlord Placidusax himself to help in improving the spell, he could truly be Immortal and Unkillable.
Its cost in terms of "Breath" and mental energy was obviously huge, and only rank 6 mages could safely use it, thus the other envoys didn't attempt to bid for it, well all except for Faith.
"How does these five diagrams of the Earth element upto the 5th Rank sound in exchange for that Spell." Faith asked Andrew as she had already explained the effects and capabilities of the five diagrams, she displayed, beforehand.
Shiraori had also given her own deal in exchange for the Rank 6 Water Resurrection spell, but Faith bid against Shiraori once again. So Shiraori gave it one last attempt with everything she had and even one of Tallon's personal Trump Cards [Cold Recollection] a Rank 5+ Water Spell. And even two of his personal Martial Arts, [Usurper's Lotus] and [Dragon's Talons].
"I will give these. Three of the Frost Monarch's personal diagrams and one of which is his most used ability and favourite amongst his trump cards. It is a Rank 5 Spell of the Water Element called [Cold Recollection] but can have more "Breath" be channeled into its constructs to strengthen them even to the point of being equal to a Rank 6 or Rank 7 spell, the same level as the power the God of the Empire had displayed previously." Shiraori explained before she showed the details of each diagram to Andrew to evaluate.
[Usurper's Lotus] - Rank 5+, any Element - Can deflect, block and repel any Martial Art and Spell completely to the current Rank of the user's Mind. Anything on par with the User's Mind has a possibility of surpassing the technique. Number of times this can be used is dependent on the number of Lotus petals remained on the Shield like construct, more petals can be generated with more expenditure of "Breath".
[Dragon's Talons] - Rank 5+, any Element - Creates Dragon like claws to strike the target, can be used in any situation even without a weapon, limit is the middle ground of the level the Body and Dantian are. Low "Breath" consumption but high versatility and diversity as well as dealing great amounts of damage.
[Storm Arc] - Rank 4+, Wind - Creates and sends an aerial blade towards the target.
[Cyclone] - Rank 5+, Wind - Surrounds oneself in a aura of wind to repel and deal damage to opponents when in close proximity.
[Tornado] - Rank 6+, Wind - Manipulates the weather to create an Tornado.
[Beast Claw] - Mental, Earth - Sends out a Claw-like Slash towards the target from the across the ground at rapid speeds. Number of Slashes increase with Breath consumption and Rank of Cultivator's Body and Dantian being of the same Rank.
[Stone Spears] - Rank 4+, Earth - Creates a Stone Spear and hurls it towards the target, can be casted and controlled mentally with one's Mind from a distance, can even create and use multiple.
[Gurranq's Beast Claw] - Rank 5+, Earth - Limited to Rankb5 Cultivators and higher to use, sends forth numerous claw-like slashes in all directions on the ground from the user's position.
[Cold Recollection] - Rank 5+, Water - Creates anything the user desires by Manipulating the water around the user in the surrounding air, or from a water source to create physical Solid Manifestations of said desired object.
Needless to say, Andrew was shocked by the capabilities of all 9 Diagrans presented by Shiraori. The Earth techniques were not that great when compared with the others, but still, all 9 diagrams were worth it in his opinion for a single Rank 6 Water Spell.
But the decision laid in Andrew's hands, he was tge acting representative of the Empire and needed to make a decision that would benefit his Nation, especially the two Rank 6 Powerhouses that ruled the Empire along with the God of the Empire himself.
Andrew, after much deliberation, had decided to accept Shiraori's 9 diagrams in exchange for the Rank 6 Water Spell.
The trade continued between all the envoys, Shiraori had obtained what Light element Diagrams that she could and saw that no one was trading Darkness element Diagrams. Primarily because their factions didn't want to let Noah obtain them so he would become even more of a threat.
Shiraori, on Tallon's behalf yet again, had decided to present 4 spells of the Darkness element of the 5th and 6th Rank. Without hesitation, Noah had obtained them all and Shiraori had made sure to show the favouritism towards Noah.
Even when the others offered multiple diagrams of the 5th Rank and even some of the 6th Rank to her for those Darkness diagrams, she had rejected their offers and accepted Noah's diagram when she requested some of the Rank 3 Diagrams he had obtained earlier.
Six Rank 3 Diagrams in exchange for four Darkness Rank 5 & 6 diagrams.
It was plain as day to see what Forossa was doing by giving these diagrams directly to Noah Balvan, the only publicly known Darkness element genius Cultivator of this era.
[Death Lighting] - Rank 6+, Darkness
[Blackflame Burst] - Rank 5+, Darkness
[Scouring Blackflame] - Rank 5+, Darkness
[Blackflame Wave] - Rank 6+, Darkness
These were the spells that Tallon had left behind in his notes to Ranni to inform Shiraori off to give to Noah in some way during the meeting.
As for his reasons for doing so, Shiraori and Ranni did not know.
The trade continued on as if nothing happened, but we writhing that transpired will be reported to their higher ups afterwards.
Noah's priority was to obtain Darkness diagrams for himself and spells the fire element, followed by water and wind as the next in line in terms of priority.
It had been some time since the exchange had begun, by that point most of the diagrams had been obtained by the envoys of the factions, however at that moment a sudden sense of fear gripped hold of Shiraori and Noah.
Noah, Shiraori and most of Forossa's higher ups and army were now Hybrid heings having been fused with Magical Beasts to gain their strengths as well as their own as Human Cultivators with three Centers of Powers.
Shiraori and all of Forossa was informed beforehand what would happen, as such certain defensive measures had been taken to ensure that no losses would occur from what would happen next and the damage would either be minimal or inconsequential to Forossa.
Noah had felt the tremor snd stared off into the distance, towards the South-West where the Center of the New Continent was, the very same place the Rank 6 leaders of the Five Factions currently was.
"What are you staring at, Prince?"
Andrew asked while adding a mocking tone when he said the word "Prince".
He found it funny that the "demon" who had escaped from the Utra nation would just become distracted during such an important meeting.<*>
On the other hand, Noah barely noticed that the Eager Titan had spoken to him.<*>
Fear spread through his body, he felt that the sensation that had accompanied him in the last weeks was becoming more intense with each passing second.<*>
Then, when the intensity of that sensation reached its peak, he understood what was about to happen.<*>
"Close your ears and retract your consciousnesses!"
Noah shouted before gathering all his mental energy inside his mental sphere and blocking his ears with his hands.<*>
The instincts of a magical beast, coupled with the heroic mind of an expert in the beasts' field, made Noah able to predict the imminent catastrophe.<*>
Of course, he didn't care enough about Faith, Shiraori and Andrew to help them, he would actually prefer for them to die since they belonged to enemy organizations.<*>
Yet, June was among them, and he didn't want her to be unprepared.<*>
June didn't hesitate and followed his orders, she simply trusted him too much to do otherwise.<*>
Noah's words confused Faith, but the solemnity radiated by his expression made her took his warning seriously.<*>
After all, Noah's achievements were well known by anyone in a position of power.<*>
Faith knew that the Demon Prince of the Hive had managed to escape from organizations ruled by heroic cultivators, had traveled for half of the old continent, and helped in the war for the independence of the Coral archipelago.<*>
She didn't trust him, but she trusted his survival instincts.<*>
Faith closed her ears and retracted most of her consciousness inside her mind.<*>
However, she left part of her mental energy around her figure in case Noah's act was part of a trap.<*>
Shiraori was already aware of what would happen and as such she had already done what Noah said even before he had done it himself, although there was no need to cover her ears, her body would regenerate from any kind of harm even disintegration so long as her soul remains intact, that or her Dantian and Sea of Conciousness were.
It was needless to say that Andrew didn't follow any of Noah's orders.<*>
"What are you even saying!? Faith, why are you listening to him? This Prince is surely planning something. I think it's time to cont-"
Andrew began to speak, but he couldn't continue the rest of his phrase since a deafening cry resounded from the center of the continent.<*>
The piece of Immortal Lands shook when the soundwaves spread through the entirety of its surface.<*>
The ground split, mountains fell apart, and cracks appeared in the sky as soon as the cry crossed those areas.<*>
It wasn't a matter of shockwaves or just an attack that used the sound to inflict damage, the cry was simply so loud that even the environment of the new continent could only crumble in front of it.<*>
The cry affected even the sea around the continent.<*>
Giant shards of ice separated themselves from the land under the azure continent, even the spell that had stopped the fall of those territories from the sky suffered some damage in that situation.<*>
Noah couldn't move nor inspect his surroundings.<*>
The air around him seemed stiff, it was as if it had become solid under the pressure that accompanied the cry.<*>
His mental sphere trembled to no end, but the entirety of his consciousness was working to keep it intact.<*>
His internal organs couldn't oppose those vibrations, he felt blood reaching for his mouth from inside his body.<*>
Yet, he didn't dare to spit it.<*>
He was sealing all his orifices in the best way he could, he even shut his eyes to protect them.<*>
However, injuries were inevitable in that situation.<*>
He felt a warm liquid spreading on his palms, which made him understand that his eardrums had collapsed under those vibrations.<*>
He felt tears running down his eyes, only to realize immediately after that those tears were instead lines of blood.<*>
Blood kept on accumulating on his mouth as his internal organs kept on being torn, and he felt the foothold created with his "Breath" shattering every time he lost his focus.<*>
In the end, the sound dispersed, and the tremors stopped.<*>
Noah tried to open his eyes, but his vision was foggy, it seemed that they had been damaged while he endured that attack.<*>
He couldn't hear anything too, even his sense of touch felt off when he waved his arms.<*>
Of course, Noah wasn't in the dark.<*>
His consciousness left his mental sphere as soon as its walls stabilized and analyzed the situation around him.<*>
The other envoys seemed to be still struggling with the after-effects of the piercing cry, and Noah could see that they were far worse off compared to him.<*>
Two pills appeared in his hands, and he quickly put them inside his mouth.<*>
A warm sensation filled his body, and a massive amount of nutrients began to focus the injuries on his internal organs with their healing capabilities.<*>
Noah didn't hesitate to gulp one of the rank 4 healing pills from Divine Demon's inheritance, and one of the compressed rank 4 magical beasts in the upper tier that the Udye family had sent in the last period.<*>
Little by little, his vision and hearing came back, which made Noah able to analyze the devastation that the cry had brought to the piece of Immortal Lands.<*>
Noah analyzed his surroundings while he waited for his body to return to a decent state.<*>
'June seems fine, Eccentric Thunder's technique and methods must be amazing. Her centers of power are working together to disperse the remaining tremors that are still affecting her, she shouldn't have suffered any lasting injury.'<*>
A glance to June was enough to make him understand her state.<*>
She was utterly defenseless now, her mental waves were all inside her mind, there was nothing that could stop Noah's probing at that moment.<*>
'Faith's mental sphere is still trembling, but she appears quite calm. I wonder what kind of individuality does she have to have such firmness.'<*>
Noah saw how Faith was using her focus to stabilize her mind without revealing any struggle in her expression, it seemed that her mental waves had some peculiar capabilities.<*>
'The idiot, instead, is lucky to have a sea of consciousness still.'<*>
Noah thought when he turned toward Andrew.<*<
The latter's mental sphere had endured the entirety of the cry without defenses on its insides, and the mental energy that was around him had dispersed when the tremors arrived.<*>
Noah could see that cracks had appeared on the walls of Andrew's sphere, his mind was able to remain in one piece only thanks to the protective membrane that had enveloped him when the attack reached him.<*>
Of course, Noah didn't even need to analyze their bodies to understand their state.<*>
Noah was a hybrid, but he had suffered a lot of injuries when the tremors swept him anyway.<*>
The envoys though were only humans, many of their bones had cracked, and some of their internal organs had completely stopped functioning.<*>
Blood came out from every part of their skin, their robes had been thoroughly drenched in those few seconds.<*>
'I could easily kill the two of them now. However, this crisis has just begun.'<*>
Noah's mind was working at full speed while he analyzed the situation.<*>
He picked up clues from everything that he could see or sense and quickly compared them with his vast knowledge of the magical beasts' field.<*>
He had been able to predict the arrival of the deafening cry mostly due to his instincts, but he couldn't know what would follow that event without understanding the situation first.<*>
The natural paradise under him had mostly fallen apart.<*>
The small lakes had disappeared since deep gorges had appeared after the earthquake, and the magical beasts that had survived had left in a hurry toward the areas over the sea.<*>
The waterfall was still standing, but the mountain behind it had seen many boulders falling from its surface.<*>
Roars and cries resounded everywhere in the continent, the magical beasts in every territory didn't hesitate to run away from the central areas as soon as the tremors stopped.<*>
Those creatures abandoned their packs to distance themselves from the origin of the deafening cry, they didn't even fight when they crossed each other's paths.<*>
The entire fauna of the central territories was migrating toward the coasts and unleashed chaos along its path.<*>
Noah remained in the air, and his gaze went toward the beginning of the mountain chain after he understood what was happening around him.<*>
However, the cause behind that event was still unclear, he didn't have the<*> confidence of evaluating events that were so far away from his rank.
"W-what happened?"
Faith's voice resounded in the area.<*>
She had finally managed to stabilize her condition, and she directly asked that question after gulping a few pills.<*>
June opened her eyes a few seconds later and did the same, their complexion seemed to improve slightly after the drugs had taken their effect.<*>
Of course, their bodies were far from fine, they could only see and hear thanks to their consciousness.<*>
Noah didn't answer, he was as clueless as them in that situation, he was just waiting to see what other events would follow that cry.<*>
There was no point in escaping, the tremors would reach him even if he flew over the sea.<*>
Also, he now knew the entity of the attack, he could just deploy one of the most suitable defensive measures that Elder Julia had given him before the meeting.<*>
Andrew was still doing his best to control the damages on his centers of power, but Noah didn't care about him.<*>
He had chosen not to kill him simply because he didn't know what to expect from now on, there was a chance that he could use Andrew's life to his advantage.<*>
Noah wasn't wrong to expect some consequences, but what followed made the fear that had dispersed after the cry reappear.<*>
Thousands of figures rose at high speed in the air, carrying clouds of dust and terrain in their trail.<*>
They had a pair of large feathered wings attached on their backs and a skeletal humanoid body.<*>
A pair of curved horns grew from their temples, and long claws spread from what could be considered their arms.<*>
However, what made Noah really scared was that those creatures could fly!<*>
The new continent was relatively safe due to the absence of flying magical beasts, but the appearance of those humanoid beasts completely changed the situation.<*>
What was worse was that many of them were in the fifth rank, with a handful of them in the sixth rank, and the rest in the fourth.<*>
The winged beasts released cries that echoed the loud one that had previously filled the continent.<*>
The creatures under him stopped roaring when they heard those cries, it seemed that they feared the new presences that had filled the sky over the piece of Immortal Lands.<*>
As for Shiraori, she had already disappeared from that location as she had used a item which Tallon had given to her and all the important individuals of Forossa. This item would allow for instantaneous teleportation back to any of Forossa's headquarters across the world.
Within an instant Shiraori and appeared inside of Eleum Loyce and was met with the looks and gazes of Ranni, Rennala, Rykard, Jade, Ciri, Ariel, Alecto, Malenia, Miquella, Godwyn, Morgott, Kenshi (Blind Swordsman) and Godfrey.
The prime figures of Forossa's hierarchy, at least those stationed on the New Continent, or with close ties to Tallon, all were in this room at this very moment discussing a plan of defense and counter attack to the impending Winged Beasts Crisis.
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If u forgot I'll say it again, <*> this stands for Copy and Pasted parts from original BOTDS chapters, I was going to end it much shorter, but remembering a person's comment that they never read BOTDS novel, which I recommend u try, made me reconsider for this chapter only. The last 30% of this chapter is copy and paste <*> parts, the rest is original by me with maybe a line or two and some dialogue also copied since it matches the right context and would be right to change it.