Nearly two years passed in the low-tier plane.
Liam consistently plundered the surrounding area. Over a dozen kilometers, almost every animal, whether marine or terrestrial, had disappeared.
As for small groups of wild creatures and monsters, Liam exterminated them directly.
Liam didn't completely clear the area. He knew the will of the plane would notice.
Instead, he took a bit of everything here and there, leaving most of the big trees.
With the support of spiritual energy, the grass renewed every two months, so there was no need to clear-cut everything.
However, the entire area seemed to have... sunk.
Liam had been very meticulous during the operation. His troops dug into the ground, removing a few dozen centimeters of soil each time and replanting behind them.
Next to the portal, the ground had sunk more than 15 meters, significantly widening the delta.
The farther away, the less significant the disturbance became, but the amount of displaced earth was enormous.
In Liam's divine realm, the ocean level rose, occupying nearly 60% of the divine realm's surface.
The continent still measured about 750 km², and its entire surface was raised by just under a meter of earth.
The vegetation was lush, like a true jungle, and various animals roamed. Mice, squirrels, different bird species… Liam even introduced some predators like snakes, foxes and owls.
In the sea, the effect was even more pronounced, with tens of thousands of large fish of various species.
To maximize diversity, Liam didn't hesitate to add seemingly useless species, such as octopuses, turtles, rays, and even a small number of sharks.
For now, it seemed indeed useless, but in the future, it would create a butterfly effect, allowing the ecosystem of his divine realm to remain stable for centuries, even without the presence of the tribe.
Predators were necessary regulators preventing weaker species from becoming too numerous and ravaging the plant and food resources of the divine realm.
With all of this, the realm could support a population of ten thousand people. As long as vegetation and animals continued to develop, the ecosystem would become more stable and would be able to bear more people.
Liam was happy. Now, it was high time for him to begin his quest.
He had already encountered many student armies, and some had already accumulated fifty or sixty thousand points.
He had fallen behind enough.
He found Sylvera, who was resting quietly under a large tree.
As an advanced rank 3, Sylvera could go for weeks without sleep, but who didn't enjoy sitting and watching the sea?
Sylvera, however, knew the difference between work and rest.
Within minutes, everyone gathered in front of the spatial channel, eagerly watching Liam and Sylvera.
Liam looked at the crowd in front of him. Although he didn't lost any nagas, nearly fifty novarians had died.
He could only sigh in his heart and lament the immense weakness of this race.
Liam raised his hand, and the crowd calmed down.
"The Lord of the Azure Abyss has witnessed your efforts and is satisfied. Now that our world has regained its vitality, it is time to begin the real invasion."
They roared towards the sky and wave their weapons.
Sylvera stepped forward and continued.
"I will personally lead the operation, and most of you will accompany me. However, some will stay here to guard the spatial channel."
Joy quickly turned into indignation on the faces of the ten nagas and fifty novarians that Sylvera had designated.
"Yes, I know, no one wants to stay on the sidelines, but each mission is important. You will protect our own home from enemies. Your contribution will be no less than ours. Moreover, there will not be only one battle. We will take turns next time."
The commotion gradually subsided, and the troops prepared for battle.
A few minutes later, Liam watched his believers set off for their first battle in this world.
...
A massive black mass moved underwater, along the sea.
The bloodthirsty aura they emitted was so violent that even predators avoided them.
Liam's enormous army consisted of nearly 800 members, including around 90 nagas and 700 novarians.
They didn't move too fast to adapt to the mortal novarians' speed, but no one dared to stand in their way.
They traveled about thirty kilometers before reaching their target.
It was a wide beach nestled at the base of a fifty meters high cliff.
There was a huge cave where many enormous crabs lived their lives.
A few hundred meters away, Sylvera stopped the advancing army and calmly analyzed the situation.
According to what the divine envoy had said, there was a rank 3 crab, about fifteen rank 2 crabs, and around three hundred rank 1 crabs. As for mortals, there shouldn't be a lot of them.
Since the crabs experienced a food crisis, all those who failed to become a wild beast would be eaten by their peers.
Rank 1 crabs measured about one and a half meters wide, and rank 2 crabs reached three meters in width.
As for the rank 3, he couldn't see it, but he thought its size would surely be six or seven meters wide.
He turned and pointed to some rank 2 nagas.
Even though his lord asked him to annihilate this monsters group, he didn't give him a time limit.
So, he planned to lure the crabs in small groups to minimize losses.
The rank 2 nagas restrained their bloodthirsty aura and skillfully infiltrated along the shore, dispersing in small groups to attract the crabs one by one.
The rest of the nagas and the novarians hid behind rocks or lay flat on the ground, waiting for the crabs to take the bait.
A naga slowly emerged from the water and approached a rank 1 crab using its claws to tear open a rock, apparently searching for food.
Thanks to his snake-like body, he moved silently and discreetly.
When he was about thirty meters from the crab, he grabbed a bone stake hanging over his shoulder and threw it at the crab.
At the same time, he rushed toward the crab, confident.
However, at the last moment, he had to take his spear and attack.
He thought he could impale the crab directly, but his stake only plunged a few dozen centimeters.
The immense strength sent the crab flying about twenty meters away, leaving a trail in the sand.
Although the stake had severely injured it, it was still alive.
Far away, Sylvera frowned.
"Their carapace is tougher than expected."
On the beach, the naga didn't wait. Before the other crabs realized what was happening, he had covered the fifty meters that separated him from the crab.
This time, he put all his strength into the blow and directly split the crab's head in half
He took the corpse and slalomed between the rocks, quickly returning to the water, pursued by about fifty angry crabs who had witnessed the scene, including three rank 2 crabs.
Between the cliff and the seashore, there were about a hundred and fifty meters to cover. The beach was strewn with large rocks fallen from the cliff.
For nagas, it was perfect. Snakes could move anywhere, and nagas fully inherited this ability.
The problem was that crabs could do so.
Rank 2 crabs were even slightly faster than the naga and gradually caught up.
Fortunately, everything changed in the water. The naga's speed increased a lot, while crabs slowed down.
Even better, the crabs couldn't swim, although they could jump high enough to reach the water's surface.
Even so, their mobility had been at least halved.
The naga controlled its speed not to outdistance the crabs and led them to the ambush site.
Just as the crabs thought they could finally catch their target, a lot of dark silhouettes surrounded them.
The crabs didn't even think about retreating and clicked their claws.
The nagas took the lead and charged the crabs, followed closely by the massive group of novarians.
A crab cut a novarian in half, but a few moments later, a naga's spear pierced through its claws and plunged into its body.
A little further away, several apprentice novarian warriors flipped a crab and stabbed its soft belly.
Elsewhere, a confirmed rank 1 naga swung a diagonal slash with his spear at a pinnacle rank 1 crab. He expected to cut it in half, but the spearhead only made a large cut.
Enraged by the pain, the crab directly crushed the naga's head with its claws.
The naga warriors teamed up and overwhelmed rank 2 and the most powerful rank 1 crabs to finish them off as quickly as possible.
For his part, Sylvera didn't join the battle but kept a watchful eye on the cave under the cliff.
The battle didn't last long, and soon the crab carcasses were spread out on the sea floor.
Blood spread quickly in the ocean, and Sylvera knew they didn't have much time before being discovered.
He sent other nagas to attract more crabs and took the opportunity to alert the troops.
The first offensive caused them some losses, but they now knew how to deal with the crabs.
"Don't try to pierce their carapace. Aim for the joints, head, and belly."
While Sylvera advised his men, several nagas returned with about sixty crabs.
When they smelled the blood, the crabs hesitated, but it was already too late.
For the invading army, everything went as planned.
As they were dealing with the fourth wave of crabs, Sylvera heard a loud noise coming from the beach.
A massive silhouette emerged from the cave.
The crab king had appeared.
It was even larger than he had imagined. It easily measured ten meters wide and nearly four meters high.
Just its enormous claws were nearly three meters long and had a dangerous glint.
It didn't waste time and led the remaining hundred and twenty crabs, rushing toward the battlefield.
On their side, the ambushed crabs were almost killed. Apart from some people who stayed behind to kill the few crabs still alive, all the others rushed quickly towards the arriving crab army.
The ambush was over and it was time for an all-out battle.
The atmosphere tensed as the two groups released their aura.
The beach trembled under the weight of the rank 3 crab.
War cries echoed in the air while nagas and novarians rushed toward the crabs.
Quickly, the warriors distanced themselves from mortals and apprentices as Sylvera took the lead.
Since the crabs were more agile on land, Sylvera slowed slightly and let them enter the sea.
Finally, the two groups collided.
Several nagas impaled directly some crabs; they learned the lesson and struck at the head, making it explode into pieces.
Missed strikes and large movements raised sand and dust from the ground. Quickly, the water became completely murky.
A few moments later, the remaining novarians caught up and supported the nagas.
They knew how to handle the crabs. While a naga distracted them, others flanked from above or the sides and sliced the legs at the joints.
In the center of the battlefield, Sylvera fought head-to-head against the rank 3 crab.
Liam's information was outdated, and the crab had reached the confirmed rank 3. Even so, Sylvera was still a small step above it and had a certain advantage.
After Sylvera dodged its claws many times, the crab became enraged and used them directly as clubs.
It raised its claw above its head and brought it down on Sylvera.
Quickly, he coiled his tail like a spring and leaped, narrowly avoiding the blow.
BOOM
The crab's claw struck the ground, opening a wide crack for about fifty meters and shaking the ground.
On his side, Sylvera jumped high enough and emerged from the sea. He turned in the air and pointed his spear at the crab.
As he plunged back into the water, he found that the crab had moved a bit away.
He brandished the spear and aimed at the monster's head.
Feeling the threat, it parried with one of its claws.
Under the force of the impact, the spear shattered into pieces.
It was made of rank 2 sperm whale bones and couldn't withstand such an intense battle.
Even if Sylvera had a few bone stakes hanging from his shoulder, he knew they were useless in such a fight.
Nevertheless, he didn't lose hope and managed to stand on the crab's back.
The beast waved its claws, but Sylvera always managed to dodge them.
He raised his fist and hit the beast's back.
BOOM
Under the force of the blow, the crab's legs sank into the ground, and its belly came into contact with the sea floor, creating a massive crater.
Even so, the beast's carapace showed no scratches as Sylvera's fist shiver under the violence of the impact.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
His scales flew off, and blood flowed, but even though its hand was covered with his own blood, Sylvera continued to strike.
The crab's body continued to sink into the ground and shake the entire area, but its carapace still showed no signs of breaking.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
After hitting more than fifty times in a few seconds, the beast spat blood. The speed of its claws began to slow, and an air of distress passed over its large eyes.
Nevertheless, Sylvera didn't stop. The flesh of his fingers disappeared, but he continued to strike with all his strength.
As his phalanx began to crack, the beast spat another mouthful of blood and fainted.
Even if its carapace was impenetrable, its organs were far from being as hard. With repetitive shocks, Sylvera estimated that almost all the crab's organs were severely damaged.
Although it was still alive, it was only a matter of time before it died.
He looked around to observe the battlefield, but only saw the walls of an immense crater.
Under the repeated blows, they had sunk about ten meters and were in the center of a forty meters wide rocky crater nearly.
The sand disappeared, and the ground was covered with enormous cracks spreading like spider webs.
The collision between the rank 3 beings was truly violent, and it would have been worse if the battle had moved.
Sylvera let the beast agonize and swam upward.
As he ascended, he saw a huge battlefield marked by enormous cracks, and craters.
Blood floated in the water, and the ground was covered with corpses.