Chapter 1641 - 1641. Pressure
The sole presence of a rank 9 creature was enough to suppress every other existence in the area. Noah"s team could barely withstand the heavy pressure generated by the leader of the s.p.a.ce Hounds, and the creature had yet to leave the distorted s.p.a.ce.
Only the leader"s head had crossed the distorted s.p.a.ce. The rest of its body was still inside a different dimension, but its hunger could already force the experts to deploy defensive measures.
It was clear what would happen once the leader stepped on the dimensional tunnel with its entire body. Noah and the others would die without having the chance to escape. The rank 9 creature was in a different realm.
Of course, their strategy saw them activating the inscribed weapons before that event.
King Elbas didn"t hesitate to shatter the dark orb in his palm. The cultivator always wielded one of those items when s.p.a.ce began to bend, so he was ready to activate it even during the suppression of the leader.
The orb didn"t make any sound when it crumbled. Its shards flew toward different areas of the dimensional tunnel and fused with the fabric of the environment to reinforce the s.p.a.ce.
Something strange happened in the areas with distorted s.p.a.ce after the shards fused with the environment. The dimensional tunnel forced its fabric to stabilize, reverting the s.p.a.ce Hounds" effects.
The areas with distorted s.p.a.ces were portals for the s.p.a.ce Hounds. Those creatures could use them to fly through different dimensions, so they didn"t expect them to close on their bodies before they could step on the tunnel.
The s.p.a.ce Hounds experienced the collapse of their pa.s.sages. The pressure inside the areas with distorted s.p.a.ce increased as the instabilities flowed toward their center.
The magical beasts had to use their entire physical might to resist that pressure and make a quick decision. They had to choose whether to retreat or jump into the dimensional tunnel.
The angry growls of the leader soon forced its underlings to ignore a possible retreat. The rank 9 s.p.a.ce Hound was the only specimen among the platoon that could keep its portal open with its physical might, so it could continue to give orders even in that dangerous situation.
One of the inscription masters, a member of Althea"s team, shattered an inscribed orb to force the s.p.a.ce to stabilize quickly. More shards fused with the environment and fought the innate abilities of the enemy pack.
The leader gave voice to an angry roar when it felt the portal closing on its neck. The inscribed orbs didn"t carry much power, but they could borrow the s.p.a.ce"s weight to fend off those creatures.
Noah and the others almost fainted when the roar reached their ears. The pressure carried by that cry even forced them to disregard the defenses on their limbs to focus everything on their core organs.
The rank 9 specimen didn"t need to do much to kill them. Roars were enough to put an end to their life. Noah felt incredibly weak in front of such a creature. He had already experienced a similar feeling, but it always managed to surprise him.
The innate inferiority felt in front of a rank 9 magical beast wasn"t something that Noah could ignore. His instincts were weak against creatures at that level. The dark world had to help to stabilize his mind to allow him to remain calm.
Wilfred also managed to keep his cool in that situation. The hybrid already had a leader, so it was easier for him not to fall for the s.p.a.ce Hound"s orders.
The Foolery didn"t have it as easy as its companions. The pig was nothing more than a magical beast, so the rank 9 s.p.a.ce Hound had a lot of influence on its instincts.
Still, an inscription master from the Rotway family suddenly shattered a third disposable orb and accelerated the stabilization of the area.
The rank 9 Hound soon had to ignore Noah"s group to focus on its pa.s.sage. Its physical strength had begun to fall short against that power. It couldn"t fight s.p.a.ce when the world itself wanted it to stabilize.
Heads fell on the ground as the weaker s.p.a.ce Hounds failed to defend against the closing tunnels. Some of them found their bodies divided in half after they crossed their distorted s.p.a.ce.
Those underlings couldn"t retreat due to their leader"s orders, but the results of that decision were catastrophic. Even some of the upper tier creatures died once s.p.a.ce fell on them.
Noah and the others couldn"t rejoice at that scene since their senses had to remain shut to stabilize their mind. The leader had stopped focusing its cries on them, but it still filled the environment with its dangerous aura.
An inscription master from the Sinnell family activated a fourth orb. The experts wouldn"t hold back their inscribed weapons since that dangerous situation had yet to end.
A deafening roar filled the dimensional tunnel. The might carried by that cry made some of the experts faint and crash on the ground. Even the Foolery, Fergie, and Luke couldn"t endure that pressure anymore and fell.
The innate defenses of those existences activated. Their centers of power wouldn"t let an external aura prey on their moment of weakness. They even deployed spells that those experts had previously prepared.
Only the Foolery found it difficult to remain asleep. The creature didn"t have any special technique, so it had to endure the full power of the s.p.a.ce Hound"s aura. The pig puked blood, but it remained alive since it didn"t have a mental sphere to shatter.
The heavy aura eventually started to retreat. Noah could finally find a moment to open his eyes and inspect the scene.
The other experts did the same, and the sight of the battlefield left them speechless. Countless heads and maimed corpses filled the ground, and only one spot still featured distorted s.p.a.ce.
The last spot with distorted s.p.a.ce belonged to the leader, but the creature had already disappeared from that area. Only its faint presence continued to seep out of that pa.s.sage, and that was enough to suppress the experts.
King Elbas turned toward one of the inscription masters and nodded. The latter quickly wielded another dark orb and shattered it to reinforce the area once more.
The last spot with distorted s.p.a.ce finally began to close. Its instabilities quickly vanished, and the leader"s aura stopped reaching that part of the dimensional tunnel.
The experts fell on the ground after the pressure left their minds. Even Noah felt exhausted after that experience. Facing a rank 9 creature had left him drained.
"Did we really do it?" Fay Sinnell asked while turning toward the companions who were still awake.
"Seems so," Gloria replied as her gaze turned toward Noah.
Gloria knew that a large part of the merit had to go to the inscription masters, but she respected Noah for his idea. He had started that whole procedure in the end. His plan to fend off a rank 9 creature had worked perfectly.
The most surprising aspect of that matter was that Noah didn"t see the rank 9 existences as unbeatable beings. Even creatures that stood at the peak of the cultivation journey couldn"t make him run out of ideas.
"What now?" Gloria eventually asked.
"We gather all the materials in the area and create more disposable orbs," King Elbas explained. "The leader will return, at least in this part of the dimensional tunnel. We need to be ready for its arrival."