Chapter 2353. Shock
The ethereal version of Heaven and Earth"s avatar inspected the dark clouds without showing any expression. The array of boulders was losing power due to the worms, and the attack appeared impossible to complete in that situation.
Noah felt glad that Cursed Reality and the others had hidden something so valuable from Heaven and Earth"s gaze. The rulers appeared speechless in front of the worms. They probably didn"t expect their opponents to have that trump card.
The array of boulders continued to lose power as the worms ate and expanded their domain. The number of lightning bolts leaving the clouds increased because of that, but June took care of them.
Everything pointed in the direction of a prevented tragedy, but Noah didn"t dare to underestimate Heaven and Earth. He remained in front of the ethereal avatar, ready to react to any unforeseen counterattack, and his companions imitated his stance.
Heaven and Earth concluded their inspection of the worms quite quickly. Those creatures weren"t complicated lifeforms, and Noah"s influence didn"t change that. They were annoying magical beasts born to eat the sky, but that didn"t make them too dangerous.
"You can"t stop us," Heaven and Earth announced. "Not completely."
The ethereal avatar didn"t move, but another humming noise came out of the sky behind the blockage anyway. The sound altered the boulders" behavior and the flow of the energy inside them.
The crystal energy inside the boulders started to gather in a spot behind the ethereal figure. The worms instinctively moved toward that rich area, but painful screeches resounded as soon as they entered its range.
The meanings contained by the boulders went through some changes. Heaven and Earth rea.s.sembled and enhanced specific effects so that they could counter the worms.
The worms in the transformed area ran away to escape that new influence, but many died in the process. That didn"t change the overall threat posed by the pack, but it opened a path from which Heaven and Earth could attack.
Heaven and Earth had sacrificed part of the energy inside the array to achieve the transformation, putting Noah in front of that terrifying attack once again. The acc.u.mulation of power resumed, and the white rays also changed their position to reinforce the boulders involved in the offensive.
"You won"t let us use this on the entire world," Heaven and Earth exclaimed. "We"ll use it on you."
Heaven and Earth"s speech didn"t consider the weaker experts in Noah"s organization at all. They knew that an attack focused on Noah would probably kill most of his organization anyway, but they didn"t care.
As for Noah, he immediately acknowledged that his trump card had failed. The inscriptions and his weaker companions were in danger again, but he had countermeasures in that new situation.
The offensive wouldn"t come from every side anymore. It would retain the same power as before, but Noah could avoid creating an explosion that would kill his companions now.
Noah retreated to reach an area between the clear spot among the black clouds and the inscriptions. The experts who had proven their worth in the final battle and were still able to fight gathered around him, and a defensive line soon formed.
Alexander, Wilfred, and Supreme Thief were in no condition to join that offensive. The two hybrids needed to heal for a bit, while Supreme Thief had to disperse the tainting influence gathered during his interaction with the sky.
Vesuvia also remained behind since her world couldn"t do much in a battle of sheer power. The same went for the experts involved with the inscriptions since they were too exhausted to join the offensive.
June couldn"t do much in that situation either since she had to take care of the lightning bolts. Her presence would be greatly appreciated, but the entire organization would have to face the worms if she didn"t remain in her place.
Sepunia had the chance to leave the inscriptions to join the main team, and Cursed Reality also sent a series of yellowish items forward to help the face-off. Meanwhile, Noah and the others summoned their power to replicate something similar to their previous attack.
The Eternal Snake charged forward without bothering about preparations, and its companions didn"t stop that reckless charge. The creature pierced the ethereal avatar and headb.u.t.ted the boulders, but the impact only destroyed part of its head.
Of course, the Eternal Snake could endure far more than that, but the boulders didn"t let it launch another attack. The crystal energy flowing through those materials reached the critical point and sucked dry the materials a.s.saulted by the worms before unleas.h.i.+ng its power.
The Eternal Snake summoned as much ice as possible, but the torrent of energy released by the boulders pierced it anyway. The violent attack flew through the void until it reached Noah"s group, and the experts were ready to welcome it.
Teamwork and cooperation became pointless at that point. Heaven and Earth didn"t do anything special. Their offensive was a mess of weaker worlds and laws fueled by crystal energy. It had no harmony, so their opponents could fight it with sheer might.
Noah and the others attacked almost simultaneously, launching incredible attacks. Their abilities had only one rule. They didn"t have to clash with each other. Everything else was allowed in that situation.
The impact between the two attacks unleashed a circular shockwave that expanded through the void and reached the pack of worms. Those creatures were too frail to withstand that aftermath, so they crumbled into dust as soon as pressure landed on them.
The pressure wasn"t even linear. The shockwave soon expanded alongside the pack, destroying its clouds and the creatures inside them. The worms had been in the open for a mere minute, but the clash turned them extinct in an instant.
The worms" death would typically give the rest of the array a chance to launch another attack. However, the exposed spot had drained the other boulders to perform its offensive, so the shockwave ended up turning the entire blockage into dust.
The disappearance of the clouds freed June from her task, but she didn"t have the chance to join the main offensive since the two attacks had already clashed.
Nevertheless, shockwaves and violent consequences of the clash expanded through the void, and the inscriptions fell on their path.
June didn"t hesitate to turn her figure into a ma.s.s of energy that reopened many injuries and put her in a bad state. Her technique allowed her to launch multiple precise lightning bolts that destroyed any threat flying toward her weaker companions.
The clash ended rather quickly, without revealing a clear winner. The two offensives stopped each other and dispersed once their energy reserves became empty.
Gales made of dust took control of the higher plane during the aftermath, but they soon fell into the void and cleared the area. The experts" mental waves also stabilized enough to make them inspect their surroundings, but gasps quickly followed that event.
Noah was one of the first to regain control of his senses. A ringing noise had taken control of his ears, and white patches hindered his vision, but his consciousness worked more than fine.
The scene that materialized in Noah"s mind as soon as his consciousness expanded generated a series of wild emotions that could be best summarized as utter confusion. The sight of the white sky didn"t surprise him, but its features almost crushed his confidence.
The sky stood proudly around the higher plane, but its appearance had slightly changed. It was brighter than before, and its smooth surface radiated a purity that Noah couldn"t describe.
Yet, the innate pressure radiated from the sky remained its most shocking feature. The white layer had lost its quasi-rank 10 features. It was a proper rank 10 structure now.