Chapter 1334 1334. Secret organization
"I need to sacrifice some of them to gain the upper hand," Noah thought as he watched Snore"s dark beam engulfing the cultivator and creating a hole in the ground underneath.
That attack alarmed all the existences inside the cave. The other six cultivators and the magical beasts in the lair converged toward the dark beam when they sensed that surge of energy.
Screeches and tremors filled the cave as the magical beasts left the depths to reach Noah"s position. The cultivators were closer to that area, so they managed to see the ma.s.sive snake closing its mouth and diving deeper into the lair.
Noah had no intention to face the cultivators head-on. He would rather pretend to be a giant snake and observe their fights to see if he could understand something about their origin.
Even while inside Snore, Noah was faster than his pursuers. The dark matter created with rank 7 darkness gave the Blood Companion immense power and made it almost stronger than any magical beast in the lower tier.
Those cultivators would have to use movement techniques to catch up with him. Still, deploying them while magical beasts charged toward them would only cause problems, especially since they had yet to locate Noah.
A series of giant Scorpions appeared in Noah"s view at some point. They were almost eleven meters long, and their exoskeleton radiated a dark-gray shade as they ran through the s.h.i.+ning cave.
Six thick legs, two ma.s.sive claws, and a tail bigger than the rest of their bodies gave them a threatening appearance, but they could only show some hesitation when they saw Noah.
"Eight magical beasts in the lower tier," Noah thought as his aura spread in the environment.
His ambition seeped inside the Immortal Lands" fabric and gave birth to black lines that reinforced the cave"s overall structure. The air thickened as his individuality forced it to reach superior states of existence.
Noah"s greed accompanied his ambition as he unfolded his aura. Intense aggression reached the Scorpions and the cultivators and made them feel pure terror.
The cultivators and the magical beasts understood that Noah was stronger than them as soon as his greed filled their minds. They had no chances in a one versus one battle.
The pursuers didn"t let that feature scare them away. Cultivators could deploy tactics and make use of inscribed items to overcome a difference in power. They also wouldn"t dare to split after seeing the instant death of their companion.
The magical beasts were different. They wouldn"t mind banding together to defeat stronger opponents, especially when they invaded their lair. However, Noah"s pressure compelled them to avoid him.
That wouldn"t usually be enough to stop the always-hungry magical beasts, but Noah released a roar during their instants of hesitation. His deafening cry spread through the entirety of the cave and gave those creatures a third option.
"Let"s focus on the humans!" Noah said through his roars.
Some rank 7 magical beasts weren"t capable of generating complicated thoughts, but Noah"s message was simple. It stirred their innate sense of belonging to a faction that saw the cultivators as enemies!
The Scorpions shot toward the six cultivators as soon as Noah"s cry reached their minds. They saw him as a powerful ally willing to fight together to take care of the most annoying threat. Refusing him would be stupid.
The cultivators had understood that Noah was hiding inside the giant snake after he unfolded his aura. They were already preparing strategies to avoid the Scorpions and corner him, but the arrival of the draconic roar made their expressions pale.
The Immortal Lands were immense, and their citizens had deployed a countless number of unique techniques. Those living in the higher plane had seen so many strange abilities that they didn"t even question the reason behind Noah"s reptilian eyes.
Yet, the roar made the six cultivators feel a danger that only a powerful magical beast could generate. An obvious conclusion appeared in their minds as the cry echoed through the cave. Defying Demon wasn"t a cultivator.
That discovery forced them to reconsider their approach. Capturing a hybrid was a complicated matter to handle. The group"s preparations lacked tools that could make them suppress such a powerful creature.
The cultivators decided to retreat simultaneously. They stopped their charge and turned to avoid the incoming Scorpions, but their instincts made them stop as soon as they began to escape.
In the instant after they stopped, a series of black lines formed in front of them and shattered the air. Even the st.u.r.dy azure rocks of the cave couldn"t survive that attack. A large chunk of the ceiling fell and blocked that tunnel.
Some of the bravest cultivators among the group disregarded the sharpness in the area and charged through the falling boulders. Yet, deep cuts opened on their bodies when they touched Noah"s aura.
Their effort to prevent remaining stuck in the cave only brought them large injuries. The boulders sealed that path before any of them could reach the safe area.
The Scorpions reached them at that point, and the two groups started a violent fight. The cultivators had already given up on completing their mission, so they only wanted to buy enough time to create a pa.s.sage through the boulders.
Instead, the Scorpions radiated pure hunger. Magical beasts on their level rarely had the chance to feed on cultivators, so they didn"t hold back in their attempts to tear their flesh apart.
Noah kept his eyes closed as he remained inside Snore. The Demonic Sword was on his forehead, ready to unleash slashes whenever one of the cultivators was about to attack the boulders. He wouldn"t let anyone escape the cave.
Even in that dire situation, the cultivators managed to gain the upper hand in the battle. The superiority of their species wasn"t something that magical beasts could overcome so easily.
Noah had to help the Scorpions a bit more. Black lines severed the air in the battlefield and created holes in every distracted cultivator. He let his pursuers hurt the beasts, but he didn"t allow them to have hope.
The cultivators slowly began to die. A few instants of hesitation and the multiple injuries acc.u.mulated on their bodies gave Noah and the Scorpions many openings that they could exploit.
Still, their deaths made the beasts" instincts go wild. Noah had to launch some of his slashes toward the Scorpions and roar again to make them focus.
He told them that they had to divide the prey together, and the Scorpions could only follow his orders for the time being. They would turn on him after that battle was over, and they knew that he would do the same.
"Wait!" One of the hooded cultivators shouted. "We can talk about this!"
The robe partially masked the cultivator"s voice, but it couldn"t hide much in its tattered state. Noah could hear the desperation in that man"s tone, but he didn"t slow down his offensive.
More cultivators died, and the man who had spoken before eventually remained alone against the eight injured Scorpions. His life was about to end, and only Noah could save him in that situation.
"Please, I will tell you everything!" The man shouted again. "I will serve you! I will give you everything I have! I will also let you take my companion"s belongings!"
Noah felt interested in that offer, but he could sense that the cultivator was still holding something back.
A blinding red light suddenly came out of his body and covered a large area with an intense fire. Two Scorpions died after that attack, but it seemed that the item couldn"t affect inanimate matters with its destructive might.
The fire didn"t open a path through the boulders, and the man soon had to face the a.s.sault of the angry beasts again. His desperation reached its peak at that point, and he decided to reveal everything to appeal to Noah"s mercy.
"I come from a secret organization!" The man shouted. "I can tell you everything you need. I can give you access to pieces of information that no library has! I can-."
The man couldn"t finish his line since a cry of pain reached his ears, and green blood rained on his head. When he raised his eyes, he saw that the ma.s.sive snake had bitten off half of a Scorpion"s body.