A harsh battle was unfolding in the sky over the territory that was once occupied by the lake inhabited by octopuses.
The ground under the lake had crumbled when the winged beasts woke up from their slumber and resurfaced, but the creatures that inhabited it had survived the fall.
That area had become something similar to a large fis.h.i.+ng area for the remaining winged beasts though.
The octopuses of the lake were trapped in a deep canyon and couldn"t escape the attacks of the more than a hundred creatures that a.s.saulted them.
Even the rank 5 specimen couldn"t do much about the situation since there were two rank 5 winged beasts that were attempting to hunt it.
Most of the strongest winged creatures had died in the battle between the rank 6 existences, but some of them still flew in the sky over the piece of Immortal Lands.
Rank 5 creatures couldn"t be bothered to go after rank 4 beasts when there were beings on their level that they could hunt, their hunger simply led them toward the prey that would provide the most fulfilling meal.
However, the winged beasts had lost their ability to cooperate when their leaders died.
The remaining rank 5 specimens didn"t have the power to suppress the awakened instincts of the many rank 4 beasts under them, and couldn"t organize them in battle formations.
Heaven and Earth were fair, the winged beasts had the incredible ability to fuse their attacks, but that was balanced by a physical strength that was below the average of the other magical creatures.
The weakness of that species was exposed entirely now that their cooperation was gone, but they could still fly, something that gave them a good advantage over the fauna of the new continent.
The two rank 5 winged creatures fought the rank 5 octopus together, but their teamwork was lacking, and their bodies weren"t a match for their opponent.
On the other hand, the octopus was huge, and its tentacles weren"t able to hit the nimble, humanoid figures that were sieging it.
The winged beasts used their claws to inflict deep wounds every time they dodged a tentacle, they were trying to exhaust the creature hiding in the water under them before fis.h.i.+ng it out of its lair.
The intelligence of that species could be clearly seen in that situation.
Generally speaking, magical beasts would just run away when they saw that their opponent overpowered them.
Yet, those winged creatures could see a path toward victory and were even resorting to a natural form of cooperation to succeed.
Thick blue drops of blood fell into the lake every time the sharp claws of the attackers pierced the tentacles of the ruler of that area.
The color of the lake began to change as the rank 5 octopus, and the other weaker specimens of its pack kept on getting injured, the murky water was slowly turning dark-blue.
The battle in that area was so intense that none of the beasts there noticed that black flames had begun to appear at some point.
The black flames would form whenever a corpse, body part, or drop of blood fell toward the lake, and they would vanish as soon as those materials pierced their surface.
Of course, those materials would disappear together with the black flames.
The beasts on the battlefield could notice that something was off only when the two rank 5 creatures managed to sever one of the tentacles of the rank 5 octopus.
The winged beasts immediately dived toward the falling tentacle, and even the other creatures in the area interrupted their battles to go after such a nouris.h.i.+ng meal.
However, black flames suddenly appeared under the huge tentacle and made it disappear in less than a second.
Angry roars resounded from the large canyon at that point, the beasts could only be furious when they saw their meal disappearing right in front of their eyes.
Yet, they were soon forced to escape since the rank 5 octopus recklessly slammed its remaining tentacles on the sides of the canyons to attempt to kill the creatures that had dared to injure it.
Noah stared at the scene from above the canyon and decided that it was time to change the hunting area.
He had already gained a lot from that place.
The Warp spell had become far more ductile after his modifications.
The black flames weren"t limited anymore to his body but could teleport his attacks and random items now.
Noah didn"t mean to use the Warp spell to steal precious materials when he modified its diagram, but that messy battlefield was simply too perfect for his new ability!
Noah had teleported everything that he could use to improve his body next to him with his spell and carefully stored it inside his s.p.a.ce-ring without anyone noticing.
Of course, the expenditure of "Breath" and mental energy was incredible when he teleported something so far away from him and on that level, but Noah felt that it was completely worth it.
After all, he had gained the body part of a rank 5 beast and a large amount of its blood!
Noah had obviously seized the bodies of the rank 4 winged beasts and octopuses that had died, but those gains paled compared to something that came from a rank 5 creature.
He didn"t stop there though.
Such a vast battlefield would appear only once in a while, and he was sure that the new continent would return to a peaceful state after that crisis.
So, he had to make the most out of those fights, even if that meant exposing his presence to external forces and shortening his time with June.
Noah completely disregarded the battles between rank 4 creatures and went after the fights that featured rank 5 beings.
Even a drop of blood from those powerful creatures was worth the risk in Noah"s view.
His plan led him toward the mountain chain next to the azure plain where he saw a giant ape-type magical beast crus.h.i.+ng a rank 5 winged creature with its ma.s.sive arms.
Noah couldn"t get too close since he didn"t have any confidence in escaping the ape if it noticed him, but he still managed to seize a large amount of blood and a few broken claws from the corpse of the defeated creature.
Then, he continued his march toward the areas that gave birth to waves of fear inside him.
Noah didn"t dare to fly in that situation, he preferred to run across the land to better hide among the fauna of the new continent.
After all, the other magical beasts recognized him as a being of their world, and the cultivators fighting in the sky would find it hard to notice him in that chaotic environment.
Like that, Noah"s march continued unhindered even when he entered the territories under the control of the Papral nation.