Chapter 1065 (2/2)

Randidly’s heart rate increased as Yggdrasil professed so directly to not knowing anything, but he also trusted Yggdrasil’s instincts. The slow, natural progression of growth was Yggdrasil’s territory. If he believed that their best option was so directly to bare themselves, then it was definitely in their interest to do so.

Several long seconds of silence followed that admission.

“How is that possible. If that’s true, why are your images so-”

BOOOOOOOOOOOM.

SKREEEEEEEEEE!

The concussive force blasted outward from the nearby staging area, smashing into Randidly and Yggdrasil. Quick as a spark, Iellaya was gone in a brutal screech of fury. Above, the machinations of Nether began to rumble as the long-awaited signal finally arrived. Yggdrasil quickly set Randidly on his feet, likely knowing that Randidly had been conscious, and shifted over to grab the limp form of Salazar.

Randidly opened his eyes, blinked and staggered, and then followed Yggdrasil to seize Zauna. Both of his subordinates appeared unconscious, and Randidly felt a pang of worry as he looked at their soft and melted looking forms. Although they resembled their usual look, they seemed like wax figures that had been left too close to the fire.

A black wind heavy with nether swirled around the edges of the staging area where they were currently located. Very quickly, the entire surrounding area was obscured by the opaque currents of air laying across the area like drapes. As Randidly heaved Zauna onto his shoulder, the ground around them began to crack and destabilize as Nether wormed its way into the ground.

Wincing, Randidly straightened. Although he was only carrying an image body that was severely deteriorated, his own weakness meant that this task was a difficult prospect. Apparently, his own repairs to his image hadn’t been as complete as he had initially assumed.

It wouldn’t be the first time...

Randidly glanced upward. This black tentacles from the Great Rift were slowly twining downwards. It was difficult to see through the distorted space and Nether tainted wind around him, but it was clear that the attack would arrive soon. If they didn’t move-

SKREEEEEEEEE!

Suddenly all of the Nether in the surrounding air was eradicated. The previously unbalanced space slowly realigned itself. Even the usual visual effects of the Great Rift were barely visible underneath the heavyweight of Iellaya’s image that billowed outward.

Randidly turned slowly and regarded the hulking black form that spread its wide wings over the staging area. It was a ten-meter tall statue of polished obsidian with a wingspan that seemed broad enough to cover the whole of the camp. Every feather was a perfect crystalline piece of art, assembled together into an image that was so heavy and potent that it weighed physically on the surrounding area.

When Iellaya had struck out at the attack to the other camp, Randidly had been somewhat awed by her casual power. But now that the attack came toward her own camp… the power that Randidly saw at this moment left him breathless and tight-lipped. This was the sort of power of one who thrived in the Nexus. If Randidly wanted to fight his way toward the top, this was the sort of foe he would need to face.

Although the difference between their strengths wasn’t the vast chasm between himself and that individual that had used him to find the Creature, Randidly felt very small as he looked toward that obsidian eagle. And that feeling filled him with desire.

The Grim Chimera stood before an edifice to the power of the System and it craved.

Once more Iellaya raised her head and unleashed a piercing screech. Immediately, the camp around them began to buzz with activity. Where soldiers had previously been waiting in their tents to escape the sudden blast with its epicenter in the staging area, they now swarmed outward. Their eyes were grim and determined as they marched toward the edge of camp to face the threat of the Nether invasion.

Those huge tentacles twined down, smashing into the shattered badlands between the camp and the Great Rift. Floating boulders tumbled slowly outward in a weightless wave. Although Randidly couldn’t see it from where he was standing, he felt the wave of Nether Beasts that surged outward in a ravenous horde.

Suddenly, Yggdrasil was at Randidly’s side. “We should return. You need to recover before you can fight.”

“I can still fight,” Randidly wheezed. Then he coughed several times, trying to clear his throat. But the skin of his esophagus was parched and dry.

Yggdrasil snorted. “And I don’t doubt you will get the chance. Look at the sky. It isn’t just our camp that is under attack. This is a full-on assault from Nether. There will be plenty of chances. For now, come back; even if you are alright, these two are not.”

Randidly looked down at Zauna. Although he didn’t like to pull back when Iellaya had so tantalizingly showed him what he could one day become, he nodded.

So Randidly and Yggdrasil turned away and headed back toward their tent to recuperate while Nether fell like gloomy raindrops toward the camp.