Chapter 1651 (1/2)
Randidly glanced backward over his shoulder as the group reached the lip of the crater. Even with their significant speed, his instincts warned him that they weren’t moving fast enough to escape the fallout of this conflict.
The ground beneath his feet was constantly shuddering, with growing cracks reaching out and connecting to each other. And each connection seemed to embolden the destabilization. But the situation below was even worse; as the hand of Elhume overwhelmed the Nether King’s destructive blast and began to descend once more, its oppression was indiscriminate.
RUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE!
By this point, the powerful fingers had completely muscled their way past the boundaries of the spatial wall. An increasingly flimsy layered spatial barrier still persisted, but it could only slow the invasion. Without the Nether King’s beam acting as a support pillar, everything would have collapsed. From the bulging contusions of the fingers, sizzling bolts of red lightning flicked back and forth, casting a bloody glow over the whole situation. These bolts flickered in and out of existence, tiny hairs of radiation that ran up and down the length of the fingers.
In addition to the bolts, the distortions breathed life into a group of accelerating wind currents. Three enormous tornados had touched down, two inside the crater and one massive superstorm three hundred away from where Randidly and the Pinnacle Seekers were standing, centered underneath the meaty palm of Elhume.
Randidly narrowed his eyes as he looked at these tornados. Others intermittently formed but were just as quickly smashed out of existence by the titanic forces in conflict here. But those three survivors started to accumulate power by incorporating the dangerous waves of force. The trunk of the tornados gradually thickened and the near-constant bolts of crimson electricity began to twist down into the central column and tickle along its length.
Even more concerning was the natural image of destruction that was beginning to form by persisting between the two powerful forces of Elhume and the Nether King. At the moment, Randidly felt confident he would be able to brush it aside. But if it continued to grow stronger…?
“Have you learned to regret yet!?!?” A red-eyed Commandant Wick roared, even as he slid sideways through the air to avoid the powerful reverberations between the main clash. “It is too late! Die, poisoned by your own unwillingness! I refuse to release the spatial lock upon this place until your corpse is cooling at my feet.”
Randidly tore his eyes away. As the cracks in the ground widened every second, he had a clearer and clearer view of the inscrutable Nether Array that filled him with such dread. He simply didn’t have time to waste right now.
Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold continued to whisper of the rising tribulation that was rushing toward them.
Randidly gestured and was relieved when the Pinnacle Seekers followed him back to the prepared location. Of course, Randidly had Helen dig the required ditch around where the weaker Pinnacle Seekers were waiting, however, it was hard to say whether they would help willingly once they understood-
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
Randidly could sense from the Nether reverberations in the sky that the Nether King had unleashed even more of its power. The oppressive weight of significance in the isolated space had once more spiked up toward its previous highs. He allowed himself one glance over his shoulder, where he could see that the black beam wrapped in crackling white light that the Nether King shot upward had almost doubled in thickness. Once more, the energy stalled out the descending hand of Elhume.
The hanging stalemate between the two forces was heavy with tension. The number of red bolts of lightning thickened. The winds continued to accumulate and accelerate.
But what really drew Randidly’s attention was that this recent clash smashed open the cracked in the ground. From spiderwebs, they had become fingers, and now they had been forcefully pried open so that the cracks were as wide as a fist in some places. Randidly peered down into those openings and saw thick, liquid flows of Nether. These bands of energy were wrapped so tightly together and layered on top of each other that Randidly could only understand the arrangement of the few surface ones.
They pulsed intermittently like veins.
Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 430!
“We don’t have much time,” Randidly began speaking rapidly to the powerful Pinnacle Seekers. “The problem is two-fold; when Elhume breaks the spatial wall, the Nether King is going to activate whatever Nether Ritual he has prepared. But I bet Elhume won’t sit by idly; we need to be able to ride both the wave of the Nether Ritual and Elhume’s counter-attack.” Randidly hesitated for a split second, then continued to speak with a determined expression. “Because of the way energy interacts… I think it’s best that you help block the Nether King while I prepare to survive Elhume’s attack.”
When he said that, despite the constant shaking from the earthquakes and the howling wind of the gathering tornados, Seeker Ozaer, Seeker Dusk Jackal, Seeker Thunder Wing, Seeker Three Tail, and the Frost Matriarch all looked at him. Their expressions were curiously blank, as though the faces of dolls had been inserted into their physical forms.
I know it’s hard to believe… Randidly’s hands tightened. Even I’m not sure if this will work. But definitely… an image won’t be able to stand against him.
Even now, the horrifying memory of that mountain range’s worth of crystal Aether haunted Randidly’s dreams.
Influence +7
Influence +9
Randidly understood what they were thinking; although they would likely admit that he capable in his understanding and utilization of Nether, what he currently was suggesting was that he would defend against the greatest power in the Nexus. Even though their group would only be enduring collateral damage…
“I can handle it,” Randidly said again, even as his palms tingled unpleasantly. He was not lying exactly, but hoping. Even he wasn’t sure how accurate a statement he was making. There was only one way to test his theory.
“Pah, and what do I receive in compensation if you pointlessly die here? What of our duel?” The Dusk Jackal muttered, but no one else spoke. Randidly blinked; for the moment, it seemed like they acquiesced. Perhaps it was simply because they were also observing the rapidly changing conditions, but for now, it was enough.