Omni-Mastery

'Time is running out…'

[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'Corrupted Soldier', purification in progress… ]

[ You have obtained 115,719 EP! ]

A day and a half later, I wasn't that far away from the Dragon Clan's Stronghold after cleaning the 'Corrupted Soldier' packs from the outside in, but I wasn't satisfied with my progress.

It was already morning, but the sky was ominously full of dark clouds, there was not much time before the 'grand event' of the domain would come to pass.

Thankfully, these dark clouds weren't created through the intervention of a Corrupted Dragon unlike what happened back at the Light Domain, but it still made me feel uneasy.

After spending so many days within the Corruption Space, my mastery of the Dark Element gave me a glimpse of the ability to sense Corruption, and that was what I sensed from these clouds. This situation was also different from my experience in the Nature Domain.

The only guess I could come up with was that the gates were starting to 'leak' under the scheme of demons who were starting to escape the restrictions placed on them within the domains and that in itself was enough for me to worry.

'I need to go back.'

Considering the state that the Fire Domain was in even before my arrival, I knew that what I did back in the Nature Domain wouldn't be enough this time. Other than destroying hidden means, I also had to use my elevated strength to effectively shave off the demons' numbers.

As such, I could no longer waste time preparing the battlefield, as helpful as my current task was, it was still auxiliary. In order to use everything that I had in mind, I needed to stand at the very front.

'Almost done...'

Fortunately, as I recalled my 'Mental Map' again, I was pleased to find that only one more 'pack' was left on my way back to the Stronghold. Even if I had to scrap my plans of going further away, just killing this last back would be quite helpful!

[ You have absorbed the blood essence of a 'Corrupted Soldier', purification in progress… ]

[ You have obtained 115,719 EP! ]

[ You have absorbed… ]

[ You have obtained… ]

Having already depleted quite a bit of my elements both at the base and during my 'sweeping' so far, I quickly zoomed down into the middle of the 'pack' and started poking them with my dual spears, exercising my current favorite 'whac-a-mole' tactic!

[ You have absorbed… ]

[ You have obtained… ]

[ You have absorbed… ]

[ You have obtained… ]

[ 'Prophecy' Hidden Phase 2.5 has been completed! ]

[ Level-up bar progress +125%! ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have reached level 127! ]

'Perfect!'

With an EP bar that was more than half full thanks to the completion of this hidden phase's first target, I had already managed to rise up one more level after all of this sweeping. Thanks to that, I managed to maximize the effect of the reward!

Most importantly, the next level's bar didn't have much left to fill up either, if nothing goes wrong…

[ Level-up bar progress +35%! (Phase 2.5 full completion bonus) ]

[ You have leveled up! ]

[ You have reached level 128! ]

'This much in reserve should be enough to deal with most unexpected situations!'

Considering my current situation, these 8 levels that I managed to gain during the last few days were bound to be of great help. Although they didn't exactly make me stronger as I still saved everything to this point, my current point reserve was bound to be another great weapon in my arsenal, something that was directly proven in my encounter with the suspected 'boss'.

[ Unassigned stat points: 26.11 ]

Feasting my eyes on the number that could also translate to my chance of survival, I started running back to the Dragon Clan's Stronghold now that the road was mostly clear, it was almost time to entangle with the Lost Realm's greatest threat once more…

`~~`~~`~~`

"Clan Leader, the army is ready to deploy!"

"Mhm. Tell everyone to remain on standby, it's not yet time to abandon our stronghold."

"Understood!"

Within the building incorporated into the large tree at the center of the Stronghold, the Dragon Clan Leader sat on his 'throne' after dismissing the half-dragon who came to report. His lowered gaze was enough for one to notice his downed spirit.

"Is it really possible for us to survive?"

The hall was empty, so the Clan Leader looked like he was talking to himself, but the slight gleam in his eyes spoke otherwise. Their current predicament appeared to be partially his fault, but he knew that there was no other way out, the ferocity of beast people wasn't natural according to popular belief.

The change that was taking place in the whole realm was something that had been built up for decades, and there was no stopping it now. The only question left to ask was whether the realm and its people would be able to withstand this tribulation or not.

"Your clan was fated to doom from the very first day it started."

As if to prove the Clan Leader's sanity, a heavy voice soon resounded in the hall, stealing the faint gleam out his eyes, but it seemed like it had more to say.

"However… Fate is something that depends on oneself. 'Their' intervention has opened up the path to all kinds of possibilities, but in the end, every single being in the realm still has to make their own choices. Only when the right decisions are made can there be hope."

The voice's heavy tone slowly faded as it contained a sense of uplifting elevation, bringing back the light into the Clan Leader's eyes, stronger than ever.

"It seems like we will still have to do our best no matter the result…"

Planting his foot on the ground, the Clan Leader finally left his seat as his muscles bulged, pressing his open palm forward as an object instantly flew into his hand!

Thud!

As the impact of the object resounded in the room, the half-dragon that had just finished reporting had quickly run back into the hall, eagerly opening the door as he shouted.

"Sir Azure is back!"