Chapter 390: Hitting A Wall
The shockwave ripped through the plain, not discriminating between humans and monsters, all those within blast range being reduced to atomic particles, all forms of life eviscerated in an instant.
The self-overload of an awakened-grade being was no joke, especially when it came to a figure of Dorian’s caliber, the sheer amount of destruction he was able to generate ripping through all without facing a single resistance.
The explosion parted both sides, flinging the humans out of range forward and the monsters still crawling behind back.
Creating a distance of several hundred kilometers between both sides, allowing the humans to gain the chance they so desperately needed.
But no one was in the state to realize this as they were all lost in the shock that a captain-level figure had just died…
The human forces, consisting of seven divisions, a total of 611 soldiers and seven captains, had been reduced to a measly sum of around 271 and six captains, only three of them active.
This was the greatest loss they had ever faced since their delegation, heck even during their time executing their main mission, which was to slaughter the entire flame dragon race, they hadn’t lost a single soul.
This zone was a nightmare, the worst they’ve ever encountered, the humans groaning and whining as they tried to crawl back to their feet the moment the raging effects of Dorian’s self-detonation settled.
Elaine and Uriel rose, a grim glance passing between them, their hands unsteady, the death of a colleague of the same rank settling a whole new layer of fear over them.
None of them had seen it coming, but Dorian had done the best he could to salvage the circumstance and create the chance they needed the most.
Knowing this did nothing to lift the heavy silence that settled after his death…
Lucas gritted his teeth, rose high and began to stagger his way forward, the soldiers following his lead, hauling themselves up right behind him.
The astral clones of Uriel’s steed had all been dissolved by the blast, but that didn’t matter anymore, swept by the shockwave, the group were already so close to their destination.
Cold flows of wind seeped through the glades and washed over their frames, bringing a refreshing feel of lightness, the concentration of abyssal essence thinning as they had arrived at the outer regions.
The group could still feel the faint tremor from the earth, signaling that the enemy never halted its relentless advance.
Fortunately, Lara Stidum and the rest of her crew from team alpha did their best in protecting the shackled realm evolvers from the force of the eruption, shouldering the full brunt of the blasts, using their bodies and essence unit balance to shield the group with all their might.
While the pirate crew weren’t completely unharmed, they remained free of any life-threatening injuries.
The same could be said for the unconscious four, Uriel and Elaine did well in sheltering their defenceless bodies from the stormy eruption…
The group finally made their way out of the tree lines and out into the open shore, the ocean wind hitting them with a salty gust.
Every breath producing a lingering aftertaste… the group gathered towards the bed of sand, shoulders slumped, steps dragging.
Uriel, swaying on his feet, glanced towards the old man… “So how do we proceed…”
His words drawing the attention of every soul in sight, their tired eyes focusing on Elder Lenny, the man who now seemed to carry the hope of the exhausted forces.
The gloomy shade of grey only seemed to support the murky mood, as the elder took slow steps forward, every eye tracing his steps.
The elder squatted low and sank his hand into the sandy ground, eyes closed, he could feel the overwhelming energy contained in each grain, the vast collection of sand being enough to generate the type of space gate they needed to cross a mind-boggling distance.
The elder turned towards Elaine and Uriel… “Like before, I will be needing a location marker of sorts…” the elder explained, causing the mood to sink.
Elder Lenny seemed to sense this shift and frowned…
While the three captains glanced at one another uncomfortably, giving a location marker right now was impossible… at least without a device with immense high-end GPS triangulation calculation metrics.
One had to understand the Earth had basically been terraformed, the continents had converged into one, displacing land and affecting the Earth’s magnetic field.
All this made previous geographical knowledge and tracking methods useless…
Though Zoan’s team had been isolated from humanity since the start of all this, they were still well aware of the convergence…
The system mass broadcasts never discriminated after all, but knowing and understanding were two different things…
The elder seemed to see the problem behind the requirements he had requested, and he saw the soldiers around him beginning to fidget and mutter, panic spreading through their ranks, as they began to fear that they might be stuck here after all.
It felt strange, seeing beings so strong and mighty acting so… mortal and fragile.
And he couldn’t blame them, the horror of this zone truly warranted such an emotional response.
“Is there no other way?” Uriel asked, brows furrowed, his voice tight, as though he might have concluded too soon, time was ticking and the enemy drew closer by the second.
The elder remained silent for a bit and sighed, there was another way but if the requirement was any easier, he would have offered that first…
“There is but…” the elder paused, deciding to explain the requirement instead of complaining, with Uriel and the other two standing rigid, jaws set, still very much in a bad mood from the loss of their colleague…
“My gene skill can interact with sand particles from other regions, and open rifts that would lead to their origin… but I doubt anyone has a handful of sand from their homes sitting around in their inventories, right?”
Everyone remained silent, their expressions going ugly…
Elder Lenny also sighed, thinking to himself, ‘Even if the captain didn’t request we explore, I still wouldn’t have been able to get us out of here,’ he realized.
Back then he had not accounted for the convergence and the geological shift it must have caused, so even if he had tried to take them all home, it would have failed pathetically.
“That’s it, huh? We are going to die here, aren’t we?” a soldier slumped to his knees, muttering in a self-mocking tone.
The tremors shifting through the sand were growing by the second, as the vile presence of the relentless horde only grew closer with every heartbeat.
Weapons sagged in slack hands, and their will to fight began to die as all hope seemed to be lost.
When suddenly a voice rang out, “Wait! I think I might have something…”