'Eight underlings, one peak rank,' Noah thought as he sprinted through the frozen lands.
The kill count in his mind was still too small to call the hunt off. Noah needed to get rid of more Eternal Snakes if he wanted to have a final battle with the quasi-rank 7 leader.
The leader roared in anger when it lost vision of Noah. Without special abilities, magical beasts couldn't follow his movements when he entered his dimension, but that didn't stop it from chasing after him.
The quasi-rank 7 creature leapt in the sky and created a trail of ice to slither toward Noah's previous location. It didn't care that it couldn't sense the invader anymore. Reaching its fallen underlings would give it a head start for when Noah reappeared.
The leader couldn't believe that Noah could outrun it. Following his tracks would eventually make the two of them meet.
Noah flew faster than he even had before. He knew that the leader would come for him, so he had to make the best of that attack.
He had learnt where the packs were during his inspection of the continent. He had clear targets, and his goal went past the accumulation of resources at that time.
Second Prince had given him a valuable chance, and he wouldn't waste it. His greed could wait for the world to recover. He only had to kill now.
The roars of the leader reached him inside his dimension, but Noah remained focused on his mission. His new level allowed him to sprint as long as he wanted at the cost of more energy, but he would gladly end up exhausted if that led to the restoration of the world.
Also, he barely needed to use energy to kill the weaker specimens. His battle prowess had surpassed what magical beasts in the heroic ranks could reach. He guessed that even peak rank 6 cultivators couldn't see that realm.
Obtaining such power without taking even a small step into the divine ranks was incredible. Noah's achievements defied logic, and that wasn't even the best that he would be capable of in the heroic ranks.
Noah had barely stepped into the last stage of the heroic ranks, but he could already express a miraculous battle prowess. No one could predict how strong he would become once his centers of power arrived at the peak of the rank.
A few lights eventually appeared in Noah's vision as he sprinted through his dark dimension. He had reached the next pack in no time, and he didn't hesitate to swing his blade at that point.
The Demonic Sword opened a path through the fabric of the world. A series of frantic rank 6 Eternal Snakes appeared in his vision when he crossed that passage.
Noah didn't even look at them as he expanded his consciousness and bent his legs. His mental waves managed to identify eleven creatures while he raised his blade to place it on his forehead.
The Snakes wanted to roar to notify their leader about the presence of the invader, but black lines suddenly pierced the center of their heads.
Those attacks then expanded to divide their heads in half. The only creature that managed to escape the black line was the peak rank 6 Snake in the pack, but the beast suffered serious injuries in the process.
The Snake had managed to dodge the black line's expansion that had pieced its head by moving away from that spot. Yet, the attack was still there when it performed the evasive maneuver, so the creature ended up losing a third of its skull in the process.
Noah noticed that a creature had survived, but he didn't have time to finish it. He didn't know what that beast could do in that state, but he had far bigger problems to handle in that situation.
Noah released the strength accumulated in his legs to sprint again. He only had the chance to seize a couple of corpses before entering his dimension and flying toward the next pack.
'Eighteen underlings, one peak rank,' Noah thought as he updated the kill count in his mind.
He didn't fail to kill the peak rank 6 Snake due to a lack of power. He had yet to become used to his new level, so his control over his slashes had been slightly off.
That slight delay in the expansion of the black lines had given the peak rank 6 Snake the chance to dodge, even if its messy attempt had ended up inflicting a considerable injury anyway. Still, Noah now knew what he had done wrong, so he was confident that it wouldn't happen again.
The quasi-rank 7 Eternal Snake didn't fail to notice that Noah's aura had reappeared for an instant. The creature had reached his previous location, and it didn't hesitate to shoot after him.
Noah knew that his situation had just worsened. The leader was now aware of his direction, so it wouldn't stop at his last location. The creature would continue charging forward until it either met him or sensed his aura again.
However, there wasn't much that he could do about that. Noah had been aware of that danger when he decided to attack the continent. He didn't fear the quasi-rank 7 specimen with his new power.
His ambition became more intense as Noah felt a pressure building up inside his mind. The danger felt in that situation made his individuality express more power, and his level grew as he continued to fly in his dark dimension.
The quasi-rank 7 Snake roared to no end. Its anger knew no limits. Noah had destroyed centuries of planning and preparations in mere hours.
The golden net couldn't endure the pressure radiated by the leader even after the empowerment of Noah's ambition. The quasi-rank 7 creature wasn't holding back either. Pieces of Second Prince's formation fell non-stop from the sky as that chase continued.
Noah came out of his dimension when he reached the third pack. His mind expanded to lock on the ten rank 6 Snakes in its range, and his blade touched his forehead to launch his quickest attack.
The Eternal Snakes wanted to release roars, but storms of dark matter formed above them and fell on their heads. That violent energy took the shape of ten massive blades that pierced the terrain as they destroyed everything on their path.
Noah almost cursed his greed when he saw that attack. He didn't want to release so much power at once. Still, the recent empowerment of his ambition altered his control over those slashes.
The storms of dark matter killed the Snakes instantly. Ten headless corpses fell on the ground after the attacks ended. Still, his actions worsened the condition of the golden net.
Noah didn't want that, but he still lacked control over his strength, especially when his ambition pushed his centers of power beyond their actual level.
However, Noah didn't lose even an instant in that region. He picked the corpses near him and sprinted again. He still had two packs to destroy, and he couldn't waste time with the quasi-rank 7 Snake chasing after him.
'Twenty-seven underlings, two peak rank,' Noah updated the kill count in his mind as he pressed forward. He knew that he didn't have much time left.