"What the heck was that?" Luke shouted while the group moved through the underground structure.
"How am I supposed to know?" Noah replied. "We are talking about rank 9 existences. I don't even know how to find them."
"What do we do now?" King Elbas asked while checking the state of his inscriptions.
"We leave the area and never return to this damned place," Noah announced. "The situation has become too complicated for existences at our level. The mission is over. We must return to the other side of the Immortal Lands."
"Leaving already?" Robert's voice resounded through the underground structure before purple drops began to pierce the inscribed ceiling and destroy the golden lines.
The group wanted to continue their escape, but the underground structure crumbled before they could fly past the attack. Whiteness flooded the tunnel, and a familiar trio appeared above them.
"Why are you even following us?" Noah asked while inspecting the area. "I thought your friends would take over the situation now."
"They have the magical beasts to handle," Robert explained. "Still, Lord Augustus has told us to execute those who have rebelled against Heaven and Earth. His words are absolute."
"Let's kill each other after we put some distance from the battlefield," Noah shouted, but Robert and his companions didn't seem willing to wait.
Spells gathered around their figures. Robert, Castor, and Rebecca didn't only rely on their weaker laws there. They also used their actual existence to create different abilities that targeted the other members of Noah's group.
King Elbas and the others didn't develop any immunity to Heaven and Earth's laws, so the three leaders could use their real power against them. The situation looked awful for Noah's group. Nothing seemed able to get them outside of the spells' range.
Noah didn't hesitate to point the cursed sword toward his opponents. He wouldn't die without putting up a fight, but the battlefield ended up saving him before he could attack.
The lions and the new army clashed, and a massive shockwave spread from their position. The power generated by the two forces destroyed entire regions and reached Noah's position, destabilizing the spells threatening his well-being.
The shockwave flung Robert's group away and created an opening for Noah's team. The experts left the underground structure and began to fly in a different direction in the hope of escaping the fury of the battlefield.
A white radiance flashed in the sky and sent energy to Robert's group. The leaders' injuries healed in an instant and allowed them to chase Noah's team. The experts could rely on their real laws during their pursuit, and their speed turned out to be far higher than their targets.
"We can't shake them off!" King Elbas commented, but Noah didn't mind that.
Noah didn't lie to Robert before. He wanted the expert to join his organization, but the arrival of rank 9 existences had ruined his plans. Yet, Noah wouldn't mind resuming his battle against the three solid stage cultivators once the battlefield was far away.
"We have already dealt with rank 9 existences before," Noah explained. "Fighting them is impossible at our current level. Let's put as much distance as possible from the battlefield and hope that the lions buy us enough time to defeat our opponents."
No one could complain about Noah's plan. Their situation was quite clear. They couldn't shake the leaders off, so a fight was inevitable.
"The pig, Fergie, Elbas, and Luke will take care of Rebecca," Noah ordered. "Wilfred and Divine Demon will handle Castor. I'll defeat the last guy. Let's try to finish everything quickly."
That division wasn't random. Noah had created every team after a quick evaluation of his friends. The weaker assets would take care of the wounded leader, while the strongest would handle Castor.
Noah could deal with the strongest leader by himself due to his resistance to Heaven and Earth's law. Moreover, he wanted Robert to switch sides, so he had to handle the matter personally.
Robert and his companions reached Noah's team in a few seconds, but a wave of attacks forced them to stop their chase temporarily. King Elbas and the others launched massive abilities toward their opponents, and Noah made sure to envelop those blows with his existence.
Noah's team managed to gain a few more seconds, allowing them to escape deeper into the Immortal Lands. However, Robert's group caught up quickly, and the defenses that covered their body made any other attempt to stall the situation useless.
Noah had transmitted what he had learnt about the trio's abilities during the escape. King Elbas and the others were ready to face those opponents. The only problem in the plan was the need to rely on the lions.
The experts lost their momentum immediately, and Noah's group didn't waste that chance. They divided themselves according to Noah's orders and began to focus on their opponents.
Noah shot through the destruction generated by his attack while dark matter enveloped his figure. The last blow had required the cursed sword, so his body was enduring huge drawbacks.
A purple halo filled his vision, but Noah thrust his blades to create a hole in that defensive spell. His eyes could soon notice Robert's figure at the end of that damaged spot, and Noah's weapons didn't hesitate to flash again.
A straight singularity pierced the tunnel and tried to land on Robert, but the latter's existence exploded outward and destroyed Noah's attempt to end the battle quickly.
The explosion also involved the other battlefields. Rebecca and Castor suffered from his discharge of energy, but Heaven and Earth took care of their injuries. They even rebuilt Robert in a matter of seconds.
"That wasn't too bad," Robert snorted.
Robert feared Noah's laws more than death. Heaven and Earth would always bring him back even if his existence detonated, but those rulers wouldn't be able to do anything if Noah tainted him.
The expert was using his situation to his advantage. Having Heaven and Earth's backing allowed him to resort to ruthless plans without even risking losing something.
Noah didn't mind that detail. He had already accepted that Robert was quite resourceful, but the expert was alone now. Noah could use all his tricks on him and force him to lower his head as a sign of submission.
A dense layer of his toxic substance clashed with the singularity and blocked the attack. Robert had managed to stop a slash generated through the cursed sword even if he only had weaker laws.
'Did he learn so much about my attacks already?' Noah wondered at that sight.
Robert's laws could adapt to his opponents. It had almost been able to exploit Noah's weaknesses before, but now it seemed capable of countering his attacks too.
"The time for games is over," Robert announced. "You have kept me alive for too many exchanges. I have learnt enough about your law to develop countermeasures to all your techniques."
"I still have tricks at hand," Noah replied in a cold tone as a smile appeared on his face.
"They will be over soon," Robert commented, and the toxic energy around him transformed into a series of needle-shaped attacks that began to rain toward Noah.