The quasi-rank 7 creature took the horns of the remaining four rank 6 beasts and threw them inside its mouth.
Its maws spread to allow the eight curved horns inside its oral cavity, and munching sounds followed that gesture.
The rank 6 creatures bled from their temples and began to falter.
The loss of the most crucial part of their bodies left them completely drained and significantly weakened their status.
However, the leader had already stopped caring about them.
Any expert in the magical beasts' field would understand the intention of the leader seeing that scene.
The winged creatures were an intelligent species that could communicate through long distances and execute complex orders, but they were still magical beasts.
The leader had realized that it was pointless to have a pack at that point, its very life was in danger after all.
So, it promptly decided to sacrifice its strongest underlings to hasten its recovery.
The rank 6 cultivators launched attacks to interrupt the actions of the leader, but the four hornless beasts charged at the spells to use their bodies as a shield.
The beasts died, and the remaining power of the spells reached for the quasi-rank 7 creature that was finishing its meal.
A loud explosion resounded when the attacks of the five powerhouses converged on the leader of the pack.
The air shattered, and the surface of the ground under blast was leveled.
Cracks spread till the depths of the continent, those fissures even reached the icy plain that bore the weight of the piece of Immortal Lands.
A battle at the peak of the heroic ranks was unfolding in those territories, the environment there was bound to be forever modified after such event.
Minutes had to pass before the cracks that had appeared on the sky reformed, and the air in that spot stabilized.
A dark cloud formed in the area where the spells had crashed, but the cultivators weren't able to confirm the death of the quasi-rank 7 creature.
The dense vibrations that surrounded it had dispersed after their attacks, but none of them believed that a being half step into the divine ranks could be killed so easily.
Their belief turned to be on point.
A deafening cry resounded from the center of the dark cloud and dispersed the smoke in less than an instant.
The cultivators felt the walls of their mental spheres tremble, the intensity of the vibrations that accompanied that cry was many times stronger than before.
However, they could still make out the new details that had appeared on the body of the leader.
Its wings were spread behind its back and shone with a dark light, its horns had stretched and enlarged, and a dark shade had been added to its now burly body.
The might of the vibrations that it innately radiated had also increased, Chasing Demon and God's Left Hand felt as if their minds were going crumble in its presence.
Even the other three rank 6 cultivators weren't that better off.
Great Elder Diana and King Elbas struggled to fend off the pressure that tried to crush their minds, and only God's Right Hand felt able to fight in that condition.
The situation was grave, the quasi-rank 7 creature had regained most of its power and was overwhelming the cultivators without even needing to move!
That half step into the divine ranks put the leader of the pack in a completely different league.
Yet, a cold sensation enveloped the area, and God's Right Hand felt relieved when he recognized that feeling.
The world froze right in front of those mighty experts, only their minds continued to observe their surroundings.
They saw how a shining figure slowly descended from the sky and stopped in front of the leader of the pack.
Its features were hidden by the blue light that surrounded it, but the powerhouses could understand that there was a human behind that halo.
Of course, they immediately understood its identity.
There was only one existence that could stop the movements of five rank 6 cultivators and one quasi-rank 7 beast at the same time in the entirety of the Mortal Lands: The god of the Shandal Empire!
Then, an ancient male voice resounded in the area.
"Entities on this level should never appear in the Mortal Lands, Heaven and Earth are becoming sloppy."
The god of the Empire didn't speak, but his thoughts became words that spread in that motionless world as soon as they rose inside his mind.
"You did good, I believe that at least two of you will reach the Immortal Lands one day. I'll take this creature with me now."
More words resounded in the area, and a blinding blue light followed them.
The world took life after the light dissipated, and the five powerhouses discovered that they could move again.
The two rank 6 cultivators from the Empire wore worshipping expression after the appearance of their leader, but the other three powerhouses felt somewhat disheartened.
The quasi-rank 7 creature was on a completely different level, and the god of the Empire was even farther away, their pride as beings at the peak of the heroic ranks felt worthless in that situation.
The god's thoughts also resounded in their minds, they wouldn't take anything said by a rank 7 existence lightly.
The cultivators in the area glanced at each other with interest, they wondered about the identity of the two cultivators that the god had mentioned.
However, countless cries suddenly filled the continent and forced them to focus on putting an end to the crisis.
The thousands of winged beasts that were still alive on those lands felt their freedom returning after all their leaders had been defeated, and didn't hesitate to appease the instincts that they had been forced to suppress for so long.
The remains of the pack began to madly hunt the beasts of the other species that still filled those lands.
Most of the fauna of the new continent had migrated toward the coastlines when the invasion started, meaning that the attacks of the winged beasts would be focused in those areas.
Yet, the four nations had established their settlements on the coasts too, and that sudden assault could inflict another wave of losses in their assets.
The humans had to face one last battle to declare the end of the winged beasts' crisis.