Chapter 1216: 1216. Hope

The Matriarchs knew what was about to happen, but seeing that scene stunned them anyway. Noah's slash had ripped off the puppet's neck and the sky's fabric, creating a fissure so large that the giant severed head couldn't avoid falling into the void.

The fissure threatened to engulf the rest of the body too, but the Dog took a few steps back to avoid that dangerous area. Its remaining head even stopped gathering flames to focus on retreating.

The world lost its light for an instant when Noah spewed his flames in the insides of the puppet. He never failed to inflict more damage when he had the chance.

Noah's starry sky flowed inside the puppet and burned its frailer parts, but the golden flames soon converged in his position and forced him to retreat.

The puppet's natural defenses covered the empty spot and started to heal it. Yet, the damage suffered was too large for the flames to fix it in a short time.

Moreover, the Dog's head contained more inscriptions than the rest of the body. The flames required more time to rebuild those lines.

Noah reappeared next to the stunned Matriarchs. His cultivation level returned to its normal state, and he felt heavy when the drawback of his ambition hit his centers of power.

Forcefully raising his cultivation level had serious drawbacks on his dantian and mind. Regular centers of power wouldn't be able to withstand that pressure. After all, the ability of Noah's individuality resembled a secret art.

However, Noah was even beyond hybrids when it came to the sturdiness of his centers of power, and his black hole made sure to refill their structure with energy whenever they were about to reach a critical state.

Noah could withstand drawbacks that would ruin most cultivators and hybrids. He was the only being in the world capable of wielding such ability without suffering any injury.

God's Left Hand and Great Elder Diana could express their amazement now that Noah had completed the attack, but they didn't comment on the matter. They only noted that Noah's power could reach the solid stage if he had enough time to prepare.

'Tricky one,' Noah thought as he stared at the puppet.

He didn't mind the Matriarchs' curious gazes. His last action had demonstrated once and for all that he was the strongest warrior in those Mortal Lands. Even those who struggled to accept his superiority could only give up on their delusions after witnessing that scene.

The Hive, the Council, and the Shandal Empire were allies, and that made Noah their leader. There was no need to make the matter official since all the higher-ups in the world had accepted that.

Also, Noah knew that it was better to leave certain things unsaid. Forcing his hand on the Empire and Council would only cause unwanted reactions from the two Matriarchs.

Red metal regrew from the severed neck of the puppet, but nothing appeared in its insides. The golden flames were fixing only its external layer at the moment.

'They have a weakness then,' Noah thought as coldness seeped out of his eyes.

That trend in the healing process was a massive flaw in the puppet's power. Taking out one head had removed one-third of its offensive prowess!

"How long do you need to launch another attack with that power?" Great Elder Diana asked when she noticed that weakness, but a dangerous sensation soon surged inside her mind.

Great Elder Diana turned only to see that Noah had his cold reptilian eyes fixed on her. She felt him inspecting her and trying to understand what her intentions were.

"Shall we stick with one every battle?" Noah asked as he smiled toward the Matriarch.

Great Elder Diana's eyes sharpened at those words. She had understood the reason behind Noah's coldness, and she didn't hesitate to nod.

Her question probed directly into Noah's power. If Noah's answered honestly, he would reveal his current limits.

"Once is more than fine," Great Elder Diana said to reaffirm her position.

She didn't fear Noah, but she didn't want their relationship to grow cold. She had misspoken due to her excitement, but she wouldn't dare to let it endanger the alliance with the Hive.

God's Left Hand remained silent during that interaction. She could only accept that she was outside of the political scene since her power didn't amount to much.

Her only valuable asset was the damaged quasi-rank 7 fan, but her cultivation level couldn't grant her a spot among the world's true leaders.

"Good," Noah said as his expression relaxed. "Let's see how long it can withstand our attacks."

The Matriarchs forgot about the previous scene after his words. The puppet became their main concern again, and spells soon shot from their figures to destroy the golden flames.

The trio didn't discuss to decide a strategy, but they instinctively aimed for the damaged part of the puppet. The leaders couldn't ignore such a large opening in its sturdy skin.

God's Left Hand and Great Elder Diana cleared the golden flames around the severed neck multiple times, and Noah never failed to sprint toward that spot to launch powerful attacks.

The trio put their offensive on hold only when the Dog attacked, but its abilities weren't as dangerous as before since it lacked one head. The leaders didn't even need to try their best to destroy the rain of fireballs.

Noah and the others resumed their offensive after they fended off the fireballs, and the golden flames never managed to heal the massive injury since the leaders kept on focusing their attacks on that spot.

The small strands of red metal that had regrown when the flames protected that spot crumbled whenever Noah landed on the puppet. His attacks destroyed every soft spot outside and inside the Dog and forced it into a constant healing process.

Noah didn't have the time to use the full power of his individuality in that situation. He limited himself to launch slashes that unleashed his dark world in the area.

The golden flames could fend off Noah's dark matter, but the spots without them suffered damages whenever the higher energy seeped through their structure.

Noah could modify the properties of the dark world freely. In that situation, he used it to enhance the innate destructiveness of one of his strongest attacks.

Since his focus was on the areas without golden flames, Noah could use the same technique that had managed to corner Second Prince. His slash covered the puppet's vulnerable spots and released dark matter that carried the entirety of his individuality.

Noah's sharpness continued to destroy the red metal even after the golden flames forced him to fly away from the puppet's skin. Cuts and fissures appeared both on the outside and inside of the creature, and they continued to ravage its body even after its protection reappeared.

Inscriptions crumbled under the intensity of Noah's sharpness, but the red metal endured his power. That was a material in the upper tier in the end. Noah couldn't destroy it unless he brought his cultivation level to the peak of the liquid stage.

The leaders' assault continued for a few days. The Dog never managed to heal its injuries, but the powerhouses couldn't inflict any more substantial damages.

Their offensive opened cracks on its body and destroyed some of the inscriptions. Still, the golden flames always mitigated the damages that it suffered by fixing many spots during the rain of fireballs.

However, the Dog didn't rely on any secret attack during that exchange, and the leaders soon understood that they could take it down in that assault if they had enough firepower.

The three of them only needed to exchange a few words before contacting the other powerhouses in their organizations. There was hope to destroy one of the puppets now, and they wouldn't waste it.