Chapter 1538: 1538. Magic

Hordes of rank 7 Rats came out of the ground and assaulted the massive Snakes. Those tiny creatures were little more than dots compared to the immense reptiles, but their reckless assault managed to inflict consistent damage.

The Eternal Snakes could constantly heal thanks to the ice accumulated in the environment, and the Rats had no method to stop that innate ability. Yet, there were thousands of them in the area, and the weaker specimens among the reptiles soon ended up falling apart under their relentless offensive.

The Rats forced their opponents to deplete the ice too quickly. Only the rank 8 Snakes remained untouched during that offensive due to the absence of rank 8 specimens in the enemy army.

Noah revealed his full power, showing how much he had grown throughout the past millennia. He didn't have to worry about his body since the draconic armor protected him, so his ambition could focus on his flames to inflict a catastrophic number of casualties.

The Rats couldn't even try to get close to Noah. They barely managed to leave the underground world. His flames constantly covered his share of the battlefield, and countless flickering bodies converged toward his figure to give him the energy accumulated in the fight.

Noah felt his body advancing far faster than he had initially predicted. He had chosen an isolated spot of the battlefield on purpose, and his decision maximized his gains far beyond his expectations.

It would take thousands of rank 7 magical beasts to match the energy provided by a single rank 8 creature. Still, the pack of Rats had thrived during those millennia, and it had become able to sacrifice entire armies with every assault.

Most of the specimens in those armies were also quite strong. They were either in the middle or upper tier, which didn't reflect what Noah had witnessed during his first attack on those lands.

Even the upper tier Rats couldn't survive Noah's flames, especially when his ambition fueled the innate ability. Those attacks could hurt rank 8 specimens, so the magical beasts could only burn as soon as their heads left the underground world.

The Rats had never faced a similar invasion. Their alliance with the Crystal City had made their borders relatively safe, and the magical beasts nearby didn't carry enough power to attempt a serious assault on those lands.

However, both the Snakes and Noah's group didn't care about the Crystal City, and their overall power far surpassed what rank 7 magical beasts could stop.

Their assault was nothing more than a one-sided slaughter. The rank 7 underlings soon failed to reach their opponents since their rank 8 leaders and Noah took care of most of the Rats.

The Snakes stopped dying once the rank 8 leaders managed to freeze most of the region. The Rats couldn't perform sudden attacks anymore at that point. They could only assault the invaders from distant areas, leaving Noah and the others enough time to counterattack.

'Their fertility is incredible as always,' Noah thought while hovering above the not frozen surface.

The Rats never stopped attacking Noah, but he didn't mind that outcome. He even wished that the assault would last for entire years since the situation was forcing his body to grow at an incredible pace.

There was a sharp difference between hunting a rank 8 magical beast and killing thousands of rank 7 specimens. The former provided far more nutrients, but it took Noah a long battle and an abuse of his ambition to achieve a clean victory.

The ambition then exacted its price, forcing Noah to spend weeks dispersing the accumulated stress. The rank 8 materials obtained in the battle made Noah willing to put his centers of power through that struggle, but the approach wasn't exactly as perfect as he desired.

Instead, the Rats offered Noah a constant wave of nutrients at little to no cost. He was using his ambition only on his flames, which would almost lead to a complete lack of drawbacks.

Fighting the Rats was also far safer, and it didn't require Noah to take long breaks. Noah had already absorbed enough energy to match multiple rank 8 specimens in less than an hour since the beginning of the invasion.

'I hope the leader never comes out!' Noah shouted in his mind without daring to withdraw his flames.

His group was searching for the leader of the area blindly. Their instincts told them that the creature was somewhere near the center of the Land of the Fallen, but they couldn't pinpoint its exact location.

The Rats also lived underground, so they could theoretically escape through paths that the Snakes couldn't sense while busy fighting. Only the reptiles controlling the edges of the region could notice any departing creature.

The battlefield changed at some point. Nothing peculiar had happened until then, so the sudden absence of armies coming out of the ground didn't go unnoticed.

Noah still recalled the wave that had flung him directly into the ambush, but he didn't know how the Rats could pull that off without an army preparing the attack on the ground.

It seemed that the Rats had retreated, but even that option was far away from the truth. The Snakes on the borders would have warned their allies otherwise.

A series of sharp gazes landed on Noah's figure, but he shrugged his shoulders before the Snakes could ask anything. Even he didn't know what was about to come.

Then, a series of squeaks resounded from under the layers of ice and ground under them. They all echoed the same sounds as if they were chanting the words of their leader. Those cries also carried human words meant for the two human figures among the invaders.

"We are ready to throw our entire force at you," The Rats echoed. "We are confident in taking you down, but the effort would cost us years of expansion. Do you have any specific reason behind this invasion?"

'Are they trying to buy some time?' Noah wondered before expanding his consciousness, trying to find anything odd in the presences that he felt.

Noah believed in the power of the Eternal Snakes, but the Rats were too small for those immense creatures. He wouldn't be surprised if some of those beasts managed to escape the encirclement and warn the Crystal City or other allies.

His consciousness and superior awareness didn't find anything unusual, but that didn't disperse his doubts. The Rats were smart enough to have methods that could hide their presence from his inspection.

The leader of the Snakes was about to reply with an angry roar, but Noah's cold gaze promptly landed on its figure and stopped its reckless action.

The creature didn't like having restrictions on its behavior, but it had experienced Noah's ability in negotiations first-hand. The creature limited itself to expand its aura and make its pride fall on the ground while remaining silent, waiting for Noah to work his magic.

The rank 8 Foolery did the same, and it also raised its head toward the sky. The pig knew how useless that action was after regaining its intelligence, but it liked that gesture too much to give it up.

As for Noah, he also expanded his aura to let his pride seep into the ground. Yet, he didn't stop there since the impatient gazes of the Snakes were telling him to handle that situation.

"We are looking for the Crystal City," Noah said, mixing his human words with roars. "I know that you deal with those humans. We'll stop attacking if you tell us where they are."

The Rats didn't answer, and silence soon spread through the entire land. Still, a series of tremors soon filled the area and shattered the layers of ice created by the Snakes.

Once the silver chunks vanished, the whole surface crumbled, revealing a complex underground lair filled with countless Rats that didn't hesitate to jump toward the invaders. A few rank 8 auras also spread from that immense army.