Chapter 1578: 1578. Mercy

Noah didn't know how to answer. The dragon had surprised him, and his brain had yet to process that event. Yet, his survival instincts soon took over and made him perform a polite bow.

"We have lost our way," Noah said. "It has never been our intention to invade your territory."

The dragon didn't answer. Instead, it continued to stare at Noah and Jordan without even bothering to check the rest of their group. The creature seemed interested only in the two hybrids that had dragon's blood in their veins.

"I see," The dragon said. "This is the right direction. The storms will start to lose power in a bit."

Noah had so many questions. The dragon was a proper rank 9 creature. It was a magical beast at the peak of the cultivation journey. It would definitely know many secrets about the Immortal Lands.

Still, Noah was scared that his questions could trigger the creature's anger. The fact that it didn't have any interest in his group was already enough for him.

"We will proceed in our journey then," Noah said while bowing again and proceeding to walk forward.

His group followed him, but the dragon continued to keep its eyes on the duo. It didn't even raise its head once they all left.

"I can give you a farewell gift, my children," The dragon said before raising its head and breathing with more intensity than before.

The chaotic laws in the distant regions began to fly toward the creature's mouth. The dragon had taken care of many storms in an instant. Noah and the others could approach the last part of their return on the surface.

"Farewell, cubs," The dragon said before turning to stare at the depths of the Outer Lands. "Do not come back here until you are strong enough to survive on the surface. These lands have no mercy."

Noah didn't turn to bow at those words. He continued to march forward until he felt that the dragon's attention had finally moved away from his figure. Then, he set off and accelerated to cover as much distance as possible.

Sweat began to accumulate on his forehead. That encounter had scared him. Talking with a rank 9 creature was something that had required his complete concentration, and the effort had left him exhausted.

'The ninth rank is incredible,' Noah thought once he managed to suppress the aftereffects of his previous conversation. 'That level of power isn't something that I can describe with words, and that was only a magical beast.'

The dragon could breathe to devour storms capable of hurting rank 8 existences. That threat was nothing more than a quick meal for the creature. The creature's power was in another world, something far superior to anything that Noah had ever met.

'I wonder if Supreme Thief was also like this when he was alive,' Noah thought as his imagination went off. 'He should have been stronger, in theory. Still, I didn't expect magical beasts at that level to be so powerful. They could stomp their feet to destroy a distant region.'

Noah couldn't even come close to evaluate the dragon's power. His mind was unable to sense its energy. The creature appeared in a separate league that Noah couldn't approach, touch, or see.

"Why did it even spare us?" Pearl asked.

"Because we aren't worthy of its time," Noah explained. "Also, it should have something to do with our species."

"Such a lucky encounter," Pearl commented while enjoying her flight.

The dragon had cleared many regions, so the experts could finally fly again and make up for part of the time lost digging underground.

"Lucky indeed," Noah commented. "We have a power level to strive for now."

The group flew as fast as possible and felt forced to return underground once the storms resumed blowing through the sky. Still, they had covered a lot of land by then, so they could soon resurface again and finish the last part of their journey in the air.

Various emotions appeared on the experts' expression at the sight of the blue regions. They were the most beautiful scenery in the world after spending entire years underground.

However, Noah and the others could soon sense that something was off. A battle was happening in the distance. It seemed that someone was attacking the Legion.

The experts had accumulated a lot of stress during the past years. The sudden Tribulation, the ambush, the failed teleport, the long time spent underground, and the meeting with the rank 9 magical beast had brought their mind to their limits.

They all wanted to vent their emotions, and an enemy was right in front of them. Noah and the others shot forward, creating a small challenge to decide who of them could have that battle.

Noah reached the battlefield before his companions. Cheers and cries had echoed through the sky after his underlings recognized him.

The battlefield appeared quite messy. Cultivators belonging to the Crystal City, the secret organization, and the Sailbrird family were fighting against Theodora and all the assets who had been too injured to follow Noah.

Theodora and the others had long since lost the upper hand in the battle. The enemy army featured one rank 8 cultivator in the liquid stage who wore the robes of the Crystal City.

The enemies didn't fail to notice Noah's arrival. Surprised expressions appeared on their face, but ecstasy soon replaced those emotions.

The cultivators didn't expect Noah there, but they felt happy now that he had arrived. The expert from the Crystal City had a lot to avenge.

The liquid stage expert stopped attacking Theodora and turned toward Noah. The ground under the cultivator rose in the sky, and a few metal spears began to rotate around his figure.

"It's finally time to put an end to these hostilities," The cultivator shouted. "I will bless you with my strongest attack. Remember that you have died at the hand of Arthur-."

The expert couldn't finish his line since a hooded figure had suddenly appeared on the small mountain that had formed under him.

"Who would you be?" Arthur asked, but the figure limited itself to raise its hand and point it toward the expert.

A wave of flames came out of its palm and burnt everything in the sky. Only those who had been on the ground could escape that spell.

'What is happening?' Noah wondered as his eyes went on Wilfred and Jordan.

Nothing came out of the flames after they vanished. Arthur and all the cultivators behind him had turned into ashes. A single ability from that hooded figure had been enough to defeat many enemies.

Wilfred and Jordan wore solemn expressions. Noah had never seen them so serious. It seemed that they had understood what was happening. Still, the duo was too interested in the spectacle to answer.

"Maybe I returned too soon," A male voice came out of the hooded figure. "Why are you attacking us?"

The single rank 8 cultivator that had remained on the ground raised his hand to point a finger toward Noah.

"Who is he, Wilfred?" The man hidden by the hood asked.

"A new powerful asset," Wilfred explained. "His physical strength is a match to mine. He might even surpass you in terms of hybrid quality."

"He is a friend then," The hooded man said before stretching his hand and launching a storm of lightning bolts that hit all the enemies and had killed them on the spot.

Noah couldn't help but feel confused at that sight. He had seen the expert launching fire at the beginning of the fight, but he had now used lightning bolts.