Chapter 252: Damn Outsiders
The impact of the collision between the two young leaders generated a shockwave that sent Priam flying backward.
In the middle of his "desperate and clumsy retreat," he ’lost control’ of the object in his hands. By an absurd and convenient ’coincidence,’ the broken shield went spinning through the air like a runaway flying saucer and...
*BANG!*
Silently struck the back of the neck of a colossal Level 13 Calamity Beast!
The beast, which had been in the middle of a deadly duel against one of the Impure Beasts, froze. Colorful stars began spinning before its eyes.
Taking advantage of the golden opportunity handed to it by that "accident," the Impure Beast didn’t hesitate: it delivered a devastating blow to the dizzy enemy’s head, making a grotesque flower of blood bloom across the battlefield.
"Little guy, spectacular work!" the giant warrior roared toward Priam, laughing triumphantly before charging forward to massacre the other enemies.
"What? What did I do? My bad, it slipped!" Priam picked up the shield from the ground with an expression of extreme purity and innocence.
"You bastard, you ruined everything!"
Seeing one of their leaders go down because of such a blunder, a furious squad of Calamity Beasts surrounded Priam with bloodshot eyes.
"Hey, calm down, guys! Let’s take it easy!" Priam gestured in fake panic, taking quick steps backward. "We’re all citizens of the same world; where’s the love for our fellow man? Why all this pointless aggression?"
"DIE!"
The diplomatic appeal only made the monsters attack with three times more fury, as if Priam had personally insulted each of their mothers.
But the scene that followed was worthy of a circus.
"Come on, if you’re going to fight, at least take turns! Using your numbers is a cheap move! Where’s your professional ethics?!" Priam complained as he swayed, crouched, and jumped left and right.
Despite being surrounded by dozens of gigantic and grotesque monsters, Priam dodged everything with such bizarre fluidity that it looked like the enemies had rehearsed that whole acrobatic routine with him the night before. No one could even graze his clothes.
"Hang in there! I’ll save you soon!" Arvid shouted from a distance, exchanging fierce blows with the relentless Mo Lan.
At that exact moment...
An elite Impure Beast managed to open a gap in the front and shot down from the skies like a silent meteor to ’save’ the young man who was surrounded.
The Beast spread its electrical wings and descended with a devastating charge, aiming to crush the monsters surrounding Priam.
Priam, sensing the gigantic shadow approaching from above, simply gave a little hop to the side with an "oops" expression.
*KBOOOOM!*
The ally’s meteoric thrust struck the ground with devastating force. Bluish electrical arcs and shockwaves exploded in every direction, incinerating several Calamity Beasts and sending dozens of others flying through the air like rag dolls.
And, through sheer "bad luck of fate," one of those flying monsters went straight toward Priam, hitting him head-on.
The collision catapulted Priam through the air like a guided missile.
"?"
Mo Lan, who was in the middle of a dive, felt the displacement of air and turned her head to the side, intrigued.
"Hello!"
A soft voice and a warm smile appeared out of nowhere, already two meters away from her in the air.
Before she could even blink, the broken shield filled her entire field of vision.
*POW!*
The entire battlefield came to a halt. The commotion was so great that the silence that followed was almost tangible.
Priam landed an absolutely brutal and perfectly aimed shield smash right in the middle of Mo Lan’s face.
The most ridiculous part was that the "momentum" for that perfect blow had been provided by Arvid’s ally’s own sneaky attack, which had catapulted Priam straight into the girl’s blind spot.
Mo Lan let out a muffled grunt and shot through the sky like a cartoon shooting star, disappearing into the distant horizon.
The remaining Calamity Beasts were left catatonic. Their leaders let out desperate and horrified roars, realizing that the situation had completely spiraled out of control.
"RETREAT! PROTECT THE DIVINE DAUGHTER!" one of the generals shouted, completely freaking out.
Without thinking twice, they leaped into the air, desperately shooting in the same direction Mo Lan had been sent flying.
The Impure Beasts didn’t even have time to react or cut off their retreat, since they never would have imagined that the enemy army would scatter like this.
Following the command, the army of Calamity Beasts retreated en masse like a receding tide, abandoning the ruined region within seconds.
"You damn little brat, just wait! We’ll make you bitterly regret ever being born!" a hoarse, dry voice shouted from the horizon before fading into the air.
In the middle of the devastated valley, thousands of Impure Beasts stood frozen, like stone statues.
They looked around, blinking in a daze.
The war... just ended like that?
After a brief moment of utter shock, the Impure Beasts finally began moving through the devastated battlefield. In respectful silence, they collected the corpses of their fallen comrades, leaving the bodies of their enemies untouched on the battered ground.
"Little brother, you did an amazing job. Thank you so much," a colossal figure roared, appearing like a mountain in front of Priam.
The next second, the giant activated his transformation, condensing his body until he took on the appearance of an imposing middle-aged man with a stern gaze. "If it weren’t for your intervention... our race could have been wiped off the map today."
"Yeah, thank you so much," Arvid approached, wiping the blood from his face as he looked at Priam with a grateful gaze. "I would’ve died miserably in that idiot’s claws if you hadn’t shown up. My name is Arvid."
Within seconds, other elite members of the Impure Beasts surrounded Priam, saying similar things as a sign of their sincere gratitude.
"Ah, you guys really don’t have to do all this! You’re too kind," Priam replied, flashing a warm and perfectly innocent smile. "I just arrived in the Inner Realm for the first time. My parents always taught me to lend a hand to my fellow race members... and to seek dialogue before resorting to violence against our enemies."
Deep down, Priam felt a slight pang of guilt for acting so shamelessly. However, he knew that revealing his true identity as a mage from another world would be diplomatic suicide.
The Central Elder had been crystal clear before the expedition: to the invaders, the natives of this realm were regarded as nothing more than hunting targets, and the Great Mist Stones they carried were treasures worth fighting and bleeding for.
After dozens of failed missions, plundering, and murders carried out by Mages over generations, the natives’ hatred toward any outsider was visceral and unwavering.
Priam held no malice toward these people. Therefore, if lying was the only way to maintain a civilized coexistence and achieve his goals, then so be it.
"In that case, little brother definitely needs to come with us," Arvid said, his expression suddenly darkening and his eyes flashing with fury. "Novices who arrive alone are in mortal danger. Those damn outsiders have already been spotted in several regions of this realm."
Priam made a shy gesture with his hands. "I wouldn’t want to be a burden to you guys... I can manage on my own for a while."
"Absolutely not. You’re coming with us," the middle-aged man interjected, his voice echoing with authority. "I’m the current leader of the Impure Beasts in the Inner Realm. If you want to explore the realm on your own, you can do that in the future. But in a few days, the Heavenly Vessel will cross our skies. You must stay by our side to claim your share of the resources. Our entire great race has been preparing for this moment for centuries."
Upon hearing the mention of the flying ship, Priam’s eyes gleamed with an unmistakable hint of greed.
He softly cleared his throat, regaining his modest demeanor. "Well... if you insist so much, it would be rude of me to refuse. Thank you very much for welcoming me!"