Chapter 166: Thrilled Him The Most
The surface consisted entirely of polished obsidian stone, cold and smooth in some places, jagged and blade-like in others. Crimson fissures spread beneath the black rock, faintly pulsing with abyssal energy, while scattered crystal veins shimmered beneath the glass-like surface.
He knelt and ran his fingers across the obsidian. It felt as though he were touching solidified volcanic glass rather than soil. There wasn’t even enough loose earth to gather in his palm.
Only after circulating his Aura did his footing become completely stable. The dense demonic energy naturally resisted foreign life, forcing his Aura to anchor him securely against the obsidian itself.
Sky Marshal Kaelor’s voice echoed across the plateau.
"What you’re standing on is Abyssal Obsidian. Harder than ordinary stone and naturally saturated with demonic energy."
Everyone instinctively turned toward him.
Sky Marshal Kaelor raised his head.
Sometime during the last three hours, the once-open sky had transformed.
Dense crimson storm clouds now stretched across the heavens, rolling endlessly above the Black Cliffs.
Black-red lightning silently flickered between the clouds, illuminating the towering obsidian walls before disappearing just as quickly.
Occasionally, faint flashes erupted far beyond the horizon where unstable dimensional rifts distorted the sky itself.
The pressure descending from the storm was almost tangible.
Sky Marshal Kaelor snorted.
He stomped.
Lightning erupted from his Aura, ascending like a pillar toward the heavens before piercing directly through the crimson cloud layer.
The surrounding storm scattered apart, briefly revealing the dark sky beyond as the oppressive pressure eased around the expedition.
"Those crimson storm clouds aren’t natural," Sky Marshal Kaelor said calmly. "They’re formed from concentrated demonic energy. Left undisturbed, they eventually generate corruption lightning capable of tainting everything they strike."
The scattered clouds slowly began drifting back together once more.
Sky Marshal Kaelor merely smiled.
"Don’t worry."
His expression became solemn.
"Prepare for battle."
He stepped forward.
Lightning rippled across his body as his Stormmarshal Mantle materialized piece by piece.
A long black combat coat settled over his shoulders, its conductive beast-thread fibers threaded with silver storm runes that shimmered beneath the fabric. Layers of shock-resistant steel mesh shifted underneath the mantle like hidden scales, giving it the appearance of a ceremonial coat rather than armor.
A moment later, thunder gathered in his right hand.
It condensed into a towering spear nearly two and a half meters long.
It was the Cloudbreaker, his primary weapon.
The spear was nearly two and a half meters long, its black Storm-Ironwood shaft wrapped by spiraling silver veins that pulsed with electricity. A narrow Skysteel spearhead reflected the crimson sky while a ring of metallic segments slowly revolved beneath the blade, releasing faint arcs of lightning into the air.
Kaelor drove Cloudbreaker into the obsidian.
BOOM!
The plateau trembled.
Lightning spread through the fractures like glowing roots before surging upward into the crimson sky.
He then summoned his beast pets.
A colossal Tempest-Crown Roc burst into existence above the Obsidian Wing.
Its eighty-meter wings blotted out the crimson light as countless currents of thunder coursed through silver-black feathers. Every beat of its wings rolled across the plateau like distant thunder.
Beside it, a Chainbolt Wyvern spiraled through the storm, arcs of lightning dancing between its wings as it circled the obsidian wing in a widening patrol.
Sky Marshal Kaelor was the strongest among the others at the moment. The other Beast Tamer Lord was stationed at the front of the Obsidian Wing, while Master Shen and Doctor Eleanor were on the opposite side where Sky Marshal Kaelor was.
Beyond the western perimeter, the ash-covered plains remained deceptively quiet.
Through the drifting haze, enormous silhouettes prowled between ancient bone spires while distant roars echoed across the wasteland.
They were not part of the advancing horde, yet the surge of Aura surrounding the Obsidian Wing had already begun attracting the native predators of the Surface Rim.
Those were the same native predators that Sky Marshal Kaelor annihilated to safely descend the Obsidian Wing.
Master Shen and the others faced them.
Sky Marshal Kaelor, on the other hand, covered the west and south of the Obsidian Wing with his mere Aura.
The western side of the Obsidian Wing overlooked the edge of the Black Cliffs, where the land abruptly ended in a near-vertical descent into the Maw Trenches.
From Sky Marshal Kaelor’s perception, countless demonic auras were rapidly converging from the depths below.
The reconnaissance system of the Obsidian Wing simultaneously confirmed his senses. Thousands of demonic lifeforms had detected their arrival and were ascending the Black Cliffs from multiple routes, using cliff faces, cavern mouths, and narrow stone ledges to converge upon the fortress.
It was depressing. The amount alone was equal to a thousand number of them.
Although he said there were only peak Commander rank, he also sensed an aura comparable to a Beast Lord, but they were quite far and seemed to not be interested on them.
Unless he fully exploded his Aura to fight at full strength, those Lord Beast Tamer could not perceive his presence.
This was the result of concealing his presence by mastering Aura.
It was the same for Master Shen.
As for the other two Beast Tamer Lords, their Aura could possibly invite their attention, but they were strangely inactive.
It seemed they were restrained.
Nevertheless, Sky Marshal Kaelor needed the assistance of the passengers, which was precisely why he ordered them to leave the Obsidian Wing and participated.
They were surprisingly obedient. Even Nicholas learned Aura and were present under his watch.
Only the civilians with only an Awakener Rank aura were left in the Obsidian Wing.
As he descended the Cloudbreaker into the floor, crushing even the obsidian stones, he channeled his thunder aura through the spear.
It bolted upward, converging upon the Roc.
Instantly, dark thunderclouds gathered overhead.
The storm expanded in every direction until it blanketed the Obsidian Wing, swallowing the crimson clouds within its own dominion.
The Tempest-Crown Roc unfurled its wings.
Thunderclouds surged outward as though the heavens themselves had descended upon the expedition.
Within seconds, an immense storm canopy enveloped the entire Obsidian Wing, replacing the crimson sky with rolling black clouds veined by blue-white lightning.
At the same time, the Chainbolt Wyvern circled beneath the storm canopy at tremendous speed, weaving arcs of lightning between the clouds. Every circuit reinforced the aerial perimeter, ready to intercept anything that breached the outer formation.
From a distance, the Obsidian Wing no longer resembled a fortress.
It resembled the eye of a thunderstorm.
It was precisely what the demonic creatures perceived, but they seemed to have lost their reasonings and continued anyway.
The abyssal winds howled relentlessly along the cliff face, carrying ash, bone dust, and fragments of corrupted spores upward from the Maw Trenches.
Crimson lightning flashed behind the distant storm clouds, briefly illuminating the immense obsidian walls and revealing thousands more climbing silhouettes that vanished back into darkness as quickly as they appeared.
Felix, who saw the clouds filled with thunder and lightning by Sky Marshal, were awestruck.
Guide’s voice echoed in his mind. [He’s close to reaching the next realm. If it isn’t because of that weapon, he might not be able to manifest a domain.]
Felix’s eyes widened. "So, the condition to reach the next rank is to manifest a domain?"
[Yes. In the Immortal World, it’s called Nascent Immortal Rank. But still, your world and the immortal worlds’ rules were vastly different. A Nascent Immortal Rank could normally live up to 2,000 years, but in your world, even a Beast Tamer King grew old when they reached 200 years old.]
Felix frowned. He did not ask anymore as he could already perceived demonic aura surging towards them.
He only summoned Moon and Ashen. Ember appeared to not be ready to fight yet. Against the mere aura from the demonic creatures, Felix couldn’t feel an assurance that she could fight against them.
Moon, on the other hand, was itching to fight now. She was fast and agile, so she could ensure her own survival.
Felix summoned Ashen simply because he was confident that he could maintain his Aura while using the fiery bow.
He wanted to contribute a lot in the first wave of battle.
Despite feeling anxious, he also felt a bit thrilled.
This was his first time fighting in a life and death situation.
Eventually, the first wave entered their field of vision.
Looking over the edge of the Black Cliffs, everyone saw the canyon walls below seemingly come alive.
Countless demonic creatures clung to the near-vertical obsidian cliffs, crawling upward with unnatural speed.
Others poured from cavern mouths carved into the cliff face, while more emerged from narrow ledges and jagged outcroppings hidden beneath drifting ash.
From above, the endless tide resembled a black flood climbing toward the summit instead of flowing across the ground.
Guide had already began naming each creatures just based on their appearance.
Seemingly noticing the perilous situation Felix was in, Guide was willing to assist him at all costs.
Seeing the black flood proceeding towards them, while others were feeling tense and frozen, Felix already raised his bow and pulled the string.
Ashen instantly exploded with fire energy, startling the others awake.
They simultaneously turned their heads and were stunned by Felix’s expression.
Although he wasn’t smiling, his eyes were sparkling, seemingly excited to finally fighting all out.
Their speculations were not wrong.
Compared to Felix’s previous battle, this one thrilled him the most...
===
A/N: Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to show your supports by giving golden tickets, powerstones, gifts, and reviews! It means a lot since this is participating for WSA.