2160 2160. Improvements

Heaven and Earth's pressure disappeared as soon as the teleport ended. Noah and the others were in a safe area, and the rulers appeared unable to find them there. However, it was clear that they had traded one powerful presence for another.

'They have become stronger again,' Noah concluded after a quick inspection of the area.

The orange buildings around the army reeked of the old rulers' power. Their influence was a dense aura that covered the entire city and created a personal world isolated from the higher plane.

Heaven and Earth's whiteness still existed outside the thick array of orange lightning bolts past the buildings, but that light appeared unable to reach the vast streets. The city had always been part of the old rulers' power, but it had now fused deeper with their existence.

Emperor, Queen, Vesuvia, and Cursed Reality inspected the area curiously. They had never been inside the orange city, but a proper meeting was bound to happen soon. They wanted to learn as much as they could about the old rulers' power before that event, and what they saw left them quite stunned.

The old rulers weren't only mighty. Their world was immense, and each building could take care of different functions. The similarities with Heaven and Earth were evident, but everything had a personal touch that made the area impossible to compare to the sky.

Things were different for the rest of Noah's army. Old Tyrant and the others remained in awe, but they knew that Noah would handle the conversations. His presence there was reassuring, so they let their curiosity run free.

Pellio had closed his eyes completely, but he didn't stop making tea for the Foolery. Instead, the pack of turtles seemed too focused on the two dragons to care about the new environment.

Noah also disregarded the environment quickly. The two dragons were basically friends, so he didn't hesitate to send a question toward them. "Where is the death dragon?"

"Killed by Heaven and Earth," The time dragon immediately revealed. "Their grip on us is getting tighter."

Noah couldn't help but show a cold expression at that revelation. He had gotten stronger in the Cursed Labyrinth, and his army had also grown. Yet, Heaven and Earth had taken another step toward the final battle while he was gone.

'We must do even better,' Noah cursed in his mind as he left the army and began to walk toward the center of the city.

A few figures followed Noah. June, Pellio, the rank 9 Foolery, the upper tier turtle, Cursed Reality, Queen, Vesuvia, and Emperor left the army to join the imminent meeting. Many were simply curious about the old rulers, while others had something to say.

The time dragon and the space dragon moved with the group, and Noah used that chance to gain an update about the situation in the higher plane.

Heaven and Earth had continued to improve. Their personality had grown clearer as their world stabilized and the higher plane began to favor them. That change had allowed them to put more power in the hunts for small forces, which led to an almost complete absence of packs of magical beasts in the sky.<br/><script>ChapterMid();</script>

A few forces had obviously managed to survive the hunts, and Noah's quasi-living workshops had helped in the matter. Thanks to his influence, many magical beasts had improved, and he actually sensed those changes clearly now that he was walking through the city.

Many creatures had benefitted from the quasi-living workshops and had continued to expand their influence. Noah's world stretched as he tuned with all the improvements he had caused. The gap before the liquid stage shortened, but the situation didn't allow him to focus on those happy outcomes.

Everything was too little compared to Heaven and Earth's relentless advance. The dragons had to join forces with the old rulers to improve their position, but even that only limited the casualties on their side.

Of course, the dragons didn't remain still during that period. They had imitated Noah in his gathering of forces, leading many packs inside the safety of the orange city. The old rulers had also worked hard to modify every creature willing to go through those procedures, which created another army that would join the final battle.

"Sadly, I miscalculated how much joining forces would have helped Heaven and Earth," The time dragon explained. "Even the old rulers didn't predict that the death dragon would pay the price for this mistake."

"Bringing a few packs here shouldn't be enough to justify the death dragon's death," Noah commented.

"We went a bit past that," The time dragon stated, and Noah didn't need to question it since answers soon appeared in his vision.

The orange city was alive. It reacted to the conversation and moved its building to answer Noah's silent questions. A series of immense camps appeared in his vision. Their orange grass and tall trees reminded Noah of sceneries from the Mortal Lands, but he didn't have the chance to focus on those details.

Many orange figures ended up attracting the entirety of Noah's attention. Hundreds of rank 9 dragons filled the camps and radiated auras that didn't match their species.

"Did you start to improve your pack?" Noah asked without hiding his surprise. "Won't that affect the laws inherited from the old world?"

"Of course," The time dragon admitted. "Yet, Heaven and Earth had already countered them. We needed to find a different source of power, and the old rulers were ready to help."

The magical beasts' scary strength was the result of Heaven and Earth's actions. Still, the rulers had long since learnt to counter that power, which put the dragons and the various packs on the losing side.

A change was needed, but Noah didn't expect the dragons to throw away what had made them strong in the first place. Accepting the old rulers' modification didn't only affect their species. It also threw away their initial position in the world's system.

"Did you try to modify yourself?" Noah asked after gaining a general idea of the dragons' power.

"We are keeping that for last," The time dragon revealed. "We are special even among the dragons. It's not hard to predict that Heaven and Earth will benefit a lot from eventual changes in our species."

"It makes sense," Noah commented. "I should help with the process. The old rulers are incredible, but my knowledge in magical beasts might surpass theirs."

"We didn't rely only on the old rulers," The time dragon declared, and Noah didn't need to question further since a powerful aura suddenly entered his sense's range.

The dense aura that only a world in the liquid stage could release descended on the camps and enveloped the group. Its power went far beyond the limits of its level, and its scorching nature seemed ready to burn everyone.

Emperor and the others prepared for battle, but they revealed confused expressions when they noticed Noah's smiling face. Even the Foolery had stopped caring about Pellio's tea. The pig lifted its head, and an exited shout left its mouth. "Xavier!"

****

Author's notes: A special thanks to those who have chosen to purchase the privilege despite my unreliability. Sadly, February will also feature update issues since webnovel has invited me to Singapore, and I've decided to go. I'll let you know more about my plans later since I have yet to decide how to handle everything.