2337.Crack

King Elbas knew that the situation was getting rough even before his companions suffered significant injuries. He had reached the point when he had seen enough exchanges to predict the rest of the battle, and he didn't like the direction of his thoughts.

The experts had reached Noah's conclusions. King Elbas knew as much as him, so he could see the issues in Heaven and Earth's current behavior. The rulers were hiding something, and his team didn't have enough firepower to draw that out.

Of course, King Elbas acknowledged the likelihood that Heaven and Earth couldn't use their true power. Everything was possible with a quasi-rank 10 being aiming to complete its breakthrough.

Heaven and Earth could have decided to save energy for multiple reasons, but King Elbas remained quite sure that they were playing with him and his companions. It simply didn't make sense for such a strong being to be unable to do more.

Exchanges started and ended, but the outcome never changed. King Elbas and the others unleashed everything they had and even tested new abilities, but Heaven and Earth always came out on top.

It would have been fine if the offensive left marks on the crystals, but that wasn't the case. King Elbas and the others were wasting energy and time against an unstoppable and unflinching opponent that didn't show any weakness.

The issue also involved other fields. King Elbas and the others grew stronger with each exchange, but the results didn't change. They always brought Heaven and Earth close to their breaking point before finding an overwhelming offensive flying at them.

That fueled the hypothesis that Heaven and Earth were playing with their opponents. The rulers seemed to adjust their power depending on the enemy's offensive. Ordinary experts would have lost hope after understanding that, but King Elbas and the others were different, especially the former.

'There has to be a limit,' King Elbas thought while coordinating another offensive.

The fabric of reality shook as King Elbas imbued it with his will. The golden domain acted as a catalyst for his companions' attacks and altered part of their nature to make them focus on specific fields.

Divine Demon and the Foolery seized the initiative, but everyone else soon followed. Even Shafu and the landmass played their part at the end, and King Elbas made sure to join them with a special weapon concocted specifically for that battle.

King Elbas had used his spear at the beginning of the exchange, but he had summoned a draconic head once the landmass attacked. The item worked as an extension of his hand that launched nine different golden beams and blended them with the corrosive energy.

The landmass filled the void with dark storms, but golden shades appeared among them and redirected most of their power toward their center. Black and gold gales came to life as they spun in a spherical motion before diving toward Heaven and Earth.

The gales went through a second transformation right before the impact. Their golden color flowed toward their tip, turning them into pointy attacks that released a sizzling noise.

That sound intensified as soon as the gales landed on Heaven and Earth. The golden tips almost fused with the crystals and allowed the corrosive power to reach deeper parts of the rulers' body.

King Elbas knew that Heaven and Earth's energy reserves were way too big to even aim at exhausting them. However, everything would change if he could pierce those crystals and study the core behind them.

Heaven and Earth launched soundwaves and created their white tree, but the golden domain suppressed all of that. King Elbas was using the entirety of his power to alter reality in his favor, and the two companions at his sides helped greatly.

The Foolery was too stupid or uncaring to devise a specific technique. It only wanted to eat the intense energy released by Heaven and Earth, so King Elbas turned its hunger into vortices and placed them in the middle of the tree.

Instead, Divine Demon had a far better battle sense. He helped the offensive by placing a series of dragons that roared back at the soundwaves to disperse them. Those cries also expressed deep destabilizing properties that aided the gales in their efforts.

By then, June and the others had learnt that King Elbas could handle a lot of power, so they didn't hesitate to add more attacks to that offensive. Alexander and Supreme Thief could tune their abilities to make King Elbas' job easier, but their companions didn't care enough to alter their techniques.

King Elbas felt the urge to curse as a sea of information filled his mind and forced him to summon scanners and other inscribed items to process it. Still, no words came out of his mouth since he was too focused on the whole process.

Heaven and Earth appeared on the verge of breaking. Techniques left their body and shattered under the many attacks and influences around them. They were exposed, with only their crystals defending them, and the scene finally filled their enemies with some hope.

"You are indeed capable," Heaven and Earth eventually spoke while in the middle of their offensive, "But we are your limit."

King Elbas' concentration didn't waver for even a second. He was ready to deal with any defensive measure, but he didn't expect the attacks to come from somewhere else.

Ten pairs of giant hands came out of the sky and unleashed massive beams that converged on Heaven and Earth. The process had been so fast that the experts had to interrupt their offensive to avoid suffering any damage.

Ten pillars crossed Heaven and Earth position and created an impenetrable area. Bright white light illuminated the void and showed the crystal figure in all its power. The rulers stood there, bathed in their own energy, and their opponents could only admire their splendor.

The pressure that only quasi-rank 10 energy could generate spread into every corner of the higher plane. The array of inscriptions and all the experts hiding inside them would have instantly died if Pellio and the others weren't managing their defenses.

Heaven and Earth appeared able to fuel the evolution of an entire world, but they had no interest in that. They kept that power all for themselves, and the pillars showed just what their opponents had to overcome to win.

The pillars had flaws. They weren't deep in terms of meanings, but their quasi-rank 10 energy surpassed King Elbas' fake quasi-rank 10 state. No one could overcome Heaven and Earth when it came to sheer power, and the attack made that point clear.

"Why are you still struggling?" Heaven and Earth asked while waving their hands to point at their body. "This is merely an avatar that can contain our greatness, but we remain the sky. We understand the desire to believe in your delusions, but this battle should have shown the difference between us multiple times already."

A series of snorts resounded among the experts, but no one gave a proper answer. King Elbas ignored Heaven and Earth's statement because he was too busy developing weapons inside his body. He had long since decided to test things out until his body turned into dust.

"A blade that can hurt you," Sword Saint eventually whispered, and his words strangely attracted Heaven and Earth's attention.

"Is your path helping you?" Heaven and Earth wondered.

"Is finally born," Sword Saint concluded, and the entire world turned dark.

The pillars were still in their place, but they became unable to radiate their light. Something able to suppress quasi-rank 10 energy had appeared, but Heaven and Earth couldn't pinpoint its location.

Then, a black line connected two opposite edges of the higher plane while making sure to pass through Heaven and Earth. The event was barely visible, and it didn't even release any noise or shockwave. Yet, it opened a crack in one of the crystals on the rulers' chest.