Chapter 677 677. Stalemate

"A new lifeform has appeared in the central territories of the continent. All the heroic assets must make it their priority!"

Elder Julia's order kept on echoing inside Noah's sphere as he controlled the tide of saber-shaped runes to pierce the vital organs of the Brawny ape.

It was needless to say that the news surprised him too.

Noah was an expert in the magical beasts' field, but he didn't know much about magical plants.

However, he knew that it would typically take decades, if not more, before a terrain swept by such a calamity could give birth to lifeforms again.

Of course, he immediately linked that unusual event to the spectacular properties of the terrain coming from a higher plane.

'We still know so little. Dammit!'

Noah cursed in his mind as he shot toward the corpse of the ape.

His last spell had consumed a lot of his mental energy, and his dantian didn't have much "Breath" left.

However, his Liquid dantian was still full, which meant that his real battle prowess hadn't been affected.

'Don't tell me that they plan to start a war over a flower.'

Worry mounted inside Noah as he stored the corpse of the ape after tearing a few pieces of it.

He could benefit from battles due to his hybrid status, but the Hive wasn't ready to face the three big nations.

'I can only fly there and hope that the situation wouldn't reach a critical point.'

Noah shot toward the central areas when he thought that and without forgetting to activate the Dark cover spell.

There were bound to be cultivators from the other nations directed toward his same destination, so he would use all his methods to prepare for unexpected situations.

Elder Julia continued to send mental messages with the specifics about the new species of magical plant as well as its position.

The black flowers kept on growing and withering at specific intervals, and Elder Laurel had already seen seven of them dying through her crystal by the time everyone was warned.

Also, it seemed that every new specimen was more potent than the previous one!

"The flowers are reaching the peak of the lower tier. Elder Laurel suggests that the structure of their species is still stabilizing."

Elder Julia passed down information whenever Elder Laurel discovered something new.

Noah limited himself to fly at full speed toward the appointed spot while keeping a low altitude.

The elder had warned all the heroic assets that the Hive had been late in notifying them, so Noah knew that he wouldn't be the first to arrive.

He was closer than the other elders because he had ventured through the central areas to hunt, but that couldn't give him an advantage over the enemy forces.

After all, he knew that Elder Austin was already flying toward the location of the flowers too!

The matter had already escalated to a point where rank 5 cultivators had been deployed, so Noah had no confidence in arriving before anyone else.

A tense air filled the sky above the central territories, and Noah could feel that stiffness increasing as days passed, and he neared his destination.

Also, his body soon became able to sense the energy released by the blooming of the black flowers once he neared them.

Yet, he could feel that there were other presences too.

'Four rank 5 cultivators in front of me and another one behind.'

Noah thought as he stopped his flight to wait for the incoming elder.

Elder Austin managed to sense Noah's faint presence when he flew above him, and he lowered his altitude to join him.

Both Noah and the elder wore their robes in an untidy manner, a sign that they had both hurried when Elder Julia informed them.

However, the elder couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw that Noah's clothes were intact, at least.

"Let's go. This matter is troublesome."

Elder Austin said before adding something at the sight of Noah's questioning gaze.

"The flowers are growing in our territories. Well, in what is supposed to be our domain."

Noah's eyes widened at that point, but he didn't stop following the elder.

The central areas hadn't been divided in the one versus one battle because the deal saw the powerhouses exploring them before everything else.

However, the winged beasts' crisis happened, and the division of those territories was neglected since the battle had made them useless.

Yet, that issue had become a priority now that a powerful lifeform had started to grow on its own.

Elder Austin and Noah quickly flew until they saw a series of figures hovering in the air and staring at the ground under them.

Noah recognized some of the figures.

He saw Thaddeus Elbas floating behind Lady Edna and another rank 5 cultivator wearing the golden robes of the Royal family.

He saw Elder Doyle, the rank 5 cultivator from the Council that Elder Austin had defeated in the battle for the azure plain.

Then, he saw a rank 5 slender man wearing robes with the emblem of the Empire.

The cultivators on the scene limited themselves to glance at the new arrivals before focusing back on the terrain.

Another purple stem was growing from the cracked ground, and the heroic cultivators showed expectant gazes as they waited to see the level of power that the species had reached.

The black flower bloomed in a few seconds and released an aura that matched the middle tier of the fifth rank.

The magical plant had crossed the boundaries of the lower tier!

However, even that new level of power didn't seem stable enough for the specimen, which withered in a few instants.

Lady Edna's finger instinctively trembled at that sight, but the gazes of the cultivators around her didn't fail to notice that slight movement and focused on her.

Lady Edna saw three heroic cultivators, and Noah patiently waiting to see if she was going to act.

Of course, she didn't move and simply waited for the flower to wither.

The first one to act would receive the focus of the other three nations, that was the natural consequence of that stalemate.

Yet, a sudden battle would just create another wave of chaos in that area, which would most likely disrupt the fragile equilibrium reached by that terrain.

A modification in that equilibrium could stop the growth of those flowers, which was the outcome that everyone was trying to avoid.

So, their focus went on Elder Austin when it became clear that Lady Edna wasn't going to act.

Elder Austin understood the meaning behind their stares, and he backed his voice with his pride as he announced something.

"This land can only be assigned to the Hive, you all know that. Nevertheless, the Patriarch is benevolent and is willing to share this resource for the right compensation."