Chapter 1697 - 1697. Army

King Elbas had to work together with Divine Demon to divine Harold's position. It turned out that the expert's task had led him near the windy region, but finding his exact location was hard at that distance.

Noah could only order his allies to move in that direction after the divination ended. Wasting time would only increase the risks, and he wasn't willing to deal with rank 9 existences just yet.

The group couldn't move quickly. They had to remain hidden from Heaven and Earth's inspection, and that required time.

Noah and Robert had to expand the mutated areas, and King Elbas had to devise methods that could block the white light. Noah could take care of that part, but he preferred to use his ambition on his companions.

King Elbas and the others had to find counters to Heaven and Earth's power by themselves, but Noah's law could help in the task. His ambition could force their existence to evolve past their normal level and reach realms that reflected their true shape.

The journey across the Immortal Lands proceeded slowly, but the experts didn't mind that since they had many projects at hand. Noah's companions had to prepare for the fight against Heaven and Earth, and he had one matter to solve.

"Are you sure that you want to go through the workshops?" Noah asked, and the pig next to him didn't hesitate to nod.

"I don't fear death," The Foolery squealed, "But I don't like to remain behind. I've been too useless in this mission, and that's unacceptable!"

The Foolery and the rest of its group had left the battlefield after Noah's arrival, but they had inspected the fights from a safe spot. The pig had seen the workshops modifying the sharks and improving their power, so it wanted a similar treatment.

Noah inspected the Foolery. The creature was a middle tier magical beast that had started to develop a sea of consciousness due to his ambition. Its species would probably evolve on its own given enough time, but the pig wasn't willing to wait.

"I can turn you into a hybrid," Noah replied. "I won't change your foundation, but I should give you the beginning of a law after the procedure ends. Still, you have to develop an existence on your own."

"That's not a problem," The pig replied while raising its head toward the sky. "I know everything about laws. They are tasty!"

Noah ignored those last lines while sending his mental waves inside the pig. He didn't want to perform a quick transformation with the creature. He wanted the procedure to be as perfect as possible.

The inspection didn't take much. Noah had studied those creatures for years, and his ambition had also affected their species for a long time. His instincts could immediately sense the various areas that needed improvements.

The Foolery's connection with Noah's ambition gave him an idea of what he had to do to force an evolution in its species. Still, the process required aspects of his existence that he had yet to master. The creature had to inherit the Devils' power, and the lack of innate laws made the approach trickier.

Robert had it easy since he already had a law. Noah's ambition only had to evolve it. Instead, the Foolery needed something that didn't exist in the world, so Noah had to study the matter more in detail.

Noah felt as if he had come back in the lower plane during his first experiments with the hybrids. He had to force the Foolery to generate a law, so he had to consider all the aspects of its personality.

Noah asked questions while his mental energy continued to study the Foolery. He wanted to know how its flesh reacted to the various answers. He needed to memorize those details to invent a perfect transformation.

Of course, his ambition would still do most of the work, but Noah wouldn't give up on the chance to push the transformation toward a better result.

Noah enveloped the Foolery in a sea of dark matter after he completed his study. The workshop activated, and his ambition flowed inside the technique.

The group didn't stop moving during the procedure. Noah could carry the chrysalis around while continuing to mutate the environment. The Foolery's evolution didn't affect the journey at all.

The call from Heaven and Earth had attracted all the Devils on the higher plane, but some mutated magical beasts remained on its surface. Those creatures had been smart enough not to fall for the rulers' bait, so they mostly avoided Noah's group.

The smooth journey culminated once the group reached the windy regions. Noah and the others could finally find traces of Harold's army, so they could adjust their direction accordingly.

"What should we even do after we join the army?" Luke asked as their destination drew closer. "Do we really have to jump in a battlefield that features rank 9 existences?"

"We will do what we must to return to the other side of the Immortal Lands," Noah explained. "Many might die, but that's how the cultivation journey works. We are against the rulers of the world. It's meant to be hard."

"But it shouldn't be a suicide," Luke replied.

"Do you prefer to remain here?" Noah asked. "The battle for this side of the Immortal Lands isn't over. The troops from the sky had special weapons, but the true rulers of these lands are the lions. I bet that the war will continue for centuries. It might even reach these regions."

"We don't have a choice then," Luke sighed.

"We don't," Noah continued. "I would like to transform this entire plane before leaving, but I don't know how long we have before Heaven and Earth's troops start a hunting session. We are too weak to stand a chance against them."

Noah didn't wholly believe in those words. His group had a chance to turn the scales of the battle in his favor. Still, that would require an alliance with the lions.

Noah even had faint leverage with those creatures. He could trigger better mutations, and those transformations didn't have a limit since his existence depended on his centers of power.

Yet, Noah didn't even begin to consider that plan due to the obvious threat of the rank 9 existences. He wouldn't be able to control anything in an alliance with the lions, and leaving was the better option anyway.

A ma.s.sive army eventually appeared on the horizon as Noah's group flew deeper into the stormy region. The number of cultivators in the distance far surpa.s.sed Moira's organization. Harold had worked hard during the years spent exploring the Immortal Lands.

"I ended up finding a few organizations that wanted to join your battle," Harold shouted while approaching Noah. "We had to fight others, but our power increased thanks to those battles. How is the situation on your side?"

"Heaven and Earth have sent an army led by a rank 9 existence," Noah explained, and pure fear fell on the five cultivators.

"Don't worry," Noah continued. "A pack of lions led by two rank 9 specimens has arrived to fight them. We managed to escape quite easily."

Harold and the others had chosen to ignore Heaven and Earth's call to continue gathering troops, but they felt glad to have remained on the sidelines now. They didn't expect the world to fall into such chaos in less than a century.