As soon as the shield was completed, the two tree folks began absorbing mana from both the ocean and the atmosphere now that they didint have to worry about interference from anyone.

Initially, the process was subtle, but it was quickly detected by those with advanced mana sensitivity, and they immediately came up with a hypothesis behind this action.

Looks like your magic system is designed for efficiency, the humanoid remarked, still engaged in burning through Aron's shield. Despite their efforts, which had been ongoing for over seven minutesa duration long enough to deplete the approximated amount of mana in the shieldsAron's shield remained intact. The humanoid could only conclude that the systems efficiency was the reason for this anomaly.

They hadn't considered that Aron might have a mana tank within him, enabling him to use magic even in areas devoid of ambient mana. This was thanks to his previous encounters and rapid attacks that had only utilized the surrounding mana, making them not even consider the other option.

'How many more minutes before youre done?' Aron asked mentally.

'An hour at the earliest, if Im to do it without being discovered,' came the response.

'Is there any way to accelerate it?' Aron inquired. He understood that although he could continue feigning confinement, it would give the other side time to implement their plans. Additionally, it meant that the Proximians would have to endure dealing with their out-of-control compatriots for that duration.

'There is a way, but it requires a significant distraction to divert their attention so I can avoid detection,' was the reply.

'Ill provide you with one. Finish it in five minutes,' Aron declared, finally moving from his sitting position for the first time since being locked in the shield. He planned to bring this situation to a close as quickly as possible now that he had the response he needed.

'If its a large enough distraction, I can manage it within that timeframe. Ill be waiting for it,' the response came before the communication went silent.

Let me ask you something, Aron said, addressing the tree folk, or at least in the direction of where it was, as a dome of intense fire still separated them. Have you ever considered that you might lose?

Not even once, the humanoid replied, his tone laced with arrogance.

Okay, Aron responded. He moved closer until he could touch a part of his shield with his hand. Without further comment, he abruptly expanded his shield to match the size of the one containing the fire. This expansion compressed the fire within, increasing its intensity to the point where it exceeded the capacity of the outer shield and before the humanoid could react to his action, the outer shield shattered under the immense pressure.

Quite a foolish move on your part, the humanoid said with a sinister smile, observing how the situation was shifting in his favor. What are you going to do now that youve expended the little mana you had left?

Aron didnt bother to respond. Instead, he expanded his shield once again, catching the other humanoid off-guard. The sudden expansion pushed the humanoid outward until the shield almost matched the size of the massive shield that had previously imprisoned him, with the humanoid being within the one meter separation between the two shields.

Before the humanoid could react, a rune materialized on Aron's hand. Aron immediately infused it with a massive amount of mana, a quantity far exceeding what should have been possible within the shield, given that the humanoid had absorbed nearly all the available mana. Without delay, Aron directed the rune toward the shield, causing it to become passive temporarily before returning to active.

The rune then immediately detonated, obliterating the massive shield and killing the humanoid almost instantly.

Aron quickly created another cylinder shield and extended it until it reached the ocean floor. He then expanded it to a radius of about fifteen kilometers, displacing a significant amount of water. Despite the scale of the displacement, it was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the size of the planet.

This time, however, he wasn't using the cylinder to descend to the ocean's depths out of fear of being struck by the roots. Instead, he had a different purpose in mind for this action.

Another fire rune materialized on Aron's hand. This time, he didnt immediately deploy it but spent over thirty seconds fueling it with mana. Given the high density of mana in the planet's atmosphere, this would be the most powerful attack he had ever unleashed.

After thoroughly charging the rune, he sent it into the cylinder shield.

Moments later, he activated it.

............

Anyone observing this, whether through the live stream or their senses, instinctively closed their eyes. The intensity was so overwhelming that it felt as if the sun had suddenly appeared before them. They could perceive nothing else; the shockwave and the explosion were entirely contained within the shield, leaving them in stunned silence.

The shield contained the explosion and shockwave, trapping them within its walls. As the energy bounced off the shields interior, the pressure and intensity of the explosion increased. The only outlet was the bottom of the shield, where the roots were being incinerated, and the burning expanded to create a hole more than half a kilometer deep. This excavation also formed a massive bowl of molten mirror.

Despite the shields containment of the explosion, the aftermath couldnt be contained in the same way. The detonation was several magnitudes more powerful than the Tsar bomb. As a result, the entire planet experienced violent tremors, with the underground shockwave reverberating around the globe multiple times over the next few minutes.

With the ground shaking violently, everything within it, including the tree folks' roots, endured the same tumultuous vibrations. If they had nerves, they would have been overwhelmed by the pain, but fortunately, they lacked such sensory responses.

Nevertheless, the attack and the ongoing tremors provided a sufficient distraction, allowing Aron's plan the freedom to do whatever it was doing without concern for discovery. The tremors were so overwhelming that anything else that might have been detected would be dismissed as part of the natural chaos, avoiding any suspicion.