Both sides were already unleashing an unrelenting salvo of attacks at each other the moment they came within range . Zac couldn’t just sit back—doing so would show weakness to the other nomads , and he’d risk getting ganged up on even if they breached the island . A surge of Cosmic Energy entered his arm , and the gate of Arcadia’s Judgement] appeared .
A huge Death spike impaled the wooden hand the moment it emerged , and Zac felt a stabbing pain in his own hand . But the hand of Arcadia contained boundless Life , and the spike crumbled under its force . The gates flew over to the shores , absorbing the Life-attuned attacks while rebuffing those of Death .
The whole edge of the island groaned upon being put under such pressure just after enduring the storm , and the already exhausted beasts weren’t that much better off . The nomads weren’t stupid—they knew this was their chance . They went all-out , launching all kinds of Bloodline Talents , and one beast after another was either killed or forced to retreat .
And then came the judgement . The axe slammed down , destroying three Beast Kings in one go . Their bloodline skills were utterly incapable of rebuffing a dual-branch-empowered finisher . The spikes were even more dangerous , formed of the incredibly sturdy rocks the island was made of . Another five Beast Kings fell , and hundreds of their underlings were ripped to shreds by the ferocious resonance between the spikes .
Even more beasts remained standing , but they had clearly lost their desire to fight . They turned tail , fleeing deeper into the island , and a few even jumped down and flew toward the islands below . One attack had instantly ended the war , and even the nomads looked at Zac warily as he landed on the shore .
Usually , these encounters meant a tough fight with casualties on both sides . This time , the nomads came out of it unscathed . Zac ignored the looks as he rapidly looted the corpses . The Beast Kings right at the entrance of the Red Zone weren’t too impressive , but they still had pretty good bloodlines .
And Beast Cores with Pure Life or Death-attunement were useful . Zac glanced at the nomad Beast Kings , who all shuddered and took a step back .
I guess I shouldn’t attack my teammates . - Zac smiled . - See you guys around . -
With that , he flashed away , heading for the other side of the island . He couldn’t waste time hunting weak beasts if he wanted to find one of the drifting Calamity Mountains .
23
JOINT VENTURE
Zac wasted no time as he rushed across the island . If he pushed himself and used the glider when possible , he believed he’d be able to cross the whole disk in two hours . There were only six days until the next mission release , and he wanted to use two for his breakthrough . If he couldn’t find what he was looking for in the first two days , he’d either have to return or pick one of the leftover missions .
The latter wasn’t the end of the world , though , and the others were already prepared in the event he might not show up . For someone like him , there were always leftover tasks he could pick up and earn a decent chunk of Mana . And even if he somehow ended up empty-handed , he had other things to work on . Few guests had the energy and time to take on missions every month .
He wouldn’t be surprised if he were the only mortal in this place , which had one small benefit . He didn’t have to spend any time cultivating to form and upgrade the nucleus of his core . Instead , Zac could put that time toward collecting Mana or working on his other endeavors .
A sudden hint of dense Death made him stop in his tracks , and Zac curiously looked at a deep fissure . Most likely , it was a scar opened by the large peak that the storm had dragged off , and its passage exposed something interesting . Zac peered down , and his eyes lit up at the exposed cavern .
Inside , five pitch-black rose-like flowers grew , each one emitting an incredibly dense aura of Pure Death . His Life-attuned cells screamed at him to destroy those things , which probably meant they were something good for his other half . Zac jumped down , a sniff enough to confirm the roses weren’t poisonous . He carefully cut them off with a small axe imbued with the Dao of Pale Seal before storing them all in a treasure box .
There was nothing else inside the cave system , so Zac continued on his way , making a few more pit stops to pick items up from the dredged depths of the island . Most of the hidden caves were unguarded , but he had to take out a pack of Peak E-grade insects guarding a stone that had formed natural runes of Life . It didn’t waste much time , and Zac reached the island’s edge on schedule with a few new interesting items in his bag . This was just the entry layer of the Calamity , so they weren’t Supreme treasures . But they were all rare Peak-quality materials that might prove useful in the future .
To Zac’s surprise , he wasn’t the first arrival . A familiar face already waited at the edge , anxiously looking at the next island in the distance . It was one of the Beast Kings who had crossed the chasm with him before , one of the weirder ones . For one , it moved solo , but it also looked out of place . It was essentially a seven-meter-tall Death-attuned toad . It had no wings and no other means of flight . Instead , its back sported a set of translucent pustules , where black liquid sloshed inside .
The toad really was an odd one . Without any means of flight , it would be landlocked on an island for centuries until it finally became a Beast King . Species that didn’t even have the option to jump ship if a particularly nasty storm hit their island were bound to be disadvantaged in the Calamity .
But it wasn’t a weakling . Zac had run as fast as he could , yet this Early D-grade beast arrived ahead of him . Furthermore , it didn’t look winded at all .
You’re pretty quick , - Zac said with surprise as he walked over , and he laughed upon getting a disdainful scoff in return .
This Beast King was clearly smarter than the average species . And upon thinking back , Zac realized it hadn’t joined the fight . It disappeared when the nomads and territorial beasts started exchanging attacks . The toad must have used some movement skill to start crossing the island while the other nomads kept the rabble busy .
It looked like the toad had planned to keep going , but its plan had hit a snag . There was another island not too far in the distance , but there was also a group of roving birds guarding the chasm . Seeing the situation , Zac had an idea .
Want to make another jump before the storm gets too far away? -
The toad looked suspiciously at Zac before slowly nodding .
How about this , - Zac said , pointing toward the next island . - You saw my strength earlier . I’ll deal with those flying things and any other beasts we can’t avoid . In return , you carry me across the continent . I want to keep going until I find a drifting mountain . -
The toad mutely looked at Zac , clearly with some disgust in its eyes . Zac gave it a thought before releasing his Branch of the Pale Seal to show wasn’t just a being of Life . His Death-attuned Dao wasn’t weakened when using his Life-attuned Body , but it didn’t have the sense of smoothness as when using the Branch of the Kalpataru .
The eruption of a powerful Dao Field made the toad shriek in alarm , and Zac looked on with interest as a black gust swallowed it , moving it hundreds of meters in an instant . It almost looked like Ogras and how he moved through shadows , though the method was clearly based around Death . And possibly Time , though Zac couldn’t understand exactly how .
I’m just showing we’re on the same side! - Zac shouted . After a full minute , the toad hesitantly jumped back .
It released an enormous black tongue over ten meters long , seemingly trying to taste Zac’s Dao before looking down at Zac with confusion . Zac smiled as Death spread through his body , his eyes becoming pitch-black orbs of the Abyss .