Watching the billowing black smoke envelop the entire life-or-death boundary, the team standing outside the boundary could no longer see what was happening inside.
Bororo and Julia looked grim as they stood at the boundary, staring inside.
Until the smoke finally enveloped them, they didn't see Alka and the other two rush out.
Rikai came up behind the two, quietly observing the enveloping black fog. He sighed and said, "Don't worry too much. Elena and I are friends, and I know her.
Since they're already engulfed in the black fog, Elena will definitely use her abilities to protect your captain.
She's the only one among us capable of protecting the others intact in the black fog."
Hearing this, the two men's expressions brightened slightly.
But they knew in their hearts that Alka and Sofia didn't need protection at all. With their protection speed, the black fog that had just swept in couldn't match it.
One could transform into a meteor, the other into a beam of light. How could they possibly be swept away?
They simply wanted to join the others in the group.
Not to mention that one of them was a Saint of the Holy Mother Church, and the other was Gilliana, a woman they knew very well.
It would be hard for them to abandon them.
"Thank you for your comfort, but I'm sure they'll be fine," Julia said.
Pororo, standing beside her, turned to look at her in confusion. The meaning was obvious, so why did she suddenly stop thinking anything was wrong?
Julia turned and whispered something in his ear.
Pororo nodded in sudden realization, his expression brightening instantly.
Then, frowning, he said, "But what if they don't make it?"
Hearing this, Julia turned and stared at him.
"Then I can only hope you haven't picked up Jason's bad traits."
Hearing this, Pororo silently shut his mouth.
He felt strangely relieved.
Luckily, it wasn't Jason who was here today.
Rikai watched the two men's moods improve noticeably. Although he didn't know what they were talking about, it was probably a good thing.
The support members in the rear were almost ready, ready to rush in and rescue Alka and the others the moment the black fog dissipated.
Alka and the others stared at the emerald green barrier.
Within this emerald green barrier, a glittering ball of light floated above the treetops, dispelling the darkness in the space.
They could see that at the boundary, the black smoke was completely blocked outside the emerald green barrier, unable to enter at all.
Reality had proven to them that this emerald green barrier was fully capable of withstanding the attack.
We can't leave during this time.
Everyone observed this emerald green world. Although it was lush and full of life, its scope was indeed very small.
Arka made a simple gesture, roughly defining a circular area with a diameter of about 120 meters.
Gilliana walked under the tree and reached out to touch its smooth bark.
"Umbrella tree! It's a completely extinct tree." She recognized the species.
"Do you recognize it?" Sofia asked from the side.
Gilliana nodded and said, "It's an extinct tree. Compared to its close relatives, they're in a much worse situation.
Though their close relatives aren't doing well either, I don't know if you're familiar with the area of the Giant Tree Habitat.
The giant trees in the Giant Tree Habitat refer to close relatives of the Umbrella Crown Tree.
The Giant Top Tree is the enormous tree in the Giant Tree Habitat, whose canopy covers a large area. It's also the only remaining Giant Top Tree discovered in the Expanse Sea."
Gilliana's interest clearly perked up when she talked about this plant, and she enthusiastically shared her knowledge with the others.
"I didn't expect that as a follower of the Flower Fairy, you'd actually like trees?" Alka teased with a smile.
Hearing this, Gilliana felt a little embarrassed. "Nature is also one of my god's domains. It's not a shameful hobby."
She glanced at the tree before her. "Although I dislike those mermaids, this barrier is indeed quite prestigious.
There's a treasure within, and it's clearly using it as a core to gather the surrounding life forms. And by utilizing the extremely exclusive nature of the umbrella-crowned tree, it keeps the undead magic out, creating this safe zone."
Gilliana observed as she shared her conclusions from a brief study.
After all, she was also a follower of the Flower Fairy, possessing a profound understanding of life and plants.
"Why are you so hostile to the Seed of Life members?" Sofia asked curiously.
Hearing this, Gilliana shook her head. "I don't know the specific reason, but I know our gods hate these people. Naturally, we're unlikely to treat them well."
Hearing this, the two nodded.
So it was the Flower Fairy who hated them.
Could it be because they were in the same field, competing with each other?
They chatted casually, sitting against a tree, waiting for the black smoke to dissipate.
Arka played with the hourglass, measuring the time.
A long time passed.
Finally, the smoke began to fade, and after about half an hour, it completely dissipated.
The entire boundary between life and death returned to its former state, though the presence of the undead outside was much stronger than before.
"Okay, we can leave now," Gilliana said, patting her butt and standing up.
"The people waiting for us outside must be getting anxious."
"Don't worry," Arka said, walking under the tree.
He gently stroked the tree with his hands.
Seeing this, the Silent Saint watched silently from the side, while Gilliana observed curiously.
Then she moved to Sofia's side.
"Are you planning to retrieve the treasure?"
Sofia nodded.
Hearing this, Gilliana couldn't help but remind him, "I just observed that the treasure must have been connected to this place through some special construction.
Unless we find the person who built this place, it will be difficult to remove the connection between it and the surrounding environment."
Hearing this, Sofia couldn't help but smile and said, "We're a treasure hunter group, and guess why we know this place."
Hearing this, Gilliana nodded in sudden realization. So that treasure had been their goal from the very beginning.
It was just that they had made some use of it at the last moment.
Under the tree, Alka silently chanted a prayer in praise of life.
As he prayed, he truly felt something looking at him.
No way...
Could he really have provoked the gaze of a living being?
An unpleasant thought welled up in Alka's mind. He lowered his head silently.
Then he felt the gaze disappear.
The heart that had just risen suddenly dropped, and Alka couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The large tree before him instantly dissipated.
The treasure in the center was revealed.
Looking at the treasure, Alka felt a little puzzled, because it truly looked strange.
It was a seed about the size of a thumb, emerald green, with a sprout already sprouting from the top.
Emerald green leaves sprouted from the sprout.
This was the treasure's original appearance.
As the treasure floated out, the magical energy surrounding it instantly dissipated. The treasure immediately became restrained, concealing its special nature.
Now it looked so ordinary.
Like a sprouting seed, it was hard to imagine it was a treasure.
Alka took it in his hand.
As the treasure receded, the surrounding undead aura began to engulf the entire area at a visible speed.
The surrounding plants began to wither at a visible rate.
"Let's go! Don't let them wait any longer," Sofia said, patting Alka on the shoulder.
Hearing this, Alka turned and nodded, and the four of them hurried towards the border.
They quickly sensed the changes around them.
The evil spirits had become noticeably faster, even employing many moves similar to those of normal undead.
Previously, these evil spirits, overly infested by plants, had generally resorted to melee combat.
"Over there!" a shout came from the distance.
Alka and the others looked over.
It was the support team at the border and members of the other two teams.
They hurried over.
"Are you okay?" Julia walked over, looking at Sofia.
Sofia hugged Julia and said with a smile, "It's okay."
Pororo also looked at Alka, patted his shoulder with satisfaction, and lowered his head to ask, "You should be hiding in that place, right?"
Alka nodded and said with a smile, "You guessed it."
"Haha, of course." Then, a little guilty, he asked, "Were we almost late?"
Hearing this, Alka frowned and stared at Pororo with a strange look. "We were almost there, but it was a close call in the end."
Hearing this, Pororo finally breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest.
"Really? That's good! That's good."
Rikai looked the Silent Saint up and down, surprised to see her healthy appearance, seemingly completely unharmed.
"How did you do it? How come you're not hurt at all?"
As soon as she said that, she seemed to realize something was wrong with her words and quickly said, "Of course it's a good thing. I'm just a little surprised. How did you do it?"
The Silent Saint smiled and shook her head.
"Okay, let's forget the secret."
She turned and looked in the direction of Alka and the others.
"Very interesting."
The assembled team quickly began their return journey.
This time, they again found the area where flowers had grown on the border and once again entered a giant flower. From the underground water, they followed the vines back toward the defense area.
They suddenly stopped midway.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop so suddenly?" Alka asked, sensing the entire flower had stopped.
They had only been away for less than an hour. No matter how fast they were, they couldn't have returned to the defense line so quickly.
Rikai looked at a small accessory in his hand, which was faintly flickering with a blue light. She sighed, her voice thick with regret. "Alas, what a shame! I missed that exciting spectacle. I should have asked Alati to come."
The fishtail had transformed into legs, and Chanaris leaned against the flower wall, sensing the surroundings.
"You brought those barbarians with you?"
"Oh, huh, huh? You can't say that. We have one of those barbarians you're talking about here. That's not very polite," Rikai said with a smile.
Hearing this, Chanaris quickly changed her tone and turned to Pororo, saying, "I'm sorry, I meant no harm."
Hearing this sudden apology, Pororo looked at her in confusion.
It seemed they were communicating with members of the Sea Church.
So, were members of the Sea Church joining the battle?
Alka couldn't help but recall the vastly outnumbered undead monsters they had seen when they had just arrived at the border.
I guess they'd already made preparations. So that's why they were so confident in sending so many undead monsters to the fortress.
Meanwhile, I and the others would go to the interior of the Life-Death Crossroads to destroy the energy transmission point.
And that was indeed a very good time. Most of the undead at the Life-Death Crossroads were attacking the interior, so there would be very little resistance.
Looking at Rickey's expression, I knew it was going to be a big scene.
What a pity.
I wonder if Jason and the others have managed to record it.
Thinking of the mirror toys I gave them earlier.
I hope they can think of something.
Alka was also curious. He wanted to know what the scene was that had caused Rickey such regret.
…
"Master, a black fog of undead has appeared at the Life-Death Crossroads."
Hearing his subordinate's words, he turned calmly towards Kalutor in the distance, his expression turning into a trance of ecstasy.
"Really? When? Have those damn guys been sucked in?" His voice was filled with impatience.
The cultist who reported nodded and said, "Just a while ago, coinciding with the time the energy was cut off. I just don't know if they've escaped."
"Hahahaha, damn it! Master, may the master protect us!" Kaluo laughed wildly.
Who could have imagined that the bait they set up would not only attract some high-end combat power, but also yield such a huge reward.
"It's best to keep them all in there. They won't have time to stop us for the next while."
Although he knew clearly in his heart that this was impossible, he still had to make those people pay a price.
What a pleasant surprise.
"Little boy, can you tell me what you're laughing at? You look so happy?" A boisterous voice came from behind.
Kalutor frowned impatiently, "None of your business? While I'm talking, you should have..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly rolled on the ground, dodging, then stood up and turned around.
A figure in light armor appeared behind him, draped in a grayish-white robe that looked a bit dirty.
The hem of the robe was tattered.
The sudden appearance was none other than Alati, carrying a greatsword.
His eyes radiated an intense holy light, as if scorching the enemy.
"Why are you so arrogant? Don't you welcome me? If you're happy, you should share it with everyone, right?"
"You bastard from the Church of the Holy Mother, the Greatsword and the Eye of Punishment. Are you Alati?"
Slowly pulling away, Kalutor asked with a frown.
Alati's slightly unruly expression subsided. With a serious expression, he said, "I cannot ignore your insults, cultist! Die by the sword along with the evil god you worship!"
The surrounding cultists roared and pounced.
Red light and various flesh and blood emanated from their bodies, and the cultists instantly went into a frenzy.
Facing these minions, Alati grasped his greatsword, which was faintly coated with a layer of holy light, and swung it violently.
A huge circle of light spread out in the surroundings.
The cultists were directly cut in two, blood and misery gushing out.
Screams rang out.
The bodies that had fallen to the ground suddenly sprouted twisted flesh and began to crawl towards their lost parts.
The twisted flesh twisted against each other.
The cultists grew taller and twisted, then staggered back to their feet.
"What a blasphemous performance! I'm ready to vomit," Alati said with disgust, watching the scene.
"Why, why aren't you at the front lines? They're about to be taken down there, aren't you worried?"
Kalutuo was a little confused, a wave of panic rising within him.
"It's about to be taken down? Take a good look, are your eyes blurring out?"
Alati suddenly laughed, his expression full of amusement, and then the ground they were standing on began to shake violently.
The sudden shaking nearly knocked Kalutuo off his feet, and the surrounding cult members were instantly shaken to the ground. An extremely exaggerated ripple sounded from the distance.
The sky darkened in an instant.
This exaggerated sight made them all turn their heads and look into the distance.
Arati remained calm, smiling as he turned to look.
This was a truly rare spectacle.
Over the distant battlefield, the sky was thick with dark clouds, as if a storm was brewing. Fierce lightning flashed from the clouds.
It struck the battlefield below, and the thin sea surface below inexplicably began to swirl and wave.
Vine after vine broke.
Such a large area of vines was actually beginning to break and shatter.
A massive vortex enveloped the entire battlefield.