Dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, the entire sky roaring.
The marshland beneath these massive clouds formed one massive whirlpool after another, generating an extremely powerful suction force.
The undead, already attacking the fortresses on the vines, were swept into the sea by the immense suction.
Six fortresses.
Six massive holes formed in front of the fortresses.
The force within the holes crushed the surrounding vines, forming whirlpools leading to the deep sea. These whirlpools spun wildly with the thunder and lightning storm in the sky, sucking all the enemies in.
"Murlocs! Kill those murlocs!"
Among the undead, a few powerful and intelligent ones discovered the culprit behind the whirlpools.
Some murlocs, trident-wielding, wandered the waters, calling upon the power of the sea god.
The murlocs presiding over the ritual managed to maintain their form within the whirlpool, but the undead charging towards them were all shattered by the vortex.
At the height of the battle, the entire battlefield was reversed. The undead, who had previously been attacking the city with a formidable advantage, were now at a complete disadvantage thanks to the sudden arrival of the Sea God.
Countless of their troops, standing atop the vines, were completely sucked in by the unexpected ritual.
After this battle, the outcome of the war was no longer in doubt.
The vast majority of the undead, who had emerged from the realm of life and death, would be trapped in the bottomless depths, becoming its sustenance.
"How's it? It looks great, isn't it?" Alati smiled, clutching his massive greatsword.
Kalutor's expression was as gloomy as water. He had made so many preparations, spent so much time, just for this moment.
However, their efforts fell short because they hadn't anticipated the Sea God's participation.
The Sea God, whose teachings were relatively invisible and low-key, was a force that no one could ignore and must value.
The Zehai Sea, and even the spirit lands and flower fairies above it, had never had even the slightest contact with the Sea God Church for thousands of years.
No one could have imagined that at this moment, in this tiny place within the boundless sea, the power of the Sea God would be drawn to it.
"You damned Four Gods believers!"
He roared, wrapped himself in a blood-red robe, and charged at Arati.
The disruption of his long-term plan nearly drove him mad.
Faced with his attack, Arati smiled wildly.
Raising his greatsword, imbued with holy light, he swung it at him.
The greatsword, imbued with intense holy light, directly split the protective barrier formed by the blood-colored robes, allowing powerful holy light to surge in.
Facing the blood-colored whip attacking from the side, he simply used his left hand to punch through the air, and the pale golden energy knocked it back.
The power gap between the two was too great, with Alati even having a certain attribute advantage.
In such a situation, the fact that he hadn't been killed by a single blow was a testament to Kalutor's strength.
Kalutor rolled several times on the ground, then stood up and looked at his left arm.
It was the spot that had just been struck, and now, as if burned, it was emitting a sizzling black smoke and continuously leaking bright red pus.
The holy light's energy had already imprinted itself on his body. The intense pain and the wound finally calmed him down.
He was no match for Alati at the moment, unless he was willing to reveal its master and gain its power. Before he could react, the greatsword lunged forward.
Intense holy light suddenly flew from all around, piercing through and pinning Kalutor in place.
The entire process was seamless, giving Kalutor no chance to react.
The tip of the blade, shrouded in holy light, charged towards him.
Once pierced through...
There would be no chance.
"My Lord!"
Kalutor roared.
A vast, bloody maw suddenly appeared at his feet, swallowing him.
As the bottomless maw devoured, the surrounding holy light spears crumbled.
But it also left sizzling marks around the maw.
It forcibly swallowed Kalutor and vanished.
Alati's greatsword attack missed.
Looking at the now empty spot, he raised his greatsword and swung it fiercely around him. A flood of holy light emanated, annihilating the surrounding cultists, now completely deformed into monsters.
Then he carefully looked at the spot where Kalutuo had left, crouched down, and used some means to carefully survey the area.
"A teleportation method like a giant mouth of flesh and blood, a worshipped evil god? I seem to have heard of this somewhere before," Arati muttered to himself, beginning to recall.
That man just now looked like a key figure in this cult's operation.
Perhaps he was the instigator.
And did he have a grudge against the Mother Church? Who was this person?
For the time being, however, Arati wasn't too curious about this man's true identity. He was more concerned with the evil god he worshipped.
Compared to Kalutuo, who appeared on the surface like a minion, the evil god behind him was the real focus.
There could be countless, but the evil god only needs this one.
…
At this moment, far underwater, the diving flower enveloping Alka and the others was once again stirring.
"It's moving. Is it over?"
"It should be. They might already be organizing a counterattack," Rickey said with a smile.
Soon, the flower carrying them rose from beneath the vines.
As the flower opened, Alka could see the scene outside.
Floating on the sea before them was a dense mass of shattered vines and various bones.
Most of the broken bones were still coated in the juice of young shoots.
These things practically covered the entire surface of the sea.
Above their heads, on the emerald vine wall, the Great Gardener was organizing the priests within the fortress, manipulating the remaining vines to spread and envelop them.
At the same time, the broken bones were dragged into the water, where they would become fertilizer for new vines.
As the bones were cleared, Alka noticed that, just in front of the fortress, as far as the naked eye could see, a deep blue hue, starkly different from the surrounding green, was visible.
This indicated that the vine layer below had been almost completely cleared and destroyed.
It was no longer navigable.
Seeing this, Alka understood.
It must have been something like a whirlpool that had sucked the attacking undead into the sea, pulverizing them into pieces.
As expected, on the surface, the fighting power of the Sea God's followers was nothing to be underestimated.
The entire fortress was bustling with activity. Those within the fortress were either helping to clean up the battlefield or collecting the bodies of their former companions. The losses from this battle were still immeasurable.
Alka and his companions entered through the broken vine path. They soon spotted the conspicuous crystal dragon.
Urulius was sleeping in a quiet corner. Perhaps she'd entered another growth phase, but she'd been falling asleep frequently.
Next to her sat Jason, Simon, and the others who had stayed in the fortress.
Seeing Alka and the others return, they quickly rose to greet them.
They carefully examined them, confirming they were unharmed.
"Are any of the puppet girls injured?" Alka asked.
He glanced around the crystal dragon and saw that many of the puppet girls had chips and cracks on their bodies.
After all, in a war like this, casualties were normal.
Simon nodded. "Yes, but the serious ones have already had parts replaced. The rest are minor damages that they can repair themselves."
Hearing this, Alka nodded, walked over, and plopped down on the ground nearby.
This day had truly been exhausting. As the group chatted, the sky suddenly enveloped them, plunging into darkness.
The alternation of day and night was so sudden.
"Rest. We'll discuss other matters after we've rested."
At Alka's words, everyone nodded and headed to their quarters.
However, a large hole had been smashed into the roof of their house, leaving vines and rubble scattered across the ground.
"Well, it looks like there's nowhere else to rest for now. We'll just have to make do," Alka said helplessly as he entered.
Then he checked inside. Although a large hole had been ripped from the roof, it had no immediate impact on the first floor.
So, everyone simply spent the night in the dilapidated house.
Outside, there was a constant commotion, the sounds of people coming and going.
When Alka awoke, it was still late at night. Stepping outside, he saw that the damaged portion of the stone roof had been clung together by vines and rubble.
It looked like a simple repair.
It was very rough.
Lights emanating from the lanterns hung throughout the fort.
A quick look revealed that the number of soldiers inside the fort had decreased significantly, leaving only a few on guard.
Even the members of the Our Lady and the Holy Trinity Church were gone.
As Alka emerged, the soldier standing at the door saw him and nodded respectfully.
"Master Alka, you are awake. Please follow me."
Having just woken, Alka nodded and followed the soldier to the central greenhouse, which had once served as the fort's command center.
As soon as he entered, he saw that there were very few people inside.
He only saw Rickey and the member of a different team who had been with them. He remembered this member; it seemed to be from Rekai's team, operating alongside Pororo and the others.
At first, Alka thought they were members of the Holy Mother Church, but later discovered they were not. They simply used holy light energy to attack.
"Hey, Alka," Rekai said, smiling and greeting Alka.
"Where are the others?" Alka asked curiously, walking over and sitting at the table.
The attack route map still lay in the center of the conference table.
In response to Alka's question, Rekai simply pointed at the map.
The meaning was self-evident.
Alka looked over and saw countless attack routes drawn on it, revealing a counterattack plan.
The map detailed the directions from which the troops of the six fortresses would attack, which undead would be eliminated, and which key locations would be captured.
However, the map did not extend all the way to the border, but stopped at a similar point. I wonder if there's a follow-up plan, or if they've temporarily abandoned the attack.
"Have they taken this opportunity to push back?"
Rikai nodded. "Yes, except for a few wounded and overly exhausted personnel, everyone else took a brief rest and began the counterattack."
"Based on their speed, they should be here by now."
Rikai pointed to an area on the map.
It's about thirty or forty kilometers from where they are now.
It's probably a transit hub.
It used to be a village.
"Are there still many undead creatures in this occupied area?" Alka asked curiously.
"A lot, of course. Although the biggest crisis has been resolved, these undead aren't very intelligent.
And it's very difficult to clear the place where so many undead have been.
We'll probably have to wait until the Flower Fairy fully recovers before they can regain control of this fallen area."
Arka nodded at this.
"Are you ready to leave?" Arka asked.
After all, the support from the Holy Mother and the Holy Machine Church is to help them defend and prevent the fall.
Now that the biggest crisis has been resolved, and even the counterattack has begun, basically only the aftermath remains.
The support from the two churches is likely to return, after all, the Twin Islands control a large area.
The churches on the Twin Islands are almost the largest forces in this vast area, and they are also very busy. This is a region of the Infinite Sea that is constantly in chaos, and no faction is without manpower.
Unexpectedly, Ricky shook his head.
The man next to him spoke, his voice slightly hoarse and low: "It's not that easy, young man! These disgusting scumbags won't give up so easily.
This is a ritual for the resurrection of the gods, and they've only just reached the stage of hysteria and mutual destruction."
The man's name seemed to be Chebrid, Alka recalled.
Then he began to carefully consider what he meant.
Rikai patted the table lightly.
"It's normal that you don't understand. After all, you haven't been in the Endless Sea for very long, and you probably haven't been to many places."
He stood up, waved to Alka, and walked out.
Chebrid followed him out.
Arka followed curiously.
Seeing the two men standing at the doorway, staring at the sky, as if the heavens held the answers he sought.
Even though the sky was pitch black.
He looked up.
The dark sky was much gloomier than usual. The once-bright stars and the brilliant Milky Way were now obscured by something.
"Look carefully, observe the energy in the sky."
A large amount of dark energy permeated the sky, and the surroundings were abnormally chaotic, far more chaotic than ever before.
"Although we've leveraged the power of the Sea God to resolve this most troublesome issue once and for all, it's not so easy to completely resolve.
Such a large amount of negative energy gathered in the sky will not only slow down the Flower Fairy's recovery, but it could also be exploited.
Those cultists are cunning and disgusting. They'll definitely use this negative energy to do something disgusting," Ricky said, scratching his hair in slight annoyance.
"That's just how it is with these sewer rats. Just as it happens, there's a rat hole right next to them.
Beneath the seemingly calm exterior, I wonder how many rats are already on the move."
Chebrid said in his characteristic low-pitched voice.
Arka roughly understood what they meant.
The negative energy in the sky was probably caused by the mass deaths of the undead who attacked today.
After all, the nearby Giant Tree Habitat is notoriously chaotic.
The Marsh Sea is the best place to hide.
The border between life and death is too dangerous, and no one dares to go there.
The Land of the Spirits is Under normal circumstances, no one would act too recklessly in the Flower Fairy's territory.
The largest area, the Giant Tree Habitat, is a hive of activity, home to pirates, cultists, and wanted criminals.
Calling it a rat hole is quite apt.
Now, if the Flower Fairy were to resurrect, she would absolutely crush the rat hole next to her and the rats within it.
Of course, these rats would resist.
Compared to direct attacks like those at the boundary between life and death, these rats prefer stealthy sabotage.
Because so many undead monsters from the boundary between life and death perished at once, a massive amount of negative energy gathered in the sky, creating a virtual feast for the rats.
Unless the Flower Fairy fully revives, it will be difficult to remain safe here.
Under these circumstances, the members of the two churches simply cannot leave.
"You've probably dealt with that cultist named Kalutor, haven't you?" Rickey suddenly said.
Alka nodded. "Yes, I encountered him head-on before while clearing out demons, but he escaped."
"Alati also apprehended him, but he escaped as well. This time, however, Alati discovered the person behind him."
"The person behind him?" Alka was puzzled. Could he be referring to the demon that caused the destruction of the Nafas family?
Rickey nodded. "When you get back, you can ask Simon. He should have relevant information. He's a well-known demon.
He'll definitely take action this time. Be careful of this cunning demon."
Alka nodded.
"We don't know the demon's specific name. We only know that everyone who knows him calls him the Devouring Mouth."
Rickey briefly explained.
Alka wrote the name down.
After a brief chat, they returned to their resting place.
It seems their target, Kaluto, has a formidable presence behind him.
It's not an evil god, but a powerful demon?
A being even more repulsive than the evil god, at least in this world.
Now that a large number of undead have been eliminated, they can begin preparing to acquire the treasures in the occupied areas.
It's simply a matter of eliminating one target.
After that, they should wait for the flower fairy's revival, and their mission will be successfully completed.
It's estimated that the flower fairy's revival will take approximately eight or nine months.
The negative energy has slowed the rate of progress by about a month.