Chapter 703 703. Dragon
Ordinary medium-size families usually had less than twenty rank 3 cultivators, and most of them were tasked with the protection of the nobles.
The troops patrolling the surroundings of their mansions were mostly rank 1 cultivators that didn't even have a rank 2 martial art, which placed them at the bottom of the cultivation world. Also, there were almost no soldiers that had access to spells even if they managed to reach the status of a rank 1 mage.
The nobles controlled the entirety of the resources that concerned the cultivation world, and that aspect of the political system of the Utra nation didn't change in the last years. The fall of the piece of Immortal Lands had improved the situation for some commoners and simple soldiers.
However, they still had to swear ponderous oaths with the Elbas family before obtaining any benefit.
That led to a situation where the troops deployed around Mossgrove city, and the various mansions were utterly helpless against the tide of hungry creatures.
After all, there were three rank 4 beasts among the large pack made by different species!
Those rank 1 cultivators didn't even manage to reach the nearest city before the tide engulfed them.
Cries of alarm began to resound in the mansions and inside Mossgrove city at that sight. It was evident that simple soldiers couldn't deal with that sudden threat.
There was a need for the elite troops in the inner circles of the nobles to handle that massive number of powerful creatures.
There wasn't any expert in the magical beasts' field among those noble families, but every cultivator knew that such an event was incredibly rare.
The habitable areas and the borders of the Evergreen forest often saw clearing operations reducing the population of magical beasts in those territories. Those operations didn't stop after the raid began since it was pointless to trade one threat for another.
So, the nobles in that area were completely surprised to see that those creatures had managed to form such a massive pack in secret.
Also, they had never heard of a pack made by many different species!
That went against every study of the magical beasts' world, and the nobles obviously understood that there had to be hidden causes behind that event.
Yet, their focus was on fighting back the tide now.
A series of rank 2 cultivators, followed by few captains in the third rank, came out from the various mansions and charged toward the incoming beasts. The tall gates of Mossgrove city opened, and the small army of the Shosti family joined the other cultivators in their charge.
Meanwhile, more cultivators came out of the various buildings and began to prepare a defensive front that made use of inscribed items.
The tide of beasts was dangerous and had taken the nobles by surprise, but there were fifteen noble families there! That wasn't a force that simple creatures could defeat, especially since the defenses of Mossgrove city had yet to appear.
However, something strange happened right before the first frontal clash.
The cultivators between the city and the tide of hungry creatures suddenly lost their focus for an instant, which made them unable to react when the beasts pounced at them.
Those soldiers managed to regain their focus only when they were already between the maws of those creatures.
The cultivators deploying the defenses found themselves unable to finish their task since the first batch of soldiers didn't manage to slow down the advance of the assailants. The incoming tide forced them to retreat in the nearest mansion to rely on the defensive capabilities of those buildings.
The nobles would rather use their soldiers than spend resources to activate the defenses of their buildings, especially in that period.
However, the beasts were closing at high speed, and there wasn't enough time to deploy other troops.
Shining lines appeared on the defensive walls of Mossgrove city, and the mansions on the northern side of that area followed their example.
Halos of various colors spread in the territories around them and illuminated the night with their soft lights.
The beasts suffered injuries as soon as the multicolored light swept them. The weakest among them died in less than a second when the joint power of those defensive measures affected their bodies. Even the beasts in the third rank began to struggle to reach the walls filled by inscriptions, but some of them still managed to slam their bodies on the sturdy defensive walls.
Only the three creatures in the fourth rank were somewhat able to resist the halos.
Yet, a series of elite soldiers quickly came out of those buildings and began to fight them.
The number of specimens inside the pack began to diminish at high speed, and the nobles even managed to avoid more casualties once they activated the powers of their habitations.
The magical beasts began to retreat, but some of them tried to run through the open spaces between the mansions to look for something that could satisfy their hunger. Their orderly charge had turned into a wild battle for their survival, but it was evident that only a few of them would be able to return in the Evergreen forest alive.
That strange event was coming to an end, and even the heroic cultivators inside the buildings had their attention on it.
They had never seen magical beasts ignoring the differences in their species to work together in an orderly assault. It was something worthy of being noted in the historical records of that country, and that the Royal academy would surely want to study in-depth.
Nevertheless, they didn't notice that there were two powerful figures hidden in the clouds above Mossgrove city.
Dreaming Demon had her eyes closed as her consciousness seeped in the world below her, and Noah wore an expressionless face as he stared at a mansion under him.
His rank 5 mind was strong enough to suppress his instincts, and no trace of his hatred spread from his figure as he memorized the layout of the Balvan mansion.
Both Noah and the elder were using their methods to conceal their presence, but the diversion created by the beasts was necessary to keep the hidden powerhouse's attention away from the sky.
They were confident in their concealing abilities, but it didn't hurt to be careful, especially since they didn't know the exact power of the rank 5 noble.
"I memorized the layout of the defensive formations in the area. We can return in the separate dimension now." Dreaming Demon said as she opened her eyes and turned toward Noah.
He nodded when he heard her words, but he didn't move yet.
The images of the dragon from his childhood appeared in his mind as he kept his gaze on the familiar mansion.
'A dragon ignited my ambition, and a dragon will take the life of those that tried to suppress it.' Noah thought before moving his gaze away and turning to leave toward the nearest entrance to the dimension.
The time for his revenge had come!