Chapter 1696 - 1696. Gathering

Noah and the rest of his group ran away as fast as possible to avoid the destruction behind them. Their senses didn't allow them to inspect the battlefield, but they didn't want to take any risk nonetheless.

The group quickly arrived in areas where the battlefield's light couldn't reach, but they didn't stop. None of them believed that they could hide from Heaven and Earth, so they wanted to put as much distance as possible from the rank 9 existences.

Noah had the beginning of a plan, but he lacked many essential factors. He had a goal, but he couldn't even begin to imagine how to reach it. Still, he didn't discuss the matter with his companions just yet.

The group flew for entire years before deciding to stop in a random spot. King Elbas immediately proceeded to cover the area with defenses, and Noah began to transform both ground and sky to make Heaven and Earth blind there.

Noah also used that time to teach Robert how to manage his influence. The expert had already begun to grasp the basics behind that power, and Noah's company quickened that process.

The duo could transform entire regions in a short time now that they worked together. Noah and Robert covered immense areas with their influence and stripped their laws away from Heaven and Earth's system.

Having a large area that didn't belong to Heaven and Earth would give the group time to hide and react to eventual threats. Those rulers wouldn't be able to locate them easily there, and Noah's team was in desperate need of time.

"Do we have a plan then?" King Elbas asked once Noah and Robert returned from their task.

The group had gathered inside an underground structure reinforced with many layers of inscriptions. Robert and Noah couldn't completely stop the white light with their influence, so they had to gather under the surface with their companions.

"We have to return to the other side of the Immortal Lands," Wilfred announced. "This place has become too dangerous now that rank 9 existences have started to appear."

"That's a goal, not a plan," King Elbas snorted.

"He is always so grumpy," Divine Demon sighed, but King Elbas ignored that remark to focus on the main topic.

King Elbas eventually glanced toward Noah. The latter was their best hope to leave, but the hindrances were in a realm that even he couldn't affect.

Noah had considered a few approaches. He firmly believed that his new state gave him a high resistance against the chaotic laws of the stormy regions. His aura would share that ability, so he could potentially protect his group during the travel.

However, the stormy regions hid far more dangerous hindrances. Noah couldn't even begin to make a plan for an eventual meeting with a rank 9 creature. Nothing in his power could help him in that situation.

A safer approach saw Noah and his group digging through the higher plane to reach the other side. Yet, that process could take millennia, and it always featured the chance of the team encountering terrain that they couldn't break.

Noah's third plan involved the tunnel created by Heaven and Earth, but he wasn't sure whether that structure was still open. Also, those rulers could always close it while his group was inside it, so the situation would remain risky.

"How far can you teleport us?" Noah asked King Elbas.

His recent training with the laws of space had granted him a higher understanding of those techniques. Noah and King Elbas could theoretically work together to create a teleport that led directly on the other side of the Immortal Lands. Still, the expert shook his head immediately.

"The interference between the two sides is too great," King Elbas explained. "I don't even know how thick the higher plane is. I have no confidence in creating something stable, and the procedure has a high risk of failing even in that case."

"We need to fly then," Fergie summarized.

"We only need to decide a direction now," Luke added.

Noah's companions weren't stupid. They had all reached similar conclusions, even if they didn't consider the stormy regions as a viable path.

The situation appeared quite awful. The group would remain stuck on that side of the Immortal Lands in the worst option, and that would likely lead to their death due to Heaven and Earth's followers.

"Didn't you arrive here through a dimensional tunnel?" Robert eventually asked.

"A long passage filled with Space Hounds that leads near the floating lake occupied by rank 9 existences," King Elbas explained.

"We only need to fly past the battlefield then," Robert announced. "Why did we even retreat?"

"We don't know if Heaven and Earth have kept the tunnel open," King Elbas sighed while massaging his temples. "I wonder why you keep recruiting idiots."

Noah rolled his eyes, but his gaze eventually fell on Robert. The expert was far from stupid, so there had to be an explanation behind his naïve announcement.

"Heaven and Earth will never waste energy unless it's absolutely necessary," Robert explained. "I have been their follower for many years, so I vaguely know how they think. The tunnel is still open since it requires power to close. I'm sure of that."

The entire group glanced at Robert and inspected his gestures. They had yet to learn to trust him, so they wanted to understand if his words were sincere.

Robert appeared completely honest, and even Noah couldn't sense anything off in his voice. Yet, an issue soon formed in his mind when he considered that plan.

"I bet Heaven and Earth will definitely close the tunnel once we enter it," Noah suggested. "They will never let us escape, especially after we announced our position against them."

"That's obvious," Robert said while placing his hand on his chin and wearing a pensive expression.

Reaching the other side of the Immortal Lands without Heaven and Earth's help seemed impossible. Noah and the others couldn't come up with a plan without great flaws. The group slowly started to accept that many of them could die during the travel.

"Stabilizing an existing tunnel is easier than blindly creating a new one," King Elbas eventually announced. "I might be able to build something according to my memories of that structure. However, I don't have enough power to activate the required inscribed items."

"You can count on me for that," Robert said while wearing a proud expression.

"You don't understand," King Elbas sighed. "We are talking about a dimensional tunnel that can pierce the Immortal Lands from side to side. Even the power of a rank 9 existence might not be enough to stabilize it after Heaven and Earth trigger its collapse."

"We make up with numbers then," Noah announced. "Let's create an army and use its power to fuel the inscribed items."

"Where will you even find an army?" Wilfred asked.

"This side of the Immortal Lands has many floating lakes," Noah explained. "Some of them belong to organizations that oppose Heaven and Earth. I even left Harold with some of them with that task."

"And where is Harold now?" King Elbas asked.

"I guess it's time to find him," Noah laughed. "Divine Demon, I bet that you can't guess where Harold is now?"

"Challenge accepted!" Divine Demon shouted, and azure energy began to acc.u.mulate around his figure.

However, a confused expression soon appeared on Divine Demon's face, and the expert turned toward Noah before asking something that left the entire group speechless. "Who is Harold?"

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