"Trouble?"

"Trouble."

Noah answered June's question and took one of the magical beasts' corpses inside his space-ring.

It wasn't anything too precious, just a rank 4 tiger in the lower tier.

Yet, Noah threw it toward the underground lake as if it was something worthless.

The corpse fell into the lake and created ripples on its surface.

Noah remembered that a rank 5 octopus inhabited its water, but he didn't know if the winged beasts had taken care of it.

To his disappointment, a huge tentacle rose from the lake and wrapped itself around the corpse.

The tiger seemed just a small animal compared to the size of the tentacle, and Noah could hear its bones cracking right before it was pulled under the surface.

June's eyes sharpened at that sight, it became clear that they couldn't cross that area.

'Going forward is out of the question, and the same goes for reaching the surface. There is an entire territory to cross to reach the forest of White woods, and we don't know if the winged beasts control it.'

Noah analyzed his options in his mind.

He knew that the Hive would probably focus on defending its most valuable assets, meaning that it would forsake certain areas.

'The lava lake should be safe since the traces left by divine beings would scare away most creatures. I believe the Hive is focusing on the forest and the azure plain right now.'

It wasn't hard to reach that conclusion, Noah had a good understanding of the value of those areas after all.

'Reaching the coastline and flying over the sea is too dangerous. Most of the fauna of the continent have migrated there, I wouldn't be surprised if those areas have become a messy battlefield in these months.'

Noah thought before turning toward east.

He didn't want to dig toward the central areas, but there didn't seem to be any other option.

He had to choose between a deadly danger, two paths that would most likely feature an even more potent threat, and the unknown.

'We have been lucky until now, we didn't find any underground pack since these areas were the home of the winged beasts. The central territories though…'

Noah had seen how rank 5 winged beasts had come out from the central areas of the continent, he would avoid going there if he had the chance.

However, walking around the lake to resurface on the border of the azure plain seemed the only feasible option.

June had remained silent while Noah thought, she knew that only his survival instinct and expertise in the magical beasts' field could bring them to safety.

So, she simply waited for him to make a decision.

In the end, Noah retreated for a few hundred meters and began to punch the eastern wall of the tunnel.

He still had Chasing Demon's talisman, and there was virtually no creature in the fourth rank that could hurt him, he had no reason to hesitate.

June noticed his stern expression and limited herself to follow him closely, ready to provide him with the assistance that he needed.

The light radiated by the azure ground became softer as the duo neared the terrain under the azure plain.

Noah didn't know much about magical plants, but he could link the growth of the Azure Credits to that phenomenon.

The bushes that grew on the plain contained an incredible amount of "Breath", which meant that they had to take it somewhere.

That somewhere was most likely the terrain under them.

Noah and June's surroundings kept on becoming darker and darker, but a faint radiance still lingered around them.

Then, they ended up in another large chamber that featured the same gray sacs that they had seen in the last period.

However, to their surprise, those sacs were bigger than the others, and some of them weren't broken!

The duo could see the faint figures of the winged beasts inside the intact sacs!

"Why aren't they awake?"

June murmured after they retreated in the tunnel.

Noah had told her that those creatures were probably sensitive to the mental waves, so it was safer to use their voice in their presence.

"Something must have happened during their sleep. I wonder if that event is connected with the Azure Credits, maybe those plants have found a way to steal nutrients from the dormant winged beasts."

Noah answered, but he was mostly speaking to himself.

Magical plants were living creatures, they could adapt to survive and grow just like any other existence.

'This can be the reason why the azure bushes proliferate on the surface. I don't think it's a matter of roots though.'

Noah analyzed the situation in his mind, but he couldn't find any certainty.

Magical plants weren't his specialization, he barely knew how they were supposed to function.

He couldn't possibly know that the Azure Credits had affected the ground under them to increase its absorption of "Breath" so that they could feed on it.

The "Breath" in the air was limited, but many magical beasts were sleeping in sacs connected to the terrain.

The ground then subtly absorbed the "Breath" contained in their dormant bodies and slowly weakened them.

The bodies of those creatures deteriorated at a faster pace because of that and made them unable to wake up even when the leader of their pack issued its orders.

Noah only understood that the winged beasts had continued to sleep through the echoed orders of the rank 6 creatures, which meant that they probably were unable to react to external inputs.

'Yet, would they wake up if a living being was to come close to them?'

That was the gravest doubt inside Noah's mind.

"Let's move quietly. We will immediately resurface if anything moves, so be ready."

Noah took a decision and moved again toward the underground area under the azure plain.

June followed closely behind him, ready to cling on him if the need to resurface arrived.

The duo took small steps on the air among those large gray sacs, they could both understand that some of them still contained rank 5 creatures.

The atmosphere was tense, but both of them managed to keep their calm.

They were experienced warriors, anxiety wasn't enough to make them commit a mistake.

Yet, something peculiar happened while they flew in that area.

The azure radiance of the ceiling suddenly became more intense, and soft cries began to resound from the sacs that still contained winged beasts.

Noah could see how the liquid inside the sacs thinned during the process, and he could feel the pain that those cries carried.

'They are the nutrients for the terrain!'

Noah understood part of the situation at that point, but his mind froze when a series of piercing gazes fell on his back.

Those dormant beasts would become conscious for a few instants when the ground fed on their bodies, but they would usually sleep again when the process was over.

However, there were two preys in their vision now.

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