By noon, Chris and the others finally came up from the basement.

After a full day and night, they’d successfully turned all fifteen Umbral elites into thralls.

That meant fifteen more Tier 29 powerhouses added to the Fallen Star Squad—an immediate, brutal spike in strength.

Not long after, Ethan led the Fallen Star Squad out of Fallen Star City.

This time, they didn’t bring the Fallen Star Guard. Too many people meant too big a target.

The world outside was crawling with Void Realm creatures. If they got surrounded, that was it—game over. Better to leave the Guard in Fallen Star City.

Sure, they had that group of Azure Nereid experts around, but those women had only agreed to deal with the powerhouses from the Eldoria continent. If strong enemies from other worlds showed up, they’d still have to rely on themselves.

With the Fallen Star Guard and the Fallen Star Corps holding the line, plus five Tier 25 white-furred apes and Calvin’s group, they’d be fine against most Void Realm creatures—as long as they didn’t run into a whole swarm above Stage A.

As for why Ethan and the squad were heading out now... it was simple.

Outland Beasts.

Crystal cores.

The other compounds were all drowning in chaos and blood right now, but Ethan couldn’t do anything about that—not yet.

Leaving aside whether they could even win, even if Ethan somehow fought off the Void Realm creatures occupying those compounds... then what? The moment they left, some other pack would move right back in.

The only real solution would be relocating everyone to Fallen Star City.

But if they did that, Fallen Star City would instantly become the biggest, fattest target on the map. Once countless Void Realm creatures descended on it, the city wouldn’t be able to hold either.

So the current situation was twisted, but stable in its own ugly way. A compound being occupied by Void Realm creatures meant that if more Void Realm creatures came, they’d end up fighting each other there. It was a kind of indirect protection—just one that forced the survivors to live with humiliation.

Still... as long as Ethan and the others kept getting stronger, everything could change.

They flew straight toward Rivermark State.

By now, the entire Rivermark State region had basically turned into an Outland Beast breeding ground.

Most of the Void Realm creatures coming out of Blackpine Wilds were Outland Beasts or mutated monsters. Like those Minotaurs that had attacked the Heartland City compound—those had come from Blackpine Wilds too.

And every Outland Beast had a crystal core in its head.

But this place had also become a forbidden zone for intelligent life.

Just yesterday, plenty of Void Realm creatures had seen the massive numbers of Outland Beasts and tried their luck—thinking they could farm crystal cores. In the end, they’d all been torn apart, shredded into meat by endless waves of beasts.

The only reason Ethan dared come was because of the satellite data showing Outland Beast distribution. He’d more or less figured out where the beast density was high, and where it was thinner.

Even so, the danger level here was nowhere near low.

Outland Beasts had all kinds of bizarre abilities. Some were insanely sensitive to scent. Some keyed in on sound. Some could fly. Some burrowed underground. There were all types.

If they fought here and got encircled, any one of them could die on the spot.

But right now, they didn’t have the luxury of playing it safe.

Miles had studied things carefully. Aside from Rivermark State, there was basically nowhere else they could make a move.

Anywhere that was viable had already been cleared out by other Void Realm creatures. What remained were either monsters that were absurdly strong, or species with such overwhelming numbers that even those Void Realm creatures didn’t dare provoke them—meaning Ethan’s side definitely couldn’t either.

So the only opening was Rivermark State.

Because Rivermark State was paradise for Outland Beasts... and other Void Realm creatures didn’t dare come near.

But for Ethan and his team?

They still had a chance.

On the way in, Ethan kept True Sight running, weaving them around one wave after another of Void Realm creatures.

When Rivermark State finally drew near, he had everyone drop out of the sky and switch to traveling on foot.

Flying was just asking to get noticed. There were plenty of Outland Beasts that could take to the air, and a target in the open sky might as well have been painted with a spotlight.

He even sent Ember and the others back.

With that bright red hide, they stood out way too much. Right now, fewer bodies meant fewer chances to get spotted.

After a little over half an hour on foot, they started seeing Outland Beasts—everywhere.

None of these were anything they’d encountered before. Some wheeled through the sky. Some slid through the water. Others prowled along the banks and vanished into brush that looked way too thin to hide something that big.

The beasts fought each other, sure... but more often, they were hunting for intelligent life.

To humans and other thinking races, an Outland Beast’s crystal core was priceless.

To the beasts?

A thinking creature’s body was just as valuable.

Intelligent beings could absorb crystal cores to grow stronger. Outland Beasts could devour the corpses of intelligent beings and power up just as fast—sometimes faster.

They could eat other Outland Beasts too and still grow, but the boost didn’t even compare.

Because an Outland Beast’s power was concentrated in its crystal core.

For intelligent life, that power was stored throughout the body.

So if you asked these creatures which meal they preferred... it wasn’t even a question.

Ethan kept them moving, cautious step by cautious step. The targets they were seeing weren’t right.

What he needed was a small group—numbers low enough to wipe quickly—and strength right around Tier 25.

Anything higher was a headache to kill, and the crystal cores would be useless to them anyway. Anything lower wasn’t worth the risk, because those cores wouldn’t do enough.

That sweet spot was annoying as hell to find.

So they crept forward, nerves tight, doing everything they could not to spook the area.

An hour passed. Then more.

They slipped past who knew how many Outland Beasts, until Ethan finally caught something that made his pulse jump.

A herd.

They were built like bulls, but their heads were more horse-like, with a single sharp horn on their foreheads—close enough to what you’d call a unicorn, if you ignored the fact that these looked like they could gore a truck in half.

There were a little over thirty of them.

Tier 25. Perfect.

They were drinking at the river, relaxed, completely unaware death was already walking toward them.

The squad closed in, slow and quiet.

When they were only a few dozen meters out, dozens of daggers flickered into existence behind Ethan—suspended in the air like a second set of teeth.

He snapped his hand forward.

The daggers shot out in a tight swarm.

The herd reacted instantly. Light flared over their bodies, and a white barrier flashed into being in front of them.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The daggers slammed into the shield and bounced off, failing to punch through.

Telekinesis was great for bullying opponents below your level—multiple blades, multiple angles, no breathing room.

But against enemies around your tier, the force got spread too thin. The more weapons you controlled at once, the less each one hit like it meant it.

Ethan hadn’t been counting on it anyway.

The moment the ambush failed, he blinked—Teleportation snapping him straight into the herd’s face. His poleaxe came down like a guillotine.

One unicorn’s skull split open in a single strike, the body collapsing before it even understood it was dead.

At the same time, the rest of the Fallen Star Squad surged in, abilities detonating as they hit the herd from every angle.

"Moo!"

The unicorns bellowed in fury. Light erupted from them—condensed, vicious beams that lanced straight at the squad.

Garrick reacted on instinct, throwing up a protective dome that swallowed the incoming barrage.

And right behind that shield, the squad’s attacks landed.

At first, the unicorns’ barriers managed to hold.

Then they cracked.

Then they shattered.

The moment the defenses broke, the herd got shredded under the weight of concentrated Tier 29 firepower—blood spraying, bodies toppling one after another until the riverbank was littered with dead, twitching muscle.

Against Outland Beasts of the same tier, Fallen Star Squad made it look easy.

Nobody wasted time celebrating.

They moved fast, cutting open skulls and pulling crystal cores with practiced efficiency. The moment the last one was secured, Ethan waved them out.

They vanished back into the wild.

Not long after they left, a large pack of Outland Beasts came charging in.

They found the pile of unicorn corpses and threw their heads back, roaring into the air—rage, excitement, hunger, all tangled together.

Then the screaming stopped.

They lowered their jaws, and the feeding began.