Divine Beast Creator

"It looks like this group of people is on the same side as Kastantos, but..."

Dou Yanlan was thinking while commanding Cotton and Xing Bo. Unlike Feng Yuan, she still cared about the current alliance situation. Logically, the faction to which the ritual belonged should be aiming to take down the other factions. Yet, at the start, they stood with Starlotte and even helped solve the Mitradite. This was somewhat strange.

If they temporarily infiltrated the Starlotte faction through some means, it wouldn’t be that surprising—using wolves to catch tigers is quite a common tactic.

Just by looking at the numbers, this group was clearly at a significant disadvantage; the only impressive aspect might be those structures.

But can such tactics be used multiple times?

Dou Yanlan felt something was off. That group and Kastantos’s faction seemed to be on the same side, and Starlotte’s faction, which had been backstabbed by the group, was dealing with Kastantos and frantically retaliating against that group.

Unfortunately, the buildings themselves were strong enough that even though Starlotte’s forces greatly outnumbered them, they couldn’t break through that barrier for the time being.

Meanwhile, Kastantos’s soldiers weren’t attacking those people; instead, they were besieging the Starlotte soldiers from afar.

"Watch out! Don’t get close to the battlefield. Something’s not right with Kastantos and those people!"

Dou Yanlan loudly warned everyone. Wu Dingwu, who originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos, quickly retreated since, among them, his Beast Tamer has the weakest adaptability to attributes and ultimate move changes.

"Are all of them enemies? I see."

Feng Yuan, who hadn’t thought much about it, suddenly realized what Dou Yanlan was hinting at. Glancing in the direction of the ritual, he felt he understood why they entered this space atop those mountains.

After a moment’s thought, he explained the characteristics of the ritual. Veronia glanced at Feng Yuan with suspicion; did he already know how to deal with the remaining enemies?

As for the ritual characteristics Feng Yuan mentioned, could it be that they needed to destroy the ritual in this round?

Even if the power of that thing is suppressed, it doesn’t seem that easy to resolve.

Is there something I haven’t realized?

Observing Feng Yuan, Veronia wanted to ask but was too proud to do so.

"Beware of Kastantos’s soldiers, and spread out your positions; that entity is capable of group attacks!"

Dou Yanlan shouted while directing Xing Bo and Cotton to disperse.

The whims of fate allowed them to use different ultimate moves and Crystal Domains, but Dou Yanlan couldn’t be sure if that would secure final victory.

After pondering, she looked in the direction of that group. If her speculation was correct, the biggest challenge in achieving victory lay within that group’s formidable structures. Though dispersing could prevent a total wipeout, it merely delayed inevitable defeat.

How to tackle this?

Dou Yanlan pondered, but with the battle not ceasing, she didn’t have enough focus to think calmly. Just then, Qi Chen brought Ah Mu over and said to Dou Yanlan,

"I’ll cover you!"

As Starlotte’s forces retreated, the hostility between that group and Kastantos became increasingly apparent. Help Kastantos deal with those people?

They would love to, but even Ah Mu found it challenging to confront those weapons directly.

Qi Chen knew he couldn’t think of a solution and didn’t consider seeking help from Feng Yuan.

That guy likely wouldn’t assist, as this parallel space was meant to test their combat abilities. Even if Feng Yuan were willing, they wouldn’t choose his help. The rewards were not essential for them.

Of course, Qi Chen didn’t stop pondering possible solutions, but he couldn’t find a viable one.

Kastantos’s soldiers weren’t significantly stronger than Starlotte’s. If that group went against Kastantos, even with their assistance, the odds weren’t great. Moreover, they couldn’t withstand the attacks from those structures.

Qi Chen’s instincts told him that dealing with that entity couldn’t rely on brute force. But still, he didn’t know how to handle the ritual.

"Sure enough, it’s starting."

Seeing the ritual shift targets towards them after dealing with Starlotte’s remnants, Dou Yanlan whispered a prediction. As she suspected, that group’s goal was to monopolize the victory rewards.

Yet, Kastantos seemed to have anticipated this, keeping clear of the structures initially and intentionally letting Starlotte wear them down and attack.

Unfortunately, the entity was too powerful. Even after numerous battles, it maintained impressive combat power.

With Kastantos’s forces changing formation, Feng Yuan and his group were isolated.

This was unsurprising, as they technically had nothing to do with Kastantos’s forces; being left alone was due to the parallel space’s rules.

However, this wasn’t a good thing as their neutrality prevented them from aiding Kastantos against that group. If that group defeated Kastantos’s forces, dealing with the ritual would be nearly impossible for them alone.

"There’s bound to be a way, and it can’t be anything too extreme, as the entity itself isn’t designed to be overly difficult."

Dou Yanlan quickly thought under Qi Chen’s cover. She felt Feng Yuan’s earlier explanation hinted at something.

At that moment, the ritual attacked again, a pillar of light descending upon Kastantos’s formation, instantly breaking it apart.

Seeing this, everyone understood that time was running out.

In the panic, Dou Yanlan noticed the rocky mountains from where they came. According to Feng Yuan, the entrance’s location was supposed to be the easy start. But given the current situation, even without dealing with Kastantos’s forces, it wasn’t easy.

Could it be...

Considering a possibility, Dou Yanlan looked at the ritual. At this point, it was gathering light to prepare for another attack. Clearly, Kastantos’s forces wouldn’t let them succeed easily.

Unfortunately, even the previously stalwart Starlotte’s forces couldn’t deal with the ritual, let alone Kastantos’s disrupted formation.

"Retreat to the place we came! Cotton! Use Gentle Wind! Find a way to increase speed; we need to retreat back to the mountain!"

Dou Yanlan shouted while looking at the energy-filled ritual, possibly because it was on the verge of ultimate victory; the energy it gathered was immense.

Other than Feng Yuan, the rest were unaware of Dou Yanlan’s reasoning but chose to trust her.

With the attribute switched to Wind, everyone had their Beast Tamer use ultimate moves to boost speed and grant flight.

The group quickly retreated to the mountain, not altering the battlefield situation.

Kastantos’s camp wouldn’t stand idle. However, as white light flashed, every defensive measure Kastantos attempted was utterly useless against it.

"Cotton, redo the Fate’s Whimsy, but this time don’t apply it to Xiao Ji. Then switch to Earth attribute. Everyone prepares defensive measures. Xiao Ji uses Spatial Domain and awakens it. Also, don’t act immediately; when the attack comes, transfer us to a safe spot."

Dou Yanlan swiftly assigned tasks. Feng Yuan smiled slightly, realizing that Dou Yanlan had pinpointed the key to passing the trial.

As everyone prepared, the ritual once more began accumulating energy. Although now Feng Yuan’s group was the only left, the energy gathered showed no signs of weakening.

The Earth Attribute’s defensive techniques were employed, barriers shielding everyone thoroughly. Xiao Ji used its spiritual power to remain vigilant of external conditions.

Theoretically, Spatial Transfer doesn’t require Domain Awakening, but Dou Yanlan suspected that entity might include spatial lock effects, hence having Xiao Ji awaken the Spatial Domain.

Due to Xiao Ji staying with them, the Earth Attribute’s defense didn’t benefit from the Crystal Domain enhancement, but that didn’t affect Dou Yanlan’s plan, as all she wanted was a mere facade.

In its next energy gathering, the ritual didn’t fire multiple light beams as before. A single, precise beam with unmatched force targeted Feng Yuan’s group, firmly locked onto them, with highly concentrated energy that Qi Chen realized something.

"Now, Xiao Ji!"

"Spatial Transfer!"

As the beam was about to contact the barrier, Dou Yanlan and Feng Yuan shouted simultaneously.

Having been prepared, Xiao Ji instantly triggered Spatial Transfer. Thanks to the Domain Awakening, it made the beam lose its target in an instant.

However, even then, as the beam breached the barrier and was about to strike the ground where they stood, it suddenly halted. At that moment, their transferred presence to the mountain base got locked once again, and the beam targeted Feng Yuan’s group again. This time, it didn’t pause at the rocky mountains, instead passing through them and aiming downward at Feng Yuan’s group.

Dou Yanlan nervously watched the scene. If her assumption was wrong, they might truly face defeat this time.