It turned out that the four factions shared Noah's worries too. The fact that their cultivators could suddenly transform in magical beasts wasn't a threat that they were willing to leave alone.
The elders gave Noah reports that described the improvements enforced in the encampment and the events during and after the Tribulation.
Apparently, the first battle had been between the turtle and the ape. It seemed that the transformation carried a few unavoidable mental instabilities that took them some time to suppress. After all, they had to deal with the drives of a magical beast now, and Noah knew far too well how hard they could be.
The casualties among the natives during that fight had been massive, but the two rank 6 hybrids eventually calmed themselves and retreated in their domain to manage the damage. However, the forces of Noah's world didn't fail to use that chance to analyze the prowess of those beings.
It was evident that they had more rank 6 existences on their side, but beasts in the sixth rank were tough to kill, let alone intelligent creatures that could use spells. The powerhouses couldn't just match their numbers. They had to overwhelm and destroy them thoroughly.
That's why the four factions had ultimately decided to send three powerhouses, with two of them being among the strongest existences that their world had to offer.
Many vital assets of the other organizations had to cross the passage to balance the temporary weakness of their local enemies. Still, the Empire and the Elbas family had both deployed troops around the portal anyway. They couldn't leave it in the hands of the other forces. After all, losing many rank 5 cultivators would be a harsh blow, but banishing three powerhouses was appealing too.
Of course, those were all precautions. The truth was that an entire world was at stake, and the competition over a few pieces of land of the four forces appeared almost petty compared to what they could gain through the portal.
Tremors would reach the underground encampment at times, but they were only faint echoes of the battle happening above the clouds. Both sides didn't want to destroy the assets of the bloodlines, even if their reasons were completely different.
The natives wanted to contain the damage to their population, especially after losing control the first time. Instead, the alien powerhouses wanted to annex their civilization and studies. That world far behind them in many aspects of the cultivation field, but it had achieved remarkable results when it came to alchemy, techniques, and buildings.
To ensure that the invading forces managed to put their hands on those resources though, they had to fight on the ground too.
Battling right under the fight between rank 6 existences wasn't ideal, but they had to take risks if they wanted to seize enough rewards. Also, they had to keep the population of transformed cultivators in check, and that needed a personal touch that the aloof powerhouses couldn't have.
"Just to be clear," Elder Ingrid said, "You aren't going to transform in the middle of the battlefield, right?"
That question was directed at Noah since it was impossible to hide the magical beasts' aspects of his body.
Noah gazed at the middle-aged woman that was inspecting him with a bit of concern and noticed that even the other elders had similar doubts. It couldn't be helped. He could do a lot of damage if he lost control near them.
Elder Ingrid wasn't polite in her manners. She was direct and didn't care about Noah's social status when she needed pieces of crucial information.
Generally speaking, cultivators would avoid probing their peer's powers and individualities. It was a custom respected by most people, especially those in the heroic ranks. Yet, Elder Ingrid uncaringly asked the question that her fellow elders were suppressing due to Noah's status.
"I will be fine. Also," Noah said as he picked the bucket containing the ashes of the snake from his space-ring, "These belong to a rank 6 creature. They don't have any energy left, but Thirty-seven might have some use for them."
The faces of the elders turned from worried to incredulous in less than an instant. The dust inside the bucket didn't radiate any special aura, but they didn't believe that Noah would lie about such a matter.
"You should keep them," Elder Julia said while shooting an angry glance at Elder Ingrid.
She didn't like her attitude toward the Demon Prince, even if she understood her worries.
As for Noah, he kind of liked Ingrid since her direct character reminded him of June. Also, they were on the same side, and they had to settle all their doubts before flying into a battle.
"The plan is simple," Elder Justin said, "We kill everything that moves and start taking captives only when the situation calms down."
Noah didn't have any complaints about that strategy. His world would prefer to commit a genocide rather than risking other transformations inside its ranks, and he agreed with that view.
The troops inside the encampment waited a few days for reinforcements to arrive. They were about to leave the volcano and the portal, so there had to be cultivators defending the area while they attacked the bloodlines, or what was left of them.
Meanwhile, rumors spread among the troops.
Even if a large part of the cultivators there came from the Hive, Noah's sparse scales worried most of the heroic assets. That and the fact that Faith would often visit him even when he was alone in his tent didn't turn the crowd in his favor.
As for Faith, the years spent in the wilderness had made her lose any care for the rules of the Council. She could just justify her actions telling that she needed him for her individuality, and there would be little that her leaders could do at that point.
Her position inside the Council was different from June's. Faith was already part of that organization, and she was even a promising asset. Instead, June was a cultivator that the Royals had yet to fully acquire, and her relationship with Noah had been unclear since their days in the academy.
Of course, Faith would visit June often too, even if that didn't create the same number of rumors.
The day of the battle eventually arrived, and most assets left the encampment to fly toward the natives' domain. The reinforcement had delivered a series of disposable inscribed items useful to resist the shockwaves created by the rank 6 existences. Still, they would be useless if those powerhouses happened to be too close.
It was just another form of precaution, and the assets there accepted it without complaining before setting off.
There were more than sixty heroic cultivators in the raiding team, and twelve of them were in the fifth rank. A force like that would scare most organizations, but it was necessary when their plan saw them taking over a world.
As they crossed the defensive wall though, they saw entire platoons of various magical beasts waiting for them in a defensive formation.