Noah couldn't bother to keep his powers a secret anymore. He was a rank 5 cultivator now, even causing the death of a few assets in the fourth rank couldn't affect his status too much.
His status didn't depend on the Hive or the title given by Chasing Demon anymore. He had become an elite among elites.
Also, there was the matter concerning the death of the rank 6 snake. He had killed an enemy that only powerhouses could face, and an ancestor on top of that!
The Elders let go of the matter for now. They had already decided that they would spread that information, but that wasn't the time to focus on something that wasn't the war.
Elder Anthea took out a series of inscribed chains. Those items didn't belong to the Shandal Empire. Instead, they were an imitation created by the Elbas family to restrain eventual captives.
The troops of the Royals didn't join the battle, but they still delivered useful tools for the assets of the other factions. The chains were just one of them, but there were even the disposable items meant to defend against the shockwaves released above the clouds.
Tremors would reach the ground from time to time since Noah and the others were fighting under a battlefield that saw five rank 6 existences going all out. Their most basic attacks were enough to shatter the air and create shockwaves able to kill even beings in the fifth rank.
Yet, the Elbas family had created a special ointment that would absorb those shockwaves once they reached for a cultivator's skin. The tremors would slowly consume the lotion, but the Royals had provided enough of it to last for a few months.
The Elders started to chain the hybrids and led them back to the volcano. The best way to contain them was to send them to the other world, where the real power of four factions was.
Nevertheless, even a single rank 4 cultivator was enough for the task since the chains acted as a sort of oath, which prevented the hybrids from trying to escape.
Noah and the others started to explore the ruins once the surviving hybrids left for the volcano together with a rank 4 Elder of the Papral nation. They soon discovered that the Tribulation didn't target the castle of the Duron Bloodline, even if it was still in ruin due to the outburst of their leaders.
The Elders stored the remains of the castle. They couldn't let go of items able to make them invisible in the eyes of Heaven and Earth. Then, they rested for a while before pressing forward.
There were still wild hybrids to take care of, and they didn't wholly trust Danielle's words, even if they were quite inclined to believe her. After all, her mental state was too frail to make up lies, and there wasn't any reason to do so.
Noah would gaze at the sky from time to time. He would apply the ointment whenever he felt that the shockwaves were about to affect him, and hunting down the remaining hybrids only quickened its consumption.
There wasn't much that he could do. The ointment wasn't meant for battles. The Royals had initially created it for the human cultivators that wanted to explore the exposed areas of the new continent.
Yet, it became useful in that situation, even if the Elbas family had to create a far denser version than the original product.
Wild hybrids appeared as the group pressed forward. Most of them would be confused, but there were a few specimens that had been able to regain a part of their mental faculties in that period.
Of course, only creatures in the heroic ranks showed some awareness. The hybrids in the human ranks needed far more time to become used to their new status.
The Elders killed the hybrids in the human ranks and chained those in heroic ones. It must be said that they didn't meet a single being in the fifth rank along the way, which made Noah wonder whether most of them had died during the outbursts.
The group eventually moved toward the other regions. Danielle didn't lie. Noah and the others didn't find any big army waiting for them. The most threatening force in their way was a small pack led by the first wild rank 5 hybrid that they met outside of the army.
Noah's group became smaller as more and more assets left its ranks to bring back chained hybrids, but the Elders in the fifth rank were still there, so that wasn't too much of a problem.
Weeks went by, and the remaining regions slowly uncovered themselves in front of the thorough inspections of the invaders. There were bound to be hybrids that had ventured in the wilderness, but the Elders didn't care enough to create another exploration team.
They looted the castles along the way too, obtaining the secret history of the natives that the Elders still ignored. The years of researches piled up in secret chambers became prizes for the winning side of that battle.
The troops eventually reached the coastline, where they found another small army with eight rank 5 hybrids trying to give orders to their restless underlings. It was needless to say that another major battle happened, but Noah's side won again, suffering even fewer casualties than the previous time.
At that point, the war against the natives was over, with the only variable being the fight still raging above the clouds.
The five rank 6 beings had been battling for almost two months by then, but the assets on the ground couldn't understand which side had the upper hand.
Noah's forces were confident in their powerhouses. After all, other than being more numerous, the rank 6 cultivators there were exceptional figures.
King Elbas had single-handedly created the opportunity to travel to another world, and no one could imagine how many incredible items his expertise had allowed him to make.
God's Right Hand was the "closest man to God", which wasn't a title given just because it caused awe in those hearing it. Many believed that he would be the next existence to reach the divine ranks and ascend to the Immortal lands. That alone spoke for his prowess.
As for God's Left Hand, she was still a follower of the only divine entity in Noah's world, but her greatness was mostly obscured by her superior.
The Elders began to bring the remaining hybrids back to the volcano, but they had to stop halfway through their return since thick drops of blood began to fall from the sky.
Noah and the hybrids were the first to understand what those drops meant. They could sense the insane amount of primary energy contained in each of them.
'The battle is over.' Noah thought as he closed his eyes.
The drops hurt when they touched his skin. Even in that form, his body was too weak to eat something in the sixth rank.