Noah and the others retreated when they saw the massive titan throwing the second mountain toward Ravaging Demon. They could finally escape now that Chasing Demon was here.
As for who would win that battle, there was no doubt in the assets of the Hive's minds. Ravaging Demon was only a newly advanced rank 6 cultivators who even a few experts in the fifth rank had managed to hit. Instead, Chasing Demon had lived for more than a century as a powerhouse.
The Patriarch of the Hive was even in possession of the divine puppet retrieved in Shandal's separate dimension. The fact that he had reached the sixth rank on his own was proof of his superior talent too.
The other assets of the Hive retreated when they saw Noah and the Elders flying on the other side of the destroyed defensive walls. The experts of the Council did the same, and they stopped near the five who had fought the powerhouse.
The Hive and the Council had formed a silent alliance in those short minutes. The fact that the Elbas family was probably working together with Ravaging Demon's factions made the two of them natural allies.
Also, they were the organizations that had lost the most in Ravaging Demon's sudden attack. All their human cultivators and experts in the fourth rank were gone. They had suffered casualties even among those in the fifth rank.
That loss could put the Elbas family directly at the peak of those Mortal Lands. The alliance between the Hive and the Council appeared mandatory in that situation. There was even the foundation for future cooperation.
If Chasing Demon were to win, the Royals would only have a rank 6 cultivator on their side. Annexing the remains of the Ravaging Demon sect wouldn't help the Elbas family take the spot of the strongest organization since it would have two powerful enemies near its borders.
Without the protection of a god, that could only lead to a slow and constant suppression from the enemy forces. The Royals would end up like the Shandal Empire, even if with fewer limitations.
The assets of the Elbas family wanted to retreat too to avoid suffering from the shockwaves released in the battle between the two powerhouses. However, there was distrust in the experts of the Hive and the Council.
Both sides didn't know if they would fight in that situation. Yet, they were bound to discuss once they grouped again, which could only lead to conflict.
A pyre surged and destroyed the second mountain. Ravaging Demon appeared among the ashes and flames still lingering around him, but his body was in a poor state.
Almost the entirety of his lower body had turned into flames, and the same went for half of his head. It was clear that he was using a powerful defensive spell, but the impacts with the mountains had affected him.
Pieces of flesh replaced the flames after they condensed, but that process didn't happen on all his injuries. His head healed completely, but his lower body struggled to return to its original form. Only a leg reappeared, while the other was still in its fiery shape.
"This life," Ravaging Demon spoke as he glanced at the massive titan high in the sky, "Does it come from her? How can a Demon care so much for someone else?"
Chasing Demon didn't answer, but a faint trace of sorrow appeared on his expression. Yet, his memories didn't stop him from launching another attack.
The titan started to descend, leaving the Patriarch of the Hive in the air. Its enormous body fell from the sky and picked up speed as it aimed for Ravaging Demon.
A strong wind began to blow due to the movements of the puppet. Its body was so massive that its fall caused storms to spread through those destroyed regions.
Its brown body slowly turned red as the friction with the air increased its temperature. In that status, the titan resembled a meteorite with a humanoid shape ready to kill any lifeform on the ground.
The heroic assets on the scene showed worried expressions, and even Noah began to take steps back at that sight. The fall of the titan was akin to a natural catastrophe. There was a chance that the entire region wouldn't survive that attack.
He was even injured. He had yet to absorb all the nutrients inside him, but they wouldn't be enough to heal his body completely. Noah needed to rest to stabilize himself, and facing such a mighty event could only worsen his condition.
The Royals retreated too at that point. It didn't matter if the Council and the Hive suspected them. Being too close to that battle would kill even the strongest cultivator among them. Escaping was their only chance to survive.
No one could bother about starting a fight while something so dangerous was happening right next to them.
The titan continued its descent as everyone evacuated the area. Then, when it touched the ground, a cloud of dust filled the entirety of the Empire's domain.
The ground cracked and shook. Any lifeform in the area vanished as the shockwave spread. The mountains in the distance crumbled, and every building in the territories outside of the defensive walls fell apart, unable to withstand the immense power released in the impact.
The shockwave hit Noah and the other escaping assets too, but they had been quick in their decision to retreat, and that force only made them reach a higher speed.
Of course, the human cultivators and experts in the fourth rank of the Elbas family couldn't escape the range of its destruction. Some of them became nothing more than a bloody mass of flesh, while others felt their internal organs exploding due to the might of the impact.
The rank 5 cultivators were fine though. The losses of the Royals were still below those of the other organizations.
Once the shockwave dispersed, the escaping assets stopped to analyze the outcome of the impact. The dust settled and revealed a series of flame snakes flying above Ravaging Demon in a defensive stance. The giant stood above those creatures and limited itself to study them.
The experts in the fifth rank immediately noticed that there was something wrong with the scene. They could accept that Ravaging Demon had managed to endure the two mountains, but the titan was on another level. Its power could level entire nations!
They couldn't believe that those flames belonged to Ravaging Demon. After all, Noah and the others had managed to hit him. He would have used the fiery snakes against them if they were part of his power.
The answer to their doubts arrived quickly. A crowned silver-haired cultivator had appeared on the scene while the titan was falling. His flames had made those snakes, and they could stop the titan because he was on a superior level.
"So," Chasing Demon said without turning his head toward King Elbas, "You will interfere."
King Elbas was about to answer when a series of precise lightning bolts hit the heads of the snakes and dispersed them. Even Great Elder Diana had joined the battlefield.