The humongous dragon head immediately looked at the Metal Elemental with its grey eyes.
The people watched in shock.
Not many of them had seen a Natural God, and even fewer had seen the actual World Wyrm.
This thing was massive!
Just its head had a length of nearly a hundred meters!
How long was the actual thing?!
Its scales were completely silver and shone in the light, making it seem almost indestructible.
The Metal Elemental immediately noticed that something of incredible power was focusing on it.
It looked back at the dragon head for just an instant before charging towards the ground.
At the same time, the World Wyrm opened its gigantic mouth.
Terror appeared in everyone's hearts.
Then, the Metal Elemental was violently pulled away and flew to the World Wyrm.
Within just two seconds, the Metal Elemental flew into the World Wyrm's mouth.
The World Wyrm didn't even close its mouth to chew.
Silence.
Team Sandstorm was still falling, and the World Wyrm turned its eyes to them.
Kyle just nervously smiled.
'I mean, yeah, that was my plan. Gotta deal with the Metal Elemental somehow, you know?'
'I just hope it doesn't care about us.'
After looking at team Sandstorm for less than a second, the World Wyrm turned away again.
The only reason why team Sandstorm had attracted its attention was because they were in the middle of the air.
It wasn't interested in beings in the Second Realm.
The World Wyrm looked at the Ether Crater, and for just a moment, all fighting stopped.
The World Wyrm looked at everyone for three tense seconds.
"AAAHH!"
Suddenly, someone from the Skysand Kingdom's side was pulled away.
When Kyle saw that person, his eyes widened.
'A Mid Royal Knight?!' Kyle thought. 'We had one of those here?!'
It seemed like this Mid Royal Knight had been the Skysand Kingdom's last ace in the hole, in case the enemy broke the rules and sent powerful people.
However, since the Skysand Kingdom had such an insurance…
That was when Kyle saw a second person flying towards the World Wyrm from the Winterfire Kingdom's side.
Naturally, the Winterfire Kingdom also had such an insurance.
But then, a third person was pulled into the sky.
Yet, when Kyle saw that person, he became a bit confused.
'Initial Grandmaster?' he thought.
The other people in the Third Realm became terrified.
The World Wyrm would consume everyone in the Third Realm!
They didn't want to die.
Over the next five seconds, the World Wyrm consumed the three people it had pulled in.
Then, it looked at the Ether Crater again.
Four more seconds passed.
Finally, the World Wyrm closed its mouth, and a second later, it vanished behind the World Peak again.
Nobody moved for an entire ten seconds.
They… survived?
Did they actually survive?
It didn't kill everybody?
As more seconds passed, relief washed over everybody.
They survived!
"I believe I know what happened," Theodor said as he also released a sigh.
In front of something this powerful, not even Theodor could remain calm.
"It sensed the Metal Elemental, something strong enough to be considered food. It came to take a look and consumed the Metal Elemental. After consuming it, it checked if more food was present and wasn't disappointed."
"Two people in the Mid Third Realm…"
"And someone in the Initial Third Realm with an Aristocrat's Body."
"Right," Kyle said. "Aristocrat's Body! That would explain things! Luckily, I'm still too weak. Remind me not to come here again when I'm stronger."
"I believe you will remember just-"
BANG!
Kyle landed on one of the peaks.
"Fine," Theodor finished.
At the same time, Kyle saw Falk catching Lily as well.
Team Sandstorm gathered again and looked at each other.
"So, yeah, Metal Elementals," Kyle said. "Didn't know they could copy golems,"
"I also didn't know," Selene said.
"None of my golems ever got eaten by one," Theodor said, meaning that he also hadn't known.
As Kyle looked at Lily, he noticed that her face was white with terror.
Not surprising, considering that the Metal Elemental had been after her, specifically.
"So, everything alright, Lily?" Kyle asked.
Lily got startled by Kyle's voice, and she looked over.
"I-I… It's fine! Stop treating me like a baby!" she shouted. "Danger is nothing new to me!"
"Freeze!" an authoritative voice shouted as three people in the Initial Third Realm appeared beside team Sandstorm.
"We're not moving," Kyle said as he casually turned to the shouting man.
"What is the meaning of this?!" the man shouted in rage and fear. "Did you intend to sabotage the frontline?!"
Kyle blinked once very slowly. "You what?" he asked.
The man just glared at Kyle.
"Answer!" he shouted, pointing his bow at Kyle.
"Dude, there was a Metal Elemental. It chased us. We fled. The Metal Elemental pulled out the World Wyrm. That's all that happened," Kyle said. The three people in the Third Realm narrowed their eyes even more.
They had seen the shining figure chasing them in the sky, but they hadn't been sure what it was.
After all, how many people had ever seen a Metal Elemental and lived to tell the tale?
"Why did you draw out a Metal Elemental?" the leading man asked with authority.
"Because we are tired of living and would really enjoy some death," Kyle answered.
"Your sarcasm is not helping your case," the man answered with annoyance.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Dude, we were digging a tunnel to the Ether Essence. Why else would we go that far down?"
"Mining without authorization by the royal army is forbidden!" the man shouted.
In answer, Kyle just pulled out the emblem he had received. "We are not only authorized but also ordered to dig a tunnel."
The man frowned before scanning the emblem.
The next moment, he snorted.
"Captain Halindrom… again," the man said.
The other two gritted their teeth, but they wouldn't make their frustrations known in front of outsiders.
The leading man took a deep breath to calm down.
"Since you have been following orders, you are not at fault for the situation," he said. "We will make a report to the Lieutenant General."
"As much as it pains me to say it, we do not have the authority to change your orders since you are not part of the army."
"You may proceed with digging your hole."
"Make sure it's just a hole, and not your own graves."
Kyle nodded with a smile. "Thanks! We'll get right back to work!"
The man groaned again.
But then, one of the man's followers looked at Kyle with a raised brow.
"Say," he said, "I saw a fiery explosion below your Artificer. I don't think an Artificer can do that since they don't specialize in that. Additionally, Artificers most commonly have Earth or Metal Affinities, and the explosion was definitely fiery in nature. Also, nobody was close to her at that moment. "
"Something like that requires an improved Soul."
The other two realized what the man was talking about, and they also looked at the team.
"Do you guys have a Paladin?" he asked. "You do know that keeping a Paladin secret from the army counts as deceiving the crown and might end in your executions, right?"
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