Once he had unlocked the Umbral Crown, his sensitivity to the Shadow dimension’s corruption had skyrocketed... It was like a warning system whether he should wear the Crown or not.
The others weren’t feeling it as heavy, but the despairing, deathly appearance of the land was enough to let them know what awaited them at its depths.
However, no one was too worried about the corrupting atmosphere.
They had a solution for it.
"Bring out the Corruption Cleanser Totems." Lord Idriss ordered calmly, taking the first step towards the mountain.
Madam Naima, Nadir, Velmira, Fenn, and the rest of the Blood Hunters Main Raiding Squad followed him closely while holding dimensional wallets.
"Atchoo! This damned, horrid air and its effects on my allergy."
Velmira sneezed while covering her nose with a napkin. She swiftly summoned a giant wooden brown statue in the shape of a goddess-like figure with an erased face.
This was also a totem... Though it was from the Stationary Blessing Totem type. It had one job only: absorb the Shadow dimension’s corrupting air and leave the area cleansed.
Such a vital totem was extremely expensive, sold for no less than fifty thousand coins. This was a discounted price. If a region or an agency wanted to purchase more from other regions with higher totem quotas, they had to pay double... minimum!
That’s why Velmira placed it on top of a military-grade cart for its protection and let her team members finish the rest of the setup.
Nadir, Rasim, Fenn, and the rest of the Raiding Squad did the same, creating a wall of ten goddess-like statues enclosed inside tough metallic army carts... Only a few thin-lined holes were left on each wall.
This display of wealth made the helpers deeply envious. Their low-tiered agencies could barely purchase one Stationary Blessing Totem.
"Activate."
Following Lord Idriss’s order, the statue owners murmured an incantation, their voices harmonizing:
"By root, by flame, by silent breath... purge what festers, restore what’s left!"
Immediately after the incantation concluded, ten pillars of divine light fell from the heavens and pierced the metallic green carts. It lasted less than a second, resembling a flash of light.
Yet, it was enough to power up the statues, turning them into Corruption Sucking Machines!
Whoosh!
A gray mist seeped from the surroundings, drawn toward the statues like smoke chasing a flame.
The corruption hissed as it touched the wood totems, recoiling... but too late. The statues began to drink it in, mouths agape in silent exhale, siphoning the rot from the air with invisible force!
Faint light bled from the carvings along their spines, flickering brighter with each breath they stole from the corrupted territory.
In a few seconds, close to five kilometers lit up slightly, the corruption no longer a threat.
"Move in."
Lord Idriss ordered while leading the army on his nightmount, switching to traveling on the ground.
Meanwhile, Levi and the rest of the Daywalkers with flying Nightmounts were tasked to group up near Velmira.
She was assigned to organize a temporary scouting squad from the skies to deal with any flight-related threats and check for subsidiary nests.
Usually, such tasks shouldn’t be given to low-ranked Daywalkers, but Levi and Nurah were different... They had established their reliability previously, giving them extra tasks.
Levi wasn’t complaining since he knew that his end rewards were based on these tasks and the number of nightcrawlers slain.
While the army was piercing through the Lord of the Broken Peak’s territory, Velmira had gathered everyone and handed them wooden-based masks.
She was sitting on top of a robust nightmount that moved on multiple legs, featuring translucent wing membranes that resembled stained glass.
Meanwhile, Levi and the others covered their noses and mouths with the masks, just like the coronavirus masks we were forced to wear.
"The Cleansing Masks Totems can protect your internal organs from corruption, but not your skin. Luckily, the corruption levels outside of the Shadow dimension can never rival the true potency inside it." Velmira snapped her fingers rapidly, "So, be fast, be flexible, be always on the move."
"Understood?"
"Yes, Madam!"
"Call me Miss Velmira, I ain’t your auntie." Velmira’s eyelids twitched.
Although Velmira was in her mid-thirties, she didn’t look older than a twenty-year-old girl. She wore a long, crimson coat decorated with polished glass on the cuffs and collar, each piece shining brightly regardless of the lighting.
Nothing seemed to adhere to her... neither dust, dirt, nor even shadows. It was as if the world kept its distance from her.
She had a small mirror, resembling a crooked shard, dangled from a silver cord around her neck... Those who knew what that mirror represented avoided eye contact with it at all costs.
Then, she glanced in the direction of Levi and gestured with her head for him to follow her.
"Hehe, go, your babysitter is calling you." Nurah giggled, taking off solo, just like the others.
"Don’t mind her, just be safe, we are a long way from home," Shia advised, her tone concerning.
"I will... You too." Levi smiled serenely.
Shia gave him a head nod and leaned to the side, her winged eagle swiftly changing directions akin to a fighter jet.
Velmira split up her scouting squad and sent them in different directions ahead of the army. As for Levi? He had to accompany her.
Shia could handle herself, while Nurah already had many successful missions under her name... Only Levi seemed to need a babysitter.
Despite having displayed his prowess during the Twilight Burrow, it was foolish to compare a Tier 1 to a Tier 6 nest.
Neither Seraphis nor Lord Idriss was that frivolous to let a newly born Daywalker fly on his own above the enemy’s territory.
Still...
"Miss Velmira, I know Instructor Seraphis requested that you keep an eye on me, but there is really no need to."
Levi pleaded for his case, uninterested in having a babysitter with one of the fastest sky mounts... If he wanted, he could easily dust her mount, speed-wise.
"Shush, I am not too happy about this assignment, but orders are orders." Velmira shut down his attempts calmly.
Hearing this, Levi knew that if he wanted some freedom, he had to prove himself first. No hesitation, he reached out to his back and plucked a single string on his spine.
A low-pitched note was released everywhere, and Levi channeled his echolocation ability to expand this low-pitched note many kilometers in front of them.
The moment the sound wave bounced off some flying nightcrawlers, Levi shared calmly, "Eight flying nightcrawlers are ahead, three kilometers away."
"Huh? I see nothing." Velmira was surprised, her senses not picking up on anything in front.
"They are hiding within the dark clouds." Levi added, "Based on their spiritual auras, they are no stronger than Tier 2."
’Is he for real?’ Velmira showed a flicker of wonder.
She was a psych specialist and Stage Three Warden, which meant her spiritual sense was more than decent. Although Velmira knew that Levi was considered a Spiritual Anomaly talent, still... If even her spiritual sense couldn’t pick up on them, then how could...
Before such doubts were instilled in her mind, her spiritual sense finally detected the mentioned presence of eight nightcrawlers, fast approaching them.
"..." She turned her head and gazed at him speechlessly. Then, she couldn’t help but ask, "How long is your spiritual range?"
"I don’t know, it was about five kilometers before my evolution, but now, it might be triple if I really stressed it." Levi answered casually.
"Anomaly... Ha, hahaha!" Velmira broke into laughter, her ego beyond shattered.
Only now did she truly understand the difference between an Anomaly-level talent and simply a ’genius’.
Anomalies were given to truly monstrous talents that defied logic...Fifteen kilometers limit while still at a Junior rank? Simply ridiculous.
She couldn’t help but envy such talent. But once she was reminded of Levi’s disability, her envy turned into understanding.
’Only someone as unique deserves such a blessing to offset their curse.’ She murmured inwardly, her gaze turning somewhat soft on Levi.
"What’s the plan?" Levi asked, unbothered by her gaze.
"Well, you said you can take care of yourself... Get rid of them. If you succeed, I will let you scout alone." Velmira smirked, deciding to humble Levi a little.
She watched some clips of what he did in the Twilight Burrow, making her understand that if he kept moving with that confidence here, he was bound to drop dead out of nowhere.
Alas... She had no clue that Levi was a different breed now.
"Fair enough... Vyra, full speed."
No hesitation, Vyra kicked it in full gear, disappearing in almost an instant within the clouds, akin to a suppressed missile.
A second later... Booom!
The noise of the speed barrier shattering reached them.
"...Shit, Peanut catch up!"
Peanut turned his head slowly, giving her a bombastic side eye.
It was like he was telling her: woman, you saw her speed surpass sound, the f*ck you mean catch up?