Aegis hovered above the ruined island, observing the defeated enemy soldiers below. The Skylord of this island had already surrendered, and it was only a matter of time before the island would vanish from the sky.
But suddenly, Aegis’s sharp ears twitched.
He caught a barely perceptible sound of an air-piercing whistle coming from behind.
Just as he turned around to face it, a small fiery orb shot into the air and collided with ita slimy body.
Puff!
In mid-air, liquid fire oozed from the wound, creating a disheartening scene.
"Pyro!" Diva cried, rushing to help, while Aegis immediately focused his attention on the attacker.
The assailant was about five miles away, and yet Aegis located him with ease.
The man, appearing to be in his thirties, was carrying a sniper rifle—an object that shouldn’t exist in this world.
Despite the distance, Aegis’s ocean blue eyes locked onto the assailant, and for a brief moment, the man’s heart skipped a beat.
Before the attacker could react, two little girls with Phoenix wings surrounded him.
Bang! Blurgh!
Flama kicked the man in the stomach with such ruthless force that his internal organs were disorganized.
Eterna swiftly seized the sniper rifle and carried it to Aegis.
Flama then carried the man’s body like a sandbag, and with one final motion, she threw him near Aegis’s feet.
Bang!
The assailant landed at Aegis’s feet, his body limp and unmoving.
Aegis didn’t even spare him a glance.
His eyes were now fixed on Pyro, the little fire slime. Unconsciously or subconsciously, he had never taken the little creature too seriously.
For this reason, he hadn’t give it any substantial power ups.
And yet, right now, even though this save wasn’t necessary, he admired the little fella’s bravery and sacrifice.
He still remembered the past, in the volcanic mountain, how it did everything to survive, even submitting to him, while still caring for its former companion: Baewolf.
But now that same opportunistic creature had laid its body down to shield him.
How could he not be moved? But it seemed this realization came a little too late. The fire slime was dying.
But, wait... the slime seemed to be... not dead.
He saw how the fire slime’s wound was rapidly closing in. Its marble-like eyes regained their life.
"Pyro, you survived!" Diva exclaimed, pulling the little creature into her arms like a pillow, her tears falling freely.
Aegis had seen Diva carrying it a few times, but he hadn’t realized just how emotionally connected she had grown to it.
"Papa, what will you do with the culprit?" Eterna asked, bringing him back to the present moment, reminding him of the pressing matter at hand.
Aegis’s eyes fell onto the battered man and the sniper gun.
The man was alive, struggling to breathe.
"Who are you? And who made this gun?" Aegis asked coldly.
The man grinned wickedly, "Cough, your days are numbered, you fiend.
"The Red Crusaders... They will get you."
Aegis stared at him with an unreadable expression. The man was dangerous, even in his last moments. And that word "Red" was enough to reveal anything he needed to know.
But where could these Red Crusaders be hiding?
But before Aegis could ask again, the man’s eyes closed. Then, with a sudden movement, he twisted his body, and his teeth sank into his own tongue.
Instantly, some kind of poisonous liquid burst into his mouth.
Within moments, the man’s body turned purple.
He committed suicide to keep their hiding place a secret.
"Papa, are they somehow connected to the Red Emperor?" Eterna asked, her rage boiling beneath the surface.
Aegis didn’t deny it.
"Yes. My guess is that, even though the Red Emperor cannot infiltrate due to the reinforced world barrier, he has found other ways to make some brainwashed pawns."
"Then we should find their dens as soon as possible, Papa. Otherwise, they would be another obstacle in your path. Let me and Flama scout through the other regions. They might not be too far away since they can monitor us," Eterna suggested.
Aegis pondered for a second, then gave them the approval.
"Alright, but be careful. They might be hiding bigger sharks then we know. And you know what to do when you encounter them, right?"
"Yes. We will use these Voice Transmission Beads you gave us to call you immediately."
In her palm rested a radiant black pearl.
These communication beads had been bought by Aegis from a man named "Spirit_Lord," each costing him 10,000 BC.
They were incredibly expensive, but for improved communication, he had spent all 100,000 BC he earned by selling water.
If others knew how casually he splurged his money like this, they would have died by a heart attack.
But he didn’t care. After all, he could produce as much water as he wanted.
As Eterna and Flama transformed into their phoenix forms and flapped their wings through the air, Aegis decided to focus on his next target.
[ Upgrade Requirement (Stage 7) ]
[ Followers: 2506 / 5000; Sky Crystals: 55 / 100 ]
There was still a long way to go before Aquabyss could upgrade to stage 7.
It made him wonder if the requirements were the same for everyone or if they were just specifically harder for him.
With each step, he was requiring twice the amount as the previous stage.
But, of course, the benefits and expansion were also doubled.
Maybe it was because of Aquabyss’s duality. Both marine and abyssal creatures now lived in the sea.
And the first creature to evolve into an abyssal creature was the Dual-Headed Hydra.
It was still going through a metamorphosis deep in the saltwater.
When it emerged, he might get to see another powerful subordinate.
Shaking those thoughts aside, Aegis focused on the present.
In the distance, in the western sky, painted with the orange color of the setting sun, Aegis finally saw something.
A bright flash of purple light... It intensified. More and more.
So much so It seemed to instantly engulf the whole world.
A Global Announcement followed next:
Ding!