Apollo stared at the destruction he’d caused. As the remaining ashes of the Unnatural Birth Lich floated into the sky, he couldn’t help but think about the situation.
First, the Translucent Thunder Rat... and now, a Lich? These creatures are running from sothing. The beggar frowned at the thought.
"These monsters hiding in the desert... they’re strong. Belthias won’t be able to handle them," Apollo muttered. As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud roar echoed in the distance.
Hearing it, Apollo instantly knew what kind of monster had let out that sound.
His body flashed, and he reappeared, floating above the desert near the forest’s edge. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a Desert Dragon flapping its massive wings as it approached.
"Even a Half-Breed dragon is fleeing... this is getting more and more troubleso," Apollo muttered, worry evident in his voice and on his face.
This Desert Dragon wasn’t as strong as the Lich or the Translucent Thunder Rat, but it still held power equivalent to the Core Creation Stage—enough to terrorize a whole city, assuming there was no protection.
"These kinds of monsters are running... Belthias will have to make them change their direction," Apollo mumbled. It was the only way to keep the city—and more importantly, his beggar spot—safe. Clearly, Belthias City wouldn’t be able to stop this beast stampede. Fortunately, this wasn’t a normal stampede. These monsters were simply fleeing—but if a city happened to be in their path, they wouldn’t hesitate to destroy it.
Apollo had already inford Mathias about what was happening—that the monsters were escaping from sothing far worse.
"Mathias is smart. He’ll know what to do."
That thought brought him a sliver of comfort, though his expression remained serious.
I have to go to that Wadis... but let kill so of them first, Apollo thought.
Then his body beca wrapped in lightning, water blades, Fire Blasts, Wind Blasts, and every Battle Technique he could think of. Like a missile, Apollo shot through the air toward the Desert Dragon.
He moved so fast, he resembled a teor streaking through the night sky. Without slowing down, his body collided with the dragon, triggering an explosion in the sky.
The shockwave blasted fire and wind across the air, sending flas spiraling and tossing monsters around. So burned to ashes; others were flung toward the gorge, rolling across the land like ragdolls.
As smoke and fire filled the sky, Apollo erged from it, his montum undeterred. He tore through every monster in his path—letting so go, but killing any that matched the strength of Core Creation Stage Cultivators.
Given the vastness of the desert, Apollo took down at least a dozen such monsters before deciding it was enough for Belthias City to handle—though they’d still need a plan to redirect the rest.
Glancing back, Apollo turned and flew toward the Wadis.
The monsters hadn’t stopped leaping across the gorge. Even as so fell into the void below, their determination to escape remained unshaken.
Different sizes. Different kinds. Different levels of strength. But they all shared the sa goal—to get out of this place.
Apollo spread his senses and detected Core Creation-level beasts successfully making the jump across the gorge. But as he flew away, there was nothing more he could do for them.
He let them go.
He had already killed a dozen of such monsters, and the more he fought and slaughtered them, the more curious he beca about the reason they were running.
Apollo was worried about the city—but not too worried anymore. After all, he’d already given them the information about the monster stampede. With Mathias’s leadership, Belthias should be safe. Hopefully.
After taking one last look at the hundreds of monsters jumping the gorge, he turned his focus toward the direction of the Wadis. Lightning and Wind Blasts erupted around him, and with a burst of light, his body vanished from sight.
...
Back in Belthias City.
Outside the giant walls, an explosion of fire erupted, sending flas everywhere. The shockwave caused the newly built walls to crack—so parts even collapsed to the ground.
Winds howled, hurling dirt high into the air, creating blast craters across the battlefield. The ground split and shuddered as fireballs rained from above.
Standing atop the towering wall was a man, his hair waving wildly in the storm winds, hands outstretched as torrents of fla spiraled around him, crashing down on the monsters trying to breach the city.
Amidst the fire and smoke, Master Popo continued burning everything below him. His robes flapped furiously, revealing sothing underneath his red robe—sothing that definitely required the Japanizing Blur.
Still, not a single man in silver armor dared look up. Not because of fear, but because they were too busy dealing with the chaos below. The "thing" under his robe could only watch them in silence.
For so reason, Master Popo didn’t like the feeling of being ignored—especially when he was flying and fighting.
It felt like he was performing, but no one liked what they saw. But I’m not putting on a show... so why do I feel this way? Master Popo wondered.
Suddenly, the sound of air tearing apart echoed behind him. Without turning, Master Popo spread his senses and instantly recognized the approaching figure.
"What’s the situation?" the newcor asked.
"Monsters, as you can see," Master Popo replied with a smile to the mayor of Belthias, now standing beside him.
"I can see that," Mathias said with a forced chuckle. "Where are the others?"
"Stationed at the other gates," Master Popo said, glancing across the walls where Axton and Elmo were also fighting. "But this one... this gate has more monsters than the others."
"This is the direction they ca from," Mathias replied.
"You said they’re running, right? Then it makes sense they’d charge through here. But why go around and attack the other gates?" Master Popo voiced his doubts, all while his Qi continued conjuring flas that scorched the ground below.
"They’re monsters. Known for destruction. They’re not going to pass up a chance to trample a city," Mathias said with a serious expression. "They’re running from sothing... but they still think of doing harm. How despicable."
"It makes sense, but I wonder if whatever they’re running from is really stro—" Master Popo didn’t finish. In the next instant, both n felt a terrifying presence approaching from the distance.
Not just one. At least five.
"Alphas?"
"Core Creation Monsters?"
Mathias and Master Popo muttered at the sa ti, locking eyes as the realization sank in.
Two flashes of light appeared beside them, and Master Axton and Elmo materialized on the wall.
"So, five, huh?" Axton said, a bitter smile on his face.
"Yes," Mathias nodded, eyes narrowing as the distant forest trembled with unnatural force.
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