Apollo stared at them with shining eyes, but he was jolted out of his stupor when the wolf howled into the air. Suddenly, a sense of dread rose inside his heart, and sure enough, the Alphadusk emitted a dark light, growing at least five meters taller. The monster unleashed a pressure far stronger than before.
The Beggar felt as though a mountain was pressing down on him.
"Sh*t! Gotta get out of here!" Apollo glanced at the three Headmasters before heading toward the cracked part of the barrier.
This time, no tails pursued him, and he sighed in relief. Standing in front of the crack, he raised his fist and punched hard. With a loud bang, the barrier shook, small pieces falling to the ground like shards of glass.
Seeing this, Apollo couldn't help but smile. He kept pounding on the barrier, using his True Hardening technique. The crack widened, and before long, the Beggar shattered the barrier completely, creating an opening large enough for him to escape.
Suddenly, a strong explosion erupted behind him, and the shockwave propelled the Beggar outside the barrier. As he hurtled through the air, Apollo flipped and landed squarely on his feet.
Glancing back, he saw the shrine made of fire cast a torrent of flames at the monster, which responded with a shadowy wave!
The winds were so chaotic that rocks were flying everywhere. One of the rocks hurtled toward Apollo. He sliced it in half with the wooden sword in his hand. But then another rock came flying at him.
"This place is dangerous," Apollo muttered, slicing through the projectile before using his movement technique to dash toward the exit.
Just as he was about to reach the exit, he sensed another threat from behind. Glancing back, he saw a giant dark orb headed straight for him! His eyes widened—he knew that if it hit, he would surely die!
But in the next moment, the Great Serpent appeared from the side, swallowing the dark orb with its wide mouth!
"I'll remember that forever!" Apollo shouted at the Great Serpent Headmaster as he disappeared through the exit.
Watching the small masked man's retreating figure, Axton commanded the Great Serpent to attack the Alphadusk.
"Take this!" Elmo shouted from the side, his giant projection swinging its sword.
As the battle raged on, the entire mountain shook, with parts of it beginning to crumble. If this continued, the mountain would collapse from within.
Outside the tallest mountain in the area, people were scattered everywhere—most of them running back toward the city, while those with chariots quickly climbed in and ordered their charioteers to get them out of there as fast as possible.
Filly and Gail arrived at the foot of the mountain, both breathing heavily, especially the restaurant owner.
"What the hell is that monster?" Filly asked, panting.
"It's…" Gail glanced at the mountain with squinted eyes. "An Alphadusk Shadowtail."
"Alphadusk?!" Filly's eyes widened in shock and fear. "I never thought I'd see one in my entire life!"
"But I thought they only had nine tails," Gail muttered, her voice filled with confusion. She had been trained as an assassin, and that didn't just mean learning how to kill. She was smart, and she had read a lot of books.
"Well, books can be wrong sometimes," Filly explained, glancing around the area. Seeing that most people were fleeing and only the Cultivators remained, she tilted her head, realizing she hadn't spotted the person she was looking for. She knew Bel was safe—after they visited her, her father took her somewhere else. But the one she was looking for wasn't Bel. "Where is he?"
"Can Deez," Filly said.
Gail's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered that Can Deez had been left on the stage!
"He's still inside!" Gail exclaimed, turning back to the mountain with worry.
"Sh*t, we forgot about him!" Filly slapped her forehead. "But the Headmasters are there, right? He should be safe with them?"
Gail shook her head. "In battles between the strong, their stage is much wider and grander than what we fought on."
"What do you mean?" Filly tilted her head in confusion.
"Earth," Gail pointed toward the ground. "This is their battlefield."
"I don't under—" Filly didn't finish her sentence as the mountain began shaking violently! Everyone looked up as the mountain's peak exploded like a volcano!
But instead of lava, four giants emerged!
"Watch out!" Gail shouted, stepping in front of the restaurant owner as a giant rock fell in their direction. Two white lights flashed in front of her, metallic gleams materializing—cold and deadly—as she brandished her two short swords!
Just as the boulder was about to crush them, the wind whistled, and slashing light caused the giant rock to crumble into pieces!
"Let's fall back," Gail said, and Filly nodded in agreement.
The other Cultivators defended themselves from the falling debris, unleashing a flurry of Techniques that lit up the dark night.
Filly and Gail stopped dozens of meters from the mountain's base, where they deemed it safe to observe the battle.
Looking at the mountain, they saw the Great Serpent, the Shrine made of fire, the Titan clad in obsidian armor, and the almost thirty-meter-tall wolf with ten tails!
The Alphadusk caused the onlookers to gape in awe. This was the first time many of them had seen a monster they'd only read about in books and heard about in rumors.
"Such magnificence," Filly muttered, her eyes shining with amazement as the battle raged on.
A torrent of fire lit the night sky in red, followed by a flood from the Great Serpent and booming strikes from the Titan.
But the Alphadusk was no pushover, responding with a surge of dark smoke that almost turned to liquid, and Dark Orbs that exploded on impact, summoning chaotic winds. Even from a distance, they could feel the hot wind against their skin.
"I'll go back and save him," Gail said, determination filling her eyes.
"That's too risky!" Filly stared at her in alarm.
"Don't worry, I'll be safe. Besides, he did me a favor by killing that guy—it's only right I repay him," Gail smiled.
"But… but…" Filly stammered, tears welling up in her eyes. Just as she was about to agree, she suddenly spotted someone running toward them from the base of the mountain. "Is that… him?"
"Hm?" Gail turned around and saw the person she had been about to rescue.