The World Serpent’s jaw continued to spew out dense amounts of spiritual energies into the air, creating vast amounts of ripples that affected the weather. The white snow that fell from the heavens quickly turned into pure water, and the torrential winds promptly got out of hand. Gone were the deadly blizzards that blurred visions. Now, it was an endless downpour of heavy rain, as the sharp whistles of the heavens pierced the forest.

Whooooooooooshhhhhhh!!!

The winds rapidly whirled, turning into deadly hurricanes that broke through bone and tore into flesh. Jimga was forced to defend by digging deep into the ground as his Sword Avatar wasn’t enough. Over a dozen tornadoes sprung forth from the heavens and landed straight onto the ground. The snowy fields were cleared by the impact, and thousands of trees were instantly uprooted.

Jimga watched the skies in horror as the world came to a resounding halt. For the beast to change the weather that easily… The World Serpent was close to the Primordial Beast realm, that was for certain. If Ao somehow makes yet another breakthrough, all of the Spirit Venerates that Shin and the Alliance had brought would be completely wasted. Only a Spirit Saint could stand against the terror of a Primordial Beast.

After the snow had been converted to rain, Ao closed his mouth. He looked at the weather he’d created and revealed a sinister smile. “Ah, that’s better...” The World Serpent marvelled at his own work. It has been quite some time since he used the full extent of his powers. “Now this is the kind of weather that I can fight in...”

Jimga gritted his teeth, desperately tightening the grip on his sword’s handle. The Spirit Emperor wanted to leap out in the open and take the World Serpent one-on-one. However, he wasn’t stupid. Jimga’s injury was severe, and even at his full power, Ao still manhandled him as if he were a teddy bear. It would be impossible to defeat the World Serpent in his current state. What Jimga needed to do was focus on his recovery while waiting for backup to arrive. Should Pangu, one of the Dalgeom Sect’s faction leaders, arrive at the scene, the World Serpent was sure to fall.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for the Spirit Emperor, the World Serpent wasn’t paying attention to the downed Spirit Emperor. In its opinion, Jimga was as good as dead. What’s more important was…

“The prey has entered the net...” Ao raised his senses to the maximum, finding every single mana signature that was nearby. Over half of the Spirit Venerates that were sent out were within fifty kilometres of the base, and many more were rapidly rushing over. They all wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible, even if it meant delving deeper into the belly of the beast.

Ao snickered, baring his pure white fangs for all to see. “I guess it's time to unleash them all...”

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

A shockwave far exceeding anything measured on the Richter scale, pulsated throughout the entire region. Jimga, who had been buried under a dozen metres of snow, was forced to emerge out into the open. His colossal sword was quivering in fear as his Spectre Soul turned completely cold.

“What’s… this… feeling?” The Spirit Emperor felt a cancerous terror spreading all over his very being. It was the first time in ages that Jimga had felt this way. He felt… so small…

Glancing over his shoulder, Jimga could finally understand why there was so much fear within his soul. Five kilometres away from the castle shrouded in secrecy, a dense fog rose to over ten kilometres in height. The mist was seemingly created with snow, sand and stardust, obscuring the object that hid within the Uncharted Wilderness. Vast amounts of spiritual energies burst forth from the interior of the fog and formed a dense wall. Even with Jimga’s Rank 70 Spirit Emperor senses, he was unable to discern what laid beyond the crazy fog. However, one thing’s for certain…

‘If that thing’s unleashed… The Black Masks would rule the region!!!’

Jimga wanted to stop the giant that lay within the fog, but alas… He was far too late. The dense clouds were blown away as the elemental energies of the area doubled dramatically. With the fog gone, Jimga could observe everything that the Black Mask hid. A structure, measuring ten kilometres tall and twenty kilometres wide, towered over the region. Made by black, obsidian blocks, the structure weighed down on the forest. And most importantly, there was one vital feature of the structure that caught Jimga’s attention more than any other...

‘A-A g-gate?’ The Spirit Emperor’s eyes widened in confusion. That’s right… The object that the Black Masks were hiding… The whole reason why they stayed this long in this god-forsaken area… Was precisely because of this gargantuan gate.

“We’ve originally planned to open the gate in ten years when most of our forces were depleted from the long years of killing...” Ao sighed once more. “If the gate was completed, we could have destroyed the entire Kori Federation… It’s really a shame...” The World Serpent shook its head, disappointed that the gate wouldn’t be able to serve its original function.

“Oh well, destroying half of the Kori Federation should be fine...” Ao gazed deep into the gate, before finally hollering out the order.

“FOR THE ALLFATHER!!!”

“FOR THE ALLFATHER!!!” The Black Masks within the barrier all parroted the same words.

At that moment, the gears of time were finally set into motion. Black Masks of all ranks rushed to their positions and quickly churned the mechanisms needed. Tier 7 Spirit Beasts all leapt into the open, slicing a portion of their flesh off and dripping blood onto the obsidian gate. At the same time, the Uncharted Wilderness began to shake.

Baduk… Baduk… Baduk...

It wasn’t a natural disaster, and neither was it man-made. The trees that remained were quickly being dismantled, and the boulders that surrounded the area were quickly thrown down into the open. A gaping hole, one light up with dark blue particles and strengthened by the obsidian that held it together, brought forth the endless dread that lay within the lands. The Uncharted Wilderness, the world’s most secretive place, was now… finally… open…

Reeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

The first Spirit Beast to escape from the gate was a flying winged serpent. It held some resemblance to Ao, the King of Serpents, but ultimately, it was its own beast. Green toxic fluids dripped down from its fangs, staining the foresty earth that laid underneath it. Its wings were coloured in a beautiful jade as if behaving like luminous lights to attract prey. It was a fearsome creature, but that was just the beginning.

A flaming humanoid giant barged out from the gates of hell, melting the leftover snow that remained on the ground. It stood at over ten metres tall and held two magma clubs in its hands, ready to dispatch the next fool that dared to look in its direction. By its side, an orange manta ray, wiggled up into the skies, as if it were a fish in the water. Spikes coiled with blue electricity shot out from its back, instantly vapourising the rain that fell upon its body.

Vvvvvvvvooooooooooommmm!!!

The woods of the Uncharted Wilderness continued to shake, sending tremors pulsating throughout the world. Finally, after minutes of anxious anticipation, Jimga was finally able to witness what was causing all of that mayhem. Thousands of Spirit Beasts, most of them Tier 1 and Tier 2, charged forth from the Uncharted Wilderness like a ravaging horde. Dark matter spiralled within their brains, forcing them to bolt towards the obsidian gate.

Mighty beasts that were above Tier 6 weren’t the focal point of the gate… It was the weaker ones that mattered the most. Wolves, bears, birds, insects, fishes, humanoids… Every single Spirit Beast that the Allfather and the Black Masks had collected from the Uncharted Wilderness were all finally released. Their long years… Their century-long preparations had developed to this final moment...

Plop… Plop… Plop…

Ripples spread each time the Spirit Beasts passed through the gate. The Spirit Beasts were being controlled and had no clue about what they’d just given to the massive structure. The thousands upon thousands of Spirit Beasts continued to pass through the gate under the Allfather’s influence. However… Oddly enough… After the Spirit Beasts passed through the gates, the dark matter that was flowing out of their foreheads immediately dissipated.

Once they passed the gates, the Spirit Beasts were immediately freed of the Allfather’s control. Their free will returned, the Spirit Beasts all chose different paths to follow. Some stuck around, purring as they stayed near the World Serpent and the powerful Black Masks that welcomed them. Others fled back into the Uncharted Wilderness, returning to whence they came. Finally, the most bloodthirsty of them all… rushed further east.

Their instincts were calling out to them… In the east, there was food… Food that couldn’t be procured in the Uncharted Wilderness. What kind of army was the most fearsome? Some might say the most armed armies, others might say the ones with the best strategists. However, they were all untrue… The most feared army… Was the one that you could never see coming…

The Allfather knew that. Thus, once the lower-tiered Spirit Beasts had served their purpose, they were free to infect the Kori Federation, killing about any human they came into contact with. As prodigal as the Prime Minister was, there was no way that he could predict the random movements of an array of Spirit Beasts.

So, why did the Allfather need the Spirit Beasts to pass through that obsidian gate first?

“N-No w-way...” Jimga dropped his jaw and his blade, respectively. Five minutes had passed, and the majority of Spirit Beasts that came from the Uncharted Wilderness had already passed through the giant structure. Logically speaking, this would be when the Obsidian Gate would lose its purpose. However…

Plop… Plop… Plop…

The ripples that the Spirit Beast had created started to reverse themselves, and the obsidian that made up the gate created thousands of dense mana particles. Dark figures began to assimilate from the particles that were created and soon…

GRRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

An agonising wail echoed through the winter lands, turning all heads towards the massive gate. Jimga watched on as the first Spirit Beast that was made with pure darkness stepped out of the gate. It bore the same exact features as the flying winged serpent that first passed through the obsidian structure. However, unlike the coloured winged serpent… This one was completely black with shadow mist flowing out from its body.

And that’s not all…

GRRRRRRRRRAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Five more of the winged serpent Umbras escaped from the gates. With every passing second, more and more winged serpents emerged. After the winged serpents continued to roam the lands, the other Spirit Beasts had emerged from the gate as well, this time as Umbras. The pattern continued on and on, creating thousands of Umbras by the second. The spiritual energy that the gate was giving off choked the air out of any who stared deep into the abyss, not that it mattered for Ao and the rest of the Black Masks though.

‘Ah… The Gate of Hell… What an aptly named structure…’ The World Serpent snorted as he watched the Umbras continuously spawn. ‘Too bad we only managed to charge up half of its maximum mana... Well, whatever… Five hundred million Umbras… That’s still a good army to take down the Kori Federation with...’