During the past years, Aria hadn't changed much. Her personality was still a mystery to many as she hardly talked to anyone. Her appearanced remained unchanged, still spotting her emotionless expression.
Aria seemed to think for a few seconds before eventually nodding.
Then without wasting any more time, Atticus manipulated the earth underneath Aria and the 200+ other youths who claimed to be long rangers to the top of the elevated platform he had erected.
Atticus, without a word also controlled the earth under the 800+ youths, moving them away from their initial positions to the front of the hill.
Atticus then turned to look at the Ravenstein youths, giving them a nod.
They all nodded back, understanding their roles and started walking toward the front of where the other youths were lined up.
They each stood at the front lines confidently, looking down at the hill, anticipating the impending battle.
Many of the youths who were already trembling slightly seemed to calm down as they saw the Ravenstein youths standing in front of them.
It calmed many of them down seeing that Atticus wasn't planning on using them as cannon fodder at the front lines. This was what most of them had expected when Atticus had declared he was the strongest.
Atticus nodded, seeing that everything was in place. He suddenly remembered a certain red eyed girl and then, focusing on the earth element, Atticus manipulated the earth and a figure suddenly emerged from the earth along with a burst of steam.
Aurora's form was emitting steam as she locked her piercing red eyes on Atticus.
"Aurora, now's not the time for this. They're almost here," Atticus said, trying hard to stop himself from laughing while looking at Aurora.
Her whole body was covered in dirt, her white hair completely messy.
Aurora clenched her fist hard, the hot steam emanating from her body intensifying, 'This bastard!' She thought inwardly.
He knew it wasn't time for playing, and he had still buried her! And now he's saying that it isn't the time!?
Aurora could have blasted her way out of the earth, but she might destroy the platform where everyone was on, that was why she hadn't acted.
Aurora took in a deep breath, exhaling a second later. Then she took in another and another, trying to calm herself down.
Then she stood up calmly, cleaning her body covered in dirt with her hands.
Atticus gazed at her with a teasing smile, "Are you angry?" He asked, causing Aurora's form to freeze.
She clenched her fist harder, the steam that had stopped emanating from her form before intensifying once again.
Aurora took a deep shuddering breath, trying to stop herself from blasting Atticus to oblivion; now wasn't the time.
'I need to vent,' Aurora thought as she started walking toward the hill, the youths all immediately parting the way for her.
Her form was basically emitting steam. It looked like she could erupt at any time!
Aurora stood at the front lines in front of the Ravenstein youths who had all subtly inched away from her.
Every one of them knew that Aurora was second only to Atticus in both strength and authority. Plus, everyone could see how angry she currently was. None wanted to get caught up in the aftermath of the venting that was about to take place!
Atticus chuckled a bit while looking at Aurora.
Seeing everything was in place, Atticus expression suddenly turned serious as though all his playful attitude earlier had been a facade.
Shifting his concentration to the air element, Atticus felt the invisible currents envelop him, becoming a gentle force that lifted him effortlessly into the sky.
Atticus had been able to use his air element to fly ever since he had leveled up his bloodline, but he had always preferred to use fire because of the burst of speed it granted him.
Atticus had many reasons for fighting on this earthen platform, and one of them was that he had absolute control over this platform.
As Atticus ascended higher into the air, he surveyed the expansive battlefield below, witnessing the approaching swarm of monsters converging from all directions.
They had gotten close, less than one minute away.
The ground quaked intensively as the horde of monsters drew nearer, the intense tremors echoed through the ground, reaching the summit of the hill where every youth stood with weapons at the ready.
Each of them gripped their swords tighter, their hands sweaty and trembling, anticipation etched on their faces for the impending clash.
Then, on the horizon, they each saw it.
Wolf like beasts, their fur as black as the night, eyes glowing a malevolent red, and teeth gleaming with a deadly sharpness.
Each individual creature stood no taller than an average dog, yet the sheer number of the approaching horde was enough to make teddy bears look scary.
The trembling of the youths intensified even more as they witnessed the ferocious forms of the approaching creatures, a shiver running down their spines
Atticus, who was currently in the air, heaved a small sigh of relief seeing the approaching beasts.
Due to the distance, Atticus hadn't been able to tell the ranks of the beasts, but now that they were closer, from a glance, Atticus could see that they were mostly Intermediate-rank, with only a few being intermediate rank.
If this was their strength, then they could manage somehow.
Atticus also turned his gaze around the expanse, seeing them approaching from all sides of the platform.
The earth trembled violently as the horde rapidly advanced.
Then, the first line of beasts crashed into the earthen spikes Atticus had erected, impaling their forms and splattering blood and gore everywhere.
However, this did little to halt the relentless onslaught of thousands of monsters.
The earthen spikes were soon overwhelmed as the creatures broke through.
Next in line was the earthen trench. Hundreds of monsters tumbled into the trench, their bodies brutally impaled by the earth spikes below.
