Right before everyone could even process what just happened, Ruthren's voice boomed above in the skies.
Damien immediately stood up as he looked up, his eyes peering past the dark black air, only to see Ruthren standing in the skies, looking down at him.
His wives also quickly got up, putting up their guard, but they were feeling a bit weak and, most of all, feeling quite the discomfort which they thought was because of this black miasma floating in this region.
"All of you quickly go to the other island before the air here becomes a danger for you all. I will keep him distracted," Damien said with a firm expression as he took off to the skies.
He knew, unlike him, the others wouldn't be able to survive in this area for too long, not until the air here becomes normal again. The only option was to leave. Fortunately, there was still one more island as a safe haven.
Reva and Yuria understood Damien's intention as they themselves were experiencing nausea and feeling sick to the core. Yuria had already fed a Supreme Tier healing pill to her father, hoping it would stabilize her father's injuries even though she knew he wouldn't be the same anymore.
She could only let him rest there on the ground, for now, to go and help activate the formation to teleport them to the other island.
Lily was looking up at the sky with reddened eyes, wanting to help Damien and fight with him. But she looked around and came back to reality, realizing that saving these people came first, especially the ones who survived that horrific explosion.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Elor and Irene were coughing as they joined up with Reva and the others. They wanted to go and fight Ruthren, but they heard Damien's words and knew that they wouldn't be able to fight with this strange, suffocating air. They had no doubt they might even become unconscious if they stayed here for a few dozen minutes.
"Reva, Irene, and I will help the others up while you three go and activate the formation. The sooner we get to the other island, the faster we can help Damien out," Elor said with a serious look as Reva, Yuria, and Lily nodded before running away.
They were worried for Damien, but right now, all they could do was pray and hope. Damien was literally the only one standing between them and Ruthren now.
Damien flew up till he stood face to face before Ruthren, "You have played the worst hand you could, Ruthren. Soon the whole continent will rise against you. Even if you managed to kill most of us, you just made an enemy out of one of the biggest empires on the continent…the Lancaster Empire. You killed their emperor, and now they will go to war even if it means losing a good half of their resources. And so will the Gale and the Rong Empire. Daugmir has no power now, even if he is on your side. Your end is nigh."
Damien was purposefully using his words to battle since he was waiting for the people down below to escape to the other island first lest they get caught up in collateral damage. The other reason was he wanted to know what Ruthren's end goal was.
Damien meant everything he said. Ruthren just became an enemy of all three empires, and no person would ever do something to be in that position unless…
Ruthren's casual expression turned into one of ridicule as he laughed, "Haha, the entire continent will turn against me? You seriously think I am worried about that?"
Damien frowned, feeling that he was up to no good again.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Ruthren wasn't finished as he said, "So what? To humor you, let's just say all three empires band together to finish me and my empire. Even if, for argument's sake, my empire is weaker than the combined strength of all three…Do you think there will even be a war if all the people are busy dying?"
Damien tightened his jaw as he heard something he had expected to hear but something he didn't want to hear.
"Look down…Look at your people…Dying slowly as we speak with no hope for escape. Give or take a few minutes, then you will be alone for real. Alone even after everyone dies in this continent because, for some reason, you are able to survive this energy that is not of our world. And at that time, when you are all alone, then I will kill you and put an end to your miserable life," Ruthren said as his dark sky blue eyes shone.
Ruthren's words were chilling even though he said them casually. And for some reason, when he mentioned how the people below were going to die soon, Damien wondered why he was so confident.
But then it struck him as he asked with a sharp gaze, "You messed with the formations?"
Ruthren smirked as he shrugged, "I always knew about there being small islands outside our little continent. But I never knew the location nor the means to get into one. Anton was really intelligent and never trusted people easily. But thanks to you all, I got in easier than I thought, and it was even easier to destroy the formations that would have teleported you all to the other island. But don't worry. I don't plan to make this island a prison of death. I still have kept one formation active…The one which will let you enter back into our continent where my men and I will be patiently waiting to welcome you all."
Damien felt his heartache as he looked down, realizing that his wives and the others were either doomed to die here or get ambushed by Ruthren's men outside. Even if they go out, everyone except him would be in a weakened state. Not even Elor would be able to take on a low-level Profound Ethereal Realm cultivator.
Down below, Reva, Lily, and Yuria had their expressions become pained upon seeing that all the teleportation formations that were linked to the other island were destroyed.
