Eliminating the two Higher Lifeforms on the battlefield created an opening for the Valyrs and Untamed Awakened. They didn't have to worry about getting overwhelmed and could dominate their enemies instead.
However, the battle was not over with the death of the Higher Lifeforms. It had just begun.
Even though the battle had just begun, Michael was quite satisfied. He and his people were at a great advantage against the Council of Xylon because there shouldn't be more than one or two Higher Lifeforms in every territory. Many Lords didn't have a single Higher Lifeform in their territory. The only reason those Lords survived so long in the Savannah Region were their extraordinary defenses and business-oriented alliances with the Lords living adjacent to their territories.
Some Lords, who had yet to ascend to a Higher Lifeform, managed to receive some reinforcement of Peak Tier-3 Awakened from the government. The reinforcement was not strong enough to deal with many Higher Lifeforms, but they were usually not as weak as ordinary Awakened.
The same applied to Michael's Untamed Awakened. They were stronger than ordinary Awakened – by far.
Michael observed the battlefield from the sky after he dealt with the Higher Lifeforms and some Awakened. He considered focusing on the remaining Awakened but couldn't be bothered to jump through space hundreds of times to kill the Awakened who could be defeated by the Untamed Awakened easily.
Michael was a bit reluctant about using the three Cursed Seals after the little incident with the Higher Lifeforms, but he activated them, nonetheless. The Cursed Seals would overwhelm him sooner or later if he allowed fear to take root in his heart. He couldn't afford to be afraid of the Cursed Seals.
He shoved his hesitation aside and activated the Cursed Seals. Thereafter, Michael fused the Extraction Aura with the Dome of Extraction, which he spread as far as possible.
All that was left for him to do was to stay patient and allow the True Extraction Domain to unleash its full potential.
Michael didn't even think about holding back. He focused on the True Extraction Domain and the thousands of Extraction tendrils that emerged from the golden-coated scenery. The Summons and Awakened tried to sever the Extraction tendrils or block them, but that was harder than expected. The minority managed to block the Extraction tendrils. They were impaled by wind lances or struck by a barrage of arrows. Thereafter, they either died on the spot or were invaded by a second Extraction tendril.
It was much harder to block the second Extraction tendril, especially after sustaining injuries. Their willpower deteriorated, creating several openings for the Extraction tendrils to break through.
Michael devoured their lifeforce and energy reserves. He used the energy reserves to expand the True Extraction Domain and to conjure a few fireballs using fire-attributed energy and Zeroa's mythical flames. The fireballs had enough destructive power to kill a Tier-3 Awakened or cripple them in case his attack missed the target by a hair's breadth. It was easy to control the fireballs with Zeroa's help, but Michael couldn't be bothered to pay much attention to it.
He was more focused on distributing the floods of origin energy and lifeforce that entered his body.
Lokai was a great target for his lifeforce. However, distributing the origin energy inside him wasn't as easy as it seemed. Expanding the True Extraction Domain would consume more energy, but the extended range of effect meant that the True Extraction Domain affected more targets. That meant Michael would have to distribute more energy, which was easier said than done after the Extraction tendrils drained the origin energy of more than 10,000 targets.
Fortunately, Michael had countless Soultraits, including Insert, which managed to drain his origin energy and insert it into others without delay.
Lokai, Thaor, and Mekhaz were given the most energy bursts. He inserted a tremendous amount of origin energy into them, granting the trio the means to bulldoze their enemies.
However, they weren't the only ones Michael inserted with origin energy. He had enough energy surplus to empower the Untamed Awakened with several layers of Enhancement and maintain the effect for a while.
Under the reinforcement of Enhancement, the Untamed Awakened's power skyrocketed. They didn't even slow down to slay Tier-3 Summons, who gave their utmost to pin the Awakened to the ground. The forces of the rivaling Lords tried to overwhelm the Untamed Awakened with their numbers, only to fail miserably and end up squashed mercilessly.
All they could do was divert their concentration to the Valyrs and attack them. There were a few Higher Lifeforms among the Valyrs, but the other Valyrs were weaker than the Untamed Awakened. They were easier targets because they didn't feel like invincible Warlords.
At least, the Valyrs' expressions distorted in pain when they sustained injuries. The Untamed Awakened smiled upon getting cut. It was a frightening sight and something the Lords' forces wanted to avoid.
Despite their utmost attempts to avoid the Untamed Awakened, it was impossible to escape the inevitable.
The forces were dominated and obliterated. The last Awakened survived longer than the rest. They acted like cockroaches as they survived countless attacks against the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs, only for Hiraku to intercept them. His mace cleaved down on the last Awakened's heads, shattering their skulls into tiny fragments.
The battle against the Lords' forces ended, and they retreated to Arx.
Now that they showed that the Lord of the Untamed Jungle didn't disappear and that he was still a participant in the Regional War, Michael could relax with his people once again. He extracted Memory Orbs from the Higher Lifeforms to update his information once they'd returned to Arx.
Digesting the memories of the Higher Lifeforms was a little bit more intense than the memories of ordinary Awakened, but Michael was not in a rush. He absorbed the Memory Orbs and digested them slowly. Right after, Michael made a few mental notes to organize his thoughts and memories.
'Three Alliances are going to fight for the reign of the east of the Savannah. The battles will reach new heights, and they might affect the Untamed Jungle's border as well. Maybe, the alliances will alter their plan and transform their fight for the reign into a trap. They might invade the Untamed Jungle, or await our attack.'
'The central part of the Savannah will also transform into a large-scale battlefield. Everyone is growing restless. They want to end the Regional War and determine the rightful owner, even if that means that they have to attack their former allies.' Michael smiled lightly.
'I was worried that the cracks in the council's foundation weren't deep enough, but it looks like I was worried for no reason. They lost the battle of patience. The Council of Xylon will perish in the next few days, leaving a few large alliances behind.'
The memories were quite useful. It was fun to observe the aftermath of his actions. Michael enjoyed it quite a bit.
The only boring parties of the Regional War were the Savannah's west and northwest. They stayed back and remained neutral, for the time being, at least.
Michael was certain that the west and northwest were anticipating patiently to eliminate the triumphant parties of the central and eastern battles.
But that was a good thing.
Michael was anticipating for the same, after all!
