While the heavenly vine was dealing with Sir Theon, it didn't stop its attempts to grow stronger.
The ferocious vines that were attacking the Supreme rained hell on the main battlefield as well, and unlike Sir Theon that had the ability to fight against them, not many on the ground were the same.
Countless people were torn to shreds and absorbed within a single instant, but luckily, the Cloud Giants had also finished freeing the extreme peak experts trapped in the flower spaces.
A fierce battle followed.
The extreme peak experts banded together to hold back the vines and destroy them, but facing their endless regeneration, even their power wasn't enough to stop tens of thousands from dying as collateral damage.
Alexandra and Rilia were also part of the crowd facing the vines. They swerved together, acting as one and combining their power to create a solid attack and defense that couldn't be penetrated.
Unfortunately, the duo had expended a great deal of strength trying to escape the flower space earlier and they hadn't been given much time to rest at all.
Bang!
Crack!
A group of vines slammed into Alexandra's earthly defense and shattered the impenetrable wall. Alexandra clutched her chest and calmed her rolling blood as she retreated. At the same time, Rilia moved forward and held the vines back with her strength.
Black shadows and liquid swirled through the air as Rilia moved, acting as the only proof of her presence. With her speed, dodging the vines wasn't a problem, but destroying them was another matter altogether.
It was fine when she had time behind Alexandra's defense, but in a head-on fight, she was powerless in the short run.
Rilia darted around and slashed the vines, but they slammed back at her with the same intensity. In this fierce back and forth, Rilia gradually left a myriad of cuts on several vines, and when she felt that the number was enough…
Slice!
She sliced her weapon, letting a black line fly through the air, directly shattering the vines she'd been targeting.
"Haa…haa…" Rilia caught her breath and moved again, but at that time, a vine appeared behind her, absolutely unannounced!
Her eyes widened. She tried to move her body, but the best she could do was offset the impact so she didn't get any fatal injuries.
However, in the current atmosphere, any major injury was fatal!
Xiu!
A projectile whizzed past Rilia's face as she slightly moved her head. The cut on her cheek was mild in comparison to what happened to the vine that almost killed her.
Crackle!
A strangely brittle sound resounded. The vine directly froze within a second and shattered into multiple pieces.
Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!
The first projectile was followed by a storm of countless more, causing every vine in the vicinity to shatter.
When Rilia and Alexandra looked up, they caught sight of the figure who helped them.
Alexandra's eyes widened.
"Xinyue!"
Xinyue glanced over and nodded before dashing over to a separate group of vines and continuing her attack.
Alexandra sighed to herself and took several medicines to heal herself.
It looked like a great change would be taking place soon.
Just as she had that thought, it was like the entire battlefield froze.
The heavenly vine and everything connected to it froze as if paused in time.
The Heaven's Army soldiers affected by the vine's control were completely freed in an instant.
It was almost like a miracle.
***
"It's time."
The heavenly vine froze as a voice rang out in the void, unheard by all but one.
Damien stood below the earth, unmoving from his original position with his hands on the underdeveloped World Core.
However, his command forced that horrifying heavenly vine to freeze.
Why was that?
The answer was simple.
Damien was now the "owner" of the Wild Continent. Even if this didn't give him control over the beings who inhabited it, it definitely gave him control over the flora.
Regardless of how heavenly the vine was, it was still a plant that required the earth to survive, at least for now.
Damien realized immediately that he could capitalize on this.
While he couldn't take complete control over the vine, he could somewhat govern its actions.
The vine originally held the desire to devour Lucas and Sir Theon, but it was Damien's influence that caused it to target Sir Theon to such an extent and first entrap Lucas before anything else.
'Although I couldn't do anything before, this vine is really unlucky.'
The root system the vine established to absorb the blood of the dead and attack with its subordinate vines was the very reason Damien was finally able to establish full control over the vine's movements.
Damien's gaze pierced the earth and viewed the situation above.
"Galantis, now. I can only hold it for 3 minutes." He said.
His voice traveled through space and entered the Giant Leader's ear, causing him to grin.
"Good! I have been wanting to destroy this thing since I first saw it!"
In fact, Galantis wasn't nearly as powerless as Lucas and Sir Theon. Even if the vine was at full power, he'd be able to defeat it in single combat.
The problem was that their fight would span countless kilometers and cause unrestrained destruction. As Damien wanted to save Heaven's Army, he couldn't allow Galantis to run wild.
Thus, the current plan. After he restrained the vine, Galantis would be able to use his full force without repercussions, and if the vine couldn't dodge or block, the collateral damage caused by this strength would be lessened greatly.
The Damien and Galantis duo ignored the strange atmosphere on the battlefield and enacted their plan without a single deviation.
Galantis's body became a peak weapon as he let loose a flurry of punches and kicks laced with terrifying mana fluctuations.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Rendered unable to react, the vine was forced to endure the attacks. Chunks of its body flew into the air and exploded, its flowers withered, and it eventually began to die.
Standing underground, Damien felt that the whole scene was quite anticlimactic.
After all the trouble it caused, the heavenly vine was just going to die so easily?
It almost felt wrong.
However, there was nothing strange about it. This was the result of taking control of every variable and waiting for the perfect opportunity to reverse the situation.
Merely, was Damien ever the person to do this?
He finally got to experience what it felt like to be the person controlling things from behind the scenes.
No danger, only benefits.
Damien cracked a wry smile.
'It's a bit disgusting.'
He shook his head and turned around.
"Let's go up. Staying away from the battlefield is irking me." He said. "Plus, it's time for you to eat."
The woman standing behind him nodded with a smile. "Finally. Waiting like this was so tiring."
"You're telling me!" Damien exclaimed. "It's so suffocating that I honestly wish the scale of this battle was a bit smaller so I could participate, but it is what it is."
He shrugged his shoulders and held out his hand out. "Either way, we benefit most in the end."
Zara's smile widened as she took it. "Mm. As expected of us."
The duo vanished, reappearing above ground.
Only then did they notice the strangeness of the battlefield.
It was normal for the area to be blanketed in emotion, however, this emotion was usually something desolate or fiery.
Was it normal for the atmosphere of a battlefield to be…awkward?
