Endless Journey: Infinite Realms

Chapter 393 Birds swim in the sky, and the Fishes fly in the sea

OUTSIDE THE MOUNTAIN OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Kiera’s sudden appearance beside Annie drew a mixed reaction from the crowd around the mountain.

The TimeMasters appeared to be wary of Kiera, although some of them seemed to be happy, as if they were rejoicing at Kiera’s arrival.

As for the Immortals, they were greatly pissed, especially when they saw that the Soul Power that they had painstakingly gathered were all burning right now.

Saying that these Immortals were murderous will be an understatement, as the way that they looked at Kiera showed that they are willing to do worse things to her if they manage to capture her.

It was only Kiera’s Soul Flames that was preventing the Immortals from making any actions, as the hostile power emanating from it was enough to weaken anyone who approaches these flames.

But from the looks of it, the ’protection’ that Kiera had right now was bound to disappear quickly, as the flames looked like they were not going to last that much longer.

The green flames have already dwindled to half of its original size, and if this goes on, it will take around 1 more minute before the flames disappear entirely.

This means that there’s only a minute left before Kiera can make her next move, and her life and the World Soul’s life will both depend on this action.

Naturally, the spectating Queen Mother had worries about this.

"Kiera... what are you planning to do now?" Queen Mother muttered to herself as she observed Kiera, who was still staying close to the World Soul. "Will you fight this out, or will you escape?"

Because of everything that had happened in this place, Queen Mother knew that the best thing that she can do right now was to assist Kiera. Since Alex did not give her any commands, Queen Mother just assumed that maybe her role in this battle was to help out Kiera.

"Hmm... making these monsters took a lot of resources and time, so letting them die here will be a waste. However, if I can use their bodies to make an escape path for Kiera, then their deaths will be worth it." Queen Mother said in a low tone as she glanced at her monster army.

She observed their eager expressions, which could have been the result of Kiera’s showy actions. Queen Mother sighed upon seeing the monster’s faces, as feelings of slight pity began to appear inside her heart.

Queen Mother then shook her head at this point, as she realized that feeling pity for her own creations was something that she should only do later. For now, she must focus on the situation at hand, and she must make sure that all of them will survive!

"Ah whatever. I will only make an action once Kiera makes her move. If it requires me to perform some sacrifices, then I will be willing to do it!" Queen Mother declared as she took a deep breath. "Now then Kiera, make your decision already!"

If this were a normal situation, then Queen Mother should continue waiting for 50 more seconds before Kiera was forced to make an action. It will be at this kind of situation that Queen Mother will be able to showcase all of her power.

But fortunately for Queen Mother, the situation just took a sudden unexpected turn.

"Splash!"

Out of nowhere, a loud splashing sound echoed across the area as a massive boat suddenly appeared in the sky.

This boat, which could be seen 100 meters above the ground, was so massive that it casted a shadow on almost everyone on the area, not sparing even those that are located far from the mountain.

Even the air around the area was affected too, as small-scale tornadoes began to crop up everywhere, with their existence caused by the boat’s displacement of the air.

To say that a country suddenly appeared above everyone was the right thing to say, as only something like a country can explain the size of this boat.!

Due to its size and sudden appearance, everyone’s attention was diverted away from the Mountain of Enlightenment, with their eyes now glued at the gargantuan boat.

"!!!"

A collective intake of breath could be heard from everyone as they saw the actual appearance of the boat. They felt all sorts of emotions as they looked at it, with surprise and wariness at the top of the list.

Even Queen Mother, who had seen weird things before, could not help but tense her body as she observed the boat’s body.

"That’s clearly a rowing boat... and yet, it has that kind of appearance. How could something this large exist?" Queen Mother thought to herself as the boat began to glide towards their direction.

No, gliding was not the right term.

This boat was actually ’sailing’ through the sky, as if it was crossing through a watery surface, although there was no body of water that was even near at the boat!

The sky appeared to be the ’river’ itself, and the boat was having a good time navigating across it.

Right now, this boat was sailing in a great speed, that it only took it a few seconds to fly right above Queen Mother’s location.

Once the boat reached this point, it did not stop moving, as it actually sped up its flight.

It did not even slow down as it got nearer and nearer to the Mountain of Enlightenment.

Naturally, this sight made everyone extremely panicked.

With the way that this boat is moving now, it is inevitable for it to collide with the Mountain of Enlightenment. There’s just no way that the Mountain of Enlightenment can dodge the boat’s charge, not with the speed that the boat is moving in right now.

This obviously is not a great scenario for the people around, especially to those that are located at the vicinity of the mountain.

If anyone of them stays near the mountain once the boat collides with it, something disastrous might befall on them!

"Move, everyone! Move away!" Countless TimeMasters shouted as they began to fly away from the Mountain of Enlightenment. There was now genuine fear apparent on their eyes as they seemed to do their best to distance themselves away from the incoming collision.

Green lights whizzed everywhere the as most of these TimeMasters used powerful spells to cover more distance. Some even summoned unique treasures to protect their bodies, while others directly disappeared on the spot.

These escaping TimeMasters did not care about the Immortals anymore as they were only focused on moving away.

They seemed to have also forgotten about the matter of Annie, as none of them even batted an eye at her as they left.

"These hypocrites!" As she saw what the TImeMasters did, Queen Mother gritted her teeth as she looked back at Annie. "So when danger comes bounding in, you will actually choose your lives over her. Hmph, and here I thought you were here to save her!"

Even though she saw the apparent danger from the collision between the boat and the mountain, Queen Mother resolutely chose to stay in her place, unlike the TimeMasters who immediately bailed out from the first sign of danger.

There’s just no way that she will leave now, not with both Kierra and the World Soul still stuck inside the Mountain of Enlightenment.

So what if something catastrophic will happen after the collision? Queen Mother does not care about this, as she was only focused on Kierra and the World Soul!

"...With the power contained inside that boat, it surely has the capability to shatter the defensive barrier covering the Mountain of Enlightenment. The question is, what will happen once the barrier breaks? Will an explosion happen? Or will it just shatter into millions of harmless pieces?" Queen Mother thought quickly to herself as the boat continued to lessen its distance with the mountain.

"Hmph, it’s better to wait for the collision to happen before I make my move." Queen Mother thought as she gave her monster army the signal to prepare. After doing this, she suddenly froze, as she realized something weird about the boat. "Wait... why did this boat suddenly appear here? And why is it heading straight towards the Mountain of Enlightenment? Is this boat... a part of Alex’s plan?"

After she said these words, Queen Mother suddenly grinned, as the panic in her eyes was replaced with schadenfreude.

A small chuckle then escaped her mouth as she began to relax her tense body.

"Hmph, so this is your message for me, Alex. You really chose a unique way to say it to me." Queen Mother thought to herself as she began to increase the toughness of her skin. "Instead of just telling me to barge into the mountain, you actually found a way to do it by yourself! And here I thought you ran out of ideas already...."

As she made this realization, the heavy mood in Queen Mother’s heart began to lighten, as she felt that Alex’s brilliant move will be the turning point of the whole battle.

With the boat taking the job of breaking the barrier, all that Queen Mother had to do was to fulfill her role, and that role was to get Kiera and the World Soul into a safe place at the very moment that the collision happens!

"I’m sorry, my Monster Army, but I have to sacrifice some of you to succeed in this endeavor." Queen Mother thought with sorrow as she began to think up of a possible formation that will allow them to swiftly enter the mountain once the barrier breaks down. "Your sacrifices will be honored by me and Frances later, so do your best for me!"

It was after she had these thoughts that the inevitable happened.

The massive boat has now made contact with the barrier, which only trembled for a second before it popped up like a bubble.

"Plop."

"..."

There were not explosions that happened and there were no scattering of the barrier’s fragments.

Nothing flashy really occurred after the collision.

The barrier only popped softy like a bubble, and it quickly vanished into nothingness, as if it did not even exist in the first place.

"Huh? That’s it?" Queen Mother, who had already thought of the possible countermeasures against the bad effects of the collision, could only stare at the ’bubble-popping’ with incredulity. "Why is something weird happening again here?"

For the barrier to pop like a bubble was something that Queen Mother did not expect, although she had managed to recover from her surprise rather quickly.

She only shook her head quickly as she stared at the Mountain of Enlightenment, which was now ’unlocked’ and free to be entered.

With the mountain now accessible, Queen Mother naturally did the thing that she knew she was supposed to do.

"Everyone! Follow me!" Queen Mother shouted as she leapt towards the peak of the Mountain of Enlightenment. The ground beneath her feet formed a small crater as the tree-woman’s body sailed across the air. The other monsters followed suit, with them using their unique abilities to catch up to her.

"We have two targets to save, and you must make sure that they will be taken safely!" Queen Mother exclaimed loudly through the wind buffeting on her body. "Remember, their deaths are not an option here! They must be taken alive and well! Do you understand tha-"

"Splash!"

Another splashing sound echoed in the whole area, which interrupted Queen Mother’s talk.

This sound came from the boat once more, although this time around this sound represented something else.

"!!!"

The boat, which went still after colliding with the barrier, began to rattle as large amounts of water poured out of its body. This water did not crash on the ground, as like the boat, it began to float in the air, creating a massive sky ’sea’.

The water was entirely green in color, much greener even than Queen Mother’s own skin. This in turn made the sky ’sea’ look green, which was enough to unsettle those who saw it.

Naturally, Queen Mother was taken aback by this floating sea, as its presence was a surprise just like the boat earlier.

"Alex, is this sea another part of your plan? If it is, then what are you planning to do with it?" Queen Mother thought to herself as she continued to rush towards the Mountain of Enlightenment. "If you will use it against the Immortals, then that’s good! Use it on them now so that my job will be easier!"

"Rumble..."

Right after Queen Mother thought of this, the sky ’sea’ started to make its move.

Like a flashflood devouring anything in its way, the whole sky ’sea’ quickly lost its coherent structure as it began to flow rapidly towards the Mountain of Enlightenment itself.

Billions, or even trillions of tons of water rushed in a harsh manner towards the Mountain of Enlightenment, with waves as high as buildings materializing in front of the flood.

To anyone who will see this scenery from afar, they will surely feel awe. After all, a massive floating flood was about to bombard a mountain. A sight like this is extremely rare to witness, and it is almost impossible for someone to just pass up on it!

But for Queen Moher, the appearance of this flood did not make her feel any awe at all. Instead, this flood made her lose her relief, as she realized that she was right along the flood’s pathway.

"OI Alex! Why are you making this flood cross here! Can’t you see that it’s about to hit me?" Queen Mother exclaimed angrily she did her best to redirect herself. "You know, you could have given me a warning before you did something like this!"

Unfortunately for Queen Mother, she was currently airborne, which meant that she had no foothold that she can use. When she realized this, Queen Mother immediately used her powers to activate the plants below her.

She made them assume the shape of a whip, which theoretically speaking, should be able to slap her away before the flood hits her.

The creation process went smoothly, and a whip was created in record time.

But this move of hers was now invalid, as the flood caught Queen Mother before she could whip herself away.

"Ugh!"

A sensation similar to paralysis invaded Queen Mother’s body as the green flood dragged her right into its depths. The pain of the flood’s impact did not even register on her, as she was only preoccupied on fighting her paralysis.

She tried doing everything to break out of the flood, but as time went on, even her mind was being affected by the flood too.

Her thoughts became sluggish as her vision gradually darkened, and her awareness slowly faded away as her trashing body went limp.

"..."

Her eyes then began to droop as she lost the strength to resist against the flood.

"..."

The last thing that she saw as her eyes closed was an image of a tree’s roots reaching out to her. For some reason, this image made Queen Mother feel warm, although this warmth did nothing to help her right now.

Only coldness existed inside her, and it continued to proliferate as she finally succumbed into slumber.