Chapter 1451
In less than ten minutes, a horde of monstrous beasts—each over ten meters tall, resembling apes but with twisted faces and wild, grass-like plants sprouting from their backs—charged out of the forest. It took them barely three minutes to tear apart and devour the remaining half of the two-headed stone lion's corpse.
Then, from the depths of the forest, a colossal beast emerged, looking somewhat like an earth dragon, towering over a hundred meters tall. It snapped up one of the strange ape-monsters and swallowed it whole, and after devouring five in quick succession, the rest of the ape-monsters shrieked and fled, with the giant beast lumbering after them in pursuit.
The thick stench of blood seemed to awaken the entire forest. Countless giant beasts clashed and battled, but then, suddenly, every creature in the woods seemed to sense something truly terrifying. Panic-stricken, they all bolted toward the distance.
Monstrous birds with three heads and wingspans over thirty meters burst from the forest, shrieking in terror. Thousands of them took to the skies, forming a dark, ominous cloud as they fled into the distance.
Even more creatures that Leon hadn’t noticed before seemed to come alive as well. An enormous tree, over eight hundred meters tall, suddenly awakened, transforming into a giant treant. It lumbered forward, joining the stampede of fleeing beasts.
Leon could sense a terrifying presence growing stronger and closer. Yet, as he looked around, nothing within a thirty-kilometer radius seemed to match the source of that dreadful aura—at least, nothing he could see.
Suddenly, Leon snapped his head up. The sky seemed to darken in an instant, as a massive shadow appeared overhead, spreading at an alarming speed.
A look of horror flashed in Leon’s eyes. Without a second thought, he activated his fusion shield, and immediately unleashed the Crystal Scales—an eighth-tier spell he’d imprinted from the Sage’s Chapter.
A half-meter-tall set of crystal scales materialized above Leon’s head, casting a brilliant light that enveloped him completely.
The next second, the shadow in the sky descended five kilometers away—a colossal bull’s hoof, at least a thousand meters across. Following the hoof upward, its massive leg seemed like a pillar holding up the heavens, stretching from the earth all the way into the clouds.
Leon barely had time to take it all in before the bull’s hoof slammed into the ground. The resulting shockwave exploded outward, terrifyingly fast and powerful.
Trees that had survived countless battles between level-forty beasts were shredded in an instant by the force, splintering like rotten stakes into countless fragments.
From a distance, it looked as if a monstrous sandstorm had suddenly risen from the flat earth, climbing a thousand meters high and spreading with unstoppable fury in all directions.
Flying beasts caught in the sandstorm had no chance to escape—they vanished without a trace, their anguished screams abruptly silenced one after another.
Even the giant beasts on the ground were swept away and disappeared into the storm...
Watching the massive trees being torn to pieces so effortlessly, Leon knew those fearsome beasts had all been wiped out in an instant...
Leon understood there was no chance of escape. The shockwave was impossibly fast—dodging was out of the question. All he could do was brace himself.
The sandstorm-like shockwave swept in, packed with countless razor-sharp fragments. It looked like an enormous meat grinder—anything caught inside was doomed to be shredded...
The Crystal Scales was an eighth-tier spell. In theory, as long as the scales didn’t tip completely to one side, the protective barrier would hold.
Empowered by the Sage's Chapter, the Crystal Balance ascended to a tenth-tier ultimate spell. Its protective power became unfathomable, and the ability to consume mana to reinforce its shield was exponentially greater than before.
As long as Leon could keep up the flow of mana, the Crystal Balance's shield would remain unbreakable—never torn apart.
Mana within Leon drained away like a rushing stream. He grabbed a prepared Mana Elixir—no time to drink it, so he guided the pure, condensed mana directly into the Crystal Balance.
The left pan of the scales symbolized defense, the right pan attack. As the right side sank under the relentless assault, Leon poured Mana Elixir in, and slowly, the scales regained their balance.
After consuming three bottles of Mana Elixir and enduring three grueling minutes, the terrifying force finally began to fade.
Outside, it was like the worst sandstorm imaginable—visibility less than three meters. Beyond that, nothing could be seen, and the raw force of the blast disrupted every detection spell. Mana couldn't extend outward; Leon could only wait...
Gradually, the sandstorm shockwave faded, and the magical air around seemed drained, collapsing inward toward the epicenter.
Multicolored lights, like a chaotic aurora, appeared and swirled from every direction toward the center.
Several kilometers away, the once-dense forest was gone—a massive hoof print, dozens of meters deep, scarred the earth. For tens of kilometers around, chaos reigned; every tree was shredded, and only fragments of wood and beast corpses remained.
The bull’s hoof that had crashed down from the sky was nowhere to be seen—it had vanished without a trace.
Leon watched it all in silence, his gaze flickering—now he was certain.
This was Northend World—during the Elder Age. From the first battling beasts to the swarms of flying monsters and fleeing creatures, all belonged to that era of gods and demons.
Most importantly, that colossal hoof and leg—just its impact rivaled a wide-area ninth-tier spell, among the strongest of its kind. Anyone at the center, even a peak Sky Rank, would be crushed instantly.
Elder Gods and Demons.
Only the Elder Gods and Demons possessed such terrifying power and immense forms.
The blood-red hoof was a trait unique to the Warbringer, who resembled a towering, fearsome minotaur. In the Elder Age, minotaurs served under him, and their berserkers first received their power from the Warbringer. The second awakening, the berserk fury, spread only among those with Bloodhoof Clan blood.
The Warbringer was obsessed with battle, fighting even in times of peace. During the fiercest war among Elder Gods and Demons, he was finally slain—his true body cut into six pieces, yet he kept fighting. Eventually, each fragment was exiled to a different place, ending him for good.
Staring at the massive leg, Leon wondered—was it real, or just an illusion?
This Elder Age Northend was surely fake—already within the Nightmare Lord’s realm. Everything encountered here might be false, a dreadful dream.
But anyone who treats this as just a dream is doomed. In the Nightmare Lord’s realm, he sets the rules—here, even what is false becomes real. It might be a dream, but in this place, it’s as real as it gets.
If you die here, it’s real—death is final.
Floating in midair, Leon gazed over the boundless, towering forest, letting out a quiet sigh.
Damn, this is just the outer edge of the Nightmare Realm. Every dream here follows the Nightmare Lord’s rules, no matter how things change.
This forest stretched for thousands of kilometers. If the outer edge of the Nightmare Realm was as vast as Northend in the Elder Age, it’d be a nightmare to find a way deeper inside. Who knows how long it’d take, or if time here matches the outside world…
After that massive bull’s leg crashed down, the forest was eerily silent—every creature had long fled, and even those who escaped wouldn’t stop, running as far as they could.
Thinking about it, Leon suddenly understood why even the Vampire Progenitor, who could freely enter and leave the Nightmare Realm, avoided coming here unless absolutely necessary.
He used to think that since the Vampire Progenitor could freely come and go in the Nightmare Realm, making it their lair was unbeatable. If trouble came, just hide here—sleep here and never worry about being attacked.
But now it was clear—even the Vampire Progenitor, soulless and nearly impossible to kill, could die here without warning.
If that bull’s hoof landed on you, you’d die instantly—no chance at all.
Imagine building a castle here, settling in for a nice sleep—then suddenly a bull’s hoof crashes down from the sky. You’d die without even knowing what hit you.
Soaring into the air, Leon masked all traces of his aura and presence, then oriented himself and flew toward the area where the power felt strongest.
After three hours and at least four or five thousand kilometers, Leon still hadn’t left the forest. Even with Eagle’s Eye, he saw nothing but forest stretching for thousands of kilometers.