Under Alka's control, the small world opened a portal to the outside world.
From the gate connecting to the outside, another Trial Tower flew in. Then, under Alka's control, it was placed next to the previous Trial Tower.
Alka could sense that when the two Trial Towers were close enough, their interconnected powers were connected.
It seemed that the twelve towers, when combined, would possess other functions.
Observing this scene, Alka nodded with satisfaction, reopened the portal, and walked out alone.
He looked at the Holy Mother Church's Knights before him.
"Thank you for your help."
The leading knight captain immediately nodded and folded his arms.
"All this is the Holy Mother's will. May the Holy Mother bless you."
"May the Holy Mother bless you."
After a brief exchange, Alka and his companions headed for the harbor to board a ship.
This second Trial Tower was located directly on an island controlled by the Church of the Virgin Mary.
After all, all islands with Trial Towers could be considered landmark islands, unconnected to any island chain.
Therefore, they had been under the control of the Church of the Virgin Mary from the very beginning, and this Trial Tower was open to everyone.
Anyone with a certain level of skill could use it, so it was quite well-known here, and could even be considered a training ground for the Church of the Virgin Mary.
So, Alka and his companions simply came, packed up the tower, and left. There were no obstacles along the way; it was incredibly smooth and comfortable.
On the deck, Alka read the intelligence booklet in his hand.
He couldn't help but sigh, "The next tower might require a military solution."
The third tower was one of the three forces unwilling to peacefully hand over control of the tower to the Church.
"Hopefully, we can resolve this peacefully," Sofia said from the side.
The collection process for the first two towers was quite peaceful, like a trip. Except for the constant rushing, which was irritating.
But it had to be said that the Infinite Ocean was truly vast.
The journey to the first two towers alone took them nearly half a year.
Almost all of that time was spent on the journey.
The reason it took so little time to get from the World Scar to the two towers was because the towers were relatively close to each other, and also because they were close to the World Scar, and their ship's increased speed made it possible within half a year.
Even the next tower wouldn't be far away, guaranteeing the successful collection of all three within a year. But after that, things would be more complicated.
Alka was holding the latest intelligence from the World Scar.
"Has the demonic counterattack not begun yet?"
Hearing Sofia's question, Alka shook his head.
"According to the intelligence, both sides are likely still accumulating strength. The demons are still maintaining a minimal offensive force and haven't responded to the advancing defenses.
However, all reconnaissance teams are basically unable to approach the core area of the demonic region. Furthermore, we can sense the aura of the Abyss growing stronger, even with the Dream Realm suppressing it.
The demons are clearly drawing strength, and the situation on the World Scar is quite tense."
Alka explained the changes in the intelligence.
"These ships should be carrying supplies and personnel needed by the World Scar, right?" Juanlu said, looking at the ships that had passed by the Voice of Dawn.
They had just left the port.
These ships all bore the obvious insignia of the Church of Our Lady. Judging by their draft, they were nearly full of cargo, and numerous personnel could be seen aboard.
These individuals were generally quite powerful.
It seemed the Church of Our Lady was transporting support to the front lines.
Julia sighed silently as she watched this scene unfold. "Hopefully, our journey goes smoothly and we can complete the entire journey as quickly as possible."
Despite praying this way, even a single voyage would still take at least ten years.
And all the time wasted along the way was simply wasted on the journey.
Even though the Voice of Dawn was already controlling the wind and water elements, swiftly traversing the sea,
This increased speed only reduced their travel time from more than ten years to around eight or nine.
As they sailed, they gradually reached the vast, uninhabited sea.
Alka entered the small world.
However, the area he arrived at was the desert at the edge of the world.
A huge, concentrated black cloud overhead, its surface gleaming with lightning.
The entire area was filled with active lightning elements, and Alka's hair began to stand on end upon arriving.
Even the central Lightning Gathering Tower had been renovated, now transformed entirely into a Thunder Tower.
It could transform surrounding magic power into active Thunder elements, stimulating the activity of surrounding elements and making them more likely to coalesce.
The resulting active Thunder elements even caused some small pebbles on the ground to float in mid-air.
A dimensional rift could be seen on the back of the dark cloud, a constantly open crack in space, with Alka's Thunder Element card still attached to it.
With these two approaches, the thundercloud was now developing more and more rapidly.
Alka floated upward.
A cloud of Thunder elemental life, composed of dark clouds and lightning, floated down.
A new Thunder elemental tribe had emerged, blending with some of the power of the dark clouds.
These Thunder elements took the form of clouds, their surfaces covered in lightning, and their long, trailing lightning tails could be seen as they moved.
The dark cloud merely served to envelop the core lightning element, allowing it to float, making it faster and more energy-efficient.
It also extended the range of its attacks, perhaps even providing some protection against incoming attacks.
This was also the result of Alka's specialized refinement over the past year.
It could no longer be called a pure lightning element, but rather a thundercloud element.
Of course, it still had the lightning element at its core, just in a more useful form.
It was like adding a layer of armor with unique functions.
Observing the lightning element's development before him, Alka tapped it, feeling the tingling sensation of soma on his finger.
It seemed impossible to keep it as a pet.
Even if the lightning element itself had no intention of attacking, its inherent lightning would shock anyone who touched it.
Not to mention that Alka's strength had already reached the seventh stage, yet he could still feel this tingling sensation. For those with weaker physiques at a lower level, it was practically an attack.
Ordinary mortals would likely feel the lightning element tingling their skin even when near this place.
"Go, return."
Hearing Alka's words, the thundercloud drifted toward the dark clouds above him.
This lightning elemental was only about the size of Alka's head, but it was the largest in the entire Thundercloud Tribe, belonging to the leader.
The entire Thundercloud Tribe only had a dozen or so elements.
Many more were still in an embryonic stage of fusion and growth. Fully developing the entire element would require much more time.
Take your time, Alka was in no hurry.
...
The Voice of Dawn galloped across the sea, a strong wind whipping behind the ship, and the entire vessel swiftly glided across the surface like a yacht. The bow of the ship sliced through the sea, sending two curtains of water splattering in either direction.
Controlled by the current, the ship sped along at high speed, yet the overall experience of the Dawn's Voice was unaffected by any bumps, instead remaining remarkably stable.
Alternating between the two, the Dawn's Voice sped like a sports car on the sea.
Leaving behind was only a long white streak.
"Is there a ship?" Atop the treetops stood a vine-woven treehouse.
Jason, inside the treehouse, gazing into the distance through binoculars, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Raise it higher."
At these words, the branches beneath the treehouse began to grow, and the entire structure stretched upwards into the sky.
The tree itself was eight or nine meters tall, with the top reaching over ten meters. As it stretched, it reached a height of twenty or thirty meters.
Jason, inside the treehouse, could now clearly see the distance from this lofty vantage point.
The crystal telescope revealed a sailboat bearing down on them. Since it was diagonally forward, even with the speed of the Dawn's Voice, there was a good chance they would collide.
However, Jason was surprised that they had encountered other ships in such a vast expanse of water. It was a case of fate.
As he looked more closely, Jason sensed something was amiss.
"Notice, a ship is approaching, and it's not right."
A clanging sound echoed from the ship.
Soon, everyone on board gathered.
Since the two ships were approaching and moving at a rapid pace, by the time they reached the deck, they could already see the dark speck approaching from afar.
Soon, the dark speck grew closer.
"Something's wrong! Prepare for battle!" Jason's voice echoed from above. By this time, everyone had finally gotten a glimpse of the ship's exterior from a distance, and why Jason had said something was wrong.
The entire ship was a dark red, resembling dried blood.
The stern was a pointed, angular mass of bones.
The three upright masts bore black sails, with the ship's emblem outlined in white against the black.
The entire emblem resembled a child's graffiti, eerily sinister.
Some resembled skulls, yet they were somewhat different.
Overall, however, the ship clearly demonstrated to everyone that it was no ordinary merchant vessel.
As they approached, they could see some of the ship's decorations. Various bones were plastered to the sides, and even a hanging corpse could be seen on the side.
Many corpses were mutilated, some even peeled back to reveal flesh. Most were swollen and rotten.
Seeing this appearance, Alka completely lost all desire to interact with the ship.
"Ready!"
With this, Alka raised his right hand.
"Attack!"
With the words, cannon after cannon emerged from the side of the ship, each constructed entirely of vines.
But what was fired out was a volley of fireballs, concentrated elemental shells.
Under the Voice of Dawn's autonomous control, the shots arced with pinpoint accuracy, impacting the enemy ship in an instant, igniting instantly.
Something sharp and piercing erupted from the bow.
Then, a spear formed from a hurricane blast pierced the enemy's bow, leaving a deep dent.
After taking two hits, the enemy finally raised a faint blood-red shield.
A golden glint flashed in Alka's eyes as he gazed at the distant sailboat.
"Break their masts and disable them."
At Alka's words, thunder rumbled.
This time, dense bolts of lightning struck the enemy's blood-red shield.
But while the Voice of Dawn possessed considerable offensive power, the combined damage from these attacks was not particularly significant.
Simon reached the top of the poop, commanded the space cannon, and fired at the enemy.
A ball of grayish-white energy slammed directly into the shield, instantly shattering it.
Their naval attack was remarkably accurate.
Followed by this, a barrage of lightning struck, instantly piercing three of the enemy's masts and setting them ablaze.
Controlling the water flow, it swirled around the enemy, losing its ability to move and coming to a complete stop as the water slowly spun around it.
"Come closer, stay alert."
With that, everyone prepared for battle. Dawn's Voice slowed down and slowly approached the enemy. A shield had already been raised beside it to defend against the enemy's attacks.
As they drew closer, the situation on the ship became apparent, causing everyone to frown, their eyes flashing with disgust.
The deck looked like a slaughterhouse.
The sailors, dressed like pirates, were busy putting out fires.
Seeing Alka and his crew approach, two figures leaped directly onto their ship, attempting to board.
Looking at the two figures in the air, Alka frowned.
He reached out and shook hands.
Two arms formed of water suddenly emerged from the surface of the sea, firmly grasping the two figures within their grip.
An icy blue card appeared, and the water instantly froze into ice, leaving the two men unable to move.
Ropes formed from elemental and dream mist bound the two men.
Two soul chains shot out from Lucelia's hands and bound the two men, binding their bodies and souls together.
This would prevent their souls from escaping.
The scene on the ship had already led everyone to believe that the people aboard were the same as the cultists, so they feared that the two who had jumped aboard might be Abyssal Demons in disguise.
Controlling the two arms, he lifted the two men who had jumped out and held them in front of him, watching them.
"A thick aura of the abyss. They're indeed a group of cultists."
The two cultists before them were also covered in various uncanny runes.
Their strength was only at the beginning of the fourth stage, and the other had only reached the perfect stage. A closer look revealed that these two were probably the strongest on the ship.
They were just minions to them.
Observing this situation, Alka turned to the others and said, "We'll destroy all the cultists. Let's see if they've captured anyone else on the ship."
Nodding, Pororo and Jason leaped directly onto the enemy's deck.
Simon and Urulius followed closely behind.
The rest remained on the Voice of Dawn.
Then came the screams of the cultists. Facing these cultists, the others had no idea how many they had killed on World Scar. Their ability to discern them was so strong that they killed without mercy.
As for the enemy's counterattack, it was meaningless.
"Tell me, was it a coincidence, or was it specifically targeting us?" Alka asked.
This is very important.
If it was a coincidence, then it would be fine. But if it was specifically targeting them, then there are some questions worth pondering.
Alka couldn't help but think of the Devouring Mouth.
The two captured cultists didn't change their expressions. As they watched Alka listen to his question, a sinister look suddenly crossed their faces.
Strange.
They shouted loudly.
"For the destruction of the world, for the abyss!"
As soon as they finished speaking, gray-black flames ignited on their bodies, and the burning flames seemed to have a blood-red hue.
The flames burned the cultists' bodies, even their souls.
This was part of a ritual; they had long been prepared to commit suicide.
In just a few seconds, the two cultists were reduced to ash, and their treasures fell.
They landed on the deck below.
At this moment, the corpses on the deck, the blood, and the bones embedded throughout the ship began to move, as if forming some kind of ritual.
The corpses melted into blood.
The enemies they had just killed also turned to blood at the beginning of the ritual.
Those they had not yet killed also melted with a wail as they ran.
Seeing this, everyone leaped from the ship.
Urulius controlled the clouds and floated around the ship. Arka and the others on the Voice of the Dawn also watched, ready to fight at any moment.
"This ritual can no longer be stopped. It has long been embedded in this ship, ready to be activated at any moment," Urulius said.
Then, a pool of blood began to form within the crimson blood formation. The pool began to bubble on the deck, and the entire ship seemed to be coated in a layer of blood.
A demon emerged from the pool, the crimson blood seeming to transform into its own red skin.
"I smell blood. Mortals, offer your souls, and let me devour your flesh.
Ha-ka-ka-ka!"
His declaration was accompanied by a strange, high-pitched laugh, like a stuttering sound.
A demon whose power had reached the pinnacle of the sixth stage.
For those conducting the ritual, it was truly worth the effort and lives they had expended.
However, when he emerged fully from the pool of blood, he saw Alka and the others surrounding the ship.
The demon froze in place, as if stunned.
Clearly, he recognized Alka and the others.
Without hesitation, his body began to tear itself apart, as if committing suicide.
However, the pool of blood shifted again. The demon, like the humans before, was transformed into blood, and his wails could be heard.
These people were not Alka and the others' doing, but were part of the ritual, a ritual with hidden layers.
How bizarre and sinister.
This time, the thicker pool of blood transformed into a round, worm-like maw covered in sharp teeth. What a familiar pattern.
For Alka and the others, it was all too familiar.
A demon emerged from the maw.
"Hey everyone, long time no see."