Chapter 348: Own Plans

Priam shook his head, leaving the problems of the future for later. Without wasting any time, he stored the Celestial Mark inside the Nexus Seed.

[Absorb?] [Yes / No]

Priam saw the System’s prompt, but completely ignored it.

After discovering that an ordinary person could become a Celestial, why would he simply absorb it now?

All 50 captured Celestial Marks were stored inside the Nexus Seed. His plan was to try to have his allies become Acquired Celestials later; if any mark proved incompatible with everyone, only then would he absorb it without hesitation.

He looked up, noticing that the skies had grown strangely silent.

All the Sorcerers in combat had paused for a moment, staring at the tragic scene inside the barrier. Their expressions were indescribable, filled with the horror of witnessing the worst of nightmares.

With Dandara’s help, Priam had turned the tide in a devastating way. All 50 Celestials and dozens of other troublesome enemies had been completely defeated.

Outside the dome, the battle against the lower-ranking Sorcerers was already nearing its end.

The only remaining stalemate on the battlefield was the clash between the Philosophers in the sky.

The number of combatants there was identical on both sides, engaged in individual duels. Mishnar and the other Elders were fighting with all their strength, but the battles remained in a tense and exhausting deadlock.

Priam exchanged a brief glance with Dandara, then snorted softly.

---

High in the sky, Shakwi roared, consumed by insane frenzy.

"DIE!!"

The atmosphere, which had frozen for a few brief seconds, exploded once again into chaotic combat.

The Sorcerers in the sky now attacked with everything they had—they knew perfectly well that their only chance to turn around this catastrophic situation was to slaughter the Sages in front of them and then eliminate the weaker ones. Even so, losing 50 Celestials had already dealt irreparable damage.

Of all the duels, the most brutal one was taking place at the center of the sky. Shakwi exchanged devastating blows with the Elder Leader of the sect’s 7th Branch—a respected elderly Philosopher.

Covering his body, that Elder Leader wore thick, gleaming black rock armor, shaped through absolute mastery of the Earth element. Thanks to the power of his Bloodline, the old man not only possessed an unshakable defense, but could also move with astonishing speed that was completely incompatible with his heavy build.

As the perfect defensive bulwark, he had been assigned to block Shakwi, the most terrifying among the Sorcerers, in Mishnar’s place.

*BOOOM! BOOOOM!*

Continuous explosions tore through the clouds with every charge. The Elder Leader’s spear pierced the void, violently colliding against Shakwi’s corrupted techniques. Energy shockwaves and stone debris rained down from the sky.

"?"

It was in the middle of this storm of impacts that Shakwi suddenly felt every pore of his body freeze.

A visceral and ominous chill of impending death ran down his spine.

The slightest hesitation from the Sorcerer leader did not go unnoticed. The Elder Leader of the 7th Branch charged forward with renewed fury, unleashing a series of heavy thrusts with his spear and forcing Shakwi to retreat and defend himself with everything he had.

While blocking, Shakwi expanded his senses to their absolute limit, sweeping the surrounding space in search of the invisible danger.

Nothing.

The air seemed clean. The other battles were taking place at a considerable distance. Unable to find the source of that phantom threat, he gritted his teeth and channeled all his hatred into the opponent in front of him.

Whatever it was, he could react in time before it became a real problem.

Mobilizing every drop of his Creation Essence in an all-out offensive charge, Shakwi unleashed supreme attacks to crush the old spearman once and for all.

*BANG! BANG!*

However, at the exact moment Shakwi committed all his energy to the attack, thrusting his body forward and leaving his back completely undefended...

A silent figure emerged from space just two meters behind him.

*Rumbling Heavens!*

Priam attacked with the force of a concentrated cataclysm, unleashing his most devastating explosive technique directly onto the Sorcerer’s defenseless spine.

Shakwi’s eyes widened as he turned around in indescribable horror.

It was impossible for anyone to approach him at that distance without triggering his senses!

And this level of destructive power transcended any metric his mind could even process.

**KBOOOOOOOOM!!!**

The sky exploded. An apocalyptic shockwave of dust and force swept through the atmosphere for kilometers, obscuring the sun itself and making heaven and earth tremble.

When the flash finally faded...

Shakwi’s figure appeared in the sky, drenched in blood, his body reduced to mangled flesh and crushed bones. He could barely remain conscious.

Before he could even let out a groan of pain, a streak of light cut through the air like lightning.

The Elder Leader of the 7th Branch shot forward like a bolt of lightning, attacking mercilessly with his spear.

*PIERCE!*

The spearhead pierced through Shakwi’s chest. However, he managed to endure the blow and made his corruption explode from inside his own body outward.

The impact forcibly separated him from the spear, sending him flying in the opposite direction.

The Elder Leader snorted furiously. Sorcerers were truly troublesome, and that corruption was extremely problematic. The stronger and older the Sorcerer, the better they became at using it, and the harder they were to kill—even if their raw power didn’t directly increase.

But...

A hand grabbed Shakwi by the throat in midair, instantly restraining him.

The Sorcerer’s eyes widened when he saw Priam holding him, his gaze completely devoid of emotion.

Divine Concealment was truly terrifying; even someone of this higher Rank had failed to sense him. Of course, he had been fighting, which benefited Priam. But whenever he used this technique, his killing movement was flawless.

"Game over."

Priam spoke indifferently and struck the enemy’s stomach with his other hand.

Shakwi tried to use the little corruption he had left.

But against Priam, it was nothing more than a futile effort.

With speed, Priam took control of all that energy and removed it. Then, he destroyed the enemy’s Jade Core. He also didn’t forget to extract the Creation Rune.

That extremely ancient figure, who had claimed countless lives, ended his journey that day at the hands of a young Sage.

But he was still alive.

Priam turned toward the old Elder Leader.

"I have to move. Help the others; with your support, they should be able to kill the remaining Sorcerers."

The old man quickly nodded, maintaining a complicated expression.

Priam took a deep breath and landed on the ground beside Dandara, who was holding that dying Celestial by the leg with just one hand.

Without saying anything else, Priam grabbed her free hand and shot into the sky, cutting through the heavens at high speed.

Mishnar and everyone else who was fighting saw Priam leave the planet. But by this point... even without understanding the reason, none of them bothered to question it or assume anything was wrong. That young man certainly had his own plans, and they all trusted him completely.