Chapter 2198 - 2198: A Talented Loose Cultivator named Vance

"Summoning Master, if you evolve these fifty Peak Emperor Realm Elemental Beasts, I'll have a thousand Peak Emperor Realm Evolved Elemental Beasts in my army!"

As soon as Protos said that, his Elemental Beast Army brought over fifty Peak-level Emperor Realm Elemental Beasts.

During each phase, Protos had been capturing Peak Emperor Realm Elemental Beasts whenever possible.

Since the difficulty of the Elemental Beast Rampage had increased considerably by the fifteenth phase, these powerful Elemental Beasts had become easier to find.

And after fifteen phases, Protos had finally managed to fill his army with a thousand Peak Emperor Realm Evolved Elemental Beasts.

"Good!"

Ajax smiled before immediately evolving the fifty Elemental Beasts.

After completing the process, he gave Protos a new set of instructions.

"For the next few phases, I'll be taking Tetos to the Earth Terrain. You'll be responsible for protecting the Elemental Spirit Altar along with your brother and sister."

"Don't worry, Summoning Master."

Protos didn't ask any questions. Instead, he confidently assured Ajax, "With me here, I'll protect my siblings as well as the Elemental Spirit Altar."

"Great!"

Ajax nodded.

After a moment of hesitation, he took out three Divine Recovery Potions and three Divine Strength Potions and tossed them toward Protos.

"I don't think you'll need them, but keep them for emergencies and use them if necessary."

"Thank you, Summoning Master!"

Protos accepted the potions.

Ajax didn't waste any more time. Since there were only thirty minutes left before the sixteenth phase began, he immediately left the cave with Tetos and headed toward the Earth Terrain.

....

Twenty minutes later, Ajax arrived in the Earth Terrain.

Unlike the Flaming Forest, which was filled with towering trees and raging fire elemental energy, the Earth Terrain was dominated by enormous mountains, rocky hills, deep valleys, and vast stretches of barren land.

Some mountains extended thousands of meters into the sky, while others were covered with thick layers of rocks and earth elemental energy.

Numerous Earth-type Elemental Beasts roamed between the mountains, making it an ideal place for Tetos to gather the materials he needed to create Elemental Golems.

'This place is perfect!'

Ajax looked around with satisfaction. However, he didn't rush to capture any Elemental Beasts.

Instead, he chose a suitable mountain and positioned himself on its peak while waiting for the next phase to begin.

Compared to hunting individual Elemental Beasts, it was better to wait until the phase began, when thousands of Elemental Beasts would appear and rush toward the nearest Elemental Spirit Altar.

However, before the Ancient Voice announced the start of the sixteenth phase, Ajax, whose Divine Spirit Consciousness was active, noticed a young man standing on a nearby mountain.

The young man was holding a Divine Elemental Potion in his hand and wearing a bitter smile.

'Do I have to use the Divine Elemental Potion in this phase?'

He looked at the potion for a moment before turning toward an Elemental Spirit standing beside him.

The Elemental Spirit resembled a humanoid boulder, with a rugged body made entirely of rock.

"Boulder, what do you think? Do you want to evolve?"

"Summoning Master, evolve me, and we can complete this phase and obtain another Divine Spirit Revival Pill."

Boulder answered without hesitation.

However, the young man shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I've already evolved Rock into a Divine Elemental Spirit during the fourteenth phase, and he helped me complete both the fourteenth and fifteenth phases. But now, he's sealed."

The young man's expression turned sad as he continued.

"If you get sealed as well, I'll be left alone with Mud, who has only just been revived after consuming ten Divine Spirit Revival Pills."

The young man's name was Vance, a talented loose cultivator.

Although he had reached his current level at such a young age, his journey had come at a considerable cost.

He had lost three of his Elemental Spirits, and back then, he hadn't possessed any Spirit Revival Pills to revive them. Even after obtaining some later, he discovered that they couldn't revive his fallen Elemental Spirits because the allowed revival period had already expired.

It had been quite some time since he had lost them, and he had tried numerous methods to revive them, but none had worked.

However, after obtaining the Divine Spirit Revival Pills in the Elemental Source Land, he finally discovered a way.

Because Vance was accustomed to using Spirit Revival Pills to revive his fallen Elemental Spirits, he consumed one of the Divine Spirit Revival Pills as soon as he obtained it. The moment he did so, a piece of information appeared in his mind.

As long as he consumed ten Divine Spirit Revival Pills, he could revive an Elemental Spirit that had been killed within the previous hundred years.

Naturally, Vance had been overjoyed.

He immediately consumed all ten pills, and one of his fallen Elemental Spirits was successfully revived.

That Elemental Spirit was Mud.

Unfortunately, the ordinary Spirit Revival Pills he had obtained outside the Elemental Source Land didn't possess the same effect.

After reviving Mud, Vance became determined to obtain more Divine Spirit Revival Pills so that he could bring back his remaining fallen Elemental Spirits.

However, as the Elemental Beast Rampage grew increasingly difficult, he had been forced to evolve Rock into a Divine Elemental Spirit during the fourteenth phase.

Rock had helped him complete both the fourteenth and fifteenth phases, but he had been sealed twenty-four hours after his evolution.

Now, Vance was left with only Boulder and Mud to protect his Elemental Spirit Altar.

"Summoning Master, don't worry."

Boulder tried to console him.

"Other than the Divine Talent Fruit I consumed, we still have another one. If we exchange it, we can obtain the remaining Divine Spirit Revival Pills we need to revive our other two brothers."

"That's what I want as well. Unfortunately, we can only do that after leaving the Elemental Source Land."

Vance sighed.

Since all the participants had to protect their Elemental Spirit Altars during the Elemental Beast Rampage, he couldn't leave his current location to search for the pills.

Moreover, he wasn't confident that he could complete the fourth round with only Boulder and Mud.

Vance had no choice but to wait until the round ended, although he wasn't confident that he could pass it.

Nevertheless, he hoped to find a way to exchange his remaining Divine Talent Fruit for the Divine Spirit Revival Pills after leaving the Elemental Source Land.

Soon, the Ancient Voice resounded throughout the Elemental Source Land.

[Phase Sixteen of the Elemental Beast Rampage will last for twenty-four hours!]

"Twenty-four hours..."

Vance's expression changed.

Phase Fifteen had lasted only sixteen hours, but the duration of Phase Sixteen had suddenly increased by eight hours.

'I already had no confidence in completing Phase Fifteen, and now you want me to fight for twenty-four hours? What a joke!'

Vance scoffed at the change in Phase Sixteen before taking a deep breath.

Then, he looked at the Divine Elemental Potion in his hand before making his decision.

"Boulder, for now, let's do our best without using the Divine Elemental Potion. At worst, we'll be eliminated from the Elemental Source Land."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Once I find a method to unseal Divine Elemental Spirits, I'll evolve you as well."

The problem was that once a Divine Elemental Spirit was sealed, its summoner would lose access to one of their most powerful combatants, potentially leaving them vulnerable to their enemies.

However, in Vance's case, he was an orphan who had always treated his Elemental Spirits as his family. Without them by his side, he would feel lonely.

So, he decided to use the Divine Elemental Potion on Boulder only after he found a method to unseal Divine Elemental Spirits.

"As you say, Summoning Master."

Boulder felt his elemental heart warm as he prepared to face the incoming Elemental Beasts.

However, neither Vance nor Boulder realized that a young man was watching them from another mountain.

'Looks like he's not a bad guy.'

Ajax had heard their entire conversation using his Divine Spirit Consciousness and could roughly understand Vance's backstory.

From his experience, anyone who treated their Elemental Spirits like family was unlikely to be a bad person.

At least, that had been his experience so far.

However, Ajax wasn't planning to help Vance simply because he felt sorry for him.

'I'm more interested in that Divine Talent Fruit he's planning to exchange.'

Ajax had already witnessed how much a Divine Talent could improve an Elemental Spirit.

If Vance was willing to exchange his remaining Divine Talent Fruit, Ajax was interested in obtaining it.

Moreover, after hearing Vance's situation, Ajax had a fairly good idea of what he could offer in return.

'Let's see how he handles the sixteenth phase first before taking action.'

Ajax smiled faintly before turning his attention toward the incoming Elemental Beasts.

The sixteenth phase had officially begun.