Abyss Draconis

"Is that... a Frost Wyvern!?"

Murmurs filled the air as Isha flew forward toward the battlefield and various jets immediately turned their munitions her.

But just before they could go all out firing, they stopped when they sighted the figure behind the Frost Wyvern.

"Is that... a Nagas?" one of the Nagas army members wondered aloud.

Among the Ten Families, they were the only ones who had Frost Wyverns as their companions.

So seeing one now, even though greatly surprising, made sense. After all, Frost Wyverns were only ridden by their most powerful figures.

They could at least guess that whoever stood on it would be a Nagas.

But when Isha drew closer, they widened their eyes as she took a detour, swerving toward Humanity's army.

This drew raised eyebrows from the other families, whose eyes narrowed at the Frost Wyvern before flashing in shock.

"A human!?"

"What's a human doing with a Frost Wyvern?"

"Could he be a beast tamer!?"

"How did he even lay his hands on a Frost Wyvern in the first place?"

Against the murmurs, Ryuk remained unfazed. Instead, his gaze scanned through the Ten Families' army, recognizing their strengths.

He eventually gave a nod as Isha floated above the Human army while Ryuk's gaze combed through the crowd.

There were a couple of faces he had no idea about—older warriors whose reputations preceded them. But among them, one figure stood out, one he immediately recognized.

None other than MadWhite.

Isha descended to the ground, and Ryuk stepped down before withdrawing her back into his pet world.

"And here you finally are, kiddo," MadWhite called out to him, nudging him by the shoulder.

Ryuk smiled in acknowledgment, but soon he felt several gazes on him.

Turning, he witnessed a group of elders dressed in cybernetic combat suits staring at him from the side.

"The Ten Families truly heed the call. I'm surprised..." Ryuk stated, glancing at the gathering. MadWhite nodded in agreement.

"Just like I told you. Although this might be nothing more than a fraction of their true armies, this at least gives us a much better chance of surviving the Second Knull Descent..." MadWhite replied.

Ryuk nodded before turning his head to the sky.

"There are a couple of Human Commanders I want to introduce you to, Ryuk..." MadWhite said.

Ryuk furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head.

"Not now. Everyone might look calm, but they're all under monumental pressure. An introduction would be nice, but only after the war has been completed."

MadWhite's eyes flashed for a moment before he nodded his head.

"So tell me, why? Why aren't we attacking yet? The Knulls are already descending out of the gate..." Ryuk stated, looking up at the sky.

He noticed that the Knulls had already begun climbing down, yet for some reason, they were lining themselves up in formation—eerily similar to the way the Endearth armies were also lined up.

It was as if some sort of truce had been called by both sides, preventing either from making a move until it was broken. Ryuk didn't understand it.

"We can't attack now..." MadWhite said, drawing a cursory glance fro Ryuk.

"You see, for the Knulls to enter, they need to open a wormhole. And a wormhole is best opened through the destabilization of space."

"Behind these portals, there would be Knull figures who are working to destabilize space to allow the Sleepers to come in."

"If we attack now, our attacks will lead to further destabilization of space, making it easier for the Knulls to come in. We'd essentially be aiding them."

"The best thing is to wait and allow the Knulls to drain their energy trying to destabilize space. That will help in reducing the energy of the Walkers behind the portals," MadWhite explained.

Ryuk's eyes flickered with understanding, but he couldn't help but notice some unfamiliar terms MadWhite had used.

"Sleepers? Walkers? Do those refer to the Knulls?" Ryuk asked.

MadWhite nodded. "The Knulls have their classifications."

"The first and lowest classification is the Sleepers. They are the ones that seem no different from Mutated Beasts and are the weakest of the Knull army—just like the ones right above our heads..."

Ryuk looked at the Knulls, who truly seemed no different compared to normal Mutated Beasts, except for the dark energy they were oozing.

They were the exact ones he had faced the previous time too.

"The Sleepers are the weakest of the Knull army, but their cultivation stages are equivalent to Grade C to Grade B creatures," MadWhite said.

Ryuk's eyes flashed in realization.

'Even the weakest of the Knulls are at least Grade C! No wonder people's eyes flash in horror when the Knulls are mentioned. Even the weakest of them rival the strongest power levels of some City forces on Endearth.'

"The second level of the Knulls is the Walkers."

"They are usually able to control the Sleepers and are the ones who have the power to open up portals to other worlds..." MadWhite explained.

Ryuk's mind flashed back to the first time he had faced the Knulls. He remembered the figure whose hands were pulling apart the Void, allowing the other Sleeper Knulls to enter.

'That must have been a Walker...'

"The weakest of the Walkers is a Grade A creature—the Cataclysm stage. The strongest of them is at the peak of the Cataclysm Stage, though those are very rare."

"The Walkers are much rarer, and I'm guessing there should be three Walkers behind that vortex, responsible for sending the Knulls out."

"Space fights back against anything that tries to destabilize it."

"So as the vortex is being opened and the Sleepers are coming in, the Walkers are also exhausting a great amount of power."

"When the space finally stabilizes and they can enter, they would have fallen in power by at least two-thirds of their normal strength, making them easier to defeat."

"That's why we're waiting..." MadWhite explained directly.

Ryuk now understood.

But as he looked at the portal, he couldn't help but feel his heart pounding within his chest.

A pulse he knew well—one of danger.

But he also knew well that a creature at the Cataclysm stage shouldn't be able to make him feel danger at his current cultivation level.

So why?

"Tell me, MadWhite," Ryuk called.

"What is that?"

"There couldn't be any Knulls greater in power than the Walkers, could there?"