"Furthermore, two Divine Beasts-level beings appeared out of nowhere. At first, I assumed they were attracted by what fell on this land. However, those two Divine Beasts are flying close to each other as if they are on the same side."
"Given that they are flying towards the same destination, they must be related to the person or being that created this crater. Besides this person, who else is more qualified to become the Infertile Plains' Hegemon?" Chief Blackbear uttered with a sigh. n0VelUsB.c0M
Even if Chief Blackbear wanted to become a hegemon, he lacked the capability to actually become one. He was made painfully aware of that fact.
...
On the far northern edge of the new crater where Mighty Whitewolf Tribe's forces and the forces of their subordinate tribes arrived, Chief Silvertooth was having similar thoughts as Chief Blackbear.
Even though they were separated by tens of miles, they were painfully aware of the situation when the two Divine Beasts appeared.
"Whoever controls the two Divine Beasts also controls the fate of the Infertile Plains," Chief Silvertooth spoke while gazing at the blackened soil within the crater.
"We have no choice but to submit to such great power, don't we?" the leader of a subordinate tribe asked.
"If the difference in strength wasn't great, we could still try," Chief Silvertooth said before adding, "In fact, it's why the competition within the Central Region is so intense; our strength was more or less around the same level."
"However, the difference in our strength here is so vast that the competition wouldn't even exist. It will just be a pointless massacre if we try to resist and oppose this kind of power."
"Let us go and meet the powerful being. With this much power, it's time to end the battle for hegemony once and for all. We've spilled enough blood in this war," Chief Silvertooth stated.
"Understood, Chief Silvertooth!" the warriors complied.
Even Chief Silvertooth was aware that the battle for hegemony had gone out of hand.
But even though he was aware of that, he still continued to spill more blood to ensure his own Mighty Whitewolf Tribe's interest. He had no choice but to keep making mistakes for that purpose.
Chief Silvertooth was unwilling to let his Mighty Whitewolf Tribe live under any of the other three King-rank tribes, which weren't superior to them.
However, now a newly emerging power that completely eclipsed the whole Infertile Plains. Chief Silvertooth naturally has no choice but to bow to such great power.
"Let us move!" Chief Silvetooth barked.
Before long, the forces under Chief Silvertooth began making their way around the western crater with the distant hill as their destination.
...
Meanwhile, Goldenstride and Nightingale returned to the hill after completing their task.
Goldenstride was forced to land further away, but Nightingale directly shrank back into human form after circulating her celestial energy according to the Divine Beast Transformation Art.
"Ahem!" Leon coughed.
Nightingale immediately realized the reason for Leon's cough before she quickly put on a new set of clothes.
Nevertheless, Chief Sar-Rakshi, Chief Sul-Dahki, and a few elite warriors from the Divine Tortoise Tribe all had a good look. They were spellbound by her beauty, but alas, they quickly snapped out of it.
They did not dare to direct any impure gazes and thoughts are someone who was a Divine Beast.
"My Lord, the destruction in this land... did you do this?" Nightingale inquired with some lingering astonishment.
Goldenstride immediately perked his ears to listen.
Whether it was Goldenstride or Nightingale, they had both sensed the tremendous surge of energy and destruction from a distance, and both felt shocked by it.
Even after flying over the vast crater, they couldn't hide their astonishment and fear.
Besides the Lord, they couldn't think of anyone else who could have possibly had the power to create such a huge crater.
Although they didn't experience it firsthand, they could tell that there was enough power behind the destruction to destroy them if they had been hit by it head-on.
"Yeah, I was testing some things, and I guess you can say that it got a little out of hand," Leon replied wryly while shifting his gaze to the crate ahead.
It wasn't as big as the one created by whatever fell from outer space, but it was still big enough to open a new entrance to the abyss.
A seemingly bottomless hole was seen at the center of the crater—much like the one found in its far bigger neighboring crater next door.
"Your power is unparalleled, my Lord!" Nightingale bowed with worship and awe after receiving Leon''s confirmation.
"Unparalleled, huh?" Leon muttered with a slight smile before shaking his head. He was still far from it.
How could he be considered unparalleled when there were far stronger existences out there? He was still an ant in the vast universe.
"Hm?" Goldenstride's ears twitched before turning his head in one direction and saying, "We have unwelcomed visitors, my Lord. Should I deal with them?"
When Chief Blackbear's group heard the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni utter those words, their entire bodies froze in shock and fear.
On the one hand, they were completely intimidated by the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni. And on the other hand, they were shocked to confirm that the Divine Beast-level Golden Suanni had a lord.
At the same time, Chief Blackbear also recognized Chief Ironshield in the distance, along with Chief Sar-Rakshi and Chief Sul-Dahki standing not too far away from Chief Ironshield.
Those two warriors appeared to be tribal chiefs from the Western Region, if he remembered correctly.
"No need. We'll see what they want first," Leon waved his hand dismissively at Goldenstride before making his way through the crowd.
Before long, Leon stopped in front of Chief Blackbear and his people without only a few yards between them.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Leon casually asked.
However, to Chief Blackbear and his people, Leon's words were like the mandates of heaven; they demanded complete obedience and honesty.
Without a doubt, Chief Blackbear immediately understood that the person before him was the leader of the group.
Furthermore, this person was also strong beyond belief and possessed a power unlike any other.
"I am Chief Blackbear of the Black Warbear Tribe, and I have come to express our voluntary submission."
"Please accept our allegiance!"
Chief Blackbear and his people all knelt simultaneously as if they had rehearsed it.