Chapter 610 610. Love
The situation on the coastlines didn't take much to stabilize.
The heroic assets of the four countries fought bravely to exterminate the remains of the pack of winged beasts.
They aimed to remove any trace of that species from the Mortal Lands, the cultivators couldn't allow intelligent creatures to survive.
Groups of rank 4 cultivators took care of the rank 3 and 4 winged beasts while those in the fifth rank were left to the higher-ups to handle.
The powerhouses of the four nations surveilled the trend of the battles for a few weeks before intervening.
They couldn't do all the work, the assets under them had to gain experience in handling crises like that.
The aim of rank 6 cultivators was to leave the Mortal Lands and reach the plane of the deities, meaning that they would eventually leave their organizations behind.
So, they had to be sure that their organizations would have what they need to remain in power.
Their lifetime's efforts in the Mortal Lands couldn't go to waste because of their departure, and their inheritances alone wouldn't ensure the well-being of their underlings.
Only knowledgeable warriors could keep a country in power after the departure of their leaders, and, to do that, they needed experience in facing any kind of threat.
The crisis ended when the powerhouses intervened.
The five rank 6 cultivators of the four nations swept the piece of Immortal Lands and killed all the winged beasts that had survived the attack of their underlings.
The species that had made the new continent tremble for months met its extinction.
The war ended with the death of the last specimen of the pack of winged creatures, and the four countries could finally evaluate their gains and losses.
Countless human assets and structures had been lost in those months, but the spoils of war brought thousands of valuable materials back to the inventories of the four nations.
Their assets had been weakened, and their growth delayed, but time would eventually make up for those losses.
More promising cultivators would appear in the years after the crisis and would benefit from the resources obtained in the war.
Some of them would reach the heroic ranks and take the place of the dead heroic cultivators.
The surviving assets would become stronger due to the experience gained during the crisis, creating a generation of warriors forged through the flames of war.
Of course, it would take decades for those events to happen, the four nations had yet to stabilize their territories now.
The fauna had migrated toward coastlines, leaving only strong creatures in the central territories.
The center of the continent had seen the battle of beings at the peak of the heroic ranks though.
Its environment had changed forever, and it would take time for those lands to stabilize and to give birth to lifeforms again.
Mutations were bound to appear in those areas due to the influence of such powerful existences, but that was another event that would only happen in the future.
The focus of the heroic assets was to restore their sources of income and evaluate if the invasion had modified some environments in ways that they could exploit.
The Hive was happy to discover that the toxicity of the area next to the forest had diminished by a large margin due to the migration of many packs of magical beasts.
Many precious materials hidden among the poisonous creatures and rivers could finally be plundered, making that land another source of income for the Coral archipelago.
The Azure plain though suffered a lot during that period, and its terrain had been tainted with the blood of countless powerful creatures.
It would take time for its ground to absorb all those nutrients and gave birth to Azure Credits again.
However, the purity of those magical plants couldn't be assessed so soon, there was a high chance that all those contaminations would affect the purity of the Azure Credits.
Noah mostly ignored those events.
He was an expert in the magical beasts' field, and his insights in the matter were kept in high regard by the other elders.
Yet, the fauna was too chaotic in that period, he could only make a list of the scenarios that were most likely to happen.
His obligations toward the Hive ended there, and he simply focused on making the best out of his remaining time with June.
June obtained her sparring session with Noah, but their level was far too different.
June had just become a complete heroic cultivator, but Eccentric Thunder's inheritance and inscribed items gave her a sturdy foundation on which she could build a suitable combat style.
However, Noah had faced and overcome those issues when she was still in the human ranks, no amount of backing could make up for his achievements.
After all, Noah could defend against the attacks of solid stage cultivators, there was nothing that June could do to pierce his defenses.
The battle was completely one-sided, Noah simply walked through the lightning storm unleashed by June, nothing she did was able to dent his powerful defensive methods.
When Noah reached her, he lifted her large and metallic inscribed hat and caressed her face while kissing her forehead.
He couldn't attack her, his physical strength was too threatening for the frail body of the cultivators.
Yet, that gesture was enough to put an end to her offensive.
The difference between their power was evident at that point.
\"I will definitely reach you one day.\"
June said when the battle was over.
She was a bit annoyed by how easily Noah had defeated her, but she didn't want to waste the precious time that she had with him.
Noah had told her that the forces of the Papral nation had spotted him.
The news of his return would undoubtedly reach the Elbas family then, and both of them expected the Royals to knock at the Hive's doors soon.
\"You must, or I'll leave you behind.\"
Noah smiled when he answered.
June noticed the trace of helplessness contained in his tone, but she understood him.
Noah's ambition would drive him toward the higher ranks of the cultivation world, she had no doubts that he would leave for the Immortal Lands one day.
She couldn't affect that behavior, and she didn't want to do that either.
The man that had given her a future was the most determined and driven cultivator in the entirety of the Mortal Lands, she would never attempt to change the qualities that made him so exceptional.
June laid her head on Noah's chest and murmured words that resembled a vow of some sort.
\"I love you, Noah Balvan. No matter how far you'll go, you will always be able to find me chasing you. Yet, I promise you that I'll surpass you one day.\"
Noah felt June squeezing his robe when she said that, and he couldn't help but hug her to convey his feelings too.
\"I love you, June Ballor. My life won't be the same after your departure, but I know that this feeling won't fade. Be sure to reach me wherever I'll go.\"