Each of the six shadows unraveled countless wondrous laws.
A realization dawned in Rhett's mind—these six shadows represented the elemental essences' authority. The countless threads they released symbolized the intricate connections between the elemental essences and the countless living beings in the world during its normal operation.
When a person is born, if they are fortunate enough to be touched by a portion of the essence, they are granted a natural affinity for a particular element. Whether that affinity is for battle energy or spiritual power depends entirely on their luck...
Rhett focused intently, continuing to observe within this space, gradually uncovering more hidden secrets.
For instance, regardless of the type of elemental essence, during its operation, countless tiny light particles scatter from it, entering each newly born life form.
These light particles varied greatly in size. During Rhett's brief observation, he noticed that the largest particle scattered was hundreds of times stronger than the smallest one!
This suggested that the innate talent between individuals could differ by hundreds of times.
If he extended this observation over a longer period, Rhett had no doubt that the gap could reach thousands, even tens of thousands of times!
On a grander scale, Rhett could feel that all living beings in the world were constantly resonating with the elemental essences.
In the process of growing stronger, they also nurtured and fed back into the elemental essences, like countless tiny streams returning to the source of the world.
However... the feedback was so weak as to be nearly imperceptible. Even with the accumulation of time, Rhett felt pessimistic—perhaps even after hundreds of thousands of years, it wouldn't equal the amount of essence as the flame he encountered at the dawn of creation.
At this moment, Rhett felt like a demi-creator. With a thought, he attempted to manipulate the elemental essences, directing them toward his descendants.
But then he realized, even with the bloodline as a medium, he couldn't help the descendants who had already been born! Trying to forcefully enhance those who had already grown required shaking the entire world's essence, a task far beyond his current capabilities.
However, for his unborn descendants, Rhett could indeed manipulate the amount of elemental essence that would be bestowed upon them when they were born.
Even so, there were limits—human beings had a finite capacity to absorb elemental essence. Rhett could only ensure that each future Green family newborn would possess the highest talent the world could offer!
From now on, no naturally born genius could surpass the descendants of the Green family!
With this understanding, Rhett's eyes gleamed with further insight. His comprehension of the Homeland and the world's essence had reached a new level.
Given enough time, the elite ruling class of the world would eventually all be his descendants…
Huh?
Suddenly, Rhett's gaze flickered. Hidden beneath the dazzling glow of the elemental light, he spotted a faint blood-colored light coiled like a worm in the corner of the world's essence. It had ingeniously achieved a symbiotic state with the elemental essences.
The Blood Demon Essence?
Rhett blinked and pondered. Since this essence originated from the Blood Demon, it allowed living beings in the world to gain the ability to devour other creatures and nourish themselves.
Rhett decided to name it the Essence of Evolution.
He then tried to apply various essences to unrelated individuals but was disappointed to find that without a bloodline medium, he couldn't manipulate these elemental essences.
In other words, the Homeland's fusion merely gave him a limited degree of control over the world's essence, but not enough to change the world at will or manipulate it as he pleased.
A single thought could not shift mountains or turn the stars—a reality he had already prepared himself for.
Rhett sighed slightly, feeling satisfied with the ability to influence his descendants.
Aside from that, Rhett stood next to the core of the world's essence, observing the fire essence. Instantly, numerous insights flooded his mind.
It wasn't just about the profundities of heat—he could vaguely grasp the embryonic forms of other fire-based principles during his brief observation.
Rhett smiled, feeling content. This was another advantage of being the Homeland's master. With access to the world's authority, no one could comprehend the mysteries of the world's profundities faster than he could!
Unfortunately, since Rhett's body didn't contain the essence of other elements, he could only observe the profoundities of those elements like an outsider. Even if the pathways were clear, they remained as incomprehensible as reading an ancient, indecipherable text.
"I'll have to find a solution in history…"
With a sigh, Rhett shifted his focus to one last anomaly—a deep, dark singularity.
It was hidden deep within the elemental essence, pulsing rhythmically like a beating heart.
As the master of the Homeland, Rhett could faintly sense a strange power concealed within the singularity, causing his expression to turn grim.
This power was cold and dark, reminiscent of the aura of undead creatures.
The first thing that came to Rhett's mind was the Soul Passage and the Undead Passage!
Dark magic practitioners in this world could summon undead creatures, and certain extraordinary beings' souls would be drawn into the Netherworld after death.
Such vast power—Rhett had long suspected that it wasn't just a matter of casting a spell from the Netherworld that allowed this to happen.
But now, seeing this dark singularity attached to the world's essence, Rhett suddenly realized—so this was how they manipulated the local world…
Upon closer examination, Rhett found that the dark singularity didn't control the elemental essence or merge with it or the Essence of Evolution.
Instead, its connection to the world was superficial. Rhett realized that, with just a thought, he could expel it.
He pondered for a long time, debating whether or not to act.
In the end, Rhett exhaled deeply and shook his head, choosing to put aside the idea for now.
The reason was simple.
First, his daughter Nika might be in the Netherworld, and it wasn't wise to make an enemy of the ruler of the Undead Continent just yet.
Second, it wasn't clear if this dark singularity posed any harm. Rhett didn't believe it alone could plunge the world into eternal ruin. If it did pose a problem in the future, he could always destroy it when the time came.
After spending some more time observing near the Homeland core, Rhett found no further anomalies.
With his mind leaving the Homeland space, Rhett returned to the outside world, inhaling the strong scent of blood in the air as he pondered.
He calculated the time and figured that the orc army should be on its way to the Kingdom of Kylon by now.
Given his current strength, even if the orcs hadn't joined forces with the Blood God Cult Master, Rhett could single-handedly enter and exit the battlefield at will.
Even if the orcs had a dozen Saint-level warriors, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
But to maintain the course of events and ensure the Beast God's people successfully entered this world, Rhett decided to head to the canyon front, assemble the army, and wage a final battle against the orc forces!
With that decision, Rhett merged with the elements, traveling swiftly through the air towards the canyon front.
Canyon Front, Blood River
The midday sun shone brightly, the summer heat drying the air. Several blood mudfish swam through the river, nibbling on the corpses hidden at the bottom.
Shadows stretched from the stones on the riverbank.
King Milan hid behind a large boulder, standing in the shade, waiting in ambush for the so-called mastermind, based on the information Rhett had reported earlier.
He had no idea that, in just a few days, the entire world situation had changed dramatically!
"Incredible. How could the world's profundities change so drastically in such a short time?"
Though he was lying in ambush, King Milan didn't waste time and continued to comprehend the fire-based profundities. In recent days, his enthusiasm had matched the blazing weather. He watched the clarity of the fire element soar while the difficulty of comprehension dropped significantly.
This was an experience he hadn't encountered in nearly a thousand years of life!
Never in history had he heard of anything so terrifying!
"Could this be the world's final glorious moment before the end...?"
King Milan opened his eyes and stared at the dark stone in front of him, a trace of worry flashing through his gaze.
He had no idea what Rhett had been doing for the past two days, nor could he have guessed that someone had already dealt with both the Blood God Cult Master and the orcs.
And he certainly didn't know that the Coldstream Front had already secured a decisive victory…
In his mind, he believed that without a special reason, how could the world's essence undergo such a drastic reversal?
"Hu!"
King Milan let out a long breath, his expression complicated as he murmured to himself, "Could it be that, in my generation, I will finally witness the world's collapse?"
"No, I cannot let the efforts of my ancestors go to waste. Even if this is the world's final glorious moment, I must seize this opportunity to let the light shine across every corner of the world and grasp a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation!"
His chest swelled with boundless determination. As a fire element Saint, he had experienced the sudden change in the fire element's profundities, allowing his strength to skyrocket. In the coming battle, he had the potential to become the savior who would turn the tide!
King Milan stood, drawing his sword as flames danced around it, ready to test the fruits of his recent insights.
Shing!
A flash of light.
A stranger suddenly appeared behind King Milan.
His instincts immediately kicked in, and he spun around. When he saw the figure and felt the terrifying aura emanating from him, even as a seasoned king, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Suppressing the urge to roar, he said in shock, "You… are Rhett? How did you suddenly ascend to the Saint realm?"
Rhett nodded, coughing lightly, "It's really me. Who else could it be? As for the changes I've undergone, it's a long story."
"But I'll keep it brief—I am the child of this world! With the world in peril, it granted me immense power. I've already wiped out the mastermind and nearly exterminated the orc race…"
"E-exterminated?" King Milan blinked, taking in every word Rhett said. As absurd as it sounded, he found himself believing it.
"Of course. I single-handedly exterminated the entire orc race. Haven't you noticed the fire element's profundities becoming clearer?" Rhett asked.
King Milan snapped back to reality, still in disbelief as he stared at Rhett. "That's true, but… how did you do it? Why didn't the world's essence react earlier?"
"We'll talk about that later," Rhett said, shaking his head gravely. "There's something more important now—I scouted earlier and found that the Orc King has gathered his entire army and is marching towards our kingdom for a grand battle!"
"Is that true?" King Milan's emotions surged again, his heart sinking only to rise once more. His dream of being the savior vanished, but hearing about the orc army gathering put him back on edge. "You're saying the Orc King has gathered his entire army, including seventeen Saint-level warriors?"
"That's right," Rhett replied thoughtfully. "You're the King of Kylon. You should issue a nationwide alert and quickly gather your forces. I'll go rally the Saint-level powerhouses from other kingdoms."
Hearing this confirmed, King Milan's expression darkened.
Despite his many questions, he knew that now was not the time to ask. He punched the nearby boulder, gritting his teeth. "It seems it's time for a final battle. If they dare come, we'll make sure they never leave. We'll make sure they die with no burial ground!"
"Don't worry, leave it to me," Rhett said lightly before merging with the elements once again, disappearing in an instant.
King Milan's expression gradually calmed, but his eyes flashed with confusion. As he stood in the silence, he recalled the brief exchange with Rhett. It was as if a cold bucket of water had extinguished the flames of his dream to be the savior.
"Heh." King Milan chuckled bitterly and muttered, "So be it… The victory in war is all that matters. Whether I'm the hero or not doesn't matter as much…"
One month later.
At the canyon front's battlefield, the human forces were vast yet orderly. Countless elite soldiers held swords, shields, bows, or magic wands, standing in formation or hidden in ambush around the area.
A murderous aura pervaded every corner.
Sixteen Saint-level warriors, some wielding swords, others holding magic wands, lined up in mid-air, prepared for battle.
At that moment, from the horizon in the distance, a black tide began to roll in.
Before long, the sound of earth-shaking tremors echoed through the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
…
In the sky, the expressions of the sixteen Saint-level warriors grew more solemn, their eyes fixed on the approaching army. While each of them harbored deep fears of the Orc King, none showed any sign of weakness.
"At last, the moment we've all been waiting for!"
An elderly man with a head of white hair gripped his sword tightly in front of him, slowly wiping its blade with two fingers as if he were burning the last of his life force.
"The orcs deceived Xieman, bringing the greatest shame upon the Greyrule Kingdom in its history. Today, we will settle that debt!"
A slightly chubby man with a handlebar mustache standing beside him clutched his magic wand, his hand trembling slightly.