When the two crystallized mammoths collided, a massive shockwave struck everything around them, followed by an explosive sound.
But the sound wasn't from the ground cracking, the shockwave, or buildings collapsing. It came from the mammoths themselves. Their cries of pain. Even if they had been enslaved, they still respected their kind and didn't want to fight one another.
Maybe they were smarter than humans. After all, during World War III, humanity fought its own species. If the war had never happened, conquering the Undergarden would've been child's play. Before the war, there were 11 million people on Earth. In a world where everyone had awakened their blood heritage, someone would've surely reached Phase 0, just as the regressor Aria wanted.
In fact... Aria was dead now. Yes. Her goal had to be fulfilled, and humanity shouldn't be allowed to forget her... but why did humanity need someone at Phase 0? There had to be something undiscovered — something that would be revealed in the future. If that were the case, it must be in either the Deathsea or the Fogbound Grave — the only two places Yuel had never visited and knew nothing about.
Yuel had already been to the Inksworn Depths. There was nothing there requiring someone at Phase 0. If the concern was phase 7 titans… then Phase 1 would be enough. With inventory from the system, the wisdom brought by humanity, and infinite potential, humans could kill beings stronger than themselves. Yuel was the perfect example — even before awakening his bloodline, as a mere human, he had managed to kill a phase 4 titan. That was no easy feat. His quick thinking had been key — using a broken bottle as a weapon was something no Dhune would think of. That's why Dhune, generally, were weaker than titans — Luo being a rare exception.
Come to think of it… Luo had challenged a Phase 4 titan while only being phase 1. That wolf was something else. If only he hadn't died. What kind of power would he have had if he became a titan himself?
A strong tremor brought Yuel back to reality as he hit the ground, banging his head. He was in the middle of a battle — and had completely lost focus!
The crystallized mammoths roared, unwilling to fight, but both riders forced them into combat. After a brief clash, the Wendigos were finally armed. Former cultists who once wore multi-pocketed leather gear were still dressed in leather. "You're going into battle, you idiots — could you seriously not find any armor?" Yuel thought.
But in truth, no one had planned for a battle. Most had come without any preparations. Only a handful of designated hunters wore decent armor.
The Wendigos jumped down from the mammoths. Then, the two airships collided. Crystallized bears were among the cult's rarest resources, so they were meant for infiltration missions, not open war. Thus, the cult's Wendigo soldiers had to fight without them — against a fully armed enemy force with crystallized bears.
To make matters worse, some cult soldiers didn't even know how to fight. They were simply ordered to battle — and obeyed — but this would surely lead to disaster.
In such a massive war, the key power was magic — and magic would determine the winner.
Bloodlines? Sure. But there was more. Wendigos had racial magic — a unique kind only usable by Wendigos. Yuel didn't know its specifics, and learning it would've been pointless anyway — he wasn't a Wendigo, and couldn't possibly master it in a few days. That's why he didn't bother back in prison. But once freed, he could experiment.
What he did know was that this magic revolved around transformation — and for Wendigos, it could substitute for a bloodline.
That meant it could decide the war's fate.
Bloodlines and this unnamed magic — both had the same limit: imagination and mana. If Yuel could enable the Wendigos to use this transformation magic creatively, they might win. Worst-case scenario, he could try to make a pact or use a bit more from his Fracture percentage — he still had 16.7% left.
From this perspective, Yuel had a chance.
But from another point of view… the enemy mammoth carried 300 Wendigos.
A 300 vs 100 fight — completely unfair. The enemy was armored, mounted on crystallized bears, and possibly had powerful mages. Just imagining it was terrifying. On the other hand, there was Yuel.
Yes, he wasn't just Yuel — there were other factors — but still, the only thing the cult side had going for them was him. Evaluating things that way made more sense.
It all happened within seconds — he barely had time to think. He was wasting precious time analyzing. He needed a solution. Also… he was still wearing the prison outfit used by arena slaves…
No. He had to focus. No distractions.
So why was he thinking alone? He had the Whisper power. He should use it to its fullest.
What were the most terrifying things he'd ever heard? He had to think. The cries from arena battles? The dozens of dying titans and Dhunes? No — the scariest sound had been when they faced a phase 7 titan in Verdant Requiem — the sounds of thousands of tree-transformed titans chasing them, the movement of their roots… that had been chilling.
But even that wasn't the worst. The moment he realized the truth — after living the same day for 4 years in a dream that seemed eternal — that fear was deeper.
If he could simulate that fear… he could make the enemy feel it.
Or better — he could use all methods.
Seven seconds after the mammoth clash, amidst the chaos and war cries, Wendigo soldiers began to hear something.
Dozens of titan screams. But not battle cries — death cries. The kind you make right before you die.
Only the enemy soldiers heard this. The cult's troops didn't — and were attacking any enemies that froze in response to the whispers.
The real war was beginning — Yuel was discovering his potential.
But if he kept using mana like this, he'd run dry in under a minute.
If mana was out, he'd need to sacrifice part of his body — or use percentages. But he believed he'd found a mana source — that's why he ran across the lone crystallized mammoth, heading for the driver's seat.
By the time the enemy soldiers had endured ten seconds of whispers and were starting to dismiss them, a new sound arrived — the rustling of roots. The sound of a Phase 7 titan's movement. It froze their blood — this time, they weren't ignoring it, they were scared.
The cultists used this hesitation to strike.
At that moment, two towering figures in long robes jumped from the enemy mammoth — twice as big as the soldiers, their robes nearly touching the ground.
They raised their hands toward the soldiers. Suddenly, dark-blue icy halos appeared around the heads of every enemy soldier. Thin, translucent, but present.
From each ring, a small spike formed — it grew, became a blade — and sliced off the ears of every soldier. The rings then moved to where the ears had been, freezing in place like frosty growths.
The soldiers could no longer hear the whispers. The Whisper power was now useless.
The enemy roared again and began killing cultists by the second.
During the time the whispers had worked, they'd managed to kill about 70 enemies — but the cult only had 100 fighters to begin with. Now they were down to 60.
In a 230 vs 60 battle, the winner was obvious.
Yuel had to stretch his imagination to the limit. How could he use Fracture or Whisper to win this war? Or rather — how would he, with enough mana? That was the question.
Fortunately, Yuel had found a mana source.
Even though the mammoths were shaking violently, Yuel had already jabbed his spear into its crystalized eyelid — clinging on.
They were called crystallized for a reason — their eyes were made of crystal, and in the Undergarden, all crystal meant mana.
And right now, Yuel needed mana.
They didn't need two crystallized mammoths. Yuel wasn't greedy — one was enough. So he could use this one's crystal eyes as a massive mana source.
No pain. No sacrifice. Just pure mana from crystal.
While the orange crystal shined and Yuel flailed comically to hold on (with Null laughing in the background), he activated his Fracture bloodline — and shattered the minds of enemy soldiers. He split their thoughts into dozens of fragments.
It was as if their bodies were taken over by conflicting souls — they struggled to walk, their movements clumsy and unnatural.
Of course, it wasn't permanent. A full-on mental shatter for 230 soldiers would've required all of his remaining percentages.
He didn't want that.
He tried targeting the mages — but those damned robed ones shielded themselves in gray ice halos.
He needed another method. But what was as strong as his bloodlines…?
The fact he even asked that shocked him. Was he forgetting Luo? Impossible. Luo would never be forgotten.
Yuel lit the white flame and engulfed the battlefield. Even the mages seemed overwhelmed.
When the white spirit fire spread, the crystal in his hand exploded.
Barely hanging on, Yuel crawled to the other eye. He was lucky not to fall.
Touching the second crystal, he poured its mana into the fire — increasing its heat dramatically.
Too dramatically.
The enemy soldiers collapsed. The Wendigo race was used to cold — this heat was enough to make them faint or even die.
But Yuel couldn't maintain it for long. The cultists had to finish them fast.
Just like Luo had once protected Yuel with the white flame, Yuel shielded his cult from it — the flame listened to its master. If he wished, it wouldn't burn anyone.
So the cultists moved freely — executing the unconscious enemies. Except the mages.
Yuel had to try taking over their minds while they were out cold.
Who knows? Maybe it'd work. If it did, they'd become his strongest subordinates.
Their robes had burned off — revealing human forms. But Yuel knew better. Many Wendigos preferred human bodies for comfort. These two were no different.
Still, if they weren't pulled out soon, they wouldn't survive the flames — and Yuel wasn't ready to witness that scene. He dragged them out, and they boarded the enemy's mammoth.
The cult's original mammoth had stopped moving after Yuel destroyed its eyes.
The enemy's mammoth was much better anyway — filled with buildings, food, clothes, drinks, and more. It was comfortable. First thing Yuel did was grab a shirt — a white fur-lined one of unknown origin.
Null, on the other hand, was buried in books — but the body belonged to Yuel, and he wasn't in the mood for reading.
The mages were still unconscious. The cult's population had dropped to 45 (which was good — less mana required to control them).
Now he would have to deal with the wizards...