<h4>Chapter 1037: A mistake? The eye within the hole in the ground</h4>


    The dark mist looked like a giant storm cloud that descended from the sky. The rumbling dark mist covered a small part of the Giant Beast Forest.


    The ck lights shot around in the dark mist like loose arrows, piercing anything in their paths. Trees and demonic beasts were destroyed in less than a second.


    If the ck mist could cover the entire Giant Beast Forest then the forest will be barren. If the ck mist could cover the Ailu empire or Silvaria then that would surely be a scene of utmost despair.


    The ck mist covering the forest looked like a miasma from a distance. A tier 9 cultivator might be able tost a short while in this deste ce. Given enough time, they will die too.


    The dark mist is like a quagmire that restricted movement while there are too many wisps of ck lights flying around. This attack used overwhelming numbers to bring down a superior foe.


    Fortunately, Wu Yan, Ikaros, and Astrea survived the dark mist attack.


    Wu Yan, Ikaros, and Astrea appeared in a sh above the forest.


    The trio looked down at the forest in horror.


    Astrea used her lightspeed to pull Wu Yan and Ikaros away from danger, escaping the dark mist''s restrictive effects. Then, Ikaros used her Aegis to deflect the iing ck lights. Finally, Wu Yan used his teleportation to get out of the dark mist''s attack range.


    The dark mist''s area of effect is too wide!


    The wave of darkness also engulfed everything in a sh.


    This is the reason why Wu Yan & Ikaros had to pitch in despite Astrea''s ridiculous speed.


    Wu Yan, Ikaros, and Astrea lowered their guards and that mistake almost ced them in a dangerous situation.


    Ikaros got attacked once while the three of them just got jumped on. Nobody could have guessed the dark mist and ck lights can do preemptive attacks.


    Yukari told them the ck lights relied more on basic instincts than intelligence. They moved away from harmful stimuli and approached beneficial ones. Other than that, they only had one ability: Possess other lifeforms.


    The dark mist attack didn''t look like instinctual moves, it felt more like premeditated attacks to them.


    Wu Yan, Ikaros, and Astrea almost got into trouble because the dark mist apparently changed its behavior.


    "What''s going on?!"


    Wu Yan mused out loud with a grim look.


    "I thought they can''t think? Why is the dark mist attacking us? Is it because we attacked first?"


    Ikaros slowly gave her opinion.


    "I didn''t attack the dark mist when I got surrounded…"


    Ikaros didn''t strike first but she still got enveloped by the dark mist.


    Suddenly, the dark mist wasn''t as easy to deal with as they assumed.


    The dark mist trapped Ikaros once and it almost engulfed Wu Yan & co.


    "Did Yukari make a mistake?"


    Wu Yan shook his head.


    "Yukari was very sure. She had good reasons to justify her theories. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have given us her theory."


    Wu Yan gnashed his teeth at the dark mist below.


    "Something else is behind this. There is another factor at y!"


    Ikaros and Astrea exchanged a look. They deployed their radars and scanners to analyze the dark mist. Suddenly, their expressions changed with Astrea calling out first.


    "Master! Watch out!"


    The dark mist erupted once more. Next, the dark mass started twirling into a giant tornado. The dark tornado shot upwards like a giant spinning spear of whirlwind.


    The tornado was aimed at the trio.


    The three were prepared for this attack, after thest sneak attack, they raised their guards.


    The three got ready to intercept the attack.


    "No, you don''t!"


    Astrea reacted the quickest.


    Astrea brandished her greatsword, sending a sword beam crashing towards the tornado.


    Swish


    The sword beam cut apart the attack but it felt like they were hitting bags of meat. They can hear something being torn apart as the dark tornado got split in twain.


    Instead of dissipating, the tornado turned into two smaller tornadoes that continued spiraling towards the trio.


    Fwoosh


    Like two dragons, the tornadoes reached the trio.


    "Aegis, activate!"


    Wu Yan was about to teleport away with the two angels when Ikaros spread her arms wide and she deployed her translucent barrier that covered the trio.


    The tornadoes crashed against the Aegis.


    Bam


    A dull thud rang, the trio''s ears rang with a sharp shrill. The tornado was grinding against the Aegis in a heart-thumping fashion.


    Ikaros gnashed her teeth.


    "Adjusting trajectory."


    The Aegis shed once and a mysterious ripple moved into the tornado from the point of contact.


    Bam


    Then, the tornadoes got shredded as it dissipated in bits to all four cardinal directions.


    That force was the tornado''s own force being used against it.


    Ikaros''s Aegis can deflect and reflect attacks. The tornadoes had iting.


    For the dark mist that wasn''t alive in a true sense. This damage was nothing. The dissipating dark fragments started gathering once more as they converged on one location like tiny meteors in the air.


    "This is just endless…"


    The trio was troubled by the resilience of the dark mist.


    They didn''t notice a hole in the ground where the tall cliff once stood.


    Inside the hole filled with dark lights, a cold and malicious gaze looked at the trio.


    Specifically, the unknown observer was looking at Wu Yan.