Liam struggled against the current, but it was futile. It was as if he was being yanked out of the ocean by an invisible hand. In the blink of an eye, his entire body was lifted out of the water, suspended in mid-air. He was hovering in between the stormy skies and the endless ocean below. Huuuuuu… Liam sucked in a big gulp of air, his lungs automatically responding. However, he was not allowed to finish the breath. RUMBLE RUMBLE! ROAR! GROWL! The moment he was yanked out of the waters, several powerful auras assaulted him at the same time. Even for Liam, the pressure was overwhelming. The presence emanating from these auras was immense, dwarfing his own meager power. Liam gritted his teeth and shook his head as his vision quickly cleared. His eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the situation when he saw colossal figures moving within the storm clouds, their forms obscured by the darkness. Their growls and roars reverberated through the air, sending shivers down his spine. Not long after the first figure revealed itself. It was a huge manta ray that somehow seemed to be flying in the air, flapping its giant wings. Its body was covered in shimmering scales, reflecting the lightning that crackled around it. The manta ray's eyes glowed with otherworldly crimson light as it focused its gaze on Liam. While Liam was trying to comprehend this beast, another one emerged from its right and yet another from its left. A massive vulture with wings spanning the width of a small ship stood before him. Its feathers were a dark shade of obsidian, and its beady eyes glimmered with a predatory crimson light. The bird let out a bone-chilling screech as if it was ready to devour him. On the left, the towering figure revealed itself to be an enormous Mantis. Its forelimbs were as thick as tree trunks, serrated with razor-sharp edges. Its body was armored with glistening exoskeleton plates, glinting with an eerie metallic sheen. The Mantis emitted a low, menacing hiss, its mandibles clacking together in anticipation. Liam's heart pounded in his chest as he faced the three colossal creatures. Their combined presence was suffocating. What were the levels of these creatures? In front of these things, the snake, frog, and crocodile beasts seemed to be insignificant. Were these the real guardian beasts? Several questions raced through Liam's mind as he hurriedly tried to think of how to deal with him. However, the next moment he felt something and snapped to turn around and look. Staring at him, face to face was a fierce and majestic wolf, its size surpassing any ordinary predator. Its fur was a mix of silver and midnight black, shimmering with an ethereal glow. Its eyes, glowing like twin orbs of blood-red moonlight, held both intelligence and untamed ferocity. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 And it was not alone. On either side of the Wolf, two more colossal beasts stood, further amplifying the overwhelming presence in the air. To the left of the Wolf, a massive polar bear emerged, its snow-white fur standing in stark contrast to the dark stormy skies. Its muscular frame exuded strength and resilience, and its icy red eyes radiated a chilling rage. Opposite the polar bear, there was an enormous monkey. Its fur was a rich shade of chestnut brown, and its agile form was adorned with intricate patterns that seemed to shimmer with mystical energy. Its eyes sparkled like red rubies. Before this realization could hit Liam, suddenly two pairs of roars echoed from his right side. Standing side by side was a giant lion and a tiger. The lion, with its majestic mane of golden fur and regal presence, exuded a commanding aura. Its amber eyes burned with a fierce determination, radiating power and authority. The tiger's coat was adorned with bold stripes of black and orange. Its sleek and agile body moved with a grace that belied its immense size. Every muscle in its body seemed coiled with potential energy, ready to unleash a devastating strike. At this point, Liam was clear about what was happening. He was completely surrounded. Well, there was still his left side… he instinctively turned to see if there was anything there and was not too shocked to see a deer standing gracefully amidst the chaos. But this was no ordinary deer. Its antlers stretched wide, branching out like intricate works of art. They were adorned with vibrant flowers and leaves as if the deer itself was a living embodiment of nature's beauty. Its coat shimmered with a soft golden hue, and every part of its body exuded peace and warmth. However, when Liam met its pair of crimson eyes, he knew that the warmth was not true. As the storm raged on as a backdrop for what was about to happen, Liam was genuinely stumped for the first time. He was fully surrounded and cornered by a group of powerful beasts and every single one of them had their eyes on the world seed in his hand. How could he possibly fight against so many beasts at the same time? He couldn't even see any of their levels! He was able to see that the Ison King was level 500. Did this mean that these beasts were further up than that? And why the heck was all of their eyes crimson? Was that their world's blessing or whatever the draconian princess had mentioned? Liam already knew that the real struggle would only begin after he had fully completed the world seed but he did not think that this would happen. Where were even all of these creatures when the waves of apocalypse descended on their planet? Were they sleeping? Silently powering up? If not for him, would they have really allowed everything to get destroyed by the isons or now this nether array? Where were they in his last lifetime when all kinds of powerful beasts roamed the earth? He felt a rage bubbling inside him as the thoughts of his two lifetimes of suffering surged within him. No, these beasts did not have the right to call themselves guardians or whatever their title was. Liam clenched his fists and looked around. Which one among them was the weakest? That was his first thought. Since they had encircled him, he needed to attack swiftly to break out. Perhaps earlier hiding within a safe zone for 6 months was not the solution but now that he had the complete world seed, it seemed like a decent option. He could already feel the power seeping in from it. His soul was much better, his body was slowly getting strengthened and his mind was clearer than ever. If just the seed had such an effect then how powerful would the fully matured world tree be? Liam did not know how long the world tree would take to completely mature but he had the stone tablet with him so there was always a possibility he could quicken things. In the meantime, he needed to understand what exactly he would acquire from the world tree and how it was going to make him stronger. If he could resolve the limit of his body that prevented him from handling both nether and mana then he could easily obtain power that could rival the divine temple high priestess. He could then save Mia and find Derek and establish some sort of peace in this world where his family and his guild could thrive. However, all of that now seemed to be in the distant future. He couldn't fathom how he was going to break out of this encirclement. "The deer!" Liam's eyes flashed. It had to be the weakest and it was all alone. All the beasts seemed to be at a standstill for now. If Liam had to guess, they were waiting for one of them to make the first move. Or perhaps strategizing in their brain how to obtain the world seed for themselves when other strong opponents were present. But Liam couldn't let that happen. He needed to make the first move and it also had to be the strongest. This should pave the way for his escape. Not holding back, Liam decided to start the fight with his strongest attack, dragon breath! Normally, this would mean using the nether in the air for his benefit but right now, the world seed in his hand was giving him a different option. Thick strands of mana swirled and gathered around him or more precisely the world seed. In a single decisive move, he inhaled everything that he could and he pumped his mana core with endless dense mana. Activating his mana core, he then sent his consciousness to his soul where two small runes were shimmering brightly. One was the rune for the icy dragon breath and the other was the rune for the lightning dragon breath. With the vast ocean sprawled around him and the stormy clouds gathered above him, Liam instantly made the decision and went with the latter option.