Chapter 3291 Apex (Part 2) 'This is our chance!' Lith and Solus thought in unison. 'The battle isn't split between the strike and the decoy team anymore. The Yggdrasill has to cover the entire space around them or be burned to a crisp. 'On top of that, the World Tree has to use what's left of the shattered arrays' energy sparingly. Once all the runes are spent, no more Tower Tier spells and no time to accumulate the necessary mana to cast arrays of that magnitude.' With the old Fringe gone and waves of pure world energy filling the new one, the Divine Beasts and Eldritches felt like a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Their powers were back to their full strength and the Fringe nourished them past their limits. The newcomers greeds of Dragons coordinated with the Fire and Golden Dragons and attacked the World Tree from every side. They all shared the wrath for Valtak's death and became more enraged every time another Wyrm fell into battle. To deal with the flaming onslaught, the Yggdrasill rearranged their forces to cover the perimeter of their main body, forming advanced, middle, and rear lines of Wood Golems and elves. Even though keeping Solus from escaping was still a priority, survival topped that. The number of Divine Beasts now matched that of the Golems and if a formation were to crumble, there would be no time to rearrange the others before it was too late. The Dragons would exploit the opening for a pincer attack while the second line of Wyrms would take their time to find and kill the Puppets controlling the Golems for good. To keep the situation from spiraling out of control, the Tree was forced to leave only a few handfuls of thralls to guard the exit in front of Solus. 'Forcing Elphyn in the open now would be a liability. I have to box her in!' The Yggdrasill had its bark grow at a speed visible to the naked eye, closing the hollow leading inside their trunk. Long vines sprouted from every side, forming a tight net that would slow down any escape attempt until the exit was sealed shut. 'It's now or never!' Lith said via the mind link as he and the others weaved a Chaos Annihilation. Without the need to keep the world energy free from the will of the World Tree, Lith could focus the full power of the Hands to enhance the strength of his allies and use whatever was left to cast another Ruin. Weaving a Blade Spell required a lot of focus that he didn't have during a life-or-death battle, but even in its sealed state, the Mouth of Menadion could do that for him. 'We need to distract the Golems if we want to give Solus a chance to escape.' Vastor said. 'Release suppressive fire according to my instructions!' The Master was the one with the most experience in using and coordinating anti-Guardian spells. After all, it took seven violet-cored Awakened to cast a single Annihilation whereas the Eldritch-hybrids could do it on their own. The group charged forward while unleashing five Chaos Annihilations aimed at the space between the Wood Golems. If they dodged it, their formation would crumble. If they took it in full, they would be severely damaged and become incapable of holding their ground until their wounds healed. 'Mogar almighty!' The World Tree had just enough Golems to cast two Bastions so they had no way to stop the remaining three without incurring in massive losses. 'Dodge while keeping your Spirit Barriers up and restore formation the moment the spells fade!' 'It's now or never!' Menadion said via the mind link when the Eyes projected the estimated trajectory of the Annihilations in front of her. Lith could see Solus' position at every moment thanks to his homing instinct and he shared it via the When All Are One array. The old Professor had aimed the anti-Guardian spells to either side of the closing exit and above. Far away enough to not put Solus in danger but close enough to the exit to compromise its structural integrity. Ripha's Demon lacked the strength to cast an Annihilation but thanks to the cover fire she had no need for it. A Howling Hunger focused at the center of the opening ripped the still-hardening vines to shreds and created a hole big enough to allow a petite woman passage in the leg of the Golem blocking her way. The moment Ghar'mar 'Spare Parts' Riverflow stepped in front of the First Ruler of the Flames, Ripha didn't hesitate to kick the elf in the back with all her strength while reinforcing the blow with a powerful wind blast. The air spell cushioned the brunt of the damage while preserving the full momentum of the kick, turning the Librarian into a living projectile flying close to the ground. The hole closed right after Spare Parts' passage but Menadion's Demon body could take any shape she wanted and so did her equipment. She slithered through the small spaces between the vines like water flowing through a sieve. Then, Ripha reformed her humanoid form and flapped her wings to catch up with the elf as fast as she could. 'Solus is finally out, but this is far from over.' Lith and the others had to cross the distance separating them from the elf on foot not to offer an easy target to the Tower Tier spells raining from above. 'I'm about to cast Ruin again so give me what Life Maelstrom you have left.' 'Are you kidding me?' Vastor and Orion stood on Lith's shoulders and his request flabbergasted them. 'We have just cast an anti-Guardian spell and even with one head constantly using Invigoration I have yet to recover. How can you still have that much mana left?' The Master asked. 'That's not the real question.' Orion felt dizzy due to mana abuse. 'I'm the only one who has cast two Blade Tiers spells and the power cores of my equipment are barely functional. Even inside a Fringe, they need time to recharge. 'How are you going to fight if your equipment runs out of power in the middle of the battle, Lith?' 'Don't ask questions you know I won't answer and trust me.' Lith replied. The concerns of his allies were reasonable, but only because they weren't aware he was wielding the Hands of Menadion. The artifact fueled his spells and equipment and hastened their recovery. 'No problem.' Fyrwal and Tessa sent a jolt of silver lightning each, quickly followed by a dumbfounded Orion. They kept for themselves just enough to preserve their peak strength during the incoming battle and guarantee their survival in case they were forced to retreat. 'Touch the ground, now!' Solus ordered Ghar'mar and the elf complied. She brushed the grass on the fly, dropping Solus' ring. The tower started to take form below the ground and the Librarian felt her body brimming with new power. 'This is amazing!' She received information about the various floors of the tower and their abilities became her own the moment they manifested. 'We can do this! We really can!' 'Shut up! You are going to jinx it.' Ripha replied, well aware of how quickly and easily the situation might turn against them again.