CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER 361: HORIZON TO HORIZON

"Boss, look up," One of Marcus’s vultures warned him as it looked up.

Marcus was flying high in the sky above the clouds. He had already been feeling that something was off since yesterday.

Most of the edible flesh that could be salvaged from the numerous carcasses was gone and it was estimated that in the next few days, there would be nothing, but bones, meat scraps, and dried blood.

As of now, the vultures were preparing to go back to their lives before they encountered the bloody fields.

Many of them had benefited greatly from this feast. Their ranks were now filled with more vultures that had awakened their hearts.

As they prepared to leave, some vultures carried their comrades who were slumbering, in the process of evolving into their tier 3 lion equivalent power level.

With the rise of Origin Essence, many more humanoid figures were bound to start appearing in the world.

Marcus had decided not to approach Priya as she did not approach him. It seems like she wanted to approach him but was too preoccupied with the others to have the time to do it.

Since the person who had helped him was not here, Marcus felt there was no need to stress. He did say that they were going to meet again one day or the other.

And now, Marcus had readied his vultures to prepare for takeoff. They first had to drop off those of their kin who were in deep evolutionary slumber at their base before focusing on other things.

They were preparing to leave when one of the vultures of Marcus’s inner circle alerted him to something strange.

This vulture was his second in command and was an Air Vulture equivalent to a tier 4 lion. He was also quite experienced and far older than Marcus.

Unfortunately or fortunately, he had not been part of the previous Elders because he had only managed to evolve and gain much power during the Feast.

Now, he was Marcus’s trusted aide and benefited a lot from Marcus’s shared necromancy abilities.

With his increased senses which he gained after advancing to his new power level, he was able to sense that something was wrong.

The air shifted ominously, as if being pushed apart by a mighty invisible force.

Marcus stared up in wonder, also curious as to what was happening. He couldn’t use different powers like Kael did, that wasn’t part of the nature of his powers.

His senses when compared to those of his assistant, were exceptional, but also limited. There were things he could detect that other vultures could not, and there were things they could detect that he could not.

He had already known that something was wrong somewhere. He had seen something moving high into the atmosphere, very far away. He saw a tiny glimpse of it beyond the curvature of the planet just before it passed through the clouds.

The main reason he had even looked in that direction was because he had sensed a terrifying spike in suppressed life force coming from that direction, like the lifeforce of unborn lives or yet-to-grow seeds...

He could still sense it, whatever it was, it was very faint. The lifeforce was fading...

But now, his assistant was telling him that something was coming from above.

A lot of creatures were also sensing something.

The clouds were grey and obstructed their view of what floated beyond them. However, there was a commotion as different birds that had been gliding above the clouds raced down in a hurry.

Marcus’s eyes shrank as he saw the expressions of these birds, they looked like they had seen a ghost. There was also a look of helplessness in their eyes, as if they knew that no matter how fast they flew, they couldn’t escape its reach.

"Everyone, be vigilant!" Marcus said as Death Essence surged from his wings. Undead creatures, those that had been kept and preserved by the vultures, shook with an eerie presence beneath them.

On the other side, the forces of the Kingdom were also on high alert because of the numerous bird cries.

Everyone stared up, some stared with expectations, others stared with curiosity.

Then, the grey clouds converged into a spiral, looking like grey cotton candy being spun in the air.

And in one motion, the clouds were dispersed, forcefully banished to the horizons.

The sky was clear, but the day did not get brighter.

Marcus’s black eyes with white rings widened to the extreme. He was bamboozled by what he saw.

The first sight of the bloody field was spectacular, but it was nothing compared to what he was seeing.

"Holy shit!" Marcus exclaimed.

What was this?

Was what he was seeing still even physically possible?

Marcus had never felt so small and insignificant in his life, and that was quite significant considering that he was literally a bird and would not usually feel like this.

But as he flapped his wings under this metal behemoth of a machine, he truly felt small.

How could something so big be suspended in the air?

It wasn’t just Marcus that felt this way, even the other creatures were feeling like this just by staring at the thing above them.

N’bayé’s eyes flickered with red and blue light as she struggled to calculate the size of the arkship.

Multiple red holographic screens appeared and disappeared around her, different calculations were being made.

This wasn’t a magic shuttle, there were no magic runes or array formations, at least, none that were visible.

"He’s here," Priya said with her spirit eye open wide on her forehead. Her body emitted strong grey light as a powerful spirit signal was being released from the arkship high above them.

She was unexplainably linked to whatever that thing was.

The arkship stretched from one horizon to the other, replacing the sky with a silvery metal blanket.

No wonder the birds that flew down had a look of helplessness in their eyes. They couldn’t think of any way to quickly escape the reach of this machine.

This thing literally covered their whole vision and competed with the sun in coverage.

Unless they were creatures with space-based powers but such creatures were rare and elusive. They wouldn’t be here in the first place.

As the arkship became clear, a foreign pressure began to press down on the creatures below.

This wasn’t false pressure that applied on the mind and made one feel as though they were being pressured physically. This was actual pressure pressing down on their bodies from above.

Marcus frowned, sensing the rise and fall of the pressure, it was as if it followed the breathing pattern of a certain being.

Marcus didn’t dare to think of what this thing could do if it wanted to attack.

The arkship stopped in its place, not going below the clouds.

There was an inaudible chime, so it seemed. Everyone seemed to hear a ringing sound but at the same time, they wondered if they were imagining things.

Priya’s three eyes were locked on the arkship, she gazed at a particular point, as if she could see through everything. The Origin of her Spirit Eye was there.

"Priya," A deep masculine voice echoed effortlessly into her mind, bringing her attention back to the ground. The voice was deep, commanding, but also soothing to her mind.

She was still in her lioness form and towered close to three meters in height.

When she looked down, she saw a humanoid male standing in front of her. A burly body with well-defined muscles. Golden hair and beautiful gold eyes to match.

He was seven feet tall, looking up at the grey-furred lioness in front of him with a curious expression.

This was naturally Kael. His dazzling gold irises rested kindly on Priya’s face, puzzled and also with a deep look of understanding.

"Your Majesty," Priya said, her spirit wave spreading out and reaching the minds of all who were there.

Immediately, hundreds of thousands of creatures turned their heads in that direction.

Only then, did Kael release his aura.

The oppression, the dominance, the regality, it was all there, compressed into a single humanoid figure.

He stood like a pillar between heaven and earth, like the king of a lonely kingdom. His frame was both melancholic and a cause for blood to boil.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

They all cried out one after the other through the shared telepathic link. The real world was very quiet, not even the sound of birds flapping their wings could be heard. But on the spiritual plane, thousands of creatures bowed and paid respect to the king.

When did he arrive? They had no idea. He had appeared like a ghost, as if he had always been there from the very beginning.

Kael ignored all of them and kept his eyes on Priya. He stared at her Spirit Eye and she stared at the vertical slit between his brows.

Suddenly, the slit parted to reveal a grey eye. The two spirit eyes locked in each other, causing something strange to happen.

Meanwhile, Marcus’s heartbeat spiked as soon as he sensed Kael’s aura.

"It’s him,"