Second World

Jack sneaked back into the yellow fog. He then ran back to the edge of the plantation.

The infernal stormbird was still banging the force field relentlessly up there despite not yielding any result. As the demons said, it was simply acting based on instinct.

The last time it continued like that for three hours. Jack hoped it was the same this time.

Arriving where the force field touched the ground, he interacted with the rune diagrams again. He didn't summon anyone to guard him. He was on the inside of the force field so he didn't worry about wandering monsters.

He first linked his consciousness with the rune diagrams that erected the force field, then he tried locating the diagram that was in charge of the cell where the stormbird was assaulting.

The force field formed an extremely large sphere, hence the formation of the interlinked rune diagrams was very complex. Even with his advanced mana sense, it still took him almost half an hour to locate the cell and the position of the rune diagram that was in charge of that cell.

"It is over there," Jack said. He ran along the edge of the force field until he arrived at where the rune diagram was. He interfaced with it without delay.

Since he had done it before, he took less time than before.

Up there, the force field right under the stormbird suddenly vanished. One of its claws went right through what was an invisible solid wall a second ago. It was confused but also ecstatic.

He tried to go through that hole, but couldn't. It was too big and the hole was too small. Only his one claw could go through. But this one hole ignited its passion. It thought it was due to its relentless effort that the hole was created. So, it resumed battering, determined to break more of this invisible wall.

Because there was one hole in the force field, the cells directly next to it weren't as sturdy as before. It was as if blocks that lost their foundation. Before, the force field didn't budge from the stormbird's assaults. This time, the cells trembled with each impact.

However, the force field seemed to be able to resist for a significant amount of time.

"Hm… Let's take out one more cell," Jack said after looking at the situation.

While he was working on the rune diagram, the stormbird continued its ferocious assault. Each of its hits produced lightning strikes that jumped randomly. Because there was a hole right under it, some of this random lightning jumped through and struck the ground down there. One of them even hit a brimstone tree. HP bar and Damage number appeared above the tree.

Each of the trees was marked with a rune diagram. This diagram warned the demons inside the building when it suffered damage.

They immediately came out. They saw the lightning strike from the stormbird breaching the force field.

"What? How did that bird break the force field?" A demon asked.

"It still cannot go in, though? The force field should hold, shouldn't it?" Another demon asked.

"Its haphazard lightning damages the trees. We can't let it continue," Another added.

Yet, they all knew that only one demon here who could do something about the situation. All the demons were looking at Ramaun.

"Hmph, useless lots. Out of my way," He said disdainfully.

The other demons gave him some space. Ramaun squatted before he burst upward with an air explosion. Even though the other demons had put some distance, they were still blown away by the force.

Ramaun shot up at high speed toward the stormbird. After getting closer, his mana sense told him that the cells around the hole in the force field were breaking up. Sooner or later, the hole would become bigger if the stormbird was left unchecked.

He made a punch with his oversized fist. A Ki Bullet shot out, passed through the hole, and smashed into the stormbird. The bird reeled back due to the punch.

The stormbird screeched angrily. The air in front of it exploded with a cacophony of thunder. Untold lightning strikes ensued. But because the hole was small, the lightning strike that passed through the force field formed a column, which Ramaun easily evaded by hiding behind the force field.

The stormbird was angry when it failed to get back at the demon. It smashed the force field directly in front of the demon. The demon just stared at the bird with a grin as it frantically hit the force field.

When the stormbird was unaware, Ramaun again sneaked a ranged attack through the hole.

Ramaun was smaller than the stormbird. He was also smarter. It was easier for him to utilize the hole. While the stormbird's large body made it difficult to counterattack.

Ramaun used the same tactic repeatedly, wearing the Stormbird down while he was completely untouched. When he was about to steal an attack again, his mana sense informed him the cell directly in front of him suddenly vanished.

He was taken aback by this abrupt change. At the same time, the stormbird's claw was incidentally smashing the disappeared cell. Since there was no more obstacle, the massive claw went through and hit Ramaun instead.

Ramaun was thrown away while being assaulted by a series of lightning energies following the hit.

The stormbird, who saw its attack hit the accursed demon, was immediately invigorated. The missing two cells made the hole in the force field larger, but it was still not enough for the massive bird. But with these two missing cells combined with the bird's previous abuse, the force field could finally withstand no longer. The next hit from the stormbird's claws shattered another cell from the force field, and then another, and another.

By the time Ramaun regained his balance, the hole was already large enough for the storm bird. The stormbird used another skill as it passed through the hole. Its two eyes flared with dazzling lightning which then formed a thick lightning pillar.

Ramaun crossed his arm and formed a Ki Shield. The lightning pillar smashed into the shield. The pillar was unable to break the shield but the shield was also unable to stop the pillar's momentum. Ramaun was being pushed down until he crashed into the ground. The impact caused a lightning explosion that destroyed the Ki Shield and cause damage to Ramaun.

The stormbird screeched triumphantly. Multiple lightning snakes shot from its body in every direction, hitting the ground below as well as damaging several of the brimstone trees.

Jack, who was running back to the complex at the center of the plantation, was almost struck by one of this rampant lightning.

Jack was the one responsible for eliminating the second cell near the stormbird. Once he saw the force field could no longer block the stormbird, he left the rune diagram and proceeded to the next phase of his ploy. It was time to go steal the brimstone fruits while the mythical demon was occupied.