Supreme Lord: I can extract everything!

'The Dragys Lordess didn't deploy her whole force to the Untamed Jungle's outskirts. There are less than 3,000 Higher Lifeforms and only three Divine Lifeforms.' Michael sensed using the Nature Heart.

The Higher Lifeforms were problematic as most were either Tier-5 or Tier-6, but the rest were dealt with rather smoothly. At least, that would have been the case if the Dragys attacked recklessly, but that wasn't the case. They moved with great vigilance through the Untamed Jungle and burned everything to ashes, ensuring that no one could surprise attack them. However, burning everything to ashes was a slow process, especially in a place like the Untamed Jungle.

All plant life in the Untamed Jungle had a minor resistance to all the elements. Adding the Pentagon Forts' defense, which used all Aqueous Elementals to drench the Untamed Jungle's flora with high energy-infused mana, while the Fire Elementals drained the Dragys' flames and devoured them, the Dragonkin had a hard time proceeding. They were patient, but it had been months since they found and attacked the first Pentagon Fort. The first Pentagon Fort was no more, but the Dragys killed only a minority of defenseless citizens. The residents of the first Pentagon Fort fled long before the Awakened of the Dragys attacked. The Dragys moved too slow through the Untamed Jungle, their guard heightened to the limits, to catch the residents of the settlements they'd destroyed.

Only the Untamed Armies and Untamed Awakened faced them, but they never attacked head-on when it could be avoided. Michael's military forces realized what the Dragys feared and what they'd planned. They took advantage of the information and acted against the Dragys, forcing them to advance even slower.

Unfortunately, the Untamed Awakened weren't strong enough to fight the Tier-6 Dragys. It would have been fine fighting a few Tier-5 High Awakened, especially after the strongest Awakened of Michael's retinue were given access to the Jungle Shop's Soultrait Symbols, SoulStar Fragments, and their strongest Artifacts. Michael had prepared the Artifacts, combining thousands of High Artifacts using Insert to create a few powerful Epic and Legendary Artifacts.

But that wasn't enough. Tier-5 High Awakened could be dealt with as long as the Untamed Awakened were at a numerical advantage or only fighting Summons, but the Dragys were a joint force of Summons and Awakened. They were troublesome to fight, even more so the Divine Lifeforms.

Dozens of High Awakened and Higher Lifeforms of the Untamed Armies died, stalling the Divine Dragys. They were too powerful to fight as mere Higher Lifeforms.

But the Untamed Jungle was lucky. They had a Guardian Beast.

The Azure Quetzalcoatl appeared one day and burned one of the Divine Dragys to ashes. A fraction of the Untamed Jungle was set ablaze, harming the Untamed Jungle more than most Dragys had achieved in the last few weeks, but nobody cared about the damage at this point. If the Untamed Jungle was willing to sacrifice a portion of its land and plant life to kill the Dragys…so be it.

The Primordial Tree Spirit commanded the Azure Quetzalcoatl as the inheritor of the Fallen God's divinity. Millennia ago, it became the rightful owner of the Azure Quetzalcoatl by consuming the Fallen God's remnants and conquering the Temple of the Forgotten.

Michael had seen enough about the Azure Quetzalcoatl in the third trial to know how strong it was, but sensing its power…and perceiving the Link of Loyalty forming with the Guardian Beast changed everything. [The Tree Spirit sacrificed more of its power than I expected. It must be desperate.] Hel noted and Michael nodded.

"I can sense its fear. The Dragys Lordess is closer to the Primordial Tree Spirit than she knows. She thinks the Primordial Tree Spirit is at the center of the Untamed Jungle. That would have been true if the center of the Untamed Jungle was the same as it had been at the beginning of time. The Grand Region was one of the Primal Regions, ruling over a quarter of the Origin Expanse. But then everything changed. The Will added new regions by depriving the Primal Regions of their power. The Will took what it needed and left the Primal Regions injured. Then the first Awakened arrived…"

Michael learned a lot from the Primordial Tree Spirit, and hearing about the Untamed Jungle's fate hurt him. The Untamed Jungle was still a Grand Region, the biggest region Michael had seen until now. However, the Grand Region was in danger. The Dragys Lordess would have never been strong enough to fight and defeat the Primordial Tree Spirit if not for being a Dragonkin and for the destruction caused by a Primal.

It must have been a while, but a Primal appeared in the Untamed Jungle. The Primal wanted to find the Fallen God and consume its Divinity, only to find it consumed by a plant…the Primordial Tree Spirit.

[How did it survive?] Jormungandr asked after reading Michael's thoughts.

"I don't know. The Primordial Tree Spirit didn't tell me. All it told was that its divinity was injured and shattered beyond repair. Now it is too afraid to stretch out its feelers. It only gave me the biggest fragment of its Divinity to convince me to help it…and to distract the Dragys Lordess. She is also after the Divinity Fragments and has a device to sense them."

[So, the Dragys Lordess can sense you in the Untamed Jungle's outskirts and has probably deployed more forces. Or she sent an order to the DIvine Dragys to search you and report back to wait for her next orders.] Fenrir pointed out.

"I guess so." Michael shrugged.

He didn't like the reason the Primordial Tree Spirit gave him the biggest fragment of its Divinity, but he would never reject it even if he had known the truth. The Dragys Lordess was already his enemy, and if he could acquire a Divinity Fragment for fighting her head-on, that would be even better. It increased his chances of victory.

Three God Curses, a Divine Shell, a Divinity Fragment, and a bunch of Soultraits should be enough to fight some Divine Dragonkin.

Michael craned his neck and jumped into action. But instead of charging the Divine Dragys directly, Michael removed the biggest threats first. The Divine Dragys were still busy fighting the Azure Quetzalcoatl. The Quetzalcoatl wasn't at a disadvantage. It held the upper hand against the few Divine Dragys. Apparently, the Quetzal had been an unknown variable to the Dragys Lordess.

[She might not have anymore troupes to deploy to your frontlines. The Divine Alliances must resist more bravely than she'd anticipated.] Hel mumbled, feeling the numerous deaths across the Untamed Jungle and beyond.

"I know. I can sense the deaths, too. The jungle monsters are now on the Divine Alliances' sides and help them push the Dragys Lordess back. She is not on the losing side, but her inevitable victory will take…a month or two longer now," Michael grinned like the devil, "I don't need that long."

Michael didn't have anything special planned, but the plans forming in his mind grew in substance as he added more details to each.

But before he executed any of the complex plans, Michael did what he was best at.

He teleported to the Tier-6 High Awakened, the Dragys who'd been pressuring his forces the most, and killed them.

The Serpent Seals, Death Seals, Perfect Heavenly Beast Physique, Foundation Break, and Curse Fusion combi were all he needed to end their lives in seconds.

Cosmic Stride teleported him to the victims silently, and his overwhelming physical prowess was all he needed to rip their bodies apart and pierce their skulls, slit their throats, and impale their chests.

The tides were changing.