In the air above, the Kun Lord's face immediately crumpled.

Elena had acted within an instant, leaving him no room to react at all, and now that she'd killed the Tyrant Lord under his nose, it wasn't just a severe loss of combat power, but also a massive slap to his face!

The Kun Lord's eyes narrowed as he watched Elena charge at him with her God Spear. He raised his fan to block as he racked his brain to think of a way out of this situation.

'Dammit! At this rate, I will run out of energy within the minute, but she still seems to have mana in droves! How is this possible?!'

Clang!

The Kun Lord pushed his fan forward and clashed against Elena's God Spear, however, he could clearly feel the fan's internal structure crumpling as it maintained contact.

Whoosh!

He summoned his wings and flapped them fiercely, narrowly dodging the swinging trajectory of the spear.

'I have to end this quick!'

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

Wind was classified on the same level as the foundational elements, but in reality, it was a step weaker. For this reason, most wind affinity practitioners attempted to control "air" as opposed to just wind.

The Kunpeng, on the other hand, was a beast of wind and water, one affinity usually outshining the other depending on one's racial traits. Their inherent skills and techniques never attempted to take control of the more intrinsic concepts of wind, but instead focused on harnessing the wind itself to its greatest capability.

While this was limiting in a certain sense, it also allowed the Kunpeng Clan to cultivate an extremely unique skillset that specialized in both major destructive spells and movement.

As the Kun Lord moved, his speed got faster and faster. The winds around him began to whip up a storm, and while it wasn't noticeable at the beginning, the wind was waving in a strange natural pattern uncharacteristic of the wind's usual behaviors.

Elena stood in the middle of the forming storm with a solemn gaze. She read the wind's movements and slowly understood the form the attack would take, preparing for the best moment to counterattack.

'The Kun Lord is worn down and his mentality has been affected by the Tyrant Lord's death. He should be trying to go for the kill right now, but while it's riskier for me, it also provides a great opportunity.'

The wind grew and formed phantasms that populated the air, occasionally rushing down to attack Elena and disrupt her focus.

The Kun Lord watched Elena's every movement and adjusted his own flight path in accordance.

This was an ultimate technique of the Kunpeng Clan called Breath of the Wind. It allowed one to take control of the natural winds and turn them supernatural without forcing massive amounts of mana into it.

It was a technique rarely used for its complexity, however, in a situation like this one, it was perfect.

WHOOSH!

The winds finally picked up enough speed and formed a raging tornado around Elena. Blades of wind formed in its structure, circling Elena like hungry piranhas waiting for a chance to strike. The phantasms became more defined, giving them more attack power and intelligence.

Under the combined attacks of these two factors, along with the strange pull of the wind that seemed to suck away mana and lifeforce, Elena was surrounded by countless deadly threats that she had to evade all at once.

Haa!

Elena gritted her teeth and let out a war cry. She slammed the God Spear forward, allowing it to shine in all its brilliance as she poured droves of mana into its shaft.

BOOOOOOOM!

A flash of light obscured the surrounding few kilometers. Without hesitation, Elena rocketed into the air, her trajectory perfectly on course for the now-blinded Kun Lord.

'He should be weakened after using so much stamina. I have to strike now!'

Elena brandished the God Spear and channeled her Life Mana through several different pathways in her body.

When she was a mere 10 meters away from the enemy, she thrusted the spear forward with all her power, letting loose the mana coalesced within.

'Stasis!'

Xiu!

A small line of mana shot out of the spear tip, not much greater in diameter than said tip. It shot through the atmosphere like a comet and without suspense, pierced the Kun Lord's chest.

"Keuk…!" He coughed, rapidly retreating.

Unfortunately, it was too late for him.

"What is this?!" He exclaimed as he realized his inability to move.

"There's no need for a dead man to know."

Elena's face was the first thing that appeared when his vision returned. The Kun Lord's eyes widened as he once again lashed out in an attempt to move, but before he could even try…

Shing!

A sword sliced through the air.

Just like his poor brother, he also lost his little brother.

Shing!

The second sword slash came along with the pain and realization of what the first entailed.

A clean cut from his shoulder down through his heart, fatal and unrecoverable without immediate aid, but not immediately deathly.

For at least the next few seconds, the Kun Lord would be forced to face his humiliation and death.

Elena sighed to herself as she watched him fall to the ground with a mortified look on his face.

'Well, I've followed through on my promise, but…wasn't it a bit too easy?'

Elena grinned to herself as she felt her level increase, hitting that final mark before the extreme peak of 4th class, but she didn't lose track of reality.

Compared to the trouble the Kun Lord had given her during the entire battle, the way he died was just too simple.

It was almost as if…someone secretly interfered?

'Hm?'

Elena turned south, sensing a strange energy fluctuation.

'That…is the direction of the final four Territory Lords?'

Elena quirked her brow curiously.

'I was planning to take care of them now that I'm done here, but it looks like someone beat me to it. Should I go check it out?'

She flew into the air and made her way over.

Over to the central point of the congregation of golden clouds that was rapidly spreading across the world.

***

The situation of Beast Emperor Star, in these final moments, saw a subtle shift in trajectory that soon grew into a tsunami that enveloped the entire planet.

The Fate Clouds were returning, and along with them, hope for survival.

It was an interesting dichotomy.

On one side was the destructive atmosphere of the world, covered in toxic smoke and filled with brutal battles of death and bloodshed. No matter where in the world one was, they would witness these sights. It was impossible to run from such world-scale chaos.

While on the other side was the golden sky. The golden sky had always been the pride of Beast Emperor Star and the protective umbrella that assured the denizens of their safety and prosperity.

When the Fate Clouds vanished, the loss of this canopy drove many people to irrationality, which actually contributed further to the canopy's dispersal.

However, the situation had changed.

Even if they were small and still budding, the Fate Clouds were back.

And with them…the broken spirit of the common people showed signs of recovery.