Yuta's Purpose

“If you still have any strength left... I suggest you retreat immediately! The combination of two opposing forces is not as simple as one plus one equaling two. Even I cannot estimate the level of someone who possesses the powers of both life and death at the same time!”

Noah’s voice carried a gravity that had never been there before. However, both Starlight and Moen silently shook their heads, for they knew that it was already too late to speak of retreat...

Yuta, hovering in the air, had now completely recovered from his injuries. After absorbing the Sacred Wood Arrow, his condition, far from weakening, displayed a sense of vibrant vitality that was unprecedented.

This change was evident not only in the intensification of his aura but even in his face; the obvious marks of time had been smoothed away, making him look several years younger.

“Hmm... quite impressive. To reach this level in such a short time, you are indeed a once-in-a-millennium talent among the elves. However, Number Sixteen, your arrow still lacks Intent. Otherwise, I would not have been able to neutralize it so easily.”

Yuta lightly flexed his withered palm, speaking to the group below with a haughty, disdainful air.

His tone was incredibly calm. He didn't sound like an enemy at all, but rather like a master carefully instructing a disciple.

“Why... why did you betray us! Teacher!”

Xia Duo, however, seemed not to hear his lecture. Her eyes were fixed on the figure in the sky, her voice trembling with an emotion that bordered on tears, her beautiful blue eyes shimmering with moisture.

“It was you who taught us that as rangers, we must place the interests of the elven race above all else! And yet, you have personally betrayed the very creed we shared!” Xia Duo’s roar was filled with confusion and fury.

Facing Xia Duo’s interrogation, Yuta’s face remained as calm as still water, without a single ripple of emotion.

He simply gave a gentle flick of his sleeve toward the distant crater, and a figure covered in wounds, supported by black energy, slowly rose from the bottom of the pit.

It was Ming Ye, who was now in critical condition and on the verge of death. A terrifying wound marked his chest, nearly tearing his body in half.

Golden energy continued to flicker within the wound. With every flash, it seemed to devour his flesh and power; even the blood spilling from him was eroded into nothingness by the golden light.

“Sigh. Although even I didn't expect a Divine Artifact to appear in a battle like this, you were far too careless. If I hadn't been here, you might have actually fallen at the hands of these little ones.”

Yuta looked down at the dying Ming Ye and slowly shook his head.

By now, Ming Ye lacked even the strength to speak. He could only look at Yuta with eyes full of utter weakness, pleading, and despair.

Yuta reached out a hand and tapped him lightly. A stream of incredibly pure nature power flowed from his fingertip, enveloping Ming Ye’s entire body.

Under the influence of this power, the residual golden energy on Ming Ye’s body began to decompose rapidly, and with Yuta’s intervention, it was soon suppressed.

Yuta then turned back around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below like a torch.

At this moment, Po Kong finally struggled out of the deep crater, supporting himself and Lira as they moved closer. It was obvious that both of them were in a state of extreme exhaustion.

“It seems you've run out of cards. Now, it is time for me to complete my mission.”

Yuta’s voice gradually turned cold and low. A terrifying, indescribable aura began to emanate from his body, pressing down on Starlight and the others like a massive mountain.

Starlight and the group shuddered under this sudden pressure, their faces turning pale instantly. Even the ground beneath them creaked under the weight of this power, sinking down several inches.

This force was clearly different from a normal aura of intimidation; it was infused with other spells.

They tried to move, only to find that even lifting a finger had become exceptionally difficult, as if they were tightly bound by invisible shackles.

The situation was even worse for Po Kong and Lira. Already severely injured, they were now nearly suffocated by the pressure.

The two knelt on the ground, their hands gripping their weapons tightly to support their swaying bodies; otherwise, they would have been pinned flat against the earth long ago.

At the same time, Yuta pointed his other hand toward the distant World Tree. Immediately, surges of grey energy began to gush from beneath the city’s ground, and the entire space was filled with the scent of death.

Inexplicably, this grey death power was mixed with a massive amount of nature power. They should have been as incompatible as fire and water, yet they were now intertwined in an unbelievable manner, rapidly converging in the sky above the city.

Soon, these forces formed a giant sphere above the city, emitting an eerie light that was both terrifying and strangely alluring.

“This is... Yuta is draining the power of the World Tree! We must stop him immediately!” Moen struggled to look up at the expanding energy sphere, her eyes flashing with unprecedented anxiety.

She was all too familiar with the nature power being swept up in that mass.

With her reminder, Starlight’s mind raced, and all the clues began to snap together like pieces of a puzzle.

It was only now that he finally realized the truth: the death power released by those monsters when they died hadn't vanished. Instead, it had secretly seeped into the root system of the World Tree through some unknown method.

Thus, the enemy’s goal was never to destroy the city, but to spread the monsters into every corner so that their deaths could gradually erode and penetrate the entire World Tree.

Everything—including the attack on the Council of Elders and the information blackout—was done to ensure the elven race couldn't get the latest news in time. Once the support of the World Tree was lost, the entire race would fall into chaos.

And only someone with the status of a former Ranger Head Instructor could have eliminated an entire Divine Concealment Squad without anyone noticing.

From the very beginning, Yuta’s true objective had been only one thing: to seize the power of the World Tree.

To manipulate power of this magnitude required not only immense strength but also the simultaneous possession of the two completely opposite powers of life and death.

In the entire continent, Yuta might be the only person capable of this.

Judging purely by the purity and intensity of the power, Yuta was likely no weaker than You in his prime. However, for some reason, Starlight caught a hint of discord within that power—an indescribable sense of unnaturalness.

Recalling the years he spent with Carlos, though Starlight couldn't accurately measure his master’s true strength, he was certain that Carlos’s power never felt this stiff or discordant.

In contrast, the power Yuta displayed now seemed to lack a perfect fusion of the two opposing forces, appearing somewhat clumsy and forced.

Such a situation was extremely rare for any Saint Rank powerhouse.

“Noah, can you still perform one more Soul Impact? I need an opening!” Starlight called out urgently in his mind.

“I can probably manage it once more, but I will fall into a deep sleep afterward and won't be able to maintain the soul link between us. How do you plan to use this opportunity?” Noah gave a quick reply after a short silence.

“Alright, then let's do it...”