"Damn it! This feels awful!" the blunt-spoken Troll Lord muttered through gritted teeth. Even so, he kept his voice down, afraid someone might hear.
"It does. Unfortunately... the end of the world has weakened us too much. Otherwise, what would a High Calamity Rank matter?" Emperor Tattle sighed, his spirits low.
In truth, Emperor Tattle was not alone. The Gray Elf Queen, the Troll Lord, Locarius of the Undead Calamity, and Ancient Red Dragon Smedley Tawa had all once been far stronger than they were now. They felt like tigers brought low, helpless and frustrated.
"Forget it. There's no point fighting any longer. Let's retreat," the Troll Lord said grimly, glancing toward the spot in the sky where that beam of light had appeared.
The Great Ape King was behind the clouds over there, but he could not sense it while it was invisible.
Locarius nodded, agreeing with the proposal.
Alexia, however, said, "Retreat? Do you think we can leave just because we want to?"
"What do you mean?" the Troll Lord snapped at the Gray Elf Queen. His resentment had shifted to Alexia. If she had not gone around persuading everyone, the Northern Allied Forces would never have formed and marched south to attack the Undead Empire.
The Gray Elf Queen had a temper too. At this point, she had nothing to lose. She sneered. "Use your head! Haven't you figured it out? Why hasn't their Calamity-Rank Strong One appeared? Why did she act only when you attacked those mecha soldiers? And why did she merely intercept your attack instead of pressing her advantage against us?"
"I..." The Troll Lord was quick-tempered but no debater. Alexia's questions left him speechless.
The Gray Elf Queen gave him no time to think. "Can't you all see? They're using this battlefield to