The gigantic spirit chains continued shooting up into the dark storm-filled skies above Leonora. One after another, the glowing silver and blue chains disappeared into the darkness as though they were attempting to pierce through an invisible barrier surrounding the world.

The skies trembled violently every time the chains vanished beyond sight while waves of distorted Magic rippled across the clouds.

Then suddenly, the chains tightened.

Velrion immediately looked toward the gigantic war spirit and his expression darkened. Even the spirit itself was straining now. Its massive body trembled slightly while the glowing chains around its arms vibrated violently. The silver light inside its chest pulsed unstably as if something on the other side resisted the connection with overwhelming force.

The Archmage grimaced.

If a spirit of this level struggled this much just to establish communication, then the interference covering the world had become far worse than he feared. The enemy’s corruption truly saturated the air itself.

Without hesitation, Velrion immediately acted.

Silver and blue Magic formations exploded beneath his body while he raised both hands toward the spirit above him. Streams of Spirit Magic surged directly from the Archmage into the giant entity.

The strain on his own body immediately worsened. Pain shot through Velrion’s body while his vision blurred for a moment, but he endured it while forcing more Magic energy into the spirit.

"Push through it," Velrion muttered heavily through gritted teeth.

The gigantic spirit slowly raised both arms.

Then all at once, the spirit chains violently pierced deeper into the dark skies.

A loud crack echoed across the heavens. Suddenly, Velrion felt it. There was a connection being formed. It was weak, distorted, and fragmented. But it was there.

The Archmage’s eyes widened slightly as he immediately sensed the familiar spirit signatures belonging to the expedition groups far away. One by one, he connected to them. All five expeditions.

But the communication line remained unstable. Violent distortions continuously disrupted the connection like something was trying to tear it apart every second.

Velrion immediately realized he did not have enough time for proper communication. At best, only fragments of messages could pass through.

Even so, it was enough. He immediately sent the message through the spirit chains.

"The capital kingdom of Leonora is under attack. The enemy moved underground and now we face them from inside the city. Portals that continuously spawn creatures have appeared throughout the kingdom. I hate to say this while you all are likely facing difficulties as well... but we need your help right now."

The moment the message finished transmitting, the connection abruptly collapsed.

The spirit chains instantly snapped apart into countless fragments of fading silver light. The gigantic spirit staggered slightly while the storm skies above violently shook once more.

Velrion nearly lost balance in the air.

Then finally, he released a long heavy breath while exhaustion spread throughout his entire body.

"I can only hope that reached them..." he muttered quietly. Deep inside, Velrion already knew he likely did not possess enough strength left to attempt another transmission again.

—

Far away from Leonora the expedition forces continued advancing rapidly through the massive canyon beneath the darkened skies. Boots struck heavy against uneven stone while Magic reinforcement formations glowed beneath the moving soldiers to maintain their speed despite exhaustion.

Above the advancing formation, Erend still flew through the storm winds while scanning the dangerous terrain ahead.

Then suddenly, one of the communication mages near the center of the expedition abruptly staggered.

The spirit floating beside him violently flickered.

The mage’s eyes widened immediately. He quickly grabbed the side of his head while unstable Spirit Magic surged around his body.

"I felt something!" he shouted.

The expedition leader instantly turned toward him. "What happened?"

"The communication spirit reacted!" the mage answered quickly while struggling to stabilize the fluctuating Magic around him. "Something connected to it for a moment!"

The surrounding mages immediately looked toward him in shock.

High above them, Erend instantly noticed the disturbance. Without hesitation, he descended quickly from the skies while violent winds spiraled around his body. He landed heavily near the communication group while the surrounding knights stepped aside immediately.

Erend’s expression already looked tense before he even spoke.

"The communication line is back?" he asked directly. "Is it functioning again?"

The mage shook his head quickly. "Not fully. The interference is still terrible. But I think we received something just now."

Erend immediately stepped closer. "Accept it. Tell us what the message says." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The tension around the expedition instantly spiked.

For a long time now, all of them had been trapped in uncertainty. They had no idea what was happening back in the kingdoms. There were no reports or confirmation of anything. Only fear and assumptions. Now suddenly, there was finally a chance to hear something from the outside.

Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven and the other expedition members immediately focused completely on the communication image of their own group in their own routes.

The mage nodded nervously before quickly beginning the Spirit Magic ritual again. Silver-blue runes spread beneath him while the small communication spirit floating beside his shoulder trembled violently.

Then another spirit manifestation emerged from the unstable formation.

The translucent figure flickered constantly like a broken reflection struggling to remain intact. Distorted waves of Magic rippled around it while static noises echoed through the air.

Finally, a voice began emerging from it. It was broken and fragmented.

"The... capital kingdom... under attack... Enemy... moved underground..."

Everyone immediately froze. The voice crackled violently again.

The spirit flickered harder while unstable Magic sparks exploded around the formation.

"Portals... spawning... creatures..."

The communication suddenly distorted so badly that several words became incomprehensible.

"...need... your help..."

Then abruptly, the spirit shattered apart into fading particles of silver-blue light.

Silence immediately fell across the expedition. Nobody spoke for a while. The storm winds continued roaring across the canyon while the soldiers stared at the fading remnants of the broken spirit communication with pale expressions.

Even fragmented, the message was enough. The kingdoms truly were under attack. And it seems they were overwhelmed badly enough.

Erend clenched his fists. There was a growing desperation inside his mind.

Now they finally understood that while they had been racing through the corrupted regions searching for the Sky Anchor fragments, the kingdoms themselves had already descended into chaos and disaster.

—