Chapter 714: The Supreme-Rank Hatching

"An attack?" The brute’s hand went to his weapon, his eyes scanning the churning sky, the shaking ground, the direction of the beast cries. "Is something attacking the pavilion? Is it after the boss?"

The tremors intensified. Lightning struck again, close enough that the flash lit the entire pavilion white. The beasts across the wasteland wailed louder, and the sense of overwhelming pressure kept climbing, heavier and heavier.

Talan made his decision, taking out the communication device before bringing it closer to his mouth, "Everyone on patrol around the pavilion, return at once, and maintain defensive position. We could be under attack!"

Responses came from patrol captains immediately, and everyone began to converge towards the pavilion.

Then, Talan turned towards the brute, "We have to warn him. Whatever this is, he needs to know, now. Come on, before whatever’s causing this gets worse!"

The two of them rushed toward the King’s Chamber, toward their boss, with no idea that the cataclysm shaking the heavens and the earth wasn’t an attack at all.

But the birth of a Supreme-Rank creature.

And behind the warded doors, sealed away from the chaos he had unknowingly unleashed across the entire floating island, Moon knelt before a cracking Supreme egg, utterly unaware of the storm raging outside.

Just moments after they began rushing in, Talan pulled up short, "Wait... The runes. The doors are silenced, we could pound on them all day and he wouldn’t hear us. Use the communication device."

"Shit...How could we forget." The brute hurriedly grabbed his communication device, opening the priority channel that only the highest of authority within the floating island had access to.

"Boss! Boss, do you copy? Something’s happening outside, the sky’s gone black, there’s lightning coming down all over the pavilion, the ground’s shaking, and every beast around is crying out at once. We think the pavilion might be under attack, the pressure’s coming from your direction. What are your orders?"

Inside the chamber, Moon’s device crackled to life, cutting through his focus on the cracking egg.

He listened to the report, before he said, "Stay calm, both of you. Do not go outside, and don’t let anyone else wander out into it either. Hold your positions, and keep the patrols close to the walls. If any attack occurs, then you tell me. Keep me updated on anything that changes."

There was a brief pause on the line, then Talan’s voice came back, steadier now that the boss sounded unbothered.

"...Understood, boss. Guard and report. We’ll hold here."

"Good."

Moon closed the channel and turned his attention back to the egg, his mind working.

So the hatching is what’s stirring them up.

The darkening sky, the lightning, the tremors running through the island’s foundation, the cries of every beast for kilometers in every direction. None of it was coincidence, and none of it was an attack. It was all radiating outward from the container in front of him, from the egg cracking open within it.

A Supreme creature. Even being born, before it’s drawn a single breath, its presence is enough to make the entire island react. The beasts feel it as their instincts recognize something far above them entering the world, and every one of them is either submitting to it or screaming in fear of it. The sky itself is responding to the birth.

He’d known the turtle was Supreme-ranked. But he hadn’t fully appreciated what that meant until now, watching the heavens darken and the earth shake in answer to a creature that hadn’t even finished hatching.

If this is what its birth does, Moon thought, a mixture of awe and anticipation stirring in his chest, then what’s it going to be capable of once it’s grown?

The egg’s glow grew brighter again, the cracks spreading wider, the light within blazing, and Moon leaned in close, all his focus narrowing to the shell breaking open before him.

Outside, the storm raged on. Inside the warded chamber, the Supreme creature was almost here.

For the next few minutes, the cracks only continued to spread across the entire egg shell, until the egg emitted the brightest light it had.

Moon had to narrow his eyes from the bright light, and had he been weaker, his eyes would have likely been damaged, or even turned white.

Then, the cracks all converged at once, and with a sound like shattering crystal, the entire egg shell split apart.

Fragments of the beautiful jade-and-gold shell fell away into the now empty container.

And there, at the center of it all, was the turtle.

Its shell was pure, rich gold, adorned with iridescent lines across its surface. The shell ran three to four feet in length, far larger than Moon had expected, its edges ridged and armored, every plate flawless.

Its gaze rose, sweeping past the broken shell, and settling directly on Moon.

And, as it looked at him, Moon had no doubt about its intelligence.

The Supreme turtle had been born.

And it was looking at Moon as though it already knew exactly who he was.

Moon knelt frozen before it, his breath stuck in his throat, staring at the golden creature that had just shaken the entire pavilion.

His mouth opened slightly. For once in a very long time, Moon didn’t have a single word to say.

The turtle didn’t have the same idea, however, it slowly walked up to him, and climbed his body.

For some reason, Moon felt his heart warm at the gesture, and he picked it up from his clothes and held it in his hands.

’Heavy....it’s at least several hundred pounds even though It doesn’t look like it....’ Moon thought internally as he stared at the turtle’s jade eyes.

Internally, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the turtle. After all, he had killed its mother with his own hands before getting it.

But that feeling didn’t last long, this was the way of life. The only thing he could do was treat it right and become the one it confided in.

[Eye Of Truth]