With the gathering assembled, Tara was concerned that the Frog Queen would have more surprises, but quickly found that this was the extent of her plans.
According to Lady, these were the four groups of beasts in this region who would even consider an alliance anyway.
It was mainly due to the groups' figureheads, with Lapidus, Lady, Claw, Frog Queen, and the newly joined Amp as the leaders in their respective groups.
The other strong groups of beasts in the region either clashed among multiple strong alphas or did not possess the intelligence or desire to consider aligning themselves.
Lady informed Tara the Frog Queen wouldn't have considered aligning with Lapidus or the Turtrakes by choice. According to Lady, Lapidus was stronger than both she and Claw combined, and, in terms of raw power in an upfront fight, he was likely the strongest present.
Not that it even mattered to the Frog Queen, who Tara knew likely never considered fighting a fair, upfront fight that played into her enemy's strengths in the first place.
Either way, it gave the Frog Queen someone else to focus on in their alliance since Lapidus was the apparent threat among them in standing in her way to becoming the new Beast King.
Lady said that Amp, the Razor-tooth Eel alpha, was a problem, and if she had not been concerned about the Frog Queen before, she was far more concerned now.
Amp and the Razor-tooth Eels were highly territorial and have been aggressive toward the Iron Salamanders recently. Amp is a highly ambitious and treacherous creature, and joining the alliance was auspicious for the Frog Queen's plans regarding the Iron Salamanders in the aftermath of the Beast King being dealt with.
Either way, they could no longer delay, and what was to come could not be avoided.
Tara, Lady, and Claw have done everything they can to increase the odds of the Iron Salamander's survival, yet even then, Tara feels nervous that it is not enough.
Tara felt many might question her sanity for charging into such a dangerous battle unnecessarily.
With the system available, it was only a matter of time and accumulation before she achieved big things. Yet Tara felt a mixture of reluctance to abandon Lady and Claw, the first two beings to show acceptance and support to her in this world.
Also, what Tara felt strangely outweighed the previous strong feelings was a deep-rooted pride that seemed to refuse to back down and flee from a challenge.
She also knew that the most dangerous situations may lead to the most significant benefits, and the Beast King is always situated around the most valuable resource in the swamp region.
As they neared the Beast King's lair, their gathering of beasts made the path devoid of resistance.
No matter if it was predatory magical beasts, herbivores, or regular wildlife, they all steered clear of them.
Nonetheless, their gathering did attract the attention of the Pikeake, who would by now know they were coming.
It was impossible to hide such a large gathering for so long, especially when the direction they headed was the Beast King's territory, which was usually off limits to the other magical beasts.
It felt as if hours went by as they travelled further and further, nearing the territory of the Beast King.
Tara discovered that her surroundings underwent bizarre changes again; she had long ago discarded comparing her worldview of the world's rules to Earths, since coming to this large swamp, the environment made no sense, and each region, section underwent radical changes which seemed to defy reason.
Though she could have predicted this from Sphyrna Pikeake's nature, this region was chillingly cold.
Strange blue flowers floated everywhere, bright-coloured algae and other glowing plants filled the region, and pockets of ice and frost created webs in the water that they had to navigate to avoid.
Being Magical Beasts their cultivation naturally resisted the chilling environment and aura that sought to invade their bodies, Tara found it was negligible to do, though she did have a resistance skill to bolster her defences, however even still she assumed the Pikeake were far more adapted to this environment and even if it was a slight advantage, not having your Qi drained slightly reducing your regeneration to protect you from the chilling environment was still an advantage.
It made Tara realise exactly why the Pikeake was dominant in the region. The region that hosted the best resources seemed made for Sphyrna Pikeake's abilities.
The Beast King likely held a significant advantage fighting here, and they were coming right to it.
Neither the Toads, Frogs, Turtrakes, nor Razor-tooth Eels seemed suited here. They were disadvantageous as cold-blooded creatures; without their cultivation, they would find it impossible to survive here.
The Frog Queen's confidence remained unwavering despite this, though, as she continued to march with the imposing Toad King in tow, Amp slithering near as the Iron Salamanders and Turtrake stuck closely together, a strange bond formed from their fellow mistrust of the other half of their alliance.
Even Tara, who finds it difficult to trust the Frog Queen, found her confidence improving, seeing how dauntless the Frog Queen appeared as she charged forward into the Pikeake territory.
Now deep into Pikeake territory. Sightings of the shark-like fish became common, as some Pikeake kept their red eyes locked on them in the distance as they moved deeper into the territory.
None of the Pikeake watching dared to be too close, as an overconfident Pikeake became an example when it was blasted with a lethal dose of poison from one of the frogs when it decided to stray too near.
Contrary to them, the Pikeake seemed to find this bizarre icy swamp a natural home to them.
The already extremely swift Pikeake moved through the chilly waters, navigating past sections of ice with dexterity that the gathering of beasts could not hope to match.
Tara found the subtropical swamp even more strange because it was near the Frog Queen's territory, which was the polar opposite regarding the environment.
The Beast King's territory appeared like a new world compared to the other sections of the swamp she had been to.
Putting it down to the wonderous, unexplainable laws of this world, she had yet to understand, Tara marched onwards with the gathering of beasts, wondering when they would finally face resistance.
She was then interrupted in her thoughts by the Frog Queen's commanding voice, which spoke for the first time in a while.
The Frog Queen said, 'We are near the Beast King's lairs. It will throw everything at us to stop us from disturbing its ascendancy, no matter the cost. We need to slaughter our way to the big fish before it does so. It is enough trouble to battle with it before its ascension. If it breaks past the barrier to the late stages of Qi Gathering, our chances will reduce dramatically. We near, our time to finally end that wretch's reign will come, no more will we have to sacrifice and bow down to the Pikeake, a time of equal opportunity will be upon all our kind when we claim victory.'
The Frog Queen tried her best to skirt around it, but she knew by her words that they were running out of time. The Sphyrna Pikeake was already stronger than all of the alphas at the same cultivation, never mind if it ascended.
If it did, they would quickly turn from hunters to hunted, and their plan to rid the region of the Beast King would become a far more daunting task.
The sights Tara saw in the strange swamp winter wonderland continued, it appeared like a swamp on Earth, reaching sub-zero temperatures, yet the water remained easily enough to move around.
The water's chilliness and biting cold nature increased. Tara was already consciously feeling the circulation of her Qi coursing through her body, actively fending off the invasion of the cold.
Apart from the Pikeake, Tara found the region mostly devoid of life other than rampant plant life that was perfectly adapted to the ecosystem.
Tara began to wonder what was so valuable here that the Frog Queen was eager to obtain. So far, the region had been nothing but a frozen, rather barren region with hardly any resources. Though the plant life was unique, it offered no tangible benefits or qualities to benefit the Frog Queen.
Tara wondered if it was whatever was causing the bizarre nature of the water itself.
An environment like this on Earth would have frozen most of the water solid long ago. Yet, despite sections and cavern-like formations of ice in the chilly water, it remained manageable to swim around, even for the myriad of beasts they are.
Sections of their group began to struggle in the waters, and even the wonderous nature of cultivation could not solve everything at the lower stages. These beasts were not suited for this environment, and the Frog Queen and the other alphas knew it; they had to act fast, as they would not beat the Pikeake in their homeland in a battle of attrition.
'No wonder the Beast King was so dominant, if it was ever in trouble, if it could just turtle up here until it recovered.' Tara thought, beginning to understand the reluctance of the other beasts to dare to enter here to face an already strong opponent in such an advantageous state.
Eventually, after facing no trouble with the inhabitants apart from a few gazes from Pikeake scouts, they approached what Tara found was the largest plant she had ever seen in this world.
Despite seeing many absurd things in this world, this was by far the most fantastical thing she had seen.
It resembled a peculiar combination of coral and a tree, with large trunk-like structures that expanded and branched out with glowing coral-like formations that developed like a gigantic spider web.
The plant glowed light blue and appeared transparent, with what appeared to be dark blue veins pulsing through the plant-like structure. These veins seemed like connective tissue linking the coral-like formations together.
Tara was no expert, but she figured this strange plant was the reason behind the biting cold. Even now, the energy and aura from the thing were like nothing she had ever felt. That instinctive desire to consume Qi-rich materials as a Magical Beast was going off the charts, looking at that thing.
Whatever it was, a large amount of Qi and energy was pumping through it, and she was eager to see what it was.
In the centre of the large plant was a gigantic cave-like structure with frost and ice forming as the coral-like sections lit up the inside. This revealed the entrance of a deep cavernous area that she could not see the end of, even with Tara's remarkable eyesight.
Tara was not surprised to find the Pikeake Swarm awaiting them around the gigantic plant.
The Sphyrna Pikeake was not accompanying them, likely attempting to break through as they waited.
She found herself surprised by the sheer size of the gathering of Pikeake.
Despite having four separate large groups of magical beasts, among the more powerful in this region, they still barely numbered around the same as the Pikeake.
A further surprise was the number of Pikake they had at the Qi Gathering six; there were even variants she had not seen before.
Running her eyes over the Pikeake, she found that overall, the quality of their gathering was better; they generally had stronger magical beasts with higher cultivation than the average Pikeake, yet the Pikeake was only a single force and was still mightily impressive.
Tara found ten Greater Swamp Pikeake similar to the ones she fought when they attacked the Iron Salamanders' territory.
Another variant was even bigger than the typical Greater Swamp Pikeake.
Utilising {Insight}, she found their description.
[Species: Greater Glacial Swamp Pikeake
Cultivation: Qi Gathering 6]
The Greater Glacial Swamp Pikeake's appearance was similar to that of the typical Greater Pikeake, only a few feet larger, bulkier, and with dark blue skin. Their large red eyes had flecks of blue around them as they assessed the opposing large gathering of beasts.
There were around five of these variants of Pikeake, each radiating a deathly aura and seeming far more dangerous than their comrades.
Not just these Pikeakes differed; many typical Pikeakes shared differences.
[Species: Glacial Swamp Pikeake
Cultivation: Qi Gathering 5]
These Pikeake seemed far stronger than the norm, making Tara wonder why the Sphyrna Pikeake did not utilise them against the Iron Salamanders. They would've stood no chance regardless of Tara's intervention if it had brought all its forces.
Feeling uncomfortable, she shared her thoughts with Lady.
Lady replied, 'Becoming a Beast King in any region makes you have constant rivals seeking to overthrow you. You have a constant target on your back; if you leave too little force behind in your marked territory, others may act to take it. As a Beast King, maintaining the rule of your territory is everything; if it were lost, it would weaken its position considerably and may make its continued rule far more challenging. Additionally, those variant Pikeake are far stronger here than outside, they are not bloodline ability users such as yourself, they require Ice Qi to supplement their abilities otherwise they are barely stronger than the normal Pikeake you see beside them, Ice Qi is in abundance here, but outside it is a rarity and will take them far longer to recuperate, the Sphyrna Pikeake prefers to utilise them at their strongest in this territory as a deterrence rather than risk them outside the confines of its territory. Now, though, it is throwing everything at us to continue its breakthrough as planned.'
Tara nodded, showing her understanding, yet she still felt suspicion nagging at her that something was off about this.
The Sphyrna Pikeake's strength was far above her understanding; it made no sense that she even survived their first encounter.
At that moment, the Frog Queen interrupted her thoughts as she proclaimed, 'We must waste no time! No drawing out this collision any longer, we must charge now! Before it is too late!'
The Frog Queen continued to stimulate the bloodlust of the gathering of beasts; there would be no negotiation with the Pikeake, and there would only be slaughter.
Tara already knew their group's numbers. The Eels had around the exact numbers as the Iron Salamanders. They had four numbers at Qi Gathering 6, like the Iron Salamanders used to have before two of their members were killed by the Sphyrna Pikeake. Lady said they were weaker than them on average. Only Amp could fight them at an impasse due to its control over Lightning Qi.
In addition to their regular numbers, the Turtles had five Qi Gathering Six, including Lapidus, and their strength was generally stronger than the average at that cultivation level.
The Iron Salamanders had the least amount of upper echelon combatants thanks to the Pikeake, with Lady and Claw being the only ones at Qi Gathering Six, though individually they were battle-hardened veterans, and more than able to carry their weight in a battle.
Finally, the Frogs had the most combatants at Qi Gathering 6, nine of whom, including the Frog Queen and Toad King, were at that cultivation stage. Tara knew they were likely the strongest group at the start, but their depth of strength still surprised her.
Overall, twenty of their numbers came up against the fifteen of the Pikeake at Qi Gathering Six, but either way, Tara knew it would be an absolute bloodbath with the sheer numbers of both sides.
Unsurprisingly, the Frog Queen was wary of facing the Pikeake alone, and Tara understood now why.
On paper, they had a significant advantage over the Pikeake regarding top-level combatants, yet the Pikeake were in their home territory.
It was then Lady argued her point with the Frog Queen about positions of the battle, 'Your kin works best from a distance, but the Toads are more effective up close, you cannot expect us all to just charge head first with you all in behind to reap the rewards at the end when we bear the brunt of their attacks!'
It seemed the Frog Queen attempted to use the beasts' bloodlust to get them to charge without thinking, saving the lives of both members of her group.
Yet she found herself at an impasse when even Amp wouldn't allow her to get away with not sending any of her members on the front lines, so with some reluctance, she nodded at the Toad King, who with its kin would be charging with them at the Pikeake.
Now it was time to end this once and for all.