Chapter 167: The 3 Allied Forces Movements
After a long period of joking around and idle chatter, the room finally quieted when Elton spoke.
"I think it's about time we move past the abandoned city and start exploring other regions outside of it."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Right, I agree with Gege," Christy said firmly. "We've mostly recovered from our injuries and grown stronger. I'd rather not risk ending up back in the Whispering Expanse, where hunters are still prowling. Why not explore this place instead? Perhaps we'll even find a way out. With my Kokon Tengan, I'm seventy-five percent confident we'll succeed."
"Then I agree as well! Hehe, Brother Elly, let's gooo!" Shayleaf exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement.
"I will follow the will of my benefactors," Tongsheng added calmly.
A little distance away, Shayleaf's familiars stood quietly, simply waiting for their mistress's orders.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow at noon, we'll set out," Elton concluded with a confident nod.
…
At that same time, back in the Whispering Expanse—
Bloodshed and ruin clung to the remnants of a slaughtered town. Four Early-Stage Mortal Lords lay sprawled in enchanted chains, their bodies battered and suppressed. Among them was a gravely wounded Gonald, whose furious yet fearful eyes darted about.
"That bastard really escaped and left me… Damnit!" he cursed. His open wounds continued to pour blood that steamed into the air, refusing to close.
The other three Mortal Lords were just as miserable. None of them could have imagined such a terrifying force suddenly descending here. Not just any faction either—backers of Daoist Blue Heavens Sword! For an entire week after their arrival, it had been as if a calamity had swept the land.
To curry favor with them, many parties betrayed old allies or revealed themselves as already aligned, slaughtering anyone who dared to hunt Blue Heavens Sword's group. Even two Middle-Stage Mortal Lords had appeared to oppose those three major forces, but…
"Even if it was three against two, how could it turn out that way…?" Gonald shuddered, remembering.
Those two Middle-Stage Mortal Lords had been beaten down and forced to flee, grievously injured. Not to mention the number of experts among those 3 forces. Their number of Mortal Lords was enough to make his blood run cold.
He remembered the man who subdued him—a figure out of dark rumor.
"Mortal Lord Jonovan… Descendant of the Green Treasured Martial King of the Six-Colored Martial Dynasty… that dynasty is in the Iron Star Dominion, with rumored footholds on a Middle Continent…" Gonald muttered, terror mixing with hatred.
Suddenly, commotion erupted in the most preserved building of the city.
Inside, the Aka Boshi no Tengan clan gathered around Christina, whose trembling hands clutched their clan's Life Orb. All the experts' eyes, even Christian's, were wide with shock.
"W-What's going on?! Why does our bloodline feel like it's burning?!" Christina gasped, her face pale.
"Could it be… Christy? Has she broken through? No, this doesn't seem right—WAIT! Everyone, channel your Aka Boshi no Tengan into the orb, quickly!" Christian ordered sharply.
The clan members obeyed at once, pouring their power into the orb. Those without the bloodline could only stand aside with grim expressions.
The disturbance quickly drew the Bright Brilliant Blade Sect and the Fanged Elf Tribe, who cautiously watched from outside the chamber, not daring to interrupt.
The orb shuddered. Then, suddenly—
A heavy pressure burst forth, spreading far and wide across the Whispering Expanse. Even distant experts trembled as if a mighty existence had brushed past them.
"Madam Christian! What is going on?!" Aerlan demanded with a grave face.
Before anyone could answer, the Life Orb changed. Its glow twisted into something eerily similar to Christy's newly awakened Kokon Tengan. Then, impossibly, it blinked, gazing into a direction only it knew.
A beam of light ripped through space itself. Within it, a blurred image flickered into being—Christy's perspective, faintly showing Elton's shoulder and face. Though fuzzy, it was unmistakable. More shocking still were the muffled voices:
"Chri… stop he… We ca… further…"
"Gege… no need… let's continue…"
The sounds cut off, leaving only silence as the orb dimmed back to normal.
The chamber froze in stunned awkwardness.
"…Eh? Wasn't that…" Jonovan's expression was tangled between relief and embarrassment.
"No matter how I look at it, that looked like our son-in-law just now. And those voices—" Jewleaf started, face red.
"I'm seventy percent sure," Aeloria admitted carefully. "But thanks to that, I managed to lock on Lady Shayleaf's aura again. It looks like they're back in the Upperlands."
"Ahem. Well, they are a young man and woman, both attractive, so such things are—"
"Silence," Christian said, smiling sweetly—while radiating killing intent that froze the air. "Forget what you just saw. All of you."
"M-Madam wait! Lady Christy is my daughter-in-law too, in a sense! Why must I forget?!" Jewleaf protested with a wronged face.
"Jewleaf, you…" Aeloria muttered, baffled.
Christian sighed heavily. Complications loomed. If Christy had truly managed that evolution, and the upper echelons of the clan found out… she needed a plan. Quickly.
"…Since we now have a location, let us return to the Upperlands and track them down," Aerlan finally said.
All nodded. The forces began their preparations, hauling away many captives and even the four captured Mortal Lords—including the despairing Gonald.