BOOM!
Cerdic nearly lost his footing as the earth above them trembled. The vibrations were so powerful that they reached the underground tunnels. It was hard to tell what happened. But Cerdic knew something big had just collapsed.
"The twin jade towers... seem to have collapsed." Garon muttered, gritting his teeth.
"The jade towers?" Cerdic was frantic. "But my teacher was there!"
"Young master. Think about staying alive." Garon said firmly. "Don't let your father's sacrifice go to waste."
Cerdic's jaw clenched. His hands tight around his sword hilt, he felt his legs trembling. Despite being a genius at Heaven's gate realm, he felt like a flickering candle in the wind. His vision was starting to get blurry due to tears.
"Do not falter!" Garon's voice cut through Cerdic's panic like a sharp blade. He blinked, his spirit sense snapping back into focus.
"Young Master, stay with me," Garon urged.
"I'm... I'm here," Cerdic gasped, forcing his cultivation to steady his heart.
I can't fall here. Cerdic said silently. The sacrifice of my father. The death of my mother, my uncle... All of that can't go to waste.
"Evernight clan... I won't let you go!"
He still remembered the last words of his father when he stood back to delay the enemies. "Run, don't look back!"
He had to live. For the Brightmoon clan to be revived, for their revenge. For his fallen family members to be avenged. He had to escape.
"Come, let's go!" Garon urged. Cerdic nodded and they continued running. Just a few more minutes, and they would reach the teleportation formation. They could then escape to a lower realm from there.
Soon they could see the end of the tunnel. They had reached a large cavern. In the ground, they saw a large magical formation. But it looked inactive.
"Why is it inactive?" Cerdic cried in desperation.
"Don't worry young master. I will activate it," Garon said quickly. He reached for his bag of holding.
As Garon pulled out several spirit stones and started to power up the formation, Cerdic stood there with his sword drawn. Although he knew if anyone from the Evernight clan's elite made it in, he wouldn't be of much use. Garon wasn't bad at setting up the formation. But he was taking time. Cerdic felt every moment like an era.
"Dad...I will certainly survive." He kept muttering. "I will certainly have revenge."
He was still in disbelief. How could one of the most powerful clans in the divine realm fall like this. How could the Evernight clan breach their defenses this easily. This was something he would have laughed at, if somebody told him before.
But here he was, facing the reality. The Brightmoon clan was finished. Wiped off the map. Their most powerful Ancestor had already fallen. So did their elders. Only Cerdic's father and Garon were left among the divine rank cultivators. And by this time, his father was most likely...
"Young master, the formation is ready. Come quickly."
Cerdic quickly shook off his thoughts and walked into the middle of the formation.
"Alright. I have set the coordinates. This will take us directly to Windswept realm. There, a branch of the Brightmoon clan still survives." Garon said.
"Garon, what if they follow us to Windswept realm?" Cerdic asked worried.
"Don't worry. This formation is a one-time use thing. It's designed to shatter as soon as we use it." Garon said. "Even if they somehow find another way in, their cultivation realms will be suppressed by the realm laws. The elders we planted in the Windswept realm can protect you."
Cerdic nodded. Garon was about to start the formation when he suddenly turned towards a corner of the cavern. There, the air was rippling as if something was trying to tear the very fabric of space.
"Not good! They made their way in!" Garon cried.
Cerdic was stunned. They made their way in? That fast?
He didn't have time to think. Because the space before them was torn to form a crack. The first thing that came out was a flash of red light which shot directly towards Cerdic.
"Shit!" Garon pulled Cerdic behind him and struck with his sword. The red light was reflected. Garon also took a few steps back. Forcing Cerdic to move too.
"That's not an attack from an ascendant. A divine being?" Garon felt his heart skip a beat.
Then, a figure walked out of the space crack. It was a young man, around his twenties. He had a handsome face and long hair. He was clad in black robes with Evernight clan insignia.
"It's you, Lucien!" Garon roared. "You scum!"
Cerdic felt his heart beat hard. His jaw clenched. His eyes stared hatefully at the young man who just appeared. Lucien Evernight! The eldest grandson of The Evernight clan Patriarch. He saw how this man had killed his cousins, uncle, and aunt in cold blood.
"Well well well, what do we have here Garon?" Lucien laughed. "Trying to escape with Regulus' cub?"
Garon said nothing. His expression was serious. "Young master, don't step out of the formation. I will hold him back."
"Garon, you are no match for him alone. If we team up we have a chance." Cerdic argued.
"You will only be a distraction." Garon was firm. "I will block him. You just activate the formation and leave."
Cerdic hesitantly nodded as Garon walked out and faced Lucien.
Lucien snorted. "Garon you loyal dog. You know you can't stop me. Why struggle?"
"You worry about yourself," Garon raised his sword. Lucien smirked and took out his own sword. Soon they clashed, sending shockwaves all over. But the teleportation formation also had a barrier. It protected Cerdic from getting blown to bitz.
Cerdic knew he had to act fast. He looked at the core of the formation, powered by two large top grade spirit stones. But the power certainly wasn't enough to start the teleportation.
"I can manually start it. But it will suck my spirit qi dry," Cerdic thought.
That wasn't the main issue. The problem was, if the barrier was breached before the formation could fully teleport him, he would most likely end up in some spatial crack and die.
"I must trust Garon." Cerdic finally sighed and knelt down, touching the two spirit stones in the middle of the formation.
"Trying to leave?" Lucien growled and swung his sword, shooting a single sword aura towards the formation.
"Don't you dare," Garon moved like lightning and blocked the attack. Cerdic used that time to send his spirit qi into the spirit stones and it began to glow.
Lucien laughed. "You think you can stop me? You are just a lowly servant."
Lucien attacked. But the sword attack was again blocked by Garon. Lucien struck again. Garon once again blocked. The fight was dragging on and Cerdic was close to a starting the teleportation.
"You are irritating." Lucien growled. He put away the sword and pulled out a dagger. The moment he took it out, a terrifying pressure spread across the cavern.
"True God artefact?" Garon cried. "Young master, hurry!"
Cerdic gritted his teeth. The formation was of a very high level. He needed to pour in more spirit qi.
"Just die!" Lucien charged at Garon with his dagger. Garon frantically swung his sword. Lucien's dagger cut through the blade like butter.
Clang!
The upper part of the blade fell off, leaving only the handle in Garon's hand. Lucien stabbed forward towards Garon's heart.
"Bastard" Garon clenched his fists and punched.
"Garon! Are you mad?" Cerdic screamed. Hitting a true God artefact with fists?
But Garon didn't care. He just wanted to delay Lucien enough to let Cerdic escape.
Swish!
The dagger stabbed into Garon's hand, blood scattered across the floor. But he didn't care. He held onto Lucien's hand hard without letting him go.
"Let go off me!" Lucien howled.
He then sent a knee, targeting Garon's abdomen. Garon coughed out a mouthful of blood. But he used that chance to grab hold of his leg and topple him over.
"Garon...!" Tears rolled down Cerdic's cheeks. But he didn't stop powering up the formation. Soon the light from the spirit stones spread across the formation. And each rune lit up. One by one.
"You filthy dog!" Lucien was pissed and grabbed Garon's injured hand. Although Garon tried to stop him, Lucien punched his face hard, breaking his nose. In that window he also pulled the true God level Dagger which previously pierced into Garon's hand and with all his might, threw directly at Cerdic who was powering up the main rune.
"Young master!!" Garon screamed.
Cerdic saw the dagger flying through the air towards him. It easily pierced the barrier and entered the formation. But he knew if he moved, the formation would deactivate again. He decided to take a chance and sent all of his spirit qi forcibly into the spirit stones.
BOOOOM!
The formation flashed to life. And with an explosive light, he disappeared. The dagger went and struck the wall behind. Spreading cracks like spider nets all over. The entire cavern shook. But Cerdic was gone.
"Damn it!" Lucien roared and pulled out his sword and thrust it directly into Garon's heart. Garon knew that he was done for. But even as he closed his eyes, he was relieved.
"My... young master... will get you... someday..." he stammered and closed his eyes.