Chapter 729 Bloody art
"Ancestor what-"
"Don't speak and just listen to me," William interrupted Belle, his mood extremely solemn. "The situation at Polebitvy is extremely dire. Not just the entire planet, but the entire star system, as well as all star systems nearby are being evacuated. In fact, the empire may even give up on the entire Pendal galaxy depending on what happens next.
"What I'm about to tell you is beyond confidential, to the utmost degree, and is perhaps the most important news you will hear in your entire life."
William paused, though only for the briefest of moments, giving Belle enough time to process everything he had just said.
"The news I'm giving you is the same news I would give to any of my descendants if they were in your situation, understand? What you're about to hear is not a reward for your talent or your newfound strength, it's an opportunity independent of everything else. Whether you take it or not is up to you, and whether you survive or not is also completely up to chance."
Williams' exasperation and frustration as he said those words was quite evident, but she could not understand why. What she did understand was that she was in a situation much more serious than she had ever faced before, and perhaps it was not the time to be willful. Of course, that would never prevent her from being willful if she truly wanted to. She could not control the universe, that was something she learnt at a very early age. She could only control her own actions.
"Jeffery, the terrorist you were hunting, seems to have a much bigger background than anyone expected or anticipated. What he just pulled off at Polebitvy has interrupted plans that are billions of years in the making, and he has angered some tremendously powerful people. As we speak, almost every single powerful entity in the entire Origin realm is surely making their way to the Pendal galaxy to hunt for his traces. What you have is an advantage everyone else lacks, which is that you're the closest to him.
"If you can hunt him down, whether you catch him alive or kill him, the rewards you will get surpass anything you can imagine. I'm forwarding you a live link to the same information the emperor himself is receiving at this very moment. What you do next… is completely up to you."
The call ended, and the world around Belle seemed to slow down. Although a lot of extremely critical information was shared, due to their cultivation their speed of communicating was extremely fast. Not even a complete second had passed since she picked up the call, and it had already ended.
Countless thoughts swam through her head. Her personal goals, her family's struggles, the grudges against her parents she had nursed in her heart for so many years, the fates of the soldiers under her command, the fate of her two sisters, Liz who had run away and had yet to be found and Moon who had spent most of her life imprisoned, her brother Lex who vanished off earth with no trace, and countless others. With this opportunity in front of her, she felt like her, she felt like her character was truly being tested.
After all, right at her doorstep five immortals were banging, waiting to come in and kill them all. Moreover,?there was only one immortal stationed in the Jotun stronghold. Without Belle's help he probably would not survive long against five foes. That meant everyone at the stronghold would similarly die.
She closed her eyes and sighed. Since when had she cared about others? She would do whatever she wanted, as she had always done. A bright light burst out of her skin, passing through all walls and obstructions, and her aura began to rise.
*****
Gisele slowly lowered the sword in her hand. It seemed that she would not need it, at least for now.
Her eyes were fixed on Lex who stood at the bow of the ship, his feet planted firmly and his posture perfect, he did not seem to be fighting a dire fight, but instead orchestrating a grand work of art. A very bloody and brutal piece of art.
The arrays he used summoned countless small spikes of ice, barely as large as her finger, and that's it. The arrays did not even launch the spikes, no Lex did that personally using his spirit sense.
At first a couple, then a few, then a dozen, and then a few dozen, until it reached the point where she could no longer count, insects swarmed them to attack. Yet each insect that came close was pierced with a single ice spike, and fell to the ground. Not all insects died. Some were only crippled, while others were merely paralyzed while others still, those who were stronger, were merely wounded seriously.
He was extremely accurate in his aim, and precise in targeting only those that targeted them first. She did not know how long he could keep this up, but in her mind that was much too powerful. No one at the Golden core realm should be this good at killing, yet when she thought about it, all he really did was use some arrays and his spirit sense. Theoretically speaking, it shouldn't even be very spirit energy intensive. Was this a display of… not being good at long range fighting?
Once, a nascent level insect seemed to have blocked the spikes and came close to attacking them. Gisele prepared to counter so that Lex could continue fighting the rest, but then Lex merely looked towards the insects, and it began screaming as if its very soul had been ripped to shreds.
In a few minutes, they passed through the insect rain and came out the other side. The experience was completely surreal, and Gisele kept looking back as if to ensure they really had managed to cross so easily.
But just as she was beginning to feel the relief of a close escape, Lex cursed.
"Crap!"
Chapter 730 A Devil And An Angel
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Crossing the new space breach was relatively simple, as the insects had not had time to accumulate. At most, it was like crossing a thick, heavy curtain - if that curtain were made of living, smelly, disgusting insects that smelled. Lex wiped off some bloody goo from under his nose. No wonder the smell kept haunting him.
It was still dangerous and tricky, but manageable more or less due to how fast his ship was. Yet when he looked at the stronghold after crossing the 'curtain', Lex could not help but curse. There were too many insects to count, and they were beginning to cover the dome like protective formation around it, slowly covering the entire stronghold. As if that was not enough, he could feel the familiar yet intimidating aura of immortals from the insects.
"That's not good," even Gisele admitted with a frown as she noticed the siege.
Despite the situation, Lex could not help but be a bit amused. Really? The army blocking our way is bad news?
But he had the sense to not voice out his thoughts.
"Gisele, do you know anything about arrays?" Lex asked, as he thought up a plan of what to do next. The most important thing was to avoid the immortals. Everything else could be managed.
"Just the basics. I can't use arrays if that's what you mean."
"No, not that," Lex said. "Arrays, no matter how big or small, how strong or weak, are all powered by the universe. They get their energy from their environment. But the issue I'm facing… is that the energy here is really weak and unstable. My arrays are coming out a lot weaker than they're supposed to be."
Gisele raised an eyebrow. That was weak?
"The reason I'm telling you this… is because what I'm about to do next is really risky. Even if you really don't want to, I suggest you mentally prepare yourself to retreat to the Inn."
"What are you planning?"
Lex only smiled weakly, but did not answer. Some things… were best not said aloud, lest he be accused of being crazy.
In that moment, the aura of another immortal appeared, and this time behind them. It seemed like an immortal insect really had emerged from that hole in space. Guess there was no more time to look back.
*****
The stronghold was becoming ever darker as the soldiers waited for their orders. For now, all the combat was being done via the formation, so they need not do anything. But the moment the formation failed, or was deactivated, it would be their turn to fight.
Alexander could not help but crane his neck upward, as he looked at the remaining bit of the formation still uncovered, and at the last few rays of light still coming in. He had already sent a message to the Inn to inform Lex not to come back to Polebitvy, at least for now. The result of the upcoming battle would determine whether Alexander would even continue hunting for the terrorists or not.
Yet just as the dome was about to completely darken, a pure, bright light emerged from the center of the stronghold, illuminating every corner.
Alexander could not help but turn back to see where the light was coming from. At first, he could not see much as the source of the light was too bright, causing him to close his eyes. But a few moments later, though the light did not dim, a figure suddenly became visible right in the center.
All anyone could see was a vague outline of a woman, and six incredible, massive wings coming out from behind her. She was rising up in the air slowly, and her aura grew more powerful as she rose higher. One could tell that she was building up her strength to release it all at once.
But before she had a chance to reach her peak strength, the sound of thunder pierced the dome, the very ground trembling from its reverberating might. The soldiers once again snapped their neck, this time towards the source of the sound.
At the base of the dome, they could see that the insects had been burnt to a crisp, and a clearing, ever so small appeared. But the clearing was too small, and the horde was quickly coming to close it. But before they could, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, once again devastating any insects near that clearing, and releasing another thunderous roar.
For some reason, all the soldiers had the same thought, 'tribulation lightning!' But, why was it striking the ground here? Was the planet itself undergoing a tribulation?
But before their minds could wander much farther, and their imagination ran wild, a figure became visible from the clearing. On a strange ship in the shape of a canoe, a man and a woman were quickly approaching.
Even from such a distance, the devilish mask covering the man's face was visible, though the soldiers did not have time to appraise it for long. A mind rattling shriek pierced the air, and an insect struck out at them from a distance. The insect looked identical to any other, but the aura of an immortal was all too prominent to make anyone mistake it for an ordinary one.
They could only watch helplessly as the daring raid from the two stragglers was about to fail, but then something unexpected happened.
The devil lifted its hand and, with perfect timing, seemed to divert the attack just as it was about to hit them, and launched it towards the clearing! There was another thunderous roar, and this time all the insects in the path of the canoe were shredded, forming a gruesome red carpet of blood for the passage of the ship!
In that very instant, the figure in the center of light reached her peak strength, and unleashed a devastating attack that seemed to target each and every insect around the dome.
For better or worse, the battle had begun. On one side was a man akin to a devil, on another side a woman who radiated the aura of an angel, and in the middle a horde of wailing insects.
Chapter 731 Stop Showing Off
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Back when the A.I. had invaded the Inn, Lex had taken an attack from an immortal head on, and survived. It was an experience he was not eager to repeat, for every bone in his body had been crushed almost into fine powder. Moreover, the only reason he survived was because the robot had lacked something fundamental that other immortals had, which made it weaker.
So, although Lex of course needed recognition for the event, one could also say a lot of luck was at play. If the robot had not been fundamentally weaker, if the force of the attack had not been channeled into the ground through his feet, and if Impervious hand had somehow not taken control of the robots soul, there was a good chance Lex would have died, or at least been seriously injured beyond what he had been already.
That was why, Lex did not dare utter out his plan to once again face an immortal, lest his resolution waver. But, unlike last time, Lex did not intend to take the attack head on. No, this time, Lex only wanted to divert the attack into the otherwise massive army of insects to clear a path for his escape into the formation. That should be easy, right? He only needed to accomplish two impossible feats back to back.
Lex entered the flow state, getting rid of any distracting thoughts and allowing himself to focus on the task at hand. He honed in on any guidance his instincts provided, while at the same time started using all the new advantages he had gained with his new cultivation technique.
He used a familiar array, and summoned the lightning from immortal tribulations to herald his arrival, and attract the attention of an immortal. If he was going to do this, he absolutely could not allow himself to cower or do things half heartedly. Even a hint of weakness, even if it was in his thoughts, or the aura he had accumulated, could result in his failure. Therefore, he had to act as if he already knew he was bound to succeed.
No, he could not act. His success was a foregone conclusion, he just had to act it out now.
There were no clouds in the sky until Lex used his array, or rather, until he repeatedly used the same array. Although his arrays were not delivering the same level of attacks he was used to, he would just go for quantity if he failed in quality.
Like divine judgment, lightning slammed down on the ground, destroying everything in its path. The insects were decimated, and those that were lucky enough to survive the first lightning strike were done in by the second, or the third, or even the forth.
Behind Lex, Gisele stood with a sword in her hand, a stoic expression on her face. There weren't any good solutions, so they had to go for a bad solution. Since Lex seemed decently confident, she allowed him to lead. Secretly though, she retrieved a small blue orb and clenched it in the fist of her free hand.
As lightning fell, as the earth shook, as the insects wailed, and even as an immortal insect attacked, she did not flinch. If Lex could not handle the situation, she would. But the orb in her fist remained unused.
As the attack descended on them, Lex, with such perfect timing it seemed like he had practiced it a hundred times, reached out with his right hand and, ever so carefully, diverted it to the insects in their path.
He had done it so smoothly it seemed like he barely used any effort, and with the devilish mask hiding his expressions, one could not tell if he was even in any pain, for the mask seemed to be laughing.
Lex kept standing, but the ship they were on seemed to have suffered greatly from just being in the proximity of the attack. It began to slow, and eventually began to fall.
"Follow me," Lex said in a seemingly calm voice. He stepped onto the bow of the ship and then took another step forward, landing perfectly on the ground as the ship itself crashed into the ground.
Gisele, too, had exited the ship calmly, and continued to walk behind Lex. Though, at the speed they were moving at, walking only referred to how casually they moved their legs, not the distance they were covering.
In a few seconds they crossed the macabre red carpet that marked their path and reached the formation. Just as there was hope that they could enter the formation without the need for any fighting, a devastating attack was launched from within the stronghold.
Instantly the nature of the formation changed, and instead of blocking the insects it allowed them to enter, so that the soldiers could fight in a terrain that suited them rather than the enemy.
Amidst the roar of the soldiers' battle cry, and the wailing of a sea of insects, Gisele could have sworn she heard Lex sigh.
Gently, Lex tucked his right hand into his trouser pocket and lifted his left hand.
"Shall we see whose close combat is better?" he asked casually, as if standing in his own backyard.
Gisele rolled her eyes and lifted her sword.
"If you're injured, just follow my lead. No need to try and show off," she said, before beginning her ballet performance.
A few thousand tonnes of insects were falling on top of them now that the formation had changed, and there was no more time for talking. Yet even then, for some reason, she could clearly hear the sound of Lex chuckling?
Injured? Oh Lex was most definitely injured as his right hand, arm, shoulder blade and rib cage were crushed. The muscles in that half of his body were also shredded. If someone poked Lex on his right side at that moment, they would discover that his body was more like jelly than its usual self.
It was in anticipation of such a level of injury that Lex had blocked from his right instead of his left, lest his heart be crushed as well. It was not the injury itself that was the problem for Lex at that moment, as he could control his body using just his spirit energy. No, it was the soul ripping pain that he was in that was overwhelming his senses.
The reason he had so calmly descended from the ship, the reason he so casually walked to the dome formation, and the reason he was doing everything with such serenity was not because he wanted to look cool, but because sudden jerks shot pain all through his body.
Chapter 732 Fresh From The Fight
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The first thing Lex did was to erect an Imperial Shield above himself and Gisele. No matter how strong they were, being crushed by the enormous weight of a mountain of insects was going to kill them.
The next thing he did was analyze the situation. He had not expected the formation to change so suddenly. He was betting on getting inside the formation since he was sure that it would only block out the insects, not the humans. Or else, he would remain at the mercy of the immortal level insect. Though He had diverted one of its attacks, he could not do so again.
As it was, the immortal level insect no longer focused on him for a devastating attack from within the formation had targeted all the immortal level insects. What followed was a fight among immortals, held up in the air above the stronghold. Lex did not doubt that the empire would come out the winner in the competition, as the strength of the empire was not for show.
For all the bravado he had shown earlier, Lex now only had one objective: to reach the center of the stronghold. He would get away from the fighting, and see if there was a cure to the poison to be found. If not, he would get out of there as quickly as possible and go get some sleep.
The serious injury he had suffered was no doubt going to end with him sleeping for at least another month or two, which would seriously hamper his plans. But his plans couldn't keep up reality, he could now only hope that whatever treasure the mystery man wanted him to find had not yet been discovered.
Unfortunately for Lex, even in his current situation, his plans couldn't keep up with reality. Just as he started heading deeper into the stronghold to get away from the battle, Belle informed the Jotun immortal stationed there to hold nothing back and attack with all his strength and resources.
Just above her head was an opportunity so precious, beings from all over the realm were rushing towards here. Every second she wasted was a seconds worth of advantage she gave up!
Orders passed down in a flash, and the Jotun forces finally charged! Though it was a uniform charge, with all forces working in tandem, their speed was not slow at all. Instantly the two forces clashed, and all hell was let loose.
Lex and Gisele were completely surrounded by insects, and as if the pressure they were facing was not enough, the charge by the Jotun forces pushed the insects back, effectively squeezing the two who were caught in the middle.
Lex, who had used Harden to ensure the right side of his body didn't slump, was not really in the state to respond quickly to the oncoming force. Since his arrays, albeit not useless, were not delivering the potency he had come to expect, he had to get creative.
His right hand still in his pocket, Lex lifted his left hand and held out his palm, as if asking the insects to stop. But naturally, Lex was not being so courteous. Instead, he was making use of his extremely alien space affinity.
He had not yet learned to harness its power in any tangible way, unlike his employee Z, but during his brief and rare instances of practice, the one thing he had learnt was what kind of use would bring about undesirable results. Right now, that's exactly what he wanted.
The air in front of his palm started to wrinkle, just a bit, and all the insects who came in the vicinity of the wrinkles slowed down, as if the flow of time itself had altered around them. But that was not the case, instead the already fragile space in Polebitvy had become warped. In some places it had become denser and others it had stretched beyond what was reasonable.
The insects who entered this region experienced the unpleasantness which was having the very space their bodies occupied become fragile. The instability of space did not hurt their physical bodies nearly as much as it tortured their souls, which required absolute stability to exist.
Although Lex had, in one single move, stopped the retreat of the entire army, he instantly paled as he felt his energy reserve deplete drastically. No matter his affinity, playing with space, especially on such a large scale, was not easily sustained.
Lex withdrew his left arm as he mentally prepared himself for a real fight close up. Though he still planned on continuing to use arrays, their current unreliability meant that at any time he might need to defend himself. Even though it was bound to hurt, if it came down to it, he'd fight tooth and nail.
But, just as he mentally prepared himself to face some pain, he felt a connection that had eluded him for a long time, and he could not help but relax.
With his space interference stopped, the few hundred insects which had been affected fell to the ground, but the countless vermind behind them did not pause and rushed towards him like a tidal wave.
Gisele, who had been fighting off the attack from the opposite side, sensed the arrival and prepared herself to rescue Lex, but then suddenly he seemed to vanish in her senses!
Alarmed, she turned to look back, but was not prepared for what she saw.
Although he could not be detected, Lex had not vanished. Instead, he was now astride a massive, white wolf, which similarly could not be detected by her senses.
"Get on," she heard him speak through his spirit sense, and she did not hesitate to comply. Fenrir, who had just ended an extremely long and difficult trial, was ready to meet its friends it had not seen in so long.
Yet what awaited it was not the familiar cozy, and comfy Midnight Inn, but a brutal battlefield.
Strong, fast, and fresh from a fight for the fate of the forest, Fenrir had arrived just in time to save Lex from an uncomfortable amount of pain.
"I'm a little hurt," confided Lex to his trusted companion. "I'll let you deal with this rabble."