Three wyverns could be seen flying in formation. One flew in front as the leader, while the other two flew behind it on either side, forming a 'V' shape. In front, Eldrin rode his wyvern alone, while Aldrian and Eleine had their own riders on the other wyverns. As they flew, an energy shield protected their bodies from the gusts of wind.
"Sir leader, may I ask you a question?" asked Eleine.
"Eldrin Sylvaris. You can call me Eldrin, miss. And what is it you want to ask?"
"Sylvaris? Are you from the Grand Duchy of Sylvaris?"
"Yes, miss, I'm one of the commanders in the Sylvaris family army."
"So, Sir Eldrin, why did the elves bring their outpost to the Everlasting Silent Forest? Is it true there has been a change in the forest, significant enough to establish an outpost there and even assign a Marquess stage cultivator like yourself?"
Eldrin looked back towards Eleine for a moment before looking forward again.
"It looks like you missed the news from the past few years. Yes, many things have changed in the Everlasting Silent Forest. We still don't know the cause, but some of the people who were trapped in the forest have returned, and the entire forest seems more passive when outsiders set foot in it than before. So, His Majesty the Emperor gave the order to explore this place, and the Sylvaris family got a share of the area here." Eldrin said, looking down towards the vast forest. Eleine continued listening as he went on.
"As for why a Marquess stage cultivator like me was dispatched to this place, it's because of the Devils."
"The Devils?" Eleine unconsciously released her killing intent, and rage could be seen in her eyes. Her rider who was in front of her looked back, feeling goosebumps over his body. Eldrin also glanced at her and then at Aldrian.
"Maybe he is not the Devil." Eldrin thought. He still had doubts about Aldrian's identity because of the earlier incident, but seeing the woman behind him showing such hostility and killing intent just at the mention of the word 'Devil,' he doubted that Aldrian was a Devil cultivator.
"It seems they have their own history." He thought as he looked forward again.
Aldrian also looked at Eleine, he had never seen her this angry until she released her killing intent like this.
"The Devils huh." Of course he knew about the Devils because his parents had told him about them. These were people who sold their virtue to the Devil God in exchange for power, spreading terror and calamity everywhere. When Aldrian asked his father what he should do if he met one, his father's answer was simple and direct.
"Kill them, they are beyond saving."
Aldrian kept his father's words in mind. So when he heard the word "Devil" and looked at Eleine, he was sure they had a history with his family.
"Maybe Father and Mother ended up inside the secret realm because of them."
When he reached that conclusion, he felt a surge of anger and released a bit of his killing intent for the first time. Eldrin in front, suddenly felt chills on his back and sweat formed and dripped down. The others felt the same as the entire atmosphere suddenly became tense and heavy. The wyverns shrieked in panic, especially the one Aldrian was riding. Everyone felt the pressure of the heavenly might that usually comes with a heavenly tribulation, but that was absurd because there was no heavenly tribulation present.
The energy of heaven and earth surrounding them became chaotic and uncontrollable. The formation nearly broke, and they almost fell as the riders struggled to control their wyverns amidst their fear. Stunned by the effect of his killing intent, Aldrian quickly retracted it, and the entire atmosphere returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
"Fuck! That scared the shit out of me! What the hell is with his killing intent?!"
Eldrin's legs felt weak, and sweat still rolled down his face. The killing intent he had just felt was stronger than anything he had ever encountered, even more potent than a King stage cultivator's.
"The wyverns are trained under the pressure of King stage cultivators, and his killing intent can cause panic in them! Are you telling me his killing intent is on par with an Emperor stage?Wait, forget about emperor stage, what is that heavenly might pressure?!"
He didn't dare to look at Aldrian again. To release that kind of dense killing intent, someone had to have been on many battlefields, killed many, and experienced numerous life-and-death situations. He started to doubt if Aldrian was only a Viscount cultivator.
"Nope, he is not a Devil cultivator." he thought.
Not everyone was afraid though, one of them looked at Aldrian with concern.
"What happened to you?" Eleine thought.
To release that kind of killing intent at his age, she didn't know what he had done when he wasn't under her watch. Aldrian, on the other hand, was surprised by the effect of his killing intent. The visions he had experienced for the past six years had a more severe impact than he had imagined, allowing him to develop his killing intent to this level.
There was a time when Aldrian unconsciously released his killing intent during the horrible experiences in his visions. He almost lost his mind until his parents came to help calm him down and every time they asked Aldrian what happened, he always said that he had a nightmare.
After some time, he finally learned how to control his killing intent, and every time the visions came again, he had become accustomed to receiving them without releasing his intent. He had never released it again until today.
There was an awkward silence after that, so Eleine tried to ease the tension.
"So, what about the Devils again?"
"Oh uh, yes the Devils activity suddenly increased in the past few years since their last big movement 13 years ago, which caused chaos in the territory of the Church 'Eyes of Heaven' We still don't know what they are planning, but some of them have tried to infiltrate various territories including the Everlasting Silent Forest. Marquess stage cultivators are stationed at the outpost just as a precaution to ensure nothing happens," Eldrin answered.
Eleine sighed and fell silent.
"I hope whatever those bastards are planning doesn't endanger the young master." she thought, starting to worry that they had emerged from the secret realm at an unfortunate time.
They continued their journey as usual, but the atmosphere was not as relaxed as before. They flew in silence because of the earlier events that were still weighing heavily on them.
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Two months later.
It was afternoon, and the sky was clear with just a few white clouds. The three wyverns with their passengers and riders flew at high speed without hindrance. Over the past two months, the tension had dissipated and the awkward situation was no more. The elves had adapted to Aldrian's presence and they even conversed with him when they had time. They had stopped a few times to rest and ten days ago they had entered the Ivory empire territory, today they finally saw an elongated structure and buildings on the horizon amidst the forest.
As they drew closer and the magnificent city came into view, Aldrian and Eleine marveled at the sight of the large and prosperous city. While Eleine had experienced many big cities, this was Aldrian's first time visiting such a place. Typically, elven cities maintained their culture and nature with structures based on natural elements, especially trees. But here, they could see a harmonious combination of brick buildings and nature-based structures.
As they approached the tall root wall surrounding the city, Eldrin smiled and looked at Eleine and Aldrian.
"Welcome to Balin City."