Chapter 754: Return (1/2)
“It was you who maimed that lunatic!” the man exclaimed with surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. “Do you take our lord for a fool? Teaming up with an Imperial to fight an Imperial? What a joke.”
“You should understand that the hidden conflicts beneath the surface of the Undead Empire are far greater than the small skirmishes with random factions here on the frontier,” Zac snorted. “In either case, I don’t need you to decide anything on your own. I just need you to relay my message.”
Of course, what Zac wouldn’t tell his captive was that the man’s conclusion was spot on, except for the part of both him and Uona being Imperials. He had no real intention of teaming up with Ykrodas Havarok to take out Uona, at least not if he had anything to say about it. As far as he was concerned, those two could play their deadly games while he picked up the two remnants and got the hell out of this place.
But a the same time, if there was something he had learned over the past five years, it was that the System had a fondness for throwing lethal challenges at him. Zac still wasn't sure whether it was a result of his abnormally high Luck or because of his bloodline, but the fact was that trouble kept finding him one way or another.
Considering that Uona was as troublesome as they came, it seemed prudent to try and make some small preparations. Uona should also be one of the biggest thorns in Ykrodas Havarok's plans, no matter if it came to the contribution ladder or the larger schemes at play. If things came to blow, this simple message might provide a lifeline.
“… I will recount this meeting in full if given the chance,” the man said after some hesitation.
“Good. I need some information, so let's get some things out of the way. I know there’s a large-scale conflict is taking place, where the Havarok Empire is on one side, and the Twilight Lord is on the other. Of course, the Twilight Lord is rather the human cultivator known as Alvod Jondir, or the Eveningtide Asura,” Zac grunted, and he was elated to note there was no surprise on the captive's face.
It was finally time to get to the bottom of things.
“Our goal is to thwart the plans of the Eveningtide Asura, just as you said,” the scout eventually said after some hesitation. “But I don’t know the exact plans, and even if I did, I would not tell you. My squad was only stationed here to keep the area stabilized. We set out three days ago to investigate an aberration, but we ran into a mishap leaving only me behind.”
Zac had a pretty good idea of what that aberration was, but he ignored it and pushed on.
“Why is your faction bothering with this matter? From what I’m told, Alvod is just a wandering Monarch from a frontier sector,” Zac asked.
“He caused unimaginable losses to our Empire a long time ago. He even killed one of our ancestral princes,” he said with fury in his eyes. “Now he wants to sacrifice one of our main commercial nodes of the frontier to defend his Dao and achieve Autarchy? We will never abide!”
Zac inwardly shuddered, realizing the situation was really as he had feared. He had figured the situation was bigger than Alvod simply wanting to evolve a Dao or something similar, and this proved it. Having an Autarch being pissed off at you was not a great way to live, and it only doubled Zac’s desire to not get too bogged down in this mess.
“Well, taking that step here in the frontier… You might not need to do anything to get your wish,” Zac shrugged as he feigned disinterest. “More importantly, where is everyone? I left seclusion a month ago, only to find that the chasm is sealed off and no elites in sight.”
“We have sealed off the chasm,” the man said. “Most wouldn’t dare enter.”
“I doubt Uona or the rankers would care about that message of yours,” Zac said, opting to forgo divulging his deeds with the pillar. “I could easily make it through that array of yours if wanted to as well.”
Zac had a strong suspicion that this man’s wretched state was related to Zac's actions at the chasm, so he massaged the truth a bit. Admitting he was the reason his captives had been killed would put a real damper on the conversation, and there was still much he needed to figure out.
“We have our means,” the scout said as he looked at Zac with suspicion. Zac could sense the man's aura fluctuate a bit, but it looked like the soldier reluctantly dropped the matter after a second. “But most have left for the inheritance.”
“The what?” Zac asked with confusion.
“An ancient city appeared in the middle reaches of the Ocean three months ago. It’s still sealed off from what I’ve heard, but people are flooding there from all over the trial in hopes that it’ll open,” the man said with yearning in his eyes. ”Some believe it will automatically open its gates at a set time, others believe enough warriors need to gather before the trial starts.”
“Ancient city? Trial within a trial? What?” Zac muttered, not having expected this piece of news at all. “I’ve never heard about something like that.”
“Neither have the natives, but many believe it’s a unique inheritance of the trial,” the man said. ”Perhaps something left behind from before this realm was created.”
“It rather sounds like a trap,” Zac said skeptically. ”Is it something that the Radiant Temple or the Natives have set up?”
“We... Believe it might be something Alvod Jondir has dragged from the depths to distract us, but we might be wrong. Uona Noz'Valadir has been spotted in the vicinity, as has most of the rankers,” the man said. ”But something of that scale, we doubt E-grade warriors can conjure such a thing, unless someone has been working toward it for dozens of trials.”
“Another complication, just what I need,” Zac muttered.
Zac kept questioning the man about the general state of affairs of the trial for a while longer. Thankfully, the Havarok soldier, who was named Trakodles, was more than willing to rat on any faction except his own, especially the Radiant Temple. After just a few minutes Zac knew more about that faction than after meeting Ventus Kalavan.
He also added Trakodles's charted territories to his own [Ocean Chart], massively expanding his map.
”Alright,” Zac eventually said. ”As I said, I am willing to work together with your leader to take down Uona Noz'Valadir. The stage has been set, and an opportunity to discuss this further will present itself at the gates of that city. Until then, I hope we can stay out of each other's way. I know Ykrodas might be eyeing my bounty, but I urge him to remember his mission, unless he is prepared to lose everything. Now, it's time for you to take a nap.”
”What?” Trakodles blurted, only to have a pill shoved into his mouth.
Trakodles's eyes rolled up into his head as Zac started to push the man deeper and deeper into the soil. He stopped at thirty meters beneath the surface, after which he surrounded the warrior in Supreme Divine Crystals and an illusion array.
The crystals would absorb some of the energy from the surroundings, helping combat the atmosphere. The array wasn't really for the man's protection, but rather for him to be a bit harder to locate. He had almost missed it, but Trakodles had sent out some sort of signal by cracking a talisman the moment they crashed into the coral reef.