Chapter 1620 (2/2)

“There will be plenty of fighting, however,” Randidly said with a small smile. “Against strong opponents.”

“Bah, why do you think I’ve followed you for so long?” Helen asked in exasperation. Then she chuckled, seemingly in spite of herself. “Where you go, there will always be fighting. Okay, so what's the situation?”

Randidly glanced over at the hunched figure of Lay’mel. “Well? You’re up. Why are so many forces gathering? Got any insight?” Then he looked at Helen and revealed a crooked smile. “This is Lay’mel. He might end up being a liability for us… so if he annoys you, feel free to kill him.”

Helen, understanding the part she had to play just from a second of eye contact with Randidly, looked over at Lay’mel with renewed interest. She was a hungry cat eyeing a sardine. Lay’mel wrapped both arms around himself and shivered. “I… well I don’t know exactly, but… from what I understand, everyone has come to obtain the body of the Nether King. For those who have spent hundreds of years refining their image… supposedly the body is a critical catalyst for reaching the Pinnacle.”

Randidly narrowed his eyes. “So another team from the Swacc Family will likely be present. Do you know their abilities?”

“Ah… the Swacc Family wouldn’t have sent anyone. Except us, because we had- ahem, our goals were… unique. At least, the Family wouldn’t send anyone directly.” Lay’mel shook his head. When he saw Randidly looking over at him with a heavy gaze, he raised his hands and shook them frantically. “Really! I’m telling the truth! The Swacc Family doesn’t need to fight over the Nether King. Just like Military High Command really doesn’t need to get involved with these fanatics! Why do you think they are just letting all the independents flood in!”

“But… why don’t they need to fight over it?” Randidly asked with a frown.

Lay’mel glanced around. And seeing everyone looking at him with curiosity, he coughed into his hand and raised his chin a fraction. Some of his fear seemed to ebb; this man was the sort that enjoyed showing off his knowledge. “Ahem. Well, both Military High Command and the NLC, and their allies including the Swacc Family, don’t need to catch their own Nether Kings; they still have some captured corpses from the original Nether Wars. The older specimens are said to be less efficient, but they don’t possess the same desperation to capture a Nether King. And in any case, they wouldn’t want to utilize the body of the Nether King. Meanwhile, the independent factions…”

Randidly opened his mouth to ask why people were so interested in the Nether King, but he paused before he could speak. In his mind, the images he had seen when he had completed the Glimpse of the Shallah Path surfaced. The condensed crystal Aether and the grey chrysanthemum of Nether rushed toward each other to produce… something of great value and incredible power. Could that process be what these independent groups were seeking…? Was that truly a method of reaching the Pinnacle?

But what did that mean for the relationship between the Pinnacle and the Shallah? From what Randidly had learned from Yystrix, the Shallah were the original race of the universe. Could ‘reaching the Pinnacle’ be some sort of atavistic accomplishment…?

Meanwhile, Lay’mel continued to speak, his tone wandering steadily toward condescending. “Well, this information isn’t that widely known in the Nexus. And for someone like- ahem, for a prestigious Head Drill Sergeant like you who is heavily involved in military affairs, you might not have had much contact with the largest and most mysterious group in the Nexus: the Pinnacle Seekers. Not to say that those in the two orthodox factions don’t also wish to reach the Pinnacle, but they give a great deal of deference toward the whims of Elhume, which are strongly disapproving of anyone else approaching the Pinnacle.

“After all, as the first individual to reach the Pinnacle, Elhume… well, I wouldn’t dare say Elhume feels threatened by others trying to replicate his accomplishment, but he certainly has done his best to prevent anyone from repeating his achievement. Meanwhile… the Pinnacle Seekers will stop at nothing to locate even tiny advantages that allow themselves to improve. Compared to the NLC and Military High Command, there are actually quite a few more powerful and reclusive individuals in the Pinnacle Seekers. The erratic and the ambitious would never deign to officially serve the Nexus. These people act in the shadows, unwilling to draw the attention of Elhume. Heh, although their actions might be cowardly, they have no choice. Ah, but obtaining the body of the Nether King… such an accomplishment might give those deeply hidden individuals the ability to take that last step and approach the Pinnacle. So they will certainly not miss this chance.”

“Will Elhume actually move for such a reason? Will he step in and take the Nether King?” Randidly pressed his lips together. No matter how much distance he had covered to bridge the gap between himself and Elhume, he was very aware that his current achievements were only the beginning. Stats could boost his ability, but that casual damage of the glance that had shattered his Class was just the smallest drop of Elhume’s capability.

But from what he had learned from Edraine, Elhume’s actions were… both erratic and rare. It seemed the powerful husband of Yystrix had his own concerns.

Lay’mel shook his head, a confident smile on his face. “The Nether King won’t move Elhume. It is just an ingredient; only the act of ascending to the Pinnacle will earn his attention. There are certain… phenomena that are extremely difficult to hide when an individual breaks through to the Pinnacle. When they have manifested in the past, aside from the creation of Alymian by the mysterious second individual to reach the Pinnacle, Elhume has arrived to interrupt the process. Hehe, you might be happy to hear that you actually have encountered someone who has tried to reach the Pinnacle and been blocked by Elhume: Velio Dunn. If not for having his image completely annihilated in that conflict… do you really think someone as powerful as Velio Dunn would be a lowly mercenary…?”

For now, Randidly ignored Lay’mel’s playful tone as he mocked his lack of knowledge. Instead, his mind returned to Velio Dunn. In their first clash, Velio had simply used a projection of him striking to annihilate all of Randidly’s resistance. In their second clash, Velio and his rune sword had nearly killed Randidly, despite the interference of Edraine.

Both those times, Velio hadn’t unleashed his full might. And yet Velio was an individual who had his image completely annihilated…?

Well, based on the timeline… such a conflict would have happened thousands of years ago, Randidly pressed his lips together. So in the intervening years, it’s very possible for Velio to develop a new image. But still…

Randidly released a breath and pressed his eyes closed. The information was useful, but for now, it was better to focus on the situation at hand. “So, as we proceed, it’s very likely we will encounter the forces of these… Pinnacle Seekers. And am I right in assuming they won’t bother to give us deference just from my position as a Head Drill Sergeant?”

“Heh, if you dare boast too loudly of that identity… they might even go out of their way to slaughter you,” Lay’mel snorted. “If you happen to head deeper and witness someone capturing the Nether King… all the Pinnacle Seekers will band together to hunt you down to prevent word of who obtained the Nether King from leaking. When it isn’t related to their internal conflicts, the Pinnacle Seekers protect their own.”

Randidly nodded slowly as he absorbed that information. He also looked at Lay’mel with a hint of amusement. Definitely worth it to leave him alive just to learn about the different factions. Also… had he not sneered about how my identity as a member of Military High Command would have made me a target, I probably would have led with that without thinking too deeply. Might even have made quite a few enemies.

Ha… so he’s definitely trying to help me, but this growing attitude… His emotions are so straightforward and easy to read that I’m almost going paranoid that I’m being tricked by him into some deeper scheme.

Yet every one of Randidly’s senses was telling him that his impression was correct: Lay’mel was incredibly transparent. So either Lay’mel was either a more insidious character than Randidly could deal with, or he could really trust the elf-looking fellow, despite his snide comments.

Honestly, it was rather impressive that Lay’mel could adjust so quickly to new situations. But Randidly had no plans to let it continue too far. He glanced sideways at Helen and winked at her in a way that Lay’mel couldn’t see. “Alright, the useful information is extracted. Kill him. Time to head deeper into these spatial islands.”

Helen grinned like the cheshire cat as she turned and began to stalk toward Lay’mel.