Chapter 1644 (2/2)

In addition, Randidly noticed that the bow wielder glanced over toward the battlefield between the Engraving Guild and the Pinnacle Seekers. For a split second, his gaze lingered upon the conflict. Then he turned away and Military High Command began to reform their squads and eliminate the remaining Nether Heralds.

“So long as Military High Command finished their Nether Spire first, the Engraving Guild wouldn’t have time to bring their main force against us.” Claudette continued to speak in a cheery tone. “Because when the final Spire falls…”

Randidly nodded in understanding. Now that he understood what she was talking about it, he could sense the shift in the air. The aggressive push with which the Engraving Guild had assaulted them had vanished, leaving in its place a dogged resolve to injure the Pinnacle Seekers as much as possible before the grand array completely collapsed.

Instantly, Randidly’s eyes sharpened and he looked toward the battlefield for Shal. His expression became twisted when he realized that his master had escaped after the intervention of Techetadore. Was that on purpose…? Did the Engraving Guild or the Swacc Family know how much Shal meant to him, and was therefore protecting Shal now to use him against Randidly later?

But on the other hand, Shal was always a capable survivor. Perhaps he simply had fled after Techetadore had broken Helen’s Domain and pursued Raymund.

Tsk’ing to himself for the oversight, Randidly glanced around to get a better understanding of the battlefield. As he did so, he couldn’t help but be impressed by Seeker Thunder Wing… and the Winged Serpent Pinnacle Seeker.

Seeker Thunder Wing was single-handedly suppressing the three most powerful combatants from the Engraving Guild. It was only due to his constant efforts that the Engraving Guild hadn’t been able to gain much ground toward where Randidly had based his continuing Nether Ritual. Meanwhile, the Winged Serpent had been steadily guiding his people’s battle against the frantic Nether Heralds toward the flank of the Engraving Guild battle.

As they neared, some of the furious Nether Heralds began to attack the Engraving Guild members simply due to proximity, easing the pressure that the Pinnacle Seekers were under. Very quickly, the person in charge of their opponents made a snap decision: the Engraving Guild began to retreat.

Without the distractions, Seeker Thunder Wing and Ozaer assisted the Winged Serpent against the Nether forces. Seeing them up close, Randidly was chilled by the power the four main Nether Heralds demonstrated. Each of their attacks shattered the ground and caused even the powerful Pinnacle Seekers’ images to falter.

Watching that gave him an epiphany: Randidly’s ability to manipulate and understand both Aether and Nether were probably the only reasons that he had the qualifications to remain on this battlefield. In terms of power… he was still coming up a little short.

But at the same time, he knew that his surviving here demonstrated how far he had come, even since he arrived in the Nexus.

“Honorary Citizenship Coin for your thoughts?” Claudette said, startling Randidly out of his observations.

He gave Claudette a sidelong glance. Then he shook his head. “...just thinking about how dangerous this place is. By the way, I have to ask: why are you so friendly toward me? You have a whole entourage of people wanting your attention. But you just seem to be simply acquiescing to their desire to talk to you. And with me, you have been seeking me out.”

“Perhaps I’ve fallen for your charms. Narthalla will be livid.” Claudette batted her eyes playfully at Randidly. Sitting on the ground next to them, Helen couldn’t stifle her cackle.

Only after Randidly scratched behind his ear and remained silent did Claudette sigh. “Well, I’ll put it this way. When people want to talk with me, no matter what I do or how I act, they don’t really want to talk with me at all, do they? I’m a tool, a means, to whatever goal they currently have. I’m a path to reach my father. That’s what those idiots are seeking: they don’t even see me as a real person. And you… well, frankly you want to ignore me. Don’t bother to deny it. I can tell.”

“Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have denied it,” Helen was well and truly rolling on a spurt of giggles now, to the point that she was clearly aggravating her wounds. Randidly gave her an exasperated look and fed more healing energy through her body.

“...ha. Perhaps that’s true.” Claudette’s smile faded somewhat. Then she shrugged. “Rigid and stubborn individuals can be a pain in the ass. And they can be extremely insensitive. But that same lack of sensitivity can be a relief, you know? It’s nice to know that no matter how I act, you won’t change your behavior.”

“You…” Randidly’s mouth twitched. “Was that… supposed to be a compliment?”

“Basically,” Claudette chuckled. Then her expression grew more serious and she pointed toward the Engraving Guild. “Look. It’s about time we headed back to join up with the Frost Matriarch.”

The main portion of the Engraving Guild forces had moved forward and ripped out the anchors for their Nether Spire. It didn’t dramatically collapse like the others, but Randidly could sense that the core Nether Array had been butchered; all four of the Nether Spires had fallen.

At the bottom of the crater, the shroud of darkness began to fully fade away. A massive edifice constructed of millions of small hexahedrons towered above them. The Nether density of the flows within it was inscrutable, even to Randidly. But one thing was clear.

The final obstruction had been removed. Now all that was left was to face the Nether King.