“Aila, what was that bullet you used to wound the Void Demon made of? Do you have any more?”
Midir turned to ask her the moment the group landed in a clearing near the base of the mountain.
“Huh? I only brought one of those! You have to realize how precious they are! You’ve seen my War God Battle Qi before, right? That bullet is essentially War God Battle Qi compressed to the extreme, but I’m not strong enough to make them myself yet.”
Following Midir’s concerned gaze, Aila looked up at the ridge, which had been blasted into a massive crater.
The morning sun had quietly risen, its golden light gently covering the entire peak, casting a warm hue over the originally desolate scene.
“Besides, didn’t you finish off the Void Demon? Why do you still need it?”
“If I’m not mistaken, the one in the cavern wasn’t the Void Demon’s true body. Combined with what she said earlier, Azure Fortress is in danger!”
Midir shook his head, his brow furrowed as he gazed toward the towering fortress in the distance, his voice tinged with worry.
“She’s not dead...? But even if I had more bullets, I doubt they’d have the same effect again! She’ll definitely be on guard against them now.”
After a moment of silence, Aila admitted that the massive damage she dealt to the Void Demon was purely due to the creature's carelessness. There was little chance of recreating that moment.
“Sigh... then it’s going to be troublesome. If we encounter her again, you’ll have to do your best to evacuate everyone nearby. Otherwise, I won’t be able to go all out,” Midir said with a sigh of helplessness after hearing Aila’s response.
The group rested in the forest for a while. Under the purification of Midir’s light element, those who had been rescued were out of danger. The real Duke Rowena finally opened his eyes slowly.
“Is that you, Blake?”
The once tall and burly Duke Rowena had long since lost his former vigor after being imprisoned in the black sphere for an unknown amount of time. He looked up at his son kneeling beside him and reached out a withered arm.
“It’s me! Father! Are you alright?!” Seeing his father’s gaunt appearance, Blake gripped his hand tightly in distress and answered quickly.
“It’s a good thing you rescued me. I won’t die just yet... cough, cough... Blake, you must return to Azure Fortress immediately! Cough... go and take command in my place!” Duke Rowena said sternly between bouts of heavy coughing.
“But your health... how can I just leave you like this?” Blake was stunned and immediately shook his head.
“Quiet! Don’t... worry about us. Even if we return to the fortress now, we won’t be of any use! Go, now!”
Seeing Blake’s hesitation, Duke Rowena’s eyes snapped open as he roared. Though his body was incredibly weak, his words carried an unquestionable authority.
Trembling, Duke Rowena reached into a hidden inner pocket of his clothes and pulled out an exquisite medallion.
Midir noticed the medallion shimmering with a faint golden luster in the sunlight. It was carved with intricate patterns and the family crest, all of which proclaimed the holder’s nobility and power.
The Duke solemnly pressed the medallion into Blake’s hand and said in a low voice.
“You know what this is... it’s the symbol of the Duke’s status and my highest proof of command for you to act immediately. You must believe that everything I do is for the benefit of the entire city-state. Now, take this medallion and go fulfill your mission!”
Faced with his father’s determined gaze and the heavy weight of the medallion in his hand, Blake bowed deeply to him.
“Your Grace, why do you want us to rush back to the fortress? Can you explain? Do you know something?” Aila leaned down and asked Duke Rowena with concern.
“Are you... Aila of House Mars? Thank goodness! Before I... was controlled, I tried to trick that monster into talking. I learned from her that she plans to use... some kind of black tide from the south to destroy all of Azure Fortress in a few days... How long has it been now?”
Seeing Aila by his side amidst his tension and worry, Duke Rowena felt a bit more relaxed. Her presence meant they had a formidable ally, which would significantly reduce the pressure on the fortress.
He began to struggle to recall what had happened, reconstructing the chaotic and terrifying fragments in his mind.
“A black tide? Does she mean a massive swarm of Void Demons?” Rosal tilted her head and wondered aloud after hearing the Duke’s description. “Like the ones we met before?”
“I suspect so. After all, from what we’ve seen, Void Energy can’t affect humans or large creatures in a short time. If all the small animals in the Azure City-State mutated... it would indeed be terrifying. But the individual strength of those Void Demons is so poor. Even if they wanted to destroy a fortress like this, it would be difficult, wouldn’t it? If it were me... how would I do it?”
Ronald seemed to have thought of something and began to analyze the situation carefully.
“Your Grace, did you just mention the word ‘south’? Is there any special significance to it? What is to the south of the city-state?”
Midir keenly caught a specific word in Duke Rowena’s speech. He frowned slightly, a hint of doubt in his eyes as he asked.
“The south? But there’s nothing south of the Azure City-State but the Wind-Eroded Desert. Aside from those who were exiled, there are barely even normal creatures there! It shouldn’t be enough to create a massive amount of Void Demons...”
Blake explained to the others after pondering for a moment.
Although he couldn’t be sure his guess was correct, the thought that the two Saint-level experts of the Azure City-State had lost contact in the south made him feel that something was wrong.
“If you can’t figure it out, then don’t just stand there worrying. Our priority right now should be how to get back up there!”
Aila’s words interrupted everyone’s thoughts as she pointed toward the fortress, which sat thousands of meters above them.
“The emergency escape passage has been destroyed, and there doesn’t seem to be a path nearby. If we wait for a rescue team from above, it’ll take way too much time.”
“If it’s just this distance, I can try to teleport you all up there. However, I’m not sure if Duke Rowena and the others can handle it in their current state.”
Midir roughly measured the distance between the group and the fortress. He felt this distance shouldn’t be difficult for him, but when his gaze fell on the dozen or so people who had just regained consciousness, he could only shrug helplessly.
“How about this? Following the Duke’s wishes, you take Blake and me up first. Then I’ll have Kiteclaw transport the rest of the people back one by one.”
Aila gritted her teeth reluctantly after hearing Midir’s words.
It wasn’t that she had a problem with the plan, but unless it was absolutely necessary, she didn’t want to experience the dizziness that came with long-distance teleportation again.
“If you’re going up, please make sure to take me along. After all, I don’t have much combat power without Iron Man No. 23 by my side. Plus, I want to get up there quickly to check some records. I have a few theories about what His Grace said.” Ronald walked over at this point and spoke up.
“Fine. You three, come closer. Rosal, I’ll leave the people here to your care for now. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Midir nodded and signaled them to approach. He then took Ronald and Aila’s hands and turned to Rosal.
“Rosal, I’m entrusting my parents to you!” Blake also nodded to her with a smile and placed a hand on Midir’s shoulder.
“Understood! I’ll look after them!” Rosal nodded vigorously. Following her firm reply, the figures of Midir and the other three vanished from her sight.
Rate on N.U.
