"That's a great question, but there's something that troubles me about these exit portals..." Erik remarked in a thoughtful tone while looking at the map, which prompted Elara to ask seriously after also looking at the map.
"You're worried about their locations?"
"Yes, they seem to be organized in groups of 3 at different cardinal positions… Doesn't that seem a bit strange to you?" Erik commented in a reflective tone, to which Tomás nodded before replying in a similar tone.
"It certainly is strange… Do you think they might lead to different places?"
"That's a possibility." Erik nodded and began pointing to the known portals while explaining.
"Up to now, we don't have the slightest clue how these people managed to deceive the Master-levels guarding the entrance, and even more so, the Legend-levels. Because, even though the Virelians are powerful, if they had the capability to fool us like that, they would have defeated us a long time ago.
"Therefore, I've come up with a small hypothesis to explain why the Legend-levels discovered nothing: the entrance we used is not the only entrance. It's possible these 'hunters' knew of another entrance, and the one we used actually hadn't been touched by them, so there would be no traces of them to discover."
"You mean it's possible that if we use other exits, we might end up appearing right in the lion's den?" Tomás asked solemnly, to which Erik nodded gravely.
"Exactly. It seems like too much of a coincidence that precisely the two exits used by the pioneer group are clustered in the same sector… I feel there's something more to all this…"
"That makes a lot of sense…" Zoe commented seriously, at which point Christine asked in a worried voice.
"So do we have to use the same exits? They're most likely very well guarded…"
"It certainly is quite risky, but I think it's worth the risk to go for the third one." Erik said seriously, then pointed to the third exit on the map and explained gravely.
"Although those exits are grouped, they aren't precisely close to each other, so, since the third exit wasn't discovered by the preliminary exploration group, it would be logical to assume it has less security. And if we add to that the fact that with the basilisk awake, it's not feasible to send reinforcements, I think we have good chances of being able to fight our way through."
"I think it's the best course of action." Zoe nodded seriously, then added while looking at the others.
"In the situation we're in, we can't risk appearing somewhere different from where our masters and families expect us. Without our means of protection, even if we didn't appear in the lair of those 'hunters,' we'd still be in great danger. We have no way to communicate, and there are many who hold grudges against our elders, not to mention the ambitious ones who might try to capture us."
"Yes, here the most we have to worry about for now are Illuminated-levels, and we have ways to defend ourselves against them. Outside, a random Sage-level would leave us defenseless." Tomás nodded seriously, to which all the others nodded gravely. At that moment, Christine commented in a thoughtful tone.
"Since that's the case, why don't we try to earn more merit?"
"What do you mean?" Zoe asked with a slightly furrowed brow, to which Christine replied with a small smile.
"Very simple. Since we don't know if the exits are active or not, or if we could activate them prematurely, and thanks to Erik we have the ease of moving throughout the ruins, we could try to search for more survivors or ritual sites like this one. If we leave here with more survivors, or at least their bodies, it would be great merit not only with the Order, but the other factions would end up owing us a great favor."
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Tomás whispered softly, then looked at Erik and explained seriously.
"Putting aside the merits and favors, reducing humanity's losses in this catastrophe is of vital importance. Creating such a large vacuum of talent could give ideas to the different races surrounding us, and things could get complicated on the borders…"
"Certainly, although humanity's real combat power wouldn't be reduced, something like this happening to us is a great show of weakness that others, especially the Virelians, will definitely take advantage of. It's necessary to reduce the losses as much as we can." Elara commented in an equally serious tone, to which Zoe nodded and added, looking at Erik.
"It's true. Although before we had no choice but to focus on saving ourselves, now that we have the means, we can't just stand by. We have to step forward and prevent this catastrophe from spreading beyond these ruins."
Hearing his companions, Erik brought a hand to his chin and began to reflect deeply. The possibility of a full-scale war breaking out due to what had happened was not small. After all, although the most hostile race against them were the Virelians, they were still surrounded by different ambitious races that wouldn't miss the chance to take a bite out of their resources.
Furthermore, although humanity was among the strong in their galactic neighborhood, the difference wasn't that great. If two or three races united to attack their borders, it could put them in a real bind. But even more important than that, if that were to happen, Erik was sure his masters would be deployed to the borders just like years ago. So, if he didn't do something, he would indirectly end up putting them in danger.
After a few moments, Erik reached a decision. He lifted his head to look at his companions and the golems, along with the others, and commented in a serious tone.
"You're right. We have to do our part. Let's finish up quickly here and return to the 'anthill.' We'll discuss our action plan in depth."
""Understood."" The group replied in unison and went to work with serious expressions and an accelerated pace.
…
…
…
Within the containment formation, Xiao Tianji watched with an expression full of doubt, suspicion, and bitterness as that group worked in an orderly and efficient manner under the orders of that star-haired youth. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand how they could be so well-off—uninjured and apparently full of resources and, above all, potions, many potions that they drank as if they were soft drinks.
While he had traveled through the garden with his large group, although they had managed to face some hunters and demonic cultivators and obtained equipment, some potions, and pills, they were never that well-off. In his group, only the leaders, the strongest, could have artifacts taken from enemies and some potions or pills. The weakest had to make do with their useless armor or improvised leather protection and the like. Potions weren't something they could enjoy.
Therefore, the suspicion that these people had something to do with those hunters or knew something from the beginning wouldn't leave his mind, because otherwise it made no sense. He was no ordinary person; he was the most outstanding genius of the Xiao family's younger generation, widely known as a future Master-level. Furthermore, he was convinced his performance had been worthy of his talents.
He had formed a strong and organized group that managed to survive in the garden with ease; he simply had bad luck and ended up encountering an Illuminated-level. But he couldn't be blamed for that. After all, no one over 300 years old was supposed to be able to enter the ruins, something confirmed by the Legend-levels, and he was one of the most powerful in the galaxy in that age range.
After all, at most, below three hundred years, an outstanding genius could barely ascend to the Illuminated level, and someone like that couldn't defeat them in such an overwhelming manner. That star-eyed bastard had to be at least an Illuminated-Expert level, and there were only two people in all of human history who achieved such power before 300 years of age: Eleonora Silverwood and Sigrún Eldurdóttir, the greatest geniuses in human history.
Currently, only he and Tomás Arismendi were on the verge of advancing to the Illuminated level before 300 years, but it would still take them a couple of decades to achieve it. Therefore, his confidence wasn't unfounded; he simply never imagined the Legend-levels could be deceived in that way, and he paid a grave price for it.
…
While Xiao Tianji was deep in thought, two enormous shadows suddenly covered him, making him lift his head. There, Xiao Tianji found a young man with long black hair and green tips, accompanied by four golems. Sensing that the young man was barely at the Ascended level, Xiao Tianji couldn't help but show a hint of disdain, at which moment Frank commented in a calm voice.
"We're going to leave here. You can be escorted peacefully by the golems to follow us, or you can stay here and wait for the hunters to come in."
"For a mere Ascended to speak to me that way." Xiao Tianji said in a cold voice, to which Frank shrugged and turned around while commenting indifferently.
"So you prefer to stay here. I understand."
Xiao Tianji couldn't help but open his eyes in surprise, watching Frank leave without looking back, soon followed by the golems, heading towards the portal through which almost everyone had already left. With his heart racing, Xiao Tianji clenched his teeth, knowing he was just playing tough and they really wouldn't dare leave him there. But seeing that Ascended bastard was about to go through the portal, he quickly commented in a voice full of frustration and rage.
"The formations won't let me move."
"Oh, you should have said so from the beginning."
Frank stopped a few meters from the portal and looked at Xiao Tianji while commenting with a calm smile, then took out a small, milky-white tablet. At the same time, the Golems turned towards Xiao Tianji and grabbed him by the shoulders, at which point the tablet in Frank's hand glowed softly.
With the tablet's glow, several layers of light domes became visible around Xiao Tianji, who soon found himself bound hand and foot by dark chains. At that moment, the Golems lifted him by the shoulders and carried him to go through the portal. Upon crossing the portal, Xiao Tianji couldn't help but open his eyes in disbelief upon seeing the gigantic, well-lit hall filled with formations everywhere and a long table of Myst where all the leaders were gathered.
(What is this place…?)
…
As Xiao Tianji was led to a newly deployed formation, Erik, seated at the head of the solidified Myst table, finished noting something on his notebook and took a cup of tea served by Zoe. After taking a bite of a cookie, Erik looked at his companions and commented in a serious tone.
"So our action plan in summary will be as follows. We'll avoid places near the location where the Illuminated-level that Ethan was following was, and we'll send golems and scouting spheres in rapid succession to different portals before closing them. Once they identify survivors or corpses, we'll make decisions on whether to act or not. Also, we'll start accumulating golems from other floors to use as a vanguard against the third exit portal. Any objections?"
"I have more of a question." Ethan asked in a serious tone, so Erik nodded with equal seriousness.
"Go ahead."
"Are we going to treat all survivors like that guy from the Lotus Union?" Ethan asked seriously, to which Erik replied after a sip of tea.
"Not necessarily. The guy was openly hostile and doesn't seem mentally stable; moreover, he's a bit suspicious. I studied the jade slip he had a bit, and it doesn't seem like anything special. Although it's true it allows one to hide from the Mystical Awareness, it's hard to believe something like that could deceive an Illuminated-level.
"Even without his 'presence,' he was still breathing and his heart was beating when we checked, so any mana user could tell he was alive by checking with Ethereal Projection or simply by touch. The guy is still hiding something from us, and it's better to be cautious. Right now, we can't afford mistakes."
"Erik is right. I also studied the jade slip, and it shouldn't have allowed him to deceive two Illuminated levels as he claims he did." Christine commented seriously, to which Chen nodded and added solemnly.
"I can vouch that what they say about the jade slip is true. Disciple Laverne and I also examined it since it was an artifact of the Zazen Discipline, and we share the same opinion."
Seeing Zoe nod at Chen's words, the others inevitably turned to look at Xiao Tianji within the formation with serious and pensive expressions. But at that moment, Erik placed his teacup on the table and commented in a serious tone.
"Well, let's move. Everyone already knows their role and what to do. We have to move quickly."
***
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