Volume Two: Life and Death on the North Realm Continent, at Breakneck Speed-Crystal Tree

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our champions and the Chief Executive Officer have now entered the palace ruins. Mr. Garde will personally present them with the trophy, worth hundreds of millions! Stay tuned for more details—wait, what?!"

Hissing and rustling noises echoed in the sky, as if all signal transmission equipment had malfunctioned and was unable to transmit information at all.

"What's going on! This is such an important live broadcast!" The young announcer stared angrily at the microphone in his hand. It was brand new equipment, just installed a few days ago, how could it malfunction?

"Hey! Someone come quick and get a replacement!"

But no one listened to him; everyone stared blankly, operating the airship like machines.

"Leave here... leave here..."

If you listen carefully, you'll hear them muttering incantations as if they were possessed. The scene is so eerie that it sends chills down the announcer's spine.

Then, he became the next one.

It feels like "strolling around outside with nothing to do, and then getting hit on the head by a huge banknote."

Although the analogy is a bit strange, it truly reflects the announcer's feelings. An indescribable sense of satisfaction swept through his mind, almost like winning the lottery.

If this sense of satisfaction is given by others, then one will do whatever that person says and listen attentively to whatever command is given.

So--

"Leave here... leave here..."

On the ground, the previously noisy reporters suddenly fell silent, as did the staff. The area around Crystal Island instantly became deathly quiet, like a ghost town. Everyone moved like machines, evacuating in an orderly manner. Some boarded airships, some boarded other vehicles, and even Kilga and his group sat back in their car expressionlessly and drove away.

The evacuation was extremely orderly, with no congestion whatsoever. Within minutes, not a single person could be seen around the crystal palace, and all the airships in the sky had also evacuated. This efficiency was something even the most elite armies would find difficult to match.

The Crystal Palace Underground--

Within the void, overflowing with purplish-blue crystalline light, had transformed into an alternate dimension that distorted common sense.

A tree about forty meters tall stands tall and upright, and at first glance it looks no different from an ordinary plant. The World Crystal Tree does not have the gorgeous shape or dazzling brilliance of other Crystal Tree, and it does not even have the texture of crystals. Its smooth branches and narrow leaves are blue-green, and its shape is completely like an ordinary large fern.

But the unusual features surrounding it proved its identity.

The Divine Item Crystal Realm Fruit symbolizes solidification and suppression.

Beneath the Crystal Palace lies the convergence point of the spiritual veins of the entire North Realm Continent. Logically, the spiritual energy here should be extremely dense and active, but the opposite is true—the fluctuations of spiritual energy, the flow of air, even the flickering of light have all ceased, as if everything has been frozen. An ancient, icy sense of oppression fills the underground cavity, making one feel as if they have fallen into a frigid seabed. Forget about circulating spiritual energy or using supernatural abilities; an ordinary person would probably have died under this immense pressure long ago.

The Sick Spider and the Stone Strike stood silently at the edge. The suppression of the World Crystal Tree at such close range seemed to have no effect on them. Their backs remained straight, and their expressions showed no pain. Although their bodies could withstand it completely, their internal abilities were a different story. Their abilities were completely suppressed, meaning they were almost entirely unusable.

Gustav stood closest to the World Crystal Tree, gazing indifferently at this Divine Item of heaven and earth, his face devoid of joy or sorrow.

"Gu... Taf... can you hear me...?"

Suddenly, a voice mixed with piercing noise rang out in the hollow. Although it was severely distorted, Gustav still recognized who it was.

"Yu He? I didn't expect your ability could withstand the suppression of the World Crystal Tree."

"Stop joking... it costs money... hurry up... no more nonsense... clear the area... can we... take action?"

"Cleared out? But there are still people receiving awards in the palace upstairs, aren't there?"

"Inside the palace... suppression... no trading... voice transmission... this is the limit... death... is acceptable..."

"It doesn't matter if they die? Then I'll get started, and you can clean up the mess afterwards."

"It's up to you...!"

The piercing rustling sound finally disappeared, and the void returned to its deathly silence.

"All right..."

Gustav took out two leather gloves and put them on his hands.

"You two, with your powers suppressed, will only get in the way if you stay here. I'll clear a path for you in a bit, so you'd better leave now."

"Yes, sir!"

"A Ye ..."

"Yes, I know."

Since then, there has been no sign of human presence outside the crystal palace.

Everyone was evacuated within minutes.

The whole process was completely silent; if I hadn't retained some ability to sense Blood Energy, even I wouldn't have noticed it.

More importantly--

"That power that suppresses supernatural abilities is getting stronger." Givinia looked around warily.

"Yes, I can't use my supernatural abilities at all now, I can't even absorb spiritual energy."

"What's hidden inside this palace...?"

There is only one explanation for this phenomenon.

The Crystal Realm Fruit will probably appear in the world very soon.

The organization must have also taken action.

On the other side--

"Hey, what are you two doing! Come here right now!"

Ally, Ailin, and Garde were completely oblivious to what was happening. Ally was holding—or rather, hugging—the enormous, gleaming gold trophy, calling out to us incessantly. Ailin was beside her, helping to support the overly heavy trophy, while Garde watched them with a smile.

"Receiving the trophy is the captain's prerogative, but 'raising the trophy' is something all the team members do together, it's a tradition!" Ally exclaimed excitedly.

"It's less of a tradition and more of a tacitly accepted ritual, a symbol... what was it symbolizing again?"

"It symbolizes 'the glory of victory belongs to everyone,' oh, Uncle Garde."

"Ah, right, right, look at my brain..."

Were they too relaxed? They didn't even glance outside the palace gates, and were still joking around.

At that moment, the tragedy that befell the Si Nan Family six months ago suddenly flashed before my eyes.

Last time, thousands of people died just for a Gleaming Gold South-Pointing Compass.

What about this time?

No matter what, I will never allow this tragedy to repeat itself.

"A Ye, we'd better retreat first; the atmosphere is getting increasingly tense." The unease on Givinia's face grew stronger.

I made up my mind and shouted:

"You guys come back first! The situation is a bit..."

Boom!!! Pfft!!!

At that moment, something happened.

A sudden and shocking change.

It took me several seconds to realize what those two consecutive sounds meant.

"Boom!" is the sound of a huge object hitting the ground.

"Plop" is the sound of something being crushed.

Ally and Ailin slowly, very slowly, looked around.

Where Garde originally stood, a giant Crystal Pillar appeared.

Beneath the Crystal Pillar, thick blood slowly flowed out.

Through the gaps, one could vaguely see Garde's severed limbs and splattered internal organs.

"... Garde... Uncle?"

Ailin was still calling the executive officer's name softly, as if in a dream.

Run!

"Don't just stand there!!"

Seeing this, Givinia and I rushed forward. Although we couldn't use our superpowers, we still had exceptional physical strength. I grabbed Ailin, and Givinia hoisted Ally onto her back, and we dashed towards the entrance at top speed!

Clang!!

"Ah! The trophy..."

"I can't worry about that now!!"

The golden trophy, symbolizing the ultimate honor of the championship, fell heavily to the ground, rolled a few times, and then—

Click!!

The enormous Crystal Pillar suddenly rose, flew forward at a height of more than ten meters above the ground, and then crashed down again! It crushed the trophy into pieces!

"No!!!!!!!"

Seeing the fruits of their hard-fought battle, the symbols of victory and honor, destroyed, Ally let out a heart-wrenching scream—but now, her feelings were no longer of any concern!

"A Ye, that thing is alive!"

"I know!!!"

Judging from its peculiar shape and behavior, that thing was definitely not Crystal Pillar at all.

It was a giant foot, tens of meters long!

Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!

The deafening roar continued, yet it followed a certain pattern—it was the sound of humanoid creatures' footsteps! Looking up, through the slightly transparent crystal dome, I saw several colossal, towering shadows converging on the palace!

Another loud bang, and the ground more than twenty meters behind us suddenly collapsed, releasing terrifying pressure and dazzling purple-blue crystalline light from the pit at the same time! My movements froze instantly, and I stumbled and fell to the ground. Ailin also fell from my arms, as did Givinia and Ally beside me.

"Ugh... what is this?!"

"Sister, what should we do... I feel so heavy!"

The Sena Sisters, being the weakest, collapsed to the ground, barely able to move. Givinia and I were in slightly better shape, struggling to our feet, but even that left us breathless.

Another deafening roar followed. I strained against the pressure and looked back. A gigantic fern-like tree emerged from the pit, sprouting new shoots and growing taller at an astonishing rate! At first glance, the tree appeared unremarkable, but there was no doubt that this terrifying oppressive force originated from it!

More importantly--

At the base of the giant tree, two faint blue lights flickered.

The two points of blue light were close together, and upon closer inspection, they appeared to be two crystalline polyhedrons, only the size of a ping-pong ball, but still slowly growing.

The moment I saw them, my heart almost stopped beating.

These are the ones, no doubt about it.

Finally, the Crystal Realm Fruit has appeared!

Ding!!!

A loud rumble came from the underground cavern, but it wasn't caused by the World Crystal Tree.

Gustav remained in the fist-pumping stance, and a new tunnel, no less than twenty meters in diameter, appeared in the crystal cave wall in front of him.

"If you go through this hole, you should be able to get back to the surface. The puppets of the World Crystal Tree outside have already started to move, so be careful."

Thank you for your concern.

The Sick Spider bowed and immediately entered the tunnel; she seemed unwilling to spend even a second longer with Gustav.

"Lord Gustav, you really don't need us—"

"I've told you so many times, those of you who can't use your powers will only be a hindrance if you stay here. That's why the master sent me here... Leave as soon as possible, and be careful not to get discovered."

"Yes!"

After watching the two figures disappear into the tunnel, Gustav turned to face the ever-growing World Crystal Tree.

"The Crystal Realm Fruit hasn't fully matured yet? It seems we'll have to deal with the puppets outside first."

With a snap, the organization's second most powerful being stretched its limbs and turned its neck.

"Your physical condition is pretty good, so—let's go!"

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I've been writing a lot these past few days, so there might be quite a few typos I haven't proofread... Please forgive me.