The spatial turbulence surged and roared like a raging sea, but it abruptly stopped as it approached Lancelot, who stood solemnly with his spear raised, becoming perfectly calm, like a tamed wild beast.
His brilliant golden pupils pierced through layers of dimensions, meeting the gazes of the Demigod watching the battle from the outside world. Then, Lancelot's figure vanished without a trace.
His disappearance was so abrupt, as if he had never existed at all, shrouded in mystery.
The Demigod exchanged glances, all feeling a sense of dread. No wonder the City of Freedom was destroyed by this person; such an ability to conceal oneself was truly terrifying. If it were them, they wouldn't have fared any better.
"The Angpeier Family truly lives up to its name!" exclaimed Balhak, the second elder of the Serpent Ring Family.
The other Demigod glanced at Balhak with varying expressions, but said nothing and each slipped away.
Once all the Demigod had disappeared from his perception, Balhak finally revealed a distressed expression. This time, their Serpent Ring Family was likely to be dragged down with them. After all, the equipment worn by that mysterious powerhouse, which was suspected to be the inherited Demigod [Ten Thousand Serpents Armor], possessed such a strong Serpent Ring Family aura that it completely obscured his own aura.
Even at this point, Balhak himself began to doubt whether this person possessed the bloodline of their Serpent Ring Family. Only members of their own clan could activate the inherited Demigod; outsiders could not gain the recognition of the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor.
With the speed of Demigod, Balhak quickly returned to the Serpent Ring Family's territory and immediately went to see the clan leader, Webster.
Inside the enormous stone palace, a ferocious serpent's head emerged from the stone wall in front, its scarlet tongue flicking, exuding a natural, powerful aura.
After Balhak entered, the scales on the giant snake's body glowed slightly, and then it transformed into a small old man who was only about 1.6 meters tall. His long beard dragged on the ground, and his figure was hunched over. He looked like he could die at any moment, and he no longer had the terrifying power he had when he transformed into a giant snake.
Tell me about it again in detail.
Webster began.
So Balhak had no choice but to speak up and tell the old man in front of him in detail about the attack on City of Freedom, the entry of the madmen of the Slaughter Divine Church, the explosion of the seventeen Mage towers, and the process of the members of the Angpeier Family, who were suspected to be wearing the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor, slaughtering through the entire upper echelons of City of Freedom, without daring to hide anything.
In the Serpent Ring Family, where the strong rule is paramount, the fact that Webster could be treated this way by the Mid-Rank Demigod Balhak speaks volumes about his power.
After listening to Balhak's account, Webster paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his small eyes gleaming.
What's your opinion of this mysterious powerful figure?
The sudden question stunned Balhak, who usually only knew how to fight and didn't care much about anything else. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
"Forget it, it's pointless to ask you!" Webster rubbed his temples and said irritably.
Balhak, being perceptive, quickly said, "I'll fetch the Grand Elder immediately."
"You don't need to go looking for him, he's already here." Webster looked up at the entrance of the hall, where a door of light condensed, opened, and a thin, middle-aged man with prominent cheekbones walked out.
He was none other than Baudelaire, the eldest elder of the Serpent Ring Family. Judging by appearance alone, he was clearly more intelligent than the burly Balhak.
"Chief."
Baudelaire walked over.
"Yes, you know what happened, right? Tell me your thoughts," Webster said directly, without uttering a single unnecessary word.
Elder Baudelaire of the Ring Serpent Clan Earth Dao without hesitation, "This matter concerns the future of our Serpent Ring Family. If we choose the right path, we can not only return to our peak, but also reach even greater heights."
"It seems you're leaning more towards the Gendaya Royal Court," Webster said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stroked his beard.
"You should know that there is no possibility for us and the Ashes to return to what they were before. As far as I know, Sylvain's power has been almost completely stripped away in the past few months, and there are very few of his loyal followers left," Baudelaire said.
Webster sighed, "Ha, the Guta Star People really have no mercy. Sylvain of them, only to end up like this."
Baudelaire didn't want to dredge up old grievances; he focused only on the present and asked, "So, Patriarch, your thoughts are the same as mine?"
"Yes, it's decided then. We'll pledge allegiance to the Gendaya Royal Court. That young man Logo Campbell has given me hope for the rise of our people."
"Wait, wait, what are you... talking about?" Balhak suddenly spoke up, interrupting the conversation between Patriarch Webster and Elder Baudelaire, his eyes seemingly swirling with confusion.
The scene was like a struggling student listening to a genius and a top student discussing a difficult problem. Although they could hear every word clearly, when put together, they were completely confused and didn't understand anything.
For Balhak, the patriarch and the Grand Elder's words were too far-fetched. Weren't we talking about the powerful members of the Angpeier Family and the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor? How did we suddenly bring up the Gendaya Royal Court and the Ashes?
Okay, you could call it the Ashes Organization, but what the heck is the Gendaya Royal Court?
Did the Three-Eyed People also participate in the destruction of City of Freedom?
Is there some classified information that I don't know?
Webster and Baudelaire were not surprised by the bewildered Balhak; every family has its fools, and theirs could still be somewhat saved, so they patiently explained things to Balhak.
The main purpose was to let Balhak know the truth of the matter and prevent him from taking the wrong side.
The aloof and cold-hearted Elder Baudelaire clearly had no interest in explaining things to Balhak, so the old patriarch Webster had to step in.
Clearing his throat, Webster slowly said, "First, we need to set a tone: the identity of that powerful figure suspected of wearing the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor is unknown. In other words, he's a mysterious person. Can you accept that?"
Balhak shook his head. "Wait a minute, isn't he a member of the Angpeier Family? At least, most likely he is!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Baudelaire silently turned away from Balhak, clearly not wanting to say a word.
Chief Webster was also rendered silent, but being mature, prudent, and patient, he explained, "For truly important matters, even with a 99% probability, one must remain skeptical. It's better to be safe than sorry. Caution is paramount in all things, understand?"
Balhak seemed to understand, but he had one advantage: he listened to advice, had a clear understanding of himself, and was self-aware.
So even though Balhak didn't understand, he forced himself to accept this premise and said decisively, "I understand, that guy is just a mysterious person, not someone with a confirmed identity!"
Upon hearing this, Baudelaire turned slightly to the side, glanced at him, and nodded almost imperceptibly. This brute wasn't all brawn and no brains; he had some redeeming qualities.
Chief Webster smiled. "Very good. It's okay if you don't understand what I say next, but you must take it as truth and engrave it in your mind."
Balhak nodded, much like a primary school student facing a teacher, even though he was the largest of the three present.
Unfortunately, this world has always been ruled by those with brains; brutes are only fit to be tools and henchmen, unless you are powerful enough to ignore all wisdom and strategy.
But then another problem arises: at any time, this is almost impossible.
Because there will always be strong individuals of the same level; even among the Eternal, there are a total of nine.
Webster continued, "According to what you've said, the armor the mysterious man is wearing is most likely the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor that our Serpent Ring Family once lost. Let's not discuss whether this person possesses the bloodline of the Infinite Serpent, but just focus on one point: where was the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor lost?"
Like a Thunderclap, Balhak's pupils widened, and three words escaped his lips, "Golden Star!"
"You mean..." Balhak was extremely excited, his pupils trembling violently.
"I know you're excited, but hold on, nothing's set in stone yet. Listen to me." Webster calmly suppressed Balhak's surging emotions.
Feeling a surge of excitement, Balhak pricked up his ears and continued listening.
"Since the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor was lost on Golden Star, there are only two possibilities: either Golden Star was not Destruction, or the Ten Thousand Serpents Armor drifted out of the cosmic storm belt."
"The Grand Elder and I both lean towards the first possibility."
"Firstly, the sheer strength of the cosmic storm belts is undeniable. If one could traverse them using only Legend Demigod, the specific conditions of Golden Star wouldn't have remained an unsolved mystery for tens of thousands of years."
"Secondly, there are the unusual actions of the Gendaya Royal Court." At this point, a glint of light flashed in the eyes of Webster and Baudelaire.
"Previously, Gendaya Royal Court suddenly sent troops to occupy the Holy Knight Star System and the Dragon River Star System, I didn't pay much attention. I thought they were preparing to encircle the Radiant Empire from the other side and gain a strategic advantage. But now, I don't think so!"
"I'm more inclined to believe that the Three-Eyed People possess a secret passage to Golden Star, and this passage is most likely located within the Holy Knight Star System or the Dragon River Star System."
"Among these, the Dragon River Star System is the most likely, because if the passage is in the Holy Knight Star System, there's no need to take over the Dragon River Star System and offend the Iridescent Light Empire for no reason."
"Of course, it's also possible that this new Three-Eyed People king simply wants to expand his strategic buffer zone, but in any case, if there truly is a passage to the Golden Star, it must exist within these two star systems!"
"By controlling the Holy Knight Star System and the Dragon River Star System, they control more than half of the border region of the Karen Star System, where Golden Star is located. If it weren't for Golden Star, given the current size of the Gendaya Royal Court, such an action would have a very low cost-effectiveness ratio. I even mocked this new King of Gendaya for it back then, but now it seems I've been proven wrong..."
At this point, Webster gave a wry smile. No matter how wise he was, he never expected that a passage would appear in a cosmic storm belt that had been closed for tens of thousands of years.
After a pause, giving Balhak time to process and absorb the information, and until the dizziness in his eyes subsided, Webster continued, "Then we can make a highly probable deduction: Golden Star has already been secretly taken over by the Gendaya Royal Court. At the very least, they have control of the only passage through the cosmic storm belt."
"This leads to the next question: What should our Serpent Ring Family do?"
"A high-magic planet—this is a secret powerful enough to overturn the entire plane's situation, and now it's in our hands. Balhak, what do you say we should do?"
"Extortion...?" Balhak uttered the two words hesitantly, nearly infuriating Webster, while Baudelaire staggered, almost losing his balance.
Balhak scratched his head, gave an embarrassed smile, and knew he had answered incorrectly again. He could only mutter, "You told me to say it, so don't blame me if I'm wrong!"
Webster ignored him, took a deep breath, and proceeded to recount the entire decision-making process, no longer bothering to ask her brainless, reckless husband for help.
Faced with this highly probable, earth-shattering secret, if it were a hundred years ago, the Serpent Ring Family would have told their ally, the Ashes Organization, without hesitation.
At that time, the Ashes Organization were still under Sylvain's rule, and the two had a very good and close relationship. This was because the Dragon-Hunting Spider Clan and the Infinite Serpent were allies by blood, and Webster and Sylvain also had a good personal relationship. The two sides enjoyed a long honeymoon period.
However, with the rise of the Sun Eclipser, Sylvain's power was drastically usurped.
The Serpent Ring Family, which had a close relationship with Sylvain, was also secretly ostracized by the Sun Eclipser, which eventually led to a huge conflict, causing the two sides to part ways and never speak to each other again.
By a twist of fate, the Ashes Organization missed a golden opportunity.
The Serpent Ring Family knows a lot, such as the relationship between the Ashes Organization and the Guta Federation.
This was the handle that allowed them to successfully sever ties with the Ashes, but it was also a sword hanging over their heads.
When Ashes no longer cares about the exposure of its relationship with the Guta Federation, this sword will strike, bringing about the destruction of the Serpent Ring Family.
As for who gave him this sword, it's easy to guess—it was Sylvain.
In order to protect the Serpent Ring Family, the latter revealed this shocking secret to his friend Webster, using it to Sun Eclipser.
It's important to understand that once you become an ally of the Ashes Organization, or join them, there's no way to escape; otherwise, you're doomed unless you're stronger than the Ashes Organization.
The Serpent Ring Family was able to escape unscathed was largely due to this leverage.
Because of this incident, the Sun Eclipser had once been on friendly terms with Sylvain, never mentioned the word "brother" again in Sylvain's presence.
All the excuses for breaking up are never the truth; the real culprits are the scars that accumulate over time.
That being said...
Since they cannot inform Ashes, they must choose another ally, and this ally should ideally be an enemy of Ashes.
With the opening of the frontier approaching, the situation in the Elven Plane is becoming increasingly volatile.
Knowing the relationship between the Ashes Organization and the Guta Federation, Webster understood that the Guta Star People would sooner or later bare their fangs towards the entire plane.
Therefore, the only force capable of resisting the existence of the Guta Federation is the one that occupies a high-magic planet.
They are openly hostile to the Ashes and reside on a high-magic planet.
After two rounds of selection, there are still quite a few major forces remaining, after all, the Ashes Organization has made too many enemies.
Thus, the question arises: should one choose a powerful, ancient empire, or a rising star?
The former guarantees principal, offers moderate returns, and is not risky.
The latter is riskier, but it's a lifesaver, offers high returns, and you can even secure a veteran position.
The fact that the Infinite Serpent Clan chose to establish themselves on the chaotic Planet Pandora after leaving the Golden Star reveals their true intentions.
This is also a family that believes chaos is a ladder.
Therefore, both Patriarch Webster and Elder Baudelaire chose to take the gamble.
Seek refuge with the rising Gendaya Royal Court!
If we're going to gamble, let's gamble big!