Chapter 877: Deadly Dandelions
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Life and Death Coffin emitted a faint mist that formed a gray aura and surrounded everyone. w.a.n.g Zhong had seen this technique before. Mu Zi had used this in the Decapitation Canyon and the desert. The aura of the Life and Death Realm surrounded them, allowing them to hide in between life and death. It was like walking in a narrow crevice between the borders of the two worlds, tricking the vision and senses of almost all living creatures. The mist even had an aura that living creatures hated, causing them to disperse. The venomous insects that buzzed and flew in the air did not pay any attention to the three of them and flew over their heads. A few insects who flew low almost b.u.mped into Napier but flew around him as if he was a rock. The insects did not even look at them. Napier was shocked by this. He broke out in cold sweat, but he was also secretly happy.
If Mu Zi had not been around, they would have had to hide in the marsh for long periods of time with every step they took, like they had in the past. They might even need to hide in the toxic sludge for one or two days.
On the other hand, w.a.n.g Zhong was very relaxed. He was even looking through the items that they had obtained from the one-eyed man’s exploration team. Needless to say, killing people and taking their goods was the fastest way to get rich. It was a much faster way than doing missions.
The exploration team seemed to have earned a lot of money from shady sources. Considering their strength, they had a surprisingly large amount of wealth. They had 13 medium s.p.a.ce crystals that were 20 cubic meters large and could be used for up to three years. These crystals were much better than the ones w.a.n.g Zhong, Mu Zi, and Napier had. The three of them immediately felt more secure about their possessions after swapping out their s.p.a.ce crystals. As for the remaining ten crystals, they could give them to Gong Yi. Out of the list of items that Gong Yi had given to them, the s.p.a.ce crystals were the most important. Transportation was very crucial to Katchirda, which was situated in the desert. These s.p.a.ce crystals would be able to help Gong Yi greatly.
The equipment they had gathered included military combat goods, rune cannons, Night Vision Telescopes, energy pipes, energy crystals, life-saving drugs, and some messy items. In total, there were many items; many of which could be used by the people in the Wanderl.u.s.t Team. w.a.n.g Zhong wrapped them up and put them neatly in Napier’s s.p.a.ce crystal. When they got back, they could let everyone else choose what they wanted. Although Katchirda also needed the military equipment, the combat forces there were still not yet fully formed. If they gave Katchirda high-leveled battle weapons, they would attract even more attention. It was not an opportune moment for Katchirda to display their combat power to the world and threaten everyone else. w.a.n.g Zhong and the rest would definitely prioritize the Wanderl.u.s.t Team.
On the other hand, there were relatively few Holy Coins. They only collected slightly over 20,000 Holy Coins from the 13 of them. It looked like they had used most of their Holy Coins to exchange for equipment to improve themselves. They did not find the “100,000 Holy Coins” that the one-eyed man had been talking about. This made sense. After all, with their current level, it was impossible for them to improve their strength while making sure they did not die while completing all their missions unless they did not use the money they earned for anything else. For them, being able to save up 100,000 Holy Coins was like a fantasy. In the Holy Land, wealth and individual strength were directly correlated. Each cla.s.s of people would have a certain amount of wealth. There might be some discrepancies, but it would not be much.
They wanted to encounter more a.s.sa.s.sin exploration teams that gave them both money and information.
With Mu Zi’s strong abilities, the difficult marsh became much easier to walk through. It was as if they had been walking on flat ground all this while. The three of them walked quickly out of the marsh just as night fell. In front of them was the wilderness. At the border of the wilderness, they could see the outline of the Shadow Moon Fortress in the darkness.
Earlier, the simple and crude single-story bungalows that had been seen near the Black Boulder Energy Cave caused w.a.n.g Zhong to think that the Mizobudapi were not adept at construction. No matter how strong they were, they lived like cavemen. However, the outline of Shadow Moon Fortress made him change his mind.
……
In the training grounds of the Wanderl.u.s.t Team.
Although w.a.n.g Zhong was not around, the rest did not slack off either. They remembered the shame they had experienced and grew stronger. If they had not helped w.a.n.g Zhong out back then, gra.s.s might have started to grow on their graves. However, even now, when they encountered any tough missions, they could only sit and observe. However, Oscar and the rest were still excited. They used this time to put even more effort into cultivating their Circuits. The fact that w.a.n.g Zhong did not bring them along meant that they had not mastered the Circuits well enough.
The more they practiced, the more they felt the terrifying power of the Soul Power Circuits. This was definitely a great invention that could change the status of the Heroic Soul Stage in the Holy Land. If an ordinary Heroic Soul soldier had mastered the Circuits, their combat power would definitely increase by 20-30%.
Scarlet was like a spirit. She had rediscovered the feeling she had experienced in the beginning. With the speed of the Zoom Shadow Circuit and the agility of the Light Spirit Circuit as well as the Domination Const.i.tution Circuit to control her strength, she fired multiple frightening attacks in succession with the rune gun in her hands, such as multi-array bursts and multi-dimensional shots. Every bullet possessed over 8,000 Gra.s.sos of Soul Power. Her strongest attack had reached a peak of 15,000 Gra.s.sos, and this was simply an ordinary attack.
Compared to Scarlet’s rapid and powerful marksmans.h.i.+p, Grai’s Three Circuits started to s.h.i.+ne in quick succession, like a colorful flickering lamp. He was the first to learn the Circuits from w.a.n.g Zhong and grasped them more thoroughly and easily than Scarlet. He even started to develop a unique understanding of his Circuits. After all, his bloodline was special… At this moment, he activated his Hundred-Fold Palms technique. It was as if a Buddha with a thousand arms had appeared in front of him. Hundreds of blood-red Soul Power seals appeared in various forms, each different from the rest. They stopped the rapid succession of bullets. The bullets did not bounce off; instead, they turned into puffs of silver dust from the great force.
BANG…
As she fired the last bullet, Scarlet put away her rune guns. The Soul Power seals in front of Grai also started to fade. They learned from each other. There were two objectives for this session. Firstly, this session was to help Scarlet re-master combat techniques. The improvements that Scarlet displayed with every fight was worthy of praise. At first, when she fired bullet arrays, the shots only had an average of 1,000 Gra.s.sos of Soul Power. Now, her strongest shot could reach a shocking 15,000 Gra.s.sos.
Secondly, this session served as a reference to Oscar and the rest to help them find their own paths. Although everyone had different Soul Power properties, and there would be slight differences in how they mastered the Circuits, but if they had a reference, it would greatly reduce the need to take detours.
As the two of them stopped their attacks, everyone started getting busy and discussed amongst themselves. Those who had verified their understanding walked to the side to try them out. Scarlet had benefited the most from this session. Not only did her circuits complement her combat techniques, the power of her circuits was also very evident. Like Grai, her circuits started taking on properties unique to her. Feng pulled her aside with an expression of admiration. They discussed the combined use of runes and circuits. Although they understood what they had seen, it was still very difficult to change the Soul Power Circuit habits they had developed over many years. But no matter whether it was Feng, Oscar, or Small Eyes, they all felt that the circuits w.a.n.g Zhong had created were the ultimate.
Of course, Grai was not simply Scarlet’s training partner. He had also discovered some skills that would be very useful to him from Scarlet’s improvement. Oscar started to argue with Asher and the rest. Grai smiled and joined their discussion. His opinions usually allowed everyone to think in a different way. He did not determine who was right or wrong but expanded their ideas. There was no right way of training one’s Circuits. Instead, each person had to find their own unique characteristics. Frankly speaking, all those who had entered the Holy Land were outstanding geniuses. Understanding the Three Circuits was not difficult. What was difficult for them was to use them in accordance with one’s unique combat techniques.
While they were discussing pa.s.sionately, Asher, who was on guard outside, shouted, “Grai, someone called Batifen is looking for you.”
“Hm?”
“He is a rather boorish man.” Asher felt sorry for Grai. Not only was he handsome, there were also no bad rumors about him either. It was even said that many girls liked him. Then, why had no one approached him yet?
“Oh. Grai, you’d better come back quickly!”
“I’ll go out to take a look.” Grai smiled and nodded. However, no one saw the reluctance and hesitation in his eyes. What was supposed to come would eventually come.
Batifen was actually a very famous mountain in the Kaiser Empire. This was a secret code.
Outside, a tall shadow leaned against a wall under the shadow of the ceiling. It was Pomo!
At this moment, there were many feelings in Pomo’s heart. He would never have even dreamed that there would be a Dandelion spy by w.a.n.g Zhong’s side. The Kaiser Empire’s influence was everywhere. But what was even more unthinkable was the fact that Grai was the spy!
How much had the Empire done in the Federation? Vladimir and Noraba had fallen into enemy hands, but Pomo had not gone on that mission as he had received orders from Dandelion. As a Dandelion spy, he had no choice. Once he received an order, he had to carry it out.
But how could Grai be a Dandelion?
He thought about the dark horse that had shaken up the CHF. Those scenes made Pomo surge with excitement. Grai’s acting was worthy of an Oscar award. He had tricked the entire world.
Pomo was a second-generation spy. Thus, he did not have the right to choose his own ident.i.ty. When he received the mission, he found out that Grai had a higher position than him. Grai was a true Dandelion. As for how deeply involved the Empire was, his Young Master was probably the only one who knew.
When Pomo saw Grai walk out, he returned to normal. He kept a cold expression in the shadows.
When Grai saw Pomo in the shadows, he was slightly dumbfounded…
The moment their eyes met, it was as if time had stopped.
“My Young Master wanted me to ask you, ‘do you still remember who I am?’”
Grai’s gaze s.h.i.+fted slightly. He nodded his head.
“Did w.a.n.g Zhong rely on his own strength to kill the Sword Saint?” Pomo suppressed the thumping of his heart and followed the orders he had been given. Once again, he asked Grai.
This time, Grai kept quiet. He only nodded his head when Pomo’s gaze towards him grew more solemn.
Pomo’s gaze was solemn, but he was shocked by Grai’s response. Almost everyone else thought that w.a.n.g Zhong had managed to pick up someone’s kill and stole the credit for the Sword Saint. To be honest, Pomo felt that it was a waste for his master to order him to ask this question. However, when he looked at Grai’s calm gaze, he knew that he was not lying on behalf of w.a.n.g Zhong. He was still a Dandelion spy.
“How? The Young Master wants to know how as soon as possible!”
More shockingly, his Young Master already seemed to know this. He was probably the first outsider to believe that w.a.n.g Zhong had not picked up someone’s kill. He had given Pomo this order to find out how w.a.n.g Zhong had killed the Sword Saint!
But this time, Grai stayed silent for a very long time…
Ever since w.a.n.g Zhong had emerged as a force to be reckoned with, Grai knew that this day would eventually come. That day was today.
When Pomo saw Grai’s cold expression, he sighed. “Don’t think too much about it. Do we have any other choice? This is advice from your former opponent in the CHF. You know where to find me.”
With that, Pomo quickly left, leaving Grai alone. A long, lonely shadow was cast on the wall.
Everything in his surroundings seemed alien. Even the familiar and intimate training ground seemed to be rejecting him at this moment. Back when he had gone to Tianjing, he had been given the mission to lie low. To the Empire, a city like Tianjing, which was in an awkward position and did not have any information networks from the Great Families, was the best to break through.
But later on, with the rise of w.a.n.g Zhong and Tianjing, hiding behind w.a.n.g Zhong became very convenient for Grai. But as they developed, the focus s.h.i.+fted to w.a.n.g Zhong.
The most dangerous moment was the fight with Mo Ling during the CHF. Back then, his mission was to lose. He definitely had to lose!
The night before Grai fought Mo Ling, he received the mission from outside and returned home. When he b.u.mped into Milami, he saw that Milami was hiding a very unnatural expression. He started to suspect that Milami was a spy. The higher-ups wanted Grai to lose fairly so that his ident.i.ty would be protected. Even if he exposed his bloodline endowments, there would have been a way to reverse it and turn him into an ordinary Federation citizen…
Reality had revealed that Solomon could truly see into the hearts of people. In order to protect Grai’s ident.i.ty, Milami had poisoned him. No matter what, Grai was going to lose.
Grai was acknowledged and accepted by everyone. But his long life made him confused. What was he doing all this for?
Since then, Solomon had never contacted him again.
Solomon’s arrangements and investments were made with long-term plans in mind. He would not care about a temporary loss or a temporary gain. In particular, he was willing to take a gamble and take advantage of the situation. Now was the time for him to reap the rewards.
If the information Grai provided was valuable, it was worth it even to expose him. If it was not valuable enough, he could continue to lie low, but Solomon would still obtain what he wanted.
Most importantly, w.a.n.g Zhong had not submitted the Soul Power Circuit to the Holy Land!
Grai knew better than anyone else that the Soul Power Circuit was the result of w.a.n.g Zhong’s painstaking effort, and also his future. w.a.n.g Zhong had pinned his hopes on the Circuits. It would be a powerful weapon against the Great Families when he returned to Earth!
At the same time, if Solomon got hold of the circuits, the effects would be even more frightening. Solomon would become an even more terrifying presence in the Holy Land. With the contribution of 100,000 elite soldiers, his system of checks and balances against the Federation, and this great invention that would change the Heroic Soul Stage, one could not even start to imagine how powerful Solomon would become.
As for w.a.n.g Zhong… he was in a very difficult position. He was just one of the 10 Dandelions…