Chapter 1371 Suspicion and Reaction
A few hours after Han Xiao entered the Sanctum, a group of a.s.sociation members gathered in the secret conference room under the call of Dillon.
“Black Star has finally entered the Sanctum again… What do you guys think?”
While chewing on a fluorescent gra.s.s leaf, Dillon gently rubbed his finger and looked at the Beyond Grade As on the table with a scrutinizing gaze.
Everyone remained silent and looked at their companions. No one wanted to speak first.
Seeing this, Dillon removed the blade of gra.s.s from his mouth and knocked his fist on the table.
“Since no one is saying anything, let me explain. The last time Black Star went to the Sanctum, he spent about two months. This time should be about the same. I think this is a good opportunity to leave.” Everyone paused and turned to look at him, their gazes uncertain.
Dylan shrugged, waving his hands in response.
“Everyone understands me. I always say what I want to say. The last time Black Star entered the Sanctum, I wanted to make this suggestion. However, I did not know how long Black Star would disappear back then, and everyone was watching to see if the interception could really stop the enemies, so I did not make the suggestion. Now that the battle has changed, the enemies have broken through the interception and will arrive at the three Universal Civilizations sooner or later. At the same time, we also know how long it will take Black Star to enter the Sanctum, so this is a chance to leave the main universe and avoid the war.”
Hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed. Some were dissatisfied, some were tempted, and some had the intention to watch and see.
“Don’t forget, Black Star revived us, and we all owe him a favor. It’s not good to leave without saying goodbye.”
Someone frowned and objected.
The members of the a.s.sociation were all revivors of the Holy Accord. They did not partic.i.p.ate in the war only because they treasured the second life that they had obtained with great difficulty. Because Dillon was good at talking, they let him be the representative for the time being. However, he was not their leader, and they had their own thoughts and opinions as well.
Dillon played with the glowing gra.s.s as he calmly stated,
“I won’t deny that Black Star has done us a favor, but he will never allow us to leave freely. The purpose of reviving us is just to make use of our strength. “Right now, he’s allowing us to avoid battle, but it’s only temporary. As those partic.i.p.ants become more and more dissatisfied with us, Black Star will pressure us sooner or later. Just like how he forced the third batch of Revivors to join the battle, he will do the same to us in the future. Therefore, we might as well leave the main universe before it happens or we will end up in a pa.s.sive position.
While we might let Black Star down, we have to take responsibility for our own lives. Even if he revives us, it doesn’t mean we have to accept their orders and sacrifice our lives for him.”
Everyone frowned and pondered. These words had also hit the nail on the head. Many people did not dare disobey Black Star because of their feelings, but they were not willing to take the risk either.
“What about the Holy Accord?” someone asked.
Dillon snorted. “Oathkeeper and Black Star are on the same side. If we want to leave, we have to act in secret. We can’t inform them.”
“If we do this, we will probably be hunted down by Black Star. I don’t think we should make such a rash decision,” another person said.
Hearing this, Dillon retorted, “Black Star isn’t in the main universe, which is why we have the chance to sneak away. Every minute and second we waste now is the time for us to escape. If we wait for him to return, will we be able to leave? Anyway, no matter what you say, I will definitely leave!”
Many of them had conflicted expressions.
The pressure that Black Star put on them was too heavy. Only when he was not around would these people dare to plot and think that this period of time was a rare opportunity to escape.
If Black Star had not entered the Sanctum, they would not have dared act rashly, afraid they would be taught a lesson by Han Xiao.
After discussing for a while, the avoidance faction could only barely reach a consensus. Those who were willing to leave would make their own plans, and those who were unwilling to leave were not allowed to leak the secret, creating another layer of a.s.surance.
As he gazed at everyone debating, Dillon was a little distracted. He played with the gra.s.s in his hands as memories of the past flashed through his mind.
He then thought of the Elven Holy Land that he had once created, and he could not help but reminisce about the times when he played with the many consorts in the pure white imperial court. Those beautiful, cold and pure faces flashed past his eyes.
It was a pity that after his death, the Elven Holy Land lost its protection, and these concubines could not control their fate. The ident.i.ty of a Beyond Grade A widow was like the emperor’s harem, enough to attract the interest of many people in the gray area with power and influence.
At this point, although he had come back to life, his old confidants had also long disappeared with time. He had power, but there was nothing he could do.
Dillon’s face tightened, and he subconsciously crushed the gra.s.s into powder.
“The three Universal Civilizations… not kicking you while you’re down is already the last line. How can I help you!”
On the other side, somewhere in the training
base.
A group of Beyond Grade As gathered in the room and looked at each other.
The group consisted of the members of the third Revival. Other than the majority of the direct descendants of the civilizations, the remaining neutral Beyond Grade As were all present.
Because they had the same interests, the Beyond Grade As in the third batch of revivals all gathered together privately. The revivals formed a faction, and the free Beyond Grade As formed a faction. Although the three Universal Civilizations had placed everyone under house arrest, they could still communicate privately. After all, they were a group of important combatants, and they could not restrict all their freedom as though they were in prison.
After a while, one of them broke the silence.
“Black Star has gone to the Sanctum. Why did he summon us at this time?”
Everyone immediately turned to look at the initiator of this gathering, a high-level Beyond Grade A named Stein.
Stein was a male Demon with transparent wings, and his outer appearance looked like a moth. Other than his wings and antennae, his other body was shaped like a human. At this moment, his two antennae trembled, making him look nervous.
“I heard some news. The infinite number of times the Sanctum has been revived that Black Star mentioned might be a lie meant to deceive us…”
“What?!”
Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed.
The three Universal Civilizations had always controlled the channels and did not allow the third batch of revivors to come into contact with the relevant information. Therefore, they never knew that Han Xiao had once said that the Sanctum Revival could only be done once.
“What exactly is going on?” everyone asked. Stein quickly explained, “Black Star’s explanation to us was different from what he told the other Beyond Grade As when it came to the Sanctum Revival. In the past, he claimed that the Sanctum Revival was only limited to one time, but to us, he said it was unlimited… I only came into contact with this information by chance. There must be a problem!” “Is the news reliable?!”
“I can’t guarantee it, but it’s most likely true,” Stein said hastily.
Everyone’s face turned gloomy as they sunk into their own thoughts.
If Black Star had two theories, the other Beyond Grade As would definitely know about it. However, no one had exposed it yet.
Perhaps, Black Star’s words to them were a lie on purpose to trick them into contributing. The other Beyond Grade As were all beneficiaries, so they tacitly agreed to this. Not only did they not expose them, they even cooperated to deceive the third batch of Revivors… This was everyone trying to use them as cannon fodder!
This speculation was probably correct. Based on their perspective, this possibility was completely reasonable and extremely convincing… However, because they misunderstood the key information, their conclusion was completely different from the truth.
The more they thought about it, the more shocked they became.
“Then what should we do now?” someone asked with a deep voice as he took a deep breath to calm his anger.
“If we can only revive once, then this will be our last life, and we have no choice but to consider our path of retreat,” Stein mused.
“Are we going to take the opportunity to escape? Although Black Star isn’t here, we’re being confined in this area, and those Beyond Grade As aren’t easy to deal with.”
After a heated debate, someone suddenly made a suggestion.
“The situation is still unclear. We will wait for Black Star to come back and revive the Sanctum. We will most likely be invited to watch it together. At that time, we will see if he revives a second death.
“If not, then no matter what reason Black Star gives, we will question him face to face and make sense of it. This way, we will be able to shake the new revivors and the direct descendants of the same batch as us. Together, we will break the restrictions of the three Universal Civilizations and resist the fate of being cannon fodder!”
Hearing this, many people’s eyes lit up.
It would be difficult for them to fight back on their own, and the next revival might be an opportunity to seek a temporary alliance. “Then it’s settled. We’ll attack together!” Stein agreed.
Primeval Star River, Mechanical Race territory.
In the mechanical palace, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar and Kasuyi’s remote projection sat opposite each other, casually playing cards.
“I really envy you. You don’t have to manage the affairs of the a.s.sociation and can spend all your time digesting the war insights. I want to do the same…”
Kasuyi grumbled as he watched the layout of the cards. Manison did not mind and casually said, “Since Black Star isn’t around, we will need someone to supervise the a.s.sociation. I have long been stripped of my position as president, and I’m not even the vice president. This job is yours.”
“Sigh, there’s nothing I can do. Before Black Star left, he told me that some of the a.s.sociation members and revivors might not know their place during this period. He told me to be careful of any variables, so I can only do as he says.”
Kasuyi shook his head helplessly.
Just like the exploration era in the past, the war had always been the catalyst for the strong. Many Beyond Grade As had been stationed in the interception circle for the past year, and after experiencing all kinds of battles, they more or less had new insights. Manison and Kasuyi had both discovered a wider room for improvement. As long as they were in seclusion for some time, their strength could still improve.
It was a pity that Black Star had gone to the Sanctum and even told him to be careful. Kasuyi could only suppress his desire to digest the war experience in the wormhole and manage the a.s.sociation instead. Thus, he was very envious of Manison being able to focus on training behind closed doors.
“You’re thinking too much. I’ve also encountered some miscellaneous matters,” Manison said with a calm tone. “Nilfgadi has been restless recently. He was unwilling to let the Machinery Faith and the Mechanical Race be controlled by Black Star and me. He felt that these benefits were originally his, so he tried to regain his former leader position.”
“Oh? What did he do?” Kasuyi was curious.
“Humph, just as Black Star left, he sent people to promote his return to the Machinery Faith. He wants to use his ident.i.ty as the founder to harvest the believers’ main faith. He wants to take advantage of the situation.”
“What’s the result?” Kasuyi was interested.
“What else can he do? He’s the founder who was eliminated by history and only revived because of Black Star. He wants to shake Black Star’s position? Dream on.” Manison snorted.
“That’s true. The prestige of Nilfgadi has long been worn down by time. He still doesn’t have the qualifications to compete with Black Star.”
Kasuyi nodded, paused, before jokingly saying,
“Furthermore, even you can’t beat Black Star, let alone him.”
“…Humph, ridiculous.”
Manison glanced at him and snorted.
This person really doesn’t know where to stop. If we hadn’t known each other for so many years, I would have ignored you!
Kasuyi shrugged and asked, “How about the Mechanical Race? It should be quite troublesome for him to return as an ancestor, right?”
“Who do you think I am? I’ve managed the Mechanical Race for many years, and he wants me to give up my base just because he’s an ancestor? Is that possible?” Manison’s tone was calm.
“So what did you do to him?”
“If it was in the past, I would have made him into a criminal a long time ago. However, I haven’t done such a thing for a long time. After all, Nilfgadi is the ancestor of the Mechanical Race, and I can’t do anything to him even if I want to. Therefore, I gave him a batch of Mechanical Race members and told him to set up a new Mechanical Race.”
“So, the Mechanical Race has already split up?” Kasuyi raised his brows.
Manison did not take it to heart and said calmly, “It’s not that serious. I can hand over some clansmen since they can be replenished. However, he won’t get even a single strand of my acc.u.mulated wealth.”
“Hehe, you’re still the same. Other than Black Star, no one can gain anything from you.”
Kasuyi shook his head and laughed.
“Humph, even Black Star can’t take much advantage of me.”
Manison was simply being hard-mouthed.
Kasuyi only smiled and did not expose Manison’s stubbornness. He changed the topic and said curiously, “By the way, before Black Star left, he left me a stranger’s contact number. Tell me, if those revivors have any abnormal movements, I can find this person to settle it.”
“Black Star will not speak without thinking. What’s that stranger’s name?”
“I don’t know his name. Black Star only told me to call him Oathkeeper. I haven’t contacted him yet. I wonder what his background is. Even Black Star thinks so highly of him.”
Kasuyi seemed quite interested.
“Looks like Black Star still has many secrets.” Manison snorted.
World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace.
Dark green lights full of vitality flowed along with the roots and veins into a huge coc.o.o.n made of leaves. It looked like the heart of a cabbage, and below it was an opulent base that looked like an altar.
After a long while, the leaves that formed the coc.o.o.n suddenly opened layer by layer, and a figure covered in a dazzling green light walked out. He walked down the steps step by step, and the green light slowly faded, revealing the appearance of Subduing Tree King.
“You’ve finally revived!”
Below the altar, joy flashed in the eyes of Fort.i.tude Tree King who had been waiting for a long time. He took two steps forward to welcome him.
After watering it for so long, Subduing Tree King has finally matured. Now I can finally laze off!
“Phew, I’m still not used to it.”
Subduing Tree King let out a breath and moved his body stiffly to rouse his senses.
Although the World Tree could allow him to return to his seed form and be reborn, the process of the seed germinating and maturing was very uncomfortable. The thought of Black Star, who had caused him so much pain, made Subduing Tree King furious.
“I died once. Next time, I’ll make that foreigner pay!”
“You will have a chance.”
Fort.i.tude Tree King immediately tried to interject.
Subduing Tree King turned to look at him in surprise.
“Why are you here? Where’s Heart Tree King?” “He’s dead, sealed by that foreigner,” Fort.i.tude Tree King’s tone was filled with disdain.
Subduing Tree King frowned, before asking in a solemn tone,
“What happened after I died?”
Fort.i.tude Tree King did not beat around the bush, directly telling him the whole story through the mind network. After finding out the whole story, the former’s expression softened, and he slowly nodded.
“So that’s what happened. Heart Tree King restrained the Esper of the Recovery cla.s.s, which resulted in the successful exchange of attacks. Many high-level combatants of the enemy civilization were killed. Although Heart Tree King was defeated later, the strategic results he created have already laid a good foundation for us. The advantage in numbers is gradually slipping toward us. The high-level combatants of the enemy civilization will only become fewer and fewer in the future. Good job.”
“But Ancestral Tree King is not satisfied. Heart Tree King has been captured, and we cannot recover the Tree King Crown,” Fort.i.tude Tree King stated.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a crown. We’ll find a chance to save Heart Tree King in the future. Using temporary losses in exchange for permanent damage to the enemy is undoubtedly a win for us.”
Subduing Tree King waved his hand, not taking it to heart.
“Alright, since you’ve revived, I’ll leave the matters here to you. I’ll return to the mother tree first.”
Before Subduing Tree King could react, he immediately dispelled his physical body and returned to the World Tree.
“Humph, you still have to rely on me.”
Subduing Tree King snorted and had no intention of rejecting. As a Pugilist, he was already used to doing such tiring work.