Chapter 1981: Hunted? (Part 2)
...
It had already been three days since Shin had disappeared.
Despite the reassurance of the seniors and the elders, Cloe and the others could not help but feel worried about their friend.
Unfortunately for them, they could not do anything about the situation, especially when Grandmaster Benn and Joaquin Giovanni were already making their moves.
Moreover, they also had to take care of Arthur and Leonard, who were still in a coma after the previous incident.
Leonard had overexerted himself during the battle while also undergoing the second awakening of his bloodline. At the same time,e same time, Arthur seemed to have over-exhausted himself while running away and carrying Leonard in the process.
Moreover, Arthur seemed to have suffered serious injuries during their escape, which appeared to stem from a certain power that carried a strong corruption. If not for the strong bloodline that he possessed, he would have most likely been affected by this strange power and lost his mind.
Due to the overwhelming Dragon Power, this foreign power that was trying to invade his mind and body was immediately swallowed and purified.
However, Arthur was forced to fall into a coma.
Fortunately, Grandmaster Benn had reassured everyone that the two only needed to rest and recover before waking up good as new, if not better.
...
In the meantime, Oliver Hall, who had learned about the real existence of Shin and the things that he currently had in him, was staying at the place where he last sensed the latter’s aura.
He had been searching for Shin, coveting the things that he had in him, which he felt that he could use in his most recent research.
He was particularly curious about the vessel of an incomplete, immaculate being. The Golden Nirvana Pill was quite interesting as well, but he was more interested in the former, especially when he had projects with similar topics.
Shin’s existence piqued his interest as well, especially after learning that he was most likely the son of the Heavenly Demon and Celestial Phoenix.
He had extracted all these memories from Mad Dog’s brain, who they had captured from the place where big battles between pinnacle experts took place.
Most of the memories were jumbled and scattered, making it quite hard for those who attempted to forcefully extract information from him very challenging.
However, Oliver Hall was standing at the pinnacle of modern technology. Along with the expert in ancient mysterious practices, the Sun-Moon secret forces were able to piece everything together.
The combination of modern technology and the mysterious methods of the past produced an amazing result, making it easier for them to achieve such a feat.
Even though they only gathered a limited amount of information from Mad Dog, most of them were quite important.
They found it interesting that he worked under multiple organizations as a mercenary until the First Head of the Black Serpent Mafia found him.
Even though the contact was limited, they were able to confirm quite a few important pieces of information in the process, particularly when Mad Dog had infiltrated the ranks of the mercenaries working under the World Government.
The Sun-Moon Government was quite satisfied with all these, which gave them a clear understanding of the operation that all the organizations involved in the current incidents occurring on different parts of the continent.
This made them place Shin as a high-profile target for multiple reasons. The items that he carried were just one of them, but what made everyone more curious about him was his connection with the Celestial Phoenix.
They were still not clear about this, but they could at least make some connections and piece everything together.
Even though they refused to believe it, this young man was highly likely the child of the Heavenly Demon and Celestial Phoenix.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Calcio Ernando, the representative of the Faceless Faction.
He understood the interest that Oliver Hall had in Shin, given all the pieces of information that they had. But he still felt that it was too risky to get involved in this matter, especially when that couple was concerned.
Beep! Beep!
"What!? Don’t tell me you are scared of those two? No matter how much of a genius those two were, they can’t overpower all of us who have already reached our current level," refuted Oliver Hall.
Calcia Ernando shook his head before continuing. "You have a genius mind, so there is no need for me to explain to you what I am talking about."
Beep! Beep!
"The fact that there is a possibility that those two are having a child can only mean two things. It is either Adam finding a way to win over his curse or him shredding his outer shell and entering rejuvenation," said Oliver Hall as he busily tapped on the virtual screen before him.
He paused for a moment before continuing. "However, given all the factors we have at hand, there is an 80-90% chance that it is the latter."
"There is a report about Adam overpowering Jan Mateo in the Soaring Continent recently, which can only mean one thing. He has also reached the Transcendent Realm."
"Evangeline Rose, on the other hand, has most likely stepped into the Exalted Realm as well, given the level of the lingering energy that she has left behind in that battlefield."
"But that doesn’t matter to us. We are only here to ’ask’ the kid to help us with some experiments. We are not going to kill him or anything," he added without any hint of emotion, especially with his mechanical voice.
"Given your personality, I doubt that you will only ’ask’ the kid," refuted Calcio Ernado.
He took a brief pause, recalling something, before continuing. "Moreover, the kid is related to both Old Fatty Benn and Old Monster Plum. I also heard that he is the adopted son of the Springfield Family, so we’d better be careful with our approach."
"There is also information about him being a student of Old Demon Ryong."
"The kid has a very complicated background, so you can’t do anything to him," he warned sharply.
Beep! Beep!
"Isn’t it the reason why you are here? To monitor me?" reputed Oliver Hall before adding. "Don’t worry, I know what I am doing. I still have my human side despite having this form. I will not recklessly provoke all those forces just for the sake of my little projects."
"However, it is entirely different when it comes to the incomplete, immaculate being he has in his hands. I can still let him have that Golden Nirvina Pill, which comes from those old monks, but that vessel is out of question."
Sighing, Calcio Ernando warned once again. "I must remind you. Quite a lot of forces are looking for those things as well."
Beep! Beep!
"And that is the reason why this game is a first-come, first-served one," said Oliver Hall.
Beep! Beep!
A moment later, he suddenly added. "How about you help me look for the traces of that kid instead of just chatting?"
Calcio Ernando sighed helplessly when seeing that. He was indeed wary of the background of Shin, but it was not enough to scare him. After all, he was an Exalted Mentalist himself, and a very powerful one at that.
Even though the Heavenly Demon was powerful, the general also understood that people with great power like them possessed certain restrictions on them.
The stronger the person, the more powerful these restrictions.
These so-called restrictions came in different forms.
Given the power that the Heavenly Demon possessed, the restriction that he was going after him would most likely be equally powerful, matching his powers and abilities.
Adding that he was supposed to be cursed by Heaven itself, the form of this restriction would be more terrifying as well.
With everything that was happening around the world, Calcio Ernando could tell that something must be happening at the so-called ’border’ beyond the Forbidden Valley, especially when the Voidwalker Tribes had started making their presence known.
"Tsk! Tsk! Having great power sure comes with so-called responsibility," he mumbled after reflecting on this while also comparing it to the ’restriction’ placed on him.
"Sometimes, I envy those abominations and their so-called freedom," he chuckled while taking out a Mentalism Treasure that looked like an ancient compass before casting a series of mentalism spells on it.
Hum~!
The compass trembled for a couple of moments along with the continuous injection of mental energy into it.
General Calcio frowned deeply while staring at the compass, especially when he could not get any other response from it.
He tried for a couple more times but still encountered failure after failure in the end.
He then turned to his partner and asked. "Are you sure that we are in the right place? I am not getting any response from the Life Compass."
Beep! Beep!
In the distance, Oliver Hall was busy looking at the digital device that he was holding before replying without even taking his eyes off it. "That is exactly why I have called you here."
"Even my tools are not picking up any signal despite scanning throughout the place, which is very strange."
"Based on the data that I have collected, there is a 60-80% chance that there is a massive grand formation covering the entire area."
"Focus on looking for such clues about this rather than looking for any signs of lifeform around," he added before sending out another batch of drones into the sky, which swiftly flew in the sky to do another specialized scanning.
The general thought for a moment before doing the same. He threw a bunch of paper talismans, which swiftly turned into a bunch of animals that scattered in every direction.
...