The surrounding white-robed men immediately grew alert. The tips of their magic staves shimmered with various colors as they assumed combat stances.
A confidant lowered his voice and asked nervously, “What is it, Master? Is it a new type of detection spell from the Empire?”
The Crow Man slowly shook his head, the initial surprise in his eyes replaced by a cold calm. His raspy voice was exceptionally clear in the silent cave, carrying a sense of calculated composure.
“No, this feeling doesn’t seem to originate from reality, nor is it a direct call from the Abyss. It feels more like… it originates from the angle between the two, but it is too weak. It’s as fragile as an infant.”
His fingers unconsciously stroked the crow feathers on his robe as he sank into thought.
‘An Abyssal creature?’
No, that wasn’t right. Those twisted, eerie creatures that knew only consumption and destruction would only appear near stable Abyssal Fissures. Furthermore, their aura wouldn’t be this pure, let alone carry a sense of curiosity.
Then, there was only one possibility remaining — it was some kind of creature with a high affinity for the Abyss that was still rooted in the real-world, capable of wandering through the angle between the two to observe in silence…
The Crow Man’s train of thought suddenly became clear as the fragments of intelligence in his memory clicked into place.
To his knowledge, there was exactly one creature that fit these requirements, and it was currently within this vast Frostwhisper Forest.
Vilaniel Adrian’s young Black Dragon.
During this operation, one particular squad had been annihilated by its Chaos Breath. He had personally inspected the scene and extracted the wandering souls of those six disciples to peek into their memories.
In the residual soul images, the world-destroying scene was still vivid. Such immense power and such pure Chaos Aura were far beyond what a normal Black Dragon should possess.
Spies within the Academy had sent some scattered information. Although it was vague, one thing was certain: the Academy still treated it as merely an anomalous case.
Was the Fallen Princess hiding it well, or was the dragon itself highly intelligent and knew how to conceal its true nature?
He looked up, his gaze sharp as a knife beneath the crow mask. He swept his eyes over the subordinates waiting tensely for orders and quickly weighed his options.
Capturing the “Son of the End” was certainly an unimaginable achievement and temptation, but the priority right now was not that. It was the exchange scheduled for tomorrow at noon.
Any unexpected complications could ruin months of meticulous planning and leave his two brothers to rot in the Black Prison forever. Such an opportunity would not be easy to find again.
The Son of the End could be dealt with later, but Dark Blade and Murmur could not be lost. They were the backbone of the Court of Destruction.
“The plan remains unchanged,” the Crow Man’s voice returned to its usual coldness as he made a decisive judgment. “Everyone, continue the mission according to the original plan. Check your equipment, familiarize yourselves with the evacuation routes, and ensure tomorrow’s exchange goes perfectly. Those two brothers must return safely.”
“But, Master, the opportunity is so rare…” the confidant said, reluctant to let it go.
The Crow Man raised a hand to cut him off, signaling that there was no need to continue. His tone was reassuring.
“The ‘Son of the End’ is indeed important, but it is not our primary objective for this trip. There will be plenty of opportunities to capture it in the future.”
The faint sensation of being watched vanished.
The Crow Man smiled.
Since that dragon could spy on them from the shadows, its intelligence value was immeasurable. However, they had nothing left to hide at this point anyway.
The men had to be traded back; they truly had no extra energy to deal with the dragon now.
However, that didn’t mean he would do nothing.
The Crow Man changed the subject and looked toward the thin figure deep in the cave that seemed to merge with the shadows. “Gloom Shadow, your mission has been adjusted.”
The Sixteenth Seat of the Court of Destruction, codenamed “Gloom Shadow.”
The disciple who was called bowed slightly. His figure appeared ethereal and unstable, as if he possessed no weight.
“Take two men and try to track the source of that gaze from earlier without exposing yourselves. Return by sunrise tomorrow at the latest. Remember, you are only to confirm if it is still active in the vicinity. Your eyes and ears are for the service of tomorrow’s exchange.”
His words just now should have lowered the target’s guard; tracking them might even be easier now.
After assigning the task, the Crow Man relaxed. He pulled back a small section of his feathered sleeve, revealing a Silver Bracelet inlaid with several crystals.
He stared at the bracelet for a moment before pulling the sleeve back down.
—
Ignis snapped his eyes open.
“What’s wrong, Ignis? What did you see?” Vilaniel asked urgently as she leaned in.
Beside them, Emily was still unconscious.
1 hour ago, after the weakness from physical exhaustion began to fade and the restless chaotic power within him was suppressed, Ignis had tried to enter the Abyssal Critical State again to scout the situation with his spirit.
Vilaniel had been surprised to find that the body Ignis left behind had become translucent, and his presence was so greatly reduced that it was easy to overlook him if one wasn’t looking closely.
She guessed this was likely another of Ignis’s special abilities and didn’t pry further.
Ignis, whose perspective had drifted out of the shallow cave, quickly noticed cold silver and holy gold lights flowing through certain spots in the distant woods. He guessed those might be the Empire’s search and rescue teams.
But further away, there were also ominous dark red and black auras. Those were likely the sources of the “malice.”
They were most likely the accomplices of those white-robed men.
Out of caution, Ignis chose not to exit the Abyssal Critical State to lead Vilaniel and Emily to find the rescue team.
The reason was simple: in the window between leaving the safe zone and reaching the rescue team, it was highly probable they would be spotted by the white-robed men, putting them in a disadvantageous position.
After thinking it over, he decided to head straight for the enemy base to gather some information before making a decision. That led to the scene that just occurred.
With his soul returned to his body, a faint sense of unease rose in Ignis’s heart.
The man in the crow-feathered robe and mask was likely the leader. Like the Third Prince, Roderick, he could also sense Ignis’s gaze.
Fortunately, only those two had been able to detect him so far; otherwise, this Abyssal Critical State would be far too useless.
“I saw…” Ignis hesitated for a moment before giving a brief summary of the Imperial rescue team’s arrival and the scenes he saw inside the cave.
He didn’t mention the part about the strange man discovering him.
“I understand.” Vilaniel’s expression grew solemn.
That golden hyena Leo was actually among them, which gave her a small sense of schadenfreude. But now was not the time to mock Leo.
What should they do next? Should they continue to wait, or…
Actively send out information?
No, that probably wouldn’t work… It wasn’t safe outside yet. Going out recklessly was still too dangerous.
Emily’s instruments had been thrown away during the escape, and there were no suitable materials on hand to craft any kind of beacon.
Vilaniel suddenly felt a bit troubled.
Perhaps it was better to just keep waiting.