Ian offered comfort, saying: [I have a premonition that you’re also extremely important, or else Master Gossay wouldn’t have gotten The Empire’s permission to bring you over — not to mention my true identity. The importance of our secrets combined is enough to outmatch all the others combined!]
[I’m known as the first alongside the First Knight, right?]
Hearing Ian speak of Hiliard’s successor, Yisen Gard couldn’t help but smile at the old joke from decades ago: [I just feel a bit strange... since all the major factions clearly know the events and truths behind this, why would they throw us young successors here? Aren’t we the future inheritors of each country? Wouldn’t it cause a big disturbance if we died?]
[Why would it cause a disturbance?]
Ian’s response was calm and cold: [The Imperial Grandson is dead, aren’t there other grandsons? Even if the Great Prince dies, there are still your second uncle and great aunt, right?]
[Gaer was originally the Great Khan’s youngest son, and there are plenty of sons and grandsons before him... he’s indeed a genius, but if he dies, it won’t be enough to cause national turmoil.]
[Of course, it’s not like the countries haven’t provided protection... but if someone dies amidst training, even with protection, fallback, and strength... isn’t there another genius in Terra? No matter what they encounter, it only proves they were unlucky, unqualified, poor in adaptability, and as Sublimators lacking the ability to overcome — that’s just unqualified.]
[Yisen, our lives are only in our own hands, you can’t expect a faction to keep you completely safe and prevent any accident]
[Hmm... you’re right] Yisen sighed, originally wanting to inform Anfa and Sio that he had reconnected with Ian.
But just then, amidst the long-standing standoff of the exploration team, a sudden change occurred.
Accompanied by a glow, Aina from The Empire disappeared after charging up for a long time, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of the Crystal Cabinet.
Typically, with Aina’s Second Energy Level Sunbird power, phototransformation is far from possible because the essence of Sunbird’s phototransformation is the fusion of body with Heart Light Body, achieving a ’massless, matterless state’ between the material realm and Domain of Void, thus allowing movement at light speed and passing through any material.
But clearly, Aina’s current state isn’t normal; he used some kind of special artifact or has a stronger force residing within him, allowing him to perform a phototransformed surprise attack after charging up, even with Second Energy Level.
How long can a standoff last? Are they going to hold a meeting to distribute the chips?
Instead of dawdling here, why not just seize the opportunity directly!
Seeing this spectacle, everyone present except those from The Empire were furious — this damned Sunbird group always takes advantage with speed that nobody can catch!
The long-repressed anger erupted, and everyone attacked with fury, causing thunder and fire to flare, arrows and sword aura flew, forming a tight net of attack aimed at Aina.
"Can’t blame me, everyone else was just too slow."
Confronting an attack that could kill him several times over, Aina simply chuckled with a gentle smile, completely unconcerned.
He reached out and pressed on the Crystal Cabinet, his body once again transformed into light and disappeared.
However this time, only he disappeared.
The Crystal Cabinet remained in place.
Boom! Numerous Origin Quality attacks smashed into the Crystal Cabinet, shocking everyone, but the result was unexpected — the surface of the Crystal Cabinet flashed with a chain of glowing lines, faint but present, effectively blocking everyone’s attacks.
"Does this light curtain nullify all Origin Quality movements?"
Aina, empty-handed, looked at his hand in confusion. He was certain he had pressed the Crystal Cabinet and indeed input his Origin Quality, granting the Crystal Cabinet the ability to temporarily phototransform along with him.
But just as he was about to flee with the ’target’, Aina was astonished to find the Crystal Cabinet lighting up with intricate patterns, precisely counteracting all the Origin Quality and changes he inputted, maintaining its original ’form’.
’Static’. Or rather, ’Unchanging’. This is the effect of the ’Inscription Circuit’ maintained on the Crystal Cabinet.
Aina’s sneak attack failed, but he at least broke the stalemate.
"Kill!" "Stop them!" "Organize formations, don’t fight individually!"
The previously balanced stalemate form was shattered, and all teams were fighting in chaos, while the leaders rushed toward the Crystal Cabinet as fast as possible.
— Stand in my way and die! Though Gaer really wanted to utter this phrase he found cool since childhood, this time he had no energy to speak. Simultaneously controlling two High-Frequency Oscillation Blades, he had just stepped forward, readying himself to become a whirlwind of death when the leader of the Yanjiang Exploration Team, codenamed ’Caller of the Deceased’, blocked him.
Death essentially signifies tranquility; this nearly thirty-year-old Foxya person’s inheritance is the rare Domain of Void Bloodline ’Shadow of No Light’, and his Spirit Energy is the ’Stagnation of Physical Phenomena’.
Accompanied by the rolling and spreading of pitch-black shadows from underfoot, Gaer’s speed was reduced to that of an ant’s crawl, even the high-frequency oscillations of the knife and sword were restored to ordinary high-speed vibrations, emitting a harsh screeching across the plaza.