Chapter 1937: Devastating News From The Aurora Continent
Taking a deep breath, Grey studied the crystal orb he took from the Gnome who was an Arraymaster during the first mission after his return to Red City. He has been studying this crystal orb for some time now with little to no progress as to how it was made. Since returning from the last expedition, he acknowledged his strength is still lacking compared to those Peak Sovereigns and wished to improve his strength. Although he wanted to grow stronger, he also knew there was no rush to it as it would do him no good if he broke through in a haste. So during his breaks from cultivation, he would either focus his time on this crystal orb, spending some time with Cori and Eisendrache, and then taking control of the Gnome’s Race Seventh Prince to see if he could obtain any information.
Time flew by as days turned to weeks.
On this day, Grey was studying a set of array formations drawn on a small wooden plaque when he felt a surge of essence rushing in a particular direction. Raising his head, he looked in the direction thoughtfully before disappearing.
When he reappeared, he was standing outside a small building not too far from his old house. This was the place Alice was using for her secluded cultivation.
Klaus and Reynolds soon arrived beside Grey.
“She’s finally breaking through.”Klaus commented, staring at the building.
Grey took a glance at the duo and noticed Reynolds had broken through to the Seventh stage of the Sovereign Plane. Alice was about to break through to the Seventh stage as well which would put most of them in the Seventh stage, with the exception of Grey who was already an Eighth stage Sovereign. The group did not stand out for long before Alice stepped out from the building, seeing the group waiting to congratulate her as she stepped out, a smile blossomed on Alice’s face.
After the round of congratulations, she suggested they have a sparring session. Leaving Red City, the group went some kilometers away before picking a good spot to spar. They spent a few hours there before returning to Red City. After returning to Red City, they all went back to what they were doing.
A month and half went by in this peaceful manner before Grey and his friends were finally given another mission. According to the information, a City was destroyed and the culprits were most likely Gnomes, it was confirmed that there were no Peak Sovereigns or Ninth stage Sovereigns there. Learning from the incident of the last expedition, they made sure they sent out two Peak Sovereigns to ensure they could deal with any unforeseen events.
It took them about eight hours of constant flying and use of Grey’s multiple space arrays set up to get to their destination. During each of their journeys, Grey always sets up these teleportation arrays to make traveling in that direction easier next time. These teleportation arrays have shown their usefulness over the past weeks they’ve spent in the Azure Continent.
The destruction the Gnomes left in their wake shook the group to their core when they arrived at the City. The entire City had been flattened, corpses and blood could be seen all over with smoke rising to the air from different parts of the City. All four were infuriated at the sight of the City.
Grey could sense the aura of the Gnomes some distance away from the City and informed the others. A few minutes later, they arrived before a dried up river bed. A large number of Humans could be seen with chains on their necks, connecting one person to another forming a long line. From a single glance, Grey counted over three hundred people.
When they caught up to the Gnomes, they did not immediately attack. Surveying the area, they realized there were about thirty Gnomes and the strongest was only a Sixth stage Sovereign. If they attacked without ensuring the safety of the people captured, the Gnomes would be able to kill some of them if they knew they could not escape. Coming up with a plan, Grey went ahead of the Gnomes, laying out a simple array formation he could use to ensure the safety of the three hundred plus people. Once he was done, all they had to do was wait for the Gnomes to pass through the path.
Thirty minutes later, the Gnomes were all dead and not a single person was hurt by the Gnomes. Although the Gnomes had more people, the disparity in strength is just too great. Coupled with the fact that Grey’s group had been reigning in their anger since they laid eyes on the City, the Gnomes stood no chance and were wiped out in almost an instant.
The Humans captured were released and escorted to a neighboring City that had the protection of a Seventh stage Sovereign. Different forces sent out their Sovereigns to help keep some of these Cities safe. Unfortunately, there is only so much a single Sovereign can do against a large group of Gnomes with multiple Sovereigns in the same stage as the Human Sovereign.
The group returned back to Red City after completing that task, and only after a week, they were called out for another mission. It was as if the Gnomes were more active as they were multiple reports of Gnomes attacking Cities or Towns. The entirety of the Azure Continent entered a state of panic as most of the environs were clueless about their attackers. Even with those stationed in Red City taking action, the movements of the Gnomes became even more rampant. More people have been sent to the Azure Continent, but it still was not enough,
A group of ten were gathered, including Grey and his friends, along with Lucas and a few others.
“Did they give a reason why they can’t send more help?” Lucas asked the man dressed in black robes with a calm voice, his eyes betraying his calmness.
“A large number of Half God Plane Gnomes were discovered close to the borders of the Eastern Territory, if it’s not dealt with as soon as possible, we will be in serious trouble.” The man in black robes explained.
The anger in Lucas’ eyes softened when he heard this, shock surfacing on his face, “When did this happen?”
“A week ago. They attacked one of the Buckley Family, almost wiping them out. Fortunately their Family Head was able to send most of their core members out in time.”
Lucas sat upright, “The number one Arraymasters Family?”
The man in black robes nodded.
Lucas remained quiet for some time, clearly shaken by the news. The Buckley Family was not just a top Family in the Aurora Continent, it was also a Family that had the highest number of top Arraymasters in the Aurora Continent and their value was immeasurable. Hearing that they were almost wiped out by the Gnomes took Lucas by surprise. This matter was indeed more serious than what was happening here, it was just that he could not sit with folded arms and watch thousands of people die. Sighing, he looked outside, staring in the direction of the mountain where his wife was cultivating. It has been two months or so since she entered this state, and her condition has been the same since then. He had even tried to subtly wake her from her stage of cultivation, failing during each attempt. It was clear she was engrossed in cultivating.
Grey saw his father staring in the direction of the mountain and knew what his father was probably thinking about. If not for his mother being in a vulnerable state due to her cultivation, his father would have been able to go out and help more. However, he could not bear to leave his mother here even under the protection of someone else and Grey appreciated the care his father had for his mother.
Seeing that no one else was speaking, Grey suggested, “Why don’t I, Klaus, Alice and Reynolds go out and take out any Gnome camp we see on the way.”
Although this method would take a lot of time, since they knew there were no other portals here that could bring in Half God Plane Sovereigns, Grey was confident he would be able to escape from the hands of a Peak Sovereign. The group has been going out and back frequently, so this was no different, only they would stay out for a longer period and actively search for camps instead of waiting for any news.
Lucas did not have any issues with this as the group has handled themselves really well over the past weeks and he was even confident enough not to send any Peak Sovereigns after them any longer. The man in black robes took a glance at Grey and his friends before bidding farewell to Lucas and leaving.
Grey’s group went out a few hours later after preparing for the trip.