Chapter: Chapter 226
“Is the amount enough?” The mercenary stood before the massive blue energy shield, coldly watching the glasses-wearing man operate the huge machine.
The machine resembled a giant cannon, its muzzle pointed at the blue energy shield. A blood-red beam was spewed from the muzzle, continuously striking the blue shield.
Under the uninterrupted impact, the blue light shield rippled, and its function of blocking vision was almost lost.
Everyone present could see what was inside the protective shield: a massive black shadow that resembled a small mountain.
A hint of fanaticism flashed in the eyes of the glasses-wearing man. His dream was finally about to come true – obtaining the divine artifact and reaching the pinnacle of life. The beautiful picture of his future life was slowly unfolding before his eyes.
However, a few lines of text appearing on the operation screen suddenly soured his mood. He frowned, clicked a few times on the screen, and then looked up at the mercenary, saying, “Not enough, still a bit short.”
“I brought five people this time, and it’s still not enough?” The mercenary’s eyes widened. He had only brought four people before; bringing five this time should have been more than enough.
“The quality of these five people isn’t as high as the previous ones. The destructive factors within them can only consume the sealed energy to about one-tenth remaining,” the glasses-wearing man explained, looking at the readings displayed on the screen.
The screen currently showed five human icons. Three of them had turned gray, one was in the process of changing from yellow to gray, and the last one was still a healthy green.
On the other end of the screen, the energy readings of the energy shield were displayed. Compared to when it was first discovered, the energy shield had already been weakened by more than half.
“Where am I supposed to find more people for you now?” the mercenary said, exasperated. These five were all he could find who met the criteria.
Originally, there was a pair of sisters on his capture list, but on the day he acted, the sisters suddenly disappeared.
The people the mercenary sent out squatted outside the sisters’ house for a long time but didn’t wait for anyone to appear.
With no other choice, the mercenary could only bring the five captured individuals here.
“There is some good news. After the seal is significantly weakened, even if our destruction stops, it will continue to disintegrate on its own,” the glasses-wearing man sighed. The seal could indeed be broken, but time – time might not be enough.
He couldn’t expect the other forces that were also coveting the divine artifact to be slow-witted, especially the organization that had a deep connection with the artifact.
Once they discovered the secret here, everything would become uncertain.
“Alright, I’ll go back and look again.” The mercenary, now on the same boat as the glasses-wearing man, didn’t say anything more. “I’ll leave two teams here to protect your safety. I’ll contact you as soon as I have any news.”
This was to prevent the glasses-wearing man from monopolizing the divine artifact within the seal if it broke prematurely. Having been around in society for so many years, the mercenary no longer believed in any sweet talk. Cooperation was just a more pleasant way of saying mutual exploitation.
If he were in the same situation, and had the chance to ditch his partner and monopolize the divine artifact, he would definitely do so.
The glasses-wearing man had no objections; his attention was entirely focused on the seal that was about to be broken.
“I think you’ve lost your mind.” The mercenary shook his head and turned to leave the secret base located deep in the ocean.
He didn’t notice that as he turned to leave, the massive shadow within the seal slowly opened its eyes. Its cloudy eyes were filled with madness and brutality. A total of six eyes indicated the monster’s non-human identity. Strangely, no one noticed that the monster within the seal had opened its eyes. To them, the black shadow was still lying obediently in place, without any movement.
…
“This energy reaction must be a divine artifact!” Yang shouted in surprise from the high-altitude aircraft. He tapped a few more times on the panel in front of him, reconfirming the accuracy of the energy reaction.
A divine artifact. So, all the strange things happening here were because of a divine artifact? A drop of cold sweat seeped from Yang’s forehead. With their ability, he and Frost couldn’t handle incidents directly related to a divine artifact. Even with support from headquarters, it would only be barely enough, and a single misstep could lead to disaster. They needed a senior divine envoy to be relatively safe, but where could they find a senior divine envoy now?
“The divine artifact’s reaction is still relatively weak; it might still be sealed. Based on the current strengthening trend, we only have a day at most,” Frost’s expression also turned serious. While she could be lazy normally, she couldn’t slack off at a time like this.
“One day, that’s not enough. We can at most bring support over from the shore. Even if headquarters sends high-level divine envoys, it won’t be in time,” Yang operated the screen quickly. “I’ll report to headquarters first and see what they say.”
“This is the only way now. I hope there happens to be a senior divine envoy nearby,” Frost said helplessly. She had initially thought this was a very ordinary mission, never expecting such a terrifying thing to be hiding behind it.
…
Under the vast, boundless starry sky, a woman draped in a white robe stood quietly before seven tall stone statues. No matter how much time passed, she remained unmoving, as if she herself was one of the stone statues. Only when a sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence of the space did the woman slowly turn her head and look at the anxious approaching person.
“Master, the seventh reserve team has sent a message from the East Sea. They’ve detected energy reactions of a divine artifact in the East Sea!”
The East Sea, a divine artifact? The woman frowned slightly; this was somewhat unexpected. Her gaze shifted to the seven stone statues of different shapes. “The one in the East Sea, is it an old friend of yours?”
As her voice faded, the stone statues lit up one by one, and seven phantom figures made of starlight appeared before the woman.
“The East Sea… it’s probably that dead salted fish. The area she was active in before being sealed was in the East Sea region, so it’s highly likely to be her,” one of the figures glowing green replied. “She has a decent temper; it should be solvable through peaceful means.”
“That would be good… I remember Sasha is on a liaison mission in Seashore City. Let her handle it.” Receiving a somewhat satisfactory answer, a faint smile appeared on the woman’s face.
…
“I really don’t understand why you, a Westerner, would choose this place to negotiate with us,” Sasha said, holding a cup of coffee and curiously examining the blonde girl sitting across from her. “It wouldn’t be this troublesome, would it? Miss Shirley.”
Shirley lowered her head, looking at her cup. After a long while, she finally looked up and replied, “It’s just on the way. Some interesting things have happened here, and the cult leader sent me to take a look.”
“Never mind, your thoughts aren’t my concern. I just want to know, what is your decision?” Sasha brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip. “Is this coffee a bit too bitter?”
Suddenly, her phone in her pocket began to vibrate. Sasha took out her phone and her expression changed drastically. It was a call from headquarters. Had something happened at headquarters?
“Please, go ahead.” Shirley smiled.
“Excuse me.” Sasha walked aside with a solemn expression to take the call.
After a brief exchange, Sasha’s expression turned even worse. Hanging up the phone, she quickly returned to her seat and said to Shirley, “I have to go on a mission soon, but before that, we can still chat for a bit.”
“We need to know your decision, which will determine our subsequent action strategy.”
“I’m sorry, this isn’t something I can promise, but I believe the cult leader will make a decision that satisfies all of us,” Shirley said softly, though even she didn’t believe what she was saying. The cult leader’s temperament had become increasingly volatile recently. If he were forced to make a choice at this time, that choice would undoubtedly lead to extremely serious consequences.
However, the conditions set by the Divine Throne were indeed too harsh. Even members like Shirley, who were relatively communicative, found the conditions unacceptable, let alone the fanatics.
“Although I haven’t dealt with your cult leader, my colleagues don’t have many good things to say about him,” Sasha shook her head, indicating that this answer was insufficient. “If this is your stance, I will report it to headquarters.”
“Yes, this is my answer.” Shirley looked up, a hint of struggle in her eyes. She knew that once she said this, the small town thousands of miles away would likely be shrouded in the shadow of war. But she could only say it, because none of this was within her control or ability to change. She was just a messenger, and a camera to watch the show.
The Divine Throne’s requirements were unacceptable to the cult leader, and how could the cult leader’s requirements be acceptable to the Divine Throne? The two organizations were destined for a great war from the moment they became aware of each other, and the outcome was undoubtedly that the Divine Throne would achieve victory. The only question was how many losses the Divine Throne would sustain.
“Alright, it seems our last contact has also ended in failure,” Sasha sighed. “Next, our master will have a final communication with your cult leader. If that one is also like this, then Miss Shirley, you’ll probably have to find a new job.”
Confidence. Sasha’s tone carried an unquestionable confidence. She believed the Divine Throne would achieve the final victory. Shirley’s expression, however, was not good. She also firmly believed that the Divine Throne would achieve the final victory. After all, their organization rose to prominence by chance by obtaining a divine artifact, and most of the difficulties they encountered before were resolved with the help of the artifact.
But when facing the Divine Throne, the artifact was completely useless. You had an artifact to hold your ground, but the Divine Throne had many more divine artifacts than you. You pull out one artifact, and they pull out four or five at once. What’s the point of fighting? You can’t fight; you’re doomed to lose. Reality is this tragic.
“But while our relationship hasn’t completely broken down yet, can you tell me about your intelligence regarding this place?” Sasha offered a disingenuous smile. “It would be more convenient for you to find a new job later, right?”
Wow, they’re already poaching people to their face? Shirley’s eyes widened. She had seen shameless people, but she had never seen anyone so shameless. Their respective organizations were about to go to war, and at this time, someone from the Divine Throne’s hierarchy was asking her for intelligence, and even saying it would make it easier to find a new job. What did that mean?
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll give you false information?”
“No, I don’t believe everything you say. Plus, we have our own intelligence channels, and we can compare to know if what you’re saying is true or false. Besides, you wouldn’t want to joke about your own future, would you?” Sasha said with a smile. “Actually, among your organization, I’m the only one who sees eye to eye with you. Everyone else is simply unbearable. Compared to you, Miss Shirley…”
“Don’t flatter me at this time. Alas, I don’t even know if this information is true. If you’re willing to listen, then listen.” Shirley shook her head. She had to admit that what Sasha said made some sense. Having more friends meant more options, and she didn’t want to be buried with that eccentric cult leader.
And this information here had no connection to headquarters. Exchanging this intelligence, which was useless to them, for some benefits was quite worthwhile. Shirley didn’t have much intelligence; she only knew some vague information. “You probably know the effect of the divine artifact that our cult leader possesses, right?”
“I’ve heard a little.”
“The cult leader received a message from that deity, saying that a divine artifact would appear here soon, so he sent me to take a look and, if possible, bring the divine artifact back to headquarters.”
Sasha’s expression suddenly became fascinating. She looked Shirley up and down and finally couldn’t help but speak, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re just an ordinary person, aren’t you? You don’t even have superpowers.” To send a perfectly ordinary, delicate girl to snatch a divine artifact? Wasn’t this like sending a lamb to the slaughter? Either the cult leader was out of his mind, or Shirley’s position in that organization was awkward. Well, it was more likely that both were true. In an organization full of lunatics, someone like Shirley, who was still somewhat sane, was undoubtedly an anomaly. There were probably quite a few people who wanted to get rid of her.
“Alas, the cult leader probably has his own reasons,” Shirley said, a sentence even she didn’t believe. “However, after my investigation these past few days, I have indeed found some things worth paying attention to. For example, the organization hidden in the dark alley, led by someone named Mercenary.”
