"So, that means you have uncovered the secret plan of the evil organisation and yet failed to do anything against it, right?" Momentarily, Alex's sharp words choked Ethan. He was never expecting a question like that when he was revealing his deepest, darkest experience.
For a moment, he didn't know how to respond. Yet, he took a breath and calmly explained his situation.
"Hm… It is the reality that I have to live with. Not a day goes by without me thinking about my failures. Each time, I wish I could have done more. But in the end, I cannot rewind back time. No one can." Ethan accepted the blame wholeheartedly.
Alex didn't know Ethan quite well. And he had no reason to completely believe every one of his words. So, he was cautious when dealing with him.
But learning about his experience, Alex had a newfound appreciation towards this man. It's often one's actions that show their true character rather than their words. Most people are capable of lying, and some are extremely well-versed in it. But few can stand behind their words and show the world their authentic self.
Ethan was proving his worth by answering Alex's question. He was a man who travelled far and wide to procure food for the people in his land. When the famine struck his land, he didn't abandon them. He was willing to sell anything necessary to procure food for them.
And when the world turned against him, destroyed his mana core. Even when his father abandoned him. He didn't turn into a bitter human being. He found ways to survive and improve. This shows his perseverance and mental fortitude.
'If this was a novel, he would be the hero. Having him as a friend is way better than having Kalina as a friend.' Alex concluded.
"It still doesn't explain how you became a strong mage. Do you have something to add to that story?"
"No, I rather not reveal the secrets of my bloodline in front of everyone. But if you can trust me, I have much more to say about the evil organisation. Their reach is far and wide, so it is not surprising to see their action spanning decades around the world. And all for the goal of immortality."
"How can you be sure?"
"Due to the recent observation of their actions. I came across some startling information. They gained a breakthrough in human experimentation in the past decade. And it had something to do with their exploration of uninhabited areas in the north of the central continent. My conjuncture is that it is related to the sealed demon in the north."
'That explains a lot. Mysterious sightings of black-robed people. Attack on the ice Phoenix tribe. And their use of unusual skills. Adding all that, it is easy to identify them as people from some other continent. I should have been careful, the greed of humans has no limits. They always want more than they need. Khuh…How similar they are to the people that I know. Humans will never change.' Alex thought.
"Thank you for providing me with the information." While contemplating his future actions, Alex said.
"Huh! You are willing to pay him 400,000 gold coins worth of goods for speculative information?" Suddenly, Kalina who was nearby said.
This slightly irritated Alex.
"Me being patient with you does not mean you can walk all over my head. Kalina, you are too old for your actions to be considered cute anymore." Alex said with a frown.
Kalina was a burden he took on expecting some advantages. But if she can't behave, it's not too bad to cut off the relationship then and there rather than postpone it for another day.
Kalina who was never scolded by anyone other than her grandmother was startled by the revelation. Even though Alex's words were harsh. It grounded her in reality.
Too many people died during the attack. And yet, she had time to joke around. She realised her foolishness. Laya who saw Kalina standing meekly before Alex was perplexed about what her sister had gone through to become like that.
"And for your information. I am not a dragon guarding his treasure trove. I make money to spend it. If not, what use does money have in our life." Alex reproached Kalina once again.
Taka and Ethan nodded their head from the sidelines.
—------
A couple of minutes later, the sky was still pitch black. But the thunderous sound coming from it began to slowly decrease.
It was the calm before the storm.
Instead of small sparks of lightning flying outwards. A giant purple ball of lightning began to form in the centre of the clouds.
It illuminated the entire sky. It made the thick clouds around it scatter away into oblivion revealing a horrifying sight.
A man wearing black robes was creating a giant purple ball of lightning above his head. Small balls of lightning spun around it rhythmically and hypnotically. Anyone who saw would have been mesmerised by it.
But this time, instead of beauty. It was spreading fear among the people who saw this. The battle was coming to a climax.
In front of the man wearing black robes, there were twenty tier 4 warriors and a single tier 5 warrior leading them. It was a group capable of shocking the world when seen together. And yet they were facing a single man. They were the warriors of the thousand-headed serpent tribe. And now, with their leader, they were fighting against the black-robed man.
"Men, this might be our last battle. But we will never allow the foreigner to wreak havoc in our land. Let's protect the people our land, our loved ones and the next generation. Let's show them how the warriors of the thousand-headed serpent tribe respond to our enemies." The leader, the patriarch of the thousand-headed serpent tribe said with a resolute heart. At that moment, he was ready to die.
"CHARGE!" He screamed while activating the exclusive skill of a tier 5 warrior. Spirit Guardian Summoning.
Suddenly a giant snake materialised above him. It was hundreds of meters long shining in azure blue light. The twenty warriors behind him unleashed spirit guardian possession, the exclusive skill of the tier 4 warriors and merged with the giant snake.
As if it had a mind of its own, the snake screamed at the mage creating the giant purple ball of lighting. As soon as it was formed, they attacked simultaneously.
'Was this the shadow of the snake we were seeing from the ground?' Alex was shocked.
Within a quarter of a second, they collided with each other, the giant snake and the purple lightning ball.
"BOOOOOOM"
For a moment it felt like it was the day. The bright light illuminated the entire city.
Alex felt like a nuclear bomb going off in front of him. The shockwave rippled through the atmosphere towards the ground. All the thunderclouds near it were completely cleared. He quickly hid on the farm and let the shockwave pass over before reappearing.
Fortunately, Taka, Kalina and Ethan created a wall of energy simultaneously to counter the shockwave. So, they were unharmed. But even then, you could see the shock in their eyes.
If they were attacked by a similar attack, they would die. There was no other outcome.
'What happened to the people in the centre? Did the people of the thousand-headed serpent tribe survive?' A single thought came to everyone's mind
The dust was clearing and they could slightly peek at what happened.
In the centre of the blast, there was a huge pit a couple of meters in diameter. For hundreds of meters around it, everything was decimated to dust. The building, metal frames, everything was swept off by the shockwave.
Unfortunately, the blast took the place above in the sky, within the distance to create maximum damage. So the whole city was a mess.
"What are those, the floating points of light?" Suddenly someone asked.
The floating light was slowly rising from the ground. It slowly combined in the centre of the crater and formed a small floating ball the size of a tennis ball.
It fluttered in the air for a moment before showing a vision of a giant snake. It had a thousand heads and had a mysterious feeling to it.
Looking at the ground for a moment, it wailed. The dirty corpse below the ground rose up and the dust on their bodies disappeared.
It was the corpses of the twenty-one warriors of the thousand-headed Serpent tribe. Bowing to the brave warriors as if saying goodbye, the illusory image of the thousand-headed serpent dispersed into the atmosphere.
Everyone who saw that felt something rumble inside them. A feeling of awe shook them.
Especially Alex, who never experience something like that felt like something was connecting with him.
[Ding…]
[Data stream found. Extracting data…]
[Analysing data. New energy pathways found. Improving asynchronous energy circulation method. Passive energy circulation has been strengthened.]
Suddenly, A cool feeling originated from his body. Alex felt extremely relaxed and all the fatigue he had accumulated during battle mysteriously disappeared.
[Please gather more data to improve the asynchronous energy circulation method.] In the end, giving a hint, the farm notification stopped.
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