Bruno moved quickly, healing the Fey who was badly injured, then turned to the young woman beside him.
"Let’s go," the whale said to Purimu in a calm tone, and with a nod, all restrictions on her were lifted.
She stared at him, surprised to be freed, but sighed and nodded. Her allies were the priority, and this strange guy really didn’t seem to mean any harm.
"Don’t think I fell for that illusion you put in my mind," she quickly remarked before grabbing the Fey and darting westward.
The whale sighed and followed. Creating false memories wasn’t hard for a powerful cultivator; it was possible to even use a person’s own memories and mind to make them generate a vision inside, like a dream. Showing her other memories wouldn’t help much, but when they met Rivine and Lansha, maybe the misunderstanding would clear up.
Purimu sped ahead, slicing through space and moving at an extreme speed, while the whale just followed her spatial trail. She could’ve blocked it, stopping him from following, but it seemed she wanted him along. Alm and Bruno were satisfied; even if she didn’t trust them, Purimu’s instincts were sharp, and she trusted herself.
’Maybe she trusts herself too much. This brat is way above her entire generation and has way too many responsibilities on her shoulders. That could mess with anyone,’ Alm thought to himself.
’I think we went overboard making the Dire Feys as powerful as possible,’ Bruno muttered. ’She has everything. Yin and Yang come easy to her; because of her demonic ancestry, she can cultivate any demonic technique. The earth laws give her extreme defensive potential... her only flaw is having too many options and different talents.’
Alm agreed. Creating that race was like checking every possible box. They hadn’t thought it through, and maybe adding some limitations would’ve been better for a cultivator’s growth.
It would be a problem if there wasn’t anyone to help guide these talents. Those who have less tend to focus on one thing and go far beyond what’s expected. But having everything handed to them could keep a cultivator from developing the right mindset. However, if this race had good mentors, they could easily become true anomalies.
Within minutes, they reached a chaotic battlefield. The Heavenly Will Alliance was fighting, with clearly a third of their initial forces already lost. Bodies lay strewn across the blood-soaked ground.
Their opponents were demonic beasts of all sizes and types, radiating a strong, bloody aura. But something seemed off.
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
The beasts were surrounding the Alliance members, not advancing to wipe them out completely, even though they had the numbers. They kept just enough pressure on to keep them trapped there in the center. Were they planning to kill them slowly?
Alm and Bruno analyzed the scene and realized the beasts were emanating a strong medicinal aura. All these demonic beasts had powerful physiques and high killing capacity. Now, under the effects of high-level pills, they held a huge advantage as Empyreans of equal level.
’That’s a sacrifice pill,’ Alm noted, sensing the beasts’ vitality weakening slowly. ’But it seems the effects are more intense for those actively fighting. The ones standing back are hardly losing vitality. That’s why they’re attacking at the bare minimum.’
Bruno nodded, quickly realizing something. The goal of this treasure hunt was to find Soul-Wind Gems. With the beasts under a sacrifice pill’s effect, they’d likely avoid unnecessary fights.
Of course, stealing from others was also effective, but everyone here was a Sovereign Empyrean; no one was weak, and fights were always risky. Even if they won and lost only a few, the winning beasts would still be drained as the pill consumed their vitality. It would be smarter to use everyone to search a large area rather than to fight.
They figured it out fast but still wondered why they hadn’t spotted the beast leader. Just as they thought this, Purimu growled beside them.
"Give me my saber back! I’ll end this!"
"No. You’re just one person, and clearly too emotional. If the beasts feel threatened, they’ll start killing faster to affect you, and you’ll break down. You’d die before even reaching your allies," Alm replied bluntly.
"Who do you think you are? I’m their general! I’m not going to sit here and watch them die!" she shot back, while the whale huffed.
"Calm down…"
Alm stopped mid-sentence, as Bruno had just spotted the beasts’ leader. He was among the massive demonic beasts, almost hiding. His aura was suppressed to the maximum, and he was barely over five feet tall.
It was a familiar figure, looking exactly as before. A type of demonic fish, his claws still small, his scales softer than menacing. His big, round eyes with a faint bluish hue reflected an almost innocent glow, adding to an appearance that belied his monstrous heritage.
It was the juvenile, still-developing form of the fearsome Leviathan. This young one was a helper of the heroes, left in the queen’s universe. (Chapters 729/731)
"Heze?" murmured the whale, and the small creature seemed to hear, turning to face them immediately.
"YOU!" he shouted.
The whale sighed. Somehow, even after all these years, the young one hadn’t physically matured.
For high-level beasts, natural growth could take hundreds of years; that’s why they typically used beast-exclusive nourishment methods to grow faster. A child of a noble beast bloodline should demand an incredible amount of resources. For him to still look like this, the young one must be going through serious challenges.
Bruno reflected. When they met Heze, they didn’t feel he was malicious or bloodthirsty. So, he turned to Purimu and stared at her seriously.
"Brat, what were your orders for everyone?"
"Kill any invaders, obviously!" She responded, spitting in fury.
The whale turned to Heze from a distance. "Did you start this?"
Heze yelled from far away: "These idiots think they’re in charge! I said I needed to find something and that I would leave after getting it. I even said I’d go in alone and offered my Soul-Wind Gems. But they’re irrational and bloodthirsty!"
"You beast, you killed..." Purimu started to speak, but stopped, swallowing hard.
She turned to the whale and found his cold, extremely disappointed gaze. This made her feel something deeply bad and indescribable.
"It wasn’t him who killed these people. It was you," Alm said dryly. "Giving an order to protect everyone is one thing, but creating a mindset of arrogance and inflexibility... A mediocre leader creates mediocre soldiers."
"You... those are superior orders..."
"Enough," Alm interrupted her with a sigh. "Still trying to blame others? You’re the one leading them. Didn’t you choose to gather everyone here and control an area?"
She murmured, "If we unite, we can win... Ladies Rivine and Lansha must have done the same..."
"No. They trust their soldiers because they trained them personally. For sure, they moved alone and knew their subordinates would venture off on their own, then naturally reunite," he replied, cutting her off mercilessly.
"You don’t trust your allies and want to protect all your people, acting like the rest are your enemies. But people think differently and have their own goals. Your allies are not a burden you have to carry. Who do you think you are? The almighty Celestial Princess above everyone? You protect your friends who worship you, but those who disagree with you must die?"
She was clearly stunned, but Alm continued, uncaring.
"No one can protect anyone alone, everyone must grow, even if it’s dangerously; only then can they become strong. As for you... strong leadership isn’t just about power, it’s also about acting correctly. It wasn’t these young people who started this war, you can’t just go around killing everyone because of it. Even in war, a good leader can guide their soldiers’ actions without creating a hostile and inflexible environment. You’re a mediocre, arrogant brat."
"No, I..." She tried to argue, but the whale walked away and headed toward Heze, leaving her behind.
Heze, in turn, had already ordered his allies to stop the attack. Those from the alliance, in the center, seeing their leader there and the beasts retreating, fell silent, confused.
"How are you here? I heard you were attacked by the Heaven-Defier," Heze quickly commented as the whale approached.
Alm and Bruno watched him closely, instinctively sensing something hidden. His eyes briefly shone with celestial soul power. Heze froze when he saw the glow, but it lasted less than a second.
"Does your father live in this sealed world?" the whale asked directly, and Heze’s eyes widened.
"How... how do you know that?" he murmured, incredulous.
The whale snorted. Now, thanks to his celestial soul, he could see something hidden, invisible before.
The answer echoed in the young man’s mind: ’You asked two questions, and the answer to both is the same. I am the Heaven-Defier.’