Chapter 954 Are you still the same?
Edward's visit and Rex's departure changed Dargena City's routine almost instantly.
Under the guidance of Adhara who was in charge of the defense, and with the help of Gelmar, some citizens who were either a worker or a farmer with considerable strength was taken and turned into guards to bolster the guards' number and reinforce the city.
A system has also been placed by Adhara's decree.
For better protection from potential attacks, the more experienced were told to be scouts.
Some of the citizens were quickly strengthened through the Servant of the Lunar Formation and surprisingly able to use their racial abilities again despite the First Breath's suppression, meaning that they had reached the sixth-rank realm threshold.
Of course, unlike the Ruler's Blessing formation, this lasted a limited amount of time.
But it would suffice for scouting.
When the effect ran out, the scouts could come back and use the formation again.
Since the formation hasn't been used at all, it accumulated a lot of moonlight energy throughout the night and could be used several times. Adhara judged that it would be enough for quite some time.
It was done mainly because Adhara deduced that the current scouts were not enough.
The Dark Elves were still putting up their end of the deal, becoming the eyes in the Humming Damned Forest for potential attackers. However, their quota was reduced greatly due to the potential trouble coming to the Dark Elf Kingdom.
Due to that reason, Edward came through without any notice from them.
Obviously, there were blindspots in the forest.
In addition, Evelyn also issued a project to find more inhabitants for the city.
Despite it seeming like the reasoning is forefront, when Adhara asked, Evelyn said that the Supernaturals' citizens feel suppressed and uncomfortable with the new, thousands of human citizens brought by Lady Lauren and Sir Daniel.
None of the Humans were hostile, but it's natural for the minority to be uneasy.
It's going to save them from internal trouble in the long run if they handle it right now.
Thus, Evelyn wanted to change that, and Adhara agreed.
Dindora had been assigned to oversee this big project, and he was responsible for leading several groups to scour the outskirts near the Great Barricade. Many of the Supernaturals who had managed to escape the human territory before the emergence of Intra Technology might be residing in that vicinity.
As a result, it had become their primary target area for the initial search.
Out of the three future generals of the city, Dindora was surprisingly the fastest to reach the mid-seventh rank realm. She outgrew the other, but then again, the environment is perfect for a Dryad like her so it's not that surprising.
So because of that, she was the one leading the groups.
Just a mere visit from Edward caused an immense transformation in the city as its location is now exposed, posing a significant threat to the citizens. As a result, the city erupted into a flurry of activity, with its people fervently preparing to defend their newfound home.
Even the outer appearance change of the city didn't garner much attention.
It shows how focused the citizens were.
Meanwhile, after settling the matters, Adhara went to the Cluster Domains to cultivate.
Having time at her disposal, she refused to squander it on idleness when she could venture to the Cluster Domain to further her strength. On the other hand, Evelyn made her way to Kyran's room so that she could find and inform Naela about the situation.
Opening the door, she saw Naela seemed to be telling Kyran a story on the bed.
Since her last visit to check on Kyran, she noted a significant improvement in his appearance, he had become better. His pallor had receded, and it appeared that the influence of the Ice and Snow Full Moon was gradually waning.
It was hurtful to think that this was Calidora's doing, but she couldn't say anything.
Although she wanted Calidora to have nothing to do with them, she would be deemed selfish as that would mean Kyran staying in his state for years. She couldn't jeopardize this, so she chose to endure the pain.
Evelyn knocked on the opened door, trying to pull Naela's attention to her.
Upon hearing the knocks, Naela turned and saw Evenly standing by the door in wait.
"Naela, can I talk to you outside?" Evelyn asked.
Having no reason to refuse, Naela nodded her head and came out of the room. It was then Evelyn told her that she shouldn't neglect her training as the environment was perfect for her, and she should've taken this opportunity better.
Of course, this surprised Naela as this wasn't a problem before.
Some might say that Evelyn is taking a step too far by telling her this, but there was no point in Naela babysitting Kyran when he would not wake up any time soon. It would be better for her to get stronger so that she could provide help for the city.
Because when the time comes, the city will need every strength it has.
"I don't want to sound rude or force you to do something when you're not ready, but the situation has changed, the city might be attacked in the near days. You have already been given enough time, so I hope you understand" Evelyn explained herself in the most, polite way she to not offend Naela.
Contrary to what Evelyn expected, Naela accepted this way better.
She nodded in understanding, it's a difficult time, so this doesn't come as a surprise.
"But can I check on Kyran once or twice a day?" She eventually asked.
Upon hearing this, Evelyn nodded without a second thought, "Of course you could, it's not like I told you to not do that. As long as you can keep your focus on training and get stronger, then it's not a problem"
With that, Evelyn excused herself and went out of the castle again.
Now, she quickly headed back to her bed chamber and changed into her royal red robe once again as she would need to call Lady Lauren and Sir Daniel back to the city, and this would mean that she also would need to explain the reason for retrieving them back to the Dark Elf and the Tigerman race.
It's going to be hard to explain, but she believed she could do it.
Especially since by now, the Rastrikan Demons' defeat by Rex has probably reached them.
'Diplomatic relations should be my job as the Luna, I can do it. Father had trained me for something like this throughout my life, so this is nothing' Evelyn pondered and quickly headed out, heading to the teleportation formation.
Going there is easy now that the allied kingdoms are connected.
One use of teleportation formation would send him straight to their kingdoms.
~
Meanwhile, back to Rex.
Along the way, the three of them weren't saying anything to each other.
Rex initially thought that Edward came here via some kind of teleportation or transportation, but it seems like he wasn't he came here by foot instead. Then again, he might be probing the area in search of Dargena City.
It's still a secluded place, the Humming Damned Forest provides that perfect cover.
But that didn't stop him from not finding the city.
Furthermore, because of this, the three only reached a considerable distance from Dargena City in a little bit under three hours. A slowpoke compared to going with transportation such as a mutated beast or something because of the First Breath.
Additionally, Rex couldn't lie, but he was very much exhausted right now.
Battling for a couple of days straight shouldn't be a problem for him, but the problem was the fact that in the last couple of days, he was exerting everything he had. I was doing too much, I was too excited and now I'm exhausted'
Rex's frown deepens as he tries to keep his body functioning and his energy stable.
Fighting Demon Lord Ranath and Olgaroz, especially, is very taxing.
He wanted to vent his frustration because of the incident he had done, so he went overboard and caused his energy and stamina to run low. Had Demon Lord Kirgil was not weakened, then he would definitely not be able to stand.
If Demon Lord Kirgil could still cast his Hell Ruination, things would not go this way.
Due to that, his body is suffering from exhaustion right now.
Maybe earlier, the vigor from seeing Edward might've suppressed this immense exhaustion.
But it slowly came back to him, causing him to slow down immensely.
Since Rex and Edward are matching Ryze's speed, they were thankfully not going as fast, or else Edward would've noticed him getting slower by now. "Rex, I have a question," Ryze whispered. "I heard about the First Breath, so how come the Executor seeks a fight with the Supernaturals now"
Fighting the Supernaturals right now is quite foolish.
Compared to Awakened which relies on elemental energy which was suppressed by the First Breath, most of the Supernaturals have superior strength, the Werewolves and the Demons for instance are the strongest in this current moment.
Surely, the Executor knows about this, and thus Ryze found this confusing.
Upon hearing this, Rex paused and cast a glance at Edward, leading them to the very front.
He then signaled to Ryze to slow down, creating some distance between them and Edward before he manifested his elemental energy to envelop them, ensuring their conversation remained private. "I can't say for sure why," he began, "but I'm planning to rescue Gistella when the opportunity arises"
Ryze frowned when he heard this.
No matter how much he pondered, he couldn't think of a reason why Gistella got there.
"How did she get there in the first place?" Ryze asked.
Rex shook his head in return, "It's a long story, and you haven't had the chance to meet with the troublemaker. But in short, me, Adhara, and Evelyn fought, and she was trying to fix the problem by going to the Executor"
Listening to this attentively, Ryze nodded repeatedly in response.
On the other hand, Rex is observing his expressions, looking at him with a peculiar look.
Of course, I lied. I knew why the Executor wanted to fight the Supernaturals. He wanted to reach the Symposium as soon as possible, impatient if I had to say. But you don't have to know that, Ryze... I haven't cleared you from suspicion yet.
Adhara's assumption was spot on.
Despite accepting Ryze back, Rex doesn't trust him fully like he used to.
Rex even deliberately told him that he was going to try to rescue Gistella, which he had no intention of doing if the situation for her was not that bad. He said this so that he could test whether Ryze was an intel of the enemy or not.
Even throughout the way, he has been paying close attention to Edward's expression.
He was surprised to see Ryze earlier, but that was about it.
But by telling this lie to Ryze, Rex could easily verify whether he was a spy or not if the information somehow spread. This situation provided the perfect opportunity to assess whether he could trust Ryze or not, which was precisely why he had brought Ryze along.
In another couple of hours, Rex decided to break the silence with Edward.
"So, tell me, how does it feel to be corrupted? Are you still the same?" He asked.
Upon hearing this, Edward glanced over his shoulder to look at him. Rex didn't give a chance for him to say anything and continued, "Was your soul taken by him?? Did your memories become hazy? Or perhaps, are you nothing but a shell of another being?"
"Oh, so we're talking now?" He mused teasingly. "Nothing much, really"
"Just like you who turns out to be a Werewolf, I feel nothing much changed except for me becoming stronger. And as for your curiosity, my soul is intact, my memories are fine, and I'm pretty much the same person as the one you knew" He added with a peculiar tone.
Catching this tone, Rex's eyes squinted, "Hmm, Is that so? Good for you, good for you..."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢