Above The Sky
Chapter 574 - 574 543 Crisis in the Avak Region 23

574: Chapter 543 Crisis in the Avak Region (2/3) 574: Chapter 543 Crisis in the Avak Region (2/3) The camp of the Knight Order of Inspectorate looked quite ordinary, just a typical wartime semi-underground position, but due to the fact that all members were Sublimators, many permanent fortifications had been constructed around the camp, including pillboxes and towers.

“Why are there so many Lost Souls and Phantasms in this damned place?

Is it because Duke Sorin’s people never hold Sacrificial Rites for the dead or summon Clerics for purification?”

Tres joked with the Knights of the Order who were registering, and the latter humorously replied, “I know you’re kidding, but if it were our Imperial People, I might find it unlikely.”

“But you have to realize, this is a meld of the Spirit Wisdom Institute and the Fiery Flame Land—knowing the two as I do, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they tried to force Lost Souls to work for them.”

After registration, the group headed directly into the depths of the Avak Domain.

There was a number of similar teams, so there was nothing suspicious about their presence.

Ian, following the instructions of Michael, recited the full name of the Second Prince inside the vehicle.

“Michael Setar.”

The instant he uttered the name, Ian’s Foresight View observed something resonating with his voice within the camp, which then transformed into a subtle fluctuation of Spirit Energy.

This fluctuation of Spirit Energy, in tandem with light, quickly took shape from the moonlight, becoming a stream of light brighter than the surrounding moonbeams, converging inside the vehicle, and eventually coalescing onto Ian’s shoulder as a Light Bird.

[Oh, sorry, Miss Fairy, I didn’t mean to take your spot.

Greetings to the both of you as well, scholars]

Because the Frost Butterfly was seated there, the Light Bird startled the Little Fairy when it took shape, but the Second Prince’s ‘Heartlight Body’ promptly apologized, also noding to Hua’an and Mo Feng, who were already aware of this.

He spread his wings and flew in front of Ian: [Good, no one noticed my arrival.

Entrusting you with this matter is very reassuring]

“Your Highness, what should we do next?”

Ian asked more directly about the mission, to which the Second Prince casually replied, [You just carry on with your own tasks, I’ll help keep watch.

When the time comes, I will tell you what to do next, and after it’s done, you can withdraw]

—No details were given.

So Ian thought, expecting Michael to say more as he had before, but this time he was quite reticent.

During this time, Tres had also returned to the command carriage, ready to discuss the next course of action with Ian.

But the first thing he saw upon entering was the Light Bird.

The Knight’s eyes widened, and he nearly blurted it out.

However, as someone who had been an undercover operative for eight years without blowing his cover, Tres quickly composed himself after his initial shock, pretending as if he ‘saw nothing,’ and reported to Ian, ‘We can commence,’ before turning to leave the command vehicle.

[Is this the individual you chose?

His qualities are indeed good, and your judgment is sharp]

The Second Prince nodded slightly, naturally not paying attention to an ordinary Second Energy Level Knight like Tres, but a Sublimator’s memory did allow him to recall the name and deeds of Tres: [The main force in cracking the Fiery Flame Land kidnapping case, a key trainee of Frost Trace.

Hmm, a talent indeed, and certainly related to this affair, he may also be privy to some secrets]

[Next, you are free to move as you wish.

Head deeper into the territory, and don’t worry, I will protect you]

With that, Michael’s Heartlight Body vanished, dissipating into the light within the carriage.

And Ian stood up, going to find Tres.

The Knight had been waiting outside, and upon seeing Ian emerge without the Light Bird, he was uncertain whether to feel worried or relieved.

Relief naturally stemmed from finally being involved in a significant event—if all went well, his situation would change after this mission.

The worry was…

even the Second Prince had to conceal his identity and rely on Ian’s help to come here…

Did he truly have a future to look forward to?

“Is this mission a bit too risky?”

Tres thought so, but he didn’t intend on dwelling on it too much; he believed in taking action, focusing on doing his best with the task at hand.

Their subsequent conversation was rather ordinary, mainly discussing the route and strategies for dealing with ‘Phantasms’ they might encounter.

The off-road transport vehicle was a large caterpillar truck with five carriages, each carriage boasting independent armor.

The one Ian and his companions were in was primarily loaded with “command center and supplies”, and was equipped with a Spirit Energy signal generator to ensure secure channel communication.

Most of the team members were in another vehicle ahead, which had thicker armor and was heavily armed, even fitted with a pair of Alchemical Cannons, sufficient for a siege.

The transport vehicle cut into the interior of the Avak Domain along an arc-like trajectory, with the scenery flying by the windows; forests were left behind, and a vast expanse of verdant farmlands and pastures unfolded before them.

The Avak Domain was a rather unnamed area in the West Frontier Plains, where the people led a quiet life of farming and herding.

Not to say that their days were content, but at least they were stable and peaceful.

Viscount Awak, on the surface, unlike the Military Merit Nobility like Viscount Grant who had a pioneering spirit, was of average strength and not particularly ambitious.

He normally did not oppress his domain residents and even collected little in the way of taxes, clearly showing a lack of interest in the grains and money that ordinary people relied upon.

The man lived a life that was not so much of low desires, but seemed deliberately lowering his visibility.

Now, it was evident that he had been valued by the Duke of Solin, tasked with matters related to the experimental laboratory, hence the pretense of such harmless appearance.

“The terrain of the Avak Domain is very flat, but there is a hilly area in the center, the site of the viscount’s estate where certain special Sublimation crops were grown.

Now it seems that was just a pretext to bamboozle onlookers.”

Tres had obtained a wealth of information from the Knight Order of Inspectorate’s camp, and was now sharing it with Ian, “I also got some footage of other teams encountering modified Exobeasts and various ‘Phantasms’.

Don’t be fooled by the quietness of the camp; in reality, it’s quite hectic inside.

Magical Beasts of the Second Energy Level are emerging one after another, and even a Great Knight encountered a Great Magical Beast of the Third Energy Level!”

As if to confirm his words, a distant muffled sound of thunderous explosion traveled to them, which was recognizable as the firing of an Alchemical Cannon.

“Look, it seems another ally has run into trouble.”

Shaking his head, Tres picked up the recording crystal and inserted it into the projector within the command carriage.

The view was from a drone high in the sky, hovering at an altitude of around two thousand five hundred meters.

The drone’s signal was not very good, suffering from occasional frame skips and screen blackouts, clearly interfered with by Spirit Energy, but it still managed to display the deep regions of the Avak Domain.

This was a key intelligence video edited for highlights, featuring a Great Knight using concise language to explain some dangerous areas within the domain, before the camera panned to reveal a deformed Exobeast that looked extremely dangerous.

The Exobeast took on a serpentine form, coiling within the ruins of a town, its massive body’s spinal ridge topped with dense crystal spines, radiating bursts of cyan-blue electric light with every breath.

‘Electrostorm Serpent’, a modified Exobeast located in the southern part of the Avak Domain, had extremely potent venom and electromagnetic abilities, and an extremely aggressive nature.

It attacked any being entering its territory.

At the Peak of the Second Energy Level, it could fly.

Beneath the video was a string of data, from Power Level and Origin Quality attributes to conjectured weaknesses, all covered, and then the footage quickly moved on to introduce the next dangerous creature.

‘Blaze Rush Drakehorse’, a Phantasm located in the western area of the Avak Domain, with a head resembling a dragon and a body covered in highly heated flame-like feathers and scales.

Extremely fast and highly destructive, and as a Phantasm, it disregarded its physical limits to launch consecutive supersonic ‘Blaze Rush Charges’, presenting extreme danger.

Peak of the Second Energy Level.

The modified Exobeast ‘Mountain-Bearing Tortoise’ in the inner southeastern side, the largest discovered Magical Beast.

It measured over a hundred meters long and over fifty meters tall, at first mistaken for a hill.

It caused minor earthquakes when it moved, which revealed its presence.

A Third Energy Level modified Exobeast, it had an extremely tough body, and a ‘Heartlight Body’ of ‘Mountain Moving’ constantly enveloped its vicinity, rendering it immune to even heavy cannon fire.

An unidentified Phantasm in a northeasterly lake, cryptically referred to as the ‘Lake Deity’.

Its emergence created dense white mists enveloping the entire lake and surroundings, with the mists possessing extraordinarily strong Spirit Energy erosion and brainwashing capabilities.

Any who entered would gradually descend into madness, turning to violence against each other, even resorting to cannibalism.

These Exobeasts and Phantasms couldn’t overly surprise Ian since none of them compared to the UFO-like Floating Stone Aircraft.

However, the existence of a Third Energy Level Great Magical Beast within Avak Territory intrigued the young man, “The technology of Fiery Flame Land can create Third Energy Level Great Magical Beasts?”

“How could that be possible.”

Tres replied with disdain, “This Mountain-Bearing Tortoise must have originally been at the Peak of the Second Energy Level, a ‘Mountain Master’ from the depths of the Bison Mountain Range, captured by the Fiery Flame Land and forcibly experimented upon.

It merely got lucky and broke through to the Third Energy Level.”

“Look at its head, covered with holes and metallic remnants from the modifications.”

“Fiery Flame Land must have wanted to use some Spirit Energy experiment to stimulate the emergence of a ‘Heartlight Body’, and this Mountain-Bearing Tortoise just happened to have a good accumulation and succeeded…

too bad, it won’t live much longer.”

When the Knight said this, he truly felt pity—a Great Magical Beast was not common worldwide; usually, each had its own unique name and stories, the ultimate bosses in many knight novels and tales.

Growing up with such stories, Tres naturally felt it was regrettable for the Mountain-Bearing Tortoise to end up as an experimental subject.

Able to elevate itself, yet caught by a bunch of damned scoundrels for experimentation.

But the video hadn’t ended yet.

Because at the very end, a humanoid Phantasm appeared before the two of them.

It was a female.

A Dragon Maiden.