Chapter 88: Chapter 23: Return and the Fuse
The Church in Split Mist Town.
To the right side of the spacious main hall.
Several rifts within the gray mist were clearly visible.
But they flickered faintly from ti to ti, crackling with a sizzling sound.
The ti for the "Pioneers" inside to erge was drawing near.
Duke Mu Huo and Madam Mable were present in the Church, along with many other staff mbers.
However, the center of attention at this mont was not Duke Mu Huo or Madam Mable.
It was an elderly gentleman, appearing to be in his early fifties. He wore a black formal suit, a dark brown top hat, and carried a black, segnted bamboo cane.
He sat on a very old church pew, facing the wide, arched glass curtain wall of the Church.
His expression was calm and leisurely.
Marquis Albert Wild, from the Departnt of Justice.
He possessed the Level 8 Soul Shepherd Sequence.
One of the cornerstones of Ogrande City’s stability!
Both Duke Mu Huo and Madam Mable would occasionally glance toward the Gray Mist Rift.
They had received intelligence from their observers the mont the disturbance occurred in the Mirror Demon Realm.
A large number of Mirror Image Constructors had broken away from the Mirror World, leading a massive force of Mirror Image Warriors to attack the five Transcendent teams that had entered.
They were unclear on the specific details of the situation inside and would have to wait for the teams to co out to understand what happened.
There were five teams in total.
Each team consisted of four to five people.
Duke Mu Huo and Madam Mable each had one team.
The other three teams were dispatched by Marquis Albert.
Whether these teams could return safely and how much they achieved would count as their accomplishnts.
Scouting powerful Transcendents to make significant contributions to Ogrande City was a sure way to rise to a higher position.
Before long, the first team erged from the Gray Mist Rift.
It was Duke Mu Huo’s team, five people in total.
After a count was taken, they had acquired 2 Level Four Crystal Cores and 21 Level 3 chanical Crystal Cores.
Seeing this amount, Duke Mu Huo felt a slight sense of relief.
In the past, returning with even four or five chanical Crystal Cores was considered a good haul.
This ti, many Mirror Image Constructors had appeared.
The danger had increased significantly, so obtaining a total of 23 chanical Crystal Cores was already an outstanding result.
After all, these Transcendents were geniuses he had secretly borrowed from the Church.
A short while later, the three Transcendent teams dispatched by Marquis Albert also returned one after another.
In total, the three teams had lost three Transcendents.
The losses were considered quite heavy.
But they also had gains, with each team acquiring over a dozen chanical Crystal Cores.
However, compared to Duke Mu Huo, whose single team returned intact with 23 chanical Crystal Cores, their performance was considerably inferior.
After so more ti, still no one else had erged.
CRACKLE...
At this mont, the rift in the gray mist began to shrink.
As she watched the rift grow smaller and smaller, the color drained from Lady Mable’s face.
The combatants scouted by Marquis Albert were not weak, yet they still lost three people.
And while the people she had chosen were not bad either...
’If they got trapped and surrounded, there’s a real risk they could be wiped out.’
If the team she had scouted was eliminated...
...Then she would lose the opportunity to lead the expedition to the Ancient Ruins.
She watched as the Gray Mist Rift shrank to a point where a person could no longer pass through.
Lady Mable’s heart finally sank, a faint bitterness spreading on her tongue.
"Did... not a single one make it out?"
Nearby, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of Duke Mu Huo’s mouth.
’This disturbance couldn’t have co at a better ti!’
After approaching the Gray Mist Rift and examining it closely to confirm there was no hope left,
Duke Mu Huo "Gustav" looked at Madam Mable, as if a victor making a declaration!
"Madam Mable, the rift hasn’t closed yet. Perhaps the Goddess of Miracles will still show her favor... no?"
His voice rang out, tinged with a hint of concern.
It sounded like comfort, but the words were ant to twist the knife.
Just as the grim-faced Madam Mable was about to turn away,
a pair of hands, suffused with a faint Star Trace Gang Qi and as tough as steel, suddenly shot out from the closing Gray Mist Rift, forcing it open.
And then!
Before the astonished eyes of the many Transcendents in the Church,
that pair of Gang Qi hands began to exert more force.
SCHRRRRIIIIIP...
With a ripping sound,
the Gray Mist Rift, which had been about to close, was forcibly torn open again.
Several figures erged in single file from the torn opening in the gray mist.
"Whew... Glad we made it! It would’ve been a huge pain to get stuck in there."
Landing on the ground, Miss Scout patted her heaving, yet otherwise unremarkable, chest and panted.
The Heavy Armor Warrior leaned on his Heavy Sword, but his legs were also trembling slightly.
The Druid, Joy, was fine; he had turned into a Peregrine Falcon to help the group find the exit.
Zorn, of course, was perfectly fine.
Just before it was ti to leave, five or six Mirror Image Constructors had charged them.
The group had no choice but to kill them all.
By then, ti was already running out.
With the Druid transford into a Peregrine Falcon, Zorn unleashed his full speed at the last mont and tore open the Gray Mist Rift.
That was how the group barely made it.
Although Zorn had many ways to get out if he were trapped, it was obviously best not to have to use them.
With the return of the four,
the sowhat subdued hall instantly burst into a clamor.
The expressions of the many Transcendents in the hall of the Split Mist Town Church were a sight to behold.
Duke Mu Huo’s gaze swept over the four of them, the faint smile on his face gradually vanishing, replaced first by indifference, and finally by a dark, gloomy expression.
Madam Mable was the complete opposite. Her frosty cheeks first showed a look of astonishnt, which was then replaced by a joyful surprise that lit up her features.
She eagerly walked forward to ask for details.
Not far away, Marquis Albert, who had been sitting steadily on the old pew, couldn’t help but fix his gaze on the group, or more accurately, on Zorn.
Just now!
That pair of Vigorous Qi Hands tearing open the Gray Mist Rift was truly quite a feat.
As she asked her questions, an ever-growing look of delight appeared on Madam Mable’s face.
The fact that the four of them had returned was already a pleasant surprise.
But what they brought back was even more astounding.
She couldn’t help but look at Miss Scout’s orange-red satchel.
Once the staff finished tallying the contents,
an unbelievable number was revealed.
"55 Level Three chanical Crystal Cores, and 8 Level Four chanical Crystal Cores."
"A total of 63."
As this number was finalized,
even Marquis Albert finally rose to his feet.
To put it in perspective, the three teams he had assembled had only brought back a little over forty in total.
"I believe this young Fighting Master here must have been the main force of this expedition!"
As Marquis Albert’s aged yet powerful voice rang out, he walked over slowly, leaning on his cane, and the crowd parted to make way for him.
Marquis Albert ca to stand before the four of them, his gaze falling upon Zorn.
"Could you tell
what sort of strategy and thod you used to obtain so many chanical Crystal Cores?"
"Strategy and thod?"
Zorn pondered for a mont before answering.
"Do you need a strategy and thod for that? Can’t you just beat every enemy that rushes you to death with your fists?"
The answer was very befitting of a Fighting Master!
Marquis Albert was taken aback for a mont, then couldn’t help but laugh.
He was starting to like this young man.
He then turned to Lady Mable.
"This ti, you’ve done very well. Your team will be allowed to add one more mber."
A delighted Madam Mable imdiately replied,
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Marquis Albert."
A five-person team had a much greater margin for error than a four-person team.
Moreover, they had Zorn, a pillar-like existence.
In terms of noble rank, Duke Mu Huo’s was undoubtedly higher.
But his title was inherited from his family.
Marquis Albert’s title, however, was one he had built upon a pile of enemy corpses on the battlefield.
A war title, earned by a Transcendent baptized in blood and fire, would always carry more weight and authority than an inherited one.
With all the teams out, the exploration was officially over.
After giving a few more instructions, Marquis Albert took his leave.
Zorn also received his share of the harvest from the staff.
Ordinary resources belonged to the individual, but chanical Crystal Cores were clearly a "particularly valuable" resource.
The team received half of the total harvest.
Level Four chanical Crystal Cores and 22 Level Three chanical Crystal Cores.
Zorn, as was his due, took all 4 Level Four chanical Crystal Cores and 10 of the Level Three chanical Crystal Cores.
The other three each received 4 Level 3 chanical Crystal Cores.
Soon, Duke Mu Huo also left quickly with his people.
However, the look he gave Zorn before leaving was filled with coldness and hostility.
The interlocking gears of fate had made the two of them inevitable archenemies.
As a Level 3 who was already halfway to Level 4, Zorn was not afraid of Duke Mu Huo’s enmity.
Furthermore, the deep pit Duke Mu Huo had dug for himself was about to explode!
And the fuse would be lit by Zorn Corick.
Soon, the group got into Madam Mable’s steam car.
The Druid, Joy, did not get in; he could fly back on his own.
After dropping the Warrior and Miss Scout at their destinations,
the sky had already grown dark.
Closing the car door, Madam Mable lit a ladies’ cigarette, took a deep drag, and said slowly,
"Mr. Kane, the driver, is trustworthy. We’ve been through life-and-death situations together."
"He’ll take care of any minor troubles. You can speak freely."
’The Reflected Man, Madam Mable... her intuition is truly extraordinary.’
"I made several major discoveries inside the Mirror Demon Realm."
Zorn said with a serious expression.
"The most important of which is... in a certain Mirror Space, I saw a secret incantation for a Saint Maya ritual."
"Based on my Extraordinary Knowledge, it appears to be a ritual incantation used to open a Gray Mist Rift."
Upon hearing this, the Reflected Man, Madam Mable, trembled slightly.
She looked at Zorn cautiously and lowered her voice.
"Are you saying... we don’t have to wait for the Gray Mist Rift to open naturally? That we can use a ritual to open it proactively?"
"From the perspective of Ritualism, yes!"
"With a certain amount of offerings, we can open the Gray Mist Rift at any ti."
Zorn explained.
"And..."
He continued.
"Based on my understanding of these secret Ancient Ruins, this type of Gray Mist Rift is often connected to the First Layer World."
"Isn’t the first layer the world of the Gray Mist Knight?"
"I would think that killing the Gray Mist Knight would yield a reward related to this. Wasn’t there anything in the loot?"
Zorn’s words seed to jolt Lady Mable awake.
Past mories quickly surfaced.
The Gray Mist Knight on the first layer was killed by Duke Mu Huo’s people.
If it was truly as Zorn said...
If there really was a ritual to open the Gray Mist Rift,
then Duke Mu Huo must have hidden it.
"That damned bastard, he hid crucial information."
Even the well-mannered Lady Mable couldn’t help but curse at this mont!
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