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Chapter 265: The Ball Starts Rolling
🕑 Added 2023-09-20 17:36:00 +0000 UTCJuliet drove her hoe into the ground, plowing it easily. It felt fake. Even five months after the Integration, she still struggled to adjust to her new powers, as did most people.
“Done already, Juliet?” another woman called out.
“Almost! Just one more line!” Juliet shouted back, her voice easily reaching the next field over. She took a moment to catch her breath before continuing. The cold winds of February broke helplessly against her bare arms, not even stinging. The frozen soil, which should have been impregnable, was molded easily under her tools, like clay. Even the crops, which shouldn’t be able to survive this cold, had been mutated by a Plantmancer in the city. They would now bloom richly regardless of the season.
What a world… she thought, wiping a single bead of sweat from her brow before diving back into her job.
Of course, everything had a price. Power never came freely. When the goblins broke out of the nearby dungeon a month after the Integration, her town had been one of the first to be overrun. Flames towered to the sky. Humans were grilled and eaten in the streets. Green-skinned hobgoblins toured the town with human body parts tied to their necklaces, their shamans launched fire across the defending armies, and their ogres felled people by the dozen with broad swipes of their clubs.
The humans had defended their homes with zeal. The goblins paid in blood for every inch of land they got, but get it they did. Thousands died. Many thousands. Juliet had lost her only brother in battle, and her elderly parents in one of the fires. She’d also participated in the defense, killing goblins until she reached Level 21. She’d bitten back her grief and thrown everything into battle.
It was only then that the Ice Peak could spare a group of elite fighters who pushed the goblins back. Life adjusted to the new state of being. Houses were rebuilt, new fields were plowed. The property of the dead was split amongst the remaining townspeople so everyone had a way to survive. Juliet had been devastated, but she pushed through the grief and got her life in order. For her husband. For her children.
Soon after the Integration, there were no soft people on Earth. They were either dead or hardened.
But trouble never ended. Even a semblance of normalcy would take a long, long time to return. The troops of the Ice Peak had pushed back the goblins but didn’t have the time to destroy them once and for all; they had other people to save, they said.
The town sent its strongest fighters to continue the war, inside the Dungeon this time, until the threat of the goblins was forever neutralized. Even now, that battle was ongoing.
Juliet’s husband was one of those warriors, and she was left tending to the fields. She would have loved to be by her children as well, but the taxes demanded by the Ice Peak were exorbitant. Even with all the advantages of the new world, she struggled to make ends meet. In that way, her life hadn’t changed.
But what she truly feared was that, after her husband returned victorious and strong, he would simply be dragged to another war, this time for the Ice Peak. They would never be together again, not really. Because Juliet was weak. And, in this era of upheaval, there was nothing for the weak to do besides grit their teeth and endure; suffer backbreaking taxes and monster attacks while their strong warriors were forcibly recruited; be wrung dry of every drop of blood and hay they could manage; and hope that, eventually, the sun would rise again, and somehow, things would be okay.
Juliet didn’t hold much hope. Even the Flame River, the counterpart of the Ice Peak in the south, was not much better—or so everyone said. She lived in a dark world now. She endured for her children and grew constantly stronger only for the world to push her down even harder.
But everyone needed a strand of hope. In the mouths of the common folk, a single name resounded again and again, more than the Gods and Saints who had obviously abandoned them. People prayed for the hero of Earth, the man who had shut down the Animal Kingdom, achieved impossible power, and promised with his actions freedom.
When all seemed lost and in vain, the people of Earth only had one person to believe in: Jack Rust.
***
Elder Sophina meditated in her manor, watching the people of her estate go about their lives under the nebulous sky. Her chest rose and fell in a steady beat, and the Dao shivered around her with every breath. However, her steady, rhythmic motions only served as a threat of breaking the pattern and erupting with explosive strength.
Without warning, a person appeared in the middle of the room. Sophina hadn’t seen them coming. As the veil of space parted to let them in, breaking her own spatial lock, it was clear that this person’s teleportation had originated from somewhere beyond Sophina’s perception range.
No C-Grade in the galaxy could do that.
Slowly, Sophina turned and bowed her head, catching a glimpse of pure white robes, white hair, and a stern, austere face. “Head Enforcer,” she said respectfully. “To what do I owe the honor?”
Eva Solvig, the Head Enforcer of this galaxy’s Hand of God branch, nodded back. “Some weeks ago, Ancient ruins were discovered in Trial Planet,” she said directly, not bothering with greetings and preludes. “I was dispatched to investigate. After searching the entire planet, we finally located the ruins in a pocket of space between the third and fourth rings….but they had been tampered with. Someone had been there. And yet, after deep-scanning every individual who left Trial Planet from the moment of our arrival onwards, we found nothing.”
“That is unfortunate,” Sophina replied carefully. She could sense where this was going.
“Very. The Hand of God will take no chances on any Ancient inheritance surviving the Purge. Whoever that person is, they must be eliminated.”
Sophina nodded.
“Even though we found nothing, we have a lead,” the Head Enforcer continued. “A man named Jack Rust. He was in Trial Planet at the time, and presumed dead in Garden Ring after exhibiting oddly extreme power. Shortly afterward, a tribulation descended on Trial Planet, for still unknown reasons. The System had to actively stop it.”
Sophina still did not reply. She was aware of the tribulation. It wasn’t exactly a discreet event.
“We never saw Jack Rust exit Trial Planet. He remained presumed dead. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I received word that not only was he alive and well, but he had escaped Trial Planet while evading my perception, reached the D-Grade, and been recruited into the Exploding Sun as your personal disciple.” By now, Eva Solvig’s voice was intense. “I expect an explanation, Sophina.”
Sophina raised her head. Though Eva’s words were disrespectful, there was nothing she could say about it. Yes, the Hand of God was a B-Grade faction just like her Exploding Sun, but they were too far apart in strength. The Exploding Sun’s Elders were at the late C-Grade. The Hand of God’s were at the B-Grade. Sophina and Eva were technically of the same status, but they couldn’t be further apart.
“I have heard of the tribulation and the Hand of God’s mobilization on Trial Planet,” Sophina replied calmly. “However, I was not aware of Jack’s exact circumstances. I assumed he had been deep-scanned like everyone else. Since I already had a relationship to him from his time on Earth-387, I accepted him as a personal student on the basis of his potential. I am not aware of any Ancient inheritance on his person.”
“Did you deep-scan him?”
“I did not.”
“Shouldn’t you have? Isn’t that customary for personal disciples?”
“Jack came with the guarantee of my head disciple, so I didn’t want to insult them both by performing a deep scan.”
Eva Solvig gave Sophina a long, hard gaze. “The Hand of God will investigate your conduct,” she said. “Now, take me to Jack Rust. Let me inspect him for myself.”
“Unfortunately…” Sophina began, causing Eva’s brows to rise, “Jack Rust left my tutelage and the faction a week ago. He is now a rogue cultivator. I am not aware of his current location, nor do I have any way to contact him.”
Eva remained in stunned silence for a moment. She then lashed out, saying, “Not only did you take in a suspected criminal as a personal disciple without any deep scanning, but you let said disciple betray you less than a month after his recruitment. Your conduct is not only suspicious, it is also shameful.”
“I understand. It was my fault.”
Sophina waited in silence while Eva Solvig considered her next course of action. Unfortunately, even a B-Grade didn’t have the power to locate people in the galaxy. She had to resort to following the leads.
“I will speak with your head disciple, who guaranteed for Jack Rust,” she said.
“Unfortunately, he also went rogue.”
“Sophina!” Eva’s eyes widened. “What are you doing? Are you trying to betray the Hand of God!?”
“I assure you that I am not. I understand how this looks, and it is my fault. I am willing to take full responsibility for the actions of my disciples—but only those committed after I accepted them as disciples.”
Sophina’s voice was calm and apologetic. To all outward inspection, she was regretful. After so many millennia of life, not even a B-Grade could tell that she was actually lying. She knew exactly where Jack was. She just didn’t want to reveal it because, as loyal as she was to the Hand of God, she had an obligation to protect her disciple. It was as simple as that.
She hadn’t deep-scanned him on purpose. She’d suspected something was up, of course, but deep scans went in records, and she wanted to avoid that. Plus, even if she gave Jack away, she couldn’t betray Shol after his centuries-long, exemplary loyalty.
In the end, even if Jack was captured by his own failure, she couldn’t be easily implicated. Her position was too high—though that would depend on how deep Jack’s secrets ran.
Regardless, some risks were worth taking.
“I cannot believe this,” Eva raged. “Fine. I will have my lieutenants follow their trail through the teleportation portals and unleash a full-on investigation. They will receive a bounty from the Hand of God. Are you satisfied with that, Sophina?”
“I don’t have a say in the matter.”
“That’s right; you don’t.” Eva took a moment to regain her bearings, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Instantly, her purity of mind returned. “Is there anything else you can tell me about Jack? Any clues he gave you? Anything abnormal he demonstrated? Any sort of power which looked even remotely suspicious?”
“If there was anything like that, I would have investigated myself,” Sophina replied slowly. Her mind raced. She would avoid revealing the existence of Jack’s spiritual companion and friends, if possible, as that would undoubtedly end up with them mind-read or tortured by the Hand of God.
However, she had to give something.
“There is one thing,” she finally said. “Jack Rust conquered the Final Ring.”
Eva froze. “Are you sure?”
“I saw his Title.”
“And you didn’t think to mention this until now?”
“I was certainly going to mention it. I just didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“By the Immortals, Sophina… What did you get yourself involved into?” Eva’s gaze grew complicated. “We’ve known each other for millennia. We’ve visited the Plasma Springs together. If I have to put you down for treason, it will be a pity.”
“You insult me. My loyalty to the Immortals is unwavering. I would rather renounce my Dao than betray them.”
“For your sake, I really hope that’s the case.” Eva sighed deeply. “I expect my agents to have free reign to investigate.”
“Of course. Just, if possible, please try to keep things discreet. The selection of our next Grand Elder will happen soon, and I am one of the main candidates.”
Eva threw Sophina a last, long glance. Then, without a word, she parted the folds of space and stepped into them, disappearing somewhere beyond Sophina’s perception.
Sophina did not allow herself an errant expression, or even a thought, because she knew that she was still under scrutiny—and would be for a long time. She only hoped this was worth it.
Therefore, she pushed the issue out of her mind and sat back down to meditate, spreading her perception over the estate to facilitate and observe the Hand of God agents.
