(Author's Note: To celebrate the release of the 200th chapter of THEA on my Patreon, I've shared a beautiful Xie Mei and Han Junqiao artwork for you all to freely take a look at! You can find it on my Patreon, and I'll try to post it here via a Paragraph Comment.)
----------------------------------
At the centre of an incredibly large fleet of highly advanced Voidfaring Vessels, Thurgar, the ruler of the Naxsir, had a dark expression on his face. Seated on his throne, he was staring down at the highest leader of his people's military, Yexi.
This old chap–who could still pass as a middle-aged man if one squinted hard enough–had been his most trusted Retainer ever since his childhood days. But despite going way back, he hadn't given him any special treatment. Yexi had made it to the position that he currently held all by his own merit. In other words, he was a truly talented fellow, at the utmost peak of the Celestial Stage.
And such a man was now kneeling in front of him, giving him a report that had significantly soured his mood–to say the least.
"You say that all contact with General Spitamaneh has been lost? How long has this been the case? And have you determined the cause behind this development yet?"
In response to Thurgar's questions, Yexi hastily nodded his head, a hint of embarrassment and humiliation flashing past his gaze.
"Venerated Ikhshid, it is with great shame that I have to report to you... that we cannot be certain of the exact moment when contact was lost. General Spitamaneh never regularly checked back in with us in the past, so we thought that he was simply taking his time, as usual. But earlier today, when we tried to actively reach out to his fleet–as it had been a while since our last contact with them–we didn't hear anything back..."
Taking a deep breath, his expression hardened.
"Relying on the concealed location transmitters that all of our Voidfaring Vessels are equipped with, we could ascertain that the entirety of the fleet is still intact. Furthermore, it's located either directly next to Pytho–which General Spitamaneh aimed to visit–or in its relative vicinity. Lastly..."
Gulping, Yexi stared at the ground, furious at having been reduced to such a pitiable state by his own subordinates' blunders.
"... we checked his Life Lamp. It's been extinguished. I have already punished the ones responsible for failing to properly look after it! They... have paid the ultimate price."
Pondering in silence, Thurgar felt rage well up within him, yet knowing that those who had screwed up to such an unforgivable degree had long been eliminated... he chose to let it go. Heaving a deep, pained sigh, he closed his eyes and shook his head.
'I underestimated that Heaven's Chosen. To think that he was actually powerful enough to deal with a Celestial Stage strongman! What a fool I was...'
Recalling a certain figure with unfathomable potential–one who he had also partially looked down upon due to their initial weakness right after arriving at this part of the event venue–he smiled helplessly.
'These monsters have a growth speed far surpassing what we Naxsir have ever encountered before. I should never have allowed the 'great undertaking' to continue while I had already chosen a different future for my people...'
But blaming himself excessively would serve nobody. Instead, actions and decisions were required of him. Opening his eyes again, his gaze rested upon Yexi.
"I understand. For the time being, send multiple waves of scouting vessels towards Pytho and its surroundings, and let them stay in constant contact with each other. The moment anything amiss occurs, retreat immediately! No matter what happens–even if we lose every single scout–do not engage! Report back to me first, so that we might analyse the situation in full."
Nodding sombrely, Yexi rose to his feet and saluted him, radiating respect and reverence, as ever.
"As you command, Venerated Ikhshid!"
The corners of his lips rising ever so slightly at the attitude of his reliable old 'friend', Thurgar suddenly recalled a particular matter that was very near and dear to his heart–and his mood soured again.
"Are there any other Life Lamps that have been extinguished? I assume you had your people check them all thoroughly."
Realizing why this inquiry had been made, Yexi's eyes widened for a moment, then he hastily bowed, a reassuring smile on his face.
"Fret not, Venerated Ikhshid! All is well–nobody else has died."
This caused Thurgar to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Life Lamps were a technology they had developed which could–unfortunately–only be used by those at the Celestial Stage and above. If the connected expert's soul was either destroyed or sent on the way to the next life, then the lamp would extinguish.
It was a rather simple design that couldn't convey much information, but it was reliable. Therefore, Thurgar could be certain that his youngest children–Devashtich and Spandarmad–were still alive!
When he had realized that Spitamaneh had bitten off far more than he could chew, he had been very much worried about the twins. After all, their craft was specifically made to be untraceable from his people's end–just in case the Naxsir truly fell–and they had travelled in the same direction as his general. Therefore, it was not entirely impossible for them to come across that terrifying Heaven's Chosen.
'Fortunately, that's not the case!'
Brightening up a little, he had Yexi return to his duties and relay his orders. But he couldn't relax just yet. The appearance of such a formidable, relatively nearby foe had to be reported to the one who he had chosen to tie the fate of his people to.
Making his way deeper into his Voidfaring Vessel, he arrived at a part that his twin children were familiar with–it was the one that a cultivator's perception could simply not perceive at all.
But contrary to what his kids might think, this area was far more expansive than they could ever even imagine! A side effect of its existence was that the Voidfaring Vessel that he was on appeared far smaller than it truly was. In reality, it was at least two orders of magnitude larger than an outside observer would approximate.
Unsurprisingly, most of the Naxsir's secrets were housed within this place. It wasn't merely their ancestor's memories which were enshrined here, but even the very core of the 'great undertaking' itself.
Still, that was not what he was here for today. Heck, he rarely ever paid a visit to that place. Every time that he got close to it, he would recall his wife's passing, and deep grief would overwhelm him. Yet, sooner or later, he would have to stop by again...
Arriving in front of an unassuming door not far from the centre of the concealed area, Thurgar knocked politely, waiting for the person within to awaken from their state of cultivation.
"... Oh, it's you. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't important. Enter."
An almost inhuman, rather epicene voice sounded from beyond, and the room's entrance swung open. What greeted Thurgar was a deeply discomforting world of black, which made any approaching light seem to lose all meaning.
Suppressing his instinctive fear and desire to escape, he entered the all-encompassing shadow, being swallowed up by it. Simultaneously, the door behind him closed without a sound.
He couldn't see or perceive anything at all, and he even appeared to lose control over his own body–if only partially. Truly, ever since this Heaven's Chosen had broken through to higher cultivation stages, the terror he experienced upon making contact out was incredibly strong.
"Sir, there appears to be an outstanding peer of yours relatively close to us. One of my Celestial Stage generals lost his life to him, without being able to send any news back."
Doing his best to train his eyes towards a particular spot in the darkness, there hovered an even deeper shadow–and that was the man who he was addressing. The being whose Retainer he had become, and who had agreed to accept all of the Naxsir as his Subordinates, to lead them out of this prison–Secundus Umbra.
"To achieve such a feat this early... is truly not bad! Give me all of the information that you've acquired."
Having anticipated this request, Thurgar handed over a tablet containing an organized report that he had personally put together. He wasn't exactly used to doing such clerical work, but having read too many of these kinds of documents to count, it hadn't been hard for him to practically master the craft once he had thrown his hat into the ring.
"... 'Theodore Winter'?? Are you certain that this information is reliable?"
Widening his eyes a little when he saw the name currently being associated with the Heaven's Chosen over in Pytho, Secundus couldn't help but feel a tad flabbergasted. What were the chances of actually running into this particular peer? Into the one who had caused such a sensation at the very end of the first round?
"Not exactly. This intel was disseminated to us deliberately, by someone from the Sybillan side. For now, we cannot fully confirm it. Is there a particular problem with this individual, if it is indeed him?"
Feeling a gut-wrenching sense of alarm deep in his stomach, Thurgar furrowed his brows, his instincts beginning to warn him. At this point, he didn't even need any confirmation from his superior–he already knew that he was in trouble.
"Well, let me put it this way: Even I wouldn't have an easy time dealing with him. Heck, he might even prove too difficult of an obstacle right now, if I'm unlucky. For now, simply gather more information–that's all we can presently do."
Shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal, Secundus left Thurgar to his worries and had him excuse himself. At the same time, he was internally analysing his optimal path forward from here.
'Let's assume that it really is the famous Winter Saint... can I fight him?'
Pondering this matter for a considerable while, he eventually nodded confidently.
'Yes. I might not necessarily be able to win, but I shouldn't be capable of losing either. I'm every bit my elder brother's equal–and he could definitely exchange blows with Theodore Winter. If I can get rid of him here, that will help my family out a ton–and even if I can't, it's just a temporary setback at most.'
With a smirk on his lips, he spread out his perception and observed the Naxsir's current actions. Soon, he gave an appreciative nod.
'Good, Thurgar is proceeding exactly as I would. It's paramount that we don't startle the snake too much, and don't put overwhelming pressure on it either. Scouting out the premises in this manner is ideal. Once we confirm that it is indeed Theodore Winter–or someone else of note impersonating him–we can ready ourselves for a proper fight.'
He was fully aware that he was not the only one constantly getting stronger, but Secundus believed that this factor could pretty much be ignored. After all, every single one of his worthy peers had approximately the same growth speed, give or take. At the end of the day, it would all boil down to a battle between the foremost Heaven's Chosen anyway–everyone else was but an embellishment with little influence on the final result of the confrontation.
'The Naxsir have a few useful individuals, like Thurgar–but it wouldn't be too huge of a loss if they were sacrificed in a clash with the Winter Saint. I'll either gather important intel, or come out ahead. I'll ultimately always gain something.'
Of course, the Venerated Ikhshid knew about how Secundus viewed his kin. That was why he had always kept the biggest trump card of all hidden securely away, hoping that the Umbra Family heir would never find it–because it was his only way out if things went truly wrong.
'Well, it's too bad for him that he's underestimated me too much, yet again. The result of that so-called 'great undertaking' of yours? It's already mine!'
If he had never known about this concealed area, then he might not have found 'it' so quickly–but having been here for a while, how could he possibly not discover the Naxsir's greatest work?