"Hmm?"
Xavier spaced out for a moment, then felt his chest suddenly scorch with heat.
That pain, originating from his soul, shattered every last one of his mental defenses in an instant and plunged him into a mysterious slumber.
On the outside, though, his body still stood there. Had anyone stripped off his clothes, they would have seen a black, bewitching mandala tattoo slowly emerging from over his heart, its countless petals decomposing into a vast array of runes—exquisitely beautiful.
"What tricks are you playing, kid?"
Windwolf's hair stood on end as he sensed a lethal crisis descending upon him. "Damn it!"
Overwhelmed by terror, he struck without hesitation. The air in his hands seemed to transform into the sharpest of blades: "Secret Technique—Windwolf's Raging Devour!"
"Awooo..."
Amid a desolate wolf's howl, streams of air pressure coalesced into a colossal wolf maw capable of crushing everything, enveloping Xavier at its center.
But moments later, Windwolf was horrified to discover that his sense of crisis had surged tenfold! The terrifying sensation nearly stopped his heart.
After the tornado subsided, a figure slowly walked out of the wolf-maw illusion—completely unharmed—drawing an incredulous cry from Windwolf.
Unfortunately, it was far too late by then. A black mandala was already blooming, faintly, in the void...
...
"Not bad!"
Watching the unconscious Xavier being carried away by Croweye, the Bloodline Alliance retreated before the garrison could surround them—leaving behind a raging fire that reduced the place to ashes. Leilin Farell nodded approvingly.
"But why would the Myriad Serpents care so much about these remaining bloodlines? She has countless offspring in the Infernal World; she hardly needs this sliver of bloodline power... unless it's..."
Leilin's eyes lit up. "She wants other Laws of Existence—to resurrect through the blood of her descendants? The cost would be astronomical, though..."
"Then... could she be orchestrating a 'Bloodline Pollution' to directly counter the Night Lady's
Possibility after possibility flashed before Leilin's eyes, each one fed into the programs provided by his Chip for continuous extrapolation.
...
"Move it!"
Croweye slung Xavier over his shoulder and leaped into the rear compartment of an airship.
"Huh? They all came back alive? Is that what they mean by 'villains live the longest'?" Poti exclaimed. But the joy in her eyes was impossible to conceal.
"At a time like this, could you stop mocking me..."
Croweye smiled bitterly and set Xavier down from his back. The young man's eyes were shut tight, thoroughly unconscious.
"What's wrong with him? Oh—and what about Windwolf?" Poti gave Croweye a long look. "I always knew you had the most hidden cards up your sleeve..."
"This really wasn't my doing..." The bitterness at the corner of Croweye's mouth deepened. He pointed down at Xavier on the floor. "He took out Windwolf. Otherwise, I'd be dead for sure..."
"Impossible!!!"
Cries of disbelief erupted all around. Even Poti was stunned for a moment. She then scrutinized the young man lying on the cold cargo deck. "You're saying... he killed Windwolf—the big shot from the Special Operations Division, Janus's right-hand man, Windwolf!!! You've got to be kidding me..."
"I wish I were joking, but the facts speak for themselves!"
Croweye waved his hand with a grave expression. "I sensed the awakening of ancestral power from Xavier... You all felt it too, didn't you? The power in our bloodlines has grown stronger!!! Especially in recent times..."
The Bloodline Alliance members drew their power primarily from the strength of their blood, and their standing was determined solely by the concentration and rank of that bloodline!
Under normal circumstances, someone like Croweye should have been slightly weaker with each passing generation, with mutations being exceedingly rare.
But now, every Bloodline Alliance member felt the power within their blood constantly intensifying! That was the greatest abnormality of all!
"What are you getting at?"
Poti looked at Croweye, her playful expression gradually fading.
"Just a feeling... A tremendous change is coming, and that's why this is happening. And the birth of a genius like Xavier..."
Croweye let out a long breath.
"Hey, buddy! If you're talking about a great new era, I've actually got something here you might want to see."
A head popped out from the ceiling, projecting the image of Genius sitting in his wheelchair.
"What is it?" Poti frowned. "It better be useful, or when we get back to base, I'll shove your eyeballs straight into your rear end! I swear!"
"Heh heh! I'm not joking!" On the screen, Genius clutched his right electronic eye, looking a bit frightened. Then his expression turned serious.
"Take a look... this is part of the content I found and reconstructed from their database while you were storming this base. If even a tiny bit of this leaked out, the entire world would be turned upside down..."
As if afraid Croweye and the others wouldn't believe him, Genius quickly projected a segment of data. The blood-red classified state-secret symbol at the very beginning was enough to silence even the most unruly Bloodline Alliance member.
"This is..."
The screen's light reflected on Poti's face, but Poti was now completely dumbfounded.
"It seems... before heading to the Imperial Capital Corvolan to strike at the headquarters of the Special Operations Division, we'll need to make a trip to the East Sea..."
Croweye slowly exhaled, his expression hardening like steel.
...
The whirring of giant propellers, the clatter of numerous objects jostling together, and a tangle of loud, chaotic voices pulled Xavier from unconsciousness.
Once he was awake, the nightmarish state that had possessed him before vanished without a trace.
"Where... am I?"
Xavier asked blankly. The last thing he remembered was fighting alongside Croweye against Windwolf, but after that, all memory was gone.
"Don't move! And don't sit up, unless you want to peel the skin clean off your back..."
Genius wheeled himself over and tapped the glass surrounding the recovery pod. "How is it? The Empire's most advanced recovery pod—it can treat severe injuries for anyone from seventh to tenth rank. I even threw in a skin rejuvenation treatment for free. You're welcome..."
"I see... So Croweye made it back safely..."
Xavier sighed. Only now did he feel an intense stickiness from his back, along with a burning sensation. "What's going on outside? Are we... moving?"
"Moving? Oh my god! You can hear that from in here?! What incredible physical constitution..."
Genius exclaimed first, then his eyes lit up so brightly that Xavier feared he might be dissected on the spot.
"You still haven't answered my question?" Being cautious, Xavier quickly redirected the conversation.
"Oh right! We are moving! This base has to be completely abandoned—after all, no one can openly provoke the Empire without facing consequences..."
Genius shrugged. "But it's fine. The Bloodline Alliance has plenty of bases—up on the Northern Ice Plains, in the Southern Polar regions, and in the East Sea. We've got people everywhere. Losing one or two is no big deal..."
From Genius's words, Xavier caught a whiff of "filthy rich" nonchalance.
And it made sense. The Bloodline Alliance members already possessed qualities far beyond ordinary people. As long as they applied themselves, they could achieve astonishing accomplishments in virtually any field. And some Bloodline families had histories stretching back so far that mere accumulation of time was enough to amass staggering wealth!
Even after the founding of the Empire, when the Bloodline families suffered widespread suppression and appeared to have withered, their hidden strength remained truly formidable.
Though they were still somewhat weak against the Empire head-on, concealing an organization's secret survival and growth presented absolutely no problem.
"Right! I need to go to the Imperial Capital Corvolan! Jia'er was taken there!"
Xavier's expression changed and he struggled to sit up.
The movement sent searing pain shooting through his back, contorting his face. Beads of cold sweat rolled down ceaselessly.
"Relax! Relax! Calm down... Do you have any idea how much effort it took to bring you back?"
Genius's slender fingers flew across the keyboard while he still found time to chat with Xavier. "But... you really are something! You actually killed Windwolf directly. You suffered forty percent tissue damage, but that's really nothing in the grand scheme of things..."
"What? I killed... Windwolf???"
Xavier's eyes went wide as he instinctively looked down at his chest.
There, his skin was pale and tender, brimming with vitality—not the slightest mark. The mandala flower had, of course, vanished entirely.
"Could it... have really been me?"
Xavier murmured. At the same time, he felt an additional energy residing within his body.
Dark, cold, terrifying—carrying the dread of all living things!
Yet under the influence of this energy, Xavier's body was recovering at a rapid pace, to the point where he felt confident he could heal on his own with just some rest, without even needing Genius's treatment.
"Regardless, I'm going to Corvolan!" the young man said stubbornly. With his current abilities, his confidence in rescuing his sister was growing by the day.
"Alright, alright! No one said we weren't going! As it happens, we're planning to make a few stops at bases near Corvolan first..."
Apparently worried Xavier would fret, Genius shared this intelligence directly.
"Mm. You can go ahead to the Imperial Capital to scout things out, but keep your head down—don't act rashly..."
Croweye walked in, wearing a black overcoat. "Seeing you awake before we part ways puts my mind at ease..."
"Part ways?"
Xavier started in alarm, looking at this person who bore a strong resemblance to his ancestor.
He had to admit that, without realizing it, the man had already made him develop a certain reliance on him—the kind of quiet attachment one might feel toward a father.