A Final Addition

Before the caller's words had ended, Vigdis had already notified her Leader of an emergency via the Arrays which he was currently overseeing. Snapping out of his cultivation state, Theodore immediately arrived at her side and listened to her recounting the request of the caller.

'There's a certain chance that this is a trap–but should it be, then I have no need to be afraid of it. Most likely, this man is being genuine, so checking out the situation on site cautiously would be the best idea.'

Having Vigdis transfer him the exact location, he made it there in less than a blink of an eye, always ready to escape at a moment's notice. But as his figure openly appeared on the wall of the already cleansed city, no ambush of any sort awaited him.

Instead, what met his eyes was the scene of hundreds of various kinds of beasts encircling the settlement, with some of them having broken in and chasing after a man. This person was doing his best to dodge the continuous attacks, but had nonetheless got a few scratches on him. At the same time, there were a few dozen towering animal bodies strewn beneath his feet and all around him. All of their heads had been squished in and burst, resembling watermelons which someone had stomped on.

Unhurriedly observing the confrontation from a hidden angle, his perception spread out and enveloped both the city and vast areas around it, laying bare all of the hidden cards that the apparent beast controller was relying on.

'I see. They have already pulled in the net. If I don't help out, then all that awaits this poor guy is death. He might appear valiant now, but he can't currently overcome being drowned in numbers of relatively strong opponents.'

Nodding to himself, he engaged in rapid teleportations, appearing behind the furthest beasts one after another, then shattered their heads with a slight flick of his finger. As he was shuttling to and fro, within less than half a minute, only the few ferocious, giant animals currently besieging the caller were still remaining.

"There are no more enemies left. How about you tell me your message first, then I'll decide whether or not to bring you with me?"

Emerging next to the startled man with a harmless smile on his lips, the annoying but somewhat challenging enemies around him fell one after another, their brains long since having been destroyed. As they collapsed like dominoes, the man's gaze landed on Theodore, whose exact looks were known to all due to his advertisements.

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Winter! It's like this–I was aware that my Talent alone might not be enough to catch your eye, so when I was invited by the Anti-Winter Alliance, I chose to join them as a double agent, to gather some information for you."

Bowing respectfully, he knew to get to the gist of things quickly. This was his one and only chance to showcase his value. He couldn't afford to mess it all up now!

"Oh? Then what have you learned? According to my secretary, you claimed to have vital intel. Come, then. Spill it."

Striking him as someone patient, friendly and approachable, Theodore motioned for him to continue, a hint of intrigue in his heart. Although this bunch of Heaven's Chosen was not a threat to him, he would never say no to more knowledge about those who were standing against him.

"Uh, where exactly do I begin? The Anti-Winter Alliance is led by two remarkable individuals calling themselves the Beast Lord and the Insect Lord. Those monstrous creatures around here were all sent by the former to hunt me down, while you've long since known about the latter–after all, you exposed his tricks for everyone to see."

Speaking verbosely and starting at the beginning, the man nonetheless did his best to solely talk about the essentials.

"With me included, as far as I'm aware, the alliance currently has fifteen members. I haven't met them all, but other than the two leaders, who only indirectly make appearances via the beings they control, everyone seems to be rather... unimpressive. Just like me."

After heaving a somewhat self-deprecating sigh, his words continued.

"But all of us were always simply meant to attract some firepower. The real threat are the leaders, whose armies have now reached numbers that I will not even dare to approximate. There are at least two Initial Ascension Stage beasts, and I've witnessed some of the so-called 'Fly Slaves' break through into that realm as well. It's impossible to estimate exactly how many of them there are now."

Pulling out a crudely drawn, yet still sufficiently detailed map, he pointed towards countless little red dots which he had made upon it, his expression a complex one.

"These were the most recent troop movements, right before my escape from headquarters. They should be stealthily gathering all around Qinglong City at the moment–but I do not yet know when the attack will officially begin. Oh, and speaking of the base of the Anti-Winter Alliance..."

Raising his head from the rough illustration to gaze at Theodore, who was silently observing him, he showed a confident look for the first time.

"... that is where the truly vital intel comes in. Everything else is merely a bonus! I'm certain you've already heard about the countless ruins dotting the wilderness, right? Well, the Beast Lord took one of them over and made it into the base of operations of the alliance. Naturally, it is now almost empty. As the one responsible for the communication between our members, most of the time–due to my Talent–I was based there. During my flight, I took one of the few Random Short-Distance Teleportation Arrays, appearing relatively close to this city."

Pointing at a specific spot on his map with a smile on his lips, he proceeded to finish his explanation.

"And right here is the location of the headquarters! I don't know if there is still something of value remaining, but it was surely chosen for a reason–not only for its high Energy concentration. And even if there is nothing at all, destroying it would still deal a blow to the alliance! There could possibly be some information about who the Beast Lord really is, too! After all, he was the one who found it."

Being started at with anticipation, Theodore couldn't help but show a complicated smile, then nodded in appreciation. Whilst he truly did not care too much about any of this, it was undeniable that this guy had put in a lot of work for him–so that, at the very least, should be valued. As for the headquarters, his mind had swept past a few ruins nearby to some of the cities he had cleansed, and they usually had been rather unimpressive. Other than the additional Energy Veins beneath them, there were normally only scraps to be found.

"Then let's check out the place immediately, shall we? After all, we might still catch someone if we're quick."

There was no need to dampen the spirts of the one in front of him, so he chose to spend a little time on this small adventure. Despite how unlikely it was for anything to come of it, at the very least, it was worth a quick glance.

Right after the double agent had nodded, he found himself and Theodore standing not far away from the place which he had only just escaped from! His map had been rather simple, yet knowing a few of the landmarks was enough to zero in on the right place.

"W-What? How did we...?!"

Flabbergasted and astonished by what had happened, his eyes widened in shock and he staggered backwards. Then, within the seconds it took him to gather himself again, he noticed the one who had brought him here vanishing into thin air, then reappearing moments later, his eyebrows furrowed.

'Unsurprisingly, the amount of Energy Veins under this structure is quite impressive, comparable to Qinglong City. But once upon a time, this ruin had to be some sort of breeding ground. When it was brought here somehow, the creatures within also came with it. From the remaining ornamental paintings and the signs of inhabitation on site, it appears that they're similar to gryphons. Their bodies are pretty much treasures, so I might pick up something useful once I slay them.'

Shaking his head with an annoyed sigh, he felt a little helpless at the other discovery that he had made during his quick but detailed scan of the place.

'If I had been five minutes earlier, then I would have encountered this 'Beast Lord'. He was thorough, and apparently already started the escape and destruction of clues leading towards him when my informant fled from here. Such a pity, I could have made him waste his life-saving item even before our coming clash.'

Not one to dwell excessively over things like this, though, he soon shook his head and dispelled the minute displeasure in his heart. Looking up at the man who had told him about this place, he showed a polite smile.

"Come to think of it, I never asked for your name. What should I call you?"

Perking up at this, a warm and friendly grin spread on the man's lips. Accompanied by another respectful bow, he made his formal introduction.

"I'm Kiran Arya! And it's an honour to meet you!"

Committing the name to memory, Theodore promptly invited him to become his Retainer, which Kiran accepted in a heartbeat, a beaming grin spreading from ear to ear. Due to the risk that he had taken, he had achieved his goal! Of course, Theodore wouldn't bother to tell him that he might have allowed him into his ranks without the fuss as well.

'Now, let's have a look...'

[ General Information ]

[ Name: Kiran Arya ]

[ Age: 25 ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Affiliation: Theodore Winter ]

[ Cultivation ]

[ Stage: Core Formation ]

[ Realm: Elevation, 5% ]

[ Technique: True Teaching of Radiance ]

[ Dantian Size: • Upper: 2,252 km³

• Middle: 2,251 km³

• Lower: 2,253 km³ ]

[ Cores: • Middle: Proto-Core ]

[ Attributes ]

[ Strength: 465,920 ]

[ Dexterity: 463,872 ]

[ Vitality: 464,896 ]

[ Endurance: 465,920 ]

[ Agility: 470,016 ]

[ Energy: 521,296 ]

[ Intelligence: 18 ]

[ Wisdom: 58 ]

[ Mind: 41 ]

[ Luck: 23 ]

[ Talents ]

[ Telepathic Communication Network (Mythical), Cultivation Genius (Epic) ]

[ Proficiencies ]

[ Socializing (Adept: 61%), Information Collation (Intermediate: 97%), Close Combat (Intermediate: 95%), Communications Facilitation (Intermediate: 3%), (See More) ]

[ Enhancements ]

[ Coattail Ascension (Mythical) ]

When looking solely at the numbers, Kiran was clearly a level worse than a regular Named Family member. However, for someone without any significant background, he was actually doing remarkably well! Likely, the high Energy concentration at the Anti-Winter Alliance's headquarters had allowed his strength to increase this rapidly.

The 'True Teaching of Radiance' was one of countless cultivation Techniques spread in the innumerable worlds which the Heavenly Court ruled over, and it was considered to be quite a high-end product that would be difficult to acquire for most people. One of its passive effects that made it a bit more popular than other Techniques was to give the one training in it a warm and approachable aura, which Kiran evidently displayed as well. For those aiming to get along with others, it was a great choice.

Kiran's Proficiencies were all a result of and serving his main Talent, one that even Theodore couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at in admiration.

[ Telepathic Communication Network (Mythical):

• One can create a mental network which can be used to converse with others.

• After sending an invitation to someone, only once they accept will they be included in the network.

• There is no limit to the number of participants.

• Complete control over the network stays with oneself. It cannot be usurped by others.

• There is no distance limitation to communication within the network.

• Only interference at or above the Transcendent-grade or from a vastly more powerful being than oneself can hinder the smooth transmission of information. ]

Shaking his head in amusement, he glanced at Kiran from the corner of his eye. The longer that he looked at him, the more precious and naïve he began to appear to him. A calculative, delighted glint flashed past his gaze.

'This guy really doesn't understand his own value. Any organization would wage wars to have a talent like him on their side.'