"Eight times…" Garen took a deep breath. To think that an average looking person like Kong Xinxue would have transmigrated more than eight times before.
The coldness lingering in the restaurant slowly started to fade away. This was considered an oversight on his part, he did not expect that there would be someone other than Slayer who had the strength and ability to target Kong Xinxue.
"The most important thing now is to find Ah Xue," Li Hua said urgently.
At this point, Garen put down his phone. Kong Yuan did not pick up his phone as well.
This gave him an uneasy feeling in his heart.
"We have searched all the places we could, before finally coming to you at sea," Li Hua sighed. "I hope you understand why Wenzhen lost control of her emotions earlier."
"I was careless this time," Garen calmly admitted his oversight. After talking with the Transmigraters and understanding their situation, he understood that no matter his Natural Attribute Points or the path he chose in the Mother Stream System, it was almost completely unique. The amount of Mother Stream Practitioners were too low, there was almost no one who was known for it. On the other hand, the Natural Attribute Points was even more overpowered, it could help an average person breeze their weakest period in the beginning at their fastest rate.
This was the reason Nine-Tailed Fox and the others had already been stagnating at their peak for the longest time, whilst Garen could improve to this ridiculous level due to his higher Soul Limit and continuous nourishment of the Soul Ring.
With an average Attribute Point of more than five, he would be able to knock down a Mammoth with ease, he was equivalent to a Humanoid T-Rex. For him, handling normal materials was like handing flour, crumbling to dust with just the slightest of pressure.
Seated down, Garen's entire body also looked exponentially stronger as compared to a year ago. His body was easily twice as large as Nine-Tailed Fox. In his white suit that he changed into earlier, it gave of an excessively strong and massive stature.
"Is there any information on where Ah Xue was last seen?"
"Of course there is. I have already hired the best pursuit specialist to investigate and record the situation at the scene," Nine-Tailed Fox had also completely calmed down. Although her tone was still cold, it was no longer like when she lost control earlier.
"Send me the information," Garen said with an unquestionable tone.
"Slayer is just outside. I'll go ask him myself."
Nine-Tailed Fox was slightly shocked.
"I have fought the Slayer before, the difference between our strength is too high, I'm definitely no match for him. Even if we combine our strengths…"
"It's fine," Garen smiled, a weird air of confidence leaked from him. Instantly, Nine-Tailed Fox and Li Hua who seemed like she had something to say were completely silenced.
******
Slann Country Border, Yhann Forest Area.
Within the luscious greenery of the large mangrove forest lied a winding and rugged road.
Vroom!!
Yuria was riding on a black heavyweight motorcycle, his body leaning forward as he sped down the road. He was in a skintight leather suit and a pair of brown sunglasses, completely focussed on the road.
His sister Yurijie was seated behind him, her arms holding on to his waist tightly.
As the motorcycle zoomed past the large mangrove forest, the sound of its engine echoed in the distance. Their speed whipped up the wilted leaves on the road, blowing them up into the sky.
The gloomy sky was covered in clouds, making the entire skyscape a whitish-gray patch. Occasionally, sounds of roaring thunder could be heard.
The motorcycle sped straight towards a sharp turn. The road ahead somehow had a huge log in the middle of it, completely blocking their path.
The motorcycle started to slow down, stopping right before they hit the log.
Yuria signaled for his sister to wait at the side. Without saying a word, he alertly surveyed their surroundings, pulling out the long saber from the scabbard attached to the side of his waist.
Yurijie silently nodded at him, similarly pulling out her saber from her back. The two stood back-to-back as they slowly inched towards the two sides of the forest respectively.
Bang!!
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion right below Yuria's feet.
An intense flare shot up to the sky, breaking through the ground. A large ball of scarlet red flames and smoke burst out, knocking Yuria away, lying straight into a thick tree branch nearby.
"High explosives!!" Yuria felt a sharp pain surging throughout his body, his vision completely blurred up.
The saber in his hand had also been broken in half from the impact of the explosion.
"They really seem to think highly of me, don't they… This power… It's enough to kill an elephant with just the impact…" Even if his Saber Arts were unparalleled, against these types of surprise attacks, he would still have incurred heavy damages despite the Savior's vitality enhancements.
Yuria tried his hardest to scan the area with his blurred vision. He dropped down from the branch and slowly tried to regain his stability. Under the dark lighting, he vaguely saw a large silhouette slowly moving towards him.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
It was the sound of heavy footsteps.
"Humans… How could they have such heavy footsteps?" Yuria was lying flat on his belly, desperately attempting to push himself up. However, he could not stand up for some reason. He tried mustering up all his might but somehow felt his entire body being completely powerless. The power of the Savior he used to have absolute control over had completely disappeared.
"Bro…" He could vaguely hear someone call out to him.
"Xiaojie…" He reached out at the direction of the voice, seemingly grabbing on to something but his grip immediately loosened.
After a moment, the large silhouette finally walked up to Yuria. Looking at it up close, he was shocked to see that it was a giant robot standing at more than two meters in height.
He had a triangular head and his body looking as sturdy as a tank. The robot lifted up one of its legs, before furiously stomping down on Yuria's back.
Bam.
A sudden intense pain.
Yuria's vision turned red as he completely passed out.
******
Pitter Patter…
The rain slowly splattered onto the ground. The icy cold water dripped down along Yuria's cheeks.
It was already night time. A tiny figure walked up to him and squatted down. She slowly turned Yuria's body over before lightly slapping his face.
"Hey, wake up!"
Yuria remained motionless, his blood being washed off by the raindrops on his face. The mixture of blood and rain slowly flowed down his still unconscious body onto the ground, dying the grass below him a pale red.
The tiny figure did not have an umbrella, her body had already been completely drenched by the heavy rain. Looking at the situation, she rapidly applied pressure on to Yuria's chest, placing her ear on it to check for his heartbeat. He was still alive.
This person then stood up and looked around, but there was no one in sight who could lend a helping hand. Seeing no other option, she once again squatted down. With some difficulty, she carried Yuria's body on her shoulders, slowly moving out of the forest onto the road ahead.
******
"What? Yuria is also missing?!"
Garen stood in the restaurant, frustratedly talking on the phone with one of the special agents from the National Security Bureau giving him a report.
"When did this happen?"
"Just a few moments ago. Our contact with the Yuria siblings suddenly got cut off. At the same time, all the communication devices on his body had also been disconnected. Our satellite monitors found the vehicle they were riding abandoned in the middle of the road. The area had traces of an explosion." This female special agent was someone the National Security Bureau specifically tasked to give these reports and updates to Garen. Her speech was short and concise, not wasting any time when conveying the messages.
"Yuria's movements was something that only the National Security Bureau and us would know about. Do we have a spy in our midst!?" Li Hua stood up and said in a low voice.
"This is bad," Garen nodded, his expression starting to pale, "Yuria is a key figure in our plan. This type of incident wasn't accounted for in our original plan. Furthermore, Ah Xue is also missing."
"Could it be the work of the same people?" Nine-Tailed Fox stood up and said. Her current emotions had completely calmed down.
"Vulture would never attempt this stunt on their own. Maybe it's one of the other two countries' forces," Garen guessed, "Red Nation and Black Federation. It should be one of them?"
"The possibility of it being the Black Federation is much higher," Nine-Tailed Fox replied. "They are an ambitious bunch, always trying to start wars and challenges. Yuria is one of the Four Cornerstones, this is something that most of the higher-ups all over the world acknowledged. Their intentions and goals are very obvious, but why would Ah Xue also be targeted?"
"Let's continue this when we get back."
Garen walked out of the restaurant and arrived at the deck. Both hands holding on to the railings at the sides of the ship. He felt the waves of the blue sea violently crashing about causing the cruise ship to rock. He could also see a few ships moving in the distance.