Chapter 522: 522. Hire

Elder Hope was specialized in the gathering of information, and she was the perfect person to guard the teleportation matrix.

Elder Duke and Elder Morgan were the experts in the formation's field, and they were the only ones who could deploy defensive measures around the connection with the Coral archipelago.

Elder Laurel was an expert in the magical plants' field, and she was the only one that could give insights on how to use the capabilities of the White woods to the group's advantage.

Elder Austin, Elder Jason, and Elder Pansy were busy cultivating next to the lava lake, and they were unwilling to abandon that area, they requested reinforcements as a consequence of that unwillingness.

The only heroic cultivator available for that role was Noah.

'I understand their eagerness to cultivate there, but the situation isn't that favorable, the safest option would be to temporary retreat next to the teleportation matrix and slowly enlarge the area under our control.'

Noah thought as he flew toward the southern coast, his mouth continuously chewed pieces of magical beasts to nourish his body.

A few weeks had passed since he left the forest of White woods, Noah didn't hurry toward the lava lake, his priority was to heal his body.

His complexion had mostly recovered after he continuously fed himself, only some bruises were left on his right hand, but they would take less than a day to heal.

After that, he could finally begin to accumulate the "Breath" necessary for the breakthrough in the upper tier, Noah knew that his body would improve by a large margin after it stepped inside the last tier of the fourth rank.

He hadn't needed to accumulate "Breath" for the breakthrough in the middle tier, his body had been at the peak of the lower tier for many years after all, it had already gathered enough nourishments.

Noah increased his flying speed after even his right hand healed, he had no reason to hesitate anymore, and he didn't want to risk enraging the leader of his group.

He wore a simple black robe as he reached for the lava lake, the embroidery on the clothes of the Hive could reveal his identity, he would rather avoid that possibility.

Noah flew past the desert inhabited by the rank 5 Giant sandworm and reached the rocky wasteland filled with red rivers, he soon found three familiar figures floating cross-legged above the red lake.

"You took your time."

Elder Austin spoke as he opened his eyes and straightened his position before turning toward Noah.

Noah simply performed a slight bow before turning his gaze toward the east, he was almost sure that the forces of the Utra nation were exploring the areas in that direction.

"The news has already spread, Elder Cheryl of the Fiery will sect died due to the attack of a dangerous magical plant. The forces of the Council have been able to recover only her space-ring, everything else about her has vanished."

Elder Austin spoke in a calm tone as he continued to stare him, Noah felt the scorching gaze of the leader of his group fixed on him.

"Did they discover us?"

Noah asked, turning himself to face the leader.

Elder Austin sighed before revealing a smile and retracting the heat radiated by his gaze.

"No, but the situation is still quite messy. The Council doesn't believe that Elder Cheryl has died due to her inattention and puts the blame on the other two big nations. On the other hand, the Elbas family denies any involvement in the matter, and the Empire simply doesn't answer to the Papral nation, it seems that you have ruined the peace that lasted for more than four years."

Elder Austin spoke while keeping his smile, he seemed quite amused by that turn of events.

"How is the Hive aware of these details?"

Noah asked when he understood that something was off about Elder Austin's statement.

The three big nations had always been quite secretive about the matters concerning the new continent, it didn't make sense for the Hive to suddenly own all those reports.

Elder Austin released a loud laugh when he heard those words before complimenting Noah.

"You indeed deserve the title of Demon Prince! It's not even a year since you became a heroic cultivator, but you are already going around killing old monsters who have lived for centuries! Good, good!"

Elder Austin threw a small shining orb at Noah when he finished speaking, Noah's mental waves scanned the item as soon as he caught it.

Noah couldn't help but wear a surprised expression when he read the contents of the orb, he raised his gaze toward the leader as if asking if what he was reading was true.

The information contained in the orb explained in detail the events that followed the fall of the piece of Immortal Lands from the Council's point of view.

Anything regarding the traces left by divine beings had been omitted, but Noah could clearly understand how the territories of the new continent had been divided through the years with those reports.

"How did we obtain something like this?"

Noah directly asked, the source of that information had to be trustworthy for Elder Austin to be so sure about the contents of the orb.

"Why do you ask? Only the Papral nation can have such detailed information."

Noah was surprised once again after he heard the leader's words, there was no reason for the Council to hand those reports.

Then, an absurd possibility formed in his mind.

"Don't tell me, they want to cooperate!"

Elder Austin nodded when he saw that Noah had understood the situation and began to explain the matter in detail.

"Yes, well, not exactly cooperation. The political situation on the new continent is tense, one misstep might cause a war, and the defeated would be forced to leave these lands. The Council doesn't know which faction killed Elder Cheryl, but it doesn't want to be the only big nation to suffer casualties. To put it simply, they want to hire us to attack the other factions."