Chapter 1029: 1029. Questioning

Out of all the people that had died after helping him, Ivor was the last one that he had yet to avenge. He even held a peculiar place in his mind compared to the other important figures in his life.

Ivor had taught him the inscription method on which Noah still based most of his creations. It wouldn't be wrong to say that his teachings had been what had allowed Noah to reach his current level.

The two of them had never been too close. Noah could barely think about anything but himself back then, and Ivor only wanted to keep his inscription method alive.

Their relationship wasn't about affection. Noah and Ivor had their plans, and they had never let their feelings hinder them. Also, both their situation and their mental state weren't ideal for that.

However, even if Ivor was practically a walking corpse, he had unlocked Noah's potential and was worthy of a good end.

Thaddeus shuddered when Noah's hand landed on his shoulder. He felt as if the slightest pressure could reduce his entire body into ashes. Still, those words reminded him of the smelly ruined cultivator that had taught Noah that reckless inscription method.

The Elbas family had researched the Elemental Forging method after Noah's hybrid status became renowned. The Royals thought that the secret of the fusion was behind that unorthodox practice, but they soon discovered that it was more than that.

The Elemental Forging method wasn't just about storing "Breath" inside the sea of consciousness. The real talent was in bending that energy to a will, which only exceptional cultivators could achieve.

A massive organization like the Elbas family had assets that met both requirements, but no positive results came from the experiments. Each expert lacked something that only Noah had, and that wasn't about his mental sphere being stronger than his dantian.

The Royals couldn't possibly know that Noah used his boundless ambition as the foundation for his wills. If they did, they would have never tried to cage him into the criminal army.

Moreover, it wasn't only a matter of ambition. Instead, it was the intensity of that feeling that made Noah's miraculous creations possible.

Thaddeus slowly began to accept his death as Noah's reptilian eyes kept on piercing his mind. He knew that he wouldn't leave that spot alive, but that realization made him calm.

Once abandoned every hope to survive, Thaddeus could focus on protecting his loved ones, and one of them happened to be the culprit behind Ivor's killing.

"I did it," Thaddeus said in a calm tone, but a sharp pain spread from his shoulder as soon as he finished his line.

Thaddeus turned only to see that everything under his right shoulder had disappeared. Noah had taken out even a piece of his neck with his move, but he was far from done.

Noah placed his other hand on Thaddeus' remaining shoulder and neared his ear. The Royal felt relieved that the reptilian eyes had left his mind, but the chilling voice that followed made him long for those vertical pupils.

"You have always been nothing more than a lapdog," Noah said as growls echoed at the bottom of his throat. "You have never made any real decision in your life. Now, give me a name before I bring you home to play."

Fear invaded Thaddeus once again when he heard those words. Noah didn't care about the silent agreement at all, so he believed him.

There were fates worse than death, especially in the cultivation world. Thinking about what Noah could do with him made Thaddeus shudder even more. He began to see the end as a reward at that point.

"I-I can't," Thaddeus stuttered, but that was only the beginning.

Noah closed his hand, and Thaddeus' left shoulder turned into a bloody pulp. His arm fell into the sea of fire below, becoming nothing more than ashes.

The Royal didn't feel any pain. His body was nothing more than an unresponsive block of ice, frozen in fear of the things that Noah would do if he took him to the Hive.

Part of him wanted to give up his father. He would be dead anyway, so he wouldn't feel the shame of betraying the man that had given him his current power and position.

Yet, an oppressive aura soon spread in the environment, and all the surviving members of the Elbas family recognized it. Even Noah could understand its source. Only a powerhouse could make him feel in danger at his level.

'Time is up,' Noah thought as he waved his hand. Thaddeus' head vanished, and his body fell into the sea of flames. Noah didn't even try to grab it since he had smelled the scent of the Royal pool when he neared him.

Moreover, he had gained a general idea about Ivor's killer. Thaddeus would be willing to resist so much only to defend someone close to him, which put a target on Cecil Elbas.

"What is this?" King Elbas said when he arrived on the battlefield. His voice spread through the entire region, and the mental waves that it carried hurt Noah's injured mind.

"What are you even doing?" King Elbas spoke again, but his voice aimed directly for Noah at that time. Snore though coiled itself around him and absorbed part of the pressure, saving his mind from further pain.

"I was pursuing a personal matter," Noah said in an uncaring tone. The two of them weren't at the same level, but the leader of the Royals had to respect his power a bit now.

"What personal matter?" King Elbas answered angrily. "You slaughtered my underlings without any reason!"

"I thought this war didn't have a precise reason," Noah answered as he shrugged his shoulders. His consciousness expanded past the region to search for the group of rebels, and he felt relieved sensing that they had entered the wasteland under the Hive's control.

He had given Skully a few indications before shooting toward the battle. Noah didn't mind revealing that a Kesier Ape had joined the ranks of the Hive, but Skully was hiding the Seventh rune.

Her mental waves barely prevented the leakage of the divine aura. Any powerhouse flying near her would sense the rune, so he had to get her inside the Hive.

King Elbas showed an unsightly expression at his remark, and he stretched his hand as flames formed in his palm.

Noah didn't have any fear. His condition was too poor even to hope to survive that attack, but he knew that the powerhouse was already too late.

As if answering to his confidence, two massive auras spread on the battlefield. The alliance's powerhouses arrived on the region, and they shot a surprised look in Noah's direction before wearing stern expressions and facing King Elbas.

The black flames and the smoke dispersed a few seconds after their arrival, showing the destruction that Noah had caused. The number of casualties was immense, and only June and a few Royals had survived.

The Elbas family had lost most of its heroic assets a few minutes after Noah made his official reappearance in the new continent.