No more voices ring out; only footsteps and hot Ether-imbued auras emerge from the green fog around us.
The pull in my Ether Senses tells me all the approaching Lizardmen have Ether strength similar to the one I just incapacitated in a single attack.
However, it most likely means these are all just miners, and their plot Lord is not present.
I try to sift through more of the Goblin King's memories as the hordes of lizards come out of the fog in full clarity.
Every single one of them has the exact same deep blue scales as the one lying unconscious nearby; however, many of them carry varying Soul Weapons.
I spot swords, shields, clubs, axes, daggers, hammers, and strange weapons I've never seen before.
All of them simultaneously glow with a bright white Ether radiance, and I draw a blank in my memories.
This patch of the middle ring is still a complete mystery to me.
The Goblin King always trekked many zones away from this one. All the surrounding zones from here until reaching the central peak—where the land actually slants upward to form a mountain—are unknowns.
Even conversations I recall with the merchants and slave traders in the black market never mentioned renting out these plots. They're all certainly privately owned...
I snap myself back to reality to deal with the situation at hand. It doesn't matter who owns this plot—I just need to make my way through.
I call out again, "I'm not here to make a mess. I just want to leave and make it to the access point in time..."
My gaze scans over everyone, and not a single one of them flinches.
I know that no matter how many physical attacks I take, my purple barrier can protect me.
However, the tightly gripped hammer in Ava's grasp, less than ten meters away from me, doesn't put me at ease.
There is no way to protect her with enemies coming from all sides, and her avatar limits the amount of Ether she can use in a single attack. Even if I gave her half of my stores right now, it wouldn't make a difference.
Transferring some of my base stats to her might give her a slight edge, but it would drastically decrease my own fighting ability and healing speed in case I'm injured. Only one possibility comes to mind.
I make the split decision to use my internal Rising Emperor's domain interface to share my mythic-grade All-Seeing Eye with her and transmit quick instructions on how to upgrade her skill.
It will drastically increase her reflexes—and, hopefully, a little luck. There isn't much more I can do other than yell through our link while I run forward.
"Stay near their fallen miner. I doubt they'll go all out and risk killing a fellow Lizardman."
I watch her skill proficiency tick up to Special Grade, then Legendary Grade, and finally Mythic Grade as her eyes widen and she steps backward toward the sleeping Lizardman.
My fists burn hot with condensed mental Ether, and my footsteps trail with bright physical Ether streams.
Even now, it's become easier to tap into this power than it was moments ago.
I just visualize and manifest the same feeling as I did in my last two battles and challenge the marching blue-scaled lizards without fear.
Their eyes show no fear at all either, and when I run far enough away from their fallen miner, a barrage of energy slashes comes flying my way.
–
I'm hit from every side, but the attacks aren't much more powerful than the ones I received head-on before.
Over a dozen energy slashes dissipate, and their Ether invades my body. But it is nothing more than hot tingles that are instinctively healed by the time I take my next step.
A smile grows on my face as the marching Lizardmen send more attacks my way, and they do little to no damage while I quickly close the gap.
However, I notice that some of their attacks are not water-based.
I try to wrack my brain for more ideas as the seconds pass and more Lizardmen fall around me. When I think things couldn't get any worse, I spot a far larger problem.
Above, a few hundred meters in the air, just high enough for my vision to see its shadow, the outline of a massive creature flaps its wings overhead.
My eyes widen as the only thing I can see is a glowing [1426] in the sky as it circles above us, watching its underlings overwhelm their prey.
–
Meanwhile, even higher above the clouds in the Citadel, a meeting is taking place on the top-floor office of the World Trading Palace.
Torvak answers two calls incoming from his system interface, linking it to the room's conference feature; two large holograms stare back at him and Ember.
One of the holograms has a user tag reading [Asic793], and the massive nine-meter-tall High Orc below the tag gives a professional smile as he sees his company.
"Congratulations on your matches. I believe this is a secure channel, correct?"
Ember recognizes the face of another First-Class Lord he's done business with in the past, but Torvak replies with a thin smile.
"It should be secure, but a trip to a central meeting point to discuss real business would be far wiser. In theory, while using linked Avatars, any of our conversations can be tapped."
The High Orc grunts and nods, looking over at the second hologram in the room with the user tag [Zashen1005].
It belongs to a towering twelve-meter-tall Berserker Giant King with terrifying sharpened teeth, green eyes, and two massive longswords in its grip. The swords are raised in the air as it joins the conversation.
"Oh, come on, who cares if they hear us! You've already basically declared war on the Demons. We're going to have to fight them no matter what we say."
Ember laughs and speaks.
"Zash, you haven't changed a bit..."
Ember grins with his arms crossed and looks up at the massive hologram. The Berserker Giant lets out a laugh of his own.
"No one calls me that but..." His eyes widen as he realizes who this red haired human really is. "No way... you're really back?!"
Ember nods.
"Indeed. You think Torvak would provoke the Demons like this without a plan? And I'm Ember from now on. Ember the Human."
The Berserker Giant swings its swords about and even throws one spinning up into the air so high that it disappears from the hologram's view.
Asic, the High Orc, looks far more serious as he replies.
"It's good to see you back. Times have changed up here. I've managed to stay alive and keep a large amount of my First-Class Worlds safe, but that's only natural for us—the Warlords of the Ellipsia Citadel. Many of my lower-class races have had to resort to selling illegal Avatars and black-market deeds just to get by."
Torvak nods slowly and replies.
"Yes, I've brought Ember up to speed. He has seen my books and knows of the Demons' suppression."
Zashen catches his sword mid-air and jumps in.
"I've also managed to hold a good amount of my 1st Class Worlds. Most of my newly ascended race does alright too. We make enough in the Grand Citadel's yearly fighting tournaments to get by. And... for a side business, many of the First- and Second-Class Demons use us as their sparring puppets until our avatars break. We're the only race strong enough to stand up to their raw strength and speed."
Ember nods along and finally replies.
"Good. I studied the books and spent a few days in the Volterra District listening in on the general concerns of citizens. While it looks as though this Citadel is still booming on the outside to visitors, all it would take is one more Noble Demon to show up, and the power balance would tilt entirely in their favor..."
He pauses, glancing over at Torvak's messages and noticing one still completely left in the dark, continuing his thoughts after a few seconds.
"Before I explain what I'd like from you, I have one question.The Wyverns. I didn't expect them to call in after a single stunt, and of course, without confirmation that I'm truly here... but I'm curious. Where have they gone? Not a soul spoke their names in the streets these past three days. It's as if they've disappeared from the Upper Realm."