Chapter 170: Meet The Lords

Chapter 170: Meet The Lords

Jack and his companions couldnt sense the aftermath of the girl and the fat guys attack, but it must have been tremendous. The space monster horde had all but evaporated before them, sent flying by the giant palm or burned to cinders by the sun that erupted in their midst.

Thankfully, those people were so far away they were barely visible.

As I was saying, Gan Salin continued, thats Lady Priya of the Exploding Sun faction. One of the three Lords.

Exploding Sun? Jacks ears perked up.

Your master was part of them, correct? Salin asked. Then, I suppose these people are possible allies. Were in dire need of some.

Right.

The Exploding Sun areless oppressive than the rest of them, Nauja added, hesitantly. I could work with them.

Or you could die, Salin probed her.

Im a proud barbarian. I am not afraid of death. Whats that?

Her finger was pointed in the distance. Far to the right of the Exploding Sun lady, something odd was going on. Jack had to squint to make it out. Are the monsters fighting each other?

I dont think so, Nauja replied, staring intently. Her senses were the sharpest of the team. Its like the space monsters are fighting a horde ofbeasts? I think I see a bear. And a bird. Maybe an eagle?

Maybe theyre animal-shaped space monsters.

Or summoned beasts, Gan Salin intervened. Everyone turned to look at him. He continued, If two of the Lords are pushing into Space Ring, chances are, so is the third. And shes a summoner. This could be her.

A summoner? Jack asked, eyes wide.

Did you notice a guy riding a scaled lizard back in Village Ring? An annoying-looking guy? That was a summoner, too. They use beasts to fight.

It isnt common, but not too rare, either, Nauja added, her eyes hardening. Ive seen plenty in my ring. They like capturing dinosaurs.

I can imagine Jacks voice trailed off. His eyes were still on the far-away battle between beasts and space monsters. In fact, calling it a battle was far-fetched. More like a slaughter.

The space monsters, their forms multicolored and easily visible, were ripped apart by the beasts. Before long, nothing was left.

What faction is she from? Jack asked. This summoner Lord.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach. If she used animals to fight, could she belong to

Its not what you think, Salin said, chuckling. The Animal Kingdom is animals. We actually despise summoners.

Oh, thank God.

However, the faction she comes from is even more terrifying. Thats Lady Minerva from the Hand of God.

The Hand of God? Jack raised a brow. I didnt know they raised their own disciples.

Of course they do. They were formed to enforce the Star Pact, but that doesn't mean they arent a real faction. They have businesses, headquarters, training planets, disciples, elders All the good stuff.

Then, are they the strongest B-Grade faction?

Salin thought about it for a moment. Yes and no, he finally replied. Technically, they possess the greatest military power, influence, and legal authority of all the factions. However, its not like they can ever mobilize fully. To create the Hand of God, every other faction offered some people and resources. As a result, they all have influence on the Hand of Gods internal processes, and the faction itself is a patchwork of several groups vying for dominance. If it ever went to war, there would be chaos.

But its already at war. Against the Black Hole Church.

Thats not the same. The Church is not part of the Galactic Alliance. Just a bunch of strong lunatics.

I see.

As Jack was leaving Earth, the Sage had revealed he belonged to the Black Hole Church. Hed also helped Jack a lot during the Tournament. Were they really lunatics?nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

Plus, Master Shol had told Jack that the Church worshiped the Old Onesor something like that. The Ancient ruins where hed found the Life Drop also had hints of peoplethe Ancients?worshiping the Old Ones, which made little sense.

Could things be more complex than they seemed?

In that sense, they were lucky. Since most delvers had waited for the Lords to start advancingthe annual Garden AssaultJacks group was moving at the front by itself, almost stealthily. The other cultivators came as a stampede, raising the ire of every monster in this section of Space Ring.

It wasnt just the Lords, of course. Each of them was followed by many teams, dozens of cultivators, who sought to participate in the Garden Assault.

As a result, Jacks team didnt have to worry about space monsters. The ones they met were few and far between, all handled easily by their team of foureffectively threeeven if they were at the late E-Grade.

On the darker side, this meant fewer levels.

Over their first fifteen hours in Space Ringthankfully, they had little need for sleepJack rose by four levels, to Level 88. Salin got ten, stopping at Level 74, and Nauja got two, reaching Level 103. By that point, they were halfway through.

Space Ring was a tricky place. With all its bubbles, biomes, and trials spread around, it sounded like something that would take a long time to explore. In reality, the first half was picked clean. There were no natural treasures to find, no trials to complete. Any trial still available was either low-quality or extremely niche.

Compatibility was a big concern when it came to trials. They altered the cultivator, offering insights or assistance on a specific path. To someone cultivating a different path, this could actually be harmful. Even if you were on a compatible path, a low-quality inheritance could give you benefits that accelerated your current growth but became problems later on.

Therefore, just finding a trial meant nothing. You had to grasp its contents beforehand and decide whether it was suitable for you.

This was all insight that Gan Salin gave them on the way. Apparently, the first Ring Quest of Space Ring, completing a trial for any member of your team, was not easy.

Throughout their trip so far, the group had stumbled upon several trials, none suitable for any of them. Most were empty, too, already claimed by someone else.

However, there were tens of thousands of bubbles. By now, the group had traversed dozens, carving out a path through space that was uniquely theirs. As they passed the halfway mark of Space Ring, they finally chanced upon a bubble that hadnt been visited in ages.

The air was dense here, rich in oxygen. A small hill rested in the middle of a grassland, with vines crawling all over its surface. Jack spotted a small rabbit chewing on the roots.

Incredible, he said, staring at the little animal. A rabbit. Here. How many centuries, how many millennia has its family spent in the darkness, in this mile-wide bubble?

Come here, little buddy, Gan Salin said, stepping forward. The rabbit approached and sniffed them. Indeed, its family line hadnt seen cultivators for a thousand generations. They did not know to be afraid.

Thankfully for the rabbit, Gan Salin didnt intend to harm it. He picked it up and hugged it, petting it between the ears. The rabbit seemed shocked. A moment later, it kicked its way out of his arms and rushed into a hole in the base of the hill.

That was cute, Nauja admitted.

Salin smiled. Animals indicate a healthy biome. Healthy means untampered. And untampered means riches for us. Hurray!

He threw his hands in the air.

Hurray, Jack followed half-heartedly. Brock did, too, but with great excitement. Nauja simply stared.

Can we focus? she asked. Those Lords are delayed by the hordes, but theyre still after us.

No worries. This deep in the ring, stumbling upon others is unlikely. If we run into a Lord here, thats just bad luck. The next ring is where everyone will converge.

Since the bubbles were safespace monsters couldnt enter, and there were no dangers insidesearching was quick and easy. It took the group only a few minutes to realize that the natural treasure here was the fruits of the vine. There were two of them, one on each side of the hill, radiating a strong, metallic life force.

They were red and pumped full of juices.

Blood Dao, Nauja said, inspecting them. She plucked one off, holding it between her thumb and index finger. Too bad none of us cultivates it.

Look at the bright side, Salin said. We can sell them off. I dont think theyre strong enough for immortals, but they should fetch a good price.

These berries were similar to the Fire Ice Lotus that everyone had fought for during the Integration Auction. Perhaps not of the same quality, but still very useful. They contained naturally grown hints of the Dao.

Theres two of them, Jack said.

Can I have one? Nauja asked. A tribe close to mine has someone with blood Dao. This could help them.

Sure. Jack nodded. Salin, want the other one?

Okay, the canine quickly agreed. You get first dibs on the next one. Well probably start finding things from now on.

I hope so Jack said, turning to the darkness beyond. The light of the sun mushrooms had already dimmed to the point of moonlight on Earth. Even deeper into the ring, it gradually dimmed even further, to the point where the deepest reaches were completely dark.

The far side of Space Ringthe inner sidewasnt covered in sun mushrooms, as the outer side was. As a result, the deepest reaches of the ring were pitch-black. It was where the greatest trials and treasures waited, as well as the greatest dangers. According to Gan Salin, the darkness hid even D-Grade monsters.

The only exceptions to the darkness were a few distinct columns of lightthe exits to the next ring. Each exit was surrounded by a small amount of sun mushrooms that projected a wide beam of light through the darkness, like a beacon. That way, anyone wanting to reach the next ring could do it without braving the total darkness.

But that would mean losing out. And Jack didnt feel like losing out.