Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 605: Missive

Bringing Kenzie to the heart of the base filled Zac with trepidation, but she quickly proved her value as she narrated what she had done while Zac was out exploring. She had managed to get quite a few things done even with the high security of the base, mainly increasing the protection of the gates leading to their bases.

Most notably she had constructed a series of defensive lines leading all the way from the biospheres to the fortified door leading to the Outer Rim, where one press of a button would trigger the base to attack everything within hundreds of meters. It was the same sort of arrangement the Werewolf Datamancer had activated as a last resort against him, though Kenzie's method could be used remotely.

Also, she had finished boobytrapping the spatial tunnel, making sure that it would close up if anyone without Port Atwood credentials tried to enter it, making it impassable. It would remain closed even after the spatial turbulence abated until Kenzie fixed it again.

Of course, this trap would be possible to trigger remotely as well.

It was a weight off Zac’s shoulders. Having all the elites of his alliance enter the depths of the Mystic Realm would expose not only their temporary bases but even Earth. This way there would be no risk of either the Cartava Clan or the Werewolves sneaking outside while Zac was busy dealing with the Dimensional Seed.

The other exits were still an issue that Zac couldn't affect, but his remote archipelago should be relatively safe even if some of the natives managed to sneak out while he was occupied.

She, or rather Jeeves, had even figured out a way to add certain modules to the base. Most notably, they had finished a prototype communications relay that could be connected to door terminals. The whole base was under some sort of interference that limited the range of cultivator-based communication crystals, and they could barely reach from one side of the base to another.

But what Kenzie had created would allow Port Atwood's people to use their Earth-based technology to communicate throughout the base, as long as there wasn't too-large a distance between the relays that Kenzie would install. It wouldn't even be a problem to communicate with the Glass-house all the way from their base.

This functionality already existed inside the base according to Leviala, but they didn't have time to hack into that system. This seemed like a quick and easy fix that would allow them to set up a private network within the base, further increasing security. Zac also updated Kenzie about what he had encountered while exploring the base, though he downplayed just how close he got to dying.

“It's good that you managed to take our people back. But it looks like those werewolves will be a problem,” Kenzie sighed.

“They’re pretty damn strong,” Zac nodded. “I think only a few of our people and the strongest Anointed can deal with their elite soldiers on a one-on-one. But hopefully, we’ll get some help from Clan Cartava after I saved their young miss.”

“Oh, that reminds me. I got something for you from Calrin,” Kenzie said. “Why did you spend so much money to look up a force full of nuns? Because of Leyara Lioress? The report says she's quite a beauty.”

“Oh, it’s here?” Zac asked with excitement, ignoring the jab at the end.

He had completely forgotten about his most recent order with the Sky Gnome due to the recent events, but this was perfect. Anything that could help him increase his understanding of his Bloodline would be helpful as he set course for the Inner Lab.

“I read it, there’s not too much information,” Kenzie said as she handed over a crystal. “They seldom invite outsiders, and they don’t leave their monasteries very often. However, their Strength is pretty amazing. The current Void Priestess is a true powerhouse, and she singlehandedly fought off six Monarchs of similar rank two hundred thousand years ago. Since then, she has probably only grown stronger.”

Zac’s brows rose in shock when he learned about the strength of Leyara’s Master. It was no wonder Leyara could stand next to Pretty Peak and the other elite scions right at the center of the Base Town.

Defeating six people of the same rank wasn’t anything special for him, but it was a completely different story at the C-Grade. Out of trillions of people only one C-Grade warrior might appear, and who among these elites didn’t have their own slew of unique encounters and hidden aces? Everyone was a monster who punched way above their weight class by that point, as even just regular elites had long been weeded out by that point.

Zac quickly scanned the contents of the Crystal, but there was not much else apart from what he had already learned. The only significant clue was that there were rumors of some sort of connection between that reclusive force and the Limitless Empire.

Both the Void Priestess and many of her followers had often been seen trying to acquire remnants of that long-fallen empire, sometimes spending obscene amounts of money on seemingly useless relics. The information suddenly made him remember something he had almost forgotten. Back during the first action of the Base Town an Urn was sold for an extremely exaggerated price.

The buyer, wasn’t it actually Leyara? He had only caught a glimpse of her face when she entered the bidding war on top of the floating platform, but the more he thought about it the more certain he became. He simply hadn’t made the connection back when they actually met as his mind was still occupied with his conversation with Catheya.

The huge battle between the Void Priestess and the other C-Grade Monarchs that had caused waves in the whole Zecia sector 200 000 years ago was apparently over a C-Grade Mystic Realm said to contain remnants of the Limitless Empire as well.

That didn't say too much though, as there were quite a few collectors and enthusiasts when it came to the Limitless Empire. It was once the most powerful force in the multi-verse, and Emperor Limitless was generally considered the most powerful being in history. Some simply found it interesting, while others hoped to strike it rich by finding a supreme treasure among the ancient rubble.

But it was also possible that the Void Monastery had some actual relation to that ancient faction? Did that have some implications to his Void Emperor Constitution? He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering, and one possibility made his heart beat like a drum.

What if his mother had implanted him with the bloodline of Emperor Limitless?

“If you want to reach that Lab we should get going. We only have a bit over three days,” Kenzie reminded. "It will take almost two days even if we keep a high pace based on the maps you gave me, and that's provided we don't run into any issues on the way."

“Do you think you will be able to use these tablets like the native Datamancers?” Zac asked.

“Probably, at least with the help of my clearance. Jeeves might be able to force open some things, but he isn't really built for these kinds of tasks. So if we encounter someplace where neither of our credentials works there might be trouble,” Kenzie said after some thought.

“That’s good enough. Better than completely relying on outsiders,” Zac nodded, knowing that Jeeves was mainly a cultivation tool aimed to make Kenzie stronger. “Do you have an exact estimate of when the Dimensional Seed will mature?”

“Hard to say,” Kenzie said hesitantly. “Our estimates are based on when the spatial turbulence reaches a critical level and the portal naturally closes. But the Dimensional Seed might mature sooner or later as well. But it should be close. It's like the treasure is gathering Spatial energies to make a final push.”

“Well, better safe than sorry. I want to reach the Lab with one day to spare. Let's go,” Zac nodded.

The idea of him having such a vaunted bloodline felt extremely alluring, but he knew it was a long shot. He couldn’t be certain, but he didn’t believe that the man in his visions was Emperor Limitless at least. The man soaring through the cosmos on a meteor was extremely powerful, but he wasn’t anywhere near the godlike being that crushed the Heart of Oblivion or the Spark of Creation. Zac wasn't even sure if he was at the same level as the ancient protector was the source of his Draugr's Dao Vision.

But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a connection. Perhaps the Void Bloodline came from some other powerful person from the Limitless Empire. After all, the Limitless Emperor didn’t create the System alone. He had the assistance of millions of unbelievably powerful warriors, many of them probably even at the A-Grade.

Perhaps the remnants of one of these powerhouses were located in the Zecia sector, which was both the source of his Bloodline and the heritage that the Void Monastery was built upon.

No matter what the truth was, it was worth looking into. The Void Monastery was hard to visit according to the missive, but it wasn’t impossible. As a powerful faction they controlled thousands of worlds, and some of them were popular trade hubs the Monastery used to gather cultivation resources. If went there he would probably be able to contact Leyara one way or another.

Kenzie had soon prepared everything she needed, which was apparently half a workshop including a series of technocrat 3D-printers she had cobbled together. The demon was still waiting outside, giving Kenzie a sunny smile as they exited her house.

“So you are in the mystic realm, after all? I guess your communication crystal broke,” Kenzie said cooly.

“Enough,” Zac sighed, knowing that Ogras had been lying low due to his condition. "No time to lose."

Zac maintained a rapid pace this trip on his way out of the base, but neither his sister nor Orgas had any problems keeping up. Ogras had his shadows and Kenzie utilized some sort of wind-based movement skill to run, each step making her look like she was weightless.

They arrived at the glasshouse just a few hours later, having been only been half an hour delayed by Kenzie installing her new communications modules. Kenzie opened the gate this time to confirm that their different clearance titles didn’t mean different access. Zac wasn’t very interested in the interiors, but Ogras curiously glanced toward the stalls.

“What is this place..?” Ogras muttered as he looked around.

“I think it’s for them,” Zac said as he pointed to the caged Lunar Wolves. “Thea said it might be a field lab to study the Lunar Wolves, and I’m inclined to believe. To take a bloodline of a beast and infusing it into a cultivator. Have you heard of anything like it?”

“Anything’s possible,” Ogras shrugged. “Some beasts can even gain a humanoid form at certain stages, allowing them to essentially become cultivators themselves. The humanoid descendants of such cultivators would carry their bloodline. Of course, this seems to be something else, like a shortcut.”

“We’ll find out what’s going on here sooner or later,” Zac said as he started walking, but he stopped when he noticed that his sister hadn’t followed them inside. “What are you doing?”

He saw that Kenzie was still standing by the terminal, but she had connected the tablet to it. The screen was rapidly flashing with the language of the base, and Kenzie was seemingly trying to take it all in.

“I’m just checking this thing out,” Kenzie said without moving her eyes away from the screen. “I want to see how these main gates work, if you can change the clearance levels required to pass through. I mean, if the natives don’t have any clearance levels, then we might be able to lower the clearance to level 1 or something.”

“Don’t fiddle with that door though,” Zac quickly said. “The walls will try to kill us if you trigger the security protocols, and this one has already been triggered once.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just reading,” Kenzie smiled. “Give me a few minutes. There’s so much information to go through. This one has ten times the number of protocols compared to the normal doors.”

“Fine, I need to talk with Thea anyway. But be careful with that thing,” Zac said as he walked out through the barn door.

He had already spotted Thea standing outside, overseeing the transformation in the area. Two large walls had appeared in the short while Zac had been cultivating, with massive brass cannons mounted at regular intervals. Hundreds of Zhix warriors scurried back and forth working on the defensive perimeter, and groups of human cultivators seemed to be readying themselves for war as well.

Thick barriers rose toward the sky as well, blocking any potential attacks coming from the forest, and Zac could even spot squads of Tal-Eladar roving outside, maintaining an outer perimeter. Zac hadn’t given any explicit orders on how to deal with moving the armies forward, but it seemed like they had everything in hand.

He had been worried about leaving these people alone as they traveled toward the inner reaches of the Mystic Realm, but seeing the strength and ingenuity of the elites of Earth filled him with confidence, allowing him to solely focus on his own mission.

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