1353 Chaos
Ryu could feel the shift in the atmosphere, but his expression didn't change much. If it did, it was rather into an even deeper smile. It seemed that these little political games could be fun... depending on the stakes, that was.
It was too bad, though. This Empana might be very talented, but if it was a matter of intelligence, he was too far inferior, and when it came to who had the sharper mouth, they weren't even in the same league.
"Oh?" Ryu blinked, somewhat confused by Empana's words. "I'm in the Dao Pedestal Realm. I was brought here to be a Ruin Master. My commands are also supposed to be given through General Jorlumin here. If you wanted me to take a more active role, I could, but I'll need more authority. I'll help out in whatever way you need."
Empana froze when he heard these words. The implications almost made him blush with shame. On top of that, Ryu seemed to hit all of his weaknesses at once.
Wanting a Dao Pedestal Realm expert to help you get out of a dangerous situation? Wasn't that far too ridiculous?
At the same time, during that situation, if it wasn't for Ryu's orders, they wouldn't have died in the attempt just like those that had rushed through. If they hadn't followed his orders, they would have been the ones dead on the ground. When they realized this, they felt a shudder go through their souls.
Also, there was the most apparent part. If Ryu wanted to deal with them, could not he have just uttered nothing at all? If he had just remained silent, considering how fast they're going, at least half of them would have died and Ryu would have been the only one to make it to the other side.
The moment others thought to this point, they began to find that Empana's words were a bit ridiculous. Even though they thought this within their hearts, they did not say it out loud, nor did they turn a questioning gaze toward Empana. What a joke, how could they do such a thing to the hope of their race?
Even so, Empana's prestige took a major hit.
Empana remained silent for a long while. He knew that he had suffered a loss, one that he could not easily reverse without being given time. He found it hard to believe that he was out maneuvered by a Dao Pedestal Realm expert, but this was probably how Morhorn had felt as well. There was really nothing else for him to say about this matter.
Ryu waited in silence. Empana could tell immediately that Ryu was simply waiting for something, and when Empana realized what it was, his heart shook. For the first time, he felt somewhat flustered. Only now did he realize that Ryu had yet to drive the nail into the coffin.
Empana closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them slowly, his calm having been restored.
"I see, I've misunderstood Ruin Master, then. Please continue to lead the path ahead, then."
Ryu smiled and nodded. Without another word, he turned and urged Little Silk forward.
Mae sent a glance back toward Empana. Every moment she spent with Ryu, she seemed to understand him a bit more, and it was ironically through the frustration of others. Empana might be powerful, but he was not at the level of her father just yet, but even the Patriarch of the Dream Asura's had ended up in a sorry state before Ryu. This seemed to be the result for anyone who was in his sights.
After Ryu turned around, his gaze narrowed.
Empana removing a hint of their veil of cordiality was troublesome for him as well. There was a reason he hadn't used that moment to deal with Empana's group. That was because he still needed them. It was impossible to kill them all with that single trap, and killing any of Empana's people would have definitely crossed his bottom line and put him in a compromised position.
In the end, he chose to do this.
Even so, despite the seriousness of his expression, his blood was boiling.
He entered the rainforest quickly. The humidity was so dense that a single gulp of air felt as though he was trying to gasp for breath in the depth of the ocean. It was so much more exaggerated than it had felt within the catacombs, so much so that Ryu felt that there was likely a pseudo barrier blocking the two locations.
"This will be a problem...' Ryu's eyes narrowed.
Air was not the only problem here. The density of water vapor in the air seemed to also be pushing qi away, making it far more sparse here than it should be. If they used their qi too freely, they would definitely end up like fish out of water.
Ryu, though, was fascinated by this, because it reminded him a lot of Infinity Mist. Even moving in this atmodimension made his body feel heavier than normal, let alone breathing and gathering qi.
And yet, this water vapor was the most normal of waters that could be found even in mortal worlds.
'It's not just the water, but how it's being used...'
Ryu had only just stepped into the rainforest, but he believed that he already understood what the key to making it out of this place was. His mind was as sharp as ever, and he once again did not feel like he needed to rely on his Matrix. However, did the others need to know that?
'They should break through in about three hours...' Ryu's eyes narrowed.
...
While Ryu was leading the Sky Gods of the Fifth Plane by the nose, the situation on the Sixth Heaven of the True Martial World was quickly heating up as well. This was surrounding two matters.
The first was the escape of Isemeine and Eska. The second was the quickly approaching Complete Heavenly Path and the troubles that it had bought.
However, these matters had nothing to do with the current Ryu as he tried to carve out a path to survival. But what did have to do with him was a tunnel that suddenly split the Fifth Plane in two.
Out from this impossible massive portal, a man with raging red hair stepped out.
