104 Center Region is Under Attack 2

"Look who we have here..." Yuna mumbled as soon as they arrived at the scene where the attack was reported to be. It was a secret runway show, supposed to be where the Ten Grand Families gather yearly.

Yuna already had a hint of it, but now that the proof was in front of her, she couldn't deny the fact that something was happening behind her back. Especially the Grand Families, which were the wealthiest families doing something widely secret from her.

It is unacceptable, of course. But what can she do? It is not like she can control something like that. However, she was still curious about why the attackers would use the grand family as their hostage. It was as if they were expecting negotiations.

Lukros followed Yuna to the scene, as he was also curious about what was happening on this continent. Also, now that he had nothing to think much about, his thoughts were easily organized, starting from cultivating and helping Yuna learn magic.

Yuna then called for a person on the scene, a subordinate that held great power in the military ranks.

They entered a camp that was a few kilometers away from the actual scene. There, they were presented with papers and a list of people and their backgrounds involved in the hostages.

"There were still some unidentified individuals held as hostages, but we are working on identifying them."

Yuna just eyed them with her usual cold eyes, then breathed out, unsure of what to do next with the information she got.

"Explain every detail of what happened here. Also, report what you got after the runway show. It seems to be exclusive and hidden from the mass." Yuna remarked, which was seen as an order by the subordinate in front of her.

"At noon, at 1300 hours, the runway started and it ended by 1500 hours. After that, out of nowhere, a huge group of cultivators, starting from the General Spirit Realm, attacked the runway and held everyone as hostages."

"All of them were 50 in total, and a small fight broke out, but after a few minutes, the attackers held the ground successfully. And that is where the hostage-taking was announced."

"This information was acquired after an individual on the runway escaped from the attackers. He was apparently a spy of a caliber that even General Spirit Realm cultivators couldn't notice."

Yuna attentively listened to him, and as he finished reporting, Yuna started talking as well, with the authority of slightly questioning the validity of the hostage-taking.

"It is a trap for them to call it a hostage. If they wanted to have negotiations, it would be better if they just kidnapped them. This makes it confusing on our part. How should we interpret it?" Yuna mumbled as he concluded things from the information she got.

'Why would they put themselves in such a tight position? It's as if they were intentionally trying to keep our attention on them...' A soliloquy made by Yuna.

On the other hand, Lukros was also thinking about it, but his head was hurting.

"What do you think about it, Brother Lukros?" Yuna suddenly asked Lukros, who was surprised by it. He unstably moved his eyes, awkward about what to say to her.

"Hehehe... Just don't involve me with the brain games, Lady Yuna. Just the fight... The fight... I am too naive to think rationally." Lukros reluctantly said to her, making her smile awkwardly.

"Ah... I see..."

Then, Yuna continued talking with her subordinate while Lukros left the camp. He left a word for Yuna that he'd be just looking at the surroundings, and he was immediately allowed to do so.

Thus, after leaving the camp, what Lukros wanted to do was to look at things. He wanted to learn more about the systems cultivators use in everyday life. It's not even the everyday routine, but just the case where they act normally.

Normally... By what he was referring to was how cultivators act with each other.

Lukros eyes were laid on two cultivators, joking around with their arms on each other's shoulders.

They were wearing normal clothes and did not look like part of the military that was investigating and managing the hostage-taking.

And as Lukros followed them with his eyes, they stopped at one tree, then suddenly vomited. 

Lukros's eyes abruptly widened as he realized why they supported each other with their shoulders. It was because they were drunk.

"How could they be drunk at this early hour? It is still 4 pm though." Lukros mumbled to himself.

Lukros just ignored them and continued walking down a path that seemed to be a street but was really just a paved road near a river.

He was just chilling, walking slowly, and using his time to enjoy the moment he had. Well, because this is what he enjoys. 

Apart from gathering energy and playing with it, Lukros likes to see peaceful scenery. Things like streams that flow down a river, trees on a sunny day, and many more. He likes to waste his time relaxing, as sometimes he gets tired of looking at tainted souls that he can't absorb.

It just frustrated him, and no matter how much he liked to absorb them, a reminder flashed within his mind, instantly stopping him from doing it.

Lukros just walked, and enjoyed it, but not until it was disrupted by a few cultivators, five in total, with tainted souls that bumped into him on purpose.

"Hey! Look at that one. A young master and a mortal at the same time! Wouldn't it be fun to tease him?"

"Ah... I think it would be funny as well. Pathetic worms, using the same road as the masters of the street."

"Hey, worm! Come here, you bumped into us."

"Hehehe... Seems like it would be an easy game for us. His bodyguards seem to be absent. Let's rip him off!"

Lukros widened his eyes in accordance with what he had just heard. He didn't hear it wrong, right? These people were just planning, just in front of him, where they could be heard and he was not even scared an inch.

Well, it was understandable since the disparity was so huge that they couldn't even sense the difference in their power. Not being arrogant, Lukros knew that they were just ants to him.

They could even be equal to a frog in a well, unable to come back to the surface because of a lack of ability to do so. 

Plenty of thoughts emerged in his mind, making him laugh heinously. And as they saw him laugh, they thought that Lukros was losing his mind and was in despair.

And just as they realized that Lukros was not in his right mind, they also laughed.

"Wow... Look at this punk laughing at us," Irritatedly said one of the cultivators. 

But just as he said those words, he prepared his fist and launched it at Lukros, with the intent of punching him in the face. There was also a hint of spiritual energy in his fist.

Lukros noticed it earlier, and as it was slow for his reflexes, he easily dodged it.

That cultivator that intended to punch him became more irritated, thus making him fix his stance and launch an uppercut with his right arm. But Lukros safely dodged it. With a grin on his face, he flashed it to the cultivator.

"Hoy... You are good at dodging. Let's see if you can dodge this."

[Intermediate Air Punch]

As if moving like a flash, air pressure was formed and was launched towards Lukros. But it was still slow for him, making him dodge it easily.

"You don't learn," Lukros said, then launched an attack.

[Death Blade]

A vicious smile appeared on Lukros's face as he created a sword and used a martial technique with it. Crimson streaks, in a small amount, appeared with a minuscule amount of dark particles embedded with them.

They all saw it, and it was so instant that they couldn't even react to it. They just stood still, as if it immediately glued them to their position.

They acted that way because they were used to being impulsive. As they were street thugs, they jumped at every opportunity they saw without properly thinking that they might have underestimated or overestimated their ability to assess someone.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Tainted souls will be tainted souls. But I wonder, do you perhaps know something about what was happening there? " Lukros pointed in the direction where the hostage-taking is currently happening.

He wasn't interested in it. He just asked it so that words could come out of his mouth because, deep inside, he was too delighted that he wanted to launch this martial technique he performed.

They all shook their heads in unison, their eyes gawking. They appeared to be unable to gather their words, and just like that, Lukros sighed.

"I am just joking. I don't intend to kill anyone without my master knowing it. But if you like, I am willing to take your life." Lukros said, with an eerie smile behind those words.

"Ah... Ah..."

Lukros scoffed at how they appeared to be mute because of the situation. If things seemed to be okay for them, people would be confident, but if not, they would lose hope and wish to be eaten by the ground.

Well, it was something normal, but Lukros didn't know it. And observing their personalities, he slowly understood that they were being agitated by him because he revealed his power.

"So, power was it?" Lukros breathed out then swayed his sword.

He instantly created an arch of crimson light, detaching their heads from their bodies.

"I care less..." Lukros mumbled.

Lukros felt that he was finally done with the bothersome, thus making him create the sphere, as he did not disobey his master's words of absorbing people with tainted souls. He killed them and would use the excess energy from their bodies as nourishment for his cultivation.

But it wasn't flawless as someone noticed this action. Calling out for his attention, that instantly froze him in his position.

"Murderer!"