Chapter 261: Test something.

While Darcia and Lammert planned their next moves according to how they had interpreted the situation, others were doing the same.

Leonhard Dynasty was the first to start withdrawing from the Neutral Lands. They slowly started to shift their business and important structures back to their part of the continent.

It was a wake-up call for all those who weren't affiliated with the four giant factions that the situation was serious and they also had to start moving.

If even the Leonhard Dynasty was serious in moving out from the Neutral Lands, they couldn't hope to stick around here either.

What surprised many was how the Ashin family, the Church, and Leonhard Dynasty didn't try to stir up any trouble with each other at all. They would previously be always at each other's throats, but their docile nature now made everyone apprehensive.

A solemn atmosphere took over the Neutral City.

Mercenary Guild already had hundreds of requests for either helping people to relocate or protecting them while people moved out of the Neutral City.

For an average person, moving out of the Neutral City and then crossing hundreds of miles wasn't something that they could do on a whim like Ozul. They required strong escorts that would protect them not only from the Magical Beasts but from the bandits as well.

The solemn atmosphere of the Neutral Lands also quickly spread to the rest of the continent.

Many just dismissed it as rumors while others began to exaggerate the rumors.

.. .

Uncaring about the situation all over the continent, Ozul lazily woke up and went out of his room together with Jinx.

He had told her to follow him specifically this time.

Coming down from the 8th floor, Ozul looked for Raven and Blaze.

Although they had 5 years before things started, Ozul wanted to make full use of this time and not just laze around. Not to mention, Old Gu had particularly told him to train those two to the best of their abilities.

He didn't know what would happen after passing this test of Old Gu, but he would certainly like Raven and Blaze to pass with him.

If he had to leave them behind like this, what was the point of nurturing them for all this time anyway?

As he had heard from Kure, those who had managed to pass the test previously disappeared in the history of time, never to be seen again.

He didn't know if it was because they were killed or sent somewhere people were unaware of, but Ozul wanted at least those two to pass with him.

If Old Gu was really not from this world, then there were chances that after they passed the test, they might very well be brought in some other realm! He simply didn't want to look for people to work for him again.

Thinking about how he knew that there were other worlds out there as well, Ozul realized that he didn't gain any fragmented memory like that this time when he got his arm back.

'What was different back then?' Ozul contemplated inside his mind.

There was only the boost in his powers and a churning feeling inside of him that he didn't know anything about. However, it was minuscule and not easily noticeable.

Even when he had meditated to focus inside his body, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

He couldn't even confirm if this subtle feeling was something that he should be concerned about or if it was just his imagination.

Sadly, he could only wait to see what would become of it. Like all the previous times, he was again helpless in the matters concerning his own body.

When Ozul arrived on the 7th floor, he stopped a female member and asked about Raven and Blaze.

That female member could only stutter out that she didn't know anything in fright. Even if she did know, Ozul realized that it was best not to interact with any female members of the organization from now on.

Not only was every member intimidated by him, but the female portion of them were also mostly conflicted because of his otherworldly appearance and the mysterious air around him. His seemingly unbreakable icy cold face only added more to it.

He made sure to always wear the conical hat, but it didn't do much to hide his face from up close.

Since that woman didn't know, Ozul made his way towards Haley's office. Irvin and Haley were both there together with Oliver and a couple of other elite members.

All of them immediately saluted when they saw him entering.

Ozul waved his hand before asking Irvin, "Where are Blaze and Raven?"

Originally, they were supposed to be resting at that time.

"Both of them are in the training grounds, young master. I told them that they weren't fully recovered yet, but they didn't listen," Irvin answered.

This time, they didn't take the healing potions and insisted on recovering naturally. Because of that, they still needed a full day more to completely recover.

'Hm. Seems like they wouldn't whine much...' Ozul thought inside his mind. He was also going to make them train today despite the fact that they needed more time to recover.

Of course, he would continuously monitor their health and make sure they don't get any terminal internal injury.

He planned to not hold back in their training, and they would start to complain sooner or later. But if they already had a determined attitude like this, it would only make things easier for him.

He was about to turn around and head to the training grounds, but then he remembered something after realizing that most of the core members of the organization were already here.

"I almost forgot... start expanding again. Slowly start to plant spies in the small groups. From the unremarkable groups, get to the bigger groups. Don't stop until we have at least a single source of information in all the organizations on the entire continent!"

Ozul walked out of the room, leaving these words in such a casual manner that it almost seemed as if he was asking them to fetch him some water and not complete the first part of his world domination!

After he walked out of the room, everyone looked at Haley, Irvin, and Oliver with concerned faces, but the three could only respond with a helpless smile of their own.

How would they know what was going on inside Ozul's mind now?

Even they had only planned to plant random spies in any organization that they could afford to do. They never thought that one day he would order them to get their eyes even in the most dangerous corners of this world.

How they were going to accomplish this now, time would tell. At least he hadn't given them a time limit.

It meant they just had to slowly expand, which actually made his words sound not so impossible anymore.

.. .

Ozul entered the training grounds and saw Raven and Blaze were both sparring each other without any restraints.

Half the training grounds were covered in ice structures while the rest had deep craters scattered everywhere.

Ozul didn't disturb the two and waited for them to finish their spar.

Anyone could easily notice how different this battle was from the first time he had told them to spar in here. Not only did Raven use a variety of attacks, Blaze even learned to keep a little of his attention on his surroundings.

Ozul was satisfied with their improvement, but it wasn't enough if they would participate in a similar tournament like the previous one.

Maybe Raven wouldn't have a hard time because her Spells allowed her to absorb Mana and stamina from her enemies, but Blaze was bound to run out of his Mana at one point.

According to Kure, all the people who were chosen were around similar strength. Blaze might be able to deal with a couple of people at the same rank, but what about ten of them?

They had five years before the test started, and he planned to make full use of it.

Ozul didn't understand why Old Gu had given them 5 years in the first place since a few months were enough for people to move out. Not to mention, according to Kure, he was never this kind to others.

'Is it because he hasn't chosen all of his candidates yet?' Ozul thought such to be the most likely reason.

He couldn't think of any other answer for it. The old man was supposedly someone who would watch cities containing millions of innocent people burn down in ashes and would only watch from the side if it didn't interest him enough.

Because of how Ozul walked or due to the fact that he didn't have any Mana, people usually missed his presence until he said something. Such was the case with Raven and Blaze as they didn't notice him watching their battle.

So when they heard a voice telling them to stop the match, both of them were startled,

"Finish it."

Coming out of their shock, the two complied with his order and didn't continue fighting.

"Endless spars won't do a thing. Unless it is a life-threatening situation, both of you will never grow at the speed I want you to," Ozul commented as Raven and Blaze listened attentively.

As he noticed that the two already somewhat agreed on the fact that they lacked experience, he spoke,

"We will leave for the wild. But before that, both of you come here. I want to test something..."