Chapter 234

Chapter 234

"Here?"

"We've been exposed???"

The militarily trained Inquisitors gathered neatly in the hall of their hiding cave within minutes, discussing with their colleagues.

Snow Claws, who had hastily thrown on a coat over her pajamas, stood at the edge, listening to the discussions and lost in thought.

She didn't notice that many eyes were on her because her aura was very unstable, like a wild animal sensing a threat.

This attention diminished somewhat when Silvercliff Sargen, the Chief Inquisitor of Sapphire City and the front-line commander for this operation, appeared.

The part of the attention that diminished shifted to Silvercliff Sargen, as the Inquisitors awaited orders and explanations from their Chief.

Silvercliff Sargen nodded to a woman in a crimson robe.

If Tadansa were here, he would recognize that this woman looked exactly like the Crimson Mage who had been dispatched to support him, clearly one of the Crimson Mage's avatars.

The Crimson Mage's avatar spoke: "Whether we've been exposed is still unclear. The experimental subject, after going berserk and escaping, first chose to approach our team. Even when we changed our position, she could still determine our direction, but then suddenly changed her target, breaking through the Dark Sea Cave's guard line and entering the sea."

The Inquisitors in the hall fell briefly silent before the discussion grew louder.

"Why could she determine the location of the Canwei team?"

"Is it really an experimental subject going berserk? Could the Dark Sea Cave have discovered our movements?"

"Was the 'Tide Calming Song' spell ineffective?"

"The 'Tide Calming Song' revealed that the berserk experimental subject had multiple Desire Spells lingering in her mind. He tried to influence her, but with little effect."

"Little effect? She's still an Apostle—"

The Inquisitor who said this stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Snow Claws and holding back the slightly aggressive remark.

However, Snow Claws didn't notice at all; her furrowed brow made it clear she wasn't used to deep thinking.

The Inquisitors who tried to observe her had to retreat, and Silvercliff Sargen also withdrew her gaze, turning to the Crimson Mage. "Since the experimental subject first tracked you, were you discovered by anyone else? How are the slaves? Are they safe?"

"Temporarily, yes."

The Crimson Mage's avatar answered cautiously.

While the 'Tide Calming Song' spell struggled to influence the experimental subject, it effectively covered the other followers of evil gods who had been disturbed by the experimental subject. So, after the experimental subject rushed into the sea, they continued to lie in wait.

But did no one notice that the experimental subject initially ran around the island, tracking something?

The Crimson Mage found this concerning, but it belonged to the higher-level meeting discussions.

She didn't show worry on her face, continuing, "The slaves are fine and even passed me quite a bit of information through the Dream Web."

"Good," Silvercliff Sargen nodded, reaffirming that the organizer of the Mirror's Pupil Church in the Dark Sea Cave was indeed a capable person. She pondered, "Then the next issue is the berserk experimental subject. Is she still approaching us?"

"She has left the range of my perception," the Crimson Mage, a high-level practitioner whose casting range could cover a city, replied, "She's moving very fast, swimming straight toward the outpost. Three ships of the Aberrant Sect are chasing her."

Silence fell over the hall once more.

After a moment, someone voiced what most were thinking: "Indeed, the Aberrant Sect must have already discovered our actions and is coming to attack us?"

How they were discovered could only be investigated later.

What needed to be done now was to prepare for battle.

All eyes returned to Silvercliff Sargen, waiting for her commands.

Silvercliff Sargen couldn't think of any other possibility for tonight's events. After all, the fact that the experimental subject could track the Canwei team from the start indicated they had already noticed something amiss.

They originally planned to set up a teleportation array in the Dark Sea Cave, evacuate the slaves first, and then attack the Dark Sea Cave. Now it seemed the battle might begin today.

Raising her right hand for silence, Silvercliff Sargen was about to rally everyone.

"Wait—wait a moment!"

The only person who didn't understand the gesture suddenly interrupted her.

All the Inquisitors turned to look at Snow Claws, seeing her struggle to articulate her thoughts: "I think... I think the outpost hasn't been discovered."

Silvercliff Sargen tilted her head, asking, "Is this the view of the Mirror's Pupil?"

"Not Him," Snow Claws instinctively responded, then became somewhat defensive, "It's me who was discovered."

This statement was abrupt and confusing. An Inquisitor who shared a dormitory with Snow Claws asked, puzzled, "Could the experimental subject be skilled at tracking... ahem, followers of the Dream God?"

"No, she's just good at tracking me," Snow Claws slowly recalled the dream that had awakened her, now more confident. "Lady Canwei and her team members had close contact with me before infiltrating the Dark Sea Cave. My scent may have lingered on them. Then, while tracking the three members of Lady Canwei's team, she discovered my true location and came here."

"Scent?" the Crimson Mage pondered.

"Scent..." Silvercliff Sargen's lips twitched, "Through the water barrier of the Dark Sea Cave and such a great distance, she found you?"

The hiding cave, which served as the outpost, was over a hundred kilometers away from the actual Dark Sea Cave.

"Yes, she found me," Snow Claws, not questioning why she had the dream, studied the thoughts of "herself" in the dream again, "She wants to please the Aberrant Sect, so she decided to defeat me. The magic in her blood enhanced her senses. Although I don't know how, she found me."

"Huh?" An Inquisitor asked with a strange tone, "Are you and that experimental subject blood knights with direct blood ties?"

Blood knights with direct blood ties can coordinate and fight together, and can locate each other through their blood connection.

This matched Snow Claws' situation, but neither Snow Claws nor the experimental subject of the Aberrant Sect could possibly be blood knights!

"Not a Blood Knight," Snow Claws was puzzled by his words and explained further, "I think I figured it out; she might have found my position through intuition."

Intuition?

Half of the judges in the hall were twitching at the corners of their mouths.

But in the next moment, their expressions changed.

Despite being a believer of an evil deity, Snow Claw Kayouti set aside those inexplicable matters, lifted her head, and bravely requested, "Only I can resolve this matter; let me go out!"

"As long as I leave this cave, she won't find her way to the outpost!"

***

"The dream is fading; let's leave first. I'll send you back." At the same moment, Lin said to Hui Cui.

Watching how Lin kicked "Yuan Sen Sebo" out of the dream, Hui Cui nodded, just as he had followed Lin into this dream before, holding Lin's hand and returning to the initial misty fog.

It was almost time to wake up, and his body's clock told Hui Cui this.

But Hui Cui did not rush to leave the dream. He stopped, looking at Lin, who had dropped his arrogant demeanor after "Yuan Sen Sebo" disappeared, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, "Are you worried about Snow Claws?"

Knowing that Snow Claw Kayouti had Fiend blood, Hui Cui guessed whom Lin was concerned about upon hearing his request.

Lin nodded, hesitantly confiding in Hui Cui.

"Pupil in the Mirror wants Snow Claws to become one of His practitioners." He skillfully used his own name to explain, "After several experiments, it was discovered that as long as the Fiend blood remains, she may never become a practitioner."