Galenight looked at him in stunned silence. What the fuck? What’s the difference when the outcome still remains the same?

’.....You’re still going to kill me, so what’s my gain for helping you out?....’

Galenight didn’t say any of this out loud, but his face betrayed his emotions.

Grandmaster Litos laughed. "Not to worry. I don’t really need the clues. I just asked in case I might actually get them. In fact, it’s better this way that I don’t learn anything.

"After all, if I hear something valuable, I might want to act on it."

All Knights are opportunistic, after all, and they all strive to grasp anything valuable that might strengthen them. And although Grandmaster Litos has the backing of his Clan, the business with the organizations is a personal task, not something that was the Clan’s business.

Just then, killing intent erupted on Grandmaster Litos’s face, and his eyes narrowed to points as they rested on Galenight. A large amount of essence suddenly converged, turning into frost fog that tilted toward Galenight.

By using the Domain technique, Grandmaster Litos easily restrained his opponent, but now he was going to freeze him out of life!

Galenight also realized the problem he was in. He had no illusion that Grandmaster Litos was using a weak technique that wouldn’t seriously harm him.

Among Grandmasters, no matter which gap level, when fighting each other, they almost always went all out!

Without the slightest hesitation, Galenight howled, and then he suddenly erupted like a dormant volcano coming back to life. Fire roared around him and all over his body. Ice melted into water, and he easily broke free.

He faced the incoming frost fog and used the remaining fire from his heads. He threw it directly at it, creating an explosion that cracked the ground and sent steam and fog spewing into the air.

With that commotion, he fled.

Grandmaster Litos wasn’t directly caught off guard, as he didn’t expect his opponent to go down that easily. At the same time, he didn’t think he could still move that swiftly! It was as if his Domain technique wasn’t even in effect at all!

Thus, he first canceled it. Only then did he begin to chase after Galenight, quickly closing the distance between them.

Grandmaster Litos did not want to use too powerful a technique. He did not want to draw attention. Even though the incident would still be traced back to him, there was no reason to push the investigation forward.

The distance between the two shrank considerably. Grandmaster Litos was radiating a chilling power that bore down on Galenight. He used a simple ice manipulation technique and created a simple sword.

But the sword only appeared simple, while in reality the sight made Galenight feel a chill deep within his heart. The sword was a longsword of thin build, looking as if it would fall into splinters at any moment. The most unusual thing about this sword was that it had no hilt; the blade extended and fused into Grandmaster Litos’s hand.

What Grandmaster Litos had just done was partial transformation!

With the Grandmaster rank comes the True Form, but the True Form is chaotic, like a newborn just learning to walk. Knights can only change into their full True Form, with no in-between, but as they grow in power, their control of the True Form also grows. They can utilize the power of the True Form well and create partial transformations of it. The better control of their True Form they have, the more control over the Law they gain! This makes them more powerful and deadly as they gain total control of their True Form!

Grandmaster Litos raised his sword, and an incredible amount of power converged.

Galenight appeared as if he wanted to speed off, to increase his speed and avoid the deadly incoming strike.

"You can’t escape!" Grandmaster Litos shouted.

But at that moment, Galenight suddenly stopped and whirled around. All the mouths opened in a howling cry. His massive head shrank visibly as he raised his small right hand.

Yellow light flashed, and then a whip of river flesh cut through the air with the destructive force of a tornado.

Bam!

The river flesh slammed into Grandmaster Litos with a force that shook his bones and roughly shoved him from the air into the ground. The sword technique he was building collapsed, and he formed a large crater in the ground.

Unexpectedly, Galenight didn’t run. Instead, he pressed his advantage as he hurriedly gestured. The river flesh, like an overly large bubble, suddenly fell atop Grandmaster Litos, enveloping him to drown him!

At this point, Galenight finally turned to flee. He was so weakened that he reverted into his human form. His speed decreased, but it was worth it!

He had no time to refine Lord Jara’s remains and could only hastily use them like that. A wasteful loss, but what other choice did he have?

He sped swiftly, passing over mountains and small hills. He knew holding back Grandmaster Litos wouldn’t last. When he chanced a look back earlier, he saw that the man was already freezing the flesh river!

No sooner had he thought of this than the temperature suddenly dropped. Bitter coldness began to spread with icy winds. Frost covered the mountains as a surging fog spread like a tidal wave, freezing everything in its path.

Soon, everything Galenight saw was covered in ice. The mountains had become blocks of ice, and the animals turned into statues. Even the clouds appeared as if they would turn to ice at any moment.

Galenight shuddered as he witnessed the power of a Grandmaster at the High Gap!

The fog caught up to him and rolled over him. His body began to turn into ice, his vision darkening.

The fog was actually Surging Frost, Grandmaster Litos’s True Form!

The fog sighed. "You actually forced me to use this form. If you were given more time, even with your injury, you would have become a monster!"

Galenight fulfilled his mission, and so did Grandmaster Litos.

☆☆▪︎☆☆

Clan Leader Daey Ito stood atop one of the towers overlooking the harbor. His eyes surveyed the ships currently docked there, warships all of them, and most of them were ready to move.

He looked at the vast expanse of blue water, and his eyes darkened even more. And as if he were waiting for more, he continued to look. Soon, his eyes narrowed.

The first thing he saw was the birds, white with fat pink beaks. They flew with no pattern, but he knew they were mere constructs created by the enchanters. They were created for patrol, to gather information for the fleet.

Soon, massive warships began to appear. They sped on the water like sea monsters. There were twenty of them, and they all flew the flag of the Ito Clan and the WaterLord banner.

"Clan Leader, we have verified them with the tower. There is no issue with the incoming fleet," one of his attendants saluted and explained.

Daey’s expression darkened. "What is the current news?"

"It seems things still aren’t clear. But WaterLord Freya and Commander Garran have not responded to any of our messages. The news from Akatsuki is greatly suppressed. Even the Master Knights from the desert stationed in Athrimir don’t know what is currently happening."

"They have no news from Eirikr?"

"None. All we still know is that something happened in Akatsuki territory, but we still can’t say what."

Daey frowned and muttered, "It has been a week."

It had been a week since they lost contact with WaterLord Freya and Commander Garran. Since then, things had become tense in the Hinterlands. Daey instantly became suspicious and began to probe the situation, but since there was no headway, he became even more suspicious and began to withdraw his forces.

He saw an opening and took it with the Athrimir Clan. Already, he had looted a massive amount of wealth from them.

"And no news of Vale Athrimir?"

"None, my lord."

"This might be a scheme of the Akatsuki Clan. They must have gained the support of Matsumoto and want to push us out of Athrimir. They should not worry. Although I have an interest in taking Athrimir, I won’t do so blindly. We need to be careful," Daey said.

But the main reason he withdrew his forces, even the WaterLord’s forces, was because of the WaterLord herself. She was powerful, even more so than the Clan Leader if he wasn’t using an artifact.

For her not to respond to messages meant something must have gone wrong, and no matter what it was, it wasn’t something the Ito Clan Leader wanted to rush into.

"How’s the progress of the squad we dispatched?"

"We are still maintaining an information link with them, and in two days they should finally breach the Akatsuki capital. We should learn a lot from them."

Daey’s eyes gleamed. He wasn’t a particularly talented Knight and reached the Master Knight rank because of the resources from his Clan. But he was a cautious and careful man, retreating and advancing as opportunities appeared.

"Good," he said. But the only thing he could feel was that something had gone terribly wrong.