Rivers of the Night

Chapter 732: Please

Ilzan fell to his knees, his eyes wide in shock. But none of that stopped him from realizing his situation. He was just a Middle Resonance Dome of Heaven expert. By comparison, Theron was on a level all his own.

With this sort of cultivation speed, and the fact he had formed a Void Core, he knew that Theron wouldn’t have a bottleneck to enter the Cloud Realm.

The moment Theron did, he would probably be a match for the strongest experts of the Umbra Clan already, even at the mere Touching Cloud Realm.

What chance did he stand?

Venicin fell backward onto his ass, his palms barely holding him from lying flat. What sort of monster had he offended?

That kill was as silent as could be. Theron not only wielded Heaven Mana just now, but he didn’t leave the slightest bit of destruction in the world aside from his first stomp.

One couldn’t even sense his approach. The wind didn’t react at all. In fact, they were all still looking at the destruction of the ground by the time the pale-faced man fell in a heap of his own blood, his head spinning in the air with wide-open eyes.

Ilzan’s forehead slammed into the ground. He didn’t say a single word, but his hope was clear.

He wanted to survive.

Theron looked at him with an indifferent chill in his eyes. This was the difference. This was the gap between defeating someone through scheming and crushing their spirits with your blade.

This feeling... he liked it so much more.

There was a boiling in his blood he could barely control, a flash coming from the depths of his Mandate that disappeared once again soon after...

But it was close.

So very close.

He had defeated countless people with his mind in his lifetime. But never did he see this sort of despair on their faces. They might understand that he had crushed them, but they didn’t truly feel it. If they were given another chance, they might even think they had a chance of escaping his mind—even if he knew for a fact they stood no chance at all.

Maybe the greatest power you had in the cultivation world was deterrence... and intelligence just didn’t deter people as much as it should.

"You mentioned a she the last time you spoke. Who is she?" Theron asked coldly.

Ilzan had asked Theron if he was related to someone last time, and apparently, he had made that connection based on the abilities of the Dagger Call Platform.

At first, Ilzan didn’t remember what Theron was talking about. But as a cultivator in the Dome of Heaven Realm, his memory was impeccable. It only took him a split moment.

"I was speaking about General Ameridia," he said quickly.

"Who is that?"

"She is a leader in the Resistance Army. She has risen up very recently, and she’s displayed a great deal of prowess. But as a Soul Mancer, she has a very uniquely Spirit Mancer-like ability to suppress the souls of others."

"Resistance Army?" Theron hadn’t heard of this either.

"The Resistance Army against the Demon Corps," Ilzan continued to reply quickly. Though it was odd Theron hadn’t heard of such a thing, he didn’t dare to waste any thoughts on questioning Theron.

"Why would she come to mind?" Theron asked.

He had been accused of being a Demon Corps member all this time, but Ilzan asked if he was related to a Resistance Army member? That didn’t make any sense at all.

And there were certainly countless other individuals who had soul suppression abilities. Why would he think of her in particular?

Of course, at the time, Ilzan probably didn’t know that he had been accused of being a Demon Chosen. But that still didn’t explain why he would ask that question of all things.

"It was just a hunch. You are extremely powerful and don’t seem to have any affiliations, but I can also feel that you do not carry that same aura of a Demon Corps member. It is odd. The Resistance Army seems to make the most sense."

"You are lying," Theron said indifferently.

Ilzan trembled.

To the side, Lyrah couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It had only been a few weeks since she had seen Theron last—how could the situation have changed so significantly?

Before, he had to escape from Ilzan. Now the latter was prostrating before him?

How could she not be in a daze?

"I..." Ilzan swallowed, his head still lowered to the broken ground before them. He seemed to really be sweating something, as though he was trying to decide if he should be trading the chance to offend one monster for another.

He grit his teeth.

"Your platform! Its markings match an ancient inheritance that General Ameridia is thought to have gained in the past. This is just speculation—no one has mentioned it in a very long time because it’s said that all those who have, have died."

Theron’s eyes narrowed.

After a while, he nodded to himself. In that case, he might as well continue the streak.

His spear spun in his palm and he struck down. The blade ran through Ilzan’s head, pinging through his open jaw and into the ground beneath him.

Maybe he sensed it coming, but what good was it when he was too slow to dodge?

Theron looked toward Lyrah.

"What happened with Matriarch Macie?" he asked.

"She was taken away by the Mercenary Guild members. Ilzan didn’t try to stop them," Lyrah found herself responding quickly too, despite the fact Theron should have no reason to target her.

"Why did they take you too?"

"Ilzan said it was dangerous, and since I broke into the Dome of Heaven Realm not long after, it was something that made more sense. But..." Lyrah hesitated.

Her pride tugged on her, but ultimately, the pull toward her love for her daughter won out.

"Please help Lyra, Theron. I won’t grow strong enough on my own quickly enough."

Her voice broke.