Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Chapter 464 - Intrigued.

Devon was in the grand tent preparing for the detonation of the devices which would signal the start of the deciding battle when a Haron soldier came into the grand tent.

"Lieutenant Cornwall of the newest platoon" the soldier introduced himself.

Devon raised a brow, 

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought it best to tell you, your daughter Melinda Dane was selected among the C-class reinforcement and she is now at the Haron camp under my command" he said.

"Is she now?" Devon said as he spared his senses all about the camp but did not sense his daughter.

"Are you sure she's here?" Devon asked even though he knew there was no reason for the Lieutenant to lie to him. Especially due to his reputation.

Cornwall shivered and his forehead was covered in sweats in a matter of seconds as he nodded his head, 

"I'm sure.. I spoke to her a few minutes ago" he said and Devon smiled and shook his head.

The Lieutenant need say no more. He knew where that daughter of his was.

It seemed this whole provocation had to be sped up. But that would be a little difficult considering most of the Devices were not yet in place.

...

When Hal joined the rest of his group, they were quite worse for wear. Attracting attention was not going well. 

Being at corresponding realms, the Demon beasts outclassed them in physical strength as well as well as Endurance.

They were falling prey to the most basic logic of cultivation in the Nexus world known to all which was that at the early stages of the corresponding cultivation realms, Demon Beast cultivation was stronger.

However, their superiority which was mostly based on physical strength was limited in the late states such as at the peak of the Semi-saint/ Semi-Transcendent realms all the way to Demigod.

More on that later.

The moment the group leader who was embroiled in combat with a Dystopian saw Hal, he called to him and Hal withdrew his Broadsword Artifact to get into the thick of it.

But it was far from easy.

Before his arrival, the Dystopians had taken the upper hand and quickly cut down the numbers of Haron experts which meant they (the Haron experts) were even more outnumbered now than they were before.

A particular Dystopian stabbed his sharp-ended arm at Hal's back but even without turning back, Hal placed the broadsword at his back and used it as protection.

The force behind the Dystopian's strike had been so impressive that when it hit the Artifact that surpassed a grade he could possibly hope to contend against, it repelled him.

But he had not even moved more than a step back that Hal was hacking at that sharp hand of his and after cutting it off, he transitioned to a swing at his neck to decapitate him.

...

The Grand tent is the Dystopian Camp...

There was a kind of nonchalance to the amount of C-class that had been lost in this surprise operation by the Haronians and it was because they could not care less.

Their mindset was easy enough to understand;

If they (the dead C-class Dystopians) could not even defeat C-class experts, then what were they good for.

That was the only level they were required to battle against and if they could not even showcase their usefulness by surviving, what then was the point to their presence.

Everyone in this tent right now and a vast majority of the B and A-class experts started out as C-class experts.

They faced such dangerous situations themselves but they survived. They survived and became stronger.

Because they were not weak.

Because they were worth something.

Speaking of those in the tent...

There were about eleven of them, five men and six women, all with serious expressions as they looked over the map.

Quite similar to how the Haron General and commanders ponder their map in their own grand tent.

The General was easy to spot.

She wore black armor with spikes on her shoulders.

The chest armor had been molded over her well-developed form, showing off her large breasts but sturdy enough that they would not bounce and hinder her in battle.

Although it is worth noting that even if it did bounce during battle, that could never hinder her.

Partly because she was a seasoned expert and partly because back pain due to heaviness or movement of breasts was not a thing that bothered female cultivators in general.

Anyway, the general did not look too much like Reyna who Hal had fought.

Sure, there were signs that they came from the same family and a minute similarity in looks but it was still distinct enough to make the general look different. Like her own person. 

For one, she was not smiling like Reyna readily did on her encounter with Hal. In fact, she seemed to be the kind to brood and frown a lot. That added to her charm though.

Her coal-black hair, the same color as her eyes, was back length.

"This is no ordinary operation. They are planning something"  the General said and took a deep breath.

None of the commanders argued with her words.

Not only did they suspect something similar, but they also knew not to scoff at the General's instincts.

She had led quite a number of successful campaigns over the years.

She had always been more utilized towards stopping invasion attempts from Haron and this was her first time heading an invasion expedition for the Dystopian continent.

"You mean, like what we are planning?" A female commander said and from the coal-black eyes and hair, she was clearly from the same camp as the General, 

"No, Elia. Not the same. But they are surely planning for a decisive battle. All those C-class experts are diversions. They are keeping our attention away from something." The general said.

"What makes you say that?" Another commander asked. This one was a male with fiery red hair and eyes to match. 

The General pursed her lips but said nothing in reply. Instead, she asked, 

"How long since this surprise operation began?"

Another commander replied and was studying a holographic projection of their camp with dots on it to pinpoint where the C-class experts were on the campgrounds,

The multiple dots were of two colors, Red and Blue. Red represented Dystopians while Blue represented Haronians. The deeper the colors of the dots, the stronger the individual. (Cultivation realm-wise)

"About thirty minutes now" she said.

The general smiled, 

"Is that so? I believe you are about to get some additional blue dots on that projection of yours" she said and right on cue, on different areas of the camp, dots began to appear.

Dots belonging to the group of Haron C-class experts charged with placing devices.

"Concealment runes, so crude. Have C-class experts confront those newly appeared dots. They have to face the consequences of coming into a Dystopian camp. Especially one under my command. 

Then send B-class experts to the areas the dots appeared, not to confront the C-class experts but to find whatever was placed.

There would be no point hiding from our perception Shield if they didn't take the time to lay down traps." The General said.

"Right away, General" said another commander with characteristics of being part of the Gord clan.

He retrieved a communication talisman and contacted a C-class lieutenant and then a B-class Lieutenant.

Meanwhile, the general looked to the commander with the holographic screen, 

"Reyna?" She asked.

The commander pointed to a Red dot moving closer to the area where the deepest red dots were gathered with the one that was sure to represent the General being a deep shade of burgundy, 

"She's on her way"

"Good" The general smiled wickedly and cracked her knuckles while the commander smiled like she pitied Reyna.

Then the General looked over at the holographic screen and focused on a blue dot. One she knew had clashed with the dot she knew to be Reyna.

Despite the obvious difference in class, her being a B-class expert and he/she being a C-class expert, they actually survived a confrontation with Reyna.

She had trained Reyna herself and knew she was far more capable than she seemed. Even if this C-class expert somehow had an Aurora grade Artifact, it was impossible that they can utilize it well enough to cause Reyna any issues.

Not to mention that Reyna could now use a Dragon hybrid form.

The only way this C-class expert could have won was either with the comprehension of an Ordinance or the possession of the physical prowess of a Dystopian.

And if it was the second, it opened up a whole new array of questions.

She would never say it out loud but this Haron dot intrigued her. Especially since while she watched he/she had actually defeated even more Dystopians while the other Haron experts with them died one by one.

She shook her head.

The last thing she should ever let occupy her mind was a Haron expert.

...

Anyway,

Just as it had been shown in the projection, many of those in Hal's group had died. In fact, at the moment, only he and the group leader were still alive and the group leader had already been injured in multiple areas of his body.

He was already getting much too weak to continue holding his own and soon, a dystopian put an end to his misery.

Hal did not even bat an eye at his death.

He was now outnumbered ten to twelve but was not actually that worried. He still had a few cards to play. Most of which he had declined to use when he was not yet alone.

And then his senses perked to a presence he could not ever mistake, 

"Who would have thought I'd find you so fast?" Said a female voice and the Dystopians who had their backs to the arrival turned to see a beautiful golden-eyed lady with calf-length black hair and a dazzling but threatening smile on her face, walking closer.

There was a slight jiggle to her ample breasts that caught the attention of the Dystopians, only briefly though as there was definitely something ominous about her cosmic Armament with golden veins crisscrossing the blade.

"Worried about me?" Hal asked with a mild chuckle.

Melinda smirked as she dashed towards the Dystopian blocking her path to Hal.

The Dystopian only acted fast enough to not receive a deep cut right across his midsection but even then, Melinda still cut his arm off at the elbow.

"Ahhhhhhh"

While the Dystopian yelled in pain, Melinda was already standing with her back pressed against Hal, 

"Against this bunch? Absolutely not"