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Do check Episode 18 of my simplified A Knight Journey's YouTube Series(Audiobook/Visual novel) here: https://youtu.be/QX-ioDO_vhY
Episode 18 - Appointment with a mysterious 'Wild Gentleman'
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Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
A few minutes later, one Late Core Formation Building human cultivator, several Mid and Early Core Formation humans and Beasts, along with over two hundred Foundation Building humans and beasts, left the Headquarters' vicinity in several groups, each led by one Tier 3 being.
Although the secret realm was extremely small relative to the entire Earth, it was still equivalent to a Tier 3 region, making it much larger than a Large Outer Island from the Flowing Stars Archipelago.
Thus, with the explosive Void Energy having sent each 'intruder' in different directions, the searching team was unable to find all of them quickly, despite having split up into around a dozen teams, with each Core Formation cultivator using a Tier 3 Flying boat, the latter being vastly superior to the speed of a Mortal fighting jet.
Luckily for the four Mikhailovs and Gregorov, the tougher the physique, the farther they were sent, as they were able to bear more remnants of Void Energy.
Normally, the difference was too negligible to matter, from dying instantly to dying ALMOST instantly.
However, in this case, it was the difference between being sent a hundred kilometers away and thousands of kilometers away.
Of course, despite having a lower cultivation than Gregorov, when it came to Physique toughness, the four were vastly superior, and thus were sent the farthest.
Still, for a Tier 3 being, thousands of kilometers was merely a matter of a few hours of flying, or less, depending on the circumstances.
Thus, the five were still in danger, especially since they had all fainted from the shock.
As each cultivator from the Greywood convoy was picked up by the guards before having their cultivation sealed and imprisoned inside the boat, the enemies were growing closer to the main group of five, until they finally found Gregorov in a massive crater.
Before the man could awaken properly, he suddenly felt a seal appear in his body, making it impossible to muster even a shred of Mana, Blood Qi, or Soul Power.
Opening his eyes to see a group of fierce-looking cultivators, the experienced Enforcer felt a sense of foreboding, feeling confused about where he was and what had happened.
The only thing he knew was that the place he had arrived at seemed to be a Peak Tier 3 secret realm, at least from the restriction he could perceive through his Soul Sense.
Fortunately, Stanislav had been through a lot in his long life and thus knew that the best way to get out of a dangerous situation was to keep calm and think rationally.
Thus, gazing at the Core Formation leader with a cruel grin on his face, he questioned.
"Who are you?"
As for where they were or why he was taken prisoner, sensing a gathering of Evil Qi and Demon Qi among many in the group, he could easily figure it out.
Hearing the question, the cruel-looking man let out a few derisive chuckles before answering.
"Peak Mid Core Formation. Since you're a premium good, I don't mind letting you know a bit before you end up sold to some of our rich clients. All of you intruders will serve as merchandise. Tier 1 as common goods, Tier 2 as rare goods, and Tier 3, like you, as premium goods."
Seeing the prisoner's calm expression, the leader felt a hint of disappointment, but still continued, though his grin disappeared, leaving only coldness behind.
"By the way, you're in the Wolven Pleasure Secret Realm, owned by the Wolven Pleasure Consortium. Escaping this place is almost impossible in usual times, but now that your group has destroyed the Void Channel leading to the outside, it's completely impossible to leave."
Although the words brought a surge of worry to Stanislav's heart, he let nothing show on his face, extinguishing the last remnant of playfulness in the team leader's mind, and prompting the latter to order a Peak Foundation Building subordinate.
"Throw him with the other Tier 2 goods. If we waste any more time, the four left might awaken and hide somewhere, making them hard to find. So, let's depart."
While the convoy departed once more, Gregorov was thrown into a somewhat small cell, where Greywood, Wallace, and several other Foundation Building cultivators were huddled in.
With a quick look, the Enforcer noticed that none of them sported serious injuries, at most superficial cuts and bruises.
As for the few women present, although some part of their upper clothes had been ripped here and there, leaving little to the imagination, the lower part seemed mostly untouched.
Most likely due to a lack of time, as they were too busy searching for the convoy's people.
Still, it was good news for now that none of the women had been assaulted.
Molested, yes, but not assaulted.
Of course, only Foundation Building female cultivators were present in the cell, so he had no way to find out if those Chi Gathering cultivators had received the same treatment, but since there was nothing he could do, he decided to simply let it go.
Exhaling a small sigh, Gregorov then asked Greywood and Wallace the most important question.
"Did you see the four Young Lords?"
Hearing his question, the two men, each having a grave expression on their faces, shook their heads, with Greywood replying.
"From what we observed, the stronger our cultivation, the further we landed, with you, Lord, as the last one aside from the four Young Lords."
Although they did not ask, the two Deputy Head operatives were extremely curious about the identities of the four, but knew better than to ask, especially in their current situation.
Still, while some were smart, others lacked wisdom, and thus, one of the Tier 2 cultivators from the small families asked.
"Lord, can you tell us who the four Young Lords are? Maybe they can take us out from here."
Looking at the man with a cold look on his face, Gregorov retorted.
"Some questions are best unasked. In any case, just know that all of us here can die, but those four can't. As for saving us...?"
Shaking his head, the Enforcer added.
"We're currently in a secret realm held by the Wolven Pleasure Consortium... Unless there's a miracle, our chances of escaping are... abysmal."
Those words brought a chill to everyone else's heart, with one of the few female cultivators asking in a trembling voice.
"Lord, this... This Wolven Pleasure Consortium... Who are they? And what do they want to do with us?"
Looking at the woman's fearful face, a multitude of grim memories surfaced in the man's mind, prompting his brows to furrow slightly as he responded, his gaze slightly vacant.
"The Wolven Pleasure Consortium is a Peak Tier 4 organization from the Main Continent, specializing in human and Spiritual beast trafficking, selling them as slaves or directly as blood food for those evil cultivators and demon beasts."
Letting out a sigh, his expression turned complicated as he continued.
"To be honest, in terms of upper-level cultivators, our Federation can easily crush them, but those people are like cockroaches. Kill one, and ten others will appear a few years later. Not only that, but they're extremely skilled when it comes to hiding and infiltrating. That and the fact that many of those outwardly 'upright' Forces are helping them, among other outright 'Evil' ones, so exterminating them completely is almost impossible."
Moving his gaze towards the women present, he added.
"Our odds are bleak, so all of you should prepare mentally to end your own life. I've seen how the women, men, and even children end up in their hands, and ending yourself is a much better fate than that."
As for himself, he would certainly be used as blood food, and with his Void Ring having been taken away earlier, it would be difficult to overturn the situation.
Well, difficult for others, as Enforcers still had one last destructive move, though it would certainly result in his own death.
That was why he was waiting for the right opportunity, one that would make his death worth it.
Saving those four Young Lords, for example.
Thus, he stayed patient, only tensing up when he felt the boat stop once more, and a few of those scums exclaimed about having found a redhead beauty.
On Demian's side.
At one point, the young man started regaining consciousness, his head feeling as if someone had used it as drums for an 80's rock concert.
Letting out a light groan, his eyes fluttered open before closing again due to the intense sunlight.
With an unusual sense of weakness, Demian began investigating his own body to find the cause of it, and found many small injuries, cuts, and bruises that should have healed already, but were hindered by the destructive Void Energy lingering inside them.
Of course, the wounds were merely hindered from healing, not stopped entirely.
Instead, he could feel that his body was gradually adapting to the Void Energy, gaining some Void attributes in advance.
It was slow and, frankly, painful, but it was never-ending.
Even his Pseudo-Immortal Physique was growing ever closer toward the Small Success stage.
Despite feeling delighted by the situation, he knew it was not the time to celebrate, as he needed to leave this place quickly to find his three lovers.
After all, if his own current physical state was so low, even with twice the Perk's efficiency compared to the three women, the latter's injuries were bound to be even worse.
In the current unknown, and possibly extremely dangerous, environment, being unconscious, especially as a woman, was a recipe for disaster.
Thus, the young man forced himself to open his eyes and slowly stand up from where he was.
Now with his eyes open and focus directed outside, he found himself in a gigantic crater with a depth of at least a hundred meters, prompting him to click his tongue and mutter.
"That was one hell of a ride, huh?"
Shaking his head slightly, he was about to fly out from the hole when he felt Seraphine's mind 'lit up' from the bond, prompting him to ask.
["Are you alright, Love? How are your injuries?"]
A brief moment later, a sluggish response came from the other side.
["I've got several wounds with Void Energy lingering in them, but they should be healed in a few hours. At most half a day. The real problem, though, is my Soul Space. Because of my previous stunt, I think I overdrafted my Soul Power, and I feel like someone keeps stabbing needles inside my brain. It's certainly not permanent, but it might take longer to heal than my physical injuries."]
With her only being lightly hurt, Demian let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, the actual injuries would have crippled or killed any other Peak Foundation building cultivator, but with his Perk, permanent injuries did not exist.
Still, although she was relatively safe, the other two were still unconscious and needed to be found, which was why he instructed.
["Love, Liya, and Bryn are still passed out, so we need to find them and protect them until they wake up. From what I can sense, you should be closer to your sister, so it's best if you go find her. I'll deal with your mother, alright?"]
After hearing her agree to his plan, he finished with a 'be careful' before ending the conversation and flying out of the crater he was in.
After checking the Soul Bond he shared with Adeliya, his figure vanished from his previous location, leaving only a slight Water Intent fluctuation behind, though a brief moment later, even that was gone.
On the Consortium guards' side.
A few minutes after having found that human male Mid Core Formation, 'Two-face' Garett, the Late Core Formation Guard Leader heard a few scouts yelling about finding a redhead beauty.
Well, it seemed like his group was particularly lucky this time, as not only did they find several rare goods and one Premium one, but they also faced no resistance, as all of them had been found unconscious.
It was as easy as picking up candy on the ground.
As for the new 'redhead beauty' they had found, based on the previous pattern, she was most likely another premium good, with Core Formation cultivation.
'Well, if that girl is hot enough, maybe I'll ask the boss to give her to me. It's been a while since I've tasted some high-quality goods, and using her as a furnace, I might be able to advance my cultivation further.'
His thoughts, however, were quickly disrupted as his gaze fell on the woman's sleeping face.
With divine facial features, body proportions that were beyond what he had ever seen, not necessarily in terms of size but more in terms of harmony, and an Aura of a superior being, the woman transcended what a Mortal man could dream of.
She was impossibly attractive, the kind of woman that even the most powerful cultivator on Earth would pursue desperately, and certainly not one that his lowly self could touch.
Despite having lost any shred of compassion, decency, and respect long ago, his heart still felt briefly shaken by the woman's appearance, making him freeze for a few seconds.
If it were the case for someone at the Late Core Formation level, his subordinates with weaker cultivation would certainly be even more affected, with dark thoughts rising aplenty.
Surprisingly, however, those dark thoughts were not directed toward the unconscious woman, but instead towards the people around them.
Without any of them noticing, as seconds passed by, the woman's image seemed to imprint itself inside their minds, deeper and deeper, which, in turn, seemed to trigger the blood inside their body, the latter starting to grow agitated alongside their minds.
The more lustful, the greater the effect, and with most present being part of the worst scums one could find in the Federation, her body's natural defensive mechanism was impossible to fend off.
Only Garett was able to break from the subconscious mind-manipulation after a few moments, though it took a great amount of Soul Power, leaving him mentally exhausted.
Throwing a glance toward his subordinates, he noticed how the rest of the Core Formation beings under him had struggling expressions on their faces, though with seemingly no hope of breaking free from her 'spell'.
As for those at Tier 2, glints of fanaticism were growing in their gazes, and while their facial expressions were turning twisted, strands of killing intent were leaking from their bodies, their targets being those people and beasts around them.
The scene brought a surge of fear in Garett's heart, prompting him to mumble.
"A witch! She's a fucking witch!"
Shaking his head, he closed his eyes for a brief moment before his face regained its calm, a hint of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes as he muttered under his breath.
"I wanted to keep you, but you're too dangerous. Best to give you to the boss, and once he's done with you, I'll ask to keep you as a pet. By then, you'll be crippled, and your charming spell won't work anymore."
Even though he sounded like a weak villain, Garett did not care.
He believed that one needed to be aware of one's own strength, even when it meant being humiliated.
As for holding onto his pride?
Well, he had seen many of those people, and they all either ended up mentally breaking once pushed to a certain extent or dying miserably.
Pride, in the cultivation world, needed to be backed by strength, and his Late Core Formation cultivation did not allow him to be prideful, at least not if he wanted to live relatively well and stay safe.
Sensing his subordinates about to pounce on each other, Two-Face Garett separated a few strands of Elemental Energy to knock out those at Tier 2 while using a Soul Sound Skill to awaken the other Tier 3 beings.
The latter, upon waking up, immediately fell on the ground panting, with their body full of cold sweat and a look of horror on their faces.
All of them were now avoiding looking in the woman's direction, a situation that annoyed Garett, though he simply let out a 'fucking cowards' comment before turning his gaze back toward the redhead.
As he was about to fly in her direction, a magnetic voice suddenly reached his ears, making him freeze in his tracks.
"A group of filthy mongrels having designs on my wife. How do you all wish to die?"
As soon as those last words resounded in the Void, a massive amount of Water Elemental Energy started gathering to form a human shape inside the crater where the redhead was lying unconscious.
In less than the blink of an eye, the Water Energy vanished, leaving an impossibly handsome, flesh-and-blood man behind.
Although the man wore a dark blue hanfu with a simple design, Garett could tell that the material used to make it was beyond what he could actually afford himself.
However, it was not the clothes themselves that made him apprehensive, but the man's majestic Aura, akin to an invincible Immortal from the Nine Heavens.
Although Garett could only feel Peak Foundation Building fluctuations coming from the unknown man, he believed that the new arrival's true cultivation level should be much greater, around the Peak of Core Formation at the very least.
After all, how could he possibly conceive that someone a whole rank below him could actually be strong enough to threaten him with only his Aura?
On Demian's side.
Seeing the other man back off and Liya lying untouched below, the young man let out a sigh of relief inwardly, though nothing but calm majesty was displayed outwardly.
'I need to stall for as long as possible, or I might be in trouble...'
Indeed, the young man was actually bluffing, trying to scare the opponent into inaction.
Normally, a Late Core Formation cultivator would be nothing much for either of the four Mikhailovs, at most taking one or two attacks to crush them miserably.
However, his current injuries lowered his combat power to the Mid Core Formation, and thus, fighting against the other man would only end in his own defeat.
Although he did not mind being injured himself, there was still Liya, who was currently unconscious and who not only provided no help but also had to be protected by him, turning the situation even more precarious.
Fortunately, with his Perk doing its magic, progressively attuning his body to Void Energy, what should have taken an hour or two to fix completely would actually take much less.
Now, less than ten minutes after waking up, his injuries had healed enough to help him regain Late Mid Core Formation (Around the sixth Level), and he could sense that each second passing made the healing rate increase even more.
If that pace continued, twenty more minutes should be enough to regain Late Core Formation fighting prowess, or even regain his complete strength
However, the odds of the opponent not attacking him for the next twenty minutes were... low, to say the least.
Shoving that thought to the side, he immediately landed beside Liya's motionless body, sweeping her body with Soul Sense to check if she had incurred any life-threatening injuries.
Fortunately, he only found superficial wounds with some lingering Void Energy inside, while her Mana, Soul Power, and Blood Qi were in a state of heavy depletion.
The latter seemed to be the main reason why she still had not woken up, though from his elementary examination, it would at most take another 15 minutes before she regained her consciousness.
With his wife's safety now mostly assured, a small smile found itself on his face despite them still being in a precarious situation.
In a gentle motion, he lifted her body in a princess carry, the redhead subconsciously moving her body to settle herself more comfortably against his chest.
Then, he flew out of the hold before gazing at the group of fiends a few hundred meters away.
Seeing hundreds of Tier 2 Beasts and cultivators lying on the ground, passed out, while all the Core Formation, aside from their leader, were doing their best to avoid looking in his direction, a strange expression appeared on Demian's face.
'Although my Aura has a hint of Immortal quality, they shouldn't react so strongly... After all, they're enemies and thus less subject to the 'awe effect'. And why are those hundreds of cultivators passed out? Wait! Why does it look like they've been knocked out...?'
Despite feeling puzzled, he did not waste time, contacting Seraphine, who informed him that she had successfully picked her sister up already, and her state was similar to Adeliya's own, though she should be able to wake up a bit earlier than her mother, thanks to her sturdier physique.
Having let down most of his worries, Demian then reported his current situation to his elven lover, who exclaimed.
["I'll be right there, babe. In the meantime, try to stall for as long as you can."]
Hearing her words, he thought wryly.
'Thanks, Captain Obvious!'
However, he knew that lashing out at Sera would lead him nowhere and thus kept the thought to himself, instead focusing his attention back toward the only cultivator who could threaten him.
Although a lot of time seemed to have passed, whether it was the thoughts or conversation, only a fraction of a second had passed, with a hint of doubt appearing in Garett's mind about the other party's 'invincibility'.
'Why isn't he attacking?'
Using his Soul Sense to sweep the surroundings, Demian noticed the flying boat behind the group of guards, or more specifically, the people imprisoned inside it, with most having incurred light injuries, and a few having suffered some serious injuries, though not immediately life-threatening.
As for any other 'violence', time was probably lacking, but without his and his women's presence, the convoy's people would probably suffer a horrifying fate once back at their base.
As his eyes narrowed, the pressure upon the Wolven guards seemed to grow more and more substantial, with many cracks appearing on those Tier 2 beings' bodies, with blood gushing from every orifice, and their vitality quickly draining away.
As for those Tier 3 cultivators, their bodies also suffered, though not as much as the former, with their Mana, Blood Qi, and Soul Power almost crawling to a halt, rendering them immobile on the ground without any thought of rebellion.
After all, how could Mortals dare face an Immortal?
Only through having the staunchest of Will could one keep a shred of fighting Intent.
Of course, if the disparity between their cultivation level was too large, the effect would be much weaker, just like with Garett.
Despite feeling some slight restriction on his body, it only made his strength one or two percent weaker, nothing more.
Sensing the effect of his Aura pressure on the opponents, Demian sighed inwardly, contemplating.
'Aura pressure can only be used to crush weaker opponents, practical to sweep weak armies, but not overly useful against same-level opponents. Well, if my Immortal Physique could break through to the Small Success, it might be different...'
As the French say, 'With enough ifs, you could put Paris in a bottle'.
In simple terms, do your best with what you have and don't waste your time thinking about what you don't.
Noticing the growing doubts in that guard leader's gaze, Demian questioned, his tone as calm as a great lake and as majestic as the endless sky.
"You, the mongrel leader, don't look like a random mongrel. Which organization is behind you?"
When weak, pretend to be strong; when strong, pretend to be weak.
Speaking prudently would only invite the other party's immediate retaliation, so it was better to act as disdainful and arrogant as possible.
Hearing the other man's tone, Garett felt a surge of fury, though it was quickly reined in as the divine-looking man floating in front was clearly not someone to mess with.
Although there were still some doubts in his mind, he still preferred acting cautiously.
Thus, in a subdued, but still somewhat threatening tone, Garett replied.
"Sir, it's best to act more respectfully. You're currently in the Wolven Pleasure Realm, and the Realm's Entrance Channel has been broken by your group. In other words, you're stuck inside, at least until it's repaired."
Hearing his words, Demian searched his memories for anything related to that name, finding only one that seemed to fit the criteria, especially with those people's way of acting.
Recalling the atrocious acts of that particular group of criminals, killing intent started leaking out from his body while he asked.
"Does that mean you're all from the Wolven Pleasure Consortium?"
Although Garett felt a premonition of danger, he still answered affirmatively, hoping to scare the enemy with the organization behind him.
"Exactly, and our boss is already at the Half-step Void Seed, waiting at our headquarters with a Peak Tier 3 Array protecting him. Right, you can only leave this realm through the headquarters, so you'd better let me and my Tier 3 subordinates go."
As for those Tier 2?
A bunch of waste that could be found anywhere.
If they could be used to calm the other man's anger, giving him a reason to save face and stand down, then it was all for the better.
Indeed, better them dying than him.
However, Demian had no intention to stand down as a surge of rage started growing in his heart.
Was it because of righteousness?
Of course not!
Yes, he was a morally upright man, but he still had a streak of selfishness, making it impossible for him to care about people he had never seen, though if presented with the opportunity to act without too much danger to his life, he certainly would do it.
No, what enraged him was the idea that if he had been slower to awaken, his beloved women might have ended up as slaves, or even blood food for some twisted bastards.
Looking at the group as if they were already dead people, Demian stated in a tone so bland it was eerie, giving Garett a feeling of impending death.
"Calling all of you mongrels is truly unfair to dogs. No, you lot are a scourge on the world, and need to be eradicated. Good thing that it's one of my favorite things to do."
As those words left his lips, a towering wave of Water Elemental Energy several kilometers in size materialized above the group of fiends before crashing down upon them.
Although it looked like simple water on the outside, only those below understood how terrifying that wave was, not only filled with an Endless quality, but also possessing Earthly power, something that only Void Seed cultivators should be able to harness.
First-Grade/Mortal-Grade intent corresponded to Tier 3, Second-Grade/Earthly-Grade was used by Tier 4 beings, and Third-Grade /Heavenly Intent was the domain of Tier 5 beings.
As for Demian, whose body only emitted Peak Tier 2 fluctuations, he was already using Earth-Grade Intent, harnessing Earthly power—as in Heaven and Earth, not the Earth Element—, something that should have been impossible, even for those extreme prodigies on the Main Continent.
In a brief second, everyone but the guard leader was crushed into cosmic dust, leaving only their Void storage items behind, as Demian was not one to waste even one spirit stone, despite now being considered a rich second-generation.
However, his gaze was quick to fall on the only survivor, making the man shaking in both anger and fear, the former for having been scared by a man who was merely as strong as the Peak Mid Core Formation, and the latter because through that attack just now, he could sense that, not only was the other man only at Peak Tier 2, but he was also clearly injured.
In other words, whether he broke through just once or healed his injuries it would result in Garett dying instantly.
Thus, the latter had only two choices: either flee right away and hide at the headquarters until the Space channel is repaired and leave the realm, or strike with all he had to kill the other man, resolving the threat completely.
Knowing that only the second option was reliable, it took only a fraction of a moment for him to make his decision.
As his expression turned ferocious, his body suddenly disappeared from his previous location, leaving only an afterimage behind.
Bracing himself for the attack, Demian quickly materialized a giant Water Sphere to envelop Liya and himself.
However, his caution was superfluous, as his senses suddenly detected an incoming projectile teleporting toward the guard leader at a speed that even if he were uninjured, Demian might not be able to deal with.
Then, less than a blink later, the man's head instantly exploded, while Void Energy started rampaging inside the rest of his corpse.
A fraction of a moment later, the fierce man turned into a shower of blood, which was then completely devoured by the Void Energy in a brief instant, the latter dissipating right after, leaving nothing behind but a few Void storage items.
Clicking his tongue, Demian exclaimed.
"Love, your sniping skills are truly something else..."