CHAPTER 346: CILIAN RAYLEIGH - ELITE UNIT 01

I woke from my comprehension when I felt a familiar nudge in the back of my mind, Silver. He had landed on the floating ruins.

I opened my eyes slowly and exhaled, letting the last traces of deep focus slip away. My senses adjusted back to the physical world, and I checked the updates that had appeared in my interface.

Laws:

- Minor Law of Absolute – 40%

- Level 3 – Minor Law of Space

- Level 2 – Minor Law of Fire, Ice, Lightning, Light

- Level 1 – Minor Law of Vitality, Conversion, Absorption, Shadow

A smile tugged at my lips.

Not bad at all. I’d only been meditating for about two hours, and already the results were showing. My progress with the Law of Space in particular was faster than expected, something about the core chamber and the realm itself was helping me tune into it more easily and off-course memories from Knight helped as well.

I stood up, connected my Essence to the realm’s core, and instantly teleported myself to Silver’s location.

In the next breath, I appeared right in front of him.

Silver dipped his massive head low to meet my eyes. I felt his emotions clearly through our link....tired but calm. His mission here was complete.

I walked up and patted his side gently.

"Thank you for your help," I said softly. "You’ve done more than enough. You can go and rest now."

At my command, his body dissolved into crimson mist and was pulled back into the core.

I decided to go check on the others, so I spread my wings and flew straight down from the floating ruins.

The base below looked like it had been ripped straight out of an apocalypse, cracked stone, scorched ground, broken walls. Smoke still hung in the air in faint trails, and debris littered every corner.

I landed near the center, where most of the former prisoners had gathered. Some stood in small groups. Others were sitting on the ground, resting or tending to wounds. A few had even started cooking food using makeshift fires, passing bowls around like it was some strange picnic after a war.

The moment I touched down, silence fell.

Every head turned toward me. Conversations stopped. Movement paused. All eyes locked onto me like I was some mythical creature that had just walked out of a legend.

I didn’t say anything. I just extended my perception to cover the entire base and scanned their conditions. Most were weak—malnourished, bruised, bandaged. But despite that, there was a strange strength in the air. A quiet fire in their eyes. Spirits were high.

Even the Nagas, who seemed more cautious and reserved, were seated nearby, watching quietly. They didn’t speak, but they didn’t walk away either.

I stepped forward, walking slowly through the crowd. Some of them nodded at me in respect or silent thanks. I nodded back.

At the far end of the area, sitting on a large broken slab of stone, I spotted Steve. He looked tired, his eyes focused on the sky like he was searching for answers in the clouds. North stood beside him, arms crossed. Xin and Ming were nearby too, both unusually quiet.

I glanced around but didn’t see Lyrate.

My mind reached out automatically and there she was. Inside the teleportation chamber with Knight, keeping watch.

I exhaled and slowed my steps as I approached the group.

North noticed me first and spoke.

"We didn’t find anything in their control room. It was squeaky clean."

Ming added with a sigh, "Not even a chair left behind."

I rubbed my forehead and muttered, "Dante took it all."

Xin blinked and stared at me. "Even the furniture?"

I nodded once.

I decided to shift the topic before he asked something worse.

Slipping one of the storage rings off my finger, I handed it to Ming.

"Here. This has food, healing pills, clean clothes, armor, weapons, skill crystals, basically everything they’ll need to recover and prepare. Pass it around to the others. Let them know this isn’t over yet. The fight continues."

Ming’s usual calm expression turned serious as he took the ring. His fingers closed tightly around it, and he gave me a single, sharp nod.

"Wait, what do you—"

Before Xin could finish his question, Ming grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

I watched them walk off toward the others, one confused and loud, the other quiet and determined.

It brought a small smile to my face.

Then I looked at Steve and asked.

"What’s gotten into you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Steve exhaled and jumped down from the broken stone slab, brushing some dust off his hands.

"I guess I’m just... nervous. And excited too," he said. "For what’s coming next."

I gave him a small nod. "Relax. I’ll take care of you."

He grinned, then suddenly bowed low with an exaggerated flourish.

"Yes, my lord. I shall be in your care," he said in a mock-serious tone.

North let out a soft chuckle.

"Wow," she said. "So much love."

"What can I say? I’m a loving person," I replied with a shrug and a grin.

She shook her head, the smile fading as her eyes grew more serious.

"How long do we wait?"

I looked up at the sky, watching the sun as it hovered near its peak. After a moment, I answered, "Maybe one hour. We need to keep the element of surprise."

She nodded once.

"Alright. I’ll go and get ready."

Without another word, she turned and walked off.

Steve stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders.

"I’ll go too," he said and followed after her, disappearing into the crowd of resting prisoners.

Once they were gone, I opened a portal. Essence swirled around me, and I stepped through, leaving the realm behind.

I arrived in the outer edges of the capital, the warm sun shining overhead. Without slowing down, I flew low over the rooftops, heading straight for a quiet residential area on the edge of the city.

I landed softly in front of a small, ordinary-looking bar tucked into a corner between two alleys. The kind of place no one paid much attention to.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The bar was dimly lit and mostly empty at this hour. The bartender, an older man with silver hair and sharp eyes, looked up as I entered. He gave me a slight nod.

I walked past the counter without a word, heading straight for the back.

I stepped through the narrow hallway and entered a quiet room tucked behind the bar. It was simple, just a round wooden table in the center with three chairs around it. Two were already occupied.

Arkas looked up the moment I walked in and gave me a nod.

"You’re here," he said. "You did good. Dante was praising you a lot."

I returned the nod and walked over without a word, pulling out the last empty chair.

Arkas gestured to the man sitting across from him.

"This is Grandmaster Cilian Rayleigh," he said. "Commander of Elite Unit 01."

I glanced at the man.

He looked... relaxed.

A lean build, head full of thick black hair, piercing blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. He wore sleek black clothing, nothing fancy, but sharp and neat.

In one hand, he held a glass of red liquid, swirling it lazily. He looked like someone who didn’t take things too seriously.

Cilian raised the glass slightly in greeting.

"So, you’re the one shaking things up."

I smiled and nodded slowly, eyes still on Cilian.

"I can see why Arkas is so confident that his unit might finally beat mine," he said. "Looks like he got lucky and snagged you."

Arkas scoffed, clearly unimpressed, and crossed his arms.

"Now don’t start making excuses about me getting lucky. Even without him, my unit was going to beat you this year."

Cilian raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Oh? That confident, huh? I didn’t realize delusion was part of your training regimen."