CHAPTER 828: SHOWING HIS TRUE COLORS

Only the sound of soft footsteps from four people resounded in the hallway. The hallway was illuminated by crystals on both sides, bright enough to reveal its long stretch.

At this point, they no longer felt any effect from the poison, which meant this place was indeed designed to be a long-term base. As Aldrian observed the hallway, he thought that this place had likely been abandoned for some time. The devil energy, although still dense, was gradually dissipating, meaning that nothing remained to sustain it.

With a good place like this, the devils should have utilized it and stayed here. Yet, there were no devils around, as if they had abandoned it. With the limited movement space they had in this star, this one could have served as a good hidden base.

As far as he knew, the devils’ appearance in this world in particular was not as brazen as in other worlds. Many said this was because of the Valroy family, especially after the rise of the current young master, Randolf.

Aldrian did not doubt that the limited activities of the devils in this star were due to Randolf’s existence, the apostle of a different god from Tarius. This also strengthened his guess about the possible disharmony between those invaders. With Randolf’s ability and his system, he might truly have been able to eradicate the devils’ influence in this star.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they finally found a door at the side of the hallway. Munez, moving carefully, decided to open it. The moment they did, they found a messy room with tables and chairs in disarray, some of them overturned. The layer of dust showed that this place had not been taken care of for some time.

"There is nothing here, and from the signs, it seems this place was abandoned for quite a while," Munez said before deciding to continue walking.

Aldrian and Sir Ferix followed. They found several more rooms across the hallway, all in the same state of disorder. It was as if everything important had been ransacked, leaving only useless things behind.

"Are the devils here already gone? From the looks of it, this place seems to have been abandoned," Godard said.

"I think so too. The devils seem to have abandoned this place. But why would they leave it? This is a good place for them to hide, and yet they just left it behind?" Munez replied.

Sir Ferix, who had only watched their exchange, glanced at Aldrian.

"Your Majesty, why is Munez still acting? There should be no problem for him to act now when there’s no one here he thinks could stop him, right?" he sent through voice transmission.

Aldrian did not immediately answer. He glanced at Munez for a moment before finally replying,"I think he’s waiting for the pill to take effect on us."

Sir Ferix raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding. He almost forgot that the pill given to him and Aldrian was said to prevent them from using energy. He did not know why Munez needed them to be incapacitated first before taking action.

’What the hell are you trying to do, Munez?’ he thought to himself.

"That’s why, after this, we should act as if the pill has taken effect. We’ll see what he plans to do, and if the situation turns dangerous, I’ll take you and escape. This body of mine has no way to fight someone at Munez’s level, but escaping? I doubt he could even catch me," Aldrian said, and Sir Ferix nodded.

They continued walking deeper until they saw an open set of double doors at the end of the hallway. As they passed through them, they were greeted by a large hall with a high platform standing in the center. The platform was empty, as if its purpose was for battles while the spectators stood below it.

There were stairs on the side of the platform leading upward. Munez, still acting as if he was wary of his surroundings, began walking toward the stairs, his eyes briefly glancing at his younger brother and Aldrian.

’The pill should be taking effect around this time,’ he thought to himself as he climbed the stairs.

"What’s happening? Why can’t I control my energy?" Sir Ferix suddenly said in a shocked tone, which made Munez smirk. Godard also glanced at Sir Ferix, noticing his panic. Aldrian showed a frown as if he was experiencing the same thing.

"It’s the same for me," Aldrian said before looking at Munez and Godard. "Do you not feel the same?"

There was a brief silence after Aldrian’s question.

"What happened? What do you mean you can’t control your energy?" Munez turned his head and looked toward Sir Ferix with a smile—a cunning smile that Sir Ferix knew too well. A smile that hid Munez’s true face.

"I just can’t control my energy, as if something is blocking my meridians from the dantian. Do you not feel it? I think we entered some kind of hidden formation," Sir Ferix said. His face showed confusion as he looked at Munez’s smiling expression.

Munez then walked toward Sir Ferix, and as if something had dawned on him, Sir Ferix’s expression turned to shock.

"You... did you do this?" he asked, but Munez did not answer and kept walking closer. Seeing that Munez stayed silent, Sir Ferix gritted his teeth and took a step back.

"What are you going to do, Munez? What are you planning right now?!" he shouted. He knew he was powerless against Munez, but he would still fight. He refused to be a coward.

"Well, I need something from you one last time. After this, you might be free from me once and for all, and I won’t disturb you again," Munez said.

Aldrian wanted to move to protect Sir Ferix, but suddenly Godard moved swiftly, appearing behind him and pressing his blade against Aldrian’s neck.

"Uh-uh. You just stay here and let the patriarch talk to that man," Godard said.

Aldrian slightly turned his head and looked into Godard’s eyes, which made him freeze. Godard couldn’t help but feel uneasy looking into those calm blue eyes. Then he frowned, realizing that Aldrian’s face showed far less reaction than he expected. In fact, since the first time he had seen Aldrian, he had rarely seen any expression from him at all.

Aldrian was too mysterious, and that unsettled him. At this moment, he thought back on how Aldrian had behaved throughout their journey. He hadn’t said much or done much, the one who handled most matters was the patriarch. To Godard, that had made sense since Aldrian’s cultivation was only at low pseudo-immortal establishment stage.

There was not much he could do inside the core region. He was like an ant here. Yet despite that, he did not act like the low cultivators usually did in this place. He showed no wariness toward others and seemed too relaxed for someone who was both the weakest cultivator here and a guardian.

’Is it just his character that makes him show so little expression, or is there something I don’t know?’

In his opinion, Aldrian seemed more like someone powerful who had come here to observe rather than a mere guardian.

He shook his head slowly, putting those thoughts aside and focusing on assisting with the patriarch’s plan.

"What do you need me to do now? You’ve already taken everything from me, and I haven’t even interfered in your affairs as patriarch. I don’t have anything that could help you," Sir Ferix said angrily. He wanted to draw his spear from his storage ring, but remembering that he was in the middle of acting as if he couldn’t use his energy, he stopped himself.

He had to appear helpless and desperate. He raised his fists in a fighting stance as if he were ready to resist.

Aldrian, watching how Sir Ferix acted, couldn’t help but commend him inwardly for his performance.

Munez kept smiling, as if amused by how his little brother react at this moment. He used his energy to immobilize Sir Ferix, lifting him into the air. Sir Ferix tried to resist, but it was futile as his body seemed to move on its own. Munez finally stopped in front of him, his gaze locking directly onto Sir Ferix’s eyes.

"Of course you have something I need, my beloved younger brother, something that can save me," Munez said, his eyes glistening.

"That is your life."