Lex tertegun. Ia tak bisa memahami, sampai akhirnya ia memahami! Brengsek, orang tua ini sudah berpura-pura bertarung semua cara agar tak tertarik dalam pertarungan sebenarnya! Bagaimana dia berhasil menemukan lawan yang memiliki cara berpikir serupa? Orang tua ini memang jenius yang bersih hati—ah, maksudnya, jenius untuk soledz mati.
"Pak tua, akhirnya aku paham bakat yang diajakmu dari Kenta. Bakatnya adalah soledz mati itu! Apa mataku sudah buta tidak melihat enam orang di sekitarku menyerang pertama?" Lex protes dengan penuh letup. "Ini pertaratan, kemenangan takkan memberi keamanan. Artinya, semakin kuat lawan yang menggantikan lepas ini, semakin besar bahaya yang akan kuhadapi. Kita punya palingan beberapa bulan sebelum penguatan baru menggantikan yang mundur," ujar orang tua itu, menyendiri dengan jutaan imortal Surgawi dan Bumi yang masih ada di lapangan asteroid.
Sekarang pasukan puncak sudah mundur, nasib para kultivator level bawah semacam ini, relatif sudah ditentukan. Beberapa mungkin punya harta pelindung atau jimat yang memungkinkan kabur, sedangkan sisanya akan menjadi tawanan. Ia sebenarnya tak peduli dengan keadaan mereka.
"Aku perlu pergi ke galaksi Tsu. Lebih tepatnya, aku sedang mencari Pasukan Militer Independen Evergreen Lancers," Lex memperjelas.
Sejenak pengakuan menggelegar di mata orang tua itu. Ia sempat akan bertanya, tapi lalu terhenti, seolah teringat pada bahaya tertentu.
"Ikuti aku. Bukan tempat untuk berbincang," katanya, lalu menarik Lex dan Paul ke dalam Minor realm yang ia ciptakan di dalam salah satu hartanya. Klone spiritual muncul di samping Lex di dalam Minor realm.
"Jangan bicara, belum aman," kata orang tua itu dengan serius begitu klonya muncul. "Aku tidak tahu apa hubunganmu dengan Lancers, tapi untukmu muncul sekarang adalah..."
Orang tua itu menghela napas dan mengangguk kepalanya. Tentu saja ia tahu siapa Mei, dan tentang pasukannya. Realm Asal memang luas, tapi sebagai realm yang belum dewasa, kemampuannya menghasilkan imortal Surgawi agak terbatas. Akibatnya, realm itu tak memiliki jumlah imortal Surgawi sebanyak realm seukurannya. Ini membuat semua imortal Surgawi saling kenal — setidaknya secara besar, meski tak pasti seluruhnya, hanya dengan sebut nama. Dengan Mei yang termasuk salah seorang imortal Surgawi terkuat di seluruh realm, tentu saja ia terkenal.
Di luar realm, Yamato Haru, ayah angkat Kenta, meninggalkan medan perang kepada orang lain lalu bergegas kembali ke markasnya. Dari sana, ia masuk ke rumahnya, lalu mengaktifkan formasi perlindungan dan isolasi paling kuat yang dimilikinya, sebelum memasuki Minor realm-nya dengan tubuh aslinya.
"Baiklah, sekarang sudah aman," katanya sambil menghela napas, duduk. Realm Minor ini tak terlalu besar—paling-paling sebesar Manhattan. Realm-nya dipenuhi hutan yang hidup dan di intipati hutan tumbuh pohon raksasa yang didalamnya Yamato membangun sebuah manor. Ini adalah sebuah mansion di atas pohon yang sungguhi, dan menjadi rahasia terbesar Yamato. Bahkan mengajak Lex dan Paul ke sini menunjukkan betapa seriusnya ia memandangi urusan ini.
"Dari sikapmu, sepertinya ada sesuatu yang salah dengan Pasukan Evergreen," kata Lex, mencerahkan.
Yamato hanya mengangguk.
"Tentu saja. Bukankah itulah sebabnya kamu di sini?" tanya Yamato sambil bingung. "Mei Saito, pemimpin Evergreen Lancers, sudah lama rahasia menguasai teknik ekstrem ortodoks dari Para Elang Tinggi, yang memberinya sinkronisasi hampir sempurna dengan pohon dunia. Ia telah menyembunyikannya dengan baik, namun sayangnya, sebelum ia dapat mencapai Dao-nya, rahasianya terungkap.
"Di waktu normal, ia bisa sembunyi di dalam realm Asal dan tak seorang pun dapat menjangkuinya, tapi dalam peperangan seperti ini, tidak ada yang suci dan tak seorang pun aman. Para Elang Tinggi dari Eseisia telah memerintahkannya untuk menyerahkan diri—yang sama saja dengan kutukan mati. Kini, segala macam organisasi kuat di seluruh alam semesta sedang bersaing untuk mereka—entah untuk membunuh dan memanen rahasianya, atau merekrutnya dan menyelamatkannya. Atau, ada yang sedikit, yang ingin menangkapnya dan menyerahkan kepada Para Elang Tinggi sebagai imbalan reward."
Lex melihat orang tua itu dengan aneh, lalu berbalik melihat Paul. Ini wanita yang jatuh cinta dengan Paul? Orang yang cemas saat berkelana di luar angkasa?
Paul tiba-tiba merasa sangat tidak nyaman, seolah-olah Lex sedang memandangnya karena tugas ini terlalu merepotkan. Paul terasa terbelah. Ia tak ingin menimbulkan masalah bagi Midnight Inn, tapi ia juga tak mau melepaskan Mei. Semakin banyak ia mikir, semakin ia darah-darah, nyaris terasa hipersonik. Tatkala ia hampir haus napas, Lex pun berbicara.
"Baiklah, Midnight Inn tak peduli apa-apa itu," ujar Lex dengan yakin. Di hadapan orang tua itu, ia tak perlu menyembunyikan identitasnya, jadi ia mengangkat topangnya—meskipun tetap memakai Paul.
"Karena ia sedang beredehem dengan salah satu kami, berarti keluarga. Para Elang Tinggi harus cukup ngintol keras jika merasa bisa menginjak satu dari kami. Seorang ras tanpa perwujudan yang pantas di Pesta Teh Midnight sebaiknya belajar menjadi lebih pelan dalam hal-hal seperti ini. Pak tua, kirimkan kami ke sana. Kami akan menjaganya."
Lex was stunned. He could not understand, until he understood! Dammit, this old geezer had been pretending to fight all along so that he wouldn’t get sucked up into the real fight! How had he even managed to find opponents with a similar mindset? This geezer was a pure, unquestionable talent at being shameless!
"Old geezer, I finally understand the talent you sought from Kenta. It was the talent of being shameless! Did your eyes fail to see that the six of them were surrounding and attacking me first?" Lex questioning filled with resignation.
The geezer’s anger suddenly cooled, as if reminded of the obvious. He almost completely forgot that Lex was a junior who hadn’t even entered the immortal realm the last time he saw him. Now, he was at the peak of the Heaven Immortal realm, and could simultaneously injure six Celestial Immortals. That small piece of information almost made him forget that Lex was the one being bullied, not the other way around.
"Fine, whatever. Tell me what you need. This is a battlefield, and a victory does not ensure safety. It only means that the level of danger you will face increases as stronger opponents replace the weaker ones. We have, at most, a few months before reinforcements come to replace those who have retreated," the geezer spoke, ignoring the countless Heaven and Earth Immortals still within the asteroid field.
Now that the peak force had withdrawn, the fate of these lower level cultivators was, more or less, sealed. Some would have protective treasures or talismans that would allow them to escape, while the rest would become prisoners. He couldn’t actually be bothered to care about their circumstances.
"I need to travel to the Tsu galaxy. To be more specific, I am searching for the Evergreen Lancers Independent Army," Lex clarified.
A trace of recognition flashed between the geezer’s eyes. He was about to ask something, but then paused, as if reminded of a certain danger.
"Follow me. This is no place to talk," he said, and pulled Lex and Paul into a Minor realm that he had created within one of his treasures. A spirit clone appeared beside Lex within the Minor realm.
"Do not speak, it is not safe yet," the old geezer said solemnly the moment his clone appeared. "I do not know what your connection to the Lancers is, but for you to step out at such a time is..."
The old geezer sighed, and shook his head. Of course he knew who Mei was, and he knew of her army as well. The Origin realm was massive, but as an immature realm, its ability to produce Celestial immortals was somewhat constrained. Thus, it did not have the typical number of Celestial Immortals a realm of its size should have. This allowed all the Celestial Immortals to know each other - at least to a large extent, even if only by name. Considering Mei was one of the strongest Celestial Immortals in the whole realm, she was, of course, famous.
Outside the realm, Yamato Haru, Kenta Haru’s adopted father, left the battlefield to the others and quickly returned to his base of operations. From there, he entered his own abode, and activated the most powerful protective and isolation formation he had, before entering his Minor realm with his true body.
"Alright, it’s safe now," he said with a sigh, taking a seat. The Minor realm was not too large. It was, at most, the size of Manhattan. The realm was filled with a vibrant forest, and at the core of the realm was a massive tree within which Yamato had built a manor. This was a true, genuine treehouse mansion, and it carried Yamato’s greatest secrets. To bring Lex and Paul here showed how seriously he treated this matter.
"From your demeanor, it seems like there is something amiss with the Evergreen army," Lex said, catching onto something significant.
Yamato only nodded.
"Of course. Isn’t that why you’re here?" Yamato asked, looking confused. "Mei Saito, the leader of the Evergreen Lancers, has long in secret cultivated the ultra-orthodox technique of the High Elves, granting her near perfect synergy with the world tree. She hid it well, but unfortunately, before she could attain her Dao her secret was revealed.
"In normal times, she can hide within the Origin realm and no one would be able to reach her, but during such a war, nothing is sacred and no one is safe. The High Elves of Eseisia have ordered her to submit herself to them, which is the same as a death sentence. Now, all sorts of powerful organisations across the universe are competing for her - either to kill and harvest her secrets, or to recruit her and keep her safe. Or, there are the few who intend on capturing her and submitting her to the High Elves in exchange for a reward."
Lex looked oddly at the old geezer, and then turned and looked at Paul. This was the woman who had fallen in love with Paul? The guy who got queasy while traveling through space?
Paul suddenly felt incredibly insecure, feeling like Lex was looking at him because the task was too troublesome. Paul felt conflicted. He did not want to attract trouble for the Midnight Inn, but he also did not want to give up on Mei. The more he thought about it, the worse he started to feel, almost to the point of hyperventilating. Just as he was about to have a nervous breakdown from the stressful situation, Lex spoke.
"Well, the Midnight Inn does not care about any of that," Lex said, confidently. In front of the old geezer he did not need to hide his identity, so he took off his mask, though he kept Pauls on. "Since she is dating one of our own, she’s family. The High Elves must be high on some pretty serious stuff if they think they can touch one of ours. A race without even a proper representative at the Midnight Tea Party should learn to be a little more lowkey in such matters. Old geezer, you only need to send us to her. We will keep her safe."
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