Chapter 119
"My lord, Nolan is back!" Reported Eva, from the distance a grey-haired middle-aged man flew towards them with an anxious expression on his face.
As he got closer, the group could make out the dried blood all over his body, his robes were already in tatters, with his hair messy, he gave a quick salute to Tizzy and Eva, before noticing Omis, after which he gave a respectful bow and then spoke.
"Thank the heavens I finally reached you, my lord!" Said Nolan.
"Nolan, it's good to see you have made it, where is the rest of your squad?" Asked Tizzy.
Shaking his head, a grim look took over Nolan's face as he spoke. "I barely made it out of the heavenly realm my lord, everyone else is dead."
Hearing that caused the surroundings to go silent before various hushed conversations sprang up.
"Wasn't the squad's mission a recon one only?"
"I heard that all of the members were Golden immortals?"
"Golden Immortals?! How many were there?"
"Six I think." Whispered another person.
"So we lost five Golden Immortals?!" Gasped another cultivator.
"Silence!" Ordered Tizzy, causing the surroundings to descend back to silence.
"What happened out there, Nolan? Your mission was a strict recon one ." Asked Tizzy as he turned to face Nolan, waiting for an explanation. Omis watched the whole ordeal with Lu Lu.
"At first, that's what we did my lord, but 'the hunters' they launched an attack on the heavenly realm!"
Frowning Tizzy replied. "It wouldn't be the first time, they have been sending raids to heavens the same way we have for hundreds of years now."
"No, you don't understand my lord! This time was different! They sent an entire army! Numbers we have never seen before, there were even these glowing figures leading them!"
"Are you sure about that?" Asked Tizzy with a frown on his face.
"Yes! They didn't just attack the small outposts, but went straight for the capital! They even sent entire battalions to haunt us down sir! With all due respect my lord, they were more than ready to start a war." Answered Nolan with a frightened look on his face.
"Those crazy bastards, they haunted us down like we were some sort of fucking animals!" Screamed Nolan.
"I-I had to burn through my cultivation base to escape. Maya and the rest bought me some time to come back and bring the news since I was the fastest..." He added, with a stutter, his voice cracking as he spoke. Silence soon descended on
the group once more before chaos swiftly followed.
"An army?!"
"They even attacked the heavens?"
"What are they planning!"
"I think the real question is what now?!"
"Where do we go?!"
"The underworld is no longer safe, and the heavens is under attack so now what?!"
"Quiet down!" Ordered Tizzy before turning to look at Nolan who kept fidgeting around, as if he had more to say.
"Is there anything else Nolan?" He asked, all eyes turning towards him.
"There was this one thing, s-some of the 'hive' members, they...they saved me."
"Saved you? That's ridiculous!" interrupted a cultivator.
"We've been fighting them for hundreds of years, they were our enemies! They attacked and invaded us and now you tell me they saved you?" Added another cultivator.
"It's been a long journey, are you sure you didn't just hit your head?" Asked a cultivator concerned.
"I know what I saw! They helped me repel some of 'the hunters' if not for that I wouldn't have made it! I don't know they would do such a thing, but they did..." Growled Nolan silencing the group.
"D-Do you think they did it because they want to join forces?" doubtfully asked a female cultivator.
"That's ridiculous." Dismissed another person.
"No, maybe she's right. Think about what master Omis had said he witnessed in their capital."
"They never attacked the 'Underworld', we took it as they were unable to enter, but was it really because they weren't able to or because they didn't want to." Added another person with uncertainty.
"Are you even listening to what you guys are saying right now!? This is the damn 'hive' we are talking about! The enemy! *Poof* I sure as hell ain't teaming up with them if that's what you are implying!" Spat a cultivator hatefully.
"What do you suggest we do?! The damn 'hunters' are on our tail and the damn city is gone!" Yelled out another person in anger.
The conversations soon grew in intensity as the group began being divided into two, those in favor of trying to cooperate with the 'hive' and those against.
"Tizzy, now's the time to choose where we stand." Interrupted Omis, causing everyone to quiet down as they glanced at him and then back at Tizzy who was rubbing his forehead with a tired face.
"We'll follow your orders." Added Omis as he unleashed a bit of his aura forcing everyone to shudder before hurriedly nodding in agreement.
"We'll follow you, boss!"
"Yeah!"
Letting out a tired sigh, Tizzy raised his head to stare at the ‘underworld’ before bringing his gaze back down to face everyone, his face turning serious as he spoke.
“The ‘hive’ and ‘hunters’ are our enemies.” He started slowly looking at everyone present before continuing.
“This has been a truth for us for the past thousands of years. ‘The hive’ forced us out of the heavenly realm, that’s also an undeniable truth, however, throughout the past thousand years, we have been able to find a strange balance between all factions.” He added to which everyone nodded.
“We never launched a full-scale attack on the heavenly realm since we had no forces to do so, merely sending our brave men and women on the occasional raids to remind them to never mess with us not take us lightly. They never retaliated, simply being satisfied with defending the heavens.” He paused as he let his words sink in before continuing.
“We were also able to rebuild and made a new home for ourselves even though it wasn’t perfect. It was a place WE built with our own hands, a place for us in this strange world we found ourselves stranded in, we simply wanted to survive. Yet ‘the hunters’ raided us, destroyed our home and with it the balance between all factions.”
“My brothers, my sisters! Should the ‘hunters’ win against the ‘Hive’ there shall be no place for us! And although it pains me to admit, we need the ‘hive’ as much as they need us.” He said, causing everyone to listen with bated breath.
Tizzy then moved next to Omis and tapped his shoulder before speaking.
“My brothers, my sisters! with the Immortal Mentor alongside us, let us fight back! Let us show those damn fanatics that we are not to be bullied! Let us reclaim what is rightfully ours! And Let.Us.Make.Them.Pay!”
“Woah!” Eva was the first to tell out as she brought out her crescent-shaped sword and raised it high in the air fully unleashing her cultivation base, following her, shouts of agreement and rage ensued as everyone present fully unleashed their cultivation base.
‘My friend, I hope you are right about this gamble.’ Said Tizzy as he sent a divine message to Omis.
‘It’s our only chance.’ came Omis’s reply.
‘Nolan, good job. Check with Eva for the pills to restore your for your damaged cultivation base.’
‘Yes my lord, but if I may ask. Was it really the right choice to lie to everyone? What if the Hive doesn’t want to help us?’ Asked Nolan.
‘My statement still stands Nolan, we take what’s rightfully ours.’ Answered Tizzy, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.