The Innkeeper

There was no explosion. There was no eruption force that could tear open the earth under which the barrels were buried, and there was no clap of thunder to warn those in the vicinity of the impending danger. Yet the danger was still there, and arguably even more lethal than an explosion.

Lex's abrupt escape immediately attracted attention, and all the guards and soldiers immediately focused on him, as if he were some criminal. As soon as he moved, some of the soldiers began moving to intercept him, but was Lex someone easily cornered?

Earlier, he would have relied only on his instincts to guide him, but in this moment, where his body was strained to the maximum amount for survival, he began to notice all the new changes in him.

Regal Embrace was about defense, and Mo's Blessing about offense. Lex decided that he wanted to surpass both, but his cultivation technique interpreted the intent behind his words, and not the words literally. After all, there was a lot more to cultivation than just those two facets, and his technique began enhancing all of them! It was just that, since the changes had only just begun, and there was no opportunity yet, he had not noticed them before.

With his senses strained to their utmost, he noticed the movement patterns of the soldiers just as his instincts began warning him.

He saw where and how the soldiers would block him, even as his instincts began guiding him in a certain direction. Instantly, and for the first time, he realized the flaw his instincts had. Their guidance, while correct, was generic. Comparatively, when he detected all the changes himself, realized the patterns of their movement and analyzed the countermeasures himself, he reached the conclusion that the guidance of his instincts, while correct, were not the most efficient path he could take.

But at the moment, Lex did not have the time to dwell on these things. The sensation of danger he was feeling was getting even stronger, and in fact he could already detect a familiar itch filling his lungs.

He kept running, but before the soldiers could intercept him, he completed the technique In-Law effect, and teleported as far away as possible. Even while teleporting, he did not lose his momentum, and immediately crashed into the side of a hill once he reappeared.

Using only one second, Lex reoriented himself and understood his surroundings while he forced himself to cough until he spewed out some blood tinged with something green. But once the second was over, he continued to teleport. The feeling of danger was still strong!

Back at the fort, the soldiers were alarmed by Lex's immediate disappearance. Within the fort, teleportation was supposed to be blocked, unless through the official teleportation formation. Something had definitely happened!

But what they had not realized was that since the issue was not caused by Lex, but had occurred at the fort wall. When the barrel made from void wood cracked, a green sludge had leaked out. Immediately the earth itself around the barrel began turning to ash, and ultimately the wall as well. The formation lines, which were protected by the sturdy wall, naturally were also eroded, disrupting the formation.

This disruption had only taken a moment, and as it happened Lex had teleported away the very moment it happened. Yet as quick as the erosion that was taking place was, its speed was only growing as more and more barrels cracked. The green sludge continued to spread, but the effects had already begun to influence far off places.

The refugees and citizens in the fort began to collapse where they stood, one after another. The soldiers realized something was amiss, and immediately deployed their defensive techniques. Poisons and bioweapons were nothing to, even to the cultivation world. But it was all for naught, for their demise was only delayed by a fraction of a second.

The auditor and his escort were perhaps the only ones who detected the threat at the same time as Lex, and their reaction had been exactly the same. Horrified, they teleported far away before they turned to look in the direction of the fort.

"What in heaven's name was that?" asked Hennessey, though he did not let his shock slow his actions. Even before he asked, he had already activated a distress signal, and not one meant to seek help from the Jotun empire, no. As a follower of the Henali, his distress signal targeted them directly! Jotun himself might also detect the signal, if he were in the region, but no one else.

"It's Jah'Hah liquid from the Jah'Hel bog realm," the auditor said with a look of disgust and fear. "It's extremely corrosive to any and every realm besides its own. If it's not contained quickly, let alone this planet, this whole star region will be affected. If things develop towards the extreme then the energy development of the entire galaxy will be compromised."

Both Ripley and Hennessey wore looks of disgust, both for very different reasons. Ripley turned and began noting something down on the document attached to his clipboard.

"I'm afraid you have an eco-terrorist problem. Something like this cannot be smuggled in lighty, or by the uninformed. This is no accident. I need to report this to my manager."

Before Hennessey could respond, another figure appeared in front of both of them. The figure was shrouded, so his appearance was hidden, and had no aura at all. Yet neither of them doubted the ability of whoever responded to the distress signal.

"What's the problem?" he asked, his voice echoing in their minds.

"We need to isolate the hazardous material on that planet and prevent its spread. We also need a follow up team to investigate the source of this. Whatever has happened here… and how we handle the situation will be reported by auditor Ripley to the Versalis bank."

The figure was startled at the mention of the bank and turned to look at the auditor. Suddenly the figure launched his aura in full, and overwhelmed the duo with his presence as a Dao Lord!

"You had some remaining contamination on you," the figure mentioned, before disappearing. The barrels of Jah'Hah that had exploded under the fortress, as well as countless other locations on the planet, all suddenly vanished. Although the liquid barely had a few minutes to corrode the planet, its effects were irreversible. Millions were already dead, with hundreds of millions likely to soon follow, not to mention how the environment on the planet would soon deteriorate.

"Contact the local authority," the figure said to Hennessey when it reappeared. "The natives of the planet will need to be evacuated. This planet will not recover."

Both Ripley and Hennessey were surprised to hear the news. It had been a few minutes, at most. Wasn't that reaction too strong?

As if anticipating their curiosity, the figure continued, "the space in the region has been severely compromised. While the corrosive damage from the liquid can be fixed, the damage it did to he space around the planet… can only heal naturally over time. This location has become vulnerable."

As if to emphasize what the figure said, a small portal was ripped open on the planet. A horde of insect-like creatures began to pour out from the portal with no indication that they would stop any time soon. All three of them watched from a distance, since with their cultivation realm it was quite easy to notice such a significant event even from a distance.

"Encountering a wild Minor realm with hostile creatures so soon after such an incident… I suspect your eco-terrorists had planned this in advance. If you'll excuse me, I have to make an emergency report as per bank protocol, but I'll stay here to watch as the situation develops. Please, do not let my presence distract you from your duties."

Immediately after speaking, Ripley activated a treasure which enveloped him in an opaque shield.

Hennessey grimaced upon hearing such news, and activated an emergency contact device of his own. The Henali… will not be pleased. The situation in the Origin realm was about to undergo a massive shake up.

Back down on the planet, Lex finally stopped teleporting as soon as instincts had suddenly stopped screaming at him. He had not been able to sense the interference of the Dao Lord despite his affinity of laws, yet he could definitely detect that the immediate danger had vanished.

Yet now, a new yet familiar danger had replaced it, though this one Lex completely disregarded. He wanted to teleport right back to the Inn and avoid this mess, but at the same time he did not want to abandon Alexander. He made a fist and punched himself in the gut once, causing him to vomit out some putrid, green liquid that had gathered in his stomach.

Instantly, he felt a lot better, yet weaker at the same time.

If whatever the hell that green stuff had affected him so severely, he did not need to imagine what had happened to the others. Chances were, Alexander himself might not have survived if he was exposed to it as well.

He decided… to go back to the Jotun stronghold and check it out. If the situation got worse, he could always retreat back to the Inn.