Chapter 124 De-escalating a situation

Chapter 124 De-escalating a situation
Far behind them, piercing alarms continued to echo from the towering spires of the Resonance Council. Their sharp tones cut through the dry desert wind like warning blades.

Squads of elite guards, clad in heavy reinforced armor etched with glowing runes that pulsed with restrained power, had already marched out of the massive iron gates under strict orders: find the escaped prisoners and bring them back dead or alive.

At the helm of the pursuit rode two formidable figures on powerful desert ostriches: Lady Hamisa and Lady Safura. Dust clouds rose behind the thundering mounts as the women gripped the reins with white-knuckled intensity.

Both were still visibly shaken by the impossible escape. Vandal and his ragtag group had somehow slipped through defenses that should have been utterly impenetrable, leaving the entire council in chaos.

Now, as their mounts pounded across the shifting desert dunes, Lady Hamisa lifted a rare artifact: the Essence Compass. Its crystalline surface caught the harsh sunlight.

A drop of blood taken from the white-haired boy during his earlier capture had been fed into the device. The needle spun erratically at first, fighting against unseen forces, before locking firmly toward the distant coastline of the Archibald Ocean. Lady Hamisa’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “They’re heading for the sea. So they think they can escape by water. Those fools need to die.”

“Those ants must have used some sort of treasure to leave our fortress undetected,” Lady Safura snarled. She crushed the reins in her fists until the leather creaked. Her husband had nearly passed out from the shock when the news broke.

The other grand elders had dragged him away to face trial for negligence and the loss of valuable treasures from the vault. The very thing they had spent years trying to prevent had now happened right under their noses. Safura bared her teeth. “If we do not drag that white-haired brat back, we lose everything we built.”

She imagined in vivid detail how she would brutally slaughter them one by one. Her fingers twitched on the reins. She had no intention of bringing any of them back alive. The treasures surely had something to do with that strange crystal or maybe were inside it all along. His hunches had never been wrong before.

Driven by fury and desperation, the two women urged their desert ostriches forward with renewed urgency. The massive birds kicked up sprays of sand as they raced toward the coastline with powerful, graceful strides.

The vast Archibald Ocean stretched unforgivingly under the blazing sun, dotted with only three isolated islands. The most legendary among them was the Tears of Dreams, rumored to hold the inheritance of an ancient and powerful Echo Warrior who had failed to ascend to higher realms.

Meanwhile, a modest twenty-meter boat flying the flag of a black hole swirling within a sea of stars had finally reached the coastline. Messy cargo piled high on its deck: crates of rare herbs and wines prepared as gifts for the Resonance Council.

More than a dozen Devourer’s Choir disciples lounged about. All of them were at Stage 8 or Stage 9 resonance. Bored expressions marked their faces. None possessed a true Echo element, which barred them from core membership.

Mei Mei, the team’s young leader and the sole core member aboard, stood out. In her mid-twenties with sharp, captivating features, she drew lingering glances from every male disciple, though none dared act on their attraction.

She had extraordinary capabilities of tracking and sensing resonance energy down to the smallest residue. Without an Aethelwraith she remained stuck leading outer disciples, but she was determined to change that.

She barked at one of the lounging disciples, “Pick up the pace with those crates. I want them neatly arranged.”

As the boat docked, Mei Mei spotted a commotion through her scope: sailors surrounding a group of ragged travelers, weapons drawn. She ordered Karlison to investigate.

“What’s the point? Why concern ourselves with what a bunch of stinking sailors is doing?”

Mei Mei’s slim, long eyes narrowed. “I told you to go down and take a look, not to hear your bullshit.”

Karlison grinned and shook his head. “Fine, I’ll go down there. Don’t be so mean, Mei Mei. When you give a command, how can I dare to disobey?”

Within minutes Karlison left the boat and approached the scene. “What’s going on here?” he asked with an uninterested look.

The sailors, upon seeing his star-patterned dark robes, paled and parted. “Just interrogating some thieves, sir,” one muttered.

Vandal stepped forward. “We stole nothing. Being poorly dressed is not a crime. We offered fair payment for transport. The insults were unnecessary.”

“Well I don’t care who’s wrong and who’s right,” Karlison said. “And I didn’t tell you to speak, now did I?” His tone carried open hostility toward Vandal.

Before he could continue, Mei Mei’s impatient voice rang out. She had already come ashore. “Why is this taking so long?”

Karlison flashed her a smile. “I was handling it.”

“Then handle it faster,” she snapped. “We don’t have time. We need to deliver the cargo and leave.”

“Never mind. You, white hair… what happened?”

Vandal pointed at himself and she nodded.

“We just wanted to leave the area and board a ship to take us to our destination, but these sailors decided to threaten and insult us.”

“No we didn’t, you dare lie!” All the involved sailors spoke up in unison, denying it one after the other. Their voices drowned out Vandal’s, but Mei Mei shot them a murderous glare. They swallowed hard and shut up instantly.

“All of you who opened your mouths when I didn’t speak to you, I will cut out your tongue and feed it to the sharks!”

The sailors dropped to their knees and started begging.

Vandal’s group remained standing.

“Why are you all standing? Can’t you see the sailors begging?” Karlison said.

“We were not the ones who offended the miss,” Sabine replied.

Karlison smirked. “Kneel, girl.”

Sabine lifted her chin. “I will not.”

Karlison’s hand whipped forward to slap her. In a flash, Vandal caught his wrist.

“Nobody touches Sabine,” he said coldly.

Shock rippled through the kneeling sailors. Mei Mei watched with clear amusement. She could sense the suppressed violence and raw potency in the white-haired boy’s soul signature.

Karlison yanked his arm free, fury blazing in his eyes. “Which organization do you belong to? You dare to speak to me this way and stop me from disciplining this insolent girl.”
Vandal stayed silent. Chan nearly spoke up, but Jaclynn kicked his shin, silencing him.

“So you have suddenly become mute?” Karlison cocked his head. His smile stayed in place, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I will make you talk whether you like it or not and you will spill everything!” Karlison bellowed.