Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 1942: Seeing The Old Gnome Again

Grey planned with the Peak Sovereign about a potential sneak attack, the benefit of having the space element is that they could catch the opponent with the element of surprise and hopefully take out some of their strong experts. When the man thought about it, he felt this was a good option since it would minimize the risk for them. The more people they are able to take out at the start, the better it would be for them.

According to the Bunny Leader, there was no portal there which meant the Gnomes set up camp here in order to monitor their activities.

The place where the Gnomes were hiding was in a well-hidden cave, surrounded by mountains making it hard to spot. If not for Grey’s ability to sense Gnomes and Necromancers, it would have been impossible for Humans to ever suspect the Gnomes would be bold enough to set up camp so close to their supposed safe region.

Outside the cave, two Gnomes in the First stage of the Sovereign Plane could be seen patrolling. Seeing they placed two First stage Sovereigns outside proved how serious the Gnomes were about this place as they usually only assign Venerables and Sages to such tasks. With the help of the Bunny Leader, they were able to sneak in without the duo sensing anything.

The cave was quite spacious inside, having multiple paths. The Bunny Leader, being already familiar with the place, took them straight to the place where the Ninth and Eighth stage Sovereigns were residing in the cave. Only five of them would have to deal with the Gnomes, while the man dealt with the Peak Sovereign Gnome, so they planned to take out the stronger Gnomes excluding the one at the Peak in a swift strike with the help of the man who was a Peak Sovereign.

After passing through a few crisscrossing paths, they arrived at the area of the Ninth and Eighth stage Sovereigns. Their numbers aligned with the information passed on by the Bunny Leader, two Ninth stage Sovereigns and four in the Eighth stage.

The Gnomes were having a chat when one of the Ninth stage Gnomes suddenly frowned and said to his companions, “I feel like we’re being watched.”

“I sensed it too.” The other Ninth stage Sovereign said, contemplating he asked, “Could it be that Senior?”

The other Ninth stage Sovereign shook his head, saying with certainty, “I know when that Senior always checks on us, this time, the feeling is different.”

“You guys are pretty sharp.”

An unfamiliar voice said from the void, making all six Gnomes stand in a hurry, all looking around, alert and ready to attack. Two in the Eighth stage brought out their Puppets as well.

The figures of Grey and his friends appeared with Grey wearing a playful grin, he whispered to Klaus pointing at the two Eighth stage Sovereigns who brought out their Puppets, “They are yours.”

Saying that, he instantly cut off the link between the duo and their Puppets, making them freeze momentarily, allowing Klaus to strike without putting up a single form of defense.

The sudden scene of watching two of their companions turning into ice sculptures horrified the remaining four, and before they could react, Grey and the man went for the two Ninth stage Sovereigns, whilst Alice and Reynolds dealt with the remaining two Eighth stage Sovereigns. The first two Gnomes were not able to put up any defenses, and although the remaining four did not go down with a single strike, they were still not able to do much against such opponents.

Deep in the cave.

An old Gnome could be seen sitting cross-legged in a meditative state, both eyes closed with steady breaths. His eyes suddenly snapped open with a glint flashing through them, staring at a particular direction, he frowned.

“Why did I sense the presence of that bastard?” The Old Gnome muttered to himself. If Grey were here, he would definitely recognize this Gnome since he was none other than the Old Gnome guarding the portal. This Old Gnome was one of the first to escape when the Half God Plane Gnomes started to fall.

He had not been allowed to return to the Gnome World since failing his task of watching over the portal, as punishment, he was told to watch every step of the Humans in the Azure Continent. He carefully picked this spot and even made multiple arrangements to make sure they could not be found. While he was meditating a while ago, even though it was for a moment, he sensed the presence of the bastard that made his life like over the past few weeks.

‘Could I be mistaken?’ He thought to himself. He had been seeing Grey’s face whenever he closed his eyes, giving him nightmares.

Slowly, he stood up and walked to the exit of the place he was residing. Looking at the path in front of him, he did not sense anything out of the ordinary which he found odd. He wanted to go back to his meditation but he felt unsettled, unsure if it was his paranoia acting, he decided to check it out to be on a safer side.

It took him a few seconds to get to the place the aura he sensed came from, and his eyes almost left his body from shock. That was because a brawl was currently taking place inside the small space, and it could not even be called a fight between two parties as one party was completely overwhelming the other side. The Old Gnome did not react immediately, staring oddly at just one figure, Grey.

‘How could this be?’ He was flabbergasted, not reacting for a few seconds. It was only after seeing one of the Gnomes die before he finally reacted, he bellowed, “You bastard!”

The Old Gnome’s roar drew the attention of those fighting.

Grey turned to the Gnome, surprised at how angry the Old Gnome was reacting, he waved, “Oh hi.”