Kill The Old Ones!

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”...it’s that time, again? Has it really been that long? I feel like the last one was just yesterday.”

The Verdant Immortal Matriarch sighed in melancholy as she stared at the skies of the human civilization through the tall glass windows of this office.

”It does, doesn’t it? But that’s how time feels when you’re occupied.” Azure Saint rested her back on the soft cushion of the couch with a floating plate with a cup of warm tea on it, next to her.

”But the calendar is correct. We’re entering preparations for the event this day; things are about to become noisy again.”

”So it would seem,” the Verdant Matriarch sighed. ”How’s the situation with the cult? Will they be a problem for the event?”

”I’ve yet to determine that.” Azure Saint shook her head. ”But...knowing their tendencies, I don’t think that they’d miss the chance. Especially with the beating that they’ve been receiving since the whole exposure and all.”

”Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. But what are you going to do about that?”

This was a layered question, and Azure Saint knows that.

The Verdant Matriarch was asking if she’s securing the upcoming event or if she’s planning to use it as bait to lure out the big rats hiding in the sewers.

Azure Saint’s actions and plans might look problematic to others, but to those who knew her well, they make sense.

It was she who decided to let the cult capture multiple cities to act as a lesson and a reminder to the populace that there are dangers abound.

That the world isn’t as peaceful as they thought it was.

She wants to remind them to be cautious and prevent them from being complacent.

Sure, she condemned people because of her decision, but for the sake of the bigger picture, she could only close her heart to it.

Either she or Verdant Immortal could’ve done more. They could’ve used their nigh-godly powers to improve the situation instantly. But Azure Saint chose not to.

That would make their citizens reliant on them. It would make them dependent on the GMU and the martial gods themselves. They won’t have the free will and drive to improve and to push the civilization even further. That’s the last thing they need right now.

Conflict breeds character. Struggle is the seed bed for growth.

The human race can’t be hothouse flowers. They must be strong to face the threats that are surrounding them.

As one of the martial gods, she’s one of the people who are responsible for watching over her people. If she were to lead her kind to a better tomorrow, she must steel her will and close her heart to their suffering from time to time.

”We’ll see how it goes,” she muttered.

Truthfully, she hasn’t thought much about it. Actually, she nearly even forgot about this upcoming event. If it weren’t for the reminders she made on her system, she would’ve forgotten all about it completely.

Because of that, she truly hasn’t made plans about it at all.

She’s entertaining some ideas, that’s for sure. But nothing final for now.

”Have you heard from the others?” She asked her fellow martial god.

”Yeah.” Verdant Immortal nodded. ”War and Crimson Tyrant partied up. They said that they’ve discovered traces of Nemesis. Void was still stationed in his little kingdom, operating the spies.”

”Nemesis has been found?”

That got Azure Saint’s attention.

Nemesis is the name they gave to the creature that left War and Crimson Tyrant nearly dead and deeply traumatized them. This happened long ago, before they even ascended as martial gods.

They don’t know what kind of creature it was exactly even after all these years. They couldn’t find any records of it even after decades of searching.

They just called it Nemesis, since for both War and Crimson Tyrant, that’s what the creature represents.

”A trace...they’re not certain yet. It was War who found it, and Crimson Tyrant, afraid that War will take it down on his own, joined up, not wanting to be left out.”

”Their confidence has been restored since they got the Green Lotus Core Technique. They even have the Green Lotus Core Martial Physique now, which not only healed them from inside out, but also loosened their bottlenecks.”

”They said that both of them feel so young again, and with that comes their blazing passion to put down Nemesis once and for all. War had been obsessively tracking it down, and now, with this lead, of course he will follow. Whether it’s a dead end, a trap, or nothing at all, he’s already invested.”

”Yeah, that sounds like him, alright,” Azure Saint nodded. ”Tell them to be cautious. Remind them that it might not just be them who improved after all this time.”

”We can’t lose both of them. Actually, you know what? Why don’t we have Void tail those two? Just in case,” she suggested.

”No need to remind Void. He’s already there,” the Verdant Matriarch smirked. ”He knew what they’re up to and already sent one of his clones after them. In case of emergency, he could switch places with the clone and save those two losers.”

”That’s...that’s good. Thank god for Void. I swear, he’s the only reliable man on this team.” Azure Saint sighed, feeling greatly relieved.

”You can say that again,” the Verdant Matriarch snorted.

”Well, with him tailing those two, we can stop worrying about them. I guess I should focus on this upcoming event, huh?”

”Vee, can you watch over the cult’s activities for a bit for me? I need to think.”

”Sure!” the Verdant Matriarch readily agreed. ”I have nothing better to do anyway. I’ll call if I notice something strange.”

”Thanks a bunch.”

After saying that, Azure Saint left the office, still accompanied by her teacup on a plate. Her mind was occupied with a couple of plans.

Verdant Matriarch, who was now monitoring the cult’s activities, sighed once she was gone. She glanced outside once more and thought:

”It’s one after the other. Time is really putting us under a lot of pressure, huh? I hope we can keep up.”

**

”Ren, come with me.”

A month has passed since Ren returned to the real world. He still misses the 6× training speed, but there was nothing he could do about it, and it’s in the past now, so he’s just living as per his usual routine.

Just now, Mikel showed up before him and called him to his office. Ren was puzzled because he doesn’t remember doing anything to warrant this. He had his usual visit with Mikel yesterday, too, so he couldn’t think of a reason.

Nevertheless, he was called, so he followed.

Once they’re in the office. Mikel gestured for him to lock the door behind him. Ren felt even more confused, but he obeyed nonetheless. He was then invited to sit down, and Ren noticed that Mikel’s eyes emanated nervousness despite his stoic expression.

”What’s up, Uncle? Am I in trouble?”

”What? No, of course not—uh, well...that depends, though. Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t,” Mikel looked unsure all of a sudden.

”Why? What’s going on?” Ren was really puzzled now.

”Ugh, here. Take a look at this first and tell me what you think.”

Mikel then passed on a sealed letter to Ren. The seal bears the insignia of the GMU, the Imperial Court, and the City Lord’s office. Meaning that it couldn’t get any more formal than this.

The moment he saw it, Ren had his suspicions. But just to make sure, he carefully unsealed the letter and proceeded to read its contents.

**

To: Soren Marek Vire

From the Grand Martial Union, the Imperial Court, and the City Lord’s Office.

A pleasant day to you, Mr. Vire. We cordially invite you to participate in the Inter-City Youth Martial Tournament.

The intercity youth martial tournament is part of a much larger tournament bracket. But for now, this one is limited to the geniuses, like you, that are born and raised in the city. In your case, Central City (C-City).

Out of consideration for the recent event where humanity’s young geniuses were taken to trial grounds, we deemed it necessary to assess just how much improvement the youth of our current era gained during their time there.

And what better way to do that than a city-wide tournament? One that will be broadcasted live for everybody to see!

Rest assured, we will make it worth your while. You will gain something simply by participating. Said gains will only increase if you prove your abilities better than most.

So? What do you say?

We eagerly await your reply. You can send us a handwritten letter, like this one, or e-mail us through our official business e-mail address containing a picture of your dungeon license so we can confirm that it’s you.

Best regards,

- Grand Martial Union, Imperial Court, City Lord’s Office.

**

Ren folded the letter back into the envelope with a sigh.

”I really thought that I did something really bad; it turns out that it’s just this.” Ren rolled his eyes at Mikel for being so dramatic.

Mikel had the decency to look ashamed, at least.

”So? What’s it going to be?”

”Of course, I’ll go! No way I’m missing this!” Ren replied.

’Besides, this is what I’ve been waiting for since returning here.’