The Glorious Evolution

While Levi was hastily harvesting the Leviathan Phoenix’s organs and other important materials, his teammates had already made it to the Great Pyramid of Dawn safely.

They had relied on Jasmine to help them teleport away from Arthur’s vermilion fortress... they left behind the same illuminating tree that Levi used in Grave’Maw’s expedition inside the fortress.

With its illuminating light piercing through the vermilion walls, the Corrupted armies didn’t even notice Jasmine and the others emerging from a portal thirty meters away from them.

As the Corrupted were busy scratching the vermilion gemstone walls, they made it to the gigantic, shadowy pyramid and sealed shut the door behind them.

Of course, every ounce of energy wasted to save them was paid back through Growth Totems from the other two teams.

Tyrese and Evangeline didn’t even haggle or complain... the fact that they came to save them was a massive favor, and those growth totems still ain’t cutting it... that’s why Levi told them to insist that the Sun Amulet would return with his party.

This time, Tyrese and Evangeline had a slight issue with it, but they still agreed again. How could they reject when Levi was still nowhere to be seen?

They could see from Arthur and his friends’ expressions that they were waiting for them to say no... ooh, they would have vented all of their distress and concern that was eating them away.

Right now, everyone was waiting near a vermilion wall that was used to close the Pyramid’s shattered gate... waiting for none other than Levi.

”Shouldn’t we take advantage and explore the Pyramid while it’s empty and the Corrupted are occupied?” Mira uttered calmly.

Most of the Corrupted assaulting them had poured out of the pyramid, which left them somewhat relieved that it wasn’t heavily guarded anymore.

”Who’s holding you back?” Arthur replied coldly while waving his hand dismissively, ”Go, we aren’t leaving here until Levi returns.”

”No need to get irritated... I am just saying.” Mira shrugged, ”If Levi were here, I am certain he wouldn’t think it’s smart to waste our time instead of searching for treasures and the Sun Amulet... didn’t you just tell us that the entire planet might be contaminated, and we have until Dawn before the Ashfall plague awakens?”

Although it sounded insensitive, from a rational point of view, she was right... Arthur and his friends knew this as well, since Levi had explicitly told them to follow the trail of the map and raid the treasury even if he wasn’t around.

As much as they were worried about Levi, he assured them that he would return, and they trusted his words more than anything else.

’How can we get them to leave us alone without raising any suspicion?’ Shia frowned inwardly, annoyed that both teams were still sticking to them like glue.

They made it look like they were waiting for Levi, but in reality, they wanted them to grow impatient and leave them alone... only then could they seek out the treasury.

They had no plans to take them too... saving them was one thing, but sharing their treasures was another.

Unfortunately...

”I will bring shame to my family’s name if I leave to search for treasures while knowing that someone was out there, fighting for his life because he decided to help us,” Evangeline uttered solemnly as she gazed at Mira.

”Likewise!”

”I ain’t moving until Heliodor’s Raiders captain joins us.”

”It’s basic honor... if you had any, we wouldn’t have been put in this situation in the first place.”

Evangeline’s troops backed her up, akin to royal knights; their irked stares were affixed on Tyrese’s teammates.

Hearing this, Nurah and her friends were more annoyed than Tyrese’s teammates... they didn’t think that having Evangeline’s strong morals on their side would be their downfall.

Now, as long as Evangeline’s team refused to move, Tyrese and his people would feel like assholes if they were the only ones to head in.

Shia, Nurah, Jojo, Jasmine, and Arthur traded glances in silence... without words, they communicated with their eyes and brows, seemingly asking each other to come up with something to get rid of them.

Alas, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed without raising suspicion.

’What would Levi have done if he were here...’ Arthur held his chin thoughtfully, trying to pry into Levi’s mind.

He had been hanging around him for a very, very long time now... as much as Arthur hated studying, it didn’t mean that he learned nothing from being around Levi and his struggles with the nightcrawlers.

’When he returns, he can use his echolocation to detect our positions... if he finds us in the throne chamber together, he will most definitely assume that we haven’t collected the treasury successfully... then, he will leave the Sun Amulet to us while he collects the treasures!’

’Holy shit, I am a genius!’ Arthur’s eyes gleamed, feeling like he had an eureka moment.

But, just as he opened his mouth, wanting to take the lead, Jasmine summoned her brush and turned the ground into a scroll. Then, she manifested a portal.

Before anyone could react or ask her what she was doing, she stepped inside and closed it behind her.

”...”

”...”

”...”

While Arthur was left speechless with the rest of Tyrese’s and Evangeline’s teammates, Nurah and the girls had a faint smirk.

The conversation they had with their eyes had led to Jasmine ditching everyone to seek out the treasury alone... with her ability to portal all over the pyramid, no one could catch up or figure out her position.

It was like they came to an understanding that it was the best solution at the moment... Jasmine could handle herself alone, while they would either remain here waiting for Levi or head to the throne chamber to collect the Sun Amulet... either case, they would secure both the treasury and the Sun Amulet.

The only downside was:

”What was that?” Evangeline frowned, her reaction shared by everyone.

”Don’t mind her.” Nurah sighed, ”She has social anxiety due to her deafness... she can’t handle a big crowd in tight areas.”

”Fret not, she will return.” Jojo nodded in support, ”She just needs some time alone to unwind.”

”What they said...” Shia remarked while chewing a bubble gum with her arms resting behind her head.

”...”

Arthur stared at his friends with parted lips, watching them organize a lie and support each other without an ounce of hesitation like they practiced it before... the happiness he felt of coming up with his own strategy died out akin to a candle being blown off.

It wasn’t like he had a bad idea, but the girls preferred handling it by themselves, so when Levi did arrive, he’d group up with them, and they could take it off from there.

”Social anxiety? That monster? Heh, I wasn’t born yesterday.” Tyrese snickered in amusement, ”I had a feeling that something was off about your adamant desire to stay behind... I knew Levi isn’t foolish to order you to wait for him despite the circumstances... now I know... you must have found a map to the treasury in the letter you told us about. He can’t ask you to destroy the Sun Amulet without putting a map of the Pyramid to guide you... but, you can’t head to the treasury with us still around. Smart, I would have done the same.”

”We don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nurah tilted her head in playful confusion.

Deny, deny, deny.

The girls had no intentions to agree to anything since they knew that he had no proof... also, they discerned that Tyrese or Evangeline would have called out their bullshit, and they still committed.

After all, the moment Jasmine pulled two teleportations, she would be off their radar and whether they knew or not wouldn’t matter anymore... still, it was better to deny the allegations to maintain the upper hand.

Tyrese chuckled after realizing that they weren’t going to admit to it... he looked at Arthur and said casually, ”Ponytail, mind leading the way to the throne chamber? We have a Sun Amulet to retrieve.”

”But bosh... what about the treashury?” Blake whispered near Tyrese’s ear with a lisp.

”The treasury stores the empire’s treasures... but, I am certain we will find some corruption-based treasures in the throne chamber.” Tyrese smiled, not bothered in the slightest by their schism.