Max chuckled lightly at that, tilting his head with a glint of amusent in his eyes. "Then it’s a good thing I’m not planning to turn my blade on the world."
Liam gave a small smile of his own, though inwardly he could not help but think—’For all our sakes, boy, I hope you keep that promise.’
"Let’s go, Elder Liam. We don’t have much ti," Max said with a faint smile as he turned toward the towering Battle Cube glowing in the distance.
But Elder Liam shook his head firmly. "No. We won’t be going through the Battle Cube," he said in a grave tone. "If this is truly a trap set by the Void Soul Tower and Thunder Monarch Hall, then the Battle Cube that leads directly to the Greenwood Region will be under heavy surveillance. They’ll be waiting for you the mont you step out. Walking into it would be reckless."
With that, Elder Liam extended his hand and summoned his void shuttle. A sleek craft appeared before them, its design elegant yet practical, its silver plating etched with faint runic lines that glimred softly in the light. The shuttle looked modern, built for both speed and stealth, its surface humming faintly with compressed energy.
Max studied it for a mont, impressed by the craftsmanship, before stepping inside. The interior was surprisingly spacious, lined with reinforced steel and cushioned seats.
Elder Liam followed him in, pressing his hand against the control panel. With a low hum, the shuttle lifted off the ground and, in a blink, shot into the skies like a silver streak before vanishing into the horizon.
They traveled in silence, the void shuttle cutting through the skies at incredible speed. It didn’t take long before they crossed into the Baskfill Region, one of the areas neighboring Greenwood Region.
Unlike the blood-stained skies of the Almond Region, Baskfill was quiet, its dense forests stretching endlessly below them, broken only by the occasional mountains and rivers glistening in the distance.
The shuttle descended smoothly, landing in a small clearing shrouded by tall trees. The hum of the engines faded, and the two n disembarked. Elder Liam’s eyes imdiately turned to Max.
"From here on, you’ll go ahead alone," Elder Liam said firmly. "I’ll follow you from the shadows through your soul essence. If things go out of control, I’ll intervene imdiately. But until then... everything rests on you."
Max nodded without hesitation. "Understood."
With a single step forward, his body shimred. And then, he was gone. Invisible. Not a flicker of aura, not a trace of life. To anyone watching, it would seem as if he had never been there at all. Elder Liam held the soul essence crystal tightly, watching its faint glow pulse in sync with Max’s existence. Even though Max’s form had disappeared, the essence in his hand kept him aware of Max’s position.
Then, the invisible figure of Max darted into the forest, his movents swift and calculated. The faint sound of rustling leaves was the only proof that sothing had passed through. Elder Liam stayed behind, his eyes narrowing. "Even knowing where he is... I can barely sense him. Truly terrifying."
Hours passed as Max ran, slipping deeper and deeper through the wilderness. He covered vast distances, weaving through dense woods and rocky valleys, always avoiding the main paths where patrols or scouts could be stationed.
Finally, he reached the outermost edge of the Baskfill Region. Beyond the final ridgeline, across a stretch of jagged cliffs and mist-shrouded ravines, lay the Greenwood Region—the place where both his enemies and his kidnapped friend awaited.
He stopped, crouching low among the rocks, his invisible form hidden in the shadows of dusk. His eyes glimred with determination. ’This is it... The ga begins here.’
The Greenwood Region lay ahead, its vast forests and shadowy valleys sprawling like a sea of dark green under the crimson-tinted skies. From a distance, it looked peaceful, even beautiful, with towering trees swaying in the faint wind and rivers glittering under the dim sun.
But Max knew better. This land was under the grip of the Void Soul Tower, with Thunder Monarch Hall lurking in the background like wolves waiting for their prey. If there was any place ant to be a deathtrap for him, it was here.
Max moved quietly, his figure hidden from sight as his Invisibility skill enveloped him completely. The skill didn’t alter the environnt—it didn’t erase his scent, nor did it silence the faint sound of his steps—but it bent light around him, turning his body into a phantom shadow that the naked eye couldn’t see. He had trained it to level 100, so much so that his movents left no flicker of distortion in the air.
High above, chanical drones—flying caras forged from Void Soul Tower’s sinister craft—hovered in silence. Their lenses rotated with an eerie glint, releasing thin beams of light that swept across the ground like the eyes of hunters.
So were small, barely larger than a bird, while others were massive constructs with wings of steel, patrolling the skies like predators. Max froze when one of the larger ones passed overhead, its shadow falling across the canopy. Only when it drifted further away did he move again, slipping like a ghost between the trees.
The ground was no less treacherous. Dozens of traps had been laid out, cleverly concealed beneath the foliage. Poisonous mist traps disguised as flower patches. Energy-triggered barriers woven between tree trunks.
Even formation stones buried under the soil, waiting to explode the mont they detected an unfamiliar aura. But Max, relying solely on his invisibility, was cautious enough to weave through them. His eyes stayed sharp, reading the faint unnatural glow of a formation, the subtle curve of disturbed dirt, or the slightly heavier air where poison mist lay waiting. Each ti, he adjusted his steps, slipping past danger with precision.
Once, he nearly stumbled into a tripwire strung between two rocks, so fine it could hardly be seen even by cultivator eyes. But Max crouched low, exhaled slowly, and eased his body under it. The wire vibrated slightly as the faint wind pressed against it, but he was gone before it could respond.
All the while, Elder Liam trailed behind him, a hundred ters back, hidden by his own expertise. The First Elder of the Hunter Association was watching, his eyes narrowed with approval as he saw how Max navigated through the layers of surveillance. He made no move to interfere, just as planned—only following, always ready.
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