At noon, the sunlight was blazing.
A man appeared alone before the gates of Apocalypse Base, which shimred with a cold tallic luster.
This gate had been violently shredded by Fenrir three days ago, yet within a single day, it had been rapidly repaired, reinforced, and even upgraded by Tianqi's internal engineering and logistics teams working together with stockpiled materials.
This level of efficient mobilization and execution was, in itself, a silent deterrent.
The man wore a well-tailored dark gray trench coat; his posture was upright, and his face possessed the kind of handsoness that ca from being well-educated and rigorously trained.
Most striking were his eyes; his pupils were a noble dark gold, calm and profound, as if they could see through people's hearts.
In his hand, he dragged a dying figure—it was none other than Marcus, the SS-Rank Hunter who had narrowly escaped Fenrir's claws that day.
Marcus was now covered in wounds, his aura withered. Clearly, he had put up a struggle before being captured, but now he was being dragged along like a dead dog.
The guards at the gate instantly beca alert, raising their muzzles with sharp gazes.
They recognized Marcus, one of the two leaders of the allied forces, but they did not know the mysterious man.
The man stopped, a perfectly asured smile—tinged with a bit of apology and goodwill—appearing on his face.
"No need to be nervous. I have co specifically to return this gift and, while I'm at it... pay a visit to the true leader of Tianqi. Please announce my arrival."
His manner was calm and unhurried, even carrying the natural composure of soone in a high position, as if he hadn't arrived at the gates of a power that had just annihilated an allied force, but was instead visiting an old friend.
Just as the guards were about to request instructions through their communicators, William's figure appeared inside the gate.
He still maintained that elegant and composed appearance. His wine-red eyes calmly swept over Forti and Marcus at his feet, and he gave a slight nod.
"Mr. Forti, welco. The leader has been waiting for quite so ti."
William's reaction caused a flicker of imperceptible surprise to flash in Forti's eyes.
Not only did the other party call out his surna directly, but his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant; he didn't even show any obvious nervousness or awe despite Forti's status as an SSS-Rank Hunter.
He had t the leaders of many factions, so of whom were even SS-Rank Hunter, but none of their performances matched the man before him.
This level of composure either stemd from ignorance or... from absolute confidence.
Now, he was more inclined to believe the latter.
"I appreciate you leading the way, Mr. William."
Forti smiled and casually tossed Marcus forward like a piece of trash.
"This is a eting gift. I hope it expresses a bit of the Sentinel Alliance's sincerity."
William stepped aside, and two Apocalypse Warriors quickly stepped forward, skillfully hoisting the unconscious Marcus and taking him away.
William then made a gesturing motion for Forti to follow.
"Please follow . The leader is in the reception room."
The two of them walked into the base one after the other.
Forti's gaze casually swept over the fortifications and Apocalypse Soldiers along the way, and the assessnt in his heart was constantly being updated.
Discipline, efficiency, morale... the qualities displayed by this erging power far exceeded his expectations. Its performance was even more outstanding than that of the [Sentinel Alliance]!
Soon, they arrived outside a relatively secluded reception room.
William stopped, pushed open the door, and stepped aside to gesture.
"The leader is inside."
Forti nodded in thanks and stepped inside.
The reception room wasn't large, and it had excellent lighting.
On a large chair directly facing the door, a petite figure sat quietly.
Snowy white long hair cascaded down the back of the chair like a waterfall. She was no longer wearing that Gothic military uniform, but instead a simple black dress that made her skin appear even fairer and more translucent.
She tilted her head slightly, one elbow resting on the armrest, her small hand supporting one side of her face, seemingly lost in thought.
Sunlight stread through the window, casting a faint halo on her exquisite profile and long eyelashes. She looked like a porcelain doll displayed in an art gallery.
It wasn't until Forti had approached a few steps closer that she seed to be startled and slowly raised her head.
Ruby-like eyes looked at the man opposite her, calm and without ripples.
Forti's step faltered imperceptibly, and a flash of amazent crossed his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.
Although he had already vaguely guessed from various fragnts of intelligence and William's attitude that this mysterious leader might have a special form...
...the visual impact when he saw her with his own eyes still far exceeded his imagination.
Too young.
No, "young" wasn't even the right word; this was simply a child!
She looked to be seven or eight years old at most!
That petite fra, the yet-to-develop contours, and even the slight traces of baby fat on her face.
No matter how one looked at it, she couldn't be associated with terms full of power and intrigue like SSS-Rank Hunter or Tianqi leader.
Almost instinctively, Forti imdiately made a judgnt—ntal-type!
And an exceptionally gifted SSS-Level Talent Hunter specializing in the ntal domain!
A powerful ntal force was enough to change and fix a person's appearance, and even show signs of rejuvenation under its influence.
And that S-Level Talent Biologist in the Sentinel Alliance had shown so signs of rejuvenation because of his powerful ntal force, making his appearance look much younger.
Moreover, only this could explain why the little girl before him could sense his arrival in advance, why she could hide so deeply, and... why she could command a force like Tianqi with such a frail body.
As for combat? Before Lilith released her aura, she was no different from a child.
Her aura was restrained; with her short arms and legs and tender skin, she didn't look like she possessed powerful physical destructive capabilities in any way.
Even now, Lilith looked more fragile and powerless than Alice, who truly was a ntal-type Hunter.
While ntal-type Hunters were certainly mysterious and hard to defend against, they had natural shortcomings on the frontal battlefield and in terms of absolute strength.
For the Sentinel Alliance, the threat level needed to be re-evaluated.
After finishing his internal conjectures, Forti once again wore that impeccable gentle smile and bowed slightly.
"Miss Lilith, a pleasure to et you. I am Forti, an SSS-Rank Hunter from the Sentinel Alliance."
Lilith maintained her lazy posture, her ruby eyes rely looking at him coolly, not responding to his greeting.
Instead, she asked directly in clear, childish, yet emotionless Chinese.
"Do you speak Chinese?"
Forti was stunned for a mont, then nodded and switched to equally fluent Chinese.
"Of course. Is Chinese your native language, Miss Lilith? That is quite rare."
Forti had a faint smile on his face, attempting to close the distance a little.
Lilith didn't take the bait. She lowered the hand supporting her face and sat up a bit straighter, her small body looking even tinier in the large chair.
"Your purpose for coming."
Lilith was concise, seemingly not wanting to engage in much small talk.
Forti stopped beating around the bush as well. He sat down in the chair opposite Lilith, his posture relaxed yet still maintaining his decorum.
His dark gold eyes gazed at Lilith as he directly presented the Sentinel Alliance's conditions.
"Miss Lilith, after this battle, the potential and strength of Tianqi need no further explanation. The Sentinel Alliance sees your future. We sincerely invite you, and Tianqi, to join the Sentinel Alliance."
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