Stone Tablet
Put bluntly, Crowley was Xavier’s only connection in the Bloodline Alliance. In fact, Xavier himself didn’t feel like a proper member yet, still unclear on the motives and principles guiding this organisation.
His only hope had been to borrow Crowley’s strength to help rescue his sister, but Crowley was now leaving? How would he be able to ask for assistance from the Bloodline Alliance and gather intelligence for his mission, even deploy troops to rescue Jill?
“But why? Jill is also your…” Xavier gritted his teeth.
“Because there’s something even more important for me to do.” There was a look of determination on Crowley’s face, “Don’t worry, I entrusted Jill’s rescue to Bobbi. Follow her advice in the future…”
……
“You’re leaving just like that?” On the aircraft runway, Bobbi looked at Crowley who was geared in full body armour. A finger was twirling her hair behind her ears, and she seemed lonely and uneasy.
“I have no other choice… This concerns the life and death of all humans on this world! You know… What the world is getting swept into… We cannot run away or hide from it…” Crowley looked at Bobbi as his lips moved, finally only being able to utter a single word, “Sorry…”
“I knew… I knew it… You are just like the other fellows…” Bobbi rubbed glistening tears out of the corner of her eyes.
“Haha… Don’t worry! I’m a superb bloodline carrier who has lived for over 500 years! How can something like this daunt me?” Crowley patted himself on the chest. It was a strange, humorous action, as if depicting his reluctance to leave. “Will you accept me after I return from the eastern seas?”
“Scram, you old geezer. You’re several hundred years older than me, don’t try to be an old bull eating young grass…” Browley turned to Bobbi one last time before the aircraft left. She was stood still, her lonely figure like an extremely beautiful sculpture.
“Sigh… I thought Bobbi would immediately agree to wed you, and become a widow immediately…” a muscular brute with a skull-patterned bandana said in a nonchalant manner.
“Scram! Are you cursing me now?” Crowley scolded the elite soldier inside the aircraft. He then looked at the man before he started laughing.
He soon turned solemn. “Comrades! This incident does not concern just the lives of the Bloodline Alliance. Instead, it involves the life and death of the entire world. Thank you! Even if the people do not realise our contributions today, our spirit will stand forever proud for eons to come…”
“Who cares about that much… Yawn…” A doll-like girl yawned, revealing a cute pair of canine teeth. There seemed to be even some blood on her crowns. “No matter what, we must destroy the empire’s wishes at all cost. Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all along?”
Many people agreed with the girl’s words.
“If that’s the case…” Crowley cleared his throat, “Let me introduce you to one of the empire’s secret plans in the eastern seas, codenamed Project X.
“Keep in mind that this matter is of utmost importance, not something the Bloodline Alliance can handle alone. We’ve already sought help from the Coven of Witches, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Martial Arts Association.
Crowley’s words caused the rest of them to sink into silence. Just like the Bloodline Alliance represented the remaining power of bloodlines, the Coven contained the remaining magicians of the Shadow World. The other two groups also represented the inheritances of different fighting styles.
Put plainly, they were the remaining underground forces in the empire. What was the empire planning that these four forces had to come together to fight it?
The people in the aircraft soon turned silent as they listened to Crowley speak. The more he said, the more serious they became, and the worse the shadows on their faces turned.
……
Tens of thousands of metres under sea level, at the bottom of the eastern seas.
A monster was swimming past this place, its ability to survive the sea pressure that could kill most others a testament to its might. It could transmit infrasound from near its eyes, causing many marine creatures to die immediately and become its food.
*Puff!* Just a whistle produced a whirlpool in its jaws, powerful enough to destroy an entire island. The suction caused the surrounding fish and mosses to be sucked into its huge maw, expelling a large amount of water and only leaving behind fresh food.
The creature did not seem to be satisfied with this meal, as it moved even deeper. A casual swipe of its tail was powerful enough to cause a tsunami on the sea surface.
This was a Metalback Whale. These creatures were the kings of the eastern seas, ruling over it since ancient times. If not for the massive burden of their huge bodies, they could have advanced to become beings of laws as powerful as rank 7 Magi. It was extremely lucky to avoid the scans of the Mistress of the Night back then.
However, things were different now. The various cities near the eastern seas had passed down legends of a ‘Sea Devil King’ through the generations, and the advancement of science had managed to reveal the Metalback Whale’s weakness.
*Rumble!* A psi energy submarine appeared here, larger than even the whale. Two psi energy webs appeared on its sides, launching a snare with powerful high-voltage currents that paralysed the beast. Shadow spells, cannonfire, and poisoned javelins soon followed, exploding on the whale’s back like fireworks.
*Woooo!* The Metalback Whale howled with anger as its massive body writhed in pain. Its thick skin withstood most of the attacks and it tried to swim away, pulling the net that was attached to the submarine.
The greatest technology of the empire was now pitting its might against this ancient beast. The waves from the tussle caused the seas to rage wildly, putting many coastal cities on alert.
It was even messier in the trench. A little girl that was as beautiful as an orchid stood alone on the submarine’s command deck that seemed like a battleship, loneliness apparent in her eyes.
Several white-haired old man in the uniform of the imperial navy looked at the whale on the large screen before reporting respectfully, “Princess, the forcefield reports on the beast are here. The submarine’s psi energy reserves are at 82%; if we have another five minutes we’ll be able to completely analyse it and activate a counter forcefield.”
If the outside world knew of this girl’s identity, they would definitely be shocked. She was a member of the royal family here in secret, commanding the navy in an attempt to capture an ancient beast.
“Do what you must!” the princess waved her hands, her voice as melodious as a skylark.
Moments later, the Metalback Whale’s forcefield was broken, and blood spurted from its body. A dozen members of the Special Forces managed to deal fatal damage to the whale using their Rapid Shadows, employing legendary spells.
“Dawn Is ready!” a general reported in a shaky voice.
“Fire!” the princess waved her hand.
*Bzzt!* The Shadow Weave within the eastern seas whistled loudly, its energy surging into the psi energy submarine. Everyone in the region felt their Rapid Shadows fail for a few minutes, jamming up the company’s customer service hotline afterwards.
All of this energy from the Shadow Weave combined with the psi energy of the submarine to devastating effect. A beam of light that seemed to be able to split the earth in half pierced through the whale’s massive figure with a speed faster than light, before piercing through the surface of the sea and through the skies.
Everyone in the empire was able to see this beam of light, and it even attracted the interest of astrologers.
“Long live the empire!”
“O’ Great Empire!”
The Screen showed the Metalback Whale devoid of all life, its aura weakening. The troops and officers all cheered in victory as the corpse began to sink deeper into the ocean.
“This… Is the strongest power of the Empire? I wonder if it can…” The princess muttered before sending another command, “Begin preparations to dive and salvage the loot. All mutants are to be dispatched!”
This order was carried out meticulously. Evidently, the imperial family had a stronger hold over its citizens than most people thought. They were extremely concealed in the shadows, and their reach was extremely expansive…
The innards of the Metalback Whale were like a small world with its own ecosystem. Many marine creatures lived inside its body. However, after this sweep of the Empire’s troops, none of the marine creatures met a good end. To put it in other words, after the Metalback Whale died, their fate was already decided.
“I’ve found it!” As the information was passed down, a scene appeared on the screen.
Inside that whale’s body was a large island, floating amidst the creature’s gastric juices. On the island was a black stone tablet, and the mottled words written on it depicted traces of history long forgotten.