Chapter 1095: Confront
Nevertheless, even if Blue Oasis did not view him favorably, they would still not act openly hostile against him.
In the end, the top guilds were wary of Izroth and the Mystical Realm Palace. As the main provider of grade three pills circulating throughout RML, offending Izroth and the Mystical Realm Palace was no different than tying one's hands.
One wrong move, and they may be barred from ever entering the Mystical Realm Palace. If that happened, the guild faced with such a heavy restriction and limited access to grade three pills would undoubtedly fall far behind the other top guilds.
This kind of threat was exactly what the guild leader of Broken Exile, Dragon, did not enjoy having hanging above the heads of the top guilds. At the same time, it was also why he had not yet openly attacked Izroth or the Mystical Realm Palace. Most likely, he was looking for a way to approach the situation that left Izroth powerless while shifting the power of that threat into the hands of the top guilds. Or, more accurately, into the hands of Broken Exile. "The coordinates should be somewhere around here.'
Izroth arrived at a lightly forested area with several fractured streams running throughout it. There was a strange smell in the air that resembled a mix of burnt paper and lavender.
When Izroth smelled that unusual scent, he was immediately reminded of the information contained in one of the books he read on the second floor of the Amaharpe Palace Library.
"This scent... It matches the description of infected mana. If I can smell it from this distance, then I can't be too far away from the source. Based on the direction the strongest scent is coming from, it must be the source that Azalea mentioned.'
When Azalea used her skill, Phantom Trace, she detected a particularly dense concentration of mana. What troubled Izroth was that the source of the infected mana seemed to originate from the same origin point where Azalea detected that Empyrean's mana was the strongest. 'If it is Empyrean's mana that has become infected, then dealing with it won't be a simple matter.' Infected mana was just as its name sounded. It was mana that had been infected in a negative way by an outside force. The stronger one's mana, the greater the infection and corruption.
In truth, infected mana itself was not a great danger. At least, such was the case under normal circumstances. However, for those like Empyrean, who possessed a deep pool of mana, having their mana infected was no different than creating a natural disaster that would have a harmful impact on the environment.
Not to mention, while it was possible to cleanse infected mana, Izroth could not use the normal method for a being like Empyrean.
To fix infected mana, one simply had to replace it with mana of similar quality and quantity.
Izroth could manage the quality part; however, even with his artificial mana pool, he could not compensate for the quantity.
'Whether it is Empyrean's mana that has been infected or not, given the location, he must have been a part of it in some way. It's not like him to throw himself headfirst into a dangerous situation. Then, was it someone or something that went after him, first?'
Numerous questions echoed through Izroth's mind. But if someone or something did mess with his people, they would have to pay a suitable price.
...
A few moments later...
With the movement speed buff while out of combat from his Gift of the Divine Speed title, it did not take Izroth long to arrive near the coordinates given to him by Azalea.
'Hm?'
Izroth noticed something at the coordinates with his Energy Vision Sense. Even though it was somewhat difficult to filter out the information through the heavy presence of corrupted mana, Izroth could still sense the energy of multiple people gathered in that place. There was a total of fifteen energy sources-one of which belonged to Azalea. As for the others, Izroth actually recognized a few of them as he had come across them during his time at the raid on the Great Sea Palace. They were, without a doubt, guild members of Blue Oasis. And, judging from the way the auras were positioned, it looked as if they were currently confronting Azalea.
Just as Izroth detected their presence with his Energy Vision Sense, he received a message from Azalea informing him of her run-in with the members of Blue Oasis. However, the choice of words she used to describe her interaction caused Izroth to inwardly smile helplessly.
"This girl... Is she upset on my behalf?'
[System Alert: Player Azalea Wraith has sent you a message, "Teacher, I have run into some insects from Blue Oasis. Can I squash them?"
Ever since Azalea learned of what happened during the Great Sea Palace raid, she held a strong distaste for the players of Blue Oasis. Although Niflheim managed to salvage the situation by way of a technicality, Azalea still found the actions of Blue Oasis detestable.
However, what truly made Azalea angry was the fact that Blue Oasis was stupid enough to compare her teacher's worth to that of a mere Guild Order. Even if a Guild Order became a million times harder to find, it would not be worth the ground her teacher walked on!
Izroth sent Azalea a quick reply to inform her that he had arrived. He also made sure to tell her not to act unless they made a move first.
In the end, Izroth did not come to this place to cause trouble or cross blades with Blue Oasis. His first priority was to find out what happened to Empyrean and Selene. As long as Blue Oasis did not interfere in that matter, then he would have nothing to do with them.
As Izroth reached the coordinates, he heard a familiar voice speaking out.
"You're trespassing in an area that belongs to our Blue Oasis guild. Yet, you still refuse to identify yourself properly? Are you a spy? Which guild were you sent by? Mist Palace? Hollow Tempo? If you speak up now, we'll let you off easy." The voice sounded.
The owner of this voice was the Captain of Blue Oasis' 4th Squad in charge of exploration, Peaceful Chaos.
Peaceful Chaos was one of the Seven Captains of Blue Oasis who was most vocal about forcibly snatching the Guild Order from Izroth. Fortunately for him, Niflheim stepped up and prevented a potential disaster, and the entire situation ended on somewhat reasonable terms.
"I am not a spy. I have no interest in whatever you despicable people from Blue Oasis are up to." Azalea said calmly.
"What?! Brat, do you know who you're talking about?! Who are you to insult one of the top guilds?! Just a coward who doesn't even dare say who sent them!" One of the players from Blue Oasis' side shouted.
This player went by Second Tyrant. He was also one of the players who took part in the Great Sea Palace raid.
During that time, his reckless leadership actions caused Luna to be possessed by one of the raid bosses, Ooudamu. Because of this, it was decided that he would be demoted. But, after Niflheim left and matters blew up at the end of the raid, Second Tyrant was completely forgotten about and let off the hook for his actions.
Azalea glared at Second Tyrant. If Izroth had not told her to hold off until he got here, she would have already sent his head flying from his body. However, she would not disobey the words of her teacher. That being said, she hoped that those from Blue Oasis would make a move first. That way, her teacher could not complain if she defended herself.
"Hey, I'm losing my patience here. I'll give you ten seconds to fork up any information on who sent you here. Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite and doing things the hard way. One, two-" Peaceful Chaos began his countdown; however, he was quickly interrupted by a new arrival on the scene.
"You can stop the count right there. If you reach the end, I'm afraid you'll end up regretting it." Izroth said as he appeared next to Azalea.
"?!" The players from Blue Oasis were caught off guard by Izroth's sudden appearance.
However, when they realized who had emerged before them, there was a mixture of reactions coming from Blue Oasis' side.