Although the Eternal Sun Peak has many Mind Cultivators or Manipulators, they were mostly at the Brass Tier with a handful of Silver Tier…

As for Gold Tier Manipulators, they normally venture out of their Peak when they reached this level. They could be everywhere training their mind and perfecting their combat style with their Automatons with real battle experience.

It is said that there is a huge chasm between the Silver and Gold Tier so the latter was quite special and had plenty of privileges they can all enjoy.

This is the reason why Vivian couldn't send Gold Tier Manipulators to accompany Vincent and his team. As for sending Silver Tiers, it didn't come to their mind since Joran will just easily destroy them. Silver Automatons doesn't have the toughness and complexity that Gold Automatons has.

Nevertheless, Vivian allowed Nerissa to accompany Vincent's team.

As for the two Celestial Beings, they have to stay in the Peak since Sage Vivian needs constant protection as well. With the absence of Crystal Tier Nerissa, the two Numbered Celestials have to be on guard at all times.

In the end, Vincent left the peak with Luna, Agatha, Millie, and Nerissa as they went to the dungeon during the night…

On the other hand, Ronan, Faviona, Dianne, and Ceri would head to the main peak tomorrow morning.

***

Vincent's group wasn't tired and doesn't need any sleep at the moment. Their bodies are blessed with Mana so there shouldn't be a problem even if they don't sleep for two or three days straight.

"Nerissa… May I ask how many Crystal Tier Automatons can you control?" Vincent asked.

Currently, they are traveling across the forest to head to the dungeon. No roads are heading to the dungeon so they have to move on their feet.

"I can only control one at a time… Crystal Tier Automatons may be incredibly powerful compared to Gold Tier but they consume plenty of mind energy. If I switch to Gold Tier… I can control six or maybe even eight of them at the same time if I push myself." Nerissa explained.

"I see… So it isn't better to just control many Gold Tiers." Vincent asked.

"You're right… Unless you have Ronan's talent, you can certainly use lower-tier Automatons to deal with high-tier Automatons…" Nerissa explained.

Vincent heard something similar from Ronan but before he could continue to ask a question, Millie suddenly warned the group.

"I can sense some people ahead of us…"

As a Grand Knight who uses life energy as her main source of power, her sensitivity to life essence or vitality is the highest among the group.

Vincent wasn't surprised that she found them first and asked.

"How many? How far are they?"

"There are three of them… They're about 300 meters away from us."

Nerissa frowned after hearing this as she seem to have guessed the identity of these people.

"They're probably Joran's companions…"

She then looked at Millie with admiration since she can actually sense someone from that far… Although Manipulators also have a huge mind domain zone, 300 meters is already around the peak of it. It means that only Diamond Tier can reach this distance…

"Joran's companions… The ones who can also use the power of Corruption?" Vincent asked.

"You're right… Are they going in the dungeon's direction as well?" Nerissa asked Millie.

"I think so…"

"If that's the case, we have to stop them… If they helped Joran, he would certainly get a chance to escape." Nerissa said. She was about to hasten her speed but Vincent immediately stopped her.

"Wait… I heard from Sage Vivian that only Diamond Tier Automatons can have a chance against the power of corruption. Don't act rash…"

Vincent reminded.

Nerissa hesitated but she still insisted.

"That's true… However, the Crystal Tiers can at least last for a while. If we can't defeat them, we can at least delay them."

"It's alright… You don't have to sacrifice your Crystal Tier Automaton… The reason why Vivian confidently sent me out is that she realized Luna's special ability. I think that she was watching the duel between the Celestials from the start."

Vincent said with a smile. He had actually noticed Vivian's projection glancing at Luna from time to time. Not Agatha who was ranked 18 but Luna who has ranked 80…

Vincent can only think of one reason why she was doing that.

It was the Bloodstone Armament that she had shown in the battle against the two other Celestials. She must've realized that Luna was utilizing the power of Corruption at that time.

"R-really?"

"Yes… Luna can deal with them… Although I have some items that can defend against Corruption, it may not last long if we're dealing with the three of them at the same time so I have to be at a distance… It is the same for you since you don't have protection against Corruption at all."

Vincent said… Although strong Mind Energy can also be used against Corruption, it isn't really that reliable.

Nerissa couldn't find fault in his words and could only nod in agreement.

"Alright… I'll watch and observe for now."

Vincent then gave his signal to Luna.

Without any hesitation, Luna picked up her speed until she came to the range of the three people's senses...

As soon as they realized that someone was chasing them, he swiftly acted and even stopped moving forward…

"Oh? It's not a Savage Beast…"

"Is that one of the Manipulators again? Why is he alone though?"

"It's suspicious… Be careful of your surroundings."

Since it was dark, they can't tell who was chasing them until they sense the weak fluctuation of energy that is not similar to Savage Beasts. They can roughly see the figure of the person chasing them but they can easily make a guess.

The figure seems to be blocking their Mana Sense since they can feel his mana so they guessed that it was another Manipulator sent by the Star Garden Peak.

However, as soon as the moonlight reflected on the figure's face, they realized that it was actually a beautiful woman chasing them!

They had assumed it was a man since all of the Manipulators they have killed over the past few days were all men…

"It's been some time since we've encountered a female Manipulator… Should we enjoy ourselves first?" One of them cautiously asked.

The two others knows what he was thinking so they hesitated for a moment before they weakened the power of corruption they were about to release.

"Fine… Let's just destroy all her Automatons first…" One of them finally said as they looked at the beautiful woman with burning desire.