Chapter 179 - Entrance

"Blitz, what's going on?" Smith asks frantically, only to realise that the docile Blitz was already dead for now, she had decided to seize control over her true body and even though Smith couldn't understand the conversation, they still managed to catch the two words 'sun stone.'

"The blitz that the two of you know is me as well, the docile and attentive me only exists when I don't sense any upcoming war, but now that a war that affects the future of this cultivation universe is going to take place soon, it's about time I start taking precautions and prepare for the worst." Blitz says, its petite body not quite matching up to its deep and solemn voice.

"I understand, just understand that you still have your parents who are waiting for you, if you ever feel like crying it out, just take note that the shoulder of your father is for you to lean on if needed." Smith says, his voice quivering as tears glistened in his eyes for a split second.

"Why? You should know that if you and mother decide to accept this bond between us, then it means that they will end up chasing after the two of you, I don't want to put either of you through any danger, so please, forget about having a daughter like me even though I'll be able to take on the human form after reaching the Martial Spirit realm." Blitz says, whimpering as she returns to Leona's arm, cuddling her head against her stomach.

"Blitz, I know that you're worried about implicating us, but from the moment we decided to make you our child, we've already made up our mind to support you with each and every single one of your decisions, as for the troubles it might bring about, we'll deal with them alongside you." Leona makes an entrance from the sidelines, her face showing signs of tiredness as tears glistened in her eyes.

"Now then, we still have our final objective to fulfill, locating the main headquarters of the bandits and destroying them once and for all before they can even react." Nightin raises his voice so that the surrounding soldiers including those far away can hear him clearly. He may have cut them off from the emotional moment of their life, but he knows that the final hideout is what he should be focusing on right now.

"Yes general!" The soldiers replied in unison, the soldiers that followed Ash were surprised when none of the soldiers got down on their knees, but still followed suit as they understood how their armies didn't follow the usual rules.

"Hey Nightin, why don't you take over my army for now?" Ash suddenly asked Nightin which surprised him.

"Ash, stop fooling around with me, you have the qualities of a leader and you should know that while your soldiers are faithful to you, the same might not apply to me."

Nightin turns down Ash's offer without any hesitation, these soldiers were loyal to him and even if they are willing to follow him into war, their loyalty and heart lies elsewhere.

"I know what you're trying to say, my army might have been leading yours in that castle, but my army has close to zero experience on the battlefield besides the few infiltrations we have executed until now. Lead them."

Ash nodded his head and thanked Nightin with a fist bump, a variety of demon beasts as mounts gathered in one group on the right while the left side was full of nightmare stallions, one of the fastest and strongest horses used in war.

"But still, do you have any idea where their actual hideout is? The location Caps revealed to us previously almost caused us to lose our lives and I'm afraid that the other location he marked as the next might actually be another trap laid out in advance." Ash expresses his concerns, only to be surprised by Lancelot who was smiling at him.

"Don't worry senior Ash, I've scoured the area on the way here and I can assure you that the position marked on the map might be the true location of the hideout. Caps was most likely disguising himself as a bandit in order to gain more information about his goal." Lancelot explains, the streaks of lightning beneath his feet taking on the form of a dragon.

"Now then, it's about time we prepare ourselves for the final battle. But before that, we need to figure out if only two bandits leaders contacting us is a part of their scheme or something happened between the three leaders." Nightin voiced his concerns, his eyes on Smith who was contemplating on what he just said.

"It isn't a scheme, they have no reason to do so, the only possible clause is that the leaders are facing some trouble and require our assistance or that they just want to remove one of the leaders in order to gain more cultivation resources." Smith shares his view, gaining the approval of some strategists while some while still trying to comprehend how he got to the conclusion.

"Ir doesn't really matter then, we'll just make our way there and slay all three of those bandits. They may have a method to deal with us and restrict our strength, but I'm sure that they'll be unable to do anything to us as long dark knight is around.

Dark knight who was standing alongside Smith may not have been introduced fully to Nightin or Ash yet, but he knows that since Smith serves under Nightin as a strategist, then it's part of his obligation to assist Nightin as well unless it goes against his master's will.

"Rest assured general, I promise that I'll be the one to scout ahead and protect everyone from harm if the need arises." Dark knight replies, his voice grimy and cold, but lacking emotions.

"Very well, recover for now." Nightin's instructions were simple, but each and every word within his commands conveys the full meaning.

"Yes general!"

After traversing through the rocky paths, they soon arrived at a dead end. The only path they see before them right now are two heavy metal gates that come together, it seemed durable enough to withstand external attacks. Since there weren't any buttons or entrance codes that can be keyed in, it's not difficult to come to the conclusion that the only way to pass through these gates is to be identified by the scanner.

The soldiers might not have the brawns needed to come to this conclusion, but both the generals including the strategists soon realised the crux of the problem. They had no way to sneak in undetected and it would be against their plans to barge in openly and open themselves up to any sudden ganks.

Swoosh

Cutting through the air, a scroll that was sealed by a blue mark of a scorpion flew towards them as Nightin snatched it from the air.

"What's it about?" Ash asks while Smith and Lancelot inch closer out of curiosity.

With a light touch of his thumb, the seal loosens and breaks off evenly into half without damaging the scroll which opens up vertically.

[We are the first and third leaders of the Trinity force and we would like to seek your assistance in helping the three of us to deal with an external enemy, but this matter must be kept a secret from the second leader Jade or things might escalate and get worse. If you are willing to lend us your strength, burn this scroll before the gates and the energy in the seal will open the gates for this once.]

After reading out the message for the few others to hear, they were first shocked when they heard about an external force that was powerful enough to make them feel fear. But that shock soon turned into doubt when their assistance was seeked and they were given the clear to enter without any obstruction.

"Do we follow what was mentioned in the scroll?" Ash asked while Lancelot and Smith turned to Nightin for an answer.

"We shall do as they have mentioned." Nightin didn't elaborate further, but he commanded the army to restrain their aura and prevent it from being picked up by anyone including the leaders of the bandits hideout.