"Boy."
The guard turned his head slightly, the fabric of his cloak rustling in the wind.
His tone was low, but it cut through the noise.
Lucien's gaze snapped to him.
"Once the protective film breaks, stay close to me," the guard continued, "and grab onto my clothes. Don't let go, no matter what."
"W-What?" Lucien's voice faltered.
A cold feeling spread across his back. Something was wrong.
The guard's head dipped faintly. "The enemy isn't alone. We run the moment it breaks. Understood?"
Lucien wasn't the only one caught off guard.
Even Ilya, who had been steady so far, visibly flinched.
Her expression cracked. Her face turned pale, a hand instinctively raising toward her chest as her breathing picked up.
"Could it be…?" she muttered, barely audible.
"Yes."
The guard's voice came muffled through the mask, but the weight behind it was unmistakable.
"They're here for what's inside the jade box. And we must not let them take it. No matter what happens."
Lucien swallowed hard. His throat was dry.
Beside him, Ilya nodded stiffly, her fingers twitching as she unconsciously fiddled with the edge of her sleeve.
Even with her cultivation, she was struggling to steady herself. She could feel it, this wasn't like the trouble she'd seen before.
Unbeknownst to the two, they were currently in a much bigger script than will shake the infinite heaven and the earth in the future.
This was something much bigger.
Lucien took a half-step forward, his mind racing, but his hand shot out and grabbed onto the guard's cloak tightly.
Ilya did the same a breath later. Neither said a word.
All three of them turned to look ahead.
The boat continued to push forward slowly, but the battlefield just beyond was growing darker by the second.
Boom!
Boom!
Another round of attacks rained down, striking hard against the spiritual barrier surrounding the vessel.
Each impact echoed like thunder.
Ilya's throat bobbed with a tense gulp. Her knuckles were white around the box.
"T-the boat is about to collapse, s-should we?."
Lucien stood frozen, his jaw tight, eyes locked on the attackers.
His face had gone completely grim.
"We have to leave… W-what about First Uncle?"
Ilya's voice shook as she spoke, a thread of worry bleeding through. Her chest clenched painfully.
She'd grown closer to the two guards over their time together. And now…
The second guard, standing nearby, turned his head just slightly.
A slow breath left him as he spoke. "Miss… It's our duty to protect you. Dying for that purpose… is an honour we carry with pride."
Ilya shut her mouth.
She couldn't say anything after that. Her face drained of colour.
And then.
Boom!
Crack!
A jagged sound tore through the air.
The spiritual barrier around the boat shattered in one sharp explosion, breaking into countless fragments of pale energy.
The boat, suddenly faltered as if it had lost fuel.
They drifted briefly… then disappeared into the wind.
At that moment, more auras surged.
One after another, powerful, fast, and approaching from all directions.
The storm that had been raging around them paled compared to the pressure that arrived in that instant.
Lucien tightened his grip. So did Ilya.
The guard didn't hesitate. He raised a hand, and a talisman flared to life between his fingers.
A breath later, it burned away completely.
"He's trying to run!"
"Stop him! Get that jade box! It's in there!"
Voices roared from every direction. But.
Swoosh.
The air twisted.
In a blink, the three vanished.
They reappeared several kilometres away in a flash of light.
Back where they stood…
Boom!
A blinding explosion tore across the sky.
The first guard had self-detonated, fire and force spreading outward in all directions, shaking the clouds behind them.
The shockwave echoed through the storm for miles.
Ilya's entire body flinched.
Her hands trembled, her breath uneven. A shimmer lined her lashes, but she didn't let the tears fall.
She just pressed the jade box tightly against her chest and lowered her head.
High above, the remaining guard didn't stop.
He wrapped his arms around Lucien and Ilya, then burst through the air at full speed, streaking across the sky in a flash.
They flew at an extremely fast speed, heading straight for the city far ahead.
The wind was brutal.
Lucien and Ilya could hardly open their eyes. Their clothes whipped violently against their bodies, and the cold tore at their skin like blades.
Their bodies felt heavy, pressed down by the sheer speed.
There was no protective field around them now.
They could barely breathe.
But they held on.
Every second felt stretched thin.
They didn't speak. There was no room to.
Only the howling of the wind and the distant thunder of the explosion far behind.
Even after half an hour of flight, the guard still didn't slow.
Not once.
Not even for a second.
But then...
Boom!
A sudden blast struck the ground ahead.
There wasn't time to react. Everything unfolded in an instant.
Dust surged into the air, thick and fast. Before their eyes could catch up, the scene had already shifted, the puppet guard was flung several hundred meters from the impact, rolling across the shattered earth.
But the three were unharmed, he managed to evade the explosion.
Gasp.
Ilya inhaled sharply, her chest rising as she clutched the jade box against her chest. Her head snapped back.
Behind them, dark figures in tattered black robes, their faces hidden behind grotesque masks.
Foundation Building realm cultivators.
All of them.
The realization hit like a slap to the face.
If these kinds of people were chasing after this box, then what in the world was she holding?
Her grip tightened instinctively. Fingers locked around the smooth corners of the jade box, afraid even the slightest shift might make her lose it.
Lucien caught sight of the black-robed figures as well. His expression turned pale, lips pressed together as if he'd just swallowed something sharp and bitter.
'I shouldn't have come here'
Then.
Boom!
!!!
Another attack, even faster this time. It didn't even leave a trace in the air, it was too quick, almost invisible.
At their level, they couldn't see what was happening.
All Lucien felt was a force yanking at his collar.
"Boy! Grab Miss Ilya and run!"
It was the guard's voice, clearly panicked.
Lucien barely had time to think.
His arm wrapped around Ilya, pulled her close, and the next second, his feet left the ground.
The guard had thrown him, clean off the path, away from the clash.
He hit the ground hard, Ilya still in his arms.
Behind them, the guard had already turned back, facing the incoming enemies without a word.
His fingers flashed, pinching a spell seal in an instant.
"Die."
Boom!
The earth erupted like a living wave. Jagged spikes burst forward, ripping through the terrain, hurling ahead like a volley of spears.
The black-robed enemies didn't retreat.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions echoed across the air. Sparks flashed mid-air from the collisions, the shockwaves clashing in all directions.
But the assault worked—the enemies' advance slowed.
Their momentum fractured under the sheer force of the guard's strike.
It gave Lucien just enough time.
He ran. As fast and far as his legs could carry. Not once did he look back.
Ilya held on to him tightly. Her arms clung to his robes, knuckles pale. Like she wouldn't survive if she let go.
Behind them, the thunder of spiritual explosions kept coming. One after another.
The sound alone made Lucien's ears ring. Each wave shook the earth beneath his feet, causing the air to tremble. His vision blurred from the force, his steps nearly faltering.
But then.
He stopped.
Teeth clenched, breath heavy, he pulled the jade box from Ilya's grasp. His right hand formed a quick seal.
"Go. Run."
"W-what?" Her eyes widened in confusion. Her body froze.
He slapped a talisman on her shoulder without another word and pushed her back.
Ilya's breath caught. She recognized it immediately, the same talisman the guard had used earlier to get them out. A teleportation talisman.
Extremely rare. On the market, one could cost hundreds of thousands of low-grade spirit stones.
But this one, this wasn't just any standard version.
"Lucien!!!"
Her voice cracked. Arms reached forward.
Too late.
Swoosh.
She vanished. Sent dozens of kilometers away in an instant.
Lucien watched for only a moment before turning his body, towards the right, away from the city.
His steps didn't slow. He didn't hesitate.
He had made his choice.
"Troublesome!" He grumbled.