Chapter 161: Familiar
Natasha's long hair fluttered in the wind. Thousands of meters above the ground, the winds were not gentle as they were below. At such insane speed, mortals would be instantly torn to shreds if they came into contact with them.
The sky ahead was pitch black as the airship moved forward, tearing through the horizon and disappearing into the distance. Behind them, Ravenstone City had turned into nothing but an insignificant black dot that they had left behind.
A couple of meters away from her stood Lukas, gazing at the unmoving Rosy lying on a simple soft mattress, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
Natasha took another look before turning her head away....
It appeared he really cared about his younger sister.
By now, she knew Rosy was Lukas's younger sister. She was also the reason why he had rushed to the city after arriving from the star dimension.
Other than the two, there also stood another man, seemingly lost in his own world — the man Natasha called Vice Head.
At this time, the Vice Head had a glowing cigarette in his mouth, a contemptuous expression on his face.
After taking an exceptionally long puff, he let out a large exhale, throwing the remaining cigarette to the ground.
"The number of Terrors crossing over to Earth is increasing day by day..."
His nerves were genuine. Although multiple joint Union missions had been sent to the star dimension, the situation did not seem to be improving.
Filled with frustration, the Vice Head muttered in fury,
"It is useless. Humanity, sooner or later, will face extinction if we continue to be led by these cowards from the Union. Negotiation can never lead to peace..."
As the popular saying went, you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth. This saying perfectly described humanity's situation. Although humanity had made multiple advances all this time, compared to star monsters, they were still far behind.
Thinking up to this point, his focus shifted to Lukas gently caressing Rosy's face in the distance. His lips could not help but twitch intensely.
"Young geniuses, huh? I can't understand how these young elites can help us..."
Others might not know it, but the Vice Head was familiar with the internal currents. He knew the current leaders of humanity, the Union, had decided to bet heavily on top talents, nurturing them into pillars that would help humanity achieve greater heights.
Everyone fell deep into their own thoughts, not paying attention to each other. The airship continued to move under the darkness, cutting through the dark cloudy sea and moving toward an unknown frontier.
Soon, faint morning rays cut through the dark clouds, illuminating the sky with bright color. Before long, the ship started descending, cutting through the clouds to reveal a large white castle standing proudly, surrounded by four tall spires that rose like divine pillars supporting the sky.
They had been traveling for twelve hours straight, and during that time Rosy had not even moved a single muscle. Lukas felt a sense of anxiety rising in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. Now that he saw the grand castle rising in the distance, hope rose in his heart. Maybe there would be someone who could treat her.
He and Natasha were standing directly at the edge of the ship, watching the earth get closer with every moment.
The next moment he turned to Natasha and asked,
"Last time you mentioned something about the Union. What is it? Do they really help Rosy completely recover?"
Natasha let out another sigh, looking slightly annoyed. In this short journey Lukas had asked her the same question for the ninth time. If it had been anyone else, she would have already exploded on them, but for some reason she did not get angry at him. Instead, she felt slightly jealous. She could tell the care Lukas showed for Rosy was genuine.
Internally, she could not stop herself from asking what was stopping her from receiving the same care as the little girl.
It was also at this moment she realized how much she craved the attention of others — not just any attention, but genuine attention filled with love and care.
Without the two realizing it, the airship finished docking, and the Vice Head directly jumped down onto the ground.
The White Knight Guild members — a group of elites, most at sequence two, with a few outliers at sequence three — were already waiting for them.
After greeting the Vice Head, their eyes turned to Natasha and Lukas behind him, discussing among themselves.
The eyes of some of the sequence-three experts who were familiar with Natasha shone.
"Oh, it is her... How is she doing these days...?"
"Who is this man behind her...? At the peak of the Body Refining Realm?"
"Don't tell me this is the person she is recommending...?"
Some of them thought this, but the next moment they shook their heads.
No one was stupid enough to recommend a mere Body Refining expert. No matter how talented they were, against a genuine second-sequence bloodline awakened, they were bound to suffer.
If Lukas was not the one, then their gazes turned to the unmoving Rosy.
Before they could continue thinking, the Vice Head looked at every one of them and declared,
"Gently, we don't have time to waste. We are already very late. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid we will attract the ire of the Head. I am sure none of you would like that outcome..."
The mention of the Head caused everyone's expressions to darken like charcoal. Immediately, a sense of urgency appeared in their actions.
Carrying Rosy in his arms, Lukas jumped down, followed by Natasha. She was not the one to care about others' opinions. In fact, she wondered if they had watched Lukas in action, would their reaction still be the same?
I guess we will know soon...
Carrying Rosy in a princess carry, Lukas moved deeper into the Union castle. Every single brick in the wall carried a heavy and regal aura, making a solemn feeling appear in the heart of everyone who placed a foot inside.
Following silently behind, Lukas did not bother paying attention to the other words, especially the ones coming out of the sequence-three experts' mouths. Even the sighs coming out of them seemed to be filled with feeling.
"I wonder whether all of this is even worth it. We are spending extensive effort in the star dimension. By now our White Knight Guild already has more than forty branches, each led by a talented sequence-three bloodline awakened. All of this effort just to find one chosen one. Every year we repeat the same process, yet not a single one of them has been able to impress the Head."
While speaking, they would shake their heads in pure disappointment.
Lukas heard their words, his eyes filling with sharp light. Maybe the standard set by this so-called Head was simply so high that many had not been able to meet it.
Without realizing it, Lukas followed the others, and they soon arrived in an open space with a grand ceiling that seemed to be filled with all sorts of stars, coming together and separating to form myriads of shapes. It was like a night sky constantly changing.
Lukas looked around.
Including himself, there were already thirty-nine other young awakened. From the various bloodline branches of the White Knight Guild, he guessed they were the chosen ones, each representing one branch of the guild.
He silently nodded as some of the doubts he had started to form disappeared.
Then his focus shifted to the large pillar at the center. Just one look and he recognized the Strength Measuring Pillar.
He was very familiar with that type of pillar. It was a very famous instrument that body refiners used to measure their body strength.
What was this ordinary pillar doing here?
Lukas did not realize it, but Natasha had quite the reputation among sequence-three bloodline awakened. Females were jealous of her, while the males chased after her for a hand in marriage. So the person recommended by her was bound to be at the center of attention.
So when they saw him looking at the pillar with confusion and bafflement in his eyes, some of them shook their heads.
What a disappointment. It seems he is completely clueless about the Enlightenment Pillar... I wonder what Natasha was thinking, recommending such a person. Did she not put this test in her report at all...?
Some of the loyalists of the White Knight Guild frowned, thinking Natasha was disregarding the rules and regulations of the White Knight Guild.
Others also had the same doubts, but they did not voice them out loud. Instead, everyone waited for the events to unfold.
It was at this time when Lukas's eyes narrowed into slits.
Isn't this girl called Jasmine... hmm... from the Green Serpent ..?
Standing obediently behind a gently looking middle-aged man was a green-haired woman with a slender build and sharp eyes. She was standing lazily while looking at everyone around her with disdain.
Although too many things had happened, an awakened's memory was sharp. Lukas quickly recognized her as the girl he had met at the Night Phantom Guild once. Even back then, her sharp senses had surprised him.