Book 5 Chapter 1.3 - Darkness and Hope

Five minutes passed quickly. Even with O’Brien’s simple and effective method of talking, to talk about the situation and future plans, five minutes of time was still too short. 

“... then, things are like this. You should go back to wait for me first. I will come back after a period of time.” O’Brien said. Then, he walked towards Eileen who reappeared. 

When he looked at Eileen and O’Brien standing together, Alan’s expression became a bit strange as well. However, he who was used to obeying orders only shrugged his shoulders, and then dragged his tired and wounded body into the distance. 

As she watched Alan’s retreating figure, Eileen said, “Thick skinned tough body, loyal and obedient, not a bad meat shield, complements your abilities quite well too, but that’s all there is to it. He has deviated from his ability path, his individual strength too lacking. Meanwhile, your current combat strength is merely passable, but your body is even more inferior to your combat strength!” 

When O’Brien heard this blunt assessment, he only laughed, not saying anything. Apart from battle, his ability to manage and command could not be overlooked. The Arthur family’s strength, under his management, quickly improved. Even though the development of their foundation was much slower than under Persephone’s control, it was perfect for dealing with the current chaotic times. The strategic changes mostly relied on luck and the family elders’ pointers, but O’Brien’s own precise decisions similarly couldn’t be overlooked. To have strategic foresight, that was something only practice and tempering could produce. This type of training was something that one would only obtain if they were at a high position, as well as a large amount of resources, so in reality, those who truly had leadership abilities were much rarer than high level ability users, and much more important. 

Eileen only needed a male stallion, so it was only natural that she completely ignored O’Brien’s greatest value. This could only be said to be his misfortune.

“Alright, let’s go capture Persephone!” Eileen loudly declared their next plan of action.

“Capture my older sister?” O’Brien stared at Eileen. 

“Of course! If we don’t bring her back, how far do you think she can go while carrying that child in her belly? This is the Holy Crusaders’ terrain, and we are already approaching their core region. If Persephone runs into their core region, they definitely won’t ignore it. At that time, she might encounter some dark gray knights.” Eileen said. 

“Dark gray knights?” O’Brien frowned. He had never heard of the term dark gray knights, only knowing about that the Holy Crusaders’ great knights. Great knights had universal six to seven levels of ability, and a few of them had eight levels of ability. Towards Black Dragonrider generals, they simply posed no threat. 

Eileen quickly dispelled O’Brien’s curiosity. “Dark gray knights are great knights born especially for battle. Through special and cruel training methods, their combat strength far exceeds normal great knights. This is the highest level secret of the Blood Parliament, so it’s normal that you all don’t know about it. Persephone is about to give birth soon. When the child is born, her abilities might even decline to about six levels. At that time, she might still be able to defeat a great knight, but if she encounters a dark gray knight, then she wouldn’t even be able to run. Do you want her to be captured by the enemy? I heard that she has killed quite a few great knights from the Holy Crusaders in this past year!” 

If Persephone was captured by the Holy Crusaders, it was easy to imagine what would happen. As such, O’Brien no longer persisted with his questioning, following Eileen into the distance.

Three days quickly passed. 

In the distant northern mountain region, Persephone was laying down inside of a cave that shielded her from the snow and wind. She continuously breathed in and out, her face as white as paper. Her long gray hair was wet from sweat, strands sticking to her face and forehead. 

She was in a half reclining posture with her head faced up, her breathing becoming more and more rough. Her hands held her stomach region, continuously exerting force. 

The location of the cave was already above the snowy line, cold winds continuously roaring past, sending wisps of chilly air through the rock sealing up the entrance of the cave. A flame was suddenly started inside the cave, but it couldn’t dispel the coldness inside the cave at all. 

Persephone’s hands caressed her belly that swelled high into the air, the expression on her face extremely gentle. “Little treasure, you should come out now. I know that you can come out now. Listen to mommy and obediently come out. Otherwise, you will be in danger!” 

As someone who used to be a Saint level expert, Persephone could clearly sense the movements and consciousness of the little life in her stomach. It liked this type of warm and peaceful environment a lot, not willing to leave it at all. Persephone could already sense that it was continuously absorbing her own genetic power, and the decline of her current abilities was also because of this. Persephone couldn’t stop it, but she could control this process to a limited extent. 

However, whenever the little life absorbed nourishment and genetic power, Persephone would always feel a sense of warmth and happiness from the bottom of her heart. Persephone was still extremely young, and she, who had assumed a position of power from such a young age always put herself first. In the past, she would have never imagined that there would be a day when she would be so devoted to her own child, only feeling that children were a burden and trouble. However, now that she had Su’s child, it became an exception.

However, only after finding out that there was a small life in her stomach did she understand the meaning of being a mother. 

What she was proud of was that the little life already displayed its extraordinariness even before its birth: over ninety percent of the genetic power it absorbed from Persephone was turned into its own power, with almost no losses. Persephone recalled Helen saying that this was an important characteristic of ultra life forms. If it wasn’t for Eileen’s relentless pursuit, Persephone would be more than likely to spend longer time with this little life inside of her. However now, she knew that Eileen was currently chasing after her, and that she didn’t have much time left. That was why Persephone wanted to give birth as soon as possible. 

She knew that it was extremely difficult to call the little life in her stomach human, but she didn’t mind. This was the child of Su and herself, regardless of what it was. 

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