Chapter 1657 - 1657. Coward
Noah watched Fay falling toward the ground. A large chunk of her body had disappeared, and her two halves descended through the sky.
The dark world quickly expanded to capture her corpse and the energy she had released after her death. Noah wouldn't let anything go. She was a liquid stage cultivator in the end.
His consciousness spread as waves of energy flowed inside his body. Noah had another opponent, but his aura was faint. Harold had tried to hide after crashing on the ground.
Noah's instincts were among the best senses in the entire world. His body could find traces where inscribed items failed. He only needed to sniff the air to catch Harold's scent and understand where he had gone.
Noah dived through the sky and punched the tough ground that covered the base of the Immortal Lands. An uneven tunnel soon appeared in his vision, and he didn't hesitate to activate his movement technique to explore it.
Harold was a liquid stage cultivator, but his movement techniques couldn't compare to the acceleration that Noah could generate. The expert had tried to run away, but Noah caught up with him in a few minutes.
A limping cultivator soon appeared in Noah's vision. Harold had lost part of his legs and had suffered severe injuries during the landing on the ground. His body didn't manage to endure the impact with the tough surface after the singularity clashed with his defensive item.
"I don't like to play with my prey," Noah commented at that sight.
Harold had sensed his arrival, but he continued to limp through the tunnel. The expert was desperate to remain alive, but Noah didn't like that game.
"The others will definitely kill you," Harold announced after stopping. "You won't be able to justify my absence to our teams. They will all gang up on you after the end of this mission."
"That's why I'm trying to obtain more power," Noah replied. "Organizations are troublesome entities. I can't let myself be weak in front of them."
"You managed to suppress two liquid stage cultivators," Harold snorted while turning to face Noah. "What else do you want? Congratulations! You are the best gaseous stage existence in the entire higher plane. Here's my reward."
Harold showed his middle finger to Noah, but the latter didn't mind that gesture. A dead man did not weigh on his mind.
Noah had stored the cursed sword by then, but his bloodl.u.s.t continued to flow out of his mind. His dense mental waves covered Harold and made him experience the many violent thoughts that afflicted Noah.
Harold experienced the violence contained in Noah's mind. He almost went crazy after feeling so many bloodthirsty ideas running through his mental sphere. Still, he also became able to sense Noah's greed among that mess.
The expert could sense how desperately Noah d.e.s.i.r.ed power. It was an instinctive drive. Noah had founded his whole existence on that vague idea, and his entire cultivation journey depended on it.
Noah landed in front of Harold and retracted his hand. His fingers took the shape of a sword as he prepared to pierce the expert's c.h.e.s.t. A single movement would be enough to end his life.
"Wait, wait!" Harold suddenly shouted. "There must be a way out of this."
Pure fear filled the expert's face. Harold had lost his composure in front of death. The loyalty toward his family had disappeared when Noah was about to kill him.
"I can't have liabilities hanging around," Noah commented. "You must die for my façade to remain in place."
"I can give you a lot!" Harold shouted. "The Rotway family has been a core member of the political environment of the human domain for eras. I'm sure I can give you something in exchange for my life."
"Talk then," Noah sighed while placing his palm on the expert's head.
A slight pressure would be enough to kill Harold, but Noah had delayed his execution on purpose. The expert could give him information that the Legion couldn't acquire. Noah could always learn something interesting from cultivators willing to betray their organization.
"I can tell you where all our mansions ar-!" Harold wanted to finish his line, but Noah made it end with a cry of pain.
Noah's fingers had stabbed the expert's forehead and were about to crush his skull. Harold had to say something interesting to save his life, and that vague line wasn't enough in that conversation.
"I can make you a list of our inventories," Harold shouted while keeping his eyes closed. "The Rotway family handles most mines on the higher plane. I'm sure you'll find something good."
"What can I possibly want from a human organization?" Noah asked while nearing his face to his prey. "I've defeated entire castles of the Crystal City on my own. You are nothing more than miners in my eyes."
Noah would rather earn something out of that rebellion. Freedom didn't satisfy him, but gaining a mole inside the human domain could give him a lot.
That was the only reason behind his delayed execution. Noah wasn't a brute. He knew that he needed to learn about his enemies before declaring war on an entire plane.
"I know my ways into Heaven and Earth's will," Harold pleaded. "I can tell you what they have in mind. I'm sure you'll value this."
"I already have members of the secret organization inside my force," Noah replied while tightening his grasp. "I guess you are useless."
Noah's fingers continued to pierce the expert's head. Harold tried to expand his aura to fight his opponent, but dark matter covered his figure before he could launch any spell.
Harold soon understood that he had to give up on everything to save his life. His last brim of hesitation quickly vanished, and secrets about his organizations came out of his mouth.
"I know the location of every mine belonging to the Rotway family," Harold explained. "I also know how to contact the Crystal City since all the major organizations are aware of the other castles. I can even lead you to the place where the various organizations contact Heaven and Earth."
A tremor ran through Noah, but he made sure that Harold didn't sense that. Those words actually carried interesting information that Noah wanted to obtain, but Harold had been smart enough not to go into details.
"How can you know about all of this?" Noah asked.
"I am related to one of the strongest cultivators inside the Rotway family," Harold explained. "I know many secrets, especially those that might concern you."
Noah placed his forehead on Harold's face before fixing his reptilian eyes on his scared gaze. Noah needed to whisper a last threat before he could begin to trust the expert.
"Lower your defenses," Noah said. "You will live, but your existence will belong to me. Welcome to my nameless organization, coward."
"I'm not a coward!" Harold snorted. "I bow in front of monsters while I acc.u.mulate power. I bet you did the same in your early days."
Noah felt a tinge of respect surging inside him. Harold had spoken true words. The life of weaker experts often relied on large organizations. Still, Harold had decided to become a spy, and that could only benefit Noah.