Free Web NovelChapter 241: Is This Proof Enough?
Pursing his lips, Lucas thought back on all the dangerous situations he, his friends, his family, and his hometown had faced over the last half-a-month.
Bringing up any of these harrowing stories would probably be enough to convince the stubborn Viscount and her council of advisors of the danger they were facing, but if he really wanted to erase all doubts and secure their unconditional support, then his best option would be to take out the most extreme evidence at his disposal.
Fortunately, right from the start, Lucas had figured this was how things would go and had come prepared.
In his opinion, if you wanted someone who had money, power, and influence, to freely give up all of that and follow you instead, you would need something shocking enough to force them to see things from your perspective.
Turning to his ’assistant’, Lucas signaled to Allina that it was time to play their trump card.
Understanding what Lucas meant, Commander Crest opened her Space Bag and reached inside, pulling out a small square chest, about 20 cm on each side, made of a special Tier 1 Spirit Grade wood.
The material this chest was manufactured from was already shocking enough, but what really drew everyone’s attention were the glowing lines of World Qi which were engraved onto its surface.
Obviously, this was some kind of Spirit Tool meant to store extraordinarily precious treasures.
Under the curious gazes of Victoria and her advisors, Allina Crest unlocked several laches which kept the chest tightly sealed and carefully removed its lid.
Instantaneously, the Viscount’s office was flooded with an oppressive pressure, one that was so thick and so heavy that a few of the weaker people present actually collapsed to their knees.
In fact, the pressure was so intense that everyone throughout the entire Manor could easily feel it, with many involuntarily shivering as they tried to move further away from the source.
As for Victoria herself, she was now staring wide eyed at a brilliant blue-green orb the size of a melon, one that was radiating a Qi aura that was orders of magnitude more intense than anything she had ever felt in her life.
Victoria had seen similar orbs before in her life many times, and was instantly able to recognize it for what it was, but despite that, she still found herself gawking in disbelief as she silently screamed, What kind of monster could produce such a massive Beast Core?!
It was also apparent to anyone that this Beast Core wasn’t some relic that had been in storage for many years, as there was still fresh blood filled with potent vitality coating its surface. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Standing up with some difficulty, Lucas resisted the innate pressure and explained, "This, is the Beast Core of a giant, Mid-Rank Seventh Order turtle. 8 days ago, it attacked my home of Redwood Town."
Gritting his teeth, Lucas’ expression turned gloomy as he continued, "That night, nearly 2,000 people from my hometown, including my mother and father, disappeared from the Rockwell Kingdom."
Upon hearing this account from the young boy, everyone from Port Calden turned completely pale, as looks of unmistakable terror flashed across all their faces.
Figuring that the demonstration had had the effect they were looking for, Allina replaced the box’s lid and re-sealed its latches, causing the aura pressure in the air to slowly dissipate.
Returning to his seat, Lucas turned back to Victoria Moore, stared her straight in the eye, and asked plainly, "Is this proof enough?"
Struggling to control her own shaking, Viscount Moore nodded without any hesitation this time, realizing just how foolish all her previous resistance had been.
This whole time, she had been fixated on Lucas’ age, on the insult to her Moore Family, on Marquess Balfour’s seeming lack of respect, on profits and loss, on risks and benefits, all while being completely ignorant of how irrelevant all of that was.
What did it matter if Celestina sent a mere child to serve as her envoy?
What did it matter if the Balfour Marquess demanded she cooperate with a plan to abandon her lands? freewёbnoνel.com
In the face of an attack by a Seventh Order Beast, what else was there to consider other than how fast, and how far they could escape?
This Beast Core alone was enough to horrify Victoria, so she couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for Lucas to have faced off against the creature it originally belonged to.
The fact that this boy was standing here, just days later, looking calm and composed, was already a feat worthy of her respect.
Just as she was thinking so, however, something dawned on Viscount Moore. It should have been obvious the moment Allina Crest showed her the Beast Core, but Victoria had been too overwhelmed until now to realize it.
Now that she had, however, Victoria Moore couldn’t help asking, "I-If this is the Beast Core of the monster which attacked your hometown, w-what happened to the beast?"
Beast Cores were to beasts, as dantians were to Humans, they were the crystallization of their cultivation, the physical representation of all the Spirit Qi they stored in their bodies and could control.
While it was possible for a human or a beast to have their Core destroyed or even removed without them dying, that only happened under extremely rare circumstances.
99.99% of the time, if a beast lost its Beast Core, it was because it had been killed, and a predator had ’removed’ it.
That, however, begged the question: how did Lucas come to possess this Beast Core?
Celestina Balfour was known as the strongest woman in the entire Rockwell Kingdom, with only a few old men possibly being stronger than her, but Victoria wasn’t naïve enough to believe that the famed Shield of the East was capable of killing a Mid-Rank Seventh Order Beast.
But if Celestina hadn’t killed the turtle Lucas spoke of, who, or what, could possibly have dispatched it?
"The beast this Core belonged to was killed by another beast," Lucas answered the Viscount’s question with quiet solemnity, "I, along with a few dozen others, were trying to escape aboard my Master’s Skyship when the Seventh Order turtle attacked us. We all thought we were going to die, but suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light, an odd howl, and then total silence."
Pausing here to let his words sink in, Lucas’ expression became even graver as muttered, "The light was totally blinding, so none of us saw exactly what happened, but when the dust settled and our vision returned, what remained of my hometown had been wiped away, while the Seventh Order Beast was dead, completely encased in a thick layer of ice."
Looking up into the Viscount’s eyes, Lucas stated unequivocally, "The Seventh Order Beast was dispatched with a single strike, proving beyond any doubt that the being that killed it was far, far stronger, most likely in the Eighth, or possibly even Ninth Order. Whatever the case, we didn’t stick around to investigate. It was only a few days later that my Master returned alone to retrieve the Beast Core we just showed you."
"As for how Master did so," Lucas frowned, glancing out the nearby window towards the south-west, "She said that when she went to try to harvest the Beast Core, the moment she touched the giant turtle’s frozen form, it shattered into a million pieces, allowing her to retrieve this treasure without any effort."
Scanning the room, observing the awe and fear in everyone’s eyes, Lucas decided to conclude his story with a final warning, "There hasn’t been any sightings or traces of the beast which killed that Seventh Order turtle since that night, but if a Ninth Order Beast wanted to hide from us, there’s no way any of us would be able to find it."
Of course, the series of events that Lucas just laid out wasn’t exactly accurate.
Technically, he hadn’t told a single lie, but he also didn’t tell Viscount Moore and her aides everything. He had chosen to carefully edit his story to ensure certain details remained a secret as it was just better for everyone that way.
However, that didn’t mean the point of this tale wasn’t still valid.
Since the beginning of this crisis, multiple Sixth, and even a Seventh Order Beast had appeared in close proximity to Redwood Town. Such powerful creatures appearing once meant it was possible for equally dangerous beings to appear again. And, if an entity on par with Yuki’s mother happened to get sucked into one of the Spatial Storms and wind up on the border of the Rockwell Kingdom...
What Lucas was implying, Victoria Moore and the others in the room all understood, and any reluctance they had previously felt about the proposed evacuation plan evaporated in an instant.
"We will cooperate fully with Marquess Balfour’s arrangements," Victoria Moore steadied herself and formally announced, "Whatever you require of us, we will do our utmost to accomplish."
The others from Port Calden also nodded in agreement, none of them in the mood to argue anymore.
"Good," Lucas nodded, and was just about to dive into the specifics of his plan when a slight vibration in the World Qi around him suddenly caught his attention.
In the next instant, Lucas, along with the 2 Spirit Initiates in the office, turned to the west and narrowed their eyes.
