Chapter 2509: Expendable

"Something to say?"

Fanelei looked over at Alex. Her expression was as calm as ever, as though she hadn’t just torn an enormous outpost in two.

"No, no, no, Miss. Nothing at all."

Alex raised both hands and shook his head so hard that it looked like he was worried it might fall off.

Fanelei smiled. "Good."

"Who gave you permission to attack?!"

Another voice erupted across the harbor. This time, it came from a group of guards who had appeared on top of one of the nearby platforms. Their Wills surged outward and locked onto Fanelei, while several defensive formations lit up beneath their feet.

"Do you have any idea where you are?! Kneel immediately, or we’ll—"

Fanelei raised a finger.

A thin beam of concentrated Aether crossed the distance and went straight through the chest of the man who’d been speaking. His expression froze. Before anyone else could react, his body collapsed, and what was left of his Will scattered into the air.

Alex’s smile stiffened.

So, she hadn’t just decided to use a bit more strength this time. When she destroyed the first outpost, the people inside had at least been given a chance to survive. This time, she hadn’t bothered leaving anything to luck.

"What a rude fellow. Does everyone here think they can speak to me however they please?"

Fanelei kept walking toward the enormous tower standing in the distance, her robes fluttering around her ankles.

Alex hurried after her, sweat already starting to bead on his forehead.

The tower was only about half a kilometer away. Normally, covering that distance would be completely trivial for either of them. However, something told Alex these particular 500 meters were going to feel a lot longer than they should.

"I suppose I should’ve expected this," Fanelei muttered, looking more and more displeased. "Here I was, thinking that Sylas had finally found someone useful to keep around, but it seems you’re just another little schemer who thinks he can use anyone however he pleases."

Alex’s stomach dropped.

"Miss Fanelei, I think there’s been a little misunderstanding—"

"A misunderstanding? You wanted to use me as some sort of expendable trump card while keeping those other women hidden away, didn’t you? How considerate of you."

"Expendable is such an ugly word. I prefer to think of you as an extraordinarily reliable ally whose strength I have the utmost confidence in."

"Is that so?"

"Absolutely."

Fanelei glanced at him, and her smile got a lot sweeter. Alex liked that even less.

"Then I suppose you won’t mind if I demonstrate exactly how reliable I can be."

Alex opened his mouth. Before he could answer, another shout rang out from a platform overlooking the road.

"Stop right there! You’ve already violated the rules of the harbor twice! Any further resistance will be considered an act of hostility against the Nethum Clan!"

Fanelei didn’t even look up.

She pointed a finger, and another beam of Aether shot through the air. It hit the speaker right between the brows before he’d even finished gathering his Will.

His body toppled backward. The rest of the guards were left staring at the spot where he’d been standing.

Alex swallowed. Maybe he should start rolling out a red carpet for her. A few rose petals wouldn’t hurt either.

Considering where things were heading, he was starting to wonder if he should have brought along a whole procession of servants whose only job was to praise Fanelei’s extraordinary beauty and unmatched strength.

Unfortunately, he had a feeling even that wouldn’t be enough.

"You know, Alex, I’m beginning to wonder whether you actually understand what it means to follow Sylas."

Fanelei kept walking. Her voice didn’t carry any of the anger Alex would have preferred to hear.

"He’s arrogant, of course, but at least he has the strength to justify it. He doesn’t go around treating people like disposable tools unless he’s already decided that they’re disposable. You, on the other hand, seem to think you can get away with the same thing just because you’re standing close to him."

Alex’s expression got more and more bitter.

He wanted to argue that he’d spent 5,000 years preparing for this trip. That there was a big difference between treating someone as disposable and picking the right person for a particular job.

But, considering how many people Fanelei had already killed, he didn’t think explaining the finer points of his strategy would get him very far. And, he was pretty sure this had little to do with him. The fact she kept bringing of those two "other women", Alex had a feeling that this was yet another hole Sylas had dug for him.

More importantly, the woman was frighteningly strong.

Alex had already suspected something was off about how he’d judged her strength. The longer he watched, the more obvious it got.

Fanelei wasn’t using any elaborate techniques, and she showed none of the strain he would have expected from an A-tier trying to kill powerful God Plane guards. She just pointed, fired a beam of Aether, and kept walking.

The laws around her barely seemed to touch her attacks. Even the defensive formations woven throughout the harbor couldn’t react fast enough to get in the way.

"How dare you continue advancing after committing murder?!"

Another guard appeared, this time with several others whose armor bore the insignia of the Nethum’s harbor authority.

Fanelei pointed.

The man died before he could take another step. His body fell off the platform, and the others scattered in alarm.

Alex’s eye twitched.

At this point, he was starting to wonder whether the guards were talking to each other at all.

The harbor was supposed to be full of powerful formations that could monitor everything going on inside it. So, how did people keep showing up without understanding what had happened to the ones before them?

Unless, of course, they understood perfectly well and were being sent forward anyway.

Alex’s expression changed at the thought.

He glanced at the tower, which was a lot closer now. Despite all the commotion, none of the nearby ships had tried to leave. Their occupants were watching from a distance, some in disbelief and others with a lot more interest than Alex would have liked.

So, his suspicion that this was another assessment wasn’t so unreasonable after all.

Unfortunately, if the Clan was testing how its returning descendants handled unexpected situations, he had probably already failed whatever part of it involved restraint.

Then again, maybe that was exactly what they wanted.

Alex shook his head. Whatever the answer was, he would have liked to find it without leaving a trail of corpses behind him.

"You really thought I was just some scrub you could pick up and wave around whenever you needed to impress someone, didn’t you?"

Fanelei’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Of course not, Miss Fanelei. I would never—"

"Then why do you keep sweating?"

Alex looked down at his clothes and realized his back was already soaked.

"Ah, well, you see, it’s a little warm out today."

Fanelei smiled. "Is that so? Would you like me to cool you down?"

Alex almost tripped. "No, thank you. I’m perfectly comfortable."

Fanelei chuckled. It seemed she found his discomfort far more entertaining than anything else that had happened since they left the Hollow Ship.

Another voice tried to issue a warning from the direction of the tower. Fanelei raised her finger before the speaker could finish, a beam of Aether pierced the distance, and the voice stopped.

Alex didn’t even bother looking this time.

By the time they reached the base of the tower, several more guards had fallen. The harbor around them had gone so quiet that Alex could hear the faint hum of the enormous formations running beneath the ground.

Fanelei stopped in front of the entrance and examined the enormous doors for a moment before turning to him. She raised a hand and gestured toward them.

"Well?"

Alex cleared his throat. "Of course, Miss Fanelei. Right away."

He hurried forward and pushed the doors open, stepping into a spacious hall. Its polished floors reflected the enormous chandelier hanging overhead.

Five figures were sitting around a circular table in the middle of the room. The moment Alex walked in, all five of them turned to look at him.

Their eyes narrowed. However, their attention didn’t stay on him for long.

Instead, their gazes moved to Fanelei, who came in behind him with the same relaxed expression she’d had the whole walk over.

Alex glanced toward the far end of the hall.

There, sitting on an elevated chair that looked suspiciously like a throne, was the attendant who had registered his arrival less than an hour ago.

Her swirling black eyes settled on him without the slightest hint of surprise. Judging by how comfortably she was sitting, she hadn’t been preparing his accommodations at all.