Chapter 216: Moon Rage? Beast Transformation? What Is This, a Druid?

"Retrieve information."

[Ding! Hidden treasure information acquired!]

[Current region: Xianzhou Luofu]

[Gold Treasure Chest ×1 — Located inside the Shackling Prison.]

[Hidden Treasure Chest ×2 — Current locations: Seat of Divine Foresight, Starskiff Haven.]

[Unlock every treasure chest on the Luofu to receive a special reward. Stay tuned!]

The moment Evan received the notification, he froze.

The gold chest inside the Shackling Prison...

There was no doubt about it.

It had to be in the area where Hoolay was imprisoned.

Gold chests generally contained top-tier rewards—

Things like powerful weapons...

Or advanced combat techniques.

As for hidden treasure chests...

Based on everything he’d seen so far, they were at least above Silver-tier.

There was even a chance they could become...

Diamond Treasure Chests.

Diamond-tier rewards were practically on the level of Authorities.

After all...

Both Herrscher Authorities he’d obtained so far had come from Diamond chests.

Just imagining what these upcoming chests might contain...

Made him genuinely excited.

Wait...

A treasure chest in Starskiff Haven?

Where?

His treasure-detecting ability hadn’t picked up anything at all.

Could the system have made a mistake?

Turning around, Evan’s gaze landed on Sushang and Guinaifen.

Obviously...

Neither of them looked like the type to drop loot.

Sushang’s Taixuan Sword Art was certainly impressive.

Unfortunately...

Sushang herself hadn’t fully mastered it.

The "Li Sushang" here...

And the one from the neighboring world...

Were two completely different people.

The Li Sushang of that world had been a once-in-a-generation genius of the Taixuan Sword Art.

She had comprehended Taixuan Eminence while still very young.

She had even exchanged blows with her own Grandmaster on equal footing.

One of Schicksal’s only three SSS-rank Valkyries.

Back in the day...

Evan had even shipped her with Otto.

After all...

The blond traveler who had rescued Li Sushang during her journey...

Had been Otto himself.

If Kallen hadn’t existed...

That pairing honestly wouldn’t have been impossible.

As for the Sushang standing before him now...

Well...

She wasn’t exactly outstanding in either academics or martial arts.

As long as she was happy.

That was enough.

Compared to Sushang...

Guinaifen interested Evan a little more.

Guinaifen was a short-life species.

Her real name was Guinevere.

The name "Guinaifen" had actually been given to her by Sushang.

Thanks to performances like standing on her head while eating noodles...

Breaking stones on her chest...

Catching bullets with her bare hands...

She had quickly found a way to make a living on the Luofu.

Still...

Her past had been far from easy.

She had once been the youngest daughter of the Duke Protector of Camelot.

She’d grown up surrounded by luxury.

Until...

The Antimatter Legion invaded.

Her father died defending their homeland.

Before the capital fell...

Her mother entrusted Guinevere to her siblings and sent them away.

Then...

She remained behind...

And died alongside their nation.

Camelot itself was completely destroyed.

Afterward...

Guinaifen and her siblings eventually reached an IPC resource world.

There...

She learned how to survive.

But after the old knight who had cared for them passed away...

The family lost its only source of income.

Her older brother turned to piracy.

Eventually...

He hijacked a merchant vessel belonging to the Xianzhou Alliance.

The IPC arrested him.

The entire family was handed over to the Cloud Knights.

Fortunately...

The Alliance commuted their death sentence.

Instead...

They allowed them to settle on the Luofu.

They were enrolled in the academy...

And gradually found their place in society.

To be honest...

The Xianzhou’s legal system was surprisingly humane.

As for the Antimatter Legion...

No wonder they were one of the three most universally hated factions in the universe.

"By the way..."

"After we leave the Seat of Divine Foresight..."

"Little Gui..."

"Take March and the others sightseeing."

"You’ll all be free anyway."

"Sure!"

"But Mr. Evan..."

"Aren’t you coming too?"

Guinaifen asked curiously.

"Me?"

"I’ll be with you."

"It’s not like I have anything else to do."

"And even if something does happen..."

"That’ll be Yanqing’s problem."

"Right, Yanqing?"

"...Huh?"

Yanqing looked completely bewildered.

He had no idea how to answer.

"See that guy over there?"

Evan subtly gestured with his chin.

Yanqing followed his gaze.

A foxian had just walked over to a Cloud Knight soldier.

The two stood together...

Watching this very group.

Yanqing frowned.

"Teacher..."

"What is it?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Look carefully."

"See what’s different about them."

"Different?"

Yanqing observed them intently.

Though they were quite some distance away...

Nothing seemed particularly unusual.

"I don’t see anything suspicious..."

"They’re Borisin."

"...What?!"

Evan spoke calmly.

But Yanqing’s eyes widened in shock.

"They?"

"Even that Cloud Knight?"

"I’m going to arrest them!"

"No."

"If you capture them now..."

"They’ll just be disposable pawns."

"Don’t worry."

"Jing Yuan has already prepared for this."

"Before I left the Luofu last time, I told him everything."

"He’ll handle it."

"For now..."

"Just keep watching them."

Evan smiled as he pressed a hand onto Yanqing’s shoulder.

The Borisin...

Just as he’d expected.

They had already infiltrated the Luofu before the previous crisis.

This time...

The IPC’s new automaton technology incorporated Borisin biological material.

Which explained why the Borisin had launched today’s attack.

As for the Borisin hiding among the Cloud Knights...

It seemed the Dragon Elders’ previous assistance had truly been effective.

Back then...

People had claimed it would be difficult to convict the Dragon Elders for collaborating with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.

Now?

There was no need.

Fresh evidence had delivered itself.

It would conveniently clear every lingering suspicion surrounding Jing Yuan as well.

Not far away...

A gray-furred foxian carefully surveyed his surroundings.

His eyes settled upon Yanqing’s group.

"A troublesome bunch..."

His gaze was filled with cunning...

And malice.

Beside him...

A Cloud Knight soldier in full armor quietly approached.

Standing silently at his side.

As though...

He was the true key to everything.

The Stellaron crisis...

Had never truly ended.

It had only been...

The opening move.

Phantylia’s plan had never been as simple as destroying the Luofu in a single blow.

That was the sort of thing Zephyro...

Or Celenova...

Might do.

Even Iron Cavalry commanders wouldn’t act so recklessly.

This...

Was the Xianzhou Alliance.

What Phantylia desired...

Was chaos.

Complete...

Irreversible...

Beautiful chaos.

The Stellaron?

It had merely been a tool.

A hand reaching for the fruits of the Ambrosial Arbor.

Now that someone had ruined that plan...

She simply moved on to the next.

And that next move...

Was these ignorant...

Borisin.

To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:

patreon.com/nani_kaito