Chapter 654 Secret Realm
Meanwhile, in Harfush, Sirmoor City, Hades’ Harfush headquarters was in a chaotic mess. “Right now, the whole intelligence network of Chanaea, other than Horbah, has been cleared. I’m going to give you guys twenty-four hours. I don’t care if you use satellites, drones, or send humans deep into the mountains.
Find me the waterfall! I’m not asking you to find a freaking water bubble. It’s a waterfall over a hundred meters, for goodness’ sake! Be prepared to get punished if the lot of you fail to find it!” Hades berated on the phone.
Meanwhile, the intel department was frantically diverting satellites to locate the waterfall. As for why this frenzy was happening, it was caused by a phone call from Jonathan.
At the moment, Jonathan was looking at the Heaven Sword in a mansion. In the battle earlier, he almost died from a fall due to his being pulled into the imaginary realm of the sword.
Even if he was much stronger than an ordinary person, the fall from a dozen levels’ height still took a toll on him.
Zebedee and two other Grandmaster Realm cultivators from Jetroina had long absconded.
It would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack to locate them now.
Cultivators like them could easily find some unfortunate men and kill them to reside in their bodies.
Even if they were stranded in the suburbs, given their cultivation level, it would be a piece of cake to survive.
To find them, Jonathan would need someone who could turn the whole Terrandya province around in a short time. However, it was impossible to do so.
Meanwhile, Nina lay motionless on a couch aside.
After ingesting so many laxatives, even an advanced phase Grandmaster Realm cultivator like her would not be able to take it. She was drained of all her energy as she slumped against the couch.
Beside her, Geoffrey was seated in front of a spacious desk.
It was obviously a meeting room desk, fit to seat around twenty to thirty people.
However, there were ten monitors floating above the desk.
Every monitor was displaying footage from multiple surveillance cameras or some encrypted chats. There were faces flashing on two of the monitors as well.
It looked very professional and futuristic.
Meanwhile, over a dozen oldest models of Nokia phones were on the table. Every one of them was distinctly marked.
A ping of notification rang, and Geoffrey approached Jonathan with a tablet in his hand.
“Mr. Goldstein, the number of casualties at Grand Hotel has been finalized. Please take a look,” Geoffrey said.
Jonathan took over the tablet.
Fifty four deaths and thirty eight injured.
Though the number may be a bit painful to look at, the casualty was actually minimal.
If Jonathan had chosen to stop and save the people at Grand Hotel when Zebedee and the other Grandmaster Realm cultivators were on their killing spree, he reckoned that the death toll could reach over a hundred.
“Mr. Goldstein, I just hacked into the information system at the airport, and I can’t find any information on Zebedee and the others’ entry. Could it be that they’re using fake names?”
“I don’t think so,” Jonathan said impassively as he tossed the tablet aside.
“Zebedee’s Team Oracle enjoys high honor at Jetroina, especially Zebedee. He has been anointed the holy master by the king of Jetroina. The honor binds them to their names. On top of the arrogance of Jetroinians, it is unlikely that they’re lying,” Jonathan commented.
He furrowed his brows slightly as he recalled the way Zebedee presented himself.
“If the names aren’t right, they must have changed their identities prior to entering the country. We could just match their faces in the surveillance camera footage. Even if it’s not the most efficient method, it is the best way to find out when they entered the borders and the people who welcomed them,” Jonathan ordered.
“Understood!”
Geoffrey turned back to his seat.
Meanwhile, Nina, who was seated opposite Jonathan was as pale as a sheet of paper.
If Zebedee and the others had never shown their faces, Nina was confident that she could eradicate all their traces.
However, since they had shown themselves, it would only take a moment for the computers to pull out the information about their entry into the country from the immigration system.
On top of that, even her whereabouts would also be leaked. To make matters worse, she was also locked out of her spiritual energy. If Jonathan found out about her true identity, he would not hesitate to kill her.
I have to find a way out of here!
Nina felt apprehensive as she looked at Jonathan who was seated just opposite her.
However, Jonathan could not care less about Nina right then.
It was not that he did not doubt her, he just didn’t think she was worth the trouble.
As a Superior Realm cultivator, she couldn’t even concentrate her force field. Jonathan wouldn’t even need to lift a finger to immobilize her.
Right then, his thoughts were focused on the Heaven Sword in his hand.
The sword had shown three anomalies so far.
The latest anomaly had cemented Jonathan’s surmise that the sword was no plaything.
It was as if the setting in the imaginary realm was guiding him forward.
The most bizarre thing was when the mysterious person who appeared when he entered the imaginary realm the second time could actually communicate with him.
This time, Jonathan was finally able to pinpoint a landmark in the realm—the waterfall.
It was a hundred-meter-tall waterfall. It was nothing too impressive, but he reckoned there would be at least a name or a record of a waterfall within the mountains.
Jonathan decided to check it out if he could locate the place.
The mysterious person had surrounded him with a formation of mountains.
Who is he?
At a deserted mansion in Marsingfill province of Tellmoore City, a man dressed like a beggar was huddled in a corner as he wolfed down a bowl of instant noodles.
Cough, cough…
A violent cough made the man puke his mouthful of instant noodles. However, the noodles were stained red.
He wiped away the blood on his nose and brushed the ring on his right hand, and a bottle of water appeared in his hand.
The man tilted his head backward and gulped down half the water in the bottle. Then, he leaned back against the wall and let out a huge sigh.
“Ancestors, the Secret Realm will open soon. I will retrieve the item and return the Whitley family to its former glory at Chanaea.”
The man was none other than Joshua, who managed to abscond from the fight with Wilbur and Eva last time.
Joshua had managed to garner the trust of eight respectable families by groveling at their feet for all these years. He finally ascended to the position of commander, and everything was in place for him to avenge his family.
He was the final seed left over by Herman. However, nobody had expected that someone left over by the Whitleys would dare to openly show himself in front of the eight respectable families.
The respectable families were looking to balance the power dynamic between them, afraid that any one of them would gain power over the other if any one of them was the commander.
Joshua utilized the downfall of the Whitley family, and the other families’ laxity to become the puppet of the eight respectable families.
The eight families wiped out the Whitley family, and yet Joshua buttered up to them. Hence, they didn’t see Joshua as a threat, and he was viewed as the perfect figure to bring balance to the power dynamic of the eight great families.
After a decade of trial and tests of his loyalty, Joshua finally seized control of Zedfield.
Joshua thought he would have the power to discuss with the eight respectable families once he seized control of the Yaleview Army.
However, he had underestimated one person—Wilbur Xanthos.
