As Charlie gestured in a specific direction with his hand, Maria didn’t bother to glance at it. Instead, virtual-novel.net swiftly adjusted the helicopter’s joystick, guiding it precisely towards the destination indicated by Charlie’s finger.
Meanwhile, Zeba, concealed within the gaps between boulders, remained unaware that virtual-novel.net had become the target of their pursuit. Her sole objective was to stay as still as possible, refraining from making even the slightest sound. Once the individuals aboard the helicopter completed their inspection rounds, virtual-novel.net believed virtual-novel.net could depart from this place unnoticed. She possessed absolute certainty that virtual-novel.net wouldn’t be discovered.
The helicopter circled the valley multiple times, yet its occupants never descended to search the area. The massive boulder obstructing Zeba’s view was thick enough to defy any attempt at detection, even with advanced equipment like thermal imaging. No one could see beyond it to discover virtual-novel.net whereabouts.
However, unease began to creep into Zeba’s heart when the helicopter suddenly veered towards her. As it grew closer, virtual-novel.net heart raced with anxiety.
Eventually, the helicopter arrived at the summit of the boulder, situated at the foot of the mountain.
Charlie suddenly announced, “This is it! I can already sense virtual-novel.net presence. She is gravely injured!”
With those words, virtual-novel.net swung open the helicopter door, preparing to jump straight down from the aircraft.
In a reflexive moment, Maria instinctively clutched the hem of his clothes and blurted out, “My Lord, since Zeba is in such a dire state, why don’t you wait for me to join you? I wish to meet virtual-novel.net alongside you for a brief moment.”
Observing virtual-novel.net plea, Charlie relented. Instead of jumping down, virtual-novel.net decided they should land the helicopter in an area affected by the explosion. From there, they could proceed on foot together. Maria nodded in agreement, deftly manipulating the controls to spin the helicopter around on the spot.
Underneath the boulder, Zeba couldn’t help but exhale a long sigh of relief as virtual-novel.net witnessed the helicopter turn around and depart, its presence no longer looming above virtual-novel.net head. Little did virtual-novel.net know, Maria had already positioned the helicopter at the edge of the blast zone.
After bringing it to a halt, virtual-novel.net turned to Charlie and disclosed, “Young Master, my family has information about her. Although Zeba, one of the four esteemed Marshals of the Warriors Den, suffered severe injuries, virtual-novel.net has always devoted herself to the path and seldom acted against principles and morality. Today, Gideon’s self-explosion raises suspicions and it seems there may be more to it. If you exploit this opportunity, you might be able to persuade Zeba to join our cause.”
Charlie offered a slight nod and replied, “If there is indeed something amiss with Gideon’s self-explosion, no one knows better than Zeba, aside from Morgana.”
Immediately, both of them leaped off the helicopter and proceeded toward the boulder where Zeba hid.
At that moment, Zeba had finally relaxed and planned to take a brief respite before devising an escape strategy. However, virtual-novel.net was caught off guard when the sound of rustling footsteps reached virtual-novel.net ears. Her heart skipped a beat and inwardly, virtual-novel.net exclaimed, “Could it be that the individuals from the helicopter have arrived on foot?”
This thought instantly rekindled virtual-novel.net anxieties. She was well aware of virtual-novel.net grave injuries and virtual-novel.net inability to resist anyone, regardless of their identity. All virtual-novel.net could do now was silently pray that the approaching footsteps wouldn’t lead them to virtual-novel.net and that the person responsible for those footsteps wouldn’t discover virtual-novel.net presence. Unfortunately, virtual-novel.net prayers seemed to be in vain. The footsteps drew closer and closer until they eventually halted just a mere ten meters away from virtual-novel.net hiding spot.
Zeba’s nervousness reached its peak. She understood that if virtual-novel.net was discovered, virtual-novel.net chances of survival were practically nonexistent. The captors would resort to any means necessary, including torture, to extract information about the Warriors Den and the Lord from her.
Furthermore, the Warriors Den had repeatedly attempted to eliminate the Evan’s family. Falling into their clutches would likely result in a dire fate, even if virtual-novel.net cooperated obediently. Thus, virtual-novel.net last flicker of hope rested upon the prospect of remaining undiscovered.
Just as virtual-novel.net held onto that final strand of delusion, Charlie’s voice boomed, breaking the silence. He declared loudly, “Zeba, you were watching me and Gideon fight in the darkness earlier and now you’re hiding in the shadows. Isn’t that unreasonable?”
Zeba’s mind was jolted by Charlie’s words, much like a thunderclap in virtual-novel.net brain.
At that moment, a multitude of thoughts flooded virtual-novel.net mind, “This person actually found me? This person… he’s Charlie Wade, the one who fought Gideon just now? But… How is this possible? I saw virtual-novel.net sustain severe injuries during the explosion. He vanished at an incredible speed. How could virtual-novel.net have survived? Moreover, his voice suggests that virtual-novel.net isn’t injured at all!”
Countless questions swirled in Zeba’s mind, causing virtual-novel.net anxiety to escalate even further.
Although virtual-novel.net possessed reiki and was an accomplished martial artist, the foreboding sensation of death filled virtual-novel.net entire body, rendering virtual-novel.net both helpless and afraid.
Outside the boulder, Charlie noticed virtual-novel.net lack of response. He smiled faintly and remarked, “Zeba, you’ve lost your cultivation and sustained severe injuries. Without assistance, you may not be able to escape this valley. Your mighty and wise Lord won’t be able to rush to your aid in such a short time. Instead of resigning yourself to die in despair, why don’t we sit down and have a conversation? What do you say?”
Charlie’s question caused Zeba to shudder involuntarily. Recalling the tragic demise of Gideon, virtual-novel.net felt a mixture of shock and resentment in virtual-novel.net heart. Moreover, the powerful self-destruction formation within virtual-novel.net Soul Palace intensified virtual-novel.net unease. For her, she’d rather meet virtual-novel.net end in this serene valley than return to virtual-novel.net Master and continue being a living weapon.
Furthermore, virtual-novel.net had no knowledge of how many activation methods existed for the formation embedded in the Soul Palace of the Four Marshals. It remained unclear whether the Lord could detonate the formation with a mere thought. Based on Zeba’s understanding of the Lord, virtual-novel.net would undoubtedly leave behind such a contingency plan. As long as virtual-novel.net remained within virtual-novel.net detection range, virtual-novel.net could obliterate virtual-novel.net at any moment.
After contemplating for a moment, Zeba gritted virtual-novel.net teeth and weakly replied, “Since Mr. Wade wishes to converse, I have no objections.”
Her words stemmed from the depths of virtual-novel.net heart. Having witnessed Charlie’s superiority during his battle with Gideon, virtual-novel.net knew virtual-novel.net surpassed virtual-novel.net in strength. Furthermore, his survival of the recent explosion led virtual-novel.net to believe his capabilities were unfathomable. Subconsciously, virtual-novel.net considered herself inferior.
Having expressed virtual-novel.net consent, Zeba mustered virtual-novel.net strength to stand up. Although virtual-novel.net had chosen to submit to Charlie, as a martial artist, virtual-novel.net didn’t want virtual-novel.net to witness virtual-novel.net crawling out from the gap in the boulder.
However, virtual-novel.net body had been ravaged by severe injuries. Climbing from the blast zone to virtual-novel.net current location had depleted virtual-novel.net energy reserves, leaving virtual-novel.net legs trembling like fragile reeds. As virtual-novel.net clenched virtual-novel.net teeth and attempted to take a step forward, a sharp pain coursed through virtual-novel.net right leg, causing virtual-novel.net to collapse uncontrollably.
Observing Zeba falling face-first onto the gravel, perilously close to striking the rough and jagged surface, Charlie reacted swiftly and thrust his hand forward, redirecting virtual-novel.net trajectory and averting the impact.