Chapter 430: Interrogating the Captive Leader
Not long after the subjugation of the foreign realm entities, a makeshift prison and interrogation chamber was built in a hastily cleared-out cave near the breached Anchor, sealed by a formation array provided by the Shadow Veil Clan’s Formation Master.
At the moment, the metallic scent of foreign energy, blood and the faint sweet smell of expended healing tablets filled the interrogation chamber.
Patriarch Liu Tianfeng stood while holding a helmet in one of his hands, his stormy aura was like a contained tempest, pushing down the figure before him.
Kneeling on the cold stone floor, the captured leader of the Vindicators gritted his teeth.
His magnificent silver armor was dented and scorched but it clearly survived the encounter with Liu Zhongzu.
With his helmet on Liu Tianfeng’s hand, his face was exposed to the eyes of the Liu Clan Patriarch. It was sharp with skin pale as marble. His eyes, which were a startling shade of icy blue, held no fear but only an unyielding resolve. His hair was a stark, silvery white, cropped short in a severe, military fashion.
Although not that similar, it reminded him of those living in the Western Sacred Lands. They tend to have colored hair, which is mostly golden blonde, silvery white or fiery red.
The Vindicator leader had been silent since his capture, refusing to answer any questions from Liu Zhongzu or the other Sect Masters. He simply knelt like a statue of defiant steel.
"Father, he’s a tough one," Liu Zhongzu murmured, standing beside his father. "We’ve tried everything short of soul-scouring techniques. But he won’t speak a word."
Liu Tianfeng merely grunted as his gaze fixated on the prisoner.
Having learned about the invasion of Outer Realms from the Shopkeeper, he was already expecting to encounter human beings similar to the inhabitants of the Realm of Nine Heavens. While other races were also present, it was still predominantly humans.
But this... he was curious if the inhabitants of Argent Covenant were the same. Still, the first thing he noticed was that the Vindicator’s aura wasn’t that of a traditional cultivator.
It was more similar to body cultivators, wherein they train their physique more than their spirituality. As for the foreign energy he was emitting, he could tell that it was not at all inferior to the spiritual energy of the Realm of Nine Heavens.
"Leave us," Liu Tianfeng commanded.
Liu Zhongzu and the other elders hesitated for a moment before giving a respectful bow and exiting the cave, sealing the formation behind them.
The Patriarch and the Vindicator were now alone. He waved an arm, and the spiritual chains binding the prisoner’s hands dissipated into motes of light.
"I am Liu Tianfeng," The Patriarch began. "In your tongue, my name might be spoken as ’Heavenly Storm’, but that holds no significant meaning. I am a peak Void Refinement Stage expert of this realm. I have no idea of the power system of your world but your current strength is at least two major stages below mine. You’re free to attempt escaping under my watch if you wish. But you... are a trespasser. You have a choice. Speak, and you may find a convenient path forward. Remain silent, and you will learn that my methods are far less pleasant than the Shopkeeper’s."
The Vindicator leader flexed his newly freed hands, the joints of his silver gauntlets clicking softly. He did not attempt to escape.
He was a soldier, not a fool. He understood that he was nothing more than a prisoner at the moment. While he remained quiet from the earlier interrogation, he knew that they could easily find out everything he was holding if they scoured his soul. A technique that also exists in his world.
If he’s going to talk anyway, he must at least ensure the well-being of his captured men.
"My designation is Centurion Valerius," He stated, his voice was smooth and devoid of any accent. "My purpose is to enact the will of the Prime Conclave. This world-fragment is designated for reclamation. Your existence is an anomaly to be corrected."
"Reclamation? Corrected?" Liu Tianfeng’s eyebrow twitched. That arrogance was outstanding, even for an invader.
"This realm is not some barren rock for you to claim. It is home to billions of living souls. Your ’Prime Conclave’ has no jurisdiction here."
Valerius remained impassive. "Jurisdiction is determined by a mandate, not sentiment. The Prime Conclave’s mandate is absolute. We bring order. We bring unity. We bring the Covenant. Your scattered, chaotic energies, your squabbling factions... they are inefficient. An aberration. We will purge the chaos and instill purpose."
The Patriarch let out a short, humorless laugh. He had heard this kind of talk before from the more fanatical sects of the Western Sacred Lands. It was the language of tyrants who believed their way was the only way.
"You speak of order, yet you arrive here by breaching our dimension. And if you’re not yet aware, you’re not the only foreign realm attempting to invade us," Liu Tianfeng countered. "You speak of unity, yet your first act is to declare war on its inhabitants. And you speak of purpose, yet you were defeated by... instant noodles."
For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed Valerius’s pale face. A deep, profound humiliation. His jaw tightened. He didn’t know the meaning of instant noodles but he at least understood that Liu Tianfeng was talking about the spice dust that broke their formation.
"That... was a tactical miscalculation," He said through gritted teeth. "An encounter with an anomaly that defies our combat doctrines. It will not happen again."
"An anomaly," Liu Tianfeng repeated, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across his face.
He took a step closer, his stormy aura intensifying, making the very air in the cave crackle. "Your ’order’ is rigid. Brittle. It is the order of a perfectly crafted but lifeless statue. Our ’chaos’ is alive. It is adaptable. It is... convenient. You encountered one of our Shopkeeper’s basic strategies and your entire army collapsed. What do you think will happen when you face the full breadth of his arsenal?"
Valerius fell silent, the truth of the Patriarch’s words undeniable. Their doctrines had prepared them for cultivators, for magic, for beasts. They had not prepared them for a logistics network that could airdrop aura-buffing totems, for a communication system that coordinated thousands of disparate warriors in real-time, or for the weaponized absurdity of Demon King Chili.
"This Shopkeeper you spoke of..." Valerius finally said with a grudging curiosity. "What is he? A king? A god-emperor?"
"He’s a merchant," Liu Tianfeng stated simply. The statement was so plain, so mundane, that it was more shocking than any claim of divinity. "He sells snacks, beverages, and tools. And with them, he is changing the world. You came here to bring order, Centurion. We already have it. And it is not yours to command."
The Patriarch let the words hang in the air, then he changed the subject. "Tell me about your Prime Conclave. Your Argent Covenant. We have faced other invaders. Green-skinned creatures and overgrown insects. They were pests. They were also intelligent but not as communicative as you. I wish to know what kind of enemy my granddaughter and her generation will face in the future."
Although he’s a bit successful at making the man before him talk, he’s not expecting him to spill everything about the world he came from.
That’s why Liu Tianfeng was visibly surprised that the mention of his granddaughter, his lineage, seemed to resonate with the Vindicator. A flicker of something other than duty crossed his face.
Valerius looked down at his gauntleted hands. "The Argent Covenant is... civilization. We are one people, one purpose, under the absolute authority of the Prime Conclave. The Conclave is the architect of our society, beings of immense power and wisdom who guide our destiny. They identified this cluster of world-fragments as... fallow. Un-guided. Ripe for integration. Our role as Vindicators is to be the vanguard, to establish a beachhead, purge initial resistance, and prepare the way for the full integration. But make no mistake. We are at the bottom of the ladder of power. Merely grunts and foot soldiers"
"Oh? That, I expected. What about your power and the energy inherent in your realm? It is different from ours," Liu Tianfeng pressed.
We call it [Aether-forging]," Valerius opened his mouth. "We do not cultivate a core or a spiritual sea within our bodies. That path is deemed... inefficient by the Conclave. Instead, we draw the inherent energy of our realm, the Aether, directly into our armaments."
"Our armor, our weapons... they are our core. We forge a bond with them, and they grow with us. We are one with our gear. A Centurion’s power is defined by the grade of his armor and the purity of the Aether he can channel through it."
He tapped a gauntlet against his breastplate. "This armor is currently a Grade-IV Argentum. It grants me strength equivalent to what you call the Nascent Soul Stage. It allows me to form a linked energy field with my legionaries. It is my life, my strength, my soul."