Chapter 145: Unperturbed

A talented diplomat knew how to control his own emotions and impulses.

After all, successfully resolving a situation depended on gaining an advantage, not on managing his own emotions.

Even though Kelesda was unquestionably a terrorist in the eyes of Sky Country, Kelesda viewed himself as a dreamer who was trying to revive the former glory of his race - most terrorists believed in their own ideals. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be terrorists in the first place.

Kelesda hated Su Chen to his core for awakening the Desolate Beast and destroying Fate’s Hands. He had almost gone mad with anger, after all.

But during this past few days, Kelesda’s rage had subsided somewhat, and his intelligence once again returned.

He began to consider what to do now that Fate’s Hands was gone.

Should he give up on his dreams just like that?

Kelesda wasn’t willing to accept that outcome.

A true warrior would never give up so easily. Even if he failed now, he would try again.

Fate’s Hands was finished, but that didn’t matter. He was still there.

As long as he was still alive, Fate’s Hands could rise again.

Not only so, but it might even result in an even better situation in the future.

Yes, an even better situation!

Halcyon Wing Streak was the newest terrorist to appear on the scene. He had destroyed Fate’s Hands, but he was also the opportunity for Fate’s Hands to arise yet again.

With him present, Kelesda would have an opportunity to establish relations with Sky Country.

In the future, Fate’s Hands could potentially be rebuilt without being viewed as an enemy by Sky Country. Instead, they could become like the Resurrection Door was to the Ravagers - an organization to be used by the Harpies instead.

If that was the case, Fate’s Hands wouldn’t need to be confined to the Thousand Poisons Mountain any longer.

If that was the case, Fate’s Hands would probably flourish.

Without destruction, there can be no construction. After death came nirvana in resurrection. Through the process of chasing Su Chen, Kelesda’s thoughts became clearer, and he began to develop a kind of plan.

The first step was to begin working with the Mother Goddess Sect.

Of course, convincing those Head Bishops wasn’t going to be easy.

“Alliance?” The Head Bishops began to laugh as if Kelesda had told them a joke.

Sky Country’s most wanted criminal actually proposed an alliance with them? That was far too laughable.

Kelesda said sincerely, “Yes, an alliance. Only if we ally together will we be able to catch Halcyon Wing Streak. Right, if you aren’t willing to do so, you can try and catch him yourselves first.”

“Even if we can’t catch him, we won’t ally ourselves with you! Sky Country will never ally with an enemy Harpy to catch another enemy Harpy!” Serene Dream Lotus Crown said seriously.

Kelesda calmly replied, “First of all, you only represent the Mother Goddess Sect, not Sky Country as a whole. His Majesty Eternal Night is the one in charge. Also, I am not an enemy Harpy - I am an Arcanist. I cannot possibly betray the Harpies because I am not one. Third of all, Fate’s Hands has already been destroyed. The enemy power you wanted to exterminate for so long has been completely wiped out by a Desolate Beast. It doesn’t exist anymore…...

As he spoke, a few tears actually rolled down his face.

Those tears were genuine. He had fought bitterly for this organization for many years, and now it was gone just like that. How could Kelesda not feel sorrowful?

Even Serene Dream Lotus Crown was moved.

In that moment, she could completely understand Kelesda’s sentiment…… Because Sky Country was about to come under threat of a Desolate Beast’s attack.

Right, the Desolate Beast was currently the greatest threat.

As if he could sense Serene Dream Lotus Crown’s thoughts, Kelesda continued, “There’s one last point - the Desolate Beast. The Desolate Beast is charging in this direction. It is a Thousand Poisons Toad with incredibly poisonous attacks. It makes any terrain around it uninhabitable. Serene Dream, you should know how powerful the poison in the Thousand Poisons Mountain is, right? That’s not something you can endure against. If you let that Thousand Poisons Toad get any closer to Sky City……”

Serene Dream Lotus Crown and all of the Head Bishops were stunned.

That outcome would be truly frightening.

The Thousand Poisons Toad’s strength was relatively weak compared to other Desolate Beasts, but its poison was incredibly potent. It was more than capable of turning its surroundings into a wasteland.

It didn’t even need to try to kill anyone. As long as it spouted poison within the vicinity of Sky City, the place would instantly become a ghost town.

That was something Sky Country absolutely could not accept.

Kelesda said, “I have an antidote that can deal with the Thousand Poisons Toad. Even though it can’t cure all of the poisons it exudes, it can take care of most. With the antidote, our combined strength, and the power of Sky City, we should be able to kill this beast before it reaches the city.”

Kelesda had the antidote!

That was his greatest crutch.

Even though Su Chen didn’t fear the poison, the sheepskin was not necessarily an antidote. And even if he was able to come up with an antidote formula, he wouldn’t possibly distribute it.

As such, Kelesda became the only person who would be willing to make a transaction with the Harpies.

Serene Dream Lotus Crown might not need Kelesda’s help to deal with Su Chen, but she couldn’t deny her need for the antidote Kelesda had.

The pressure of the Thousand Poisons Toad was simply too great.

Kelesda had managed to pinpoint their vitals, making it impossible for them to resist.

Diplomatic negotiations didn’t care for feelings but for advantages. Otherwise, they couldn’t be considered diplomatic negotiations.

Even though they had dreamed of flaying the person before them alive, they had no choice but to acquiesce given the situation they were in.

These thoughts flashed through Serene Dream Lotus Crown’s head like lightning. Now that she was aware Kelesda was in control of the situation, her killing intent had completely disappeared. However, she continued to stare at Kelesda with a steely expression.

Just because her killing intent was gone didn’t mean that her hatred was as well. She was just doing her best to prevent herself from attacking.

That wasn’t particularly strange. Even amongst powerful individuals, diplomacy was a necessary tactic. Some would rely on their strength to carve out a path to the top for themselves, but were lacking in diplomatic skills. Serene Dream Lotus Crown was already demonstrating impressive self-restraint. There were a few Head Bishops behind her who hadn’t managed to wrap their heads around the situation yet and were still calling out for Kelesda’s death. Thankfully, those who were aware of what was taking place managed to keep them in check.

The templars were the ones crying for blood. If the high-status Harpies were the ones insisting, the situation really would have been much more dire.

Serene Dream Lotus Crown realized that she wouldn’t be able to kill Kelesda today and quickly adjusted her emotional state before asking, “What exactly do you want?”

Unexpectedly, Kelesda shook his head. “You will not be able to give me what I want right now. I will need both your and His Majesty Eternal Night’s agreement first.”

“You……” Serene Dream Lotus Crown trembled in anger.

Kelesda wasn’t looking down on Serene Dream Lotus Crown. However, it was obvious that he was going to ask for a lot, so much so that even the Mother Goddess Sect wasn’t qualified to make the final call.

But that was also not such a big deal.

Making any kind of agreement with Kelesda would be a mark of shame in the books of history.

Yes, a mark of shame!

Allying with a terrorist no matter the motivation or circumstances would be mocked in the history books.

That was an unchangeable truth.

She was willing to be wronged for the sake of her race, but history would not remember her so kindly.

Having another Harpy help her bear that sin wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

When she heard this, Serene Dream Lotus Crown nodded. “Fine, we will go and request an audience with His Majesty Eternal Night right now.”

“Fine with me.” Kelesda let out a long sigh when he heard this reply.

Now that he had managed to appease Serene Dream Lotus Crown, his plan was one-third complete.

Just as they were about to leave, a few Mother Goddess Sect disciples intercepted them.

They knelt in front of Serene Dream Lotus Crown and cried out, “Sect Master, disaster has struck!”

“Speak,” Serene Dream Lotus Crown said calmly, decently confident that she knew what they were going to say.

“Halcyon Wing Streak just plundered our treasure stores!”

“Understood,” Serene Dream Lotus Crown replied faintly. So this kid had ended up doing that? And that bastard Kelesda had helped him waste time.

Serene Dream Lotus Crown shot a glare at Kelesda. She could tell what he had been gunning for the whole time.

Kelesda appeared completely nonchalant, as if he already knew that he had been found out. Serene Dream Lotus Crown knew that he knew that she knew what he was up to as well…… saying any more would be redundant.

In any case, they both reached a clear understanding but pretended not to know.

The arrival of a Desolate Beast made any other situation a small one.

Even a small treasury wasn’t really worth all that much.

As long as they caught Halcyon Wing Streak, they would be able to regain anything they had lost.

The disciples who were reporting to Serene Dream Lotus Crown obviously weren’t expecting her to be so nonchalant.

The rest of the Head Bishops also appeared unsurprised. The disciples were immediately stunned.

What kind of situation was this?

They weren’t worried about the treasure stores being plundered at all?

Serene Dream Lotus Crown said faintly, “There’s no need to panic over the treasury being ransacked. The Mother Goddess’ light will thoroughly expose the thief. As long as we catch him, we will be able to restore everything that was taken.”

“Sect Master is correct!” the disciples could only agree.

“Right, were there any casualties?”

“Head Bishop Flowing Jade Fragrance, Arcana Technique Master Flying Night, Templar Captain Wither, and all of the guards for the main temple died!” the disciples replied with sorrowful voices.

“Flowing Jade Fragrance’s death is my responsibility,” Serene Dream Lotus Crown sighed.

She was the one who had told Flowing Jade Fragrance to escort Halcyon Wing Streak to the storeroom. News of her death was not all that surprising.

But…… Wait a moment.

Flying Night? Wither?

All of the main temple’s guards?

What kind of situation was that?

Serene Dream Lotus Crown glanced at the disciples suspiciously. “Why did the main temple’s guards also die?”

The disciples replied, “Because Halcyon Wing Streak attacked the main temple. After plundering the storeroom, he went to the main temple and stole the Divine Feather, slaughtered the guards, and even destroyed the statue of the Mother Goddess.”

“What did you say?” Serene Dream Lotus Crown’s voice immediately raised a few octaves.

The disciple repeated himself, completely unaware, “Halcyon Wing Streak killed all of the main temple’s guards, stole the Divine Feather, and destroyed the Mother Goddess statue.”

Bang!

Serene Dream Lotus Crown unleashed a fierce punch that smashed the disciple to smithereens.

Then, she spat out a large mouthful of blood. It was obvious how heavy a blow this was to her consciousness given her status as a legendary Arcana Master. The Origin Energy rebound caused her to wound herself quite badly.