Chapter 7: Amu's Drifting Chronicle
The atmosphere in the prayer room was suffocatingly awkward. After a moment, the Moon Goddess raised her hand to adjust her clothing, then sat gracefully on a bench against the wall.
"Between the Holy King and me, who are you more inclined to support?"
The Moon Goddess's question was quite direct. Whether the over 4,000 Moon Apostles stationed in the Moon Goddess Monastery were friend or foe depended entirely on Su Xiao's answer.
"Does who I support really matter?"
Su Xiao didn't directly answer the Moon Goddess's question. Instead, he looked toward the goddess statue inside the prayer room.
"Of course it matters. If you support me, I can tell you where the Soul Speaker is. Crow's Eye can't find him."
The Moon Goddess looked at Su Xiao with a smile, and this was exactly the situation Su Xiao wanted to see.
When he chose to reveal that he was searching for the Soul Speaker, he had anticipated that this information would leak out. He was very eager to know the attitudes of the Old Holy King and the Moon Goddess toward the Soul Speaker.
Through his brief conversation with the Moon Goddess, Su Xiao reached a conclusion: the Soul Speaker was an important person to both of them, but not so important that knowing his whereabouts meant certain death.
If Su Xiao tried to find the Soul Speaker through the Empire's intelligence network, this matter would inevitably be exposed sooner or later.
Rather than searching in secret, it was better to state it openly. This would lower the vigilance of the Old Holy King and the Moon Goddess, because if Su Xiao had some major scheme, he wouldn't so easily reveal that he was looking for the Soul Speaker.
In reality, Su Xiao did have a major scheme, but by exposing his search for the Soul Speaker, he played on the fact that sometimes, overly clever old schemers are misled by simple, straightforward tactics.
"I can tell the difference between the Soul Speaker and my own life. My purpose in finding him is simply to gain power. I'm different from you. If I wanted power, I could have abandoned the Ninth Unit long ago and joined Eagle Lord's side. He's recruited me more than once."
The attitude Su Xiao displayed clearly showed curiosity about the Soul Speaker, but not an absolute necessity to find him.
"You were driven out by the Holy King, and you don't want to side with me. Then... does letting you out have any meaning?"
The Moon Goddess still looked at Su Xiao with a smile, but Su Xiao was certain that this woman was the type to flip at a moment's notice.
"Then take me back. Hearing you say that, I'm starting to regret leaving the secret prison."
Su Xiao's mind raced, trying to figure out what this woman really wanted. Suddenly encountering this rare type of old schemer caught him slightly off guard.
"How could I take you back? The gods are merciful. As Their believer, I naturally must be merciful too."
The Moon Goddess clasped her hands together again, murmuring something softly.
"Commander, what do you think of Eagle Lord?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao knew the key point of tonight's conversation had arrived.
Among the three giants of the Empire, Su Xiao favored the Old Holy King and the Moon Goddess. Their power should be roughly equal. As for the last giant, Eagle Lord, Su Xiao felt this eagle wouldn't fly for much longer.
The three empires were about to enter a "honeymoon period," maintaining peace with each other to accumulate national strength for the next war.
A new war in the short term was impossible. The Dawn Empire and the Ximoro Empire could barely hold on, let alone the weakest, the Rodan Empire. Once the war stopped, the Ninth Unit would serve as a warning.
Eagle Lord held 80% of the military power. If this big shot knew his place, fine, but if he also wanted a bite of the fruit of power, he would be the first to suffer.
From Eagle Lord's various actions, he didn't seem intent on seizing power, but he faced a difficult choice: the Old Holy King and the Moon Goddess were already irreconcilable. To whom should he hand over most of the military?
Who knew which of these two old schemers would win? If he chose the wrong side, the consequences were obvious.
"Eagle Lord? No particular opinion."
Although Su Xiao said this, a red gleam flickered in his eyes. It was Eagle Lord who first proposed disbanding the Ninth Unit. If he didn't show some killing intent now, it would seem abnormal.
"A pity..."
The Moon Goddess didn't continue, because some words, even she couldn't easily say.
After a few more minutes of inconsequential conversation, Su Xiao walked toward the prayer room exit.
As Su Xiao pushed open the door and stepped out, he had sensed a very peculiar spiritual fluctuation from the Moon Goddess just moments ago.
Su Xiao brought his adjutant and quickly left the Moon Goddess Monastery.
Inside the prayer room, the Moon Goddess clasped her hands together. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and a scene appeared before her.
Burning phosphorescent flames, a man holding a long blade with red light in his eyes...
The scene flashed and vanished. The smile on the Moon Goddess's face gradually faded. Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Enter."
Sonia walked into the prayer room, her expression respectful as she knelt on one knee.
"Milady, Kukulin has left, heading for the southern part of the city. Should I send someone..."
"No need."
The Moon Goddess interrupted Sonia, looking at her with a smile.
"Sonia, which side do you think he'll choose?"
"Yours, of course, Milady."
Sonia's answer was exceptionally firm, her sycophantic nature fully displayed.
"No, he's already sided with the Old Holy King. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here tonight at all. He would have fled the capital long ago. Sonia, how many years have you been by my side?"
Hearing the Moon Goddess's last question, Sonia felt as if all the blood in her body was about to freeze, her scalp tingling.
"Se-seven years."
Sonia lowered her head, her lips trembling.
"Seven years already, huh. Then I'll let you stay."
"Thank you, Milady!"
Although Sonia was utterly confused, she knew she had survived. This seemingly gentle goddess was actually ruthless to the extreme.
"Next time, don't let Kukulin use you."
"Huh?"
Sonia was puzzled. In her perception, she had never been used by Su Xiao.
"A pity. I was so close to keeping him here forever. That old man really released someone remarkable. I never noticed before how capable this Commander Kukulin is. Suddenly, I envy that old man. To have recruited someone like this... I lost this round."
The Moon Goddess waved her hand, signaling Sonia to withdraw. Having narrowly escaped death, Sonia quickly retreated, still unclear how she had been used by Su Xiao.
Tonight, the Moon Goddess had set a trap, but Su Xiao seemed to know in advance what she would ask and do.
In the crack of the prayer room wall, a mechanical bee slowly dissolved, eventually turning to ash without making a sound or emitting any odor. This thing had been inadvertently brought in by Sonia hours ago.
The Moon Goddess didn't know exactly what Su Xiao had done, but she knew the problem must have originated with Sonia.
On the nighttime street, Su Xiao removed a wireless earpiece from his ear, crushed it, and tossed it into a roadside gutter.
A dark figure emerged from an alley, moving like a ghost, nearly completely blending into the shadows.
"Find all leads on the Soul Speaker."
Su Xiao spoke. His adjutant crouched beside him, one hand pressing on the stone slab. As a transcendent, the adjutant's ability wasn't combat-oriented but could detect air currents within half a kilometer.
"As you command."
The figure in the shadows knelt on one knee and vanished into the darkness the next moment. This was the head of Crow's Eye, Ghost.
...
Waves crashed violently, the sea reflecting moonlight. A sheet of ice floated on the surface, drifting with the current. Amu sat atop it.
His opponent this time was too powerful—the boundless ocean. Although he could switch states, the side effects of the Demon Fruit still affected him considerably. Fortunately, he could freeze ice around himself to stay afloat, but his weakened state made his swimming speed painfully slow.
"Moo!!"
Amu let out a furious roar. After a few minutes of self-imposed isolation, he froze an ice paddle and began his sea drifting chronicle.