Chapter 1548: Chapter 1548

"After this ordeal, I hope to collaborate more closely with Fairy. If your identity is exposed, you won’t be able to stay in Douglas Country any longer."

Sword Fairy was stunned after hearing this and fell silent, pondering inwardly.

In Central State, where wars and tumult had raged for many years and countries had risen and fallen, cultivators didn’t have much allegiance towards their own countries. Instead, they placed more importance on realizing their self-value. For instance, some Seventh Realm cultivators weren’t awarded a Protector position in rich countries; if they were invited by a smaller country, they would gladly go - even if they had to fight against their own motherland, they wouldn’t care much.

This situation was somewhat similar to Sun Daren’s past-life experience during the Spring and Autumn period of history, where scholars behaved in much the same way.

Sword Fairy didn’t agree right away because Sun Daren wanted her to "infiltrate" Douglas Country. If Sun Daren asked her to go to Reed Mountain Country, she might have agreed. However, seeking refuge in another country and being a spy in one’s own country are two different things.

Suddenly, the Three-headed Elephant God Order in Sun Daren’s hands began to tremble violently, resisting Sun Daren and trying to fly away. Sun Daren glared, "Trying to run?" Without hesitation, he threw it into the "All-encompassing" mini-world, intending to slowly remove Ava Green’s indentation on it, in order to completely make this treasure his own.

The three Protectors retreated in disarray back to Francis’s camp. There was a special Great Formation in the camp for dealing with powerful beasts. Christopher arrived but couldn’t break the Great Formation in a hurry.

Ava Green took several high-quality Spiritual Pills in a row, and her injuries finally stabilized a little. Her first priority was to communicate with the National Guardian Artifact - the Three-headed Elephant God Order - and retrieve it.

She quickly established a connection with the National Guardian Artifact, but it was abruptly cut off.

Ava Green’s face turned extremely awkward as she growled, "Which insignificant thief stole my Three-headed Elephant God Order!"

The Three-headed Elephant God Order had been given to Ava Green by the King, while Aaron and Francis’s National Guardian Artifacts were only granted for their use and could be reclaimed at any time, so they weren’t qualified to refine them. Now that it had been stolen by Sun Daren, they couldn’t sense it and retrieve it.

The King’s "favor" on Ava Green had been earned through her numerous merits. She was essentially the first-in-command in Douglas Country, and this title was not only due to her strength but also her loyalty and contributions.

At one side, Felix reported with a bow, "Your excellencies, while the great battle took place, our spies positioned outside the camps of the Beasts Palace and the Three Elements Sect saw Master Duke and the Prophet leaving the camp and heading towards the battlefield."

Ava Green gritted her teeth, "Two old thieves! When I have recovered from my injuries, I will have our troops annihilate them first!"

Outside the encampment, Christopher had attacked resolutely before reluctantly retreating, as the restraining runes on him were still somewhat effective, causing problems he needed to resolve.

The three Protectors, of course, didn’t dare to chase - both sides were unhappy with the outcome of the battle. Christopher only consumed half of a Protector, which didn’t greatly improve his strength, but left twelve restraining Chain Lock runes on his body, which was a somewhat fruitless endeavor.

As for the three Protectors, their losses were even more severe.

At this point, Ava Green was still very weak, so she told Francis, "Contact the King, we need support."

Aaron and Francis’s loss of the National Guardian Artifact would possibly cost them their Protector positions. However, Ava Green also lost hers, and it was unlikely that the King would replace all three Protectors in one fell swoop, especially since one of them was Green Ava - the most loyal to the country.

Although His Majesty was speechless with shock for a moment after receiving the news, Ava Green persuaded him, "Your Majesty, we must capture the Divine Beast! Otherwise, losing the three National Guardian Artifacts will greatly affect our national strength and will be exploited by the Regan Kingdom!"

The implication was that they must risk everything and go all out.

His Majesty sighed deeply, "Very well, I will send that treasure to the three of you."

Upon hearing about "that thing", the countenance of the three Protectors changed drastically, unable to hide the excitement in their eyes. This one treasure was worth the previous three combined, even surpassing them!

His Majesty spoke solemnly, "The three of you are fully aware of the price that must be paid for using that treasure. So this time, do not disappoint me again."

After Sun Daren returned to his base, he quietly asked Second Brother, "Can you deal with those beasts?"

Though Sun Daren wasn’t as apprehensive about Second Brother being taken away by others anymore, he was still hesitant in his gut instinct about revealing Second Brother to people.

It was an intuition. After considering it multiple times, Sun Daren understood the source of this intuition: Second Brother was inevitably entangled with immense Cause and Effect. At this level, he didn’t need to worry about cultivators taking Second Brother away, but there was concern that because of Second Brother, it might attract some "attention" from those hidden in the unseen corners!

Those entities might not even be in the Eight Desolations World.

That’s why, during the battle in the Black Dragon Valley, Sun Daren didn’t release Second Brother directly to devour those Divine Beast Avatars.

Second Brother disdainfully dismissed the elder brother’s question and declined to answer, feeling underestimated by his elder brother.

Sun Daren then asked, "How do they compare to Little Black Tortoise?"

Second Brother rolled about in the Mini Water World, complaining to his elder brother, "As the head of this family, you should pay more attention to meaningful questions, like how your dear brother hasn’t eaten in a long time! Look how my belly has gone flat from hunger!"

He rolled over, exposing his chubby and soft belly. But Sun Daren didn’t see any sign of him being hungry or thin.

Elder Brother: Answer the question!

Little Loach rolled his eyes: They’re about the same as the Little Black Tortoise, but these fellows are a bit weird. Didn’t you notice, elder brother? Their beast spirits don’t quite match their bodies."

Sun Daren was taken aback, having previously used the solar spirit technique to scan Christopher but not having noticed the issue between the beast spirit and the body.

"Should we capture a Divine Beast Avatar to study it more closely?" Sun Daren stroked his chin, "It’s a bit dangerous..."

Suddenly, Second Brother in the Mini Water World wiggled his tail, "Give me the Three-headed Elephant God Order to eat, and I’ll give you a method to control these little guys."

"Hmm?" Why did Elder Brother feel that Second Brother seemed to be trying to deceive him for food?