Chapter 149:
The landscape blurred around the four Black Ops agents as they pushed through the final stretch of Sky Empire territory. Their bodies moved at speeds that would have appeared as little more than streaks of shadow to an ordinary observer. The morning sun had climbed above the horizon, burning away the last traces of mist clinging to the grasslands, while the distant walls of the Hidden City of Sky gradually emerged against the pale blue sky.
Lucas ran at the rear of the formation, his silver hair streaming behind him. The Great Healing spell had restored his body over the past several hours, but his mind remained occupied with the events of the previous day.
The depot mission had succeeded in its immediate objectives. The warehouses had been destroyed, the enemy's supply lines disrupted, and the team had escaped without suffering any permanent casualties.
Yet Lucas knew the true consequences had little to do with the destroyed depot.
Austin's awakening had changed everything.
Lucas thought about the novel he had read in his previous life, the story that had somehow become his reality. In the original timeline, Austin's Four Leaf Clover Eyes had awakened much later and under completely different circumstances. The Royal Council's fear of his potential had grown slowly over several months before eventually turning into an assassination order.
That timeline no longer existed.
Austin's Avatar had manifested in front of dozens of witnesses during the depot battle. The Avatar had been incomplete, but there was no mistaking what it represented. Enemy elites had seen the enormous purple figure with their own eyes, and those witnesses would report what they had seen to their superiors.
The information would spread.
By the time they reached the Hidden City, Lucas was certain Arthur would already know something had happened.
The Sky King's intelligence network was too extensive for an awakening of this magnitude to remain hidden for long. Once Arthur learned that a sixteen-year-old had manifested an Avatar, he would be forced to respond.
Lucas considered the possibilities.
Arthur could order Austin to keep his abilities secret, hoping to buy time before the Royal Council discovered the truth. But the secret had already escaped their control. Too many enemy elites had witnessed the Avatar.
Arthur could publicly acknowledge Austin's achievement and present it as a triumph for the Hidden City. However, the Council would probably not see Austin as an asset. They would see a young cultivator possessing an ability powerful enough to threaten the existing balance of power.
Arthur could also choose to wait and observe.
Lucas almost dismissed that possibility immediately.
Arthur was not a king who remained passive when his kingdom was threatened. He had demonstrated that at the border, where his decisive mobilization had forced Asher to reconsider his invasion plans.
He would act.
The only question was how.
Lucas's gaze shifted toward Austin, who ran several meters ahead of him. His dark hair whipped behind him as he maintained his position in the formation, although his movements remained slightly unsteady from the strain of maintaining his Avatar.
His mana signature was faint, and exhaustion had hollowed out his expression.
Lucas remembered their conversation beneath the twisted pine tree, when Austin had spoken about being nothing more than a tool for his clan and his city.
In the original novel, Austin had eventually chosen the city.
When the conflict between the Clover Clan and the Royal Council reached its breaking point, the elders had demanded that Austin place his loyalty to the clan above everything else.
He had refused.
Austin had stood with Arthur and the Hidden City, believing that preserving the kingdom's fragile unity was worth fighting for.
That decision had not saved him.
The assassins had still come.
Ray had authorized the operation with the Council's approval, and Austin had died fighting, his eyes burning with power and his sword still raised.
Lucas remembered that ending clearly.
He also knew it no longer had to happen.
The story had already changed.
Lucas had changed it by becoming Austin's friend, fighting beside him, and helping him survive a battle that should have unfolded very differently. Austin's experiences were now different, and the relationships influencing his decisions had never existed in the original timeline.
Lucas could no longer predict what Austin would choose when the Council eventually tested his loyalty.
That uncertainty bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
The team crossed a shallow river before beginning the final approach toward the Hidden City. Its enormous walls rose ahead of them, ancient stone reinforced with defensive runes that pulsed faintly with contained power.
Guards patrolled the battlements while the massive gates stood open, allowing merchants, travelers, and cultivators to enter the city.
Ethan gradually slowed until he was running beside Lucas.
"We should report to the Sky King as soon as we arrive," Ethan said, his voice rough from exhaustion. "He will want to hear what happened at the depot directly from us."
Lucas nodded.
"He will also want to speak with Austin privately."
Ethan glanced at him.
"You think he already knows?"
"I think the Hidden City of Lightning has spies inside our borders, just as we have spies inside theirs." Lucas looked toward the distant gates. "And a purple giant visible for kilometers is not exactly easy to hide."
Ethan's expression tightened.
"Then Arthur already knows about the Avatar."
"Probably more than we think."
Lucas remained calm.
"By the time we reach the throne room, Arthur may have received several reports. He will still want Austin's account personally, though. Intelligence reports can tell a king what happened, but they cannot always tell him why."
Ethan remained silent for a moment before nodding. He increased his pace and returned to the front of the formation beside Kaya.
Lucas allowed himself to fall several meters behind.
He needed time to think.
The conflict between the Clover Clan and the Royal Council could become complicated very quickly. Lucas had already accounted for that conflict in his plans years ago, long before it had begun to unfold.
He did not care much about which side ultimately prevailed.
What he cared about was Austin.
Lucas had never been someone who collected friends. He had allies, acquaintances, collaborators, and people whose interests happened to align with his own. Those relationships had always served a purpose.
Austin was different.
Lucas remembered their conversations, the battles they had fought together, and the way Austin could still grin even when exhaustion had nearly brought him to his knees. Their friendship had developed gradually, without Lucas ever consciously deciding that he wanted it.
He had also made himself a promise.
He would create a better future.
At first, that promise had been an objective. Lucas had viewed the original timeline as a problem that could be solved through knowledge, preparation, and careful manipulation of events.
But now Austin was running ahead of him, exhausted and wounded but alive.
The promise had become personal.
Lucas would save him.
He would not do it because the story demanded Austin's survival. He would not do it because Austin was necessary for some larger plan.
He would do it because Austin was his friend.
Lucas did not want to lose him.
The realization settled quietly within him, and for once, Lucas did not try to analyze it.
The team reached the Hidden City's gates without incident. The guards recognized the Black Ops insignia on their uniforms and stepped aside.
Beyond the entrance, the streets were already filled with the rhythm of morning. Merchants arranged their goods, cultivators headed toward training grounds, and children hurried through the crowded alleys.
The four agents moved through the city with practiced ease.
Lucas barely noticed his surroundings.
His thoughts remained fixed on the conversation waiting for them in the throne room.
He already knew what Arthur would ask Austin.
The Sky King would warn him about the Royal Council, question where his loyalty truly lay, and carefully measure his response. He would likely offer reassurance while reminding Austin that possessing overwhelming power came with responsibilities beyond himself.
Lucas knew the pattern because he had seen it before.
In the original timeline, Austin had chosen the city.
He had placed the Hidden City's survival above the interests of his own clan because he believed its unity was worth protecting.
Lucas expected Austin to make the same choice again.
But this time, the circumstances were different.
This time, Austin had Lucas beside him.
And Lucas intended to make sure that whatever choice Austin made, he would survive long enough to live with it.