Chapter 830: The Calm Before the Storm

"I'm done."

Ramuer and Legolaz were still in a state of shock. They had just witnessed something incredible.

Normally, if one absorbed an item like this, their entire body would be influenced. In Noel's case, he would be frozen, or at the very least, a few frostbite would appear on his body.

But that didn't happen. They could see that Noel was using his Spiritual Energy to absorb it, so he must have been influenced in one way or another.

The reason why he wasn't affected must be because of that necklace. Still, a normal necklace wouldn't be able to withstand the power of the ice jade. From the Spiritual Energy it exuded alone, the ice jade was far too extraordinary for a necklace that didn't look mystical at all.

Yet, the necklace was able to contain that power and seal the power within it.

"..." Ramuer and Legolaz suddenly felt a glare coming from behind. It was none other than Dimitri.

That was a warning from Dimitri, telling them not to be controlled by their greed. If they thought about getting that necklace and taking back their words, he would kill them here even if it meant fighting against the Atracaeca Kingdom.

Ramuer made a wry smile, saying, "Congratulations."

Noel nodded with a calm expression even though he saw the greed in their eyes. He said, "The temperature has increased significantly. We should get moving right away."

"That's right." Ramuer glanced at Legolaz.

Legolaz acknowledged the order and waved his hands. The sand started flowing into the room and carried a few people.

"Legolaz will bring a few people right away and send the rest of the people down later. Getting all these people can be done within one hour, so rest assured." Ramuer explained.

Noel agreed with him and immediately climbed to the higher floor again, ready to launch his next plan.

Meanwhile, Legolaz showed the people about the frozen people. He asked a few strong Spirit Wielders and Masters to help him carry all these people so that they could be brought back to the kingdom. Since they had to carry them more than ten floors, only Spirit Wielders or above could do it with their abilities.

Ramuer stayed above, organizing the rest of the people while preparing to bring them outside. After all, they had to go through that small tunnel to go outside.

The process was very quick and Noel didn't have to take too long. While waiting, Noel asked his spirits, 'How is it?'

[Heisk is in the middle of absorbing it. While you can still wield her power, she won't be able to respond to you.]

'How about you, Ardagan? I think this is the first time I've asked this. Do you feel anything when Heisk absorbs something and vice versa? You both are residing within my body after all.'

[You don't have to worry about us. We are in a separate realm, so we won't be affected at all. Only when you visit us do we go to that one realm to match your consciousness.]

'I see. There are a lot of things I don't know about Spirits.' Noel might have done a lot to know the spirits from their ranks to their abilities.

But he had never questioned the environment. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to explore all that.

He only asked, 'I have one important question for you, Ardagan. If I somehow die without an heir, what will happen to you? If I'm not wrong, you are related to the Ardagan Family, right?'

[Yes. While I have consciousness and anyone can actually wield me if I allow it, the Spirit God has tasked me to protect the bloodline. But if there is no more in your family's bloodline, I will be taken back to the Spirit World.]

'I see. Since you're directly connected to the Spirit God, will that affect the other spirits in this world?'

[Not at all. I'm just one among many spirits. Humans have survived for countless millennia, so they will be able to survive even without me. Though, I wish that you can continue to survive.]

Noel fell silent and couldn't help but ask, 'Why did you choose me? I was lazy. In fact, my father looked like a better fit to be your host. After all, the Spirit Conversion Rate doesn't apply to you since you can boost the other spirit's Conversion Rate.'

[If you manage to synchronize with my True Spirit Body, I will tell you the answer.]

Noel made a wry smile. 'You know what? You've always told me like this a lot of times... like I'm not strong enough to handle the truth. No, I admit that I'm not strong enough, but it shouldn't affect my progress, right? After all, knowing oneself can allow you to progress even further.'

[It's not like that. While there are times that the truth will bring danger to you, you don't have to be strong enough to know the truth. What I want you to know is that you have a quality that you haven't seen.]

'So, you're telling me that you will tell me about it after being able to use the True Spirit Body?'

[Something like that.]

Noel sighed. 'Alright. Sometimes, I wish that you could be more open. I know that I might not be the best host to learn about you and other spirits, but sometimes, I won't know if you don't tell me about it.'

[I will remember that. I also sincerely wish for that day to come.]

Noel smiled, hoping the same. He took a deep breath and checked the progress.

Legolaz seemed to have extracted about two hundred fifty bodies. The people were also shocked to see demi-humans, but they could only follow orders since Legolaz and the second prince were the ones overseeing this matter.

Since they were about to finish, Noel said to Dimitri, "You can use your shadow to leave, right?"

"Yes. But Qiel should be able to see through it."

"How far do we have to go until she is unable to find you?"

"If I'm not wrong, her range of vision is about two kilometers."

"Are you confident going like that for two kilometers before anyone catches up?"

Dimitri looked down, contemplating. "Considering Qiel's weapon, she should be a bit far away as well. If I move in the opposite direction, I should be able to do that."

"No. Don't go in the opposite direction. Pretty sure that she will station that other Devil Saint in that place."

Dimitri changed this plan immediately. "In that case, I will change my direction depending on their position."

"Yeah. But there is one more thing. This is probably the only way we can fool them and move away." Noel waved his hand, asking Dimitri to move closer.

Dimitri lowered his head as Noel whispered his plan in his ear.

The plan shocked Dimitri a bit, not expecting this kind of plan. But it might actually work since Qiel would be focused on him. Even if he had to fight against both Qiel and Nelfer, Dimitri had enough strength to escape without using the True Spirit Body.

And it seemed that Noel had also planned another route for Tristan and Sandra. He didn't know how long this could work, but he knew this was their chance.

...

While Dimitri and Noel discussed their strategy, Qiel, Nelfer, and the rest of the group had been observing the ruin from a distance.

"This is too hot. Are we still going to wait here? Why don't we just crush the building or even infiltrate that place? I know that the ones leading the expedition are somewhat special, but we can somehow capture our target without harming them, right? After all, we have two Devil Saints and several Devil Bishops and Devil Inspectors."

"You are underestimating them too much. Dimitri might have a hard time breaking your defense, but that Noel is not ordinary either. I shot him once, but he looked fine after blocking it. While it's not a lethal arrow, it contains all Spiritual Energy I could put into my arrow. In other words, his strength is like a Spirit Grandmaster... perhaps even stronger than the Devil Bishops we've brought here. So, we will have to wait for a period of time so that they almost forget about us before infiltrating the ruins."

"Hoh?" Nelfer raised his eyebrows. "He could have that strength while he is only a Spirit Master? What will happen once he reaches Spirit Grandmaster or even gains the True Spirit Body?"

"That's how it is. If we let him grow, it'll become troublesome. And I heard he is planning to rebuild the Ardagan Family... There is a chance that he will reassemble all the powerhouses. So, it won't be easy to fight the Ardagan Family as well."

"I heard about it. While the Royal Family and two Duke Families that contained strong Arbiters were hard to fight, the most annoying one was the Ardagan Family."

"That's why we have to succeed in this mission. If not, the hurdle will increase drastically the next time we try this thing again."

"Got it. I'll do my best to stop Dimitri. Unless he can chop me, he won't be able to bother you and the rest."

Qiel nodded in agreement before noticing something. Her eyes started shining again as if she had seen something.

"You should go into your position," Qiel ordered.

"What's wrong?" Nelfer asked.

"I saw Dimitri looking around. He must be searching for our position. I thought we had to infiltrate the ruins once they forgot about us, but it seemed that we could capture them directly."

"Hehe. I'm getting fired up." Nelfer smirked before disappearing from the area.