For a split second Shane felt that his ears were ringing. He was utterly dumbfounded, but his instincts took over as he released a huge stream of mana that circulated through his body.

Something was going on with Uncle Cheng because he had never seen him crying, or apologising, let alone saying that he loved him.

As such, Shane wanted to figure out more, but before he could even move, Cheng had disappeared from his sight, only to appear behind him.

“Sleep a little bit…”

Just as Uncle Cheng said this, he used his bare hand to knock out Shane.

He had been cultivating at the outskirts of the Neptua Ladra region, close to the ocean, where he was able to feel the strongest connection to his inner self and peace.

This place was relatively far away from the more crowded areas of the Neptua Ladra region, so nobody realised that anything had happened to Shane.

Everything had happened too quickly, and only his soulbonds noticed that something was going on.

However, Cosmo and Viridy were still evolving, while Umbra had yet to finish his quality enhancement.

Umbra, who was the closest to being awake from the hibernation he had entered to enhance his quality, flinched when Shane lost his consciousness, but that was the only reaction he received.

Meanwhile, everyone inside the Hidden Paradise continued with their life as if nothing had happened, oblivious to the fact that Shane lay unconscious on a small elevation.

Cheng had been unable to kill Shane as he had been ordered to and he hoped that someone would find and wake him up before it was too late.

One day, months ago, when he had been on a mission in the advanced primordial dimensions, he was approached by a race he had never encountered in his life.

While he didn’t know anything about them, they seemed to know everything. Yet, what had been the worst was the fact that they could simply enter and leave the Primordial dimensions at will.

They had teleported themselves and him to a planet Cheng was overly familiar with.

That fateful day Cheng figured out that he had to betray those he called his closest friends, who were almost like his family, which made him reconsider killing himself in order to prevent the worst possible from happening.

However, that was something he couldn’t do because the unknown beings that were shrouded in a veil had uncovered his well-kept secret- his wife and newborn son both of whom belonged to a race similar to humans!

They had been abducted by the beings and held hostage which forced Cheng to follow their orders if he wanted to ensure their survival.

Cheng knew that it was unlikely that the beings would keep their promise, but he had no other choice but to obey them because he would do everything necessary in order to protect his family!

Nevertheless, the very same reason stopped him from killing Shane, even after being ordered to kill every human prodigy.

Other than that, he was also supposed to kill those that obstructed his path, preventing anyone from finding out that he had become mankind’s traitor!

As such, while the Void eaters had started to devour Igra’s planet core, causing devastating tidal waves of energy as the planet’s reaction, Cheng was about to start killing every single young prodigy of the human race, except Shane!

Shane had long since become a part of his family, and even if he was supposed to kill them because of whatever reason the veiled beings had to kill the young prodigies on Igra, Cheng couldn’t do that to Shane.

Suddenly, the words Shane had said before he was knocked out flashed through his mind, as he was approaching the nurturing grounds of the Starlight Guild, where most prodigies of the human race were present.

The Astral Starlight faction was the place where even someone with the slightest talent had gathered, and Cheng was fully aware of this.

Sighing deeply, regret filled Cheng because he had been unable to protect those important to him, and now others had to pay the price.

Nevertheless, unable to overcome the pressure radiated by the veiled beings, Cheng had to become what he hated the most- a traitor.

Despite that, he would follow the task he had been given to protect his wife and son, only to mumble the words Shane had spoken earlier.

“Emergency, concerning mankind’s survival…am I only plan B?”

While mumbling in confusion, Cheng had simultaneously opened the system messenger to notify his friends.

Even if he had become a traitor, he didn’t want to turn into a mass murderer of his race’s young prodigies.

As such, Cheng decided to only be a traitor, who died in order to protect everyone.

Shane lies unconscious on the small hill, on the eastern side of the nurturing ground. He is fine, but has something important to tell….I’m on my way too…please stop me by all means…I won’t hold back!

Because Cheng was not sure whether or not he was observed, it was only possible for him to fight with his life on the line without holding back the slightest.

Only that way he could be reassured that his wife and son had a small chance to survive.

Nevertheless, he hastily scribbled a short note before he closed the system messenger once again.

Cheng didn’t expect to be plan B of the veiled beings’ scheme, but it clearly showed that they feared something on Igra.

This was weird, considering the strength of the veiled beings, which indicated that they had to stay lowkey and that they were unable to enter Igra themselves.

Too many things didn’t make sense, but Cheng could do little to change anything now.

What he had been doing was already his best, and every step he took was as slow as possible, with the hope to encounter the others that should have returned from the meetings with the leaders of other races.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and Cheng became more restless with every single step he took.

He was afraid to die, but that was not the worst he could imagine happening.

‘I hope they will find me before it’s too late!’

Cheng was amongst the strongest of the Uniters, and even John wouldn’t dare to face him alone, knowing that a life-and-death battle in which neither of them held back would change everything in favor of Cheng owing to his unique abilities and wide weaponry knowledge.

As such, he could only hope that his friends would find him together because he had no way of knowing whether it was possible for him to hold back enough to make it seem like he was giving his best to kill the young prodigies.

Right now, Cheng could slowly walk through the rows of humans because he was seemingly trying to act nonchalant.

At least, that was how he hoped to appear to the beings that might be observing him somehow.

Taking one step after another, he saw the familiar figure and long, golden hair of someone he was overly familiar with. Yet, without paying any attention to her, he turned his head to face the other side.

‘F*ck!! Why is it her?! John…just come and fight me…I don’t want to kill them…’

Biting his lip, Cheng averted his gaze and he even tried to make a detour in order to avoid Loris.

‘Maybe…if she attacks me while I’m not looking, she can win….’

With that thought in mind, he had already accepted his inevitable fate, only to hear Loris shout at him.

“Hey Cheng, where are you going?? Are you avoiding me!?”

Flinching, Cheng realised that Loris must not have read his message and he turned around with red eyes as he said,

“Loris…haven’t you read my message in the group chat?”

Seeing his red eyes that were filled with guilt, discomfort, and desperation, Loris was just about to rush towards Cheng, trying to figure out what was going on. But then she noticed that he had emphasized on the word ‘message’ as if it had a hidden meaning.

As such, knowing that Cheng had warned them about something a few months ago, she halted in her tracks to open the system messenger, where she read the message.

Her eyes widened with every word she read, only to lift her head when she heard the metallic sound of a weapon being drawn.

Cheng had unsheathed his two short swords, but he remained motionless as he looked at Loris.

“Hold out for a little bit….will you? Fight as if your life’s on the line…because that is exactly what is happening!”

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