Chapter 149: The Forbidden Zone Is Safe For Us

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: The Forbidden Zone Is Safe For Us

Victoria’s expression became serious.

"The Shadow Ring has targeted Mira," she said.

Xavier’s yes narrowed. Victoria immediately explained, seeing that he was not familiar with the name.

"The Shadow Ring is a professional assassination organization that has existed since the final years of the Great Destruction Era," she said.

"It has operated for more than a century, and countless martial artists in the Dragon Kingdom have died at its hands." She paused briefly before continuing.

"In recent years, its members have even managed to assassinate a martial artist at the Divine Power Realm."

Xavier’s expression grew more solemn.

Victoria continued, emphasizing the difference between the two organizations.

"Compared with the Shadow Ring, the Bloodshadow Cult was nothing more than a child standing before an adult," she said. "The two organizations aren’t on the same level."

She then revealed what the authorities had uncovered.

"According to our informants, foreign forces have hired the Shadow Ring to carry out two tasks," she said.

"The first is to assassinate Mira. The second is to locate Maya Knox, the girl suspected of awakening the Calamity Poison Body."

Xavier’s gaze sharpened at Maya’s name.

Victoria was not finished.

"There’s another objective," she said. "The organization is also searching for the mysterious individual responsible for the two separate incidents in which chaotic clouds covered the sky."

For the first time since the meeting began, Xavier’s expression turned completely serious.

The Lindsay family’s destruction had barely settled, yet another dangerous enemy had already emerged. And this time, the threat was not limited to one family or a handful of martial artists.

The Shadow Ring was an assassination organization with more than a century of experience and a record of killing even Divine Power Realm experts.

Now, it had set its sights on both Mira and Maya.

The situation was becoming considerably more complicated.

Xavier had never heard of the Shadow Ring before his meeting with Victoria.

However, judging from the general’s explanation, it was an organization he could not afford to underestimate.

According to Victoria, the Shadow Ring was among the largest assassination networks on the Divine Continent.

Its reach was so extensive that even martial artists at the Divine Power Realm could become targets if someone was willing to pay the required price.

Graham’s expression grew increasingly solemn as he listened.

Victoria continued her analysis.

"Three extraordinary talents have emerged in Valemont recently," she said.

"I’m referring to the person responsible for those two mysterious cloud phenomena, the wielder of the Ice Phoenix Divine Body, and the person suspected of awakening the Calamity Poison Body." She paused briefly before adding,

"The latter two possess special physiques that are considered among the finest in the world. If they develop their abilities fully, their future potential will be extraordinary."

"Of course, we still haven’t confirmed whether Maya Knox is the one who awakened the Calamity Poison Body," she continued.

"The information originally came through the Lindsay family, so we can’t accept it without question. However, the circumstances surrounding Maya’s condition match the reports closely enough to make her a serious possibility."

Victoria’s expression remained grave.

"As for Mira, too many people already know that she’s the one who awakened the Frost Phoenix Bloodline," she said. "Keeping that information secret now would be extremely difficult."

She leaned back slightly, connecting the pieces of information.

"Some foreign powers clearly don’t want our Dragon Kingdom to produce three martial artists of this caliber," she said.

"Rather than risk confronting them directly in the future, they’ve decided to eliminate the threats while they’re still developing. That’s why they’ve hired the Shadow Ring."

Victoria’s gaze sharpened.

"Regardless of what the organization knows about the other two individuals, it certainly knows that I’m Mira’s master and that she’s protected by Graham Cole," she said.

"Given that information, I expect them to send an assassin whose strength is at least comparable to mine."

Xavier fell silent.

Victoria had intended to return to the border several days after the Lindsay family’s senior members were killed. However, news of the assassination threat against Mira had forced her to postpone her departure.

She had remained in Valemont ever since, unwilling to leave her disciple exposed to danger.

Xavier , meanwhile, had a much clearer picture of the situation than Victoria realized.

The person who had awakened the Calamity Poison Body was Maya, his new disciple.

The owner of the Frost Phoenix Bloodline was his wife, Mira.

And the mysterious figure responsible for the two incidents involving chaotic clouds was none other than himself.

In other words, the Shadow Ring was targeting all three members of his little circle. His wife, his disciple, and him.

What a troublesome organization.

Xavier’s expression darkened as he considered the implications.

He was not the type to sit around waiting for an enemy to strike. If the Shadow Ring intended to come after his people, he would much rather take the initiative.

He looked at Victoria.

"Since you have informants, have you learned anything about the assassins they’ve dispatched?" he asked.

"Their identities, their numbers, or the level of strength we’re dealing with?" He paused, then asked another question.

"And do you know where the Shadow Ring’s headquarters is located?"

If he could discover the organization’s main base, he would have no qualms about launching an attack, just as he had done against the Lindsay family.

Whether he could actually defeat the Shadow Ring was another matter. Still, a direct counterattack would force the organization to take him seriously and reconsider the cost of targeting his people.

With his current strength, Xavier believed he had a reasonable chance of fighting a Divine Power Realm expert if he took a Divine Descent Pill at the right moment.

He also had access to 7th and 8th-Grade medicinal pills that could serve as valuable incentives. If he offered one of those treasures as a reward, plenty of powerful martial artists might be willing to join him.

An 8th-Grade pill was an extraordinary prize.

Even a martial artist who normally avoided dangerous confrontations might reconsider for the chance to obtain one.

Unfortunately, Victoria shook her head.

"If only we knew," she said with a sigh.

"The Shadow Ring operates differently from ordinary organizations. People post assassination contracts and accept missions through online platforms. Our informants have managed to obtain accounts on their website, but that’s as far as they’ve gotten. They haven’t been able to uncover the location of its headquarters or identify the people in charge."

Xavier frowned.

"So, what do you intend to do?" he asked.

"At the moment, my plan is simple," Victoria answered honestly. "I’ll keep Mira close to me and protect her as best I can."

If they were dealing with a conventional assassination organization, she could take Mira to the military camp at the border.

The camp was filled with trusted personnel, and outsiders could not simply walk in unnoticed. But the Shadow Ring was a different problem.

Nobody knew what kinds of supernatural abilities its assassins possessed.

Even Shadow, a Silver-Rank assassin associated with the Bloodshadow Cult, had been able to disguise himself so convincingly that he could pass for someone else. And the Shadow Ring was far more formidable than the Bloodshadow Cult.

It would be foolish to assume its members lacked similar abilities.

Some might possess disguises and infiltration methods far more sophisticated than anything Victoria had encountered before. The journey to the border was another concern.

Traveling such a long distance with Mira would expose them to potential ambushes, giving the assassins plenty of opportunities to strike.

For now, remaining at the Extraordinary Division in Valemont was the more sensible choice.

They knew the surrounding area, had access to local resources, and could make use of their existing connections.

Xavier, however, was not convinced.

"Even if you can protect her today, how long can you keep this up?" he said.

"You can’t spend the rest of your life guarding against an attack that could come at any moment. Sooner or later, they’ll find an opening."

He considered the situation for a moment before a new idea came to him.

"General Quill, how much do you know about the Sprout Realm?" he asked.

"I mean the territory currently controlled by the Tree Demon. If we took Mira there, would it be possible for us to survive?"

Victoria stared at him in surprise.

"The Tree Demon’s territory?" she said, frowning slightly, wondering why he had suddenly brought it up.

"That’s a forbidden zone for humans. Even though it’s considered relatively low risk compared with the other forbidden zones across the world, entering it is still extremely dangerous. Unless you’re a Divine Power Realm martial artist, breaking through its defenses would be very difficult."

Victoria went on to explain the situation. Whenever monsters or alien races emerged from secret realms and established control over parts of the real world, the occupied regions became what humanity called forbidden zones.

These were places where ordinary people could not survive, and even powerful martial artists had to proceed with extreme caution.

The Tree Demon’s territory was comparatively less dangerous.

Its strongest ruler was a high level 5th-Tier Demon King, making it far weaker than the most terrifying forbidden zones elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the Dragon Kingdom had never managed to eliminate it.

Divine Power Realm and Venerable Realm martial artists were precious resources.

They were needed to defend far more dangerous regions, so the authorities could not spare enough of them to deal with a relatively contained threat like the Tree Demon.

There was also another reason the territory had been left alone.