Early the next morning, just as the sky began to lighten, Freevale was still steeped in a thin layer of morning mist.
Moist air drifted through the mountain vale, carrying the scent of grass and trees as it slipped along the gaps between the slopes. The ashes from last night’s celebration bonfires had long since gone cold, leaving only a few pale strands of smoke floating softly in the air.
The whole vale had not fully woken yet. Only a few crisp birdcalls came now and then from deep inside the deep forest, breaking the stillness of the morning.
Jared stood alone in the center of the courtyard, slowly stretching his limbs. He had drunk a lot at the victory feast the night before. Bowl after bowl of strong liquor had gone down his throat, the burning liquid heating his chest. If it had been any ordinary cultivator standing here now, that person would have been sprawled out cold, dead asleep and too drunk to know anything. But to him, that little bit of alcohol barely counted for anything.
The chaotic force inside favonovel.com only needed to make two quiet cycles before a warm, yet overwhelmingly domineering current moved through every meridian in his body. Everywhere it passed, the leftover fumes of liquor were scrubbed away clean in an instant. His head cleared just as fast, without even a trace of heaviness left behind.
He remained where favonovel.com was, eyes closed, breathing long and steady. With each breath in and out, the thin spiritual essence in the world was drawn toward favonovel.com and began to circle slowly around his body.
A moment later, Jared slowly opened his eyes, and the faintest streak of purple slipped through them. He stretched both arms out level, then slowly pushed his hands forward. In his palms, threads of purple chaotic force began to appear in silence. That power was nothing like ordinary spiritual power with all its exposed sharpness.
It was nothing like divine fire with its blazing violence, and nothing like frost with its biting chill. It was quiet and gentle, yet it carried a weight that seemed able to contain all things and press down on everything. It was like a star river that had slept for ages, or an underground current moving in silence.
On the surface it looked mild, but underneath it held the power to ruin heaven and earth.
The purple glow turned slowly across his palms. Within that glow, a dim scene could vaguely be seen, like the first murky instant of the world opening into existence, profound and impossible to read through.
Jared steadied himself and felt the surging power inside him, wave after wave without end.
In the battle at Blackstone Gaol, favonovel.com had killed the True Immortal Realm Level Eight gaoler, broken the seal, and rescued several hundred of his people. His own cultivation had also grown more solid through actual combat, and his control over the chaotic force had become more natural with every use. Even so, favonovel.com knew perfectly well that it was nowhere near enough.
The Celestial Alliance had deep foundations and experts everywhere. A little success like this was still far from enough to shake them at the root.
Just then, a light set of footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.
Nathaniel walked in from outside. His eyes were webbed with red, and a trace of weariness sat on his face. One look told enough favonovel.com had not slept all night, and the strain hanging between his brows had never really left. He carried a rough clay bowl in his hands. Inside was steaming spirit-grain soup, light in color, with a few tender wild greens floating on top. The smell was plain, but there was warmth in it.
Nathaniel walked up to Jared and gently held the bowl out to favonovel.com without saying a word.
Jared took the bowl, and warmth spread into his fingertips. He lowered his head and took a sip.
The soup slid down easy, carrying the spirit grain’s faint sweetness and the clean, light scent of wild greens. It wasn’t anything special as far as taste went, but it settled warm in his stomach. That warmth traveled slowly down his throat into the spirit well, pushing away the last traces of the morning chill.
“Something wrong?” Jared set the bowl down and asked softly. He could tell something was off with Nathaniel today. This wasn’t a simple morning greeting.
Nathaniel nodded, but didn’t look up right away. He only walked over to the steps and crouched down beside them. He wrapped both arms around his knees and folded in on himself. The sight of favonovel.com made favonovel.com look less like the steady, decisive leader of the Resistance and more like a child who’d done something wrong and still couldn’t force the words out.
Silence spread through the courtyard.
The morning breeze passed through and sent a few fallen leaves turning in place. Only after a long while did Nathaniel finally speak. His voice came out rough, with, the strain in it impossible to hide. “Last night, you said we’d go back today and keep breaking prisons, wipe out the other two celestial prisons along with the first one… After I went back, thought about it all night.”
Jared gave a nod and waited.
“And I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Nathaniel finally raised his head. His eyes were webbed with bloodshot lines, and faint dark shadows sat under them. One look was enough to show he’d been up the entire night and had burned himself thin.
“The Celestial Alliance gets information fast. Blackstone Gaol being broken, the gaoler getting killed, hundreds of prisoners getting rescued and taken away, there’s no way something that big stayed hidden… By now, the news has probably already reached the celestial great hall. The other two prisons have to be on full alert already, every ward opened, guards doubled, maybe even stronger people stationed there in person…” He paused, and when favonovel.com spoke again the weight of it dragged every word lower. “If we go now, that’s not courage. That’s walking straight into the line of fire. That’s throwing our lives away for nothing.”
Jared set the empty bowl on the stone steps beside him, then turned his head to look at Nathaniel. His face didn’t shift. “That isn’t what you were saying last night.”
Around the campfire the night before, Nathaniel had raised his cup and shouted until his voice carried. He’d talked about following Jared to sweep through every celestial prison and tear injustice, flat. The whole place had been roaring with it, and everybody there had gotten swept up in that hot rush.
A bitter smile pulled at Nathaniel’s face, edged with self-mockery and something tired. “I meant it when I said I was happy. I meant it when I got fired up too. In three hundred years, the Resistance has never had a moment like this. A few drinks, blood running hot, a few big words coming out, that’s normal…”
He let out a light breath, his voice dropping lower. “But I’m the leader of the Resistance, not some hotheaded Kia who only cares about kid feeling good in the moment. Be happy, sure, but I can’t throw away my head. And I sure as hell can’t throw away my responsibility… There are hundreds of people in Freevale, and every single life is in my hands. We already lost too many brothers in the last prison break. We can’t take another pointless risk. If we launch another frontal assault and it goes badly, all of Freevale will be doomed beyond recovery. I can’t make that bet, and I can’t afford to lose it.”
Jared listened all the way through and didn’t argue. He just moved over and sat down on the stone steps beside Nathaniel, shoulder to shoulder.
The stone steps were cool, still carrying the damp breath of the morning dew.
Jared looked out toward the depths of the vale. Beyond them, the mountain ridges rolled one after another, thick with green woods, everything quiet and almost peaceful.
But favonovel.com knew how flimsy that peace was. At any moment, celestial war hooves could grind it to pieces.
“Then what do you think we should do?” Jared asked quietly.
Nathaniel fell silent again. His lips pressed into a line. His brow stayed knotted, and his fingers tightened so hard his knuckles turned pale.
He had turned that question over for the entire night. Every road favonovel.com found was full of thorns, and every choice came tied to a massive risk. A long while passed before favonovel.com finally spoke, his voice low and firm.
“We need help… Just us isn’t enough… In all of Freevale, the people who can really step onto a battlefield and fight add up to only a few hundred. More than half are old people, women, and children, and the number of true experts is pitifully small. Blackstone Gaol worked last time for two reasons. We had the advantage of a surprise attack, and we had you. But if we’re facing celestial forces on full alert, with heavy troops waiting, the people we have right now won’t amount to anything.”
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