2209. Exchange
"Caesar asked me to make you release these prisoners in exchange for a way out of the sky and Supreme Thief's breakthrough," Noah summarized once the group managed to get back on the main topic.
"He really wants us to be alive until the final battle," King Elbas scoffed.
"Why would we even hear our enemy's pleas?" Divine Demon snorted.
"I don't like it," Steven announced.
"Well, it does involve my breakthrough," Supreme Thief commented, "But it's not stealing if I can just pick it up."
"I smell a ploy," The Foolery exclaimed, "And something else. No, wait. That was me. I smell only the ploy."
"I mean, we already got part of what we wanted," June pointed out.
"Having the sword maniac here would have helped," Wilfred sighed.
Only the main players in Noah's group spoke. The odd dragon, Maribel, and Sepunia knew that they had no place in that conversation. The choice was up to the experts who had made the very idea of standing their ground during the final battle possible.
Noah heard everyone's comments before moving his reptilian eyes on Alexander. The hybrid was the only one who had yet to speak, and he wore a meaningful smirk when he noticed that gesture.
"How do we screw them up?" Alexander asked.
"I knew it would have ended like this," King Elbas cursed.
"How can he still act so surprised?" The Foolery wondered.
"Your intelligence suffers when you study so much," Divine Demon explained.
"I see," The Foolery exclaimed. "I'll never study in my life!"
"Good pig," Divine Demon laughed.
"Let's go for a suicidal plan and hope to die," King Elbas sighed as he massaged his temples.
"The suicidal plan involves battles, so I'm in," June declared.
"I'm fine as long as we go against Heaven and Earth," Steven uttered.
"Don't look at me," Wilfred declared. "I only know how to punch stuff."
"I've already made up my mind," Noah revealed, "But I want to leave the last word to Supreme Thief this time. You might lose your chance to steal what you need for the breakthrough if we go for this plan."
"Stealing now or stealing later," Supreme Thief muttered. "What an awful dilemma. Great Builder will even tease me if I come back empty-handed."
"Do we have an escape plan?" Alexander asked while Supreme Thief immersed himself in his thoughts.
"Elbas is coming up with one now," Noah replied.
"If you have to speak on my behalf, at least do it properly," King Elbas snorted. "I'm coming up with twelve plans!"
"Sadly, he isn't as modest as me," The Foolery sighed. "I would have said eleven plans when I actually had one hundred."
"I bet they all involve eating your way out of the sky," King Elbas guessed.
The Foolery gasped before voicing a comment. "Noah, Noah, I think Xavier is getting smarter."
"Spending time with us has benefited his intellect greatly," Divine Demon claimed.
"I'm pretty sure I
"Are you even ready for the final battle?" Supreme Thief asked.
"Well, as ready as we can be," Alexander declared.
"I believe all of us have given up on reaching the solid stage before that event," Noah continued. "The world simply doesn't have what we need to advance."
"But that won't change during the battle," Supreme Thief stated.
"I need to kill stronger experts to expand my influence," Noah declared before pointing at his companions. "Alexander needs to prove his superiority, Wilfred punches stuff, June wants lightning bolts, Steven is happy as long as Heaven and Earth suffer, and Elbas has a date with a privileged cultivator."
"What about…," Supreme Thief began to say while turning toward Divine Demon and the Foolery before correcting his words. "No, I got the gist of it. You need the sky to unleash what it has to gain access to what you need."
"Pretty much," Noah exclaimed.
"You are a bunch of simpletons," Supreme Thief stated.
"Pretty much," Noah repeated.
"Dammit," Supreme Thief exclaimed. "I'm also a simpleton."
"That's it then," Noah announced. "Let's make a scene."
The privileged cultivators outside the dark world couldn't hear the conversation, and their irritation grew as time passed. They had the chance to end that pointless rebellion here and now, but Heaven and Earth preferred to wait, and they followed their orders.
Still, those experts knew basically everything about Noah and his group. They had studied their opponents thoroughly, so they felt sure that a plan was coming to life inside the dark world.
Nevertheless, firm confidence won over the irritation inside the privileged cultivators' minds. No matter what Noah and his companions came up with, their position wouldn't change. They were inside the sky, so their plans couldn't succeed.
As more time passed, it became evident that Noah's group was planning to go back on their word. Nothing else could explain that long wait. Even the most stubborn expert in the world would be convinced by then, especially when someone like Noah was involved.
The privileged cultivators prepared for the imminent battle as they waited in silence and avoided performing meaningful gestures. They also had a backup plan that they were ready to unleash. They would still leave Noah's group alive, but they would kill the experts that Heaven and Earth didn't need.
The shrinking of the dark world generated a wave of temporary happiness that soon turned into tension. The privileged cultivators couldn't contain their joy when the wait finally ended, but they didn't forget that a battle was about to arrive.
"Where are Supreme Thief's options?" Noah asked once the dark world disappeared and his group came out in the open.
The privileged cultivators couldn't believe their eyes. The multicolored sphere had shrunk until it could fit inside a palm, and Noah played with it while he waited for an answer. He shook it and passed it between his hands even if that action hurt the experts trapped inside it.
"Release them!" One of the privileged cultivators ordered, but a dangerous sensation suddenly filled her senses and forced her to deploy a defensive technique.
A slash materialized in front of the privileged cultivator and slammed on the white barrier that covered her. The protection shattered, and the attack landed on her body, leaving a deep cut that expanded due to the lingering destruction on its edges.
"What did I say about the orders?" Noah asked.
"Calm down, Defying Demon," One of the stronger cultivators said before waving his hand and making his companions open a path where Heaven and Earth's light could pass. "We'll do the exchange."
A pillar of light came out of the sky and stretched until it reached Noah's group. The shining structure carried four spherical items that radiated deep rank 9 power. They resembled complete worlds, and Supreme Thief didn't hesitate to approach them.
"I'll take all of them," Supreme Thief laughed as he waved a hand above the spheres and made them disappear.
"We expected as much," The privileged cultivator from before announced before pointing his eyes at Noah.
Noah sighed and shook the multicolored sphere a few more times before throwing it at the privileged cultivator. The latter caught it and sent mental waves to check its insides. As surprising as it was, Noah's group really seemed to have held their end of the deal.
"The path outside the sky," Noah reminded, and the sky behind him opened. A tunnel that led toward a familiar dark area formed, and the group didn't hesitate to dart inside it.
"See you during the final battle," Noah exclaimed before shooting through the tunnel with his companions.
The sky had compressed the fabric of space inside the tunnel, so Noah's group could leave the white area in no time. They soon found themselves back in the dark environment that had their landmass at its center, and Daniel promptly materialized in front of them.
"You are back!" Daniel calmly exclaimed, but the dark world suddenly enveloped his figure.
"Make everyone prepare for battle," Noah ordered before Daniel could understand what was happening.. "Heaven and Earth are about to wake up."