Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 656: Communication

Liora’s words broke the awkward silence in the hall. However, they didn’t make the atmosphere any less heavy.

If anything, it deepened the gloominess that had long existed throughout the room.

Having witnessed their previous confrontation and seen her Lord die several times, Alpha was shocked upon hearing these words.

Not only by Liora’s casual tone and demeanor, but also by their contents.

Had this creature recovered due to her Lord’s assistance?

Impossible!

Even if one assumed that she indeed possessed the ability to awaken this unknown cultivator and she had done so, why would he choose to attack her afterward?

Alpha soon arrived at a more plausible explanation.

Could it be that her Lord’s consciousness had been injured as a result of the continuous revivals and she had now been driven insane?

Thankfully for Alpha, Liora did not know what was going on through her mind. Otherwise, she would have gone into a frenzy in the face of what seemed like part ridicule and part concern.

Not paying any attention to her subordinate’s reaction, Liora continued staring at the unknown man.

Silence shrouded the hall once more.

It was only several long seconds later that the man finally spoke up.

A trace of anger flashed across his face as he did. He was practically talking through gritted teeth.

“This was not part of our agreement…”, he said, his voice growing increasingly hoarse with each syllable.

He didn’t give Liora any time to respond. He immediately continued.

“We previously agreed that you would provide me with enough essence to awaken.”

“You never mentioned that you would force me to waste it as soon as I recovered. Waking up only to find myself surrounded by enemies is a novel experience. But I’d rather not have experienced it…”

As he spoke, a trace of struggle flashed through the man’s eyes.

The majesty in his body intertwined with a ferocious, bloodthirsty aura. It was as though two different powers were using his body as a battlefield.

Although the fierce side soon overpowered the other and the man’s expression returned to normal, it was obvious that he hadn’t done so without paying a price.

His strength had declined even further. Now, he was no stronger than Liora was with the assistance of the upgraded Immortal Token.

Liora seemed to have noticed that change.

More importantly, she seemed to understand its source.

Ignoring the man’s complaints, she merely raised her head and asked a question.

“Is he powerful? How does he compare to you at your peak?”

The man was left speechless by her sudden show of shamelessness.

Even if one ignored Liora’s identity, she was still a quasi-Rank 12 being at the moment.

Shouldn’t she possess the demeanor of a strong person? How could she act like this, pretending that this had nothing to do with her and going as far as to ask questions?

The man didn’t know what had gone wrong.

Even so, noticing that the second will in his body had fallen into a deep slumber yet again, he faithfully answered.

“He is quite strong…”

“I never expected that future civilizations would reach such heights.”, he sighed, his voice filled with both apprehension and admiration.

“I’m afraid that this is only one of this man’s backups. At his peak, he should have been a Rank 13 powerhouse.”

“Such a being would never perish so easily. He must have made adequate preparations in case his plan failed.”

The man then paused briefly.

He seemed to have sensed that there was something wrong with his words.

“Of course, he is still weaker than me during my peak.”

“You should have already sensed it. Although it’s partly because of your help, I could have defeated the remaining consciousness on my own too.”

Pride shone on his face, though whether these were his true feelings or merely a disguise remained a mystery.

Liora did not dwell on this matter.

Sometimes, the truth mattered. Sometimes, it didn’t.

The present situation fell into the latter category.

As long as the man needed her assistance and was willing to fulfill her requests, Liora did not care enough to guess his true thoughts and motivations.

With that thought, she changed the topic of conversation.

“For how long can you stay awake this time?”

Before the man could speak, she shook her head and added.

“You’ve been really wasteful. To kill a bunch of ants, you wasted so much of the essence and even consumed the finite power of your will.”

“You even went as far as to attack me.”

Liora clicked her tongue.

“Could it be that you wish to ruin our plans?”

These words only served to make the other party grow even more furious.

Still, considering his situation and his plans, he gritted his teeth, choosing to persevere.

It wouldn’t take long.

As long as he recovered completely, he would no longer have to interact with this damned woman!

Completely ignoring the latter part of her words, the man responded to the former.

“I can at most remain awake for half an hour. After that, I will fall into slumber again.”

“… if I hadn’t been forced to fight upon my awakening, I would have lasted longer. Unfortunately…”

He didn’t finish his words, but his implication was clear. “It was all your fault.”

Liora remained noncommittal regarding this. She merely nodded her head.

His answer basically confirmed her own guess. She didn’t believe he had lied to her.

“That’s good. It should be enough for us to explore this secret realm and find whether it hides any other secret.”

“Who knows? We might learn more about the cultivation civilization.”

“But before that…”, Liora paused. Traces of a familiar aura flashed across her mind.

Though she had already sensed that something was wrong, she was excited now that she had confirmed it. Especially when one considered the other party’s current state, this was the perfect opportunity for her.

“… I have to deal with some other things first.”, she said, her eyes glinting with a predatory light.