Star Gate-Chapter 927: Trust (II)

Li Hao ultimately decided to scan the mine with the mirror. Having a full grasp of the enemy’s strength was still more desirable than anything, just in case unexpected problems developed.

Although his side was very strong, he wasn’t certain of the Black Armor’s capabilities. Not to mention, the Black Armor counted as a one-time use item. He lacked a physical body, so once the energy within his body was exhausted, he wouldn’t be able to battle with the force as befitting of his cultivation level.

Neither did the young man know if the heavyweights within the mine were just everyone he’d identified from the nine ministries.

He infused the mirror with a large quantity of mysterious power stones when his thoughts traveled here. The mirror floated into the air and erupted with scintillating light that disappeared after it spread through the void.

Ripples appeared over the mirror as dense clusters of light appeared. Various powerhouses were reflected; everyone’s eyes immediately focused on a Gold Armor. Its light burned like the blazing sun.

Li Hao frowned. He could more or less match life energy to cultivation level for those weaker than him. This one, however, was plainly much stronger than him. It was difficult for him to determine just how strong the Gold Armor was.

There was one benefit for using the mirror, and that was that those beside the young man also fell within its range. Director General Wang’s form appeared—much weaker than the Gold Armor. Meanwhile, the Black Armor... almost had no pinpricks of light around it.

“I am lingering mental strength,” he said when Li Hao looked at him. “Your item can only detect life force. My life force is not dense, so scanning me will lead to an inaccurate picture.”

Very well then.

The young man looked at Director General Wang; the director general looked at the mirror. “That guy... really has entered the Saint level! He’s initial Saint level from the looks of it...” The director general then looked at another ball of light. “Judging from the life force, the bramble rose is slightly weaker than it, but not by much. It’s probably set foot into the Saint level as well.

“All of the other plant spirits have weakened, but the bramble rose has grown stronger. That’s very strange!”

After all these years, the plant spirits had trouble maintaining their own bodies due to lack of energy. And yet, the bramble rose was stronger! It was very perplexing.

The vice commander’s condition was normal because he resided in the mine. It was to be expected that he was stronger than he’d been. However, the amount of energy that exuded from the mines was insufficient to permit the bramble rose to take another step forward.

Director General Wang looked at the other balls of light and continued, “There are four more plant spirits on the scene, with two nearing peak Immortal. The other two look to be on par with those we just killed.

“So there are powerhouses left among the mine defenders!” The director general raised an eyebrow. “There are six Silver Armors. Five of them are near Immortal and the sixth is an Immortal. They all look to be alive.”

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Six Silver Armors and one Gold Armor, all of them alive. Alive meant that their physical bodies and mental strength were still present. Being nurtured by the mine all this time made them stronger than they were in the ancient times.

Apart from that, the other Bronze Armors and Black Armors simply flashed across the mirror. There was no life force to display, which meant that their physical bodies were gone. If they didn’t reach Apex back in their time and continue to fail to progress during these years, even a golden body was insufficient to withstand the passage of countless eons, despite ample energy.

Several more figures appeared in the mirror. Li Hao recognized one of them—Qi Pingjiang. His life force didn’t seem any weaker than Li Hao’s. The others were of a similar level. Only the old ministers of Examinations and Foreign Relations were much weaker.

“Qi Pingjiang, Zhao Tiangyang, and Jiang Chen are all seven elements?” Li Hao was rather surprised by the findings, but quickly accepted them. That made sense. A casual blow from Qi Pingjiang before had contained the strength of peak six elements.

It was just...

“Are they planning on not leaving the ruins since they’ve set foot into seven elements?” Li Hao frowned.

“Modern humans of seven elements can likely survive in the outside world,” the Black Armor said faintly. “The world has been much more stable as of late—they can probably sense it as well. They have you to thank for this.”

“Do you mean that this is a result of the supernatural characters?” Inspiration struck Li Hao.

“Most likely,” the man answered calmly. “The will of heaven senses that a great dao of the new world is forming. Although it is a prototype, it can relax some of the restrictions it levies over the world. Given its bias toward modern humans, it shouldn’t be that difficult for modern humans to enter the so-called level of seven element Arcanus.”

Li Hao nodded. The mirror continued to take in energy and reflect powerhouse after powerhouse. There were two Saints, five Immortals, eight Apexes or seven element Arcanus, and vast quantities of Black Armor, Bronze Armor, two inspector generals, and many army heavyweights. This level of strength would be a premier force anywhere in the world.

Li Hao was about to put the mirror away after scanning his foes when it trembled. A red shadow briefly hovered in sight before vanishing. The mirror trembled again, as if suffering backlash, before it dimmed.

The young man’s eyes widened and the Black Armor cast a sharp look into the distance. “Put the mirror away, something’s wrong inside the mine. There may be a similar existence to me in its depths!”

Li Hao quickly stowed the treasure as the Black Armor assessed the new information gravely. “No life force was detected, so perhaps its physical body has decayed, leaving only mental strength behind? How strange, is there such a powerhouse deep within the mines?”

Li Hao frowned when he thought of the smear of red they’d seen. “Ying Hongyue seems to have the support of such a heavyweight.”

“Can it be one of the powerhouses that attacked Skystar Ruin?” gasped Director General Wang. “Who was it that lacked a physical body and nurtured their mental strength within the mines?”

That would mean that something was amiss with the vice commander. Previously, his thoughts were that the vice commander might not have turned traitor, that he might have just neglected his duties. He might not attack them during this operation, but now... the director general shifted uneasily.

Damn it! If that ray of mental strength was left behind by one of those who attacked Skystar Town, did the vice commander know if it?

If he did, then that meant the guy was one of the traitors that year!

Many doubts surfaced in Director General Wang’s mind. If the vice commander had turned traitor, why let the mine stand? It was still here, why didn’t he take it with him or fully excavate it? How had these plant spirits survived throughout the years? That they had, did it mean they’d sworn fealty to the other side? Then why were they erupting in hostilities now?

Various questions appeared in everyone’s minds.

“The others might not have sensed our probe, but that surge of mental strength...” intoned the Black Armor. “It might have sensed the probe. We’ve alerted the enemy ahead of time.”

Li Hao was frowning so ferociously that his entire face was scrunched together. The situation at the mine was much more complicated than he thought. There were many powerhouses, but when it came to Saints... there was nothing he could do.

“Both sides are very strong,” the young man took a deep breath. “Strictly speaking, we’re on par with one side at most. If we brashly head over and the two sides ally together against us... we’ll find it difficult to handle them. Can the dean handle two Saints?”

“It’s not out of the question, but the mysterious power stones and Water of Life that you supplied before are insufficient,” Black Armor said faintly. “Two Saints are nothing worthy of note if the resources are doubled.”

“......” Pretend I didn’t say anything. Li Hao possessed plenty of Water of Life, but almost no mysterious power stones. “C’mon, let’s draw closer.”

Numerous thoughts swirled in the young man’s mind. These guys are so strong... It’ll be a lot of trouble if they decide to work together instead of fighting each other. Are they fighting now? If they are, it’s ridiculous that not a single powerhouse has died yet!

He’d taken out four plant spirits, but none of these guys were dead yet. Even all of their Black Armors were still in place. What the heck was going on?

......

At the same time.

A surge of scarlet energy materialized deep within the mines. It took human form and frowned toward the outside.

One silent beat later, it decided not to pay it any attention.

A large lake could be found near the scarlet shadow; a physical body floated within it. Sparkling with golden light, endless energy surged into it. Not only that, but stands of golden matter floated within the waters were quickly absorbed by the body. Many other treasures floated within the lake and slowly crumbled away. A peculiar energy drifted into the body.

As the physical body grew stronger in the lake, the scarlet shadow silently watched it and waited. The ripples just now seemed to have come from something similar to the Mirror of Wind and Cloud. The Hongs?

The situation was indeterminate.

The scarlet shadow set it all aside. In this age, whether it was the Hongs or the Fangs, all were isolated within this minor world and counted for nothing.

......

Rumbles sounded outside the mine.

The bramble rose exchanged blows with the Gold Armor. In the form of a beguiling woman, the rose looked furiously at its opponent. “I just want some energy from the mine! I’ll retreat if you give it to me!”

It wielded a weapon similar to a bayonet—transformed from one of its own thorns. It broke through the void with each of its moves.

The Gold Armor was having a difficult time. Not only did the formidable rose thorn pierce through the void with each jab, it could even stab through the armor.

Jiang Chen and the others were in a ball of light not too far away. Each of them had coalesced rays of domineering energy and shaped them into a variety of weapons. They were in pitched battle against six Silver Armors. Reinforced by several plant spirits, they suppressed the Silver Armors to the point in which they couldn’t move.

Even with the Silver Armors moving with smooth coordination and assembled in an army formation, they were still unable to stand against four plant spirits and the city’s military formation. They were constantly on the back foot and losing ground.

Two squads of Black Armor clashed in the distance. The royal family’s Black Armaturas were exceedingly capable, but the one thousand Black Armors they faced were also quite valiant. They were far superior to the Black Armors of Battle Heaven as the latter lacked city. The soldiers here had ample energy to draw on.

It’d been a while since battle broke out, but the two sides were evenly matched. The Gold Armor was slightly stronger than the bramble rose, yet the four plant spirits alongside the military formation that Jiang Chen had activated were able to suppress the six Silver Armors.

If it wasn’t for the four plant spirits recovering to a low degree, the Silver Armors would be no match for them.