Legacy of Hatred-Chapter 149: Exit

The excitement about the potential rewards couldn’t blind Liam when people he cared about showed concerning details.

Mitchell looked fine, already in his dutiful stance. His Senior Brother and Sister showed evident curiosity about Liam, despite trying their best to hide it.

Maxwell was also fine, wearing his noble, authoritative stance. Even among fellow rooting experts, he stood out, possessing the unmistakable demeanor of a leader.

Instead, Joel was closer to Liam in terms of appearance. He had lowered the upper part of his robe’s left side, showing multiple bruises and a fist-sized burn on his chest.

Joel’s short black hair was also disheveled and a bit dirty, and traces of exhaustion afflicted his warrior-like, intense expression. Those days had been tough on him, and Liam inevitably felt guilty.

After all, Joel had suffered that burn to protect Liam, and the latter didn’t know what else that half-open robe hid, nor how much of it was his fault. Liam was even ready to blame himself for everything since he was responsible for Joel’s presence on the Battlefield.

’Once I become a rooting expert,’ Liam thought, ’I can protect him, too.’

"Junior Brother, you’ll make me feel unworthy of being your Senior Brother," Joel teased, easily reading Liam’s expressive face. "This opportunity was greatly beneficial to me. I’m twice in your debt now."

Liam didn’t know which benefits Joel was talking about. After all, he had now confirmed what the Mutated Battlefield held. Unless the magical beasts’ cores were truly valuable, Joel’s gains would be limited to his reputation in the Sect.

Sure, reputation went a long way in the cultivation world, but it still sounded like too little as a reward. Yet, Maxwell caught on to that and provided a short but more satisfactory explanation.

"Brother Joel and I made great progress on our quest," Maxwell revealed. "You’ll see our achievements in the gathering outside the Battlefield."

The unclear explanation was due to the green cultivators’ presence, but Liam understood what Maxwell meant. Joel and Maxwell had hunted the other teams, coming out victorious, probably seizing resources, too.

"Although," Maxwell continued, "Your help in the quest was unexpected news. I’m inclined to rebuke your greed, but ..."

Maxwell lifted his face in pride, adding more authority to his following words. "Brother Liam, you have been magnificent. You can rest assured. Everyone will learn about your feats, and I’ll personally see to it that you receive the honors they demand."

’Why does Senior Brother have to speak in such a complicated way?’ Liam thought. He felt he had understood Maxwell, but those pleasantries left room for doubt.

Luckily, Joel was aware of Liam’s shortcomings and could read them on his face, clearing his throat to explain things in a more direct manner.

"We stumbled upon Junior and his Seniors coming here," Joel revealed. "He told us about the cores and even adamantly led us to Cecilia’s corpse."

"I’d like to express my respect for the Swallowing Forest Sect again now that my team is reunited," Maxwell added, cupping his fist at the green rooting experts. "Your honorable demeanor humbled me."

"We can’t accept such praises," The blonde woman among the green team bowed, and her fellow rooting expert followed. "Please, Senior, raise your head. The honor to cooperate with your exceptional team is the only reward we could have asked for."

"Fellow Daoists, you are too kind," Maxwell responded, straightening himself, even wearing a faint smile, which stiffened when he spotted the excitement in Liam’s eyes.

Naturally, after confirming what Maxwell had meant, Liam’s thoughts had gone to the promised bow, and his face reflected how close he was to mentioning it.

"Brother Liam, about our deal," Maxwell addressed before Liam could misspeak. "You’ll receive what you requested, but not from me. Believe me when I say the Sect has something more suitable than the item in my possession."

’An even better bow?!’ Liam gasped in his mind, his eyes almost shining brighter than the morning’s light.

Still, since the matter was postponed, Liam could focus on something else. Apparently, Mitchell had given away the magical beasts’ cores, but Liam had more in his possession.

"Senior Brother, what can we do with the cores?" Liam questioned. "Are they ours?"

"A big share will go to the Church," Maxwell explained before noticing something in Liam’s expression, making his face sterner. "Brother, do you have more cores in your possession?"

"Yes," Liam directly revealed, finding no problem with his words. "Can I keep them?"

Joel partially failed to hold back a laugh, but Maxwell’s sterner mood forced him to remain silent.

"The formation around the Battlefield checks for attempted smuggling," Maxwell said, holding back sighs in the presence of the green audience, showing his hand instead. "Brother, the cores."

’That’s why they hid them here,’ Liam understood, a bit disappointed about his now-lower gains, but still removing the pouch from his shoulders.

Since Liam was at it, he also gave Maxwell the items to create the chamber and the green jade. The latter was useless to Liam now, while Maxwell could do much more with it since it was proof of the Rising Waterfall Sect’s ploy.

Maxwell felt that it was his duty to scold Liam about his greed now, but peeking inside the small pouch made him forget about the matter, immediately storing it inside his ring.

"Fellow Daoists, I promised a formal introduction," Maxwell switched topic, addressing the green rooting experts. "This is my Junior Brother, Liam, soon to be known as the pride of the Pale Moon Sect."

Mitchell stepped aside to let his Seniors bow at Liam, who immediately voiced polite introductions.

"I’m Murray from the Swallowing Forest Sect," The brown-haired rooting expert announced. "It’s an honor to meet Horace Rauret’s disciple."

"I’m Colleen from the Swallowing Forest Sect," The blonde woman exclaimed. "Junior Liam, it’s a pleasure. Allow me to express our gratitude for saving our Junior Brother while busy fighting a rooting expert."

’That’s not exactly how it went,’ Liam thought, obviously bowing, too, sticking to the pleasantries he knew. "Seniors, the honor is mine."

"Let’s hope this day marks the beginning of a lasting alliance between our Sects," Colleen said once she straightened.

Liam didn’t know what to say there, and another awkward detail kept him silent. Despite those honors being for him, Mitchell looked to be the happiest about the matter, smiling from ear to ear, brimming with pristine pride.

"We could announce this alliance by exiting the formation together," Maxwell suggested. "If the Swallowing Forest Sect has no objection."

"That’s a wonderful idea," Murray agreed. "The Pale Moon Sect’s Head Disciple knows how to be proactive."

Liam seemed to understand that even Maxwell had been unaware of that secret ally. Still, the political talk made him ignore the matter, which became easier to do once the teams started moving.

It was the seventh day, so the teams had to leave before nightfall. Yet, as soon as Liam followed his Seniors into the swamp, he noticed that they had cleared a path, even leaving corpses floating around.

The path obviously wasn’t straight, but it was safe, allowing the group to advance through the shallow waters without performing any complicated maneuvers, sparing Liam from pushing through his injuries.

That smooth sailing made the group reach the marsh’s edge by early afternoon. Both teams drew their wooden tablets there, and the scenery twisted, creating an ethereal, transparent canvas that brought everyone back to the green forest once crossed.

Naturally, the two teams still had some way to go. They headed to the initial gathering point, and Liam could see the full extent of what Joel and Maxwell had mentioned upon reaching it.

Priest Eustace was already there, as well as the other teams, albeit not quite.

The Rising Waterfall Sect was obviously absent, but the same went for the group from the Crimson Warrior Sect. The Scorching Sun Sect seemed to have lost one of their rooting experts, while the Iron Will Sect was without the Junior that Liam had killed.

And, the pale-grey and green teams’ arrival added a grim vibe to the atmosphere, with almost everyone throwing a glance at Maxwell before lowering their heads.

The Sect Leader had given the order to obliterate the other teams, and it seemed his disciple had seen that through.