Capítulo 846: Extalia Royal Family Tilting her head back, Alice glanced up at the giant pillar leading up far beyond what the eyes could see. The gateway leading up to the surface, a tunnel of raw energy stabilized by the natural laws and formation of energy around this place. Even if a Lord tried to break it, the gateway will not falter. While most people would simply see an unassuming pillar, Alice saw the spiral of energy leading up, breaching the border between realms. In her eyes, the pillar looked as though it was a convergence of multiple colours. Absolutely beautiful. There would be occasional pulses of energy shooting up, each representing a new group exiting or entering the Abyss. Enjoying the view, Alice took a deep breath and glanced down at the queue forming towards the exit. “I don’t suppose the queue is supposed to be this long?” Alice asked with a chuckle. She was still keeping the disguise she had on earlier. With them now entering Zenia territory, it’s best for her to keep her identity hidden. “They’re just desperate to leave the Abyss after the commotion ‘someone’ caused.” Elias replied, lifting his umbrella slightly to get a better view. “They fear that they could be next since not even a Lord is safe from attacks.” Alice sighed, inching forward with the queue. If she was being honest, the repercussions of her attack wasn’t as bad as she had initially anticipated. She thought Theron would be looking to kill her in revenge. Instead, according to the rumours, he didn’t move from his spot until disappearing with his wife’s corpse. Of course, Alice could’ve tried to verify it using her Vision but doing so would expose herself and she didn’t want that. All she could rely on was the rumours floating around the place. “Though the ones desperate to enter the Abyss despite the rumours circulating right now are those who know what’s happening on the surface.” Elias narrowed his eyes. Despite the large number of people leaving, just as many people were entering through the same passage if not more. They hold faces of fear, seeking to escape from Extalia as soon as possible. “Oh? Sounds like you know what’s going on.” Alice raised an eyebrow. “Somewhat. As a wandering healer, you get to hear things here and there. Rumours and word by mouth. How familiar are you with Extalia?” “Hmm… Most of my knowledge is probably outdated. I only really know a few bits and bobs from 10 years or so ago.” Alice shook her head. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵 Arguably, before going to Extalia, she should’ve gathered some information first. “Then you probably don’t know that most of the noble houses have been hollowed out.” Elias sighed, shaking his head. “Mnm. The noble houses have been slowly taken over. Some with alliances, some through marriage. There were apparently a few that noticed what’s going on but couldn’t stop it. Right now, they’ve converted more than 70% of the noble houses into a single faction. “And they say at the top of this faction is the Zenia family.” Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows. While the Zenia have always been influential, they mostly kept themselves to the Abyss Blood trade. Yet just from this rumour, it’s clear that they’ve expanded their reach and showed their true face. “What did the Royal family do? I doubt they’ll simply sit by and do nothing while the Zenia family usurps their power.” “Do I look like an info broker to you? I’m a healer not a scout.” Elias rolled his eyes. “Just tell me what you know. I’ll do some scouting later.” “Tch. There’s two unreliable rumours and this is rather old.” Elias clicked his tongue. “A few say the Royal family knew this and wanted to stop them. A few say they didn’t and the Zenia took them by surprise. Either way, it seems like they’ve taken a stance of aggression for now. “Both sides have some small scuffles and disagreements here and there but nothing major.” Alice folded her arms. The Royal family in Extalia was a little unique. They weren’t royal by name or combat ability. They are Royal by blood. Perhaps it was a contract made in the past but the Royal family have influence over the World Tree placed in the underbelly of the palace. A tree that holds a special meaning to elves that reside in Extalia with roots that stretch across the continent. Elves are a group of people with elongated ears and powers that humans don’t have. Powers that Alice was unsure of considering the information she heard back then wasn’t in detail, only that they were different. A few of the scholars even wanted to open one up and experiment but finding wandering elves were difficult. They served as the guardians of the Royal family, each one was accounted for and unless there was a special circumstance, one would rarely find one out in the wild. And even if you do, it’s hard to tell if the elongated ears are a result of their bloodline or Abyss Blood. If it’s the latter, then it’s simply wasted effort. However, it’s proven that the elves have significantly increased combat capabilities compared to normal people. Many of them even being rumoured to be blessed by the Abyss as the Royal family would always have one or two Elven Abyss Lords following them. Sometimes it wasn’t the same elves either. ‘Based on the rumours that Elias has heard, it seems like Extalia is split into two sides right now. The Royals and the Nobles headed by the Zenia.’ Alyss folded her arms with a frown. ‘Yeah. Seems like if we want to dip our hands into this, we’ll have to side with the Royals. I’m just worried what the Zenia’s might be doing in terms of experiments.’ Alice sighed. ‘Since the Noble families are under their control now, finding subjects for their hybrid experiment should be much easier.’ [I wouldn’t be so certain. They’re lacking your blood after all. And from what we learned before, they’re running out fast. They can only make a few effective hybrids and a lot of them have already been killed in combat.] Cayla reminded. During the battle in the north, they managed to make a rather large dent in the Zenia family reserved. Or so they hoped considering the power of those Hybrids. ‘They missed out on capturing me in the east so I think they’re on guard now. They won’t deploy Hybrids for no reason when they have a limited stock.’ [True. But… I think they’re trying to recreate your blood to some extent. Remember the three hybrids you fought? All three of them working together was required to emulate your power to some degree. That can’t be a coincidence.] Cayla creased her brows. ‘So are you suggesting they’re isolating parts of my power based on reports?’ Alice theorised. If that was the case, then the battles she’s had with the Zenia family has only increased the rate of their research. [Maybe. It’s not certain though. They have years of experimental data and new data that you’ve shown them. Perhaps their thought process is to take things a step at a time rather than recreate it as a whole. [Even Nyer seemed to have a relatively hands off experience when it came to creating you. Especially considering the fate of the previous experiments. You are a one of one. There hasn’t been a second result that’s performed on the same level as you.] Cayla remined. ‘There’s also the case of Yvael. Honestly I don’t know if I should praise the Zenia family for trying something that took two freaks of nature to accomplish.’ Alice scratched her hair. [Either way, let’s focus on gathering information once we reach the surface. Making moves without knowing anything is the worst thing we can do right now.] ‘Agreed.’ Alice nodded. After an hour or so of queuing, they finally reached the front of the queue and took the gateway towards the surface. “Hm?” Nyer’s movement faltered for a second while extracting a small blood sample from the girl in front of him. “Hey! That hurt!” She flinched with a frown, holding back the urge to kick him. Doing so many make the pain worse. “Sorry, I was surprised by something.” He apologized, removing the needle from her arm. Putting the blood onto a small dish, he examined the changes within the girl’s body. “What did you get surprised by? If it surprised you, it must be something pretty major.” She mused, hopping off the table and jumping onto Nyer’s back. “Somewhat.” Nyer replied while the girl swung herself in a circle around his arm. “Your sister is visiting Extalia.” “Wait really!?” The girl widened her eyes in surprise. She jumped onto his head and leaned down, blocking his view. Looking at the upside down girl, Nyer nodded. “Yes, she’s just entered now. I’m surprised that she has since I didn’t think the time would come so soon.” “Oh! Let’s go see her!” She suggested with sparkles in her eyes. “We can’t do that. Not yet.” “Ehhhhh… Why not! I’ve been dying to see her.” She flailed her limbs around like a hyperactive child. Placing down his tools, Nyer lifted her off his head and placed her back onto her seat. “Because your body isn’t stable enough yet. There’s some hints of deterioration so I want to stabilize it before you do anything.” Nyer explained as the girl sighed. “I’m so jealous of her. I want to run around as well.” She lamented. But if she did, she’ll get really sick to the point she wouldn’t be able to move at all. Being stuck in bed was the thing she hated the most. “Don’t worry, you’ll get to see her soon. If you waited this long, you can wait a little longer can’t you?” Nyer patted her head. Reluctantly, the girl nodded while he finished his examination.