Chapter 1249: Finding his Loved ones: Part-4

She turned toward Lia, "Let’s go and fuck up some bitches," she muttered with murderous intent.

Lia flinched at her words. Her eyes widened slightly, ’T-This is weird...’ she thought, her brow furrowing.

Something felt wrong with Snowflake.

They slipped silently toward the exit of the tent. Lia’s bare feet padded against the iron ground, Snowflake’s scales sliding with a faint hiss. Together, they pushed aside the tent flap—

And what they saw outside made their hearts freeze.

The sky above was blue and bright. The ground stretched green and alive, flourishing terrain with grass swaying lightly in the wind.

Nature looked beautiful.

Yet,

People were being dragged across the ground, bound and shackled like cattle.

Once-proud dragons lay broken. Their jaws were clamped with heavy muzzles, their scaled heads forced down as if they were nothing but dogs. Orcs stumbled forward with their massive hands bound in iron gauntlet cuffs.

Liches, their bones were wrapped in thick nets.

Elves, their slender wrists shackled, were forced into groups, their pointed ears lowered in humiliation. Even beasts, wild and untamed, were stuffed into cages and stacked carelessly like crates.

Lia’s hand trembled as it tightened into a fist.

Who are these people?

And what are they doing here?

Instead of leaving the tent, Lia went back, her fingers tightening around the edge of the table as she turned her attention to the scattered documents. She needed to understand what this camp was, what their purpose might be.

But to her surprise, the writing across the papers made no sense. The words curled into sharp symbols, unlike anything she had ever studied. She leaned closer, squinting, trying to piece them together.

"A new language?" she muttered... The script was utterly new to her.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied the strange map spread across the table. The shapes of continents and terrain lines were warped, foreign.

Numerous black ’X’ marks dotted its surface, scattered across unfamiliar lands, while at the very centre, a large ’O’ had been drawn.

"By the looks of it... We are at the big ’O,’" she murmured thoughtfully, her brow furrowing as she tapped the parchment. "A meeting point?"

She had never seen this kind of geography before.

The scattered ’X’ marks seemed to be scattered across the map. Yet only one ’O’ existed, and around it, dozens of tiny tent-shaped symbols encircled the point.

"It looks like something is going to happen here," Lia muttered under her breath.

Her gaze roamed across the page again.

Snowflake slithered closer. Her eyes flicked over the parchment before lifting toward the strange letters.

"What are they going to do here?"

She lingered on the markings. Something about those letters gnawed at her.

They weren’t fully unfamiliar. Somewhere, once long ago, she had glimpsed something similar. She tried to remember, but no.... It had been too long.

"I don’t know," Lia muttered.... Her face twisted into a confused expression.

There wasn’t enough information here—nothing she could make sense of. But then, her hand brushed against the pile of papers. A hidden corner peeked out from beneath. She frowned and tugged it free.

Her face paled as her eyes widened.

"It’s... Void," she muttered. In her hands, a rough, hand-drawn map spread open. The outline was rough and messy, but it was unmistakable—the geography of the Void Empire.

It wasn’t a perfect rendering, no scholar’s detail, but the sketch was enough. Anyone familiar with the lands would recognise the borders, the landmarks.

Her fingers shook slightly as she flipped the sheet... Another map behind it. Her frown deepened.

She flipped again... And again!!

Her expression turned grim, "T-These are... the geographies of our Five Empires... What are they doing with this?" Her voice cracked between disbelief and fury.

This wasn’t just random captivity... This was deliberate.

Someone was planning something.

Snowflake’s eyes narrowed, her tongue flickering sharply.

She needed to inform her hus—her master. This wasn’t the kind of threat that could be ignored.

But before she could say anything more, she stiffened.

Snowflake snapped her gaze to Lia. "It’s coming," she whispered urgently.

Lia nodded immediately, and her body shifted, shrinking, twisting into the form of a bat once more. She darted quickly, wings flapping silently at the corner top.

Snowflake slithered under the table.

A moment later, the tailed metallic figure appeared in the tent... But then it stopped.

Its head tilted. Its gaze locked on the cage.

Empty?

The figure froze, its stance tightening. It took one step forward—

"Don’t you dare."

The voice came from behind, followed by the hiss of a red blade sliding close to its neck.

The figure stiffened. Its body froze. Slowly, its hands lifted into the air, the universal sign of surrender.

Lia smirked.

Snowflake slithered out from beneath the table... Her body uncoiled and wrapped tightly around the metallic figure’s frame.

Crack...

The sound of metal under pressure rang out.

Snowflake’s eyes gleamed. Her tongue flicked.

"Hisss~"

She hissed furiously, her tongue flicking as her glowing eyes locked on the figure’s face, hidden behind the cold helmet.

The figure trembled, its body shuddering under the sheer pressure the snake was exerting. It had never expected this—never expected the small white serpent to break free, much less coil itself around it with such deadly strength.

Lia muttered, "Remove your... this thing." She gestured with her blade toward its metallic body.

Of course, the figure didn’t understand what she was saying.... It just head tilted slightly.

"Whatever..." Lia snorted. With a swift motion, she dragged it closer toward the table, "Where is this place?" she asked, her finger pressing against the strange map.

The figure tilted its head again, as though playing dumb. Snowflake’s grip tightened dangerously, scales constricting until the armour groaned under the pressure.

Lia’s frown deepened. "I know you understand what I meant. Now tell me." Her words were edged in iron as she stabbed her blood blade into the map.

The figure flinched in fear... Slowly, it raised one trembling finger and pointed toward the map.

Lia glanced at Snowflake, who loosened her coils slightly, just enough for the figure to move. The armoured hand pressed down, tracing along the parchment. Then it began circling a spot over and over, motion deliberate.

Lia and Snowflake exchanged a look, both frowning. They didn’t understand.

"What do you mean? Tell me!" Lia snapped.

Snowflake’s grip tightened again, scales pressing hard, but the figure only circled the mark faster, its head shaking as if to say—that’s all it knew.

"It will be hard to understand at this rate," Snowflake muttered. Her slitted eyes flicked to Lia. "First, let’s leave this place. With the help of this thing... we might get out first."

The tailed metallic figure turned its head toward Snowflake, its body stiffening as if in disbelief. For the first time, its motions faltered... surprised?

A snake... A snake that spoke?

Lia blinked as she thought, ’Hmm... First, I need to know where my mother and the others are... I need to return home. And after that...’ Her glare hardened as she turned her attention back to the armoured figure.

"Now you get us out of here, you got it?" she ordered as she made a running motion with her free hand.

The figure tilted its head as if it didn’t understand... Snowflake squeezed tighter, armour creaking under the strain.

Immediately, the figure’s head bobbed up and down quickly.

Lia smirked, satisfaction curling her lips. Snowflake grinned widely, baring her sharp fangs.

"But what if it tries to betray us? What if the others catch us?" Lia asked, her frown returning. Her instincts told her this wouldn’t be so easy.

With this many enemies, escaping seemed almost impossible.

"We’ll threaten this thing, of course," Snowflake answered with a casual hiss. She had already seen how this figure commanded others, how the rest seemed to listen.

That meant it had rank—leverage.

Lia blinked, then nodded her head slowly. "Good then... Let’s go." She pressed her blood blade closer against the armoured neck, so close it hummed with power, almost brushing the metal.

They weren’t foolish enough to walk straight through the front. Instead, they cut open the back of the tent, ripping through the fabric with a sharp slice.

Lia glanced at Snowflake, who gave a firm nod.

Their plan was clear—run the moment they saw a path.

Both drew in a breath, steeling themselves. Together, they slipped out through the cut fabric—

Only to freeze.

The moment they stepped out, the sound of weapons charging filled the air.

Dozens of metallic figures surrounded them in a perfect circle, their guns raised.

Each barrel glowed faintly, humming with deadly energy that pulsed like a living heartbeat.

Lia and Snowflake blinked in utter shock.

The whole tent had been surrounded. It wasn’t a chance....They had known. They had been waiting for this.

But how?

Every gun pointed at them, barrels glowing with a dangerous, blinding white energy. The hum filled the air, sharp and electric, making the hair on Lia’s arms prickle.

Snowflake gulped, "D-Don’t worry," she hissed, "We have their commander—"

Thud!

Her words cut short as her body dropped suddenly to the ground... Lia’s eyes widened as her breath caught. The figure Snowflake had been binding... was gone.

Disappeared?

As if it had never even been there in her grip.

Snowflake blinked too before,

"Hehe... We totally fucked up, MASTER!!!!!"

BOOM!!