Chapter 924: Reaching the Palace

*Roar!*

They heard multiple roars coming from all four directions. Flying aliens started to take off while the crawler chased after them at full speed.

“Nathan. They’re coming!” Sera announced. “I will hold them off for a bit, but we need to go faster!”

“I know.” Nathan instructed Peng, “Go according to the plan.”

Peng acknowledged the order and started to increase his speed slightly by utilizing his wind.

The aliens were chasing after them. Even though Peng was quite fast, he wasn’t going at full speed. A lot of aliens still caught up to them.

Sera formed a barrier with Raphael, blocking their path.

Flora then blasted them with her elemental spirits.

The reason Nathan didn’t leave the aliens behind was to avoid the possibility of Nathan losing the ‘problem’ required to create an even bigger problem.

He maintained a certain speed where he was fast enough to avoid a lot of aliens but not enough to leave them behind completely. As a result, most aliens kept chasing after them even though the distance between them was huge.

With Peng’s help, they actually gathered over two thousand aliens in just five minutes.

That number increased by 50% after another five minutes.

However, they finally escaped from the mountain range, outpacing some aliens. The plain where the palace was located was already in sight.

Alavenya could see the palace from the sky. “We have found it. There! Although it’s still far. With our speed, we can actually reach it in 10 minutes.”

There were a lot of aliens scattered across the plain, so Peng’s presence provoked them as well. At this rate, they would gather three to four thousand aliens by the time they reached the palace. It wouldn’t take long for them to be overwhelmed by their opponents.

That was why Nathan ordered, “Peng. It’s time to descend.”

Peng lowered his altitude so that fewer aliens noticed him. However, they still grabbed the attention of 2,500 aliens. This number was a bit too much even for them, but Nathan had an even more reckless idea. He had to come up with a bigger problem.

In that palace, there was something he could use. He didn’t know whether it was capable of creating that ‘big problem,’ but he had to take a gamble.

The volcanic eruption caused a lot of aliens to come into the area. In other words, this palace wasn’t as safe as before when Duke Coline or Duke Sullivan still visited.

There was a high chance another alien that could create a problem had used this place as its nest. To do that, he had to gamble with his bad luck.

Yes, if anyone else gambled and hoped for a good thing to come, Nathan actually gambled to get something bad. This was the only way to ensure the success of their objective.

They came closer and closer to the palace. Still, there were some aliens that came from the opposite directions, so they still had to break through.

Once Peng descended low enough, Nathan shouted, “Al—!”

Before he even called out the name, Alavenya had already jumped forward, outrunning Peng. She summoned all her familiars except for Xingtian. “We’re breaking through here!”

The familiars moved together and smashed the aliens in their path.

Nathan and the others also hopped off Peng’s back as Peng hurriedly took off toward the sky.

“Master. It’s time for you to enter. I will hold them back,” said Peng while spreading his wings.

Nathan nodded, rushing with everyone else, as Alavenya shattered the enemy’s rank and opened up the path to the palace.

The palace was like a tower. It had a circular shape and rose high into the sky. However, according to the notebook, this palace had the same amount of height underground.

Their goal was underground.

Nathan glanced around. He had to somehow stop the incoming aliens. If that was the case, there was only one choice. He personally had to stay here to block them.

To his surprise, Flora was the first one to turn around while saying, “This is it for me. I’m going to stay outside and block the enemies. You five will go inside.”

“Flora?” Nathan was astounded. He was supposed to be the one staying here since he was the one making such a reckless decision.

But Flora smiled and winked her right eye. “You should enter. I don’t know what you’re doing, but you seem to be desperate to enter the palace. Just leave me enough familiars to handle these beasts and hand over the command to me.”

Nathan opened his mouth, wanting to reject her. However, it was precisely at this moment that he had to trust Flora. Even Nathan knew the best option was to have him inside.

“I will protect her.” Noelle reacted before Nathan. She halted her step. This was her choice as Flora’s childhood friend. Although it was the mission from her grandfather to protect Flora, Noelle believed this was the correct choice as her friend as well.

Nathan bit his lips before shouting, “Summon all your familiars. I command all of you to follow Flora’s direction and block all the aliens around us.

“Alavenya, bring Xingtian inside. Selena, Sera. Have Risa and Brunhild go with you. The rest will stay outside! Mae, you go with me!”

The familiars acknowledged Nathan’s order. Nathan had proven himself to be an admirable commander, so no one really doubted his arrangement.

Only four summoners and four familiars entered the palace.

They first arrived at the main hall of the palace. Although the interior was majestic enough for their admiration, they didn’t have much time.

Hence, Nathan hurriedly gave the next order, “Selena, Sera. The bloodstone sealing your father should be on the ground floor, which is here. Search for it and create the summoning circle, according to this one. Immediately proceed to the summoning once you’re ready.”

Nathan tossed a paper containing the summoning circle that Charlotte gave him prior to departure.

They nodded their heads and split up.

Nathan turned to Alavenya and said, “Both of us will find the entrance to the lower floor… No. We don’t have that much time. Before Selena and Sera find Count Ashton and begin the summoning ritual, we have to find it. Alavenya… this is because of an earthquake, understood?”

“!!!” Alavenya’s eyes flashed. She grinned and fell to her knees. Raising her fist up in the air, she gathered all her energy before punching the ground. “Yeah. The earthquake is the one destroying this palace, not me!”

“Dragon Fist!”