Chapter 270

Chapter 270: The Fourth Person

"Look at the fourth person."

"Is there really a fourth person?"

Their brief exchange carried a strange, almost eerie mismatch in that instant.

It resembled conversations from ghost stories where one person sees spirits while another remains oblivious.

Midi showed no surprise at Victoria’s confusion, having anticipated her reaction. He pointed through the curtain toward box No. 9 while resting his hand on her shoulder, transferring a stream of White Crystal magic into her body.

The precise gesture combined with magical protection cleared Victoria’s mind like lifted fog. Only then did she notice the four figures in the booth. The hooded fourth member sat silently in the central rear seat like a monarch surveying subjects, his mere presence inspiring dread.

Sensing her attention, the figure turned toward them despite the curtain. His gaze from beneath the hood shone like twin torches in darkness, threatening to scorch everything it touched.

The terrifying stare never reached them.

Midi simply covered Victoria’s eyes with his palm.

"Th-that person…" Victoria’s thoughts reeled from invisible blows, her heartbeat wild and unsteady.

"That’s our fourth man – an expert from the Blue Truth Sect," Midi answered without shifting his focus. "Not from their Sea of Clouds branch, but from deeper within."

"Deeper?"

Midi nodded grimly. "The Stormy Region’s heartland."

As a reincarnator, he recognized this foe. Even for an Awakened One of Extraordinary Awakening like himself, confronting such opponents remained dangerous.

Compounding the risk was their location – the Venus Auction House restricted drastic actions, while their enemy could strike unseen. Retreat became their only option.

A tactical withdrawal aligned with standard auction practices. Most buyers departed immediately after securing purchases rather than waiting through the entire event. With Santos handling logistics, their exit proceeded with military efficiency.

Within minutes of requesting departure, they received the ice-breaking technology documents and boarded a prepared carriage. Soon they’d returned undetected to the central floating island.

But when Midi withdrew his protection, Victoria slipped back into mental fog, requiring full day to regain proper focus.

"Was that the fourth person’s doing?" She confronted Midi upon recovering, forced calm cracking to reveal lingering terror.

Losing control of one’s mind terrified anyone, but for sharp-witted Victoria, this violation felt worse than death. Worse still, she couldn’t pinpoint when she’d been compromised.

Her enemy had acted without visible moves – a realm where no action could defeat all actions, supposedly attainable only by supreme experts. If the Blue Truth Sect commanded such power, why hadn’t they conquered the Sea of Clouds?

Midi dispelled the mystery. "No supreme technique – it’s an innate Stormy Region trait. I call them mind-related abilities. Against non-Awakened opponents, these powers prove nearly unstoppable. His aura alone disrupts thoughts through barriers. Direct eye contact without protection…"

"Does what?" Victoria whispered, already dreading the answer.

"Kills."

Death in a single glance – this defined the Stormy Region experts’ power.

Even though encountering such an expert at the auction had been completely unexpected, it didn’t stop Midi from using this chance to let Victoria experience the pale helplessness against such foes. Only through prior exposure could she avoid panicking during real battles, preventing total annihilation.

After all, these were mind-related abilities – formless powers relying on psychic energy and mental strength rather than magic. A single expert like this could silently eliminate hundreds of enemies with mere thoughts, completely ignoring levels. This was why Midi risked removing Victoria’s White Crystal magic protection, letting his intelligent ally fully sense the threat.

Perhaps he’d overdone it.

"Can we really defeat such enemies?" Victoria asked, her confidence faltering for the first time. Even when betrayed by Idak and encircled by eight Skyships, this heavenly girl had kept fighting through despair. But now, with enemy power invading her mind unnoticed, she felt inescapable fear.

As Arad’s proverb went: fear of the unknown rules all.

Then a warm hand patted her shoulder, banishing the fear instantly.

"Of course we can. I’m not scared of that guy, am I?" Midi smiled, though his face grew solemn. "Even if we don’t enter, they’ll eventually swarm from the Stormy Region like this. Few emerge now, but soon they’ll become an unstoppable army."

Therefore, Midi needed to penetrate the Stormy Region faster, using its rare resources to strengthen himself and expand his forces. Attack remained the best defense.

Currently, contacting the "impact-style ice-breaking technology" provider took priority.

Midi’s eyes fell on the auction documents. The thick stack contained complete ice-breaking technology blueprints for all Skyship sizes. Even specialized vessels like Tiger Shark or Unicorn class Skyships could be easily modified.

This adaptable technology could generate massive profits if handled well. But Midi didn’t care about that.

The real treasure was the magically-sealed envelope containing the Venus Auction House’s "little surprise" – the provider’s information.

Midi extracted the thin paper, discovering not dry facts but a personal letter:

*Dear buyer,

Thank you for purchasing my technology. Your bid funds my continued research into ancient Skyship techniques beyond ice-breaking. If interested and brave enough, come to Windstream soon. I await with utmost sincerity.

—Emil*

The female dark elf’s signature bore a white snake mark. Seeing this, Midi’s gaze shifted as past-life memories flooded back – Sky Cloud Sea adventures, Stormy Region entries, Star Ocean events.

Previously disconnected, these memories now interlocked like puzzle pieces through Emil’s name and white snake symbol. This remained speculation until meeting Emil, but Midi knew he’d turn theory into evidence.

Fate? Those who shaped history last life were resurfacing to shine again. Their brilliance would help him assemble memory fragments into complete visions guiding the future.

"To Windstream. Now." Midi declared, eager to meet this white snake-marked dark elf.