Way of the Knights

Chapter 860: Space Beast Parade

—

Raven's currently following the route that will lead him to Yelena's old home. Still, he knows that he's just wandering aimlessly at this point. 

It will take him years before he could even get there. He doesn't even know if it's worth the effort to do so. Yelena's old home should be erased from existence already. There's no way that the Abyssals will leave a place like that intact. In addition to that, way too much time had already passed, it's very unlikely for any clues to remain there. Even if there are clues, that's all they are – clues. It's not certain that they will lead Raven to the abyssals directly. 

This is the reason behind his hesitation. 

Don't be mistaken. Yelena's help was appreciated by Raven and she did receive her rewards. He had no plans on taking that back. Still, what he found out didn't really help his situation out a lot. 

'Why does this place have to be so damn big?' Raven groaned inwardly, mourning at the festering headache of his. 

It was depressing to know how difficult his search would be. Literally, Divine Realm is but a corner of the entire picture. Raven has to scour blindly for leads which will take him ages to search for his Master. 

'…there's also the possibility that I got the wrong guy.' He thought to himself as he massaged his temples, 'I showed the, the portrait according to my memories but it doesn't really make me feel confident.'

'What if he used a fake body? Wouldn't I be screwed them? It's given that I'm practically trailing the abyssals to tussle with them but again, what if I got the wrong person? That wouldn't just be embarrassing but also troublesome. I don't want to risk getting their attention this early if possible.'

'That being said…Master wouldn't have used a fake identity right? I mean, I'm his heir. There's no reason for him to be so secretive about his identity so I should be good right?'

'Damn it. I really should've asked the other Divine Knights about what he looks likes before I left! If I did, then I would feel more confident. Why didn't I do that?' 

Raven's really regretting it now. He truly should've asked around. It wouldn't have been such a hassle especially considering his reputation. He didn't need to fear about their potential displeasure since there is nothing they could do to him. 

Alas, it's too late now. He's already here. 

The thought of sending out his Avatars to ask around crossed his mind but he rejected the idea. 

He's out in the Outer Worlds under the premise of creating Outposts. This trip to search for his Master isn't included in his agenda, therefore it is illegal. It's a breach on their strict rules and it would leave an ugly streak on his reputation should it become public. 

Those who are coveting his position might even capitalize on that. 

Raven didn't want to risk that, and he also isn't backing down in this matter. He needs his Master back. He vowed to save him. Hopefully it isn't too late for that. 

—

'…great, just what I need. A damn Space Beast parade.' 

Raven fought the urge to roll his eyes as he monitored the situation in front of him.

The space trembled and an archaic aura bombarded the surroundings. Inhuman roars echoed across a vast area as a long line of Space Beasts marched with pride.

The Space Beast Parade is actually a migration. The only reason why it's called as a parade is because it's only during these times that the Space Beasts curbed their aggression. Instead of their usual bloodthirstiness, they are more concerned on searching for a new area to live. 

Raven parked shuttle somewhere not too far from the on-going parade. 

One shouldn't disturb a parade like this. Getting close is strictly inadvisable. 

A Space Beast Parade consists of 10,000 Space Beasts at it's bare minimum. Such a number could decimate any kind of interference in no time flat. Raven isn't afraid of Space Beasts, much less their number. He just didn't want any disturbance as much as possible. 

Alerting the Space Beast Parade would incur their ire. They would hunt the assailant down to the corners of the Outer World if necessary in order to eliminate them. Space Beasts are extremely persistent, they don't get tired so even if you outrun them, they will catch up. 

To ensure a smooth journey, Raven didn't mess with the parade. He could only accept that he'll get delayed for a few week since he prefers that instead of being chased down by them. 

Raven took this chance to relax. 

He's admittedly very stressed during the past few days because of Geezer's predicament. He needed time to chill and take his mind off of it anyways so the parade is a good distraction at least. 

'…now that I think about it.' Raven mused to himself as he observed the parade. 'This is strange, isn't it?' 

'Space Beasts won't migrate for absolutely no reason. Especially not this many…' Raven frowned. 

It's really weird now that he thought about it. 

From his general estimation, he counted at least 100,000 Space Beast participating in this parade. This is ten times the minimum number, which made it all the more confusing. 

What could've possibly caused this many Space Beast to forcefully migrate? With this number, even Divine Realm has to be wary about them. 

Raven's curiosity was piqued by this event, therefore he started paying closer attention to it. 

It's a pity that he can't read the memories of Space Beast. Well, it's not like he couldn't. It's more like it's useless since all he'd receive is just blurred snippets and confusing sensations.

Space Beasts are barely sentient, their brain capacity could only support their primal instincts, they react instead of planning. Space Beast who could communicate with each other are extremely rare. 

'That one…it's limping. Is it injured?' Raven mused. 

He's looking at a Space Beast who shared the characteristics of a bull. It's left hind leg was raised as it marched alongside others. Raven observed it closely and discovered a few more clues. 

This particular Space Beast looked dazed for some reason. Raven didn't think that it's tired since Space Beast hardly gets exhausted. It looks distracted…as if it's in deep thought. Its eyes are unfocused as it march forward, limping. 

It doesn't look like its hurting for the injury though.

Speaking of injury, Raven took a closer look at the raised hind leg. 

There's a nasty gash on it. It looked its flesh exploded from the inside. The wound was gross looking and more importantly, it is not healing.

'…huh, what's up with that?' 

Raven was confused. Why does that injury hasn't healed yet? Didn't Space Beasts have enormous vitality? 

He probed the condition of the Space Beast and became even more puzzled.

'Okay, that is definitely weird. The vitality of this Space Beast is thrumming vigorously. There is no way that an injury like that wouldn't be cured even considering the fact that it had been moving all this while now. So why hasn't it healed yet?'

Raven didn't really know what to say. He didn't know what kind of injury this was supposed to be. He didn't even know if it was self inflicted or not to be honest. What he could only do is to observe from a far. 

But then…

He saw another injured Space Beast amongst the parade. This one shared the characteristics of a lizard. Its tail was cut off but instead of clean cut, there's a nasty and jagged wound on the stump. 

Since the wound is bigger, Raven could see it more clearly. This one shared the situation of the previous one he observed. It's eyes were dull and the injury wasn't healing. 

Raven could see that the natural healing of lizard was trying to work its magic, yet for some reason, it was failing miserably at its task. As he started wondering why, an idea suddenly dawned on Raven's mind, but it wasn't an optimistic one. 

'…yes, that would make more sense.' Raven mused to himself, his expression looking a bit grim at this point. 'It would explain the weird things about this whole thing.'

'The reason behind the migration, the reason behind their huge number, the injuries, the expressions…yes, it all makes sense. Only they have the ability to do that. I should've realized it sooner.'

Raven's face looked grimmer than before. 

'The Abyssals did this to them.' Raven sighed inwardly. 'And if I'm not wrong, the injured Space Beasts are at risk of turning mad at any day now. That's what happens when they're being corroded from the inside.'

Raven silently observed the on-going parade once more. The closer he inspected, the more injured Space Beast he saw. He pursed his lips and drove the shuttle farther away since he knows that it's get troublesome pretty soon. 

'In hindsight though. This is good. This gives me a lead.'

'The Heavenly Law Order was correct, they are indeed very close.. I need to see them personally so that I can make plans.' 

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