LRAB Chapter 597 Bastion Castle (2)
Chapter 597 Bastion Castle (2)
"are you ready?"
"What should I do?"
"Those standing on this floor... That's it. I will teleport from where I am now to the point on the diagonal line. You stand in the middle of this line."
"that's it?"
"Well, shall I start then?"
"at any time."
Christina stood at the entrance gate of the second floor of the base. The destination she wanted to teleport to was just to the right rear of the contractor's teleportation platform on the second floor of the base. When Han Zu stood in the center of this line, Christina began to teleport. In a blink of an eye, Christina disappeared from her original position and appeared near the expected teleportation location.
"Feel anything?"
"Your landing point seems to be a little off? It's about half a step away from the position you agreed on."
"What did you sense?"
"The energy fluctuations in the air are a little... leaning towards my position?"
Christina nodded and walked back to Han Zu from the location she was teleported to.
"Basically everyone, including Sebastian, and even myself long ago, believed that my teleportation ability allowed me to precisely teleport from one location to another. The principle behind this teleportation was that I relied on my own energy to establish a momentary teleportation anchor point. Once I located and captured that anchor point, I would pull myself towards it from my starting position. But as I used teleportation more and more, I gradually understood the true nature of my teleportation ability. I wasn't creating a momentary teleportation anchor point on my own. I didn't possess enough energy to do that. The essence of my teleportation ability was essentially finding an energy source near the target location and using my own energy, like a meteorite being captured by a planet's gravity, to passively pull myself towards it using the attraction generated by that energy. The larger the energy source, the faster my teleportation speed, and the greater the distance, the greater the deviation. However, I discovered that as long as the energy source I locked onto was large enough, my teleportation deviation would never exceed the energy source's radiation range. Furthermore, depending on the size of the energy source, my landing position would also move closer to the energy source, from farther away to closer."
"So that's what happened, but I still can't explain it..."
"Listen to me first. As for my teleportation ability... you can think of it as a secondary function. It allows me to accurately identify certain specific energies. For example, if two energy sources of identical type and similar concentration exist in the same location, other teleportation methods would normally have difficulty distinguishing them, unable to tell the difference between the two. However, I can accurately discern the difference between the two. It's not through some sophisticated method; I simply rely on which energy source my teleportation point is closer to. You know, there are many unique things in this world, but completely identical things rarely exist. Even if they do exist, I've never seen one. It's precisely this uniqueness of my energy source that allows me to locate you so easily. I bet when you first saw me, you didn't expect me to be able to find you, did you? After all, it seems like you've put a lot of thought into hiding your whereabouts."
"So, during the transmission process, you were able to sense the uniqueness of each energy source. You must have sensed my energy from somewhere, and you felt that this energy was very similar to mine. So, based on the similarity of energy, you made an attempt to find mine?"
"Yes, that's the situation. Your energy is very special. It's somewhat... how should I put it? A bit like... a restless, yet inexplicably stable energy core? The energy flows violently, yet it manages to prevent itself from bursting out of the reactor... that is, your body. The energy in you is very much like an energy power reactor on the verge of exploding, but for some reason I can't understand, it can remain in this dangerous state without ever causing an energy explosion. So, with my ability, unless you are too far away from me, I can't detect this unique energy tide of yours. Otherwise, no matter how well you disguise yourself, I can still find you."
"According to your line of thought, the reason you can prove you've been to the real Bastion is because you discovered the uniqueness of Bastion's energy?"
"Yes, that's the situation..."
According to Christina, every patriarch of the Ferdinand family, regardless of their faction—the Griffin Faction, the Deer Faction, or even earlier, now-defunct or insignificant factions and offshoots—is a survivor of Bastinburg. All of these individuals, including Sebastian, possess energies that, while manifesting varying abilities, share a profound similarity. The last true patriarch of the Ferdinand family was Sebastian's father's grandfather, but for unknown reasons, he abdicated the throne and handed it over to Sebastian's father. As the only Ferdinand family patriarch not to have survived Bastinburg, his reign faced numerous obstacles, primarily resistance from the Griffin Faction. The Deer Faction, however, was less concerned, as their antipathy toward the Griffin Faction stemmed not from a single individual but from Bastinburg itself. Consequently, during Sebastian's father's reign, the Deer Faction was relatively peaceful, unlike the current situation.
The current patriarch of the Ferdinand family, Sebastian, while not the most powerful in the Ferdinand family annals, is a figure whose presence is not confirmed by anyone in the current Ferdinand family, except for the annals. Sebastian's existence, however, is well known, and many believe he is, in fact, the most powerful. This gives Sebastian absolute confidence, allowing him to manipulate the entire Ferdinand family to act according to his will, including those branches of the Deer Clan that have long sought to break free from the Griffin Clan's control.
Christina felt that Sebastian's energy was also very strong. She had barely noticed anyone else possessing similar power. Han Zu might be able to compete with him, but Han Zu was more special, and Christina was not sure of that.
Every time she returned to the Ferdinand family's current headquarters from elsewhere, with the exception of rare instances, such as when she used illegal equipment in the Infinite City, Christina almost always used Sebastian as a beacon. No matter the distance, Christina always returned to a location near Sebastian (depending on the distance from her initial location, the deviation could be as much as the area of a villa). However, after a teleportation attempt a year ago, Christina's location was offset by the distance of a football field, far exceeding her expected deviation.
"Since Sebastian likely obtained the same power from Bastinburg, and besides the patriarch, no one else possessed similar energy, I must have mistakenly locked my energy onto Bastinburg during the transmission process, rather than onto Sebastian. That's why, after landing, I found myself standing on the moat drawbridge at Bastinburg's west gate, not near Sebastian. It was then that I confirmed that Sebastian's power essentially came from Bastinburg, or at least had a significant connection to it. If Sebastian's energy, in my perception, resembled a small nuclear power plant, then Bastinburg, or something within it, conveyed to me the feeling of an energy facility nearly the size of an entire city.
Furthermore, based on my perception of that energy, I can confirm that the source of my teleportation abilities—the power of those plants, fungi, and other creatures—must also originate from Bastinburg. As far as I know, it's impossible for me to experience this sensation anywhere other than the real Bastinburg. Therefore, I'm absolutely certain that I know Bastinburg's true location; it truly exists and isn't just some myth.
"So what do you want me to do by telling you about Bastionburg?"
"When battling any enemy, no matter how many tactics there are, they essentially boil down to two key points: finding ways to reduce the enemy's strength and interrupting, ideally, severing their logistical supplies. The Ferdinand family's current mid- and high-level combatants are all individuals who have gained Bastinburg's power through various means. Some have permanent powers, like Sebastian, while others have temporary ones, relying on the artifacts from the research institute to temporarily enhance themselves. Based on the intelligence I know, with the exception of Sebastian, those who rely on artifacts for strength require regular replenishment to maintain their strength."
"I roughly understand what you mean. This Bastion Fort can now be considered a combined barracks and logistics headquarters. As long as we can fully investigate the energy within Bastion Fort, we can understand how it affects Sebastian and the creatures it generates. By simply disrupting Bastion Fort's supply of raw materials, we can significantly reduce the Ferdinand family's combat effectiveness. And if we uncover Bastion Fort's secrets, we can find a way to counter Sebastian. Given this, Sebastian, along with the Griffin Clan's branches and core members, must have expended considerable effort protecting this combined barracks and logistics headquarters. Are you planning to have me go to Bastion Fort, eliminate these so-called guards, and then hand Bastion Fort over to the Deer Clan, giving them the capital to resist the Griffin Clan?"
Christina shook her head and rejected Han Zu's idea.
"If the Deer Faction were allowed to seize Bastinburg, then in time, the Deer Faction would simply be exchanging force fields with the Griffin Faction. Who knows, the new guy who comes to power might be even worse than Sebastian. Furthermore, they wouldn't necessarily be able to immediately find another Deer Faction member who survived Bastinburg and nominate him as the new leader. Sebastian wouldn't sit idly by; he would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to strike back. There are naturally some damned individuals in both factions, and even in other lesser factions, and the struggle between them is bound to have a negative impact on those families who didn't participate." Fighting against these good people would have a devastating impact. If Sebastian were to take the risk and get the Unlimited Company involved, the ultimate possibility would be that the Unlimited Company would seize Bastinburg and, to suppress the news, would kill every member of the family, completely wiping out the Ferdinand family. Even if the good members of the family could prove they weren't involved, the Unlimited Company wouldn't let them go with their methods. I think you understand this well. After all, you were once the Unlimited Company's executioner, right?"
Han Zu remained silent, but he didn't deny it either. He knew Christina was referring to his time clearing out corruption within the company. While Han Zu didn't kill everyone, he did spare the lives of some relatively good people who had their reasons. But Christina was right. At the time, Han Zu was in Infinite Company. He was supposed to be the head of a secret department, but in reality, he was just an executioner.
"So what do you want me to do in Bastionburg?"
Christina frowned and bit her lips twice. She bit them so hard that deep teeth marks were left on her lips. It was obvious that she was very conflicted.
"I...I'll think about it."
Christina had originally intended to have Han Zu completely destroy Bastinburg and sever the Ferdinand family's power. After all, without Bastinburg, even if the Ferdinand family had other facilities that could guarantee a supply of products for a while, they would eventually run out. Sebastian, though powerful, would be unable to manage the family's needs if he were the only one left. Without the restraint of force, the Deer Faction would inevitably expand its advantage until it could rival the Griffin Faction in strength. Furthermore, through her own teleportation, Christina could sense that Han Zu possessed exceptionally powerful strength, perhaps even greater than Sebastian's. It was precisely because of Han Zu's ability that Christina had initially informed him of the news about Bastinburg.