Silence fell throughout the restaurant.
Confused glances were exchanged amongst the members of the Imperial Church.
Most of them had never heard of the Northern Line Hunting Group before.
But not everyone shared that confusion.
Lucienne’s smile deepened just slightly, while Gabriel’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Across the room, the relaxed expressions of the Dragonfang members gradually disappeared as several of them looked at Theo with strange gazes.
Unlike the others, they knew exactly what the Northern Line Hunting Group was.
’He’s part of that place?’ Darius thought, staring at Theo. ’How interesting...’
’And to think they’d partake in an expedition into a danger zone already.’
The Northern Line Alliance wasn’t an organization that was well known to the public.
But amongst the world’s true elites, its name carried considerable weight.
For many years, they had quietly completed some of the world’s most difficult and unusual missions while mostly keeping to private requests.
’Most of them split up after growing old,’ Darius thought. ’But now, after all these years, they are recruiting young talents again?’
He couldn’t help but chuckle faintly.
’I almost can’t wait for the bonus we’ll get for reporting this.’
Theo also noticed the mixed change in atmosphere.
Smiling faintly, he simply continued speaking.
’’There are five of us in total,’’ he said calmly. ’’And we look forward to working with you all until we reach Petra.’’
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Then Darius suddenly let out a loud laugh as he clapped his hands together.
’’Good!’’ he said, grinning broadly. ’’With a group like this, we’ll have no trouble reaching Petra.’’
Several Dragonfang members chuckled as they faintly nodded along with him.
Nadia stared at Theo and the others for a moment.
She too didn’t know exactly what their hunting group was other than some simple stories she’d heard from her father.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she pushed her thoughts aside and stepped forward once more.
’’Good,’’ she said. ’’Now that the introductions are over, we can move on to the important part.’’
Everyone fell silent as heads gradually turned back to her.
Nadia folded her arms as her expression turned serious.
’’The journey to Petra will take at least two days,’’ she began. ’’What happens during those two days depends entirely on the desert.’’
Her gaze swept across the three groups.
’’If we don’t encounter a sandstorm, we’ll arrive without much trouble. If we do... then every single one of you will listen to my instructions without hesitation.’’
Slight frowns appeared on several faces in the room.
But Nadia’s voice grew colder immediately.
’’As you know, the sandstorms around here aren’t normal. They can transport people to completely different parts of the surrounding desert. But that isn’t even the worst part...’’
’’Once inside, spells become unstable, and even your senses can no longer be trusted. With some of the strongest creatures in the region traveling through the storms, that is nothing but a death sentence.’’
She paused for a moment, glancing through the room once more.
Clearly, several people still wore challenging expressions, almost as though they believed she was underestimating them.
Gritting her teeth slightly, she forced herself to continue.
’’I’ll emphasize this one last time. Listen to me while we travel, and stay together as closely as possible.’’
As she finished speaking, the groups began talking amongst themselves.
Most were curious but serious about the sandstorms, while some proudly shrugged off her warnings.
Just then, Darius stood up with his hand raised.
’’When are we expected to be ready?’’ he asked seriously. ’’We still have to prepare a few things, so I’d rather know beforehand.’’
Nadia glanced back at him right away.
’’The storm should clear in seven or eight days,’’ she replied calmly. ’’It would be wise to have your preparations finished before then.’’
Darius nodded respectfully before sitting back down.
After he sat down, conversations started all throughout the room.
Nadia glanced around with an awkward smile before nodding slightly.
’’Then that concludes the meeting,’’ she said slowly.
Without waiting for another response, she turned around and walked towards the exit.
Theo exchanged a glance with the others before nodding.
They stood up too and began following after her.
’There’s eight days,’ he thought, clenching his fist. ’Can I reach the gold core stage before that?’
At the Church’s table, Lucienne watched them leave.
Without another thought, she rose to her feet and, much to the others’ surprise, quickly followed after them.
Gabriel immediately narrowed his eyes.
’’Stay here,’’ he commanded the others as he rose to his feet.
Without hesitating, he slowly began following after her.
Outside, the sun had only just started to set, casting down warm sunlight.
Nadia continued walking ahead without slowing down.
Theo and the others followed behind her while talking amongst themselves.
Just as they were about to turn the corner, a familiar voice rang out behind them.
’’Theo! Wait, please!’’
Theo stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Finding Lucienne quickly walking towards them, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Behind him, the others also stopped and turned to look.
A small smile appeared underneath Lucienne’s veil once she reached them.
’’I’m glad I caught you,’’ she said, relieved.
Theo tilted his head slightly.
’’Is something wrong?’’ he asked, looking at her strangely.
For someone of her status to be acting like this... it was far beyond normal.
Lucienne briefly shook her head.
’’Not at all,’’ she said. ’’I simply wanted to discuss something before you left.’’
Theo nodded once, signalling for her to continue.
Lucienne’s smile brightened slightly underneath her veil.
’’If we happen to run into each other inside Petra and either of us is in danger,’’ she began carefully. ’’I was hoping we could cooperate.’’
Theo blinked once.
Before he could reply, another voice rang out behind Lucienne.
’’That won’t be necessary.’’
The smile beneath Lucienne’s veil faded almost instantly.
A few moments later, Gabriel calmly walked over, stopping at her side.
His gaze lingered on Theo with clear displeasure before it disappeared behind the same composed expression.
’’The Imperial Church has no intention of relying on outsiders,’’ Gabriel said calmly. ’’Especially not inside Petra.’’