Chapter 1322: You Are Lying, Right? (part 1) |
As Sylvan's aura locked onto him, Ashivor felt a chill run down his spine, and his hair stood on end.
The oppressive pressure he had been emitting to intimidate Evan was immediately swept away, and cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead.
'Something is wrong… That guy… He is definitely not a Rank Three Core Evolver!'
Ashivor's mind screamed as he stared at Sylvan, whose piercing gaze was fixed on him, much like a lion eyeing an easy kill.
Slowly, Ashivor turned his head toward Evan, only to find him staring back with burning eyes as if he had just discovered a priceless treasure.
"You… What are you planning?"
The old man instinctively took a step back, raising his hands to shield himself, as if afraid that Evan and Sylvan were about to do something unspeakable to him.
Evan, however, paid no attention to Ashivor's odd behaviour and instead asked in a low voice.
"How many people under Winterclaw's command are actually working for you?"
"You… Everything you did before was because of this!" He stared at Evan in disbelief.
Evan simply shrugged, spreading his hands as if stating the obvious.
"What else did you think?" He asked, his voice calm. "Do you take me for an idiot—someone who would say something like that without considering the possibility that you might sell me out to Winterclaw?"
The reason Evan had decided to involve the Phoenix Clan in his plan to kill Winterclaw traced back to when he first met Blaze in the Dark Forest after returning from Earth.
The Phoenix Clan is located in the Eastern Territory, not far from the Frozen Monarchy Empire.
Although he and Anastasia often referred to Winterclaw as a "stupid ice beast", the truth is undeniable—Winterclaw is one of the strongest beings in Utopia, and killing him will be an incredibly difficult task.
Not only does he have an entire empire with a massive army, but his own strength far exceeds that of an ordinary Peak Rank Six Core Evolver.
That is why, before taking action, Evan needed as much information as possible about Winterclaw.
The Phoenix Clan, which operates independently from the empire, is the perfect source for gathering intelligence.
Even though the Phoenix Clan is not as powerful as it had once been, it is still strong enough to stand on its own, refusing to submit to the Frozen Monarchy Empire.
And as a faction that has been resisting the empire's rule, they are bound to have spies planted inside the empire to monitor its movements, ensuring they will be forewarned if the empire ever decides to move against them.
If the Phoenix Clan had merely been another regular faction outside the empire's control, Evan would have approached them directly for cooperation.
After all, as a faction constantly threatened by the empire, even if they refused to actively participate in an attack against Winterclaw, they would likely have no objections to sharing whatever information they had about him and his army.
However, the reason Evan chose not to be direct—the reason he acted as a low-level Core Evolver and allowed Ashivor to take the lead—was because of what had happened to the Phoenix Clan in the past.
Once, the Phoenix Clan had been one of the top factions in Utopia. Though not as powerful as the Dragon Islands, they were not far behind.
But for some unknown reason, most of the Phoenix Clan's members perished in a mysterious disaster, reducing their population to dangerously low levels.
As a result, their power diminished significantly, and they could no longer be considered one of Utopia's top factions.
Evan had searched through numerous books and even consulted Anastasia, Sylvan, and Alaric, hoping to uncover the truth behind the Phoenix Clan's downfall.
However, even ancient beings like Anastasia and Alaric knew nothing about what had happened or how the majority of the Phoenix Clan's members had died.
This led to only one logical conclusion—
Someone had deliberately erased all records of the incident.
And in the Eastern Territory, there is only one individual Evan can think of who has the power and influence to do something like that—
Winterclaw.
Of course, there is a small possibility that it has been the Phoenix Clan itself that has suppressed information about the disaster.
But Evan is far more inclined to believe that the incident is connected to Winterclaw.
If his theory was correct—if Winterclaw truly was responsible for the massacre of the Phoenix Clan—then there was a high chance that the survivors would not dare to cooperate with Evan, fearing the horrors of the past.
And if that were the case—
Then the Phoenix Clan would be of no use to him.
His primary reason for pulling them into his plan was because he needed information about Winterclaw.
If their fear had prevented them from even planting spies inside the empire, then there was no reason to involve them—they simply wouldn't be useful.
While it was true that the Phoenix Clan still had some high-level Core Evolvers, Evan wasn't lacking in powerful allies.
Ashivor had initially dismissed Evan as a mere Rank Three Core Evolver, assuming he had no means of escape.
This overconfidence led him to admit that he had connections with certain individuals who worked under Winterclaw.
To ensure Ashivor wasn't lying, Sylvan had even brought an artefact capable of detecting falsehoods.
Earlier, when Ashivor revealed that he had spies inside the empire, Sylvan had used the artifact and confirmed that he was telling the truth.
Now that Evan was certain that the Phoenix Clan had infiltrated the empire, he felt that bringing them into his plans wouldn't be a waste of time after all.
But more importantly—
'I really want to know what happened to the Phoenix Clan in the past.'
Since coming to Utopia, every time Evan heard about a large-scale massacre that occurred in the past, the culprit behind it always seemed to be—
Him!
But this time, he had stumbled upon a massacre that had nothing to do with him.
For the first time, he was faced with a large-scale slaughter that he had no connection to whatsoever.
And the thought excited him.
He wanted—no, needed—to uncover the truth as soon as possible.
To prove, once and for all—
That even without his involvement, large-scale massacres could still happen in Utopia.