Apotheosis

The intelligence agency had plenty of tried and tested torture methods under their sleeves. They did not think that someone like Zen could withstand them.

Natasha, however, disagreed. "We already broke the rules when we took Zen to the Vastness Mountain," she said with a light shake of the head. "If he gets tortured under our watch, I'm sure it would be a big deal."

Just as Zen guessed, the people of the Vastness Mountain could only capture him, but they wouldn't dare to hurt him.

Gethin waved his hand and said, "We need to be careful. We can't just torture him. I think we should leave him to Barnaby."

The Vastness Mountain was one of the top three among the seven mountains. They were known as a force full of great talents.

Barnaby was among them. He was a powerful man who worked for Gethin, and his Other Shore Token possessed great power. It could penetrate an opponent's soul and send them into deep confusion. Compared to Arjun, Barnaby was much better. They would have better luck if they sought his help.

"But Barnaby is..." Natasha muttered with a surprised look on her face.

"Alright, invite him back," said Gethin with a glimmer in his eyes. "We don't have much time left. This is a rare opportunity."

Then, the tension in the room was disrupted by a muffled sound outside the Vastness Mountain.

Bang!

A loud noise similar to the sound of thunder erupted.

Gethin and Natasha tensed at the sound of the muffled thud.

A black armed guard rushed inside the Mighty Sword Hall. "Emperor Gethin," he started as he knelt down in front of Gethin. "Two Oneness Governors are trying to destroy our mountain protecting array!"

"It must be Athemar and Goran. Are they out of their minds?" Natasha frowned.

From the shadows, the voice of a man sneered, "Is it because we've been too modest recently? Are they really willing to go this far? How dare they break into the Vastness Mountain?!"

Gethin's face darkened. His gaze turned stone cold. "We must have underestimated Zen's importance to them. Natasha, quickly ask Barnaby for help."

"Yes!" Natasha nodded as she ran out of

.

Athemar didn't buy his reactions as well. "Well, I didn't come here for niceties as well. We know Zen is here and we merely want to rescue him. Your mountain protecting array was obviously in the way so I did what I had to do. We hope you could forgive us."

Athemar could tell that Gethin was merely stalling for time.

"Forgive you? Why would I forgive you so easily?" Gethin sneered.

Athemar remained unfazed. "I don't care whether you forgive me or not," he remarked. "Just hand over Zen today. Let's deal with the damages next time."

Gethin was sensing just how significant Zen was to them. He knew they wouldn't give up without a fight. He just didn't expect Athemar to be so rude.

With a straight face, Gethin said, "Zen is not here. You must have come to the wrong place."

"Don't lie. I know he's here. If we search the mountain, I'm sure we can find Zen," Athemar insisted.

"Search the mountain?" Gethin's face grew red with fury. A terrifying aura filled the Mighty Sword Hall. He said in a sinister tone, "The Vastness Mountain is as old as the Oneness Sky Palace. I've lived far longer than Eastern Emperor Taiyi in the Bloom Divine Province! No one dares to threaten me like that! No one is allowed to search my territory!"

Goran tried to keep a straight face, but Gethin's strong aura was starting to suffocate him.

"Well," Athemar sneered, "I guess today's an exception."