Divine Emperor of Death
chapter-3984

After leaving the Great Desolate Plains, Davis slowed down, wondering where he should go.

He had six options to choose from as the Eternal Twilight Lower Realm was connected to six other Lower Realms and many other Minor Realms. He could find directions to Minor Realms, but that would not be in his best interests if he wanted to hide the hostages in some spatial anomaly.

The stronger the spatial anomaly or any anomaly that can conceal one's presence or even karma, the better it would be.

To the north was the Three-Headed Hydra Lower Realm.

To the east were the Righteous Horn Lower Realm and Fire Phoenix Lower Realm.

To the west lay the Ivy Moon Sanctuary Lower Realm and Thundering Peak Lower Realm.

Finally, to the south, the Earth Dragon Lower Realm lay. He had already been there a few times as he had to go through this realm in order to get to the Upper Strata.

Of course, he could've also used the Fire Phoenix Lower Realm to travel to the Upper Strata, but he didn't like his chances with them. Nothing good comes from getting involved with them, so he marked them as bad omen.

'But… getting it flipped… it is possible they wouldn't expect me to go there… would they…?'

Davis thought hard but shook his head.

He felt either the Thundering Peak Lower Realm or Three-Headed Hydra Lower Realm would be good.

According to the information he had on hand, the Thundering Peak Lower Realm is a realm that is difficult to live in. Apparently, the realm is almost full of mountain ranges and if that wasn't enough, would be showered in lightning for rain. Due to this menace, its terrain is also difficult to traverse, and the long lightning rains have made countless abnormalities rise.

It was also home to many lightning spirits.

If Davis had the intention of raising Eldia as his top priority, he would have taken her there, but his top priority was different. He had to find a place to hide the hostages.

He repeatedly gave thought to where to go and decided the Three-Headed Hydra Lower Realm would be good.

Not only was it as lawless as the Whispering Wildlands Lower Realm, but it was also home to countless anomalies of darkness attribute.

'Surely… I will find some dark and unholy place to lock up these bastards forever…'

Davis decided to head northwest to the Three-Headed Hydra Border Town.

He was aware of some specifics, like the route one needed to take because it was where Evelynn came from while being escorted by Zenova Artoria.

"Heh…"

Davis slightly chuckled.

He wondered if that arrogant woman was taking advantage of his plight to gather as many resources as possible before going into hiding in order to become an Empyrean. While the Heaven's Warriors are targeting him, she would go around scot-free. He wished he was in a similar circumstance as her, having a Divergent who was more powerful than him go around and take all the attention.

That way, he could easily traverse.

However, he guessed he couldn't have his cake and eat it either.

After all, he was the strongest Anarchic Divergent. At least, in the current era, he was the strongest. There was no other information that said otherwise.

The strong are feared. The unknown is dreaded. He was carrying both factors, making people feel inferior and despair in his presence, even if it wasn't his intention.

But whatever it was that Zenova Artoria was doing, he wished she was safe. She had been quite some help to him, and he knew she could be of some use in the future. Any deal that he might make with her in the future, he felt, was bound to be fruitful. He hoped she had already collected some great treasures and had them ready to transact.

"What are you thinking now?"

Lea blinked.

"I was just thinking how I was indebted to Zenova for bringing back Evelynn and was wondering where she was so I could get more treasures from her and be more indebted until she has no choice but to listen to my words and bring me more resources, only to find herself controlled by my strings."

Davis raised his hand and moved his fingers as though he was controlling a puppet, causing Lea to stifle a peal of laughter.

"That's not how… debt works…"

"You'd think…"

Davis smiled. He was sure she was thinking something similar to entrap him. After all, he was aware of her fondness for him.

However, she was crazy and cunning, so he wouldn't go too far with his delusions.

"So why did you want me? Is it for Calypsea?" Lea asked with her melodious voice.

Davis nodded, "Indeed. As long as those princes bring back the Infernal Haze Retribution Cloud's Core, there's a significant chance that Calypsea will be able to enter the Empyrean Stage. Needless to say, you would also benefit from her growth."

Lea nodded, "I suppose so. However, are you sure you want to make Calypsea powerful? No matter how good her control is, she is still an immaculate spirit child who can't differentiate between good and evil. She will easily burn down everything around her and smile as though she had done something cool before wanting to brag about it. Her innate want is destruction, after all. Even with my teachings, she might forget."

"That's fine. I believe Calypsea won't disobey you. I believe you won't let Calypsea stray, too."

"…" Lea pouted, "That's a big leap of faith."

"Haha." Davis laughed lightly, "Sorry about that. Even the start of my cultivation journey was a big leap of faith, and so was having thirty wives, trusting they would all be loyal to me till the end."

"I suppose so." Lea's eyelids fluttered, "What do you think about me?"

"Probably the most mature and patient woman I've ever met in my life. You're still not mad about not taking you on a date. If it was Mingzhi, she would be flipping the boat and fuming in anger before demanding my everything, trying to make the most out of the mistake I made."

"Pfft~" Tia suppressed a laughter from the side.

The two of them cast a look at her and smiled genially.

Lea then cast her gaze at him. She couldn't believe how much she loved his smile. It was infectious, causing her ears to turn red.

"I would accompany you till my life ceases to exist. Even if it ceases to exist, I hope you can meet my reincarnation and make me fall in love all over again."

"…"

Davis swerved his head to look at Lea, not understanding where this sudden extra confession came from. He was expecting to hear this in their marriage, but her tone and voice were as though she would be saying it for the last time, filled with deep emotions.

"Don't worry. I will not fail, no matter what. Even if something untoward were to happen, as long as you always trust me, I will do my best to turn it around."

"Mhm," Lea nodded, her voice soft, "I will always believe in you."

Davis almost wanted to carry her to bed, but he had to navigate, so he obediently returned. He couldn't afford to get distracted until he hid the hostages.

He made the ship fly faster and eventually reached the Three-Headed Hydra Border Town. However, he didn't enter there and went to a pirate town as usual in order to leave without getting noticed. Anyone with a good eye will instantly recognize that he got an Empyrean Grade Boat, so he had to change boats during the transition from the town to space.

It didn't take much time before he was in the realm pathway, and then he switched boats and traveled faster again.

Soon, he reached the Three-Headed Hydra Lower Realm, intending to first go find some intelligence organizations that would have information on anomalies.

Evelynn and Zenova Artoria had previously made contact with an intelligence organization to try to get back to him. He thought of going to them but didn't since there might be a chance that they would be aware of their identities for some obscure reason.

He was extremely cautious, not wanting to take risks needlessly during this endeavor as he must be sure to not leave any tracks.

He headed to a popular city towards the north, just a bit away from the central lands. It was called Great Third Hydra City and seemed to be ruled by the imperial family of the Three-Headed Hydra Clan.

Davis wasn't bothered as he only needed information.

The city didn't possess much security when checking, but inside, the patrols were powerful. He heard that it was one of the three great cities that possessed the slightest bit of law— law only in name, as the guards might also be looking to rip you off.

Davis was careful not to provoke anyone.

Leaving Lea and the others in a restaurant after a hearty meal to fill their stomachs, he changed his persona with the Karmic Impersonation Technique and headed to meet a street vendor who was selling maps and asked him about shady information organizations in an indirect manner.

After paying him a bribe, Davis found his way to the Mirage Cascade Inn, an underground information organization that acted as a restaurant and a brothel. He ignored the ladies and met with the receptionist, who then took him to a private room after understanding his request.

Here, Davis started collecting all the information he needed about the danger zones and unresolved anomalies in the Three-Headed Hydra Lower Realm.