Alexandra's gaze panned around the room, taking note of the most important characters present.
By her observation, the forces of roughly 15-20 territories had come. Even taking the entirety of Eien into perspective, this was a massive force unlike anything that'd been assembled in the past.
Among the territories of Eien, there was a sort of unspoken hierarchy that one would learn as one grew. For the most part, this hierarchy followed strength and influence alone.
Therefore, of the forces present, only five truly mattered, and even among those five…
Alexandra's eyes widened as a certain emblem came into view.
'The Ancient God Clan…'
The Ancient God Clan was one of the most mysterious and powerful forces affiliated with Heaven's Army. In truth, their people had remained in Eien for countless eons, protecting the universe from outside threats even before the forgotten war 100,000 years ago.
It was rumored that they held an innate bloodline that gave them mythical power and the ability to grow far faster than their peers. Their eyes were said to see through the mysteries of reality, as such, their younger generation was always the greatest, and the oppression of their experts couldn't be denied.
"Could it be the Young Master of the Ancient God Clan has come to participate in this Void Corridor opening?"
Alexandra's ears perked up as a man approached the Ancient God Clan Elders that were sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
The elders, who refused to give anyone face, actually opened their eyes to look at him.
"The plans of our Young Master are not for you to know. Just know that we will not participate in your silly scheme. Take the rest of these fools with you if you wish to die."
"Hahaha, elder, you jest. How could I push anyone to their death? I merely wish to do for our universe as our universe had done for us and save it from harm."
"Presumptuous."
The man's smile almost cracked. Behind his plastic expression, he was seething in fury.
'Tch, how dare these mere elders look down on me?!'
A vein popped in his forehead, but nobody called attention to it. After saying their piece, the elders also closed their eyes and returned to meditation.
Alexandra watched the man storm away with curious eyes.
'He should be the leader of Asuran Gate. Since it's a subsidiary of the Blood Asura Holy Land, its power is clear, but it seems the Ancient God Clan doesn't even place them in their eyes.'
As she continued observing the surroundings and the interactions between the many forces, she managed to pick up a good deal of information about what happened before she arrived.
Firstly, Asuran Gate was seemingly attempting to organize all present forces under their command to attack the Nox within the unknown realm, but they were having a difficult time convincing those forces who couldn't be suppressed with force.
'It seems he was so angry because the Ancient God Clan is his last hope. If not them, none of the other three great influences will follow either.'
Alexandra shook her head in disappointment. 'It's not like the idea is bad, but the entire execution is off. As the Ancient God Clan elders said, it is merely leading innocent troops to their death.'
'Rather than that, perhaps the most curious thing is the Ancient God Clan's Young Master.'
Aside from Asuran Gate, this was the topic that gained the most traffic amongst the experts present.
The Ancient God Clan was already a mysterious existence, but their Young Master was even greater. Their form had never been witnessed by outsiders before, and their strength was wholly unknown.
Even the fact that the Ancient God Clan had a Young Master was only confirmed after a dozen years of effort.
Now that it was almost confirmed that such a personage would be entering the Void Corridor, how could people not get excited?
The atmosphere turned strange as two different intents took prevalence: alliance and murder.
Alexandra's eyes narrowed. With a sigh, she stood up and exited the tent.
'I thought there would be some sort of discussion, but it's merely the usual sophistry. Every force is attempting to take control, and as a result, they've divided themselves even further. At this rate, the chaos in the unknown realm will be severe.'
From what she heard in the tent, the Void Corridor was still unstable after its initial formation. It was likely that a majority of those who were originally sucked in by its force were shredded to death by chaotic spatial storms.
The stabilization process was supposed to take 3 days, and now that it was already the third day, it looked like the process would come to an end at any time.
'Then, we can finally get to work.'
Alexandra was part of a guild, but their guild acted more like an extended family than an organization. She was far from used to all the sophistry of the upper class, especially since she'd reached her current level through blood and sweat alone.
She was born and raised in Eien.
'I guess I'll take a stroll and try to find Alice for now. It isn't a bad idea to survey the comprehensive strength of our troops either.'
Alexandra did exactly as she intended and took a casual stroll around the camp, surveying the forces while also taking note of the Nox force that had gathered several thousand kilometers away.
'Our two forces don't even need to interact to enter the Void Corridor because of its size. Whether or not conflict will begin before we enter the realm depends on others, but both sides will likely prioritize benefits over slaughter for now. Still, it's concerning.'
There were far too many powerful Nox gathering. Dealing with them was already a problem, but if they were ever killed without being truly exterminated, they'd merge into a truly terrifying monster not much worse than a Demigod in power.
'I'll keep note of them for now. There's nothing I can do on my own.'
"Big sister!"
At that time, an exclamation rang out, drawing Alexandra's attention.
"Alice!" She exclaimed as she turned around, her eyes widening in the next moment. "Who's this?"
Alice returned in one piece, which was a relief considering her usual luck, but she'd brought with her a strange companion.
"This is Xinyue! I just met her while I was exploring and decided to take her on an adventure!"
The girl named Xinyue bowed slightly upon introduction, the stoic expression on her face never changing.
Alexandra smiled wryly. "Alice, you didn't kidnap someone again, did you?"
Alice jumped back like a startled cat. "H-how could I do something like that…?! Ha…hahaha…hahahaha…"
"Haa…"
Alexandra rubbed her forehead as she looked over at Xinyue. "Xinyue, right? Are you okay? Alice didn't take you against her will, did she? If there's someone waiting for you, I can take you back now."
Xinyue quirked her head. "This…is a common thing?"
"Ahhh! No, it's not common! Not at all!"
"Absolutely. Alice has a track record of accidentally kidnapping people."
Alexandra covered Alice's mouth as she spoke, refusing to let the latter make excuses.
Xinyue nodded understandingly. "I see. Alice, is bad person. But, strangely good bad person. I will accompany Alice."
"Haha…yeah, I guess you could say it like that. If she isn't troubling you, then it's not a problem. Nice to meet you, Xinyue."
Alexandra scratched her head in embarrassment and held her hand out for a handshake.
As for Xinyue, she quirked her head once again as she looked at the hand.
"You…you don't know what a handshake is…?"
