Chapter 564 - 449: A Forced Deal (Part 2)
Chapter 564: Chapter 449: A Forced Deal (Part 2)
The communication hub in Azuregard City had been destroyed, so he couldn’t contact Lex Cross, Flora Bloom, or the others. The Acker family was clearly acting with impunity, forcing them to do their bidding with few precautions.
After all, in the presence of truly powerful experts, people like them were just small fry. They posed no threat.
But even among the original inhabitants of Azuregard City, few knew the origin of these horse-faced sauries. This school of fish normally lived only in the sea, and even when the Acker family launched their surprise attack and occupied Azuregard City, Milton Adler had never deployed them for defense.
’Tell your master what’s happening here. Whether we can be saved is all up to you now.’
Aethelgard City Base had suffered a similar fate to Azuregard City. It was the place the Vaughn family had originally set their sights on, but it was occupied by the Seymour family instead.
The Thunder Snow family and the Pryce family occupied the two adjacent cities of Mirefall and Qaymar City, respectively. The Rook family, meanwhile, seized the largest base: Argent Base.
The Joyce family from the Star Universe Sector occupied Valoria City, while the Vaughn family developed their home in that mountain cave. Although their territory wasn’t even a tenth the size of these other bases, thanks to Flora Bloom, the area was rich in Spiritual Energy and had wide vegetation coverage. It was even able to support the growth of ordinary wild animals and some cold-resistant crops.
In terms of food, aside from Azuregard City, the Vaughn family was the second family to have no shortage of food and supplies.
After Flora Bloom returned to Morhaven Base, she and Lex Cross got into a tiff over how to raise Polly Cross.
Lex Cross, who usually doted on Flora Bloom and gave her whatever she wanted, was for some reason clear and unyielding on this matter. Polly Cross had been born a Thunder Ability User, and now, not yet two years old, she was already a Middle Level Ability User.
Flora Bloom’s position was that Polly Cross shouldn’t leave Morhaven or have any contact with the major family powers of the universe until she became a Nebula Level Ability User.
Lex Cross’s view, however, was that a Middle Level Ability User already possessed the ability to protect herself. Furthermore, with his oversight and the protection of the Nightmare Beast, Polly needed to be tempered through experience from a young age so she could better survive the various struggles to come.
At some point, mutated fireflies had also built a nest under the wisteria trellis. As soon as night fell, the fireflies would fly out, their round tails trailing like Luminous Pearls, softening the cold atmosphere.
"Polly, starting tomorrow, why don’t you come play with Mommy and Godmother Cynthia, okay?"
Polly, looking precocious for her age, rolled her eyes in Flora Bloom’s arms. "Is Daddy coming too?"
Flora shot a sidelong glare at Lex Cross. "Him? Of course not! Your daddy is *so* busy. He doesn’t have time."
Lex Cross watched the mother and daughter stare each other down with a faint, helpless smile. He could only say, "That’s right, Daddy has no time. How about you let Mommy play with you tomorrow, okay?"
Polly Cross looked at Flora Bloom, then at Lex Cross, studying them both back and forth for a good while before suddenly breaking into a smile, revealing a single, deep dimple on one cheek.
"Then can I bring the little Nightmare Beast with me to play?"
The Nightmare Beast had been with her since she was a baby, just as young and just as mischievous.
Lex Cross nodded. "You can. Let the little Nightmare Beast protect you all!"
Flora Bloom nodded in satisfaction. "You! Don’t you dare follow us!" With that, she took Polly back to their room, leaving Lex Cross standing alone under the wisteria trellis.
The next day, Flora Bloom gathered Cynthia Grant and Shelly. Monkey One sat on her shoulder, and between them walked the Nightmare Beast, which was larger than a horse. Polly was currently sprawled on the beast’s back, dozing off.
"Flora, Polly is so little, she’s at that age where she needs a lot of sleep! Why did you wake her up so early?" Shelly asked.
"Then let her sleep on the way. We can go about our business!"
"Flora, I heard you got into a fight with Lex?" Cynthia Grant asked, looking at Flora Bloom with a gossipy expression.
"Not really. We just had a difference of opinion."
"A difference of opinion? What happened?" Shelly seemed curious as well. She was one of the people who spent the most time with Flora Bloom in Villa Three, but she still looked up to Flora and Lex Cross with immense admiration.
At that moment, Shelly was looking at Flora Bloom like a starstruck fan gazing at her idol.
Flora Bloom suddenly looked at Shelly and Cynthia Grant with a serious expression. "Tell me, how can you take a child as young as Polly out to fight zombies and hunt evolved creatures? What if something happens to her?"
With that question, both Cynthia Grant and Shelly finally understood the source of the conflict between Flora Bloom and Lex Cross.
Although Cynthia Grant was a gossip, in her eyes, this wasn’t a major problem for Flora Bloom and Lex Cross.
"Flora, I think you might be worrying too much. Lex is a Cosmic Level expert, after all. Even among the various powers in the universe, he’s a top contender that few can match."
"He’s Polly’s father; he cares about her no less than you do. If he wasn’t confident, he wouldn’t take her out on a risky adventure."