A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6766

"Sit."

Calder finally spoke. His voice was low and calm, but everyone could feel what that calm concealed.

Twelve Water Clan elders took their places around the stone table.

They represented Deepblue City's various branches and served on the council that advised Calder.

Grave expressions marked every face. Clearly, all of them had already heard what happened on Azurewave Island.

"You all know what happened to Mira," Calder said, his voice echoing through the spacious hall. "Damian Shore demands a Sea Soul Pearl."

An elderly Water Clan cultivator with white hair scowled. "A Sea Soul Pearl? He has gone mad! It is a sacred treasure, and only one forms every 10,000 years. Demanding one means tearing at the Water Clan's very foundation!"

"He wants to hurt us."

Another middle-aged cultivator spoke in a hoarse voice. "Damian is an old fox who has operated in the Void Sea for over 10,000 years. He knows the Water Clan's weakness.

"He knows we never abandon one of our own, and he understands what a Sea Soul Pearl means to us.

"The pearl is not his true objective. He wants the Water Clan to submit."

A young elder slammed a hand against the table and sprang up. "Then are we supposed to submit? Mira is one of our children! She is only 17. We cannot watch her die onshore!"

"No one suggested abandoning Mira."

Calder's voice remained even, though unseen currents churned in his dark eyes. "But we cannot surrender a Sea Soul Pearl.

"This isn't about refusing to part with it. Damian simply won't honor the exchange.

"Even if we hand over the pearl, he won't release her. He wants more. Once he succeeds, his demands will only grow."

Silence fell across the hall.

Calder was right.

They already understood Damian's methods.

First, he captured one member of the Water Clan and forced them to surrender a Sea Soul Pearl.

If he succeeded this time, what would happen next?

What would follow after that?

He would continue seizing their people and extorting the clan until he had drained away everything of value.

The white-haired elder asked, "Then what can we do? Without the pearl, Mira will die on land. The laws suppressing her will not pause while we negotiate. She cannot survive for more than a few days."

"We rescue her," Calder said with the tranquility of a man who had finally made his decision. "We send people into Azurewave Island to bring Mira back."

The chamber went still for an instant. Then several elders spoke at once.

"Infiltrate Azurewave Island?

"Damian is at the peak of Grand Zenith Immortal Level Two. Several other cultivators at Level Two are stationed there, and its island-protection array has been strengthened for over 10,000 years. How can anyone get inside?"

"Everyone believes it is impossible. That is exactly why no one will expect it."

Calder swept his gaze across the assembly. "Azurewave Island's arrays defend its skies and the ground, but what lies beneath the sea? Damian has ruled the island for 10,000 years, yet his power is rooted on land, not in the water. The Water Clan has inhabited the Void Sea for tens of thousands of years. No one understands its currents, undercurrents, or underwater rock formations better than we do. If we can locate a subterranean current leading to the island's center, we can bypass the defensive array.

"They also need Mira alive, so they must keep her immersed in seawater. There will be a path through the sea that leads to her."

An elder responsible for surveying the surrounding waters considered the idea. "There is an abandoned subterranean current near Azurewave Island that leads toward its central district.

"The passage was formed by geological upheaval in ancient times and was later mostly blocked by silt. Damian probably does not know it exists. He is not a member of the Water Clan and cannot know the terrain beneath the sea as well as we do."

"Can anyone pass through it?" Calder asked.

The elder nodded. "It will have to be cleared, but yes. The entrance lies among the reefs beyond the island, and reaching it requires passage through a narrow underwater fissure."

Another elder asked, "How many people should we send? A larger group would be easier to detect."

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