"Cunning old fox!" Lucas cursed under his breath.
He had intended to feign hesitation, stall for time, and leech a bit more energy, but he hadn't expected the old fox to decisively cancel the energy channel.
Moreover, because the Energy channel wasn't open for long, Lucas only absorbed tens of millions of points.
This amount wasn't small, but it was far from the 10% they had initially agreed upon, which was 6.3 billion points. Even though it was all free, earning less was still a loss.
"I'll come to your lair to settle accounts later!"
Suppressing his displeasure, Lucas sent the unconscious Wanda back to Kamar-Taj and quietly observed her reaction.
Kamar-Taj.
When the female Ancient One wasn't out, this was the third safest place Wanda considered.
The second safest place was Earth-65, with the male Ancient One.
Previously, after Wanda learned the source of her unease and Lucas's plan, she temporarily returned to Kamar-Taj for refuge under the guise of training.
Chthon, and all that, even though Lucas seemed indifferent, it was still a bit too much for Wanda at the time.
Inside the ancient and elegant meditation room, sandalwood incense gently swirled, and the light was dim.
Wanda sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, her eyes slightly closed, her breathing deep and even. Every now and then, her head would drop sharply, then slowly lift again, like a student dozing off in class.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept through, bringing a touch of coolness. Wanda's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from a deep sleep. Her eyes showed a momentary confusion and drowsiness.
"Strange, why am I feeling sleepy during meditation?"
Shaking her head, Wanda cast the drowsiness from her mind and continued to meditate.
Lucas withdrew his gaze.
Good, Wanda didn't realize that he had knocked her out just now. She only thought she was sleepy.
Lucas was very satisfied with this.
How could he, the dignified Sorcerer Supreme, bearing the great responsibility of protecting the Universe from extra-dimensional erosion, possibly deal with the evil and cunning God of Black Magic, Chthon?
Lucas stood up, put away the darkhold on his knees, and after sealing it, threw it into a dimensional space.
Taking a step, a glowing white energy, like mist, surged from under Lucas's feet, engulfing him.
Space shifted, and Lucas arrived at Kamar-Taj.
At this moment, Kamar-Taj was enchanting in the night, with the sorcerers all in their private quarters, either meditating or resting. Most of them had already fallen into slumber.
After all, overachievers like Stephen Strange, who studied all night with their souls out of their bodies, were very few.
But Lucas believed that the Ancient One was still awake at this moment. Elderly people generally sleep less.
Sure enough, as Lucas passed through the courtyard and corridors and arrived at the Ancient One's courtyard gate, the Ancient One's voice sounded from within, inviting Lucas to enter.
Lucas pushed the door open and saw a corner of the courtyard where a faint yellow candlelight flickered, barely illuminating the surrounding stone table and stone stools.
The Ancient One was sitting there, with a yellowed scroll and a pot of tea beside her.
"Master."
Lucas approached to greet her, and seeing that the teacup was empty, he picked up the teapot and refilled the Ancient One's cup.
"Lucas." The Ancient One smiled and nodded, responding to Lucas.
Afterward, the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, discussing the Cul incident, before Lucas stated his purpose.
During multiple attempts to borrow energy from Chthon through the darkhold, Lucas had already used the energy channel to reverse-locate Chthon's dimension.
However, Chthon was not a common figure like the Blood God or the Beast. Lucas was confident that he would not be defeated if he broke into Chthon's lair, trusting his defense.
But not being defeated didn't mean he wouldn't be tied down.
Although the longer the time dragged on, the greater his chances of winning, the problem was that Lucas had not yet adapted to the time scale of a God.
A fight lasting ten days to half a month was already his limit of tolerance.
If a fight lasted for decades, or even thousands of years, then for him, winning would be no different from losing.
Lucas came to the Ancient One precisely to prevent such a situation from occurring.
Although the Ancient One could not play a decisive role in his battle with Chthon, she had people behind her.
The Sorcerer Supreme belonged to the good and orderly alignment.
And Chthon belonged to the evil and chaotic alignment.
When dealing with such an evil and crooked path as Chthon, there was no need to talk about honor. It was simply a matter of joining forces.
The Ancient One put down her teacup, summarized Lucas's words, and confirmed, "So, Lucas, you plan to go to Chthon's Flickering Realm alone to cause him trouble. And you hope that if you don't return within the stipulated time, I will help you contact Agamotto and the Sorcerer Supremes of other Universes to form a team and go to the Flickering Realm to rescue you?"
She knew that her disciple was progressing very quickly, surpassing her.
But this was too fast, wasn't it?
How long had it been, and he was already going to Chthon's lair to challenge him?
Lucas corrected, "Master, Chthon broke the contract first. I'm just going to collect a debt, not to cause him trouble. It's only right to pay back what you owe."
Chthon said he would pay 10% of the project cost if Lucas captured Wanda.
And what happened?
He made new demands during the payment process, and when he saw Lucas hesitate, he decisively breached the contract and refused to settle the payment.
Isn't this bullying a simple working-class person?
"Alright."
The Ancient One mumbled a couple of times. Having a legitimate reason... she understood that.
"Lucas, when do you plan to go? If a certain amount of time passes and you haven't returned to Earth-404, I will contact Agamotto on your behalf."
"Master, no time like the present. Let's go now."
Lucas formed a hand seal with his right hand, simultaneously creating a light green halo on his own wrist and the Ancient One's wrist.
"These two halos are interconnected. Every ten days on Earth-404, Master, you activate the halo once to remind me that time is up. If there are no surprises, after you activate the halo for the first time, I will find a way to leave the Flickering Realm and return to reality."
"If I activate the halo, it means I've encountered trouble and can't get away, and I need you to find someone to rescue me."
Lucas was unsure of the approximate time flow ratio between Chthon's Flickering Realm and reality.
To avoid a battle lasting for decades, he set a standard time for himself: ten days in reality.
With ten days as a cycle, he would decide whether to continue fighting or retreat based on the actual situation.
After explaining to the Ancient One how to use the halo and leaving a letter for Gwen at home explaining the situation, Lucas opened a portal and stepped into Chthon's Flickering Realm.
(End of Chapter)
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