Sylas reached down with a hand, an illusory green palm taking shape and pulling her up from the ground below. There was a strong resistance that was almost immediately shattered apart.
Yvette's Will was depleted, the hours of grueling, relentless attacks from above making her feel as though a beast trapped in a cage. All the while, Sylas himself almost seemed distracted.
Of course, he wasn't truly. He had given Yvette most of his attention. But he was still trying to get a feel for what was going on here, which was why what was happening on the battlefields around them was so interesting to pay attention to.
The battle in the tower itself, for example, didn't seem to have a side to it. But Yvette had said that this was her battlefield? What did that mean?
All this time, Sylas had been using a portion of his senses to pay attention to what was going on around him so that he could pick up on clues he needed to—only to find nothing special at all.
It almost felt like fighting just for the sake of fighting. Or…
'A Quicktime Event? But for what purpose?'
As far as he was aware, too, a Quicktime Event should be based on location. Since he was here, shouldn't he have received a chance to participate too?
But then Sylas realized something. Earth's system had yet to fully integrate into that of the galaxy's just yet. This region might not even recognize him as a member of an Overlord Race.
As such, he wouldn't receive the same chances at all.
Sylas silently filed this into the back of his mind as Yvette was lifted to his face.
"What are you fighting so hard for?" Sylas asked calmly.
Yvette gritted her teeth, but she slowly pressed down her anger.
"Please. If you want to bed me, I can accept it. But if you take me so publicly, I will die no matter what. At least give me the chance to preserve my life."
Sylas looked at Yvette deeply for a moment, understanding what she meant. No matter what his own intentions were, if enough people saw him take her, it would eventually get back to Nyssa. At that point, even if Yvette was willing to humiliate herself for Sylas, she would eventually suffer at the hands of the Florineth.
Right now, her begging made all the sense in the world. She felt like she was caught between too many powerhouses at once, and she could only helplessly plead her case. This was the best she could ask for.
"I'm not interested in your body." Sylas decided to say. "I only want to know what is happening here. Then I can let you go."
After some thought, he decided on this approach. He didn't fear the backlash for killing the Petals of the Seeing Thorn disciples. For one, his "fiancée" would likely cover for that quite well. And second, even if she couldn't, what he planned to do would land him in far more trouble than just this alone.
At that point, the Petals of the Seeing Thorn would probably just be a drop in the bucket.
"Ah…" Yvette felt somewhat bitter. If she had known that this was all Sylas wanted, why would she even bother to go through so much trouble?
But she also wasn't naive… this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. Would she be even remotely so receptive to giving Sylas this information before? Especially since she felt that the opportunity here should be monopolized by their organization?
Yvette opened her golden lips, and words began to spill out in a torrent. After barely more than a few seconds, Sylas understood. But he allowed her to continue talking before asking several more pointed questions.
…
"I've gotten everything I need. If you want to live, I advise you leave this place. If I see you again, I won't spare you."
Sylas stood in the air, watching Yvette limp away. Or, rather, try her best to do so.
'The Golden Grove again, huh…'
He had learned several important things.
For one, in this galaxy cluster, the strongest power wasn't the Thryskai, nor the Florineth, nor the Petals of the Seeing Thorn or Legacy, it was the Golden Grove.
Aside from the Florineth, the others on this list of factions under the Golden Grove were simply mere branches. Objectively, compared to the main veins of these powers, the Golden Grove was actually inferior.
But the universe was too large, and those powers were stretched too thin. Their influence over this region would never be comparable to the Golden Grove.
All things considered, getting the favor of the Golden Grove was actually the number one priority of every faction in this galaxy cluster.
The second thing Sylas learned was that he was right. This was, indeed, a Quicktime Event for control over this territory.
The Golden Grove was probably first and foremost a merchant company over everything else. Their powerhouses all had variations of Merchant Professions, and they were able to display great power through them.
As such, what they did best was find targets to invest in to make a return on their profit.
This was all to say that they didn't care who controlled their bazaars, so long as said person was competent.
Due to all the commotion, there was an imbalance and shift in powers. This Level 30 Bazaar had been under the control of the Thryskai, but with so many faction leaders dying, there were other opportunities that opened up, causing Mospheral, the former head, to move up.
Right now, the Thryskai had sent some of their best to fight for a monopoly over Level 50, Level 100, and Level 150 bazaars, leaving these scraps to be scrambled over by everyone else.
Should they succeed, their monopoly over the Skai Galaxy would be even firmer than before.
Unfortunately… Sylas couldn't participate in any of these competitions because the system wouldn't recognize him.
But… there was another way.