The Ancient Genes

Scarlet Mansion, Ocien.

"How did it go?" Max asked as he looked at Erina.

Synthia and Preston had just left the place a while ago.

"There was nothing wrong. He acted politely," Erina replied as she looked at Max.

"Anyway, be careful around him. Don't let your guard down." Max warned her before leaving.

Erina was supposed to be going back to the Crimson's base, and Max too had received a call from Argus as it seemed that something had come up.

Everyone was gathering and he as the Commander of the operation definitely needed to be present as well.

…

A while later..

I.C Tower, Isle District, Ocien.

Max arrived at the place, and as soon as he showed up at the reception, the person instantly recognized him.

He gave Max a light nod, before passing him a Key card.

It had the Floor and Hall no. on it.

One could easily enter the hall with the Key card.

When Max finally arrived at the place, Argus, Ragnar, and Bell were already there. Synthia and Rihanna had yet to arrive. Aside from them, the Elderly man who was responsible for management of all the information was also there.

"What happened?" Max asked Argus as he walked up to them, and took his seat. He could already tell that something was wrong from the dark look on their faces.

"20 of our people who had arrived in Ocien have vanished over the course of past couple of days. And, we are still not sure if these are the final numbers," Argus said with a serious look on his face.

"And, who is behind it?" Max asked with a frown.

"The Suspects obviously are the Dark Society. But, there is no evidence. In fact, we haven't been able to find a single trace of them around." Argus's brows contorted. The situation was really bizarre.

"They are hiding obviously! We received information that Ocien had one of the Seven Pillars of the Dark Society, and had one of their strongest strongholds here." Ragnar slammed the desk in anger.

"If they are really hiding, then are we supposed to calmly wait here for them to surface?" Bell asked as he looked at Max.

"Is there no information about them? Is there any power in the Ocien which could hide the Dark Society under their banner?" Max asked as he looked at Elderly man.

"There is no confirmed evidence. But, if you just want to know which power is capable of such a thing in Ocien, then there is only one.." The Elderly man paused, "The Scarlet House.."

"If they were on the enemy's side, things would have turned dire for us a long time ago. Ocien is border City, and Scarlet's defend the borders around this region. I don't think they are betraying us." Argus shook his head.

Max looked at him, and understood his thought. But, Argus was still lacking information in this department in comparison to Max.

"Well, most of the people who went missing were around the northern districts. And, they were travelling alone as well." Max looked through the pile of information, and concluded.

"Why don't I go and check what so special about the northern districts?" Ragnar asked with a calm look.

"I doubt they will target you." Argus shook his head, "If they intend to hide, then won't dare to cause too big of a mess by targeting you."

"In that case, I will go. I am good at disguises. Besides, I am fast." Bell volunteered.

And, to be honest, this guy was stronger than the rest. It was just that he was hiding his strength all along. Max could feel that he had already reached the Peak of Expert Tier, and might soon be making preparation to advance to Master Tier.

As for the rest of the guys, they were all around Late Stage of Expert Tier.

"Well, it seems we are late.." A voice sounded across the hall, and Max frowned.

He turned his head, and saw Synthia and Rihanna entering the hall. But, there was another uninvited guest along with them. It hadn't been much of a time since Max saw him.

It was Preston.

Max turned his gaze towards Sytnhia and she just gave him a look which said 'I don't care what you do with him'.

"Sir, you didn't mention about an extra invitation," Max muttered with calm voice.

"There were no extra people. Only the people who have been elected by you were asked to be present here," The Elderly man replied.

"Well, I actually was just concerned when I heard something serious had happened. I hope you won't mind. Besides, anyone from the younger generation could volunteer to be part of this operation. I hope I am not too late." Preston let out a forced smile on his face as he politely spoke.

"Even then, I am the one deciding who will be in which position. I am sorry, but since you are late, all the important positions have already been filled. You can still help in the upcoming fights though," Max helplessly replied while others remained silent and watched.

"That's too bad. I actually didn't want to do this, but I don't have any other option it seemed." Preston sighed, and then took out a crest. "I am being forced to be in this too."

There was a strong aura resonating from that crest. Max could feel a tinge of pressure from it, it was obvious that the person who had infused his aura in the Crest wasn't a simple guy.

"I am here to join this mission on Second Ancestor's order.." Preston passed the Crest to the Elderly man with a smile on his face.

Everyone's expression immediately changed by this point.

Max on the other hand, was taken back by this new character as well.

The Elderly man took the Crest for examination, and after giving it a good check, his expression changed slightly. But, he still maintained the calm look on his face as he walked over to Max, and passed the crest to him.

Max held the Crest in his hand. There was the word 'Strom' engraved on it. It wasn't his first time seeing such crests and since he was working with the Ancient Families, he too had learned a few too check the authenticity of this things.

The pressure he was feeling from the Crest was similar to what he felt from the Old man Sun when he deliberately let his aura out.

But, something was different here.

Max could feel a vibration coursing through his body as he held the crest in his hand. It seemed that his body was screaming, there was a deep call coming out from every cell in his body.

This feeling was slightly similar.

Max tried to remember why it was so as his brows crease. A second later, his eyes widened…