Chapter 317 — Shifting the Blame

A black-haired girl lay on top of a bed, as several people paced back and forth, some looking at her with worry and others looking thoughtful.

The attention of the former was on the bottom part of the girl, or to be more accurate, on the lack of it.

Golden light flickered as the flesh along her waist began to granulate, attempting to help her recover.

Unfortunately, no matter how much the golden light tried, it was unable to fully heal her.

At most, it could prevent the girl’s injuries from getting more severe.

While the people were waiting for the girl to wake up, the door of the room suddenly swung open.

An elderly man stepped in, and his gaze scanned over the room before finally landing on the unconscious girl.

"Where is my son?", his cold voice echoed, breaking the awkward silence of the room.

The expressions of everyone changed.

They could hear the anger in the Priest’s voice, as well as sense the boundless murderous intent accompanying it.

Part of this murderous intent was aimed towards the unconscious girl, while the other part was aimed at everyone else.

The weaker among them felt suffocated. Sweat covered their foreheads, as a soul-tearing pain assaulted their minds, and their heads looked ready to burst.

Just when they believed that their lives would soon be over, a young man among them waved his right hand.

Immediately, the gathered aura dispersed, and murderous intent retreated.

The Priest was forced to take a step back, as a tiny line of blood dripped out of his lips.

"I can understand why the Elder is so anxious. However, there’s no reason to do anything rash."

"We should wait until Ophis wakes up to learn the truth. Moreover, even if the worst were to happen, the Priest should remember the Clan’s rules and remain calm."

Saying this, the man looked at the person beside him and spoke:

"Send a person to watch over the guy who brought Ophis back. Capture him if he attempts to escape or do anything weird."

The man who spoke looked to be in his early twenties.

Yet, although his tone was plain, no one dared to underestimate him.

They all rushed to complete his orders, and even the Priest, whose son’s fate was unknown, did not dare to argue back.

Seeing this, the Clan Head nodded. He paused for a brief moment and was about to add a few extra words when the body of the unconscious girl twitched.

The Clan Head immediately flashed beside her. He lowered his hand and gently placed it on her shoulder, letting the Divine Aura flow into her body.

His efforts proved worthwhile. Only a couple of seconds later, the eyelids of the young girl fluttered before her eyes opened, revealing a pair of black pupils.

The girl’s face contorted into a grimace as a painful hiss escaped her lips.

Still, Ophis gritted her teeth and persevered, doing her best to ignore the pain.

She moved her head to the side and looked at the young man standing beside the bed as she opened her mouth and struggled to speak:

"Father..."

Her words made the Clan Head breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that his daughter had woken up.

He immediately doubled his efforts and let even more Divine Aura flow into Ophis’ body, wanting to stabilize her injuries.

He was originally planning to wait, but seeing that the Priest was getting increasingly more furious, he understood that this guy was about to explode.

Thus, he had no other choice than to ask.

"Ophis, what happened in the Northern Lands? Where is everyone else?"

"Why did only you and the protector return?"

Hearing this, a hateful look flashed across Ophis’ eyes before she opened her mouth and began to explain.

--

"The Dark Demon Clan?"

"Did the Dark Demon Clan collude with the mortals of the Northern Lands to murder your team?!"

The voice of the Clan Head was filled with doubt, while the same confusion was carried by the other people in the room, too.

According to Ophis, their team had encountered a Dark Demon Clan group that was cooperating with many mortal Warriors.

It was unknown if it was their plan from the start, or if they took advantage of the opportunity, but the Dark Demon Clan group attacked them.

In the end, only the protector and Ophis had survived, escaping with serious injuries.

No one in the room was a stranger to the Dark Demon Clan.

As one of the two rulers of the Northern Lands and one of the Nine Divine Clans, all members of the Ouroboros Clan were familiar with it.

Most importantly, the Ouroboros Clan and the Dark Demon Clan were sworn enemies, having fought for thousands of years.

That’s why, though Ophis’ explanation seemed outlandish, some people were led to believe it.

However, a person among them did not care about the Dark Demon Clan at the moment. The Priest, the father of the young man accompanying Ophis, trembled with anger and pointed his finger at her.

With a cold expression, he asked a set of questions that plagued everyone’s minds.

"Where is my son? How could he die?"

"I gifted him a Divine Projection before he left! Even if he faced a Demon Saint, he would have been able to escape!"

"If even he died, how could you survive?!"

"Did you betray the Ouroboros Clan?!"

The Priest accused Ophis loudly as his aura surged.

Though his title was "Priest", he looked more like a murderous demon at the moment.

Accompanied by fierce murderous intent, he reached out and wanted to grab Ophis, ready to interrogate her, if not kill her.

The gap between them was massive.

Ophis was not even a Weapon Master, while the Priest was a Demon Saint, equivalent to a True Devil.

However, just when his hands were about to grab her, the Clan Head snorted coldly.

Instantly, the body of the Priest began to shatter.

Cracks appeared all over his skin, and his flesh parted, revealing the golden bones beneath them.

Though his flesh wove together and he quickly recovered, it was apparent that his aura had become significantly weaker.

The Clan Head did not care.

"Ophis is going to give a more extensive report later."

"Moreover, the Clan is going to send a team to the Northern Lands to investigate what happened."

"But the most important thing at the moment is to help Ophis heal.", the Clan Head said.

With a wave of his hands, he wrapped up Ophis with his Divine Aura and rushed out of the room.

"I’m going to let her enter the Divine Blood Pool. After she has recovered and comes out, I’m certain that the truth will come to light.", his faint voice lingered in the room, as both he and Ophis soon disappeared.

Although the Priest wanted to argue back, he knew that there was no way to get an advantage. The Clan Head was stronger than him and had already shown his stance.

Still, this didn’t mean that this would end here. After he cast one more look at the people in the room, he snorted coldly and left.